So this is it: the last chapter! HOWEVER, this story is not quite finished yet! As I told you before, I have written a sequel which I will be posting shortly. It is called "Against All Odds", and that marks the end of this story ^v^ So check it out if you want :)
She was running once more through the countless corridors of the Citadel, following the direction indicated by the Quicksilver which shone brighter at each turn she took correctly.
She made her way to the throne room, having no idea what she would be doing next, or what she would find. She could only hope that Noctis was still alive…
She pushed open the heavy doors and immediately stopped.
Noctis was sitting on the throne, his body limp and motionless. His head was bowed down, resting on his chest as if he was sleeping.
"No… no, no, no!" she rushed by his side and pressed her fingers on the spot where she could feel the weak pulse of the carotid. He was still alive, but only just. He didn't have much time left.
"What should I do?!" she asked in frustration, holding the stone in mid-air and staring intently at it as if expecting a response "Please, show me how to save him".
The stone didn't do anything, merely sending its crimson sparkles in every direction.
As Iris's frustration grew more and more, she growled and was almost tempted to throw the stone across the room. She froze, however, when she felt the stone heat up in her hand. It was almost unbearable, but she forced herself to hold on. Her sixth sense told her she was not supposed to drop it, and so she focused on the Quicksilver instead than the pain.
When she thought she couldn't take it anymore, the stone lit up even more until the whole throne room was painted crimson and then she heard His voice. Bahamut's voice.
"You kept your promise, Guardian".
Iris couldn't see the god, and it seemed to her that he was speaking to her directly from the stone itself.
"You did good. The gods are with you and the King of Light. Now make your choice".
Iris didn't know what was expected of her. Make her choice? What did it mean?
"Keep the stone, and you will become immortal and powerful. Use the stone to its fullest power, and you will lose it forever. However, you may save more than a life by doing so…"
Iris didn't dare say a word, merely letting the stone do the rest. She glanced at Noctis, who was still unconscious, and suddenly understood what Bahamut meant.
She walked toward her king and held the stone in front of her, as if offering it to him. The Quicksilver briefly hovered over her hand before shining so bright it blinded her, and then disappeared inside Noctis's chest, where his heart was located.
The crimson color had faded, and the room had returned into a semi shade. Iris stared silently at the young king, still lying motionless. Was something supposed to happen? She couldn't hear Bahamut's voice any longer, and wondered if that was it.
And then, out of the blue, Noctis opened his eyes, which were no longer his usual deep-blue, but crimson red. He didn't seem to notice her presence, and looked like he was in too much in pain to even register anything else around him. He wrapped his arms around his chest and gasped heavily. Iris's ears were now filled with a long, high-pitched scream as a blinding light filled the room. She was sure the entire city was now engulfed in that light, powerful enough to wipe the fiercest of Daemons away.
When she could see again, she wasn't in the throne room. The room she was in now was completely white, a pure and celestial white. There was absolutely nothing in that mysterious yet peaceful place and she simply waited for something to happen. Finally, she saw six figures approaching her.
She stared open-mouthed as the six gods stepped proudly toward her, with a soothing smile on their faces. Bahamut was walking ahead of the others, surrounded by his powerful aura of wisdom.
"Iris Amicitia, the last guardian of the Quicksilver, the almighty stone by us created to save the humans' world from darkness and devastation. You did good, using the stone only when deemed necessary, protecting it with your life and fulfilling your duty as last guardian by assisting the King of Light in restoring peace onto your world. Many others, wiser and stronger than you, have fallen victim to their own greed and thirst for power, causing war and devastation. You made your choice, proving that your spirit is pure and foreign to temptation, and needs therefore to be rewarded".
Iris listened intently, unable to understand what was actually going on.
"Tell me, oh Guardian, what is it that your heart desires?"
Iris blinked multiple times at the question. Was he actually willing to make one of her wishes come true? And in that case, what would that be?
She immediately thought of Eos and the state it was in. She could probably ask to bring it back as it once was. But she thought that they could easily restore its old glory with a bit of work. Definitely not a godly job…
Her mind wandered off to Prompto, and how wonderful it would be for him to feel the same about her. But she was not going to ask a freaking god to help her with her sentimental life. She wanted him to love her genuinely, not because a god had made him.
And then she remembered that Noctis was the one who had actually been through the worst: he had lost so much in the past ten years, and even his life in the very end. She couldn't accept that. He deserved a better ending than that.
She looked up at Bahamut with a firm expression, and opened her mouth to speak. The god, however, preceded her.
"Providence requires sacrifice. So it has been written. However, the gods take pity on the young king. The King of Light shall have a long and prosperous life together with his significant other, Lady Lunafreya Nox Fleuret. However, I am afraid this is the best we can do for you right now. Your heart craves a happy reunion, but not even us gods can bring back all the lives that have been lost. King Regis being one of them, he fought valiantly to protect the Crystal and accepted his fate beforehand. We shall let King Noctis Lucis Caelum and Lady Lunafreya Nox Fleuret continue with the Lucis blood line and restore light upon your world, not more than that. We shall reclaim the Quicksilver and the Crystal in return. The war doesn't end with it, and it will still be up to you to defend your kingdom from external attacks. However, we are confident that the major menace has been fended off and, with the help of his Kingsglaive, the King of Light shall bring peace once and for all in Eos".
Iris bowed down to show her gratitude, feeling however suddenly empty without the Quicksilver with her. But if that meant Noctis and Luna could return and live a happy life together, she would gladly sacrifice that.
When she lifted her head again, she was back in the throne room, completely alone.
She looked up at the ceiling and noticed that the bodies of King Regis and Lady Lunafreya had vanished as well.
She waited for several minutes and, when nothing happened, she decided to head outside and check up on the others.
