I was in the void. I couldn't remember why I was there or what was going on. I only knew that I felt good. No part of me hurt anymore. I was happy. Someone else here was happy too. He was laughing. I knew him, but I couldn't remember why.

"Ah, you have finally reached me, child. I am glad to see you here."

Oh, right. Dad.

"That is right. I am indeed your father. It pleases me that you finally understand."

I did. I had finally learned, and now I was here. Where was I?

FIGHT.

I didn't want to fight. It was so safe here.

"Your struggle is finally over, my son. You can finally have the deepest desires of your heart. You need only accept my gift."

Gift. His gift. I knew what it was. What was it? Why couldn't I remember?

FIGHT.

"My essence, child. You will take on my essence and you will become a god. You will rule this world and do as you please."

A god. I'd be a god. That would be nice. I'd be able to do whatever I wanted. I would live forever. I wanted to live forever. Why did I want to live forever?

FIGHT.

"Life eternal is the greatest gift of all. There need be no reason to desire it. It is an end to itself, and you will have it. You need only give yourself to me and I will give you everything you wish."

I wanted to. It sounded nice. It sounded like I wouldn't have to hurt anymore. I wanted to say yes.

I heard two words. They were faint. They sounded like they were being whispered to me from within a storm. I could only barely understand them.

"Beloved...no..."

A small orb of light appeared next to me in the darkness. It beckoned me to reach out and touch it.

"Do not touch that, child," said the first voice. "It will lead you astray." Why not? It looked so warm and inviting. And it was so familiar.

TOUCH IT.

"Do not. You will be led to ruin!"

TOUCH IT.

"No!"

TOUCH IT!

"DO NOT." The first voice was much less friendly. It scared me and I suddenly noticed that the darkness around me was cold. I shivered a little. I needed warmth. I needed the light.

I reached out and touched the orb.

I heard that second voice speak again and again, more clearly this time, but still distant like a dream.

"Ah, good, you are awake."

"I hear I have you to thank for saving my life."

"As the Voice I have a certain image placed upon me. An image I often fail to live up to."

"I was just thinking about how much you look like someone I used to know."

"An aura of goodness and kindness surrounds you, Robin. Just as it did him."

"I see Robin. And I am sorry that I ever gave you cause to think otherwise."

"If something should trouble you, please...feel free to speak to me about it. Even if I am the cause. Especially if I am the cause."

"You...you actually smell...quite nice..."

"I...I...I need to know that I am not alone."

"Would you...perhaps...could you...stay here tonight?"

"Of course the answer is yes. The answer will always be yes."

"So please, please promise me that you will try to remain safe. I...I could not bear it if I lost you."

"I am not my mother. And you are not your father. You are Robin."

"Robin, look at me."

"Robin."

"Beloved."

"My Robin."

"Be still, my love. I am with you."

"My love."

"You are the man with whom I have...fallen in love."

Each memory echoed in my mind as trails of light began to swirl and coalesce around the orb. The light started to come into focus and I saw standing with me in the darkness the figure of the most wonderful woman I had ever known. The woman who had saved me on countless occasions and had now saved me once again with two little words.

Tiki appeared beside me in the darkness. She smiled and the voice began to become enraged. It made me shiver again and now that the orb was gone I reached out to the woman who had replaced it. She held out her arms and I embraced her. She was so warm and inviting, and as she held me in her loving embrace, the first voice faded and I remembered who I was.

ROBIN.

I forced my eyes open. I was splayed out on the ground—body of Grima, I supposed—and I was in pain. But I was me. And I was alive. That meant there was still hope. Not just for me, but for everyone else. If he hadn't killed me, there was hope for them.

I planted a hand on the ground and pushed. It got me a couple of inches off the ground before it gave out. I planted both hands at once and pushed again. It got me six inches off the ground. I used that leverage to force myself to my knees. I looked up and saw that the other me had a crazed grin on his face. I looked to my left and saw that Chrom was still prone and, so far, unmoving. I looked up and saw that Grima's head was no longer above us. He must have lowered it after his attack. I forced myself to stand. My head was cloudy, but I was upright.

"Took you long enough," said the other me. "I was starting to get bored."

"You could have just not attacked us," I said lamely. As I had done before, I wanted to stall for time. I needed to give someone else a chance to break out of this miasma affecting them. I didn't know who, but I knew I had no chance to take him on alone.

"Oh, but where's the fun in that? And besides, I wanted to talk to you alone."

"Why could you possibly want that?"

"Because you have an exceedingly irritating habit of not rejoining me," he said. "And I'd like to speak to you without interference. To...convince you." I spat on the ground.

"I already gave you my answer once. It hasn't changed."

"Oh, but you see, this time I have an incentive for you," he said. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Chrom twitch. Just the barest movement. Just for a moment. But it was all I needed.

"Do tell," I said.

"I'll spare them," he said. "All of them. They aren't dead, but they will be whenever I want them to be. Join me and I'll spare them."

"You know," I said, "you're a lot different out here than you are when you're talking in my head."

