"Oh no... we're here."
And she screams when a lightning bolt hits a tower less than three hundred metres from where they're standing.
The chamber is circular, dominated by a statue covered in glass. Kaede kneels and does the sign of the fayth.
Theo stands quietly, not moving. (He's not the summoner, so he's guessing he isn't meant to do the sign, but this isn't really standard protocol anyway.)
The ghost of a woman emerges from the statue. "Lady Summoner. You are not alone."
"I'm not," she agrees. "He is my guardian."
"Even so, guardians are not meant to be here."
"You do not wish to commune with us?" the fayth wonders.
"—well probably but first I want to ask about Zanarkand."
"It is your final destination, summoner. You will see it when you are ready to."
"No, I mean the other one, the one where there are currently people living and stuff."
"—ah."
"I saw it on my way back from… being inside Sin," says Theo. "And everyone there seems to be relevantly composed of magic."
"Knowing what it's there for, what purpose it serves, could be helpful to figure out what I want to ask next."
"… And what does that actually do? Is it necessary for a purpose, does it sustain you somehow?"
"It's the goal; everything else is a byproduct."
"Goal?" asks Kaede. "Whose?"
The fayth doesn't answer.
She shakes her head. "If he had any, they were lost with his humanity."
"His humanity?"
"He is but a shadow of the man he once was, from ages long past."