Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction / Fan Fiction ❯ Akirame Norwen ❯ Angels in the Farplane ( Chapter 41 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Chapter 41: Angels in the Farplane

“Erik, you pervert!” Akira shouted as she quickly threw a shirt on, then turned and opened the door again. “How long have you been in there?”
He looked at her with a dazed, confused look. “I...don’t know. I think I fell asleep in here.” He groaned as he got out and his joints popped. “Musta been a while.”
“What were you doing in the wardrobe anyways, Peeking Tom?”
“What kind of last name is ‘Tom’?” he dumbly asked, rubbing the back of his neck as she folded her arms and gave him an accusing stare.
“Oh please, I put the chair away and came in about fifteen minutes ago, and when I didn’t see you I figure you had either chewed a hole in the wall and escaped, or you had vaulted out the window.”
“Nope, I’ve pretty much just been enjoying sitting in a two-by-four space. Gotta get myself ready for big time in the asylum, figuring that’s about as close to real life as I’ll ever get.”
She rolled her eyes at his frivolous attitude and pushed him towards the door. “Well go and get yourself cleaned up, Tristen has arranged for a guide to take us to the Ancient Temple and teach us whatever the heck it is that’s supposed to make everyone understand why we’re hundreds of miles from home.”
“Oh, okay then.” He stopped leaning backwards and simply stepped towards the door, making her trip and fall to the ground. “I’ll see you in a bit then.”
Groaning, she raised her head up from the carpet and looked up at him through her hair as he smiled and closed the door. “Hyne I hate him, I really do. Just too bad he has such a cute smile.”
That being said, she sighed and let her face rest in the carpet once more.

About an hour later, a tall, dignified-looking Guado adorned with official-looking, brightly colored robes stepped down the hallway, and looked around expecting to see the guests he had been assigned to ready and waiting for him. Instead he was greeted by an empty hallway and a young, blonde-haired boy sitting sideways in a chair while reading a book, his legs draped over the arm. “Excuse me sir, but do you know anything about the guests I was to be taking to the temple today?”
“Oh yeah, they’re still getting ready.”
“But they were to be ready by eleven, and it’s already ten minutes past.”
“They run on teenage time, they’re never ready until fifteen minutes after they say they will.”
“What an awful habit to fall into, being late.”
“Hey, at least I’m here.” he responded, tossing the book over his shoulder onto a table.
As if on cue, all the doors opened at once and the teenagers came flooding out into the hallway, loudly talking to each other. “Excuse me?” the Guado almost timidly said, trying to get their attention.
“Yo, shut up!” Kairi shouted, and quickly the din settled down.
“Thank you. I’m Tremere, Tristen has appointed for me to see you to the Ancient Temple.”
“...and?”
“Oh. I suppose I’ll take you now.” With that the Guado turned on his heel and walked down the hall and turned to lead them down a tunnel-like passageway that had been carved out of the ancient tree, opening outside in a lush, almost tropical forest. Riku blinked as his eyes adjusted to the bright light, and took a deep breath of the sweet, warm air, for once feeling relaxed and safe.
The Guado elder led them down the well-trodden dirt path that snaked its way through the exotic jungle flora, holding himself with a regal air, as if he were a high-standing servant leading guests through his master’s hall. “A thousand years ago the Cetra, a great people known now as the Ancients, wandered the planet in search of a place called the Promised Land. Led by the voice of Hyne, the Creator of the Planet, they migrated through the wilderness, their only assurance the promise of their leader, who claimed he was chosen personally by Hyne. After they had traveled for years and three generations came and went, some of the Cetra began to speak among themselves, convinced that the Promised Land did not in fact exist. They stirred up controversy, and the leader of the rebels attempted to overthrow their guide. A great dispute broke out, and in the end the rebels were forced out of the group. The rogues settled down in the land, and gave themselves a new name, which sadly has been lost over the centuries. From all our research, we have concluded that all the humans spread throughout the Planet, such as yourselves, are the descendants of those who settled down in the land, and after many generations of hardship, flourished and spread.
“As for the Ancients, after several more years they themselves split into many groups and slowly diminished. One of those groups, however, a tightly-knit clan of Cetra whose faith in Hyne was strongly founded, made it to this canyon, and prospered greatly. We the Guado believe that we ourselves are the direct descendants of those Ancients, and for hundreds of years we have never left this canyon, nor neglected the great temple that the Ancients built to honor Hyne for safely guiding them here.”
