{In the silence, there she stood tall.}

His thoughts seemed to have fallen to a familiar face as he slowly woke up from his nap, a soft frown on his face as his senses gradually heightened to normal. Letting out a groan he shuffled in his seat before finally sitting up a bit straighter, catching the attention of Ignis whose eyes he met through the windshield of the Regalia. "Alas, Your Highness is awake," his accented voice pulled the attention of the other person that leaned against the frame of the vehicle.

"That tired, huh, buddy?" Prompto sounded just after, turning to the prince with a warm smile on his face before twisting back to face away from him, and Noctis rolled his shoulders to release the pent-up tension. His mouth opened to comment to Gladiolus, but realised The Shield's place in the back seat was unoccupied; something about him needing to do something important reduced the party to three. It was empty without him around, considering the three did have to take some mythril ore in Steyliff Grove and fight a rather persistent Quetzalcoatl that took up the vast lower floor―at least the formidable Aranea Highwind gave them a hand where they couldn't.

"Rise and shine, Your Highness, we're here." Speak of the devil. As they did complete the task of finding the ore together, Aranea used all in her power―some in her power, Ardyn was the rest of her power―to drop them off in Lestallum. Noctis grunted as he was forced to submit to reality and lazily fixed his bangs into place before setting his eyes on the Dragoon, the shutters to the Niflheim airship opening its jaws and breathing in the humid air that was trademark of this town.

"Sounds like a spot of trouble's popped up at the powerplant," she piqued, although let out a sound of feigned interest as she turned in her place to face the trio. "Wish I could help, but I'm powerless to do anything I'm not ordered to. I'll leave the keeping of the peace to you."

Ignis answered before Noctis could, "Of course."

"We got this." Prompto followed behind him as he climbed into the car once they realised the airship was descending into the parking area in front of Lestallum, Ignis starting the Regalia but keeping the handbrake on―falling out whilst the airship hasn't landed would be terrible in these circumstances. Would rather break their ego than break their necks. Upon secure landing, and with an alarm signalling safe internal maneuvering, Aranea had bid them good luck on their next mission as the sleek vehicle rolled out into the open air, the sheet of black that stretched across the sky foretelling them of the trouble that awaited them.

Well, awaited Noctis.

Only a mere hour had passed since their arrival in Lestallum and Noctis was dressed dapper in a puffy thermal suit, with Prompto whistling playfully at the unusual sense of style on royal flesh. "Looking good, Noct."

The prince grunted in displeasure, "Why aren't you in one?"

"Because there was only one suit," Ignis clarified if not with a faint smirk on his face. "And if there is trouble, I'm sure you have the better chance of clearing it quickly. Forget about fashion and go." As reluctant as he was for anyone to see him wearing it, at least his face was covered enough that his identity was hidden from looking eyes, so with a defeated sigh he skipped over the safety barrier and jogged in the direction of the powerplant. Halfway across the bridge, a voice spoke up in his earpiece, Holly's voice, but his mind wandered too far to pick up every detail. He did, however, catch the part where another Hunter was waiting for him outside the plant as this wasn't a job for one, despite the confidence in his abilities.

"Got it," he replied and slowed his pace when he saw the Hunter sitting cross-legged on the few steps that led to the entrance, a somewhat bored posture that changed once they saw him. They hopped up and waited when Noctis was a couple of feet away from them to cross their arms. What was it with this Hunter that got them so…

"You must be my backup," they said and Noctis rose a brow underneath the suit when he picked up their lighter chords; definitely a female. Could be a female. He wasn't sure. Their voice had a husky tinge that it threw him off. "Something about daemons infesting the plant. I've been waiting for you."

"I thought we were partners…" he trailed off when they took the lead and entered EXINERIS.

"We are. Holly asked for some Hunters but I was the only one on standby in the area. Good thing I have you."

"Wait a sec. You sound familiar."

"Why does everyone say that?" If they were left to walk in without the thermal suits, the heat would've most likely killed them first, if not the radiation. It was sweltering that the air was still thick enough to press lightly on their shoulders, but all was forgotten when they crossed the bridge that led to the generators; dark pools grew on the grated flooring, birthing several mischievous goblins at once. "Let's get this over with, shall we?"

Noctis chuckled, "You don't have to tell me that." His mind cleared and he summoned daggers with a glassy hue, instantly throwing both in quick succession at once before warping to his target and serving a missile dropkick. He would've heard a pleased hum from his fellow Hunter if he wasn't so intent on dispatching of these daemons as quick as possible, but he suddenly called for them. A bad habit he'd formed when he'd call his brothers to deliver their combat techniques. "Hunter, ah..urm…"

"Understood," and they backflipped away from a clawed swing before a red sigil appeared under their feet in a shimmer of glass, Noctis watching in shock and fascination as they launched themselves into the air and gracefully, silently, called for their weapon of choice. A crimson bow of light digitised in their gloved grip and they had fired at every single opponent before landing, a click of their fingers igniting a catalyst that blew the goblins apart. He was too distracted to realise the next wave of goblins that rose through the floor, and the Hunter stepped back before calling for a spear that almost instantly tore through the air to impale the few daemons behind Noctis. "Six, must you continue to watch me? Keep it together, or you'll be torn apart."

