"I swore an oath to stand with Noct and keep him safe." Ardyn's twisted sneer dropped. The purple crackles of power dissipated in his hand and he lowered it to his side. "Whatever it takes, Iwill protect him!"
Ignis slammed the ring onto his finger.
Ardyn scoffed, even rolling his eyes as he started to turn away, and Ignis watched as his body moved slower and slower through the air until he halted completely. The wind whipping Noctis' hair around grew more and more deliberate, grinding to a halt mid-blow.
Ignis looked around, watched the roiling waves freeze, watched the ships and their missiles halt. Suddenly, a flash so bright that Ignis had to shield his eyes flared around him. Everything turned dark as the light sucked all brightness into it like a magnet. Ardyn, Noctis, the sky around them faded away, and a sort of whirring pounded and pounded in his ears with the beating of his heart, so loud he doubled over, covering his ears and squeezing his eyes shut.
It was gone as suddenly as it came and Ignis relaxed with a sigh, but when he opened his eyes, he was alone. Alone in the dark. Under a white spotlight. The silence that followed was even worse. Smothering and heavy. A pressure in his chest squeezed his heart so hard, he felt he would be sick.
Ignis would never call himself an impulsive person. Everything he did, he thought through to the very core of it. Every action, every consequence of every action, and every consequence of the consequence. He had to, for Noctis' sake.
But putting the ring on was reckless.
There, inside the ring, was sanctified ground. Ignis was not allowed to be there, and he knew it immediately. He was not allowed to set eyes upon this place, thispower, let alone assume he had the right to harness it. The doubt crawled at the back of his head. This was a reckless decision. Did he have any other choice? Was there something else he could've done, before this? If the Kings did not-
Ignis' hand caught fire.
There were no flames, but the power of the Crystal and the ring seared deep within the skin on his middle finger and radiated through his whole hand. He cried out in pain and surprise and clenched his fist, but the burning didn't stop. He felt like his very nerves were on fire, each one screaming in protest. He braced it with his other hand, and a stab of fear pulsed down his back.
He was not worthy.
He'd never gain their power.
He would burn here, and Ardyn would have no one in his way. He wouldkill Noctis-
No.
For Noctis
Ignis did this for Noctis.
"In the name of Noctis Lucis Caelum, come to me, Lucii!" he called.
Only the silence answered him right away, and he thought it was lost.
"And so, another appeals to us, calling for our power." The voice was so deep and powerful, it rumbled in Ignis' bones and shook inside of him. It surrounded him, and even echoed in the air insubstantially before the real voice reached him. "The ring falls in incapable hands, it seems."
Wisps of white mist congealed in the air high above him, and burst into the forms of giant suits of armor. The one directly in front of him, the one who spoke to him, he assumed, had two giant horns trailing on either side of his helmet. That was all he could make out. Their forms kept shifting and waving in the mist.
Ignis knew from his research this was the one they called the Mystic. The first King of the Lucian line.
"Lucian Kings," he started, "I am not of the Lucian line. I am not even of noble blood! But if you can . . . " He swallowed thickly, and hesitation halted his tongue. A desperation like nothing he had ever felt before bled from his heart. Heneeded them to deem him worthy. Heneededto humble himself, so completely in front of these Kings and Queens, they they understood the selflessness of his plea. This wasn't for him. This wasn't about power.
For Noctis.
"If you can look past the inferiority of my blood and search for the sincerity in my heart I beg of you to do so!"
"What sincerity is that? It is our power you seek, and naught else - for who would desire the ring but those who desire its fabled might? And if you have heard of our power, surely you know by now that we do not grant it without sacrifice. Whose life is it that you offer us?"
"Majesties, please! It is Prince Noctis' life I must offer you! For if I do nothing, he will die!"
"To threaten our line is to threaten us, and to threaten us is to give us your life. You come seeking our aid-"
"No! I do not threaten! I beg of you! I am Ignis Scientia, advisor to his highness Prince Noctis! Member of his Crownsguard. Please . . . " he said, and his voice cracked as tears threatened to spill from his eyes. "Please let me help him. Please." The shaking in his knees grew too harsh, and they buckled. He tried to blink the tears away, to look strong in front of the Kings, but the tears spilled out instead.
