The String of Fate [Cosmos; Open]

[Deleted]

Jovial Prince of Thieves Many say that all life was born from the great Crystal. Starting from the sea and out toward the land. From the Springs Eternal sprang life. Healing fountains and pure accesses to water are what allowed life in such a desolate and barren life, survive. Not only did man stand close to the seas, but so did a many great and terrible monsters resided in its murky depths. The open seas were a territory often left unexplored by man due to the dangers, but in a world where the waters were closer to life than the land itself the relationship between man and water change for the better. Food, recreation and sport all stemmed from the sea in this world. Bright, crystalline pools as pure as the air. many say it was the lack of Machina, others say it was because people actually cared for their world and never did to it harm or foul. The sea twisted world was once plagued with a great darkness, a being sent to punish foolish humans and kept from them the slovenly lives of technology and industry. They had no choice but to work the land and scrape out any living that they could. Who would build machines when the hellish beast of Sin would come and destroy all they had made? It took far less time to retill land than it did to rebuild a great machine. In a world where peace was now the prevailing force behind change, in the stead of turmoil, would it ensure the world remained a window into a past devoid of machine? Would man continue to do backbreaking work in the fields or yearn to fly free across the new world they faced? Whatever their choices it would seem that all outside of their world would continue to fall apart due to the Darkness. Though, for the time being, Spira seemed safe to continue their endeavors to change their world, which crumbled from the inside out, time was short. Yes slowly, but surely, even without the aide of machina or industry: the world was falling into a cold sleep. All worlds eventually blinked out of existence due to age, but Spira fell victim to another cause. Thanks to Sin’s chaos that time had been greatly reduced, the lifeforce of the world becoming sporadic with the twisting collapse of their Farscape: the world beyond death. It was a sad song being played by a world that had finally attained the peace it fought so hard for. Perhaps this was simply the fate of the world? Regardless of what may come, for now, it was still alive. It would be some time before the would vanished and until than new souls would continue to drift in and out… out the flow of the sea. Nothing was eternal. Even if these seas continued to ebb and flow, it would not be long before they too stopped. That sound was a far off memory, a cruel one at that. He recalled this same feeling his first time here… How many times did that make it now? How many times would Fate seek to drag him here? He fought Destiny with tooth and nail, yet still he could not escape its grasp. He felt helpless beneath it’s force. Floating here in this open sea, on his back, half dead? This time around there seemed to be no fishermen to save him. This time he was far too weak to swim back to shore. A terrible affliction had gripped his lungs and turned his body into a lifeless frail piece of driftwood in the sea. The Genome had never felt anything like it. It was like facing a stampede of Behemoths. That was how his body currently felt. His skin was dry, peeling from its exposure to the sun. His clothing was soaked and filled every aching bone in his body with a chill like no other. He had not eaten for days, throat so swelled up from the sores, he was helpless without another’s assistance. All he could do was lay there in the sea, miles from any visible land, and wait for his end. It had finally come. The last thing he remembered was seeing her face -- it was shrouded in a blissful fog that slowly consumed his mind and turned him nearly catatonic with the agony that filled his sore and sick body. Disease run rampant through his veins and turned a usually spry and healthy lad into a wretched, pitiable excuse of a living being. His strength was gone. He could not even reach up his hand to shield his eyes from the pain of the sun above. His cheeks were scorched with the sun’s kiss, a strawberry red and prickled with painful burn marks. His lids had been dried shut by the salty winds, but even still he could see the bright sun through the thin folds of flesh. “Sorry…” Was all he could think as his consciousness left him for the second time. There he continued to float just outside of the great, submerged ruins of the Baaj Temple there was no life, save for the odd Al Bhed salvage ship. No one would come. Nothing short of a miracle would pull Zidane from his current fate.

►TAGS: Cosmos~!

►NOTES: Maybe sometimes you couldn't change your destiny.

►SKILLS USED: n/a

CODED BY ELECTRIC OF GANGNAM STYLE; EDITED BY OUREX DRACO

[Deleted]

Her first foot in a new world.

