1.

The boy, around four years of age, sobbed in the dark, all by himself. He hugged his knees and covered his face with his arms. The room, although large and regal, felt claustrophobic.

The door slowly swung open. 'Somnus,' an older boy with red hair entered the room, 'there you are.' His hands carried with him a large old book with gold lettering. Somnus did not so much as glance up. In fact, he buried his face even deeper into his arms. The older boy sat down beside him and placed one hand on his shoulder. 'Come now,' he said gently as he stroked Somnus's black hair.

Somnus mustered barely enough strength to shake his head.

'How about this,' the older boy proposed, 'once you finish this, we'll go Chocobo riding.' Somnus's sobbing stopped, but still he did not show his face.

'And... I'll help you too,' the redhead added.

Somnus gazed up at the other boy. 'You will...?' He croaked.

The redhead nodded and opened up the large book he was carrying. He flipped through the pages and pointed at one about one-third into the book. 'Is this the part you were tasked to read?'

The black-haired boy straightened his back and nodded.

'I'll tell you the gist of the story,' the redhead said, 'so you can pretend that you've read it. This'll be our little secret, ok?'

Somnus's eyes lit up as he waited for the older boy to begin his story. The boy cleared his throat before beginning, 'Once upon a time, the Infernian waged war against humankind when he deemed humans to be too arrogant for their own good. He razed down much of the Solheim civilization's most prized creations — those he deemed to be Solheim's proofs of arrogance. The other gods, however, were destined to protect the world and with it the Solheim civilization, even against their own kind. Thus the Great War of the Astrals began and ironically, destroyed whatever remains of the Solheim civilization that the Glacian, the Hydraean, the Fulgurian, the Archaean and the Draconian were sworn to protect.

'But nevertheless, the Infernian fell, and out of the ashes of the Great War, was the Starscourge. Nobody knew where it came from or anything about it other than the fact that it is a plague that turns humans into daemons, with no possible cure. In a last ditch effort to save the world, the remaining gods presented mankind with a Crystal to counter the Starscourge, so that one day, the Chosen King will be able to use the Crystal's powers and banish the plague once and for all.'

'By the "Crystal" did you mean the one in Father's chambers?' Somnus asked pointing to an illustration within the book.

'The very same,' the redhead replied.

'And... you are the Chosen King...?' He hesitantly asked again.

His brother let out a sigh before continuing, 'we're born into a royal line with much responsibilities. You'll understand someday.'

Before Somnus could reply, the door swung open for the second time. A regal looking woman stood at the doorway. She heaved a sigh of relief before kneeling in front of the two boys. 'Somnus. Ardyn.' She addressed the both of them before turning towards the younger boy, 'you really shouldn't run off in the middle of a lesson like that. Governess Ratchell was so worried.'

'Sorry, Mother,' Somnus murmured.

'Thank goodness Ardyn found you,' the Queen continued. 'You've so much to learn from your brother. Goodness, the Prince acting like a spoiled brat...'

Somnus lightly pouted.

'Can Somnus take a break from studying today, Mother?' Ardyn stepped in. 'I'm sure he didn't mean to make a fuss. He's just tired.'

The Queen looked at her eldest with kind adoring eyes. 'You're right. Let's continue this tomorrow.'

Somnus's gaze lingered on his mother and brother but the two seemed all too proud to care about him, and his heart sunk deeper.

... Clash.

The sound of wood changing against each other repeated a number of times. A teenaged Somnus panted as he swung his wooden sword at a teenaged Ardyn, but his brother easily parried his attack with his own wooden sword.

'Come now, Somnus,' Ardyn taunted, 'is that all you got?'

Again and again Somnus attacked his brother, but never did he seem to be able to catch Ardyn off guard. His black hair hung across his face, soaked, whilst Ardyn did not so much as break a sweat. He finally flung his sword down to the floor between him and his brother. 'This is a joke,' he muttered before turning away towards the door.'

'Hey, you're giving up?' Ardyn called out to him, but Somnus ignored him. 'You can't possibly be chickening out are you?'

Ardyn's last statement was Somnus's last straw. A flash of light zipped past the training room and in an instant, Somnus was hovering above Ardyn with a real sword buried deep in Ardyn's wooden one. Ardyn managed to block Somnus's blade warp with his dummy sword but it was on the verge of breaking. Still he managed to sneer at his little brother, 'you've finally gotten serious.' With a heave he pushed Somnus away from him, dummy sword still attached to his weapon, before summoning his own sword.

Somnus, however, was beyond reason. He lashed out at his brother the same way he did with the dummy sword, if not more ferocious. A red flush colored Somnus's face. Ardyn, however, welcomed the challenge. The sound of metal clashing against metal filled the air until...

Slash.

Ardyn's sword left a deep gash on Somnus's cheek and fresh blood began pouring out. Somnus touched his cheek and felt the warmth of the red liquid on his fingertips. He glared at Ardyn. Ardyn's eyes widened in shock and he put away his weapon. 'That's enough for today. Go get that treated.'

