[Leaning his head on his hand, Ardyn looked away with a thoughtful hum to acknowledge he'd heard Noctis while carefully contemplating his own answer. His particular feelings on the larger scale of the matter were...complex. Complex enough that getting into it with Noctis himself more so than they already had before was something Ardyn simply couldn't bring himself to do.]

Honerva's already had to watch me die once. I don't presume learning it will happen a second time will leave her in an accepting sort of mood. she may just as well choose to end this whole thing on the spot once she realizes I've been hiding this from her all this time. Maybe that would be better for both her and myself; see it over and done with now, rather than live in fear of a loss that can't be prevented.

['Difficult' didn't even begin to cover the entire thing, and Ardyn was already having trouble putting into words what he thought about far more often than he wanted to.]

Then again, for all I know she may well wish to seek a way to change things. And I don't know that she would be wrong if that were the case, but neither do I think Pyra is wrong in her acceptance. The fate of the world and her people takes first priority, we agreed on that and I have no intention of backing down on that front. It-...

[He stopped himself with a frustrated noise, muffled by burying his face in his hand.]

...Complain about my self-sacrificing habits all you want, but I can't just stop being that knowing how all this will have to end. I don't know how to tell her 'no, actually I've been ready to die for eternity and now that matters' without having her immediately curse my very nature up and down the entire city.