Lucifer's Blade: You could basically remain this story "How everyone (but mostly Corrin) fucked up." To me Corrin was putting on a farce of logic and reason to himself. It's terrible that his real father died and he doesn't share blood with his siblings but to Corrin (at least when he chooses Nohr) the emotions behind it all trumps good morals and judgement. Here Corrin lets his heart makes the choice rather than his head (though really there's probably no good choice to make here) and that demonstrably ends poorly. I always interpreted choosing Nohr as choosing your family over your conscience while Hoshido (while they share your blood, they are strangers) is the other way around. Thanks for the praise, by the way! I was really paranoid about this chapter but I'm glad you liked it while laying out your beef with it.

Consort: Lol I never use them but I can only imagine what they're like. It was not a dragon vein. I have no idea what dragon veins are so I'll use them sparingly, if at all. Really using them in the story seems like using a deus ex machina to me but maybe I can fit it in well at some point, we'll see. In my interpretation Mikoto's spell curbs their aggressive emotions and after Elise's death their emotional state goes haywire, breaking through her spell by sheer force. Yeah dude royals will start dropping off, not quickly, mind, there's a limited quantity of them and I still don't know how many I will take off before the story ends but more will go. Retainers will also die but they just have less impact (unless Morgan or Silas dies) and what perpetuate the war is a cycle of revenge so sooner or later someone will have to take one for the team. Still, I love how you have more concrete ideas in your head on how they will go than I do lol... though nothing on Azura or perhaps even Corrin? I'll fill in the blank (for giggles, almost certainly won't happen) Corrin utilizes his dragon form too much and loses his mind completely. He goes feral before Azura is forced to put him down using overwhelming forces. Azura then usurps the position of the protagonist and dies defeating Anankos. Sakura dies in captivity. When Nohr and Hoshido is finally ready to put the war to rest she killed herself to frame Nohr in order to perpetuate the war (to avenge her siblings), knowing Nohr cannot last with the royals dead and being forced to fight for so long without being able to raise crops. Yeah alright it's very unlike her but I'm trying to make the worst possible ending.

Rayne Thanatos: Thank you! Elise was a bastion of sunshine and innocence... she had to go I'm afraid XD. I intend for the next two or (maybe) three chapters to be out one per week. Beyond that however school may really get in the way and I can't make any promises.

Author's Notes: May as well reveal my hand here. Before Fates came out, I was really looking forward to the much touted "villain route" of Nohr. It sounded like a really cool idea, adding complexities and moral ambiguities to the universe. Suffice to say, I personally didn't think Conquest delivered on that premise. You and all your team still remain squeaky clean (even if a few characters have iffy personalities) and the "working to change the system from the inside" never really happened until a Deus Ex Machina is brought up more than halfway through. The villain failed to be sympathetic in any way while the heroes failed to show any trace of moral ambiguities (they even somehow managed to win a whole battle without killing a single soldier) if not for following someone who is obviously evil for no adequate reason. To my mind this fic aims to fix that, presenting both factions on more even grounds while at the same time making the team more villain-y without being led by a card-carrying villain, which I believe is the easy and uninteresting way to do it. Corrin, for a large chunk of the story, if not all of it, will be either an anti-hero or perhaps even an anti-villain. I intend Azura to play an important role but she will not be joining Corrin any time soon, if at all. She is the polar opposite while at the same time being a reflection of what he is. I was very tempted to bring in Lucina in as Azura's retainer to complete the contrast between her and Corrin. Azura will likely be the main point-of-view for anything going on in Hoshido. As a side note, you may have also noticed that Corrin left Hoshido without ever picking up Yato. This was not an oversight. In this universe, Corrin does not wield the Yato. Beside, he has other tools available to him...


Chapter 7

"Wren"

Dragons… nothing but trouble, the damn creature. Every single time a world-ending threat arises, you can bet there's a dragon somewhere on top causing the whole damn debacle. Cursed Grima, your shadow chases me one way or another, no matter what world I arrive at.

One look at Corrin and I could tell he's one of them. Where I came from, we call them Manakete, but as I understand it, they don't exist in this world. I was ecstatic to learn that in this world at least I would not have to deal with more damn dragons. More fool me. There's a world-ending conflict coming, of course there would be a dragon involved.

