The usually cloudless blue sky was flecked with long grey clouds gathering slowly overhead, swirling menacingly above like some omen of death.

Gentiana was waiting for him.

"I did it," he said, quickly clambering to his feet. "It worked, didn't it? Titan's on our side now."

Gentiana's expression remained grave. "This is true, but more danger yet awaits the King."

Noctis faltered slightly. "How do you mean?"

"The Messenger told you before that her sight was clouded as to the Glacian's true motives, yes? Mere moments past she received a vision of her Mistress's goal. She seeks to kill the King's retainers, leaving him weak and defenceless."

Noctis was all at once extremely cold, the blood draining from his face.

"K-kill?"

"Yes. She believes such a thing would destroy him, and end his attempts to forestall his fate."

His heart was rattling in his chest, his thoughts clouded. She was going to try and kill them? How? When? What if...what if she already had them?

"It is as the King suspects." Gentiana's voice cut through his clouded thoughts. "The Glacian has them already within her grasp, having lured them from the King with the promise of saving him. Even now, their lives hang in the balance. The Messenger is doing all she can to obscure their path to the Beyond, but she cannot maintain this long."

"I'll get them," said Noctis.

Gentiana smiled.

"Yes."


He awoke to the sound of muffled voices talking from somewhere above him.

"Is he going to be okay?"

"I don't know. He's been like this for hours."

"Listen, I ain't leaving that car here if that thing shows up again—"

"Shh—he's waking up!"

Three faces swam into view before him, but not the three he wanted to see. Iris, Cor and Cindy were all staring down at him.

He quickly tried to push himself upright, and Cor immediately went to help him, pulling him onto his feet.

"Are you alright, Your Highness?" he asked. "After seeing you fall all that way we weren't sure..."

"I'm fine," Noctis insisted, pushing Cor's hand away. "I've survived worse than this, believe me."

"You sure look like it," snorted Cindy, folding her arms. Noctis couldn't hide his surprise at seeing her, and apparently she noticed because she quickly went into an explanation. "The Marshal here asked me to bring your car around. Didn't realise you'd forget to fill her up before trying to drive her!"

"Yeah, sorry about that," said Noctis, rubbing his head. "We were kind of in a rush."

"Well it's no big thing. Anyway, she's over there if you want her." Cindy nodded to the road, just visible over the edge of the ridge, where, sure enough, the Regalia lay waiting.

"Don't we have bigger things to worry about that cars?" asked Iris, glaring at Cindy. "Taelpar Crag's still frozen!"

"What?" asked Noctis, suddenly on the alert. If there was ice then Shiva was surely nearby, and if she had the others...

"It happened only a few moments after you defeated Titan," said Cor, tiredly. "First Leviathan came and almost caused a flood before disappearing again, then the Crag completely froze over."

"We think they're pissed you got to Titan before them," said Iris.

"Well, you're not entirely wrong," he said, glancing over to where the Crag was. It wasn't quite visible from where he was standing, but he could make out long shards of ice extending out of the canyon high enough to be visible from the top of the ridge.

"How do you mean?" asked Cor. "Do you have any information on this?"

Noctis glanced nervously at Iris, who was staring at him eagerly. Well, it was only right she knew about what might have happened to her brother.

"The others are down there," he said, making an educated guess. "Gladio, Prompto and Ignis."

"What!" cried Iris.

"How do you know this?" asked Cor.

"Gentiana's still on my side, she told me Shiva was going to try and kill them to get to me. She lured them away, promising that she had some way to save me."

"And they fell right into her trap," said Cor, leaning his face in his hands.

"But they're alright, aren't they?" asked Iris, her eyes wild. "We're gonna help them, right Noct? Come on let's go—let's go right now!"

She grabbed his hand and began pulling him to the edge of the ridge, but Cindy quickly stood in her way. "Woah there, little lady, don't you think you should let us grown ups deal with this?"

"No!" yelled Iris, clearly beside herself. "He's my brother—I have to help!"

"Iris," said Cor, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Noct, please!" she said, rounding on him, tears already beginning to trickle down her cheeks. "Please, he's all I have left—I have to help..."

