Mani had grown fond of the Castle that Never Was-- the place Xemnas called home. The world had a daunting feel to it. This was not a place for the weak of heart. It was not safe or secure but it held a glimmer of wonder about it. Such a place alone could not hold the Tsar’s attention for too long-- no, there was something else keeping him here.
Or rather a very curious someone.
Xemnas was enigmatic and reclusive, yet now and then they seemed to truly connect, beyond simple means. Mani could feel a flicker now and then in his own chest. A light and airy fluttering sensation that easily distracted him from his work whenever the tall Nobody entered the room. After much deduction he had concluded this feeling was one of affection, adoration, perhaps even the small blossom of love
He had spent many months in this world, studying the Heartless and Nobodies. The nobodies interested him far more-- they were the ‘souls’ of individuals who had lost their hearts and their shape and form seemed to depend on the strength of said victim’s heart. Perhaps in some way, they were still people.
Mani had been spending the past few weeks developing a spell that might help summon a lost heart back to its body-- the spell was potent indeed but required quite the price-- the stronger the heart the more it would resist the pull back to its old form. He just had to find a workaround if he intended to cure both the Heartless and the Nobodies from their dreadful half-lives.
Footsteps drew his attention, causing the male to turn and glance at the door of his makeshift laboratory. Lips turned up in a faint smile as he spotted Xemnas, wearing that same unreadable expression he perpetually kept on his features.
“I believe I am nearing a breakthrough. It is thanks in part to you, Xemnas.” His tone was one of fondness and respect. Once he completed this experiment successfully he could uproot that bastard Xehanort’s plans for the nobody before him-- and possibly others too who had been unwillingly enslaved by the taskmaster.
With their own hearts, his would take a backseat-- or even be rejected.