I am not certain Corrin is a Manakete, but I am certain he is at least part dragon. We could all tell there's something bestial about the man. His manic red eyes. His predator posture. His inhuman growls. It seems that Corrin is at least partially human at the moment, but I have little doubt this will change in no time. This is a terribly irresponsible thing to say for someone who is meant to be defending the guy, but we better keep our distance. Manaketes have full control of themselves when they turn, but Corrin… let's just say he's more beast than man every passing second.

I approach prince Leo, the one I expect would have the clearest mind right now. "My lord… I know this isn't the time… but has this ever happened before?"

"No…" Leo answers cautiously. "Do you know what is happening to Corrin?"

We look upon the young prince as he sniffs and spasms occasionally, yet he remains relatively still. Even the Hoshidans give pause, letting up their attacks, not wishing to aggravate the creature.

Considering the gravity of the situation, I choose to ignore his question and ask my own. "Does Corrin have a dragonstone?"

"A… what?"

That's a no. Naga helps us all.

"Wren. Tell me what you know." Lord Leo commands, getting impatient that I seem to be withholding information from him.

This is dangerous. I can't exactly reveal that I am from another world. I hastily come up with an excuse. "I've done… research, my lord. I've always been interested in dragons and if you'll excuse me for saying so… Corrin at this point, looks no different than one."

Leo seems somewhat unsatisfied at my answer but if he wanted to press the matter, he did not have the chance.

Corrin… or whatever he is becoming, lets out another thunderous roar. This time, our people begin backing off… allowing him a clear shot at the Hoshidan army.

At this point, in appearance at least, Corrin is human. But if there's any doubt that there's a monster in there, Corrin's bolting straight at the Hoshidan army clears it up. He runs on all for and faster than any pegasi or wyvern I've seen.

"Corrin! No!" Leo shouts, galloping after his brother.

Damn it… dragons are strong. They are mad strong. But even so this is too much. I ride toward prince Xander, who seems to be scrambling for a plan to defend his brother.

"Men! After Corrin!" He commands.

Fat chance. I took one look at him before he left. He was already transforming. His legs were undoubtedly draconic, even if the rest of him wasn't. No horse will be able to catch up to him before he reaches the Hoshidans.

But Xander's mind is too divided to understand this. His heart is still with his sister. As such, he failed to notice Camilla mounting her wyvern.

"Wyvern riders! Charge!" She roars, tears still rolling down her face. "For Nohr! For Elise! For vengeance! For Corrin!"

Xander notices this too late. "Camilla! No! We need to stay together!"

"We need to stay with Corrin!" Camilla flies straight toward the Hoshidan army with her brigade at her back. "Give my brother the distraction he needs, boys! Today, the wyverns feast! Victory or death!"

And off they go. This is going downhill very quickly very fast. What does she plan to do with queen Mikoto's spell…

Oh…

As I look on, Camilla's axe splits a Hoshidan man right down the middle. Her wyvern bites off most of another man's upper body in one chomp. A few nearby greenhorns drop their weapons in shock. The lucky ones get chopped in half. The unlucky ones squirm on the ground with their body in multiple pieces as they bleed out. Wyverns are messy eaters. Seeing that the spell is broken somehow, Camilla's people charge. Most of these Hoshidans are new. This is the start of the war after all. If they are lucky, they got to fight the Nohrian faceless before this. If they are really lucky, they got to fight off Nohrian raids outside their border. None of them have fought a Nohrian wyvern, and the sight of such fearsome beast send many of them running. One way or another, today the wyverns feast.

But enough admiration of wyvern's brutality.

"Lord Xander." I start, getting Xander's attention. "Camilla's attack will keep them distracted from Corrin, but we need to bring him back."

"I know." Xander grits his teeth. "Men, to me! We are going after Corrin. Camilla will clear a path. Armored units, stay with the king and ensure no one can cut off our retreat when we bring Corrin back. Leo… please… hold them together… then we can weep for our sister."

Leo gives no response, but he turns around and start issuing the men's orders. Xander takes this as an affirmative.

Xander and his people ride toward in the direction of Corrin. I and Silas follows.

"My lord." I say. "I recommend we send a smaller team, keep our distance. Corrin seems to be losing his grip on reality by the second, he may not be able to discern friends from foes when we arrive."

