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“I want to say, again, just so we’re clear, that this is totally not my fault.”
Ignis throws him a scathing look, his lips drawing in a very thin line that tells Noct he’s trying really hard not to yell. Because, yeah, it’s not Noctis’ fault, but he’s not making it any easier by being so cavalier about it. Ignis sighs, runs a hand through hair that lost its style hours ago, and goes back to trying to figure out the damn puzzle that would get them out of here.
Here being some sort of cave system that either became home to some too-clever goblins or are remnants of Solheim. Noct’s banking on the Solheim option, half the system is collapsed on itself in a way that says it’s not recent at all and a lot of the carved runes keep flickering a weird light when he walks past.
Some of the collapsed parts are newer, though, and that would be due to daemons and one over powered gun owned by Prompto Argentum. It’s also not Prompto’s fault Ignis and Noctis got separated from the other two when the gunshot (that went through one goblin and killed two more, like a boss) triggered a collapse.
Noctis leans against the wall, watching Ignis work. Apparently, this cave system had been some sort of place for worship. They have yet to figure out what or who they’d been worshipping, but Ignis discovered that a lot of the stone carvings were actually riddles and puzzles to lead them out of here (because while Prompto and Gladio had the good luck to be trapped on the side where the entrance is, Ignis and Noctis were not so lucky).
“Anything?” Noct asks.
Ignis sighs again, shoulders slumping. “No.” He slaps the stone rune in front of him. “Why they’d make it such a bloody obstacle to get out of here, I will never understand!”
He places a careful hand on his friend’s shoulder, leaning some of his weight on him. “We’ll figure it out,” Noct says soothingly. “And, if not, eventually Gladio’s gonna call Cor. They’ll, what’s the word, excavate us. It’ll be fine.”
Ignis takes a deep, deliberate breath, taking his glasses off to rub his eyes. “Right, of course.” He grins at Noctis, strained but there. “Why are you so calm?” Really, they should both be freaking out. Ignis is on edge after wandering the almost pitch black, surrounded by daemons, for too many hours. Noctis should be the same, if not more so since the daemons keep targeting him specifically.
Noct shrugs. “I dunno,” he admits. He runs a finger in the grooves of the rune Ignis slapped. It flickers purple under his touch. “There’s something off about this place.” He ignores Ignis’s snort. “I feel weirdly calm.”
“Have you been feeling that this whole time?”
He nods, tracing a different rune now. Ignis grabs his chin gently, turning him until they’re facing each other, and peers intently into Noct’s eyes. They’re still as blue as they’ve always been, catching light like they’ve been made for it. Noct smacks his hand away, but there’s no sting to it.
“I’m fine,” he insists.
Ignis shakes his head. “No, you’re not. We don’t know what this place could be doing to you.”
Noct wrinkles his nose at him, draws his finger on a third rune, then points deeper into the tunnel they’re in. “Yeah, let’s make it weirder. We need to go that way.”
“Let’s not.”
“No, let’s.” Noct prods Ignis’s side, making him squirm in the right direction. “We need to get out of here. I think we need to go this way.”
Ignis can’t find himself to argue and follows his prince deeper into the dark, one hand tangled in the hem of his black fisherman’s jacket just to ground himself. The skittering of goblin nails falls behind them, growing fainter and fainter as the black darkness becomes oppressive, the walls of the tunnels are curving in to crush them.
“Specs, you okay back there?”
He blinks, his breath coming out in a wheeze, then does his best to steady himself. “Y-Yes,” he croaks out. He clears his throat and tries again, “Yes, I’m fine.”
Noct hums in response, obviously not believing him. “I think we’re almost to the next chamber.”
Instead of speeding up, he slows down to let Ignis secure his grip. Ignis feels a rush of gratitude for his friend. He’s usually not one to lose his cool, but while this place seems to calm Noctis down, it just rattles Ignis’ nerves in a way he never wants to experience ever again.
The silence gives way to the sound of water. Ignis moves to stand at Noct’s shoulder to see the next chamber open up to them, revealing an underground lake being fed by a glittering waterfall. It’s by no means large, the waterfall, but the lake would require a small boat to go across and will probably take a few hours to go around to the exit Ignis can see through the mist.
“Wow,” Noct breathes, just as the light on his collar flickers once, twice, and goes dark. Ignis’ close behind. “Oh, great.”
A hush comes, like a billow of smoke. The waterfall quiets, the sounds of dripping water from the ceiling stops. Ambient sounds Ignis hadn’t be aware of silence.
And then, in the center of the lake, a hand appears.
Noct grabs Ignis’ sleeve, watches with wide eyes as a wrist is exposed, then forearm, up to an elbow, then stops. A small glow of purple sits in its palm, the color spreading and growing until the whole lake glows the same purple.
You shouldn’t have come here.
