APPENDIX: EPISODE ARDYN
CHAPTER 3 – A FIERY VENGEANCE
The empire's daemonic experiments bore fruit before long, precipitating the production of a magitek infantry.
As recognition for his contribution to this research, Ardyn Izunia was inaugurated as imperial chancellor.
Thanks to its newfound firepower, Niflheim managed to break the stalemate that shackled the nation for more than a hundred years, and, in turn, forced Lucis to scale back its magical barrier.
The untimely passing of King Mors ushered in the era of a new monarch, and the young Regis Lucis Caelum succeeded the throne.
Meanwhile, Ardyn began to spread the Starscourge throughout the world, stealing people's memories and learning as much about the kingdom as he could. In time, those memories began to merge with his own, gradually transforming him into a wicked echo of his formed self. And, eventually, at long last, the time for his revenge came.
xxxxXX-0-XXxxxx
The taxi cruised smoothly along the tunnel leading to the main square. The driver hadn't inquired why a soldier, of all people, would take a cab instead of one of the official vehicles, but he was no one to question those things. Instead, he focused on the newscaster's voice and she went through the war reports.
"Tension between the two countries remains high, with neither nation showing signs of backing down. In other news, a member of the border patrol has been reported MIA since sometime before dawn this morning. The missing officer has been identified as 28-year-old Mars Sapientia. Although Officer Sapientia allegedly reported for duty at his appointed time, fellow officers say he disappeared soon after and has not been sighted since."
Without the driver noticing, the soldier tried to wipe away the blood on the id with the name Mars Sapientia on it pinned to his uniform.
"Officer Sapientia is a tall, fair-skinned male and was last seen wearing his border patrol fatigues."
They went out of the tunnel and the sunlight blinded him. It was a good thing that he had his skin fully covered, even with the guise of the soldier.
One of the powers he had discovered when he was turning people and beasts was his ability to make himself look like others, provided that he had, at least, taken a look at them. This soldier, Mars Sapientia, had been an easy prey. Posing as a traveler, Ardyn had approached the guard and turned him, leaving only a blackened husk that became dust in the wind. Along with his appearance, he gained the knowledge of all the streets and the security measures during the Founder's Festival.
He nearly laughed at the thought. Founder's Festival, which commemorated the day Somnus founded Insomnia, his city.
How he would enjoy wreaking havoc and ruining this day!
"Anyone with information on Officer Sapientia's whereabouts are requested to contact the Crown City Police immediately."
The streets leading to the main avenue were bustling with people. Not only those who wanted to attend the festival but also those who went on with their daily routines.
"And, now, a word from the Public Information Bureau: Today marks the anniversary of the founding of the Kingdom of Lucis. The Founder's Day committee had prepared a number of attractions in honor of this auspicious occasion, including a parade around the Citadel as well as a statue of the Founder King himself. All are welcome and encouraged to participate in today's festivities."
They had arrived. Banners and other paraphernalia adorned the streets. People which happy faces here and there. Such a stark contrast with the world outside.
"What about you?" asked the driver, turning around to receive his money. "Shouldn't you be lookin' for your buddy?"
He had been a good driver, not saying a word until now.
"Oh, no," said Ardyn. "I'm on special assignment."
That wasn't a lie, per se. He paid, thanked the driver and got off the car and into the street. His disguise was perfect, and after everything was said and done, they wouldn't be able to find the culprit. Sapientia's memory would be soiled and his family disgraced, but the innocent are always bound to suffer in any conflict, aren't they?
"Home sweet home at last," he said aloud.
A voice announced the parade about to start through the various speakers installed along the streets.
"So this is the city Somnus built," Ardyn looked around at the neatly arrayed buildings of crystal and steel. "Built on the back of his own flesh and blood."
The Citadel stood ahead, a single ray of light shooting upward, the source of power for the Wall. His steps brought him through the crowd, gathered in wait for the parade.
