Testament of Dawn

by Naryfiel Lilith

It should have been a simple year, a year like any other, but a chance encounter leads Byleth and her twin, Azrael, on a path neither ever expected to be on. A path that led to bonds stronger than fate itself. A path that would lead to a war of ideals. Fodlan's night of chaos and war ends with the dawning light, but will fate or bonds decide who bears witness? (3H Novelization)

8. Chapter 7) Ashes

Chapter 7) Ashes

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I feel like either trouble is terribly attracted to my students, or my students are terribly attracted to trouble. Either way, we've fallen into trouble. Again. This time, its deep below the monastery, in a mysterious place called 'Abyss', where those who 'shun the light of the surface' hide and find sanctuary. Except there is no 'sanctuary' underground anymore. Weeks of assaults from mercenaries, supposedly all to harry the denizens... there's more to this story. I know there is. The only question is… what?

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"So, basically, you think that someone wants this super special cup and that's why they're sending mercenaries," Azrael summarized as our group wandered through some of the ruined hallways below Abyss. Apparently, while Azrael and I had been reading, the others had been gathering information and Aelfric had mentioned the legend as a potential 'treasure'. For some reason. I didn't quite get how the topic came up, even after they'd caught me up on everything I'd missed. "What's so special about it anyway?"

"I just explained it!" Constance snapped, annoyed. Part of me didn't blame her, since Azrael obviously hadn't been paying much attention. The rest of me just thought this was all ridiculous and that I had to have misheard her earlier explanation. "In the Chasm of the Bound lies the Chalice of Beginnings! A sacred treasure of the Church!"

"And it is part of this stupid rite, right?"

"It is not stupid!" Constance puffed out her cheeks in outrage, her color running high. Yuri, meanwhile, was snickering bad enough that Hapi had to help him actually keep upright. Up ahead, Balthus and Dimitri were clearing the path, with Edelgard and Hilda helping. Linhardt was muttering at Ashe about something, while Ashe nodded every once in a while to at least pretend he was listening. "It is part of the Rite of Rising! A ritual that has the power to even bring back the dead!"

"The dead don't come back." Azrael's response was as quick as it was blunt. "Believing otherwise is nothing but delusional idiocy." While I agreed with them, there had to be nicer ways to go about saying that. "Hence 'stupid', since I don't feel like being all loquacious with synonyms." He rolled his eyes, and I smiled faintly at him as I sensed his heavy annoyance. Sothis complained that it felt like an actual weight. "Whoever came up with it must've been half-mad with grief, if not fully mad."

"But think of the possibilities if it's true!" Constance's eyes sparkled at the mere thought, even though she was still annoyed at Azrael. "Why, it could-!"

"You mean people valuing life even less than they do now because they think they can just bounce back from death like one travels from one city to the next?" Azrael was terribly sarcastic, and though I knew I should quiet him, I couldn't bring myself to do so. "People already weigh out people's lives and traumas against coin, you know. Twenty dead bandits, dozens of bruises and cuts, utter exhaustion, trauma… all that is just worth a small bagful of coins. Maybe a bit more if you're good at negotiating contracts and the village that happens to be hiring you has a little more wealth stashed away than normal." That rarely happened, though. "How much less do you think they'll pay if the dead just waltz on back to life?" Azrael scoffed at the mere thought. I had to keep from being ill at it. "Plus, can you imagine what will happen with succession crises? If people can come back to life, then simple assassination isn't going to cut it. If you can't kill someone, you just make them long for it instead. A fate worst than death. Who the hell would want a world like that? Besides a sadist, or someone so selfish that they're willing to do whatever it takes to get what they desire, damn everyone else."

"You can also imagine overcrowding in cities, and how scarce resources will become in order to try and sustain the population that just dies and comes back," I added, not able to bite my tongue in time. But still… it was a ridiculous notion, but even more ridiculous was the idea that there was anything good about it. Which was probably a little hypocritical since I'd erased the deaths of my students. But still, I didn't pretend it was a good thing, and it still had its consequences. "But, Azrael, there was no reason to go for succession crises. What about those executed for crimes? Bandits? Would those have not have been a better examples?"

"I suppose," Azrael conceded, nodding after a moment of thought. I imagine he went with succession crises because we were around a lot of nobles and there always seemed to be something going on with inheritance with them. "But yeah, the whole idea is just idiotic. A delusion dreamt up by a madman. A selfish madman that only wanted to relieve their own pain, ignoring the consequences to follow. And there has to be consequences to that sort of thing." He rolled his eyes again, irritated now. "All power has a price, and if you're somehow going to utilize enough power to break reality, there's got to be one hell of a price to pay for it. Which is also delusional because if you're going to sacrifice that much, then just off yourself and be done with it. No need to drown the world in blood because you feel like you have to 'make it all worth it' or something."

"Azrael, you're rambling." Well, not quite, but he was close. "Besides, I think that is besides the point. What we should focus on is the possibility that someone not only believes in this chalice and its ridiculous legend, but they are willing to kill in order to acquire it. So, Constance's suggestion to obtain the chalice first would theoretically put us in a more advantageous position." Unless our enemy was counting on others doing the dirty work, which was entirely possible. We knew nothing about them, after all. For one thing, how common was this story anyway? While I rarely paid attention to stories from the Church, I found it odd that I hadn't even heard of this sort of thing before. "We can ignore everything else since the reason behind the chalice and all the nonsense isn't important. Just that someone else believes it."

"If you say so." Azrael shrugged, irritation fading. Probably a good thing, since by now, we were getting some odd looks. Poor Constance looked mortified, though she tried to hide it by glaring at the still snickering Yuri. "Still seems idiotic to me. Why not just do the normal thing people do when loved ones die and go on a vengeance-driven murder spree? I imagine you'll end up with the same number of bodies in the end and you're still killing a bunch of the living in the name of those who are dead and gone. Or, you know, like I said before, off yourself to go join dead."

"Azrael, please."

"Right, right. I'll try to bite my tongue." Azrael sighed heavily, and slipped around to lean on me briefly. Just for the contact. It was comforting for us both. "I already know people are idiotic and selfish by nature, so I guess I shouldn't be that surprised. Is the path clear yet?"

It was, so silence fell then, save for a couple of personal conversations, as we continued on. It didn't escape me that Constance kept her distance from Azrael and me, and I wondered if it was because we were so blunt in ripping her enthusiasm to shreds. I felt guilty for that. There was nothing wrong with curiosity, with researching and discovery. And since she was of House Nuvelle, she had lost her entire family. I could well understand the desire to see dead family again. Or meet them, in my case. I would have loved to meet Mom, after all. To have a single, proper memory of her instead of simply stories...

But, the idea of the dead coming back was just… ridiculous. Death was the end. The most you could do was prayers or ceremonies to ensure they didn't get trapped under the rivers of death and made it fully across all of them. Though, that belief was more of an eastern Faerghus thing. Those who died in anguish, with lingering regrets… they were trapped in between, deep under the waters, forever frozen and drowning and desperate to escape that limbo however they could. That's where stories of 'vengeful ghosts' came from, or so Dad said. But, even then, all you were doing was helping them move on. They still didn't come back or anything. You were letting them go, as you should, so that they could watch over you from beyond and you could keep on walking.

Biting back a sigh, I shook my head and looked around for anything interesting, but there wasn't really anything. The most interesting thing was probably the rats that skittered away from us. I didn't think much of them at first, until the dark reminded me of that nightmare I'd had, of the children tortured and torned apart. Ill at the little reminder, I quickly focused on the others to distract myself. That let me notice that Edelgard had stiffened suddenly, covering her mouth as if to stifle a yell or to keep herself from being sick. Even more worryingly, though… she was trembling… what had scared her? Was it how deep we were underground? Had it been the rats? It was hard to tell, and I wasn't sure if anyone else had noticed, since she was standing noticeably apart from the group...

"Here." Except Azrael caught my worry even before I'd completed the thought and quietly draped his coat over Edelgard. Including her head, for some reason, though she quickly shook that part off. "That should help with the shivering," Azrael murmured. I knew he didn't truly think she was cold. He was just giving her an excuse, since she seemed to not want to draw attention to her fear.

"I'm not cold," Edelgard muttered, scowling a little. However, she clutched the jacket tightly around her before properly slipping her arms through the sleeves. "This is surprisingly comfortable, though. So, I'm keeping it."

"Of course it's comfortable. That's why I wear it." He helped her adjust the coat, and I realized he'd put it over her head because she was noticeably smaller than him and it was a very long coat. Both of us hoped she didn't accidentally step on the hem and fall. "Oh, and sorry about the perfume. I always manage to get some of Byleth's on me."

"You're apologizing for smelling nice?"

"Well, I don't know if you like her perfume or not." He shrugged and clasped his hands behind his head, much as Claude or Sylvain often did. "I mean… I do, of course. But not everyone has the same tastes."

"Are we sure you don't just put some of hers on?"

"No, because Byleth needs it." He tilted his head when Edelgard frowned. "What?"

"It sounds like you think she smells bad without it."

"Does it? Not what I meant." But Azrael wasn't going to explain just why I had needed the perfume in the past. I'd be mad at him if he blurted that out and he knew it. "Whatever. I don't steal it from her. No need, since if I wanted my own, Dad would've gotten it for me before I could even finish contemplating the idea. I probably just get it on me from hugging her." That was just our best guess, mind. It wasn't as if I typically put that much on.

"I see." Edelgard frowned for a moment longer before shrugging and smiling wryly. "I must admit that I'm surprised you're capable of apologizing without your sister's prompting. Even if you're apologizing for smelling nice."

"The world is full of lies and people are a menace, so I don't care to censor myself." Azrael's words were as blunt as always, and I noticed quite a few of the others glanced back at him worriedly. "Unless I know it'll upset Dad or Byleth. I like them."

"I… see…?" Edelgard stared for a moment, almost tripping over her feet because of her distraction. I imagined she had expected some sort of deflection, but that wasn't really what Azrael did. "So, you… what? Hate people?"

"Why bother hating people for things they can't help?" Azrael frowned a little, genuinely confused. "Might as well get angry at a cat for meowing, or a dog for barking. If I'm going to waste energy, I'm going to do it on something fun, like teasing Byleth or joking with Dad."

"...Huh." Edelgard kept staring, like she was thrown for a loop. She glanced around, no doubt looking to change the subject, and her eyes fell on his arms, bared since he wasn't wearing his normal coat. "Oh, those scars…"

"Which ones?" Like me, Azrael had a lot. It had taken quite a bit of time for him to perfect his dodging abilities. Still, I would think she was referring to...

"These ones…" Edelgard pointed to the ones that dominated his arms, and it was easy to see why they'd caught her attention. Unlike the other ones, these weren't faint or small. They were large, ragged, and noticeably raised.

"Ah, those." Azrael brought his arms down to look at them himself, and he smiled bitterly. My heart ached at the pain he felt. "The ones on my back healed a little better. Not as raised."

"Your back?"

"Yeah." Azrael lifted his shirt a little so that she could see the bottom-most part of the scars. I closed my eyes at the memory, remembering how shredded his back had looked back then. It had taken both Dad and me a while to convince him to get them tended to. "Stupid mistake, really."

"Oh?"

"Well, that describes most of the scars. When you fight long enough, you get the time to make lots of stupid mistakes. If you're lucky, it only costs you something." Azrael dropped his shirt, still smiling bitterly. "These weren't from a battle, though. They were from an incident where someone else paid the price."

"Someone else?"

"Yeah. A good friend." He closed his eyes, lost in the memory. And the guilt. "You went to Remire, right? Did you meet Rebecca and her daughter, Louisa, while you were there?"

"I did, yes." Edelgard frowned, and I noticed some of the others were eavesdropping as well. Some more obviously than others. Seriously, my students needed sneaking lessons. "What about them?"

"I'm going to take a wild guess and assume no one mentioned her husband, Charles." Of course, no one had. It was still a painful weight on everyone, and everyone had been determined to be happy while my students visited.

"I… had wondered why no one mentioned a spouse." Edelgard blushed a little, perhaps from embarrassment. Or something. I actually didn't know why, but her sudden sheepishness leaned it towards embarrassment. "Did he…?"

"It had been a simple hunting trip. Me, Charles, and Dad… just a little something to bolster the stores. Louisa wasn't born quite yet, so I'd been teasing Charles about how much he was fretting. About being a father and all." Azrael's smile became even more bitter, and I winced as his pain lanced through my own heart. "Dad teased him in his own way, mostly by giving very specific advice that just-so-happened to involve stories of the antics Byleth and I got into."

"That… sounds like a lot of fun."

"It was. It was fun, and a normal thing. Just an ordinary day. So, I made a mistake. I let my guard down, and didn't listen to the wind." Azrael chuckled, but there was no humor to it. "Fun fact? Giant Wolves are surprisingly quiet, even in the woods. You wouldn't think so, given their size and all, but they are. And they're very adept at ambushing."

"I… I see…" Edelgard's gaze returned to the scars on his arm. "I'm… guessing it bit you?"

"Me? No. It killed Charles." The blunt words did nothing to hide the regret he felt. "It snapped him up like a rag dol, before we even knew it was therel. I just got these while retrieving his body, though I did make them worse by stupidly trying to heal him. Pointless, since the dead can't heal. But hey, we've all got a bit of denial when a death suddenly happens." He became thoughtful, and absently held out his arm to help Edelgard around some rubble. It was dangerous for her to try and climb it on her own while wearing an oversized cloak. "Well, actually, I suppose it did technically bite me during the process. I think it's more of me wrestling giant blades and losing, though."

"That's a… strange mental image." Edelgard was quiet for a moment, just walking next to Azrael as we all continued down the path. "I suppose this is where you say you must live for him? Or let his sacrifice not be in vain?"

"What sacrifice? He died because life sucks, and I was stupid." Azrael frowned, confusion spiking through the pain now. "And how the hell can I live for him, anyway? I'm not him. I can't be Louisa's father, or Rebecca's husband."

"That's… not what I meant." Edelgard frowned as well. "I meant more of the… well, the phrase 'he would want you to live'? Have you never heard that before?"

"Of course he'd want me to live. He wasn't the type of person to wish for anyone's death, much less a friend's." Azrael's confusion gradually wore away at the pain. "Is that a normal thing people say? Because that seems like… well, like any other sort of medicine. Helpful to some, useless to others, and a poison to the rest." And, in fact, he became so focused on trying to parse out his thoughts that he soon was simply confused. I had to smile a little at that. "I also don't see how that would be good in the long-term, so I guess like those really potent, but really dangerous medicines."

"You don't like it, then?"

"I really don't see how that will be good for anything but getting past the initial grief, personally. People might be menaces, but they're not tools or anything. They're not weapons or objects. They don't have a single purpose. Anyone who thinks that is a sad and lonely person. Probably traumatized too." Azrael was very deep in his thoughts, but I thought Edelgard's eyes widened slightly at that. Just slightly, and it could've just been at how much Azrael was rambling now. "People need more than one reason to live. Even I've got three."

"Three?"

"Byleth, Dad, and Remire." Azrael rattled the list off easily. "But seriously, you need more than one. Think of the strain your leg goes through when you stand on one leg and imagine that on your spirit when it's already hurting. It can hold up for a time, but just seems like you're setting yourself up for a greater fall later. With a lot more blood and pain. Maybe some infection."

"I…" All at once, Edelgard began laughing softly, though she was quick to muffle it. "You truly say exactly what you're thinking, don't you? Always."

"Yes, sadly, I always keep forgetting to close the window to my thoughts, and leave them out for all to hear, even without coppers to pay. Funny how people will pay just as much for thoughts as they do for lives." Azrael shrugged, and Edelgard simply shook her head. "That was a bit of a ramble, though, even for me. But that's the story of the scars. Those ones, at least. The rest were more due to people thinking I didn't have enough iron or steel in my body. Silver if they were particularly fancy."

"I can't decide if you're exasperating or ridiculous." Still, Edelgard muffled another laugh. "I almost think it's on purpose."

"That is way too much effort." Azrael bent a little to look at her face better, and smiled warmly at her. "Still, you've got some color to your face finally. Feeling a little better?"

"I… yes, a little." She stared at him, this time from surprise. "Were you distracting me?"

"I've been told I'm a very distracting person, for whatever reason." He shrugged, refusing to directly confirm. Indirectly, sure, but not directly. He never liked taking credit for helping people because, in his words, he only did it on whims. "But maybe I was just using the conversation as a means to distract from how freaking long we've been walking. Because I think it's been a while." It had. It had been a long while, actually.

"Oh, good, someone else thinks so too," Linhardt commented. Slowly, all of us stopped and clustered around each other. "Honestly, I'm feeling pretty lost right now." He yawned, rubbing his eyes sleepily. I was surprised none of us had to carry him while he napped by now. Grateful, of course. But surprised. "How long have we been walking? I'm guessing a week, personally." ...Uh… no. No, not even Azrael and I could walk a week straight without rest or food or anything.

"What? Don't be ridiculous, Linny," Hapi immediately retorted, rolling her eyes. She held out her hand to Balthus, who lifted her over a bit of rubble so that she could join the rest of us. The pups, of course, stayed clustered together, but I was glad my students just sort of mingled. Then again, there were only two of each House. "It's only been a few hours."

"Really? Are you sure?"

"Positively."

"Hnn…"

"Exaggerations aside, I'm a bit concerned about our lack of supplies," Edelgard pointed out. She shifted Azrael's coat to better cover her, and held it tightly around her. Azrael was right; she did have more color to her complexion. I wouldn't say she looked comfortable, but she looked better and that was what mattered. "Food and water specifically." Did she have to mention food? I was getting hungry… but she was right about the supplies. The only 'supplies' we had were weapons borrowed from Abyss.

"Yeah, I was just thinking the same myself," Claude agreed. He attempted to pull the coat over Edelgard's face to prank her, but Hilda stopped him before Edelgard could snap at him. She settled for a glare instead. "What say everyone to treking a little further and then turning back if we don't find anything?"

"Honestly, I think we ought to turn back now, but it would certainly be a shame to come all this way for nothing."

"In retrospect, we really should've planned this better," Dimitri mused, leaning against the wall. He paused for a moment before looking at Constance. "Constance, might I ask about your sudden eagerness? It is rather curious how quickly you became fixated on it. We only heard about it a couple of hours prior to coming down here."

"Pardon?" Constance replied. She started as if dumbfounded for a moment, and then laughed awkwardly, slinking back away from us. Because that wasn't suspicious at all. "Are you suggesting that I would be fixated on some silly little legend for an ulterior motive?"

"Well, I wouldn't have said 'ulterior motive', but since you did…"

"Urk…!"

"Wait, Prince Dimitri, did you trap her?" Hilda asked, startled. It drew attention away from Constance, who squirmed uncomfortably. Particularly when her fellow pups started snickering. "I'm impressed. That's something I'd expect from Claude. You seem too kind and honest for that sort of thing."

"I'm not sure that was a trap so much as Constance tripped over her own feet," Ashe pointed out. He certainly had a point there. There were quite a few lies she could've gone with that would've been perfectly plausible. Well, to those of us who weren't pups. Their snickering hinted they already knew there had been another motive. "Though, I suppose that could still be considered a trap."

