Chapter 17 - Zanarkand Ruins
Tara and Gian entered the ruins of what was once the wondrous city of Zanarkand. Once a vibrant and thriving city, it was now reduced to a pile of rubble - utterly destroyed by Bevelle in the Great War, almost a thousand years ago.
The pair made their way to a clearing that was just meters in front of the road leading into the city. Tara stood, overlooking the ruins, trying to imagine what the city was like a thousand years ago. Gian climbed up to the top of a small hill next to a statue. He looked at the ruins and tried to imagine what the city was once like as well.
They joined hands and prepared to cross the path leading into the city. They stopped to take another look around. They saw low-lying clouds and eerie flashes of light.
"This looks like the Farplane!" Tara exclaimed.
"A lot of memories and secrets are trapped here." Gian responded.
An old man appeared out of nowhere and spoke.
"Journeyer of the long road, name yourself."
"I am the summoner Tara of the Island of Kilika, and this is my guardian Gian," Tara replied.
"Your eyes," the old man beckoned. "Show me your eyes, my dear. Let me see the long road you have traveled."
He walked up to Tara and looked intently into her eyes.
"You have journeyed well. Lady Yunalesca will most certainly welcome your arrival. Go to her now, and take your guardian with you." The old man disappeared.
The pair heard another voice behind them, coming from what appeared to be a young woman.
"If it might benefit the people of Spira, then use my life. It is the highest honor for which a guardian may ask. Use my life, Lady Yocun, and rid Spira of Sin forever!"
"Okay, this is getting really creepy, Gian!" Tara exclaimed. "What exactly was that?"
"One of our predecessors," the guardian replied. "I told you - memories and secrets are trapped here. Although it's hard to believe that she guarded High Summoner Yocun. She was so young."
The pair continued down the broken road, heading towards what looked like the outside of a blitzball stadium. Another vision appeared – a young guardian, who appeared to be very scared.
"What? What do you mean there's no final aeon?"
Tara and Gian looked at each other, neither having any explanation. Gian took Tara's hand and entered the remains of the Zanarkand Dome. They made their way down towards the antechamber where a large colorful puzzle awaited them.
"Trials," Tara remarked. "They're here too."
"You were thinking there weren't gonna be any?" the guardian chuckled.
"Well, more like hoping."
Roughly an hour later, Tara and Gian had solved the puzzle and made their way though the door that led to the next room. A large and terrifying demon was waiting for them.
"Fiends?" Gian exclaimed, "in the temple?"
Tara wasted no time. Summoning Bahamut, the fearsome dragon appeared and cast its Megaflare spell. The demon howled in pain, and then struck back, knocking Tara unconscious.
"Tara!" the guardian screamed. The platform he stood on brightened and appeared to be changing colors. He felt the platform destabilizing beneath him. He hurriedly jumped platforms to where Tara lied. The guardian quickly cast a Curaja spell, and then knelt down in front of her. He placed his hand on her forehead and shouted. His voice boomed through the entire chamber.
"Shiva! If you can hear me, I need you! Please come!"
Nothing happened.
The Curaja spell took effect and Tara slowly returned to her feet. She looked over at Gian with a weak smile on her face.
"That's my job, dear." she mused as she began to summon Shiva.
Shiva appeared once more and performed her trademark ice-shattering maneuver. The demon was torn to pieces by razor-sharp ice shards, and it then exploded into pyreflyes.
Tara looked over at Gian and began to giggle.
"That's one that I'm going to tell our kids in the future."
"Hey, I was panicked! I thought it would work!" the guardian responded with a sheepish smile on his face.
Tara noticed a treasure chest that had appeared in front of the display unit. She walked over to open the treasure chest and opened it. A singular gold coin was inside. She looked at the coin and took note of the inscription at the bottom.
Centaurus
"This one's for you!" She flipped the coin over to Gian who caught it. Examining the coin, he knew immediately what it was. He inserted the coin into the center of his medallion. And in similar fashion to Tara's medallion, the coin began to glow. It then fused itself to the medallion.
Both medallions were now complete.
"Still no answers though," the guardian shrugged. "Oh well, we're here. Are you ready, Tara? The moment we've waited for is now upon us. Go do what we came here to do.
Tara stood in front of the platform, and seconds later, the center section appeared. Stepping onto it, the section began to lower itself, taking Tara to its intended destination.
Gian continued to examine his medallion. He was no closer to solving its mystery than he was before, back on the Mi'ihen Highroad.
