Reunited
"How did you escape from Angelgard?" Noctis asked as he and Ardyn wandered through the narrow chasm. His clothes dried slowly, but at least they were drying at all. He could hardly wait to escape this dark and clammy hole. Being stuck together with Ardyn was, in a way, more disturbing than ever, now that he knew of Ardyn's true identity, but at least Noctis had learned that Ardyn did not play the role of the monster willingly.
"I have my friends from Niflheim to thank for that," Ardyn replied, "although ... to thank is perhaps not the right expression."
On the cliff face above them, Noctis spotted two goblins eyeing them with curiosity. As Ardyn passed them, the lesser daemons sought the distance. "Whose side are you really on?" Noctis continued.
"First and foremost, my own. Did I help Niflheim invade Insomnia? Consider me guilty as charged. But to me, this was never about seeing Lucis in the hands of Aldercapt. As much as I loathe my brother and the Lucis he founded, it was our god-given calling that set us onto different paths. I only want to take revenge on the Crystal and the god who protects it. It just so happened that Niflheim was after the Crystal as well. Perhaps you will understand that I could not have asked Regis to simply hand over the sacred stone, especially not as a representative of Niflheim. He would have defended it with his life. Well, I assume he did."
"Who says I will not?"
"Because you are not like your father. You do not care about the protection of the Crystal like he did."
He was assuming a lot, but the worst part about it was that he was right.
"You can't just set out to destroy it, either," Noctis argued. "The Crystal is said to be the soul of Eos."
Ardyn sighed dramatically. "Weren't you paying attention just now? Since time immemorial, the Crystal has brought nothing but envy and ill will to Lucis. How could it be otherwise when elsewhere Eos faces darkness, war and poverty?" Ardyn shook his head in incomprehension. "And as for the magic ... Surely I don't need to tell you about the price your father had to pay for the magic of the Crystal. Tell me, prince, had it truly been worth it?"
Noctis did not give him an answer to that, seeing how a part of him was very much inclined to agree with Ardyn. Of course, it was unfair that the ring had been consuming Regis's life if it had only delayed the inevitable invasion. His grandfather, King Mors, had died early, too. Could that have been because of the Crystal as well?
"By the way, in case you haven't noticed: Since the Empire believes you dead, you will have an easier time reclaiming Insomnia. And I will assist you with this task. Emperor Aldercapt, with his quest for immortality and power, is no better than my brother's descendants who so foolishly sacrificed their lives to the whims of a stone."
Noctis shook his head, trying to focus. "That does not change the fact that Insomnia lies in ruins."
"Like I said, whether with or without my help, the invasion was only a mater of time." Ardyn stopped and turned back to Noctis with the same smug expression he wore so often. "What say, we make the most of this situation?"
"What say, we get out of this hole first?"
"Nooct!"
Prompto really knew how to interrupt a conversation.
#-#-#
"Oh man, why do I have to do this?" Prompto complained as he descended deeper into the chasm with a rope around his waist. He was not a born climber, and had Gladio not been holding the other end, he surely would have fallen by now.
"Because you're the lightest of us," Ignis explained, keeping an eye on him from the ledge. "Do you see anything yet?"
Prompto did not dare look into the darkness below, so he looked up.
"Yes, the blue sky, a few clouds …"
"Prompto," Ignis admonished him.
"Alright, alright." Prompto reminded himself that Noct was down there and needed his help. Just because he had heard his best friend's voice did not mean he was unharmed. Perhaps Ardyn was threatening him further. Prompto swallowed and dared to look down. "I can't see anything at all. It's far too dark down there."
"Can't you fire a Starshell down?"
"Right, good thinking." With nervous fingers Prompto tried to load the right kind of ammunition into his handgun.
"Hurry up, Prompto!" Gladio shouted with effort from above.
"Already at it." In his haste, Prompto dropped a shell casing into the depths. "Oops. I-It's alright. I've got another one."
#-#-#
A tiny, metal object came tumbling from above and disappeared into the stream of water next to Ardyn and Noctis. The two looked up.
Far above their heads Prompto was dangling from a rope.
"Prompto!" Noctis cried. "Here we are!"
"What is your friend doing?" Ardyn asked sceptically.
A tiny light shot down and exploded into a glaringly bright ball of light directly in front of them.
Noctis shielded himself from being blinded with his raised hand, but behind him Ardyn winced in pain. Where the gloves did not protect them, dark veins stood out on Ardyn's fingers. A gooey black liquid spilled from his eyes and ran down his face. Particles detached themselves from his form. Had Noctis not believed that he was indeed the tainted Adagium, this sight proved it. Then again, the healer had been tainted with the scourge long before the Founder King had branded him a monster, and he had not posed a threat to anyone but himself. The images of Ardyn's past still clung to Noctis, and he felt a twinge of sympathy for the Chancellor.
"I see him!" Prompto exclaimed. "Ardyn is with him! Move aside, Noct, I'm reloading!"
Noctis stepped in front of Ardyn. "Let it be, Prompto," he said. "Ardyn wants to help us. In a strange, overly complicated way, but I think he means it."
"Seriously?"
"I'll try to explain when I get up there. Hold still for a moment."
