Burnt out
They followed the tracks of the nightmarish Behemoth until the sun had completely set beyond the horizon. Only then they veered from its path of destruction and sought out the nearest haven. The daemon was to find them as quickly as possible once it began its prowl, so that it would not attack the nearby farmhouses or the Chocobo Wiz Post instead. Under the protection of the white to bluish glowing runes, they mentally prepared for the battle ahead.
"Are you going to be all right down there?" Noctis asked Arydn, who had not yet dared to approach the runes.
"Your concern is most touching, but I am afraid the haven will do me more harm than the Behemoth ever could."
"Proves he's a daemon himself," Gladio muttered.
"So what of it?" Noctis retorted.
"How are you, Prompto?", Ignis asked.
"As ready as I'll ever be."
"Remember; we use a hit and run strategy. As long as you stay in the haven, you will be fine."
Perhaps it was because of the soothing effect of the haven that, despite the darkness and the impending battle, there was less tension among Noctis' comrades than before. Or perhaps it was simply because they were not stalking a murderous shadow with bated breath in the mist.
As if on cue, the sound of a tree falling erupted from the forest. Noctis saw the yellow glowing eyes of the Behemoth before the rest of its nightmarishly distorted form emerged from the shadows.
"Is it just me, or has it grown bigger?"Gladio asked, shouldering his greatsword.
Ignis called a dagger into his hand. "I reckon that's what happens to daemonified monsters."
With slow, menacing steps, the Behemoth approached the haven. Black liquid dripped from its fangs. More crooked horns and spikes had formed along its spine. The monster's eyes seemed to move in twitching movements independently of each other.
Prompto gulped. "Disturbing."
"Oh yeah," Noctis agreed.
Due to him standing outside of the haven, Ardyn was closest to the monster. He stepped in front of the Behemoth and held out his arms.
"Hear me, daemon! I am Adagium, prophesied bringer of the Starscourge! Obey the command of your maker and halt!"
The Behemoth did not stop. It leapt over him without any hesitation.
"So much power and yet so little recognition," Noctis heard Ardyn say, just before a multitude of spectral swords struck the Behemoth from behind.
His attack went not unnoticed. The beast threw itself around and engaged Ardyn.
"That's our cue," Ignis said and sprinted forward, closely followed by Gladio. "On to round two."
Prompto began to shoot at the daemon from a safe distance. He smiled nervously. "No PArdyn, amirite?"
"Good one, Prompto," Noctis said and threw the Engine Blade at the Behemoth's back.
He landed a hit or two, then retreated to the haven and warped again. Not only was he able to recover for a moment, the distance helped him to strike with greater force as well. Gladio and Ignis pursued a similar strategy, but they stayed closer to the outermost runes. In the meantime, Ardyn kept the monster from retreating as much as he could.
Whenever the Behemoth Daemon accidentally stepped onto the sacred ground, lights rose from the runes like tiny stars and shot towards the monster. A few times they were able to utilize the haven's divine assistance before the Behemoth kept a minimum distance from the runes.
Because of that, Ignis' strategy was quickly becoming less effective and harder to pull off. To keep the Behemoth occupied, Gladio remained outside of the haven, but Noctis saw him on the defensive more and more frequently. The prince had to expose himself to the danger for increasingly longer periods of time as well, simply because of the added distance.
The Behemoth Daemon was a ruthless opponent. Faster, bigger and stronger than its normal counterpart, and on top of that it covered itself in a burning aura of dark energy. Noctis dodged the teeth and claws, but was knocked down by one of the horns. Lying on the ground, he broke a potion to quickly heal his bloody scrapes.
At the same time, Gladio positioned himself next to him. He rammed his shield into the monster's open mouth as it snapped at them again. Under the supernatural force of its jaws, the metal threatened to bend.
"Move aside, Noct!" Gladio shouted.
At the last moment, Noctis scrambled to safety before Gladio made the shield disappear and leapt to the side. The Behemoth's teeth narrowly missed them. Bullets hitting the daemon's face forced it back – at least for the time being.
"I don't know how much longer we can take this," Gladio said, breathing heavily.
