11 min read

The Chronicles of the Lightbound

Kaili – From Shadows to Steel

"And suddenly as we're in the depths of panic, Kaili hits him with a regular attack and... down goes Chaos."

—From the Last Blow, preserved in the Archive of Time

Once a shadow-walker, Kaili began their tale as a Thief, swift yet frail. Though not of noble lineage, they possessed a peerless instinct for battle. While they honed their agility and finesse, it was Rukus’s brute endurance that often shielded them - a contrast that stirred both camaraderie and quiet envy. Kaili and Rukus were comrades of deep mutual respect, but Kaili could not help but measure their own frailty against the unshakable might of their friend. Time and again, Kaili fell - stricken by poison, spell, or overwhelming force - but each time, they rose stronger.

Elevated by Bahamut’s rite to the rank of Ninja, Kaili wielded the Masamune, a blade whispered of in legend, unmatched in its edge. Though lighter than the great swords of Rukus, it became an extension of Kaili’s will - swift, precise, and deadly. With this blade, they grew to become not merely a shadow on the battlefield, but a force of purpose and precision.

In the final moments of the Age of Darkness, it was Kaili who struck the blow that ended Chaos - his strike falling true as Rukus lay fallen at their side, a final, silent witness to Kaili’s ascension. That moment carried with it the weight of their journey: admiration for the friend who so often stood between them and death, and the solemn realization that, for once, the blow that mattered most came from their own hand. Despite the many times death clutched at them, Kaili’s name became etched in song and story as the relentless blade of fate, born not from invincibility, but from perseverance and hard-won resolve.

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Part of the series: The First Step: Final Fantasy I (20 posts)
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