Darkness surrounded him in every direction, like an abyss that stretched out towards eternity.

He tried to look around, wondering if he simply wasn't looking hard enough. He took one step forward. Then another. Then another.

He made his way deeper into the darkness. Or, was he actually making his way out of the darkness? He couldn't tell. And as he kept walking, one thought crossed his mind.

This place feels familiar.

"... Halt… right there…" a voice called out to him. He heard them yawn, mumbling incoherent words to themselves all the while. Not knowing what else to do except follow the voice's orders, he stopped.

"Yes… good. I must say, you are quite rude for interrupting a moment of repose. Quite rude indeed. Nevertheless, I shall look past it."

A bright flash of light suddenly erupted from the darkness. He shielded his eyes with his arm until the light flickered down to a soft glow. Another yawn echoed, which prompted him to look.

Now he found himself standing atop a tangible brick floor, but the darkness still surrounded him. In front of him a few steps away was an imposingly large throne of withered stone. The moss and cracks running down the backrest coupled with the faded sage-green color made it seem archaic, to the point where he questioned how it still managed to stay intact. As his gaze trailed down, however, it immediately fixated itself at the drowsy girl who sat there. She rubbed one eye while scanning him with the other. "Come to me," she said, inviting him with a wave of her hand, "I wish to have a look at you."

He approached her without hesitation. The soft light glowing around the girl's throne grew brighter as he came closer, allowing him a better view of her. Her rather immense emerald hair draped over her like a blanket, and what still remained behind her served as her pillow. He noticed her pointed ears, the intricate adornments which decorated her, as well as her short stature.

"Excuse me?" She asked, irritation in her voice, "What is that look? Are you perhaps mocking my physique in your mind?!"

He shook his head in denial without delay.

"Good, I shall have you know that you are in the presence of a… hmm, odd. I cannot recall what it is that I am. Do you happen to know?"

He again shook his head in denial.

"How unfortunate… Well? Out with it!"

He tilted his head in confusion.

"Your name! How rude you are to enter my domain without having once addressed yourself!" she reprimanded. The girl straightened her posture and crossed her legs. "Now tell me your name. You look to be human, and I seem to recall how strange human names can be," she said as an eager smile formed on her lips. Her quick shifts in attitude confounded him, but he didn't mind it in the slightest. A part of him thought it endearing.

"Byleth. My name is Byleth."

"As I thought! Hehe, I shall not ever grow accustomed to the sound of human names," she giggled as she leaned forward, "yet my heart finds yours to be… familiar. Familiar in a comforting way."

For some reason, Byleth had felt the same way, and as if it was instinctual, he reached out to her. The girl's eyes widened in surprise, but soon they shimmered. She reached out to touch his hand, but before they came in contact, another flash of light erupted between them. The both of them quickly closed their eyes, waiting until the intensity of the light died down. Once it did, Byleth reopened his eyes to find himself inside a blurry corridor. The girl opened her eyes soon after he did. "Whatever could that have been?"

Byleth shrugged. Sothis shook her head and sighed.

"I suppose our only option is to find out! Come, let us go forward together," she said with her arm outstretched. "Take my hand, child. We shall discover where we are!"

Child?

He grabbed her hand and held it as gently as he could. Byleth wasn't sure why he was being gentle, but he thought it necessary nonetheless.

The two of them went forward hand in hand. As he walked, Byleth noticed that the mysterious girl had been levitating off the ground. A strange sight to see, however he lacked the interest to question it. Soon, they sighted a strange object far off in the distance. They hastened towards it out of curiosity, and when they reached it, the mysterious girl gasped. "Oh my!" she whispered, "What an unsightly pose."

Byleth stared in awe at the girl crucified upon the withered cross in front of them. He couldn't properly discern her face nor her features for she was only a silhouette, yet he somehow recognized her as a woman nonetheless. Perched atop the cross was an eagle who glared down at the two of them. It spread its elegant white wings and spoke to them.

"This is a soul blessed with the power to guide the world itself. Call out her name and she will awaken," it beseeched them. The girl raised an eyebrow of suspicion.

