The dark cloud vanished.
Its disappearance went unnoticed, overshadowed by the monstrous legacy it left behind.
The demon stood tall. Its body was massive, more than its angelic counterpart had been. Sounds emerged from it, unintelligible and without meaning, but still capable of conveying a feeling of dread that Ardyn didn't remember experiencing before.
He was no stranger to the sight of fiends. He had, in many ways, been one for years.
But the demon was different.
Before Ardyn had the chance to think about what that difference was, the demon's eyes fixed on his. The crimson stare stole him of his energy. Ardyn almost dropped flat on his chest, but he mustered enough strength to fall on one of his knees instead.
His body was heavy as stone, and it ignored his mind's command of escaping the colossal deformity that was running toward him, unstoppable as a raging beast. Its howling cries resonated across the newly formed hell.
"Move, you twit!" Ardyn's rescue came in the shape of a kick in the head that sent him flying out of the demon's way. Ardyn landed on his back, his body now fully responsive.
Before he had time to make use of it, the fool grabbed him by the neck of his coat and dragged him behind a purple rock-like structure big enough to offer them shelter.
The clown casted an invisible barrier around them before kneeling next to Ardyn. "Hear me well, idiot, I won't save you again, so I suggest you snap out of whatever fear-induced trance your ass is in and start being useful at once."
Ardyn glared at the fool. He felt no gratitude toward him, only the raw anger that comes after listening to a bluntly stated true.
The demon's steps shook reality. Ardyn could hear it sniffing its surrounding like a behemoth tracking the scent of its prey.
Had they not had a demon lurking nearby, the expression of earnest fear that distorted the clown's face would have made Ardyn laugh.
"Wipe that hideous smirk off your face. This is all your fault." He said to Ardyn.
"Maybe it is."
"No, it definitely is! You just had to make him angry, didn't you? Don't get me wrong, seeing God-Maty fall at your hands was one of the funniest things I've ever seen, but it seems the joke got old real fast. Nice going there, Ardy."
"So, you saved me just so you would make me listen to your endless ranting, or are we going to do something about that blood-thirsty demon?" The demon distanced himself to search somewhere else, which gave Ardyn a sense of relief, though he knew it would be short lived at best. "Whatever we do, we do it now."
"Ha! Someone here is eager to be dispersed." The clown huffed. "There will not be any we in this. I am going to do something about Maty, and you will have the honor of being my glorified backup. Good? Good."
Ardyn couldn't believe what he had heard. "Me? A lackey of yours? I thought you were insane, but now I realize you are stupid."
"You are right. I'm both things, and much more." Admitted the clown as if Ardyn was stating the obvious. "And among my many qualities, I have the ability to be more in battle than a burden. I cannot say the same for you, dear Ardy."
"How fools speak so freely of things they don't know."
"You can't control your magic, you have no weapons to wield." The clown counted with his fingers. Ardyn noticed the one he had broken was now fully healed. "And you cannot expect to defeat Maty with physical strength alone. I mean, you are strong, but let's not get ahead of our ourselves."
As he spoke, Ardyn tried to summon his royal arms and use them against the clown. When they didn't appear, one thing became clear: they were gone for good. In silence and without allowing any emotion to show in his face, Ardyn unwillingly accepted their eternal departure.
"So am I right, or am I right, Ardy?" The clown spat at him cruelly.
Knowing that any sign of annoyance from his part would be enjoyable to the clown, Ardyn simply stayed silent.
As he had expected, the clown quickly grew restless. "Ugh, your impersonation of Golbez is top notch."
The clown proceeded to cast multiple spells into a single amalgam. He mixed fire, ice, thunder, venom, light, darkness, and tempered the alloy with a spell unknown to Ardyn until it gained the shape of a sword.
It was surreal to see a chaotic man like him being able to use his powers with the finesse proper of a master magician.
"You know how to use one of these, don't you?" The clown asked him patronizingly.
