[Noctis watches his expression quietly for a moment, trying to determine what there is to be gleaned from it; things his father isn't saying, memories left unshared. There's always been so many mysteries in between, and even with the extra time they're given here, he doubts he'll ever know them all.]
...It would've hurt more, [he says simply, quietly.] I know how much she supported you. She'd never have let you do it alone. I'm... really grateful she was with you, Dad.
[He didn't know her, and the pain his father experienced wouldn't have been the same kind he did, he's sure. But there was an agony in that moment, the rush of power and duty that overwhelmed him both body and soul, and he'd been alone when it happened. Desperate, terrified, worried for his friends and his own life. He'd thought a lot about that moment in retrospect, how much he wished he'd put it on in Altissia, when he was surrounded by family, safe and supported and loved.
His father hadn't pushed away his mother the way he'd pushed everyone away from himself, and Noctis is so, so glad. The memory is a gift, albeit one with jagged edges: he knew what it could have been like if he'd done it differently, what it felt like to experience the crushing weight of destiny fall on his shoulders and have someone else there with him to shoulder the load. He'd felt it here the first time, with Regis at his side to help as he put on the ring, and he's doubly glad that he made that choice, difficult as it was. Now he has two memories to help outweigh the bad.]
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...It would've hurt more, [he says simply, quietly.] I know how much she supported you. She'd never have let you do it alone. I'm... really grateful she was with you, Dad.
[He didn't know her, and the pain his father experienced wouldn't have been the same kind he did, he's sure. But there was an agony in that moment, the rush of power and duty that overwhelmed him both body and soul, and he'd been alone when it happened. Desperate, terrified, worried for his friends and his own life. He'd thought a lot about that moment in retrospect, how much he wished he'd put it on in Altissia, when he was surrounded by family, safe and supported and loved.
His father hadn't pushed away his mother the way he'd pushed everyone away from himself, and Noctis is so, so glad. The memory is a gift, albeit one with jagged edges: he knew what it could have been like if he'd done it differently, what it felt like to experience the crushing weight of destiny fall on his shoulders and have someone else there with him to shoulder the load. He'd felt it here the first time, with Regis at his side to help as he put on the ring, and he's doubly glad that he made that choice, difficult as it was. Now he has two memories to help outweigh the bad.]