A vague sight. Still water; bubbles. And suddenly, rushing water and a flurry of bubbles coming to the surface. And then? Nothing. Just…darkness.

"Hey! Get up already!"

A voice shook her awake. Did she fall asleep standing up again? Ugh.

"Not surprised to find you sleeping again. Do you even remember your own name?" The man speaking to her was Getz. He was always getting on her case.

"It's Shez! I know my own name. Get off my back already." Shez scoffed, brushing the bang that covered her right eye.

"Looks like there's hope for you yet." Getz shrugged. "Didn't you hear? We're fighting against Jeralt's Mercenaries. And they have that scary Merc with 'em too. You know, the Ashen Demon?"

"The Ashen Demon…" Shez repeated that title. Jeralt's Mercenaries were already pretty famous across the land of Fodlan. The Ashen Demon was another breed of infamous.

"Yeah, who knows if they'll be there. ….I can't remember if it was a he or a she, though…" Getz rubbed the back of his neck, confused.

"It was a she." Shez groaned. And to think Getz was getting on her case earlier. "Not that I would know her name or anything. Besides, it won't matter. Because after the day is done, all people will talk about is Shez, the Demon Slayer!"

"Aren't you a cocky little thing?" Getz laughed at Shez's audacity.

"At least there's one of you here with some spine." That voice belonged to the captain of the mercenary company, Berling. "The battle is set to happen at nightfall. Take care not to kill each other in the dark."

"At night, huh?" Shez mumbled to herself. Not the ideal battle conditions, but this was going to be more than a mere skirmish by the end of it.

"Demon or no demon, we'll put Jeralt's Mercenaries to route. Then Berling's mercenaries will be the most famous name in all of Leciester!" Berling could feel it. Her dream was right within her grasp. All she needed to do now was take that final step and grab it.

"Heh, once this is over, we can end the night with some ale." Shez was pretty confident about this whole thing. They had yet to mess up a single job, and after tonight, they'd be famous! "Good luck to you all, friends."

"Hah, yeah. You too." Getz was a little nervous about this. Was he really the only one? Shez and the captain were so confident going into this. Maybe he was overthinking this. They'd make it to tomorrow no problem. Yeah! Yeah! Tonight was going to be….

.

A slaughter.

Sure, the night started off in the favor of Berling's Mercenaries. Those they fought from Jeralt's company weren't that tough at first. They had the numbers, but it began as quality vs quantity kind of deal. Berling's company had quality, so they were cutting down quite a number of enemy mercenaries just like that. "Are these guys new or something? Guess that means I can mess with 'em a little…" If this was what they had to deal with the whole night, Shez was fully confidence they would be done with this in a few hours, if even.

"Can't wait to be done with this so we can drown ourselves in some ale…" Lazley, another merc, said.

"Keep your eyes open! We still don't know if the Demon is here yet!" Getz couldn't get rid of this sinking feeling in his stomach. Things were going well…too well.

As for Berling herself, she was further ahead on the battlefield. There stood the Ashen Demon before her, a young woman with blue hair and purple eyes. She was silent, staring at Berling. "So, you must be the famous Ashen Demon…" Berling scoffed and readied her bow, an arrow flying towards the Ashen Demon immediately.

The Ashen Demon didn't respond, but she easily swayed to the side, avoiding the arrow that would have struck her. Her reaction time was so quick, Berling was a little shocked…but she didn't let that deter her. "…I'll only say it once. You can stand down. Or you can die."

"Hah!" Berling laughed. "Are you trying to intimidate me? That's not going to work, kid." She fired a few more arrows, her horse galloping in circles to keep the Ashen Demon guessing. But despite the arrows that flew forward, they were either dodged, or the Demon just swatted them away with her sword. "And once I put you to rout, Jeralt's going to be next. Then everyone in Foldan will be chanting my name as the leader of the strongest Mercenary company!"

