Chapter 11: Unity, the illusion
Yunalesca walked over to Trista and checked to see if she was all right. Seeing that I had left a nice big red hand-imprint on her neck brought me some satisfaction, but gained her only anger. Her eyes trailed the ground until it came upon my fallen form. She glared at me with such cold disdain. How dare she? I was just assaulted by a summoner and her entire roster of Aeons for no reason other than to watch me die and this was to be my fault? I glared back at the woman, my eyes a cold blue of steel. The hatred I bore for Trista expanded and included this one, as well. Arrogantly, I got to my feet.
"Look, this doesn't concern you. That summoner and I are involved with this situation. That does not include you! Do me a favor and buzz off, NOW!" I growled at Yunalesca.
Her gaze held strong at me still however, a look of disgust. Proud summoners, curse them all. I began to walk towards her. The wound across my chest was still fresh and hurting me with each passing second, but I didn't care. I had enough malice in me to carry on.
"Look, I don't have the patience to deal with two bitches so if you wouldn't mind…" I sneered.
"I don't care if you mind or not. You harmed a summoner and therefore you will be punished!" She hissed back.
This was getting on my nerves, thinning out what remained of my calm. I had said more than what I should have had to say. Besides, actions did speak louder than words.
I unsheathed my sword yet again and swung it to her, holding it to her throat. Her eyes grew wide, unsuspecting of my hasty assault. A brief moment of hesitation and I pulled back for the swipe, but… Fortunately for her, another blade caught mine before it could do any damage.
"And you are?" I said, glaring at a man in golden armor and a cloak.
"Blitzer, my name is Lord Zaon. I'd suggest you remember it well." He mused.
"Oh, of course, my lord. I'll embed your name deep within my mind… after I embed this blade in your skull." I said, mocking his title.
He had enough and I was already waiting for a fight. With a simple move, he broke up our lock and tried to put a gash in my middle. I expected that all too easily and backed away calmly, dodging the attack without difficulty. Then it was my turn. I pulled up my sword and whipped it around my front in a diagonal slash. He quickly held up this blade and blocked it, kneeling on one knee to brace the impact.
"How does it feel, my lord, to be kneeling in front of a commoner?" I mocked yet again, my words coated in the poison of my rage.
"How DARE you!" He fumed, moving away and getting back into his stance.
I charged him, jumping at the last second, while he swung in offense, and flipping while placing my sword out. Unable to block, the lord had to roll out of the way to avoid injury.
"Shuyin! Stop this!" Lenne cried, finally having gathered herself at this turn of events.
"You need to keep your blitzer in line! You are a summoner! Act like one!" Yunalesca instructed her.
I noticed Lenne getting a bit ticked off herself, slowly balling up her fists. "I'm sick of you summoners acting like 'the miracle of Spira!' You aren't! All people are equal and you should learn that! Shuyin isn't my slave! I don't give him orders. He and I cooperate. Maybe your husband needs to realize he isn't merely your pet!" Lenne argued.
"You get her Lenne!" Kirin added, sticking her tongue out at Yunalesca. That sent the woman over the top.
And it was then that Trista chimed in to throw more wood on the flames. "Butt out bimbo."
"Who are you calling a bimbo? I'll show you bimbo!" Kirin challenged, putting up her own dukes in her fighting stance.
Now this fight had gotten out of hand. I was fine when it was just me and this idiot, but now Lenne and Kirin were involved and I didn't want either of them to get hurt. "Lenne, Kirin, stay out of this!" I ordered, parrying another strike by Zaon. The two ignored me, much to my dismay, and I couldn't do anything about it on account of my opponent's incessant assaults.
At that point, Lenne was ready to face off against Yunalesca and Kirin had her daggers out, ready to face Trista. Meanwhile, I dodged a swing at my throat and winced at the pain of stretching my wounded chest to that extent. I managed only a back tumble to regain my footing, grabbing my chest when I finished and crouched on the ground to recover.
"Off your game, blitzer?" He jeered.