"Wow, that was some magic," Noctis praised them, accessing his interdimensional arsenal and swinging with his Engine Blade, cutting down two more goblins at once. "You'd make a great sparring partner with those skills."

"And you could use some more practice," they casually commented as they followed up Noctis's attack with a strike of their own. "When we leave, we should plan an actual match. I like my odds." The prince spun on his heels just as the Hunter delivered a stun attack on an unsuspecting daemon and grasped at the air, letting off a sonic boom from his Noiseblaster with force that threw off his balance. Unable to step back in time, he spoke a word of thanks as the ambiguous figure caught him from behind and pushed him onto his feet. "Yes, I definitely like my odds."

Noctis prepared a comeback to their snarky comment when another voice, and a warning siren, called for their attention, "Red alert, you two. We're detecting a major power surge. She's gonna blow. Abort the mission and get outta there!"

"I'm afraid we're not leaving, Holly," the Hunter told her. "I'm not one to run from half-finished tasks, and I believe my partner isn't either."

"Are you crazy? You can't control the powerplant, I'm telling the both of you to leave. Now!"

The Hunter chuckled lowly underneath their suit and turned their head to Noctis, who had his sight fixed on them. The third wave of goblins began to spew from their portals and accompanying them was a Garchimacera, a much more evolved variant of the daemon, and the Hunter rolled their shoulders back. "Give us one minute."

"And you better time us," Noctis added, summoning his signature blade once again and warping beside the Hunter. "Any plans?"

"Rather, an enhancement." The Hunter signalled their hand and a white sigil shuddered underneath their feet and the Lucian Prince stared in astonishment as his weapon was coated in a light hue, the arcane that was cast humming between his gloved fingers. "They are daemons, so casting light on your blade should help. Of course these ones are incredibly susceptible to fire, but it would be foolish to add to the heat. I'll cool down the plant, you deal with the last wave." Noctis needed to say no more as he warp-struck a clueless goblin, swiping wide and dispatching of another with little effort. It wasn't until the Garchimacera leapt to him without warning and knocked him off his feet that the Hunter reacted quickly; two blades whistled to their grasp and they threw both one after the other, giving Noctis time to recover and land a critical hit while it was staggered.

"Thanks," Noctis called out before leaving the Hunter's line of sight and, with a soft sigh, they faced the centre generator and raised their hands. A single word was whispered and the siren that screamed in their ears abruptly stopped and the hand that was raised glowed a hot red before quickly fading. The singing of blades caught his attention and the Hunter turned to witness Noctis slam down on what they presumed was the last goblin with a dragoon lance, the force apparent by the shockwave it expelled on impact. Banishing the polearm, Noctis called out to them, "Is that all of them?"

"Unless you missed a few," the Hunter cocked their head, "That should be it."

"Nice job. You didn't disappoint."

"You weren't so slouch yourself. It's best we get out of here, though. I'm starting to get hot in this suit." Noctis smiled at the Hunter's remark and led the way back out, where they were welcomed by the cool evening air of Lestallum, but not without whispering something that rid the thermal suits of radiation. As they walked across the bridge, the Hunter realised Noctis's awkward silence and tried to spur a conversation. "I hear you are to travel to Altissia, Noctis. May I ask why?"

Noctis frowned when the Hunter spoke of his name and sped up his pace, "If you know who I am, wouldn't you know why?"

"I do. I'm asking on behalf of another Hunter."

"Another?"

"Yes," the ambiguous figure nodded their head and halted in their tracks, forcing Noctis to also stop and look back at them. "They wanted to make sure it was really you. They are arriving from Insomnia but their condition is..." The prince tilted his head in confusion, their ambiguous quips melting into a haze in his mind until they rushed past him, "She's in trouble."

"She?"

"I'm truly sorry, Prince, but she needs me." And the air whoosed in the space the Hunter vacated, their aura leaving behind glazzy shimmers that gently impacted the concrete. Noctis stepped back in his place, a slot in his astral arsenal suddenly missing and lonely. Normally when he stored weapons, they were always available to use if he needed them. Now this particular weapon, a sword to be exact, was gone. Forgotten. Void.

Void.

His legs moved him towards the gate separating the bridge from Lestallum, Ignis's glad expression glowering into one of concern as Noctis hopped the gate in one swoop and fought against the zip to his thermal suit. "Noct, what's wrong?" the accented man asked, aiding the Prince with the zip and peeling him out of the protective garment just as Holly walked over to deliver the ore they so rightfully needed to complete the trip.

"Ragnarok's missing."

"Missing? What d'you mean missing?" Prompto chimed in, although chimed was a better way to describe his shaken posture.

"It's gone. I know it's gone. It's―" A pulse, within the interdimensional plane. A strong one, a raging one. A fighting one.

Ragnarok.