Kuja's breath echoed off the dark stonewalls of what looked to be a prison cell. He had no idea what he was doing there, but had to break out of this place. The sorcerer focused his magical energy into a single attack; flare. He aimed at the far end of his cell and released it, watching as the magic hit the wall and vanished. But that wasn't what surprised Kuja most; it was the fact that he knew his magic was no longer as strong as it once was and he suddenly felt tired. What happened?

Kuja gasped, the air burning his lungs. His legs felt weak and he dropped to his knees, his pulse pounding across his temples. He wiped an arm across his eyes and licked his dry lips. This was impossible, he thought.

"It won't work," said a cold, indifferent voice from behind the sorcerer.

Kuja's eyes snapped in the direction of the voice. In the pale moonlight that shone down from the tiny window, Kuja noticed a man cloaked in darkness. The only thing he could see was the man's bright, startling green eyes, which flashed up at Kuja.

"What did you say?" Kuja asked, getting back on his feet.

"It won't work," the man said simply. "Because you're not really here."

Kuja paused a moment and looked around. "You mean this is a dream?"

"Your body is sleeping," he explained, "but I'm sending you this message from Alexandria prison."

Kuja glared at the cloaked figure. "Why? Who are you?"

The man chuckled. "I think the question here should be who are you?" The man pointed a black leather gloved finger in the sorcerer's direction. "You are no longer the same man you were three years ago. Have you forgotten who you are? Your purpose?"

"I am Kuja of Terra!" he hissed. "My purpose died the day Zidane was created. I am merely a broken toy cast aside by my creator! I have no purpose anymore!"

"Then wouldn't you like to create a new purpose for yourself?" the figure asked and Kuja could've swore he heard a familiar accent in his voice.

Kuja opened his mouth to speak but his mind raced with the thoughts of the nomads. His new purpose was to keep them safe? Right? They saved his life after all? No, that wasn't it. What was it?

"Don't tell me you think your purpose is to be with those nomads!" the figure cackled. "Kuja, the first Angel of Death, has a soft spot and cares for others? After all I heard about you, I thought you were the vain, narcissistic type."

Kuja bit his lip to hold back from shouting. Though he could not see the figure's face, he knew the man was smiling smugly.

"Is this some kind of joke you're playing at?" the cloaked figure asked vehemently. "You want redemption, so you pretend that you're a changed man and that you actually care for those pitiful beings of Gaia? Is that it?" The figure cackled again.

"You know nothing!" Kuja spat.

"Garland had marked out your life before your birth," the figure hissed. "You tried to break away from him and create your own path, trying to follow your own inclination." The bright green eyes flickered in Kuja's direction. "And you failed." The cloaked figure stood up suddenly. "In truth, you should've died that day in the Iifa Tree. Your brother should've died too. There was no way for you both to escape the Iifa Tree's prison."

"Then how did I wind up on the shore?"

"Because of me," he replied.

Thoughts crept into Kuja's mind, as cold as the air, which filled the prison cell. His heart raced with trepidation. Kuja opened and clenched his hands into fists, feeling desperate and empty.

"Using the dregs of souls which still lingered at the bottom of the Iifa Tree," the man began, "I was able to extend your life. I left you on the shore, knowing that two nomads were heading in that direction and would find you." The man began to circle around Kuja. "With my remaining energy, I took your brother to Daguerreo to recover."

"If you're a good guy," Kuja started, "then why are you rotting in this cell in Alexandria?"

The figure stopped suddenly and gazed up at the soft moonlight shining down on him from the window. "Because of Garland."

Kuja's heart felt as if it had sunk in his chest. "Garland?"

"Listen to me, Kuja," the figure turned to face the sorcerer, "Garland is not dead and not all is as it seems…"

"Where's Zidane?" Kuja interrupted.

"Here in Alexandria," the figure replied, "with his beloved Queen. He arrived about a week ago. I haven't much time to explain…"

"Where's Garland?" Kuja growled.