"These men fight with swords and spears. They need to get close to Corrin to defend him."

"I say we send in mounted archers. We will be able to keep up with Corrin while still be able to defend him without getting too close."

"We don't have enough. We do not have enough Dark Knights either."

What. Not enough mounted archers!? Father would never have let this slide. Mobile ranged units are integral to the army's versatility. This is madness! The army was mobilized in a rush, but even so...

"Silas. Do you have javellins?" I ask my partner.

"Yes. Enough to last a while. I'll do what I can."

I nod. This is fine. This is fine. Father always said the mark of a true tactician lies in making a winning situation out of a losing hand. I am his daughter. I can work with this. Corrin is a dragon. He'll survive. We…

Then we hear a roar, undoubtedly Corrin's but infinitely more alien than his last. He's more beast than man now. We have to keep up. Naga helps us, let this transformation be reversible.

Following Corrin was a relatively easy job. He runs in a straight path and judging by the inhuman footprints, he runs on all four. On his path are soldiers foolish enough to attempt to take on a dragon. Hoshidans lie on the ground, most of them in multiple pieces, some of them with large chunk of their body missing. A few unlucky fellows have the misfortune to survive. If we had time to spare, we would stop to put them out of their misery. I suppose we should be grateful that the dragon's rampage leaves little survivor to stop us. But time is of the essence, and as we slowly approach our dragon prince, I get the distinct feeling that we will be saving Hoshidans rather than Corrin by following him here.

In front of us stands what we can only hope is Corrin, now fully draconic. He is nowhere as large of ancient dragons like Grima, but substantially larger than both manakete I know. As he walks, Corrin leaves behind small puddles of water, a most peculiar occurrence. His appearance is almost alien when compared to the dragons I've seen, with distinctly peculiar body structures. As we watch, Corrin stands on his hind legs and lets out another roar, this time fully draconic, sending most of the surrounding soldiers running in fear. Corrin slowly prowls forward, approaching a Hoshidan archer. Judging by his equipment and distinctly divine bow, I suspect him to be a nobility of some sort. Is this Elise's killer? If we let him die, will Corrin's anger ceases?

Something tell me… rather than reversing Corrin's condition, this man's death would only signal a permanent transformation. Corrin killed many to get here, but to him they were things that happened to stand between him and his target. I doubt he registered them as human. If he kills this man… if he gives in to his draconic instinct… I fear he may not turn back.

"Corrin, stop this madness!" Xander shouts, riding alone toward his brother.

"My lord, no!" Silas shouts, sensing what I did.

Corrin whirls around as he feels someone approach and with a shriek he nearly blows Xander back. The crown prince manages to keep his horse on the ground, if only barely. He reaches out for his weapon but could not bring himself to raise arms against his brother.

His previous prey had no such reservation. Arrow after arrow flies at the dragon, each barely making a dent on his skin. "GET AWAY FROM ME!" The archer screams.

That was a mistake. Reminded of his goal, Corrin turns around to face the archer and slowly prowls toward him. Something tells me he enjoys the fear in his prey's eyes, so much so that it manages to momentarily stave off his bloodlust.

In front of the archer stands a samurai and a spearwoman, neither of which can claim to face the dragon without fear. Yet they defend the archer all the same, more than willing to die for him.

"Lord Takumi, run!" The samurai shouts, his blade shaking. "Oboro and I will hold him back. Get yourself to safety!"

"Never!" Takumi shouts, though his voice fails to hide his dread. He shoots yet another arrow, hitting the dragon square in the head, which just makes him angrier.

Takumi… prince of Hoshido. If he falls here it will be a great victory for Nohr. I am tempted to let Corrin finish the job, but we have more pressing concern here.

"Corrin! Stop! We can do this another day!" Xander shouts again. "Return to your family. Please, don't let another of us fall this day."

This seems to get his attention. The dragon stops dead in his track. The samurai, foolishly, believes this to be his chance. He charges, faster than any man I've seen, and bring his blade down right in between Corrin's head. To my surprise and horror, the blade manages to pierce through a layer of Corrin's skin. Not that it did the samurai any good. The dragon roars once more, pushing the samurai to the ground with his head. He pins the samurai down with his front leg and as Takumi tries desperately to stop him with more of his strange arrows, Corrin tears the boy to bits with his jaws. The scream was thankfully brief, though that does nothing to ease the horror of the sight of my liege eating another man alive. His savagery is interrupted by a distinctly victorious roar, followed by the dragon setting his sight on Takumi once more.

