BOOK 2: THE TALE OF THE CHOSEN KING
CHAPTER 10 – DARK CLOUDS
The next morning, while the four friends had their breakfast at the rented caravan, the radio aired an official statement from the empire, blaming a group of insurgents for the attacks on the Citadel. According to the empire, said rebels had also allegedly killed the king, forcing Niflheim to step forward and fill the power void left in Lucis to prevent the region from falling into anarchy.
The four friends listened in silence, stopped mid-movement, even, when High Commander Ravus Nox Fleuret's voice talked about the new imperial blockade across the region of Duscae: They believed the insurgents to have taken refuge in that region and the empire's intent was on finding them. As if wanting to add insult to injury, he also stressed how the imperial army would continue its recovery efforts in the Crown City.
Noctis almost choked with his own bile at hearing that news. They empire had killed his father and used that as an excuse to conquer Lucis, just as they did with Tenebrae. "Recovery" was an imaginative relabeling for an invasion.
The quakes in Duscae and Cleigne finally stopped. The empire claimed that the cause of the tremors was the Archaean, who had awakened in a fit of rage, and that it had been the imperial army the one to lain the giant to rest, thus averting disaster. To the eyewitness claiming that Titan had disappeared from the Disc of Cauthess, the empire said nothing.
Noctis and his friends discussed which options they had, given that their suspicion of the empire having the Regalia was almost a fact.
"Maybe we could ask Ardyn to help us again, right?" Prompto offered.
"The imperial chancellor," Gladio repeated sarcastically.
"He represents a problem, not a solution," Ignis remarked.
"So where does that leave us?"
"Stranded, awaiting word from Hammerhead."
"In the meantime, we'll have to hoof it," said Gladio
"Look, it's Umbra!" Prompto pointed behind Noctis.
The black dog sat at some distance, as if waiting for Noctis, but when the prince approached, Umbra dashed off. The four friends ran after the animal, which led them outside the Post. Finally coming to a stop, Umbra sat by a tree.
When they caught up with the dog, someone stepped from behind that tree.
"Gentiana…"
She stood there, pale skinned and dark-haired, her eyes closed and a soft smile gracing her lips, just as Noctis remembered her from his stay at Tenebrae.
"Hear me, O King of the Stone," she said in her deep, melodious voice. "By the Stormsender's blessing will the path to the Stone be opened. The Oracle goes hence in her King's name."
"Luna." Noctis felt such a strong rush of emotions that he could barely utter her name. "Where is she now?"
"The eye of the Storm. When the covenant is forged, the Oracle and ring shall await their King at the Walls of Water. Stray not from the path."
She was near, but soon she would be out of reach again. The prince shook his head in frustration, but when he looked up Gentiana had vanished, true to her supernatural origin.
While Ignis explained to Prompto what they had seen, Noctis knelt to scratch Umbra behind the ears. Then he took the diary from the pouch and searched anxiously for the last entry.
"My prayers are with you, Noctis."
He wished she had written more, but her messages had to be brief if she was on the run. Nevertheless, he caressed her handwriting, closing his eyes. Just a little longer…
Taking a pen, he wrote on the next page: "I received the blessing. Thank you, Luna."
He felt he could have written until either he ran out of pages or the pen dried out, but he kept it brief like she had done.
"Let Luna know," he told Umbra with difficulty. "I'm okay, and she won't have to wait much longer… we'll be together soon."
As he said those words, a memory came back to him, of the days he had spent recovering from his wound, and learning the Crystal's lore from Lunafreya.
"The Crystal was gifted to mankind that we might know lasting prosperity," she taught him.
"If the Crystal belongs to everyone, how come only Lucis gets to use it?"
"The kings of Lucis do not simply use the Crystal; they also protect it."
"Wait, so my dad's guarding it?"
"Yes."
"I had no idea."
"To crown the King of Light is the calling of the Crystal. And keeping the Crystal safe until that day falls to the line of Lucis."
"And I'm the Chosen?"
"Only the True King, anointed by the Crystal, can purge our star of its scourge," her smile faded. It would always bother Noctis that he never knew why it happened each time she talked about the Chosen purging the scourge.
"You really think I can do that?"
"As Oracle, I will see to it," she said, her smile returning. "To aid the King is the Oracle's calling."
