Damnatio Memoriae

Hot tar and scorching sunlight radiate heat from all sides around Noct, the early summer temperature of Leide already reaching dangerous highs.

The broken-down Regalia is to his back and his friends are arguing at his sides. The words they say mirror those in his memory.

Noctis knows what time-travel feels like - the feeling of being pulled back and his heart restarting with a heavy thump.

It's not a surprising thought, Noctis has been through enough to not be caught off-guard by experiences like these. The major question was why was he back in the first place?

His last memories were of defeating Ardyn and dying to bring back the sun. Phantom pains of the Ring and his father's sword radiate through him and it grounds him into reality. A hand pats against his back and Prompto cries out in discomfort as Gladio kicks at his foot.

"Get up, car isn't gonna move itself."

Noctis shakes off his disorientation and stands. He looks to his friends - so different now from when he had seen them before his death. They had stood tall and proud despite how it seemed like the weight of the world tried to pull them down. The Kingsglaive suits had fit them perfectly then, but Noctis couldn't imagine the friends before him now bearing them.

The looseness of their muscles, the lack of worry lines, the ease of their smiles - they were all things that he hadn't seen since before the fall of Insomnia.

Something he could not prevent. Noctis focuses back on why he had returned to the beginning.

If he had already purged the Starscourge and put Ardyn to rest, then what was the point of coming back here?

Had the Astral's wanted him to finish his task quicker? Prevent the ten years of darkness?

He breathes slowly through his nose as he grips onto the Regalia. From behind Gladio counts them off and together they push.

Why else would he be summoned back to this time?

Had he not atoned for his sins already?

Soft piano music drifts from the radio, and Noctis recalls that this song had been playing during the previous timeline.

"When the night has come, and the land is dark" Could he actually do anything to prevent the ten years of darkness?

"Not exactly a fairy-tale beginning, huh Prince Noctis?" Gladio grunts out from his position at the back of the Regalia.

"And the moon is the only light we'll see" What about Luna? And Ignis? Could he change what happens to them?

"We let ourselves get carried away." Ignis joins in from the driver's seat.

"No, I won't be afraid." Luna's fate wasn't certain, but his was.

"Look, these things happen!" Prompto calls out from where he was pushing at the passenger side.

"Oh, I won't be afraid." He would have to die again. An unchangeable fact from any timeline.

"Let's just hope this isn't some om-"

"Gladio, don't jinx it." Noctis won't tell them. This was a secret they didn't need to know.

"Just as long as you stand, stand by me"

...

Hammerhead was as hot as ever when they finally push the Regalia into it. The engine ticks softly by Noct as he bends next to it, catching his breath. He hears Cindy walk up to them and stands up straight.

Noctis lets the conversation play out the same way it had the last time - from what he could remember. It's only as Cid's butting in when he realizes there is a change.

"Prince Noctis." Noctis exhales slowly from his nose, remembering exactly what Cid had said next.

"You look like yer daddy, 'cept you got that 'edgy' look to ya." Cid grumbles out much to Noct's surprise.

Well, it was better than what Cid had said during their last first-encounter.

Prompto snorts across from him and Cid tells them to bring the Regalia in and run along.

"Charming man." Gladio scoffs as they head to Takka's restaurant. With everywhere but Insomnia under Niflheim rule, the group found their form of currency all but useless. Takka was supposed to help them earn a few gil to help pay for the repairs to the Regalia.

"He's the guy who was friends with your dad, right?" Prompto asks.

"Yeah, but they had a falling out a while back and haven't talked since."

"Over what?"

"No idea, my father never talked about it." If it was anything like what had happened on their own journey, then Noct could take a guess.

With the fall of Insomnia just on the horizon, Noctis wonders is he should risk telling Cid that this would be his last chance to make up with his father.

He doesn't pursue the thought for long, Noctis knows Cid is too stubborn.

...

The hunts Takka sent them on were laughably easy compared to when Noctis had first attempted them. He flitted through battle, his blade cleaving through exoskeleton and flesh alike with simple ease.

It was the Ultima Blade.

The blade had become like that of a companion of his during the last timeline, and Noct was relieved to find it had journeyed with him into this next life of his.

He could also feel the Royal Arms, ready to be beckoned forth at the call of his Armiger. Yet, when he attempted to summon one he found himself grasping empty air.

It was for the better anyways, considering Ignis and Gladio would be able to instantly tell a Royal Arm for what it was. He was surprised they had not mentioned the Ultima Blade yet, the stark change in color an obvious giveaway that something was off.

The mess of battle and his quick fighting style had probably not even given them the chance to notice the change.

"Thing's vicious."

Gladio stands in front of him, the setting sun sending light scattering across his blade. The rabid bloodhorn stands across from them, and Noctis feels a chill as he recognizes the sickness it carries for what it is.

Starscourge - this had been their first encounter with it during his last timeline, and the group had not understood that this had been the first warning sign of many to come that their world was doomed.

They hadn't even recognized it as starscourge, nor the danger it presented. Noct braces himself behind Gladio, ready to put the beast out of its misery as quickly as possible.

The bloodhorn charges and Gladio upswings his greatsword into the side of its face, setting the beast off balance. Noctis phases to its side, delivering two lethal gashes that would ensure a quick death. It staggers forward a step before collapsing, the black ichor that the others would later learn to be synonymous with the scourge flowing out and onto the dry ground.