Atop the water's surface, the radiant ring shone bright, it's reflections rippling gently. A vivid light, it was not as intense as the sun that bore down onto Zidane, but soft and soothing. From the centre of the light came the silhouette of a figure, her form already masked by the backdrop of the sun. The first foot stepped upon the water like it were solid ground, the second following soon after. Her arrival bought forth a gentle breeze, the origin of it as ambiguous as her arrival. This wind promptly caught her silken shawl, the cloth draped around her arms now rippling to match the water she trod.

She observed the area. Its scenery was all too different to what she had known before. But... this was why she was here. From her lonely perch in the Sanctuary, she had longed to see the worlds that gave birth to the heroes of all, the saviours of crystal... the warriors of light. However, the sight of these submerged ruins only bought a sense of woe about her. The champions she knew never spoke much of their homes, their memories only spawning glimpses of their own worlds within her Realm. For her first sight to be such desolate remains was simply sorrowful.

It was not as sorrowful as what caught her eye next. A body, drifting helpless in the water. The radiant goddess could already sense the agony that the individual must have been through, but she still held some hope. She stepped forward, each step atop the water creating pulses of light on its surface. As she approached the helpless body, her expression dimmed further. She felt a reflex, her arm stretching out slightly to reach for the poor boy. She recognized his face immediately. A young boy, confident, cocky but no less spirited and ever helpful. She remembered spurring him on once before, to fight his way out, to reignite the confidence he had momentarily lost.

"Zidane Tribal." she whispered to herself as she clasped her hands together, watching his near lifeless body float. There was no time for deep reminiscence. He was certainly clinging on to life, but what flowed through him was far from beneficial. His strength was failing him, and the nature of the planet was taking its toll.

It had been many cycles ago that she last used her powers to benefit and aid her warriors. Where Chaos had grown ever stronger during the war, she had grown weaker, to the point where she served as nothing more than a beacon and guide for the warriors under her name. But with the war in her realm now long over, she had regained much of her strength. Her former glory as a goddess was returned to her, and fortunately so.

Atop the water, she rested upon one knee beside the weary Zidane. Her hand, now radiating a soft light, reached for his cheek. Her palm was imbued with intense energies, and as she rested it against his cheek, the life giving powers would begin to flow into him. They would serve to rejuvenate his strength, cleanse his poisoned bloodstream and mend his sunburnt flesh. Slowly, the energies passed in.

"Arise, Zidane. A youthful spirit such as yourself does not warrant such a broken image."
With her statement, a powerful surge coursed into Zidane, to provide one last spark to help awaken the Genome boy. As she rose up again, her palm leaving his cheek, she observed the state of the boy. His flesh had indeed returned to a softer shade, his face looking far less gaunt and weary. Her spell, Arise, was a powerful blessing, particularly in this situation. But she cared not for what sort of gratification she may have felt, only that she hoped he would awaken and be well. Standing tall, she watched over the boy, waiting for some indication of life...

[Deleted]

Despite the world enjoying the luxury of a hot, beating sun shining down across all matter of land and ocean, the insides of the Baaj Temple were still frighteningly cold. Enough so that small clouds of breath could be seen escaping the lips of a young blond-haired man that stepped through the moist, cold temple. A torch, nothing more then a stick wrapped in dried leaves and flowers, burned brightly and cast large dancing shadows across every wall and surface. Even though some of the sunlight from outside managed to seep in through cracks in the walls, it didn't seem to help at all in providing light within the temple. Granted that most of the ancient building was submerged underwater, it still seemed strange to have to rely on a torch to see. Soft footsteps carried the young blond-haired man through flooded corridors and old antechambers, glowing eyes checking out the strange runes and drawings that were scratched and etched into the walls. The subtle crack of burning coming from his torch was the only sound to mingle with the running of water and falling of droplets into pools below.

There's nothing here...
The spiky-haired youth thought to himself as he stopped his movements once more to raise his torch and hold it up against another wall, eyes scanning the marks and runes to see if anything made any sense. Flashbacks flickered through the SOLDIER's mind of the time he and AVALANCHE ventured into the Temple at Mideel, where they went to search for the Black Materia. Stories scrawled onto the walls told of the power that was Meteor, the power contained within the Black Materia. But that which was present on these walls, made no sense at all. It was most likely due to the fact that he was not of this world, so their ancient customs and prophecies made little sense to him. If there was anyone who'd understand any of this, the SOLDIER First Class didn't know where to go to find them. Little did he know that both Tidus and Yuna were of this world. A small sigh escaped his lips, causing a breath of steam to wash over the wall before him, to which the young man turned his back and proceeded to continue down the corridor.

