A/N: Since Luna is looking into Squall's past, her thoughts will be presented like [this in square brackets.]

Would it be any different this time? I wonder…

Luna felt like the world around her was distorting and swirling uncontrollably. All the spinning came to a stop as everything around her became a blend shade of gray. She looked around and everything seemed gray and devoid of any light.

[Am I seeing things through his eyes?]

As far as his eyes could see, he saw nothing by emptiness. Dark voids swirling all around him. His legs can barely carry the weight of his own body, yet he walks. He walks till he reached the edge of the cliff and all he can see below was endless void. He was stranded on a floating rock with nothing but darkness around him. With nowhere to go and no one to call, he finally understood the gravity of his reality. This was it. He was lost is a time-compressed world with no way back home. He did not know how many days, months or years it had been since he got here. For him, there was no past, no present and certainly no future. As a soldier, he knew that he was always dancing with the grim reaper, but when facing the concept of his own demise, he realized that he was not ready for it.

His legs finally gave out, and he collapsed on the floor. The world around him was devoid of any light, just gray haze swirling around eternally. It was as if the atmosphere around him was a reflection of his own self; devoid of any hope and light. He might have saved the world, but in the end, he couldn't save himself; such is the fate of a hero. With his head hung low and spirit even lower, he let out one last howl. All he heard in response was a wailing of his own voice, echoing back. His eyes were getting heavy and his breathing was shallow and erratic. He felt like his consciousness was slowly drifting away from him. He was giving up.

He always thought that his last breath would be on a battlefield, yet here he was fighting against only demons from within. There were many who loved and celebrated him, yet here he was all alone. His whole life he fought like a lion, yet here he was tamed and defeated by fate. As if watching an old movie, his life started flashing in front of his own eyes one by one. The people he loved, things he cherished, his hopes and dreams; it was all about to become history. A single tear rolled down his left cheek as his life was about to become a fragment of a lost memory. His head fell back, and he was ready to collapse on the ground, silently awaiting his fate as his consciousness was shutting down.

Suddenly, something caught his eyes. It was a vivid blue petal swinging back and forth in a swirling haze of gray slowing drifting towards him.

[Is that Sylleblossom petal?]

He extended his hand as the vivid blue petal slowly floated towards him and gently landed on his open palm. Upon inspecting it from close proximity, he realized that it was a petal from a flower the likes of which he had never seen. He closed his fist to make sure it does not fly away from him. He momentarily closed his eyes, trying to make sense of all this. Suddenly, he heard a dog barking. His eyes immediately shot open and saw a dark-colored spitz-type dog with glowing yellow eyes staring right at him.

[Umbra!]

The dog was wearing a green rope around his neck and front legs and was carrying a small diary. Squall tilted his head curiously looking at this canine. The dog barked twice and shot past Squall with amazing speed. It stopped right at the edge of the cliff. The dog turned its head around and barked at Squall as if coaxing him to come closer.

Still dazed, Squall was trying to figure out if any of this was actually happening or was this all just part of his imagination. Before he could think any further, the dog bark at him one more time and then jumped off the edge of the cliff.
Squall stretched out a hand as if to stop it, but even before Squall could react, the dog had disappeared into the void below completely out of his sight.

He pulled himself to the edge of the cliff trying to contemplate what was going on. First, there was a petal and now a dog. As if on cue, the petal in his hand started glowing. He opened his fist, and the petal flew out of his hand and slowly drifted in the same direction the dog went. Eventually, that too disappeared in the haze below the cliff.

'Should I follow it? Is this petal trying to show me the way?'

He looked around at his surroundings once more and everything was still very grim. As far as eyes can see, it was an endless swirl of gray haze with no sign of life around.

'If I stay here, I am going to die anyway, so might as well take a leap of faith and see where it leads.'

He took a deep breath and jumped off the cliff in the same direction where that dog and a blue petal had gone. He was in a freefall and soon everything became a blur.

The next thing he remembers was lying on the soft ground and trying to open his eyes. He briefly opened his eyes and was suddenly blinded by the intensity of the light. He immediately closed his eyes shut. After a second or two, he slowly tried to open his eyes again, this time giving time for his eyes to adjust to the pouring light. He looked at the clear blue sky and a glowing sun radiating in it. He sat up and looked around and much to his awe he was surrounded by blue flowers, same as the petal he had found earlier.