"Guess it's all how you want to look at it, huh?"

"She wants the esteem," Yuri explained, since he recovered first. Constance immediately squeaked, still squirming. "Regardless of whether the legend is true or not, finding a lost artifact of the church will bring some clout, which she can then leverage for funds and aid to restore her fallen house." That so? I suppose bribery wasn't all that unexpected.

"H-how did you know that?!" Constance yelped, jumping back. She almost jumped right into a wall, but Balthus quickly shielded her. "Have you been snooping within the confines of my mind!?" ...That was what she first went to? Really?

"Yes, of course, I can read your mind. It has nothing to do at all with how you're constantly telling us about how you will restore House Nuvelle to its former glory." Yuri smiled incredulously at her, visibly struggling to not go right back to laughing. Hapi and Balthus didn't even bother hiding, especially when Constance started sulking. "Honestly, I'm surprised our guests haven't heard you say that yet. It's practically your catchphrase."

"House Nuvelle?" Ashe asked curiously, steering the conversation down a different river. He looked to Dimitri, who shook his head. Made sense, considering… well… I'd heard the rumors and all and… "Where is that located? Or… was located? Whatever the proper term is."

"They used to be Viscounts in the western part of the Empire," Linhardt explained. Rather surprised he was. "The house is famous for bearing the Crest of Macuil, one of the Four Saints." Of course, the crest might have had something to do with it. "As you can expect, they had a long and distinguished history."

"But then it fell?" Ashe immediately looked saddened. "I'm sorry for your loss, Constance. I know the words don't mean much, because the pain of losing family is so immense, but…"

"...Well, you're very kind, aren't you?" Constance murmured after a moment. She looked conflicted for a moment before smiling slightly. "I shall take the words as the kindness they clearly are. But yes, five years ago, my home fell and only I survived out of my household."

"It was because of the Dagda-Brigid invasion," Edelgard added. I noticed that her expression was perfectly polite, a mask to hide something. "They were unable to stop the initial assault and fell." I vaguely remembered rumors that suggested they'd more been left to die, but I had no idea how true said rumors. Honestly, since the Empire's forces had focused on the outside threat, internal threats had been left to the wayside, even more so than usual. We had a lot of bandit-killing jobs then, which kept us very busy. "It was officially declared a 'dead' house about four years ago, I think?"

"Huh. You speak as if it had nothing to do with you," Constance replied, anger burning away whatever politeness her words might have otherwise carried. The scowl destroyed the rest of it. "Princess Edelgard." Well, that was certainly a barb, considering the Empire's internal affairs.

"I fear all I can do is ask forgiveness in place of my powerless father." Because everyone knew who the true rulers of the Empire were currently: the Prime Minister and the Lord Regent. With the others of the Insurrection just underneath in terms of power. I knew some of the populace wondered if Edelgard would even be able to inherit. Or if she'd be another puppet emperor, kept in line by the threat of what had happened to her siblings. "If doing so will in any way comfort you, please accept my-"

"Save your breath." Constance's dismissal was clipped, harsh, and blunt. It was a telling difference between how she reacted to Ashe, but then again, I suppose Ashe's complete lack of connection simply helped emphasize the kindness of the words. Meanwhile, Edelgard's words… "I have heard enough of meaningless platitudes, Princess Edelgard. You give apologies not out of sympathy, but because you believe it is what I wish to hear. But that is not necessary, for I have no need of empty apologies." Constance drew herself up and held her head high as she looked Edelgard right in the eye. "For the sake of my parents, who sacrificed themselves selflessly and courageously to try and defend the Empire they called home… I shall restore House Nuvelle to its former status. No, I will raise it to new and glorious heights. All that I do is for that aim, and I shall not rest until I have achieved it."

"Of course, all your hard work just landed you here in Abyss for now," Hapi noted, puncturing a hole in Constance's dignity. Constance even squawked in protest. "Life's cruel like that, making you basically take a shortcut back to the starting line. Or maybe we should just call it bad luck?"

"Well, you do hear those stories of the 'rightful ruler' falling into the slums and then becoming a savior of the land due to finally understand his people," Azrael pointed out. Though it sounded like he was trying to reassure, I knew he was more just thinking aloud and didn't care one way or the other. He was already distracted. "Anyway, if we're going to keep walking, there's some fresh wind blowing from down that way." Azrael pointed down a side hallway, one we might've passed if we hadn't stopped. "Want to follow it?"

Back to hiking, then.

---

Azrael's wind-sense led us outside. Outside. Or, at least, I dubbed it 'outside'. After all, there was sunlight streaming down, with lots of trees and mist and whatnot. Could such things exist underground? I suppose if there was a giant hole or something, but given the size of the place, it would have to be the deepest part of a cliff and that didn't count as underground… right?

"Are we… beneath the bridge of the monastery?" Dimitri asked quietly, looking up. And up. And up. Aaaand up. It was startling how small the bridge looked from down here, because he was right. You could just barely see the bridge that connected the main part of the monastery with the cathedral. "We are, aren't we?"

"You know… I think you're right," Claude agreed, speaking just as softly. Something about the place just invited hushed tones, even as we continued walking forward. Well, most of us. Constance, for some reason, was sticking to the shadows and not following us into the sunlight. "Huh. Never thought I'd be staring up at that bridge that we've crossed thousands of times. I also kind of thought there wasn't a bottom to the chasm it bridged. You can't see any of this from up there."

"No, the angle and the fog mask it." Dimitri narrowed his eyes. "I wonder if any of our classmates are up there, looking down."

"Well, not Lorenz. I'm sure you could hear him talking about his noble obligations even down here if he were."

"We certainly did find a lovely spot to hide, if nothing else," Yuri murmured. I could be imagining it, but he seemed far more tense than he had when we were inside Abyss. I could've been wrong, though. "Constance, are you sure this is the right place?"

"It is," Constance answered. Despite how far ahead we've gone, she continued lingering back in the dark. At this rate, we were going to lose her in the mist. "I think. I believe. I… hope?"

"Such confidence."

"Well, we're going off a legend anyway!" Constance immediately stomped her foot in a fit of pique. "All I can do is deliver my best guess! It's not like we found some convenient treasure map!"

"And we're not going to get much of anywhere with you hanging as you are," Edelgard pointed out. Perhaps a little sharply, but I had a feeling it wasn't really intended. "You're the one who insisted we find the chalice, remember?"

"Well, yes, I…" Constance began, squirming and shying for some reason. Then, all at once, she scowled. "Oh, fine! If you insist that I join you, then I shall! Satisfied?!" She stomped out of the shadows, the warm sunlight enveloping her. But… uh… as soon as she was fully in the sunlight, her entire demeanor just… shifted. Her straight posture slumped, curling into herself to make herself smaller. Her high head drooped until her bangs formed shadows over her eyes. Her scowl faded for anxiety, and she flinched away from us like she expected some sort of beating. "Oh my…" Even her voice changed, to something softer and lower. "I was quite rude just now. Please accept my humblest apologies." She bowed so low that I half thought she'd fall on her face. "I presumed too much to stand amongst such noble paragons. Allow me to dig a hole to bury myself in…" ...Um...

"...What in the world…?" Edelgard glanced at the rest of us, clutching Azrael's coat around her as she tried to process what in creation we were seeing. "I don't… what is…?"

"Yeah, sorry, this is just how Coco is under the sun," Hapi explained, with an easy shrug. She went over to Constance and attempted to nudge her forward. Constance remained where she was, including the low bow. "It's a reason why she came to Abyss. Not much sunlight down there."

"What would cause something like that?" Hilda asked, gaping. Of course, most of us non-pups were gawking, so that really didn't stand out much. "Some sort of defense mechanism against trauma or something?"

"I don't know. It's not like I can burrow into her spirit and worm out any and all potential cracks and imbalances and all."

"Point." Hilda tilted her head to the side curiously. "So, if it's sunlight, would a hat or parasol help her out? The mist isn't, but we do have pretty clear light despite it, so..."

"Not really sure. But I'm willing to guess she's tried those. At least the hat, at least. Parasols are expensive."

"I'll take your word for that one. I've never used one myself. Too much trouble." Hida shrugged. "I suppose we should just… keep on walking, huh?"

"Probably." Hapi smiled, amused by everything. For some reason. "Don't worry. We'll keep Coco moving."

I had to say that I was hesitant to continue, if only because if Hilda was right and this was a response to some trauma or something? I didn't want to force Constance. But the pups didn't show such reservations, with Yuri even holding Constance's hand to make sure she kept up in her… 'state'. So, we walked forward, just picking a direction since there was no actual path to follow. However, I felt like something was wrong. With each step, the mist… I swore it became heavier. Less like a 'mist' and more like a weight burrowing deep. Clawing at us as if to drag us back…

["I dislike this place."] Sothis's voice was hushed, even in my own mind. ["I cannot say why, but something about it just feels wrong to me. This mist, this feeling… none of it should be here. I do not know why I am certain of this, but I am."] Perhaps it was like Zanado? ["It could be. If I lived in Zanado while the goddess or whatever was there, then it's possible I walked here too. But that makes me dislike it even more. Why is it different? Who changed it?"] All good questions that I had no answers to. But it made me wary. Something… ["Something is going to go wrong."] Yes, I was certain of it.

"The wind is wrong," Azrael whispered to me right then. He ducked a little so that he could talk directly to me and not alert the others. "I can't hear Sothis at the moment, but I think I catch an echo of her worry, and I agree with her. Something isn't right. The wind's flow… it's like it's trapped here." Oh, that was… not good. "The pups can continue on if they want, but we should pull your students back." Because he didn't want my students hurt. He knew I'd blame myself. However, I didn't want the 'pups' hurt either. "Fine, all of them." Azrael straightened and held up a hand to try to catch everyone's attention. "Hey-"

"Huh? This feeling…" However, it was Constance's mumble that held everyone's focus, mostly because she had stopped walking. "I think it is…" she continued softly. She pressed her fist to her mouth, perhaps to hide her little frown, and her eyes unfocused slightly. "Magic. It is faint, but there is magic up ahead. A strange one I do not know. Perhaps it could be the binding spell? Though I do not wish to presume someone like me is correct…"

"Well, I agree with you, Coco," Hapi reassured almost instantly. She smiled at Constance, who returned it with a faint and sad one of her own. "I can sense something strange ahead too. And given the location, it's either super dangerous or super valuable. Probably the first, but hey, we could get lucky. It could be both."

"It would be far more than I deserve to have not wasted your time with a fruitless endeavor."

"Oh, Coco…"

"You two have keen senses, because I can't sense anything," Linhardt noted absently. His focus was on something else. "However, is something moving that way?"

"Where?" Ashe asked. Linhardt pointed and Ashe narrowed his eyes. "Uh… actually, yeah, there's something rather large moving this way? I think, anyway. It's not… it's like it's gliding or something. Weird." A half-second later, there was a strangely high-pitched noise. It almost sounded like a blacksmith's hammer on molten metal, but softer and longer. "What in the world…?" By now, the rest of us could see the large shadow looming over us, something that just… it was near impossible to try and guess what it could be. Even when it emerged from the mist so that we could see it properly. "Is that… a giant doll? Made of metal?" That was probably the best guess any of us had.

"Oh, it has the Crest of Seiros on it." Linhardt nodded to it, because of course that was what he focused on. Not that this thing was unlike anything any of us had seen. Just that it had the Crest of Seiros engraved on its chest. "I wonder if that's a sign we're close."

"Linhardt, really?" Edelgard 'asked', just exasperated and very done with everything. She took his arm, as well as Ashe's. "I think we just-"

"TRESPASSERS…" ...It talked? It could talk?! "I GIVE BUT ONE WARNING. LEAVE NOW, LEST YOU FORFEIT YOUR LIVES." It sounded strange too, with everything echoing, but seriously, how could it talk?! "DECIDE." ...Uh… well, I'd say we leave, actually.

"We'll just retreat. Sounds good, yes?" Seemed Edelgard and I agreed. Wonderful. "I have no intention of dying here, especially for an artifact."

"What? And miss a good fight?" Balthus instantly complained, almost sounded put out. I immediately wondered if he'd taken a few too many hits to the head. Why else would he take one look at this thing and go 'this looks like something I should fight'? "It's been a while since I met an enemy who could put one up!" We had the mercenaries in the arena just yesterday! Did he somehow forget?!

"Goddess, why can't you satiate your kinks like other people?" Yuri snapped. For the first time, he actually looked worried. "Safely, sanely, and most importantly, with consent."

"I think that thing is consenting to a fight!" Balthus grinned and stepped towards the doll thing. Quite a few of us tried to grab him, but he dodged us. "Meet your master, pal! I'm going to pummel you into my new personal shield!"

"Balthus, the rest of us would like to be consulted prior to you..." Yuri groaned when the golem's 'eyes' began glowing. "If we survive this, I'm killing you later."

We ran. Some of us had to grab the slower ones (like Balthus), but we ran. Azrael and I took the rear, though Linhardt trailed. A good thing too, that we had ran when we had. The glow had been in preparation to throw a spear made solely of light, which left a very large crater when it hit. I hoped we didn't learn just what that would do to a person. We might not get that lucky. Particularly since… well, we did try to just go back. Back the way we came and all. But we couldn't. All at once, the mist shimmered around us and converged on itself. Not all of the mist, of course. But some. Enough. It twisted and bubbled into humanoid forms, which… which solidified into slightly transparent people with very clear features. Features that included armor and weapons. Sharp weapons, based on the one that slashed Balthus and inflicted a gaping gash on his arm.

"Baltie, seriously, did you have to challenge it?!" Hilda snapped as we ran in a different direction. Hoping beyond hopes that we could somehow escape both these… these phantoms and the giant metal doll. "I am definitely telling Holst about this!"

"Yikes, I think I'll take my chances with the metal thing chasing us," Balthus mused, completely unbothered even though it was kind of his fault we were in this mess. He ducked down as one of the phantom things shot an arrow. It flew over his head and thudded into a nearby tree, fading away to nothing and leaving a noticeable hole. "Uh… you think those will do that if we get hit?" That would be bad. Arrows typically at least plugged up the wound, but if left to bleed...

"Ugh… this is more effort than I wanted to put in today and-eep!" Took a second to realize why Hilda squeaked, but it soon became clear why. Cliffs. Of course there were cliffs. Why wouldn't there be cliffs while we were running for our lives from creepy dolls and phantoms? Particularly cliffs that we could barely see because of the damn mist! "I hate this!"

"Huh. Kind of reminds me of-"

"Shut up, Baltie!"

"I hope we're finding a path, and not a trap," Claude muttered grimly. His eyes were darting around, looking for some sort of escape. But with the cliffs… we'd have to get down from them first. Somehow. "Azrael, can't you do something with the wind and all to clear this?"

"If I stayed still and turned myself into a target, then sure, I could give it a whirl," Azrael instantly deadpanned. I doubted I was the only one who knew he was incredibly exasperated and aggravated by the current situation. "However, I have enough experience with sharp objects to know that I highly dislike them being shoved into me. We're not even going into that light and…" Azrael's eyes darted up suddenly. "Move!" He lunged forward, dragging me with him, and I twisted to yank Linhardt along for the ride. Not even a second later, there was a bright flash of light, a loud explosion, and rocks fell exactly where we'd been. We all froze where we were, both out of shock and a desperate need to catch our breaths. Only Azrael was unfazed… sort of. At the least, he recovered first. "Everyone make it?"

"I… think?" Claude sort of recovered second. He groaned and leaned on Yuri as what happened finally processed, though. While the rest tried to recover, I did a quick count and smiled faintly when I saw that we were all still together. No one lost yet… "I don't suppose you could've given… wait, hold on, that sounds ungrateful. And accusatory. Uh… words. Words are a thing that must be used properly and..."

"The wind doesn't flow right, here. I was only able to tell that because that light displaces the wind at a rapid pace. Far more so than a normal weapon would." Azrael shrugged at the weird looks. "Let's just say that even the wind runs from it, and go into technical bullshit later."

"Lovely."

"Dimitri, what in the world are you muttering?" Edelgard suddenly asked. Surprisingly, given all of this, she still wore Azrael's jacket. Though she didn't seem to notice. Instead, she frowned at Dimitri, who was muttering something under his breath how that he actually had the breath. "It sounds like random syllables. Is it a spell or chant for safety?"

"No, I'm not one to whisper prayers," Dimitri replied. After a few more mutters, he sighed and wiped some of the sweat off his face. "Dedue didn't know Fodlan's language very well when we met, so I helped him learn. I happened to pick up some of Duscar's language along the way, including some words Dedue really wishes he hadn't accidentally taught me."

"...Wait, so were you cursing in Duscarian?"

"Maybe." Dimitri frowned at the pile of rocks, pointedly ignoring the amused looks sent his way. "How long do we have before that wall isn't a wall anymore?"

"Hard to say, but given our luck, not much longer," Hapi pointed out. She took a couple of deep breaths before walking over and lightly kicking Balthus in the shin. Balthus just rolled his eyes and ruffled her hair. "But hey, the mist is clearing a little?" She had a point. We could actually see a short distance now. However, given before… "So, we only have twice as many of those phantoms to deal with!"

"Your optimism is, as always, inspiring," Yuri deadpanned. He crossed his arms, looking distinctly irritated. "Well, where do we go? There's the path ahead, of course, but…"

"If I may presume to give an opinion?" Constance requested softly, carefully walking to the edge of the cliff. Somehow, she was still perfectly meek and anxious. Not sure how. It had to be some sort of trauma. Though I was surprised the mist hadn't done anything to… oh, I was too tired to try and think things through. "But down there… those statues?" She pointed to something I could barely see if I squinted. "The magic I sensed before… it is strongest there."

"Statues, of course. Why not?" Yuri shrugged, facepalming. I had a feeling quite a few of us were very done with this current situation. "So, I wonder what we'll find there. Secret passage? Hidden switch on the statues?"

"Probably a lock, given the key tucked into the doll's neck area," Hilda commented. She shrunk back when we all gave her incredulous looks. Yes, even Constance. "What? It was shiny."

"All of it was shiny, Hilda," Ashe pointed out, speaking slowly out of shock. I was just impressed she'd noticed. "And if that's true, then we have a different problem."

"Getting close to get it, right…" Hilda sighed gustily, but jumped when the rocks behind us suddenly shifted. "Uh oh."

"Th-there's a large forest down there." Ashe was already running, taking lead. "Maybe we can hide there?"

"Or get buried by tree trunks!"

"Well, I think that's a little better than being out in the open along a cliff, right?"

There wasn't much time to answer, as the creepy doll thing appeared again. This time by knocking the boulders behind us off the cliff as casually as a cat knocked over a vase. Meaning it was back to running again. And running. And even more running. Even when we finally reached the bottom of the cliffside path, and aimed directly for the forest, we had to run as fast as we possibly could. In a bit of a zigzag pattern to be less of a target for the giant spears of light. While dodging the phantoms that emerged from the lingering mist who were very determined to stab us repeatedly. No fancy cup was worth all of this nonsense. I didn't care how special it supposedly was.

["Wait."] Sothis, I was currently running for my life. ["Perhaps the wrong word, but that doesn't truly matter."] What part? The potential wrong word or that I was running for my life? ["You… oh, what am I to do with you?"] Sothis, what were you-?

