"You know, Claude, it just occurred to me."

"What's up, Monica?"

"We're still in Varley territory!"

"Uh… yeah, I kind of figured."

"But it feels like we've been here for almost a year!"

"We've only been here for two days and one night at most..."

"I know, right?! It's crazy!"

"Perhaps if you'd learn to keep a proper schedule, you'd be able to make better use of what time you have."

"I have been making good use of my time, Edie... I've just had some personal things to take care of, you know..."

"Is that so? As far as I can tell, it appears you've done nothing but galavanting around with every class but your own and harassing the other students with your mere presence. Our time in this world is limited, Monica; I suggest you take that to heart and devote yourself to a task beyond your own frivolous pleasures."

"And how about you, Princess?" Claude was quick to interject, noting that the Adrestian heir had touched a nerve with her redheaded classmate. "How have you and your faithful manservant been spending your time over the past couple of weeks?"

"It's as I've already told you; I am doing nothing more than my chief responsibility as a successor to the imperial throne." Edelgard sternly answered, with her arms crossed as she calmly took a sip of tea. "As a fellow heir, surely you should understand that I cannot casually divulge imperial intelligence to-"

"Yeah, of course, you can't leak state secrets to an outsider. I get that. Everyone's got their own share of skeletons hiding away in their closets; though I've gotta say, I never pegged you for the type to skip out on school."

"And you were so close to reaching that perfect attendance award, too! What a sha-"

"So you of all people would cast suspicion on me for slipping away from the public's prying eyes unannounced?" Edelgard boldly challenged, not even bothering to acknowledge her classmate's lighthearted jest with a reply. "As it stands now, with the sudden departure of Count Varley, Hubert and I are doing all we can to keep the man's struggling land afloat during its time of crisis, especially now that the Lady of the house has taken another turn for the worse. And just to futher complicate matters, your professor has decided to pull a vanishing act as well... how would you wish to explain this, Claude?"

"I must confess, I'm drawing a blank on this one too... Hell, Teach didn't even show up for our morning briefings yesterday. He never does that. This plague business is just turning into a massive headache for everyone involved."

"I see... and I doubt you have any concrete information on the rumored witch plaguing the lands..."

"What, are you telling me you bought into that crazy rumor too, Princess? That's all she really is; an overly prominent horror story meant to scare people into paranoia."

"But how can you know that for sure?! A story so widespread can hardly be as trivial as a mere local rumor!"

"Look, I've kept my ears to the ground long enough to learn that word of mouth spreads faster than a blazing wildfire. You've gotta dig deeper before you go jumping to any premature conclusions."

"But still, we should at least consider the possibility that a devious enemy may be lurking just under our noses!"

"Aw, what's the matter Edie? I've never seen you so frightened before." Monica teased with an amused smile, earning a steely glare from the white haired princess in turn.

"I am merely taking what measures of caution I can as a proper leader. If you do not wish to fall victim to an unforeseen disaster, you had best follow my example, Claude. Uproot the source of your problems before they... No matter. What can you tell me of the hostage you've captured?" Edelgard groaned in frustration, hoping to change the subject at hand. "Have any new developments emerged from the mouth of that treacherous snake?"

"I'm afraid this snake's jaws are sealed tighter than Fort Arianhrod's front gates." the lone Golden Deer shrugged with a dismayed sigh. "Though he seems all too happy to praise his devilish experiments for 'weeding out the unworthy' and making way for the return of his patron god. I'll admit, the old coot's rants would actually be entertaining to listen to if he wasn't always running his mouth calling the rest of us inferior beings... Needless to say, we've had to ban Lysithea from coming anywhere near the guy."

"Despicable... were it not for the wealth of information he holds, I would not even allow him to share the same space as us."

"So what, would you just put every person like him down like a bunch of common beasts?" Monica bitterly spoke up, just barely resisting the urge to slam her fist down on the table in frustration.

"Calling those of his kind people is a gross exaggeration, Monica."

"It's funny to hear that coming from you, Edie."

"Hey, look, I can't claim to know a whole lot about these Agarthan folks myself, but this has been bugging me to death ever since Rhea made her big speech to the academy." Claude promptly stepped in before the two Black Eagle's argument could spiral out of control. "Does it seem realistic that every last one of them would share the same destructive worldviews? For that matter, have we ever considered why they're doing all of this in the first place? And no, the old coot's ramblings don't count."

