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Book 4: I am Shadow, I am the Light

Arrival

I wandered in a never-ending dream, a nightmare. How long it lasted, I couldn't tell.

Aimlessly one step after the other without goal, without end, in a world devoid of hope.

Then...something called out to me. And I followed.

- A failed warrior.

Wind howled across the crystal-covered valley of Mor Dhona as she stared up at the tower in the distance, standing tall and proud as if it wanted to pierce the very heavens itself, its bright glow standing out even against the clear, brilliant blue sky behind.

Ever since it had suddenly sprung up shortly after the Calamity 5 years ago, it had caught the fascination of scholars and adventurers alike that wanted to uncover the secrets hidden deep within. But it wasn't until rather recently that the gates that had been closed for millennia had finally opened to the outside world.

If only for a little while, until the mysteries it held had forced one of them to follow his ancient heritage and seal it once again from the inside.

Are you dreaming right now, G'raha? S'eni wondered, furrowing her brows. Or will it just feel like only a moment has passed when you wake up again?

Whenever that would be.

"S'eni!"

At the sound of her name, she tore her eyes away from the place where another friend slept a much different sleep and turned around to face the approaching Alianne. "What is it?" she asked.

"They found something!" the Elezen replied. "A hidden path leading to the base of the tower!"

"Finally!" she jogged towards her fellow Scion, patting her arm. "Thanks."

Alianne smiled. "Tataru is already waiting for you at Saint Coinnach's Find."

"Better not keep her waiting then."

When she returned to camp, the entire place was buzzing with excitement at the discovery and she had to look around for a moment to even find her friend amidst everyone gathered here.

She found Tataru standing near the familiar form of Y'mhitra, conversing with the woman until they spotted her approaching.

"There you are!" the Lalafel called out, jumping up and down in excitement.

"Hey," she greeted back. "Rammbroes not with you?"

"He's at the eastern shore where the entry is located," Y'mhitra replied. "The Ironworks and my colleagues are swiftly establishing a survey site so we can begin to look around in earnest. Apparently there's quite a lot of ground to cover."

"Excited?" S'eni smiled.

"A little. My research is slightly different, but studying the secrets of Allag is what we do. Besides—" Y'mhitra frowned. "—if this is the way to get Shtola back I want to help."

"Don't worry. I'll bring her back," she said, stepping closer as she put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I made a promise, didn't I?"

The other Miqo'te's expression brightened once more. "You did."

"Well, then what are we waiting for?" Tataru asked. "Hoary and some of the others are already there. I say we go and help them!"

"Let's go then."

Together, the three of them headed to the northern shore of Lake Silvertear and stepped onto the boat that would take them across it. From there, they wasted no time to begin their descent into the canyons deep beneath Mor Dhona. The first thing she noticed once they reached the bottom, was just how gloomy it was, with the sun above being blocked out by clouds of thick fog and crystal dust. But even with the relative darkness down here, there was no mistaking the giant walls of carved stone stretching out in front of them. And if memory served then this was…

"The Labyrinth of the Ancients…" S'eni murmured. She still remembered their first foray into it. Gods, so much had happened since then that it felt like a lifetime ago.

Casting her gaze around the area, she found Hoary Bolder and Clemence standing together with a couple of people from the Ironworks while Coultenet stood a bit further away with a member of the Sons, apparently deep in discussion already.

"How's it going?" she asked as the three of them approached the former two.

"S'eni!" Hoary called out. "Nothing to report, but I've no doubt we'll find that beacon of yours in no time."

"For my part, I've detected no slavering beasts in the vicinity..." Clemence looked over her shoulder towards Aenor having a look around. "...except my sister, that is."

"Guess we've got our work cut out for us, don't we?" S'eni asked her two companions.

"I'll have a look over there then," Y'mhitra said and pointed up ahead where two of her fellows were moving some wreckage aside.

"Then we'll look over here!" Tataru decided, turning towards her. "Come on, anything that remotely looks like a beacon we'll give a thorough inspection!"

S'eni released a chuckle, feeling herself getting infected by her friend's enthusiasm. "So you know how one looks like?"

"Uh, no. But how hard can it be?"

"Pretty hard if you don't know what you're looking for," a familiar voice said and they both turned to see Biggs and Wedge walk towards them, the former raising hand in greeting while the latter waved shyly at the sight of Tataru.

"You're here too!" Tataru exclaimed.

