Disclaimer: If I owned Final Fantasy XV then I wouldn't need to make an OC/AU in the first place. But I do own this plotline, my OC, and every word on this page. My advice? Don't steal it. Enjoy. ◕‿◕
This chapter was inspired by the song: Shattered; Trading yesterday
(P.S: Today is my moms 47th bday! Woot! ^_^)
Summary: The Crystals Summoner escapes the darkness...or does she? Soon she discovers hints of her power, and finds a way out of the forest.
3#: Perseverance
oOo
Act 004
'-And I've lost who I am, and I can't understand,
Why my heart is so broken, rejecting your love,
without- love gone wrong,
lifeless words- carry on.
But I know, all I know, is that the end's beginning.
Who I am from the start, take me home to my heart.
Let me go and I will run, I will not be silent.
All this time spent in vain, wasted years, wasted gain.
All is lost, hope remains, and this war's not over.
There's a light, there's the sun, taking home shattered ones.
To the place we belong, and his love will conquer all. [x2]
Yesterday I died, tomorrow's bleeding.
Fall into your sunlight. '
-Trading Yesterday
She stared in silent confusion at the cracks that began to spread around her, the sound of splitting ice echoing in her ears. The blackness was shrouded in lines of white, and she realized that her cocoon was shattering. She didn't know how she knew, she just did. A wave of panic seized her. But she could do nothing, for the only thing she could control while inside the darkness was her mind.
...Yet, something told her that her mind had something to do with the cocoon breaking. The power that had enveloped her before. The pain she had felt. The vision she had seen that had caused such a strange reaction from her...
Was that influencing the darkness?
She didn't get to dwell over it, for at that very moment...
her cocoon shattered,
and she fell...
oOo
And as she fell... the tiniest of threads that connected her life to the crystal began to glow. And as it grew brighter, her powers burst to life and swept through her like electricity.
At that very moment, the very thing that had kept her hidden and safe all those years began to shatter. The very cocoon that had protected yet isolated her, was destroyed. And the electrifying sensation that filled her body wasn't hers alone. Yet she couldn't see the eyes hidden in the mist. Nor did she feel the essence that began to fill her body.
She continued to fall.
oOo
The sensation of falling felt a lot like flying. Only it made her entire body feel as if it had been thrown off a cliff. At first it felt kind of nice, with her eyes closed and wind pushing against her face. She felt free.
But then gravity took it's toll, and soon the feeling felt a lot less like flying and more like drowning in air.
It was not pleasant. Especially when it all came to a startling halt and she felt her body collide with a cold surface.
Her body flinched at the loud shattering sound and an earth shaking crash that came after her fall, and right afterwards a sharp pain pierced her. She didn't have the energy to shriek in pain which she surely wished to do. So instead she just shakily inhaled her first breath of air outside of the cocoon and slowly felt the pain in her body fade.
For a moment she lay there, a strange blue light flashing under her closed eyelids. The threat of falling unconscious swept over her. But instead she pushed her mind to stay alert, and soon her eyes fluttered open. Before her body had been stunned from the sudden impact, but now she could feel the ability to move overtake her.
The first thing she saw was an endless array of blue crystal. It appeared as ice and was shaped in a large flat sphere that soon merged into dirt. Eventually she realized it was the ground that she had so inelegantly crashed into.
Her eyes flickered upward, taking in the clouds drifting like fog across the darkening sky and then the trees and rocky surroundings. Instantly she spotted her cocoon, a huge translucent blue globe that had once been supported by a crystal beacon. Now the beacon was shattered, and a large gaping hole with mist emerging was evident on the side of the cocoon. The cocoon towered over her and the rest of the forest, looking almost as if it were touching the sky.
Part of what she was laying on were the remains of said cocoon, mist flowing low near the ground, most of it high enough that it brushed against her face, and slowly her eyes roamed over her former prison. She had never really imagined what it would look like from the outside...
Her eyebrows furrowed when the cocoon suddenly vanished, escaping her scrutiny...only to flicker, emit a strange energy humming noise, and reappear again. The mist as well followed this pattern, though she could still feel the cold sensation washing over her skin whether it was visible or not.
'Strange.' The Immortal thought as she tested her limits and struggled to her feet. She turned her head slowly, taking in the scenery of dark mountains and endless arrays of forest before looking down at the smooth surface of crystal she had collided with.
Slowly she took in her reflection, her eyes first glancing down to her clothes and then to her face. The ice wasn't clear, and she had to squint her eyes to get used to having them open for the first time, but eventually she could see the details of her profile. Her skin was a light tawny brown; moist and shiny from what she assumed was sweat, or maybe the crystals after effects. And on her palm was a pale white symbol that she simply glanced over.
