Zodiac (Final Fantasy XV)

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~3rd Person POV~

Ignis reached out and grabbed one of Zodia's arms quickly. He pulled her to his chest just before her body hit the hard ground. The royal advisor fell to his knees with the princess in his arms. The others gathered around, worried about the young girl. Noctis crashed to his knees next to his sister with frightened eyes. "What's wrong with her?"

"I'm not sure. Something happened to her after making contact with you," Ignis replies, failing to keep himself calm. Even though he had gloves on, he could feel her body growing cold. Panicking, he quickly checks for a pulse but fails to find one. Frantically, Ignis lays Zodia's body gently against the ground.

"W-what's going on?" Prompto asked as he watched Ignis. "Her heart's stopped," he said in a shaky voice. Placing both of his hands on her sternum, he began performing CPR. Every few presses, he would check on her pulse, but he still couldn't find one.

"Will nothing we have help her?" Gladio asked, trying to keep himself composed. Ignis shook his head, continuing the presses. "No curative will help us. We're on our own." Noctis stared down at his little sister and felt tears threatening to fall. "C'mon, sis—don't leave us!" He gripped one of her pale hands in his own.

Ignis tried everything he knew for ten minutes straight. Every attempt failed, making him crumble on the inside. Devastation soon started to consume his whole body as he stopped trying to resuscitate the princess. His form slumped over her body in complete and utter defeat, holding his sorrowful feelings at bay will all of his strength.

"No... no—no! She isn't gone!" Noctis shouts in hysteria. The prince tried to shake his sister awake with tears in his eyes. Gladio pulled Noctis away from Zodia and snapped some sense into him. "Enough!"

Prompto let out sobs and tears streamed down his cheeks. The poor, devastated boy had to remove himself from their presence to calm himself down.

Finally snapping back to reality, Noctis slumps in Gladio's hold and lets out a loud scream. The only one who could bring himself to look at Zodia was Ignis. Thousands of memories with her beautiful smile and melodic laughter filled his mind. Losing all control of his emotions, he pulled her limp body into his arms and cradled her against him. He never told her how he truly felt about their relationship. He had wished they become more than friends and spend the rest of their lives together. Sadly, she was gone and there was nothing he could do.

Ignis rested his head atop hers, praying to the Six to not take her from him. Running a hand through her soft, midnight black hair brought no solace to him. His hand rested against her cheekbone in defeat. When he moved it down to her neck, his fingers found a pulse. A small gasp escaped him as he looked down at her ghostly face. The first thing he noticed was the color returning to her face—the familiar rosy cheeks he fell in love with. A small groan emitted from her throat as her eyes slowly opened. Staring into her sparkling aquamarine eyes with his emerald ones, Ignis' devastation was overwritten by euphoric feelings at the sight of her opened eyes and her beating heart.

Not caring who saw, Ignis hugged Zodia tightly in his arms. He made sure not to hurt her in case if she was in pain from her previous state. Zodia's hands shook as she clung to his blazer. Her breathing was a little heavy but not to a point to cause concern. The others hadn't realized the princess was alright until she began to speak softly. "The Archaean—that's who Noctis saw in his vision."

Hearing his name, the prince snapped his head up and stared at his awakened sister. He scrambled to her side and placed a hand on her shoulder. "H-how?" Completely confused, Zodia glanced at her brother. "What happened while I was passed out?"

Prompto stormed over and kneeled beside her. "Zodia, you didn't pass out. You... you died." The princess looked back to Ignis, who confirmed Prompto's information. "Your heart stopped for ten minutes. Every method I attempted—failed."