LOCATION: PENINSULA OF POWER, WORLD B.

OCCASION: SIX DAYS PRIOR TO CYCLE FOURTEEN.

YOU APPEAR TO BE UPSET, the Lord Dragon says, coming upon me. He knows my attitude, however abysmal, and my desire to leave Him, however great, will never actually override the covenant I have made, and so His mockery falls upon deaf ears. I wonder, though, what the reason for His coming here must be. Ah, and there goes His booming voice again.

WHAT TROUBLES YOU? YOUR RESOLVE HAS NOT BEGUN TO WEAKEN, HAS IT? DO YOU FEEL COMPASSION FOR THEM? WOULD YOUR HEART SOOTHE TO KNOW THAT THEY ARE JUST ROCKS? WOULD THE MYTH THAT THEY ARE AS THE MANIKINS CALM YOUR TROUBLED SEAS? WHAT WILL IT TAKE TO WRING FROM YOU THIS PATHETIC GUISE OF GUILT AND FEELING?

"This world is so serene. Beautiful and quiet. Your thunderous, garish din disturbs it."

SOON THAT SILENCE WILL FEEL WITH MUSIC. THE SYMPHONY OF SUFFERING, THE ORCHESTRA OF AGONY. THE VOICES OF THEY WHO WILL STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM AND POWER WILL FILL THE AIR, BUT DO NOT WORRY, FOR SILENCE WILL RETURN . . . WHEN I HAVE CONSUMED THEM AGAIN, AND CARRY THAT LIFE ELSEWHERE.

"So, even you have decided to end the Cycle? Have our souls ceased at last to slake your thirst?"

YOU HAVE ALL PROVEN A DANGEROUS LIABILITY, BETWEEN YOUR DREAMS AND MINE, I HAVE SEEN ENOUGH TO KNOW THAT YOU HAVE GROWN . . . UNPREDICTABLE.

"Unpredictable? Is that what you call it? I don't agree. I think you're afraid, my Lord. You are scared of us. You felt in World D what we could do, and you're worried that such a thing might yet happen here in World B. Why, Shinryu, are you scared for your life?"

STAY YOUR TONGUE, LIAR. I HAVE NEVER FEARED YOUR MEASLY STRING OF WORLDS, NOR ANY OTHER CLUSTER I HAVE COME NEAR. I HAVE BATTLED DESTRUCTION ITSELF. WHAT ARE YOU TO ME, BUT GRAINS OF WHEAT, ALL-WHITE, AND READY FOR MY HARVEST? TAKE CARE NOT TO BE AMONG THE CHAFF.

"Tall words for one who was defeated by a blade of grass."

OMEGA TOOK ME, THE GIRL WAS NOT A PART OF THAT.

"And I believe you, milord. I await eagerly to see you exact your revenge on her when the walls of World E at last expose her."

YOU KNOW FAR MORE THAN YOU SHOULD. DID YOU LEARN ALL THIS FROM CHAOS?

"No, Lord Dragon. I have been here in World B, but I have not been here alone. I have not been idle, either. I have learned much."

WHO ELSE IS HERE ALREADY? ALL THE PLAYERS ARE YET DREAMING, AREN'T THEY?

"Ah, now, that's my little secret, isn't it?"

TELL ME, OR I WILL TAKE IT FROM YOUR MIND.

"You're serious, aren't you? Very well. If you cannot guess it yourself, I've been speaking to The Manikins."

THE MANIKINS? BUT . . . HOW . . . ?

"They're not just heartless nobodies, unversed in life. In the Crystal World you saw them, didn't you? They were shades of the victims of Chaos' rampage in that realm. This Sub-Space Army, these dark interlopers, this tribe of evil. Haven't you, of all people, figured out who these beings from beyond the Rift are yet, Lord Dragon?"

I DO NOT. YOUR WORDS REEK OF MOCKERY. MAKE HASTE, WHAT ARE THE MANIKINS?

"Not what," I tell Him, "who."

But of this conversation's end I am not interested. I will leave the thoughts of The Lord Dragon behind, and should He attempt to see within me now, all He will find are memories of that first return to Heaven.

What can I say of Heaven that would convey best the way I felt when looking at it? The pearly gates, the streets paved with gold, and the endless beauty that was enough to take away your breath. Heaven was vast and eternal. It wasn't all cloud-tops and gold-streets, though. It was an expanse so long and glorious that to describe it in mere words would be folly. Imagine all the greatest wonders of nature you have ever known, all the breath-taking sights you have ever seen, and increase that ten-thousand fold. It was at once as green as it was like a sea of fire and glass. And I hated it from the moment I passed the gateway.