I heard a sound like shattering glass. Saw the world's colors abruptly shift to something unnatural. Then all went black.

---

When I opened my eyes, I saw I was in that strange place in my dreams. The place where Sothis's throne was, where I could walk about as if this were the real world. Though, Sothis wasn't seated on her throne this time. Instead, she was seated on the stairs, beckoning me to come closer. Not quite sure what was going on, I decided to just listen and over. Sat on the step she indicated. It wasn't until she gently pushed my head to rest in her lap that I actually understood what she was trying to do. And I found myself relaxing as she stroked my hair. Hell, I half thought I might doze off.

"What I was trying to prompt you to remember is that we can stop time, silly," she chided after a moment. Instantly, I felt sheepish. Because while I thought about it only in terms of turning back time, she was right in that we had to 'stop' it first. "Your body is frozen, much like the rest of the world, but this plane is separate from the mortal realm. So, we can speak however much we wish and you can calm your frazzled heart."

"I think the circumstances qualify for frazzlement," I whispered. Whined, perhaps, but there wasn't much weight to the words. Already, I was calmer. Just being able to 'step back' like this… that was enough to help me. "That doll thing… those phantoms…"

"They certainly are a pain." Still, Sothis kept calm and kept stroking my hair. "Honestly, what sort of child sets up so many dangerous things like that? Simple wards would be far less dramatic and deadly and would provide much more protection. Guards can be evaded."

"Perhaps they hoped the fear would deter?"

"Oh please. Humanity's most impressive feats often occur when they're scared out of their minds, because that is when they are most likely to push themselves to their absolute limits, and then even beyond that." Despite the scoffing, she sounded completely sincere. And admiring, in fact. "Are you feeling a little calmer?"

"Yeah…" This was just what I'd needed, clearly. "Though I don't know how we're going to get out of this predicament."

"I suppose I can say that life with your menagerie certainly isn't boring. Though given how chaos and mayhem has been a good chunk of your life, peace would actually be very exciting." She definitely knew me well. "I will say that there is something strangely… familiar about those dolls."

"Really?"

"Yes. In fact, I'm almost a little peeved over how poorly made they are." So, what? She had made some like this before? "If you're fine with resting a little longer, I'll try to wiggle out that memory. Because I am certain that they are 'poorly made'."

"I am just fine where I am."

"Hee… good. You really haven't been able to rest much." She kept stroking my hair, and I closed my eyes to simply enjoy the peaceful feeling. "Do any of yours have thunder magic?"

"Not in this group, unless the pups are hiding one." Out of my students, only Linhardt had mastered a Reason magic spell, and he had specifically refused to learn thunder. Something about how Dorothea already had it taken care of.

"Drat. There goes that idea." She sulked a little, but went back to simply thinking. "The interior… my memory is hazy, but I know it is very intricate. A single misplacement can lead to disaster."

"Like what?"

"Oh, anything from it just stopping to it exploding." She was… entirely too nonchalant about that. "Most likely something in-between." Again, far too nonchalant. "There simply must be a way to utilize that, along with its sheer size."

"...Yes, that and the delicate nature…" I would have to look at it again with fresh eyes. Discuss it with the others. "Sothis, that will be enough. If not…"

"Then we shall simply stop time again." Sothis smiled at me proudly, before lightly pinching my cheek. "Must you always get into trouble?"

"If I had my way, we wouldn't have even gone into the tunnel, you know." But then, all these people would still be living in fear… "Okay…" I rested a second longer before standing up and walking down a couple of steps. Then I turned back to face her, and saw she was still smiling at me. "Ugh… I was comfy."

"But now you have work to do, and a calmer heart to do it." The way Sothis said the words hinted she wouldn't let me just laze about a little longer. "Just walk. The power will handle the rest. And I am right here, as always. I'll be watching too, for anything that might be of use."

"Right." I nodded and started walking again. "So, the first thing I'll need to do when time resumes is…"

---

Time didn't resume all at once. I had a time (if that word could be used) to adjust 'back' to the present. Then there was the sound of shattered glass and the colors of the world rushed back to normal and I was back running like I had been. Still pulling up the rear with Azrael while helping Linhardt keep up. I didn't even stumble or anything. It was honestly a little disconcerting, but there wasn't time for that.

Instead, I swung up into one of the nearby trees, high enough to be shielded by the branches and leaves, and let the others keep on running while I held perfectly still. The phantoms… they were a problem, but ultimately, from what I had seen, they behaved just like 'normal people'. That doll thing, though… that was something I had little context for. At most, there were the giant birds and wolves corrupted and twisted by magic. But even those were flesh and blood, and still behaved as typical birds and wolves.

This doll, though… it reminded me strangely of a large bell. A large bell with equally long arms stuck to the side, almost like an afterthought. A blank face that was nothing but a facsimile of a person… perhaps, in that case, I really should think of it more as a 'person'. In that case, perhaps there were joints to exploit? Certainly humans weren't as effective if a joint was out of place…

["Yes! That's it!"] Sothis's gasp was loud enough that I almost looked around to see if anyone else heard her. ["I remember now! The interior is built like a skeleton! Exactly like one! All the armor on the bottom is to prevent it from being top-heavy, but there's still a lot of empty space under the chest area! Where your stomach would be!"]

Ah, so it was built like a skeleton with an armored dress thrown on top of it. Still, that means it had joints that could be stressed… all the more so because of how large and heavy it had to be. That must be why it had to move so slowly, actually. So, there had to be… and for it to move, it had to be magic. So, there also had to be a catalyst… a heart. Perhaps even where the crest was inscribed? Perhaps it wasn't simply decoration, but part...

["Part of the magic that allows it to move. Yes, I think… you're on the right path there. It resonates with me."] And I had to half wonder if some of her lost memories were drifting through my own mind, like how scenes from a book would linger. ["It is certainly possible. I can look through your own memories as easily as one would read a book. But now is not the time to worry about that."] No, it wasn't. I had to catch up with the others and… somehow figure out how to convey all this information? ...Hopefully, they'd just assume something silly, like I was smart or something. ["Less self-depreciation, more catching up!"]

I waited a moment longer, to check the area for phantoms, but I discovered there weren't any. They were… they were mindlessly pursuing the 'interlopers', and either I'd hidden well enough or they had decided to go after the group. That could potentially be used against them, but that would be for after we dealt with the doll first. For now, I sensed for Azrael and used him as a beacon to find the others. Luckily for me, they had, in fact, gone into the forest, so I could just keep to the trees until I could catch up and drop down.

"See anything interesting?" Azrael asked as soon as I landed. My students and the pups just stared in confusion, though Dimitri moved to my side to check if I was steady. I decided to simply look around and noticed they were all relaxed. A quick sense to Azrael revealed the phantoms had stopped their pursuit once they were a certain distance within. "What? I told you she'd decided to scout."

"...One of these days, we're going to figure out how the hell you two manage to just always know where each other is," Claude deadpanned. He even looked irritated by it. "Seriously, how in the world?"

"I told you already. Twins can read each other's minds." Azrael, of course, kept the sarcastic tone despite being completely serious. Of the group, though, only Dimitri and myself knew how serious he was. "Anyway, we've managed to shake our pursuers. Who has a plan?"

"Aside from throwing ourselves at the mercy of the doll thing?" Claude sighed and leaned against one of the trees. The same one whose roots served as Hilda's perch. Not that she was resting against the tree or anything. She and Hapi were sitting back to back, both groaning. Though Hapi took the time to repeatedly poke Balthus's leg, since he stood next to her. He just took it without a word. "Well, Linhardt made a mention of crests?"

"That was just… a random thought," Linhardt mumbled. He'd decide to completely sprawl out on the ground, using Constance's leg as a pillow since she was also sitting down. Yuri, who was carefully fixing Constance's messed up hair, frowned a little at him, like he was worried Linhardt was taking advantage of Constance's meekness. I figured Linhardt had just flopped down wherever and just happened to rest his head on her leg. "Just… you know… Crest of Seiros on it? Maybe showing it that we had those with the crest of Seiros among us might trick it?"

"So, what? You want me to manifest my crest and see if it doesn't crush me?" Edelgard asked, sarcasm lancing through the words. I noticed she wasn't as bad off as the rest, stamina wise, though her hair ribbons had nearly fallen out. Ashe, being a sweetheart, was fixing them for her, and the two sat at the base of the same tree for him to do that. And she still wore Azrael's jacket. I was surprised it hadn't been lost or discarded in all this mess, or that Edelgard hadn't tripped over it. "I have to admit that's a new way someone tried to get me killed."

"Yes, yes, you have seen through my nefarious plot." Linhardt was just as sarcastic in return, though. "Besides, if I was going to test that theory, I'd go with the major over the minor, personally."

"...Linhardt, no one has the Major Crest of Seiros."

"Azrael does." He gestured vaguely at Azrael, who simply shrugged at the odd looks. "I'm surprised you haven't heard, since Professor Hanneman hasn't been subtle about his ramblings. Our professor also has a major crest, but that one is unknown."

"..." Edelgard's entire expression blanked. "What?"

"Seriously, Professor Hanneman has been giddy. Not that I blame him. Really, I can't wait to finish up my current projects to start on studying theirs." Linhardt sighed. "Anyway, that's just a random thought. I'm not sure how viable it all is."

"Wait, you drop that these two have major crests, and somehow managed to stay hidden for twenty years, and then just…" Hilda began. She blinked a couple of times before looking at Azrael and me. "I've never heard of anyone hiding a crest for so long, much less hide a major crest."

"It's not as if we knew ourselves?" I slowly pointed out. Why did the conversation suddenly focus on this? "We didn't find out until Hanneman requested we put our arms over his testing device."

"You didn't know?"

"There are things more important than crests in this world. Dad never had us tested."

"That's so weird, though!" Hilda frowned. "Most are tested at birth! It's part of the routine checkup, even with non-nobles!"

"Then perhaps Dad knew, along with whatever members of the church were involved in our birth, but Dad never brought it up." I shrugged, brushing some of my hair behind my ear. "So, we found out here." Guessing what the next question might be, I held out my hand and manifested my crest for them to see. Most looked at it curiously, though I thought… I thought Edelgard might've paled at it. "I'm not certain testing at birth is as routine as you think, though, Hilda." I closed my fist and leaned a little on Azrael, just… not liking how quickly the conversation had focused on this. "No one even thought to test for crests in Remire."

"They didn't?"

"Hell no, because Remire understands that there's more important things, like Byleth said," Azrael scoffed. It hid the confusion that I sensed. Neither of us had known newborns were tested. It just seemed… wrong. Sothis's quiet outrage showed she agreed. "Like our lives and our current predicament."

"Oh, good, it wasn't just me who thought the sudden focus on crests was weird," Balthus agreed. He frowned at all of us, shaking his head. "Look, we can discuss crests later. I'm personally not sure just showing a crest will work, though I do think there's something weird with that crest on it. Call it a hunch."

"That so?" Azrael frowned, and glanced at me. I 'sent' him the information Sothis had remembered and what I had gleaned from my observations. "Wonder if it's the focal of a magic circle or something."

"Oh?"

"It's… theory, but there has to be something powering it, and magic is the best guess," I whispered. Azrael gave me the opening, but I would have to speak carefully. There was no way explaining that a gremlin who lived in my heart had memories of this doll thing. "So, I think there must be a catalyst powering it. A 'heart', in other words. Disrupting that magic is probably the key for dealing with it."

"If I may…" Constance mumbled. She refused to lift her head to look at anyone. "I would never presume to be correct, but for a magic of such scale… I believe it is possible that damaging the crest inscription would be enough to cause the magic to run wild, if it is truly part of a magical formula. Such work would be very delicate…"

"So, a deep scratch?" I waited and, after a moment, Sothis agreed. It resonated with her. "So, much like stabbing someone in the heart. Getting close enough to do that will be… interesting, but I believe it can be managed."

"Because it would likely have to be something deep, and not just surface damage," Yuri muttered. He finished fixing Constance's hair and now was just stroking it to reassure her. "I can't imagine no one has thrown a fireball or some other spell at it over the centuries." He paused and looked right at me, his expression completely unreadable. "You really think we can get close enough? I can tell you right now that I'm not volunteering to be thrown at the thing."

"No one is being thrown?" I replied, not quite sure where he got the idea from. Even if Balthus and Dimitri looked intrigued by the idea. "No, it's the large size that we can utilize against it. That, its difficulty in turning, and the massive strain its joints are already under. I also think it might be slightly top heavy, or rather, the armored skirt part is compensating for that."

"Hmm… yeah, I think I can catch that thread." Yuri closed his eyes for a moment before nodding. "Okay, how long do we have to plan?"

"Since the phantoms simply stopped and I don't think that golem can navigate the trees, I would guess a while." Though why the golem didn't just attack with its lances of light magic, I wasn't sure. Perhaps it didn't want to damage the landscape? "We'll set guards just in case, but shall we work out a plan?"

I never thought I'd experience something crazier than I had during my mercenary days, but life certainly was surprising. I had a feeling Dad wouldn't be amused by this if he ever heard about it, though.

---

Between myself, Yuri, and Claude, we… actually managed to hammer out a coherent enough strategy. I made sure everyone weighed in, both to hear everyone's opinions and to make sure everyone understood. Both Yuri and Claude seemed surprised at my insistence on doing that, but I felt it was important. If they didn't understand, then how could I expect them to follow through? And their insights were important, because everyone thought and saw things differently. There was no such thing as only 'one way' to do things. No such things as 'the only way' to a certain goal. The only time someone saw only 'one path' was when they insisted on doing everything alone, and it always led to everything falling apart at their fingertips… or so I saw many times. Typically a younger mercenary desperate to prove themselves and insisting that their plan was the only plan that worked and...

"Professor?" Ashe's gently hesitant voice jolted me from my thoughts, and I glanced over at him. He and I were set up high in the trees, waiting for the golem to appear within sight. So far, nothing but phantoms, but they thankfully didn't think to look up. "Is this really going to work?" he asked, frowning. I saw his hands were shaking, though he tightened his grip on his bow to try and hide it. "It just… I mean…"

"Oh, I have no doubt that something unexpected will occur," I answered honestly. Perhaps too honestly, actually. But… "No strategy fully survives contact with the enemy. After all, the strategy is based on what you expect will happen, and few living beings are completely predictable." Though, could we call this doll and these phantoms 'living'? Wasn't sure I wanted to try and think that one through. "However, the strategy gives us something to fall back on. A bit of structure, a foundation, to build our tactics on. From here, you must do what you judge best at the time. Perhaps you will be right; perhaps you will choose wrongly. But that is simply the nature of battle, and you must keep walking forward should you survive."

"Er…"

"Sorry, that probably wasn't very comforting." Freaking hell, I was bad at this. Best to just focus on his original question. "Will it work? Ultimately, I believe so, Ashe. I just know, from experience, that even with the base, it won't work as smoothly as it did in theory."I also knew from experience what would happen if we just went at it without a plan at all. Unorganized chaos that just led to confusion as to who was an ally and who wasn't… and not knowing if you were correct until it was far too late... "Do what you think is best during this, Ashe, and trust in your fellows."

"Oh, I trust them!" Ashe's voice was as sincere as his response was immediate. "Just… I don't want to let anyone down…"

"You have to trust yourself as well, and trust your training." Carefully, so that I disturbed the leaves and branches as little as possible, I reached over and stroked his hair. "Trust your instincts, trust your skills… be willing to take a shot, but also be willing to sit back and request assistance. No one person can do everything, and sometimes, the battle changes so much that you have to step back before you can even think of what you can do."

"Do you, Professor?"

"Always." Hell, I just had Sothis drag me 'out of time' so that I could calm down enough to get back to thinking. "We are people, after all. Not weapons. We are not things to be thrown repeatedly until a problem disappears." Well, I was a monster, but it was still the same principle. Even if all I was good at was killing… I still… "Everyone will work together. That is how we accomplish this. We must trust that."

"...Okay." Ashe smiled bravely. "I'll… I'll do my best."

"That is more than enough for me." The screech of grinding metal caught both of our attentions, and we looked up to see the doll's shadow loom through the gathered mist. "It's time."

Though I said the words, it felt like eternity before the doll fully emerged from the mist. Flanked by phantoms, because of course. Why wouldn't it be? None of them seemed to notice Ashe and me in the branches, though we held our breaths as they passed underneath our hiding perch. Just in case, and nerves. But they passed without a second's pause, leaving me free to jump down behind them. Which let me throw fire at the doll's back. The first one didn't catch its attention, probably because the whole 'being metal' thing meant it felt no pain. But the second one, which I sent at the shoulder joint, certainly did. But even with that, it still had to turn slowly. Meaning I had plenty of time to duck into the woods before it faced me. The phantoms were a quicker to react, but despite being… whatever they were and apparently made of mist, they burned even more easily than people usually did. Besides, even without that, I was safe. The ones I didn't burn, Ashe shot. A couple of misses, but for the most part, each arrow struck true. Even if he had to use two or three arrows to secure the 'kill'.

Meanwhile, the doll was trying to discern where the fireball came from. Only to be struck by another one from the opposite direction. It attempted to turn to face that new attacker, only for a third to strike, again from a different direction. Followed quickly by a black miasma, also from a different direction. After all, that was part of the plan. Linhardt, Constance, Hapi, and I were to strike from various directions at random intervals, intending on confusing the doll and force it to constantly twist and turn. To my surprise, it seemed to work out very well, and it also seemed like my earlier guess was correct. For whatever reason, the doll wouldn't attack at complete random, nor would it strike at the trees. Instead, it just kept on trying to find us to deliver a 'decisive blow'.

["Probably a defect in its programming."] Sothis mused absently as I kept up my part of the plan. Ashe did his part as my 'guard' by shooting the phantoms that darted too close to me, since… well, that was why we attackers had guards in the first place. We had to keep up the assault, after all. And hope that it would yield results… though that word Sothis used certainly confused me, at least in this context. ["It's incapable of independent thought. Even the speaking from before was nothing but a string of magical formulas that activated based on set conditions. Likely, some sort of sense or ward that informed it that humans had come within a certain distance."] That… was possible? ["Yes, and I'll show you later. I remembered while I was trying to think about this doll thing. Really, it's poorly made, though. The ones I made were much tougher."]

"Let's just be glad for the weaker version, Sothis," I muttered under my breath, mostly focused on attacking. Especially when Azrael 'told' me that the doll wasn't as top-heavy as we'd hoped and toppling it over wouldn't be easy. If anything, the armored 'skirt' compensated enough to make it 'bottom-heavy'. That made it all the more important that I keep at this while the others figured out a way to improvise. "Though I am morbidly curious."

["Mine were impervious to magic unless you pierced through the outer armor."] ...Yeah, no, I was glad we weren't fighting that one. Our whole strategy revolved around magic. ["Speaking of which… look under the shoulder."]

I saw what she meant instantly. The doll's armor didn't fully cover the joints, and while it did a good job hiding those obvious weaknesses, when it raised its arm in an attempt to attack, there was a noticeable hole. It took me a couple of tries to actually send fire into that hole, since it was rather narrow, but I did and… to my surprise, there was an almost immediate effect. Mainly? A small, but audible and noticeable explosion that blackened and cracked the entire front-right portion of the shoulder and chest area on the doll. And some strange sparking from the arm that dangled uselessly at its side now.

