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year 5, quarter 3
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Several of the travelers that he’d passed on the way here had warned Somnus that it would be dangerous, but he was in too foul a mood to find its efforts to lead him astray to be anything more than an inconvenience.
“Oh yes. Very terrifying,” he called out in an annoyed tone as fog rolled in front of him over the path and briefly obscured his vision. Since he had a moment anyway, he paused to adjust the dark blue pants and the travel boots that he’d picked up in Torensten. While he had needed new clothing, he wasn’t very fond of the fit of these. The cotton shirt was acceptable—if below his station—but the pants felt constrictive compared to the swish of robes against his legs. The shoes were admittedly far better for long distance journeys than the sandals that he was accustomed to, but the closed-toed boots were also heavier and more cumbersome. They afforded him fewer odd looks than his robes had, but Somnus wasn’t quite sure how he felt about them yet.
Somnus had been warned that the malevolent spirits in this forest often took the form of visions to try to lure people off the path, but he still had to stop in his tracks when he rounded a corner to find his brother hanging from a nearby tree. The specter looked exactly as he had when Somnus had last seen him. He hung from his hands and back, and his head was flopped forward onto his chest. His red hair was long enough to cover his face, but a mixture of blood and black liquid slowly dripped its way onto the forest floor. The figure was still and silent.
Somnus did nothing but stare at it for a moment, before his own quickening heartbeat enraged him. Summoning a blade to his hand, he hurled it straight into the figure’s chest. The illusion dissolved back into mist, and the sword dangled where it had impaled the tree directly behind it. “You think to upset me with him?!” A sneer formed on Somnus’ face as he spread his arms and turned in a slow circle in an invitation. “Come out then! But you’ll have to do better than that, I’m afraid!”
The woods were silent, and after a moment, Somnus scoffed in irritation before he banished the sword back to his armiger and continued his way down the path. It figured the spirits were too cowardly to respond to a direct threat.
The ominous figure of his elder brother wasn’t the only vision that Somnus witnessed as the hours passed. He saw his parents as they had looked while dying of the scourge. Gilgamesh turning on him. Ardyn taking the crown. Ardyn. Ardyn. Always Ardyn. Somnus hated it. That daemonic monster should have had no role in the king’s life now. None. Somnus had done his best not to think of him for years, and while he wasn’t always successful, he’d never broken as much as he had since his conversation with that fool of a soldier. It was infuriating. One single rubbish story from Caius, and now he couldn’t help looking over his shoulder for the red-haired man? He had half a mind to go back and set fire to that rundown building they called a base.
The illusions got worse as the sun began to set, and Somnus was forced to admit that it was unlikely that he’d exit the woods before full dark. He’d need to spend the night here, and he’d need to settle in soon before the daemons had time to prowl. After a few minutes of searching, he chose a small clearing just to the side of the path, gathering sticks and dried leaves for kindling as he went. Within the hour, he was settled in as comfortably as he could manage with his back to a tree. A fire crackled peacefully in front of him while the small rabbit that he’d managed to quickly catch and skin was beginning to roast over the top of it. It was a scene so reminiscent of his teenage years that he could almost picture Gil sitting across the fire from him as he teasingly boasted that he’d made the bigger catch. The thought made something in Somnus’ chest hurt.
Best not to dwell on it then.
While he waited for his dinner to cook, Somnus pulled a piece of fruit out of the stores that he’d gathered while he’d still been in Torensten. He’d just taken a bite when the rustling of branches informed him that someone was making their way down the path nearby. Somnus hesitated, debating saying nothing so that the person would pass by, but one glance at the sky showed him that there was barely a streak of sunset left. While it was certainly the person’s own fault for being out this late, Somnus didn’t really relish the thought of being awoken to daemons or other monsters dismembering the poor fool.
Letting out an annoyed breath, Somnus called out to the stranger. “If someone’s there, then you’d best hurry over before it’s full dark.”
What a strange and brilliant vision Ardyn had seen. Noctis, alone and unguarded. Noctis, with his hair limp and his style compromised. He looked as he had on the night of their fated battle though he seemed somehow younger without the matted hair and uncombed stubble that came from ten years of darkness. Without it, he had taken on a far more objectionable visage. Somnus. Why had the gods seen fit to curse their chosen king with his face? A cruel joke, no doubt. For when had they been anything but cruel?
Ardyn laughed as the witness melted to shadow in his hand. He had expected nothing more than his own amusement, and perhaps a glimpse of the world beyond. What a gift the man had given him in his undeath. Ardyn shook his head and shifted his gaze to the trees lining the moonlit road. Noctis had taken to the forest. The Headstone Forest. How very fitting.
