Post by inkbender on Aug 12, 2012 18:49:33 GMT -5
The End of Time – The Black Sands – A Dying World
The blur of color flashing in a weary dreamscape before her eyes seemed to halt suddenly. The muted hues behind her glassy cage swirled slowly, like currents of white sand along a river stream.
It was as if an icy barrier had simply evaporated away, leaving Lightning’s supple body with no support. Clammy air stuck to her skin before clothing manifested, wrapping her skin tightly in layers of solid armor and soft white feathers. Tiny fragments of dissolved crystal flickered around her suddenly flexible body as she slumped to her knees, almost unable to support her own weight after such a long disuse.
The bombardment of harsh senses momentarily paralyzed her as each sense was instantly restored after centuries of absence. She smelled the bitterness of dirt and sand seconds before her long-unused eyes adjusted to the stark light of her current environment.
This was not the world she left. Lightning remembered the pinkish hue amongst blue skies of the Void Beyond; the ancient sandy stones constructing the architecture of the dimension, speckled with darker dirt and caked with white salt. The empty throne of Etro had hovered in the background, its jaded green crystals carved into an elaborate seat unoccupied by the goddess. Every detail, every shade of color illuminated by the sky, hidden with shadow, its texture, its scent, its taste—Lightning remembered it all.
This world had long since decayed. Now, all she could see was a desolate landscape of white ash, only interrupted by rocky grey cliffs and ebony trees, their skeletal branches devoid of leaves. That was the world that Lightning Farron stepped into.
The only sound that reached her ears was the howl of wind… and the predatory growl of what was unmistakably a Behemoth, followed by a small, very human whimper.
Adrenaline quickened Lightning’s restoration, accompanied by a memory of a much younger Serah, frightened by a violent thunderstorm within Cocoon’s Bodhum. Memories from a past life; memories from an eternity ago, when time still governed the world.
Sight sharpened and hearing was magnified as she propelled herself to her feet, her gunblade instantly held at the ready. Her eternal slumber had done nothing to drain her energy. Truly, she had been preserved in the same form that she entered crystal stasis: at the height of strength, imbued with a piece of the Spirit of the goddess Etro. Her feet pumped through the fine white sand, sinking slightly before springing upwards again. The landscape repeated itself over and over again as Lightning tore through, kicking up microscopic particles in a terrain long undisturbed by life.
The growl sounded again, louder and much more aggressive this time. The Behemoth was about to pounce.
Lightning put on an inhuman burst of speed and topped an ashy dune, instantly spotting the monster. Gigantic and grotesque, it was much larger than any Behemoth Lightning had ever seen. But this was the end of time, and this particular creature was probably the last of its kind, having clawed its way through existence by devouring every last living thing.
The last living thing being the small girl standing in front of it, her thin arms spread wide, her face uplifted and ready to accept her fate.
One glance and Lightning instantly knew that the girl was not her sister Serah.
But she had already put her all into saving the girl, so Lightning shunted her disappointment aside in a roaring challenge, soaring over the child and driving her gunblade through the Behemoth’s eyes. The monster roared and smashed its own paw into its face; Lightning dodged the blow by swinging her body away, using the gunblade as a lever. The action dislodged her weapon and she flipped away, landing safely on the ashen ground.
“Run,” she barked at the thin girl behind her, switching to firearm and shooting bullets into the Behemoth’s other eye.
The beast screamed in rage and swiped blindly. Lightning leapt backwards, still shooting—and almost crashed into the other girl, still standing her ground. At the last minute, Lightning twisted her body and narrowly avoided the girl, losing her balance in the process and tumbling to the ground. She immediately leapt to her feet and barely dove out of the way as the Behemoth charged past, its horn denting an arm guard.
“What are you doing?” Lightning yelled at the stationary girl. “Run!”
The girl fixed her with a somber look. Her grey eyes appeared to glow through the transparent veil in her headdress, pulsing in time with the strange light of a gray crystal suspended in an opening in her top.
Yeul.
Your sister… she is the same as us.
