The Last Scion of House Ordelia

by kenji1104

Lysithea was said to be bound for greatness when she was born. Join her in her life story as it began in Garreg Mach, forge bonds with various people and eventually find love and a reason to fight on for her life and happiness. A detailed story of Lysithea's journey in the Black Eagles/Crimson Flower route with its own unique take on the route's story.

15. White Clouds: The Sundered Clouds Part B

White Clouds

The Sundered Clouds

Part B

---

"So it is my teacher who stands in my way. I always knew it would come to this…"

"Professor, kill Edelgard at once. She is a danger to all of Fódlan. Such a rebellious heart cannot be allowed to keep beating."

"No. I will not."

"You... How dare you!"

"My teacher, I- Thank you! But are you certain that- No, now isn't the time for discussion."

"So, this is the choice you have made. You are just another failure."

Lysithea opened her eyes to see an unfamiliar ceiling made out of leather, quite different from the wood and stone ceiling she had been used to.

Groaning, she could feel the hard ground below the bedroll she was sleeping on. Sitting up, she still felt groggy on whatever she had smelled earlier, it smelled strange and induced her to sleep almost immediately-

Her eyes opened fully in realization at her predicament, she wasn't supposed to be here, she was supposed to be in her room in Garreg Mach after she said her farewells to Edelgard until someone grabbed her from behind and forced a cloth with a strange and sleep inducing smell on her nose.

Rising up despite nearly stumbling back to the bedroll due to the persisting groggy feeling of waking up, Lysithea made her way out of the tent to see her surroundings were that of ruins with several tents situated around the place but what concerned her most were soldiers dressed in red and black armor as well as the standard of the Adrestian Empire waving from the top of the tents or on banners.

She came out of the tent, looking all wary and readied her hands with magic just in case she got noticed sneaking out until one of the soldiers noticed her.

"H-Hey, she's awake… Inform the Emperor-"

The moment her presence was noticed and when the soldier mentioned the Emperor, Lysithea quickly fired a Miasma sphere that launched the young mage soldier to the air and crashed on top of one of the tents, destroying it.

"W-Wait, Lady Lysithea!" The other soldiers tried to assuage her by gesturing for her to stop but Lysithea was having none of it.

"Don't you dare go near me! I'll do worse than I did earlier!" Lysithea warned as more and more dark magic seeped out from her, her feelings of anger and hatred towards the Imperial soldiers fueling her strong magic power even more.

One of the soldiers drew her sword in self-defense but one of the guards held out his arm towards her, barring her from attacking.

"She is not to be harmed as per the Emperor's orders!"

"But she'll kill us at this point!"

"It was an absolute order that must be followed!"

Lysithea was still confused about her predicament, only riding on the fact that she was kidnapped from her room earlier, she had to get away from this place, get back to Garreg Mach and find help…

Does Edelgard even know what happened? What about her classmates? The professor?

She had to get out and seeing the hesitance or restraint of the soldiers surrounding her, she figured to take advantage of it.

Charging the dark magic to create a blast to use as a diversion, Lysithea readied herself to unleash it…

"Lysithea!"

The Ordelia heiress stopped, her dark magic withdrawing back into her veins when she heard an all-so familiar voice.

The cadre of guards in front of her moved aside to make way for Byleth to pass through, followed by Leonie and Hubert.

Lysithea's eyes widened on what possible reason was the professor and her classmates doing her? Were they kidnapped too? Even so, why are they carrying their weapons around?

"Professor?"

"Stand down, Lysithea. You're not in any danger here." Byleth assured her as he approached her and placed a comforting hand on one of her shoulders.

Still feeling groggy from earlier, Lysithea nearly fell but Byleth kept her up as Hubert ordered the Imperial soldiers to disperse while Leonie took a chair from within the tent for Lysithea to sit down on.

---

"W-What's even going on here, professor?" Lysithea asked with clear confusion in their situation.

By now, Hubert has left them without a word and so has Leonie to allow Byleth to explain their situation in detail towards Lysithea, something that Byleth had a lot to tell about yet he knew, the only one who could give a full answer was probably Edelgard.

"A lot has happened after your birthday."

"After my- wait, what day is it today?" Lysithea asked.

Byleth sighed. "29th day of the Pegasus Moon." He replied.

Lysithea's eyes widened as she stared in shock at the professor.

"I've been asleep for a whole day?!" She exclaimed out in shock.

"Almost." Byleth nodded as he observed the different emotions that contorted Lysithea's face but most of all was that her expression tells that she needs some answers, right here and right now.

"What about the mission in the Holy Tomb? My classmates in the Black Eagles? Lady Rhea?" Lysithea continuously questioned, still letting the recent events set in here.

Byleth's expression darkened at the mention of Rhea. Lysithea noticed his face contorting to something like sadness and anger… resentment. It was the same look he bore when he and Rhea had a stand-off but during that time, his was mixed with that of suspicion towards the Archbishop.

"We were all supposed to proceed with the task assigned to our class…"

Byleth then relayed the events that Lysithea had missed during her absence: He and the Black Eagles were all ready to descend down on the Holy Tomb while being guided by Rhea into the hallowed underground area of Garreg Mach.

It was there that Rhea had asked him to sit upon the throne that the Goddess Sothis sat upon during her time in the world and it was there that he and the Black Eagles found out that the Goddess was actually laid to rest, implying that she may have died or transcended a need for a physical form when such knowledge was nowhere to be seen in the holy scriptures as it was mentioned in vague references that the Goddess ascended back to the Fell Star from whence she came to watch over the world.

Lysithea wondered if Rhea or only a few high ranking members of the Church of Seiros were the only ones who knew of such a fact if it was even true in the beginning. After all, Lysithea never put much stock in myths and legends surrounding the Church's teachings, especially on one as vague as the Goddess herself.

Byleth further told his thoughts about Rhea asking him to sit on a throne that was supposed to only be for the Goddess but he did so anyway for his own reasons, Rhea appeared to have been anticipating something would happen such as Byleth receiving a divine revelation from the Goddess but alas, there was nothing but the cold silence as he sat on the throne.

It was there that Edelgard enacted her plan that she had been plotting for a long time. She had shown her hand when she led a contingent of Imperial Soldiers within the tomb all while dressed up as the Flame Emperor, effectively revealing herself as the person behind the mask of the enigmatic figure that haunted the Church of Seiros throughout the year.

"Edelgard is now the Emperor of Adrestia." Byleth added.

Lysithea gave him another look of shock. "Since when? Wasn't Emperor Ionius the one on the throne? Since when did Edelgard-"

Then it dawned on her and Byleth knew when he witnessed her abrupt pause.

"When you accompanied her to Enbarr…" Lysithea gasped upon realizing the plausible explanation why Edelgard went to Enbarr without a word.

Byleth pursed his lips together and nodded silently.

"And you knew… you saw all of this?"

She received a nod as a response once again. She gritted her teeth, how much and how long was she and the others in the dark about this? This act of war Edelgard did to Rhea, did the professor also know of it? How much did he know?

"I was present as a witness to Edelgard's coronation from her father. I had thought it strange that she couldn't delay the succession ceremony after graduation and instead of having Rhea as a witness, she had me to stand in her stead… but to think she was planning this all along."

This was met by another surprised reaction from Lysithea once again.

"You saw the coronation but Edelgard didn't tell you the extent of her plans?"

Her professor merely stared at her and it was all she needed to know.

"She didn't tell you…"

Byleth further explained what occurred, how he confronted Edelgard and bested one of his finest students, the fact that Edelgard had so much power in her surprised him but he purposely withheld the fact that she had a second Crest that she had confided with him months prior, a secret he chose to keep to honor Edelgard's wish for privacy. Unknown to him, the one listening to him also bore the same cruel fate that Edelgard had.

Yet when it came to delivering the blow that would end her life, Byleth hesitated when he and Edelgard looked eye to eye. Byleth admitted that he had truly grown to care for Edelgard, remembering the times they and the others shared with him, he also recalled Edelgard's vision for the world that she had also confided with him, a vision he believed would be best after hearing the grievances of many people including some of his students about it… he knew he couldn't kill her.

That and coupled with his own creeping suspicion towards Rhea borne from her leniency and clear favoritism towards him as well as the contents of his father's journal detailing why Jeralt never trusted her after Sitri's death and the mysterious circumstance of his birth.

Byleth knew he needed answers and before he knew it, he put away his sword that was poised to strike down the young emperor and instead turned to Rhea, demanding answers. This abrupt pause didn't please Rhea and she demanded him to strike Edelgard down, arguing that Edelgard is a danger to Fodlan and must be swiftly eliminated at once.

Byleth refused to do so and instead questioned Rhea's orders and her plans for him.

"Why did you ask me to sit on the throne of Sothis? What was it that you have been awaiting for? What were you expecting to happen?"

This only incensed Rhea further and again ordered Byleth to execute Edelgard only for the professor to point his sword towards Rhea, demanding her to answer him, his own distrust to her reaching its peak.

"Answer me or else you'll be proving my father right on why he told me not to trust you."

That was the tipping point for Rhea to finally look down upon him with contempt, she declared him to be another failure, that he was a disgrace to her brethren. Passing judgement that he had committed heresy for disobeying her will and finally, she lashed out at him and declared she will rip his chest open and take his heart.

Upon hearing of the revelation that Rhea was a monster in a literal sense when Byleth questioned and turned on her, Lysithea could only stare at the bonfire before her in extreme shock.

It almost sounded like it was just all tall tales but knowing her professor, the way he spoke of it and their current situation…

It was all too much for Lysithea to take in at the moment and almost right on cue, Ferdinand arrived to offer them hot tea, something that Byleth thanked him for but Lysithea only wordlessly took it and drank it to calm her nerves down.

Ferdinand seemed like he had wanted to discuss matters with them but Byleth gestured to him with his facial expression to leave them alone to discuss, something the Aegir noble immediately caught on and left.

Taking more small sips from the brown ceramic cup of tea, Lysithea blankly stared at the bonfire as Byleth allowed her a few moments to process what was going on.

There was something in Lysithea's eyes that Byleth could understand well enough, it was the look of someone wanting answers and knowing his student, Lysithea was the type to want it as soon as possible, as fond as he was to her, she is an impatient girl.

It resonated within him, her hunger for answers. Long had he wanted to ask Rhea about himself, Jeralt and Sitri but whenever he did especially during the start of the Pegasus Moon, Rhea merely told him the time for questions would come after his pilgrimage in the Holy Tomb. A pilgrimage that ended in disaster and a situation they are in now.

Only this time in Lysithea's case, she wanted answers from Edelgard herself.

Taking one final sip of her tea, Lysithea abruptly stood up.

"I'm going to see Edelgard." Lysithea declared and Byleth wasn't one to stop her for he knew that she needed this.

Asking where Edelgard was, Byleth pointed her to the right direction and watched her go off to see the young Emperor, boatloads of questions ready to be unboarded.

---

Edelgard stood in her tent alone, the largest tent out of all in the camp which also contained the war table containing a detailed map of Garreg Mach and it's surroundings with several pieces depicting the various divisions of the Imperial Army and on the opposing side, pieces depicting the forces of the Knights of Seiros that are poised to defend the monastery.

Edelgard her gloved right hand on her chin, pondering possible scenarios and contingencies if such plans did not go as planned.

She moved a piece depicting a knight carrying the standard of Faerghus somewhere north of Garreg Mach.

"If the reports are true, it seems Rodrigue and other nobles of Faerghus arrived to help evacuees or students originating from Faerghus to safety... " Edelgard murmured to herself, mentally commending the fast action of the Faerghus nobles. "Unlike the Alliance…"

She eyed the piece of a warrior carrying the Leicester Alliance's banner that was far off to the side. All she had heard from their intel is that the Alliance lords were still discussing their next move, a good opportunity they have not taken any action due to the manifesto Edelgard was set to send to the people of Fodlan to expose the Church's lies and the malpractice of the Crest system by the nobility who fervently follow the perceived 'divine right' they have to rule, Edelgard was hoping some of the Alliance would turn to her.