"Of course! After all, we can hardly just sit by while our friends from the Scions need help," the Roegadyn replied.

"Is Cid coming too?" S'eni asked.

Biggs shook his head. "He wanted to, but Jessie wouldn't let him. I guess that means we just have to double our efforts."

"Make that triple!" Wedge chimed in.

"Thank you so much!" Tataru beamed. "Together we'll find it in no time!"

But, despite her friend's enthusiasm, it became quickly apparent that finding the beacon was going to be more challenging than expected since it could be buried anywhere underneath all the wreckage scattered around here.

I wonder if that was our fault? S'eni thought as she walked a few paces away from Biggs, Wedge, and Tataru. When the expedition had headed into the Labyrinth, things had been anything but calm and quite a bit of the inside had been damaged during their fight against the many guardians that had been awoken when they had broken its barriers.

"Hmm, nothing here," she heard Biggs say. "Hey, Wedge. Think you might be able to squeeze through there?"

"What, are you crazy? No way am I able to fit in there!"

"Then I'll try," Tataru offered.

"N-no! Out of the question," Biggs replied.

"Why? I'm not just a receptionist anymore, you know?"

The corners of her lips curled up into a smile. At least it won't be boring while we're searching I guess.

All of a sudden, her eyes caught sight of something glinting in a pile of rubble underneath a large crystal in the distance and she immediately hastened over to it and began rummaging around until her hand touched something that was clearly not made of stone. It was round, roughly the size of her palm, and looked like a-

A gear?

And not just any gear, but one that she was pretty sure she had seen somewhere before…

"Careful! The Sons haven't made sure it's safe over here yet," Biggs said as he, Wedge, and Tataru headed over to join her. "Hm? Did you find something?"

"Yeah…" she turned around and showed them the gear-shaped object.

"Well look at that. This might actually be what we're looking for."

"Hey, wait a second. Doesn't this look similar to ours?" Wedge pointed towards a symbol delicately painted on it.

"Why would that be on somethi—" Her question was cut off by the sudden pain hitting her like one of Zack's kicks, making her stumble backward and take hold of her head. Vision beginning to blur, she could barely make out her friends asking if everything was alright, but their words were soon drowned out by the voice, his voice, speaking to her, sounding just as clear as the last time they had spoken face to face.

"I've got you this time!" he said. "Eon become instant...far become near…"

"That's it! That must be the beacon!" Tataru shouted.

"Open the gates!"

Her fading vision landed on her friend, looking at her with pleading eyes. "Please bring our friends back and...stay safe."

Then…

…

…

…the pain was gone.

Letting go of her head, she found herself standing in that pitch-black void once again. No voice, no hooded man; just her and tiny motes of crystal floating around her in the soft breeze. She closed her eyes for a moment, letting it caress her cheeks as she took a single, calming breath.

From one second to the next, the wind began to pick up speed and S'eni realized that she was falling.

Holding her hands up to shield her face, her eyes snapped open when a cascade of voices broke the all-encompassing silence, echoing all around as shards of crystals came rushing towards her, each holding an image of moments past accompanying the words spoken.

"Hear...Feel...Think..."

"A brave one..."

"Then let me be the first to welcome you as our newest walker...S'eni..."

"If I can but see you to a new future, I should want for nothing more..."

"Let's continue our journey...side by side, step by step..."

"Oh...do not look at me so..."

Her head whipped around just in time to see Haurchefant's blood-stained face pass by her. But she wasn't able to dwell upon the sudden stab to her heart as more and more memories rushed by her.

Noticing that one of them was coming straight for her, she reached her hand out—

"Dammit, how could we've let it come to this!?"

—and hesitated when she saw the face reflected in it, causing her to overshoot and narrowly miss it, spinning around and watching it disappear into the distance.

What in the seven hells...

A bright light made her glance over her shoulder at another shard, but before she knew what was happening, her mind was overwhelmed by blinding white.

Just before her consciousness faded, an image of a woman, dressed in all white and floating in mid-air in front of a glowing tidal wave, appeared in front of her.

"No...it's not your time yet..."

When she came to, S'eni found herself lying on hard ground, surrounded on all sides by a sea of lavender leaves. Above her, a strange, almost golden sky stretched out as far as her eyes could see, and she had to narrow them because of how bright it was.

"Ugh, my head..." she groaned out, hand coming to rest on her forehead at the hammering pain inside her skull. Like a bad hangover the morning after a wild night. Slowly, she pushed herself onto unsteady feet and began to walk.