The platform returned.
"Gian! Come quick! Something's very wrong here!"
Together, they stood upon the center section and the lift began to lower. The ride only lasted a few seconds. The entrance to the Chamber of the Fayth then presented itself.
Gian followed Tara inside, who remarked. "This isn't a Fayth. It's just an empty statue!"
The old man who had greeted the pair at the entrance to Zanarkand appeared before them once more.
"That was Lord Zaon, the first Fayth of the Final Summoning. All that he was... is lost. But fear not. Lady Yunalesca will show you the path. What you seek will be yours. Go now. The Lady awaits."
"Lady Yunalesca," Gian remarked. "The very first summoner to ever defeat Sin. I have a feeling that things are about to come full-circle. The mystery of a thousand years is about to be revealed."
Tara and Gian walked into an elegantly-appointed, if dusty, antechamber. A tall, slender figure with long, flowing white hair was walking down the staircase opposite them.
"Lady Yunalesca," Tara spoke. She recognized Yunalesca's face from her childhood textbook.
"Welcome to Zanarkand. I congratulate you, Summoner. Your pilgrimage is now complete. I will bestow upon you that which you seek. The Final Summoning will now be yours."
Yunalesca looked into Gian's eyes.
"You are the one who is to become the Fayth?"
"Umm," the guardian replied, "I am to become the what?"
"The Fayth of the Final Summoning. There must be a bond between Fayth and Summoner, such as that between friends, lovers, or family. If that bond is strong enough, it's light will certainly conquer Sin. Almost one thousand years ago, I chose my husband Zaon as my Fayth. Our bond was true, and I obtained the Final Aeon. There is nothing to fear. You will soon be free of worry and pain. For once you call forth the Final Aeon, your life will end. Death is the ultimate and final liberation. Many summoners have chosen this path. Discuss it. I will return when you are ready."
Yunalesca then walked back up the staircase and disappeared.
"This is crazy!" Gian exclaimed. "I didn't come here to become a Fayth."
"What in the hell is going on here?" Tara asked.
"Let's go get some answers." Gian replied. He proceeded up the staircase, with Tara behind him.
The guardian was shocked by what he saw. He appeared to be standing on a stone platform, surrounded by nothing except naked space.
"Are you ready?" asked Yunalesca.
"May I ask a question first?" Tara worriedly spoke. "If I use the Final Summoning to defeat Sin, will Sin return?"
"Sin is eternal. Every aeon that defeats Sin becomes Sin in its place. And thus is Sin reborn. Sin is eternal. It is never-ending.
"Never-ending?" Tara was at a loss for words. However, Gian was angry.
"What do you mean, never-ending?" the guardian exclaimed. "The Priests of Yevon have taught us for generations that if we atone for our crimes, if you want to call them that, then Sin will be gone!"
"Will humanity ever attain that level of purity?"
"This can't be!" Tara exclaimed. "This contradicts everything that Spira has ever been taught - everything that the people have ever believed. For centuries! For many of us, it was the only hope we ever had!"
"Hope is comforting. It allows us to accept fate, however tragic it may be. Many summoners have chosen this path. They chose to die because they had hope. Yevon's teachings and the Final Summoning give the people hope. Without hope, they would drown in their own sorrow." Yunalesca once again looked into the guardian's eyes. "Will you be the one to renew Spira's hope?"
Gian glared at Yunalesca. "I don't think so."
He took Tara by the hand and led her back to the platform entrance.
"You hear what she just said?" The guardian was beyond angry. "Everything Spira has ever been taught is a lie. We can't do this. If we take this path, you will die, and I will become Sin. The cycle will continue and nothing will ever change. That's not the future I had in mind. I don't think it's the future you had in mind either. Tara, I love you more than anything. And I will not lose you now. I made a promise, and I intend to keep that promise - even if it means we fight right now! Let's end this, Tara. Let's give Spira real hope. Are you with me?"
"I'm always with you." replied Tara, with a smile on her face. "I always have been, and I always will be. Yes, let's end this. And let's do it the same way we've done everything else. Together!"
Tara and Gian walked back to face Lady Yunalesca.
"Have you decided?" Yunalesca asked.
"Yes," Gian spoke, anger dripping from his voice. "We've decided. We've decided to end this charade that Yevon has foisted upon us. The Final Summoning is a false tradition, and it ends right now."