From the distance I see prince Ryoma and Azura rushing toward Takumi. Not good. Ryoma is strong and he'll likely bring men. We cannot defend Corrin if Corrin can attack us at any second. Think quick Morgan. Think. There must be a way out.


"Corrin"

Man. Hoshido. Meat. Tear into him. Feast. Arrows don't hurt. Sword hurt. Must eat Hoshido. Hoshido kill Elise. Must kill Hoshido.

Samurai not responsible. Samurai not kill Elise. Takumi kill Elise. Must kill Takumi. Must eat.

"Hi_at_!" Takumi. "Y_U BAS_D!"

Takumi loud. Hate. Hate. Hate. Takumi kill Elise. Must kill Takumi. Must eat. HahahahahaHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

Samurai taste bad. Poor meat. Takumi smell bad. But must eat. Takumi kill Elise.

Sing. Sing the dragon song. Sing Hoshido death.

"C_rin! L_st_ t_ _e!" Familiar man. Nohr. Can't eat. Nohr family. But annoying. Want to eat.

"B_s! C_ bac_! _e ca_ re_ l_r! Y_ _a_ n_ b_ a_l_ _ tu_ b_c_ f_ _is!" Familiar girl. Nohr? Can't eat. Girl good. Not family. But good. Girl not kill Elise. Takumi kill Elise. Must eat.

"_o_r_! T_ _s t_o mu_!" Friend. Nohr. Can't eat. Not family. But friend. Friend not kill Elise. Enemy kill Elise. Must eat.

"NOHR_ SC_!" Hoshido woman. Not Hoshido. But enemy. Takumi's friend. Must eat. Must hurt Takumi. Takumi hurt family. Must hurt Takumi family. HahahaHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

Attack Hoshido woman. Hoshido woman dead? Now eat. Now hurt Takumi.

"O_ro!" Takumi.

Must eat Takumi. Must take revenge. Must kill. Approach Takumi. Takumi fear. Good. Takumi hurt. Like Elise. Like family. Good. Revenge smell good. Not like Hoshido meat.

Sing. Sing the dragon song. Sing Takumi pain.

"_rin! T_ b_ _r f_gh_ m_! Y_ w_l n_ h_ _y br_her!" Familiar red man. Hoshido. Samurai. Family? Not family. Familiar red man Takumi family. Takumi enemy. Familiar red man enemy. Eat. Kill. Eat. Kill. Eat. HahahahahahahahahaHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

"Corrin!" Familiar blue woman. Gentle. Friend? Family? "Please stop this! This isn't you! Don't give in like he did! Fight your instincts!"

Woman friend. Woman not enemy. Can't eat woman. Takumi enemy. Eat Takumi.

Red man attack! Red man fast. Red man enemy. Eat red man. Sword hurt.

Sing. Sing the dragon song. Sing new enemy.

"Ryoma! Stay back!" Blue woman. Woman red man friend? Red man Takumi friend. Woman not friend.

Eat woman. Woman Takumi friend. Woman enemy. Eat.

"You are the ocean's gray waves…" Woman. Woman strange. Woman peace… Woman not enemy… Woman Takumi friend! Eat.

Attack woman. Woman fall.

"… destined to seek… life beyond the shore, just out of reach…" Woman… Azura? Azura. Azura cousin. Azura family.

Azura Takumi family! Azura not family! Azura defend Takumi. Takumi kill Elise. Azura kill Elise. Eat. Must eat. Hate. Hate. Hate. Hate. Hate. Hate. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

Sing. Sing the dragon song. Sing Azura betrayal.

"Please… forgive him." Azura. "Try to find it in you some day... please..." Eat Azura. Eat. Eat. Eat. Eat.

Hurt! Pain. Pain. Someone. Magic. Who?

"ELFIRE!" Nohr woman! Nohr woman attack! Nohr woman enemy. "Get away from my daughter!"