“So... you’re saying that not only are humans and Guado descendants of the exact same group of people, but humans are like some sort of spiritually lost tribe, while the Guado are blessed by their Utopian ideals?” Erik skeptically inquired, folding his arms.
Akira shot him a warning look and shook her head, wishing that he wouldn’t place his own beliefs ahead of respecting the beliefs of others. He was going to get himself, or the entire group, in a great deal of hot water for his never-ending crusade to expel all truth.
“Spiritually as you are, yes you are children lost from their father’s love. But every lost child can redeem themselves by returning to his name. We do not wish to force anyone into accepting our faith, we only wish for every one to live in a state of emotional, mental and physical equilibrium and fulfillment.”
“Sounds too good to be true. So believers in Hyne just have to accept that he’s their creator, and then everything is peachy-keen?”
“Quite so. Hyne’s requirements are very little, all one must do is obey his commandments, and see to it that all his lost children are once again reunited in his home.”
“Commandments? So there’s a list of Do’s and Don’t’s.”
“There is one commandment that sums up everything his followers live for: Love thy neighbor.”
Erik opened his mouth to speak again, but the other members of the group by now had grown tired of him, and all shot him dangerous looks, making him silent.
Akira looked up at Riku who had been absorbing everything the Guado had imparted to them, and now was in a pensive state. “You believe everything he’s saying?” she softly whispered to him.
He raised his head and looked up into the golden sunlight filtering through the full, twisting and smoothly textured branches overhead, unable to reject the feeling of paradise. “Well, so far we’ve been told that there’s dead people walking around, and that I’m a savior from some ancient legend. As long as I have these scars on my hands, I really don’t think I’m in much of a position to be debating faith. What about you? You seemed pretty interested in what he had to say.”
Akira shrugged as she thought about it. “I dunno... the Guado seem to have done pretty well for themselves, so their faith doesn’t seem to cause them too much trouble. But really faith isn’t something I want to get into too much right now, thinking about it gives me a headache anyhow.”
The path leisurely wound through the Eden-like garden, taking its time as it lead them to the age-worn stone steps of the Temple itself, which resembled many of the great Myan pyramids. There were two pillars on either side of the steps, engravings partially hidden by thick vines that had slowly crept up from the ground and wound themselves around the blueish, eroded rock, trying to conceal and forever hide the secrets of this revered place. “Behold, the Ancient Temple.” The Guado said with a voice that demanded awe and respect. “This temple has stood here for centuries, tended to by my ancestors.”
“You seem to have done a remarkable job maintaining this place, it looks like it hasn’t been here even that long.”
“It didn’t look this way seventeen years ago. We always knew that the fight against nature and erosion would be a battle slowly lost. This place was merely a pile of worn down rocks and scattered relics. We were deeply grieved to know that the place we loved so much was slipping away from us. But that is the way of life, things are lost, but so much more is given to us. It greatly surprised and at the same time disturbs us that the temple appears to have rebuilt itself, especially when our long-departed Maester Seymore was seen ascending these steps.”
“Well wouldn’t you be overjoyed to know that the things you lost are being given back to you? You would see it as like... a blessing from Hyne or something.” Irvine questioned, and it surprised the others that for once it wasn’t Erik making comments.
“In some cases Hyne will give back what was once lost, in order to win the faith and love of his children. But those who are familiar with his words know that as mortals we must live to accept the affects of time, the coming and going of things. We know that there is no use or point in crying for what has passed to be brought back, when what is coming will be so much greater.”
“Oh, I see what he’s saying.” Jerdania said, somehow able to translate his rather odd speech. “It’s better to wait for a newer, better computer than constantly crying about the one that just crashed.”
They followed their guide up the steps, and quietly passed through an doorless entry into the dark, torch-lit and cobwebbed passageway. In the dark, almost gloomy hall, one of the teens took advantage of the mood and began softly humming the Indiana Jones theme, making Kairi sigh and roll her eyes while Erik smirked and Akira desperately tried to stifle her laughter. Tremere raised his eyebrows in confusion and turned to look at the group, who quickly straightened up and starting behaving, like a busload of young children who instantly submit when the bus driver slams the breaks and turns to threaten them all with office referrals. “If you will continue to follow me, I will lead you to the place where the entire history of the Planet has been written. Listen closely, and the wisdom of the Ancients will tell you of why you are here.”
