#;; Usurper { Ardyn Izunia } | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

xadoheandterra · 5 years ago

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Title: Bitter Night Fandom: Final Fantasy XV Chapters: I | II | III | IV | V | VI Characters: Noctis Lucis Caelum, Ardyn Izunia | Ardyn Lucis Caelum, Regis Lucis Caelum, Somnus Lucis Caelum, Kings Guard, The Fulgurian | Ramuh, The Lucii Tags: Time Travel, Fix-It Of Sorts, Angst, Hurt, Comfort Eventually, Ardyn and Noctis are both Assholes, Fuck the Gods Summary: He hadn't known what he was doing. All he knew was that he felt bitter in this endless night--bitter that the story needed to end like this. It felt like the Bad Ending and--well, Noctis hated getting Bad Endings in his games. He refused to.

So Noctis refused.

Everything hurt, Noctis could admit to that. It hurt in the way living hurt, and in the way dying hurt. It hurt with each struggle Noctis had to breathe, or the way his legs didn’t exactly want to work as he struggled to hold himself up against the edge of the stone and stared down at the crumpled form of Ardyn.

It also, Noctis began to notice, hurt less than it did when he first crashed into the ground at Ardyn’s feet. It hurt less the more he breathed and shifted closer to Ardyn. Each breath he took became less of a struggle, and he could see the faint edge of crystal flicker off the wound in his chest—a wound made out of his father’s blade, as it pierced him to his throne.

Noctis laughed, a bitter broken sound choked with his own tears as he leaned brokenly over the edge of stone brick and stared down at Ardyn. Ardyn who had only minutes early been strung up in familiar chains that burned sick in Noctis’ gut—strung up in a way that Noctis knew. He could see the Crystal still in the throne room and those black chains that pierced through it. The holes in Ardyn’s skin already were in the process of healing—dark miasma drifted off of the man as the skin nit closed, as he bled sluggishly from the old wounds.

They pierced his hands. Six, Noctis hadn’t realized the chains pierced Ardyn’s hands. No wonder the man wore his clothes like a shield, a mismatched set of nonsensical articles of clothing to keep the world away from the myriad of scars that lined his flesh. Noctis could see them now, as they closed up and left behind obvious puckered marks. Ardyn would be marred by the chains for the rest of his life.

Somnus really had been quite the utter dick, hadn’t he? Gods, and Noctis had him to thank for his family lineage. Noctis buried his face against his arm and choked down the hysterical laughter that wanted to burst out of him. Here he was, in Angelgard, with a man so untouched by time—without backup, without friends, denying destiny. Ah, the utter height of foolishness. Already he could feel the Lucii tenterhooks tug within his very soul.

End it, they demanded, voices loud in cacophonous silence. End it.

“Yeah,” Noctis wheezed, “no.” The world whited out into noise for a bright second, pain that drag through him enough to pull out a gutted scream until it burned back with bile in his throat. Noctis shuddered and choked into a gasp—

ENOUGH—

He cried, “Dad,” because that was Regis’ voice, louder than the rest—and then blissful silence that left Noctis alone with just the ragged breaths of a man he just dropped from chains and the weight of his sinful decisions to defy the gods. Noctis sucked in a choked breath and began to drag himself over to Ardyn with nails dug through the dirt and rock until his fingertips bled. His legs laid useless behind him even as he reached out and grasped at Ardyn’s flesh.

It didn’t matter what he did now, merely that he had to—Noctis defied the gods, they needed to leave. He dragged himself upright, and then struggled to pull Ardyn up against him. The dead weight of the taller man took all of Noctis’ dimished strength to hold upright until he could lean the man with the edge of his shoulder shoved up underneath Ardyn’s armpit. Sweat beaded at Noctis’ brow, but he puffed a stronger breath than before and his lungs didn’t feel like they would half-collapse in upon themselves anymore, so he took that and the steadier breaths out of Ardyn as a good sign.

“Gotta…move….”

As far as dumb and impulsive ideas went, Noctis felt this one so far seemed to turn out rather well as he raised his other hand and tugged at his connection to Ultima until the blade flung from where it’d been tossed into the ground and back into his palm. It felt heavier in his hand, and Noctis utterly shook with the effort to hold it up, but he could vaguely see an edge in the darkness where light threatened to sliver in, and with all his strength flung Ultima out. He had half-a-second to tighten his grip on Ardyn’s waist before he dragged them both along the path of the blade and out into the moonlight.

Ardyn was completely dead weight, so when Noctis landed with his useless legs and the dead weight of Ardyn against his side, he crumpled to the ground with Ardyn atop him. The breath stole from his lungs with a wheezing gasp as six feet of muscle crashed down upon him. He struggled to shove the older man off—scrambled his hands against the bareness of Ardyn’s chest and shoved and heaved until he could roll himself away and roll Ardyn off him.

The sky was dark, but the moon shone down upon them and Noctis sucked in a deep and for once unbarred breath. He took in the sights, the smells, and the dizzying way he felt with his magic drained precariously as it was—and laughed. Six, what had he been thinking? This night had dragged on, and on, and on—and now Ardyn was here with him, unconscious and so-so—young. It struck Noctis how young Ardyn looked.

Face soft, confused, hurt and at a loss—Ardyn stared at him as he told his story, the tale of the ‘Usurper King’ and his older brother—the Founder that never-was.

Noctis hadn’t paid much attention to Ardyn’s words, but then he’d had ten years to contemplate the way the man spoke—and the soft edged pleading tone he’d spoken with. It struck Noctis how young Ardyn looked then, how soft his face and eyes had been—and reminded Noctis of the few times he’d seen the man without the face pinched in some fashion or form were rare. As Ardyn spoke of who he had been there was a gentleness that Noctis saw tucked away beneath the bitterness and hatred.

“You…” Noctis mumbled, and pointed a finger tiredly at the unconscious Ardyn, “…are a piece of shit.” He dropped the hand over his eyes and sighed. “And so am I. Fuck.”

The voices registered with a sort of distance; Noctis had spent a while with just his own breath and Ardyn’s on the rocky outcropping of Angelgard to rest. He couldn’t really do much of anything anyway except drag himself about, grasp at Ardyn’s dead weight, and fling Ultima around. Warping so often and so much after the night he had would drain him further, so Noctis waited and rested and regained his strength.

Maybe, also, Noctis tried to get his damned legs to move—to feel—to do something with frustrated tears and a bitter memory of a time when the world ended for an eight year old boy. The tenterhooks of the Lucii flexed with the memory, and a soft and soreness wound through his mind like static until the first of the voices registered with distance.

“It came from over here.”

“Are you sure? Isn’t that the entrance?”

“Fuck if I know, but do you want to risk it? What if it’s escaped?”

“Six damn it all.”

It? Noctis thought, and then frowned at the curl of bitterness and regret that flashed through him.

I—

Dad?

Half-a-second later there was a yell. “Adagium!”

Noctis rolled himself over and flung out his hand for Ultima in a flash. He dragged himself upward by his blade as best he could and then his eyes widened. The uniform was uniquely Kingsglaive, but the men and women held back for half a second with their eyes trained upon—Ardyn. Noctis glanced to Ardyn, then glanced back to the Kingsglaive—and then to the ‘entrance’ behind them which was little more than a long and thin gap in the wall. He could see clearly the way that Ardyn would hang in the darkness, and then the sun would rise—and the light pierce through that little gap—

You tortured him, it struck Noctis like lightning. The light would hurt Ardyn, who rested in the dark and was surely more daemon than man some days. It would burn and ache—how Ardyn would scream. You bastard. You tortured him.

“Get it back inside before it wakes!” another of the Glaive uttered and Noctis snapped his gaze back toward them.

What?

Something feral light inside him; he felt his hands tremble as he held Ultima while half-curled upright. Noctis’ lips curled back into a snarl—

“Who’s that beside it?”

“Doesn’t matter. Get it back inside now!”

—hell no, he thought furiously. His mind already worked hard to figure out how these were Glaive, here, when Noctis had learned that the Glaive were born of his father’s idea. A way for the broken and destitute of Lucis to fight back, gifted with the King’s magic—and then the thought that if these were Glaive then that meant they were here upon orders of the throne.

Did you know?

Silence; the tenterhooks upon his soul eased up and away. The Lucii backed off, and Noctis thrust Ultima into the ground and dragged himself inch by inch up the blade. He forced his legs to work as he pulled himself tall.

Did you know, dad? Did you torture him? Did you continue this—this cruelty?

The silence rang loud, louder than the Lucii’s earlier fury at Noctis’ utter refusal to ‘end it’ back within the cell. It rang with a truth that Noctis wanted to disbelieve, except the truth lay stark in front of his face. The ground sparked in front of him, mimicked his fury at the thought that his family—his entire line—had been complicit in the torture of a man who once sought only to heal.

Does this make you happy, Somnus, to see what you’ve reduced us to? Noctis thought, bitter and fury and spite all within him.

“Shit—the fuck is going on?!”

“Who is this guy?!”

“Can it—just take him down!”

A storm called and raged around them until Noctis finally, finally, reached his full height and stood on unsteady legs that he couldn’t feel. His hands shook and he stared at the Glaive who refused to move closer, frozen by the strikes of lightning and electricity that seemed to surround Noctis and Ardyn—at the way the world lit purple-black with oppressive magic. Normally the feel of it would drive Noctis to his knees, but this time Noctis raised his head to the sky—to the storm—and screamed.

“DID. YOU. KNOW?!”

The sky’s parted, and the Fulgurian stared back.

#fanfic #fic: bitter night #noctis lucis caelum #ardyn izunia #somnus lucis caelum #ramuh

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platonicone · 5 years ago

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Devotion - Story of the Oracle and her Shield

Chapter 6 - Sins of the past

Is it a crime to punish someone who does not even remember their crime? I wonder…

“I am delighted to see you again, my dear friend.” He said removing his hat and bowing down slightly.

“Do I know you?” Squall asked skeptically.

“This must be a jest. You don’t remember me?” He said, taken by surprise. After seeing no expression on Squall’s face, he said, “Oh, you are not kidding. I am Ardyn Izunia, your loyal friend and ally, at your service.”

“How do you know me? I have never met you before.”

“Oh, it breaks my heart to hear that after all that we’ve been through.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You, me, Griever and Ifrit waged a war against all the Astrals. You swept in like a hero and plunged your sword into the heart of Bahamut. Because of you, Bahamut is still recovering in the crystal. What a glorious battle that was. And you remember none of it? Pity.”

‘Gentiana never mentioned anything about this,’ he thought. Squall shook his head and said, “I don't remember doing anything like that.”

‘How interesting, did Bahamut remove all the memories of the last time?’ Ardyn wondered

“Squall, does the word Omen mean anything to you?”

He shook his head in response.

“Interesting. How about Stella?”

‘Other than the alias Lunafreya uses, no.’ He thought and shook his head again.

‘Hmm, so he does not remember anything from last time. Not even Stella? I wonder if he even recognizes who Lunafreya is.’ Ardyn thought while twirling his hat in his hands.

“Tell me, do Rinoa, Selphie, Quistis, Zell, Irvine, Laguna, any of these words ring a bell?”

“No,” he said.

‘My my, he remembers no one from his world either.’ Ardyn wondered.

Ardyn looked Squall straight into his eyes and said, “Why are you here, I wonder? Did the Astrals tell you anything?”

“It’s none of your business,” Squall replied.

“Now, now. Is this a way to talk to your dear friend? I am just trying to help you.”

“Why should I trust you?”

