This will be my last author's note, as I don't wish to dilute the impact of the final chapters with my own words. So, for one final time, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for reading.
Severa
If there was one thing Severa was absolutely sure she'd never be happy to hear, it would be Owain's voice. Apparently today was full of surprises, because she was beyond glad to hear him outside her cell. She scrambled to her feet and ran to the door, banging on it. "OWAIN! OWAIN, IN HERE!"
"Severa!?" Owain shouted. "Damnit, the door's locked. Okay, stand back!" Severa ran to the back corner of the room right before the door was blasted clean off its hinges by his magic. "Finally! I'd heard you were captured, but I wasn't sure where."
"I'm just glad you came to look," Severa said.
"Hey, are you okay?" Owain asked. Severa supposed she didn't exactly look like she was in top shape, considering her situation.
"Just deprived of food and sunlight. Besides that, I'm fine." Severa stepped out of the cell and took a moment to let her eyes adjust to the light. "I'm assuming you didn't come all the way to Windmire just to save my ass?"
"You're correct, though that doesn't mean I wouldn't have if I knew before I got here. No, I'm with Xander and Elise. We're trying to stop all of this."
"Not Leo? What's he doing that's so important?" Severa asked. Owain responded with silence and a guilty look. "Oh, shit. He kicked the bucket?" He nodded. "Damn. I'm sorry to hear that."
"Well, the woman you served is currently trying to rule the whole world as a fascist dictator, so I suppose neither of us have been exactly lucky in that department," Owain said. Severa let out a morbid chuckle. "I ran into Inigo, too. He's here looking for Soleil."
"Soleil? I thought he wanted to stay out of that whole 'she's his kid' business."
"Yes, well, he's had a change of heart."
Takumi
An arrow of light erupted from the Fujin Yumi, plowing into a Nohrian soldier and sending him flying. Takumi relaxed his grip on the weapon, taking a deep breath. He looked down the street, double-checking that there were no more enemies in sight. Hinoka walked from behind him, looking around. "Just a few more blocks until the eastern guard outpost. We take that, and we can put up a fight against any soldiers coming in from that direction."
"Yeah," Takumi said, walking forward. Suddenly, out of an alleyway, a soldier charged at him, knocking him to the ground. Hinoka took a step forward, only for the man to pull a knife and press it against the prince's neck.
"Not another step, bitch!" The soldier shouted, keeping the knife close enough to Takumi's neck to draw some blood. "If you even think about it, I'll cut him open! Don't think I won't!" A small orange blur came at them from behind, chomping down on the soldier's hand, making him scream in pain as the knife fell out of his hand. He flung the animal away, but before he could do anything else, Hinoka ran him through with her naginata.
"Kamui!" Hinoka shouted, dropping her weapon and running to her Shiba, who was whimpering in pain. "Oh, you poor thing! Why on earth would you do that!?"
"Seems you trained him well," Takumi said, standing up and rubbing his neck. "He saved my life."
Hinoka pet Kamui, calming him down. "Alright soldier, consider this the end of your tour of duty. You're put on leave until further notice." She stood up and looked at Takumi expectantly.
After a few seconds of silence, Takumi sighed. "Fine, take the mutt somewhere safe. But you'd better get back here before I'm done taking the outpost! I am not about to pick up all of your slack." Hinoka gave a thankful nod before running off with her injured dog in her arms. "Stinking fleabag. I hate dogs…" Takumi hurried down the street and towards the outpost.
Nina
"Nina!?" Forrest took a step back as Vara approached. Despite knowing full well who that was, he couldn't help but hold out hope.
"Come on, really?" Vara laughed. "You're like a puppy who keeps thinking that the next knock on the door is his owner. It'd be cute if it wasn't so sad." Her bow materialized out of purple flame. She gripped it, pulling back the bowstring and launching two fiery arrows towards Forrest. He winced, only for them to fly past him and hit two Nohrian soldiers who were about to impale him. "Your situational awareness is terrible."
Thank you, Vara, Nina said, sighing in relief. Now, let's get Forrest out of here. I was thinking the docks might be a good spot since that's the landing zone of friendly forces for him.
