Caramia slowly climbed back to consciousness, finding that she was lay on her back, her head resting in a soft pillow as sunlight floated through the window and warmed her face. Her eyes fluttered open to see her room; someone must have moved her in the time she had been asleep. Aside from her throat which blazed with thirst, she surprisingly felt much better than she had before she slept. Gazing down at her left arm, relief spread through her as she saw the pure white of the bandage to be unmarred by any of her blood. Perhaps it had finally started to heal.

She sat up gradually, her muscles taking some coaxing into action as they felt like they hadn't been used for ages. Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, she noticed a little array of vials and bottles aligned neatly on her bedside table alongside a pile of fresh bandages. Caramia felt warm gratitude spread through her; clearly someone had tended to her wound in the night or planned to when she had awoken. She thought about untying the bandage and taking a look herself but she wasn't sure she would be able to get the knot as tight as it currently was and she was probably best leaving it in Ignis' far more capable hands.

Her next thought was to freshen up for she seriously needed a shower but as she began walking towards the bathroom, her stomach growled ferociously. She paused where she was, weighing up the prospect of food. It had quite literally been days since she last ate and her nausea appeared to have thankfully disappeared, leaving a very intense hunger behind. She decisively turned away from the bathroom and instead walked to her bag to pull out some clothes.

A shower could wait.

Opting for short sleeves, since the day was already warm despite the morning sun only having climbed halfway in the sky, Caramia pulled the navy material as far as it would go down her arms. The dark colour was striking against her pale skin and the white of the bandage but it mattered little; the cat was well and truly out of the bag with the others and Ignis would probably insist on having a look and giving a prognosis as soon as she appeared.

A brief glance in the mirror as she had been walking past stopped her in her tracks. She hesitantly touched her face, her heart sinking as her fingers confirmed what she had been praying her eyes and the mirror were deceiving her with. She looked gaunt, her already prominent cheekbones looking like they would slice right through her pallid skin and now she thought about it, she had needed to tie her belt a little tighter than normal for it to stay round her waist. She seriously needed to eat something.

Listening in at the men's door as she passed, Caramia continued downstairs as it appeared that either no one was in or they weren't up yet, the latter being more likely for some than others. She wandered down to the restaurant, peeking her head round into the foyer in case the others were there before grabbing a plate and confronting the same buffet that had traumatised her the other morning. Taking it as a good sign that her stomach sounded noisily as she inhaled the various smells of the food around her, Caramia took a slice of toast and settled herself at an empty table.

This meal couldn't have been any more different than her last. She groaned quietly as she took a bite, not caring if anyone was watching. The warm toast and slightly salty butter was perhaps the best thing she had ever tasted and she closed her eyes as she chewed in bliss. Wolfing down the rest, she returned to the buffet and, inspired by her success with the toast, she grabbed another piece followed by a heaped spoonful of scrambled eggs. The eggs tasted even better, if that was even possible, and she ate until she physically couldn't stomach any more.

Perhaps I was a little optimistic, she thought to herself as she looked down at the pile of food left on her plate but she was satisfied. She already felt like she had more energy than she had in days.

"Hey, Cara!" Prompto's voice called excitedly and Caramia looked up from her plate to see the four men entering the foyer from outside, relief lighting up all of their faces as they caught sight of Caramia and hurried over to her.

"Morning," she replied with an awkward smile; she felt deeply embarrassed at the dramatic turn her condition had taken and even more foolish for allowing her pride get in the way of letting them help her in the first place. She suddenly noticed their skin and clothes were dirty, covered in dark smudges and unidentifiable stains. "What have you guys been doing this morning? You're filthy..." she asked with a laugh.

It was the men's turn to look awkward. Prompto stared down at his feet while Noctis fiddled with a seam on his jacket and Gladiolus leant against a nearby pillar, frowning out at the streets through the restaurant's large windows. Ignis sighed; clearly it was going to be down to him to break the news.