Noctis took her by the shoulders. "Iris, look at me," he said, and she did, still sniffing. "I won't let Gladio die, I can promise you that. But..."

She was still crying, and he remembered their talk before, her frustration at not being able to help, her misery now as she was going to be kept out once again. And what if he did fail? Gladio wasn't immortal like him. Could he really return to Iris saying he'd broken his promise? At least if she was there...

"If you promise to do whatever I say, you can come with me," he said.

Iris's face instantly lit up.

"Noctis—" Cor began, but Noctis held up his hand.

"She's old enough to help, Cor," he said, turning back to help him. "And I know she'll never forgive herself if she doesn't come, right?" He glanced back at Iris and she nodded vigorously.

Cor rolled his eyes, clearly not impressed. "Noctis, please..."

"And when I say you have to do whatever I say, I mean it, Iris," he said, ignoring Cor. "If I say you have to leave me and save yourself you have to do it—do you promise?"

Iris's expression faltered for a moment, then became determined again. "I do," she said.

Noctis glanced back at Cor, who still looked exasperated.

"I suppose there's no persuading you two," he muttered.

"Nope," said Noctis.

"You gonna take the car?" asked Cindy. "It's the fastest way to get to the bridge, then you can get to the ice properly."

"Yes," said Noctis, a plan formulating in his mind. "I think we will."


The drive to Taelpar Crag must have been one of the longest in his entire life. When the bridge finally rose into sight, he felt they must have been driving for hours.

The chasm had been utterly transformed by Shiva's magic—where once it had been so deep it was impossible to see to the bottom even in the clear light of day, now a huge structure of icy tendrils wound their way around the insides of the cavern, like hundreds of interlocking snakes weaving in and out of each other, creating an expansive network of icy caves. It would be difficult to get down to the bottom, where from deep below a strange purple light seemed to be emanating. But that was where the others were. He was sure of it.

They pulled onto the bridge spanning the length of the chasm, and parked near the middle, where the ice seemed most solid.

He and Iris disembarked from the car, and rushed over to the edge of the bridge. The ice wasn't far below them. It would be safe to jump.

"I'll go first," he said, dangling a leg over the side. "You follow after me."

She nodded, and he gently lowered himself from the edge of the bridge onto the ice below. It crunched under his boots, but held firm under his weight.

"Okay, I'm coming down," said Iris, mirroring his movements. He made sure to stand close by, just in case she fell, but she made it down unscathed.

Now they were both standing atop the ice, the purple light dancing below them, almost taunting them.

"How are we going to get down there?" she asked.

"There are holes all around, see?" he said, pointing several out. "If we're lucky we can find one that'll let us slide down to the bottom."

"And if we're not?"

"Then we take it one step at a time."

It wasn't long before Noctis found a likely looking hole and called Iris over.

"I'll slide down and call when I've reached the bottom, wherever that is," he said, staring at the tunnel and hoping it didn't go into a straight drop to the floor. "If I don't reply after five minutes call Cor straight away."

"Okay," said Iris, a determined look on her face.

Noctis sat down on the edge of the hole in the ice, dangling his ledge over the edge and trying not to feel too intimidated. It was just like going down one of the steep slides at the amusement parks. Probably. Ignoring the fact Shiva was probably trying to trick him into dying.

But now he was just making up excuses. He had no more time to waste. Not while the others were still somewhere down there, freezing to death.

He finally pushed himself off the ledge, and the next moment he was hurtling downwards, completely at the mercy of the icy tunnel. An endless expanse of blue went rushing past him, and there were holes and chasms on either side, any of which he could have fallen down, but he did not. As though divine providence had finally decided to take his side, he fell straight down the central tunnel, and seconds stretched into minutes as he kept falling.

A terrible thought struck him—that if he really did reach the bottom, Iris might not even be able to hear him from so far away. Then he'd have to go on alone. He'd be able to do it, he was sure, but he didn't want her to worry he was dead for no reason.

Finally the tunnel began to straighten out and a few seconds later Noctis went tumbling onto the floor of the chasm, rolling along the ground and scuffing his elbows on the floor.

