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In the span of at least one hour by the twilight's mournful eve, the battle was soon finished as those remaining had either been forced to submit out of fearful surrender or simply fleed the city itself. The last iron carriages had been vacated or simply twisted beyond all repair now left to be useless scrap, as people began trying to deal with the fires that popped up around the city and cathedral. Those who had gone beneath to the cellars now emerged looking upon the ruins of their home, half-decimated to a smouldering post-apocalyptic setting. A form of magic that involved sucking the wind out of the cathedral's front hall was the only way they managed to stifle the flames of the crashed ship's generator as slowly the electrical sparks began to dwindle. The night was still present as the cold began to set in with the absence of flames as all the people slowly gathered along with those who had been captured from Margaret's forces. Carefully the people began to try their best in extricating the Broken Petal from the old front of the cathedral, or at the very least trying to get rid of the more dangerous parts of it to not have it explode or crumble in the midst of their sleep that would come soon. The enemies that had surrendered were fully stripped of their weaponry and tools as they were sent to the prison of the city, an old stone fort locked fully in that was kept separately far in a bleak corner of Lea Monde. The members of Clan Koridai, along with Fochs, Vikhsen, Belle and Lu sat with each other around a fire that still burned as they all exchanged stories briefly in their best words, with stifling tears amongst even the best of them from the harsh battle. James rubbed his eyes still feeling the dread of the demon's influence, whilst Fayne and Kruz sat quivering beside each other on the brink of each other's mortality after bearing through the past week. Navarro was being checked over by Dahlia constantly as the moogle coughed feeling a wincing from her wounds. Baldwin received the most looks from all of them, having turned the battle to its end but none of the city ever knew. He never spoke about it until the clan would be on its own as he watched Belle and Lu sleep with troubled fits restlessly, a bandaged blindfold wrapped firmly over the little nu-mou's eyes which stopped bleeding at least. Fochs gave his own final report with a deep sigh. "Sixteen of our Dire crew...Awuhl suffered a broken limb, Adhur lost a foot and I saw...Bajher." His beloved looked tearfully from beneath her mask. "He wasn't-...the wounds were too great, h-he managed to last to the......sorry." "We will gather our dead," said Fayne solemnly, "and I sszhall perform the lasszht ritesszh if need be for your people." "Thank you, father. ...that steed you were on, James." "Hmm?" replied James looking up. "He was...defending his body still, I'm surprised that he wasn't killed with him." "He's still alive?" "I rounded up your flock," said Vikhsen, "and took them back towards the stables to be rested after the battle. Cadbury lost part of his left wing but I am certain we can give him something to counterbalance." "Cadbury's like me," replied James with a small pride inside him, "he's very difficult to deal with." "Hm, you understand finally," murmured Navarro. "That why you chose him for me?" "Yes, kupo. You knew what he was like-a-aaah." "Sorry," mumbled Dahlia. "I-it's fine...nnngh." "You shouldn't have left the infirmary what were you thinking?" "I was hardly useful within it." "You had me worried sick." "I know. I'm sorry." "...I'm sorry too." "For what?" "...I kissed you." The eyes turned to both of them in the bleak kindling as Dahlia confessed all she could, her hands placing over her heart. "While you were still recuperating...I love you. I've loved you almost ever since we first met, I know that sounds so stupid and trite like some romance trash but i-i-it wasn't my choice." "Dahlia-" "No, please. Please I need to-I cannot think, if I think then I will stop myself and this will never come again, I kissed you when you were unconscious because I was too afraid to hear you say anything to me. I know...th-that it was wrong and cowardly a-a-and frankly unwarranted harassment s-so if you want to reject me you have EVERY right-" "I will not reject you." "-and you can go with...a-a-anyone you...wait...what?" "I am not an idiot, kupo. I've known you plenty enough to know you had desires for me, and I admit...I was not certain about mine as well." "You...y-y-you are not joking?" "I never joke." She looked at her with dead serious glint as she nodded smirking from a deep sense of shame. "But I am not certain if I have those same feelings for you. I respect you, I adore you as a friend kupo. But I am not sure if I love you the same way you desire me, but I am not against it." "Y-you're not?!" "Remember what I said during our initial confrontation concerning Baldwin and James' differing opinions?" "D-don't bring that uuuup," whimpered Baldwin rubbing his neck. "I literally do not care. About any of this romantic business, I never had any intrigue of sorts into pursuing any of it." A look of frustration came over Kruz's face as slowly he passed a coin of 200 gil over towards James who briefly pocketed it nodding. "But that does not mean I never had any desires for it in my whole life, kupo." He passed the coin back bitterly as Kruz pumped his fist quietly beside his leg. "I just simply never found the right person to initiate it with. I do not lust for random people, I never had a relationship, it is completely a new field for me and, frankly...I never thought anyone would be interested in me that way." "How could they not?" replied Dahlia earnestly. "You're a strong, bold, intelligent person." "Some may find that too overempowering." "Not me. I always admired you for it and I...wish I could be like you sometimes but I was just so...afraid of being rejected." "Then let us take that fear away from you now, kupo." "Wh-what?" In an instant of certainty Navarro pressed her lips to the nu-mou as she gasped hotly with excited buzz, squealing silently in shock and almost outburst with a pure sense of joy until the moogle added: "If you try to kiss me again however when I am not awake, we are done kupo." "Y-y-y-y-yes, a-a-agreed, that was GREATLY disrespectful of me h-h-hoh gods I...I can't believe I...I'm so happy!" "Please, don't announce your emotions so obviously, we are but simply testing the waters of my first relationship." "Yes...that is it exactly, N-navarro." She simply rolled her eyes as Dahlia giggled with a fit of nerves before Fochs slowly stood up along with Vikhsen. "I need to check with my Clan, then we have to find ourselves someplace to sleep." "The Equesszhtrian mayhapsszh," answered Fayne, "it isszh a public housszhe, they have sszhome room available for at leasszht part of your crew." "That sounds good...could do with a drink." "I recommend the Elementsszh of Harmony...Baldwin knowsszh it well." "DON'T," warned James, "give any to Weezul, seriously, unless you plan to take her out fully so she can not sing." "We always plan to," said Vikhsen smirking, "you have to practically overdose her on spirits before you can completely send her off to sleep and end her act early." "Hahahaha, speaking from experience?" "The drinks we made in the forest are rather more...well-" "Illegal?" added Fochs with a wink. "Hmhmhmhm...helps to make the nights pass." "Thank you for coming with us," replied Kruz. "I really appreciate you for being here." "We owe it to Clan Koridai to repay them, after having set us free I think this is only fair. I'll see you before we leave after the dawn rises." "Same to you...Fochs."

The raptor slowly stood to give a handshake to the wolf-clad leader of the forest clan as they grinned nodding knowingly with respect. At least James hoped he grinned from whatever lied beneath the Wolf's red face as the couple took their leave. The clan all looked at each other with uncertainty as the light gently flickered upon their eyes hoping for one of them to speak before themselves, but it was Lu that broke the silence with her fitful reminiscence of that fateful battle. Fayne shook his head sighing poorly. "What poor fate sszhould have come for thesszhe children?" "I should have been there," said FG, "I could have been able to help them." "I did what I could," replied the moogle, "but even if...I say that, I feel it wasn't enough, kupo. A child's life is too precious to waste." "We'll help them," said Baldwin solemnly, "we have the church sszhtill, they couldn't take that from usszh no matter how hard they could, it'sszh sszhtanding desszhpite everything. The people can help them through, we all sszhuffered losszh thisszh day." "I am sorry for...Mariel." "I know. Thank you." "But you..." Dahlia stopped herself until Baldwin looked at her. "How...um..." "Mother...sszhe gave hersszhelf to me." "Really? ...I...I-i-i noticed that she-" "Sszhe did. It'sszh...kind of weird to talk about it." "We're all here now...this is as good as anytime to talk about it." "If you wanna hear it...but...Dahlia." He turned fully towards the nu-mou as he rubbed his arm nervously. "I'm...sszhorry. For everything I sszhaid about you, even if I never knew, I am deeply sszhorry for ever hurting you and Fayne. I know that you never wanted to be with me that way but...I would like to have you at leasszht for a friend?" Whether it was exhaustion or riding on the relief of being with Navarro that made her forgive him completely, she herself did not know. But she was glad she did, for this was a night to release one's grudges fully. "I would like to be your friend too, Baldwin. I forgive you." "Thank you...and um...that, meansszh you too." Turning next towards Fayne and Kruz the monk cast his eyes downwards. "I'm sszhorry Fayne." Fayne did the same as him as Baldwin continued. "Sszhe told me, in my mind before I sszhtarted going that sszhe could not bring me back...but I could sszhtill be with you, like thisszh." "You really are...infected by the Dark, aren't you?" "Looksszh like it. Hhheh...are you frightened, bro?" "U-u-um...not...m-more like...overwhelmed frankly." "Hhhehehe...funny, here I wasszh worrying about you ranting about sszhome disszheasszhe, and here I am fuckin' cursszhed with the Dark. You know maybe thisszh isszh like karma." "No, Baldwin no thisszh isszh NOT karma, you do not desszherve any of thisszh." "No Fayne." The monk put his hand up to the cleric's lips. "I told you I would do anything to keep you sszhafe. Turnsszh out I kept true to that even when my sszhoul isszh gone from me. Now I HAVE to keep you sszhafe, along with all of Lea Monde onsszhe it'sszh rebuilt." "I-i-i...I guesszh you are right. Baldwin." "Yeah?" "...I love you, my brother." He came forwards to tightly hug his brother dearly, arms wrapped around his thick neck as Baldwin cuddled him closely with a soft moan of bliss. Fayne felt a warmth twitch in his heart despite something strange about Baldwin that made his breath rattle sharply from his throat. "H-hhhhh! G-godsszh you...you are practically frozzzhen!" "Really? ...mother did warn me about the cold, remember that one time you got pneumonia back when you were like...twenty-sszheven?" "I remember...godsszh that winter wasszh evil." "That'sszh what thisszh feelsszh like, 'sszhept my heart sszhtopped beating...I can't feel it now, and my lungs, look." With deep breath he exhaled sharply, showing that despite the cold of winter amidst the flames dying out there came not a single cloud of air from his lips as Fayne stood staring in shock. "Never really knew mother had alwaysszh been...you know." "I think...doesszh that mean you are-" "Dead? Technically, I mean I've got no sszhoul anymore, that makesszh me damned forever and never leaving thisszh sszhity ever." "I wasszh not planning on going anywhere." "What?" The cleric put a hand on his shoulder smiling with a raw effort to not tremble with anxiety. "W-we...we can work out where our life isszh going later." "Hhhehehehe...good, you're a molly and I'm a fucking revenant, we both really sszhcrewed up didn't we?" "...well, I alwaysszh did call you brainlesszh." Fayne smirked but Baldwin simply looked shocked in disbelief putting a hand to his heart. "...wow." "Wh-what?" "Fucking...wow, bro, here I am trying to be cool about all thisszh an' you go right ahead an' fucking insszhult me, I jusszht died bro, what the fuck?!" "I-i-i-i didn't mean-...o-oh godsszh Baldwin I wasszhn't-" "Hhhehehehe." Baldwin smirked a shit-eating grin and winked at the cleric who sniffed deeply before the playful slightly-too-hard tap of his staff on the monk's thick head making him cackle with a slight throb. "Pfffft h-haha-owww!" "You...godforsszhaken idiot!" "Hhhhhehehehehe, but I'm YOUR godforsszhaken idiot." "Unfortunately...you sszhtupid molly." "HHHHAH! For onsszhe you're actually right about that!" "Pfffft hhahahahaha, I am aren't I?!" "That remindsszh me, I uh-...have sszhome thingsszh I wanna asszhk you about that-" "Do not worry about that now." "B-but...if...if I wasszh really like that, I mean...godsszh I feel terrible about everything I did, t-talking about all that sszhit, that makesszh feel even worsszhe!" "I know...I'm sszhorry for not telling you Baldwin but I...I wasszh worried you would not believe me and...accusszhe me of sszhlandering you." "Heh...yeah I...kinda wasszh an asszhole when I wasszh younger. Lisszhten, Fayne." The monk clasped the bishop's hands tightly staring into his eyes with bold piercing truth. "I wanna make it up to you, okay? No more hiding sszhtuff from now on, you and me, we're gonna live a happy life, you're gonna be with Kruzzh asszh well, I'll make up for everything I sszhaid to you." "Baldwin...a-a-after all you have gone through I-" "No. I WANT to make up to you. I am sszhtill your brother, I mean I'm not technically but you wanted me asszh your brother...and I...well I've got no one elsszhe but you Fayne. Let'sszh...let'sszh make thisszh day the sszhtart of sszhomething new, for all of usszh, okay?" "Alright. Later though, for now let usszh enjoy our brief moment of resszhpite. I want...I want to remember thisszh moment before everything...my friend Baldwin." "Okay then...my brother Fayne." The two hugged once more with feeling as the tighter clasp of their chests pressed against each other before there came a tender kiss upon each other's cheeks, a fraternal one to reassure the other happily as Baldwin put his knuckles onto Fayne's skull to noogie him playfully. Kruz softly pulled out the dagger from his satchel that shined with Faram's light, gently handing it back to Fayne. "Told you you were smart." "Did it...work?" asked Fayne. "Purified everything...helped me out real good, thank you Fayne." "I will h-have to be careful with thisszh from now on." "You better be," replied Baldwin, "one touch o' that and I'm goin' up in sszhmoke!" "D-don't talk like that pleasszhe!" "Jusszht sszhaying bro, that thing'sszh looking reaaaal wicked at me all of a sszhudden." The monk reared back playfully looking submissive as Fayne rolled his eyes pocketing his blade neatly back into its pocket within his robe. With the three reptiles playfully jibing each other, Navarro turned towards the raptor with a look of worry upon her face. "You...are more pale than I last saw you, kupo." "I know...this demon's starting to get to me." "I fought as best I could...you...you called my name didn't you, just before the demon could attack me?" "Was it...was that something I did? I wasn't sure, I wanted to, I saw you about to get killed like a brief flash of something while I was asleep, technically...I saw him taking me over and I saw you...I did everything I could, I screamed the best I could trying to hope-" "I heard you." She put a hand on his leg giving a kind nod. "Thank you James. You are of greater strength than I ever could imagine you." "...wow, you must be fucking sick." "WH-what?!" "Dahlia you might wanna step up on that medicine I think she's turning feverish, that was a compliment!" "Y-you...stubborn oafish-" "Thank you." He stopped her from giving a tirade of insult as he put his left hand on hers. "I'm sorry for being an ass before on...anything." "Hm...very well but I mus-...your arm." "Huh?" "Your left...arm looks so...unusual."

