Dissidia - The 13th Cycle

Dissidia - The 13th Cycle

Characters:

Rai - Chaos - Rai was one of Cosmos' lead fighters along with Geode in past cycles. At the end of the 12th Cycle he stood as Cosmos' final vanguard but was overwhelmed. Chaos took him and manifested his evil into a separate form but kept control over Rai

Ariana - Chaos - Rai's girlfriend. She followed him to the end of the Earth and stood guard whilst Rai went to confront Chaos, but she was defeated. Chaos took control of her to help corrupt Rai and use them both as pawns against Cosmos

Liam - Cosmos - Rai's younger brother; he waited alongside Cosmos when the 12th cycle ended at Rai's request so if the worst happened Cosmos still had someone she could trust. He now fights in Rai's place alongside Riley to try and restore his family to the side of good

Rain - Chaos - Rai and Liam's cousin, he was taken by Shadow Rai knowing Rai and Riley would come after him. His memories were wiped but he has faint recollections of his time with Riley and a strong bond with her despite not knowing who she is

Riley - Cosmos - Rain's twin sister. After Rai failed to recover Rain, she vowed to get him back herself. She shares a strong bond with her brother and does everything in her power to try and restore his memories. She fights alongside Liam to restore their family to the side of good

Shadow Rai - Chaos - Rai's alter ego and his dark side. Although he manifested himself as a dark being, it was only at the end of the 12th cycle when Chaos' powers were at their peak that he was able to separate into an entirely different being. He seeks to corrupt Liam and Riley to bring the entire family under his power. Like Elijah he serves as one of Chaos' two strongest guards


Geode - Chaos - Geode fights with Rai as one of Cosmos' two strongest warriors. However, using trickery, Elijah and Dason were able to defeat him and he became corrupted. He now stands with Rai as puppets of Chaos who attempts to use them to corrupt the rest of their lineage

Juliet - Chaos - A quiet girl who is in love with Geode. Dason was able to manipulate her so that whilst she isn't infused with darkness, she serves Chaos as his personal slave in the belief that if she doesn't Dason will kill Geode

Elijah - Chaos - Elijah is Geode's twin brother. He is cruel and sadistic and enjoys watching people suffer, especially Geode. Along with Shadow Rai, he stands as one of Chaos' two chief warriors present through every cycle of the war and seeks to use the final cycle to seal Chaos' victory and rule the world

Miranda - Cosmos - Geode's younger sister. She was unable to save her brother. She stands alongside Julie as they attempt to restore some balance to the world and save the ones they care about. She secretly has a thing for Hale but won't admit it

Julie - Cosmos - Juliet's younger sister. She is strong willed like Dason and attempts to break her sister free of her Older brother's control, all the while searching for her twin who was taken from her, believing him to still be on Cosmos' side

Dean - Chaos - Taken by Elijah, he already had some evil in him so was quickly corrupted. He is searching for his sister, but only after having formulated a plan to use her and her allegiance to Cosmos to try and kill the Goddess

Dason - Chaos - Juliet, Dean and Julie's older, and highly manipulative brother. Chief tactician for Chaos, he wishes to see the world burn, though there is a small amount of good in him, it is buried deep. He uses fear to try and control Juliet in an attempt to hold an iron fisted rule over his family

Hale - Chaos - Hale is a nonchalant guy. Though he works for Chaos, he doesn't actively participate in the Cycles and the war, preferring to observe. He does however harbour a secret affection for Miranda and has gone out of his way to protect her and continues to do so, much to Elijah's chagrin


Anthony - Chaos - A kind and caring guy for the most part, being infused with Chaos has stripped him of his emotions. He is kept by Chaos' side alongside Juliet because Chaos knows of the connection between him and the Goddess. A part of him desperately fights against Chaos' control to return to Cosmos

Rachel - Chaos - With a huge ego many people think she naturally belonged on Chaos' side, but in reality she is kind and caring. Her darker side was brought out when she was corrupted. She tries tormenting George and using his love for her to bring him over to Chaos' side, repressing her love for him in the process

George - Cosmos - Rachel's best friend and boyfriend, he desperately seeks to break Chaos' control over Anthony and Rachel and defeat Kyle who constantly pursues him. He tries to make light of any situation but part of him is despairing at the perceived hopelessness of it