"We have to keep trying," Noctis said. Exhaustion - or rather stasis - was gnawing at him as well. He had to get back to the haven and recover some of his strength. With effort, Noctis was walking up the incline towards the runes when he heard a crash behind him. The Behemoth had swept Gladio aside and was coming after Noctis again.
"Damn!" The runes were still too far away. In stasis, he could not dodge the attack. Noctis sprinted forwards, but had not yet reached the haven when Ardyn suddenly put an arm around his shoulders and spun with him out of danger. Noctis saw the beast's paw smashing down where they had just been standing. In one fluid motion, Ardyn released him, summoned his longsword and faced the Behemoth.
"Thanks," Noctis brought out.
"What use is the True King to me if he's dead?"
Ardyn lunged to strike as the Behemoth caught him with its horns and flung him back into the haven. He landed past Prompto, dead centre amidst the runes.
"Ardyn!" Prompto stepped towards him, but the runes flared up before anyone could have prevented it. Blinded by the light, Prompto stumbled all the way to the edge of the haven.
The haven reacted to Ardyn as if to a most unwelcome intruder. Lights rose from all the runes simultaneously before the sacred place, with all its stored power, leapt at Ardyn's inherent darkness. Arcs of light shot into his body and dark energy poured out of him back into the runes. Black clouds spread across the haven's grounds. Somewhere in this raging storm of light and darkness, Ardyn screamed in pain.
Noctis made an attempt to approach the haven, but the energy was too strong. Going in there would be suicide.
"Noct!" Ignis pointed at the Behemoth.
The haven's discharge was so powerful that the daemon could not withstand it. Roaring and yelping, its body began to dissolve into miasma particles.
The battle between light and dark culminated in a glaringly bright explosion that stung Noctis' eyes even through his held-out hand. For a couple of seconds, he saw barely more than dancing lights. His vision then returned slowly. The Behemoth was gone, the dark of night had overtaken the haven, and its runes were no longer glowing softly, as if they had lost all power. Only the dim glow of the stars and the lapel light on Noctis' jacket illuminated his surroundings.
Its faint glow revealed Ardyn standing up again with great effort.
He was struggling to stay on his feet, and Noctis was about to move towards him when he noticed the steaming miasma rising from his form. Although he kept his head low, his eyes stood out like two amber orbs amidst the sea of inky blackness that ran down his face. The sight of him was scary, more so than what Noctis had seen in the chasm at the border of Leide.
"Enough!" Ardyn shouted in a distorted voice and threw a fist at an invisible foe. "Why must I continue to suffer?" He looked just about ready to turn his anger towards Noctis and his party.
"Ardyn, it's just us!" Prompto shouted, yet only managed to capture his attention.
Gladio shifted into a fighting stance once more. "Out of the frying pan."
Noctis signalled him to stay back even though he was probably just as tense as him.
"C'mon, Ardyn," Noctis said through gritted teeth. Perhaps it was but a mere glimmer of hope, that Ardyn would snap out of it himself, but Noctis embraced it. To be allies instead of adversaries had been his suggestion after all. A cooperation that was certainly easier to realize had he not been selected by the gods to bring ruin to the world.
Ardyn's face turned into a hate-filled grimace. His breathing, however, sounded strained. At first, it looked as if he was still about to attack them, but when he took a step towards them, his legs gave out and he collapsed, seemingly exhausted. The miasma surrounding him faded.
"Is he dead?" Gladio asked. He was the first – and only one – to join Noctis when he dared to check on Ardyn's motionless figure.
Gladio nudged the chancellor with a boot. No reaction.
"Unconscious," Noctis noted.
"Guess nothing kills him that easily, huh?"
Together they turned him on his back.
The black smears were fading from Ardyn's face, albeit very slowly.
#-#-#
"Yeah, but why me? I mean, with Noctis being the True King and all that."
"Maybe your face isn't quite so detestable after all."
Prompto's and Gladio's voices sounded not far away.
The smell of roasted meat and spices hung in the air.
Someone was chopping vegetables.
"What are you making, Iggy?"
"If you wait another moment, I'll let you taste it."
"No rush, but all this fighting's made me kinda hungry."