"I'll let you be the judge of that." Said Ardyn with confidence as the sword was handed to him.
He knew how to use his royal arms to the point of mastery, but normal swords were hardly his most honed skill. He knew enough to defend himself, but to win against a god-like being?
His lack of magic stung him more than ever, but he had no time to mourn it, especially not in front of the clown.
Feinting resolve, Ardyn wielded his new weapon with as much elegance as he could. The clown seemed to buy the act, but Ardyn couldn't tell.
More often than not, what that mocking grin conveyed was close to impossible to decipher.
"What a dashing fellow you are. Now then, lets get this over with. I'm getting really bored again."
"I assume you have a plan. If you don't, I'll gladly —"
"The plan is simple. Have fun and try not get dispersed. The second part is optional, the first is a must!" Laughed the clown and snapped his fingers. The barrier he had created bursted like a bubble, and a second later, came the reckoning roar of the demon. It had found his prey, or rather, its prey had come willingly to it. "Good luck, Ardy!"
There was no time to complain. Ardyn barely had time to dodge the giant hand as it crushed their sanctuary and transformed it into a pile of twitching purple rubble.
"Hey Maty! That's no way of treating your old friend, is it?"
When the dust around him dispersed, Ardyn saw the floating figure of the clown dancing around the demon like persistent fly.
He threw at him all kinds of spells, but the demon ignored him.
Ardyn was the vessel of all its attention.
"YOU!" The demons voice was deeper than its growls and cries. It didn't seem natural for a sound so foul to be able to form words. "MONSTER! GIVE BACK WHAT YOU TOOK FROM ME!"
"Shut up, Maty! You've always been so corny." A beam of white light pierced the demon's chest. "That's going to leave a mark."
At last, the demon acknowledged the clown's presence. Ardyn didn't know if it was because the attack had hurt it, or if the demon had become tired of the other's maddening voice.
Unsure of what he was doing, but sure that the time for doing something had come, Ardyn ran toward the demon and jumped with all the strength his legs allowed him. The demons head was too far for him to reach, but its grotesque belly was at hand.
The sharp end of the sword pierced the thick golden skin. Ardyn forced the sword through until a vertical slash cut through the demon's hide. A flow of black blood spurred out of the fresh wound like a geyser.
Ignoring the corrupted fluid that soaked his face and chest, Ardyn began to climb up with one hand while he held the sword with the other.
The demon shook his body and launched his palm toward Ardyn. The only reason he didn't end up as a stain was because the clown was more than adept in keeping the demon busy.
Bursts of fire, showers of ice, storms of thunder, and the deceleration of time. The clown cast them all with equal power, and without concern of whom received the damage.
Though Mateus was clearly his main target, Ardyn wasn't spared. He received burns from ice and fire alike, and a wandering thunder almost succeeded in making him lose his grip.
When he finally made his way up to the demon's shoulder, Ardyn was worn out and heavily injured.
"You godforsaken fool!" He screamed at the clown. If only I had my magic…
To his surprise and concern, Ardyn discovered his unwelcome ally was in a worse state than him. The clown had received heavy damage from Mateus, but most of his wounds had been the consequences of his chaotic offense and carelessness.
Yet, he kept on laughing.
Was it all a game for the clown?
Did he even have any interest in defeating the demon, or was the excitement of battle and destruction enough to fulfill his heart?
Ardyn caught with the corner of his eye the image of the demon's claws rushing toward him. He avoided them, making the demon impale himself in the shoulder instead.
For a being so imposing, Ardyn realized, it wasn't so powerful.
Its anger clouded its intelligence, and the size of his body made him clumsier than it made him strong. And, not unlike Ardyn, its magic felt mitigated.
That thing wasn't a demon, just a pale imitation of one.
Ardyn wondered if his imagination and fear had gotten the best of him.
He smiled, this time with real confidence. Perhaps he and the clown, as uncontrollable as he was, could achieve victory.
