When we walk back to the main army, we see that the remaining zombies fighting with Nemesis' army deactivated and flopped over on their own after we killed Nemesis, and the few Agarthans leading them surrendered. Doesn't seem like the smartest move to tie your zombie army to one person, but I'm not complaining. After we're all healed, Dimitri takes command of the army and starts organizing body transport to burial sites and logistics around the Agarthan prisoners. I know he doesn't need me to handle his own military bureaucracy, so I stick around Edelgard instead. She didn't kill us when we were both weak and about to collapse after Byleth breathed their last, but now that we don't have a common enemy I'm not sure how much I should keep trusting her. It can't hurt to observe, at least.

What I see is Edelgard trying to persuade officials to bring Byleth's body back to Garreg Mach until eventually Dimitri steps in himself and okays it. Which is definitely a good idea, since we don't want the goddess' heart lying around in some field where anyone can take it and become the next Sothis. Though I do wonder if she has alternate motives beyond her sentimental reasons in wanting a good burial for her lover.

While I'm not-so-subtly hovering around Edelgard, I reunite with Omar, who is all healed up from the wounds Seiros gave him. He lets out a little squawk of excitement when he sees me, and I rush over to give him a hug around his neck. When I turn back, I see Edelgard smiling at us. Not in a superior or malicious way, either. I go back to how she fought for the wyverns being attacked by possessed church soldiers like her own life depended on it. It's a good assurance that even if she does kill me in my sleep, she'll at least take good care of my wyvern afterwards.

Soon after, Flayn approaches us. Her face looks drained and her normally clean, drill-shaped curls are messed up in a frizz that makes it look like she's a cartoon character who was struck by a lightning bolt.

"Greetings." She nods her head towards us. "It is excellent to see you both alive and well. I feared the worst when I heard the three of you went off to face Nemesis alone."

Even when exhausted, she still talks in her usual formal tone. At this point, there's something endearing about it.

"Takes more than a millennium-old warlord to take me out," I say, smirking at her. "But thanks for your concern. Don't push yourself too much with healing, okay?"

"Every more heal spell I can force out of myself is a life saved. Though worry not, for I am done exerting myself. I came to alert you both to a topic I had been considering while healing wounded soldiers."

"And you're coming to me?" Edelgard says. "You know, the person who tried to conquer Fódlan and kill one of the last Nabateans?"

"It concerns you, actually. Did Seiros talk about you about what her plans were for you?"

Edelgard stiffens. There's definitely something there.

"She was vague about it," Edelgard says. "She kept reassuring me that she wasn't going to torture me or leave me in that cell to rot. I kept telling her that I didn't want a part in what she had planned, but she never wavered. From what I could tell, she thought she was doing me a favor."

"Then our knowledge of the issue lines up," Flayn says. "I believe my father knew what Seiros was planning, but…"

I reach out and put a hand on her shoulder as she averts her gaze. She looks up at me and manages a smile, her eyes wet with tears. My one solace is that I'm sure Seteth had to choose between sacrificing himself and Flayn, he'd go with himself without even thinking about it. Flayn is fragile in many ways, but I believe that she's strong enough to lead the life she wants to live in spite of the tragedies that plague her. And of course, she isn't alone.

"What I wished to say," Flayn continues, "Is that I am guessing Seiros left some sort of record of her plans in the Archbishop's room. She was aware of the possibility of her transformation, and I doubt my father was her only failsafe in terms of relaying the information."

"Again," Edelgard says, "I don't really have an interest in whatever Seiros planned for me, but we might as well look when we get back. She did mention leaving a letter for me. I assume you'll want to watch over me, Claude?"

Yeah, I guess me hovering over her was a bit obvious.

"We'll find the letter faster with two sets of eyes looking," I say. "And I have to say that I'm curious about what Seiros had in mind. She does have a thousand years of wisdom under her belt, so I don't think we should discard what she says before reading it."

"Same age as Rhea, and we can both agree what her ideas were doing to Fódlan," Edelgard says. "But you are right. Let us search first, and then judge."

Is it too much to hope that Seiros is guiding us towards a brighter dawn, even from the grave? Her military prowess and religious leadership experience aside, she had so much knowledge stored in her mind. I have the feeling that Fódlan is going to miss having her.

#

After we return to Garreg Mach, Edelgard and I head over to the Archbishop's room on the third floor of the monastery. She exchanges a smile with me as we climb up the stairs.

"I remember being so curious about what was up here," she says. "The petty part of me wanted to break in and see what was inside."