["I told you they were delicate."] Well, it was one thing to hear and another to see. ["I suppose that is quite true. That would've unbalanced a lot of things, so ideally…"] Sothis didn't even need to finish the statement. Especially since a couple of attacks later, we heard a sharp and metallic crack, followed by a muffled, but still audible boom. And the doll stopped moving. Didn't fall, damn it all, but it at least stopped moving. ["The bell part must've been designed in that fashion just in case one of the legs gave out, then. It keeps it upright and still able to fight."] Which was just marvelous for us...

Thankfully, though, this actually was a quick 'fix' and Azrael caught my thought as soon as I had it. He darted out from his cover and slipped around to my side of the battlefield, the side with the doll's useless arm. As he ran, he gathered the wind around his arm to build up strength and scrabbled up the side of the doll. Since the doll didn't have a sense of touch or anything, it didn't notice him at all, not even as he braced himself using the cracks and chipped portions of the doll's armor. In fact, I wasn't sure it noticed him when he blasted the crest-inscription with wind. At the least, he had time to draw his sword and use it to widen the cracks his magic had inflicted.

The blade broke inside the doll's chest, but he'd apparently widened it enough to have an effect. Azrael flinched back and fell when magic spurted from the crack, like blood from an artery. I felt the pain flicker up my neck and face, and saw the blood on Azrael. But the doll itself… it stopped moving. It didn't fall over or anything. It just… slumped, like a puppet snipped from its strings. And it remained that way, even when Azrael walked back over and poked it.

Of course, that didn't mean the phantoms had disappeared. That would've been too convenient. So, they still kept trying to kill us, even as Azrael snatched the key from the doll's neck area and bolted for the statues. I followed him, mostly so that I could try to heal him up, but I wasn't the only one to leave the phantom-fighting to the others. By the time I caught up with my twin at the statues, there was actually fairly large group waiting. Claude, Edelgard, Hilda, Yuri, and Hapi. And Azrael, of course, who happily handed Yuri the key for… whatever reason. One that became clear when I got a chance to actually look at the statues while healing Azrael up. They were completely identical and that meant...

"One key, three locks…" Claude mumbled, frowning. He sighed gustily, coming to the same conclusion I had. "Well, seems someone was a schemer like myself. Traps." Which meant Azrael was going to have one of the pups, who we were least attached to, make the gamble.

"Yes, clearly, only someone with a mind as twisted as yours would do this," Edelgard deadpanned, unamused by his apparent nonchalantness. She fussed a bit with Azrael's coat before smiling at him sheepishly. "Also, I… I forgot I was wearing this and fear I might've gotten it stained during the fight…"

"Hasn't he worn that into battle a lot?"

"Hush. I wasn't apologizing to you."

"That was an apology?"

"That coat has been cleaned and mended so many times over the years that I'm surprised it's not threadbare," Azrael interrupted. He waved off the apology, and absently wiped off some of the sweat on his face. It was strange to not see him covered in blood after a battle, but then again, none of what we'd fought actually bled. The only blood on him was his own. "I've had it for… five years?" He glanced at me, and I nodded. Both of us had gotten our usual coats when we were sixteen. Dad had offered to buy us replacements, but we didn't see a point. "Something like that. So, it's survived five years worth of battles. A couple more won't hurt it."

"...I can't believe I just heard that," Hilda began slowly. She… she actually looked scandalized, which was impressive since she also looked exhausted from the fighting. Her pigtails had fallen out, actually, just as they had during the arena fight. Her hair-ties must not be made for exertion. "You've been wearing the same smelly coat, into battle, for five years?"

"It's not smelly? Unless you just don't like the perfume that clings to it. But I do wash it."

"That is beside the point!"

"What is also beside the point is that we still have phantoms who want to murder us," Yuri 'subtly' reminded. With all the sarcasm in the world. All that was missing was him pointing at them, but maybe he thought the sound of everyone else fighting was enough. "So, I'm going to assume traps, but does anyone have a better idea than just picking one and praying?"

"Hold up, Yuri-bird," Hapi protested, frowning. Though I thought it was a frown of concentration, since she closed her eyes. She then pointed to one of the three statues. "That one there… there's something different about it. The power Coco and I sensed before… I think it's from there."

"Good enough for me." Then without another word, Yuri shoved the key into that statue. It glowed for a split second and... "Ouch!" And Yuri jerked back, shaking his hand. "Yikes, this thing has a bite!"

"You okay?!"

"I'm fine. Just a bit of static or something." So he said, but he kept rubbing at his hand. And I noticed Hapi was also rubbing her hand. The same hand. That seemed… odd. Sympathy pain, or…? "Oh-ho~! But it seems you've proven how amazing you are once again, Hapi."

"Hmm?"

"Ta-da!" Yuri pulled out a shiny gold cup that really didn't look anything special to me. The gemstones were pretty, I supposed, and I was a little surprised all of them were different colors. Most fancy cups I'd seen in the past tried to make sure everything matched. "I do believe we've found…"

A loud 'thunk'. The grinding of stone. The screech of metal. And all of us could only stare as another creepy doll slowly emerged from the ground. Larger than the first, with a gold mask hiding its face. Radiating power, to the point that the air vibrated just from its presence. And despite the lack of any sort of eyes or anything… it was all too clear it was focused on us, and it was not happy.

Someone threw a fireball at it. Not sure who. Could've been me. Could've been one of the others who saw the threat. I was so disoriented from this doll's sudden appearance that I couldn't actually tell. But it didn't matter, because the magic… it just rolled off like it was water. And the doll showed no reaction to the attempted attack. No reaction save for a slight glow and a buzz of magic that hinted it was prepping a retaliation. So, there was only one thing to do.

"RUN!"

---

We ran. We gathered the others and ran. We ran as fast as we possibly could, ducking and dodging phantoms as we desperately tried to escape that giant metal doll. If this were a story, particularly an opera, then as soon as we reached the interior of Abyss, our pursuers would've stopped. Perhaps even given some monologue about how we had escaped or something and how we'd never be forgiven. Sadly, that bit of fictitious convenience didn't apply here. Even though we had run quite deep into Abyss, the doll and phantoms were still after us and showed absolutely no signs of slowing down.

"Oh, my poor, abused legs…" Constance groaned at some point. By her tone, I guessed she had 'switched back' to how she acted when we met her. Somehow. The lack of sunlight? "I fear I have been… remiss in my lower body exercises of late…"

"Since when do you exercise at all, Coco?" Hapi countered. She glanced back, checking just how far ahead we were. Her grimace hinted it wasn't by much. I was too afraid to look for myself. "Hey, let's give up."

"Pardon?"

"Throw the chalice at the giant doll and see if that gets them to ease off. If it doesn't work, I guess we're dead."

"I think not!" Somehow, Constance managed to be haughty. "I shall never surrender and I shall not die until I've achieved my glorious aim!"

"Yeah, I don't think death cares about any of that, but that's just my personal opinion."

"I shall force it to kneel!" That was a boast. "Ugh… but those creepy doll things must love a good chase. They haven't let up at all, and since they do not appear to be living…" They didn't get exhausted. Unlike us. Who were far passed that point.

"Could be that Hapi is right and that they'll keep after us unless we return the chalice," Yuri mused. He skipped around some rubble, and helped Linhardt when he tripped over the same rubble. "Not to mention those phantom things. I'd be impressed by the tenacity if they weren't attempting to kill us."

"We need to do something, or otherwise, we're just going to lead all of them straight to Abyss," Ashe pointed out worriedly. I noticed that like Yuri, he never seemed to misplace a step or stumble. It was almost like watching a cat. "We can't put them in such danger!"

"You're correct, but thankfully, Abyss has many defenses." Yuri smiled grimly. "The mercenaries managed to go down paths where we couldn't use it, but if we can just make it a little further…"

"Ah! Because they're mindlessly chasing?"

"Precisely."

"And it'll be enough?"

"It should. In theory. Those gates are pretty sturdy."

"Oh, those things!" Balthus laughed. It was surprising he had the breath to do so. "Yep, I can vouch for their sturdiness myself! Nearly broke my priceless fist on one once." ...That would imply…

"You punched one?!" Constance shrieked. Edelgard, being next to her, had to rub her ear because of how piercing it was. "Like a brute?!"

"Well, yeah?"

"Ugh! Why must you act in such an infantile manner?!"

"Probably thought it was the best way to test it's durability," Hapi pointed out. Despite the defense, she rolled her eyes. "He rarely has bad intentions, but wow, B, you sure act dumb sometimes."

"Only sometimes?" Yuri muttered. He looked distinctly unamused. "Balthus, if you managed to break the mechanism, I'm sacrificing you to the creepy doll."

"Before that, should I sigh and see if the monsters decide to tangle with it first?"

"We'll keep that as a backup, but the monsters always seem to want to go after you more than anyone else and I'd rather not take that sort of gamble at the moment."

"Good point."

"So, I'm not sure if this is a good time to mention this…" Azrael suddenly began, interrupting the impromptu tactical planning. I sensed incredulous shock from him, and wondered why. I knew it couldn't be from our current situation. It was too 'new'. "But if what I sense on the wind is correct, then we have people ahead of us. Living people. Who are very armed." ...What.

"Are you saying that mercenaries are here?" Hilda yelped, summarizing everything very neatly. Even if it seemed impossible. "Ahead of us?!"

"Yep. So, we can throw them to the creepy doll and phantoms if we want. Sacrificial tactics and all." He shrugged when I frowned at him. "Look, I know you hate the idea, Byleth, but right now, I think it's way better to prioritize us." That may be true, but I more than 'hated' the idea. It made me sick. "Besides, in normal circumstances, we'd just be killing them-" I pressed every bit of my annoyance, and nausea, onto him and he winced. "Okay, okay, I'm shutting up now!"

"I'd swear you two can read each others' minds or something with the half-conversations you always seem to have." Well, she was right, but I wasn't bringing that up right now. "Creepy dolls and ghosts behind us, bandits ahead… you sure do take me to the loveliest places, Claude."

"Hey, for once, it's not my fault!" Claude protested. He yelped when a beam of light flew over our heads and destroyed part of the wall ahead. Thankfully not enough to block the hallway, but… "Oh hell."

"Seems it's gotten within range," Edelgard noted grimly. We were in a lot of trouble now. "I doubt we'll be able to get out quickly."

"Depends on corners and…" Claude glanced back, and swore under his breath. "Ah, never mind. Don't suppose there's smaller corridors or something? Why is this place large enough for that thing to stride on in?"

"Well, who knows how old Abyss is? If it was constructed with the idea of protecting the chalice…"

"Fair point. And smaller corridors probably won't stop those phantoms, but I am curious about something." Claude had to pause for a bit to gather his breath and keep on talking. "Do those things go through stones? Because..."

"Must you bring up that idea?"

"Well, perhaps I know a way we can figure that out quickly enough?" Dimitri suggested, surprisingly enough. "Go on ahead. I'll catch up." He skidded to a stop and casually shoved some pieces of rubble behind us to block the corridor. Trusting him (or just not trusting themselves to keep on moving if they stopped), most everyone did just keep on going. I, however, stopped and waited for him and burned some arrows that tried to shoot him before he moved the last bits in place. "Professor, you needn't have…"

"I needed to catch my breath," I told him. It wasn't a lie. I was exhausted. "We need to catch up."

"Yes." He sprinted forward, and I followed closely. Both of us glanced back a couple of times, and I had to smile a little when I noticed… the phantoms weren't following. Dimitri laughed when he realized the same. "Wonderful proof of concept? Of course, it's just rubble and that doll is still there, so…" As if this were a stage and that was the cue, the rubble was blasted by spears of light, and a flood of phantoms followed. At least the light didn't keep on going, but vaporized? "Hopefully it can't do that to the gates?"

"I think hoping is the only thing we can do besides run."

And run we did. Running, running, and even more running. Thankfully, the others weren't too ahead of us. If only because they'd stopped in a larger area… corridor. That was the word. They had stopped in a corridor with a gate on one side and halls on the others, doing their best to catch their breath. Some were more successful than others.

"Welcome back," Claude greeted, forcing cheer. The wavering in his voice, from fear or exhaustion or both, dented the attempt. "So, if you're wondering why we're waiting here…" He pointed down a hall, where there were very armed people. A glance at Azrael confirmed they were the mercenaries he'd sensed earlier. Part of me wondered if we could frighten them away via reputation, but this wasn't the time to gamble on that sort of thing. And considering how much of a mess Azrael and I looked, they might not believe it anyway. "Not sure how you managed to get an answer to my question, but did you?"

"Yes, the phantoms cannot go through rubble, though the doll can certainly blast them," Dimitri reported. Almost without thinking, he tried to take a… well, just a 'report stance' as Dad normally called it. His own exhaustion, though, forced his normally perfect posture into a slump. "So, unless we want to create multiple barriers, I am not certain we have the time to fight our way through."

"Especially given how we had to fight outside…" Claude held up his quiver, showing he had exactly five arrows. Ashe's own quiver had three. That wasn't going into how worn the rest of our weapons potentially were. Azrael didn't even have one anymore. "Seems like we're stuck between a rock and a hard place."

"There's actually a shortcut, but…" Constance began. She pointed to some metal doors just ahead of us. "Unfortunately, though, it is much like the gates we wish to use and requires a specific switch in order to open. One that is… a fair distance away." Meaning that, in theory, someone would get left behind...

"We can't pick the lock or anything?" Ashe asked. Dimitri, curiously enough, actually walked to the metal doors to study them. "I'm not too bad at that?" He wasn't? Really?

"Sadly, they don't have locks to pick," Yuri explained. He rubbed his cheek, grimacing when he noticed some of his eyeshadow had actually smeared down thanks to the sweat. "I wouldn't have thought you of all people were good at picking locks, though."

"Er… well…" Ashe squirmed, especially when he noticed everyone (save Dimitri) was staring at him. "I…"

"Question," Dimitri called back, unintentionally saving Ashe. He was still studying the doors, lightly knocking on them like he was testing something. "If this was… somehow… broken, it wouldn't hurt our attempts to escape?"

"It's made of lighter material than the gates Yuri-bird wants to use, so no, it won't," Hapi answered. The rest of us just kind of looked at each other in confusion. Why would he ask that? "I doubt it'll be able to hold up against that doll thing anyway." Speaking of which, by the sound… it was close again. A glance back confirmed that. "Ugh… okay, someone good at decisions, make a quick one? Sacrifice one of us or fight and hope we're not crushed?"

"Neither." Without another word, Dimitri kicked the doors and made one of them crumple. He did the same a little closer to where it met the wall and with a grunt, tore one of the doors down to open the path. He even threw the door at the phantoms and doll behind us! I knew he was strong, and I knew what he'd told me, but this seemed a little…! "There we are."

"...I have long heard stories about the royal family's legendary strength, but that's just ridiculous," Yuri deadpanned. He glared down the hall to our right and groaned. "And there's not even time to go into it because it was loud and the mercenaries are after us now!" Dimitri smiled apologetically and Yuri waved it off. "Run now, apologize later!"

"The first of the gates is just ahead!" Balthus encouraged, taking point. The rest of us did our best to follow, but it was more difficult for some than others. Exhaustion had turned many of our legs to stone, though battle-fever loosened them again when the doll threw another spear of light at us. Luckily, it missed. "Guess we'll get to see if that thing can break through!"

"If anyone is the praying sort, now is the time!"

"Oh, trust me, I've been praying since this whole chase started!" Balthus swung around one corner and rested his hand on a particular stone on the wall. As soon as the last of us made it through, he pressed against it, revealing it to be a hidden switch, and large gates that glinted and sparkled in a way far different than any metal I had ever seen emerged from the walls to seal off the hall. Right as the doll tried to throw yet another spear of light.

The gates slammed shut just before the spear flew through. It crashed and clanged against the gates, and a small bit of light seeped through the cracks between and underneath, but… but surprisingly, it held.

"Well, that's… how safe are we?" Claude asked after a moment. He leaned on Edelgard, who surprisingly didn't complain. In fact, she leaned on him too. "Can we rest?"

"That's just the first, and since we know the mercenaries are down here, best to get through the other two," Yuri answered. He leaned against the wall, and scowled at Dimitri. "But maybe I have time for that rant."

"Oh, right. Dimitri, what the hell?"

"The royal family of Faerghus has always been blessed with immense strength," Dimitri explained, with a shrug. He then smiled sheepishly. "It likely has to do with the crest. There are many stories of Blaiddyd's own feats of strength."

"Why does yours have such a noticeable effect?" Claude asked, since that… was a fairly good point. At the least, I hadn't really noticed anything else so… dramatic? "I mean I've got good sight because of Riegan, but…"

"I wouldn't know. I believe that is a question to bring to the goddess, since she is the one who blessed the Elites with the crests."

"We shouldn't dawdle much longer here," Edelgard murmured. Strangely, she… I could be wrong, since her expression was impassive, but I almost thought there was something conflicted in her eyes? Like she didn't know what to feel about something. "Otherwise, we will lose what time Dimitri bought."

"She's right," Linhardt mumbled. He was probably the worst off of all of us, and I made a mental note to figure out ways to help all my mages and healers build up their stamina. Just in case. "We might be upright due to battle-fever, but if it fades…"

"Quite a few of us might drop and then we're all dead." Edelgard hesitated before turning to Azrael. "Are there more enemies ahead?" Azrael closed his eyes for a moment to 'listen' and I sensed his annoyance before he nodded. "Of course there are."

"Seriously?" Hilda groaned. She almost collapsed, but Balthus caught her. "Ugh… more baddies… I'm already soaking in sweat…" That was the least of our concerns, but I wouldn't say anything. Besides, it could simply be the log that broke the wagon's wheel. "This is the worst…"

"Hey, no giving up yet," Balthus urged, rubbing Hilda's back. She just whimpered. "Holst will kill me if anything happened."

"Well, maybe he can show up and break the thing for us."

"I'm not sure even Holst can stand up to that thing." Balthus kept rubbing Hilda's back and looked at everyone. "Two more left. We can make it." We kind of had to, so… "Time to run again."

I hated how right he was. Because we did have to run. There were other ways around the gates and we had to make sure that doll or phantoms didn't somehow intercept us. Not to mention the mercenaries. We had to duck down practically every side passage there was just to avoid them and losing precious seconds with fighting them. By the time we made it past the second of the gates, I truly thought I had never run so much in my life. And I'd been a mercenary.

"Okay… quick breather…" Yuri gasped out. All of us were feeling the strain by now. Some, like Linhardt and Constance, had to lean on the wall to keep from falling. "Ugh… this is why I hate being chased."

"Yeah, we know you like pretending to be the prey when you're the predator, Yuri-bird," Hapi retorted. There was no heat or sarcasm to the words. She was simply too tired, as I could tell since she leaned on Dimitri. "Ugh… I'm going to sleep for a week after this." She closed her eyes and shook her head. "Whoops, almost sighed there."

"Please don't."

"I know, I know." The slight aggravation there spoke volumes over how annoying it had to be to constantly regulate herself. "One more, right?"

