BOOK 2: THE TALE OF THE CHOSEN KING

CHAPTER 20 – THE HEART OF A KING

The days following Leviathan's wrath were difficult for everyone. Half Altissia lain in ruins, and all the inhabitants had to run away to the mainland. Few were returning, many of them preferring to try and reconstruct what little the Tidemother had left behind.

Noctis' disposition mirrored the atmosphere, and he barely spoke anymore. More than once, Gladio was about to lecture the now king, but Prompto prevented him from doing so. The overall mood of the whole group had soured greatly: Noctis was depressed, Gladio was furious at his attitude, Ignis tried to carry on with his own duty while adapting to his new situation, and Prompto didn't know what to do, except helping Ignis in whatever the retainer would need.

They sailed back to the mainland, drove to a station and boarded the train which would take them to Gralea, Niflheim's capital. It took them several weeks to reach Cartanica, a former mining town in Niflheim's territory. Cor Leonis had contacted them to inform that the Hunters had located another Royal Tomb inside the quarry.

The landscape didn't do much to lift anyone's spirits. An expanse of rocky wasteland where the eye could see, Cartanica had once been a prosperous territory rife with natural resources. However, the imperial magitek mass production needed copious amounts of oil and coal, and they drained all the resources, leaving the town bereft of its natural supplies and of human life. A train still stopped at the station, nonetheless, but the visitors were scarce, if any.

"So…" Prompto timidly attempted having a normal conversation. "We're gonna roll through Tenebrae."

"Not before visiting the royal tomb in Cartanica," Ignis informed him, knowing only the two of them were willing to say a word. Noctis was sitting separately, as was Gladio, though they still traveled in the same train car.

"You sure you're up to that?"

"The wounds have mended. Eyesight's a matter of time."

Gladiolus got up and walked towards Noctis.

"The hell is wrong with you?" he grumbled.

"What?" Noctis slowly raised his eyes, as if he didn't understand the question.

"We're not stopping in Tenebrae," the Shield announced. "You need to grow up and get over it."

Noctis sprung to his feet to face him, his voice was trembling with fury.

"I am over it. I'm here, aren't I!?"

Gladio grabbed him by his jacket's lapels.

"Maybe when you're not busy moping, you can look around and give a shit about someone worse off than you," he said, referring to Ignis.

"Let go of me," Noctis hissed through clenched teeth.

"How's that ring fit ya? You'd rather carry it around than wear it? She gave her life so you could do your duty, not so you could sit around feeling sorry for yourself."

"You don't think I know that!?"

"You don't! Ignis took one for you too, and for what!?"

"Enough, Gladio!" the retainer intervened.

Ignis' warning was enough to lower the tension, but only so much. Gladio clicked his tongue in frustration.

"You think you're a king," he said in a lower tone. "But you're a coward."

"Shut up!" Noctis snarled and grabbed the bigger man by his jacket.

Prompto tried to mediate, bot Gladio shoved him aside.

"I get it, alright!?" Noctis yelled, pushing at him and barely making the Shield back half a step. "I get it!"

"Then get a grip! Pull your head outta your ass already!"

Noctis stormed away from his friends. Prompto tried going after him, but Gladio told him to leave him, before stomping his way out of the car.

Huffing, the king plopped in a seat as far as possible from them. They couldn't understand. They just couldn't understand.

A trembling hand came out of his pocket. The Ring sat on his palm as if mocking him. So much blood because of that jewel. So many sacrifices. Everyone he loved most was no more, and he never got to say goodbye to any of them.

Closing his hand and gritting his teeth, he tried to hold back his tears.

xxxxXX-0-XXxxxx

Cartanica station was more desolate than any of them could expect. Located in the middle of a rocky desert, the scorching sun burned away everything and everyone not sitting in the shade.

There were few passengers and travelers going back and forth, most of them forced to take that route after daemons had taken over other shorter, formerly more secure ones. Days were getting shorter too. According to his watch it was midday, yet the sun was already well on its way to dusk.

A few meager food stalls offered what little products they could cook. Another stall offered potions and defense items. The station cafeteria wasn't much better: imperial servings meant just enough calories to sustain a sedentary adult, and definitely left a lot to desire in terms of taste. Still, there were some local patrons who preferred to dine there than at home. Far from what some inhabitants of conquered territories had expected, the imperial expansion hadn't brought any prosperity to its inhabitants, and now everyone had to eat like a soldier from a poor country.

