Yuna had given her speech that she would end Sin once again in confidence. But what she hadn't told anyone yet was about the dream she had the night before. She grew confident as Spira's savior. She felt free after what she had thought was the permanent end of Sin. She felt she deserved to spend her time relaxing without worries or have a need to keep busy. Before, it had all been because of boredom or to forget about what she had lost. Now, after asking her friends to join her once again, she wished she had never made this decision to be a heroine again.
Rikku immediately volunteered to help. It was her cousin's nature to insist on aiding in helping the world, especially when Yuna was involved. She found Paine, their friend from when the three went out sphere hunting across the land, who was eager to join in their fight.
Tidus was adamant on being with Yuna as well and the two newcomers; Chuami and Kurgum had insisted to be part of the fight, though they had yet to admit any skills other than learning to fly the airship. Kurgum was trained as a sender, and still a devout Yevonite, despite the loss of the power of the church. Chami was the opposite, despising Yevonites and only giving exception to her Kurgum as her friend since childhood and to Yuna, who had not only saved the world twice, but had fought against the hypocrisy of the religion.
Standing on the bridge of it, everyone waited patiently for directions and more importantly, answers.
"Where's Marphie?" Yuna asked Tidus, hoping to find any excuse not to do this, or at least not with him. Yuna wanted to relax and enjoy a life without danger or being dragged everywhere. He, though, wanted to travel and show off. Marphie had become the topic of their recent fights , which had grown more and more constant. Yuna had found the other girl crying in Tidus's arms more than once, as well as other forms of attention Yuna felt should only be meant for her. Tidus had even given Marphie a signed blitzball, something he had never given Yuna.
"She's on Besaid with Wakka and Lulu," Tidus answered defensively. "She's not involved in this and I don't want her to be."
Yuna's shoulders fell slightly. Fighting with Tidus was her only excuse to stall. She didn't want to admit to anyone, especially those who looked up to her and were eager to help her, both personally and with her mission, how lost she felt.
"Yunie, what's wrong?" Rikku asked.
"What happened?" Paine asked. She was smart enough to know Tidus wasn't the problem.
"I don't know," Yuna whispered. "I mean… I don't know what to do."
Every time she saw the farplane in her dreams, she couldn't help be in awe of the serenity, even for a few moments. This time, she found herself standing on a scorched patch of rock, as if her feet caused the ground to bleed smoke and fire. The flowers had gone grey, like old bone. Standing before her was the strange child Fayth, his face hidden under his large hood.
Pyreflies floating from his visage wafted between them. "Sin has returned." The Fayth stated, yet curious to know if it was true.
"Yes," Yuna answered. "But Yu Yevon has been dead for a long time. Hasn't he?"
"He and his daughter sleep. For now," the Fayth answered.
"Then—" There was a sudden rumbling at her feet between them. Her fingers touched a stream of pyreflies flying from him, only to become cinders at her touch. The ground began to bleed again, a deep wound marking a line between where the two stood. A harsh wind picked up, taking up itself the task of rage.
Yuna held her hand to protect her eyes from the sting, a sharp burn like hot needles assaulted her.
It finally passed, like the strike of lightning, the whispers or the deadly force behind her.
Upon lowering her hand, Yuna found someone else standing before her. She had been beautiful once, but was now just a ghost in the shell of a young woman too ravaged by tears. The flowers of the farplane were gone, leaving only a barren, dead, and empty terrain.
"He does not know the power he holds… he never knew," she spoke to her empty hands, trying to cradle something delicate that was not there. "I tried. I begged. I could not hold them. Either of them. He's gone. I just… all I wanted was to hold him once more." She collapsed to her knees, sobbing.
Yuna wanted to comfort the strange woman but, as she tentatively reached forward and risk a whisper of hope in the silence between them, there was a loud crack beneath her boot.
Yuna frantically stepped back, the ruined ground beneath her shattered where she had been standing, falling into the colorless nothingness below.
"How do I stop this?" Yuna screamed to the empty air.
"The temple," the woman said. "I left him where it all started. I tried to protect him, but I couldn't stop…I could never hurt my beloved."
The woman looked up at Yuna, her eyes shining through sparkling tears like dew. "The Temple. Before it's too late. It will be dark soon."
A cold torrent began, smothering the wounded ground in an unforgiving flood. The stiff, empty landscape gave way, dripping in thick, oozing cascades to the unforgiving nowhere below.
Lightning flashed.
"I don't know what I'm supposed to do."