Chaos was immortal. If there was one quality to such beings, it was patience, and Chaos needed abundant patience in dealing with humans. He - Chaos really had no gender, but had gotten used to this designation - also had an ego nearly the size of the planet itself.
To think he'd been outsmarted by a human, a mere, fragile, short-lived mortal, was intolerable. It was also indisputable and irrevocable.
The human Vincent Valentine had slipped free of his body while Chaos's back was turned. The ridiculous headmates had flown away into the dark as well, dying along with Valentine, and good riddance! But now he was in a bit of a difficulty.
The woman Lucrecia had been more right than she knew when she deduced Chaos's role in the eventual demise of the planet. Chaos needed a host in order to fulfill his destiny, and Lucrecia had provided him one - for other reasons entirely, but the fact remained, she had done it, and Valentine had been an adequate host. Stubborn, overly emotional and given to fits of childish rebellion, yes; but adequate all the same. And now he was gone.
Chaos had woken too late to stop the degradation of Valentine's body, or the dissipation of his spirit. Without the protomateria in his body, Valentine could not not have prevented Chaos from taking control. Not to destroy the planet, not yet; but no immortal being should be caged by mere flesh and bone, his power dimmed and held in reserve like a spare weapon.
And yet it seemed as though he was in some way bound to the materia. He was aware that the crystal had been taken by someone not Valentine, carried away. He sensed cool darkness, a soft glow, and then...a splash? And the retreating heat of a human body.
And then nothing.
He'd almost fallen back into sleep when he sensed movement. The touch of a hand. Heat and light. The sound of a voice, cracking as though it hadn't been used in a long time.
"I remember this….I remember."
The crystal orb glowed in her hand, white as the full moon, bathing her face in light. So beautiful...The urge to hold it close, always, was overwhelming. She cradled it to her breast, where it grew warmer, warmer, tingling, prickling, ah! Euphoria rushed through her, as sweet and delicious as love's release. Her hands, empty, fell to her side. A voice came to her, rising from the depths of her heart.
"Daughter, we shall do well together."