Lightning clenched her teeth as she backflipped away from another Behemoth charge. Partially blinded, the monster was entrenched within a raging vendetta with only one target: Lightning. It screeched, turning as it passed and punching a clawed fist right into Lightning’s side. She grunted as she was sent flying, tumbling over and over without any sense of direction.
And so she is with us. Always with us.
Lightning made her decision. She stopped her tumble through the air and managed to land on her feet. The Behemoth was only a couple feet away, its heavy paws threatening to smash her into the ground. Lightning leapt high into the air at the last second and the Behemoth’s head followed, its one good eye trained on her. The sudden change in direction upset the monster’s balance, though, which Lightning further exacerbated with a well-aimed Windstrike. The sudden blast of air further pushed the Behemoth off its center of gravity, and with a surprised wail, it toppled over. Lightning landed a couple heavy damage-dealing attacks to its soft underbelly before leaping back and casting a raging storm of Thundara around it. Blood sizzled around its muscled body as it tried to regain its feet, but Lightning embedded her gunblade within its electrified abdomen and channeled a final Thunderstrike.
With a final roar, the Behemoth succumbed to a fried death. Steam rose from its openings as static crackled down its warm flesh.
Lightning dropped to one knee as a wave of dizziness overtook her. Not fifteen minutes into her release from eternal slumber and she was already exerting so much energy. She was about to search her body for possible potions when a soft voice interrupted her thought process.
“Why?”
The young seeress remained in the same damned spot, unmoving. Perhaps she’d foreseen her death and expected to die, but Lightning would have none of that.
Until time is destroyed, she will sleep with us.
Perhaps the suspicion that Lightning had was erroneous, but it was the only thing Lightning had for now. Serah was now tied within the lineage of seeresses, according to the illusion in the Void Beyond created by Caius before their final confrontation. This girl appeared to be yet another reincarnation of the Paddra seeresses. Lightning would follow this girl…
Lightning hesitantly took a step forward, then bowed on one knee in front of the girl. “Take me to Serah,” she whispered.
Silence. Then soft fingers rested upon her head. “Let’s go,” the seeress murmured.
Lightning rose to her feet and followed her charge.
The blur of color flashing in a weary dreamscape before her eyes seemed to halt suddenly. The muted hues behind her glassy cage swirled slowly, like currents of white sand along a river stream.
It was as if an icy barrier had simply evaporated away, leaving Lightning’s supple body with no support. Clammy air stuck to her skin before clothing manifested, wrapping her skin tightly in layers of solid armor and soft white feathers. Tiny fragments of dissolved crystal flickered around her suddenly flexible body as she slumped to her knees, almost unable to support her own weight after such a long disuse.
The bombardment of harsh senses momentarily paralyzed her as each sense was instantly restored after centuries of absence. She smelled the bitterness of dirt and sand seconds before her long-unused eyes adjusted to the stark light of her current environment.
This was not the world she left. Lightning remembered the pinkish hue amongst blue skies of the Void Beyond; the ancient sandy stones constructing the architecture of the dimension, speckled with darker dirt and caked with white salt. The empty throne of Etro had hovered in the background, its jaded green crystals carved into an elaborate seat unoccupied by the goddess. Every detail, every shade of color illuminated by the sky, hidden with shadow, its texture, its scent, its taste—Lightning remembered it all.
This world had long since decayed. Now, all she could see was a desolate landscape of white ash, only interrupted by rocky grey cliffs and ebony trees, their skeletal branches devoid of leaves. That was the world that Lightning Farron stepped into.
The only sound that reached her ears was the howl of wind… and the predatory growl of what was unmistakably a Behemoth, followed by a small, very human whimper.
Adrenaline quickened Lightning’s restoration, accompanied by a memory of a much younger Serah, frightened by a violent thunderstorm within Cocoon’s Bodhum. Memories from a past life; memories from an eternity ago, when time still governed the world.
