"I don't know. I've never had anyone to lose before Noct. Not really." Prompto shook his head a little. "I didn't deal with death before. And I'm not upset that man is dead, I just...I knew the job came with the possibility of killing someone but it hadn't come up. I was shaken."

The feelings of inadequacy were not new, or exclusive to that memory. They just cemented them. Ardyn knew how to hit him where it hurt.

"And what I learned was worse. It was about the worst thing I could come up with. My friends are amazing and accepted me...didn't even scold me for worrying about that, at the time, but outside of the people I know?"

He took a drink. "Lucians have never liked Niffs. My friends are all I have anyway, so I would do anything for them."