"Damn Noct, where'd you learn that one?" Gladio asks as he cleans the edge of his sword off on a patch of grass.

Noct is saved from answering as his phone rings, Cindy telling him that Dave is safe and that the Regalia is ready. Noctis looks towards the sky.

"Thanks Cindy, but I think we better find a safe place to settle for the night. We'll come get her tomorrow." Noctis can practically see the anxiety bubbling out of Prompto at the mention of night, and there was no way he would risk the others' safety to make the hike back to Hammerhead.

Noctis and Cindy say their goodbyes as Ignis speaks up.

"Camping it is then?"

"Camping it is." Noctis agrees.

Gladio whoops and Noctis feels mildly excited, nostalgia claiming him despite what he knew lay ahead. This first night camping with his friends had been one of his favorite moments.

He figured he could let himself enjoy it while it lasts.

...

"Noct~ c'mon man! Today was awesome, loosen up!" Prompto calls out as he shifts a chair into a more photogenic position by the fire.

"Certainly," Ignis agrees, "You're a whole different person out on the battlefield - compared to training that is."

"With all that warping, I'm surprised you hadn't gone into stasis at least once." Gladio comments as he emerges from the tent.

"Maybe not then, but I'm definitely feeling it now." It hadn't really been all that straining, but the others could do without knowing that.

Ignis hands out their dinner and joins them around the fire.

"Well then, it's best if we be off to bed after this. We have an early start tomorrow if we are to arrive at Galdin Quay."

Prompto scarfs a few bites of his food down before he jumps to set his tripod up across from them. He hurries back to his seat and Gladio raises an eyebrow at him.

"How long's the countdown?"

"No countdown buddy, I've set it to a random time. This picture is gonna be completely candid." Prompto says through a mouthful.

"Well, you better hope you are not talking with your mouth full when it does go off." Ignis gently chastises.

Prompto nods and the group falls into idle chatter. Noctis knows he had heard this same conversation before, but it has been so long that he cannot remember it.

The wistfulness at that thought has him fighting a grimace. It would be moments like these that he would learn to cherish the most.

It was best for the others to remain unaware. If they learned of what was to come, then they would try to fight against it no matter how futile their efforts would be.

Noctis tries to pull himself back into the conversation, but the looming knowledge of Insomnia's fall and his father's death keeps him from truly enjoying these last few moments of peace.

A 'what if' crosses his mind, and Noctis violently refuses to acknowledge it.

He would not be able to stop the fall, and he would not risk the lives of his friends to do it.

Ignis inputs Noct's lack of conversation as exhaustion, and declares the night over. The warm feeling of nostalgia gone, Noctis climbs into his sleeping bag feeling nothing but defeat.

At a loss over what he should do, he starts to drift off.

A thought suddenly occurs to him and he quickly turns over, facing Prompto.

"Make sure you keep that photo." Noctis says almost desperately.

"The one I took with the tripod? But it wasn't all that good, my mouth was open and Gladio's eyes were weird." Prompto pulls his camera back out and leans over to show Noct.

He looks at the photo and sure enough, Prompto's mouth was open and it looked like Gladio was in the middle of blinking. They both looked happy. Ignis too, when he looked at him, was smiling.

"Doesn't matter." Noct says, his chest aching at the reminder that he had also been this happy once, "It's a keepsake from the first night of our trip."

"Keepsake?" Prompto smirks, "Didn't know you were so sentimental."

Noctis huffs and rolls back over, Prompto chuckling out a quiet goodnight.

Thoughts swirl in his mind, tomorrow would be the last normal day they would ever really have. Noct curls in on himself, listening to the breaths of the others steady out into that of sleep. He tries to will his own to match their rhythm, ignoring all thoughts of Insomnia and his father.

Was there nothing he could do?

Noctis banishes the thought, his father had sent him away for a reason. He clears his mind, and soon enough Noct can feel his eyelids slip shut.

He opens them an instant later - face to face with Bahamut.

Thank you for reading!

Let me know your thoughts/comments/favorite moment/concrit/etc!

I've had this idea since I first saw the end of FFXV, but was weary to take on a project of this size since I'm not the most experienced at writing.

I'm still actually alittle worried about taking this on, it will be multichaptered and long(for my standards). The new dlc ending also kinda put a damper on my inspiration for this(*spoilers*even though I don't think Ignis and Noct survived in the alternate route, Ignis doesn't even have his glasses, which you wouldn't need in the afterlife T.T) I will also be starting my Master's Thesis in January, which will take time from this.

Updates will be completely random - ranging possibly from a week or two apart to a few months apart at worst. If there ever comes a time(I strongly doubt it) where I feel like I cannot take on this project, I will post what is left of the outline and the epilogue. This is all hypothetical though so I wouldn't worry too much about it.

I have it all outlined out, but only this chapter and the epilogue are finished. It will remain gen, but there may be one scene waaay later on that would have a slight hint of Noct/luna.

There are empty spots in my outline(spots for plothole and filler stuff) where I am trying to bridge. If you want to see anything in the story, let me know and I may try to include if I can find a spot for it.

Thank you again for reading!