"About that..." he began carefully, perching on the edge of the table so he wasn't standing over Caramia, "well, you've been asleep for a little while, Cara."

Caramia stared at each of the faces around her, waiting in hope for the punch line of their joke, a very bad and not at all funny joke at that.

"What do you mean? How long have I been asleep?"

Prompto swallowed hard, running his fingers through his lofty, blonde hair. "It's been three days since you collapsed in our room."

Three days.

"I've been asleep the entire time?" Caramia cried incredulously, feeling her heart begin to thump uneasily at the thought.

"Now don't panic," Ignis said calmly as he watched Caramia's eyes widen in shock, "clearly it's done you the world of good. You've eaten, thank goodness and there's a least some colour back in your skin. How does your arm feel?"

Caramia's mind was reeling and suddenly her breakfast was sitting extremely heavily in her stomach. "Better," she just about managed to reply as she realised the others were staring expectantly at her.

"Good. I changed the dressing before we left so you're long overdue a fresh bandage but the lack of blood does seem promising," Ignis said as he got back to his feet.

Caramia tried to smile. "Before you left? Have you been away then?"

"We went hunting for more royal tombs as well as a few fishing spots," Noctis explained.

"And took down a Nif base while we were at it," Gladiolus added with a smirk.

"Those MTs didn't know what hit 'em!" Prompto laughed as he formed a gun from his hands and pretended to shoot imaginary enemies.

Caramia couldn't help it as her heart sank. "It sounds like you guys had fun."

Her disappointment must have been plastered on her face because Prompto looked about to reply with his usual exuberance before he caught her eyes. He dropped his hands with a shrug. "It was alright, I guess. Only so many baddies you can kill before it gets kinda samey..." He searched for a change in subject. "Hey Noct, why don't you show Cara what we found?"

Ignis looked displeased at the suggestion. "Do you really think it sensible to draw your ancestors' weapons here?"

Noctis rolled his eyes, glancing around him. "No one's watching, Iggy. Stop worrying." Checking once more that the restaurant was empty, since it couldn't be long before lunch was to be served, Noctis closed his eyes momentarily and spread his arms slightly, his palms facing upward. A collection of phantom weapons burst into existence, circling round him and shedding crystalline fragments as they spun.

"Wow, you have been busy," Caramia remarked as she studied the impressive arms that ghosted through the air. Aside from the three that Noctis had acquired in her presence, it appeared he had collected three more: a large and lethally pointed shuriken, a formidable mace and a regal sceptre. "No wonder you were away for so long," she added as Noctis vanished the weapons with a flick of his wrists.

Ignis seemed to relax as soon as the last of the iridescent crystals faded. "We would have been back far sooner but with Iris assuring us your condition was stable, we pressed on, venturing as far south west of Cleigne as we could before heading north and looping back round to Lestallum."

Gladiolus pulled his phone from his pocket and began tapping the screen. "Speaking of Iris, I'll let her know you're up. Last thing I heard from her this morning was that you were still asleep."

"Well I think it's about high time we headed to our room for a change of clothes. I fear if we traipse anymore dirt onto this carpet the Leville will not only cancel our stay but make us foot the cleaning bill," Ignis sighed wearily as he watched Prompto shaking mud from the treads of his boots. He stopped immediately as he heard Ignis' words, grinning apologetically. "Do you mind if I take a look at your arm upstairs, Cara?" Ignis asked as she rose to her feet.

"Not at all," she replied although her throat began to grow tight with unease as they climbed the stairs, the cheerfulness she had enjoyed at breakfast now gone after the revelation that she had previously been unconscious long enough for the men to explore the majority of western Lucis. As they walked, Caramia called out to the person she was sure would take the edge of her nerves.

"So, Prompto, must have been a pretty boring trip if you didn't fight anything worth telling me about..."

As predicted, Prompto took the bait.

