Crown King: Return of The Labyrinth | ✓

Chapter 26: A Turn of Tides

It was the unbearable sight of his eyes that made you shut your eyes close. You could feel it—it was hopeless. After everything you did to find out the truth, of trying to stop these daemons from invading the Crown City, everything was just all in vain. You wanted to blame yourself for what's happening.

     This is all my fault, you thought, gritting your teeth and clenching your fists. If only I didn't trust Ether that much then—no, it actually is my fault. I chose her to come with me—if only I realized Ardyn's been alive all along. . . Your breath hitched. Something was up; why hadn't Prompto still inflicted pain on you?

     You could still hear the deep growls of daemons surrounding you, and the humid atmosphere of coming dusk circulating the cathedral's atrium, along with the foul smell of the monsters' breaths. Reluctance was all over you, you didn't want to open your eyes. Maybe because the pain had already been there that you neither realized nor felt it. However, a resounding, enraged shriek resounded the room which made your eyes fly open, your sight immediately darting towards Prompto whose back was now facing you. Daemons were all turned towards Ardyn as he was now sandwiched between the altar and myriads of hissing creatures.

     "A TRICK!" Ardyn seethed, the rim of his hat almost covering the rest of his scowling and furious face. "This is an act of trickery! This should never happen!—"

     An enormous, serpent-like daemon came slithering near the side as it towered over the backing figure of Ardyn, her six pair arms spreading in which each held swords. Your eyes widened. It was Marilith, the daemon who killed you sixteen years ago. But what made you so much confused was what she was also facing and growling towards Ardyn.

     "YOU FROWARDS!" Ardyn roared, blasting a glowing orb towards the daemon, but she effortlessly dodged it, hissing. "YOU ERRANT, BEEF-WITTED FOOLS!"

     "You can call us that," Prompto spat, making you startle, "a failure. Parasites. But you're not toying with our lives again." Somehow you could recognize his own voice, but there still resided an inhumanly presence inside him. You couldn't help it, you felt much more alive now that he's back. You wanted to know what happened to him. Around, the daemons roared in agreement that it felt so unreal. You never thought these creatures even had their own minds.

     Ardyn scowled. "A FOOL IT IS! I chose you, Argentum, because I know you wanted it yourself. You seeked it yourself, isn't that what you've always been doing?" He smirked. "Always looking for things to make you something more, right?—"

     "But I never wanted it more coming from you." You were surprised at how calm Prompto's voice was, especially that what Ardyn said made you confused. What was he talking about? "Forget what I wanted, Izunia. I've done what I've done and there's no turning back," Prompto said. "Niflheim etched this code when I was a kid because they wanted me to become theirs. And now you turned me into one of yours."

     "OF COURSE, THAT'S BECAUSE I DESIRED IT TO!" Ardyn jeered. "BECAUSE IT'S WHAT THE ASTRALS DESIRED! THEY WANT DESTRUCTION, FINE! I'LL GIVE IT TO THEM! ONLY IF YOU DIM-WITTED FOOLS—" he shot a glare towards you "—DIDN'T GET INTO MY WAY!—"

     "I'm afraid you wouldn't get your desires anymore. These people—of Lucis, Accordo, and every other land in Eos—you made them into something they never wanted. We suffered because of you." Prompto took a step forward, the other daemons closing in as Ardyn now had his back pinned against the wall. “I am a Lucian, Izunia. I've always been, and it's our turn to make you suffer."