Act Eighteen: An Eidolon's Blessing
"We…failed."
The words choked Cecil as he looked up at King Giott upon his throne, having to force himself to look Giott in the eye. Giott sighed and leaned his chin on his hand, drumming his fingers against his cheek.
"I see. Golbez has been hard at work attempting to acquire the last crystal. He is now trying to force open the Sealed Cave's entrance. It is only a matter of time before he succeeds. I was hoping you might go and remove the Crystal before he does."
"Of course," Cecil nodded. "We were planning on it." Giott clapped his hands together and called out.
"Luca!"
Luca appeared in the threshold of the throne room, twisting one of her pigtails around her finger.
"Yes, Father?"
"Father?!" Rosa whispered. "Luca is the crown princess? No wonder she was targeted by Lugae's madness."
Giott motioned her over with his finger. "Bring me your necklace."
Luca lifted the oversized pearl necklace off over her head and flounced up to the throne, dropping it in her father's hands. "Here you go."
Giott ran the pearls idly through his fingers as he spoke. "This necklace, you see, is the key to the Sealed Cave. No one can pass through the entryway without it. You will see a location to place the necklace at the mouth of the cave, and the true entryway will be revealed. Please, you must protect the final Crystal!"
"Consider it done," Kain said. Giott handed the necklace to Cecil, who slipped it over his head.
"Your Highness, if I may," Rydia stepped forward, her hands clasped together and fingers twitching nervously. "Just how much time do you think we have?"
"What concerns your mind?" Giott asked.
"Well, I was hoping we could get help from the King and Queen of the Eidolons," Rydia said. "The battles we have been facing with Golbez's minions continue to escalate in difficulty – we have been barely escaping with our lives. Not only could we borrow the King and Queen's strength, but their wisdom of the situation at hand would be valued as well." Giott shifted in his throne and nodded.
"You speak true, my dear. The Eidolons would be a wonderful asset to our fight. I fear that the battles will only rise in challenge. The Sealed Cave has been closed for hundreds of years – to be honest, I can't imagine the horrors that may be waiting within. It may also be worth it to you to visit Kokkol's Smithy, in the very far reaches of the southern canyons. Have you heard of him?"
The five of them shook their heads.
"He is a famous blacksmith, said to have crafted some of the most legendary weapons of past wars," Giott said. "He has outfitted some of my finest warriors." He turned on his throne and gestured to one of his two guards. "Bring me a map of the underworld!" The guard to his left ran to a wall where a map was hanging, and retrieved it. The other guard positioned on his right joined him in holding it up, and Giott started pointing to various locations.
"Kokkol is here," he said, pointing in the far right corner. "To the west, you will find a small town named Tomra. Further west here…" He circled a small patch of land surrounded by hills, "…is the Sealed Cave."
"The Feymarch is here," Rydia said, pointing up north from the Sealed Cave to a small island that was completely surrounded by magma.
Cecil studied the map concernedly. All of these places – basically anywhere else you could go in the underworld – were surrounded by magma that they had no way of crossing. Giott seemed to have come to this conclusion as well.
"Surely one of my soldiers can help you with outfitting your stolen airship," he mused. "I'm sure you'll find someone in the castle if you ask around. We may have yet a little more time for you to seek reinforcements for the Sealed Cave."
"Where do we even start?" Rosa sighed. They were the antechamber of the castle, leaning up against a wall as dwarves wandered home from their days on patrol and manning the shops. Edge was poking around everywhere, still entranced with his new surroundings. "Rydia, how did you make it to the castle from across the magma?"
"The Queen Teleported me," Rydia replied. "She is gifted in white magic. She said all I needed to do was make it to the entrance of the Feymarch and that she could take it from there. Unfortunately, it's a one-way trip kind of deal."
"Well, the rumor mill is usually pretty good here, right?" Kain asked. "We just have to find the biggest gossip and ask them to tell us who is good with machinery so they can fix the airship."
"Aha!" Edge lifted up a finger. "And I know exactly where to find a whole den of gossips."
"Huh?" Rydia and Cecil asked at once.
"If this place has an infirmary, they'll be there," Edge grinned. "The biggest gossips in a castle or a village, hands-down, are the nurses. They take care of everyone, hear every mad rambling fever dream, and everyone goes to them for advice. And they are always super cute."
"That's…that's not a bad idea," Rydia blinked. "Even if you have ulterior motives."
"I know where the infirmary is, since I visited the hot spring they have," Rosa offered. "Follow me." Edge almost squealed in delight at the words "hot spring".
Rosa led the team down a flight of stairs past the inn and wove through a few hallways, stopping before a windowless chamber that had a red cross nailed to the door. The door was slightly ajar, and they could hear an angry patient barking his displeasure about something.
"What, is it time for dinner again already!? I tell you, the cuisine down here could use some work. If I have to eat one more…"
Cecil tilted his head. "That voice sounds awfully familiar." He was probably imagining things, though, still wallowing in his grief. Rosa pressed her hand to the door to push it open a bit more, and listened closer, her eyes widening.
"It sounds like…" She pushed the door open all the way and let out a cry, covering her mouth with her hands. Cecil and Kain rushed to her side, pushing into the infirmary and looking around. A few of the beds had dwarf occupants, most of which were staring at Rosa like she was insane, and one of them in mid-bite of his soup. But in the bed across from them, heavily bandaged and tinged with pink, raw skin, was an unmistakably busy bearded, redheaded man poking out of blankets as the attending nurse (wearing a red smock uniform with a fine beard of her own) tried to feed him a bowl of…something.
"Cid!" Cecil, Kain and Rosa shouted.
"You're alive!" Rosa practically flew across the empty beds and threw her arms around him, the nurse managing to dodge out of the way just in time, dinner in-tact. Kain and Cecil only showed slightly less constraint, joining her at Cid's bedside and trying to get in on the embrace, but mostly just grabbing each other. Rydia and Edge made their way over last, Rydia's eyes prickling with tears.
"Put on a real show, didn't you?" Kain said sarcastically, but his smile was beaming. Cecil couldn't find any words – he just held onto Cid tighter and closed his eyes.
"Heh heh heh," Cid blushed and laughed. "I guess it just wasn't my time to go."
Edge looked around at everyone, noticing Rydia's distress, and threw up his hands. "Who's this old codger?"
