AN: Apologies that I did not update yesterday. I made the error of starting the postgame quest A Menace Sleeps in Steyliff. Turns out, that dungeon has around 100 floors, and took the vast majority of last night and tonight to finish...
...But anyway, please enjoy this chapter and do let me know what you think. Also, let me know where you'd like to see this story go!
If Ignis was a stubborn man, then surely the prince was a mule.
Despite the concern of Gladiolus and the insistence of Ignis, Noctis refused to enact the rite of the concordat. Though the man did not doubt His Highness's reluctance was based mainly around the concern of essentially revoking Ignis' free will, he also felt there was another motivation that stalled the would-be king's hand.
He worries I am becoming less and less myself. Less a human, and more one of the Six.
It was a bizarre thought, one that Ignis had opted to ignore in favour of focusing on the matters immediately at hand. He understood, of course, that for all intents and purposes, he was the Infernian now. Despite the growling visitor in his mind, the fact that the spirit of flame resided within him branded him as such. And yet, though he understood it, he did not truly accept it.
Perhaps, on a more primal level, he refused it.
But he could not refuse to acknowledge the danger at hand, even if the prince seemed willing to allow the group's safety to ride merely on faith that Ignis would spontaneously learn to control Ifrit Or, that they would be lucky enough to contain him should the flames rise again.
Having fetched his spare pair of glasses, (much to his dismay, it seemed his usual pair were long lost in the river now), he quickly made himself scarce with a knowing nod to Gladio. Perhaps without his presence, Noctis would be more obliged to listen to reason, to see the bigger picture beyond his own concern for his friends.
He walked through the streets of Lestallum, keeping to the back alleyways and quieter paths. It seemed like some strange comfort to him, to assume that if he did lose control of Ifrit's fire, that the immediate vicinity would be barren. Logically, he knew this was a vain hope.
His feet brought him to the library on the outskirts of the city; he had noted it on their way in, though he was sure he was likely the only one of the group who had. An old, ornate building, it seemed as though it was mainly left for nostalgia of its citizens rather than frequent use. Indeed, the lone librarian within seemed a little alarmed at Ignis' presence, though perhaps it was partly due to the late hour.
Wandering through the dust-swirled hall, a gloved finger traced along the rows of books. Ah, but of course there would be plenty on the Astrals. Though the worship of the gods may have dwindled, mankind's delight in tales of magic and creatures had not. He knew a great many of the tomes here would refer to the Oracle's ability to the rite of the covenant...but he wondered if any would refer to the more binding alternative of the concordat.
He wondered still if any would refer to anything else. Could there be another way still, to keep Ifrit from scattering Ignis' mind to ashes and taking claim of him as a vessel? Ignis felt he was looking more for Noct than himself, but hadn't he always worked for his king's hopes rather than his own?
The man brought down a few of the more promising looking books, gathering them in a small pile, before settling himself down at a table in the corner to read.
Red eyes flicked quickly over the words, scanning the volumes for any hints or leads. He wasn't sure how many pages he had scoured when a voice abruptly dragged him from his research.
"Perhaps I ought not judge a book by its cover, but you seem like the type of man who would know the tales of the Six like the back of your hand..."
The lazy drawl already brought a slight upturn of disapproval to Ignis' lips, and he barely looked up from his book.
"And you seem like the type of man who ought to have more on his plate regarding Niflheim rather than stalking a small group across Eos. Chancellor."
Grinning like a fox, and wearing all the slyness of one with ease, Ardyn Izunia seated himself opposite Ignis without invitation. He picked up one of the books from the pile, flicking it open and looking through it listlessly.
"Alas, the Empire runs like a well-oiled machine. One finds boredom settles in sometimes with such order."
"Tragic..."
"Oh, but it is!" Ardyn set the book aside once more, apparently not discouraged by Ignis' lack of interest, "Your little roadtrip looked far more fun than the dull ploddings of political meetings...you can't blame an old man for wanting to get away from all that."
"Hmm..."
Ignis made a point of licking his finger and turning the page of his book very slowly, still not looking up at Ardyn to grace him with any kind of acknowledgement. The man was suspicious in the least, and worrisome at most. Aside from his ties to the Empire and strange interest in seemingly aiding Noct, the man drove Ignis to discomfort in a way he couldn't quite reason with. He feared giving the man anything, even eye contact, would be enough leverage for his little game.
Whatever game that was. Ignis, despite his quick mind, was still piecing together this strange man's goals.
"So tell me..." To his dismay, Ardyn seemed intent on talking to him, "...when one travels with the True King, one who already has the Titan to shield him and the Oracle to form covenants through, what need have his trusty followers to be researching how to commune with the Six? Don't you four have that rather covered by nature?" The violet-haired man turned over a few more books from the pile, looking at the covers with mild interest. Ignis' eyes flicked up under his brow to consider the motion for a moment, before he replied simply:
"Preparation. His Highness may have the covenant in his bloodline, but it wouldn't hurt to be prepared for any eventuality."
