Ordeal
In the first room, Megami was faced with a chasm. On either side was a pole, just right for her to hook onto. She picked up an item from her backpack, a grappling hook. Two and a half years ago, when she was fighting some thieves to take their loot, she'd discovered it among the items. It had seen much use, getting her over chasms in ruins. Once on the other side, there was two doors. The first led to a long corridor, while the second to a vacant room. Taking the room, Megami searched for something to filch.
On a counter, she saw a strange device. Picking it up, the woman realized it was a radar of some sort, but more powerful. Testing it out, she found the dungeon's map had suddenly come up on screen. On it was the location of every treasure that had been left inside the place, appearing as a blinking spot on the map. Megami had heard rumors of the Extended Radar, but never before had she found one. She kept it.
Backtracking, she went down the corridor opposite the room. It ended some time later, after it had snaked around many areas of the ruins. Throughout the entire corridor, there were rooms filled with Gella, healing items, and other valuable treasures she could sell. From what the radar told her, Megami could see only one more treasure left to find, but it was through a series of rooms. Taking the final door in the corridor, Megami headed towards the treasure, the place where the legendary item must have been placed long ago.
=Welcome, Megami,= the voice from the entrance beckoned, =I knew you wouldn't back down from the challenge. In order to get my treasure, you must face your fears. We call this The Soul Mirror, because it can tell you a reflection of yourself. I must say, you are quite an interesting case, Megami, never before have I seen a man or woman quite like you. There is something here that puts my senses out of whack.=
"If you're here to test me, you sure are doing a poor job of it! Let's just get this over with, so I can go back to town and move on. This isn't my scene, all these stupid conversations," she yelled. It appeared as if the voice was knocked off guard, and thinking of a good comeback for her. Megami always was good with debating and arguments, that was why she always got the best prices off of her employers, debating.
The voice boomed, =Silence, woman! You are just an empty shell, there is little left of your soul. I feel that you were once pure, a soul that everyone else could feel warmth from, and who cared about what happened to herself and others. But now, you are no more than a shell of your former self, you care about no one but yourself. How can any human being live such an empty life, without the love of other people?=
Megami was seething as he spoke. "Shut up! How DARE you act like you know everything about me? You don't even know what I've been through. Just leave me alone, unless you want to give me your little test. Either let me take this stupid ordeal, or quit it with the cracks about who I am." The part about her not caring about anyone but herself stung, she cared greatly about Lilka and Ashley. If this was a divine being of some sort that was testing her, one claiming omnipotence, he should see how she loved her kids.
=Very well then,= the man said, =I will allow you to take the test. But be prepared, you don't want to face the past so this will be painful. Pass this one, and you can move on to the next room. If you can take all my challenges, and succeed in facing them, then you will be given the final treasure in the ruins. No man has ever taken my test and passed, they are too afraid. Most either fail, turn back in frustration, or die from self inflicted wounds in order to take away their pain. Can someone like you be able to defeat my terrors?=
"Bring it on, I'm not afraid of anything. Besides, I'm not a man, and you'd better not compare me to one or you'll be dead the second I run into you for real," Megami threatened. She heard a sigh, a female one, coming from her body. Ever since she could remember, Megami had Invoked some of the Guardians that protected Filgaia, something to do with a trip to Baskar long ago. Raftina, the Guardian of Love, was forever trying to help her open up a little more, saying she must allow herself to have friends. But the death of her lover and partners had made her retract into a shell, never again would death hurt Megami's emotions.
The voice told her, =Then take this, and face your fears.= Suddenly, an image began to appear, a little blurry at first but slowly clearing up. The person had silver hair and purple eyes, and he was dressed for traveling in the harsh Wastelands. Megami gasped, it was her dead lover, Ryu! He looked at her, a tear falling down his face. She backed up a bit, what was he trying to accomplish by bringing Ryu's ghost back?
The man looked at her, and his face turned stern. "Why in the heck do you even care about me? It's not like I have my own feelings. I don't even have my own life, being dragged around by fate ever since I was born. You, on the other hand, could have left at any time, it wasn't your destiny to stay and fight here." He glared at the woman, just like how she would glare at other people. There was no question in her mind who exactly had taught her how to act now. It was Ryu who had taken her under his wing back then.
"Ryu, what are you saying?" asked the woman, "Your destiny? What was your destiny? I don't know what happened in the past, but if you felt trapped in your own life you should have seeked my help in fixing it." She looked at him, feeling a pain burn though her heart. How she missed him, even though she wanted to forget him. Megami thought about Ryu before she slept at night, tears had stained her sheets on at least one occasion. His face was always fresh in her mind, no matter how far from the pain she ran now.
Megami wanted to take Ryu in her arms, to hold him there and protect him from his every pain. But you can't hold a dream, and he went right through her. She felt torn apart, she could see him but not hold him like before. If she could take back the accident, she would, she'd do anything for him to have been with her when the children were born, to have taken care of them throughout their entire childhood up until now.
Soon, she could see Ryu begin to fade. He looked sad, almost, as if he really didn't want to go. But he had been sad over his destiny at that time, so she wondered if it really was Ryu, or just a dream of him. Megami called out to him not to leave her, but her calls were unheard. He faded out, and she was left all alone once again. Falling to the floor, she tried to reach out for him, hoping to call Ryu back home again.
=That's more like it, your old heart is still alive deep inside that rotting body of yours. If you can only call it forth once again, then maybe you'll find true happiness. Now, we must move on to the next room, and the next test. You must continue to discover yourself, if you wish to succeed in this,= the voice said. He didn't seem to realize how broken up Megami seemed, losing her beloved all over again. It hurt the first time it had happened, so it hurt double the second time. She knew she'd die if she went through it another time.
- - - -
Teefa's Last Words…
Well, we still have a few more encounters before the story ends. More emotional trauma for Megami. Now, onto the PS2. I've been leveling my mother up in a game called Ever Grace; it's a regular slash the enemy with a weapon like in a Zelda game. The boy hero, Darius, he looks like Jet. I swear, silver hair, and he has two scarves. The eye color I think is wrong, and the rest of the clothes are only remotely similar in some places. I think waaaaaaaaaaay too much into this stuff.