Vara grunted, clenching her fists. "I…" She drew her bow again, this time aiming right at Forrest. What are you doing!? She fired, but instinctively jerked her hand away. The arrow hit the side of a house, exploding and knocking the wall in. Forrest started to take a few more steps back. "Don't move!" Vara shouted, nocking another arrow. Forrest stopped, gently shaking in fear. "Don't move another inch." Vara, stop it! I thought you wanted to save him! "I do!" Vara screamed. "That's the problem! I'm tired of feeling what you do, Nina!"
"Nina…?" Forrest muttered. "She's in there!?"
"Shut up!" Vara shouted, keeping her bowstring tense. "It's happening all over again. I'm losing myself to this new body! I'm thinking more and more like her! I won't turn into someone else, not ever again! So I'll burn it down! Every last thing Nina ever cared about! I'll burn it all!" FORREST, RUN! Nina screamed, even though she knew he couldn't hear her.
Luckily, Forrest understood the danger of his situation, dashing into a shop just as Vara let her arrow loose, exploding into a massive fireball that nearly scorched him. "Don't run away from me!" Vara screamed, aiming at the storefront while Forrest ran inside. "Get back here!" The various odds and ends stacked along the store shelves were sent flying as the storefront burst into smoke and cinders. "I'll burn it! I'll make you scream! When I'm done with you, you'll be a pile of ashes!"
Vara ran into the building, firing wildly at any signs of movement. Massive scorch marks were left in the parts of the building that weren't simply blown to smithereens. "You damned pushover! You won't even fight back! Are you afraid of hurting your precious girlfriend!?" Forrest ran up the stone stairs to the second floor, two arrows whizzing by him. "That's what you filthy humans always do! You care about each other, and you do stupid things for each other! You'd give up your life for someone else! How stupid!"
Vara, stop! STOP! Nina could only watch in horror as Vara tried her damndest to kill Forrest. "Don't you vermin even understand what your life is worth!? You're just willing to throw it away! It makes me sick!" Forrest shot out a weak ice spell that was quickly dispatched with another flaming arrow. "There's the fight I was looking for! But it won't be enough! I'm gonna burn the flesh off your bones! I'll make sure your death is long and agonizing!"
Suddenly, just as hope seemed lost, a veritable barrage of embers washed over Vara from behind, causing her to cry out in pain as the ends of her clothes were singed off. "What the—" She tried to turn around, only to get hit by another wave of scorching heat. "No…NO! Not you!" Not you?
Out of the thick smoke that filled the air emerged a woman with a confident, flamboyant pose, and bright yellow clothing that matched her hair. No…it can't be… Nina couldn't believe what she was looking at. It was impossible. It was…
"Ophelia Dusk, heroine of legend!" Ophelia opened her tome, sending thick ice spikes flying at Vara. She shot each one out of the air, stepping back.
"You're supposed to be dead! I SAW YOU DYING!" Vara screamed, fury in her eyes and voice. Dying!? Nina exclaimed. You said she was DEAD! Not dying! Vara clicked her tongue, now caught in the lie she told Nina so long ago.
Ophelia laughed, taking another flamboyant pose. "That was your big mistake, villain! When you want to kill a chosen heroine, you have to do it yourself! No way am I gonna go down in a way as lame as bleeding out!"
"Wait, then how did you survive!?" Forrest called out from behind some rubble. Vara wasn't even paying enough attention to him to shoot at him.
Ophelia's confidence faltered. "I, um, used Nosferatu spells on every plant and animal I found until I got to civilization. Not a fun time." She cleared her throat. "But! Now, I have returned, with only minimal scarring! I ran into Corrin. She caught me up." Ophelia winked. "So, I'm here to banish this evildoer from my dear friend's body!"
Vara laughed, desperate for a leg up. "You idiot! This is my body now! The only way I'm leaving is if you kill me, and Nina along with me! So come on then, do your worst—" An icicle jammed its way through Vara's side, causing her to scream in pain, stumbling back.
