He lays Yeul's body into the cold waters of Valhalla, ignoring the pink-haired girl at his side. She is silent, gazing coolly over the spectacle, eyes focused on the seeress, unwillingly or unable to look at anything else. It is her first time meeting the two, but she had already known them for an eternity. The corpse turns into flickering tongues of fire, traveling up Caius's hand, and he regards them regretfully (she decides to ignore the single tear that rolls down his cheek).
"This eternity...it was never her desire, was it?"
He does not answer.
.
Between timelines, he comes to observe. They are not friends, but they are not enemies-they are simply the only two who will ever know the true meaning of eternity. She sits on the throne, feathers spread around her, eyes closed, looking into the strands of time in both the future, past, and present. He joins her.
Fifteen year old Clair Farron holds her sister's hand as the doctors surround them.
"We're sorry, your mother died today at 2:14 A.M."
She does not cry.
Eighteen years old, she stands before the two military officials, one with silver hair and a long scar, the other a portly man with a large gun.
"So you're the newest recruit, eh? Welcome to the Guardian Corps, Miss Farron!"
"Call me Lightning."
The boy is young, even younger than what she was when her own mother died. He is scared, and she can't blame him. He is already dependent on her-without her, he'd die. He trembles, and she is reminded of her sister, six years ago, at their own mother's death.
"Lightning. It can't protect, it only destroys."
The boy, no, Noel, grips her shoulders and shakes her, but it is no use. The other girl collapses, eyes rolling into the back of her head. He screams.
"SERAH? SERAH!"
"SERAH!"
He opens his eyes, but she is gone, and there is no sign she was (would ever be, will ever be) there.
.
Sometimes they duel- blades clashing like thunder, winds howling and tearing, the entire world rent asunder- chaos and lightning mixing in the air. Sometimes they never stop, evenly matched to the last cut, a battle that would put even the Fal'cie's power to shame-but this time he overpowers her easily. She is distracted.
"You cannot interfere with the timeline."
"Watch me."
.
She is desperate, manipulating time as much as she can, influencing events and even pouring Chaos into Gran Pulse. But it is futile-no matter what she does, all endings point to the same sacrifice, the same vision, the same girl collapsed in the same boy's arms. She perches on Etro's throne, eyes closed, searching for the one future where they all live happily.
There is none.
.
It takes her an eternity to give in. Her pride begins to crack, replaced by fear and anger. She begs the only one who can hear her.
"Caius...you would do the same for Yeul."
"If it meant saving her, I would slaughter every person who ever existed with these hands. I would destroy time itself."
"You understand."
"I understand, but I will not aid you. What you seek is impossible."
.
And yet she still tries. The timeline is altered, and Yeul suffers for it. There is one more Yeul, a Yeul who believed that Caius was honorable for accepting his role, a Yeul that loved to braid his hair, a Yeul who saw the same death over and over again, but still pitied the girl and her doomed sister, even as her own life shortened. But he is the guardian, and he must fix her problems, fix the paradoxes she is causing in the timeline. The answer is simple- kill the Director, and mankind will never advance as far as they could, never learn what Lightning is doing, never realize the paradoxes are unnatural.
.
The white haired boy is waiting for him when he enters. The oracle drive sits on the desk, glowing faintly, the only source of light in the room.
"You are not scared?"
"My life is not worth the lives of millions." He speaks, but there is still regret in his tone. Just like Yeul, his fate was decided by the selfish act of one who valued him. Just like Yeul, he would never live life fully, never experience all it had to offer.
"Do you not pity your fate?"
The Director trails his hand against the chair and stands to face Caius. His gaze does not waver.
"No. I pity you, Caius."
"Me? Why?"
"Because," he looks up, and Caius realizes that he knows better than anyone how it feels to have the ones you love ripped away from you, time after time. "You are cursed to see her die for an eternity. It hurts just as much as the first time, doesn't it?"
The white haired boy's gaze softens, and he reaches out for his killer.
"Tell Lightning I miss her."
Caius raises Ragnarok.