Chapter 97

The Deep

Traveling the World on the back of Leviathan was something Thalassa had often dreamed of in childhood, but now she could finally do so, the prospect did nothing to cure her deep depression. She wanted no contact with Squall, Tyris and the others. Her phone had long been thrown to the waves, along with her hard-earned White Beret, and she did not even know the outcome of the fighting in the rest of Timber.

The war could already be over, for all she knew.

Thalassa had torn away from what remained of White SeeD after her battle with Selena. Right after the mighty Centran chocobo charge that had won them the harbour. Leviathan had needed no prompt from her, for he had known exactly what she had wanted to do. He had pivoted and carried her away, rescinding into her being as he dropped her to an empty road and she had begun gathering supplies for a long journey. Most symbolically, she had shed her white skins, and removed her White Beret for the last time. Within an hour, Thalassa and Leviathan had disappeared into the ocean, and neither had looked back.

Even without the stolen rations, his magic could kept her sustained, as his aether was continually being replenished by the Deep, and they could drift endlessly in that state. He could desalinate the water around them. When she had wanted fresh food, Leviathan could ensnare fish at will, and she had her dagger and a few fire spells to cut and crisp them up.

Out in the open ocean. Thalassa tried beginning to come to terms with reality. That the White SeeD Ship was gone, lost under her command, with Matron's legacy remaining with a scant few survivors. Raiden, Tian and all the others had died because of her. Any thought of facing Ellone or Raine, or Liu and Zhang, and explaining how she had failed to protect their loved ones filled her with a deep sense of hopelessness. And anger towards Gilgamesh, for stopping her from trying to save them.

The cost of taking Redwood had simply been too great. Thalassa knew the despair was psychological, that she just needed to focus on a new purpose, but after dozing off from the warmth of Leviathan, she awoke feeling even worse. The fallen White SeeDs had pervaded her dreams.

Raiden.

Her first love. While ordinary teenagers might have despaired at having been stuck on such a small ship with an ex-partner, there had never been any ill-feeling between Raiden and her. They had remained great friends. They had still frequently hung out together onshore. Tears welled at the thought of that stupid grin and belly-laugh that mirrored his father's. Or the simplistic but point-driving speech he had given when coming to her aid at Mysidia, defying Kurin's last orders. 'In Gerra's timeline, we were always in hiding, right? Was there really any point to that? What good was Matron's legacy if we never stood a chance of avenging her death, anyway?' he had said.

Tian.

Xu's daughter had requested a transfer to White SeeD last year, though she had fitted in so easily it was as though she had been there as long as Thalassa had. While her twin brothers had been obsessed with honouring their forebears, Tian had wanted to forge her own path, never once emphasising her lineage. Her name had translated to 'heaven' in the Common Tongue, and she had enjoyed sharing mainland Balamb culture with the crew, knocking up its exquisite cuisine and captivating the children with her vast library of legends each evening. Hyne, how could Thalassa ever look Liu or Zhang in the eye again?

Sendo.

The taciturn, brown-haired swordsman had been an orphan. Of all the White SeeDs, Thalassa had known him the least. He had never spoken unless necessary, what words he did all too brief but well-chosen. Sendo had read a lot, content with his own company. Thalassa had trusted him with the runic sword until it had been gifted to Relm. She had often wondered if Sendo had seen his parents die, but had never been able to ask, even as his captain. If Kurin or Celes knew how he came to be in their care, they had taken the secret to the grave.

Amos.

Like her, Amos had come from Balamb. He had been an evacuee along with her and Tyris. Only he had been a couple of years older, so Kurin had offered him a place on the ship just months before Thalassa had left Edea's House. Not that it had changed anything, really. Esthar had got him in the end.

Before the black hair, snowy skin and green eyes of Amelia could replace the ruddy-faced, red-haired features of Amos, Leviathan's voice rumbled through her mind.

Enough!

Wide awake, Thalassa sat up rigidly, adjusting her numb legs and behind on Leviathan's scales.

I will not suffer you feeling sorry for yourself, child! he chided. Nor will those now departed for the Netherworld!

Sighing, Thalassa got to her feet. Leviathan was broad enough for her to stand upright evenly, so she begun her usual morning salutations, taught to her by the deceased Ptolemy of Karnak. Not one of the White SeeDs killed at Redwood, but the first one to die under her command no less, at Mysidia. She went slower than usual, as she transitioned from one stretch to another, as she had all the time in the World now. After the first cycle, her mind begun to clear a little. After the third, the ghosts of her nightmares were banished beyond a rampart in her mind, and her head was as clear as the horizon in every direction as she drew Riptide.

