"Father, I will deliver the final blow!"
She says, and although she doesn't notice it, her breath halts as she leaps, the parallel Falchion speeding swiftly to pierce its heart.
The heart of the demon that wears his face. A mockery to his name.
The meaty, wet squelch and jarring halt in her momentum tells her that her aim is true.
Her eyes close, even as Grima screams. In her mind, she thinks of her father, of her mother, of her sister, of her friends.
Of him.
For a moment all is quiet. She can feel her eyelids squeeze even tighter, and she dares to hope that perhaps finally, this nightmare is over.
She exhales…
… And her eyes open
"Come on, 'my liege,'" Severa scoffs at her, rolling her eyes. "You don't have time to fall asleep, we gotta be ready to go by night."
Lucina looks around, and she sees the drab biege walls of the worn tent that is their makeshift strategy room. Severa is the only other person in here with her.
The earth beneath her feet appears scorched.
Her heart sinks, and internally she wants to scream.
She's back in the future. A future where Grima has razed the land as it hunts down the remnants of humanity.
Her shoulders slump and she nods woodenly. "Yes, of course. Make sure the others are ready."
Severa gives her a smirk. "That's more like it. Chin up, you depressing royal."
She leaves to check on the others, and Lucina watches blankly as she exits the tent. Once she is gone, the Exalt falls to her knees.
Lucina has lived through this moment before.
This is her third time.
Tonight, they venture through the Outrealm portal in hopes of fixing the past.
Inevitably she will end up here again.
And no one will remember any of this except her. That is the worst part.
But Lucina still believes. There must be a way to end this cycle.
Her breath hitches. She does not cry.
She watches her father, the true Falchion in his right hand and the Fire Emblem in the other, as he rushes up to Grima's avatar and cleaves deep through its collarbone.
Grima screams, the world flashes white, and Lucina closes her eyes, breathing in deeply.
She exhales…
… And her eyes open.
"Come on, 'my liege,'" Severa scoffs at her, rolling her eyes. "You don't have time to fall asleep, we gotta be ready to go by night."
Lucina blinks, wide-eyed, and she feels despair threatening to claw at her heart once more.
"Yes, of course," she says, for the tenth time. "Make sure the others are ready."
Severa gives her a smirk. "That's more like it. Chin up, you depressing royal."
She leaves to check on the others. Once she is gone, the Exalt falls to her knees.
Her breath hitches. She does not cry.
On her nineteenth try, she experiences death for the first time.
In the battle at Valm Harbor, a mercenary's blade manages to catch Lucina unaware and slices through her femoral artery. She makes short work of the mercenary but collapses soon afterward.
Robin is immediately by her side, cradling her head in his lap as he yells for the healers. But it is futile; by the time they reach her, Lucina knows she will have already bled out.
She starts to feel lightheaded. She looks up into Robin's face, and although he appears mortified by the sudden realization of her mortality, Lucina smiles weakly at him and cups a hand to his cheek.
She briefly thinks to herself that his face isn't the worst thing to see before she finally expires.
Her hand falls limp, and the world goes white…
… And her eyes open.
"Come on, 'my liege,'" Severa scoffs at her, rolling her eyes. "You don't have time to fall asleep, we gotta be ready to go by night."
Lucina opens her mouth, and closes it. She does so again.
On the third try, she manages to make words jumble out of her mouth.
"Y-yes, of course," she says. "Make sure the others are ready."
Severa gives her a smirk. "That's more like it. Chin up, you depressing royal."
She leaves to check on the others.
Lucina shivers and hugs herself despite the oppressively hot air.
By all means, she should be dead.
It doesn't make any sense.
Her breath hitches. She does not cry.
On her thirtieth try, she tries to assassinate the hierophant as he meets with Chrom and Robin.
By this point, she already anticipates this not working. Nevertheless, Falchion races towards its target.
Her sword severs the hierophant's head from his neck. She doesn't even bother closing her eyes.
The world goes white…
… And she's here again.
"Come on, 'my liege,'" Severa scoffs at her, rolling her eyes. "You don't have time to fall asleep, we gotta-"
"Severa, get on with it," Lucina cuts in, with more venom than she intended to. She regrets this immediately.
Severa's eyes narrow darkly as she fixes a glare at the Exalt. "Sheesh. Check on everyone yourself. I've got better things to do than to be your damn personal messenger girl."
