Chapter 8: Lumina

"Welcome back Light," Hope said as Lightning stepped once again onto the marble platform that was the Ark.

One day, already gone. Only twelve remained.

"So why do I have to come back here each day?" Lightning asked. In answer to her question, the souls that she'd gathered within her body flew out of her chest and towards the tall tree Yggdrasil.

"Soul energy, Eradia, is what keeps the planet alive during this time. You must come back here every day at 6 AM to deliver the souls to Yggdrasil," Hope explained.

Hope clearly had news as he had that familiar earnest expression on his face. He had been looking for souls that Lightning needed to save, and the monitors showing all the various areas now had five large dots glowing brightly against the topographical backdrop.

"Got something for me?" She asked knowingly.

Hope nodded, turning back to his monitors. "There are certain areas within Nova Chrysalia that I want you to focus on. Five locations where I'm picking up anomalous Chaos readings."

Lightning folded her arms. "And I'm guessing one of those locations is right where Snow is."

"Yes, exactly," Hope said, zooming in on the map of Yusnaan. "The palace in the city of Yusnaan."

Hope moved about the map with each of his next words. "There is another spot, in the heart of Luxerion, the holy city. One more in the scorching sands of the Dead Dunes. And finally I've measured large Chaos fluctuations at two locations in the Wildlands."

"Four regions, five locations," Lightning said.

And twelve days, she thought.

Hope turned back to Lightning. "To be more precise, the goals are people, not places. For example, the Chaos activity in and around Snow's palace is linked to him, and the darkness in his heart."

Lightning remembered all too well how Snow had been able to absorb Chaos into his body and even seemed to have a modicum of control over it.

"It's the same kind of Chaos that I'm picking up in the other four locations."

Lightning nodded. "And you want me to find these five people."

"They're your priority, yes. Those people have massive burdens on them. The fate of many rest on their shoulders. And that makes your task all the harder."

The fate of many, Lightning thought. Of course. That means if I can save them, I will save all those who depend on them. Lightning had a brief vision of being able to save thousands of souls all at once by helping these five persons, when Hope brought her back to reality.

"Helping them will not be easy – even for God's handpicked Savior. But I can help you."

Hope returned to his monitors and began pulling up the records of all the people in each area. The numbers were staggering and yet not nearly as large as Lightning would have liked. The entire world's population only numbered in the thousands at present. There was a separate list set aside that numbered roughly three quarters of this list. These were the souls in peril. How was she supposed to accomplish this gargantuan task?

"There is a harsh truth we must face. There are thousands of people down in the world waiting to be saved. But you cannot help all of them. It's not possible."

"I've only got a handful of days. There just isn't enough time, right?"

Hope bit his lip for a moment before speaking. "This will sound... cold. But you need to be efficient."

Efficient. Lightning rubbed her chin. That was interesting. It was as though Hope was reinforcing the idea that helping these five top dogs would yield the best results for them. And as for those who would not be helped by them? Who had other soul-rending burdens not resolved by these anomalies?

"You're saying I shouldn't waste time on helping the hard cases. I've got to pick and choose who gets saved," Lightning replied.

"Of course it would be best if you could save everyone. But you can't. It's a numbers game, Light. The time spent helping one person might be better spent saving the souls of ten others."

"Efficiency by volume, is that it?" Lightning did not like the idea of having that much weight on her shoulders. Or at least the old Lightning wouldn't have. She had the power- nay the responsibility- to deny so many people salvation just because it was not convenient. "A numbers game, like you say. Control costs and maximize profits. What is it that they say? Time is money."

Hope nodded, with a look that could almost pass for sympathetic. And yet Lightning knew just as well as Hope did. Neither of them truly had that emotion any more. And each of them knew that this was the only way.

"I'm going to let Snow cool his jets," Lightning said. "Take me back to Luxerion. I want to make sure that the Children of Etro don't kill another innocent girl."

Hope nodded and once Lightning was safely onboard the Warp Machine, she was pushed through time and space once more.

And then there was a delay.

