4.

Years passed, and every man, woman, children in the world was tasked with looking for Ardyn. Parents always reminded their children to keep a look out for the "big bad man" and the Crownsguard was tasked with the never ending hunt for their former Prince. Without Ardyn, however, the world steadily grew darker, and the number of people infected by Starscourge continued to rise.

'Your Majesty, we believe that the only way to put an end to Starscourge is to find... your brother,' the adviser said during the meeting. He hesitated to mention Ardyn's name, unsure of what to refer to him as.

'That much I know,' King Somnus replied. 'I have spared no expenses in the search. I have even involved the Oracle and Tenebrae into this.'

'Can the Gods not help us in this search?' The adviser said hopefully.

'Unfortunately, no,' Somnus replied with a sigh. 'Ardyn's light is all but gone from this world. He is, in the eyes of the Gods, no more than a regular daemon and therefore indistinguishable.'

The adviser's shoulders slumped. 'Oh,' he said, 'did the High Messenger tell you that?'

'Yes, Gentiana told me that,' Somnus replied, getting impatient. 'If there's nothing else of importance then this meeting is adjourned.'

Somnus left the room in the midst of the sound of hustling papers. As he hurried across the hallway back to his chambers, a glaive called out to him.

'Your Majesty, I received word that a man who resembles Prince Ardyn was last seen entering a tower in the Fallgrove,' the glaive reported.

'A tower in Fallgrove?' Somnus asked quizzically. 'Is there a tower in Fallgrove? Wasn't there only ruins?'

'Yes, sire,' the glaive replied. 'I thought so too, but the angler who saw it swore that it was a tower that he entered. Unfortunately, we have not confirmed his accounts as we deemed it more important to let you know first.'

'The Costlemark Tower,' a mysterious voice suddenly sounded behind Somnus.

Somnus jerked backwards and found Gentiana walking towards the pair.

'Gentiana...' Somnus said, stroking his chest, 'could you please stop doing that?'

Gentiana, however, ignored Somnus apparent shock and instead continued with her point regarding the mysterious Costlemark Tower. 'An ancient tower was once built by Solheim. They believed that this tower could reach the heavens and therefore grant them omniscience greater than that of the Gods. It was ravaged by Ifrit during the Great War of Old but it's magic remained — dark magic. Now, it's a breeding ground for daemons and can only be accessed when the sun falls.'

'Well since you mentioned that,' the glaive said, 'the angler did say that he couldn't see clearly because it was already nightfall.'

'Ready twenty of the best glaives,' Somnus told the glaive, without so much as a pause. 'We set out at dusk.'

...

Costlemark Tower emitted a strange red glow in the dark of night. And even though it was clearly nothing more than ruins, it seemed inhabited. Something about this tower felt ominous and devilish to Somnus. Fitting for what Ardyn had become, he thought.

He walked up the front door first, followed by the glaives. And upon the entrance, he saw steps leading down.

'Is it stupid to expect a tower's steps to go up?' One of the glaives chuckled nervously.

Somnus did not say a word and entered.

The steps leading down was quiet at first. At least until it opened up to a large hallway, infested with countless daemons. The daemons attacked them immediately, like moths drawn to a flame. Somnus and the glaives drew their weapons and begun felling daemons.

...

Somnus could no longer tell how long he had been inside the Tower. The hallways had twisted into a mess of a maze, undecipherable with its ancient languages and symbolism. The glaives were exhausted from the endless fighting and worst of all, they had to divide themselves into smaller groups because the mazes were too small for twenty glaives and one King to fight in.

At every corner, danger lurked. And it was not until Somnus had fought off a huge horde of Red Giant daemons that he finally saw what looked to be a way out of this madness.

He descended an elevator with five of his men into a strangely futuristic looking room, unfitting for an ancient tower. At the bottom of the elevator, he saw Ardyn and the rest of his men, lying lifeless on the ground.

'Claude! Rost! Varl!' Somnus called out for his fallen comrades.

'Well, well dear brother,' Ardyn sneered, his face did not look the slightest bit daemonic. It was the same face as the brother Somnus remembered. 'How long I've waited for you... and to think that you're more concerned about some glaives than me. Oh, how you hurt me...'

'Ardyn...' Somnus seethed.

Ardyn smiled, a cold and inhumane smile, lacking any warmth that he once might have had. 'What a reunion... let's not let anybody get in our way.'

With a wave of his hand, blades from the iron giants pierced through the remaining glaives' abdomens before the giants themselves appeared out of miasma on the ground.

'No!' Somnus screamed.

'So tell me, Somnus,' Ardyn said, pacing back and forth. 'What did you come here to do?'

Somnus gritted his teeth and his face turned scarlet with rage. 'I came here to take you down and restore light onto the world.'

Ardyn chuckled before breaking into a maniacal laughter. 'All hail the new King,' he scowled. 'The new Chosen King to banish us from darkness.'

Somnus, however, was no longer interested in talking. He summoned his blade and warp-striked towards Ardyn, being blocked at the last second by Ardyn's own blade, the same apparition that Somnus saw Ardyn receive years before at Steyliff Grove.