"Sorry, Nina," Ophelia said, frost dancing around her open palm. "I'll get you the best healer I can find once we get this evildoer out of your body!" Fine by me, Nina said. Just give this bitch the payback she deserves!
Suddenly, light seemed to vanish from the air. Vara laughed, coughing blood. "You braindead scum," she said, wiping the blood off her chin. "You're too late. The sun and the moon are one, now." Looking up, she saw the eclipse, with nothing but a thin white halo around the moon. "I can feel it. The Yato is here. You've lost." Her laughter becomes maniacal as Ophelia and Forrest look around, panic filling their minds.
Siegbert
Blades clashed, sending sparks flying as Siegbert and Peri tried with all their might to knock the other away. Instead, they both ended up leaping back. "You know, mother…" Siegbert readied himself as Peri charged. He stepped to the side, slashing her side right open. As it closed itself shut, Peri spun around, swinging her blade with her. Siegbert was forced to hold his sword up to block her attack. He swung down and she backstepped. "I've been thinking about things. About you. Father told me that you died giving birth to me."
Peri screamed, swinging and slashing at Siegbert. Pure rage towards the world drove her every movement, and while they were easy to avoid or deflect, he knew they could do real damage if they landed. He kept inflicting minor wounds to slow her down, but he knew they would heal themselves in time. "But that story never made sense. There was never a grave. Nobody I talked to could ever recall a funeral. It was like you simply vanished."
Peri suddenly thrust her blade, sinking it a small way into Siegbert's shoulder. He winced, stepping back and swinging up, cutting her stomach. "I had asked around for so long. I had to know where you were, where I could see you. Dead or alive, I didn't care anymore." Peri began to move more erratically as Ganglari's massive eye twitched rapidly. "I kept digging, and I kept learning more about you. Your childhood. Your mother." The mention of Peri's mother made her scream, swinging straight down. Siegbert held his sword up to block it, but then she swung down again and again, each time making his elbows buckle a little more. Finally, he kicked her in the gut, sending her stumbling backward.
"Father rehabilitated you. Made you whole again. He told me stories of how beautiful and refined you were. That your warm smile could light up an entire ballroom." Siegbert took one step back to narrowly avoid a blow, only to then shift his back foot to the side, bending his knee and springing towards her, shoving half of it into her chest and out of her back. He planted his foot on her stomach and kicked as hard as he could, sending her flying back and yanking his sword out of her. The blade dripped with copious amounts of blood. The smell of iron was thick in the air. "I longed to see it for myself. But there were never any portraits, never any concrete stories about you from anyone who wasn't him."
Smoke poured out from Ganglari, filling the immediate area around Peri. Siegbert readied himself for a surprise attack, but she was still able to leave a deep cut in his arm. He clutched it for a moment before trying to shrug off the pain. "And slowly, I formed a theory as to why that was. You weren't rehabilitated. Not fully." The light pouring in from the broken stained-glass window above them bounced off Siegbert's silver sword. Peri swung again, and Siegbert thought his pauldron would be able to absorb the blow. But Ganglari cracked it, and he felt the blade enter his shoulder. It came out far less cleanly than it went in, forcing him to only use one arm. "After my father was murdered, I cornered Iago and made him fess up. I told everyone else that the identity of his killer was a mystery. I said that all we knew was it was someone he trusted. And that part wasn't wrong."
Siegbert was beginning to grow tired. Peri wasn't. He started making more mistakes, and she capitalized on them, leaving him covered in shallow cuts. All that blood coming out of him was adding up, and he could feel himself growing tired. But he couldn't relent. "After I was born, you relapsed. You took a kitchen knife and headed into my room, intending to murder me in my crib. Father stopped you, but it was too late for you. He couldn't keep you near me. So he locked you up in the deepest, darkest cell he could find and told me that lie about your death during my birth. He painted you as a saint in your later life. But you never really changed, did you? You just tried to suppress it. And you failed. And then, years later, you managed to break out, and you killed him in his sleep. Or maybe you woke him up first, just so he could know it was you who did it."
