Chapter 4

"Noct?" Ignis gasped the name out when he saw who was before him. Among the deserted streets leading towards the Citadel stood Noctis. The Prince... Was alive.

Ignis's one fervent wish had come true. The man could not help the smile of pure relief and joy that stretched across his face despite the situation around him. He felt his eyes water at the sight of his dear friend.

Noctis was alive!

"Oh, hey Iggy. What's up?" Noctis asked casually, wearing the same clothing he had the day he'd gone missing. His tone was light, not at all serious. As if everything was alright. As if all of Insomnia had not been evacuated because of the Daemons that had seemingly erupted out of nowhere and attacked everyone in sight. As if the Wall that once protected Insomnia had not disappeared. As if they had not glimpsed hide nor hair of one another for months.

Ignis was stunned into silence by that simple response.

"Where have you been lately? I don't think I've seen you all day. Dad and Somnus haven't been on my case today so we have some time to kill if you want to hang out," Noctis again spoke casually.

"Your father… And Sommus?" Ignis questioned, still in shock. He was unsure who this Somnus was but he was glad to hear the King also lived. Yet...

'All day'? Ignis hadn't seen Noctis in over almost three months. Not since he and Gladio dropped him off at the Citadel to see his father. Something strange had occurred that day. He'd been called away from Noctis by his Uncle, only to be attacked by Daemons. His Uncle had disappeared during the struggle and Ignis had yet to find him. The man still felt his loss keenly. He'd been the only family he had left.

Gladio had something similar happen to him though he'd been able to find his father. The Shield of the King had been found lying unconscious outside the Royal Hall. A Daemon had been dragging him off, likely to be devoured, but both Gladio and Ignis had managed to rescue him once they'd been reunited. Once Clarus awoke, he could not recall what had happened to him. He did not remember asking Gladio to follow him just before the attack.

They'd ended up fleeing the Citadel when they could not locate their Prince or King. Thousands of Daemons had erupted across Insomnia. As much as Ignis wished to stay and search for Noctis it would have only resulted in his own death. With a heavy heart he'd fled, praying the Prince had managed to escape already. He vowed to return if that was not the case.

But that had been the case. Neither Regis nor Noctis made it out of Insomnia. Everyone had been so sick with worry these few months. No one knew what became of the Royal Family. Most assumed them dead. And now here the Prince stood and all he could say was that he wished to 'hang out'?

The Prince's Advisor could not help the wave of indignation that surfaced. Insomnia was deserted, the world was in peril. This was not the time and place for such frivolities. Thankfully none had followed Ignis to the Citadel but Daemons lurked in every corner of their former home.

Ignis had been separated from Cor, Prompto, Gladio and Clarus. The five of them had braved Insomnia in the hopes of reaching the Citadel. They'd done it often but this was the first time one of them had made it this far. Not wanting to retreat and despite being alone, Ignis continued on. He'd needed so badly to know what happened to Noctis.

The Advisor snapped out of his thoughts when His Highness responded to him.

"Yeah. They've been nagging me about royal protocol more than you normally do," Noctis laughed softly. "Do you, I don't know, wanna head out to the arcade or something before dark? We can call Gladio and Prompto on the way."

Something was terribly, terribly wrong with Noctis, Ignis thought to himself. Before dark? It was already dark. The days had become shorter since the attack. Something unnatural seemed to be affecting the amount of daylight Eos received. The citizens had also all fled the city out of fear, leaving the city barren save for the beasts of darkness. There was not a chance the arcade would be open… Was there?

"... Yes. Let's go do that, Noct," Ignis said quickly despite his growing unease at this situation. Whatever joy he'd felt upon seeing his Prince was quickly fading into dread.

But whatever this was, the Advisor would play along. He continued, "let me send a message to them both. Shall we just make our way on foot? It may be a bit of a walk, but exercise is good for the body."

"That's fine by me," Noctis said, giving his friend a small smile.

"Noctis. What happened three months ago?" Ignis finally asked. They'd been walking along in silence for a few minutes. The Advisor was unsure of how to begin. There was so much he wished to know.

And Noctis seemed oblivious. Instead of informing his friend of everything he'd been doing these last few months, the Prince was quiet as he followed along. He offered no explanations, continuing to act as if nothing was wrong.

Ignis noticed that His Highness looked well. Rested, clean and healthy. It did not seem that he'd been feeling the same hardships the rest of the world was facing right now.