"What are you blathering about? I made you an offer. Respond to it."

"See, when you're in my head it's all honeyed words and promises to fulfill my desires. But then I get out here and it's threats and bragging and offers that are so obviously false that I'm insulted you would even try to make them. Do you think I'm an idiot? Do you think I believe you for a moment? You wouldn't spare them. You'd absorb me and then make me watch you kill them all." I spat on the ground again. "That's still my answer."

"Okay, well, you're right. I would have killed them." He shrugged. "I probably will anyway once we're done here."

"This is what I'm talking about," I said. "You try to make nice in my mind, but out here you don't even bother, even though you know I have to willingly join you."

"Why should I?" he said. "You're going to join me. I'm going to be whole again."

"No," I said, "that's not it. It took me a while, but I think I've figured it out. It's me. I'm still in there, influencing you in some small way. Oh sure, I probably don't do anything you wouldn't, but I bet I'm still doing something." His grin disappeared, which I knew meant I was right.

"These attempts to appeal to my humanity are becoming tiresome. You don't get it. I'm not human. I'm so much more! I am the world's ruin! I am death itself! I am the—"

"I don't care," I said. To my grim satisfaction he lost his train of thought and sputtered a little.

"How dare you—"

"See," I said as though he hadn't said anything, "you still think I'm trying to appeal to your humanity. I'm not. I told you before, you revealed a weakness. I know I'm still inside you. I'll bet that I've been trying to get you to do things differently than you normally would. I'm sure it's nothing major so I didn't risk tipping you off, but I'll bet I did it." He raised his right hand and I heard movement behind me. I glanced over and saw Aversa's unconscious form float into the air.

"Look who you brought to me," he said. It was working. I had him agitated and not focusing on the now-stirring form of Chrom. "Has she told you about her special talent?"

"Sure," I said. "Because she trusts me. You probably don't remember what that feels like." He laughed scornfully.

"Of course I do, idiot. She trusted me, too. Trusted me enough to give me power. To give and give and give...until there was nothing left." He waved a hand and Aversa crashed back down. I prayed she was unhurt. "I think, once I have you back, I'll have her give me some more. Really, I should thank you for bringing her. She might have lived otherwise. At least, for a little while." He was trying to get a rise out of me. Unfortunately for him I was too exhausted to get annoyed.

"I didn't mean you don't remember what it's like to have someone trust you. I meant that you don't remember what it's like to trust someone else. It's nice, knowing you don't have to do everything alone. You should try it some time."

"Ha! But why should I want to? I can already do everything alone. You don't get it. I'm a god. I can do whatever I want to do, whenever I want to do it."

"...Except make me join you, of course." He frowned.

"Alright then, you pedantic bastard, I can do almost anything I want."

"And you can't bring Tiki back."

"What?" There it was. I had him.

"That's what happened, isn't it? That's why you're like this. You—I—wanted to live forever. So you listened. You let him convince you. You joined him. And she gave in. And you lost her. And no matter what, you couldn't bring her back." The look on his face told me I was right. This, in front of me, was living proof of what could happen if I went too far. I had destroyed the world for her sake. Not only had I chosen her above the world, I had chosen her instead of the world. And as a result, both were destroyed.

"...I'm going to kill each and every one of them," he said flatly. It was as good as telling me I was exactly right. "Slowly. Painfully. Until you beg me to stop. You'll offer me yourself to get me stop, but I won't. I kill them all. Then, once they're all dead, I'll finally let you return." I knelt down and picked up my sword. Then I pressed it to my wrist.

"If you even try to hurt any of them, I'll kill myself," I said.

"You wouldn't," he said, "you don't have the courage."

"I would," I said more firmly. "And you know what? I would die happy. I would die knowing that I denied you what you really wanted. I would die knowing that you'll spend the rest of eternity angry that you couldn't get me to join you. And I would be happy."

"You can't be this pathetic," he said. "You can't possibly think that dying would solve anything. I'd still kill them. I'll still wipe out humanity. You would die for nothing."

"No," I said, "I would die just to spite you. Just to know that you'll have to spend eternity in your ruined world with that one little piece of you missing. Just to know that you'll never be whole. Because I've finally figured you out. You can't actually understand why I do what I do. The concept of living for another person, of doing something for someone else, doesn't make sense to you. It's not that you're disdainful of my decisions. It's that you're confused by them, and you're playing it off. Look at you, you hit me with your strongest attack and I'm still standing. God? You're not a god. You can't even stop one man." I finally did it. I made him snap. He started walking towards me, flinging curses the whole way. I did what I could to get out of the way of them, but there were too many and they were too fast. I managed to deflect a few, but even then he was so much more powerful than me.

One curse hit me, then two, then three, then four. I started to lose count and I sagged to one knee. My sword fell from my grip and clattered on the ground. The other me reached me and grabbed my hair. He pulled my head up so he could force me to face him.