Wincing, he leapt to his feet and rushed over to the tunnel he'd fallen out of.

"It's safe!" he bellowed up the tunnel, hoping that Iris would somehow hear him. "It goes all the way down to the bottom!"

Had she heard? He had no way of knowing—and no idea how long he'd been falling either.

He backed away from the entrance a bit and decided to wait for a few minutes to see if she would follow.

Just as he was about to give up, assuming she couldn't have heard him, he began to hear something bumping about from somewhere above him. And that sound—could it be a voice? His question was answered mere seconds later, as Iris came flying out of the tunnel and yelped as she hit the ground, rolling rather inelegantly into the dusty cavern floor.

She quickly leapt to her feet and ruffled her hair, as though embarrassed he might have seen her like that.

"You heard me," he said, grinning.

"Sure did," said Iris. "It was hard to tell what you were saying though. For a moment I thought it might be Shiva trying to trick me, but I figured I might as well give it a go. Where do you think they are?"

She was looking around the cavern now, but Noctis was reasonably sure of where they needed to go.

"I think they're over there, see," he said, pointing to the east.

The dancing purple light they'd seen on the surface had a more clear source now, and was coming from the caves to the east, the colours flickering and changing on the walls, like light from a flame.

"Well then, what are we waiting for?" asked Iris, already trekking ahead.

"Iris, wait a moment," said Noctis, hurrying over to her. "Take this," he said, and handed her the other sword he'd pulled from the Amiger when he was fighting Titan.

She looked up at him with alarm. "Think I'll need it?"

"Yes," said Noctis, glancing up at the ceiling of the icy structure they were caught in. "It's dark down here, dark enough that I think there could easily be daemons hiding in the walls. We'll need to be careful."

Iris took the sword and nodded. "Okay. Lead the way."

Noctis lead the way through the caves, ducking and weaving through the passages, Iris following closely behind.

The caves were icy and treacherous, even without the threat of demons lurking in every corner. Their feet slipped and slid beneath them, the walls offering no safe purchase to keep them from falling to the ground. Noctis kept a close eye on Iris as they kept going through the cave—for all he had given her a sword he wasn't sure she would be able to protect herself from the dangers that waited below. And it wasn't just the daemons he was worried about. Shiva was down here somewhere too.

The deeper they moved into the caves the colder it got, until Noctis found himself shivering uncontrollably with every step. It was as though Shiva knew somehow that they were there, as though she was waiting for them. He could feel her unseen presence in the air, a cold chill on his back.

"Is everything all right, Noctis?" asked Iris.

Obviously she'd noticed his worry.

"It's fine," he said. "Just stay on your guard."

Iris did not seem reassured, but he didn't have time to worry about that now. He needed to get the others as quickly as possible.

He began to hear things in the dark, something moving in the shadows.

"Get ready," he said.

Iris lifted her sword into a defensive stance. They couldn't be far off now.

Noctis's palms were slick with sweat but he gripped his sword tightly, waiting for the daemons to show themselves.

Could he have been imagining it?

He couldn't hear them now, but he was sure they were close by…

Then a dreadful shrieking and wailing sound echoed through one of the tunnels and a daemon erupted out, leaping at them with flailing claws.

Noctis quickly deflected it with his sword, following it with a slashing strike to its face. The daemon roared with pain but did not relent, throwing itself at him with wild fury, its razor-sharp claws slashing at the air. Seconds later the daemon fell to dust before him, but the fight was not over yet.

Iris was struggling with a daemon many times her size, and though it was slow it was clearly wearing her down. Noctis rushed over to help her, slashing at the back of the thing's neck and soon it was as dust as well.

Iris was leaning on her knees, panting with the exertion.

"Are you all right?" asked Noctis.

"Just about," sighed Iris, standing upright once again. "That thing was brutal, Noct."

"That's daemons for you."

"Hope you get rid of them soon," she said with a tired smile.

"I'll try my best."

He wondered if she remembered doing that would probably kill him. Maybe she did. It was hardly his place to remind her.

