Author's Note: This chapter focuses on Lightning in Valhalla, but the rest of the story mainly follows Serah and Noel.

Story: Moving on... Without You.

Chapter Synopsis: In Valhalla, Lightning gives up her own future so that others might have one.

Chapter 1: Lightning, the Guardian of Time

[Day 00_]

Angst - (noun): the dread caused by man's awareness that his future is not determined but must be freely chosen.

After defeating Caius in a bloody battle for what she hoped was the last time, Lightning caught her breath in ragged gasps as she looked up at the ancient crystal throne of Etro. Her muscles ached and a gash on her shoulder was bleeding steadily. The mangled corpse of her rival lay to her right, no longer breathing and the glow of his red heart fading. When she first arrived in Valhalla, she had pledged her life to protect the world from the chaos that Caius wished to unleash in hopes to atone for the suffering she had caused the people of Cocoon. The guilt for the millions that died the day Cocoon fell burned in her heart even now, and she was no less dedicated to her cause than that first day she knelt at the throne. The seemingly endless fighting, the exhaustion and the pain was nothing to her, she would take it all and keep going because she had people worth fighting for.

It was the goddess herself who saw Lightning's determination to set things right, and granted her the power to defeat Caius. All seeing, all knowing, Etro found in her the warrior that she needed. So, in her own effort to protect the mortal realm from the unseen realm, the goddess granted Lightning a piece of her soul. Lightning was changed that day, and would never be the same again. Within her dwelled the Will of the goddess.

Dark tendrils of smoke rose from Caius' body. But, instead of getting to his feet and laughing at her pathetic attempts to kill him, as he had wont to do; this time his body shattered, and the particles were swept up by the dark wind and disappeared. Too tired to be shocked, Lightning scoffed as his existence was extinguished. Good riddance.

In front of her, on the ancient stone pavement, another body appeared. This one was smaller. As it materialized, Lightning's heart fluttered, recognizing her sister's small frame. "Serah!" she cried as she rushed to kneel at her side. Her mouth agape, Lightning propped her little sister up in her lap, looking her over for any damage, anything that she could mend. But Serah's body was unscathed. Worried, Lightning shook her lightly, and Serah's eyes slid open. The warrior gasped in horror. Her eyes. They were occluded by a large symbol.

It was true.

"No, Serah," Lightning was overwhelmed with fear. Her sister had been blessed – no, cursed - with the eyes of Etro, another piece of the goddess. Despite her open eyes, Serah was unresponsive. She lay in her sister's lap, doll-like, lifeless. It was her fault, thought Lightning; she had killed her own sister.

"No, no, no. This isn't right. Serah, you weren't supposed to die!" She had been tricked, swindled. No one had told her that those who held a piece of Etro were doomed. But now she saw it. She saw everything. It was her choice what to do next.

So she strode towards that ancient throne, leaving her sister where she lay, climbed the steps with conviction and sat down in the place of power. If Etro wanted a guardian, she was going to get one. Lightning opened herself to the power of the goddess, unafraid. She realized that a mortal should never rise to the power of a god, and that it would probably kill her. In a way, she wanted it to. The splintered pieces of Etro, her Eyes and the Heart of Chaos were drawn to her, and she embraced them both.

Power surged through her body like liquid light and she laughed in triumph. This was what she had been fighting towards ever since she was removed from her time. The years of the timeline spread out before her. How odd it was, she mused, to be handed the powers of a god, all seeing, all knowing, and power enough to change the world to her will, yet still to have a mortal mind. Still influenced by human emotion. It was a cruel joke.

Temptation captivated her: Etro had the power to sort the living from the dead, as well as to see everything that was, is and will be. Now that power was hers. However, it was altering the timeline in the first place that brought about the death of the goddess. All Lightning wanted was to find a purpose and to be strong enough to protect those she cared for. Now, she had it. Power and purpose. She would protect the timeline with the power of Etro. It was a small thing to her, to quell the chaos that threatened the mortal realm and she did it without moving a finger. Next, she did the one thing that Etro had been too afraid to do. She sealed the gate between the unseen and mortal realms; effectively closing herself off from the rest of the world. Never again, would a soul wash up on the shores of Valhalla, to be greeted by the goddess that gave them their spirit.

Alas, no human is up to the task of sitting in for a god. Selfishly, Lightning could not help but to return her sister from the land of the dead. It had been her fault that Serah had been brought into this conflict, and by her command had she been bestowed the Eyes of Etro. On that, she took the blame. So now, she would do her penance. As she made it so, her body began to crystallize, rising slowly from her feet and up her legs. As the liquid crystal hardened over her neck, she saw Serah's soul return to her body, her eye flutter, and a smile form on her pink lips. "Thank you, Claire" she said.

Sitting on the goddess' throne, guarding the eternal shores from those wishing to tamper with the timeline, was a crystal warrior. Her face frozen in the happiest moment of her life. Forever.