Are you ready for the hypest scene in 5.0? I hope you're all having a certain song ready.
Shadowbringers
This is it, S'eni thought as they stood in front of the Capitol. The place where Emet-Selch was waiting. She turned towards her friends.
All that happened since each of them came to the First, all of their trials and tribulations, had led to this point.
They were ready.
One by one, her friends began to walk towards the building, each giving her a reassuring nod. Y'shtola's eyes lingered on hers for a moment longer, silently telling her that no matter what, she would be by her side.
Only Ryne remained where she stood, her gaze lingering on the ground.
"What's wrong?" she asked, stepping closer to the girl.
"When Minfilia entrusted me with her power, she warned me that no matter how strong you become, you can still fall victim to despair; you can still feel powerless. And she was right. After you collapsed on Mt. Gulg, my hands wouldn't stop shaking..."
Ryne released a shaky breath.
"Even now, you could be moments from turning, and I wouldn't know how to save you! You, Thancred, the others, you've all been there when I needed help. Minfilia surrendered her life to me. Her legacy. I should be ready to do the same for you! And I want to, I do! But I just..." Her voice began to crack and tears began to pool in those youthful eyes that had seen far too much. "...I'm not good enough. She told me to follow your example, and I've tried, I've really tried..."
Slowly, S'eni reached out to gently brush away the tears that were beginning to run down Ryne's cheek. "Ryne, listen. I'm not asking to be saved."
"But the Light, it─ You'll─"
"Shh..." she gently placed a finger on top of the girl's lips. "Don't be sad. A smile better suits a hero. A dear friend once said that to me."
"I'm not sure I—No...actually, nevermind. I think I'll understand better if I'll try for myself."
The corners of her lips curled upward, and the girl slowly began to return it. "That's the spirit," she said and brushed her hand over red hair. "So how about we go join the others?"
Ryne nodded, eyes filling with determination. "Let's go, S'eni!"
Even amongst the many grand buildings of Amaurot, the Capitol was especially magnificent, making it unmistakable that this was the place where the leadership, this Convocation of Fourteen, gathered.
And of course, it didn't take long for their presence to be noticed.
"And here I thought opening hours were over," a certain Ascian called out, appearing from a gate of darkness and slowly walking over to them with a bored expression on his face that turned into one of annoyance when he laid eyes on S'eni. "Did I not make myself clear? My invitation was for an abomination, ripe with the power to bring about this world's end, not this half-broken...thing. Now what am I to do with you?"
She just glared at him, hands balling into fists. He rolled his eyes.
"And I see you insist on keeping the same familiar company. Are you so lonely without them?"
"It's not her who is the lonely one," Y'shtola shot back. "Not content with recreating this city, you also aim to fill it with those that have been sacrificed to Zodiark!"
"I might have gotten a little carried away in my attention to detail. Added a few unnecessary flourishes. Nostalgia, no doubt." His lips curled into a crooked smirk. "And I suppose there is no point in hiding it now. Yes, once the rejoining of worlds is complete, Zodiark will regain His full strength and shatter His prison. Then we shall offer up the Source's remaining inhabitants in sacrifice, to resurrect our brethren who died to bring Zodiark into existence. But tell me, why are you here again?"
"We came here to stop you," S'eni said.
"Did you now? One last do-or-die attempt to foil my plans before your mind dissolves into madness? How very, very...heroic." he practically spat the last word as he began to bridge the gap between them. "In every single age, there is always someone who wants to stand up to the evil, evil Ascians. Always the same arrogance, the same insistence that the world belongs to them. As if theirs were the only rightful claim, theirs the only existence worthy of preservation!"
His gold-colored eyes locked onto hers, filled with disdain, and she stared back defiantly, gritting her teeth. He tsked and within the blink of an eye stood back at the spot he previously appeared on.
"You think it is unfair that you are subject to suffering? That your lives will be sacrificed for the ancients? Look at me—" he tapped his chest for emphasis, his voice growing heated with every word. "I have lived a thousand of your lives. I have broken bread with you, fought with you, grown ill, grown old! Sired children and welcomed death's sweet embrace! For eons I have measured your worth and found you wanting! Too weak and feeble-minded to serve as stewards of any star!"
