Remnants of Brothers (or: The Archaean)
Noctis was certain that Ardyn lied out of habit. He put little effort into concealing his lies and yet Noctis recognized probably half of them at best. One thing Ardyn had definitely not lied about was his car. It was indeed a red convertible, and a commonly seen model at that. They switched cars at the car park in Lestallum and set off to the Disc of Cauthess with Ardyn behind the steering wheel.
Thanks to him, they passed the Imperial blockade in front of the disc almost without stopping. Noctis could not help but notice, however, how strangely few soldiers and engines were stationed inside of the fortifications.
"Shouldn't there be more MTs about?" Prompto spoke for him.
Ardyn turned his head to look at the few remaining magitek engines as they passed by. "I do wonder why."
"You don't know?"
"I happen to be a little out of date concerning the Empire's movements."
They kept driving until the road became too rough and narrow to continue.
Ardyn turned off the engine and opened the driver's door. "Out with you lot."
"So, where do we go from here?" Prompto asked.
If there had ever been a proper path ahead, the recent tremors must have caused it to be buried underneath the rocks. Noctis spotted a narrow passage through the rubble. "Let's try over there."
He was the first to squeeze through the opening, all the while trying not to think about what would happen if one of the rocks further up came loose.
On the other side of the path, pieces of stonework laid scattered about the terrain. Increasingly more of them came into view and eventually led to what must have once been the burial chamber of a King of Lucis. Although the foot of the stone table had crumbled, the effigy holding the Royal Arm was still there and intact.
"Is that what I think it is?" Gladio asked.
"Wouldn't Jared have told us if there was a Royal Tomb this close to the Disc?" Prompto noted.
"Perhaps it was recently unearthed by the tremors", Ignis tried to explain. "It is in a pitiful state, after all."
Gladio nodded in the direction of the king's statue. "Grab that Royal Arm and let's be on our way before the tomb collapses further."
"Right."
With Ardyn by his side, Noctis approached the intricately detailed stone figure. By looking at the handiwork alone, he had already gathered that this must have been one of the oldest tombs, but the weapon in the statue's hands made it clear that it was the oldest Royal Tomb of all. The longsword looked almost identical to Ardyn's. Clearly, the other half of what was once a pair.
"The Blade of the Mystic", Noctis stated.
Ardyns gaze grew bitter and cold.
Knowing his story, Noctis decided to tread with caution. "Do you mind if I …?"
He shook his head and took a step back. "Not at all. Please, go first."
In the meantime, the others caught up to them.
"What's the hold-up?" Gladio wanted to know.
"The Tomb of the Founder King if I am not mistaken", Ignis clarified.
"But the effigy looks nothing like him", Ardyn said disapprovingly, still staring at statue and sword.
Prompto took a closer look at the tilted stone table as well. "What did he look like, then?"
"A lot like me, actually," Noctis replied, just before the spectral copy of the Founder King's sword passed into his armiger.
He turned to leave, but Ardyn made no move to acquire the soul of the blade himself.
"Need a moment?" Noctis asked. Sentimentality did not suit Ardyn and his blank expression betrayed no emotion, but who was Noctis to claim he truly understood his relationship to Somnus?
"Just go. I'll catch up with you in a moment," Ardyn replied and so he let him be.
Prompto, Gladio and Ignis joined Noctis as he walked away from the tomb. There was, however, that sinking feeling, that Ardyn was up to no good. And Noctis was not alone with this premonition.
"Three … Two … One ..." Ignis counted down, and just as Prompto was about to question why, Ardyn's voice sounded behind them.
"You treacherous bastard!"
Sighing, Noctis turned back. "I knew it."
"You've never deserved this sword to begin with!" With one foot on the stone table, Ardyn was trying to wrestle the original sword from the statue's hands. Needless to say, the statue did not budge.
"Hey, that's grave robbery!" Prompto shouted. "Or, uh … is it?"
"After everything he's taken from me, it is my right to take anything that's left of him!"
He readjusted his grip on the sword's hilt and pulled even harder.
"Should we stop him?" Ignis asked.
Noctis crossed his arms and thought about it for a moment.
"Nah."
"The Founder King's spirit might get mad," Gladio argued.
That thought did not bother him. Besides, he was curious to see whether Ardyn would succeed or begrudgingly be forced to give up. At the very least, it did not look like the sword would come loose anytime soon. He continued watching him struggle for another couple of seconds, until the ground suddenly started shaking. A stone pillar next to them toppled over, causing Noctis and his entourage to move back into the burial chamber.
"Told you so," Gladio said.
"C'mon, Ardyn. Leave it be," Prompto begged him, but Ardyn halted his attempted grave robbery only due to a wall of the chamber collapsing next to him.
"Blame me for the Starscourge, if you must," he said to Prompto, "but I have no control over the earth."
