Silence settled over them as they all considered the implications of a daemon army. Noctis, of course, already knew the worst-case scenario fallout of that, and he was by no means keen on repeating it. The world of ruin caused by his ten years trapped in the Crystal still stood out against all the memories clamouring for space in his head, as did all that first journey he took. It all felt more real, somehow, than what had come afterwards. Perhaps it was the repeated nightmares about that very subject that made him feel so strongly about it, but he could not stand to see the world go to ruin again, by his hand or Ardyn's.

"You knew this would happen," said Luna, suddenly turning to him. His feelings must have been showing on his face. "Is this...did this happen before?"

"Indeed," said Ignis darkly, answering for him. It was still strange to think they knew about his past now, after so long spent hiding it from them. Not everyone was in the loop though.

"I'm sorry, what's going on here?" asked Ravus, raising an annoyed eyebrow. "How does a Lucian prince who's never even set foot in Niflheim know of the daemon army forming there beforehand?"

"Starscourge," said Noctis, at the exact same time that Luna said, "He has prophetic visions," and Ignis said, "It's hard to explain."

Ravus stared blankly at them, and Noctis exchanged glances with the two of them. Ignis shrugged his shoulders and Luna made a 'what should I say?' gesture.

"Well, you know him best, Luna," he said, keeping one eye firmly on Ravus watching for his reaction. "Is he gonna be...okay with this? I mean, no disrespect but I've already got plenty of injuries to be dealing with, I really don't want to get anymore."

"I promise to only break a minor appendage if you say something I don't like," said Ravus.

Noctis couldn't tell whether or not he was joking.

"That is not funny, Ravus," said Luna. Ravus opened his mouth to protest but she cut him off. "And don't say you weren't joking. Noctis is under my protection just as much as I am under yours. If you hurt him I promise you will receive an appropriate punishment in turn."

Ravus sighed rather petulantly but didn't argue any further.

"I believe he will now keep his temper if you tell him what you told me," said Luna, with a smile that was almost as menacing as her brother's scowl.

"So," said Noctis, not really sure where to begin even though this was his third time breaking it to someone. "So. Time travel. How'd you feel about it?"

"Indifferent?" said Ravus, looking very confused, and out of the corner of his eye Noctis could see Ignis shaking his head in exasperation. "Because it can't… You aren't seriously suggesting you've time travelled, are you?"

More times than he could keep count of, but he'd be keeping that aspect to himself. He couldn't face talking about it, not when he scarcely understood what had happened himself.

"Yeah. Hence the whole, 'knowing about daemons' thing."

"But then, what else do you know?" he asked, now looking at Noctis intensely. Odd how quickly he'd gotten on-board with the idea. Or then again, maybe it wasn't... Gah! These memories… "Do you know how to beat them? How to kill Ardyn?"

Noctis sighed. "Don't you already know about the prophecy?"

Ravus's eyes narrowed slightly. "You believe it is true then? That you are the Chosen King?"

Noctis stared at Ravus for a second, trying to gauge his mood. He knew Ravus had been caught up in all this before, that he might not take Noctis's answer well, but… No, he was too tired of hiding for all this song and dance. "Yes. I am."

"Then you—"

"Have got to kill Ardyn then myself? Yes. I know. And doing that will get rid of all the daemons. Permanently."

A kind of hardness came over Ravus's face. "So the prophecy says."

"So I know is true. As I think I mentioned before, this isn't my first time doing this. I can succeed in getting rid of the darkness if I do it right."

"But you didn't last time?" There was an unsettling glint in Ravus's eyes.

"Last time there was…" Death. So much death. "Collateral damage. I'm hoping to avoid that this time."

Ravus took a step closer. Ignis began to move forward to try and defend him, but Noctis held out his hand, pushing him back.

Ravus's voice was cold, but there was a furious anger boiling beneath. "What kind of collateral damage?"

Noctis stayed perfectly still, forcibly ignoring the confused whirl of emotions building in his chest as he began to recall what had happened again. No time for that. Not right now.