"Yep." Yuri looked over all of us, gauging just whether or not we could keep going. We might not be able to afford a longer break, but if one of us collapsed… hell, if one of us even stumbled… we were done. "Seriously, I wish they'd get the hint. How do they even know we have the chalice? Assuming that's why its still following, at least."

["It's probably less 'knows you have the chalice' and more of 'knows the chalice has been removed and now chases until either the chalice is within a certain distance or when deactivated'."] Sothis's voice was simply thoughtful as she weighed in on the conversation. Despite the fact that no one but me could hear her. Wasn't sure even Azrael could hear her at the moment. ["That would be much easier to program. This doll is better made than the last one, though. More like what I'd make, actually."] That was utterly delightful, Sothis. Maybe… I don't know… make them a little less immune to magic? ["Oh, don't be ridiculous. Firstly, I doubt I made this one since something like this is just completely inefficient for the task. There's so much magic and the like being wasted. It's infuriating, really. And secondly, it's not immune to magic at all. I told you this. The outer armor is simply warded. Break the ward and bam! Magic goes through easily. Not that you have time for that, mind."] Nor did we have good enough weapons for that. ["Far too true. Regardless, that's actually not what I wanted to prompt you on. I got distracted."] Prompt me? About what? There was nothing around, save for the fact that everyone was preparing to run again. ["Check on Dimitri? I swore I saw him wince earlier."] He did?

Sothis didn't clarify, likely keeping an eye on everyone for me so that I could focus on running and keeping up with everyone, while ignoring the sweat making my hair and clothes stick uncomfortably to my skin. Still, the request and reason lingered in my head, even when all of us were running as fast as we could. So, I made sure to keep pace with him and as soon as I safely could, I reached out to take his hand. He looked at me, startled, but I ignored that to let my magic flow and see just what was wrong. And, to my surprise, there… there was a lot of muscle strain. Muscle damage, in fact. I wasn't sure if it was because of all the exertions today, or a tradeoff for the feats of strength, but he was severely hurt. Nothing I couldn't heal quickly, thankfully, but it was still a bit of a surprise. What was more of a surprise was how well he'd hidden it. I hadn't guessed at all. I hadn't even noticed. If Sothis hadn't seen… I… I didn't like that. I didn't like that he could hide his pain that easily, especially when there had been so much…

I held onto Dimitri's hand as we kept on running, to better keep an eye on his health. He tried to let go a couple of times, but I refused. Stubborn nosiness, I knew, but I was determined that we'd all make it through this. If Dimitri hid that much, then he'd fall apart without warning, without any of us knowing why until it was far too late. So, I held on and didn't let go until we made it past the last gate and we could safely slow to a stop as the gates began shutting…

"Hapi!" I wasn't sure who screamed. But it was easy to see why they'd had, when I whirled to look. Though most of us had made it through, Hapi hadn't. Somehow, Hapi had fallen behind without anyone noticing and based on the rate the gates were shutting, it was clear she wouldn't make it through in time. Hell, assuming she didn't slow down, she might be right between when the gates slammed shut and I had a bad feeling about how that would end. I doubted these gates would stop just for a human body.

She wasn't going to make it. If she was left outside, she'd likely die. I didn't want that, and I… I had a way to prevent it. I worried about what everyone would 'remember'. I worried about just arbitrarily picking who to save and who not to save. It was a selfish and terrible power, but I couldn't just stand here and watch her die. Couldn't stand here and leave her to her fate. Not when I could prevent it. And even though I was terrified about what everyone would 'remember'... I thought that those nightmares would be preferable to the nightmares from seeing it happen.

Was I wrong? I could be. I likely was. But as I told Ashe, sometimes you just had to make a choice and live with it. So, I made a choice, despite how high-handed and selfish it was, to turn back time and save her.

Sothis had to help me determine just how far back I had to reverse the flow of time. I had been looking away, after all. But based on how Hapi had been running at about the same pace as Dimitri and me, I simply decided to wind back until just after I let go of Dimitri's hand. Then after a 'breath' to let me gather my nerves, I let time flow again and immediately twisted to look at the gate. That let me see what exactly had slowed Hapi down for those critical seconds; a phantom's spell had hit her in the back and made her stumble.

"Hapi!" That same person screamed again, but I still didn't know who. I was already lunging forward, reaching out as far as I could. I braced myself against the closing gate just so that I could stretch a little farther. Get just a little closer...

Hapi saw what I was doing and, to my surprise, took a literal leap of faith. Instead of running the rest of the way, she launched herself forward, trusting me to grab her hand. Trusting me to pull her through…

I barely caught her hand, but as soon as I had it, I threw myself back with all my strength to yank her through the closing gates. Of course, that meant I unbalanced myself and landed hard on my back, and poor Hapi landed on me with her elbows in my gut. But it had been enough. The gates slammed shut. All of us were safe. None of the mercenaries were here, and I was sure that meant they were trapped with the doll and the phantoms, but… but I would be sick about their fates later. Right now, we all had made it, and that was enough. That was enough.

"You okay?" I asked Hapi, slowly pushing myself up so that I was sitting. She nodded, breathing too heavily to properly answer. "You got hit in the back. Here, I'll check you over."

"No need," Hapi panted. She coughed, the words sticking to her throat, but she smiled. "I actually have a good resistance to magic. It was the actual hit, not spell, that slowed me." Still, though…

Still, though, I ended up almost flattened when Yuri, Constance, and Balthus all rushed over to check on Hapi themselves. And hug her, depending on the person. Which more or less meant Constance hugged Hapi tightly, Balthus both hugged and picked the two girls up, and Yuri asked rapid questions about how Hapi was, so rapid that Hapi didn't have a chance to answer at all. I had to scramble back to avoid getting stepped on, though I didn't mind. I was just glad everyone was alive. That said, I should check on my own students...

"Here." Azrael's hand appeared in my vision and I took it so that he could help me up. "Well, I think we got our exercise for the week, huh?" he joked, tugging me into a hug. Though he knew better than anyone how quickly I healed, he let his magic rush over me to confirm that I was okay. Just a simple reassurance. "Your students are fine, but I know how you are, worrywart, so let's go see them."

"Thank you." But now… now that we weren't running for our lives, I couldn't help but wonder something. Something that severely bothered me.

Why had the mercenaries been down this hall of all places? Out of all the places in Abyss, why here? Was it a coincidence or…?

---

We made sure to rest for a long while before trudging back to Abyss. We had to. We were simply too exhausted to trudge back until we had. As soon as we got there, though, it was obvious something was wrong. Very wrong. I didn't really expect it to be that mercenaries had broken in while we were (conveniently) away and Aelfric had been captured, though. Or that the captors had left a note.

"What's a Cardinal?" Azrael asked once Hapi had finished reading the note. Typical ransom-hostage note that you read about in books. 'Bring X if you want to see Y again' and 'do not tell anyone or Y's life is forfeit'. I'd never seen such a note in real life before, though. "I am going to take a guess and it's not referring to how he wears red robes like a cardinal's red feathers. I don't think it's the right shade of red, for one thing. Though, they do have some black on them like his robes, right?"

"Do you ever filter your thoughts?" Yuri asked, somewhere between aggravated, exasperated, and genuinely curious. Azrael just shrugged in response because the answer was obviously a big 'no'. "And that's what you're focused on? Out of everything in the note?"

"The note reads like someone read one too many mystery novels and is now determined to act like a 'criminal mastermind'. Probably because they have no idea how a villain acts otherwise or something." Azrael yawned and leaned back against my legs. We were clustered in one of the living quarters, scattered about the room. I hoped whoever's bed I sat on didn't mind I was sitting on it. "However, Aelfric was all like 'oh, I am just a humble monk', but the title implies otherwise. So? What's a Cardinal?"

"Mmm… truthfully, the identities of the Cardinals are a closely guarded secret of the Church," Edelgard murmured. Like me, she was sitting on one of the beds, though I thought it might be to prevent Linhardt from stretching out for a nap on it (since it was rude to steal people's beds). Not that Linhardt looked sleepy. In fact, he frowned over something, and only paid the barest of attention to us. "From what I understand, they assist the Archbishop in running the Church and only one of them may succeed the Archbishop when the current one retires, or dies."

"So, has this turned into a power struggle amidst the Cardinals, with Abyss as the excuse?" Claude mused, leaning his head back so that Hilda could brush his hair. She'd borrowed a brush from Hapi. "Or is that simply what the culprit wants us to think?"

"Both seem equally likely to me, personally." Edelgard fussed a bit with the collar of Azrael's coat. Though she'd tried to return it, Azrael had told her to keep it. 'In case she got cold again'. Really, I just figured he didn't want to bother with it for the time being. "Either way, though, if they know the identity of a Cardinal…"

"Assuming Aelfric really is one. Would any of us know if he wasn't?"

"Point taken."

"And that point doesn't matter because there is only one possibility for all of this," Constance muttered, her eyes blazing in quiet and barely contained fury. Balthus tugged her into a hug to help calm her, though it didn't do much. "There must be-"

"You smell a rat, then," Yuri finished for her. Constance nodded and Yuri sighed. "While that does make sense, that's a problem we need to worry about later, sadly. We can go rat-hunting after we take care of the immediate problem."

"Too true. For once, you speak reasonably."

"Yeah, let's just… focus on saving Elfie, okay?" Hapi mumbled. Surprisingly, her voice was shaky. Ashe immediately rubbed her back soothingly. "Sorry… just… I was kidnapped when I was younger. Well, sort of kidnapper. I ran away from home and was taken in by someone who I thought was a nice lady. Instead, she used me for twisted experiments." Unbidden, the nightmare of the children being tortured in the dark bubbled into my memory and I had to quickly cover my mouth and look away to keep from being ill. That let me notice Edelgard had stiffened at the word 'experiment'. "I'm… reasonably certain that they won't do that to Elfie, but at the same time…"

"It's probably best to try and gather more information," Dimitri quietly suggested, probably just to give us some sort of goal for now. "According to the letter, we have until tomorrow evening."

"You think it's safe to trust kidnappers?"

"Hostage situations only work if there is some trust involved," I pointed out, though I knew that sometimes, the hostage was… well, that wasn't something I wanted to bring up. Besides, thinking through all of this… there were so many things that didn't make sense. Even if you accounted for a spy in Abyss, the timing of everything was… and then there was the fact that if Aelfric really was a Cardinal, and thus high ranked… I remembered what Shamir said about Rhea. That she 'didn't do mercy'. I hadn't seen any proof of that myself yet, but would random mercenaries truly risk kidnapping a high ranked official of the Church? Those with the skill and experience to do so wouldn't be that stupid, while those stupid enough to take such a high risk job wouldn't have the ability. Unless there was a great deal of coin on the line, but… "Besides, there's too many holes in all of this. We need more information before we act. Otherwise, Aelfric's current predicament will become the least of our concerns."

"I can agree with that," Yuri commented, in a tone that said that this would be the end of the matter. I didn't blame him, since we were going to talk in circles at this rate. If we hadn't already. "I also think we need to prioritize evacuating everyone to safer areas. Just in case. Then we'll make a plan to save Aelfric and keep the chalice."

Everyone took the hint. Even Constance, who I was sure would try to continue the topic of a traitor. But she left with everyone else, leaving only myself and Linhardt behind. Linhardt because he was so deep in thought that I didn't think he had noticed… well, anything. Me, because I was worried about him.

"Linhardt?" I whispered, expecting to have to call him a few times. But, to my surprise, he heard me instantly. I still startled him, though, because he jerked at my voice. And cracked his head on the bedframe. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, fine, ow…" he whimpered, rubbing the back of his head. He then looked around. "Huh? Where did everyone…?"

"Information gathering." I crouched down next to him. "Is something wrong? You were very deep in thought."

"I'm just…" He hesitated, frowning. "I have a bit of a theory, but it's based on some loose details that I want to try and string together first before I try to explain? I could ramble, but I know that I'll change topics mid-sentence."

"Maybe write it down to get it out of your head." Gently, I tapped his forehead. He made a face at it. "When you're thinking alone, your thoughts will bounce around in your head like echoes in a cave. And, like echoes, they'll amplify until you have nothing but a discordant mess." I sensed Sothis trying to say something, but I ignored her. "A discordant mess that devours you whole. Particularly if you're thinking so quickly that you cannot parse what you are saying."

"That happens a lot."

"In that case, then you truly do not understand what you're thinking. You're just observing and taking mental notes that even you will forget about." That… was blunter than I meant to be. Far blunter. "Well, that and you have underdeveloped social skills. Still, that can be worked on." And now I just made him sound like a weapon to be mended. What a wonderful professor I was. "Either way, you might find the thread you're looking for if you set about untangling the mess via writing it down and observing it in a new light." I should probably shut up now.

"I'll… consider it." He sighed gustily, like it was a pain, and stood up with a yawn and a stretch. "Was there anything else?"

"Just one thing." Well, while I was putting my foot in my mouth and being an overbearing nag, I should at least… "Will you be okay with the rescue? It will no doubt be a battle, and I noticed you didn't use offensive spells during the fight with the arena." He'd been fine while dealing with the doll and phantoms, but those hadn't technically been alive… I think?

"O-oh, I'll be fine, Professor." His smile was far too strained to be natural, even ignoring how he tripped over his words. "I'm used to patching people up. I mean… I didn't even learn healing originally because of my crest, though that certainly did help. But Caspar was always getting hurt while we were growing up. Jumping into fights and being reckless and whatnot. He's usual, really. He hasn't changed that much since we met." He slowly edged to the door, almost tripping. "I'd best get medicines ready for this reckless group, though. Thank you for the reminder, Professor." And he fled.

"Well, if I wasn't certain something was wrong before…" I sighed, shifting so that I was sitting properly on the floor. Still, if he didn't want to talk of it, I couldn't push. I just had to think of who would be best for helping him. "Of course, that summarizes… most of this situation." And the more I thought about it, the worse it got.

There were so many holes in the supposed story. The chalice itself was supposed to be some fictional nonsense. Something that might not even be well known. So, how did the enemy know we looked for it? How did they know where we were? How did they know we even had the chalice? Why kidnap a high ranked official of the Church? If they had invaded Abyss, then why did they not take a child? Why take only one hostage instead of multiple? Why leave a note that clearly suggested the enemy was someone high-ranked in the Church? In fact, why bring up the title at all? Why not leverage the personal relations between Aelfric and the Abyssians? And, come to think of it, how the hell were so many mercenaries making their way into the Monastery anyway?

"Byleth?" Constance was so quiet that it took Sothis 'nudging' me to make me realize she had said anything at all. To be fair, I didn't think she'd return so quickly. "I beg your pardon for interrupting your thoughts," she murmured, sitting down next to me. "But I wanted to hear your opinion about the possibility of there being a spy." Why mine?

"It certainly would explain a bit of the oddities surrounding all of this," I agreed, going back to thinking. The problem was that a simple 'spy' wouldn't explain all of the oddities. "As such, it needs to be something we consider, especially while we gather information. It cannot be dismissed, even if now isn't the time to try and determine who they are."

"Yes, I think so as well." Constance sighed and reached up to fix the scarf she had tied around her neck. "I worry for Yuri, though. He's utterly devoted to his loved ones, but he can be a little too trusting because of that. Though he agrees on the surface, I'm sure it's hard for him to actually believe someone in Abyss would betray."

"But not you, huh?"

"I know betrayal. I learned it five years ago, when my family was left to die." Her gaze hardened. "I will not lose a second home. I will not lose a second family. Whatever blackguard betrayed us… I will show them no mercy."

"I see." I was about to let the topic simply die, but that was when I remembered something. Something terribly crucial, given how a lot of the questions were related to both location and the timing. "Hey, Constance?"

"Hmm?"

"When and how did you find that passage? The one that led to the chalice?"

"Ah, well, not long before I dragged everyone down, truthfully." Constance frowned, doing her best to remember. "Aelfric and I were discussing the issue at hand… okay, we were more arguing, and he took note of it since we hadn't seen it before."

"A passage suddenly opened up?" Seriously?

"It's actually not that unusual down here. People stepping on hidden switches, or moving rubble to hunt for potential treasure underneath… one reason why people tend to stay clustered together down here is because of how much everything can change." Constance shook her head, waving aside some thought. I tried to think of why people were staying in such a dangerous place. Sothis, meanwhile, was furious over it. "We made a note of it, though, because we have to investigate and make sure there's nothing dangerous there. Which… there is now, but thanks to the gates, I don't think we have to worry too much."

"I see." Ignoring all the problems with that… sadly, there were other things to focus on. More pertinent things. "Was anyone else with you two?"

"Not that I am aware of, but it's possible there was someone trailing in the hopes of talking to Aelfric." The way she said it implied that happened a lot. "Or that someone discovered it later."

"I see." ...I had a bad feeling suddenly. A very bad feeling that I didn't want to consider, and yet, it would explain quite a bit. Not all, though. Not all. Left just as many holes, and I needed to distract myself quickly. "I think I'm going to speak with Rhea."

"With Lady Rhea?" Well, that certainly surprised her. "Well, I suppose it's not like we can hide this for long, but the note said…"

"No one will think anything strange about it. Azrael and I have visited Rhea quite a few times, often at her request. She was close to our parents." Might as well take advantage of that, and how open it was that the Archbishop 'favored' us, to hopefully get someone competent involved with this. I wondered if I could go bug Dad? He was friends with Aelfric, so surely he'd help? Though, if I was right… "Continue gathering information while I'm gone, okay?"

"...All right." She nodded, agreeing with me. I was touched by the amount of trust, since… well, the most suspicious people right now were my students, Azrael, and me. We were the 'newest', and the ones with the least number of ties to Abyss. "I'll quietly let the others know where you are. If anyone else asks, I'll state that you're providing explanations for why you all might be late tonight."

"Thank you."

Constance left then, and I waited a moment before leaving too, heading for one of the exits. I didn't get all that far, though. Mostly because I found Claude hiding in the shadows, glaring at some dirt stain on the wall. And, worried, I headed over because… well, this whole situation just got far crazier. Considering the metal dolls from earlier, that was saying something.

"Ugh… what I wouldn't give to be able to reach Judith right now…" Claude muttered under his breath, just barely loud enough for me to eavesdrop on. It took me a second to remember Judith was the head of House Daphnel, and the rumors about House Daphnel's very extensive spy network. If it truly existed, then it was supposedly why House Daphnel had held onto power in the Alliance for so long despite generations of no crest-bearing heirs. "Oh, Teach!" Still, best to pretend I didn't hear anything for now, especially since he smiled at me like he hadn't been musing aloud at all. Besides, he was right in that there was no way to contact anyone in time… at least, anyone outside of the monastery. "What's up?"

"Mind coming with me?" I requested, coming up with the first thing I could think of for why I'd be approaching him. Besides, he did inadvertently remind me that there was someone else I could ask for information. I could only hope she had some. "I'm heading up for a bit."

"Huh? Uh, sure, Teach?" Claude blinked slowly, no doubt trying to process the abrupt request. I didn't blame him. "Wait, by 'up' you mean…?"

"Where else? The surface." I turned around to head for the exit and heard Claude scramble to keep up with me. "Stay close for now, okay?"