"Codger!?" Cid sputtered and pointed a threatening finger at Edge. "Did that unmannered lout just call me an old codger!?"
"You're the unmannered one!" Edge stuck up his nose. "Making these ladies cry and not even giving a proper introduction!" Cid turned so red, Cecil thought his head was going to pop off and whistle across the room like a tea kettle.
"Who is he!? Who is this snot-nosed little brat?"
Edge grinned. So old codger could dish it and take it. Not bad! "Heh. I'm Prince Edge of Eblan. Pleased to make your acquaintance, old man!"
Kain shook his head. "He has a foul tongue, but the matter of his royalty seems true enough."
"Let's not forget my dashing looks and mystifying skills," Edge flexed one arm and ran his fingers through his hair, kissing his bicep as he did so.
"Edge, please!" Rydia sighed, exasperated all over again. "This man is injured!" Edge stopped his theatrics and had the decency to blush. Cid raised an eyebrow and guffawed.
"Ha! So Rydia's got you reined in with that pretty little face of hers, eh?"
Edge turned even pinker and whirled around, turning his back to the group. "Qu-quiet, you!"
Rydia's eyes widened and she turned her back as well, to hide the blush that had crept into her own cheeks. What the hell was wrong with her?
Cid coughed, and leaned back into his pillows, the smile fading from his face as more serious matters began to fill his thoughts. "What's become of Golbez?"
Cecil sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. "We defeated his four archfiends, but he still holds all of the Crystals save one. Your plan was brilliant, Cid – if only we had managed not to get ensnared in another trap."
"And we can't go to secure it because the Enterprise is still up on the surface," Rosa added.
"We stole an enemy ship that cannot cross the magma," Kain punctuated the sorry state of their union.
Cid nodded and stroked his beard. "Hmph. Doesn't sound like you can do much at all, does it? Guess it's up to me again! I swear you kids would never get anything done without me!" With that, he proceeded to swing his legs out of bed, pushing his feet into some generic hospital-issued slippers.
The nurse that had been attending Cid, who had been trying to ignore them and tend to the other startled patients, immediately marched over and shook her head. "Sir, you must stay in bed! At least until you've healed! May I remind you that you have burns on over twenty-five percent of your body?"
Cid dismissed her with a wave of his hand. "We young folk are quick to recover! There's no time to be lounging about with that madman Golbez on the loose. If you want me on my back again, you'd best come and lend me a hand!" With that, he sauntered out, and the nurse looked helplessly at her partner, who had been dabbing a dwarf with a compress.
"We'd best follow the crazy human…" Cid's nurse sighed. "I got out of the army to avoid hard labor!"
"I'll help you, ma'am," the other nurse said, and they both rushed out of the infirmary after him. Rosa sighed happily and sat upon Cid's bed, folding her hands in her lap.
"He certainly seems well enough."
Cecil sat next to her and put his hand over hers. "Indeed." Kain sat opposite of them, his back to theirs as he rested his hand on his chin and stared at the wall. Rydia and Edge watched Kain, glanced at each other, and quickly turned away, pretending to find the infirmary terribly fascinating.
Only fifteen minutes had passed when Cid returned, considerably worn down and barely shuffling on his own feet – the nurses had flanked each side and were struggling to haul him the last few steps. Everyone cleared out of the way, and the nurses laid Cid down, pulling up his blankets. Cid huffed for breath and closed his eyes.
"That ought to let you fly over anything you want. Got some scrap from the damaged tanks…"
"Thank you, Cid," Rosa said softly.
Cid didn't respond – and his flushed cheeks had suddenly seemed to have gotten much paler. Cecil's stomach jumped into his throat.
Kain furrowed his brow. "…Cid?"
Suddenly Cid let out a loud snort, and turned his head, clutching his pillow. Cecil let out a sigh of relief. He was just sleeping.
"Seems to have worn himself out," Rydia whispered.
Rosa nodded. "He always pushes himself too hard."
"Cid...Thank you for everything," Cecil whispered, patting the old man on the shoulder. "We'll take it from here." Rydia noticed a piece of paper on the nightstand next to Cid's bed and picked it up.
"What's this?" She unfolded it and read it out loud in a low whisper. "Please apologize to my daughter for me, for all I put her through with my selfishness. All my love, Cid." She sniffled and handed the letter to Cecil, who tucked it in his pocket. He would give it to Amelia when they came back home – hopefully for good next time.
Rydia, grateful as she was for their good fortune, couldn't help but be greedy and wish that Yang were in the infirmary too. It's possible he could have survived as well – right?
The first stop the party decided to make was to the famous smithy, Kokkol. Edge insisted on doing all of the flying, which came as a relief to Cecil. It had been weird flying the airship without Cid – now at least he could relax a little, knowing that Cid was OK and that Edge would probably not crash them into a volcano or worse. He also enjoyed having the down time to not think and not talk – Rydia and Rosa were gossiping about something inane – Cecil smiled when he heard them giggling like two normal young women would at the pub or at the shops. Kain was keeping watch at the rear of the ship, doing some thinking of his own. To have Cid back…it had planted a seedling of hope in his heart that everything really could go back to the way it was once Golbez was six feet under and the crystals restored.
Kokkol's Smithy was really just a tiny house, and as Giott described, it was hidden far away in the deepest canyon of the southern underworld. Cecil would have hardly seen them fly over it if it wasn't for the tiny curl of smoke arising from the chimney – otherwise, the house was steeped in the dark shadows of the canyon walls. Edge landed quite well for a novice – Cecil would have had his eye on him as a recruit for the Red Wings in another life – and they descended upon the house's empty patio.
Cecil knocked, and the door was opened by a young dwarf, who looked surprise to see visitors – human visitors, at that.
"Aye, welcome!" He smiled. "Can I help ye' with anything?"
"King Giott told us that the smith here can make powerful weapons," Cecil said. "Is he in?"
"Aye, he is…but…" The dwarf shook his head. "He's in bed."
"Oh…" Rosa tilted her head. "Too late in the evening to call?" No one really knew what time it was, after all, since they couldn't see the sky.
"No, it's not that…" The dwarf hesitated. "I mean, he's always in bed. The master has become depressed, I'm afraid. He sold the last of his weapons and refuses to make more."