'No! I can still go on!' Somnus shouted, but this time, Ardyn had turned away from his brother. 'Don't walk out on me! Coward!' Somnus hollered as Ardyn walked out the door, leaving Somnus alone in the empty room.

...

Somnus sat on the rooftop overlooking the entire palace, one hand propping up a cloth against his bloody cheek.

'Why the long face, Prince?' A voice called out from behind. Somnus turned around to find a black-haired woman, clad in a black dress. She sat herself down beside Somnus.

'Gentiana,' Somnus acknowledged her presence.

'You didn't answer my question,' Gentiana continued, 'let me guess... it's got to do with your brother?'

Somnus scoffed. He remained quiet for a moment before murmuring, 'how'd you know?'

Gentiana smiled. 'Maybe you don't realize this, but every time your brother is mentioned, a frown forms on your face. Right here.' She pointed at her forehead, at the spot between her eyebrows.

Somnus scowled. 'If you're here, it means that the Oracle's here. What brought her to Izunia anyway?'

'A meeting with the King of Izunia,' Gentiana replied, 'on the many possible ways to deal with the lengthening of the night.'

Somnus looked away, and after a moment, he spoke up again, 'say, Gentiana. You're the Oracle's hand, right, so to speak?'

'Serving the Oracle is my highest pride and honor.' Gentiana replied.

'Can you speak to the gods?' Somnus asked again.

'No, I cannot,' Gentiana replied. 'Only the Oracle herself is granted that honor.'

'Then how do you know... how does everyone know that Ardyn is the Chosen King?' Somnus asked, his voice sounding more agitated than before.

'So says the Draconian, as told to the Oracle,' Gentiana replied.

Somnus shook his head. 'Forget it,' he said, 'everyone's always "Ardyn this, Ardyn that". All because he was prophesied to be the Chosen King. Even though nobody even knows how he's gonna rid the world of Starscourge in the first place.' He got up and turned to walk away.

'Do you not believe in the gods?' Gentiana asked, taking Somnus momentarily aback.

'I... I don't know...' he replied.

'Know this, Somnus,' Gentiana said, sounding sterner than she had in the past few minutes that she had been talking to Somnus. 'The gods have the power to change a person's destiny at their behest. Ardyn received their blessing and hence his destiny was ordained. Cross their paths, and you might walk down the opposite route.'

Somnus gritted his teeth before turning away, leaving Gentiana alone, her black robes swaying in the wind.

...

'The number of infected has risen significantly... and the nights are getting longer...' the man droned on and on, repeating what was already known multiple times. Somnus slouched a little further down his seat, earning him a quick reprimanding jab from Ardyn who sat beside him.

The King waved his hand, stopping the official reporting. 'Galen, I would like to hear your opinion on this matter,' he coughed as he turned towards the Oracle. Somnus straightened up a little at his Father's words.

'Forgive me Your Majesty, but even the Oracle has her limits,' Galen, the Oracle said. 'There's only so many people I can save, and the number of those infected by Starscourge has risen exponentially.'

The King sighed and for a moment, Somnus thought that he looked grizzlier than ever. 'Is it at all possible to quarantine those infected?' he asked, but with uncertainty in his tone.

'I'm afraid not, Your Majesty,' Galen said. 'Just as the daemons cannot be contained by walls, neither can the plague itself.'

'I want to see them for myself,' the King finally said. 'And I think it's best if my sons too come with me and see the situation.'

'But Your Majesty, I don't think this is wise, considering your health,' his adviser spoke up.

'My health shall not hinder my royal duties,' the King waved him off. 'Ardyn, Somnus, be ready first thing in the morning tomorrow.'

'Yes, Father,' Ardyn promptly replied, as though he had been waiting for this the whole time. '... Yes, Father,' Somnus followed suit but with less confidence than Ardyn.

...

And so the two brothers boarded a Chocobo carriage the next day along with their Father on a trip down to a remote village in the outskirts of Insomnia; a village that the Oracle reported had the greatest amount of infected.

'Longwythe...' the King muttered as he limped off the carriage at the village. Ardyn eagerly hopped off after him.

Somnus followed behind Ardyn and the first sight that greeted him was the numerous people gathered around to greet the King. They were mostly kneeling on the ground and cowering before his Father. Some of them were covered in dark hoods from head to toe even though it was bright and sunny.

'May I speak to a representative?' the King asked, suppressing a cough.

A thin man with sunken cheeks stepped forward. 'Your Majesty King Izunia, I am Herion, Chief of Longwythe Village. It is an honor to have you here.'

King Izunia nodded in acknowledgement and Herion continued. 'If we may speak inside, Your Majesty. I'm afraid some of us cannot take the light.'

Herion led the way to his house, the biggest in the village, although not any bigger than Somnus's own room. Once inside, Herion called over one of the hooded villagers. 'Your Majesty, this is what we're dealing with.'