[This is my Gardens at Fenestala Manor. What is going on here?]

He was curiously marveling at the beauty of the flowers around him when he heard a distant bark. He immediately got up on his feet and tried to follow the direction of that sound. He had barely taken a few steps when he noticed that same dark-colored dog. Once their eyes met, the dog barked at him and turned around and started walking. Squall followed the dog. After taking a few steps, Squall stopped in his track.

'The last thing I remember was jumping off from that cliff. Now I am here in the middle of this serene blue flowerbed.' He looked around and absorbed the surrounding beauty.

'It is very quiet and peaceful. Is this heaven? Am I dead?' He wondered scratching his head.

'I have never died before, so I don't really know what happens after death. Does everyone find flowerbed and a weird dog at their end? If this is heaven, then I am very disappointed,' he thought with a scowl on his face.

[Luna couldn't help but giggle hearing Leon's thoughts.]

As if to break him from his trance, the dog barked once more, drawing his attention.

'If I am conscious to ask all these questions, then I must be alive,' he concluded with a shrug.

'How am I alive, though, that is a mystery?' he continued thinking while following the dog down its track.

After a while, the dog stopped and sat down next to someone. Squall's eyes followed the stranger next to the dog.

She was of fair skin with black hair. She wore a black gown with white wraps on her sleeves that flow down into a tail-like clothing. She adorned black thigh-high open-toed stiletto-heeled boots and her nails were painted in a dark metallic hue.
"You came," she said, with her eyes closed.

"I have been waiting for you for a very long time, Squall. It is good to finally see you again," she spoke with a faint smile, while her eyes still remained closed.

"Who are you and how do you know my name?" Squall wondered aloud.

"Forgive me, perhaps I should have properly reintroduced myself." She finally opened her eyes. "I am known as Gentiana."

"Gentiana?" he asked, with one eyebrow slightly raised, noticing her olive-green eyes.

Understanding Squall's confusion, she clarified, "Perhaps you would rather recognize me with my Astral name, Shiva."

"Shiva," his eyes widened as he said the name. "But Shiva is a Guardian Force."

"Being like us are known by various names across realms. Guardian force, Summon, Eidolon, Esper, Aeon, Avatar, Primal; they are all our names. In this land, we are known as Astral. We are in charge of protecting the realm we serve."
"Where am I here?" he asked, looking around.

"It seems that fate has brought you back to the world of Eos. Unfortunately, this planet is dying. It will soon become a place where no hope or dreams can survive. The providence states that only the Oracle and the True King can overturn such a fate." She explained.

'That is none of my business. Just tell me how do I get back home,' Squall thought dryly.

"The Oracle has embarked on a perilous journey, the one she might not survive alone. If she falls, all hope for this world will be lost. You are to be her champion and protect her." She took a short break before continuing, "If you can safeguard her in the trials of Six Astrals then I shall grant you the passage back to your world."

"So, her safety in her trials for my return home? Sounds like a simple mission," he said confidently.

Gentiana chuckled. "That is over-simplifying things."

'Whatever.'

Gentiana closed her eyes and spoke with a tinge of concern in her voice. "You do not understand the gravity of your undertaking," she states, slightly shaking her head. "To survive these trials, you would have to be her sword and shield. She may be a beacon of light to many, but you must guide her in her hour of darkness. When she falters, you must be her strength. For in her success lies your own and of this world."

'No pressure at all,' retorted his mind.

"You must go now, the champion of the Oracle. I can sense the lady is in grave danger," she claimed, her eyes were still close.

"Wait! I still have many questions," Squall protested.

"Time is of the essence," she said, in a cold voice. "Umbra, take him there," she instructed.

"At least tell me who she is. Who am I supposed to protect?" he pleaded.

Before Squall could say anything else, Umbra's time-warping magic engulfed him.

Everything around him started to swirl and contort. Squall felt as if he was in a freefall. Everything around him started to whiz past him until it all became a blur.

Next thing he saw a giant Titan hurling a boulder towards someone. He saw a petite figure erecting a shield to prevent the direct impact of the boulder. Titan slammed his fist close to her sending her flying.

'That idiot is going to get herself killed.' He thought before rushing to her aid.

Everything started distorting and swirling again for Luna. The next image to stabilize was of Lestallum.