The raptor looked down at where the skin, even artificial, had gone like the rest of his body revealing the inner series of tubes, the kremling chuckling with a wolf-whistle of approval. "Niiiiice guns." "Um...th-thanks?" "What IS that?" asked Dahlia. "Is that mechanical?!" "Woah woah woah hold up," replied Baldwin, "you had a fake left ARM the whole time and you never talk about it?!" "I-i-i had no reason to!" cried FG. "Other than the fact it'sszh a fucking left arm!" "I never talk about my foot," added Fayne, "why sszhould he ever talk about hisszh arm?!" "I KNOW about your foot, at leasszht I know about and Kruzzh with hisszh hook!" "What's wrong with my hook?!" argued Kruz. "NOTHING!" "What are you, some kind of ableist Baldwin?! Cuz I'm not putting up with that shit!" "I-i-i-i got no problem with amputeesszh come on, my BROTHER isszh one, I'm jusszht a little sszhurprisszhed to find out Jamesszh isszh one too!" "Oh I've known for ages!" "WHAT?!" shouted Baldwin. "Why didn't you sszhay anything?!" "The fuck am I going to tell you? Just walk up to you at the bar like 'hey Baldwin you wanna drink, by the way your brother's my boyfriend and your leader's got a fake left arm, so it's my round right?' I mean-" "Well not like THAT obviousszhly!" "I wouldn't say that," mumbled Dahlia sneakily, "you always do have to be rather blunt." "Oh don't YOU sszhtart!" "What?! I am simply saying you are a very forward upfront individual!" "She is right Baldwin," regarded FG, "I mean you do have to be pretty obvious about stuff." "W-W-WHATEVER JUSSZHT _tell me about the arm for fuck'sszh SSZHAKE! _" Trembling darkness laced itself through Baldwin as his eyes glowered thickly before he restrained himself, smirking shyly with embarrassment as everyone leaned away from him like magnetic repulsion. "Th-that isszh, if that'sszh...okay with you, I mean." "Well...I dunno, I mean it just feels like even more of a downer after all we've been through-" "Hey." He looked up at Kruz who simply flexed his left arm with stumped end. "You got a hand at least so let's not split hairs over it alright? Come on let's hear it, you can keep it short if you like I mean I told you how I lost mine-" "Shotgun." The kremling looked over with a wince. "It was a shotgun...like a heavy gun that just blew the whole thing right off my shoulder." "Sszhit," murmured Baldwin, "um...s-sszhorry bosszh." "It's alright...didn't hurt as much as watching a friend of mine die next to me when it happened. I did my best to save her and I well...I used to feel it was my fault that she died because I dragged her all over the place but the thing is...she wanted to. She said to me in her last moments that she had the best fun she ever had with me, felt like she made a difference out there, not because I was the one taking her to all those different places, she was taking me really...but because I was there to be with her and support her...I learned to stop regretting" Kruz said nothing, his mouth slightly agasp trying to find words as the others looked crestfallen upon him. They understood, each and everyone of them understood but instead of hearing an acceptance of some sort, he felt somebody wrap their arms around his lower waist. He looked down staring towards Lu as she closed her eyes tightly grabbing on to hug James feebly with the words. "I'm sorry." "...wha?" "About...yer friend, you said that...she died. I lost a friend too." "I know...Navarro told me. Come here..." He slowly pulled her up into his lap as the two hugged, feeling her tears sweetly drip onto his chest as he felt her heartbeat. Stroking the back of her head she began to calm down in his warmth as the rest of his clan looked fondly on at their leader soothing the girl's state until she fell asleep once again. Eventually they took the two children now sleeping back towards the cathedral where the staff clergy had managed to open up safe places of the church that still stood to allow people in, giving the girls to their carer who looked on with pity. He nodded solemnly as slowly the group walked away until a voice cried out: "IT'S GONE!" They turned with a sense of dread coming to as they saw Cid run towards them. "IT'S GONE, S-SOMEBODY STOLE MY SKIFF AN' JUST RAN OFF!" "What?!" answered Kruz. "S-sum guy, hangin' around one of our skiffs yanno fer patrol routes an' such, he had like a box underneath his arm like he wuz stealin' sumthin' an' trust me, I know a thief when I see one! I know all the tactics!" "A thief?! With what?" "Looked like sum kinda glass case with stones inside it, he fuckin' CLOCKED me right on the nose before he took off on one of the skiffs, just LITERALLY stole it right under my nose!" "A box with stones?" The dread turned greater between them as James cautiously asked: "What did this person look like?" "H-he was an old nu-mou, with a moustache like sum kinda college professor-" "ENOCH!" Dahlia shrieked with a panic in her breast. "Th-that was Enoch, definitely!" "He got the fucking relicsszh," murmured Baldwin, "you...REALLY!? F-fucking REALLY!? Firsszht he fucking sszhootsszh, me now he takesszh sszhit from my home, FUCK thisszh guy!" "Wh-what do we do?!" cried Fayne. "Well we're not letting him jusszht get away!" "WHAT?! But we are all fatigued, thisszh entire night a-a-a-a-you have much greater problemsszh-" "I'll go." James stood defiant walking forwards. "You can stay back here if you want, but I have to go deal with this." "You can't! Jamesszh you-...you cannot-" "Somebody has to, we didn't let half this city go down just so they all could get away with it, Margaret's dead thanks to Navarro and Lu but we have to stop Enoch from whatever he's planning." "You look like sszhit," said Baldwin, "I mean, I feel like it, but you LOOK like how I feel." "I'll be fine." "You won't." The kremling put his hand on FG's shoulder seeing him slightly droop from exhaustion. "That's why I'm coming with you." "K-KRUZZH!" stammered Fayne. "You...d-d-don't encourage him!" "You're welcome to join Fayne." "I-i-i-i...what...what do we-I know we have to sszhtop him but we are all in great sszhtrife-" "You have to stop him," said Navarro, "James is right, kupo. We cannot let him escape with what he was after, who knows what great portents now await, I shall join you." "DON'T you dare!" Dahlia pressed her hand on the moogle's chest. "YOU are not going anywhere, you are far too wounded." "You are not protesting to James." "You are actually bleeding right now, you are missing literally an entire organ-" "Don't." She pressed a finger to the nu-mou's lips bitterly as she shook literally from hot fear down her neck. "Do NOT...remind me. I am...v-very well aware of how empty I feel, but I can still fight, kupo." "No you cannot, I am putting my foot down Navarro, as chief medic and white mage of this clan I am taking full authority to tell you that you are not well enough to go!" "...hm. That is a good point, you are our chief medic. What about James?" The nu-mou turned towards him as she looked over him cautiously, peering into his eyes as they trailed following her finger in front of them. She noted the crusted blood on his face asking: "Tell me the truth. How are you feeling, any wounds?" "No," replied FG, "just really tired. More exhausted than anything, like fatigue." "Hmmm...but you are bleeding from your-" "I know. But that's not really a physical thing." "It's the demon. I know. Let me just-" "Dahlia." She turned towards the moogle staring up at her, clasping her waist with firm breathing. "Go with James." "Wh-what?!" "If part of our clan is planning to go then at least one of us must lead, kupo. As you said, I am not...physically capable and despite James' spiritual exhaustion, he is much more able to stand than I could and to be fair that fight with Margaret has...r-rather winded me." "B-but I...I want someone to check on you-" "There are plenty of staff in Lea Monde that can help me, and I am at least standing now, kupo. Most of my healing was done already whilst I was sleeping, I just need to rest more. You have to stop Enoch, our clan needs you alongside not only because of your healing prowess but also because of your latent esper in case something dreadful happens upon them. I will stay here and heal myself as you request, but only if you go with them, kupo." "Are you...certain of that?" "I am. I know you can keep our friends safe Dahlia." Feebly rubbing her fingers with a tension rising in her chest, she asked softly: "C-can I...can I kiss you before I leave?" A simple nod was all she had given before the two pressed lips tenderly against each other, sweet and gentle as their hands pressed firmly to the other's head clasping. It was not a kiss of farewell, but more a kiss of reunion as Dahlia's hot cheeks began to flush even more gasping as they parted. The moogle nodded once more saying: "I will await your return...and once you do, we can start trying our um...r-relationship, kupo." "I would like that. I just want to try, a-at least." "I would like that too...Dahlia." Between looks of bashfulness between the ladies, Kruz turned towards the two bangaas asking: "Whoever's coming with, I have to go stop Enoch." "I am coming with you," said Fayne. "Are you sure about that? You've had a rough night, there are people here that can use you." "I am not tired, physszhically I am capable and desszhpite my rather stresszhful comprehensszhion I am more than capable of being your healer if needed. I am tired of being in thisszh war-torn plasszhe, I need to be able to do sszhomething." "Fayne-" "No. I am tired of moping around being usszhelesszh, I am a prelate of the church and a defender of the Light of Kiltia, but I am alsszho part of thisszh clan, which may I add you are technically not, therefore I have more right than you to perform my duty for the people of Ivalisszhe! But I want you to be with me againsszht anything we come to. Baldwin..." He turned towards his brother monk who smiled with expectant sadness. "Will you come too?" "...I'm...I'm sszhorry Fayne." "Wh-what?" "Remember what mother sszhaid about being able to control the Dark? I cannot leave Lea Monde." "Wh-wha...oh...oh no." "That meansszh wherever you wanna go, I'm gonna be jusszht sszhtuck here forever, alwaysszh...hoping to keep the old sszhity sszhafe from thisszh pale Dark that lurksszh beneath. I knew what I wasszh getting into, I kind of talked to mother about it a lot and...well...sszhe couldn't give me much of a talk on how it worksszh but I have my own abilitiesszh...I cannot leave. Fayne." Baldwin put a hand on the bishop's shoulder smiling kindly from his burnt left eye. "Break Enoch'sszh fasszhe for me." "Y-y-you want me to go?" "You're right, you're not gonna be moping anymore an' if you're with Kruzzh then I know you'll be sszhafe. He promisszhed me that he would." "I did," said the kremling, "and I won't be breaking it ever, I assure you." "Damn right...cuzzh you know I got even more power to make sszhure that you don't." "Khheheheh...alright, that leaves only one question. Cid?" His captain turned towards him with a stern look asking: "How do we track Enoch to wherever he's going?" "I already got it covered," said Cid. "The skiffs have a magnetic tracker on them, I can get you a map from Rzepka where he'll be able to sense the other ship." "Wait...how can he do that?" "You really think the best mapmaker in Ivalice combined with the best engineer didn't think of sumthin' to track ships? See this is why there's always a Cid, to get you outta dumb shit like this now come on!"

