APPENDIX: EPISODE ARDYN
CHAPTER 2 – ILLUSORY TRUTH
The breeze in that summer afternoon carried an unnatural chilliness, as if from early autumn.
He approached the old tree. Everything seemed the same, but the air was heavy with dread. Aera's white dress stood out against the dark trunk as she stood there, waiting for him, as she had done so many times before. But now she didn't smile back at him.
"Why does she look so sad?" he thought.
Her eyes looked over his shoulder and past him, her expression clouded with worry. Following her gaze, Ardyn saw with alarm how Somnus walked out of the wheat field, sword in hand.
"Forgive me, Brother," he said, a cruel smirk playing on his lips. "But the throne seats only one!"
Somnus slashed at him, but Aera stepped in between and she was cut down instead. Ardyn screamed, kneeling and holding her while she writhed in agony. Dark particles swirled around his body and Aera's until they engulfed both.
He woke with a jolt, to see a grey, plain ceiling over his head.
Cold sweat drenched his brow as he tried to catch his breath. Just a nightmare. But it had been the same one ever since he had been "rescued".
"Ardyn Izunia, Chief Besithia would like to see you."
He sighed, being now used to the disembodied voices which filled the modern world.
Two millennia had gone by. Everything was alien to him.
What in the world was he doing there?
He had learned about Insomnia, about Somnus' great kingdom and how it prospered. Of course he would have wanted to get back at his brother, but he was long dead. Everyone who ever either brother had already died and turned to dust so, to whom shall he prove his innocence?
Months had gone by in that grey place, the "research facility", as they called it, and some days he missed his cell. At least there he could be alone with his hallucinations, which he could will away whenever he grew tired of them. But in the facility he had to endure the endless hours alone, knowing that there were humans at the other side of the walls to whom he couldn't engage in conversation, for they beheld him with a mixture of awe and fear. And when he wasn't alone he had the company of that Besithia man and his endless prattling.
He couldn't decide which attitude irked him the most, until he realized that both were sides from the same coin: He was a rarity, a monster.
That day Ardyn missed his dark confinement more than ever. The nightmares had gotten worse, since he turned that man into a daemon. It had been days since he could get proper sleep, and now the visions assaulted him during naps.
He got up slowly from the bed. His movements were sluggish out of mental weariness. Grimacing, his hand tore at the garment they had given him. It was rough and too tight on the chest. How modern people could move with clothes like that was a mystery to him. And let's not get started with the "shoes". How he missed his old sandals!
He looked at the room around him. It was bigger than the hovels his people used to live in. Rows of books and other information sources lined up in shelves along the walls. These people not only stored knowledge on paper, but also on image and sound. It took a bit for him to get used to those things: seeing people who weren't there, some of them not alive anymore, that was something he couldn't have even imagined back in his time.
His eyes lingered on the small table at the corner he used for eating and relaxing. Remains of a half-eaten supper lain, already cold, on a plate. At its side, however, were several empty bottles of wine, all from the previous evening.
Now he couldn't even get drunk, try as he might.
"Might as well head out," he sighed.
He followed the hallway to where the Chief awaited, almost shivering from the coldness that the facility's ambient elicited on him. Everything in the modern world was about steel, perfect angles and smooth surfaces. He wasn't made for that, but for stone, mortar and wood, and the crackling of a hearth during cold nights.
There were soldiers patrolling the hallways, and Ardyn wondered why even bother. The facility sat atop a permafrost mountain range. If anyone dared braving the elements and survive, they deserved a price, not a shooting.
The Chief waited for him in an expensively decorated room, sitting at a dinner table. He had visited that room some times, whenever the Chief wanted to discuss anything with him, or had any discovery to disclose.
"Come. Have a seat," Verstael gestured to him.
Ardyn occupied the chair next to Besithia. No matter the luxuries, he still felt as if he was caged; only his prison now was a whole world instead of a cell. He knew he had to endure another of this man's ravings yet again, but today there was food served at the table.
Upon arrival, they had asked him what he wanted to eat, and he had told them. He wasn't hungry, but he didn't want to aggravate his hosts. They had catered to his every need, even if he didn't have needs anymore. He ate, lay on his bed and tended to his body needs in an attempt to reclaim a sliver of his former life. There was no use. He has started to suspect that the Scourge had something to do with it, and Verstael's tests had corroborated it.
He sat in silence while the Chief ate with pleasure. Noticing that there was a service laid for him, Ardyn looked at the dishes before him and fought back a grimace of what he thought was disgust, but could have been frustration. None of them he could identify as food, so evenly cut and perfectly arranged in the plates they were. It seemed like whoever was in charge of the food had a compulsive need to arrange everything in a geometrical pattern, in the hopes that the design could make up for its lack of taste. Only the bread buns, piled on a basket near him, seemed like something he could bite without fearing they were a piece of decoration.