The Ashen Demon's expression didn't change one bit, but something in the air did. The tension in the air suddenly grew thick and heavy. Berling and her horse stopped in their tracks. Any mercenary worth their salt knew what this feeling was: killing intent. Whatever Berling said, it triggered the Ashen Demon's killing intent and brought it to the surface. "…"

"W-What the…?" Why did Berling feel such a strong chill crawl up her spine? No…this was just one person! A single merc! She'd taken down plenty of people before! This was nothing! She fired arrow after arrow, but they were all being swatted down by the rapidly approaching Demon. "No, wait…!" She wanted to click her heels and order her horse to move, but…it was already too late. A single rising slash of the Demon's sword knocked Berling off her horse, and the horse fell to the ground as well. Berling could feel and see the fact she was lying in a pool of her own blood. A pool that was growing larger and larger by the second. "No…just when…my dream was finally in sight. You monster…"

Captain Berling's defeat was only just the beginning of the downward spiral. Lazley and Getz were soon surrounded by the main force of Jeralt's Mercenaries, and killed. All they could do was usher Shez to run…but Shez wasn't going to do that. She actually arrived shortly after the Ashen Demon cut Berling down.

"You…." Shez's eyes widened in horror, the grip on her sword tightening in rage. Was she really the last one standing…?

The Ashen Demon turned to Shez, repeating the same words from before. "Stand down or die."

"We're gonna stand! We're gonna fight! And we're gonna avenge the captain!" Shez wasn't going to retreat. She rushed forward and began swinging her sword at the Demon. Every swing was a complete miss or a simple block. Rage fueled Shez's movements, which made her exceedingly predictable. The Demon lifted her leg and kicked Shez in the stomach, causing the purple haired Mercenary to stagger and cough. She then found herself on the defensive, blocking a single slash that nearly made her lose her footing. "W-Why am I so scared?! It's just one merc…!" She thought to herself. It was one person, yet her legs were trembling.

The Demon wasn't moving, but they didn't take a defensive position either. She just waited for Shez to make a move, and she did. Shez recklessly lunged again, attacking over and over, but the Demon was able to sidestep her telegraphed attacks. She even went so far as to use the gauntlet on her arm to block Shez's sword strike, and immediately follow through with a punch to the woman's face. Shez grunted and staggered, only to move in and attack again. The Demon held her heel out, which easily tripped Shez. By the time Shez regained her footing to turn around, the Demon thrust her sword forward, breaking through Shez's measly defense, sending her rolling across the ground with her sword just barely out of reach. "…I warned you."

"Ngh…." Shez could feel her vision fading. This wasn't right. Is this how she died? Unable to even land a single grazing blow against the Ashen Demon? Was this the sight many others saw in their final moments? All she could see was the Ashen Demon slowly approaching her with intent to kill. "D…Did my life…even have meaning…? I…I have to keep...fighting…" But it was no use….

"Perish with you…"

Huh…?

"I will not allow the cycle of this world to perish with you!"

A voice spoke to Shez. She wasn't sure what happened, but a surge of power snapped her from her fading conscious. A purple swirl of energy formed around her, along with a secondary sword manifesting into existence within her free hand. A bright orange halo appeared around her head, and white markings appeared along her face. "I'M NOT DONE YET!"

"…!" The Ashen Demon's face actually showed a hint of surprise. She jumped back, examining her foe with cautious. "Where did you get that power?"

"I don't know!" Shez admitted, now lunging at the Ashen Demon with two swords. "But I know this is exactly what I need to beat you!" Two swords against one? That was the number advantage. Her attacks were faster and she could feel even more force behind them. Whatever was happening to her body gave her an incredible power boost!

