Just a note, as of last chapter, this story is the longest I've ever written, and as of this chapter is over 70,000 words! And I don't think I'm even half done!

As promised, a surprised guest in this chapter. The chapter is a bit shorter otherwise.

EDIT - A flashback part of the chapter wasn't properly noted, the site removed the coding. If you're reading this, it has been fixed.

Shards of Memory

Chapter 11

The Eternal Cycle

"I feel pity for those fools that prayed for the annihilation of evil. Their efforts are worthy, but nonetheless still futile."– Alfredo Balgua

"You need not worry for him. His spirit is strong, he will recover quickly."

"That's good, I did the best I could to heal him. I just feel bad, he got that breath attack while trying to save me."

Within the inky blackness of the night, Terra heard the visitor shift his weight for a moment. She had made a camp fire and continued to help heal Cloud's illness in the aftermath of the Malboro's attack, when in the dead of the night the fire had gone out, and in the darkness of the plain Terra's mysterious visitor from the forest came to her a second time. Terra could hear him behind her, but even when she turned she would only see the faintest outline of his profile against the sky.

"Do not despair, as I have said he will recover. You need to concern yourself with the trials ahead rather than focus on the trials that have passed. If you continue on past this plain tomorrow, you will arrive at the city I directed you to," the dark figure said.

"And then what?" Terra asked, looking over her shoulder at the figure. "Why did you tell me to go there?"

"There is someone there you must meet."

"Who?"

"It is not for me to say."

"How do I know this isn't a trap?" Terra asked. "I don't even know who you are. You could be one of Chaos' minions directing me into an attack."

"Or I could be one of Cosmos' allies directing you to a Crystal," the figure countered. "Perhaps I'm both. Or neither. Judge me however you like, it won't change what I have come to tell you."

"Which is what?" Terra asked. On the ground in front of her, Cloud whimpered in his sleep and began to stir. Terra turned back to him and lifted her hand to his forehead. He was clammy still, but his fever had broken. The figure behind her was right, Cloud would be fine in time. Terra channeled more curative magic into her palm and into Cloud, and he calmed down and stopped moving.

"You and Cloud are about to be in more danger than before," the figure said. "Your enemies combine their efforts to destroy the two of you. You must be on your guard to survive the trials that lie ahead. Success will bring both of you closer to retrieving your Crystals. Failure will end your quest for good."

"And that's different from any other trials we've faced so far?" Terra scoffed. "We won't fail, we can't. The worlds are depending on us, we can't let them down."

"You underestimate the danger you're in," the figure warned.

"I'm facing Kefka. I don't have any illusions about how dangerous he is."

"Of course not. But it is not only Kefka who stands in your way, girl. There are others who aspire to destroy you as well, others you do not even know of yet. What will you do when they come for you?"

"Fight. It's what I was called by the Crystals for," Terra said. "To fight for them in the face of darkness. And I will win." The figure chuckled softly.

"Your courage is great. Such hope will be of use to you in the future. It will see you through the darkest night, if you can hold onto it."

"What do you mean?" Terra asked. "Why wouldn't I?"

"I am afraid it is not just the Warriors of Chaos you must fear. I have heard rumors of another, who would–" The figure was cut off by a loud rumbling. Terra cried out as the ground shook beneath her, and Cloud let out a sharp gasp. A moment later, the earthquake stopped as quickly as it had begun. Terra fell forward, putting out a hand to stop herself from landing on Cloud's stomach. She lifted her other hand to her chest to try and calm her heart.

"What…was that?" she asked.

"The darkness. It spreads and deepens by the second, and as it grows in power it will grow faster. This world is running out of time…continue north to the city. When you arrive, you will be faced with an unexpected challenge. Overcome it, and your way will be shown to you." Terra turned as the figure vanished in a crackle of dark electricity, leaving her alone in the night. Terra turned back to the extinguished pile of smoldering logs in front of her and held out her hand, setting them alight again with a small burst of heat.

"Another…what?" she thought, staring at the empty space behind her. The figure's unfinished sentence lingered uneasily in her mind and refused to be brushed aside. What could he have meant, that it wasn't just Chaos' minions that she needed to fear? He couldn't have meant the Crystelles, they were no real threat unless they attacked en masse. Was there something else to watch out for then? The Malboro attack earlier that day had reminded her that Chaos' forces weren't the only enemy presence. Were there other, stronger monsters too? Was that what the figure had meant?

