The Imperial palace is eerily silent as they journey through it, following an Imperial general through the marble halls. She watches as an arcane crystal flickers alight as they walk by, the same lighting system that was used in Castle Blaiddyd, she thinks, filling the air with a warm yellow glow not quite unlike firelight. Perhaps if there wasn't the sensation that this place is crawling with the ghosts of a dead dynasty, Lilia might even find this place beautiful— if a little over the top.
Right now though, the four of them (plus the nervous-looking general escorting them) have no time to be admiring architecture and historical artworks. No, there is a seriousness that punctuates even their movements, evident in the way Byleth's fingers linger on the hilt of his blade, Claude's narrowed gaze and not-quite a smile, or how Dimitri blatantly grips Areadbhar tight, despite the fact his dominant shoulder is injured. Even she can't help but be influenced by the energy everyone is giving off, her fingers twitching in preparation to grasp her lance just to soothe her anxieties; magic completely depleted after spending an entire day on the battlefield.
She supposes it's only natural they're all on edge— they'd all believed the war would be over with this final battle, but the truth behind all the strange events that have been occurring has finally come to light, so now they have a new enemy to face before Fódlan is finally at peace. Truthfully, it's disappointing, and she feels as though all her hopes have been dashed, but she supposes it can't be helped. It just aches knowing she has to fight, kill, more people.
She inhales, exhales. Perhaps they should all focus on the positives, like that the Archbishop is alive, as they thought. "What is Her Grace like?"
"The Archbishop?" Claude turns to look at her, a hum in his throat. "She's... well, Teach knows more about her than the rest of us."
Claude's reaction makes her eyebrows raise; she wonders if he has his own opinions towards the head of the Church of Seiros, but she decides to pocket whatever thoughts she has for later, instead turning to Byleth. She sees the former mercenary tilt his head for a few moments, seemingly considering his answer.
"Lady Rhea is... awe-inspiring, but... she can be terrifying, too."
While he never turns back to look at her while speaking, instead choosing to keep his eyes on the general leading them, he still makes it clear that he's addressing her— briefly glimpsing over his shoulder once or twice. She tries to imagine the Archbishop in her mind, based off of that description and what little she heard about the woman back when she still lived in the church orphanage, but the woman still seems like a distant impossibility, someone she could never meet. Yet she supposes she'd once thought the same about her nation's crown prince, and well... She will not, cannot, imagine what her life may have been like without him. Even trying to fills her heart and mind with a void; because thanks to that fateful meeting with him, she has family, friends, love.
She doubts this meeting with the archbishop will bring such fortunes to her, especially now that she has all she needs, but this meeting will bring Byleth answers. And, hopefully, those answers will bring peace to the continent she loves, to the civilian masses who are starved and tired of war. That is what's most important right now.
The Adrestian general pauses down a hallway, and then slowly begins pressing into the brick. Lilia watches, fascinated, as the mortar begins to light up, a creaking sound ringing out as the wall parts, sliding open to reveal a simple wooden door. The Imperial looks to them all, his eyes swimming with badly concealed anxiety, and carefully gestures to the door before them. "The... The Archbishop is within."
Claude smiles, easily saying a quick thanks in place of the professor, who moves past the general without a word, turning the door handle and swinging it open with an urgency set alight no doubt by his need for the truth. She and Dimitri don't cross the threshold, watching instead as a woman clad in white, long green hair darker than Byleth's own (darker than her's had been, even) but lighter than Seteth or Flayn's, stumbles out of a chair and rushes towards the professor, falling into his arms.
"You... You have come to save me..." Her voice quakes, shivering like a leaf in the wind. Somehow, Lilia had imagined the archbishop as this pillar, a powerful woman of peerless beauty and intelligence. The woman before her looks ill— and she can't help but feel pity simply imagining what she must've gone through over these years to seem so broken. "Is this... Is this a dream? I have longed to see you again... all this time... Is it truly you?"