Erik let his mind block out the long-winded Guado’s voice, and instead let himself focus on trying to find Ansem, and the ever elusive Red. As they followed the narrow, dank hallway, his skin began to crawl and he shivered as the sensation of being watched started unnerving him. He stopped for a brief moment and glanced over his shoulder, catching a flash of movement. Nervously he spun around and let his eyes search the shadows as he slowly walked along, but nothing appeared to be out of the ordinary. Clearing his throat, he turned back around and stepped directly into someone. “Do I unnerve you?” Ansem’s deep voice asked, and Erik relaxed somewhat.
“No, I just don’t like people creeping around in the shadows, following me.”
Ansem chuckled and gave a smile. “Riku will be coming to see where you got to here in just a minute. Quickly, follow me.” He turned and briskly walked down the hallway and where there appeared to be a solid wall, he went straight through it.
Erik stopped in his place and his mouth opened in surprise. When the young teen didn’t follow, Ansem walked back and sighed. “Come here!” he gripped the boy’s wrist and pulled him through. “It’s just an illusion, there isn’t a wall there, it’s the product of hidden mirrors. Now, see this hallway, and the mirrors hanging on the walls?” he queried, referring to the round, flat silver disks that were spaced at intervals on the stone walls, torches on either side of each. “Follow the mirrors, and they will lead you to the doorway to the Farplane. Since the Guado are so trusting, they don’t bother to put guards in charge of the portal, so going in will be quite easy. When you pass through, you’ll be on a platform surrounded by orange clouds. You’ll have to take a step of faith and walk off, and you’ll be in Via Infini, the Farplane Valley. There is a tower in the very center, head towards it, and whatever you do stay away from any water.”
“What, is the water there dangerous?”
“To the mortal body, yes. If your skin comes in contact with the water, your soul will instantly depart from your body.”
“So in other words, I’ll die?”
“Exactly, now go!” Ansem spoke with a rushed voice, and hurriedly shoved him back out into the main passageway, just as Riku came around the corner.
“Erik, what are you doing here, trying to defile any sacred relics you find?” he asked, letting his hand run along the wall as he approached.
“Uh... no, actually I was just checking this wall out... it looks weird, like it’s not real.”
“Lemme see.... yeah, you’re right. That’s creepy...” curious, he walked forward and tried to place a hand on the illusion, and his hand went straight through. “What the heck?”
“It’s an illusion! I bet we can go right through, come on.” Erik took hold of Riku’s wrist and began to pull him forward.
“Erik, I don’t think we’re supposed to–”
Erik rolled his eyes and tugged Riku through. “Where’s your sense of adventure?”
“Well, I’m already hundreds of miles from home and had to fight monsters, learn some stupid legend, escape a group of bandits, survive a run-in with an economy-sized cactuar, discovered a village of natives living in Cosmo Canyon, um...”
“Oh alright, I get it... but come on, that Teremere guy was boring me to death, I want to see what’s down here.”
“Did it ever occur to you that this place might be booby-trapped?”
“Hey, I’ve got a whip, I’ll just Indiana-Jones us out of here by swinging across chasms and outrunning giant boulders.” He responded, pointing a thumb at himself as he continued following the mirrors.
“First of all, you didn’t even bring your whip with you. Secondly, you don’t have a bachelor’s degree in archaeology or ancient history, and lastly, you seem to already know where you’re going.”
“So what? Come on, I’m sure it’s close by.”
“What are you talking about?” Riku demanded, stopping and putting a hand on Erik’s shoulder.
“Never mind, please Riku, this is important, okay?”
“Erik, you’re seriously starting to scare me, now what’s going on?”
“Look, I know what I’m doing, alright? I just have to have you come along.”
“This isn’t right, we shouldn’t be here!”
By now Erik was getting fed up and simply grabbed Riku’s arm and began pulling him along as he broke into a run, the mirrors leading them down a twisting, seemingly endless path. When it seemed it would never stop, they turned a sharp corner and walked directly into a large round room, the walls of which were made with brightly glowing mirrors, each one intricately and elegantly framed with silver. In the center of the room was what could be described as a tear in the dimension, a swirling portal that hung a few inches above a raised platform. Erik slowly stepped up onto the platform and approached the black, empty hole, and when he was directly in front of it an image appeared on the other side, of a strange, small expanse of yellow earth, but whatever view there might be was hidden by the orange clouds that moved around the visible ground in slow, calm cycles. “What on earth....” Riku whispered in awe, looking over Erik’s shoulder. “What is that place?”
“It’s the Farplane.”
“Farplane? Isn’t that supposed to be like some sort of heaven?”
