Chapter 3 - Intermezzo AF200

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Intermezzo AF (After the Fall) 200

The “time” I saw for the first time in my life was of the world in which frozen flower was breaking apart.

The petals floated while it gave off an empty light. At first, I thought it was a pretty sight, but something was off. I didn’t really understand why but I was scared.

That was when I started to understand that that scene was something to be feared. Someone was shouting. A large man was reaching out his hand as if to grab something, all the while screaming. Like he was ready to cry at any moment.

I still lived with my parents and had no way to convey the things that I had been seeing. So, it was a short time later when I realized the reason why I had been seeing these things. I saw that man again. Even at that time, he screamed while widely flailing his fully extended arms. But, his facial expression was surely different from the one he made the first time I saw him. I immediately understood, it was him was calling for someone. He was looking at a girl. She was dashing across the pure white beach on a chocobo.

The moment I realized the blooming flowers on the roof and the glistening sea I remembered it…The Frozen Flower that I saw for the first time.

What was that flower? What did I see?

Caius told me that it was a crumbling Cocoon and the scattered floating petals were pieces of scattered crystal. What I, a young girl had seen, was the day of destruction that would happen in the far future.

The flowers that bloom on the ground ease the hearts of people; however, the flowers that bloom in the sky take many lives. For this reason, flowers must not bloom in the sky. Only flowers that can be touched can make people happy…

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The time that seeresses see possesses no regularity and the same people or places do not always appear. Of course, the time periods also differ and it was true that I couldn't detect any relation.

Even still, I saw that man twice and that woman many times. I wonder if something is fated to happen between the two of us? Why do I see her so much?

There was always a man with dark hair by her side. It seems that he is of the same clan/family as me. His clothes and the design of his ornaments and I understood that above all else he knows how to activate the Oracle Drive. But, it was clear that the woman was not of my clan. They were a weird bunch.

They were always in places with gates. Before long I saw where they were coming out of the gate. Then I realized that was it. They were traveling across time. That was probably why I had seen them so many times.

When I told Caius that they came out of the gate his face grew grim. He punishes those that would disrupt the flow of time. If one disrupts the flow of time, the seeresses see "time" even more. He does not forgive those who would threaten the lives of the seeresses.

Caius knew them for some reason. He didn't say much but all he told me was that there was a seeress that traveled to the places where there were gates. Maybe that seeress's life was cut short because she saw them many times. Maybe, their actions and the future that they changed snuffed out her life.

Caius said that he would make them pay for their sins in blood. I became very sad the moment I heard him say those words.

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I remembered that large man. If she dies, he will most certainly be sad. He was calling out for her like a child and I thought for such a large man, he was very cute.

So I thought that I would have see this though. If their actions were unforgivable sins or if they were something that possessed an entirely different meaning. If their flower was that of the land or the sky.

Maybe I wished to protect them under this pretense. This could have been because I had seen her so many times but before I knew it, I began to feel some affection for her face. I didn't want to make her out to be a criminal. With this in mind, Caius and I headed for Oerba.

Surprisingly, the dark haired man knew who Caius was. Those who make a covenant rarely show their form so there are only a few people who know his face.

Which means, he is either one of the guardians or a follower of the seeress. He talked to me once he saw me, so he may be one of the guardians. It was because, if he had been a follower he would never have seen my adult form.

Naturally, I do not know who he is. I gave him a sensible reply "I am not your Yeul." But these words seemed to hurt him. He looked so sad and hurt. I couldn't stand being there.

"Sorry" I apologized within my heart. I wish I was your Yeul. You wouldn't have had to make that face.

He greatly cherished the Yeul that wasn't me.

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Then, he must not be a criminal. Even if his actions are tantamount to unforgivable sin.

At Oerba, I learned of his name. I was certain of what they were trying to protect. I felt that I could trust them. I felt that they could grant my wish:

That beyond this moment, the seeresses who are not me, will not see the flower that blooms in the sky.