{The Void marked her an omen, the Draconian a saviour.}

Evenings in Lestallum were always better when it was quiet; with the Leville branched away from the city square it meant giving more appreciation to the couple that sat by the fountain chatting quietly and laughing with one another. It was nice to watch, just the two of them in their own little bubble talking about the previous events that almost resulted in the population being levelled. She even made a little story about that couple; Hunters taking a short break to ease away from the constant stress of daemons cropping all over the map. The man had a little scar on his cheekbone, a scratch made by an unknown daemon whose cuts inflict permanent marks. The woman had a sigil on her neck, a protective brand that increased support magic while she was on the field. Being a Hunter wasn't an easy task, Reveria would know, but she was willing to risk her life for him. Maybe that was why she hasn't stopped fighting for Lucis, as a surviving Kingsglaive.

She stole a peek behind her when she felt the air whoosh against her back, Ragnarok bowing his head out of respect before sauntering towards her. The silence between them was a warm one, for she was listening to nothing and he was nothing. Then she spoke. "Impressed?"

"His training proved fruitful," he responded. "He was rather surprised to see me, however. Mentioned that I sounded familiar."

"He has wielded you a number of times. Guessing he hasn't seen you in this form." Reveria turned around and pressed her weight onto the metal rail of the balcony, crossing her arms loosely against her chest whilst keeping her peripherals on the man. "This face looks good on you. Maybe I should create a Key to extend the life of your vessel."

"I appreciate your request, Reveria, but I am only a weapon. You gave me life through your power. Without you, I wouldn't exist."

She chuckled lowly, "So dramatic. You were always capable. Your power just needed to be in the right hands."

"Thank you."

"Don't mention it." As if they had heard something, the couple turned their attention to the door and the woman visibly tensed before turning around and pressing her palms on the railing, the silence beckoning for her attention. None did she give it. "I'm not ready, Ragnarok. I'm―"

"And you have every right to be," he reassured her, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. "You will be okay."

"...how do I look?"

Ragnarok's brows threaded together at the question as his eyes fell upon her, scanning every inch of her body in case she was asking him a trick question. When he realised there was no pun intended, he smiled warmly. She'd changed out of her military garms and traded it for something more relaxed, a simple tank top and loose bottoms in a dark colour with intricate detailings on the back and her long, wine-red hair wrapped up into a high ponytail. It was definitely different considering her title but it never hurt to take a well-deserved break every once in a while. "Better. The elixir Ignis provided definitely helped speed up your recovery."

"I feel better too. The last time Niflheim sneak up on me like that..."

"And the mission?"

She shook her head, "We keep going. I'm waiting on Cor to contact me, so until then we―" Heavy knocking on her room door interrupted her train of thought and Ragnarok silently moved from Reveria's side to answer it, the Voidwalker flattening her clothes before leaving the balcony and heading for the kitchen. She cooked a few dishes while Noctis was recovering, something light for a warm evening. Okay, maybe she might have overdone it: chicken salad, pork skewers, rice, fried gyoza, curry and even dessert: white chocolate mousse with strawberry sauce. Okay, maybe was an understatement. She wasn't as great a chef as Ignis, Reveria could never live up to his culinary expertise, but she could whip a few plates if the situation ever arose. Pros of wandering Eos: you learn quite a lot.

"This is one hell of a feast," his voice spoke behind her and she chuckled as she reached up to take two glasses and spun on her heels, Noctis a bit more bright-eyed at the different colours, textures and flavours on the table.

"How are you feeling?" Reveria asked as she set the glasses down and offered Noctis a seat, which he took without hesitation and waited until she took her place opposite him before feasting his eyes on the food in front of him. "If you weren't Lucian royalty, that kick would've broken your ribs."

"Huh, tell me about it. I was lucky to have you around, Rev. An elixir wouldn't have been enough."

"You have Ragnarok to thank for your save, I was getting my ass magically beat because you managed to summon Bamahut's might through me."

"I did?"

"You did, and I'll make sure that never happens again. Since you haven't formed a covenant with him, force-summoning is ridiculously taxing and I'm barely able to use my Keys. That's why Ragnarok here is backup; laced with Lucian arcana and fuelled by my Keys, he was enough to keep me awake and enough to keep you alive."

Noctis looked up at Ragnarok, "I owe you one."

"And I owe you a thousand, Your Majesty," Ragnarok bowed softly before moving to the balcony to give the Lucian cousins their alone time. She watched him intently as he grabbed a few skewers, scooped a few spoonfuls of rice and evil eyed the salad despite the chicken slices mixed inside. She did remember his distaste in vegetables but didn't think it would be so severe. At least some things haven't changed.

"I like to think you have a lot of questions," Reveria finally spoke up, plucking a skewer off its plate. "I mean the last time we officially spoke was before puberty."