Ardyn parried his blow and summoned forth all thirteen of his arms, such that the red weapons now circled around him. 'I still have the Old Kings' blessings, apparently,' he reminded Somnus in a sarcastic tone.

This time, Somnus too summoned forth the blades he received from Bahamut, such that they formed wings behind his back. 'And I have the Gods',' he told Ardyn.

Ardyn face contorted with rage as he charged foward towards Somnus. A loud clash could be heard as their blades meet.

It was a fast-paced battle, with every clash followed almost simultaneously by the next. The use of mystic weapons also allowed them to defy gravity and soon it became an airborne match filled with zipping flashes of light, both blue and red.

Ardyn was strong and merciless. Somnus could sense that he was fighting to kill. His rage was unmistakable. Every swing of his red blade, every pierce was aimed straight at Somnus's vitals. And yet, he did not summon forth daemons to kill Somnus the same way he did Somnus's glaives.

Pride... Somnus surmised. Ardyn wanted to prove that he was better than Somnus. That the Gods had put their faith in the wrong person. How ironic... Somnus thought, remembering his own position years back.

Somnus sent all fourteen of Bahamut's blades charging at Ardyn, which the latter deftly dodged and parried one by one as he made his way towards Somnus. With a swing of his scythe, Ardyn deflected the final Bahamut blade and attacked Somnus directly, which Somnus blocked with his own blade.

The blade in Somnus's hands glowed blue and formed ice crystals around itself and Ardyn's scythe and hands. Ardyn's eyes widened in surprise as he struggled to break free, but it was too late. With Ardyn caught in the trap, Somnus summoned forth Bahamut's blades once more and pierced his own brother with all of them at once.

Somnus released his hold on Ardyn, but Ardyn himself was no longer able to move. His whole body had been impaled by fourteen blades; left, right and centre. Blood trickled down the edge of his mouth.

'Y-You know this won't kill me…' Ardyn choked.

'No…' Somnus acquiesced. 'But it is enough to buy us more time and light… until the True King comes.'

'You're not… the True King?' Ardyn asked.

'No…' Somnus replied quietly.

'Heh,' Ardyn couldn't help but smirk a little.

Somnus raised his blade and the visage of all six Gods appeared behind him.'Forgive me, brother' Somnus whispered. 'That I must condemn you for eternity, and let your name be forgotten from the world. That is the only way the light can be restored.'

As he swung his blade down, the apparitions of the Gods all charged towards Ardyn, creating a giant glowing orb of light and when the light had subsided, Ardyn was gone.

Instead, Bahamut stood in his place.

'You've done well,' Bahamut said to Somnus.

Somnus remained quiet and hung his head.

'He will be locked away in darkness, beneath the Citadel.' Bahamut continued. 'Our magic will keep him there until the arrival of the True King.'

'No one will know of him…' Somnus finally spoke up. 'No one will know that Ardyn Izunia is still alive. I think it's safer that way.'

Bahamut nodded in agreement. 'A new era has just begun,' he said, 'A new dynasty starts with you at its helm. Stand tall and create a new history.'

And with that, Bahamut disappeared.

…

Somnus placed flowers in front of the tomb. He stared at the words 'Ardyn Lucis Caelum' carved in white marble within the stately Mausoleum where members of the royal family are buried.

'A kind gesture, but a meaningless one,' Gentiana said, appearing without warning behind him.

'The others don't know that,' Somnus said without looking away from the tomb. 'They all thought that he died because of Starscourge.'

'You did the right thing,' Gentiana said. 'It's time for the people to start anew. Whilst Starscourge has not been eradicated yet, it will no longer spread as much. Daylight too has been restored. The people have much hope. The new Kingdom of Lucis will flourish under your rule.'

'Shiva…' Somnus whispered. 'Cursing Ardyn to a lifetime of incarceration still hurts me, and so is usurping his throne. When I look at the people, I'm happy to have saved them. But even so… Ardyn's still my brother. And he could've killed me in Costlemark Tower that day. He could've summoned the daemons to kill me as he did my glaives… And yet he didn't.'

'It was arrogance that brought him down,' Gentiana replied. 'And it was arrogance that sentenced him to his fate now.'

'I guess we have different ways of interpreting his actions.' Somnus said as he turned away from Ardyn's tomb.

'Being King comes with its own set of burdens,' Gentiana said. 'Whichever way you choose to look at it, the guilt is yours to bear. But I trust that you're strong enough. Or at the very least… she does.' She placed one hand on her chest and Somnus understood. He squeezed his eyes shut to barricade the tears.

'I take it that this is the last time we'll see each other,' Gentiana continued. 'Since the accursed had been taken care of, we, the Hexatheon, will take our leave.'

Somnus nodded. 'You can leave it to me,' he said, arching his back slightly towards Shiva before turning to leave the mausoleum. Sunlight burst in as he opened the heavy marble doors and Somnus greeted the dawn with a heavy heart filled with hope.