epilogue
EPILOGUE – A MOONLIT PREMONITION
The light from Balamb Garden's floating halo vied to shine through the bay windows. The curtains were drawn shut, leaving the room with only a sliver of light peeking in. Not a single lamp nor candle was lit. From the plush king-sized bed, to the mahogany desk stacked from end to end with paperwork, the office's every amenity lay smothered in darkness. It had not always been so. The TV monitor fixed to the wall had broken through merely an hour earlier, only to show a far more terrible darkness descend upon Deling City. The day long since dreaded had arrived.
Heamaster Cid Kramer poured himself another shot of whiskey, courtesy of his quarters' personal liquor cabinet. He placed the bottle back on the desk where there was room, and swiveled his chair around to face the curtains. For the last hour, he'd mired in the drink's comfort; little else could nurse his weary heart. He casually slid the drapery aside as he took another sip. The moonlit Alcaud Plains stretched onward to the southern shore beyond. Meanwhile, far to the west, a great evil had stirred.
The camera feed had been shut down with Vinzer Deling's brutal execution, leaving him no other means by which to monitor the operation. Perhaps it were even a blessing in disguise. Signing off on the mission four nights earlier had been trying enough; he could never stomach to watch the events unfold as they happened. He'd been strong-armed into compliance, as was so often the norm. How powerless he must have appeared to Xu each time; as the acting commandant, she was the only member of SeeD privy to such affairs.
That he'd managed to negotiate which of Galbadia Garden's marksmen to employ was his only solace. His ranking notwithstanding, there could be no one else but Irvine assigned to this mission. He undoubtedly possessed the skill, and perhaps would be a better man than Cid himself to make the right call. The choice was clear, if not easy. A global superpower had just been usurped by a sorceress; history was repeating itself.
All that remained now was one concern, one unforeseen development that left him utterly perplexed: why had Rinoa been standing by Edea's side? Why was she in Deling City at all, when she ought to have been in Timber under the protection of Squall and his team?
Surely, they couldn't have somehow gotten involved in-
A frantic rapping at the door tore him from his worries, and nearly caused him to spill his whiskey down his burgundy suit-vest. He set the glass beside the bottle, and rose from his desk chair. His heart pounded as he approached; a summons at this late hour could not possibly bode well. Had the result of the operation been determined? And if so, what repercussions would they be forced to bear? His worries came to a head as he twisted the doorknob. As expected, a familiar robed aide stood on the other side, a troublesome Thorn in his side, sprouted from the root of all evil sown deep into the Garden's very foundations.
"The Garden Master demands your presence. Now."
END OF VOLUME I