Another 10 years passed without event, but for him honing his new strengths and practicing his swordplay. He had now become somewhat of a ghost, with the ability to slip in and out of reality as he pleased. This year was the year he would fulfill a promise to himself. He would brave the farplane, to see Lenne.
The farplane was no place for ghosts, he wasn't sure if he could even go there, now was the time to find out. As he wished his presence to remain unfelt and his ghost to remain unseen, Shuyin never materialized in a public place, like the farplane was. This was to be the first time Shuyin had been to Spira in almost 1000 years. People from all over Spira travel to the Farplane to see those lost. He needed to find a time where no one would be at the Farplane, which was almost never. He decided on Moonflow High Season, the season where the Moonflow is supposedly at it's most beautiful. At the beginning of this season there is always a festival to mark it's beginning, and to celebrate the Moonflow's endless splendor. Fireworks and music opened the event. An urge to see the rage for himself led Shuyin to watch the fireworks and listen to the music. The intense colours and excitement in the atmosphere were simply amazing. Though this event brought a lot of realization to Shuyin, the world had changed since he was last here. Back in Zanarkand, everything was done with machines, things were so easy. However this was the modern day, just under 1000 years since he last walked across Spira. Everything had changed, except one thing: Bevelle.
Upon returning to Spira, Shuyin took it upon himself to find out what had happened while he was away. The first thing he obviously wanted to find out about was how the war ended. In his ghostly form he was able to simply walk into peoples homes and steal books about such things. A book titled 'Maechen's Journey To The End' was full of stories from his time and charted history up to the present day. It was a huge book with a red leather cover and easily over 5000 pages; how someone could write that much was beyond Shuyin. The first pages of the book told stories of times before even Shuyin was born. The pages after were the ones that caught his eye. Stories of Zanarkand.
1004 B.S (Before Sin) – This was the year that Zanarkand was at it's highest, and it's lowest. It became the center of all things magnificent as the golden age of Zanarkand began. People traveled from all over the world to see the wondrous architecture and dazzling lights from the astoundingly built city. The highlight of the city, and center of entertainment was the Blitzball Stadium, home to many homegrown Zanarkand teams. Amazing games between the Duggles and the Abes took place yearly in the most intense rivalry in Blitzball…
…until the time when Zanarkand hit rock bottom, to no fault of its own. The nearby marvelous city of Bevelle declared war on Zanarkand. Being a center of entertainment rather than a military gave Zanarkand a huge disadvantage to Bevelle's huge armies and experienced officers. Everybody in Zanarkand fought with all their might…………
The very next sentence was the one that infuriated Shuyin to the very highest level.
…Bevelle mercilessly crushed Zanarkand and all of its people. However, this was not Bevelle's doing alone. Rumour has it that something happened in Bevelle, something so secret that no one has ever heard the slightest detail but of its results. The result was the birth of the feared entity we know as Sin. Many believe Sin is the punishment for everything becoming too easy due to the overuse of machines; however some people believe differently…
All of this was huge news to Shuyin, so much had happened since as he flicked through the rest of the book. His time sitting reading the book very much reminded him of the time he once sat upon Vegnagun for days on end. Book after book, day after day he learned of the history that he missed out on. Most of the book depressed him, though some parts were slightly uplifting. One thing intrigued him more than anything else in the book was the constant reference to this…thing: Sin. And as far as the book went, it was mentioned in almost every chapter. So judging by that, it must still exist. Shuyin felt almost drawn to Sin, the similarities between them. Both roamed the world, seeking an end. Both have existed for a thousand years, neither seemed to have a reason for existence.
Despite his head telling him to seek out Sin, Shuyin wouldn't falter from his current objective. The most important thing was to find Lenne. He had done what he wanted to, now it was time to go to the Farplane.
Luckily, the festival lasted more than just a few nights, so his time reading didn't mean he had missed his chance. As he exited the house he had just technically broken into, he stopped in the doorway. His head began to hurt as his senses were raped by the voices in his head. "Sin…Sin…Find Sin…"
He fell to his knees as the excruciating pain built up in his head. A tingling around his eyes provoked him into putting his hands over his eyes; as he did this he felt a wet sensation in his hands. As he moved them away from his face, he could see the source of this sensation. Blood was pouring out if his eyes, down his face, covering the floor beneath him. Everything had gone now; he was surrounded by an evil blackness. His mouth opened to release yet more blood from his head. An image began to burn itself into his eyes, the image of the firing squad taking aim. Weak and powerless on his knees, Shuyin simply stared back at the firing squad as his vein of life flowed from his body. That again: The sound of the gunfire, the feeling of ten thousand knives plunging into his chest. He screamed into the heavens. Blood splattered into the air and back down once more onto his tormented face. The final blow had been struck as he fell from his knees onto his face. The blood strangled him as he struggled to draw breath. What remained of his senses told him he wasn't lying before the firing squad anymore. Now he found himself floating in a pool of blood, motionless. And before him now was what he least wanted to see in a place like this. It was her.
"Find Sin, Shuyin. Then we can be together." Her voice hypnotised him as he floated in this lifeless state, taking in her words. He then lost control of his body as his mouth opened once again, though the blood quickly replaced all breath inside him, he found himself able to utter a few words.
"For you, my love. Not even death can stop me this time. Give me life!"