Peri slashed at Siegbert's face, leaving a cut running from his ear to his lips. "I found you, still in that cell. You were more akin to a feral dog by that point. So I cut you down. I put you out of your misery. And now, I'll do it once more." Siegbert tossed his blade to the side and charged at Peri with all his might. The trick worked, and he caught her off-guard. He rammed his head into her gut, reached up, and took her hand with Ganglari in it. He turned it towards her, and in one final, desperate act, he plunged the blade into his stomach, and then hers. He forced her hand off the weapon. And then, he felt it. Her life being absorbed back into Ganglari. Her body crumpled, only kept up by the blade protruding from it.
Ganglari seemed to pulse in Siegbert's grip, trying to take control from him. But he was still alive, and so he was in control. He slumped down, leaning against one of the chapel pews, finally able to sit. But he wasn't able to rest. Not yet. He needed to survive for as long as he could so that Peri couldn't come back until it was too late and Camilla was dead. He just had to hold out until then. He weakly looked up at the sky, watching the moon fully eclipse the sun. Just a little longer…
Inigo
"Soleil." He had finally found her, lost in the chaos of the battle, standing by the ruins of a large fountain. She stared at him, dread filling her eyes. "Finally."
"Father…" Soleil gripped her blade. "Stand down. Please. I don't want to fight you."
"Then don't, Soleil. You don't have to fight."
"I do!" Soleil shouted, holding her blade out towards Inigo. "I have to fight for mother. For the world she and Camilla want to achieve. A world without any more fighting."
"That's a fantasy, Soleil!" Inigo said. "A world like that can't exist! Even if Camilla gets the Yato, do you really think she'll be able to make that world? It won't happen! She'll only cause more harm!" Soleil gritted her teeth.
"Soleil, dear," Iago said, stepping out from behind her. "Your father seems to have become quite the pessimist. Of course Queen Camilla's dream will come true." Soleil became visibly uncomfortable with Iago's presence. "One needs only to believe in it, and they will help it come to pass."
"You snake," Inigo said, scowling. "Don't touch her!" Iago set a hand on Soleil's shoulder, making her flinch. Still, she didn't move away. He readied his blade and charged, intending to cleave the man in two. Iago launched a blast of fire that hit Inigo, sending him flying back.
"Father, please!" Soleil cried out. "Stop fighting! Just surrender." Inigo got back up to his feet, grunting in anger.
"I won't," Inigo said. "I won't stop fighting for you, Soleil." He remembered being a little boy, terrified of others. He remembered how his mother would help him day after day, determined to get him over his fear of interaction. "Because that's what a parent does. They never stop."
"Father…" Soleil took one step forward. Then, Iago grabbed her tight, grabbing a knife and pressing it against her neck.
"Of course, Soleil," Iago said, grinning. "You're such an emotional mess. You can't pick a side. You can't decide who to save. And you hurt the ones you care about. Like Caeldori. How about we hurt someone close to you one last time?"
"Let go of her!" Inigo shouted as Soleil whimpered in Iago's grip.
"Father…"
Out of the rubble and smoke emerged Severa, gripping her blade and slashing at Iago. He stepped back, able to easily avoid her attack thanks to her weakened state. The time she spent in captivity hadn't been kind to her. She kept swinging, but each time the mage would simply step out of the way. Eventually he grew tired of the assault, grabbing her by her shirt, yanking her close, and pressing his hand against her stomach. Then, from his hand protruded a massive icicle, impaling her. Her eyes widened as she coughed. Then, she went limp, her eyes closing.
Inigo stared in terror as Iago tossed Severa to the side like a piece of trash. "You…" His hands shook in rage.
"Oh, poor Inigo," Iago said, smirking. "You always were so protective of women, weren't you? But yet, you can't seem to save anyone. Not Severa, not Leo, and not your dau—" Iago stopped in the middle of his sentence as Soleil's blade cut through his neck, lopping his head clean off. His body hit the ground only a moment after his head did.
Soleil stood there for a moment before dropping her blade and running over to Severa. "No, no! Not you, anyone but you! Please, don't die!" Inigo hurried over, crouching by the body of his old friend. "Please! I already took away Caeldori! I don't want to take you away, too! Don't…don't leave…" Soleil collapsed into a sobbing heap over Severa as blood soaked the redhead's shirt. The light around them faded as a white halo overtook the sky.
