周期 –CYCLES

Chapter 1: The Prelude

At first, she fell asleep with her arms at her side, and her body turned away from him. He was falling asleep with his hands behind his head. The plan was, when she fell entirely asleep, he'd wrap his arms around her and substitute the blanket around her hips with his own body warmth. It was what most men dreamed of doing to the girl they were, most likely, going to marry. He was just being cautious because, unlike other couples, he had been gone for two years. There was still too much they both could not explain, and so much more he planned to hear from her. She was such a calm person, it took too much to force her to explain things. He would rather, she'd open up on her own.

There were questions about him that hadn't been answered, either.

For starters, Tidus still had no idea how he was back. Maybe he had just been magically placed on Spira. He could just be here, in full form, as some sort of gift to Yuna for saving the world twice. Maybe he had been brought here as some sort of apology for the constant conflicts plaguing Spira. He could just imagine the Fayth doing this. But most of all, he could imagine just how improbable it was for Spira to accept that he had come back from the Fayth. Tidus had been in the Farplane, after all. Now that he was here, he questioned the authenticity of his arrival to this world. He still became afraid that he would need to leave one day; leave his Yuna behind.

When he heard what might be a soft sigh from beside himself, he assumed she had finally fallen asleep. It was times like these, that Tidus found himself most thankful for the world he suddenly belonged in. A world where he and Yuna may someday have a child, where the peace was everlasting. Where he could play Blitzball all he wanted, and have the love of his life there, too.

Nothing could go wrong.

-x;x;x;x;x;x;x;x;x;x;x;x-

One of her eyes opened. What she could see around her, was shrouded entirely by darkness.

There was the sound of someone breathing; no, more than one person. The addition of footsteps, too. But she couldn't recognize any of those. All she really took note of was the pairs of feet around her. Opening both eyes, the first face she noticed was that of the Summoner- Lenne. It took all of her power not to collapse. Instead, she sat up, her eyes lifting to look at the other figures. It was unusual. She first met eyes that reminded her of Tidus's, but immediately knew it was Shuyin once the unusually lanky hair and serious expression played in. Beside him, was one of the journeyers from her original pilgrimage, Auron. She knew the people beside Auron were most likely Jecht and her father, High Summoner Braska, but the urgency seemed to be placed more on something besides her vocality.

Instead, there was tension on everyone's faces.

"Auro-"

Auron lifted a hand to silence her. She had no choice but to quiet down, because even now, a part of Yuna could not help but listen to what she was told. She didn't want anyone to be angry or upset with her. At the same time, she didn't quite want to feel like a pushover. Why was she here? How were all of them here? "Lady Yuna- I'm, afraid it went to waste," Auron answered. Yuna didn't understand, and when she opened her mouth to speak, Shuyin immediately lifted his hand as well. It seemed as if speaking was not going to happen, for her. "Everything is reversed, the cycle is still continuing," Lenne spoke, although in a hushed tone. While she spoke, Shuyin's hand grasped hers. Yuna could see the fading of their knuckles, and how their bodies were transparent, slightly. They were both dead. Yuna feared accepting that this was the Farplane. Never had she been here in a dream.

"What cycle?" she finally managed to ask, more to Auron, who seemed to know more than Lenne and Shuyin. There was no cycle. Yuna knew, for certain, that any cycle that had been affecting Spira, had ended. "We've failed Spira, Lady Yuna," Auron continued on. She was confused,but felt something terrible in the pit of her stomach, as if she knew what they were speaking about. This 'cycle', just sounded too familiar to her. "Your eternal calm.. Lady Yuna. Is not eternal. It's lasted shorter than that of your father's."

This part felt like a sting.

