Thank you for showing such interest in my story! I must say, I didn't really expect that. Thank you as well for leaving such lovely reviews. To the ones worried about the pace of this story being a little slow, I can reassure you. Once Noctis and Luna sorted out the mess of being thrown back in time, the pace will pick up. Think of it as returning to a game that you haven't played in a while and discovering that your last save was right before a boss-battle. It would take you a while to get your bearings back and figure out what exactly which button does again. If said boss then simply doesn't play by the rules and starts throwing things at you the guide-book never even mentioned, you're in for a bad time...
'Noctis!' Luna hissed sharply.
"...What?" Prompto's bravado sizzled out like a flame in this pelting rain outside.
'I hope you know what you're doing,' the former Oracle spoke. Noctis silently hoped so, too.
"I've been having dreams for a while now. Bad ones," he began, spinning little white lies like a tightrope with which to balance over the truth.
"Like the ones you had after the deamons attacked you?" Prompto asked, his voice now nothing more than a whisper. He probably knew that the fact Noctis had told him about the nightmares back then was just as unusual as him telling him now. To Prompto, it was a sign just how much Noctis trusted him and the reason why Noctis felt so bad for trying to fool his friend. But by the Astrals, wasn't there some truth in his words. How long had he dreamed about the events after the fall of Insomnia, had woken up screaming even after he'd fulfilled his destiny? Not even death had been able to fully take the dreams away from him. And while Luna's presence had certainly helped him keep his sanity from becoming ass unstable as Ardyn, even she hadn't been able to fully keep the darkness away.
"Worse," he finally said because Prompto expected some clarification. "They're all different. Sometimes it's nothing too bad, but sometimes they terrify me." Prompto had grown pale again.
"And you die in them?" he asked. Noctis shrugged.
"Sometimes." Always.
"Noctis…," Prompto breathed and Noctis flinched as if struck when he heard his friend's voice break slightly in his distress. Distress had not been what Noctis had had in mind with his string of lies. Sure, he'd wanted to distract Prompto, give him something to think and maybe worry about so he wouldn't start asking questions Noctis couldn't answer, but he didn't want to actually scare his poor blond friend. So, naturally, acting as the competent leader Noctis had been trained to be, he started to panic, his sentences forming in shorter, faster intervals.
"I had a pretty bad one yesterday, I admit," he said. "The worst one yet. But I'll be fine. In fact, forget I even said anything." Noctis heard Luna groan and immediately realised that it apparently had been the one thing he shouldn't have said. Again. He really was putting his foot in his mouth a lot today. The fire was back in the blond's eyes and Prompto disappeared down the hall as if Ifrit himself was after him. A few seconds later, probably having broken every school record for the fastest sprint through the building, Prompto was back, two bags slung over his shoulder.
"We're skipping the rest of the day," Prompto said with a finality that Noctis usually only had heard from Gladio. Or a very angry Lunafreya. Naturally, he didn't dare disagree. And so Noctis found himself in front of his apartment door, about three hours before he should have been scheduled to finish school for the day. Prompto had been typing away on his phone for the last twenty minutes, his mood steadily growing worse again when they'd discovered that the trains were out for the day, the rain having caused too much trouble with the electricity lines.
Having had been forced to continue on foot, a trip that should have taken fifteen minutes turned into nearly an hour long hike through the rain. They'd left puddles in the hallway, when they finally arrived at his apartment, which Noctis was sure the landlord would complain about later. Right now though, he didn't care. He simply wanted to change out of his soaked clothes. Noctis opened the door with fingers nearly stiff from the cold, only to realise that someone had been there. The lights were on and he heard the faint sound of footsteps on carpet over the hum of electricity. Noctis resisted the urge to draw his weapons, partly because Prompto would want to know just since when he could pull blades out of thin air, but mainly because most of the royal arms were too large to wield inside without taking someone's head off by accident. Still, his stance became tense and ready for a possible attack.
And then the door to his bedroom opened and Ignis entered back into the living room, mop and bucket in hand and Noctis had to suppress wheezing out in shock because he wasn't prepared to see two of his friends in one day. It took Noctis everything in his power to not simply turn on his heel and sprint outside where he could deal with this emotional overload in peace. The sharp intake of breath still sounded too much of an anguished sob in his ears, and Noctis mentally prayed that it would go by unnoticed.
Apparently the Astrals weren't in his favour today since the noise drew the attention of his Chamberlain. Bespectacled green eyes focused on blue and Noctis ran.
