Epilogue
The rejoicing masses flooded to Luca from all over Spira. They'd packed themselves in to the mostly undamaged Blitz ball stadium and where all looking eagerly toward the box where Lady Yuna, the newest High Summoner stood solemnly before them. Her mismatched eyes traveled over all the familiar faces that she'd met on her travels, but none hurt more than the thought of those that where missing. She looked over her shoulder to where her normally hyper cousin was standing hunched under the comforting arm of Gatta. In her arms was a black staff made of ebony and silver that no longer sparked with vibrant blue lighting. O'aka stood beside them, a giant golden sword wrapped in coverings propped loosely on one arm in addition to his staff. It was yet another reminder, but this one held more hope. The gems in the hilt still glowed dimly under the bandages... there was still the chance its owner was alive...
But he didn't want to be found.
Yuna turned back to the crowds and cleared her throat, pushing back a surge of guilt over taking on a title that wasn't hers in the first place and began to address her audience.
“Everyone…” As her first word left her mouth the stadium fell into eerie silence that suddenly unnerved her. The creaking of the boats from the harbor and restless shuffling where the only things heard… taking a deep breath, Yuna tried again.
“Everyone has lost something precious…” Her simple words rang throughout the stadium as loud as if she’d yelled them even though she was speaking in barely a whisper. Startled she looked behind her and saw O'aka leaning back against the wall behind him, his staff now in his free hand and tilted in her direction, but he wasn’t looking at her, none of Harry’s original guardian’s where. She turned back to the crowd once more.
“Everyone here has lost homes, dreams and friends.” She forced her smile for the sake of the people and spread out her arms either side. “Yet now, Sin is finally dead.” ‘But not because of me…’
The Stadium exploded with noise as people leapt from their seats, jumping up and down and screaming in a cataphony that could be heard all the way from Bevelle.
“Spira is ours again,” Yuna continued when they’d finally quieted down, but this time more confident, bolstered by the sheer joy they where radiating. “Working together, we can make new homes for ourselves, and new dreams. Although I know the journey will be hard, we have lots of time. No one knows just where our journey will lead us, but we do know one thing. One way or another, we will rebuild Spira. The road is ahead of us, so let’s start out today!” The crowd cheered harder than before and Yuna looked over her shoulder to see her own guardians smiling. Wakka gave her the thumbs up, grinning stupidly. Looking over his shoulder she noticed that the space near the wall was empty and the earlier twinge of guilt returned. The crowd was working itself into a celebrating frenzy and with O'aka’s magic no longer in her voice they couldn’t hear her as she added on her final words… they where… in a round about way, an apology to the two who weren’t there.
“The people and the friends that we have lost, or the ones who faded… “
“…Never forget them.”
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The blonde lay on his back amid the golden sands of the desert, looking up at the unending blue skies blankly as his mind wondered with no real thoughts to focus on. He didn't quite remember how he ended up here in the Sanubian Sands but one thing was for sure. He was alone. It was then, with no one around to see that he finally let himself go. Silent tears fell to the sand only to be absorbed seconds after impact, but he didn't really care.
He cried for his mother, he cried for Auron, he cried for the Zanarkand he’d never seen, he cried for his father, he cried for the fact that he was still alive...
...and he cried for him.
Then, as the pressure that had built up behind his eyes slowly began to drain away he heard something else, whispering in the back of his head.
"Don't worry..." The ghost said, its voice almost lost to the sound of the wind and shifting sand. "I wouldn't... be known as the... boy-who-lived... without a good... reason now...would I...?." It fell silent once more but its tiny words had made all the difference as a seed of knowledge opened in him mind and he finally began to understand what he had done...
Not far off a young Al Bhed boy who had been living in the remains of an Al Bhed outpost jumped as half joyful, half hysterical laughter sprang up from amid the dunes.
Still laughing Tidus caught a flash of black at the corner of his eye and turned his head to see a robed, green eyed teen sitting cross-legged in the sand, chin resting on his hands and a smile adorning his face before he was blown away.
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"To the well-organized mind, Death is but the next great adventure."
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Continued in Dark Summoner: Memories of Eternity