"Looks like I stopped you just fine," he said in a voice dripping with scorn. "Now you can wait here while I kill them all. Sorry your big hero moment didn't work out the way you planned it. Good try though." I opened my mouth to speak but I started coughing. He let go of me and I fell forward onto my hands and knees. I forced myself up to a sitting position while I caught my breath.

"You..." I coughed again. He snapped his fingers and I felt air rush into my lungs.

"Oh, please, I'd love to hear this," he said. "This last bit of defiance. I'm sure it's going to be wonderful."

"You're just like Walhart," I said with a glance past him, "and just like Validar. All three of you thought you knew me, and you all got something totally wrong."

"Haven't I told you not to compare me to them? They were weak. They were human. I'm not!"

"Maybe," I said, "but you're still like them. Walhart tried to get me to join him. He thought I was working for money. He was wrong. Validar thought that I was just as caught up in my destiny as he was. He was wrong. And you...you think that I believe that I'm the hero. You're wrong. I'm not the hero." I brought up one shaky hand and pointed behind him.

"He is."

The other me spun around to fight. He never got the chance. Chrom raised his voice and shouted in that tone of absolute conviction that no one I knew could quite match. Only this time it sounded deeper. More full. More resonant. Almost like Naga was speaking through him.

"GRIMA! FACE THE JUDGMENT OF THE DIVINE DRAGON!" The other me was so stunned by Chrom's proclamation that he couldn't react in time. Chrom was too close. Grima's avatar brought his hand up to cast a curse, but he was just a moment too slow. That was all it took. Chrom lunged forward. The next thing I saw was the most surreal image I had ever experienced.

I saw myself impaled on Falchion's blade.

The other me opened his mouth to speak, but all that happened was a kind of black sludge bubbled out. Chrom withdrew Falchion from the stomach of Grima's avatar. The avatar's arms went limp and fell to his sides. He sank to his knees. He wobbled a little, then crashed backwards. As he did, I thought that I saw a look of relief cross his face. Just for a moment. Just for the briefest flash.

The body below us began to shake and I felt a roar of agony. Chrom walked over and helped me to my feet. I was unsteady and didn't know how long I would stay upright, but I was alive.

For now.

"We did it!" he shouted over the din. "It's finally over!"

"Not quite," I said. My breathing was labored and I wasn't as loud as he was, but he was close enough that he could hear me. "There's still one thing to do."

"But he's weakened enough for us to strike. We've won." I nodded weakly.

"We have." I reached into a pocket and searched for any tome that I still had. My hands closed on one.

"Wait here," he said. He let go of me and I wobbled a little. About ten feet in front of us was the spot where Grima's body met his neck. I could see that his scales were thinner there, presumably to allow him to bend his head backwards like he had earlier.

"Chrom," I said as I pulled the tome out of my pocket. It was a Thoron. Of course it was. "Wait." He turned to me.

"What is it?"

"...Let me do it." I took an unsteady step forward, then another, then another, which brought me even with Chrom again. We were only a few feet away now.

"Are you mad?!" he shouted. "I can't let you do that!" I shook my head sadly.

"Look at how easily he defeated us!" I said. "He barely made an effort!"

"He didn't defeat us at all! We won! If he had defeated us we wouldn't be able to have this conversation!" I shook my head a second time.

"Look around you," I said. "Look at what all our efforts got us. You and I are the only ones upright. I'm only here because he didn't want to kill me, and you're only here because you had Naga's personal blessing. What happens if we don't get this lucky next time? Don't you understand? He only has to win once. We have to win over and over and over." I sighed. "I'm sorry. I can't let that happen. Not when I can end it now." I took another step forward. I was almost there. I was, I thought, close enough.

"Robin, I trust you. You can do it. You can be there to stop him. You...you don't have to do this," he said in a choked voice. I turned to look at him and for the first time I could ever remember I saw tears in his eyes.

"Yes I do," I said. He stepped up next to me and put a hand on my shoulder.

"I...can't change your mind, can I?" I shook my head.

"When it comes right down to it," I said, "I can't ask anyone to take a risk—"

"—you wouldn't take yourself," he finished. He closed his eyes.

"I need you to promise me something," I said. "In case...in case I don't come back." He opened his eyes and looked horrified.

"Don't say that!"

"Listen to me!" I said. Talking was becoming difficult. I had to finish before I lost the ability to speak. "I have to plan for everything! If I don't come back..." I glanced over my shoulder and tried to pick out Tiki and Morgan among the unconscious forms of my comrades. "You...make sure they're taken care of. And you tell them...you tell them I love them. You tell them that I was thinking of them until the very end." I paused to choke down a sob as my vision became blurry. "And...and you tell her...tell her I'm sorry I broke my promise."

"What pro—" I cut him off.

"And you tell her...tell her to be happy. Whether it means finding another man or not...tell her to surround herself with people who make her happy. That's...all I want. I want her to have someone who makes her as happy as she deserves to be." He smiled sadly at me as tears flowed down his face. When he spoke his voice was barely a croak.

"Robin, my friend...she already does." I couldn't answer. Instead I gripped the tome in my left hand and held out my right hand.

Then I focused my spell and got ready to die.