Final Fantasy XIV

Summary

At the end of everything, the Warrior of Light is reborn. (This one AGAIN has spoilers for the end of Endwalker. Do not read unless you know what happens at its climax.)

It was over. The Endsinger had been defeated, and Meteion had finally come to understand. And there you stood in this land of dynamis, eager to return to your friends and hear their celebratory accolades, knowing that the emotions swirling around you would guide you home…

…but then he appeared. “My enemy. My friend.”

Your fists clenched at these words. That he should be here defied belief. Zenos had never been your “friend”, nor even an “enemy” - just another obstacle in your path towards the validation you desired. What validation could he bring you?

You were tired. Fatigued. You just wanted to go–well, you didn’t have a real home to go to, but the Rising Stones would suffice. Because home is where the heart is, and your heart was with the Scions.

Zenos was demanding what he always did: a fight. You did not want to give it to him. What did it matter, here, out at the end of the universe with no one else here? No, there were no friends to psych you up, cheer you on, and afterwards, shower you with praise.

Yet he was still there. Eager. Anticipatory.

And there was a voice inside you saying, He will be satisfied with you if you do this.

A wave of self-hatred surged in you. Were you really so simple? Were you really going to do this–give him what he wanted just so you could feel some spark of validation?

Apparently you were.

You can’t say for sure who made the first move, but you came together in a clash of steel. Again and again you charged, and when weariness caused you to drop your weapons, you went at each other with fists.

The punches were coming more slowly, but still potent, enough so that with one last pull, you delivered the blow that sent him to the ground.

And in his last breaths, he smiled and thanked you, and you felt that familiar surge of elation inside you.

You sank to your knees. Such a simple creature you were. At the end of it all, you were as nothing more than a puppy, doing tricks for treats. Did you truly want to live like this?

Could you live…?

The light began to fade, and you felt yourself sinking, until there was nothing.

…then, a spark…

Familiarity called out to you. It urged you upwards, towards the same path you had long walked.

Would you still walk it?

…another spark, This one brighter, with an altogether different glow. It was not familiar, but enticing.

Could you walk it? Live not for others, but for yourself for once? What would that even look like?

In the warm emptiness, you searched for answers…

A glimpse. You, standing on the hull of a ship, waves surging beneath its hull, friends old and new by your side. A feeling of contentment and anticipation, a smile on your face not at the end of the journey, but the start, for it was the journey itself that was the reward this time.

The dynamis twinkled, and you arose, renewed and reborn.

Notes

Written for the FFXIV Write 2026 Day 4 prompt - Surge.