Sooo, it's been a while… Yeah I have no words other than the world around us is making it hard to focus on my passions. Thankfully, I joined a very nice Fire Emblem Discord server that helped me regain my interest in writing. It's been a long time coming, and now we're finally at the Holy Tomb!
Chapter Seven: Secret Identity reveals Secret Identity
The Blue Lions collectively huddled around their professor as they rode the mysterious contraption that took them into the depths of Garreg Mach. They did not know what to expect as they ventured with Rhea into the Holy Tomb, all except for Flayn. She kept this mysterious smile on her face the entire time, occasionally glancing over to Byleth and marvel at his new green hair and eyes. Despite her ever-present calm exterior, even the students could tell that the archbishop was eagerly awaiting something.
Finally breaking the awkward silence, Kronya spoke up. "So how I'm here?" she sheepishly asked while looking at her still-new academy shoes.
"My child, I told you that you were in the finest hands in all of Fodlan; and it seems as though I was correct. You deserve to be with your classmates and allies in this historic moment." Rhea said calmly. She never expected that an Agarthan would be peacefully visiting this sacred place, but so many things she did not expect to happen have already transpired.
The orange-haired assassin looked away, now feeling bashful. "Bah, all this mushiness will make me sick…" she said unconvincingly. Her old sense of sarcasm was coming back, but still hidden underneath a mountain of insecurity.
Mercedes and Annette both stepped up behind her, with the other orange-haired girl saying, "Oh c'mon, we know you want to be here!"
"Yeah, you're right about that. I-I'd rather be around you all than some of the other students…" she said ominously, thinking that if she was alone right now Hubert would have followed through on his promise.
Mercedes was concerned, "There hasn't been anyone giving you any trouble, right?"
Dimitri was suddenly in front of Kronya with an intensity in his eyes that didn't match his calm voice. "Remember what I said, any threats to you I- we'll deal with, understood?"
"Y-Yeah, I remember what you said. Thank you all again."
Byleth approached Dimitri and placed a hand on his shoulder, to which the prince let out a deep breath and relaxed once more.
"Relax boar prince, I know you're just fishing for an excuse to attack someone anyways," a curt voice cut in.
Ingrid went to defend her old friend, "Felix! That's no way to…"
"He's broken over half of our lances because he's not keeping his crest in check!"
Dimitri responded in the sad voice he always seemed to have when addressing Felix, "I'm sorry for all the trouble I have been causing, I've just been under a lot of stress since Remire village…"
"And what are you going to do about that?!" The dark-haired swordsman replied, now in the prince's face. "Whenever you're stressed you just bottle it up and let it eat at you!"
"Felix that's enough," Byleth said, grabbing the boy's shoulder to pull him away. Felix didn't resist but kept a hard glare at Dimitri, to which the other boy only sighed.
Although there was a brief awkward silence, Sylvain chimed in, "Well that fight didn't last as long as it usually does."
There was a scattering of laughter throughout the students as they realized that their professor was the one to make those two not be at each other's throats constantly.
A dramatic clacking of heels and a hand on his shoulder made Dimitri turn around to see Rhea standing behind him. He had been so wrapped up in his own head he forgot entirely about the archbishop.
"L-Lady Rhea! I'm so sorry about my earlier outburst-" he began before being cut off by her.
"You're emotions are natural my child. I have also seen much suffering and was foolish enough to not rely on my friends…" she briefly glanced to Flayn, who had a sad expression on her face.
She continued, "Your friends here care about you, so do not allow yourself to fight these demons alone."
Dimitri stood there taking in her words. "Yes Archbishop, thank you…" he quietly said before turning back to Felix. The two simply nodded at each other but there was a much warmer air around the entire class now.
This was all shaken when the platform they were on suddenly stopped. The doors opened and Rhea stepped forward, guiding them through the bright green area. The students all gasped at how massive this place was, not expecting somewhere like this to exist underneath the academy. They all kept following her until they climbed a long set of stairs, finally ending with a small platform that sat in front of a stone throne.
"Are you surprised professor? This is the Holy Tomb?" Rhea began. "This is where the goddess that created this world was laid to rest, along with her children."