As the sea-blue blade whistled through the air, Thalassa thought only of Selena Vlahos, the bane of Edea's SeeD. The Esthari officer had been parading her beloved Carbuncle right in front of her, and Thalassa had failed to free him. But she had been so close! She held no illusions that Vlahos was dead; if that were the case, Carbuncle would already be returned to her. The day that happened would tell her if Vlahos had been taken into Allied custody, too.

One day, Thalassa was certain, the Riptide and the Shieldmaiden would meet again. But it would not be today, nor would it be tomorrow. Nor the days immediately following.

The horizon was not clear for long. Leviathan could traverse the waves far faster than any speedboat, and it was only one more day of emptiness before they reached the strait between Yorn and Poccarachi Island. Leviathan would not go any way near the Thunder Plains, and Thalassa dared not enter the former Esthari colony to the east. After a single, dry night on the coast, they took to the seas again, heading south, then west.

Leviathan knew the stone lighthouse had been much on Thalassa's mind, which was now all that remained of Edea's House. So too was the chocobo forest that had been her home for many months after Matron's death.

In reality, Thalassa was drawn back to the vast emptiness of southern Centra. Outside of Lenown City, which was partially repopulated, four of the Nine Shires were largely empty; even more so in recent years since Steiner had gathered the scattered nomads. Thalassa had travelled four Shires during her time with the King's people, leaving the evergreen plains and verdant forests of Lenown, footing the colossal mountains of Almaj before weathering the more tropical climes of Shalmal, then veering through the tawny savannahs of Lolesterin. At Hadrian's Wall, formerly the physical border of the ancient Centran empire, the Centrans would partake in an annual festival with the people of Karnak, before journeying thousands of miles back to the Cape of Good Hope.

Until Thalassa was ready to face all of those she had failed, she fully intended to repeat that long journey, starting from the crumbling lighthouse. Her gunblade would stay sharp against the wilder tribes, the unchecked monster population and whenever she stumbled upon the operations of drug barons. Reliving such a road trip gave her a small ounce of happiness amidst all her misery. Though it was as they had neared the Cape of Good Hope that she had received a gentle suggestion from Leviathan, that she should visit the Sunken Shrine beforehand.

The Sunken Shrine? she questioned. I know it's a place of beauty, Leviathan, but there's nothing there!

The Sunken Shrine had been rediscovered by her father's party two decades ago, when the Ragnarok had happened across the abandoned Battleship Island. Thalassa had been there once before, during her SeeD exam, when Kurin had dropped her at the surface with just a single water spell draw, and she had had to survive for seventy-two hours before being exfiltrated at the same spot. Leviathan had been not present then, having been bound within magicite. Bahamut had long since pledged himself to Squall, and Eden had returned to slumber when Ultima Weapon had been vanquished. Yet the sea creatures and some lunar beasts had been there in their aplenty.

The Sunken Shrine was ordinarily difficult to reach, in the most remote corner of the World where the oceans converged, its exact location known to only SeeD and the Esthari.

Go there, and you shall see. Leviathan assured her. Then you can decide if you still want to relive that great journey of your childhood. I can make the journey in another day.

Fine, she allowed, then stubbornly added, but I want to spend tonight by the lighthouse!

Returning to what had been Edea's House only served to compound Thalassa's ill feelings. Raine had told her all between the prairie and the lighthouse had been wiped off the map, as a gesture of Ultimecia's contempt for her fallen adversary. At the edge of the crater, only the white tomb of Edea and Cid now remained.

After paying her respects, and brushing off a few blades of grass and lily petals that's were beginning to gather at the foot of the tomb, Thalassa returned to the lighthouse and made a fire. She hung her clothes to dry and donned a spare set of waterproofs she had stolen from a camping store in Redwood. Getting comfortable within Leviathan's gigantic, coiled form, she relished in the sound of the waves and lack of noise pollution that could only be found in this southern edge of the World.

Her GF's warmth had her asleep within minutes, and this time she dreamed of being back in the orphanage, hearing Matron's soothing voice and Cid's soft chuckles. When she awoke, they were straight back out to sea. She willed to stay dry this time, so Leviathan flew a short distance above the water, shielding her in a bubble as they weathered a storm. With a purpose from Leviathan, which he would not reveal to her, Thalassa found she was feeling restless. She interspersed the monotony of the journey by shadow duelling, stretching and doing body weight circuits, which also aided in keeping the ghosts of the White SeeDs at bay.