And that is how Ardyn found himself traipsing through the serpentine paths of a haunted forest at dusk. He had heard rumors of it, of course. This was a place of death and darkness, of madness and illusion. A perfect place for him in other words. He’d been warned that his perception would be tested and the spirits would try to read his heart, but he found the journey quite pleasant. Perhaps the spirits recognized him as one of their own. Regardless, he continued on his quest unbothered.
Now how would he toy with Noctis this time? How he longed to see the shock in his eyes. The hatred, the fear! They would set alight the face that Noctis had stolen, and a face that still lingered at the edges of Ardyn’s dreams. ’The king, made to kneel, in pain he crawls.’
Ardyn hummed to himself. What a happy day.
Night came quickly. It melted around the silence and the dread of ancient, twisted wood. Ardyn looked up to the treetop canopy and breathed in the must and the dew. Distant birds chattered. Insects swarmed around in their evening fervor. He would reach Noctis soon, he thought. No sane man would continue on in the dark.
Flames flickered in orange shadows ahead, and Ardyn stopped out of view. In seconds, he’d melted into darkness and whisked himself to the perimeter’s edge. There he was. Lit by the harsh shadows of firelight, looking to the path with a kind of alert irritation. Ardyn gave him a thoughtful look, head slightly tilted, hand at his cheek. While he had been absolutely giddy before, he felt that excitement fade in the face of the Chosen King. Had their last parting not been amiable? It had not lacked understanding at least, and those last words still rang their hollow tune.
’This time you can rest in peace. Close your eyes forevermore.’
Ardyn sighed. Their pact had been fulfilled. Whatever hatred Ardyn still carried, Noctis at least had proven himself above it. If only ever slightly.
”How disappointing.” He shook his head before stepping closer. ”The gods are fickle things.” He stepped into the full light of the fire. As always, his eyes took a moment to adjust. This was not his element. ”And how fares his highness?” He let the last words drip from his lips with a bitter tongue. His likeness sparked nothing but resentment.
Somnus considered the half-eaten apple in his hand as he waited for the other traveler to show themself. He had expected there to be a crackling of branches towards the path first as the person moved through the trees to find him, but when a voice pierced the silence, it was from directly across the clearing.
“How disappointing.”
The voice dripped with so much insincerity and just a touch of malice that it took Somnus a moment to realize why it sounded so familiar. Sucking in a quick breath, he dimly heard the thud of the fruit that he had been holding hitting the ground, though he couldn’t remember dropping it. In a flash, he was on his feet, his sword appearing in his hand in a shower of blue sparks. Just before the figure showed themself from outside the circle of light made by the fire, Somnus briefly regretted summoning his usual sword on instinct. He had no desire to see even an illusion wielding the twin to his blue-grey blade.
“I’ve told you before that I’ve no patience for your visions of him,” he spat as the new specter of Ardyn moved further into the light, but his appearance caught Somnus more than a little off guard. His hair was shorter. Not nearly as short as his own, but the red waves that he had never been able to tame fell to his chin instead of being tied back over his shoulders. The yellow eyes that flickered in the firelight were equally foreign to Somnus. His brother usually had amber eyes, and while they had bled yellow on that ill-fated day, black liquid had filled them as well. This seemed an odd combination of the two.
Still, it was his clothing that bothered Somnus the most. The concoction of robes and the elaborate boots were more reminiscent of Torensten than of Lucis. Somnus had been forced to change his style of clothing of course, and Ardyn would likely have done the same if he were trapped in Zephon, but that seemed an...odd detail for an illusion to realize. A prickle of unease ran through him as the vision turned his attention to him.
“And how fares his highness?”
“Highness?” Somnus questioned, equally confused and irritated. It was the title used for his son and daughter, but he was obviously no prince himself, and he never had been. Perhaps it was meant to insult him by failing to refer to him as a king, but that was an odd way to go about it. For an illusion meant to torment him, this felt all wrong. This wasn’t how Ardyn acted.
Against his will, he was forced to remember Caius’ words, and sudden doubt filled Somnus. This wasn’t at all like what he had seen along the road so far. Gripped with a sudden need to know for sure, he launched his sword at the man over the fire and quickly warped after it.
His sword and body both collided with something solid, and as the pair came to a stop against a tree, Somnus released him and recoiled backward. His lips parted slightly as he stared at the red-haired man in shock. This was no trick of the forest. “...Ardyn?”
