All of the recent events leading up to this moment had been one big conundrum after another.

First there had been Anankos, suddenly appearing outside the walls of Ylissian Castle. Then there was a voice in their heads, desperately calling out to them- begging for them to answer his call. A quick, confused look around indicated that the heroes that had heard him were the only ones able to do so, as everyone else within the castle went about their daily routines without a second glance. The Voice had told them to meet him outside the walls, who then explained briefly that if they wished to answer the call, to follow the map he had given them back to the Divine Tree, before disappearing in a wink, just as he did when he first arrived. And despite the dangers and the chance of deception that they had been faced with, Lucina, Owain, Inigo and Severa had answered the call.

Their journey west across the continent had been a quick, yet dangerous trek as ruffians were still a major issue after the war had come to an end. And even upon reaching the coast, pirates had begun to prowl the waters. Soon after the collapse of the Valmese Empire, sailing across the sea had been an even more dangerous expedition, followed by another hazardous march across Valm towards their destination.

So needless to say, they had to come prepared.

But what Lucina couldn't wrap her head around was the fact the enemies approaching them was the fact they had human silhouettes, yet at the same time the aura that they presented gave off a much darker, sinister part of them, as though they were no longer humans to begin with. It certainly reminded her of the Risen she and her friends had used to battle for years, but the creatures they faced now executed in unison as the first waver were upon them.

A squad of what looked to be beserkers closed in on Owain and Lucina from the west while, while another composed of armored units came from the south towards Severa and Inigo. And closer inspection lead Lucina to believe that these particular beserkers were different from the ones they'd fought before- brandishing long and heavy-looking clubs rather a traditional battle ax.

The first enemy swung- faster than what she had anticipated- but still managed to side step quick enough away. She then capitalized on her positional advantage and drove the blade into the creature's back, causing it to cry out in an inhumane howl before its aura dispersed and vanished. Owain, armed with his Levin sword, took advantage of speed and range in order to keep two more of them at bay, weakening them before he closed in the gap and finished the job.

The armored attackers moved together in unison as they advanced on Severa and Inigo, to which the redhead called out, "Owain! Give us some room here!"

Looking back at his comrades, he nodded and smiled. "Understood. Now stand back!"

The two mercenaries didn't miss a beat as they stepped aside as Owain raised his magical blade into the air. It began to glow as sparks popped and more energy was building up within before finally unleashing it. There was a boom of thunder as lightning shot from the blade and struck the ground. Splinters of wood shot into the air, and one of the bolts caught one of the knights and caused it to burst in a shade of purple mist. The rupture from the blast cause the rest the units to lose their balance, breaking formation and Severa and Inigo immediately capitalized on it.

Severa, with her armor slayer in hand, rushed forward and jammed the blade into crevice of one knight's shoulder then yanked it to the side, shredding the armor straps and exposing vital area below the arm. The knight took a jab at Severa with its spear, who immediately backed away out of range. And while it was distracted, Inigo had flanked to the side of its blind spot and was unable to protects its exposed area as he drove his sword home.

Lucina's attention then turned onto Anankos, who was actually seeming to hold his own quite well against their attackers. He was deceptively fast, as he'd demonstrated when he saved Severa earlier, and cut down his foes with relative ease despite only being armed with a dagger.

More enemies were dispatched as each of the heroes stayed relatively close to one another, covering each others' flanks as another wave of both familiar and new units began to move in on them. By the time the first wave had been completely dealt with, Lucina heard Owain take a breath.

"Behold, invaders of the cosmos!" He exclaimed, "For I, Ow- er, your greatest timidity! The keeper of the light, crusader of the damned- warden of chaos..."

"Erm, Owain?" Lucina said to her cousin, "I don't believe now is the time for one of your homily monologues."

Owain smirked. "True as that may be! But to think! A story of siblings of a broken lineage who traversed the plagues and darkness now battling side-by-side against the hoards of a new, and malevolent higher power! We could return to our selves of the present with even more examples of heroic deeds and-."

"That isn't the point, Owain," She told him, mildly annoyed. "There won't be any stories to tell if we don't focus on the things that are happening in front of us."

