Epilogue: Let Me Be Dormant
"I stare at the stars and the sky up above and think what am I made of?...
I can't say goodbye to yesterday, my friend. I keep holding on 'til the end. Out of the Darkness, there is no other way, than the light leading to
yesterday."
-Carla White; "Can't Say Goodbye to Yesterday"
The four of them solemnly arrived in the new world. A glowing neon sign at the city gates read "Traverse Town". A somewhat appropriate title... A man was sitting in a wooden booth. He didn't seem surprised by their arrival.
As Cid approached the booth, he asked in a dull voice, "Name?"
Cid arched a blond eyebrow, wiped non-existent dirt off his nose, and replied glumly, "Cid Highwind." The man recorded Cid's name in a rather thick ledger, and handed him a card.
"Welcome to Traverse Town. You may step through the gates." Same deadpan tone. "Next!" Yuffie approached him. "Name?"
"Yuffie. Yuffie Kisargi," Yuffie answered, a tear glistening in the corner of her eye. The man recorded her name in the ledger, and handed her a card.
"Welcome to Traverse Town. Step through the gates. Next!" Aerith stepped up to the booth. "A whole crowd... Wonderful," the man in the booth muttered sarcastically. "God, I hate my job... Name?"
"Aerith. Aerith... Gast...Strife," Aerith replied, lying about her last name. Squall coughed, but didn't say anything.
"Could you spell that, please?"
"G-A-S-T-R-I-F-E." The man recorded Aerith's name in his book, muttering the last few letters to himself as he wrote. He then handed her a card.
"Welcome to Traverse Town. You may step through the gates... Next!" Squall stepped up to the booth. "Are you the last one?"
"Yeah," Squall choked out. "I'm the last one."
"Thank God," the man said to himself, relieved. "Name?"
"Squa-"Squall paused. Squall, a man helpless to save the world, helpless to save his father and sister... Squall, who fled in the face of danger, and failed to beat Seifer... Squall, who was carried away by women, leaving his father and friends to die... That Squall... He paused. 'I don't want to be him anymore... I need new skin...' "Leon... My name is Leon Loire." The man recorded Squa- Leon's name in the ledger, and handed him a card. On it, were the words "Traverse Town Resident". Leon winced at the word "resident."
"Welcome to Traverse Town. You can step through the gates. And hey... Don't worry about it... Lots of people change their names after... well, you know..."
Leon half-smiled, pocketed the card, and stepped through the large wooden gates, and onto cobblestone. He looked around at his new home. A café was in the upper left corner of the large square, and a small set of steps were next to it. To the right of the stairs was a mailbox, and farther to the right was a set of wooden double-doors, with a sign reading "Third District Under Construction. Do Not Enter" standing before it. Leon walked to the mailbox, catching up with Cid, Yuffie, and Aerith.
"Well..." mumbled Aerith.
"Well... Guess this is home from now on..." Cid announced bitterly.
"Aw, let's look on the bright side!" Yuffie said cheerfully.
"What bright side?" Cid spat.
"I dunno... I was hoping one of you guys would find one... How you holdin' up, Squall?" Yuffie asked. Leon turned his eyes toward the night sky- the perpetual night sky.
"That's Leon, Yuff. My name is Leon," he said, watching as a star as it shone brilliantly, but then faded into nothing.
Rain was drizzling. Falling heavily upon Cloud's unconscious form, slowly waking him. Drops of water cascaded down his face, washing away the blood and mixing with the tears. His eyes fluttered open, and he found himself in an alleyway. Rain went into his eyes, forcing him to shut them tightly again. Eyes still shut, Cloud got to his feet, leaning against the stone wall of a large building.
He opened his eyes, and stumbled out of the alley. Finding himself in a town square, he looked around. Neon lights brightly shot themselves into his eyes, and he shut them again. After a few moments, he opened his eyes yet again, and looked to the nearest building.
It was a tall building, reaching towards the crying clouds. Towards the top of the building were monitors showing... her...
"Aerith..." Cloud mumbled. Looking harder, her image vanished from the screens. Vision moving passed the screens, Cloud looked at the building's pinnacle, and saw a familiar form silhouetted against a flash of lightning. Long hair. Torn clothing. One wing.
"Sephiroth..."
"C'mon, Cloud!" Sephiroth shouted down to him. "Let's finish this!" Cloud growled, and released his own bat-like wing from beneath the maroon cape of Sephiroth's father. He found his sword frozen in his hand. That was all he needed.
Kicking off from the ground, Cloud ascended to the building's peak, to face his nemesis again, picking up from where they left off in another world.
my final report
"When the heart casts off the flesh, where does the body go?
Heart and soul are separate, and the spirit remains in the body. But can we assume that the leftover body and soul perish?
Certainly when the heart changes into a Heartless the body disappears.
However, that is only this world's story; in another world, mightn't they change forms like the Heartless and exist there?
If we take that to be the case, there must be a you other than yourself existing somewhere.
An existence neither of darkness nor of light.
An in-between existence.
Cast off by the heart, a mere shell, one who begrudges both the darkness and the light.
This mystery cannot be easily resolved.
The relationship between the heart and the flesh is a complex one.
But since we exist here, they cannot be termed as existent.
Therefore I shall call them...
'The non-existent ones.'"
now is the time for me to begin my plan
i will open the door to darkness
beyond it lies paradise
the heart of all worlds
"Kingdom Hearts."
