I send my aeons away as the dust and pyrefiles clear in the City of Dying Dreams. Deep in the Nucleus of Sin, we had come to destroy the last ounce of humanity thriving in the body of the beast; and, with the help of the Magus Sisters, we succeeded. The pounding of my heart in my ears is drowning out the screams of the thousands of pyreflies and the nearby buzzing of Yu Yevon. We all know what it is waiting for. We all know what I must do.
A massive, burning sword, wrapped in the chains of burden and a wavering Jecht was what was left of my father's Final Aeon. Gone was the almighty aeon, possessed by Yu Yevon, harvested for its brute strength. The last Final Summoning was destroyed. We have changed Spira forever.
I feel Tidus whisk past me on his way to his father. My heart breaks as he reaches Jecht just in time catch him as he falls to his knees. The urge to look away overpowers me; only they belong in that moment. My tired eyes scan the city around us. Could this be the phantom of the living Zanarkand? Yu Yevon zooms right through my field of vision, bringing me back to the task at hand. I look back to see Tidus standing up with his father at his feet. This is it. There is no way the bravest man Spira has ever known will become an unsent.
"Sir Jecht…," I inquire as I walk towards him, readying my Nirvana. "I should-"
"Yuna, no!" he gasps as he thrusts his arm out, as if in an effort to stop me. "There's no time!"
Yu Yevon throws itself around us once again. The crimson and black orb of energy burns angrily above us and above its former summon. I notice for the first time that the closer it gets the more cold the air seems to feel. There, hovering around the City is the embodiment of pure evil, the life force of Sin, the creator of the teachings that have governed Spira for years. I wonder what it was like when it was human, despite the fact that I can hardly imagine that it ever was.
Tidus shouts at it.
My head shouts at me.
Time isn't standing still anymore.
"Yuna," Jecht pants, "you know what to do."
Yes, Sir Jecht, I know what to do.
"The aeons…"
"We aeons…" this manages to startle me as I turn to face the fayth of Behomet, the child's hand held proudly against his chest.
"Call them!"
"Call us!"
The moment I have learned to dread has finally come. I must sacrifice my greatest allies; beings that have become a part of me; beings that have become my friends, for the sake of Spira. It is always so must easier to sacrifice one's self, to forfeit one's own life, than to forfeit the lives of those one loves. There is no greater a trial.
Jecht finally falls to his knees, and then to the ground, as pryeflies start to flee his body. He trembles on the ground for a moment as we all watch on, helpless to relieve him of his suffering. Ironically, Jecht was the last to die of my father's pilgrimage, despite being the first to go missing. After a few moments, or not, I couldn't tell, Jecht's body gracefully turns to pryeflies and floats off into the Zanarkand night.
Yu Yevon is back. I think now it wants its turn. I think now it wants my aeons.
I bowed to Jecht, to the fayth of Behomet, to whoever was listening, or to whoever could hear. Could Yu Yevon hear? Did it fell itself glide through the windless skies of Zanarkand as it closed in around us? It obviously knew we were there, but could it see the exhausted determination or the fear in my eyes?
I wonder when it would take its final stand against us. There was no more running for Yu Yevon. No more immense, destructive armour to shuttle it around Spira, and no more Jecht to control this seemingly mindless killing machine. We were now to face the immortal essence of Sin; the essence that has been hiding for so long; the part of Spira that everyone unknowingly hates. This is it, the moment that I have been working for. The moment where every trial and tribulation will come into play; but instead of me dying, my aeons will die for me. Instead of sacrificing myself, I will be sacrificing my greatest personal allies.
"Here it comes!" shoutes someone. My thoughts don't stop; instead, I merely turn myself in the direction everyone else was looking. I do not fear Yu Yevon. There is nothing left to fear. Not even my own death.
It has destroyed the sword and its energy is all around us. It wants to take us somewhere.
-
When I woke up I was laying down. I was in no hurry to get up as my eyes scan the sickly pink clouds surrounding wherever it was we were. To my left, Rikku is still unconscious. I lift myself up and realize the others are unconscious as well.
I make a motion towards Rikku. I never reach her, however, because the thing has returned.
I shoot up out of surprise. It seems to be toying with me as it circles around me in our reality. I didn't think I could ever despise something so deeply: not only had it taken away from me anything that resembled a family, but it is about to take away the closest things I have to children.
The orb, which had constantly been in motion since we first laid eyes on it, suddenly stops. There is nothing normal about what was going on at the moment, but something about that action seems odd.
Before I could scream or summon my aeons, Yu Yevon erupts in to rays of white light and flies straight at me. The cold I feel is so intense, I feel my heart stops as it approaches me. When it hits, all feeling leaves my body as my world turns white.