"Then…" seeing her trust on him had always given him courage. He couldn't remember, though, if that time he just bluffed it. "I guess I can do it," he said, puffing out his chest. "I won't let you down."
"I know you won't."
Now an adult, he still harbored the same doubts. Would he be able to vanquish the Starscourge once and for all?
As a parting gift, Gentiana sent him a message and a vision: He saw an old, gnarled tree being hit by thunderstorm, again and again.
"Bridging heaven and earth it strikes, the Storm's ephemeral yet eternal Light. To the Light must go the King."
They chose the fastest chocobos Wiz had in his ranch, and headed north, where dark clouds gathered.
"Lady Lunafreya has done well to keep the ring from falling into enemy's hands," Ignis commented as they rode away.
"All we need to do is hit Altissia," Prompto pointed out.
"That entails passage aboard a ship. Caem may serve us now as it did them then."
"The hidden harbor…" said Gladio, remembering the story of his father and King Regis setting sail from Caem. "Hmph, just might work. I'll have Iris set it up."
The travel to the tree was brief, but they saw many assault crafts flying over their heads. The chocobos were quick, but their brilliant colors gave them away.
The four friends arrived at the spot Noctis had signaled. There was a narrow corridor which wounded it way into a hill. At the end stood a dead tree, constantly hit by lightning. The prince approached it and extended his hand, fully expecting Ramuh, the Stormbringer, to put up a fight.
It wasn't like that. Purple lightning crackled and arced to his hand, and he had yet another vision. This time, a memory.
During his stay at Tenebrae, Noctis was bound to a wheelchair. Luna had given him her copy of the Cosmology, the book which told about the legend of the Crystal and the gods. One morning, he was dozing off in the room he shared with Luna and, when he opened his eyes, a woman clad in dark robes was sitting on a chair nearby.
"Ah," she said softly. "The young prince is recovering well."
She had a gentle smile, like Luna's, but her eyes were always closed. The woman then introduced herself to him and asked him whether if he had read about her kind.
He took some moments to answer, looking at the book on his lap and wondering how she knew he had been reading it.
"I tried to, but only know what Luna told me," he had said.
"Lady Lunafreya," she corrected him.
"Yeah, Lunafrr… Luna."
The woman smiled while he felt his cheeks burning.
"It is heartening to see the future King and the Oracle enjoy such familiarity," she said, smiling gently. Then she added, enigmatically: "The fate of the world may depend on it."
Noctis opened his eyes. Gentiana spoke to him again. There would be other two places he would have to visit. She also told him that it was Luna the one awakening the gods so that they would give their blessing to the King.
The second place wasn't unlike the first one, only this time the path between the mountains was. This time, however, the power he received didn't trigger any vision.
The third place was far to the west, in a cave at the other side of the Duscae region.
As they approached the designated place, a flash of light made them cover their eyes.
"That one was pretty close," Gladio said.
"Which means we must be as well," Ignis pointed out.
Prompto tried to remind them about the perils of being hit by lightning, but none of them seemed to listen. Since those lightning bolts were the work of Ramuh, they reasoned that they wouldn't hit the Chosen One. However, seeing how Titan had welcomed them, Noctis wasn't so sure about that logic.
They arrived at the foot of a rocky hill. The previous bolt of lightning had struck an enormous block of stone, making it explode, and revealing the mouth of a cave: Fociaugh Hollow.
"We're supposed to go inside?" Prompto asked, though his tone implied that it was the last thing he wanted to do. His companions stared at him then, and he sighed, shooting his fist in the air without much enthusiasm. "Here we are… Fociaugh Hollow!"
"No telling what waits inside," said Ignis, happy to find some refuge from the rain.
"Stay sharp," Gladio grumbled.
"Always," the prince adjusted his flashlight and entered the cave.
The tunnel seemed handmade, and it wound its way very deep into the earth. Prompto pointed out that fact, and Noctis remembered that his friend suffered from claustrophobia. At the Greyshire cave Prompto shown signs of restlessness, but the prince had to admit that even he was starting to feel uneasy as they walked down the dark tunnel.
The cave was deadly silent, and except for some imps, there was no trace of life inside. Nevertheless, Ignis insisted on being as cautious as possible. As they kept walking down in the dark, they could still hear the distant rumble of the thunder outside, and if they stood still, they could also feel it under their feet.
After a while, the tunnel opened to their right to another gallery, half blocked with fallen rocks, but from which they could feel a current of air.
