what is the "silver phantom" au youve been tagging in replies to xestheim?
outofchara; Buckle up, anon, because I’m about to take your ass to town on the biggest angst train you will ever experience. Choo choo, mother fucker.
The Silver Phantom AU was created by Hope and yours truly, to be the most heart breaking au verse that could ever exist (copyrighted to us). It is the to be mother-load that is angst. To keep it short and simple for you, the basis of the AU is this:
After the events of Lightning Returns, instead of rejoining the rest of the group and being reborn into the New World, Lightning does become the new Goddess of Death and then resides in Valhalla. After spending all his life searching for Lightning, and after being horrifically tortured by Bhuni using the rose-haired phantom (which is canon, in case some people have forgotten), Hope decides that he doesn’t want to be reborn and live the rest of his life without Lightning, and chooses to go with her into Valhalla. His decision came easy to him, due to the fact he heard Lightning cry out in the darkness at the end of LR, when she said that she didn’t want to be alone. And, therefore, he decided to stay with her during her newfound title.
Now, that doesn’t sound so bad, right? WRONG. No one gets to have a happy ending with us. As time continues on in outside of the realm of death, Lightning and Hope spend their days together in the timeless realm, but eventually, Lightning begins to change into becoming the real goddess of death; the goddess Valhalla really needs.
Now as it was previously discussed in Lightning Returns, Lightning struggles to feel anything, (she struggles with her humanity) as not only was it her doing, but partly a side effect to her becoming on-par with a God herself, and we all know, God’s can’t feel human emotion. So as the years eventually continue on, Lightning loses parts of herself, and forgets what it means to be human. In turn, Hope also no longer appears to be in a human form, but instead takes the appearance of a silver-haired phantom. As Lightning’s humanity is stripped away, and she forgets human emotions, in turn, she forgets herself, Serah and ultimately, Hope.
When she first started experiencing amnesia, (which includes beautifully written moments of her breaking down) Hope and her made a promise that they would always remind each other of who they were, and who they were to one another, but as time moved forward, they eventually forgot why they were reminding one another of such things, and as an extension, what these things were.
The real sad part is the fact that Hope had to watch Lightning lose herself first. He watched, helplessly, as Lightning changed from a human, to a Goddess. He watched her forget herself, her life, Serah and him. He witnessed her forget that she loved him and that she use to be human herself. Lightning became so lifeless that she would spend (what would be years outside the realm of chaos) on her throne, almost turning to crystal, only moving when she had to continue the rebirthing of the cycle of life. But Hope never once left her side.
Then, slowly, Hope forgot himself too. The two stayed in each others vicinity, but never understanding why or knowing who they were. The silver phantom only knew that he had always been present to the Goddess, having never been reborn, but not understanding why. He would drift aimlessly throughout Valhalla, but not going far from the Goddess. And all the Goddess knew was that a silver phantom seemed to haunt her, never leaving her side.
And so, essentially, for the better part of eternity, they stayed like that.
And, from the time Lightning and Hope reside in Valhalla, to the amnesia happening and Lightning becoming a complete Goddess, it’s about 200 years in Valhalla, which is close to 1000 years over the course of time outside of Valhalla.
@aeristheancient you’ll probably like this angst train. All aboard.