Her hands brush over the professor's face, gentle as he nods his head, stepping back while also giving her support. There's a moment of pause, where the woman's gaze flickers from looking like that of a doting mother at Byleth to a more controlled, yet no less kind, expression as she faces Claude. There's a difference in treatment, and Lilia wonders truly how close she and Byleth had been before the war. Obviously there was enough of a bond there for him to be chosen as her stand-in for controlling the church, but... at the same time, there just feels like a disconnect between how the professor speaks about her versus the way she seems to act towards him.
The archbishop— Lady Rhea, her mind reminds, gives the Riegan Duke a smile. "Claude... I can see you have grown into a reliable young man..." Her eyes glimpse over the two mens' shoulders, to her and Dimitri, and Lilia has to swallow down the sudden swirling butterflies in her chest. "And you as well, Dimitri... and..." Lady Rhea's eyebrows furrow, those bright bright green eyes washing over her, almost dissecting her with a simple look.
Lilia can't help but shrink away, heart beating wildly in her chest. It's a feeling similar to facing off against enemies on the battlefield, but almost amplified; like the lack of adrenaline pumping through her veins makes her acutely aware of each quick fluttering beat. She peers up through her lashes at Rhea, watching as the woman looks to Byleth, then back to her once more, her face not revealing an inch of what she was thinking.
She simply smiles.
"And while I don't know you, child, thank you as well," Her head lowers, a half-bow. Lilia almost wants to insist she lift her head, but words escape her. Even while looking exhausted and unwell, the archbishop has an aura to her that simply leaves no room for comments or complaints. "Thank you all for supporting the professor, and for rescuing me. Surely the protection of the goddess has—"
Claude raises his hands, pausing her mid-sentence. "Wait, Rhea. What do you know about the children of the goddess?"
"Children of..." Rhea turns to look to him, sharp eyes narrowed. "What is this about?"
"Forgive my bluntness," Despite his apology, she can't help but think he doesn't actually mean it. Knowing Claude, he no doubt believes answers are far more important than politeness or etiquette. "Someone from the Empire filled us in on a few things."
Lilia watches as Dimitri silently dismisses the general, the frightened Adrestian rushing away to leave their group with the privacy needed for this conversation. She gently nods to him, and takes a step with him over the threshold to enter the comfortable prison the Empire had kept the archbishop in for over half a decade. There's no need for them to watch the outsider anymore— this conversation requires all of them.
The Duke looks over his shoulder at them for a moment, before turning back to Lady Rhea. "I know it must be painful for us to ask you difficult questions after such an arduous confinement. But we have no choice. We must defeat a secret enemy... Those who slither in the dark. Do you know about them?"
"Those who slither in the dark..." The woman echoes.
"Apparently, they resent the children of the goddess and the people of the world, and are planning something big. Something terrible."
The archbishop falls silent, her hands clutched together over her stomach. Those evergreen eyes of hers drop to the floor, her expression shifting just a little; that intensely strong exterior crumbling for just a moment, revealing something else beneath.
Dimitri steps forward, gesturing with his uninjured arm. "They're capable of slipping in and replacing people with their own members without anyone taking notice."
Nodding his head in agreement, Claude adds on: "They use blood for their wicked magic and are capable of dropping javelins of light from the sky, which are powerful enough to crush a fortress." She looks up at that, eyes widening just a little, but her lips remain firmly shut. "If you can think of anything at all, please tell us now. We need to know as much as possible about these enemies in order to stop them."
Lady Rhea's silence is deafening, so much so that it makes every heartbeat ring twice as loud in her ears, causes every little movement someone makes to become hauntingly obvious. She swallows thickly, wishes she had something to say, but words escape her— every possible thought disappearing before it can leave her lips, bubbling into the air to never be heard.
