Fate

The sound of a waterfall greeted them as they appeared in the clearing. Rinia tensed up, expecting an enemy. However, she recognized this magic, and only two people had magic similar to it in the mortal world.

She sighed, "You could have at least warned me."

"Now where's the fun in that." Fayden grinned coyly.

"Father, wasn't this the place you used to take me to when I was a child?" Alduin looked around, a hint of nostalgia in his eyes.

"I see you still remember. Yes, you used to love coming to this place." Virion smiled in reminiscence.

It was indeed beautiful. There wasn't much sunlight that was able to reach this small clearing, making the area seem more surreal. The thin rays of light that were able to peek through the thick tree tops created spotlights that made the moss, grass, and all of the plant life glimmer. The waterfall streamed down the white cliff without any intrusion, making it a clear curtain of water.

Fayden raised an eyebrow looking around the area, "So, where's your cottage?"

Rinia stood up, "Follow me."

Inaudible chants left her mouth and a bridge made of purely tree roots rose from underneath the pond, creating a makeshift bridge leading into the waterfall.

Taking the lead, Rinia guided them across the bridge, waving her arm to part the waterfall. She glanced around vigilantly, making sure no one was spying on them.

"There's no one here apart from us, Rinia." Fayden assured. "Unless they're a white core mage, cause then I can't sense them."

She nodded, seemingly satisfied, and placed her palm over the cliff wall as it began glowing with runes Fayden couldn't recognize.

Just like that, the white marble cliff opened up like a sliding door to reveal a passage deeper inside.

"Don't conjure up any light; we'll make our way through the dark." Rinia instructed, walking into the dark corridor.

"I'm not complaining." Fayden muttered, he always felt stronger under shadows.

Fayden didn't bother keeping track of how many turns they made, relying solely on Rinia to guide them around.

A flickering light greeted him at the end of the tunnel after the latest turn, they were finally there.

"Welcome to my little cottage." Rinia smiled.

"Pardon the intrusion." Fayden muttered.

"Whew." Tessia squatted down, finally able to release her tension.

"This…this is quite the place, Aunt Rinia." Alduin slid his hand against the wall of the cave the hut was in.

Lit by a few dim shining orbs in the corners of the cave. The place Rinia called home was reminiscent of some sort of dungeon used to hold the worst criminals, not a place where a close friend of the royal family would reside.

"I'm sure you have your reasons, Aunt Rinia, but was it really necessary to shut yourself in a place like this?" Merial frowned as her eyes focused on the hut Rinia just went inside.

"Just an old lady being overly cautious. Don't mind me! It's actually quite cozy once you get used to it." Rinia's head popped out of the hut's sheet door.

"Can I see inside too?" Tess had Sylvie wrapped in her arms as she curiously eyed the interior of the hut.

"Of course! Everyone, come inside." Rinia waved us in.

"Come now, the place isn't going to eat you up. It's quite roomy inside, despite its appearance. Let's get something to drink! I'm quite famished." Virion pushed them in.

Fayden frowned, sniffing the air suspiciously. Something was amiss.

He caught Rinia's gaze, her eyes imploring him to stay silent. Narrowing his own eyes, he accepted the request. Rinia wouldn't harm them, and if she did, what he did to Uto would pale in comparison to what he would do to her.

Once inside, everyone settled down on the couch. Before long they were asleep, Arthur included.

"Okay, spit it out." Fayden demanded, while he was drowsy, he wasn't knocked out.

Rinia sighed, "I tried looking into your future once more, and it worries me."

Fayden's heart skipped a beat, does something happen to him?

"It's not what you think." Rinia reassured, noticing the rising panic on his face. "Whenever I look into your fate, I either see a black void or a boy similar to you yet vastly different."

Fayden furrowed his brows. "Explain." Was she seeing his past life?

Rinia sat down, signalling him to do the same, "To begin with, you look vastly different. Sometimes it's a brown-haired boy with eyes as blue as the ocean, and sometimes he has black hair and piercing silver eyes, much like your integrate phase, but without the runes. I see him wielding two swords, each the carbon copy of the other but with inverted monochromatic colours."

Fayden tilted his head in confusion, Void Edge was a single sword, unless…

He manifested his weapon in his hand, startling the elderly elf. Was it possible for him to separate its two clashing halves?

Without thinking he stabbed his hand into the handle of his sword, his fingers passing through the wreath of darkness without resistance.

He found purchase within the blade however, his hand brushing past the golden interior. Clenching his fingers around it, he pulled.

Fortunately, he was sitting, otherwise he would have fallen. In his hands were two blades, the golden one was more material in its aspect where it had a definite shape. The other half of it was anything but, it had no real shape or form whatsoever. In fact, Fayden didn't even need to hold on to it. It was as if it was attached to his arm.

He watched in fascination as the blades bled into his veins, lighting them up gold on one side and black on the other.

"While that is impressive, those are not the blades I saw." Rinia's voice brought him back to the present, "In the vision I saw, both his swords were made of some kind of metal, not energy like yours. But, there was something else I saw."

The tone in Rinia's voice made Fayden hesitant to ask what it was.

Rinia debated whether or not to reveal it, but she knew Fayden would realise she was holding back. She sighed, "I only had a glimpse of it, so don't take my words for granted. I can only explain what I saw to be Arthur kneeling in front of your broken and battered body."

