[His thoughts shift unwillingly to Somnus, to one of their recent conversations. "As you are now, you do not have the means." It's true, but not entirely; the means are a chain around his neck, both literal and metaphorical, a source of power that hums and whispers in his ear when he holds it and lets the voices reach him. The answer is there, but as Somnus also said, he isn't ready.
Pyra can help him here, just as she had already, and he's grateful for her offer. She'd reached her hand out to his and shared her power, because his alone isn't enough. It never has been, and it never will be, that much has become clear. When he goes back he'll be on his own.]
...Got any advice on how to be brave?
[The others have noticed, surely. Somnus knows. His father might. And Luna, of course. They know he carries it and doesn't wear it on his finger, doesn't claim his birthright, doesn't step up as a king should, like each of his ancestors have done for two thousand years. The power he's seeking is right there under his fingertips, pressing down on his chest like a vice, swallowing up his breath and his courage, and the only thing stopping him is his own floundering willpower.
"Not yet ready." Isn't that just a kinder way of saying that he's a coward?]
[ There are a number of answers she may give: believe in yourself, believe in your choice, believe in your feelings, your love, those you wish to protect. The motivation will see him through the rest. But it all depends for what he must be brave. For Luna, in this instance. For that sunrise. But if he still cannot be brave for Luna, then-- something's amiss. ]
...For you to ask how to be brave....what is it that you fear that you must do?
[ Some sort of uncertainty lingers. She raises a hand before he might answer; there is more she wishes to ask. ] For.. instance, is there a potential consequence to being brave, more than... not raising that courage to help?
[ The answer of think of those you love, those you wish to protect in order to be brave would be able to fulfill motivation for bravery for anything else. She knows he loves and he cares and wishes to protect, but there is something that still stalls him-- something of which he's afraid. Something that seemingly terrifies him enough to hesitate when it comes to Luna. What is it specifically, she doesn't inquire. These questions are for his introspection. ]
[He's not surprised by her response. Similar to when he'd asked about the future, or changing fate, her focus had been on the end result, and the consequences of making such decisions. The same logic applies here. Whether he acts or not, there will be consequences, and to fulfill his destiny he'll have to make this choice sooner or later. If it saves someone precious to him by doing is sooner, then how can he not? To refuse that... he might as well be swinging the deathblow himself.]
...It's stupid, [he whispers, bowing his head, both hands pressed together in front of his face as if in prayer.] It's stupid and cowardly and I just- need to get over it. I have a way to get stronger already.
[But he's scared. He's terrified, and it shows in his body language, the hunch of his shoulders, the tension on his face, the soft trembling of his hands. The power of kings is a terrible thing, and he knows well by now that it always comes at a price.]
[ Again, she wonders, what is it that bars him? She sees his posture, she reads it as plainly as day: he is scared, and it scares him almost as much as... "I let her down, and people get hurt."
He has so much glorious power already, she can't imagine what else he might have untapped and at his disposal.
It pains her to hear him speak so callously of himself: get over it, as if it is so simple, as if just anyone might be able to do what he does, and easier, too. So, tentatively, her hand reaches out, hesitates, and then she carefully places a hand upon his shoulder as if she might wordlessly offer comfort to him, to put a stop to such self-deprecation. ] Noct... [ She wants to help with this. But how?
She wonders if this is a stupid question, if not a practical part of a solution: ] This "another way".... Is... Are you able practice with it?
[Her touch startles him a little, lost in thought and his own wretched self-criticism- or listening for those voices again, perhaps. He lowers his hands and shakes his head.]
I don't think so. It's... one of those all-or-nothing powers. Practicing means using it, and using it... I don't know.
[That's the part that scares him. That initial plunge, allowing it to be a part of him. To cave to its quiet demands of him and place it upon his finger. To be "crowned", and... probably let it kill him, too, like all those who came before him. And that must be a long ways off, even if he did it now, but fear and logic very rarely cohabitate.]