"Are you kidding? There were monsters everywhere..." And with that he delved into an animated and fast-paced description of the dangerous foes they had faced while out in the wilderness. They had reached the top of the stairs to the next floor before he had even drawn for breath. "And in Myrlwood there was this huge tree that just came to life and then, when we made camp, a wild black chocobo came out of nowhere and pinched Iggy's specs right off his nose!"

"No way..." Caramia began to chuckle and Noctis and Gladiolus guffawed with laughter behind her.

Ignis, who was at the front, turned round to glare indignantly at them all. "It was no laughing matter, not that you thought that at the time and clearly, your sentiment hasn't improved."

Once had Ignis looked to the front again, Caramia turned to whisper to Prompto. "I bet it was hilarious."

Prompto snorted as he tried to suppress his laughter. "You've no idea..."

By the time they reached Caramia's room, Prompto had launched into another full blown description of their adventures, telling of a monstrous volcano that appeared to be the nest of an equally large bird. Caramia settled on her bed and Ignis pulled up a chair beside her, his slender fingers loosening the material around her arm. The others hovered by the entrance to her door and Caramia tried not to let it make her uneasy, forcing herself to focus instead on Prompto's increasingly elaborate tale. She had just been about to ask him a question, however, when Ignis exhaled sharply beside her.

A slip in his usually impeccable composure could only mean one thing.

Caramia glanced fearfully at Ignis' stern gaze for a moment before looking down to her arm. Dark, scaly scabs had entirely covered the wound, stopping the bleeding but trapping the infection within where it continued to fester beneath her skin. The sinister black veins had grown also, creeping up her arm and splitting into smaller branches, inching their way upwards.

Prompto gulped noisily as he stared at her arm. "It's gotta look worse than it is, right? You said yourself that you're feeling much better..."

"Only time will tell I'm afraid," Ignis said with a heavy sigh as he got to his feet and placed the chair back in its original spot. "At least you're no longer at death's door. If your improvement after only three days is anything to go by I have every faith you'll make a swift recovery."

"Right," Caramia replied in a small voice, trying desperately to share Ignis' optimism.

They all piled out of her room, retiring to their own to freshen up and allow her to do the same. As she stood feeling utterly miserable under the scolding water of the shower, anger suddenly welled up inside of her, not at the situation, but at herself.

What would her mother think if she knew that her daughter had spent even one second moping around instead of doing her duty for the Crown? Nothing came before that, not even her own life. And while she couldn't have helped spending three days being unconscious, she certainly could do everything in her power now to focus all her attention on Noctis and help to claim back everything that had been taken from him.

Clearly the worst was over and feeling sorry for herself wasn't going to make her arm heal any faster. She needed to get a grip of herself, end of.

With new purpose now flooding her veins, Caramia stepped out of the shower and threw on her clothes, ignoring the pile of bandages that were left on the side. She had no use for them now the bleeding had stopped, although, not wanting to alarm any potential passers-by, she made sure her sleeves were pulled down to her elbows. Wandering down to foyer to wait for the others, Caramia caught sight of Noctis leant against the wall to the restaurant, his arms folded and his expression pensive.

"Hey," she said brightly as she approached him and his piercing blue eyes flicked to her.

"Hey," he replied, his eyebrows rising slightly at her cheery tone. "You seem happy for someone who just got Iggy's 'sigh of doom'. Usually only hear that when the world's about to end."

Caramia laughed; when the Prince wasn't brooding it appeared he had a sense of humour. "I think it looks worse than it is. My fever's gone and hopefully my skin will heal soon. No point sulking, is there? Not only will that very quickly annoy you lot but it'll soon get under my skin too. No pun intended."

A smile started to stretch across Noctis' face. "You know, I was wrong about you Cara. It's felt strange the last few days not having you around and I think everyone's really missed you."

Caramia felt surprise spread through her as Noctis' kind words pulled at emotions that had started to arise the day they travelled to Galdin Quay but had been rapidly quenched by the horrific news of Insomnia's demise. Any enjoyment of companionship had died alongside her friend that fateful day and she had spent the years since considering it to be foolish and dangerous. Slightly taken aback by the unexpected warmth his words evoked, she tried to make light of the situation.