"Not surprised."

She puts her hands on her hips. "Oh, like you weren't wondering too."

I rack my memories for impressions of the monastery's third floor. To me, it was more like how I knew my principal had a home, but going there would have been weird. Plus, I was so busy attending two schools at once that I didn't have much time to waste thinking about Rhea's personal life.

We enter Seiros' private chambers, and despite her self-proclaimed curiosity Edelgard gets right down to business and starts searching the desk for notes and letters. While she's doing that, I scan across the bookshelf and pull out a random assortment of books. Behind one of them is a letter tied and closed with the Archbishop's seal. I pull it out and hesitate before breaking it open. This does seem rude, but then again it's not like Seiros can really be offended at us. I break the seal and read from the top.

Dear Edelgard,

Okay, time to stop. She should be the one who has the first read on this. Though if she tears it up without letting me see afterwards, I'm going to clonk her on the head.

"Hey Edelgard," I say. "Found what we were looking for."

I toss the scroll towards her, but it unravels and lands on the floor halfway between us.

"Smooth," she says.

She walks over, picks it off the ground, and starts reading. I study her expression as she pours over each word. Only a few seconds after reading, she lets out a gasp.

"No way…"

"What is it?" I say.

She ignores me and keeps reading, clutching the letter until her knuckles turn white. I try to see if I can read some of the words through the back of the page, but to no avail. I get the feeling she's going to shy away if I try to read over her shoulder, so I let her be until she's done.

Edelgard lowers the letter, her hands shaking. She looks up at me and her gaze pins me in place. I still can't tell if what was in that letter was good or bad for her.

"I don't suppose Seiros was one for high-effort practical jokes?" she says.

"Can't think of anything she'd be less likely to do. Can I take a look?"

She gulps, nods, and offers the letter to me. I try my best to accept it without snatching, and I start reading from the top.

#

Dear Edelgard,

If you are reading this, I am dead, having been transformed into a rampaging dragon by the power in my blood. Writing this out makes me wonder if you are right about the goddess' power. Maybe crests are a curse after all. But I suppose in that instance, I won't be around to muse about my existence any longer. It is not a future I wish to pass, especially because of all the destruction I will cause, but I recognize that my time as Fódlan's leader is waning. Periods of change are always difficult, but we have the possibility of bringing in new blood and reforming the church and Fódlan both to better support its people.

I am sure you will remember all the times that I have asked you questions about your personal philosophy, your plans for the future. I am sure that it is obvious to you that I wanted to know more about your ideals. What, perhaps, is less obvious is why I cared so much. I could see the confusion scrawled across your face. Why did I have so much interest in the views of a defeated warlord? And the answer to that question is simpler and more straightforward than you are probably imagining.

I want you to succeed me as the next Archbishop of the Church of Seiros.

I'm sure this proposal comes as a shock to you. In particular, I am sure that you have no interest in wielding religious power. That is exactly why I am proposing this course of action. I do not want a reactionary church that will undermine the reforms that Dimitri takes. In particular, I want a church leader who is a noble that has experience in policy and government, meaning someone who is most likely crested, but also can challenge the claims of crested nobles that they are born above their uncrested siblings and commoners and deserve to rule because of their birthright.

There are other criteria that are also important to me. A church military should be a feature of the past, since it will inevitably lead to more conflict between the church and secular rulers that will cause strife to the people and destabilize Fódlan as a whole in the face of outward aggression from places such as Almyra. I want an Archbishop who is ambitious and seeks to make the world a better place, but will not use the word of Sothis to rally soldiers and lead them to their deaths.

I imagine you are beginning to see where I am going with this. You are a strange person, Edelgard von Hresvelg, and you fit all the criteria for someone I want to succeed me as Archbishop. I mulled over other options of course. Seteth was my first thought, but he doesn't have the mind for reforms that you do and doesn't want the job in the first place. My mind went to Claude next, but I didn't think I could tear him away from Dimitri no matter what I tried. So you were the only logical choice. I don't trust any of the cardinals who worked for me, and if my suspicions are correct they will also transform into monstrous beasts if I do.

Of course, it is impossible to make this offer without acknowledging the crime and punishment that you were supposed to fit into. I do believe that the war you waged was brutal and unnecessary. If I could find someone else to fill this role instead of you, I'd choose them in an instant. I can't claim to fully trust you, and putting the church's greatest enemy at its head looks bad from the outside. I considered presenting this role I am offering as a path to redemption, but I know that you do not believe you have anything to redeem. I considered presenting it as a punishment, but this entire plan only works with your buy-in. So instead, I've decided on a different way to discuss this idea of mine.