“Because I too am a prisoner of fate, just like you.” He whispered getting close to Squall’s ears. “I can help you find the answers you seek. Now tell me, why are you here?”

“I don’t know. All I am told is that my mission is to protect the Oracle on her journey and reunite her with her king in Altissia.”

“You are to serve as Lady Lunafreya’s champion?” He said aghast.

“I guess so,” Squall replied with a shrug.

‘Have Bahamut gone mad? After what happened the last time, why would he reunite them? It makes no sense.’ Ardyn thought.

“And what do you get for completing your mission?” He asked curiously.

“In return, I will be able to go back to my world.”

‘Go back to his world? That is not even possible. His world was destroyed a long time ago. Why deceive him?’ Ardyn wondered. ‘I need to do some research on all of this.’

“Squall, trust the Astrals at your own peril. They had betrayed you once, and they will do it again.”

“You are not making any sense,” he said with frustration.

Ardyn just waved at him and started walking away towards his car.

“Hey, explain yourself.”

“In due time, all will be clear to you. For now, just play your role,” Ardyn replied from a distance. He gave him a small bow and disappeared among the crowd.

‘What the hell is going on here? I don’t understand anything.’ Squall said, clutching his head.

He made his way towards the hunts. ‘Why am I here? Why don’t I remember anything from the past? How do I go back home? Why do people think that I was here before? Why do people talk about events of which I have no recollection of? Why do they know more about me than I do?’

Killing monsters helped him release all the pent-up frustration. He returned to the city as the Sun began to set. After finishing his chores, he stopped at the apparel shop to grab a new pair of clothes. It was a simple white V-neck t-shirt, black pant, and short-sleeved black jacket.

He grabbed something to eat from the food court and picked up soup for Lunafreya.

He quietly opened the door, not to disturb her. He kept the soup next to the one he brought yesterday and then walked up to her bed to check on her. She was still fast asleep.

Pryna was sitting by Lunafreya’s bedside as expected. Umbra had made himself comfortable in the chair.

By the time he came out of the shower, both Umbra and Pryna were gone.

“I guess it’s you and me again,” he said to the sleeping girl.

He reached her bedside to examine her. “How was your day?”

Not expecting any response, he started narrating his day, “My day was weird. It started with me arguing with the hospital staff as they refused to give me any chores because my arm is injured. I told them I was fine, but they wouldn’t listen. Eventually, they gave me some boring delivery jobs. I was just about to get started on it when a spunky girl literally ran into me. She offered to give me a tour of the town as a form of her apology. I have to admit it is a nice town, and it is bigger than it looks. She even gave me a gift at the end. And then I meet a strange guy named Ardyn. He claimed to know me. He thinks that I fought with the Astrals. Honestly, he wasn’t making much sense. I think he is just crazy,” he said, absentmindedly stroking her head.

“After that, I did a few chores and quests. Got new clothes. Grabbed something to eat. Brought you some soup and here I am now. By the way, the soup is really good, you should try it,” he recommended to the sleeping girl.

He sat down on the visitor’s chair and grabbed the remote. “You want to watch something?”

Before he could indulge in watching TV, he noticed a sudden drop in temperature. He turned around to see Gentiana walking towards him.

“I’ve come to warn you; stay away from Ardyn.”

‘How did she know?’ he thought, narrowing his eyes.

“I am aware of your encounter with Ardyn. I am junctioned to you, so I reside in your mind.”

‘Does that mean you can read all my thoughts?’

“I can only see those thoughts which you let me.”

“And how exactly do I do that?”

“Whenever you think of me is the only time, I have access to your thoughts.”

‘Creepy,’ he thought.

She laughed before apologizing. “I am sorry, I shall be very mindful of your privacy. I promise.”

“Whatever.”

“I can sense the turmoil within you. What is it that you would like to ask?” she said, cutting to the chase.

“I don’t know where to being,” he said honestly. “Let’s start with Ardyn. Who is he?”

“Ardyn is the Usurper. Propagator of chaos and scourge. He is not to be trusted.”

“Apparently, I fought by his side against the Astrals. He also said that the Astrals betrayed me.”

“Lies.”

“All lies stem from some truth,” he challenged.

“The truth is that it was Ardyn who betrayed you, not the Astrals.”

‘If only I could remember, I would know the truth.’ He thought with dismay. “How come I don’t remember any of this?”

“An anomaly lost in a timeless world wandering to find liberation. Neither past nor future has any bearings on you for the only thing that is yours is now.”

“What do you mean?” he asked.

Gentiana walked towards sleeping Lunafreya and gently placed her hand on her forehead. “She is alone and hurt, yet she puts on a brave face and bares it all. She is reluctant to ask for help, for she feels responsible shall they be hurt. She belongs to all yet she yearns for belonging.”

‘Umm, can we focus on me please?’ he thought.

As if reading her thoughts Gentiana said, “She will lead you to the answers you seek. Rather than worrying about the past or future; Focus on the present. This world differs greatly from yours. There is a lot you would have to learn to survive and succeed. Every step you take will be filled with danger so you would do best to be prepared for anything.”

She turned around and walked away from Squall. “We shall meet again, Squall,” she said and within a blink of an eye, she disappeared, leaving small ice crystals dancing in the air in her place.

‘That was not helpful at all,’ he complained as he placed his hand on his forehead.

Next Night

“Hello Lunafreya, how was your day today?” He asked as he kept another container of soup next to the one he brought yesterday. He emptied the old soup, but kept the Moogle shaped container.

He came closer to her bed to inspect her. “You are looking good today, they removed some of your bandages it seems. I had an eventful day as well. I went out with Iris today to rescue some refugees. Those refugees were so grateful when we arrived. This war has really taken a heavy toll on the lives of civilians.” He absentmindedly strocked her head while giving her his daily briefings.

He took a quick shower and returned to his favorite pass time, watching TV.

He sat down on his usual chair and started flipping through some channels before settling on the news channel.

Tonight, we will look at the history of Tenebrae and their royal family of House Fleuret. We will also take a special look at our endearing Oracle, Lady Lunafreya.

“Wow, you really are famous,” he said, looking in her direction.

Although he would never admit it, he was more interested in learning about Lunafreya than the history of Tenebrae.

After a brief history of Tenebrae the segment he was waiting for started.

Lady Lunafreya is a noble and dutiful woman who talks about her hopes and dreams and acts on her own initiative. She is always cordial and polite to those around her, but is also a political strategist who puts her duties and the well-being of her people above her own needs. Befitting of her duties as Oracle, she possesses unparalleled compassion. Lady Lunafreya can commune with the gods of Eos, the Astrals. The famous trident she wields is said to be a ritual tool bestowed upon the first Oracle by the Astral god Bahamut. As the Oracle, she has the power to heal those affected by the plagues of darkness, and people travel long distances to be seen by her. Lady Lunafreya works tirelessly to help any who seek her out, and she is highly revered by all across Eos. Following is an excerpt from her recent interview:

Lunafreya: Though I am still young, my blood is true. As my mother before me, I'll work to bring peace to one and all.

Interviewer: Is it hard giving blessings?

Lunafreya: It would be selfish of me to complain of my burden, when so many suffer in wait. I hope they trust I will not rest until they all know solace.

Narration: The world watched on with worry and wonder as the young girl grew.

Interviewer: I understand you have a message for us?

Lunafreya: If you know of any who are bedridden, or unable to come to me. Pray, send word, and I shall go to them. I follow my calling. I will not halt my steps for anything else.

Interviewer: Lady Lunafreya, your strength is an inspiration to all. What is your opinion of the treaty?

Lunafreya: When war has ended, so too will suffering subside. The treaty is a momentous step towards a brighter future. Let there be no doubt: we walk the path of true peace.

Once the excerpt from her interview ended, the host came back for the closing of the show.

We are very blessed to have such a pious Oracle in these dark times. Ever since taking up the responsibility of the Oracle she has traveled tirelessly to cure those afflicted by the curse. Her drive to make his world a better place is an inspiration to us all. On top of that, she does that with flair and grace like none other. Both her internal and external beauty is unmatched in all of Eos. I think she is definitely in the running for the most beautiful woman in all of Eos.

‘Hmm, now that you mentioned it, she is exceptionally beautiful,’ he thought still looking at the TV screen.

Once the program was over, he took his medicine and got ready to sleep. He went to her bedside and said barely above a whisper, “I hope you wake up tomorrow.” He slightly lifted her head to adjust her pillow. He pulled over her blanket and tucked it around her gently.

He sat in the visitor’s chair and stretched his legs on a small stool in front of it. The rhythmic beeping sound of machines soon put him to sleep.

Next Night

He emptied the old soup and placed a new container next to the old one in a line. “Dr. K said that you are recovering well. All your reports came out to be normal.”

He walked closer to her bed and examined the monitors measuring her vitals, “Heart rate, normal. Blood pressure, normal. Pulse, normal. Good work, soldier.”

He leaned on the railing of the bed and looked at her closely. “They finally removed Band-Aids from your face. Looking good Lady Lunafreya. I had a fun day as well. Umbra and I finished a lot of hunts today. Hunter HQ even gave me some reward for leveling up as a hunter. I am starting to get the hang of fighting with one hand.”

“I forgot to show you something,” he said, as he reached in his pocket. “I got a new cell phone today. I meet this strange guy named Vyv.” He recollected the events from earlier in the day:

“Thank you so much for coming to our rescue yesterday,” the refugee said, grabbing Squall’s hand in appreciation.

“It’s the least I could have done,” he said, freeing his hand from the man’s grip.

“The name is Lank, by the way,” he said, pointing a thumb to himself.

“Squall,” replied with brevity.

“We had one more caravan behind us. Last I spoke with them, they said they will be at the checkpoint by the nightfall,” he said worried about his friend and family who were in a different caravan. “I hope they make it here in one piece.”

“I am sure your friends will be fine. Few of us are going to the checkpoint to receive and escort them safely,” he said calmly.

“Thank you once again, Squall. You are a godsend,” said Lank as relief washed over his face. “I hope to see you around.” He waved before disappearing in the crowd.

“Ah! So, you are the new hero everyone is talking about,” said a stranger approaching Squall who had overheard the earlier conversation.

“I am no hero. Just helping when I can,” Squall said, downplaying the suggestion.

“Hi, the name is Vyv Dorden,” he said as he stood next to Squall.

“Squall,” he said, before adding. “But I think you already knew that.”

“Sorry to eavesdrop on your conversation, but I couldn’t help it,” he said with a laugh. “You gave him hope. After what happened to the crown city, hope is the best gift anyone can get.”

“Just doing what I can,” Squall replied with a shrug.

“Strong and humble, that is a rare combo,” Vyv said with a smile. “So, I was hoping that you can help me too.”

“Help with what?” Squall eyed him curiously.

“I am the owner of Meteor Publishing. I am writing a weekly article on a bestiary of Eos and this week’s article is about Griffon. I need its picture from up close. I have to submit it for publication tonight,” he summed up his situation.

“That’s a short notice.”

“Ya, I know. The last hunter I had sent failed to even close to the Griffon. I guess he was a noob. Because it’s such short notice, I’ll pay you good. So, what do you say?” He said, clearly hoping for a yes as an answer.

“I guess I have some time before I go to escort the refugees. But I don’t have a camera,” he stated his limitation.

“Hmm, I don’t have a spare camera right now. I gave the last one to that hunter,” he said, looking in deep thought. Suddenly, his emotions changed, and he said with excitement, “I got it. Here, take this,” he said, pulling a cell phone out of his handbag.

