Work Text:
"Faster, Noctis!"
He stumbled behind her, pulling at the too strong hold Stella kept on his wrist. He still felt unstable, dizzy, from whatever that had been before, the stabbing pain inside, the too-bright feeling in his head, that had hit him in the middle of the party, as the two of them stood removed from the others, two young royals who wanted some peace and quiet.
The demons had attacked within minutes, flowing up from the cellar of the building despite the bright daylight beyond.
That, too, was slowing down Noctis as much as the turmoil of his thoughts. The Wall normally protected him from the worst of the sunlight, but he'd felt it before, he knew how uncomfortable such a sunny day should be to a Lucian. It was one of the things his guards had fretted over, when he'd agreed to go to the summit in Accordo. They had their armor, but he would be expected to at least have his head uncovered.
"Just go," he muttered, pulling his arm back, wondering if it was the light making him feel so weak, even if it wasn't burning like it should be. "The demons won't hurt me."
Which she should know. Insomnians all had a little Starscourge within them--it was in their water, in their livestock, in their ancestors. For some it affected their bodies, for some their minds, but for all of them it meant the demons left them alone, recognizing them as children of the dark Crystal of Lucis, the same as they were.
The Oracles of the False Gods had long spoken out against it, railing against his family and culture, demanding to be allowed to "heal" the "afflicted." The remembering now made him nervous, as he remembered Stella touching him before the burning started, as he remembered just who Stella's sister was.
"I'm not leaving you to them, Noctis! I'll rescue you!"
He stumbled again, caught off guard. And then there was a growl from the treeline, horrible and haunting, and demons poured from the forest at their side. Already burning in the light, but still too formidable for one opponent, even a Fleuret.
Not for him, some idle part of his mind supplied, even sick as he was he could turn the tide. But why would he? He had never drawn a blade against a demon outside of training.
Another noise, like the groaning of an ancient building in the wind, like the snarling of a thousand beasts, and darkness coalesced beside Noctis until it took the form of a person.
Stella let go, finally, and the burning sickness began to subside within Noctis as she stumbled away in horror. Noctis, also realizing whose presence they were in, slammed down to his knees, ignoring the jarring pain. He'd rarely seen the God-King of Lucis, who preferred to live outside of Insomnia, leaving ruling to Noctis' line, but he was unmistakable.
"Poisoning and assaulting a Prince of Lucis?" Ardyn clucked his tongue as though scolding a child, setting his hand on Noctis' head like a benediction. Forgiveness for letting his guard down, perhaps, for believing those who followed the Light could ever be trusted.
For making Ardyn have to retaliate, his children burning up in the sun to protect his nephew.
"Freeing him from your corruption!" Stella countered, but took another step back. Soon she'd be at the ship she'd almost gotten Noctis to, he realized, but that would only be if Ardyn allowed it. "His soul belongs to the Light!"
It was, by far, the worst thing anyone could have said to the God-King, whose possessive love of his little brother's line was written throughout history. He had sacrificed himself to save them, had used the Scourge to free their magic from the False Gods. He was, for all intents and purposes, their Crystal and their Crystal was Ardyn, the Scourge which he commanded flowing so deeply within it they could never be separated.
His hold on Noctis vanished, as did his physical form, and Noctis stayed down, demurely staring at the ground as the sounds of a brief struggle erupted. And then Stella was shrieking in pain, in horror, and the Light she'd infected Noctis with was reacting, making him gasp and writhe along with her.
"Oh, Noct." Ardyn was their again, righting Noctis from where he'd fallen on his side. A rustling, and then Noctis' face was pressed against Ardyn's neck, ichor flowing into his mouth.
He swallowed and swallowed, knowing that his uncle would save him, would cleanse the poisonous Light from his soul.
***
Noctis woke up disoriented, a hundred lives dripping from his sleepy mind. There was a familiar form against him, a familiar scent telling him he was safe, and he drifted back to sleep.
When he woke again, he was alone. The decor around him was familiar and he vaguely placed himself in one of the rooms of a family property, kept mostly for Ardyn's usage.
Ardyn.
He sat up, grimacing. He'd been washed and dressed and left to sleep off the attack. And the memories.
Ardyn had apparently gotten back...a lot earlier than usual. Probably, Noctis surmised, far enough back to stop his imprisonment, but not his over-corruption. And instead of trying to cure himself, he'd simply rewritten all the rules.