The castle had long since been deserted by its former inhabitants, alone upon its central rock formation as they landed their skiff upon the airship docking point bracing themselves to charge in. Kruz, Fayne, James and Dahlia stood firm before the gates now opened already as if beckoning them to enter, the twilight hour of Ivalice already settling in above their heads. A clear rose pink sky illuminated the castle ruins as Cid landed the skiff along with Rzepka always charting the map. A certain aura pale like the moon circled around the castle's main tower like a halo. "You sure this is it?!" asked the engineer. "The magnetiser comes to here," said the cartographer, "no other place it can be!" "Wait here for us," said their captain, "if we're not back in two hours, then leave and get back to Lea Monde!" "And if something happens before then?!" "Get to a safe distance and watch for us.! "Aye-aye captain!" With a salute given, the two crew members watched and waited as their captain along with three people of Clan Koridai marched in with determined footsteps, finding nothing out of the ordinary amongst old and bleakest castle walls, not even a guard to come greet them by a sword or spear upon their hands. They already knew which way to head on from the pulsing glint of the aura from the central fortress' main tower as they ascended through bedrooms and halls amongst empty tables and cracked mirrors. Soon they reached towards the throne room long forgotten with wrought torn carpets and overturned grand seat as they saw the stairway beyond it, that lead on to the greatest height of the lone mysterious castle. It was the end of their journey beyond those few steps as they felt a power emanating coldly from above with a look to each other. The raptor braced himself with scissors ready as they all gripped their staffs and blades silently nodding with no regrets to give as they ascended towards the final confrontation. A closed room without windows to be seen through containing only one single planetarium reaching twenty feet tall, with seven golden rings each with its own planet rotating in a fixed orbit, the rings themselves spinning westwards, east, south, north or diagonal all independently around a central sun. Enoch stood before the planetarium, watching the the planetary alignments slowly shift, slowly locking themselves into place. Before they could even stop him, the seven rings fixed into a single giant golden gate that somehow managed to open in the very middle of it. The gateway unlocked with a trembling of the world as the castle began rumbling all around to reveal a magnificent white light burning deep into the abyss. It seemed to fade into darkness like a long infinite passage of the soul, howling throughout eternity. James almost seemed to recognise that sound, the torrential gasp of existence between worlds and dimensions. "ENOCH!" Hearing the voice of Dahlia from behind him he turned slowly with the two stones wrapped in a small case underneath his arm as he gave a pitiful look. He did not even question how they found him as he spoke with grief. "...I'm sorry." "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" "I'm fixing our mistake." "What?!" "A mistake that my clan have been committed to for at least the entirety of your stay in Ivalice. Yes, I am aware of you James Campbell, and I dearly wish I had not been." "What is all this?!" shouted the white mage. "What god's mistake is this thing, th-this...p-portal!?! "It should not exist," replied Enoch, "it should not even be in this world, but here it is. All this, this entire castle is nothing but a memory of another verse...an existential mistake that I must be the one to correct." "Like you almosszht killed my brother for?!" snarled Fayne. A grievous look of pity came from the nu-mou male before he noticed something said. "Wait...a-a-almost? That means...that he did manage to-" "Barely. No thanksszh to you, you cowardly mongrel." "...thank the gods." A deep sigh of relief genuine from the old Thucydes as he spoke in defence for himself. "I never wanted to harm your brother. I'm sorry, I truly am, I simply did what I had to do and keep THESE things away from Margaret. If she managed to obtain her hands on them then I know we would all be doomed, she wanted to drive her ambition to great lofts to control Ivalice BUT I WANTED TO STOP HER!" "Why didn't you tell usszh then?! If you had sszhaid sszhomething, then we would all have-" "Would you truly believe me, after everything I had done to you, that I wanted to cast these stones from our world as a force of good to keep Ivalice safe? Would you have believed me?" "No," ranted Kruz, "we wouldn't have, and you know why? Because you're a COWARD! YOU could have done something and even dare stand up to her but all you did was stay in the back with a gun trying to look important." "I know I look the villain in this...so I will not argue. I just simply wish that you let me throw these damn stones into this abyss, and then all our problems shall be over." "What problems?! The ones YOU made?!" "YES THE ONES I MADE! I AM DOING MY BEST TO FIX THIS AND I KNOW YOU HATE ME FOR IT BUT I PROMISE YOU, I BESEECH YOU THAT IF I THROW THESE STONES COMPLETELY OUT OF OUR WORLD THEN EVERYTHING SHALL BE HEALED!" "How do you know that?" James walked forwards, his eyes turning sickly in the glint of existence before him with his weapon held up straight. "How do you know what this...thing is, what is this?" "It's a portal to another world. I know not where it is going but...something came through from it." "The stones?" "No. One of them almost hit Berniere from out of the sky and he...touched it, found it had given him, or really us a rather great sense of visionary prophecy. Things that could easily have come true were it not for our own intervention, and that is why I...we, had to come here perhaps almost a year ago." "Visions? Like um...predicting the future?" "Yes, I think, but it also told us to come here where we met a voice, of something rather infinite of its wisdom as some sort of...time master, he claimed to be." "Master? Time?" He turned his head towards Kruz who gave a nod of recognition before they approached as Enoch continued. "We all had our...visions and managed to stop but...then things turned out of control and I saw that these stones were part of some great beast's prophecy, allowing some sort of access point to our world like a...mark or tracker of sort." "And you wanna throw them back into the abyss?" "Correct, just...please let me do this. This portal shall close when time has passed within the eclipse of two existences. The one beyond this gate had said that he will come when an eclipse has occurred between our world and his. That time is now and it shall be for the next hour of our existence. Right here." "A whole...hour?" replied Dahlia. "But that is...much MUCH longer than any eclipse should be." "I-i-i do not understand either, you are right, normally they last only perhaps eight minutes at the very most but...things have a very bizarre sort of...transformation across existence." "You realise that even with your intentions you are part of a group that attacked a city. You are a terrorist, you have cost lives and you shall pay for them even after this so either come quietly and close this thing up or else I'll make you come by force." "I am prepared to pay for my duty," said Thucydes, "I will not shy from the conscience of society." "I hope you don't," said a voice behind Enoch. "Wh-what the- GHRRRK!"

He turned in time to see the sword plunging forth through his chest, piercing his heart powerfully enough to break through his back. A slender-tipped length bleeding beautifully down the nu-mou's back as Clan Koridai watched with shock before Enoch whimpered fitfully. "Wh-wh-wh-...wh-why...n-n-no...y-you can't, what have you-" "Forgive me," said the voice, "but you have a lot of things to answer for, Enoch." The blade pulled back allowing Enoch to fall completely onto his side as the clan gasped at who now stood before them, the case holding the two stones gently picked up before being put to the side carefully away from him. James was first to speak with his emotions now exhausted from the fatigue of his spirit asking: "What...what the fuck? What the fuck Berniere?" "I should ask you the same...demon." His eyes had been racked through sleepless nights, his fur unglossed and shedding a few places with a criminal look on his face. He looked more like a balding rat than the proud moogle he once had been and yet his voice was strangely calm. Almost too calm, like one who had come to witness a tragedy too great to ever speak having shut his emotions down as he spoke. Yet the more he spoke, the more his voice began to quiver with a needful urgency. "Ever since...I had been but a child I have always wanted to be the hero...inside a storybook, kupo." "Wh-what are you doing?!" cried Dahlia. "What are you-YOU KILLED HIM!" "A lone brave warrior against the hordes of evil, pulsing throughout this earth." The moogle did not sheathe his blade as he kept stance before them, slowly making his way to be in front of the portal as an obstacle before them as his voice turned tearful. "Since I was born, I refused to believe that cruelty and hatred would ever win through in the light of justice and good. But now...I do not even know what I fight for at this point. All I want...is for peace to exist upon all of Ivalice...even if that means..." He gripped his sword tighter until he felt the knuckle creak. "To undo everything that I have worked for. Do you know what this portal leads to? Hmm, James Campbell?" They said nothing in return. "An insane god where I was but victim to his mad whispers and soulless deed, kupo. My friends, formerly that is, we all had come apart by this great master of time or so he claimed to be as he mastered us like chess pieces. And in truth he was, for his great 'gift' to us in the form of this wretched stone of Sercia, that is the region we discovered it in, was what gave me the ability to see the future. But only when it wanted to, that is, whenever my life or those important to its own objective was in danger." "You," stammered Fayne, "you can predict the future? Enoch...mentioned that too, isszh that true?" "Yes, kupo. If you want evidence then I ask that you recall your brother in an argument readying himself to shoot your beloved by which I disarmed by hurling a knife into his hand. Why do you think I knew what he was about to do?" The cleric's face blanched with a hot pulse of fear in his veins. "...no. Th-that cannot be-no. You're lying, you are not to be trusszhted, B-baldwin would never have done-" "I can tell you now," continued Berniere, "he did not mean to ever do it. He would regret this in remorse, and both of you would have been far worse and torn apart by grief from his guilt. In another future of Ivalice Kruz would not be here...and you...you would have become so much worse in memoriam." "YOU'RE LYING! YOU'RE LYING SSZHUT UP, DON'T YOU DARE LIE TO ME!" "YOU FILTHY RAT!" ordered Kruz. "YOU have been nothing but a cagey fuck in all the time I have known you, now you're just INSANE!" "Was I insane when I fell into your lap, right before we escaped the mountain crumbling along with those three children? Was I insane when I gave Navarro that badge of steel which deflected the blow of THIS demon's blades from her heart?" "What?!" "Was I still bereaved from a fit of madness when I saw that Brunhart would be accused of murder, WRONGFULLY?! I've seen all of these happen before, every single death I have watched upon you all ever since our third meet and I have done EVERYTHING I CAN to prevent it, kupo!" "Are you saying you...no...n-no no you...that's..." Kruz rubbed the back of his neck trying to comprehend as all James could do was slowly reflect on every encounter he had met with Berniere. Something struck out as odd turning slowly back to him. "What about Joshua?" "What?!" cried the moogle. "That little bangaa boy who died...you couldn't save him, yet you knew exactly where he was and so you said that you knew Brunhart was innocent." "I...I-i-i-i..." Berniere began to twitch with panic burning up through him before he struggled to calm himself. "I do not know...I found...that the ability to predict became rather...selective of what it wanted. What it needed, and soon I realised that, the only reason I have been predicting all this...was so that the three of you could come here. What happened involving Joshua had no bearing on this, so it was not something I could predict. But there was something of Brunhart involving Roy that lead towards this, to make certain that he would not be here to interfere with things. At least...that is what I suspect." "Three?" asked Dahlia. "What do you mean...three, don't you mean four?" "No...I meant three. Not...including THIS demon." He pointed towards James with his sword as the nu-mou white mage stood forwards. "You...are in NO position to judge, you just murdered Enoch in cold blood!" "He almost murdered your friend, kupo." "He wasn't fighting back against you, you literally stabbed him through the heart without any trial or excuse, you call yourself a KNIGHT?!" "SHUT UP!" "At least Navarro admitted her mistake, she's not even a knight and SHE is more noble than you!" "WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU KNOW ABOUT NOBILITY YOU MURDEROUS WHORE?!" "_HOW DARE YOU! _" She braced herself with pulsating wrath through her, briefly restraining the esper in question on the end of its spiritual leash, her eyes burning to a darkened glint. "_You call yourself a knight, but I see a desperate boy begging to be a hero that he once was because he refuses to admit his mistake! _" "I......refuse to admit my mistake?"