It is what we need of you. I believe you committed heinous acts in the past. I feel the same way about what I did as Rhea. And I believe that we need you now to bring lasting peace to Fódlan. I felt the same way about my role stopping you from bringing Fódlan under Imperial rule. Though we are on opposite sides of the battlefield, I do not believe that we are as different as you think.

And if I may offer a word of encouragement, this is the most feasible way—no, if I'm right, this is the only way—to see Byleth again. Whatever the Agarthans did to them, they'll never be the person you remember. But there is a ray of light within that darkness. I believe that whatever horrors the Agarthans will commit to them will force Sothis back into their crest stone, which is embedded in Byleth's body. What you might not know is that Byleth and Sothis' spirits are intertwined, and transporting Sothis will tug them into her crest stone as well. They will also be stuck in the world of Sothis' mind inside her heart.

Have you put the pieces together yet, Edelgard? Byleth was able to connect with Sothis when her heart was placed inside of them. We could do the same thing to you so that you can see Byleth again. I apologize if it feels like me holding this information from you earlier was deception, because I did have an inkling as to what was going to happen even back in Enbarr. But the fact remains that if my deductions are correct, the only way you can see the person you love again is to receive Sothis' crest stone in your body. This will also negate the shortened lifespan you have as the result of the experiments performed on you, by the way, though I would have it done so that you do not have access to Sothis' godlike powers. And the only reason we would be willing to do this is if you were the Archbishop of the Church of Seiros. We could act as if you are a vessel for Sothis that retains some level of personality and autonomy. We could tell the public that this is a sacrifice you are making for Fódlan to bring their goddess back as a way to atone for your insurrection. And it wouldn't be totally false. That is the way for the people of Fódlan to accept you as archbishop, it is the way to place you in a position of influence where you can issue your reforms without having access to a military that you would use to lead against all who disagree with you, and it is your only way to see Byleth again.

So what do you think, Edelgard? You live to see Fódlan reach a new dawn. You live to connect with the person who you love the most. I'm offering you an opportunity to do both. Think carefully about my offer. After I sign off, I will list people who can help you with this process. Like I said, I don't wish to transfer all of Sothis' power over to you, since we all saw what happened when Byleth had that strength at their command. My contacts will know a way.

Sincerely,

Seiros

#

I lower the letter and look up at Edelgard, who's pacing back and forth across the room with a hand on her chin. I catch her gaze, and when her eyes widen I see fear inside of them for the first time. This woman was fearless when facing down a millennium-old dragon a thousand times her size and a warrior with ancient power possessing the person she loved the most, and now is where she falters.

"It doesn't matter, does it?" Edelgard says. "You're never going to let me back into a position of power."

"I can't say I think this is the best idea I've ever heard, but I also trust Seiros. If this is what she wants, then I'm willing to give it a shot. Of course, if you step one inch out of line I'll make you regret it, blah blah you get the drift."

"So now it's up to me." Edelgard averts her gaze. "And I think you know what my answer is."

"Why don't you spell it out to make sure there are no understandings?"

"This is what Byleth wanted me to do as well. Take a piece of Sothis' crest stone into myself so that they could appear to me the same way Sothis did to her. They told me in the world you're from, people like us don't tend to get happy endings. They wanted to prove all the stories wrong, even if they could only see me after death."

I've been in Fódlan so long that Byleth's point about killing your queers hadn't even crossed my mind. Happy endings always seem so far away, but I think we're finally here.

"So you'll do it?" I say. "You'll become the Archbishop?"

Her eyes meet mine. "Yes. Byleth believed that there was a way to transfer their spirit—and Sothis'—without me also gaining their powers."

Right, Seiros mentioned that in her letter. I scan over the names below her signature, and none of them belong to the high-ranking church officials that were transformed when Seiros' crest took over her body. Good thing Seiros thought this much ahead.

Time to seek out her contacts and see if they can work their magic. I glance back at Edelgard to see her looking off into the distance, whispering a couple of words that are too soft for me to hear. But while the sound doesn't reach my ears, I can make out what she's saying from the way her lips move.

My teacher.

#

A week later, I stand in the packed streets of Garreg Mach monastery, looking up at the Archbishop's dais. All around me are commoners and nobles alike—Edelgard's suggestion, which Dimitri immediately okayed—carrying around sweets and skewered meat. We couldn't have a millennium festival celebration with the war going on, but hopefully this event will in part make up for all the joy lost. I'm amazed at how quickly people were able to clean the streets and import food, but with access to the Empire's farms and granaries we even have food to spare.

