Hi, all! Welcome to chapter 18 of Frozen Heart! In this chapter, we find out what happens between Ardyn and Lydia after the departure of Ravus and Luna. So that should be fun :)
Also, a big thank you to the Guest for a very kind review! I'm glad you've been enjoying the story. And you're right - Lydia's backstory is being revealed rather slowly. I can't promise a ton will be revealed in this chapter, but we are going to get some significant insights into her past in the next chapter or two. There's just a lot to unpack with her story, and I've wanted to wait until the time is right rather than just give you all exposition dumps. Things should start becoming a lot clearer very soon, though.
Anyway, thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own FFXV.
Chapter 18: Invincible
After Ravus took off with Lunafreya, Lydia turned to fully face the threat in front of her. Surrounded by MTs and directly across from the man who wanted to murder her, she felt butterflies in her stomach despite her best attempts to put on a brave front.
In truth, Lydia wasn't afraid of death. But she was afraid of a death by his hand, and he could surely tell.
Throwing her hands up helplessly as she glanced back and forth between adversaries, she said, "Well, congrats. You caught me. What are you gonna do now—gun me down? Sounds terribly boring in my opinion."
Ardyn chuckled, flicking the tip of his hat to push it away from his eyes. "Quite right, Lydia. They just needed a bit of exercise, you see—so I decided to bring them along."
With an exaggerated nod, Lydia said, "Oh, I see. So these guys are just here for the show, and you're gonna do the deed yourself while they watch." After what she saw inside Ramuh's head, she honestly wouldn't have been surprised if he got off on that type of thing.
Ardyn didn't bat an eye. "Well, that depends on how much trouble you give me. Forgive me for saying so, but you look absolutely exhausted, dear. Rough night?"
She glared at him. Yeah, because of you, dick.
Instead of saying that out loud though, she crossed her arms and asked, "What did you say to the High Commander that convinced him to sell me out?"
It was all a joke to him, of course. "Oh, I merely suggested that I could easily let slip that he's defying the Emperor's orders regarding the Lady Lunafreya." Then, putting his fingers to his lips in a gesture of mock surprise, he gasped and looked back and forth at the MTs surrounding them. "Oops!" he exclaimed. "Let's agree to keep that between us, shall we?"
"Wow, so you threatened his sister," Lydia said. "Low blow."
"In all my years in this world," Ardyn replied in a thoughtful tone, "I've found that hatred can be an intensely powerful motivator. But love—there's nothing that can change a person's heart and mind more quickly than that."
"Speaking from experience?" Lydia retorted.
It was a dangerous question, but she was curious to hear what he would say. While he may no longer have been her Ardyn, there was a part of her that wanted to know and understand this one... even if he was trying to wipe her off the face of Eos.
But Ardyn's response was something different that she expected. And the way he spoke, she couldn't tell if he was joking or being serious when he placed a hand flat on his chest and said, "Oh, I haven't the heart to love anyone." Then, with a cold smile, he added, "That's what makes me invincible."
Lydia raised her eyebrows at him, not bothering to hide her skepticism. "I don't believe anyone is invincible," she said.
"I'd be more than happy to let you test that theory on me."
The half-goddess pressed her lips into a thin line and looked down at the grass beneath her, deliberating on how far she wanted to take this. But even as she weighed her options, she didn't dare drop her guard for an instant.
"I'm not that ignorant, Chancellor," she said softly. "I know who and what you are. I stand by what I said." When a look of mild surprise crossed his face, she continued, "What I don't understand is why. Why are you doing this? Do you have a grudge against me, or am I some kind of prize for you? Or what?"
Ardyn held his hands up and stepped toward her, a look of disapproval on his face. Lydia had to press her feet firmly to the ground to resist the temptation to step back reflexively in response to his advances. "Lydia, Lydia," he chided gently. "Asking me to show you all my cards when we've only just begun? It sounds as though you already know more than enough, and if you haven't figured out yet why I'm doing this—well, I have to keep some secrets for myself, don't I?"
When she didn't respond, Ardyn raised his hand further and lightly wiggled his fingers. "Speaking of—if it's true you know what I am, then you likely already know you're at a severe disadvantage. That is, unless you have some incredibly clever tricks up your sleeve. Don't let me down now."