I got back up in an instant, answering his ploy with sheer defiance, a foolish move on my part as it caused my wound to reopen and sent a stinging pain straight through my form. I winced again, but I ignored it and lunged at Zaon with all I could muster. He sidestepped as expected, my approach too off-balance to catch a seasoned knight like he was, but I swung my sword horizontally, at the last second, hitting him square across the chest, cutting his armor and letting his blood seep out onto it and my sword. He stumbled back in surprise, touching the new color of red on his outfit. Glaring at me, he recklessly charged me and my face beamed with the lord's prideful folly. I had him right where I wanted him. As he got in range, I ducked his strike, a harsh forward stab, extending my leg and tripping him. When he fell to the floor, I was already standing with my sword pressed to the back of his neck.
"You shouldn't have tried to stop me." I stated coldly.
Suddenly, I heard a scream of pain from behind. As I turned, I noticed that Lenne had just taken a Thunder spell from Yunalesca and was totally paralyzed, making it impossible for her to even attempt to avoid the Firaga spell that would be coming for her next.
"LENNE!" I cried, running towards her.
As I did, I also noticed that Kirin wasn't doing so well, either. Trista had her pinned to the ground with a couple of Blizzard spells, freezing her legs and arms. She wasn't able to use her daggers and Trista gloated as she cast Cura on herself from a previous stab injury, stalking over my friend to show her dominance.
While I was focused on these things, Zaon took advantage of my lack of attention. I had my back turned so he had the perfect opportunity to take me out. He swept my legs from under me and I fell on my side, cringing at the strain to my front. Before anything else, he was standing over me, his rapier pressed to my throat. "Never ever turn your back to me. I can promise you, you will not take pleasure in the results." He gloated. I was defeated. Zaon used my distraction to get the better of me. That was the least of my concern, though.
"Yunalesca, STOP! Don't you dare hurt Lenne!" I exclaimed.
She wasn't impressed. After all, how much of a threat was a guy who was pinned to the floor with a sword pressed against his neck? She laughed a little before saying, in the harshest of tones, "You foolish little athlete. Never ever challenge a summoner. Never harm a summoner. I will leave you to your business if you can remember that."
Lenne had enough. Taking her chance when Yunalesca wasn't paying attention, she quickly cast Thundaga. The spell hit the woman hard and she went down quickly, slightly shocked by the assault. "Maybe it's you who shouldn't be barking orders like you're his keeper!" She suggested, throwing her own Firaga at her opponent.
I also took advantage of that, while Zaon had his focus on his wife. He didn't notice, but I slid my neck away from his sword and began to move mine. A moment later, he noticed the missing target at the end of his weapon, but a moment was still eons too late.
"Fool, die for your insolence!" He said, stabbing down with the sword and then realizing my movement.
The sword jabbed into the ground and I quickly kicked his feet from under him, pushing them into a split while I rolled back to my feet after with a kick to his chin. Moments later, once he'd shaken off my maneuver, I was on him, my blade bearing down in a vertical slash. He blocked it just in time, though still trapped in the split, which wasn't too easy a position for him to be in. I took advantage and moved our joined swords near his chin. One wrong move and he'd be finished while I could make all the bad moves in the world. The weapon was poised at his throat, not mine after all. I could've sneezed right there and it would've been his head, literally.
"Foul rapscallion!" He sneered.
"Aw, did the infamous Lord Zaon wound his pride? I feel simply terrible." I mocked.
He wasn't a match for me, as much as he believed he was. The thing is, I was trained by Takuma, an unsent. Who knew how many years or even decades he could've been around, teaching himself new tricks to reflect his craft. And he taught all of those tricks to me or at least provided me with ample time to find the defect in each one so I could see through the best attacks. Exactly how was I to lose to some lap dog of a husband? I had the fighting technique of someone who had been around longer than any living warrior.
"How dare you mock me?" Zaon growled, his honor having been damaged in my victory.
"Hey, I only do it because you look so cute when you're pissed off." I mused, extremely satisfied by his fuming expression.
