"I'm not a coward... But I know I have to be stronger." - Arc

Arc found himself standing on illuminated ground amidst a sea of blackness. Luneth stood across from him in another circle just like his, shredded cloth floating about him like a mist. It was just the two of them amidst a vast nothingness.

"Where are we?" Arc asked. "What is this place?"

Luneth said nothing. Instead, he turned on his heel and disappeared in the dark. Arc ran to follow him.

They left the safety of the golden light and everything around Arc turned pitch-black. He couldn't hear his feet hitting the ground below him, either. Voices whispered in the background, indistinct words blending together to create a soft murmur, like a river running nearby.

Arc ran faster. "Luneth! Stop!"

A light appeared on the horizon and suddenly Arc burst into a scene of life and light again. He came to stand in Nina and Topapa's living room, where a fire crackled on the heart, and snow flurried outside. Luneth, about five years old, held desperately to a small, stuffed chocobo with stitches for eyes and a couple of feathers stuck on top with glue.

"Luneth!" a woman's voice scolded. "You made him cry! Go apologize!"

"But he took my stuff!"

"It doesn't matter. Give him a hug and say you're sorry."

Arc didn't remember this moment, but it felt familiar. They fought over that chocobo several times. He followed little Luneth out the door and into the blasting cold.

Small Arc sniffled, huddled into a small ball at the edge of the doorstep and shivering against the cold. Luneth slid in next to him, unnoticing of the snow swirling at his bare toes. "I'm sorry," Luneth said flatly. "But you took him without asking and you shouldn't do that! I hate it so much when you do that!"

"I didn't mean to!" little Arc said, wiping at his face. "I thought you didn't care!"

The snow stopped. Flowers sprung from the ground and the sun came out of nowhere. They weren't at the house anymore—instead they sat the end of the lake on the outskirts of town, Arc shivering in his soaked clothes despite the warm sun. Luneth paced at the edge of the lake, muttering under his breath.

Arc remembered this one. They were ten.

"That's why they threw me in," younger Arc said, sneezing. "I didn't think you would get so mad."

"Mad?" Luneth repeated. "I'm not mad! Why do people always say that I'm mad? I'm angry! There's a difference! You need to fight back against those jerks!"

Luneth ranted about the bullies, calling them hideous names and cursing their ancestry. Luneth had given him a hug and sworn he would stop the bullies if they tried to throw him in the lake again.

The images of Arc and Luneth remained, though they aged a few years. The image of Arc ran away, leaving Luneth alone. Arc watched him go as well, before turning to Luneth, who heaved a sigh, lips pursing in thought. Luneth then walked slowly back to Topapa's, where they spoke in indistinct voices no matter how close Arc got. The words blended together and he could only make out "crystals" and "quest."

Luneth left and Arc followed him through the forest and over the plains until they reached Kazus, where the memory of Arc went to prove that ghosts weren't real. Luneth found Arc and startled him with a tap on the shoulder. Younger Arc, after recovering from his shock, then begged Luneth to let him come with him on his journey.

They ran on. The image changed to that of the Cave of Tides. Luneth knelt over Aria's dying body as she gasped her last breaths, face turning cold and pale. A grave appeared, the hillside where they took Aria's body after they came back to find it. Wind whistled in the heath and the sun shone warm on the gravestone. It was all four of them, the Warriors of Light, standing over the grave, hands clasped in solemn sorrow.

Unable to watch further, Arc turned and left. He walked through the Floating Continent, through tunnels, over hills, and under bridges. Scenes cropped up in places, memories playing over, several distorted in the same way as before.

Eventually, ruins filled his view, ruins that he didn't know. Wind whistled in what remained of the structure's windows and the sky was a hazy, dusty, orange color, hinting at the ending day. Arc saw the edge of the land that dropped off into a vast, empty sky. Was he still on the Floating Continent?

Luneth was perched atop the crumbling ruins, one leg swinging off the edge and head propped up by his palm. He stared with crimson eyes as Arc approached.

Arc's stomach churned, realization sinking in, and he reached for a staff that he didn't have even though the point here wasn't to kill the thing. The creature that watched Arc with curious, amused eyes wasn't affected by physical threats.

Arc stumbled on a rock and Luneth chuckled.

"It's almost interesting just how long humans will fight the impossible," it said, voice echoing with an alien inflection.

Arc stopped. "Please let him go. I want to talk to my brother again."

