The laugh was enough to send chills down his spine but he kept going. He was almost glad when Ardyn didn’t respond. Whenever he did speak, it was to mock or tease him. Frankly Noctis could do without that kind of interaction. He’d much prefer to continue on in silence. He didn’t need the man’s help. For the most part, his directions were sound, but that irritated him further. Not only was Ardyn watching him, but he wanted him to reach his destination.
That didn’t help put him at ease.
For the first time ever, he was glad daemons were there. While Ardyn would be the ideal target of his anger, they provided a close second and for now, that would have to do.
He resisted the urge to shudder as the man used his name with that mock familiarity that he’d grown to hate. Ardyn hadn’t earned the right to use that name, but he figured pointing that out would only encourage him to use it more.
“Shut up!” he yelled as he turned yet another corner. The halls seemed to be endless and he had no idea where he was or where he was going. He wanted to protest, to claim Ardyn was the one to blame but that wasn’t true. Deep down, Noct felt responsible because it was his fault Ardyn had captured Prompto.
“Enough games! You want to kill me? Let them go and come out and face me, you coward.”
He was confident they were still alive. If Ardyn was going to kill them, he’d more than likely want the Prince to watch.
“Please…just let them go…”
Noctis wasn’t one to beg, but his friend’s lives were more important than his pride. He couldn’t live with himself if they died because of him.
The rage the prince showed was exactly what he wanted. Ardyn yearned to suck the very life out of Noctis until he was forced to take up the mantle of the chosen king. He wanted to beat him down, tear his psyche apart piece by piece and reconstruct him in an image of glory. Only when Noctis became one with the crystal and earned the final blessing he needed would Ardyn be able to, within a sound mind, make his weave seamlessly together.
Patiently, as he had been these last two thousand years, the chancellor watched, through narrowed amber eyes, the corners the raven-headed youth turned. He was frantic. He was angry. He was fed up.
He was in perfect condition for what Ardyn needed.
He was having such trouble, was he? Then the daemon king would offer assistance. He had aided the masses in the past, why not one little boy, with a very unfortunate fate? Noct’s success was mandatory for his own, and being such, there was little tolerance the immortal had for his nephew stumbling down wayward hallways like a buffoon. The idea that his once-noble line had fallen to him was frustrating enough, he needn’t watch him make it worse.
Leaning forward in his chair, within the safety of the surveillance room, he fixed the menacing tone back into his voice and smiled, chin in his palm and one leg crossed over the other.
❝ Oh, you won’t find the way there, little prince. Unless you’ve sought to kill - or be killed - that is. How about we play a little game? I’ll give you hints, and you follow. You have plenty of time, don’t you? Unless you don’t want help finding your crystal.. Or your friends. ❞
❝ Ah, I’d nearly forgotten all about him, Noct. And he’s in such pain.. You may want to hurry. Who knows the condition of the other two? You don’t suppose Ignis is hurt, do you? Such a weight, he is, anyways. Haven’t you thought that it might be for the better? ❞
❝ Well, it makes no difference whether they’re alive or not. You still need that crystal. Perhaps if you follow the lights, you may find it. ❞
As if on queue, a hallway light flickered.