scourgingstars

A destroyed throne room; the sky past the broken wall is without stars or moon, the only outside light a sickly glow from a mostly blacked-out sky. Indistinct human-shaped shadows line the walls at floor-level, standing at attention like a royal council in silent witness to a coronation. If one gets a chance to see outside, there is a massive city spread out far below...but with no lights or sign of life, scattered rubble and smoldering fires littering the destroyed streets.

The crystal chained above the throne glows constantly, and if in Scourge of the Stars mode Ardyn refuses to approach that side of the room due to the light, making nearer the throne a safer area from which to strategize or attack.

Armiger - At the start of battle, Ardyn summons thirteen phantom weapons. However, of these he uses only four: Blade of the Mystic, Sword of the Wise, Bow of the Clever, or the detachable twin blades of the Sword of the Wanderer. He is only able to utilize one at any given time, and takes a few unguarded seconds to switch between them. Armiger must be active to utilize Apocalypsis Ardere, and can not be active in order to use World of Ruin.

Warp-Strike - Ardyn throws a weapon and teleports in a straight line and visible trail of red light to attempt a single-target attack with the weapon that was used to initiate warping. As the trail telegraphs where he's going, it's easily avoided or intercepted by moving aside/blocking.

Apocalypsis Ardere - Dismissing whatever weapon he holds, Ardyn's phantom swords realign themselves into a horizontal cyclical formation, all thirteen acting as wildly fired projectiles over a wide area of effect. The attack is inaccurate as it relies on numbers over finsse, and Ardyn himself is completely unguarded for the duration and following time it takes to realign the Armiger. Inflicts light-elemental physical damage.

Scourge of the Stars - If pushed far enough, Ardyn has a chance to completely dismiss his Armiger and weaponry, moving into a second phase by showing his true face. He fights unarmed at this point, commanding projectile shadows from his hands. Most of his combat skill and accuracy is lost in the process, exchanged for brute strength with far more openings and vulnerabilities. In this form he is also weakened by bright light sources as well as taking double damage from light-elemental abilities and anti-daemon weapons. Changing phases can be interrupted/postponed, as losing the Armiger leaves him without a defense for the time it takes to switch. No cutscene invincibility here, folks.

World of Ruin - Gathering dark magic similar to his projectiles, Ardyn unleashes an area of effect blast centralized around himself and reaching about a five foot radius. While the initial charge time is short, it is possible to interrupt. After the impact itself he is left completely unable to attack for a short time. It can also be blocked, leaving an even longer window for a counterattack. Inflicts dark-elemental physical damage.