♥ April (Lasai) Event Log

[hugtopiamods]

April (Lasai) Event Log
Lasai is a beautiful month. The weather is warmer, the sky is a breathtaking blue again, and with the flowers from Ainir growing nicely, the entire city of Havenwell just feels more alive with every breath. It's a time of renewal, of rebirth, of Ainea's greatest strength as her adherents open the temple gates to invite people and robots from all walks of life to enter and share together. What should be a joyous time, however, is suddenly interrupted as the earthquakes mount day by day through the start of Lasai. Those messages that people have been receiving since Nalom? It seems it's time for the gods to deliver on their promises.

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❥ PROMPT I: The Wild Wild West (East, South and North)

As Ainir gives way to Lasai, one morning the earthquakes, which had been growing more frequent again, suddenly mount in their intensity. The entire city is shaking and the native residents cower despite their faith in their gods' protection. The guards along the wall shout alarm and abandon their posts as the walls start to shift under the strain. When the last of them are safely away from the walls, the barrier and the wall itself quivers. The citizens cry out in alarm and fear until they realize that the walls aren't falling - they're moving. And they're moving further out. As everyone in Havenwell looks on, the walls and its surrounding barrier fluctuates and expands, sliding through the city streets as if on hidden tracks, avoiding buildings and ruins, pushing the toxic air and the storm further away. They finally come to rest and snap back into place, new walls rising from who knows where to fill in the gaps. The barrier strengthens and the earthquakes stop, and as the dust settles, a cheer rises from the citizens.

"Praise the gods! Praise the off-worlders!"

Among the din of their celebration, however, other cries start up among the newly incorporated ruins. Cries that sound like howls and screeches, and certainly do not sound human. Grab your weapons and steel yourselves, off-worlders, with the addition of this new space comes the need to clear it of anything potentially dangerous that got caught up in the expansion. Not all creatures you'll find are hostile, but some certainly are. Docile ones might just fetch a nice price from the Research Towers and the Conservatory if you can capture a mating pair.

OOC: These are the creatures you can encounter in the city as you go through to clear it. It's not an invasion level of infestation, as the majority of creatures will prefer to remain inside their known territory beyond the original barrier, but you will on occasion need to take up arms and fight. Next to their names are the frequency with which you can find them, ranging from common to extremely rare.

• Inky Black Spiders (common - hostile): These relatively small, black spider-like creatures have very basic melee attacks, using their fangs and their sharp legs to bite and claw at people. Those who were around in October when the wall broke will recognize them as the most common enemy back then. Their exoskeletons are hard and when they die, they smash into a black goo. They tend to travel in packs, using sheer numbers to overwhelm their prey.
  
• One-Eyed Lizard (uncommon - docile): An iridescent scaly purple and green lizard approximately 8 to 10cm in length from tip to tail. It has a single eye at the top of its head that can rotate to see 360 degrees around it. This creature's main defenses are its tough hide and a spine on the tip of its tail which it whips at predators to dissuade them from eating it. It's more likely to run than fight, however, and can usually be found sunbathing on exposed rock with its eye closed.
  
• "Bone Giraffe" (extremely rare - hostile): A nearly 20-foot tall, long-necked skeleton of a four-legged creature long dead with a single curved horn protruding from its skull and a sharp snout. It's usually found lying in a heap, as if it laid down and died that way. A black seven-petaled flower sometimes (but not always) grows from the skull and beneath the skeleton is an oily black film. Touching the oil slick activates the creature, which draws the oil up into the skeletal cage. Its main attacks are brute force, using its bony legs and neck to kick and slam against its prey, and its acid breath. It breathes a black fume that sizzles and burns anything it touches.
  
• Rive Talon (rare - hostile - medium): In the past these creatures may have been canines of some form, now they seem to have melded with the detritus of the fallen buildings and creatures of the landscape. Extra spikes, ridges, and protrusions extend from its body at odd angles. Many of them are metal or stone, rather than bone. And some of the bones clearly were not originally its own. (Suggested by Sierra!)
  
• Outskirts Hare (uncommon - docile): A shy creature, roughly the size and shape of an earth hare, covered in fuzzy-looking, curly pink hair and cat-like whiskers. Normally quite timid, this creature's poor eyesight causes it to flee when it feels threatened, and relies largely on a sense of touch to navigate its surroundings. Contact with this creature's fur is markedly pleasant, but its skin discharges an oil that causes mild skin irritation on contact when it's nervous. Active mostly at night time. (Suggested by Mel!)
  
• Ansaurini (rare - annoying): a bipedal feathered bird with sharp claws and teeth good for chomping; some possess flight capabilities, but the majority are prone to a lazy waddle. Mostly harmless and deceptively unassuming until you turn your back- and suddenly it's run off with something it stole off your person! They are excellent at escaping, though they can be traced back to their hoard, and if their collection is raided they will make a lot of noise in protest. Just watch your back- they will try again until you leave their territory. Truly, a horrible thing.
  

❥ PROMPT II: Welcome to the (Urban) Jungle

Once the creatures are mostly taken care of and the newly revealed area is deemed safe enough to venture into, the city council will put out a call for those willing and able to assist the natives with a clean-up effort. The city outside the walls is badly damaged, left to the ravages of the time and the ever-present storm, which means clearing dust, debris, and flotsam is a high priority before people can begin to repair the new districts and salvage material or live there. Thick brown vines cover large parts of the city, grime from the storm is caked onto windows, rocks and scattered rotted bones and twisted metal can be found in roads and crashed through buildings. The atmosphere in this part of the city seems to mirror the decrepit state of the land, too, feeling heavier and grayer and more depressing than it has any right to be. Going out with people and helping together, taking breaks to lean against one another tends to help clear away any negativity that this land seems to bring to your thoughts, however. Since it's dangerous to go alone, be sure to take a friend.

