It was finally the day of the ceremony. Noctis was standing in their hotel room utterly beset by nervous tension, hardly able to keep still with the mounting pressure of it all. His eyes itched terribly—he hadn't slept at all that night, and had had barely more than three hours of sleep together since the day they'd arrived in Altissia. He feared another nightmare might actually send him mad, so he'd been trying not to sleep as best he could, though it made him exhausted and irritable.

He was pacing up and down the room with uncontainable energy, his earlier apathy having been replaced by a dreadful sense that everything was about to go terribly wrong. His legs still twinged slightly as he walked, but they were far better than they were before. Eventually, as he began to wonder that he wasn't wearing a hole in the carpet, Gladio grabbed him by the shoulder and spun him around.

"It's gonna be okay," he said. "You know what went wrong last time and now you have a chance to fix it. If you don't calm down you're going to drive yourself crazy before you even get there."

"You think I don't know that?" he snapped, then immediately buried his face in his hands and internally told himself to calm the hell down. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean that, I'm being an asshole."

"Yeah," chuckled Gladio, "but at least you can admit it."

"Self-awareness is my only virtue," he said, shrugging off the implied criticism. He folded his arms and tried to stand still, but it was difficult when standing still made him want to vomit.

"Hey, you've been doing a good job," said Gladio. There was a sincerity to his voice that caught Noctis off-guard.

"Really?"

"Of course!" said Gladio, as though it was obvious. "It took courage to give up your wheelchair like that and learn to use your legs again. The fact you can walk at all is something you should be proud of."

"What's all this?" asked Noctis, unfolding his arms in surprise. "Where's the hardass I knew when I was a kid? 'You're not trying hard enough Noctis! You aren't leaving this training room until you can warp without throwing up!'"

It was a less than stellar impression of Gladio's voice, but fortunately Gladio seemed to find it funny rather than insulting.

"Damn, did I really say things like that?" he said, shaking his head in amusement.

"Well, maybe not in so many words, but yeah."

"Ah, had to keep up my reputation as a good trainer," said Gladio, shaking his head. "I thought you were a real brat back then."

"Only back then?" said Noctis, only half-teasingly.

"Lay off, Noct, you've come leaps and bounds since then. And you're an adult now, I can't boss you around anymore."

"Huh," said Noctis. He couldn't help but wonder why the old Gladio hadn't thought the same thing. Gladio was studying him carefully, probably thinking along the same lines.

"He really hurt you, didn't he?" he said, after a while, no longer looking directly at Noctis.

"You mean, the you in my world? Yeah, I suppose so."

"You didn't mention it when you were talking about the past with us."

Noctis sighed. "It was tough enough telling you all that. I didn't want to bring up an argument that never happened to you—it would have been inappropriate. Or at least, I thought it would."

"What happened, exactly?"

Good question. Noctis still wasn't entirely sure he could make sense of it himself.

"I mean, we were all having a hard time on the train to Gralea," he said hesitantly. "No one was talking to anyone, and Ignis's blindness was the biggest elephant in the room you ever saw. After Luna died I didn't really know how to deal with it—the whole time all I'd really wanted was to help her. I didn't sign on for saving the world from the apocalypse, you know?

"And then she was gone, and one of my best friends was really badly hurt. He even offered to turn back, but I couldn't let that happen—I thought that if we did, all that sacrifice would be in vain. So that was the situation. I suppose after a while it was too much and it all just...well, exploded…"

"You mean I exploded," said Gladio, shaking his head. "Just couldn't keep my damn temper under control, huh?"

"Like I said, I think all of us were coping badly. It's just while the rest of us were collapsing inwards, you were kind of doing it outwards. I understand why—"

"But you didn't forgive me. Forgive him, I mean," sighed Gladio, folding his arms and frowning. "I'm sorry if I seem harsh, Noct, but I can see it when you talk to me sometimes. What was it he said, exactly, that made you stop trusting him?"

Noctis sucked his breath in through his teeth. He still felt a little like a Gladio was accusing him, though of course he wasn't.

"I don't know if it was anything specific," he said, after a while. "It was like he...took everything I was thinking inside my head, everything I was berating myself about and then…kind of shouted it at me out loud. Particularly that I wasn't living up to being the king I was supposed to be. I don't want you to feel bad because of what he said, but, yeah, that was it, I guess."

"I hate that whenever I hear about him I think he's a jackass, but I know that's the exact kind of thing I would do," sighed Gladio, rising back onto his feet and unfolding his arms again. He looked more lost than Noctis had ever seen him. "I promise I'll try to better this time, Noct. I won't let you down like that again."