"Depressed!?" Rydia huffed. "But why?"
"He hasn't felt challenged in a long time," the dwarf explained. "Everyone just wants him to make the same things over and over again with the same materials. He's despairing over the thought of dying without having made one more really incredible, legend-defying weapon. In particular, he's dreamt of making a certain weapon ever since he became a smithy, but has never acquired the ore to make it – Adamantite."
"Adamantite?" asked Kain.
"An ore so rare and mystifying that I fear the master has made up its existence," the dwarf sighed. "He has traveled the underworld over for it, and can't even find a singular clue. So I'm afraid unless he gets his hands on some Adamantite, we're as good as closed. If you are looking for decent equipment, Tomra is a good stop."
"Oh…well thank you anyway," Cecil said, and the dwarf shut the door in his face.
"That is so awful," Rosa sighed. "Nothing is sadder than a man who has given up on his dream."
"Let us make our way to the Feymarch," Rydia begged. "Please…the King and Queen will help us somehow, I just know it."
Back on the airship, Rydia told the group stories of the Feymarch, her tone rising and getting more excited the longer she went on.
"There are monsters everywhere – but they are friendly. They do all of the same things we do…they go shopping, they go to pubs…they even have an incredible library where they all go to study, filled with all sorts of books. The monsters speak our language, as well. Everyone just lives their lives like normal until someone summons them…which is obviously kind of rare these days because the summoners are mostly extinct…" She trailed off a moment, but then shook her head. "And of course, the King and Queen live there – below the library, actually. They rule over all the monsters and make sure everyone is safe and happy. They are who I lived with when I came down here. They didn't even care that I was a human."
"Will it matter if we are humans?" Rosa asked. Rydia blushed a little.
"It's…kind of against the law for any human to set foot in the Feymarch."
"What?!" Edge cried from where he was driving the ship. He hadn't wanted to give away that he had been making such an intense effort to listen to Rydia, but it was too late for that now.
"What will happen if we go?" Kain asked suspiciously. Rydia shook her head, starting to get flustered.
"I don't think anything bad will happen…maybe they won't be happy about it at first, but once I explain to them how important you are to me, I just know they will help…you have to trust me, OK?"
"I trust you, Rydia," Cecil said. "I'm sure if the King and Queen care about you as much as they seem to, they'll listen to what you have to say."
"Thank you, Cecil!" Rydia beamed. Edge turned back to the task at hand, starting to search for a good place to land while rolling his eyes. How did Cecil get her to smile like that?
When they approached the entrance to the Feymarch, Rydia turned around to face everyone.
"Wait! I've forgotten one last thing. The path to the actual village is covered in magma. Rosa, can you cast Float on us?"
"Certainly," Rosa said, and closed her eyes, holding out her hands. "Float!"
Everyone's feet gently lifted off the ground, the iridescent wings on their backs fluttering slowly back and forth. Gesturing for everyone to follow her, Rydia disappeared into the mouth of the cavern that led to the Feymarch.
The staggering heat kept conversation minimal as they trekked deeper and deeper underground. Magma flowed freely in rivers on the ground, and the walls of the cave glowed bright red, like embers on a dying campfire. Even though Rydia was frightened – this cave had scared her nearly to death when she fled the village to find her friends, filled with monsters she had to fight alone – she felt her heart growing stronger and lighter as they descended. Looking back at Cecil and the others and seeing their smiles despite how miserable this all was, she realized she would never have to fight alone again.
At last, the magma began to dry up among the igneous rocks, and hand-nailed wooden planks began to appear as their new pathway. It led into what could be best described as an esplanade, only instead of being surrounded by the sea, they could see magma pouring down in falls along the village's borders and pouring into a lake far below, several layers of wood floor below them. The walkway spiraled down via short staircases, and if you looked over the railings of the walkway, you could see all the way down to the last level of the village that floated over the pooling magma.
A floating blue Bomb had been holding court with a red Bomb and a Cockatrice in a corner, cackling over a joke one of them had told and bobbing up and down in laughter. All three of them paused when they saw Rydia, the Cockatrice shrieking and flying away when it saw the bow hanging from Rosa's back. The Bombs remained, however, with wide grins.
"Rydia?" The blue Bomb asked. "Is that you?!"
"Yes!" Rydia exclaimed. "I'm back!"
"And you look great!" the red Bomb said in a soothing baritone. "Are these your friends?"
"They are!" Rydia smiled. "We're just visiting for a little bit, though. Then we've got to go back to work."
"Oh Rydia, be careful!" the blue Bomb despaired. "This town is so boring without you…hurry up and come home soon for real!"
"Does Their Highnesses know you've brought humans?" the red Bomb asked cheekily. "Naughty girl."
"I can't believe what I'm seeing…" Cecil mused as they went on their way. "They really are friendly."
"And everyone loves Rydia," Rosa said as another monster, a tall orange Mindflayer with mouth tentacles askew, ran up to Rydia and hugged her. Edge stared with a dropped jaw as the Mindflayer petted Rydia's hair with a tentacle and asked her what she was using for shampoo nowadays.
"Rydia!" A chocobo nearly ran them over as they crossed onto the final level of the town, jumping up and down and fluttering his wings excitedly. "You're finally back! I have a gift for you! You haven't summoned me for a while, so I thought maybe…"
"Oh Chocobo!" Rydia smiled, giving him a tight hug and petting his beak. "I still love you, don't worry. I just don't want to summon you into a battle that is too scary, you know?"
"Whark! I mean, I know…but still…it's lonely…" He head butted her hand playfully and trotted over to a treasure box next to a white brick building with a sign on the front that had a pile of books on it. "Here it is! The treasure I found just for you!"
Rydia kneeled down and popped open the clasp on the box. Cecil couldn't see her face, but he thought by the slight stiffening of her back that maybe she wasn't too keen on what she saw. Slowly, she reached down and plucked out with her fingertips something about one foot long and pearl pink with some white hairs sticking out and little ridges notched up the sides.
"It's a Rat Tail!" Chocobo exclaimed happily. "Do you like it? I thought it might make a beautiful necklace! It's the biggest one I could find!"
"Oh…it's…darling…" Rydia swallowed the lump in her throat and smiled too hard. "I can honestly say I've never gotten such a gift before."
