Chapter XVIII – Fate
Everybody was imprisoned in hanging cages in twos, one of them in a triplet. Cid shared a cell with Auron. He paced around in a circle until Kinoc came to them. "Come out. Your sentence has been decided," he ordered.
"Sentence? Don't you mean execution?" suspected Auron with a raised eyebrow.
"Really, now, what person would execute a dear friend?" asked Kinoc sweetly.
"You would."
They were thrown into the Via Purifico, the Maze of Sorrow. It was a winding and twisting web of paths where only one would lead out. They were scattered in different areas. Cid found Sara first. He noticed that the Via Purifico reminded him of something very familiar. They found the others very quickly in various places. The Via Purifico was very cold and damp. Faint lights flickered on and off on the walls. They found the exit very easily, as it was the only path that went straight in one direction. Cid could feel something was going to happen, and usually, it did. They took the final step out of Via Purifico.
"Lady Sara! So it is you!" gasped Judas at the end of the room. Be'lal was at his side too.
"Why are you here?" she asked.
"We rode the airship to the Calm Lands. Then we came to Bevelle. Maester Kinoc summoned us to 'deal with the traitors'." He looked down. "No matter how much I hate it, the temple's orders are law. You're a traitor!"
"What are you doing here?" Cid asked Be'lal, not paying attention to Judas and Sara.
"I'm taking care of the traitors," smiled Be'lal with a warning tone. He drew his sword in one swift movement and slashed at Cid, who just managed to pull his sword out of its sheathe to block.
So this was how it were to be, Cid and Sara battling against Be'lal and Judas. One fighting with aeons, one fighting with swords. Be'lal and Judas would die. Cid suddenly knew that he was the last person, the one who had defeated Be'lal. He saw, in the corner of his eye, Sara summon Shiva to defend against Judas' Ifrit. Knowing that Sara could take care of herself, he swiped at Be'lal in a complicated combination of attacks. Be'lal dodged and deflected every single one of the slashes and countered with a fierce lunge. Cid jumped to his right, landing near a wall. Just as he had planned, Be'lal jabbed his sword into the wall. Cid then proceeded to perform a trip kick and snatched his friend's sword. Creating an illusion that he was slashing with both swords, Cid swiped with almost inhumane speed. However, Be'lal leaped high into the air, stepping on Cid's sword, and somehow catching his own blade between his wolf-like teeth. The guardians dueled in a deadly fight to the finish. Cid received a sharp gash on his stomach and some minor wounds on the chest and managed to give Be'lal a sharp bite of steel in the thigh and left cheek. Sweat beaded down their faces, and both were motivated by the feeling of protection of their summoner. The battle seemed to last forever as Via Purifico was filled with the shrieks of aeons and the clashing of steel. Cid raised his sword, rushing in with his sword protectively in front of him. Suddenly, a loud explosion of fire and light seemed to rock the world all together. It launched the guardians off their feet. Smoke covered the whole place, enshrouding it in black opaque clouds. Cid took the advantage of the situation and ran into the smoke. Be'lal hastily recovered and followed suit. At first, nothing could be heard except for two swords constantly colliding with each other relentlessly. Sara's newest aeon, the dragon king Bahamut, swept the haze away with a heavy gust of wind. Everybody in the Via Purifico could see it now. Cid held two swords, an impressive-looking broadsword and one that seemed to be made up of steel wings, and both blades were pointing down at the fallen body of Be'lal. Judas, too, lay in a sitting position on the cold floor, a defeated look on his face. Much to all of their surprise, especially Cid, Be'lal sprung back to life and reached into his clothes to reveal a concealed knife. Dashing to Sara, who had just dismissed Bahamut, he held her hostage with the deadly curved dagger.
"You would think you had won," Be'lal sneered with a wolfish smile. "But you haven't."
"No!" screamed Alexander and Lulu at the same time.
"You can't do this!" Helena shouted. "It's not right!" With much irony, she screamed, "Yevon forbids it!"
Edgar and Auron stared at Sara's face, glanced at Be'lal's, then back at the summoner. Cid stepped forward bravely, with a hard face and an aura of determination.
"Be'lal, you were my friend once," he began. "But that was the past." Cid looked down at the floor. "Our childhood was one entity, and our hearts beat in unison." Then, he looked up again solemnly. "But you haven't seen it yet. I have won already."
His visions played out just like he had hoped them to. An invisible shield surrounded Sara as she began to summon Valefor. Be'lal swiftly rushed in with a raised knife, jabbing straight at Sara's heart. The weapon shattered against the defense of a summoner. The giant bird came swooping through Via Purifico. His talons tore through Be'lal's body. Blood burst out everywhere in a shower of fate. The two defeated fell on the floor as dead as doornail.