The end?
No, it shouldn't have ended that way.
And it didn't.
It began...
______________________________________________
Now you close your eyes.
And you picture yourself swimming through an unbounded ocean of stars.
It takes you by surprise. You thought the void of space would be blackness with just a few twinkling lights in the distance. But there are so many stars as to be innumerable, their lights blazing, burning and reflecting of each other, magnifying their brilliant radiance, until the void of space is just a background, and the countless stars fill up the grand painting. You find it as beautiful a Moonflow spring, teeming with pyreflies.
Now you look to your right.
Past the burning brightness of the closest star, past the closest orbiting globes, to the smallest world in this solar system. Diminutive, compared to the other planets, yes, you notice that, but unique in another way too. It is a gleaming cerulean blue sphere, with streaks of white cloud and uneven blotches of drifting continents.
Now you smile.
Not just because this globe reminds you of your own world, but because as you start to swim forward, you're smiling with nostalgia and familiarity. You've been here before, to this beautiful world, so much like your own, but in so many other ways, so different. The name of this world is Spira.
Now you choose.
There are so many limitless worlds to choose from, and you've already seen this one. And even after seeing so many different ones, there are still so many more yet to see, you remind yourself. So you choose. You will continue the travels of your imagination, but for the moment, just for now, you wish to see Spira again.
So you swim closer, and that small globe becomes so much bigger, soon encompassing your entire vision, dwarfing you. You drift down through the atmosphere, slipping through the blanket-like clouds, and then you see the entire geography of Spira, laid out before you like a great map, you can see all the rivers, forests, mountains and fields, but you can't quite see the towns and villages yet.
Midnight, our sons and daughters
Were cut down and taken from us
Hear their heartbeat
We hear their heartbeat...
Something starts to draw you closer, a story calling for you to hear. Another one? You hear it call, and you fly, heading for the tallest mountain in Spira, Sacred Mount Gagazet. You fly on, not eager to wait, and you start to notice drops of water splash your face. It's starting to rain. The sky is opening up and showering all of Spira. There is not a single land that the rain is not falling upon.
You do your best to ignore it, and continue to head towards the mountain. And there, you see someone, standing on Spira's highest peak. She looks... familiar.
In the wind
We hear their laughter
In the rain
We see their tears
Drifting closer, you recognise the figure. She is Summoner Yuna, from the island of Besaid. You know her from the last story you witnessed while you here. But the one who told you that story is gone...
You can see a small group of people standing near Yuna, watching her. You recognise them too. They look up at Yuna, not saying a word as the rain falls both on them and herself.
Yuna is crying.
Hear their heartbeat
We hear their heartbeat...
But, ...it's a strange emotion. She seems torn between absolute sadness and pure joy. The rain washes over her as it does all over Spira, slicking her light brown hair and soaking her clothes. She stands with arms streched out, looking down over her world, like the statue of Christ on the Corcavado Hill, only in her right hand she holds out her Summoner's staff. Thin lines of rain fall against her face, mixing with her heavy tears, and yet a smile of pure joy stays on her face throughout her weeping.
Night hangs like a prisoner
Stretched over black and blue
Hear their heartbeat...
We hear their heartbeat
The others watch, but say nothing, just like the first time you ever saw them.
Rikku, Yuna's own cousin, and a member of the Al Bhed tribe, the youngest of this small group. She holds out her palms, smiling in the rain, closing her eyes and letting a smile cross her face. No tears.
Wakka, a Blitzball player from Besaid, once a devoted follower of the church of Yevon. He looks at Yuna, smiling, as if he always believed in her and his faith has been justified.
Kimahri Ronso, standing head and shoulders above the rest. He was Yuna's first Guardian, protecting her ever since she was but a child. In one hand, he holds his spear, but he turns his head and looks away, out over the plains of Spira, seeing the rain fall. He closes his yellow eyes and softly nods, as if content with something...
And one more.
