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[ X’rhun cannot help the way he frowns, glancing again at the frozen figure in the pod. ]

This is not the first time I have heard that those who should be dead are being kept in stasis.

[ This is, however, the first time he has seen one – because as obtuse as Ardyn could be and still is on a regular basis, he has no reason to doubt him on this front. In fact, he would not be surprised to learn that Ardyn had a hand in this man’s demise, all to spur Noctis into action and see the prophecy fulfilled. ]

Ardyn, let us say that the prophecy had come to pass. The Storm does not claim your world, Noctis emerges from his slumber and confronts you at last – what waits for you, at the end of all that?

[Ardyn nearly tilts his head at that, an eyebrow gently raising. He's certainly not hesitant to answer this particular question, even if it is apparently fated to not come to pass.]

A battle among Kings. He must work for victory.

[If he couldn't defeat him, then the world would die, and it would be only be a delirious sort of spite that would keep Ardyn going after that.]

But if he succeeds? Then the final, complete death of my soul. A deep, dark void of nothingness.

[ As much as he would like to say he’s surprised, the fact of the matter is… he just isn’t. From what he knows of Ardyn, the man wouldn’t shroud the world in darkness just to save it. He wouldn’t bend a knee to fate for the good of the common man, not now. Not after thousands of years of tortured existence, of being damned for that very line of thinking.

But to serve himself? Oh, yes. There’s no doubt. The prophecy may be the means, but the motivations are truly selfish. ]

Rest. At long last, hm?

Indeed so. And in a twist of irony, the completion of what I had once sought to do, long ago.

[The end of the Starscourge, once and for all. Perhaps the latter half was not so important as achieving his rest, but the aforementioned irony -- that cruel twist of the knife -- did not escape his notice.]

Nothing that should be surprising to you at this point, X'rhun.

Mayhap not, but I will admit it’s nice to hear such things from your own mouth rather than having to do guesswork all the time.

[ He’s sure there is still quite a bit about Ardyn Izunia that he has yet to unravel, but there is a certain level of understanding between them. At the very least, X’rhun seems to be able to figure out where the pieces will fall before they land. ]

Well, where's the fun in that? I'll have to be more cryptic just for you, from now on.

[A chuckle.]

Would you like to know something else strange about the old king sleeping in one of these pods?

Now, now. You do a fine job of that already. No need to redouble your efforts, I promise.

[ He chooses to see this as headway, a sign of trust, mayhap, and he’d rather not see it undone, even jokingly. ]

Well, you have me intrigued. Go on, then.

[He should take whatever headway he's given, where Ardyn is concerned. But to be fair, it wouldn't hurt to look at it as progress, even if veiled behind a joke.

For now, though, Ardyn just reaches out and taps at the glass. Regis won't mind.]

He isn't even supposed to have a body. He has been delegated to the role of... spirit, shall we say.

That is no less shocking than learning he should be dead, to be honest with you.

[ His eyes sweep over the man in the tube yet again. He seems quite solid indeed. ]

Do the dead often become spirits where you are from or is that a fate given only to the royals?

Oh, I don’t know. There’s something impressive about the idea that his very form has reverted back into something physical.

[But of course, that might just be an issue of time not making sense among all of them. Ardyn is living proof of that, after all.]

Only those of the Lucis Caelum line, if deemed worthy enough, will live on through the Ring of Lucii. [Ah, he waves a hand dismissively.] A powerful family heirloom, a gift from the gods, something that would grant a living member of the line a great sort of power.

Your world seems to treat the one family line very particularly.

[ It’s just a mild observation. He himself knows someone touched by destiny, it is not so far-fetched to believe that there is an entire bloodline similarly touched. ]

I assume the living member of that family line would similarly have to be worthy to wield such power, yes?

Quite so.

[To both of those statements. But Ardyn continues the conversation along the second point.]

And Astrals forbid those who aren’t of the family line and try to wear the ring. The last man who used its power lost his sight. The one before that? Turned to dust. Another lost his arm.

Gods.

[ X’rhun frowns. On the one hand, he supposes it’s a good way to deter someone from using such power for ill, but on the other, how very terrifying. ]

Does this ring play a part in your own tale? Aside from its place as a family heirloom, I mean.

Noctis wore the ring, a symbol of his readiness to take on the mantle of king. And that that entails, for him.

[The adherence to the prophecy, he means.]

It simply took a bit of... encouragement. But later -- or what had been planned for later -- the ring will summon the kings of old. They will take Noctis' life so that he might pass into the afterlife, and end the existence of my soul with completely finality.

[ That is entirely new information, and X’rhun cannot help the surprise that crosses his face. All this talk of destiny and prophecy, he had not realized that Noctis would ultimately have to give up his life at the end of it all. He wonders if the boy knows that, if his friends know that, and what a terrible burden that must be to bear if they do. ]

His life for the world, then? What a terrible fate. It is enough to make me wish that things could be different, for the both of you.

Oh, but it is different now, isn't it?

[Though he knows that's not what X'rhun quite meant. Still, his point is no less accurate.]

He need no longer give his life, and I shall not die. Let us thank the Storm for that much.

That’s not what I meant.

[ His brow furrows. Ardyn is flippant as ever about the whole thing, but X’rhun truly wishes his friend were not in a position to seek the end of his life so. ]

Besides, it bothers you that you did not get the chance to finish what you started, does it not?

[Flippant and dismissive as Ardyn is, X'rhun should well know the answer to that.]

Thousands of years, existing with only one goal in mind. You would be bothered to have it all unravel at the last moment too, wouldn't you?

Aye, I suppose it would.

[ But, like he said before, it is nice to hear these things from Ardyn's mouth rather than relying on his own guesswork. ]

Is there aught else to see on this tour of yours?

A few more that should be dead, but decidedly are not. Does such a thing continue to spark your interest?

I suppose when one dies an returns to life oneself, the notion does lose a bit of its luster. Besides, I could take you on such a tour of people from Hydaelyn.

If there is naught you feel I should see, then I am content to be done.

There is always more to share; each individual that I know of, after all, has a story to tell. Or a story for me to tell for them.

[And that wouldn't be biased at all, of course!]

It is your turn to show, if you feel so inclined. I won't lie and say that I'm not curious.

[ Oh yes, Ardyn is the most impartial of narrators. ]

There is but one other I would like you to see. Follow me.

[ X'rhun turns to head back down the rows of pods, trusting that Ardyn will follow. He leads the way back to the general area where Arya lay sleeping, though the tube where X'rhun ultimately stops is a good distance away. Admittedly, with the ice frosting over the glass, it is difficult to make out the figure inside, but X'rhun would know them no matter what. ]

Your world is not the only one with those that are favored. This is the Warrior of Light.

[Ardyn follows, strung along by curiosity. He stops when X'rhun does, looking in the indicated of a tube where one can make out the shape of a figure.]

Warrior of Light? [An upturn of the lips at that indicate something wry, just barely holding back a scoff.] What a title. I'm sure we would've gotten along splendidly.

Oh, I’m most certain you would not have.

[ He says it with a grin. Granted, he knows that Eorzea’s champion may well have seen in Ardyn what X’rhun sees as well, but far be it from him to jump to such conclusions or make the situation awkward. He knows better than to talk to Ardyn Izunia about things like redemption and humanity. ]

I had heard tales of their deeds long before they landed themselves in my company quite by accident. A liberator of nations, a slayer of gods. Touched by Hydaelyn Herself.

They were a simple adventurer ere any of that, however. Funny, how the pendulum of fate swings both ways.

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daemonized - 2018-07-06 14:23 (UTC) - Expand

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