AN: An attempt at a new fanfiction. I just recently beat the game and I absolutely loved it. Kind of hated the fact that there was no New Game + though, really wish they did it. I want to play the game over, but the annoying task of going back and getting everything, ugh. But I will probably do that anyway. So, here's a prologue to my new fanfiction. I tried to keep it is canon as possible. I may make mistakes, since ya know I'm not perfect.

THIS IS NOT A FULL "LIFE IS A GAME" fanfiction. Will it contain elements? Yes. But it will not be one where Noctis gets completely overpowered simply due to the fact that he can grind his levels. He will be able to grind and every thing, but it is not the the extreme like some other "Life is a game" fanfictions. I am not hating on those fandoms, I actually thoroughly enjoy them. Anyways, enjoy.

Please note: I do not have a BETA reader, and everything is simply Alpha read (read by myself) I am also not an English major.

Noctis: Hey boss.

EP: Stop breaking the fourth wall.

Noctis: But- we have to do a fun disclaimer.

EP: That's so meta.

Noctis: But you always enjoy it when other writers do it.

EP: B-baka I do not.

Noctis: Boss, are you a tsundere?

EP: Noctis, leave.

Noctis: The boss does not own Final Fantasy XV. He is simply just a writer writing because he enjoys it. Peace out!

Fatigue. It was all Noctis felt as he watched his father's spirit drive his sword through that bastard Ardyn. He watched as his opponent's body burst into a sea of white feathers. His vision blurred and he felt himself drop to his knees. 'Rest… at last.' He thought as he felt himself felt his own body fade. He felt the Ring of Lucii's power continue to drain him of his remaining life force, the payment for his final attack.

Death. It was an inevitable fact of life. Noctis felt himself fall, as the rest of his energy left him. "Damn…" He whispered with his remaining strength, as his memories seemed to flash before his eyes. His adventures, his Kingdom, his father, and "Luna." He said with the last of his strength. 'Would they meet again?' he wondered as he felt Death's embrace.

"I apologize child, for her, I am not." A soft voice above him said. He small amounts his mana flow into his being as his body was flipped around. Noctis, after receiving this sudden energy opened his eyes. He saw a woman whom had beauty that could be compared to few. She had blazing red hair, a petite hourglass figure and long legs. She outfit was a short dress that consisted of what seemed to be red and blue feathers and her body was covered in white bandages except for her right eye and mouth. Her piercing yellow eyes that seemed to look into his very soul was what stood out the most.

"Who ar-" his voice croaked, she placed a delicate finger against his lips. He watched as she grabbed his head in her hands. She seemed familiar to him.

He didn't resist, not like he could if he wanted to as she cradled his head and laid it on her lap. "Rest, for now King." She whispered soothingly into her ear. "For the battle is won, yet the battle is lost." His eyes widened. "Are you surprised?" She asked. "All of Eos as lost the Oracle bloodline, for line ended with the death of Ravus and Oracle Lunafreya." She stated. "The Plague of the Stars has been stopped and daylight has returned, but the Kingdom of Lucis is left without a King. While the daemons do not plague the lands of Eos as much as before, there is never light without darkness." He gave her a weak knowing nod as she ran her fingers through her hair caressing his face. "Lucis and Leide, are unprotected and Accordo lost a lot after the summoning of that fool Leviathan at their capital city. Niflheim, even with their many losses in the final battle are by the most stable and influential power as of now and they will be for a long while," she continued. "And your three friends… have fallen." She whispered softly her facial expression softening as she felt his body freeze up. "Now do you understand what I mean?" He merely nodded.

"B-but wh-at can I d-do n-now?" He managed to croak out. Even talking took a lot of effort at this moment.

"Live, my King." She whispered as she stared into his eyes. He gave her a quizzical look. "How?" She said as if confirming his thoughts, an amused tone in her voice. "By going back to the past, my dear." She said as if it was not the craziest thing he has ever heard. "Now, child, I shall tell you it is very well within my power, but let me ask you this." Her brows furrowed and her expression turning serious. "Are you prepared to face every thing again?" She asked. "Things will change, based on your choices. You may save your father and your friends, you may even save the Oracle Lunafreya and even your mother."

He clenched his fist, 'he could?'

She nodded as if reading his thoughts. "But maybe Cid and Cindy will perish before you meet them, or the father of the family that lived miles away from you when they were able to live and prosper in this timeline. The responsibility of this is a large one, are you prepared to carry this responsibility?"

When he first heard her proposition he was ready to accept without hesitation, but he already knew what it felt like to have the weight of Eos on his shoulders, could he bear that responsibility knowing he may fail again?