"Just look at them, free of care and unaware of the war beyond their Wall," he murmured. "What need is there to worry when brick and mortar blinds them to the suffering outside? Why venture out into the world when you feel so safe within? What a life to live."
To his left, people crowded around a life-size statue of an imposing armored knight. The plaque below assured the viewer that it was the Founder King himself. Ardyn had to suppress a laugh when he saw the many artistic licenses the sculptor had taken. Not even his dear brother, so prone to harp about his own exploits, could have described himself in such an heroic way.
He mingled with the crowd; a father and a son talked merrily about the little kid's desire to be a royal guard when he was older. Ardyn smiled back at him when he noticed the child's bright eyes on him: To everyone, he was still Mars Sapientia.
Stepping further, he stopped. This place would do. Raising his hand, he invoked Ifrit.
"Now, let the fireworks begin!" he bellowed.
Nothing happened.
He looked around him, looking for any sign of the Infernian. People ignored him, thinking that he was a man who had drunk too much, far too early in the morning. Some older women eyed him sternly: Such deplorable attitude for a soldier!
"Oh dear…"
People started screaming in the distance, a few blocks ahead of them. The royal guards rushed where the commotion came from, and Ardyn saw the gigantic form of Ifrit slowly walking out of a side street.
"Oh, cursed be the wavering whims of the gods."
With a swept of his arm, Ifrit conjured flames that turned soldiers and civilians around him into ashes.
That was more like it.
Somnus descendants would die screaming, while their ancestor watched helplessly as Ardyn leveled the city.
Summoning his sword, Ardyn destroyed the nearby speakers, blaring emergency messages. Banners were torn and other adornments destroyed. This was fun!
With his growing powers, the ones bestowed to him by the gods had also changed. Now instead of warping, he could choose to instantly travel around short distances like a shadow. He did so and landed on the roof on one of those tall buildings. One of the soldiers he had robbed of his memories had knowledge about electronics. It was a matter of seeking a transmitter station and hacking it.
"Testing," he said, as Officer Sapientia's face appeared on the big screens. "1-2-3. Is this thing on? Greetings, people of the Kingdom of Lucis! Do forgive me for interrupting the festivities, but I must tell you this day of rapturous revelry shall be your last. Call it divine retribution. False kings and fraudulent nations are fated to perish. Sins of the past must not go unpunished. The time of reckoning is at hand! And today you shall die on behalf of your forebears! Resist, if you wish, but know you're your fight against fate is a foolish and futile one."
That would suffice, he thought, to lure the King out of his shell.
"Well," he said, stepping into the void and landing on top of a lamppost. "Time to set to work."
One of the things he had taken from Sapientia was his radio. That way he could know what the royal guard would be up to. Right at that moment the guards were in disarray, and they were trying to respond to the attack, but with no knowledge of who was perpetrating it. Someone who called himself Clarus declared a code red and issued orders to all the guards.
"Every word, clear as day," Ardyn murmured as he hacked a guard in two. "The wonders of technology!"
He had another modern gizmo, this one from the empire, from which he received his orders. He was supposed to create a distraction and wait for Verstael's instructions to bring down the Wall. Meanwhile, he could do as he pleased.
However, he was a bit disappointed that Lucian soldiers were so weak. He had expected more of Somnus' descendants, but that's what you have when you huddle behind a wall and ignore the outside world: you turn soft.
"Sir," came a panicked voice through the radio. "We've identified the giant! It's the Infernian… Ifrit, the Infernian!"
"And Astral?" Captain Clarus echoed.
"Yes, sir. One of our officers seems to be controlling the Infernian, but we can't get an ID on him."
Ardyn chuckled. Keep searching, idiot.
"What!? Find our who he is at once!"
The plaza was cleaned up in no time. His imperial radio crackled into life.
"There seems to be some kind of disturbance," Verstael told him. "What's going on?"
"Why, whatever do you mean?" Ardyn exclaimed, feigning innocence.
