Only a few hours after we send the message on a pegasus knight detailing what happened, Seiros arrives at the remains of Fort Merceus. She's brought a small group of church healers in tow, and orders them to get to work healing the survivors. The combination of Serios' arrival speed and the healers being flustered tells me that she most likely transported them over here in dragon form. Flayn arrives atop a Pegasus a few minutes later and begins assisting with the healing. Thank goodness she's okay with acting as an out-of-battle medic despite her promise not to get involved in the war.

"What happened here, Claude?" Seiros says.

I give her the big-picture rundown. The entire time, I'm thinking about Caspar.

"They struck because I wasn't here to destroy the javelins," she says. "And because of that…"

"This isn't your fault."

"I should have known. I had a thousand years to gather information about these people and still put together none of their plans. Nemesis was only one of their pawns, allowed to die when he no longer suited them. And still, what he did at Zanado…" she shakes her head. "What was I thinking as Rhea, Claude? I had all of Fódlan listening and decided only to speak of religious authority."

"Can't do anything about the situation Rhea put us in," I say. "But it is concerning that the first time you're not with us, they drop more nucl-javelins of light on us. Though I wonder why they don't just turn Garreg Mach to rubble when we're sleeping."

"There are protections around the monastery," Serios says. "They tried exactly that before, and the javelins were redirected to the Ailell region. The fires those weapons caused there continue to burn eternal."

So as Archbishop, Rhea knew that they had fantasy nukes that could leave entire regions volcanic and ravaged for centuries, and she did nothing? And I thought my opinion of her couldn't get any lower. I see Seiros staring out at the horizon, the blue waters of Fódlan silent in the distance as the wind flutters by, and wonder if she's having the same thoughts. Having over a millennium to rack up memories must be a curse as much as a blessing.

"I'll go with you to attack Enbarr," Seiros says. "We can't risk this happening to the civilians there."

"Happy to have your assistance, then. Let's do our best to bring this war to end."

Seiros glances up at the ruins of Fort Merceus, and her expression tightens. "And then the real war will begin."

#

Turns out, one of the few good qualities about Rhea is that she was good at organizing relief logistics for providing refugees with food, water, shelter, and medicine. Or so Seiros tells me, anyway, and I'm happy to stay out of her way as she handles the mess. We relocate all of the civilians to central Fódlan in and nearby Garreg Mach as a temporary measure, which Seiros is especially insistent on after I tell her about the radiation poisioning that nuclear weapons can cause. I appreciate that she doesn't question how I have that information. So far, I don't think I've told anyone other than Dimitri how I'm from Earth.

Speaking of Earth, the way refugees are treated here in Fódlan is better than most of what I see going on in America. And from what I hear, many European countries keep their borders even tighter than we do in the states. I spend a few days overseeing flying units delivering supplies, where Seteth and I plan and monitor the situation to ensure that the mounts and riders don't get exhausted. But before long, we have the situation cleared up, and Seiros is able to find the refugees jobs producing and processing all sorts of goods needed for the war. Arrows, food preservation, cloth, bandages, and more. I remember having to manage those supplies when I was Alliance leader and the rest of the lords didn't understand how important it is to have proper sanitation and stop the spread of pestilence. I could only shout so many times that more warriors die from disease than combat before realizing my words were falling on uncaring ears.

So in what seems like a miracle, the situation settles down almost entirely within a couple of weeks. And for the first time, I'm proud of myself for choosing to trust Seiros based on little more than instinct. Her actions here saved hundreds of lives and improved the quality of thousands more. This is the kind of leader Fódlan needs, and it's a twist of cruel fate that she couldn't have been like this at any point in the past thousand years.

During this time, Nader approaches me to talk about the rest of the war. He says that the other Almyrans were spooked by the javelins of light, and that he wasn't able to persuade them to keep fighting the Empire. It's a response that surprises me, but I think it's for the best. I expected the Almyrans to stick with us and gather more information about weapons that could potentially be used against them in the future, but turns out they see it as a Fódlan problem and are half-expecting our entire society as a continent to get torn apart by this war. And I can't even say I'm convinced they're wrong. So Nader leaves with the Almyrans in tow. It could be years before I see him again, but I don't have the time to worry about that now.

Once our work turns back to the war, Dimitri approaches me alone in the strategy room.

"There's something I want you to do," he says. "And if you don't think you'll be helpful, you can tell me know. But I trust you for this kind of job."

"Shoot."

"I sent out an invitation for Edelgard to meet me in neutral territory. I was… hoping we could find a way towards peace. I want you to accompany me."

"Because a peace negotiation went so well the first time we tried it."

Well, it was my second time, since she also tried to get the Alliance to surrender back when I was leading it. I still wonder if I made the right choice by fighting her to keep my lands safe even though I've seen Byleth in battle and knew the devastation they could bring.

"I know, I know," Dimitri says. "But this time, we have the position of power. We can try to offer a generous deal."

"If you're going, I want to come along and make sure that you're safe. For Earth Dimitri's sake as well as yours. But I don't think we're going to get peace unless we can wrench it from her corpse."

"Earth… ah. I keep forgetting that I exist in your home world as well, and that my life is tied to this other Dimitri's. I'll try to stay safe for his sake, Claude. But I do want to meet Edelgard. I sent the message to her already, telling her to meet three days from now."

