Isekai: A Final Fantasy

Rin's rest stop wasn't far structure nestled at the base of a hill, surrounded by gently swaying grass.

As the hovercraft came to a halt, I hopped off first, offering Ellie a hand as she descended.

Rin was already busy unloading supplies, his movements efficient but his gaze flicking to us more often than usual.

I knew what he was thinking.

"Why are you here after 4 years?"

But he kept those questions to himself.

I pulled Rin aside as Ellie wandered off to inspect the wildflowers nearby.

"Listen," I said, lowering my voice.

"One more thing. Don't tell Braska about us, either."

Rin froze, his expression tightening.

"Adrian, he is here now. To avoid him will be… difficult."

That caught me by surprise. I thought it would take at least one more day before he arrived.

"Make it work," I said a bit frantically.

"We'll lay low. Braska's got enough on his plate without us complicating things. He's on the verge of facing Sin. He doesn't need distractions."

Rin hesitated, then sighed.

"Very well. But I cannot promise he will not… stumble upon you."

"Fair enough." I clapped him on the shoulder.

"Thanks, Rin. We'll make ourselves scarce."

As the sun dipped lower, Ellie and I found a spot in the shadows of the rest stop's overhang.

It offered us a clear view of the entrance while keeping us hidden from anyone approaching.

I watched as Rin greeted a familiar figure descending the hill.

Braska.

His robes fluttered lightly in the breeze, and even from a distance, I could see the exhaustion in his movements.

Another figure followed him, his presence as imposing as ever.

Auron.

His katana was slung over his shoulder, his posture stiff with tension.

The years had aged them both, but their determination hadn't wavered.

"Stay here," I whispered to Ellie. She looked like she wanted to run over to them but by the insistance in my tone she nodded.

Crouching beside me, her eyes wide with curiosity and concern.

We watched as Braska and Auron approached Rin, their conversation muffled by the wind.

Braska's smile was faint but genuine as he exchanged pleasantries with the Al Bhed merchant.

He gestured toward the rest stop, and Rin nodded, leading them inside.

Ellie and I crept closer, positioning ourselves near a half-open window to listen.

"Thank you for your hospitality, Rin," Braska said, his voice weary but kind.

"I'd like to rest here before we… continue."

Rin inclined his head. "Of course. Anything you require is yours."

Braska sighed, lowering himself onto a bench.

Auron stood nearby, arms crossed, his expression dark.

"We're almost there," Braska murmured.

"Just a little longer."

"At what cost?" Auron snapped.

His voice was sharp, barely restrained.

"Jecht's gone. He gave everything for this… plan of yours."

Braska's gaze softened.

"I know. And I grieve for him. But Jecht chose this path willingly."

"Did he?" Auron's hand tightened on his katana.

"Or did we force him into it? All this… sacrifice, for what? Sin always comes back. Always." Auron said in almost a whisper. 

I could tell by the tone in his voice.

Auron at this point was nearly a broken man.

"This time will be different," Braska replied firmly.

Auron laughed bitterly. "How can you say that? Do you honestly believe that?"

Braska's eyes met Auron's, steady and resolute.

"Yes. I must believe it. Would you wish this fate on anyone else? Would you?"

Auron looked away, his jaw tight. "No. But it doesn't make it right."

"Perhaps not," Braska admitted.

"But if there is even a chance to bring peace, even for a short while, isn't it worth it?"

Ellie shifted beside me, her eyes darting to mine.

"Adrian," she whispered.

"What is he talking about? What sacrifice?"

I leaned closer, keeping my voice low.

"It's about the Calm. After a summoner defeats Sin, there's a period of peace—the Calm. But that in itself is only an illusion. Sin always comes back."

"How long does the Calm last?"

"It's been getting shorter with each cycle," I said grimly.

"Braska's Calm… I'd be surprised if it lasts more than a year."

Ellie's eyes widened in shock. "A year? That's all?"

"If that," I replied.

"I pushed him to become a summoner because this moment and his sacrifice will be one of the most defining factor that will change Spira." My tone was resolute.

Her expression turned to anger. "You knew this? And you still encouraged him to do it?"

"Yes," I said firmly. "Because Braska's journey is crucial. It's the only way to break the cycle."