How can I tell you know of my emotions of that place? I loathe It more so, to be true, for I know now it was a dream devised and shared to pacify us all, a world drawn from Cid Lufaine's, and our, subconscious, and painted to keep us all distracted. Yet I hold a certain nostalgia for it. And a mania as well. Many who will awaken will never remember even a moment of that place, or what was done to bring us home.

I hold a sense of worry as well. As a resting place for the souls of the righteous, it was ideal, if ultimately corrupted by Cid's slipping grasp upon it when the Dream began to fail. What if the realm to which the dead go in World A is not so wondrous? Indeed, what if the Gods aren't, and when a man dies he ceases to be? What happens then? Perhaps it would have been better for all to remain there . . .

I strode into Heaven with my head held high. I had a mission to accomplish. I was to seek out several persons, namely Theodore Harvey, Vincent Valentine and Celes Chere. I also had a sneaking feeling I would be seeing more than just these three taken to the bowels of Hell before the end, though.

My first stop was in the City of Order, built around the very palace of the Lady Cosmos Herself. It was here that I had last heard that Cecil Harvey and his family were dwelling, and so I had hoped to meet Theodore here as well. It would likely not be a warm welcome, but I was beyond caring about that at the time. What I found there, though, would push many of my emotions further away still.

In the streets of the City of Order many angels pass one another by with nary a greeting. When one did stop to greet me, it was something of a surprise. A surprise, that is, until it caused my stomach to turn with loathing and nausea.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" The Scholar asked, flanked by the rest of Obsidian the way a young woman would be flanked by her cronies prior to bullying another girl in a cafeteria. "I thought something reeked of brimstone."

"It does wonders for the skin," I answered, "If you'd like, I know a place where you can get a great deal. I just don't know if everyone there is as obviously evil as you are."

"What's this I hear? It sounds like yet more falsities, falling from the Liar's lips." The Scholar leaned in close, "How did you even get in here? Were the guards sleeping at the gate? Traitors don't belong in Heaven."

"Yet here you are, standing before me," I replied in kind, feeling angrier as the time went by. "So, what about the rest of you?" I asked, turning to the others, "Do you still follow this man, knowing he's as corrupt and twisted as the Gods you all hate so much? And what of the lot of you? Are you all still sitting on your arses, pretending to have power all the while? Or are the rumors I've heard somehow true?"

"Rumors? Oh, is that how you get your information now? That sounds like a reliable source."

"It's better than making decisions based solely on visions you've had while staring into an artifact that drove even Gods mad."

"I don't need this. Not from the likes of you. Tell him, gentlemen, and have done. If there are any here who would follow the Liar on whatever drunken endeavor he is planning, let him speak now. As for me? I will be busy bringing about change."

None of them answered. In fact, The Wanderer and The Engineer could not even meet my eye as I stared at them in the street.

"Then that's that," I said, realizing that these men, who had once been my friends, had turned on me, abandoning me to be swept up with all the others who their plans would destroy. "Well then, may the best man win."

"What does that mean?" The Scholar asked, a note of suspicion in his voice.

"You don't think I have ceased wanting to change what is wrong, do you? Oh, no, you aren't the only man with a plan to change the world," I said.

"Is that so? I'd worry, except you're just a man, alone and pathetic. How could someone like you ever hope to effect change?"

I thought about spilling it all right there, how, at the command of The High Cid I was sent to work for Chaos, or how I was, even then, working for Chaos to overthrow all Heaven and Hell. But instead I decided to take one last kick at The Scholar, "Someone like me? Funny, I could have sworn that I once stood among the lot of you. If I am as vile as you say, I must be an excellent deceiver to have stood as one having authority in your midst. Which makes me wonder just how smart you lot really are, if 'someone like me' could so easily fool the lot of you."

The Scholar's face reddened, but, before he could say another word, I pushed by him, saying, "If you'll excuse me, I have actual business to attend to. It was fun, though, remembering how pathetic you all are."

And then I was gone. I did not look back, and I made certain my steps were wide and my pace quick. I had no interest in looking back, nor in seeing them anymore. I needed to hurry onward and face my first appointment for the day. It was one I was unlikely to enjoy, but at the moment I felt I would enjoy ruining someone else's afterlife.

Not five minutes later I came upon the home of Cecil Harvey. I have no clue what I was thinking at the time, but I recall quite literally kicking the door open. It was a horrifically rude gesture, and one I hoped sent a clear message to these Lawful-Goods that I was in no way fucking around.

Seated within was the man I was seeking, as well as his brother, sister-in-law, and one Kain Highwind. I entered with enough time to overhear the last of a conversation with Kain about his having just been dumped. If I had known how important that event was and how much that could have changed, I would have approached the entire situation differently. Ignorance, they say, is bliss. Of course, they also say no man is saved in ignorance, so there's that.