"Cecil!" Rosa giggled, elbowing him. "I know someone who would love that!" Cecil laughed quietly, and Kain shifted his attention toward the building in front of them. Edge - as was becoming known as his usual state - just looked confused.
When the chocobo left, having been called away by his mother, a huge white chocobo stomping her foot impatiently by the Sundries Shop a few yards away, Rydia held out the rat tail, her face turning as green as her clothes. "What am I to do with such a thing…?"
"Cecil will take it off your hands for you!" Rosa volunteered. "He knows someone that will use it!" Cecil blanched. She was being serious?!
"It's all yours," Rydia groaned, dropping it in his outstretched hand that Rosa had forced out with her iron grip. "Anyway, this is the library. The King and Queen are just downstairs. Let me do the talking, OK?"
The library smelled like a mixture of ancient paper, dust and freshly sharpened pencils. Several desks were taken up by monsters reading books or scribbling things down on paper (well, the monsters that had hands). Piles of books were laid up on a reference desk, ready to be shelved. It was so peaceful that Rydia would often take naps there after her training.
Two levels below, they entered a room with beautiful gold carvings inlaid in marble crown molding that ran across the top of the ceiling. Lines of floating shelves held piles of all sorts of treasure – ancient relics, rusted weapons, magic pendants, bottles with faded labels or none at all, lost in the annals of time. The floor beneath them was lined with glass, and underneath they could see the magma from the waterfalls pulsing and bubbling. Sitting elegantly and barefoot in a pile of silk pillows in every color imaginable, a beautiful woman was watching them silently. She had pale white skin, and a face that looked like it had been painted on by master artist – violet eyes perfectly set over a ski-slope nose, and pale pink lips that looked as if they had just bitten into a berry. The curve of her face revealed high, elegant cheek bones, and her ears dripped in pearl and diamond earrings. Her blonde hair was pulled up into a severe bun with a red, spiked hairpiece holding everything in place. She wore a yellow wrap that fastened around her left shoulder and revealed one teardrop-shaped breast, as pale as the rest of her.
Next to her, with much less fanfare, stood an elderly man in tattered purple robes and a hood that was pulled up, obscuring most of his face. He had a long, neatly combed beard that reached his knees, and twinkling brown eyes. His sleeves were so long that they covered his hands and nearly touched the floor. Seeing the two figures stand together was like comparing a fireworks display to a mud pit.
"Your Majesty, Queen Asura!" Rydia kneeled down in front of the woman and closed her eyes. The woman leaned down and took Rydia's face in her hands, kidding the top of her forehead.
"Rydia…it is good to see you again, and well," she purred. "And I see you've brought…humans."
"Please, your majesty…we have need of your strength," Rydia said, looking up at her. "These are my dear friends, the one you saw in your visions that you said I should go to. We are to go to the Sealed Cave to defend the last crystal, and there are horrors within." Queen Asura nodded and sat back in her pillow throne.
"Then I shall lend my strength to you. But you know I must first test your own. It is the Code, and the Code must be observed. Have you the courage and strength to face me?"
Wait, what? Cecil thought. A test of strength?!
Rydia swallowed and nodded.
"Then so be it!" The Queen said, and stood, pulling one foot up so that the bottom of it rested on the side of her knee, leaving her standing en pointe on just one foot. Extending her arms, two scimitars suddenly materialized within them, and she leapt forward, striking Rydia's shrinking form.
"Protect!" Rosa gasped out, and a yellow shield burst in front of Rydia just in time, blocking the hit. Rydia stumbled backwards and shook her head, snapping out of her daze.
"We're fighting right here?" Edge gulped.
"Looks like it," Kain said. "Are you in, or out?"
"All in, baby!" Edge revealed three ninja stars lodged between his fingers.
Cecil and Kain joined the fray, each taking a side to duel the queen. But instead of her frantically needing to switch back and forth between them like they were hoping, a twisted form wriggled in her bare back and a new Asura burst from it, with iron-gray skin, an iron mask with a twisted grin welded to her face, and two arms, each with their own two scimitars. The gray Asura began to furiously duel with Kain, and the first Asura took on Cecil.
Cecil managed to weave and dodge, having picked up on Asura's pattern of attack fairly easily – she would broadcast through the movements of the other Asura where she would strike next. But every time Cecil managed to land a hit and open a wound, she would cast a Curaga spell as a counter and completely heal.
Edge ran along the side of the wall and launched himself in the air, tossing ninja stars at the vulnerable spot behind Cecil and Kain that they couldn't reach, hoping to inflict some slow-down…but he let out a yelp when a third Asura emerged from where the stars had struck, red with muscles that throbbed and quaked under her skin, her face contorted into a grimace and war paint smeared across it. Letting out a feral scream, red Asura cast Protect on herself.
"They won't be able to hurt her with weapons as long as she is Protected!" Rosa gasped, watching Cecil's blade bounce against the invisible shield now covering Asura. "Rydia, I'm going to cast Reflect – that way, if she tries to heal herself, she'll heal us instead. You'll have to use summon magic to get around Reflect!"
"Will a summon really come to my aid to fight their queen?" Rydia asked worriedly. "Shouldn't I just use black magic?"
"Rydia, if we don't do something about her healing and her protection spells, we'll be here until eternity!" Rosa touched her shoulder. "Reflect will block your black magic and turn it on us. Trust yourself – trust that your summons are with you for a reason! I'm going now!"
Rosa closed her eyes and clasped her hands together, casting Reflect. A silver beam of light spun around Asura and disappeared. The trap was set!
Rydia took a deep breath and concentrated hard. She pictured in her mind's eye the one summon who had been with her for her whole life – even when she didn't have the strength to summon him on her own. She remembered the powerful tremors under her feet as he tore apart the very mountains themselves to defend her against Cecil and Kain when they waged war on her village.
"Titan, heed my call!" Rydia cried, raising her hand. At first, nothing happened, and she was afraid her fear had come true – Titan's allegiance was to his queen, not a lowly human girl. But a low rumble could be heard in the distance, and the room began to tremble – Rydia could hear cracks tinkling in the floor below and items crashing down from their shelves in the library above.
In a burst of magma and glass, Titan emerged, curling a fist in his massive hand and bringing it down upon Asura. All three of Asura's faces let out a chorus of screams as the blow ran through them. His fist plummeting to the floor, Titan opened up a massive hole and made the magma shoot out of it all over Asura like a geyser. He stood, flexing his arm as he surveyed his work, and disappeared.
