Crumbling

Disclaimer: Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII does not belong to me.

Set before Lightning is awoken from her crystal sleep.

Caius Ballad sat on his eternal throne; the smug victory over the warrior goddess had long since grown stale. The centuries had stretched on, bearing down on him with immense soul-crushing pressure, and forcing him to see the error of his ways. He had watched his once happy and vibrant Yeul—the only happy and vibrant Yeul, the last of them—wilt underneath the sorrow. She no longer smiled at him, for him, or even at all. Her once expression filled face had become like the others—blank. Her green eyes that once sparkled with love and happiness were filled with sadness and loneliness. She seemed sadder than any of the others.

The girls seemed to have bound together around her; their tender hearts were still alive even in this dark, desolate place. 500 AF Yeul, whose trust he had worked so hard to build, had turned her back on him. Her eyes were even colder than when he had first introduced himself. He could feel her anger and her scorn pulsing against him like a jagged heartbeat. This whole situation cut him deeper, hurt him more, than any blade was ever capable. The Yeuls were becoming mere shadows of the women they had been. 500 AF Yeul was the constant companion of the last Yeul. The others occupied different areas of the Temple, but those two were always together-watching the world through the flickering film of Chaos.

"You wish to speak with him," 500 AF Yeul said quietly to her incarnation. Him. His name was never spoken out of fear of hurting her more, but all Yeuls either knew him or knew of him. Noel Kreiss, the man who had loved and cherished them in their last life, the man who had looked upon them with love even in their own lifetimes.

400 AF Yeul could recall the feel of his hand in hers as he helped her stand. His blue eyes had been so filled with love and affection that she wished for a moment she could be the Yeul he needed. His horror when she had been ripped away from him, his drive to reach her…

"Yeul! Yeul, why?!" He had demanded of her; the raw pain in his tone had torn at her heart and hurt worse than the tentacle of the Cie'th had when it pierced through her ribs. Her answer had been unsatisfactory. "But why?!" He had demanded again; still pained. She hadn't wanted to say it. To tell him that it was because of them, but the woman-Serah-had done it for her. In those last moments of her life, she had felt so many emotions. Emotions she had not felt in life. He had begged for her to life, to hold on just a little while longer. He had loved her even in death, even after knowing that she wasn't Yeul he had loved. It had all been so heartwarming that she daresay she had lost her heart to him that night in Academia.

200 AF Yeul could still recall the way he had held her when they first met, gently yet firmly. The shock and love in his eyes still touched her heart each time, just as the expression he had made when she had to tell him she wasn't the Yeul he had known. Then in Augusta Tower...he had reacted to her smile. That look of awe and love in his eyes made her feel better, made her feel…sure. She would be loved in the future. She would have an almost normal life. She could die with no regrets, no fear if it meant she would find love like his and be happy. So, for this to have happened, for her guardian to have done this…she was enraged. And each time she looked to the last of them, her rage only built. She had been a ray of light through the darkness when she had arrived here, trying to keep their spirits up. All of that had changed when Serah died and the Chaos flooded the realm. Earth had become just another extension of Valhalla. Time touched no one and past regrets lingered on.

The last of them was forced to watch as the man she loved was darkened by the Chaos around him. The Chaos that had come from their souls. The fracturing and splintering of so many personalities and wants...just so that the next one in line could be their own person and have no memories of their past life. It was amazing to 200 AF Yeul that the last of them felt no hate or anger. That could be because the last Yeul still held most of their soul. She remained intact while they were splintered and broken. Yet, they felt no jealousy. For the last Yeul was them, who they had become.

"Yes," she whispered. Her voice was filled with pain and sadness as she watched him sit down in front of the Oracle Drive once again just to see her face. He stared at the vision; his blue eyes cherished the short glimpse of her he had been awarded on that flowing screen. Her heart cracked just a little more in her chest as it always did when she saw the longing and sadness in his eyes. The centuries were breaking him, piece by piece. 'How long until he has nothing left?' Her traitorous mind whispered. She wrapped her arms around her chest as if the pressure could stop her heart from breaking.

"Yeul…" He whispered her name. The one syllable was filled with so much longing, so much pain, and so much love…her attempts at keeping her heart together, at keeping the pain at bay proved futile. The pain bloomed from her chest and overtook her. Chaos flooded around her being, attracted by her pain and the uselessness she felt. A tear sliced through the flickers of Chaos around her and dripped onto the dirty Temple floor.

Caius and the other Yeuls could do nothing but watch as the last of them crumbled to the floor. Her slight frame could no longer bear the pain of the centuries, the heaviness of two broken heart, and the unsatisfied longing in her soul. Her pale knees struck the floor and she curled in on herself. Her arms held her stomach tightly. Her long, blue hair hung down like a curtain, shielding her pained face and crying eyes from their view. Her tears created streaks of clean stone on the dirty Temple floor. Chaos curled around her in waves, mocking and relishing her pain.

A/N: I believe Noel touched (emotionally) all of the Yeuls he encountered and gave them so sense of peace. That's why 400 and 500 AF Yeul are included in this. It must have been hard for Yeul (Noel's Yeul) to go through the centuries, knowing Noel was hurting and knowing that her promise was going unfulfilled. I imagine she had moments of doubt and just soul-crushing sadness like this.

Thank you for reading to this point and I hope you enjoyed it.