He ran until he was back outside, the rain soaking through his already damp clothing. He was cold but Noctis did not care all too much, to tell the truth. He'd been feeling chilly the moment he'd woken up. Right now, it was the thing that kept him grounded and helped to calm down his racing heart.
'Noctis. Are you well?' Noctis scoffed, dropping down the stairs to sit on them, uncaring if they were wet and cold and terribly uncomfortable to sit on.
"Do I look well?" he finally asked back, the venom in his voice lessening towards the end. He was angry with himself, not with Luna.
'You look like someone who's slowly realising just how traumatised he is.' came Luna's reply, as light and comforting as if Noctis hadn't just snapped at her like an angry Adamantoise. 'Not that anyone could blame you with the events that shaped your first life. If I may tell you the truth, I am actually amazed just how well you handled the events up to this point, all things considered.'
"You mean up till the point where I ran away from the mere sight of Ignis?"
'And probably traumatised your poor, poor Chamberlain, now that I think about it. Or at the very least distressed him with your action. He's probably talking to Prompto and discussing your mental stability as we speak.'
"What mental stability?"
'Noctis, we've talked about this. I do not like that you talk badly about yourself like this. You are a remarkable person that stared into the abyss of insanity unflinchingly. Yes, you did not come out of the situation unscarred, yet weaker men would have come out of the situation in the first place. So there is no need for such misery and self-pity.'
"Easy for you to say. You didn't just have a mental breakdown in front of your friends."
'You did not break down. You felt overwhelmed and took action to avoid said breakdown. Actually, this most likely was the smartest decision you could have made. You did well' Now Luna was repeating herself, but hearing her reassurance eased some of the anxiety that still squeezed down on his heart, making his chest hurt and his breathing difficult.
"I don't feel like I did well. I feel like I fucked up everything the moment I arrived here. I'm just not ready to relive everything over again. What if I fuck up and the events of Altissia, Niflheim and whatnot all simply repeat? What if I actually make it worse? I don't think I'd be able to deal with -"
'Noctis!' Luna interrupted sharply and Noctis flinched, expecting a sharper reprimand for falling back into doubt and self-pity. It was only when he heard the sound of hurried footsteps that echoed down the stairs of the apartment complex that he understood why Luna had stopped him. The sound grew steadily louder as it moved towards him until Ignis burst through the front door of the building and Luna's words were proven right. Ignis did look worried. Then again, who could blame him, had his charge suddenly hightailed out of his on apartment at the mere sight of him. Ignis looked around frantically and Noctis watched in amusement, and ever so faint guilt, how his shoulders dropped as the tension left his body, once be saw the prince sitting on the steps of the building's entrance.
"You left your window open," was the first thing Ignis said and Noctis wanted to burst out laughing at the sheer ridiculousness of the situation. All that came out, however, was a wry chuckle. "I'm afraid the carpet in your bedroom has suffered some rather impressive water-damage. I am uncertain if it is salvageable." Noctis shook his head out of both irritation and fondness for the nonchalant way the taller man tried to defuse the tense situation.
"What are you doing outside, specs? You'll catch your death," Noctis asked, his focus on the city around him, mostly swallowed up by thick clouds and dense rain. Ignis sighed and sat down next to Noctis, choosing the option to ignore the prince's silent command to head back inside.
"Well, I'm afraid that after my charge ran out of his apartment, pale as a corpse, I felt the need to check on him. Prompto tells me that you've been acting strangely today." Noctis sighed.
"He's overreacting. I'm fine, just a little tired."
"He also told me that you're having nightmares…" Noctis grumbled something incoherent. "Your highness-"
"Noctis," the prince corrected absentmindedly. Ignis nodded.
"Noctis, it is of utmost importance that you take care of your health. If you need help -"
"I'm fine, Ignis. Really. I'm sure it's just stress or something that's giving me a few restless nights. Summer holidays aren't that far away and then we all can take a break. We could make a short trip somewhere. We haven't been on one for too long." Ignis tilted his head in thought, undoubtedly having noticed that Noctis tried to change the subject.
"If you are certain that that's all there is to this, then I will not pry. However you do know that you can come to us with your problems, yes?"
"Sure, momma Specs." Out of the corner of his eyes he could see that Ignis scowled at the old nickname. He'd never been particularly fond of it, no matter how well it fit.