"The Alliance doesn't have close relations with the Church to predict them aiding Rhea unlike the nobles of Faerghus…" Edelgard spoke to herself. "If Dimitri were to be captured then that would pacify most of the lords in the Kingdom but there is no way of knowing if he had evacuated or stayed behind…"

Edelgard's planning was interrupted when she heard muffled voices from beyond the flaps of her tent.

"The Emperor has requested to not be disturbed unless it is important."

"Oh, this is pretty much important, I assure you. Let me in."

"Considering the tone of your voice and your disposition, we cannot allow your-"

"Let her in." Edelgard ordered, her eyes fixated at the flap leading in and out of her tent.

"But Your Majesty-"

"Don't make me repeat myself." Edelgard sternly said to the guard outside.

With a sigh, the guard had no choice but to follow the Emperor's order.

"Yes, Your Majesty. You may enter."

"And have food ready to be served for me and my guest." Edelgard followed up with another order.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The flap of the huge tent Edelgard was inhabiting was lifted up to reveal who she was expecting after recognizing the distinct voice that argued with the guard posted outside of her tent.

"Edelgard."

"Lysithea."

The girls of ashen and snow hair stared at each other, the former's eyes looking remorseful while the latter's glare pierced straight through hers, hidden within such eyes was an angry desire for answers… answers she needed now.

The young emperor was the first to turn away from their stare off, her lavender eyes averting towards the recently brewed tea that her loyal aide, Hubert had brewed for her.

Approaching the wooden table, she laid out a tan ceramic cup with no handles on the small table with chairs on one of the corners of the tent and poured the hot tea in for both of them. Edelgard even had the initiative to add cubes of sugar into Lysithea's cup before she placed it down on one side of the table.

"Come, sit and have some tea with me." Edelgard invited, gesturing Lysithea to one seat as she sat down on the opposite side of the round table.

Lysithea only took a few steps near the war table, her glare never breaking away from Edelgard.

"I prefer to stand."

"Lysithea-"

"The last time I sat to have tea with you, I was drugged to sleep afterwards." Lysithea pointed out, jabbing daggers into Edelgard's heart at the sharp words that emerged from Lysithea's tongue. "So yes, I prefer to stand."

Edelgard had heard of others speaking of the barbed tongue that belongs to Lysithea but never had she become one of the unfortunate recipients until now that is. She knew she had wronged her for what she had to do, she had prepared herself to make amends for it but she had a feeling this will be much more difficult than she had thought considering the weight of Lysithea's glare towards her.

With a sigh, Edelgard briefly closed her eyes and collected herself for the inevitable confrontation that is to ensue but first things first…

"Lysithea, I would like to apologize-"

"Spare me your apologies, Edelgard. I don't want it." Lysithea spat, ignoring the fact that the person she was talking to is the Adrestian Emperor, she didn't care if she was the ruler of a nation or a deity, Lysithea knew the person she was talking to is her friend, or at least she still tries to think so.

Edelgard was taken aback but said nothing, she could only look away from Lysithea.

"What I want from you are answers." Lysithea said, walking closer to the table but never sat down.

"I understand." Edelgard sighed. "Ask."

"Why did you do it?" Lysithea was straightforward with her question. "Why did you have me drugged?"

Edelgard looked up at her, her eyes softening yet unlike before, it was tempered with resolve.

"I wanted you out of the fighting that would occur in the Holy Tomb." Edelgard answered.

"Was I the only one who had to experience that kind of special treatment from you or did some lucky classmates of ours were also chosen by you?" Lysithea asked with dripping sarcasm.

"You were the only one."

"Why?"

"Because…" Edelgard trailed off, her hands on tightly holding on to the cup by now. "I didn't want you to get hurt in the crossfire, you were the only one that I had the opportunity to have subdued like that before our mission in the Holy Tomb so…"

"You lied to the professor, citing that you tried to come get me before we head down the tomb but told him the convenient excuse that I suddenly wasn't feeling well, am I right?" Lysithea pressed on, basing her information on the matter from what Byleth told her earlier, the steps and excuses that Edelgard had done to ensure that what she did to Lysithea wasn't prematurely exposed.

Edelgard nodded, she had expected Byleth to reveal what she told him about this particular case, on Lysithea and why she was the only one who she had spared from witnessing what she had to do in the Holy Tomb, something that Byleth had encouraged her to come clean with Lysithea.

While Byleth was more receptive to what she had done and her explanation, she felt that with Lysithea's personality and the way she was treated prior, she would be a tough nut to crack.

"I took advantage of the sense of urgency Rhea had to proceed with her plan in the Holy Tomb. I knew she wouldn't want to waste time in having to wait, especially with such a convenient lie so we proceeded to the tomb despite the professor's concern for you." Edelgard replied.

"Then why me? Why go through the effort to do all that for me just to get me out of the fighting?"

Edelgard was silent, only staring down at the steaming hot tea in her cup.

Lysithea narrowed her eyes, her impatience taking over her.

"Answer me!"

"You are my friend." Edelgard replied weakly.

"And the others aren't?"

Edelgard inwardly gritted her teeth but remained calm.

"Not as close to them as I am to you."

Lysithea scoffed at Edelgard's response. "And you expect me to feel honored? To feel special with what you did for me? To keep me out of the fighting by having me drugged?"

Edelgard's eyes narrowed in discomfort at the words Lysithea hurled at her, while she felt that Lysithea was on the right to feel angry at her, she can't lie to herself that Lysithea's continual doubts of her reason was getting to her.

An ironic feeling because she knew of how low some of the things she has done to get to this point.

"Take it as you will but that is the truth." Edelgard muttered, shifting her gaze back at Lysithea. "I didn't want you to be my enemy. The thought of it, it-"

"Your Majesty?" The guard from outside spoke. "I have brought the meals you have requested."

Edelgard and Lysithea both looked at the flap of the tent leading outside, their own tense conversation interrupted.

"You may enter." Edelgard granted the guard access.

The Imperial soldier entered the tent, bringing in a trolley containing two plates, each covered with a metallic lid to preserve the heat of the food within.

The guard took the initiative to serve the plates of food on opposing sides of the round table and removing the cover lid to present their meal of one half of a roasted pheasant, the enticing aroma invading their nostrils as well as the dark sauce made of reduced berries drizzled over their cuts of pheasant with a side of marble potatoes coated in butter and sticks of carrots.

"Thank you, you may go now." Edelgard politely dismissed the guard.

"Your Majesty." The guard bowed before taking his leave with the trolley.

Lysithea and Edelgard both glanced at their meals before glancing at each other once more.

"I'm sure you're famished."

"No thanks to you."

"Regardless, dine with me." Edelgard invited, gesturing the seat on the opposite side for Lysithea. "We can resume our talk over a meal."

Lysithea wanted to protest but her stomach growled from the hunger that she just started feeling in that moment, the smell of the pheasant as well as the delectable sight of the dark red berry sauce enticing her to sit down and eat.

"Fine, but not the carrot sticks." Lysithea acquiesced. Taking Edelgard's offer, Lysithea started eating her meal after she set aside the carrot sticks she had been glaring at to the side of the plate.

Edelgard managed to stifle a smile as they began eating with Edelgard slicing off a piece of the pheasant roast's breast and eating it, an act Lysithea mirrored as her mouth finally tasted a meal after so many hours of being in an unwarranted sleep. Lysithea's stomach quickly reacted to the meal as her mind told her to eat more, surprising Edelgard at the pace of how she was eating.

Before Lysithea could realize it, half of her meal was eaten while Edelgard had only taken in a few bites.

"I guess I can take your word for it." Lysithea suddenly spoke after wiping her mouth clean.

Edelgard looked up at her with inquisitive eyes.

"That you really intended to get me out of the fighting that happened in the Holy Tomb." Lysithea clarified before her eyes met with Edelgard's, this time her glare was softer but still bearing a degree of indignation towards the ashen haired girl.

Lysithea continued. "You have been looking out for me in the past few months even before I joined the Black Eagles."

Edelgard's eye lit up and opened her mouth to speak, feeling a sense of hope for Lysithea to forgive her.

"But." Lysithea cut off such hope with a single word. "That's because you know a fair bit about me, don't you?"

Edelgard's eyes widened but Lysithea's eyes narrowed, her eyes sharply staring back at her with an accusing look. Her pinkish red eyes remained hungering for answers and this one has been festering inside her mind ever since she and Edelgard became close.

The feeling of why Edelgard made such efforts to talk to her, to protect her and help her each time, why she has been so overbearingly concerned about her wellbeing, the memory of them together in the library flickering in her thoughts now.

Edelgard swallowed the piece of pheasant in her mouth although she also figuratively swallowed to prepare herself from the next line of questioning from Lysithea.

"What in particular?" Edelgard asked.

Lysithea dropped her knife and fork at the sides of her plate and brought her hands down to the hem of her skirt, gripping it tightly while Edelgard mirrored the action but instead tightly held her hands together on her lap.

"For example..." Lysithea trailed off as she was at the brink of revealing a secret about her that she had spent so much effort to keep hidden, a secret that she cannot freely reveal to just anyone.

"The fact that I have two Crests." Lysithea revealed after a tight squeeze on her skirt, openly revealing her most kept secret.

Edelgard's eyes widened in shock yet Lysithea wasn't convinced with her appearance.

"That's… That's hard to believe." Edelgard muttered in surprise.

Reiterating to herself again and again, Lysithea knew she was a terrible liar but that doesn't mean she can't detect a lie when spoken in front of her.

"No need to play coy with me. It won't work." Lysithea glared at Edelgard, having had enough of Edelgard's secrets after experiencing what she had earlier.

The ashen haired emperor bit her lip. She knew Lysithea had her and she knew it was only a matter of time before this line of questioning arrived. Hubert had once warned her that her concern and constant worrying of Lysithea's health would give her away since she was the only one that she had treated as such in a way.

Now, Edelgard will have to suffer the consequences of expressing her concern for her friend as well as the steps she took and her lack of concealment.

"You know all of this before I even got in the Black Eagles, didn't you?"

Edelgard sighed deeply. "This is the first time that I have heard of this, I only knew you possessed the Crest of Gloucester which is a mystery upon itself due to the Ordelia bloodline's history, your family has no records of intermingling with the Gloucester bloodline-"

"Drop the act, Edelgard." Lysithea tiredly said with exasperation. "You already lied to me and the professor, don't make it worse."

Edelgard was silent afterwards.

"Please, just for once, be truthful to me. I at least deserve that if you think I'm your friend." Lysithea pleaded with furrowed brows.

Silence was only her answer as Edelgard looked down on her meal.

"I've begun to notice when you've been starting to worry about my health even before that time in the library… you almost let something slip that night. I didn't pay much mind to it that time but as time went by, I have noticed how overbearing you have been with your concern and then I realized…" Lysithea continued on.

"Given your rank, you certainly have access to all kinds of information that others do not. Clearly, you'd have heard all about me."

Edelgard briefly closed his eyes, she knew Lysithea had her, any excuse she could think of were merely unconvincing ones that only a witless child would believe.

"My life is painfully short, Edelgard. A byproduct of possessing two Crests in my body, while I can draw from it as a source of power, it's also the very thing that curses me to a short life." Lysithea explained, baring the heavy burden forced upon her.

"Two Crests…" Edelgard finally spoke after moments of silence. "An impossible phenomena that defies the principles of Crest research. There has been only a few things that could theoretically force such a phenomena but even the most dedicated of Crest scholars found it too taboo."