"Well I can't believe I'm saying this after our less than ideal start but, you're not so bad yourself, your Highness. Say, where are the others?"

"Still getting changed. They let me shower first; perks of being a Prince," he added with a grin.

Caramia rolled her eyes. "Ah yes, skipping the queue is just the epitome of being royalty. Perhaps you were just the grubbiest."

"Or the laziest," Gladiolus teased as his long legs descended three steps at a time and once he reached the bottom he walked up to join them. "You'd spend hours under that water if we weren't all stood outside the door yelling at you to get a move on."

Caramia listened in amusement as the men delved into a friendly duel of insults and soon enough Prompto and Ignis appeared too.

"So Noct, what's the plan for today then?" Ignis asked as they approached.

Noctis shrugged. "I don't mind. Cara, anything you want to do?"

Taken aback once again by his consideration, Caramia blinked a few times as her mind scrambled for a response. Just as she was about to answer, however, Noctis doubled over, gripping his head in agony as the ground trembled beneath them.

"This again?" Gladiolus growled in concern and they stood watching Noctis anxiously as they waited for his pain to pass once the shaking had stopped.

As he straightened up, Noctis looked a little startled as he caught his breath. "I definitely just saw Titan..." he gasped.

"The Archaean? Well I was going to suggest maybe we visited the Disc but now we must, right?" Caramia urged as she looked around the group, her eyes settling on Noctis again. "Have you had many of these visions while you were away?"

"No...none at all," he sighed and Ignis stepped forward.

"I agree with Cara. This feels very much like the Archaean is trying to tell us something. His is not a summon one should ignore."

Gladiolus grunted. "I overheard some locals saying that access to the Disc was cut off by an imperial blockade. Depending on how big it is, we may have to fight our way in."

Ignis shook his head. "Tackling a contained base at night is one thing but perhaps we should air on the side of caution in this instance. Even with the five of us we'd be too exposed."

"We could just take a look at the meteor through one of those viewer thingies at the outlook. That way we can see if the Empire is actually there and decide what to do after that?" Prompto spoke slower and slower as everyone turned to look at him incredulously.

"Was that a...sensible suggestion?" Noctis asked in mock astonishment.

Gladiolus scoffed, crossing his tattooed arms. "So he does have a brain. Who knew..."

"Simply remarkable," Ignis contributed. "Careful not to exhaust yourself now, you'll need your strength if your suggestion yields results."

Prompto rolled his eyes, turning to Caramia as the others began to leave the hotel. "See what I have to put up with?"

"Just dreadful," she sighed overdramatically as they followed the others into the heat of Lestallum.


They hurried down to the edge of the city, eager to see if they gain any insight on Noctis' strange condition but as they descended the steps to the outlook and rounded the corner, they caught sight of a well dressed figure already using the binoculars, his unusually purple hair unsettlingly familiar.

He turned round as he heard them approach and spread his arms wide, a smile creeping across his lips.

"Well isn't this a surprise!" he cried, his smile widening despite the glares he was met with. "Drawn by the rumblings of the dormant god, I presume?"

"What's it to you?" Gladiolus challenged, his eyes narrowing in distrust.

The man looked offended. "Such hostility. You'd think I'd done something awful." His gaze flicked to Caramia and he sighed as if he had just worked something out. "Of course, how rude of me to forget. How is your arm?"

Caramia had been debating whether to confront the sickeningly charming stranger about the trauma he had brought but all her caution fled at his condescending tone, causing anger to bubble in her blood.

"I've never been so ill in my life," she spat furiously. "Your little accident nearly killed me!"

This time outrage flew across his face, the slight breeze ruffling the strands of his hair. "But how can that be? I did little more than scratch you...Let me take a look." As he stepped forward, however, Gladiolus pushed Caramia behind him, his face twisting into a snarl.