The name spoken out loud made Somnus painfully aware of their current proximity, and he moved back in a hurry to put the crackling fire in between them again. Once there, he gripped his sword almost painfully as he warily watched for the man’s every move. “...How? How are you here?”
This misunderstanding is hilarious knowing it's accidentally directed at SOMNUS
I'm an impatient traveler ready to turn ship.
A shower of blue. The glint of a sword. In seconds, the Chosen King stood armed and defensive, eyes locked on the threat before him. It seemed…off somehow. Colder than Noctis’ usual desperate hostility, and while his voice hadn’t changed, its even measure betrayed him.
“I’ve told you before that I’ve no patience for your visions of him.”
”Hm?” Visions? Ardyn hadn’t plagued him with any visions -- at least not yet. ”Ah yes, the forest.” Ardyn chuckled to himself. ”I had heard tell.” And seen nothing. Had it been Ardyn’s face that had haunted him? He felt almost honored.
Noctis’ expression changed. Confusion. Caution. And then something else. Noctis brought his sword high then flung it forward in a motion that was absolutely classic of him. Ardyn blinked his surprise and brought his own sword before him in a crimson flick of his wrist, materializing only just in time to meet the blade with a solid clink.”I’ve only come to talk!” He spaced each word as though calling them from a distance. ”Really!”
When the pressure lifted, he placed his hands on his hips and sighed. ”One might almost think you’ve held a grudge.” Ardyn shook his head. ”They’re not healthy, you know. If I might suggest-”
”...Ardyn?”
”Pardon?”
Noctis was in a state of absolute shock. He stood as still as the dead, face drained and staring. It was as though he’d only just realized who it was he was dealing with. Ardyn’s brow furrowed. Had he truly not recognized him? Now that wasn’t right. It made him question his practice of greeting strangers, and beyond that, he was almost offended. What nerve he had, forgetting him. Of all of Lucis’ people, he’d thought that Noctis at least would have-
Why yes, he would have. Ardyn flicked away his sword as he leaned forward, eyes pricked with concern. ”Are you well?”
Now this wasn’t how it was supposed to go at all. Here Ardyn was willing to extend a hand of reconciliation, and it seemed Noctis wasn’t quite how he’d left him. Either that or he was petrified of him -- but that seemed unlike the Chosen King. Ten years ago, perhaps, but not the man who had faced him with his head held high. Now he’d made as much distance between them as was currently possible, his sword gripped tightly in his hand.
”Now, now. You know that shant do you well. So could you perhaps…?” Ardyn mimed the banishing of his sword. ”Our battle is finished, and I for one think it’s time to do away with old hostilities.” He held out a hand and tried for a smile. He couldn’t banish the malice from his eyes. ”Bygones?”
Ardyn kept insisting that he was only here to talk, but Somnus kept a tight grasp on his sword regardless. His brother didn’t need weapons to cause harm after all. He’d shown his true colors that day in front of the crystal, so Somnus had no intention of banishing his blade or letting down his guard. Truthfully, he didn’t really need weapons either with the Ring of the Lucii on his finger, but he didn’t plan to reveal that unless he had to. The ring drained his own life to fuel its immense power, and so it was always a last resort. He refused to shorten his own lifespan otherwise.
Ardyn flicked his own sword away in a shimmer of red light, and Somnus tensed at the new reminder that this was no illusion. Still, he couldn’t resist the scowl that crossed his face when the red-haired man leaned forward in mock concern to ask if he was well.
“As if my health is what you came here for,” he spat. The man likely wanted retribution for the crown and for Aera’s life (Somnus hadn’t meant to kill her, but he’d certainly shed no tears over her death), but a small part of him wondered just how much Caius had been telling the truth about. If it had really been thousands of years, then he couldn’t imagine that Ardyn still cared about what had happened in Lucis’ early days, but the story still had a ridiculous nature. Even with his older brother standing right in front of him, Somnus couldn’t bring himself to believe it. No, it was safest to assume that the soldier had been lying. He had certainly been antagonistic enough.
Ardyn once again requested that Somnus put away his sword, which he ignored of course, but it was the declaration that followed that made him stare dubiously at the man, distrustful of the words that came out of his mouth.
“Our battle is finished, and I for one think it’s time to do away with old hostilities.”
Ardyn stretched out a hand to him, which made Somnus frown. It was so reminiscent of the way that he would congratulate him for a battle well fought after Somnus had once again lost to the older boy in a game of chess. The memory made his hand twitch upward as if he intended to accept the gesture, before he lowered his arm and curled his fingers into a fist at his side instead.