"It's fine," said Noctis, finally managing to find a smile. "I know you won't."

The door slammed open.

"Sorry to interrupt," said Ignis, "but you need to get into position, Noct. The speech will be starting soon."

Noctis nodded silently, the dread their little conversation had managed to bury rising back to the surface with a vengeance. Gladio gave him a nod of reassurance as he left the room, and Ignis smiled gently at him. Prompto was already in position awaiting orders for their evac preparations. Noctis hurried down the stairs and out into the street, the sunlight glinting off the white pavement.

He was to wait by the altar for Luna to arrive, and listen to the speech over the radio rather than hear it in person. In some ways that was a relief. It meant he wouldn't need to relive that moment and the horrible memories associated with the aftermath. It also meant he was adrift from then on though. He had no idea how things would play out with his presence next to Luna, whether Leviathan would react even more badly, or Ardyn be even more brutal. It was all up to chance, but he had to face it now.

He arrived at the boat due to take him to the altar panting slightly, having jogged the whole way. The captain looked him over warily.

"Apparently I'm to leave this boat to you—you're to get yourself over and back, and keep this boat intact, you hear me?" she said, looking at him as though she thought there couldn't be anyone more likely to crash her boat.

"I understand," said Noctis, gingerly stepping into the vehicle.

"Humph!" said the woman, clambering out and tossing him the keys.

He tentatively revved the boat, and dearly hoped that driving one was similar to driving a car, otherwise he might end up dying before he even reached the altar.

With the sheer speed at which the boat began zipping over the water, Noctis knew immediately that driving a boat was not like driving a car.

There was something strangely exhilarating about watching the water going flying by, and the city whizzing past, the scent of the sea air almost overpowering as the wind went whipping through his hair. It would even have been fun, if the experience hadn't been tinged with the deep-seated terror of knowing he had no clear idea of how to stop this thing. As he began the approach to the altar, standing out starkly front he rest of the bay, he slammed what he hoped was the break and prayed he wouldn't die in such an anticlimactic manner.

Thankfully, the boat did begin to slow down, and by some sort of divine providence (though not Providence, he noted with bitterness) he came to a stop just next to the base of the altar. His heart hammering in his chest, he stumbled out of the boat, thanking whatever power it was that had saved him for their mercy.

He was immediately hit by an intense gust of wind off the sea—the altar was almost entirely exposed, so he had little shelter from the elements. He quickly jogged over to one of the large pillars, sheltering himself as best he could against the fierce wind, and pulled out his phone, hoping he could get a signal out here. Though his fingers were trembling with anxiety, he managed to fumble his way into tuning in to the right radio station, and listened as everyone got ready for Luna's speech.

How many people were listening, he wondered? Hundreds, thousands? He couldn't even imagine addressing so many people, and worse, being impressive while doing it. And yet, Luna seemed to carry it with ease, never losing her composure in front of a crowd. But then, she had been doing it since she was sixteen, and against her will at that. He could never imagine doing such a thing. She had to stay alive. He had to make sure of it.

There was a hush over the radio as she began to speak, and Noctis closed his eyes, imagining himself back in the crowd, watching her speak of the growing darkness, of her determination to fight it. The waves crashed against the altar with an ear-splitting roar, as the wind blew stronger than ever. It was almost as though the sea itself was inspired by her words. Then her speech ended, and Noctis turned his phone back on silent. Only a short while now.

He found his gaze drawn to the high point of the altar, where he knew Luna would call to Leviathan, and where Ardyn had eventually killed her. It looked so peaceful now—the crescent moon surrounding it still intact, the sun shining high above, the very image of the quiet respect with which the Accordons revered Leviathan. And for what? Destruction.

His heartbeat got faster as time stretched on, and he found himself worrying. What if something had happened? What if the boat had crashed? What if Ardyn somehow knew of the change of plan, and had decided to strike even before Luna could make her covenant?

Worries span around his head, and he found himself pacing back and forth, unable to push down the terrible anxiety that had been plaguing him all day. His exhaustion didn't help. He didn't feel ready to face Leviathan again, in spite of all his preparation—he was still weak from the effects of the Starscourge, and his nightmares had been preying on his mind for months now. Could he really do this?

Then, he spotted a white boat, speeding out from Altissia, towards the altar. His heart leapt—she was still coming! It was going to be okay.

He rushed down the steps to meet her as the boat drew closer. He could see an elderly man at the helm of the boat, and in the back, standing regal as ever, was Luna. He smiled as he saw her, and she smiled back at him, giving him a short wave. When the boat finally stopped she quickly stepped out, rushing over to meet him.

