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finalfantasyandnerdiness · 2 years

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The Story of Caius Ballad

Once a seeress receives her first vision, the Guardian will take her away from the tribe and leave civilization behind. From that moment on, taking care of her is his responsibility. No one will hear her prophecies but him, and no matter what she sees, neither of them will try to change history.

She’s rarely older than six when he takes her under his wing.

She’s rarely older than sixteen when he watches her die.

A retelling of Final Fantasy XIII-2 from Caius Ballad’s point of view, taken from a small essay that analyzes his role in the game and whether or not he can be considered an anti-villain. The full analysis: https://bit.ly/3LJa2Ck

The tale of the seeress is as old as humanity itself. Etro, the goddess of death, gave the first human ever created the gift of reincarnation. That gift, however, came with a ruthless side effect. The human–a girl who was always given the name Yeul–was reborn with the ability to see the future, and whenever she had a vision, her lifespan grew shorter. Because of Etro’s blessing, no incarnation of this girl ever reached adulthood.

The seeresses were protected by Guardians—warriors from the Farseer tribe, turned into l’Cie to make sure they fulfilled their duty. Since there could only be one Guardian at a time, a challenger for the role had to kill the present one to take their place. The last warrior to ever become a Guardian was Caius.

Like every Guardian before him, Caius protected the seeresses by using his powers as a l’Cie. He was the most powerful warrior in the tribe—but one day, that still wasn’t enough. The Farseers were attacked by enemies, and to protect Yeul, he chose to perform an incarnate summon—a skill that allowed him to become one with his Eidolon at the cost of his own life. Etro, touched by his selflessness and dedication, decided to bestow a blessing on him. When Caius awoke, he was no longer a l’Cie. Etro had infused her own heart into his body, providing him with unfathomable power and the gift of immortality. He would now be able to protect every incarnation of Yeul, from her first vision to her last, forever.

This marks the beginning of the story about Caius Ballad, the immortal Guardian who killed the goddess of death and broke time and fate itself in order to save one single soul.

Wherever there’s a Yeul, there’s always war and unrest. She’s hated, she’s feared, and there’s always people who want to abuse her and her gift. Caius can protect her from physical threats, but he can’t stop her suffering. She’s just a child, after all—a lonely child, shunned by those who should have loved her the most. To fulfill his role as a Guardian, Caius is forced to learn a skill that warriors are never taught: How to comfort a crying young girl.

The Farseer laws state that altering the future is forbidden, but there are always people who don’t follow the rules. After one of Yeul’s prophecies causes enough disorder to spark a civil war among the Farseers, a new tradition is born. Once a seeress receives her first vision, the Guardian will take her away from the tribe and leave civilization behind. From that moment on, taking care of her is his responsibility. No one will hear her prophecies but him, and no matter what she sees, neither of them will try to change history.

She’s rarely older than six when he takes her under his wing.

She’s rarely older than sixteen when he watches her die.

Whenever the future changes, Yeul receives a vision. The most fatal ones are caused by life-altering changes in the timeline—and more often than not, the culprit behind those changes is the goddess herself. The humans affected by her interventions call them miracles. They have no idea that the cost of those “miracles” is the life of a young girl.

Though the incarnations of Yeul all look the same, they all have different personalities. They’re more than just seeresses—they’re individual beings, all unique in their own way. Even as Caius’s own heart grows darker, he never stops protecting these girls—and he never stops mourning them.

Over and over, the cycle repeats itself. Even at her youngest, Yeul always knows what awaits them both at the end of their journey. She will die, and he will live.

As a warrior of the Farseer tribe, Caius once worshiped Etro. Never give up, because the goddess Etro watches always, and helps those who help themselves. Just like his peers, he used to think of the goddess’ gifts as blessings. Now, he sees them for what they truly are—curses. The goddess might not think of them as such, but then again, she doesn’t seem to think much at all. Being reborn over and over just to live as an outcast and die before reaching adulthood is not a blessing—and neither is immortality.

One day, Cocoon nearly crashes into Pulse. Etro once again decides to use her power to mindlessly change the course of history. She frees six crystalized l’Cie from their stasis, but her act of mercy creates a crack in the veil between the realms. A woman, one of the six, is dragged into Valhalla as chaos seeps into the mortal world, distorting time. Most humans barely notice the changes. Yeul keeps dying.

Three years after the fall of Cocoon, Caius and Yeul witness a man and a woman step through their first gate together. It was Yeul’s decision to come to the town called New Bodhum, insisting that she wanted to see the woman from her visions, Serah, in person. Caius doesn’t share her enthusiasm. Considering the number of visions Yeul has had of this woman, she’s bound to be a catalyst of changes in the timeline. Yeul is intrigued by the odd duo, though. The man looks like a Farseer warrior, but no one seems to have taught him the rules about altering history. Serah looks nothing like a woman from the tribe, but she still has the ability to see the future. Their very existence is an anomaly of its own.