Hanneman suddenly sprung within Lysithea's mind, for all of the aged professor's near single minded obsession in his pursuit of Crest research, never did he resort to such ways that would have been a crime against nature, he remained ethical despite questionable methods…

"Blood reconstruction surgery." Edelgard spoke of the forbidden practice that all Crest scholars have sworn to never practice or research further on, a centuries old theory presented by a Crest scholar from the Adrestian Empire, the scholar was later found brutally murdered in his laboratory when he revealed his theory, a case that remains unsolved until now.

Lysithea nodded, her face contorting to that of anger and pain, pain from remembering the traumatic events that led to her family's loss, her predicament and her curse.

"It's not like I had a say in any of it when I was subjected to it."

Edelgard only looked at her with a look of sympathy.

"You've lived through that relentless terror and agony...and survived." Edelgard muttered, her lavender eyes darting down on the table with a forlorn look.

For the first time in their confrontation, Lysithea's eyes widened in surprise at the look and tone of Edelgard when she spoke about it as if… as if…

"Edelgard, have you…"

"You and I have a lot more in common than you think, Lysithea." Edelgard interrupted her as her mouth remained open to speak further but stopped herself short in the last second.

Edelgard shook her head. "Is there something else you need to have answers with?" Edelgard asked, changing the topic.

Elusion.

Something Lysithea can relate with when someone raises a topic she is uncomfortable with. Despite her current advantage of having Edelgard at her mercy when it comes to seeking answers, she felt that she shouldn't pry anymore than she should, she felt for some odd reason that nothing will come out of it if she did this to Edelgard now.

"What prompted you to do all this? Instigate this war?" Lysithea questioned the bigger picture that was going on.

Edelgard gazed at her eyes, for once in this conversation, Edelgard's eyes suddenly burned with resolve.

"Have you ever wondered how it would be if Fodlan's ruling powers aren't dictated by the fact that they bear Crests in their blood?" Edelgard rhetorically asked.

Lysithea scoffed. "Wouldn't that be a world." Lysithea had her fair share of hearing and meeting members of the nobility who thinks their Crests grants them privilege to do what they want and get away with it such as the various cases she had heard of wives and their children being thrown out like trash because of their inability to bear children with a Crest.

"The people in power in Fodlan wouldn't be filled with power hungry and conniving fools who seek to only elevate their status." Lysithea spitefully said.

"And my parents didn't need to suffer the consequences of being involved in politics."

Edelgard's eyes softened for a brief moment before blinking. As Lysithea had accused her earlier, she knew full well what she and her family went through, she knew of House Ordelia's involvement in the Hrym rebellion but upon further investigation that she ordered Hubert to do, she couldn't help but feel responsible that the nobles from the Empire subjected House Ordelia into such a situation.

It was a topic that Edelgard intends to full discuss with Lysithea when the time comes, Edelgard knew that House Hresvelg had nothing to do with what happened to House Ordelia due to her father being stripped of his power and reduced to just a figurehead because of the Insurrection of the Seven that happened concurrently with the Hrym rebellion.

"All of that, the abuse of power, the decadence and the preconceived notion that they stand above all people were caused by the belief that they possessed Crests as a sign of their right to rule..." Edelgard continued.

"And all of that misguided belief stems from what the Church of Seiros preaches." Edelgard said as Lysithea looked down and murmured one of the tenets of Seiros that she vaguely remembers.

"That the Crests were gifts from the Goddess." Lysithea muttered out. "Reinforced by what the faith teaches… they believed that-"

"They are the only ones fit to rule regardless of their competence and morals." Edelgard finished Lysithea's sentence. "A truly flawed concept."

Lysithea was silent as the gears in her mind began to turn and come to the conclusion of what Edelgard was aiming for.

"A world without Crests dictating the course that humanity must undertake. A world without faith blinding the people of Fodlan and a world where people should no longer experience the tyranny brought upon by the Crests." Edelgard declared, standing up from her seat and walking to the war table, an act Lysithea imitated as they carried on.

What Edelgard said was true, in fact, it resonated with Lysithea's own hatred of Crests and the nobility. Before, she spitefully looks at both with contempt due to the misfortune it had brought upon her family.

She recalled how the nobles of the Leicester Alliance turned their backs on them, only caring for their own sakes which resulted with the deaths of so many in House Ordelia as well as her own suffering. It was ironic that House Ordelia gave altruistic aid to House Hrym that they ended up suffering because of it.

But over time as she discussed with her parents and from what she had learned throughout her life, she saw how flawed it all was yet didn't want to think more of it due to her own plans of dissolving House Ordelia and trying to live a normal life with her parents until the day she passes.

Yet before her is a person who openly challenges it where others remained in just silent contempt.

"Why a war? Why can't you just open diplomacy and abolish it in the Empire?"

Edelgard grimly looked at the Faerghus and Leicester region of Fodlan.

"People are afraid of change, changing from what they're accustomed to." Edelgard said. "They think change would always bring about bad things in their lives."

"But change can also bring a lot of good, is that what you're trying to say?" Lysithea questioned.

Edelgard traced her fingers on where the Imperial Army camp is towards Garreg Mach.

"Years ago, my father tried to bring about change for the greater good of the Empire but the moment the nobility realized how their power would be threatened by the change he wanted to bring about, they did everything to maintain it which resulted in many… tragedies, the lives of many innocent children were destroyed as a result." Edelgard clenched her fists as she glared at the piece representing the Church of Seiros in the war table.

The ashen haired emperor glanced at Lysithea.

"The moment I tell my subjects of what I planned to do, to abolish the Crests and the existing aristocracy, they will do the same thing to me like they did my father. Not only that, the example I would bring about in the Empire will also threaten the nobility of the Alliance and the Kingdom, resentment will fester against what I try to espouse for Fodlan."

Lysithea silently urged her to continue, her eyes telling Edelgard that she was listening.

"The Church of Seiros will brand me a heretic for trying to urge the people of Fodlan that their teaching is wrong, that Crests are not indicators of what makes a great ruler. They will denounce me, launch their own crusade against me."

"So you intend to strike first? Why not discuss things with Dimitri? Claude? Being the same age as us, maybe they can listen-"

"Dimitri and Faerghus had made it clear that they will back up the Church of Seiros no matter what, the teachings of the Church are deeply entrenched in their kingdom while the Alliance…"

Lysithea sighed. "Knowing the nobles of the Alliance, they will speak out against Claude if he shows support for your beliefs."

Edelgard pinched her brows in slight irritation.

"I think all of us don't even know the depth of what Claude is planning."

"More like scheming." Lysithea inserted.

Edelgard almost chuckled, yes that was more fitting for Claude in her mind.

"This is the only way with what time I have-" Edelgard cut herself off. "-that Fodlan and its people have before the whole system implodes."

Lysithea raised an eyebrow on what she felt like Edelgard's slip off the tongue but nonetheless continued on with their current topic.

"You feel that war will eventually come whether you do something or not?"

Edelgard nodded. "Years? A decade?" She predicted. "Sooner or later, people who have been victims of the flawed system would rise up, commoners and nobles would fight and the commoners would not stop until all the houses were extinguished and I fear they won't be able to differentiate the people sympathetic to them or not."

Lysithea looked down on the war table with a frown. "It's not impossible when you put it that way yet-"

"You still have doubts on what I really intend to do?" Edelgard asked the obvious feeling in Lysithea.

"Are you doing this out of the goodness of your heart? Really for the people of Fodlan as you say? What's your personal stake in all this?"

Edelgard looked like she expected such a question.

"Goodness of my heart? I doubt it, I am plunging a whole continent in war, Lysithea. I don't think good is the right term to apply to my intention." Edelgard scoffed.

"I may do this for the future of Fodlan and to free humanity from the control of the Church but I have my own personal stake in this, I want a world without innocents getting sacrificed by the whims of selfish people."

""By sacrificing lives to get to that? Ironic isn't it?" Lysithea challenged with arms crossed under her chest.

Edelgard found herself unable to control a chuckle much to Lysithea's bemusement.

"I'm sorry." Edelgard apologized. "I said the same thing to the professor earlier when he asked me the same question you asked. It is contradictory."

The ashen haired girl looked up at the tent's ceiling. "I'll repeat what I told the professor earlier: These sacrifices will allow us to create a future where we never need sacrifice again. Did you think the foundation of the world, the society we live in was built without the blood of others being spilled?" Edelgard questioned.

Lysithea recalled the history of Fodlan throughout the millennia: Nemesis, Seiros, the Adrestian Empire's formation, The War of the Eagle and Lion and The Crescent Moon War. All events led to the creation of what Fodlan is today.

No matter how one dresses it, Fodlan today was built on a foundation of blood.

"You can't change things without getting your hands dirty." Edelgard said and looked at her hands.

Lysithea was silent, there were no more questions from her, Edelgard saw how deeply she's pondering… processing what she learned from her and what to make of it.

Edelgard regarded her for a bit, giving her time to think until she saw Lysithea's eyes meet with hers once again.

"You and I… we despise the same things. Crests… nobility… we are both alike." Edelgard then stretched out her right hand for Lysithea. "And this is our chance to change it with what little time we have. To make a difference so that the same tragedies won't ever repeat itself like it did to us and to others."

Lysithea solemnly looked at Edelgard's hand before looking at her own. This was a monumental decision for her, perhaps in her entire life. With one answer, she would be part of a world changing event.

"It would give me great joy if you are at my side to see this through, Lysithea." Edelgard expressed with hope, her lavender eyes imploring Lysithea to reach for her hand.

But, there were doubts in her. Could this truly change things? Will Edelgard truly do this for the betterment of Fodlan and its people? Will the sacrifices not be in vain?

Then her thoughts wandered to her parents, her goal was simple for them… she wanted to have them live a peaceful life away from the shackles of nobility but this war will no doubt affect such plans.

Then there was the professor, the man she looks up to the most, he joined and took Edelgard's side because he expressed his own belief in Edelgard. He believed in what she could do and the world she was trying to create despite his own personal reasons regarding Rhea.

She looked back and forth at her hand and Edelgard's.

Lysithea briefly closed her eyes and deeply sighed, after what seemed like a long time, she had come to a decision, she had to.

"Meow!"

The two white haired girls looked at the entrance and exit of the tent to see two familiar creatures of feline proportion.

"Ordelian!" Lysithea cried out as her eyes opened wide at the unexpected sight of her beloved cat in the camp

Accompanying the pure white feline was his total opposite, Hresvelgion Whisker approached Edelgard, prompting the emperor to pick her up.

"Did I make you worry?" She asked her beloved pet who only meowed at her with a very evident expression of happiness from being reunited with his master.

Lysithea carried Ordelian and affectionately hugged him, acting like she had missed after such a long time.

"I had them brought here after you were brought in." Edelgard smiled at Lysithea, the prior tense atmosphere between them dissipating.

"I'll have your meal sent to you later, go and rest outside. I'll go out soon to address our classmates… or should I say former classmates for what to do next." Edelgard said in finality, bringing Hresvelgion back down before turning her eyes back on the war table.

"There is much we need to discuss as a whole." Edelgard added and turned her back on Lysithea.

Lysithea could only look at Edelgard briefly before she left the tent with Ordelian in her arms.

---

Just as she left Edelgard's tent, Lysithea figured she should find some of her friends in the camp, speak to them and hear their own views and decisions on what Edelgard was doing.

But first, she needed to find two people: The professor and Annette, besides Edelgard, those two are the closest people to her in her time in the Academy. While she had heard of Byleth's decision, she needed to hear more of his own input in the situation, justification…

For Annette, she was concerned for her first and foremost, she needed to find her and be there for her as her friend for she had no doubt that she too has conflicted feelings regarding the matter.

And not even five minutes out of the tent, she saw Annette walking in a hasty pace, in her face the look of reluctance and conflict.

"Annie, please wait!" Mercedes called out to her as Annette stopped only when she reached one of the horses in the ruins the Imperial camp was in, she held the reins as she finally turned around to look at Mercedes with sorrow.