Noctis' phone buzzed. It was Cor.

"I take it you've arrived safely, Highness?"

"Yeah. Now I've just gotta find out where this royal tomb is."

"Look no further than the Fodina Caestino. There should be an elevator leading down to the quarry from the station."

"Roger."

"Good luck… and hold your nose."

"What?" but Cor had hung already. "Thanks for the advice, I guess?"

There was, as the marshal said, and elevator leading down to the quarry. It was mostly used by Hunters seeking some challenge, or on a hunting mission. Noctis and his friends gathered at the door and, without a word to each other, began descending to the mine.

Fodina Caestino had been an open pit mine, but now it was a den of monsters and, at night, a hive of daemons. A broad path circled it downwards following the rocky wall. Rusted safety rails still survived, yet battered and twisted at some points and, in others, they didn't exist altogether. Dilapidated bulldozers lain before mounds of sand and dirt, as if the workers had suddenly fled one day. Maybe some sort of monster had been the real reason behind the quarry's abandonment.

Deep down, rainfall pooled in places, making it home for amphibian creatures and, in the middle of the pit, an enormous tree overshadowed everything. As Prompto had read in a newspaper while on the train, that tree overrunning the mine puzzled scientist, since it had sprouted apparently from thin air, and had grown at an unnatural speed in a few years. Just their luck, the Hunters had reported that the tomb was at its base, between the roots.

The walk downwards was agonizingly slow due to Ignis' blindness and the now slippery soil, thanks to a gentle drizzle. Noctis kept clenching his teeth; he could take the monsters on his own, but at that speed night would see them still there, at the mercy of gods knew what kind of daemons bred there.

"Is it too much to ask the royal procession stick together?" Gladio asked when Noctis had gone too far away from Ignis and Prompto.

"Too much to ask you to shut it?"

That was the general tone of every interaction between the King and his Shield.

As Noctis had feared, night caught up with them, and they had to make camp. Gladio pitched the tent with a bit more energy than normal, but for the rest, he refused to sit down with everyone. The sight of Noctis staring silently into the bonfire got to his nerves and, Prompto, who did his best trying to help Ignis get his bearings, was at a loss for what to do. Cooking was out of the question, and they had to do with canned food they had stocked up at the shops above.

The next morning they kept walking, reaching at long last the bottom of the tree. The roots arched enough to let a truck pass under them, but the path was blocked by a fallen railway car. They investigated the control panel, finding out that they needed to activate the emergency generators and get the key from a shed, if they wanted the car to budge. It took them two mornings to do so: one to get to one generator, the other to get to the other and retrieve the key, since they were on different sides of the quarry, and pray that they still worked.

They worked, and the control panel gave a satisfying hum when they approached it the third morning. Noctis flipped the switch and the cart moved with great noise and black smoke coming from the main engine, but now there was enough room for them to walk to the other side.

However, before Noctis could cross the path himself, Gladio grabbed him by the shoulder.

"Hold up. You sure you're ready for this? You got what it takes?"

"To do what," he spat.

"To face your ancestors and convince them to lend you their strength. Got a long road ahead," Gladio crossed his massive arms, all bitterness gone from his voice. "Can you see this through? To the end?"

"Can and will," Noctis declared. "Whether I like it or not, I've got a duty to fulfill… as king."

"You're damn right you do," Gladio chuckled. "Then that means you'd better start taking this seriously."

Noctis clenched his teeth when the other walked past him. Keep going. That was it.

Descending deeper into the quarry wasn't difficult for them, but Prompto and Gladio had to help Ignis several times. At one point, the gunslinger wrung his nose in disgust.

"Man, something stinks around here. Don't slip and fall in whatever that is."

It was true. Maybe it was the stagnant water or some dead animal, but the putrid stench burned into their nostrils and made their eyes water.

They reached the bottom, which was a knee-deep pond or greenish water. A light mist covering the whole place gate it a phantasmagorical quality. So that was what Cor meant about holding their noses.

They searched for the tombs' entrance. It wasn't too difficult to find, but when they did, they discovered it was covered in giant egg sacks.

"What is this?" Prompto's question didn't want an answer.

"I hate eggs," Gladio grumbled.