Nohr woman Azura family. Nohr woman kill Elise. Nohr woman enemy. Eat.

"… yet the waters ever change…" Azura… cousin? Cousin sings. Cousin is enemy. Cousin is enemy? Cousin is family?

"… flowing like time…" Nohr woman… Arete? Arete sings. Arete is enemy. Is Arete enemy?

Don't know! Arete attacked. Attack Arete.

"Corrin, n_!" Familiar man gets in the way… Xander? Xander. Xander is brother. Xander is family. Xander defends enemy? But Xander is family. Xander is never enemy. Never.

"The path is yours to climb." Azura sings. Arete sings.

"Corrin… p_ase…" Xander begs. "D_'t sp_l m_r_ family bl_d… R_urn _o u_... f_r m_... _or Elise…"

Elise… Elise is Xander's family. Elise's death hurts Xander. Azura is Arete's family. Azura's death hurts Arete. Arete is Xander's family. Arete's pain hurts Xander. Xander is family. Xander hurts, Corrin hurts. Protect Xander. Protect family. Azura… not enemy.

"Corrin… please…" Xander hugs. Xander warm. Xander family. Never enemy. Not like Hoshido. Not like Takumi.

I want to come back. I want to be with them.


Corrin

What's… What's going on?

Without thinking about it, I feel my face with my own hands to examine whether anything is off. With some small irregularities that I can't quite pinpoint, everything seems to be in place. As I examine the surrounding, Takumi enters my sight, and a murderous intent wells up in me once more.

"Murderer!" I shout and nearly lunge at him, weaponless, if Xander had not stopped me.

"Enough, Corrin… please…" Xander says, almost pleading, holding me back firmly.

"M-Monster…" Takumi says, his bow aimed straight at me.

Ryoma extends an arm to stop him. "No… Not today… Not ever… We'll bring him back, alive."

"You can't mean that! Look at what he did! He… He killed Hinata! He killed so many of us…"

"Please, Takumi… for mother…"

"Who's Hinata? What does he mean?" I ask.

"Nohrian freak…" A girl sneers at me as she gets up from the ground, greatly wounded. She holds her weapon as tightly as she could, considering her wounds, but she poses no threat. The fact that she got up at all is a miracle. She looks like she just got trampled by a wyvern and survived.

Seeing that I am distracted, Takumi lets loose an "arrow" my way. If it wasn't for Ryoma, who knocked him back at the last moment, it may have killed me.

"LET GO, RYOMA!" Takumi yells, struggling against his much more physically imposing brother. "He killed my retainer! He killed Hinata!"

Ryoma ignores his little brother, holding him in place. He turns toward Xander. "I think we can agree that neither of us is in a position to fight. Bring Corrin back to Nohr if you must. We will get him back one day. But today you can have this victory… if you swear to harm no more Hoshidans on your way back."

Xander nods. "I will forgive the wrong you have done us today... for now. But rest assure, we will come back. This will not slide, prince of Hoshido. Our sister will have her justice."

Ryoma looks somewhat confused. "What do you mean."

I spit on the ground in anger, in the direction of Takumi. "You killed our sister, Takumi. She was a child, pure and innocent. She was to be the heart of the Nohrian people. She was sweet. She was good. You murdered her."

"Liar! I never even met your sister!" Takumi shouts back, still struggling against his brother.

"Elise is her name… You killed her in cold blood. If Hoshido defends you, it has no honor." I look at Ryoma. "And any man who defends this killer is no family of mine." I turn toward Azura. "Even you."

Queen Arete puts a hand on my shoulder. "Let it go, child…"

"Oh she wasn't your family was she!? Elise…"

"Let. It. Go." Xander commands. "For now…"

I grimace. "Fine."

I turn away, intending to walk away from this wretched place. I am immediately greeted with a horrifying sight. A samurai lies on the ground, if one can even call him such in his current stage. His bodies are in multiple pieces, with one limb and most of his torso missing. His sword hand still grips his weapon firmly, or as firmly as a dead hand can, but his expression is that of pure terror.

"W-Who has done this…"

"You have." Azura answers, from behind me. I dare not look back.

"Don't worry about it boss." Wren pats my back as comfortingly as she could manage. "We'll tell you what happened. Then we'll figure it out somehow."