"Mercie, I can't stay here." Annette said, her voice devoid of the high spirits she always exuded.

"I know, Annie but everyone else seems to be on board-"

"I know and I am happy for you that you get to be reunited with your brother, Emile after such a long time… even if he had to kidnap you to get here…"

Mercedes looked down on the ruined floor. "But without you, I don't think…"

"Mercie, my decision shouldn't be influencing yours." Annette said with a sad smile, her blue eyes looking like it will shed tears at any moment. "I know this is selfish, I know that you, the professor and the others believe in what Edelgard is doing but I can't possibly just leave my mother behind in Faerghus. I also can't abandon any chance I have of getting my father back with us, joining Edelgard will deprive me of that chance… forever."

"I…" Mercedes struggled, her usual serene look forsaking her and replaced with one of downheartedness.

"Goodbye… Mercie." Annette said, her voice cracking until her eyes noticed Lysithea watching her from behind Mercedes.

Annette didn't say anything to the Ordelia girl and instead just gave her a sad smile and a nod of farewell, a single tear trailed down from each of her eyes before she quickly wiped them off with the back of her hand. She led her horse by the reins to outside the ruins as Mercedes and Lysithea could do nothing but watch as their beloved friend left.

Lysithea couldn't find a way to talk her out of it as she knew that Annette had made up her mind and she understood it.

She couldn't help but feel her heart wrenched at the sight of one of her best friends leaving.

Just as Annette got outside the ruins and was about to mount her horse, Felix ran past Lysithea and Mercedes in a frantic rush to catch up to Annette.

"Annette!" Felix called out for her.

Lysithea and Mercedes can only watch in sorrow as Annette and Felix shared their own moment of farewell before the latter rode away with her horse, leaving Felix at the entrance of the ruins with a broken heart.

---

After Edelgard had assembled the entirety of the Black Eagles or those who remained, she began to discuss her plan and logistics for the upcoming battle.

"As Emperor, I will lead the entirety of the Imperial Army to battle while Professor Byleth will lead all of you just as he used to in the Academy." Edelgard announced, looking at each and everyone of her classmates who had stayed behind in support of either her or the professor. Regardless of their reasons, she welcomed their allegiance despite some coming from other houses or nations, she was thankful that the professor had managed to convince them of her cause and her ideals despite what she did.

"From now on, all of you in the Black Eagles will be part of the Black Eagle Strike Force, an elite regiment under Byleth's command. This unit will be operating independently from the Imperial Army. I trust that this is all to your liking?" Edelgard questioned her now former classmates who all nodded except for Felix who remained despondent from Annette's departure.

Edelgard smiled and glanced at Byleth beside her, who gave her a nod.

"I understand some of our friends and classmates who were our steadfast allies had left for their own reasons. Flayn and Annette, I guarantee their safe passage back to their homes but I cannot guarantee their safety if they joined the side of our enemies." Edelgard added a dampener to the newly christened Strike Force.

"But do not lose heart, my friends. We are fighting for the very future of Fodlan itself. We may be seen as the villains in the present but future generations will remember what we did to secure their very future. We fight for humanity! For all of Fodlan! If you dare walk this path with me, take your first step. It's now or never!" Edelgard exclaimed out.

Taking a step forward and placing their right hands on their chest, the Black Eagle Strike Force were ready despite some of them still having conflicted feelings and hesitations such as Felix, Ingrid and Lysithea.

With one final thanks, Edelgard took her leave to plan her siege of Garreg Mach, leaving the Black Eagles to conduct their own business for the rest of the night.

Byleth separated himself immediately from his former students almost immediately, going outside of the ruins to the outskirts of the Imperial Army camp to watch Garreg Mach from the distance, the beacons around it burning brightly.

His green eyes solemnly stared at the place that he called home for almost a year, the place where his mother and father met, the place where he supposedly died and lived and the place where he met the people who would grow dear to him.

And he along with Edelgard will lead the attack tomorrow as a pre-emptive strike against Rhea and the Church of Seiros.

Rhea…

The name embitters him at this point, what was so hard for her to answer when she questioned him in the Holy Tomb? What exactly did she do to his mother and towards him during his birth? Why was Jeralt so afraid of her… alienated by her afterwards?

Such questions, he needed answers but in Rhea's angered state, she revealed her true form.

It was something he had never seen before. A dragon from the legends called the Immaculate One, she showed so much majesty yet also showed such unforgiving anger and hatred to anyone who defied her.

Byleth placed his right hand over his chest, still unable to feel his own heartbeat. A mystery he had all his life until it was partially solved in Jeralt's diary.

If only Sothis was still with him.

Ever since they fused their souls together, he had been unable to see or hear her voice again. Who knew that he would miss her nagging and sharp tongue? Sothis has always been his stalwart companion, always being there for him and now that he needed her the most in this time of searching for answers, she wasn't there for him to confide with.

"Sothis?" Byleth spoke out quietly but only the crickets of the night answered back to him.

"My soul will join with yours, and you and I will never be apart. But...I will no longer have a chance to speak with you.…"

Byleth didn't understand the gravity of Sothis' words during that time, his concern was for them to get out of the void they were casted in and to go back to protect his students again. He started to wonder if things would have been different if they did not join their souls together as one, he wondered what would become of him when he sat on Sothis' throne on Rhea's behest.

"Having second thoughts?"

Byleth didn't bother to turn around to face Lysithea after she asked him, standing behind him.

"No, my mind was made up the moment I protected Edelgard from Rhea." Byleth replied while maintaining his solemn stare at Garreg Mach.

Neither of them spoke for a moment, the crickets of the night drowning their hearing.

"I was worried about you." Byleth suddenly spoke. "I thought of what had befallen of you."

"Is that… so?"

Byleth nodded. "Believe it or not, I was angry towards Edelgard for what she did to you." He admitted.

Lysithea's eyes widened at this. "You were…? I couldn't imagine you getting angry at her, you two have always been mutually understanding one another…"

"I guess that was the first time. Edelgard was right on what she told me earlier."

"And what was that?"

"That I care about you more than anyone else in our class." Byleth straightforwardly said, stunning the Ordelia girl speechless.

Then Lysithea thought of the professor's prior decision of going with Edelgard and how he protected her from Rhea's wrath, putting that fact into doubt.

"You don't seem glad about it, is it because I don't treat you equally compared to the others?" Byleth asked after noticing Lysithea's unenthusiastic look, he figured he may have insulted her for not keeping up to her impression that he was equally treating his students regardless of status and etc.

Lysithea shook her head, walking a few steps until she was beside Byleth and sat down on the grass while looking at the stars above them.

"No, it's just that it seems like you care more on Edelgard than anyone else." Lysithea said, her eyes fixated at the star shining the brightest among the sky.

"You think so?" Byleth questioned.

"If all of this didn't happen, you would have been with her to Enbarr, right?"

"That's because you never asked me to. Are you jealous?" Byleth questioned, even saying the word felt foreign to him as such a concept… such emotion felt unknown to him, having not felt something like it.

Lysithea hugged her legs together, pulling her knees together to cover the lower half of her face.

"You never answered that question, professor. What will you do if I did ask you to come with me to House Ordelia?" Lysithea felt foolish asking this now, it was all just a huge what-if for them now with war looming.

"I would have come with you."

There was no hint of hesitation. The answer was so quick that there was no sign of him having to second guess his answer.

This made her look up at Byleth.

"Really?"

"Without a doubt."

"But what if Edelgard asked you afterwards, surely you must believe that being a teacher or adviser to the Adrestian Emperor would be a more pressing matter-"

"It's because I enjoy being with you more than anyone."

That was the answer that Lysithea's heart had long sought to hear, her heartbeat sped up considerably and she could feel her face heat up from her professor's reply.

Him feeling joy being with her… Her of all people… Not Edelgard… Not any other student… Not any staff… Just her.

"You challenge me to be better, if you think you are the only one learning between us then you're wrong." Byleth replied, finally sitting down on the grass covered ground beside Lysithea.

"You make me better, you motivate me to be better. When I see you working hard, it pushes me to be the same." Byleth admitted, unsuspectingly showering his student with praises that has gotten her more and more flustered beside his initial answer.

"I feel the same way, professor…" Lysithea smiled to herself, her cheeks blushing red.

"I know you don't like being coddled but something about you…" Byleth paused for a bit, thinking if it was appropriate to tell her what was awaiting in the tip of his tongue, Lysithea regarded him, awaiting him to finish.

"I want to protect you." He said after a sigh. "Especially that smile you rarely show to anyone."

If Lysithea wasn't blushing now, she would be dying from feeling embarrassed by her professor's admittance, never has he expressed his fondness of her in such a way. She was used to his gestures and praises when it is warranted but for him to shower her with such words?

If he was someone else, she would have thought he was just flattering her at this point but Byleth was never a man to do such a thing. He was honest, brutally honest if need be.

"With how capable you are, I had no doubt that you will have a great future ahead of you." Byleth said with a small smile until it disappeared when he saw how despondent Lysithea was, as if what he said bothered her greatly.

Awkward silence ensued.

For the first time, Byleth didn't know what to say, he couldn't even figure out what he said wrong?

"Professor, why did you take Edelgard's side rather than Rhea's?"

Byleth blinked at the sudden question, he wasn't sure how is this related to what he just said recently.

"I believe in her vision of the world, her ideals and because she is one of my students that I have sworn to protect." Byleth replied.

"Even if the road to it is going to be paved with blood?"

Byleth looked at Garreg Mach at the distance.

"When dealing with a decision such as this, one must be willing to dirty their hands especially with the cards they have been given." Byleth replied. "I am aware many lives will be lost to make this goal a reality, all I know is that the person who is enacting this change is someone I can entrust the world to due to her strength of character and indomitable will."

"You really admire Edelgard, don't you?"

Byleth nodded. "And I can sense you feel the same way." He redirected her assessment of him to her.

"As a matter of fact, I do." Lysithea confirmed. "Only someone like her is brave enough to do this, to challenge the system the world has been living in for centuries. I don't particularly like some of her methods such as the lies and-"

"And kidnapping you with the notion that she was protecting you from being caught in the crossfire?" Byleth asked which Lysithea nodded in confirmation.

Lysithea frowned. "I haven't forgiven her for that one... yet." She trailed off, still angry at some of the measures Edelgard took.

"You will soon, she is your friend after all." Byleth said with a confident smile.

"Last I remember, friends don't kidnap each other, professor." Lysithea said with a frown.

Byleth chuckled. "Consider this a special case then. You're not afraid of her, aren't you?"

Lysithea scoffed. "She may be the Adrestian Emperor but that doesn't mean I have to watch my words towards her, if she is my friend and wants my honesty, then she'll have to accept them for what they are. I'm not Hubert."

Byleth smiled in amusement at the latter's last words.

"Most certainly not like Hubert." He said, nearly chuckling. "Lysithea, may I ask you a favor?"

"What is it, professor?" The snow haired girl asked, curiously glancing at Byleth.

"In the scenario that I am not around, I want you to set Edelgard back to the right path if she ever strays from it." Byleth said, looking forebodingly at Garreg Mach as if feeling something significant is about to happen soon and not knowing about it seemed to make him nervous for some reason.

The Ordelia heiress blinked at the sudden request. "Why me?"

"I feel like besides me, you are the one of the only few who she'll be willing to listen to. You matter to her more than you think otherwise she wouldn't have thought of kidnapping you to spare you from the possible bloodshed you have gotten involved with in the Holy Tomb."

Lysithea looked down on the grass with a look of uncertainty. Still having doubts that she could possibly do something to change Edelgard's mind in her goals.

"I… I promise to try in the event that happens but I am also counting on you, professor. That if Edelgard strays from her noble path, I trust you will set her straight again." Lysithea responded with a request for confirmation on Byleth's resolve to guide Edelgard.

Byleth gave her a firm nod to affirm his own resolve to Edelgard's cause.

