Valhalla . . . it was a legend.
It was known as the Throne of the Goddess, Etro.
The eroded continent stood outside the passage of time, the crumbled castle all that remained.
Over time Valhalla faded from memory, becoming a mere fairy tale.
People turned away from the goddess Etro, deciding to put their faith in the fal'Cie.
As time passed outside of Valhalla's reach, the goddess' strength started to wane, diminishing with each century that past outside her throne.
Then, she saw them appear.
Six strangers, brought together for various reasons – and timeframes – to change fate.
They planned to bring down the fal'Cie; to change the future, to bring down an oppressive government.
As right as their actions were – it was too late.
Although Etro's strength was fading, she could glimpse pieces of the future – their future.
Nothing but crystallization waited for them.
Nothing would change – they would be branded traitors, be held for execution, and then . . . disappear.
With the last of her remaining strength – Etro made one final wish.
The six strangers and their companions would be saved from their eternal slumber. However, like every other request, there was a cost. Nothing in Cocoon was ever given for free.
The fal'Cie's rule was defeated and crystal slumber ensnared the six.
Valhalla was a myth, a legend; the fairy tale stories describing it as a place for the doomed.
That was how Valhalla chose its knight, it would summon one of the doomed to Etro's side – the one with the most skill, the one who made the conscious choice to defy her fate.
Lightning Farron.
It was the obvious choice; the pink-haired woman would be able to handle what would soon be coming her way.
It was too bad that Lightning didn't agree with the goddess's decision.
She might have been one of the strongest among the l'Cie – but that didn't mean she wanted to give up her life, the life she had fought for.
Darkness surrounded her, separating her from the joyous scene before her; Serah and Dajh.
And just like that – Lightning disappeared from Pulse.
Later, she realized, she had been erased from their memory too.
To them, she was trapped within the crystal pillar alongside Fang and Vanille.
Fate was cruel.
She wanted the life she had fought for. She wanted to see Serah alive again.
Now that she was out of the military, there was so much she wanted to do.
She wanted out, she wasn't meant for Valhalla. Lightning didn't like this, seeing her friends in her fragmented dreams, whenever she got a moment's peace.
With the help of Odin, she had traversed the ruined grounds of Valhalla.
There was no way out – she was trapped.
However, there was one question trapped in her mind: If she was trapped in Valhalla, how did Caius get in?
The blue-haired man seemed to appear off-and-on, for some reason he knew a way off the doomed ruins.
She had considered striking him down one final time . . . and then she saw . . .
Caius had a petite woman with him, her body lifeless as the water reached up to claim her.
As she watched silently for a ruined turret, she couldn't help but think – was Caius like her?
Was he stuck in the clutches of Valhalla too, watching those around him suffer?
During one of her fragmented dreams, she had managed to connect with her fellow l'Cie; sending their lives into turmoil once again.
Sazh was the first to disappear, the pilot disappearing in the night. No note, no explanation, no nothing. Lightning didn't even remember seeing Sazh in her dream . . .
Snow disappeared a couple weeks later, telling Serah he was going to find Lightning and bring her home. Lightning rolled her eyes at that – it seemed like Snow hadn't changed much in her absence.
Serah's adventure started two months after Snow left, just like Lightning foresaw in her dreams, Noel appearing in New Bodhum on her request.
All the while Fang and Vanille slept in the pillar, holding the weight of Cocoon on their shoulders.
Lightning thought about Hope off-and-on, she wondered what the silver-haired teen thought of everything, now that all the other l'Cie were gone, spirited away into the night.
She had wanted to call out to him in her fragmented dreams, but she found herself unable to, Etro stopping her.
He has decisions to make here to alter the future, Etro would say, a veil between her and the teen.
Instead, Lightning had to watch silently from the throne room, waiting for her freedom or Caius to return.
She watched Snow arrive at the Coliseum, becoming trapped in the games of the Arbitrator of Time. She watched Serah and Noel move through the time stream, finding Caius and the woman he had brought to Valhalla, hiding behind him.
Then, lost in the fragments of her memories or dreams, the line had blurred over the past five-hundred years, Caius approached her – defeating her moments later.
She hadn't even seen it coming; her mind focused on the visions of her friends, of speaking to Serah in New Bodhum 700 AF, and the next thing she knew – all she could feel was intense pain as Caius delivered the final blow.
The blow that would end it all, end her five-hundred years trapped in Valhalla, a cruel fate indeed.
She saw Caius move past her, his sword returning to its sheath as a gong sounded from the ruined castle – a bell of some sort. Lightning couldn't help but glance up – the legends said the bell only rang in times of distress . . . has Caius already taken out Etro?
It can't be, Lightning thought, her heart beating against her ribcage. Valhalla wouldn't – couldn't – function without Etro's presence. "Caius!" she shouted, moving to stand.
Her sharp eyes noticed the smirk on Caius's face.
Then, she realized she couldn't move – her feet, her legs were encased in crystal.
". . . Goodbye," Caius simply said, silently turning on his heel. "Your sister will be arriving in a moment, you'll see each other soon enough."
That was the last thing Lightning heard, silence engulfing her as the crystallization reached her hips. As the crystallization climbed higher, she was granted three more fragmented images – images that would torment her during her crystal slumber.
She saw Hope in Academia, his back turned, a dark presence in the form of his assistant behind him . . .
She saw Serah . . . her face screwed up in pain . . . panic . . . before she collapsed, seeing her final vision . . .
Then, Hope's dream had come to pass, Bhunivelze was in the sky and then just like the darkness had engulfed her all those years ago, it reached out, engulfing the new world . . . and then . . .
Darkness engulfed everything.
The crystallization engulfed Lightning.
In the end, she was still no more than a pawn to the fal'Cie . . . the Goddess . . .
After everything she had done and sacrificed, nothing changed.
In her final moment, Lightning remembered why she had chosen that name – Lightning – it flashes bright and disappears. It can't protect, it can only destroy.
It was ironic how true that nickname had become.