The biggest concern is the vines, so natives offer to lend machetes to the offworlders to help the hack them away. The vines look brown and dead, the leaves withered and curled up. When characters hack into them, the vines release a puff of yellowish dust. Inhale the dust or get it anywhere near your face and over time, you'll begin to get sleepy - very sleepy. It's hard to keep your eyes open, no matter your resistance to poisons or magic, and eventually you'll find yourself falling asleep wherever you are. And once you're asleep? The vines start moving, crawling toward you at a snail's pace. Hopefully you did bring a friend because you'll need their touch to wake up and stay awake long enough to get away from the vines before they pull you deep within their grasp.

❥ PROMPT III: Take a Load Off

Not everyone can fight or clean or even wants to do it, so while those who are more suited to being on the front lines are off doing their thing, those who remain behind must begin the effort of preparing everything that people will need to live in these new areas. At the temples and in the main square, the priests have set up large rest areas with blankets and pillows, and are busily putting together repair kits for mechanics and explorers to use as they go through the ruins. Those who want a place to rest that doesn't require going all the way back to their homes might find these waystations more convenient.

At each, characters can find hot soups with chunks of hearty replicated breads and both hot and cold drinks available for any who wish it. They're trying to replicate pain medications and bandages for people who have been injured while exploring or fighting off the monsters who were unlucky enough to be left inside, and will ask you to try it if you're injured. Taking this medication might have some unintended side effects, however, like a feeling of euphoria or delusions of grandeur or even something as banal as turning your hair a shocking shade of chartreuse - the effect, if you want one, is up to you! The rest areas also have robots "skilled" in giving massages that are looking to test their newly acquired skills and with four pairs of arms, they can work on two people at once! In fact, they're rather insistent about giving you a free massage if they hear even the slightest hint of fatigue in your voice and will usher people into their curtained off booths regardless of whether they know the other occupant or not. These robots are still learning though, so anyone curious enough to try may need to work with their partner to give these robots pointers. They're trying, but not having fragile little flesh bodies is a major obstacle in learning how to have a gentle touch.

❥ PROMPT IV: That Which Remains

With the opening of the city, there seem to be a lot of buildings that need cleaning. Some are so dilapidated that they're better off demolished than repossessed, and most are residential and commercial buildings reminiscent of the ones the offworlders are used to seeing everyday in the Havenwell they've all known up until now. However, among the ruins of these older sections, those intrepid enough to venture and explore may find a few unique gems awaiting them. Just remember: the first rule of urban exploration is to never go alone. You never know what might be lurking in those abandoned buildings or what obstacles might be in your way. Doorways blocked by rubble will need more than one person to remove them. Frightened (and frightening) animals might be lingering in the dark. And, most importantly, you don't want to fall through the floor and vanish into a basement. There seem to be quite a few weakened floors out there. In the following parts of the expanded city, characters can find these interesting ruins:

• Northwest: The Arena - In the northwest of the newly opened area, characters can find what looks to be a ruin of a large open air oval building. The building itself is almost 3 stories tall with walls overgrown with brown vines and dead foliage. There are doorways that have no doors, instead being high archways through which people can access in the interior. Stairs lead up into what looks like worn stone benches and down below is a rubble-strewn open area. Part of the walls have collapsed over time but it's very clear this place was used once as some sort of viewing area. It'll take a bit of work to clear this place until it's usable!
  
  There are archways with stairs that lead downward, but you'll need some help clearing away the rubble to get to what's below! If you're successful in getting beneath the arena, you'll find hallways with empty rooms that vary between large enough to possibly be some sort of training room to small enough to be just enough space for someone to put a slim single cot or bed and maybe a wardrobe to have a small private room. Some rooms have rusted metal that may or may not have been weapons at some point, while others have faded wall paintings, chipped and worn with age. It's hard to make out, but with enough reconstruction work, you may just learn who used to haunt these halls.
  
  
• Southeast: The Baths - In the southeast of the newly opened area, characters will find a domed building unlike the rest of the architecture around it. It's extremely large, for one, and squat, while the rest of Havenwell's buildings seem to be lean and tall. The walls are made of the same stone, but the dome above is broken glass. There are several metal sliding doors set in the walls, but many are fused shut with grime and years of disuse. One main door, larger than the others is sightly ajar, however, and with some help characters may be able to force it open.
  
  Inside, they find an expansive lobby with white floors that must have sparkled before all the grime, dirt, and broken glass took over. The dome overhead reflects the light, making the interior of the building as bright as outside. At the center of the lobby is a dry fountain with two broken statues - four armed humanoids holding urns. Their heads are missing and many of the arms are broken and lying in the dry basin. From the lobby there are alcoves in every direction and two hallways that lead further into the buiding in opposite directions. In each alcove are low stone seats and round basins sunk into the ground that are either dry with a black film around the inside, or full of a dark oily substance that's nearly coagulated.
  
  Go down the hallways and you'll find identical looking chambers. First, you enter an open area with broken sinks and mirrors, with stone cubbies on the walls. Then when you pry open and push past the metal sliding doors, you'll find yourself in a wide open semicircular area filled with baths of different sizes, shapes and depths. Some are free-standing stone tubs, others are large basins sunk into the ground, and still others are rectangular and just big enough for one or two people to lie down in. Each of these basins are like the ones in the lobby, either filled with that same coagulated black ooze or dry with a black film inside. Looks like it's time to get cleaning because each basin also seems like they might be able to be retrofitted to produce water perhaps.
  