“Our battle may be finished, but it doesn’t change what you’ve become.” There was no malice in his voice--Somnus was more stating a fact than anything. The yellow gleam in the man’s eyes was more than enough to show him that Ardyn was still infected. He was more monster than man, and Somnus failed to accept that he had tracked him into a daemonic forest and waited until nightfall purely with good intentions.
“Tell me then, brother. Why have you really come here?”
”Our battle may be finished, but it doesn’t change what you’ve become.”
Ardyn paused. Something crossed his eyes then -- Anger? Hurt? It was a strange feeling, certainly, sinking through his chest. How many times had he been called a monster? He was a monster and he knew it well, but that didn’t mean that Noctis had to say it aloud. It was rude, and really Ardyn had expected better.
Perhaps he had misinterpreted their final moments? Perhaps he had misjudged Noctis’ character? They really hadn’t spent much time together -- and less than a blink of it had been anything but malicious. Ardyn supposed it really was on himself if he’d expected any-
”Tell me then, brother. Why have you really come here?”
Brother. That word struck him like an ocean wave.
Brother.
Brother.
”Oh.” Ardyn lowered his hand. ”Then you’re not-? Are you really…?” The wave pulsed first one way then the next. His face, so much alike. His eyes, so cold. His intonation, the voice of his dreams.
His lips drew into a slow smile. ”Somnus.”
He laughed. Oh how he laughed! He felt all his pain, his loathing, his sickness burst from him in cathartic bursts. ”What a trick of the gods!” He grinned and leaned forward, eyeing him with a predatory curiosity. ”Are you dead?” he asked before shaking his head. ”Ah, but I’d say not. You’ve lost that divine glow, little brother. My when I saw you last, you were among the echelons of spirits past! Such a disappointment when I couldn’t kill you myself.”
He hummed to himself, head tilted to the sky as he folded his arms behind his back and strolled about like a pacing cat. ”That was quite the misunderstanding! I’d dare say I’m almost embarrassed.” He rolled on his heels, every step a new swagger. ”A case of mistaken identity, I’m afraid. Our battle is far from finished.”
Ardyn stopped. Realization struck him like a ray of accursed light. After all of his suffering and all of his service to their prophecies, he’d thought that the gods had extended his curse. He had been thoroughly mistaken. This was not his punishment -- but rather his reward.
”Two thousand years of darkness.” He felt oddly somber in that strange moment. Hollow, perhaps. ”Could you not stand to see your orders done? Always the coward, little brother. How you averted your eyes…”
He chuckled to himself. ”Ah, but now is no time for reminiscing. Come now. Let me show you a sliver of the darkness you’ve cursed upon me. ’The king made to kneel in pain he crawls.’”
Somnus didn’t know why his simple question should have affected Ardyn, but something in the red-haired man’s expression recoiled for a moment before a slow, predatory smile crossed his lips. Somnus didn’t like that look on his face—it was a little too reminiscent of a daemon’s for his taste—and he continued to hold his blade in warning as his brother threw back his head and laughed. If Somnus had thought before that Ardyn’s mannerisms were off from how they’d used to be, then that feeling only escalated now. He’d been sure that there was nothing left of his older brother when he’d had him sealed away, and now that all facades were removed, he was being proven correct. The man in front of him was only a daemon wearing human skin, and nothing more.
Finally, Ardyn spoke again, but his words made little sense, and Somnus furrowed his brows in confusion as he tried to piece together the man’s prattle. “I see your curse has robbed you of your faculties,” he said dismissively. “Would I be here if I were dead? I have not the faintest idea what fever dream you were suffering from if you believed me to be glowing during our final meeting.” Except that it was no longer final, was it? Ardyn had woken up here the same as him, which meant that his guards were likely sailing around an empty isle right now. Not that they would ever know it was empty if the boulder hadn’t budged. Somnus wasn’t sure if the idea of them standing guard over nothing made him want to laugh or burn something to the ground.
Perhaps both.
Ardyn started to pace around the clearing, and Somnus eyed him warily, growing more unsettled when his words once again made little sense. “Mistaken identity? Surely it hasn’t been so long that you would mistake me for someone on the street,” he spat, though Ardyn’s next softer words gave him pause. Once again, his mind flashed to the story that Caius had spun at the ramshackle little base he had visited, but something in him rebelled at the thought.