"And you are . . . ?" Cecil asked, with an expression of shock and worry.

"Golbez," I blurted, "I have come for Golbez."

"No one here goes by that name," Rosa said as sweetly as she could.

"Not presently." I said, "But I come in the name of Chaos to speak with Golbez."

"Chaos! What kind of place do you think this is, to go uttering such a name here?" Kain growled, upset in more ways than one.

"By order of Lord Chaos I am to extend a summons to Golbez. If this upsets you, take it up with him."

"You've extended your invitation, now be gone," Cecil said, his calm demeanor barely masking the terrible fury that had made him the most feared warrior in all his world. The most feared, that is, until Golbez arose.

"I did not say invitation, Ser Harvey, I said summons. Chaos' bidding cannot be ignored, not by they who have served him in ages past."

"I will not let you take my brother," Cecil answered, very, very angry.

"I don't give a damn what you think you're doing, I will take with me the one called Golbez, and if you lift a finger against me, I will have you tried for treason."

"TREASON! You're the traitor here! You're the angel working with Chaos!"

"No, I am afraid you are mistaken. Though I come in the name of Chaos to extend His summons, I do not work for Him."

"Then you are a greater fool than at first we had imagined," Kain said, "Perhaps you think yourself His ally, or that you work WITH Him and not FOR Him, but let me tell you, any who act in Chaos' favor or to His aid are as good as slaves to Him."

"Thank you for the kind words," I retorted, a smirk on my face, "But I do not fancy myself the ally or partner of Chaos. I work for one greater still, and should this farce of resistance go any further, I will act in His name instead."

"Do you think we jest? Oh, no, this is no joke, sir! We will not allow you to take Him from us."

"Then I have no choice."

"Wait," interrupted Theodore, who had, until this point, been silent. "I will go with you."

"What?" The three asked in confusion.

"This man claims he works for one mightier than Chaos still. Aside from curiosity, I have some unfinished business with Chaos myself."

"Theodore, you can't be serious."

"Save your breathe, Cecil. I do not intend to discuss this. Besides, he's right; a summons from Chaos cannot be ignored by those who have served Him in the past. This is the price I pay for having once done exactly that."

"Glad to see that at least someone here has half a brain," I mocked, enjoying too much my ruining the day.

"Know this, my friend," Theodore said, "Whatever has sent you here had better be of the utmost importance."

"Come with me," I replied with a bow, "and see for yourself."

We left at a break neck pace, with Cecil shouting after us. It didn't take more than ten minutes before Theodore grabbed my shoulder and slammed me into a wall. He was a much larger man than I'd heard, barely passing for a Hume and certainly not what you'd expect from the otherwise slender Lunarian race. On his face was an expression I could not read, and his voice far too calm for a man who had just slammed me against the wall.

"Why did you come for me?"

"Oooh, upset that your days in paradise were numbered? All good things must come to an end my friend."

"Paradise? This is my punishment. To remain forever the shadow of he whom I rejected."

"Really? To live surrounded by loved ones is your everlasting torment? You are much more brooding than I was told."

"To live surrounded by loved ones with the memory of how I have harmed them, that is the punishment."

"Is that so? And what if I told you I could give you the chance to change that?"

"I'd say you're about to make a very dangerous offer, one which you cannot possibly comprehend at this time."

"Please. Whatever you might have persuaded yourself to believe, I am only too aware of what I am doing. Don't kid yourself, Mr. Harvey. I am much more informed on this situation than you are."

"So you say, and we shall see before the end." Theodore frowned a moment, before releasing his grip and taking a step back. "Chaos summoned me for a reason. You will be divulging at least this, I assume?"

"Of course I will. You are given an offer, one you cannot refuse. Enter into covenant with the Lord thy God, the God of Chaos, to fight Fate, to set right what has been made wrong, and to rewrite history. To challenge the status quo and make life the way it should have been. This is the offer."

"In other words, Chaos wants me to fight for him, in exchange for allowing me to change the past."

"Yes, and with it comes a question: What would you do out of spite? What, by your rage, would you do? To have your revenge on all they who have wronged you, what would you do? To make history bend itself to your whims, and to make all as you envision it should be, what would you do? Would you enter into a covenant with Chaos, and fight the Lady Cosmos once more?"

Something about his face changed, something I could not understand at that time, but that I have begun to worry about since. Shinryuu said The Scholar unleashed Omega, and I have raised Chaos, but what plans Golbez had I never did discover. Perhaps they have since been undone, but the things he said next have upset me in retrospect.

"The question is not what I will do, but what I have done."