|Your Point of View|
"Wake up, wake up!"
I breathed hard. The air was so dense. My eyes opened wide. It took a while before I realized, I had been surrounded by giant gods who were apparently watching me. They had their eyes fixed on me, as if I've done something wrong. "W-Where am I?"
"You are in the Astral realm, my dear," Shiva, the Glacian said.
Bahamut rolled his eyes, "Of course she is. Moreover she wouldn't be here if I weren't here to help."
"We've got no time for this, Bahamut," the Glacian chided. "War is now at its phase. Your decisions are quite rebuked, I say."
"Silence, Shiva," Titan demanded. The entire cosmos nearly shook. Leviathan groaned.
I watched mindlessly as the two deities argued, but eventually they were stopped by the Fulgurian's blast of lightning.
"Cut that, Ramuh," Leviathan hissed.
Ramuh took a deep breath and shook his head. "How long will we stay like this, my brothers and sisters?" He played a little with his long white beard. "But for once, I agree with Shiva. Time shouldn't be wasted."
There was a moment of silence. Then Bahamut was first to speak up. His dragon eyes darted on me.
"Child, we're in a short amount of time to discuss. The Astrals are getting impatient," he nearly jagged a whining Leviathan with one of his wings, then went back talking. "You must defeat the empire in the fastest way possible, or else. . ."
The god of light looked behind my shoulder. I then turned around, and of course, death will always have its own part. There stood Etro, the patron goddess of Insomnia.
The goddess of death.
She had the serene smile on her face. Her long, white hair flowed gently down to her feet. Sure enough, she wasn't fully in her godly form.
"Are you here to take me?" I suddenly asked. Part of me wanted to take that question back.
"I see that you recognize me immediately," Etro smiled weakly.
"How could I not?" I moved to face her completely. "You're the one who brought me back from the dead."
"Why, indeed, child. Your time has come. Your death eleven years ago— it had to be replaced by a new set of years of life. And so I revived you."
"But why did you. . ." I looked down. "You didn't have to bring me back at all."
"You don't understand. If you will only think of what will happen if I didn't revive you," Etro looked into my eyes. "then the Game of Insomnia that has occured days ago has no meaning, and you are not there. There will not be any connection between Avalanche and the Crown Prince. Niflheim could have overtaken Lucis."
I couldn't respond. Etro sees the fate in every living thing. Now that I understand, I clearly have a purpose in Eos. To bring peace and ward off evil. I know, it's the type of cliche movie I'm into, but it's what's happening.
"Like I've said thousands of years ago. . . Every age has a fantasy. A fantasy that has reality. You cannot escape what you're into right now, child. With great power, comes with great responsibility."
"Have you been reading graphic novels, dear goddess?" Shiva slightly snorted, which was very surprising.
"We can't just stay in the Astral realm as the ancient gods, dear." Etro chuckled. "Dealing with the modern age is pretty interesting."
"So basically," I cleared my throat. "You're telling me that death is near. . . to take me again?"
"Exactly," the Astrals said in unison, except Bahamut.
"Moreover, I am afraid your powers are far beyond your abilities. Do not. . . Please, do not use fire again. I am warning you this instant."
I clearly had no idea, but I reluctantly nodded. "I have to ask. . . How do you feel when. . . I decide to summon you?" My heart beat fast.
Ramuh raised an eyebrow. "Questioning the gods about their feelings, eh? How unusual. We clearly have no feelings at all."
"What?"
"No feelings. We rather have one emotion," Shiva said. "I'm quite gentle to all males. My gentleness kills them silently."
"Like what you've done to the Betrayer, Ifrit," Bahamut rolled his eyes. "Thanks for doing that anyway. That kinda gave me a good start for finishing him."
Bahamut looked back at me again. "Now you understand what I mean, Healer. You can use anything but fire. The Betrayer. . . He will come back if you do."
"Apparently," Titan clenched his fists. "And unfortunately, that jester had been awake after you used fire against those beasts, during the Game of Insomnia. Can you recall?"
I nodded slowly. I clearly had no idea that would happen. I used the fire because it would definitely outnumber all the beasts, but unfortunately, Ifrit had awaken after that.
Titan slightly glared at me. "Listen, Ifrit definitely has the nerves in me. If you dare try using a tiny amount of fire, he will be fully recovered and extremely powerful. He'll come back and have vengeance on us. Fighting the Infernian is difficult, I admit."
"But we can defeat him," Shiva said. Leviathan growled in agreement.
I swallowed. "Um. . .does Leviathan even talk?"
"A smart alec, eh?" The goddess of water glared daggers at me. Surely if I said another offensive thing, I'd get swallowed.
Okay, she can talk.
"Anyway," Shiva sighed. "My dear, there is a saying that defeating Ifrit is possible— if the Astrals and those who gain magic fight together."
Shiva's right. Even humans who possess powerful abilities cannot defeat a powerful god like him. He's fickle as fire. And that's what made him dangerous, too.
"Time's up," Bahamut said. "You know what to do, child. It will absolutely be a long day."
Etro's smile surely creeped me out. Her face suddenly appeared in front of me. She had been napping, floating to any direction while the Astrals and I talked, and now she opened her eyes.
I then fainted.
|Third Person's Point of View|
Noctis sat there in a cell, as he watched you lying down on the floor. Hours had already passed and you were still not awake.
"She's beautiful even in her sleep," Noctis whispered, and then he closed his eyes. "I'm sorry, (Y/N). I should've done better."
The door suddenly opened. Noctis set himself on guard and covered you. He furrowed his eyebrows. The sight of a red head made him irritated. "You. . . You're definitely the one behind this!"
"Well, indeed I am, Prince Noctis." Ardyn stepped into the cell. The door closed after two soldiers followed behind.
"Curse you," Noctis growled. He summoned his sword and warped to Ardyn's direction. However, the man disappeared, and materialized in another position. Noctis came back to his senses and turned around.
Ardyn was now beside you.
"Oh, look at that sleeping beauty," he chuckled. "It's nice to see you again." He knelt down and went to touch you.
"DON'T YOU DARE LAY A FINGER ON HER!" Noctis bellowed, but soon was kicked by the two soldiers. He groaned and felt dizzy. They now caught him off guard.
Noctis tried to let go, but he was helpless. Now two guns pointed to either side of his body.
"Oh, I won't," Ardyn smiled slyly. "Perhaps someone else will."
Noctis gritted his teeth. "You bastard!!"
"Bring him to Ravus. Surely he's pleased to meet you again, Prince Noctis," Ardyn grinned. Without a moment's pause, he quickly vanished with you.
On the other hand, Noctis was brought absurdly towards a dark hall. His sight had been blurry, but as they got closer to an arched opening, he saw him again.
"Get your hands off him," the guy's voice echoed. There was one light, and it was only directed to him. The soldiers did what he said. They freed Noctis and went off.
Ravus turned around and chuckled. "Welcome back, Prince of Lucis. I'd like to challenge you to a duel."