Just how long had Bernadetta been clinging onto her dear professor for? Minutes? Hours? A few measly seconds, perhaps? The passage of time was little more than an unintelligible blur to the distraught young girl as she desperately struggled to push the primal vision of her future lover's mortally wounded body out of her mind. Amongst the alarmed looks of the myriad of concerned students surrounding the pair, all Byleth could do was awkwardly return his tormented student's fearful embrace in a weak effort to calm her racing nerves.
Then, in an instant, Bernadetta's eyes shot open as her professor's body abruptly vanished from her grasp. Without an almost literal pillar of emotional support to lean on, the girl found herself unceremoniously falling to the floor face first. Upon regaining her bearings, she quickly realized that she was kneeling in the depths of a familiar dark void as a pair of tiny feet approached her, emanating an unmistakable aura of disappointment.
"You don't have to tell me… Bernie's screwed the pooch once again…!" the young archer instinctively flinched, expecting the hand of the Goddess to strike her across the face at any moment.
"You've lost control of yourself again." Sothis calmly informed, her unblinking green eyes peering into Bernadetta's as she instead extended her hand in a kind offer to help the girl back on her feet.
"Of course I did! What did you expect?!" Bernadetta fiercely snapped, refusing the Goddess's assistance with a dismissive wave of her hand as she shakily stood herself up. "None of this was-"
"I expect you to pull yourself together and continue moving forward." Sothis sharply cut in before her violet haired compatriot could get another word in. "It's taking all the power I have to speak with you in private like this. We have very little time to speak at the moment." the tiny Goddess informed, bringing forth a faint window into the realm of reality with a simple flick of her hand.
Within, Bernadetta saw herself still tearfully clinging to her professor inside the Holy Mausoleum, a sight akin to a snapshot of a single moment in time. A heavy sigh of ease escaped the girl's breath as she was finally able to confirm that Byleth was truly alive and well.
"I really don't know what came over me."
"We can concern ourselves with that another time. For now, I'm about to turn back the clock one last time. Try to ensure that you will not need me to do this again, for we've all but exhausted the final remains of my power for the day."
Without another line of protest, Bernadetta drifted back through the flow of time to the frightful conclusion of her near fatal encounter with the Death Knight. As the threat to her life was forced to retreat from the battlefield, the violet haired girl hastily dusted herself off in a last ditch effort to make herself appear more natural.
Though he was clearly disoriented by the sudden leap in time, it didn't take long for Byleth to rush over to his ward's side, now more worried than ever.
"Oh crap, here he comes… just try to play dumb, Bernie. Pretend nothing happened."
"Bernadetta…"Byleth started, his expression quickly forming into one of both deep unease and lurking suspicion. "I know I promised not to pry into your past, but you have to tell me-"
"Who's Bernadetta?" the girl in question blurted out with an innocent looking smile. "Agh, not that dumb!" she mentally slapped herself as her professor tilted his head in abject confusion from her response.
"What I meant to say is, er…"
"Oh Bern, thank goodness you're alright!" Dorothea's voice cut into the conversation like a hot knife through butter.
"Whatever happened to not charging ahead, huh?!" Caspar loudly questioned, eyeing down his former classmate with a look of deep concern.
"I must say, that was exceedingly reckless of you. Not even Caspar has been willing to go so far with his fabled heroics." Linhardt readily agreed with his best friend's assertions.
"Th- that's not important, alright?" Bernadetta found herself shriveling up under the concerned gazes of her old classmates. "Everything managed to turn out okay, and that's all that matters. And if didn't do what I did, the enemy would have gotten away with that sword from Seiros's coffin scot-free!" she shakily pointed over to the glowing blade in her professor's hand.
"I am not understanding how that would have mattered if you had been killed in the process." Petra shook her head in disapproval of the archer's dangerous gambit. "If the Professor was not there to be saving you, we would not even be speaking right now." she continued, causing Bernadetta to direct her gaze down to the floor in guilt.
"Might I ask what motivated all of you to follow your old classmate down here?" Byleth suddenly asked, staring down at the collected Black Eagles before him with an unreadable expression. "I'm sure you must have been aware of the potential dangers involved, right?"
