Noctis shouted and leapt away, rolling to the side, expecting to hear Ardyn's voice taunting him as he lost control of his movement- he was far too terrified to control his speed- Noctis squeezed his eyes shut desperately as his body went flying through a solid steel wall, rolling out of control, his surroundings spinning like a top until Carbuncle suddenly latched onto the edge of his jacket, and with surprising strength for such a small body, forcibly halted his momentum.
Falling to his knees, Noctis clutched Carbuncle to his chest, his entire body shaking uncontrollably as terror raged through his soul, his mind replaying the fight with Ardyn in Insomnia, feeling every stab, kick and punch as though the daemon were attacking him again. The bright steel walls dissolved into broken buildings and scorched concrete, and Noctis screamed as he found himself in his ruined city, surrounded on all sides by creatures of the darkness as blood poured down his arm from one of Ardyn's conjured daggers, and ice crept up his skin from the freezing magic Ardyn had cast directly at his chest.
He could feel his body failing from the cold, and fought to summon up flames to melt the ice, but he did not have any pre-made spells available, and he had always been bad at casting off-hand. He raised his hand and poured all of his concentration into a flame spell, and his hand with the Ring was immediately wreathed in fire, but instead of melting the ice only, the fire burned him even as he summoned it, and with a scream, he threw the fire at Ardyn, desperate now to end this fight.
The Armiger whirled around him, drawing on his strength like a poison, and he could feel himself weakening even as Ardyn himself barely dodged the fire. A spark leapt from the ground and caught on the Accursed's large coat nevertheless, setting him ablaze.
The daemon roared in pain as it charged at Noctis, body wreathed in flames as it raised its own magenta Armiger in the air, but Noctis could see it faltering, see the Accursed's steps slowing, clumsy, as it raised it's Shield, and Noctis knew he had to press his advantage.
Feeling it's pull on his soul, Noctis took up his own Shield and bashed away at the Accursed, meeting it weapon for weapon as it tried to use each of the Royal Arms in turn, with Noctis' blue overpowering the red in splashes of bloody darkness until he took up his father's own Glaive and-
‹ -ct! It's okay, he can't see you! › Carbuncle cried, and just like that, Noctis was pulled out of his memories and back in the ornate steel storage room, shaking like a leaf with only Carbuncle's weight keeping him anchored. ‹ It's okay, Noct, it's okay. It's okay. He can't see you, he can't hurt you. It's okay. ›
Noctis clenched his arms, hugging Carbuncle to his chest, and allowed himself to fall to his knees, barely floating above the floor as Carbuncle repeated his mantra over and over, radiating comfort and security and love as Noctis broke down.
I knew I was going to have to face him again. Whispered his mind, I shouldn't be so afraid. I'm planning on saving him- I shouldn't be this weak at just the sight of him.
He forced his eyes up, to search for Ardyn's soul, despite the terror still pounding through his veins.
Looking at the brilliant blaze of lime-green fire on the other side of the wall did not help settle his nerves at all, especially when he saw how small the fires of the two other visible occupant's were compared to Ardyn's.
No, I can do this. I can do this! I have to do this!
It took long minutes until the shaking in his limbs had receded, and the buzzing in his ears to dissipate, and by that time he was half-afraid he'd screwed up his chance entirely; he didn't know how much time he had left until he was pulled back to his body, and he didn't even know where exactly they were yet.
Steeling his nerves, and grateful Carbuncle was still perched in his arms, Noctis scrubbed the tears out of his eyes, slowly poked his head out of the wall, and glanced around.
Oh.
Ardyn really hadn't been looking at him; he was staring at the Emperor impatiently, and Noctis had appeared directly in front of Ardyn.
A nervous, self-deprecating chuckle escaped him, and Noctis was glad the others weren't around to see his momentary break down. Creeping out of the wall, Noctis floated forward until he could observe the situation in its entirety.