With all his strength, Noctis threw his sword in Prompto's direction. It bounced off the rock causing his friend to flinch. Noctis warped after it anyway. At the last moment he managed to grab Prompto's outstretched hand. The extra weight caused the rope to give way a little.
"Ignis!" Gladio shouted in alarm.
"Didn't you tie the rope to a rock?" Noctis asked.
"Does Gladio count as a rock?" Prompto responded through clenched teeth.
Out of nowhere, a rush of air swept past them from the depths of the chasm. Out of the corner of his eye, Noctis noticed the wind carrying black particles with it. Ardyn materialised above them for a moment, began to fall again, dissolved once more and disappeared further upwards, over the edge of the cliff.
"Don't let go, you two," he quipped, presumably addressing Gladio and Ignis.
With a jerk, the rope moved again and Prompto and Noctis were pulled up slowly. As soon as the cliff's edge came into reach, Noctis let go of Prompto's arm and took hold on some protruding rocks instead.
Ardyn held out a hand to each of the two climbers. Noctis accepted the offer gladly, and, although hesitant, so did Prompto a moment later. When the two of them made it up onto the outcrop, Gladio was visibly exhausted, but picked himself up to point his sword at Ardyn again.
Ignis pushed himself inbetween the Chancellor and Noctis.
"What was that about?" he demanded to know.
Ardyn glanced over Noctis' still wet jacket. "I'd say the boy needed to cool off."
"Long story short," Noctis took over, "Turns out, Ardyn is my weird, immortal uncle who kind of gave his life for the people of Lucis until he got screwed over by the Crystal some 2000 years ago. He thinks Eos is better off without it, but wants to help us reclaim Insomnia."
None of that justified Noctis to place any shred of trust in Ardyn, and yet he did, because he was willing to believe what the Chancellor had shown him. It made Noctis seriously wonder whether Lucis really was the great and glorious kingdom his ancestors had made it out to be. If only half of Ardyn's story was true, then the Founder King still was to blame for turning a saint into a monster and rewriting Lucian history as he had seen fit. Who was to say that Lucis truly held the sole right to the Crystal and the protection it supposedly provided if the kingdom itself had been founded on a lie? Ardyn's words had made a lot more sense than Noctis was willing to admit openly.
"The Chancellor of Niflheim is your … uncle?", Prompto echoed in surprise.
"More like great-great-uncle, with lots of more greats in between."
"What reason do we have to trust him?", Gladio demanded to know.
To his surprise, Noctis could not think of a reply, but Ardyn was quick to react.
"You are all still alive and well, are you not?"
Ignis looked unconvinced. "And how do you intend to support us exactly?"
"First of all, I can grant you access to most places under Imperial lockdown and keep the Empire off your backs for as long as my change of heart remains undiscovered. Besides, as Noctis so aptly mentioned, I am indeed most difficult to get rid of."
"So we basically have no choice," Gladio concluded bitterly.
"You can put it that way, if you must, but those are not my words."
"I'd rather not depend on a double agent," Ignis said.
The way Noctis understood Ardyn, the deal he offered was rather simple. As long as they allowed him to destroy the Crystal – assuming it was even possible – he was going to help them retake Insomnia. The choice between his home and the Sacred Stone came surprisingly easy to Noctis, even if he disregarded everything Ardyn had just told him about how the Crystal had been the cause of his father's demise.
Throughout his life, the Sacred Stone had always been this inexplicable, ominous object that only few were allowed to see, and near which the greatest reverence had been demanded. As a child, he had hated the room in which the Crystal was kept because of the stone's overbearing presence.
Noctis would protect the Crystal if it turned out to be vital to the integrity of Eos after all, but his home came first. There was some truth to what Gladio had said as well. Ardyn clearly possessed dark and ominous powers way beyond that of any mortal, Noctis' magic included, and that was a rough estimation, not even considering whether he still had access to the magic of the Lucis Caelum bloodline. Taking him on in battle was likely suicide. In turn, this meant they did well to cooperate with him for as long as they shared a common goal.
Noctis' thoughts were interrupted by the ringing of his mobile. Somehow, it had survived his plunge into the water without any obvious damages. On the other end of the line, the Marshal, leader of the Crownsguard and mentor to Noctis' retinue, answered.
"Cor?"
"So you made it," Cor replied, "Where are you?"
"Outside the city." Noctis glanced at Ardyn. "We found someone who might be able to get us back inside."
"Don't do that. You're not ready for what awaits you. Listen, I'm heading to the Prairie Outpost. Meet me there."
Before Noctis could respond, he hung up.
"What did the Marshal say?" Ignis asked.
"He says I'm not ready to go back to Insomnia. We're supposed to meet him at the Prairie Outpost."
"The man's right," Ardyn added, "I can get you to the Citadel with ease, but the opposition is not easily defeated, even with my power. Any magic trick you can add to your repertoire will give us a most needed advantage."
Ardyn argues using the crystal instead of Bahamut, because "Bahamut disappeared after the war of the Astrals", and I am not certain Noctis knows the god is watching over him. At least, Ardyn thinks he does not.
Anyway, I hope this dialogue is convincing.
2022-09-27: Updated the dialogue to make it (somewhat) more convincing.