Meanwhile, as I looked around, Lenne had Yunalesca practically cornered. I could tell she was enjoying her fight, too, considering she was just as sick and tired of that woman as I was. Also, Trista was losing to Kirin. While she gloated, the spell faded and Kirin was able to attack again, I suppose. In any case, she was on top of Trista, one dagger pinned tightly on her chest while mocking her with funny faces.
"I have had it with you!" Yunalesca screamed.
I looked back over and saw that she was summoning an Aeon, one I'd never seen before. "It is time to end this! If you will not comply, I will relinquish you from this world!" She continued. The summoned beast looked strange. It appeared to be some sort of iron gladiator that wielded an axe.
"What is that?" Lenne gasped, staring up at the creature with terrified eyes.
"Efface her from this world, Foricon!" Yunalesca commanded, directing the metallic juggernaut at my love.
"LENNE!" I cried, removing my sword to help her.
Zaon seemed to let me go. I guess even he thought Yunalesca had gone too far by then. When the beast swung its axe, Lenne cowered. Why wouldn't she? I'm the one with the sword. All she had were spells and summons and at this speed, she'd never be able to cast one in time. I rushed over to her and at the last minute, blocked the swipe. However, the Aeon was immensely powerful. The axe slammed into my sword and plunged me into the ground, Lenne screaming as I fell. I held my sword there, trying my best to keep the opposing weapon from reaching me. My strength was giving. I had been going on adrenaline this whole time and by that point, with it used up, I was fading fast.
"Stop this! Please!" I heard from two locations. Both Kirin and Lenne screamed for the madwoman to stop her Aeon. Would she listen?
"Yuna, please." Zaon spoke up.
He knew this was going too far. Even for a drone, no one with a conscious would have agreed to killing a heavily wounded and exhausted man. I was injured. The only reason I beat Zaon was because I wanted to wipe that smirk off his face, and I had. Now, struggling against this creature, while at the same time losing a lot of blood, I was totally done for. If the Aeon didn't stop in a few seconds, the axe would be lodged into my skull for sure.
"Stop Foricon!" Yunalesca finally commanded, calling the Aeon back and allowing me to rest.
Afterwards, she walked up to my fallen form and smiled. It wasn't a friendly smile. It was one that said that I lost and she won. I tried to lift myself off the ground so I could smack that smile off her face, but I just couldn't. She decided to gloat some more at my weariness and put her heel into my wound, digging in deep and making it sting further.
"Little blitz rat, do not upset me. Otherwise, I will have to squash you like all the other disobedient rodents!" She snarled, pushing her heel into my wound more, before stepping off and leaving with Trista and her husband.
I remained on the ground with the onlookers watching their fallen blitz champion coated in a thick film of crimson, desperately trying to recover and stand so as to show I wasn't about to admit defeat.
"Shuyin! Are you okay?" Lenne and Kirin both yelled, coming to my aid.
"I'm fine. Just my pride that hurts the most." I sighed, allowing my two female companions to help me back to my feet.
"You shouldn't have tried to hurt Trista like that." Lenne said, while taking a look at my wound, examining the aggravated damage.
"Lenne, she was totally out of line! What was Shuyin supposed to do? Are you okay? She was kinda rough of you." Kirin asked me sympathetically, also tending to my injuries.
"I'm fine. Just fine. Don't worry about me. I just need to get this wound cleaned up and I'll be peachy." I said, groaning a little when Lenne probed the spot that Yunalesca's heel engraved itself into my memory. The blood was hardening. It made the slightest stretching of skin cause enormous pain.
We headed back inside to Kirin's house, leaving the passersby to ponder the events that shattered their peaceful lives. The two of them helped me to the kitchen where Lenne got me a few pieces of gauze and some rubbing alcohol. I took one of the pieces and put some water on it. I wanted to rub off the dried blood before cleaning the wound with the alcohol. Carefully, I wiped away all of the stains on my chest, large pools of crimson forming in the sink as I did so. When I finished, I saw the three claw marks. Thank you Bahamut. Next, I took a couple of pieces and filled it with the alcohol. It would sting horribly, but what choice did I have? I had to clean out the wound before it could become infected. I didn't want to get sick and I wanted to prevent a scar. Slowly and very cautiously, I pressed the gauze onto my wound. The pain was enormous and excruciating, but nothing compared to actually getting the wound, so I could handle it. Kirin bit her bottom lip while I did this and bit down harder each time I winced from the pain.