Nevertheless, Ardyn put his hands together, and quietly prayed.
"Gods above," he murmured. "We thank you for the bounty you have laid before us…"
"Don't you want your food getting cold, do you?" Verstael interrupted.
Ardyn raised his hand, and the man fell silent. When Ardyn was done, he kept talking.
"Are you enjoying your stay?" the Chief asked.
"No," Ardyn said, all care about politeness long forgotten.
"You've been asleep for years. Learning to appreciate the waking world will take time. Perhaps I can help enlighten you while we dine."
"What is this food?" Ardyn asked, making a tired motion with his hand towards the table.
"Meat, cloned in this facility."
"Cloned?"
Then the Chief went on a tirade about cells and transplants and other babble as he gesticulated. Ardyn didn't understand the barrage of technicalities, but meat wasn't grown, that much he knew. You hunted animals or reared them and then you sacrificed them, that was how it was done.
"Enough," Ardyn said wearily. Beyond the barrier of obscure terms he sensed there was something blasphemous and repulsive going on in that place. It was enough to make him feel sick. "I have no ears for the ramblings of a lunatic."
That was the only one he saw the Chief vexed. To smooth things out, he changed the subject.
"Was your examination of me a fruitful one?"
Verstael's eyes lighted up.
"Oh, yes," he said with enthusiasm. "You've proven far more fascinating than expected. No wonder they kept you locked away. To think the powers of a daemon could dwell within the heart of a man. It's incredible! The Starscourge doesn't sap your life force. It gives you more! Your cells can regenerate themselves, and you can daemonify other life forms as well. There's no doubt. You are-"
"A monster," Ardyn finished for him.
"Not a monster. A marvel," then Verstael laughed. It was the cruel laugh of a madman. "I can't wait to unravel all your mysteries."
"How long has it been since you brought me here?"
"Two hundred and four days. Roughly seven months or so."
Ardyn took a piece of bread. Perhaps he could try nibbling at it while he heard the Chief droning away.
"Then again," Besithia continued. "The Lucians had you locked away in that prison for nearly two millennia. I'd be more surprised if you hadn't lost any concept of time," then he added with a malicious grin: "You must loathe those Lucians for what they did to you."
Ardyn dropped the untouched bread back on the plate. Suddenly not even the bread could entice him anymore.
"What is it you want from me, anyhow? What about me interests you so?"
"You said it yourself, didn't you? You were chosen by the gods. And, frankly, with powers like yours, I'd say you're nearly a god in your own right. We need those powers that you possess. With our strength on our side, we could finally put an end to the gruesome war with Lucis. You, too, must desire the fall of the kingdom that cast you into exile?"
Ardyn got up from his chair rather abruptly, wishing more than ever he could go back to his dark cell, with no knowledge of politics, wars and other miseries humans were so fond of. His world had turned to ashes long ago and no one remembered him. What was the point of him existing in such a place?
"My desires are all in the past," he grumbled.
"The man who wronged you may have died long ago," Verstael insisted, as Ardyn walked towards the door. "But his descendants live on to this day. Surely you must bear them some feeling of ill will?"
He had heard enough fawners during his days at court to recognize one. Ardyn shot Besithia a dark glance as he turned around.
"My feelings are none of your concern," he hissed.
But the man seemed immune to his mounting anger. He also got up and went to the door.
"Follow me," he said.
Reluctantly, Ardyn did, swallowing his fleeting anger, until they arrived at an enormous, darkened room.
"This is the fruit of my labor," Verstael said. "A small portion of it, that is."
He turned the lights on, and Ardyn saw that there were many things on display there.
"I envy you," the Chief said as they walked in. "A human life is too short to truly understand all there is to know about the world."
The things he had collected were all about the History of the world and of Lucis, especially that of the Caelum lineage. And a disturbing number of research reports about the Scourge. This man seemed obsessed with that disease.
"Fascinating, isn't it?" Verstael said, puffing his narrow chest with pride. "I pored over the ancient texts and found scarcely a mention of you. I barely believed you existed till I saw you with my own eyes. With your help, my research is proceeding smoothly. You have my thanks."
Then he signaled him to follow him again.
"There's something you should see. Come with me."
There was another door at the other side of the room, with stairs that lead to a level below.
"If my experiment on this specimen succeeds, it might provide the information you've been looking for."
The Chief opened a door and Ardyn saw an enormous window panel. Beyond, a gigantic, humanoid male form lay dormant while tubes poured blue mist over him.
He recognized the form of the sleeping giant. The scars from the wounds Bahamut gave him, the crown around the horns…
"Is that…?"
