Final Fantasy Story Chapter 3
The Purge
By Nathan Jones
Kefka’s ship landed on the Veldt right on schedule. He had no idea why the warriors of light were nowhere in sight, but it mattered not to him. He quickly began making the preparations for the setup of his new lab. Chemicals of all kinds were carefully unloaded onto the rocky shore and hundreds of men began the construction of Kefka’s new “chemistry set.” In the distance, Kefka could see chimney fire from one of the villages along the Veldt.
“Hahahaha.” He thought to himself, “Little do they know that their quaint little village will be my first experiment.”
After what seemed to be forever, a sailor signaled to Kefka that the construction of the lab was complete. “You may act when ready Lord Kefka.” The sailor said.
“Excellent.” Kefka hissed his red eyes blazing, “Tell everyone to seek shelter. This is going to be big.”
“Yes m’lord.” The sailor said.
Moments later, the whole crew had taken shelter behind a large rock face. Slowly Kefka began to chant in an ancient tongue. “Nosferanimashakalaminumena.” He chanted, “Dark forces of the underworld, I call upon your power to purge this village of all life. May the souls of these pitiful humans feed your hunger for the flesh. I call upon your power oh dark lords. Destroy all in your path!”
Suddenly the sky around the village grew black as night, and the sailors watched in horror as bolts of lightning pounded the helpless village below mercilessly. Then, out of the sky came a beast of such size that its wingspan blocked all view. As the beast opened its gargantuan mouth, waves of dark plasma began to assimilate near the tip. “The beast then let out a mighty roar as it released the dark plasma in the form of a giant blast. The village was leveled in seconds and nothing was left save a few pieces of wood. With that, the beast flew back into the portal from whence it came and the sky surrounding the village turned back to normal. Kefka just stared at the destroyed village and began to laugh sinisterly. The sailors couldn’t believe their eyes. They had no idea what they had just done. They cowered against the rocks as Kefka turned to face them. One sailor jumped up yelling and cursing. He pulled his blade from his belt and lunged forward at Kefka. Kefka let out a chuckle as he pointed his finger at the man and shot forth a lightning bolt from the tip. The man was thrown back against the rock and there was a loud snap as the bones in his body broke from the force of impact. The other sailors cowered in the rocks as Kefka slowly began to step towards them. He raised his arms and at the top of his lungs yelled.
“All shall be purged!”
*********
Edgar was standing on the deck of the ship when he spotted the smoke. “Well I wonder what that could be.” He said as he strained to get a better look. He leaned forward a bit, and let out an embarrassed chuckle. “Haha. It’s nothing. Must be a local village chimney. “
Quietly he went below deck and sat down at the table. As he ate his dinner, he couldn’t shake the feeling of dread from his mind. Why did that smoke look so suspicious to him?
“I’m going crazy.” He told himself, “There’s nothing suspicious about chimney smoke.”
Still, the uneasiness never left him as he rose from the table and went to his chambers. A yawn suddenly passed his lips and he realized that he had been up for too long. “Hmm…Sleep.” He said to himself, “Never though it would be such a blessing.”
He proceeded to blow out the candle in his room and slowly, he fell asleep.
“Edgar……….” A soft voice said.
“Wha What?!” Edgar turned his head to the direction of the voice.
“Edgar you must wake up now……….” The voice said, “You must wake up…the villagers…they call for you…they call for you to help them……….Edgar…save them before it’s too late…”
Edgar awoke to see nothing but the walls in his chambers gleaming in the moonlight. The voice he had heard had been a dream, yet it still rang in his head. What was the phantom telling him? And what was all that about the villagers calling for help?
“Ahhh I must sleep now.” He told himself, “It was only a dream…only a dream.”
He drifted back to sleep as fast as he awoke. A sudden jolt awoke Edgar with such force that he was thrown from his bed. He stumbled blindly across the hard wooden floor, frantically searching for his blade. He finally found it and quickly unsheathed the sword.
“By the Gods, what the hell is happening?!” he cried, “This is too real to be a dream, I must go see what all this is about.”
Edgar climbed the stairs leading up to the dock still trying to get dressed. At the top of the stairs he spotted Locke sharpening his dirk in quite a hurry.
“Edgar!” Locke shouted, “The ship is under attack! Everyone’s on deck so you better hurry up!”
“Well who in blazes is attacking US at THIS time of night?!” Edgar yelled.
“I’m not sure.” Locke yelled back as he ran towards the deck, “But I’ll bet they’re not human.”
Edgar finally made it up to the deck and saw everyone looking towards the sky. “What is everyone staring at?!” Edgar asked frantically.”
“There!” Relm pointed.
Edgar looked up to see a massive beast flying overhead. Its wingspan covered the light from the moon and the group of warriors strained to get another glimpse of him. A fireball, as if out of nowhere, suddenly came raining down upon the ship. One of the masts was hit and the group watched in horror as it was singed to splinters.
“We must get out of here!” Gau screamed, “It’s not safe!”
“Calm down Sir Gau.” Cyan shouted, “I will take care of it.”
Cyan raised his sword Masamune to the sky and pointed it at the beast circling above. “Nactumanamena.” He chanted, “Oh great swordsmen of ages, I call upon you to rid us of this evil presence. I call upon your power to send this demon back from whence it came. Use me as your weapon against this evil. Use me!”
A bright purple glow surrounded the dark blade and power seeped into its steel. Suddenly a giant ball of dark plasma shot forth from the tip of the sword and soared through the air aiming straight for the creature above. It hit with such force that the entire sky was illuminated in a florescent glow. The beast howled in pain and quickly shifted its massive body in the other direction. The warriors watched as it finally went out of sight bellowing all the way.
