Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse {Book One: Death} (Noctis x Reader)

|| Twenty-One ||

Shaking away the paralysis, (Y/n) opened the door and peered down the hall. The cacophony amplified, signaling the monster was approaching. A large shadow could be seen on the wall, the dark silhouette growing as it stalked closer. The Horseman promptly closed the door and shook the boys awake. "We've got trouble."

The boys stood from their beds and pulled themselves out of their twilight state from just waking up. (Y/n) knew of Noctis' sealed powers and provided Prompto, Gladio, and Ignis their weapons. Luckily, Noctis had found his father's sword and wouldn't need his engine blade.

When Death handed Ignis his daggers, Gladio spoke up with a disapproving tone. "The hell are you doing?"

"This isn't the time to argue, Gladio," (Y/n) growled. "Ignis can handle himself in battle and if you can't see that, you're the one who's blind."

"Much appreciated, (Y/n)," Ignis said, gripping his daggers tightly.

"You four will search the Keep for the Crystal and hopefully, find a way to fix Noct's powers."

"You seriously think we're gonna let you wander around this place alone?" Noctis rebuttals.

"Yes, I do. You still have the summoning orb?" Death questioned.

"Yeah," he replied.

"If I don't regroup with you all in an hour, summon me." Without another word, (Y/n) summoned her scythe and dashed out of the room.

Rounding around the corner at the end of the hall, the sight and scent that greeted her caused fear to fester in her being. Death's (e/c) eyes widened at the sight, unable to believe it. "Dear Astrals above..."

A chuckle left the man/monster that stood before her. "It seems my new appearance has you flabbergasted, my dear."

The creature that loomed over (Y/n) was no longer a man nor fully the putrid monster she was all too familiar with. Her mouth was agape at the horrid sight as she took a few steps backwards. "You fused your body with the Wendigo's... Why on Eos would you do such a thing?"

"The capability of such an other worldly being combined with my own attributes makes me invincible!"

"Guess being immortal wasn't enough for your crazy and deranged ass," Death retorts with a snicker, her fear wiped away. "Now, you've merged your body with a monster that is mortal. Was that really a good move?"

Ardyn's response was to swing down his arm, which was a Wendigo's appendage. (Y/n) dodges with ease, her smirk growing. "Y'know, there is one way for an immortal to be slain."

"Oh?" The hybrid hums. "And how can such a feat be achieved, Horseman?"

"That's my little secret." Death raised her scythe and aims the blade at the hybrid. "Bring it, you putrid atrocity. I'll make sure you're wiped from Eos and never remembered."

"Such a burly statement. It's a shame your dear prince won't be around to see your downfall by my hands."

(Y/n) ignored Ardyn's taunt and shook her head with a small smirk. "I was just thinking about how you actually look much better this way. You were way uglier before."

The chancellor was irked by the insult and charged at (Y/n). Death was able to dodge and run down the hallway, wishing to lure the hybrid into a much more open area. Turning down multiple hallways, she reached a large, open room with a few metallic crates stacked. She ran over to a single stack and hid behind the crates. Peering from her spot, she saw Ardyn hadn't caught up. While she was weaving through the hallways, she hadn't realized she would lose Ardyn so easily.

A few minutes passed and the hybrid finally reached the large room. (Y/n) remained in her hiding spot, wanting to buy more time for the boys to search the Keep. If she could keep the man/monster on her tail and away from them for at least an hour, that'll give them enough time to search the parts of the Keep they haven't. She could hear Ardyn taunting her as he dragged his disgusting body around. By his movements, Death could tell the chancellor was having difficulty with controlling the Wendigo's arms and legs. The head, which eyes still radiated crimson even if its body was fused to Ardyn's, seemed to have life of its own.

Taking a closer look at the hybrid, (Y/n) noticed the Wendigo side was slowly beginning to take control. Ardyn's once golden eyes were turning red to match the monster's. "The fusion... It's turning him mortal. Guess I just need to buy a little more time and he will be completely mortal and be an easy kill."

The hybrid hissed and groaned as it slowly dragged its body across the room and began searching behind the crates. (Y/n) dispelled her scythe and decided to run instead of fight. She moved from hiding spot to hiding spot, making the hybrid search every corner of the room. While Ardyn was in the furthest corner, Death maneuvered to a nearby ladder and scaled it. Up on the catwalk, she crouched to hide her form behind the railing. It wasn't the ideal cover, but it was all she had to work with.

From (Y/n)'s perch, she saw the frustration grow and the Wendigo slowly consume Ardyn's immortal body into its mortal one. As the chancellor gave into his anger, his hybrid body saw it as a weakness and the monster infused with him saw it as an opening to slowly consume him. The Wendigo was sentient and wouldn't allow Ardyn to control their merged bodies. Anger boiled in the man's/monster's veins as he growled and swiped its claws at the metal crates. Death remained on the catwalk as the rage consumed Ardyn and went berserk.

Suddenly, one of the Wendigo's arms impaled Ardyn's chest. Its claws ripped at his chest, but it appeared the man felt nothing. (Y/n) winced at the sight, knowing the Wendigo was trying to tear Ardyn's body from its own.

Tearing her eyes from the scene, Death meandered down the catwalk silently. As the struggle between man and beast continued, (Y/n) reached the end of the catwalk and left the large room.

The Horseman didn't make it far down the hallway before she heard the hybrid's body slam against the metallic catwalk with a thud and a sinister cry. Without looking back, (Y/n) ran as fast as she could. When she turned left, she was greeted by a stairwell and ran up the steps with the monster close behind.

<------<<<<<<<

After running for what felt like hours, (Y/n) hid in a closet to catch her breath. She wasn't sure how much longer it would take for the Wendigo to take over Ardyn's body and turn the man into a mortal, but she hoped it wasn't too long.

"I need to tell the others," she whispered to herself. Closing her eyes, Death inhales slowly as she used her mana to locate the summoning orb. It would take a tremendous amount of magic to teleport to the boys, but she needed to tell them of Ardyn's horrific condition. Within a few seconds, the Horseman appeared in front of Noctis and sighed. A small dizzy spell caused her to feel nauseous and she placed a hand against her temple. She blinked profusely, shaking her head lightly. "Ugh, everything's spinning..."

"Where'd you come from?" Noctis asked.

"Not sure. I wasn't keeping track of where I was going. There's something urgent I needed to tell you all and decided to use my mana to summon myself."

"What's wrong?" Gladio questioned.

(Y/n) let her vision steady and her world stop spinning before answering. "Ardyn's fused his body with the last remaining Wendigo."

The boys were shocked at the news and confused as to why the chancellor would do such an extreme tactic. Prompto peered from behind Noctis and eyed the Horseman with worry. "What does that mean for us?"

Death's lips quirked up in a smirk. "The Wendigo side of the fusion is overpowering Ardyn. With time, he'll become mortal and an easy kill."

"Guess we're making our final stand here," Gladio stated.

"It seems the Astrals are smiling upon us," Ignis said.

Noctis nodded in agreement. "Good. That bastard deserves whatever's coming his way."