Disclaimer: Final Fantasy does not belong to me.

Xethear: Thanks for all the appreciative words on last week's update. Here's another for you all!

Chapter 53: Gift of the Goddess

"N-Noct?" Lightning uttered in disbelief. Some of his features were different such as hair color and eyes, but his face was the prince's. "Noct… is that… is that really you?"

The pseudo Noctis yawned and rose from the throne. He stretched his arms and smacked his lips before leaping off the elevated platform housing the king's symbol of power only to land gently onto the red carpet bisecting the room in two. "Come now Lightning, it's me. Don't you recognize me?" He momentarily spoke with Noctis's voice causing Lightning's resolve to waver for a moment and watched as he approached her slowly. "This is a side effect of me awakening to more of my new powers." He explained as he twirled a strand of his white locks between his fingers.

He reached out towards Lightning with a gloved hand causing her to close her eyes in response awaiting the prince's warm, comforting touch. But it never came. As soon as the man's fingertips brushed over her cheek, a wave of suffocating cold constricted Lightning. She let out a gasp and brandished Gagnrad in front of her in a state of momentary panic. "Where's Noctis?!"

The man stared at Lightning with innocent eyes before they narrowed the next second complementing the wide menacing grin he held on his face. "Looks like you finally realized it. This is why human emotion is so easy to manipulate." The man chuckled. "That foolish man he's… in a manner of speaking—sleeping." His vague answer caused Lightning's blood to boil. "I am Bhunivelze." He took a step towards Lightning causing the cautious soldier to tighten her grip on her shield and blades. Bhunivelze narrowed his eyes and raised his arm pausing only for a moment before swinging it in a horizontal motion generating a powerful gust of wind which blew Lightning's weapons clattering away as well as threw the dining tables and chairs against the walls where royal tapestry was shredded up. "There will be none of those defiant tools of rebellion in the presence of a god."

Completely ignoring Bhunivelze's words Lightning snapped her fingers and cloaked herself in her grav-con aura. She kicked off the floor and twisted her body around in midair gaining momentum to fuel a kick bound for the man's neck. Just as her foot was about to make contact ensuring a damaging blow to Bhunivelze's neck, her body grew stiff, her foot inches away from connecting. "W-What the…" She was suspended in midair, as if some invisible force was binding her movements like a transparent spider web.

Bhunivelze sighed. "It seems you're not too familiar with my name and what I can do. I am a god. Surely you've heard of Etro. Well I am a being of far greater importance and power than that flimsy goddess."

"I don't care! Just shut up and tell me where Noctis is!"

"Such a foul mouth." Bhunivelze glared at Lightning and moved his fingers like a puppeteer causing Lightning to stand up straight and stiff like a mannequin. "But I must admit a pretty face. I wonder if I should make an exception. It would be a shame for such beauty to perish."

Lightning felt like she was going to be sick. Anger, bitterness, confusion and frustration flooded into her head as she scolded herself for feeling helpless. She shivered as she felt Bhunivelze's hand slip under her chin to force her to look at him. His dark violet eyes gave her a sense of ghastly déjà vu and as if he had read her mind, he recited.

"The battle predestined by the divine.

He fledgling that carries royal blood shall climb.

Everlasting rage be his hubris.

Philanderers, brutes and statues the guardians he chooses.

Rightful heir's status staked with pride. Ignorance and recklessness thus coincide.

Now banished from the kingdom he'll gain new fears.

Colored rose red, hair of the woman he holds dear.

Eternal love be the two faced harlequin.

Somber morrows caused by the feeble prince's decisions.

Hark all ears to the prophet's words.

All those close to the fledgling be inflicted with cold.

L'Cie shall emerge.

L'Cie shall emerge…

Destroy or rot the fledgling must choose.

Inexorable choice else his beloved he shall lose.

Eyes of darkness, eyes crimson nigh, predetermined by fate and… the prince shall die."

The corners of Bhunivelze's mouth arched up into a twisted grin. It made Lightning's stomach churn to see the so called god manipulate Noctis's body to make such an unbefitting expression to appear on his face. "How about it then? Care to be a goddess to stand beside me in my utopia? I can grant you unbelievable power. I will rewrite the wrongs of this world!"

