The Last Verse
CHAPTER 15:
Awakening
Noctis find himself awake in a train peron where he meet with a dark hooded figure asking Noctis for a payment to aboard the train. The dark hooded figure said that Noctis need to aboard the train to learn the tale that start everything but it will cost him a coin for the train ticket. Noctis remember and gave the dark hooded figure the intricate coin that he got when he met with Ardyn the first time at Galdin Quay. The coin accepted and the train is coming. Apparently the train is not just an ordinary train, it has a skeleton figure on its head. The train is known as Doom Train. As Noctis enter the door to the Doom Train, Noctis find himself in a maze of moving platform with purplish atmosphere on the background, resemble to the Crystal color, around him. Noctis will then journey into the depth of the Crystal, finding out the real story of what happen that cause the Star Scourge. No enemy presence inside the Crystal but Noctis have to jump around moving platform, solving puzzle to open certain door, to be finally understand what is happening.
Before the War of Astrals, Eos, the Goddess of Dawn, has been sentenced to the underworld for unknown reason. Ifrit, who apparently in love with Eos, determined to save Eos and bring her back to the upperworld. Ifrit being the only astral who try to bring Eos back to the upperworld being watched by Titan, preventing him to do anything. Ifrit then summon a meteor to bring down Titan, putting Titan in busy, so he can start saving Eos. And so it became the Disc of Cauthess where Titan still currently holding back the falling meteor. Swiftly, Ifrit then summon another meteor to create a hole for him to get into the underworld. The crater created by the meteor later known as Lestallum and used by human to produce power from the heat gas coming out from the underworld. Going into the underworld, Ifrit is dying from the effect of an unknown dark matter surrounding all over the underworld. To fasten his journey, Ifrit take a ride on Doomtrain that connects the underworld and the upperworld. But having no permission to aboard the train, Ifrit has to jump out during trip and fell down to a deeper part of the underworld. Being in pain in the underworld make Ifrit reminded how Eos is suffering, making him hateful to the other astrals for sentencing Eos to the underworld. Almost losing his sanity, Ifrit finally able to find Eos in the deepest part of the underworld. It is breaking his heart even more to find out that Etro was pregnant with a human child which make the main reason why Eos being sentenced to the underworld for it was considered a taboo for an astral to have a human child. Ifrit also find out the source of the dark matter that causing him in pain was in fact Eos’ pain and sadness from being tortured and dying alone inside the underworld. Bearing the pain, Ifrit carrying Eos out from the underworld. At this moment, Ifrit was not just try to save Eos but also to bring doom to humans for having part that make Eos is now in pain. Ifrit and Eos came out to the upperworld from a new made hole near the Taelpar Crag. But Shiva, Ramuh and Bahamut were ready to bring down Ifrit to get Eos back into the underworld, protecting mankind from the harmful dark matter that currently being released by Eos. This is known as the War of Astrals. The dark matter released by Eos were very harmful even for astrals. The battle causing the death of Shiva and the sealing of Ramuh. With Shiva and Ramuh being defeated, Bahamut retreat, thinking what to do next. A moment after the battle end, Eos also died. Filled with deep sadness of losing his loved one, Ifrit decide to die together with Eos by burning himself on the Rock of Ravatogh. The infinite flame that burn the Rock of Ravatogh bring the harmful dark matter across the world with its smoke. This is known as the Scourge of the Stars. But in the final moment of his death, Ifrit realized that Eos is having a human child, killing human also mean killing Eos children, so with his last strength, he pulls out Eos’ heart from the burning Eos as an insurance tool for mankind to be finally free from the Star Scourge, the curse that he released by himself to punish human for killing Eos in the first place. Later, Bahamut stole the heart of Eos and gave it to human possession for protection at the hand of Lucis lineage who is believed to be the direct descendant of Eos herself. The heart of Eos later known as the Crystal.
Having figured out the story of Eos inside the heart of Eos itself, Noctis meet with Bahamut who apparently hiding inside the Crystal, waiting for the prophesized saviour who can finally bring back the light restored to the world. Bahamut continue the tale of what Ardyn told before Noctis succumb into the Crystal. It was Ardyn, the Immortal Accursed and the direct descendant of Eos, who bear the power of healing also a Lucis Lineage but twisted during his journey because consumed too much of daemons that made him immortal, will bring destruction to mankind to revenge Eos’ death. To bring the light restored to the world, the true king must complete the ascension to become the saviour. It is to bear the Ring of Lucii, filled with the light of Eos, banish the Immortal Accursed at the cost of the saviour’s life.
Noctis finally understand what does it mean with the calling of the king. He understand the reason why his father trying to hide him from his destiny and why Luna heavily burdened to give him the ring. In the end, like it or not, Noctis have to accept his destiny as the saviour that will cost him his life. Noctis then received the Mark of Draconian and the Ring of Lucii waxes full the light that will restore the world.
Editor’s Note
This chapter could be happen because of Perona77 and Final Fantasy Peasant for their in-depth research and imaginative thinking to create a theory behind the maze inside the Pitioss Ruins: The Tales of Love and Despair. Kudos to them! As I mention earlier in the previous chapter, the game provide little information about the Astrals and therefore it create confusion in some part of the story. Which is why this whole chapter is the dedicated to explain the origin story of Astrals War while Noctis is inside the Crystal, which is also the Heart of Eos.
I wish there is another way to explain the more in-depth story and the big reveal moment that Noctis finds out that he should sacrifice himself not from a Q & A session with Bahamut but something else...