A beautiful new world. That was where the savior now lived. A warm sun shone upon lush, rolling green hills crisscrossed with roads and paths, bright red poppies blooming and turning their faces towards the warmth. The sky was a clear blue, strands of clouds passing through as if painted messily by some mighty, invisible hand.
A beautiful new world.
Lightning stood on the porch, a cold lemonade in her hand, watching as the gentle breeze slipped through the trees, rustling their leaves, letting them speak with a quiet whisper. It had been nearly three years since she had defeated Bhunivelze, three years since she had been freed from her constant defiance of fate. She now lived with Serah, who had at last married her beloved Snow, and the three of them settled down in the countryside. They had had things to work through, things that had needed to be talked about, but the fact that their hardships lay permanently in the past helped ease everyone on their path to recovery. At last, after so, so many years, everything was peaceful.
Lightning was now an aunt, her little niece, Ellia, constantly underfoot. At first, Lightning had been apprehensive, unsure of how to deal with a child. But she soon warmed up to her niece, and they would happily play together, Lightning sometimes letting the little one ride on her shoulders. Everything was at last as it should be.
At least, it was almost. As happy as Lightning was, there was always one thing nagging at the back of her mind; a small, barely noticeable shadow over her perfect life.
In another life, another story, there had been one whom she had failed to save: The chaotic being who had caused the end of the old world. The proud warrior with whom Lightning had fought for so long, whose movements were still etched into her mind. The man whose eyes had flamed with passion, the man whose face had been etched with unbearable sadness. The man who had stayed in the old world, the one who had taken her own place as the God of Death alongside the countless souls of the girls he had fought so desperately to save.
Caius Ballad.
Lightning could not grasp why she still thought of him, after all he had done. He had caused her so much pain—and yet he was as familiar as everyone else she knew. He was a part of her, whether she liked it or not, and perhaps, in her heart of hearts, she had wished for him to have another chance. A chance at a normal life that he had been cheated out of, just as she had been for so long.
For the first few months, she had not thought of him. But slowly, memories crept into her mind, memories of his strength, his passion, his single-minded resolve. Sometimes, when she saw a glimpse of violet or lavender, his face would surface in her mind, that insufferable smirk upon it. Still, as much as she thought it was absurd, she began to wish just slightly that she had been able to save him, as well.
Switching the lemonade from one hand to the other, she shielded her eyes, looking out at the vast expanse of green land, dotted with trees and patches of flowers. The clear air filled her lungs, clearing her mind. She would forget about Caius someday, she was sure. Memories faded with time.
Stepping lightly down the steps of the porch, leaving the now-empty glass on the thick railing, she wandered down the stone path that led through the garden, now full of herbs and flowers. Serah, it seemed, had quite a green thumb. Lightning plucked a few weeds from the beds and continued down the path, towards the meadow of wild grass and lavender that she had grown fond of. It was quiet there, and it smelled nice. She could be alone with her thoughts, recline on the soft ground, and rest as she had been unable to do for nearly a thousand years.
Reaching the meadow, she stretched her back, hearing it pop. She looked up at the sky, clear and blue, save for a strange trickle of smoky gray matter that seemed to reach for the ground many yards away—
Lightning stopped in her tracks, a wave of panic seizing her, trapping her muscles. She knew that substance all too well. It shouldn't be here, she thought, we left all that behind, it shouldn't be here, it shouldn't be here... She reached for the sword that wasn't there, her heart racing, nearly bursting from her chest. Her mind struggled to decide whether to run towards the gray matter or away from it, whether to retrieve her now-dull sword or to see what was creeping into this world.
Suddenly, however, the gray tendrils receded, disappearing into oblivion, and Lightning wondered if she had imagined it. Her heartbeat refused to slow, however, as she crept silently towards the spot where she thought she had seen the Chaos. There's nothing, she thought, nothing at all. I imagined it, it was nothing—
Another wave of shock interrupted her thoughts, the sight of a figure lying prone on the grass overtaking her with fear and surprise. And perhaps, if she dug deep enough, a shadow of happiness.