"You've got some nerve." Lightning hissed.

Bhunivelze circled Lightning's still form and leaned towards her ear to whisper, "Eyes of darkness, eyes crimson nigh, predetermined by fate and… the prince shall die. This battle has already transpired and though I'm not too flattered with 'Eyes of darkness' the prophecy was fulfilled as said."

"What are you talking about? Tell me where—"

"Noctis this, Noctis that, how annoying. He's gone. I said sleeping in some form, but to clarify he's in eternal slumber." The sudden look of horror on Lightning's face caused Bhunivelze to snicker as he relished in his psychological victory. "His body is the perfect vessel for my reincarnation."

"Quit it."

Bhunivelze's brow rose with curiosity at Lightning's unexpected response. "Hmm?"

"Quit it!" Lightning repeated and stared icy daggers at Bhunivelze. "Quit using his body like that! Stop speaking and quit staring at me. For you to be using him like that… it pisses me off to no end!"

What followed Lightning's sharp statement was the cacophonous ring of a gunshot in the room which brought the soldier's attention to the old man still suspended on the throne's platform. "You will not address Lord Bhunivelze in that manner! You insolent girl. You're the one who dispatched Nabaat didn't you?"

"What do you care?"

"She was my bodyguard and spy as well as Barthandelus's. Such talent gone to waste because of you meddling!" Aldercapt pulled the trigger on his gun causing a bullet to soar passed Lightning's cheek leaving a graze causing a small trickle of blood to drip down her face; however the look of fury and bravado in her eyes continued to burn bright.

"Now now, keep calm old one, you don't want to—"

Suddenly, Barthandelus froze midsentence along with Aldercapt, as if time had gone still.

You're an interesting one. I'm sorry I can't help out more but here's what I can offer you at the moment, my knight.

The sudden, strange, enigmatic female voice in Lightning's head seemed to stop time momentarily as she spoke. Upon ending her short greeting, Lightning felt whatever invisible threads were controlling her body to snap and the familiar feeling of Gagnrad and Ullr's Shield just a summon call away surrounded her with warmth.

"Take them down Light."

"Noct?!" Lightning looked around the still room and suddenly saw an ethereal image of Noctis looming over the seemingly frozen Bhunivelze.

"Looks like I have some time. He hasn't quite gotten a grasp of his powers in my body yet." Noctis looked up at Lightning and smiled. "Sorry for acting out on my own again. I don't have much time to explain, but I'll tell you all you want to know once the battle is done. So go ahead and kick his butt."

Lightning felt as light as a feather as a large burden was lifted from her shoulders knowing that Noctis was okay.

"I'd be kicking your butt you know."

Noctis smiled as his image began to gradually fade along with the still framed reality. "I trust I can get a massage from you in the morning."

"Don't press your luck." Lightning murmured back and tightened her fist as Bhunivelze resumed his sentence where he had left off."

"—hurt this one yet. I'll give her one more offer."

"But—!"

"The answer is no." Lightning snapped before swinging Gagnrad against Bhunivelze's back, discharging jagged pale blue cracks of electricity to cascade around haphazardly.

"GRAHHHH!" Bhunivelze staggered forward as steam began to rise from the combination of burned fabric and flesh. He quickly spun around and summoned a sword in his right hand and directed it at Lightning defensively. "How can you strike down the image of the one you hold close to your heart?!"

"Easy." Lightning held her shield out in front of her and brought her blade back for a secondary attack when her uniform began to glow. "It's because you're a far cry from the man he is." And with the end of her explanation Lightning swung her dual blades at Bhunivelze generating a razor gale as armor plating suddenly clothed Lightning's body. Silver and gold plating mimicking the color scheme of her weapons covered her from neck to toe save for partially exposed parts of her thighs and biceps to accommodate mobility. A cloak of angelic feathers graced the lower left half of her lower body giving the armor a divine air. "And cut the act. A god or not, I doubt from the way you've been acting that you care about emotion at all."

