After a long while I am BACK! Back to this AU and the chaos it brings!
Chapter 3
The air around Regis seemed to dry up, making every breath sharp and painful. Whatever it was that Bahamut was planning, Regis couldn't say, but he did know that the Astral was upset. He could see that the world around him had slowed down, birds and flames moved far slower than their actual speed.
Bahamut hovered above Regis and Ardyn, raising his blade up above his head. "This is where your pitiful ploy comes to an end. You will learn not to defy an Astral."
When the large blade came crashing down, the men scattered, trying to avoid any debris. Regis looked up once he was grounded again, seeing the large size of Bahamut. Being the king of the Astrals gave him a size that rivaled all others. Even Ifrit, with his height that towered buildings, was nothing compared to this.
Outside of the size, fighting an Astral was already a huge problem, not only was Bahamut there for reasons against everything the people worshiped, but also the damage that would be done. There was no telling how careful or careless Bahamut would be in this enraged state, but unfortunately there was nothing more that Regis could do to prevent it.
Regis saw Ardyn warping furiously around Bahamut, making it hard for the Astral to land a proper hit. Using that as an opportunity, Regis pointed his sword at Bahamut's face, and threw it with all of his strength.
"Bahamut! No more shall you dictate our lives! We should be free to make our own choices, not under the influence of a god's choice."
"Mankind would be lost without aid. Foolish mortals would never be able to function without guidance from beings beyond themselves." Bahamut hissed as he tried to swat away Regis.
"And who gave you the idea that was how it should be? Never even giving humans a chance to live for themselves?" Regis scoffed as he warped over to Bahamut's arm, landing on the forearm. Being on the arm itself really gave Regis the idea of how large this Astral was, as the entire arm seemed to stretch the length of several city streets.
"There are plenty who don't believe in the Astrals or ask them for anything, and they manage fine on their own. Or will you call those who do not believe, and live their own lives, more of your 'guidance'? You cannot possibly claim that you oversee and help guide all who believe as well as all who don't!"
"Such things shouldn't be forced," Ardyn added as he striked Bahamut's face. "We need none of your so-called 'guidance'."
Light surrounded Bahamut and quickly burst outward, knocking Regis and Ardyn back. The force was enough to cause Regis to skid back across the ground, nearly losing his balance and falling to the ground. Now with a glowing shield surrounding the Astral, making any future attack near impossible from what Regis could figure. He could see how it shimmer and shined, and if he knew anything about his own magic shields, it would be impossible to impenetrate normally.
He turned his attention to Ardyn, who was glaring up at the Draconian still. "Ardyn, do you have any plan or strategy? If we wish to take him down, we must work together."
"Our hatred is aligned, so at this moment I will agree. Worry not though, for I have more than just myself," Ardyn replied, a smug grin spread across his face.
Looking to the skies, Ardyn grinned widely. "O Infernian! Come and lend me your strength once again. Help us conquer your leader who had you live such a tragedy. No doubt your tiresome and heavy hearted past was all apart of his prophecy "
In a roar of flames, Ifrit appeared before the two. Regis gasped, stepping back slightly at the second Astral before him. Now with the towering sight of the fiery Astral before him, he could see the rage in his eyes. Filled with disdain and anger towards the Astral that he stood before. He bared his teeth and right away, the god of fire ran forward and struck the barrier, having the magic flicker slightly.
"You may try as you will, even using an Astral against me shall do no damage. Even if the taint you corrupted him with increases his rage, it still is no match."
"Do you hear that, Mighty Infernian?" Ardyn asked. "It's just as I suspected. He doesn't care for you as an equal or what I did to you. Instead he allowed it to happen, letting this pain course through you. He has not an ounce of compassion for his own kind as he hides behind his barrier like a coward!"
Ifrit growled angrily, his body engulfed in flames as he repeatedly hit the barrier. He propelled himself up and came down from above in a blazing attack, this time making the barrier crack. Even Bahamut seemed alarmed by this as he began to back away.
"Now, we make our attack again while his defenses weaken. Try not to get in my way or Ifrit's," Ardyn chuckled before he dissolved into darkness, racing himself forward towards the crumbling barrier.
Regis breathed in as he prepared to move forward, but a strange feeling surged inside of him. He could feel the ring was pulsing, flooding him with new magic he had never felt before.
'Regis Lucis Caelum… we see your struggle against the Draconian…' a voice whispered in his mind.
Regis gasped. There was no mistaking that voice, a voice so regal and far from beyond his time. He had heard a voice like this hundreds of times before, ever since he put on the ring… It was the voice of a Lucii!
'We see now how cruel the Draconian is,' another said.
'We wish to aid you, in your own strength and our own. He shall not rule our future anymore.'