Kyle - Chaos - Kyle is Anthony's cousin. He is his polar opposite, taking enjoyment from pain and suffering and he enjoys meddling with George and Rachel. He managed to separate and defeat Anthony and Rachel during the last cycle using devious tactics but was unable to get to George before the cycle ended




Prologue - Dissidia Duodecim Prologus

Cosmos, the Goddess of Harmony
Chaos, the God of Discord
The War...an endless war...or so it seems...
At the heart of the conflict is this world. Chaos seeks to soak it in pure darkness, whilst Cosmos seeks to purify it so that it might be reborn and start anew, full of purity. They met on the battlefield. They each summoned three warriors to do battle for them. A Red headed man with piercing eyes of green, and his dark alter ego. A Black haired man surrounded by chains and fire, and his sadistic brother. A kindly man by the name of Anthony and his brother with vicious and cruel intent. The three of them fought the other three. And Cosmos won. But Chaos did not surrender and his warriors were not truly defeated

Chaos burned himself in his sacrificial fire to be reborn stronger. And so the second cycle began, and the two warriors and their dark counterparts were called into battle for a second time, and for a second time the outcome was the same, and for a second time Chaos did not submit to the light. So he burned himself once more and the third cycle began. Only this time, he summoned additional warriors to support himself, and this cycle he was victorious, but Cosmos did not submit to the darkness and was reborn. And so the cycle seemed endless, with each God summoning more and more warriors to fight on their behalf as each cycle became more and more blood-stained and seemingly endless

And so the 12th cycle arrived. More warriors than ever stood to face the war, each ready to sacrifice everything. Chaos and his warriors had become scheming though. By infusing Cosmos' warriors with darkness, they would submit to him. And so the 12th cycle ended in fire as Cosmos sacrificed herself to save her last remaining warriors, those who had not been killed or corrupted. 4 warriors stood as Cosmos' final vanguard. The Goddess stood weaker than ever facing seemingly insurmountable odds. The victories stood even at 6 all. One last cycle would decide everything, and with Cosmos on her last legs...victory for the darkness seemed all but imminent...

Chapter 1 – Distant dreams

“Hello? Are you there? Can you hear me?”
He slowly opened his eyes and the warm light washed over him
“My love?”
He slowly sat up and looked around. He was in a lavish castle full of powerful reds and purples but also many gentle blues. There were many people standing there, chatting with one another. He looked at himself. He was wearing expensive looking clothes, sitting on a grand looking throne. He could feel the weight of a heavily jewel crusted crown on his head. He looked to his right and saw someone. She was the most beautiful person he had ever laid eyes on. Her long, blonde hair flowed down to her knees. Her face was adorned with a gentle, but caring smile that looked as if it was meant for him and him alone. She slowly leaned forward and gently kissed him on the lips for just a moment, but that moment felt as though it lasted for a thousand lifetimes

Slowly but surely he stood up as his robe swathed across the floor. He held out his hand and the woman stood up and took it with a smile
“Would you honour me with a…”
The woman stopped him by placing a single finger on his lips. They walked together as the entire room diverted their attention to them. They reached the centre of the room and a beautiful tune started playing, filling the air. They stood together, dancing, as if it were just them and no one else mattered. No one else did matter

After a while their eternal moment together was broken as others began joining in. They took the hands of their partners and followed them in a seemingly endless waltz. With each spin he noticed a figure come closer and closer. Though he had a Humanlike appearance, his eyes were yellow and full of a dark fire, like he might imagine would be the eyes of Lucifer himself. The strange but comforting silence all around him shattered as pillars of fire erupted everywhere. People ran and screamed, desperately running for cover as pandemonium spread. The man smirked cruelly. In a flash, there was a hot, burning sensation at his feet. He looked down. The man was about to cause a pillar of fire to erupt beneath him, but his feet refused to move. And then it happened. A column of fire erupted around him and he shut his eyes tight, fearing the end

