Final Fantasy Original Story

- L E G A C Y -

By Kendoka

Prologue

The beauty of life…

A man sits by a waterfall in the forest, meditating. Dressed in a blue keikogi covered with a black haori with a black hakama, appropriate for a Japanese swordsman, his dark hair blows serenely in the wind, bathed in the light of the moon. The sheathed katana protruding from his left side seems to glow under the light of the stars. The man slowly opens his eyes, golden like the sun. A single, delicate sakura petal descends gently from above, towards the man.

There lies death.

As the petal becomes centimeters away from touching the ground, a soft purple light is emitted from above. The petal is suspended, hovering closely above the ground. It floats up as gently as it descended, accompanied by the already fallen leaves and stones. They rise above the top of the waterfall, then shatter into dust.

The man rises from his seated position. He raises his eyes to the waterfall, then disappears with a gust of wind. His feet land softly on the cliff above the waterfall, scattering leaves, rocks, and dirt. He opens his eyes and stares at the source of the purple light.

The light of the sun…

Another man dressed in a white keikogi covered by a navy haori with a navy hakama stands before him. His long silver hair moves violently in the wind. He stands in the center of the light, an intense look in his golden eyes. The man returns the silver haired warrior's intense gaze, and emits an aura of blue light. They stare at each other for a long time, their spirits raging, the lights growing stronger and stronger. The black haired warrior extends his right leg about a single stride's width, his legs shoulder width apart, and crouches slightly. He places his left hand on the scabbard of his sword, the thumb on the sword's guard. He slowly moves his right hand to the hilt. The silver haired warrior draws his long katana, called a nodachi, and brings the sword to a horizontal position near his left ear.

Shadows are cast.

The warriors look upon each other with eyes full of determination. Then they smirk. The lights rage even higher, and flash with a blinding brightness. Then, the lights were gone, replaced by the blackness of the night. The only light is the gleam of the silver haired warrior's long weapon as he charges forward. He twists his hands into a position which allows him to diagonally cut the left side of the other warrior's head. He steps in with his left leg and the nodachi flashes as it is brought down upon the right side of the other's head. The black-haired warrior draws his sword from its sheath with blinding speed, deflecting the cut attempted on his head. He dashes in trying to get within reach of his nodachi-armed opponent. Almost within reach, he grips his katana with two hands preparing to swing. His attack is ceased as the long sword comes flying from the side, trying to cut his head off. He blocks the attack, and spins around to the opposite side in order to counter attack with a cut to the back of his opponent's neck. The counter is foiled as he is hit in the solar plexus by the other man's hilt, and is sent flying through the air with a kick to the head.

The serene and tender earth…

Flying through the air with blood dripping from his mouth, the man flips backwards and is suspended for a while by a short gust of wind. He lunges toward his opponent, who in turn makes an upward swing. He swings his sword downward in order to deflect the upward swing of his opponents long blade, and uses the momentum to flip behind him. With his back toward his enemy, he quickly turns around and attempts to finish him with a diagonal slash to his body starting from the shoulder. His adversary senses this and moves forward, receiving a shallow cut on his back. The long-haired warrior stumbles forward.

Blood's lingering scent.

The silver-haired swordsman turns his back away from the ground as he falls forward, making a desperate counter attack. He grazes his opponent's shoulder, then swipes the ground with such force that it sends him flying upward, then landing safely on his feet. Both warriors gaze upon each other with admiration, respect, and determination. The wind blows stronger and stronger as they resume their stance. The wind becomes a violent storm as the heavens rain thunder and lightening. The earth shakes violently under their feet as the foundation of the ground is raised to the sky.

The ideals of a nation…

People in nearby towns and cities watch in horror at the destruction taking place. Their houses are uprooted and their land is scorched by fire. Parents grab their children and run away from what seems to be the heart of this storm. Lovers hold each other tightly as they flee from the destruction. Escape is the only thing on their minds for they feel the destruction that they witness can not only take their lives, but destroy their soul itself. They are shaken to the very core of their being. So they run away, without any clear destination. All they know is that they do not want to be anywhere near the strange light.

The death of its people.

However, one walks the other way. A beautiful young woman solemnly walks towards the light, towards the source of destruction. She clasps a gem to her heart as she serenely enters the forest that contains the source of the destruction. Tears brim up in her eyes, but she is determined to remain strong. She disappears within into the forest.

Katsujin no Ken (The sword that gives life)…

The two warriors charge at each other with blinding speed. Metal flashes and sparks as it is being violently slammed against each other. Their clothes are stained with blood, both their own and their enemy's. Suddenly, the warrior wielding the katana leaps to the air. The lightning flashes violently and is gathered together at the man's sword. The nodachi-wielding warrior touches his blade to the earth, emitting geysers of lava from it. The earth trembles violently and the landscape is destroyed.

The young woman emerges from the edge of the forest. Her hair and her clothes flap violently from the wind, but she seems unaffected by the destruction she now beholds. She continues to move closer, clasping the gem to her heart.

Satsujin no Ken (The sword that takes life).

The earth and the heavens roar with fury. They scream out in rage. The woman moves closer and closer. Then the earth and the heavens become one. The woman comes closer, gem clasped tightly to her heart. A single tear falls from her eyes. Then, she too becomes one with the heavens and the earth.

Author's Notes: Hey peepz, this is my first fanfic ever so be lenient and only say good things about it ^_^ Just kidding, I need constructive comments the most. I know it all seems very vague, but this is only the prologue, and things will be explained further in the story. I posted the prologue only for two reasons. One of them was to test out how to use Fanfiction.net and the other was to see comments early on and further expand my chance of writing something actually competent *lol*

Well, please leave any commentary, good or bad or both! And I just wanna say thanks to Tidus and his great original story "Final Fantasy: Destiny of Fate" for some of the inspiration I got.

(BTW, if you're wondering about that pathetic poem in there, the one in the italics, It was just a poem I had to do for my History class, and since I wanted to be original and abstain from using songs or other poetry, I thought it might fit)