  
• Southwest: The Factory - In the southwest, closest to the wall, the characters can find an imposing square building. It has small thin windows and boasts a plethora of chimneys and smokestacks on the roof, some of which are crumbling or broken with age and exposure. There are two square doors, both of which are large enough to drive a truck through and made of metal which needs to be pried open before accessing the inside. Once inside, the characters find a massive operation geared toward ore and mineral processing and metallurgical refinement. The machinery is old, but extremely well laid out, as it seems this plant was used to process huge volumes of minerals and ores before being lost to time. There are stations for every imaginable part of the refining process separated neatly so they can work efficiently, but all of the machines are broken or currently inoperable and will need significant work before they can start functioning again.
  
  Explore the refinery and you may still find one or two of the ores lying about. They contain an unknown metal that gleams a slick oily silver. At the back of the refinery is an industrial elevator which is currently inoperational. Peering down through the cracks, however, reveals that the shaft goes a long way down. The view of just how far is obstructed by a shimmering rainbow-colored barrier, not unlike the one that is just outside the walls.

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This event will run from April 15th to 30th, although due to the areas and effects not technically vanishing, feel free to continue playing with it for some time beyond. Click on each prompt's title to see the text. If you have any questions, feel free to direct them to the FAQ or to the Mod Question thread.

Comments

[carbungle]

[The tension is still there beneath his hand, but Noctis doesn't jerk away, nor does he call out the Armiger and lash out. He pauses, holding his breath as he gauges his own body's response to the touch, until at last, satisfied, he turns to face forward again.

Doing okay. It's not him.]

Got too used to this... it feels worse than it used to. I was spoiled for too long.

[By this, by him. Already he can feel the difference, and that relief is balancing out his lingering anxiety. It's why he chose this, specifically: a way to be in Ardyn's presence again and feel less pain, instead of more.]

[scourgingstars]

I would not call it spoiled to simply not wish to be in pain. Anyone would desire that were the option available to them.

[It was a relief not to be met with a sword in his chest, but Ardyn was sure not to let that much show in his answer.]

And it's certainly never been any inconvenience to me to aid you with it.

[carbungle]

I did grow up with this, I'm used to it.

[It's not as if it's an unbearable pain; he wouldn't be able to get near as much done as he does if it was too much. But Ardyn's not wrong that it's... nice. To not have it, even for just a little while. He remembers the relief he'd felt the first time- beyond the shock, it's the same relief he'd felt every time since, the kind he feels now. The lifting of a familiar but unwanted weight off his back.]

[scourgingstars]

I know that. But I do stand by what I said; there's nothing wrong with wanting to be rid of it now and then.

[carbungle]

Now and then, sure. I'm still not planning to take advantage of this.

[At least... not in excess. Especially if Ardyn's moving the pain around to his body instead of getting rid of it. That part's only vaguely acceptable because helping with this had seemed to make the man happy, so at least the good feeling was mutual. He's glad that it's not, like, gratifying in some way to have his pain hurt Ardyn. Satisfaction is not a feeling he'd wanted to get out of this.

His hands tighten together on the table. He... should say it.]

Um. I'm glad. That... this is okay.

[For both of them, truly.]

[scourgingstars]

...I am, as well. Truly, I would not blame you if you chose never to speak to me again--though I would regret it, I would understand such a thing without question.

[Once he'd finished, Ardyn slowly pulled his hand away and stepped back to give Noctis space, stretching out the temporary ache in his back and leg. It really was worse than usual; regardless of the complications, he was just glad Noctis had let him see to it this time.]

[carbungle]

...Mm.

[Noctis lifts up a little, finally unclasping his iron grip and pressing his hands against the table to straighten his back. He lifts his knee, letting his leg swing for a moment to adjust to the feeling. He feels warmer, somehow. Like the pain was a chill he didn't know how to shake, and with a simple touch, the circulation's back.

He exhales faintly, and turns in his chair to face Ardyn, still uncertain but more stable than he'd looked at the door.]

It wasn't gonna be never. Even if it took months for me to get there, I... I want to believe that cutting things off forever wasn't in the cards.

[To a certain extent, he doesn't have a choice; eventually he will have to face Ardyn again, to fulfill the prophecy's demands. But that doesn't matter here. Here, it's just a matter of losing his family and wanting to get it back again. It's a genuine relief that it didn't take longer than this to at least face the problem head-on.]

[scourgingstars]

I...would hope not.

[Ardyn shifted uncomfortably, arms loosely crossed and fidgeting with the fabric of his sleeves. He didn't quite look directly at Noctis, struggling with himself over what to say next or if he should say anything at all.]

[Because he knew, of course. He knew the gods would demand another to carry out their will, and destroy the life of their 'chosen' in the process. He knew what that meant for the both of them, if not the finer details of the matter.]

[Someday, somewhere, they would stand opposite one another, and both would die for the sake of the world. Ardyn's own purpose two thousand years late, and a role he had never wanted for anyone else.]

Noctis, I-... [He faltered, swallowing hard and a scarred hand gripping his arm tightly. Whatever he was about to say, Ardyn thought better of it. Paused, then tried again.]

I won't keep you, if you would feel more comfortable leaving. But when...when or if you would be willing, there is something I...would want to discuss with you. Please.