Ignis's mind began to recall some of the rumours that had been spreading among the populace. People had begun to whisper that the Royal Family must have sequestered themselves inside the Citadel with the Crystal. That they were safe and sound, living in luxury and ignoring the rest of the world as it suffered. That possibly, they'd even had something to do with the Daemon outbreak. Using the beasts to their own ends to destroy Niflheim and keep people out of the Insomnia while their Crystal kept them safe.

The Prince's Advisor had never believed any of them. He still didn't. But… Seeing how oddly Noctis was acting, he could not help but think of these rumours and the many more he'd heard. Once again, the man felt irritation rise up within him as he looked over at his Prince. He looked so calm and unworried. He didn't bat an eye at the devastation around them. Buildings were crumbling, the city was overtaken by monsters, his people had all fled. Did Noctis not care for his city or people? Or was there perhaps something else going on with him?

Ignis found himself a little angry, but also worried. He believed Noctis had a good explanation. His Highness' friends and guards had been worried for him. Many of the remaining Crownsguard and Kingsglaive attempted to brave Insomnia to search for him and his father. They'd all failed, likely having been torn apart by the Daemons.

There must be a good explanation for it all, Ignis hoped. Noctis just needed to reveal to him what that was.

"What do you mean? Did something important happen?" Noctis responded, confusion evident in his tone. He stopped to look over at his friend.

"The Daemon attack on Insomnia. What happened to you?" Ignis stated, his voice a little harsher this time.

"Iggy… What exactly are you talking about? What attack? The one when I was a kid? That happened when I was like eight," Again Noctis did not seem to know what Ignis was speaking of.

"No! The one on Insomnia three months ago!" Ignis shouted, his frustrations surfacing. He'd been so filled with hope and joy when he'd found the Prince once more. But this entire encounter had not gone as he thought it would. "The one that caused your city and people so much loss and devastation! The one before you went missing for months! We believed you dead!"

Ignis's voice broke at the last part. He took a breath and forced himself to calm down. When he looked up at his Prince, he found him staring.

"I don't…" Noctis began softly, blue eyes wide in shock. Ignis never raised his voice with him. "I don't know what you mean, Ignis…"

The hurt look was so very like Noctis. Ignis found himself feeling guilty seeing him with such an expression.

"Noctis-" Ignis stepped towards him, about to apologize. He would attempt this again, without raising his voice this time. That was uncalled for in this situation. He should not allow his emotions to get the better of him, Ignis thought to himself. He was raised better than that.

It did seem as if something strange was going on with Noctis. How could he not know what Ignis spoke of?

Before Ignis could reach his friend, Noctis suddenly bent over with a small cry. He clutched his head as if it were in pain.

"Your Highness!" The Advisor said worriedly. "What is the matter?"

Noctis only offered a weak groan of pain as a response. Ignis was about to reach out to him when he noticed something that caused him to freeze in alarm. A darkness began to pattern Noctis's skin.

No…

Ignis was far too familiar with what that was. He'd watched too many people succumb to it already. He felt sick with the realization… Noctis was infected by the Starscourge.

The man could only look on helplessly until Noctis seemed to recover from whatever bout of pain caused by the disease. The Prince righted himself, looking a little dazed as he glanced around him. He saw Ignis and smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry Iggy. We were talking about something. What were we talking about again?" Noctis asked, the inky darkness vivid against his skin. Veins of black made their way underneath the Prince's skin, traveling towards his neck and face.

Ignis could not respond. He'd never seen the Starscourge do that on someone's body. It looked like it was alive as it made its way through Noctis.

"Iggy?" The Prince asked, tilting his head. The darkness made its way to his temples, spreading it's tendrils towards his eyes. It darkened the sclera of his eyes from white to obsidian. "Is something wrong?"

"No… Nothing is wrong," Ignis managed to respond after another few moments, "We were, ah, just making our way to the others."

"Oh, yeah right. Hopefully Dad and Uncle Somnus won't catch us," Noctis laughed. "I might get a lecture from them again. Which is a little funny because Somnus himself seems to like avoiding his duties at times."

"Who…" Ignis cleared his throat when he couldn't manage to say anything else. He took a few breaths and tried again. He forced himself not to panic. Something was greatly amiss and he needed to figure out what that was. The man tried to speak again. "Noctis, who is Somnus?"

