Hello, everyone. Yet another first for me. Final Fantasy's always been one of my favorite video game series and XVI has quickly worked its way into my top five games in the franchise. The Eikons and Dominants were easily some of my favorite parts, as such I decided to write a little piece about the leading pair, Clive and Ifrit. It's set just before the final battle with Ultima, so spoilers abound. Also some headcanons since the game didn't exactly fill in all the blanks regarding them. With all that said, I hope you all enjoy!

I do not own anything.

To the Final Flame

According to several people, sometimes he carried the faint whiff of ashes to him. That didn't surprise Clive in the slightest, at least not after he learned the truth. He'd heard stories of how Dominants, even in their human form, exhibited certain traits of their Eikons. Most predominately he'd grown up on tales of Phoenix, how the firebird's Dominants always maintained a constant temperature; sometimes more than that. Another story went that rarely did they grow ill, albeit that was just a fanciful tale more than anything. He'd seen firsthand that Phoenix's Dominants weren't always blessed with good health. Another legend went was that they were immune to fire, and that had been believable up until a point.

Clive himself had disproved that myth. Likewise, he'd disproved the supposed rule that only one Eikon of every element could exist. Another he'd disproven was that the powers of an Eikon solely belonged to their Dominant.

Really, his entire existence flew in the face of several iron-clad rules and seeming solid legends regarding Eikons.

Regarding his odor of ashes, several claimed they didn't mind it at all. After all, it wasn't a constant thing, which he was grateful for. Ordinarily, he found himself trudging through several unsavory places that left a stink on him. He honestly didn't need anymore. That said, the smell could linger; it tended to whenever he Semi-Primed. Such a thing was to be expected though. After all, when he did so, he became fire and brimstone incarnate.

One freed Bearer had pointed out how terrifying he looked, even though he quickly added that he was grateful to Clive for freeing him and his compatriots, including his brother. Clive didn't at all mind the statement, he was just glad that he'd been able to free those who had a natural right to life.

In time, he realized that his appearance was in a sense appropriate. Though he was a beacon of hope to the oppressed, to others, he was terror incarnate. His Semi-Prime form was a perfect embodiment of that. Just as the devastation around him was a perfect embodiment of the world's current state.

"To be blunt, Clive, the whole world's on fucking fire."

His world was on fire. It'd always been on fire, even when he'd supposedly had his moments of peace. Clive supposed inside of him had always been a flame of his own raging to be released. It had been, and what lay around him were the results. Once, the ever present reminder had caused him no end of eternal strife, but now…well, Clive wouldn't say he liked it. More like he'd made peace with it. Fire was well and truly his birthright, and it was his weapon of choice.

A bestial rumble reached his ears. With a ghost of a smile on his lips, he walked a little faster, knowing that his "guest" was growing impatient. Rather ironic considering he didn't have a problem making Clive feel the same, amongst other things. Such was the nature of wildfire incarnate. Considering his current status and what he was setting out to do, he wasn't entirely surprised. Even now that he'd brought Ifrit firmly under his control, the fire and brimstone beast remained a fierce and independent creature, albeit one that he could reliable call his own.

The closer he got, the thicker the smell of ash became. He didn't mind it as it was another thing that he'd gotten used to. While it hadn't been easy, he'd done so.

"Nice to see you're looking well." Clive called as he came to his destination. Even if by some miracle he lived to incredibly old age, he'd never forget the scenery of Phoenix Gate's keep. He'd never forget it in its glorious splendor or in its burnt ruinous state. The latter had became the "home" of the part of his mind that his Eikon occupied. Clive wondered if it was Ifrit's choosing or if his subconscious played some role in shaping the Eikon's dwelling.

Said Eikon was sitting atop a ruined tower, his tail softly wagging about. He turned to him, his monstrous expression somewhat placid. Learning to read his expressions had taken some time. At first glance, one would have assumed that bestial snarl meant the second Eikon of Fire was always in a foul mood. Clive had once thought so himself, but years of back and forth and keen observation had taught him otherwise.

