[At first, a long shuddering breath is the only answer Izunia gets. It is a lot, even when Ignis focuses on certain things more than others. Regis so proud and brave even though he knows how this will end. A true king whose strength knows no bounds. There are other things going on around him, of course, but Ignis doesn't allow his eyes to stray from the form of the king. Will he see his uncle die if he does? That familiar form still in the death Ignis knows must have come? His uncle would have been no different than so many that day, fighting to his dying breath even as he knew it would come to nothing.
And Nyx. Ignis had know--had suspected--the Glaive who had worn the ring was him. Who else could it have been? Seeing it, though, drives a sad laugh from Ignis' mouth.] I cannot decide if he would scold me or congratulate me for following in his footsteps like this.
[His mentor was at peace in the end. That is the only thing that lightens the weight in Ignis' heart even as a tear makes its way down his right cheek. Finally, he feels as if he can mourn at least one loss. There is closure to the Hero's story and there will be no body to retrieve. It's how the ring works.]
It's all right. I just need a moment. Please, don't pull away.
[He doesn't want to be alone right now, even if there is no way he can truly be so now that they share a body.]
Yes, though I suspect he would have had more to say to all of you if he'd known what the future held in store for Noctis.
[Nyx wanted Noctis to rule well, and if things aren't changed, he will never get to rule at all. Instead, he will die as another sacrifice to fix the mess the Astrals made long before he was even born. It's another reason to see things changed. There is no changing Nyx's fate, but he can see the last wish of the man who he respected so much fulfilled.
To that end, Ignis takes a deep breath and once more begins showing Izunia memories of what happened after the Fall. The first memory is the four of them reuniting with Cor, followed shortly by Noctis gaining his first Royal Arm. There are no few images of hunts as well, though Ignis never focuses on any of them long. Soon enough, they arrive in Lestallum to met up with Iris, Jared and Talcott. There is both joy and sorrow in that reunion, but only a moment to rest before they are off to the Greyshire Glacial Grotto in search of another Royal Arm. They emerge victorious only to find they have lost on another front as Imperial forces move into Lestallum and killed Jared while they were away.
There is little time to mourn, though, because ever since they came close to the Disc of Cauthess, Noctis has had terrible headaches. It's clear how much these headaches worry Ignis, especially since they keep getting worse. When they seem to be at the end of their ropes, who appears to 'save' them but Ardyn.
At this point, though not part of the memory, Ignis can almost be heard growling, If I knew then what I know now! and then the memories continue.
A car ride. A stay in a caravan. Ardyn 'miraculously' getting them passed the Imperials guarding the Disc. Surprise at finding another Royal Arm and then terror when the ground gives way beneath Noctis. Relief and adrenaline rush through Ignis' veins as Gladio and Noctis are confirmed okay and he and Prompto move to find a way to meet up with them.
How often does one fight an Astral? Ignis is quite certain this is one fight he could have done without, but in the end they manage to come out on top until the very ground beneath them becomes their enemy and Ardyn once more sweeps in like a protective angel to save them.]
The Chancellor of Bloody Niflheim. More like the Bloody Showman of Niflheim. He can't help the drama, can he?
[That Royal Arm, at the Disc, in particular gives Izunia pause. If he were physical, the greatsword would probably have manifested so that he could run his hands over it. As it is, Ignis will probably feel the magic now seated in his core, flexing like a muscle just shy of moving.
(Among other things, it would be difficult to explain Ignis with the Blade of the Mystic across his lap should anyone else come.)
His voice, in contrast to Ignis' anger, is distantly fond.]
He really can't. It was a bit more endearing when we were younger. Now I see it's grown as cruel and twisted as the rest.
[He doesn't attempt to disguise how it makes his heart ache. That would be impossible anyway. It is for love that he does anything, after all, even if anyone else would find that love wasted on someone like the person his brother has become.]
[That flexing of magic distracts Ignis from his anger. He can't really hold onto it anyway. That time is past and he can't change anything no matter how much he wants to. It's more important to focus on the now.
As if it might help, Ignis raises a hand to his shoulder. He can't put a comforting hand on Izunia's arm when there is no arm to squeeze. This is the best he can to do recognize and acknowledge the heartache the Founder King feels.]
I can see how it might have been kinder once. That flare has not left the bloodline. I suppose you share it as well?
[He thinks about how he's seen the flashes in both Regis and Noctis. Times long ago, but the memories that flicker through his mind are fond and he gently offers them to Izunia for viewing in hopes it might comfort him even a little.]
[The phantom sensation of another body leans into Ignis' at the small comforting gesture. Izunia chuckles, almost sheepishly, and for a moment seems that much younger.]
Ah - guilty as charged, I'm afraid. Just from my brother rubbing off, of course.
[Of course. But he doesn't miss the question, and it's hard to hide the flicker of a much greater regret that lives within the answer.]