[ Sitting on the opposite side of the couch within her mindscape, she shifts.
..........It's been five hundred years since she had last thought of it. The first time she had hurt the one she had chosen in the first place had been when he feared using her power when it was most critical. Her power had brought him to his knees, he hadn't even been able to lift up her blade...
And that had been it; since he could not do it, she had taken the sword back from him, from humanity's hands, thus taking matters into her own. With it, she wrought disaster. The heavens rained light that day.
There was no way he could have "practiced" with that power, either, but his fear had cost him everything: his family, his kingdom, the continent. Destruction and loss had been the price of not rising to use her power. ]
[ Suddenly, she doesn't wish for something like that to happen again. Not to Noctis, not to this young king sitting beside her. He needs to overcome this, if he wishes to prevent loss. He knows that, yet he hesitates still.
Her voice is hushed but urgent, ] Being brave... you must think of your love for others, and your wish to help them. [ That's the best way she might motivate him, to draw courage from his heart. It's similar to what she's said to him before, that he must believe in his want to help. More practically, however: ]
....Is there someone here that you trust to be with you... if you ever attempt to use it here?
[ She'd offer but, again, she is not of his world or his family. She also does not know if any of this would help him if and when he ever returns to his homeworld, but it seems that it might put his mind at more ease if he can prove to himself that he's capable. ]
[He knows. He knows, and yet. If he's not forced into a corner, will he ever be ready? And what could push him there if not his fear of losing Luna? He's tried the slow way, the safe way. He's tried practice, he's tried patience, he's tried meditating and borrowed energy but with any attempt he makes on his own, all he finds is walls.
.....Walls?
Oh.
That's it. Walls.
If the cause of her death is some terrible mishap during the covenant, he need only reach her first, take the ring, and shield her from whatever danger is meant to take her away from him. The realization is like a wave crashing down on him, a combination of terror and... relief. That's his answer. That's his plan. It's so simple, but if the full power of the kings of Lucis can't save her, then what can? No, fate would never be so cruel. The Chosen and the Oracle are meant to work together and purify their star. He won't fail.
It's not quite resolve in his expression, as he lifts his head and considers her question. He's not there yet, he's not quite ready to act on it. But there is a shift, a realization and some measure of assurance that comes with it. A price to be paid is easier to swallow if he has a method with which to channel that power. Somnus could help with understanding and accepting the power of the ring, but this... there's only one person who knows how to shield a city from the devastation of war.]
[ Relief comes over her when he names someone who might help. His father: of course. And thank goodness she had insisted on him speaking with his father beforehand, too, although she doubts she had been the only one to say as much. Noctis needs mentorship, this much is clear.
......But now lies the other problem. What is he doing here with her, and designing a videogame at that? He had named his father, not her, not an outsider.
Spending time with her on some-- game-- as enjoyable as it is to see him smile, as much as she wants to help him with this hobby, will only distract him. It undermines the urgency of of those he wishes to protect. ] If you know who might help you more... You need to go to him.
[He winces at that, straightening up and shaking his head. Knowing what he needs to do and having the strength to actually follow through on it- those are two very different things.]
I... want to keep practicing warping for a while, first. I want to prove to him, and I guess myself, that I'm strong enough for at least that much. Maybe then I'll feel more ready for everything else.
[They're still adjusting to the idea of being father and son, too. He doesn't want to force Regis into carrying him across the threshold of becoming a king when he's not even born in the man's timeline.
And maybe it's just a delay, a risk to wait, but... he's not ready. He has to be able to acknowledge his limitations, even the irrational ones. If his body's not ready to handle this new magic, it'll just fall apart. Hell, it might do that anyway.]
[ Ah. Warping. This is something she can offer aide.
She looks back to their tablets, open to various pages of notes and crude concept art. ]
....Then, do you... wish to stop what we are doing here, and practice with that now?