At first, S'eni wasn't sure if she was going to get far, but with every step she took, she could feel her headache lessen and her strength returning.

Was this...the First?

She had never seen plants and trees like these before. It was strangely beautiful. But she didn't have time to wonder about the local plant life. She needed to find the one that had brought her here and then find Y'shtola and the others.

First, she had to find out where exactly she was though.

As luck would have it, she soon spotted something not far from her. It was a Chocobo and not far from it, standing in front of a small fire, a man.

Guess I'll ask him for directions, S'eni thought and walked over to them. Hearing her approaching, the man turned around to look at her.

"Hello," she greeted him in a friendly tone.

He didn't respond at first, taking a drag from his pipe instead before addressing her. "You don't look like a merchant to me... What are you doing out here in the middle of the night?"

With a look of surprise, she looked up at the sky, then back towards him. "Night?" she asked. "It's as bright as day!"

The man, a merchant it seemed, began to laugh.

"My grandfather used to make the same joke whenever he was out drinking with his friends," he said.

"I don't think I follow."

He puffed out another cloud of smoke, before lowering his voice almost playfully. "'You want to go home already, my friends? It's not even dark yet!'"

Raising his arms in a sardonic gesture towards the sky, he then sat down on the tree stump near the fire, grabbed the bottle next to it, and took a swig from it.

"A hundred years now. A hundred years without a single dark night..."

"Hundred years..."

"Now don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about." He turned to look at her. "Ah...did one of these creatures hit you over the head perhaps? Don't worry, it'll be alright in no time."

With a friendly smile, the merchant held the bottle out to her.

"Thanks, but I don't think I should be drinking right now," she said with a shake of her head. He simply shrugged and took another swig before rising back to his feet.

"I have to go. But you should get some rest somewhere safe."

Noticing its owner's intent, the Chocobo walked forward, letting out a cute "Wark!" that brought a smile to her face.

"A bit further to the east is a huge tower made of crystal. You can't miss it," he said while kicking some dirt into the fire and pointing in the direction she should go. "There's a city at its base, the biggest in the area. Those still fighting against the Light have gathered there. They call it the Crystarium."

"The Crystarium," she repeated, furrowing her brows. "Thank you."

He waved her off with a little smirk. "Safe travels."

"You too."

Following the way she had been told, she soon stepped out from under the lavender canopy and out into an open field. Without any trees to shield her, the brightness of the sky became even more apparent, and it's been like this for a hundred years now?

Then, beyond a small mountain range, it appeared. The Crystal Tower.

There was absolutely no mistaking it. Same size. Same shape. Tall and proud, looking almost as if it wanted to split the glowing white sky in two.

What...is going on?

Using the tower as her beacon, S'eni walked down the path before her until she spotted what looked like a fortified checkpoint in the distance. Walls of stone and solid towers of wood forming a line of defense together with the hillside terrain. A single soldier stood in front of the open gate, his stance becoming alert as he noticed her. She looked up and noticed that the two standing on the towers were taking their bows in hand.

"Halt!" a voice called out and a woman dressed in the same armor as the guard. With her long white hair and pale, violet eyes, she made for quite the striking figure even without towering over the soldier she came to stand next to like she did. The long ears sprouting from the top of her head into the air only enhanced her height.

A Viera? So they exist here too.

"Who are you?" the Viera asked, arms in front of her chest while looking S'eni over. "And what kind of strange garb is that?"

She blinked once, before looking down at herself. Was there something wrong with what she wore?

"I'm charged with the Crystarium's safety and won't let anyone through that I deem suspicious. So out with it! Who are you and where are you from?"

"I'm called S'eni," she replied. "I'm from the Source."

"The what? Are you trying to pull my leg?" the woman's eyes narrowed. "If you're here to cause trouble then—"

Suddenly, she brandished the chakrams on her side and dashed forward, passing by her and tossing them towards the creature that was flying straight at them, cutting open its neck in an X shape before returning to their owner. The monster managed to keep itself in the air for a few more seconds before falling to the ground. Dead.

S'eni had never seen such a creature before, but before she could take a closer look at it, its white body began to glow then shatter into a thousand particles of aether, leaving behind nothing but a singular ring.

"Looks like some poor soul became its prey. What a terrible way to die…"

An image of the man from earlier holding out his bottle towards her flashed through her mind. The hand in which he held the bottle adorned by the very same ring now lying on the ground. Oh no…

Steps echoed towards them by a voice. "Lyna, did something happen?"

