Over two years have passed since Squall and his comrades defeated the witch Ultimecia and brought peace to the world.

A peace that was short-lived.

Dollet, sensing Galbadia's weakness after the tyrannical rule of the possessed Sorceress Edea and the many conflicts with SeeD, rallied the resistance factions and remaining Timber military to their cause and set out on a crusade to reverse what the Sorceress War nearly two decades ago did.
As Galbadia grappled with their losses, the newly united faction struck and war ignited across the Galbadian continent.

Balamb Garden and SeeD, originally intending to remain neutral in the matter, the route Esthar took, were called upon by the the Timber resistance factions after SeeD's contract with the Forest Owls was leaked. Unable to back out of the all-encompassing "until Timber's independence", SeeD were washed into the escalating conflict with Galbadia. Galbadia Garden, barely re-established, allied itself with Galbadia unconditionally, pitting SeeD against SeeD.

In the midst of an incursion in Dollet City, Squall Leonhart vanished, motivated an unknown quest for answers. As he continues his search, those closest to him are tasked with his retrieval, all the while asking questions of their own--

What could cause him to leave?