I bite back a sigh. I can already tell how the conversation will go, but maybe it's good for Dimitri to be a bit more optimistic than I am if he's going to lead Fódlan to a brighter future. I'm already too jaded and bitter to do a good job being in charge of anything.

"Remind me again the night before," I say, "And I'll be ready. This will be the first time seeing her in person since the Tailtean Plains, huh? Not looking forward to this."

Dimitri stares off into the distance, and I see him fiddling with a dagger. I wonder if he's reliving the past. He and Edelgard are step-siblings, right? Best not to interrupt him.

#

Three days later, I find myself standing in a spot in what feels like the middle of nowhere between Garreg Mach and Enbarr. Even if Edelgard wanted to join us, we'll see if Dimitri's instructions were specific enough to allow her to find this place.

"Do you think she'll actually come?" Dimitri says.

"I hope not, but I think I'm just too grumpy to deal with her right now."

"Then I have bad news for you," comes a voice from the side.

I glance over to see Edelgard and Hubert approaching. No Lysithea makes me pause. Maybe I'm reading too much into this, but I got the impression that she and Edelgard were close because of shared experiences. Did something happen between them?

"I told Her Majesty not to waste her time," Hubert says, "But she insisted."

"I was curious," Edelgard says. "If you have something to tell me, Dimitri, then I'm all ears."

"I'll get straight to the point," Dimitri says. "Why did you start this war? There had to be a way to change things in your territory without the need for so many senseless casualties."

She casts a sidelong glance at me. "This is a rather… familiar topic of discussion. Suffice to say that I don't think we'll be changing our minds about it anytime soon."

"Humor me, then," Dimitri says. "Please."

Edelgard sighs. "I believe this is the best way to prevent violence in the long run. Right now, the system works for nobody except Rhea. The suffering now is awful, but the suffering of generations past and future due to us all being judged by the crest system does not mean less because it is further away from our gaze."

"You could have reached out to us," Dimitri says. "There had to be some other way."

"Perhaps. But that ship is sailed, and there will never be trust between us again."

"I'm willing to believe if you give me reason to."

"Then you are a fool," Edelgard says. "Isn't that right, Claude?"

"I don't know if it even matters," I say. "Even if we do trust you, if you don't believe us you'll militarize anyway. And we'll have to believe that you'll believe us or else we'll prepare a big army thinking that you'll make the first strike out of necessity. So on and so forth."

"This is making my head hurt," Dimitri says.

"Ah, yes," Hubert says. "One of my favorite dilemmas. When two civilizations each have the power to destroy the other at no cost to itself, both will have to try to tear the other asunder because either they won't believe you or you won't believe them." He smirks. "So when weapons become advanced enough that we don't need soldiers, warfare will evolve into a state of unrelenting aggression and annihilation. Fascinating, no?"

That isn't what happened on Earth… but in a way, it is. If an all-out war did start between the superpowers, nuclear weapons will ensure that one or both sides will end up ground to dust. If we didn't have nuclear detection systems, paranoia might take over and cause one side to strike first out of fear of safety.

Is there a way to bring helpful technology to Fódlan without putting this world in danger? Something to consider after the war is over.

"But there is cost to both of us if we continue this war," Dimitri says. "We're both stronger if we don't make our people suffer the burden of a war they didn't choose."

"Again, it is admirable that you seek peace," Edelgard says, "But I am not backing down. If you want to preserve lives, meet me yourself in the Enbarr palace and slay me with your own two hands so that your soldiers are not put in harm's way."

"Stubborn, stubborn." Dimitri turns to me. "Are you in the same boat here?"

"You're the king, but I think Edelgard is right. We have the chance to unify Fódlan and stop these squabbles for future generations. The prospect of Fódlan united and peaceful is worth a battle at Enbarr." I cast a glance at Edelgard. "So long as you evacuate the civilians."

"I'm not Rhea," she says, waving a hand. "The people of the Empire will be safe and secure. I trust you to take care of them if we fall during your attack."

"Your Majesty," Hubert says. "We will prevail. All of us stand behind you with full faith in your cause."

"Are you so sure about that?" Edelgard says. "My plans for the upcoming battle are… not unanimously popular."

Plans? I study Edelgard's expression. Regret, sorrow. Those emotions are always there, but they're clear as daylight here. And still, she stands resolute. I remind myself not to admire her strength. We're going to have to kill this person in a week or so, and I can't let myself hesitate.

"I don't foresee that being a problem," Hubert says. "The doubters among us left long ago."

Ferdinand. Dorothea. Bernadetta. I bet they're all wanted for desertion.

"And what happened to the people who stayed?" I say. "What about Caspar?"

"That is exactly why I am asking you to crush Thales if I fall," Edelgard says, "And why I swear to you that I will not rest until the day he is dead if I manage to win back Fódlan. We are working on identifying the location the javelins of light came from."

I make myself exhale. Even I can't find a way to twist that answer into something that incriminates her. We both want the Slithers gone, which means it's time to end this conflict one way or another.

"I'll rely on Claude for that," Dimitri says. "He seems to know more about the allies of Tomas and Monica than I do."