"What? Iggy, what kind of joke is that?" Noctis glanced at him with furrowed brows. "My dad's brother? Uncle Somnus? Wait… Did Uncle Ardyn put you up to something like this? Is he asking people to pretend Somnus doesn't exist again?"

Ignis was absolutely certain King Regis had no brother. Why did Noctis believe he did? And why did he think Ignis would know of him?

Noctis rolled his eyes and sighed, "he did this last time too. One of the glaives pretended to be so confused the entire time I was talking to him."

"My apologies, Your Highness, he did do that. I thought I might play along as well," Ignis lied. And 'Uncle' Ardyn? Did he mean the Chancellor of Niflheim that went missing? There had been a report someone matching his description had been sighted in Insomnia before the attack. And the glaive he was speaking of must have been one of the many that went missing while attempting to enter the Citadel. It seemed Ignis was not the only one to make it this far like he had assumed. "My mistake."

"I don't see why you all think it's such a great joke. It's not," Noctis grumbled, scowling. He began to walk ahead and Ignis had no choice but to follow him. Strangely, despite there being many Daemons out before, there was none to be seen now.

There was silence for a while before the Advisor spoke up again.

"Noct…" Ignis began. He saw Noctis look at him. "You don't notice anything odd?"

"About what?" Noctis stopped and turned to him.

"Anything? The streets, the buildings, even me?" Ignis asked. The Advisor did not look like he did months ago. He'd lost a bit of weight. Food was getting scarce as people hoarded what they could. At least the new scars across Ignis's face from battling Daemons should be noticeable. Even the buildings they were passing by were falling apart from whatever battles the Kingsglaive had with the Daemons. There was no way Noctis could miss all of that, could he?

"... No? Everything looks like it always does. .. Oh," Noctis paused, "did you do something with your hair? Like cut it or something? You know I can never tell when you do that, Iggy. You never let it grow enough to look all that different before you get it done again."

"I suppose... That is true," Ignis responded softly. Did Noctis truly not see anything different? Did he not see the destruction around him? Was he unaware of it all? Was this even the Prince before him?

There was one way to find out, Ignis decided. As Noctis turned back to walk in the direction of the arcade, Ignis raised an arm before him. He materialized a blade in his open hand.

It was one Cor had given him, taken from one of the many tombs of the former Kings of Lucis. He'd been informed that Noctis was supposedly the King of Light. Someone destined to save the world from darkness. If that was the case, then Eos needed Noctis right now.

Noctis wasn't looking as Ignis approached him from behind. He held the Sword of the Wise out to his Prince, hoping something would happen.

After a moment, something did. The sword began to glow, lighting up the area around them. It turned translucent and floated out of Ignis's hand.

Noctis finally noticed something then. He turned around and froze.

"Oh hey. What is…" The Prince trailed off, transfixed by the glow of the weapon.

Ignis watched the sword sail straight at his friend's body. He winced when it hit even though it had not been his own.

Noctis grunted in pain and doubled over with a scream of agony. Blue light shone out from his chest and magic shards surrounded him for a few moments. Ignis saw the tendrils of Scourge writhe underneath his Prince's skin... And then it began to retreat.

The light faded. Noctis's skin no longer held the darkness from earlier. The young man stood up straight, blinking owlishly around him. He focused on Ignis when he realized he was there.

"Ignis?" Noctis's voice was soft. He sounded lost, almost child-like. "I think... Something's wrong. No. I know something is wrong. I just… I can't think."

"It's alright Noctis. We will figure this out. I am here with you," Ignis tried to soothe. He needed to get him to Lady Lunafreya, as soon as physically possible. He was uncertain how long Noctis had been afflicted by the disease. Reports indicated that the Oracle was alive. But her whereabouts were unknown for now.

"Dad and Somnus are here too…" Noctis spoke rather dazedly.

"I am glad that the King is well. But who is Somnus?" Ignis asked again as he pulled Noctis along. There had been no one in the Citadel with that name, as far as the Advisor recalled. The only person he knew for sure that bore that name was-

"The Founder King," Noctis responded.

"The Founder?" Ignis started but decided he didn't have time to question this. He needed to know of other things. "Is Ardyn the cause of this?"

Noctis nodded, but didn't offer any explanation. He seemed to be losing focus, slowing down as Ignis tried to pull him along.