"Not happening," he threatened, his patience running thin with the man before him.

Something unreadable blazed in the stranger's eyes. "Come now, be reasonable. You can't honestly expect me not to want to see proof after such an accusation."

Caramia placed her hand on the tensed muscles of Gladiolus' arm. "He's right, Gladio. At least let me show him. From a distance," she added, with a pointed glare towards the stranger.

Gladiolus looked down at her and sighed as he removed his arm from in front of her. "Fine." His hands immediately curled into fists again at the satisfied smirk that returned to the man's face.

Caramia walked forward a few steps and, checking warily that none of the people nearby were looking in her direction, she rolled up the sleeve on her left arm.

The man suddenly gasped in horror as he caught sight of the ruined skin of her arm and he lowered his voice to a deep whisper. "Oh my...tell me, my dear, have you been in contact with any daemons recently?"

Unease swept over Caramia at his question and she frowned, wrenching the material back over her arm. "Yeah, several...Why?"

"You believe her to have contracted the infection from a daemon?" Ignis questioned, his expression saturated with scepticism. "I've never heard of such thing."

The man laughed lightly, the sound laced with derision. "I can't imagine you would have. I'm a sort of, daemon specialist, if you will and even I haven't seen a case like that in years. I presume the sickness and debilitating fever must have passed or else you wouldn't be on your feet, glaring at me as you are now."

The fury that had boiled in Caramia's blood suddenly fled and it turned to ice as it appeared the man was telling the truth.

"But the worst is over, right? It'll go away soon..."

He shook his head, sighing heavily. "Don't be fooled by your apparent recovery. Your symptoms may have lessened but the infection persists. It'll be a while before it turns lethal but you should hurry to treat it all the same."

"I have tended to the wound already..." Ignis began but the man cut him off.

"No conventional medicine will cure this I'm afraid. You need to purge your body of the sickness with the purest water in all of Eos, that which has been blessed by a god. Sadly I doubt there will be any water left down at the meteor..." he broke off as tremors ripped through the land again, furiously shaking the ground at their feet. "Speaking of which, the Archaean is growing impatient. Perhaps you should heed his call." He gestured towards the array of parked cars behind them. "Allow me to escort you. I might know a way around those pesky blockades."

With a flourish of his long, ostentatious coat, he turned on his heels and began walking away. Before the others could do anything more than stare at each other in stunned silence, he raised a single finger into the air and turned back to face them.

"Before I forget, I must introduce myself. Ardyn, at your service." He placed his hand over his heart and bowed deeply making Noctis squirm slightly in unease. "I'll be at my car. Don't keep me waiting too long."

"I don't like him," Gladiolus growled as Ardyn turned away once more, heading over towards the car park.

"I think the feeling's mutual," Ignis said with a sigh as he watched Ardyn intently. "Question is, do we trust him? His timing seems far beyond coincidence."

Prompto seemed unnerved by the prospect. "You think he's following us around?"

"Almost definitely," Ignis replied as his bespectacled eyes came to rest on Caramia who was frozen to the spot, staring unblinking at Ardyn's head of purple hair. "Cara, are you alright?"

Caramia, who had been deep in thought about all Ardyn had revealed and how he was not at all like the ancient King he shared his name with, snapped back to reality at the sound of her name.

"Yeah, I guess. We'll deal with what he said about my arm later; first we need to decide quickly if we're going to follow him. He certainly expects us to." She sighed quietly in relief as the men didn't press the subject. It was true that they needed to come to a decision imminently but she also couldn't bring herself to consider his foreboding diagnosis just yet. The words 'it'll be a while before it turns lethal' had supposedly meant to reassure her but it had done the complete opposite.

Noctis placed his hands on his hips. "Well he's creepy as hell but if he's the only chance we're going to get to get past the Empire then I guess we've got no choice but to go with him."