Lightning had stopped warping, but she didn't seem to have left the Ark. When she looked around she saw the same platform, only now the sky was pitch black and the heavy cloak of Chaos seemed to sweep over everything.

Where am I? What is this?

She turned around to see the enormous crystalline throne of Etro – that titanic stone that had once been her prison – sitting exactly where Yggdrasil would stand in the real Ark. And sitting in the chair was Lumina.

"Hey, Savior. What's going on?" Lumina called in a singsong voice.

"You again," Lightning said, gripping her sword.

The radio in Lightning's ear crackled with the heavy distortion of Hope's voice. "Light, can you hear me? Are you all right? Where are you?"

"What's the problem? Equipment trouble?" She asked.

"I don't know," Hope replied. "I'm getting crazy readings- the coordinates make no sense. I can't pinpoint your position."

Suddenly the line went dead.

"Hope? Are you there?" Lightning called.

Lumina kicked her feet merrily off the side of the crystal throne. She put on a pout and huffed teasingly. "No, no, no. Hope can't hear you or see you. You're invisible. Do you know why? Because we're inside you. Spooky, huh?"

Lightning looked around the surroundings. The void filled with Chaos, with only fragments of her past sliding in and out, such as the Throne of Etro. This was more than a mere academic discussion on metaphysics, and Lumina did not seem the type to spin yarn in metaphors.

"You mean inside my mind?" Lightning asked, choosing a literal translation.

"Yeah," Lumina replied. Her teasing expression seemed to soften. In an odd way she seemed somewhat more authentic now, her similar appearance to her sister notwithstanding. "It's a safe place that God can't see." At the drop of a pin her tricky demeanor was back. "You could almost say it's like, oh, I don't know- an unseen realm."

Lightning shook her head. "All right, if you say so. But that begs the question- what the hell are you doing in here?"

"I have a name. It's Lumina. And I know a lot about you." She disappeared for a fraction of a second before reappearing just in front of Lightning. "You need my advice. And in here, we can talk about anything we want, safe from prying eyes."

"Prying eyes?" Lightning asked, putting her hand on her radio. "You mean Hope?"

"Yep. He might not realize it, but everything he learns gets passed straight on to God."

"What of it? I don't have any secrets to hide."

Lumina smirked condescendingly. "Oh, right. You're the loyal servant, aren't you? You wouldn't dream of betraying him." She covered her mouth in a quiet giggle. "And don't worry, okay? Even if I know otherwise, well, my lips are sealed."

Lightning could almost remember what the emotion annoyance felt like. The prattling of this girl was certainly stimulating her desire not to waste time.

"I have no reason to betray him," she answered stiffly.

"Right, right. That's very convincing," Lumina nodded as she slowly circled Lightning. "Keep those feelings hidden and play the loyal little servant. You want to be as cold as the steel in your sword. You do that, and then no one can guess what's inside. It's true God can't see into human hearts."

Lumina stopped circling, facing Lightning again. There was something of a warning in her next words.

"But he can read your face and tone just like anyone else, and make his own guesses."

"Like I said, I don't have anything to hide. He's promised to bring Serah back. I'm not gonna do anything that might cause him to change his mind. Why should I?"

Lumina cocked her head to the side and continued her circling. "Are you still in there, Lightning? Why are you afraid?"

Afraid? She didn't feel anything right now, but Lightning had to admit, this odd choice of words caught her attention.

"Come on, think about it. We're inside your mind. Don't you get it? If you can't be true to yourself here, where can you?"

Lumina disappeared once more and then reappeared sitting on the throne once again.

"I know you haven't changed- 'cause you can't."

Lightning put her hand on her hip and sighed out of exasperation. "What the hell are you?"

Lumina's figure seemed to split into two, as though she were made of white light crashing into a prism. The second reflection of herself bore the appearance of Serah even more clearly than the similarities within Lumina.

"We're just particles of dust, brushed from the palm of a god. That's all we ever were. Right, sis?"

Lumina began to fade away into the light. No. Serah was right there, feet from her. Lightning would not lose her. She rushed towards the throne.

"No, wait!" She shouted.

But it was too late. Lumina was gone, leaving Lightning alone within her own mind.