"Luna," he said, nodding towards her. "She died. So did you. So did…lots of people. I couldn't save them that time. I'm…I'm going to change that now."

"And has it worked?"

Ravus was still glaring, but some of the tension had eased out of his forehead.

Noctis glanced back at Luna again. She gave him a short nod, encouraging him to go on. "For now, yeah. If everything had gone like before Luna would already be dead. As you can see, she isn't."

Ravus exhaled deeply, an odd combination of relief and anger marring his face. "I see. I am doubly indebted to you then."

Noctis shook his head. "Nothing like that. I had to do it."

Ravus swallowed and glanced at Luna, then nodded.

A tense silence swallowed them for a moment, before Luna stepped forward. "So, what do you intend to now, Noctis?"

What did he intend to do now? He barely knew where he was, his mind was such a mess. He turned his gaze briefly to the sky. It was beginning to get dark. A daemon army was coming for Altissia and he knew no way of fending it off.

"Soon the city will be under siege by daemons," he said aloud, trying to think of some solution. "If everyone stays here they'll die. People need to start evacuating."

"That doesn't answer the question," said Ravus, sharply.

Noctis glared at him. "My first priority is making sure this place doesn't turn into a graveyard. Then I'll start thinking about the future."

"If I might make a suggestion, Noct," said Ignis, finally stepping into the conversation again, "would it beneficial to ask whatever remains of the Niflheim troops to give the order to evacuate?"

"Those remaining here aren't exactly under my control," said Ravus, huffily.

"The human troops are," said Luna.

"What with the massacre that just occurred, I can't imagine there are many of them left!" Ravus snapped.

Noctis was starting to feel a bit lost. He'd never really gotten a clear idea of what had happened while he was unconscious the first time, and since then, this situation had never happened again—or at least, he didn't recall it happening.

"Nonsense," said Ignis. "Not all of them could have been fighting against us. There are enough at least to get the message around."

Ravus sighed deeply. "I will examine the matter. But I have my own agenda, I'll have you know. Now back to the other question. What are you intending to do?" He stared at Noctis.

This had been the part Noctis hadn't wanted to get to, honestly. Though he did have a vague idea of what he wanted to do next, even amidst all this confusion. His top priority now was to get to Bahamut, and he was pretty sure he knew where he was.

He knew the Crystal's light had gone out, that Providence was now within him, but given how hard it was to reach the God resident in the Crystal, he suspected it wasn't actually empty. In fact, he was sure Bahamut still resided within, either hiding his presence due to fear of Ardyn finding him, or just trying to keep Noctis from getting back inside. So, when he found the Crystal, he needed to find some way of getting Bahamut out. And the only way he could think of was destroying it.

The thought was mutinous, he knew, but they'd left him no choice. He could see no other way out.

"I have to get to the Crystal." He decided to settle on a half-truth. "I need its power to complete the prophecy."

"Please, allow me to accompany you," said Luna. "My power will be useful against the daemons you face, and I… I feel I still have a duty yet to fulfil on behalf of the Gods."

Did she know? How could she want to keep going, even after everything she'd been through? Luna deserved to rest after her long ordeal, not go fighting even more for his sake; he couldn't let her. And besides, how would she react when she discovered he intended to break the Crystal? He couldn't hurt her like that. He wouldn't.

"Luna, you've already done so much, for me, for Eos—"

"I know that Noctis!" she cried, and now he could see it clearly, the look of near desperation on her face. "And so have you. Surely you can understand why I cannot just...sit, and wait for fate to come upon me? Surely you know how this feels?"

He did know. The ache that had been haunting him all through this journey, the desperation to get to the end, to save Eos from the darkness encroaching upon it that no one else understood. He knew what she was feeling. He knew that just like him, for her to try and sit and wait for others to save the world while she sat useless would be unbearable torture, just as it had been for him when he'd been forced to stop and let his body recuperate. He couldn't do that to her after all he'd been through. But was it worth it, letting her trust in him be broken in the process? Six, why was it all so complicated?

