~3rd Person POV~
Noctis approaches Biggs after their conversation with Aranea. "Hey, thanks for the lift."
"We're happy to help. Can't say the climate will be as cooperative, though. Y'know?" Biggs turned to face Wedge.
"Right. 'Specially the gorge."
Biggs shook a little. "The place is freezin'! Makes sense, what with the ice goddess's cold corpse lyin' around. It's a rather long ride, so I suggest you bundle up before we ship out."
"Will do," Noctis said before returning to the train platform with Gladio and Ignis.
The tactician stopped the prince before they reached the train. "Noct, if I may, who was the man you spoke of earlier?"
"The one who saw Zodia?" Ignis nods, letting him continue. "He was an older man. Didn't get his name, but I saw him talking to Zodia this morning. What about him?"
"I was curious as to this creature's appearance."
"The one that snatched her?" Gladio asked.
"Yes, I wouldn't be surprised if the chancellor used an ancient daemon to capture her."
"And you want to know what daemon it was," Noctis adds. "He's with the other passengers."
Ignis separates from them and searches the crowd of people for the old man. When he spotted him, the tactician made a beeline towards him. He sat by himself, his eyes brimming with fear. Ignis kneels before the man and tries to calm him down. Before he could get a word in, Amos began to apologize profusely. "I'm so sorry. I should've done something to save her."
"No, you couldn't have possibly assisted her in such turmoil. Please, describe how this creature appeared."
"I-It was about the size of a mind flayer, except it wasn't bipedal. The thing had black tendrils that it used to grab her. Then... then once it dragged her to it, the creature absorbed her into its tar-like skin. After that, it vanished."
"A Talmoruth," Ignis mutters. He stares into Amos' eyes to make sure his accusations were correct. "Did it also bear two horns and a protracted tail?"
"Y-Yes, and it also had bird-like talons."
"Thank you for the assistance." Ignis returns to his full height.
"You're welcome. I-I hope you find her soon. She's such a kind and beautiful soul. Her heart is pure and her dreams are admirable."
"I won't terminate my search 'til she is safe," Ignis declares. Amos smiles, the terror melting from his body as he finally relaxed. Returning to Noctis and Gladio, he explained what Amos had shared.
"Never heard of a Talmoruth before. How do you know that's what Ardyn's using?" Gladio asked.
"The grimoire. A page within the book depicts a daemon capable of incapacitating those of the zodiac bloodline."
"And that's how Ardyn captured Zodia without any issues," Noctis said, putting the puzzle pieces together.
"Hold on, how do you know for sure? You said the grimoire was all written in Xylian," Gladio states.
"Our first day in Altissia, Zodia relinquished how to translate Xylian," Ignis admits.
"For three whole hours, you were tryin' to translate a page?" Noctis asked.
"Yes, the feat was more strenuous than I had envisioned."
"The page you read had a picture of the daemon and it was just how that old man described it?" The prince questioned, trying to wrap his head around Ignis' words.
"Yes. In the grimoire, it exhibits a sketch of a daemon with tar-like skin, keen talons, sable tendrils protruding from its back, and an extensive tail. Underneath the sketch was a laconic and abrupt forewarning to those of the zodiac bloodline."
"This Talmoruth is being used by Ardyn and the bastard's using the daemon's body as a prison for Zodia?" Gladio asked. Ignis simply nods, his mind still deep in thought.
"You wouldn't have happened to learn of a way to kill it, would you?"
"Morosely, the grimoire did not state a way to annihilate the daemon. Well, not the part I was able to translate."
"Damn, it looks like we'll have to deal with that thing when the time comes without help," Gladio mutters.
"As we embark to Gralea, I will rummage through the pages of the grimoire once more."
"Just don't strain yourself. We're all gonna need to rest until we reach the capital," Noctis exclaims.
"Of course," Ignis said.
Gladio crosses his arms and glanced at the prince. "Speaking of departing, are we ready to go?"
