And so she had taken a stand. Forced to choose between what she knew and what she didn't, she had stepped off the path and into the wild.
The warning she had given King Regis had saved Reina's life. Reina, who had embraced the Starscourge. Reina, who had made a pact with Ardyn Izunia. Reina, whom she had been actively working against for the month before—ever since this whole ordeal began.
And, for better or for worse, Luna had preserved her life. Only time would tell if she came to regret that choice; there was a darkness within Reina that frightened her beyond words. But the tale she told contained a core of truth. Even if she had omitted parts—whether to manipulate everyone's opinion of her or to spare them—she was right.
The Astrals had created the Starscourge. The unanswered questions Luna had posed to the Gods only cemented that belief in her mind. They were in the wrong. They had been manipulating humanity for millennia.
But this path Reina walked… did it truly lead to the peace she hoped for? She contained the Starscourge and, whatever its origin, the plague of corruption needed to be cleansed from Eos. Destroying Bahamut did not lead to the end of the Starscourge. Petty revenge would get them nowhere at all.
"How do we destroy the scourge?" She asked the dusk, not expecting an answer.
She received one anyway.
"The King of Light must banish the darkness." Gentiana's footsteps were silent on the balcony.
"Is there no other way? Must light be bought at the cost of more Caelum lives?"
"Trimming the leaves will only pause the darkness. To eradicate the Starscourge, one must first destroy its root. Only two people on Eos possess the power to reach the gates of the Great Beyond without losing themselves. Only two people can follow the Accursed and see him through the gates."
"Noctis and Reina…"
"The blood in their veins is strong. Distilled over one hundred and fourteen generations to create the perfect weapon for this task."
"You make it seem as if they were engineered as mere tools," Luna said.
"And so they were. The family of Caelums was chosen for a connection to Eos, and then shaped to this end. The royal line has been curated for over two thousand years. Now at last the blade is finished. The Draconian will not easily let it slip from his grasp."
"Noctis is not a blade. They are people. Human beings, who deserve the same love and respect we grant to all sentient life." Luna's voice turned sharp as she looked at Gentiana. "As soon as you think of someone as sub-human, you begin to feel complacent about causing them suffering. Or death."
In spite of Luna's tone, Gentiana smiled. "The Oracle's compassion toward all humans has drawn allies to her side."
"Do you not believe they are expendable?"
"No, I do not believe that. The Oracle's teachings state that no human falls beneath notice. Only the willing may give their lives."
"Then help me save them. There must be some other way."
"Only the willing may give their lives," Gentiana repeated, as if affirming to herself. "There is one other way. The Starscourge was created by the Hexatheon. If the Hexatheon were untied from Eos, so, too, would the taint be."
"Then… if every Astral was destroyed, the darkness would be gone?"
"Destroyed or cut loose," Gentiana said. "Each is bound to this star; the link allows rebirth, immortality, perpetuity if the destruction is incomplete. If the bond is severed—voluntarily or otherwise—they will be set free from Eos."
"So they could be convinced to leave. Without violence or death."
"In an ideal situation," Gentiana agreed. "Leaving Eos is not the same as death; some may be willing to release their hold of their own free will."
"Then I will have to summon the Astrals after all," Luna said.
To summon the Astrals she would need to reach them. She had scant chance of doing so on her own; while she might have walked out of Insomnia and not be pursued as an escaped prisoner, once outside the walls she had no way of getting where she needed to be, save relying on the goodwill of others.
And goodwill toward the Oracle had become scarce, as of late.
Thankfully, King Regis had never given any indication of judging her for her naivete and he had been known to help those who helped his children. He also had reason of his own to want her to succeed in contacting each of the Astrals.
And so she sought an audience with the king once more. It was not so simple to achieve, and the direction their afternoon conversation had gone in did nothing to help her case. But she requested, via her guards, and was eventually shown to King Regis' study.
"Lady Lunafreya." He did not turn away from the window to face her when she entered. An air of preoccupation hung about him and he wasted no time with pleasantries. "Though your behavior toward my daughter leaves much to be desired, your timely warning about the Messengers did save her life and for that you have earned this moment of my time. I will hear what you have to say about the scourge."
As he left no space for Luna to do anything but, she launched into her tale, from her own questioning of her path to the future Reina would bring to Gentiana's words. When she had finished, he sat quietly, staring into the distance as if absorbing the information.
"I would require transportation, which would take me to the Disc of Cauthess, Altissia, and Angelgard Island."
For the life of her, she could not imagine what he was thinking beneath the stoic exterior.
At length he said, "Your cause is a just one, and I have every reason to support the outcome. However, I fear I cannot grant you the transportation you seek. That now falls under Noctis' rule and so it is Noctis you must speak to."
Lunafreya stared. It was unseemly but she found herself gaping at him nevertheless. He would truly deny her transportation on a technicality of rule? He had the ability to grant her what she needed. Why pass her off?
"Your Majesty, I fear Prince Noctis and I are not on the best of terms…"
The last time they had spoken he had accused her of being brainwashed before walking away. He had been right.
"So I have gathered," King Regis said. "Nevertheless, if you wish for transportation, Noctis is whom you must speak with. I'm certain an audience could be arranged for you. Tomorrow."
It was difficult to tell—King Regis could be a difficult man to read when he wished it—but she thought she saw the hint of a smile.