Perhaps she would not need to spend months in the Centran wilderness, after all. Maybe that could come later, after she had confronted the consequences of her failures head on, for better or for ill. And after Carbuncle was freed from magicite and could accompany her.

There you are, little one, Leviathan said, communicating for the first time in hours. You are already back in the right mindset. As your father once was, when his errant tongue almost got Balamb Garden destroyed.

'It's just so hard, Leviathan,' Thalassa spoke aloud. 'White SeeD had so much confidence that I could lead them, that I could carry on Matron's legacy, and I just ended up getting most of them killed! I was too cocky, your power making me feel like I could take on the World. I sailed against more experienced commanders and… well, lost.'

I would not call taking that harbour a loss, child, Leviathan said.

'My Pop never lost a battle,' Thalassa said sadly. 'Not until the end.'

Which is precisely why the Armageddon Fist died! Leviathan said. I failed to convince him he would not be able to defeat Ultimecia, that he should have bided his time and regrouped with the rest of the Children of Fate. Alas, your father had fallen in love with his own legend. He was determined to crush Ultimecia single-handedly or die in attempt. To die a hero of his homeland. A martyr. Yet you, child, have shown humility in more than one defeat. After Galbadia, you came back stronger. This time, you will return to the fold nigh on unstoppable! Your homeland will be freed from Ultimecia's black pall, this I swear to you!

Thalassa squatted down, grasping one of Leviathan's neck fins as she sat.

'How can you be so sure?' she asked.

He would not answer. Instead, he just said, We are here!

Having retook the same path she had taken during her SeeD exam, Thalassa now stood within the ruined temple that was the Sunken Shrine. Her light-blonde hair was damp and matted. Her waterproofs clung to her, her exposed skin soaked and clammy. Riptide was in her hand, though she had met no resistance. Sea creatures honoured their dead, even those of limited intelligence, so she encountered no remains along the stone pathways. There had only been an eerie silence, the Deep pressing upon the subterranean passageways and muting the outside World.

The temple had once been on the surface, the seat of the ancient Sorceress Thalassa, who had held dominion over all Dwellers of the Deep. Cut off from the Centran civilisation that had made her an outcast for her witchcraft, she swiftly begun to resemble those creatures she held so much sway over. Her temple had slowly sunk beneath the water, and was still in a slow descent towards the ocean bed this day. The Children of Fate had beheld Sorceress Thalassa in all her majesty, during Time Compression. They had witnessed the golden fishtail in place of her legs, the fins in the stead of her arms and the silver scales covering the rest of her body. It had been all Zell and his friends could do to weather her tidal fury before Ultimecia's magic had dragged them into another place and era, placing them in front of another Sorceress from the past.

Sorceress Thalassa's namesake had heard her father's accounts but had only seen the commemorative statue built long after her Succession, but even the expertly carved white marble could not have done her justice. And now the statue was destroyed. Raine had mentioned something of an iron giant obliterating the statue during Liu and Zhang's SeeD exam. The statue was like Thalassa's will to continue fighting. Damaged, but not without repair.

My children have answered the call! Leviathan said elatedly.

The chamber soon became home to an endless expanse of fins, scales, fangs and claws; spirals of uncountable coils of sea snake and water naga tails. Despite Leviathan's assurances, Thalassa readied her gunblade as bronze fastitocalons big and small passed her by, sharp fangs playfully caressing her up and down, though they did not bite. The snakes stroked and cushioned her, easing her tension, though she held her gunblade firm.

The Dwellers of the Deep now answered only to Leviathan, and he was as much a part of Thalassa as her own soul. Thalassa looked around the throng of sea creatures. Humanoid beings were approaching more slowly, filling what space remained in the temple, slaloming around the crumbling pillars. The hovering fastitocalons kept impeding her vision. The white-haired snakes with human faces kept to the outer walls. The lesser snakes just crept around her, drawn like hatchlings to their mother.

Thalassa recognised the sahagins and the kobolds from her own encounters with them, their chieftains clearly identifiable by their more elegant dress and crowns of seashells. The sahagins were lithe and all carried spears majestically chiselled, the hafts made from the stone of the sunken temple and the heads from robust sea rock. The kobolds looked like they had grown from sea stack itself, their hides jagged and unyielding and varying from brown and grey. Joining them were horned members of the Aura tribes, who looked the most human, albeit moving with a stunted walk, their skin changing to dark scales from the pectorals downwards; these Aura lived in domed settlements on the ocean floor, accessible only by the most advanced of submarines – thus, they had only had contact with the Esthari and the shumi.

