Short little hoperai drabble inspired by the second part of Hope's story in the Reminiscence novel. I'd recommend reading this first.

She's not real, Hope thought the first time he saw the rose-haired phantom. She can't be real.

She was always there, a flickering image in the corner of his eye. He knew the real Lightning was supposed to be trapped in Valhalla, but the phantom haunting him looked exactly like her. Even her voice was the same, whispering things to him night after night. The voice would echo through his mind during the day, turning his consciousness into a rose-colored mess. He knew he needed to focus on other things, to stop the chaos from infiltrating the world, but all he could think about was her. His colleagues were long gone, swallowed by the intruding darkness. The beautiful phantom with its rose-colored hair was all the company he had left.

Soon, he could no longer trust his memories. He was sure he'd held her once when they were both l'Cie, but the way the rose-haired phantom would press her lips against his skin during the night felt just as real. After a while, he could no longer separate reality from memories and illusions. She was everywhere; laughing, whispering things in his ear, touching him… He wanted her and her kisses to be real, more than he'd ever wanted anything in his whole life. Maybe she's my reward, he would sometimes think. Maybe God returned her to me because I protected humanity. It was delusional, he knew, but he wanted it to be true so badly he sometimes forgot Bhunivelze's real plan.

Deep inside, he knew the god was trying to break him, turning him into the perfect vessel – but the longer the phantom haunted him, the less he cared about the god's ulterior motive. She was finally with him, letting him hold her for the first time in centuries, letting him touch her in ways he'd only dreamed about. She wasn't real, but he still couldn't resist her. She was just a phantom, but he was still hers.

When the phantom appeared before him and asked him to come with her, all Hope could do was to follow her.