And despite that…the Demon was able to keep up, despite the initial surprise. Shez swung her two swords fiercely, but the motions behind them were a little clumsy. The Demon picked up the pace to match, deflecting both swords before striking Shez with an elbow in the chest to knock her back. "You're fighting like an entirely different person…"

Shez slid across the ground for a moment before coming to a halt. This new sword of hers was charged with some kind of magic and she swung it forward, a purple crescent shockwave cutting across the ground while traveling towards the Demon. "HAH!" The Demon actually took caution to block this attack with her sword. There was a small explosion from contact, but the Demon was only pushed back a few inches. Shez noticed this and grinned, repeating the action since it was the first thing to progress she made since this fight started.

Well, if things were going to be like that. The Demon could return the favor. Lightning appeared along the edge of her sword and she swung it forward, sending a lightning bolt towards the incoming crescent slash. The two attacks exploded and a thick cloud of smoke formed in the center. Shez saw this as an opening to rush ahead and use the smoke as cover, but….the Demon was already one step ahead. Shez felt a fist slam into her gut, completely knocking all of the wind out of her system. The Demon then followed up with a powerful kick that slammed Shez into the ground. And the follow up…..

"Alright, that's enough! This fight's over!" That voice came from the enemy commander: Jeralt himself.

"Huh!?" Shez was on a knee. What timing. Not only was the fight over, but her transformation wore off as well.

"…Hm." The demon just turned her back to Shez and began walking off. "Sorry, but it looks like this fight is over."

"H-Hey! Wait!" Shez called out, attempting to stand, but her body was too weary…

"Why?" The Demon glanced over her shoulder. "Your job was to stop us, and you failed. Another time, perhaps." And she just walked off, completely disregarding Shez's existence.

"W-Wait…! I'm not…done…why am I so tired…?" And Shez just collapsed on the spot…

.

When she awoke, she found herself in a strange place. "Huh? Where am I?" She wasn't sure how to describe it. The area that surrounded her was similar to a void…

"Oh good! You're awake." Someone called out to her. It was a pale man. She wasn't sure how to describe what she saw. "Not sure I would've been able to sleep at night with your, heh, blood on my hands…"

"Gah!?" Shez yelped. "Who are you!? What's going on…!?"

"Hah, now that is a tricky question…" The entity replied, glancing away for a moment. "For the moment, why don't you call me Arval?"

"Arval, huh?" Shez stroked her chin.

"But for me, let me speak plain: you are slated to die. Right now, I'm the only thing holding your meager existence together. And to be frank, it's beginning to tire me."

"Uh. Thanks…?" Shez wasn't sure how to respond to that.

"Oh! That's the first time someone's shown me gratitude. I quite like it." Arval laughed to himself. "Look, now then, you are a vital part of this world's…! No. That's not going to work. You are far too groggy to understand what I am trying to tell you. I need not convince you how to get back on your feet, only that you will."

"Is this a dream? I remember fighting the Ashen Demon and then collapsing…" Shez muttered.

"You're half right, and you're half wrong. But full marks for effort! Yeah. Came within an inch of snuffing out your life. If you fought her again the same way, you'd get the same result. And then I would have to step in once more, which would be most annoying and very counterproductive if I'm honest." Arval replied.

"…I won't lose next time." Shez said. "But who's to say that time will come? My friends and allies are dead and the company is finished…" It was a feeling she wouldn't forget. It wasn't the fact she lost everyone, but the fact she was so helpless against the Ashen Demon. Never before had she felt so powerless. "But the best thing I can do is start over to honor them."

"I'd expect no less from my partner in destiny! I like your spirit." Arval smiled.

"Partner in…what?" Shez blinked.

"Oh, I suppose I should dial it back a bit. I need to remember to take intimacy in small steps, after all." Arval said so casually. These two…were definitely quite the pair…

.

.

[Six months later…]

"Hey, wake up." Jeralt's voice managed to wake Byleth up. She opened her eyes and pulled herself out of bed. It was the dead of night. "Did you have that dream again?"

"I think…" Byleth said while shrugging her shoulders. "There was one with a strange girl…and then the one with the big battle."