She then guided him closer to the intimidated chair. "It is said that our creator – the goddess Sothis – sat upon this very throne. Professor, do you recognize this throne?"
He was nodding before she was even finished with her sentence. He felt his non-beating heart lurch seeing this familiar place but without his impish partner here.
"So long, I have waited so very long for this day…" she said to herself but out loud as well. Behind her, a gasp was let out by Flayn, who was beginning to realize Byleth seemed so familiar to her.
"Sit upon the throne. I have no doubt that you will be gifted a revelation from the goddess."
Byleth did as instructed, silently hoping to himself that he would hear her voice again. However, after sitting and waiting for a few minutes, nothing was occurring. Turning to Rhea, she said, "Well? It was supposed to be but a step away… what could possibly be missing?"
While they were both lost in thought, the sound of heavy footsteps and shouting of Dimitri snapped them back to their senses. "Halt! Reveal yourselves!"
A slithery man called back in response. "Don't move, any of you! If you move then your lives will be forfeit!"
The Blue Lions grimaced as they grouped up. The man continued, "Thank you ever so much for guiding us this far. The Imperial Army will now take possession of everything in the Holy Tomb!"
Dedue was preparing to speak when he heard a noise. Looking over his shoulder he saw Kronya wrapping her arms around herself while muttering incomprehensibly. Ashe went over to her to put an arm around her and say, "Hey, hey, I know this is scary but we need to stick together."
She looked back to him, wide-eyed and almost crazed with fear. "No, no, no, you don't get it!" Despite her pale skin Ashe could see the whites of her knuckles from how hard she was gripping her silver sword's handle. She erratically got to her feet, looking straight at the figure standing in imposing armor.
"Is the invasion happening now?! Tell me Edelgard!"
Edelgard. That word hung around everyone like a choking fog. There were a few gasps, but most people stayed stone-still. The seconds passed by like hours as the Flame Emperor stood there. Without any hesitation, the individual reached up to remove their helmet. Everyone now saw that Kronya spoke the truth, as Edelgard was standing right before them.
She turned towards her old teammate, leveling a hard glare at her. "You were never meant to live to see this day, but you are correct." Then gesturing to her army, she shouted, "Take anything you can grab! The more we do now the more assured our victory shall be!"
However, as she was speaking there was another noise echoing throughout the stone halls of the Holy Tomb. Dimitri was hunched over, seemingly sobbing to himself. Once he raised his head though, his classmates realized that instead he was in a fit of insane laughter, unable to handle the truth.
"Is this some kind of twisted joke?!" he seethed. Readying his lance. She kept her face emotionless, only watching to see what his next move would be.
He charge didn't stop. "I've been looking for you…" he said lowly before picking back up again. "I will take that head from your shoulders, and hang it from the gates of Enbarr!"
Dimitri began his wild charge, shrugging off began his wild charge, however he was stopped by Byleth, Dedue, Felix, and Sylvain holding him back.
"You charge in and you'll get surrounded!" Sylvain shouted, hoping to speak some sense into his friend.
"Hey boar prince! If you want to get your revenge then use your brain to get it!" Felix yelled over the redhead, realizing that Dimitri really was slipping back to his other state.
Their words seemed to work as Dimitri took a deep breath, but the bloodlust hadn't left his face. "We'll kill her, but we'll do it together," he said with finality.
The rest of his classmates nodded as they all assumed their fighting positions. Ashe had to help Kronya stand tall but she was starting to get back into the swing of it. In all actuality, this was the first time she was in combat since the battle in the Sealed Forest. Although she was still in form from training, this was real violence that was about to occur.
The class split into two groups, with the left and right groups charging forward to hopefully trap Edelgard in the middle. Dimitri still led the charge with his group, and his classmates tried their best to just stay out of his rampage. Both teams made it to the stairs, where they then split into two more groups. One defending the stairs and preventing the soldiers to get away with the crest stones; and the other group to press the charge forward.
