Another chapter is here!
Kazeshuriken: You shall indeed.
Enjoy!
Nanaki roared as his Enemy Skill Materia shone before unleashing the Laser spell. Red beams of light similar to that of what Heidegger's war-machine used emerged from it and speared towards the giant spider. They curved in an attempt to track the long-legged creature while it scuttled along the walls and ceiling, only two of them hitting home.
The monster let loose a shriek of some kind and then bound towards Tifa, whose fist were alight with flames courtesy of the new Materia they had found, spreading the element of her Fire Materia down to them. She rolled out of the way as two of its legs pierced the ground where she had been and then froze them in place with a well-timed Ice 2 spell.
The leonine warrior snarled as the light of the Limit Break turned blood crimson and spiraled his body while he lunged a final time. Nanaki's Blood Fang punched straight through the entrapped Stinger, the spiraling energy tearing it apart like a drill while the blood and visceral fluids were absorbed and converted into vitality and essence for him. With both it gone and the web collapsed, the group now stood at the entrance to a tunnel leading deeper into the cave.
"Well done," the Elder stated as he hovered in front of them, stopping in front of the entrance. "We're almost near the end now."
Even as he said that, Aerith found it hard to continuously listen to the old man as the voices became louder the deeper they went into the cave system. She had always been able to hear the voice of the Planet, those that dwelled within the Lifestream, and those that lingered outside of it to an extent. But this was the first time they were so grating, scratching at her brain as the vengeful spirits chanted in the shadows.
By the wrath of Gi Nattak, we curse the people of this land.
Their warriors, their chefs, their children may all meet their end.
We curse them now and forever true.
Our deaths will be avenged by the wrath of Gi Nattak.
"Aerith, we're going," Tifa said, snapping her attention back to her companion. "You okay? You're a bit out of it."
"I'm fine," she lied, even as the chanting continued in its ominous chorus. She could hear the pain and suffering in their voices, droning endlessly as their time spent in the mortal realm ate away at the vestiges of what they were. The longer these spirits lingered, the more the spirit energy that composed them became stagnant and festered. The longer they remained and stewed in the rancor around them, the more unlikely they would to be able to join the great flow. There was no telling what such a thing would eventually give birth to, but to her it sounded like a cry for help that only she could truly hear.
While the Elder himself was a minor exception, he wasn't an Ancient or Cetra. Whether or not his long life and ability to hear the voice of the Planet were a mutation brought about by living so close to the Lifestream or a gift from the Planet itself to spread his teachings, he wasn't one of her people. It wasn't his duty or in his ability to resolve this.
She pressed forward into the final section of the cavern, where the sheer drops to the left and right gave way to molten earth deep down. In front of them was a wall that seemed to be shaped like a face, warped by a staff and materia, both aged and covered in dust from disuse. From it stemmed the source of the irrational and malevolent hatred, strong enough that it was able to affect the physical world as the face came to life.
It rippled, giving birth to a specter that surpassed the others they had faced in sheer size. It lacked a lower body, its torso coming to an abrupt end where its spine dangled, and it was donned in ceremonial feathers and a necklace made from fangs that resembled Nanaki's. The staff that had been fixed into the wall twisted and warped into a red spear with feathered tassels that the specter pointed to the leonine warrior.
'Seto!' it roared in a phantasmal 'Our battle is not over!'
"He seems to believe you are your father, Nanaki," Bugenhagen said from behind her. "It has been almost fifty-years, yet he still clings to that day as ever."
"What do you mean, Grandfather?" Nanaki asked, not taking his eyes off the specter.
"That's going to have to wait, I'm afraid," Tifa said. "He's coming."
"I'll focus on quelling his rage with Life spell," Aerith said as she replaced the Transform Materia with a Revive Materia that Kunsel had picked up for her in Costa del Sol. "However, the spell has a low chance of working while he's stewing in all of that rage and malevolence. And as long as he holds onto his grudge and his spirit lingers here, the rest of the spirits won't be able to pass on."
"So beat the hate out of an angry ghost." Tifa slammed her fist into her palm and fire shrouded them. "I can't say this trip has been boring."
In a single, swift move, the specter thrust its spear forward towards Nanaki. The tip bit into the ground and threw up a spray of stone chips and dust as the leonine warrior moved, darting to the side and pooling flames in his mouth in the form of a spiraling sphere. It conjured two will-o-wisps and had them float into the path of the Fire spell, intercepting and absorbing the flames, before sweeping at him with the spear and forcing Nanaki to leap backwards.
"Try this!" Tifa launched a cannonball-sized sphere of condensed cold, wreathed in white-and-blue frost. The Ice 2 spell detonated on impact as the specter raised its spear in defense and the abrupt cold engulfed its torso and spear in a frigid cloak of thickening hard-rime. "Aerith now!"
