He had been wandering the lonely halls of the Exalt's palace for hours, searching for his beloved.

"How could you?"

Chrom wasn't sure. He knew he no longer had a heart. It had shattered when Nocht pushed him aside to land the final blow. The remaining shards blew away on the wind when she turned to him, and whispered a last goodbye.

The Exalt looked to the bleak, dark sky for answers, but he received no guidance from his namesake.

He sighed. Naga herself said she was no god. She cannot help me, now.


Finally, he found her. Cordelia's bright hair hovered above something (A book about javelins, I'm sure, he mused.), her shoulders bent. She looked so fragile, a complete juxtaposition from the radiant strength she usually retained.

"Cordelia?"

She turned to him.

He was amazed by her eyes. Somehow, even on the day they were wed her eyes reflected the skies – just as they did now.

They were puffy and swollen, with deep, angry bruises beneath. The saltwater trickled down her beautiful skin, making it glisten in the dim light. Her eyes were subject to the violence of leaving sadness unheeded for so long; when one holds back tears for months on end.

"Chrom, what have we done?"

Swirling microcosms bore into him. Her formidable features were perverted by such an unjust sadness. In naught but a second, he was by her side.

She needed to know that he had no regrets. Everything had been right...

"We did nothing wrong, my love." He tried to still her aching sobs with his arms. Perhaps, if he held her closely enough, he would be able to cure the coldness in both their hearts.

The Lord of Ylisse knew how to calm his subjects. Perhaps this simply required yet another display of his legendary skill.

She brought his hand up to her neck, where the faint line from Lucina's Falchion had bitten into the delicate skin.

He didn't want to remember. His child, his daughter, had felt betrayed. By me. He wondered, absently, if the six year old child could feel her twin's anger.

"How could you?"

He had slapped her. So hard, he saw the bruise forming before he'd even retracted his hand.

Oh, my daughter. I have failed you. I have failed you, and nothing in my power will ever rectify what I have done to you.

The worst part of it all was the aching feeling in his gut – this ominous blackness - that reminded him of what Naga had said. If their bonds had been stronger, perhaps Nocht...

No. I will not give in to false hope. Not again. I have done nothing wrong. She's gone. She will never come back.

"No, Cordelia." He brought his fingers up to her face, to rub away the tears and warm her cheeks.

They leaned against one another, foreheads resting on each others' desperate need for assurance.

As the Exalt and the Legend stood with one another, they knew how alone they were. The Shepherds were gone, and only this downcast, rainy city cared about their fake smiles.

He cleared his throat, trying to will away the lump that had settled there.

"Our souls may be torn, but I swear to you that I love you more than life itself, and nothing else matters."

More than life itself? What a fool I am. Life means nothing to me.

"Whatever may come," he continued, "I will be glad to meet it with you at my side."

"Chrom," Cordelia brought her arms around his neck, burying her face in his chest. "Thank you. I wondered, sometimes. You were the man I could never have, my love that could never be returned. But..." Another sob shook her. "Here we are, the only people holding each other up."

Chrom rested his chin upon her hair, and wondered if giving in would be easier.