From Lucina's peripheral vision, she noticed her cousin frowning. "Indeed, you are once again correct."

For a brief moment, nothing else was said. A quick look from Lucina's showed her that the myrmidon was now frowning, and guilt suddenly came flooding back into her chest. She knew it took a lot of more to discourage Owain, which left her genuinely worried about whether or not she came out too harshly on him, or something else eating away at him.

So doing what she does only on the most rarest of occasions, she started conversation. "So, Owain?"

"Hmm?" He responded, his eyes looking at her.

She paused. "What do you hope to find once we reach the other world?"

Almost instantly, Owain's negative persona had vanished and was quickly replaced with an excited look. "Lo and behold! For to be absolutely candid, I see ourselves crossing the great planes of existence to find and greet many new faces! More roads to cross, borders to trespass, and even maybe even rivalries to accord!" He smiles widely. "My sword hand still craves many endeavors. As we march along together, battle together, without any knowledge of what to expect and for how long we will endure it, one can only assume of what the new future ahead of us will hold." Owains speech was answered by a raised eyebrow from Lucina, which quickly promptly him to conclude, "I-in other words, I'm not entirely sure."

Lucina couldn't help but return the smile. "Nothing ever seems to keep you down for long, Owain." She shook her head. "Our powers may change, but I certainly hope you never do."

"Quite right! Someone's has to keep our little rag-tag spirits up somehow. And I most certainly wish the same for you if..." Suddenly, Owain clammed up.

"Owain?" Lucina leered at him, "What are you talking about?"

Owain stuttered, Err, well, actually what I meant was..." There was an awkward pause as he tried to get his words together; all the while Lucina was busy wrapping her head around what her cousin had just told her. "To be quite honest," he finally managed, "I had hoped my theatrics would help boost your morale."

Lucina turned her head to look at the blonde swordsman. "My morale? Owain, we fought together since we were children." She scratched her head, "As a matter of fact, you have been a bit more... perpetual, since the end of the war. Have I done something of recent to...?"

Owain winced, "W-well no, not something you might have done, no, not at all- it's just that lately..." He sighed. "Look, Lucina, I know what's been troubling you shortly after Grima's demise. I mean heck, probably even before that. I know that you've struggling to find a purpose in the world we live in now- even myself for that matter. And all that who remained back in our future... gods, I can't imagine what they to adapt to now. And the burden that you've carried with you by your side..." He nods at Falchion, "Once it was all said and done, it doesn't seem to have any meaningful purpose behind it either." Owain's gaze fell to the roots beneath him as he finished. "Also, to be truthful, I've never really felt no useless beside you as I did knowing that Falchion didn't deem me worthy to wield it, despite the fact I bear proof of our lineage. Knowing that all I had was a blade and those beside me, I couldn't live with the probability of having no positive impact on them, as they do for me."

Realization hit Lucina hard. Really hard. She had been so caught up in finding new purpose in life that she started to neglect how others- particularly her future companions- had felt. That, and on top of being unable to find a way back home had especially caused her much grievances. And all this time since they began on their new journey, Owain was never a sentence behind on reminding everyone about the greatness they going to achieve. Only this time, Lucina had been too caught up in her self-pity that it blinded her from seeing it.

"Owain..." She began lowly, then sighed. "You're right. I have been acting selfish as of late. It is unruly for me to have dwelling on my own dilemmas while-."

"Lucina, please," he interrupted aptly, "Allow me to finish. Your drive for finding yourself once more has lead you down the path of more greatness and fortitude!" Owain presented a small smile. "What could have been the end of your story is now being re-forged into yet another tale to be passed down from generation to generation. You chose to defy a fate that a higher power has written for you and took it upon yourself to find your own! And please, remember, no matter the decisions, outcomes and hardships that follow with it, we'll always be here to lend you our hand, just as you would do for us."

A high pitched shriek filled the air as more enemies began to appear. This time, it was a flock of both wyverns and pegasus alike coming towards them from the north-west.

"You know," Severa called out to them, "As heartwarming as it sounds to listen to Owain drabble on, we still got company to deal with!"

