Final Fantasy X Story

Spoilers

Final Fantasy X's story begins in the high-tech metropolis of Zanarkand, the home city of the main character, Tidus. When Zanarkand is suddenly attacked by a giant creature known as "Sin," Tidus — along with his long-time mentor, Auron — are sucked into the creature and Tidus awakens to find himself alone in the ruins of a deserted temple. Thus begins Tidus' quest to return to his homeland.

Rescued by some divers in the area, Tidus is told that his city was destroyed one thousand years in the past. He has little time to dwell on the significance of this news before Sin attacks again, however. Tidus eventually washes up near the small island of Besaid, where he meets Wakka, captain of the local sports team. Impressed with Tidus' prowess in the fictional sport of blitzball, Wakka asks Tidus to join his team in an upcoming tournament and suggests that he may meet someone he knows there.

During the voyage that follows, Tidus is introduced to Yuna, a young woman who — newly-inducted into the summoner's art — possesses the power to call magical creatures called "aeons" to fight for her. Like all summoners, she is charged with the duty of defeating Sin, and is the daughter of High Summoner Braska, a man who temporarily vanquished Sin ten years prior. Tidus learns that Yuna's father was aided by Auron, his missing mentor, and Jecht, Tidus' own long-lost father, who was assumed dead at sea ten years earlier. He also meets Lulu and Kimahri, who, along with Wakka, are to serve as Yuna's guardians after the blitzball tournament as she journeys on a pilgrimage to the ruins of Zanarkand. There, she plans to acquire the aid of an entity called "the Final Aeon" to defeat Sin. The party happens upon Auron in the city of Luca, and — upon learning that Yuna is on a pilgrimage for the Final Aeon — he joins the party as her newest guardian. Soon after, they are joined by a young Al Bhed girl named "Rikku," who — despite being publically branded an outcast for her people's beliefs — joins the party, declaring that she also wants to protect Yuna.

As the pilgrimage continues, Tidus learns that the present-day world centers around the temples of Yevon, a millennium-old and heavily influential organization. The Yevonite clergy teach that Sin is a divine punishment set upon the people for their pride in the use of machines (known as "machina"). As a result, the temples have forbidden the use of modern technology, and a culture of atonement for past sins is promoted in the hopes of appeasing Sin. The only other method of defeating Sin deemed acceptable by the temples is the use of the Final Aeon.

Growing increasingly fond of Yuna, Tidus eventually discovers — to his horror — that if she completes her pilgrimage and uses the Final Aeon against Sin, she will die. Aware of her fate, Yuna intends to give her life to provide the people of Spira with "the Calm," the brief period of peace that follows Sin's destruction — temporary because Sin always returns. Complicating matters further, Auron reveals to Tidus that his father Jecht is alive but no longer human, having now become the unwilling embodiment of Sin. Falling in love with Yuna, Tidus resolves to find a way to free his estranged father and permanently destroy Sin without sacrificing Yuna's life.

As the party approaches Zanarkand, another disquieting fact is revealed: neither Tidus nor Jecht are ordinary human beings. They and the Zanarkand they hail from are "dreams," or summoned entities, the same as the aeons. Their city, Dream Zanarkand, was created one thousand years earlier, around the time of the original Zanarkand's destruction. At the time, a conflict known as the "Machina War" led to Yevon, Zanarkand's ruler, taking a desperate measure to preserve his city's memory. He had his city's surviving people become fayth, statues that provide a summoner with the means to summon, so that he could use their memories of Zanarkand to create a new city in its image, far removed from the warfare on the Spiran mainland. Thus, Yevon was able to save the memory of his city, even if he could not save the city itself.

Additionally, Sin was created at this time, given form by none other than Yevon himself. His intention was that the creature would protect him and the fayth while he summoned Dream Zanarkand, and that it would also prevent anyone on the mainland from discovering the summoned city. While the creature performed this duty, Yevon, for his part, would become known as "Yu Yevon" ("the Curse of Yevon") and lose his own humanity, reduced to a disembodied spirit that existed with only the desire to maintain Dream Zanarkand's existence. Over the next one thousand years, Sin would constantly terrorize Spira's people, leaving destruction and heartache in its wake.

Tidus and his companions also learn that the Final Aeon is created from the spirit of one to whom a summoner is personally close. When Sin is defeated, Yu Yevon's spirit then possesses the Final Aeon that defeated it, transforming it into a new Sin. It is also revealed that Jecht, believing there was no way to return to Dream Zanarkand, chose to become the fayth for Braska's Final Aeon, and, thus, he became Sin. With the hypocrisy of the Yevon order revealed, Yuna and her guardians defy claims that Sin can never be destroyed, engaging Sin in battle directly, and without the use of a Final Aeon. After successfully penetrating their way into the creature's interior, they free Jecht's imprisoned spirit and fight a subsequently weakened Yu Yevon. By finally destroying him, the party succeeds in bringing an end to the cycle of Sin's rebirth, allowing the fayth of Spira to rest after a thousand years. Dream Zanarkand then vanishes, taking — much to Yuna's grief — Tidus with it.