"I'll admit, we were not expecting to find our way into the Holy Mausoleum as a result of all this, but we were simply acting out of concern for our friend here." Ferdinand calmly informed. "We may have had to act without Edelgard's knowledge, yet that is only a small price to pay to ensure the safety of our dear friend."
"That's quite a noble sentiment." Byleth gave a short nod of approval in response to the Black Eagle's initiative.
"So… what's gonna happen to us now?"
"That remains to be seen, Caspar… I can't make any promises, but I will try to-" Byleth cut himself short as he noticed the distinct absence of the violet haired recluse that lead everybody into this situation. A simple glance in the direction of the entrance to the Holy Mausoleum would reveal Bernadetta attempting to skulk away from the conversation unnoticed.
With a single eyebrow raised in amusement, the professor promptly turned back the clock with a casual wave of his hand. The next thing she knew, Bernadetta found herself standing amongst her old Black Eagle classmates once again, sporting an understandably confused look on her face.
"What the…?"
"Well now, that certainly confirms a few of my suspicions…" Byleth audibly contemplated, prompting a fearful gulp of realization from his time-traveling student.
"C- can I be excused now…?" the lavender haired archer timidly asked, knowing full well that her startled reaction tipped the professor off to her newfound temporal awareness.
"Why yes, yes you can." Byleth quickly stated, much to Bernadetta's surprise. "You're still shaking… you've clearly been through a lot today. I want you to get all the rest you can."
"Sure, if you say so… I'm not about to turn down an order to go to my room!" Bernadetta hastily agreed, actively avoiding eye contact with the professor as she made another move to escape from the conversation. Although her retreat was quickly stopped in its tracks when Byleth placed a hand on the girl's shoulder and leaned down to whisper into her ear.
"Report to my office later tonight; we have a lot to discuss."
Feeling a deep shiver down her spine, Bernadetta simply nodded in silence before taking her leave with her head hanging down in dread. Fully exhausted from the day's events, she failed to notice a discarded greatsword lying in her path, which promptly caused the girl to trip over herself and collapse to the floor with an inelegant thud.
"Whoa there, are you holding up alright, Bernie?" Claude asked as he and Lysithea swiftly rushed over to help the lilac haired recluse back to her feet.
"Heh… I guess the adrenaline must have worn off by now…" Bernadetta lightly chuckled as her gaze was slowly drawn to the only passage out of the Holy Mausoleum. "I just realized I'm gonna have to climb all those stairs like this…"
"You really shouldn't push yourself so hard." Lysithea quietly reprimanded the young archer with a disapproving shake of her head.
"That won't be a problem. Hey, Raph!" Claude loudly beckoned over to his enormous blonde classmate. "Be a gentleman and help ferry our fair lady back home!"
"H- hold on, you really don't have to- WAAAGH!" Bernadetta's words of protest fell on deaf ears as Raphael promptly scooped her right off her feet.
"Don't you worry Bernadetta; I'll get you back to your room before you know it!" Raphael heartily claimed.
Seeing as how the gentle giant had already managed to make his way to the bottom of the stairwell in record time, Bernadetta simply let out a dismayed sigh and resigned herself to her fate. The sooner she could return to her personal sanctuary, the sooner she could feel even remotely comfortable in her own body.
The passage of time seemed to slow to an agonizing halt as Bernadetta motionlessly waited for night to fall upon her. All she could do until that point was blankly stare up at her room's ceiling, internally dreading the grueling interrogation that was surely waiting for her. Her mind wracked with a myriad of adverse thoughts, the girl could hardly muster up the will to do anything but linger in bed in a fruitless effort to keep the growing pains in her head at bay.
Even the voice of Sothis was nowhere to keep her company throughout the entire wait; the Goddess had presumably entered a deep slumber to recover the use of her temporal powers.
Any knocks on her door or words of concern from the outside were met with an almost uncaring silence from the recluse inside. No matter how loud or urgent these cries would become, Bernadetta merely refused to acknowledge them until whoever wished to contact her ultimately relented. The overturned dresser blocking the doorway and the nails holding her window shut ensured that nobody else could force their way inside either.
