|•XLIII•|

1.9K 57 7
                                    

~3rd Person POV~

Noctis headed to the dining car to regroup with Gladio and Ignis. As he maneuvered through the train cars, his gaze kept falling to Zodia's staff. Once he found the others, their gazes fell upon him. When they saw the familiar staff, their eyes widened.

"Where-How'd you get Zodia's staff?" Gladio asked.

"Snatched it from that bastard of a chancellor when he decided to make another appearance." He held out the staff towards Ignis. "I want you to hang on to it."

Hesitantly, Ignis took the staff from Noctis. "Are you sure about this, Noct?"

He nods gradually. "Yeah, I'm sure. Give it back to her once we find her."

Ignis clutched the staff securely. He stared at the intricate weapon before dispelling and adding it to his arsenal. Noctis sat next to his advisor, delving into complete silence. After what seemed like hours, Ignis spoke up. "We should be drawing close to Gralea."

"Yeah," Noctis said.

Gladio leaned back in his seat, heaving a deep sigh. "I can't imagine what it'll be like."

"Swarming with daemons, but you knew that," Noctis states.

"Don't remind me," the shield grumbles.

"Once we arrive, we'll make for the Keep," the tactician informs the others.

At a complete loss, Noctis arched a brow at Ignis. "The Keep?"

"Zegnautus. An imperial megafortress said to be impregnable."

"With Prompto, Zodia, and the Crystal inside it."

"What goes in, must come out," the brute exclaims. "So, are we buying this story that the Crystal can purge daemons?"

"The proof is in the purging, but it does stand to reason. We've observed that as the nights have grown longer, the daemon hordes have grown stronger. If they are in fact averse to the Crystal's Light, it could save not only Lucis, but the world," Ignis states matter-of-factly.

Noctis shrugs. "We'll find out once we take it back."

Suddenly, the train comes screeching to a halt. The trio looks around, confused at the unscheduled stop.
"The hell?" Gladio murmurs. They jolt up from their seats and head to the cabin car. Passing the large windows, they began to crack as the train car shook.
"What now?" The shield vociferates.

The loudspeaker came on with Biggs on the other end. "City's trying to keep us out... with the daemons." Then, small daemons swarmed to the windows. "Gotta run! Don't worry about us."

A single daemon broke through the glass, landing in front of Noctis. When he tried to summon his sword, nothing appeared in his hand. Gladio notices the prince's dilemma as he stared at his empty hand. "What's wrong?"

"The weapons... they're stuck!"

As the daemon charges forward, Gladio grabs Noctis and pulls him to safety. The brute kicked the creature in the face, allowing them time to escape.

Dashing through the train cars, the trio tries to escape the horde of daemons chasing them. While running, Ignis dodged daemons and spoke as he did. "Only a matter of time before we run out of room to run!"

"Got a better idea?" Noctis interrogates the strategist.

"We trade the train for the Regalia!"

"C'mon!" Gladio bellows, dodging a daemon attack.

"On my way!" The prince hollers back.

"Noct! The freight car!" The royal advisor roars at the raven haired boy.

Zodiac (Final Fantasy XV)Where stories live. Discover now