Ellie opened her mouth to argue, but I cut her off. "I can't explain everything right now, Auntie. Just trust me. Braska has to do this. I promise you, Braska will be fine."

Her frustration was evident, but she bit her tongue, nodding reluctantly.

Back inside, the conversation had shifted. Braska's tone was softer, more introspective.

"I think of her every day," he said quietly.

"My wife. Losing her… it broke something in me. That's why I became a summoner. To find her, in whatever way I can."

Auron's expression softened, though his anger didn't fully dissipate.

"And Adrian's request?"

Braska smiled faintly.

"His words gave me hope. He believes there is a way to end this for good. If he's right… then this sacrifice will be worth it."

"And Yuna?" Auron asked.

"Do you think she'll forgive you?"

Braska's smile faded.

"I can only hope. But even if she doesn't… I must do this. For her, and for Spira."

Ellie's hand tightened on my arm, her eyes glistening with unshed tears.

"Adrian…"

I didn't respond. I couldn't.

The weight of Braska's words hung heavy in the air, a reminder of why we were here and what was at stake.

As the wind whispered through the Calm Lands, I knew we were nearing the point of no return.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Morning broke over the Calm Lands in muted hues, the first rays of sunlight brushing the endless expanse of grass.

The air was crisp, the silence broken only by the faint whisper of the wind.

At the rest stop, Braska and Auron were making their final preparations.

Their movements were slow, deliberate, as if weighed down by the enormity of the day ahead.

I stood at a distance, watching them with a tightness in my chest.

Ellie was beside me, her arms crossed and her lips pressed into a thin line.

She didn't need to say anything; the unease in her posture said it all.

"They're leaving," she murmured softly.

I nodded, my gaze locked on Braska as he adjusted his summoner's staff, its silver filigree catching the early morning light.

Auron's katana was already slung over his shoulder, his sharp gaze scanning the horizon before falling back to Braska.

"We follow," I said firmly.

Ellie hesitated. "Adrian… shouldn't we do something? Stop them, maybe? Is it really necessary for my husband to endure so much?" Her voice said itself held pain as it cracked when she spoke.

"Yes" I replied, shaking my head. "This is Braska's path. We can't interfere—not yet."

"This is a path YOU put him on. He might not have chosen this path if it wasn't for you?!" she said in muted anger.

I turned to her in annoyance.

"Your right, I did put him on this path but let me make one thing clear." 

I understand my aunts distress.

I really do.

The idea that your loved one was about to sacrifice himself was never going to be a comfortable matter for anyone to accept without a bit of resistance.

Auron himself is a prime example of this. 

"Aunt Ellie, let me tell you the facts." I need to spell this out for her in a way she would understand.

"If I had not intervened in the first place, you would be dead. Aunt Lisa would have died. The grief of your passing and hatred of Sin would have driven Braska to become a summoner anyways. He would have brought about a year long Calm. Everything would still have passed as it is now. Do you know what the only difference is though compared to last time?" I felt myself getting heated as I recounted everything that would have happened.

Auntie Ellie seemed very distressed at everything being spelled out for her in this matter.

"I'm alive. Lisa is alive as well. But doesn't this mean that you can change this situation as well?" Ellie looked desperate.

I gave her a deadpan look.

"Aunt Ellie, what do you think I have been doing this whole time." 

She seemed to look a little lost.

.....I heaved a deep sigh.

"I PLAN on saving Braska. Its just a matter of knowing how to do it." I shook my head in exasperation.

I know about the pilgrimage and the sacrifice needed to defeat sin. I am just a little lost when it comes to the process.

The process of the final battle has always been shrouded in mystery.

The knowledge is only passed to those who were either a summoners or clergy members that had a high enough authority.

Her shoulders sagged, but she said no more.

Instead, she turned to watch as Braska and Auron began their journey, their figures growing smaller with each step down the slope.

We trailed them at a cautious distance, our footsteps quiet against the grass.

The Calm Lands offered little in the way of cover, but Braska and Auron didn't look back. Their focus was on the road ahead, their conversation carried away by the wind before it could reach us.

Hours passed, the sun climbing higher into the sky.

The land grew harsher, the rolling plains giving way to jagged outcroppings of rock.

