Chapter I

"Are you sure, Yuna?" Paine's voice broke the icy cold silence that has since lingered (as the White Fangs' pyreflies loitered in their immediate surrounding).

Paine's question was met with a solid nod from the ex-High Summoner.

"Yes, I'm sure."

In front of them lay a figure of an incapacitated man. His face burrowed in the icy snow. His tattered clothes served as stark evidence of the fiends' rampage. Blood stained the snow and ice beneath the lean figure. They could not make out any more of his physical features as his body was rife with fresh wounds that only reminded them of the brutality of the fiends that have now permeated Spira.

They could see clearly that he had pale white skin—albeit unsure if it was just the snow or lack of blood.

They could only imagine the pain that he was in. If he was still alive, that is.

Rikku approached the man's body and pressed her fingers on his neck; checking to see a pulse. Or any indication, at the very least. She shivered once her fingers were burrowed in the snow. It didn't help that a cold gust made its way through the sides of Mt. Gagazet. (Or the fact, that she is scantily dressed.)

"Hmm. At least he's alive," Rikku said, her voice devoid of any form of enthusiasm that seemed to be ever present in the young Al Bhed thief. Needless to say, she was sombre.

The man was alive, yes. But barely. With the condition he was in, he was, as Paine had put it casually, half-dead. Nonetheless, as far as the warrior was concerned, he was as good as dead.

And what good was a dead man to them anyway?

"Oooh," Rikku let out a worried sound, "Yunie, we can't just leave him here like this!" She put out her arm to emphasise the point she was making but her gaze was mostly focussed on Paine; clearly, the man's condition was worthy of pity.

Paine let out a hoarse 'hmph'. Yuna and Rikku tried their best to ignore their companion's aloofness and her supposed approach to the situation. They knew better than to provoke the crimson-eyed warrior out of her demeanour. Even so, they knew that they wouldn't get any response that they would like to hear.

Out of the corner of the warrior's eye, her gaze lingered on the sword lying not far from the body. It was like nothing that she has encountered over Spira—an indication that this man seemed to be from somewhere… distant. It was a thin and slender blade unlike hers or the swords that she had seen; although it was long, she didn't think much of its strength. The scabbard was imprinted with strange signs that she did not recognise. Nonetheless, the cup-shaped hilt adorned with unfamiliar signs was mostly what caught her attention. It was embellished with what seemed like metal rings as if to protect the hand wielding the sword. What made Paine grimace at the sight was the fact that the rings surrounding the hilt were garnished with thorns.

Out of mere curiosity, she crouched to pick it up.

No wonder this man was easily crushed by the fiends. This is nothing but a twig. Useless.

As she touched the hilt, trying to avoid the thorns, she felt an unexpected yet tremendous surge of grief flowing through her. It travelled from one end to the other. She felt an incredible amount of sadness being freed within her; memories of the carnage that she only associated with her past. It was as if the sword had its own… feelings and memories.

"Please! Erik! Stop!" she heard a young woman's voice cry out to her. She felt her desperation but something within her stopped her from moving a limb.

Who was Erik? Who was this woman now standing in front of her? She noticed the carnage surrounding her, numerous lifeless bodies lying on the ground—blood splattered everywhere, it was messy; but her eyes was fixed on the exquisite beauty of the woman—a welcoming sight amidst the massacre. She was the only one left alive, so it seemed.

Without any second thought, she felt her hand thrust the sword through the woman's body. Try as she might to stop the inevitable, she couldn't move. An incredible flow of force inside of her was too strong to ignore. She felt warm blood flow down her skin. The whole length of the blade pushed through the frail figure before her.

She looked intently at the young woman. The warrior could see her eyes let out a tear. Her crimson eyes looked gloomy… and desperate.

Desperate to stop the bloody massacre of her people.

Red eyes… she has the same shade of crimson eyes as I do. Who is she?

"Er..ik," with one last breath she moved her hands to cup her face. Paine felt remorse, guilt, sorrow, misery… all too much for her liking. But they were all gone in a flash. The stoic warrior almost felt her knees buckle beneath her.

The next thing she knew she was laughing. But it wasn't her voice that she heard, it was someone else's. That of a man.

That of a man whose thirst for power had led him to kill… she felt something within him beg for more souls to devour.

"Dr. P!" Rikku was frantically waving her hands to catch Paine's attention.

Rikku's voice snapped her back to Mt. Gagazet. Her stare intense—as if waiting for her to answer something.

"Hm?"

She realised that she has now let go of the hilt. Although she was still crouching on the ground.

What the heck was that?

"You okay?"

What happened next seemed too much for Paine. She felt wetness over her cheeks. She looked up and felt Rikku's stare intrusive. The feelings of immense sorrow and guilt stayed with her. As if she had just slain the person she had loved the most.

Confusion flowed within her. She wasn't even sure what she just saw.

Thankfully, Rikku's stare was momentarily interrupted before she could process that tears were running down the warrior's cheeks. Yuna shifted from one foot to the other.

The brunette thought for a split second and just as quickly as she contemplated the situation before them, she made up her mind.

Her head motioned a nod. Although answering to no one in particular this time.

"Yes, we will not leave this poor man alone out in this freezing mountain… Besides, we could use another muscle around the airship!"

"Yeah! The more the merrier, yes, Yunie?" Rikku enthusiastically jumped up and down.

To this, Paine let out a sigh; surrendering to her companions' naiveté. She knew all too well the futility of this situation.

"Yea. Add in another useless one. He doesn't look like he's keen on housekeeping to me," the warrior rolled her eyes but surrendered anyway.

Whatever Yuna did, she did not dare question it. It wasn't a matter of her being an ex-High Summoner or the saviour of Spira. It was something else. Although, as to what that something exactly was, Paine could not yet fathom.

And what were those flashing memories? She felt another tingle travel through her spine as her mind wandered to the monstrosity of the flashbacks that she had seen from touching his sword. Or was it his? Who was he? What were all of those bodies?

Who was that woman with the crimson eyes? What were all of those feelings welling up inside of her?

There was something about this stranger that she could not trust yet she was curious to find out.

Something about the sword… especially the memories associated with it.