As I walk away from the corpse, horrified. I notice a strange taste in my mouth. As I lick my lip, I notice a thick, liquid on my tongue. It smelled faintly like the body of the man I just left behind. Instead of spitting it out, I instinctively shallow. I find it greatly discomforting that the taste was not entirely unpleasant.

"Wait!" Azura calls out.

I stop myself, but do not turn back.

"Here. Take this." Azura rushes after me and hold out something. I turn around to examine a strange, smooth, spherical rock in her hands. "This is for your sake, and your family."

I look at the object in suspicion. As I touch it, I can feel a strange shroud, blocking away a part of me. A rumbling inside me I never noticed fade as I hold the strange stone. I let the stone drops the ground and it all comes back. The rumbling, louder now that I notice it, is almost deafening. I can feel it within me. This stone seeks to control this part of me, to tame it, to curb its raw instincts.

"I won't be needing this."

"What!? Why!?" Azura asks, more shocked than I've ever seen her.

I could feel myself weakened when I touched the stone. My mind cleared and I had control over myself. But that part of me was forcibly held back. I cannot explain it, but I do not want any of this. This part of me...

Having seen the look in my eyes, Azura stares at me in horror. "You... You want more..."

I give her no answer. I am too afraid to admit it out loud. But she is not wrong.

"T-Take it with you at least! You don't have to use it... just... I need to know you can turn back... please... one is too much... do not force this upon the world."

I look at her. Why does she care? Does she fear for her Hoshidan family? No... there's more to it than that... Perhaps she is honest. Perhaps she truly fears for the fate of the world... If this will give her the peace of mind... so be it. I pick up the stone.

The rumbling goes away. I-Isn't this better? I can think clearly. When I look down at this samurai... Hinata's body... I feel disgusted. I... killed him... without any control over myself. Can I still do it with the stone? Do I want to? I walk away, thinking this. This seems to appease Azura, who quickly turns to walk back with Ryoma and the others.

I hand Wren the stone quietly and as she takes it off my hand, I am immediately assailed by the rumbling once more. As I begin walking away with the others, my previous thoughts dissipate. Why did I think I could trust that woman? She seeks to control me, to weaken me. This... This is power... This is how I'll take revenge. I'll control this... if not, I'll become this. Prince Corrin is weak. Prince Corrin is soft. He need to change or die. For Nohr. For Elise.

We walk toward our army, which seems to be where it was before I blacked out. This time, the Hoshidan army is nowhere to be seen. I am escorted by Xander, my two retainers, queen Arete and a squadron of cavalries who seem increasingly unneeded considering the devastation already done to our enemy. The number of corpses is staggering but nowhere near the number Hoshido had as I remember it. Ryoma must have made good on his words. As we make our way back, I survey the surrounding. The damage done to the Hoshidan army is terrifying. There are so many corpses, most of them with pieces missing, some of them must have been fleeing. I cannot stop myself from asking. "What happened here?"

An uncomfortable silence hangs over the group. Silas breaks the silence. "We didn't see it happen…"

"No... tell me. What happened after I blacked out and how did I end up in the middle of the Hoshidan army?"

Another long silence. Wren breaks it this time. "Alright fine… there's no skirting around this one… You turned into a dragon."

"A… dragon?"

"Yeah… about the size of three or four grown men."

"That's… not possible…"

"We didn't think so either…" Xander says.

"H-How?"

"Nobody knows. What is the last thing you remember?"

I strain my mind, trying to recall my last conscious moment before an all-encompassing darkness took over. "Elise was in my arms… all I could think about was how painful it is… and how much I wanted to hurt this whole damn kingdom. I asked for the one responsible, and when I knew it was Takumi, I wanted to hurt him… I wanted to kill him. And then I hear something... it was so still... so peaceful... it sounded like water. Then... I don't know... after that... nothing. All I know was that I wanted to hurt them..."

"So did we." Wren muses. "But we didn't turn into dragons. Must be something different about you."

"We could feel queen Mikoto's spell the whole time." Silas says. "We were trying to push back against it, to fight back. But the air of peace is almost… oppressive. We couldn't break through, despite how much we tried. Our emotions seem to be pushing against the barrier but it was too much. When Elise dies… our anger and grief… I think it broke the spell. I think it was too much for the Hoshidan queen to curb."