Fayden locked up, 'I…die?'

'Father…'

'No, no, no, I couldn't have-' Fayden's mind blanked.

"Do," his voice was hoarse as he cleared his throat, "Do we win at least? Did I die in vain?"

Rinia's lips pressed to a thin line, she felt like she had made a mistake telling him that.

"Remember, those were different circumstances. Fate has been massively altered by someone, someone whose strength is beyond comprehension."

However, Fayden wasn't listening. "No, I can't die. I won't let it happen."

"Fayden."

"Snap out of it, father!"

Fayden shook his head, "I need some time to process this."

Before Rinia could say anything, he bolted.

She sighed, and Arthur chose to wake up at that time.

.

.

.

"Father, that was a different future. Where you were not born as an Eralith." Ezekiel trailed behind him, attempting to reassure him.

"And what says it can't happen again?" Fayden spat out. "Let's assume that version of me was at a similar level of strength, then that means someone in the war was enough of a threat to kill me. What are the chances it'll happen again?"

"Then you just need to make sure you're stronger than that version of you."

"And what if that isn't enough?"

"It will be."

"But-"

"No."

"No?"

"No more doubting yourself. You are strong, and you will be strong enough to face anything that comes your way."

Fayden scoffed, "I'm not arrogant enough to believe that."

"Then make sure that arrogance is not unwarranted."

.

.

.

When Fayden returned Rinia was waking everyone up, when they asked where he had been he made up the excuse of needing to relieve himself. That seemed to work as they didn't ask any more questions about it.

Rinia gave him a glance full of pity, but was taken aback by the sheer determination staring back. She smiled at him; it seemed his spirit had become stronger than ever rather than shatter because of fate.

Night had fallen by the time they had finished eating, where Rinia surprised everyone yet again by opening up a secret passage to a teleportation gate.

After Arthur and Tessia left through the gate, Fayden bid his own goodbyes and walked up to the gate, but the presence of a familiar mana signature made him freeze in place.

'This presence…'

Fayden grinned. 'I told you he'd come.'

"On second thought, I'll just Void Step outta here." Fayden left no room for argument and disappeared in a black flash, leaving everyone confused as to why he would choose that method of transportation.

Fayden had not gone back to Xyrus; instead, he carefully hid his presence and warped to where the presence had made itself known.

"Fayden, it has been many a moon since our last meeting."

Fayden almost didn't recognize the man in front of him. The man had eyes so crimson it would put Agrona's ruby-like eyes to shame. His hair was fashioned so that some of his dark bangs fell over his face, and the back was tied into a long rat-tail that extended past his waist.

He huffed. "Could you not have chosen a more grounded location to talk in?"

Noctis smiled, near effortlessly creating a Nacht platform for them to stand on. "How is my son?" he asked; unsurprisingly, his first question was about Zeke.

"I named him Ezekiel, or Zeke for short. As for how he is," Fayden grinned, "why don't you check that out yourself?"

As if on cue, Zeke manifested beside him in all his glory, his fur which looked like it was weaved out of the night sky glittered in Noctis' presence.

"So you are my biological father?" Zeke eyed Noctis. "No offence, but I consider him my father, not you."

Noctis chuckled, as if expecting this. "I understand, you did grow up with him after all. It would be wrong for me to just walk in and claim you as my son."

"That makes me curious, why did you leave him with me?" Fayden asked. "Not that I'm complaining."

"The method we use to travel to our homeland is unfit for a child to use. Only once he had enough control over his own power could he use it. Otherwise, his life essence would have leaked into the yawning void." Noctis brandished an ornate blue dagger, the gold and obsidian pairing well with its sapphire blade.

"You could have waited until I had enough of a hold on my powers." Zeke pointed out dryly.

Noctis shook his head. "I had long overstayed my welcome."

"Was someone hunting you?" Fayden asked, his story sounded too familiar to the one Nathan told him.

He sighed. "Indeed. Kezess Indrath, the king of the Asura's, hates our race with a passion. He'd go so far to break the peace treaty just to kill one of us."

Fayden narrowed his eyes. "You don't reckon you have another son here right? A half-human one?"

"I suppose you are referring to Mr. Amber's?" He seemed familiar with that name.

"So he is your son!"

Noctis shook his head, "No, but I do know the man who fathered him."

Fayden narrowed his eyes, practically to slits as his curiosity grew. "Who is it?"

"I cannot say, I'm afraid It's his secret to keep and I have no right to reveal it."

Fayden sighed "I suppose that's understandable. Nevertheless, I still have more questions."

"And I have the answers to those questions," Noctis nodded, "but that may have to wait."

"Huh?" Fayden looked at Noctis, confused by his words, "What do you mean?"

Noctis narrowed his eyes in a particular direction, "If my senses are not too rusty, I believe two of the Vritra mutts just arrived in the floating city. Xyrus, was it?"

Fayden's eyes widened as the implication of Noctis' word's made themselves clear.

"Relax, remember what Kai said, 'they' will fix Xyrus, we just need to wait until the V-"

He cursed under his breath, the boy had meant Vritra. How could he have been so blind?!

"Noctis, I-"

"Go," he said, "I will seek you out when you've dealt with everything. And remember, I am, but one call away."

"Thank you." Fayden breathed out, he was truly grateful. But he did not think he would need a god's help this time.