Bhunivelze scoffed. "My my, aren't we the introspective one. I suppose I can delight you in an answer. Though your analysis holds some truth I regret to admit that because there is still lingering attachment to this body by its previous holder I can feel what a burden emotion is. But as such…" With blinding speed Bhunivelze appeared in front of Lightning and shoved his fist shrouded in a ghastly purple gas towards her. With heightened instincts thanks to the new power she had just received Lightning was able to see the attack as if Bhunivelze was running to her at normal speed and successfully deflected the blow with her shield. "…that burden is slowly fading the more I get accustomed to this vessel."

Again, Bhunivelze's way of addressing Noctis's body as a thing struck a nerve with Lightning. To Bhunivelze's surprise in another flash of light, Lightning's weapons now shifted form—Ullr's shield became a round and compact buckler whilst Gagnrad became a single blade short sword. But the surprises ceased to end at that feat. Lightning as if knowing what would happen touched a small protruding lever from the base of her blade transforming it into a firearm. Before Bhunivelze could react, Lightning jammed the barrel into his torso and pulled the trigger unleashing a volley bright white sparks out of the firearm.

The culmination of specialized bullets pushed Bhunivelze back towards the opposite end of the room, his feet dragging on the floor in attempts to slow the impeding crash to no avail. 'W-What is this?! That spiteful witch! Etro!' He collided against the wall with a resounding boom as the bullets exploded like a firework tossing rubble and dust around haphazardly.

Aldercapt held on to the armrest of the throne to keep from being hurled off the platform caused by the gust whipped up by Bhunivelze's impact. "My lord Bhunivelze!" Aldercapt glanced down at the still pile of rubble as the dust began to settle causing a wave of panic to sweep over his face. "Y-You..!" He brandished his gun towards Lightning but before he could pull the trigger a flash of light shot through the barrel of Lightning's gunblade and impacted against Aldercapt's weapon, causing it to grow extremely hot singeing the old man's hand as he dropped the firearm to the floor. "Damn!" The feeble looking elder clutched his wrist and winced as blisters began to form on the palm of his hand.

"You're next." Lightning threatened taking a step forward. Aldercapt gasped and slowly began backing away from the soldier, nearly tumbling off the platform in the process.

"S-Stay back!"

"I've been wanting to pay you back for all the trouble you've caused for the longest time!" Lightning roared and began to sprint across the room. She had reached the base of the platform and began to ascend the steps to the throne when the pile of rubble exploded and Bhunivelze shot out of the debris.

"Wretched human!" He insulted in an enraged frenzy. He swung his sword coated with a sickly purple aura at Lightning who countered with her own divine blade causing a loud clang of metal to resound in the room along with a burst of wind and energy to knock all things in their vicinity to the walls.

During their stalemate, Lightning was able to get a clear view of the twisted features of Noctis's body caused by Bhunivelze. The pale white hair, dark violet eyes and ugly expression he held on his face failed to resemble Noctis at all. She knew she was fighting an entirely different person or being and she wouldn't fall prone to his attempts at deceiving her. In fact, with each passing second, Noctis's image began to grow more and more distorted. His skin began to grow pale, ghostly white and his lips black in addition to black symbols beginning to form under his eyes. His teeth grew sharper and the pupils of his dark violet eyes began to fade.

"Grrrah!" Bhunivelze grunted and pushed Lightning back a step. "I'm getting stronger with each passing second!"

"Tch!" Lightning winced as a streak of purple light grazed her face. She knew her opponent wasn't bluffing. With a mighty swing of her gunblade Lightning ended the stalemate knocking Bhunivelze off balance and followed up with a powerful kick to the abdomen with her metal plated greave.

The demigod coughed and staggered back clutching his stomach as the impact left a painful sentiment. Lightning refused to let up and switched her gunblade to gun mode and fired several volleys of divine bullets in Bhunivelze's direction. Her opponent clicked his tongue with frustration and outstretched his arms as he released a booming howl which belonged to nothing human. The shockwave deflected the bullets causing them to collide against the floor, walls and ceiling sending chunks of metal raining down the battlefield. Lightning leapt away swiftly and deflected falling debris with her buckler when needed. Bhunivelze utilized the environmental hazard as a distraction and ran up behind Lightning. His fingers cracked as he outstretched them and his nails grew sharp and long as the same dark aura coated the appendages once again. Thankfully through her peripheral vision, Lightning was able to spot the man sprint to her and deflected the man's arm thrust with a barrier—a special ability of her new buckler.

