It was without ceremony that Lightning woke up. It was as if she was asleep one moment and her senses tensed and she woke up. She was still sitting on the throne of Etro and all that she could sense at first was that her ass was numb. Stretching her arms above her head, she found that she still wasn't free of all this save the world business. A letter was laying in front of her on the dais.
'Find where hope lives on, and then you will know your mission.'
Scoffing she pocketed the card into her arm and then stumbled as she was assaulted by feelings, visions and pain. When she came to, she was on her hands and knees with knowledge of Bhunivelze the true God who had taken her own as his warrior. Lightning was sure that life just couldn't get much worse.
As Lightning traveled this new world, she was utterly surprised by what it had become. A silent observer, she had a task with only 13 days yo fulfill, but an hour or two of figuring out her focus was surely allowed right? The nearest place was a small dusty town anyways. And she knew that these people were pure. Not a single person she had to worry about saving.
At least until she reached the end of town. She felt her heart stop as she focused on Hope, encased in crystal. It didn't seem possible that such a thing would happen. She approached it fast, as memories came back to her. Using her powers to make the paradox that gave him the brand.
If she was still a god's champion, then surely she had the power to resolve this right? She circled the crystal, thinking hard about what to do. It was obvious that when it happened the man was headed somewhere. No one would have seen it, as hidden in the forest it was. She wondered idly where he had been heading.
Finding his left wrist she studied the paradox and thought about how she'd made it. Then she looked up at him. If he had completed his focus it must have been recent. Or maybe it was tied to her waking up. She grasped his wrist firmly.
"Wake up." She ordered, putting every fiber of her being into it.
With a sickening crack and a lurch, Hope fell forward into her. Warm flesh again and she groaned weakly at how much heavier he was then he'd been way back then at age 14. It'd been over 1,000 years since they'd last seen each other.
"How... What?" Hope stared down at her wide-eyed. He'd been walking home about 6 months ago when he'd become crystal. He'd know because in his prison he'd been aware. Probably too much aware considering how it hurt.
"I can't believe that worked." Lightning thought as she pushed him off. As she sat up she studied him and thought about what his power and his focus was. And how she could tell that it didn't seem that he was altered by chaos in anyway.
"L...Lightning?" He asked quietly as he got a good look at her. "Am I still dreaming?"
"Of course not." She rolled her shoulders and watched him carefully when it occurred to her what must have happened. "What were you doing before you turned to crystal?"
"I..." His mouth snapped audibly shut. He couldn't tell her that he'd been heading to a place away from people to end his own life. 270 years alone had been far too much. Without Noel, he had spurned most contact with the outside world, only looking for solutions to ending this. The end of the world was coming and he couldn't sit by. But living on had become too hard. "The brand is gone?!"
"I ended your paradox... That's why you woke up." She stood up. "Do you have a place we can go talk?"
"I..."
"Focus Hope."
He nodded weakly as he took her in, the armor and the emotionless look on her face. Same old Light, he thought both happily and miserably. He wondered how long it would take her to break down.