When night finally came, Bernadetta hardly felt any better than she did when she returned to her room, but the girl knew she could not keep Byleth waiting for too long. With a brief sigh of acceptance, she struggled to push away the dresser barring her only way out before setting foot into the cool night air outside. Shivering, the purple haired student raised her signature hood in a small effort to minimize her presence.
The path leading up to Byleth's office was a fair distance away from the more familiar setting of the professor's dorm room. Luckily, the emptiness of the monastery grounds at this late hour left Bernadetta with no unexpected obstacles as she slowly made her way to her destination. When the girl finally arrived just outside the room in question, she found herself hesitating to knock on the door to announce her arrival.
"Please, come inside. The door's unlocked." Byleth suddenly spoke up, having managed to pick up on his student's presence before she could even make a single sound. With an audible gulp, Bernadetta forced her eyes shut as she reluctantly opened the door for herself.
"Okay, let's get this over with… you're going to punish me, aren't you?" Bernadetta hastily asked, her gaze fearfully shooting off to the side. "For what it's worth, I'll willingly accept anything you have to-"
The girl's frantic rant was cut short by the familiar sound of a small metal plate clanking on Byleth's desk ahead of her. Compelled by curiosity, Bernadetta was surprised to find a fresh slice of shortcake waiting for her atop an ornate silver platter.
"I'm aware you haven't eaten anything since this morning, so feel free to have as much as you'd like."
"You could tell…?" Bernadetta's eyes widened in surprise. "I er, appreciate the offer, but it's really not that bad-" the girl attempted to refuse, but the loud rumble that subsequently erupted from her stomach told a different tale. "…Okay, maybe just a little."
Reasoning that it would be rude to turn down such a generous offer, Bernadetta awkwardly took up a seat in front of the professor's desk. Wordlessly, Byleth proceeded to pour a cup of tea for his guest as the purple haired recluse took her first bites of the scrumptious shortcake before her. The sweet scent that filled Bernadetta's nose in the following moments was all too recognizable.
"You made my favorite… you're too good to me." Bernadetta's eyes flew shut in a desperate effort to hide the tears welling up from within. "You were always too good to me, By…" she quietly added in a voice barely above a whisper.
"This is hardly any trouble for me. I'm always happy to lend a helping hand to those I care about in their times of need." Byleth calmly stated, his hands neatly folded together as he motionlessly continued to watch over the downtrodden girl in front of him.
Having found herself at a loss for words, Bernadetta took a large bite out of her shortcake to steady her racing nerves before reluctantly breaking her silence with a single heavy handed question. "I see… you had to report to Lady Rhea after the events at the tomb, right? Wh- what did she have to say about the things I did down there?"
"Nothing at all, actually. I simply twisted the truth and told her that I was the one to sneak off into the tomb by myself." Byleth calmly explained, easily maintaining the static expression on his face as Bernadetta let out a loud gasp in surprise.
"But why would you do that?! I'm sure Seteth must have been furious with you when he thought you were trespassing on holy ground…"
"I won't deny that much. My father certainly had his own fair share of harsh words for me when he joined in on the conversation. Breaching the trust of the church, shirking my responsibilities, endangering the lives of both myself and my students…"
"I'm so sorry…" Bernadetta held a hand up to her heart in guilt. "I should have taken the blame for this myself-"
"If it had been you, I can guarantee you would have been expelled on the spot." Byleth sharply interrupted the girl's regretful musings. "A simple tongue lashing is a small price to pay to ensure the continued well-being of my students. To that end, I've made sure to keep the involvement of the other Black Eagles a secret as well."
"You shouldn't have to keep looking out for me when it's just going to get you hurt… not when it really was my fault in the first place!"
"This is hardly the first time I've been scolded by my father in such a manner." Byleth claimed, eliciting a rapid blink of surprise from Bernadetta.
"Really? That's honestly kind of hard to imagine."
"I'm far from the paragon of perfection you seem to view me as. My mercenary days were full of all sorts of setbacks and pitfalls before I became known as the Ashen Demon." Byleth explained, his gaze slowly shifting to the night sky outside in recollection. "I had to learn the art of combat from scratch, just like all of you. I was certainly a fast learner, thanks in no small part to the other, more experienced mercenaries traveling alongside my father and me throughout the years. They all came from many different walks of life, but that hardly made their wealth of knowledge any less invaluable."