Ardyn opened his eyes. He found himself lying on the hard ground of the haven and looking up at the night sky with its myriad, pale glowing stars. He was alive. Still alive. It should no longer come as a surprise to him, yet somehow, it did.
"It seems our escort is coming around," Ignis said.
Ardyn felt too drained to even think about sitting up. "What happened?"
"The haven did quite a number on you," Noctis explained briefly.
"To be precise," Ignis continued, "your landing inside of the haven caused a massive discharge which vanquished all daemons in the vicinity. It appears the haven has lost all of its sacred energy, however."
Ardyn sighed and closed his eyes. The burning pain the light had caused him was still fresh in his memory, but he was left to guess what had happened after the assault. When the Starscourge took control, things got ugly fast. In more ways than one, and what little he remembered, he usually would rather not. His powers were only meant to destroy. Fate had truly condemned him to the role of villain. It was tempting to just submit to it, sometimes.
Somewhere at the edge of his perception, he registered chairs being moved and steps approaching him.
When Ardyn opened his eyes again, Noctis and Prompto were looking down on him. The prince offered him a hand, and this gesture alone triggered a feeling in Ardyn he did not know to place. Something filled a hole which he had not known existed until then. No one had shown him any compassion since Somnus had branded him a monster. Not Verstael, not Aldercapt, and especially not the gods. Everyone had only ever been interested in his well being for their own selfish reasons. And Noctis and his friends … were they just mocking him?
"Could this be ... pity?" he asked sceptically.
"You can also stay there if you want", Noctis said casually and Ardyn was willing to believe that this was all there was to it. No bribing. No lies. He was merely offering his help. Even though he possessed Somnus' features, he and Ardyn's brother could not have been more different. Oddly enough, it was mostly the same with Prompto and his likeness to the young Verstael.
Ardyn took Noctis' hand, and let him and his friend help him to his feet.
Although the white to blueish glow of the haven's runes had died, Noctis' entourage had still set up their camping equipment as usual. Four chairs stood around the campfire, of which one was used by Gladio. Ignis was preparing a midnight meal for them at a nearby table.
Ardyn followed Noctis and Prompto and sat down on one of the unoccupied chairs.
"Welcome back among the living," Gladio said.
"Am I done for," Noctis groaned as he dropped into a chair.
Ignis handed him a plate. "Try to stay awake long enough for dinner."
To Ardyn's surprise, he offered him a serving as well.
"How about a plate of beef and beet bouillon, chancellor? There is enough for all of us."
The dish consisted of a steaming, red tinged broth with generous pieces of meat and vegetables. It was simple, yet had obviously been prepared with expertise and passion. Even so, Ardyn hesitated for a moment before accepting it. He did not know what to say. More than once, he had tried to make a habit of eating again, yet it had not felt right, sitting either by himself or with others who were merely looking to gain his favor. So many times he had drunk wine with Verstael and made him believe they were working towards a common goal.
But Noctis and his friends were different, in a plain, honest and kind way.
Emotions welled up in him which he had believed to be long lost and forgotten. Ardyn rubbed at his eyes.
"You all right over there?" Noctis asked.
"It's just the onions."
"There are no onions in the dish," Ignis clarified.
Fortunately, Ardyn regained his composure quickly. "Did I say onions? I meant beetroot."
Gladio smirked. "For the king of daemons, or whatever you're supposed to be, you're pretty pathetic."
"Oh, do shut up," Ardyn said, too exhausted to come up with a clever response.
It caused Prompto to chuckle, anyway.
"Were you able to take any photos in battle, Prompto?" Noctis asked.
"Wait a minute, let me check." He took out his camera and showed some of his most recent snapshots around.
"Hey, not bad. You should become a nature photographer."
"Honestly? I'd rather not get that close to a behemoth's teeth again."
"Let me see. What else have you got?"
"Look at that. If it isn't yours truly."
"If you'd rather not be in pictures ..."
"Oh, no. I don't mind at all. Snap away! I'm sure they'll make a lovely addition to your collection."
For once, he truly enjoyed the company.
A little bit of kindness can go a long way, as they say.
I don't know if anyone who ever played FFXV has managed to get a daemon inside of or at least close to a haven, but this is what I imagined might happen.