His hand turning into a fist, he let his heated gaze roam across their group for a moment.
"How long do you mean to perpetuate this farce? How much more must I endure your bumbling interference?" he asked them. "Let us imagine the laws of reality come undone again, and the world faces true annihilation, do you honestly believe half of your kind would sacrifice themselves to save the other? Of course they wouldn't! And if you had witnessed history unfold as I have, you would reach the same conclusion!"
S'eni averted her gaze, gritting her teeth. He wasn't wrong, and she hated that it was the case. Time and again she had seen conflicts grow from misunderstandings, blood being shed for the smallest of things. So many people she had known that had lost their lives due to conflict.
Haurchefant, Ysayle, Papalymo and so many others...
Her fists unclenched.
Emet-Selch took a deep breath and closed his eyes, visibly relaxing once more. "You can't be entrusted with our legacy. I will bring back our brethren. Our friends. Our loved ones. The world belongs to us and us alone."
With those words, he turned around and began to walk towards the giant doorway at the end of the hall.
"Emet-Selch!" Alphinaud suddenly called out, making him stop. "We understand. Truly. But it makes no difference. The ones you love are in the past. While ours are here in the present. One day, we too will be ashes and dust, but not today. Our time is not yet finished. We share your conviction...and that is why we won't abandon our course!"
"You think we are the same? You think your tattered souls are of equal worth as those I lost?" the Ascian glanced over his shoulder, gold eyes now burning with hatred. "Then come. Earn your place. Prove yourselves worthy to inherit this star."
With a loud, metallic groan, the doors began to open and a wave of heat blew in their direction as a sea of flames revealed itself.
"Behold, the coming oblivion. It was the end of our era, and the beginning of our great work. A fitting backdrop...for your final judgment." He turned towards the fire. "I shall wait within, but don't take too long. There's no telling how much longer our guest of honor will last."
Without sparing them another glance, he walked into the flames and soon vanished from sight.
"Well, you heard him," S'eni said and turned towards her friends, punching her palm. "We shouldn't keep him waiting."
Y'shtola nodded. "Agreed. Your friend may not have the luxury of decades to wait for you this time."
"I can feel it," she heard Ryne murmur as they walked up to the doorway. "Beyond the flames...a Darkness waiting to swallow our Light."
Coming to a stop in front of the fire, S'eni stared into it. She knew that it was nothing more than another illusion created by Emet-Selch. But like this city it was frightfully real. As would be whatever else he had conjured up for them.
She stepped forward...then hesitated, suddenly feeling awfully unprepared. Whirling around, she faced the one that meant the most to her. She might not get another chance. "Shtola, if I—" a finger placed itself on her lips, silencing her.
"Don't," Y'shtola said. "You have weathered the impossible time and again. When things had been at their most dark, you were our beacon of hope. My beacon of hope. This time let me help you brave it and return together."
S'eni looked at her for a moment that felt like an eternity. Uncertainty about what was lying ahead gripped her heart. Yet despite it all, she found herself nodding, making a silent promise.
With a smile, Y'shtola pulled her finger back and, without any hesitation or concern for the others present, closed the gap and captured S'eni's lips in a kiss.
A surprised gasp entered her ears and she noticed Thancred and Urianger smiling at them from out of the corner of her eyes, before closing them and returning the kiss, letting her arms circle around her lover's waist and pulling her close.
When their lips separated once again, she let their foreheads come to rest against one another and gazed into those eyes she had fallen in love with. "Let's go," she said, turning towards the others, smiling at the still shocked expressions the twins were wearing. "Let's show him our worth!"
This time, she stepped into the flames without any hesitation.
What had awaited them beyond the fire was absolute chaos. Fire raining from the skies, creatures beyond anything she could imagine, destruction and loss everywhere.
It truly was the Final Days.
Nevertheless, they pressed on, fighting their way through this apocalypse, slaying every monster wave by bloody wave; all to the narrating voice of Emet-Selch as he watched and judged them, changing the scenery as befitted the tale.
And now, as they stood above the scenery of the burning star that was the origin of their world and so many others, the last of these unholy creatures roared from its four mouths before bursting into aether.
Lowering her fists, S'eni stumbled back a little, gasping for breath and looked at the others, all equally winded as her.