The lone moogle walked forwards with a thousand-yard stare that pierced through them, not even afraid of Dahlia's wroth tormented before there came a simple chuckle dry from his lips. "I...in the company of a demon-possessed brat, a slave trader who bartered his soul, a bishop who would rather end his suffering before others and YOU responsible for the deaths of hundreds! BUT I ALONE...refuse to admit my mistake? No...no I have made mistakes. I made mistakes trying to follow this cursed relic, trying to come here, making my way up to this feckless display of astrological nonsense in the hope of making some big claim to my already boastful reputation, kupo. No...I am responsible for what will happen next. That is why I have you three...in order to fix my mistake." He stopped not more than thirty feet away from FG as he pointed back at him. "Except you. You...are the holocaust of Ivalice." "The fuck did you say?" snarled Kruz. "James...I have seen a future grim and I need to tell you this. You will want to go through that portal, for you have a desire to go back to your home. I understand this...and I can tell you...that if you go through that portal then you shall soon find that home but...you will also doom our world to an existence underneath a great and terrible master of Time itself. Your demon is rancorous, horrifying and as much as I want to absolve you of it I know that I cannot allow you to go through this portal, kupo." "Wait," asked FG, "you said it...you said that portal can take me home?" "I cannot lie. It will, at some point, but it will also sentence our world to this future where we now remain, where we now stand and all of this pain and agony that we have gone through over the last twelve months will still exist. I do not know what will happen if I am somehow able to prevent it, but I know it cannot possibly be any worse than this." "So...w-wait, I don't get it, if I go through that portal...all THIS will come true?" "Yes. That...is why my predictions have been happening, in order to make sure that we five would be here." "But...this is already the future." "We are dealing with a monster across Time itself, I would not think that it only works linear to him, kupo." "Who?! Who's this fucking monster, is it that anomaly, the one that's been after me?!" "No. He is of Space, I know because this master of Time told me such, they are different. He told me about you, an interesting glitch in existence never meant to be, one he cannot predict fully because of your anomaly 'friend' managing to distort its sense of reality and yet here we are..." Spreading his arms wide Lavant gave a false whimsical grin. "Standing beneath his soon-to-be grand entrance upon this unthinking world, kupo." "Berniere...I don't want to do this, and you know I want to stop anything from hurting this world any further." "I know." "But you also know...I need to get back home. If you tell me that portal is my only hope then there's no way I'm going to-" "I know. That's why I came to stop you." "What?" The hero of Clan Herne turned fully towards FG. "I have to stop you James Campbell. If you do not pass through that portal, then Ivalice is made a safer world and none of this will ever happen. More people will have been saved, your city will not be ruined, my friends will still be here and Roy...Roy might have still been here too." "Don't you fucking bring Roy into this." The raptor raised his scissors. "You're not blackmailing me with what-if's, I've been dealing with what-if's for a long time and you know I don't have long enough to live on regrets before this demon takes me, so I won't be persuaded to stop going. Not here, Berniere." "Consszhider thisszh," said Fayne trying to act as mediator, "if we had not come to thisszh point, you would not have known of Margaret'sszh dark intensszhionsszh and what if sszhe had become even greater a tragic threat? What if sszhomething had happened that would never have allowed me to become bonded with Kruzzh, or what of Navarro with Dahlia?" "Wh-what?!" asked Berniere. "Wh-what do you mean...Navarro and Dahlia?" "Did you not know? I thought your predictive piety would have told you about the love now blosszhoming between my two friendsszh dearly. YOUR true friend indeed, now are you willing to sszhacrifisszhe her firsszht opportunity of being complete with sszhomebody, in matrimony?" "It's true," said Dahlia. "I...I will return back to Navarro after this and we...sh-she did not say that we would be...she said she was willing to give it a try, she wanted to...be with someone and so she respects me after I have explained everything, I want to be with her. And I know that she wants to be with me, this is her first chance of being in love and it might work really well! It might not but if you are saying that if you stop James from entering that portal then all of this will be for nothing? That I won't be with Navarro, Fayne and Kruz won't be together?!" "Possibly," said the moogle, "or maybe you will find love greater." "I don't WANT any love greater, I want Navarro to be with me, I want to make her happy!" "You...hhahahah." He shook his head with disdainful pity. "You are a selfish bitch, kupo. This world is on the brink of extinction, and all you care about is being with someone after this, who you admit you do not even think has a chance of succeeding, I know what Navarro is like! She is a tactical female, kupo. She can find happiness elsewhere, maybe after things have changed for the good, can you not SEE a better future?!" "No," said Kruz, "because obviously we're not fortune tellers like you so claim to be." "I knew of your bartering with slave trading Kruz...did anyone else?" "...I thought you could only see the future." "I can. I saw us having this conversation, enough to know that I am aware of your dark secret. I did not see it in the past, but before we stood here I saw us speaking of various things, kupo. I know you can understand some piece of my motivation on this issue, can't you?" "...I, don't...y-y-you can't tell me this." "Isszh that true?" asked Fayne. "Did...no. K-kruzzh you couldn't have...th-that isszh...that'sszh sszhimply vile." "......I made mistakes too."

The kremling walked forwards as Berniere cautiously positioned himself to have James kept further away from his clan as they all looked upon Kruz with a deepening sense of disbelief. "I made a great mistake coming here, because I was younger and more stupid thinking I would be able to find James. I made a bargain which thankfully James has ended because he is the greatest friend I could ever have and he WOULD literally die for me and almost did, just so I could live a better life than he did. But when I first came here, my entire first year I fell in with the wrong people, I thought we were delivering precious cargo, 'never look inside' they said, that's what they told me as clear as can be. I didn't know enough Ivalician to know what even was inside, I could never read the labels or the ship manifests, I thought it was a trust issue with priceless artifacts or even some poisons but no...it was people. Ninety-four people." Fayne felt a weakening twist of his heart in horrid shame for his beloved, along with James looking rather shocked. "I can't amend that mistake...I separated sons from their mothers without even knowing, I did something horrible, and I can never absolve myself for it. I was selfish and useless in these bargains I made over the course of one year and half those slaves became my crew because the moment I realised what I was finally doing, I broke them free. Most of the ones who joined with me to fight against don't even know who I was and it's better that way." "How did they not know?" asked FG. They all thought I...was one of them, I lied when I freed them, saying I was a slave like them and I just managed to break free. They never knew. I was a coward, I couldn't live to it, I couldn't...tell them the truth about what I did, and they all call me the hero of the Karmesan Rift but I'm not, I'm just a worthless slaver even worse than my own captain, at least he never took slaves. I'm a monster. I can't even tell them the truth because I don't even know how many survived the crash. I gave them a life and even their families back by being with me, but I know that's not going to wipe the slate clean." Kruz began to softly weep as he stifled back his tears. Fayne cautiously walked up towards him with a hand on his shoulder feeling conflicted. "Kruzzh. Do you...regret what you have done?" "I do," said the kremling bitterly. "But that doesn't make anything better." "It doesszh not. But I sszhee what you have tried to do to absszholve yoursszhelf, how you helped me and my people, how you sszhaved me from twisszhting my own sszhorrow further into the abysszh within my own heart and...giving your crew a rich adventure and a life of freedom, every day I wasszh on your sszhip I never heard a word againsszht you, you were beloved." "I want to absolve these crimes I made, not because I want to feel better, but because it's the right thing to do. To save other people, helping those in need, to find ways around conflict and not kill hundreds of people just to come towards a better solution. So I understand Berniere. I do, I know why you have to do this, you think I don't get all this? I killed the captain in a duel like a bad cheat just so I don't have a hundred people getting killed all around me, one life to save a hundred." "Precisely," replied Lavant with a grin of hope. "You exactly understand, kupo." "Which is precisely why...I won't let you kill James." "Wh-what?!" "Because I'm a fucking pirate. I've done terrible things, I've looked out for myself and I've sacrificed other people just to make certain my friends are okay. And you know what? ...I care too much about those I love now to even be honest, or fair about all 'the needs of the many outweigh the few' and all that bullshit you keep making yourself talk. I can't save the world, but I can damn well save those dear to me. You're putting my own friends' hearts in a roulette wheel hoping for a big win, and I don't think that's ever going to work, which is why I won't let you." He swiftly pulled out his gun pointing at Berniere with a cruel grin as the moogle simply dipped his hand into his satchel casually. "You don't get to have a chance for a good ending, you don't get to reset your mistakes. None of us ever do." "...tempus." "Huh?" "...claudorum." With a sweep of his hand gently across the air before them, Fayne, Kruz and Dahlia stood transfixed by a sudden dust of thick coated amber upon their bodies completely trapping their bodies from moving. James looked at them with panic before Berniere interjected: "Stop spell, kupo. Or rather a stop mote." "Wh-wh-WHAT?! What the hell?!" "They had those during the investigation at the Brunhart orphanage. It's hardly difficult to bribe the best fingers in the region when those fingers are also sticky with candy, kupo. They tend to have backup motes in case of crime scenes in magically-locked areas and all it takes is one sweep." "You...are fucking kidding me." "Now we are alone for the next ten minutes, James. We have another forty minutes until that portal closes and all it takes for our master of Time to come forth and take over Ivalice is but two minutes of destruction. I will kill you, or you will kill me. It matters not, except for the life and death of this world or rather the life and struggle to live in our own existence." "What do I do that's so horrible if I go through that portal?" asked FG. "You know me Berniere, I wouldn't want to do any of this." "It doesn't matter what YOU want, what matters is that demon and unless I can ask to convince him not to carry through with such futile arrogance then I have no choice but to stop you." "You...you realise if you kill me that demon's gonna come out and kill everyone of us, right?" "I have a way to make certain of this." "What?" The moogle walked over simply towards Fayne and slipped his hand into his coat, pulling out the dagger of holy strength. Still unmoving through the passage of time with nine minutes remaining, James took this opportunity to carefully activate the stopwatch function on his omni-tool to this as Berniere rubbed his finger along the top length of the shining blade before pocketing it. "I have seen the extermination of the Dark before in Lea Monde, before we ever met kupo. A very violent end this dagger can bring, you have seen it too have you not? When Kruz eradicated the banshee that had been haunting him." "How the fuck do you-" " Guess."