It is not by mistake that your history books remember 'Ardyn Lucis Caelum' as the Founder King. When it happened - I believed "Ardyn" dead, and only a daemon left in his place. And, to me - it was always his kingdom. My role was more like yours - tracking documents and politics and leaving him the freedom to act. To travel and heal the people who loved him in turn.
[Invisible fists tighten with a strain of leather that Ignis will almost be able to feel.]
So I did all I could - to give him the recognition he deserved in history, if he couldn't have it in life.
[If only the lighter mood that joke brings could remain, but it has very little hope of standing against the tragedy tied to those within this room. Does Ardyn have any idea what his brother did for him afterward or was it too late when he had the chance to know? Was he too lost in hate and rage to care that maybe everything wasn't as it seemed?] Was it Bahamut who told you that? [Who else could it have been really? The Crystal rejected Ardyn and the Draconian would have answered any questions in whatever way was needed to make sure the world moved onto the path he chose for it.
Of all the things Ignis imagined happening during his life, never did he imagine that he would come to have Bahamut as much as he has.]
Of course it was. And so the Bladekeeper gave three gifts unto the line, so on and so forth.
[It's an interruption in the grief, because it is bitter and sarcastic and full of loathing.
Two thousand years of grief, not just for Ardyn but for all of the descendants he has watched wither, for Regis, for Noctis doomed to die before his time, for all of the people who suffer now -
The well of hate is deep, and the desire for vengeance strong and black as any manifestation of the Scourge itself.]
It is no wonder that Niflheim targets the gods, with Ardyn's hand at the helm, but it is the Draconian who bears the blame and with it my hatred.
[Ardyn is a greatsword, swinging wide and wildly without care for what gets in his path, what collateral damage he may cause. It would be no surprise to Izunia that he simply wants to burn it all.
But Izunia is a rapier, piercing, accurate, precise and unerringly focused, and all that he feels is sharpened to an impossibly fine tip pointed at Bahamut's very heart.]
[It's fitting, then, that it's Izunia who Ignis has ended up bound to. He, himself, is a focused man. Swiping, grand strokes are not his preferred method. Instead, he seeks those pinpoint weaknesses; he maps them out and destroys in silence, the ruin becoming apparent only at the right time.
What ruin can they create together with such surgical precision on their side? Ignis can't wait to find out.
Were he capable of it after all the pain the Astral has caused, Ignis might feel sorry for him, but there are some who are beyond such things. Bahamut is among them.]
It is he who bears mine as well.
[Shiva's messenger has aided them; Ramuh gave his blessing without fight; Titan fought, but eventually bowed; Leviathan...
Well, the Tidemother may rank near Bahamut, but even she cannot truly challenge the Draconian's position.]
We will take him apart from the inside out. He won't know something is wrong until it is too late.
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no subject
And Nyx. Ignis had know--had suspected--the Glaive who had worn the ring was him. Who else could it have been? Seeing it, though, drives a sad laugh from Ignis' mouth.]
I cannot decide if he would scold me or congratulate me for following in his footsteps like this.
[His mentor was at peace in the end. That is the only thing that lightens the weight in Ignis' heart even as a tear makes its way down his right cheek. Finally, he feels as if he can mourn at least one loss. There is closure to the Hero's story and there will be no body to retrieve. It's how the ring works.]
It's all right. I just need a moment. Please, don't pull away.
[He doesn't want to be alone right now, even if there is no way he can truly be so now that they share a body.]
no subject
[...At the request, he stays, mentally pressed to Ignis' side. A phantom arm remains around the younger man's shoulders.
Insomnia, they can mourn together. Even if neither was born there - Ignis foreign, Izunia predating it - it is home to both of them.]
But I think more than that, he would be glad you survived.
[Such is the wish of those who offer their lives to protect others without hesitation - to see that everyone else gets home safe.]
no subject
[Nyx wanted Noctis to rule well, and if things aren't changed, he will never get to rule at all. Instead, he will die as another sacrifice to fix the mess the Astrals made long before he was even born. It's another reason to see things changed. There is no changing Nyx's fate, but he can see the last wish of the man who he respected so much fulfilled.
To that end, Ignis takes a deep breath and once more begins showing Izunia memories of what happened after the Fall. The first memory is the four of them reuniting with Cor, followed shortly by Noctis gaining his first Royal Arm. There are no few images of hunts as well, though Ignis never focuses on any of them long. Soon enough, they arrive in Lestallum to met up with Iris, Jared and Talcott. There is both joy and sorrow in that reunion, but only a moment to rest before they are off to the Greyshire Glacial Grotto in search of another Royal Arm. They emerge victorious only to find they have lost on another front as Imperial forces move into Lestallum and killed Jared while they were away.