Terra closed her eyes and focused, extending her aura out. The pulse of magical energy she and Cloud had been tracking was stronger now, that was to be expected. It was in the same place as when she'd first sensed it, she was certain of that. But the pulse of power felt…wrong. Drained, a shadow of its former power. It reminded Terra of the pulse of energy she'd felt in the church where she'd met Cloud. Was the power she sensing the same as that power, a place from Cloud's world?

"But this power is stronger than in the church…maybe the Crystal of Cloud's world is there?" Terra thought. It was a hopeful thought. She hadn't forgotten about Onion Knight's capture, and didn't know what fate had befallen him. Finding a Crystal would be a welcome ray of hope. Either hers or Cloud's would be a relief, but Terra had to admit she felt selfish hoping she found hers if any. She had to get her powers under control, the strain of Kefka's manipulations had worn off and the Esper was beginning to grow restless again.

"Maybe that's what he meant," Terra's face fell slightly as she thought back to the unspoken threat the mysterious figure had alluded to. "My Esper powers…maybe I'm the danger to watch out for…"

There was a murmur, and Terra looked down. Cloud shifty slightly, his eyelids fluttering.

"Cloud?" Terra asked, leaning down. Cloud opened his eyes slightly.

"T…Terra?" he whispered. "What happened?"

"You breathed in Malboro breath," Terra said softly, lifting a hand to his forehead. "Remember?"

"Uh…I think," Cloud said, licking his lips. "Where are we?"

"We stopped for the night after you got attacked, it's late now," Terra explained. "You'll be alright, you just need rest. Go back to sleep."

"Right," Cloud nodded slightly and closed his eyes. "'kay, I trust you…" Terra watched him silently as Cloud fell back asleep, and smiled.

"Thank you."

"Hooooome, sweet home," Kefka sighed, leaping up onto a catwalk. "Ya like what I've done with the place?" Kefka called, the cry echoing through the metal walls around him. He leaned over the railing of the catwalk to look at Sephiroth looking about the room from the entrance on a lower floor. The former SOLDIER noted the room's various catwalks, piping fixtures and computer consoles with glass capsules nearby. Obviously once a factory or research facility of some kind, though he didn't care enough to guess it's purpose. It reminded him of the interior of a Mako reactor, or some other Shinra contraption.

After Mateus' unfortunate edict that he and Kefka were to work together, Sephiroth had begun seeking another base of operations to relocate to besides the Chaos Shrine. He had told Mateus he stood a better chance of controlling Cloud if he were closer to him, which wasn't a lie, but mostly he wanted to get away from the emperor before he made another announcement that Sephiroth would make him regret. Kefka had suggested what he referred to as "his place".

Kefka's "place", Sephiroth had found out not long ago, was a towering spire of rubble and debris rising some distance southeast of the Chaos Shrine. As Sephiroth had heard as Kefka lead him to the tower's highest chambers, Kefka had created the tower when he ruined his world and ripped the continents apart, building it haphazardly from choice bits of scrap from around the planet. Sephiroth had been surprised at first to see a lavish throne room opens its doors to a dirt path set along a piece of twisted railroad track, but such oddities, he soon learned, were commonplace in this tower of rubble and ruins.

"Hmph. This "place" is rather bizarre. A horrid mismatch of gorgeous architectural stylings with otherwise random trash. It's amazing it's lasted this long without falling apart. I'd say it suits you." Kefka shrugged.

"Thanks, I'm a simple man with simple tastes," he replied. Sephiroth snorted.

"That wasn't meant to be a compliment."

"Hey, you said you needed somewhere quiet and closer to them than the Shrine, right!?" Kefka snapped, gnashing his teeth. "So will this do or what?" Sephiroth considered. He had only Kefka to worry about here, no one else was around to disturb his concentration. Kefka would still likely prove a distraction, but with his closer proximity to Cloud, said distraction would be more manageable.

"It will do," Sephiroth nodded. "Just be sure you don't disturb me while I work."

"Right right right. So come on, start working that mojo and get mind-cracking!" Kefka said. Sephiroth shot him a glare, then closed his eyes. Cloud was asleep, but his mind was consumed in a fever. His thoughts were jumbled and incoherent, and Sephiroth had to pull back.

"I can't, not yet. His mind is too disoriented at the moment to enter it safely."

"That blows," Kefka muttered. "My turn to play then."

"Yours?" Sephiroth opened his eyes and looked at Kefka. The mage grinned and cracked his knuckles.