"Yeah, I'll let Biggs and Wedge know," Noctis states.
Leaving his friends, the raven haired boy walks over to the train's new conductors. Finding the two men, they eye the prince. "Shall we shove off, then?" Biggs questions.
"Yeah," Noctis simply answers.
Wedge nods. "Climb aboard."
Before boarding the train, the trio was stopped by Aranea. "Don't worry about the civilians. They're in my good hands. Can't say the same for you. Watch yourselves in the capital."
"We will," Ignis responds.
Noctis sent the woman a small smile. "Thanks, Aranea. We'll see you around." Gladio and Ignis turn and board the train. Noctis begins to follow, then stops, looking up as he notices snow beginning to fall. "It's...snowing."
"Get your ass on board," Gladio barks at the prince.
"Yes, sir." Noctis boards the train and they depart to Ghorovas Rift.
The snow becomes heavier as they reach the frozen ravine where the fallen Shiva lies, a solitary railroad carved through its unforgiving snowscape. With Biggs and Wedge driving, the train makes its slow and steady way toward the imperial capital.
Onboard the train, the trio is sitting in the dining car, Ignis and Gladio at a table while Noctis sat at the bar by himself. Suddenly, the loudspeaker comes on and Biggs addresses them. "Oi! Uh-attention all passengers! We're on our way to our final destination in the imperial capital. Enjoy the ride. I'll be in touch if anything comes up."
Gladio looks out the window, staring at the falling snow. "Look at all that snow. No wonder it's so cold in here."
Ignis crossed his arms with closed eyes. "We must be approaching the Glacian's cadaver."
"Won't be a blessing if all we got's a body," Gladio comments.
"Let us hope we pass through the gorge without incident."
"It's what's after the gorge I'm worried about," the shield admits.
Noctis stands from his seat and begins to wander the multiple train cars. He entered their cabin and picked up the grimoire that laid on the table. Curiosity brimming his being, he opens the book and flips through the pages to find the Talmoruth daemon Ignis spoke of. Finding the page, Noctis winced slightly at the sketch of the creature. It was more terrifying than he imagined. After satisfying his curiosity, Noctis closed the grimoire and headed back to the dining car, leaving the book behind.
As he entered the dining car, the train came to a sudden halt, the screeching brakes piercing through the silence. Noctis lurched forward, quickly latching onto the seat nearest him to prevent him from falling. "I wonder what it could be this time," Gladio groans.
Biggs addresses the trio over the loudspeaker once more. "Attention, eh!"
Noctis releases his grip on the seat. "Yeah?"
"You may have noticed we've stopped. As for the cause... Outside, ya think?"
"We'll take a look," the prince informs Biggs. With Gladio and Ignis in tow, Noctis makes his way to the nearest exit.
"Hope it's just a quick snow-shoveling job," the shield huffs.
"Indeed," Ignis concurs.
Gladio and Ignis follow after Noctis as he exited the train and stepped out into the freezing air. The prince wraps his arms around him, preserving any warmth he could. "It's freezing!"
"Better keep moving to stay warm," Gladio informs.
"The Glacian did this," Ignis comments once he sees the frozen tracks.
Looking up, Noctis could see a prodigious silhouette looming overhead in the distance. "I think I can see her."
Gladio eyes the Glacian. "It's a shame. She's lying dead. Damn, it's cold!"
"Let's clean up out here, warm up in there," Noctis proclaims.
"Better make this snappy."
Suddenly, the three are attacked by several daemons, one being a deathclaw. After disposing of the creatures, Noctis stands outside the train trying to catch his breath. From the doorway of the train, Gladio is leaning out and calls to the raven haired boy. "Hey, Noct! You'd better get in here. Something's not right." He goes back inside, calling out to the tactician. "C'mon, Iggy."
Following his companions back onto the train, Noctis sighed in relief to know he wouldn't have to stand out in the cold any longer. As he stepped onto the train, he spotted a familiar man pass by. "No way." Noctis bolts inside and follows Ardyn. "You! Hold on! That son of a bitch!"