The old man stood aside watching it all, smiling bemusedly.
Asura plummeted into hole Titan had opened up, grasping the edges of the slippery glass floor with her six hands and casting a mess of healing spells – Curaga, Protect and Raise. But every spell bounced off of her as planned, hitting Cecil, Kain and Edge in random order. Boiling in the magma and surrounded by the blades raised over her heads by her adversaries, Asura suddenly spread her arms and cried "ENOUGH!"
She levitated out of the hole and in a flash of white light, transformed back into her normal self. The white light shined over the floor, repairing the holes and cracks Titan had wrought forth. They could also hear fallen books flying back up to their shelves upstairs. Falling back into her pillows with a gentle "thump", Asura pulled a small silk fan from beside her breast, and fanned herself, acting as if she had merely taken a brisk walk.
"Sweet Rydia...These are good companions you have found, both strong and true. Allow me, too, to lend my strength to your cause. Summon me whenever you have need." She extended her hand out to Rydia. Rydia stumbled forward, shocked, and took it. A powerful white aura poured into Rydia's body from Asura's hand, and their covenant was sealed.
"Th…thank you!" Rydia cried, staring at her hands. "Your Majesty!"
"You did it!" Rosa exclaimed, and hugged Rydia tightly from behind. Rydia wasn't sure why she felt like laughing and crying, but it wasn't necessarily a bad feeling. Cecil patted her shoulder and Kain even ruffled her hair. Edge marched up to her and awkwardly shook her hand.
"Queen Asura…" Rydia gently pulled away from her friends. "I've been wondering…where is the King?"
"Oh, I'm right here dear," the old man said, waving. Rydia blinked.
"King Leviathan? Is this…that really you?" He chortled at her confusion.
"Sorry, just trying on a new form…you don't like it?" He picked at one of his ratty sleeves. "It really lets me blend into the background, eh?"
"King Leviathan…I have much to ask you and the Queen," Rydia began, but he held up his finger.
"Rydia, child...You are the first and only to best my Lady Queen. But strength of arm alone will aid you little in the face of true evil. Without the strength of will to keep it aligned on the proper course, all the power in the world amounts to nothing. My spirit has been tempered and honed in the forge of the ages. So now…Will you face me, knowing what it means to do so?"
Rydia paused. Of course, he would want to test her too before imparting any of his power or his wisdom. She wouldn't get far with just Queen Asura's help. However, she was hesitant to enter another battle. She looked back to Cecil, Kain, Edge and Rosa.
"Rydia, we'll do what you feel is best," Cecil said.
"Just don't leave here with any regrets," Kain added.
Rydia nodded and turned back to Leviathan.
"I accept your test, Your Highness. Let us begin."
Leviathan rubbed his hands together. "Very well, my child." There was a flash of light, and the king disappeared, his pile of robes falling to the floor. The magma below their feet began to boil fiercely, and turned a pale blue. Water began to pour out of the hairline cracks in the walls, filling the room.
"What…what's happening?" Rydia gasped, the water already rising past her ankles. Asura smiled serenely from her pile of pillows and snapped her fingers at the first hint of water touching her toes, disappearing. As the water continued to rise, a long, dark shadow could be seen swimming around them, weaving between their legs and jettisoning back and forth in the small room. Finally, just when the water had reached about knee-height, the shadow burst forth from the water, and the familiar form of Leviathan let out a guttural roar so powerful that it blew back everyone's hair.
He looked exactly the same as Cecil remembered from their disastrous trip across the sea to Baron, except much more terrifying up-close. His scales were still a pearly light blue that faded into a white, snake-like belly, glimmering from the water dripping down everywhere and fanning off from his diaphanous fins. His red dragon's snout was twisted in a toothy snarl, and his milky eyes were trained directly on Rydia. Rydia stared back, defiantly unfurling her whip. She thought back to her childhood Elemancy lessons, debating in her mind what the best type of spell to use against a water fey would be.
"Thundaga!" Rydia cried. A lightning bolt shot directly into Leviathan's tail, causing him to shriek and swing it forward. The momentum caused a giant tidal wave to burst forth and crash upon the party, soaking everyone thoroughly. The walls begun to leak water again as everyone coughed and tried to rub the water out of their eyes.
Another fierce wave followed, and this time, the rising water level of the room caused the wave's undertow to drag Rosa, Kain and Edge under the water. Cecil dove under to pull them back up, and Rydia tried her hand at casting another Thundaga – the king had seemed to really hate that.
Leviathan contorted violently as he was struck again, gnashing his teeth and snapping his jaws at Rydia, who managed to trip out of the way and fall in the water just in time. Rosa was the first to surface from being pulled under, gasping for air and pushing her wet hair out of her eyes. The water had now risen up to her chest.
"It's working!" She called to Rydia, who was shaking from nearly being chewed in half. "Keep at it!"
"Aieeeee!" Rydia screamed as Leviathan snapped at her again, catching one of her sleeves in his teeth as she tried to swim away. It tore off with a loud "RIIIIIIP", and he snapped his head back and swallowed it whole. Edge had popped up next to her and had an ancient sword in his hand – it looked like something that had fallen from the shelves of treasures above them.
"Head toward the back where you are safer!" He instructed her. "I'll distract him!" He launched the sword at Leviathan, striking him square in the throat and causing milky white blood to ooze out and splash into the water. He followed up with a vicious Blitz that fried a pair of his fins. Rydia tried her best to swim back toward Rosa, but Leviathan threw another wave their way, which lifted Rydia up as she was struggling to get away and threw her violently against the back wall, where she landed with a crack and flopped back down into the water. Cecil re-surfaced with Kain under his arm, both of them struggling to keep themselves afloat in the now chin-high water with such heavy armor. Kain couldn't get enough momentum to launch into a jump, either.
"Rydia!" Rosa cried, wading over to her still body and pulling her close. "Curaga!" Pretty blue and gold light glittered over Rydia's body and sank into her flesh, but nothing happened – except that her lips had started to turn blue. Rosa tried again with a Raise spell – that brought Rydia around, but just barely.