"Were you expecting a drop in temperature here? All because you've chosen to lay with the Lady of Ice?" Boomed his deep and somewhat snarling voice. It was another aspect of him that was rather fitting. A threatening voice to go along with such a threatening appearance.

"Well, I wouldn't have minded it. That said, I am at peace with how things are." A light smirk finally formed on his lips as Ifrit gave a dismissive snort, turning his head away.

"Good, there was only so much of your whining that I was willing to tolerate." The horned fiend said.

"And there was only so much of your laziness that I was willing to put up with." Clive confidently shot back. His Eikon looked back at him. Now it was his turn to give a ghost of a smile. Their relationship had been quite complicated to put it lightly. Whenever. At first, he saw nothing but a heartless monster that had torn apart everything he loved, a monster he swore to hunt down and kill. Ifrit in turn simply saw a host that wasn't worth his time or attention. "Could you have stood for it to become a touch colder in here? Surely a little bit of frost wouldn't have troubled you too much."

"You speak as if Shiva would have been strong enough to influence this place at all. My power vastly dwarfs hers, as such, she would have had to endure. This domain is mine."

"Technically speaking, it's mine." The human coolly declared. Ifrit looked back at him, his smirk growing. It fell as he looked away, out to the horizon. Nothing but flame and ruin occupied his vision, as well as Clive's. Though he'd grown accustomed to it, a part of his heart always ached in laying eyes on it. That ache didn't go unnoticed by the flaming creature above him.

"Do you truly believe that after Ultima's defeat, this land will be restored?" Asked the Eikon in a rather solitary tone.

"Yes. It is one of the things that I'm fighting for. Not just Rosaria, but all Valisthea will heal if he is defeated. I know it will not be easy-"

"It won't."

Clive had been hoping for a response like that, though he also somewhat dreaded it. That was the thing about an up incoming battle against a formidable opponent. The more you knew could help, but the more you knew you could be discouraged. Clive had fought numerous insurmountable odds, his overcoming of them had served to bolster his confidence, but he knew this was an entirely new level. Even the colossal power of Titan and Bahamut enhanced by Mothercrystals and Barnabas' immense power paled in comparison to what he was about to face. He had a fraction of all three, and he would need them. He was going to need every ounce of power and skill in his body, and more, to triumph over the entity that had pulled the strings of the world for eons.

His thoughts caused had an effect on the landscape. Naturally given this was his mind. Sensing the stirring, Clive narrowed his eyes at the figures that shimmered into existence in the distance. Each of them stood tall and proud amongst the flames, their elemental energies contrasting to the fire around them, all save for one.

Garuda stood surrounded by swirling winds. Clive could have sworn that he saw her razor-like teeth bared at him, though he also caught her gaze turn toward Ifrit. That didn't surprise Clive. While he never felt what could be considered violent pushback from the remnant of her power, he was always aware of the frenzied hunger in it. Garuda was wild and fierce, just like the wind itself. Still, Clive could almost feel a calmness emitting from her as her gaze shifted between him and Ifrit. It seemed that the whirlwind was bracing itself for what was to be their final battle.

Instead of Ramuh, it was Titan that stood next to her on her left. Quite fitting all things considered. Also fitting, Titan remained upright and posed, undeterred by the wind and flames around him. He stood head and shoulders above the others. His scowling gaze moved between Clive and Ifrit, much like Garuda's had, but it settled on Clive. Rather than rage, Clive could almost sense the giant trying to tell him something. He stiffened at the hard glare, his body subconsciously remembering the utterly gargantuan effort it'd taken to defeat him and his Dominant. It almost seemed like the Lord of Crags was telling him it was going to take more than that to win this battle.

Ramuh stood next to the stone giant, arcs of lightning flickering about him. Clive could have guessed he floated several feet above the ground; he'd never seen Ramuh touch it in his two times witnessing the staff-wielding Eikon in action. Unlike the first two, his expression was significantly warmer; Clive was happy to see it. In the midst of the brewing storm, he found comfort.

Likewise, the normally stoic Shiva hovered beside Ramuh, giving him a soft smile. The ring of frost surrounding her sharply contrasted the omnipresent flames. Clive felt relieved to see it. While not quite a rebuttal of Ifrit's earlier claim about his mind being his domain, he had a feeling that the fire and brimstone beast hadn't been entirely honest with him. As a part of him, perhaps he could stand a little bit of coldness just as Clive could.