This only seemed to bring a glitter of mischief to Ardyn's eyes, much to Ignis' chagrin. For a moment, he dwelled on simply leaving, scooping up a few books and heading back to the hotel. Surely the Chancellor would not be so bold as to follow him there.
"Expecting confrontation, are we? If the tales are true, four of the Six ought to be amiable enough to your quest...Leviathan, by all accounts, can be a little bitter, but I'm sure you can talk her round. But I wonder how you hope to sway the mind of Ifrit..."
He tone almost laughed as he trailed away with the thought, drumming fingers on his lower lip in a mockery of musing. "The Betrayer of the Six...and yet, his blessing still counts towards being accepted by the Crystal. Cruel fate...how do you plan to deal with that little wrinkle, I wonder?"
Ignis pointedly ignored him.
Somehow, the man seemed to draw fuel from this. He leaned forward, resting his arms on the table between them, and purred:
"Or did you already fail?"
The snapping thought wondering if Ardyn knew anything of recent even, or whether he was just bluffing, brought Ignis' focus from his book finally to regard the man before him, tracing his face with sharp eyes to try and find any tell that the man was merely prying.
Then he realised his error.
He'd looked up.
Ardyn drew in a breath, leaning back in his chair and pursing his lips. Though his action was one of surprise, Ignis couldn't help but feel he wasn't truly shocked.
"Ah, dear Ignis...whatever happened to your eyes?" He asked blandly, no true question behind his words.
Ignis closed the book before him with a snap, eyes not leaving Ardyn's own amber orbs.
"Something must have risen my blood pressure..." He replied dryly, head tilting to the side a little, "Why are you here, Chancellor?"
The man raised his hands in an open shrug, smile still playing on his lips. The lazy drawl, the arrogance that washed from him, the masks and smoke and mirrors...it all played poorly against Ignis' own personality, and for the life of him, he loathed the man quietly. Still, he wouldn't allow personal opinions from hampering the potential to information.
"Isn't it obvious? Your lot are wandering around poking sleeping gods in the eyes. Even the ones considered warm to humanity tried to flatten the area as a result. The Empire is a little concerned of what might happen when you rouse Leviathan or Ifrit, our two grumpier gods...we exhausted one method to try and prevent disaster—"
"Murdering Shiva, you mean."
"Alas, it seems such an act is not without cost. We could not hope to bring down all of the Six before the prince reaches them. We have been looking at...alternate routes."
A smiling mask met a carved face of calm, neither man yielding. Ignis didn't even blink, even if his mind was racing through multiple lines of thought and theory as to what Ardyn was suggesting. In the back of his mind, Ifrit grumbled in his own distorted language, though Ignis couldn't make out what the god muttered.
"So, despite your claims of wishing to help Noct, you still seek to prevent his blessings?"
"Au contraire, Mr Scientia!" Ardyn beamed, leaning forward again closing the gap between them. Ignis did not flinch, and merely looked down his nose at this Cheshire Cat of a man before him. "I've come to help once more! You see, I keep tabs on all the little scurryings of the Empire and, of course, I am a man of duty. I seek what is best for this land. Perhaps, despite being a man of the Empire, I understand that the prince ought to have his blessings for the good of us all."
"Care to share that sentiment with the Emperor?" Ignis suggested, sarcasm dripping thickly from his words, "He seems a tad confused regarding Prince Noctis' goals and ceasing the Starscourge from devouring us all."
"Power blinds, dear Ignis." Ardyn offered by means of explanation, though he couldn't help but sense a tone of threat to his words. "The Emperor worries that if the Prince has the blessing of the Six, he wouldn't merely stop at ending the daemon issue. He might fight back against the Empire! And then where would we be?"
"Where indeed."
"So!" Ardyn clapped his hands together, and made to rise from his seat, "The Empire looked for means to hamper the Six. To seal them away, even if temporarily. To stall Noctis until we can be sure that he only means to end the Starscourge, and not us."
Ignis leaned back in his chair then, steepling his fingers as he regarded the information presented. Ardyn spoke of temporary measures. But the advisor heard only one true goal:
"You mean to blackmail him." He stated coolly, "To seal the Six away and only allow Noctis access if he agrees to your terms."
"Perhaps that's one way of looking at it. Consider it a protection of the people's best interests. But, perhaps I am here to offer you what we have found. I could tell you how to seal away a god, to prevent it from wreaking havoc as you wake them. Might make those blessings a little easier."
It could answer my prayers, Ignis thought, if the Empire has a means to seal away the Six...perhaps I could use it to seal away Ifrit. Noctis wouldn't have to invoke the concordat...