In the end, she doesn't need to say anything; as Claude clenches his fists tightly and raises his voice, anger evident. "This is the critical moment that will determine whether or not Fódlan falls!" He snaps, and she can't help but flinch a little. She's not used to the three men around her raising their voices... she supposes that's just proof of how serious this conversation truly is. "Can't you see that the time for secrets has passed?!"
The archbishop closes her eyes, seemingly considering, before letting out a sigh.
"It is true that there is a group of people who have slithered in the darkness and threatened the peace of Fódlan since ancient times."
That, Lilia feels, is almost unarguable at this point. There has been too much evidence bought to the surface to say anything otherwise. "I am sure you have heard the stories of a man named Nemesis..."
"The King of Liberation..." Byleth's voice is quiet, his hand coming to rest on the sword at his side. Even with the barest brush of his fingers, it begins to pulsate a deep red— power incarnate.
"Nemesis, the King of Liberation," Claude echoes. "He's the hero to whom the goddess gave the Sword of the Creator."
Rhea sighs once more, clenching her hands tighter together. There's a hesitation as she parts her lips, but soon she begins to speak. "Nemesis was originally the leader of a group of bandits," Immediately that sends shockwaves, but before they can really question what she says, the mint-haired woman continues. "He plundered the Holy Tomb and stole the remains of the progenitor god. When Nemesis appeared in Zanado some time later, he already wielded the Sword of the Creator."
It's unbelievable how much tension a single sentence can create, as the moment Rhea utters those words she sees Dimitri clutch his lance tighter, hears herself draw in a sharp breath. The legend of Nemesis is one of the most important tales in Fódlan's history, even though he becomes corrupted by his power in the end, he's still considered to be a man who once saved their continent. Lilia almost doesn't want to even consider the possibility... yet it's almost undeniable. Lady Rhea speaks with a certainty, one that's difficult to fake.
"In Zanado?" She can see Byleth's brows furrow, deep in thought.
Claude purses his lips. "Zanado, the Red Canyon..."
"I do not know how Nemesis obtained the sword, or why he appeared in Zanado. But he used that sword to massacre the people there. The children of the progenitor god," Her voice grows pained, as though she can picture such an ancient event behind her eyelids. "From their corpses he gained even more power, and brought war to Fódlan..."
"Unbelievable..." Dimitri murmurs, and all Lilia can do is nod her head in agreement.
"That's completely different from what the legends tell us about Nemesis." Claude seems to agree as well.
The archbishop grits her teeth. "A mere bandit like Nemesis would not have been capable of anything so monstrous on his own..."
That seems to be the words Claude is looking for, as he snaps his fingers and nods his head in response. "Aha! So Nemesis had accomplices. And those accomplices must have been those who slither in the dark. They used Nemesis! And this time they used the Imperial army to once again bring war to Fódlan!"
"I finally get it... And I even understand why Edelgard was associating with them. Just as they were trying to use the Empire, the Empire was trying to use them." Dimitri remains silent at that, his gaze turning downwards. Lilia reaches out and gently brushes a hand over his, still clutching Areadbhar, and falls into his side. She cannot say this paints Edelgard in a new light for her, nor can she claim to know the emperor's reasons for siding with such monsters and bringing war to the continent. All she knows is that, no matter how noble the deed may have seemed in her mind, she still bought death and ruin to thousands, maybe millions. That does not absolve her of anyone's hatred, not her own nor anyone else's. Nor does it absolve her of any such crime; it doesn't wash away the blood staining the hands of Edelgard's corpse, just as it will not wash away the blood staining her's and Dimitri's.
He looks to her, good eye gentle, and nods. She sees his chest rise, an inhale to prepare himself, and then he speaks. "As big as the Empire is, they would not have been able to fight against the rest of the continent without the aide of those who slither in the dark..."
"Right," Claude nods. "They infiltrated a high-ranking position in the Kingdom, and crippled their chances of fighting back, putting the Alliance on the defensive... This war was meticulously planned."