Though she took great pains to hide it, Monica could not help but feel somewhat moved by the Alliance heir's unhesitant defense of the Agarthan people, yet the disguised student's temper promptly flared up when her fellow classmate shortly fired back with a cold rebuttal.

"What reasons those monsters have are of little consequence. If you knew even a small fraction of the crimes they've committed against our people, you would understand that nothing can excuse the ugliness of their continued existence."

"You really think you think you can act all high and mighty after all the things you've done, huh?"

"Okay, let's not-" Claude rose his voice once again, only for his words to sail right over the heads of the feuding students surrounding him.

"You shouldn't pretend to know more than what you actually understand. All you're doing is projecting your warped psyche onto another."

"Really, Edie? it sounds to me like you're just denying your true nature. You're hardly any different than the people you despise so much."

"Oh boy... you two are impossible to work with..." the Alliance heir muttered under his breath, cradling his forehead in an effort to fend off an oncoming headache while the two girls continued to glare daggers into each other's eyes.

All the while, far removed from the corners of the debating trio's eyes, Bernadetta swallowed a large lump in her throat as she silently scrutinized her fellow students from the relative security of the bordering hallway. A whirlwind of troubling thoughts had been circling around in the girl's head ever since she stepped foot inside her old home, and they only seemed to grow worse with each passing day.

"I hope you realize you're on the verge of alerting the others to your presence if you continue to breathe any louder." Sothis sorely reminded from within the depths of her host's mind as she slowly backed away from the impromptu meeting room.

"I can't help being worried at a time like this! Shouldn't you be too?! My so-called father is conspiring with terrorists beneath everyone's noses, I have the blood of some lunatic god flowing through me, and now Byleth's gone too! It isn't like him to disappear for so long, you know that! And I just know Edelgard's suspecting me of-"

"Aimlessly exhausting yourself like this will do nothing to aid your situation. Yes, I'm every bit as concerned as you are, but all the same, this is the worst possible time to allow yourself to succumb to panic." the minuscule Goddess swiftly cut in before her companion's mental tirade could continue.

"Then what else do you want me to do?! For someone who's spent every year of Byleth's life wandering around in his head, shouldn't you at least have a clue about his whereabouts right now?!"

"You overestimate my capabilities if you believe I can understand every last facet of the human mind. Have you not considered using your newfound visions to scope out the professor's location for yourself? Surely the exhaustion from your previous excursion must have worn off by now."

"I... I don't know... do you think that's even possible? I wouldn't even know where to start...!"

"Then instead of merely allowing your mind to linger on mere possibility, perhaps you'd find out for yourself."

"I guess that's better than having no plan at all... let's get to it." Bernadetta nodded in agreement, glad to at least be able to put her restless breathing to a steady crawl for even a moment. Though her mind couldn't help but default to the worst possible outcome, all the girl could do was cling onto what hope she could as she set out to seek answers to her professor's whereabouts.


"Er... am I doing this right?" the would-be seeress mentally pondered, raising a hand to her head in deep concentration as she restlessly paced back and forth across her room. "I'm focusing my thoughts like I did yesterday, but I'm not seeing anything this time..."

"How in Fódlan's name should I know? This is your power, not mine!"

"Do you even know how your power works, exactly?"

"Of course I do! The process is as simple as thinking back to a prior point in time, then lo and behold, we arrive at our intended destination without issue." was the Goddess's immediate reply, as if the mechanics behind her signature Divine Pulse were the most obvious things in the world.

"Okay, but do you know why you're able to turn back time to begin with?"

"What sort of fool do you take me for? Clearly, I have the innate ability to manipulate... some sort of mysterious chronal energy..."

"...And?"

"Oh, very well. In hindsight, I have never considered the root of my powers either..." Sothis reluctantly confessed. "But this is beside the point! If you are so intent on divining Byleth's current whereabouts, then you will simply have to focus harder!"

"I'm trying! I don't think this is as easy as you're making it sound!"

...

"Hah... maybe I should look somewhere else entirely... the knights must be keeping track of his activities somewhere... if I can just snatch up his official records, then-"

"I wouldn't waste my efforts if I were you."

"L-Lilith...! I-" Bernadetta blurted aloud, once again taken by surprise by the sudden emergence of the second voice within her mind.

"So you've run into a bit of a mental roadblock, have you? There's no need to tell me; you can't even lull yourself to sleep without your knight in shining armor by your side anymore."

