"It's simply astounding!" Sania exclaimed, full of excitement over her discovery. "At first, we all simply thought it was a problem with the monsters! But with closer observation, I found that a multitude of the wildlife in the area were competing for dominance! It's thanks to these little amphibians that I was able to figure it out!" She nodded to the couple of colorful frogs on her table.

"So, it's a problem for most of the creatures in the area," Noctis stated, getting the gist of it. "But do you have any idea what's causing it?"

"I'm afraid I can't say for sure, but there's some sort of power source that's attracting them," she explained. "Readings have shown a tremendous amount of energy radiating from the area. And this isn't like those ruins, no, this is much bigger."

"Interesting," Ignis muttered, thinking over the facts.

"Thanks for all your help, Sania," Gladio said.

"It was no trouble at all," she replied with a smile. "I live for these kinds of things, you know."

"We'll check it out," Noctis said. "See if we can find anything."

"You all be careful now!" Sania shouted to them as they walked away.

"So, there's some kind of funky energy that's making the monsters go crazy?" Prompto questioned. He laughed a bit. "Sounds like a video game story plot."

"It is very peculiar," the advisor said. "If it isn't the ruins of Steyliff emanating with energy, then what could it be?"

Noctis shrugged. "Dunno. That's why we're gonna check it out."

The group got into the car and drove down to the Vesperpool. They saw many monsters fighting amongst each other, just as before. But they were careful and managed to avoid the battling creatures as they looked around the area. They couldn't find anything out of the ordinary though. They wondered what could possibly be the source of all the chaos. They stood around at the nearby haven, trying to think things through.

"Odd that these things just started happening recently," Lorelai said.

"Indeed," Ignis agreed. "Which means that this sudden occurrence is relatively new."

Noctis sighed with frustration. "Yet we can't find the source anywhere."

"Must be something we're overlooking," Gladio added.

"Sounds like you could use a little guidance." Everyone whirled around upon hearing the familiar voice. Ardyn smiled at them and pointed to the northwest. "You'll want to have a look over there, at that end of the lake."

Gladiolus and Ignis stood protectively in front of the others. "What makes you so generous all of a sudden?" the shield inquired.

"Just offering some necessary assistance," he replied. "So I figured I'd give you a light push in the right direction."

"A light push, or a rough shove?" Ignis said, wary of listening to the man. "How do we know this isn't a trap of sorts?"

Ardyn faked a shocked gasp. "I'd never!"

Lorelai narrowed her eyes. "You've still been tailing us this whole time? Why do you care about helping us with this, unless..." Her eyes widened slightly. "C-Could it be...?" Her friends all glanced at her with confusion. "Is it... Luminis?"

Ardyn chuckled. "Such a clever girl."

Lorelai swiftly shook her head. "Forget it! I won't go there!"

"Oh, but have you forgotten about the monster problem?" Ardyn asked. "Isn't it your duty to take care of things such as this?" Lorelai angrily clenched her fists. "Go on, then. Do your job, hunter. Personally, I think you'll quite enjoy the trip. I'm certain you'll find it to be quite... enlightening."

Ardyn turned on his heel and walked away. In the blink of an eye, he was gone. Prompto looked over at the girl beside him, concern etched on his face. He placed a hand against her back.

"Lora, what exactly has Ardyn been telling you all this time? I know he wants you to go to Luminis, but why?"

Lorelai sighed, everyone's eyes now on her. "I don't know why." She stared at the ground at her feet. "He's been mentioning that my use of magic has some kind of history behind it, and that Luminis will have the answers. But I... I don't know if it's something I should know."

Ignis placed a hand on his hip. "I admit, I've always been a bit curious about that myself. Your light magic is unheard of, and your ability to summon your weapon is supposed to be exclusive to the Lucis Caelum line."

Gladio hummed in thought. "Iggy's got a good point."

"What choice do we have?" Noctis said. "We've gotta put a stop to these monsters. If Luminis is the cause, then we have to stop it."

Lorelai slowly nodded in agreement. "You're right. I never wanted to go there, but we're left with no choice now. We have to put a stop to all this fighting among the species here at the Vesperpool."

Prompto smiled reassuringly at her. "You know I'm with you. We'll get it done. And then we'll be chilling back in Meldacio before you know it."

Lorelai looked at each of them, the determination in their eyes all too evident. "Alright. Let's get going, then."