“You can take pictures with this. It’s the latest model from Lucis,” he said, handing over the cell phone to Squall.

“Okay,” he said, inspecting the phone.

“You know, I’ll sweeten the deal for you. Since you are out in the field a lot, how about you snap pictures of any beasts you come across? You can keep the phone, but in return, you frequently send me pictures of different beasts. The more dangerous and up close you are to the beast, the better the picture sells. More it sells, more you get paid,” he concluded his sales pitch.

“That is rather reckless,” Squall complained.

“I know,” he said with a laugh. “I was initially thinking about calling my company Lestallum Maniacs but thought that would be too on the nose so I eventually settled for Meteor Publishing.”

‘Travel around the world taking pictures. Hmm... why does this seem familiar?’ he wondered silently.

“Okay, I am in,” he agreed.

“Attaboy,” Vyv said, clapping.

“So that is how I ended up with this camera,” he concluded his story. "I am so tired from fighting with that Griffon today. I guess I’ll rest for now.”

“I hope you wake up tomorrow,” he said, tucking her in.

He fell asleep watching a documentary on Kingsglaive and Crownsguard.

Next Night

“I think I made a mistake by giving out my cell number,” he said, placing a new container of soup in line.

“This whole day the phone just kept on ringing. Squall, refugees need this. Squall, monsters sighted here. Squall, we are running low on medical supplies. Just no end to it,” he said, examining her by her bedside.

“It was a tiring day, but honestly, it felt good that so many people reached out to me for help. It feels nice to be Mr. Reliable. Now, only if Ms. Reliable here would wake up, it would be fantastic. The world needs their Oracle, but you still refuse to wake up. You are so stubborn,” he said, playing with her hair.

“Also, I meet Talco today. He is still a kid, but he knows a lot. He is a history buff. I think you would like talking to him.”

“I hope you wake up tomorrow,” he whispered.

“Let’s see what is on today,” he said, taking his seat. He watched a documentary, ‘A brief history of Accordo,’ before falling asleep.

Next Night

“Hey, I brought you something today,” he said, announcing through the door. “Something besides soup I mean,” as he kept a fresh soup container in line next to the old one.

“I brought two rubber suits. I went to EXINERIS today,” he said, putting the bag down.

He went up to her bed and examined her. “They finally removed the cotton gauze wrapped around her head. You are looking good today. I had an interesting day today. I helped Holly with some monster issue in EXINERIS and in return she let me have her rubber suit they use while repairing their electrical circuits. Since we will be fighting Ramuh next, I thought this would come in handy, don’t you agree? Have you seen their facility from the inside? It is huge. It is truly a marvel how they are extracting energy from the fallen meteor. Genius. We talked at length about how they should plan to spread this meteor-based technology across Eos as an alternate energy source. I will meet with her over the next few days to plan for the logistics of this project.” He said as he absentmindedly stroked her head.

“I hope you wake up tomorrow,” he said, tucking her in.

“Is it just me or does it get really cold in here?” He said as he leaned back on his chair.

Next Night

“I hate Dr. K,” he entered fuming as he placed a new container of soup in the line.

“It’s so stupid. Do you know what she suggested?” He said as he marched to her bedside.

He leaned against the railing and continued his rant. “First, she calls me up to her office, so I went thinking it would be some serious conversation.” He recollected the events from earlier in the day:

“Squall, her new reports came back today and the good news is that everything is normal,” said Dr. K sitting in her chair.

"Then why is she not waking up?” He said folding his arms.

“That is a mystery,” she said with a shrug. “At this point, we just have to wait for her to wake up on her own.”

“Hmm,” he reacted with a frown.

“There is one thing we can try,” she said sounding very thoughtful.

“At this point, I am willing to try anything,” he replied.

“Nah, I don’t think you have guts to do it. Forget it,” she said, brushing off the topic.

“No, tell me. I’ll do it, I promise,” he said reassuringly.

"I read it in a book recently that when a girl falls into a deep sleep, one of the ways to wake her up is with a true love’s kiss.” He could not believe that she delivered that entire line with a straight face.

He facepalmed, and she busted out laughing. “When you said, ‘I read it in a book’ I thought you were talking about some medical journal, not some children’s book.” He heavily emphasized the world children while she just laughed.

“Hey, nothing else has worked so might as well try it,” she said still grinning at her own joke.

“It only works in movies and fairytales,” he said sounding annoyed.

“How do you know it won’t work? Have you tried it?” she said with a raised eyebrow.

“No.”

“Then try it. You promised,” she was having too much fun poking at him.

“No. This is stupid,” he said with another facepalm.

“Oh, you don’t find her attractive?” she said, pushing his buttons.

“I never said that.”

“So, you do find her attractive, but don't want to kiss her without her consent?” She said with a raised eyebrow.

“I cannot confirm or deny that. You are so annoying. I am out of here,” he said, turning around ready to stomp out of her office.

“Wait, at least take his prescription,” she said calling him.

“What prescription?” he asked curiously.

She pulled out a prescription pad from her lab coat and scribbled something on it and handed it to him. “Here. Apply this on your cheeks. It would help reduce your furious blushing.”

“Can you believe it? That woman is insufferable. That was such a terrible joke. I hate her.” Even though he was angry, he could feel that he was blushing already.

To change his train of thoughts, he grabbed a book and made his way towards his chair.

“By the way, I got this book today, Cosmology. Would you like me to read it to you?” He said getting comfortable in his chair.

After finishing the short book about the history and lore of Eos and Astrals, he went back to her bedside. “I hope you wake up tomorrow,” he whispered.

“I’ve gotta tell Dr. K that at night it gets very cold in here, they need to relax with their AC. Actually, no. I’d rather suffer in cold than talk to her again,” he said as he leaned back on his chair.

Next Night

“Hey,” he said after putting soup containers in line as per his self-made ritual.

He walked up to her bedside to examine her. “You are recovering well it seems. All the bandages are taken off now. Only a cast on your arm and leg remains, which will take a while, of course.”

He leaned against the railing, lowering his head in defeat. “I had a bad day today. I helped people, did hunts and all, but mentally I wasn’t there today. I kept thinking a lot about everything that has happened until now. Without my memories, I don’t know what world I left behind and what world I will return to. Is there someone even waiting for me in my world? If Umbra found me from the time void, then doesn't that mean I don’t belong in the world I am trying to go back to? Even in this world, I feel like a stranger who does not belong here. I am constantly surrounded by people, but I feel constantly alone. Would anything change at all if I were to just disappear or die today?”

He shook his head as if to shake off those depressing thoughts. He stood up straight and looked at her once more. “Wake up Oracle, your world needs you.” After a long pause, “No, I need you. I feel at peace when I am around you. I hope you wake up tomorrow.” He made sure she was comfortable before returning to his chair.

He fell asleep cursing Dr. K for keeping the rooms so cold at night.

He could hear birds chirping in the background. Sunlight gently peeked through curtains. He adjusted the blanket and tried to shut all the stimulus out and go back to sleep.

Suddenly something registered in his subconscious brain.

'Wait a minute. I don’t recall sleeping with a blanket.'

He slightly opened his eyes to check if it was indeed a blanket he was covered with.

'Go back to sleep Squall, we can figure out the mystery of your stupid blanket when we wake up.' His mind retorted.

Just as he was about to close his eyes, he caught something in his peripheral vision. His perfect line of soup was broken. The container he brought last night was gone and only the lead remained in its place. His brain pieced things together, and he immediately bolted up in his seat.

He looked towards her medical bed, which was now in an upright position. The girl sitting on the bed waved at him.

“Good morning, Squall,” she greeted him with an angelic smile.

Author's notes:

Two new FFVIII characters were revealed in this chapter; Hope you caught them both.

The answer from the last chapter: Phoenix pinion is an item used to summon Guardian Force Phoenix in FF8.

This chapter's question: Who is Lank from FF8?

Please leave a comment if you've enjoyed the story so far. I would love to hear your thoughts. Thanks :)

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sephirotha · 6 years ago

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Sleeping Star III

It has been a month since that cursed day.

Somnus made his way through the palace corridors, nursing a pounding headache.

Usurper!

You took our True King away!

A curse on you, Somnus Lucis Caelum!

Ardyn’s followers were beside themselves with grief after his imprisonment. Talk of riots were circulating around his advisors, worrying about how they were going to deal with them.

The Caelum family would not last if Somnus was successfully assassinated.

Who’d take over the throne then?

Well, Stella would be next in line.

Maybe she’d be better received by the public. She always tried to help those in need by bringing food and clothes to the homeless.

Somnus nodded to Gilgamesh as he reached the field of sylleblossoms, planted specially for Aera after she moved here. Gilgamesh nodded then turned his attention back to the lady in a black veil, praying to a monument in the centre of the field.

Somnus leaned on the pillar adjacent to Gilgamesh.

He could still hear Stella screaming at him that night. Begging for him to stop. Crying out for Aera after he accidentally cut her down. By the end, when dawn broke, she was cowering in the corner, covering her head with her hands.

Gilgamesh took her to her room, where she mourned for the ill-fated couple.

“I’d like for you to round up anyone who still pledges their allegiance to the Adagium,” Somnus said. “If they decide to remain faithful, burn them.”

Gilgamesh unfolded his arms and stood up straight. He bowed. “Yes, Your Majesty.”

Somnus nodded as his Shield walked past him. He glanced back at Stella and stepped into the field. He picked a couple of flowers on his way to the mourning lady.

“Stella.”

Stella lifted her head and looked around to see Somnus.

“Your Majesty.”

She stood to bow to him and he grabbed her shoulder.

“You needn’t bow to me.”

He could see her press her lips together under the veil. He lifted it to see her solemn face.

“Do you hate me?”

Stella’s eyes flickered to where Gilgamesh had disappeared to, then back to him.

“No.”

“Then…” Somnus got to one knee and presented the flowers to her. “Lady Stella Izunia, will you be my Queen?”

Stella’s breath hitched as she stepped back. She covered her mouth, eyes darting from the flowers, to Somnus, then back to where Gilgamesh had been.

Somnus waited patiently. It may have taken her minutes, it may have taken her hours, but eventually Stella accepted the flowers and nodded glumly. The Founder King smiled as he got back to his feet and embraced her.

“You won’t have to be in the middle of anything anymore,” he promised, “for now on, you will be by my side.”

Stella closed her eyes, leaning on her fiancé’s chest. Her fingers pressed into the stalks of the sylleblossoms.

#fanfiction #final fantasy xv #somnus lucis caelum #original female character #somnus x oc #gilgamesh #proposal #engagement

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howlingday · 1 year ago

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Oh god....I just had another revelation on the mentor Au

Jaune: Ardyn Izunia

Ruby: Nick Ramos (Dead rising)

Winter: neuvillette (Genshin)

Ooh, those are pretty good selections. Maybe this could've been a redemption arc (no pun intended) for the villainous usurper of FFXV.

And an ingenuitive everyman (but not really because plot) as Ruby's creative mentor would also have been an interesting choice.

And as for Neuvillette... I wish I had an answer to this one, because along with my ABYSMAL KNOWLEDGE LEVEL of Geshin Impact, they also look very similar to Winter, though the increased power scale as a dragon would also be interesting.

Feel free to use these ideas for your own mentor AUs!