"Why don't you just give up?!" Bhunivelze cried out in a tantrum.

"Because I've got to give someone a piece of my mind!" Lightning answered back fervently and tossed her gunblade into the air. In a flash of light the blade vanished and in Lightning's hand was Gagnrad once again. She swung the blade at Bhunivelze once dispelling her barrier and stuck the blade into the demigod's shoulder blade causing a deep crimson, almost black colored blood to leak from the wound. "Now go back to sleep!" Lightning commanded as she discharged electricity from the dual blades.

Bhunivelze's body contorted with pain as he shouted in agony as pale blue light coated his body. The attack lasted for several seconds before ceasing leaving a steaming, charred Bhunivelze falling to the ground.

Paradigm Shift

"Are you always this impatient?"

"More so now than ever." Noctis answered the ethereal woman who sat on a crystallized throne before him as he kicked a transparent wall one of which was boxing him in midair. He was in some sort of temple with black and pale blue architecture. Paired pillars stood equidistant from one another, all displaying ancient figures of what Noctis recognized as constellations Lightning identified to him—eidolons. Small, sparkling bits of crystal seemed to rain down from the ceiling, only to shatter and dissipate upon colliding with another physical object. Yet beyond the walls of the divine area, there was nothing, never ending darkness as if the place was being drowned in a shadow.

Noctis looked up at the figure before him and recalled the paintings he saw throughout Tenebrae castle. She held an uncanny resemblance to a specific recurring sleeping figure. Long platinum hair cascaded down pale white shoulders and a feathery white, aqua robe flowed over her body. She sat with one foot crossed over the other as piercing gold eyes reflected the prince's image. She was Etro better known as the Sleeping Goddess in Noctis's lore lessons he received as a child. She was the goddess of death, the guide to lead souls to the farplane.

"Still, I never expected you to actually be… real isn't quite the word I'm looking for." Noctis said with a shrug as he delivered another kick to the barrier caging him.

The goddess smiled and chuckled before letting out a yawn. "I was having such a wonderful nap too. Who knew the one to wake me would be such a loud, impatient boy."

"Spare me the flattery." Noctis said sarcastically. All the while he was trapped in the ominous barrier in a void space the events occurring in Tenebrae castle were playing vividly in his head as if he was looking down on the whole battle between Lightning and Bhunivelze from the sky. "I want out already."

"Patience." Etro said with another absentminded yawn. "It takes time for my blessing to work against Bhunivelze. Even as a demigod he is quite powerful." She narrowed her gaze at the prince. "I must apologize for using you as a tool against him as well. Do you hate me for treating you like a small cog in the grand machine that is the world?"

"Listen." Noctis stomped down and punched the wall sounding profoundly annoyed. "I don't have time for word games. I know you both have been treating my mind and body like some sort of pawn, but at the moment I don't care. Right now, I care about getting out of this stupid box and going to help my friends. They need me right now. Lightning needs me right now!"

A sincere smile graced Etro's face as she shifted her legs. "If you do something rash right now, there's no telling whether or not you'll get your body back. In your worst case scenario, you may never be able to return so I suggest being patient."

Noctis bit back his frustration and instead sat down with his arms crossed.

"I'll do what I can to help your beloved, after all, she's might knight as well."

Paradigm Shift

Lightning's breathing grew heavy from the large usage of power she had been using and let out a sigh of relief. She dispelled Gagnrad and summoned her gunblade once again and shifted it to gun mode. "Now then, Aldercapt you—" Lightning turned to address the old man and pointed her weapon at the man but froze in place upon seeing the dreadful sight before her.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Aldercapt said with a sneer as he stood beside Barthandelus. The elderly primarch of Eden held a bound and gagged Serah around the neck with a knife held by the young Farron's cheek.

"SERAH!" Lightning cried out in a panic and took a step forward. Aldercapt responded in turn by firing a shot at Lightning which grazed the area he had hit before deepening the wound.

"Stay right there, or your precious sister will have a preordained meeting with the goddess of death."

Lightning clenched her teeth and fists as she looked up at the two old men scornfully.