Kronya and Flayn were fighting back against those stealing the crest stones – their pockets clacking loudly with every step. Flayn had an uncharacteristically hard edge to her, not talking or expressing any emotion except anger as she cast her black magic. However, she did not notice a stray warrior with a steel axe coming from behind her. A sickening noise was made as metal tore through flesh and the green-haired girl let out a yelp of pain before crumbling to the floor. The sound made Kronya turn her head, and the sight of her friend – the one who was so eager to make her feel welcomed – lying in a growing pool of blood, made Kronya snap as well.
"You filthy vermin!" she screamed as she summoned every last bit of movement training for this very moment. Going into a full sprint she suddenly jumped and performed a mid-air roll, ending it with a kick directly at the man's stomach. He fell to his knees at which she then swung her other leg high in the air, catching him by the jaw as he then fell on his back to the stone floor.
"I forgot how good this felt~" she said while trying, and failing, to suppress a shudder of pleasure that went down her spine. Slowly moving over and then straddling the dazed solider, she raised her sword up high, then brought it down hard, lodging it into his skull. With that, the person who harmed her friend was no more.
Standing up, Kronya looked to her latest victim and said, "One less lowly beast in the world." Suddenly she was shaking her head aggressively, pushing off that haze of bloodlust and remembering where she was. Eyeing Flayn on the floor, she rushed over to be by her side, holding the smaller girl close.
"Kron…ya…?" she meekly asked. She sounded so tired and the assassin was terrified of what might be about to happen.
"Shh, shh, shh, don't talk, you need your energy," Kronya replied, trying not let the worry leave her voice.
"To think that… one of your people… would try to protect… one of ours. It makes me… happy…"
The blood loss must be getting to her, Kronya thought. "Please Flayn don't talk, you're not making any sense. Just hold on! Someone will be here soon!"
Looking around, she saw that Mercedes was far away, but still within range. She screamed that Flayn needed help, to which the older girl was able to cast a life-saving physic. Kronya could feel the wounds closing up, remembering how she was in a similar position only a month ago.
However, her scream also attracted Dimitri's gaze; and if he was furious before, he was a demon now. Entire squads were reduced to corpses in seconds as he wildly charged forward, only to be stopped by Metodey. Although Dimitri was cracking the floor with every missed swing of the lance, he was soon breathing hard and unable to focus. The poison from the venin edge working its way through his body. Dedue quickly caught up though, using his hand axe to deflect the sword going straight towards his liege.
The scream also attracted the attention of a few remaining soldiers that hadn't yet made it to the stairs. Kronya gently set Flayn down on the ground as she stood back up. "I'm glad my friend is asleep, she'd hate to see what I'm about to do to you~" she gleefully said in her old, singsong voice.
-o-O-o-o-O-o-o-O-o-
Byleth continued his march to where Edelgard was. Only a handful of crest stones were able to slip past her while she covered their retreat. Dimitri was breathing hard, almost doubled over trying to bring air into his lungs. Mercedes was by his side, keeping him stable. The poison was still affecting him severely, leaving his friends having to push the assault. Dedue and Sylvain were fighting hard against Metodey, who was no on the defensive. On the other side, Felix and Annette where fighting against Hubert – always by his lady's side. The miasma hurt but Byleth was using his own faith magic to help his students.
"I always hoped you would see Lady Edelgard's path, she had such high hopes for you," he said bitterly to the professor.
Nobody realized just how powerful the dark mage was until now, as he was able to take on three other fighters at once. However, a wind spell from Annette created an opening that Felix used to make a devastating slash on his former classmate.
"Hngh, I guess that's all from me for today…" he said with a humorless chuckle before teleporting away.
Byleth told them to stand back since they were injured, and let the others come forward for the last fight. He surveyed the battlefield, grimacing at the carnage that had unfurled. Flayn was stable but severely injured, with Dimitri in a similar position. Annette and Felix were steady but were far from being healthy enough to challenge someone like Edelgard. Ingrid and Ashe had stayed healthy the whole time, so they were ready to help their professor. Looking past Edelgard, he saw that Dedue and Sylvain were in a similar state to Dimitri as the poison went through their veins. However, the combined fighting was wearing Metodey down and he found himself turning to retreat as well. He only made it a few steps forwards before he felt an arm wrap around his throat, then saw the blade of a sword erupt through his stomach. Turning his head, he saw a dark glint in ruby eyes before falling to the ground. His last thought realizing that she was the assassin he was supposed to replace.
