The night was warm, but the high wind carried a cold breeze that slipped between the buildings of Insomnia. On the balcony of a modest apartment in the middle of the city, a thin figure leaned against the railing, elbows slack, neck bent toward the ground as if something more than his body weighed him down. Noctis Lucis Caelum. Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Lucis… but now just another boy, wrapped in a sweatshirt and headphones, trying to pretend the world outside didn't owe him anything. The music played softly, vibrating gently in his ears. Something instrumental, soft, nostalgic. It had started as a way to fill the silence of the apartment, but now it only accompanied him as he thought about everything he didn't want to say out loud. Ignis had left a while ago. It wasn't exactly a fight, but it was a very charged conversation. The kind of conversation where both people speak the truth, and that's why it hurts.

"Your father isn't immortal, Noct."

It hadn't been a cruel remark, just real. And maybe that's why it had hit him harder than anything Ignis had said before. Noctis didn't respond. Not then, not now. He still didn't know how.

He struggled to put what he felt into words. Talking about his father was like trying to read a book through fogged-up glass. He admired him. He loved him. But he also resented him, sometimes. For being so distant. For raising him as if he already knew everything he needed to know. For trusting so much in his future without questioning if he wanted it.

And now… now it seemed like that future was coming too fast.

Noctis leaned further over the railing, watching the distant train lights moving like fireflies over the tracks. He wondered if he would ever truly feel ready. For anything. To be king. To lead. To lose.

He knew he couldn't help it. Ignis was right, even if it bothered him to hear it. His father wouldn't be there forever. Maybe not even for long.

And that terrified him.

It wasn't the fear that came through screaming or tears. It was that silent fear that settles in your stomach and won't go away, like an invisible stone. A mixture of sadness, anger, and resignation.

He gently clenched his fists on the bar. He didn't know what he would do when that moment came, only that he would have to do it. Because no one else could.

But for now… for now, he was just a boy alone on his balcony, listening to music and waiting for the night to swallow him up for a little while longer. For tomorrow to be a little late.

The air ruffled his hair. Noctis closed his eyes.