Noctis gasps at the voice in his head, knees buckling. Ignis barely catches him before he hits the ground. He presses a hand to his temple as he trembles, his eyes gaining the same otherworldly purple as the lake.
Little king, you shouldn’t have come here.
“Sorry,” Noctis chokes out, falling forward. He braces himself with his free hand, Ignis bracketing him with a hand on his chest and the other on his back. Faintly, he can hear him calling his name. “Sorry,” he says again. “I don’t…I don’t know where here is.”
The hand curls around the glow. It doesn’t smother, only gets brighter. You’ve walked too deep into my domain, the voice tells him, softly. Almost…motherly? You both should not be here yet.
Yet… “Yet?” Noctis echoes. His heart beats too fast against his ribs. “What does that mean?”
“Noct?” Ignis asks.
It means, the voice sounds amused, not at this moment. Some time in the future, you will meet me. As all things do.
Noctis breathes desperately through his mouth as the scent of death and decay and the cloying smell of rotting flowers permeates the chamber. “Etro,” he whispers.
“No,” Ignis gasps.
Yes. I’d been worried the mortals had forgotten me as they still lived. We met, once, little king. Do you remember? His hand automatically goes to the pocket where he keeps the carbuncle figurine. My Messenger, the goddess of the death and dawn confirms. My dream wanderer. The closest a living mortal comes to death without ever actually meeting me. You’ve gone far beyond what is necessary, little king.
Noct lets out a hysteric laugh. “Not many people call me an overachiever,” he says even as slick heat drips from his nose and over his lips. He licks it away, the blood bursting metallic on his tongue. “We just want to leave,” he tells her. “We never meant to come here.”
I know, she replies, not many people meet me on purpose.
“Will you let us go?”
I love you too much to say yes.
Noct’s heart stops for a moment, he struggles on his next strangled breath. He wheezes as he falls to the ground, Ignis unable to catch him as his own lungs seize. He too drops to his knees, hands going over his chest, his slacks staining and soaking through from the moss.
But…
He gasps desperately for breath, curled on his side in a cold bed of moss. His eyes are half-lidded and purple as he stares sideways at the hand of the goddess. Noct has no energy to climb back to his feet, or even his knees, content with breathing in precious air, even with the rot that still lingers. He can hear Ignis behind him, panting as well.
All I want, is to guide their souls when their natural time comes, the goddess continues with despair in her voice. I love you too much to say no. I love them too much to let the world above to continue this way. You are my Champion, Noctis. The King of Light. The Light in My Night Sky.
The glow in her hand dims as she retreats back into the bottomless lake only told in myth. The lake remains bright, even brighter than before. Noct reaches out distantly, his fingers touch and linger on the edge of the lake, black sand clinging to his wet skin.
There is no hate, only joy, for you are beloved by the goddess. King of the dawn, healer of worlds. Her voice is faint now, like a dream. Infinite in mystery is my gift to you, little king. I hope the wait is long before I meet you again.
Purple consumes Noct’s hand as the goddess disappears completely. The glow of the lake fades from furthest edge first, rushing to thread through Noct’s nerves and veins, along his edges and sinking into his core. Tears well in his eyes and fall, dripping off his nose. He doesn’t know why he’s crying, he only knows that his heart is warm and Ignis is a solid presence at his back.
“Noct,” Ignis murmurs, shifting to his knees, sliding a gloved hand over Noct’s bare arm. He’s cold to the touch, even under all the power thrumming through him. “Let’s go, before she changes her mind.”
He clings to his friend as he stands, trembling. Together, leaning on each other, the stumble their way around the lake. Llwybr Madyn, the bottomless lake in which is the gate to Etro’s domain. Ignis had always dismissed it as a kid, only entertaining the idea when Noct asked for stories of the stars and would rather hear Ignis tell them than read it himself.
There’s been a lot of things Ignis has had to believe in since they started their journey, he’s not sure how to handle this one.
As they get closer to the exit of this chamber, Noctis seems to gather more of his strength, leaning less on Ignis and walking more under his own power. Runes follow them down the tunnel, lighting as Noctis, with his still otherworldly purple eyes, passes. This time, though, Ignis can see them.
They lead them to the edges of the cave system, plants and terrestrial bugs becoming common. Ignis wraps a careful hand around Noct’s elbow and doesn’t get shaken off. The first rays of sunlight to hit their feet make them both relax.
Ignis clears his throat. “Well,” he starts. Noct glances at him curiously, the purple having faded until it’s just a ring around his pupils. “We can confirm getting trapped isn’t your fault.” Then Noctis making a preemptive face, a mix of don’t you dare and fuck you, you went there. “But that, back there, was definitely your fault.”
“Oh, shove it, Specs,” Noct says with a laugh. He hesitates, then actually shoves Ignis away, still laughing. “My phone’s almost dead. Give Gladio a call. I don’t feel like walking to the car.”
He rolls his eyes. “As his Highness commands,” he replies drily.