"My baby…"
Though a sibilant whisper, the unnatural voice reached them loud and clear.
"Wha-What was that sound?" said Prompto, looking around.
Noctis thought he could see something scurrying in the tunnel ahead of them, just outside the beam of light. He took some steps forward, past the intersection and cautious that whatever it was didn't jump on him. He could feel Gladio and Ignis just behind.
A shrill scream sounded just behind them, and Gladio could only see Prompto's boots disappearing behind the bend on the rock. His scream faded beyond the dark, half-buried tunnel.
Noctis called for his friend and, forgetting all precaution, he rushed forwards which his two friends just behind him.
The tunnel opened to a chamber, the natural cave the excavators seemed to have been looking for. The path took them to their right, following a wide cornice running along the wall. Below them, there was a maze divided by stalagmites, and half lit by the crevices on the high, rocky ceiling. The abundant rain and the sound of thunder filtered through, making the floor dangerously slippery in places.
"Prompto!" Gladio bellowed. "Are you okay?"
"No, I'm not okay!" came the gunslinger's voice from one of the levels below.
Despite the fact that he kept running towards the source of his friend's voice, Noctis sighed inwardly in relief. He knew his friend, and in Prompto's voice there was more annoyance than terror.
"This place is literally the worst!" the gunslinger kept complaining. "And why did it have to be a snake? That thing dragged me all the way over here!"
Now Noctis could see him! Prompto was alone, his gun drawn in a defensive stance. Unharmed, thanks the Six.
"I'm going with him," the prince told Ignis. "We'll see you two later."
Before Gladio could say anything, Noctis warped towards the place his friend stood, and not a moment too soon, for the smell of human had lured the daemons out.
At first only imps and hobgoblins appeared. The later were humanoid daemons with overdeveloped arms which flailed their fists around as if they were clubs. They weren't terribly strong, but soon other daemons joined: Thunder bombs, embodiments of lightning magic in the form of floating spheres, and a mindflayer.
Prompto and Noctis would have been in serious trouble then if not for the timely arrival of Ignis and Gladio. The retainer's spear wounded the mindflayer just when it was about to envelop Prompto with his tentacles. The monster turned to him, but it was Noctis the one who struck him while Ignis switched to his daggers to attack a nearby thunder bomb. Gladio, in turn, made short work of the remaining hobgoblins, resisting their heavy blows with his shield, and attacking with his greatsword while Prompto covered him.
Soon the cave was silent again as the daemons dissolved into a black mist.
"You okay?" panted Noctis.
"Guess so," said Prompto, shaking his head, probably to clear his mind a bit. He then described to them that he couldn't see much of the monster, but that he was sure it was a giant snake. It had coiled its tail around him and dragged him down to the cave, to then leave him alone and at the mercy of the other daemons.
They continued their path downguards, with Prompto on constant alert in case the monster attacked again.
The path led them to another chamber, barely lit this time. Perhaps the crevices didn't run that deep in that part of the hill. The thunder kept rumbling outside, but the rain seemed to have stopped, since they didn't hear the dripping of water anymore. Beyond them they saw two paths, and Noctis thought he could spy, just at the end of the path to the left, flashes of lightning.
But when he was about to step forward, he felt Prompto's strong grip on his arm.
"It's here," he murmured, looking at the ceiling.
His three friends followed his gaze, but could see nothings beyond the stalactites. Gladio was the first one to summon back his sword just a fraction of a second before a giant mass of scales fell heavily before them with a splash. Slowly uncoiling under the light filtering again alongside the rain, it revealed an horrific face, which was but a mockery of a woman, its lanky hair dangling around it like putrid algae.
"See? There she is!" Prompto screamed. "That's her!"
But the monster, which was called a naga, ignored the gunslinger's outburst and focused its milky white eyes on Noctis instead.
"My baby," it hissed. "Where…"
The prince, maybe taken aback by the monster's capability to speak, stammered an awkward offering to go search for the "baby". The naga snarled, showing two rows of sharp teeth.
"That would mean… YOU took him!" it roared, opening its mouth wide and lunging at Noctis.
The prince warped just as the jaws closed around the where he stood a second before. Ignis issued orders to attack it with daggers and greatswords, as well as ice, if possible. Prompto, eager to get rid of that particular monstrosity, prepared and ice grenade and threw it with all his strength. It exploded on the naga's head, the water dripping from its hair adding power to the spell and stopping the monster but a second: enough time for Gladio to deliver a slash to its throat.