The Bloods of the Exalt only had enough time to spare each other a glance and nodded. They both knew they could continue the discussion later, and right now was the time to get absolutely down to business.

The number of the enemy forces began to dwindle, however, as the fight dragged on, the group became increasingly tired.

Once about half the wyvern riders had been dispatched, the Levin sword Owain wielded had been run dry of its power, and was forced to toss it aside; forcing him to draw wyvern-slayer and face the vicious beasts up close along with Lucina. Severa and Inigo continued fighting back-to-back against another squad of unknown soldiers. Each of them had sustained injuries as Severa suffered a cut her lower leg from a stray arrow, causing her to limp. Inigo, noticing an object zipping through the air towards where Severa's head should've been, shoved her aside just in time to receive an oddly shaped knife in his shoulder.

A group cavalrymen were approaching from the east, which Anankos had dispatched my summoning a large wall of water that filled the gaps in the roots they stood on and swept the squadron into a puff of mist. He was breathing more heavily as he continued to rely on his powers more heavily, as only the dagger he carried can only help him in so many situations.

Lucina's Falchion cut down the wyverns with ease until there were but a few left. Then, not far behind them, a group of what looked to be mages pulled out something from their cloaks- most likely tomes- and shouted incoherently. She was ready to dodge out of the way from whatever element they were preparing to throw at them, however, what happened next completely caught her by surprise.

Instead of fire, lightning wind or dark element, a red aura different from the ones their enemies presented formed in front of them until it took the shape of a large bull. The creature charged at Lucina and had barely just enough time to side-step. She quickly turned on her heels, expecting the bull to turn around and go for another shot, but it quickly vanished as suddenly as it appeared.

But while she had been distracted, Lucina didn't notice another mage cast out a spell and suddenly felt the air expend from her lungs abruptly as she was knocked and pinned to the ground. Falchion fell from her hands and clattered to ground several feet away from her. Finding herself unable to breath from the weight on her back and her vision in a blur, she stretched out her hand and grasped futilely at her blade.

She managed to turn her head enough to see a gold-sparkling tiger snarling in her face, its maw open and preparing to finish the job, but the suddenly shrieked and exploded into golden dust. Finally free from the weight holding her down, she turned on her back to see a heavily breathing and sweat-drenched Inigo standing over her. Another quick look around had concluded that most of the enemy forces had been dispatched, save for the small group that stood by and watched- including Severa's attacker from before. Owain had also managed to eliminate the remaining wyverns, but not before receiving some cuts and bruises in the process. Some of them looked minor, however there were also a couple on his arm and lower torso that looked worrisome. And Severa, despite her leg injury, had gone into a fury against the mages and cut them down before they had to a chance to retreat and defend themselves.

Finally, she could see Anankos, who was now on both knees gasping for breath as he'd summoned another tidal wave of water into the remaining main body of the enemy forces. Which only left two last and final attackers now making their way slowly but confidently towards the battle-worn heroes.

"Come, Lucina," Inigo said tiredly, but still smiled favorably. He held out his good arm down to her, "For we have but last encounter to endure."

At first, Lucina felt embarrassed and ashamed that she had let herself get bested by suck an obvious, guile tactic. However, it quickly went away upon seeing her friends continuing to fight despite their injuries, and it quickly reminded her that she couldn't allow personal indignation to keep weighing her down. So naturally, she gratefully reached out and took her companion's hand, and quickly retrieved Falchion once she was back on her feet.

"Is everyone holding out alright?" Lucina asked as everyone regrouped.

"Our opponents have proven to be quite the challenge," Owain admitted, tremors coursing slightly within his sword hand. "It is indeed an altercation I have never seen before."

"You're telling me," Severa griped and limped with a wince. "I never though a single arrow could hurt this much! And it's not even sticking out of my body!"

"To be truthful, I myself am quite spent." Inigo wiped his forehead. "But the fight is not over yet."

Everyone's attention was now the remaining two soldiers- one of whom being the one that had snuck up on them earlier with a sword in each hand- and the other carrying a long spear that looked slightly different to the one they were used to seeing. It soon became clear that the soldier carrying the spear was acting as the other's personal bodyguard, both of whom that had stood off the side and watched the fight unfold from a distance.