[ While she asks what he wishes to do, she thinks it would be far wiser for him to stop this and get to actual training. Still, she leaves the choice to him; either way, so long as it is what he wants, it's fine. ]
[ She shifts. Yes, they haven't done a lot... And she feels she has upset him, so... it would be good to continue with this leisurely activity, she supposes, especially if this is what he wants to do.
Pyra clears her throat. What might bring him back to the topic at hand. What would make him smile again? ] Right... Of course.
[ She thinks back to earlier in their conversation, of when he had seemed most enthusiastic. ] You.... wish to know more about Ophion?
[Yep, thank goodness. He doesn't mind the derailing, really - and it's so often his own fault anyway - but he can't devote himself 100% to this destiny stuff. He needs levity in between or he'll go insane. And Luna wouldn't want him to lose himself in it either. That would be wasting the time they have together here, too.
He lifts his tablet again and returns to the sketch, saving the file for later and starting anew. New monster, or new character?]
I think that's a good start, if you'd rather talk about something else, but if you wanna keep going I won't say no. [He'd gotten some mixed messages about whether or not she's happy to discuss it, so he's not sure.]
[ Nope nope she’s gotta do this, she’s gotta make him happy! She’s mustering the courage and putting on her brave face. ]
No, no, it’s fine. Let’s see...
[ She brings a finger to her chin. The more she talks about this supposedly secretly robotic-dragon, the more she risks him questioning why she appears to know so much.... She realizes this. ]
Er, in my world legend has it.... that there is a mechanism to control Ophion called the Omega Fetter. So, ah, perhaps a secret reward for the players if they decide not to destroy the dragon can obtain it!
[ She waves a hand. ] Maybe the prince the players are attempting to rescue knows this secret alternate ending.
[It is curious that she's so familiar. She looks happy and mysterious as ever to be talking about it, so he hadn't paid it much attention, but-]
That's a weirdly specific legend.
[He says it with a cautiously teasing smile. Considering her magic, she must have been an adventurer of sorts back home, right? He knows how the stories go, no one with that sort of power ever gets to stay at home for long.]
In that case, most people wouldn't figure it out until at least the second playthrough, since you can't find the prince until after the final boss is already dead.
But it’s only a legend... So you can imagine how adventurers would be tempted to find the dragon and its control, even if it was not harming anything at all...
[ Also, yes, replayability is important. ]
Should we allow players to carry over anything into the new game? Like equipment?
[ New game + mechanics. Truly getting meta. now they have to unlock their swimsuit costumes ]
[He considers her answer - evasive as ever - and files it away, along with the rest of it. Puzzle pieces, every one of them. Collected like tokens from a cereal box; maybe one day with enough he can mail in and get a backstory.
Not there yet, though. So he encourages.]
I like it. [A beat, and then-] All of that, I mean. It should still reset the stats, though- always start at level 1. The game can't be too easy or it'd be over too fast.
[ Stats, equipment, new game plus— she writes this all down. ]
And as an additional reward, we should include... different hairstyles, like yours! [ She smiles. ] To honor the creator of this game and his unique style...
[Okay, he can't not laugh at that. It's silly and probably doesn't suit her much at all, but she's on point. Whimsical! What a thing to say to a very cool prince.]
You can't get this stylish just by mussing it up, you know. You have to work for it!
[Having a really weird and natural fluff helps, too, otherwise he'd be screwed in this place with minimal hair gel options.]
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Pyra can help him here, just as she had already, and he's grateful for her offer. She'd reached her hand out to his and shared her power, because his alone isn't enough. It never has been, and it never will be, that much has become clear. When he goes back he'll be on his own.]
...Got any advice on how to be brave?
[The others have noticed, surely. Somnus knows. His father might. And Luna, of course. They know he carries it and doesn't wear it on his finger, doesn't claim his birthright, doesn't step up as a king should, like each of his ancestors have done for two thousand years. The power he's seeking is right there under his fingertips, pressing down on his chest like a vice, swallowing up his breath and his courage, and the only thing stopping him is his own floundering willpower.
"Not yet ready." Isn't that just a kinder way of saying that he's a coward?]