#rwby #final fantasy #final fantasy xv #final fantasy 15 #dead rising #dead rising 4 #geshin impact #neuvillette #winter schnee #ruby rose #jaune arc #nick ramos #ardyn izunia

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invidiia-blog1 · 8 years ago

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------ continued from ( x ) THEIR BLOOD IS A CHEMICAL, ACIDIC AND CORROSIVE. moreover, their banter could sting --- sear the air with formless abrasions --- to mollify, to silence and injure. a contrast of aims, such is the mutation of ardyn’s perception. no matter the words to flutter amongst the atmosphere from sibling’s throat, izunia would be deemed an covetous pest. yet try he shall, a determinism unrivaled even by the stars, the eyes of the night reaching for the boundaries of the universe.

CONDEMNATION IS MISCONSTRUED, A CRIMSON SLANDER. ardyn’s retort is a wound upon idle chest; debasing, and cruel. izunia had not indented to adopt an offensive tone, yet his frustration with ardyn’s dwindling rationality and crooked ethics provokes fractured poise of the youngest. their arrogance, a communion of detachment, is swallowed by ardyn’s mentality. who are you --- you brother, of course --- i will bow to no king --- i would not expect so much of you. palm meets table’s etchings with flat retaliation. a tremor from motion’s aggravation staggers three or so candles nearest izunia’s temperament. “ the gods favor neither of us --- neither of us, brother. i do not ‘speak’ for them, but if you believe the words they feed you are anything short of a eulogy --- ! ” ARDYN’S FATE IS AN ANTAGONISM, a contour along izunia’s shoulders and the dread within his gaze. these heavenly creatures, so fiendish in their commissions, would see ardyn perish before his time and call it virtue. ceaselessly, izunia would lie awake into the hours of the night, question his faith and demand answers for their origin and titles from everyone and no one. the emptiness of his chamber was of no consolation, bringing him here, to the figurative discretion of ardyn’s feet to beg him to stop. “ they are liars. they are deceivers --- unquestioned because they are gods. you will not become one of them by the end of all this. you will be dead, and they will laugh from a realm inaccessible to us. we have always been under their eye, even before they descended with this ‘righteous’ position --- ” “ we are not blind, yet you are their slave. if this scourge is meant to kill us all --- so be it. i would sooner watch the world burn than see you thrown into an abyss. --- brother, this cannot go on. ”

#pretendcr #( ☆ﾟ. * ･｡ﾟ HIS CROWN OF THORNS // HOW SUPREMACY ABRADES —— verse 01 )#( ☆ﾟ. * ･｡ﾟ FEAST UPON LITERATURE // SURRENDER REALITY —— long rp )#i could not tell from your about / verses if izunia was a brother or a usurper in your canon so i made the ask as vague as i could #and you chose to go the brother route i aM /slams hand on blue button #if izunia and ardyn really are half astral thou g h think about this

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chibi-jing · 5 years ago

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FFXV Official Works - French Version with Translations Part.2

Last week was released in France the French version of “FFXV Official Works” published by Mana Books.

I chose to propose here some extracts from it, most exclusively about Ardyn, with for each picture its text in French and its literal translation in English.

PART 1 can be found here

Note : Starscourge = Mal de la planète (lit: the Harm/Evil of the planet)

So when in French only the word ”Mal” is used to designate the disease, I also shortened Starscourge to obtain “Scourge” with a capital.

Chapitre 13 / Chapter 13

La vérité éclate

[…] Tout en se délectant du spectacle de Noctis luttant pour ne pas être englouti par le cristal, Ardyn dévoile au roi élu toute la vérité : son vrai nom n’est autre qu’Ardyn Lucis Caelum. Il est un ancêtre de Noctis et possédait le pouvoir de guérir le Mal de la planète, mais il fut lui-même atteint par la maladie qu’il soignait et, pour cette raison, se vit privé du trône. Sa rancœur crût sans jamais s’apaiser, jusqu’à lui faire vouloir exterminer le roi légitime et le cristal… Anéantir l’avenir du monde est devenu sa seule raison d’exister. […]

The truth comes out

[…] As he’s enjoying the spectacle of Noctis struggling not to get engulfed by the Crystal, Ardyn unveils all the truth to the Chosen King: his true name is none other than Ardyn Lucis Caelum. He is an ancestor of Noctis and owned the power to cure the Starscourge, but he became himself affected by the disease he was healing and, for this reason, was deprived of the throne. His rancor increased without ever calming down, until he’ll be wishing to exterminate the rightful king and the Crystal… Annihilate the world’s future has become his sole reason to exist. […]

Chapitre 14 / Chapter 14

Retour à Insomnia

[…] Les quatre amis [Noctis, Gladiolus, Ignis et Prompto] laissent derrière eux la base de Cor et se dirigent vers la citadelle, quand surgit Ardyn. Il fait apparaître son chien de garde, Cerbère, puis recouvre la citadelle d’un Mur identique à celui que déployait Regis. Après un rude combat, le groupe élimine le molosse démoniaque mais se heurte toujours au Mur. C’est alors qu’apparaissent Lunafreya et Gentiana : afin d’ouvrir la voie au roi légitime, elles rassemblent les Six qui percent la muraille. La voie est libre, mais cet évènement prouve que la puissance d’Ardyn équivaut à celle des Six réunis…

Back to Insomnia

[…] The four friends [Noctis, Gladiolus, Ignis and Prompto] leave behind them Cor’s base and are heading to the Citadel, when Ardyn pops up. He brings out his guard dog, Cerberus, then covers the Citadel with a Wall identical to the one Regis once deployed. After a rough fight, the group eliminates the demonic hound but is still hampered by the Wall. That’s when Lunafreya and Gentiana appear: in order to open the way to the rightful king, they gather the Six who pierce the wall. The way is clear, but this event proves that Ardyn’s power is equivalent to the one of the Six combined…

L’usurpateur

Du plafond de la salle du trône pendent plusieurs dépouilles figées dans des positions grotesques : le roi Regis, Lunafreya… Ce n’est en fait qu’une nouvelle mise en scène provocatrice de la part d’Ardyn. Sans prévenir, l’usurpateur du trône met les trois compagnons de Noctis K.-O. : la bataille décisive sera un duel ou ne sera pas.

L’affrontement oppose deux hommes dotés des pouvoirs de la famille royale du Lucis. Une infinité d’armes se croisent, les deux corps sont tailladés, et des sorts d’une puissance écrasante creusent le sol et éclatent dans les airs. Bien qu’Ardyn soit immortel, sa magie est limitée, et il en va de même pour Noctis : les duellistes épuisent leur énergie et finissent écroulés au sol, mais se relèvent et continuent à croiser le fer. Finalement, Noctis tire parti de ses dernières forces pour enferrer Ardyn avec l’épée de son père.

« Aaah… Je vois… Tu as bien choisi ton arme… »

A ces derniers mots de l’usurpateur, Noctis répond :

« Cette fois… tu reposeras en paix… »

The usurper

From the ceiling of the throne room several dead bodies are hanging frozen in grotesque positions: king Regis, Lunafreya… It is actually only a new provocative staging from Ardyn. Without warning, the throne usurper knocks out the three companions of Noctis: the decisive battle will be a duel or won’t happen.

The confrontation opposes two men endowed by the powers of the Lucis’ royal family. Countless weapons pass each other, the two bodies are slashed, and spells of an overwhelming power are digging the ground and blowing up in the air. Although Ardyn is immortal, his magic is limited, and the same goes for Noctis: the duelists deplete their energy and end up collapsed on the ground, but they get up again and continue to cross swords. Finally, Noctis takes advantage of his last forces to impale Ardyn with the sword of his father.

“Ahhh… I see… You chose well your weapon…”*

To the usurper’s last words, Noctis answers:

“This time…you can rest in peace…”

*Note: this is the lit. translation from the French, corresponding to “So, that is how you would end it.” in English.

Le roi légitime

[…] Dans une autre dimension, Noctis, le roi légitime, se dresse contre Ardyn, incarnation des ténèbres à l’origine du fléau. Ses compagnons ainsi que l’Oracle scellent la puissance obscure, et le roi libère toute sa force pour la vaincre. La volonté d’Ardyn ainsi pulvérisée, le roi, ayant accompli son destin, retournera lui aussi dans l’au-delà.

Alors, l’aube se lèvera enfin sur le monde.

The rightful king

[…] In another dimension, Noctis, the rightful king, stands against Ardyn, the incarnation of the darkness behind the scourge. His companions along with the Oracle seal the obscure power, and the king releases all his strength to defeat it. Ardyn’s will thus pulverized, the king, having completed his destiny, shall return as well in the beyond.

Then, the dawn will finally rise on the world.

Episode Ignis : Une autre issue possible / Another potential outcome

L’orgueil d’Ardyn, le plan d’Ignis

Durant la furieuse bataille d’Altissia, Noctis est tombé, inconscient. Tout en le menaçant de sa lame, Ardyn fait à Ignis une odieuse proposition : il doit choisir entre le suivre bien sagement ou le regarder tuer tout le monde. Entrevoyant une lueur d’espoir, le jeune homme choisit de suivre l’ennemi.

Ardyn emmène Ignis jusqu’au fort Zegnautus, puis lui apprend qu’il fait lui-même partie de la famille royale du Lucis et qu’il a été chassé du trône. Pour se venger, il projette d’éliminer Noctis une fois que celui-ci sera devenu le roi légitime. Afin de précipiter l’éveil du monarque à son pouvoir, il veut faire souffrir Ignis. Les attaques d’Ardyn blessent gravement le conseiller du roi, mais celui-ci n’a pas l’intention de se laisser vaincre de la sorte. Il met à son doigt l’anneau des Lucii qu’il a récupéré à Altissia et, pour sauver Noctis, se lance avec rage dans la bataille contre Ardyn. Ce dernier croyait qu’Ignis ne ferait pas le poids contre lui, mais c’était sans compter sur le pouvoir immense de l’anneau : peu à peu, le chancelier impérial perd indéniablement l’avantage. Alors, résolu à tout sacrifier, Ignis fait sienne la force des rois du Lucis et élimine temporairement Ardyn. […]

Ardyn’s pride, Ignis’ plan

During the raging battle of Altissia, Noctis has fallen, unconscious. While threatening him with his blade, Ardyn makes an odious proposition to Ignis: he must choose between following him obediently or watch him kill everyone. Glimpsing a flicker of hope, the young man chooses to follow the enemy.

Ardyn takes Ignis up to Zegnautus Keep, then tells him that he is himself part of the Lucis’ royal family and that he was driven away from the throne. To get revenge, he plans to eliminate Noctis once he will have become the rightful king. In order to precipitate the monarch‘s awakening to his power, he wants to make Ignis suffer. Ardyn’s attacks severely injure the king’s advisor, but this one doesn’t have the intention to allow himself to be defeated in this way. He puts on his finger the Ring of Lucii he picked up in Altissia and, to save Noctis, jumps with rage into the battle against Ardyn. This last one believed Ignis won’t be no match for him, but it was without counting on the immense power of the ring: little by little, the imperial chancellor is undeniably losing the advantage. Then, resolute to sacrifice everything, Ignis endorses the power of the Kings of Lucis and temporarily eliminates Ardyn. […]

L’autre choix et ses conséquences

[Ignis n’est pas de taille face à Ardyn. Son ennemi se montre sous son jour véritable et lui révèle son nom complet : Ardyn Lucis Caelum. Pour autant, il n’a pas l’intention de supprimer Ignis.]