The tremors grew worse. More and more structures of the tomb caved in, and the stones Noctis stood on shifted precariously. He had barely glimpsed the large crack running across the tomb's floor before it broke away underneath his feet. In the blink of an eye, Gladio was besides him and caught his arm, but more rocks loosened and they both fell. Noctis and Gladio landed on a large outcrop, suffering only minor scratches from the fall, and, by some miracle, did not end up buried among the Tomb's remains which had fallen with them.
The stone table laid not far away, cleanly broken in half. As expected, Ardyn materialised next to it and removed the sword from the statue's crumbling fingers with ease. "You truly ought to be grateful, Somnus. If I wasn't taking your sword, it might get lost."
At the escarpment above of them, Ignis and Prompto stood, looking down.
"Are you all right?" Ignis called down.
"Yeah," Noctis replied, following the newly created rock face with his gaze. "There's a path over there. Let's try to meet up ahead."
Ignis signalled his understanding and left, taking Prompto with him.
A thunderous voice boomed down on Noctis from behind and instantly brought on another pounding headache. Lifting a hand to his temple, Noctis turned around only to come face to face with the Archaean himself. The sight of the gigantic Landforger was equally frightful and breathtaking. Splinters of the meteor Titan was holding had pierced his human-like body and face. With an unblinking gaze he stared at Noctis and, although his mouth was moving, Noctis understood nothing, except that the voice of the god was threatening to split his head in two.
"I'm here!" Noctis shouted over the noise. "What do you want from me?"
"There it is, your date with divinity," Ardyn announced, turning towards the god with a sweeping gesture. Past him, Noctis saw a fleet of Imperial airships approaching the centre of the Disc. Heavily armed MTs dropped out of them in great numbers, possibly preparing to fight the Archaean.
"And with that," Ardyn said and waved goodbye to Noctis. "I bid you farewell for now. Good luck with Titan's trial!"
He dissolved into miasma, floating upwards and disappearing.
"Seriously!? You're gonna leave us now of all times?" Noctis called after him, but to avail.
"Forget about him," Gladio said and urged him to move as soon as the first MTs spotted them.
Despite the stinging and pounding in his head, Noctis began to follow the path ahead.
Titan stretched out a hand to grab him, but the meteor was keeping him in place. His fingertips barely scraped the outcrop. Even so, his movements caused another small tremor, making this so-called trial no easier.
#-#-#
The airships had finally moved into place, the MTs were on their way to attack the Archaean, and Ravus was just about to head out to fight the false True King as well. He had already ordered a transport ship to dock next to his that would bring him down to Titan's feet.
"Leaving already?"
That voice. Ravus stopped abruptly and turned around.
"Chancellor Izunia."
That man's ability to show up out of nowhere irritated him to no end. Ravus greeted him with a cold stare, yet reminded himself to stay calm. This might be an unexpected opportunity to settle things with the Empire. After all, the chancellor must have been sent by either Besithia or the Emperor. Ravus was well aware he had made himself some new enemies by ordering the crystal back into the capital of Lucis, and if this conversation kept Aldercapt out of his way, it was worth it. The outcome, however, depended on how long his patience with the chancellor would last. That man was the most infuriating person he knew, and this was saying a lot, given Uldor, Tummelt, Besithia, and the other idiots of the Empire.
"Allow me to congratulate you on your promotion, Commander. Or, should I say, your Highness, King of the ruined city of Insomnia?" He bowed deeply with the obvious intention to make fun of him. "Have two nationalities not been enough for you?"
"You have been there the day Festala Manor fell into Imperial hands," Ravus stated. "You know that joining Niflheim was my only choice to see King Regis' to his end." By raising his hand, Ravus granted the chancellor a glimpse of the Ring of the Lucii. "That used to be my mission, but now I have a new one. The line of oracles communes with the gods, but one god came to commune with me. I have a divine calling to fulfill."
"And yet here you are, about to kill a god."
"Titan was awoken to aid that Lucian brat, the so-called Chosen King, and if the Archaean will not ally with me, I will have put him to rest again." Ravus bored into the chancellor with his gaze, trying to see if he would buckle when threatened. "I also happen to know that Noctis is down there at Titan's feet, which, by the way, is on your head, chancellor. You spread the news of his death."
Of course he did not buckle.
"An honest mistake," he said, shrugging. "You cannot expect a man of my rank to plummet down some dark hole after him, now, can you?"
Certainly, the world would be better off if he had. Ravus felt his patience wearing thin already.
"Seeing how you failed to take care of the problem, I will take care of it now," he announced and made another attempt to move towards the door to the walkway outside of the airship.
"Would it not be safe to assume that, if the prince is still alive, your dear sister is as well?"
The mentioning of Luna caught his attention immediately. Ravus halted again. "What do you know about it?"
"Let's say I have a hunch where she might be."
Naturally, he knew more than he let on.
"Tell me," Ravus demanded.