Kana
Of course it had to be her. Who else was Kana going to run into? "You're…" The green-haired woman stopped in front of him, holding a sword. She was somewhat unfamiliar. But then, he supposed he was too. "Kana?"
"Midori." The siblings looked at each other. "It's been…a while." Fires raged around them. Windmire was falling to pieces. "You're older."
"So are you." Midori smiled softly. "Why are you here?"
"Mom."
"Ah. I see. She still doesn't know about me, does she?"
"No. I never told her. Just like you wanted."
"Thank you." Midori's smile turned to an attentive glare. "Kana, behind you!"
Kana spun around just in time to use the blades on his gauntlet and catch a sword that was about to pierce his flesh. He twisted his arm, forcing the Nohrian soldier attacking him to drop his weapon. With nothing but the flash of light reflected off a blade as a prior warning, he cut the man's throat open. As the man fell to the ground, Kana turned back around. "Thanks for the heads up."
"Mmh." Midori nodded. "Where'd you learn to fight like that?"
"Well," Kana shrugged. "Being stuck in the Deeprealms for almost half your life gives you time to learn a few new tricks."
Midori giggled. "You still like to downplay yourself, huh?"
"Yeah. You?"
"Unfortunately, yeah." Midori's eyes darted away from her twin brother. "Must be a family curse, huh? Seems we're destined to fight and hate ourselves."
"Well—" Kana wasn't able to finish what he was saying, as he was interrupted by a gigantic blast coming from nearby. He and Midori looked at each other, nodded, and ran over to the source.
It was Elise, ripping an entire building apart with the power of Brynhildr. The target of her rage was Azura, trying to fight back with the power of her pendant. Shigure was backing her up, using his own amulet. Before Midori could stop him, Kana ran at Shigure. He called out to him, grabbing his attention.
Unfortunately, Azura noticed Kana as well, knocking him back. Elise tried to capitalize on this, sending a flurry of roots at her, but she managed to send them flying with the pendant's pure magical power. Elise looked like she was completely consumed by fury, attacking anything that even resembled an enemy. Azura kept deflecting blow after blow, her pendant floating and glowing like the sun.
Then, without any prior indication, force expelled from the pendant in all directions, as if that miniature sun had exploded into a supernova. Kana hit the ground before he even knew what hit him. When he gathered his bearings and stood back up, he realized the fighting around him had stopped entirely.
Azura was laying on the ground with Shigure kneeling next to her, shaking her. She wasn't waking up. Elise slowly approached, her eyes wide, as if she had just woken up from her raging trance. "Mother," Shigure shouted. "Mother! Wake up!"
That's when Azura's chest, starting with where her pendant rested, began to be overtaken by a strange, shimmering blue light. Shigure's eyes widened in recognition. "NO! No, mother, I can't lose you! Not again, not again! Why did you…" Shigure choked on his next word, trying to stifle a sob. "Why didn't you listen to me? Why didn't you just stop using your pendant…"
"Big sister…?" Elise neared Azura, only for Shigure to whip his head around and scream at her to get away. Elise quickly obliged, taking a few steps back, already beginning to cry.
"Mother, please…" Shigure laid his head on his mother's shoulder as the blue light continued spreading over her body. "Don't leave me…" As he wept for his mother, his pendant began to glow. The world rapidly darkened as the eclipse in the sky became complete.
Corrin
Her back pressed against the cold wall of a blacksmith's shop as she was surrounded by slowly approaching Nohrian troops. They took their time closing in on her, not wanting to get cocky and create an opening. "No way am I dying like this," she muttered, ready to strike when the moment was right. But that moment seemed like it was never going to show itself.
An arrow pierced the nape of a soldier, killing him instantly. As the soldiers turned to face the new threat, a blast of fire hit a part of their formation, killing the soldiers there who had clumped so closely together. Corrin ran at one of the soldiers and thrust her sword into his chest, yanking it out with crude efficiency.
