Ignis Ardenti

Ignis Ardenti (Part One)

The roar of the waterfall was loud in your ears as you gazed down into the darkness of the cavern that lay behind it. Wind from the spray whipped your hair around your face, and you had to continuously reach up and push the strands back. Even from here, you could feel that something wasn't quite right. The temperature surrounding the area was much cooler than what it should have been, even taking the presence of the river into account.

"So this is it?" Noctis said, taking a step closer and switching on the flashlight that was clipped to the front of his jacket. A beam of illumination cut through the shadows, striking the jagged rocks that framed the entrance. In the light, you could see them glittering.

"If the information we received is correct," Ignis agreed.

Prompto narrowed his cobalt-blue eyes, leaning forward and studying the ground. "Guys, look at the rocks. They're shining." Another step closer. "No...they're frozen."

"Ice, huh? This is going to be fun," Gladio rumbled from behind you.

"Speak for yourself," you replied, not liking this at all. That explained the chilly air surrounding the waterfall. Already, before you even entered it, you could feel gooseflesh rising along your bare arms. Like Prompto's, your jacket was sleeveless, and the shirt you wore beneath it only reached halfway to your elbows. Certainly not the type of clothing to be braving a cave wreathed in ice.

Noctis led the way into the dark cavern, moving slowly so he didn't slip on the slick ice that covered everything. You and the others fanned out behind him, ready to summon your weapons at a moment's notice. As dark as the cave was, there were bound to be daemons inside it, and it was going to be tricky, fighting them on a frozen surface.

How could it be this cold so close to the Disc? It was like its own self-contained environment inside the cave. The temperature in this place had to be well below freezing, as was proven by five plumes of crystallized breath rising into the air every few seconds.

At your side, you could hear Prompto's teeth chattering, and you were already trying not to shiver. In front of you, you could see that Noctis had his arms folded tightly across his chest; he was just as cold as you and Prompto.

Infuriatingly, Ignis and Gladio didn't seem overly bothered by it. The green-eyed man would occasionally run his gloved hands over his arms, but that was the only show of discomfort he gave, and Gladio didn't even do that much. He was like a furnace; in this narrow passage, you could feel the waves of heat rolling off of him. He might have been the least dressed of everyone, but he was also the least affected by the frigid temperature.

By the time the first wave of daemons appeared, you were actually happy to see them. Bursts of blue light surrounded you as your companions called forth their weapons, and the five of you leapt into battle, eager to get your blood circulating faster. But the goblin-like creatures fell quickly, only allowing you a brief reprieve from the cold.

The paths wound steadily downward, leading you ever deeper into the cavern. More than once, you lost your footing on the slick rock, and were sent plunging downward with no control over where you ended up. Wide passageways turned into narrow ledges that you had to sidle along, which in turn would then open back up into massive chambers filled with more daemons waiting to ambush the unwary.