[carbungle]

[It's such a painfully familiar gesture that Noctis recognizes it before the words even leave Ardyn's mouth; how many times has he had this moment in the last month, or even beyond that? How many times had he struggled, faltered, had to try again? He feels it, that palpable dread, but whatever this is, it's probably inevitable. Important. It wouldn't be so difficult otherwise.

Another exhale, and he scuffs a hand through his hair, shifting in his seat to find a more comfortable position. He pushes past his dread and opts to just... get it out there. Better now than later, when it would be more cruel to say.]

I'll stay. There's... something I need to talk about with you, too.

[Whatever he decides when it comes to telling his other friends, or his father- of all the people here, Ardyn has the most right to know about their fates, how their lives are meant to intertwine. Just as Ardyn didn't force Noctis to interact with the one who'd put him through so much torment, he won't force Ardyn to unknowingly be kind to the one who was born to kill him.]

[scourgingstars]

[...Ardyn had the distinct chill of apprehension telling him that either things were even worse than he knew (and that was already nightmarishly bad) or they were both on the same horrible bloodstained page.]

[Taking a deep breath and letting it out with a quiet sigh, he stepped back again to sit down. The ache had already healed itself, but he felt better knowing he wasn't practically towering over Noctis simply by virtue of being taller. Leaving room between himself and the door, specifically--gods knew Ardyn understood what being trapped felt like, and so he was well aware of how to avoid it for anyone else.]

...I think you should perhaps go first, if you're prepared to.

[carbungle]

[Oh, hell. He wasn't ready to be the first one out the gates. But he'd resigned himself to it, hadn't he? Soon as he spoke the words, he'd been prepared to admit the truth. Just... he'd expected a buffer, first. Time to think, to decide what the hell it was he wanted to say.

He ducks his head again, suddenly very determined to scrutinize every tiny detail of a crack in the floor tile.]

Um... before I came back here, I... found the Crystal. When I touched it, it pulled me inside. [He lifts a hand to grip his arm, growing even more uncomfortable; the sensation had been unpleasant to say the least, so it's not a good memory. Lots of not so good memories, these days.] Bahamut was there. He told me about you, about the Crystal, about... the prophecy. How to get rid of all the daemons, the Starscourge, and how to bring back daylight.

[His grip tightens, his breath shaky. The hard part. Admitting it.]

He said I have to kill "the Accursed". Izunia.

[scourgingstars]

[If Noctis thought he was resigned to something, for a moment it was nothing compared to how well Ardyn took that. 'Well', in that he didn't panic or react angrily--he barely reacted at all save to continue not quite looking at Noctis.]

...I know. [The admission came with a quiet sigh, of exhaustion rather than anything else.] I...would prefer not to tell you how I found out, it isn't my place to explain. [Ignis was involved enough, and upset enough as it was. There was no chance Ardyn was going to risk making that worse for him if Noctis didn't already know his advisor had been aware as well.]

The edict of the Draconian is that the first and last alike of House Caelum have to die for the sake of the world.

[It wasn't even that anymore, was it? Even to the gods he'd once served without question, Ardyn was nothing but a nameless monster. Of course, he'd known that much for two thousand years--that he was unworthy, rejected by even the Crystal. But to hear it confirmed still burned like the sacred light had back then.]

[carbungle]

[Ardyn might not be surprised, but Noctis certainly is; at those words he looks up, eyes wide, startled by the frank admission. He hadn't even been certain if he would share about the sacrifice yet. If it might have come across as some kind of concession to make it sound better on his part. "I have to kill you, but it's okay, because I'll die too!" How callous, how selfish. He'd meant to gauge Ardyn's reaction before deciding how to share that part, if at all.

It seems he needn't have bothered. He can guess how Ardyn knows, though he won't ask since he can't expect an answer anyway. He lives here with Cor and Ignis, and he's close with both of them. They know the truth, and it could have come out one way or another.

The surprise fades as the seconds pass, and Noctis shifts his gaze away with a grimace, his body going tense. It's easier that he knows, and at the same time infinitely more difficult, because now he has to deal with what it means, what it might change. Does it really matter how he found out? It's inevitable that he would, and it's just one less thing in Noct's life that he has control over. He should be used to that by now.]

...The blessing of the Six, as the legends say. [He wants to laugh, suddenly, instead sets free a pitiful half-choked noise that's there and gone in a second.] Aren't we the lucky ones.

[scourgingstars]

[Ardyn didn't answer, right away. He knew what he was thinking, knew what he wanted to say, but it had to be done carefully. The entire situation seemed to stretch out with all the delicate intricacies of a spiderweb, each thread and intersection crucial to the greater construction. It would be arrogant, stupid, and wildly incorrect to assume he knew every bit of it; Ardyn knew he didn't even come close. Every word that left him from here had to be chosen and spoken carefully, not merely as an expression of emotion without thought.]

[Such had ever been their critical flaws, he knew now. One brother who spoke and acted with pragmatic logic, and the other who put his sentiment before his sense.]

[Right now, he had to think like Somnus would, and temper that reason with the human heart still left to Ardyn even now.]

I used to think myself fortunate. 'The gods blessed me with a power and purpose', I remember telling Aera once. It was a comforting thing, to know the reason that I existed and to be able to carry out my intended purpose in life.

[His words were slow and deliberate as Ardyn spoke, the steps of one navigating unknown and unsteady terrain. The hesitation in his voice was gone, for the moment--though the steps were very carefully chosen, they were taken in their steady pace. The story was coming out far different than it had or would in Zegnautus Keep; Ardyn carefully unfolding the matter for himself as much as Noctis, with no spite or hatred behind the history.]