With renewed fighting spirit, Ardyn gripped the sword's handle tightly and aimed it at the demon's exposed neck.
What he intended to be a clean cut was instead a rough stab that almost made the sword shatter. It became stuck in the demon's flesh before Ardyn had cut halfway through.
The sudden stop damaged the sword, and the more it stayed in contact with the demon, the more it rusted and threatened with shattering.
Ardyn cursed at himself.
He knew, as much as it hurt his pride, that the sword was not to blame. His attack had lacked the elegance, strength, speed and finesse necessary.
The demon cried in agony. Its two hands began to come closer to its neck.
"Don't touch your boo boos, silly boy! They could get infected." A pair of giant hands made of black and white energy took hold of the demon's before they could reach their destination. A third hand pulled its head by the snake-like hair of the monster. "Need a hand, Ardy? Well, I just gave you three."
Ardyn looked at the clown. It was a pity that a power so great had been given to a creature so unworthy.
"Hurry!" The clown exclaimed. "This isn't as easy as it looks, you know."
He didn't need to say more.
Together, the clown and Ardyn began to behead the demon.
"MONSTER! MONSTER!"
The words weakened Ardyn, but he kept going, no matter how much his wounds burned or how much the demon's blood depleted his energy.
"MY OTHER HALF! GIVE ME BACK MY OTHER HALF!"
The head snapped like an overstretched rubber. The clown's hands let go of it and disappeared.
The head plummeted to the ground as if it was made of dust, and vanished before it could reach the surface. Now lacking its mots important piece, the rest of the body collapsed.
Ardyn braced himself.
His landing was sudden. The corpse of the demon, now just piles of dust and ashes, damped some of the impact.
Lying down, Ardyn watched another figure coming down. The clown landed close to him. The clown groaned and screamed. He was very much alive.
"Ardy! Why didn't you catch me? You are mean!"
Ardyn couldn't answer. A sense of victory, the first positive sensation he had felt since his arrival to that world, filled him with pride.
They had killed it. The demon was no more, and soon it would be just a memory.
Yet, its words lingered.
Still lying on his back, Ardyn raised his right arm.
Whatever power lied dormant within it, it wasn't visible to the eye.
Ardyn focused, and he felt it.
A force that wasn't his.
The presence was strong, but he couldn't awaken it. The more he tried, the more elusive it become, as if it was aware of Ardyn's intrusion and raised its defenses at his presence.
"A handshake? Sure, I'll give you one!"
The touch of the clown came with a burning sting that covered Ardyn's hand whole. He flinched and retreated it back to his chest.
Bearing the pain, Ardyn got up and moved away from the clown.
The clown hissed and stepped back. He too was holding his hand against his body.
"How dare you!" He exclaimed as he breathed heavily. He stared at Ardyn's arm, and his eyes mellowed. "Maty? Are you really there? Ha ha ha! So, you are a sponge after all, Ardy!"
Ardyn looked at his arm again. Somewhere inside, a divine being still existed.
Disgust overwhelmed him. His breathing became heavier and irregular.
Once again, he was the host of abnormal beings.
He grabbed his arm by the shoulder and started pulling.
He had just decapitated a demon. Ripping his own limb from his body surely would be an easy task.
"Stop that!" The clown shouted.
His voice brought Ardyn to his senses. Ashamed of his moment of weakness, Ardyn put his arm away from his sight without letting go of it.
"You are pathetic." The clown said as he came closer to Ardyn. "Do you know what I would give for a power like yours? And yet, you cower from it like a scared chocobo. Were you always this sad in life Ardy, or did death change you?"
"Shut up!"
"Or what? You'll do to me what you did to Maty? Please, as if you knew how to do it again." He stopped and closed his eyes. "Oh yes, Maty is there. Half of him, at least. You have his power, yet you are so weak. Why is that? Why? Why? Tell your good friend Kefka the reason, Ardy."
