Author's Notes: This piece takes place on the Conquest path, and will specifically contain story spoilers relevant to Chapters 13-15. The piece itself is a one-shot intending to give a bit of insight, as well as pay homage, to those who reset on higher difficulties to get the perfect sequence of events needed to clear a chapter in an optimal manner.

One's Thoughts

Within the secluded displacements of the Astral Realm lies a space dedicated to a castle. The owner of this castle, given his fondness of a coastal country that, until recently, he had only seen in books, elected to model his domain as a seaside retreat. Though he had no way of knowing at the time of this castle's creation, his choice of style has lent to maintaining the morale of those who have chosen to rally beneath his banner of peace. This man currently patrols the castle grounds, much as he always does when sunset approaches. He is not terribly worried for the castle's safety, considering it has only had to withstand a single invasion that was minor in scope; this patrol, instead, serves to help clear his mind of life's recent events.

A gentle breeze blows through his path, somewhat offsetting the balance of his fashionably disheveled silver hair. As he stops to fix his hair, his piercing red eyes shift to focus on a distant balcony, where a man stands alone, looking over the castle grounds. Straining his vision to focus, the castle's owner thinks to himself, 'Is that Cyrus?' To test this notion, the owner raises his hand to hail the onlooker. Though he was hoping for a vocal response for easy confirmation, the reality of the situation confirms his suspicion all the same.

The onlooker attempts to raise his left arm to return the greeting, causing his navy blue shoulder cape to give way and reveal that his arm stops at where his elbow would connect with the rest of the limb. The onlooker quickly realizes his error, and places his left arm at rest to raise his right instead. Lowering his own arm in kind, the castle's owner sighs to himself in disappointment. 'You got your answer, Corrin, but that could have been less awkward.' Having mostly finished his patrol, Corrin chooses to join his comrade on the balcony.

As he arrives, his gaze meets Cyrus', drawing his attention to the intricate circular pattern that looks to be engraved in his comrade's left eye. The juxtaposition created by the close proximity of this red Runic Eye and the completely normal brown eye is something that always catches Corrin off guard, in spite of the time he has known Cyrus, short though that time may be.

A silence lingers between the two as they take in the sight of the castle grounds slowly being washed in twilight. The orange hue forced upon the area contributes to altering its beauty; the recently upgraded fields of wheat, which once added a splash of grayish-brown to the castle's palette, now add a dazzling gold; the once sparkling blue waters of the morning and afternoon now glisten with a soothing shade of sea-foam green. Cyrus finds himself smiling at the sight; another breeze sweeps the area, offsetting the duo's hair. Corrin frowns at this, though his ally remains indifferent, likely due to his brown hair being perpetually disheveled but not nearly as fashionable.

While Corrin works to fix his hair once again, Cyrus takes it upon himself to break the silence. "The recent visit to the Cyrkensian Opera House was your first time seeing Nestra in person, right? What did you think?"

Corrin remains quiet for a moment, his sudden despondent expression serving the purpose of telling Cyrus everything he needs to know. "The country was nothing short of breathtaking, but I couldn't focus on enjoying any of it."

"I can understand that; anyone would be upset after witnessing the atrocities committed at Cheve." His gaze shifts to focus on the gently rippling waves beneath the balcony, though his mind can't divert away from the memories of the recent battle at the Opera House. "I never thought the Hoshidans would start a fight in a theater of all places."

Noticing the perturbed expression on Cyrus' face, Corrin lingers on a thought before commenting, "You seemed to be on edge during that entire battle; even your orders seemed to lack the confidence and eccentric flair we've all come to expect from you as our tactician. What was troubling you?" For a brief moment, there is a distinct look of hesitation in Cyrus' eyes, one that Corrin does not fail to catch. As he tries to turn his head, likely in an attempt to think of an easy subject segue, Corrin motions to remain in view, causing Cyrus to avert his eyes instead. Corrin chuckles, a gesture so odd that it lightens the mood. "You're quite bad at pretending nothing is wrong."

Cyrus makes a grimace at this, trying his best to avoid smiling. "Yeah, tell me about it." He sighs to himself, pulling out a notebook from a hidden pocket of his coat. "I suppose now is as good of a time as any."

He hands the notebook over to Corrin, gesturing for him to freely flip through its pages. Corrin heeds this request, soon discovering that this notebook is filled with detailed strategies for every battle he has participated in since he chose to side with Nohr. There is no shortage of information, with Cyrus having gone so far as to note something as abstract as turn order, unit movement speed, and even the arrival of enemy reinforcements.

"Cyrus…what is all of this?"

"It is precisely what it appears to be, my Lord. I have been devising strategies for each of your trials thus far ever since I showed up in this realm on that divided battlefield."

