Reedited this, seeing not only grammar but some redundancies and light revisions,
also finally got around to writing this good thing. I waited till episode Arden came out
After a brief reunion of being 10 years apart, Noctis and his loyal friends are ready to bring the reign of darkness to its end.
All that's left is to return to Insomnia.
Just as he was about to open the door, the world around Noctis started to close in on him before everything faded to black.
He collapsed to the ground, falling unconscious, getting all eyes to land on him.
"NOCT!" his best friend shouts.
"Damn it, just when the end was in sight," his shield shouts.
Ignis crouched down to figure out. What the problem is.
"he's just unconscious, but I'm afraid I have no idea what the cause is."
"Quick, let's get him to a bed!" Gladiolus stated as he picked him up.
After laying him down on a bed in a nearby RV, all they could do is wait for him to get up.
"At least this didn't happen while we were there!" Promto said with optimism, only to get glare from the other two.
"What could have caused this?" Gladiolus said with his hand to his chin in a thinking manner.
Ignis couldn't see it but could feel the magic from the ring of lucii "could it be the kings of Lucis" the other two are quick to see his expression.
"You have something to add, Ignis?" Gladiolus said
"I think I know the cause of this."
"Spill it."
"You know how I lost my eyes?"
"Yeah," they said in unison.
Ignis paused for a moment as he relived the experience "it's been so long, yet I can feel kings of old in the ring. If I had to guess, they're conversing with him right now."
Promto and Gladiolus's eyes dart to the ring only to see a slight glimmer coming off the stone at the forefront of it.
With Noctis
One second, Noctis was about to stop Ardyn the next, he's floating in an endlessly black void.
"W-where am I?"
"You are inside the ring of Lucii, son."
"Dad!" he looks to the voice to see his father with what he can only assume are the previous king of Lucis.
"The founder king wishes to speak to you, son" all the previous kings stepped aside, allowing the founder king to come forward.
"What is it you need, founder king?" his tone of voice conveyed nervousness.
"Somnus is my name, and you have cross paths with my brother Ardyn!"
"So what he said is true!"
"Yes, by all rights, he should have been the founder king. Unfortunately, to stop the star scourge, his soul became corrupted from absorbing them,"
"What is it you need of me, Somnus?"
"Since I cast him out, I sought a way to free him of his curse."
"As in killing him?"
"No, I mean to free him of the daemons that control him!"
"Bahamut was very clear about killing him!"
"That bloodthirsty god only knows one way to win, retribution!" this shocked all the kings that followed him. Even Noctis was shocked.
"What makes you say that?"
"I was the first to take the throne of Lucis. It pained me being unable to free my brother of his curse during my time."
"So, any luck finding a cure?"
"We believe so" this time, it is she who wields the star.
"How?"
"As you know, the ring allows us to wield the light from the crystal," the one who wields the scepter spoke.
"Yeah"
"Every time a new king takes the throne, a piece of the light is fused with them." this time, it was the shield of the just.
"When my brother and the empire took the city, we fought. During our clash, I can still feel the one who is my brother deep inside. With that being said, I discovered a piece of the light remains."
"Noctis, we firmly believe you, with our combined power, we can cast out the darkness that lives within him," Regis said.
"But what of the darkness, what will happen to it?"
"The two will separate, leaving the darkness without a host, be warned it will be at its most powerful."
"With the sky shrouded in darkness, I can't even begin to guess," Noctis said in frustration.
"Which is why when the darkness is by itself, we will give unto you all our power to protect you from it."
"But I must tell you the next time we meet. It will be as enemies."
"Why?"
"Arden magic is stronger. The only reason we can communicate with you is because of the ring powering this spell, but for how much longer we don't know."
"So when do we leave?" He said with conviction.
With Iris
Iris was lying down for a good night's rest.
The next thing she knew, she's brought to a place never seen before.
That's when she gazed at Lady Lunafreya floating before her.
"Luna, what are you? Why am I? I don't know where to begin," she said in frustration.
"Noctis has returned to bring back the light."
"That's great. why tell me?"
"Can you do me a favor?"
"Of course, anything!"
"Good, I want you to look after and take care of him for me," she said with a bright smile.
Like you expect, Iris blushes at this before responding, "you have my word, Luna!"
"Good." Iris was suddenly overwhelmed by a bright light.
The next thing she knew, she was back in her room.
Exhausted from being in Luna's presence, she passed out in her bed.