[« Je ne veux pas d’un futur où Noctis se sacrifie… je ne l’accepterai jamais ! » L’anneau des Lucii fait écho à cette volonté farouche et confère à Ignis une force dépassant même celle du roi. C’est que les anciens souverains du Lucis abrités dans l’anneau ont vu là une occasion d’anéantir Ardyn et ont donc prêté leur force au porteur de la bague, bien qu’il ne soit pas d’ascendance royale.]

The other choice and its consequences

[Ignis is no match for Ardyn. His enemy shows his true self and reveals to him his complete name: Ardyn Lucis Caelum. Nevertheless, he has no intention to get rid of Ignis.]

[“I don’t want a future where Noctis sacrifices himself… I won’t ever accept it!” The Ring of Lucii echoes to this fierce will and provides to Ignis a force even greater than the king’s one. That’s because the kings of yore sheltered in the ring saw there an occasion to annihilate Ardyn and therefore they loaned their strength to the bearer of the ring, although he isn’t from royal descent.]

PART 1 can be found here

#ffxv official works #translation #ardyn #part.2 #french #english #ffxv #ff15 #final fantasy xv #final fantasy 15 #ardyn lucis caelum #ardyn izunia #official works #book #noctis #ignis #usurper #ffxv in french

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thechocobros · 7 years ago

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“SEE LUNA SAFE TO ALTISSIA” - part 17

Pair: Nyx Ulric / Lunafreya Nox Fleuret

Previously: message me so I’ll give you the links ;)

Words: 9344

Plot: Luna and Nyx didn’t fell in the Empire’s trap, Nyx didn’t had to use the ring and he survived. What would have happened if Nyx really had the chance to ‘see Luna safe to Altissia’, like he promised to Regis? Part 17: The final battle has begun. Thinking that Nyx is dead, Luna tries to focus only on her mission to guide Noctis. She is determineted to tell him the truth about the prophecy and to dispose of the malicious Astrals, but this will come with a price ...

Personal Comment: LAST CHAPTER BEFORE THE EPILOGUE! (an epilogue i accidentally deleted from my drafts but ok -.- ) I’m sorry for the horrible delay, I know I didn’t update in an eternity. I hope this big finale will repay your patience somehow. It was an extremely complicate chapter for me to write, more than the other ones probably, due to the action sequences. But here we are, my fix-it fic is over. It was an amazing journey, I loved it. It was long, difficult, but both Nyx and Luna deserved it. I hope you all think the same.

Let me know what you think, guys :)) I just want to thank @loveiscosmicsin for the costant help she gave me and YOU ALL READERS, because I wouldn’t have finished this novel fic if it wasn’t for your amazing support. I love you all.

Stay tuned for the epilogue ;)

Luna stood paralyzed before Ardyn Izunia, mouth agape in sheer terror. She was fully aware that the man was the most inconvenient of obstacles at that point of the fight. Leviathan’s power raging in the background she had no energy to face the Usurper at the same time too.

But for some kind of destiny’s joke, the man didn’t seem to have come to fight for now. He bowed deeply instead, taking his hat off in sign of respect.

“My fair princess! How long I have waited to meet you! The pious Oracle - the Personification of Purity - who rebelled to the prophecy that decided your destiny. A model for the future generations, to never accept a fate written by someone’s else hand. I barely was able to contained my joy when you slew the Glacian.”

Lunafreya frowned and pressed her fingers around the indented grooves of the trident, seeking support in its comfortable power. She knew that if things would have turned out badly, she could count on her white magic, but at the same time gears whirred in her brain, seeking for other possibilities. Wit had always been her best weapon since she was nothing but a scared little girl, powerless in front of the cruel Empire.

“You seem very well informed for a mere chancellor, Ardyn Izunia. So am I.”

“Then permit us to be honest to each other,” Ardyn sang with his mischievous voice, mellifluous enough to impress her, but not enough to mesmerize her.

“I didn’t expect you would response with a smile to the death of one of the Astrals, the very ones who wish to give the true king their blessing.”

“In a matter of speaking, the prince receiving those blessings was originally part of my plan,” he was attentive to not using the word ‘king’. “But perhaps I can handle it better without that condition. I’m a flexible man, after all. Anyway, let’s not speak of myself. I came here bearing gifts! This is an altar where sacrifices are offered afterall” he continued, indicating Leviathan destroying the city just a mile away. The goddess’s tail swept away an entire building in one swift motion.

Despair filled the atmosphere and soon the bleakness of the situation will embrace the Oracle as well. Luna’s focus on Ardyn was frustratingly deviated by her worry for Noctis who she couldn’t see anymore. Her first instinct was to run straight to him as soon as possible but then Ardyn gestured to the airship that brought him here. The hatch of the ship automatically unveiled an unbelievable sight in the cargo hold. Luna gasped and widened her eyes in disbelief.

The Crystal.

The ancient artifact bestowed upon the Caelum dynasty of yore and the object of desire that Niflheim made off with in the confusion of Insomnia’s mayhem. It retained a calm glow as it was simply anticipating for one to exploit its magic.

“What is the meaning of this?” Luna asked, trying to divert attention away from her confusion.

“Oh, don’t recognize the Crystal when it’s right before your eyes? The Empire, obsessed by their greed and whatever shiny bauble that caught their attention at the moment, hasn’t quite tapped into it.”

“The Draconian and the Infernian are sealed within it,” Luna said, trying to connect the puzzle pieces.

“You’re right. And you should give them a good wake-up call.”

Leviathan moved and another earthquake summoned a sort of small tsunami which almost reached the altar and swept Luna away. When she was able to stand on her feet again, her knees had bled through her dress and Ardyn Izunia was staring at her with the most malicious of the smirks.

“What game are you imposing?” she challenged, raising her voice over the storm, simply not in the mood to entertain him.

Ardyn extended his arms, feigning concord in a circumstance that hardly was.

“Why does everyone jump to that conclusion? Do you think that I’m not capable of charity? Why, I came all this way to bring the Crystal to you.”

No, of course Luna didn’t believe in the gesture or his words for a second. In fact, she immediately considered the option of fleeing while there was still a considerable distance between them, a distance that the Chancellor was aware of.

To awaken two more deities into the chaotic fray would only wrought more destruction upon them all, she knew it too well. But at the same time, she contemplated that an opportunity would be wasted if she didn’t. At any rate, chances of survival after calling upon them were slim, and if she perished, who would have rouse Bahamut and Ifrit in her stead? She had to give Noctis the opportunity to fight the Gods and reclaim the power of the ring at all costs.

Perfectly aware of following Izunia’s twisted games, she decided to do as he asked for now. She aimed her trident toward the Crystal and let the white magic flow from her. She began to sing and pray, perpetuating the ritual, a performance done way too well by now. As the white lights around them flurried, the Crystal started to tremble so much it almost disintegrated, and everything else in the area subjected to silence. Enclosed in the proximity of her calling, there was the reason why both Ifrit and Bahamut shouldn’t have been driven from the Lucian Crystal in such a violent fashion. Once freed, nothing in the universe could encompass the awesome power of their combined antithetic might. But it was now or never and Luna didn’t really have other choice.

In a instant, the Crystal’s energy exploded.

A burst of an raw, unimaginable force.

The incredible effort sapped Luna every ounce of her strength, never had she been close to death’s gate. The blood from her face dissapated, along with breath bated and heart had skipped a beat. The feeling of losing control on her own body overwhelmed her more than the fatigue ever did and more than the illness looming over her. It was unusual and somehow… unclear.

In the depth of the silent absurdity, Luna reached for her stomach, where she felt something indistinguishably protruding from her side.

She blinked, seeing a dark substance coat her fingers. It couldn’t be blood. It was not the right color.

With Luna’s bearings regained, her eyes adjusted to the Chancellor who had enclosed the distance at last, offering a malevolent smile to the Oracle’s confusion. The blade that met the mark of its incision couldn’t be confused with an hazy dream. It was real.

She had been stabbed.

There was no reason to look for a particular motivation beyond the unexpected act. Retrieving the weapon from Luna’s reach, Ardyn casually wiped the dagger with a handkerchief. Her role fulfilled, she was expendable in his eyes.

As she gasped and instinctively applied pressure to the wound, Luna had a delayed reaction to the pain. She was occupied with the regret of not surviving long enough to speak to Noctis one last time. What would have given to have the chance to make amends, to finally tell him about the prophecy, and giving him the chance to choose to save himself. She would have sold her soul in exchange of the opportunity to apologize, the thought had been on the back burner of her mind, in their correspondance, but it was too late. How selfish she had been before Nyx opened her eyes? All her life, she deluded herself into protecting Noctis by withholding the truth of his destiny? She never told her childhood friend that bearing the Ring would cost him his life and now, it was too late. She didn’t deserve forgiveness, nor mercy. She earned this death sentence.

She lifted her chin, noticing over Ardyn’s shoulders the colossal visages of Bahamut and Ifrit raised from the nothing after their prison was no more.

She also noticed Noctis, standing on the top of a building, looking at the chaos raging against him. He was ready to face Leviathan and probably also the other Astrals, but he was alone and still not at the peak of his power. It turned out clearly he didn’t use the Ring yet. It was just a matter of time before he realized that his only chance of survival was to doing it.

A tear streaked Lunafreya’s cheek. Ardyn best not misunderstood it as a sign of weakness, but desperation filled her veins like never before. She would have told Noctis the truth about the Ring, and permit him to choose his destiny even if it was the last thing she did in this life.

But it would mean that she would be reunited with her husband in the Beyond.

—————-

Luna didn’t know that Nyx was not dead. He was alive, refusing to stand ground at a crucial moment.

As soon as he understood that the airship was not leading him in the right direction, he warped from one rooftop to the next, never stopping. Things started to be even more complicated after just a couple of minutes when Leviathan was repelled by the Oracle’s magic. Nyx understood that his wife’s negotiations didn’t succeed and chaos erupted. Debris, crashing walls of water, and explosions hailing around him made evading almost impossible. He had to summon all the tricks in the books to reach an intact building where he took cover for a minute to catch his breath. He felt exhausted already and he got nowhere. On the contrary, he lost track of the altar... or what was left of it. In spite of this, he was totally able to see the fight was growing exceedingly violent.

Soon enough he felt ready to warp again, but a different kind of explosion prevent him from doing it. He froze, looking to the sea, outraged by the scene before him. Two huge and threatening entities appeared not very far from Leviathan, raising from the darkness with cries of hysteria and writhing manically as if they were wild beasts released from restraints. Maybe that it was, especially considering the circumstances.

Nyx couldn’t believe his eyes.

“Bahamut and Ifrit?” he murmured, stupefied. Aside from fairy tales, he did not know anything about the Astrals before meeting Lunafreya, but she recently educated him about mythology, even at cost of sacrificing the safe and intimate moments they shared in bed. Not like Nyx could fault his wife’s bad timing of a time and place, it was a terrible habit, but at least the private lessons turned out to be useful. He was now able to recognize the Astrals.

The Glaive was aware that Lunafreya would attempt summoning Bahamut and Ifrit later on, but he was also aware that the Crystal was under the Empire’s control, possibly very far from here. So how come Lunafreya summoned them already? Something he couldn’t known must have happened.

“How is it possible? Where did you find the Crystal?” And then realization hit him like he was struck by lightning. “Izunia!”

The mere pronunciation of that name send a chill up to his spine. If the Chancellor found a way to Lunafreya, it meant that she was in mortal danger. And Nyx couldn’t believe she accepted to envoke two more enraged gods into the fray. It could only mean the situation was desperate.

“Damn, pulling the brave princess act again,” he cursed beneath his breath. He would tell Luna in person soon though. If he got to her in time.