Verstael sighed, already guessing what Ardyn was doing in the city.
"Now, I need you to locate and destroy the devices amplifying the Wall."
"As you wish. Just sit back and enjoy the show."
He had also been provided with a small portable screen where he could see the map of the city. Red dots appeared in several places, signaling the points where the amplifiers were.
"I've marked the location of all the devices they're using to amplify the Wall. They seem to be positioned on rooftops around the city. Find them and destroy them."
"With pleasure. I'll be sure to keep you abreast of my progress. Heh, no rest for the wicked."
He found the first of the devices. It was heavily guarded, but the soldiers were no match of him. However, there was a stone guardian, in the shape of another king of ancient times, another descendant of Somnus. That guardian did prove a bit of a challenge, but in the end it crumbled in dust and miasma, as Ardyn had used his powers against it, just to test if the Scourge would affect these guardians.
"Most interesting. It seems they've another line of defense waiting to deploy."
The Wall amplifier died down, and the defenses were a bit weaker. That Clarus boy was now guessing it could be an attack from Niflheim. Sharp as a tack, that one.
Ardyn traveled to another point, destroying all the decorations he could find along the way.
Another amplifier, and another guardian destroyed. From this one he learned something very valuable: that in times of crisis they called forth the Kings of Yore to help defend Insomnia. Perhaps he could use that to see his beloved brother one more time.
"Things are going swimmingly," he told Verstael through the radio.
"Wonderful. Here's hoping you can continue unimpeded."
The guards tried to stop him, but they were nothing more than a nuisance.
"The king must be in his castle," he said to himself, as another amplifier fell. "Never fear, Your Majesty. I'm on my way."
To the imperial radio he said: "Almost done. How does it look?"
"Quite promising. We should be able to break through the barrier with a well-timed assault. You ought to evacuate, lest you get caught in the crossfire."
"Yes, but there's something I must attend to first. I've got a king to kill."
"What? That wasn't part of the plan!"
"I finished my work; now it's time to play."
"But we-"
"No buts. You just stick to your plan and keep the boys in black busy for me."
He cut the communication. He had seen the king's face in the memories of the soldiers.
"Now, off to see His Majesty who lives in the house that Somnus built."
Through the radio, he could heard the voice of that Captain Clarus talking with the king about all the amplifiers having being destroyed and the imperial forces beginning their infiltration. The king decided to go into combat, despite his captain's protests.
Ardyn reached the Citadel's gates.
"Oh, my. What big walls you have! All the better to look down upon his enslaved subjects from," he said, pushing the ironwork gates open. "Time to call in a favor with the king and have him summon my beloved brother."
When he stepped in the plaza, a lone man was walking towards him. That was the King, if those soldiers' memories were correct. Only, this time, he wasn't smiling kindly like in the memories. His face was set on a grim gesture.
"Something wrong, officer?" the king asked him. Of course, Ardyn still hadn't dropped his disguise.
"Ah, you must be His Majesty."
"I'm pleased to make your acquaintance," the king said, although unsure of what the man in front of him wanted. "Why are you here?"
"Why, for you!"
Ardyn summoned his Arminger and launched his weapons at the king, who reacted quickly and did the same. The two stood like that, each set of weapons pointed at the other.
"The Royal Arms!" the king exclaimed. "Who are you!?"
"You ought to know, being a man of royal blood yourself."
The king gasped, suddenly understanding.
"Adaguim!"
"In the flesh," Ardyn laughed. "Here to bring the bloodline of Lucis to an end!"
Regis warped away from Ardyn's weapons and the battle started.
"Hear me, Adagium! On my honor as king, I will vanquish you!"
"Oh dear. What an awful thing to say to your own flesh and blood."
King Regis was decidedly stronger than his men, but not enough to kill Ardyn. Nevertheless, he had to put everything he had on the fight.