"Which reminds me of something I have been meaning to ask from you." Byleth said after recalling something that has long eluded him to ask Lysithea, eluding him due to the events that had occured.

"You can ask me anything, professor." Lysithea replied, eager to answer Byleth's question though it was something she would regret in a short moment.

"Why do you hate the system Fodlan lives in as well as your Crest? You seem to treat the Crest of Gloucester that you possess like it's a curse." Byleth pointed out, his green eyes looking straight at Lysithea's widened pinkish red eyes. He had always wondered why Lysithea has such a low opinion of the nobility despite being one as well as disliking the discussion of her Crest despite it being so useful in battle.

"Professor… that question…"

"I won't pry if you do not want to divulge the story to me, I understand your desire for privacy." Byleth assured her, knowing the feeling of being continually pestered by clerics or historians about his possible link Nemesis or why he possesses the Sword of the Creator and the Crest of Flames, long thought to be gone.

Lysithea bit her lip as her body shook, something that Byleth noticed. Sighing, Byleth figured he had overstepped his bounds in asking Lysithea such a question.

"You don't have to force yourself-"

Lysithea cut him off, she shook her head as she began to gather the necessary strength she needed to share this to Byleth for the first time.

"No, professor. You need to know. You must."

She needed him to know.

He has to know.

There was no point in hiding it from him anymore, if there was someone who deserved to know the truth more than anyone else, it was him. She had withheld this to him long enough.

"What people were saying, that House Ordelia had no blood ties to House Gloucester was true." Lysithea began as Byleth listened. "This baffled everyone as you are aware, even Lorenz wouldn't stop pestering me."

Byleth could recall the memory, he recalled Lorenz coming in the Black Eagles classroom after Lysithea's Crest of Gloucester activated during the Battle of the Eagle and Lion, demanding Lysithea for information only for Byleth to give him detention for disrupting his class and skipping Lorenz' own.

"Truth is, I wasn't born with it. With my Crests."

"Wasn't born with it…? How would you know? Doesn't Crests manifest later on?" Byleth asked, his eyes perplexed until he noticed a keyword. "Crests… Crests… are you implying-"

Lysithea bit her lip, closed her eyes and breathed deeply. Her body trembled as she extended both arms forward and opened her palms as light emanated from both of them until two patterns were conjured above the palm of her hands.

Byleth recognized the pattern of the Crest above Lysithea's right hand, a Major Crest of Gloucester which had remained an enigma. But the one on the left, it was a Crest he had seen once in action and it was used in conjunction with a sword of legendary repute, Thunderbrand.

"The Crest of Charon." Byleth muttered out, his eyes wide with shock. Lysithea could only look on her Crests with sorrow and nervously awaited Byleth's reaction after getting over the initial shock.

Before him, sat a girl with two Crests inhabiting her body, a phenomenon unheard of even by the most esteemed of Crest scholars. But that wasn't what shocked Byleth, for he knew someone else harbors the same twisted fate of possessing two Crests at once.

"Not you too…" Byleth murmured out with a shaky voice, rarely unheard of from the professor.

Lysithea exhaled and her hands trembled as she made the conjured Crests disappear.

"Many years ago, while I was young. House Ordelia became part of a political scuffle in the Empire." Lysithea began to explain despite it beginning to hurt her. "My parents only lent aid to House Hrym without any politics involved but the Empire nonetheless took over us. Key officials and influential family members were all killed while the rest of the Alliance's nobility did nothing to help one of their own." Lysithea bitterly said.

The snow haired girl didn't bother to look at Byleth, she could feel his shock, his speechlessness at what he was hearing for the first time.

"The people the Empire sent over to replace them were mages of mysterious nature, unsettling even… Skin pale as death and they wore black robes with eerie masks." Lysithea continued on. "They… conducted experiments on me, my siblings and my cousins."

"They died… right?" Byleth asked, knowing this part of the story after Lysithea shared parts of it when she comforted him during his grief for Jeralt.

Lysithea could only somberly nod as she bit her lip again.

"One by one they died and my parents had to witness that happen over and over again, burying a child of House Ordelia became common for them."

Tears began to fall from Lysithea's eyes as she remembered the screams for help, the cries of her and her siblings praying hopelessly to the Goddess and for their parents to save them from their dilemma, only to be given no form of salvation.

"I was the only one left, I woke up one day with my hair turning white and the mages declared the experiment was successful… even at the cost of the lives of the other children of Ordelia." Lysithea lamented as she fought back the tears, succeeding to a certain degree to prevent herself from being a sobbing mess in front of her teacher.

"They left afterwards, the mages called me a success and just left but not without saying one more cruel joke to add insult to injury."

"What was it?" Byleth asked, dreading to even know what they told her.

"That I will always be as youthful as I looked until the day I die, that I will die young… that I have no future." Lysithea hissed on sorrowful anger, her hands now tightly gripping her skirt.

"H-How long… Lysithea?"

There was a brief moment of silence, an uncomfortable one despite the length.

"How long?" Byleth asked again, curious yet fearing Lysithea's answer at the same time.

Lysithea gathered her courage as she too feared counting what time she had remaining and hearing the hurt, the shock and the concern from Byleth was beginning to take its toll on her.

"Less than ten years, professor. I will die in less than a decade." Lysithea said with a resigned sigh, closing her eyes as she trembled from speaking the truth about her predicament… her curse towards her beloved professor.

Byleth exhaled sharply, his hands touching the temples of his head.

"I…" Byleth's voice cracked and it only Lysithea winced at the pain he was projecting in his voice. "I didn't know it's that bad…"

Professor, please. I don't want you to feel pity for me…" Lysithea pleaded after seeing the broken look upon the normally stoic man's face. "I've seen that look enough for a lifetime."

"You're so full of potential."

That was just it, she was just all potential with no time to reach that.

"My parents kept insisting there must be a way but I don't want them to hope for something that will never come." Lysithea lamented. "All that I can do is to help them have a better life but now, even I can't accomplish that with this war Edelgard started."

Taking another sigh, Byleth looked at Lysithea.

"There's still time." He said.

Lysithea turned to him to see green eyes burning with resolution.

"Time for what?" Lysithea asked with a puzzled look at the sudden change of emotions of Byleth.

"To find a way to reverse-"

"Professor…"

"Maybe there's a way out there that we don't kno-"

"PROFESSOR!" Lysithea exclaimed, stopping Byleth from his fruitless hopes.

Byleth did stop but his eyes were telling her that he isn't giving up on her.

"There's nothing we can do, my fate is inevitable." Lysithea said with a resigned look, having accepted what is to be her future.

Byleth refused her grim outlook of her future. "You may have resigned yourself to it but I won't." He insisted, his voice firm.

Lysithea could only groan. "There will only be pain in the end, professor! I'm pleading with you not to push forward with whatever you're thinking of!" Lysithea cried out, feeling that she was already regretting her decision to reveal her Crests to Byleth, she certainly didn't expect him to have any notion of saving her from the inevitable.

Showing a surprising amount of stubborness, Byleth refused to back down and give up on his student.

"I don't care how slim the chances are, a chance is still a chance if it would mean giving you back the life you deserve." Byleth adamantly said, his eyes never faltering on hers.

This shook Lysithea to the core, the look he was giving her and how firm and resolute he sounds… he was serious, too damn serious on this foolish hope he clings to, and all for what? For her sake? For her fleeting life?

"Professor, I really want to believe what you're saying... I really do but there will only be pain for you and you must be doing more important matters such as helping Edelgard for what she's fighting for." Lysithea said in her last vain attempts to dissuade Byleth.

But again, Byleth refused to give up.

"Then let it be my burden, at least I give me the chance to help you. We can't give up, I can't give up, especially when it's you." Byleth firmly said, placing his left hand on Lysithea's right shoulder.

Lysithea looked at him, her eyes glistening with tears, bittersweet drops as she still thinks of the odds against her yet she felt relieved… assured from Byleth's words.

Without another word, Lysithea hugged Byleth, wrapping her arms around him as she buried her face on his chest, Byleth was taken aback from the physical contact with her, this wasn't the first time she had hugged him but it never fails to make him feel warm.

Byleth hugged her back, tenderly wrapping his arms around the small frame of his star student.

They stayed like that for a while until Lysithea broke away, her eyes staring at Byleth's own, her heart beating faster and beating against her ribcage.

Then she did something stupid as a means to show her evergrowing gratitude.

Byleth couldn't react well when he felt Lysithea's damp warm lips placing a kiss on the left side of his cheek, his green eyes widened at the gesture of affection by the Ordelia girl who promptly stood up from the grass covered ground they sat on, she ran away without a word.

All while blushing a deep shade of crimson as Byleth remained stunned from what she just did.

---

Almost the entirety of the Black Eagles sat or stood around a bonfire, their tents pitched nearby so they could retire for the night yet sleep collectively eluded them even for Linhardt.

It could be about the looming battle against the Church of Seiros tomorrow, something they are still coming to terms with. Attacking the place they called their home for nearly a year, learned there, met each other there and hung out as a whole class. It still felt unreal that they will be attacking that very place.

They all agreed to stand by Edelgard and Byleth, they have heard from Edelgard the reasons why she did what she had to do and while some still have their grievances for all the lies, it was the professor's words that made them give Edelgard a chance to explain.

They even read the manifesto that Edelgard plans to spread to each and every person of authority in Fodlan as a call to arms and denouncement against the Church of Seiros and those who would ally with them.

Caspar growled in irritation as he kept tossing about in his bed roll in one of the tents he shares with Linhardt and Ferdinand.

"Agh! I can't even sleep!" Caspar groaned as he came out of the tent to see his classmates or should he say, fellow members of the Black Eagle Strike Force collectively sitting or standing around the bonfires, each had varying looks.

Linhardt sighed and gave Caspar the stick of marshmallows he was cooking on the bonfire before taking another stick and skewering marshmallows with it.

Petra in the meantime took the fishes and rabbit meat she was cooking on a spit before offering some to Dorothea and Leonie.

Sylvain passed the haunch of rabbit to Ingrid who took a bite of the roasted game before passing it to Felix, who just shook his head while his eyes remained fixated on the pendant Annette had given him before she left.

Ferdinand arrived with Mercedes, both carrying trays of hot tea in ceramic cups and distributed them to each and every member of their class before Ferdinand sat down on the ground in between Dorothea and Caspar.

Bernadetta surprisingly stayed with them instead of hiding in one of the tents, clinging to Dorothea as both looked despondently at the fire.

"Are we seriously going to spend the entire night looking at nothing like a bunch of kids who got their candies stolen?" Sylvain asked his classmates with a joking tone.

All of them just glanced at him before turning their gaze back to either the fire, the ground or the ruin's ceiling above them, not even a wit of a response from one of them.

"Not a good time, Sylvain." Ingrid softly told him, her voice lacking the spunk she has when she scolds Sylvain or Felix for their behavior.

"I know, just trying to cheer the gang up… I mean we can't go to battle tomorrow looking like this, right?"

"We can't but what can we do? A lot of us here didn't expect to get swooped in a war started by one of us." Leonie said, taking another bite of the roasted fish.

"I-I'm scared… W-Was this a good idea? Did I make the right choice?" Bernadetta started fretting only for Dorothea softly pat her head to comfort the Varley heiress.

Caspar smiled at her to reassure her. "You're fine here with us, Bernie."

"Still, I did not expect to experience this kind of war in my life nor for my siblings but if it means getting justice for what happened to Lonato then I will fight even if I must turn my blade against Faerghus." Ashe blurted out, having joined them after he arrived in the camp, seeking to join the Empire to avenge Lonato and Christophe's death from the hands of the Church.

"But what about all those talk of your dreams about being a knight?" Mercedes inquired, having sat down on the same bench with Bernadetta and Dorothea.

"What good are my dreams of being a knight if I can't give justice to what happened to Lonato?" Ashe rhetorically asked.