“Nyx!” The unexpected voice which called up for him sounded like the frenzied mix between surprise and relief.

Nyx turned around to meet eyes with the Crown Prince of Lucis, covered in grime and soaked with sea water, a very far image from the one of royal blood would be presented. Now that Nyx knew the prophecy that Noctis should have fulfilled, the one of him becoming the True King of Light, he wondered if the Astrals have been not only malicious but also befuddled all along because there was nothing majestic in that skinny and clumsy young man. The universe dictated that he was the Chosen One? With a small smile, Nyx thought that maybe it was because Astrals thought he would have been the perfect lamb to lead slaughter – silent, pliable and compliant. Like in Lunafreya’s case, bad news were in store for them.

“Your Highness.”

“What are you doing here?”

In that moment Leviathan’s move threw a debris in Noctis’ direction and if Nyx didn’t warp in time, the impact would made its mark.

“About to go save Lunafreya’s ass, but I guess I can make time to save yours.” Nyx yelled in the attempt to be heard in all the confusion. “What’s up with you royal types and attracting the worst of every situation possible?”

Noctis lifted his chin and shoved the Glaive off him.

“It’s not like I asked for this and yet, here I am.”

Nyx sighed dramatically. This wasn’t the time or place to discuss this, so he didn’t comment any further and just helped the boy up.

“We gotta go. Did you use the Ring already?”

“They wouldn’t be alive if I did,” Noctis grunted, staring at the Astrals raging in the distance. “I … still don’t feel ready.”

When he caught the apprehension in those words, Nyx felt hesitation knot inside his stomach. If carrying the ring on a chain on his neck made the Glaive feel like he had a leash, wearing it on the finger must have felt like succumbing to the death. And the prince was nothing but a boy, brave but naive. Strong but inexperienced. Did he sense where putting the ring would have lead him? Did he guessed the required blood prince beyond it? If he did, he didn’t say anything.

“Should I wear it now, Nyx?” Noctis asked instead, looking at the Astrals in the distance. There was so much distress brimmed in his eyes and an hollowed echo in his voice that Nyx almost wished to shield Noctis away from every possible harm. Sadly, fleeing was not an option.

A pointless response was on the tip of Nyx’s tongue and remained unsaid, leaving him insecure of how to answer the prince. He had to have faith in his wife, trusting she would have guided Noctis until the very end, doing the right thing, and revealing him the truth, all with a smile on her lips. His main goal now was to protect them both.

So Nyx took Noctis’ shoulder and pulled him close, to encourage and to assure him he would have stand by his side, no matter what. Noctis seemed grateful for that hasty but heartfelt gesture and exchanging an understatement nod, they warped ahead at the unison.

The prince and the Glaive, off to save their princess.

———

If those were her last breaths, Luna would have used them to blow things in a way that Ardyn couldn’t ever predict.

Watching with distraught eyes of her own blood dripping on slippery stone, she retrieved her trident again, imparting all her power to it. A thick ring of light encircled her, vibrating and taking everything down like a tsunami. Her white magic yearned to reach the target, searching every perimeter of the atmosphere with spasmodic accuracy until it finally found the prince and another very dear person that Luna didn’t expect to sense.

———

Warping closer to the Astrals felt like shooting against the world’s end. It was fire and water, wind and earth, the elements shaken, the certainties lost in a vortex of unknowns. It hurt. It really did.

If Nyx and Noctis didn’t have each other to rely on, there was no way that they could safely navigate through the vortex of destruction on their own. There was only forward, but obstacles before them forced them to embark detour after detour and time wasn’t on their side.

But then, they sensed Lunafreya. Like a sudden slap on the face, they suddenly knew she was there. They did not see her face, nor her figure. But it was her and she was everywhere.

“Your Highness, it’s time!” Nyx screamed, seizing the prince’s arm as he pointed at Leviathan, the closest divinity. “Take her out, I’ll cover you!”

Noctis nodded to the Glaive and focused, absorbing Luna’s magic from the chaotic atmosphere with deep breaths and closed his eyes. He secured himself to the wall of a building but he was rewarded for his concentration when he begun to levitate, the ancestral Armiger appearing from the nothing and circumnavigated about him.

Nyx looked at him in awe, holding the kukris in his hands, feeling that his own weapons couldn’t compare, much less leave a dent. For a moment he was certain that Noctis would have been fine against Leviathan without his help and such an intuition found confirmation when Noctis projected the first attack.

It was a blast.

Fueled by the Oracle’s white magic, Noctis warped and slit, weapons serving him like a dozen of new arms. Nothing dared to move again after his lethal and unstoppable contact. Nyx had troubles in following his lead in the chaos but whenever he caught him, he saw him hitting the target with great precision and he felt so proud of him and even more so of Lunafreya, who lent such an outstanding strength to him.

It was then his mind caressed the memory of Luna that he felt his heart ache in the desire of being reunited with her as soon as possible. He quickly gazed the altar and the gods in the distance with renewed resolve and his feet started to move by themselves. First, they trotted, then they ran, and in the end, he warped. Without taking his eyes off Noctis, he got closer to his wife and finally reached for her.

———————

But what he expected to be the fulfillment of his promise and an happy reunion, quickly turned into the worst nightmare when he faced the truth of what happened during his absence. An absence that almost swept away the light from Luna’s eyes.

“Nyx…” she whispered, letting the trident fall and trying to lift herself up from her forearms.

Luna would have thought she was dreaming if the pain she felt reminded her that the time on this world was to a close.

“Lunafreya!”

Luna lifted her chin enough to see the Glaive warping next to her, panic spreading all over his face. She found again all the details she thought she lost forever: the small tattoos, the braids, the shape of his jaw, the perfect lips now split and covered with blood. His strong arms picked her up, touching her with desperation and at the same time, delicately.

“I thought you were d–” Luna started, but her breath halted abruptly, stealing away her words.

Nyx adjusted her in his embrace and checked her out from the point of her head to the tip of her heels. His heart fell in a black abyss as soon as he noticed the wound on her abdomen and the urge of doing something almost brought him to the edge of the sanity.

“I’m fine!” When he screamed, he was angry. Damn, he was so angry. This was not supposed to be happening. “What happened to you? What–?” A grimace of pain moved on Luna’s beautiful forehead and she felt the urge to hide her face in his neck to alleviate her suffering. She wanted to cry because he was real, he was alive, and she was dying instead. Where she was headed was somewhere her Nyx would not be.

“Nyx. Nyx…” Her voice was on the verge of tears. “I’m sorry. I did all that I could, I–”

“Hey, the prince got the Ring, okay? He’s gonna fix this mess. You did it. Now look at me. Stay with me. You’re not dying on my watch, Lunafreya.”

Luna smiled and looked at him expectedly.

“You did your job. You delivered the Ring to Noctis… and you came back as promised.” Nyx got drawn by the sweetness in her tone and in that moment everything around them disappeared, the raging Astrals, the decadent city, the chaos, the wounds. It was just the two of them, looking at each other in the eyes, trying to stop the time and capture eternity in the middle.

“Told you I would,” Nyx whispered, caressing her cheek with the thumb, wiping away the water of the ocean. Or maybe, it was her tears.

“Thank you… My dearest Nyx. Help Noctis now, I beg this of you. I beg you.”

“You still have to tell him about the Ring,” Nyx said, frantically, hoping to offer her more reasons to stay, like his wish to remain forever together wasn’t enough.

Luna surprised him by answering, “I will.”

Her promise left Nyx speechless. Then her lips moved, but no sound that he could make out until he leaned in. She gained all her remaining strength to whisper, “I love you” and closed her eyes, looking so tired and pale.

Nyx’s eyebrows furrowed, panic stirring in his chest as soon as he understood what was happening. The acutest pain hit him and paralyzed him. He wanted to say something but couldn’t. His lips were trembling badly. Tears pushed and asked to be released, but he couldn’t do that either. So he just stared at his wife, numb.

“Nyx!” Nyx recognized the voice. It was Noctis, calling for him from a close distance, like an echo, it barely reached him. Another voice joined, a different one, with an aristocratic accent.

“Noct!” This was Ignis. He arrived there, too.

But the Glaive ignored them both. He kept staring at Luna. He got closer to her lips and pressed his forehead to hers, trying to gift her his warmth, praying in vain to save her.

When he failed, he felt the world stop moving.

—————–

When he almost finished Leviathan off, Noctis had ran toward the altar, sensing Luna’s magic abandoning him. The attempt had caused him pain not only because Leviathan’s hysteria: Bahamut had joined the battle, taking the Goddess of the Sea’s side and throwing the young Prince in the ocean like he was a mere puppet. Noctis couldn’t explain how he survived that.

He felt the Ring calling for him, asking to be used but he did his best to ignore it, certain he had to wait a bit longer. Just a bit longer.

So Noctis swam to the river, Luna’s white magic sneaking away from his veins. As soon as he reached the altar he understood why. She was dying. So pale, so beautiful, curled in Nyx’s arms.

“Nyx!” he called, but then Noctis fell to his knees, a sudden tiredness embraced him. Something else was happening, something inside him. He didn’t even had the time to panic because energies were quickly abandoning him. He had the time to look for the Ring in his pocket, pressing it against the palm of his hand.

“Noct!”

The prince turned aside and noticed Ignis alongside with Ravus. He smiled to his loyal advisor then his sight got blurry. The ring toppled to the pavement and he fainted.

————-

Ravus was still paired up with Ignis when they headed for the altar. But as the High Commander’s breath hitched in seeing his sister’s corpse, Ignis ran to Noctis’ side instead and quickly checked his pulse. Sensing it was still there, he sighed in relief but at the same time searched for the cause of his fainting and founded nothing but the ring beside him. He took it with justified fear and then swallowed, turning around to look at Nyx and Ravus.

The Glaive was huddled there, staring at the woman in his arms. His eyes were empty, haunted by the final words bestowed to him. Not even Ravus, destroyed by seeing his sister lifeless, could equal his level of numbness.

Ignis understood. He understood far better than Noctis or Ravus ever could. He knew what meant dedicating your life to someone and not being able to protect that person in spite of every effort. If Noctis wouldn’t been revived, he would have felt dejected from existence in the same way. So he stood up, thinking of getting closer to Nyx and Ravus to offer them comfort, but there was not time for mourning because the Astrals were still raging in the distance and because someone appeared not very far from them.

“Ardyn!” Ravus seethed, recognizing him.

“Hello there. What a happy reunion in such a distressful time.”

Ignis quickly assumed a defensive position, certain that he wouldn’t have let him closer to Noct or Luna. “Nyx Ulric! On your feet!” he called, praying that the Glaive would abandon his comatose status and react because they needed him now more than ever. “Nyx!”

When Nyx lifted his eyes, there was death inside. "Give me the Ring,” he said.

Ignis gasped. Nyx knew what using the ring would mean. When Insomnia was under attack he saw Ravus using it and suffered the consequences. Lunafreya had told him that Noctis himself - the Chosen one - would have consumed his life for using it. So when he asked to Ignis to hand him the Ring, he knew that what would have been the consequences, but he just didn’t care. Lunafreya, his princess, his wife, his reason to live, had died in his arms and this made him reckless. His life meant nothing now she was gone. He failed his mission. He didn’t protect her. To atone for such a sin, he would have sacrificed his life to kill the murderous Astrals and maybe also the Usurper, so Noctis didn’t have to.

“No, Nyx. Using the Ring is a right reserved to the True King and only Noct –” Ignis started, but got interrupted by the Glaive’s prompt response.