"I've been a bit bored with you guys lately. I was thinking of heading out to have a little fun with Terra during the day," Kefka said.

"As long as you don't harm Cloud, do as you wish," Sephiroth replied.

"Oh goodie," Kefka snickered, a glowing red and black Magicite shard appearing in the air in front of him. "Did ya hear that guy, we're gonna go play with Terra again!" he whispered, tapping a finger on the side of the Crystal.

"It's a Crystal, it doesn't understand you," Sephiroth muttered. Kefka scowled and waved his hand, the item vanishing.

"Shows what you know!" he said. He opened his mouth to continue, then cocked an eyebrow and whirled his head around. Sephiroth followed his eyes to a dark portal opening further down the catwalk. Emperor Mateus stepped out from the portal, looking around the room and sniffing.

"Good morning, gentlemen," he nodded. "Sephiroth, are Kefka's accommodations, accommodating?" Sephiroth thought about the Emperor's entrance for a moment.

"You told me a magic field stopped us from teleporting here directly," Sephiroth growled, turning an eye to Kefka. "Why did you lie to me and make us scale the tower the hard way?"

"I thought your expression would be funny," Kefka shrugged. Sephiroth narrowed his eyes and sneered. "Yeah that's it," he laughed.

"Pardon the interruption," Mateus sighed, lifting a hand to his temple, "but I came to inform you of something urgent."

"Oh yeah, what?" Kefka snapped. Mateus swung his staff in front of him, a scrying stone appearing in the air. He reached out his free hand and let the stone drop into his palm.

"The day has dawned, and your targets have continued on their journey," Mateus said, an image appearing in the stone of Terra and Cloud. "But there is a problem."

"Which is?" Sephiroth asked. Mateus made a motion with his staff, and the image of Cloud and Terra pulled back into the air.

"Behold, they travel north. And look at what awaits them," Mateus said. Sephiroth and Kefka leaned closer. "They are approaching his domain."

"Is he there?" Sephiroth asked.

"Why wouldn't he be?" Mateus replied.

"Daaaamn…he'll kill them won't he?" Kefka growled.

"No, he is but a specter, he can cause them harm but he cannot destroy them. My concern is not for their safety, though. He is a wild card, and so we cannot know his actions. There is no telling what disruption he will cause the paths we have charted for those two. He knows the truth of the war, if he were to tell them, their paths could change and then our plans must be recalculated."

"So what do we do?" Sephiroth asked. Mateus closed his eyes.

"Nothing. We cannot get there before they will, and we have no control over him. Let us simply hope he does not say anything we'll regret."

"Look!" Terra pointed ahead, and Cloud lifted his head and blinked. He still felt a bit woozy after the Malboro attack, but he was mostly feeling good, all things considered. His vision blurred for a second as he focused on where Terra was pointing. Rising from the grassy plains ahead of them was the outline of a city. Cloud turned to Terra, and the grass beside him was empty. He looked ahead to see her sprinting towards the city.

"H-hey!" he called, running after her. The two ran across the plain until the grass below gave way to tiled path. Terra slowed to a stop and gazed at the city before her. A long, tiled path traveled to a massive gateway. To the sides of the path lay several smaller doors and small steps leading to other passages. The city was massive, easily as large as Vector, possibly even larger. The city was completely different though. While Vector was a place of dark malice, this city was stunningly beautiful.

The architecture was both functional and aesthetically pleasing, sloping doorways, ornate metal gates and smooth red and blue pillars holding up the roof that covered the city passages to the sides of the main path. The path below their feet was a mosaic with colored tile pieces forming an intricate pattern up and down its length. Palm trees rose from pots set against the walls, and wall alcoves held smaller hanging plants that dangled down the wall below. Above the wall of the gate ahead, Terra saw the spires of some sort of palace or castle rise in the distance.

"Do you recognize this place?" Terra asked as Cloud came up beside her. Cloud shook his head. Terra slowly stepped forward again, closing her eyes. "I feel…there's a source of power here," she whispered. "In the city…"

"What is it?" Cloud asked.

"I'm not sure, but it feels…different." Terra opened her eyes and walked down the path to the large gate leading further into the city. "Stand back," she ordered. Cloud watched as Terra held up her hands in front of her, palms held out to the gate. Suddenly, she grunted, and a light blue aura appeared over her. Terra's face grew strained as she concentrated. The same blue aura rippled into place over the gate, and with a slow creak, the gate parted and slid apart. It only opened a few feet before Terra collapsed to her knees, panting.