"I need to think about it," he said, the energy quite suddenly having drained out of him. "We'll definitely talk more about our plans later, but for now I think we should find somewhere to rest while all of this blows over."

It was partially just an act of self-preservation that he suggested finding a place to rest, because he was getting shakier by the minute. He could still think straight, which was a welcome relief, but he could feel in his bones that his body couldn't take much more of this.

"Of course," said Luna, nodding. "We don't have to decide all of this now."

"And you two should both get medical attention," said Ignis, who had been closely watching the exchange. "First, though, we should find some accommodation. Do you have a place to stay, my Lady?" he asked, addressing Luna.

"Thank you for your concern, indeed I do," she said, looking back at the city across the water. "If the situation changes I shall let you know. If I might be so presumptuous as to ask, where is it you are staying?"

"At the Leville, provided it's still standing," said Ignis, and Luna smiled and nodded.

"In that case, you should reunite with your friends," she said, looking pointedly at Noctis. "Myself and Ravus shall talk some more over our plans, and we will meet you tomorrow morning?"

"That sounds great," said Noctis, wanting to leave more and more by the second.

"We shall see you tomorrow then," said Ravus, who still looked a little uncertain about the whole thing, before going with Luna to step into the boat still parked by the altar.

Now he actually looked he saw that at some point during the proceedings the one he'd used to get over must have been dislodged because it was nowhere to be seen, instead it had been replaced by the one Ravus was currently starting up, and another which he could only assume Ignis had used. What had happened while he was dreaming?

Memories pressed at the edge of his mind, fighting their way to the surface. He pushed them down. Not now. No wonder he felt so tired.

"Can you make it to the boat, Noct?" asked Ignis, frowning worriedly at him. Clearly his exhaustion was showing on his face.

"I think so," he said, making a valiant attempt to stagger over to the vessel, just as Ravus got it working, and started skimming away over the waves.

Luna waved at him from where she sat, and he tentatively waved back as he managed to stumble into the boat properly.

"You saved her," said Ignis, standing over him, watching as the boat sped away from them.

"Yeah," mumbled Noctis. It still didn't feel quite real.

"Does it make you feel any easier about the future?"

A hundred images flashed through his mind, a hundred futures, all of which he had lived, and all of which he had died in. Did he feel optimistic about the future? 'No' was the honest answer to that. But honesty was overrated sometimes, and for now he just wanted to cling to the fact that he had done something good here today.

"Yeah," he said, watching as the boat carrying Luna and Ravus disappeared into the city, "I think so."

"I'm happy to hear it." Ignis climbed into the boat and started up the motor with ease—apparently driving them was one of his many skills. "I'm not sure where the other two are, but I'll wager they're looking for us even as we speak."

Noctis could imagine Gladio scowling as he combed the city for a boat to reach the altar, and Prompto nervously racing alongside him, anxious to hear any news. Well, at least it would be good news awaiting them this time.

"Yeah," he said, with another laugh that sent a shooting pain through his ribcage. "We should probably catch them up on everything that's happened."

The sea breeze swept sharp and cold through his hair as they sped across the water with ease. He had the sensation of being somewhere in a dream, as though none of it was really happening. Him being here, Luna being alive, Ignis being fine, it all had an unreal, vague quality to it that Noctis couldn't quite place, but he didn't care enough to explore it. It was probably just his mind trying to make sense of all that had happened. Right now he could just breathe again, knowing they were safe—for now at least.

"Noctis," said Ignis, sitting down quite hard as he too seemed to finally realise it was all real. "I have a question for you."

"Shoot."

"Do you know if... Do you know whether by this point in time I had been blinded?"

Ignis wasn't looking at him, instead keeping his eyes firmly on the water stretching out ahead of them, which was probably where they should be, but Noctis sensed a sort of melancholy from him all the same.