"Noctis!" Ignis firmly called his name. "What does Ardyn want? What did he do to you? You must tell me what happened here."

"Ardyn wants… His family. For all of us to be together. We will be safe. We will be happy... " Noctis spoke as if he were repeating another's words. He whispered the last of it. "He just doesn't want to be alone anymore."

As Noctis spoke Ignis saw an eerie purple-red light erupt in front of them. Once the light dissipated, a figure was left standing. Ignis only recognized him thanks to the images he'd seen from some of the Niflheim refugees he'd spoken with.

The Chancellor of Niflheim stood in front of Ignis and Noctis. His eyes were hard, glaring at the Advisor with unrestrained fury.

"...Uncle Ardyn," Noctis spoke hesitantly.

"Why nephew, you don't sound that pleased to see me," Ardyn stated, voice dripping with his anger. He didn't glance at Noctis as he responded. Those cold, golden eyes were fixed on Ignis.

"No... I just," Noctis trailed off. The young man looked back and forth between his Advisor and Ardyn. It did not seem like he was fully in his senses. He strangely did not appear to be frightened.

"Chancellor Izunia," Ignis murmured. He felt a sense of dread at this man's sudden appearance.

"You are Ignis, correct? Noct's former Advisor?" Ardyn began to walk towards them.

Ignis bristled at being called 'former'. He would stay as His Highness's up until the day Noctis himself relieved him of that position.

"My nephew has spoken much about you," the strangely clad man continued.

"I cannot say the same. And forgive me if I don't quite believe you to be related to the Royal Family," Ignis said as he grabbed hold of Noctis and began to drag him with him as he stepped backwards. Noctis did not fight, still seemingly trying to wrap his mind around what was going on.

"Are you so sure about that?" Ardyn laughed, his eyes finally moving off of Ignis. He summoned a blade out of thin air with magic. He could use the Armiger too. But unlike the King's and Noctis's blue, his magic was crimson. It felt unnatural.

"Yes." Ignis was form in his response. The man did not understand how the Chancellor manipulated His Highness to believe such things. Or how he was using the Crystal's magic now. But he was certain of his knowledge that King Regis and Noctis were the last living Lucis Caelums. The King had no brother.

"Well, you are quite wrong. I will admit I am not Noctis's uncle. I am however, a… Distant relative. From the time of Lucis's founding by my brother in fact," the Chancellor smirked as he said this.

"What?" Ignis denied, "that's impossible."

That would make the man over 2000 years old. That could not be right. But… Noctis did say the Founder was somehow here as well. Could that mean Ardyn was telling the truth?

Ignis felt overwhelmed by the myriad of questions he wanted to ask. Just what in Astrals name was going on?

"It does not matter to me what you choose to believe. What matters now is how I will end your pathetic existence for attempting to take what is mine," the Chancellor's voice hardened. His gaze once again fixed onto Ignis.

"Shall I slice the head that dared dream up such a fantasy clean off your shoulders? Or shall I chop off the legs that wished to flee with my nephew? Perhaps even legless and bleeding as you are, you'll be able to crawl towards safety. Unlikely. But you could pray to your precious Gods that you'll survive."

The sadistic rage was clear in every word. Ignis shuddered, feeling such an intense wave of terror.

A cloud of mist erupted and swirled around the Chancellor. It too felt so wrong.

"Move out of the way, Noctis," Ardyn's golden eyes narrowed as he ordered the Prince. Ignis felt Noctis jerk and he pulled away from him violently. The Prince cried out in pain and once again a blackness began to overtake his skin.

... Wait. Was Ardyn controlling it? Ignis had no time to contemplate what had occurred as the Chancellor made his move as he was distracted.

"Perish," Ardyn hissed as he warped towards his enemy. The man wishing to take away a part of his family.

At the last possible moment, Ignis was saved. The sword of the Wise, the blade he'd just given to Noctis collided with Ardyn's own. Noctis stood in front of his friend, pressing the royal weapon against the Chancellor's. Ardyn himself seemed surprised to see what his 'nephew' had done.

"Run!" Noctis screamed at Ignis. His eyes seemed aware and his command was so heartrendingly desperate.

Ignis could not refuse him. He fled, once again leaving his Prince behind.

He did not even attempt to hold back the tears as he did so.

One more quick chapter for this story. Thanks for reading!