When she finally woke up, it was then the words Luna gave her sunk in.
"Noctis is back! I hope I'm not too late" she pulls out her phone, hoping his phone still works.
To her relief, he answered, "Noct, it's true you are back. I know you're busy, but there's something I have to tell you when this is all done."
"Well, I look forward to it, then," was his response.
With Noctis
Noct just got off the phone with Iris, only to be met with a smug smile from his friends.
"What?"
"Forget about it we have a job to do," his shield said
"I'm inclined to agree."
"Come on, Noct. We have a lot of pictures to take when we're done."
"Let's end this."
After fighting their way through the ruins and breaking down the barriers and the king's statues, Noctis stood before Ardyn.
He warped away to the streets below with Noctis right behind him.
"The time has come for me to get my revenge!"
"I don't think so. I hope this works!"
A blinding white light erupted from the ring bringing light to the darkened city.
When the light finally died, Ardyn was met with the sight of Luci's past kings and queens with his brother at the front.
"Well, this is unexpected, but I must say I am pleased by this," his thought went back when he decided to defy the fate Bahamut bestowed on him.
"Kings of Lucis, with the power of our souls, sanctifies this lost one!"
All the previous kings summed their weapons before running Ardyn through with the power of their souls.
From the first to the last, each king strikes Ardyn.
As each king passed through, a dark essence could be seen being cast out of Ardyn's body.
Once the last king passed through the darkness that corrupted his being was finally cast out.
Being separated from his host, the scourge tried to go back to Ardyn.
But it was stopped as the founder king defended his brother.
"Brother?"
"Arydyn, it's good to see you again," was all he said as he struck the scourge pushing him away bit by bit.
Eventually, the scourge had enough jumping back a fair way before reforming.
The form he took sent shivers down all their spines.
He was identical to Ardyn, except his skin was dark red with black and blue veins, and arteries popped along his skin.
"Well, it looks like I have to reclaim my host the fun way," it said with a deep sickly sweet voice.
With a snap of its fingers, daemons crawled out of the ground, taking the form of iron giants.
Noctis drew his sword, taking a fighting stance, with Ardyn setting down behind him.
"Ardyn, can you get on your feet" he demanded.
"Yes, I can and….I'm sorry for what I've done."
"Will worry about that later. Now we have to destroy that thing."
"Do you have a plan?"
"Yes," for the second time, a blinding white light burst forth from the ring of Lucis.
So much, in fact, the scourge took a few steps back as his daemons were destroyed.
When the light finally died down, Noctis was covered in specter armor covering his king's raiment.
With his father's sword, he stared down the scourge with a vengeance in his eyes.
With speed never before seen, he charged at the scourge before slashing him across the chest.
The scourge was sliced in two before the two halves reattached with what looked to be thread pulling him back together.
"Damn"
"You shouldn't be surprised he's a pure form. But, of course, it will take a lot more than that to finish him off," Somnus answered.
The scourge put all his attention on Noctis, completely disregarding his host presence.
The two traded blows back and forth countless times.
So much, in fact, Noctis's friends caught up to him before noticing Ardyn sitting on the ground, merely watching the fight between light and darkness.
"Why the hell are you still alive!" Gladiolus declares with anger.
"Noctis and the kings of this land cast out the scourge that turned me into a monster. Noctis is fighting him right now." He pointed to the two combatants.
"Come on. We have to help him!"
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Ardyn stated.
"Why?"
"I have to agree with him," Ignis added.
"Are you crazy, Igy!"
"I can't see it, but I imagine Noctis is fighting at a level far beyond our own. If we join in now, we would only be in his way."
"He's right; all we can do is watch."
Gladiolus and Prompto reluctantly sat down, waiting to see who would win.
The speed and force of Noctis and The Scourge were so great they practically fought all across the city.
Noctis struck his opponent once more to see him heal once more.
That was when he noticed something.
The scourge was taking longer and longer to heal with each strike.
"About time you figured it out."
Noctis just snorted at those words before going back again and again.
Eventually, he nailed down his movements.
He strikes again before ducking behind his strike before returning the favor.
He did the double slash again and again.
The scourge was knocked down once more as his body regenerated at crippling speed.
"It's time, everyone!"
Landing before him the scourge, he focused all their power into the sword.
With all his strength, he impales the scourge with his blade.
A fraction of a second later, for the third time, a blinding white light burst forth, this time from his father's sword.