"I guess we all have to start from somewhere, huh?"
"Indeed, and we all inevitably make mistakes along the way as well. I'm hardly any different in that regard… my own incompetence has led to the deaths of several people I held dear to me."
The revelation sent a shock surging through Bernadetta's body. This was a tale she had never heard before, though, in hindsight, she realized that she had never truly delved into the professor's past either. Casting aside the accounts of Rhea and the lost journal of Captain Jeralt she was familiar with, the details Byleth's life before the monastery were an enigma to her.
"I never knew how to express it, but the loss of their lives still weighs on my soul to this day. I vividly remember the names and faces of every last one of them… I often wonder how everything could have changed if I could go back to save them with the knowledge and abilities I have today, but that's not something I can afford to linger on." Byleth let out a deep sigh of resignation before turning to Bernadetta. "The results may not be readily apparent, but I can somehow feel that your actions in the Holy Mausoleum will allow us to save many innocent lives in the future. I can hardly begin to describe how overjoyed Lady Rhea was to find this blade… this Sword of the Creator in my possession."
Bernadetta opened her mouth to speak the moment she witnessed her professor unveil the glowing orange blade in his hand, though her attention was instead diverted to the sleeve of the signature overcoat hanging from Byleth's left arm.
"Is something the matter?"
"Oh, it's just…" Bernadetta nervously muttered, unable to point out the large tear that had formed on the professor's sleeve. Rather, she clumsily raised the left arm of her own uniform in the hopes of getting Byleth to notice the blemish on his outfit.
"Hm, I must have taken a grazing blow from that enemy commander earlier."
"I could mend that for you if you'd like. It's the least I could do to return the favor."
"Ah yes, I've heard much praise regarding your sewing skills throughout the monastery. Is it a particularly enjoyable pastime of yours?"
"It's really just a little distraction for me to work on from time to time… I'm told I come across as awkward sometimes, but if nothing else, I'm good with my hands." Bernadetta sheepishly admitted, though her cheeks began to flush the moment she realized the implications of her latest comment.
"That's good to know. I'll leave this in your capable-" Byleth's head perked up in curiosity before he could finish his sentence. "Are you feeling all right? You're really sweating. I hope you haven't been lying in bed all day in that condition-"
"No, I'm totally fine! I swear I'm not thinking any impure thoughts right now!" Bernadetta frantically attempted to explain herself away. In a panic, she raised her still steaming teacup to her lips, only to recoil in pain the moment the liquid entered her mouth, nearly spilling the drink in the process. "Gah, still too hot!"
"Careful now. Why don't I get you another slice of cake while you wait for your tea to cool down?" Byleth generously offered, receiving a slow nod of acceptance in response.
"…Why are you being so kind to me? I've been deceiving you for quite a while now, and you were almost killed because of me…"
"I could already tell something was up with you ever since you suddenly ran up to hug me in the middle of the hall when I first arrived at the academy.
"Y- you remembered that?!"
"It would be hard not to if a random stranger threw herself into your arms while you were going about your business."
"So every time I've turned back the clock…" Bernadetta instinctively cringed in realization.
"You've certainly kept me up at night on several occasions with your constant rewinds, though it did serve as a clear sign that you've gotten yourself in trouble earlier today. I've been meaning to hold off on this discussion until I knew you'd be comfortable with it, but after I bore witness to your mortified reaction to my injuries…"
"Heh… I'm sorry you have to keep putting up with so much of my nonsense after all this time." Bernadetta meekly apologized with a short bow of her head. "Hypothetically speaking… do you think you'd be better off without me?"
"I wouldn't even dream of something like that." Byleth sharply refuted the girl's self-destructive question. "You're a stronger individual than you give yourself credit for. I've heard many a tale of how deeply reclusive you used to be before you transferred to the Golden Deer, yet the girl sitting before me now is about as different from those preconceptions as night and day."
"You're giving me too much credit. It feels like I'm still the same frightened child everyone knew me as on the inside, even after everything I've been through."
"…Courage is the magic that turns dreams into reality." Byleth firmly claimed after a few moments of tense silence, eliciting a surprised gasp from his self-loathing student in response. "Just a few choice words of inspiration from an old adventure novel I read a long time ago."