"All this talk of knighthood is foolish." Felix spoke for the first time since Annette's departure. "We're all traitors to Faerghus now for turning our backs on them, who gives a damn about chivalry and knighthood at this point?"

Ingrid sighed, Sylvain noticed how this topic was affecting her considering that being a knight of Faerghus is Ingrid's dream yet much to his surprise, she also dreamed of being free from the pressures of being married off to just anyone due to her Crest all for the sake of her house.

While Ingrid knew her father just wanted what is best for her, she had begun to question what is it she truly wanted. Sylvain had also begun to think of such a thing with her, having come to the conclusion that reinforced with his own disdain for the Crests and what it brought upon many people.

"What about you, Leonie? Why are you still here?" Linhardt asked.

"Are you kidding? I'm here to fulfill my promise to Captain Jeralt and that is to look after Byleth, I swore upon his grave that I will do what I can to protect his son. Besides, what we saw in the Holy Tomb only confirmed Captain Jeralt's suspicion of Lady Rhea." Leonie replied.

Everyone except Ashe (who didn't witness the event) shuddered at the memory of the once radiant and serene Archbishop transforming into a monster only seen in legends, a dragon or as Edelgard called her… the Immaculate One.

The drastic change in personality as well as her thirst to see Edelgard's blood spilled frightened them and it was one of their main concerns for tomorrow's battle as it would mean facing off against that monster.

Seeing how uncomfortably quiet his classmates and friends were, Ferdinand clapped his hands, wanting to raise their spirits up. If the professor and Edelgard are not here, then maybe he can do something about morale.

"I have an idea." Ferdinand began as everyone glanced at him. "Dorothea, do you know any song that can illuminate the hearts of everyone for tomorrow?"

"Well… there is something but it's long since I last sang it…" Dorothea replied.

"Can it be sung with your illustrious voice?" Ferdinand asked.

By now, everyone had their eyes on Dorothea who suddenly felt overwhelmed by their gazes, there were no words but judging from the look in their eyes, they were expecting something from her. Expecting that her voice can do something about the tense atmosphere around them.

A song that can soothe their souls, clear the lingering doubts in their hearts and to convince them of the choices they made.

Fortunately for them, she knows one particular song.

With a sigh, Dorothea nodded.

"Fine but only this once since you asked nicely Ferdie bee." Dorothea mockingly teased Ferdinand who frowned at being compared to a bee once again.

"What's going on here?" Lysithea asked as she approached her classmates after spotting them from afar.

"Oh, you're just here! Dorothea is singing a song to be cheering us!" Petra said.

Lysithea glanced at each and everyone of her friends and classmates who were all gathered around the bonfire, all looking at Dorothea.

With a silent nod, Lysithea placed herself near Leonie, her arms folded under her chest as Dorothea prepared to sing.

"Goin' with the silver flow

Of river wide with current deep and slow

I rest my wings made to soar

But can I fly anymore?

The river it goes ever on

Can heart keep pace rushing swollen 'til dawn?

Now I shake off weariness

And go to meet what I can't guess."

Lysithea stared at the fire as Dorothea sang, relating to the lyrics of being akin to a bird whose wings were broken before it can take flight, how her life has been crippled before getting the chance to see what it can all offer.

Then there is this war, ideals of Edelgard justifying it and carving her path for Fodlan's future to a future filled with uncertainty if she succeeded.

"The heart has its secret currents

Deep and without guide

To find out where they will lead

I take the plunge eyes wide."

As the song continued, Byleth arrived to see his students together and fixated on Dorothea's song, unable to notice his presence. Byleth discreetly stood from a short distance, solemnly listening to this new song that he had yet to hear from the former songstress.

"People move from home to street

No one blinks as day yields to day, life is fleet

Where are you from?

Where are you going, weary traveler?

The mournful wind blows ever on

Can I keep flooded love for you 'til dawn?

Now I stretch out my wings again

And take back what I lost then."

Behind one of the tents, unknown to all of them, stood Edelgard with Hubert, both also listening in to the song after they had stumbled upon the Black Eagles Strike Force discussing their thoughts on the battle.

While Hubert maintained his cold look, Edelgard had her eyes on the ground as she too can relate to the theme of the song for the most part.

"The heart has its secret currents

Deep and without guide

To find out where they will lead

I take the plunge eyes wide…"

Edelgard briefly closed her eyes before nodding, her resolve steeled for what must be done. Byleth also felt the same way from somewhere while the Black Eagles all felt better from the song, being either inspired or connecting to the song like Lysithea.

Without a word, Edelgard left to return to her tent, dismissing Hubert so they can all rest.

Byleth also went on his own way as the Black Eagles dispersed to finally get some much needed rest.

Tomorrow, the eagles will finally fly out of their nests. The only question is: are their wings strong enough to fly through the winds of fate?

---

Fire, smoke, the sound of battle and people screaming in pain, anguish and zeal permeated around Lysithea as she and the Black Eagles walked through the breached front gates of Garreg Mach, destroyed by siege weapons and collective magic.

Garreg Mach felt so different for them as they walked through the rubble as more and more Imperial soldiers rushed in to do battle against the Knights of Seiros.

Byleth led them as they stepped on the grounds after destroying the outer walls as the sound of distant and nearby fighting drowned their ears.

The goal of this siege was to force a surrender from the Church of Seiros but knowing Rhea, she will be adamant in maintaining this location.

Before they marched, Edelgard had briefed and talked to them, she talked about the possibility that they will be encountering people who were once their classmates and friends, asking her classmates once again if their hearts are firm and their resolve is absolute, none spoke out.

Despite how reckless their strategy was, Edelgard and Hubert's plan was for the former and Byleth to act as decoys to draw out the elite warriors of the Knights of Seiros while the main army attacks the different sides of Garreg Mach, a multi-pronged attack meant to corner the Church of Seiros and force their retreat/surrender.

"You all know what to do. Go." Byleth eyed each and everyone of his students, giving them nods to go to their appointed positions to assist Ladislava or Randolph as only Leonie and Lysithea stayed with them.

As they joined in the fighting, Lysithea couldn't help but feel uneasy at the battle. It wasn't because she hesitated attacking any possible former classmates who stayed behind or any of the knights but it's mostly because of how similar this scenario was… in her dreams.

She can't shake off the feeling something is about to happen but what scares her is that she doesn't know what it will be.

"You!"

Byleth stopped when Seteth descended down from the air atop an armored wyvern, the gates leading towards Rhea closed behind him. Brandishing a spear and shield radiating a blue aura. Seteth pointed his spear towards Byleth, his normally stern expression replaced with that of anger from having his trust betrayed.

"Seteth, stand aside." Byleth demanded, clutching on to the Sword of the Creator that radiated with divine power.

"You are not worthy to wield that sword and the power you possess." Seteth growled but Byleth was unfazed.

As Edelgard, Hubert, Leonie and Lysithea braced to fight the advisor of Rhea, Byleth gestured to them not to interfere as he walked a few steps nearer Seteth.

"How much did you know, Seteth?" Byleth questioned.

"What are you talking about?" Seteth asked, warily eyeing Byleth and his comrades, thinking this maybe a distraction.

"How much did you know of Rhea's intentions concerning me? What did she plan to do and why did my father hide me from her? Going as far to fake my death in a fire."

Seteth only glared. "I have none of the answers you seek and even if I do, I will not share it to someone like you, traitor!" He shouted with bitterness dripping in his voice.

"The only reason why we are even talking on these terms is because of the debt I owe you for saving Flayn!" Seteth continued. "We trusted you, I had thought highly of you but to throw all that just to side with a heretic and a traitor like her?!"

Seteth pointed at Edelgard accusingly who looked unfazed by his action.

"I am not one of the people who had lied to Fodlan for many years, using the faith of the people in the Church to poison their minds about Crests! You fed us lies for many years, Seteth and you know that." Edelgard sharply responded.

Seteth only waved his spear, Byleth braced for his attack as Seteth steered his wyvern to attack Byleth.

"I will hold him off, go ahead and continue the plan." Byleth ordered them as he jumped away from the multiple thrusts by Seteth, responding by waving the Sword of the Creator in its whip form towards the green haired advisor, only to parry it away.

"Hold it-" Seteth was forced to defend himself when Byleth jumped high towards him, with his sword aiming to cut him.

"You will not lay a hand on them even if I must cut you down." Byleth threatened before Seteth pushed him away in midair, Byleth landed smoothly on the ground and assumed a stance with his sword.

"I will not forgive you for turning on Rhea." Seteth declared, baring his gritted teeth.

"I don't need it." Byleth responded icily before they resumed their fight.

---

As they proceed to battle through the soldiers of the Church, many thoughts run through Lysithea's mind after she had heard of Byleth and Seteth's talk before their battle.

Why was the professor asking Seteth about what Rhea had planned for him? And the fact that Jeralt faked his death to hide him away from Rhea? Just what prompted the normally calm and composed Blade Breaker to do all that to shield Byleth away from the person he once faithfully served?

"Focus, Lysithea." Edelgard ordered after seeing Lysithea spacing out in the middle of a battlefield.

"Lysithea and Leonie, h-how could you?"

The Ordelia heiress and her allies looked down on the ground to see Lorenz, defeated and his neck being threatened to be sliced off with Edelgard's axe pressing lightly on it.

Near his right hand was a lance with it's handle split into two by Edelgard but on his left hand was the strange looking staff that Lysithea saw Lorenz boasting about nearly two months ago.

"You are both from the Alliance! Why would you two ally with the Empire? Especially you, Lysithea! Your house were victims of-"

Edelgard further pressed the sharp blade of the axe on Lorenz' neck, slightly drawing blood with a small cut.

"Answer my question, Lorenz and you may keep your head." Edelgard threatened. "Where is Claude?"

Lorenz spitefully glared at Edelgard before looking at the staff he held on his left hand, he suddenly screamed in pain when Edelgard stomped on his left hand after surmising his foolish plan to attack her with it, letting go of the staff in the process.

"You should know better than to attack me in your current predicament, Lorenz. I will not ask again, where is Claude?" Edelgard asked with less patience than before, thinning more and more.

Fearing for his life and seeing the futility, Lorenz had no choice but to comply with Edelgard's demand.

"I was ordered by… Claude to stall time for him and the non-military personnel of the Church to evacuate via the underground tunnels beneath Garreg Mach. I was left here with a few to stall time and escape when things get dire…"

"Does that also include Dimitri and his class?" Edelgard asked once more.

Lorenz nodded. "They must have left by now." Lorenz replied before glaring at Edelgard once again "You know you will pay for this outrage! The Alliance will not allow this provocation to go unanswered-"

"Your Majesty, permission to kill this mulling noble?" Hubert asked, having enough of Lorenz' words towards Edelgard but the Emperor simply gestured not to.

Lorenz then turned to Lysithea. "You! As heiress of one of the Great Houses of the Alliance! Know that this treason will not be-"

Lysithea was poised to retort back but Edelgard interjected while glaring down at Lorenz.

"Get up and leave my sight." Edelgard ordered, withdrawing her axe from Lorenz' neck before taking the staff from the ground as Lorenz stood up.

The Gloucester noble glared at Edelgard. "The Thrysus is an heirloom of House Gloucester! You have no right to take that from me!" Lorenz exclaimed, glaring at the staff on Edelgard's other hand, his eyes were hungering to take back such a valuable artifact of his house.

"I take it by right of conquest." Edelgard responded with no room for Lorenz to answer. "Leave now or I will not be merciful the next time you open your mouth to speak."

Lorenz merely gritted his teeth before running away to presumably head to the underground tunnels of Garreg Mach, glancing one last time towards Edelgard and Lysithea.

"You let him go, Your Majesty?" Hubert questioned.

