Ka-tet – Inside the Curtain of Twilight

There they traveled for three days, finding small interruptions between the Twilight and the real world. The ka-tet appreciated these small "breaks" as the Twilight was having strong effects on all of them, Cloud being the most affected of all. Whatever was going on in his mind seemed to intensify while he was within the Twilight.

Though they did not know it yet, it was due to very powerful magic that they weren't turned into spirits every time they entered. They encountered such spirits on the last day of their trek through the Curtains.

The Gold Road was coming to an end and a small town lied ahead of them. As they took their first steps into the town, they noticed many balls of light floating in the air. Some moved about, others stayed fairly still.

"What are they, Roland?" asked Link.

"Spirits," Alucard answered. "Despite this pounding headache, I can sort of see them when I concentrate. Some of them are mumbling, it looks like. Hmmm. Can't really hear them."

Nanaki could. He could see them too, so he listened in on a nearby spirit while the others watched.

"Why is it so dark? Where'd the sun go? And why are there monsters every other day? This is a nightmare…"

He listened to another: "I haven't seen my wife since it got dark and the monsters showed up. I wonder if she…oh man."

Same story generally all around. All of the spirits were that of elderly folks, one woman in particular looked to be more than a century old.

"Can't we help them? I feel bad leaving them like this." Link kicked the ground lightly to vent his frustration.

"I don't think there is a way. The best thing we can do is to move forward and perhaps, we'll find an answer to these Curtains. But for now, we move forward."

The ka-tet offered no rebuttle to the gunslinger's order and moved out of the town just as the sun set in the real world. Another mile of dirt road followed by a bridge was ahead of them, but that would be for the next day's trek. Their heads throbbed, their feet ached, and they all needed some rest.

Cloud's demeanor had gotten increasingly depressing since first entering the Curtains. He didn't seem to be getting worse since they were out, but he was decidedly silent as they sat around the campfire that night. When the maddening voice in his head quieted for brief periods of time, he would think of home. When he thought of home, he thought of Tifa. When he thought of Tifa, he thought of their baby. He had gotten very close to Link lately, thought of him almost as a little brother, and thought he might name his own child after him. At the least, he wanted his child to be like Link. Full of strength and courage, with a clear sense of justice and love for others. That would be, of course, if he ever saw home again.

Down the road, across the ruined bridge, and inside of a concrete jungle was another campfire. Around it sat a ka-tet, but not of the White. They were very much aligned with the Red and their main squeeze was death. In the High Speech, the word char stands for death, and so, we shall call this group of villains the char-tet.

Their leader was obviously the wizard known as Walter o' Dim, also known Marten Broadcloak, also known as Randall Flagg. Randall Flagg, normally the sourest grape of any infected vine, was not so much more evil than this particular band of badguys. After all, the One Winged Angel stood amongst their ranks. Sephiroth, the demon that had brought Cloud's homeworld of Gaia to it's knees twice was the same one driving him insane as he sat around the other campfire. Another member of the char-tet was a man from the Gerudo Desert in Hyrule. This man was none other than Ganondorf, the King of Evil.

"They should have died in the Curtain of Twilight, and yet, they still exist."

Randall Flagg did nothing but giggle at the King. "I could have told you that they'd survive. Each one of them is protected by some power or another. Roland has the White, your boy has that piece of the triforce, Cloud has that freaky lifestream stuff in his body, and the dhampir is protected solely by the powerful will of his father. If all goes to plan tomorrow, he will never get to enjoy a family reunion with dear daddy, hee hee hee!"

Sephiroth turned his eyes over to the wizard. I'm going to enjoy killing you one day, Flagg. It may come sooner than you think.

Roland had a long thinking session that night. He first thought about the Curtains.

Why were they there, and more importantly, who created them? I have heard much about this world, surely not all there is to know, but this seemed like something that might warrant quiet talks in barrooms. Perhaps the tower is worse than I previously thought.

"Perhaps it is."

Roland snapped forward and looked around him. He was thinking to himself, not a single word was uttered. Cloud was fast-asleep and Alucard was off in the night, likely hunting. Which leaves Link, who sat upon his bed roll as surprised as Roland was. He cupped his hands over his mouth.

"How long have you been able to do that, Link?"

"…I don't know. Sometimes I hear bits and pieces of what everyone's thinking but I'm really not listening for it or wearing masks or anything I swear!"

Roland leaned back on his elbows and smiled at the sky. "Then it is like I thought, you are gifted in the Touch, just like my old friend Alain was. Alright Link, I need to be serious when I tell you this, you must only use that power for good, do you understand?"

Link nodded quietly.

"But you must also understand that sometimes, things that seem bad can also be good. This is why I need you to listen to Cloud's thoughts."

Link looked at Cloud hurriedly and back to Roland. "What? That would be horrible! It would be wrong for me to listen, let alone tell you what they were, which is exactly where this is going."

Roland's face hardened. "Link, Cloud is in danger. To the extent of which I can only imagine. What if he goes mad? What if what he's hearing could give us some kind of foresight? You must listen and report any important things to me."

Link seemed apprehensive, but he gave in. "Okay, but I'm only listening three times a day! Okay?"

Roland nodded his head. "That is fine."

Great, now I'm a thought thief. Thanks Roland.