The scourge let out a pain-filled cry as the light burned away his body.
When the last bit of darkness was destroyed, everyone could feel like a great weight was lifted off their shoulder.
That didn't last long when the sky shined, revealing Bahamut coming down.
"You dare defy your fate!" He shouts as his swords spin around him.
"Damn"
"Noctis, you've done enough!"
All the king of Lucis burst forth from the ring populating the ruined city.
Instantly a bright light could be seen from the citadel.
No doubt it was the crystal lending its strength.
All the king raced towards Bahamut as he cast his blades.
They dodge the attacks before each, and everyone poured all their strength into their blades.
With each consecutive strike on the god, Bahamut was sent back as armor pieces came off.
Noctis' eye turns a familiar shade of Crimson as the remaining gods come forth.
"Bahamut, your twisted means to control the human coming to an end today," Shiva declared.
Each of the four gods used their unrivaled power on the god of war, the first to attack Ramib with his thunder strike.
The next was the Archaean conjured a giant mass of earth before hurling it to way Bahamut.
Leviathan bust forms from the water, constricting Bahamut with its body cracking his armor further.
With each attack, Bahamut's body could be seen breaking apart.
And finally, Shiva and her avatars surrounded the god before Shiva kissed his helmet.
This caused his whole body to freeze.
The last attack did the trick as Bahamut exploded its massive Burst of magic energy.
Noctis couldn't believe it. Not only did he stop Ardyn, but he also purged him of his curse and vanquished the corrupt god Bahamut.
It was at this monument all the fighting finally caught up to him.
He passed out then and there.
The last thing he saw before everything faded to black was his friends running towards him.
The next day.
Noctis felt really uncomfortable when he woke.
He opened his eyes to find himself in a cot with the sun emerging from the horizon.
His whole body was washed with a feeling of relief.
He had done it. He restored the light, freed his people and the land of the darkness.
When his eyes finally adjusted, he noticed his friends next to him.
Gladiolus was sleeping in a chair, Prompto was on the floor, and Ignis was nowhere.
A few moments later, he heard footsteps outside the tent he was in.
"Ah, your awake Noctis cares for some breakfast?" He said, putting down a plate of scrambled egg and bacon.
"That would be nice. What happened while I was out?"
"Not much other than the sun, from what I heard, finally rose after a decade of darkness."
"And Ardyn?"
"He should be around here somewhere. Last time I saw him was near a newly reconstructed statue of the founder king."
A slight chuckle escaped both of them.
He ate the food before him before dragging Ignis with him to the crystal to restore his sight.
Once he did that, he called it a day after all. From this day forward, he will be busy beyond belief.
In the days that followed, many of his friends met up with them.
Of course, many were on edge when they learned Ardyn was still around.
Everyone is currently crowding around him. He could barely see beyond them.
But there was enough to catch glimpses of the effortlessly most beautiful women he ever saw in the back.
He also notices his shield beside her, resting against a giant rock formation.
Seeing his friend overwhelmed, Gladiolus decided now was a good time to free him from the mercy of the crowd.
He walks over "sorry everybody, but the king needs some private time to himself. He has a massive amount of work that needs to be done."
They were all quick to get out of the way, allowing Noctis to walk free.
He went straight to his tent as Insomnia was far from livable for his people.
But that was a task for another day. So now he is taking a moment to sit back and relax.
Then he heard the sound of footsteps causing him to let out a sigh.
He goes over to the flap pulling it out of the way, revealing Iris, the daemon slayer.
He was once again stunned by her beauty.
She has grown a few inches in height, not as tall as Noctis, but her hair was still a few inches longer.
She still had a skirt going down mid-thigh for an outfit, but now she was wearing black stockings.
Not to mention the black shoes that have seen better days.
As for the top, she still had the same jacket and shirt when he last saw her.
"Come in," he gestured to her to take the chair.
He took his spot on his cot.
And awkward silence was born from the two of them.
Both were unable to find the words to continue, so they just stayed like that for who knows how long.
Noctis was the first to find the right words finally.
"So, how were the 10 years of darkness for you?"
"It was tough. There were times I didn't think we would make it. But in the end, for the most part, everything turned out ok" he let out a small chuckle cause a little smile to form on her.
"Noct, they're something I've meant to tell you for a long time, no-" she stopped when he lightly pecked her cheek.
She, of course, blushed like a ripened tomato.