“I guess, we’re looking right at it. Come on, let’s go in.”
“Are you nuts?!” Riku exclaimed, grabbing Erik’s shoulders to hold him back as he attempted to step inside. “You don’t even know how we’re supposed to get back out!”
“Well, we can work on that once we’re done visiting.”
“What if we can’t get back out at all?”
“From what I’ve heard, the Farplane is a place you don’t exactly ever want to leave. Woah, check that out... pyreflies.” And as if that alone was reason enough to go in, he lifted his foot and put it through the portal, and simply stepped through as if going through a door. Once he was on the other side, he turned around to see that the portal still hung there, the mirror-room still on the other side. “Come on Riku, I survived.”
Riku groaned and shook his head before giving up and stepping inside. He looked over his shoulder, and sure enough the portal still hung in place, apparently not intending to vanish. “Okay, we’re here, can we leave now?”
“Hey Riku, what do you think is on the other side of those clouds?” Erik asked, walking towards the swirling orange barrier.
“Do I even want to find out?”
Erik stepped into the moving wall, and his shirt began to soak the moisture in. As far as he could tell there was still solid ground underneath his feet, as he could see about a foot in front of him. “It seems to be safe, just go real slow.” He called back, and could hear Riku muttering something in his island language as he followed.
Once Riku was standing by him, Erik slowly continued forward, and suddenly all view of the ground was lost and the clouds were thicker than ever. “This ain’t good, let’s go back.” Riku nervously said, pulling on his friend’s arm.
“No way, I got this far. How much you wanna bet this is just a short drop-off?”
“Well, if it turns out to be a cliff, we can only do it once.”
“You’re such a chicken-wuss.” Erik teased, and boldly stepped forward.
When Erik dropped out of view, Riku panicked and quickly stepped forward to see what had become of him. Much to his surprise, there was nothing to stand on and he found himself quickly dropping downwards, the clouds rushing up around him. The fall seemed to continue on forever, and before he had time to react or even think, a field of flowers was racing up to meet him.
Erik heard Riku’s brief yelp of terror, and turned around just in time to watch the silver-haired boy gracefully land in a face-plant, crushing the flowers he landed on. For a moment there wasn’t any sign of movement, but much to his relief Riku groaned as he pushed himself up on his arms and looked around. “Man, how far was that fall anyways?” He asked, standing up and dusting himself off.
Erik folded his arms and looked at the rock wall behind Riku, then let his eyes follow it up to the top of the platform. “I’d say about five feet.”
Riku turned in confusion and quickly surveyed the same short platform, and an anime-style sweat drop appeared beside his head when he spotted the stairs leading down, which evidently Erik had used. “That ain’t cool.” He muttered, and turned to see that Erik was already walking off again. “Hey, wait up!”
Erik laughed and slowed down so his friend could catch up, and they both stopped and turned to look when they heard the sound of someone yelping, followed by the sound of something the ground accompanied by an “oof!” upon impact. Akira pushed herself up and pushed the hair out of her face. “Wait up you two, I am so going to kill both of you!” she angrily shouted, leaping to her feet and running through the calf-high flowers towards them. To Riku she was, for that brief moment, a beautiful vision. To Erik she was a rampaging rhinoceros about to trample them both.
“Thank Hyne another sane person came for me!” Riku cried out, holding out his arms to capture her, but instead he found himself in a strangle-hold. “I’m innocent, I was trying to stop him!”
Erik groaned at the unfairly cruel hand fate had dealt him, and put a hand to his forehead. “Why does this always have to happen, just when things are finally going right?”
“You’re not supposed to be here, Erik!” Akira barked, leaping at him like a Rottweiler. “Why did you leave the group, and what are you doing on the Farplane?! Don’t you think you’ve bashed reverence enough for one lifetime?”
“Akira, I’m here for a reason!”
“Well you think you could have asked the Guado about it instead of sneaking around and trying to do things for yourself?”
“Hey, if I have something I want to get done, I’m not going to let a bunch of rules or people’s feelings get in the way.”
“So for you the shortest distance between two points is to drive on the sidewalk and knock pedestrians out of your way.”
“What on earth... don’t start using metaphors, Akira, they give me headaches because they require me to think!”