Edelgard snorted. "We are not here to fight students, Hubert." She then turned to him. "Relay out an order that in the possible chance of spotting the evacuating students and non-military staff of Garreg Mach, they are not to be harmed and be allowed safe passage."

"But what about Dimitri? Claude?" Hubert questioned. "Should we not have them captured and be used as a bargaining chip for the subjugation of their nations?"

"Let them go, it is highly unlikely that the Kingdom and Alliance would surrender despite their heirs being captured. It might even inspire them to fight more." Edelgard shook her head before looking at Lysithea.

"Take this." Edelgard said and without warning, threw the Thrysus for Lysithea to catch, the Ordelia heiress barely caught it but when she held it… she suddenly felt a wave of power coursed through her body as the Thrysus resonated with her, restoring the orange glow it had as Lysithea felt more power within her body.

"That staff has the Crest stone of Gloucester, it will serve to be compatible with your Crest." Edelgard explained, not bothering to explain the rest such as the no risk of being turned into a Demonic Beast like Miklan did in Conand Tower, knowing full well that Lysithea knew about the the Heroes Relics and the only compatibility they have for Crest wielders associated with the Crest Stones embedded in them.

Lysithea only stared at the staff resonating with power and when she channeled her magic into it to test it out, it began to crackle with dark magic, changing its color from the fiery orange aura to that of dark purple.

"It seems you're getting the hang of it so quickly, I am impressed." Hubert scoffed amusingly.

Suddenly, Leonie went ahead of them to deflect a number of arrows, deflecting all of them but one managed to graze her arm, on the same area that recently healed from Kronya's dagger.

"Ah shit!" Leonie cursed, wincing in pain. "I just got that healed!"

"Kill the blasphemers who dared to soil this sacred ground!"

It was Edelgard's turn to parry away another arrow as more Knights of Seiros arrived to attack the four.

Leonie ignored the pain and joined with Edelgard to battle the new waves of knights until a chunk of them were blasted away by gusts of dark magic.

Edelgard and Leonie glanced at Hubert who in turn looked behind him to see Lysithea, holding the Thrysus staff forward, her eyes widened in shock and awe at how her power has been magnified manyfolds by the relic she now holds, it glowed dark purple with similar colored energy focusing on her right hand that held it.

The ashen haired emperor smirked at Lysithea's newfound power before defending herself from several knights before being aided by Leonie, the two working in tandem to push back the onslaught of the knights driven by zeal to kill them.

While Hubert supported his liege, Lysithea harnessed her newly amplified power blast away many other knights from afar, finding that she could focus her attacks better from a distance thanks to the staff's power, Lysithea couldn't believe what she could do with it… it made her feel a sense of thrill feeling such power, could this be what the professor felt when he wields the Sword of the Creator? How he wields it like a weightless sword and could cut through almost anything like it was just a piece of paper?

Is that the rush of power she was feeling right now?

She didn't have much time to ponder about it when what seemed to be a fast bolt of reddish lightning rushed towards Edelgard, crashing her to one of the stone buildings that serves as housing for the clergy.

"Lady Edelgard!" Hubert cried out and before he could rush to the Emperor, he was struck by an arrow to his shoulder, driving him to the ground, clutching the wounded area in pain as a figure emerged from the smoke that engulfed the stone steps leading to where Rhea is supposed to be.

With Leonie preoccupied with her own battle against a senior knight who was proving to be a challenge for her, Lysithea had to be the one to aid Hubert.

"Hubert!" Lysithea rushed to the loyal retainer's side only to be stopped mid step when she saw the one responsible for the arrow lodged on Hubert's right shoulder.

"None of you are getting close to Lady Rhea!" Cyril said as he emerged with a bow on his hand, quiver of arrows on his back and an axe strapped to the side of his waist, his orange eyes looking vengeful and protective.

"Cyril…?"

The Almyran's fierce eyes softened when he saw Lysithea near Hubert, for a moment both of them froze as they regarded each other in the middle of a besieged monastery.

"L-Lysithea? W-What…I thought you were…" Cyril muttered as he tried to process what was going on.

Lysithea only bit her lip, unable to formulate a proper response towards the boy she had promised to review his progress in his endeavor to read and write, she never expected to encounter him in the battlefield considering that he may have been too undertrained to participate in the fighting. She had thought he was one of the many who were evacuated.

While they stood frozen and staring at each other with differing expressions, Edelgard jumped out from the broken wall of the building she crashed onto, her hair and clothes dirtied and one of her ribbons on her hair undone. She glared at the hole from whence it came to reveal a figure wielding an unusual sword covered in reddish orange lightning.

"Thunder Catherine." Edelgard growled, wiping the blood flowing down from the cut on her forehead caused by trauma from her crash.

"I will slay all of Lady Rhea's enemies. Including you… most especially you." Catherine seethed with hatred at the girl who dared to attack Rhea and blaspheme on the very faith that she believed and fought for.

Edelgard scoffed at Catherine's declaration and readied herself to attack the lightning fast swordmaster of the Knights of Seiros. True to her reputation, Catherine managed to close the distance against Edelgard in no time, her Thunderbrand clashing on Edelgard's Killer Axe, pushing the ashen haired girl somewhere remote as Lysithea and Cyril stared at each other in shock.

"I was told you may have been kidnapped… I was worried!"

Cyril was indeed corrected but such matters were complicated for Lysithea.

"You need to go, Cyril." Lysithea said which puzzled Cyril, fearing for her friend's life being embroiled in this battle.

This was what Edelgard warned them before the battle, meeting someone they knew or they were friends with in the battlefield. While most of the Black Eagles affirmed their resolve, Lysithea didn't expect this to happen to her and now she was paying the price for not doing the same as her classmates did.

"Need to go? But I have to protect Lady Rhea! Come with me, I'll take you somewhere safe!" Cyril said with a hopeful look, offering his hand as a gesture.

Before Lysithea could respond, a familiar hand touched Lysithea's shoulder, Cyril's expression went from shock to looking like he saw his worst enemy when he saw the person behind Lysithea.

"Professor!" Lysithea exclaimed out when she saw Byleth, covered in dirt and had a few cuts and dents on his armor and clothes but was nonetheless fine.

She could only breathe a sigh of relief that his battle with Seteth may have ended in his favor.

Before Byleth could speak, he effortlessly parried away an arrow that was shot at him by Cyril, surprising Lysithea.

"Traitor!" Cyril screamed out with extreme vehemence directed towards Byleth.

"Stand down and get out of here, Cyril." Byleth said stoically as his green eyes pierced through Cyril's.

"And let ya attack Lady Rhea? Never!" Cyril shot another arrow towards Byleth only for him to parry it again as he slowly approached the Almyran boy.

The hollow circle on the Sword of the Creator's hilt glowed, changing into its whip form as Cyril hurriedly nocked and aimed another arrow only for Byleth to destroy his bow into pieces when he swung the sword-whip, causing Cyril to stagger and feel the slight cut on his cheek caused by the sword-whip.

Feeling his warm blood flow down his left cheek, Cyril's hand trembled not in fear but in anger even despite the renown Byleth possesses with his combat skills, taking the axe strapped on the side of his waist, Cyril charged at Byleth with zeal.

Lysithea worriedly watched as Byleth blocked each and every of Cyril's attacks. What Cyril lacked in skill and experience, he compensated with his dedication to stand against the man known to possess the sword of the Goddess, the man who dared to betray the trust of the person he had sworn to serve for life.

Hurling shouts at Byleth while swinging his axe, Cyril could only feel frustration at how easily Byleth was blocking his attacks with just one hand holding the Sword of the Creator and the former professor wasn't even attacking him, he was just defending himself against him.

Sweating from all the effort he has done that was for naught, Cyril's breaths became labored, his stamina failing him as he wore himself down with his wild swings towards Byleth.

Remembering how Rhea trusted Byleth, praising him over anyone else including Cyril who tried his earnest to gain Rhea's approval, only for Rhea to be betrayed by the man she gave a home, a job and a divine purpose.

It made Cyril angry, his flaring emotions acting to refuel the stamina he lost. With a loud cry, Cyril brought down his axe to Byleth only for the latter to block it again. The constant contact the axe had with the sword has damaged it, considerably forming cracks around the blade and Byleth noticed the Sword of the Creator's blade cutting through it as they engaged in a bladelock.

Cyril glared intensely at Byleth's green eyes, the nonchalant look Byleth gave to him made Cyril feel like he was being looked down on or underestimated by the former professor, as if he was treating him as just a mere nuisance.

Seeing his axe being steadily cut by the Sword of the Creator, Cyril needed to think fast, he needed one blow, just a single blow that could potentially be fatal, he looked at Byleth's dagger strapped on his waist armor and it gave him an idea.

Glaring back at Byleth, Cyril growled. "Lady Rhea gave you everything! She treated you nice! You were her favorite! And you threw that all away!"

For the first time, Byleth opened his mouth to reply to the Almyran boy.

"There's more to it than you know and it's something you won't understand."

Cyril scoffed. "Die!" He cried out, pulling out one of the arrows from the quiver strapped behind him and thrust it to stab Byleth in the heart only for Byleth to use his free left hand to hit Cyril's right arm down, bruising it and making him cry in pain before Byleth waved the Sword of the Creator to the side, disarming Cyril and then hitting him fiercely with the back of his left fist.

Cyril winced in pain as his back hit the floor, blood coming down from the corner of his lips, moaning in pain, pain he hasn't felt since his time in Almyra, he tried to stand up only for Byleth to point the Sword of the Creator to his chest.

"Professor, please don't!" Lysithea begged from afar, fearing Byleth would lay down the coup de grace by impaling the young boy through the heart.

Cyril breathed heavily both from the pain and his loss of stamina while spitefully glaring at Byleth with such hatred that Byleth has not seen in a while.

Byleth briefly glanced at Lysithea. "I'm not going to kill him." He said, withdrawing his sword and withdrawing away from Cyril as Lysithea breathed a sigh of relief.

"He has too much to live for, he just doesn't know he's wasting it on the wrong person." Byleth said and turned his back on Cyril.

Having had enough of being looked down on and talked down by Byleth coupled with the memories of how he was favored by Rhea and the Knights, Cyril himself was despised despite his hard work proving himself. He was jealous of Byleth, felt like he couldn't compare to the man's many accomplishments and accolades he received from Rhea, something he wished Rhea would reward him with.

But the other worse part of this? The fact that Lysithea was close to him, he had thought Lysithea was his only friend among the students, Claude tried but Cyril knew of his reputation as a prankster and thus avoided him. But Lysithea? She was special and to see her with the man he envied back there and now… it was triggering something that he had long bottled now.

"Cyril, you have to go." Lysithea said as she looked down on her beaten friend.

"Did he force you into this?" Cyril asked as he sat up and looked at Lysithea with eyes seeking answers.

Lysithea bit her lip and looked away from him, unable to formulate a response as to why she is on Edelgard and Byleth's side on this especially to someone like Cyril who made it his life's goal to serve the person they are fighting against. It made her heart wrenched that she had to see people she care about fight each other with one aiming to kill the other.

"Just… go, Cyril." Lysithea insisted but it had the opposite effect.

Taking Lysithea's hesitation to answer, Cyril immediately thought that she had been in fact coerced to join and this only fueled Cyril's hatred towards Byleth.

He stood up and started to run towards Byleth who had been watching the two interact with emotionless eyes, he bellowed out a roar with fury and his fists ready to punch the man he thought responsible for the pain of Rhea and Lysithea, only to be blasted away by a Miasma sphere from Lysithea, driving him down to the ground, rolling.

Byleth looked at Lysithea to see her bearing a conflicted and pained look in her eyes.

"I said you have to go, Cyril!" Lysithea cried out with gritted teeth, her hands that were holding Thrysus, trembling.

"Don't make this hard for me as it is!" Lysithea continued as Cyril only looked at her in shock while feeling the pain of the dark magic coursing through his body for the first time.