"With the thousands of soldiers? There hasn't been a battle like that in three centuries." Jeralt replied. Although with the way he said it, one would think he might've actually been there. "Anyway, you can't afford to be dreaming out there on the field, you know."

"I know." Byleth seemed more awake now. But the dream with that girl still lingered in her head. She didn't even get her name. Why did this bother her? "Where are we going again?"

"Our next job is in the Kingdom." Jeralt said. "It's far from here, so we'll need to leave at dawn."

"Of course." Byleth said curtly.

Jeralt smiled, but he could hear some noise outside. "Hm? Good grief. Guess everyone is already waiting for us outside."

A mercenary came barging in. "Jeralt! Sir! Sorry to barge in, but your presence is needed outside."

It sounded urgent. "What's happened?" Jeralt asked. He and Byleth stepped outside, where two people were waiting for them. A young woman with white hair and purple eyes, dressed in school attire with a red cape over her left shoulder. The other was a young man with dark skin, dressed similarly to the woman, but with a yellow cape instead of a red one.

"We're sorry to bother you, but we're in a bit of trouble." The young man said. "We're being chased by bandits, you see…"

"Bandits, out here?" Jeralt was a little surprised.

"It's true. They attacked us while we were at rest in our camp. Furthermore, we've been separated from another one of our companions." The woman said. There were supposed to be three of them, but there were only two. "We know he's within the area, but we are quite outnumbered as is he."

"They're after our lives…not to mention our gold." The young man said. "Oh, right…guess we should introduce ourselves before anything else. I'm Claude von Riegan."

"And I am Edelgard von Hresvelg." The woman said. "Our companion goes by the name Dimitri. I doubt you could miss him."

"I'm impressed you managed to stay this calm considering the situation." Jeralt gave the two his kudos. But upon taking a closer look at their uniforms… "Wait…"

"Bandits!" A mercenary exclaimed. "A lot of them too!"

"Damn. Guess they followed you all the way out here…" Jeralt sighed. "We can't abandon this village now. Alright, kid. Ready to a quick fight?"

"Always." Byleth said with a nod. She could see the bandits approaching off in the distance.

.

.

Somewhere close by, Shez was just waking up. "Ugh…what happened? I could've sworn I heard someone calling me. It's still dark out though."

"Ugh, yes! I was calling you! Many times I might add!" Arval said, exasperated. "Do you know how many times you would've died by now if not for me. I'll tell you: twenty-two! The three times you leapt off a cliff to 'get tougher'. Saved you. Those five mad attempts to dispatch a horde of monsters by yourself? Saved you. And tonight? Despite my many warnings and directions, you ended up sleeping up on a bed of leaves."

"Agh. Come on, at least let me pick my own directions!" Shez argued. That was really the only thing she could say in her own self-defense.

"Listen. You might want to get your wits about you quickly. There is a reason I woke you from your mud-caked slumber." Arval said. The reason? A young man was in combat nearby, against a few bandits.

The young man swung his lance around, a bolt of azure lightning following this swing. With this motion, he was able to take out the few bandits that attacked him in a single swing. But labored breaths escaped him after that. "How many does this man have working for him? I was separated from Edelgard and Claude as well. If this persists…" So far, things weren't looking good for him. But he turned and noticed Shez, keeping his guard up. "Who goes there? Another bandit?"

"I think he's mistaking you for some sort of common thug!" Arval said.

Shez shook her head. "I'm not a bandit. I'm a mercenary."

"…You'll have to forgive me, but somehow that does not ease the tension in the air." The man said. "What would a mercenary be doing out here in these woods at this hour?"

"…I got a little lost looking for Remire Village." Shez admitted. Maybe that would quell the tension in the air.

"Remire? I was en route to that area as well, with some friends of mine." The young man said. His guard was still up, just in case. He sensed no hostility from Shez, but that did not mean he was safe.

"…So you know where it might be? Okay. How's this?" Shez said with a grin. "You look like you could use some help, and my pockets are a little light. So, how about I help get you to where you need to go, and in exchange, you could make my pockets a little heavier."

