Final Fantasy XV

Ardyn
So Ardyn is the mythological Lucis king who first took out the starscourge 2000 years ago. There's a book about him in the Cosmology at the Altissia bar.
It's not very clear what happened back then though. He says he was "absorbing" the starscourge within himself as a mean to free other people, that's quite a different method from what Noctis is being charged to use by the Six when they pointed him as "the chosen". Did the lucis ring already exist during Ardyn time?
What are Ardyn motivations? He resents against the Six for not showing gratitude for his task of purging the starscourge and instead calling him "impure", prophetizing that he was not the Chosen and that another one would be.
He felt used, a second choice, he resents against the gods and the humans alike and wants to destroy the Chosen (so he's waiting for him to appear) and all of the Lucis and humanity as a futile masochistic attempt to get some sort of revenge?
I feel a small part of Ardyn also wishes to be delivered from his "curse" of immortality though. Think he's a bit conflicted.
From this perspective it makes sense he started acting only recently (the "gift" of Magitek and knowledge to the Nifelheim empire) and that he helped Noctis and friends. He wanted to make sure Noctis would become a proper "chosen" and humiliate/kill him at his peak.
At the same time though... why helping his friends as well? Through the course of the adventure I can understand, but from chapter 13 onwards? He didn't really need to do that, did he?

Also I don't really get why there's a second scene of Noctis fighting Ardyn in what Ardyn calls "the beyond". I mean, he was already dead, wasn't he? He was just a spirit, why killing him "a second time"? I was expecting a scene of Lucis power or whatever killing all the light-absorbing cells in the atmosphere rather than a second cutscene of Noctis killing him... again. I must have missed something here.

Also we learn that Lunafreya was "Ill" and would've died regardless even if Ardyn didn't kill her, but what was her illness? Maybe she consumed her "lifeforce" to use Oracle powers and delay the light-absorbing cells in the atmosphere? Because we know she was doing that.

Another thing I don't get is why was the empire trying to defeat the six? I mean I can get the excuse. Ardyn probably said "Hey emperor, let's go kill the six, if we kill them we can gain their powers and use them in our engines blahblah" or something like that.
But beyond excuses what was Ardyn trying to obtain by defeating the Six? It seems incoherent with his behaviour. On one way he tries to make Noctis' trip easier to become the true full-power chosen like I said above, on the other hand he tries to kill the six which would make Noctis' route to chosen-ess impossible? I don't get this.


Also I'm not sure I get what's the narrative role of making a 10 years time skip.
I mean, getting to see the 4 guys as adults was super cool and I totally liked it, but from a narrative pov what was the purpose?
With how fast the light-absorbing organism were multiplying themselves after the death of the Oracle we didn't really need to wait 10 years to see the world in ruins.
Something like 1 year or even less would've been more than enough.
How the *** did humanity even survive 10 years without sunlight? What about food and stuff? I mean...
And Noctis enters the Crystal and for no appearent reason he wakes up outside of the Crystal (Ardyn moved the crystal over the Insomnia Throne) in an island outside Galdin Quay, with his motorboat coincidentally parked there 10 years ago for no appearent reason.
I mean... uh? D:

I also have some other doubts from Kingsglaive and the beginning of the game.
We know Regis didn't know about the starscourge, Ardyn or anything related to that. But we know he knew all too well that Noctis was appointed as "the chosen", even if he didn't know what that meant.
He knew the future of the world depended on Noctis even if he didn't know how, and decided to "risk" and send Noctis away in an attempt to save this light of hope for the world. Right?
Right, I guess this is the "hard choice" that he mentions in the Omen trailer.
At the same time though I don't get the Marrying part.
In theory it's something that's been requested by the Nifelheim Empire (under suggestion of Ardyn?) but for what purpose really? What did anybody have to gain from that?
And Regis seemed to be wanting for that to happen not "because it's a way to sign the treaty with Nifelheim" but because he was happy for Noctis and Luna to marry.
Right?
I dunno, this whole part is a bit vague.

https://www.reddit.com/r/FFXV/comments/5g8gn0/major_spoilers_the_story_and_ending_of_ffxv/

https://www.reddit.com/r/FFXV/comments/5h9tjw/spoilers_excellent_video_analysis_of_the_ending/

I assumed it was the summoning, a few times npcs mention the "cost" of calling forth one of them but never elaborate. There was a letter to her from Ravus where you get the Sword of the Father who's tone (to me atleast) made it clear that summoning Leviathan would cost her life

I am horribly *** depressed.

By what, exactly?

THE PHOTO REEL MAN-IT WASN'T LIKE A TOP NOTCH ENDING OR W/E BUT THE PHOTO REEL. Idgaf what other people think, it played right to my feels with the *** photo reel.

As for Lunafreya dying... I don't think that any of the hints/persuasions saying that when she summoned Leviathan she'd die for sure were really saying that the summoning was going to drain her strength and kill her. Doesn't make any sense that way. I assumed that everyone assumed that Leviathan was temperamental and liable to be violent and kill her. You know, the same way they were worried that he'd destroy Altissia and all of its inhabitants. And really, though they did show the whole scene of her being weak and wanting Ravus to deliver the ring, and there was that note or whatever, I think the ring's weight is separate. More like a nod to Lord of the Rings really lol. I mean, if the summoning/calling/waking(it's really more of a waking, kind of like smacking a protocrystal with a tuning fork) was supposed to drain her strength and kill her, I don't think she would have been able to help Noct the way she did. But also, Ardyn stabbed her in the gut. You could say that was the mercy killing, but the gut isn't exactly a lethal spot. Then apparently her and Noct got swept under water.

Also why does Hillary Clinton get to be in an FF game and I'm not

I got the impression the belief that she was dying was due to her curing the many people affected by the starscourge. This is exactly what Ardyn did 2 thousand or whatever years ago but to a MUCH greater extent. The darkness was possibly eating at her and killing her. Looking at the her murder as a mercy killing is interesting because you might view it as Ardyn sparing her from going as far as he did just to have the gods turn their backs on him. But I'm also convinced that Ardyn's goal was something beyond vengeance but also to build up Noctus to finally let him die.

It was probably less a mercy killing and more a way to piss off Noctis + give Bahamut the finger. Since Bahamut was the one that first gave Lunas ancestors their power I just don't see mercy coming into it given his relationship with the gods (see also it being a gut wound which are pretty damn painful and the part where he slaps her)... His enmity seemed pretty focused to me towards the gods and noct/lunas families, he could have turned Prompto into a daemon while he had him captured for example, the same way he did with Ravus, but settled for just using him as bait.

Beyond his vengeance from what I can tell Ardyn's goal is the same as it was originally, to do away with the star scourge Ifrit cursed humanity with. Which entails Noct coming into his full power and defeating him since he's become the source of it, as well as taking out as many of the gods as possible to ensure one of them can't do it again.

Eh yea fair enough on the not mercy killing part. I really wish Ardyn was more developed. He really is one of the most interesting, and tragic, villains in the franchise. It's a waste with how little story is actually devoted towards building him up.

regain his combat ability

be useless forever?