"Er, yeah, I still recall that line like the back of my hand. That was my favorite story from when I was a child." Bernadetta admitted, her eyes slightly widening in surprise as she fondly looked back on one of the few positive notes of her childhood.
"That's quite a fascinating coincidence... you remind me so much of the main protagonist of that story."
"I don't think there's much room for comparison between us…" Bernadetta lightly chuckled to herself. "Not while I still haven't let go of my cowardice."
"Would a coward constantly risk her life for what she believes in?" Byleth actively challenged the girl's refutal. "Your anxiety hasn't stopped you from coming to meet me tonight, much less sneaking off into a secret underground tomb all by yourself. "
"That doesn't mean I wasn't scared witless the entire time… I've just gotten better at hiding those feelings."
"Yet you still proved strong enough to carry on in spite of those fears." Byleth coolly pointed out. "I'll admit; I have very little knowledge of your life before the monastery. Perhaps you were someone who was too quick to beg for mercy or run away at the first sign of another's anger, but you've clearly undergone great strides to better yourself as a person since then."
"Professor..." Bernadetta clutched her heart, visibly struggling to prevent a stream of tears from welling up in her eyes. Too touched by the kind words of her beloved professor to restrain herself, the girl boldly reached out across the desk to grasp Byleth's hand in hers. "Thank you so much… you always know just what to say to ease my worries."
"It's rather strange, really…" Byleth let out a short breath in amusement. "I've been feeling this odd connection to you ever since the moment we first met... I don't know how to explain it."
"You have…? Please, go on."
"I've been seeing these bizarre visions in my head as well, around the time I first became aware of my temporal abilities. Everything about them feels so blurry… so chaotically distorted that I can only make out faint bits and pieces of what's going on… but there has always been one distinct image I could see clearly above all the rest."
"And that is…?" Bernadetta asked with bated breath.
"It's the visage of a radiant young woman peering directly into my eyes… one who looks a lot like you, actually."
Bernadetta let out another surprised gasp upon hearing her professor's answer. It didn't take much thinking to deduce the identity of the mysterious woman appearing in Byleth's dreams.
"In fact, I've recalled enough details from these visions to draw a portrait of that woman in recent days. Please, give me a moment while I search for it." Byleth requested, freeing his hand from his student's grasp as he proceeded to rummage through a pile of overturned papers he'd left to the side of his desk.
It didn't take long for Bernadetta's suspicions to be confirmed when a handcrafted portrait of her future self was uncovered before her very eyes… or at least, a crudely drawn portrait of her future self.
The quality of the drawing was rather dubious, to say the least. The corners of her jaw were crooked, her silver eyes were completely mismatched, the tuft of hair falling behind the back of her neck was nowhere to be found, and she didn't even have a nose for some reason.
"I'm painfully aware that my artistic skills aren't up to par-"
"Wha- no, no, no, this is actually pretty great! Amazing, even!" Bernadetta lied through her teeth. "It looks just like the real deal! I think she looks even better without a nose!"
"Really now?" Byleth's eyebrows rose, his interest fully piqued as the lilac haired girl before him took hold of his hand once again. "I don't suppose you're related to this woman in any way?"
"I guess you could say that…" Bernadetta awkwardly laughed as she motioned for her professor to rise out of his seat. "What if… would you believe me if I told you the woman in your visions was me? Future me, that is. Five to seven years from now, give or take."
"Well now…" Byleth let out a short huff in response. "That's not actually the most unbelievable thing I've heard since I arrived at this academy. Although…" the professor sported a mildly befuddled expression as he stretched out his hand above the self-proclaimed time traveler's head. "Aren't you 17 right now?"
"I still have a lot of room to grow!" Bernadetta sheepishly retorted with a nervous laugh. "You're taking this more easily than I would have expected…"
"My apologies. Was I supposed to do anything differently? I'm afraid I don't have the full context of the situation here."
"I know, I know…" Bernadetta sighed in exasperation as she took hold of her professor's other hand. "It's a really long story… but do you think we could just stay like this for a while? I forgot how warm your hands felt after all this time…" she slowly leaned forward with the intent of nuzzling her head into face into Byleth's chest… only for her plans to be abruptly foiled by a blinding flash of emerald light emerging from between the pair.