"You okay?" Cloud asked as he kneeled beside her. Terra nodded and took a breath.

"Yes, it was just more difficult than I thought," she said, standing up. "Come on."

Terra and Cloud walked through the gate to find a large staircase leading further into the city. Terra took the steps two at a time, eager to find the source of the power she sensed. As she crested the stairs, a large, square plaza stretched before her. Banners, pillars, shops and more walkways ran around the perimeter. In the middle of the square rose many tall, leafy palm trees around a tall stone water fountain. Cloud and Terra stopped before the trees, and Cloud looked around.

"Well?" he asked, nodding his head. Terra looked at the various paths branching off further into the city. "Which way?" he asked, looking at her. Terra frowned and lowered her head, a strange look on her face.

"Do you feel that?" she whispered, lifting a hand to her chest.

"Feel what?" Cloud asked, growing concerned. Terra lifted her head and looked up at him.

"There's someone else here," she said. Deep laughter sounded from behind them, and Cloud spun around, hand on the hilt of the Buster Sword. Terra turned a moment later, and the two looked at a long downwards-leading staircase at one end of the plaza. Slowly, the sound of moving metal reached their ears, growing louder with each step.

At the top of the stairs, a man stepped onto the plaza. A long, dark cape flowed from his back, and he wore a suit of heavy, dark armor, covering his entire body save for his head. His face was stern, with dark eyes and closely cut blond hair. The man stepped closer towards Terra and Cloud, stopping several feet in front of them. The man closed his eyes and smiled, lifting his hands and clapping slowly.

"Well done, young lady," he called. "I would have expected no less of a Warrior of Cosmos."

"Who are you?" Cloud demanded. "Are you on Chaos' side?" The man opened his eyes and crossed his gauntlet-covered arms.

"Such a simple-minded question," he muttered, his smile vanishing. "Is the only measure of a man the side he chooses? My 'side', whelp, is whichever one I deem worthy of housing my steel. But if you must pin one of your labels upon me, then it was the god of discord who summoned me here, though it was so long ago."

"So, you fight for Chaos then," Cloud said, drawing the Buster Sword.

"Hmph. You ought to pay better attention in the future boy. I was called by Chaos here eons ago, I harbor no loyalty to him now, no more than I pledge to Cosmos," the man replied.

"Who are you?" Terra asked. The man turned his eyes back to her.

"I am many things to many people, and depending on who you ask they'll each give a different answer, some more correct than others. My name, young lady, at least the one by which I was most well known while I was alive, is Gabranth, Judge Magister of the Archadian Empire."

"And why have you come to us, Gabranth?" Terra continued. Cloud gave her an irritated look.

"What are you doing?" he demanded. Terra looked back with the same expression.

"If he were planning to attack us, he'd likely had done it by now," she said. "But I don't think he means us any harm." Gabranth chuckled.

"You are only half right. I've not yet decided if I intend to harm you, but I haven't yet ruled it out. To answer your question boy, I sensed someone stepping into the city. I investigated to find out who it was. A Warrior of Cosmos, or of Chaos."

"Why would the Warriors of Chaos have to look for you if you're one of them?" Cloud asked.

"Because I've no interest in fighting for the god of discord, young man. I've seen the futility of the war you fight and will not be drawn into such wasteful activities. Like many of your foes I died long ago and see no point in wasting my afterlife fighting wars too much like those I fought in life," Gabranth said. "As with all wars, this one will end and inevitably give rise to another in time. There is no point playing a game with no winner, even the game of a god."

"You're wrong," Terra said, taking a step forward. "This war is not futile. Once we find the Crystal, we can destroy Chaos and end the war." As Terra finished, Gabranth let out a loud laugh.

"Is that what you think? Is that what Cosmos has told you?" he asked. "I fear you've been deceived, warriors. Did Cosmos tell you that when you defeated Chaos, the worlds would be restored? And that the friends and family you fight to restore, they'd have no memories of this war?"

"Yes, she did…" Cloud whispered. How could Gabranth know this?

"Well, in that aspect, she is truthful. Prevail and your worlds will be restored, this is true. But, tell me, warriors," Gabranth's face darkened as he stepped forward. "If Cosmos tells the truth, and when this war ends your worlds and friends will be restored, and their memories gone…who is to say this has not happened before? If no one but you will remember this, how do you know others were not called to battle before you were?"

"You mean…" Terra gasped. "This is not the first time?"

