Ardyn Izunia (Japanese: アーデン・イズニア, Hepburn: Āden Izunia) is a character from the Final Fantasy franchise. The chancellor of the empire of Niflheim, he first appears in the 2016 animated film Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV. Ardyn plays a significant role as the main antagonist of the video game Final Fantasy XV, where he is portrayed as a character driven by his hatred of the royal line of Lucis, a kingdom which is invaded and occupied by Niflheim. He plots vengeance against its protagonist, Noctis Lucis Caelum due to his status as the heir to the Lucian throne. The 2019 downloadable content (DLC) expansion Episode Ardyn and its tie-in animated special Final Fantasy XV: Episode Ardyn – Prologue explores the villain's original identity as Ardyn Lucis Caelum (アーデン・ルシス・チェラム, Āden Rushisu Cheramu), an ancestor of Noctis and a kindly healer who contracted a supernatural disease from his patients that renders him immortal, though irreversibly corrupted by its dark power.
