Baralai could tell something was wrong even before his keeper, his protector, entered the room. He could feel it in the air, something almost tangible, creeping up around his ankles and slowly making its way up to lift the hair on the back of his neck.
The perfume Seymour so often wore wasn't sweet anymore… today, it had a sickly smell to it, something that whispered of decay, something putrid. His footsteps weren't sure and determined. Today he almost meandered down the hall to the room below his chambers where he kept Baralai… safe.
And then there was the laughing. Soft laughter, high and unnatural, followed Seymour up the hall, entering the room before he did, and it was the laughter that sent the tingling sensation coursing over Baralai's body.
"What a remarkable turn of events." Seymour's voice echoed through the room and Baralai noticed that he seemed to be speaking more to himself. He wasn't sure Seymour even realized he was in the room. The Guado hadn't even lifted his head yet… "What an extraordinary occurrence."
Daring not to speak, or even to breathe for a long moment as Seymour made his approach, Baralai stood very quietly at the edge of the bed that Seymour had given him to sleep on in the dark chamber. He watched as the leader of the Guado, Maester of Yevon wandered around the room, pushing his long fingers with their curled blue nails through his pale blue hair. His purple eyes seemed out of focus, and from where Baralai stood, it almost appeared that the Maester wasn't breathing.
"To think that it would make so much sense to me now." Seymour whispered, turning his out of focus eyes to Baralai and grinning at him in a fashion that made the temperature in the room drop several degrees. "Yes, it would be so easy. If only I had that power."
As he moved towards the other male, Seymour staggered ever so slightly from side to side, catching himself on the bedframe and letting out another eerie laugh.
Baralai wet his lips, finding his voice at last, though he didn't dare speak very loudly.
"Maester?"
Seymour looked at him again, actually seeing him this time, the expression on his face unreadable. The smile he wore began to fade, and a new understanding crept into his face. He nodded a few times and took in a very slow breath that seemed a little too deep to be necessary.
"I have done my job protecting you, have I not?"
"O-of course, Maester. You've done-"
"I'm afraid nothing can protect you now, nothing can protect the world from what is to come. It took such drastic measures for me to see and understand the bigger picture. Now the need is even greater to capture that nightmare and harness its power as my own." Seymour's dark voice made Baralai shiver, and the younger male swallowed a few times before speaking again.
"I don't understand, Maester Seymour. What do you mean? What do you mean you can't protect me?"
Without words, Seymour reached out with another smile that this time seemed more sure, more at ease. He let his long fingers brush against Baralai's cheek and released the breath he had taken before.
An ethereal sound filled the room… soft, glowing pyreflies began to drift from Seymour's body and he began to glow and waver as though he weren't really there. Baralai stood fixed to the spot, his eyes wide…
"You're… dead!" He gasped, another soft laugh escaping Seymour's throat.
The Guado man lowered his long arm to the side and let his head hang, shoulders shaking with ever growing laughter. At last, he threw his head back and laughed without restraint, Baralai powerless to do more than stand there and stare.
Curling his hands into fists, Seymour looked up at the boy again, tilting his head to the side.
"Such is the fate of all those who live in the spiral of Death." He said gently. "I will make the world understand that it is nothing to fear. If the world dies, there will be no more suffering. I will put the world to rest, put the world at ease… with Sin's help."
He turned his back as Baralai began to splutter in disbelief, folding his hands behind him and chuckling once more.
"You can run, Baralai. You can run, but you cannot hide. Spira IS the spiral of Death. You cannot outrun your fate. But if you'd like, I'm willing to let you try."
Before he had finished speaking, Baralai was halfway to the door. His shaking hands fumbled to open it, his racing heart became so loud in his ears…
But it couldn't drown out the laughter that chased him up the hall as he left Seymour behind to marvel in his madness.