"No, it's happened dozens of times, perhaps hundreds. Chaos summons ten warriors to serve him and seize the Crystals of their respective worlds. The light shrinks, and from that light ten warriors chosen by Cosmos arise to defend the Crystals and restore order. The flow of battle is as predictable as the tides, and as unrelenting."

"How do you know this? What are you?" Terra asked.

"I am a specter of a memory that even time has forgotten. Once upon a time I cut the veins of a kingdom and left a trail of blood in my wake, until my past caught up with me." Gabranth lowered his eyes, his lip curling slightly. "For years I had awaited the day to face the wrong who had shamed me and my parents, and to cut him down with my own sword. I had dreamed about slaying the one who abandoned my homeland to destruction. I faced my own brother in battle, twice. Twice I was bested, twice disgraced, and twice spared. And yet still I died." Gabranth lifted his eyes. "And then, I was revived to serve Chaos, and seize the Crystal of my world. Once before it had been my brother who struck me down. This time, it was…her."

"Cryst of the gods, or at least it once was…and so taken, so that mankind may take control of time and remake his history," Gabranth said, staring up at the large pedestal in front of him. Once upon a time, atop this, the massive tower across the sea, an equally impressive shard of Nethicite had rested here. At least, it had laid here until it, or rather, a smaller version of it, was seized as the Crystal of his world. And so once again, the Sun-Cryst called a guardian to reclaim it.

"Gabranth!"

At the sound of his name, Gabranth turned to look at the woman who stood on the balcony at the other side of the tower, glaring at him fiercely. Gabranth smiled as she began walking towards him.

"Welcome Lady Ashe, you honor me with your presence," he said, crossing his arms. "To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?" Across the chamber of the Sun-Cryst, Ashelia B'nargin Dalmasca narrowed her eyes at the Judge and scowled.

"Do not play games, Gabranth! I am here to do what Basch ought to have done once before, and end your treachery!" Ashe put a hand to her shoulder and drew her sword forward. Gabranth's smile vanished.

"Hmph. You would put me to death? You do not possess the strength or the resolve to kill me! You said so yourself, Basch did not have the heart to end my life, or the hand to use to do so. How can you expect to succeed where he faltered?"

"Basch was many things. A loyal guardian, a great warrior and a wise leader. But for sparing you Gabranth, he was a fool," Ashe spat. "He thought you capable of redemption, that inside your heart still lurked the brother he loved. And for you to betray him so and condemn our world, you do nothing but prove him wrong. You will find I possess no such handicap of sentimentality!"

"Such a violet young woman you are," Gabranth laughed. "Do you so crave death you come seek it by your own will? Are you so pathetic lady Ashe, that you would fight for lost causes in the name of forgotten men? I thought better of you than that."

"I would say the same of you, Gabranth," Ashe said. Gabranth's laughter died, and he sneered.

"To throw your life away for such a foolish battle…" he snorted, snapping a hand out to the side. With a flash of light, the judge's twin-bladed sword appeared in his grasp. "So be it. Let the deed be recorded, that two descendants of the Dynast-King were slain by the same hand, and both met death clinging desperately to false hope."

"It shall be recorded, that the King-slayer was brought to justice at the hands of his daughter," Ashe replied. "A death in battle is the only honor you deserve, Gabranth, and it is my honor to deliver it." Gabranth smiled, then twirled his weapon in the air and drew it back over his shoulder.

"Then come and deliver my death to me, princess. If you can."

"The wretched little princess my brother had once guarded was chosen to oppose me," Gabranth said, watching Cloud and Terra intensely. "I had faced her before and was prepared to destroy her and finish the job I had begun with her father. I was a fool. I underestimated her. When the time came she bested me in battle, and though she had changed from when she first met she was still not so merciful to grant me the pardon her guardian had once before. I died a second time and she claimed her Crystal, and eventually our world was restored to light. And yet the darkness endures. And so new warriors were inevitably gathered for another battle."

"But, if the war is endless," Terra said, "then what will happen when we collect the Crystals?"

"Oh, if you do so you will kill Chaos, young lady. But it is in victory, that the falsity of your quest shall be revealed. Whenever one of the gods falls, whenever the war nears it end, regardless of which side is the superior…it is then, that history begins anew." Gabranth closed his eyes and crossed his arms, stopping his walk several feet in front of Terra and Cloud.

