Day 48:

Losing his boots had seemed a wise choice when he had been spending more time in the sea than out. Now that he ran barefoot down the streets of Altissia, he reconsidered. It mattered very little, either way. Those boots had been swallowed by the sea, by now.

The streets were deserted. No civilians lingered to watch the chaos unfold, and all that remained of Accordo's guard was at the shrine. It made for a faster journey. Even so, every minute seemed to stretch on for many. By the time he reached the docks where his Magitek Engine waited, it felt as if it had been hours.

However long it had taken was too long. He climbed aboard, leaving the hatch open behind him, and flipped the ignition on. The Magitek roared to life beneath his bare and bloodied feet.

Altissia dropped away beneath the ship. He rose until he could see the shrine, where Leviathan remained bound and blinded. Magitek engines were transport ships, not fighting vessels; they had about as much maneuverability as a boulder. Though the Hydraean was frozen in a mournful scream, it was only a matter of time before the shock broke and fury set in. When that time came, it was better to be well away from her. Or, better still, above her.

By the time he was overhead, Lunafreya had shrunken to the size of a toy, standing on what little remained of the altar. She glowed. Perhaps it was her or perhaps it was the trident, but a golden light seemed to surround her. The Oracle indeed.

Soon in name only.

Half a dozen duplicates of Shiva swirled past the ship, flying between him and the Hydraean. It was just as well. No sooner had he reached the level of Leviathan's head than her anguished scream cut abruptly. Her eyes were nothing but bloodied holes in her face, but she heard the hum of Magitek. She lunged for him, jaws spread wide enough to catch the whole ship in her mouth and crush them. Her teeth struck a wall of ice instead. Shiva stood behind it in her multiple forms, all hands lifted as a blizzard formed around her.

Ravus pulled hard on the controls. The hum of Magitek grew to a roar. The ship accelerated upward and away. Frozen winds swept past outside. But he rose above Leviathan's snapping jaws and blinded face. From here he could see all of Altissia. Lunafreya was but a white dot against the grey stone. The boats in the bay were as toys.

He switched the ship to idle and cast about for some rope or chain. The only thing of use was the chain that had once been used to hold cargo in place in the belly of the vessel. He hooked every loose end together and heaved the whole pile overboard. It fell, tumbling and unravelling, until the end hung several feet above the sea.

It would have to do.

He took a running start and leapt from the open hatch into the frozen air outside.

He was falling. The jumps he had made to reach Leviathan before were short. In every case he could reach her in one bound from the altar. He hardly had the time to appreciate being airborne. Even when Leviathan sent him flying into the sea, it seemed only an instant before he hit cold water.

But now he dropped an endless drop while Leviathan grew beneath him. Ravus drew his sword and endeavored to aim.

It would have been easier if Leviathan was still motionless and anguished. But now her head snapped and swirled, biting blindly at Shiva and throwing furious waves over Altissia. They crashed over the altar where Lunafreya stood. If he worried about her, he would lose track of his own task. Focus.

He angled his sword down. He had no leverage, but he slammed into Leviathan as well as he was able. It was a glancing blow, which sent him sliding down the back of her neck and cutting a long line down her scales.

Ravus scrambled for purchase, attempting to force his blade deeper and slow his fall. Her whole body shifted, allowing him to use gravity to drive his sword into her. The Hydraean screamed as his blade sank deeper into her flesh. He angled his weight so his sword wouldn't slip. It was just as well he hadn't fallen too far. He dropped his feet so that he hung on his sword alone and he dragged his blade down her body with his own weight.

Leviathan screamed. She threw her body so that Ravus swung back and forth like a rag doll on a pole. She tossed her head and thrashed. Waves crashed up around them, but still Ravus' sword cut down her body. And with each cry growing in desperation, it was only a matter of time before the last one came: the haunting scream that only a dying animal could muster, magnified tenfold by the power of the Astral as she was cut from Eos and fell limply into the sea.

He was falling again. This time his sword was lodged in Leviathan's body. They were both going the same direction either way, but she would drag him down to the depths if he didn't get the damn blade free in time. It was harder to put his feet against her scales and pull while they were both falling. Nearing impossible.

They hit the water; Leviathan crashed in first and broke their fall. Icy cold water closed in over his head, giving him barely a second to take a breath before he was submerged. He jerked his sword; the first time it barely gave, the second time it shifted back and forth. The third time it came free.

He swam for the surface, diving out of the way of Leviathan's sinking coils lest they drag him down with her. By the time he hit the air, his lungs were burning. The first breath was torture, but the next was everything he needed.

Through the sound of his own desperate gasping came voices. Not crying, not shouting, but cheering.

A boat was steering for him. He took the proffered hand of an Altissian soldier. No sooner had he climbed clumsily aboard than Lunafreya was calling for him.

"Ravus! Are you alright?" She shouted through cupped hands, still right where he had left her but considerably more wet.

He had fallen closer to the altar than he had thought. He stood unsteadily in the boat. Out of breath, bruised from too many falls, frozen, and utterly soaked.

"Well enough." He slid his sword back into his sheath.

"I don't mean to cut celebrations short, but our work isn't half done," Weskham said.

"The Infernian has fallen," Luna said. "But Ramuh and Titan are still in Lucis."

Ravus stared past the sinking corpse of Leviathan to the chain that hung from his ship. Little sounded more unappealing than climbing a few hundred feet at the moment, but among that little was losing Reina. He pushed his soaked hair from his face and directed the pilot of the boat to the dangling chain.

"Then we go to Lucis," Ravus said.