Sora and Noctis falls with the ledge they were standing on , not being able to move with the pain in his head , but Gladiolus thrust himself after his charge. Goofy also does the same. Together they pull Sora and Noctis to safety... leaving the rest of the party above cutting them off.
" are you guys alright ? "
Sora then calls out to them " Yea , there is a path over here "
" we will go on our own and regroup when we can , take care of things on your end " Noctis then adds.
The path back up was not what anyone will call a walk in the park , as Noctis , Gladiolus , Sora and Goofy make their way to Titan through the burning rock. Gladiolus protects Noctis and grows frustrated, asking the latter to reaffirm his conviction to be the king of Lucis. Sora sees this and attempts to break them up.
" we are supposed to be working together , now is not the time to be fighting each other "
Gladiolus ignores Sora and Noctis answers...
" How can I ever forget it , now matter how hard I try... So yes "
" You are not the only one on edge , we are all on edge. If you cannot focus I will. We take pride in protecting the royal family and I have embraced my calling...
As the king's sworn shield. "
Noctis lets out a sigh and follows as Gladiolus continues on. A flock of Dynoaevis' then take to the air. Gladiolus then tells the group to tread carefully these birds are known to attack when they become agitated.
" something must had ruffled their feathers " Gladiolus then states.
The birds then attacked the group when they step foot into their territory. After first dealing with the flock and passing through Gladiolus finds a path and tells the others.
" alright no room for errors here "
Gladiolus then leads Noctis , Sora and Goofy through. Hearing a phone go off he asks.
" Noct is that your phone ? "
Noctis then picks it up and answers.
" oh good you are safe , we got company the empire is here " with that said the line breaks.
Noctis then speaks on their situation " we are going to get imperial company "
Niflheim arrives to the site and attacks Titan, and Noctis and his party are caught in the crossfire. Titan engages Noctis who must parry the giant's attacks until his friends arrive to blast Titan's arm off with ice magic. Forging a covenant with Noctis, Titan disappears from the Disc.
As the crater crumbles Ardyn appears and introduces himself as Ardyn Izunia.
" I am at your service , more importantly to your aid " Ardyn then calls out.
Ignis responds " the Imperial chancellor , but dying here is not an option we have no choice. "
Noctis accepts the offer. During the chaos the group loses their two cars. The news spread that the tremors at the Disc of Cauthess have died down, but that Titan has disappeared. Many worry for what the awakening of the Astrals means for the world.
The empire closes off the Duscae region and roadblocks are erected to all major roads. Regalia has gone missing along with the second car they got. Cindy is looking for it, though the party assumes it was taken by Niflheim. Noctis receives a message from Lunafreya via Umbra,
" By the stormsender's blessing will the path to the stone be opened. The Oracle goes hence in her King's name. "
" Luna , where is she now "
" The eye of the storm. When the covenant is forged , the oracle and ring shall await their king at the walls of water. Stray not from the path. "
Lunafreya is seeking to rouse the Six to help him, and Noctis decides to follow with the plan, emboldened by the idea that the gods themselves are on his side. Noctis then picks up the red notebook from Umbra flipping through the pages to one that said.
" my prayers are with you. "
" I received the blessing , Thank you "
Noctis then replaces the book and sends Umbra off. While Prompto remarks on the messenger sent by the Oracle and Ignis calls it a spirit. Prompto wonders about it , but the rest of the group... By now nothing should surprise them because of all the craziness that had happened to them so far.
" another day another god then " Prompto then responds. Duscae is now trapped in a perpetual storm as Ramuh is calling for Noctis to forge a covenant with him. Noctis reminisces of the time he spent with Lunafreya when he was eight years old and learned about the Crystal and his mission from her, although he didn't understand what was asked of him then. Lunafreya had told him that the Crystal's calling is to crown the King of Light who will save the world, and Noctis had promised to do it.
Without the cars the group is forced to use chocobos. The birds tend to dislike the rain a bit but seems alright with it when they were called out.
Everyone then mounted their ride.
" everyone ready , lets go "
Noctis calls out as he then dug his heals into its side to spur it into a gallop , followed by Ignis , Prompto and Gladiolus with their allies from the stars Sora , Donald and Goofy.
Halfway to the first stone a chocobo dashed out in-front of Noctis. " wha... Easy there "
Noctis calls out to his mount while pulling back the lead. He then looks up to see Donald holding on to dear life
"Quack... How you stop this thing "
It was a funny sight to the Lucians. Noctis and Ignis then speeds up their mounts to catch up , riding up and next to the runaway chocobo one on each side. Ignis then reaches over from the one he is riding and grabs hold of the lead reins to slow it down and stop it. The rest of the group then catch up.
" it will seem future rides with chocobos will be a bad idea "
" you got that right , Ignis it will seem best if you lead that one. "
" Indeed "
Ignis then takes hold of the chocobo Donald is riding to finish the trip to the first stone.