"This monster must be contained…" the king said. "He's too dangerous! He must be stopped!"
"Must I?" Ardyn mocked him. "Really? By whom, may I ask?"
The king had to dodge a hail of darts coming from Ardyn's crossbow.
"What a shame. I expected more from a legendary king of Lucis."
Regis warped out of reach and summoned his own weapons, which orbited around him.
"Well, I would certainly hate to disappoint!"
His defense boosted, Regis assaulted Ardyn with all his strength, but his enemy called Ifrit into the combat. The Infernian flames forced Regis to retreat further and only attack using his warping abilities.
"Are you all right?" Ardyn mocked him. "You're beginning to look the worse for wear."
"No worse than you will once I've sealed you away for good!"
"Ah, youth. So confident and yet to misguided."
More attacks followed, and not even the magic shield Regis conjured protected him. In the end, Ardyn had the pleasure to see a look of disbelief and fear on the king's face.
"Done already?" Ardyn asked with a soft voice when Regis fell to his knees, fighting to catch his breath. "But the fun's just begun. Summon the Old Wall."
He stood before the king. Clouds had gathered over them while they fought and now it was raining.
"How do you know about that?"
Ardyn kicked his chest, sending him flying backwards.
"I've heard the souls of kings reside within those statues. Of course, that's only hearsay. Why not summon the Wall so we can see for ourselves?"
He spoke in a soft voice, while he kicked the king in his ribs.
"What I wouldn't give for a chance to speak with the Founder King himself!"
Another kick, this one harder than the others, and he turned around.
"Come out, Somnus!" he called to the heavens. "The longer you wait, the longer he'll suffer!"
He stomped on the body, and Regis gave a grunt before finally laying limp.
"Uh? Is he dead?" Ardyn wondered, lifting Regis' left hand and letting it fall to the ground. "Oh, dear. Perhaps I don't know my own strength."
At that moment, the Ring on Regis' hand began to glow, making Ardyn shield his eyes. He smirked, feeling a presence.
"Well?" he said, turning to the street outside the gates. "I'm waiting!"
A ray of blue light pierced the air as a giant sword flew and cleaved the ground. After it, an armored statue warped.
"Brother!" the statue said.
"Somnus," Ardyn said slowly, as if already tasting his brother's defeat. Then he laughed. "Haven't seen you for years… two thousand, in fact. And whose fault do you think that is?"
He warped and struck his brother. Somnus was powerful in that form, but also too bulky and slow.
"Who could have exiled me as a monster and erased me from the face of history?"
"You were tainted," Somnus defended himself. "Unfit to sit the throne. Please, Brother. Return to the darkness whence you came."
"Now?" Ardyn danced around his brother, and Somnus could not touch him. "But I'm having so much fun! To think I'd get the pleasure of killing you myself!"
Somnus doubled up in pain when Ardyn blasted him with dark energy.
"What's wrong, dear brother? Too afraid to put down your expensive toy and come face me yourself? Let the game begin…"
"This is no beginning… only the end."
Somnus threw a punch which Ardyn dodged easily.
"This is preposterous! How could one so impure possess such power!?"
Somnus blasted a ray of energy, but Ardyn shrugged it off with ease.
"I was right to have sealed you away. You truly are a monster, Brother."
Ardyn laughed, letting Ifrit take part in the fight.
"Don't be facetious. The only monster here is you!"
He conjured a whirlwind of dark energy. Somnus was too big in that form, however, but Ardyn saw how he was weakening.
"The gods blessed you as their chosen one," Somnus lamented. "The people adored you as their savior. I was neither powerful nor popular… just envious, perhaps."
"Perhaps? Don't make me laugh!"
"I yearned desperately to be special, yet I had nothing to set me apart. Nothing at all!"
"Until you stole it from me. You ripped it from my arms!"
Somnus summoned his sword and tried to cleave at Ardyn. He didn't miss, but Ardyn's wounds closed almost immediately.