"If only Byleth were here with me…" Edelgard puts a clasped fist up to their chest. "And speaking of which. There is something I must tell you."

Something about Byleth? Now this I have to hear.

"I saw Thales teleport away with their limp body," Edelgard says. "I wonder if either of you can empathize with the feeling of being powerless, able to do nothing. I was back there in that moment watching Thales and Cornelia take them away from me."

Of course. I should have put it together before.

"That's why you insisted that Byleth was in Arianrhod," I say. "Because you knew the Slithers had them."

"Indeed," Hubert says, "But we concluded that Those Who Slither in the Dark must have an underground base of operations. There must be some place they store all of their equipment, after all. Byleth is most likely being kept there."

"I didn't want to tell you earlier in case you stumbled across the base," Edelgard says, looking at me. "You were going to kill Byleth if you could. Despite the fact that they spared your life twice out of the kindness of their heart."

I don't have a good answer to that. Byleth chose the path of violence and has the power of the goddess to back them up. I liked them well enough as a person, but a danger is a danger.

"We'll keep an eye out for them if we win at Enbarr," Dimitri says. "Thank you. And there's one other reason I wanted to meet you here."

He draws a dagger, the same one I saw him fiddling with earlier, and offers it to Edelgard.

"I believe you dropped this before," he says. "As the Flame Emperor."

"I…" this is the first time I've seen Edelgard get caught off guard. "I wasn't sure if you remembered what it meant."

"Of course I did." Dimitri smirks. "How could I forget my embarrassing gift to you? I'm surprised you held onto it for what, over ten years?"

"Longer, even. I must admit I was surprised at the time to receive a dagger as a present. But it's served me well." She accepts the dagger from Dimitri. "Do you remember what you told me when you offered me this weapon?"

"That I wanted you to use it to cut your own path," Dimitri says. "That's still true. I admire your strength and passion still."

I cross my arms, not wanting to interrupt their moment. One person's strength and passion is worth a hell of a lot less than the lives they take.

And yes, I'm coming around to the fact that I should pass that same judgment on myself.

"Then I will do my best to see my dreams to fruition, with this weapon by my side," Edelgard says. "Farewell, Dimitri. It is a shame that the worlds we envision cannot coexist."

"Goodbye, El," he says.

I see Edelgard stiffen, and then she breaks into a vulnerable smile for a moment. After that, she turns around and walks away, Hubert following her.

Edelgard has a storied past with Dimitri, is dating Byleth, connects with me over shared methods of action, suffered at the hands of Thales, and has a vendetta against Rhea. She's the most central person to this entire continent.

What happens if we remove her from the equation? Should we? But she said it herself. There's no other way. Either her or Dimitri must die for Fódlan to be unified.

…Right?

#

Talking about the Slithers prompts me to send a message to Linhardt in Derdriu asking if he's found anything about their location. A couple days later, I get a letter back:

Claude,

I've deduced by examining the trajectories of the javelins of light that they're somewhere in southeast Alliance territory, in or near Ordelia territory.

I… hesitate to ask this, but are the rumors about Caspar true?

-Linhardt

Short, likely because he didn't have the attention span to write any more. Now that I think about it, I'm certain Linhardt has ADHD, which in this world is passed off as him being lazy and unfocused. Though I guess plenty of neurodivergent people on Earth get that treatment too.

And the question about Caspar… I had forgotten until now that the two of them were close friends back at Garreg Mach. I never pictured Lindarhdt, well, caring about anyone other than himself, but even from his few words I can see that I was wrong in that. I'm not doing any favors to him by lying. I send a letter back explaining the situation with Caspar, and how the Slithers are responsible.

The situation continues to stay relatively calm as we prepare to invade Enbarr, which means I have time to check up on Earth Dimitri some more. I explain the situation to him, and he listens along to every word.

"I'm happy to hear that this war over in that other world is finally coming to a close," Dimitri says. "Though it sounds like you have some work to do even after you defeat Edelgard."

"Thales is a threat to this world as well," I say. "Once we find him, I will put him six feet under."

"Is there any way I can support you right now?" Dimitri says. "I feel useless being stuck in my apartment here."

"Hey, that's what you're supposed to be doing right now. Stay safe and healthy. That's all you can do right now."

He nods. "And I'll be cheering you on from the sidelines. No matter what happens, I have your back."

This boy… what did I do to deserve him? It takes me a second to realize I'm grinning like an idiot.

"We're so close to winning, Dimitri," I say.

"It sounds like you are close. And when you're done, I'd like to start over again. Get to know you for real without secrets and you working behind the scenes to keep all of us alive."

Not that the keeping people alive part went well. Raphael and Leonie made their choices in Fódlan to fight, but what about their counterparts over here on Earth? They never asked to be tied to a conflict they have no control over. I could have protected them.

"That sounds great," I say. "I'll be thinking about that when I struggle to survive. A new beginning with you."

Dimitri smiles, and for a minute we sit there without talking. I don't want this moment to end. But eventually, the grin drops from his face and he glances up at the ceiling.

"Do you have to kill Edelgard and Hubert?" Dimitri says.