“You wouldn’t use it if it was Noctis in Lunafreya’s place?”

Ignis didn’t reply, averting his gaze with a grimace. So when Nyx reached for the Ring, Ignis hesitated just for a second before handing it over to him. Damn the consequences.

It was fast. Nyx wore it before Ignis’, Ravus’, and Ardyn’s shocked eyes. And the darkness fell on that dimension, bringing Nyx face to face with the powerful kings of the past.

—————————-

Blades of grass caressed Noctis’ cheek and he woke up. At the beginning he couldn’t recognize the perfume of the sylleblossoms, too much time was passed since he last smelled it. Twelve years, probably.

As he stood up and the blue color of the flowers filled his eyes, he understood he was inside a dream, there was no other explanation to such a contrasting scenery. Trapped inside the body of when he was just a eight years old boy, he looked around, searching for Luna, the only one he shared the memory of the sylleblossom field with.

“Noctis?”

There she was, the younger version of her. Blond hair on her tiny shoulders, the cute little dress, she was exactly like he remembered in her fondest memories.

Noctis felt his heart warming up, childhood dreams filling with bittersweet tenderness his mind repressed from the associated pain of her visage.

“Luna?”

“So you found your way here.”

Noctis stood up and looked at her. Once again, they were two children in a flower field, talking surrounded by peace.

“And you found me” Noctis whispered then, comforted by that thought.

“A chance to see you once more. Who would have thought?”

“Luna. Where are we? What’s happening?”

“I needed to have a moment to speak with you, Noctis. Before I go.”

“Go where?”

In that moment, the wind swished graciously and Luna’s beautiful white dress follow the breeze, getting longer in the air. When Noctis lifted his chin to look at her again, the child was gone and an adult woman, mature and emotionally drained, replaced her instead. Still, she was beautiful.

“Where you can’t follow, Noctis. I’m dying. I enjoyed my moments of happiness. Since I left my goodbyes with Tenebrae months ago, I knew this day would have come,” she whispered, but her echo could be heard from the distance in the irisdescent atmosphere. “The Astrals ordained my death and rebelling against them came with a price. I’m ready to the fare as long as you, Nyx, and the all of Eos are preserved.”

The mention of that name in the conversation woke doubts in Noct’s mind. Even if he was trapped inside the body of a child, his memory of an adult was able to reach for the image of Luna dying with Nyx’s lips on hers. That caused him pain but also a dazzling feeling of emptiness.

“You love the Glaive, don’t you?”

Luna let a second pass and then nodded.

“I was happy, Noctis. He made me happy, even for just a little while. So don’t think you couldn’t save me because in a way... He did already when nobody else could.”

Noctis forgot how to use the tongue to speak for at least one minute straight. The feeling inside his heart was confused and uncertain, very similar to the frustration of not being able to do what he always wished to: helping Luna.

“What… What should I do then? What do you want me to do?”

“Your burden is heavy enough. You still must banish the Darkness from our Star, Noctis. Ardyn Izunia is the Usurper and even if we’d succeed in killing the malicious Astrals, he still would try to have his revenge on your lineage. The only power able to destroy him is the one restrained in the Ring, but about that you must be warned of something your father and I never had the courage to share with you.” Luna could barely conceal her sadness looking at the child she shared so many fond memories with. He really cared for her, as much she cared for him. It was about time to speak him the truth and guide him one last time before parting ways. They were like parallel lines, after all, always so close, never destined to entwine.

“What is it about?”

“The Kings ask for a blood price. The Old Wall can be summoned from drawing the essence of your life.”

“Does it mean I’m gonna die…?”

Luna’s heart ached.

“So speaks the prophecy, Noctis.” The spark died in the boy’s eyes and Luna had only a faint hope to offer him. If she would have suggested him a corect line of action which implied saving his life, she would have considered her calling of Oracle really fulfilled. Guiding him was her mission, after all. Making him happy was her wish. “But you can defeat it, together with your best friends and with the loyalty of the Glaives like Nyx. So many people are ready to stand by you all along, Noctis. So many people are ready to challenge fate to see you safe. Not a single life will be taken if you will share your burden with all of them.”

“Share my burden…? How?”

“Inside the Crystal, you’ll find an answer. The Kings of Yore will show mercy to their descendants. Once you’re inside there, your trials will start and you’ll enter into reflection. Remember you’re not alone. If you’ll keep in mind that you don’t have to carry your burden alone, you’ll manage to survive the cruel fate the gods chose for you.”

A sudden and far noise broke the peace of the meadow. The sylleblossoms delicately waved, the earth underneath their feet did, too.

Noctis panicked a bit like the kid he seemed, while Luna looked upon the sky with sad eyes. Understanding what was happening, she got so close to tears and had to battle a lot to be strong.

“What’s going on up there?” Noctis screamed. The dream they were trapped in started to collapse.

“You belong to the realm of the living, Noctis” said Luna then, aware of running out of time, “Godspeed. Reclaim your throne. Nyx has certainly used the Ring already like the stubborn fool he is. Don’t let the Kings burn him alive for his recklessness, I beg of you. Join forces with him.”

The sylleblossoms around them started to melt and moved like waves of water. Still, Noctis had questions.

“What about you?” Luna shook her head in response. “No! Luna!” The mysterious flow pulled Noctis away from his friend and no matter how much the boy streched out to reach for her, he just couldn’t touch her.

Luna didn’t ask to be saved though. She was smiling, because she told Noctis the truth in the end because Noctis would have saved Nyx and together they would have saved the world.

Her duty was done.

Her calling finally fulfilled.

———————

Nyx found himself floating in an indefinite blue space, surrounded by darkness and clueless of what expecting next. He figured that such a place was an alternate dimension used by the Kings to get in touch with the mortals but he couldn’t be sure. Yet, all that space, with no appropriation of space or size, made him even more anxious than he already was. He was sure that the Kings of Lucis wouldn’t have welcomed his impudent initiative, so he stood there alone for a long minute, in silence and uncertainty, contemplating the possibility of his imminent death.

“Show yourselves, Kings of Lucis!” he called out in the end, tired of waiting.

Like they were sparks of blue fire bursting out of a volcano, the spirits of the kings appeared all around him, minacious and powerful. They didn’t make a sound nor move a breeze. What did he expect from ghosts? And Nyx hoped that ghosts may go gentle on him.

“You call upon the wards of this world’s future, mortal. And if you come lusting for our power, you must first stand in our judgment,” one of them started. Nyx thought it was the most important among them so he turned around until he faced him.

“You did nothing as Insomnia burned and now, you did nothing as the woman who did so much to preserve the light in the world - the woman who dared to challenge the gods when nobody of you did – suffered and died. She is the blood of the Oracle, but you let her alone in this fight!”

Nyx’s voice trembled as he spoke so, but didn’t end it there. On the contrary it screamed out loud. He was angry, he was in agony, he was ready to fight not only the Gods but also the ghosts of the Kings of Lucis in order to receive even the slightest hope of bringing Lunafreya back. The pain of having lost her had hurt him so badly that he was ready to try and risk everything. He would have gladly got down in hell, sunk his feet in the river Styx and fought the devil himself if it was necessary. Everything. Everything to keep her safe - or in this case, to bring her back.

He didn’t want to think it was over and that she was lost forever, not yet, but he couldn’t deny that the situation was kinda desperate.

“Man is a fool creature, clinging to his past and cowering from his future” answered the Kings in fact. “Wasting his strength on bygone days. And what future are you wards of? So shortsighted. And cursed never to rise above it. It does not fall to us to guard your city or your woman.”

“But it falls to you to guard the future!” Nyx screamed back.

“Guarding the future is something we do of our own accord. At a time we so choose.”

“The longer you wait, the more the world burns! Old or new, or whatever it is, give me your power. Now! Destroy the gods. Banish the darkness. If you can’t save her, don’t let Lunafreya’s death be in vain!” Nyx’s voice was starting to get not only reckless, but also really desperate. With Lunafreya gone and the prince unconscious, if the Kings of Lucis would have refused to help him too, there would be no hope.

He wanted to save everything and everyone, it was something written in his blood and he couldn’t help with it.

“You do not command us. Yours is not even royal blood.”

That statement hit Nyx’s nerves. He couldn’t believe that the Kings would have been so irrational and stubborn to refuse his request just because he wasn’t a member of the royal family. Truth to be told, he could have asked nicely, but there was no time for it. They had to listen to him, and quickly. So he opened his mouth to try to work out a response and give them a piece of his mind when another voice joined the conversation, interrupting him.

“His may be not. But mine is.”

Nyx boggled and turned around in shock.

He may have not spoken with that voice so often, but he would have recognize it between a milion similar ones.

Noctis was standing there, some steps away from him, lifting his chin to face the Kings, an unspoken courage on the face. He was raising his right hand in the air and it was then when Nyx noticed the ring on his finger. Puzzled and confused, the Glaive checked his own hand, seeing that the ring had dissapeared from there to materialize on the prince’s. This caused an hesitant smile dawning on his face.

“The Ring. How…?” Nyx whispered, adressing to Noctis. “How come you’re here?”

Noctis glanced at him briefly and smiled wryly. “Luna.”

That name made Nyx’s heart lighten and enlarge. “You spoke with her…?” he asked increduolously.

Despite his question, Noctis walked ahead, ignoring him to address the Kings instead.

“Father.” One of the shadows twirled gently and bent down, getting closer to Noctis with obvious familiarity. He didn’t say anything, so Noctis did first, “Grant to Nyx Ulric to go on living. I’m gonna need him as much as I’m gonna need the support of my friends. That’s how I can defeat the prophecy, isn’t it?”

“The prophecy is matter of the gods and the Kings put it into action. You must know by now that the power of the Ring costs a life because it’s fed with vital energy. No one can change this” the mechanical voice of the ghost king replied.

“What if each one of us sacrifice a piece of their own life instead?” Noctis asked it as a question, but he looked pretty confident about his suggestion. “In that case, you’d have your blood debt and we all would survive long enough to enjoy the light of the dawn for years.”

A deep silence fell among the ghosts of the kings.

“Who plotted this scheme?” Someone asked. Surprisingly enough, there was stupor in the question like they were outraged that someone actually dared to elaborate such a proposal.

Noctis didn’t answer but his grin milded with a tender expression, revealing the truth without speaking a word.

Luna.

It was certainly her the one behind the suggestion.

King Regis - it was clear it was him under the solid armor which made him hard to recognize - stepped ahead, slowly. “For years I mourned your fate, Noctis. I would have done anything to save you and I still would. But your life is very high valued, your request cannot be granted so easily. If we accept, how many people would have to share your burden when it was meant to be only yours to bear?”

“I don’t know. How many people died for me until now? Without my knowledge?”

Regis boggled at the veiled accusation, hit right in the feelings. In his mind shocking images of Insomnia’s destruction probably appeared, because he immediately seemed to submit.

“I’m sorry, Noctis. I was only trying to spare you the pain... I thought your destiny couldn’t be changed.”

Noctis’ face frowned in suffurance. “I wish I knew about what gods had in store for me, Dad. We would have find a solution together. And maybe … you’d still be here, too.” The boy almost started to cry but he quickly hid the feelings behind a mask of resolution, determined to settle down the right priorities. He looked at his finger, were the ring was positioned. Glowing with a menacious shade of red, it looked like an horrible instrument of death.

“But we can still change destiny, Dad. I’m going to get home back. Trust me. Believe in me.

King Regis took a long minute before nodding. For some reason, Nyx imagined he was smiling under the helm.