"My first concern is finding Edelgard and Claude. They must be nearby. I can hear the sounds of conflict within the forest, and as much as I would like to aid them, I'm afraid I can't do much by myself alone." The man said. "…But very well. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd."

"Huh. Feel like I've heard that name before." Shez scratched her head. Whatever. "Okay, let's get going…!" She sprinted off.

"The other direction." Arval corrected. Shez quickly turned around and ran in the opposite way. Dimitri stared, a little confused. Was this a wise decision? Well…he'd just have to see about that.

.

.

Things near Remire were going exceptionally well. Byleth was handling the bandits that chased after Edelgard and Claude with ease. Every time one approached, she easily took them out with a single swing. Their form was sloppy, and their swings lacked precision. They lacked quality and quantity. "T-This chick is insane…!" One of the bandits yelped in fear.

"You chose this fight. There's no backing away from it now." Byleth said in a monotonous voice. It was just the way she spoke, yet that was enough to strike fear into the bandits.

Claude gave a low whistle as Byleth went to work. "Man, that mercenary sure is something, isn't she?"

"Indeed…" Edelgard watched Byleth's movements with awe. Something about this mercenary…there was more to her than meets the eye. "I would hate to be on the battlefield against her."

"You and me both." Claude replied with a nod.

"What the hell is going on over there!?" The bandit leader, Kostas, had enough of this commotion. "You're supposed to be killing those damn brats! Enough of this nonsense get out there and kill them!" He was talking to a surprisingly low number of people. Edelgard and Claude were pulling their weight, Jeralt was simply making sure nothing went awry, and Byleth did most of the heavy lifting. A lot of the bodies on the ground were her doing.

"You do realize you're one of the only ones left, right?" Byleth asked.

Kostas growled and tightened his grip on his axe. That one was the problem! So naturally, he ran towards Byleth with intent to strike her down. "You with the blank stare! Get outta my way!" Kostas brought his axe down, but Byleth blocked it easily with her sword, and punched Kostas in the face. This made him stumble back, bleeding from the nose. "…!? You little…!" In his rage, he attacked again, but Byleth was already in front of him. "Huh!?"

Byleth swung her sword at Kostas. He was barely able to block, but she was so strong, he ended up flying backwards and landed harshly on the ground on his back. "…" And she had yet to break a sweat from all of this.

"What the hell is going on…" Kostas groaned before springing back up. He just narrowly managed to avoid death from Byleth's attack. If she hit him head on he probably wouldn't be getting back up. But damn this woman! He had to take out one of these damned brats! He looked around, noticing that Edelgard appeared the most vulnerable, probably because she was just a woman in his eyes. So he rushed over to her and raised his axe. "YOU'LL DIE!"

Edelgard gasped, realizing she was under attack. There was hardly time to ready her axe, so she had to quickly pull out the dagger she always carried. "…!"

"Oh crap…!" Claude didn't have the time to nock an arrow…!

And Byleth didn't have the time to run over and attack. "There's no time…!" She rushed over to Edelgard, covering the woman by having her back turned, which allowed Kostas' axe to slice into her back...and then everything froze.

.

.

Byleth looked around, realizing she was standing in darkness. It was just an empty void. "Uh…"

"HONESTLY!" The voice nearly startled Byleth. She turned to see a girl on a throne. "What were you trying to accomplish with that little stunt!? Are you trying to get me killed!?"

"Um…no….?" It was that girl again, Byleth recognized her from her dreams. This wasn't the first time they conversed, but this was the first time it felt exceedingly personal.

The girl let out a heavy, exasperated sigh. "Well, it's fine. After all, if you don't know the value of your own life, you're not going to protect it very well, are you? Course not." A jubilant expression appeared on her face and she clasped her hands together. "Well then, I guess it's up to me to guide you from now on. Right? You can call me Sothis. But I'm also known "The Beginning."