They ran into more demons as they went through the caves but now they had faced one Iris seemed more prepared to deal with them.

All the while the purple light danced just ahead of them, just out of reach. They must be getting close now. But the caves seemed to twist and turn back in on each other, and had Noctis not had some vague idea of where they were going they would have been quite lost.

But finally, after what seemed like hours of walking (far too long), they reached the entrance of a cave made entirely of rock. The purple light blazed within, flickering and pulsing through crystalline veins that ran along the walls. This had to be where the others has been trapped.

"Is she here?" asked Iris.

"I'm willing to bet on it," said Noctis.

"Do you think Gladdy's okay?" asked Iris, and for the first time Noctis thought he heard a trace of fear in her voice.

"He will be," said Noctis. He had to be.

They entered the cave, hands still fixed on their weapons, looking around every corner for any sign of more daemons. Ahead of them stretched one long, seemingly endless tunnel. The lights continued to dance overhead, and Noctis felt sure Shiva's presence somehow lurked within, watching them intently as they continued through the cave. The cold wasn't any less intense in the cave, though most of the ice had vanished—except in places where it hung from the ceiling in long sharp icicles. Like daggers waiting to fall upon them from above.

Iris was shaking slightly, even as she walked, though from the cold or just sheer anxiety Noctis couldn't tell.

"Have you ever done anything like this before, Noct?"

Her voice was quiet and small. Noctis thought back to his many lives, in and out of reality. Strangely enough, he hadn't. It was rare that the others left him. And when they did…well, he hadn't cared much.

"No," he said. "This is new." New and terrifying.

"But you've fought the Gods before, right?"

"Yeah."

But usually he was a bit more focused on killing them than saving others. That would be of no reassurance to Iris though, so he didn't say as much.

"If Shiva's still in here somewhere, we'll find her," he said. "And she knows better than to try and fight me."

He hoped so, anyway.

Eternity seemed to stretch out before them as they made their way through the cave. Did it usually take this long? Or was it just his mind playing tricks on him again…

Then, just as Noctis was beginning to think that even if they did find the others down here, by now it would be much too late, the tunnel came to an abrupt end, as did the light shining overhead.

The room that awaited them was dark. The only source of light lay ahead of them, in the centre of the room. A raised platform stood directly in the centre, an odd blue light emanating from within, tendrils of smoke-like glowing particles shimmering upwards, towards the ceiling. A haven. But there was no one stood upon it.

"Think they were here?" asked Iris.

"Yes," said Noctis. He was sure of it…and yet…

He entered the room, each footfall sounding a hundred times louder than it should in the darkness, and Noctis could feel something dancing at the edge of his senses—a presence. She was definitely here. So why wasn't she showing herself?

As they approached the haven though, it became obvious that it was not so empty as they might have thought.

"Hey, Noct—is that…?"

It wasn't hard to guess what she was referring to. In the centre of the haven were the ashen remains of a campfire, all but burnt out. It hadn't been out for long though, so they couldn't have gone far.

"They're still in here somewhere," he said, stepping onto the haven to get a closer look.

A wind that chilled him to the bones swept through the room with a fierce vengeance, and for a split second, purple light pulsed through the crystals on the ceiling, revealing two shadowy figures either side of the haven.

Iris yelped with surprise.

"Noct, did you see that?"

"Yeah," he said, clutching his sword a bit tighter in his hand. "Stay close to me."

But the figures, now dimly visible in the blue light from the haven, did not move at all. Something wasn't right here.

"Give me a second," he said, then stepped off the haven, approaching one of the motionless figures.

He no longer had his phone to try and light the way, but he still had the tiny torch attached to his jacket, and once he was close enough to see the figure properly, he flicked it on.

Iris gave a terrified scream from behind him. It wasn't hard to see why. It was Gladio, that much was plain to see, but something was very wrong. His limbs were entirely motionless, not even his chest was moving. No sign of breathing. His eyes were wide open, but there was no sign of recognition on his face—no nothing. There was an odd blue-ish tinge to his skin, and as Noctis noticed this, he realised what must have happened. He'd been frozen solid.