"Stop that. You're gonna end up chewing your lip right off if you don't stop." I joked.
"Funny, Shuyin, but I'm just worried about ya. You know that." She replied, her expression contorted in sympathetic agony.
"I know… Thanks for that." I told her, smiling afterwards.
I continued to clean off my wound and Lenne found some cloth for me to use as a makeshift bandage. I placed the cloth across my chest and wrapped it around a few times, pinning it together once I finished. Almost immediately, the cloth showed three smears of red. I washed my hands and went to look for my shirt. Kirin jumped up in front of me then, handing me the article of clothing.
"I grabbed it from the floor as soon as you finished off Trista."
"Thanks."
"Shuyin, are you sure you're alright?" Lenne asked. "Maybe we should take you to the hospital."
"No, that won't be necessary. C'mon guys, I'm going to be fine."
"Ooh, why do Yunalesca and those other summoners have to be such self-righteous meanies?" Kirin asked, not being able to rid herself of those unpleasant thoughts, like I hadn't.
"That's just the way people are. If you can do something that someone else can't, you want to rub that into their faces. It all comes down to pride." I answered her.
"I don't know. I mean she's nice to the other summoners. She just seems to have a problem with you and me." Lenne inputted.
I guessed the reason for Yunalesca not liking her was because Lenne was first, a songstress and second, a summoner. In Yunalesca's mind, being a summoner ranks you higher than everybody else and therefore, they were the overlords ruling us commoners. Well, I have to admit that Aeons are a force to be reckoned with, but that still doesn't permit you any more dominance than anyone else. I'm a star blitzer, the talk of the town, but I don't act all high and mighty because of it. I just win my games and keep up the Tidus persona.
"Ya know, I think they are stuck up. That's all really. They just make themselves the big shots of Zanarkand and we are all the little people who have to praise them." Kirin stated, her distaste for summoners showing with each syllable.
"I don't know. I still think that it's just because of human nature." I returned, trying to calm my friend, "People want to be recognized for their gifts. If you can do what few others can, you want the rest to acknowledge that."
"Shuyin, you know as well as I do that you're probably the best blitzer on all of Spira. Do you act like they do? If they're right, you should be out there making people sing your praises, too, but you and Lenne never act like jerks the way they do." Kirin retorted.
She was right. I was an extremely talented blitzer, regardless if I wanted to think it or not, and I never let it go to my head. However, that has to do with my father and how he always rubbed it in my face that he was the best. I mean cocky is alright, but downright conceited, that's another thing. He was my example about the personal consequences of being too proud.
"Kirin, you know that I'm not stuck up only because of Jecht." I reminded, voicing my thoughts.
"Sure, you had your self-righteous father, but what about them? I'm sure someone in their lives could've shown them not to act like they're a gift from the Farplane." Kirin argued still.
"Kirin… I agree with Shuyin. He was lucky to have his father as an example of someone he didn't want to be. Perhaps Yunalesca and those others just didn't. Is that too hard to believe?" Lenne suggested.
"Oh yeah? Then what about you? What makes you not a snotty summoner like them? You are after all a summoner, too!" Kirin just wouldn't let up.
"Well, I'm just not that kind of person. My parents taught me never to speak too highly of myself. They didn't want me to get a big head and set myself up for a fall. 'Overconfidence can only lead to self-destruction', they always used to tell me." Lenne explained.
Yes, Lenne had her parents to show her that pride was a stupid concept and I had my horrible excuse of a father. I'll bet that having Yu Yevon for a father didn't really teach Yunalesca the meaning of the word humility. She grew up thinking that summoners run our home and well that's only because Yu Yevon was a capable leader. It's not because he's a summoner, but because he knew how to keep Zanarkand from going belly up. Unfortunately, it wasn't too farfetched to think Yunalesca wouldn't have thought along those lines.