There is little time to mourn, though, because ever since they came close to the Disc of Cauthess, Noctis has had terrible headaches. It's clear how much these headaches worry Ignis, especially since they keep getting worse. When they seem to be at the end of their ropes, who appears to 'save' them but Ardyn.
At this point, though not part of the memory, Ignis can almost be heard growling, If I knew then what I know now! and then the memories continue.
A car ride. A stay in a caravan. Ardyn 'miraculously' getting them passed the Imperials guarding the Disc. Surprise at finding another Royal Arm and then terror when the ground gives way beneath Noctis. Relief and adrenaline rush through Ignis' veins as Gladio and Noctis are confirmed okay and he and Prompto move to find a way to meet up with them.
How often does one fight an Astral? Ignis is quite certain this is one fight he could have done without, but in the end they manage to come out on top until the very ground beneath them becomes their enemy and Ardyn once more sweeps in like a protective angel to save them.]
The Chancellor of Bloody Niflheim. More like the Bloody Showman of Niflheim. He can't help the drama, can he?
no subject
(Among other things, it would be difficult to explain Ignis with the Blade of the Mystic across his lap should anyone else come.)
His voice, in contrast to Ignis' anger, is distantly fond.]
He really can't. It was a bit more endearing when we were younger. Now I see it's grown as cruel and twisted as the rest.
[He doesn't attempt to disguise how it makes his heart ache. That would be impossible anyway. It is for love that he does anything, after all, even if anyone else would find that love wasted on someone like the person his brother has become.]
It was his sword, you know. Not mine.
no subject
[That flexing of magic distracts Ignis from his anger. He can't really hold onto it anyway. That time is past and he can't change anything no matter how much he wants to. It's more important to focus on the now.
As if it might help, Ignis raises a hand to his shoulder. He can't put a comforting hand on Izunia's arm when there is no arm to squeeze. This is the best he can to do recognize and acknowledge the heartache the Founder King feels.]
I can see how it might have been kinder once. That flare has not left the bloodline. I suppose you share it as well?
[He thinks about how he's seen the flashes in both Regis and Noctis. Times long ago, but the memories that flicker through his mind are fond and he gently offers them to Izunia for viewing in hopes it might comfort him even a little.]
It was?
no subject
Ah - guilty as charged, I'm afraid. Just from my brother rubbing off, of course.
[Of course. But he doesn't miss the question, and it's hard to hide the flicker of a much greater regret that lives within the answer.]
It is not by mistake that your history books remember 'Ardyn Lucis Caelum' as the Founder King. When it happened - I believed "Ardyn" dead, and only a daemon left in his place. And, to me - it was always his kingdom. My role was more like yours - tracking documents and politics and leaving him the freedom to act. To travel and heal the people who loved him in turn.
[Invisible fists tighten with a strain of leather that Ignis will almost be able to feel.]
So I did all I could - to give him the recognition he deserved in history, if he couldn't have it in life.
no subject
[If only the lighter mood that joke brings could remain, but it has very little hope of standing against the tragedy tied to those within this room. Does Ardyn have any idea what his brother did for him afterward or was it too late when he had the chance to know? Was he too lost in hate and rage to care that maybe everything wasn't as it seemed?]
Was it Bahamut who told you that?
[Who else could it have been really? The Crystal rejected Ardyn and the Draconian would have answered any questions in whatever way was needed to make sure the world moved onto the path he chose for it.
Of all the things Ignis imagined happening during his life, never did he imagine that he would come to have Bahamut as much as he has.]
no subject
[It's an interruption in the grief, because it is bitter and sarcastic and full of loathing.
Two thousand years of grief, not just for Ardyn but for all of the descendants he has watched wither, for Regis, for Noctis doomed to die before his time, for all of the people who suffer now -
The well of hate is deep, and the desire for vengeance strong and black as any manifestation of the Scourge itself.]
It is no wonder that Niflheim targets the gods, with Ardyn's hand at the helm, but it is the Draconian who bears the blame and with it my hatred.
[Ardyn is a greatsword, swinging wide and wildly without care for what gets in his path, what collateral damage he may cause. It would be no surprise to Izunia that he simply wants to burn it all.
But Izunia is a rapier, piercing, accurate, precise and unerringly focused, and all that he feels is sharpened to an impossibly fine tip pointed at Bahamut's very heart.]
no subject
What ruin can they create together with such surgical precision on their side? Ignis can't wait to find out.
Were he capable of it after all the pain the Astral has caused, Ignis might feel sorry for him, but there are some who are beyond such things. Bahamut is among them.]
It is he who bears mine as well.
[Shiva's messenger has aided them; Ramuh gave his blessing without fight; Titan fought, but eventually bowed; Leviathan...
Well, the Tidemother may rank near Bahamut, but even she cannot truly challenge the Draconian's position.]
We will take him apart from the inside out. He won't know something is wrong until it is too late.