"I-is that him?" whispered Iris, now beside him, looking at her brother in horror. "How did this happen? What...?"

"She froze him," said Noctis, trying to ignore the panic rising in his chest.

"Is he still alive?" Iris's voice was cracked and small.

Noctis stared at the statue. How long had he been frozen like this? If it had been more than a few minutes... But no, he couldn't give up now! He'd promised her—this wasn't the end.

But Iris had already taken his silence as an answer, and flung herself onto Gladio's frozen form, sobbing quietly.

"We can still break the magic, Iris," he said, trying desperately to comfort her. "This isn't the end—I'm sure—"

But an icy chill had entered the cave, halting the words in his throat.

The purple light was back, shining brighter than ever, revealing the figure on the other side of the room to be Prompto, equally frozen. Crystals hovered in the air, flashing in and out of reality, and the room only got colder and colder.

Ice was spreading over the floor, creeping towards them with terrifying rapidity. Noctis knew that if it reached them they were done for.

"Iris, watch out!" he yelled, but his warning hadn't reached her in time. Even as she lifted her head to look at him, the icy tendrils reached her, freezing her as solid as Gladio.

Noctis didn't have time to think if that meant she was alive or dead—he needed to focus on staying alive and getting Shiva out somehow. The ice was creeping towards him, and though he was backing away it was beginning to surround him on all sides. The haven wouldn't be safe—that would be fully under Shiva's control. But there was a doorway just ahead of him—was that someone inside?

As though she somehow knew what he was thinking, an icy sheet closed over the doorway, sealing off the chamber inside. All the exits were sealed now. And he wasn't fast enough to escape the ice.

But he couldn't hurt the others now—not even if he'd wanted to. Shiva had taken care of that. Which meant that all that was left was to take care of her.

Finally, the ice met him. It shot through him with the force of a bullet, punching through his clothes, penetrating his skin, freezing his flesh—but rage was already burning within him, and beyond that, deeper than that, another power, lurking unseen in every particle of air, every atom of ice—and all at once, it stopped.

The fire burning in his chest continued to roar, defrosting his bones, his muscles, breathing life back into him before it could truly leave. There was a force battling behind it, trying to force him back, but he was stronger. A hand guided his hand, and their combined strength was stronger than that of Shiva's.

The ice withered and faded, and his life and consciousness was finally fully restored. He stood in a chamber covered in ice, glowing crystals humming in and out of life all around him, and in the centre, there she stood.

Shiva.

"How have you done this?" she spat, her usually serene face contorted with rage.

"Didn't I warn you at the start that Eos wasn't exactly on your side?" he said, trying not to let the rage take over. "She's not going to help you with this. It's in her interest to keep me alive."

"That does not mean that you should be allowed to rebel so brazenly," hissed Shiva. "You are encouraging the mortals to rise against us, as your foul ancestors did in ages once past."

"Well, maybe if you weren't trying to kill all of us, we wouldn't want to fight?"

"Do not play word games with me!"

Noctis clutched his sword tightly in his hand, now shaking with fury. "Well there is another way to do this, isn't there?"

Shiva's eyes fell to his sword, a cold, hard light inside them.

"So be it," she whispered.

Then she was gone.

The crystals still glowed, hanging in the air, and the purple light pulsed down from above, strobing in different places all around the room, creating strange shadows on the walls, and odd shapes within the ice.

She could come from any angle, and he'd have no way of knowing she was there—he had to find some way to see her...

Then the pulsing lights on the ceiling slowed, and like his brain finally putting all of the pieces of the puzzle together, he saw a clear pattern within. The lights untangled themselves, and rather than a confusing mess of light and sound, he saw an outline of a woman in the darkness. He could see her.

The power was not his own, he knew that much, but it would be enough for him to win this. After all, she wasn't the only one with power over the ice.

Faster than he could think, he leapt towards her, feeling for the ice in the air, and drawing it back into reality.

Shiva gave a sharp cry as she was forced back into being, then a horrific noise tore through the cavern as he drove the sword into her back. Like metal grinding on metal, stone crunching on stone, it was as though the cave was falling apart.