A familiar country gal grabbed her knife and slashed a soldier's throat open before grabbing him and shoving him towards another one, forcing him to fall on the ground. He desperately tried to push his comrade's corpse off himself, but Mozu was quicker, crouching and jamming her blade into his throat. Nyx blew another group of soldiers to smithereens while Niles kept taking potshots. It wasn't long before the entire group of soldiers was dead.
Corrin stared at her old allies, bewildered. "You guys…you came back. I thought you were…"
"Sick of you?" Niles said.
"Dead?" Nyx guessed. Corrin nodded. "Well, we aren't. You have a job to do, and we'll be damned if we're going to let you mess it up."
Mozu and Niles nodded along with what Nyx said. Corrin looked at the three of them, trying not to tear up. She nodded back. "Thanks, guys."
"Commander!" a man shouted from nearby. It was a Hoshidan soldier, hurrying over to Corrin and visibly out of breath. "There's a…we've…"
"Woah," Corrin said as the soldier approached and stopped, bending over to catch his breath. "Breathe. What's going on?"
"It's Xander, ma'am! Prince Xander! He and Princess Elise are fighting with our forces! Not only that, but he's located Camilla!"
Corrin wasn't convinced at first, but sure enough, as she arrived at the entrance to Castle Krakenburg, he was already there, talking to Ryoma. She pushed her way through the large gathering of Hoshidan soldiers that had formed. "Hey, what the hell's going on?" She asked the two princes.
"Ah, Princess Corrin," Xander said. "It's good to see you after so long."
Corrin didn't even acknowledge Xander. "So, Camilla's holed up inside?" she asked Ryoma, who nodded.
"Indeed," Ryoma said. "She and her royal guard have taken various inhabitants of the castle hostage, from servants to visiting delegates. She must be desperate."
Corrin shook her head. "Hostage-taking is nothing new for her. All she's doing is biding time until that," she looked up at the sky, where the moon was slowly overtaking the sun, "is finished."
"Then we need to sneak in and try to take her out," Ryoma concluded.
"Not a chance," Xander said. "She knows just about every way in and out of Krakenburg that there is. No doubt she has men posted all across the castle to keep an eye out for us."
"What about defectors?" Corrin suggested. "Surely not all of Camilla's people would be okay with hostages."
"Camilla's built up a cult of personality," Xander explained. "Her royal guards are the most dedicated of the bunch. I'd be shocked if even one of them tried to defect. No doubt she'd kill them the second they tried."
"Well," Ryoma said, "we're not going to just barge in and let those people die."
"I had no intention of suggesting that," Xander added, annoyed.
Corrin looked to the castle gates. "I have to go," she decided. Xander and Ryoma looked at her, baffled. "I'm the only one she'd let in." She unsheathed her sword and let it fall to the ground, followed by her knives.
"Corrin!" Ryoma exclaimed. "Are you joking!? I'm not going to let you in there without a single weapon!" As Corrin walked towards the gates, Ryoma tried to pursue her, only for Xander to set a hand on his shoulder.
"Look at her," the Nohrian prince said. "She has a plan. I can see it in her eyes."
"That's not what I'm worried about," Ryoma muttered. "I'm scared that her plan will end up backfiring."
Archers along the front castle wall readied their bows. Corrin held her hands up. "I think your boss would like to talk to me!" she shouted. "I'm not armed! You can frisk me if you're so concerned!" After what felt like an eternity of tense silence, the men lowered their weapons. The castle gates slowly swung open. Four royal guards approached Corrin, roughly grabbing her by the arms. "Hey, what gives!? Jeez, be a little gentler. I'm royalty, you know." She looked back, trying to spot Ryoma, but he had blended into the sea of red and white Hoshidan uniforms. She couldn't find any of her other allies either. She was escorted past the gates, watching them close behind her. She couldn't help but think of a gaping maw swallowing her whole.
After the gates shut, Corrin was promptly frisked, and just about everything she didn't leave behind was confiscated, mostly being comprised of vulneraries and various other medical items. The man frisking her pulled a smooth, gray rock from her pouch. "Oh come on, you're gonna take that too? It's my good luck charm. What am I gonna do, throw it at Camilla?" He scowled but put it back in her pouch before letting her proceed.