The emperor was sitting on an ornate throne and was reading some kind of report in his hands. His red soul appeared to be flickering around the edges, possibly a sign of his age, and beside him stood a member of the Kingsglaive, lit from within by blue, and with a start, Noctis remembered Luna's far-away words about members of the Kingsglaive turning traitor.
Iedolas waved his hand dismissively, and the unknown Glaive stalked from the room, boots clomping on the metal deck.
"So. It would appear as though the Oracle has evaded us, with the help of one of King Regis' prized 'Kingsglaive'... and that this…Glaive managed to defeat Glauca?" The emperor's voice was soft, but hard as steel as he sent a cold glare in Ardyn's direction. "You promised me that the Oracle would remain complacent in staying once she reached Insomnia, that she would be bound to her Calling above all else."
Ardyn looked rather annoyed at this pronouncement. "My…apologies, your Majesty, it is rather curious that the Lady Lunafreya could resist her Calling… especially, from what I have heard from our own Ravus Nox Fleuret, she's planning on making the…" Ardyn paused, and Noctis watched as his golden eyes stared directly into Iedolas' silver ones, before continuing, a smile creeping on the corners of his lips: "Covenants."
Iedolas' reaction was instant; the aging empoer surged up in his chair, starring with enraged eyes at Ardyn as he stalked towards his Chancellor. "What," he spat, jabbing one finger in Ardyn's face, and Noctis watched in some amused horror as spittle hit Ardyn on the forehead.
Ardyn's golden eyes twitched, and Noctis watched as his expression slowly darkend with every word the Emperor spoke, shining a brighter yellow as the Emperor kept one finger jabbing at Ardyn in the chest."Why are we only hearing this now? This is unacceptable! We must go at once and destroy her before she can awaken the Six! This cannot be allowed to continue-"
The Emperor cut off with a strangled gurgle.
Noctis took a large step back, and even Carbuncle began to tremble on his shoulder.
Ardyn had casually plunged a knife into Iedolas' heart, and when Ardyn looked up to meet the stunned eyes of the Emperor, Noctis could see that his entire visage had been overcome again by the daemons coursing in his blood; Scourge oozed from his eyes and the corners of his mouth, black veins snaked their way across his suddenly-pale face, and his irises were now a menacing, glowing gold compared to their previous shine, lit from within as yellow surged in his soul's fire, burning away most of the green. Even his hair had lost much of its color, until it looked thin, translucent and decayed.
Dead.
A flash of the final battle flared behind Noctis' eyes, and he forcibly shook his head to rid himself of the memory.
"Ah, such a pitiable waste," The Accursed purred, voice echoing, pulling Iedolas' paling face closer, ignoring how Iedolas was futility scratching at his hands, gasping weakly as Ardyn bared teeth that seemed strangely-sharp despite their human appearance.
Ardyn suddenly tossed the aging man to the ground and cleaned the knife off, staring with impatient eyes as Iedolas slowly bled out on the floor, "I was planning on letting you live a little longer, just enough to finish this pathetic excuse for a peace treaty, but now...I grow tired of your impudence."
"Wha…. what…." The Emperor was gasping, twitching weakly on the floor, his white robes rapidly being stained crimson. Noctis felt his gorge rise, and the only reason he hadn't fled entirely was Carbuncle's steadying weight on his shoulder.
"What? What? Speak up man," Ardyn taunted, circling the dying man like a vulture, "See? This is why it would not have worked out between us; a simple stab wound and what? You're speechless."
Suddenly Ardyn skipped forward, reached out with Scourge-blackened fingers that had shadowy claws extended out, and snagged a wisp of dying red fire from Iedolas' soul.
Completely stunned, Noctis turned and stared at Carbuncle who was perched on his shoulder. The Esper appeared equally shocked.
‹ How…? ›
Before either of them could finish the thought, Ardyn had straightened up and was staring at his hand, as the little ember trapped between his blackened fingers was consumed by darkness. Behind him on the floor, Iedolas' red soul was retreating from his limbs, shrinking in towards his chest, until all that remained alive was a spark over his heart, even as the dark puddle of blood around him spread outwards like a morbid reflection.