It wasn't over yet though.

Noctis still had a tight grip on the sword, but as he tried to pull it out, an ice cold hand closed over his, freezing it numb.

He gasped with the shock of it, then Shiva slowly pulled the sword from her back, and as she did Noctis saw the ice spreading further and further up his arm, reaching towards his heart. He needed to move quickly.

But she was gone again! Sunk back into the shadows, and this time he couldn't see her. Panic was rising within now, hot and furious, as the ice consumed his arm and reached towards his shoulders. How was Shiva so powerful? Was there really no escape?

He tried to reach for the power that had helped him before, but his senses were dulled with the pain. His mind seemed to be falling and crumbling to pieces even as he tried desperately to stop it. His vision was slipping and sliding out of focus, all sound distorted and strange. He couldn't feel his limbs—all was going still...

Then he could see again. And she was there.

The room was entirely dark now—if it was a room at all. He felt oddly weightless, as though floating through the air rather than standing on solid ground. She didn't seem to see him, her gaze fixed slightly off and to the left, her expression distant and thoughtful.

There was a sword in his hand.

He walked towards her—or thought he did, anyway. It was hard to tell. Still she showed no sign of recognition, had no inkling he was there. It almost felt wrong to try and do it like this. But she'd tried to kill his friends. Might have succeeded in doing so.

Still, it was in a slow, measured way he raised his sword, aligning it with where her heart would sit in her chest. Had it been anyone else, in fact, he'd have been sorry.

But he was not.

The illusion unravelled around him as the sword sank deep into her chest, a mortal wound even she couldn't hope to shrug off. The darkened cavern came back into sight, and finally she saw him, her eyes glancing up to give him one last hateful glare, before disappearing into dust.

And as she vanished, the ice in the cavern began to fall away. The floor became unfrozen, creeping away as quickly as it had crept in, and as it did, the statues of his frozen friends were all at once not so frozen anymore.

They all collapsed to the ground at once, Gladio, Prompto, Iris, and Noctis felt very much like doing the same, but he knew he could not. Not quite yet.

He rushed over to where Iris lay prone—she was the most likely to still be alright, and pressed his fingers to her neck, trying to find a pulse.

It was dull, but still most definitely there.

Noctis gave a deep sigh of relief, so deep he thought his life might escape his lungs along with the air.

She was alive. And as he glanced over at Gladio, he saw the slow rise and fall of his chest too. That surely meant Prompto must also be alright. Thank the Gods.

But there was one person still unaccounted for.

With Shiva now gone, the chamber ahead that had been sealed off before was now open, and the purple light still blazed within, strange tendrils flickering in and out of sight. That was where he must be.

Noctis was just about to rise to his feet, when Iris began coughing fiercely just next to him.

Fortunately it seemed to be nothing too serious, and the bout of coughing had forced her awake.

"Noct?" she asked groggily, staring up at him with only half-consciousness in her eyes.

"I'm here," he said.

She blinked a few times, slowly returning to the world of the living, then sat bolt upright, looking around wildly.

"He's okay!" Noctis said quickly. "Gladio, I mean—look."

He pointed to Gladio's unconscious body, and Iris immediately scrambled over to it, presumably to check for herself.

Once it became obvious he was still breathing, she flung her arms around his neck and gave a choked sob.

Noctis cautiously approached, unsure of whether he ought to intrude.

"He's going to be alright, now, isn't he?" asked Iris, looking up at him with tears still in her eyes, but happy ones this time.

"Yeah, I think so," said Noctis. In truth he had no idea what would happen, but Gladio was still alive and that was the important thing.

"Are the others okay?" asked Iris. "Ignis and Prompto?"

"Well I think Prompto's fine," said Noctis, glancing back at where he was lying on the floor a few feet away. "But I haven't seen Ignis."

"Where could he be?" asked Iris, sniffing.

"Well, call it a hunch, but I think he's in there."

Noctis pointed towards the eerily lit cave. The light from within seemed fiercer now.

"You gonna go check on him?" asked Iris.