Eons before, Sorceress Thalassa had taught the sentient waters creatures the Common Tongue, but it had become so bastardised they may have well been speaking another language. As they spoke, Leviathan telepathically clarified their meaning to her.

'We are with you, Riptide!' the kobold chieftain said, his voice as low as the seabed.

The sahagin chieftain waved his spear. 'Our ssspearsss are yoursss, SSSorceresss Thalasssa!'

'You are our Goddess reborn,' the Aura chieftain stated.

Thalassa blinked, her mouth parting.

'I'm no goddess!' she protested. 'And I'm certainly no Descendant of Hyne, either! I'm just named after one!'

'You will become one!' the kobold chief said. 'When you defeat your nemesis!'

The sahagin chief pointed his spearhead at the statue fragments. 'Yesss! You ssshall live for eonsss! Many ssshellsss, fissshtailsss and ssscaless you ssshall have! You ssshall be our Mother reborn!'

Thalassa remembered something Quistis had said, not long before she died. That Thalassa had the capacity to harbour Hyne's power. A Sorceress always knew when she met a potential Successor, the magnetism within the aether almost as potent as when two Sorceresses met. It was how Jadis had located Edea. Hyne had fashioned His power that way, so if separated it could one day become whole, or so the legend went.

'It's probably too late,' Thalassa told them. 'The war might already be over. If Ultimecia is dead, then her powers either went to Rinoa or Selphie. If Ultimecia beat the remaining Children of Fate, then she's got it all and Eden too! We couldn't defeat her!'

Leviathans voice boomed throughout the temple, now.

You know this is not true, child! he roared. I would have told you, were that the case!

'What do you mean?' Thalassa asked.

We Guardian Forces know where all great sources of magic are! We can read the Aether at will! You know this, for Alexander once knew how to find a young Edea!

Thalassa besmirched herself now, for the futility of her blissful ignorance.

'Ultimecia lives!' a white-haired water naga called across to her. 'And for imprisoning our Lord of the Whorl, she will suffer the wages of sin!'

'She has become one with the Elder God, the one who slumbered peacefully here,' the kobold chief stated lowly.

'Absssorbed him unto herssself!' the sahagin chief spat.

Thalassa had no words.

This is also how I know, Leviathan continued. Eden has ceased to exist! Griever is now my sole Elder!

Thalassa shifted as small fastitocalons excitedly spun circles around her, as though she were surrounded by orange ribbons.

'What happened to Rinoa and Selphie?' she demanded, looking at the chieftains, but speaking to her GF.

Leviathan hesitated. The Guardian of Trabia has fallen. There was a Transference, felt by all the free Guardian Forces, and a new Descendant of Hyne. The Stormbringer.

It was only fitting, Thalassa knew, that the daughter of Edea had become a Sorceress. And she now knew for certain that another of the Children of Fate, that one of her father's closest friends, had died.

There is more, Leviathan continued. Alexander has been, shall we say, removed from this realm. With the elemental balance disrupted, Diablos grows more powerful by the second; soon, he will be free of Jadis' curse. And eventually, the aethereal disruption will manifest itself in the material realm, yet on a smaller scale than the world of ruin your father beheld in the future.

Thalassa gasped shrilly. 'Alexander is gone? How?'

There was a great disturbance within the Aether. The closest thing your race would liken it to is a… black hole. One moment the Holy Sentinel was there, and then he was not, Leviathan said with finality. Moreover, he continued, Lady Amaterasu has resurfaced in the land called Timber, burning like the most chaotic of stars, wearing the body of the Autumn Knight!

This time, Thalassa had no words. She knew exactly what Masamune's true purpose had been; it was at the core of Balamb's dogma. So, Nida had fallen, too. And before he had, he had summoned his people's fallen deity, making the ultimate sacrifice in the process. If he had filled the position of replacing Selphie's Knight, then he was now twice damned. Squall and Rinoa lived, but they were now stripped of their closest comrades.

Thalassa looked between the chieftains again, then around all the sea creatures. Riptide remained a familiar weight in her hand. Edea's SeeD had been defeated, by Selena Vlahos no less, the puppeteer of her dear Carbuncle. She was no longer White SeeD captain. She was Thalassa, daughter of Zell and Adira, and the bearer of Leviathan. She was a Servant of Sasune. Ultimecia's shadow had palled her homeland for thirteen years, and Thalassa's new purpose was to see it gone forever.

'Head northeast,' she commanded. 'And lie in wait. We will call upon you soon.'