The Emperor's open eyes glazed over and...the red spark suddenly detached itself from Iedolas' heart.
Noctis watched as the soul drifted out of the emperor's chest and floated in the air, dancing around the room, looking agitated Noctis dodged out of the way as it flew past him, but after a moment, the emperor's soul began to rise up, until it had vanished into the ceiling- Noctis watched it travel up into the sky, before it disappeared into the distance, stunned at witnessing such an intimate aspect to death he had never considered.
Ardyn meanwhile, was grinning sardonically at the flame in his hand that was mostly black and red, but even as Noctis watched, small threads of green were making their way into the ember- and even though the fire stayed small, he could see a shadowy figure forming in the air around it.
Ardyn overturned his palm, and the ember drifted out, down to the ground and within seconds, a copy of the Emperor formed around the spark.
"Oh dear, looks like I got a few minor details wrong…. No matter, no matter." Ardyn mused, examining the puppet's face, which, while greatly resembling Iedolas, the angles of his cheekbones and eyes were not as sharp as the dead man on the floor, looking more rounded, more soft.
"Awaken," Ardyn commanded, and snapped his fingers.
The puppet's eyes snapped open, and it looked up at Ardyn, face blank.
"You are the Emperor of Niflheim. You are at war with Lucis. In five days time, you will attend a Signing Ceremony for a Peace Treaty. I will give you further instructions then. Until then, you will announce that you have come down with a minor illness due to travel fatigue and the stress of the attack on the Oracle, and will be staying in your rooms on your personal Airship to avoid any other Lucian illnesses, or insurgents."
The puppet nodded, stood tall, and walked away, looking like a sleep-walker as it swayed out of the room.
Ardyn glanced down at the dead body and the blood that covered the floor.
A grin slowly made its way across his face, and with another snap of his fingers, iron chains suddenly wound around themselves around the body and constricted, making bones creak ominously and causing black Scourge to ooze out of Iedolas' staring eyes, nose, and mouth from the constriction.
Noctis felt as if he'd been punched in the chest.
This is the body Ardyn had hanging in the throne room with the Crystal.
Suddenly, the nausea that had plagued him until his soul had been mended returned with a vengeance, and Noctis could no longer stand the sight of Ardyn the Accursed. The sickly yellow light that blazed like a sun out of the Scourge-blackened eyes had entirely overridden the bright green soul underneath, and even just looking at it made Noctis feel unclean.
Please, just tell us where you're going…
Noctis forced himself to stay in that blood soaked room instead of fleeing; he forced himself to watch as Ardyn summoned four MTs- no, not empties; they were Magitek Troops- to clean up the blood and take Iedolas' body… somewhere.
"You there, with me. Set the Coordinates on my vessel for Galdin Quay." Ardyn finally announced, pointing imperiously at the other two Troops that awaited his orders. He produced a coin from his sleeve which he proceeded to flip in the air as his features gradually melted back into that of a normal human, "I would like to give the Prince of Lucis my little gift in person…"
Ardyn snatched the coin out of the air and lit his hand with fire once more, but this time it was more green than yellow; Ardyn infused it into the coinm. Noctis watched as the lime-green fire that was now attached to the coin flared and pulsed, and realized wow, so that's how they tracked us the first time around…
Now that he thought of it, it was pretty stupid of them to keep that coin with them after they found out who Ardyn was, especially when he revealed his colors by stealing the Regalia.
Well, hopefully this time it wouldn't be a problem.
Hopefully we can cure Ardyn of the Scourge, and purge all those daemons from his soul… maybe then he can be at peace…
‹ Let's go, Noct. › Carbuncle begged, and Noctis was more than happy to agree. Clutching his small friend to him, Noctis reached out with his soul, found the bright, comforting lights of his friends in the distance, and plunged into the stars once more.