Corrin had only been in Krakenburg once before, and it was right before Camilla started this whole mess. She couldn't remember the layout of the place very well, but the architecture was the same as always. It was a castle built to be imposing, to radiate strength, and to strike fear into the hearts of enemies and allies alike that dwelled within. How anyone could live in there, she couldn't fathom.
Corrin was brought through labyrinthian hallways, occasionally spotting one or two guards patrolling the area. The hostages were no doubt kept hidden so that a hasty rescue attempt would end in failure. Everybody she walked by glanced at her. She opted to stare straight ahead.
After what felt like hours of traversing the castle, Corrin was brought to the throne room. It was remarkable how well restored it was, considering the destruction wrought in it during her last visit. If anything, it looked better than ever. There were a couple dozen guards in the room, give or take. Corrin wasn't in a great position to keep count. And in the back of the room, sitting relaxed, in an outfit truly fit for a queen, was Camilla.
"Thank you, Corrin," Camilla said. "And here I thought I'd have to scour Windmire for you first. Your consideration of convenience is much appreciated."
Corrin smirked. "The whole reason I brought all these soldiers and explosives and ships was for convenience. After all, it'll be easier to clean up the rest of your troops when they're so weakened already. Now, all we need is for you to keel over and die—" The guard behind Corrin backhanded her with his metal gauntlet, making her head ring as she fell to her knees. Camilla held a hand up, stopping the guard from beating her further.
"Corrin," Camilla said with a hum. "You can be a bit dense, you know. The Yato is coming. You graciously bringing me Ryoma and Takumi cemented that. You're going to wield it, and you're going to use it as I see fit, because if you don't, I'll destroy everything you love."
"Yeah, I got the memo," Corrin said through gritted teeth. "Vara made that clear when she threatened Azura's life." Camilla's eyes widened. "Yeah, didn't realize that, huh? She said you didn't have the balls to do it yourself, so they were just gonna kill her before you could stop it."
"Azura's death is…a complication I'd rather avoid," Camilla said. "As I'm sure you would prefer as well. Really, serving me isn't the dire fate you've made it out to be. I'm doing this for the good of the world. For everyone."
"Everyone?" Corrin repeated angrily. "The hell you are! Do you even fathom how many lives you've destroyed just to get here? The people you've hurt? And don't give me that 'the ends justify the means' bullshit, because they don't!"
"Hoshido and Nohr have been in some form of conflict for as long as they've existed," Camilla said. "This is a chance to end that conflict. Once and for all. The lives lost to achieve this peace are a price worth paying."
"Really? What about your father?"
"My father was a maniac. Unhinged. He couldn't have carried this plan through. He would have buckled under the weight of it all."
"And yet you won't," Corrin growled.
"No. I won't."
Corrin snickered darkly. "That's a hell of a god complex you've got there. You know what I think?" Camilla gazed at her, somewhat curious. "I think you had a screwed-up childhood. I think that got you thinking that because your childhood was so screwed up, that gave you an excuse to be as awful as you wanted. I think that you saw yourself as the end all be all. You kept yourself distant from everyone but the select few you decided were worth trusting. And you did awful thing after awful thing, telling yourself that it was ultimately right, that you deserved it, that because the world hurt you, you had a right to hurt it back. And you wanna know why I know that's all true?"
Camilla looked at Corrin with narrowed eyes and furrowed brows.
"I know it's true because that's what I did. I was the orphaned street rat that the world couldn't give two shits about. I could count the people I trusted on one hand. And I hurt people. I hurt them in ways I know I can never take back. But then, along the way, I finally realized that I was wrong. That my trauma wasn't an excuse for the awful shit I did. And only after I figured that out did I start doing some real good for once in my life. At one point, I thought I had found that out too late. I convinced myself that there was no going back for me, that I couldn't be forgiven, much less redeemed."
Camilla sighed. "And you think you can, what – appeal to the sweet little girl inside of me? That I'll see the error of my ways and give up my ambitions?" She slammed her fist down. "I've come too far for that! I won't let this all be for naught! I will save the people of this word. I will end the suffering that made me who I am. I will make sure that for the first time since we humans came into existence, we will see peace."
