FFX-3 Chat

Chapter 19

They had to brace on the door to unblock it. Then, they opened it carefully, and the warm air of the night came inside the building. The young man had managed to convince his partner.

Above them, the leaves of the trees were filtering the light of the stars.

"What's that?" Tidus asked.

He was pointing at metallic pillars as large as his fist, at regular intervals between stone slabs. Far above the two young people, the pillars were supporting a wire network on which leaves were clinging, like a creeper vine would. Yuna had never seen such a plant.

"This camouflage hides the building", Tidus said joyfully. "The place looks like any forest plot, from above. We've been completely taken in!"

Yuna was preoccupied with something else.

"Along the path, we've been led by the pieces of fabric to a specific place. We've encountered a problem, someone has come to rescue us, and we've woken up inside the building, is that correct?"

Tidus acquiesced, unsure.

"It's quite easy to recognize this entrance," he noticed while sweeping the place with his eyes. "We've never come here, so that means the place we're looking for is ahead of us."

"Which place?"

"The place of our accident."

He unseathed his rapier before resuming:

"Let's go take a look."

He set off with a careful step. Yuna followed him. She was trying to convince herself that everything would be fine. Even if they had encountered a mysterious difficulty, they had found some help to overcome it. The young woman, who was refusing to give in to panic, decided to be optimistic.

They progressed slowly for a few minutes, then Tidus stopped.

"Look," he whispered.

He was showing the hill they could observe through the leaves. In the light of the stars, the statue of Luchera was standing out from the landscape.

Tidus could not help shouting.

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Impatient, they flung themselves along the path.

"That was a man?"

"No, a woman, I think."

They stopped suddenly and exchanged a incredulous look : "Luchera?"

On a part of the path, the relief of the ground hid the top of the hill. When they were able to see it again, they seemed to notice a silhouette. They set out again on the double.

Yuna was feeling safe. The unknown person did not mean any harm, she was sure of that. She had seen them swinging, slowly.

When they finally reached the top, the silhouette was still dancing.

"She's wearing the same clothes as you," Tidus noticed.

"Was it her who helped us?"

"That's a possibility. Look, isn't she performing a sending?"

In Tidus' mind, every dance was a sending.

"No," Yuna answered. "We can't see the souls of the dead. It would be fluttering in the night like a firefly."

Sometimes, it was difficult to discern it. But Yuna had never failed. For a summoner, the most important predisposition was the sensitivity to pyreflies.

"And the moves are different," Tidus added.

"That doesn't mean anything. The choreography is specific to the summoner, and some of them don't dance at all."

"Then why do you dance?"

"Because there exist people who can't see souls. In this case, how are they supposed to know if the one they love was sent correctly ? The dance of the officiate enables the concerned people to keep a strong memory of the ceremony. But a lot of people don't know that."

She kept quiet and put down her weapon on the ground. After a moment of hesitation, Tidus imitated her.

"We are sorry to disturb you," she began.

The silhouette stood still, then beckoned to them.

"Allow me to present me," Tidus said lightly

Yet, his expression was very serious.

He is overdoing it, Yuna thought. However, she decided to let him lead the conversation.

"Good evening," the unknown woman answered. "The stars are wonderful this night, are not they?"

She was little. In the middle of her thin face, flanked with black curls, her big eyes and her dimples drew attention. A wide dress, girded around the waist, was covering her thin body as far as the ankles. Her head reached Yuna's eyes in height.

No wonder I mistook her for a boy, from afar.

"I am Tidus."

"And I am Yuna."

The woman nodded :

"Kush."

Tidus let out an exclamation of surprise. Kush smiled, which illimunated immediately her face.

"Like the goddess of abundance?" Yuna asked.

"I do not look like her, I know," the young woman answered.

The young summoner stammered, embarassed.

"I have taken this name on," Kush explained. "I am not a divinity. This is a tradition, or a rule, to my people. After my death, someone else will become 'Kush'".

It made Tidus speechless.

"Who are your people?"

"The citizens of the holy Bevelle."

Yuna had never read a book or met someone mentioning Bevelle with this qualitative.

"Have you never heard of this place?" The frail young woman continued.

"The city is governed by gods?" Tidus asked. "But then... gods exist?"

Yuna feared that Kush got angry with them, but the young woman was smiling once again, and her dimples grew hollow.

"The city is on the authority of a religious government, which is mandated by gods. At least, that is what they affirm. As for the existence of divinities, the simple action of asking such a question could cause you serious problems."

"Oh..."

Tidus looked around him, anxious.