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...For you to ask how to be brave....what is it that you fear that you must do?
[ Some sort of uncertainty lingers. She raises a hand before he might answer; there is more she wishes to ask. ] For.. instance, is there a potential consequence to being brave, more than... not raising that courage to help?
[ The answer of think of those you love, those you wish to protect in order to be brave would be able to fulfill motivation for bravery for anything else. She knows he loves and he cares and wishes to protect, but there is something that still stalls him-- something of which he's afraid. Something that seemingly terrifies him enough to hesitate when it comes to Luna. What is it specifically, she doesn't inquire. These questions are for his introspection. ]
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...It's stupid, [he whispers, bowing his head, both hands pressed together in front of his face as if in prayer.] It's stupid and cowardly and I just- need to get over it. I have a way to get stronger already.
[But he's scared. He's terrified, and it shows in his body language, the hunch of his shoulders, the tension on his face, the soft trembling of his hands. The power of kings is a terrible thing, and he knows well by now that it always comes at a price.]
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He has so much glorious power already, she can't imagine what else he might have untapped and at his disposal.
It pains her to hear him speak so callously of himself: get over it, as if it is so simple, as if just anyone might be able to do what he does, and easier, too. So, tentatively, her hand reaches out, hesitates, and then she carefully places a hand upon his shoulder as if she might wordlessly offer comfort to him, to put a stop to such self-deprecation. ] Noct... [ She wants to help with this. But how?
She wonders if this is a stupid question, if not a practical part of a solution: ] This "another way".... Is... Are you able practice with it?
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I don't think so. It's... one of those all-or-nothing powers. Practicing means using it, and using it... I don't know.
[That's the part that scares him. That initial plunge, allowing it to be a part of him. To cave to its quiet demands of him and place it upon his finger. To be "crowned", and... probably let it kill him, too, like all those who came before him. And that must be a long ways off, even if he did it now, but fear and logic very rarely cohabitate.]
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..........It's been five hundred years since she had last thought of it. The first time she had hurt the one she had chosen in the first place had been when he feared using her power when it was most critical. Her power had brought him to his knees, he hadn't even been able to lift up her blade...
And that had been it; since he could not do it, she had taken the sword back from him, from humanity's hands, thus taking matters into her own. With it, she wrought disaster. The heavens rained light that day.
There was no way he could have "practiced" with that power, either, but his fear had cost him everything: his family, his kingdom, the continent. Destruction and loss had been the price of not rising to use her power. ]
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Her voice is hushed but urgent, ] Being brave... you must think of your love for others, and your wish to help them. [ That's the best way she might motivate him, to draw courage from his heart. It's similar to what she's said to him before, that he must believe in his want to help. More practically, however: ]
....Is there someone here that you trust to be with you... if you ever attempt to use it here?
[ She'd offer but, again, she is not of his world or his family. She also does not know if any of this would help him if and when he ever returns to his homeworld, but it seems that it might put his mind at more ease if he can prove to himself that he's capable. ]
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.....Walls?
Oh.
That's it. Walls.
If the cause of her death is some terrible mishap during the covenant, he need only reach her first, take the ring, and shield her from whatever danger is meant to take her away from him. The realization is like a wave crashing down on him, a combination of terror and... relief. That's his answer. That's his plan. It's so simple, but if the full power of the kings of Lucis can't save her, then what can? No, fate would never be so cruel. The Chosen and the Oracle are meant to work together and purify their star. He won't fail.
It's not quite resolve in his expression, as he lifts his head and considers her question. He's not there yet, he's not quite ready to act on it. But there is a shift, a realization and some measure of assurance that comes with it. A price to be paid is easier to swallow if he has a method with which to channel that power. Somnus could help with understanding and accepting the power of the ring, but this... there's only one person who knows how to shield a city from the devastation of war.]
...My dad. I can ask him, he'd know.
[He needs to learn how to power a Wall.]