"Love," she whispered gently causing his train of thought to break. He looked up at her face. "A hard choice?" He nodded in response. "You must remember, the weight of Eos does not solely weigh on you. While you are at the center and bear the largest burden, you have your friends there to support you. And this time, I shall be here to support you as well." She whispered gently her hands continuing to run through his black locks.

He gave her another quizzical look. "Who am I you wonder?" She asked amused. "The Astral of Earth, Titan, the Astral of Storms, Ramuh, Astral of the Ocean, Leviathan, Astral of Ice, Shiva, Astral of Fire, Ifrit, and the Astral of the Skies, Bahamut. They are the six Astrals that your current peoples worship, but there have been more. Some have faded, some have been asleep for millennia and some are like me, simply uninterested." She stated. "That was until I watched your young friend, Cabbage, I believe you named her, found herself caring for you." She said causing him to remember his Carbuncle friend that led him through his dreamscape. "And later, when my sister Shiva, found herself growing fond of you. She often found your devotion for the Oracle, genuine and rather sweet. So I started to watch, interested." Her hands stopped playing with his hair and she cupped his face. "Then I watched as you fought against all odds. Not losing hope even after your ten years of solitude. You then defeated that buffoon Ifrit is not an easy feat, even with the help of Bahamut and Shiva; at least for a human like yourself. And you defeated Ardyn a man that is practically immortal and could rival the power of a minor Astral through shear willpower alone."

She gave him a smile. "My name is Anima, the Astral of Life and Death, some may even call me Reaper." Anima claimed as his eyes widened. "These beautiful eyes are much like my own." Her voice is soothing, "does it pain you, to see death?" He bit his lip and shook his head. "Does it drive you to grow stronger and protect those who may perish?" His eyes grew stern as he nodded. "Of course, that is your answer, or I would not have found myself fallen for you." The most powerful Astral said a genuine smile appeared on her lips. Noctis blushed and diverted his eyes. "I am not asking you to replace the Oracle with myself, for your devotion and love for her was one of the reasons you caught my attention. But I plead that you leave room for here," she pointed to his heart. "And here." Anima said as she leant down and placed a soft chaste kiss against his forehead. The shy King continued to blush and nodded.

"T-try, no p-promises," he joked his voice still barely audible as he smiled at the Astral. She smiled back.

"So am I correct in assuming this means you are willing to go back?" She asked softly, her smile transitioning into a more sad expression. He nodded, looking at her with determined eyes. "Then I must warn you. Ardyn will be more powerful if things go differently this time around." Anima said her expression turning serious. "The ten years of solitude worked in your favor more than you believe. While ten years to him maybe feel like a minute, he was not prepared for you to grow as strong as you did and he underestimated you. This time not only you have to grow stronger, but you must help your friends grow if you wish for them to live. Things will be different and you must be prepared; unexpected people may end up being your friend, but some old friends may be a new enemy."

"I will send you back to your fourth birthday. You will have a little over two years to try and change your mother's fate, and that is your first task." He nodded in acknowledgement.

Her hands suddenly gripped his shoulders roughly, causing him to gasp in pain. He looked at her face, and her glowing yellow eye contained raw emotions with what Noctis could only determine as love and fear. "Do. Not. Fail." Her voice was also raw with emotions. She cleared her throat, a pink hue appearing in the gabs of her bandages. "I apologize, it has been a long while since I have felt… such strong emotions."

Noctis lifted his arm, flinching at how sore his body was, and stroked her cheek wiping a lone tear that seemed to leak. "I-it is okay… to cry." He croaked softly. "I-I won't fail, I promise." He said with as much determination as he could muster.

She gave him a sweet smile and nodded. "Are you ready, hero?" Anima whispered as another tear seemed to escape her unbandaged eye falling on his face. He nodded. "Then you have my blessing." She said softly as she took her hand and brushed the loose strands of her hair from her face. Anima leaned down, and placed her soft lips against his.

Anima's lips lingered on his for a while before he felt her reluctantly pull away. He opened his eyes to find what looked like a pop-up from King's Knight appear in front of him.

⟨⟨Welcome to the Anima System⟩⟩

Items Received!

1x Heart of Anima Lv.2

1x Blessing of the Goddess of Life and Death Lv.2

1x Blessing of the Carbuncle Lv. MAX

1x Blessings of the Astrals

⟨⟨Blessing of the Goddess of Life and Death⟩⟩

Only Noctis Lucis Caelum benefits this item. No one has ever received this.

Lv. 1 - Traveling back in the past, the only of this item will retain his old memories and skills.

Lv. 2 - This item will increase all stats by 50 percent.

Additional effects will be gained as the bond between the Goddess and Noctis increases.

⟨⟨Heart of Anima⟩⟩

Only Noctis Lucis Caelum may benefit from this item. No one has ever received this. The owner of this item has earned the love of a Goddess whom has long ignored all of Eos. They will be able to communicate with the Goddess of Life and Death when either of the two wishes.