The figure shook his cloaked head. " I do not know." The figure took a step towards Kuja. "Garland created you so that there could only be one thing which you were fitted to be; a murderer." Kuja felt the figure's piercing stare and looked up to face him. "Yet, you offer hope. You are not a mindless puppet of Garland and you can avoid the purpose Garland had intended for you if you so desired."

There came a nervous tingling sensation in Kuja's arms and the sorcerer noticed the cloaked man tense. The figure's eyes began looking around the cell as if searching for something. Then suddenly, he froze.

"What's going on?" Kuja asked.

The green eyes flashed towards Kuja. "Look out!"

Suddenly there came a loud shrill scream and Kuja was wrapped in darkness.

Kuja's eyes snapped open to the sound of screaming and roaring flames outside his caravan. The sorcerer's heart pounded in his ears as he flung aside the covering of the caravan and jumped out. Flames danced around the nomad's campsite, consuming everything and strange shadowy wolf-like creatures were attacking the nomads who tried to flee. It was as if the creatures used the fire to trap the nomads into coming toward the shadowy creatures.

Left and right Kuja could hear the growling beasts and the screams of nomads who fell into the trap. The sorcerer immediately focused his magic and made a run towards the next closest caravan. He peaked around the edge and heard the screams of children huddled under a caravan fifty feet away. The sorcerer immediate began to run to them when a pair of gold eyes caught the sorcerer's attention.

The wolf-like creature moved around him, eyes blazing. The creature approached the sorcerer and then vanished, appearing behind Kuja until the sorcerer turned to face it, before disappearing again.

"Why don't you attack, beast!" Kuja shouted. His hands twitched, ready for the precise moment to strike.

The sorcerer then saw the creature take form against the fires, which surrounded the camp. The creature was of the purest black with broad shoulders and large soundless paws. Its teeth were bared and dripping with saliva. It emitted a heat-stopping growl, which made the ground tremor.

Suddenly, a silver blade sliced downward, faster than Kuja's eyes could follow and went right through the creature, getting stuck in the ground beneath it. Kaayin stood there dumfounded for a moment. The blade went right through the beast as if it were made of air.

"Kaayin get out of the way!" Kuja yelled.

The creature raised its large paw to strike as Kuja released a shock of energy, which made the creature bound away several hundred feet in seconds.

"What's going on?" Kuja shouted over the roaring flames.

"I don't know!" Kaayin shouted back, pulling his sword from the ground. "They came out of nowhere!" He spotted the children huddled under the caravan and turned to Kuja. "Look after them, I'm going to look for the Elder and Aliiza!"

And with that, he was gone. Kuja took several steps towards the caravan when all of a sudden the beast attacked him from behind, pinning the sorcerer down on the ground. Kuja gasped as the air exploded from his lungs, the creatures weight on his chest. He struggled for a moment, gathering energy before placing his shaking hands on the creature's monstrous chest and launching a flare attack. The creature fell lifelessly on the ground beside him and Kuja, struggling to catch his breath, got to his feet.

"Kuja!" a quivering voice called.

The sorcerer lowered his blood-splattered head at the child clutching his leg. "Talia get back!" he shouted, "it's not safe!"

The little girl reluctantly let go and moved back towards the caravan with the other children. By this time, several of the adults had made it to the safe caravan and clutched the children tightly, trying to calm them with tears in their eyes.

In the corner of his eye, Kuja spotted another one of the creatures bent over a dead nomad, tearing away flesh. Its fangs, dripping with blood, tore into the victim, ripping chunks of flesh away. Not far away, another creature raised its black head and stepped away from a lifeless chocobo and roar as if issuing a challenge and Kuja answer the challenge with palms raised, casting spells in their direction, extinguishing the flames and lighting up the camp with his own residual magical energy.

He hunted down every single one until all that was left was silence.