She saw Leon's struggles during the time she was asleep. She saw him skipping meals to save money to pay for her bills. She saw him carry her across the town with a broken arm. She saw him talking to her and taking care of her. She saw everything she was unable to see before.

She was losing her battle against tears after seeing everything Leon did for her.

Once again, everything started to distort and swirl. The next image to stabilize was of Taelpar Rest Area.

Luna pulled the car in the parking lot of the Taelpar Rest Area. Leon grabbed a few things he had to deliver from the trunk and disappeared from sight while Luna filled up the gas.

After finishing his chores Leon was walking back towards the car when he heard an elderly voice coming from the sidewalk, "Hello young man, would you like to buy something from this old lady?"

Leon glanced in the direction of the voice to notice an old lady with a dark complexion and a light patch around her right eye. She sat along the footpath with all her books spared on a small cloth. Without browsing her wares, he said, "I am sorry, I am not interested."

"I have some of the rarest books you will ever find," she tried to entice him as he was about to leave. He was not a particular fan of books, but Luna was, so he decided to browse the books she was selling. "Show me what you got."

"Ah a book reader, are you?" she asked.

"I am not, but my friend is," he revealed, scanning all the books on offer.

"They call me Stiria," she introduced herself.

[Stiria? I know that name.]

"Squall," he introduced himself.

"What a unique name you have," she complimented, to which he nodded in response. "What kind of books does your friend like?"

"Fantasy, adventure, and romance I guess," he said, trying to recollect what Luna had said earlier.

"Then how about this book? Durai Papers by Orran Durai? It's quite a tale of faith, power, and betrayal."

"No," he said, disinterested.

"If you are looking for something more romantic, then I'd recommend LOVELESS," she offered.

"Nah," he looked at the cover page and chose to keep looking.

"Might I interest you in, 'The Song of the Savior?'" she offered again.

He shook his head and continued to browse. Nothing caught his eyes, so he decided to walk away.

"Wait, how about this?" she picked up a book buried under the pile of other books.

"No, I am not interested," he replied, even without turning.

"Not interested even in Wishing Upon A Star?" she asked in her shaky voice. He froze in his steps when he heard that. He quickly turned around and went back to her. He looked at the cover and it was indeed that rare book he had heard from Luna.

"This is the only remaining copy of this book," she offered her book so Squall could see it up close.

He examined the cover, and it was indeed 'Wishing Upon A Star.' "How much for this?" he asked eagerly, still not believing his eyes.

"I can sell it to you for 1,370,000 Gil."

"Woah! That's an absurd amount of money for a book."

"This is a bargain, I tell you. On the black-market, this would fetch a lot more."

"I don't have that kind of money," he admitted, shaking his head.

"How much can you afford for this?" she asked.

Leon emptied his wallet and his pockets to gather all the cash he had on him. He counted everything, and it added up to 41,269 gils. Accounting for their upcoming journey and its associated expenses, he proposed, "I can offer you 25,000 gil at the most."

"Dear, that won't do. This book is worth far more than that. I can't do it for that price," she asserted, gently taking the book back from his hand.

Leon knew he had nothing more to offer, yet his feet refused to move.

After one minute, Leon was still standing there, contemplating what else he can offer for it. "Besides money is there anything else I can do for you to make up for this price of this book?"

"I am an old lady with simple needs. All I need is some money to live out the rest of my days in comfort."

Leon was disappointed to hear that. He was hoping that maybe he could help her out with a quest or some errands to make up for the cost of the book.

Even though Luna would have loved to have this book, he knew he couldn't afford it. He had to go now.

He turned around and started walking away with a heavy heart. He had only taken a few steps when he heard Stiria say, "Perhaps there is one thing we can trade."

This was music to his ears. With a spring in his steps, he rushed back to her. "What can I offer you?" he asked eagerly.

"I noticed that pendant of yours. Is that Griever? The avatar of the God of death?" she asked curiously.

"Yes, you know of him?" he was surprised that she recognized it.

"Yes, the legend says that the Maker created Eos, the Goddess of life, and Hyne, the God of death. Eos gives life to all creatures on the planet, while Hyne harvests their soul at the end of their mortal life and returns it to Eos. Together they were to maintain the equilibrium of this and many other worlds. Their harmony soon blossomed into love unlike any other. Their love was pure, but tragic. They were like day and night. Neither complete without the other, yet they can never be together. They were destined to be apart yet it didn't stop them from loving each other." She took a brief pause as if recollecting the details before continuing.

