I'm back with Chapter 2!
Noel Kreiss
Although the story I'm about to tell you has a lot to do with Serah, my real journey began long before I had even met her, I just didn't know it yet. It began back in my time, it was the end of days. There weren't may of us left then. Many had died from a sickness that scoured the land and before I knew it, it was just the three of us... Yuel, Caius, and I.
Back then I was a Guardian in training and Caius was my teacher. He showed me the ropes and taught me everything I know now. I looked up too him. He taught me how to fight, how to hunt. You could say Caius was somewhat of a father to me at one time. Together, Caius and I shared the job of protecting Yuel. She was the seeress of our village and as Guardians it was our job to keep her safe.
For a time, the three of us lived a peaceful life. It wasn't perfect and it wasn't easy, but Yuel insisted that if the three of us were together then everything would be fine, she would be happy. And it was... It wasn't until Caius began to disappear a lot that everything went wrong.
Caius would come and go for days at a time leaving Yuel and I on our own. When he would come back with no explanation as to where he'd gone, I found myself getting angry at him. It was already hard enough living in the time that we did, and his actions weren't making it any easier for the three of us. Caius would show up out of no where when I least expected it and would start rambling on about things I didn't understand. His words made no scene to me then... He talked about how I had to kill him, saying that there could only be one true Guardian, I didn't understand him. I didn't get why things couldn't just continue on how they had been. I couldn't just kill Caius... He was my teacher, and above all, he was my friend.
Soon after that, he and I had an argument. But instead of dropping everything and just leaving like he usually had done, he challenged me. He said if I wouldn't kill him then he would have to kill me first. I didn't want to fight Caius... But in the end, he gave me no choice.
Our world was a dying one... It was kill or be killed. That was a rule I had learned a long time ago. The lands were covered with cold white sand and there was little vegetation. The trees and plants had all died out and the animals were scarce. One could walk for miles, but the chances of finding anyone or anything were nearly impossible.
In the end, I was no match for Caius. He beat me easily... said I was still too weak and left without another word. Caius had abandoned us.
I was still so naive back then, I wasn't ready to protect Yuel on my own. Caius never told me about her fate as the seeress, I was left in the dark. Before I even knew what was happening to her, Yuel had died in my arms.
Yuel saw into the future, like all the ancient seeress before her... They were given the eyes of Etro that allowed them to see into the future. But a gift like that comes with a price... Every time she saw into the future, it cost her a piece of her life... until there was nothing left.
As for Caius, he never came back. So with Yuel now gone... I was all alone. I failed her, I couldn't protect her. I failed as a Guardian, and I never lived up to Caius's expectations.
In such a dying world that I once called my home, I set out and began to search. I searched and searched for someone, anyone... For some sign as to what I was suppose to do. I hoped and prayed to the goddess to help me, to somehow show me the way, and little did I know... my prayers had not gone unheard. The Goddess Etro heard me. She intervened, she opened a gate to Valhalla just as I felt the cold dark grip of death starting to take hold of me...
At that time, I had thought it was the end for me... I thought I was gonna die. I recall seeing a bright light, but instead of being afraid, I welcomed it. All my friends were gone, I was all that remained. I had nothing left to fight for...
Little did I know then... It wasn't the end. My real journey, was only just starting.
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