"Rosa…" Rydia coughed. "My Thundaga spells aren't powerful enough…if he does another tidal wave, we're going to all drown…"
Cecil and Kain had managed to slowly wade their way up to the front with Edge, acting as distractions for Leviathan's hungry jaws and trying to strike his face with their weapons when he would snap at them.
Rosa pursed her lips together. "Rydia, let's try casting a spell together. A Twincast of our own."
"Really?" Rydia coughed as an unexpected crest of water forced its way into her mouth. "What should we do?"
"I'll lend you my magic power," Rosa offered, tilting her chin up as she spoke to try to avoid choking on water. "And you can use it to cast a powerful enough Thundaga to blow him away once and for all." She grabbed both of Rydia's hands underwater. "Come on! Just concentrate with me!"
Rydia and Rosa closed their eyes. Rosa imagined in her mind's eye all of her holy essence pouring into Rydia through their clasped hands, and Rydia imagined it bubbling and boiling inside of her and mixing with her black magic, like a frenetic hurricane developing on the sea's horizon. Their eyes snapped open simultaneously, and a pillar of green light shot to the ceiling from underneath the water, where their legs were kicking and struggling to stay afloat.
Rydia could feel a colossal surge of electricity coursing through her fingertips, tearing to get out. Throwing her arm in the air, she summoned Thundaga once more, and this time a spectacular lightning storm poured from the ceiling, striking Leviathan from every angle and frying his water-logged scales. Smoke pouring from the wounds in his flesh, Leviathan let out a final wail and flopped down into the water, sinking to the bottom of the pool.
The water began to drain from the room slowly – soon everyone's legs were touching the floor again and the magma beneath the floor had reverted back to a bubbling red soup. Kain and Cecil both collapsed against the wall in relief, hardly able to stand under the weight of their wet armor for much longer. Lying on the ground in a pile of white hair and saggy flesh, naked except for a shabby loin cloth, was Leviathan's human form. Asura reappeared at his side, kneeling down next to him and shaking her head, a small smile on her lips. With a wave of her right hand, he was enclosed in his robes and hat again, and with the wave of her left, restored to full health.
He stood up, scratching his head confusedly as Asura stepped back. Rydia left Rosa's side and approached the king, bowing deeply before him. He stared at her, evaluating her condition - a tiny thing in soaking wet and ripped clothes, her formerly straight hair frizzing in a pile of curls. Though she displayed her deference with her bow, he saw determination burning in her eyes more powerful than any summoner he had ever encountered in his many lifetimes on this Blue Planet.
"Indeed, you bear the light," Leviathan bowed back to her. "Very well – go with the power of the Eidolon King at your command!" He reached up and held her head with both hands, the same white essence that had been given to her from Asura pouring into her from Leviathan. Her eyes briefly flashed white as the power traveled through her and faded away at her feet, their covenant sealed.
"Thank you, both of you!" Rydia bowed once more, and pulled herself back up to her full height. Cecil, Kain, Rosa and even Edge all smiled proudly – in that moment, it was she who looked like the Queen of the Eidolons, with her wild hair, primitive dress and scintillating whip clutched in her fist. "And now, I humbly beg of you to help us understand what is to come, if at all possible…"
"Of course dear," Asura said, planting herself back down in her pillow throne. "You've proven that you and your friends are trustworthy of an Eidolon's wisdom. What is it that you want to know?"
"Well…" Rydia tilted her head, trying to quickly sort her racing thoughts, since they had little time to spare. "First, Cecil here heard a voice in Castle Baron in the overworld, and I encountered it as well while I was walking in my dreams. What is haunting Baron?"
Asura and Leviathan looked at each other for a moment, silently. At first, Rydia was worried that she had asked something unworthy of the King and Queen's attentions, but Asura suddenly smiled and turned to Cecil. To his surprise, she reached toward Cecil where he was leaning on the wall, and took his hand in her own.
"Cecil…" (How did she know he was the one Rydia was asking about?) "…You are being watched over by a very powerful, benevolent spirit. His intention is not to harm – far from it. You need to return to where you first heard his voice, with Rydia and your other friends by your side, and he will grant you the answers you seek. That is all I can tell you for now." Cecil nodded.
"Thank you."
"Oh, and Cecil…" Asura reached up, pushing a strand of wet hair away from his face in a gentle, maternal manner. "…You are brimming with light, so much so that it pains me to look upon you. And beautiful light attracts the darkest specters and becomes most vulnerable to the darkness. You must brace your heart for the trials to come. Your friends will be your shield, but ultimately, you need to rely on your own light to make it through." Cecil's eyes widened in surprise, and he said nothing, dumbstruck from her ominous words as she turned back to Rydia. Rosa and Kain rushed up to Cecil, Rosa taking his hand and squeezing gently and Kain putting his arm around him.
"We are not going to let anything happen to you!" Rosa whispered.
"Not a chance in Hell," Kain agreed.
"What else, my child?" Asura asked, smiling amusedly at seeing Kain and Rosa flock to Cecil out of the corner of her eye. Such an interesting juxtaposition of hearts between those three…
"Is there anything we should know about the Sealed Cave?" Rydia asked. "It's the home of the final crystal, which we need to protect at all costs. But we're not sure what to expect."
"The Sealed Cave has trapped whatever is not worthy of the light for many millennia," Leviathan said thoughtfully. "The only thing that has kept it from becoming a cesspool of darkness is the presence of the crystal itself. The monsters within have evolved in ways you probably have yet to see in the overworld. It would be wise that you seek the aid of another."
"Who!?" Rydia cried. "Someone we can reach quickly, I hope! Time is of the essence…"
"Golbez will not be successful in breaking the seal so easily," Asura shook her head. "But you are correct, time marches on and becomes a greater enemy to you all. The help you seek is buried in the Sylph Cave far to the northwest of here. However, their aid will not come easily – I would prepare yourself for disappointment."
"Well, we have to try!" Edge crossed his arms. "No one can resist my charms!"
"Is there anything else we should know?" Rydia asked softly. "Anything about Golbez?"
The King and Queen shook their heads in unison.
"We've been trying to understand the scourge that is Golbez ourselves and have reached no enlightenment," Asura said. "This has been a seething darkness long in the making…had we known when it first awoke, things might be different now."
"We're sorry," Leviathan added. "But we'll do our best to fight by your side when the time comes again to confront him."
