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Final Fantasy VI: The Sands of Time
Book 1: The Beginning
Chapter 1 - Pandora's Box
Part 1.4 - The Master of Earth
"Dune."
Dune opened his eyes at the sound of his name, expecting to see the Captain once more, but he was totally unprepared for the sight that awaited him. He was standing outside in the middle of the desert, right in the heart of the storm at the height of its fury! He staggered for a second at this change of scenery, all the old feelings of dread coming back to him. Around him the storm was raging and furiously beating the ground with rain and hail. Only around him, though, was the storm raging. The drops of rain and hailstones seemed to ignore him, and the lightning casually skirted him by mere meters, but he felt nothing at all. The air around him was perfectly still and dry. A strange silence pervaded the landscape as well, completely separating Dune from the struggles of the storm. What was going on?
"Give it back, Dune." A deep, rumbling voice commanded him.
Dune peered through the sheets of rain for the source of this voice, but could see nothing but the storm. He feebly answered, "Wh, who are you?"
A low growl resonated from the ground, and Dune leaped back in surprise. Then came the reply.
"I am the world that you see, and the world you do not see. I am part of the thoughts you accept, and part of the thoughts you refuse. I am the plains, the hills, and the mountains. I am the ground beneath your feet that you have devoted your life to. I am the Master of Earth. You have taken that which was not yours to take. Give it back, or face the wrath of the Earth!"
Dune was struck speechless. The Master of Earth? What was this nonsense? He needed more than this. Boldly, or so Dune thought, he stood his ground, determined to get more answers out of this mysterious presence. He yelled out into the silent storm defiantly, "Give what back? What have I taken, and what is its importance to you? Why am I out here, and who are you?"
The ground shook more ferociously, nearly knocking Dune over. "Impudent mortal! The gravity crystal in your shirt! Return it to its rightful place! Now!" The shaking of the ground softened for a moment, like a subsiding anger, and the earthen voice continued, with a note of forced calmness and politeness, "The crystal is of no use to creatures such as yourself. It was my burden and mine alone to care for it, and you will return it to me. The choice is a simple one. Comply or perish in the bowels of the earth." As if to drive this last point home, the ground beneath Dune suddenly jerked upwards, flinging him into the air. The ground was silent once more, awaiting Dune's response.
Dune got back up and shook the dust off of him. He still instinctively peered into the surreal stormscape hoping to catch a glimpse of his aggressor, but could see nothing of substance. Just a mute world of storm and sand in every direction. He was visibly shaken now, but tried to hold out for as much information as this being would give him. "Gravity crystal? What is its purpose? How was it formed? What right do you have to it? I found it, and I nearly died for it. It is as much mine as yours." His insurmountable curiosity and lust towards the crystal could not be extinguished with something as trifling as an improbable death threat from a hidden foe of unknown power. He was playing a dangerous game, but he could never have guessed how highly the cards were stacked against him.
Expecting another upheaval, Dune braced himself. The ground simply hummed, though, the sand slightly vibrating at his feet. "Fool. It has taken you, like so many others. Listen to my words, or you will suffer a fate worse than what I can give you. Cast the crystal into the deepest abyss you can find. Forget it. Forget its cold touch and its empty gaze. You do not understand-nay, you refuse to understand what you have found. It will do you no good to keep it. I will tell you once more: Give it back."
If there was anything that could have persuaded Dune in his present state to the rash words he was about to speak, insulting his ability as a scientist was it. How dare this coward claim that this artifact was beyond his understanding? How dare he claimed that it had any power over his clarity of thought? The crystal was his, now and forever.
"Ha! No, it is mine! I will take it and keep it from you for as long as I live. Do what you will, O Master of Earth!" He finished with a mocking tone that was most unbecoming of him. The crystal had imperceptibly taken hold over Dune. Never would the old Dune have been so offended by such remarks, but this new Dune was different, brasher, more headstrong, and headed for disaster.
The voice rose from the ground, slowly growing more intense with each word, building up towards a final release, "You are lost to the power of the crystal. The time of truth will come soon enough, and you will see what you have become. Only then will you have a chance to save yourself. Now! I ask you one last time, give the crystal to me or suffering is all you will receive as reward for your foolishness!" The ground was now shaking with a constant force, and Dune was having trouble standing against it.
"Never!" was Dune's only reply. A foolish one.
"Then begone from my presence!" With that the ground shook with a force that Dune had no power to resist. He was thrown to the ground like a doll, fully subject to the wrath of the Master of Earth. The earth groaned horribly, and with a resounding crack, a huge fissure opened up beneath the helplessly flailing Dune. He fell into it with his face still looking up at the storm that would not pay him any heed even now. Falling, falling, the darkness around him grew, and then with a final rumbling the fissure snapped shut. Dune saw nothing, heard nothing, and felt nothing. He closed his eyes waiting for the inevitable impact.
"You have been warned."
Dune shot up from the bed, beads of sweat racing down his face. He gasped for breath for a moment, and then weakly uttered "...only a dream..." He started, and breathed a grateful sigh of relief. He was back in the infirmary, and the ground was quite motionless. For the time being his physical pain had been overshadowed by the lingering emotion from the dream, and he was fully erect, slowly taking in the whiteness around him, as if to confirm he was really back in the safety of the camp's infirmary. Had it all really been a dream? It had seemed much more real than any dream he had experienced before. He thought back to the impossible scenes he had just been witness to, and his scientific mind assured him that what he had seen could only have been a dream, a hallucination brought on by the recent events he had endured and his weak physical condition. "It was only a dream..." he repeated to himself, solidifying this statement as truth in his mind.