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[ God no, Ardyn, the screen brightness hurts his eyes. Noctis turns it as far down as he can and it still hurts. ]

there was a party
and booze
i miscalculated

Oh, I see. You're terribly hungover. A truly awful fate, I know.

[Been there, done that. More than once, certainly. At least Ardyn has the experience to know how to pace himself... which it sounds like Noct does not.]

Drink plenty of water. You're probably dehydrated and don't even realize it.

im probably dying
im ok with it

[ Drama: it runs in the family. Except they don't know that yet. ]

[If only they knew. Until then, this will remain an ironic conversation.]

Don't be so dramatic. Or at least, please refrain from dying until I can at least entertain this conversation with you.

That is, if it doesn't hurt your head too much to gaze at the phone screen -- I would like to talk to you about memories. You're in one of mine, now. I saw your face very clearly. Plus I do have a handful more to mention, just to see if they spark any recognition in you.

[ He's hungover and sick as all hell, but once his eyes glaze over "memories", his attention is set. Noctis sits up despite himself, feeling the room spin. And it takes him a second to really get the ability to text back, drinking the second bottle of water that Rosalind left for him at the couch. ]

you saw my face?
what was the memory?

[There's a moment before his messages comes through, this time. He is choosing his words with care, more so than he would normally. Thankfully, Noctis may not be able to tell, since this is merely text.]

There existed a place called Galdin Quay. It was located at the beach, with a restaurant, hotel, and a long pier stretching out into the water. Palms trees, sunlight, and sand. Does this ring a bell yet for you?

[He will, of course, continue after Noctis replies.]

[ Noctis really takes his time to try and remember. His head is absolutely killing him, though, and so nothing really comes up with much clarity. If at all. He feels like the name sounds familiar, but it's only a feeling. ]

drawing a blank
sorry
you can keep going, though

We met there for the first time, I think. I was heading back and you were moving towards the pier, looking for a ship to set sail with. It was you and three others -- one was Prompto, but as for the other two, I cannot remember their faces.

[Another pause.]

"I'm afraid you're out of luck. The boats bring you here. Well, they'll not take you forth." I said that to you and your group.

"The ceasefire is getting us nowhere."

[If Ardyn is quite purposefully leaving out the details of how he felt, brimming with spite and hate and a sense of manipulation directed at Noctis specifically, he will not say it right now. He would rather die first.]

There may have been a war impeding our progress.

[ A lot of words that don't make sense. And that has nothing to do with his hangover. Noctis looks over the words feeling like they should mean something specific, but he can't put his finger on it, and he honestly wonders if he's naturally trying to force something.

It makes his head hurt. ]

ceasefire
do you know where we were headed?
i mean, i thought prompto and i were just monster hunters or something
mercenaries or something
maybe

Across the open sea, to another nation altogether I believe. The name escapes me, but I know that it was important for the both of us. That we had... some kind of business there.

That isn't to say that there wasn't an impervious monster that the lot of you were wanting to hunt. Maybe that /is/ why you were leaving.

[But he wonders if that's the case. He wonders just why his focus had been so razor-sharp, latched onto Noctis at the time. Hidden behind a thin veneer of a smile. For what reason would a man like himself, a healer (was he still a healer?), care so much for monster hunters?]

I tossed you a coin. One of the faceless men caught it. I called it your "allowance".

[ It's a bit difficult for him to fully register when he's half asleep and completely hung over, but Ardyn has his full attention. Travelling to another country? For what purpose? If it had been for some large monster, what reason would there be for difficulty in boarding the ship aside from safety?

If it was their job... ]

i think im more confused now than i was with the first memory i got
lol
last part sounds almost condescending

Does it?

[...]

Maybe I was just trying to be humorous.

What memory are you referring to?

[ Ughhhhh, he hates talking about this. Noctis sighs. ]

probably best to go over it on a phone call
hold on

[ Noctis dials Ardyn's number to call. ]

Edited 2017-09-07 18:30 (UTC)

[There's no delay in Ardyn answering, considering he was already looking at his phone. If there's something hesitant about his tone, it seems to fade away since they've shifted subjects to Noctis' memories.]