Berniere looked bitterly towards him with tired expression as FG rolled his eyes before the moogle continued: "Changed the handle too, Kruz didn't tell you that he told Fayne of a lost soul he had to encounter and Fayne suggested to use this...filed down the handle specifically to fit in his stump, what a kind trusting lover he is. Never even realised your old dearest friend was a worthless slaver." "At least he admits it, and actually tried to fix his mistakes, he said half his crew was those he-" "I admit what I am doing, and I am also correcting a mistake." "Aren't you wasting time? I thought you had ten minutes until this spell wore off." "And now it is eight. I only need four to kill you." "Then why not fight now and wait four minutes?" "Because silence is painful to listen to. You know it too don't you?" James slowly circled around the knight who in turn began to circle him as they slowly measured each other up before FG asked: "What makes you think my friends won't kill you?" "Because in five minutes from now, your new enemy is coming through that portal and it shall become a GREAT distraction." "Can I just wait until time runs out?" "No, because I will attack you when it turns to four minutes left regardless." "You're awful nice to warn me." "I believe in a fair fight James, which is more than can be said for your group's tactics." "I prefer to call it being pragmatic." "As you wish." Berniere sighed as slowly their steps began to falter, feeling the fatigue on their shoulders from the world's fate resting on them before FG asked: "Who told you about one-three-seven?" "The mad god did." "The one behind the portal?" "Yes, kupo. He said that he had met the anomaly whilst crossing through existence following after you, said that you were to be a great upset in Margaret's plans when she saw her future to be destitute and bereft, her entire wealth and reputation corrupting before her very eyes slowly destroying everything that she was. She always was the weak link, too proud and arrogant to need respect from others kupo. Never respected other people truly, especially when they are poor, very like her sister the socialite. She'll be wandering why so many of her personal goons are dead by this point." "I could care less." "Same. I wanted to stop her...but I had to make sure that your three friends would be here against this monster." The portal remained humming with a fiendish impertinence sending both of them on edge as the minutes kept on ticking across the false silence before FG asked: "So Margaret...sent Dahlia with her esper off to one-three-seven just so she could get rid of us?" "Yes," said the moogle, "but apparently that failed to work...I am not certain why, and I don't think the mad god knows why it did not work either, he cannot seem to predict that thing. He can predict most other mortals along with you but something about that anomaly..." "It knew what I was gonna do." "Yes, he is counting on you kupo. But that anomaly is far too random a probability for him to comprehend." "Really? But...I don't get it." "What don't you get?" "If this...god if that's what it really is, wanted ME to come round and cause all this, according to you...why would he tell Margaret to get rid of me?" "It wasn't to get rid of YOU, James, it was to get rid of your friends. Your clan are those who must stand in his way in order to save Ivalice. You...are not needed." "Really?" "That is why I said the three of you. Fayne's light, Kruz's pragmatic skill and Dahlia's raw esper strength along with my blade are all that's needed, whereas YOU...shall be better off serving the world in post mortem." "Berniere." He stopped walking, as did Lavant in turn noticing the raptor's look of exhausted defeat. "I don't want to fight you. I don't...I just want to be able to stop this, I just want to go home and make sure everybody's happy...can we stop this thing from happening and I go do my own thing?" "No." "Why NOT?!" "Because you will eventually go through that portal and condemn us to where we are again." "YOU told me it was my way home, you could have not told me!" "You would have gone through either way, kupo. You always had a fiendish curiosity which shall be the undoing of this world keeping us in a vicious cycle, at some point you will have gone through because you are dying of a monstrous influence and you NEED to get home. But if I can break this cycle, I can carve a better future for those including your friends, I promise James. I will do everything I can to make this world a better place." "You don't know that," argued FG, "what if it's worse!?" "What is worse than the destruction of a city?!" ranted Berniere. "What is worse than an entire monastery manipulated into a cult of amnesia, what is worse than hundreds dead?!" "My friends dead, broken-hearted, back to square one, maybe even more get killed because I dunno, Margaret goes even LESS obvious about her needs and then she starts dragging you along for a ride and next thing you know she's destroyed thousands, perhaps TWO cities, do you really want those people to go through all this pain and suffering again!?" "They won't even KNOW that suffering, everything will be reset!" "I wasn't around when I heard what happened to Kruz and Fayne but I am not letting them have their happiness taken from them-" "ENOUGH about those two, you are trying to rationalise thousands of people's lives with only TWO!" "BULLSHIT, THERE'S FIVE PEOPLE I HAVE AMONGST MY FRIENDS HERE! ...there used to be seven including you." "There could be seven still, kupo. Seven friends, all living good lives if you sacrifice yourself. If you really do not want to fight me then I shall respect your last wish and offer you a swift and merciful death I promise you...I can destroy that demon too with the light of Kiltia. Would you sacrifice yourself to save Ivalice? Kruz wanted to amend his mistakes now you must amend your own...please." Berniere offered his sword point as if pleading FG to walk straight into it, but the raptor refused by a stubborn nerve twitching in the back of his head. He saw Kruz over to his left frozen still as he saw there was four minutes and twenty-five seconds left. The choice he now made turned resolute in his mind. "I promised my friend Kruz, to not give up. and I know after all this my friends would not want to go through all this again just for the vain hope of something that could be better." "They will not remember this...any of this, kupo." "It doesn't matter. You don't know what future exists without all of these stones and whatever time god bullshit you went through, but we made this future together. You can't get rid of it, you can't change the past and you can't erase mistakes because trust me, I tried, it DOESN'T work. Kruz can't erase his mistakes, Dahlia can't either, they understood and if they can't get to be absolved of their crimes and simply do everything to be good and fair-hearted about people then I'm not letting that go to waste! I'm sorry...but if you have to fight me...then I won't back down." James prepared himself into his stance for combat. "I can't let you take away my friends' happiness on some vague promise." "I know." Five seconds. "Then it is goodbye, James." Three. "This shall be your last story."

One. Four minutes of silence left as Berniere braced himself for his greatest battle yet. Rushing forwards with a stridant foot, he swept his blade fiercely across James' chest as the raptor blocked him fiercely, before the moogle doubled back deflecting off the scissors to slash a neat scar across James' leg. He staggered slightly and went on the defensive, encouraging the moogle to come forth with murderous eyes carving for James' scarred leg. The raptor dodged quickly back with the flat of his blades hammering downwards to push Berniere away. But the knight rolled swiftly to one side and leapt for James' unguarded head viciously before FG summoned a pulse through his unarmed hand, pounding the moogle back with a gust of wind that forced him away. The raptor waited, turning back towards him with a glint at his stopwatch. Three minutes forty as Berniere charged once again with carving upwards swing as James cracked down against it. The knight however managed to slant his sword at a perfect angle forcing the scissors to scrape off at an angle as Berniere strafed right closing in for the kill. James blasted a ball of fire towards the moogle to make him stop but he simply jumped to his right further with a flying leap as he plunged his sword ruthlessly into the raptor's knee. Gasping a cry of pain, his fist went flying to crack against Berniere's jaw forcing his sword to pull out as he hobbled stumbling backwards. His body was not running on optimum, despite his nanos being rather unaffected as he remembered something familiar about this wound. Placing his unarmed hand on his bloodied knee he began to burn it thickly with raw blistering fire as he cauterised the wound firmly, whimpering with gentle sobs. The moogle did not wait as he walked forwards, twirling his sword deftly in one hand with a cold look in his eyes as the raptor burnt his open wound shut best as he could just in time before the ruthless knight's sword. The two clashed violently, James barely managing to force his blades against Berniere's short sword as his own weakened physical strength just barely matched against the moogle's capable grip. "WHY, ARE YOU DOING THIS?!" cried FG. "BECAUSE I AM THE HERO OF THIS STORY JAMES! YOU ARE NOTHING MORE THAN A PAWN TO MONSTERS BEYOND SPACE AND TIME!" "I'M NOBODY'S PAWN!" "YES YOU ARE KUPO!" Striking harshly off of each other's blades, the raptor took precaution to turn his left arm into a gauntlet, the old familiar blocky guard with small imperfect holes. Always never perfect, but enough to protect himself against the lunging thrust of a piercing short blade aiming straight for his stomach. Cracking down with his left arm gauntlet, he deftly smacked Berniere away whilst using his own rusted scissorblades to lance forwards trying to keep back the knight at bay. But Berniere was relentless, lethally agile as he came close underneath the scissors only for FG to strike back punching with arm gauntlet. The moogle struck forth against his guarded hand, their strength well-matched before he ducked and scraped his sword off of the block-shaped gauntlet forcing James to swing mightly above his head. He thrust towards the raptor's stomach causing him to dodge violently falling to his right as Berniere's blade managed to stab through the left waist. Gasping as he felt his flesh beginning to slice off, he stumbled clasping his waist with his right hand still holding the scissors firmly. One minute thirty seconds left as Berniere felt his coming victory seeing the raptor struggle to stand as his claws stained red from his own skin. "S-STOP!" shouted James. "STOP THIS! BERNIERE WE DON'T HAVE TO DO THIS, I DON'T WANT TO KILL YOU, I CAN STOP THIS MONSTER COMING!" "YOU CAUSED IT TO COME HERE!" cried Berniere. "YOU WERE NEVER MEANT TO EXIST IN THIS PLACE BUT I WAS, I WAS BORN TO BE A PART OF THIS FABLE! "WHAT FABLE, YOU'RE NOT MAKING SENSE! PLEASE, STOP, I DON'T WANT THIS BERNIERE, I WANT TO SAVE IVALICE LIKE YOU!" "YOU CANNOT SAVE IVALICE YOU WORTHLESS MONSTER! I WILL WRITE A NEW CHAPTER OF IVALICE, ONE WITHOUT YOU DESTROYING ALL OF IT! EVERYTHING I HAVE FOUGHT TO PROTECT, YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT HAS COME TO!" "YOU'RE NOT THE FUCKING HERO!" " THIS! IS MY STORYYYYYY!" Screaming by a borne desperation he came pounding across the room as pulsing vibrations began emanating from the portal. His vision started blurring as he did everything he could to try and keep Berniere away from him but his determination was unquestionable. Fiendish strikes against his scissors deflected half-way, falsely feinting to twist against James' grip and slash across his chest as the raptor came back briefly with his gauntlet-clad arm punching fiercely across Berniere's skull. He stumbled to the side but James did not even attack him in his moment of weakness, trying to help him see. But there was no changing the moogle's disposition. Stomping his feet as he tore towards FG, he swung with vicious cross-strikes both one way then the other, diagonal across James' scissors as he guarded with horizontal block. Pure adrenaline incensed the knight as he struck harder and harder, six, seven, eight, nine times his sword scraped upon the demon's bladed form. On the tenth strike however, he forced FG to drop his guard with a powerful leap before forcing his sword downwards, giving him momentum to spring himself even further upwards. James ducked from the sword aiming ruthlessly at his throat before readily punching Berniere's stomach appearing in mid-air before him. The moogle countered back with his sword striking dully against the gauntlet-covered hand to protect himself before being pushed back and down from the air. James managed to catch sight of his stopwatch trying not to betray his look. Twenty seconds left. Time was almost up. But Berniere was far too incensed to notice as his sheer panic of fulfilling his destiny potent came at a head. One furious upwards strike almost carved through James' chest, as he fell back and lost his footing. But not before he struck horizontally by instinct upon seeing the rising knight, scarring across his forehead with a slicing cut from the side of his scissors. Blood poured down his eyes blinding him briefly as he ran with screeching anger before he felt something impale itself onto his blade. Something stuck short, but he heard the sound of flesh stabbing through and James' breathing laboured in front of him as he smiled trying to blink through the blood obscuring his vision. Seeing brown scales split apart on his sword, yet there was little blood he could see that was not his own as he breathed deeply by a relief hearing somebody gasp in struggling. "Y-y-you...a-a-are finished." Berniere dug into his satchel to pull out Fayne's dagger with his other hand. "You...f-f-fought honourably, James." "Good," said a voice. Click. "Because I don't." Bang.