When she stepped outside, she immediately frowned as the bright daylight hit her face. She placed one hand on her forehead to shield herself –she wasn't definitely used to all that light anymore- and walked to the main street.
She could hear people yelling and, feeling alarmed, quickened her pace, fearing that something bad had happened to one of her friends or families.
She stopped as her heart did a flip when she saw none other than Noctis standing in the middle of the roaring crowd, hand in hand with Lady Lunafreya, looking tired but happy. She locked eyes with the king, and he smiled gratefully at her and nodded in her direction. She smiled back, feeling her heart swelling up and the warmth spreading in her body. She was happy, like she hadn't been in over ten years. Noctis and Luna were alive, her family was alive, her friends were alive!
She quickly joined the others as they celebrated the happily reunited couple and immediately met Prompto's gaze. He gave her his usual victory sign and grinned widely at her, a look of pride on his face. She couldn't help but smile just as widely back, his grin so contagious! When she thought she couldn't be happier, a chilly wind danced around them and engulfed Ignis, who simply stood in place with a frown, trying to understand what was happening. When the wind ceased shortly after, Ignis suddenly dropped his dark glasses and placed both his hands on his face.
"I-I…" he stuttered, at a loss for words. He lifted his head, and everyone could stare amazed at his perfectly smooth face which held no trace of the terrible scars that had once traversed it.
Iris was pretty sure she could no longer hold back the tears of joy dwelling in her eyes, and simply let them flow as she joined the others in hugging Iggy. She had never seen him cry or lose control, really. But she thought the situation allowed it, for this was better than any happy ending she had ever seen at the theater when her classmates dragged her to see some overly romantic movie.
When they finally let the spectacled man go, Iris found herself face to face with the king and his bride-to-be, smiling warmly at her.
"Thank you" Noctis said simply, but the tone of his voice carried a strong message, just like Luna's smile.
Iris wanted to say so many things but words failed her as her eyes fell on Prompto, apparently very busy talking to that Regine girl who was sneaking her way through him, intertwining one arm with his.
Noctis chuckled when he realized what had caught her attention, and nudged her in the side.
"Go talk to him! It might be better than you think" he winked at her, before returning his attention to his beloved one.
But Iris, who had faced the most dangerous Daemons that had walked the earth, had protected a legendary stone for ten years and had faced the six gods themselves, couldn't muster the courage to approach that blond guy that had so skillfully carved a special place into her heart.
She simply let him talk to that annoying-looking girl and walked away from the crowd, smiling sheepishly at their parents who were now talking to Gladio and a delighted Ignis, who was looking amazed as he could finally see again.
Prompto's trained eye, however, didn't miss this and immediately let go of the other girl's hand. He kinda liked the attention of a girl, but all that mattered to him in that moment was her, and her only –his Iris. His beautiful, brave Iris.
"Iris!" he called after her, speeding up to keep up with her.
"What do you want, Prompto?" she asked more rudely than she had intended, turning around to face him with crossed arms.
"Hey, what have I done?" he asked with a look of hurt.
"Nothing" she shrugged her shoulders but refusing to untangle her arms.
He stared at her in silence, as if pondering something, until a large grin broke onto his face.
"A-ha! You're jealous!" he said, pointing a finger at her.
"Wh-what? M-me? Jealous? In your dreams, blondie!" she tried to defend herself, hating how her voice sounded so high-pitched and nervous.
"Gotcha!" he teased with a smirk.
"Prompto Argentum! Explain how I could ever be jealous because you're talking to another girl. You're perfectly free to do whatever you want with whoever you desire. It is none of my concern" she said stoically, pretending not to care.
"Rrrright" he frowned but still smirking. "Nah, you're definitely jealous" he continued after a short pause "I mean, of course you'd be. Look at this bad boy!" He indicated himself "Lookin' smokin' hot in his Kingsglaive uniform".
Iris couldn't believe that guy! How cheeky could he be?
"And smokin' hot guys go with smokin' hot girls, am I right?" he said seductively.
"Well go ahead then, I won't stop ya" she retorted annoyed, her blood boiling with anger and jealousy consuming her.
"What?" he asked, genuinely confused.
"Didn't think you were that stupid, Prompto. I mean, I know you're blond and everything, but really? A girl like that?" Iris tilted her chin forward to indicate the girl who was still staring in their general direction "At least Cindy's got some brains".
"What're you talking about?" he asked once more, shaking his head as if to clear it.
"I'm talking about you and that girl you've been flirting with all day, genius! Go to her, she's obviously waiting for you" Iris replied angrily, and started to turn around to leave, but he grabbed her by the arm, laughing whole-heartedly.
"I… can't… believe this!" he said, unable to control his fit of laughter "And then you call me stupid?"
Iris raised an eyebrow at him, giving him a questioning look.
"I mean, the blond part was really offensive, Ir. Seriously. And, just for the records, I wasn't referring to Regine".
Iris blinked a few times, waiting for him to continue.
"When I said smokin' hot girl I meant you, silly!" he lightly smacked her forehead while plastering his usual smirk on his face.
Iris didn't know what to say, feeling suddenly very stupid as heat rose to her cheeks, making her blush furiously.
"Soooo, eh…" Prompto continued, rubbing the back of his head as he always did when he was embarrassed "Ehm, maybe… we could… go out for a bite when this place has been fixed?"
He almost wanted to smack himself for sounding so awkward: he had, after all, had some experiences with other girls during those ten years, and yet he found himself stuttering like a teenage boy when asking her out.
Iris didn't reply immediately, and he was starting to feel nervous, but she eventually smiled broadly at him and nodded.
"Yeah, I would love to!"
Next Chapter: a sneak-peak of what's going to happen in the sequel :)