kittycaterer | Ic inbox

just learned somehow that theres this
idk
prophecy?
about some darkness
but idk it didnt make sense to me

A prophecy? That's too much of a coincidence for it not to mean anything.

[Something in his stomach twists, and he's glad for this being text because of it.]

What did this prophecy say?

[ His text comes quick, mostly because that’s all he’s got. A vague explanation. Yet it still makes him exceedingly uncomfortable; discovering he’s actialky a prince seems to expand on that feeling. ]

dont exactly have it from start to finish
just that the six made some sort of call that there would be this impending darkness

the whole religion we followed is still pretty lost on me but
maybe it has something to do with that?

[There's more truth to be added to what Noctis says, but Ardyn will not share it. How does one say that he was the reason for that darkness? Did that mean he was meant to adhere to this so-called prophecy? Should that make him feel better or worse about this realization?]

I'm sorry to say that I'm as lost as you. I thought I might ask for the sake of insight, but it appears that we're both still wrapped up in confusion.

I do wonder if the daylight ever came back.

[ Noctis wrinkles his nose, mostly because something feels like it's right on the tip of his tongue. Just at the forefront of his mind but not... quite... there. He isn't sure what to say, nothing quite ringing a bell.

But it happens again. As it has before. A weird sort of lurching feeling, as if he's been tapped on the back a bit too hard. His entire attention shifts away from him when his eyes linger on the words "I do wonder if the daylight ever came back".

It didn't.

That's his first thought. And his mind is lost, stuck, at first, in a weird... Prison cell of sorts. No light spilling within cracked walls. Something... Tells him to walk out. And somehow, he can. It's a prison, but he's free.

From that one. That prison in particular. Was it a prison? He recalls being stuck somewhere, not here. This is something else. Noctis leaves and finds himself at a shore, at a dock. The skies are black, with ominous dark specks floating softly to the ground. On his arms. Noctis remembers feeling this strange sense of relief to be here, but it's unfamiliar in that time has abused this place. Apocalyptic, he thinks. He can only compare it to the stories he'd read as a kid, or games he's played.

"Where is everybody?" he hears himself ask as he walks off a boat that took him to some... Resort? It looks like a resort.

Galdin.

Galdin Quay.

It's been ten years. That's what he remembers. Ten years, and he doesn't know what brought him here, but he knows that he's supposed to be here. That he'd been anxious to get back to finish something.

Finish... Something?

Before he can even really parse it too much, he snaps out of it. Noctis stares at his phone, seeing that his eyes are still on those last words. He obviously remembered something, something having to do with this.

Somehow, all he can think about now is Ardyn's dream now. And much more. He's nervous but... Uncertain. Something is off. ]

you free to meet up somewhere

[He isn't sure if that delay bodes well or not. It means the boy has something to say; a revelation? A memory?

How much is Ardyn willing to speak on any of this?]

Yes, but is everything all right?

[ He's not sure how he feels about this. Should he feel panicked? Nervous? Resolved? Noctis recalls almost too vividly feeling this sense of determination but the slightest bit of fear, not for himself, but... For others.

It doesn't make sense. Why did he feel so responsible for the resolution? Why did he recall being separated from... Everything for ten years? Where did he go?

Noctis gets up, grabbing his jacket and scarf. He texts Ardyn as he walks out of his penthouse. ]

im fine just
i have questions
and i think youre the best person to get answers from right now
im omw

I'll be here.

[He tamps down the anxiety he feels while he waits for Noctis.]

[ It's last second timing, but he's not exactly comfortable going over this with people who might not understand the scope of the situation. Prompto knows enough, but even he's been dealing with his own difficulty of grasping the truth of where they come from. Of what he is. Maybe it's just not the best time to talk to him about it.

Might not even be the best time to talk to Ardyn either, but Noctis has no idea.

Within a few minutes, he's rolling up in his corvette, parking the car and promptly getting out. Noctis stops a moment though, looking at the pathway towards Ardyn's front door. And for some reason, he's getting that weird, sinking feeling again in his gut. He's really not entirely sure why the thought of Ardyn triggers that sort of reaction, his suspicions were abandoned a while ago with zero evidence to support them, so why is this strange?

He rubs the back of his neck, murmuring "Who else is there?" to himself. It's just him, Prompto, and Ardyn who share this world together. Far as he knows. And he's just... So off after that memory hit him.

Noctis takes careful steps to the front door of Ardyn's home, knocking. He looks apologetic at least when he answers. ]

Hey.

Thanks for letting me come over with such short notice.

[To Ardyn's credit, he does manage a smile when he greets Noctis at the door. Stepping back, he ushers him in, same as all the other times the young man has visited. The cats amble up to him before he even steps through the door.]