"You know what? I don't really care anymore. As long as you guys aren't like that, I'll get over it. Although, I was very glad to make that little worm, Trista, plead for my mercy." Kirin told Lenne, smirking at the thought of defeating that summoner earlier.
"Heh, yeah. She deserved it. Now there's an example of conceited. The poor girl's headed for the falls without even a paddle to guide her foolishness back." I said, recalling how Trista had sent her entire wave of Aeons against me.
"Ya know, you're the one who really put her in her place. You just beat her six Aeons before. That's rather impressive, wouldn't you say? And when you lifted her by her scrawny little neck, I thought you were actually going to snap it." Kirin reveled.
"Well, Kirin, I was. I was definitely angry enough. She was just gonna waltz outta there right after trying to kill me. I wasn't about to let her leave without a scratch. I'm not that nice a person." I corrected, once again smiling from that handprint I had left.
And why shouldn't I have been smiling? I had every right. She thought she could just walk up, disrupt our original plans, attempt homicide, and leave like nothing happened? I saw to it that that didn't happen. I hope you remember me well, Trista…
"Well, what do we do now? I'm a little too exhausted to start dancing." I said, giving a big yawn.
Kirin smiled at me and said, "Well, that's expected. You lost how much blood? I mean you were bleeding every second after that Bahamut thing slashed you."
"Yes, are you alright? That strike was quite powerful and those gashes looked very deep." Lenne asked, still worried, "I tried Cura, but I'm not sure it was enough." She didn't emphasize her concern before, but from her look up until then, she was extremely flustered over it, as usual.
"Don't act like I'm gonna die. You see me now, right? Like I said, I'm perfectly healthy. I'm just a little tired and that's from losing a lot of blood earlier, as Kirin just pointed out, but if I could live for a half an hour without needing a transfusion, I think I'll live." I replied to her, trying to rid her of all those thoughts, "You really don't have to worry so much about me. I'm a fighter. A scratch like that isn't going to kill me." …Even if that scratch came from a monster of a dragon with foot-long claws… The wound was harsh, yes, but it wasn't bad enough. I dodged a direct hit enough so the claws didn't sink all the way in, even if they still sank rather far. Besides, I'm strong and I can handle three gashes and bleeding for about two hours.
Finally, Kirin decided to get up from her seat and put on some music. The DP she chose to play just happened to be one of Lenne's albums, which conveniently lightened the mood.
"You have my albums?" Lenne asked.
That shouldn't have been surprising. Just about all the girls and a lot of the guys in Zanarkand had her albums. They were like gold, especially when signed, much like my signed blitz balls. "Of course she has your albums. Even I got your albums, after I heard you sing. I mean, besides that, you are Zanarkand's best songstress. You'd have to go pretty far to find someone who didn't love your work." I responded.
"Yeah, before he met you, he used to just listen to that horribly loud rock music." Kirin mused, putting the DP into her player.
"Well, I know I have fans all over Zanarkand. I just never knew you guys were among them. Silly of me, I guess." She said, coming over and sitting on my lap.
"You should know I'm a fan. I've been to every one of your concerts ever since that day so many months back. And Kirin here has been a fan practically since you debuted." I explained, kissing Lenne on the cheek.
"Oh, I had no idea. I never had friends as fans before. All my friends either work in the studio, are other songstresses, or are summoners that never talk to me about my singing." She explained, slightly wowing at discovering the expansion to her fanbase.
"Ugh, this dumb thing won't work." Kirin groaned, smacking the DP-player.
Lenne got up and went over. "You know, I don't think hitting it was in the troubleshooting part of the manual." She giggled, putting a hand on Kirin's back.
"Stupid machina! Why won't you work!" Kirin growled, getting up and kicking it.