It wasn't long before they stopped, arriving at a secluded ridge where the horizon seemed to drop into an endless void.

This was the place.

I recognized it from the game I used to play.

Ellie and I ducked behind a cluster of boulders, keeping just out of sight.

My heart pounded in my chest as Braska stepped forward, planting his staff in the rocky soil at the center of a circular formation.

Auron stood close behind, his katana in hand, his posture tense.

"This is it," I whispered to Ellie.

She said nothing, her wide eyes fixed on the scene ahead.

Braska raised his staff, his voice steady as he began the summoning.

The air shimmered around him, waves of heat and light distorting the space like ripples in water.

A deep, resonant hum reverberated through the ground, the vibrations rattling the stones beneath our feet.

The Fayth answered his call.

A rift tore open in the air, brilliant light spilling forth and illuminating the rocky outcropping.

From within the rift, a figure emerged, its form vast and majestic.

The Final Aeon was unlike anything I'd ever seen—a towering being of raw power and divine beauty.

Its body was wrapped in glimmering golden armor etched with intricate runes that seemed to shift and glow with every movement.

Its wings were immense, spanning the length of the ridge, their feathers a kaleidoscope of colors that shimmered like oil on water.

The Aeon's face was partially hidden by a helm, its expression both serene and menacing.

Its eyes glowed with an otherworldly light, twin orbs of azure fire that burned with an intensity that made it impossible to look away.

Its hands, clawed and massive, carried a blade unlike any other—a colossal greatsword that seemed forged from the stars themselves, its edges pulsing with energy.

Ellie gasped, her grip tightening on my arm. "Adrian… it's—"

"Beautiful," I whispered, finishing her thought. "And terrifying."

In a way, this scene shocked me to the core.

I don't remember Jecht looking like this before. 

The Final aeon in the game looked almost fiery demonic in nature compared to what i was seeing now.

Did Yu Yevon change the final summoning so much when it took possession?

The Aeon descended slowly, its massive form bending to kneel before Braska.

Its eyes locked onto him, waiting, as if acknowledging its new master.

Braska stepped forward, his expression calm but tinged with sorrow.

He reached out a hand, placing it against the Aeon's chest.

"Jecht, if this doesn't work. You'll find a way....somehow. Right?"

Jecht looked into Braska's eye and you can sense of a grin hiding in it expression as it nodded.

The light around them intensified, the golden runes on the Aeon's armor flaring brilliantly.

Its form began to dissolve into tendrils of energy, each strand wrapping around Braska and merging with him.

The wind howled, the very air crackling with the power of the merging.

Ellie's eyes filled with tears. "It's… becoming part of him."

I nodded, my throat tight. "That's what the Final Aeon is. A summoner's ultimate weapon."

Now it was starting to make sense. 

That was why the summoner dies.

The Aeon merges with the summoner and when Yu Yevon possesses him, it probably expels the summoners connection and kills him afterwards.

Of course, this is only speculation.

As the light faded, Braska stood alone once more, the Aeon's power now bound to him.

He exhaled slowly, lowering his staff.

Auron stepped forward, his voice sharp with emotion.

"Braska, are you sure about this?" Auron's voice cracked, his grief spilling into the open.

"Once you go through with it, there's no coming back."

Braska turned to him, his gaze steady.

"I've made my choice, Auron. This is the only way."

Auron's hands trembled as they gripped the hilt of his katana.

"But at what cost? Jecht gave everything for this. Now you're… you're next."

Braska placed a hand on Auron's shoulder.

"I believe in this. In you. And in Yuna. She'll grow up in a world without Sin, even if only for a time. That's worth any cost."

Auron turned away, his head bowed, his shoulders shaking.

Ellie's voice trembled beside me. "Adrian, this isn't right. He shouldn't have to do this."

I closed my eyes, the weight of the moment pressing down on me.

"I know. But this is how it has to be. For now."

Braska turned back to the horizon, his gaze distant.

"Let's move," he said quietly to Auron.

Ellie and I stayed hidden, watching as they disappeared over the ridge.

Her hand trembled in mine, her unshed tears glistening in the sunlight.

"We're nearing the end," I whispered, though whether it was to her or myself, I wasn't sure.

The battle against Sin awaited, and with it, the final chapter of Braska's journey.

Or was it?