"We will offer a place for you far from the warzones where you may live out the rest of your days quietly among other peaceful farmers and villagers and we will think nothing less of you should you choose this path. Pray, take your time and use this moment here to decide your path."
Staring at a tropical forest Melanie took in a deep breath of the sweet air. Honeyed fragrances from ripened fruits ready for the picking coupled with the saltyness of the ocean nearby tingled inside her nostrils. Here on this island sanctuary no dangerous monsters roamed the land and no other people were here to interrupt her, only hard working mammets toiled day and night to accommodate to her needs. Peaceful days followed peaceful nights. It was everything she could've wished for even if it was a different lifestyle to that she lived on Earth, yet it was a blessing to be away from the stresses of her old life and technologies that made her frequently unwell and kept her from her responsibilities.
And yet, despite this deep sense of tranquility, she felt heavily burdened. Burdened by the guilt of denying a world of its champion and of leaving the Scions stranded on the First. As she thought of them she saw their faces slowly fade away - first Thancred, then Urianger.
At Revenant's Toll an exhausted Kryle, having collapsed from draining most of her aether into trying to keep the Scions alive, wept as she looked up at their cold lifeless bodies One by one they were carried from the infirmary to be returned back to their homelands where they would be buried.
Back on the First atop the Crystal Tower an encumbered Y'shtola was on her knees looking as if she was about to collapse. Alphinaud and Alisaie were bent over her looking helpless with tears in their eyes. They had seen this happen twice before, but there was nothing they could do could stop the inevitable from happening.
Several feet away from them G'raha was frantically channeling magic into a small dark portal that was slowly getting larger, his body had now almost completely transformed into crystal.
"You can't be serious, you promised!" Alisaie yelled out to G'raha.
"And I promised you I would do everything to get you all back home, even if it meant taking my own life" he replied without breaking his concentration from the portal. The portal opened large enough for him to enter and he turned to his friends with wet eyes and deepest regret writ on his face. "I'm deeply regretful that I could not save our other friends. Maybe if I had another hundred years I could've found a way to send you home, but unfortunately time is what I no longer have and I can't delay any longer. I cannot watch any more of you die."
"NO G'RAHA!!!" Alisaie cried out rushing towards him as he turned towards the portal. G'raha slammed the base of his staff down onto the ground and closed his eyes with a pained expression. "Break" he said under his breath. Alisaie and Alphinaud were suddenly encased in crystalline rock up to their waistlines and unable to move. "I'm so sorry my friends, farewell" G'raha said without looking at them as tears trickled down his cheeks, then he opened his eyes again and stepped into the portal.
"No...!" Alphinaud gasped, his face grimacing in anguish.
"G'RAHA!!!!!!" Alisaie cried, tears racing down her face and soaking into her collar as she watched G'raha disappear and the portal collapse on itself.
The scene then went dark and Alisaie's voice echoed loudly towards Melanie in the darkness..."You did nothing! You promised you'd help, but instead you chose to be like a coward and do nothing, and now they're all gone!"
"No....is this what will happen if I choose not to become the Warrior of Light? Is there nobody else who can save them???!"
Everything started to get fuzzy and moments later Melanie was back inside the Royal Palace at Ala Mhigo. She opened her eyes to see Krile looking up at her, the rest of the congregation watching in silence. Melanie took in a few deep breaths through her nostrils as she tried to make sense of what just happened.
"This must've been the Echo and what I saw was the future. G'raha, Urianger, Thancred...if I do nothing then they all die. But if I become the Warrior of Light does that mean they will all be saved? The thoughts of me becoming a warrior are absurd, but if there's even the smallest chance that I can save them all then it's time I stopped being so negative and have some faith in myself for once."
Melanie looked straight at Krile feeling more determined than ever. "I have come to a decision" she said affirmatively. "I made a promise to G'raha and I'm sticking to it. I will become the warrior your people need."
Krile nodded with a smile. "I had every bit of faith you would say that" she said happily.
"Hang on a minute though" Cid spoke out again. "Didn't it take years for Lineya to become the Warrior of Light? As I recall it took her 9 bloomin' years to get to where she did and that was when time itself was at a standstill. We have a long list of urgent issues that need addressing right now and we don't have that kind of time to wait for her to learn how to swing a sword. What if the Empire decides to send in a new army to reclaim Ala Mhigo, then what? Or of the battles taking place in Bozja. The Eorzean Alliance is already stretched thinly to keep our positions secure but once the Imperials catch wind we don't have a Warrior of Light to fend them off then they'll come charging right back in again and we won't have the manpower to hold them off. Our people will have died for nothing." The rest of the room started to buzz in agreement and concern.
"I know time is of the essence and I won't deny that I feel concerned myself" Krile spoke above them. "This is reason why you've all been asked to swear not to speak of today outside these walls. Should word reach the Empire about Lineya's predicament then there's no telling to what lengths the Imperials will go to retake lands that have been liberated from Imperial tyranny. As for Lineya's training we will do everything we can to ensure it goes as quickly as possible. We have some of the best trainers who'll be working every day to help Lineya reclaim her status. Most of all we have Hydaelyn's assurance that we will not have to wait long. Hydaelyn would not leave us without her chosen champion if it were to put us in such a situation that we ourselves cannot handle."
"Well, for all our sakes I hope you're right" Cid replied.
Krile nodded in agreement. "If that is all then I will call an end for this meeting. If anyone has anything they want to say or ask then now's the time to say it, otherwise please go about your daily business as normal and speak nothing of what's been spoken today to anyone."