I had a feeling Claude tried to badger out more information out of me, but I ignored him to focus on my current goal. Mostly to keep myself from skittering away. After all, once we returned to the surface, we headed straight to the market. And it was crowded. It was more than crowded, actually. I regretted everything about all of this as soon as I saw that, but I made myself wade through. Claude kept close, glancing around curiously. Perhaps trying to figure out just why I'd chosen to come here now of all times, though he could just be people watching. He did that, sometimes, and the market was always a place filled with unusual things. And I had to admit that when I passed by Miriam's shop, I was sorely tempted just to duck in there for books, books, and more blessedly wonderful books. But I couldn't. I had a goal. And, luckily for me, my 'goal' was actually in the market today.

"Hey, Professor, how's it going?" Anna greeted me with a smile and a wink when Claude and I approached her stall. She had a few customers, but she finished up with them quickly and easily by the time I'd actually made it to her counter. Claude stayed back, blinking slowly like he had no idea what to process first. "Looking for wares or info today?"

"You don't waste time," I noted, a little amused. If she was always like this, then I could see why Dad liked her. "Information."

"Hey, time is money and I hate wasting money." She grinned and leaned forward, resting her arms on her counter to better look me in the eye. "So? What are you looking for and what will you give in exchange? I'm a businesswoman, after all~!"

"We can discuss payment after." Mostly because I… uh… had forgot about the payment part of this. Did I have enough gold on me? "I'm only here because Dad likes you."

"True, true. Jeralt and I have known each other for a very long while." She sighed, sulking just a little. "You're just as much of a mercenary as him." Considering I was a mercenary, that made some sense? "Meaning I should just listen because if there's a being more stubborn than me about payment, it's Jeralt. And you're no doubt just as stubborn." Well, I was stubborn. I'd give her that one. "So, what's up? And why bring the princeling fawn with you?"

"...Does everyone just use cub, fawn, and eaglet? Is this a normal thing?" Better to just roll with it, though I was surprised she used 'princeling' since the term was rarely associated with the Alliance. It didn't escape me that Claude tensed at the little 'nickname' and frowned warily at Anna, but… now wasn't the time. "He's my student, and involved in the same mess I'm in."

"Hmm… I wonder now if this is the same thing Jeralt was asking about earlier." Could be. He mentioned investigating the mercenaries along with whatever else he had to investigate. And admittedly, I'd feel better about it if he truly had the time. "I'll take a guess and say it has something to do with an increase in hires as of late?"

"Mercenaries have been assaulting Abyss for weeks now. And I'm guessing the pay has to be at least decent for them to still be going for the job despite the deaths." Best to focus on that part, instead of the part about whether or not there were some skilled and stupid mercenaries who would kidnap a church official. Pay was much easier to track.

"Yes, indeed. I talked to one who decided it was too suspicious, but they were kicking themselves over it since it was enough to secure them for a full month." If that was true, then that was generous indeed.

"Sorry, am I allowed to ask questions?" Claude interrupted, raising his hand slightly. He still frowned, though he'd masked most of the wariness with curiosity. "What was the price?" Anna named a sum, and I nodded when I heard it. A month… maybe a little more… sounded about right, really. "That's… it?"

"Mercenary work is rarely lucrative," I explained, trying to narrow down options based on the pay. Sadly, it didn't really do much. "Adrestian nobles are misers with their coin when it comes to paying people for jobs, particularly outsiders like mercenaries, because it cuts into their indulgence and pride. Kingdom nobles look down on mercenaries for their 'non-chivalrous' ways and refuse to pay them anywhere near as well as their soldiers and knights. Leicester nobles tend to pay more, but they're also more likely to send mercenaries into traps to get out of paying at all so that they have more for bribes." There were always exceptions to the rules, of course, but I'd seen it plenty of times over the years. "Merchants tend to be better, but they will wriggle around the terms of the contract while upholding it to the letter so that they can maximize their profits. Villagers are the best when it comes to honoring contracts, but they rarely have a lot anyway. How much depends on the area, of course." Priests were a bit of an oddball in terms of employers, though. Couldn't really fit them into a stereotype.

"I… see." Claude's eyes hardened, but against what… I wasn't sure. "So, this is enough for them to decide survival is off the table?"

"Mercenaries who don't fight die, Claude. Don't take a job and risk starving, or take the job and risk being stabbed. Either way, survival is simply another thing gambled and sold." And if the mysterious benefactor really was paying that price per contract, then it would explain why so many would take it. But who were they?

Only a noble or merchant would have that sort of coin. But in my experience, no noble would pay a mercenary that much and while a merchant might… after so many failures, they'd cut their losses and leave. Only a noble would have the pride and short-sightedness to keep on going, but again, they'd never pay a mercenary that well. So, providing we were dealing with typical circumstances and not exceptions… I'd have to guess the employer was, in fact, a priest. Which fit the note. And fit that theory I had that I hoped desperately was wrong, for many, many reasons… though there were still one or two holes that I just… couldn't quite fill in.

"The one who tried to hire my friend hired through a proxy, so I can't give you many more details on the employer," Anna commented, dragging me from my thoughts. She watched me with sharp eyes, like she could see the pieces I was putting together. "Smart enough to do that, at least." Smart… and someone who had followers… meaning that not all those we could be fighting were simply mercenaries for hire… "I'm afraid that's all I have. Unfortunately, whenever something involves Abyss, people tend to look the other way. Always been that way."

"Of course they do," I murmured, not even surprised. I knew how people could be. "Still, this is helpful, Anna. Thank you."

"Good, so back to payment~!" She grinned and I had to smile faintly. "Or, well, we'll wait until you're done with whatever you're in, okay?"

"Are you sure?"

"I do the same thing with Jeralt." And the implication was clear. Since I was Dad's daughter, she'd extend me the same favor. "Though, if you decide to buy some of my wares, I won't say no…~"

Claude remained surprisingly silent while Anna and I haggled. Silent and just… staring at me. Trying to see through me. Why? I wasn't sure. Worse, because of everything going on, I knew I really couldn't confront him on it.

What a mess...

---

When we returned to the monastery, Claude returned to the Abyss to relay what Anna had told us to the others and I went up to the third floor to see if Rhea could meet me in her room (since I wanted to mask that I was visiting for serious reasons). It didn't take very long at all to arrange. In fact, it was startling simple, so much so that I almost suspected something. Especially when I noticed Seteth wasn't around. But that wasn't important for now. Reporting what all had happened was.

"I see… so that is what has been going on…" Rhea murmured. She stood by her window, thinking, while I sipped some tea she had made me. She'd made it while I'd told her everything that had happened the past couple of days. "I knew there has been unrest in the Abyss, but for there to be so much…"

"Aelfric made a mention that you don't like Abyss?" I said, mostly just to say something. Though, I had to say that this tea was really good. "Is that true or…?"

"Mmm… yes and no. While I think Abyss is necessary, I do dislike that it is necessary." She closed her eyes, thinking. I tried to figure out if she was telling the truth, or just saying what she thought I wanted to hear. "Aelfric and I have argued recently about resources, though. What can be spared and that sort of thing. It feels like every day, a hundred villages need assistance or supplies and there isn't enough."

"Much like how the Knights are stretched thin."

"Precisely. As a result, there simply isn't…" She sighed and shook her head. After a moment of staring out the window, she turned to face me. "Regardless, in this case, there are few knights to spare. So, it might be best to simply…"

"Try and keep our enemy's eyes on the threat they already know?"

"Yes…" She grimaced suddenly. "Ah, I dislike this. I loathe having to put you in so much danger."

"I was a mercenary, Rhea." I wasn't sure if this was the 'right' thing to say, but I felt I had to say something. "Something like this doesn't even really qualify as 'danger'."

"Still…" She smiled sadly and sat down on the bed next to me. "Ah, never mind. I'm simply fretting. You are the child of two of my dearest people. If I could keep you safe, I would." And yet, Dad ran because of her. I was certain of it. "And things have been so chaotic…"

"Again, I was a mercenary. People only hire mercenaries when there's a problem they wish to solve. Intimidation and false security are left to the soldiers and knights." Wait, that sounded wrong. "Putting on a show, in other words. A show of strength, or a show that the nobles in question are doing their jobs." And that sounded worse. "What's this tea? It's really good."

"Oh, do you like it?" Thankfully, the question put Rhea in a better mood. "I'm glad, as it's a favorite of mine. It's angelica."

"Really? It tastes differently than what I'm used to."

"Ah, I brewed it differently than most would. It was a trick a dear friend of mine, Mira, taught me because I loved it so…"

Rhea was more than happy to talk at length about the way she brewed her tea, much more so than I would've expected. I had a feeling it was because she loved and missed her friend, and because it was a much safer topic than what we'd been discussing. Happier. Still, it ended up being a much longer conversation than I'd expected, and I was grateful for my stoicism since it no doubt hid how eager I was to leave and get on with my day when Rhea finally let me go. After all, I had many things to do. Like see if I could talk to Dad and…

"Oh, Byleth!" Still, it was hard to not smile a little when Flayn rushed over with such a bright greeting. Even if I was technically busy. "Is everything okay?" she asked, peering at me worriedly. "Azrael said that you were helping the people of Abyss last night. Still doing that?"

"Yeah, still doing that," I confirmed, sounding a little more tired than I intended. Something about her just… I felt like even if I tried to put up a brave front, she'd see straight through it. Despite how sheltered she was. "Things got… complicated, I think."

"Isn't that how all trouble is? A simple thread you tug and suddenly an entire tapestry is unwoven and dropping on your head?" That… that was a strangely apt analogy. "I figured something big was going on, though. Seteth has been extra grumbly the past couple of days."

"Extra grumbly?"

"Yep." She became thoughtful all of a sudden, and took my hand. "Right, over here!" And dragged me to a room a few doors down from Rhea's, one with a beautiful view of the monastery. "Shouldn't be disturbed here. Most don't even know this is my room." ...Truth be told, I had been wondering where she slept. "Only Cyril does, and that's because we're neighbors." So, Cyril was up here on the third floor too, huh? "So, I did have a question I wanted to ask during tea."

"That so?" I nudged the door shut behind us and went to the window to peer out. It really was a beautiful view… I thought you could see Zanado from it, actually. And, well, even though I knew I should tell her I was busy, I'd missed talking to her too much. "What is it?"

"Well, Hanneman mentioned you had a lost crest?" ...Did Hanneman just go babbling to everyone about things like this? Linhardt had also heard from him. "He said he couldn't identify it, which makes me a little curious." Flayn fiddled with her hands and smiled sheepishly. "If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine. I know I am a tad sheltered, but I do know how… obsessed society seems to be about crests nowadays." Nowadays? Strange for her to say that, or so I thought. "Um… actually, now that I think about it, it is quite rude to ask at all. I am so very sorry. How about we-"

"I don't mind, though I'll admit I'm not exactly fond of how obsessed people can be about the things." Should I have said that? Not sure…

Flayn, however, smiled sadly. "I am the same, and so is Seteth. People are people first and foremost. Yet it seems like so many are valued only for their crest. Some use it as an excuse to do what they want, while others have it be yet another chain to the pillar of duty."

"That's certainly one way to describe things." Reassured by that, I shrugged and held out my hand to conjure up the crest. It took me a moment, but soon it was there, purple and gold shimmering in that symbol. "This is mine, I suppose?"

"Why, that's the Crest of Flames!" ...Strange, why did Flayn recognize it instantly when Hanneman didn't? Then again, Hanneman did mention recognizing it, but not being able to think of the name. "Though some stories call it the 'Fire Emblem' instead, since it was not only Nemesis's Crest, but the symbol on his flag and…" Flayn crept closer and examined the glowing crest from almost all angles, as if it would change if she stared at it a certain way. "It is also glowing… but that would mean… hmm…" She mumbled something under her breath, which I couldn't quite catch. What I did hear almost sounded like… well, a different language entirely. All I caught was 'Rhea', maybe. "Well, that is certainly a lost one. Nemesis was the last one to bear it."

"Nemesis, huh?" I closed my fist and thought of the dream I'd had since I was little. Of the armies, and the duel between 'Lady Seiros' and 'Nemesis'. "The Fallen King of Liberation, who Seiros killed." Via stabbing repeatedly in revenge for something… wait… "Because of the Red Canyon…" Zanado, the Red Canyon… 'Tell me, Nemesis, do you recall the Red Canyon?!' She always said those words. Right before she killed him...

"Eh? Byleth, you know the story of the Red Canyon?" Flayn's eyes widened in surprise, but she immediately became thoughtful. "Well, then again, Rhea does seem to like Jeralt. It wouldn't surprise me if he knew the story…? Maybe?" She hummed a bit, thinking. "Ah, I'm babbling, aren't I?"

"It's not like I'm not." Story of the… what in creation was she talking about? Sothis wondered too, but otherwise, remained silent. "But I'm guessing my crest is… highly atypical."

"Well, Nemesis isn't known for having any descendants, so I imagine it could cause some political difficulties for you if it becomes known." Yeah, no. Keep me out of politics, please. I was just a mercenary. "I suppose it is possible that Saint Seiros sheltered his family to prevent them for being blamed for his deeds. Lots of things get lost to history, and even more are deliberately hidden away."

"Like the Chalice of…" What had Constance called it again? "Beginnings, I think? The Four Apostles and all?"

"Chalice?" Flayn frowned, like she didn't quite know what I was talking about, before shrugging. I supposed it wasn't that well known of a story, then. But if that was the case, then seriously, how…? "Well, yes, the Four Apostles vanished to history. Bit of a shame, really, but I'm sure they had their reasons. Do you know them, Byleth? Chevalier, Aubin, Timotheous, and Noa." Wasn't there a fruit dubbed 'Noa'? ...Oh, that's what Linhardt had been talking about, then. "They were the righthands of the Four Saints, though Chevalier worked closely with Saint Seiros as well." You'd think they'd be as known as the Ten Elites then. Why did they fade away? "I think something related to them is causing some difficulties, though. Rhea has been muttering about them more." Well, considering that chalice… wait, but that would've been before I reported…? "Anyway, Professor, can I see your crest again?"

"Huh?" That took a couple of blinks and Sothis actually had to prod me to react. "Sure?" I conjured it up again, and Flayn studied it again. "What else is weird about it? The gold shimmer? Because Edelgard's and Claude's didn't have that."

"It's not unheard of." Flayn frowned at it, but then she smiled sweetly. "See?" Flayn held out her own hand and a brightly glowing crest shone above her palm. Like mine, it had a golden shimmer to it, though instead of purple, hers was a very pale blue. Almost white. "I have Major Cethleann and see, that golden glow too." She closed her fist and I did the same to dismiss my own crest. "So, it's a bit atypical, but it's not unusual or weird. Seteth has it too! And Rhea! Plus you hear about it historical records, like Emperor Lycaon." She became thoughtful again, murmuring in that language I knew was foreign now. But I didn't prompt her or anything. For one thing, I wasn't sure how comfortable I was with sharing something with the second emperor of the Adrestian Empire, the one who ruled during the climatic battle against Nemesis. I wasn't anything special. "Oh, drat, I'm babbling again."

"It's fine. I'm used to Azrael." However, with that said, there actually was something comforting at seeing someone I wasn't related to having the same oddity. Just a little. "I think Azrael's has it as well. Is it a property of Major crests?"

"Not in of itself. Only some will have it. Though only a Major crest can have it. It represents a greater inheritance of power, so to speak." So, what? A sort of 'extra special' major crest? I was keeping this from Hanneman. "Azrael have a crest as well?"

"Major Seiros, I think."

"Eh?" She blinked a couple of times before tapping her cheek. "That's a rarity. Rhea is the only other person with that." Wait, really? That was… interesting, I suppose? Was I related to both her and Sothis or something? Or… well, I suppose the Hresvelgs? Or… ugh, my head hurt. Crests were too much trouble. "I think I'm going to bother her, since I am certain I have stolen more time than you have to spare." All of a sudden, she took my hands and frowned worriedly at me. "Please be as careful as you can? I know trouble can spin out of control far too quickly, but I will be most cross if you are badly injured."

"I like the caveat of 'as you can'." Then again, Flayn had mentioned a few times that she knew the chaos battles brought. "As careful as I can. I'm not sure if I'll be able to make tea tonight, though."

"We shall have an extra luxurious one to make up for it once you're able." She smiled brightly and I couldn't help but smile in return. That sounded like a lot of fun. "Ah, and we have been all too serious! Here, I shall walk with you and share some fun stories I have picked up. Did you know, for instance, that Jeritza has the largest sweet tooth in the entire monastery?"

Flayn happily gossipped about all the desserts Jeritza would eat in one sitting, something she knew because she noticed how he was often by himself and made a point to try and join him for at least one meal. And apparently not even Jeritza was immune to Flayn's cheerful friendliness since they'd had multiple, if stilted, conversations. So, she also told me about how he had an older sister he hadn't seen in quite some time and missed dearly, and how the ribbon he wore in his hair was actually hers. I… wasn't sure how comfortable I was about her spending time with him, considering that spar I'd had with him, but Flayn didn't seem to think there was anything wrong, so I didn't say anything. Instead, I just listened as Flayn walked me down to the first floor and waved goodbye when she darted back up the stairs to 'bother Rhea'. Then I left the main building, intending on trying to hunt down Dad. But life had other plans.

"Professor!" Took me a couple of blinks to realize that someone had called out to me. Even then, I only really processed it when I had a small group of my students surrounding me. Two from each House at that. Mercedes and Dedue for the cubs, Hubert and Caspar for the eaglets, and Lysithea and Leonie for the fawns. Bit of a surprise, really. Wondered how they set this up.

"Professor, hey, is Linhardt doing okay?" Caspar asked, turning my attention to him. He frowned worriedly, fists clenched at his side. I tried to think of how to answer, since I had no idea how much the others had- "Edelgard told us basically nothing except to not get involved, but Linhardt… he's always been bad with blood and I think it's gotten worse. And Edelgard had clearly been in a fight." ...Edelgard hadn't told them anything?

"Well, Claude mentioned that they ran into some mercenaries, but otherwise, that's more or less what we fawns were told," Lysithea added. She looked distinctly annoyed by it. "We tried ambushing him this morning, but no such luck. Marianne's fretting bad over everything. Convinced it's her fault or something?" And Claude had only told them a bit more? "We only have any sort of idea because apparently Prince Dimitri gave a fuller story to the cubs."

"He did, and he very neatly avoided any and all talk of his own injuries, which he also ignored healing for," Mercedes… hard to call that tone. Chided? We'd go with that. She chided. "That said, it really wasn't much… which is why we've spent the whole day worrying…" And apparently waiting for the first chance to ambush someone more in the know. "However, why don't we go sit down?" She smiled serenely, but I had a strange feeling there was no refusing her on this. At all. "Standing in the middle here is just so bothersome for everyone, isn't it?"

Everyone else got the same exact feeling apparently since not a single person protested moving into the courtyard and sitting under the vine covered gazebo there. Though the way they set up around me, I felt like this was almost an interrogation. Which was just… fantastic. I should've handled them myself. I didn't expect Edelgard or Claude to not tell them anything, or that Dimitri would tell them in a way that only made them worry worse...