In the trees
Our sons stand naked
Through the walls
Our daughters cry
See their tears in the rainfall
The Black Mage gazes up at Yuna, smiling serenly, as if proud to even just know Yuna. This is the first time you have ever seen such a look on her face. One of happiness, calm and blissful. She looks to her left, away from Yuna for the moment, and looks out over Spira. She steps closer to the mountain's edge, and watches the rain fall over her world. You follow her, watching the smile on her face.
And you hear her voice.
I will tell you a story. You have probably already heard the story of Tidus, as it was he who told it to you himself. But there is another tale, if you wish to hear it, a tale for all of those who were captivated by Tidus' chronicle, by his epic adventure across our world of Spira. I journeyed with him in his saga, for I am Lulu of Besaid. So if you will listen to me, I will take you beyond Tidus' story. I will tell you the story that followed. The story of Yuna...
Final Fantasy X - Epsilon
____________
"Everything dies, baby, that's a fact
But maybe everything that dies someday comes back
Put your make-up on, fix your hair up pretty
And meet me tonight in Atlantic City"
- Bruce Springsteen
"Though lovers be lost, love shall not;
And death shall have no dominion."
- Dylan Thomas
"My eyes have seen the glory!"
- Martin Luther King Jnr. "If the people we love are stolen from us, the way to have them live on is to never stop loving them. Buildings burn, people die...
but real love is forever."
- from "The Crow"
"Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"
- Martin Luther King Jnr.
"Everyone...everyone has lost something precious. Everyone has lost homes, dreams, and friends. Everybody... Now, Sin is finally dead. Now, Spira is ours again. Working together... Now we can make new homes for ourselves, and new dreams. Although I know the journey will be hard, we have lots of time. Together, we will rebuild Spira. The road is ahead of us, so let's start out today. Just, one more thing... The people and the friends that we have lost, or the dreams that have faded... Never forget them."
- High Summoner Yuna
_____________________________________
"Mothers Of The Disappeared" written by Bono, The Edge, Larry Mullen and Adam Clayton. Copyright belongs to U2 and Island Records. Taken from "The Joshua Tree" album.
No, it shouldn't have ended that way.
And it didn't.
It began...
Now you close your eyes.
And you picture yourself swimming through an unbounded ocean of stars.
It takes you by surprise. You thought the void of space would be blackness with just a few twinkling lights in the distance. But there are so many stars as to be innumerable, their lights blazing, burning and reflecting of each other, magnifying their brilliant radiance, until the void of space is just a background, and the countless stars fill up the grand painting. You find it as beautiful a Moonflow spring, teeming with pyreflies.
Now you look to your right.
Past the burning brightness of the closest star, past the closest orbiting globes, to the smallest world in this solar system. Diminutive, compared to the other planets, yes, you notice that, but unique in another way too. It is a gleaming cerulean blue sphere, with streaks of white cloud and uneven blotches of drifting continents.
Now you smile.
Not just because this globe reminds you of your own world, but because as you start to swim forward, you're smiling with nostalgia and familiarity. You've been here before, to this beautiful world, so much like your own, but in so many other ways, so different. The name of this world is Spira.
Now you choose.
There are so many limitless worlds to choose from, and you've already seen this one. And even after seeing so many different ones, there are still so many more yet to see, you remind yourself. So you choose. You will continue the travels of your imagination, but for the moment, just for now, you wish to see Spira again.
So you swim closer, and that small globe becomes so much bigger, soon encompassing your entire vision, dwarfing you. You drift down through the atmosphere, slipping through the blanket-like clouds, and then you see the entire geography of Spira, laid out before you like a great map, you can see all the rivers, forests, mountains and fields, but you can't quite see the towns and villages yet.
Were cut down and taken from us
Hear their heartbeat
We hear their heartbeat...
Something starts to draw you closer, a story calling for you to hear. Another one? You hear it call, and you fly, heading for the tallest mountain in Spira, Sacred Mount Gagazet. You fly on, not eager to wait, and you start to notice drops of water splash your face. It's starting to rain. The sky is opening up and showering all of Spira. There is not a single land that the rain is not falling upon.