The naga's skin was hardy, however, and it hissed in pain, spitting a cloud of green mist from its mouth.
"Take cover!" Ignis yelled.
But Noctis had already initiated a warp strike and the fog caught him midair… and they couldn't see him anymore.
Prompto called for his friend in desperation, but Ignis chided him, urging him to focus on the combat. The retainer's face was set in a grim mask as he passed a hand over his blades. The steel glowed with a bluish light for a moment, and the daggers started to emit a mist as if they were icicles. Ignis stood his ground as the naga lunged at him next, then he sidestepped at the last second and slashed the monster's face and throat, deepening the wound Gladio had made.
The naga still reared back, dark liquid dripping from its mouth and wounds, but it was slowing down. Now it was Prompto's turn to discharge a salvo on the weakening monster, hitting a spot which made it lower its head. Gladio lunged forward, cleaving at the cranium and splitting it in two with a loud crack. The monster lay still for a moment on the ground and then its body began to dissolve.
"Noct!" Prompto called, frantically looking around.
They heard a toad croaking near them. They looked at each other for an instant, befuddled that a small animal could survive down there. As they tried to discern where the noise came from, there was a puff of green smoke and Noctis appeared near the entrance of the chamber, squatting, and looking even more confused than them.
"Noct?"
"The hell just happened?" the prince said, getting to his feet in embarrassment. "I was going to strike it and then…"
"It appears the green emanations had some side effect," said Ignis, adjusting his glasses to hide a smile.
"Well," said Gladio. "At least you didn't need to be kissed by a maiden to go back to yourself."
"Very funny…"
"Yeah, fetching Lady Lunafreya is kinda difficult these days," Prompto chimed in.
Noctis grumbled something and stomped his way towards the left aperture. Beyond the winding, dark path, lain an underground pond, and from the pond a gnarled tree grew under a natural opening on the cave's ceiling. That was the final piece.
When Noctis touched it, greenish light coursed through the tree, and a purple lightning hit it then, its energy arcing to Noctis' arm. He winced, but he endured the energy coursing through his body.
He had a vision: Luna stood before that same tree, bathed in light, singing her invocation, her hand outstretched forward. Ramuh, appearing from a stormy cloud in all his majesty, looked down at her, listening to her plea, and then he bowed his head in agreement.
"I expected more fire and brimstone," Prompto commented when the lightning stopped.
"Some gods are friendlier than others, I guess," said Gladio.
"But not all of them," Noctis reminded them. He wondered what kind of god Leviathan, the guardian of Altissia, would be. "Poor Luna…"
"Perhaps you had better console her in person," Ignis offered.
Prompto also tried to cheer him up.
"Just a boat ride away!"
"Lose that scowl along the way," Gladio told the prince.
"Will do."
As they made their way out of the cave they noticed the ground shaking slightly and a deep rumble could be felt if they touched the rocky walls.
Upon exiting, a giant battleship flew over their heads. It was much bigger than a dreadnought, and the forest trees shook violently on its wake.
Noctis' phone buzzed. It was Cindy.
"Hey, Highness. About your car…"
"Yeah?"
"Well, I found her, but she's at a base."
"Ugh."
"Now, I can handle garage folk no problem, but sweet-talkin' the empire? That'll take some doing."
"Don't worry about it. We'll figure it out."
"You sure about that?"
"Yeah, thanks for the heads up. Later."
"Who was that?" Asked Gladio when he hung up.
"Cindy."
"What?" Prompto's voice nearly cracked. "You can't talk to her like that!"
Ignis and Gladio hid their smiles. Poor Prompto had been like a puppy in love with Cid's granddaughter ever since they met her.
"Yeah, I can" said Noctis, teasing him. "I just did."
"And did she have any choice words for you?" Ignis asked.
"Yeah… the Regalia's at an imperial base."
"This is nothing more than conjecture," said Ignis. "But I suspect that ship was due to arrive far earlier. The thunder and rain must've slowed it down. There's a chance they intend to transport the Regalia back to Niflheim."
They agreed to go to the fortress where that ship was headed. It wasn't far from the Disc of Cauthess, a place named Archeole Stronghold.