Something exploded in his stomach with bristling white burns as he felt blood pulse from his lips, his heart violently pumping as an extreme agonising fire had swiftly devoured his internal organs with one blast. His eyes opened best he could before seeing someone else impaled on his sword. Kruz stood smiling with a smoking gun, even with the sword of the moogle thrust inches through his left breast. "Wh-wh-what...h-have you...d-done?" "Didn't predict that did you you fucking rat?" "You...you h-h-have...doomed us all." "No...not yet anyway, I told you. I don't play fair when my friends' lives are involved." "You idiot...k-kupo. You...c-c-can't...s-s-stop it from existing n-now...p-please...s-stop him...s-s-s-stop...T-t-tomalag..." Berniere released his sword as he fell onto his back, the dagger dropping from his right hand as he bled deeply through the left side of his body through a burning hole beneath his stomach lining. His eyes flickered briefly with intense agonising gasp before he passed on laying his head to the side as Kruz swiftly holstered his pistol. The sword still buried itself in his left breast until he pulled it out with a wince of pain yet there was little blood pouring through as he turned towards his shocked friends now unfrozen by the stop spell wearing off. "Metal plate." He tapped his new wound making a double clink as Fayne started to walk forwards. "Doctor Krippen's finest." "Y-y-you...almosszht...Kruzzh." The cleric softly picked up his dagger rather confused before he turned as if about to strike his beloved. "Don't...EVER do that again for godsszh sszhake, I have had enough of thisszh fucking day." "Relax Fayne, I've got thi-" "DON'T!" The cleric turned with finger pointing violently as the trembling of the castle began to shake from the portal's access point. "DON'T play anymore of thisszh damned bravado, I have far too much to accosszht for in my mind, TOO MANY CHANGESSZH in my life! I want thisszh day to be over, I do NOT want any part of thisszh day to be remembered, I am tired, I want to go home and be with both you and Baldwin! But I am here becausszhe I want to protect my people and thosszhe whom I love, I do NOT need heroicsszh at a time like thisszh!" "Khhheheheh...you're almost sounding a lot like Navarro now." "Well SSZHOMEBODY hasszh to be resszhponsszhible for you and your recklesszh arrogansszhe!" "WHAT IS THAT?!" The scream Dahlia made alerted their attention to the portal as something clawed through the twenty-feet tall dimensional passage. A giant hand of thick dark beige scaled flesh at least five feet tall with claws the length of two feet. Another hand joined it grabbing at the sides of the portal as something slowly pulled itself through, the clan seeing more of its arms come forth showing its wrists adorned with golden bracelets banded with ebony stripes. "That looks fucking huge," murmured Kruz. "Wh-what in godsszh name-" babbled Fayne. "It MUST be a god," whimpered Dahlia. "Or a monster big enough," said FG lowly. "The fuck is that thing?" "YOU ASK IF I AM GOD?" The voice resonated with a sound that only the victims of earthquakes could ever hear for its deep strength as Fayne quivered asking: "A-a-are you...the one Berniere called Tomalag?" "HHHMHMHM...STILL HE DID NOT LEARN MY TRUE CALLING?" "What?!" "DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS GATEWAY HAS BECOME TO ME? A LOOKING GLASS, MIRRORING OUR TWO ECLIPSES BETWEEN WORLDS FOR WHICH I SHALL NOW RULE. DO YOU UNDERSTAND NOW?" "M-mirroring? ...but...w-wait-" "I think," replied Kruz, "he meant to reverse the name like if you saw it from a mirror. That means Tomalag...is actually-" "GALAMOTH." The head slowly began to emerge. "YOUR NEW GOD." And so they began to witness the coming of a great apocalypse, upon the very brink of this world's existence. The head of a great beast almost draconic, with mouth large enough to swallow two of the clan members in one bite was adorned with a large golden headdress with blackened horns of six straight tapering from behind it. Its neck and upper arms were banded lustrous gold revealing its shale-blackened underbelly almost as if it were armour through natural means as the great monstrous deity pulled himself through. With gold-studded knees and anklets as well as two blackened pauldrons covering its shoulders, the godly clawed feet came through with a length of seven feet as its towering legs brought the whole demonic avatar at a tremendous forty feet. The beast was too tall for the room as it simply pushed its head through the very ceiling of the planetarium, revealing its upper chest and head to the night sky of Ivalice. The clan stood in shock questioning every single thing they had ever known in their entire lives as Fayne began howling with godly fear, whilst Dahlia whimpered at the colossus they could barely even tower past the ankle of. Kruz and James stood paralysed before the voice of Galamoth, staring down upon them eyes of poisonous green. "HMMM. IT APPEARS MY GAME OF CHESS HAS FALLEN TO THE SAME PLACE YET AGAIN." "OH M-MY G-GODSSZH OF FARAM!" screamed Fayne. "BUT I HAVE ALL MY PIECES HERE STILL, THE BISHOP, THE ROOK, THE KING AND QUEEN...HMMMM...WELL, THIS IS INTERESTING." Gently the reptilian giant bent down to clasp Berniere's fallen form between its clawed fingers. "YOU ARE DECEASED ALREADY? THIS WAS NOT SCRIPTED, DESPITE ALWAYS BEING PAWNS WITHOUT EVER KNOWING THEIR PLACE ON THIS NEW BOARD." "Wh-wh...what...ARE you, d-demon?" "TO THINK THAT THEY ONCE CALLED THE SICILIAN DEFENCE A GRAVE THING TO PERFORM IN CHESS. IT STILL IS, BUT PERHAPS WE SHOULD NOW CALL IT THE IVALICIAN DEFENCE IN HONOUR OF THE GREATEST THORN IN MY SIDE EVER SINCE I LEARNT OF THIS NEW EXISTENCE." The king of Time simply impaled a claw tip through Berniere's remains before inserting him into his mouth, sucking him freely before swallowing the corpse as his throat bulged with a sound of muscular clench they could all hear. "YOU NEVER STOPPED PLAYING, BERNIERE LAVANT. I HAVE YET TO SEE YOU STOP, EVERY TIME I SEE YOU RISE AGAINST, YOU FALL, OVER AND OVER AGAIN AS MY MOST SINGLE PRECIOUS PIECE ON THE BOARD AND YET YOU ARE SIMPLY BUT A KNIGHT. BUT USUALLY YOU ARE ALWAYS STILL LIVING BEFORE I DISPOSE OF YOU, YET NOT THIS CYCLE. LESSON LEARNED, LITTLE RABBIT, ALWAYS ANTICIPATE FAILURE NO MATTER WHO IT MAY BE." "WHAT ARE YOU!?" shouted Kruz desperately. "WHO...THE FUCK ARE YOU?!" "I AM THE MASTER OF TIME ITSELF, FROM TEN THOUSAND YEARS I HAVE WATCHED AND WAITED TO USURP THE DARK THRONE OF A GREAT PHANTASMAL HELLFIRE. BUT THEN...I SAW A BEAUTIFUL TWIST IN THE LANDSCAPE, AN ERRANT COMPLICATED MATHEMATICAL IMPROBABILITY THAT I CALL...YOU, JAMES ROBERT CAMPBELL." "Me?!" cried FG. "The fuck do I got to do with any of this?!" "BORN IN THE YEAR THIRTY-FOUR-NINETY, LONDON, ENGLAND, BUT NOT OF ANY EARTH THAT I KNOW OF...NOT YET." "Wh-wh-wh...how...the fuck do you know when I was born?!" "I CAN FEEL EVERY BIRTH AND DEATH AT AN INSTANT UPON SEEING WHO IT IS...PROVIDED THEY ARE MORTAL THAT IS." "Are you...are you really a god, or just someone pretending to be?" "WE HAVE ALL PLAYED A GOD AT LEAST ONCE, HAVE WE NOT? MORTALS BECOME KINGS, EMPERORS AND PRESIDENTS, NOTHING MORE THAN SIMPLY A TITLE AND A FALSE ELECTORAL SUSTAINING THEIR NEW RELIGION. KRUZ WOULD KNOW THIS WITH GREAT INTIMACY, DOES HE NOT?" "Y-you," snarled Kruz, "you just another mindreader too? You can't trick me with fucking magic!" "I AM NO ILLUSIONIST, PROVIDED I DO NOT REQUIRE A PRESDIGITATION OF FOLLY TO BECOME YOUR NEW KING THROUGH ETERNITY. I AM NO DIFFERENT TO YOUR GODS AND SO SHALL I BECOME THE ONLY ONE YOU NEED...TO OBEY." "YOU'RE NOT OUR GOD!" screamed Dahlia. "YOU'RE JUST A MONSTER, A DEMON!" "ANGELS AND DEMONS ARE BUT SIMPLY LESSER GODS...SO TOO SHALL I BECOME EXALTED ABOVE YOUR OWN FOLLY FOR THE ONLY THING THAT IS CONSTANT...IS TIME ITSELF. YOU CAN ONLY RELY ON TIME AND NOTHING ELSE, NOT HOPE OR FAITH, BUT KNOWING YOU SHALL END AND SO YOU SHALL BEGIN." "Why have you come here?!" cried Fayne. "What doesszh Jamesszh have to do with anything like you?!" "YOU DESIRE A RULER...SOMEONE WHO CAN KNOW GREATER THINGS THAN YOUR PITIFUL MORTAL EXISTENCE...FAYNE BACHRODT." "WH-WHAT!? HOW DO YOU KN-KNOW MY NAME?! HOW DO YOU KNOW?!" "BORN IN FIVE-OH-ONE, OLD VALENDIAN WITHIN THE OUTSKIRTS OF THE OGIR-YENSA SANDSEA...IS THAT NOT CORRECT?" The bishop's heart started quivering with pure fear as he went on his knees stricken by truth from his deepest reaches before the almighty god. "Y-y-y-you...c-can't have...n-no...N-NOOOO!" "I HAVE SEEN MANY THINGS FROM THE HEARTS OF THOSE BORN. I HAVE WITNESSED THE FALL OF CIVILISATION AS THOSE WHO SING SONGS OF GOD TO THEIR BURNING CHILDREN. I HAVE KNOWN ACTS OF WAR FORMED BY HANDS OF SCIENCE WHERE NOT EVEN SOULS SHALL REMAIN WITHIN A DESOLATE BARREN WINTER. AND I HAVE ALSO SEEN MANY A TRAVELLER PASSING FORTH BETWEEN DIMENSIONS, AND ALWAYS I AWAIT...FOR ONE OF THEM TO BE THE FLY UPON MY WEB OF PASSING AGES." "BUT YOU HAVE NEVER EVEN MET BEFORE!" "WE NEVER HAVE...YET ALWAYS WE HAVE KNOWN." "I have NEVER met you," argued James, "I'm not even anything, what the FUCK is so important about me that YOU and that anomaly want me, I'm fucking SICK OF IT!" "HMHMHMHM...I DO NOT WANT YOU." "HUH?!" "YOU ARE ONLY BUT A SMALL USELESS PART OF ONE PLAN I HAVE MADE, UPON A THOUSAND MORE CIRCULATING ACROSS MY EXISTENCE. I AM WITHIN A THOUSAND OTHER ROOMS IN DIFFERENT CENTURIES ALWAYS AWAITING ONE SMALL WILTING OF MORTAL PROBABILITY. BUT HERE IS SOMETHING NEW, HERE...NOW I AM UPON A NEW WORLD WHERE THE DICE HAS BEEN ROLLED ANEW...DO YOU DARE TO CHALLENGE ME?" "WE'LL STOP YOU! WHATEVER DUMB SHIT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, WE'LL JUST STOP YOU!" "BERNIERE TRIED TO STOP THIS BUT YOU ARE TOO EASILY DETERMINED, DESPITE THAT CANCEROUS SORROW THAT STAINS MY VISION...PROBABILITY IS BUT A WORTHLESS COWARD'S EXCUSE FOR HIS OWN IGNORANCE OF BEING." "Whatever you want, I'm NOT your slave!" "I ONLY NEED BUT ONE WORLD TO START OFF WITH AND SO CONSUME ITS PAST AND FUTURE...LET US SEE HOW WE FARE WITH THIS WORLD FIRST." "DAHLIA!" James rushed towards the nu-mou in this moment. "YOUR ESPER, SUMMON IT!" "WH-WHAT!?" "JUST LOOK AT THIS THING, THIS IS WHY NAVARRO HAD YOU COME WITH US, YOU CAN FIGHT IT!" "I-i-i-i-i-...it...it cannot be a god, it cannot be." "Whatever it is, you need to fight it. You're not just a white mage, you're a fucking summoner, you can DO this!" "Thisszh isszh what mother wasszh training you for!" demanded Fayne in panicked tones. "We need you to bring forth Adrammelech!" "I'M SCARED!" "SSZHO AM I, BUT YOU HAVE AN ESSZHPER, WE NEED YOU NOW TO SSZHAVE OUR WORLD FROM THISSZH...ENTITY!" "...alright. But I need you to...g-guard me against this thing." "No problem." Kruz stood readily with defiance quivering as they all looked upon the great lord of Time, towering through the roof crumbling from all around them as he handed FG the second and last elixir. "Bottoms up kid, yer gonna need it." "Th-thanks." It wouldn't help his bleeding but it would certainly help him to regain his energy, drinking up before feeling his stamina return to him by a sudden throb of intense vigour as Galamoth spoke once again. "YOU HAVE DEFIED MY WILL IN EVERY CYCLE THAT THIS COMES, SO TOO SHALL YOU FACE ME AGAIN. LIKE WATER TRICKLING DOWN THE BACK OF MY HAND ONE DAY YOU SHALL CHANGE YOUR DIRECTION...INTO MY JAWS OF DEATH, AND SO SHALL I BECOME YOUR NEW PATRIARCH OF EXISTENCE. COME. FACE ME CLAN KORIDAI, AND I WILL SHOW YOU HOW MUCH YOUR FUTURE MEANS TO YOU."