"Yes," said Noctis. "But you should stay here."

Iris looked like she was about to protest, but Noctis didn't let her get the words out. "Someone needs to make sure these two are alright, alright?"

Iris sighed. "I guess." She glanced back at her brother, then shuffled a bit closer to him. "You go on ahead. Call me if something goes wrong."

Noctis smiled at her. "Will do."

The entrance to the cavern glowed ominously the closer he got to it. He could see a figure within—clearly now, stooped over—but not unconscious like Prompto and Gladio had been.

It had to be Ignis, and yet...something didn't seem right.

As he entered the cave, the air around him seemed to shift and sparks of electric tension buzzed along his skin. Shiva may be gone, but her magic was still here—he could feel it.

Lights danced in the air, and now he could see Ignis a little more clearly.

He was poised, as though about to enter combat, though his eyes were blank and unseeing...inhuman, almost. There was a purplish sheen to them, an illusion of some kind, and...

Along his arms, strange marks had appeared. Like deep gashes made of light. Gashes Noctis had seen before, on his own arms. He looked immediately for the source, hoping, praying it wasn't there—but sure enough, on Ignis's left hand, the Ring of the Lucii glowed with destructive light.

His heart jumped into his throat. He knew what the Ring did to those not of Royal blood.

"Take that off!" he said, and Ignis suddenly jolted to life, his eyes now glowing just like his arms.

So he could hear him at least...but he wasn't moving to take off the Ring...

"Ignis, please," he said, approaching him slowly. "There's no danger now. Take off the Ring before it hurts you."

"You!" cried Ignis, lurching backwards. "I won't fall for your trickery!"

"What?" Ignis couldn't mean that, could he? But there was a dagger in his hand. "Ignis, come on, you've got to know what the Ring does."

"It will save Noct," Ignis hissed hoarsely. "The Gods are going to save him."

Noctis couldn't help but give a sharp laugh. "Save me? Didn't you see what Shiva did to Prompto and Gladio back there?"

"I will not listen to anymore of this!" Ignis cried, his emotion clearly growing. "You are the cause of all this—Noct said as much. The reason the Starscourge is destroying this star."

Yes.

A voice hovered on the wind, a voice Noctis was sure he recognised. Shit. She was back. Already? But how...

"This must be my final test," Ignis whispered, and Noctis was horrified by the desperation—the fanaticism in his voice. "I have to destroy you. It's the only way to save Noct."

"Who do you think I am?" asked Noctis, alarmed by Ignis's wild ranting. "Some lookalike?"

"You are the Accursed," said Ignis, his eyes glowing with unnatural light. "And I must destroy you."

Something finally clicked into place in Noctis's mind, and he realised what Ignis must be seeing.

"You think I'm—"

But he didn't manage to finish the sentence, because the next moment Ignis lunged at him, dagger slashing at his throat, and it was only Noctis's lightning-quick reflexes that saved him.

"What are you doing?" he yelled instinctively, as Ignis lunged at him again. "I'm not Ardyn!"

"I will not hear your lies!" hissed Ignis.

Noctis was already tired from his confrontation with Shiva, and Ignis was so fast with his daggers he barely had time to warp out of the way. He couldn't fight back though—couldn't risk hurting Ignis with his own magic—not when the Ring was probably burning the life out from inside him.

Ignis dived at him again, and this time Noctis lifted his sword up to deflect the dagger, forcing them into a battle of strength.

"Look at my face," Noctis panted. "Can't you see I'm not him—I'm not trying to kill you."

Ignis's eyes were wild, the gashes of light now winding around the edges of his face. If he didn't end this soon Ignis might not survive at all.

"It's the final step," said Ignis, still incoherent. "The last piece. You cannot stop me."

Finally, Noctis managed to shove Ignis back, and then they returned to their game of cat and mouse. Just refraining from attacking him wasn't working—he needed to prove to him who he was—get the Ring off before it could do any more damage.

The dagger narrowly avoided cutting his face again, and an idea struck him. If he could just get Ignis's weapon away from him...