"I"m a grown adult, you- agh, if you know anything about the professor's location, then why don't you just tell me outright?!" the burgeoning seeress grumbled in frustration from the witch's continued taunts.

"I'm afraid there's little I can do to skirt past your shortcomings in that regard... especially when the one you seek doesn't wish to be found in the first place."

"What in the hell is that supposed to mean...? That sounds nothing like the Byleth I know! He would always-"

"Have you ever considered the possibility that you might not know your beloved as well as you think you do?"

"Wh- that's ridiculous... I don't have to think twice to know you're just spewing lies in my face..."

"Am I? Would you have ever discovered your own heritage had you not sought it out for yourself? Let alone the revelations your own family had been keeping you in the dark from for your entire life? Mark my word, I will drill this lesson into your head as many times as nec-"

"...Ignorance is worse than death, is that it?"

"Ah, so you do catch on quickly. I suppose I can least tell you that your professor is in no real danger as we speak... though I can hardly say the same for you and your friends if you continue to hole yourself up in your room like this."

"What do you mean by-"

As if on cue, a mocking tap could be heard emanating from the door to the reclusive noble's room. Now growing somewhat accustomed to the mysterious witch's calling signs, Bernadetta promptly poked her head out into the nearby hallway expecting to find Lilith's cloaked figure waiting for her, only to find nothing but thin air instead.

"Come now, you can't expect me to hold your hand every step of the way. With the head of the household off on official business, now should be the perfect time for you to stick your nose where it doesn't belong, wouldn't you say?"

"...Why are you so intent on helping me anyway? You must have had to go out of your way to seek someone like me out... so what's in this for you, exactly?"

"Have you not considered that our respective goals may be aligned to a degree? There is nothing more to it."

"Is that really it? Well, don't think I trust you for a second either! I don't know the first thing about your goals-"

"Are the two of you quite finished yet?" the voice of Sothis impatiently flared up in the midst of her host's heated rebuttal.

"Ah, don't tell me... did we get cut off again?"

"These recurring episodes are quickly becoming a most irritating issue."

"Sorry... I don't think there's anything I can do about that, but I think I have another lead on what to do next." Bernadetta meekly apologized, rubbing the back of her head in embarrassment as she cautiously set out into the sprawling hallway. "I just don't like where this one's leading me..."

"Then I suppose both of us will have to swallow our grievances and continue looking forward. If we cannot find our way in the light, then the best we can do for now is to see where this dark road leads us."

"Poetically put..." the reclusive noble quietly mumbled to herself while she continued to swiftly scurry through the emptied halls of the Varley manor. The next step on her search for answers was all too clear, and the next stop was another location she wouldn't dare to step foot in under any other circumstances.

The door to Allocer von Varley's personal study remained as rigidly shut as ever when the man's daughter finally arrived at her destination. Though Bernadetta had only stepped into this room a small handful of times throughout her life, typically for disciplinary purposes or unwanted social affairs, each and every instance was wracked with a crushing sense of fear that lingered to this day.

"We should make haste. Though your father may be absent for now, we cannot be sure how long it will take for the man to return home. This may be our only opportunity to-"

"I know, I know! But we can't just break in like a couple of common thieves! That man is more paranoid than I am; if he finds anything out of place in his study, you can bet he'll pin the blame on me before he even sets foot inside!" Bernadetta frantically reasoned as she cautiously reached her hand out to the ornately polished doorknob before her. To the girl's surprise, however, a simple twist of her hand was enough to smoothly turn the knob and open the door to the study.

"That's weird... Count Varley always left the door to his study under tight lock as far as I could remember, whether he was actually inside or not..."

"This witch is leaving a veritable trail of bread crumbs for us to follow... Dubious, but we'd best not look a gift horse in the mouth." the Goddess warily noted as her companion timidly poked her head out into the unlocked study. The whole room was, predictably, vastly more well kept than the abandoned space where Bernadetta was once taken to meet her potential suitors.

Lit only by the faint rays of the sun sneaking in through the veiled window in the back, the study was prominently decorated with an ornamental red rug running along the floor, several lavish bookcases lining along the surrounding walls, and perhaps most strikingly, a series of carefully arranged portraits hanging just above, each showcasing a different member of the Varley family with a lavish golden frame.

