s e e r e s s .

     Confusion washes over Noel as he drifts back into consciousness, called by a familiar voice. For a moment, he can’t remember exactly what happened, but the more awake he got, the clearer his memory became. It was a difficult fight Serah and him had gotten into, but in the end… they were successful, weren’t they? That part was still a blur, but he hoped everything was fine. It had to be.

     Slowly he sat up, trying to recognize his surroundings but they looked only barely familiar, then he turned to where the voice had come from. “Yeul…?” But ah, just from one look at her face he could already tell… this Yeul wasn’t the one he’d known back home. And still, her presence here was soothing, made him feel more at ease.

          “I’m just a bit exhausted”, he answered to her question. “But, Serah… and Mog… I need to find them. Make sure they’re okay too.”

          " You need not worry.   No harm will come to them. "   Though her words ring true and with utmost certainty,   though she may possess the curse of foresight bestowed by the goddess herself   ------   even that may not be reassurance enough for Noel who so desperately hopes not to lose anyone else in his life.   But her word is all she has.   And she does,   in the end,   wish for them to succeed in their journey.

          " Noel. "   Kneeling beside his unconscious form,   a moment is spared to inspect for any injuries he may have sustained.   She knows how difficult the previous battle had been.   Just as she knows it was the reason why he and Serah are separated now.   " Noel.   Are you alright ? "

" your strength and devotion are truly admired. "   there were not many who challenged ravaj and survived. he had guarded the seeress in this life for as long as she can remember.   " my life . . . my safety is now entrusted to you. i have no doubts you will protect them well, guardian aqua. "

" serah ? "   yeul moves to close the distance between them, clouds of darkness dispersing so that traces of light may be let in. for anyone else this place must be an everlasting nightmare, as serah's expression alone says all, and the seeress can only look upon her with a heavy heart, for this was all her doing. her, and the countless other yeuls destined to this miserable fate.

⌠ ℛ e s i l i e n t⌡—❝The Goddess? You…can’t have the same Goddess I do…❞

It was incredulous. There were old myths, of Etro, of her Gate that both Pulse and Lindzei had attempted to open. Of course, they were but children fables…right?

within vibrant fields of wildflowers that seemingly stretched on for miles, the seeress busied herself. an arrangement of indigos, corals, golds, ivory -- she has yet to decide where to begin, or even what project will be chosen next. the time passes by in a pleasant blur before she's moving to close the distance between herself and her guardian, who had remained along the sidelines for reasons silently understood.

❛ do you still favor them? the dahlias? ❜ hand outstretches to reveal one of amethyst hues, strikingly reminiscent of the color he bore upon lengthy tresses. it had been a difficult find, but rewarding nonetheless.

The clouds of Chaos that surrounded the temple, made of hundred of souls who had died in the past five hundred years, was home not only to the dead, but also for an undying guardian and the ancient seeress; and all of her incarnations. Tens, hundreds of Yeuls, all of them freed from their curse of seeing the future. From the Unseen Chaos, another one of them appears; a Yeul who was afraid of being alone. A Yeul who didn’t want to let Caius go. She walked through the ruins with the intention of seeing Caius; until she saw the other, lamenting, about the fate of their undying guardian. She did not want to interfere, but when she heard the words coming from the other, she stopped, looking to the walls of the destructed temple, something that should never have existed in the mortal realm. Silence remains for a few seconds, when slowly words were left from her lips. ❛ I don’t know. He yearns to die, but remains here, because of us. Because we are alive. If we were not in the world of the living anymore… He most likely wouldn’t be too. ❜ Her voice is low, but it’s notable the sadness on it. The thought of losing Caius was something she preferred to avoid; it made her feel quite insecure and scared. ❛ But I’m not letting him go. I don’t want to be alone. My only wish now is remain by his side. ❜

echoing quietly throughout the halls is the sound of her own voice, a response to her own musings. her gaze does not rise from the ground but these words are given thought all the same, the truth that lies within them. it was futile, she knows, to dwell on matters which could not be controlled, but it was equally impossible to ignore the pain and despair which plagued her guardian so forcefully. the man who sacrificed so much and endured even more for her sake, for all of theirs.

vast were the halls of etro's temple and so very empty, its silence deafening. haunting. she is hardly alone with hundreds of other past and future lives lingering within the chaos, yet there are moments where somehow she feels the loneliest she's ever felt. their bodies may be many but they were all essentially one in the same.

she presses on, traversing through the ruins as caius wished to keep to himself as of late. footsteps eventually bring her to find refuge upon a spot of cold stone. legs drawn to chest, arms around herself, her gaze falls solemnly below. she's contemplating, lamenting, reminiscing. she feels a wave of emotions and entirely numb at once. she is a mass of contradictions, alone but surrounded by herself.

          ❛ he is suffering... he will continue to suffer this way. but is it the goddess he still feels contempt for, cursing him with eternity? or is it us? ❜