He moved on from coldness to fire, much like his own. Flapping its multicolored wings floated Phoenix. Upon laying eyes on the firebird, it-he-called out to him. Clive's heart thumped with joy, his answer. Several feet away, Ifrit gave something of a low rumble from the depths of his fiery throat. Looking up at him, Clive couldn't help but chuckle in light-hearted amusement. Looking between the two Eikons of Fire, he marveled at how different they were, yet as he'd experienced, they worked incredibly well together. Practically like they were meant to.

Bahamut flapped his mightier and spiker wings beside the firebird. He too gave a quiet roar that Clive took as encouragement. The Warden of Light held a sorrowful gaze as he looked out over the devastation that was Clive's inner state of mind. He pondered if the light dragon shared its Dominant's sense of remorse and guilt over the destruction of Twinside. It hadn't been their fault, but Clive had seen words could only penetrate so far. He knew that from experience. The sorrow was replaced by a resounding roar that reached into the darken sky, like a declaration of firm resolve.

Finally, silent amongst the lineup, at the very end sat Odin atop his dreadful steed. Even amidst the swirls of darkness around him and the flames around him, the knight's bright blue eyes stood out. They were piercing arrows that always found their mark, be they in the light of day, the deeming of dusk, or the blackness of night. Clive stared back at them, feeling himself taken back to that rain-soaked night in Waloed; it'd undoubtedly been his toughest battle. A battle for him, and not for the fiery elemental beside him, something that didn't go unnoticed by it. Sensing discomfort in his Eikon, he looked up and saw him actually glaring back at the dark knight. His gaze wasn't particularly harsh, but Clive did look to the Warden of Darkness with a hardness in his eyes. Odin's horse neighed as if it were speaking for its rider. Encouragement? A warning? Unlike the others, Clive honestly couldn't tell.

"Seven out of eight," he finally mused. "Would Leviathan's presence here change anything?"

"Wherever she is, she is better off. Like me, she was always something of a rebel. Heh, as tempestuous as the seas she held command over."

Clive turned to Ifrit, surprised on several levels. This was the first he'd heard his Eikon speak of his most direct counterpart, not to mention he'd just been told more than some scholars had been able to glean from years of research. "She?" he repeated. "So, the so-called the title of Lord of the Whorl wasn't just for show."

"She would happily prove to you it wasn't." Ifrit remarked, a hint of fondness in his voice. "As I said, she is far and away from this. We will be enough, we must be."

For several minutes stared at the demonic-looking Eikon. He wondered if his own nature had influenced him or if Ifrit had always been this way. "I wish that you were this talkative before. There is much about you I would have liked to know, or even learn from." Having decided to give voice to his curiosity, he spoke of the quiet desire he'd fostered for what had been several years. "I'll admit, there was a time I might not have been willing to listen, but…things have changed."

"Things always do. It is the way of the world. Sometimes things change for the better, and sometimes for the worse. Ultima saw in humanity a change for the worse when they developed free will. After all, followers are supposed to follow, and thinking for one's self is counterproductive to that." Ifrit remarked. He kept his eyes on the vestiges of his fellow Eikons, all whose power now rested within Clive, as well as his own. "One can only exercise control of something that is alive for so long, such is the nature of life."

"Is that what happened to you, Ifrit? Did you gain a will of your own after some time? A will that caused you to rebel against Ultima just as I chose to? Or are you rebelling because I am?"

A prolonged fit of laughter tumbled from the fire demon's jaws. Clive chuckled alongside him. It did indeed feel nice to see this more personable side of the normally feral and wrathful Eikon. "The chocobo and the egg."

"You've heard of that, have you." Clive remarked. His response was a rather vicious grin from his inner beast. Regardless, he felt no danger from it. He also recognized he probably wasn't going to get a direct answer from Ifrit. While he was being more open with him, there still seemed to be some things he wanted to keep him in the dark on. Still, he wanted to get what information he could out of Ifrit, both for practical and personal reasons. "Tell me, what do you think of us?"