It didn't take long for her to realize she wore no shoes, especially since the soles of her feet were pressing so awkwardly against the crystal section of the ground.
The loose blue and explicitly designed tunic she wore, which reached all the way to her knees, was also damp. Her eyebrows furrowed when she saw blood spreading near her abdomen there, the red liquid soaking into her tunic. She lifted her top above her stomach and winced at the large gash present. One of the crystals must have impaled her before.
By the several shards littering the ground, she suspected that when the cocoon shattered a few of the falling shards must have landed on her. Shutting her eyes to brace herself, the girl slowly pushed her hand across her abdomen. She almost shivered because of how cold her palm felt on her skin, but eventually she felt the hardness of a crystal shard jammed on the inside of her gash.
She didn't know why she did it, maybe instinct or some crazy thing like that, but she quickly circled her hand over the shard. It felt bigger than her hand, and instantly a sharp wave of pain spread through her. Without waiting for herself to chicken out, the girl quickly yanked the crystal out of abdomen, blood instantly leaking out of her gash. She shuddered as pain filled her gut, but soon she was able to breathe normally again when she managed to get used to the sensation. She eyed the bloody crystal fragment for a moment, before suddenly taking notice of a similar one on her neck.
It wasn't piercing her, but hanging from her neck like a necklace. It was much smaller than the other shards, and had a silver chain looped through it. She dropped the bloody shard and instead brought her attention to the necklace, lifting her hands to turn it around and study it. It was a simple little crystal, not as luminous as the ones around her. It was plain in its design yet as she stared at it, something tugged inside of her brain. But just as quickly as the sensation came over her; it went away.
Suddenly feeling the pain fading from her abdomen, the girl glanced down at her stomach only to see the mist from before rising around her, washing over her skin and making goose bumps form on the surface. Some of the blue fog seeped into her gash, and it took her a long moment to see the gash closing. Her eyebrows rose at the spectacle. She lifted her hand to brush her palm against where the wound used to be. Mild confusion entered her being as she glanced down at the mist which had returned to its dormant state near the ground.
'Did this mist just...heal me?' She thought silently, her eyes changing from blue to brown as she eyed the mist. It looked like any other mist, despite its strange shade of blue, and felt cold against her skin to the point she thought it could even freeze her into a statue.
But as she looked down at her abdomen and back to the mist; there was no mistaking it. When the mist had touched her skin it had healed her. The pain was all but completely gone.
The girl sighed in expiration at her own irritating confusion at the matter, and slowly ran a hand through her hair. Instantly she realized it was frizzy and wet, like the rest of her body. Lifting it to he view, she saw that it was brown and twisted into a long braid that trailed behind her a few feet.
Her fingers ran across the braid, flattening down the ombre strands sticking from it. She wondered how it had gotten that way. And she also wondered about her clothes, what the design meant, and who had given them to her. Or if anyone had even given them to her at all. She remembered nothing before the cocoon. The only thing there had ever been was darkness, and that haunting vision of hers.
Blowing out a deep breath, wisps of smoke escaping from her lips, the girl slowly began to make her way off of the crystal surface. She did not look back at the cocoon or the mist as she did so, her mind solely focused on gaining proper control of her limbs. As determination filled her body, her eyes flickered back to its luminous blue color.
It made an odd sight, a woman of her lanky form and height tottering as if she wore a newborn. She struggled to stay upright, her weak legs combined with the slippery surface of the crystal working against her. She slipped twice and had an aching jaw as a reward for it. But eventually her feet made contact with solid ground, and slowly she let out a sigh of relief.
Briefly she looked back at the now shattered blue cocoon, her equally blue eyes narrowing slightly as she studied it. She did not know how she became to be trapped in such a thing. A butterfly used a cocoon to grow into something beautiful, yet the cocoon she was 'blessed' with had done nothing of the sort. The reflection she saw in the crystal was that of a very exhausted and simple looking girl with shadows under her eyes.
She could see some beauty there, but it was very faint- almost as if it were meant to be hidden from normal eyes. She wasn't sure what women were supposed to look like, or if there were even more people like her. But as she watched her reflection she couldn't help but feel that same tugging sensation in her brain, as if she was trying to remember something important.
Somehow this made her think of her crystal pendant. It was simple and small, yet there was something about it that caught her attention.
It made her wonder, truly wonder, who she was and who had put her there, and who had given her the necklace. She had never been aware of it while inside the cocoon, so someone must have given it to her...which meant there might have been more like her. There was a possibility she wasn't alone on this...her eyes studied the large rocky landscape outside of the trees. She was pretty sure she was on a mountain, considering the large darkly shadowed terrain visible beyond the trees.
It all looked so familiar.