Riku stayed a good distance away from the bickering teens, not wanting to come between Akira and her fury. Once when they were still children, he had been examining her glass animal figurine collection which she zealously displayed on shelves in her room. He had been curious about a particular figurine of a glass wolf, perfectly capturing the motion of a wolf in a full-tilt run. One day he had decided to borrow it without asking her first so he could attempt to make a sketch of it, and by mistake, even as gentle and overly protective he tried to be with it, he had managed to knock it over while it was resting on the table, and one of the wolf’s ears had been chipped off. Too afraid to admit it, he had quickly replaced it among the other animals, hoping she would notice. Later she had tackled him in the living room and all but murdered him. Since then he had learned to stay out of the way of her anger, lest he become a casualty.
While Akira and Erik continued their full-volume screaming match, they had continued walking towards the center point of the Farplane, the centerpiece of which was a tall, simply constructed tower, with a single room perched at the very top. “Wait a minute...” Riku suddenly said, making the other two be silent for a moment. “I’ve seen this place before... in a dream. I think we really should be here.”
“Oh, now he listens to me.” Erik quipped, folding his arms and shooting bullets with his eyes at Akira. “Now can we please just get to that tower? I have business here.”
“So you’re going to ask the Oracle a question then?”
“Yup.”
“What about?”
“Nothing I want to share.”
“Ookay then...” Riku backed away and let Erik lead them, and he found himself wondering since when his authority could be so easily overturned, let alone by a single person. There was something about Erik that demanded submission, however, and after the incident in the woods during their chocobo-back journey to Winhill, in which he had used nothing but his own brute strength to snap the neck of a full-grown hyena, he did not feel that he was in a safe place to be trifling with him. Besides, Erik was close to obtaining what he wanted, and at this point surely there was nothing that could be said or done to stop him.
“I just hope that the Oracle doesn’t kick us out because Akira decided to tag along.” Erik darkly said, and he could feel the anger in her rising as she followed him. He himself had a very short temper and could easily knock people bigger than him onto their backs, but Akira had a passionate fury in her that wasn’t easily quenched either.
Despite the ugliness of the situation, the Farplane’s beauty was not dimmed in the least. The sky overhead was a strange aqua-green color, completely cloudless. The valley was expansive, and in Erik’s mind it had to be the size of five blitzball stadiums crammed together. The geography was endlessly interesting, such as strange mushroom-like formations that spilled over with water, floating rocks, and the entire valley itself was surrounded by cliffs with rushing waterfalls, and it wasn’t clear where all the water ran to. It was almost like a seven-year-old girl’s dream world, flowers and bright colors everywhere they looked, plus the huge numbers of pyreflies, small balls of light that trailed rainbow auroras, that aimlessly drifted around them, and there were even a few that began following them. “I can’t believe how beautiful it is.” Akira said in a soft voice full of awe.
“Yeah, but the rocks sorta look like someone went crazy with a tie-dye kit.” Riku commented as they passed another yellow, orange and pink splotched boulder.
“What is with all the water though? Do you figure it’s what’s keeping all these flowers and plants alive?” Akira questioned as she reached out to let a stream of water pouring over some rocks run over her hand, and she gasped and tried to fight when Erik grabbed her and sharply jerked her away. “What is your problem?!”
“Don’t touch the water, unless you want to die on the spot.”
“How is a bunch of water going to kill me?”
“I don’t know, but for whatever reason mortal things can’t touch it, or else basically they die on the spot. I’m guessing it might be the Lifestream.”
“The Lifestream? Erik, please don’t tell me that you actually know about that, and are willing to admit that theology is true.”
“Hey, seeing is believing. Besides, it just makes too much sense. The Lifestream, the very life force of the Planet, is said to be rivers of water that run through the Planet like veins of blood, keeping all the living things alive. It’s a stream of pure energy that just appears in the form of a liquid. Naturally living tissue wouldn’t be able to handle something like that, and if indeed the Lifestream was contained in living beings, the flesh would die but the energy would join the stream.”
“Did you just make that up on the spot?”
“For some reason I seem to have a streak of genius right now.”
By now they were only several yards from the ten-story high stone tower, and they were surprised to see that a Guado, even more regally adorned than Tremere, was standing beside the curved, doorless entrance. “Have you come to see the Oracle?” the ancient-looking Guado asked with a soft voice.
“Yeah, actually.”
“My, is time for that already? She only answers so many questions a year, and we had someone come to request her knowledge only a few months ago. Well never mind my senseless talk, please follow me.”
The three found themselves being led up a long, spiraling staircase which seemed to have been carved out of the tower itself. The hall was cold and dank, and the smell of wet dirt overwhelmed them. “Ugh, this is awful, it’s like that concrete basement I had back in my house.” Erik commented, putting a hand up to his nose to block the smell.