His voice.

S'eni whirled around to see the one who had called her standing there in the flesh.

"Yes, a stray Sin Eater of lower rank. But I took care of it," the woman, Lyna, replied.

"Good work, but be on guard. There could be more," her summoner said, then looked at her, the corners of his lips rising. "And there's my guest. I'll be taking her into the city, if the commander of the guard has no objections, that is."

"One of your mysterious friends, is she? Well in that case I will tell the rest of the guards to grant her access." Lyna turned towards her and bowed. "My apologies, but one can't ever be too careful. Please, enjoy your stay in the Crystarium."

"Don't worry, I've had much unfriendlier greetings in the past," S'eni said.

The hooded man walked up to her. "Come. I'm sure you have many questions, but this isn't the place to ask them."

"Lead the way."

Passing the gate, the two of them walked into silence for a couple of moments, until they had put enough distance between themselves and the guards. "First of all...Thank you. For answering my call," he told her, inclining his head. "I must have made a mistake with the coordinates. You were actually supposed to appear in my study, but the important part is that you're here now."

"Hm. And who do I have the honour of talking to?" she asked.

"Ah, I suppose it is high time I introduce myself. I'm called the Crystal Exarch, and I'm the leader of this city." he gestured towards the tower with his crystal hand. Now that she could get a closer look at him, she saw that a faint glow emanated from it as well as from his neck and left cheek.

"You caused us a whole lot of trouble, you know?"

The Crystal Exarch sighed.

"Yes. And I'm terribly sorry, but I had no other choice. Don't worry, I will explain everything. But first, there is something else you need to know."

"Alright." she crossed her arms in front of her chest. "I'm listening."

"This world suffers. Suffers from the Light."

"Something that happened one hundred years ago, right?" S'eni frowned, as once more the image of that poor man entered her mind. Shook her head to dispel it.

"Yes. One hundred years ago a terrible catastrophe befell this world. A flood of light that left us with less than one-tenth of our land. With it came creatures that threatened the lives of those few that still remained. We call them Sin Eaters. One of them you just met." He looked at her. "That's why you are here and why I learned the art of crossing between worlds. To summon the greatest of all heroes and to free this world from the Sin Eaters, and in turn, save your own world."

"Save my own world?"

"It's confusing, I know," he said with a chuckle. "But it will all make sense soon. Come, I'll explain the rest in the Crystarium."

Stepping through the double doors leading into her room, S'eni immediately let herself slump back against them, closing her eyes with a sigh and trying to process what the Exarch had told her just moments ago.

Three years.

Three godsdamned years have passed for Y'shtola since she had fallen unconscious in the Source.

It was even worse for Thancred, who had been trapped on the First for five years now.

And on top of that, Urianger had seen a vision of the future while being called to the First. A vision in which another Calamity had struck their home and she...had died.

She wanted to laugh at the sheer absurdity of it. But even if she did so, it wouldn't change anything.

The only thing she could do now was to find the others and go from there.

Pushing herself away from the doors, she opened her eyes again and looked around the room she had been provided. Like the rest of the Crystarium, it looked strangely industrial, yet held a homely charm to it. It was also quite spacious, with a kitchen, a large table, and a sleeping area separated by a room partition made of dark steel.

On the bed, she spotted a bundle of clothes as well as a pair of long, thigh-high boots resting at its feet. She walked over to it, running a hand over the fabric.

"I took the liberty of having an outfit prepared for you. Something that will be less of an eyebrow-raiser as you travel through Norvrandt," the Crystal Exarch's words rang through her mind.

"Less of an eyebrow-raiser, huh?" she asked out loud as she picked up a finely crafted gold chain. "...Hm, oh well."

With a shrug, she stripped out of her current clothes and put on her new ones, beginning with the short, sleeveless dark gray top and the black shorts, then moving onto the black and red himation that left part of her torso and her left leg exposed. After putting on the rest of the assemble, S'eni looked at herself in the mirror and flexed her fingers a few times to test out the arms wraps, each held in place by jeweled chains.

All that gold looked quite gaudy, she had to say, but after jumping a few times and striking a kata, found them surprisingly light.

After putting the boots on, and testing their fit, she walked over to the window and opened it, revealing to her a view that she was sure would have been quite beautiful if not for that bright sky which made it impossible to tell what time of day it even was.

How were they even supposed to fix this?

