Final Fantasy VII : The Final Pledge

Chapter 13

"You broke a pact, Kyra," I heard a female voice. I was in darkness and silence. It was a strange feeling, I was suspended weightless in emptiness and my thoughts were foggy. The last thing I could remember was embracing Kyra.

Slowly, a source of light approached me. The next thing I knew, I was in an unknown place. I could hear children laughing and playing happily and men and women were living in harmony. Peace was everywhere, even I could feel it. With a little more attention, I realised where I was. It was the Forgotten City, yet alive.

The trees had the same white colour but they had soft green leaves. The buildings were still standing and in use and in front of me, was the spiral building surrounded by other buildings. The ground in front of the spiral building was sandy, like the bed of an ocean. A mild breeze was blowing and the sun was shining in the middle of the blue sky. Everyone was wearing simple clothes and from their hands, I could see the dust of Mako. They were all Cetra.

I realised that I don't exist in that world. I felt like a viewer to all of this, a witness. I heard a sound like a clap of thunder, but louder and more threatening. When I looked at the sky, I saw something bright and burning was getting closer to the ground. I was very well aware of what it was: a meteor.

It hit the ground not far from me. I saw and heard its explosion and watched as the people started screaming and running to their homes. The sky was covered with grey clouds and it got dark.

When people saw the explosion and heard the sound, they all looked at the source. Women took children inside the houses and men were running around and shouting to see what was the order. Kyra left the spiral building hurriedly looking at the sky to the trace of the meteor. "What was that?" she shouted at no one in particular. "Prepare my armour and my horse," she told the stable boy who was ready for her order. He left immediately.

Kyra was the same, except she had long hair ponytailed and braided beautifully.  A tall broad-shouldered man approached her from behind. "I will take some men with me," she looked at him. The man nodded and ordered one of the young boys who was following him, "call the council!" The boy disappeared.

A white horse was prepared for Kyra and two ladies were helping her into her armour and gave her a sword to carry at her side and her shafts on the other while placing her bow at her back. She jumped up the stallion and rode him with other men joining her on the way.

The council, twelve men of the elderly of the tribe, gathered together in a room sitting on their specific chairs. The tall man was standing in front of his chair at the top of the room. "Princess Kyra is gone to find out what has happened," he announced, "anything from the planet?" the man who was the closest to him started speaking, "she is silent. This is the first time," he was concerned. "Was it clever to send the princess," a man from the end of the room asked. "No one can hurt her, unless she trusts them," the first council answered almost mockingly. The tall man looked at the one who had asked the question, compared to the others, he was younger and probably didn't know much. "My daughter is a war general and knows the best strategies. Whatever that was, it has not come for peace," he said it, though his face was dark and worried.

The battlefield was not far away from the capital. Every day there was more fire and smoke to be seen from the distance. Shortly, Kyra sent a report to describe the situation, "A woman with the nature of destruction. She is horrifying and has put many villages on fire. I have lost thirty-five men so far. Do not send anyone until we find out how to defeat her. She is not from the planet. No words from the planet either." The only good news it was carrying was that Kyra was alive.

When her father read the report, he brushed his forehead with his hand sighing deep and loud. He did not like the idea of not sending reinforcements, but he believed in Kyra and was sure that she would ask for them when she finds a way to defeat her. The other reports were describing a woman of red shining eyes and grey skin who was powerful and destructive. They had seen the planet trying to use her lifestream to defeat this monster but there were no results. Men were dying every day and no reports came back for days.

Finally, the report that he was scared of arrived: retreat. a day after the remaining soldiers arrived. Only five men had survived and Kyra was unconscious. For someone who would not get hurt from anyone, that was just a glimpse of what that creature could do.