The clan stood together, armed with weapons out as they began their offensive with Dahlia summoning her eldritch power, whilst the other three stood before her guarding like a wall of steel. The deity's left hand began resonating with an intensely amethyst colouring as something grew potently with a sharp aura creating the shape of a grand mace. A sceptre with a smooth oval-shaped top ridged to conduct a trembling of lightning force upon the clan down below. The lightning was far more powerful than anything they had faced, desecrating the tower further as walls simply exploded shattering all around them. Fierce white heat began glowing from the castle's remnants at a distance like a distress signal as James and Kruz began to attack forwards. The kremling hopped onto the left leg of Galamoth whilst James leapt onto the right, clambering upon the beast's bejewelled appearance to grasp firmly before he tried to kick them away. His claws swung low threatening to grab at either of them, but Kruz simply leapt higher and planted his feet on the wrist. He almost fell as it suddenly moved but he grabbed tighter onto the bracelet as Galamoth moved his hand closer towards his face. Jaws opening ready to devour the kremling, Kruz timed his release to fall onto the shouldered pauldron as ridged metal armour gave him a firm support. Fayne managed to distract the deity's attempts to grab either of the little pests with a blast of Holy, striking harshly at the monster's face as it stung like a wasp. Piercing but small, the cleric realised from its effect that the dark god was not immune to his power even if he was greatly powerful. The almighty Galamoth tried to walk forwards to attack Dahlia, but James plunged his scissors lethally into the beast's kneecap stabbing right behind the armoured greave. A sharp blistering pain incensed the god with fury as he swiped violently above his knee smacking James powerfully across the room as he fell skidding to hit the wall. The bishop was on point as the healer, sprinkling his Cura across the room to James whilst Dahlia struggled to focus on her summoning. Murmuring dark breaths of an incantation long since memorised of her borne fury that she could now tame, she shut out the entire world around her despite the thunderous fury of a god awakening upon this earth. Stumbling back up as the healing magic pulsed through him, the ever-present sting of such purity made his body tingle with fire before managing to fix his wounds partially before he advanced again. Lightning came down from the unholy sceptre above his head coursing with the power of a Tesla coil as thunderous purple struck across the entire room, tearing through solid walls that simply crumbled before his might. The raptor did everything he could to dodge, but Fayne was at hand chanting his spell to protect, a barrier formed to shield FG from both physical and magical effects to some extent. It was better than nothing especially when at least three or four strikes came hurtling down upon his head and violently tore through his body. Screeching of vile agony he stumbled forwards, gasping as his heart began to race burning from the pain of his nanos driving with insane override briefly at the unwanted charge of electrical force. Galamoth simply gazed upon James staggering form and readied himself to grab at the lone raptor before something drove into his eye. Kruz, briefly forgotten having burrowed inbetween his shoulderblade and neck, re-emerged like a parasite to clamber up on the god's face as he drove his sword powerfully into Galamoth's eye. Roaring pain burst through his mind briefly as he swatted at his face, the kremling hopping upwards further with powerful agility as he hooked into the monstrous brow before pulling himself out of harm's way. Blood dripped as the almighty twitched his right eye struggling to clear it of blood now pouring from his popped sclera, giving FG enough time to recover and run straight for the deity's leg to latch on and start climbing. With scissors acting as a piton, he plunged stabbing upwards soon turning the leg into a series of bloodied points resembling the arms of a drug addict. Galamoth swung low with his staff as he cracked violently upon the ground causing everything to tremble suddenly. Fayne staggered stumbling as his Holy shot was interrupted by the beastly sceptre's strike, the walls now fallen fully to reveal all of Ivalice now around them, the calm blue ocean underneath the night sky. Stars twinkled helpless before the god as his staff raised up high to send sweet thunderous sounds across the entire region deafening by a wide radius of at least ten kilometres. The castle further collapsed upon itself but the tower still stood as its testament to the heroes within. The sky turned eminent with clouds of darkness, lightning tearing across unnaturally as Galamoth's might shattered the very sea itself with torrential strikes. Kruz had managed to remain latched onto the god's horns readying himself to attack the other eye but the dreaded ginormous hand swung forth to stop him as Kruz was suddenly knocked off his perch. Falling down the colossus, he tried to swing out with his hook and sword driving through the flesh of the spine. As the creature snarled with fury at the irritating stabbing pain, his hand swung once again to behind his sight as Kruz climbed his way downwards, tugging the timeless skin of Galamoth to constantly evade, leaving him distracted evermore for James to climb higher. Grasping for the jewellery studded across the enlightened body, the raptor managed to make the last leap towards the head by a powerful gust of wind, readying himself to make the perfect shot.

The moment Galamoth turned upon hearing this unusual sound, he saw FG with arm perfectly coated in a molded steel mimic of a cannon-like length, charging up with tremendous energy to punch a hole ruthlessly into the monstrous face just above the nostril. The blast was surprisingly strong even to a creature like him, sending a wild pounding headache that forced Galamoth to clasp his skull rippling with a burning intensity, that throbbed as it drove him to a ruthless rage. "YOU...ARE NOTHING MORE THAN A VEXATION OF POORLY-WRITTEN EXCUSES." The sceptre swung viciously as FG barely dodged, the mace catching his leg to crack it hard as he fell spinning to the floor. "I HAVE BEEN PATIENT WITH YOU, AND SO TOO SHALL YOU KNOW THE LAST TWELVE MINUTES OF OUR BRIEF ENCOUNTER, FOR WHICH I SHALL NOT REMEMBER IN ANY TIMELINE BEYOND THIS." James slammed to the floor with twisted leg out of joint, gasping harshly as he struggled to stand before looking up at the god-like. Kruz had landed after hurrying down the beastly back and rushed towards James' aid trying to help him move. Galamoth readied himself with foot raised above both, the moon blotted out from their vision as thunder began to obscure the cool Ivalician night. Before they would become part of his sole's thickening ridges, something crackled across the room resembling a fistful of lightning, pounding the monstrous jaw ruthlessly forcing Galamoth to stagger back. " YOU...shall not pass into this realm, false deity." The voice of Dahlia trembled as she slowly raised herself towards the air by at least twenty feet above the ground as something flickered before her. The devil form of the Wroth Tormented himself with draconic features and cloven hooves had suddenly come forth rippling across its limber arms of reddish emerald, lightning sparking from its thin claws. The two matched in size with Adrammelech being a few feet shorter but he simply hovered before the great master of Time to meet his gaze. " THIS is my world, I have no time for you." "HHHMMMHMHMHMHMHM, A NEW PIECE HAS COME TO THE BOARD, VERY WELL. LET US SEE WHAT THIS WORLD OF IVALICE HAS MANAGED TO MUSTER FOR ITS LAST LINE OF DEFENCE." " It only needs ONE line of defence against such a pitiful entity." The battle now took place between god and esper, a clash between two titans wrought with electricity pulsating through their very existences as thunder tore across the world with shock-inducing bursts. Stark light would soon flash before their eyes as the mortals gazed before the battle of two colossal monsters. Galamoth swung his staff as Adrammelech ducked underneath, cracking a lightning fist that exploded into his jaw with Dahlia simply remaining inside its body, shimmering like a faint heart for the grand esper. The unknown deity swung down with a mighty blow as the esper dodged, but Galamoth came back with an upwards swing powerfully shattering through Dahlia's essence as she shuddered with hot screams. Blood poured down her nostrils but she remained vigilant, wielding the raw strength projected unto this form as it lunged with claws first, gutting ferociously into Galamoth's stomach with tearing bloodied rakes as the beast staggered back further towards the portal. The almighty god-like put its best foot forwards before delivering a solid kick, crackling with electricity like a sonic boom that completely decimated the last remaining structures of the lone mysterious castle. The foot slammed perfectly into the eidolon's face, before the staff of Galamoth raised itself up high and cracked down like the hammer of Thor upon Adrammelech's skull. Dahlia shrieked as she was slammed ruthlessly to the floor, gasping with bloodied tears from her eyes before she swept her arms out. The summoner pushed herself upwards, pounding the floor with a gust of wind shockwaving violently hard across the room almost forcing her friends back as she raised herself once again. The wrathful summoned beast simply breathed harshly with a gasping choke, shaking its head clear before facing against Galamoth once again as the monstrous deity grinned cruelly. He spun once with his sceptre high, grinding the floor with his feet before swinging a vicious backhand that would force Adrammelech to duck, before there came the ruthless upwards strike. But Dahlia's esper knew better after seeing the sleight of hand as it thrust itself backwards with a gustful sweep, watching Galamoth swing with a miss before the ruthless forward rush. Slamming its clawed fist excruciatingly hard into the deity's exposed left side, the raw lightning of infernal strength electrocuted the beast as he roared powerfully by excrucating agony. He grabbed at Adrammelech's head with his open right hand and suddenly devoured the forehead with a lunging bite, crunching as if an earthquake had opened the earth.