"Ifrit, the Infernian," Verstael said with pride.
"You subjugated a god… and brought him here?" Ardyn felt appalled at the heresy.
"He was sound asleep, just like the legends said he'd be, so we put him on ice. Do you think you could turn him?"
"Into a daemon?"
"If you manage to daemonify a deity, you could learn truths no mere mortal could ever dream knowing. You'll access two thousand years of his memories, and, if you can control him, he'll be a weapon of supreme power. It's certainly an enticing offer, isn't it? Just think. You could exact sweet revenge through divine retribution!"
Ardyn had turned away from Verstael as the man kept talking. He felt the bile rising, and he felt unable to face a human which suddenly appeared extremely repulsive to him. But, that man suggesting to use a deity, not to further Ardyn's plans, but to win a war for a country he knew nothing about, nor he wanted anything to do with… He turned around, his brows knit in anger.
"How do you know what I want?"
"I don't," said the scientist, unfazed by Ardyn's menacing glare. "But I know you have no other options," he walked past him, towards the entrance of the cage. "Well, shall we? Come see the fruits of my magitek research."
As they walked down, the Chief went on a tirade about Solheim, the civilization which preceded Ardyn's. In recent times it had been uncovered that Solheim had flourished thanks to the magiteknology, but came down once they incurred the wrath of the gods.
This man wanted to surpass Solheim, and to uncover all the secrets of the Scourge. And that was why he needed Ardyn's help, saying that magitek and daemons were the keys to a new future.
They stepped out into a big room when Ardyn felt something. A black-clad warrior of Lucis warped just in front of them.
"Lucians!" Verstael exclaimed. "But how!?"
More warriors appeared, and all reported their companions about having sighted the Adagium.
"So, you've come to kill me, have you?" Ardyn snarled.
"Or die trying," said the woman he had before him.
More warriors appeared behind him. Verstael ran away to hide in a corner.
They were all clad in black, just as his brother had been. They were all smiling at him, just as Somnus did that day. In fact, they all looked very similar to him.
Ardyn then saw the same cold, blue eyes, and the same cruel smile. The same black hair.
All the soldiers bore Somnus' face, and they spoke with his voice.
"Just as you would kill me," they all said in a chorus. "Right, Brother? Well, I'm afraid to say you'll never know the satisfaction of taking my life. I'm already dead, and have been for some time. Though I might be gone, my legacy lives on in Lucis! It lives on in the minds and hearts of the soldiers before you. What sort of legacy have you left behind, Brother?"
Ardyn lashed with his sword at the phantoms around him and they all disappeared in a cacophony of screams.
Was he alone? No, more Lucian soldiers appeared. One instant they were soldiers, but the next they transformed into Somnus, and his voice pierced his mind.
A kingdom you can no longer call your own.
He fought the phantoms. The more he killed, the more soldiers appeared to torment him.
While you were lost in slumber, I was busy building a kingdom!
Perhaps you ought to sleep away your sadness.
He grabbed one by the throat and turned the soldier into a daemon. The soldier dissipated into a black cloud as he absorbed his memories, very like the first man he had turned.
You monster!
One tried to wound him but he feinted and skewed him with his blade.
I hope you know it's your fault Aera is dead.
He turned another turned soldier, and he felt the power entering his body.
That girl proved your undoing, you know.
You were caught up in your idealized delusions to save your beloved!
You deserve to wander the darkness for all time!
Mankind ill needs a savior such as you!
There was an explosion. The Lucians had damaged the pipes pumping the refrigeration into Ifrit's cage, and the Infernian woke up.
Pieces of concrete and metal flew as Ifrit tore down his prison walls, fierce flames erupting on his wake. No trace of the peaceful repose remained on his face, now contorted with fury. He spoke, and when he did, all humans only heard strange sounds, except for Ardyn, whose mind resonated with the words of the Infernian.
"You mortals make a mockery of a god" Ifrit thundered. "Such insolence!"
"We must stop him before he destroys everything!" Verstael screamed, running for the entrance.
Now the battle was between the humans and Ifrit, who swung his sword like a tempest of fire. The Lucians were soon dead, and Ardyn saw himself grabbed by the giant hand of the god.
"What is a man of House Caelum doing here?" he boomed.
"O Infernian," Ardyn gasped. "Grant me the power to take Somnus, his people, and his cursed kingdom," he raised his right hand and put it on Ifrit's arm. "And burn them all to the ground!"
The god screamed in agony as the Scourge corrupted his body. At the same time, Ardyn's mind was assaulted by two millennia of knowledge and memories, just as Verstael had predicted.