"But there was another. The God of war, Bahamut, a close friend of Hyne who also loved goddess Eos, but she had eyes only for Hyne. The God of War got jealous and out of spite he secretly corrupted humanity with vices like ego, stubbornness, jealousy, anger, lust, and greed. Humanity, now intoxicated by these vices, started destroying the planet for their selfish gain. Eos loved humans, so to see her children getting corrupted broke her heart. Hyne felt Eos's pain and decided to erase corrupted humanity so Eos could create life anew. Being opportune as always, Bahamut instigated humanity to fight back against Hyne and provided them with magic and technology to do so. Hyne was the God of death, he would not be defeated so easily. He was fierce as a lion on the battlefield, but the constant war was wearing him down. It was only a matter of time before Hyne would fall against humanity, secretly backed by the God of War himself. However, the true victim of all this was Eos, as she had to witness a war between the one she loved and the one she created. She realized that the only death of humanity or Hyne would end this war," Stiria paused once again. Leon was really intrigued by this story wanted to know more.

"The ever-opportunistic Bahamut approached Eos and offered to put an end to this war in exchange for her love. It was his time to be her knight in shining armor, or so he thought. Eos was appalled by the very idea of loving another and rejected him. Enraged from this, Bahamut devised a cunning plan to kill Hyne. Bahamut joined Hyne as an ally in the battle of Pitioss. Shiva, a faithful friend of Eos, had learned of Bahamut's plan and tipped her off. Eos rushed to the battlefield along with Shiva to save Hyne. Unbeknownst to anything, a battle-weary Hyne was surprised to see Eos there. A momentary vulnerability was all Bahamut needed to plunge his sword in the back of Hyne. But he did not stop there. Bahamut conjures his many swords and was about to strike him down Hyne as Eos begged him to stop it. Eos finally gave in and said that she loved Bahamut, hoping that he would spare Hyne. Those words hurt Hyne more than any weapon could ever. Bahamut was merciless. His many swords plunged into Hyne's body from the back as Hyne bellowed in pain. Hyne died thinking his love had betrayed him. Eos screamed in agony as Bahamut swords severed Hyne's body in half. He tossed half of Hyne's body to humanity who had served him so well in his grand scheme. Humans would learn to harness Hyne's powers by means of sorceresses. He then tossed the remaining body to wailing Eos," Stiria narrated.

"Eos cradled the remains of Hyne's body and tried to revive her fallen lover, but it was too late. By splitting Hyne's body into two, Bahamut had fragmented his essence as well. To preserve the remains of Hyne, Eos congregated his remaining essence into a pendant and a ring. That pendant and the ring would go on to be known as Griever: a symbol of the grieving hearts of Hyne and Eos. Thundering laughter echoed through the atmosphere as Bahamut rejoiced his victory in conquering his lover. With fury in her eyes, Eos proclaimed that she would never be his. She claimed her life by her own trident, which will later be known as the Trident of the Oracle. Her essence was concentrated into the crystal, the soul of this planet. Her mortal body became one with the planet as she too died grieving for her lover. Hyne died thinking that he was betrayed by his love and Eos blamed herself for his death. Ironically, the only remains of their love were the pain and grief left behind in the form of Griever," Stiria concluded.

"Fascinating tale. Although the story I've been told of Hyne is slightly different," Leon said, recollecting the legend he had heard in his world.

"In war, the victor gets to dictate the history. Survivors write the history, not the dead," she pointed.

"True. I always thought Bahamut was a good guy. This story paints him in a completely different light. It makes sense that he would spread the false narrative of the events," he said, looking at her.

"Seeing his love die in front of his eyes, Bahamut had a change of heart. Ever since that day, the Six have been protecting this planet with Bahamut personally looking after the Crystal and her Trident. Is he protecting this world out of his love for Eos or out of fear of retaliation from Eos and Hyne? Only Bahamut knows that."

"Fear of retaliation? But both Eos and Hyne are dead," he pointed.

"The legend says that Eos and Hyne will be reincarnated over and over again until they can finally be together. Throughout centuries, across many realms, they have been reincarnated as Cloud and Aerith, Tidus and Yuna, Ashe and Rasler, Serah and Noel, Stella and Noctis, and many more, but their story always ends in heartbreak. Every time one is left grieving the death of the other. It is said that the Eos and Hyne walk among us even now, still searching for their happy ending."