"You see…there is a being. A creature of infinite power, whose wings stretch beyond the borders of time and space, and whose claws grab at the edges of reality and tear at the very fabric of existence. A creature that exists outside of such limited terms like light and darkness, good and evil, harmony and discord. Whenever the war begins to reach its head, this beast awakens and purges all existence. It destroys all, so that all may be restored, gods, mortals, worlds and Crystals alike. When this war ends, it is this creature that will restore the worlds and the gods, so that the war may continue."

"That creature…what is it?" Cloud asked. Gabranth bowed his head.

"The beast that cleanses all in its holy flame, the monster that has trapped all existence in an endless, meaningless cycle of war and destruction. The one being that transcends all else, stronger than Chaos and Cosmos combined. The great divine dragon that travels dimensions…Shinryu."

"Shinryu…" Terra breathed.

"Shinryu, the divine dragon. Already the rumblings of the worlds caught in darkness begin to stir him from his slumber. And when he awakens he will come forth to spew his flame on this torn world, and from that flame he will forge the worlds anew. The gods will be reforged with them, and so the war will one day begin again," Gabranth said. "So you see, your efforts are futile. It does not matter if you win or lose, it does not matter which God prevails. In the end, Shinryu will restore the balance one way or the other."

"You're lying!" Cloud accused.

"I wish I were, that my spirit may be set free and the worlds released. But no, boy, I speak true. Your trials and battles are irrelevant before the claws of the divine dragon. The best thing you can do for your worlds now is to surrender, and give up this foolish façade. The faster the worlds sink into oblivion, the greater their rumbling grows and the sooner Shinryu will awaken. It is best to let Chaos play his ill-fated war out, and get it over with."

"You're just trying to make us give up!" Cloud said. "We aren't idiots, Gabranth!" Beside Cloud, Terra lowered her head and closed her eyes.

"If that were so, then you would accept the truth of my words!" Gabranth replied. "Why continue fighting for a cause that cannot be won? Pathetic fools like you are lucky to even have a future, do not pretend you can protect it with your feeble power. It's just empty bravado. You blindly place your faith in gods, and you will learn soon the fate of despair that awaits you!"

"No…" Terra whispered. Gabranth and Cloud turned their attention to her as she spoke. "Let's say you are telling the truth, Gabranth," she said. "Let's say, that you're right, that our struggles in this war are meaningless, that we cannot win…that's just another reason to keep fighting!" as she finished, Terra lifted her head.

"What foolishness is this?" Gabranth sneered.

"Hope, Gabranth. Maybe you're right. Maybe this war is endless…but there has to be a way to stop it!" Terra said. "If we keep fighting, this time may be the last."

"Your vow is but a poison in your veins," Gabranth replied. "It blinds you to the truth. There is no hope for this world, abandon your delusions and you will see this for yourself. Don't let Cosmos pull her veil over your eyes."

"To wallow in despair, a forgotten spirit unable to move on," Terra whispered, shaking her head. "I pity you, Gabranth."

"Pity?" Gabranth spat. "I do not need your sentiment! Why deny the truth?"

"Are you done talking?" Cloud snapped, adjusting his grip on the Buster Sword. "Because we're done listening. No either get out of the way or we'll make you."

"Ha ha. Are those my options?" Gabranth smirked. "Very well…if I must choose, then I choose the latter." Gabranth held his hands out, a large steel helmet appearing in them in a flash of light. "There may be no hope for the end of the war," he whispered, lifting the helmet over his head and sliding it on. "But the thrill of battle, the rush of domination over unworthy foes like yourself…that is a feeling, I still cherish now and always." Gabranth removed his hands and snapped one out to the side. With a second flash of light, Gabranth's twin-bladed sword materialized from the air.

"You tell us the war is futile, you admit you're just a spirit, but you want to fight us?" Terra asked.

"Even in disgrace, I am Judge Magister," Gabranth said, his voice echoing within his helmet. "It is my duty to carry out justice on those who would defy the law. And you would defy the rules set down by the gods, and so I pronounce you guilty. As Judge Magister, I hereby exercise my authority to punish you for your petty insolence. You must be taught a lesson in suffering, and I shall be the one to teach it to you."

"Come and try," Cloud muttered. Terra tensed and held out her hands, magical energy crackling along her arms. Gabranth twirled his weapon in the air and drew it back over his shoulder. Sunlight gleamed down the blade's edge, as a deep red aura appeared over Gabranth's armor. Within the confines of his helmet, Gabranth smiled.

"Now! Come, Warriors of Cosmos! Your lives shall end at my blade!"