"Thank you…for everything." Rydia bowed, and Cecil, Kain, Rosa and Edge followed suit. "I'm afraid we must go now…to save the eighth crystal."
"I wish you the very best, Rydia," Asura said. "Remember – believe in your friends, and in yourself. You are an acknowledged champion of the Eidolons – time to act like it!"
"Yes, Your Highness," Rydia nodded. "Good-bye…I hope to return soon." She turned to Rosa. "Think we can Teleport out of here?"
"Of course – hold on to me tightly!" Rosa smiled. Asura and Leviathan watched as they disappeared in a flash of light that shot through the ceiling and disappeared. Asura curled up against her pillows and sighed, tracing her finger along the seam of a white pillow idly.
"What weighs on My Queen's mind?" Leviathan asked gently. "To see our Rydia exhibit such strength…my heart is about to burst!"
"Oh, it's not Rydia…she is everything I could have ever dreamed and imagined," Asura smiled for a moment, and then shook her head. "It's that young man, Cecil…how my heart ached for him when I took his hand. I hope the light can help him accept what he is."
"I can't believe there is so much…green here," Rydia whirled around in a circle.
They had arrived at the Sylph Cave – hidden away in a rock formation to the northwest just like Asura had said. Unlike the path to the Feymarch, the cavern was unnaturally cool, draped in greenery, with ivy and other vines climbing the walls, and filled with strange blue and green glowing flowers that were bright enough to provide light without a torch. The floors, however, ran rampant with a river of luminescent blue poison, and Rosa had to cast Float on the party once again to cross safely. Had they not had the fortunate circumstances to see a falling flower hit the blue muck and instantly curl into itself and rot, they would have discovered the poison the hard way.
"And it's so quiet," Edge said. "Not a sign of life – is there really anyone here?"
Cecil had become the de facto leader of this expedition, and kept his pace a few yards ahead of the others so he could think. He couldn't get Queen Asura's words out of his mind, and was absolutely confounded at what they meant. Her violet eyes had looked at him with such pity when she spoke. He had thought that being accepted by the light on Mount Ordeals was supposed to protect him, save him from the dark path. How was it that the light could make him vulnerable? And what was going to prey upon that vulnerability? Was this really just about Golbez?
Rosa and Kain were walking behind Cecil, whispering to each other.
"What can we do to help him?" Rosa asked. "Ever since we left the Feymarch, he's been a zombie."
"Sometimes you just have to leave someone alone for a while," said Kain. "Remember how you felt after Cid died…er, left? It can be exhausting at times to be around a bunch of people that have expectations of you. He'll come around, you'll see."
"Does that mean I'm a burden to him if I look to him for anything…?" Rosa trailed off. Kain shook his head and gingerly touched her shoulder. She was staring distractedly at Cecil's form walking away from them, but she didn't pull away from Kain.
"Rosa…look at me."
Her gaze dragged away from Cecil and looked up at him. For a moment, she almost stumbled as she was walking. When did Kain's eyes get to be so…tired? The shadows underneath seemed darker than ever, although she couldn't tell if it was from the lighting in the cave or the way his helmet hung over his eyes. Kain pressed his fingers into her flesh with a little more pressure, reveling in every sordid second.
"You are NOT a burden…not to Cecil, not to anyone," he said. "If you weren't here, do you think Rydia would have passed her trials? Do you think any of us wouldn't have been burned alive by Rubicante?" He nodded back toward Edge, who had started doing some goofy frolic that was actually making Rydia laugh instead of glare in disgust. "And that idiot would still be on the floor in the Cave of Eblan, moaning about." Rosa blushed a little and pushed some hair behind her ear.
"Forgive me…I've had little sleep and have been thinking too much, I suppose. I just…have this awful feeling in the pit of my stomach like something terrible is going to happen soon…we've failed with all of the other crystals…We've had this wonderful news with Cid being OK…I just feel like we're going to be punished for it soon."
Kain dropped his hand from her shoulder and shook his head. "We simply know we can't fail with this one. It will be OK." She looked up at him and smiled a little.
"You're right, of course."
"So what's the deal with those two?" Edge asked, doing some whispering of his own. Rydia blinked.
"Kain and Rosa? They grew up together."
"And?"
"No and."
Edge laughed. "Come on, Rydia, think about who you are talking to here. I know the language of love, and he's got it bad for her. It's written all over his face. The way he touched her just now, he acted like he was going to be burned." Rydia sighed. She really didn't want to get into this with Edge, of all people.
"Obviously you don't know THAT much about "the language of love"," she said in a mimicking voice. "Just drop it, OK?" Edge stared at her for a moment, looked to Kain, then to Rosa, then to Cecil. You could practically see the wheels turning in his head before he widened his eyes.
"Aha! So…"
"We've hit a dead end, it seems."
Cecil's voice interrupted Edge's revelation. He was looking around, hands on his hips, at the alcove they had wandered into.
"Hmmm?" Kain looked around, pressing his palms against the walls. The layers of flowers and vines sunk underneath his fingers, springing back up when he released the pressure.
"Oh…what about down here?" Rosa asked. She had bent down, realizing that they had come to a spot where there was no more poison and plants were growing on the ground again. She thought she had seen something glimmering in the dark. Pulling at the plants, she revealed what looked like a wooden trap door.
"Nice…!" Edge cheered. "Let's just give this a little tug…" He pulled up on the metal latch and the door gave way, snapping open. Below, they could see an ancient wooden ladder, and a winding pathway that appeared to be free of poison.
Cecil proceeded down the ladder first, followed by Kain, Rosa, Edge and Rydia. As Rydia was making her descent, the ladder suddenly buckled and snapped from under her, and she screamed as she fell backward. Edge dashed down to his knees and caught her effortlessly. Rydia gasped for breath and looked up at Edge.
"…Thank you."
"No problem!" He grinned, and set her down. "All in a day's work for the ninja masters of Eblan! I'll take my reward any time!"
"You should have stopped after "No problem"," Rydia sighed, and walked ahead to join Cecil around the corner. He had stopped when she reached him, and was staring at a multi-story cabin that lay before them.
"Do you think someone is home?" Rydia blinked. "This appears to be another dead end."
