They'd met gods before, but Aslan was different, pondered Ignis as they made their final preparations to return to Lucis. The Six were strange, almost alien beings with an attitude of being so far above Eos and its inhabitants that even deigning to notice humans or their goings-on was a blessing. The Cosmogony was clear; humanity lived at the whims of the Astrals, and the gods' vengeance after the crimes of Solheim had almost caused the extinction of mankind. The Six didn't really care about mortals, and any death or destruction they caused was irrelevant as long as it didn't interfere with their goals. They were petty and capricious, and because of their power, people prayed and petitioned and begged for their favor. They were said to defend mankind because they'd sworn an oath to do so, but then again, they hadn't done much to protect Eos from the demon scourge these last two thousand years either.
Aslan had shattered Ignis' expectations upon their first introduction. Just as Queen Lucy had described, He was a grand cat, larger than the largest coeurl, taller even than Gladio, with a great ruff of golden fur around His face. The advisor had heard the queen's faith and devotion in her voice as she had described Him. But what he hadn't realized was how she loved Him. All of the Kings and Queens did. Their faces almost shone with joy and respect and peace as they looked at Him, as they took every excuse to be near Him, to stand beside Him.
The strangest part of all was that Aslan loved them back. Ignis had respectfully averted his gaze as he and his friends had met Narnia's god for the first time, bowing as low as he ever had in his life. He knew the dangers that gods posed to mortals. Gladio was staying very close to Noctis, ready to throw himself in between so Prompto could flee with the prince, but all their unspoken precautions were for naught the minute they saw Him. Although Ignis consciously knew that such a large and powerful creature would be a very deadly threat in a fight, he knew, he just knew, that they had nothing to fear from Him. He exuded a sense of fairness and rightness and caring, as one might expect from a tender parent, not a deity.
Aslan had looked straight at Ignis during their introductions and taken the advisor's breath away. In that moment, Ignis had understood that the god knew of Ignis' betrayal, the way his actions had lead to Prompto's torture and cost his friends months of travel time, not to mention the potential suffering of all of Eos. The shame was almost physically crippling, and for an instant he'd wished he was dead rather than facing those wise, all-knowing eyes. But after a long second, he realized that the god recognized the soul-crushing guilt and remorse that the young man felt. Ignis truly regretted withholding his knowledge from his brothers, would have given anything to go back and make a different choice, and as their gazes met, he saw that the great lion knew it too. In that look Ignis had seen sorrow for the harm he had caused, but he'd also seen forgiveness. He'd wanted to laugh with joy, but instead restrained himself to a small huff as the weight of his guilt eased. The burden of attempting to make restitution lay heavy on his shoulders even still, but it felt easier to bear, as though Aslan's approval of his intentions had given him the strength to push forward.
With Aslan's blessing, Queen Lucy had administered her medicine to Noctis. More thoroughly forewarned, he had taken off his shirt and laid down so that Gladio could restrain him during his agonizing convulsions. They watched as the deep, painful gouges in his back and spine receded and shrank until they were thin white lines. It took a long time, almost a minute, but in the end, not even the faintest shadow of scars remained to mark where the injury had once been.
Noctis had gingerly moved around, stretching and flexing under Gladio's careful eye, since he'd been the retainer most trained to deal with Noctis' physical limitations. The friends marveled at how he was able to walk without limping, at how the muscles in his back appeared to be properly reattached, no longer pulling painfully when he tried to jump or twist quickly.
"There will still be weakness," Aslan had warned. "The wound is healed, but the muscles are not yet adjusted to their proper function. Your body has compensated in various ways, and you will need to regain strength."
"We can do that," replied the shield, as Noctis looked too overwhelmed to speak. Ignis had always privately suspected that his charge had a substantial amount of pain in his daily life, so to see that confirmed as his burden finally lifted was simultaneously joyous and heartbreaking.
The healing was a priceless gift, and the Narnian Kings and Queens asked nothing of them in return. Such kindness, charity even, was foreign to Ignis. Growing up, anything offered had come with strings attached, people trying to curry favor with the heir to the throne and his trusted retainers. On their road trip, particularly after Insomnia fell, everybody was so poor and desperate that they couldn't afford to offer such kindnesses without asking for some favor or task in exchange. A select few had helped them out of duty and loyalty to Lucis or to King Regis, but it wasn't the same. This gift had been offered freely, merely because it could help. That made it all the more precious.
There wasn't much to prepare before their return to Eos. The Narnians had offered them supplies or weapons, but in theory, their armiger access would return once they were back in their homeworld. Gladio and Prompto accepted swords and Ignis took daggers and a bit of food in a small satchel, just to be on the safe side, but Ignis privately doubted that the Empire would have rebuilt the wallbreaker wave machine that inhibited Noctis' powers after they'd destroyed it, especially since they hadn't seen another human in all of Gralea besides Ardyn, if you could even call him human.
They'd gotten a good night's sleep and a filling meal. Dressed in their freshly laundered clothes, they stood before Aslan, the Kings and Queens, and various Narnians. Aslan smiled beatifically at them (an odd expression on such a feline face, yet it worked on Him). "Sons of Eos, are you ready to leave Narnia?" he asked kindly.
"We are," said Noctis.
"You shall return to the place from whence you were brought here," explained Aslan. "It shall be the selfsame day you left, so you need not fear what has happened to your world in your absence."
"Thank you, Aslan," said Noctis. Gladio bowed his head deeply in his own, private thanks. Ignis looked away; he had cost them much time, but at least their days in Narnia were not to be counted against them.
"Have faith. Have courage," Aslan admonished them. "The coming days will try your hearts, but stay true to your cause. Be united in purpose, and you shall triumph over evil. I will be with you." Stepping closer, He lowered His great head towards Noctis and breathed out over the Ring of Lucis, which shone with a bright light, as if the prince wore a small shard of starlight on his hand.
"Now step forth!" He growled, His voice full of power. Behind Him, a stone archway suddenly shimmered with light, and as they looked through, they no longer could see the stone hallway beyond. Rather, they saw someplace cavernous and dimly lit by a purple and blue light-the hanger in Zegnautus Keep where the Crystal was being kept.
"Farewell," said Noctis. They bowed to the Kings of Narnia and their God. Then, facing the unknown, Gladio went first; Ignis brought up the rear. Together, they stepped back into their world.