Lydia had seen a lot of action in her time, so she did, in fact, have quite a few tricks up her sleeve. But she also had a fragile human body and a subpar lifespan, which made her capabilities limited in most situations. She was stronger and more agile than your average person, but she doubted her ability to beat Noctis on a normal day—meaning her prospects against Ardyn seemed pretty bleak.
By the time Lydia used a blast of ice to block a ball of dark energy flying her way, she'd already made up her mind.
There was no way in hell she could fight him—but she might not have a choice.
The same instant she knocked his dark magic back at him, she dropped to the ground and pressed her hand into the grass, repeating a similar move she'd performed last week with Prompto. The ice shot out of her fingertips so quickly that by the time she looked up, every MT surrounding her was already frozen solid. And in the few seconds it took for Ardyn to warp out of the way and narrowly avoid her attack—she ran.
Like Ardyn pointed out, she knew she was at a disadvantage. And more importantly, she knew she had nowhere to go. But if her opponent was unkillable, her only option was to find some way to slow him down and escape. She didn't have the energy to go up against him face to face—it would be suicide.
Instead, she just kept running, dodging brush and trees in the forest along the way. What she wouldn't have given in that moment to manipulate space time as full-fledged Gods could do. Her greatest weakness against Ardyn was-
He could warp.
And she never would have been able to respond to his attack on time if she hadn't mentally prepared for it. It was lightning fast. Ardyn appeared next to her so suddenly that she barely had time to redirect her momentum before countering his dark magic with a defensive shield and flying back. She just barely landed on her feet, but touched her hand to the ground briefly to avoid losing her balance.
Then, a blast of dark magic hurdled her way while she was distracted. It was nearly upon her before she threw up her hand and countered it with a burst of magical energy all her own. They traded blows from a distance and blocked one another multiple times before Ardyn dropped his hand and smiled. "I must admit, your reflexes are fast—for a human. But not very impressive for a Goddess."
She laughed darkly. "Are you trying to piss me off?" Digging her heels into the ground, Lydia put more power into her next attack and sent a burst of magic right at Ardyn's face. She imagined it smacking him square in the jaw and knocking him into next week (despite secretly hating the idea of putting a scratch on his pretty face). Instead, Ardyn's hand rose to block her—and she didn't have a chance to cancel her action before the spell rebounded and came back to her.
Luckily for Lydia, she was mostly immune to her own magic and other creatures with control over ice and water. So she absorbed the blow easily without taking much damage, but the force of it was still strong enough to push her back.
Before Lydia had the chance to take the offensive or make another escape, she found Ardyn just inches away from her. Her hand gripped his wrist as his much larger hand wrapped around her throat and shoved her back against a tree. The impact was so harsh that it made her see stars for a few seconds.
There was something almost animalistic—beast-like—about him in that moment. And for the first time, the reality sank in. He might actually kill her.
Ardyn chuckled darkly as he tightened his grip on her neck, making it harder for her to breathe. "You disappoint me, Lydia. I was certain you'd at least put up a good fight. Is this truly all you can muster?"
Lydia hoped not. She may have been part human, but she also had magic running through her veins. She felt almost insulted by the prospect that anyone, even one as powerful as Ardyn, could take her down so easily.
Luckily, Lydia wasn't the type to become paralyzed under pressure. And instead of trying to claw her way out of a desperate situation, she relaxed and focused her attention on Ardyn's weakness. That weakness happened to be his center, which he left open for a few seconds while she clung to his arm.
She put as much power as she could into that attack and just let loose. After all, it's not like she could kill him—right?
A powerful blast of ice magic shot from her palm, and he let out a sound of surprise as he flew back. She flung him so hard that she heard a loud crack when he slammed against another tree. "Don't get too cocky, Chancellor," she said, her voice harsh and raspy thanks to the pressure he'd placed on her throat. "You might regret it."
Then, without waiting for his reply, Lydia clasped her hands together and whispered a short incantation. In the next instant, she threw her hands out, sending long, thin shards of ice flying out from all sides.