Noctis almost choked on his rice and she couldn't help but laugh at his misfortune, "Six, did you really have to? In front of the salad?"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Her laughter softened, "It's just...I've missed you, Noct. More than you could ever imagine. I remember seeing my older cousin bound to his wheelchair trying to not only fulfil his duty as a prince but live his life as a child one day at a time. Even as we grew up and...you only saw me as Averissa, it never felt the same when I was around you. I had to put up my facade, even to my blood relative, just to keep him safe."

Noctis leaned back in his chair, "You felt as if you had an obligation to fulfill your duty too."

"Back in Vaeza, I didn't want to become a princess because I never wanted to be the voice that led the people. I wanted to be the swords and shields that protected them. Especially when father passed...I knew being the Queen's Arsenal was something I could live for. But even then...I didn't know what to do."

"...so what did you do?"

"As noble blood, I always felt as if I could never find my place, so when I was old enough King Regis summoned me and appointed me Kingsglaive."

"But that meant putting Vaeza in Niflheim's line of fire." She shook her head and chewed through another cubed pork piece. "Weren't you afraid you'd be risking a whole nation?"

"I did, unless I changed my identity. Everyone assumed the purple fizz every time I warped was because I managed to find a different level of Lucian magic."

"But I still don't understand why my father gave you a mission to watch over me. Isn't Iggy, Gladio and Prompto enough?"

"Not like that, silly. He gave me the mission because...well...it's a lot more complicated than you think."

"Try me."

Reveria tilted her head in hesitation but then pulled off the last cube on the skewer and ate it quickly. "Like the Crystal, the Void is an endless stream of untapped potential that I can access, but the Void is with a price. But, there are times where the Void whispers to me. It's like a, a plane of infinite possibilities of the future and in one of those…" She narrowed her eyes and suddenly glanced up at him, "You had a bad dream recently, didn't you?"

"Bad dream?"

"Yeah. You were alone, your Crownsguard were left to stay in Insomnia to protect the Citadel. You try to reach Altissia but, after an accident with the Regalia, Pryna leads you onto a different path. No...more like Pryna leads you astray. But Pryna was an illusion casted over your eyes by daemons and your mind was too heavily swayed to realise what was going on, realise what you were doing. Even after fighting waves and waves of magitek armour and daemons, even after you lose your link to the Crystal, you end up―"

"Stop." Reveria stopped as she was told and examined Noctis' expression, reading it for signs of disheartenment, anger and frustration. When he lifted his head, Reveria backed off a bit when she caught sadness glassing his hues. She wanted to grab a few gyoza but the tension in the room prevented her. "H-how do you know that?"

She showed off her gauntlet, "The Void. What you saw was a premonition of a future your father prevented by making sure you never left Insomnia alone. Brains like a sponge, muscles like steel and a heart of gold embodied into your closest friends. Maybe Insomnia might have been saved but without them, you never would've made it this far."

"What I saw was the future?"

"It was one that King Regis wouldn't be able to live with, knowing that his son would do such a thing. Become such a thing." She sighed and brought her legs up onto the chair, wrapping her arms around them, "The Void knew that if I saved your father that I'd be risking your life. I was marked by the Draconian because the Astral sees me as a vessel of destiny. He sees you as a destroyer of darkness, the Chosen King, and intervening before your time could probably break Eos."

"Rev, what you're saying doesn't make any sense."

"It still doesn't, Noct, trust me. I've pushed away Bahamut's words to the back of my mind for so long, I've actually forgotten what he's said. The whole vessel of destiny, though...it scares me 'till this day. It's not something I want to be dwelling on when my cousin is sitting in front of me, healthy and grumpy, while I serve him a table of good food as we reminisce about the good ol' days."

Noctis hummed in agreement as he put his emptied glass down, "You sure know how to make a change of topic so subtle."

"One of my perks, I guess," she winked and then side-glanced at the balcony doors. "Ragnarok."

Understood.

"Why don't we get the rest of the guys in here? We're not leaving early tomorrow and you still have dessert to eat, and I'll probably have my cooking critiqued by Ignis. Sometimes he can be really harsh."

"I think he'll go easy on you this time around," Noctis reassured her with a smile. "We still have a lot to talk about and I like to think that Prompto has his own set of questions."

"I'd love to think he does." Reveria smiled and turned her head as she heard feet scuttle behind her, the Crownsguard sauntering in and taking in the sights of the cousins and the table of food. It became a nostalgic night, with a dazed Prompto still not over the fact that Noctis was actually related to the Voidwalker, Gladio recalling the day that Noctis got his ass handed to him and Ignis sharing his culinary secrets with Reveria. A lot of laughing, eating and chatting the night away made Reveria relax knowing that Noctis was okay, but during conversations her mind would be frequented by plagues of being the vessel of destiny, thoughts that Ragnarok noticed and deposited into the Void.

The Void sang to her; the melodies fell on deaf ears.

Even though the plan to go to Altissia was still underway, Reveria couldn't shake the feeling that it was a bad idea.