Lv. 1 - Telepathic communication is possible.

Lv. 2 – Dream communication is possible.

Additional effects will be gained as the bond between the Goddess and Noctis increases.

⟨⟨Blessing of the Carbuncle⟩⟩

Only Noctis Lucis Caelum and his party members may benefit from this item.

Lv. 1 – In an extremely dire situation Noctis may teleport him and his friends out of conflict.

Lv. 2 – Noctis warp strikes and phasing cost 40% less of its original value.

The Carbuncle Astral, although small is known for being a strong caster its blessing has given Noctis the ability to use abilities more often without depleting his mana pool.

Lv. MAX – Noctis may summon Cabbage at any time.

Through the adventure of the dreamscape and Noctis's adventure, Cabbage the Carbuncle has deemed Noctis as a true friend and is will to fight alongside him throughout all his adventures.

⟨⟨Blessing of the Astrals⟩⟩

The owner of this item has received the blessing and acknowledgement of the Six.

Summon Titan (Locked)

Summon Ramuh (Locked)

Summon Leviathan (Locked)

Summon Ifrit (Locked)

Summon Shiva (Locked)

Summon Bahamut (Locked)

WARNING: DUE TO UNKNOWN CIRCUMSTANCES ALL SUMMONS HAVE BEEN LOCKED. TO UNLOCK RECEIVE THE BLESSING OF THE ASTRALS. ?R! S?%M !S M*$ B# !# C% $#!

He could feel his eyes twitch, her blessing was completely overpowered, something as strong as this in King's Knight probably had a drop rate of one out of a zillion, hell even the Cabbage's blessing is over powered. He almost laughed at himself thinking about how much of a pain receiving all the blessings again was going to be. He stared at the last part of the ⟨⟨Blessing of the Astrals⟩⟩, it seemed to be encrypted, did he need to level up to be able to read it? He laughed to himself thinking of one of Prompto's lines during their travels; "It's like we're in a RPG!" he would say every time they discovered a new area or a dungeon.

"You are ready," Anima said suddenly as she pulled him off her lap. "Go, be safe…" she whispered softly her one uncovered eye red from holding her tears. Her sad expression disappeared and as it she held her resolve. Noctis, wiped a tear that made its way down his cheek and gave her a nodded grabbing at his resolve and putting on a face. A bright light shined beneath the two of them and he felt a strong tug before it pulled him roughly towards it.

He continued to stare at her as he moved further and further away. "Don't go…" and he watched her resolve shatter as a sob escaped her mouth.

His resolve broke too as tears cascaded down his face. Noctis mustered as much strength as he could. "Thank you!" He yelled. "I'll see you soon, don't worry!" Noctis was forced to close his eyes as the world around him shined a blinding white.

The world dimmed down and Noctis screamed as he shot forward from his laying position. The room he lay in was dark, he couldn't make anything out. "Was it all a dream?" he whispered to himself.

Click

The sound of the doorknob turning alerted him and his instinct took over. Noctis immediately jumped to his feet and tried to conjure a weapon, he found himself pulling out a wooden sword. 'What the-' he thought before the light from the opened door caused him to flinch.

"Noctis, did you sleep with that filthy thing on your bed again? You know how dirty it is." Noctis felt his heart race. No. It couldn't be. His eyes widened as he dropped the sword on the ground, forgotten.

"Mother…" he whispered softly as he saw him mother, whom he hasn't seen in over 20 years stand in front of him. Tears welled up in his eyes as he ran as fast as his little legs to take him and threw his arms around the Queen of Lucis's legs. A sob escaped his mouth as he felt his mother lean down and wrap her own arms around him.

"Must've been quite the nightmare, son, you are usually never this affectionate." The recognizable voice of his father said from the hallway. Noctis pulled away from his mother and ran towards his father, also giving him a hug as he nodded vigorously.

"It was a really bad one." He said as he sniffled into the King's cloak, his father obviously not caring as he hugged his son.

"It was only a dream, son, you are home and safe." He old man said as he rubbed his back soothingly.

"Yes, I am home." He whispered softly as he pulled away. Noctis looked at the mirror in his room, the light from the hallway shining brightly enough in the room to show him his reflection. Anima kept her promise. Noctis clenched his fist, as he looked into the mirror determined. Now he would keep his.

The memories of his past life flashed through his mind. 'This time, I'll save you all.'

AN: Well, that was the prologue and I hope you all enjoyed it. Let me know if you want more. ^^ Leave reviews, favorites and everything. Thanks

Please note: I do not have a BETA reader, and everything is simply Alpha read (read by myself) I am also not an English major.