"No," Yunalesca replied, "It is our only hope. Summoners of days past sacrificed themselves to give that hope to the people, so they would forget sorrow."
"Wrong," Tara stated firmly. "I want to end Spira's sorrow for good, not cover it up with lies!"
"Sorrow cannot be abolished," Yunalesca replied. "It is meaningless to try."
"Sorrow is a part of life." Gian stated. "We'll live with our sorrow. We'll press on and defeat it. We'll live our lives as we were meant to. And we'll do it without Yevon's false hope. We'll give Spira real hope. Just watch us!"
The space around Yunalesca was beginning to warp. Yunalesca was beginning to coalesce into something more powerful.
"Foolish creatures," she glared. "You would throw away hope? Well, I will free you before you can drown in your own sorrow. It is better for you to die in hope, than to live in despair. Let me be your liberator!"
"Tara!" Gian shouted, drawing his sword. "You ready?"
"I'm ready!" Tara replied, readying her staff.
Yunalesca's facial expression changed into one of fearsome anger. She began to levitate in front of them, and large black hellish wings had appeared behind her.
Gian stepped forward, slashing at Yunalesca. Her force field prevented his sword from doing any damage. Tara cast Flare, destroying Yunalesca's force field. The guardian cast Holy, pelting Yunalesca with piercing beams of divine light. Tara stepped forward to cast a Bio spell, draining Yunalesca of precious life energy, infecting her with poison as well. Another powerful slash of Gian's sword caused Yunalesca to scream in agony.
Yunalesca began to coalesce again. She rose high up into the air, attached to a large serpent-like being. She reached out with a tentacle, and slapped the guardian back, infecting him with poison.
The guardian readied a heal spell and cast it upon himself. While Yunalesca was distracted by Gian, Tara had begun the summoning ritual, calling for Shiva. Shiva covered the serpent and surrounding area with ice. Snapping her fingers once more, ice shards impaled the serpent, prompting another loud scream from Yunalesca. Shiva nodded and then disappeared.
Yunalesca began to coalesce once more. The serpent reared back, exposing a gigantic and gruesome serpent head, with a long snake-like tongue. Yunalesca struck at the guardian with the tongue. Gian dodged the attack and severed the tongue with a powerful slash.
Tara knelt down, gathering energy. She then stood and cast the single-most powerful spell she had ever cast in her life. Ultima found its mark, raining destruction down upon the serpent, causing a loud explosion, the force of which rocked the entire structure. Tara observed as the serpent head exploded into pyreflies, leaving only Yunalesca's original form behind it.
Gian ran his sword through a shocked Yunalesca, executing his signature maneuver. Yunalesca fell to her knees in defeat.
"If I die," Yunalesca weakly spoke, "Spira's hope dies with me."
"We told you," Tara replied, "We'll give Spira real hope."
"Fools!" Yunalesca glared. "Even if you defeat Sin without the Final Summoning, Yu-Yevon, the immortal, will create Sin anew."
"Yu-Yevon?" Tara questioned.
"Ahh, Zaon..." Yunalesca curled into a ball. "Forgive me. Spira has been robbed of the light of hope. All that remains is sorrow." Yunalesca disappeared in a cloud of pyreflies.
Saying nothing, the pair joined hands and made their way back to the entrance of Zanarkand Dome. Gian walked out into the open field, where Sin was paused, waiting for him.
Gian walked right up to the creature, staring into his eyes. He started to wonder if he were hearing things. His facial expression changed. He nodded, and Sin began to move away.
Tara looked at her guardian in shock. "Gian, what was that about?"
"I heard something," the guardian replied, "a voice from deep within Sin. It said 'Help me. Please help me!'"
The pair continued their trek back through the broken streets of Zanarkand, ending up back at the hilly area they rested at previously.
Tara looked into her guardian's eyes. "Gian, what in the world did we just do?"
"We did what we had to do. But there's one thing that's no longer certain."
Tara looked at her guardian quizzically.
"The Final Summoning is now gone, forever. That means our lives are in our own hands. It's no longer a given that 'the summoner will die.' We've been given an opportunity. It's up to us now."
Be strong, Tara, she thought, you can do this.
Cid had walked up to join them.
"Well, don't you just look like the happy couple? C'mon, the airship is over there. I'm sure you want to get out of here."
Back aboard the airship, Gian looked at Tara.
"We still don't have the answers we need. I think there's only one place we're going to find them."
"I know what that means," the summoner dryly remarked. "It means we're going back to Bevelle."