I didn't dare question it, because I trusted in that purpose--I trusted in the gods which tasked me to save the world. I had no plan for how to truly rid the world of the Starscourge, only the method of relieving it. I trusted that the eventual next step would show itself; that Aera would speak to the Crystal and all would be made clear.

...And then it began hurting. The longer it went on and the more I threw myself into that gods-given purpose did I start deteriorating. I could see the corruption in my skin, feel it in the ache of sunlight or the burning agony in my very blood. And still I said nothing. I hid it from the people, from my brother, even from Aera, because I feared what would happen should the people's only hope be seen to falter. I feared failing our kingdom and its people, and I did what it was in the nature of my power to do: put the good of others before myself. I accepted that I would be dead within the next year at best, and chose to be the king our people asked me to before then. To heal all that my mortal body could manage, assume the throne, and trust in the Crystal and the Bladekeeper alike that would be all it took.

[His hands hand started trembling as he spoke, Ardyn briefly curling both into fists against his sleeves before relaxing them again. Even then, his voice hadn't faltered in the slightest. He finally looked up to Noctis then, and his expression was neither that of the Chancellor nor that of the uncertain man that had lived in this world for the past months.]

My first question to you, Noctis, is this. I ask you not as your family, not as your friend, not even as a Lucian, but as the first person to have been directly given a role of salvation by the word of the Draconian and Crystal: do you know, beyond any doubt or question, this will truly save anything?

[It was the ironclad resolve of a king, and the solemn words spoken were done not as a challenge, but as a genuine search for information on the path before them before taking whatever his next step would be.]

[carbungle]

[That silence is echoed, first as Noctis listens and then, for a while after, considers all that was shared. It is a different version, but it's of the same tale he knew already. Izunia spoke of it as if it was a story about someone else, and in a sense that part is true. Izunia is what that healer became. The man who shares his past here and now is not him. This is the man who would have been king, if the Crystal had truly chosen him and not balked at the scourge within.

There are things he doesn't know. Why was Ardyn granted the power to heal the Starscourge if it made him into a monster? Why was he made into a daemon who would become the source of that scourge, spreading the darkness over the world that Noctis has to purify? Why make a problem worse before the cure is ready? That part... that part, he doesn't understand. But even if he doesn't wholeheartedly believe in Bahamut, he trusts Gentiana, Shiva, he trusts the word of his Oracle and the Messengers who've guided and protected him his whole life. The thought of it not being the best plan, that all the suffering he's had to endure could be pointless... it makes his insides twist, he feels ill. It's like his whole body is rejecting the very notion. A body filled with the power of the gods, carved into him body and soul. After giving so much of himself over to the prophecy, how can he doubt it now?]

It hurt me, too.

[His voice is quiet when he finally speaks, the words not at all certain. One hand drifts absently along his arm, brushing over the brace hiding all of the covenant marks seared into his flesh, old and new. Five of six, with the last meant to die before Izunia does.]

The trials, the covenants, the visions and words they forced into my head. The ring hurt when I put it on, and every time I use it, it burns. When the Crystal pulled me in it felt like I was getting ripped apart. Even collecting the Arms made my chest ache afterwards. Using them for too long almost kills me. [He takes a deep breath, sharp and tinged in frustration.] I'm scared of- what it'll feel like. To... to die. Why does it always have to hurt?

[It's not just him or Ardyn. It's all of them, from the first to the last. Somnus, who died young, who killed himself to purge the world of daemons to the point where it would know peace for ages before they came back. Over a hundred kings and queens that followed, who fought and bled and sacrificed to safeguard Lucis and the Crystal Bahamut had left in their care. His father, who drained his life away to protect the last of their line until it was time for the prophecy to be carried out. Luna, who gave her life for the covenants, for his success, to save the world and free them all from the wretched darkness they've endured for so long.

Does he know? Does he know for certain it'll work?]

How can anyone be that sure? [He looks up at last, blinking rapidly, grasping at his conviction, that resignation he'd been wrestling with all month, because he doesn't know how he can live with the knowledge of that future unless he accepts it.] Beyond any doubt? You can't ask me that. Of course I'm not that sure. But what other choice do I have?

[Find another way, Cor had said. He'd been determined to search for one. Ignis was searching, too. People much smarter than him are already looking. But when has that ever been his choice? Even something so simple as delaying a visit to the Archaean had sent such searing pain through his head he could barely stand. What would they do if he tried to divert from his path, when each and every one of them had been waiting so long for him to meet his fate?

He can feel Carbuncle's eyes on him, but it's Ardyn he looks at, pained and edging up against desperation.]

I can't just- I can't say no. The world's already a wreck, every country's fallen apart. Cor said the world's been in endless dark for two years, and in his time I'm still in the Crystal. I don't know how long it's gonna take, I could come out and everyone's already-

[He stops, leaving the predictable end to that sentence unsaid. They'll be okay. He has to believe they'll be okay. Even if they're not safe, Izunia had said he'd keep them company, Ignis and Prompto both said they got out, they'll be okay. He closes his eyes for a moment, takes a deep breath.]

I have to believe it'll work. I- ...I wouldn't be able to handle it, if it didn't. Everything we went through... what we sacrificed... I can't fail this time. It can't be for nothing.

[Even if it hurts every step of the way, right up until the end. If when it's over the sun rises, the daemons are gone for good, the world can keep on living... it's worth it, isn't it? It has to be worth it.]

