It was with no great gasp, nor jolting of the spine that brought Lunafreya Nox Fleuret's eyes fluttering open. She awoke softly, gingerly, eyebrows furrowing almost immediately against the glare of the sunbeam glancing across her face from where its cutting tendril pierced through the window on her left.

With a little grunt and a little more difficulty, the Oracle pushed herself up on thin, pale forearms that quaked under the effort, until she was seated someone inelegantly, back supported by the pile of plump pillows and cushions scattering the overly-large bed. Frail and stricken as she was, the huge bed only looks more ridiculous for it, swathed as it was in royal blue silk linen and scattered with far too many pillows. Four poster beams towered in each corner, holding drapes of shimmering azure, a fitting imagery for the city outside.

The city...

Like sluggish raindrops splashing on her mind's eye, Lunafreya began to blink the fog of sleep away as memories trickled back to the forefront of her mind. The city encircled in the seas, Altissia...that was where she had arrived, and where she presumed she still resided. She recalled the waters well, how sapphires had turned to obsidian, how the seas had churned and cascaded upwards into the air, merging with a storm so wild it had been impossible to tell what was rain and what was sea spray in the air around her.

Bare feet swung from under the bed sheets and found the plush carpet as Lunafreya got to her feet, a little unsteadily. Her side ached and felt too tight, as though every movement threatened to split it open across the ivory white carpet under her. Absently, a thin hand came to coil around her waist, palm settling a soft warmth over the pain, and she paced towards the window.

If she was in pain, then the city must surely be weeping; outside, buildings were cracked or crumbled entirely into the winding sea that once wove gently through the city. The waters had settled back to a dull cobalt, but had not fully receded back into the ocean. Rivulets still fractured the pathways and walkways like shattered glass, and the rain still fell, though far softer than it had been last Luna was conscious. She found herself peering up into the heavens, seeing how the black clouds had already faded to grey.

Most prominently of all...the absence of the monster.

Lunafreya's eyes focused upon the glass of the window itself, seeing her own ghostly face staring back at her. Too pale, too thin, she had lost what little weight she had over the recent weeks. Dark circles bruised under stark blue eyes, and her white-blonde hair had lost much of its sheen, falling ragged and loose around her face. For a moment, she saw the monster's face echo in her reflection.

Strong features, amber eyes that crackled with the remnants of a fire that once blazed and now dulled, an ever-present smirk, and in his hand—

Luna felt her lips part in a gasp, as though the ghost of the dagger the man held had pierced her side once more, and her free hand clapped over the hand already holding her side. Ardyn. The Chancellor of the Emperor who had kept her like a bird in a gilded cage...as uncomfortable company as ever he had been, Luna had not expected the humorous and nonchalant man to have turned so suddenly, so cruelly. The blade had been unexpected, even more so the darkening of those gold orbs in a fury Lunafreya had recognised all too readily.

She had once seen it cloud her brother's eyes: the inky blot of revenge.

And yet, fear did not claim her heart as she turned from the reflection, nor truly anger. More prominently, a question bore at the Oracle's heart.

Why?

For what reason did Ardyn Izunia have to hate her, or her family? Lunacy may have fit him, and perhaps no reason was to be wrought. And yet, that answer fell unsettled on Luna's mind. Oh, she had seen something snap in the man's usually collected countenance, a hand striking her face pulsing in memory in her head, no doubt madness had lurked under the Chancellor's skin, hidden from her view until then. But it did not seem to fully explain his want to have her killed.

Sitting on the bed, Luna found her mind wandering to the fallen prince, another noted absence in her waking moments. Lying prone upon the altar, the light of the stars now belonged to him, and Luna had no doubt in her heart that Prince Noctis had conquered the Leviathan's wrath and brought her under his reign. That Ardyn had attempted to take her life as a means to fuel urgency in Noctis was, perhaps, one reason for this macabre turn of events. But still, this did not untie the tangles pressing in Luna's thoughts. Surely the loss of his father was fuel enough, and the Empire would know this well.

No, there was something else that blended all of these pieces together, something more personal to Ardyn that remained a mystery to Lunafreya.

She was not a creature of revenge, and she had no intention of hunting the man down to simply kill him with a blade. Her revenge would be wrought of something far more potent, the Oracle thought to herself, casting her eyes back to the window once more, watching the rain fall. For the light was kind, and warm...but it was also searing and blinding, a cruel spotlight without escape, nowhere to hide for its all-seeing gaze. She would seek the truth, drag it from the shadows; that would be her revenge upon the Chancellor who would see her merely dead. Everything he sought to hide would be brought out into the light at her command.