"You are ants continuously building up ant hills than you claim for yourselves, only to eye your neighbors and desire theirs as well. And in the midst of your squabbling, you are crushed underfoot and those precious anthills destroyed. Turned to dust." Came his swift and brutal response. Clive couldn't say the analogy was off, it was actually quite accurate. "Still, you rebuild. You endure, you survive, just as any living creature should."

"I'm detecting a hint of admiration in your voice." The swordsman pointed out. Exactly as he predicted, the second Eikon of Fire looked away with a dismissive snort. It was quite a sight to see, one that Clive would treasure. "We are a violent, contradictory, and determined lot, aren't we?"

"That is how your rose to where you are. Even the Beastmen came to begrudgingly respect your tenacity, they in fact fear it as much as Ultima does." Ifrit confessed. Clive's eyebrows again rose. The air itself seemingly shook as the beast let out a rather senile laugh. "You humans feared Bearers for that reason as well, correct? The power they possess and the harm they could do if they rose up using it."

Clive's face fell as the possibility crossed his mind. The possibility and the sorrowful reminder of another part of Valisthea's dark past. "You're not wrong. Once upon a time…Bearers held power over everyone else, but then the scales changed, and a punishment far greater than they deserve was ever inflicted upon them."

Ifrit grunted. "And you believe if not for magic, such tragedy could have been avoided. No, you already believe it in your heart. Wherever there is power, there will always be corruption and inequality, such is the way of the world." Just as he felt a sorrowful response on the tip of his tongue, he felt a sudden burst of heat. Shocked, Clive looked up to the horned Eikon and found it emitting a decent amount of heat. While potent, he found something undeniably warm about it. Instead of a blacksmith's forge, Ifrit's flame now reminded him of an inviting hearth. "But there will be those who fight that imbalance, not matter how foolish or doomed their efforts may be. If not for them, the world would be a darker place, would it not."

Laughing, the black-caped man crossed his arms and looked straight up to the horned entity. "Quite an optimistic and even moving speech from a creature like you."

The growl that came sounded somewhat like a chuckle, one of self-acknowledgement. "Perhaps I've just spent too much time around such an idealist. His accursed optimism had found its way into my fire."

"Is that such a bad thing?" Asked the human with a rather open smile.

For a time, the cackle of flames filled the space between the two beings. "No…I suppose not."

Clive never considered himself to be even remotely charming. He was who he was, and that was a good-intentioned but direct person. Things such as the softer approach and diplomacy had always been left to those around him, namely Jill and with his return, Joshua. Both of them were undoubtedly the brains to his brawn, and he was fine with that. If anything, his brawn was how he showed people how sincere he was with his words. It'd won him praise, respect, and from some, contempt. If he made an impact on people, it was because he stuck to his beliefs and followed them through. Now, he was seeing that maybe he'd made an impact on one of the last beings he'd expected.

A part of him lamented that he couldn't do the same with the creature he would be facing in likely a few short hours. A creature who seemingly rejected everything humanity was or could be. A creature that essentially wanted to use him like a suit of clothes to carry out their own warped designs.

"It isn't like I'm expecting this one battle to fix the world. Should we succeed, I image Valisthea will look much like this." Clive spoke.

His Eikon gave a dismissive grunt. "Did you not spend hours pouring over the reports coming in? The world already titters on the brink with thousands dying every hour."

"And we march to pull it back from the brink. I know that even so, many will still die, but…at least there will be hope for a brighter future. One that humanity will find the strength to build." Clive responded with harden confidence. "A gleamer of hope in the darkness is always worth striving for."

"Hmph, spoken like the heroes of old, including the hero who fell to darkness so that light could be born."

"When I think about it, sometimes I do see a few similarities between myself and the Cyclic Warrior. He too forsook himself so that the people of Cornelia could have a future." The Tale of the Lost Strangers was a gripping one, albeit one laced with tragedy once its full scope was revealed. That'd always been part of its draw though, including to Clive. After becoming Cid the Outlaw, he found himself drawing a handful of parallels to the Strangers. Doing the right thing wasn't easy, and it was lively to turn him into a villain into the eyes of the very people he wanted to help, but it had to be done.