"Power to guide the world itself? How preposterous! One with power such as that might as well have been blessed by a God!"

It refrained from answering her statement. She sighed, then lifted her hand to her face in an contemplative manner. "How are we expected to call out her name when we do not even-"

"Edelgard," Byleth abruptly called out.

The white eagle suddenly combusts into flames, burning into ashes. And from those ashes arose a hawk whose feathers were dyed in the blackest night. It cried out with an ear-piercing screech before it flew away. Byleth had been unaffected by it, but noticed that the mysterious girl's grip on his hand had tightened out of fear.

"What in the world was that?" she whimpered aloud. Byleth shrugged, causing the girl to pout in frustration. His aloof personality somehow rubbed her the wrong way, and she figured she would have to lecture him on his priorities… then the thought of doing so perplexed her. Why am I concerned with how he carries himself? We had only just met each other, and-

"Where… where am I?"

"Ah!" she yelped, "The crucified woman spoke!"

Byleth looked up towards the silhouetted girl once more. "You called out my name," she said. He nodded without a word.

"Thank you. I… am Edelgard. I was trying to accomplish something, but it seems that I have forgotten what it was. Perhaps if I follow you I..."

Light rapidly surrounds them, drowning Edelgard's voice away. When it dissipated, the pair now saw the silhouette of a young man sprawled out on the floor. Sat atop of him was a black specter that carried an enormous bag on its back. The mysterious girl tugged on Byleth's hand once again. "Curiouser and curiouser," she muttered to him. He nodded in agreement.

The black specter looked up to the both of them, his lips stretching out to a sinister, unnerving grin. With a disfigured hand, he pointed to the man beneath him. "This is the soul of a weakling blessed with the power to overturn the world itself. Call out his name and he will awaken," it beseeched them. The girl let out an exhausted sigh, "Another one… well, go on, call out his name. I presume you already know?"

Byleth nodded. "Dimitri."

As the name left his lips, the specter cackled aloud, filling the corridor with a booming laugh. When he stopped laughing, he stood up from where he sat and walked towards Byleth. His abyssal body then cracked, seeping out a beautiful blue light. When he stood face to face with Byleth, his body shattered into pieces, and from the pieces arose a baby lion. It purred and rubbed its head against Byleth's leg before disappearing altogether. When it disappeared, the man on the floor slowly brought himself up. He looked at the two in front of him and smiled.

"Pardon me," he politely said, "my name is Dimitri. May I inquire as to where I am? I recall trying to save someone, but I can't remember who… Ah! If I follow you, maybe I can…"

Just like with Edelgard, a blinding light surrounded them. Dimitri disappeared into the luster, leaving Byleth and the girl alone again. Dissatisfied by all these things occurring without an explanation, she held a hand to her hip and clicked her tongue. Without another word, the two continued down the corridor. Eventually they reached an exit. It led them to an open spring. The darkness still surrounded them, but a gentle light illuminated the area, shimmering off of the water. Byleth surveyed the spring until the girl gasped.

"Ch-Child! Hide your eyes from such indecency!" she blurted. As the girl attempted to reach her hand up to cover his vision, Byleth peered closely at the center of the spring and finally noticed the woman who bathed there. Her bare skin emanated a glow of purity and her emerald hair gave her a sense of grace…

Emerald hair?

"Someone you know?" Byleth asked the girl.

"Wh-?! Are you insulting me?! I-I do not recognize such a reckless woman!" she protested. Yet her panicked expression soon shifted to one of doubt. "Or… well, at the very least, I do not recall her. However, something about her strikes me in an odd way, as if I SHOULD know her… Ah!" she exclaimed, "the nude woman approaches!"

Byleth's sight returned to the spring. Like she said, the woman had gotten closer. Her lips had widened into a tender smile as she outstretched her arms. "Byleth, I have been waiting for you," she professed. "My name is Rhea… and I am your eternal partner."

His stoic expression did not waver one bit while the girl's face flushed red. She immediately turned around and went back into the corridor, pulling Byleth along with her. After having moved a safe distance away, she stopped to catch her breath and regain her composure.