I've been trying not to think about that. So far, I've had no kills in the war that translated to people over on Earth dying. The closest is Gilbert, but Annette was the one who handled him. And, well, I did kill Bernadetta back at Gronder, but Byleth reversed that. And I'm glad they did. I don't want to go back to that version of who I was, desperate to kill just to prove my fate wasn't set by one decision from Byleth.

"I'm not sure if we have a choice," I say. "Edelgard didn't want to iron out terms of surrender, and she's dangerous if kept alive. I'm hoping that she'll stand down, and if she does I won't kill her, but I doubt that's the case. She's all in on this mission of hers to expand her Empire to the furthest reaches of Fódlan."

"I… see. I suppose for you it's not any different, is it? Killing people here and killing people there."

I don't know. I did kill a bunch of Thales' crony cops over here and didn't feel especially bad about that one. Even though I'm not religious, I can recognize that we can't expect redemption from a Nazi Satanist group.

"I'll do what I must," I say."

"Well, if I have doubts about it, maybe Fódlan Dimitri also doesn't want to kill her."

I'm guessing he's right about that. I hope it doesn't make him hesitate in battle. We'll cross that bridge when we get there, and the best thing for me to do is make sure Edelgard doesn't take me out so I'll be by Dimitri's side to finish the job if he falters.

"I trust you to make the right decision," Dimitri says. "I love you, Claude."

My heart leaps. War is all about taking and taking until there's nothing left. This dynamic of giving without expecting reciprocation, of being able to make one of us happy at no cost to the other, is so foreign to me.

"I love you too," I say.

#

A few days before our planned invasion of Enbarr, I get a dream world call from Lysithea. As with the last time, the table she's set up is piled with Enbarr pastries that Edelgard called oversweet, along with sugared tea. She offers me a pastry, and in that moment I'm back to the Starbucks with Earth Lysithea listening to her spill her life's story while levitating a mini-cake. Can I really bring myself to kill this girl?

The pastries do look good, so I accept one and take a bite. Sweet and tangy. I'll need to ask Linhardt more about these dream worlds, since being able to craft anything could lead to some practical benefits. If I could enter a dream world and meditate under a waterfall whenever I wanted to, maybe I'd be less high-strung.

Then I look at Lysithea. She's staring off into the distance, and she only turns to look at me once I clear my throat.

"Sorry," she says. "There's a lot on my mind right now."

"Is that why you called?" I say. "I wasn't expecting to hear from you."

"Circumstances have changed. I don't know if this should matter, but it does."

I lean in. "What's going on, Lysithea? You can talk to me about it."

A pained smile comes to her face. "You haven't changed at all, have you? Still the leader of the Golden Deer house, trying to look out for me even as I swear to kill you."

"You've given me a second chance. I'm not the type of person to forget that."

"So did Byleth."

But Byleth was different. I had to flail against them to make anything at all happen. I remind myself that I shouldn't hate them as a person. It's their absolute, godlike power over this war that drove me to the darkest part of myself.

Though… if I had a chance to kill them now, I'm not sure I'd take it.

"I care about you, Lysithea," I say. "Is that so hard to believe?"

"I do believe it. You care about me to a fault. And I…" she takes a deep breath. "I now have the same hesitation."

"Oh?"

"It's something I'm sworn to secrecy about. But it terrifies me, Claude. Not what Edelgard is doing to others, but what she's doing to herself. I can't…" she squeezes her eyes shut. "I don't know how she manages to stand it. Someone else could in her place, maybe, but she shouldn't be able to bear it."

"What can you tell me?" I say.

"Whenever I see what she has planned, what she's going to submit herself to," Lysithea takes a deep breath. "It reminds me of what Thales and the Slithers did to me. Did to her. And how they turned poor, innocent people into demonic beasts."

"Edelgard's planning to turn herself into-"

Lysithea shakes her head. "It's not that simple. And her having a crest makes that impossible, remember?"

I'm not convinced. Cornelia did manage to turn Ingrid into a Demonic Beast with that extra-infused crest stone she had at Arianrhod. But the more I think about it, the less it makes sense for Edelgard to turn herself into a demonic beast. She needs to retain her cognition and voice to command the battlefield, not to mention ruling over Fódlan if she wins.

"And whatever she's doing to herself," I say, "She's not planning on doing this to her allies?"

"No, people like me are safe. I understand that part of it is that she doesn't have the time to set this up for multiple people, but she also does care about us."

I can tell that Lysithea is waiting for me to challenge her on that. I remain quiet. I'm amazed how much easier it is to tolerate the thought of Edelgard when she's not actively subjugating my people.

"And I'm starting to wonder if what we're doing is right," Lysithea says. "I've accepted war, but this arms race can only lead us to ruin. If we keep going down this route, we're no better than the Slithers."

But we also need to use the Slithers' own technology to beat them. I didn't give up on my relic after learning that it came from the bones of a Nabatean that Nemesis massacred, and Lysithea…

"Wait," I say. "Is that why you gave up Thyrsus?"

"I've always hated relics," Lysithea says. "I get the feeling that they're always watching me. Like ghosts that…" she shivers. "Ghosts like…"

"It's okay," I say. "You can take your time."