“House? I thought you lived in Balamb Garden.” Akira said, looking at him out of the corners of her eyes.
“I lived in Winhill as a kid.”
“What? How come you never said anything when we were there?”
“I never said I wanted to go back.”
Akira was silent at that, wondering what could have happened to him to make him wish to never return to where he grew up. Obviously, it had to be related to his childhood, that much was certain. Was he abused? Did he witness something?
The stairs seemed to continue on forever, the only indicator of how high they had climbed was the view from the tiny slits in the outside wall that served as windows. For a moment Riku stopped to look out, and was taken back by just how high they had climbed. “Wow, we’ve got to be like, fifty feet above the ground now.”
Erik pressed his face against Riku’s to look out of the same small hole, and looked out over the endless field of flowers, rivers, waterfalls and curious landscaping. “I can see my house from here.” He jokingly said, staring up at the clear patch of sky, surrounded by a swirling vortex of orange clouds.
Akira rolled her eyes and rubbed her arms, trying to keep warm. “I don’t see how anyone could live comfortably in a house made of stone, it’s freezing in here.”
“Actually, it’s quite comfortable for me. Your problem is being raised on an island with a constant temperature of sweltering-degrees-Fahrenheit.” Erik calmly said, stepping away from the window as their Guado guide patiently waited.
“The Oracle lives very modestly here, she is well taken care of. For as long as she has been here within this tower, there have been others like me, caretakers, who tend to her every need. I assure you that once we get up to her living chambers, you will find yourselves much more comfortable.” the Guado informed them, his voice not sounding tired in the least from the seemingly unending climb.
After what seemed to be an eternity, the stairs at last ended in a landing that took up half the width of the tower. At the opposite side of where they stood there was a simple metal ladder that led up to a trapdoor in the ceiling. “So... that leads to her room I’d assume?” Riku asked.
“Indeed. I will go up first to inform her of your arrival.” The Guado gave a brief sigh as he walked over to the relatively short ladder. “Never before have I heard of three people asking to be in her presence at once. The laws placed on visits to the Oracle specifically say two.”
At this Erik rolled his eyes and muttered something as he glanced over at Akira. “It wasn’t exactly how we planned on it happening, it just turned into a mess when she wanted to come along.” He said as he folded his arms and jerked his thumb at her.
“Well excuse me, but I wasn’t exactly aware that you and Riku were going to run off the pre-planned tour and wander off on your own.” she quickly retorted.
As the two faced off and sparks flew between them, the Guado gave a stressed-sounding groan and turned to face them. “Please, please do not argue here, I simply can not allow it. You’ll anger her.”
Erik and Akira sighed and folded their arms while eyeing each other. “Fine.” They angrily answered.
Riku sighed and sat down on the ground while watching the Guado climb up and open the trapdoor, and for a moment his heart pounded. He wasn’t even sure of what he was supposed to ask her, he just knew that for some reason Erik had dragged him in here. “Why are we here, exactly?” he asked, turning to look at his silently fuming companions.
“I have something I want to ask her... and you can ask her about this stupid quest we’re on, like... ‘what the freak am I supposed to do now?’. Besides Ans.... I mean, just trust me on this one, I know we’re supposed to be here.”
“And Tristen and every other Guado responsible for keeping the Ancient Temple knows we’re not.”
“Akira, shut up!”
“You shut up!”
“Both of you shut up!” Riku snarled, standing up and facing both of them.
The other two quickly fell silent and turned to look at him, both afraid to say another word. As soon as Riku had settled back down, the trapdoor opened and they could hear the Guado’s voice beckoning them. “Now I don’t want either of you to say a single word, not until I know what’s going on. Got it?”
“Yes, sir.” both answered him, and they silently followed him up the ladder.
Erik’s heart began to pound in his chest as he placed his hands on the floor above the trapdoor and easily pulled himself out. The first thing he noticed was the small fireplace in the corner, a crackling fire keeping the room quite comfortably warm. He pulled himself up from the wooden-paneled floor and stood up, and let his eyes travel around the room. On one side of the room there was a small but elegant bed, decorated with veils and drapes, covered with a great down comforter and feather pillows. There was a beautiful painting of a mountain in the dawn’s light hanging over the fireplace, and there were various vases of flowers on the mantle. There was also a table set with two chairs, obviously for eating and what-not, and there was a small couch upholstered with a blue velvet material, sitting directly in front of a large window. There was a figure sitting there, facing backwards, arms folded over the back of the couch as it gazed out the window. It was covered from head to foot with a plain, off-white dress, and a hood was pulled up over its head. “Hello.” the figure spoke with a soft, young feminine voice, and turned to look at them.