"Life!" Aerith cast. Light from above shone down on the specter, beckoning it to surrender and return to the great flow. For a moment, just a moment, it seemed like the spell was working as some of the malevolence dissipated. Then the spell failed as Gi Nattak broke out of the ice, shattering it with a flex of his stout arms, and turned to the two of them.
'Do not interfere!' the angry spirit roared as he directed the Soul Fires towards the women. They turned translucent and then intangible before sinking into their flesh. The cursed flames slowly raised the surrounding temperature around them, intent on cook them alive.
Aerith slammed the butt of her staff into the ground while a jolt to the mind activated both the Restore and All Materia she had. "Regen!" she cast, wreathing herself and her companions within the restorative shroud to counter the damage from the flames within. "We have to bear with it a little longer, our bodies should expel it soon enough."
"Easier said than done!" Tifa tried to get back into the fight. But crimson light sank into her flesh as Gi Nattak used the Drain spell to rob her of her strength in retaliation for the damage he took, stealing her life essence to replenish his own. Aerith had no choice but to resort to a Cure 2 spell to offset the damage on them both as the air around them began to burn.
"Leave them be!" Nanaki roared as he fired a salvo of Lasers, allowing the curving red beams to spear towards the specter. They did nothing to it. Snarling, Red XIII threw himself at the enemy while baring fangs.
Gi Nattak moved, floating out of the way and grabbing hold of his tail. He immediately flung the leonine warrior across the room and towards the opened section of the ground that led to the lava pits below.
"NO!" Bugenhagen yelled from near the entrance of the cavern.
Survival instincts kicked in along with his anger and the light of the Limit Break wreathed Nanaki. He turned his flight into an aerial roll,landing on all fours against the wall just above the pit, and then launched himself off of it while cloaked in the spiraling crimson shroud of the Blood Fang. Nanaki crashed into the specter, slamming it into the wall, before landing back on the ground and erupting into flames. "IFRIT!"
The Djinn was born anew at the leonine warrior's call. It lunged for the specter, wrestling it to the ground with its powerful muscles. The fire elemental's maw opened and flames suddenly sprung to life, fast and hot enough that the air being displaced at the abrupt inferno knocked Nanaki backwards.
The Soul Fires quickly dislodged themselves from the women and spiraled around the summoning, drinking in the flames long enough for Gi Nattak to use Aspil and rip away at the very bonds of magic that were holding the summoning together, weakening it drastically enough that the specter could push it away. The spear's tip then found its way through the Djinn's body and finished the job, dispersing the summoning entirely.
"SHIVA!" Tifa called, now freed from the possession. An arctic wind sprung into existence around her as the second summoning was birthed from the materia. The Empress of Ice floated loftily above her summoner and awaited her command. "Diamond Dust! End it now!"
"As you wish," said the summoning as she extended both hands towards the specter and will-o-wisps. They were flash-frozen, encased in a solid shell of clear ice so cold that the Soul Fires were snuffed out the moment it engulfed them. The summoning then snapped her fingers, causing the shell to violently implode and then shatter into itself, the resulting jagged fragments further violating the specter's form.
Gi Nattak slouched forward from the cumulative damage of fire and ice. '…This is not… the end!'
The words went unheard by Nanaki as he pushed forward, past the remaining ice turned into glittering motes. Pale blue energy formed a shell around him as he bound towards the undead warrior chief of the Gi Tribe. He speared through the specter like a shooting star, punching a hole through his ancestral enemy with his ancestral technique, and then skidded to a stop at the exit to the cavern as the angry ghost collapsed onto the ground.
'My rage will… live on, Seto!' Gi Nattak declared, staying whole despite the grievous wound by sheer force of will and hatred. The specter craned its head around to see that Nanaki was preparing to finish it with a final Fire spell. 'Even if you shatter… my spirit… my warriors will remain! They will haunt this very land!'
"Stop!" Aerith ordered, before he could deliver the final strike. Nanaki listened, quelling the fire that pooled in his mouth. She stepped forward, coming to a stop in front of the specter.
'Why do you interfere?' demanded the angry spirit that was barely holding itself together, stitched by the maleficent emotions that it clung to.
"Your battle has long since ended," Aerith said as the specter tried to rise again. "You need to let go of your hatred and move on."
'My grudge will not die until Seto has died by my hands!' It weakly grasped its spear, lacking the strength to actually lift it at the moment. 'I will never stop!'
"Has your hatred clouded your mind so much that you cannot hear the suffering of your people's spirits?" Bugenhagen asked as he floated forward. "Your people attacked Seto's on your command and died by his fangs. Yet their spirits linger, tethered and warped by your grudge against Seto for your defeat. They have been stripped of their pride and turned into hate-fueled wraiths because the one who should lead them to the rest that was promised to them upon death denies them it. Listen to them, hear their suffering, and tell me that your grudge has been worth it."
