The Far Edge of Fate (Final Fantasy XV)

CHAPTER 17 - AUTHORS OF OUR FATES

Chapter title comes from the lyrics of 'Shadowbringers' (or 'He Who Brings Shadow') from the Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers OST

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"Well. That's certainly not good."

Ignis's dry remark made Aaralyn spare him a passing glance as she scooted by to see into the tomb. She already hadn't had high hopes when the heavy metal door had been literally knocked off its hinges, but the coffin's general lack of a weapon confirmed it for her. This Royal Tomb had been plundered and raided for its spoils long ago.

"So much for the tip Cor was after," muttered Gladiolus. He ran one big hand against the rusting doors. "Honestly, impressed that these thieves managed to break in the door."

"Well, considering this appears to be the work of daemons, we really shouldn't be too surprised," Ignis said dryly.

Noctis's head shot up. "Daemons?"

Ignis waved the paper in his hand that he'd scooped from the head of the coffin. "The hunters seem to think so," he remarked. "Apparently they have a stronghold nearby. An ancient ruin infested with them by the name of Costlemark Tower."

"Well, Cor was definitely headed here, he said so himself," Cassielle said. "Maybe he saw the note too and headed to the Tower? See if he could get the weapon back?"

"Maybe," Noctis mumbled, peeking over Ignis's shoulder to read the note for himself. "Anyone have any idea where Costlemark is?"

"Isn't it just to the northeast of here?" Gladiolus recalled.

"Better start heading that way then," Nyx remarked. He clapped Prompto on the shoulder as he turned, taking the stairs leading out of the tomb two at a time. Aaralyn followed him, eager to keep up with Nyx's strident pace.

She was a bit disappointed, to be honest. She'd been hoping that this Royal Arm would have been easier to get than her last, but it was not to be. Daemons always found a way to fuck everything up. If she had to guess, they could sense the hidden power slumbering away in the weapon and ferried it away to Costlemark to keep it for their own uses. What uses that seemingly mindless monsters had for an ancient royal weapon, Aaralyn had no clue. What was important was they got it away from them and completed Noctis's arsenal of weapons that he'd found in Lucis.

The grass crunched beneath Aaralyn's boots as she kept pace with Nyx, jumping the barricade to cross the street into the dense forest on the other side. Costlemark came into view before long—an imposing, rotting structure of old stones and collapsed turrets that fell a long, long time ago.

Aaralyn marveled at the old ruins as she cautiously passed beneath a crumbling archway. She'd never get tired of seeing the old Solheim ruins. How the civilization had risen to such great heights only to crumble so fast thanks to their own hubris was an interesting history lesson, even in the worst of her high school classes. Just went to show that, even though the gods were assholes, even just confronting one of them could bring untold destruction. Don't bite the hand that feeds you and all that.

The stones glowed an ominous blue as the group descended into the ruins. Aaralyn fumbled with her shirt to clip her flashlight to her front as the dim ruins enveloped them. Just like at the Vesperpool, the stairs were falling apart and loose rocks made the trek precarious. Aaralyn was grateful that, every time she slipped, Nyx was right there to snatch her arm up and keep her steady.

"Okay, this isn't creepy," Cassielle commented, taking a step closer to Gladiolus as they looked around the empty, rotting rooms.

"But it's impressive, gotta admit," Gladiolus took a wide glance around as they made their way through it. Aaralyn kept one hand on a weapon, scanning the ceiling and walls for any sneaky daemons. Thankfully, this ruin seemed to be in much better shape than the one in the Vesperpool, with far fewer cracks. "This place is seriously ancient."