"…You're not wrong, though I must ask you, do you plan to sacrifice yourself as he and his comrades did? Both like and unlike him, there is a possibility that you will not return to the Lady of Frost's arms." A stiff laugh came from the fire demon after his statement. Clive looked away in sorrowful acknowledgement of his words. He had a feeling that such a reaction was exactly what Ifrit intended. "No, you have already made peace with the possibility. It is why you chose tonight to accept her into your bed after all of the infuriating back and forth between the two of you."

His sorrow was swiftly replaced by amusement, which he gave voice to. "If I didn't know any better, I'd almost say that you want us to be together."

A hand was held up, the innate fires of the Eikon concentrating in it. A miniature sun burned in Ifrit's palm. "You'd best not accuse me of fearing the cold. I am fire incarnate and no chill can quell my flames."

"Oh, I wouldn't dream of it." Clive jokingly asserted. Ifrit looked back at him with an aside glare before looking away. His fireball dissipated, though the cackling of flames remained loud in the warrior's ears. It'd never once faded from it. Suddenly, the sound of air parting caught his attention. Looking to his right, he was somewhat surprised to see Ifrit's fiery tail extended toward him. With a smile, he stepped atop of it and began walking up, eventually transitioning into a climb once he got to the base of the tail. He found that Ifrit's volcanic body posed no threat to him, not anymore. Finally, he came to rest atop his Eikon's left shoulder. He gazed out at the burning horizon that Ifrit had been staring at since this little internal discussion began. It was a better view than what he'd had before-a view of distant flames and great darkness. "You're right, I have made peace with the possibility that…I may not survive this battle. I've had to, and…so too has Jill."

Ifrit's eyes were distant like his, staring at the unforeseen struggle that loomed in their future. He knew it better than Clive, but he'd wanted to see and likely hear him acknowledge it. "Even with the combined power of Phoenix and Bahamut, it will be far from easy. I dare say not even the original will be enough to guarantee victory. At least victory that can be savored afterward."

"By original, do you mean the fused form of yourself and Phoenix? Once, you two were one in the same, were you not? What happened?" The curiosity that had burned within him got the better of him. If there was a time for an answer to the questions he, Joshua and countless others possessed, now was the time.

Luckily, Ifrit seemed to acknowledge that. "Once, we were one. the Flame of Providence. The Flame of life and the flame of destruction, just as a god should have been. Hmph, or as close to a god as Ultima's people could have managed. As for the reason for our separation…you can thank the Fallen for that."

"They forced you and Ifrit apart?" Clive asked with genuine shock. He remembered the raw power that coursed through him when he and Joshua had fused together. They'd been able to match Bahamut, drunk on the power of the Mothercrystal and possessing might that had surpassed even Titan's. "By the Founder…"

"They followed too closely to Ultima, which is why he deems humanity so dangerous. The power they amassed was enough to threaten the Flame of Providence, splitting us into two. One became Phoenix, and the other…became me."

"Why didn't you ever choose a Dominant before? Why only me, Ifrit?" Clive asked, feeling his heart pounding in his ears. "What about me made you choose me?"

He accepted the bout of silence that followed, but he hoped it wouldn't last. His curiosity had been aroused in ways he hadn't expected, and he wanted it sated.

"…You possessed a will that I admired; a will like fire. Even if it dimmed and flickered, it would continue to burn. I believed it might be enough to oppose Ultima." The infernal Eikon finally answered.

Looking to him with a slight smile, Clive voiced the theory that he'd long since harbored. "You have no desire to be his vessel either, do you?" Clive couldn't help but chuckle at the bestial growl the horned monster gave him. It was certainly answer enough. "I suppose that's one thing we truly do have in common."

Ifrit grunted. "Amongst a few others. Most importantly, I saw in you the will, the willpower that led the Fallen to oppose Ultima the first time. The willpower to endure and fight to reach your goal, no matter the cost, be it internal or external." Clive somewhat shuddered at that. He knew his goals would require sacrifice and come at a cost, but he took no pleasure in any of it. Not to mention he didn't want to go out of his way to be as destructive as possible in his methods. "Heh, anything less would not suffice against Ultima. Not to mention fighting with half-hearted determination disgusts me."