What am I doing here...?
The question was asked and no answer came to the young man, who found himself stopping his advance when reaching the end of the corridor, which had crumbles and collapsed, revealing a hole below that dropped down into a massive antechamber full of rubble and water. A bonfire was in the middle of the room, burnt and worn out but there did seem to be a couple of exits out of the room below.
Must be here for a reason...
The SOLDIER First Class thought to himself as he lowered himself down through the hole in the floor, dropping down onto a large rock below, to which he inevitably slipped off due to the moisture in here, causing him to topple down onto the ground below with a thud. The wooden rattle of his torch rolling across the stone floor was all the young man heard, followed by a quick but violent 'hissssss' as the burning stick rolled into a pool of water. With a groan and a slow rub of the back of his head, the young man known as Cloud Strife pushed himself back up to his feet and promptly began to dust his SOLDIER Uniform off.

That was when something caught his attention. Not out the corner of his eye, no, but instead something within him. Like someone had turned on a light bulb within a darkened room. Cloud turned his head, his damp hair weighed down slightly from the dampness and he peered off towards one side of the large circular antechamber. There was something going on outside. All this time he thought he was alone in this world, but this sudden occurrence proved him wrong. What could it be, and why did it feel awfully familiar to him? Not that he could but a name or a face to whatever this feeling was, much the same way as how he recognized the massive bulk of metal that was Garland, but didn't know his name or who he was at the same time. A frown crossed the SOLDIER's lips as he tore his glowing eyes off the wall before him and instead started to look for a way out of this underwater temple. Sure enough, spotting a large enough crack high up in the ceiling, Cloud started to climb the walls, jumping from piles of rubble to smaller hand-hole cracks within the walls up eventually to the old wooden rafters that stopped the ceiling from collapsing down.

Squeezing through the crack and stepping out onto the roof of the antechamber, Cloud took a second to close his eyes and allow the warmth of the sun to shine upon his bare right arm, face and hair. It was like he had stepped into a different location altogether. A long deep inhale of the sea air filled Strife's lungs as he was glad to have escaped the cold, dead world below. Upon reopening his eyes, a figure was seen 'standing' upon the waters surface, beside a pale blue object bobbing within the ocean. What was going on over there? Who and what was that walking and standing upon the water as if it were solid ground beneath their feet?

[Deleted]