“My wayward son is ready to be a king, then” he said then, a voice so human in spite of the eerie reverberations. And he stepped back, to rejoin the rest of the Kings. “He’s right. A lot of people will be ready to lend him their strength. We must prepare to pay our blood debt and Noctis will do what he must. Let’s grant him our power and send the Glaive back with him.”

There was a long silence, but for some reason, the King who spoke first - the most hostile one - didn’t bother to object. It was like he trusted King Regis completely even if he was technically the latest addition to the club.

“Very well, Chosen. You and the impudent Glaive return to the realm of the living. We’ll grant you our powers. And then you’ll enter into Reflection, for you, the journey has just begun.”

But Noctis didn’t seem to be satisfied yet.

“The world is going to need a guide while I’m inside the Crystal. Who should I trust for this? Ravus? I don’t think so. You all know that Eos always looked to only one person for inspiration,” he added, knowing exactly he was crossing a line he shouldn’t have get close to. Asking to the Kings a ressurection when he just obtained the greatest powers almost for free was really… audacious. In spite of this, there was the sparkle of a smile on his lips. Like he knew that Kings wouldn’t ever deny anything to their beloved last heir.

Nyx realized he was not so shameless compared to him. And for this reason, he promised his eternal loyalty to that young King instantly.

“Now, now, Young King. We take lives, we don’t give them” one of the Ancestors replied though. “The favor you’re asking is something only the gods are able to grant. Throw them on your feet and they shall do as you order. They will give back the life they slowly sucked away all along. The Oracle is not of our concern.”

Noctis turned. He and Nyx shared a deep and meaningful glance.

Nyx didn’t know what to say, so great was the confusion and the emotion. He just saw history being written under his very own eyes and he could barely realize it.

“Of course. The Six ripped off Luna of her white magic, and if we kill them one by one, they’re gonna give back what they took. Luna’s life included. So, we can stick to our original plan” Noctis whispered, opening the palms of his hands and closing his eyes. The Ring glowed again, glowing red, and Nyx understood they were going back to reality with an unbelievable pact sealed with the old Kings of Lucis. Unable to formulate into words the strong emotion he felt inside, he just stepped ahead, closer to Noctis. As he reached for his shoulder, King Regis interrupted him in the attempt of stealing another promise.

“Nyx Ulric. You used the Ring and this will take a major tool on you, no matter if you’ll survive or not. The old wall is no joke and you was so reckless to ask for it. However, I am getting used to trust you with the lives of the dearest people I still have on earth, because I know you didn’t let me down and never will. Take care of my son.”

Nyx took only one instant to figure what Regis wanted to say. The Ring was made of black magic, the darkest and the most powerful one. If it was true that the life price would have requested a certain amount of strength from Noctis’ best friends, a major price would have come upon Nyx, because he dared to use the Ring, going way too far. He couldn’t think of playing with fire without getting burned. At the same time, he couldn’t regret trying. So he nodded with a serious expression.

Regis probably was satisfied of his courage, so he added, “However, once that Luna is back, she will help you fighting the darkness of the Ring’s repercussions. Godspeed.”

And if that was the deal to be struck, the darkness didn’t scare him.

So, he smirked like he was used to, “Where do I sign?”

——————-

With a flash made of light, they returned back to reality.

Ardyn didn’t got any closer and the Gods were still raging behind, so both Nyx and Noctis realized that just a couple of seconds had passed since they left the real world to speak with the Gods.

So they didn’t lose any more time, they both sprinted up on their feet and summoned their weapons, Nyx the kukris, Noctis all the ancestral weapons in his arsenal. Shoulders against shoulders, they shared a nod and silently agreed on what to do.

They parted ways without even the need to wish each other “good luck”, because no luck was needed. They both had the power of the Kings of the past and that was an assurance of victory already.

Noctis threw himself agaist the Astrals first, knowing they were the priority if they wanted to clear the path to Ardyn and if they wanted Luna back. With the Ring on his finger he was unstoppable and lethal while Leviathan was heavily injured already. He didn’t took a lot of time to knock them off, one by one, but Nyx didn’t notice anyway. In fact, everything happened so fast that Nyx could barely aknowledge the sequence of action at all. He didn’t have the time to see Noctis killing Leviathan and Bahamut, then Ifrit, then summoning Titan and Ramuh and dispose of them too. He didn’t have the time because he was busy keeping Ardyn occupied until Noctis would have been back and he did it amazingly.

Like Regis’ ghost warned him, the power of the ring was taking a toll on his body already. He was feeling the dark magic of the Kings running through his veins, leaving marks similar to burning cinders on his skin. In spite of this, he didn’t bother. He would have kept the promise he made to Regis: he would have stood by Noctis side, no matter at what cost. He would have gifted him his own vital energy at the right moment. And he would have survived to see Luna running back in his arms.

Nyx learned that hope was the most powerful magic in his own arsenal. Without it, he wouldn’t have been the hero everyone labeled him with when for the first time in forever, he felt to stand the title.

Thinking of this, the power of the ring overwhelmed him to the point he completely lost the control on time. Maybe the pride and the self condidence were pushing him towards the darkness quicker than he could expect. Once again, he didn’t care.

Ignis and Ravus came to help him and that was when Ardyn himself started to lose the fight. All of a sudden, the Usurper couldn’t avoid the blows delivered by the kukris, nor the trajectory of the magic, and Nyx felt the darkness inside him getting stronger and stronger, he lost his soul to it.

He kept casting death spells, until the climax brought him to the point where he could barely remember how to breathe.

That was the moment when a voice called for him.

“Nyx, that’s enough.”

He couldn’t stop immediately, even if he wanted to. He kept attacking Ardyn, like another wave of darkness had deleted his rationality, replacing it with pure fury. It was not until he recognized the voice calling him that he halted.

“Nyx.”

He gasped.

His vision blurred.

He stopped this time.

He let the kukris falling on the ground and all of a sudden he felt like the powers of the ring abbandoned him, which made him kneel down and almost faint. His heart missed a beat, confused by the lack of adrenaline he previously lost himself to. If a pair of pale arms didn’t embrace him, he would have certainly crushed his face to the ground.

The scent of her hair hit him first. Then the warmth of her skin. Nyx sighed deeply, finding relief even before completely aknowledging what was happening. He used his last reserves of strength to hug her so tight that he feared losing her if he didn’t hold her close.

“Ardyn is gone,” she whispered in his ear, delicate like a sylleblossom and gentle as a breeze.

He was not instead. Trembling and panting, the Glaive asked harshly, “Is he dead?”

“No, my love. But he will be, one day. By the hand of our King, not ours.”

Fair enough.

Only then, Nyx sighed deeply, slowing regaining control on his muscles. As the power of the kings started to leave his body, he felt the skin melting and the brain going empty. He almost wanted to cry to give to vent the numbess, but he ended up abandoning himself to her, burying his nose in her hair.

“We both did enough, Nyx. Let’s take a break.”

Her voice was so calm, and that was the only thing that prevent him from falling apart.

Nyx flinched back to look at her, eager to involve other senses in the relief of having her back. And Lunafreya was there, real and alive. He admired the square shape of her jaw, the bones of her collarbone, the crystal blue of her beautiful eyes. She was covered in powder and dirty water, but she never looked so human and beautiful. He immediately reached for her cheeks, to caress them and wipe away a tear stemming from the source.

“You’re back,” he whispered, still shaking. The spirals similar to burning cinder reached his neck, but the only touch of Lunafreya’s hand took it away with a glow. Her healing magic was his cure. Not even when he made love to her thinking there was no tomorrow, he felt more intimately connected to her like when she cured him in that specific situation. She literally sucked away the darkness inside him with the delicate touch of her fingers and that felt like heaven. With a sigh of relief, he leaned forward to kiss her smile. When they interrupted the kiss a minute later, she finally managed to nod.

“What did you offer to the Kings in exchange of my life?”

“Nothing more than what we already planned to offer. The lives of the Six.”

Luna opened her mouth in disbelief and immediately checked the marks on her stomach. Nothing was visible under her thin and white dress, which meant they were all gone. The knife wound created by Ardyn was gone, too, and only the stain of the dark blood smudged the fabric. The destruction of the gods inverted the course of her destiny, exactly like they originally expected. When Noctis killed them, their death gave back her life, her magic and her health.

Realizing this, Luna gasped but the shock on her face was well concealed by the calm of her inner confusion. She was just too surprised to actually show it. She just stood like that, Nyx’s hands on hers, and said nothing.

In the meantime, around them the fog had cleared, revealing that Ardyn had dissapeared. Ravus and Ignis - exausted by the surreal fight - limped toward Nyx’s and Luna’s direction, dismay on their faces that in Ravus’ case quickly turned into excitement.

“Lunafreya!” he screamed, shamelessly stealing her from Nyx’s arms to hug her like he never did before. Luna gladly accepted his affection for once, wondering why she had to die before seeing his brother act like when they were children. “You were dead. How…?”

Nyx stood up with difficulty, looking at the weird spirals on his burning skin slowly dissapear, leaving behind scars. Shelving the mixed feelings he had towards the Ring’s blood price and Noctis’ survival, he focused on the view of Altissia around them.

Destruction and chaos was everywhere.

The corpse of the gods had dissapeared immediately after their death, but the signs of their rage remained in the felled buildings and broken bridges. The darken clouds in the sky opened a little, so the weak rays of sunshine could touch the flowers destroyed by the water, the upside down tables and chairs of the restaurants and the broken glasses of the windows. It was a distressing view, but Nyx could only feel relief.

The Gods were gone. Somehow, they accomplished the impossible. But if the battle was won, so it wasn’t the war. Izunia was still alive and he would have spread the Darkness upon all Eos.

As a matter of fact, he looked for Noctis and noticed him up there where what was left of the altar was located. He stood all alone with the Crystal next to him. Even from the distance, the ring on his had was extremely visible, as much as the sad expression on his face.

His eyes met Nyx’s, and he smiled. That look meant a lot for them both. It meant “I will be back soon I promise”, “go, we’ll settle the rest”, “hold on until the day I will reclaim the throne”, “take care of them” and also … “take care of her”. Nyx somehow understood all the layers of the glance and simply nodded, clenching the jaw in a nervous and silent movement.

Then, Noctis quickly glanced back at Ignis, looking for Prompto and Gladiolus who were running in their direction. A soft smile warmed up his expression. In that moment, Nyx noticed that something was different in him, already. His way of standing tall was different, his shoulders were straighten up, his face looked more mature. And when he turned his back to his friends to enter inside the Crystal, Nyx observed the awareness in his walking.

The young prince would have been a great King once he would have come out of the Crystal. He would have lived long enough to rule well on Eos, sharing his burden with his loyal friends. With him, too.

While he was thinking at this, Luna’s fingers slid between Nyx’s ones, delicate as feathers. The Glaive turned to watch her positioning next to him, holding up to his arm. Her eyes were glowing like diamonds under the rays of the sun, a sun that would have shown rarely in the next years.

Nyx found inspiration in watching her, knowing that she would have lead Eos during Noctis’ absence, spreading hope in his return.

So, it was it. The moment of the separation had come. Darkness would have fallen upon them. But it would have been temporary.

Nyx and Luna stood in silent reverence as they watched their future King dissapear inside the Crystal, leaving the burden of the world on their shoulders.

#lunyx #lunafreya nox fleuret #nyx ulric #final fantasy xv #kingsglaive #ffxv #see luna safe to altissia #obina writes and this is weird

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