"Let's find out," Cecil said, and stepped onto the covered porch, which was outfitted with yet more flowers taking over the structure and a chair that had been long broken – it was missing a leg and toppled over under a thick layer of dust. Knocking on the door, he waited until Kain, Rosa and Edge had joined them for a response, but no one answered.
"Should we…turn back?" Rosa asked worriedly. She was staring at the cabin windows, which were all shattered, but couldn't see inside due to black curtains being drawn.
"The King would not have been mistaken about someone being here that can help us," Rydia said firmly. "I say…we let ourselves in and see what happens."
"Rydia!" Rosa looked surprised. "I guess…it's OK if the King said they were here…"
"I don't really think it's OK at all," Cecil groaned. "But the ladder to get us out of here is broken now. Maybe they have something in here we can use to escape."
"Just go in already!" Edge exclaimed, and stepped up, putting his foot to the door. It swung open easily, and he marched inside fearlessly. Cecil and Kain followed, gesturing for Rosa and Rydia to stay behind them.
They entered a surprisingly cozy sitting room, with shelves lined with colorful books, a cute wooden table with two chairs that was painted white, and a series of ancient, but clean rugs tossed over the scratched up wooden floors. Candles were aglow in wall sconces hanging around the room, and in the very back corner of the room, near the broken windows, there was a bed that was clearly occupied based on the lump sticking out from under the sheets.
"Do you think they are sick?" Rosa asked. "Maybe I should check up on them. They would have heard us come in if they were OK, right?"
"Rosa…!" Cecil started, but she had already started to march over. Cecil quickly ran ahead of her and blocked her with his arm, worried about a crazy scenario where the sleeping person would not take kindly to having house guests and would wake up with a knife from under his pillow. As Cecil side-stepped in front of Rosa, he saw a familiar skinny braid of blonde hair sticking out on the pillow, and felt like his knees were going to give out. Slowly pulling down the sheet, he revealed a bald head, covered in bruises, a stern chevron mustache, and wrapped arms, the bandages undone enough on his left arm to reveal a red Fabulian tribal tattoo.
"Yang…" Cecil trailed off. "I don't believe it…" He held onto the bed post to keep steady. Kain and Rydia gasped from behind him. Rosa, who had been peering behind Cecil's arm, pushed past and fell to her knees next to the bed.
"Yang!" Rosa called, shaking him. "Yang, wake up!" He wouldn't move, but his skin felt warm to the touch. He was definitely alive!
"…What do you think you're doing!?"
A high-pitched voice screamed in Cecil's ear. Whirling around, he came face-to-face with a girl's face that was the size of an apple, levitating before him. She had waist-length, platinum blonde hair, her bangs forming wispy wings on the sides of her face and large garnet earrings hanging from her elfin ears. Her eyes were as black as two polished onyx stones, and she wore a nearly transparent blue leotard that covered her arms, torso and hips. She was barefoot, and had two sets of amber-colored wings, like a dragonfly's, flittering about and keeping her afloat. Overall, she couldn't have been more than fourteen inches tall.
"Intruders!" Another voice called out. "Stay AWAY from him!"
Two other creatures with identical features had appeared behind Kain and Rydia, pulling on their arms and trying to drag them away. Kain swatted the one attacking him away in annoyance, and Rydia reached up, grabbing the other one. The creature squirmed and screamed in the same high-pitched tone, kicking her legs to no avail.
"What are you, and where are we?" Rydia queried the girl. "Yang is our friend!"
"Harumph!" The girl grunted, and replied by biting Rydia's hand. Rydia squealed and let go, and her former captive flew higher in the air where she couldn't reach.
"We are Sylphs," the creature in front of Cecil said, eying him warily to make sure he didn't touch Yang again. "Fairies that live in this cave. You said this man is your friend?"
"Yes!" Cecil cried. "We thought we lost him in an explosion at the Tower of Babil."
"The Tower of Babil? What a frightening place," the sylph shook her head. "We don't care much for the affairs of men and their greed for war. But…Yang, as you call him, stumbled upon us in a daze, and we could not leave him to die. He was severely injured and muttering madness, thinking he was in the afterworld and that we were guardian shepherds. We took him down here to recover quietly, away from the war above. But…shortly after he arrived here, he fell unconscious, and we haven't been able to wake him since."
"No…!" Rosa shook her head. "Will he never regain consciousness again?"
"Not with you shaking him like a poppet throttles a toy, he won't!" the second sylph snapped. "We've been taking good care of Yang, and shall continue to do so! You do us no good here!"
"But there has to be something we can do," Cecil begged. "This man…he saved our lives. There has to be something we can do to bring him back to us. There are doctors at King Giott's castle that saved another friend of ours. Can't we bring him there?"
"Absolutely not," the third sylph that had bitten Rydia replied. "We will not release Yang into a battle-torn area like that. He is safest here, and we are as good as any doctor in the world. The best thing you can do for him is leave him alone and keep away so that you don't bring any nastiness to him!"
Cecil didn't know how to dispute anything they said. Everyone that had helped them really had just ended up getting hurt in the end… Edward, Palom, Porom, Tellah, Cid and now Yang…
"Fine…we'll leave," Cecil resigned. "But…we're going to come back for him, when this is all over."
"We'll see about that," the first sylph snapped. "Don't make us use our powers against you. One of us may be a joke to you, but when we Sylphs combine our powers…we are unstoppable!"
"We will leave today without a fight," Kain said gently. "Can you please advise the best way to do so?"
"Climb up to the attic of this house," the second sylph said. "You will find a teleportation tile that will take you out of the cave."
"And don't come back!" the third sylph hissed. "I'm serious!"
The sylphs practically shoved them to the stairway that led to the attic. Once they had climbed the stairs, Cecil could see they spoke the truth – a glowing teleportation tile was embedded in the floor, ready to whisk them away.
After leaving the house, they climbed back onto the Falcon, feeling utterly defeated.
"So, I guess the King was right after all," Rydia said sadly. "We couldn't convince Yang to help us, because he…" She sniffled and took a deep breath. "But at least he's alive! My prayers…they've come true!"
"Another one of your friends is back from the dead, huh?" Edge asked. "Is anyone going to tell me what's going on with this one?"
"Edge…we'll tell you about Yang on the way to the Sealed Cave, OK?" said Cecil. Edge shrugged and started the Falcon's engine.
"Start from the beginning…I want to know everything."