"Fascinating," was all Squall could say.

"Now are you interested in this trade?" she asked, picking up the book again.

"I had honestly forgotten all about it," he admitted sheepishly.

"That's all right. I would give you this rare book if you can give me the pendant and the ring," she offered. "Surely, that can't be the real thing. It must be a replica," she added to convince him.

After seriously contemplating Leon finally replied, "This pendant and the ring means a lot to me. This is a symbol of my past and who I am now. I won't trade it for anything in the world."

"I understand. In that case, I am afraid that you have nothing of value to me," she said, putting down the book.

With a disappointment evident on his face, Leon slowly walked away from her.

With every step he took a pang of unknown guilt stabbed at his heart. Luna's words played in his head.

"What would you do if somehow someone gave you that last copy of that book?"

"I would enamor them. You have no idea how much this book means to me. It's more than just a book to me. It represents the bond between my mother and me. To hold that book once again in my hand would mean the world to me."

His feet stopped moving as that memory resurfaced.

'Leon, what are you doing? This is one thing that represents Luna's bond with her mother. How can you just walk away like that?' spoke his heart.

'Get her that book at the cost of my Griever? No way.' Fought back his mind.

'It's a trinket which has no meaning or any practical value. It is important to you because you made it so. Do you know how happy she will be to receive this book?' Argued his heart.

'This is the only thing I have from my past.' Rationalized his mind.

'But she is your future. Are you willing to let go of your future because you cannot let go of your past?'

'It's not that simple.'

'Happiness does not come without sacrifice. Luna has sacrificed her happiness over and over again so the world can be a better place. You claim to love her and yet hesitate to give up even a trinket for her?'

[Love me? Did I hear that right?]

'What about my happiness?' asked his mind.

'When you love someone, their happiness is your happiness. Remember that?' replied his heart.

'Yes, I do love her. Fine. You win.'

[Oh my god, he loves me]

Leon took off his pendant and ring and walked back to Stiria. He looked at both the items in his palm one last time and with a heavy heart he gave it to Stiria.

[I had an inclination that he loved me, but to actually hear it is- is amazing. Oh God, I am losing my mind. Focus Luna, focus. Take deep breaths and calm down.]

"Thank you, Squall," she said accepting it. Stiria handed the book to Squall and said, "I hope your friend likes this book."

"I know she will."

'I will wait for the right moment to give this to her. I know she will love it. For now, let's eat some ice-cream.'

After a few minutes, Leon returned to the car with two ice creams. He saw that Luna was talking to a street vendor, so he waved towards her to get her attention. She saw him and quickly came towards the car. She kept a few things she had bought in the trunk and joined him on the hood of the car.

Leon handed her a soft-serve chocolate vanilla ice cream once she was situated next to him.

"Ice cream? What's the occasion?"

"This is to celebrate finishing all our deliveries," he announced, doing cheers with their ice cream cones.

Everything started swirling again. The next image to stabilize was of a cave in Fociaugh Hollow.

[This is it. Time to find out what happened to you Leon in that cave?]

Author's notes:

Did not expect to see Cloud, Aerith, Tidus, Yuna, Ashe, Rasler, Serah, and Noel in this chapter, did you? haha

It was fun to loosely tie 5 more Final Fantasy (FFVII, FFX, FFXII, FFXIII-2, and FFXV Versus) stories with the lore of this one :)

If you pay attention to cloths Squall and Luna have been wearing since they left Lestallum you might have noticed that they have been wearing Cloud and Aerith's clothes from their various games... so I left SOME hints lol

Also, lots of Easter eggs in this chapter, lets see if you can answer them.
1) Which game is Stiria from? (I had mentioned about her in chapter 17. I am surprised no one picked up on it.)
2) Which game is the book Durai Papers from?
3) Which game is the book LOVELESS from? (This one is super easy)
4) Which game is the book The Song of the Savior from?
5) What is significance of number 41,269 in FFVIII?
6) What is significance of 1,370,000 Gil? (If you can answer this one, without googling, then you should be crowned as FFVIII Champion. This is a hard one.)

Please leave a comment and brighten my day. Thanks :)