(The chapter opens directly after the previous one with the royals and Luna following the large group of invisible soldiers. They have surrounded a young person with blue hair.)
Timpani: Look! They're in trouble!
Shiro: We have to help them.
Siegbert: Ready your weapons, all of you.
Galatea: Be careful though. We can't have anyone dying.
Kiragi: Sure is convenient that Shigure left us to deal with this without him.
Forrest: I hope that he shows himself again.
Sumiko: I don't want him to get hurt somewhere along the way.
Owen: We'll have to get through this fight before we can deal with him.
Tempest: The person at the center of the struggle appears to have a knife, so they should be able to handle themselves until we arrive.
Kana: But we can't leave them alone!
Luna: And we won't. Get ready.
Kanaya: We're coming! Promise!
(The battle begins. Your units are gathered in the bottom left corner. The objective is to reach an unknown character, Lyci, who is in the center of the map. The enemy also needs to be routed. Lyci has blue hair that fades out to red at the tips with pointed ears. They are of the Draconic Servant class and are promoted. They can use knives, staves, and dragonstones.)
(At the start of turn one, this dialogue plays out.)
Lyci: Oh... Shigure, please get here soon...
(After Lyci initiates combat once, this dialogue plays out.)
Kana: Woah! They have a dragonstone too!
Kanaya: I've never seen any dragons like that! Wow!
Lyci: Help has arrived... Phew... I-I just hope they're the ones Shigure sent...
(If Kanaya speaks with Lyci, this dialogue plays out.)
Kanaya: Hey! You have a dragonstone!
Lyci: I do... You must be Kanaya.
Kanaya: How did you know?
Lyci: Shigure told me about you. He passed through here not long ago.
Kanaya: Can you take us to him?
Lyci: After these enemies have been cleared out, of course.
Kanaya: Thank you!
(If Kana speaks with Lyci, this dialogue plays out.)
Kana: You can turn into a dragon...
Lyci: I can.
Kana: How do you do that?
Lyci: I have a dragonstone.
Kana: Where did you get it?
Lyci: That's a story for later... For now, let's finish this.
Kana: Alright!
(After the battle, the group stands around Lyci.)
Shiro: Phew... What a relief that's over.
Siegbert: What's your name? What are you doing here?
Lyci: My name is Lyci. I live here.
Tempest: You live here? How? There aren't any people with flesh and blood for miles.
Owen: All we've seen are those invisible soldiers.
Lyci: I was created by excess magic here.
Forrest: Excess magic?
Kiragi: I've never heard of anything like that.
Lyci: This land, Valla, is known for its magical power. After its dragon died, a lot of magic was left behind. It is this magic that reanimates the soldiers in a constant state of suffering. That magic created me and my mother.
Sumiko: Mother?
Lyci: Her name was Lilith... She passed away in the war between Hoshido and Nohr, but her spirit remained due to the magic of this place, the place of her birth.
Timpani: She isn't actually your mother... She's your caretaker.
Lyci: Yep! You got it.
Galatea: Do you know Shigure?
Luna: Where is he?
Lyci: I do know him. He brought you all here, just like he did with me. I come from a different timeline.
Kana: A different timeline?
Kanaya: Multiple timelines exist?!
Lyci: Yep! One where Hoshido won the war and one where Nohr did. I come from the time where Hoshido won the war. Shigure comes from this one, the one where Nohr won.
Shiro: That explains the argument we were having earlier.
Tempest: When we touched those stones with hopes to go after Shigure, we went into a different timeline.
Kiragi: That makes sense.
Sumiko: It doesn't even seem real.
Galatea: Then again, life hasn't seemed real since before our parents were attacked.
Siegbert: Lyci, can you explain this from the beginning?
Lyci: Shigure will be able to tell you more than me.
Owen: Where even is he?
Lyci: He's not far from here. I was going to help you find him, but I got attacked.
Forrest: Why did he even leave you alone?
Lyci: He went to find a safe location for us to speak.
Timpani: I see... Do you know where he is now?
Lyci: Of course. I can take you there now.
Luna: Go on. There's not a moment to lose.
Kana: My parents told me about a woman named Lilith... They got along really well.
Kanaya: I heard the same. Everyone was really sad when she died.
Kana: I'm glad she's somewhat okay now though.
Lyci: She's in another timeline, but she's somewhat alive. If she wasn't, she wouldn't have been able to raise me.
Kanaya: That's a good thing!
Lyci: Now, if we're all ready, let's go and see Shigure!
Kanaya: Sounds like a plan to me!
Kana: Let's go!
Lyci good and also baby
-Digital