Normally, Lydia wasn't one for destroying local wildlife—but extreme situations called for extreme measures. There was a loud snap as her shards of ice cut clear through every tree surrounding her and Ardyn. And in the second it took for the trees to realize they were felled, Lydia erected a pillar of ice underneath under and let it propel her into the sky. As trees toppled beneath her, Lydia felt a rush of freedom due to weightlessness before the freefall.
She erected another pillar as she started to gain more momentum, and then erected one after the other, hopping across them at her own peril. This was a trick she'd never tried before, so her self-confidence was lacking. But she thought—or at least hoped—she might be temporarily safer if she stayed off the ground.
As she gained more confidence in her footing, Lydia picked up speed, praying that she could put as much distance in between herself and Ardyn as possible. Once she had the distance she needed, she could return to the ground and cover of the forest.
Unfortunately, she didn't quite make it that far. Ardyn was fast, and the falling trees hadn't slowed him down for more than a few seconds. This time an attack came for her, she didn't even see it coming. And a blast of Ardyn's dark magic felt like fire hitting her skin while she was in mid-air. She plummeted to the forest floor, her fall only slightly cushioned by the bushes and vegetation below. The impact when she landed on her stomach sucked all the air right out of her, and she choked while clutching her abdomen and rolling over painfully onto her back.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a tall figure approaching. She felt compelled to speak while trying to catch her breath, but couldn't think of anything to say. Only his name came out of her mouth, in little more than a strained whisper.
Ardyn released a low sigh as he approached. "I do confess, I wondered how my name might sound when it graced your lips. Would you care to say it a little louder for me, or shall I torture you until you scream it?"
As she attempted to recover her breath, Lydia looked up at Ardyn helplessly, knowing she wasn't yet in a position to defend herself against him. But if what he wanted was for her to say his name, her defiant side ensured she would never say it in his presence again—just out of pure spite for hurting her so much.
To Lydia, a name was something personal and intimate. She wouldn't have him make a mockery of that. Ardyn hadn't come out and said it, but she could tell simply by the way he spoke and reacted to her—he knew she was affected by him, and he didn't even care. It was a joke to him—just a way he could manipulate and toy with her head.
She wondered if he knew more about their past than he was letting on. Maybe if she was going to die here, there was no harm in asking.
Then again, did she even want to know? If he remembered her—their past together—after she erased his memories, it would only make this worse for her. Hell, perhaps that's why he was doing this. Maybe he remembered that she left him behind, and simply wanted her to suffer. She couldn't make a solid argument that she didn't deserve it.
In spite of her reservations, Lydia opened her mouth to speak as Ardyn crouched down at her side, a devilish smirk on his face the whole time. But much to her surprise (and, likely, his own) something stopped him before he could touch her. A massive blast came between them, knocking Ardyn away and suddenly coating the entire ground and tree tips in a thin layer of ice.
Lydia hesitantly pulled herself into a sitting position, quite sure that she wasn't the cause of the blast or the sparkly coating on the ground but unsure where else it could have come from. Her eyebrows furrowed as she looked down to inspect her hands, only to look up again when a pair of legs appeared next to her. Only, these were a woman's legs.
For several seconds, Lydia was entirely speechless. The pair of gentle eyes that looked down at her nearly caused her heart to leap out of her chest, as it had been dozens of lifetimes since she had seen them. And at first she didn't even know what to do when the woman with raven-black hair and a kind smile extended her hand, beckoning Lydia to follow her lead.
Finally, after a moment in which it seemed as though time itself had stopped, Lydia managed to whisper, "Mother?"
Gentiana then smiled as though it couldn't have possibly been 2,000+ years since their last meeting, and softly said, "Take my hand."
A dazed Lydia could do little more than obey at that point. When she took her Mother's hand, she felt more life in her immediately. Her eyes stung with unshed tears as she rose to her mother's level, gripping her fingers more tightly when their gazes locked. The rest of the world seemed to fall away, and Gentiana lifted her other hand to place it on top of Lydia's.
In the back of her mind, she knew now was the worst possible time for questions. So she stayed silent when Gentiana stepped closer and said, "I can give you the power you need to escape. But it will come at a cost."
Lydia knew that cost, just as she knew the cost of using her own powers. There goes another five years off my life, she thought dryly while looking down at her mother's hands. But still—if it was her only option at the moment—the only option of living another day...