"I think you're safe now, Specs," said Noctis, shuffling a little closer and putting his hand on his shoulder. "I think you got blinded either during the attack or in the process of looking for me afterwards. Like I said, I don't really know much for sure, the other you didn't really talk about it, but that's how I see it."

"Thank you, Noct," said Ignis, now smiling. "That's a...relief to hear."

"Glad I could help."

There was another short silence, and Noctis felt his consciousness drifting further and further away from him, as he struggled to keep his thoughts straight. He had the unpleasant feeling that if he let himself get too distracted the weight of everything he'd just been through would come crashing down on him all at once. That was not something he wanted to happen while he was alone with Ignis. Or alone with anyone, really.

"How are you faring, Noct?" asked Ignis, glancing back at him. "You mentioned you thought you had something sprained, but did anything else happen while you were fighting Leviathan? You seem out of sorts."

How to answer that?

"Honestly I just feel kind of dazed by it all," he said, and it was mostly the truth. "I still can't quite believe it worked, you know? I'm afraid I'm still dreaming."

Ignis chuckled.

"That's understandable after everything you've been through. The sensation will wear off in time."

"I hope so."

"Do you have any other physical injuries that need to be seen to? How severe are your wounds?"

Noctis closed his eyes and tried to feel out if there were any other places he'd been injured amidst all the aches and pains running through him from both the exertion of fighting Leviathan and the exhaustion of still recovering from the Starscourge. Not to mention the fact he had apparently just had the power of Providence unlocked again which meant it would soon be wreaking havoc on both his body and the world around him. Six, this was such a mess.

"Other than a few cuts and scratches, I think I'm okay," he said, forcing himself to find an answer that wouldn't make Ignis scream. "I'm pretty sure I've pulled a muscle in my chest, and my arm really aches."

"Let's hope you haven't broken anything," said Ignis, glancing back at him in concern. "I want to take a look at that arm when we get ashore, Noct."

"Fine, fine," sighed Noctis. All he really wanted to do right now was sleep anyway.

"You understand it will take you at least a month to recover from this, don't you?" said Ignis in a severe tone. "I don't want a repeat of earlier."

Noctis sighed deeply. Well, at least he could explain his point of view properly now, even if it probably wasn't going to make Ignis any happier.

"Specs, listen, I get it, I really do, and I know I should take the time to get healed, but I honestly don't think we have it." Ignis moved to cut him off, but Noctis kept talking before he had the opportunity. "The daemons are coming from Niflheim, you know that. I don't know how long we have before this place turns into a war zone, and when it does it's only going to be even harder to get to Gralea, which is where I need to be if I'm going to be able to fix any of this. I don't like that I'm probably going to have to do this while falling apart—I hate the idea of going up against Ardyn while I'm not at my best, but I don't think I have a choice. I can't let the world fall into darkness this time. Surely you can understand that?"

"I do understand, Noct," sighed Ignis, his voice heavy. "And I'm sorry for being so hard on you before, when I didn't know any of this, but...please also understand how I feel. It's my duty to look after you, and try to shield you from harm as best I can. You understand why it's hard for me to accept you going forward in this state?"

"I do," said Noctis, with a quiet sigh, "and I promise I will rest for a few days here, but I can't stay for a month. There, that's a compromise."

Ignis smiled as he said that, and shook his head slightly.

"You do sound older now, Noct," he said, though he sounded amused rather than horrified, which was good. "And yet you still cause me no end of worry. What am I going to do with you?"

"Hey, worrying you is part of my job," said Noctis, smiling. "It wouldn't be me if I wasn't, no matter how old I was."

"That is true," chuckled Ignis, just as they finally pulled into a port.


So this is a bit more of a cooldown chapter after the last few ones, with things finally starting to settle again. Unfortunately for Noct, that isn't exactly great for him what with his mental state, but he can't go on riding that adrenaline forever so its time to come back down and face the consequences. Also Ravus knows about the time travel now! That's some progress at least. Thank you to everyone still reading, and I hope you enjoyed the chapter!