But the more she searched her mind, the more she realized there was nothing to find. It was empty. Void of anything but the memory of darkness...and the vision of flames. She didn't know where this mountain was located, or if anyone else was on it. So she would have to find out herself.
Slowly the girl turned and began walking throughout the clearing, circling her cocoon and eyes searching the scenery beyond the trees and mountains. The sky was dark and a swirl of blue and purple, clouds resembled the mist near her feet as they flew across the sky. She saw nothing that resembled life beyond the trees. Not even one bird to dot the sky. She heard nothing but the distance sound of waves, and the occasionally whisper of the wind.
But the voices that had plagued her mind before...they were gone. What had they said again? Danger? Crystal? And something else... She shut her eyes and concentrated. But the more she tried to remember the more the darkness in her mind spread; hiding what she wanted to find. Eventually she scowled deeply and gave up trying. No use taxing herself and wasting the little energy she had.
'I will search for something, anything, to bring me clarity of this...situation.' The girl thought solemnly as she took one last look at her former prison. 'And hopefully I'll discover what this place truly is.'
And so began the beginning of a long journey- soon to be filled with even more questions she wouldn't be able to answer. After smoothing out her damp blue clothes, the young Immortal ambled away from the clearing, growing farther and farther from the cocoon. She didn't look back as she made her way into the trees, and so she didn't see the mist slowly forming into a dark form.
A human form.
oOo
For a while she wandered aimlessly through the trees, all of them towering over her and casting shadows over the mist covered ground. She had stopped to admire them a few times, eyeing the pale white and silver blossoms that hung there. The blossoms were glowing in the dark, seeming as the sun wasn't coming up any time soon, and for some reason she couldn't stop herself from stepping closer to them.
Eventually she lifted her hand to brush her fingers against the petals, reveling in how soft they were. The forest was dark and seemed like an endless maze, yet the flowers brought her peace somehow even with their haunting glow. For a moment she stared at one in particular, a small white blossom that hung lower than the rest on the branches.
It was small and even looked close to wilting compared to the other flowers. But every time she lifted her hand toward it, the flower seemed to glow brighter and look less wilted and more...alive. What caught her off guard though, was the way the symbol on her hand and the pendant on her neck seemed to grow hot on her skin and glow when she touched it.
She didn't know what led her to do it. She seemed to be going by her instincts alone. But soon she had enveloped the wilting flower in her hand and closed her fingers around it. A light so blinding that it made her shut her eyes erupted. A strange feeling of deja vu overtook her as the light faded and she opened her eyes again. She turned her gaze back to the flower and let her hand fall limply to her side.
She had expected it to look like a replica of all the other flowers. But her dark brows rose when she saw it was no longer white; but blue. A bright luminous blue that seemed to reflect the color of her eyes. She had noticed whenever she saw her reflection that eyes seemed to switch between an endless sea of brown or a bright, almost transparent, blue. At the moment she could tell it was currently the latter.
The flower was now bigger than the rest, brighter than the rest. It no longer looked wilted, and she knew instantly it was because of her. Or maybe not her, but the pendant or the mark on her hand. Glancing down at the small crystal that was still nestled safely between her collar bone, the girls eyes flickered with curiosity. Then she lifted her palm to where the strange symbol was engraved.
She couldn't tell what it meant. It resembled waves in some way, water or air- she couldn't be sure. But she knew it had to be somewhat responsible for the spectacle she had just performed. But like before, her mind was void of anything but the memory of darkness.
A spark of anger tried to form within her. But just as quickly as it came, it was smothered by a blanket of calm as she turned her gaze away from her palm. Turning back to the flower the girl only took a moment to make her decision. She reached for the blossom and tugged at it, gently pulling it off the branches.
As her fingers made contact with the petals, she felt an energy similar to the one the cocoon had been emanating flow off of it. And as she contemplated on where to put the flower, she was oblivious to the intensity of the mist as it became colder and soon had covered the ground in thin shards of ice.
Soon enough the mist began to take its toll on her body. She was quivering moments later, her jaw clenched as she turned her gaze toward the ground. Seeing the ice spreading to the trees, covering the blossoms in ice as well, the girl inhaled sharply as a numbing pain spread up her leg. Quickly she pushed the blossom into her braided hair and hurried along the forest path.
For every shaky breath she took, a wisp of smoke would curl in front of her face. She stared at the smoke as it disappeared, and with a childish curiosity she blew out another smoky breath. The mist was doing this. But why? It had healed her before- why was it suddenly hurting her? She could take one glance around and see it was killing the plants around her.
Luckily the more she moved, the less numb her body felt. And soon enough she was trotting down the path, her feet moving faster than her mind. Eventually she stumbled out of the forest, the mist slowly catching up but out of sight. As she composed herself and winced at how pale her legs had become, the girl lifted her gaze to study her surroundings.