Of course. If it is something important, you needn't ever hesitate to ask.

[ Ohhh, the kitties. None of this is their fault. Of course he has to acknowledge them. So he kneels down, smiling softly as he greets them and makes sure to pet all of them. Hey buddies.

Noctis straightens as he comes further into the house. ]

Just... Not sure who else to talk to about this. Prompto's got his own set of memories to process, and.

I mean, the dream you and I landed in has me wondering what you remember.

[ A beat. ]

Maybe we should sit down.

[He closes the door, speaking as he does:] What I remember specifically about my dream?

[After that, he moves to the living room, gesturing at Noctis to sit. A muscle works in his jaw, but Ardyn seems casual enough.]

That throne room, you mean?

[ It's uncomfortable; gods know he hates talking about their "past lives" because he already feels enough sense of responsibility as a future CEO, much less a king.

But Ardyn doesn't know that yet. That'll likely change. Prompto has been suspicious of Ardyn, but Noctis has no reason to agree. Yet. And maybe that's part of the reason he's here. He's not sure.

Noctis sits down in the living room, mulling over the words. ]

I remembered something before I came here.

[ Might as well start there to answer Ardyn's question. ]

I was on this island, it was dark... Ominous. Something told me it'd been ten whole years since I'd been.

With everyone else, I guess? Before night fell for good. I hopped on some boat and moved to Galdin, but it looked like a scene from an apocalypse movie. Daemons were all over the place, there was this weird black snow falling from the sky.

[ His eyes shift to Ardyn, expression with that same sleepiness, but a touch serious. ]

Same black snow I saw in your dream. The Citadel we were in was completely torn up.

[ This is the most he's talked about this at all. To anyone. And the more he goes on, the more nervous he starts to feel. It shows in his eyes. ]

Ardyn, I felt responsible for fixing it.

[ He hasn't even dropped the "King" word yet. He's not sure he wants to. ]

[He listens, schooling his face to both curiosity and calmness. A cat rubs up against his leg as Noctis speaks, and he gives it a little pat.

But his mind is churning, writhing with reconciling what he's hearing against his own memories. Yes, daemons roaming across the land. He remembered that clearly, he remembered all that darkness, everything. And he knew, somehow, that he was responsible for it all -- he felt that other man's hatred, something all twisted up inside of him. Hate, burning hot.]

It matches up with what I told you. Ten years of darkness, and daemons taking over the land.

[Though an island, close to Galdin Quay?] I don't remember this island of yours, though I suppose the dream I had -- the memory of the desecrated throne room -- took place in these ten years. It would only make sense.

But what do you mean... fixing it? How?

[ This is where he starts to feel his stomach sink, his nerves on fire. How in the world was he King? Royalty... It's such a heavy burden to bear, and there's no way he could ever picture himself being such a thing. It's unfathomable. Intimidating.

His brow knits, not looking at Ardyn. He's going to find out one way or another, Prompto brings it up constantly. ]

The solution's lost on me. But...

It's... My responsibility. As King of Lucis. That throne was mine.

[The throne that he sat upon? Belonging to Noctis? The young man had been a king?

But they were related, were they not? He closed his eyes, brows pinched together, and shook his head. Processing this was not as easy as it would have seemed.]

Hold on... you're... you were, a king? King of Lucis?

[Lucis Caelum. Perhaps the naming convention started to make more sense.]

Then what did that make me?

[ He’d thought about that, too. The name. It’s not like their relation has been specifically defined, and so they may be a step closer to understanding that, too.

Noctis responds fast: ]

Was.

[ That’s an important distinction. But he settles down a bit, finally shrugging. ]

And... Beats me. I’ve been spending weeks trying to wrap my head around the fact I’m royalty at all. Coupled with this whole responsibility thing, I’m...

Lost.

[A hand comes up to rub at his face, briefly, before he let a breath out through his teeth.]

Mm. Was, you said. There is, of course, always the option of not applying the responsibilities of your past life to this one, though... I understand that's easier said than done.

[He gestured at Noctis while he spoke.] Still, that doesn't mean that you must change how you act and how you feel now, am I right? The obligations do not carry over. There has to be time to process this information, and neither of us are even in possession of the full story.

[ Noctis makes a face, shifting his glance away. ]

Sounds like, if I am what's in these memories, I'm King of Nothing with an abysmal outlook.

Would have been fine with blissful ignorance.

[ He sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. ]

Still, I can't exactly help but wonder what all of this means. What or... Who caused this.

[ Noctis looks to Ardyn. ]

There... Were bodies hanging from the ceiling of the throne. In your dream. Do you know who they were?