Snapping from her reverie at the sound of the door clicking open, Luna felt her jaw muscles relax, unaware she had gotten so tense. She turned a little where she was sitting, though she knew well who would walk through the door. A light that shone too intensely to heal, too short-lived to be called a warming light, brighter than her own but more irritable for it, her brother was the crackling, striking judgement of lightning where she was the comforting glow of the moonlight.

But light knew light, and she always knew Ravus' presence before he even made himself known.

"Lunafreya—"

Urgency and concern coloured Ravus' tone, and he moved more briskly to her side for seeing her awake. If she was not mistaken, Luna could see something of shock in her brother's mismatched eyes. A reminder of the awful contraption the Empire had gifted him, the purple and oily black metal arm to replace what he had lost long ago. The limb had tainted one eye to the same purple hue it hummed with, and it caused the Oracle unease, though she felt foolish to say it aloud.

"The covenant...did the prince succeed?" Her voice cut across Ravus' concern, and Luna could see him almost visibly recoil with distaste.

"Of all the things that warrant discussion, you would pick him before your own wellbeing. Yet again." The white-haired man noted curtly, metal hand curling into a fist tightly at his side. His disapproval of Noctis was well known, and all the more that he did not think Noctis a suitable heir to the throne. But Lunafreya knew the truth of it – it mattered not if Noctis was suited to the throne of the kingdom. His throne was not crafted of stone or metal, but of souls. That he was a natural ruler or no would never effect his reign...

Heart plummeting in sorrow, Luna's gaze fell from Ravus' face to the floor. The burden of the Oracle's wisdom...was that of silence.

"I would put the wellbeing of our world before my own. That is my duty. The covenant." She pressed, finding the strength again to look up. Ravus seemed to still for a moment, debating internally on the answer. A lie would not cross his lips to the thing he held most dear in the world, of course, and he spoke in a clipped, reluctant tone:

"Prince Noctis forged a pact with the Hydraean. Had he taken a moment longer, I daresay we all would have been underwater by now." The man walked to the window Lunafreya had stood at moments before, and she could just see his face reflected in the glass. "I can only hope at least one person fell below the waves of the Leviathan's wrath."

Luna blinked, lips parting a little in surprise. Ravus did not need to name who he hoped had fallen.

"Chancellor Izunia did not return from the altar?" She asked, getting slowly to her feet. Her brother turned, a confused expression creasing his light brow. No doubt he knew who had attacked her at the altar, for Ardyn had done little to conceal himself. But something more seemed to concern Ravus, as he turned his back fully to the window to face his sister.

"He did not. I had hoped that perhaps the Astrals saw fit to finally lift a finger in defence of the family that has lost all shielding their precious kings." He noted venomously, head tilting to the side, "though perhaps I ought to have known better. If they had, they would have struck the dagger from his hand before it ever reached you."

Footfalls brought her brother before her once more, and for a silent moment, he seemed held by his pride and anger...before he knelt before her, face softening with a sorrow only Ravus could compose.

"...Forgive me, sister. I was too late to reach you, and for that, you nearly paid with your life. Had you perished for my failures, I do not know what I—"

Almost on instinct, Luna's hand came to tilt Ravus' head up at the chin.

"No. I forbid this. You know I forbid this – my life is ever on the line as my duty demands. My fall will never be your doing, it will never be your burden to carry. Now or ever." For the first time in a long time, a smile softly crossed Luna's pale lips. "And you certainly do not get to drown yourself in guilt for something that did not occur. I am still here."

It was then that she noticed; Ravus was shivering, his breath clouding a little from his nostrils. Before she could enquire, the man had rose to his feet once more, sorrow not fully leaving his face.

"All the same...Ardyn will pay for what he has done. That you survived was a blessing, and the fact remains that he sought to kill you."

"Ravus – our duty is far more important than revenge. The gods will cast judgement on him; the best we can do in revenge is to continue. He has failed to draw me to a halt, so I will continue on. One more Astral remains for Noctis to form a pact with, and I daresay she will be far easier to talk to than Leviathan."

As planned, the last Astral Luna would help Noctis form a pact with would be Shiva. Easily done, for the ice goddess walked among mortals in the vessel of the Messenger, Gentiana. Ever at her side, she would have little qualms with speaking to the prince. Her absence had resounded since waking, however, and Lunafreya looked around, as often the woman would appear and disappear at will. Indeed, she had deliberately left during the summoning of Leviathan, citing that her powers would cause a far greater chaos when paired with Leviathan's rage. But in the wake of the serpent's torrent of fury, Lunafreya had thought the woman would return.

"...Ravus, where is Gentiana?"

Oh, and as he repeated his words, Lunafreya realised a moment too late why the mask of sorrow had not utterly fallen from his face.

"...That you survived was a blessing. Her blessing. To you." Ravus spoke softly, in respect of how the words would no doubt wound his sister. "Gentiana is...no more."