Caius Ballad lay peacefully on the grass, no longer wearing his close-fitting armor. Instead, he wore clothes of this world—a black tee and comparatively loose pants—and the sight was all too alien to Lightning. Even his familiar headband was gone, leaving his mane-like hair free. His flaming eyes were shut, his hands crossed over his chest, and for a moment, Lightning wondered if he were dead. Her hand came to her mouth slowly, trancelike. This must be a dream, she thought, this couldn't be happening, he couldn't be here...
Suddenly, he stirred, and Lightning fought the urge to flee. She stood dumbfounded as her old enemy sat up slowly in the grass, seeming not to see her, rubbing his face with the heel of his hand. Snow had been hungover a few times, and Caius's bizarre state reminded her just of that. Her tongue was trapped as she watched the man blink, and she prepared herself for anything. Almost anything.
"Who are you?" The words echoed through Lightning's ears, words she least expected to hear from this man whose voice was all too familiar.
"W-what?" she stuttered, clasping and unclasping her fist.
"Who are you? And where am I? What am I doing here? It does not look familiar..." Caius spoke groggily, as if he were only half awake. Lightning could only stare, gawking like a fish. This man, her nightmare for so long, and yet her small wish, was sitting awkwardly beneath her, with no memory of her or what had happened between them.
"I will not ask again," he said, a more familiar dangerous edge creeping into his voice. "Who are you?"
"I'm Lightning," she blurted. "Lightning Farron."
His eyes grew wide. "Agh—!" He pressed his hands to his forehead, his face contorted in pain. Lightning jumped at his cry of agony. "What did you do to me?" he growled, looking up at her. "It felt as though someone seared my head with fire. And you are the only one here."
"I... I don't know!" she said aggressively. "I don't know what you're doing here, Caius! You weren't supposed to be here, you were gone forever..."
Caius looked at her with such a confused expression that, had she not been so shaken, she could have laughed.
"Gone forever? I do not know what you mean. And how do you know my name?" he said suspiciously. He furiously massaged his temples. "My head aches, and I have no memory of anything from the past few days. I remember going on a hunt with fellow warriors of my tribe, preparing for a feast I... did not know the reason for... and now I find myself in this unknown land, with you telling me I shouldn't be here. I need an explanation."
Lightning was struck silent once more. The last thing he remembered was hunting with his tribe? How long ago must that have been? And he had not once mentioned Yeul, something that was highly unlike him.
There was no way Lightning could explain everything. She didn't have the words nor the time to fill in the thousands of years worth of blank pages in Caius's memory. So she decided to fabricate a story she hoped was plausible.
"You fell into a deep sleep," she said, the words already sounding ridiculous. "Your tribe kept you safe in a shrine for hundreds of years, and in that time, the world has changed. There's no more Cocoon, no more Fal'Cie, no more gods. We now live in a world made for humanity."
Caius's expression of distrust gripped Lightning's heart. Was her story believable? Could the lies fill in some of the blank pages?
"I have... been asleep?" he said uneasily.
"Yes," said Lightning. "Though I don't know how you ended up here." Caius, seeming just to have realized he was still sitting, stood up, looking at himself in confusion. He was a great deal taller than Lightning, his broad shoulders dwarfing her in comparison.
"I feel strangely," he said, examining the material of his shirt. "As if I have lost something great. As if I bear a heavy burden, though I do not know what."
Lightning chewed her lip. "You lost a lot of time during your... sleep. With it, you lost your old life. Maybe that's what you feel."
Caius's face darkened, an expression of sadness coming over it. "Yes, that must be so," he said, looking at his fist. "I am... out of place, now. I will not understand this changed world, if it is as you claim. I am... at a loss for action."