How typical.
Noctis sighed, stretching, amazed at how good his body felt. Rarely were their lives he didn't have some chronic pain, some ache or weariness.
He was basically a demon, he reminded himself, the trade-off wasn't worth it.
"Ah, my dearest nephew, it warms my heart to see you so recovered."
The words were too familiar for the Noctis of this world, though he'd always known he was favored for some reason. Ardyn knew Noctis had finally remembered.
"You, what, corrupted our crystal, the gods bestowed another to the outside, and...you set yourself up as the eternal king of Lucis?" He tried, dredging up the memories of the current life, which seemed so distant now.
"More or less," Ardyn agreed, his weight making the mattress shift before his arms wrapped around Noctis. "We are out of the Gods' reach, now, and there will never be another King of Lucis."
Noctis remembered the pain in his soul from Stella's spell, the way it burned through the darkness he would have thought was too integral to his person to cleanse.
"Not really, though, huh? No wonder you were pissed, another two thousand years of work and the Luna's sister almost ruins it."
The arms around him tighten, hands clutching, claws digging into his skin. This life is too close, too dominant, for him to feel fear or discomfort. Possessiveness is basically how he'd been shown love and he'd never realized their was any other option. No wonder a few moments with Stella over the years had him dropping his guard.
Ardyn buried his face in Noctis' hair, breathing in his scent. "I have always watched you, from the very moment you were conceived, in nearly every life. In this one, it was so much easier. The Scourge is mine and you are a part of me, as it all is. You may not be my descendant, but my blood flows within you."
Creepy, so creepy. He tried to remember what the life before this one was like and his thoughts stuttered as he recalled Ardyn becoming Emperor, a treaty where he declared a young Noctis his heir. Noctis had been assassinated less than a month after his seventeenth birthday, bleeding out across the world with Ardyn watching on a live feed, so, yeah, he guessed he'd be dealing with extra Ardyn-y Ardyn for the next few lives.
"This is it," Ardyn stated, making Noctis realize he was listening in on his thoughts. "This time, we won't die. The Astrals and their minions are too weak."
He shuddered, uncaring that Ardyn would feel it. "Outside of wanting to, you know, finally get to the afterlife, this is not where I'd choose to spend eternity."
"And why not? Because you think you're meant for the Light?" Ardyn hissed, power crackling around them, and Noctis knew if he looked, Ardyn would be leaking Scourge, skin like a corpse and scelera pure black. "What has it given you but suffering? I have carved the world anew for you, I have cradled you within my power and given you nothing but comfort."
"I...I know that, uncle," he murmured, using the title to soften any blow. "But you have to realize that--"
"You're not thinking straight, dear Noct," Ardyn whispered, fingers caressing up the street of his face, resting at his temple. "You're letting the past influence the present life far too much. Ponder it for a moment, be the darling boy of this world."
His thoughts shifted, mind reeling. For as much as he'd gained some resistance to Ardyn's mental influence over the lifetimes, the Scourge surging within him broke it down to nothing and he was pulled under Ardyn's influence with ease.
For a moment, this life took over and he was so relieved to be in his Great Uncle's arms, to be free of the Light that had tried to steal him from his family. He wanted to be back in Insomnia, cloistered in the Citadel for as long as his father would allow. His father, whose life was not drained for the Wall or the Glaive, who was dark and dangerous and loved Noctis so very much he'd still be heartbroken to lose him.
His people were safe and whole, protected by the long nights Ardyn had brought to the world and the Scourge within them. The rest of the world could only jealously resort to trickery like Stella had to attack them in any way of note. The Crystal they'd been left with was just not powerful enough to counter the one Ardyn had corrupted.
"Uncle," he sighed when he thought of that, of how safe he was and would always be. Gossip in Lucis would be running wild, the God-King personally saving Noctis, keeping him as he recovered, the favoritism was unmistakable. It would only elevate Noctis' position, no one would risk upsetting him for years to come.
Being the Chosen of the Lucian Crystal in this world meant peace and prosperity during his reign. No sacrifice would be asked of him.
"Do you see, my dear boy?" Ardyn murmured, pressing a kiss to the crown of his head. "You'll be so happy here."
He didn't know if he was actually capable of happiness here, the Scourge twisting up his emotions, but he imagined it was close enough to count.