I take it this is one of the more complicated memories, then?

Something like that.

[ Noctis' own tone is a bit off. Obviously uncomfortable. But he's explained it a few times before, and one more time isn't going to hurt. He takes a seat on his couch, leaning back with the phone to his ear. ]

I was standing in front of this large crystal. Can't really explain where it was at-- There was this metal walkway suspended over a pit and it was held up by a bunch of chains and supports.

I touched it; something in my head told me to and it just started...

Pulling me in.

What's worse is that someone was watching me. I don't know who it was and I didn't see anyone, but I just felt like someone's eyes were on me the whole time. Doing nothing.

[He listens, a frown on his face. He's not sure, really, what to make of Noctis' memory, other than it sounds horrifying and confusing. A sense of helplessness, what with someone watching him the whole time. He wonders what possibly could have happened afterwards. Did he survive it?

But one thing seems to stick with him, the idea of a crystal.]

...Did this crystal glow with a blue light?

[ Noctis pauses, brow raising. He sits up a bit, though Ardyn can't see the shift in his posture.

That's... ]

... Yeah.

You saw it?

[And here comes that hesitation again, though Ardyn does his best to bulldoze right through it, cognizant of not letting it eke out.]

In a throne room, placed directly above the throne itself. It wasn't a very... hopeful atmosphere, I must admit. Everything appeared abandoned, desecrated. There was a gaping hole in the wall, letting the night air in. And there were-

[Bodies. Corpses, strung up, hanging like lifeless marionettes.]

-was rubble strewn about. Yet it all looked untouched, as if nothing had transpired there in years.

[ Okay, that... That doesn't make his feelings sway in any positive direction at all. Even with the severe editing that Ardyn does, Noctis feels his stomach bottom out a little bit there. Given what that Crystal did to him? Hearing that it was once surrounded by destruction and hopelessness makes perfect sense.

As if nothing had transpired in years...

Noctis is quiet for a moment, trying to register all of that. There are plenty of implications to that perspective, but no real solid proof to support them. ]

You mentioned a war...

Do you think that Crystal had something to do with it? Maybe that's why you saw everything destroyed.

It's possible.

[He considers it for a moment, a serious intonation to all of his words. It lacks his usual flippancy, as it should.]

It was placed in a prominent spot, indicating importance. Right above the head of where the ruler would sit. But I can't remember if there was anything particularly special about it, other than it was large and that it glowed brightly. I can't hope to know what the political climate was like, of course. But I can speculate that if this crystal was the reason behind some kind of strife, then it must've been a symbol of power. Or held power within it.

Which doesn't explain why you were... pulled into it, admittedly.

I wasn't in a throne room when it happened. Felt more like...

I don't know. A fortress? It was too dark to tell.

[ Noctis sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. Figuring this out is weird, and there's too much uncertainty here. ]

If it was moved like that and put on display, it'd make sense that it was at least a part of the war. Or some fight.

[ His hand drops, and he leans back against the couch again. ]

Nothing really explains why it ate me up like that. Unless it just eats people.

Edited 2017-09-07 20:00 (UTC)

A crystal that eats people.

[It isn't... the weirdest thing that he's heard, but it's pretty up there.]

There must be more to it than that.

[Unless Noctis was some sacrificial lamb to a man-eating crystal, but he wonders if he should really mention that very disturbing imagery.]

At any rate, our memories still continue to line up. Though I wonder which happened first; my memory of a throne room, or yours of a fortress?

The more I think about it, the more my head hurts.

[ But he doesn't sound as mortified and upset as he has in the past. The last few times he's explained this, he's had minor, mental horrors that have struck him. ]

I mean, I'm alive now. Can't be sure if it killed me... And I don't remember much outside of that to gauge when it happened.

[ God, he hates even saying that? ]

But the verdict's still out about whether or not Retrospec is forcing someone else's memories on us or if it was past life entirely.

Whether you survived or not... I wonder how much bearing that actually has on the situation. If these were past lives, a death means little to your life now.

[But that's a big if these days, isn't it?]

But as you said, that depends on what theory you subscribe to. Both are a bit disturbing in their own right. I can tell you that neither one of us ever asked to be reconstructed.

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