'The hooded villager removed his hood to reveal his face, half of it black and vile with miasma oozing out of it. Somnus jerked his head back in shock and even the King could not suppress a wince.

'This is a late stage Starcourge,' Herion explained. 'Not even the Oracle can save him, unfortunately. The only thing Her Holiness could do was ease his pain. And when the time comes, we must kill him before he becomes a full-fledged daemon, lest he cause more casualties.'

'I'm sorry to hear that,' the King said, solemnly.

'Your Majesty, is there no way at all to rid this plague?' Herion asked. 'Is the prophecy of the Chosen King true? Will the Prince save us when the time comes?' Herion turned towards Ardyn with a longing in his eyes, as though he dared not hope for too much.

Before Izunia or Ardyn could answer, however, the main door crashed open and another hooded man appeared. His hood, however, revealed half a daemonic head with what resembled a Behemoth horn at its side; and wild inhuman eyes. His arm, too, was large, black and claw-like and the man brandished it like a weapon. Somnus could hear screams from the villagers waiting outside the Chief's house.

'Where is the Promised King!?' the man roared. Somnus immediately summoned his weapon, ready to take down the rampaging creature, but Ardyn stepped in front of him.

'I am the Promised King,' Ardyn declared, stretching his hand out towards the half-daemon. 'Let me help you.'

The creature roared again but before he could do anything, Ardyn had taken his monstrous hand in his own. Miraculously, his hand glowed with soft golden light, just as the Oracle's always did whenever she healed people. Taking this as a cue, Ardyn reenacted the Oracle's prayers. 'Blessed stars of life and light,' he pronounced these words carefully and forcefully, 'deliver us from darkness' blight...'

The golden light enveloped the creature's daemonic half. Somnus looked on with eyes wide open in disbelief, as did his Father and the many villagers watching from the doorway. When the light had dispersed, all that was left of the creature, was a regular man, frail but very much alive.

For a good few seconds, nobody could say a word. Until finally the village exploded with cheers. 'All hail the Promised King,' they chanted, on and on. One by one, the hooded figures threw themselves by Ardyn's feet, begging 'the Holy One', 'the Savior' to cure them.

Somnus watched, shaking, as Ardyn smiled and worked his magic to cure them. So this is the power of the Chosen King... he thought, half disappointed, half awed.

...

'But this is my calling, Father,' Ardyn exclaimed, his voice ringing throughout the halls of the throne room.

'I don't like the idea, Ardyn,' his Father replied. 'You have performed an incredible miracle, one that not even Galen herself could perform. You don't know what the side effects are.'

'There can be no side effects!' Ardyn indignantly replied. 'Everything was preordained, wasn't it? Didn't the Draconian tell Galen that?'

'I have a bad feeling about this,' Izunia shook his head. 'Besides, who's going to take over my royal duties if you're gone? I'm not getting any younger and protecting the Crystal sure takes a toll on my health.'

'Somnus can help,' Ardyn suggested with a little less certainty.

'But he's not the King!' Izunia retorted. Somnus who had been watching quietly the whole time, shifted awkwardly.

'He knows what needs to be done,' Ardyn said. 'Don't you, little bro?'

'Don't...' Somnus began. Ardyn turned around to face his little brother, surprised by the hint of danger in Somnus's tone.

'What do you mean?' Ardyn asked.

'Don't... Don't you dare treat me like some back up plan!' Somnus lashed out at him. 'I'm not some tool who can help you rule the country while you go around, travelling the world, currying favor with the commoners.'

'Is that what you think of me?' Ardyn's tone rose to greet Somnus's. 'That I'm doing this for my own gain!?'

'What else could it be!?' Somnus marched up to his brother, their faces inches apart. 'Mother is dead and Father is gravely old and sick. He needs you and the people need their King!'

'They need their Savior!' Ardyn retorted.

'Savior!?' Somnus scoffed. 'That's how you think of yourself. Some angel appointed by the Hexatheon.'

'Oh, how you mock me,' Ardyn sneered. 'You, of all people, wanted more than anything to be the Chosen King. Don't you think I don't know that!?'

'What does it matter what I want?' Somnus replied, his face turned a little paler. 'We're talking about what you have to do.'

'I have to complete my royal duties,' Ardyn said, 'and the way I see it, my royal duties are to my people, and therefore eradicate Starscourge. Besides, isn't that what the Chosen King is for!?'

'Well the gods didn't say you've gotta travel the world and heal people one by one, didn't they?' Somnus retaliated.

'How would you know what the Gods wanted?' Ardyn spat back. 'They didn't say anything to you!'

'As if they said anything to you!' Somnus replied.

'Enough!' Izunia bellowed before Ardyn could retaliate further. The elderly King, massaged his forehead as he sat on the throne, his chair overshadowing his frail figure.

Ardyn shook his head and quietly said, 'It's something you'd never understand, seeing as you'd never be King.'

Somnus threw one last venomous glare at his brother before storming off. ...