“Open your eyes my love” a soft voice whispered into his ear
He shook his head, too scared of what he might find
“Don’t you trust me?” the voice gently asked
He slowly opened his eyes
The beautiful girl had her arms wrapped around his waist and was hugging him tightly. The pillar of fire was burning around them, but they had been protected by a second column, this time of air which blocked the flames and stopped them from reaching their flesh
“I’m…alive…”
“Of course” she smiled and rested her head on his chest

The dark figure growled angrily
“Burn in Hell!”
The flames intensified, but still the pillar of air protected them from it
“Why do you protect such a weakling?” he demanded
“Why do you not give up when it’s clear I do not love you?”
The flames doubled in strength
“No one should reject me!” he roared
“You do not understand, and you never will” she said quietly, still holding onto the one she cared for
He was confused at the banter between the two. Clearly there were many things he did not know. He looked once more at the beautiful girl, still holding onto him
“Just do one thing for me my love?” she said
“Anything for you”
“Wake up…”

Slowly but surely Anthony opened his eyes. What he woke up to was not as appealing as the dream. He was sitting on a plain chair in a small dungeon. There was only one cell, and it held a familiar figure. The girl chained to the wall was barely awake herself. She too had long, flowing blonde hair, though hers was shorter. Whilst she was beautiful, her beauty did not compare to that of the woman he had dreamed about, in his eyes anyway. The rest of the dungeon was just as dreary as the cell. It was designed to be strong and unbreakable, not to appeal to the design conscious. Beyond that the only other thing there were the long and winding steps that lead upwards to the remainder of Chaos’ fortress. Those steps started to echo sound as a figure descended into the dungeon. It was Anthony’s brother, Kyle. Though they had similarities, Kyle was undeniably evil. Anthony on the other hand was not, but Chaos had poured corruption through his body by stripping him of his emotions. He now served the darkness, unsure of even why he did so

Kyle handed Anthony a small tray of food. Anthony stood up and opened the cell which held Juliet. He took the plate of food and placed it by her feet, then exited and locked the cell. Kyle turned to leave, but looked back at Juliet, who ignored the food and simply hung her head in despair.
“Pathetic. Dason should have killed you long ago…and Chaos should let me kill you right now. What a pathetic excuse for a brother” he said turning his attention to Anthony
Anthony didn’t seem to hear him and was pondering the meaning of the strange dream he had. It wasn’t the first one. He had many like it. The first few had only featured him and the beautiful girl, though more recent ones had the dark figure interrupting them. Yet no matter what the dream was, they all ended the same way, with the beautiful girl telling him he needed to wake up

In the first instance he had made the mistake of telling Kyle about his dream, having thought nothing of it. But the dreams had become more frequent to the point that Kyle could tell when he was having one. Someone who had been stripped of his emotions as he had shouldn’t be able to dream. Kyle knew something was wrong. As he ascended the steps he found Chaos sitting bored on his throne
“Lord Chaos?” Kyle said walking into his throne room
“Yes?” he asked, almost unwilling, certainly uncaring
“It’s him…he had another dream…”
“So what?” Chaos asked yawning
“He shouldn’t be able to dream! Please…I don’t understand why you keep him…please let me kill him! Cosmos would be so angry! It would be great” he said with a sadistic grin
“No” came the simple reply

It had been that way ever since they had first taken Anthony in. Both of them knew there was a strong connection between him and the Goddess. She cared for him, and he had a deep desire to protect her. Kyle wished to kill his brother to deal a crippling blow to the Goddess, one that could turn the final cycle undeniably in their favour, but every time he asked it of Chaos, he was refused
“I don’t get it! He’s better off dead!” he cried out every time
But every single time Chaos simple shrugged him off, refusing to explain himself. Kyle had had enough
“He’s dead meat. I’m killing him” he growled
He turned his back to Chaos and took a few steps, but before he could go any further, he was slammed into the nearby wall. Chaos stood up, holding him there with his powers

“Do not question me. It is true that Cosmos would despair at his death, but the hope she holds by knowing she has a slim chance of getting him back is better, so just when she thinks things might go her way, just when she begins to regain hope, then I can crush it absolutely”
Kyle’s eyes widened. He knew Chaos was sadistic like him, but it had never occurred to him
“That’s…brilliant!”
“Of course it is, I thought of it”
Chaos let him go and sat back on his throne
Outside the door, hidden from view, Anthony had been listening to the entire thing