Yuna had saved the world, fought Sin unscathed, and kept the entire world from being swept up in the desire for war when they should have been rebuilding. She was a hero many times over. She was a leader. She protected people. Tidus no longer got to do that; he didn't deserve to anymore.
Tidus wasn't fond of the sudden reversal of roles. He had only been in Spira for a few months after the Fayth had suddenly brought him back by dumping him in the ocean for Yuna to find like a treasure. He was tired of getting told what to do or what to think. Especially by people he had already known before coming to Spira. Tidus wanted to see the people of Spira enjoy themselves finally, and he wanted to join them. But for some reason, Yuna was already angry at him before Sin had returned and now she was angry at him for wanting to give it all up to help her now that Sin was back.
Two new people were flying the Celsius, Rikku's new airship that had become their new home along with his now—new to him, at least. Kurgum and Chuami, nice people according to Tidus, had taken over the bridge. Although Kurgum's formal attitude made him seem distant while Chuami was explicit about wanting to get too close.
"There's only so many temples in the world; we can just check 'em all," Paine stated.
"That's just a big waste of time," Yuna argued. "We don't even know who we're looking for."
"Temples tend to have a lot of secrets, too," Paine replied. "This might be a lot more complicated than you think."
Rikku just shrugged. She had no idea why the temples hadn't been renovated into shops or libraries or even something useful yet. The Fayth didn't bother her and she didn't bother them.
"Well, it's not in Bevelle. I was just there," Tidus added, trying to be helpful.
"How would you know?" Yuna scoffed at him. "You were with Marphie the whole time."
"Leave her out of this!" Tidus shot back. He had spent months trying to protect his friend from others, but he never expected to have to protect her from his girlfriend. "Besides, Macalania Temple isn't an option either, obviously. Donna would have mentioned something if Kilika was involved. We wouldn't be here if it happened on Besaid."
"Still too many options," Yuna mumbled. She wanted answers. She was tired of trying to figure out puzzles, only to find out she was too late.
"What's that?" Rikku interrupted.
Everyone turned to the window. The forest rippled as a tremor shook the ground far below the airship. A thick, black shadow began to seep out of the center, creeping through the crashing trees until they were drowned in the inky abyss. The tremors stopped as the darkness kissed the edge of the forest.
"Is it getting darker?" Chuami asked, looking up instead of down.
Indeed, the clouds began to spread, almost bubbling like magma as they swarmed to blot out the sun. The sky began to rumble, as if challenging anyone who wished to protest the change in the weather.
"What about a broken temple?" Rikku asked. "No one else would ever check there."
The clouds had gathered across the sky as far as anyone could see from the airship.
"That isn't a good sign," Paine commented as the ship landed on the dark ocean.
The sky flickered red above the island, like a dying star, trying to take as much of the velvet sky with them in an angry burst of fury.
"It's a sign," Kurgum muttered.
He and Chuami stayed aboard as the others left to explore. While they both wanted to share the journey, they also understood some things were just too dangerous for them.
The four separated into two groups of two, each hunted through the shadows and followed by the scratching noises of the native creatures that followed after them.
The place was naturally dark, abandoned years ago in fear. Tidus remembered this place, though. He had been here when he first came to Spira-the real Spira. He wondered if there was some reason he had been brought here as well.
Tidus wandered through familiar haunted halls, recalling that he had already known someone had been here long before him. Someone had abandoned flowers and flint for someone to find later. He had found an old bunch of flowers and a flint someone had previously used when he had first arrived in this time. Everything had grown cold by the time he had been here. Not even ghosts whispered throughout the empty, fallen halls.
The place was long dead. Whoever had been here before him wanted to keep it that way. Everything of importance had been sealed away or hidden or was behind fallen rubble. Rib-like arches towered into the darkness or had given up their vigilance and collapsed; their duty no longer needed. Tidus saw no signs that anyone had ever been here before him, save for the occasional statue of a summoner, lost in a history he was oblivious to. Then...
"Yuna! I found something!" Tidus yelled as his flashlight shone on something unusual.
Rikku chased away a large reptile that had been licking a spot on the rubble. At first it was just a dark puddle, nothing amiss in a building half-sunk and barely there.
No, there were no ghosts here. Not yet.
Tidus looked around, soon spotting a trail, already tracked by similar creatures.
"Eww," Rikku squeaked, chasing after them, while avoiding the splatter. Blood had returned to this monument to the dead. Fresh, sticky blood had dribbled onto the stone and the scent of a fresh meal had attracted the hungry wildlife.
Rikku and Tidus followed the dark trail over a pile of debris; Yuna and Paine caught up with them as Tidus was struggling to move a broken door from a larger pile of boulders. The barrier had been moved by bloodied hands to keep out the hungry wails.
Joined by Paine, Tidus managed to push the door far enough that it toppled off the pile, letting it smash against the floor below.
There he lay, the answer to one riddle that spread like the roots of weeds into many more.
Seymour of the lost Guado, former maester and iconic cause of cold-blooded murder, lay dying.
Callow skin and shallow breath, he was far too close to the farplane to be of any use they could think of. His left hand was the key to this fate: One of the native lizards had sunk half its teeth deep into his muscles as he landed a blow that had smashed through the other half of its head. He had finished it off viciously against the cold stone before running from those with similarly hungry maws. Soon after barring the others from his hiding spot, he had lost the fight.
Barely alive, with his injured hand turning unhealthy colors, he still smiled. The smirk had been meant for his lizard friends, making what victory he could out of the situation. He would have worn the same grin, had he seen their faces.