Its mouth straightened into a fine line. "Try again."

"Please."

"I was hoping to keep you, you know," Luneth said with a sigh. "But I suppose I can always find someone else. Flagg will be disappointed." He dropped from his perch and floated down to stand amid the rubble.

Arc barely took a step back before the creature zipped forward and grabbed his arm.

Luneth sneered, "You fool, if you'd just stayed quiet, I could have spared you."

He yanked and blinding pain shot through Arc shoulder. "Wait!"

A sickening crack sounded and Arc screamed as his arm broke. Luneth's foot connected with Arc's knee and knocked it out of place. Arc lost his footing and thudded to the ground. His face felt wet and his body shook and he groaned in pain.

"Please," Arc begged, chest heaving at the sight of Luneth's empty, red eyes. He tried to curl away and hide, but the movement aggravated his broken limbs. "Don't. Stop. Luneth, please."

The creature paused, nudging at Arc with a black boot. "Luneth can see everything, mortal. And it looks like he's fine with watching."

"You're lying."

"I don't lie."

"Luneth!"

"Stop."

"LUNETH!" Arc cried, trying to push himself up with his good arm. "I saw you! I know you! You're still in there and you don't want this to happen!"

"The King is gone, you pest!" It grabbed Arc's broken arm and he choked back a scream as it squeezed.

"Luneth, please, you've helped me all those times and I'm sorry I wasn't strong enough, I'm sorry I wasn't brave enough to stand up for myself. I'm sorry for relying on you! This is me stepping up! I'm making up for it now!"

The creature growled and slamed Arc against the ground. Jagged stone cut into his face and the world pulsed black.

All in the mind, he reminded himself. This isn't real. He could keep going. "Aren't you in there? Can't you see what he's doing? You've stopped so many of those bullies in the past, why can't you stop this one now?"

"It's too... strong!" Luneth shouted, holding back. "Don't fight it, Arc! It'll kill anyone who gets in the way!"

"Except you," Arc whispered, voice hoarse. Blood bubbled at his mouth and his lungs burned. Not real. "He can't kill you, Luneth. He can't kill the Fairy King!"

The air calmed. Arc's body screamed for a cure, healing, rest, but he kept his flickering gaze on Luneth. "Keep fighting," he said. "Keep him out. Toan… Toan will be here soon."

Something collided with Arc's head and the world went dark.

Ingus stared down at the darkness crawling toward them and let out a breath. His scars itched. There were thousands of creatures—there was no way they'd completely wipe the darkness out. But they didn't have to. If they stalled long enough for Arc and the others to beat the Cloud, then that was all they needed. That or the world was forfeit.

He raised his sword in signal. "First volley!"

Ruby, Max, Refia, and Osmond fired, letting bullets and magic missiles loose into the encroaching shadow. It hit some monsters but did little to slow the army.

"Again!"

This one took down a sizeable chunk. They kept moving.

Ingus signaled again. The army was getting closer and he would bring out the melee fighters to meet them. For now, he released another volley. And another.

Ingus steered his chocobo, moving to face his troops as the darkness came closer. "Men!" He shouted, gripping the reins tightly with his good hand. "We may be few, and we may not be legends, but will you yet stand with me? United in one purpose?"

"Hey!" Ruby said. "Speak for yourself!"

"We—" Ingus paused, looking at her. "What?"

"You said we're not legends!" Ruby huffed. "Where I come from, I'm a big legend!" She promptly leapt into the air, hands glowing.

Ingus blinked and reigned in his chocobo.

"She thinks she's a what?" Goro asked.

Ruby landed some distance from the army, magic gathering in her palms. She'd seen resets before. She'd seen kingdoms rise over the course of centuries and fall in a day, and she'd seen armies mass and die in a matter of hours. Heck, she'd seen entire civilizations end in the space of a few minutes.

And if there was one thing she learned from what she saw, it was that the course of history could be changed by a simple decision made by either stuffy old men or the wanderlust of a child. Often, it wasn't the big preparations, the huge predictions, or the efforts of a world that really made the difference—it was the small ripples that turned into waves.

She waited, power massing in her palms. Ingus would hopefully keep the rest of the party behind as she prepared to release.

A yammich stepped into range and Ruby counted to three before she let go and light exploded. Fire enveloped the front lines. Ruby tossed more fireballs into the crowd and screams filled her ears as the flames tore through. The ground lit up and heat enveloped the field. Ruby would worry about containing the fire later. For now, she knew only the adrenaline and the power.

