From the Heavens (Final Fantasy XVI)

𖥸 XXXII 𖥸

|| The Crystalline Dominion ||
|| The Isles of Ark ||

After some time once disembarking the wagon near the outskirts of Twinside, Clive, Jill, Lyra, and Torgal found a covert way into the gleaming city. They were able to locate an inn and rent a room for the night. They got comfortable in the room while Torgal remained outside to act as a guard.

Hours later, the sun had set completely.

Jill grabbed two cups, one for her and one for Clive. She handed it to him. "One would never guess that these people stood on the brink of war."

Clive accepted the cup. "They're afraid. They turn to drink to forget their fears."

"Anything you want to forget?" she asked, leaning against the table.

He shook his head and explained what he saw when they were walking through the city. "The harbor is empty, and half the market stalls too. The city may seem peaceful on the surface, but it's balanced on a knife edge." He took a sip. It was then did an idea pop into his head. "Were we to...give it a nudge, it might be just the distraction we need to reach the Mothercrystal."

"I thought you might say that." Jill put her cup down on the table, not too far from where Lyra was curled up and sleeping. "We should send for Gav. We'll need someone to keep the fires we start from going out."

"And we can busy ourselves scheming until he gets here."

"I'll send a stolas, then." Jill walked out to the balcony and whistled to summon an owl.

Clive put his cup down as he moved around to face the table. He folded his arm on top of the table, his gaze drifting to the sleeping cat. She had been asleep ever since they stepped off the wagon. He figured she was still worn out from her battle with Indra. He reached out his hand and stroked the top of her head, a smile appearing on his face when she turned on her side with a faint purr.

Once Jill sent the stolas, she joined Clive at the table and they discussed strategy for a while. A couple of hours passed and she decided to get some sleep. She laid on one of the beds while he remained at the table.

Clive continued to sort through the various ideas that were swimming around in his head. He was hunched over the table, hands on his head as he closed his eyes. He was pulled from his thoughts the moment he felt soft fur graze against his chest. Looking down, he saw Lyra was awake and rubbing her body against him. He started to scratch the back of her head. "Did you sleep well?"

"Like a babe," Lyra said. "I can tell you need some rest. Why don't you take the other bed?"

"I...cannot," he replied. "We may need to move at any moment."

Lyra jumped off the table. She reverted back to her human form and moved to stand behind him. Placing her hands on top of his head, she leaned down and rested her chin on top of her stacked palms. "Could I convince you to take a moment to rest while I remain awake in your stead?"

Clive did feel the exhaustion and knew it wouldn't be good if they were needed. He sighed tiredly and decided he would need some rest, whether it be a couple of minutes or a couple of hours. "All right."

Lyra smiled. She removed her hands from his head and kissed him on the cheek. "Excellent decision. I shall wake you and Jill if something happens."

"Thank you, Lyra." Clive stood up from the table and claimed the other bed. Once he was comfortable, he was asleep within seconds.

The room fell silent.

Lyra sat at the table for some time, thinking about Indra in hopes of figuring out why he and Ultima wanted to extinguish humanity yet keep the world intact. To her, it sounded like both beings wanted the world for themselves and the only way to do that is to wipe out mortals.