Yuna immediately stood up, hand fisting, and stared long and hard at Auron. It had to be eternal. She had given up so much to make sure that Sin had been destroyed. Her entire life had become some sort of part of Spira's freedom. How could the peace not be eternal? "Wh-what are you talking about? Spira has an eternal calm! We.. we all, fought so hard, to maintain it," she spoke, quieting down towards the ending of her words. She knew she had to be right. The calm couldn't simply just, fade away. There was no way that it would. They had killed Yu Yevon, and the Fayth had been sent to the Farplane. "No, Lady Yuna.. The calm is just-" Lenne began, only to be stopped by Shuyin's irritated growl. It made Yuna step back, out of part fear that he might attack. Somehow, she felt.. defenseless now. "The Fayth is still dreaming! Do you understand?" he spoke out.

He reached out, to grasp onto her shoulders with his hands; to shake her, she supposed. But instead, her entirely world went dark. She felt herself falling backwards, through fields of pyreflies. All around her, the sounds of the hymn of Fayth resonated, hitting her ears for the first time since she had become a part of the modernization of Spira. Music was just surrounding and filling her mind; not the music she had sang from Lenne. No, it was a traditional Hymn that united Spira, once. Her hands reached up, for the fading figures of her former guardian and two others she had come to know recently, but couldn't. Instead, the rush of the pyreflies and her fall made her deliriously far from reach. The pyreflies struck her, each passing through. Her gaze flickered to her hand, where her index finger seemed somewhat, transparent.

Like she was fading.

"N-no!" she exclaimed, realizing she was most likely descending into the Farplane. "No- I-I can't go! Tidus- Tidus!"

-x;x;x;x;x;x;x;x;x;x;x;x-

Her eyes opened in the morning, when she found that she had somehow been drawn into Tidus's arms. Opening one eye to glance down at the arms wrapped securely around her, she let out a sigh of relief. So it had just been a dream. A part of her had been entirely frightened by the concept of having to go through the battles in her pilgrimage, all over again. It had been scary. She had no idea that a repeat of the past could be so.. unusually frightening for a woman who had gone through two of the most scary events in all of Spira. Instead, what really frightened Yuna, was that she had dreamt of fading into the Farplane. She, who was alive. She had heard the Hymn of the Fayth, a song she hadn't even whispered in the past two years. Her past had been put behind her, entirely. How could she have recalled it now?

Moving around in Tidus's arms, to turn around and face him, she briefly glanced at his sleeping face. How his hair, blonde and shaggy, seemed so natural. He had tanned skin, one of things that Shuyin lacked. His hair was more spiked. And he didn't have bangs all over his face. Shuyin hadn't had that, either. Tidus was Tidus, in the end; Shuyin was Shuyin. Just like how Yuna would always be Yuna, despite the changes she went through in the past few years. Her hand moved, until she could press her palm against his cheek, fingers running along his skin in a soothing way. It was a fear, she had, of losing him all over again, when she had just regained him, again. Tidus was such a rare, precious person; she loved him, with all of her heart. It went to say, that she was incapable of accepting her life, should she lose him again.

But the dream echoed in her mind. "The Fayth is still dreaming! Do you understand?"

Shuyin's words had seemed so clear. Ridiculously clear to Yuna. Her dreams were usually more vague. She didn't remember so many of them as clearly as she did these few. But what made her a little afraid was that this one dream sounded as if it had to do with Tidus. If the Fayth was still dreaming, it meant Tidus was still a dream. It meant that she could lose him, if the Fayth stopped dreaming. It meant that she had done nothing.

I'm being.. silly. It was just a dream, she thought, shaking her head once. Moving her arms around Tidus, she pressed her head into his chest, and breathed in the cooling, sea-like scent he had around him. When she felt him tuck her closer, she didn't resist, but instead rested in his arms with all of the calmness in the world. The Fayth couldn't possibly be dreaming again. Her days as a Summoner were finished, and Spira was completely away from the religious background it had once had. Spira, was once again, Spira.

-x;x;x;x;x;x;x;x;x;x;x;x-

In the morning, Yuna was first to wake up. Tidus after her. They'd both had breakfast, in Yuna's small room. Just a mixture of native Besaid foods. It was nothing spectacular, but it was good enough for Tidus, and by extension, for Yuna. Tidus had been especially ecstatic about starting to play more Blitzball with the Aurochs, who needed a Captain more than ever. Wakka's decision to stay and babysit Vidina meant there was no time for his team. Tidus had been more than happy to take over as the leader of the Aurochs, but only after Yuna had convinced him he shouldn't give up his favourite sport for Yuna.