The uncertainty she heard in his voice was as alien to her as the sight of his new clothes. He had always had a resolve stronger than steel, one that could topple worlds. But, she realized, this was a different Caius from the one she knew. This one had somehow had his thousands of years of baggage erased from his memory, and now all he thought was that he had been sleeping. Lightning wasn't even sure if he knew about Yeul anymore.
"Who... do you remember?" she ventured.
"What do you mean?" he said, looking at her distrustfully.
"I mean, who do you remember from before you woke up? Perhaps I can... help you." Lightning didn't know what she was saying, but at this point, she was curious.
Caius looked down at her as if she were crazy. "I... remember my father, Giras, and my mother, Myra. My friends Evan and Ara... and someone else." He added the last part uncertainly, again massaging his temples. "Although I... cannot remember who it was."
Lightning was baffled. His memory of Yeul was gone. The memory of the girl he had destroyed an entire world to save had somehow been wiped from his mind. She found herself wondering what sort of man he would be now that he didn't suffer from those memories. Would he still be as ferocious as before, as prideful and resolute? Or had he been completely different before he had been subjected to fate's merciless hand? Lightning didn't know, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to.
"Don't strain yourself," she said slowly. "If you can't remember, then it doesn't matter."
Caius's expression was an unknown mixture of confusion, distrust, and uncertainty. "If you say so," he said, looking away from her and out across the fields of lavender that were the same shade as his eyes. "Tell me, Lightning Farron," he continued, looking back at her. "I do not know where I am, nor how I ended up here. If what you say is true, that I fell into a deep sleep and was placed in a shrine, then how did I come to find myself in a meadow?"
Lightning gulped, chewing her lip. "I... don't know," she said honestly. "I really have no idea. I'm sorry."
Caius's piercing gaze made her feel small. "If you are withholding knowledge from me, than I will find out what that knowledge is," he said, the familiar, threatening edge back to his voice. In a strange way, it almost calmed Lightning. There was still some of his old self in there.
She met his gaze unshrinkingly. "Caius, I swear to you, I don't know how you came to be here. If I did, I'd tell you. I don't have any reason to keep that from you."
He looked at her so sharply and shrewdly that she felt violated, but finally, he sighed. "I do not know if I should, but for the meantime, I will believe you, only because I have no other choice nor knowledge." Once again, he peered across the rolling waves of grass and lavender, the soil that Lightning never thought he would touch. "Now, since you appear to know more about me than I do, do you also know of a place for me to stay until I sort out what has happened?"
Lightning froze. "Er..." she stuttered. "Maybe. For the time being, though, I suppose..." She trailed away, unsure of where she was going. Where was he going to stay? It wasn't as if he could just barge in on her and her family's home... S
ighing, she brushed her hair back from her face. "Maybe I should talk to my sister. She would know more than I would about temporary residences."
"Where does she live?" he asked. Lightning blinked. This was all so strange.
"She, her husband and daughter, and I all live together just down this path. It isn't far." She looked away from her old enemy for the first time since he had appeared, glancing in the direction of her home. What would Serah think? How would she and Snow react to Lightning showing up with the man who had caused them so many nightmares? Immediately she felt guilty, but what else was there to do? Somehow, she sensed that this Caius didn't mean any harm, and she was too empathetic to just abandon him. Taking a deep breath, she gestured to the path. "Follow me," she said, walking briskly down it. She glanced back at him, making sure he was following, and continued, trying to stay far ahead of him. His long strides quickly caught up to her, and soon they were nearly side by side, walking in silence, both of their minds consumed by fear and uncertainty.
Hey, this is the author! Thanks for taking the time to read this new fic! It's been in the works for months, but I was focusing on my other story, A Story's Beginning, so I'm just now starting to post chapters. I will likely reference a few ideas from that fic, so if you'd like to see what I've already done with Caius, go ahead and check it out! Anyway, I've been meaning to write a real Cairai fic for months, and with the release of Lightning Returns, I finally ended up starting one. Also, a quick note: This fic will not be taking into account the events of the novella, as I started writing it before the novella was released, so take that into consideration! Thanks for reading! :)