Dissidia Final Fantasy: Unus Mundus

Chapter Fifteen ~ Truth and Illusion (Locke)

It was already nighttime by the time Locke and Cyan had made it a fair distance away from Figaro Castle. The world was oddly empty along their trek. Any nearby cities hardly had people in them, the monsters and general wildlife were gone in general, and the entire landscape surrounding the desert was different. There were two moons in the sky now, and one of them was a deep shade of red, which frightened both of the men as they left the desert rather late at night. "I hope Terra and the others are okay," Locke said quietly. He kept his dagger Orichalum by his side as they walked. "What do you think is causing all of this?"

"Such otherworldly effects are beyond the average mind's comprehension," Cyan replied. "Mayhaps divine intervention? The rapture from religious mythology?"

"Whatever deity is doing this is gonna get an ass-kicking when we figure out what's going on..." Locke seemed a little more worked up than usual, and it did not take long for Cyan to figure it out.

"Is something wrong?" he asked. Locke was silent. He didn't even look at Cyan or acknowledge that he knew Cyan asked a question, though he slowed his pace down.

"We should get some rest." Locke's voice was quiet and low in tone, but it wavered as if he was trying his hardest not to break down. Without warning, Locke walked away. "I'll get firewood." His voice became a murmur as he spoke, as if he was talking to himself. He kept his gaze to the ground as he walked, occasionally turning to make sure Cyan wasn't following him. Pretty soon, the only sound through the quiet air was his footsteps with the sound of crunching leaves under them. He had entered a forest that wasn't there before, but with his gaze fixed downward, he didn't notice where he was going. Is the world playing a sick joke on me? he thought to himself. I saw her... I know she was there last night, but she's been gone for a long time. Yet Kefka's alive... could it be that Rachel is as well? Would she even remember me if she was—

Locke didn't realize how long he was walking for before he heard the screeching of what sounded like a massive bird. He threw his head up and looked at the sky as the moons got blocked out by the incredible wingspan of a bird that looked like it could be the size of an Airship. "What the hell is that?" Locke murmured to himself, holding Orichalum in his left hand and a Main Gauche dagger in his left. The bird began diving downward and Locke prepared himself for impact, crossing his arms over his face and using the daggers as shields, but he lowered his guard as a pained screech came from the massive bird. He looked up and saw it spiraling away as if something of equal or greater strength hit it. Locke watched with both confusion and curiosity to see what happened next, and sure enough, the bird was enveloped in a massive ball of flames before disintegrating into nothing.

"It didn't get you, did it?"

The sound of the stranger's voice shocked Locke quite a bit and he jumped away, holding his daggers out before he saw who spoke. It was a rather tall woman in a long, blue cloak with a pointed orange hat that looked like it had seen years of wear and tear. Locke was only able to see the woman's eyes on his face, which glowed yellow, but they seemed kind. "I'm okay," he said, returning his daggers to their scabbards. "Who are you? And how do you have that kind of power?"

"I was created with it," the tall woman said. "My kin and I were created as slaves only capable of destruction, but when we became aware, we left those lives and settled here. I had thought we all expired, but somehow, we all came back."

"Created...?" Locke was confused and feeling rather uneasy. "Are you a form of Magitek?"

"I believe the term is Black Mage," the tall woman said. "I was never given a name considering my role; just a model number. You can call me No. 365."

Locke immediately shook his head. "That doesn't seem right! You're not just some sort of machine, and I can tell. You deserve a unique name. Like..." He crossed his arms and looked around. Suddenly, he thought of the name of his dagger. "How about Ori?"

"Ori?" the tall woman asked. "How did you come up with that name?"

Locke removed the dagger from its scabbard and showed it to her. "This is a legendary dagger I received during a war my friends and I waged a while back," he said. "It is called the Orichalum Dirk. I dunno... something about your demeanor, your tone, and just how you look... Ori feels pretty fitting, if you ask me. Does that sound good to you?"

The tall woman hesitated for a moment and looked at the dagger with a bit of concern, especially since it was a human holding it out to her, but she felt as if she could trust him. "Ori..." she spoke the name aloud herself, and Locke could immediately see the joy in her bright yellow eyes. "Ori... I like it! My friends may like it as well, and perhaps we can give them names too."

"Your friends?" Locke sheathed his dagger once more and looked around. "You said that you all settled in this forest?"

"Oh yes." The tall woman, Ori, replied with what Locke assumed was a smile based on her tone of voice. "Because of the destruction caused by others who were created like us, humans were more than willing to put an end to us instead of allowing us to expire naturally, so we fled and found that we were safest here. Come with me! The others would love to meet you!"

"Are you sure?" Locke was rather skeptical as Ori began walking further into the forest. "I'm a human... are you sure they aren't gonna get all panicky from seeing me?"

"You remind me of a friend of ours," Ori said with a bit of a giggle. "The others will find comfort in that if they see the same in you."

Locke decided to follow Ori further in, looking around at the rather creepy forest. It was even creepier at nighttime, it seemed. Along the path, they came up to what looked like an old, desolate part of the forest where the trees were all dead. "Your settlement is here?" he asked. Ori walked forward and lifted her hands up. Immediately, the dead trees began wobbling almost as if they were being shown on a projector screen as the wind blew by. A portal appeared to open right up in the middle of those dead trees, revealing a lively village of incredibly lush nature all around. Ori led Locke through the portal, which closed behind them as they entered, and almost immediately, a bunch of Black Mages of all ages surrounded Ori and Locke excitedly, their voices all jumbled as they greeted Ori with great energy.

"Calm down, everyone," Ori laughed as she lifted her hands to get everyone to quiet down. Once they did, she placed a hand on Locke's back and gently pushed him forward. "I've brought a friend with me tonight."

"Is that Zidane?" a rather young Black Mage boy from the crowd asked, and that caused the crowd to stir more, but it was of joy more than anything.

"I don't know who this Zidane is," Locke began, "but my name is Locke Cole. Certified treasure hunter, and semi-decorated war veteran." He subtly flexed his arms a bit and grinned confidently. The crowd of Black Mages went silent once more as they exchanged glances, and they began walking away, returning to their business.

"Well, at least they aren't afraid of you." Ori laughed a little and held her hand out. "Welcome, Locke Cole. This is the Black Mage Village."