Edelgard was now alone, but hardly outmatched. Her Agarthan armor and twin crests gave her more than enough power to deal with her old interest and three of his students. Seeing that Hubert was on standby and Metodey was dead, her scowl only deepened. Readying her axe, she turned over to see her old, annoying associate.
"Hmph, you've always been a thorn in my side Monica," Edelgard said with a smirk. That old name was a reminder to Kronya about how much she hated those days.
"Shut up," she coldly replied. Although she started by looking at her feet, she raised her gaze to look at the girl she once knew.
"You know when I first met you I just wanted to be your friend. I thought that if I could be useful to you then you'd see me as more than just a tool…"
Even though Kronya was speaking lowly, the deathly silence in the Holy Tomb made her words audible to everyone. Edelgard's expression never changed, as she knew long ago that words were never going to sway her to change her path.
The Agarthan assassin then raised her sword, aiming at tip at the Flame Emperor's face. "Now I'm gonna prove to you that I never needed you in the first place."
The white-haired girl scoffed. "All you are proving is that you want to be a tool for someone else."
"I said SHUT UP!" she screeched while making her charge. Despite being limber and able to connect her sword multiple times before Edelgard could even raise her shield, the damage inflicted was minimal. With a heavy shield bash, she was able to send the assassin flying.
This distraction, however, made her unable to react quickly enough to dodge an arrow from Ashe. It lodged itself deep into her leg, impeding her movement even more than the armor did. Ingrid and Byleth both drew their respective relic weapons and circled around Edelgard. Although her axe held the advantage against Luin, the power radiating from the weapon made Edelgard become injured just from regular attacks. Byleth began his own assault, using his speed to deliver a string of quick, damaging blows that forced Edelgard to back away.
On que, Hubert appeared behind her, and they both teleported away. Once they were both gone, the remaining Blue Lions collapsed from exhaustion, but able to enjoy their victory.
-o-O-o-o-O-o-o-O-o-
It had been two weeks from that dramatic day, and life at Garreg Mach was now in a state of subdued chaos. The unease and uncertainty hung through the air like smog, and was just as dangerous too. Students were unsure if they should stay there and try to defend or run and get away from the future combat zone as quickly as possible. Edelgard, now the Emperor, announced that she was going to be invading Garreg Mach, and now another war was about to engulf Fodlan. As Byleth walked through the monastery, he couldn't help but notice how many eyes were on him now. Everyone that saw him looked to him for guidance, but right now he just needed to see how his students were.
Making it to the infirmary, he saw that the recovery efforts were going well. Dedue and Sylvain had the poison flushed out and were almost back to tiptop shape. The others had their wounds healed and were completely rested from exhaustion. The only ones who were still recovering were Dimitri and Flayn, which Byleth saw in their own beds as he entered the room.
Manuela said that Flayn's recovery was almost inhuman based on the wound she received, making Seteth quickly change the topic. Sitting next to her, the green-haired girl's eyes fluttered open. "Hello professor," she smiled weakly. "I'm sorry to have made you all worry so much."
Byleth reached out and gently held her hand. "Nonsense, you're one of my students. I'm so sorry that you had to endure a battlefield like that…"
"I'm just happy that I was able to help you all. We all fought together so hard, it reminds me off…" she trailed off as her eyes slowly closed, obviously still tired.
Her professor smiled as he saw her fall asleep, reaching out to pat her head and whisper sleep well to her. He then turned his attention to Dimitri, who was staring intently at nothing in particular.
"Hello Dimitri, I hope you've finally accepted that you need rest," Byleth dryly chuckled.
Dimitri could have been out the same time as his classmates, but he kept leaving his bed to go train. He would always say that he's wasting that time when he should be training, even though his training lately has been sloppy. Edelgard, look what you've done to your brother, he thought to himself.
After a moment, the prince responded. "If I rest then I can train properly, but once that happens I will not stop until my arms break wielding my lance," he replied grimly.