He began to become more defensive in his fighting, his sword clashing with Ignis's dagger, trying again and again to knock it from his fingers.

It was tiring work.

His reactions were getting slower, while the magic of the Ring kept Ignis going, even as it drained his life-force away.

Ignis landed more hits on him, cuts on his arm, a gash on his cheek.

He couldn't keep this up much longer...

He lifted his sword again—deflection after deflection until—

Yes!

The dagger went spinning away. Ignis immediately tried to throw himself towards it, to grab it, but Noctis was too fast this time, and caught him by the shoulders, forcing him to face him.

"I'M. NOT. ARDYN!" he half-screamed—so panicked and exhausted he couldn't speak normally, half-hoping the volume would somehow get it through Ignis's head.

"Look at me," he hissed, shaking him. "I'm not him. The Gods are tricking you!"

With the loss of his weapon, Ignis seemed to be returning slowly to his senses.

"Noct?" he whispered.

"Yes!" cried Noctis. "Yes, it's me!"

Ignis stared at him, eyes terribly wide, still burning with that dreadful light, then his face seemed to crumple. "I tried to hurt you," he said, voice now dreadfully cracked—from emotion or from the strain of the Ring.

"That doesn't matter now," said Noctis, shaking his head. "Just give me the Ring—then it'll all be over."

"I can't," said Ignis, suddenly pulling away from him. "I can't—it's the only thing left—it's supposed to save you."

"How is it going to save me?" asked Noctis, panic building within. Ignis was no longer attacking him, but the Ring must still be burning him—consuming him. He needed to take it off.

"The sacrifice," murmured Ignis. Then the wild look came back. "I didn't do it right!" he cried, insanity gripping him once again. "I didn't do it right—I survived and now it'll kill you. I've done it all wrong—"

He grabbed at the dagger once again, but Noctis barrelled into him, terrified of what might happen if he managed to get it.

"What are you talking about?" he cried—probably too loudly, but that didn't matter anymore. "There's no sacrifice except mine!"

"No," hissed Ignis, still trying to reach for the dagger. "She said—if we died then you would live—it was all planned out. But I've ruined it!"

Rage had gripped Noctis now, both at Shiva for this web she'd spun around them, and at Ignis for even considering the idea.

"You can't save me!" he yelled, all notion of trying to be persuasive gone. "How many times do I have to tell you—there's no point in dying for me! I'm the one who dies—full stop—end of story! That's the way it has to be!"

"No!" cried Ignis, still heightened. "No that isn't right!"

"Yes it is!"

Then, just as Ignis almost got the upper hand, Noctis forced him to the floor, all thoughts of hiding the truth vanishing in the face of trying to get Ignis to give him the Ring.

"You don't know how many times I've done this!" he yelled, fury and panic consuming him. "Hundreds! There's no way out—there's nothing that can save me! I don't want to be saved! All I want is to rest—this is my final chance. I have to die, Ignis, I have to!"

Memories were flashing behind his eyes, visions of all the times he'd perished, only to be forced back into life. His hand's gripped Ignis's wrist tightly, and he felt the power of the Ring was somehow burning him too, forcing his memories to the surface, and he could see them reflected in Ignis's burning eyes.

"There's no point in dying for me," he hissed. "No point in sacrificing yourself—I won't let you sacrifice yourself! Now please. Give me the Ring."

Ignis was staring at him, unmoving, hand still clenched tightly around the cursed object.

"Ignis!" he cried, shaking him by the shoulders.

Slowly, painfully slowly, his hand uncurled, and glowing tears fell down Ignis's cheeks.

Noctis wrenched off the Ring before Ignis could change his mind, and the beastly glow finally faded, and Ignis's eyes fell shut, as though the Ring was the only thing keeping him conscious.

The glowing wounds in his arms and around his face turned grey and ashy, and finally he was asleep. The tears were still falling down his cheeks. And Noctis was crying too, he realised, the tears hot and wet against his freezing cold skin.

He wiped them away, and stumbled to his feet.

He was exhausted, almost too tired to stand, but he still had to get everyone back to the top of the chasm, to a hospital.

It was going to be a long climb.