"Noctis!" she said, taking him by the forearms. "I'm so relieved to see you up on your feet. I feared that three days would be too short a time for you to recover in order to face Leviathan, but it seemed you have surpassed my expectations yet again."

"Yeah, well, I'm definitely not one-hundred percent, but I thought standing on my own two feet would be the least I could do," he chuckled, then frowned as Luna's boat went whizzing away again. "He's not gonna come back, is he?"

"No," said Luna, a slightly melancholy expression passing over her face. "We're on our from here on out, Noctis. Are you ready?"

She was looking steadily at him, an expression of pure determination on her face. Was he ready? He had better be.

"Yes."

Luna smiled, nodded, then turned away from him, striding up to the highest point of the altar without even a trace of fear. He remembered what she had said to him back in Lestallum.

Every day living in the Empire is a lesson in fear. I've simply learnt to...tune it out.

Never had the meaning behind those words been more clear to him than now. Even knowing she might be facing her own death, Luna was not afraid. And seeing her bravery, neither was he.

He stayed at the bottom of the stairs as she sang the song of summoning, calling the Hydraean to the surface and petitioning her attention to the mortal world once more. The song echoed across the lake, a haunting melody that seemed almost unnatural in its clarity and sound. It almost seemed to shake the very foundations of Altissia. Then Noctis realised it wasn't Luna's song that was causing the shaking. As she finished, the shaking got worse and worse. He knew what was coming.

"What fool mortal dares break the slumber of the Tide?" An immense voice came from beneath the water, shaking the very bedrock of the lake.

"It is I, Lunafreya, blood of the Oracle!" called Luna, her voice echoing across the water. "Goddess of the Seas, I beseech you: enter into this covenant that the King may reclaim the Stone!"

For a moment there was silence.

Then the water surged, roaring as a huge creature burst out of the lake, its massive serpentine body easily ten times the height of the surrounding buildings, blotting out the sun with its gargantuan bulk. Its huge, powerful head bent over them, staring down with a cold, unfeeling glare. Noctis ran up the stairs of the altar to stand next to Luna, and now they were side by side, facing her together.

A chill numbness was settling over his limbs, even as he stood to face Leviathan. No, no, no! This couldn't happen now. Memories were springing unbidden to his mind, Luna's body, lying broken on the altar, Leviathan's cold, hard laugh, the chill of the seawater soaking into his clothes—he couldn't escape it, he was losing himself—

"This wretched pile of bone and flesh, ignorant of that which governs All, comes to requisition the might of a goddess?"

"I do," said Luna.

"What does a lowly ephemeral speck know of All Creation?" crowed Leviathan, lowering her great head and smashing the crescent moon over the altar, sending rocks crashing down towards them.

Noctis deflected them with a flick of his arm. He felt more powerful now. Luna didn't take her eyes off Leviathan for a second.

"I know what you must know—that the King of Kings is to drive the darkness from our star."

Noctis remembered all of what had happened so far. What he did not remember was Leviathan's raucous laughter, echoing off the walls surrounding the lake, her writhing splashing the water so it soaked them to the bone, and her tail whipping overhead, shattering still more of the altar.

"This?" she roared, sending a tunnel of water blasting towards Noctis. He dodged out of the way at the very last second, droplets of water landing cold on his face.

She hissed at his escape, and lowered her head to his level, her voice so loud it almost deafened him.

"The power of the Stone yet runs through this pathetic creature, burning it in the fires of a power greater than it understands! Ingrate mortals pointlessly rouse their goddess from her slumber, only to doom themselves to destruction. Insufferable sacrilege!"

With that declaration, Leviathan lunged towards them, her huge, gaping jaw enveloping the altar and them in one bite, and Noctis found himself on the inside of her mouth, the stench of dying flesh and rotting seaweed almost overwhelming. Luna had not lost her nerve though, and she slammed her trident into the ground and shouted—

"Leviathan!"

A beam of white light illuminated the inside of Leviathan's mouth, and Noctis could tell without even touching it that the light was poison, and Leviathan lunged away, screaming as she released them.

Noctis hadn't had much time to think with all that was happening, but he was sure it was going differently got last time. What had Leviathan meant?

"I vow the King will prove himself worthy!" cried Luna, and Noctis was relieved to find he recognised things again.

"If not, then the Feeding shall begin, and it shall not end until every last speck is devoured!" screeched Leviathan. "So let the covenant be forged. Heaven and Earth, High and Deep, Birth and Return…"

By this time both he and Luna were completely soaked, and covered in tiny scratches from the falling debris. He glanced over at Luna, who nodded at him.

It was time.