"Drop your weapons." Barthandelus said with his raggedy voice.

"Let Serah go before I—" Barthandelus pressed the blade of the knife against Serah's cheek causing a small trickle of blood to fall against the silver blade eliciting a small pained whimper from the young Farron. "Serah!"

"You're in no position to be making demands." Barthandelus croaked. "From the moment this woman stepped into my city of Eden she already became a pawn in the grand scheme of things."

"You piece of…" As much as Lightning hated to comply, she refused to put her sister in harm's way and let her weapons fall to the ground. She never expected Eden's own primarch to abuse his power and kidnap her sister. She never wanted Serah to become a part of her problems. Her sister's safety was of the utmost importance to her. 'I never should have let her go there.' A thought then dawned on her. "Where's Snow?!"

Upon hearing his name, tears began to steak down Serah's face shocking Lightning.

"Who..?" Barthandelus asked sarcastically and let out a yawn.

"Don't mess with me!" Lightning cried out indignantly. "Snow Villiers! Where is he?!" Her voice began to grow shaky partly due to Serah's reaction fueling her own worst case scenario answer.

"Ahh, you must be referring to the loud one." Barthandelus chuckled. "He fought bravely yes. Spouting nonsense about being a hero and all. But in the end it was all for naught. Isn't that right little missy?" He directed at Serah who began to break down even more.

Seeing the look of anguish on the siblings' faces brought a wicked sense of joy to the conspiring duo and just to fuel their twisted sense of enjoyment, they undid Serah's gag causing the young Farron's chokes and sobs to grow more and more audible which broke Lightning's heart. "L-Light… Snow he, he tried so hard to protect me. There was so much blood… a pool of blood under him. S-Snow…"

"BASTARDS! I WON'T FORGIVE YOU TWO!" Lightning shouted furiously and snapped her fingers together evoking her grav-con unit much to the two elderly men's surprise. Lightning grabbed her sword off the floor and kicked off the carpet, rocketing towards her stunned opponents, brandishing her blade with hatred. In the heat of the moment, the soldier failed to realize Bhunivelze had vanished, only to reappear in midair in front of her to shove his hand against her throat bringing her back down to pin her to the floor.

"Splendid job biding time you two." Bhunivelze praised as Lightning flailed under his grip.

"Lightning!" Serah shouted and tried to shake off her captors to tend to her sister. "Let go!" She cried out between her sobs. "Light, she needs— ngh!" A sharp blow to the back of the neck silenced the Farron as she fell unconscious and slumped to the floor.

"Such troublesome siblings." Aldercapt said with a sigh as he retracted the butt of his gun.

"S-Ser… Serah…" Lightning choked through the pain she was experiencing from Bhunivelze's freezing grip. She reached her hand out weakly towards her sister's unconscious form as her vision began to grow blurry with tears. 'Everyone… Serah… Noct… I need help.'

Lightning felt darkness beginning to claim her consciousness as Bhunivelze sneer began to blur as well. She slowly felt herself slipping from reality and her body beginning to grow weak. Her spirit refused to give up, however Bhunivelze's freezing touch was quickly draining her fighting power from her body. The hand she was using to claw at the grip around her neck gradually felt heavier and heavier until it finally fell to the ground. She gagged and kicked as her lungs tightened, but refused to give her opponent the satisfaction of seeing her in despair however the sight of Serah's unconscious form caused the tears to fall regardless.

Just then, the sound of shattering glass echoed through the room.

Bhunivelze grew wide eyed as the space just to his right began to crack as if thin air was shattering before him. "What is—"

Before Bhunivelze could finish his question, a hand shrouded in an azure blue aura shot through the crack in space like it burst through a window and found purchase on the demigod's face clamping on tightly like a bear trap.

"YOU MADE LIGHTNING CRY!" Noctis bellowed furiously as he leapt out of the tear in space. He dug his fingers emanating the ethereal aura into Bhunivelze's face and with his free hand formed a fist and shoved it into his opponent's stomach causing a sonic boom to pulse as his attack connected sending the demigod careening through the air and crashing into the stained glass window located just above the throne sending down multicolored shards raining down to the floor revealing the moon in the night sky.

End Chapter