"Very well, in that case, and seeing as you apparently haven't eaten anything all day, I will tell you now in loco parentis that I've cooked something for you that you will eat. Prompto may stay if he so wishes. I might even turn a blind eye on you two engaging in video games rather than your homework, for today. You may see it as a sort of reward for keeping your apartment tidy. I must admit I was rather surprised when I arrived this noon. I'd half-feared to be buried in laundry and trash as soon as I'd open the door."
'Ha-haaaa!' Luna's sudden victory cry had Noctis flinch in surprise. Ignis' brows creased again and Noctis felt the urge to simply remain seated on these stairs until the rain finally managed to drown him. Thankfully, scowling was all Ignis did and for a while, the two of them sat in soothing silence next to each other in the rain. Then Ignis sneezed and Noctis was only too happy to point out the irony of the situation when they dragged themselves back inside, weighed down by rain-soaked clothes.
Once they'd reached the safety and warmth of Noctis' apartment, Ignis made a beeline for the bathroom. Noctis thought that maybe Ignis went to change into something dryer, it would suit his always over-prepared Chamberlain to have a spare set of clothes with him, yet instead the bespectacled man returned almost immediately and threw a towel at Noctis' head with deadly precision. It seemed that Ignis was angry, after all. Probably due to the fact that Noctis wouldn't tell him what was eating him, the former-king-turned-prince-once-more mused, as he pulled the towel from his head. He'd have to think of something that would placate the Chamberlain, as well as fool all three of his friends in the long run. For now, he simply had to steel himself for giving out half-assed excuses and apologizing a lot.
Prompto was sent home for the evening when the poor boy had nearly nodded off on the couch (with a box of Ignis' food, naturally) and Noctis was sent to warm up in the shower. There was something oddly comforting of being mothered like this again and he didn't even complain when a bowl of garden curry, with vegetables blatantly visible, was placed in front of him by a now once more dry Ignis. While Noctis mentally cackled that his Chamberlain indeed had had another set of clothes on hand, Luna pointed out the deep frown on the older man's face as he watched Noctis eat his vegetables without so much as a whine. He didn't know if he should be feeling better or worse when his friend decided not to comment on this more than unusual behavior. Instead, Ignis asked Noctis to take it easy and go to bed early. He then excused himself for the day, leaving Noctis alone to ponder about whether or not this small mistake just messed up everything.
After a while, Luna decided that there was no real point in worrying, as it wouldn't change anything right now and instead urged Noctis to clean up the dishes and get some sleep and that there would be enough time to worry in the morning. Noctis, however, still felt wide awake, more awake than he'd probably ever felt during his teenage years. So, instead of following the siren-call and bury himself in soft linens and pillows, he decided to hit the books and catch up on anything that could possibly be of use in his quest to save the world. He was certain that the topics would put him to sleep soon enough.
As things turned out, Noctis did not require to sleep, so the following week blurred into one mess of reading up in current and ancient history, recent reports, and statements of important politicians. He had a lot of reading-up to do, after all.
Ignis, in a fit of parental worry, had called the school and explained that Noctis was in no condition to attend. The official reason was that he'd caught a bad case of the flu, when really, Ignis claimed Noctis' odd behavior was due to stress. And so it came that Noctis had a week of free time at hand where he could read up and formulate a rough battle-plan before school work would swallow him back up.
Twice a day, Ignis would come over to check up on him, cook, do the general household chores (he'd expressly forbidden Noctis to do anything but his homework in order to relax during his week of vacation) and bring over whatever assignments the teachers had chosen for Noctis to make up for the missed classes. With the combined help of Noctis' and Luna's memories, essays and homework-sheets were completed in no time at all. He felt terrible, however, at the praise he'd receive for his sudden dedication. Prompto would occasionally visit to check up in him and to shamelessly use his console to play video games. Gladiolus had yet to show up or even inquire about his health. His training with his Shield, normally two times a week, had been another victim of Ignis' sudden motivation to clear the prince's schedule. Still, Noctis was almost disappointed when his oldest friend didn't even bother to send him a message to check if he was in fact still breathing. But things weren't all bad with Gladio's lack of attention. It gave him a full day on Saturday for preparation. He'd sent Ignis home to have a weekend to himself, something of which his Chamberlain protested loudly against. In the end, however, Ignis caved and reluctantly left Noctis to fend for himself (not before making sure to remind Noctis several times to eat his meals while Ignis was gone). Prompto wouldn't come to visit him either, wanting to spend time with his seldomly seen parents.