Ardyn hadn't the answer. He wouldn't have given it to the clown in any case, but he too longed to know what was happening to him. The clown appeared next to him.
Ardyn hadn't heard his steps.
"Maty, you tell us then." The clown held Ardyn's arm in a tender embrace and rested his ear on it. Ardyn couldn't shake him off. In a way, he didn't try too hard.
Maybe if he let the clown play his games, he could get some answers; it was a risky bet, but if there were any other options, Ardyn couldn't see them. "Why, Maty? Why won't you lend Ardy your strength? He is a kind of a fool, kind of a bastard, kind of a murderer too, but aren't we all? You hate him, you say? Yes, he is a nasty fellow, but you did try to trick him into accepting your paradise crap. You hate me too? Oh no, my feelings! Maty? Maty? Are you there? Nope, he is gone. Whoops."
The clown kept on laughing after Ardyn punched him hard enough to knock him down. Blood dripped from his chin. It painted his teeth red.
"Oh yes, because that solved all your problems." The clown cackled. "Ardy, don't be angry with me. It's not my fault Maty hates you; you brought that upon yourself. Fortunately for you, you needn't his approval; if he's going to be jerk about it, then you be a jerk too. It's not as if any of us here are above that behavior, not even our dear Golb."
"Aren't you full of surprises." Ardyn couldn't tell who he hated most: the clown or the parasite dwelling in his arm. "Now your going to tell me that you've got experience in dealing with the power of gods…"
"I do."
"And you expect me to believe you? How sweet."
"You don't deal with gods, you don't reason with them. You make them yield." The clown said with seriousness. "Mateus' power won't flow naturally within you. It isn't yours, and your body knows. Seize it, take it without asking! Drain him from his strength! Fight him until he submits. Remind him he is nothing but a parasite, and once he is weak, take his power and use it as your own. You know how to do this well, Ardy, I know you do."
"You know nothing, clown."
"You can do it, Ardy. You just need to remember how, and stop being afraid." The clown insisted. He looked down. Ardyn couldn't believe it, but for an ephemeral moment, he felt pity for him. "My gears were taken away from me long ago, but yours are just stuck. You are lucky, Ardy, so very lucky—"
The dust in the ground materialized into a claw that stabbed the clown in the chest. He was still smiling when he was thrown into the air. Ardyn heard the thump his body made when he landed.
Before he could react, another sharp claw impaled Ardyn. It pierced his belly and emerged from his back. It gave Ardyn no time to understand the pain, and raised him into the air without letting him go.
Ardyn tried to break free, but his hands slipped from the claw drenched with his blood.
Before him, the remaining dust and ashes came together and transformed back into the demon. The claw holding him joined with a newly reconstructed hand, which simultaneously joined with a gigantic arm.
The last part to appear was the demon's head and neck. Around it, shards of the clown's broken sword gleamed like jewels.
"I cannot be defeated by the likes of you. No matter how many times I fall, I will rise anew." Said the demon. With two fingers, he grabbed Ardyn's arm. "Give back… what's rightfully mine."
There was no place for doubt.
Swallowing his dignity, Ardyn remembered the clown's words and followed them through.
Blindly, he reached for Mateus' power within him and found him. He gave him no quarter. Ardyn felt the anger Mateus had for him as if it was his own.
What now, Ardyn? Now that your daemons are gone, you seek to use me as source for your power?
The revelation struck Ardyn.
So that was the reason. He hadn't felt their absence until then.
The daemons inside him were gone, and together with them, the magic he had used most of his life. What now remained was the power he'd had before, when the masses cheered at him with the title of healer.
Another badge of shame. Another offense he would be forced to carry even after death.
The option of the total loss of his magic no longer seemed as tragic.