"Do we really wanna know what's back there?"

Prompto was interrupted by a deep, gurgling roar and an explosion of water at their backs. Giant tentacles emerged from the pond, followed by a giant mouth.

"That looks like a mouth," Prompto said. "Is that its face!?"

"What?" Ignis asked. "What is it?"

"Something real bad!" Noctis yelled, dodging a thrashing tentacle.

A single malboro was always bad news, but one who saw its nest endangered was trice as threatening and vicious. The fight was harder than anyone expected, with the monster constantly exhaling its foul breath. Its many tentacles made any approaching extremely difficult. There was a moment, though, when Ignis heard the monster inhaling.

"Noct, I have an idea. If I may…"

He took a magic grenade from his jacket and threw it with all his might towards the source of the rotten stench. The malboro swallowed the device, and it exploded with a burst of flames, fueled further by the stinking fumes.

"Ah, as I suspected," he said when he heard the guttural howl of the monster.

It was enough to weaken it, and to give them the upper hand at last.

"Nice one, Iggy," Gladio cheered.

As Noctis delivered the finishing blow, the malboro growled as it liquefied in a disgusting dark-green goo.

"Is it dead?" Gladio asked.

"It is… and it's all thanks to Iggy!" Prompto shouted.

"Iggy, you saved us."

"Seriously. We'd be plant food if it weren't for you."

"Happy to help," the retainer simply said.

"What," Gladio shot a piercing glance to Noctis. "No royal commendation from His Majesty?"

"None for you, at least," Noctis shot back, walking towards the tomb's entrance and shooting a fire spell towards the eggs.

Inside there was the same room with the same dormant figure, only this one had a black katana, long as tall was a man. The king acquired its powers and they all walked away from there, happy to be on their way back to civilization once more.

"A moment?" said Ignis as they crossed the tomb's threshold. He hadn't moved an inch from the door.

"Is everything okay?" asked Gladio.

"It bloody well isn't!" the retainer exploded. "And I won't suffer this pointless bickering in silence any longer."

They all hung their heads in shame. Even Gladio looked uncomfortable.

"Let's be frank. My vision hasn't improved, and probably won't. Yet in spite of this… I would remain with you all. Til the very end."

"Sorry but I object," said Gladio. "War is a matter of life and death."

"But," Prompto protested. "We'll be there!"

"It's not about us looking out for him!"

"Uh-huh. Well, then he should be free to choose."

"There's more to it than just what he wants!"

"I know full well!" Ignis yelled.

They all looked at him. Somehow, through the years they all had come to believe that it would be impossible for him to raise his voice in anger.

"I won't ask you to slow down. If I can't keep up, I will bow out."

"What says His Majesty?" Gladio asked.

"Noct, you are king. One cannot lead by standing still. A king pushes onwards always, accepting the consequences and never looking back." Ignis reminded Noctis. Then he turned to where the Shield's voice came. "Gladio, Noct will take his rightful place, but only once he's ready."

The bigger man huffed in frustration.

"Have it your way. We're still taking a big risk. We better all be ready," he stressed out that word looking at Noctis, before walking back to the station on his own.

They made their way back a bit quicker this time, and at long last they reached the lift. Despite his outburst, Gladio was waiting for them there. They made the trip back to the upper level in silence, until Noctis broke it timidly.

"You guys mind if we stop in Tenebrae?"

"Might as well hop off," Prompto said merrily.

"If it helps him move on," Gladio echoed, all ill intent dropped for good.

After stocking up on some first need items, they prepared to board the train. Before doing so, they still had some words for Ignis.

"We're here for you," Noctis assured him.

"Yeah," the gunslinger echoed. "Let us help you."

The bell announced the train about to leave, and they hurried to board it.

"And we're off!" Prompto said happily.

"Are we clear?" Gladio asked.

"Crystal," the retainer assured him.

"Hey," said Noctis while grabbing his arm. "Watch your step."

"You're not pushing onward?" Gladio threw him a friendly jab, like the old times.

"Not at his expense," said the king in all seriousness.

"Fair enough."

It was good to know they could stick to the plan and that the rifts where somehow mended. They finally felt at ease as they boarded the train and took seats together again, like the friends they were.

They didn't notice, however, a tall man in a long, black coat boarding the train too. He seemed very satisfied with himself, as he softly hummed the chocobo song.