Reaching out to grasp for a power that had been boiling within him, waiting to be drawn, he finally pulled it out as his Armiger manifested, the Royal Arms spinning around him with a feverish intensity. He was surprised by the sheer power he felt flowing through his veins—he had never felt like this while conjuring the Armiger before, never. He was practically flying—no, he was flying. And Leviathan was before him, watching him like a hawk.

For a moment they simply stayed deadly still, watching each other, sizing each other up. Then she opened her jaws and let out an earsplitting roar that shook Noctis to his very core. He braced himself and remained hovering in place, even as his magic seemed to want to evaporate from his body. Her huge head lowered towards him, first slowly, then faster, faster—

Her teeth missed him by centimetres as he dodged out of the way. His hands automatically closed over the hilt of his sword. She was still rushing past him, scales flickering past his vision, and he reached out—just a bit further—then the blade connected with her flesh. A petrifying screech sounded from somewhere ahead of him as Leviathan's momentum drove the sword deeper into her side. Then her massive body curled away from Noctis, sending him flying backwards, and there was an almighty splash as her head vanished beneath the water.

As the end of her tail was buried by the waves, he noticed the buildings around the lake were shuddering, the ground itself shaking as Leviathan writhed beneath the water—but it was too choppy to see beneath the waves—he had no way of knowing where she might spring up. He couldn't be a sitting target.

He began to flit back and forth in the air, hoping that would be enough to distract her, but then—

The water exploded.

With a bellow that was almost enough to shake him out of the sky, Leviathan surged up towards him, the water splashing up off the lake, soaking him to the bone. Then she was above him, rising higher and higher into the sky, and on the edges of his vision a wall of water rose up around the edges of the lake, trapping him inside. No escape now. Not that there ever was.

His heart hammering in his chest, he risked a look behind him to check on Ardyn. The altar still looked mostly clear. Good. He turned back to face Leviathan—when a force that felt like a million bricks went smashing into his side.

He gasped desperately for breath but nothing seemed to be going into his lungs, and his vision went spinning, shimmering scales completely surrounding him. She'd collided with him. He was spiralling through the air. He needed to focus!

With that thought he forced his eyes open to see the water churning beneath him. That and something…shimmering. A fin—it had to be! At once he let go of the magic supporting him and went into freefall, the air rushing past him with exhilarating speed. He drew his sword, ready for impact, then the next second he collided with the thin membrane—the flesh barely slowing his descent as his sword cleaved it in two, sending him sprawling into the water.

For a moment he was deaf and blind, the water pressing in on all sides, in his mouth, in his eyes as he fought to find the air again. Magic—he needed to propel himself back up to the surface. Now.

He dimly heard something above him—something entering the water. Fear lanced through him like lightning—the water was her domain. If he stayed down here he might as well just stab himself now.

He drove himself feverishly upwards, towards the light. He reached desperately for his magic, willing it to send him upwards, out of the water—come on, where was it? He grasped for it again and again—he could hear something moving in the water around him. His heart was beating so fast he could barely hear himself think. Then he finally caught it. Seizing the power, he used it to force himself upwards and upwards and upwards, until finally the last of the water rushed past him, and his head exploded into the air.

At almost exactly the same moment, the water just beside him surged, and Leviathan raced into the air, one step ahead of him. He gasped desperately at the air, his head still spinning from the time spent underwater, but he had no time to think about it. There was only one thing that mattered right now. Killing her.

Huge, furious yellow eyes stared out at him. That was his next target. With a kind of delirious precision, he sent himself barrelling towards them, using the momentum of his flight to build up the strength of his strike.

He must have been too obvious though, because just as his blade was about to pierce her eye, she ducked out of the way, and he went careening over her back, her sharp fins almost tearing him in half. Almost unconsciously he flung his sword out to try and slow his fall, only to be greeted with another ear-rending scream as it connected with the scales on her back, cutting another long gash down her body.

All at once she was spinning around, her jaws open wide, heading right towards him. He went flying away, hovering in the air just above her. He needed to take another look at the altar, to see what was happening, but he couldn't risk Leviathan hitting him again. He needed to keep moving.

A surge of adrenaline went pounding through him as he gathered his strength and flew away from her, racing as fast as he could as she went crashing after him. He passed over the altar, and looked down as he did—wait was that?

He went into a tailspin towards the earth, narrowly missing being swallowed whole as Leviathan soared over it, and landed hard on the stone floor. He didn't have time to worry about that though. He leapt to his feet, just in time to see Ardyn walking up the altar behind Luna, who had rushed over to him when he crashed.