She had stumbled into a large clearing. Much like the one she had woken up in, but without the cocoon. Where she stood the clearing was cut off by trees. But across from her, a few yards away, there was a large dead end. It was a mountain wall, dark and rocky with jagged transparent stones formed on the surface.
Separating her from the wall were a large assortment of stones. They towered above her yet were still shorter than the mountain, and when she took a step closer to inspect them the words 'Callanish stones' formed in her head. The stones formed a circle, and a smaller stone stood in the center.
She stared at them, her eyes taking in the engravings carved on each stone. She couldn't understand what they said. The symbols looked familiar- but her mind refused to cooperate. Sighing, the girl stepped back and studied them for a moment longer before an idea formed in her head.
Glancing down at her marked hand and then at the blossom in her hair, the girl went to the closest stone and ran her palm over the engravings similar to the way she had with the flower. Instantly a white light filled them, lighting up the clearing and covering the stone in a radiant glow. Her hand was enveloped in a slightly painful heat again, but this time she ignored the pain.
A smile tugged at her lips as she went to the next stone and performed the same action. Soon all of the stones were glowing, and the light had become bright enough that she had to wince to see.
She stood there silently, consciously waiting for something- anything- to happen. But nothing did. The stones continued to release light and she heard a faint buzzing sound in her ear, but other than that nothing else seemed to occur.
Annoyance slid up her spine as she glanced around the clearing, her eyebrows furrowed. Her gaze landed on the trees she had emerged from, and her jaw clenched when she saw hints of the mist lurking through the trees. Turning quickly back toward the stones, the girls eyes flickered to the center stone.
It was small, only as tall as her chest, and squared whereas the other stones were circular. Advancing toward it, the girl quickly studied it for something the other stones didn't have. She knew somehow that the stones were her way out of the forest, which seemed like an endless maze.
She circled the center stone, her eyes hurriedly flickering around it at all angles as the mist began to emerge from the forest. It was slow, but it was approaching. And she could already fill the chill filling the clearing.
Then she saw it.
It was very faint, and not as deep or obvious as the other engravings, but in the very center of the stone was a small opening. She pushed her pinky finger into it, but her nail barely went in. She let out an exasperated breath when the temperature in the clearing went even lower.
She pushed her palm on top of the opening, but nothing happened. And then her gaze went back to the pendant.
'It looks small enough...' She thought hopefully as she lifted the crystal between her forefinger and thumb. Glancing back toward the forest, the mist already circling the clearing and flowing toward the stones, the girl quickly pushed the crystal into the stone.
It slid in perfectly, filling the opening until only the edge stuck out. The white light surrounding the stones suddenly vanished, and in its place was a blue light. Slowly the light from all of the stones began to fuse until all of the stones seemed to go dark.
She took one last look at the mist before a bright energy force erupted from the stones. Covering her eyes on instinct, a sensation of coolness washed over her. She took a step away from the stones and instantly felt the mist on her legs. But unlike before, it didn't freeze her veins or make her limbs go numb.
When she opened her eyes again, her lips curved upward of their own accord. There was no longer a dead end.
In it's place was a large tunnel opening. The light from the stones reflected into it, so she could faintly see inside. Glancing down, she saw the mist brushed against her but continued to float into the cave.
Turning towards the center stone, the girl hesitantly reached for her necklace. Briefly she wondered if the tunnel would close up if she removed it, and her hand paused.
She stared at the small pendant with doubt clouding her features. She didn't feel right just leaving it in the stone, even if that was where it belonged. It sounded selfish in her mind, but she quickly reasoned that it had been with her when she first woke from the cocoon, and there must have been a reason for that. She didn't want to run across something later and need the crystal, only for her to not have it.
She quickly closed her hand around the pendant and removed it from the opening. To her utter relief, the only effect was the stones losing their light. But the tunnel remained unaffected.
Putting the necklace back on, the girl took a deep breath and followed the mists lead as it drifted into the tunnel. She felt strangely euphoric as she carefully stepped inside the dark opening. She had discovered a way out, despite it being on a whim to take a chance- but she had accomplished it on her own no less.
Maybe, just maybe, she would be alright. If she could figure out puzzles like this, who knew what else she could do. With the help of her abilities of course. She wasn't sure to what extent her pendant was capable of, and it was an understatement to say she was a little baffled by her palm tattoo.
But she would go on, and she would be free of the darkness while she was doing it.
And...perhaps she would be able to discover the cause of the darkness in the first place. It was a pleasant thought, and she entertained the notion in her head as she stumbled into the cave, relieved that the mist emanated enough light for her to see.
She did not see the dark eyes following her every move as she walked on.
This chapter didn't show any Noctis & Co action, but I hope it was just as interesting. Stay tuned. ^^