Chapter 2: The Trials of a King 1/9

After his mother told him her fate Dane was furious but knew there was nothing he could do, and this made him furious. He decided to take the rest of the day off and asked Eve to buy him two pellet guns and two practice swords. 'Stronger! I need to get much stronger!' This was all that went through Dante's mind. This continued for two years, suddenly whenever he was getting ready to pick up his things from practice he blacked out.

When Dante awoke, he saw that he was no longer in his home but in a throne room, but it had fourteen thrones. {You must be the one. The one who was chosen to wield the power of kings.} The one that spoke was the one in the middle and was also the smallest of the kings. "I do not know if I was chosen but I do know that I need power. I hate not being able to change the fate of those I want to protect." Dante was angry knowing that it was his own weakness that would lead to his mother's death. {We are the kings of Lucis. We know how you feel, but some deaths are unavoidable. However, this does not mean that one must accept them unconditionally. You Dante Grood must prove yourself to be worthy of our power, the power of kings. Should you do this you must follow the path and become a king. Do you accept this condition?} Dante looked at the king with a determined gaze, "I accept, but remember this Noctis. I have no problems with becoming a king, but I will do it my way, and you won't always like the way I handle things, but I don't give a damn. I will not let myself be bound by fate nor destiny. If there is a law, I will break it, and enemy obliterate it, even if the gods stand in my way I would die before I submit. As a king I will bend my knee to no one. For I have my own rules: Bow to others only as a sign of respect never as a sign of subservice. Treat other accordingly, if one does not deserve respect, he will not get it. Stand beside me I'll respect you, stand behind me I'll protect you, stand against me and I'll destroy you. With this I ask you the kings of Lucis, should I pass your trials are you willing to watch as I carve my own path, or will you try and force your ideals on me?" The king before him looked surprised that Dante knew his true name but became more serious as he continued to talk. {We will not interfere with your path as you are your own king. Now then are you ready to undergo the trials?} Dante gave him a nod. When they saw his answer all of the kings held up a crystalized weapon and pointed it towards him as everything went white.

When Dante woke up, he heard a voice say, {First is the trial of the mystic. For a king must be abstract and ever flexible.} When Dante looked around, he saw a large of puzzle with everchanging pieces. {Your objective is to solve the puzzle. Failure means death, so you must succeed or die.} When Dante heard this his expression darkened. He walked up to the puzzle and was thinking and when he saw the pieces, he noticed a pattern. With shocking speed, he started putting the puzzle together, when he finished he saw a portrait of a woman with a similar appearance to his mother but put the thought to the back of his mind and said, "have finished your puzzle, but we both know that the puzzle wasn't the true trial. In truth a king will never know what will happen, so he can't know all the answers. He must take it in stride and respond in kind. There is no definite answer for every situation, and as a king I must prepare for the things I know will happen but be on guard to unknown circumstances. That is the true answer no?" For a few moments there was no answer, then Dante heard, {You are correct. A king will never know all of the answers to the problems he is presented with, but he must know how to adapt to the problems he is given. You have passed this trial. Now take my power and continue your trials.} When the king finished speaking Dante saw a large black longsword form out of light and entered his body similar to how his heirlooms had, but after it entered the world went white once more.

When Dante awoke, he was sitting in a desk and a hologram figure popped up in front of him, he immediately recognized the figure as Ignis from FFXV. He had a thin build with grey-blond hair and grey eyes that seemed to hold infinite wisdom. Dante narrowed his eyes at the figure and said, "Which king are you? I know enough about the kings of Lucis to know that Ignis isn't one of them so who are you?" Hearing Dante's questions 'Ignis' gave a small chuckle. "You are right, I am not the one known as Ignis, I simply thought that this form would be more approachable for you. As for which king I am, my name was lost long ago so I became known as the Wise King." Dante calmed down when he heard that this was the king of the Wise as he was a very kind and smart king. "So, my liege, what is my trial?" The king gave Dante a small smile before saying, "A king may not be able to rule forever, but it is his duty to protect his people during his time, but what is one to do if there is not enough time to solve the problems at hand?" when he finished the king looked at Dante with a curious look as he was very intrigued by what the young boys answer could be. While the king was looking at him Dante closed his eyes and rest his head onto the desk with his hands clasp together thinking.

After around 30 minutes Dante opened his eyes and took a deep breath and let it out before saying, "One will never have enough time. A king may run out of time before he can solve all of the problems before him, and it is his duty to use his time wisely. A wise king must prepare his kingdom to be able to survive even after he has departed. So, to answer your question, a king must have prepared a plan to be activated when his life ends. You must be prepared to pass of the torch so that your kingdom may thrive. That is what a king must do, as you said, a king cannot rule forever." When he finished Dante looked at the king to see him smiling. "You are a very smart boy. Your answer is correct, and you have passed the Trial of the Wise, take forth my power and may you rule with as much wisdom in the future as you showed today." When he finished talking the king vanished in a crystal-like light before he was replaced with a simple one-handed black sword. Before he passed out Dante murmured, "I will try not to disappoint you." And the world went white once more.