Corrin nods to this, but points to a page noting enemy reinforcements to emphasize his next point. "That much is clear, but you have information that implies you have spies in the Hoshidan army. You couldn't possibly amass such a group of allies in the short amount of time you've been in this world."

Cyrus chuckles at this. 'It's all admittedly quite obscene.' He lets out a quick sigh before replying, "Your assumption is true; I have no such allies. That is," he hesitates, not entirely sure if revealing this information will properly convey the truth, "I obtain this information through dreams…nightmares would be more apt."

"These strategies come to you in dreams?"

Cyrus shakes his head at this, his expression becoming quite perturbed and forlorn. "Not quite. The nightmares, and believe me when I say they are numerous and unrelenting, teach me everything that can and will go wrong in an upcoming encounter. I then spend a day, sometimes a restless night, devising a strategy that gets around all of these pitfalls." He heaves another sigh, scratching at his head. "It's particularly difficult since I'm factoring in units within the army who don't get to see much action. I refuse to let anyone fall in combat, but I also have to keep in line with your wishes to avoid unnecessary bloodshed and wasted lives." Quickly realizing what this implies, he waves his hand in a dismissive manner as he follows, "Don't misunderstand, my Lord; I wish to avoid senseless violence as well. I share your sentiment in that regard."

"I honestly had no idea this is how you operated. Why didn't you say anything before?"

"Doesn't it strike you as unbelievable?"

"Well…yeah, I guess I can't argue with that." He flips through the notebook to find an entry detailing a battle in a location he has never heard of. Curiously, there is a note next to the battlefield's location that warns the reader to not speak its name under any circumstance. Tempted though he may be to inquire, Corrin instead centers his question on the other pressing matter. "How come there are only three combatants in the next battle? Further, why is Gunter there?"

"I wish I knew the answers to those questions, my Lord, but all I can do is provide you with the strategy I have detailed, considering I can't accompany you."

With a nod, Corrin then hands the notebook over to Cyrus. "I'll retrieve those pages later tonight; I believe we shall march soon. Tell me…" His countenance has suddenly become pensive in its visage, suggesting that some topic or other weighs heavily on his mind. "What made you side with Nohr?"

"I didn't side with Nohr, Lord Corrin; I sided with you." He closes his eyes before nodding to himself, as if to affirm the conviction in his choice. "When I first showed up on that battlefield, I obviously lacked the context to make an informed decision concerning whether Nohr or Hoshido had the right of the argument. Your claim that you needed to find out the truth behind King Garon's actions struck a chord with me."

Raising an eyebrow, Corrin asks, "How so?"

"Back in my world, I was involved in a war with an empire that needed me dead for their goals to have zero chance of failure. Throughout my time in that war, I found it difficult to understand the Emperor of that empire, and was never given the proper opportunity to talk things out. By all rights, the man ruined my life when I was a child, so I wasn't obligated to open negotiations." He looks out to the distance, noting the sun setting beneath the horizon. "Hoshido seemed like the obvious country to side with, but had I done that, I'd just be repeating my circumstances."

"Is that necessarily a bad thing?"

"I hold value in the truth, Lord Corrin; that's why I fought for so long and continue to fight now. Fighting alongside the Hoshidans, while the obvious morally correct choice, probably would have left me in the dark of Nohr's circumstances. Even if Hoshido would go on to win this war, there'd be no understanding, and thus no actual progress would have been made."

"I see, so you stuck with me to help pursue the truth of the matter?"

Cyrus nods, a soft smile tracing on his lips. "Indeed. I know I lack any real stake in this war, since I'm just an interloper, but I've made friends here." A sudden blush forms on his cheeks as he looks away from Corrin, who tilts his head in confusion. "…I might have even found a lover in Charlotte. Anyway, I can't return home knowing that you lot aren't going to be better off." His smile returns as a look of confidence fixes itself onto his countenance. Placing his fist to Corrin's chest, he says, "For better or worse, this is the path you and I have chosen, and I plan to tough it out with you even during the worst of it."

Corrin can't help but chuckle at this. "I'm touched; your words are quite reassuring, Cyrus. I'll never stray from this path for peace; of that, you can hold me to my word."

"I'd expect nothing less from you, Lord Corrin." Wrapping an arm around Corrin's shoulder, he pulls his ally close and starts leading him away from the balcony. Grinning to himself, he says, "With that out of the way, let's eat; a reliable source has told me Peri and Lord Leo are teaming up to make the best tomato-centric dish this realm has ever known."

Staring blankly at Cyrus, he asks, "I thought you didn't care for tomatoes?"

"Oh please; Peri has the touch of a culinary goddess. She can make any meal enticing to my palate."