[The sound of metal on metal is shrill and ringing. Sparks may as well have flown from the blades crossing, but Ardyn seems eerily unfazed by the force of impact. He remembers fighting; he knows what to expect from it.

He's surprised at Noctis' strength in return, however. This young man, whose physical state had done him no favors in the past... That he can push back and swing against him, enough to where Ardyn has to throw a foot back in order to keep balance, is not something he had expected. Ardyn's still grinning, but there's something humorless about it. The flash of white teeth, still grit, even as he readjusts his position to block the attack.

His expression, seen through the crossing of blades, seems to be just as sharp as their weapons.]

It's because we are related that I've done this. [That he does this. Or was he merely regurgitating his past, bursting at the seams with memories he never asked for? It's difficult to differentiate, and Ardyn can't be bothered to really think it over right now.]

I was betrayed by my own family. I remember it. The hatred, the sorrow. The many, many years of existing, to let it all fester and boil within. And you -- the last of your line -- I hated you for it. But I needed you, all the same.

[He pushes forward, putting weight behind his blade.]

That last fight... You don't remember it at all, do you?

[Ardyn remembers flashes of it. Enough, really, to piece it all together.]