"You...?" startled, S'eni spun around and raised her fists when she saw a shadow standing there. Little by little, the shadows began to peel away, chased away by warm light that revealed the person underneath it. It was a young man, dressed in armour, a bloodied axe resting on his back. A look of surprise formed on his familiar face. "I know you...You're the Warrior of Light from the Source!"

She lowered her fists again, taking in his appearance for a moment before saying, "And you're the Warrior of Darkness."

"Huh? You can hear me!?"

"Yeah." She nodded. "And see you too."

"How's that possible...?" his eyes lowered to the ground. "Warrior of Darkness...yes, that's what I called myself on the Source. My real name, though, is Ardbert."

"What happened to you?" S'eni asked, slowly walking towards him. "The last time I saw you was with Minfilia."

"As you recall, my friends and I were responsible for the Flood. When we arrived back here, it was about to consume the last remaining continent, Norvrandt," he explained, never once looking at her. "Minfilia and my friends, they...they surrendered what little they had left to hold it back and just faded away...leaving me to bear witness."

Her face fell and she could feel her heart sink to the bottom of her stomach at his words. She had suspected that something must have happened to Minfilia when she heard that so much time had passed. Oh no...

She was shaken out of her thoughts when Ardbert spoke up again. "How long has it been...? Do you know how much time has passed?"

"One hundred years," she told him.

"One hundred years..." he repeated. "One hundred long years."

He exhaled deeply and walked over to the table. His hand reached out to grab the cup standing there, but it simply passed through it.

What the—!?

Ardbert looked at his hand, opening and closing it once.

"Whatever I do, nobody sees me. No matter how loud I scream, nobody hears me. I'm nothing but a shade, drift around aimlessly. Alone." He turned around, his blue eyes landing on hers. "But then something called me, pulled me forward, and suddenly I found myself here. Why can you see me? Why are you here?"

"The Crystal Exarch brought me here to save the First," she told him, and just speaking those words reminded her once more what a tall order that was. Saving a world of which not even a full continent remained.

Ardbert let out a laugh at her words, but there was neither joy nor ridicule in it; just emptiness.

"A waste of time. This world is beyond saving, as are those trying to save it. But—that I was lead here, to the one person in this godsforsaken world who can see and hear me, can't be a coincidence." He furrowed his brows and a hint of that determination he had shown in their past battle returned to his eyes. "I have to find out why it was the only one left behind maybe...maybe then I can bring this long journey to an end."

"So what will you do now?" S'eni found herself asking as he began to illuminate the doors.

"I'll be watching you, Warrior of Light. But do me a favour and be careful out there. This world has had its fill of heroes."

Giving her one final glance, he disappeared through the doors, leaving her alone once again.

She watched where he stood for a few more seconds, before exhaling through her nose and turning back towards the open window. Giving the sky one last, lingering look, she closed it.

I should get some sleep.

It was going to be a busy day tomorrow, she could already tell.

Soft blue flames illuminated the cave, offering a measure of light in the dark. A woman sat in front of a table, dressed in dark robes and hunched over a thick tome, her eyes scanning the pages intently.

"There must be something..." she said, turning over to the next page when a wave of fatigue hit her. She tried to blink it away but found that her eyelids had grown heavy enough that she could barely open them again after the second time.

Reaching out for the cup resting on the table and raising it to her lips, she found the tea inside having grown cold.

With a sigh, she leaned back in her chair, covering her face with a hand. "...tomorrow then."

Putting the piece of parchment she used as a bookmark between the pages, she rose to her feet and began to head into the back.

As soon as the door had closed, she made for the bed resting against the wall of this small chamber, hands reaching towards her back to undo the clasps there. She stopped mid-motion when her eyes landed on something on the shelf nearby.

A simple wooden box.

Her hands dropped back to her sides and she walked over, picking it up and slowly opening it, gingerly running a finger over its contents.

Three years now...

She remained like this for a moment, letting her mind wander back to times that brought a little smile to her face that soon fell once more under the weight of the situation.

Releasing another, much deeper sigh, she shut the box again, placed it back on the shelf, and got ready for bed.

As she laid down, she let her gaze wander over to the box one last time before closing her eyes. And as Y'shtola began to drift off, the last thing she saw before her mind's eye was that beautiful smile that she wished to protect.

First of all: ENDWALKER HYYYYYYYYYPPPPPPPPPPEEEEEEEEE

And with that out of the way, we're finally stepping onto the First. Great Adventures await!