Yuna, though, still couldn't remove her doubts about that one dream from her mind. Maybe because it had disturbed her. She received a nightmare like that, perhaps, for the first time, since the eternal calm so many years ago. She was only too pleased to ignore the implications and instead keep her focus settled on Tidus and the rest of her friends her in Besaid.

After finishing food, of course, the two of them decided to go check on the Celcius; it had docked in Besaid earlier. Rikku and Paine had insisted on it, to see Yuna and Tidus, of course. Walking towards the shore, Yuna abruptly stopped when she noticed something, peculiar. Not only was the Celcius closed, but there was no signs of movement inside of the ship. The only telltale sign that someone was inside, was the sound of the engine rumbling inside. More peculiarly, there was no one to welcome her inside. They were all aboard the bridge, she assumed.

-x;x;x;x;x;x;x;x;x;x;x;x-

Once she'd stepped onto the bridge, she stopped where she was. Because everyone had gathered near Shinra's commspheres. Shinra himself had left the ship not too long ago, and they assumed he was off doing bigger and better things. But it wasn't that- it was the horror struck expression on Rikku's face, that really made Yuna feel queasy. She rushed over, with Tidus not long behind her. Standing behind Rikku, she clutched the leather seat, somewhere behind Buddy, and stared at the screen with widened eyes. What she could see, clearly, was not what she had expected to see at any point in her life.

It was Luca.

But Luca had been smashed to bits. There were people screaming everywhere, and bodies laying in masses in rubbled buildings. The blitzball stadium had been entirely ruined by whatever had caused this. Moreso, there seemed to be machinery, crushed everywhere. It was as if someone had deliberately attacked Luca because it was with such a large population. "Wh-what is this?" she asked, sounding frightened. Rikku glanced back at her, horror struck. Somewhere behind her, Yuna could tell what Tidus was thinking. It couldn't be- there was no way-..

"We.. we don't know, Yunie.. It just.. a couple of hours ago.. something attacked Luca."

Paine also seemed to be glancing at Yuna, but from her straightforward, almost too knowledgeable glance. Yuna had a sickening feeling she knew what had attacked. But she refused to believe it. She just couldn't accept that her eternal calm was.. was just a fake. Turning around to face Tidus, she swallowed her fears and waited for his own response. "Tidus.. I.. I have to go to the Chamber of Fayth. I have to see it now- I just.. I can't-.."

It seemed like Tidus understood.

-x;x;x;x;x;x;x;x;x;x;x;x-

Down the steps, towards the Chamber of Fayth. If things had returned, to just how they were before, she would see the Fayth there. She could see that the Aeons she had once gotten aid from, would return. If what had attacked Luca, had really been the one thing she feared most, she would see the Fayth there, back to their original glory.

She continued to run, almost tripping at some point, but luckily, had Tidus there to grasp her elbow and hold her in place. Paine and Rikku were not far behind. She skid to a stop when she was right before the Chamber of Fayth, taking in deep breaths from the short distance she had. Something inside of her, was rejuvinating. But it felt like something vile, something she didn't want. She felt afraid, that whatever it was, would turn out to be the Fayth. She didn't want it o be the Fayth, she didn't want her past to come back to life.

She stepped forward, through the entrance that lead inside of the Chamber, and curiously glanced to where the Fayth had originally been sealed.

But much like a nightmare. She didn't see an empty space.

She saw the sealed carcass of the Fayth. And she felt the power running through her fingers. She felt the lack of control over her garment grid, and even more dangerous feelings running through her mind. Her hard work- the sacrifices, the people lost; they had all been a waste. She hadn't been able to bring an eternal calm; instead, the Fayth had gone back to dreaming. Sin had returned, after all.

But most importantly.. Tidus, was still a dream.

In her agonized state, Yuna dropped onto her knees and clutched her head, screaming out in frustration.