Taking a quick glance at Ardyn as he rose to his feet, Lydia gave her Mother a quick nod and said, "I can take it."
To outside eyes, Gentiana may have looked as though she disappeared into thin air. But to Lydia, it felt as though Gentiana's—no, Shiva's—very essence was bleeding into her. The world around her seemed to blur at first, and then become crystal clear before an intense chill exploded outward from her chest throughout her entire body. When she inhaled and exhaled, she felt ice shards inside threatening to tear her apart. Ice started crystalizing on her face and fingertips—and yet, while it was painful, she didn't feel like she would die. On the contrary, she couldn't remember the last time she felt so powerful.
And somehow, she instinctively knew what she had to do next.
The look in Ardyn's eyes was not fear, but something akin to awe or amazement as he watched Lydia lift one hand toward the sky. The wind picked up, forcing Ardyn to clamp one hand down on his hat and brace his feet against the ground, and Lydia's voice blended with the breeze whipping through the trees as she spoke:
"Light breaks upon darkness as ocean breaks upon rock. Sun covers ground at daylight, just as first snow covers ground at last leaf's fall. As spirit of the season of sleep and turmoil, I command the skies and winds to bend and break at my will. For through destruction comes salvation—and through salvation—silence."
As Lydia prepared to finish her incantation, Ardyn gained control of his senses well enough to step forward. Dark magic burst from his fingertips as he prepared to halt her formation of the storm. Lowering himself to the ground, Ardyn pressed his palms into the grass. Blight surged out of his hands at incredible speed, rising until it mixed in with the wind swirling around her, threatening to suffocate her. But before it could creep in and impede her strength, Lydia curled her hand to a fist and shouted, "Come!"
A blast of ice and cold wind burst from her as the sky opened up, thick snowfall immediately overwhelming the warm summer air. Darkness fell on them, leaving no more than blinding white snow and wind whipping in from of Lydia's face. Ardyn's dark magic was gone, and as she lowered her hand and turned back and forth, she realized she could no longer see him. In fact, she couldn't see anything.
"Don't be afraid," a soft voice whispered in her ear. "Just run."
Lydia turned again to look one last time over her shoulder. Then, without settling on a specific direction, she started running as directed, unable to hear so much as the sound of her feet shuffling through fresh snow as the wind whistled in her ears.
She left that place and Ardyn behind, thinking not of her next move forward but of her determination to survive another day.
The First Summer She Saw Him...
The summer Viessa turned 16 was the first time she saw Ardyn.
And no, when she said that, she didn't mean as a person—or as a friend. For the first time, she saw something else entirely in him.
When she went running to his arms for a hug at the lake that cool evening in June, she noticed something different about him. She noticed the way he'd let his soft red hair grow so it lay gently against his shoulder blades. She noticed the light stubble appearing on his chin, and the fact that he was now more than a head taller than her when she stood at his side. He was still lanky back then, but she could see he was starting to fill out a bit in his arms and across the chest.
And it was the first time she realized he wasn't the little boy who'd been playing hide and seek with his younger brother three years prior. Ardyn was becoming a man. And quite a lovely one at that.
Of course, she would have died of embarrassment at the time if she'd told him this. For all intents and purposes, their relationship didn't change that summer. They played chess, painted on wood canvases using paints that Viessa made herself, enjoyed stargazing, and went ice skating together on the lake when Viessa felt comfortable using her powers. Nothing changed from last year, or the year before that—until Ardyn made a request that she didn't expect.
"Tomorrow I depart for the western village of Cleigne," he said amid a casual game of chess. Although Viessa had been thoroughly engrossed in making her next move, this attracted her attention. And she looked up at him with a curious expression on her face. He continued. "I may not return for a fortnight or longer."
Her heart sank as she thought of all the time they would lose this summer as a result of this development. And while she usually had plenty to say while she was with him, this time, the most she could muster was a disheartened, "Oh."
"My family and I are told of a 'strange enemy,' that is taking lives there," he said softly. "My—my brother and I have been asked to investigate and do what we can to stop it."
Strange enemy, she thought. That seemed like a rather vague description. Was this all he knew or was he deliberately concealing details?
"You and your brother are taking this mission alone?" she asked.