" . . . Young Advisor . . . Ignis . . . "
That voice. He knew that voice.
He looked up at the form of the King that had spoken. A little less faded than the others, less worn by time. He couldn't see the King's face, but he knew. He knew from the voice. He knew from the benevolent and calm energy that the King exuded, and he could picture his sad eyes and his sympathetic smile from behind his helmet.
"King Regis."
"Do you understand the cost of this power? Do you mean to pay the price? It is your life we will take-"
"It is yours to take!" he said. "I must win! I must protect Noctis! Please, Majesty, please! I swore an oath to him, before your very eyes. If my life is the cost of fulfilling that oath, then it is a price I gladly pay."
King Regis paused, simply staring at Ignis, and the silence in the wake of one of their huge and booming voices made him feel like he was squeezed. Claustrophobic and compressed by the lack. " I know this boy. I know the strength and character of his heart. His love for the Chosen King is genuine, and his desire to protect him is as steadfast as the shield's." Regis said, appealing to the other Kings on his behalf. " Is that not so?"
"It is," Ignis said. "I would see Noctis safe even on pain of death."
"This is the second time you have vouched for a human not of the royal line, Young King. Would you always see the ring used by unsanctioned hands? The forbidden power at the command of any on a whim?"
"I would see it in the hands of any who have the will to use it in protection of Lucis. To give one's own life for the sake of the line is no greater test. The Chosen needs this boy. He sees the Chosen for who he is. He understands him, and is integral to helping the Chosen reach his destiny. No matter the personal cost. In return, I ask for a smaller sacrifice. Not his life, so that he may still be a guiding light for the Chosen."
There was a rumbling sound, like they all hummed deep within their armor. Ignis could tell that they were deliberating amongst themselves. He stayed where he was, on his knees with his heart in his stomach, and prayed over and over that they say yes. " Please, let me protect him. Please, let me save him. Please."
"Very well. What are you prepared to offer us that you value? Young Regis knows your heart. We will know if you are truthful."
"I - I . . . Um . . . " he stuttered, unprepared for the magnitude of the question. Everything he did, he did for Noctis. Everything he wanted was the better for Noctis. He searched his heart, looking for anything he could barter.
"He struggles to find a selfish desire. That alone should be your proof -" Regis started.
"Silence, Young King . If he cannot choose, then it is his life we will take none the less-"
"My eyes, then! My eyes."
"Your eyes?"
"Yes."
"Your ties to the Chosen are proven, yet you would give up the future you would see for him. The irony is not lost on us."He paused, and leaned forward slightly over Ignis. The mist around him moved to accommodate the change of position. "This is the price you choose?"
"It is," he said, resisting the cold chill that froze his heart. Would they take it to mean he was insincere?
They were silent. Condescending. Even King Regis, who at first filled Ignis' heart with hope and the relief of familiarity, seemed to maintain their cold demeanor. The Mystic spoke again.
"Very well. We accept your sacrifice. Your eyes as payment. Harness our power. Destroy our enemies, and protect our line. Your heart is true, Ignis Scientia."
A pain he had never felt before coursed through him. Like his very bones had turned to fire. He screamed, the noises of agony tearing from his throat as it traveled from his hand up to his elbow, his shoulder, his face, resting finally in his eyes. His flesh burned, he could smell it. The heat punched through to his very brain. And as he closed his eyes the wisps of Kings dispersed and the sensation of gravity rushing in from all sides pressed in on him. He trembled with the force of it. Feeling real fear terrorize his heart.
A final call, a final cry to the Lucii, a final warning to Ardyn, empowered him. "I may not be of royal blood, but if a Glaive can harness its power, so can I! Kings of Lucis, lend me your strength!"
The burning stopped. Ignis allowed himself to stand, and he opened his eyes to face Ardyn.