'Once many of us thought the prophecy was something to admire. A future that would ensure our prosperity. But to know that the Draconian wishes to end our bloodline… that cannot be allowed to happen.'
'So now we shall take our stand. Summon us young king. Only a few of us have the strength to fight, but we shall stand by you and even the Adagium.'
'The Adagium… though he may be filled with the darkness that plagues our Star… I must agree that siding with him is required if we wish to win.'
"If you wish to aid me, do you mean that I should… bring out the magic of the old wall?" Regis asked.
'No. That strength would require too much. It would also do far more damage to the city than you would want. Summon our spirits that call to you. We will have enough strength to overpower the Astral.'
With a nod, Regis breathed in deeply. He could feel 12 Lucii spirits calling to him, reaching out to offer their power. He raised his sword up in the air as he began to run towards the battle again.
"Lucii! Come to me and lend your strength! Let us turn the tide in this battle!"
The ring glowed brightly and ahead of him, right near where Ifrit and Ardyn were fighting, 12 armored figures appeared in a shining light. Regis barely had time to analyze their armors, no time to figure out what 12 Lucii had come forth to help. All he could see was blurs of their mighty forms all quickly making their way to Bahamut.
With a combined effort of the Lucii and Ardyn, they threw every bit of strength and magic that they had at the barrier. At first it still seemed to have no effect, but Regis could see the barrier start to wane and flicker. The repeated attacks from 13 fighters was enough to wear down his focus and strength to keep it together.
Seconds later, the Draconian's barrier had been shattered, with him no longer able to keep a hold on it, causing it to crack and crumble to pieces. Now that he no longer hid from the battle, he brought out every one of his blades, trying to use his many blades to initially ward off Ifrit and Ardyn. The blades whipped around him, spinning almost in a wild unpredicted motion. Now with the added Lucii, he only had mere moments to figure out a way to block the series of new oncoming attacks from a range of different weapons.
Regis threw himself back into the fray, still feeling a flood of magic from the ring powering his body. This new power was unlike anything he had felt before, far exceeding his expectations of what he could do as the ring bearer. The magic that flooded him almost felt endless, and it was enough that he felt as if he could truly rival a god. As he fought, he could see Bahamut was beginning to block less and less, prices of his armor cracking from the series of constant attacks.
"Enough!" he roared, still trying to block whatever he could manage. "You cannot fight against me. I was the one to give you Lucii the power of the Crystal. I gave you the prosperity you needed."
"Then why do you wish to make our world suffer? If there is a cure to bring peace, why must it end in a blood price?" A female Lucii asked.
"It is the way that it must be to ensure peace. Once the prophecy is complete, magic of the crystal will be no more and then the Star will prosper beyond what it is now. Without myself or thyne magic that follows, the future will end as dire and bleak."
"That is blasphemy!" another Lucii shouted. "You cannot decide what is right for us or how to use our magic. Magic or no magic, we should still be allowed our choice!"
"You cannot mean to say all we have done or will do is already dictated by your word. I do not wish to believe my actions were all the will of a god deciding it for me," another added.
"This… is the way it must be…" Bahamut said. His armor had cracked further and he had already been pushed down to his knees.
Regis wrapped up into the skies, hovering above Bahamut's face. "Not anymore. Without your word, Draconian, there will be no more forced paths we must follow."
The Lucii surrounded Bahamut on all sides, each readying their weapons. Light glowed from each of them, creating beams that struck into Bahamut from every angle. He growled, struggling to break free, shifting and squirming as he was pinned down. His struggles slowed as the seconds passed, as no matter how hard he tried to free himself, it showed no success.
Regis dove down once more towards Bahamut's face, striking his blade right in the center. As he backed off, he saw Ardyn come in right after repeating a similar attack to his own. All of Bahaumut's armor started to crack and dissolve before their very eyes.
"Without guidance…" Bahamut muttered as his form continued to fade. "You will… all suffer…"
"And to think I was the one being accused of being dramatic," Ardyn sighed.
Bahamut's form fully vanished into light, leaving not a trace of him anywhere. Regis looked up to the 12 towering, armored Lucii and bowed his head to battle had been won… the battle was over. If it had not been for the aid of the Lucii, Regis wasn't sure what the outcome would have been in the end. But with their help, he was shown fate could be changed, and now he had hope that the future could turn out better than what had been foreshadowed.
When he lifted his head, he finally looked at each of them clearly, now having the moment to breathe. Their large towering armored forms were still something to behold, and now he was witness to 12 of them before him. He knew he would remember this image of them for years to come, never forgetting how striking each set of armor was from the next.
"I thank you, Lucii, for lending me your strength."
"It is not over just yet," the Rouge said. "There is still one last task we Lucii must do before we can say the Draconian is fully defeated."
"And what would that be?" Regis asked.
