Theodore leaned back against the hood of the Road Runner, watching Ardyn walk away with that theatrical, swaying gait.
Most people saw a monster, a villain, or a riddle wrapped in a purple scarf.
But Theodore, with his meta-knowledge of the "game" and his mind processing, saw something much simpler: a man who had been tired for two thousand years.
True salvation isn't a sword through the chest, Ardyn, Theodore thought. It's a world where the Starscourge doesn't exist. A world where you aren't the designated sacrifice.
"9S,"
Theodore said, not taking his eyes off Ardyn's retreating figure.
"Don't just bug his car. I want a full metaphysical scan. I want to know exactly how the Starscourge is anchored to his soul. If we're going to pull him out of this reality eventually, we need to know what happens to the 'void' when it hits the Hub."
9S's eyes flashed indigo.
"On it, Boss. I'll use the Road Runner's new sensors to track his 'Aura-Density' while we follow. If I can map the corruption's frequency, I can potentially create a digital 'filter' for it."
The next morning, the two-car convoy set off. Ardyn's flashy red convertible led the way, with the Road Runner and the Regalia trailing behind.
Theodore flipped the switch on the Ghost Drive.
"Initiating stealth-refraction,"
9S announced.
The Road Runner seemed to shimmer, its black paint absorbing the sunlight and blurring its edges against the desert highway.
Imperial patrols on the ridges looked right past them, their sensors confused by the data-loop 9S feeding the local towers.
"It's almost... peaceful,"
2B remarked, watching the landscape fly by.
"Though the man in the lead is intentionally slowing his pace. He is enjoying the 'theatre' of this journey."
"He's a man who has nothing but time, 2B,"
Theodore replied.
"But we're going to give him an ending he didn't script."
Halfway to Caem, they hit a massive Imperial checkpoint. This wasn't a small squad; it was a full garrison with a Magitek Annihilator—a hulking, multi-legged tank—blocking the bridge.
Ardyn pulled his car over to the side, leaning back with a smug grin, waiting to see how the "King" and his "Contractors" would handle the roadblock.
"Noct, stay in the car,"
Theodore radioed.
"This one's a hardware problem. 2B, 9S—let's show them what 'Normal Humans' can do."
Theodore activated Wind Walk and Giant Strength. He didn't go for the soldiers.
He leaped onto the chassis of the Annihilator. Using his mana-infused strength, he tore the primary sensor array right out of its housing.
She utilized the Ramming Prowess of her new gear. She didn't stay in the car; she used the SUV as a moving platform to catapult herself into the air, her blades glowing with the neutralizing agent. She dove into the machine's power core, severing the soul-link in one clean strike.
9S didn't just jam them. He uploaded a corruptive data-packet that mimicked the Starscourge's own frequency.
The Magitek troopers suddenly froze, their red eyes turning white as their systems crashed under the weight of the "infinite loop" 9S had created.
The blockade crumbled in less than three minutes.
Theodore stood atop the wreckage of the Annihilator, looking back at Ardyn.
When they finally reached the hidden port of Caem, the sun was setting. While the boys met with Iris and Cor, Theodore walked up to Ardyn, who was staring out at the ocean.
"You handled that blockade with... frightening efficiency,"
Ardyn said, not turning around.
"Almost as if you knew exactly where the wires were hidden."
"I know a lot of things, Ardyn,"
Theodore said, standing beside him.
"I know about the first King. I know about the 'Accursed.' And I know that you're tired of being the villain in a story written by gods who don't care about you."
Ardyn stiffened, his playful mask flickering for a split second.
"Careful, dear boy. Some truths are heavy enough to drown a man."
"What if I told you there's a world where you aren't the Accursed?"
Theodore asked, his voice low and serious.
"A world where you're just Ardyn. No gods, no destiny, no immortality. Just a man who can finally watch a sunset and know it's his last."
Ardyn finally turned, his eyes searching Theodore's. For the first time, the "Poor Dude" looked vulnerable.
"And why would a 'Gamer' like you offer such a thing to a monster?"
"Because,"
Theodore grinned,
"Every game needs a Good Ending. And I'm the one who decides how this one finishes."
[System Notification: Ardyn Izunia's Interest Triggered]
[Conversion Potential: Unknown]