Jovial Prince of Thieves Zidane felt his mind slowly slip away. In the stead of the horrible nightmares he assumed would come, they did not. Since the loss of his soul, however temporary it was, the event was enough to permanently damage his subconscious which had desperately called out to his friends in vain. The shattering realization that he was truly alone on Gaia was painful. It broke him. He was different, but so was all of Tantalus. Save for the Nero siblings, none of them looked the same. They were individuals, unique in their looks and in all their skills. Where Marcus' sharp memory and eye for detail came in handy, so did Blank's potion making skills and Cinna's remarkably people oriented personality. He was way more sociable and talkative than the lot of them combined. But that feeling, even when among all of his brothers was too strong to constantly ignore. He had faint glimpses of memories he could not decipher. As he was, he could not even recall how he found his way to Baku, or why. The feeling left him utterly alone. A dream from long ago had drifted into his tired heart once more. As the pain of illness took him, his body acted and freed him from the pain of the blue light. He had a wish when he was young. Seeing children run to their mothers naturally instilled a sense of want in the young thief. Baku had taught him that Tantalus always got what they set their eyes on, but he knew that this was something he could never have. Of he took away that child's mother, then that child would be without parent. Sound lessons of discipline built a strong moral in the naturally spiteful boy. He grew to be a smart boy with an insatiable need to play hero. Perhaps it had been Baku's strong parenting, or it could have been him fighting against the venomous nature of an Angel of Death. Maybe it was all a desperate attempt to be normal... But he could not answer for his past now that the future sought to exist without him. He once dreamed of having a mother who spoke to him softly. The vision had been so vivid he was sure he had someone in this world that could tell him he was not the only one. That, perhaps, had been one of his greatest regret in this life: being unable to experience that understanding. Why did losing her mother hurt Dagger so much? He knew losing someone close was hard, but in his life it was the cold, hard truth of trying to survive. Why had it transformed her heart? Would he ever be able to be that strong and let such a tragic event change him for the better? He was scum and deserved this... A warm voice called his name. It was without blame, much like the melodic murmurs of his beloved. She never blamed him for his failures. He did not want to sink so far before he could tell her the truth. He had stopped fighting, knowing there was nothing he could do any linger with his weak body. Hunger had whittled it away and that fearsome energy that none could rival was sapped away. Hearing that he had indeed been so helpless to have fallen so far, tears broke through his shut eyes. Cosmos' words were to soft encouragement. Maybe comparable to a mother's, but how would Zidane know? Such could be easily mistaken for joy or the flowing waters themselves as he bobbed on the ocean's surface, on his back. A soft smile broke the cracking, brittle mask of the Genome. He wanted to live, because he wanted to stay by his friend's sides forever. But how could he? No sooner had he questioned this did he feel a powerful, regenative magic flow through his veins. His body quickly stitched up and his energy reining returning. Though he was still starving, it was a start. And what a start it was! His body fought to fill his lungs as quickly as possible, but the waters sought to drown him. At the realization his instincts took over to right him into an upright position. Reaching up his soaked, gloved hand he would wipe the stinging seasalt from his eyes. A vision of beauty would strike his spirit. There was a momentary pang of guilt when he thought his mind playing tricks and building himself a beauty to lust over in his last, ailing moments. But aside from a grumbling stomach --he ailed not! He focused on this woman who stood upon the water's surface through this undeniable force that coursed her veins. Seeing her triggered something though. Zidane, who had no open memories of his cycle, was suddenly flooded by a myriad of images depicting all out war. Yes he has had nightmares of war before, but such crisis were the inevitable result of one who has lived through its horrors. While he had his own ease with coping, likely given the nature of his birth, his social constructs determined that war was a horrible necessity. His hands shot up to the sides of his head as the sting of these memories rang in a blasting cacophonous echo of laughter, speech and explosions. But the moment he stopped using his arms to keep afloat, the fool sank. "Shit!" He blubbed before fighting to resurface. Struggling with the resurgence of his Cycle's memories and the weakening hunger of being arisen, he looked around with blurry eyes. The Ruins of the Baaj Temple provided little in the form of navigation or even structure, but what was left would offer the thief enough stability. He quickly swam toward a crumbling pillar of red stone. Wrapping his shaking arms around it the thief would scramble up to the top, often slipping down a few inches due to being weak and wet. His tail was limp, heavy with water, his hair falling over his face like a wet mop. Finally upon the uneven surface of the pillar's top, Zidane would sit and unravel the string of his neck ribbon and hair. Tying his hair to the side would provide him with a more solid hold for his hair so he could better see through the sandy curtain. Where he was expecting the mirage of the woman to vanish, it did not. His mind struggled to place it. Suddenly a flash of a woman's face caught him. "C-cosmos!?" He shook his out in clear disbelief. He reached up to rub at the aide of his neck, ignoring the fact he trembled from the cold invading his body thanks to the water and thick, icy fog of the Baaj region. He tried to act cool in front of the deity, the rogue still holding a strong disbelief in gods and their power. He was stubborn to admit such things because the moment he did he was bound by Fate. To him Cosmos was a powerful and purely kind-hearted lady, much the opposite of Chaos. "Man this is embarrassing. I fell asleep while taking a dip!" He was too afraid to admit his weakness to her. He was sick and incapacitated. He had given up. "What are... What are you doing here!? This is a really sketchy place for a lovely lady like you to be hanging around!" Was there... another Cycle coming...?

►TAGS: Cosmos~!

►NOTES: Such a lovely vision could not be mortal, but he refused anything lasted forever.

►SKILLS USED: n/a

CODED BY ELECTRIC OF GANGNAM STYLE; EDITED BY OUREX DRACO