Chapter 1

Lightning was on her back, staring up into the eyes that would end her.

She had fought so hard. But the battle against Caius was too much. She had failed her sister. But, at least she would live. So would Cocoon and Pulse and her friends.

She glared up at the purple-haired man, unable reach any other conclusion. She was finished fighting. There was no other choice, no other possible outcome. She had finally accepted the inevitable, but that didn't mean that she was going to face it afraid. She would not bow; she would not break.

Caius didn't draw things out. He raised his sword above his head and swung down.

There was an innocuous plink as Caius rested his sword against her metal breast plate. It was such a common, innocent sound, metal on metal, but one glance at Caius' face and the murderous intent was clear. He started to press down on her. She could feel the delicate metal that the Goddess of Etro had outfitted her with compressing against her chest. She wasn't fooled by the light sound. Her armor was enhanced magically, and nothing short of a Herculean amount of magic could penetrate. His monstrous blade glowed with the power he was putting behind the effort. There was a brief moment that she wondered if maybe she would die of suffocation. However, his eyes still locked on her, he continued to ruthlessly lean his weight on the hilt of his sword.

Never one with much patience, Lightning gripped her own sword, calling forth her own special brand of magic, and lifted herself up pressing into Caius' blade. The sword finally pierced her armor. A hard coldness slid through her heart, and it was difficult to breathe. Her eyes teared up in pain, her heart aching with a sharp burning feeling. It was hard to concentrate through the physical pain, but she had to. She raised her arm. Struck upwards. Hit her target. Her whole body broke out into shakes and a massive sweat, but she was satisfied.

She fell back to the ground, releasing the handle of her own sword though it stayed deeply embedded in the chest of her adversary.

"What?" His eyes showed his great confusion. He stumbled to his knees, his sword likewise staying in place through her heart.

She tried to breathe, panicking when she could feel air going into her lungs, but still feeling like she was suffocating. She glanced down and could see the foamy pink bubbles surrounding her chest. A wheezing sound was escaping her, but it wasn't coming from her mouth.

Her vision blurred, and when she could see again, Caius was leaned over her, eyes glazed and vacant, blood trickling from his mouth and dripping onto her own chest. The goddess Etro would perish, but so would Caius. Serah would be safe.

Lightning's vision blurred again, and it was dark. Slowly, the sounds of her labored breathing faded out until darkness was all she knew.

I'm sorry, Serah.

…

..

.

The first thought that she remembered having was that immediately, she was not somewhere she had ever been before in her entire existence. There was a weightlessness to her that was foreign, but she didn't have memories to back up why it was a new and strange feeling to be...floating. The world was in technicolor all around her. There were muted tones of orange, pink, and blue all swirling around her, above her...through her. There was a bright light. She went towards it somehow without exerting any effort. She just thought that she wanted to be closer to it, and then she was instantly there. She approached the shimmering light, barely remembering her troubles from her time alive. All she knew now was that she was finished. Her fight was over.

Still, she couldn't help but be curious as she came closer to the light. It seemed intelligent, sentient... familiar somehow, like she had spoken with it before in another time.

Lightning...

Lightning felt confusion.

Suddenly, the light disappeared, and she could see things that she could remember. It took a while to recognize the vestiges and vast planet. It took a bit of digging to remember what they were called, but then she heard the names: Cocoon and Pulse. Vaguely thoughts and memories came back to her. Her spirit felt extreme happiness. Serah was with Snow, finally, though Serah had lost a bit of her sparkle from her eyes, Lightning could tell that she would be okay. It was all she could ask for. The world was saved.

The image of her friends and family faded out.

She could finally recognize the light being. It was the Goddess Etro.

How was that possible? She had killed Caius. That should have been the end of Etro. Lightning wasn't sure how she was communicating to her.

I must ask you something, Spirit Warrior.

Lightning could see images upon images that didn't make any sense to her. They flashed by nearly too fast to comprehend. They were strange and foreign. She could make out a strange purple being floating in bright green liquid along with a man with long silver hair.

You cannot return to exist in your world. It would damage the timeline too much.

Lightning was shown images of destruction, a world of hers overrun by Chaos. There was death and misery everywhere.

"No!" Lightning tried to close her eyes to the images of Serah, Hope, Sazh, Snow—everyone she loved—slaughtered and lying in their own pool of blood, but she was just energy. She had no eyes to close. She could not block out the horror of what Etro was trying to show her.

But you may go to this world and live again.

Lightning saw more images that made little sense to her. Now that she knew these images were of a new world, she could look at them with less confusion.

But she was so...tired.

Just look, Spirit Warrior.

More images were being shown to her. What she saw was full of death and destruction, just as much as her own world would be if she went there. One in particular that stuck out was a man with dark hair facing a troop of soldiers head on, and being killed for his efforts.

She always was for an underdog, and the scene pulled at her non-existent heartstrings. Already, she could tell what her decision was going to be.

Yet, Lightning didn't understand. She wondered why she could go to this world and not destroy the timeline yet returning to where she belonged would doom everyone.

She could see scientists, test subjects, green, glowing fluid...

Because, Spirit Warrior, people have already begun to damage the timeline here. You would help balance things out. Your world has been fixed. Sending you back there would require a balance that could be destructive. You can help prevent much if you wish to go to this new place. Or you can stay as you are. You have fought a long, hard battle over a tremendous amount of time. More so than you would have been expected to bear as the mortal you were born to be. You can choose to stay, and you would be able to keep an eye on your sister.

And Lightning could imagine it. Staying here in the ether. It was easy to be here. There were no choices, no worries, no pain.

If you do choose to stay here, many lives will be lost on Gaia.

Lightning was shown images to understand that Gaia was the name of the place she had been seeing images of. She was also shown images of people's faces, so many faces that she forgot all of them. How could so many people lose their lives? What could she possibly do to prevent all of that?

This planet also has evil in it. The scientists experiment with many things. They threaten other places in the galaxy, including Pulse and Cocoon.

Again, images flashed before her eyes.

Serah.

Lightning didn't have to say anything, the being understood.

I must warn you. Even though the balance has already tipped in this place, going to this world will have consequences that may not be understood until later. I fear something else may be set on a path that cannot be helped with your arrival. Even I do not know what this may be.

"It doesn't matter," Lightning said, able to just make out her body again, though it was transparent. The more she remembered who she was and what she had lived through, the more physical and opaque it became. She pulled her hand up in front of her face, examining it impassively. "I will do it. For Serah."

As you wish, Spirit Warrior. Another thing. You killed the Guardian. Therefore you are the new Guardian.

"What does that mean?"

Go, Spirit Warrior, my Champion, the Guardian. Be strong still yet, as your battles and hardships have just begun, and accept my gifts to help you with your journey.

Lightning started to feel a heartbeat return to her chest, and, with it, a great pain, and then, she was blinded.