A Heart Of Fire (Final Fantasy XV)

Chapter 24

I sat on my knees, leaning over and panting heavily as I stared at the ground beneath me. Drops of sweat dripped down my forehead, landing on the sizzling ground with a small hiss as it evaporated. My body trembled as if I had just endured Coppr's intense and harsh training for the first time all those years ago. My arms and legs felt like lead; Heavy and dense. The grip on my weapons was like a vice, causing my knuckles to turn bright white.

My mind was even groggier than before. It was too difficult to form a cohesive thought without getting dizzy.

It was hard to move a single muscle in my body.

Why was I so exhausted?! I'm on my knees shaking like a leaf when I should be standing like it was nothing.

I hardly noticed the pair of boots in front of me had the owner not knelt down. I lifted my head and saw Prompto looking at me with a look of concern.

"Are you okay?" he asked as he gently placed his hands on my shoulders. I gave him a small nod and answered with a quiet, 'Yeah.' I moved my eyes to look up at Iggy standing behind him, who had a deep frown on his face as he stared at me with narrowed eyes.

"Can you stand?" he asked. Under Iggy's gaze, I felt myself shrink back slightly but quickly composed myself before willing my body to stand. I was still shaky and nearly leaned on Prompto for support, but I caught myself before I did. Lifting my head, I put on a confident grin and sheathed both of my weapons.

"Of course I can," I said, putting a hand on my hip. I looked around at the bodies of the magitek soldiers we took out. "These guys sure were tougher than the last time we fought them, though. Wonder if they got an upgrade?"

No one responded to my remarks about the Niff's. I glanced at the two of them, both of whom were silently staring at me. I tore my eyes away and closed my eyes with a sigh. "Well, we should probably get moving," I said. "If the Niff's are here, then we should catch up with Gladio and Noct here soon. We could probably--"

"Perhaps you should rest, Raya."

I looked back at Iggy, who had his arms crossed over his chest. "You're fatigued. You need to regain your stamina." Iggy approaches me and pulls out a small potion vile and holds it out to me. "Take this. It'll help you regain your strength if you want to keep going." I stared down at the vile for a second, contemplating whether or not I should take it. I know I should. Hell, I needed it. Iggy was right, I need something to get my strength back up. The roots I brought have provided me with some relief, but the effects didn't last very long. I wanted to take the potion.

But instead, I gently pushed his hand away and looked away.

"I'm okay," I said hoarsely. "I don't need it."

"Raya..." Prompto sighed. I shook my head and stopped him with a wave of my hand.

"Save the potion for later. I'm sure we'll need it when we face off against the empire again."

"You need it now," Iggy said, a little more firmly. "Don't start acting stubborn now."

"I'm not trying to be stubborn," I retorted. "I can make it by just fine without the potion."

"Can you really?" Iggy pressed, letting his hand holding the potion drop to his side. "Then why is it that you're so pale?"

"It's just the lighting down here," I said.

"Then what about your labored breathing?"

"It's hot."

"You're trembling?"

"My muscles are sore."

Iggy only sighed with a clenched jaw. His hands clenched in frustration and stared at me with an unfazed expression. He opened his mouth to speak but immediately closed it shut and turned his back to me.