Sword of the King | FFXV × M!Reader

[Chapter I] | The Ambivalent Prophecy

Ardyn groaned. "Where am I?"

The former Caelum man found himself in a dark and murky world. He didn't know if he had spent here for a moment or an eternity in this strange emptiness.

"Am I alive? Does it matter? Perhaps not," he muttered to himself.

Despite the emptiness and darkness of this place, it was quite familiar to him. Thinking about it deeply, two millennia ago, he was trapped in a small prison, the undesirable picture of grey stone walls around him. A very cramped space, broken shackles that were dangling from the ceiling and laying on the cold stone ground.

Yes, he had been here before. No doubt about it. It was Angelgard. Sitting in that very same cell Somnus had cast him in those two millennia ago, away from prying eyes whilst Somnus himself remained in Lucis, building the kingdom that it is now today. All while his "dear" older brother was sealed here, supposedly to be locked away forever. But that had changed.

Moments ago, he was at Lucis, the Citadel, to be precise. Having wreaked havoc upon the streets of Insomnia, meeting up with Regis Lucis Caelum, forcing him to summon the Old Wall, thus bringing about Somnus before him. Even if Somnus's soul was bound to a giant stone statue.

But it was after that, he found himself in an astral plane. He had been in that astral plane before, his people having called it the Void. It is in that separate plane of existence where one of the Six lies in, Bahamut. The Draconian. A large towering humanoid figure, silver and gold adorned armor with a dragon head as a helmet, the mouth wide open to show Bahamut's face, many swords serving as wings for flight, and a greatsword served as the Draconian's primary weapon of choice. Arguably the most powerful among the six Astrals.

It was there in the Void that Bahamut gave Ardyn a different prophecy, one far different than the one he had been previously given. It turns out, his entire grief, his brother's betrayal was all part of some greater prophecy that was orchestrated. Consequently, Ardyn blamed it all on the gods for his predicament. But still, to hear a different prophecy meant for him other than the one originally given to him was an astounding one to hear.

When he had first gone to the Crystal to have his prophecy given to him, the Crystal told him that he would be the Chosen King, only for then to cast him aside after taking in so much of the daemons from those he saved. Now, his new prophecy was to continue heralding the Starscourge within him, controlling it and plague all of Eos into darkness, and the only time he could rest was when the True King had awakened, ascending into the Crystal and receiving its power to truly vanquish the Starscourge from existence.

The crimson-haired man grumbled at the revelation, an expression of disdain appearing on his face. "Nothing matters-none of it. Not the 'blessed' gods above nor the accursed kings below. To hell with them all!"

That's right. To hell with that new prophecy of his. He doesn't care if that was preordained for him, it was the fact of the matter that all of this, his entire suffering was the gods' fault. But even then, even if Somnus had known that this was all the Six's plan, he still would've followed suit with his own agenda and locked him away. Somnus was that power hungry, and like he was told, compared to himself, the younger brother was unpopular, nor was he powerful to have any distinct features about him. The anger, hate, and spite that boiled within him was what mattered to him most.

His vengeance. His revenge.

No longer would Ardyn bow to the whims of others. Taking his destiny into his own hands, he will be the one to control everything. The master of puppets, so to speak. A man so cruel that he will be even crueler than the gods. No longer will he see the benevolentness of others. No longer will he be the one to bestow generosity and kindness. The previous man, Ardyn Lucis Caelum, is dead.