"Then I suppose it's a good thing I've never been such a person, no doubt as you've seen." The two of them shared a brief laugh at the remark. They knew how truthfully it was, and how sometimes that trait could be a boon and a curse. As their laughed faded, Clive looked around him and noticed so too had the light. For the first time, he realized that the flames around him had begun to die down. Instead of something to celebrate, it was cause for concern. With the dying down of the flames came the encroaching of darkness. "I am not going into this battle determined to die…but I know it is a very real possibility. You know it as well, Ifrit."

"From the moment he appeared before you and I fully awakened. Even victory may not guarantee survival." Ifrit's flames continued to burn, but they now stood out as a sole candle in a growing sea of darkness.

Still, that sputtering flame was enough. "Maybe not for us…but for the world…for the people in it…that is enough." Fists tightened, he looked straight ahead. Through the darkness he could see a gleamer of red and orange. The more he gazed at it the brighter it seemed to become. "One last battle."

"Filled with fire and death, as is customary of us." Growled the infernal Eikon.

Clive looked to him with a miniscule smile; it contrasted the somewhat eager grin that adorned Ifrit's face. "And beyond it…freedom and life." He affirmed looking back to the horizon. Dawn was breaking, the sun rising above the darken horizon. It seemed to rise to greet the flames still emitting from Ifrit's own body. Clive could feel the heat emanating from his own body as well, as if he too were a living flame. In a sense, he was; after all, he and the flaming demon he stood on the shoulder of were one in the same.

They were a flame of destruction, yet in the wake of their destruction came the chance for new life. All along, it felt like that's what Clive had been leading up to.

No matter how dark things may have seemed, light would always come, and as a Rosfield, he'd been raised that it was his duty to bring light to the darkness for the sake of his country. Now, as he opened his eyes to a dark wooden ceiling, so far away from his home, he acknowledged that duty remained, but it had evolved. His duty was to all of Valisthea, and come what may, he would see it fulfilled. For the sake of those who'd fallen, for the sake of those who remained, for the sake of the woman beside him, and most importantly, for the sake of those who would come after them.

He would blaze a trail toward the future for them.

Fin

As a lifelong Naruto fan, I really enjoyed the concept of Dominants and Eikons, but I couldn't help but tip a toe into the idea that the latter have their own individual personalities independent of their Dominants. That said, they to seek out Dominants whose personalities line up with their own, at least on several key points. For Ifrit, he's the more destructive side to Clive's freedom fighter, something that the two of them are quite aware of. Even when he's been "tamed" he's still got a bit of wildness in him. I wanted to leave it a little ambiguous though if it was Clive's influence or if Ifrit always had a softer side to him. On the flipside, what I wanted to make clear was that Ifrit and Clive knew they were heading into a fight that they may not walk away from. This fed into the in-game hint that Clive is Ifrit's first, and correspondingly last, Dominant. Overall, I tried to portray a real sense of finality to it, which was why Ifrit was more chatty and forthcoming about certain things.

Final Fantasy XV's ending was an emotional gut punch and a part of me is a little irked XVI kind of pulled the same, but I've seen plenty of debate on rather or not Clive survived or not. It's my hope that XVII whenever it comes out, avoids the "hero dies or possibly dies" at the end trope that the previous two games have had.

I'm sure you noticed a few nods to Strangers of Paradise and XIV. Given who the developers of XVI are, I felt the latter was appropriate. As for the former, it really is one of my favorite FF games despite only being a spinoff. I also felt that XVI followed a similar beat to Strangers of Paradise in that the hero makes a hard decision which would get them labeled as a villain by the masses they're trying to save. This seemed to be an intention in XVI but it never really came up barring a few scenes, but I decided to have it pop up in Clive's mind since he was going around destroying Mothercrystals and everywhere he went destruction seemed to follow. Like Ifrit said, fire and mayhem pretty much became their calling cards.

Alright, that's enough musing for now. I hope you all enjoyed this little story! Let me know what you thought of it!