The Oracle’s three visitors furrowed their eyebrows in question and glanced at each other upon seeing that even her face was concealed by what resembled a bridal veil. “I see that instead of pertaining to the rules, three have come before me to ask for my insight.” she commented, stepping forward.
“I am most sorry m’lady, but there was no stopping them. The silver-haired boy, Riku is his name, he is of utmost importance.”
“Ah yes, Riku, the hero of the legend Nakineiri Itami... the same legend that had me locked up for eternity in this tower. At least, until the hero arrived to conquer sin, so that I might be freed and live a life free of my ability. He is very important, both to me and the rest of the Planet.”
Riku shivered at cooly spoken words, and looked down at his feet as she stopped to stand in front of him. Even though he couldn’t see her face, he could sense that she was pensive, and her gaze pierced through him, scouring his mind. “I.... I don’t understand any of this, I don’t know what I’m supposed to do or where my path will lead me.”
“Patience, since your answer will take much time to give, you will be last.” With that she stepped away from him and approached Akira. “And as for you, what would you wish to ask of me, Akirame?”
Akira raised her head and boldly attempted to meet her questioner’s gaze. “I... don’t have a question. At least, just not yet.”
“I see... you are the kind of soul that does not wish to be told of their future, for they fear what they might learn. You would rather you discover your path as it leads you, to bear one hard-learned lesson at a time. It is the way to live, if one wishes to become wise of their own accord. You have your courage, and you have your love, Akirame.”
Akira nodded in response, and then instinctively lowered her head, as if bowing out of respect.
“And you...” the Oracle’s voice became soft with awe, yet there was excitement as well. “You came, just as I dreamt.”
Erik glanced around and raised an eyebrow. “Um.. That’ll happen to ya a lot when you can see the future.”
Riku and Akira bit their lips and the Guado cringed, both wondering how Erik could speak like that in front of someone so... seemingly sacred and revered. To their surprise, the Oracle softly laughed. “Yes, just as I imagined you, a youth with no respect for the sacred.. Erik, I have awaited your arrival for so long. I have never looked forward to a single moment as much as I have this one.”
“M’lady, what is it that you speak of? This boy is no more than a normal, common person. Surely you would be more interested in Riku?”
“You do not understand, Tremere... I have dreamt about Erik for a long time now. Riku is important to the Planet, but Erik concerns only me.” And she reached up and took hold of the corner of her veil, as if to remove it.
“But m’lady, Serena! You musn’t remove your veil, you know what will happen if you do!” Tremere objected, stepping forward to stop her.
“Tremere, my most faithful caretaker, I have lived in the confines of laws and this tower for a thousand years. I have had many tend to me before you, and they have all reminded me of what should happen if I were to reveal my face to anyone. If you would, please escort the other two out of the tower and give them something to eat, I have private matters to attend to with Erik here.”
Tremere gave another soft, stressed sounding groan and shook his head. “Are you sure?”
“Yes, I am very sure.”
With that the Guado gave a sigh and turned to Akira and Riku. “I am sorry, but the Oracle’s wishes must be fulfilled. You’ll have to come with me.”
“But I don’t have time for this!” Riku objected, curling his hands into fists.
“Riku, time is all you have here.” The Oracle softly told him, looking over at him. Once they had been (rather reluctantly) escorted out, she turned to look at Erik again. “At last, I am finally able to meet you in person. I have dreamt of you, seen your entire life as if I were there to watch it happen. I have never had such visions before, and at last I realize their significance.”
Erik gulped and nervously darted his eyes around the room. “What makes me so special?”
“You don’t remember your past, what made you what you are now, but I do. I have seen all of it, and I’ve tried to show you before... but you were too afraid.”
At this he bit his lip and took a step back. “I’m not sure if I really want to know anymore.”
“You have to eventually Erik, you’ll never be free or understand anything if you don’t know the truth.” And with that she took another step forward to close the distance between him, causing him to nervously dart his eyes around the room in search of an escape.
“That painting...” he muttered, quickly avoiding her and stepping towards the fireplace. “Mountain looks familiar.” He added, scrutinizing the oil painting, searching the blue mountain with pink-tinted snow caps and the flat, flower-sprinkled field that stretched out over the landscape. As he slowly began losing himself in the near-perfect details, he could almost feel the cold morning breeze running over his skin as he looked up at the sky of aqua, lemon, tangerine and hot pink, accented by the purple and grey clouds that hung in a halo around the mountain’s peak.
