The demons of the starscourge would plague the lands and Ardyn knew it would consume the entire planet and more. The starscourge was a plague, a curse. It's purpose was only in the dark for demons to spawn everywhere to claim the planet, and spawned from the underworld itself. These creatures varied of different types, some small and some giant. They looked worse than monsters, they would scare a grown man. These demons, however, could curse humans or kill them depending on what they wanted to do. Their goal was to take over the planet and to turn it into total darkness, but their true plan was to consume the entire universe in darkness to turn all things into demons. Each of these demons have incredible powers and weapons to be ready to claim what they believe is theirs. Everything.
Once it inflicts a human or other species, it will consume and turn them into a demon making them mindless and suffering in their souls. Their are two things to prevent this, the cure of a powerful healer to which is Ardyn, or the ancient prophecy of the Cosmic Divine Crystalline. A prophecy that began years after mankind existed. The prophecy shaded in mystery only is told that one, either man or woman will destroy this plague once and for all and free everyone from the plague from hell. But yet it didn't say how or when.
Ardyn walked along the path in the dark. While he walked he had to slice down demons in his path. His weapon was spirit bond weapons that he could summon at will. These weapons was spiritual that could turn solid and his aura was a reddish purple color. It also gave sparkles of the same color to each time it clashed with say a weapon. One of the demons he had to struck down was an imp with a small blade that tried to defend itself. Clashing against the blade made these small sparkles of the steel on steel.
After fighting them off and making it to a nearby outpost he settled in for the night and rested with his mind thinking over what his brother said and sighed closing his eyes just wanting things to be peaceful for eternity.
He woke up in the morning hearing noise outside of the inn he was staying in and walked out to see Gratia calling out for him.
Ardyn walked out and hugged Gratia.
"Gratia, why are you here what's wrong?" Ardyn asked her.
"It's your brother, he's ordering for a skirmish across the lands to kill anyone who's plagued." She said to him.
Ardyn looked at her and rubbed his forehead trying to think.
"You are the oldest, you could overthrow him and take the throne Ardyn. You could end this." She suggested.
"And become a tyrant? I heal people, I save people from the plague of the starscourge. I won't do that." He said to her.
She looked at him worried.
"Gratia, I will go to the shrine of the Cosmic Divine Crystalline and pray to what I'm meant to do." He said to her and hugged her.
They both held one another with their foreheads touching.
"I love you." She said.
"And I love you even more." He told her kissing her forehead and walking off.
As Ardyn walked off he thought over the decisions going on and the growing problem of the starscourge. He walked off into the desert alone.
A day went by and he arrived at the sacred canyon and at one end of it was a small shrine that was crumbling away.
Ardyn got on his knee's and began to pray.
"I beg you, to give me strength. I do not know what I'm supposed to do. I want to see this starscourge end but at the same time I cannot allow what my brother is doing. He is my flesh and blood. I care for the people, I care for everything." He said to it.
Suddenly the aura around him glowed.
Ardyn remained silent feeling it, letting it flow around him and then in his mind, he knew what he had to do.
"I see." Ardyn said opening his eyes slowly.
"Then I shall save everyone. I will take the crown as king of the world to protect all that are weak. For us all to work together to push back this great evil." Ardyn said with a smile looking at the sky.
Ardyn gave a final bow to the shrine and suddenly an earthquake happened which crumbled the rest of the shrine away leaving him speechless.
"Then I guess it is what must be done." Ardyn said and took his leave.
When he returned to the tree he once laid against he met Gratia there who was resting. It was already dark and the moon was out with the millions of stars in the sky.
"It's a lovely night." Gratia said smiling.
Ardyn sat beside her smiling at her and looking up at the stars with his arm around her.
"What must you do?" She asked him.
"I will confront my brother and demand the throne, but I felt I am to rule everything and to unite everyone to fight against this starscourge. I seen it, a very strange vision. I don't even know how to describe it." He said to her.
"To rule everything is a hard task." She told him.
"Please don't let the power get to your head?" She asked.
"Hahaha, Gratia I do not plan too." Ardyn chuckled.
"What did the vision show you?" She asked.
"Bits and pieces. I saw the starscourge, I seen its nasty darkness. It is from hell itself. It plagues out of hell to take the planet but I saw in this vision, I seen many planets go dark, the stars above us go black. I seen this thing take over everything, infinite forces of demons. It was unending. Yet I seen myself standing in front of them to fight them. and yet at the same time, I thought I seen you." Ardyn said.
"Thought?" She asked.
"It looked like you but something was off. I don't know how to explain it." Ardyn said frowning thinking on it.
"Let's think about this tomorrow. For now, let's fall asleep please?" She asked him.
Ardyn smiled and rested back against the tree as she laid on his shoulder. Both watched the stars together, something they loved to do. Eventually they both fell asleep.