"Well, yes," he replied, with a shrug and a laugh. "Someone needs to hold down the household, you see."
When she didn't answer, he slowly opened his mouth and added, "I was—wondering if you might join us."
Viessa's eyebrows furrowed. "Join you? To Cleigne? It's miles and miles from here."
"I know that," he said. "I simply thought you might..."
When he trailed off, Viessa's suspicion only grew. "Might what?"
He sighed. "I thought we might make an excellent team."
"I doubt your family would take kindly to a lowly village girl like myself joining your expedition," Viessa replied.
"Now that is a truly poor excuse, and you know it." When she turned away, he asked, "Are you afraid your parents wouldn't allow you to come?"
"I'm not afraid of them. I simply don't want to cause them any trouble. Or anyone else." Or myself...
There was a pause as Ardyn watched Viessa with soft, compassionate eyes. But despite his kindness, she didn't expect him to understand. Ardyn was gifted with incredible abilities from birth, and he was born into a world that accepted—even worshipped—his gifts. After everything she went through and the way humanity treated her after the Astral War ended, Viessa did not have the same confidence that he had. For the actions of Ifrit, Shiva, and the other Astrals, the people had seen her as dangerous—someone to be feared. And once they knew they could get away with it, they took advantage of her and used her for their own ends... just as they had tried to do with Ifrit and his own power. That's why she chose to remain in the shadows. It was easier than letting people disappoint and betray her.
Finally, Ardyn continued with, "I won't lie to you. It could be dangerous. And the last thing I would ever want to do is put you in danger."
Viessa smiled in spite of herself. "It isn't that. I—I feel that I cannot be what this world needs the way that I am. It's... difficult to explain."
She suspected by now that Ardyn knew Viessa was something more than human, but she'd never told him the truth of her origins. Not because she feared he would reject her, but because she'd simply never been able to find the words. And she wasn't especially keen on exploring the topic now.
"Would you like to know what I think, My Lady?"
She leaned back, pressing her palms into the grass to stay upright. "Are you going to tell me anyway?"
"No," he said, shaking his head. "I'm asking permission."
And somehow, he always found new ways to surprise her. "All right. What do you think?"
"I think you have a powerful gift and if you want to use it to make a difference, you shouldn't let anyone stop you."
"You make it sound very simple."
"Is it not?" Viessa closed her mouth and stayed silent. "Together, you and I could be invincible," he added.
Up until that moment, Viessa had quite a serious expression on her face. But with that comment, it fell and she found herself laughing at him. "I'm not so sure about that," she said in between chuckles. "I think your footwork could still use a bit of practice."
Ardyn appeared taken aback. "Are you referring to the one time I slipped during our sparring match?"
"Letting an opponent catch you off-guard could spell your demise," Viessa argued, growing quite serious again. "Please never let arrogance rule you in a fight, Ardyn."
He rolled his head back and sighed. "Oh, come now... do I honestly seem like the type of person who would do such a thing?"
She gave him a hard look. "Yes, actually."
At first, the young man scoffed and turned away in disgust. But then, with a slow smile, he said, "Well—then perhaps all the more the more reason to join me in Cleigne. You can keep close watch on me then."
The way Ardyn's eyes sparkled with amusement made Viessa flush, which in turn caused her to avert her gaze. She wasn't sure why he was causing her to react that way. Perhaps, just as Ardyn was becoming a man, she was becoming a woman again as well. And yet the prospect of it had never frightened her so much as it did in that instant.
She still couldn't bring herself to give him a definitive yes or no answer. So instead, she looked back down at the chess board and contemplated her next move. "I'll consider it," she said.
And he simply gave her a gentle smile before moving a hand to one of his chess pieces.
So, Shiva finally showed up! Isn't that exciting? I'm looking forward to exploring Lydia's relationship with her a bit. And yes, we will be learning more about what happened with Ifrit very, very soon, so no worries!
I'm currently planning a few different chapters, but I haven't quite decided what order they will be in yet. We'll be catching up with both Noctis and Luna soon, and we'll have a chapter that focuses mainly on Lydia and Shiva. AND I think things are going to be picking up in terms of Lydia-Ardyn backstory - so you can probably expect a full chapter dedicated to that in the near future as well. Just lots of things to look forward to. :)