Distorted roaring echoed in the distance—a familiar, nostalgic sound. Ingus and Sophie had helped save her from her owners, but that wasn't until after Ruby had killed, and she killed a lot. When Ingus disappeared… Seda was forced to borrow power that he shouldn't have. Things may have gone too far. Terra, they had gone wrong in a couple of timelines. But in so many of them, Ingus strategized and kept the enemy back despite Ruby's interference.

Faeries cried and Ruby couldn't tell if that was memory or reality. She screamed, detonating a burst of holy light. The land burned and all the fire and wind formed billowing infernos in the air.

A large hammer smashed into a monster to Ruby's right and Goro grunted, labored breathing revealing the extent of the poison in his system. "Didn't think you could take all the fun, did you? You're gonna... make us all look like idiots, you are."

"That was kind of the point," Ruby retorted. "Couldn't exactly let anyone show me up, right?"

Bullets thudded into another monster and Osmond shouted a warcry, landing among the crawling throng. "You're both so slow! We'll all gonna die of old age before these buggers die!"

"Says the one who came in third!" Goro shouted. "I think your age is catching up to you, old man!"

A huge axe hit the dirt in front of Ruby, sending rock and dust flying through the air. She floated backward as a large ram sniffed and leveled its red-eyed gaze on her. She frowned, thinking of the lives all these creatures were ripped from. But then, in this existence, they all didn't have much to be ripped from. Ruby snarled and blasted it in the face with a burst of electricity.

Something hit her in the back, the force of it knocking the wind straight from her lungs. Ruby struggled, air caught in her throat, and fell to the ground. Someone screamed, but it wasn't her. Xiao? Xiao wasn't human here.

Something warm wet her back. Blood.

She scrambled into the chaos of a thousand stomping feet and threw up a wall of flame as soon as she left reach of Osmond and the others.

Beasts and monsters screamed as the fire licked at them. Ruby huffed, kneeling in the dirt, pain blooming from the cut in her back. What was that? A skeleton? She hadn't seen anything, but it felt like it used a sword, which very few creatures tended to do.

Arc stood at the same ruins again, body aching with the memory of the previous experience, and yet somehow made whole. Luneth sat at the top of the ruins again, the same leg swinging against the stone, one hand propping up his head. A slight breeze rustled his hair and he turned his eyes on Arc. They were purple, this time. Normal. Arc came forward again and paused when he noticed a dark outline of a shadow hanging behind Luneth.

A breeze rustled the trees, sending leaves flying in swirling patterns. It was silent, even though he should have heard the leaves scraping the ground. "Luneth?"

Luneth nodded from his perch, eyes unblinking and fixed ahead. He wore his old clothes again, the purple sweater, buckle vest, and black boots.

"Am I speaking with Luneth or the Cloud of Darkness?"

"It's not Darkness," Luneth said with a sigh. "It's the Void's emissary. Why do people keep getting that mixed up?"

"But he—it—is here?"

"Of course I am," a disembodied voice rumbled from nowhere and everywhere at the same time. "You made a mistake, mortal."

Arc hung back. He wanted to get to Luneth, but flashes from that first encounter played over again in his mind's eye and he cringed. "I want to speak with Luneth alone."

"Nice try," the voice said. "We're one and the same now. There is no 'alone' here. This isn't just his mindscape. This is yours, too—or have you forgotten? It's a two-way connection."

"Luneth?"

His brother shifted in his spot, switching to a cross-legged position. Arc was half-surprised he didn't fall from the precarious perch. "I'm here."

The landscape changed. Instead of pale ruins, they were back in Arc's tower. His prison. The one he remembered so little about. The one stained purple and black and littered with corpses, bodies that he had to put back together.

Luneth sat on a blackened table, now. "I'm always here."

This is your mindscape, too.

Arc panicked, memories resurfacing. He fought to change the scene back to the ruins, but only succeeded in warping the room into distorted space. "Why-why don't you fight him?"

"It's impossible to fight him," Luneth's voice echoed softly, sounding somehow much older and wizened. "Imagine, human. Imagine having someone like this always in your brain instead of just stopping by every now and again to kick your cat because he's bored. Imagine losing control to something that wants nothing more than to stir up humanity to anger and rage against itself. Imagine watching the world from the beginning tear itself apart in countless, horrific ways."