Severa scoffed. "Coward! Keeping a safe distance from us while his minions pulled all the weight for him!"

"There's no doubt in my mind he is the one leading them," Inigo agreed "Which would also mean he might be our greatest challenge yet."

Anankos, who had been quiet for most the time, sighed. "Unfortunately, my powers had been drained momentarily. I'm afraid this fight now boils down to you, heroes of your time."

The shakiness in Owains hand began to grow worse. "What- what is this tremor that I cannot quell!?" He frowns. "This power... the bloodlust that anchors the atmosphere of this adversary... the Blood of the Exalt is running rampant within me! It hungers for the fracas of blades! Lucina, do you not feel the sudden change within you too?!"

At first, Lucina had though her cousin had gone into another fit of theatrics, however, when she stopped to actually think about what he'd said,she realized that she indeed feel something off about herself. An inferno in her gut that slowly began to catch and build up within her chest the as the two figures came closer and closer. Indeed, there was something very, very perplexing about the enemy they now faced, and it was most definitely something they cannot afford to overlook or underestimate.

"If that is the case," Inigo inferred, "We'll have to split up to take on both of them. However, that guard looks quite formidable, and all four of us taking him on at once will only leave us vulnerable to its master."

"Well," Severa scowled, "Since Mr. Bloodlust and Lucina are the only ones mostly unscathed, we'll be the ones to handle that."

By this time, the last two opponents now stood several yard away from the group, and its leader, despite the lack of any facial details- or any details for that matter whatsoever- seemed to watch Lucina and beamed into her eyes which sent a hot feeling in her stomach. Almost as though it knew everything there is it could learn about her as well as her deepest, darkest fears and secrets.

Inigo grimaced, placing a hand on his injured, but slowly healing shoulder thanks to the concoction that he drank. "It pains me to admit it, but lovely Severa is correct."

Anankos spoke up. "I guess, at this point, I am long past apologies now, heroes. No amount of words can describe my-."

Severa groaned, "Ugh, are you really still blabbering on about this?" Through the shade of his hood, Lucina watched as the robed man was taken aback.

"Please, do not misunderstand what she is trying to say," the myrmidon said to him, "But as we said before, we are committed to fighting at your side."

"Precisely," the blue mercenary added, "We can kind of understand now what we're getting ourselves into, and rest assured, we are still committed to the principles that we stand by."

"Tch, yeah," Lucina heard her mutter to herself, "That's exactly what I mean."

Lucina wasn't sure if Anankos had actually heard her. They were all exhausted, sure, and a bit on edge, but regardless, she was quick to step in and said, "You can't help the decisions you're forced to make," she told him, "Everything that's happened is past us now, and the only obstruction at this moment is what stands before us." She trained her blade on the leader of their invaders. "We have changed fate once before, and we now have the opportunity to do it once more! And you will not end our quest to do so before it has even begun! Hear me- for those who have fallen before me to obstruct it- that your own foreboding goals shall be put to an end right here!"

The aura that outlined the two figures shifted as though they were responding to Lucina's speech, and from behind, she heard own snap his fingers, "Hoho, now that is what I call an eve-of-battle excerpt!"

"Hmm..."Inigo smiled, "Putting it that way, I'm feeling a second wind for a final confrontation!"

Even Severa seemed to become high-spirited from this. "Yeah, you think we haven't been through worse this?!" She shook her fist at them. "You're gonna pay for that new scar you put on me, if its the last thing I do! You hear me?!"

All of this managed to adduce a laugh from Anankos. "Truly, you are the heroes that I've sought from the beginning. And once this is over, you have my word that any questions you have, I will answer them."

"I'll hold you that," the red mercenary told him.

"Now then, my friends!" Owain gestured to his companions. "Come, the dawn of battle is rising as we speak!" His gaze then falls on Lucina, his eyes gleaming with commitment.

The guard readies his stance as it prepares to intercept any dared approach, and Lucina smiled. "You will not stop us! Whatever it takes, we will change your fates!"