"I stare at the stars and the sky up above and think what am I made of?...
I can't say goodbye to yesterday, my friend. I keep holding on 'til the end. Out of the Darkness, there is no other way, than the light leading to
yesterday."
-Carla White; "Can't Say Goodbye to Yesterday"
The four of them solemnly arrived in the new world. A glowing neon sign at the city gates read "Traverse Town". A somewhat appropriate title... A man was sitting in a wooden booth. He didn't seem surprised by their arrival.
As Cid approached the booth, he asked in a dull voice, "Name?"
Cid arched a blond eyebrow, wiped non-existent dirt off his nose, and replied glumly, "Cid Highwind." The man recorded Cid's name in a rather thick ledger, and handed him a card.
"Welcome to Traverse Town. You may step through the gates." Same deadpan tone. "Next!" Yuffie approached him. "Name?"
"Yuffie. Yuffie Kisargi," Yuffie answered, a tear glistening in the corner of her eye. The man recorded her name in the ledger, and handed her a card.
"Welcome to Traverse Town. Step through the gates. Next!" Aerith stepped up to the booth. "A whole crowd... Wonderful," the man in the booth muttered sarcastically. "God, I hate my job... Name?"
"Aerith. Aerith... Gast...Strife," Aerith replied, lying about her last name. Squall coughed, but didn't say anything.
"Could you spell that, please?"
"G-A-S-T-R-I-F-E." The man recorded Aerith's name in his book, muttering the last few letters to himself as he wrote. He then handed her a card.
"Welcome to Traverse Town. You may step through the gates... Next!" Squall stepped up to the booth. "Are you the last one?"
"Yeah," Squall choked out. "I'm the last one."
"Thank God," the man said to himself, relieved. "Name?"
"Squa-"Squall paused. Squall, a man helpless to save the world, helpless to save his father and sister... Squall, who fled in the face of danger, and failed to beat Seifer... Squall, who was carried away by women, leaving his father and friends to die... That Squall... He paused. 'I don't want to be him anymore... I need new skin...' "Leon... My name is Leon Loire." The man recorded Squa- Leon's name in the ledger, and handed him a card. On it, were the words "Traverse Town Resident". Leon winced at the word "resident."
"Welcome to Traverse Town. You can step through the gates. And hey... Don't worry about it... Lots of people change their names after... well, you know..."
Leon half-smiled, pocketed the card, and stepped through the large wooden gates, and onto cobblestone. He looked around at his new home. A café was in the upper left corner of the large square, and a small set of steps were next to it. To the right of the stairs was a mailbox, and farther to the right was a set of wooden double-doors, with a sign reading "Third District Under Construction. Do Not Enter" standing before it. Leon walked to the mailbox, catching up with Cid, Yuffie, and Aerith.
"Well..." mumbled Aerith.
"Well... Guess this is home from now on..." Cid announced bitterly.
"Aw, let's look on the bright side!" Yuffie said cheerfully.
"What bright side?" Cid spat.
"I dunno... I was hoping one of you guys would find one... How you holdin' up, Squall?" Yuffie asked. Leon turned his eyes toward the night sky- the perpetual night sky.
"That's Leon, Yuff. My name is Leon," he said, watching as a star as it shone brilliantly, but then faded into nothing.
Rain was drizzling. Falling heavily upon Cloud's unconscious form, slowly waking him. Drops of water cascaded down his face, washing away the blood and mixing with the tears. His eyes fluttered open, and he found himself in an alleyway. Rain went into his eyes, forcing him to shut them tightly again. Eyes still shut, Cloud got to his feet, leaning against the stone wall of a large building.
He opened his eyes, and stumbled out of the alley. Finding himself in a town square, he looked around. Neon lights brightly shot themselves into his eyes, and he shut them again. After a few moments, he opened his eyes yet again, and looked to the nearest building.
It was a tall building, reaching towards the crying clouds. Towards the top of the building were monitors showing... her...
"Aerith..." Cloud mumbled. Looking harder, her image vanished from the screens. Vision moving passed the screens, Cloud looked at the building's pinnacle, and saw a familiar form silhouetted against a flash of lightning. Long hair. Torn clothing. One wing.
"Sephiroth..."
"C'mon, Cloud!" Sephiroth shouted down to him. "Let's finish this!" Cloud growled, and released his own bat-like wing from beneath the maroon cape of Sephiroth's father. He found his sword frozen in his hand. That was all he needed.
Kicking off from the ground, Cloud ascended to the building's peak, to face his nemesis again, picking up from where they left off in another world.
my final report
"When the heart casts off the flesh, where does the body go?
Heart and soul are separate, and the spirit remains in the body. But can we assume that the leftover body and soul perish?
Certainly when the heart changes into a Heartless the body disappears.
However, that is only this world's story; in another world, mightn't they change forms like the Heartless and exist there?
If we take that to be the case, there must be a you other than yourself existing somewhere.
An existence neither of darkness nor of light.
An in-between existence.
Cast off by the heart, a mere shell, one who begrudges both the darkness and the light.
This mystery cannot be easily resolved.
The relationship between the heart and the flesh is a complex one.
But since we exist here, they cannot be termed as existent.
Therefore I shall call them...
'The non-existent ones.'"
now is the time for me to begin my plan
i will open the door to darkness
beyond it lies paradise
the heart of all worlds
"Kingdom Hearts."