[His mouth twists into a deeper frown, that memory coming back to the surface. Those bodies, hanging like marionettes. In the dream, they were laughing at him, commenting upon all of his thoughts — but he knows that in his memories proper, they still existed. Dead things, swaying gently in the dark. Something black oozing from their features, but he could not recall their faces. This still remains locked in his head.

He wonders if this is something he ever wishes to truly know.]

…No.

[That, at least, is the complete truth. He doesn’t remember who they were.]

But I feel as if they were important, somehow. Someone mentioned that they must have been on display for a reason, for that isn’t something done on a whim.

[ He can't get any of this out of his head. Noctis struggles to make connections because everything is... Scattered. The Crystal, the Daemons... Magitek soldiers, darkness, a war. Everything is intertwined somehow, but he can't decipher a start and finish. Nothing makes sense.

He's King. Prince. He's not sure what, but he's heard both, so somewhere along the way, the "reigning" King either passed away or stepped down from the throne. He doesn't even know who the King is. Obviously his father, but he doesn't have a name or face to it.

He traveled with three men. Presumably making money as a monster hunter, but... Why were they traveling in the first place? They were making way towards something.

The war. The destruction. When did all of this happen? Noctis leans forward and pinches the bridge of his nose. He didn't recognize any of those people hanging from the ceiling either. Why were they on display like that? ]

There's... I mean, there's gotta be some sort of antagonist in all this, right?

[ He pushes the hair back from his bangs, visibly confused and lost. ]

Why did I disappear for ten years? And where did I go? I can't even place when on the timeline that the Citadel was destroyed. Obviously in the war, but...

[ His gaze shifts back to Ardyn. ]

Maybe it's about time we... I don't know. Try to establish a timeline? Lay out all our memories.

It's starting to bug me.

[There's gotta be some sort of antagonist in all this, right? Ardyn doesn't respond immediately, he only shifts his weight in his chair, looking like he's settling in for a long conversation. He might be. His eyes, gone bright amber, almost gold, thanks to Retrospec, flit over Noctis' face.]

I wonder.

[He tilts his head back slightly, looking up at the ceiling in thought. He wanted to draw a timeline? That was only fair, and perhaps it would benefit him as well, but there was so much that he was uncomfortable talking about. So much he had to cut away at, to toss aside, so that he could keep it to himself for now, before he decided how to tackle them head-on. But there is guilt in hiding all the details. It makes him feel like a liar, a hypocrite. He hates it, but he cannot tell Noctis and Prompto or hardly anyone about the anger and hate and the desire to destroy that he felt in that past life. He does not want to lose any of them, and he's already pushed Prompto so far away.]

Well... [He exhales, closing his eyes, then looks at Noctis again.] My memories -- some of the first I ever received -- began with me being a healer, traveling the land. Do you remember anything like a sickness plaguing our world, Noctis?

[ He knows that there's going to be a large portion of this conversation that leaves a bad taste in his mouth. While some of the memories have been tame, to a point, a lot of what he's recalled lately has been daunting. Nevermind the recurring nightmare of that Crystal. He's avoided talking about it, because he feels as though he's welcoming this into his life. Into his sense of self. And he rejects this, but all the same...

Noctis leans forward a bit, elbows at his knees. He looks about as surprised as one blissfully ignorant should be. ]

Sickness? No.

I remember darkness being a big problem. With the daemons crawling around, but no plague.

You know I possess a healing power.

[Ardyn shifted again in his seat, getting comfortable to explain all of this. He wished the tension in his back would uncoil and dissipate, but to no avail.]

That much was shared with that other me, long ago. Some of what I can only assume are his earliest memories, he... I travelled the world, healing those that were afflicted. It was something dark, something painful. Eventually, it turned people in daemons.

[Strange, then, how the daemonification process was used to create MTs then, isn't it?]

[ Noctis listens intently, expression falling into something of focus and intrigue. But there’s a seriousness here that he doesn’t usually display. If anything, it keeps him from getting too uncomfortable, because he truthfully dislikes talking about this to an extent. He’s realizing that he doesn’t have much of a choice these days.

He recalls Ardyn’s healing ability, mostly because it didn’t work on him. And he has to wonder if it somehow made it worse, because Noctis lost consciousness shortly after...

But that doesn’t make sense. Why would it? If it’s worked on others?

He’s not able to linger on that thought for long. The last part of his explanation has Noctis sitting upright rather fast. ]

It what?

[ Noctis actually has no idea that MTs are tied in to all that. He’s aware there’s a connection, but only because he’s aware of Prompto’s identity. ]

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