"So… I turned into a dragon?" I ask again, still unable to fully grasp it.

Wren nods. "You looked toward the hill where the arrow came from and you roared."

"I thought it was a wolfskin's howl at first." Silas muses. "But I think we all could tell there was something… draconic about you then. Something more bestial than the wolves."

"You charged straight toward the Hoshidans." Wren says. "You were so fast. We couldn't see clearly. But we could hear the Hoshidan's screams of terror and pain. I think they could have overwhelmed you still, but lady Camilla had similar ideas. She didn't turn into a dragon though. She and her entire horde of Wyvern Riders just charged at the Hoshido army and wreaked havoc."

"I-Is she fine?" I ask.

"She should be. When you… roared, I saw the Hoshidan queen. I could tell she was losing control and she did her best to steer toward her army before she fell. I think I saw her daughter escaped with her on a pegasi. Ryoma was taken off-guard and was blindsided by both your and Camilla's sudden attack. I saw them fight back but after you scatter a significant chunk of their army and killed dozens in your path they did not have the formation to deal with a horde of wyvern riders. And the wyverns... it's like they went feral. It was scary. They lost much more than we did."

"No they did not."

"No…" Xander says.

We make the rest of the way back in silence. Leo awaits us at the edge of the army. It seems Xander left him here to take care of things while he was away but seeing that the Hoshidans fled after Camilla's and my attack, it seems like that was not strictly necessary. Leo looks at us, the blankest look on his face. He quickly nods to us and turns away, allowing Xander to assume control of the men once more. His retainers follow him quickly, their sadness dwarfed by their concern for their liege. Xander quickly takes over, giving them orders but not truly hearing the words he speak. The men do as they are told but I could tell their heart is elsewhere.

As I finally get close to the main bulk of our army, I see father standing in the middle of it. Camilla, despite her tall stature, is greatly dwarfed by father. They seem to be saying something we could not quite make out, before my sister clings to Garon, sobbing. I wonder if that's what I look like sometimes. I wonder if that's what we all look like at one point or another. We all need an anchor, and it never occurred to me that Camilla, who had been my anchor all this time, may need one for herself. Sweet sister... I promise... the Hoshidans will pay for this.

And father… he looks weaker than I have ever seen him look. He makes some half-hearted gesture at his men, who quickly cover Elise's body with a cloth and take her away. Elise's retainers are nowhere to be seen and despite the fact that we have done greater damage to their army by far, they have come out the victor today. Lady Arete rides ahead and leads both Garon and Camilla away, trying to comfort them in whatever way she could. Even she, an outsider in our family, isn't untouched by the death of our princess. Elise may not be of her blood but she is family all the same. I was wrong to think otherwise.

I keep my distance from all this. Grief is contagious, and though sooner or later it will come to me, I want to hold it off for now. I want to nurture this hatred toward Elise's killer and all those who call me family while defending him. I want to savor the taste in my mouth, promising myself that this will not be the last time I taste Hoshidan blood.

Perhaps noticing my aura, Wren says "That's not healthy, boss."

"I agree with her, Corrin." Silas chimes in. "This isn't you."

It will have to be. Corrin the boy prince will not give his sister's justice. The dragon will. Sane or otherwise, the dragon is strong and Corrin is weak. Elise didn't die while the dragon was around. Elise died because her brother failed to defend her. This is a small price to pay. Elise... oh gods Elise... Please let there be a life after this one... Elise did not live enough. It can't end here... Please let her smile brightens another world. This world... it will have to make do.

Wren hands me back my rapier, which I must have dropped after I transformed. I take the sword, but even as I hold it, it looks small and weak. The weapon makes me feel uncomfortable. It makes me feel as if it is holding me back from becoming... whatever I am becoming. It feels as if it is trying to tell me that there is another way... a human way.

It is wrong. This is the only way. It must be so. This sword, like Corrin, is weak, inadequate.

But perhaps I need not abandon it... as i sheath my sword, I feel a small amount of comfort, drowning out my previous reservation for the weapon.

I don't know what I am. I don't know what I'm becoming. But I'm not ready to toss away Corrin yet... Perhaps he has a place in me... somewhere deep down. I don't know... I don't know...