"What brought this on?" she said haphazardly.
"I spent the past two days going over your phone call and the date we went on. Sorry, it took a lot longer than you wanted."
"better late than never." She slapped him playfully on the head. "If we are going down memory lane. My favorite memory has to be when I sat next to you in the regalia when we left lestallum." they both chuckled at this.
Only for her to lock lips with him for a few moments before pulling back.
Noctis's brain shut down before rebooting as he struggled to understand what just happened to him.
After a few moments, Iris waved her hand in front of his face getting his attention.
"Wait, what just happened?"
"I kissed you, silly."
"Ok," was his response, still trying to compute what just happened.
The cause a laughing fit from the girl, no women sitting beside him.
"About time if you ask me," the familiar voice of Gladiolus said outside the tent.
Noctis blushed as Iris giggles before realizing this is what Luna must have meant.
It brought a smile to her face. "I promise not to let you down, Luna."
Later that day, Noctis pays a visit to his, who knows how many greats uncle Ardyn.
"So what will you do now, Ardyn?" he stood before him as he still hung around the founder king statue.
"I have no idea."
"What about Tenebrae, altissia and Niflheim?. How did they fare well during the 10 years of darkness."
"There are few remnants here and there."
"Maybe you could go check on them."
"I suppose so, and there might be some technology to help speed up the rebuilding of society."
"Then get to it," he said, half-joking, half-serious tone.
Ardyn let out a small chuckle "better than standing around here."
With some help, Ardyn found a ship that could make the journey, and he brought a small crew to help him out.
It took months, but they managed to rebuild society enough where people aren't fighting over scraps.
In that time, Noct and Iris have gotten closer.
Speaking of which, they're on a date right now...a proper one.
They're spending their time at one of the remaining restaurants in lestallum.
Unfortunately, Insomnia has a long way to go before you could call it livable.
Of course, Gladiolus is just out of sight.
Does he trust Noct, in the heat of battle, and someone to talk to yes?
Going on a date with his little sister...no, so he keeps an eye on them.
Of course, all the ladies teased him for being such a good big brother.
This goes on for months, going on little dates with Gladiolus keeping an eye on the two.
By the time one year has passed since the light's return, Noctis decided to propose to her.
Of course, the first person he told was Gladiolus hoping for his blessing. He said yes, in the mostly revamped city of lestallum since the light returned.
Insomnia, for the most part, has been pieced back together with all the rubble gone.
It would be at least another six months before you could call it livable.
Right now, they had another date, and Noctis was trying his best to keep his nervousness at bay.
Iris sitting down across from him as they waited on their food.
She glanced at Noctis and could tell something was off with him.
She couldn't put her finger on it but didn't pay any mind to it since they're on a date.
After another 10 minutes, the waiter came back with their food.
They ate their food in comfortable silence.
Noctis was freaking out even more now as it was his chance.
"Damn it. I risk my life to protect my friends and the people of this world with no problem. but asking Iris to marry me, why didn't I just sacrifice myself instead!" He took a deep breath before exhaling.
This got Iris's attention, hoping nothing was wrong.
He stood up from his chair, walking over, causing her to look at him to see strain their eyes.
This got all the attention of everyone around them.
"I can do this…..no, I can't," just as he was about to abort the mission.
Then noticed Gladiolus, Ignis, Prompto, Ardyn, and others blocking all possible exits.
Gladly had filled them in on what he would do and made sure he couldn't back out of this.
He smirked at this. He couldn't have asked for better friends.
Standing before her, he got down on one knee,
Iris's eyes widened at what he was doing as she covered her mouth in disbelief.
Neither of them notices or didn't care about the eyes glued on them.
"Iris Amictia...will you marry me!" He said, pulling out a ring.
The ring in question is a silver band with a single diamond.
The amicitia blood in her sparked to life, going into full effect. She brought him into a bone-crushing hug locking lips with him.
When she finally let go, Noctis had to take a few moments to process what just happened before slipping the ring onto her left hand.
She had the biggest smile he had ever seen before. Everyone around them let out cheers at the engaged couple.
Giving them their congratulations.
Of course, once everything settled down, Noctis was on the verge of passing out.
Seeing this, Gladiolus picked up lover boy.
"Sorry, everyone but your highness is clearly exhausted after popping the question to my sister," he slung him over his shoulder with Iris not far behind him.
Three months later
Noctis was pacing back and forth. His wedding was only half an hour away.
