He walked slowly, cautiously into the room, listening for any telltale signs there was someone else in there. The purple mistlike haze made his eyes water and altered his depth perception, so he knew he would have to rely on his other senses. Just in case there was somebody in there.
He was 18
Tough and tender
His head, topped with red-gold hair, swiveled left and right as he walked further into the room. The purple mist swirled around his heavy boots and the hem of his coat as well as the tip of his gunblade. There was someone in there. He couldn't hear them or see them, but he could sense them now. That sixth sense came from a lot of practice and many blindfolded duels. And it was never wrong.
She was sorceress and he'd do anything
To prove his ardor
"Poor, poor boy," a voice said. Seifer Almasy faced the source of the sound and tightened his grip on his gunblade. Something in his throat tightened and told him to get away, to run as fast as he could and never look back - but he wouldn't. Not yet. Not until he knew who it was. He wasn't afraid. He was never afraid. But that bad feeling just wouldn't cease.
With so much riding
On the choice at hand
The purple haze parted to reveal a woman in a lavender-to-black gown, a complicated headdress upon her shoulders. Those catlike yellow eyes held a cold fascination, and they drew Seifer in for a moment, seductively beckoning him to explore the depths. He shook it off just in time and steeled his nerves. "Stay away from me!" he said, using the same commanding, authoritative voice that had terrified so many young SeeD students into submission. The woman just cocked her head and studied Seifer intently. "Such a confused little boy. Are you going to step forward? Retreat? You have to decide."
The spirit of a boy
Or the wisdom of a man
"Stay back!"
Well-toned muscles tensed to dart away. He could feel the handle of the Hyperion digging into his palm, even though his glove, and had to consciously relax the white-knuckled grip he had on the weapon. Footsteps. It sounded like Instructor Trepe. The woman made a movement, and then all was silent again. His mind gave the command for Seifer to turn and look, or to run, something, anything, but the body would not obey. Seifer stared back at the woman - something went 'clink' in his mind and termed her sorceress - and grit his teeth, trying his damndest to keep from being drawn into the dual yellow voids.
"The boy in you is telling you to come. The adult in you is telling you to back off. You can't make up your mind. You don't know the right answer. You want to be saved from this predicament."
There's a constant contradiction
What feels good and what feels right
"Shut up!" he yelled. I, Seifer Almasy, am not afraid of anything, he said to himself, a sort of mantra. But that one little dissenting voice inside asked him: Then why is sweat dripping down the back of your neck? The sorceress took a step closer. Seifer watched as her eyes roved across his face, seeming to linger on the still-fresh scar.
"Don't be ashamed to ask for help. Besides, you're only a boy."
A boy? Only a boy?! Rage welled up inside Seifer, white hot and all consuming. The kind that could work so well for him, as well as against him.
"I'm not. Stop calling me a boy!" came his heated reply. The sorceress smiled, as if she had expected this and prepared for it. That smile was eerie and hollow, nothing warm about it, and made an involuntary shudder run down Seifer's spine.
"You don't want to be a boy anymore?"
And you live with decisions
That you make in your life
Seifer's lips twisted in a snarl.
"I am not a BOY!"
The sorceress looked at him for a long moment and slowly nodded. In that moment, Seifer lost all control. The yellow eyes finally drew him in and claimed him as theirs. His mind watched, almost detached, as his body released Deling and absorbed the Sorceress's magic. A spike of panic forced its way into his hard mindset. What was going on? What was happening?
And what steers your direction
Is hard to understand
"Come with me to a place of no return. Bid farewell to your childhood."
The sorceress turned and slinked into the purple haze, then disappeared. Seifer felt himself follow, then felt his anger quenched. What about Deling, and Instructor Trepe?
Their time will pass. I, however, am eternal.
Part of Seifer's mind revolted at the strange voice, but the majority of it accepted it easily. So, she can hear my thoughts now? he mused. Good. I hope Rinoa feels grateful for this.
The spirit of a boy
Or the wisdom of a man
More footsteps behind him. Seifer turned and noted with a lofty smirk that is was Squall. The younger man gave him a puzzled, questioning look. Seifer waved his gunblade in Squall's direction and turned back towards the haze the sorceress had disappeared through. Don't worry, Squall. This is not the end, merely the beginning, he thought, walking towards the purple curtains. The Sorceress' Knight shall triumph over the evil SeeD, just you wait and see.
With so much riding on the choice at hand
The spirit of a boy, or the wisdom of a man
Seifer Almasy looked at Squall Leonhart one last time, made a bloodthirsty smile, and stepped through the curtains.