"Watch out!" he cried, and a look of momentary surprise crossed over both Ardyn and Luna's faces, as Noctis threw himself at Ardyn—if he couldn't kill him then he could at least knock the bastard off the altar.

He had his blade drawn as his feet collided with Ardyn's midriff, sending him flying backwards, back down to the lower half of the altar. Noctis already had his sword at hand to slash at him, but Ardyn was fast, and his sword only lightly cut Ardyn across the face as he clambered to his feet and began backing away. Frustration exploded through Noctis as he realised Ardyn was going to flee—he almost had him!

Ardyn opened his mouth to say something, and Noctis had every intention of cutting his head off, but right at that moment he heard a tremendous rushing noise behind him and Luna's voice from the top of the altar.

"Noctis!"

He had just enough sense left to flatten himself to the ground, and the next second a glistening mass of scales and fins slammed into the bottom of the altar, missing him by mere inches, and either swallowing Ardyn or crushing him in the process. Momentary relief flooded through him—at least Ardyn would be out of the picture now. He could focus on Leviathan again.

His heart was hammering in his chest as Leviathan finally passed completely over the altar, and he was able to stand up again. He noticed his hands were shaking wildly—no, he had to keep going! If he stopped now the adrenaline would fade and he would collapse, he could feel it in his bones.

He ran back up to the top of the altar, where Luna was still standing tall, waiting for him.

"Thank you, Noctis," she breathed, and Noctis could see in her eyes that even though she hadn't been stabbed, she was clearly being drained by the magic of the covenant.

"I won't let you down," he said, and she just smiled, before he went running off the edge of the altar.

It was a really good job he still had enough energy to maintain his Armiger. He was still able to stay aloft, but it was getting harder and harder to keep it that way, as the energy he was using began to burn through his body. He didn't have much longer to end this. But he was going to.

As Leviathan burst through the waves again, it was clear the hits she had taken were exhausting her too. She was missing several fins, and there was a huge gaping wound across her face where she'd collided with the altar. This would be a battle to the death.

Leviathan moved first. She began coiling towards him, her serpentine body forming huge loops in the air as her unstoppable momentum began. Noctis carefully dodged and weaved around her—he couldn't collide with her again if he wanted to keep fighting. For a time he simply danced around her, not hitting her, but also not getting hit himself. It was starting to cost him though, as his swerves got slower and less precise, his body beginning to break from all the magic flowing through it. He needed to speed up.

Without missing a beat, he began turning his dodges into miniature attacks. When Leviathan's head went storming by, he would draw his sword, and let her momentum do the damage as she pulled herself along it, driving the sword deeper into her flesh. She howled, but didn't stop coming—neither one of them could afford to rest anymore.

Soon, Leviathan was covered in small cuts, all leaking dark blood, so much that Noctis couldn't tell where he was wet with water or where he was wet with blood anymore. She was getting slow now—they were coming to the end. She seemed to realise it too.

Perhaps realising she couldn't hold out much longer, she raised herself into the air, her huge body extending high above the houses and the lake proper, preparing for one huge final attack. But as she rose Noctis rose with her. Soon they were so high he could barely see the city below. She roared as she lowered her head towards him—he remembered this. This was his chance. Taking his sword, he propelled himself forward, under her head, to the soft scales protecting the underside of her neck.

Her scream was cut off as he embedded the sword deep within, then let a combination of gravity and all that was left of his power take him sliding all the way down her throat to her belly, then finally pulling away. Water exploded from inside her, the killing blow severing her from her mortal form once and for all.

The sheer volume of water sent him flying backwards, and as he realised the goddess was dead, all the energy left him at once. His Armiger collapsed around him, and he hoped he didn't land in the water. Then he felt his body collide with something hard.

But then, as his vision began fading to the darkness, something happened. Light exploded behind his eyelids—through his entire body. Was he dying? It burnt—blazing, brilliant light, pulsing through his veins. He couldn't see for the intense brightness, as an overwhelming power screamed through him, breaking him from the inside out. What was this terrible pain? He didn't know, he couldn't see, he couldn't hear, the world was obscured from him, all but for one resounding sound.

Leviathan's cruel, hysterical laughter.

So. That went well. Ah, the fight with Leviathan, always an interesting turning point. She sure seems happy for someone who just got their physical form sliced in half, doesn't she? Well, it seems she managed to get away with hurting Noct somehow anyway, so I guess that's just how it goes! And in less life-threatening news, Noct and Gladio finally had a conversation about The Train Incident, which I count as big progress for them, so it's not all bad (I mean, Luna and Ignis's life/eyesight are still potentially in jeopardy, but hey, you can't have it all). Thank you to everyone still reading, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!