The Gridanian training grounds were empty by nightfall, their wooden posts casting long shadows across the grass. Moonlight bathed the field in silver, and the forest hummed with a hush that made every movement feel heavier than it was. Noctis stood alone at the edge, spear in hand, his gaze lifted to the stars above.
The Dragoon's leap still lingered in his muscles, the raw force of his trial etched into his bones. Ywain had called him ready, but the word "ready" was a weight he had never felt at ease with. Ready for what? For destiny? For war? For kingship? He sighed, rolling his shoulders. He wasn't a king here. Just another lancer with more questions than answers.
"Couldn't sleep either?"
The voice pulled him back to the ground. Across the field stood a young man, tall and steady, a spear marked with glowing runes balanced against his shoulder. His clothes were plain enough, but the cut of them spoke of finer halls than the guild barracks.
"Name's Alaren," the man said, his tone carrying both confidence and fatigue. "Mind a spar? Better to work the restlessness out on each other than lie awake listening to the crickets."
Noctis studied him for a moment before nodding. "Fine. But don't hold back."
The duel began under the moon. Alaren struck first, his rune-lit blade weaving arcs of light through the air. Noctis parried, his own spear ringing sharp as sparks danced where steel met steel. Alaren pressed hard, but Noctis flowed with each strike, feet shifting light across the grass, every motion practiced and precise.
Their fight drew another watcher. A woman stepped from the treeline, her long braid swinging behind her, emerald jewels glinting faintly at her wrists. With a calm chant she summoned an emerald carbuncle, its crystal body shimmering under the moon.
"Serenya," she said, voice low but firm. "If you're going to fight my betrothed, you fight both of us."
Noctis blinked but didn't flinch. "Two on one? Not exactly fair."
"Life rarely is," Serenya replied.
The carbuncle darted forward, forcing him back. Alaren's spear followed, swift and fierce. Noctis parried again, spinning into a leap that landed just behind them, his strike grazing Alaren's shoulder. He smirked faintly.
"Not bad," he said. "You've trained."
"We've lived with duty since birth," Alaren answered, eyes hardening. His spear twirled into another strike.
It was then Noctis saw it—the subtle polish of their movements, the way Serenya watched every angle of the fight not as an adventurer, but as someone trained to guard, to endure. Nobility clung to them, even if they tried to bury it.
He didn't call them out. He knew what it was like to hide.
They pressed him harder, Alaren with his runes, Serenya with her summons, the carbuncle darting like lightning. Noctis fought back with measured patience, his leaps growing sharper, each landing a crack of force through the earth. At last, he surged upward, the stars opening above him, and came down in a blaze of spear and fire. The ground shook as his strike pinned Alaren's spear to the earth, halting the duel.
For a heartbeat, the three stood in silence, breathing hard, the carbuncle fading back into light.
Serenya spoke first. "You fight like a phantom. What are you, really?"
Noctis pulled his spear free and shrugged, lips quirking into a faint smile. "Just a drifter learning the spear."
Alaren studied him, then nodded slowly. "Then you're more dangerous than half the knights I've known."
Noctis didn't answer, but his silence carried weight.
They sat together after, the tension fading into quiet conversation. Alaren admitted, haltingly, that he was a second son, born to a throne he would never sit. Serenya confessed her engagement had been arranged long before she had a choice. They had run, together, to find freedom in adventuring.
Noctis listened, the flicker of a smile tugging at his lips. "You two… you're bound by duty. But I see more than that. You're choosing it now, aren't you? Choosing each other."
Serenya's expression softened. Alaren's eyes glimmered with quiet resolve.
"Then you're not just companions," Noctis said, leaning back on the grass. "You're something more. A bond that lasts through twilight. You're the Twilight Bond."
They both froze at the name, as if the words had struck deeper than they expected. Slowly, they nodded.
The three parted before dawn, no promises, no secrets revealed. To them, Noctis was just another adventurer with strange skill and a shadowed gaze. To Noctis, they were runaways searching for freedom. None of them spoke the truths that clung beneath their skin.
As the first light touched the canopy, Noctis lingered alone. He gazed at the stars fading into morning and allowed himself a rare, small smile.
"Twilight Bond," he murmured. "Yeah. That suits."
The forest answered only with birdsong, but Noctis felt less alone as he walked back into the waking world.