Long had the light faded from the world, vanishing on that day as if to follow Noctis past the fractured shards of the crystal, and into whatever lay beyond. But on nights like this when Ignis felt a gust of warm air against his face, it felt as though the light had returned.
That same warmth he had felt all those years back, when he was lead through the halls of the palace to be introduced to the prince for the first time. Noctis was just a young boy at the time, his existence seemed so small compared to the grand stature of his father. King Regis had stood beside him, always watching over his son, always ready to protect him from harm at a moment's notice.
The boys shook hands as they were introduced to one another, Ignis noted then how quiet the prince had been during the greeting and hadn't said a word in reply to him. Back in those days, Noctis rarely spoke - least of all to the strangers he was not yet familiar with. The only times where Ignis would catch him speaking, was when the young prince was alone with his father, and the advisor just happened to be passing by. Noctis' voice would fill the room with such a joyous sound, it would make even the most silent of places come to life.
Now that the advisor had gone blind, the image of young Noctis' face had begun to fade. He felt afraid when the lines first started to blur, and how the blue eyes of the prince had gone dark and cold. Within the sum of three years, all those memories were, were pieces Ignis had managed to keep together by remembering things such as different smells, slight changes in the things he felt and the few things he could remember hearing.
However, when it came to the things he'd rather forget, he remembered those darkest hours with every little detail, as if they had happened only yesterday. By allowing Noctis to grow used to having him around instead of forcing him to talk, Ignis had gained a trust that no other had. As the prince had gotten older, the ring of the Lucii continued to eat away at his father's health. Ignis never expected it to have the affect that it did, until one night when the prince phoned and asked him to deliver some food to his apartment.
Ignis found the prince sitting there in the living room, he was completely alone and crying to himself. At once the bag of food fell at the door as Ignis rushed over, he went to draw the prince close and demanded to know what was going on. Then, he looked down at Noctis' face. The prince's cheeks were flooded with tears and the look in his eyes, Ignis thought he was looking at someone who had never been happy a day in his life.
"Did you see him today?"
At those words, it all became clear. King Regis had recently started using a cane, it was all over the news that morning when the king was being interviewed. When he met the king in person that same afternoon, Ignis himself had confirmed it with his own eyes. The king was already relying heavily on the cane, it wasn't just something he had taken out of storage when some old wound was acting up. No, this was something new, and it wasn't going to go away any time soon.
He had hoped prince Noctis would be spared, that he wouldn't have to see it just yet, but in spite of all his prayers, it had happened. Hell forbid that he ever learned just how the prince had found out, that some soulless punk with nothing better to do had shown the prince the broadcast while he was in class.
"Do you know what my father told me?" Within the walls of that place, Noctis' voice had been but a whisper. He was focusing on the button of Ignis' white shirt, feeling over it with his thumb as he spoke and told the advisor something he hadn't told anyone before. "He told me that he had watched his own father fall apart..." The child's imagination had gotten the better of him that night. He could picture a shadowy figure in the shape of a person, it was falling to pieces, piece by piece until in the end when those pieces turned to ash, he had pictured seeing his own father's face. "I can't watch my old man fall apart, i can't!" His voice pierced through the air like a sharp sword, the prince was breaking right there in front of his advisor. He had leaned forward, his forehead pressed just below the advisor's shoulder as he pleaded. "I don't want to see that, please, don't make me watch my father die..."
Leaving the prince's side in Altissia had been the biggest regret Ignis would ever have. The voices of Gladiolus and Prompto were far behind him as he ran through the crumbling streets. Leviathan was causing a storm, had they not helped the people escape, surely more than half would have been lost when the waters came rising up.
That whole time he had been keeping an eye on the vortex of water coming up from the sea, that had been where Noctis had gone, to fight and claim yet another of the Six to aid him. If he had looked forward, if he had seen the evil that had been standing in wait, Ignis could have gotten away.
The force of colliding Ardyn Izunia sent Ignis flying back. When he looked up to see that man standing there, he saw blood covering the man's right hand. The first thought that crossed his mind, the thought that made his blood go cold, was that the blood belonged to Noctis, and that somewhere within the vortex of water, Noctis lay hurt and defenceless.
The advisor flew into a blind rage, he didn't think to stop and question Ardyn for a moment. He summoned his daggers and began slashing away, but it was as if all he had cut was the wind. He saw pieces of fabric fly, he had felt when the attacks connected and cut away at flesh and bone. But Ardyn never went down, and all he saw was the demon in those yellow eyes.
"They never told you, did they? That your precious king is going to die?"
Ardyn had hurt Ignis in the worst way one could ever hurt a man. He revealed to the advisor a vision that the kings of Lucis had been seeing since the beginning of time, the vision of Noctis dying. Ignis saw his prince, surround by the old kings, saw how each went forward and thrust their weapon into the prince until his head lowered and his body went limp.
Such a cry had been torn from the advisor, that it almost didn't sound like him at all. Ignis pulled away from Ardyn's outstretched arm, he had the look of someone that had been broken, weeping bitterly as he tried to get away. His back hit a wall, and that was it for him. The last thing he saw, Ardyn had gotten closer and removed something from his pocket, something he had ended up driving into the left eye of the advisor.
Ignis woke up later to a dark world. He knew his right eye was open, he could feel when the lids had parted, but he couldn't see. Everything around him had gotten so loud, his head ws spinning as he felt about and heard things fall to the ground.
He stumbled off of the bed and hit into the tables and chairs until he found the handle of the door. That must have been a room in the manor of Alissia's secretary, he could distinctly recall the wave-lile shape of the door handles during their visit. Once he had the door open, it all went to hell from there.
Noctis' voice was coming down the hallway, he heard it loud and clear, that the prince was screaming at the top of his lungs. It sent Ignis into a greater state of shook than not being able to see. With nerves on end, he desperately sought after the prince, following the sound down the hall and to the end of the passage. He felt the walls for some way to get into the room where Noctis was being kept, but when he couldn't get in, he hit the wall with his fist, trying to call out as loud as he could.
"Noct! NOCTIS! It's going to be alright, i'm right here! I'm coming for you, just ... just hold on! I'll be right there!"
Those were the thoughts that ran through Ignis' mind on nights like this. All the hunters were going out for the night, the place was getting quieter and he had been left to himself in the front of the diner. He was cleaning a glass when the door had opened and in came the warmth.
He could hear the heavy footsteps of Gladiolous walking towards him, the air became lighter and he could hear the smile on the man's face as he spoke in a gentle tone. "He's come back, Noct has returned."
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