[scourgingstars]

...You're right. I ask too much of you--everyone and everything has.

[The same steady voice, that iron resolve softening as it turned to sympathy from one sacrifice to another. Ardyn didn't look away anymore, focused on Noctis calmly. Even though the whole situation shattered whatever heart he had, even though he wanted to say a hundred thousand things built on his own resentment of gods and Crystal that had thrown him aside with no reason or explanation.]

[Resentment was the deep grave carved into the earth by Ardyn Izunia; by the monster Adagium, chosen only to die. Ardyn Lucis Caelum would sooner cast aside the shovel before that dark pit grew any deeper.]

I have only the outlines to a picture of what the world is to become, at best. I want to be wrong in what I am thinking, in what others have suggested that I refused to consider for fear it might be the truth. But I already know everything that I struggled and suffered for was for nothing. Do not misunderstand--I am endlessly grateful I could save those that I did, and I would never claim what I did for those years was worthless.

But to become what I have--what I will, is to sacrifice with my own hands everything I have ever stood for or believed in. I can not understand why such a thing was allowed to happen; whether the failing laid with myself, or with something I have not knowledge enough to fully grasp. And I do not wish it all to have been for nothing, either. Not what you and yours have done, not myself, Aera, Somnus, or any of the kings and queens of Lucis between then and now.

I will not tell you to stop, Noctis. I do not have that right by any means. Though I may wish to, I can not implore you to cease the path you are on, for it is only the same one I tried to walk before you. This should have been finished two thousand years ago, and I do not understand why it is you who has to shoulder the burden of it instead of myself. I only know that I can not trust in the divine as I did then. Whether I should live or die has been meaningless for far too long, but I can not have faith that your sacrifice will be the last if such has been ordained by their word. My-

[The hesitation came through again, but only for a moment; it wasn't lack of will that caught his voice, but the strained tone of someone who could no longer even cry over such miserable fates.]

-...My brother and I could agree in this if little else. If anyone was to be so reckless as to consider what else could be done, then such would have to be considered carefully, and whatever path to be taken would have to be agreed upon by those involved, for the good of the world and its people.

My next question to you is not a plea for you to cast aside anything that has transpired. But instead I ask, with what I have just said in mind...will you allow me to consider such a thing? Will you...please, let me at least contemplate some way to save our world that you might see its dawn?

[Ardyn felt responsible for many, many reasons. Not the least of which being that he had or would be the one to cause it, but especially because this was his purpose. To save the world and its people from the deadly, oppressive night was the reason he had believed he even existed at all.]

[It should have been him, not because of any throne or kingdom...but because if it had to be someone, it would not be this child left to finish what the Founder King and his exiled brother had begun so many generations before.]

[carbungle]

[It's a fair request. More fair than he'd expected; probably more fair than he deserves. It isn't just his fate he's deciding for, here, but the world's and everyone living in it. It's why he could never trust his judgment on what to do, why he's relied so heavily on the wiser people who guided him, gods and kings and Oracles. He's a sad excuse for a king, he sure as hell isn't a worthy deciding force for the entire world. He can barely decide what's for dinner.

There's something that is equal parts worrisome and comforting about the calm cadence of Ardyn's voice, and he's still deciding what to make of it, whether or not he should be daunted by or afraid of it. The longer Ardyn speaks, the more he leans away from both. He gets it. At the very least, of course, he would get it. Ardyn's been stabbed and screwed around by fate as much as him, with thousands of years worth of waiting in limbo. Two years (plus the ambiguous continuity of time uncounted) against two thousand... it makes his impending sleep seem so pathetic in comparison. He's not immortal, though, and the world can't wait that long. However long it takes, he'll march to his death when he gets out.

They have... some time, though. Here, and there. It's not hopeless, but even so-]

...I'll... tell you what I told Cor, and Besithia too. If there's a way to fix the world that's better, that's guaranteed to have at least as good a chance as what I've been promised by them, fine. I'm not gonna stop anyone from trying. It's not- [Another falter, another grimace, another attempt.] It's not like... I want to die. I just don't think my life's worth more than the rest of the world.

[And not Ardyn's, either. No one person is worth that cost.]

I believe that... they believe it'll work. They marked me for it, I could hear it in their voices. Even Bahamut... they're doing what they have to, to protect the world. [His fingers itch at his brace again, the marks still too new, tingling like pins and needles now that he's separated from them and the Crystal again, worlds apart.] The difference is that we don't matter- we're just means to an end. They're not strong enough to do it themselves, so they built up a family to gather that power over thousands of years. They loaned it to us and now they're collecting. Who cares if we suffer, or die... so long as the end result is what he wants.

[It's not a sentimental answer. There's nothing sentimental about it; he'd received his answers from a cold and heartless deity, ancient and otherworldly. His fate had been laid out on the table like a contract he'd signed under duress, decided by gods centuries before he even existed. Shiva had been... softer... but still cold as ice and untouchable, no sweet comfort meant for him. Only Luna's words, and her ghost, had given him any solace. Save our star, Shiva had urged him. A power greater than the Six, Bahamut stated.

And he can feel it, the difference between then and now. The soul of their star, flowing into him through the ring. It's only a fragment, but it's there, and the way it feels frightens him. The last step before the final, before the throne, before... whatever happens, happens. This train's moving forward, like it or not, and for him, there's no getting off. But it doesn't mean he has to drag everyone else along with him, force them to accept it regardless of their own feelings.