"I couldn't save them," Lysithea says. "My siblings. I had to watch them scream and scream until their cries turned into sobs and their sobs turned into whimpers. And then eventually they went quiet and never made a noise again. One by one by one until…"

"You don't have to talk about it if the pain is too much."

"Until I was the only one left," Lysithea says. "Alone. And every time I look at Thyrsus, I picture their haggard faces."

"I'm… sorry." What else can I say?

"I'm not looking for your pity, Claude. What's happened can't be changed. But I thought Edelgard knew. I thought she understood. There are places you don't go. There are worlds that are so dark that you can never crawl back from their depths."

Neither of us were there when Byleth got sealed away in the darkness of Zaharas. Godlike powers allow people to burst out of hell, but Lysithea's right for mortals like us.

"She agreed to never work with the Slithers again," Lysithea says. "She saw that what they did was so horrendous that no greater good could justify it. So why is she now…?"

"Byleth was the one who forced her to cut off contact with Thales," I say. "She and Hubert were planning to enlist their help to conquer the Alliance and the rest of Faerghus. I still don't believe Edelgard when she says that she had nothing to do with Cornelia's coup."

"Is that why you've always hated her so much?" Lysithea says. "That you've been able to see the real Edelgard while the rest of us are fooled?"

"I don't think it's that simple." Not anymore. "But I do know that you shouldn't force more pain on yourself, Lysithea. Even if you don't join us, you can sit this battle out."

"That's why I came here," Lysithea says. "A proposal. I don't want to support Edelgard in her current state, but I can't betray her either. If one of Edelgard's key combat units must step down, then I want to make sure it's matched on Dimitri's side as well." She meets my gaze. "I'll stay out of this battle if you do, Claude."

Me? I grimace before I can fully process the implications of what she's saying. Something deeper in me already knows what the answer is.

"I'm sorry, Lysithea," I say, "But I have to be by Dimitri's side for this. I hope you keep yourself safe, but I can't back away from this fight. Not now."

Her shoulders slouch. "I had a feeling. In that case, I'll… see you on the battlefield. You'll find me and Edelgard in Enbarr's palace after breaking your way in. There's a part of me that wants you to win, you know. My death means so little with how few years I have left in me."

"If you want us to win, then don't fight against us," I say. "Follow your heart, Lysithea. If it means we have to stand against each other, so be it, but if you don't believe in the cause you're fighting for then you shouldn't push it."

"It's a good thing you gave me the same speech about listening to what I want before I decided to defend Derdriu. I'm glad I can trust you to be honest with me, Claude. But I can't abandon Edelgard now. She's the only sister I have left."

"Sister?"

"We lost so many siblings to the experiments," Lysithea says. "It was almost like we were there together. Like sisters, watching our big, happy family crumble around us until we were standing on a lone piece of rubble, clinging onto each other. That reality is easier to accept than me being alone in this world."

"I feel for you," I say, "And I want to help you."

"I can hear the 'but' coming," Lysithea says. "You can't save us all, Claude. Now that my parents are safe, Edelgard's the one person I need to stand with. Kill me when you see me next, Claude. If you have to bring her down, take us both to the grave."

How am I supposed to respond to that? I can't even tell her I won't do that because I know I'm prepared to do what's necessary to end this war.

"I'm not giving up on you," I say. "There's a world where Edelgard falls, but you still get a happy ending. If that opportunity presents itself, I will seize it."

"This is so much harder when you care about me. One final warning, Claude. Don't hesitate when you draw the arrow. If I kill you because you couldn't bring yourself to take the shot, I have to live with that."

She pins me down with her gaze, and I nod. Not vocal agreement, because I can't do that. There has to be some way. This poor girl has suffered so much, and is a better person than Edelgard or I am for being committed to stopping the escalation of war and its brutality.

"I'll leave you with that, then," Lysithea says. "Don't fall to Hubert and the Death Knight in the city, okay?"

That's good intel… if I can believe her. I don't get time to respond before Lysithea waves a hand and I feel myself floating off back to sleep.

#

Then it comes. Our attack on Enbarr.

The journey there surprises me with how smooth it is. After their show of fighting alongside us at Fort Merceus, Lorenz and Holst leave the Alliance soldiers under Dimitri's command, giving him charge of an army with troops from the Kingdom, Alliance, and Knights of Seiros. Lorenz joins us as a regular officer under the new united Fódlan banner, though Holst goes back to Fódlan's Locket now that the ceasefire with the Almyrans is over. Lorenz also somehow managed to get Hilda to tag along. I'll need to ask him his secret later.

True to her word, Edelgard doesn't raid our army as we march through the Empire. And true to our word, we don't pillage anything from the Empire's civilians. Seiros, Dimitri, and I won't allow it morally, and there's also the concern of stopping too long meaning that the Slithers can unload more nukes on us. How many do they even have? We still know so little about them, and if I win the day it will be my job to hunt them down.

So before I know it, I'm outside the gates to Enbarr. I fly up to get a bird's eye view of the city and am glad to see that Edelgard did in fact evacuate the civilians. We're so close to winning this, but if Edelgard manages to kill me, Seiros, and Dimitri, our loose coalition of Kingdom and Alliance crumbles. I'm certain she manages to win the war from there. This fight could swing either way, and Fódlan will never be the same afterwards.

