Chapter Two

All entries taken from the game's datalog.

In Pursuit of Snow

Hope has fallen into a panic.

In his single-minded pursuit of Snow, he has rushed into the lair of a fal'Cie and is only now recalling the terrible nature of the being that lurks within. The Pulse entity could use its power to curse them — to turn them into l'Cie.

Pulse l'Cie are the doomed servants of the fal'Cie who created them, despised and feared by the people of Cocoon.

Hope's companion, Vanille, seems unconcerned by this dreadful possibility. Bemused by her indomitable cheerfulness, he nervously follows her in search of Snow.

It was Snow who convinced his mother to fight. It was Snow she was protecting when she died. And it is Snow who must be made to pay.

Where Men Fear to Tread

To the citizens of Cocoon, the lowerworld of Pulse is a hell rife with unknown terrors, and the recently discovered Pulse fal'Cie is an invader from that hell

In an effort to quell the growing panic in the wake of the entity's discovery, the Sanctum initiates an extreme measure known as the Purge. Under this initiative, not only is the fal'Cie to be cast out of Cocoon, but all of the civilians living nearby as well.

Any person coming into contact with the lowerworld being's foul energies could already be corrupted, and no potential enemies of Cocoon can be allowed to remain.

The ensuing 'deportation' claims the lives of countless civilians, Hope's mother among them. After witnessing her death and chasing Snow into the Vestige in a blind rage, Hope suddenly realizes that he may soon share the same fate as the Pulse fal'Cie: relocation to the world below.

Vanille, however, calmly accepts the situation, and lends her support to the distraught boy.

Unaware of his young pursuers, Snow begins exploring the arcane halls and chambers of the shrine-like Vestige in search of his captive fiancée, Serah.

Open Doors Beckon

The Pulse fal'Cie — an entity that threatens the peace of Cocoon's society — holds Snow's fiancée captive.

As the determined Snow delves ever deeper into the alien structure, Lightning and Sazh arrive at the Vestige after fighting their way through waves of Sanctum forces.

The unlikely duo's progress is halted by an impassable gate, which finally opens as if in response to Lightning's whispered words of apology.

Did her plea reach the mind of the fal'Cie? Or was another being responsible for opening the portal?

Sazh follows the ex-soldier into the Vestige, bemused by the lack of explanation, but driven on nonetheless by a purpose he has yet to reveal.

In the Shadow of L'Cie

Military 'weapons' stalk the halls of the Vestige... Though the PSICOM recon team that uncovered the lowerworld being two days previous is still trapped inside, Lightning and Sazh know that the real threat is not part of the Sanctum army, but the Pulse fal'Cie and its servant l'Cie.

Pulse l'Cie are former humans who have become agents of destruction. Those residents living near the Vestige face being Purged simply because of their proximity to the fal'Cie and the possibility that its power has bound them into servitude.

With tales of l'Cie haunting his thoughts, Hope hears Snow's voice calling in the distance.

Although he plans to confront Snow over his mother's death, the reality of the situation becomes too much for Hope to bear. He cannot go through with it. Not yet.

Saving the Enemy

Pulse l'Cie are cursed beings who wield supernatural power and whose very existence incites panic and destruction.

Hope explodes into a rage upon hearing that Snow plans to rescue Serah, now a l'Cie herself. Even if she is Snow's fiancée, nothing good can come of helping a sworn enemy of Cocoon. The situation only serves to magnify Hope's hatred of the man he holds responsible for his mother's death.

Shaking with fury, he is unable to form the words he so desperately wants to say.

Oblivious to Hope's anger and worried for their safety, Snow decides to bring Hope and Vanille along on his mission.

Meanwhile, Sazh explains the cruel fate of a person cursed as a l'Cie. L'Cie are bound in eternal service to a fal'Cie, and failure to carry out a focus results in a transformation into a mindless abomination — a Cie'th.

A person shackled by the l'Cie curse is beyond salvation.

As Sazh comes to this grim conclusion, Lightning angrily compares him to those who insisted on the Purge. She knows full well the doom that awaits a l'Cie, and will do anything in her power to save her sister from that fate.

The Gift of Eternity

A legend on Cocoon states that if l'Cie complete the Focus given by a fal'Cie, they turn into crystal and gain eternal life.

And just as the legend describes, Serah, Lightning's younger sister and fiancée to Snow, glows with an incredible light and turns into crystal. But has she truly gained eternal life? And what Focus has she completed?

This timeless crystal sleep seems nothing more than another form of death to Lightning, and she turns her feelings of grief and anger upon Snow.

Snow, however, refuses to give up hope of a future where Serah will return to him.

Just then, the Sanctum army begins its assault on the Vestige. Though it may mean sharing the Vestige's imminent destruction, the group heads ever deeper into the complex.

Snow seeks to persuade the fal'Cie to release his fiancée, while Lightning and Sazh have other plans in mind...

Pulsian Menace

Snow pleads with the Pulse fal'Cie. He offers himself in Serah's place if it will release her from her fate.

The fal'Cie remains silent.

Seeing Snow's desperate pleas go unanswered, Lightning and Sazh draw weapons on the lowerworld being. Even if the fal'Cie will soon be destroyed along with the entire Vestige, they have reasons to defeat it with their own hands.

They work together to bring down the fal'Cie, and the Vestige now plummets towards the lake below. A final wave of power explodes from the dying fal'Cie, transforming the water and surrounding area into solid crystal.

Lightning and the others do not witness this breathtaking event — upon defeating the fal'Cie, they are drawn through a rift into a dimension where an immense, otherworldly presence awaits.

Onto their bodies, it sears cursed brands; onto their minds, the vision of a beast destroying Cocoon. Swept along by unimaginable energies, the helpless companions are swallowed in a lightless void.

As Snow drifts in the darkness, one memory fights to the surface of his consciousness...

Bound in Darkness

Lightning feels nothing but anger towards the Pulse fal'Cie. It had taken Serah and cursed her with a l'Cie's doomed existence. It is the underlying reason for the Purge. And it is an enemy to be cut down if she is to fulfill Serah's final request: to save Cocoon.

Lightning's aggression provokes the fal'Cie into action, and it attacks her. Sazh draws his guns with grim resolve, and Snow joins the battle without hesitation.

As they deal the killing blow to the master of the Vestige, a flash of light rends the air.

They are pulled into a swirling void of chaos, where they are bound by an ominous and inexorable entity. Branded with arcane markings, the companions are then assaulted with the vision of a terrible beast tearing Cocoon apart. Soon after, the Vestige finally succumbs to the combined attacks of the Sanctum forces.

In the midst of the chaos, a memory surfaces from the depths of Snow's fading awareness: a marriage proposal made to his beloved Serah under a night sky lit with the colors of exploding fireworks. Can his wish for a happy future ever be granted now?

continue reading: chapter three →