Around the crowd, I pick out people I know. Dorothea, Bernadetta, Linhardt, Catherine, Shamir, Flayn, Dedue, Annette, Ashe, Lysithea, Ignatz. Not nearly enough of us made it through this, but they all played instrumental roles in making the joy in the air possible. And everyone who died to bring out Fódlan's new dawn… I'll carry them in my heart until I go to the grave. My stint in Fódlan started to protect my classmates back on Earth, and I was less successful in that than I hoped. But I was at least able to protect some of them. I can't be perfect, but maybe I can be enough.

A pair of kids run in front of me, chasing a ball. I smile at them as they bound into the alleyways. Even a couple of weeks ago, I couldn't have imagined all of the friendly chatting and playing that is taking place now. I look up at the sky. The fluffy cotton candy cumulus clouds look like they're from an animated kids' show, and the sun is smiling down on all of us. Warm enough to make my clothes radiate a comfortable heat, but not to the point where I feel uncomfortable. I'm not one to read greater meanings in weather patterns, but it really does seem like the future is looking up for Fódlan.

The sounds of cheering and applause alert me to the ceremony starting. Lorenz and Dimitri step out onto the dais, waving to the crowd. Lorenz has some sort of magical mic equivalent in place of where his usual fake rose is, clipped onto his shirt pocket. I bet Linhardt made that months ago and had it lying around after losing interest in it.

"Greetings, people of Fódlan," Lorenz says. "It is I, Lorenz Hellman Gloucester, governor of the Leicester territory. I am here to present your king of a unified Fódlan. While the united forces have rescued the Empire from its insurrection, the church must formally recognize Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd as the king of all Fódlan."

Dimitri waves again, and I see a slight smile on his face when the crowd cheers. They all know that he was the one who led the charge against Nemesis to save their whole continent, and I bet they won't be forgetting that anytime soon. His sway with the people will make his reforms easier, and put pressure on the nobility to back down in the face of his demands.

"And as you may know, former Archbishop Seiros was so strained from keeping Fódlan safe that she transformed into a beast and needed to be put down. She knew the risks of accepting the goddess' power, and did so to protect Fódlan. Let us take a moment to honor her sacrifice."

I glance around at the others as we bow our heads in respect. For the most part, the people are eating up what he says. Which is good, because it's true, but I would be suspicious in their place if that were the story that came out of a dragon rampaging through the monastery and leaving destruction in her wake.

"Archbishop Seiros personally selected the person to succeed her," Lorenz says. "Her choice may surprise you, but please remember that she would want you to respect her decision. Seiros was always someone who believed in redemption. Many of our allies came from mercenary backgrounds where they fought on the wrong sides of conflicts for money and power. But Seiros showed them a path to greater meaning by displaying the goddess' light, and she has done the same to our new Archbishop. She can be redeemed through the strife she caused, and she is already down that path after helping us stop Serios' rampage and Nemesis both. In addition, she has accepted part of Sothis into herself, and with it gained wisdom that will guide us forward into a brighter tomorrow. May I present to you the new Archbishop of the Church of Seiros, Edelgard von Hresvelg."

The crowd murmurs as she steps out onto the dais on the opposite side of Dimitri, followed by a servant carrying a crown. She wears the same Archbishop headwear that Seiros wore during non-combat duties, and her hair is a light green like Seiros' and Byleth's. My breath catches in my throat. They actually did it. Given what we discovered about Seiros' notes about how hard it was to put Sothis' heart into the body of Byleth's mother, I had no expectations that they'd complete the procedure this quickly.

"People of Adrestia, Faerghus, and Leicester," Dimitri says, stepping forward. "People of Fódlan. I am honored to be standing here in front of you all, watching together as a new sun rises over a unified Fódlan. I am your king, but first and foremost I am a citizen of Fódlan who will watch out for the interests of all under my rule. I will continue to make strides to give all people a voice, such as expanding the assembly that we have instated by adding seats for Adrestia.

"I hope that this day is a joyous one for you. We have spent too much time fighting our friends, our siblings, our loved ones just to survive in this wicked world. I vow here and now to put an end to the cycle of the strong trampling the weak. Fódlan will be a place where your children will be allowed to grow up in peace, never knowing the horrors of war that we experienced. In order to make that dream a reality, we must drop our grudges.

