[The Ignis from Noctis' time would still be searching for those visual hints and then becoming angry at himself for expecting something where there would never be anything again. After so many months, this Ignis still finds himself doing the same on occasion, but it's only because his vision has actually been restored a time or two. He catches himself wishing to see certain things, but at least these wishes have precedent behind them as opposed to being the actions of a man still adjusting to such a drastic change.

When those wishes don't come true, though, this Ignis is not left so lost as the other would be. He's had time to begin sharping his other senses to almost supernatural levels. His hearing, especially, has become stronger which is why the change in Noctis' footsteps and that sharp inhale might as well be yelling to him. Not that Ignis is surprised at those reactions to the mention of Ardyn's name. That time frame places Noctis at the culmination of the worst of Ardyn's machinations and his physical age means his king hasn't yet been in the Crystal long enough to develop the maturity and--dare he say--understanding the elder Noctis who was here showed.

It is not Ardyn that Ignis starts with, though. That is a minefield he wants a little time to prepare before dashing into. Instead, he begins with happier topics.]

Gladio is here are well. He arrived in the same group as the elder version of you did.

[Ignis' voice lightens as he speaks. Gladio's arrival was obviously a joyous thing despite the misunderstandings that would follow.]

You will have to be patient with him. He is from ten years after you went to sleep in the Crystal, and he suffered a great deal during that time. We all did, from what he has told me. I believe he's begun to heal some, but ten years of wounds do not vanish so quickly.

[There is more Ignis could say, so much more, but those details are Gladio's to tell. Not his.]

At the moment, aside from the four of us and Ardyn, there are no others from our world here, though Lady Lunafreya was here for a short time a few months back and Glaive Ulric arrived with us in that initial group. He was with us for several months before being sent away.

[For a brief instant, sadness crosses Ignis' face as he thinks of the fates both of them were sent back to. He's the farthest back of their group, and yet Ignis knows far too much of the future that lies in store for them all. Sometimes, he thinks he will be crushed under the weight of that knowledge before he ever has a chance to change things.

He takes a deep breath to clear his mind of such things--they are of no use to anyone right now--and focuses on the one question he has yet to answer.]

Ardyn arrived around a month or so after the first group did and has been with us steadily since then. He and the first version of you who was here formed a truce since it would benefit none of us to be constantly fighting. We were not at home and the prophecy has no power here. I did my best to keep an eye on him regardless. Without Gladio here, I felt it necessary. Even with the truce, I was not comfortable allowing him to do what he pleased unchecked.

[Oh, how that initial need to keep tabs on Ardyn changed as time passed, but that is a story for another time.]

It will be hard to believe, but he's not the same person you remember no matter what he may claim. More than once this place has returned him to who he was before he was betrayed, and I believe that has begun to crack through the rage and hate that has smothered his heart for so long.

[And Astrals, there are so many holes in that explanation that the Archaean could step through unhindered, but it is a start.]