You do your best to ignore it, and continue to head towards the mountain. And there, you see someone, standing on Spira's highest peak. She looks... familiar.
We hear their laughter
In the rain
We see their tears
Drifting closer, you recognise the figure. She is Summoner Yuna, from the island of Besaid. You know her from the last story you witnessed while you here. But the one who told you that story is gone...
You can see a small group of people standing near Yuna, watching her. You recognise them too. They look up at Yuna, not saying a word as the rain falls both on them and herself.
Yuna is crying.
We hear their heartbeat...
But, ...it's a strange emotion. She seems torn between absolute sadness and pure joy. The rain washes over her as it does all over Spira, slicking her light brown hair and soaking her clothes. She stands with arms streched out, looking down over her world, like the statue of Christ on the Corcavado Hill, only in her right hand she holds out her Summoner's staff. Thin lines of rain fall against her face, mixing with her heavy tears, and yet a smile of pure joy stays on her face throughout her weeping.
Stretched over black and blue
Hear their heartbeat...
We hear their heartbeat
The others watch, but say nothing, just like the first time you ever saw them.
Rikku, Yuna's own cousin, and a member of the Al Bhed tribe, the youngest of this small group. She holds out her palms, smiling in the rain, closing her eyes and letting a smile cross her face. No tears.
Wakka, a Blitzball player from Besaid, once a devoted follower of the church of Yevon. He looks at Yuna, smiling, as if he always believed in her and his faith has been justified.
Kimahri Ronso, standing head and shoulders above the rest. He was Yuna's first Guardian, protecting her ever since she was but a child. In one hand, he holds his spear, but he turns his head and looks away, out over the plains of Spira, seeing the rain fall. He closes his yellow eyes and softly nods, as if content with something...
And one more.
Our sons stand naked
Through the walls
Our daughters cry
See their tears in the rainfall
The Black Mage gazes up at Yuna, smiling serenly, as if proud to even just know Yuna. This is the first time you have ever seen such a look on her face. One of happiness, calm and blissful. She looks to her left, away from Yuna for the moment, and looks out over Spira. She steps closer to the mountain's edge, and watches the rain fall over her world. You follow her, watching the smile on her face.
And you hear her voice.
I will tell you a story. You have probably already heard the story of Tidus, as it was he who told it to you himself. But there is another tale, if you wish to hear it, a tale for all of those who were captivated by Tidus' chronicle, by his epic adventure across our world of Spira. I journeyed with him in his saga, for I am Lulu of Besaid. So if you will listen to me, I will take you beyond Tidus' story. I will tell you the story that followed. The story of Yuna...
____________
"Everything dies, baby, that's a fact
But maybe everything that dies someday comes back
Put your make-up on, fix your hair up pretty
And meet me tonight in Atlantic City"
- Bruce Springsteen
"Though lovers be lost, love shall not;
And death shall have no dominion."
- Dylan Thomas
"My eyes have seen the glory!"
- Martin Luther King Jnr. "If the people we love are stolen from us, the way to have them live on is to never stop loving them. Buildings burn, people die...
but real love is forever."
- from "The Crow"
"Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"
- Martin Luther King Jnr.
"Everyone...everyone has lost something precious. Everyone has lost homes, dreams, and friends. Everybody... Now, Sin is finally dead. Now, Spira is ours again. Working together... Now we can make new homes for ourselves, and new dreams. Although I know the journey will be hard, we have lots of time. Together, we will rebuild Spira. The road is ahead of us, so let's start out today. Just, one more thing... The people and the friends that we have lost, or the dreams that have faded... Never forget them."
- High Summoner Yuna
"Mothers Of The Disappeared" written by Bono, The Edge, Larry Mullen and Adam Clayton. Copyright belongs to U2 and Island Records. Taken from "The Joshua Tree" album.