"I understand that many of the people you care about suffered and died at the hands of people commanded by either me or Edelgard. What you may not know is where that begins. It is a story of the Agarthans, a group of people who plotted the church's downfall from the shadows. They had a stranglehold on the Imperial government, stripping the previous emperor of all of his power and performing indescribable experiments on the royal children. And when Edelgard took the throne, they forced her to declare war on the church. But even as we were fighting on opposite sides, both Edelgard and I spent nights lying awake, wishing that we could reconcile and work together."

The part about the Slithers forcing Edelgard to declare war on the church is pure bullshit, and I'm sure Dimitri knows it. But it's plausible enough for the crowd to buy, since the Agarthans were indirectly responsible for the war. If Edelgard hadn't seized control of the military immediately and used it to declare war, they would have stripped her of all of her power just like her father.

"And now we have that opportunity," Dimitri says. "Edelgard has recognized the damage she caused and let the goddess into her heart. But her pursuit for justice and meritocracy remains the same. Today marks a new dawn for the Church of Seiros. No longer will those with crests be treated as a superior race of humans to the uncrested. No longer will the history of the church be whisked away to basement archives that nobody can reach. No longer will we use fear of sin and what awaits us all in the Eternal Flames to control others. Starting today, the Church of Serios is a church of freedom. A church of liberation. Where we can all help each other find the own light in our hearts, whatever form that might take. I hope you will all walk this path with me and Edelgard. I hope you will lay down arms and forgive those who were forced to partake in a war that split our continent apart. I hope you will look towards the future with a smile, because we have brighter days ahead of us."

The crowd erupts into cheers. It really doesn't take that much to get them going, does it? After the sound quiets down, Edelgard picks the crown off the servant's platter and approaches Dimitri.

"And now," Edelgard says, "Is the moment you have been waiting for. May I present to you Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd, king of all Fódlan. May His Majesty's reign be long and prosperous."

Another servant from inside pushes out a chair behind Dimitri, which he sits in. Edelgard lowers the crown and places it atop his head. Dimitri's lone eye scans the crowd as cheers erupt even louder. When his gaze meets mine, he stops. Then he gives me a nod of thanks before he keeps going.

I let a smile come to my face. I've done what I came here to do in Fódlan. But there's one loose end I have to tie up back on Earth.

#

As soon as I can sneak away from the ceremony, I go back to Earth. Turns out it's hard to find a place in the woods to travel between worlds when you're inside the country's biggest city, so Dimitri and I have worked out a system over the last week where I go to and from Fódlan in his walk-in closet and knock when I'm back so I don't surprise him. After I rap my knuckles on the door, he opens it and throws his arms around me before I can say anything. I let myself fall into him, feeling the rise and fall of his chest until he releases me.

"Each time I see you," he says, "I'm so grateful to have you in my life."

"I know," I say. "And it's finally time for me to pour my heart into yours after needing to be away at war for so long. I'm sorry that it's been six long years of pain since I had to leave when our school got shot up. I'm here to fix that right now. I want to recapture what we had all those years ago. I want a chance for us to start anew."

"No need to apologize for keeping me safe, Claude. And no need to apologize for having a life outside of me." A pause. "You're… ready to spend more time with me?"

"Right. We're both wanted criminals here. I don't think that we should abandon this world entirely, but it might do good for us to get out of your apartment a bit more. And I know it's doubly hard with the pandemic going on. You know, Robin said that I can take someone else to Fódlan with me."

Dimitri hesitates. "Are you asking me what I think you are?"

I reach out a hand towards him. "Do you want to go on an adventure with me? There's a whole other world waiting for you, just waiting to be explored."

Dimitri smiles, then takes my hand.

"An adventure," he says. "Together."

"Together," I say.

End of Part 4

Archbishop Edelgard is the other big reveal I've been waiting for since the beginning of this fic. There's something fascinating to me about characters who get put in positions you wouldn't expect given their ideologies, but I've always thought having someone critical of the system be in charge of it (in certain ways, anyway, not like antivaxxer bs) can really help with reforms. At one point in CF Edelgard says that she doesn't have a problem with the faith, only the church itself. And now she has the opportunity to fix the problems that she sees with the church, but from the inside rather than the outside.

Of course, the challenge is walking the line between "I want Edelgard to have a future" and "She was opposed to the protagonists for 90% of the story and that should have lasting effects." I tried my best, and I hope it came across well. :)

See you in the epilogue, where we check up on what everyone else is up to! :D