"It is only logical that she cannot be left to travel the world and rouse more Astrals. She would be much safer at home, where the Empire can guarantee her safety, don't you think?"
"You brought her back to Festala Manor?"
The chancellor lifted his hands in defence. "I never said that!"
Damn it. His demeanor was as obscure as always.
"You are bluffing," Ravus claimed. "I would have been informed of her capture."
A sly smile spread across Izunia's face. "But why would I be bluffing?"
"That is the question indeed."
There was absolutely no telling for him whether the chancellor spoke the truth. Ever since his alleged betrayal, Ravus had been cut off from some of the Empire's internal communication. A circumstance the chancellor was using to his advantage, without doubt. Yet it did not matter. Even if Luna was back at Festala Manor, there was no way for Ravus to travel there in an instant.
"What I know for certain, however,", he said and eventually stepped out onto the walkway, where hot winds whipped about him, "is that Noctis is down there right now."
The chancellor's footsteps resounded on the iron grating behind him. Holding his hat, Izunia leaned over the railing.
From the hovering airship, Ravus had a clean view of the fight between the Archaean, the MTs, Noctis and his retainers. With every sweep of his arm, Titan destroyed mechanized soldiers of the Empire by the dozen, but Ravus' supply was near endless. Not even a god could withstand the continuous assault indefinitely. How Noctis was holding out, was beyond him, but Ravus spotted him occasionally.
"Such a foolish boy," the chancellor noted. "Does he not realise that, once Titan is gone, there is nothing left to keep the meteor from dropping onto his head? It must be though down there already, given the heat of the meteor, and it looks to me as though this god won't last much longer."
Ravus had never considered himself a cowardly man, but he did wonder whether the ring or the Draconian would save him from an early demise if needed. The MTs were meant to be sacrificed, and if Noctis died buried underneath the burning meteor – all the better for him, but there was no guarantee he would make it out of that hole in time if he engaged Noctis and Titan in direct combat. On the other hand, chances were that he would cross paths with Noctis again soon if the boy survived. Huffing in frustration, Ravus went back inside of the airship.
"When you report to the Emperor, tell him that I will be willing to negotiate once I have fulfilled my mission. Until then, I absolutely need the crystal to power the Ring of the Lucii."
Chancellor Izunia did not follow him, which led Ravus to assume he was content with what he had seen and heard.
"Of course," he replied and turned towards the smaller airship docked at the side. "By the way, I'll be taking that transport ship of yours as compensation for my travel expenses. You made me surrender my car to an earthquake just to get here, and I'd very much like to save it from further damage."
"Suit yourself."
Watching him leave felt to Ravus as though a thorn had been pulled from his side. Yet just as he was about to return to the cockpit of his airship, it occurred to him that the chancellor had not once mentioned why he had come to meet him. It left him with a most uneasy feeling.
#-#-#
The heat of the meteor was slowly eating through the frozen surface of the grounds while Titan disappeared in a golden light.
"I-I think we did it!" Prompto exclaimed and slapped Noctis' shoulder.
Noctis was not so certain about it, because he could not tell whether he had received the god's blessing or not, but he assumed it was a good sign that Titan had not fallen to his knees before the magitek infantry.
"Great, now what?", Gladio asked, looking at the trembling meteor above them. It was a matter of mere minutes until it came crashing down on them, and there appeared to be no way out from the centre of the disc unless they somehow sprouted wings.
Ignis stepped back as flames burst from the ground before him. On top of everything, there were still a few remaining MTs about which were slowly turning their attention to them. Most of the magitek engines were leaving, save for one. It descended into the pit not far from them, and behind the opening tailboard appeared a familiar figure.
"Need a lift, your Highness?" Ardyn called, smiling.
Above them, the meteor began to move.
"Quick, everyone!", Ignis demanded and they broke into a sprint towards the airship.
The very moment the last of them had climbed the tailboard, Ardyn signalled the pilot to take off.
Noctis watched through the slowly closing tailboard how they departed from the Disc's centre, past the descending meteor. The ride was quite rough until they had left the Disc of Cauthess completely. From there on out, however, the airship hovered as smoothly as though it was not moving at all.
Sighing in relief, Prompto sat down on the floor of the cargo bay. "Talk about a close call!"
Noctis turned to Ardyn. "So that's what you've been up to."
He smiled, self-satisfied. "You don't even know half the things I've been doing to keep the Empire off your backs. Now, let's collect my car and be off to our next destination."
Are you still keeping up with Ardyn's lies?
I like to imagine that everyone at the Empire is more or less annoyed by him, perhaps with Aldercapt being the only exception (because Ardyn knows better than to mess with the one person he gets his political influence from).
Also, I honestly have no idea yet where I'm going with Ravus. Will he fight Noctis and Ardyn? Will he switch sides once he knows what's happening to Luna?
Time will tell, I suppose.