He doesn't want to just leave it at that, though, in case an argument is on the fringe of this conversation; he's tired, he doesn't want to fight. After taking a deep breath, he adds, in a somewhat defensive tone,]

I'm not giving up. Don't tell me I am, I won't hear it. [Not again.]

[scourgingstars]

I would never claim that you were.

[There was no argument; the acceptance was what Ardyn had requested and was granted in turn. Maybe the Astrals did think it would work, and maybe the two of them would be the last sacrifices in a long line of them. Ardyn didn't trust that anymore, and he didn't trust Bahamut.]

I don't know that I'll ever understand how or why things went as wrong as they did. That sacrifice should never have been yours to make, and I'm sorry we failed so badly that you should bear such pain yourself. I can only apologize, for what it's worth. All of this...Somnus and I should have been able to rid the world of all of this long before you, your father, or so many others were even born into a world demanding your lives from start to ending. If there is truly any possible way I can rectify such mistakes or failures, and spare any further pain to be carried by my family and friends...then I can not give up on the idea yet.

[But he trusted Noctis. Ardyn knew like few if any others did that one life was not a price to outweigh the world; it was one he'd been ready to pay himself, and yet would if the situation demanded it with no other option.]

[That didn't mean there was no other option, and it felt wrong to move forward with Noctis' death as a certainty without being as sure as they could. It would be one thing for the two of them to die, and quite another to die without searching for any other solution to save the world so long as there was time to do so.]

If there truly should be nothing else, then--I wish I could say I would be there with you at the end. Yet I know that person won't be me any longer. 'I' won't exist anymore, but even so...I want you to know that should that day come, you'll be doing me a favor as much as anyone else.

[Carefully--still well aware of who and what he was (or would become) to Noctis, Ardyn held out a hand.]

Would you come here...please? Only if you're comfortable with it, of course, I just-...

[your uncle wants to hug you, you poor fucking kid]

[carbungle]

[He wants to say not to apologize again, that it's not necessary, though he holds his tongue as that tends to mean very little with Ardyn anyway. He doesn't think that it's especially fair that the brothers were meant to bear the burden of this either, and the expectation that they'd take the blame is equally misplaced. The truth of the matter is, someone had to. Either the Astrals lied, or were misinterpreted, or thought they had the right idea and didn't. In the end the result is the same no matter which it was, and their fate's led them to this. A monster of the dark made to face a hero bearing the light of the world- it's like a fairy tale, something his dad would share at bedtime. He used to love those stories. He'd dreamed of being that hero one day, of saving people, great warriors at his side, with Luna supporting him as she said she would.

Reality is so much colder than dreams. Leaving Insomnia taught him that, time and time again. Why should this be any different?

He has to close his eyes there at the end as Ardyn continues, hiding away from the the vision such words bring to mind- of dying, of being alone when it happens. He doesn't know what that end will be, and he's afraid to ask if anyone knows. There's no way to prepare for that, is there? How would one brace for death? He's still figuring that part out. It's probable that the man before him, who "died" and came back and is even now talking about his possible future demise, is the only one who'd understand that, too. The call to approach feels as much like an offer as a request, hand open, welcoming. Please?

It takes some time, but eventually he reacts to the request; his approach is hesitant, every step a struggle, still helplessly afraid of far more than can be banished by a single month's quiet, but even so his momentum is forward as Noctis slides off the chair and closes the distance between them. He leans in to drop his head on the man's broad shoulder, slumping against him. He can't return it yet, but Ardyn is permitted to draw him in for a hug without resistance. He doesn't know if this will help, if this will feel better. But he's pretty sure he can't feel worse, and he's so very tired of the fear he's lived with every day for what feels like ages now.]

[scourgingstars]

[The arms placed high on Noctis' shoulders were gentle and light, seeking to give reassurance without keeping him in place. It would be easy for him to pull back at any instant he chose, though as long as he didn't it was clear Ardyn didn't plan on doing so first.]

...I know that you're afraid. I was, as well--I still am. I wish I could promise you that things will be better than this for either of us. But...all I can give you is that I want to try, before we resign ourselves fully to anything else.

Though I can say that I will be here, as much as I am capable whenever you should ask it of me. You are my family, and I love you dearly. So please don't bear such fears and uncertainties alone so long as there are those willing to share them with you.

[carbungle]

[A silence follows those words, broken only by Noctis' shaken breath. He's being so kind right now, so gentle, like Noct is made of glass. He feels a little bit that way, leaning on the other man, trembling against him. It's not him. They're family. Here, they have a family. He can't imagine that man ever sharing such a gentle sentiment. Izunia did everything he could to make Noctis hate him, so their confrontation would be in some way satisfying. Perhaps he wants to end the line of the Lucii personally. Perhaps he just wants to finally die.

...He... he doesn't want to die, though.

He does want it to be over. He wants their family to stop suffering, he wants the pain to end. He wants Lucis to exist in peace, real peace, not the false platitudes of the Wall that protected less and less of their continent until it was only Insomnia left. He wants to see his home shining again, lively and busy as it was before it was broken down and conquered. He wants to go camping with his friends, bitch about the tent and the bugs, wants to fish until a whole lake is empty. He doesn't want to be king, but he does want to see the country that his family built rise up again and not be lost to history like Solheim was, wants to be a part of that process somehow. He wants so many things. Twenty years isn't enough. Or twenty-one, or thirty, or fifty, or two thousand, even. A life committed only to duty is hardly a life lived.