Finally, Noctis was alone.
"Luna, can you call Shiva? It's high time we talk to her," Noctis asked, dropping onto his couch that by now had become their research-nest. The piece of furniture was covered in piles of blankets and pillows, while stacks of books, files, and loose papers had been placed around it, just in reach if someone were to look for something particular without wishing to stand up from their seat.
"Why, princeling, you can call me yourself if you so please." Noctis jumped straight back onto his feet, his father's sword in hand when he heard the ice goddess' airy voice whisper behind him. Once Noctis calmed down his racing heart, he turned around to see her standing before him as Gentiana with her dark attire and even darker hair. Her eyes were closed as it was usual for her in this form, yet her smile was always the same smirk of knowing amusement. It reminded Noctis of Ardyn.
"Hello, little princeling. How have you fared back in your own time so far? Are you yet aware of any changes your presence might have caused?"
"Does...did Luna exist in this world before we came here?" Noctis asked. Gentiana...Shiva inclined her head.
"She did, for it is the world you knew, that you lived in. Yet the fact that Luna is now part of you means that any memory of an embodiment of your wife had to be wiped out or we would have had a paradox at our hands. Most troublesome things to get rid of, paradoxes. So people might remember a warm touch, a kind word and the feeling of belonging, yet they will not remember her."
'Not even my brother?' Luna asked in distress. Gentiana shook her head.
"Not even him, although he remembers the love and kindness you gave him."
'Simply not that it was his sister, but some unknown higher being of sorts.' It was rare, even for Noctis, to hear Luna's tone being quite this dry.
"Indeed. But I did not come here to discuss the fairness of this change with you. It was a necessity, one that cannot be undone. Still, you are aware that the world is without Oracle and has been for quite some time. Starscourge is spreading throughout the land unhindered and the people are losing hope. They need an Oracle. We cannot wait for you to formulate a plan first. You will be summoned tomorrow come morn and will receive the Leviathan's blessing. He will name you his champion and tell you to begin your training as both Chosen King and Oracle. In a year's time, we will call upon you once more to begin the journey for the blessing of the Six." Noctis frowned.
"Journey? But I've already received your blessings." Gentiana hummed in amusement.
"Of course, as Chosen King you have indeed proven yourself worthy. However as Oracle, you have not. You will travel to the places where you once received our blessings and undergo the trials that will prove a mortal being, such as the one you play pretend as, worthy of calling upon our power."
Noctis gritted his teeth. He didn't have time for going on another field trip halfway across the continent. Gentiana opened her eyes to pierce him with a judging look from vivid green eyes.
"You have more than enough time, little princeling, if you play the cards that have been handed to you, correctly."
"And until you deem it worth to call me, I'm just expected to sit here on my hands, doing fuck all?" Noctis hissed angrily. True, it was probably unwise to lose his temper around any of the Six, he knew this as well as Luna who was angrily scolding him right now, but he couldn't be expected to simply wait an entire year for something to happen.
Shiva, however, accepted Noctis' small outburst graciously, eyes once more closed.
"Until then, you're free to gather the allies you need to complete your tasks. Do you wish for me to tell you how you go about doing this as well or will you be able to think for yourself? We do not expect of you to be our mindless slave, for we cannot watch over you all the time. You will find yourself in situations where you will have to figure out for yourself what would be the best course of action. No matter if we would agree or not. It is, after all, what you came here to do. To defeat the Starscourge and change the fate of the worlds. Your every decision should lead to this goal. No matter the consequences to others. No matter who or what you will have to sacrifice, even your friends."
"I came back here to prevent them from suffering!"
"And you will. But if something demands their sacrifice, you cannot hesitate. You will meet them in the afterlife, after everything is over. Isn't this enough? To spend eternity with them there?"
"Oh, and that's supposed to make me feel better about pretty much murdering-" Noctis stopped when he heard a sharp knock rap on his door. Noctis quickly spun back to face Shiva, only to find her already gone. "Shit."
Raking a hand through his hair, he shuffled over to peek through the spyhole of his door, only to flinch back when another set of knocks echoed through the wood.
'What did you do?' Luna asked, sounding amused, her former anger forgotten. 'He looks angry.'
"And why would you immediately assume that I did something?" Noctis asked back in as low a voice as he managed, in the hopes that the angry Nyx Ulric outside his door wouldn't hear.