"Sothis…?" Byleth repeated that name.

"Hmm…" Sothis looked lost in thought. "But who called me that name?" She then turned her green gaze to Byleth. That blank expression bothered her. She felt judged. "That look upon your face. Did you think me a child? A mere child who forgot her own name?!"

"…I didn't say that." Byleth interjected.

"Phooey!" Sothis wasn't listening. "That 'child' just saved your life! And what does that make you?"

"…Less…than a child…?" Byleth blinked slowly.

Sothis smiled, pleased with that answer. "Good! It appears that you learn quickly. After all, you did throw yourself in front of an axe to save just one young girl. Yet all is well, as I have stalled the flow of time for now. You would have died had I not intervened."

"Yeah, I don't know why I did that." Byleth let out a sigh. Seriously, what was she thinking? Never before did she spring to someone's aid like that unprompted. But her attention snapped back to Sothis. "Wait, you stopped time? Um. Thank you."

"I did deem you worth saving after all." Sothis puffed her chest out. "Though it is only momentary…and when time resumes, that axe will dig into your flesh, and you will surely meet your end."

Byleth's expression did not change. But that didn't change the fact the words she heard were, well, not great. "Ah."

"How rude of you to drag me into this!" Sothis scoffed. "Now what to do…"

"Can you…turn back the hands of time?" Byleth was just spit balling ideas.

"Of course! I must turn back the hands of time!" Sothis said, a strange seal appearing before her. "Yes, I do believe it can be done. You really are quite troublesome."

"Wait, you can seriously do that?" Byleth's surprise actually showed this time.

"I cannot wind back time too far, but all is well. You aware of what's to come, which means you can protect yourself." Sothis smiled. "Now, go. Yes, you who bears the flames within. Drift through the flow of time to find the answers that you seek…."

.

.

"What the hell is going on…" Kostas groaned before springing back up. He just narrowly managed to avoid death from Byleth's attack. If she hit him head on he probably wouldn't be getting back up. But damn this woman! He had to take out one of these damned brats! He looked around, noticing that Edelgard appeared the most vulnerable, probably because she was just a woman in his eyes. So he rushed over to her and raised his axe. "YOU'LL DIE!"

Edelgard didn't have a lot of time to defend herself. The only thing she could use on such short notice was the dagger she always carried with her, but there was no need for that. Byleth stepped in front of her, swinging her sword at Kostas for a direct hit to knock him back. His axe flew from his hands and landed elsewhere, while the bandit himself gasped with the large gash on his chest. "I don't think so."

"Ngh…" Kostas's eyes widened. It happened so fast, he barely had time to register the pain. "Damn it…I never…shoulda taken…this job…" He stumbled back a few steps, before collapsing onto the ground, dead. Whatever bandits followed him immediately fled the moment their boss was killed.

"Whoa…" Claude was admittedly shocked. "That was way too close for comfort."

"Thank you…" Edelgard said to Byleth.

"Mhm." Byleth just nodded. There was a lot she needed to process…

"So the bandits are gone, but we're still no closer to finding Dimitri…" Claude said. It was a little too early to celebrate just yet. But, as he said that, he saw Dimitri approach them. "Speak of the devil…!"

"Claude, Edelgard. Are you two unharmed?" Dimitri asked.

"We are. Yourself?" Edelgard asked. "We had some help…but I must admit, I am surprised to see you alone. Did you truly break through those bandits by yourself?"

"I'm not that capable." Dimitri said, gesturing behind him. "I ran into a mercenary that was willing to give me a helping hand…"

Shez was there, purple eyes narrowing as she looked at Byleth. Everyone turned to look at Shez, and Byleth locked eyes with her, vaguely recalling the battle from half a year ago. Shez saw the whole thing; how Byleth easily handled Kostas without breaking so much as a sweat. Six months ago, the Ashen Demon made her feel powerless. The result wouldn't be the same this time. "I've finally found you, Ashen Demon…"