"Is it over?" she wondered out loud.
She received her answer in the form of the sound of clapping hands echoing through the air, soon followed by Emet-Selch appearing out of a portal.
"Well, well, you prevailed..." he said to them, taking a moment to look at their appearance. "Nevertheless!"
Stopping his clapping, he waved his hand through the air, creating a wave of darkness that knocked them all on the ground.
"—Your performance was underwhelming, and I remain unconvinced of your worthiness. Oh, you tower over your misbegotten ilk, no doubt. But should I bring my full strength to bear, well...you would be as leaves in the wind. The gulf between us is a reflection of the disparity between the world as it was...and what it has become."
Next to her, Alisaie jumped back to her feet and towards Emet-Selch, her rapier brandished with the intention to run him through. But before it could find its mark, it was stopped by a barrier forming in front of the Ascian.
"Our worlds may not look down upon our worlds..." Alisaie pressed out through gritted teeth. "But they're still our worlds! Our homes. Full of life and love and hope! And we won't stand by and let you destroy them!"
The young woman began to relentlessly attack the barrier with a barrage of slashes and stabs while Emet-Selch watched her with a bored expression, eventually raising his arm to toss her away with another wave.
"Alisaie!" Alphinaud cried out, rushing over to his sister.
"You are a mistake. For we who have known perfection, the shattered Source and these shards are nothing more than a mockery of the true world," Emet-Selch said, looking at Alphinaud with a smirk. "Your lives are pale imitations, utterly devoid of meaning."
Alphinaud took his sister in his arms and raised her off the ground. "Belittle us all you like, but we will rise again and again, give the lie to your insults with words and deeds. We define our worth, not the circumstances of our creation!"
"Hmpf, more prattle..." the Ascian rolled his eyes and snapped his fingers, summoning forth spears of darkness that rained down upon the twins.
"No!" S'eni shouted as they exploded. When the smoke cleared, she saw Alphinaud lying on top of his sister, covering her with his body. Unconscious, but still breathing. Glaring at the Ascian up ahead, she began pushing herself off the ground, gasping when a sharp, burning pain shot through her entire body. The Light!
"Fool. Who are you? No one. Nothing," he said, looking at her rising form. "Once I have reclaimed my heritage, my first act will be to expunge your stain from history's weave. My world will have no need for heroes."
Ignoring the pain as best as she could, she began to stagger towards him, the white haze of her vision growing brighter with every step she took. She wouldn't let him get away with this!
"Still fighting the good fight..." With a shake of his head, he raised his hand once more and a ball of dark magic shot forth towards her. Just as it was to hit her, a bright blue dome formed around S'eni, shielding her from the attack.
Before Emet-Selch could otherwise react, a burning Flare dropped on top of him and exploded, creating a large cloud of dust.
"It's true that all we hold dear is fated to fade away one day," Y'shtola said. "But that is no reason for us to forsake it!"
"To take what steps we may, and thus mark the road for those who would follow," Urianger added. "To strive for the best of all futures... Be this not also thy purpose!?"
"Do not presume to speak of my future!" Two projectiles of darkness shot through the cloud, knocking both Urianger and Y'shtola to the ground.
"Shtola—argh!" S'eni grabbed her head as the pain turned into nothing short of pure agony and the Light began to burst from her body, forcing her to her knees. Gods...
The Ascian began to laugh. "See? The Light will not be denied! Surrender to your fate, and let the transformation take you! Rise up in madness and fury! Devour the vermin infesting the land which is rightfully ours!"
Thranced jumped past her, bringing his Gunblade down on Emet-Selch, who blocked the strike with a barrier. "Ryne, now!"
Steps echoed towards her as Thancred and Emet-Selch struggled for a few seconds until the Ascian gained the upper hand and let his barrier explode outward, blasting her friend away then hurling another bolt of darkness in her direction
A body dropped next to her. Somehow, she managed to turn her head enough to see Ryne on her knees, clutching her stomach. Slowly, the girl reached a hand out towards S'eni. "Fight it... You have to hold on!" Ryne managed to say before she collapsed to the ground.