As they traveled by chocobo, Noctis heard Prompto humming to himself from time to time. Of the four friends, he was the one having the most fun while riding. At one point, when they had left the rocky plains around the Disc of Cauthess behind, his friend approached rode near him to strike conversation. He complimented Cindy's good heart and generosity with them, and wondered aloud if she would ever call them soon.
"Not soon enough for you, lover boy," Gladio said aloud. He had been riding just behind Prompto when he got near the prince, and couldn't help poking some fun at him.
The gunslinger chuckled in embarrassment and diverted the conversation elsewhere, but he had grown bright red to the roots of his hair.
As the sun went down for that day, they finally saw the fortress.
Grey concrete walls rose by the main road, with metal doors closing the perimeter shut. Inside, there was a generator in the form of tall antennae, emitting a reddish energy which served as power to the surrounding magitek units, making them extraordinary strong. It was a temporary fortress, however, one the empire would dismantle in a matter of hours.
"They are remnants of the Old War," Ignis explained to them. "And the imperial has availed itself of the added protection. Entry will not be easy."
They made camp near the stronghold to devise an infiltration strategy.
A front assault would leave them exposed, but moving under the cover of night, they might be able to infiltrate the base unnoticed. That way they could gather all the information about its security, aside from the Regalia's location, and Ignis could analyze it later to find them a way in.
Noctis would be the one clearing the way, with his warping ability. It was as silent as it was deadly for the MT units, though he had to mind his energy. The bipedal constructs, however, they left alone.
Silently and steadily, they made their way to the center of the base, leaving a trail of disabled MTs on their wake. They finally reached the center, where they had parked the Regalia.
"There's the old girl," Noctis murmured with satisfaction.
They had already scouted the area, finding neither guards nor surveillance, so they ran towards the car.
"She's a real sigh for sore eyes!" said Prompto, caressing the panel of the car.
"And none the worse for her time in imperial hands."
As Ignis was talking, he reached for the door handle, but Noctis stopped him. It was a trap.
Before they could react, there were several MA.X. units upon them, plus many MTs. They would have to clear a path for the Regalia, and keep all fire away from her. The friends carved their way towards the powering generator, proving that they had more experience than the day they had cleaned the tomb's entrance with Cor's help.
The fight dragged well into the night, and it was near dawn when they reached the generator. Their enemies were twice as powerful as normal, and they tried to cut Noctis from his companions. The last MA.X. standing before the generator proved to be tougher than the rest and, when everything seemed to be lost, Noctis felt a pang in his head. He prayed, not knowing why or how, and the light from the incoming sunrise was suddenly darkened with thick, stormy clouds. He felt himself lifted from the ground; a giant hand hoisted him: Ramuh's hand.
The god raised his staff, crackling with purple energy, and threw it to the generator. The ground shook violently upon impact, and lightning arced everywhere, turning everything it touched to fire. Both the generator and all the remaining MTs were destroyed in a single attack.
As the lightning subsided, Ramuh lowered the prince to the ground, where he could see that his friends had been protected from the god's wrath by a magic barrier.
"This is the might of the Six…" he murmured as he looked around him, sparks of fire and electricity still flying around.
"Dude… that… was… hardcore!"
"And it did the trick," said Ignis, always more moderate than Prompto. "The place is dead."
"Rest in pieces," Gladio mocked a salute to the generator. "C'mon, let's grab the Regalia and split."
The morning sun reflected beautifully on the Regalia's bodywork. At least they had cleaned and polished her, no doubt to present her as a trophy to the emperor.
Prompto was the first one to stop on his tracks, and the first one to slowly turn around.
"Guys?"
They followed his voice.
A tall, silver haired man approached them, unsheathed sabre in hand. He wore a long, pristine white coat, the empire's official color, but instead of red, the accents of his clothes were black and purple, the colors of Tenebrae. The coat's lapel crossed at the chest, closing it tightly, but it was open from the waist down to allow freedom of movement, exposing his black trousers, high, armored boots and a sash bearing the coat of arms of House Fleuret.
But what caught their attention was the prosthetic left arm, richly adorned, but still a magitek product from the empire.
Noctis felt a faint sense of recognition at first, before the clothes gave the newcomer away. It had been twelve years since they had last seen each other and, if at Tenebrae, Luna's brother only tolerated him on behalf of Lady Sylva and his sister, now Ravus approached him with a murderous glint in his eyes.