I fly back down to see Seiros scanning the city ahead of her, taking deep breaths.

"Is it bad," she says, "That I understand Edelgard? I find it difficult to judge her, given how easily I slid into her way of thinking."

"Then you're the same as me, while also being the opposite," I say. "Looking at Edelgard's actions has made me realize what I hate about myself. And what I must do despite that hatred."

"It's true that you're both determined," Seiros says. "I don't see that as being a bad thing."

"Who put us in charge of all these lives, Seiros? Dimitri's talked to me about how he wants to end the cycle of the strong trampling the weak, and we're both guilty of it. We need to be stronger than the other person in order for our goals to matter at all, and this arms race leaves everyone else in the dust."

"I understand. When I was Rhea, I justified everything that I did by telling myself I was preventing another Red Canyon Tragedy. Another war. It was always in my thoughts, Claude. The reason I wanted to bring mother—Sothis—back is that she could create a utopia here on Fódlan."

"Could she, though?"

"I don't think so. But when all that matters to you is one goal… It's not even a case of the ends not justifying the means. Even now, I would still be willing to make sacrifices to stop Nemesis from returning. But when I only had one perspective, the world becomes so shallow and simple that I started to lose myself. Anything seemed reasonable if I only ever cared about this one end goal."

"And that's what Edelgard has?" I say. "One perspective that she twists everything around?"

"I see it in her, the same way that I see it in myself. But I don't see it in you, Claude. You're too hard on yourself by saying that you and her are exactly the same."

I'm not sure what to make of her motherly voice. I've never had a real parental figure I could look up to before.

"But if I can change after nine centuries of being set in my ways," Seiros says, "There's hope for Edelgard. I can feel it. I think killing her will be a mistake."

"Can we risk it, though?" I say. "We've all killed people we could have maybe persuaded because the stakes are too high to risk it. Why does Edelgard being born to the Emperor mean that she gets second chances?"

"Because she is useful," Seiros says. "That's why you kept me alive, yes? I was able to save the last bit of Fhirdiad from the javelins of light, and then you propped me up as Archbishop again. The Empire listens to Edelgard, and we will need her assistance making the best transition to a peaceful, unified Fódlan."

I purse my lips. Seiros is right on all counts, of course. There was no reason to give Serios herself a second chance when so many other people didn't even have their first, but we needed her skills and image. But this is how the rich and powerful ensure that they always win. By making themselves so important that killing them creates more problems than it solves. One day, I hope I can live in a world with equal justice for all, but right now we must try to keep Edelgard alive because doing so could save thousands by averting future conflicts.

"That's if she's willing to work with us," I say. "Do you think that's going to happen?"

Serios smiles at me. "I think I have a trump card up my sleeve. If Edelgard is like me, I know another force that is as powerful to her as ushering in the Fódlan she wants to see."

"I'll leave that to you, then." I look out at Enbarr. "Time to make our way to the palace, then."

Right as we finish up talking, Dimitri gives the order to advance. I take a look back at all the other people with us who have lives back on Earth. Annette, Ashe, Dedue, Catherine, Hilda, Lorenz, Shamir. So few of us compared to what I hoped for from an army that combines the might of two regions of Fódlan and the Knights of Seiros. I've lost too many already, so maybe it's good that Linhardt is back in Alliance territory while Ignatz and Sylvain are safe in captivity.

As soon as we enter the city, I do another scan of the city and find the first problem we'll have to deal with. The Death Knight is leading the Imperial soldiers who are closer to the city gates, and after we defeat him I bet we can make the rest of them disperse. But behind him is a mage with an artillery orb. I go in and fire shots at the soldiers in the front, and fly out once I see the magic blast from the artillery flying towards me. I manage to escape its range and head back to the gates, but it's troubling that they can reach so far. I look over to the east and see a ballista and onager ready to fire the moment we step forward.

Great. This entire setup reeks of Hubert von Vestra. And I can't blame him for wanting to utilize artillery to its fullest and pelt us with projectiles while we can't counterattack. Especially in the narrow confines of this city.

"Your Majesty," Serios says. "There's another entrance to the city in the southeast that I could break through. Permission to take the Knights of Seiros over there for a better angle on the artillery?"

I see Dimitri hesitate. Rule one of war is don't split your army, but we're in a situation where it's difficult to use all of our forces to begin with since we're fighting through the streets.

"Granted," Dimitri says. "Everyone else, wait on the assault until we see Seiros engage in the southeast and draw the artillery fire."

He's tense while he says the words, and I can tell that he doesn't feel great about using the Knights of Seiros as a distraction. They could end up getting collapsed on from all sides and torn apart. But we have to take this chance, and I trust Seiros to get us out of this mess. She beat Nemesis at the Tailtean Plains, after all. Surely she's a match for a brooding spymaster throwing rocks at her.

Thank Sothis it's not me making these decisions.

When Seiros engages the Imperial soldiers on the other side of town, Dimitri draws in a sharp breath.

"Claude," Dimitri says. "I want you and the Alliance forces to rush that mage orb and stop it from pelting us. Ashe, Annette, Dedue, with me. We'll take on the Death Knight."