The five headed out again, following Ardyn's directions and going to the western side of the lake. They looked around, but still couldn't find anything, at least until Prompto suddenly stepped on a sunken area of dirt. It crumbled beneath him, sending him falling on his butt with a yelp of surprise. Everyone twisted around to see the blond sitting in a hole in the ground. It was a shallow spot, almost like sitting in a giant cup. Lorelai was the first to hurry over, gazing down at the boy.

"Prompto, you okay?"

"Y-Yeah," he answered, rubbing his sore butt. "The ground just gave way under me."

"Is that a tunnel I spy?" Ignis asked.

Right behind Prompto was a rocky wall with a small opening. Already in the shallow pit, the gunman turned and leaned down, peering into the tunnel.

"Hey, I think it might lead somewhere."

The prince hopped down beside his friend and took a peek. "Let's check it out."

Noctis got down on his hands and knees and crawled into the opening. Lorelai quickly jumped down, watching the prince disappear inside. She glanced at the others, nodding her head to follow. She then got down and crawled right in. Prompto pushed back his claustrophobia and went after her, followed by Ignis and then Gladio. It was a tight squeeze, especially for the shield, but they all managed to fit into the tunnel with their lights guiding them through. Prompto grinned, only seeing the backside of his girlfriend ahead of him. He whistled as he crawled behind her.

"Lovin' the view back here!" he said, his bubbly voice bouncing off the rock walls

"That makes one of us," Ignis commented, seeing only the gunman in front of him.

"Noct, please tell me we're almost out," Gladio pleaded, struggling to crawl through the narrow space.

"Relax, I think I see the end," he replied.

"Good," Lorelai said. "This hard ground is hurting my knees."

The group finally made it out of the tunnel only to be faced with a stone staircase that spiraled down deeper. Once at the bottom, they were met by a stone wall. They were now in a small, closed off space under the ground. Lorelai recognized the large insignia of Solheim on the stone and knew what she had to do. She approached the stone wall and placed her palm against it. The huge engraving on the wall lit up at her touch. Before their very eyes, the stone wall slid to the side, revealing a doorway. Noctis allowed Lorelai to go first, knowing that she had a deeper connection to what may be waiting inside.

As soon as they entered, lights flickered on in reaction to the door being opened. Everyone stared in awe. All around them were the well-preserved ruins of a small section of city. They could tell it was ancient by the castle-like design of the buildings. Most of them were fully intact too. Above the buildings was a dome made of stone. It was what kept everything in good condition despite being buried under the earth.

"So this is... Luminis?" Lorelai said, her eyes roaming all over, taking in the scenery.

"Extraordinary," Ignis commented.

"Whoa!" Prompto cried with astonishment. "This whole time, we were walking right over this place!"

"How the hell has this stayed intact for so long?" Noctis asked, not really expecting an answer.

There was suddenly a low rumble beneath their feet. "Hold up, something's happening!" Gladio warned.

They took notice of the two shaking statues beside the entrance on either side of them. Upon closer inspection, the statues were actually mechanical. They were both large and shaped similarly to a behemoth. But what was startling was the white light now emanating from their eyes. Growls erupted from them as their bodies began to move.

"No freakin' way!" Noctis cried. "Are those... magiteks?!"

The mechanical beasts were very much like the magitek troops in design. They both slowly stood from their resting places, their heads looking down at the intruders. While her friends summoned their weapons, Lorelai stared, a feeling of nostalgia overtaking her. She knew right away that these weren't corrupted monstrosities like the ones created by the empire. She instead calmly walked passed her friends and stood before the two creatures. She lifted her hand, creating an orb of light in her palm.

The two beasts went silent and stared at her. After a moment, they leaned down, bowing their heads to her. Hearing a multitude of footsteps behind them, the group all turned to see magiteks reminiscent to the ones they fight on a regular basis. But just like the beasts, they all kneeled and bowed their heads.

"The hell's going on?" Gladio asked.

Lorelai could somehow feel a sense of belonging there. Luminis, one of the last remnants of Solheim - the place she had avoided for so long - she now felt at home at. All the magitek creations around them were the originals that the people of Solheim had made. They weren't evil in the least, and had been awakened by the girl's entry. Her magic acted as a way of identifying her as one of their creators. Therefore, they showed her the utmost respect.

"I think... I understand," Lorelai quietly said, earning the attention of the four men at her sides. "This place... It feels so familiar. It feels... like home."