'In what time you had left, he wanted to be your father.' A sniff comes from the hunched form of the prince, small, telltale sounds of crying shaking from his body. 'That day, he didn't want you to remember him as the king,' Cor says, walking back to stand in front of Noctis. What could I possibly do to make him feel better? Ignis hangs his head, staring at his shoes while Gladio shifts uncomfortably. 'Why did he lie to me?' I sigh, watching without being able to comfort, like a mere stranger. 'Then why didn't he tell me that?! Why did he stand there smiling as I left?! Why.!' His hand slams down on the edge of the grave, curling around the gold trim. ' Entrusted it to me?' He shakes his head as his voice raises. 'The king entrusted the role of the protector to you.' Noctis grits his teeth, glaring up at the marshal. 'How long will you remain the protected?' Cor asks, the force behind his powerful voice growing. 'Was that his calling? To forsake the masses to spare his own son?' he demands, anger building up in his small frame. No one likes the idea, but if only saving Noctis means the world has a future versus saving everyone else and having no future. I stare at the back of his head, empathy flooding my veins. 'And yet he chose to protect only one prince,' Noctis forces bitterly. 'Now is not the time to question your calling,' Cor scolds. We can't let the empire have the crystal. 'My duty as king of what?' I turn to look at him sharply. To claim your forebears' power is your birthright and duty as king.' Noct's eyes are hollow when he speaks up. 'Passed from the old to the new through the bonding of souls.' He raises his other arm, gesturing toward the coffin. 'The power of kings,' Cor answers, unfazed as he raises a hand over the blade locked in fingers of stone. 'Yeah, wanna tell me what I'm here for?' he asks flatly. Noctis looks down at the stone coffin before him. 'At last, Your Highness,' Cor nods to Noct in acknowledgement. Cor has his back to us, but he turns to face Ignis when spoken to. Noctis reaches forward, pushing the heavy doors wide open and stepping inside. It does hurt when you're blasted with ice and snow at high speed. Well as least he's done being a drama queen. 'Let's go in and find Cor,' I urge, hearing Gladio step up behind us. 'A tomb fit for royalty,' Prompto sighs dreamily. The heavy white door is overly ornate, symbolizing the importance of this particular resting place. It's a carved half circle, built out of white and black stones. 'We're here,' Ignis announces as we step onto the clean stone slabs of the grave.

'You're gonna pay for that,' Gladio growls as I walk past. 'Much better,' Ignis nods, walking past Gladio and ignoring the big man's complaints. 'Every single time!' Gladio thunders, falling to the ground and gripping his iced sides as birds fall from the sky around him. And guess who dove into the fray just as the ball exploded? Noctis warps out of the way, and when the coast is clear, I cast the spell. 'Enough talk, time for some action,' Gladio cuts him off. 'How many times.?' Noctis starts, warp striking one of the vicious birds. 'Indeed.' We move ahead about ten feet before we're attacked by more daggerquills. 'Looks like we'll have some daggerquill tonight, huh?' I turn to look at Ignis, who's already eyeing the birds. My boots hit the ground with a solid thud. I step into his readied hands, getting boosted into the air and taking out the last two enemies. 'Only one way to find out,' Noctis shouts back, slashing across the neck of another daggerquill. 'Is that what you were trying to say, Iggy? Because that's just gross.' 'Maybe he's really into dead bodies,' I call over the sound of fighting. 'A morbid curiosity for the late kings of Lucis?' Ignis suggests. 'Wonder what drew him to the tomb,' he says, finishing the bird off. 'Sounds good to me,' I shrug, diving into the fray. 'Without a plan?' Noct raises an eyebrow. 'I'm going in,' the advisor decides suddenly, pulling the prince back. 'Focus,' Ignis says suddenly, eyeing the daggerquills that circle overhead. 'You think it's a coincidence he's made it out of all those battles alive?' 'The wise make their own luck,' Ignis explains in his own, unhelpful way. 'Well, fortune favors the bold,' Noctis says, leading us down a new dirt path. 'Making it out of Insomnia only adds to his legend,' Prompto laughs.

Ffxv down on your luck