Everyone had noticed his sudden personality shift. The way he was so fixated on death, how he'd laugh to himself, and especially how he seemed to be talking to someone even when no one was in the room. Byleth didn't know how to help his house leader, and this didn't seem like an issue that could be fixed with a simple pep talk. Just like with Flayn, he reached out to reassuringly squeeze the prince's hand. For a brief flash, Byleth could see the old Dimitri wanting to come back, but a second later that hard stare returned. Sighing to himself, he excused himself from the room.
As he left the infirmary, he could hear a conversation occurring in Seteth's Office. Peaking his head around, he could see the archbishop's advisor talking to Kronya.
"Lady Rhea told me about what she saw in the Holy Tomb, how you protected Flayn so fiercely." Normally Seteth would be the first to oppose such grotesque violence, but he always made an exception when it came to Flayn.
He continued, "I cannot express my thanks to you enough… counting your professor I have made the mistake of being too critical of two people now…"
The praise coming from the same person that wanted her dead two months ago made her bashful as she gripped the sides of her skirt. "I-It was nothing really, Flayn was so excited to meet me, and she always treated me so well! Seeing her hurt, it just made me… snap…" she trailed off, remembering that haze she entered after Flayn was struck.
"Yes I remember Lady Rhea telling me that much as well. Just do remember that when you're in that state you are less likely to think critically, which can make you more susceptible to traps and such."
"I'll make sure to remember that sir! Holding her in my arms… she was saying such strange things. I was scared it was the end…"
Already having to deal with Manuela, Seteth was preparing to do damage control with the assassin as well. "I hope it was nothing inappropriate," he dryly said.
"No, no! Nothing like that! She just seemed so surprised that an Agarthan would save her. Something about how my people rescuing her people. It didn't make any sense."
There was a brief flash of shock on Seteth's face as he realized how much she said to Kronya. His mind whirling, he eventually spoke. "I understand how that could be confusing. You of all people should know that her blood is very special. Coupling that with her isolated childhood, she always thought she was different from everyone else. In her delirious state, she might have thought she wasn't even human." He hummed to himself after saying all that, thinking it sounded solid to him. Kronya seemed to process it all, but her eyes went downcast too.
"I know where she's coming from. When I was Monica it was so nice to be someone new, and to finally be human," she said this while slowly waving an arm in front of her. Using her disguising magic, the arm changed from her gray tone to a more fleshy color.
"When I'm with my friends and the professor, I forget that I'm different…"
It was here that Byleth decided to walk in. "Kronya surely you must know that we never consider you to be subhuman or alien to us. You eat with us, you laugh with us, and you fight with us. You're human as far as anyone is concerned.
"P-Professor, I…" she began before being cut off by Seteth with a small smile on his face.
"I couldn't have said it any better myself. No matter what blood runs through your veins, what matters is how you act; and you have shown through your actions that you are one of us."
"I, um, need to go now. T-Thank you all for that!" she said quickly while practically running out of the room, almost knocking over Cyril who was dusting the hallway.
The two men then looked back at each other. Byleth began, "To think this is how we would be talking to her of all people. It still shocks me."
"The events surrounding her and now Edelgard have proven to me that life still holds many surprises," Seteth replied.
Byleth chuckled in response, "You may be older than you look but don't start acting like you're ancient."
Seteth merely shook his head with a smile as he sat back down to get back to paperwork. Before he was used to dealing with student complaints, now he was managing logistics for a war.
The professor left the room and began walking towards the Blue Lions classroom. He only had a few short weeks before the invasion began. The time he had left needed to be spent helping his students prepare for war. As much as he hoped the battle of Garreg Mach would be the only one, he could feel in his gut that life was never going to be the same again.
And there you have it! Again, I am so, so sorry for such a long delay. Life may be crazy out there but I know how much a new chapter being released can help raise someone's spirits. For the chapter itself, I tried to make Kronya have her old personality still somewhere around in her, but just angled differently. I'm hoping you all are liking her writing and hopefully I haven't forgotten about any characters you like as well. Please leave a review, reading them is always the brightest part of my day. Thank you all again and I'll see you next time!