"I—"

The doorknob turned and Arc backed into the wall.

Luneth said, "Imagine what he'll do."

Arc wrenched his attention away from the door and forced himself to swallow. "I don't have to because I've seen it."

"You know, I've tried to stop him a few thousand times. It's never worked, not even a little. After a… a few dozen millennia, and a few hundred timelines, I just… couldn't keep it up."

"You gave up?" The thought seemed impossible to grasp.

Their surroundings changed back to the ruins. Luneth was back on his perch. He leaned back, even though gravity should have brought him toppling to the ground. "There's a better timescape out there, somewhere. With all its own timelines. It may only be a dream now, but I'm glad we were friends, then. And, I…" he bit his lip, "I'm sorry I did this to all of you."

"But…" Arc looked at the shadow that enveloped Luneth in a cloud of darkness. "That can't be it."

"It is. I've tried so hard, but I'm trapped. And if I can't do anything, then what else can be done? I should be the one with the best shot, and yet here we are."

Arc slumped. "You idiot."

"What?"

Arc clenched his fists, frustration replacing his despair. "You think you're the only chance humanity has? How arrogant can you be? We want you to fight, Luneth, but then after all that you can do, leave the rest to us. You can trust us, can't you? Do you think you're the only one capable of resisting this thing?"

"Silly child," the shadow whispered. "He can't fight. None of you can. Though I must admit, it is amusing to watch you try."

"No." Arc stepped forward. "Don't listen to the voices, Luneth. You can still do this! I know you don't want to kill me or any of those struggling to help you right now! Don't leave us! Don't be a coward!"

Something clicked and the shadow flickered in the light. Something screamed in the distance, a shrill sound if Arc ever knew one. It pealed through the scape, rippling in the ground beneath Arc's feet. Luneth stood, cocking his head, then twisted it the other way. Then the other—

Arc flew into oblivion. Only, what he imagined should have been dark was blindingly bright. And instead of hitting a solid object, he just kind of slid, slowing down further and further until the world stopped moving and he saw clouds and the eternal smoke on the horizon. He laid on the ground, limbs splayed, grass tickling his fingers. Luneth stood near him, eyes blinking, red fading in and out of his irises.

It wasn't all him, but Luneth was there now. He was fighting. Arc scrambled to his feet as Luneth watched, eyes still blinking.

Toan and Xiao were also here. Xiao prodded at Arc, paws rough from caked-on dirt. She mewled and rubbed at his toes.

Arc snapped his attention back to Luneth, who stopped twitching as another figure appeared, a shadow against the backdrop of smoke. The black knight.

He stopped next to Luneth, swords gleaming blood-red in the sunlight.

Monica grabbed her sword and lunged at the black knight with a snarl. Luneth remained still as a statue, but his eyes narrowed, face twisting in contempt. Monica and the black knight became a blur of motion, swords singing as they clashed.

Toan came to Arc's side and helped him stand. Toan glanced toward Monica and Aga, mouth curving into a frown. "Did you get him?"

"I—I don't know. It was really confusing."

Luneth stared at them, eyes fading back and forth, blood-red, deep violet. Back again. Toan reached for his sword, then froze when he found Monica's. "Where—?

They both looked to where Monica was locked in battle with the black knight. In the life before, Arc remembered that not even she was a match for him. But here, it looked to be a close call.

Arc looked at Luneth. Red was taking over again. "We need to cut him."

"After we deal with this one." Toan took the other sword and joined the fray. Arc turned to Luneth.

"You know," Arc said. "When you think about it, it's a little funny. We came all this way and we got so close, but—"

Luneth grabbed Arc by the throat. Arc choked, blinking back his shock.

Luneth hissed, "Stop. Talking."

Arc managed a weak smile despite the restriction on his air passages. "So we are losing you. But… you're also fighting in there. That gives me… hope."

"Don't."

"You sound angry… but you haven't killed me yet. Why not just end it now?"

"No!" Luneth spat. "I am here! This body's mine!"

"Say it all you want, Luneth. But I'm here for you. I've always been here, and that will never change. If the Cloud kept you, if you made me go through this all a thousand times, then I would still be there. You're my brother, after all."

"Shut up!"

"Well, I think a thousand times would be a little much. My heart might give out. Will to live—"

Luneth screamed and dropped Arc, then grabbed his face, nails digging into his skin. Blood trickled out, purple-black in color, and he stumbled backward. "Get back, you pest!"