"It would certainly be helpful for us to be able to control the situation of waking the gods a little more. Sealing them as we wake them could prevent displays of wrath such as we saw with the Archaean." He wouldn't allow the Chancellor to know how valuable his words truly were. "But at what price does your helpful nature come with?"
A flash of teeth behind a wicked grin brought the hairs on the back of his neck on end as Ardyn replied easily.
"I tell you how to bind the gods, you don't drown me with the Leviathan or burn the world to cinders when you wake up Ifrit. I bet he isn't a morning person..."
Something was pulling strangely with the man's offer. Here he was, standing before him with a perfectly timed answer to Ignis' issue, a means to seal Ifrit away safely until they could figure out how to get his blessing, and bring Ignis back to complete control of his mind and body without risk of the Infernian's wrath at any moment...and not a peep from Ifrit. If the god in his mind feared being bound away, he didn't voice it.
He wasn't certain Ifrit could hear what he could...perhaps that would answer that concern. Still, Ignis felt unnerved by his strange silence. But the advisor's desire to keep his friends safe, to keep Noctis happy, overrode his concerns for the moment.
The desire to be himself again without fear of burning his loved ones to ashes in a moment clouded his judgement for a brief second.
"Then we would gladly accept your help." Ignis managed to force himself to say semi-politely, noting the elegant delight ghost over Ardyn's features.
"Marvellous." He replied, before rummaging in his coat. After a moment, he produced a small roll of paper from his inner pocket, torn and aged. He handed it to Ignis, who took it and unfurled the paper, smoothing it on the desk with his hand. The words upon it made little sense to him, before the ink slowly began to form legible words. He realised then it must have been written in the same language the Six spoke, a strange sound that nonetheless made inexplicable sense to humans who heard it. Could the same be said for their written words?
"That is a spell wrought directly from the Crystal itself. Written eons ago, it is said it was written by the Fulgurian himself as a means to bind Ifrit—"
Convenient, Ignis mused bitterly, but couldn't allow his suspicions to trump his concern for Noctis—
"—when he betrayed the Six. I imagine, however, the effects would be the same to all gods, if enacted in their presence. Can you read it?"
"Of course."
Ardyn placed his hands on the table, leaning over and lowering amber eyes to the paper. He wasn't looking at Ignis and, he realised to his horror-
"...I wasn't talking to you."
-he wasn't addressing him anymore either.
The silent Infernian now rumbled from his apparent indifference and, far too quick for Ignis to cling to, Ifrit blazed to the forefront of his mind. Evidently still recovering from Noct's previous attack, the god nevertheless managed to wrench control from the human with ease; unlike his previous command of Ignis, he didn't gain full control of his body. He let Ignis hear and see exactly what was going on, either through spite or necessity, though when he spoke, Ignis found it wasn't his voice that came out, but the garbled tongue of the Infernian.
"...You will fully summon me the moment the concordat is enacted. And you will break my chains to it the moment I have regained my strength and burned away this mortal entirely."
Ignis felt his heart pounding in his chest as he realised exactly what the small scroll Ardyn had handed him was. The means to invoking the concordat; how? If Gentiana was to be trusted, only the royal bloodline could—
"Agreed." Ardyn smiled, "You'll be bound to me but for a moment, and I shall free you the second your summoning is complete. And in return...I expect you to come to my aid if I require it. I'll break the real chains you wear, Ifrit...but do remember your debts to me then, won't you?"
Ifrit snarled through Ignis' lips, curling to show teeth.
"...Agreed."
A bargain between the Empire and the Infernian, Ignis realised that Ardyn meant to bind Ifrit to the concordat in order to demand the Infernian rise in full. If he did so, surely he would regain his until-now dulled powers and, by extension, easily overpower Ignis and claim control of his body for his own vessel. It seemed a huge risk by Ifrit, to believe Ardyn would then break the bonds of the contract between them after this was finished, but what trust Ifrit had in the Chancellor, Ignis did not have time to muse on.
Dragging up what willpower he had, he tried to stand, to get away, to run, to prevent whatever was about to happen. His legs lurched clumsily, and he availed nothing. His hand scooped up the paper without his command, and Ifrit began reciting the pact upon it with ease.
It was agony. His skin scorched once more, and for the life of him Ignis could feel invisible chains dragging over his skin, scratching across his bones. His vision was darkening away as Ifrit tore Ignis' grasp of his mind with ease, and he vaguely saw Ardyn's lips moving, no doubt commanding his new summoned spirit to take control of his vessel. As the concordat decreed, it was a command Ifrit would both have to, and gladly, obey.
Another weapon for the Empire... Ignis thought meekly as the darkness began to drown his consciousness, oh gods...I have become another weapon for the Empire.
Prompto. Gladio. Noct.
...don't let me be...
