Dissidia Final Fantasy: Unus Mundus

Chapter Seventeen ~ Journey's Beginning (Quistis)

Nighttime came upon the Garden, and everyone that randomly appeared there without any warning went to sleep for the night as Quistis, Rude, Tseng, Elena, and now Zack walked through the quiet and peaceful halls after having gotten introductions out of the way. They walked in silence to assure that there weren't any unfavorable types in the Garden that would assassinate everyone in their sleep, and once they made sure everyone was asleep, Quistis led everyone outside to have a bit of a talk.

"This whole thing seems so weird," said Zack. "So, Rude, Tseng, Cissnei—or I guess Elena—and I appeared here in a world we don't belong in, huh? Sounds familiar... it brings back an odd childhood memory of a coliseum..."

"What's even weirder is that you seem to have been entirely revived," Tseng commented as he looked at Zack. "You faced the entirety of the Shinra military alone. They ran an autopsy report after the battle, after they... took Cloud, and declared you dead. I wonder if this means the Director is alive somewhere in this messed up world..."

"If this is bringing all these people back to life," Rude began, "then what does that say about Sephiroth?" The name sent a chill down the spines of the three Turks' spines, though Quistis and Zack were both unfazed.

"If he's alive again, we'll take him down." Zack stood up and put his hands on his waist, standing tall almost heroically. "Nothing that a SOLDIER 1st Class and the Turks can't handle."

"Actually..." Elena spoke with a bit of nervous laughter. "Sephiroth nearly ended the world after you passed away, twice. It took a lot of work to actually stop it, and in reality, we didn't do much to help the first time; it was all Cloud and his friends. The entirety of Shinra's government collapsed and we were forced into desolation. Though I must say that this place is in much better condition than Midgar."

"It is a different world altogether, based on our somewhat reasonable deduction," Quistis replied. "Well, for you guys, not for me. We had our own adversaries to worry about. Either way, what should we do? It sounds like you guys have been separated from friends of your own, so should we just try to look for them?"

But before anyone could say anything, they saw a massive and bright light fall from the blue moon, entering the atmosphere like a comet, but it got a little too close for comfort.

"I guess Sephiroth is alive," Rude scoffed, adjusting his sunglasses. "We should probably run."

Rude, Tseng, and Elena didn't hesitate to run away as quickly as possible, but Zack and Quistis simply backed away, watching the light fall. The closer it fell, however, they realized that it was not at all a comet or a meteor, or anything of the sort. It was a beam of pure light hurtling towards the planet. They sensed no energy coming from the light—it was only a bit of a breeze as it flew through the air. Quistis saw exactly where it was heading, and she was right. The light flew into the mountains and an explosion of wind and dirt from the impact nearly knocked Quistis and Zack down. Once the air was cleared out, they saw that there was a cave opened up in the mountains, but a gentle glow came from inside.

"That was weird..." Zack whispered. He and Quistis exchanged glances with one another, and without warning, Zack began walking towards the cave.

"Wait a minute!" Quistis ran in front of him to stop him. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Exploring the creepy, glowy cave," Zack replied with a nonchalant shrug. He looked at Quistis with a bit of a sly grin. "What? You scared?"

"What? No!" Quistis's expression turned to one of slight anger. "It's not fear. It's cautiousness. Something you should learn to have." She began walking alongside Zack towards the cave, her heartbeat quickening a bit. "I've been through worse, but the unknown is generally dangerous, and I really don't feel like getting killed in a weird glowy cave."

"Maybe your friends are in there?" Zack suggested. That made Quistis stop for a moment in contemplation. Zack couldn't help but laugh. "Come on. There can't be anything that bad in here."

Quistis didn't hesitate now. She picked up the pace and walked closer to the caves. Once they got closer, the air around them began feeling different. It felt almost like walking into cold fog with ice diamond-like molecules in the air. Though despite the odd drop in temperature around the cave, it wasn't uncomfortable. It felt welcoming. Quistis even thought she heard music from deep within the cave, and it drew her in even further. "Do you hear that?" she whispered, looking into the cave. It looked like the inside of a volcano with hardened masses of dry lava acting as land bridges over magma. Despite that, the air in the cave still felt cold.

"Hear what?" Zack asked, looking around the cave's interior as Quistis walked forward.

"It sounds like music." Quistis tried following her ears across the narrow lava paths. "Singing, rhythmic beats, flawless harmonies... you don't hear any of it?"

"All I hear is the steaming of the magma below us," Zack commented, carefully watching his step as he followed Quistis, but Quistis didn't pay any mind to his statement. She just kept following the sound of the music deeper in the cave. As they walked, Zack could see strange-looking monsters around them, emerging from the magma like it was just a bath to them, and when their eyes met his, he looked away as quickly as possible. "This place is definitely more than a little strange..."

The lava path eventually led to solid tile ground. They were quite far away from the entrance, which made Zack feel quite uneasy, but Quistis was getting drawn deeper into the cave. It was quite strange. They went from being in the interior of a volcanic cave to what appeared to be an ancient and weathered temple made of ceramic brick. The aura changed entirely once they stepped foot on the ground of the temple. The air became warmer, but it was still comfortable. Zack was able to hear the music now, and he followed it, hypnotized like Quistis. Neither of them realized it, but they phased right through a wall and began ascending a staircase leading up to what looked like a throne room. The music seized as soon as they passed through the wall, and it was then that both of them realized where they were. Quistis looked at Zack with a concerned expression, and he simply shrugged.

Quistis and Zack continued up the long staircase until they arrived at the top where an older man and an older woman sat on their thrones.

"Quistis Trepe and Zack Fair..." the old man began. "Welcome to the Cave of Eidolons. We were hoping some humans would have enough curiosity to explore the depths of this old place. Before you ask, I am King Leviathan, and this is my beautiful wife, Queen Asura." The older woman looked at the two and smiled kindly.

"Leviathan..." Zack crossed his arms with contemplation. "Why is that name familiar?"

"You have no need to worry about it now," Asura said to Zack. She stood up and looked at the two. "You have a big journey ahead of you two, and it begins here."

"Why us?" asked Quistis, but the throne room went silent for a moment.

"It's... a complex selection process that humans wouldn't understand," Leviathan said.

Completely ignoring him, Quistis kept speaking. "Do you two know why the world is changing so much? What caused it?"

Asura shook her head. "Not even we know... it happened so suddenly, and we've lost contact with the Eidolons. But seeing as to how we have two humans here, it only makes sense to send you two out to discover the source of all of this."

"Why can't you two do it?" asked Zack. "Why send a couple of dumb humans on such a journey when you two are far more capable?" Quistis immediate shot an angered glare at Zack, but Leviathan spoke after.

"Asura and I are well aware of your strengths," he said. "Zack Fair, we know that your life was ended before, and this anomaly in time and space revived you. Consider this your second chance at life. And Quistis Trepe..." Leviathan turned towards Quistis as Zack looked down at the ground. "You seek the friends you miss, is that right? This journey will bring you to them."

"....." Quistis was silent as well and she nodded. "Okay... we'll go."

"Good." Asura smiled and placed both of her hands on Quistis's and Zack's shoulders. "Now, close your eyes, and when you wake up, your journey will begin."