Arc remained where he was. Maybe he should crawl away, but he felt so tired. He just wanted to sleep forever and never move again. His limbs felt like noodles and his torso like a chunk of iron on his legs.

With a groan, he lifted himself to his knees. Luneth still stood with his hands to his face and blood dripping from his fingers.

Clashing stopped. Arc darted his gaze, heart sinking, to where Monica and Toan lay crumbled in the ground. His blood ran cold as Aga straightened, grasping the Chronicle II in his hands. He turned his attention to Luneth and Arc as he silently stalked over.

No.

No.

… They'd lost.

Arc looked at Luneth, who stood still again. The Cloud of Darkness was struggling with Luneth, so it must have diverted all its power to Aga.

The black knight paused and looked between the two of them. Arc tried to get away, but had to crawl as he couldn't stand. Fear gripped his heart and his breath heaved as he inched away from the knight.

And then a voice, one that Arc knew too well, cut through that silence.

"I was hoping not to use this vessel," Flagg said, appearing in his vision, eyes red and voice echoing. "He earned himself a break last time."

Arc bit back a whimper as Aga turned to face Flagg. "No," he managed, throat tight. "Please—"

Time froze as the black knight rammed the sword through Flagg's chest, blood spraying. Flagg swore, stumbling from the hit, but he remained standing. The black knight yanked out his blades again.

And without another word, the Chronicle Sword then came crashing down on Luneth's figure.

Ingus flicked oily blood from his spear and leveled it again as he faced down another goblin, sweat forming on his skin from the heat of the circle of fire raging not five paces to his right. Ruby was inside, but Ingus didn't know how she was doing. As long as the fire stood, though, she at least couldn't be dead, unless genies could somehow cast from beyond the grave.

He slashed at one wolverine that regained its courage and leapt in, claws and teeth bared. Ingus ripped into its gut and yanked his spear out again and shoved it backwards as another presence closed in from behind. The butt of the shaft slammed into bones and rattled, causing Ingus to leap forward, yanking it away again.

He looked at his new foe; a bone lord stepped forward, slamming his blade into the earth and unleashing a shockwave that knocked Ingus to the side.

Ingus rolled out of the way of another blast, tasting blood on his lips from a cut on his forehead. Dust clogged his throat, making him choke. The stench of sulfur filled his nose.

Ingus stood, shaking. Empty eye sockets stared back at him, dark and unseeing. Ingus swallowed, readying his spear as the thing stepped forward, its "arm" swinging almost casually in the air, unattached to its main body. Ingus stood his ground, tensed, waiting for it to come just within range so he could strike—

A griffon slammed into Ingus' side.

Ingus cursed himself and whirled, stabbed into the back of the griffon. It screamed, claws raking at Ingus' armor to no avail.

The griffon died with another hit to the head, choking on its own blood. Ingus yanked his spear back out, sending black blood spraying in an arc.

The bone lord closed in, sword out. Ingus kicked at the griffon, nudging it a few inches out of the way just in time to parry the bone lord. Ingus grunted, lobbing the thing's head off after a small struggle.

Ingus took out another flyer, shadow, gremlin, roper, rat. He just kept swinging until blood stained his clothes and armor black and his sword dripped with faerie blood.

Something cut into his arm and pain blossomed, blurring his vision.

Ingus killed the bat, and another basilisk that screamed as it bled out.

He ran low on energy. Magic glowed in his hands as a weak cure trickled through his system.

Where had the wall of fire gone? Ingus glanced around. He couldn't see Ruby. Ungaga lied in a crumpled heap, almost certainly dead, as was Goro. Osmond and Max kept going, cries filling the air. Refia downed a beast before falling to the claws of a wolverine.

They needed to buy Toan and the others more time.

A vengeful scream pealed through the air and Ruby flew in and tore the ground with another explosion. She landed near Ungaga's corpse, lobbing spell after spell after—

Something hit Ingus' head and he cursed, stumbling to the side. Another shot took him in the knee and he crashed to the ground. They had to keep going, buy more time—

Red-orange lightning flashed through the Cloud's endless horde, branching out into a spiderweb of light that extended as far as Ingus saw. It stabbed the ground and arced high into the air, growing bigger and bigger until the sky itself cracked.

An unnerving silence swallowed even the roar of battle and the world faded to white.