The Oracle couldn’t help but smile under her veil as she stepped up behind him to look up at the painting over his left shoulder. “It’s Mount Gagazet, home to the Ronso, the greatest warriors on the Planet. It’s also the highest mountain in the Hiyashi mountain range. This painting is a scene from the field just outside of Winhill.”
“Should’ve figured... what else would the stranger obsessed with you hang on their wall other than paintings of your childhood memories. The thing I can’t figure out is why I’m not in there. Your dreams, were you following me or did you just see everything from my point of view?” he coldly shoved back in her face, folding his arms as he turned his head to look at her.
It was a wonder that she did not react violently to his unending display of unwillingness and cruelty, and simply shove him out the open window. Instead she remained calm and patient, and stepped up to touch the painting, letting her fingers rest over the shadow of a tall elm tree. “You’re right there, just out of view. You had fled there out of fear, crying and trembling, cursing your father’s name. Watching the sunrise, filled with so much grief, burning hatred and maddening fear. Only five years old, and he had nearly beaten you within an inch of your life–”
Something inside Erik snapped, and he spun around so fast and unexpectedly, she had no time to react before his hand was gripping her throat, forcing her head back as he let his fingers dig into her neck. “Stop fucking with my head!” He bitterly screamed at her, and the tension in his arm caused it to quiver. “You can’t tell me anything, you don’t know what happened to me!”
Her veil had been knocked askew by his sudden lunge, slipping down to reveal a pair of shockingly blue eyes set in flawless, nearly albino skin, her dark, finely arched eyebrows raised in surprise as her eyes further widened in fear. A single tear was forced out of the corner of her eye and made a burning trail down her cheek as she brought a gloved hand up to grip his wrist, her lips trembling as she silently pleaded to him to not end her life. As she stared up into his furious, hate-darkened yet fearful eyes, her vision flashed a different image, and she found herself looking at an almost identical face, but this one was older, unshaven, and framed with lank, chin-length gold waves, and the eyes were bloodshot, making their ice blue color have an unearthly glow. In them she could see nothing but the blank, smothering affect of alcohol. The face’s owner continued to take deep, heaving breaths and their reeking, tobacco scented breath choked her.
With the blink of an eye the sudden image fleeted, and already Erik was trembling and his grip was failing as hot tears flooded his eyes. “I’ll kill you for making me remember what he did to me.” he softly threatened with a thick, faltering voice, and his arm jerked, causing his palm to put pressure on her windpipe as she was pushed backwards.
“Let go, Erik... please don’t be like Eugene, don’t harm me for trying to help you.”
“Help me?” He asked, his voice cracking as it raised in question, and the tears spilled over as he blinked. “How is any of this helping me? All I ever wanted to do was forget everything that ever happened to me as a kid, and live a normal life at Balamb Garden with my friends!”
“But how could you ever be happy, living a delusional life, with every single raised voice and harsh word triggering flashbacks and putting you into a catatonic state for hours?! For Hyne’s sake, Erik, you’re killing yourself! Let me go now, I don’t want to have to hurt you!”
He ignored her plea and instead regained his strength and squeezed her neck tighter, and she gave a sigh and regretfully closed her eyes. Suddenly he yelped and she was thrust backwards and fell to the floor as he jerked his hand back as if it had been burnt. Dizzily he stumbled backwards until his back hit the wall, and slowly he slid down to the floor as he was left weak after she had sapped almost all of his energy. He took in a deep breath, and choked on his tears as he let out a sob and brought his legs up against his chest and buried his face in his knees. He made no attempt to rebuke her as she kneeled down beside him and pulled him close, and put her hand on his cheek, making him lay his head on her chest as she reached up with her other hand and quickly ripped the veil away from her face, and took the hem of her hood in her hand and pulled it back. “I’m so sorry, Erik, you gave me no choice. You have to rest now, try and regain control of yourself.”
“Why are you torturing me like this?” He forced out between gasping breaths, and felt her fingers stroke the side of his face. Instead of irritating him like it should, her touch calmed him and helped him regain himself. Finally the intense headache that pounded in his forehead ebbed away, and he could hear her heartbeat over the sound of his own blood rushing through his head.
“Because I want to help you.” she softly answered once he had become calm.
“Why would you want to help someone you don’t even know?”
“Because I’m deeply in love with him.”