“Wow…Cyan.” Gau said amazed, “I had no idea you had such power.”
“Neither did I Sir Gau.” Cyan replied, “However this sword is a dark one. It’s power takes its toll every time I use it.”
“What do you mean Cyan?” Locke asked a little puzzled.
“What I am saying Sir Locke,” Cyan explained, “Is that the power needed for such an attack as that derives from my very life source. In other words, whenever I use that power…I shorten the very life that I work so hard to protect. Now if you’ll excuse me, I think…I’m a little tired. I think I’ll go rest now.”
With that the brave warrior made his way down the steps to his chambers. The group just stared in utter astonishment at their friend. He had been killing himself all along in order to protect them. Why had he not told them? They wondered. At any rate, the group all agreed that Cyan had a good idea. Sleep was definitely deserved for the battle weary warriors, and they all made their way towards their own chambers. Tomorrow, they decided, would be an exciting one. Tomorrow, they reached the Veldt.
********
Emperor Geshtal was eating his dinner when the news reached him. His monster, Melkiah, was making great progress. The emperor smiled with glee as he downed the last piece of his pie. However, something else still troubled him. Why had Kefka not reported his situation yet? No carrier pigeons had arrived in days.
“Hmph.” The emperor said to himself, “He knows better than to double-cross me twice. I’ll wait one more day. If I don’t hear from him then, then he will have a LOT of explaining to do when I get my hands on him.”
********
Edgar awoke the next morning feeling as refreshed as ever. Although the night before had taken a great deal out of him, Edgar was sure no one was suffering more than Cyan.
“It’s time I visited him.” He said to himself.
Edgar rose out of his bed and quickly put on his armor. As the last leather tong was tied, Edgar took his sword from beside his bed and attached it to his side. As he walked the hallway below the deck, he noticed Terra sitting by the stairs. A troubled look was on her face.
“Ah las what seems to be troubling a woman as beautiful as you?” Edgar asked.
“Edgar, Edgar, Edgar.” She said with a smile, “You always seem to find a way to mix flattery with sympathy.”
“That I do dear.” Edgar agreed.
“Haha.” Terra joked, “It even makes me wonder what’s gonna happen to all the women when you pass on Edgar.”
“Well that’s easy.” Edgar said with a twinkle in his eye, “If I died, all the women in the world would grieve. But tell me Terra. Why are you grieving?”
“Well,” Terra said, “It’s…you know…Cyan. I mean I can’t believe that he never told anyone about that sword. Hell I remember when he first found it, stuck in the ground at that ancient castle. I KNEW I sensed something dark in that sword. That explains why he was so protective of it all those years ago.”
“Hmmm….” Edgar thought. “That does explain his behavior at Kefka’s tower as well. I had never known Cyan to be such a merciless warrior until I saw him fight alongside me six years ago. But do not fear Terra. Cyan has controlled the dark powers within that sword for years. I doubt it could cause any harm to him now.”
“True.” Terra said, “But I think we should talk to him about it later to be sure. I love Cyan like a brother. I’d hate to see that thing cause any more harm than it already has to him.”
“That we will.” Edgar said. With that Edgar stood up and reached out his hand to Terra. “Come dear.” He said, “Let’s get some breakfast before our “friends” eat all the food.”
At the table, all were quiet. No one wanted to accidentally bring up the events that took place the night before. Cyan seemed to be in his own world too. A solemn look was on his face as he slowly ate his breakfast. Finally, Gau spoke up.
“Cyan,” he asked, “I know you probably don’t want to talk about it, but I need to know something.”
“Ask what you will Sir Gau.” Cyan replied, “I will not hold it against you.”
“Well Cyan,” Gau said, “I was wondering why you have kept that cursed weapon all these years. If it’s killing you, why continue to use it?”
“It is not a matter of simply tossing it overboard and sailing away Sir Gau.” Cyan explained, “The truth is…the truth is I am bound to it.” The whole table let out a gasp, as the warriors couldn’t believe their ears. “I’m sorry I never told you.” Cyan apologized, “It’s just that after that day in Doma, when Kefka killed everyone in my kingdom including my wife and child, I had searched for a way to exact my revenge. On my journey with all of you, I came across a scholar who told me of a sword that had the power to absorb souls. What I didn’t know, was that the devoured soul, was the brandisher of the blade. For you see, when the great swordsmen Masamune forged this blade, he poured his darkest feelings and the will to destroy into its steel. Nevertheless, I searched everywhere for it. Finally, I found it. As you undoubtedly know, I wasted no time in claiming it for myself. However I found out all too soon the consequences of my actions when I first used the blade in combat. It…changed me into this merciless barbarian with nothing but death and destruction on its mind. I’ve controlled it to the best of my abilities, but as you see, it has weakened me considerably. I am now bound to this blade. If ever it should be taken from me, I would surely perish. So you see, if I do throw this blade away, I’d also be throwing my life away. I am truly sorry my dear friends, I should have told you. I was going to wait until after this expedition was over, but now it seems as though the truth has revealed itself. Please forgive me.”
The warriors were speechless as ever after hearing Cyan’s tale. He had always been honest with them. Yet, as much as they sympathized for him, they also loathed the blade for what it had done to their companion. And, just as Edgar was about to stand up and rid Cyan of his burden, Mog burst into the room.
“Everyone come quick!” the moogle cried, trying to catch his breath, “It’s the village! The village is gone!”