"L-Lysithea…"

"GO!" Lysithea screeched out in order to get Cyril to leave, not wanting him to die by Byleth's, hers or any of the Imperial soldiers' hands.

Cyril gritted his teeth, clenched his fists as he stood up, he gave Byleth a final spiteful glare before he ran away within the smoke and dust of the besieged monastery, presumably to the underground tunnels.

Byleth proceeded to walk towards Lysithea who looked down at ground, still in disbelief that she had to hurt someone she cared about with her magic, she had always reserved its hostile use against her enemies and used it to defend people she cared about… but to do the opposite of that? She can't help but feel her hands getting heavy.

"Are you alright?" Byleth gently asked in concern.

Lysithea shook her head. "No. I'm sorry."

Byleth only looked saddened to see Lysithea in such a way and he did understand what she was going through, he also considered Seteth a friend when they fought yet they both did what they had to do.

The former professor opened his mouth to speak until Lysithea's eyes widened in realization at what she was forgetting.

"Edelgard!"

Byleth cocked an eyebrow up, having also noticed the Emperor missing. Leonie was tending to Hubert at the moment but Edelgard...

"Edelgard, she-"

"I'm here." Edelgard suddenly spoke, all eyes looking at the ashen haired emperor.

Despite her disheveled appearance thanks to the grime and dirt of the battle she had, what took Lysithea's attention was the dissipating presence of bright orange flames fading away in Edelgard's axe until there was nothing else.

"I am glad to see you safe, my teacher." Edelgard smiled with relief at the professor's slightly wounded appearance.

"More like we should be worried about you!" Lysithea exclaimed out as she recalled who Edelgard was fighting with just now.

"Catherine escaped… barely." Edelgard replied with a reassuring smile to her worried friend, placing a comforting hand to Lysithea's shoulder.

Hubert approached his liege lord, his hand still on his wounded shoulder.

"Are you alright?" Edelgard asked his loyal retainer.

"It is nothing of note, Your Majesty." Hubert bowed but winced in pain.

Edelgard scoffed at Hubert's lack of care for himself.

"Edelgard, your wounds-"

"Are minor, this can wait." Edelgard interrupted Lysithea who frowned at her for quickly shutting her proposal to heal her.

Before Lysithea could chide the emperor for her own lack of self-care, the other members of the Black Eagle Strike Force arrived, each bearing their own grime and share of injuries but thankfully none too serious.

After a brief reunion as well as the bitter news that they had to fight Flayn, their former classmate and friend, they all decided to go up the stairs where Rhea awaited them. Hopefully to end the Church of Seiros once and for all in this battle.

---

If only it was that easy as most of the Black Eagles Strike Force were either preoccupied fighting Rhea's guards or were defeated when they engaged the enraged Archbishop.

They were quick to fall by Rhea's hand and they would surely be dead by now if none of them had to come to the aid of another until they became recipients to either Rhea's blade or her spells.

Only Felix, Lysithea, Edelgard and Byleth kept standing with the former two at their last leg while the latter were still ready to fight Rhea.

Without a word, Felix rushed to Rhea, waving his sword to cut her down only for Rhea to masterfully parry his swings away with another sword of mythical repute, the Sword of Seiros itself.

For a woman of the cloth, Rhea hid several tricks of her as she was more agile than what they believed, far far more agile.

Without putting much effort into it, Rhea surprised Felix with a kick straight to his face, knocking him out of commission alongside Leonie and Caspar.

Rhea's victory was short-lived when she narrowly avoided a direct hit by the Sword of the Creator's extended form, only slashing through her robe and cutting her left leg. Despite how minor the slash was, Rhea felt the stinging pain of being the recipient for the sword's power, blood trickled down from within her robe, staining the white gown red.

The Archbishop's betrayed green eyes burned with anger towards Byleth, the latter glaring back at her, his eyes seeking answers from her with questions he had asked earlier… questions he demanded answers from.

Only to be denied.

"You... How dare you betray me…" Rhea growled at Byleth. "You worthless piece of garbage... I will punish you myself!"

"You will do nothing of the sort, Rhea!" Edelgard intervened and pointed her axe to Rhea from a distance.

Rhea shifted her furious glare towards the Emperor who dared to bear arms against her.

"And you!" Rhea said with an accusing tone. "You dared to desecrate the resting place of my brethren, my mother! And now you seek to spread your heresy even more?!"

Edelgard scoffed, unaffected by Rhea's rants towards her. Instead, she started walking towards her to which Rhea did the same until they charged at each other.

Their weapons clashed, both manifested their Crest of Seiros and channeled its power into their weapons as they engaged in a bladelock.

Green and lavender eyes glared at each other with mutual enmity, while one was filled with fury, the other was filled with purpose.

"The greatest of sins is to make an enemy of the goddess herself!" Rhea spat out but once again, her rhetorical threats fell on deaf ears.

"I have only made an enemy of the church, not of the faith." Edelgard corrected her, further incensing the Archbishop who roared in fury, the pupils in her eyes turning into slits as she kicked Edelgard away from her.

Moving in, Rhea swung her sword with so much skill and power, thanks to her Crest, that Edelgard was beginning to feel pressured from the onslaught of attacks Rhea had sent her way.

But before Rhea could find an opening to exploit on, she barely avoided the Sword of the Creator from slashing her at the back, managing to jump in time but at the cost of her outer cape of blue and gold being destroyed by the divine sword.

"You would dare to use the Goddess' sword herself… to me?!" Rhea said as she targeted Byleth next.

Byleth anticipated her attack, their blades clashing to one another's.

Sparks flew and energy from both holy blades scattered around the two combatants, neither gaining any advantage to one another.

"You are not deserving of the power that the Goddess gave to you!" Rhea declared. "You are no better than Nemesis!" She spitefully growled.

Byleth only glared at Rhea, keeping up with Rhea's movements as if both were on par with each other's moves until Byleth shifted his sword's form into its whip form and lashed it towards Rhea, only to be taken by surprise when Rhea didn't move and instead used the Sword of Seiros to block the Sword of the Creator's whip form.

What Rhea did next, surprised Byleth as the Sword of the Creator's extended length wrapped around Rhea's sword.

Before Byleth could pull it back, Rhea pulled hers closer, disarming Byleth of the Sword of the Creator, shocking him.

"Nemesis did that years ago." Rhea said as she rushed towards Byleth and tried to slash him with the Sword of Seiros only to be forced on the defensive when spikes made out of dark magic launched towards her.

Rhea slashed a few away but what remained exploded on her, causing an explosion made of dark magical proportions, sending the Archbishop back, with dark magic coursing through her body like a terrible malady.

She glared at who dared to attack her, only to see Lysithea breathing heavily… pointing the Thrysus towards Rhea.

Giving her no time to recover, Edelgard charged at Rhea, forcing the latter to defend herself but nonetheless still proved to be the better combatant.

Despite Edelgard's best efforts, she still could not get the upper hand towards Rhea. With a battle cry, Rhea literally shattered Edelgard's axe into many pieces after channeling her Crest's power into it.

Taking the opportunity, Rhea aimed to sever Edelgard's head with one final swing only for Byleth to come in, having retrieved the Sword of the Creator.

He managed to prevent the Sword of Seiros before it could touch Edelgard's neck and then punched Rhea across the face, stunning Rhea long enough for Byleth to pull Edelgard away from Rhea's reach.

Needing no words, Byleth rushed towards Rhea once again, the Archbishop managed to recover immediately and defended herself from Byleth's attacks until she was forced to jump away from Byleth's mighty swing to get some space from Byleth's savage attacks.

Which only served to further Byleth's battle plan...

"Lysithea, now!"

Rhea's eyes widened in shock when she realized there was one more participant that she momentarily forgot in the heat of battle, she looked to where Lysithea was last seen, only to be met by spikes of dark magic exploding upon contact with her.

The Archbishop cried out in pain as her body crashed rolled on the very ground of the monastery, purple lightning of dark magic invaded her body as if electrocuting her with excruciating pain that Rhea barely kept herself from screaming in pain.

Picking another axe that was dropped by one of the guards of Rhea, Edelgard with Byleth approached the defeated Archbishop, their eyes looking towards Rhea who had begun to stand up while using the Sword of Seiros like a crutch to stand up.

Lysithea breathed a sigh of relief as she fell down to her knees, her exhaustion getting to her yet feeling a huge sense of relief after seeing Rhea fall by her attack. Lysithea looked around her to see the Black Eagles Strike Force either getting back on their feet or emerging triumphant by their own battles, she looked behind her and down steps to see the Imperial army marching up to join their Emperor.

"It's over…" Lysithea murmured in between breaths until the earth began to quake beneath them.

Then she and the others were blinded by a white light that followed with a roar she hasn't heard of her entire life.

When she looked back to where Rhea was, her eyes widened in abject horror at the sight of a winged white monster roaring down on Byleth and Edelgard, it's blank white eyes glaring furiously at the two.

Lysithea could only stare in shock at the sight of the monster, this was far different than any of those Demonic Beasts they had fought in the past… this one felt like it possessed an immeasurable amount of power.

"You will not be forgiven!"

The beast spoke with a distorted voice that sounded similar to Rhea's voice.

'Could this be the… Immaculate One?!' Lysithea thought as she remembered Byleth's mention of this particular form of Rhea that she first showed in the Holy Tomb.

Without warning, the monster opened its jaws as energy charged within it.

Sensing what was to come, Byleth pushed Edelgard away as the monster unleashed a stream of energy from her mouth. Byleth only narrowly avoided the attack yet that didn't save him from the aftermath of the Immaculate One's attack.

The stream of energy that was expelled tore a hole on the ground and the explosion underground only caused the earth the quake even more violently as everyone nearly lost their balance at the shaking ground.

The ground around the hole whole began to crack until it eventually crumbled and fell to the dark abyss below.

Thinking immediately, Edelgard looked at each and everyone of the Black Eagle Strike Force as well as the Imperial Army that was poised to join them.

"Everyone, get out of there! The ground is crumbling!" Edelgard ordered in a state of panic before looking back to where Byleth was, who was beginning to leave the crumbling epicenter of the Immaculate One's attack.

Seeing how everything around her was crumbling, Rhea in her monstrous form took flight out of Garreg Mach, the gusts of wind she left behind as she flew only served to imbalance Byleth as the crumbling ground caught up with him.

Edelgard screamed out in horror as she was forcibly pulled away by Hubert and Ferdinand, trying to reach out her hand to where Byleth is.

As she watched Byleth fall to the crumbled ground, Lysithea could only watch with eyes widened with extreme shock and horror.

Everything fell silent around her despite what was happening around her, Lysithea didn't even know who was pulling her away from the crumbling ground, pinkish red eyes only stared at the hole where Byleth fell.

She had hoped that he would have used the Sword of the Creator to launch himself back up but such hopes diminished by the second as she was dragged away further and further.

He was gone.

And Lysithea could only open her mouth to let out a spine chilling wail of pure grief.

He was gone.

In the dark abyss that he fell to.

He was gone.

And no amount of tears can bring him back.

He was gone.

"PROFESSOOOOOOOORRRR!"

He was gone as the clouds above them sundered when Rhea flew straight through it in her escape.

---

And this wraps up, the White Clouds saga of The Last Scion of House Ordelia. I wrote so many scenes here that I wasn't sure of to be honest, scenes such as Edelgard and Lysithea's conversation and the siege of Garreg Mach, the latter felt like it was sloppily written.

Also the song Dorothea sang is titled "Currents" from the Suikoden Orrizonte Collection, I only changed one particular word in it, I chose it because it kind of fits the theme of the story of 3H in particular, give it a listen while reading that part in particular!

This has been a ride to write and at times tedious but I had hoped I have brought a satisfying conclusion to the first half of the entire story! By the time this story updates again, we will be on the most anticipated chapters... soon... but not before we explore what happened within the five years that passed.