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......But now lies the other problem. What is he doing here with her, and designing a videogame at that? He had named his father, not her, not an outsider.
Spending time with her on some-- game-- as enjoyable as it is to see him smile, as much as she wants to help him with this hobby, will only distract him. It undermines the urgency of of those he wishes to protect. ] If you know who might help you more... You need to go to him.
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I... want to keep practicing warping for a while, first. I want to prove to him, and I guess myself, that I'm strong enough for at least that much. Maybe then I'll feel more ready for everything else.
[They're still adjusting to the idea of being father and son, too. He doesn't want to force Regis into carrying him across the threshold of becoming a king when he's not even born in the man's timeline.
And maybe it's just a delay, a risk to wait, but... he's not ready. He has to be able to acknowledge his limitations, even the irrational ones. If his body's not ready to handle this new magic, it'll just fall apart. Hell, it might do that anyway.]
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She looks back to their tablets, open to various pages of notes and crude concept art. ]
....Then, do you... wish to stop what we are doing here, and practice with that now?
[ While she asks what he wishes to do, she thinks it would be far wiser for him to stop this and get to actual training. Still, she leaves the choice to him; either way, so long as it is what he wants, it's fine. ]
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[He both looks and sounds completely boggled by the suggestion. He can't live and breathe training, Pyra, come on.]
I mean, we've barely done anything here.
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She appears surprised by his answer. ]
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Pyra clears her throat. What might bring him back to the topic at hand. What would make him smile again? ] Right... Of course.
[ She thinks back to earlier in their conversation, of when he had seemed most enthusiastic. ] You.... wish to know more about Ophion?
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He lifts his tablet again and returns to the sketch, saving the file for later and starting anew. New monster, or new character?]
I think that's a good start, if you'd rather talk about something else, but if you wanna keep going I won't say no. [He'd gotten some mixed messages about whether or not she's happy to discuss it, so he's not sure.]
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]
No, no, it’s fine. Let’s see...
[ She brings a finger to her chin. The more she talks about this supposedly secretly robotic-dragon, the more she risks him questioning why she appears to know so much.... She realizes this. ]
Er, in my world legend has it.... that there is a mechanism to control Ophion called the Omega Fetter. So, ah, perhaps a secret reward for the players if they decide not to destroy the dragon can obtain it!
[ She waves a hand. ] Maybe the prince the players are attempting to rescue knows this secret alternate ending.
[ Hggggg she wants to cry. ]
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That's a weirdly specific legend.
[He says it with a cautiously teasing smile. Considering her magic, she must have been an adventurer of sorts back home, right? He knows how the stories go, no one with that sort of power ever gets to stay at home for long.]
In that case, most people wouldn't figure it out until at least the second playthrough, since you can't find the prince until after the final boss is already dead.
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[ Also, yes, replayability is important. ]
Should we allow players to carry over anything into the new game? Like equipment?
[ New game + mechanics. Truly getting meta.
now they have to unlock their swimsuit costumes]no subject
Not there yet, though. So he encourages.]
I like it. [A beat, and then-] All of that, I mean. It should still reset the stats, though- always start at level 1. The game can't be too easy or it'd be over too fast.
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And as an additional reward, we should include... different hairstyles, like yours! [ She smiles. ] To honor the creator of this game and his unique style...
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Or yours. Could be a fun way to shake things up as far as aesthetic goes.
[He's not really a creator, just a copycat at this point. But it could definitely be fun to swap styles.]
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Mmm, but my hair isn’t as whimsical as yours. [ She runs a hand up through her bangs, messing up the look further. ] How’s this?
[ Spikier means more shonen-protag-like, right? ]
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You can't get this stylish just by mussing it up, you know. You have to work for it!
[Having a really weird and natural fluff helps, too, otherwise he'd be screwed in this place with minimal hair gel options.]
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Right, of course, [ Jokingly: ] what sort of magical static and wind power must I have to style it after yours, again?
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[FINGERGUNS. he is incredibly smooth, you see.]
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