"You know what you need to do. If you can't kill them—whether you're too weak physically or emotionally—then bide time until I can finish them off myself."
Edelgard knew what she had to do. Though torn in half through internal conflict, she couldn't disappoint her uncle. Her soldiers. Her family.
…Herself.
How many promises has she made over the past five years—or even her entire life? How much of them will be proved to never come true, making her a liar at best? She didn't know the answer; sometimes she didn't want to. But with her strength not yet fully returned and most of her army in the capital protecting her, she had to fight Byleth.
The Church of Seiros has stood for too long, and some day soon she hoped to see it fall. Edelgard had pointed her blade towards the heavens without the intent of letting it go. Her resolve, on that front, was firm—but thinking of Byleth coming towards her, the Sword of the Creator in her hands, scared her. Byleth could easily overpower Edelgard in the latter's still-weakened state.
Edelgard was certain that Byleth would try talking to her first. She knew how she would reply to the questions Byleth posed in her letters. It would be the first time they talked face-to-face in five years…she wasn't looking forward to it.
A soldier came up to her, bringing her out of her thoughts. "I have a report from the outside battle, Your Majesty!"
"Proceed," Edelgard said firmly.
"Imperial soldiers are fleeing en masse," the soldier explained. "Most are leaving the capital—others are retreating into the palace to get more weapons. The Resistance Army is divided into four factions: the leading commander's guard; the Knights of Seiros; soldiers from the Alliance; and soldiers from the Kingdom."
"Do you know who leads each faction?" Edelgard asked.
"Only that the Officer Academy's old professor is the leading commander, and Seteth of the Church leads the Knights," the soldier replied regretfully. "The commanders of the other two factions have stayed hidden for the duration of the battle."
"And what of Hubert and the Death Knight?" Edelgard said. "Are they still fighting, or have they retreated?"
"Both were reported to be taken off the battlefield by Knights," the soldier said. "The leading commander gave the Death Knight to three of her guards, then did the same for Hubert. With her remaining three guards, she comes ever closer, Your Majesty."
"So that's what they chose," Edelgard said quietly. She laughed, a morbid and humorless thing that showed a hint of anxiety to anyone listening for it. "Of course. I suppose this was inevitable either way." When she continued, she was addressing the soldier in front of her, "Tell the soldiers still fighting to come inside. Let the enemy's army storm the palace; I'm ready to face the leading commander."
The soldier bowed and left. Not long after, Edelgard heard the familiar sounds of war—blades meeting, shouted orders, the advancement of enemy troops. She waited in a dark room lit only by the sunlight outside, which even then was fading due to clouds.
Finally, the door opened. Only one person entered—Byleth herself. She looked a bit tired, likely having to fight her way there with little pause. Edelgard made sure she held her weapon tightly to prepare for the battle she knew would come.
"I chose this path so I could reshape the world," Edelgard said, thinking on the letters Byleth sent her. "To give the strong and the weak equal standing, to stop the reliance on Crests and the Church's lies. If you gave me your hand now, I couldn't accept—if I accept your kindness, I will only burn it until ashes of betrayal and hatred are left. If you were to fall, I would give you the most peaceful death you would receive from anyone within the Empire. That's not to say that I won't later regret the choice, but it's what must be done. I don't know who told you of the Empire's allies, but I can't get rid of them until our common enemy has been destroyed. I don't want to fight you any more than you do, Professor, but we must. This isn't personal—it's war. And as the one who started it, I can't allow my own feelings to get in the way."
"We can create a compromise," Byleth said, maintaining a certain level of kindness. "Enough people have died in this conflict. I may lead the Resistance Army, but other people are killing and dying in pointless battles just to stay alive. You didn't have to do this alone. Isn't it getting hard to keep walking your path, with so much blood weighing you down?"
The question hit a bit too close to home. Edelgard's way of reacting to it was shutting out the emotion it caused entirely; all that was left now was resolve and anger, which she used to give her reply. With a simple gesture—raising her axe with an emotionless expression—the battle she had worried about for hours began.
Byleth fought defensively, while Edelgard tried her best to land a hit. Byleth only needed to reopen Edelgard's nearly-healed wounds for the emperor to start bleeding; she fought on, however, determined to land a hit. It wasn't until both of them were spotted with blood, their weapons nearly painted red, that Edelgard's strength finally gave away.
It was a bit hard to draw breath. Her vision was getting darker. Just like before, Edelgard laughed humorlessly. "Claim your victory…my teacher. As you said…people are killing each other…they won't know peace until I'm dead. Should I fall…I want it to be by your hands. It would be...a mercy at this point."
She saw Byleth move closer. More soldiers came inside the room, all of which Edelgard recognized as distinguished Knights or her former classmates. She felt her weapon being pulled away, and Byleth got down to look into Edelgard's eyes. "I never want to hear you say that again," Byleth said, gentle but stern. She looked behind her, adding, "Flayn, can you heal her? Bernadetta, Caspar, Petra, and Alois will stay with me; Seteth, can you take Ferdinand, Linhardt, Dorothea, Catherine, Shamir, and Cyril to find Rhea?"
There were grunts of approval and quiet words meant to comfort Edelgard as she was healed. Her mind was too darkened to think of a response, and she soon fell into unconsciousness.