He saw everything: The creation, humans gathering around the first flame Ifrit bestowed upon them, Solheim and its glory, the hubris they grew in their hearts, and Ifrit wanting to destroy them. War between the Six. The world torn asunder.
Ifrit dropped him.
"Fool!" the Infernian, now on all fours, gasped. "You dare to subjugate the divine!?"
The god disappeared into a flock of lights which entered Ardyn's body, as a sign that he had obtained Ifrit's power.
At that moment, Ardyn had more visions. He saw the Crystal. Aera praying. A face being shown.
It was him.
"I was the one chosen to be king…?"
For two millennia he firmly believed that the gods had actually chosen Somnus. In his mind, Aera had surely favored him out of love, and the gods had punished them both for their trickery. That was why he had to endure his penance, he convinced himself. The gods wouldn't let an innocent suffer unjustly.
That was what he had been taught, until he learned what Ifrit knew. That he had been the Chosen, and his brother had been the one to go against the gods' will. Why was Ardyn punished, then?
He was again in the wheat field, but it was dark. He heard Aera voice, calling for him. Her voice, however, wasn't beckoning, but anguished. He hurried to where the sound came, and saw her on the ground, crying.
Ardyn staggered to her side and took her in his arms. Why? Why was she so sad?
"Forgive me," she said in tears. "I defied the will of the gods and revealed to Somnus you had been chosen to be king. I never dreamt he would try to kill you."
"But he did," he said, realizing the extent of his brother's treason. "Somnus fooled everyone so he could usurp the throne. Everything that happened, it's all his fault!"
"No!" she exclaimed, sitting upright. "Listen to me! It's my fault. I'm the one who ruined your future! This was divine retribution for my sins!"
He grabbed her shoulders.
"You've no sins to atone for!"
Then he cradled her again, and raised his face to the heavens.
"Gods!" he called. "Answer me! Why have you burdened us with this fate!?"
Aera then screamed and writhed in his arms. The Scourge had infected her.
"No! Aera, please!"
He tried to conjure a curative spell, but more black mist passed onto her body. He tried a revivify spell, putting his brow against hers, and she shoved him away, making him fall on his back.
"In the names of the gods above…" she pledged, half rising. "Fulfill your calling, Ardyn, and punish me for my sins!"
Ardyn sat down slowly, to see that there was a dagger on his hand.
"Aera…"
"Kill me!"
He heard footsteps behind him.
"That's right! Kill her!" said his brother, gazing mockingly at the woman from over Ardyn's shoulder. "Put that monster out of its misery, just like I did."
The miasma started to consume her. Black particles spread out of her body already as she writhed in pain and screamed. He raised the dagger with both hands, ready to plunge it on her body. Better to die a human than being put down as a monster.
His hands stopped as his eyes locked with hers. He remembered the love he had read into those blue eyes, her warm words of encouragement. He now saw her suffering and her pain. Those were the eyes of the countless infected he had healed.
He shook his head, slowly lowering the dagger.
"I… I can't. My calling is to save lives, not take them," he said weakly.
A heartless laughter exploded behind him.
"Just like you saved that innocent man by turning him into a daemon?" Somnus said, leaning on his shoulder.
"Please, Ardyn…" Aera implored. "You must live…"
"I can't… Not without you…"
He didn't notice the hands guiding his own until it was too late.
"Come," said his brother. "Why not give the lady what she wants?"
Ardyn resisted just in time. He wrestled and grunted, but Somnus had grabbed the blade and intended to make him stab Aera. Since when Somnus had grown so strong?
His strength failed, in the end, and the blade sunk in Aera's throat. Instead of blood, miasma poured out of the wound.
"Once again," Somnus gloated. "You failed to save her. No surprise. A monster can do naught but destroy."
His brother's laughter echoed in his ears for a long time until it faded away. Ardyn was now alone, since both Somnus and Aera's body had disappeared.
Ardyn felt his heart swelling with wrath and hatred. It was like a wildfire, consuming everything inside him, every memory, and every thought. Slowly, he got to his feet, his whole body shaking with rage.
"I'll never forgive you, Somnus," he growled his brother's name, as if it burned his tongue. "This monster may not be able to destroy you, but I'll see to it that I destroy everything you built!"
With a scream, he unleashed a blast of dark energy. He was no longer in the wheat field, but back at the lab.
"Hear me, gods above!" he proclaimed with firm voice. "No longer shall I supplicate you for pardon. No longer shall I sojourn toward the light. Nay… the path I intend to tread is paved with blood and darkness. No longer shall I seek your guidance. This path is mine to tread… alone."
He extended his arms as the miasma took over his body, and he laughed: The laugh of a madman, which resonated in the entire facility.
On the ground, discarded, the dagger used to kill Aera, which Ardyn would take and carry with him from that day.