“Two thousand years? I…don’t know what you mean.” That wasn’t altogether true, but Somnus refused to believe that Ardyn could be as immortal as Caius had described. Dangerous and resilient to death? Certainly. But spreading the scourge to the entire world and not aging a single day over the course of millennia were different matters entirely. It was disturbing to even entertain the possibility. That went beyond the powers of a monster and approached the unending nature of the astrals themselves.
The facsimile of his brother finally seemed to tire of his own voice as he made clear his intentions to attack, and Somnus dipped into a ready stance, a scowl crossing his face at the odd rhyme that left the man’s lips. “The king made to kneel, in pain he crawls.” He’d be waiting a long time if he expected Somnus to bend the knee to a monster like him.
“How kind of you to wait until the sun set,” he said bitterly, spreading his free arm in mocking invitation. “By your leave then, brother. We both know how this ended last time.” Somnus had bested him before, but he did have to admit that Ardyn had every advantage this time. Night belonged to the daemons, and he doubted that he had seen the extent of his dark magic last time. It was almost a given that there would be abilities that would surprise him. Still, two could play at that game. Somnus’ best hope lay in the ring on his left hand that he had been gifted after the monster was already defeated. It would be new to him, and Bahamut’s power was nothing to scoff at.
“I suppose that I won’t be able to kill you, but let’s see how long it takes you to regrow your head.” With that, Somnus launched himself forward in a warp-strike to begin their battle. Hopefully Ardyn would play his hand sooner rather than later. There was still a stripe of sunset on the horizon, after all.
Somnus readied himself, dropping into a stance that Ardyn knew well. How strange that they would have their fight now. A fair fight for the first time since they’d been eager to draw blood. His brother’s eyes were hard and lit by self-righteous fervor. Oh how he hated that look!
It was everything he’d ever wanted.
“By your leave then, brother. We both know how this ended last time.”
Ardyn laughed. Yes, he knew. He knew so well that the hatred still burned as bright as the fire his brother had thrown him upon. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. And still he had risen -- a monster in the dark.
”I’ll be certain to give you a proper fight this time.” Ardyn flicked his sword back to his hand in a shattering of red light. Red against blue. Two twin swords for two brothers meant to rule as one. ”Let’s test that honor, shall we?”
He gave a wild laugh as he threw his sword like a javelin towards Somnus. It would be blocked, he knew, but he longed to close the distance between them. He would see that face -- that anger, that hatred, that fear -- up close. He would memorize it. Savor it. He could taste it on his tongue.
He dodged Somnus’ strikes, warping in instantaneous side-steps that left nothing but smoke behind. Somnus dodged his just as easily. How often had they sparred together? Trained? Learned? Their swords were useless against each other, and still, Ardyn refused to take his distance. His heart pumped in a way it hadn’t since Noctis. It pumped hotter still.
”Isn’t this nostalgic?” He spat the words with every last drop of his hatred. ”Show me the power the gods have bestowed upon you! Let me tear it to the ground!”
Ardyn met his strike by summoning his blade in a shower of red-tinted sparks, and Somnus felt his jaw clench as the two collided in the center of the clearing. The light between them looked almost purple for a moment as red and blue met, and the sight reminded him so much of their old sparring sessions that Somnus tried to back off for a moment in a fit of nausea. Unfortunately, he wasn’t really given the chance. Ardyn kept up a relentless stream of parries and blows with his sword, and Somnus was forced to meet each strike as it came. Thankfully, his fighting style was familiar enough that Somnus was able to avoid the majority of the assault even with his moment of sickness. Monster though his brother might be, Somnus still knew well enough how he fought. It had been he and his father who had first taught Somnus how to swing a sword, after all.
Still, that was all that was the same. Even during their fight for the throne, Somnus wasn’t sure that Ardyn’s eyes had ever glinted so dangerously. He damn near looked as if he were enjoying himself, laughing uproariously as they fought until Somnus gave him a distasteful look, despite being in the middle of battle. Ardyn had either finally lost his mind--polluted as it was by daemons--or his desire for revenge had brought on a fit of delirium. Somnus was inclined to think both.
His brother’s darkness seeped into every movement he made, and Somnus near cringed when one of his own strikes was dodged by a warp that seemed draped in shadows rather than the red light that Ardyn had once used. “You have no shame at all in using that power, do you?” He spat. “Truly, you wear the scourge’s mantle proudly now, brother.”