"Long has it been, Noctis." Said the Lord of Tenebrae. "You receive the Storm's blessing," he walked up to Noctis; his friends quickly regrouped and stood protecting him, but they didn't see the glimmer of metal to the prince's throat. "And yet, you know nothing of the consequences."
"Watch it!" Gladio tried to push the prince out of the sabre's point, but Ravus, with a dexterous flicker of his wrist, had the blade against the Shield's neck.
Ignis made a movement as if to summon his daggers, but Ravus raised his prosthetic hand.
"Be still. All of you." He calmly ordered, keeping his eyes on Noctis, to whom he addressed next. "Heir to a crown befitting no other," he said, closing his left hand and looking briefly at it. "Witness his splendor and glory. All hail the Chosen One."
"Awful high and might for an imperial rat, serving the enemy to hunt down Luna!" Noctis accused him with bitterness, irked at the mockery in Ravus' voice.
Ravus composure was finally broken. With a snake's speed, he grabbed the prince by the throat with his artificial arm.
"I do not serve," he hissed. "I command!"
Luna's brother pushed Noctis away, and Gladio could finally put himself between him and their attacker. It was only then that the Lord of Tenebrae deigned to pay him any attention.
"The king's sworn shield," he scoffed at him.
"You better believe it," Gladio puffed up his chest, but Ravus only smirked ever so slightly.
"A weak shield protects naught," he claimed, raising his sabre.
Gladio summoned his great sword to parry the attack, but it felt as if he was trying to stop a crane, and Ravus had used his human arm.
With an expert movement, Luna's brother unbalanced Gladio to his right, creating an opening and, with the sabre's pommel, he hit the bigger man on the stomach, sending him flying to crash on the Regalia's side.
Seeing what Ravus had done made Noctis lose his composure completely. He summoned the Royal Arms, ready for battle.
"Wanna go? Let's do it," he growled as the phantoms of the kings' weapons floated around him.
"Should the Chosen fall," Ravus murmured. "That too is fate."
"I'd say that's far enough," said a voice near them.
Ravus scowled when Ardyn Izunia sauntered towards them, and turned away from the chancellor, not deigning to talk to him.
"A hand, Highness," Ardyn asked the prince.
"Not from you."
"Oh, but I'm here to help," the other said. It was infuriatingly impossible to discern whether if his words were sardonic or just flamboyant.
"And how is that?" Ignis inquired.
"By taking the army away."
"You expect us to believe that?" Gladio had a bit of difficulty hiding the fact that the hit had knocked all the air out of his lungs.
"When next we meet, it'll be across the seas," the chancellor said. "Just so happens that we have business of our own with the tutelary deity. Don't we?" he asked Noctis directly.
At that, Ravus turned his head slightly, but Ardyn, with a dismissive gesture of his hand, sent him away. The Lord of Tenebrae obeyed without protesting, much to everyone else's surprise.
"Fare thee well, Your Majesty, and safe travels," the Chancellor said, turning away and following Ravus.
Noctis stood there for several minutes, seething in silence, as their friends tried to assess the damages done to the car by Gladio's impact. The Shield still kept his hand on his stomach; even if he never uttered a single sound of complain.
"You guys know that guy?" Prompto asked.
"Ravus Nox Fleuret," Ignis explained in a quiet voice. "First son of Tenebrae… and elder brother to Lady Lunafreya."
Dark clouds gathered in the sky by noon, despite the clear dawn, and soon the rain began pattering on the car's windows. They drove in silence, listening to the news.
"At long last the imperial blockades of Duscaean roadways have been removed," the newscaster announced. "The imperial army has also demolished all related facilities erected around the region. The provisional government of Insomnia anticipates increased traffic congestion along most local highways, and encourages all citizens to refrain from any unnecessary travel for the time being."
"So help me figure this out," Prompto started, maybe to fill the silence. "That was Luna's brother?"
"The High Commander himself," Ignis explained. "Wartime makes for quick promotions."
"Even a son of Tenebrae can rise to the top," Gladio pointed out.
"But why would he want to lead their army?"
"Who cares?" Noctis snarled.
"Certainly formidable enough on his own," Ignis continued, impervious to Noctis' outburst.
"If Ravus wants power, I'll give him a taste," Noctis promised.
No one said anything more until they reached Lestallum.