Louise rolled over in her bed, half-waking up. Something in her was aware of the sunlight on her face, knowing she was soon to awaken fully.

Then a lullaby played nearby (far away?), and she couldn't help but be enthralled by its power, slowly easing back into rest as the quiet violins caressed her mind…

And then a single, deafening note pierced her, making her scream and catapult out of bed, across her room, and into the far wall. The music continued to play quietly as if it hadn't just fired the musical equivalent of a cannon at her.

"Symphony no. 94, second movement, also known as 'Surprise,' by Joseph Haydn, one of the greatest composers who ever lived. A good man of excellent character. And also a hilarious musical prankster."

Louise laid on the floor, staring at some point beyond the ceiling. "Why."

"I'm glad you asked," her familiar said, idly tapping the wall to Symphony no. 94's melody. "Take a guess at what time it is."

"…"

"Go on, guess."

Louise sighed. "Time to start classes?"

"Ha! We passed that hours ago."

Louise jolted up again. "WHAT?!"

One of his eyebrows raised above his glasses. "What's with that reaction? Are you telling me that you actually want to go to class?"

Louise got off the floor, walked over to her familiar, and punched him ineffectually in the abs. "I just woke up. Stop messing with me," she most certainly did not whine.

An undercurrent of low notes ran through her body, making her feel like she'd touched lightning. "Wide awake now?" Musician asked.

"Eh…? What was—"

"Excellent! So you're not going to class."

Louise paused, then thought about it. "Because I don't really learn anything there and they don't teach the Void element anyways."

"Yeeeep."

"…I don't have any reason to be in the Academy anymore." She looked around her room. "I… I'm not sure what to do…" She turned to her familiar as he opened his mouth. "Yes, yes, I know! What do I want to do? I'm still working on it, okay?!"

His answering smile was infuriating as ever. "I understand. When you devote yourself to a problem, be it something like a task for the princess, or a mystery like finding out why your magic acts oddly, it's easy to distract yourself and not think about it. More than once I've seen heroes dedicate decades to saving the world or simple things like revenge, then not know what to do once they've finished. Finding a new goal isn't easy, and if you don't know what you want, it becomes harder. Am I right?"

"…Yes. There are things I enjoy, such as reading, but after everything I feel as though I should be productive. It's just… what do I do now? With everything you've shown me, I don't feel like I need to do anything with the Void… And the Princess didn't have anything for me… And nothing else is happening right now… Heh. All this phenomenal power and not much to do with it."

"Reacting is easy. It's what most people to do, and why most people fail. Creating a long-term goal is more difficult. So how about I help a little?"

"Please." She'd take any of his advice with a grain of salt, but he hadn't truly led her wrong so far.

"All things must die." She flinched. "But that does not make all things meaningless. It is in our final moments that we truly reflect on our lives and know whether or not we've done all that we've needed to. But we don't need to wait for that! Imagine that you are on your deathbed, some seventy or so years from now… What kind of world would you feel most at peace with leaving?"

She carefully turned her attention inwards. Would I feel at peace showing Kirche and the others up? Not… really. Would I feel at peace if my mother told me she was proud of me? Tempting. She tried to think of a more typical "happy deathbed" scene. Surrounded by friends and family? It's too hard to imagine, though I wouldn't say no. She winced. Though maybe I should wait until Wardes is less of a fresh memory.

Her mind went through those she cared for. Musician would probably be happy if I was happy. Henrietta… I want to be worthy of her. Siesta, I'd have to know better. Ugh. This is hard. It's so much easier to say what I don't want to do. Life is so fleeting, like ash in the wind, and I don't want any of it to be wasted…

A flash of the many who died in the Storm.

…What did they mean, in the end?

Faces. Some with names, some without.

Did they mean anything?

Each their own person, with hopes and dreams, but caught in political machinations and Brimir's obligations. What was the point of their aggression, their anger?

All of that hatred only made things worse for everyone.

Could it have been prevented?

…

The cynical part of her said that life wasn't a bible story. It was just impossible; even Musician didn't have that sort of power. To get everyone to stop hating and fighting each other would take a miracle from heaven itself, and Brimir wasn't going to just drop down out of the sky and—

Her eyes widened.

She suddenly knew what she had to do.

She was going to—

Her brain hiccupped multiple times. That was blasphemy and she wasn't going to—

But wasn't Brimir wrong? Louise worked through it, rearranging her worldview.

…

Brimir… was just a man, wasn't he? Just like she was just a girl. He was deified, but should he have been? With all the hatred he espoused towards the end, what made him different from the soldiers of Reconquista? Was it really blasphemy if their god wasn't actually a god?

So the only reason she shouldn't do this was if she didn't want to do this.

"You've found something?" Musician asked.

"Maybe," Louise said. "If I could make this a world where no one was angry with each other, where no one had to hurt each other, where they would be free of hatred… I think I'd be satisfied."

Musician smiled softly. "Oh, my Lady. Such a tall order."

"I know!" Louise rubbed the bridge of her nose. "I'd need a miracle. But… I am Brimir's heir. So that's not impossible, is it?"

"…I don't follow."

She breathed in, then out, then faced him with conviction. "The story. The boy who could play music. That was you, right? Before you were… what you are?"

Musician frowned. "I mean, yes? I thought it'd motivate you, if you knew that…" He trailed off suddenly, his mouth opening wide. "Are… are you saying…?"

"Musician, teach me how to become a god."