I nod and look out at the path to the mage standing at the artillery orb. Right by the opera house where Dorothea used to perform. I remind myself that Edelgard was at least decent enough to evacuate the city. Even if we do cause collateral damage, buildings can be repaired while lives lost can never be recovered. I turn to Lorenz and Hilda.

"Whenever you give me that look," Hilda says, "I know you're going to make me do work."

"I believe I should be the first one to charge in," Lorenz says. "My study of magic has helped me resist its effects, and I have Thyrsus to shield me."

I don't know if he'll be able to shrug off magical attacks as easily as a Pegasus knight or white mage, but I do know that mages against wyvern riders like me and Hilda are a volatile matchup. We pack the power to crush them in one or two blows, but we also lack any magical resistance. And if the mage is packing the Excalibur spell, we're dead in the air.

"Granted," I say. "After you draw out the first attack, we'll be right behind you."

Lorenz's eyes narrow. "Don't let us down, Claude. All of Fódlan is depending on you."

He gallops off, and out of the corner of my eye I see Hilda fiddling with her hair.

"Aw, look at how much he's come around to you," she says. "Even listening to what you say. When's the wedding?"

"Hilda."

"What? I would ask to be a bridesmaid, but there's no-"

I ignore her and look out at the battlefield. I see the mage fill the artillery orb with power until it glows. When the energy releases in the form of a purple ball streaking towards Lorenz, I have Omar burst into full acceleration. Lorenz holds Thyrsus up, which creates a barrier that deflects some of the damage. Imperial soldiers charge us, and I put in cover fire while Lorenz blasts them at range with magic. I glance back over at the mage to see them charging up another artillery blast. I'm not sure how much more of these we can handle.

I brace myself for the next burst of magical energy, but instead I see Hilda soar past me and take the mage out with a single swing of her axe Freikguel. As the mage crumples and falls to the ground, we finish fighting the last of the Imperial soldiers. She flies back over to me and her upper lip twitches in disgust.

"Now I'm all sweaty," she says. "This is your fault, Claude."

"Blame Dimitri. And thanks for the save."

"You owe me another pastry."

"Yeah, yeah. Let's focus on the battle."

I look over at the Death Knight in the center of the plaza, who seems to have no interest in engaging us, instead focusing on Dimitri and the others barreling towards him. He makes an attack with his scythe, but Dedue lunges forward at the last second to block it with his tower shield. Dimitri lunges with his lance Areadbhar, and the Death Knight almost falls off. Blasts of magic from Annette and a storm of arrows from Ashe send him reeling further.

I nock an arrow to finish the job, but an Agnea's Arrow spell descends from the sky and slams right into the Death Knight, sending him topping off his horse. Dimitri stabs him again once he hits the ground, but I suspect he's already dead. Lorenz releases a sigh, and I see his shoulders relax.

"Kill steal," I say to him.

Lorenz blinks at me. "If you wish for me to abandon you next time, you need only to speak the word."

"Joking, joking. Let's keep pushing forward."

I glance back at the Death Knight's body. It's a little anticlimactic to see him fall like this after I've fought him—what—five or six times? But it's not like I ever knew much about the guy, and I'm still not sure what he really did in the Imperial army.

Annette runs up to the artillery orb next to the fallen mage and starts firing off her own long-range shots, which forces the next wave of enemies to charge us to avoid being picked off one by one. I fly up and survey the other side of the fight, and I see that Serios' forces have captured both the ballista and the onager that threatened to pelt us. Imperial reinforcements are spilling into the streets, but now we have the positional advantage with our artillery.

Dimitri barks at us to form back up in position, and we resume our slow advance through the city. He does a good job of keeping our lines steady. Dedue absorbs the initial brunt of physical attacks, Ashe pelts on extra arrows while Lorenz rides around blasting magic at them, and he follows up on attacks while leaving Hilda to cover weak spots in our lines with her mobility. My job is to pick of any mages that threaten Dedue, which I do with curved shots from outside of their range. Our defensive formation combined with cover fire from Annette and the artillery orb allow us to make or advance with few losses.

Once I take out most of the mages that pose a threat to our armor knights, I fly up to survey the situation again. I gnash my teeth together when I see Empire reinforcements flooding into the southeastern side of the battlefield. With Seiros still cleaning up some foes in the northeast, she risks being pincered. I swoop back down to Dimitri.

"Looks like we have everything under control," I say. "Permission for me and Hilda to support Serios? Looks like she's in trouble."

"Granted. We'll try to meet you as soon as we can."

I look down to the end of the road we're advancing down. "I think we can hold. If you can get Hubert, the fight is won."

"I'll keep that in mind. Stay safe, Claude."

"You too. Remember, there are other lives tied to yours."

I'm thankful that Hilda doesn't ask any questions when I tell her to follow me to the other side of the fight so we can support Seiros. I bet she's going to complain my ear off about it once we're done, but we've been in too many fights together to waste time once we recognize that we need to devote our full focus to the battle.

We reach the Knights of Seiros defensive line in the southeast to see Shamir holding the warriors steady. She fires off shots into the mass of Imperial soldiers, but it looks like her line is about to break any second.

"Thank goodness you're here," she says. "I have no idea how to command other people."