"Calm down, Noct. You're going to be fine," Prompto said with his usual tone.
"Not helping Prompto!" He fired back.
"Prompto has a point stressing about it now won't solve anything," Ignis stated.
"I'd like to see you do any better when her brother is the one giving her away!"
Ignis couldn't respond as Noctis was right on that front.
The door opened, revealing Cindy not in her usual clothes, now wearing a crown guard style dress.
"You ready, Noctis?"
With a deep breath, "as ready as I'll ever be!" Prompto and Ignis followed close behind.
They quickly found their spots at the altar.
For best man Prompto obviously and to his joy, Cindy was the maid of honor.
For groomsmen, he picked Ignis, Talcott, and Cor.
Bridesmaids are Adriana, Gentiana, believe it or not, and Monica.
As for the minister, if you can call him, that is Ardyn.
He straight-up demanded that he bless this union, as Ardyn put it. He is the oldest person there, except for Gentiana.
Then the music started playing before the bride came into focus with her brother beside her.
Noctis was star-struck at her beauty before getting his wits together.
Ardyn gave the usual speech when two people are getting married before saying.
"You May now kiss the bride."
Not even a second later, Noctis brought his now-wife into a passionate kiss.
After about half a minute, they separated as the crowd cheered for the newly married couple.
Morning
The early morning hours light shines through the small opening of the curtains shining down on the king of Lucis.
Huddle up next to him is his bride with one arm wrapped firmly around her waist as she uses his chest as a pillow.
The small ray of light shines in his eyes, waking the king.
He took a minute to rub the sleep out of his eyes before noticing his queen snuggling up to him.
This brought a smile to his face.
Feeling movement, the women stirred awake only to lock eyes with him.
They kissed before as Noctis tightened his hold ever so slightly, causing Iris to have a small smile.
A few weeks later, Iris dropped a bombshell on her husband and brother.
She was pregnant. Gladiolus chuckled at this, glancing at Noctis.
Noctis was wide-eyed, unable to speak, struggling to process what he just heard.
He was brought out of his stupor when Gladiolus roughly patted him on the back.
Word quickly spread far and wide. For a few weeks, many approached the couple giving their congratulations to them.
Eight and half months later, Iris went into labor, quickly making it to a hospital.
Noctis is pacing back and forth. Like any soon-to-be father, he's a nervous wreck waiting for the midwives' news when their child was born.
Of course, his three friends were chuckling on and off the whole time.
One of the midwives came out confronting the king.
"So, is our child born yet?" he said shakily.
"No, Iris wanted me to bring in to witness the birth of your son!" She grabbed hold of his hand, dragging him into the birthing room.
He stands beside Iris, who smiles only for Noctis to mirror it.
He didn't have time to dwell as another contraction happened.
Iris gripped his hand, causing the king to wince from the pain he felt but held off his grunts.
About ten minutes later, their son came into the world and let out a baby cry before going back to sleep.
The midwives cleaned him up a bit before handing him over to his mother and his father beside her.
"So, any ideas on names for honey?"
She took a moment to think it over, "how about James?"
"He does look like James," he replied with a smile.
"I'd love to show him to everyone, but I don't have the strength to get up."
"I'll take care of it," he handed their son.
He held his son close to him as he carefully walked into the other room.
"I would love to introduce you all to James Lucis Caelum!"
A closer look at the baby revealed a striking similarity to his father.
Within moments everyone crowded around the young prince.
Of course, the father noticed all the warm smiles sent to the young prince.
To no one's surprise, Gladiolus had the biggest smile of all behind the parents.
Noctis carefully hands his son to his uncle Gladiolus, getting a smile from the king's shield.
Noctis' newly created paternal instinct is a little concerned the buff man could harm his fragile newborn son.
He takes a look around to see all the ladies gazing at the young prince.
And they were admiring how gentle Gladiolus looked holding his nephew.
He let him hold him a few more minutes before giving him back to his father.
"Sorry, ladies, but I've deprived Iris long enough!" He said nervously.
All the girls just rolled their eyes before smiling at the king, followed up with a nod of understanding.
He gently walks back to his wife with his son in his arms.
He found his place next to her as he hands her back their son.
Their bundle of joy opened its eye, letting out a yawn causing the parents to smile.
He looks back and forth between them with a smile that just won't quit.
as always, make sure to fav follow and leave a chapter review