"Our spirits will return to the Beyond, where his spirit currently is. Now weakened, we may take one last fight against him, to assure he will never return."
"And we will inform you once the deed is done," a Lucii king carrying a crossbow, added.
In a bright flash, all of the Lucii vanished… all except for one. One who stood tall with his armor and had a beautifully engraved sword by his side. It took a few moments for Regis to realize it, but by the sword and its design, he knew that this Lucii was none other than the Mystic. It was Somnus Lucis Caelum, the founder king, and according to what Noctis had said, the younger brother of Ardyn.
Ardyn was already glaring up at the armor. "Somnus… are you here to try and end me along with the Draconian?"
"No… I have something else I must say."
This time a flash of light happened, but Somnus didn't vanish, instead he now stood before Regis and Ardyn in a spiritual human form. His expression was somber as he averted his gaze from staring directly at Ardyn.
"What I had done in the past… it is something that was unforgivable. The day I struck you down and Aera…. nothing in that moment could ever redeem myself."
"If you are looking for me to sympathize with you, then you know it is impossible. Nothing you can say would ever help you atone!"
"I have already passed, there is nothing I can do to atone for my actions," Somnus replied. "I cannot ask… I dare not ask for your forgiveness as your anger is justified. Originally I sought to ask for your understanding but-"
"My understanding!?" Ardyn gasped. "You still believe that I could understand that you think your actions are justified? Are you still so full of yourself that you only wish for me to understand you?"
Somnus breathed in and shook his head. "No… it was my original intention to do so, but that was before I learned of the Draconians control over everything. I thought what I had done was for the future of our kingdom… I thought that it was my calling to do so and I sought to go down that path. But to know all of it wasn't even my choice at the time… that the Draconian called it the prophecy and thus it was fate… it left me realizing the truth. I could not stand to think that the attack I laid on you and Aera wasn't my own choice for the kingdom, but instead fate dictated by an Astral."
Ardyn crossed his arms. "And what of me now? You still took everything away from me then, even if the Draconian fated it to be."
"I know and that is why I can never ask for your forgiveness. I must continue on knowing that was my fate, but perhaps now for you, your future can find light again," Somnus said before turning to look at Regis. "Please ensure that he may find happiness. Whether his soul finds repose or something else."
Before Regis could respond or even nod his head, Ardyn spoke again. "Neither of you will decide my fate for me. No more shall any of that be decided by anyone other than me!"
"Then I hope you can find it, brother," Somnus said before his form finally vanished.
Now that it was just the two of them, minus Ifrit who was standing off to the side, Regis tried to approach Ardyn. "Now, my distant uncle, as the spirits of the Lucii fight the last remains of Bahamut, perhaps we may talk."
Ardyn turned around. "And just what would you want to talk about? Are you too going to deny me my revenge?"
"I would say your revenge ended when the Draconian was struck down. You know that your brother and his choices weren't even his own, all forced by a cruel fate. You can be free now."
"I can never be free of this hate… this darkness," Ardyn growled. "I was plagued with this curse and it has warped me. No amount of your words can change that."
Regis hummed, giving a slight nod. "That may be true. Words cannot fix it, but there is something that could."
Ardyn scoffed. "And just would that be, my young nephew?"
"Travel with me to Tenebrae where we may meet with Queen Sylva. With the help of the Oracle's healing, we may find a way to help you."
"You think that healing someone like me could do anything? I am over 2000 years old, full of nothing but hate, disgust and the Starscourge and you think the Oracle could heal that?"
Regis remained calm, even if Ardyn's face was now dripping with the black inky goop. "There is always a chance to take. Our future is ours to decide, so do not let the hate that guided you before, that was once dictated by fate, continue to do so."
Ardyn stared at Regis, his eyes narrowing slightly before the darkness faded from his face. "You make a fair point, nephew. If turning against Bahamut's original plans will prove we do in fact have our free will, then I shall gladly follow along."
"Then shall we begin to make preparations? It may be some time… considering the damage you dealt to the city."
Ardyn snapped his fingers, dismissing Ifrit from the area. "Apologies for that. But all of that can soon be put behind us, yes?"
"I suppose it can be. But come, let us head inside where we can further discuss a plan to head out to Tenebrae as soon as possible."
Turning around, Regis began to walk back to the Citadel. He looked back for a moment and saw that Ardyn was in fact following behind him. He managed to smile as he faced forward again, having a new feeling of an unknown future before him. He could sense the presence of the Lucii returning to the ring, echoing softly that Bahamut had been properly defeated.
The future was now unwritten, no longer in control by a god who wanted to see it only their way. It was now open to them to make their own choices, and Regis was going to do what he could to make the best of it. He was going to put the future on a path that would lead to prosperity while also giving hope for his son who would be born one day.