They followed him by car out of Lestallum, the air heavy with apprehension. The men tried to keep the mood light by pondering what the extreme heat of the meteor would do to their portable technology although Prompto was determined not to miss the opportunity to photograph the legendary Archaean, even at the expense of his precious camera.

If Ardyn had seemed suspicious before, his ability to open the formidable gates blocking the way to the Disc with complete ease confirmed he was more influential than he let on, more worryingly still with the enemy. To make matters even worse, he was also suddenly unwilling to accompany them any further.

"The astral demands an audience with the King of Lucis, I fear I would just get in the way," he called from the seat of his car when questioned why he refused to follow. "Hurry now, these gates won't stay open forever." With that he turned the wheel and waved them farewell as he drove away.

Compelled to continue by the unprecedented and most likely one time opportunity before them, they pressed on, driving down as far as they could and then approaching carefully by foot, down what appeared to be the remnants of an ancient building. Noctis gasped and hurried forward as he caught sight of coffin perched precariously in the heart of white marble ruins, its shape and the impressive greatsword that lay upon it unmistakeably signifying that, rather curiously, they had found another royal tomb.

However, just as the shimmering armiger had added the new weapon and faded from existence once more, the ground rumbled violently as colossal tremors ripped through the rock, crumbling it beneath their very feet.

"Noct, get back!" Ignis roared but Noctis seemed to be oblivious to the destruction occurring around him and he sank to his knees, gripping his head tightly. He quickly came to but by then it was too late: the stone gave way beneath him and he grabbed desperately at air as he plummeted downward.

Caramia instinctively leapt forward to try and catch him but Gladiolus threw her backward before launching himself off the ledge after Noctis. She scrambled to her feet, the curse that had been forming suddenly choking in her throat as the very meteor rose before them bringing Titan himself into view who bared his teeth in a snarl as one seething red eye found Noctis below. His other eye was entirely destroyed by what looked like serrated fragments of meteor and many parts of his monstrous body had suffered in the same way.

"So that's Titan..." Prompto squeaked beside her and Caramia felt her heart almost stop as the Archaean's powerful glare settled on her for a second, although it felt like a lifetime before he tore his eye away angrily and began searching the ground below.

Ignis tugged at her arm, pulling with a little more force as Caramia remained momentarily transfixed on the spot in the distance where she had held Titan's burning gaze. "Come on, away from the edge. We need to see if we can find a way down..."

"Down?!" Prompto cried in disbelief. "Did you see who we just woke up? Noct is bad enough if we wake him from a nap but this guy? He'll crush us before we're even close..."

"And you would rather just leave him to just crush Noct and Gladio then, Prompto?" Ignis retorted sharply as they began traversing the rocky ledges that led downward.

"Whatever we're going to do, we better do it fast," Caramia spat as she spotted warships hovering above. "It appears we've caught the Empire's attention."

The further they descended the more unbearable the heat became and Caramia grimaced; she had hoped she was done with feeling so hot her skin could combust at any moment. She quickly became drenched in sweat and had to wipe her brow to keep it from dripping into her eyes and causing them to sting only to make her palms even slicker, further jeopardising her already precarious grip on the rock.

Her struggles however paled into insignificance as she caught sight of Noctis and Gladiolus in the heart of the crater below. The Archaean attacked relentlessly; no sooner had Noctis parried an angry swipe of his arm an impossibly huge foot loomed overhead, threatening to crush him. Despite wielding his newly acquired greatsword, Noctis' weapons appeared to be doing very little damage and clearly both his and Gladiolus' stamina were waning, a fact which had not escaped Ignis' attention.

"He appears to have become one with the rock," he shouted over the tumultuous noise of the divine battle raging below. "His skin is impervious to metal. We're going to have to use something else."

Caramia tore her eyes away from the fight as Ignis thrust something into her hand and she stared at it in shock as it burned with cold against her skin. A small icy blue sphere was now clasped between her fingers and she could feel great power swirling within, desperate to be unleashed. She stared at it in awe; magical weaponry had been the next stage in her training and she had waited impatiently, eager for the opportunity to test out the potent destruction the elementals could unleash. She'd had a taste with what her sword could do but she knew that was just the beginning of what was possible.