Ardyn leads the prince through the train cars. Once Noctis sees the state of the car he was in, he gasped. "What the hell?" The air was frigid and everything was shrouded in a strange mist. Not spotting the chancellor, he moves to the next car. As he opened the door, a blast of cold air greeted him. Everything was covered in ice as Noctis hugged himself and struggled towards the grinning Ardyn. "Stop! Stop, dammit! Where are they? Where's Prompto? Where's my sister?"
Ardyn grins maliciously at him. "Oh, there you are! I'm worried about your friends. They've fallen and they can't get up. Why not lend them a hand?" Near the chancellor, Noctis finds Gladio and Ignis collapsed on the floor, their bodies enveloped in ice. Ardyn looked away from the prince. "A coldness that can only be hers."
Noctis falls to his knees, the cold air siphoning his warmth and movement. As his vision begins to blur, he notices a woman in the doorway-Gentiana. Ardyn turns and acknowledges her presence. His expression momentarily becomes one of surprise then turns nonchalant. Gentiana begins walking toward the chancellor, her eyes sealed. "Ahh, the face you wore the day you-"
Gentiana touches her pointer finger to her lips, then touches Ardyn's lips with it, instantly turning his entire body to ice. Then, she walks up to Noctis. "Let it now be done... as promised to the former Oracle."
Gentiana gestures widely with her arms and floats into the air before being obscured by a flash of blue and white light. As the light fades, Shiva has taken Gentiana's place. "O King of Kings, restore Light unto the world." She raises her hands and conjures Lunafreya's trident, handing it to Noctis. He leans forward and accepts the Glacian's gift. In the blink of an eye, Shiva was gone.
Noctis walks up to the frozen Ardyn, conjures the Trident of the Oracle, and shatters the imperial chancellor's frozen body with Lunafreya's weapon. "What're you looking at?" Noctis then loses his balance and stumbles towards Gladio and Ignis. "Hey. Wake up."
With a few groans, both men were finally awake.
"The hell happened?" Gladio asked, shaking away his blurry vision.
"I saw the Glacian. It's okay, she's gone now. You guys check on our drivers," Noctis answers.
"Got it." Gladio turns to Ignis and places a hand on his shoulder. "You good?"
Ignis nods. "Yes, I'm fine. Let's go."
Noctis remains on the floor as they leave. After a few moments, he gets to his feet and makes his way to the next train car. When he realizes he's not alone, Noctis turns to find Ardyn standing a few feet away. "I feel I've earned the right to call you Noct. For a moment I felt death's chill wind, such is the might of the gods. But then, I remembered I'm immortal. Such is my blessing and curse. Your attack hurt me, nevertheless..." He suddenly scowls fiercely at Noctis and his voice becomes something of a growl. "My feelings at least."
Noctis glares malevolently at the chancellor in silence, allowing the man to continue. "And after all the memories we've shared. Remember these?" He raises one of Prompto's pistols in one hand and Zodia's staff in the other. Ardyn casually saunters up to Noctis and places the side of the gun against the prince's chest and twirls the staff tauntingly in front of him. He tried to grab either weapon, only being able to grab his sister's staff. "Where are they?!"
"The little gunman's a short shot away while your dear sister is making herself comfortable within the body of a daemon."
"Where?" Noctis growls, his grip on Zodia's staff tightening.
"Where else but Gralea, the seat of the empire? I'm sure they'll be delighted to see you. And you might even find your Crystal. With all these daemons about, you could certainly use it." Ardyn walks past Noctis, deliberately pushing past him before coming to a stop. "Off you go, then. I wouldn't want to keep you from your dear friend or sweet sister."
Ardyn raised a hand, which held a small device. He presses a button on it with his thumb then leaves without another word. Noctis stares after Ardyn, gritting his teeth as he watched the chancellor disappear.