Chapter One

All entries taken from the game's datalog.

Defiers of Fate

Lightning and Sazh are held aboard a military 'Purge' train along with a group of civilians destined for exile. In a stark contrast to the uncertain and despairing people around her, Lightning appears determined and focused.

She seizes upon an instant of inattention to disable a guard, and her impressive display inspires Sazh and the other civilians to take up arms against the soldiers.

After clashing with army forces, the train crashes to a halt in the war-torn district known as the Hanging Edge.

Sazh attempts to figure out Lightning's angle, but she shows little desire to share. The former soldier throws herself into battle without the slightest hint of hesitation — what could be driving her...?

Fields of War

Suspect citizens of Cocoon are wrenched from their tranquil existence and threatened with exile to the world of Pulse. The Purge has begun.

The 'land below' is said to crawl with unknown perils, and terrified civilians begin to rebel against the Purge. A revolt also occurs on the train transporting Purge deportees, as Lightning's battle against the guards galvanizes the other prisoners into action.

The train comes to a halt in the district of the Hanging Edge — now a hellish warzone where soldiers open fire indiscriminately upon civilians.

Lightning makes her way through the middle of the conflict, all but ignoring her uninvited companion, Sazh. She seems determined to press onwards even when the path before her is destroyed by military strikes.

Another Rebellion

The peaceful citizens of Cocoon live in constant fear of invasion by the forces of Pulse — the world below and supposed home of terrors unknown.

Were even a single Pulsian agent to be discovered on Cocoon, panic and civil unrest would be sure to follow, threatening the very fabric of society. To prevent such a calamity, the Sanctum (Cocoon's governing body) initiates the 'Purge' — a government initiative officially entailing the deportation of all those who may have come into contact with corrupting Pulsian influences.

However, the Sanctum army is now brutally slaughtering the civilians they were supposed to be deporting.

Realizing that the Purge is nothing more than a massacre in disguise, Snow leads the young freedom fighters of NORA in an effort to protect the Purge 'deportees' from the Sanctum soldiers.

The Warpath Home

The Purge is a Sanctum initiative designed to protect the stability of Cocoon by forcing potentially dangerous civilians to relocate to Pulse.

However, the relocation is simply a facade to cover the massacre that ensues. The government's true goal is the brutal extermination of all possible threats to society.

Having discovered the horrific truth, Snow leads the members of NORA against the government soldiers of PSICOM.

Inspired by the actions of this handful of brave young men and women, the beleaguered civilians take heart and join the battle in the hope of returning to a normal life.

Among the citizens who stand against the forces of PSICOM is a mother who wishes for nothing more than to protect her son.

Fallen Innocence

Cocoon's citizens have always been terrified of Pulse and the mysterious horrors that are said to stalk its hostile wastelands.

Their fear is so great that if a Cocoon native were to have even the briefest contact with Pulsian elements, former friends and neighbors would consider them corrupted and dangerous.

In light of this fact, the Sanctum orders the Purging of Bodhum in an effort to remove all potentially Pulse-tainted civilians.

Accordingly, soldiers round up all those identified as candidates for relocation and inform them of their impending exile.

However, PSICOM, the elite arm of the Sanctum military, then begins to massacre the helpless civilians. This prompts Snow to lead the people in a rebellion against the army. Tragically, one of the civilians who decides to follow him, hoping to protect her son, dies in the act of saving Snow's life.

From afar, the boy witnesses the moment of his mother's death in shock and disbelief.

The Fal'Cie Awaits

A massive object is transported through the sky over the Hanging Edge. This object is a Pulse Vestige — a lowerworld artifact that had been nothing more than a Bodhum landmark. Two days ago, it was discovered that the Vestige housed a long dormant Pulse fal'Cie.

The fal'Cie had slumbered undisturbed on the outskirts of a Cocoon city for centuries. The Sanctum decrees that the presence of the Pulse entity and its corrupting magics have tainted the entire population of the city, and orders the Purge.

For different reasons, Lightning and Sazh now make their way towards the very being that was the catalyst for so much tragedy.

Snow, meanwhile, is crushed by feelings of guilt after many die under his command. He only emerges from his gloom when Gadot reminds him that the fal'Cie is holding a certain young lady captive — who needs her hero now more than ever.

Into the Vestige

Snow still cannot shake his feelings of guilt. Despite his efforts to protect the Purge deportees from the Sanctum forces, many have fallen.

The death of one woman in particular haunts his thoughts: a mother fighting for the sake of her son, who gave her life to save Snow.

In the moments before her death, the woman begged the leader of NORA to take care of her child, but slipped from Snow's grasp without revealing the boy's identity.

With Gadot's help, Snow breaks out of his depression. He figures that if he just goes ahead and protects everyone, then the woman's son will be saved as well.

After checking to see if the children are safe, Snow leaves the waning battle to his fellow NORA members and sets off with new determination towards the Vestige. His fiancée is still held captive by the Pulse fal'Cie.

A boy watches him leave, eyes filled with rage and loathing. To his grief-stricken mind, Snow is responsible for his mother's death.

Fates Intertwined

For centuries, a Pulse fal'Cie has slumbered undisturbed on the outskirts of a Cocoon city. On the day the lowerworld entity is finally discovered, Cocoon's peaceful society is plunged into chaos.

The government judges the city's inhabitants to have been tainted by their unwelcome guest, and begins a merciless campaign to expunge both the fal'Cie and the 'corrupted' citizenry from the face of Cocoon.

Instead of the exile they were led to expect, the civilians face extermination at the hands of the Sanctum army.

The people attempt to fight back, but are hopelessly outmatched by the military.

Lightning cuts her way through this battlefield, doggedly followed by the desperate Sazh.

Snow, meanwhile, seeks to rescue his fiancée.

...And a boy spurred on by dreams of revenge pursues Snow with the help of an unusual young lady.

Though driven by their separate goals, their paths all lead to the same end: the Pulse fal'Cie.

continue reading: chapter two →