"Do not worry. Nobody can charge you with blasphemy or heresy anymore. In my opinion, I do not trust in them. But faith allows people to find some common ground. In the course of the seasons and our lifes, we join in the same rituals, and we understand that we are linked with each other, that we live in the same world. This is what happens when we take the name of a divinity on too. Incidentally, yet again, a ceremony is celebrated."

She indicated the sky with a finger :

"What is the name of the brightest star?" She asked.

"The Navel of the night," Yuna answered.

"Blitz Star!" Tidus announced at the same time.

"We call it Anli's Eye, Kush replied. He is the God who protects travellers."

She laughed and Yuna could not help doing the same.

"We have grown up in different worlds, and we are now gathered. Is not that wonderful?"

They agreed at the same time, and she resumed :

"But that is not what you want to know."

She was not smiling anymore.

Yuna wondered which question, among all those in her mind, was the most important. Tidus forestalled her :

"Where are we?"

The two young women found the formulation of his question a bit strange.

"He means, on which island," Yuna precised.

"Ah, I understand. I am sorry, I cannot answer your question. We call it 'Board of the War – South Division', but I cannot reveal its position."

"Board of the War?" Yuna repeated, abashed. "South Division?"

(Remember Kush uses the polite 'vous')

"That is correct. Vous are a Summoner, are not vous?"

Yuna nodded in agreement.

"And vous are her Guard?"

The two young people exhanged a questioning look. Tidus had been the guardian of Yuna. He had escorted and protected her during her journey.

"That is correct," Tidus ended up answering. "The Summoner Yuna and her Guard Tidus."

For a short moment, Kush's eyes appeared to search through the night. Yuna turned round and discovered a stocky silhouette just behind here.

"Shinra?" Yuna asked.

The newcomer was taller than the Shinra she knew, but he was wearing the same clothes as him : a yellow suit and a old gas mask.

"It does not speak. And I rue this lack. It is a mecanical Bedohl. Formerly, they were more numerous, but on this day, it is the last one."

She turned her palm towards the newcomer.

"Everything is fine. They are not enemies. They are the two persons you carried a bit earlier, remember. Their names are Yuna and Tidus. You do not have to eliminate them."

"What? Elim..." Tidus began.

Kush interrupted him :

"Introduce yourlselves," she ordered them. "Its visual device does not work anymore, and it has to use its audition to identify its interlocutors. It may be an end-of-life Bedohl, I do not know enough about its mechanism to be certain of this. But the false Bedohls have been built to destroy our enemies, therefore it will attack you if it thinks you are one of them. Introduce yourselves each time you meet it, and do it now once again, for more safety."

"I am Yuna."

"And I'm Tidus."

The strange character nodded and amble back along the path.

"What is the meaning behind those clothes and this mask?" Yuna asked.

"That is a ruse. Every Bedohl wore a similar outfit. Thus, nobody could differientiate the false ones from the true ones."

"I don't understand," Tidus took part. "Why were there false ones and true ones? And what is a Bedohl, to begin with?"

"A inferior people which carries out work. In order to make their life easier, some of them create machines, including false Bedohls."

"They are really great," Tidus whispered.

"No, they are awful! It is their inventions which have triggered the war. We have had to control them closely. My government has used magic to affix a mark on the body of each Bedohl. In order to not let them mingle with the population, we have ordered them to only speak a specific language. We have put in place all those measures for their own good..."

Yuna wondered if the young woman was refering to the Machina War. What was this magic used by her government? As for the Bedohls, it was reminding her of the Al Bhed. She had Al Bhed blood. Did her people come from the world of Kush?

"What exactly is the mark affixed on them?" Tidus asked on a light tone.

"A spiral deep in the eyes. Thus, wherever they go, they cannot conceal their nature."

"She's talking about Rikku and the others!" Tidus exclaimed, angry. "They're not 'inferior'!"

"They reap what they have sowed."

"Excuse me, ma'am, but you may have noticed that I have this mark in my eye," Yuna spoke, respectfully. "That is because my mother is Al Bhed... or should I say, 'Bedohl'."

Yuna saw surprise appearing on Kush's face. At the same time, the body of the young woman gleamed like a pyrefly.

"Well! To each their own, I suppose. But tell me, Yuna, is there another summoner in your family besides vous?"

"My father. He was named Braska."

"Maester Braska?"

"You don't know him?" Tidus asked. "He was High Summoner."

"Please accept my deepest apologies."

If they were in a different world, it was natural that nobody heard of Braska, Yuna thought.

"Kush," the young woman began. "May I call you, Kush, m'am?"

"Naturally."