What, like I'm supposed to be in charge of the Knights of Seiros? I shout some orders to hold firm, and our knights seem to perk up. If there's one thing I can say about the Knights of Seiros, it's that they're brave to a fault. Hilda weaves in and out of battle, picking off Imperial sergeants and captains. The ensuing confusion slows their advance. Leave it to Hilda to figure out how to make an army collapse using as little effort as possible.

I keep firing arrows until I hear a familiar battle cry behind me. Catherine shoves past her own soldier lines and charges straight into a mass of Imperial soldiers. Thunderbrand becomes a blur around her, and bodies drop like flies. Serios approaches the front lines seconds later, cursing under her breath. Then she looks up at me.

"Go help your king, Claude," she says. "We have the situation covered."

"Doesn't look like it to me."

"That's the point. Bait them over here with a weak defensive line and allow Dimitri to rush straight for Hubert. We're not as vulnerable as we seem."

"Ugh," Hilda says, flying back next to me. "I got blood on my outfit. This is going to take forever to wash out."

"Not like you're the one doing the washing," I say. "We've got new orders. It's time to take out a certain edgy spymaster who stands in our way."

Hilda groans. "Well, if that's the way to make this end quickly…"

"Exactly. Let's go. Serios and the others can keep the rest of the Imperials here."

I fly off, and I hear the sounds of Hilda's wyvern trailing behind me, catching Omar's tailwind. I wonder if Hilda rubbed off on her wyvern and they're also trying to minimize effort. We fly over the river separating the eastern fight with Serios holding the line from the main battle in the central and western part of town. There, we see Dimitri and the others advancing towards Hubert and his last few mages.

And from this angle, I can see more mages hiding behind buildings and artillery orbs concealed behind barricades. I don't bother shouting for Dimitri to watch out. I know he won't be able to hear me.

All at once, blasts of magic come out and take Dimitri and Dedue straight on, bringing them to their knees. Lorenz rushes in to try and heal them, but a blast of dark magic from Hubert locks him in place. Ashe fires and takes out one of the mages, but the artillery shot takes him in the chest and he stumbles back, bleeding badly.

Shit. Shitshitshit-

I see Hilda dive low, swooping around the back houses to stay hidden from Hubert. This is my chance to make something happen. An idea pops into my head. Stupid, but not quite as stupid as other plans that have worked. And I don't have time to come up with a better scheme right now.

Hubert steps up to the kneeling Dimitri. I need to act now.

"Hubert!" I fly low enough for him to hear me. "This is your one chance. I'm offering you an opportunity to surrender."

"I was wondering where you were." He chuckles. "I could smell your fingerprints all over this invasion plan. What a sad purpose, to exist solely to hate Lady Edelgard. And as interesting as your offer is…" a ring of dark magic forms around Dimitri's throat. "You're not the one in a position to negotiate."

I see Ashe draw an arrow, aiming at Hubert. The spymaster smirks and the ring of magic around Dimitri's neck shrinks. Dimitri's eyes go wide and I see him struggling not to gag.

"Do it," Hubert says. "Fight me, and then go back to your little monastery without a king. I'll do it, Ubert. I'll end the Blaiddyd bloodline right here."

Ashe lowers his bow.

"Good, good." Hubert turns back to me. "Now, I believe it is your turn to surrender."

I make a show out of hesitating, agonizing over the decision. The ring around Dimitri's neck grows tighter still, and I hear him let out a grunt in pain.

"Okay, okay," I say. "I get it. I surrender."

"Good. Now drop your weapons and-"

He frowns, and I can tell he's realized that something's up. But by the time he jerks his head around, it's too late. Hilda flies out from behind a building, her relic axe streaking with a green fire. Apocalyptic Flame. She rams her axe straight into Hubert's chest. He stumbles back, still somehow standing.

As I draw an arrow, I see him start to make the hand motions to cast his teleportation spell. I can't tell if it's fear for his life or lack of a vendetta against us, because he could kill Dimitri right here. Too bad I won't get the chance to ask him, since I can't let him escape to wreak more havoc when we move to capture the palace.

I fire off a Fallen Star, and the shot takes him in the throat right before he finishes teleporting. He crumples to the ground.

Dimitri pants, rising to his feet. He walks over and takes Hubert's pulse.

"Dead."

Even before the word comes out of his mouth, I knew. Today's the first time I killed a classmate. Do I add him to the list? If so, I should add others I knew from Garreg Mach who had counterparts on Earth as well. Alois, even though I didn't see him go down, and Gilbert, even though we were the ones fighting against him.

Marianne, Judith, Raphael, Mercedes, Leonie, Alois, Gilbert, Felix, Petra, Ingrid, Caspar, Hubert. And I have a feeling that I'm going to be adding at least one more name before I'm done in Enbarr.

Today must be the last time Fódlan bleeds.

I wish I got to do more with Hubert in fights but the mage bosses in 3H always kinda go down without too much of a fight. If I had a bit more space I'd like to have explored him a bit more in general but this fic is already getting pretty long... And as you might be able to guess, we're going to have some more content after the Edelgard confrontation.

Also, there were a few lines here I ripped straight from canon, especially during the meeting between Dimitri and Edelgard. Most of my fics are wildly AU so it's a weird experience for me.

Hope you all have a wonderful day! :)