"His Highness told us that there were mercenaries attacking the people of Abyss," Dedue quietly summarized once we were all situated. The quiet dignity to the words almost hid how he was almost too large for the gazebo table we'd taken over. "He said he did not know the reason why, but he wanted us to be prepared for battle." And I now wondered why Sylvain, Felix, and Ingrid weren't in the group. Distracting themselves, perhaps? Or maybe they figured two was enough? Or… maybe all the menagerie had met up and discussed who'd be the ambushers? It was very convenient that it was exactly two from each House.

"Marianne and I have spent the day reviewing spells and acquiring medicines for that reason," Mercedes added, keeping the conversation on track despite my wandering thoughts. She actually pulled a few small vials from her pocket and handed them to me. "It's not much, but I would feel better if you had them, Professor. Of course, I'd rather be there with you all, but Dimitri said that more people might make the Abyssians uncomfortable and… well…"

"It was also best to keep our distance to avoid being scapegoated." Dedue smiled bitterly and I felt my heart ache when I realized just what he was saying. "Particularly me, since I am from Duscar. It would be easy for the true threat to pin the blame on me, and we would lose valuable time and resources." And he and Dimitri must've debated extensively over it.

"Petra said something similar when she and I were practicing," Leonie noted, frowning. I noticed that she was probably the calmest one of the group of students here. Even beating Mercedes. "I'd call bullshit, but people are people and nobles in particular like the 'quick and easy' solutions. Especially if they can convince themselves that they're in the right of it."

"Leonie, slight reminder that I think everyone besides you and the Professor is, in fact, of noble birth here," Lysithea noted dryly. Leonie just shrugged and, surprisingly, Lysithea smiled. "Well, I can't say you're wrong. I know well what happens when it's more convenient to look the other way." What happened to Ordelia… assuming the rumors had even a modicum of truth, she definitely would know.

"I could go on and gripe, but that won't address the current issue at all." Leonie looked right at Hubert, who was almost suspiciously quiet. Especially given how rigidly Caspar sat next to him. "So, how about mister 'sneaks in the shadows' over here tells us whatever his lady had him do. Because I think we all know that Lady Edelgard had to have told him something more if he didn't go slinking down anyway."

"Leonie, you make him sound like a cat." Lysithea became thoughtful suddenly. "Actually, that's… fairly accurate, isn't it?" She studied Hubert, who now looked irritated. "All he's missing is some cat ears."

"You know… I could sew some up," Mercedes commented, studying Hubert as if she was really considering it. Hubert immediately glared at her, but she smiled beautifully in response, completely unfazed. "It would be quite adorable, I think."

"Well, he's as picky of an eater as a cat," Dedue noted, surprisingly going along with the teasing. His glance at Caspar hinted it might've been to try and ease the tension. "I've noticed at least fifteen different dishes he won't even touch."

"Oh, my!"

"I am thrilled to be the target of your amusement," Hubert drawled. He softened his glare for simply a scowl, probably because no one at the table was intimidated. "Lady Edelgard did inform me of the mercenaries, and tasked me with gathering information. Sadly, however, I was not able to find much. Not even how so many mercenaries would be able to get inside Abyss." That was a surprise. "Which hints that someone who knows the monastery very well is involved with this matter. And that someone is of high enough rank to cover their tracks."

"This is sounding worse and worse…" Caspar mumbled. He looked right at me again, and this time, I thought… I wouldn't say he was 'in tears' or anything, but he was definitely worried. It was almost tangible. "I know I should focus on all of this because I hate criminals just… getting away with things. But I'm really worried about Linhardt. I'm not happy Edelgard dragged him into this."

"If he wasn't there, then I'm sure he'd be-"

"Shut up. Not everyone here has their life revolving around Edelgard, regardless of what you and she thinks." That… had to be the most barbed sentence I'd ever heard Caspar speak. The blank look on everyone's faces, including Hubert's, hinted it was the most barbed sentence they'd ever heard him say as well. "Besides, I wasn't addressing you. My question was to our professor, who is a hell of a lot more trustworthy. Even I can see that." I… what just… "So, Professor?" Caspar focused completely on me again. "How is Linhardt? I hate that I haven't seen him to confirm that he's okay."

"...He is doing his best to push through," I answered after a moment. I wasn't sure how to answer, especially given… all of that. But I did know one thing. Caspar was worried, and I shouldn't lie to him. "I will not say he is perfectly fine. I noticed his fighting has changed drastically, and he avoided my question when I asked how he was. But I believe…" I thought of how he'd fled, but how he hadn't said that he wanted to leave. How he had barely complained. "I believe he wishes to continue, despite everything that weighs him down. So, I will do my best to honor that, and keep him safe." On impulse, I stood up and walked around the table to rest a hand on Caspar's back. "I also think the best thing you can do, in this situation, is what you all have been doing. Preparing and being ready for anything and everything. Many things are happening at once, and there's far too many things that can go wrong."

"...So, hang back, keep our strength, and be ready to throw everything at the evil-doers, yeah?" Caspar 'summarized'. He made a face and sighed, but surprisingly, he smiled at me. It was tired, and worried, but it was genuine. "I hate waiting, but I know you'll keep an eye on everyone. So, I'll stick to the plan. Or… uh… try to?"

"I'm sure we can find something to distract you with," Leonie pointed out. She smiled kindly at him. "I mean… we got Ferdinand to distract Lorenz from his numerous rantings about Claude. And if we can succeed in that, then we can do anything. Trust me."

"Probably a good idea."

"Professor, do those orders pertain to Marianne and myself as well?" Mercedes asked, pulling her shawl a little more firmly around her. She kept her normal calm, but still, I could sense the worry in her voice. "We are both healers, and we could lessen the burden on Linhardt…"

"...While that is true, we have to assume this is an enemy who will take hostages," I whispered. In fact, they already had, if you looked at things as they appeared. But if my theory was right… "So, it's better to not concentrate our healers in one spot. For now, making the enemy believe our forces are lesser than they appear is only to our benefit."

"I see." She sighed, but nodded. Trusting my assessment. "In that case, I'd best return to Marianne to continue practicing spells and checking our medicinal inventory."

"Of course."

Almost all of the students left quickly to relay the new information. Only Lysithea and Hubert lingered. Lysithea pulled out some papers from her pocket, spell patterns she was keen on studying based on the focused look, and Hubert… I wasn't sure at first why he had stayed. It wasn't until I began to leave that it became obvious. After all, he was very quick to intercept me.

"Professor…" he began slowly, gripping my arm tightly. He also bent slightly to talk quietly in my ear, so that I had no choice but to see him glaring at me. "If Lady Edelgard comes to harm…"

"We're fighting, Hubert," I reminded him, speaking just as quietly. Surely he didn't think Edelgard would be content with just letting others handle the fighting. "I do worry about her discomfort and fear of being underground, but she wishes to push through it. So, all I can do is give her support and watch over her, just as I do for Linhardt and his problems."

"I… yes." Hubert frowned heavily, still glaring. "You know of…?"

"If you're asking if I know why she is, then no, of course not. It isn't my place to ask, and I do not need to know in order to give support." I shook my head and easily pulled my arm from his grip. "When someone is in pain, you do what you can to help. You don't need to know the whys or hows."

"...That is…"

"Hubert, either you're flirting with our professor or you're trying to intimidate her, and it's obvious to everyone that neither is working," Lysithea suddenly drawled. She barely even looked up, but somehow, I had a feeling she hadn't stayed just to have a few extra seconds of study time. She'd guessed Hubert would try this. "Despite what you may think, you're nowhere near the scariest thing in the world. Especially when everyone knows our professor can break all your bones in a second. Or did you forget how easily she took you out during the spar, after taking out everyone else and while she was clearly holding back?" Lysithea glanced up with a smug smile, her eyes glinting in quiet warning. "So, how about you do something useful and help me figure out this spell pattern? I read that it's useful against cavalry units, and we don't have many specialized ways to deal with them yet."

Thankfully, Hubert did actually head over, though he was quick to mutter something under his breath that made Lysithea snap at him. I thought about mediating, but decided instead to simply… stay out of it. Instead, I really needed to get back to Abyss… but first, I wanted to see Dad...

I wondered if the others had found out anything?

---

Sadly, I hadn't been able to find Dad. Or Alois. Or Catherine. Or Shamir. Or even just a random knight of Seiros. So, instead, I returned to Abyss, to see how things were. And it was… wary. Warier, rather. Unlike the previous times I'd walked about the 'main area', it wasn't filled with people. Everyone had ducked away into buildings, or had left entirely to hide in their homes. The tavern, being so close to the entrance, wasn't filled with the loud raucous noise I associated with such buildings, but the quiet tension that could only come from those who were armed and ready to fight to the death to protect what little they had. Even with broken weapons and little skill. In fact, a couple were a little too high-strung to hold weapons at all, but thankfully, I wasn't bad at dodging. The surprise crossbolt might've gotten my shoulder otherwise.

"I'm really sorry, miss…" the crossbowman mumbled once it became obvious just what had happened. In their defense, when I looked over the crossbow itself, I noticed it was poorly made. Far too easy to loose and an overly taunt string… it would either snap or be set off by a strand of hair landed on it wrong. Might be why it had ended up down here in the first place, actually. "I just… we were… um…"

"Let it be a lesson in why maintaining calm is needed once you wield a weapon," I chided, carefully setting the crossbow on the table. The table wobbled, and a quick glance down showed that one of the legs was noticeably shorter than the others. "And why you must know and account for faults in your weapon. This one's faults mean that by loading it ahead of time, one of the key advantages of the crossbow, might lead you to accidentally hurt your fellows. Even more so than usual." With that said, I doubted they had much training, and crossbows were easier on beginners than, say, a longbow. Less strain on the muscles as well, since it 'locked' the loaded arrow in place indefinitely, and the narrower frame compared to the conventional bow did make it easier to hide and use in a place like a tavern, or so I thought. "Is there another you can use?"

Thankfully, there was, and we could tuck the dangerously-faulty crossbow for a significantly less dangerously-faulty one. Even better, I was able to help them set up a little stand to better help them with their aim. This… somehow turned into me helping the others in the tavern with their weapons, mostly how to best utilize them with their minimal skill and the many faults of the weapons. I wondered about the blacksmith, but then again, it was very rare for a blacksmith to solely specialize in making weapons, despite the strong association between the two. I knew from Zain that they normally made things like nails and hinges or tools (which could be used as makeshift weapons, of course, but still weren't technically weapons).

By the time I'd finished talking with the last one, I was exhausted from being alone with so many strangers, particularly since they were armed and twitchy. I wasn't sure I should've taught them at all, given that, but I couldn't just… walk away when it was clear they needed help and were just plain scared. They'd been attacked for countless nights, after whatever events drove them down here in the first place. They were scared and confused, and just wanted to live as peacefully as they could. Just wanted to protect the little they still had, because they had everything to lose. Wanted to keep clinging to their flicker of hope that they could live happy lives, no matter what others declared… how could I refuse to help? Especially since if I was right… if I was right… then the one causing all this was…

"Miss!" A small child clutched the hem of my shirt with two tiny fists. Tiny, trembling fists… they only highlighted the pleading in their eyes as they looked up at me. "Miss, you'll save Mister Aelfric, right?" they 'asked'. It wasn't really a question. Just a desperate need for reassurance. Because if the adults were scared, then of course the children would be terrified. And this one looked so young… they might've been born down here. Abyss might be the only place they knew, their only home. And someone was ripping it apart, for their terribly selfish goals. "You will, right? You and those others and the Ashen Wolves? You'll..."

"...If he can still be saved, then yes, you have my word," I whispered. I didn't know what else to say. I couldn't voice my suspicions. Not to a scared child, especially when I had didn't have hard evidence, only circumstantial. And maybe… it was foolish, but maybe if I didn't voice it, then it wouldn't actually be true. Stupid, but… "I promise to do all I can to get everyone through this alive and well." I kneeled down so that they didn't have to strain their neck to keep looking at me, and cradled their hands between mine. They were so small… they shouldn't have to deal with something like this… "I wish I could promise more, but…"

"No one can save everyone." They said the words so dully that my heart keened. They were too young… they couldn't be more than five… "But… you promise? You promise to keep as many alive as you can?"

"Yes, I promise."

"Okay." They smiled, but it was a broken and sad smile. "Yuri seems to like you, so I'll believe you."

"I'll live up to that." Should I have said that? Not sure. But their smile did turn a little happier at the words, so I couldn't regret it. "Here, I'll walk you home."

"Thank you, miss."

They clung tightly to my hand as I walked them out of the tavern and down the stairs to the main area. Across one of the bridges and down a couple of halls before we arrived at one of residential areas. Only then did the child let go of my hand, to rush for an old man who ruffled their hair before ushering them inside a falling apart 'house'. A quick peek through the hole in the wall showed a couple of other children who were all curled up together under a single blanket… It barely had room for them, but they welcomed the child I had walked home… they welcomed them without a single second's hesitation.

"Thank you for escorting him, miss," the old man whispered. He smiled warmly at me, but I saw how tired and drained the smile was. "These old bones of mine do not travel well these days." A quick glance at his wrists showed they were terribly swollen. Severe arthritis? Something worse? "Still, he insisted on running off to find someone who could answer him about Aelfric."

"Well, I hope I was able to give him enough of an answer," I murmured. What was I supposed to say to that? "Are they all your grandchildren?"

"Not by blood, if that's what you're asking. But unwanted children sometimes make their way down here, and we do our best to take care of them." He said the words easily, but they made my heart ache. "If you're looking for the Wolves, they're in the back with the other surfacers, discussing their next move, last I heard."

"I see." Something about how he said the words… they were heavy. Heavy with… "I am guessing… that child wasn't able to get the answer he wanted from you."

"No. All I have is a vague and faint wish. After all, if Aelfric dies, then Abyss will go straight back to the dump it was before." The old man sighed and shook his head. "Well, that won't matter for an old codger like me. I'll be dead within a couple of years anyway and I lived through the worst of it, but the kids…" He watched a couple run through the streets, darting for adults for safety. "They only know Abyss as it is. I'd rather they didn't see the old Abyss. I don't want their futures crushed."

"...Abyss will continue to improve." I shouldn't have said that. I didn't have the right to. Yet I couldn't… "I promise."

"No need to tell white lies to an old man, child. I can see the writing on the wall. I'm very good at reading situations." He smiled bitterly at me. "Might be hard to believe, given where I am and how I look, but I was born to nobility. I lacked a crest, though. Most of my generation did, actually. But the next one, my son's? Many crests. Once there were enough heirs, us crestless were thrown away."

"...What happened to your son?"

"I don't know. I was forbidden all contact with him, lest I 'taint' him." That was… "I'm sure he was matched with a woman of good standing to sire out more crest-bearing children. That's all nobility cares about. Crests, and the power that comes with bearing one." My heart ached at how matter-of-fact he sounded. "I wonder if he still likes reading mystery novels… if he tries to piece it all together like a puzzle while he reads them..."

I didn't… know what to say to that. At all. So, I just… all I could do was walk away and leave him to his memories. I hated it. My heart keened bitterly. But there was nothing I could do. I had no words of comfort that didn't sound meaningless. Even my vague attempt about Abyss's future had been pathetic. So, I left and meandered through Abyss, trying to find my students and the pups.

"See, I just managed to piece together some things that have been bothering me." Linhardt's vaguely smug voice told me when I'd found them, but I didn't feel up to socializing yet. So, instead, I simply lingered by the doorway to listen in and pretend I wasn't here for a couple more minutes. "To begin with, there are the names of the Four Apostles. Aubin, Chevalier, Noa, and Timotheous," he listed off. I briefly glanced inside to see who he was talking to, and I saw it was… the pups, Linhardt, and Edelgard (not wearing Azrael's coat, meaning she successfully returned it), all clustered by a cracked chalkboard. I wondered where the others were. Probably preparing more? Maybe I had just missed them. I should probably sense for Azrael and... "Supposedly, their bloodlines, and thus, their crests, were lost to time. However, considering recent events, I can't help but wonder if that was truly the case. Particularly since you, Balthus, made a mention of Chevalier?"

"I have the Major Crest of Chevalier," Balthus bluntly admitted, not even pretending to hide. I noticed Constance jump a little at the easy answer; Linhardt almost looked put out about it all. Meanwhile, Hapi frowned, Yuri looked like he was mentally snarking, and Edelgard was rubbing her temple. "I didn't know about it growing up or anything. My mother insisted I not be tested as a baby, and my old man honored the request. But when I got here, I got tested as part of the initial physical exam and that one popped up. Hanneman nearly had a cow when he saw it." Hanneman had mentioned 'lost crests' had appeared before… "Church asked that I keep quiet and I did. Only told Holst."

"I imagine the revelation that a lost crest was suddenly 'found' would destabilize the power dynamics of some very fragile countries. Who knows how the Adrestian court will react once knowledge of Azrael's Major Seiros crest spreads? Not to mention our professor's unknown crest." Linhardt's tone was absent, like it didn't matter to him. Edelgard, however, flinched very slightly. "But thank you for confirming part of my hypothesis, Balthus."

"You thought I had that one?" Balthus leaned back on one of the rickety desks, though he was quick to jump to his feet when it creaked in warning. "What made you think that?"

"Well, it's based on conjecture. Actually, most of this hypothesis is based on conjecture, far more than I'd like." Linhardt shrugged, but his eyes glittered in glee. It was easily the most lively I'd ever seen him. "I will never claim to be the strongest mage, by any means, but I found it very curious that Constance and Hapi were the only ones able to sense the magic that bound the Chalice. Now, granted, the doll thing did provide quite the distraction, but even through that, Constance was able to determine the rough location. No one else did. With some thought, it occurred to me that they might have been 'attuned' to the magic. Which, of course, would only make sense if it they had the crests of the Four Apostles. Perhaps Noa and Timotheous? Though stories of the four are rare, it is mentioned that those two were magically powerful."

"Linhardt, did you forget that Constance is of House Nuvelle?" Edelgard countered dryly. She sounded tired, and she looked it too. "A house that holds the Crest of Macuil?" Constance nodded vigorously, but I… noticed her eyes were wide and she seemed almost twitchy. "It's well-known through the Empire."

"Yes, I am well-aware of this," Linhardt continued. He didn't sound the least bit deterred. "In fact, that knowledge made me almost abandon the line of thought. But then I remembered some other things House Nuvelle was known for. Things that are in sharp contrast to every other crest-bearing house." He began gesturing, warming to his topic. "An insistence of having as few of heirs as possible, despite the danger. After all, assassinations of crest-bearing children is very common in the Empire." Yuri, strangely, looked away at that. "And, of course, it limits the number of 'pawns' that can be used for courtly intrigue. Thus, most houses typically have as many heirs as possible. Your own father had many lovers for that exact reason, yes?"

"...He did, yes." Edelgard's expression locked up. No doubt because of just what had happened to her siblings. "But you're an only child, Linhardt."

"Oh, that's not from a lack of trying. My mother suffered four miscarriages." Well, that was… blunt. "But going back to the pawn thing… well, there was another of House Nuvelle's oddities. Namely, they never allowed their crest-bearing heirs to be married out to other nobility. And strongly discouraged any of their own from marrying outside their family."