"How have our two worlds met? When did they become separate?"

The young woman frowned but did not answer. For a few moments, she gleamed faintly, then became transparent. Tidus let out an exclamation of surprise, but she did not move. Calmly, Yuna held out her hand and touched Kush, who shone even more. But this time, instead  of disappearing, the gleam spread, more and more glaring, until the body of the woman break up into a myriad of pyreflies.

"The Summoner," Yuna whispered, "where is he?"

Kush was dispersing in the wind. Without letting herself become overwhelmed, the young woman shouted:

"Where is the Summoner?"

He was certainly close.

"I want to meet him and talk to him. We just want to go back to our world. If you know a way to do it, tell us. Please!"

Kush had disappeared, but the pyreflies were still there, around the two young people, more and more numerous.

"Watch out!" Tidus shouted.

He drew Yuna against him and embraced her. Now, the entire landscape was gleaming : the lights were still dancing in the breeze.

The island was the fruit of a summoning. It was the result of pyreflies. Yuna had not felt well because of this massive energy concentration. The phenomenon was no different from what you felt if you was too close to Sin. As the hours passed, she had been accustomed to it. Unless the Summoner had recently intervened...

I will now use some of my magic, but it will not be easy, a voice declared.

Yuna thought Tidus had spoken, but the sound appeared to come from the pyreflies. They were connecting everything, from now now. And that included Yuna and the Summoner as well.

He was a man, and Yuna had already met him. But he had obscured this fact.

"I cannot erase your memories, only seal them."

Yuna had never heard of such a advanced skill. This Mage certainly possessed a peerless power.

"Yuna..." Tidus whispered. "Let's run away!"

"Where?"

"Anywhere."

He held her hand and drew her away along the path, on the double. She followed him without enthusiasm. Running away made no sense, and was not necessary. Under the influence of emotion or embarrassment, the Summoner was not able to maintain the summoning any longer, that is all. She had to explain that to Tidus.

But she did not manage to let out her words. Just before her, the silhouette of Tidus was blending into the pyreflies.

"That's enough!"

Surprised, the young man stood still.

"Stop that!" Yuna yelled in front to the night.

She raised her eyes. The gleams were ascending in the sky. Far above them, a star was shining strongly. Yuna would have wanted it to be the Navel of the night. If so, none of this would have happened. She would have been ignorant of this.

"Yuna?" Tidus took apart.

He seemed worried. He was still holding her hand. She drew him against her, and embraced him strongly.

"What is happening?"

"Don't say anything. Close your eyes. Think of me, of a enjoyable moment, any one."

She loosened her grip.

"On your knees," she murmured to him.

She held Tidus' head in her hands and put it against her stomach.

"Yuna? It hurts!"

"Be strong!"

She did not want him to see himself. He had not understood yet.

"What are you thinking about? Tell me."

After a moment of silence, he answered, with a muffled voice :

"Your birthmark."

"You're the only one to know it."

She was attempting to send her consciousness after the pyreflies to find the summoner. It was the same technique she used when she gave an order to an aeon.

Will it be a success? The last time she had made use of her art, it was in order to defeat Sin...

A picture appeared in her mind. A strange group was walking in a forest. The forest of Besaid. Two Bedohls were holding two long poles which were supporting a plate on which was seated a woman with elegant clothes. Her thin hood let catch a glimpse of her black and bright hair.

Kush.

A soldier was leading the way. An armor made of leather was covering his half-naked back, a sword was hanging on his hip.

A guardian?

Kush turned round, apparently surprised, and the setting of the vision changed. Yuna was seeing a little circular room. A spiral staircase was standing in the middle of the room, and the rim was almost entirely composed of windows. Inside the vision, Yuna came closer to them and discovered a cove through the panes. The young woman was overlooking the landscape. She recognized the port of Besaid, only the pontoon was missing. On the floor, several cushions were carefully stacked near a wood bowl filled with dried fruits and walnuts. She was feeling the sweet and bitter savors coming from it.

Our senses are in unison.

Suddenly, a atrocious pain hurt her chest. She was submerged by hatred, and by a so powerful love that it appeared to want to spring out of the pores of her skin. She was trapped by a storm of feelings.

A kick in the bowl, and the fruits scattered in the room.

Stop, a masculine voice ordered, old and hoarse, inside Yuna's mind.

"Where are you?" Yuna asked.

I accept to meet you, but on one condition. Accord me a favor.

"We will do our best."

My request can definitely be carried out , but the young man would achieve it more easily.

"I will tell him. What is it about?"

After a silence, the voice answered: killing a young girl.