Corrin spat to the side. "Your peace? It's nothing. A lie. Forcing the world to bend to your will isn't peace."
"If you truly see it that way, then I suppose I really will have to wield you like a weapon," Camilla said. "I'm disappointed that you couldn't see the truth. After all, as you said, we have so much in common."
There was a change in the air. Corrin felt it. And when Camilla felt it, her face morphed into one of terror. "Azura," she whispered, not realizing she had said it before it was too late. Corrin knew. She supposed it was her connection to the Divine Weapons, to the Yato, but she knew either way.
"WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER!?" Corrin screamed, trying to run at Camilla, only for two guards to grab her and hold her back. "YOU MONSTER!" Camilla stared at her with wide eyes.
"She's…this wasn't supposed to…" Camilla looked down. "Oh gods, Azura…you knew your power had a limit…"
Azura was dying. "Camilla!" Corrin shouted, snapping the queen out of her trance-like state. "If Azura dies, who's gonna wield her pendant!?" It was a trick, of course. She knew Shigure was still alive, with a copy of the pendant to boot. But if she could just keep Camilla distracted and scared for just a little longer…
In the throne room, only lit by torchlight, Corrin didn't even see the eclipse. But when the ceiling above them burst apart by a blinding, godly light, she knew it was time. The sky itself seemed to tear apart as winds howled. Some guards were swept off their feet, sent flying out of the broken roof and into the air. Corrin felt none of this. It was as if she were impervious to the apocalyptic effects of the prophecy finally coming to pass. Bölverk became enveloped by a blinding light, one that shot up into the sky along with seven others. They converged at the center of the eclipse, bursting into a large circle.
And out of that massive circle of light came one last heavenly beam, this time hitting Corrin herself. For a brief moment, she was completely blinded. Then, her sight returned, and in her hand was the relic she had dreaded the thought of. The weapon she wished she would never have to wield. The mistake of her ancestors. The Yato. It was a majestic gold, with razor-sharp edges lining the blade. Embedded within the blade itself were four gemstones, shimmering just as brightly as the weapon. The Fire Emblem had returned, and with the power of all its jewels, the Divine Weapons, it stood as the single greatest source of power in the world.
Azura was dead. Corrin stared at the Yato. Azura was dead. The thought kept replaying in her mind in an endless loop. Azura, the person she cared about, the person she had spent so long apart from, desperately trying to rescue, only to be denied. The person who she kept fighting for even after that, hoping she could save her. She was dead. And in that moment, blinded by emotion and the indescribable power surging through her, Corrin felt as if there was nothing more to lose.
Corrin mindlessly opened her pouch with her other hand and pulled out the gray, silky-smooth stone that had been sitting inside. It seemed to pulse with its own power.
Mikhail said you'd need it, and that your blood would let you use it. He said you'll know what it is soon enough.
The world around Corrin felt like it was wiped away, and in its place formed a recent memory. She was staring at herself and Mikhail.
"Then what will you do?" he asked. "How will you fix the world?"
"I think I know what to do," Corrin answered, looking at Mikhail. "Can I ask you something important?" He nodded. "When I summon the Yato, when I'm holding it in my hands, and I can feel its power become my own. Can I destroy it?"
Corrin felt her body change. Bones bent and broke, shifting into an inhuman skeleton covered with strong muscle and thick, leathery skin. The pain was unbearable, but Corrin tried to shut it out and focus on the memory. She was becoming something other than herself. No, that wasn't true, she realized. She was becoming what she was all along, what her blood allowed her to be.
Mikhail laughed. "You really are something special, Corrin. To answer your question, I believe it should be possible. But is this really what you wish to do?" In her bestial form, as wings sprouted from her back and her ancient blood boiled in her veins, Corrin nodded. Energy gathered in her chest, and with a roar befitting her draconic form, she let it out, hitting the Yato. It glowed brighter and brighter, as if it was being smelted in molten lava, trembling, then shaking, then—
Everything went white.