By entering the Historia Crux, the two will inevitably create ripples in the timeline. Yeul holds no grudge against them. Caius does.

There’s a man, one of the six, who collaborates with the time travelers. He acts according to Noel and Serah’s advice, slowly adjusting the course of mankind to make sure that the “correct” timeline becomes reality. He never follows them on their journeys, though. No matter how hard he tries, the gates won’t open for him. Out of the six, he’s the only one who’s forced to make his way through time the way humans are supposed to. His life is a long, strenuous one-way street—just like Caius’.

Two centuries later, Caius finally catches up with the time travelers. The Yeul of this era, just like ones before her, has been plagued with visions of them. Caius has come to understand that he will one day know this man, Noel, but that doesn’t matter. They’ve caused enough death already with their careless changes of the future. Caius has a duty to protect the timeline, to protect Yeul, and they have to be punished for their crimes. It’s the law of the Farseers, and the duty of a Guardian.

The time travelers don’t go down easy, though. Noel is a skilled fighter, and Serah uses magic with the ease of a l’Cie. Monsters appear by their side, following their every command. After an unexpectedly challenging battle, Caius eventually gains the upper hand. He’s just about to give the warrior the punishment he deserves when Yeul tells him to stop. It’s too late, she says. The timeline has already changed. He sheathes his sword and kneels before her. He is her Guardian, her servant, and he follows her command. His battle with the time travelers is far from over, though. They will be punished for their sins.

The same Yeul, the same year, asks Caius to let her meet up with the time travelers alone. She says that she trusts them, and that she, too, wants them to find their “correct” timeline. Caius knows what will happen if she helps them, but he is her Guardian, and it’s not his place to stop her.

When he finds her in Augusta Tower, she’s already gone. This time, she was the one who changed history—and just like that, Caius lost another Yeul.

The nightmare continues. Every time Caius holds Yeul’s dead body in his arms, a part of him breaks. There’s not much left of him now—just boiling fury, and the knowledge that somehow, someday, he will put an end to all this. His hatred of the goddess has become a part of his very being, just like the cursed heart pounding in his chest.

700 years after the fall of Cocoon, Caius meets the final Yeul. The end of humanity is drawing near, and no more children will be born. He once made a promise that he would allow the last Yeul to live a normal life, and now, at the end of all things, he finally gets to see her happy. Everyone in the village knows who she is—what she is—but she still has friends. One of those friends is Noel Kreiss, the boy who will one day cause the death of countless of her earlier incarnations. The boy asks Caius to train him, and he agrees. The puzzle pieces are slowly falling into place. The full picture isn’t quite there yet, but a plan is brewing in the back of his mind. To free Yeul—all incarnations of her—the goddess would have to die. Etro’s heart beats within his chest, but his curse doesn’t allow him to destroy it himself. He already knows how powerful Noel will one day become. Maybe one day, this boy will actually be able to do the one thing Caius cannot do himself.

With Caius’s training, the boy grows into a warrior. He doesn’t understand the old ways, though—he wants the power of a Guardian, but doesn’t want to kill Caius. No matter how many times Caius tries to taunt him into it, Noel refuses to give in. He’s not strong enough. Not yet.

In the end, Caius abandons his original plan. This Noel, the one who has yet to travel space and time, doesn’t have it in him to kill. He is, however, strong enough to protect the final Yeul. On her fifteenth birthday, Caius leaves Yeul in Noel’s care, knowing that the next time he and his protégé meet, it won’t be on friendly terms.

Following the source of the power residing in his chest, he makes his way to Valhalla. It’s time for him to face the goddess himself.

In Valhalla, Caius finally figures everything out. He sees the timelines—every single one of them—and he knows what he has to do. He will make sure that the “correct” timeline that Serah and Noel have been chasing will never come to fruition. In a way, he already has. He engineered his own path through time to get to this exact place at this exact moment by creating the paradoxes. Cocoon will fall, and so will the new, manmade replacement, causing enough casualties to force open the gate to Valhalla. That’s when he’ll make sure Noel deals that final blow. That’s when the goddess will finally meet her end. Time and fate will cease to exist, and Yeul’s soul will finally be free. Whatever is left of him when the deed is done will look after her—every version of her—forever.

But first, he has to defeat Etro’s champion—the woman who lost her life in the mortal world when she was sucked into Valhalla, all thanks to one of Etro’s blessings.

Caius can’t wait for the goddess to die.

500 years after the fall of Cocoon, on the day of its final descent, Caius once again faces Noel and Serah. As expected, Noel has gained the strength and skill of a true Guardian. Caius brings them to Valhalla, the place where the finale of his plan has to take place, and their fight continues. Noel defeats him, just like Caius hoped he would, but he stops before dealing the final blow. Just like the boy from the dying village, he refuses to kill.

It doesn’t matter, though. Every piece of Caius’ intricate puzzle has already fallen into place. This is where the goddess dies. This is where his long journey finally ends.

He grabs Noel’s sword and plunges it into his chest.

This is where Yeul’s soul is set free.

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