Somnus grew frustrated at Ardyn’s seeming desire to keep their battle face to face. They were closely matched in their sword skills, and he wouldn’t be able to use the ring to its full advantage unless he got some distance. His opportunity came as Ardyn challenged him to show him the power that the astrals had granted him, and with the heat at his back, Somnus realized that they had edged towards the small fire that he had built earlier. An acrid smell showed that the rabbit he had been cooking for dinner had burned.
Throwing out his hand, Somnus absorbed the elemental energy from the fire, plunging the clearing into darkness as it extinguished itself with a hiss. Now blind, Somnus hurled the fire spell at where Ardyn had been, warping backwards to the trees as the clearing briefly erupted in an explosion of flame.
Laughing a little scornfully, Somnus rose to his feet, able to see again by the light of the tiny patches of fire that were simmering down in the grass. “You want me to use their power? Then why not return from whence you came?”
Throwing his hand out, the ring on his finger glinted blue as a portal ripped its way open by his brother. Truthfully, Somnus had never known where exactly the Alterna spell that the ring granted him sent its victims that were sucked inside, but that had never seemed to be his problem. It certainly wasn't now.
Let me know if any of this is an unacceptable powerplay
I'm an impatient traveler ready to turn ship.
”You have no shame at all in using that power, do you?” Somnus’ eyes burned with hatred and disgust. ”Truly, you wear the scourge’s mantle proudly now, brother.”
”I have been shrouded in darkness for ages.” Their swords clashed in showers of blue and red. They lit together into a kind of harsh violet that shadowed Somnus’ eyes. ”The monster that you made me.”
Their blades were matches as equals. Ardyn felt almost nostalgic as he fell into a familiar routine. Two thousand years and he still felt it as a muscle memory. Somnus was faster and far more agile, but Ardyn knew his strikes well. There was the hesitation in his left hand -- oh so exploitable! There was the slight twist of his ankle as he dodged to the side in a shower of blue!
How long it had been. Oh how long it had been!
Somnus backed into his dwindled campfire, pausing as his eyes flicked to it. Without hesitation, he thrust out his hand and pulled the flame within him. The darkness took them both. The fire that burst from him was nearly blinding.
Blinding and yet predictable. Ardyn saw the aim of his hand quite clearly, and he melted once more into shadow. Somnus had pulled back to the clearing’s edge. The opposing trees burst into an explosion of heat and light. Ardyn smirked, head tilted. Once more he was visible by the light of the flames. They flickered in living shadows across them both. The flames of their life and of their destruction.
Somnus straightened, laughing to himself. Ardyn had always hated that confident look about him. His ego was a living thing of itself.
“You want me to use their power? Then why not return from whence you came?”
He lifted his hand. His ring glowed with unearthly power. The Ring of the Lucii. A gift for the rightful king. And then Ardyn felt the pull of magic.
Gravity had opened around him. He felt the rush of wind -- the inescapable pull of the gods. He gasped, raising a hand to his throat.
The pressure was unbearable. It closed around him, suffocating. He had known far worse.
”Alas but I am foiled! Vanquished by the rightful king!” He let the void close around him. Soon there would be nothing from which to draw breath. Still, he bore the pain. ”My end is nigh!”
Ardyn smirked to himself. The last light peaked from the magic’s rim, and he shot out of it in a stream of smoke that struck the nearest tree in his trajectory. He stood upon its upper branches, watching in interest as the portal closed behind him. He was gasping. A close call.
And so very worthwhile.
He let the silence settle. It hung over the clearing like a pestilence, and he abided over it like a king in the dark. Fire sank into the underbrush, licking the trees in greedy bursts. Ardyn stayed where the light dare not touch -- eyes burning from above.
He circled the clearing in his silent trails of shadow. He would strike fear into his brother. He would relish this moment and build it to an almost unbearable suspense. Only when his heart pounded and his blood was electrified with anticipation would he finally…
Ardyn let out a cackle of laughter and held out a hand, clenching it in a burst of darkness.
Black-violet light burst from his brother’s feet like a fountain of corruption. It engulfed him completely, chilling the very wind with an unnatural air. Ardyn took that brief vulnerability to launch himself forward, sword at the ready. He parted easily through the magic, materialized, and slashed Somnus across the chest. Somnus staggered backwards, and Ardyn followed through with another bloody strike before toppling him a single, solid kick to the chest. Somnus fell. Ardyn stalked towards him.
”On his knees, he crawls.” Ardyn planted his foot against Somnus’ ribs. Hard. ”Tell me, brother. How does it feel to fall?” He twisted his boot, pressing down with full force. ”At my mercy as I was at yours. Shall I return the favor?”