Forced to shield their eyes from the intensity of the sudden burst of energy, the two of them were met with an astonishing sight upon regaining their bearings. Two identical copies of Sothis were standing beside their respective companions, both rubbing their eyes with abject exhaustion as if they had awoken from a simultaneous nap.
"Ugh… what is the meaning of this?! Do you not know how rude it is to interrupt a lady's-" the future Sothis loudly yawned, only to fall into stunned silence when she inevitably laid eyes on her own mirror image.
"Is this somebody's idea of a practical joke? What am I even looking at right now?!" the other Sothis noisily clamored, feeling just as confused as her counterpart.
"Whoa… I did not see that coming." Bernadetta muttered in amazement as her gaze swung back and forth between the two Goddesses. It was an utterly surreal sight to be sure, but the girl was left with little time to ponder the situation when the door to Byleth's office suddenly flew open behind her.
"Alright Kid, we've got a few things to talk about-" the voice of Captain Jeralt abruptly announced as the esteemed knight barged into the room unannounced, only for his words to fall silent the moment he caught wind of the peculiar scene unfolding before his eyes. "…Those two kids aren't yours, are they?"
Bernadetta's first instinct was to scream in embarrassment, but her own voice seemed to fail her as a familiar flash of colors sent her barreling back in time to a point where she was still seated in front of Byleth's desk.
"Perhaps we should continue this discussion another time… away from any potential witnesses." the professor calmly offered, his eyes widened with just as much astonishment as Bernadetta's.
"Yeah… I think that's for the best. Thank you for taking the time to speak with me tonight. It really did a lot to ease my worries…" Bernadetta graciously bowed as she hastily shoveled the remains of her shortcake into her mouth and darted out the door in the blink of an eye. Seconds later, the girl found herself desperately rushing back into the office with one last request. "Wait, I still need to fix your coat! Just hand it to me and I'll have it back to you by tomorrow morning!"
Wordlessly, Byleth gave a simple nod as he slipped off the article of clothing and casually tossed it into the girl's anxious hands without a second thought. In an act of sheer audacity, Bernadetta swiftly lunged forward to plant a single brief kiss on Byleth's lips before bolting out the door once again, her cheeks burning hotter than an active volcano.
"Hey now, what are you doing with my kid's coat?" the voice of Jeralt suddenly called out the moment Bernadetta forcefully slammed the door behind her.
"Agh, stay back, whoever you are!" Bernadetta instinctively yelped in fear as she raised the professor's coat to her face to act as a makeshift shield.
"Hm, I see... he still hasn't gotten that sleeve fixed, huh?" Jeralt nonchalantly noted, seemingly unfazed by the girl's panicked outburst.
"Y- yeah… yeah, that's it." Bernadetta let out a deep breath to calm her nerves, having instantly recognized the source of the voice calling her. "I promised I'd get this patched up for him by tomorrow."
"Your professor was never the greatest at taking care of himself, you know…" Jeralt offhandedly explained as he approached the timid girl with a faint, yet wistfully nostalgic smile across his face. "It's nice to know he's got some good kids to look out for him."
"I've certainly seen that for myself a fair share of times. I'll be sure to keep a closer eye on him from now on. You have my word." Bernadetta confidently claimed before realizing that she was still blocking the door to Byleth's office. "Uh, the Professor will see you now." she hastily waved goodbye to the captain as she hurriedly scurried off in the opposite direction, feeling more resolved than ever.
"Heh. What a curious girl. At least my kid's managed to find some worthwhile company for himself after all these years."
As a good number of readers have undoubtedly picked up on, the references to the Legend of Heroes/Kiseki series have grown more apparent in the last chapter, and the connections are certainly going to grow stronger as the story progresses. I will make it clear that this is not a crossover, though, at least in the sense that the entirety of the plot will remain confined within Fódlan, and that no named characters from the series will make any direct appearances. For now, I'll simply maintain my current course as it is, though one can never predict how your plans may change in the future...
In any case, I hope you all continue to enjoy this little adventure with me. Peace out, everyone.