"Hey, take it easy! Don't get mad at a machina that you let Kion borrow. You know how irresponsible he can be." I offered, getting out of my seat and stopping Kirin from kicking the poor piece of machinery.
"Ooh, why did I let that idiot borrow my player!" Kirin complained.
"Hey, that's your problem. You figure it out. Not even I could tell you what possessed you to lend it to him of all people." I laughed.
"Shuyin!" Kirin grumbled, kicking me in the leg. It was the leg I had injured during that blitz game so long ago. By now, it was healed, but still sore, and with that kick, my leg told me it wasn't pleased. I winced a little, just enough for Kirin to realize what she did.
"Oh, sorry! I forgot about that thing! You know, I haven't said anything yet, but that was impressive how you stopped your own move and scored the last goal." Kirin said, appeasing me from the kick.
"Yes, wasn't that something? I asked him about it before. He told me that shot was unblockable, and then he did it. He told me it was due to the fact that I was watching him, haha." Lenne added.
"Aw, that's so sweet. I didn't know you were so romantic, Shuyin." Kirin said to me, clasping her hands together and placing them to one side of her face.
"Well, it's the truth. If she wasn't out there, I'd let it go into overtime and score when it was our ball. You know, make it simple. But Lenne was there and she deserved to see something that she'd never seen before. Blocking the Jecht shot seemed like something that fit into that category." I shrugged. Kirin punched me in the shoulder lightly.
"You aren't kiddin' that fits. That's what I call charisma! You put your body on the line so that people would have a show!" I smiled and put a hand on the back of my head.
It wasn't really that impressive.
"So, what are we gonna do now?" Kirin asked the two of us, returning to the subject matter.
"Um, I haven't a clue. Lenne, do you have any suggestions?" I replied, looking over to her with a shrug.
"Well, it is late. Maybe we should just settle in for the night. Just look at the time. It's past midnight." Lenne noted.
Kirin and I both looked up at the clock. It was way past midnight and I was still exhausted from losing that blood. "Yeah, we probably should turn in." I added, nodding for a confirmation from Kirin.
She returned my nod and therefore, we each went upstairs and got ready for bed. I was to sleep in one of Kirin's guest rooms and I made sure to take a shower. First of all, I smelled like a dead shoopuff. Second, I wanted to make sure my wound was as clean as can be. I cleaned up and plopped down on the guest bed thinking about the day's events.
As soon as I fell asleep, I had yet another dream… This time, I found myself in the darkness. The atmosphere was foggy and I could barely see anything. Finally, I began to make out a few shadows. As I got closer, I realized they were the silhouettes of Trista and Zaon. I approached those two and they simply stared at me.
"What's going on?" I asked them.
Neither replied, however, the fog became lighter and I noticed more silhouettes. They were still covered in darkness and stood behind Zaon and Trista, still as statues. I hadn't a clue as to what was going on. Why were they here? What were they doing in my dream? Why was I dreaming about these two of all people? Then, I saw something that really surprised me. A large figure was hovering over all of them. It had its arms out as if it was a puppeteer manipulating the live puppets before me.
"Who are you?" I called up at the shadow. It didn't reply.
Slowly though, the fog became even less dense and revealed to me the identity of the shaded figure. Yunalesca was up there, a large overseer, ominously hovering over her minions. "Yunalesca?" I shouted, "What are you doing?" She just stared like the others, but her disdainful visage presented itself. I couldn't even really tell if it was me they were staring at, though. It was almost as if they were just waiting for something.
I decided that perhaps I should go the other way. I turned around and started walking, but more people appeared. This time it was Lenne and Kirin. Behind those two were Rothel, Kion, and Vena. All I could think about was what was going on? Why were they there? Why was there a giant Yunalesca overlooking us from behind my back? Why did it seem like everyone was waiting for something to happen? What did they expect was coming?
"Lenne, Kirin? What are you guys doing? Rothel? Kion? C'mon! Somebody answer me! Vena, what's going on?" I asked, pleading with them to talk, to snap out of their trance. None of them answered. Lenne gave me a desperate smile, almost like tragedy had struck us, but that was all. Why was she upset? This was incredibly confusing.