I sensed your pain, Ardyn. This magic hurts you, it forces you to remember memories you wish weren't real, so I blocked it from you. Let me become whole again and I will give you peace, Ardyn. My other half is resentful and violent, but only because it represents the darkest feelings in my heart. I am the opposite, and I know how to forgive. Let me become whole again and I will unburden you of your pain and make it my own. This magic, memories, thoughts, resentments, wishes, give them all to me and be free of yourself. I have the power to make it happen. Just let me be whole. Please, your majesty.
Temptation was never easy to ignore. Had Ardyn been kinder, the silver-tongued god would have convinced him with no resistance from his part.
It was unfortunate for Mateus he wasn't that sort of man anymore.
Silence. You have no saying in this matter. If I chose to renounce my magic, it will be my choice, not the result of your intervention and snide insinuations. If I chose to make use of you, you will comply. This is your new role now, so I suggest you get used to it fast, my Lord. It will be easier for us both if you do.
Monster! Screamed the god and the demon at the same time. Not even your own gods loved you! That's why they ruined your life! That's why you're here! You deserve worse. Monster! Monster!
You talk too much.
Mateus' power flowed freely within Ardyn. From his hand, a blinding light emerged and struck the demon's face.
Holy. And he hadn't needed the Ring of Lucis to cast it. The power of gods never ceased to impress him.
Euphoric, Ardyn prepared to cast it again. The sharp departure of the demons' claw ruined his focus, but he didn't care.
Once he was on solid ground, he would heal himself and continue to attack the demon. It had claimed to be immortal, but Ardyn couldn't trust him. Now that he had control over the power of its other half, Ardyn would continuo to kill the demon as many times as it took.
And who knew, maybe he would absorb it too.
Maybe he…
No! My power is mine alone!
Ardyn felt how Mateus broke his grip and expelled him from his power. Immediately, Ardyn tried to recover his control over him, but Mateus defenses were unbreachable.
A moment of overconfidence ruined everything he had achieved.
Once on the ground, Ardyn couldn't gather enough magic to heal himself. Holy was out of the question.
It didn't matter.
He already had overcome Mateus once, and he would do it again.
He just had to keep trying until—
His legs failed him. When Ardyn looked down, he discovered they weren't injured.
One of them was gone, and the other was starting to disintegrate.
"Oh, Ardy." The clown was close to him. He had dragged himself like a worm from a long distance with the only arm he had left. "You are dispersing. We are dispersing. I'd heal us both but… I don't have the power… Maty really got us, huh? You did well, but it was too late…It's alright. At least…it was fun."
Ardyn's other leg vanished.
Reduced to the same state of the clown, Ardyn clenched his teeth and felt his boiling blood rushing to his head.
Victory had escaped him. They had lost, and now, he was destined to experience another form of death.
In life, he had longed for it, but in this realm, he dreaded it. Another eternal imprisonment in complete stillness awaited him.
"No." He whispered, determined to find a way. His limited options were useless, but still he didn't give up. Hopeless he was, but not defeated. He wouldn't give the Astrals the satisfaction of knowing they had thrown him into that world only to perish alone and scared like mangy dog.
Then he looked at the clown.
An idea came to him.
I'm insane.
He dragged himself closer to him, unconvinced of what he was going to do, but fixed on doing it anyway.
All his other options were gone.
He could feel Mateus' eagerness for his dispersion. He was already trying to escape his arm and reunite with the demon. It was a desire so strong that it blinded him from any other thought.
Or precaution.
Ardyn took advantage of it just like Mateus had taken advantage of his overconfidence.
Fool! Don't think it'll work again. Perish now, usurper.
Mateus took his power away from him, like a dragon guarding its treasure from the greedy hands of a bandit.
Keep your magic for yourself. I no longer want it.
Then what is it you seek?
My own.
In his desperation to keep his power away from Ardyn, Mateus had left the path of the healer's magic wide open.
Ardyn's right arm gleamed with the same magic he had used against Mateus when they first met.
He extended it toward the clown and touched him with one finger.
It was done.
Ardyn closed his eyes, and gave himself to whatever was beyond the choice he had made.