"Edelgard's plan may have been set in motion the day we started at the Officer's Academy, but the pieces were being put in place long before then..." Perhaps they were just waiting for the right chess piece to come into play, the right person to begin their fight against the continent— against humanity.
Edelgard wanted to be rid of the Church of Seiros, and wanted the Adrestian Empire to rule all of Fódlan again... and those who slither in the dark wanted to be rid of any remnants of the goddess... It was a perfect match. It all makes her head spin.
"Rhea, there's still a mountain of things I need to ask you. And I will. But I'll leave all of that for another day. You must be weak after living in confinement for so long. Please rest for a while," Turning back to the rest of them, Claude's eyes shine with a resolve. "My friends... Let's prepare for battle. We need to strike Shambhala as soon as possible."
As they leave the chamber, heading off to ready for the march back to the monastery in order to recuperate and prepare for the last breath of this war, Lady Rhea's words, her prayer, her desperate plea, echo in their ears.
"You must not allow Fódlan's bloody history... the Red Canyon Tragedy... to repeat itself..."
The four of them exit the imperial palace, gazing out across the courtyard before them where soldiers set up their tents to rest for the night. If Lilia squints, she thinks she can see some of the units sent out to capture the city returning to report their results. It's too dark for her to tell if any civilians are roaming the streets, but the distant flicker of light in buildings and down streets tells her that their must be some around. It's not the same welcome as they received after the battle in Fhirdiad, but she wasn't expecting it to be the same. The people in Fhirdiad celebrated an end to being ruled by a foreign power, and celebrated the return of their king. The people of Enbarr now have to await the end of the war to know exactly what will happen to their city.
Her eyes close as the sea breeze blows through the streets of Enbarr, cooling the late-summer air to a warmth more comfortable for a Faerghan native like herself. She lets out a small sigh, lashes fluttering as she opens her eyes and glances over to Dimitri, giving him a weak smile. His expression softens, his lips curling into a gentle smile in response. Although the fighting has to continue, they know their enemy now— they can look forward, aim for that future of peace and freedom.
Claude steps down a single stair and then lets out a hum, as though something's just come to his mind. "It occurred to me that we never got an answer from Rhea about the children of the goddess."
"Aren't they the people of Zanado?" Byleth responds, simply, his vibrant eyes pulled up towards the stars in the sky; the Blue Sea Star glimmering the brightest.
"She did say that the people of the Red Canyon were the children of the progenitor god, so I suppose so," A pause in his words, and then the dark-haired man turns to look at the three of them. "But those evil guys continue to plot their revenge even after the Red Canyon Tragedy. Does that mean some of the children of the goddess, or their descendants, are still alive?"
Lilia can't help but think to the way the archbishop glanced between her and Byleth for a moment, a knowing smile on her face. That, combined with the knowing smile, and the way she seems so attached to Byleth— a living man with the goddess' power, and her... someone who once housed a sliver of Her power. Her lips purse for a moment, glimpsing down to her fingers, freed from their gloves, simply wondering.
She then turns back to the palace, raising her eyes to the tall towers. "I wonder..."
"Lilia?" Dimitri murmurs, his brow raised.
Rather than saying anything, she simply bends her head back towards the castle. He glances, humming for a moment, and mouths a simple 'maybe'. She can't be certain herself, so she turns back to the other two men and simply raises her shoulders into a small shrug. Byleth frowns, and then turns his head up to the palace as well, and seems to come to the same conclusion as she had.
"Rhea?"
The archer makes a face, tilting his head a little, obviously considering it. "Could be. She was talking about what happened in Zanado as if she was there herself."