She stomps out of the tent before Lucina can say another word.
Lucina stands there for a moment before punching the nearest tent post in frustration.
Her breath hitches. A single sob escapes.
On her forty-seventh try she is careless.
Four Deadlords surround her. She is on her knees in the sand, Falchion lying fifteen feet away, out of reach.
Her vision is hazy. She finds herself staring dumbly at the three arrows protruding from her chest.
The sound of crunching sand makes Lucina look up to see Tigris walking up to her, dragging his massive axe through the sand behind him.
The Deadlord stops at her side, blotting out the sun with his massive form. His helmet hides his expression, somehow making him appear even more monolithic.
A moment passes before Tigris lifts the axe up and lines the edge against the back of her neck.
In the distance, Lucina hears Robin screaming her name, and in her dazed state she slowly looks in his direction as he sprints towards her with horror written across his face.
That face is the last thing she sees as the axe pulls up, and drives clean through her neck…
… And suddenly Lucina is on all fours upon familiar scorched earth. She is screaming, clawing madly at her throat, and the feeling of cold steel carving through muscle and spinal cord is still fresh.
Severa jumps backwards, looking at Lucina as if the Exalt had spontaneously combusted before her. "Gawds, what is wrong with you!?"
Slowly Lucina catches up to reality, and her breath returns to her. Cold sweat drips off her face and onto the ground.
"Beheading… that's new," she mumbles shakily to herself, desperately trying to gather her wits.
"Excuse me, what now?"
Lucina looks up and sees Severa extending a hand towards her. She grabs it and lets herself be helped to her feet. "Sorry, I… I don't really have an explanation for… that."
Severa places both her hands on the Exalt's shoulders, not uncomforting. "Well slow your roll then. We need you to be ready for tonight. I get that it's stressful, but please try not to lose your head when we actually need to get shit done."
Lucina notes both the concern laced in Severa's snark and the blatant irony of the "request."
She nods slowly, "I… I know. I'll be alright by tonight."
Severa pouts. "Promise me."
"… What?" Lucina manages to say before her brain catches up. "Oh, right. I promise, Severa."
"… I guess that'll have to do," Severa rolls her eyes. "I'll go check on the others."
She leaves, and Lucina watches momentarily.
Then the Exalt falls back to the floor, vomiting violently.
On her sixty-fifth try she loses count of how many times she's killed Grima.
On her seventy-first try she actually kills Robin himself after he delivers the Fire Emblem to Validar.
This is an option that she had always dreaded, but now she is desperate.
It is the single most painful thing she has ever done. She can't stop crying for the rest of the day as the image of her sword ripping through her husband's ribcage haunts her.
Chrom is furious, and he never speaks with her again for the rest of this cycle. This devastates Lucina even further, but she can't blame him.
Without their tactician, the Shepherds are obliterated by Grima's forces. Lucina gets to watch every single one of them die before succumbing to her own wounds.
And she finds herself once again in the makeshift tent.
"Come on, 'my liege,'" Severa scoffs at her, rolling her eyes. "You don't have time to-"
"Fuck off, Severa," Lucina snarls, spitting every word. Her face is twisted in a mixture of agony and anger.
The tent is suddenly uncomfortably silent.
Severa's jaw drops, too stunned to be hurt. "… Luci… did you just… curse!?"
Lucina's body shakes, and she doesn't answer. It is a moment before she notices the tears streaming down her own face. She tries her damnedest to hold back her sobs, palming her eyes in an attempt to plug them.
"Luci…" Severa murmurs softly, suddenly aware of Lucina's emotional shift. She approaches the Exalt and, after a brief hesitation, wraps her arms tightly around Lucina.
Lucina allows herself to fall into Severa's hug and weeps openly.
On her seventy-third try she is careless again, losing her footing on the Mila Tree, and she falls to her death.
On her eighty-forth try she goes mad with anguish and she tries to kill herself, driving Falchion through her gut. The pain is excruciating and it takes her an unbearably long time, but she finally dies, cold and alone.
Her death is ultimately in vain.
On her eighty-eighth try she starts to distance herself away from the Shepherds, her friends, and even Robin.
On her ninetieth try she stops caring.
Hi. I'm back.
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