Ignis handed one to Prompto before calling another to his own palm. "Throw them on my command and not before. Understood?"

Caramia had time but to nod before Titan displayed his displeasure at Noctis' latest attack and threw both of his fists to the ground with devastating force, trapping Noctis and Gladiolus in the centre. Herself, Ignis and Prompto had been stood on a steep slope and the impact caused them to lose their footing. They slipped on the tiny pebbles and fell heavily to the bottom of the crater, the shards of rock cutting at their arms and faces. The air was smacked from Caramia's lungs as she hit the burning surface below but she sagged in relief as she raised her head to see the little frozen sphere still unscathed in her tight grip.

Prompto, however, had not been so fortunate.

"No, no, no!" he cried as his magical sphere flew from his hand as he landed, bouncing once by the Archaean's fist before exploding in a blinding shower of ice.

Ignis sighed in exasperation as he climbed to his feet. "Throw it, now Cara!" he yelled, letting his own fly and Caramia pushed herself upright, quickly sending the little sphere hurtling through the air after Ignis'. The combined impact was impressive and Gladiolus smirked as it caught his attention, suddenly understanding what Ignis had intended to happen.

Calling a ball of ice to his own hand, he turned to look at Noctis who was leaning heavily on his sword, breathing deeply.

"Ready to finish this?" he growled before launching the sphere into the air with as much force as he could muster. Switching his royal arm out for a normal sword, Noctis threw it behind Gladiolus' icy projectile and warped after it. The Archaean's arm froze immediately only to shatter into huge boulders of ice as Noctis landed the final, incapacitating blow. Suddenly unbalanced, Titan swayed, threatening to drop the meteor and entomb them in a coffin of rock and lava but he caught himself and growled at Noctis in defeat.

Closing her eyes for a moment of blissful relief, Caramia swore under her breath as it appeared their reprieve from battle had been cut short. Countless magitek troopers poured in from above and began heading straight for the Archaean who was staring intensely at Noctis. He was on his knees before the astral, seemingly not in danger but engaged in a deeply profound connection that transcended what she could see with her eyes alone. She understood enough to know that neither of them could be interrupted.

Wrenching her sword from its holding, she raised it high above her head, sliding the blades into place just in time to impale it directly into the head of an incoming magitek trooper. The others joined in the battle, protecting Noctis from all sides and although Caramia felt invigorated by the thrill of combat, she realised very quickly that her strength was far from what it was. Combined with the relentless heat of the pools of lava that bubbled around them, she found herself becoming weaker with each slash of her blades. Her clothes clung to her sodden skin and her vision ebbed in and out of focus but she gritted her teeth and persevered, determined to fight until she physically could do no more.

Throwing herself down onto a fallen trooper and sinking her blade into its metallic chest, a blast of wind suddenly burst through the crater, causing any imperial soldiers who were still on their feet to crumple to the ground. Caramia stared around incredulously as the others did the same and she leant heavily on her impaled sword, gasping for breath and immediately wincing as even the air burnt at her lungs. She slumped forward, her vision began to falter but large hands grabbed her shoulders, shaking them as they pulled her upright.

"Come on, you've slept for long enough and this is no place for a nap," Gladiolus urged, his chiselled face glistening with sweat and smeared with dirt and ash.

"Thanks," she mumbled, using his strong arm to pull herself to her feet and she retrieved her sword from the sparking torso of her last kill.

Noctis scrambled up to join them, his eyes an unsettling red until he blinked twice and they resumed their normal cool blue.

"He spoke with Luna!" he gasped, shielding his face as a nearby pool of raging lava spat fiery liquid into the air. "That's why he's been calling me, she asked him to form a covenant..."

Ignis frowned as he looked around the molten crater, the air hazy with the extreme heat. "That's all well and good but the Archaean's aid means little if we buried here. The crater looks like it's going to collapse in on itself, we need to get out!"

