When my vision cleared, I almost did a double-take.
I was in the city of Bevelle. Or at least what was left of it.
The once beautiful city was completely destroyed, only ruins of even the temple which housed Bahamut and the larger buildings remained.
Color was gone here, too.
Not a sound echoed throughout the city. The wind was nonexistent, the sound of the summer breeze absent from this depressing world.
"This isn't a paradox. This is an alternate reality." I realized after some thought. Slender Man's attack on Spira can't have happened yet.
Crystaaaaaallll…
I heard the faint echo bounce around the city, and immediately traced it to the temple. Most people would know as the place that Seymour "married" Yuna before Jager's tampering with the timelines.
I set off through the city, sprinting and jumping over rubble as I quickly climbed to the very top of the temple of Bevelle.
As I made the last jump, I let out a cry of pain and slammed into the ground. Omnem's blood was poisoning me beyond my threshold for pain.
My normally red eyes were flickering bright golden yellow, and I felt my body convulsing. I didn't have much time.
"…Crystal…it has been too long…" I looked up, and there he was.
Abraham. At least, I thought it was him.
A makeshift throne of rubble was built at the edge of the cliff, where Yuna had made her historic fall that was halted by Valefor.
"Abraham…?" I whispered in a confused voice.
He stood, and then I saw it.
Abraham's skeleton was on the throne, the remnants of his tattered cloak and his eyepatch easily recognizable.
The being that stood before me was not him.
"Hunger." I realized with a faint whisper.
"For so long did he resist me. But longer still did he resist his feelings for you." Hunger, an embodiment of human misery, stood over me mockingly.
He wore the same white mask and the black cloak that Abraham did, but he was over nine feet tall. I noticed the Zodiac Spear was hung on the throne, just above the skeleton's head.
"…Feelings?" I mumbled weakly.
"Oh, yes…how can we not love our creator in some way? His feelings were stronger than any others…stronger even than Elijah's and the demon's. Somewhere in that shriveled husk of humanity was the poor fool that fell in love with you. How sad." His voice dripped with venom, and I gritted my teeth.
"…You…bastard." I coughed, spitting blood upon the stone walkway.
"You would know, mom…but now…the question is…what to do with you?" The monster began pacing about.
"What happened here?" I fell back, clutching my stomach.
"Poor, poor Abraham. You failed to save him from Elijah, so he let me in…just a little bit. And then I took more. And more…I consumed both the Triumvirate, his allies, and even you. Slender Man's barrier was unable to hold against me once I consumed much of the land, allowing me to consume him as well. With your death, unfortunately…I was unable to do anything further. I'm trapped here. Your other self's last revenge. But that all changes now…with you." He explained with a gleeful tone to his voice.
"How so?" I gasped, and attempted to lift my swordstaff. Despite the extremely light nature, I was unable to even budge it.
"You can help me escape. You WILL help me escape. And then you will die." He finished with an evil laugh.
I felt helpless. I was helpless.
"You're not going to escape this place that easily." I mocked him, coughing more blood upon the ground.
"Oh yes I will. You don't even have any of the powers needed to open the portal to the Void, so why bother? You're weakening by the minute, and you haven't even killed any of the Triumvirate aside from Omnem. Why bother fighting?" He wheedled, letting out a broad laugh.
But then I remembered the Spear. What it was made for.
"…You would know, wouldn't you? So, how did it end, Hunger? Your Spear into him, or something like that?" I asked as casually as I could, eying the glowing silver weapon as I did.
"Of course I did. It was more than powerful enough to kill the faceless bastard, and his death supercharged it. It's strong enough to kill a god now. You think I wouldn't go unprepared?"He chuckled in a conceited tone.
I smiled back at him to avert his suspicion.
"Have you ever considered the fact that Abraham might still be tied to you?" I changed the subject quickly, my strength returning. I felt my body healing from the agonizing strain.
Just in time.
"That's an interesting question—WHAT!?" Just as he realized what I meant, I rose my hand and summoned the Spear.
It pierced the Embodiment of Hunger, and I caught the supercharged weapon.
"YOU STUPID BITCH!" I slammed the Baronocompaso into his Masked face while he was too shocked to react, and began summoning my portal.
He tripped over the throne and fell over, grasping my leg as he dangled from the edge. I gave him a wide smile, and I saw his red eye widen even further.
"Go to hell, where you belong." I gave him a bolt of lightning from the Zodiac Spear, sending his electrocuted and screaming body into the misty abyss.
Just before I went through the newly summoned portal, I held out my hand.
"Hurry up, hurry up, hurry up!" I let out an impatient demand as a blackened purple crystal formed in my hand.
Hunger reappeared just as I stepped into the portal, and I gave him a cheerful wave as it closed right before he could get to me.
I gripped the darkened crystal, which I knew to be the Essence of Betrayal, and the Zodiac Spear in my hands. I held my swordstaff with the Spear in my right hand, and I noticed how strong I was suddenly becoming.
I was able to do more than I'd ever done with my strength, and I'm sure my magic abilities had been augmented just as powerfully.
I rushed through the hallways, trying to locate Abraham and the others with my sensing powers, and finally found the door.
The final door. I knew I would likely never come back if I went through there, but I didn't have a choice.
It had to end…and now.
I stepped through the portal.