S'eni didn't even have time to react as the already unbearable pain increased a hundredfold. Her lips parted, but instead of the scream she so desperately wished to release, only Light gushed forth in a violent stream that she puked onto the ground. She managed to hold herself steady for a few more seconds until her strength gave out and she too collapsed to the ground, her vision slowly fading...
Shtola...Everyone...I'm sorry...
...then there was nothing but endless white...
...
...
...
S'eni didn't know how long she was lying here. Seconds became minutes. Minutes became hours. Hours became seconds. It was all a blur.
She felt cold. So very, very cold...
Was this what dying felt like?
A sudden presence next to her made her stir. "Is that you, Haurchefant?" she asked. "Figures that you would pick me up. Guess I wasn't such a great hero after all..."
"I'm afraid it's just me. And you're not dead. Not yet anyway." managing to raise her head off the ground, she found Ardbert standing next to her, facing forward. "Tell me, S'eni. If you had the strength to take another step, could you do it? Could you save our worlds?"
Could she? She didn't know. It might just be another futile attempt, and what then? She would become a Sin Eater; a Lightwarden to terrorize this world and usher in the Rejoining, and everyone she cared about...dead.
Yet, even if it was only the slimmest of chances, didn't she owe it to Y'shtola and the others, the people of the First, Minfilia, Ardbert, and herself, to at least give it one last try?
Yes—
"What?" the corners of her lips curled upward. "All by myself?"
—godsdammit she would try!
Ardbert looked at her and chuckled, then grabbed the axe on his back and held it out towards her. "Take it," he said and began to glow. "We fight as one!"
Locking eyes with him, S'eni reached her hand out and placed it on top of the axe.
Warmth began to flood her very being, banishing the cold and filling her with a sense of wholeness, like a piece that had she hadn't even realized had been missing finally returned to where it belonged. Strength returning, she felt herself rise to her feet.
The Light exploded, and she was back where had been just a moment ago, glaring at a surprised-looking Emet-Selch. As she spoke, her voice rang together with Ardbert's. "This world isn't yours to end. This is our future. Our story."
"No... It can't be..." The Ascian's eyes widened for a moment, as if he was seeing a ghost, but his composure returned when the Light around her dissipated into nothing. "Bah, a trick of the light. You are a broken husk, nothing more. How can you hope to stand against me alone?"
"She isn't alone." Another look of surprise crossed Emet-Selch's features and he whirled around to find G'raha Tia, beaten and bruised and leaning on his staff. "We stand together!"
"How did─!? ...I'm surprised you can stand at all."
"I could hardly leave matters half finished." G'raha chuckled with a bloody smile and raised his staff. "Eon become instant. Far become near!"
As the staff began to glow a bright blue, seven arcane sigils appeared around her in a circle.
"Champions from beyond the rift, heed my call!" the other Miqo'te shouted and slammed the lower end of his staff into the ground. Simultaneously, bright pillars of aether shot high into the air; guiding lights for the heroes that had answered her friend.
For the first time since she had come to know him, a look of honest panic began to form on Emet-Selch's face. "Damn you. Damn you all!"
"Emet-Selch!" S'eni raised her hand to point to him. "I challenge you! This ends today. One way another, it ends. What path will you choose?"
"Very well, one final judgment. The victor shall write the tale, and the vanquished become its villain!" He began to walk towards her. "Come! Let us cast aside titles and pretense, and reveal our true faces to one another!"
Raising his hand, the Ascian held it in front of his face and violently pulled down, revealing his glowing red symbol once again.
"I am Hades! He who shall awaken our brethren from their dark slumber!"
Darkness shot forth from within him, swallowing everything in sight until only she and the beacons were left. S'eni closed her eyes, and began to breathe in.
Inhale. Exhale.
Inhale. Exhale.
Inhale. Exhale.
And as the first of these brave warriors, from distant worlds she didn't know, stepped through the portal, S'eni's eyes shot open once more, a look of determination on her face.
Let's go, Ardbert!
Ah, you got me. This entire chapter was just one big excuse to have S'eni and Y'shtola kiss in front of the whole gang. But hey, cat (heh) had to be let out of the back eventually, right?
In any case, next chapter we'll be wrapping up 5.0 in earnest, and I can already promise (and warn) you: it'll be smutty. See ya.