But as they hurried across the glowing rock, it became very apparent that unless they could bear to touch the scorching rock long enough to scale it back to a higher level, there was no other way out. Before they could discuss their impossible decision however, the great, imposing metal body of an imperial warship descended from above, blasting them with considerably cooler air as it hovered, the huge jaws of its hanger opening to reveal a single figure stood at the edge.

"Of course it's him..." Gladiolus growled as Ardyn came into view, his amber eyes glinting with amusement as he gazed down at the perilous landscape below.

"You appear to be in a spot of bother down there," he called, not of drop of concern in his deep, velvety smooth voice. "Let me extend a helping hand."

"You're with the Empire? Caramia snarled, the smug smile that spread across Ardyn's face riling her even more. "I should have known..."

"Ah yes, it does appear I forgot to mention that rather important detail. Since you're clearly dying to know who I am, I'll indulge your curiosities. Many call me Imperial Chancellor Izunia, although I much prefer Ardyn." He paused for a moment, watching in pleasure as the gravity of his revelation rippled through the group. "Now then, as much as I am enjoying our little chat, I suggest we continue it from the safety of my ship. That is, unless you would like Lucis' monarchy to be burned alive by the local tourist attraction. Not exactly a glorious end that will be sung about in years to come, eh?"

Down below, Noctis and the others looked to each other miserably, knowing they had no choice but to accept Ardyn's aid and climb aboard the enemy's ship. Begrudgingly they sat on the seats lining the walls of the hanger, glaring warily at Ardyn who settled himself opposite them. The ship jerked as it took to the air, speeding away from the raging heart of the Disc of Cauthess. They sat in a tense silence for some time but Caramia eventually broke it, desperate for answers.

"So what exactly did the Imperial Chancellor and self-claimed 'daemon specialist' want with my mother?" Caramia spat, unable to tear her eyes away from Ardyn's satisfied expression. "And want with us, for that matter."

Ardyn smiled conceitedly, pushing himself to his feet and beginning to walk towards the edge of the hanger. "You must have so many questions. I imagine it's all rather agonising. Pity then that this is where I must leave you."

The ship suddenly began to descend and the hanger doors lowered, revealing woodland below. Ardyn gestured to the opening and the others rose warily to their feet.

"You're letting us go. Just like that?" Gladiolus asked, his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Just like that," Ardyn sighed with a wave of his hand. "Unless you'd rather stay?" Gladiolus paused to throw him a withering glare before jumping from the ship, quickly followed by the others.

"Now do let me know how you get on with that arm! I'm sure we'll meet again soon," Ardyn shouted from above and with one last wave he turned away, the warship's hanger closing once more before it rose into the air and flew off into the distance.

"Can't wait..." Noctis grumbled, looking up at the grey sky as he felt drops of rain land on his skin. "At least that's over with and we can drive back to Lestallum. My feet are killing me."

Ignis sighed, glancing around the clearing they were stood in at the trees stretching all around them. "With what, exactly?"

"The car?" Prompto asked in confusion and his face dropped as the realisation hit him. "Oh..."

Caramia's shoulders slumped. "It's still down at the Disc. With the Empire." She frowned as the rain, which has been soothing after the scorching temperature of the meteor, suddenly became very heavy, drenching them almost immediately.

Gladiolus smoothed his dark, damp hair with a large hand. "Along with our camping stuff. So unless you want to sleep well and truly in the wilderness tonight with plenty of daemons to keep us company, we better get moving."

The thought alone was more than enough to jumpstart their weary limbs into action and they set off into the forest, looking for anything that could them a clue as to where they were. Ardyn may have saved them from a fiery death but leaving them completely stranded with precious little daylight hours left and no idea where they were wasn't exactly much of a help either.

He was toying with them, that was for certain, but no matter how much they tried to work it out, the motives behind his actions remained frustratingly, and rather worryingly, unclear.