The specter was silent in response, listening to their words. The chanting continued as it had before, but beneath the words their suffering was clear. He could no longer deny it, evident in his how his posture leaned forward.
"Whatever grudges people hold onto in life should be laid to rest in death," Aerith continued. "Otherwise they won't be able to join the great flow. They suffer in darkness, only able to watch and lament. Their sins and emotions will only taint them to the point that nothing remains of what they once were. Accept what has happened and be at peace."
'…Peace…' Gi Nattak said pensively, hesitant. 'I have… forgotten what that is like… my hatred… it still burns….'
"I'll help you remember it." Aerith pointed her staff at him and the materia shone as she cast the Life spell. This time, Gi Nattak didn't resist as the light from above gently encompassed him. Instead, he looked towards it and raised a hand as if to reach for it.
'Ah… I see it beckoning us…' He let free a sigh of relief as his figure turned to shimmering motes. 'Let us go towards the light, my warriors…'
It was like a dark curtain had been lifted by the time the light died. The only traces of the Gi Tribe left behind were the Wizer Staff and Gravity Materia within it, perched in front of the exit to the cave. The voices and malevolence were gone as well.
"You have my thanks," Bugenhagen said as he came to a stop in front of the staff. "Though I knew their grudges lingered, never did I imagine it stemmed from Gi Nattak, nor that he would be so powerful. It is lucky Nanaki has met such powerful friends."
"Elder, he's waiting for you and Nanaki," Aerith said. "We'll stay here and give you some privacy."
Bugenhagen nodded. "Let us go, Nanaki. Seto awaits us both."
"Grandfather… what is this all about?" the leonine warrior asked the Elder. "What do you mean he awaits us?"
"It is time you learned the truth about your father," he said. "That he fought against every last warrior that crossed through the caverns and stopped them from taking so much as a step into our homeland. And while he was never able to return to the town afterwards, his spirit remains to watch over us."
For once Nanaki looked hesitant. It made sense. He stated that he always burned with hatred against his father for his supposed cowardice when they were around the Cosmo Candle. It had been almost fifty-years since then, a long time to cling to any belief. That was being brought into question at this very moment.
"That he would not see his son, that his son would believe him a coward, surely tethers him to this world as much as his duty to protect the Canyon." Bugenhagen floated down next to Nanaki on his green sphere and laid an aged hand on his head, as though he were a child. "Come now. Let us give him peace now that the Gi Tribe has been put to rest."
The hesitation persisted for a moment more, and then he nodded. The two disappeared into the exit, leaving the women alone. It wasn't even three minutes later that they heard Nanaki howling in honor of his father.
And Aerith heard the final whispers of the lingering spirit before it also joined the Lifestream.
'…Thank you all… I am proud Nanaki has found such companions…'
[-oOo-]
Nanaki stalked through another cavern after paying respects to his father and seeing his companions back to the Cosmo Candle, where they found the Thief slumbering and the Tactician staring into the flame while deep in thought. His Grandfather had relayed his thoughts and wishes upon him, to see their journey to the end and save the Planet from the threat that Sephiroth and Jenova presented. The leonine warrior would honor those wishes, but before he left there was still one more matter than needed to be resolved.
The path of the cavern he was currently trekking through was lined with veins of the solidified Lifestream, much like the Cave of the Gi. However, torches also lined the path. They were lit by the Elders nightly as they brought their offerings to the one who sits upon the altar.
"I heard your howl and knew you would come," said a voice he had longed to hear after so many years. He passed through the cave mouth and found his mate, Deneh, there. Her fur was toned a lighter shade than his and she looked slightly leaner, but she still remained as beautiful as he remembered her. "It is good to see you again, Nanaki."
"As is to lay eyes upon you once more, Deneh," he said humbly as he came to a stop in front of the raised altar. He dared not touch it and violate the ceremony. "I would have come sooner and in one piece, alas my capture—"
"I know. You are no coward, Nanaki." Her eyes roamed over his body and visage, taking into account the tattoo that branded him like an animal and his missing eye that had been claimed by one of Hojo's abominations. Rather than seeing him as lesser for them, a crook formed in the corner of her lips. "You bear the scars of a warrior quite well."
He felt a weight lift off of him at her words. As her head lowered from the altar, his met hers and they nuzzled one another. It had been too long indeed, and though he wanted nothing more than to remain like that he had to pull away after drawing out the moment as long as possible.
"I must depart once more," he told her. "Grandfather has entrusted me with his wish to protect a Shamaness who hears the voice of the Planet, alongside her companions."
"Need I not stay for a time longer, I would join you," Deneh said softly. "It seems our respective duties will keep up apart for the moment. But I will be free soon and will await your return."
"And I will return to be by your side, with many tales to tell you of my travels," he promised. "Until then my beloved mate, I shall take my leave."
Taking a final glance and burning her visage into his memories, he departed from the cavern and Cosmo Canyon along with the others….