Final Fantasy XV 💖Crystal Heart

11---Her paradise

~~~Living out a memory in her dreams~~~~

"The breeze is so warm." Issa says smiling.
She is standing on a dock near the water,
Beside her a king of the past.
The colors of the scenery too vibrant to be real...

"The sun shines upon the land, but many years will pass and an heir will arise, the sun will be no more." his voice calm, " You see, war is inevitable and the past repeats itself. That is why we need guardians like you Issa."

They look out at the sunrise together appreciating the balance of light and darkness.

Issa turns to her King, "My duty is to protect the crystal...but what if the crystal is destroyed?"

He laughs and wraps an arm around her shoulder, she looks at him, searching for an answer. He smiles looking out into the distance.

"My dear, some day it may come to be, but not in our lifetime, you will always be of good use my child."

"I am not born of you my king, I'm not worthy at all to be called your child." Her eyes fall.

He responds smiling back at her,
"You were an orphan and I took you in as my own, you are treasured beyond all measure and are the most worthy knight that I have. You would never be sent away regardless."

She straightens out her long sword in her sheath feeling satisfied with his answer...But where did she come from really?

"Thank you, my King. It means the world to me, hearing your kind words." She whispers as the wind blows her hair.

Her armor shines and she lifts a hand to brush her hair back out of her eyes....

A purple ribbon flies thru the air and lands in her face. She quickly grabs at it.

The soft blowing wind turns to waves of water, crashing over her head.

Confusion sets in and she quickly sinks to the sea bed.

Floating above her she sees the long shadow of an immense creature. The same eyes look down at her...
'Daughter' she repeats in her mind.

Her hopes float like bubbles, reaching up with her arms she can't find the surface for air,  she slowly fades into the darkness.

Suddenly She appears on a city street and
Fire is falling from the sky. Gasping for breath, choking up water while on her hands and knees.

She stands slowly, swaying from side to side and walks past all the horror before her. Scattered all around are bodies left from a battle lost.

Oh the sadness left behind. Death and bloodshed are all that's left here.

The bricks and stone, once holding the city together. Now lay crumbled at her feet...

she wanders toward the place she once called home, Insomnia, the crown city. Her adoptive home.

"This must be after the fall of King Regis. It has changed greatly in the time I've been gone." 

Gone..Gone?..Wait....Issa realises that she is not in the world, but a dream?
"Am I stuck here?" She asks herself, slowly wrapping her arms around herself.

She moves foreward, only to see a fiery manbeast sitting in wait..for something...or someone?  It is Ifrit.

Ashes float down from the dark sky as she walks past the beast.  It doesn't take notice of her at all.

She nears the front doors she enters into the citdel.. then she rides up an elevator to the  throne room of the Lucian Kings.

she sees Ardyn, making him self at home, sitting where Noctis should be. The world seems turned upside down, wrong in every way.

She gasps, "The darkness has not been purged, Ardyn still lives. Where is Noctis??"

Ardyn looks up, the brim of his hat upward to her direction, as if he sees her, but instead he looks beyond her...

She feels an immense sadness over the things she has come across thus far.

This man took every measure to break her, to create hatred in her heart so that the crystal would reject her..But her hope never wavered, she feels sorry for this evil man.

"I forgive you." The words slip from her mouth as she stands still.

The ground around her begins to falls away and a  light shines so brightly she cannot see. Her body seems to stretch as if passing thru a vortex into the unknown.

There she finds herself floating, thru the universe. So many colors as if the northern lights were inviting her home to Paradise.

But a star shines brightly distracting her from the path to death.

she grows closer to the star, reaching out intending to touch it. The yellow glow fills her eyes and the corners of her mouth turn up into a smile.

Her life is floating thru space and time.

The view comes back into focus and the lights grow dim.  In the blink of an eye she is at the diner in Hammerhead.

Still floating as if gravity doesn't pertain to her she pulls herself downward into a booth.

She eaves drops near a couple of hunters speaking amongst themselves.

"If this keeps going on, there wont be anyone left. We need King Noctis to come back, he's our only hope to see light again."

The other hunter scoffs, "Ugh, it's been 10 years. He is not coming back. The sun will never rise again!  Were as good as dead."

She thinks: As good as dead? How could the people lose hope, am I seeing the world as it is today?

She looks to her right and there sitting at a table are Gladio, Prompto and Ignis.

They have noticeably aged and have become more rugged due to circumstances.

She floats their direction and tries to lay a hand on Promptos head. But it brushes thru him, as if she never existed.

"I am thankful Iris is able to watch over her, I needed to get some fresh air." Ignis says

" She really is kind. I'm glad you were able to get out. I needed some friend time Ignis, thank you." Prompto replies.

Ignis---"The pleasure is all mine."

Gladio sits in silence with his arms crossed.

She sighs and watches over Prompto a moment...she sees how sad he is, how his brow is hardened as if deep in thought...

who was Ignis watching over?

Talcott, a young friend of the crew barges in, "You'll never guess who showed up."

Thru the door, King Noctis walks.

She closes her eyes and the world seems to fade away, the voices grow quieter as the seconds pass by...

Water floods over her again, this time she floats up to the surface,
Issa  wades thru the water back to the shore, her armor has changed to a soft white gown..

The waves gently hit the sand and stone. She can hear birds calling in the distance  and the sun is shining again.

"Is this where I am to spend eternity?" Issa wonders out loud.

Someone walks up behind her, "The king shall go henceforth and purge the world of the darkness, Only then dost the sun rise."

Gentiana appears beside her.

Issa--- "Gentiana, will it be as prophesied?"

"The time draws near and so it shall be done." Gentiana walks to the end of the pier slowly and looks back at her, "As for you dear Issa, the stars  have given you a second chance."

"Where do I come from? My real mother?" Issa questions.

"You have already found the answer..."
Gentiana slowly fades away with the wind until nothing is left.

"Who am I really? I just want to go home..." holdinga hand to her heart, an empty space, a scar where the crystal had been. Tears fill her eyes.

"Tho it may be beautiful amongst the sun and breeze, I am very lonely here...I miss him..."