"I… well, yes, and there's some crass jokes about that…"

"Wait, so are you saying that Coco's family tree is more like a family tumbleweed or something?" Hapi asked bluntly, stretching her arms above her head. Constance flinched and shied away, half-hiding in the shadows. "That's… interesting?"

"I'm not sure I'd go that far, since the Empire does prohibit nobility from marrying siblings and cousins," Linhardt dismissed. He even waved his hand. "It's beside the point anyway and not something I'll call judgement on. Particularly given the things other nobles are at least complicit with." Now Linhardt was pacing along with his flailing. Both Edelgard and Yuri had to move out of the way to keep from being hit. "Moving on, there is Timotheous. There's actually quite a few stories in my home about him, since he and Saint Cethleann were noted to be good friends and the two frequently worked together in the infirmary during the War of Heroes. As such, I remember there being a story mentioning how Saint Timotheous had a strong bond with animals of all kinds. It even mentioned him summoning them." He stopped and looked right at Hapi, who frowned curiously. "Similar, perhaps, to you?"

"Maybe." Hapi shrugged and looked around before sliding over to Balthus to lean against him. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder in a hug. "I will confirm that I have a crest, though. Don't know what, since I wasn't tested here or anything. The lady who kidnapped and experimented on me, though… she mentioned it and said it was rare. That was why she kept me around."

"I see." Linhardt then focused on Yuri, who met the gaze impassively. "So, those are my hypotheses. If I am correct that it's all four of you… then process of elimination leaves Aubin for you."

"Simply process of elimination?" Yuri retorted, smirking almost mockingly. He was deceptively relaxed, though I noticed the glint in his eyes. Not a 'dangerous' glint per se… no, it looked more like calculation. "I feel so loved."

"I mentioned before that almost all of this was circumstantial," Linhardt reminded, speaking slowly. Like he was annoyed he had to repeat that. "Hard evidence would be very hard to come by. However, Yuri… if I remember correctly, you mentioned actually attending the Officer's Academy before being expelled and sent down here." He had? When had he told the others that? "Meaning that, like Balthus, you had your blood tested as part of your physical exam and that would be something Professor Hanneman kept on record, even after your expulsion."

"...Meaning that you could easily acquire hard evidence on me." Yuri sighed gustily and shook his head. "Well, no need to go through the extra walking. I do, in fact, have the Crest of Aubin. Major, to be specific. And like Balthus, I was asked to keep it quiet. Only a handful would've known at all."

"So, I'm right?" Linhardt suddenly grinned, almost bouncing from excitement. It was… rather jarring. "That's amazing! And shocking. Like going fishing and feeling a sharp tug on the line and you reel it in thinking it's a big fish, but instead, it's Seteth." ...Wait, what? "That… okay, that was weird. Very weird." He shook his head, pointedly ignoring the incredulous looks the rest were giving him. "Never mind that. Do you four know how to manifest your crests? I'd love to see them!"

No doubt someone had a snarky reply to that, but I stopped paying attention. Instead, I leaned more against the wall by the door and focused on what I'd just heard. I didn't have the full details, since I still thought this 'Rite of Rising' was completely ridiculous. But if that was all true, then...

["How is it that four lost crests just so happen to appear here in Abyss?"] Sothis whispered the question that I had, appearing in front of me. She absently kicked her legs back and forth in the air as she thought. ["That seems too much of a coincidence. Particularly since there's suddenly all this talk of the chalice."] Indeed, it was. Far too convenient. Like it had been set up that way. ["The attack, the passage, the chalice, the kidnapping… someone is attempting to string you along like puppets."] Yes, and the only question was 'who'. I had a suspicion, even more so now, but even if I was right, there were still too many holes. And I hoped I wasn't right anyway. ["I don't like this."] Neither did I…

"Whoa, when did you get back?" Took me a second to realize Balthus was talking to me, and that was mostly because Sothis nodded to him. "Guess you got to Lady Rhea quick, huh?" he commented, standing… right next to me. A quick glance back inside the room showed it empty. When had everyone left? Where had they gone? "Hmm… still, that's a pretty blank look. Blanker than usual." He bent down a little to study me before nodding. "I know just the thing." And he… he picked me up. Just up and put me on his shoulder. My head nearly brushed the ceiling! "Huh. Heavier than you look."

"Of course I am," I responded, not knowing how to react at all. Particularly when Sothis just sorta floated around with a bubbling laugh before 'disappearing'. "Why did you pick me up?"

"You're lost in your head and getting all spiraled due to how complicated things are. I'm not all that great at the thinking and strategizing thing, but I can reason that out." He grinned up at me and casually began walking. With me sitting on his shoulder. "Plus, it's been one thing after another, and it's clear that it's wearing on you."

"Clear?" No one used that word with me. Except when describing how much of a monster I was.

"Look, you might appear emotionless, but no one is. And I noticed during the arena fight that you got more stoic as the battle went on, not less like most people do. Got me thinking that maybe you don't exactly like fighting." He… what? How had he guessed…? No one had guessed that before. "And here we are with, guess what, more fighting. Because I doubt we're getting Aelfric back without a fight. If, you know, he's even still alive."

"Do you not think he is?"

"Depends on who we're dealing with. Hostage situations do typically only work with a living hostage, but in a case like this? It would be pretty easy to prop up a corpse to lure us out." He said it. Not me. "But that's for later. For now… perfect timing. Yo, Ely!" Balthus waved his free hand to hail a pretty young woman who was huffing quietly about something. "Is Grandma Lisbeth around?" At the name, I did a quick look around and recognized the area as where I'd overheard Balthus and Hilda 'argue' when we first got here. I even saw the stacked boxes.

"She is, despite my insistence that she go ahead and evacuate," the woman retorted waspishly. Still, it was easy to see the worry in her expression. "Says that she'll leave once all the children and younger folk have left."

"Of course, Ely, for these old bones don't have that many years left anyway," a laughing, croaky voice explained. The owner of the voice stepped out of the shadows of the door, with a smile that deepened all the wrinkles on her face. And there were quite a few. She was a wizened old woman, with knobby fingers that seemed swollen. But her smile was kind and gentle. "Balthus, I'm glad you've returned. Would you mind moving things back inside? Ely has everything cleaned, and I miss my table and chairs."

"Sure thing, Grandma Lisbeth," Balthus agreed. He set me down and nudged me towards her. I stumbled a little, still trying to make sense of the current situation. "Think you can tend to this one? She's got herself in a thinking spiral."

"Oh, the poor dear." Grandma Lisbeth reached over and gently pat my cheek. I did my best to not flinch at a stranger reaching for my face. "Ah, you're one of the pretty surfacers that are helping our Wolves, aren't you? Come in and rest for a while. I'll make you a treat."

"And they're some of the best treats you'll ever have, and I say that as a former noble!" That… was supposed to be a recommendation? I supposed? "Be right back, okay?"

"Grandmother, are you so sure you should be cooking now?" Ely asked, heading inside her home. Grandma Lisbeth simply hummed some sort of reply and gently led me inside as well. The interior smelled sharply of soap, the hard and cheap kind with no scent. "And seriously, you're too relaxed! Given everything that's going on…!"

"I have lived in Abyss since I was very young, Ely, and I know it will survive this, just as it always does," Grandma Lisbeth chided, guiding me to a box in the corner for me to sit. It occurred to me right then that all of her furniture was… simply boxes. "It may be harder, but there is beauty even in that hardship."

"Like what?"

"Well, Aelfric certainly wasn't around to 'clean things up' when I met your grandfather, or while I raised your mother. And yet, I consider those happy and wonderful times."

"...Even through the worst of times, you know that there are things worth living for, because if something is the 'worst', then you know that something is better," I whispered. It didn't make much sense when spoken, but… 'worst' was a comparative word. There had to be something for the 'worst' to be 'worse than'. Otherwise, it would simply be 'normal'. "There is beauty in this world, just as there is cruelty."

"See, Ely? The young dear here understands," Grandma Lisbeth praised. She smiled warmly at me. "Yes, even if the night seems endless… it must end. And the sun will rise. Storms may shake the foundations, rip the tiles from roofs, but the clouds will clear. You might be injured, and you might lose much, but so long as you live, you can continue on." She chuckled and headed towards a stove in the back. "That is, after all, how I made it through my husband's death, and the deaths of your parents, Ely." Ely winced and looked down. "Besides, so long as you're alive and happy, then what else could I possibly want? Well, aside from you securing that fine man who keeps helping me out." Balthus?

"Grandmother, please!" Ely immediately protested. Though she scoffed, I noticed she'd blushed a deep red. "He's so reckless and irresponsible!"

"And you are much too serious, so he'll spark some joy in your life," Grandma Lisbeth replied absently, more focused on finding… whatever she was hunting for. I couldn't actually see. "Or should I pretend I haven't noticed you paying close attention to his abdomen and back? My vision may have weakened with age, but I am not blind yet."

"Grandmother!"

I ended up staying for a meal (which was good because damn, I was hungry) and I had to admit that between the food and the Grandma Lisbeth's gentle acceptance and teasing… well, Balthus was right. It did do wonders for soothing me. A reminder of what we had to protect, no matter who our enemy turned out. Even if I was right, and that enemy was who I suspected… these people who had found light and happiness despite the cruelty heaped on them by the world… they deserved far better.

Somehow, Grandma Lisbeth extracted a promise to come by for another meal at some point while I was eating, which… I didn't mind because she really did cook well. Balthus was happily scarfing down what I hadn't when I left. I noticed Ely scolding him, and I had to admit to being curious, but I'd decided against staying for one big reason: I wanted to wander Abyss. I wanted to remind myself… and firm my resolve. I wanted to be wrong. I longed to be wrong. But even if I was right, I knew we couldn't falter. For their sakes, I couldn't… no, I refused. I wanted to help them, and I couldn't forgive anyone who dragged them into a war for their own selfishness…

At some point while I meandered through the halls, a soft and gentle song unexpectedly caught my ear, and I immediately followed it, drawn in by how beautiful it was. I hadn't expected the singer to be Yuri, of course, nor did I expect him to be singing some of the children to sleep. But that's exactly what I found, and though I knew I shouldn't, I lingered in the doorway to continue listening. Which, of course, meant that when Yuri had finished singing and happened to look up, there was absolutely no way to hide.

"You…" he breathed, his eyes widening. He immediately stiffened, and he might've done more if the children weren't here. "Not very nice to eavesdrop, you know."

"I'm sorry, but your song was so lovely that I stopped without thinking," I murmured, ducking my head. Really, it was rude. "Soothing. Seems the children agree with that one."

"Well, that's a good thing, seeing as that's why I sang in the first place." He relaxed very slightly, but he still looked irritated. "I'm not big on singing in front of people, but…" His expression softened when he returned his attention to the children. I recognized a few of them, now, as some of the sick children I'd tended to yesterday, before the arena fight. "They were having trouble sleeping. So, a lullaby."

"As I said, they seem to have found it as soothing as I did." But I could see how many of them were trapped in nightmares already. Or were hacking and mewling as they desperately tried to get some rest. Without thinking, I walked over and crouched down to use my magic to ease the symptoms. "They really do need medicine."

"I think I told you last time, but securing medicine for Abyss is a trial and a half, particularly if you want it to not cost you an arm and a leg." Yuri's words were almost as bitter as his smile, and both were terribly tired. "It's the same wherever you go, of course. Like when that plague ripped through Faerghus."

"I remember that. Dad traveled between villages to bring medicinal herbs for the various doctors." It was probably the only time we'd ever been 'welcomed'. "He handled a lot of the grave digging as well."

"Rather brave of your father to do that, considering that even nobles with the finest doctors succumbed to that little plague." Including the queen… now that I thought about it, that was Dimitri's mother. Of course, given the years, he would've only been a few weeks old, give or take. "Or foolish, if you'll pardon the little insult there."

"In this circumstance, and because I made you uncomfortable, I will. Be careful around Azrael." I focused mostly on the children anyway, doing what I could. "With that said, I've never seen Dad take ill before. Azrael and I have never been sick either." Well, sick from illness. "So, perhaps we have hearty immune systems?"

"Then maybe we should go with 'kind'. Not many are willing to use their privilege for the sake of others." He watched me work for a moment, that calculating gleam back in his eyes. I pretended to not see it. "Hey, you mind taking a walk with me?"

"Hmm?"

"I need to wrangle some thoughts, but if I head out alone right now, I'm sure the others will have my head."

"Ah, I see." He just needed to step away for a bit. Like I had. "Yes, I'll be your escort. Once I'm done."

"Thanks."

It honestly didn't take me much longer to heal what I could, and Yuri used that time to secure some relatively clean blankets for the children to curl up under. Afterwards, he led the way to the lesser walked areas of Abyss. I kept quiet as we walked, just letting him brood and take his time settling his nerves and his heart. If I was shaken by all that was going on, then what did he feel? I thought it was very clear that he cared deeply for everyone in Abyss. So, the fact that someone was threatening them had to be agony. And tomorrow… tomorrow would shake and test all of us. Particularly if I was… ugh, I had to stop thinking about that guess. If I kept wiggling at it like a loose tooth, then surely it really would come true, and I...

"So, what do you think?" Yuri suddenly asked, breaking the silence. I tilted my head slightly and waited for him to clarify. "About there being a rat among us." He stopped walking and turned to face me. I did the same. "What do you think?"

"It is fairly interesting the negative connotations of rats, given that they're actually clean, intelligent, and shy creatures," I murmured, partly to avoid directly answering. In fact, Dad mentioned that the shyness was a reason why they hide away in the shadows. Wasn't sure how true that was, mind. And, I mean… I'd seen them nibbling on corpses, but it wasn't as if humans didn't eat the corpses of other animals. Still, not something I'd willingly watch. And in the nightmare of the tortured children, it had just been one more… "Regardless, though, there being a traitor would explain some details."

"Only some?"

"Yes, even with that explanation, there are too many holes." I wasn't sure, but I suddenly… I suddenly got the feeling he was testing me. I couldn't quite pinpoint why, save for how focused he was. "And I feel as if the answers that would solve that are needed to provide full context to this problem. Otherwise, more will lose their lives."

"I see." Yuri studied me for a long moment before smirking. "Milady…" Yuri leaned forward slightly, just enough to be a little too close. Particularly with that smirk. "What do you say to a date?"

"Huh?" Probably not the most eloquent of responses, but to be fair, that was a sharp change of the subject. I'd… also never had someone ask me that before. "You must be joking."

"No, I'm quite serious." His gaze certainly was serious, but... "With my heart full from a nice date, I'll be sure to fight with even more vigor."

"Right…" He had to be asking about something else. There was no other reason for this. Especially considering the random timing. "You're smiling with your mouth, but not your eyes, Yuri." Reminded me of Claude, actually.

"It only happens when I get a little greedy." He chuckled, and leaned in a little more. I held steady, wondering just what this was about. "How about midnight tomorrow you meet me in front of the Holy Mausoleum?"

"You want to go to a crypt for a date." Holy Mausoleum… where was that? I assumed in the Cathedral, but where? "At midnight."

"It's a romantic time of night, and a place where no one will bother. It's not normally open to the public, after all, and few pass by." He reached out and snagged a lock of my hair to kiss. This was weird. "Perhaps you might not get all you want out of me, but I promise a fun time regardless. So, remember. Tomorrow night, at midnight, by the Holy Mausoleum. Don't be late, but don't come too early, okay? It'll spoil the surprise."

With one last smile, he left and I remained where I was, terribly confused. But I was absolutely certain. It might've been the weirdest way to convey the message, but there was something important to it. Holy Mausoleum at midnight tomorrow… after when we were supposed to meet with Aelfric's kidnappers…

A few more pieces clicked together, and with them, I got a scenario that made sense. Mostly. There were still some hiccups, but not enough that I would call it 'implausible'. But I wanted to be wrong. Freaking hell, I'd love to be wrong.

---

Author's Notes: What's this? Another split? Yeah, sorry, but I'm rather tired, and I didn't feel like wrangling with the final part yet, so instead, we cut off here. (I work in the lab at a hospital, if you're wondering just WHY I'm so tired.)

Anyway, back to the actual story and not me rambling/ranting. The fact that eastern Faerghus believes that those who die with lingering regret remain trapped in limbo is mentioned in… Annette and Claude's supports. Want to say their B? Could be their A. (Fhirdiad is in the eastern part of the Kingdom, ftr, along with Fraldarius, Gautier, and Galatea lands.) Edelgard fearing rats is hinted at during the boss convo she and Claude have during the Battle of the Eagle and Lion, and confirmed post-timeskip during a little scene if you're on the Crimson Flower route (the same scene reveals just why she hates them as well).

Sothis tragically has no role at all during the DLC, but I figured she'd be a good way to get a little more information about the golems (or 'dolls' as they're called here). The focus on the inscription, and disrupting said inscription, is based off of Jewish folklore, specifically the story of the Golem of Prague (I hope I spelled that right…). The golems having an 'interior' based on a skeleton is from concept art (and wow, the design just keeps reminding me of the robots from Castle in the Sky).

Though many characters talk of the cultural effect of crests, and you CERTAINLY see them crop up in gameplay, you… don't actually see the crests having much of a physical effect on the chars (save what the experimentation and stress of bearing two crests does to Edelgard and Lysithea). As far as I can remember, there's only one exception to this: Dimitri. Granted, I don't think it's ever actually confirmed that the unusual strength is directly related to the Crest of Blaiddyd, but it's theorized. Figured I'd not only show it here, but also have others comment on how unusual it is (as well as show that there are some consequences to it).

Claude's supports with Cyril hint that Claude is actually a bit (or even a lot) sheltered when it comes to the world at large, hence his questions and incredulity about the amount of money involved (imagine whatever you'd like for said amount b/c I don't feel like trying to keep up with a money system on top of everything else). Why yes, Anna's comment of 'princeling' is intentional. Because it's Anna. There's nothing definitive about Daphnel having an extensive spy network, but since Judith seems to know a lot of things that others don't after the timeskip, it just made sense to me.

Bit of a nod to the first chapter of Testament of Dusk with Rhea here, as well as a… very early… reveal for the crest. I wanted to bring in Flayn and decided this would be a good way foreshadow later events. (No, there's nothing in-game about Jeritza's hair ribbon once belonging to his sister. I just added that in because it seemed to fit.) Also, have some of the other students who don't feature in the DLC at all, as well as a bit more of an explanation for why Hubert and Dedue aren't tearing the monastery apart while searching for Edelgard and Dimitri. Caspar's comment to Hubert is based a bit on what he'll say to Edelgard directly in their C support.

While I believe it's mentioned in the DLC that House Nuvelle pretended to have the Crest of Macuil, most information Linhardt rattles off is taken or extrapolated from Constance's supports with Edelgard. Yuri singing lullabies to children, and disliking public singing, comes from his supports with Dorothea. Balthus actually being able to read Byleth a little (enough to realize that she's stressing out) is due to how despite being reckless and clearly one to leap before he thinks, he's shown to be very intelligent (as seen through how his hidden talent is Reason, a very academically driven subject, and how he consistently manages to turn the tables on Claude, even in their supports, when Claude is known for wriggling out of saying anything substantial about his past).