I turned to my left to take a look. Again, more shadows and people stood there, pawns to a cryptic message I wasn't capable of deciphering. I saw Areth. Behind him was the heaviest part of the darkness. However, deep within that darkness was something that brought out a sense of dread. Something was in that dark shroud. It was almost as if I could feel that it would cause horrible strife and bitter regret one day. Then, I got a small glimpse at the antagonist as the shadow beckoned to my curiosity. All I could see was a pair of glowing, emotionless, blue eyes. The stare from those cold eyes sent a shiver down my spine. Was that how I appeared when I was angry? I knew my eyes gave away my emotion, but if I looked anything like this creature that was staring straight back into my eyes, I'd swear I was evil.
Again I turned around, trying to escape the trance created by the horrid fiend. If three sides had people, there must be a fourth. How right I was. There was a fourth side to this. I saw Takuma. His was the side that had no darkness. Instead, I saw a wondrous garden blossoming behind him. It was littered with pyreflies. By my guess, this was the Farplane. If it was, it was magnificent. Purple and pink flowers everywhere and all were in full bloom. There was a waterfall with crystal waters flowing constantly down a lush purple hillside. How majestic. But something was wrong. Takuma also had a look to him. It was the same look that he had given me that time when Lenne was in trouble in Macalania.
"Takuma!" I breathed, wondering what was wrong.
"I fear your future." He said, those cruel words echoing across the dark plane. It was what he had said to me earlier, during that same event. I still didn't know what he meant, what he wanted to warn me of. Was he talking about my fight with Trista? Was that the problem?
"Takuma, don't worry. I beat her. I even beat Zaon. You have nothing to fear. I'm perfectly fine. You are a great teacher." I told him, displaying my form for him to review. He didn't. Instead, he shook his head and repeated his words. I didn't understand. Perhaps I should have paid better attention, but I just didn't know what could've have been wrong.
I looked all around me. I looked back at Yunalesca's corner. They were all just standing there, stiff as statues just as they'd been since the start, endlessly waiting for an event that wouldn't come. Someone else had appeared behind Yunalesca. It was a man; that much the shadows let me uncover. He was cloaked heavily in the darkness, but I knew it was a man just by his stature. I couldn't see beyond that, but there was a sense of dread about his identity that I couldn't shake.
I turned back to Takuma's area and it was gone. The Farplane had vanished. What replaced it was a white space. That gave me a strange feeling, like I'd lost my chance at finding peace with its departure. I shrugged it off, though, calling it superstition, and went to my side. Lenne was solemn. A single tear slid down her face as I felt a wave of despair suddenly wash over me. Was she crying? But what was the reason for that? I tried to walk up to her to comfort her, but Areth appeared and stopped me in my tracks. He restrained me and for some reason, I couldn't make myself punch him for interfering. I couldn't make him get out of my way; he was too strong or too convincing… I looked at him and he returned my gaze. For a while, we just stared into each other's eyes, his aura sending another cold chill down my spine. Then, he gave me a look I never wanted to see again. It was that same look he gave me from after the blitz game. It was the look he gave me in my first dream. His smirk proved to be even more frightening than those blue eyes that still glared at me from the distance.
"Areth, what's going on?" I questioned, my voice exemplifying my frustration. He did nothing but stare and smirk, his hands still clasped to my shoulders.
"What…" I tried to ask again, but couldn't.
A shot was fired. I looked at my chest and it was bleeding. I had been shot! My heart, I felt it go limp. I was dying. My body collapsed onto Areth and he alone supported me, picking my chin up so that he could still smile at me with that hideous smirk. His mouth grew wider and his teeth were bared, an almost inhuman expression. Slowly, with mock sympathy, Areth said something. Although, I saw his mouth move, I couldn't hear what he was telling me before my vision completely blurred out and the area went dark except for those two eyes that grinned at me even as all faded.
Why was this happening to me?
What did this all mean?
I wanted to know.
No, I needed to know!