"What in the world has my realm devolved into?!" she fumed. As she pulled at her hair, a chuckle resounded within the corridor.

"Are you complaining about the complexity of dreams?" it asked her. Byleth turned around and found himself face to face with another silhouette, this one looked to be male. The silhouette whistled at the sight of his face, then leaned forward to examine him. "Ooh, you're definitely good looking… snrk," he snorted, "just kidding! All I see of your face is some blank outline. But still, I get the feeling you're quite charming."

"Oh? You seem different from the others we have come across," the girl pointed out, "state your name and your business with us!"

His hands shot up as if he was defending himself. "Whoa, calm down there! I suppose I have no real business, I just saw you two walking this way. As for my name-"

"Claude," Byleth reckoned, "you are Claude."

"Huh. You're right, I am Claude. Have we met before?"

Byleth shook his head. Claude made an audible sound of intrigue before pushing it aside altogether. The girl then levitated to him, analyzing the cheerful man for herself. "And why do YOU find yourself here?" she inquired. He playfully scoffed, feigning offense.

"Do I need a reason to be in a dream, little lady? Ah, well… I actually have been looking for someone, but I can't remember for the life of me who it could be. It's a little embarrassing to be honest. I know that they're the most important person in the world to me, yet I can't even recall their face, much less their name!" Claude feebly sighed, "What a guy I am, huh?"

Byleth contemplated, then recalled the other two he had met, Edelgard and Dimitri. "Maybe if we were to search for them together, you might remember who it is."

He couldn't really see it, but he could tell that Claude smiled at the idea. "You know what? I can tell that you're pretty special. Maybe I can remember them if I follow you…"

For the third time, light emanated between the three of them. Claude disappeared while Byleth and the girl somehow returned to the throne where they had first met. As Byleth tried to look around to see what had happened, the girl simply yawned and went to her place on the throne. She sat herself down and rubbed her eyes.

"My, I feel so exhausted after all that. I must say, you seem to be a special human," she asserted while twirling a finger through her hair. "All these people connected to you via dreams! Those first two we met, Edelgard and Dimitri, they certainly stood out. Well, I suppose that Claude character also had a certain flair to him. And that naked woman…"

She shuddered. "Perhaps it would be best to ignore her for now."

"And you?" Byleth prodded, "You haven't told me your name."

"Oh! You are right, how careless of me! My name… is…"

Her voice trailed off as her forehead scrunched in uncertainty. "I… I do not recall! What IS my name…?"

She struggled to come up with it, frustration visibly expressed on her face. "It's okay," Byleth said to her, "maybe we can find out together."

Her cheeks flushed red once again. "H-Hmph! Do not treat me like those three, my memory is NOT lacking! I-It is simply choosing not to waste effort exerting itself on something as trivial as a name."

Earlier, you complained about how rude it was for me not to introduce myself, Byleth thought to himself.

The girl yawned again. "Yet with you… it all seems so familiar… I think it may be time for another nap again."

"What about your name?"

"Mmph… perhaps you can call it out like you did for the others… for it is… already time…"

She closed her eyes as she fell asleep. Byleth's lips instinctively unfurled into a tender smile as he thought of her name.

"Very well. You are…"

"... Soth… is…"

"Mreowww!"

Byleth's eyes slowly flutter open to the purring noise. His cheek is promptly nudged by a cat rubbing its head against him. As he rubs away the gunk in his eyes he sits up, holding the cat in his arms.

"Hey kid, breakfast is ready!" his father shouts from outside the room, "And bring the cat over here too, I filled up its bowl."

"Coming!"

Carefully, Byleth gets off his bed with the cat still in his arms. It purrs and nuzzles its head against his chest, causing him to smile, a phenomenon that hardly ever occurs.

"Good morning, Sothis."

(AN)

This is a crossover idea I've been tossing around in my head and with my friends in the Fanfiction Treehouse discord server (/9XG3U7a by the way!), and here is the beginning of it! It'll take a while before I continue this (working on two other fics of completely different genres), but rest assured, I truly want to take this crossover to the end.

I hope for your generous support!