"When I first donned the crown and put on the ring… When I first received my calling, I understood: That the daemons could not be allowed to remain in this world. That a sinner could not be allowed to sit the throne!"
"Lies! Fairy tales and fallacies, all of it!"
When Somnus fell to his knees, Ardyn called Ifrit forth.
"O Infernian, lend me your strength. Help me burn this wretched nation to the ground."
Ifrit cleaved his curved sword into the ground and raised his hand. From Somnus' feet flames sprouted, as high as the very statue and hot enough to make the metal from his armor glow white.
With that, Ardyn warped to Somnus' face and struck, hard, with his sword, one final time.
The armor disappeared, and Ardyn saw the ghost of his brother, kneeling in defeat.
"What I did to you was unforgivable," Somnus said, with an expression Ardyn had never seen on his younger brother: Contrition. "But I did it for the future of our kingdom… of our people."
"A small sacrifice for the good of society. How noble!" Ardyn sneered.
"Our line had done everything in our power to protect our people, just as the gods bade," Somnus pledged. "I was merely fulfilling my calling."
Ardyn laughed bitterly.
"And here I thought I was the blessed one, but it was you all along."
"I dare not ask your forgiveness," Somnus' remorseful expression didn't waver. That wasn't what Ardyn expected. He had anticipated (wanted) to see hatred, wrath upon being defeated… not what he beheld at that moment. "But I do ask your understanding."
"What!?"
An act of repentance two millennia later? Ardyn balled his fists in sheer fury, and his voice trembled as his words escaped through clenched teeth. He still had his brother's smiling face and contemptuous words etched on his mind, just after he had murdered Aera.
"You took everything from me. EVERYTHING! And you ask for my understanding!?"
But Somnus' face was that of regret, of sadness, which made it more infuriating for Ardyn.
"I pray your soul find repose, Brother," he said as he faded away.
He felt his wrath welling up on his chest, until it escaped with a scream of pure rage and frustration.
This wasn't how it was supposed to be! Somnus had to fall prey to desperation and fear, not sorrow. And what good would that make now? Aera's senseless murder and two thousand years of confinement couldn't be erased with a simple "I'm sorry, I was wrong".
Decided to take his revenge, no matter what, he walked back to the Citadel where Regis still lain, unconscious, on the ground. If he couldn't take Somnus down, he would erase his lineage.
His sword traced an arc over Regis body, but his arm stopped.
Ardyn Lucis Caelum, I command thee to halt and kneel before me.
A piercing pain erupted on his head as the voice filled all his being. A light shone on top of the plaza, and many gigantic swords of azure and gold fell, dispelling Ifrit.
He knew whose swords they were.
On my honor as the Bladekeeper, Bahamut, I shall not let thee become a slayer of kings
There it was, the giant draconic armor descending from the heavens.
Everything became blurred and, when Ardyn could adjust his vision, he wasn't in Insomnia anymore. The space looked like neither the sea nor the sky, and he couldn't tell up from down.
"Why…?" he asked the giant armor looming before him. "Why do the gods deny me my revenge!?"
Because thou hast been chosen to serve a different purpose. To spread darkness throughout the world is thy true calling.
"Darkness…?"
Soon, the True King will be born unto Lucis. He shall lead the people as their beacon of hope and drive away the darkness. In turn, thou shalt be his sacrifice… the limitless shadow that ushers in the light.
"Why I must continue to suffer? Have I not already sacrificed enough!?"
When the True King awakens, summoning the power of his forebears, he shall at last relieve thee of thy suffering. Then, the line of Lucis shall come to an end, and the revenge thou sleekest shall finally be found. So it is ordained, and so shall it be.
Everything had been orchestrated by the gods, up to the last detail? Even him becoming a daemon?
"You say," he slowly said, with his voice trembling from anger. "I am not the savior of man, but his sacrificial lamb. And that I only live to die by the hand of the heir of an ill-gotten throne. That is the fate the gods have chosen to bestow upon me!?"