He'd had a dream back in Altissia, before the rite, before he was finally going to be reunited with Luna and take her away from the empire, keep her safe at his side. He'd dreamed of what might have happened if it hadn't been a lie, if the treaty had been real. They'd have married properly in Insomnia, he'd see her in that dress with her hair all done up, walking with the kind of regal elegance he could never dare to emulate. He'd fumble through some ancient vows and she'd smile and humour him, take his arm, let him slip on her wedding ring. They'd figure out what the hell being married meant on the fly, and it would be okay, somehow, as long as they were together. The world would be lost to Niflheim, but it would be peaceful, finally. They'd learn to live in that world.

Izunia could even come to the wedding, as chancellor. Given them some petty gift, danced with the bride with no daggers involved, only his bizarre version of charm and wit. Noctis would go to the Crystal eventually. The darkness would be purged. The gods' will was an inevitability, the prophecy would come for them, but... for a little while, they'd be happy, and then they'd all be free.

"You'll be doing me a favor as much as anyone else."

It was a nice dream, and thinking about it now and all the things that had happened between then and the present, his instincts kick in and he throws his arms up around Ardyn, burying his face to the man's shoulder, and stops fighting those stupid coward's tears any longer. They're family. Let him be weak for a while.]

I'm sorry... I didn't want this, I'm sorry...

[I don't want to kill you. I don't want to die.]

[scourgingstars]

I know, Noctis. [His arms turned more secure and less the too-careful touch of glass when Noctis started clinging to him; still not restricting, but trying his hardest to be some kind of anchor as best Ardyn could.] I know. It isn't your fault. It was never your fault. You didn't deserve any of this, and neither of us wanted any of it. You've nothing at all to apologize for, certainly not to me.

[It didn't matter to Ardyn if saving the world meant that he would die. That was something he had been prepared for two thousand years ago, and now it practically sounded like two birds with one stone, so to speak. He would have to die somehow, sooner or later. Why not in service to what he had always wished to do?]

I haven't the heart to give you false hope, or the right to force you upon a path risking more than we are willing to wager. There may not be any other route for either of us, and what the Draconian demands may well come to pass no matter what anyone desires. It's fine to be afraid of that; I would dare call it sensible.

...But I don't want you to be what I was, destroying yourself bit by bit every day and hiding such immeasurable fear from everyone that cares for you. I didn't want such a fate for Somnus then, and I would not wish it on anyone else now. Least of all you.

[carbungle]

[An anchor is exactly what he becomes. The longer Noctis holds on, the easier he finds it, and his voice is struggling and muffled as he responds.]

I don't know what else to do. I've been following their lead this whole time, and when I go back I'll be inside the Crystal, no way to get out. I don't have control anymore.

[Did he ever, really? Did any of them? If they find another path, what is it that he can even do to change things? In his time it's probably too late for him, too late for that version of Ardyn. But changing things too far into the past the way Besithia wants could make things worse and change their path. It's hard not to feel trapped by everything.

Hope isn't what he's asking for, false or not. He has no misconceptions about the limits placed on their lives, here and back home. He doesn't want to lose himself to despair or hide entirely, as Ardyn says, but neither does he want to bring everyone around him down with his existential crisis. He's been trying to hide it this whole time, and gods is it ever difficult, every day. It hurts, but he doesn't know how to stop.

"I don't want you to be what I was."

He pauses, hesitant, but after a moment adds quietly,]

You get it, though. You get me.

[scourgingstars]

I am not sure what to do, either. Truthfully, if anything's to change with enough time to see to it the world survives as well, I think such a thing is likely to end up falling to the one furthest back in whatever form of linear time we have.

[Ardyn himself, in other words. Not yet driven irreparably mad, not yet an agent of Niflheim or his own vengeance. Regis, barely taken the throne if he had at all and Cor only a young Crownsguard. Noctis and the others, not even born yet. If any of this was possible, he wondered if it didn't all hinge on whether or not he became that which ended the world in the first place.]

But I do not know that with any certainty. And it's careless to begin throwing out ideas and possibilities without careful consideration; though it does pain me to reiterate, Somnus was right about that.

[Setting the matter aside for the moment, Ardyn sighed in a very quiet laugh with little humor to it.]

Of course I understand. You don't want to die, but know the measure of one life against the world itself. Afraid of what's to come, but knowing this is what will save everything you love. And you've no way to express the hesitation, because to do so would feel selfish with all at stake and hinging on your actions.

...It wasn't fair when I did it, I think. It certainly isn't now.

[carbungle]

...Yeah. That's... yeah.

[That selfishness is exactly what he fears, though he doubts anyone would call him out on it. And the timeline for change is about what he'd expected, what he'd suggested to Verstael months ago, and considered with Cor months even before that. Ardyn's time is the best suited for alterations that will ripple in a positive way, but they also don't know how far those ripples might go. Without his influence and corruption in Niflheim, Ifrit wouldn't be a daemon, the army wouldn't have such powerful magitek, they might not have conquered the world so easily. Lucis, a peaceful Lucis... he could still have been born there. Maybe. If the stars aligned.

Or Bahamut would, more likely, ensure that a Chosen is born, somehow. Thirty some-odd years with a shifted situation would not undo thousands more of careful planning.]

It isn't fair. But I've been selfish plenty in my life already, so... I want to do what's best for Eos. That's my duty. If it's this, I have to accept that. If there's something better, I'll accept that, too.

[If it means not existing at all, or if it means living a different life, or if it means still dying but leaving the world at peace instead of in darkness. All of it- he'll do it. He'll learn how to accept it. He won't hold his breath for a happy ending, but there's no harm in looking, either.]