Sight sharpened and hearing was magnified as she propelled herself to her feet, her gunblade instantly held at the ready. Her eternal slumber had done nothing to drain her energy. Truly, she had been preserved in the same form that she entered crystal stasis: at the height of strength, imbued with a piece of the Spirit of the goddess Etro. Her feet pumped through the fine white sand, sinking slightly before springing upwards again. The landscape repeated itself over and over again as Lightning tore through, kicking up microscopic particles in a terrain long undisturbed by life.
The growl sounded again, louder and much more aggressive this time. The Behemoth was about to pounce.
Lightning put on an inhuman burst of speed and topped an ashy dune, instantly spotting the monster. Gigantic and grotesque, it was much larger than any Behemoth Lightning had ever seen. But this was the end of time, and this particular creature was probably the last of its kind, having clawed its way through existence by devouring every last living thing.
The last living thing being the small girl standing in front of it, her thin arms spread wide, her face uplifted and ready to accept her fate.
One glance and Lightning instantly knew that the girl was not her sister Serah.
But she had already put her all into saving the girl, so Lightning shunted her disappointment aside in a roaring challenge, soaring over the child and driving her gunblade through the Behemoth’s eyes. The monster roared and smashed its own paw into its face; Lightning dodged the blow by swinging her body away, using the gunblade as a lever. The action dislodged her weapon and she flipped away, landing safely on the ashen ground.
“Run,” she barked at the thin girl behind her, switching to firearm and shooting bullets into the Behemoth’s other eye.
The beast screamed in rage and swiped blindly. Lightning leapt backwards, still shooting—and almost crashed into the other girl, still standing her ground. At the last minute, Lightning twisted her body and narrowly avoided the girl, losing her balance in the process and tumbling to the ground. She immediately leapt to her feet and barely dove out of the way as the Behemoth charged past, its horn denting an arm guard.
“What are you doing?” Lightning yelled at the stationary girl. “Run!”
The girl fixed her with a somber look. Her grey eyes appeared to glow through the transparent veil in her headdress, pulsing in time with the strange light of a gray crystal suspended in an opening in her top.
Yeul.
Your sister… she is the same as us.
Lightning clenched her teeth as she backflipped away from another Behemoth charge. Partially blinded, the monster was entrenched within a raging vendetta with only one target: Lightning. It screeched, turning as it passed and punching a clawed fist right into Lightning’s side. She grunted as she was sent flying, tumbling over and over without any sense of direction.
And so she is with us. Always with us.
Lightning made her decision. She stopped her tumble through the air and managed to land on her feet. The Behemoth was only a couple feet away, its heavy paws threatening to smash her into the ground. Lightning leapt high into the air at the last second and the Behemoth’s head followed, its one good eye trained on her. The sudden change in direction upset the monster’s balance, though, which Lightning further exacerbated with a well-aimed Windstrike. The sudden blast of air further pushed the Behemoth off its center of gravity, and with a surprised wail, it toppled over. Lightning landed a couple heavy damage-dealing attacks to its soft underbelly before leaping back and casting a raging storm of Thundara around it. Blood sizzled around its muscled body as it tried to regain its feet, but Lightning embedded her gunblade within its electrified abdomen and channeled a final Thunderstrike.
With a final roar, the Behemoth succumbed to a fried death. Steam rose from its openings as static crackled down its warm flesh.
Lightning dropped to one knee as a wave of dizziness overtook her. Not fifteen minutes into her release from eternal slumber and she was already exerting so much energy. She was about to search her body for possible potions when a soft voice interrupted her thought process.
“Why?”
The young seeress remained in the same damned spot, unmoving. Perhaps she’d foreseen her death and expected to die, but Lightning would have none of that.
Until time is destroyed, she will sleep with us.
Perhaps the suspicion that Lightning had was erroneous, but it was the only thing Lightning had for now. Serah was now tied within the lineage of seeresses, according to the illusion in the Void Beyond created by Caius before their final confrontation. This girl appeared to be yet another reincarnation of the Paddra seeresses. Lightning would follow this girl…
Lightning hesitantly took a step forward, then bowed on one knee in front of the girl. “Take me to Serah,” she whispered.
Silence. Then soft fingers rested upon her head. “Let’s go,” the seeress murmured.
Lightning rose to her feet and followed her charge.