A sigh runs through all of them— frustration evident in a simple vocalisation. Claude runs a hand through his hair, ruffling thick dark curls, and Byleth's lips curl even further downwards. Dimitri purses his lips, looking beyond the soldiers to the streets and people of Enbarr, battered from a war started because of a one-sided truth. Lilia props her elbow up on her hand, other pressed into her cheek as she tries to make sense of everything they've been told herself. The idea that a folk hero, and possibly those associated with that folk hero, was actually nothing more than a murdering bandit who stole his power... It's not something that's easy to swallow. She's not sure the people of Fódlan could accept it if they told them either. Yet the truth has been set before them... and they have no choice but to face it.
"What are these children anyway? And how are they connected to the goddess?" He lets out an irritated sound. "I almost disappeared into the bottomless swamp that is my mind. I thought that after we defeated the Empire, I'd be able to see that sight I long to see.."
"What sight is that?" Byleth asks, turning to their companion.
"I've told Byleth about my dreams before, but I'll let you two in on it..." Claude addresses her and Dimitri, his expression surprisingly soft as he quietly begins to speak. "I want to break down the wall separating Fódlan from the outside world. The sight I want to see lies beyond that."
He huffs out a laugh, shrugging his shoulders. "Honestly, it's a trivial thing to fixate on. Just people, gathered in their towns. Living our their lives together. Sometimes laughing. Sometimes fighting," His wandering eyes land on a sight in the crowd of soldiers, resting on there for a while. "But the people living there aren't just citizens of Fódlan. They are people from Dagda, Brigid, and even Duscur and Sreng. There could be people who were born in Almyra or countries even farther east there too.. All of those people living together, like it's nothing special at all. That's the sight I long to see. It's so simple, but still so far away..."
"I believe it's a wonderful dream," Dimitri steps forward, smiling. "One I agree with. Fódlan needs to change— and perhaps with this revelation of who seemed to truly be behind the Tragedy of Duscur, we can take the first steps."
"I think we already have," Lilia gestures to a group of Duscan soldiers, mingling amongst the others. "Fódlan's leaders just need to continue leading it's people forward."
Dimitri nods. "You're right. It's our duty as it's leaders to aide and lead them."
Her expression softens, a giggle bubbling from her lips when Claude turns his face away, seemingly embarrassed to have shared.
"You're quite the idealist, Claude." She can't help but say, and he scoffs and turns to her with a glare— yet it's far too weak for it to be truly intimidating, or for it to make her think he's really upset at her words. In fact, it only makes her laugh more.
"Alright, alright, so you say, I'm an idealist," He says it with a scowl, though his lips twitch with the hints of a smile with each word. "But who could blame me?"
There's a pause, a quiet moment of introspection that swings over him, one none of them can quite get a read on. In the end, he shrugs without elaborating. "But this is no time for complaining. We need to focus on capturing Shambhala. Let's hurry up and gather everyone together."
Words of agreement echo through their group, and they begin to descend the staircase, leaving the ghosts of a fallen empire behind.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
sorry this chapter is a little late! i finished my exams, was wiped out, and then i had graduation :skull:
and bc i got my nails done for that, typing was a pain in the ass for another week, so this one took
longer for me to write than normal.
can u fkn believe that the past 5 chapters have been a SINGLE day? fkn busy day ! the crew is tired!
callmecrazylol: a big thing too is that not only was she manipulated by twsitd, but edelgard's ideas of
government are quite literally how a 16 yr old thinks things should be run, so like... ultimately she
is wrong :skull: but edelgard is a character where i think she shines as the villain,
and i cant see her as a hero or protagonist bc of it
guest: ahh her growth has been so much fun to write! and yes! that was my absolute fave
part to write! dimitri's ghosts, his trauma and mental illness, will never go away— but the important
thing i wanted to show was that he wont let it control him, that hes working to improve.
appropriatellama: i wont get results til jan (delays due to the big c), but i think i did ok, thank you!
mystic moon flower: aaah thank you so much!
thank u all so much for all the love and reviews! i cant believe that we're only 2 months away
from the 1 yr anniversary of this fic starting! thank you all so much for accompanying me this far!
thank you all so much for reading, see you next time!