The very same. Defy thy destiny if thou dare, but know that it would grant thee a life of darkness unending, devoid of death's reprieve. What say thee, Adagium?
Everything had been orchestrated. Everything. Even Aera's death, or maybe that was only a side effect that they could go with? What were humans to gods, then?
If that was true, then what was the meaning of all the suffering he had seen? All the people he had saved, but also all those he couldn't help in time, transformed into daemons, twisted into abominations. If he, Ardyn, had been bestowed with spreading darkness now, why did they make him cure the Scourge at all?
Bahamut had shackled him, but also held the key, dangling like a carrot in front of an animal.
Ardyn knew he could deny Bahamut but, what good could become out of it?
He was tired, so tired. Bahamut had spoken, and his words were true. They had to be. If so, then his revenge had lost any meaning. His life didn't have one, not even back in his time.
Yes, he could deny the god, and even kill Somnus' descendants, to then continue an eternal existence devoid of any value, forever hosting a myriad of daemons, their voices forever echoing inside his head. Seeing the years, the centuries and the millennia go by, as humans were born, grew up and shriveled before his eyes without him being able to follow them.
There was no other option. It would take some more decades, but he would at last know peace.
He removed his hat and held it to his chest.
"Loath though I am to serve the shadows and surrender to the scion of a usurper, so long as it brings the royal bloodline to an end… So long as I get my revenge… I will submit."
As thou shouldst. The fate bestowed upon a man cannot be changed. Now go, fulfill your calling.
Bahamut disappeared in a flash of light, leaving him alone. The hat dropped from his hand, as his breath came out in ragged gasps.
"Did you two know about this?" he asked the void. "That I was meant to serve as some sacrifice?"
He screamed at the void around him, hot tears running down his cheeks.
"Did you keep this from me, Aera? What about you, dear brother? Did you know!? Answer me!"
But his scream got lost in the infinity of the Crystal, for that was the place Bahamut had locked him in, the barrier between this world and the Beyond, that none of the Kings of Lucis would cross until the Scourge was dispelled. Ardyn was to be kept there each time he died, to be reformed and reborn again in the mortal world, until his calling was fulfilled.
Such was the will of the gods.
xxxXX-0-XXxxx
As his tears fell, he noticed that his surroundings had changed. He was kneeling on solid ground, and all around him there was darkness. His old cell in Angelgard.
"Am I alive?" he gasped. "Does it matter? Perhaps not."
He slowly got on his feet and walked outside.
"Nothing matters… none of it. Not the blessed gods above nor the accursed kings below. To hell with them all!"
The steps of his prison led him to the wheat field, where the warm breeze played with his ruffled hair. Somnus and Aera stood at a distance, talking under the tree, waiting for him.
"All that matters is I have my revenge. I will spread this scourge across the earth, lure out this King of Light, and kill him."
The memories he had cherished of his brother and his dear Aera turned to him, smiling, happy to see him. Such were the images that had appeared before him during his confinement. The others he dreamt about once he was free… he could only guess who had conjured them for him.
"Then, the entire world of Eos will be drenched in the darkness of despair for time eternal."
He plunged the dagger into the bodies of the ghosts. No more shall he feel shackled by his past memories. He was a monster, and such creature needed neither a past nor a future. From that moment on, he would live only for his vengeance.
He laughed, as the wheat field blackened and the tree dried out with the taint of the Scourge.
THE END.
AN: This is it. The end of the journey. One year ago I started posting this fict, with no idea about how many people would read and like it, or if any at all. Al I can say to all of you who have accompanied me during this past, horrible year and have reached this point: Thank you, from the bottom of my heart. I hope you enjoyed this work as much as I did while writing it and, if it brought some joy or solace in any form, then my mission will be complete. We will see each other in other ficts, and maybe other fandoms.
Until then, walk tall, my friends.