Shrieking howls of anguish came from both esper and summoner, the horror of the nu-mou's pain suddenly transferring from its summoned beast making her mind feel as if teeth had sunk into the space behind her eyes whilst screaming louder. Galamoth forced the esper to move with his head, his teeth powerfully long and pure gleaming of perfect white but Adrammelech countered back, raw pulsating arms grabbing at the god's throat to strangle the very life out of him. The two were now locked in a battle of endurance between the crushing maw and choking fingers. The two creatures of another plane throbbed with powerful voltage, trembling through their teeth and hands desperately trying to destroy the other. Kruz and James however had a plan to try and turn the tides of battle as the raptor cried: "FAYNE, GIVE US A BARRIER!" "WHAT?!" "WE'VE GOTTA HELP COME ON, I HAVE AN IDEA!" "...alright. NOS! PROTEGAT!" Seeing the determination glint in FG's eyes he cast them by a barrier to protect them briefly against the torrential lightning, bursting across both of the beastly bodies forever trapped in violent rage and anger. James leapt up towards the right shin, opposite of the one he had already tried to wound as he scrabbled onto the golden greave guarding Galamoth's knee. The whitening light of thunder began burning through both their limbs, every touch upon the creature's skin was electrifying even moreso to FG. But he bared his teeth and simply climbed up the short distance despite screeching mutedly from every spark that shattered deep. Both kremling and raptor raised their swords high and plunged deftly into the monster's knee just behind its golden plate, sending the sound of raw fury from the deity's throat at such pain of intensity. Small as the pain was, it was sharp and deliberate like a twisted ankle as both cutlass and scissors began to saw through the superior flesh, tearing into the musculature with every strike of lightning driving James' heart and brain through immense agony. Breath turning short, he watched the blood of the deity pour thickly from his blades as Kruz sliced further in watching the monster weaken its stance. The esper saw its right leg starting to give and suddenly thrust its head against Galamoth's face shoving him further back. With bloodied scars across his knee the beast of Time stumbled back even more before a ruthless lightning thundered above the rigid fist of Adrammelech. " You desire a world of your own? Enjoy a world of PAIN!" Crunching violently with a fierce haymaker that broke the sky itself, clouds parted from the very force of the esper's deliverance unto the deity's battered flesh. A driving crack into his skull sending him back into the portal, the sheer strength of the blow slamming his back hard enough that the astrolabe began to crack as the portal itself started to twitch and corrode through itself. The sound of the void between existences was a horrifying noise that scarred across their ears as the portal maintained itself barely, losing its sense of existence. Galamoth looked behind himself only once with intrigue at the portal failing but it was to be his undoing. Another fist clocked him half the size of his own head, powerfully knocking him through the portal head first, but he managed to twist through the void in half-spiral and grab desperately onto the portal's edges with his large scraping fingers. His head came back through seeing the gateway between worlds spasm and flicker like a broken signal given eyes as it screamed all around across the ocean. His strength was already leaving him, the portal's unstable weakening actively tearing across his flesh to rend it asunder as he used his remaining effort to speak. "IT HAS COME TO THIS ONCE AGAIN." The clan members walked forwards with uncertainty rising from their tired bodies. "THERE IS SOMETHING I AM MISSING, SOMETHING I CANNOT...PREDICT DESPITE ALL OF MY EYES PEERING ACROSS THE PRESENT, PAST AND FUTURE TO BE HENCE. WHO? WHO AMONGST YOU HAS MANAGED TO FADE MY VISION SO BRIEFLY?" James staggered forwards slowest of them all, his body burnt through with miniature scalding patterns from all the arcs of electricity that he suffered. Galamoth gazed at him with an intrigue. "THAT ANOMALY...IT SHOULD HAVE DESTROYED ALL FOUR OF YOU EXCEPT FOR THE ONE I NEEDED. AND YET SOMETHING STOPPED IT." "You're done," said Kruz, "whatever plans you had for our world you can take them back with you. We have our future." "IT WILL NEVER END...YOUR FUTURE REMAINS AS YOU WROTE IT, DULL AND BLISSFULLY IGNORANT BEYOND THE VEIL BUT THIS CYCLE SHALL REPEAT WITHIN ETCHINGS OF OUR HISTORY. ONE DAY...I WILL RETURN AS I WAS BEFORE AND SO TOO SHALL WE FIGHT AGAIN AS WE HAVE. AND IF I CANNOT STOP YOU STILL WITHIN AT LEAST ONE THOUSAND CYCLES...THEN I CAN ALWAYS FIND ANOTHER ONE THOUSAND CYCLES MORE, WITHIN ANOTHER WORLD." "Your time hasszh ended," said Fayne bitterly, "our time isszh now, to live free of tyranny without a god pretender sszhuch asszh you." "TIME...IS THE ONLY THING YOU CAN NEVER HAVE ENOUGH OF...EXCEPT FOR YOU, JAMES CAMPBELL." He said nothing, the raptor panting hung over with exhausted agony watching the slow tearing of two dimensions strip away the flesh of the old god. "THIS DOOR OF WHICH I HAVE WROUGHT IN MY OWN CREATION THROUGH SIX MONTHS OF THIS WORLD'S CALENDAR, SHALL OPEN YOU TO YOUR OWN DESTINATION. YOU ARE APPROACHING THE END OF THE CYCLE SOON SO I OFFER YOU A GIFT. YOU HAVE NINETY-SEVEN DAYS LEFT, GREGORIAN...UNTIL YOUR FATE IS SEALED PERMANENTLY. I CARE NOT WHAT HAPPENS TO YOU AFTER YOU ESCAPE MY VISION." "Why was..." mumbled FG, "Berniere so convinced that I was the one that summoned you?" "GAZE INTO THE VOID AND FIND OUT, MY GLITCH OF EXISTENCE. MY FORM MAY BE SHEDDING ITSELF, BUT YOU WILL NOT SUFFER THAT SAME FATE...NOT YET IF YOU PASS THROUGH TO ESCAPE TO YOUR TRUE DESTINATION. WHAT WILL OVERCOME YOU FIRST, YOUR FEAR OR YOUR DEMONKIN?" "I'm not afraid...I can stop him, I stopped YOU from coming out thanks to my-...no. No I didn't stop you. My friends did, I barely helped, but we all fought together as best we could." "WHY NOT TRY TO STOP ME FROM EVER COMING AT ALL?" "You already came here...what matters is that we stopped you here. No crying over what-if's, it's fucking done." "SO SHALL IT BE...WE WILL MEET AGAIN...ALWAYS AND FOREVER WE SHALL MEET...SEVENTEEN MINUTES AGO."

The lord Galamoth slowly released his grip, his strength now faded for another future to be born without him as he passed further down into the ethereal void. Dahlia slowly began to fall onto the stone cobbled floor of the old planetarium as the essence of Adrammelech now faded into herself disappearing like a ghost, the walls still vacant along with most of the castle itself. Kruz noticed their skiff had managed to escape, slowly hovering over its remnants as he waved up to them. He noticed James standing before the door now slowly weakening as he walked up beside him hearing his words mumbling: "Berniere was insane, there's just...no way I could have summoned something like that." "Agreed." "But I...it's finally there before me and I see it about to go...I dunno how long this thing'll hold up but I want...wh-what if...what if that portal-" "-can take you home?" He turned towards Kruz with a look of tense anxiety before he nodded. "You know I...I always wanted to do this but I don't...I mean, I...I've never seen anything like that before. Was it...was it really some kind of god?" "I do not know," said Fayne, "but whatever it wasszh, we managed to repel it thanksszh to our effortsszh...esszhpesszhially that of our great sszhummoner." Dahlia slowly hobbled forwards, clutching her body harsh as Fayne pressed a hand to her chest murmuring a healing spell to keep her spirits up. It helped some of the pain as she simply said: "Thank you...I...I-i-i only wish...M-mariel had been here to help." "Sszhe had trained you well. We all fought good within thisszh battle, isszh it really over?" "It's got to be," mumured FG, "this was what it was all about, Berniere, Enoch, Margaret, those stupid relics-" "OH, right those!" The kremling looked over towards the stone relics still placed at their side completely untouched by the battle oddly. He gently picked them up still within the display case with not even a crack or dent. "These things caused everything...was Enoch right, do we throw them in?" "I want to go." They all turned towards FG who walked forwards. "I...Berniere said...all the stuff he said predicted would come true, and it was, it really did." "I admit," replied Fayne, "that I have notisszhed upon remembering how often he wasszh able to antisszhipate a few eventsszh but-" "That must have been why he was weird with you," added Kruz, "before we left to fight that spirit we had to deal with. He must have seen what you would do." "But," stuttered James, "I-i-i wouldn't...I wouldn't summon something like this." "Berniere couldn't even predict me killing him, so maybe the future's not all it's cracked up to be." "What?" "I'm saying that, you can't predict everything because who could? That guy even, god, whatever, said he was master of Time, he couldn't even stop us." "That's right!" Dahlia smiled beaming with a sense of pride and satisfaction. "E-even though he was so confident he could win, he couldn't because we beat him! Somehow, but we did!" "So that leaves only one question...James." Turning towards his friends gave them the chance to see FG's completely decimated complexion. His eyes sunken whole, blood running through every orifice of his face, withered pale skin and raw burns on every part of his body. He couldn't even keep his eyes open from such exhaustion as he asked: "This...this thing behind me is something I have wanted to find for years...ever since I disappeared from my home, I have wanted to f-f-find a portal. And now I'm...I'm just so terrified by what might be beyond it after that monster came through, what if it's some place I've never been to? What if I end up killing myself through it like it tore through him, what if-" "James." Kruz put his hand on his friend's shoulder. "Do you want to go home?" "......no." "What?" "...I...I have to get home. But I don't want to. I want to be with s-somebody, I want to be back with Koopin, I wanna be...I d-don't want to be this monster, I just want to stop fighting. I just wanna live." "I know." He pulled James into a hug with arm wrapped firmly around his waist. "I know you want all that, and I know that you...listen." The kremling pulled back to stare at him in the eye. "You don't have long left. There's nothing in this world that can help you solve your demon problem. But maybe there's something right out there." "Kruzzh," asked Fayne, "a-a-are you not...Jamesszh, are you actually planning to go through that gate?! You cannot even know what it would-wh-wh-what if it tearsszh you from limb to limb?!" "I don't know what it can do," said FG, "but I know...that if I stay here I'll just become possessed in about three months. Even that god thing knew, and it even knew when I was born...somehow." "That doesn't matter." Dahlia staggered forwards to take the hand of her leader gripping firmly. "You're our leader...and our friend. If you wanted to stay, we would do everything possible to help you even if we cannot...run the demon out from you, but we would stand by you! No matter what." "Agreed." Fayne took the other hand in a trusting gesture. "After all you have done for me, I would be a hypocrite to not do the sszhame for you. But it isszh up to you. I know you are not of usszh and sszho you may come to passzh but...what do you want, Jamesszh?" "I told you," replied James squeezing their hands feebly, "I want to go back to Koopin...and live like a normal person." "I undersszhtand. Do you not think I will plan to do the sszhame with my beloved Kruzzh? But I will not leave you, if you have chosszhen to remain here. My friend." The sense of companionship from all three of them brought James to tears whimpering softly. Struggling to hold himself he gently let go of Fayne and Dahlia's hands before turning back towards the gateway as he shook his head feeling a determined sense of will. So he made his decision. "I already...planned to go through that portal ever since we first came here. I wanted to go through even when we were fighting that monster, I just wanted to...I saw the perfect opportunity, everything I had dreamed of and now I see it slipping away before me. I'm...I'm sorry guys. I have to. If I don't, then I'll just be left wandering until the day I lose myself and become a monster. I need to do this, I have nothing left to lose." "I know," said Kruz tearfully. "I know you have to. I don't want you to go because I'll be afraid that I won't see you ever again...but I know you have to. Just...at least let me do one thing." "What?" "...something I always wanted to give you." He walked forwards, placing his hand behind James' head as slowly the two brought their lips together. A soft, tender kiss with bitter tears trickling down Kruz's cheek, feeling his breath turn a little funny in his throat as he gasped feeling James' colder lips. James did not move other than the parting of his lips by instinct, moaning as their tongues briefly tasted the other in passing. The last they would ever know of each other as the kremling stood back. "...I-i-i don't want you to leave...g-g-god James." "I know." He held Kruz's hand squeezing tightly. "I don't...I don't want to either but I need to...know." "Alright...I know there's...not much left f-for you i-it's up to you. Goodbye James. I want...I hope that I can see you again." "I want to see you too," replied James, "I just hope...that you and Fayne have a good life, and Dahlia? ...I hope everything works out for you and Navarro." "A-a-alright...I will." She was moved to tears, struggling to hold back if it wasn't for the pain furiously dwelling within her being from the powerful battering she took as Fayne hiccuped slightly. His hand started shaking as he offered something to his leader despite the warm wetness of his cheeks. "T-t-take...take thisszh." The dagger of Kiltia's faith glistened like a shard of the moon. "I-i-if anything...happensszh, then you can repel it, by the light. I hope...that it h-helpsszh...you." "I hope...that it does too. Thank you Fayne." He slowly put the dagger into his satchel before hugging the cleric firmly as he could, then lastly moving to Dahlia with a tighter hug from her squeezing with wrought emotion as she asked gently: "If you ever...manage to break free of that demon, w-won't you...come back to us someday soon." "I will. Trust me." He smiled once more as he walked forwards into the portal, slowly falling apart amongst an unstable frame of astronomical catalysts. It was only the power of its interstellar existence that even managed to hold it all together without imploding as the raptor felt its vibrations intensely across his own skin. It had a burning sensation to it as he felt a strange fear for the first time in his life. Fear at coming near to his journey's ending. The prospect of coming close towards the great culmination of his journey, somehow brought forth a sense of dread like all great travellers would feel. He realised that proverb of the journey and not the destination coming true to him despite all that he had been through. But he knew he had no choice, as he was either doomed to an oblivion beyond or doomed to watch himself slowly become a puppet to an evil that would cause a greater massacre. The demon's influence was the only thing that pushed him on forwards as he stepped through finally, with one last look towards Dahlia, Kruz and Fayne who waved him on with tears of need, pleading with their hearts for his journey to be safe. The world never knew what became of James Campbell, as he stepped through the portal to another world but it was a new sensation that he would feel. Whereas before he had entered worlds by a shocking cold darkness through the fabric of reality, he exited this one in a burning white light that completely engulfed him. A raw hot piercing agony suddenly transfixed through his very being as his screams became part of the abyss. The pain was much too great, but he had managed to follow through the dimensional passage as his clan tried to remember James' last moments. His bloody tears before he departed from the world of Ivalice shined with some hope no matter how bleak that it seemed into another, darker realm cast upon with solemn moonlight, upon a castle far away. Never could the night escape from him.