The only pictures Bernadetta recognized were those suspended right above her father's desk in the back of the room, proudly displaying the most immediate members of the family. The girl couldn't help but twitch an eyebrow in annoyance upon noting that Allocer and Theresa's portraits, particularly the former's, were larger and grander than all the others, plainly signifying their status as the current heads of the territory. Even her Uncle Abel's frame was still presented alongside the living members of his family, which only served as a bitter reminder of the man's dubious fate.

"Frankly, I'm surprised he even had the consideration to place a portrait of me right next to him... though I'd guess it's probably more out of obligation than anything..." the estranged noble daughter thought to herself while she carefully scanned the scope of the room around her.

"Wait... does something not seem... off about your portrait up there?"

"Uh... no? What's wrong, Sothis? This looks just like a younger version of me. A lot younger, actually. Looking back, I never could sit still long enough to model for a sketch or-"

"Take a closer look, you dolt! Light a candle if you have to! That girl's eyes, do they look anything like yours?"

"It is kind of shady in here... give me a quick second..." Bernadetta mumbled aloud, contemplating whether or not to pull apart the curtains to allow more natural light into the vacant room. As luck would have it, however, the Count happened to leave a spare candle lying just on the edge of his desk, presumably for late-night undertakings. One flick of the wrist later, and Sothis's observation would become all too clear: the eyes of the young girl in the portrait wore a distinct bright blue hue. A stark contrast to the silver orbs Bernadetta possessed today, but an eerily perfect match for those of her father's.

"You're right... she's practically a spitting image of me in every other detail, but... maybe the artist decided to improvise a bit?" the alarmed noble commented to herself as she anxiously circled around to the back of her father's desk, taking note of a solitary picture frame lying face down on the opposite side. More curious than ever, Bernadetta found herself staring into a familiar face as she gingerly held the frame in her hand.

"It's the same picture again... You know, she almost looks happier than I would have when I was that young. The more I look at this, the more subtle differences I start to find..."

"The plot thickens even further... your father seems to be rather attached to this piece. By any chance, was your relationship with him any better in your early years?"

"Well, I guess he was tolerant of me when I was still a toddler... I don't know, does anyone remember anything from when they were that young? All I know for sure is that as soon I was old enough, something inside him must have completely snapped."

"Hm... perhaps there's a chance, however slim it may be, that the Count still holds some semblance of love for-"

"Like hell he does." Bernadetta sharply snapped, all too eager to leave the subject behind. Seeing as how the rest of the desk was bare of any paperwork or other items of interest, she promptly reached down towards the handle of a large drawer spanning the width of the desk. Much to the girl's dismay, the handle refused to budge regardless of how hard she tried to tug on it, and her heart sank even further upon taking notice of the small keyhole lying right below.

"Right... of course... knowing dear old dad, he probably keeps the key with him at all times to prevent would-be spies from rummaging through his belongings..." the would-be investigator sighed in frustration, once again finding herself at an ill-placed dead end. "Hm... do you think I'll find some sort of secret passageway if I pull the correct book on one of these bookcases? We're going to have a lot of ground to cover, though..."

"Is there perhaps another solution that has slipped your mind?"

"You're right, there might be a switch hidden behind one of the larger portraits! Look, there's a spare ladder over in the corner, I'll just use that to-"

"Wha- no! This is not one of your silly adventure novels, Bernadetta. And for your information, that device is clearly a stepladder."

"Are you sure about that? I doubt the extra step makes any sort of difference."

"Of all the things to doubt me on, this is where you draw the line?! Knowing the difference between the two devices can very well mean the difference between life and death-"

"Agh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you!"

"Ugh... look, instead of spending excess time searching every nook and cranny of this room, perhaps you should put your newfound abilities to use instead." Sothis sighed in exhaustion, realizing how important it was to turn the conversation back on track. "By all means, you should take every opportunity you can to familiarize yourself with them."

"I guess we don't have much of a choice, huh?" Bernadetta nervously sighed as her gaze wandered back towards the solitary portrait on her father's desk. "I know I won't like what I'm about to see, but if we've already gone this far..." she continued to deliberate with herself, taking hold of the curious portrait once more. The girl portrayed within sent a cold shiver down her spine as she seemed to stare directly into her soul. She couldn't pinpoint the feeling, yet something was strangely familiar about the girl's appearance.

Putting aside her puzzled feelings, the budding seeress took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and focused her thoughts on her father once again, more motivated than ever to dig up the Count's concealed past.


In due time, Bernadetta's focus was broken up by a loud, melancholic sigh, an obvious sign that she was viewing her father's old memories once again. When she opened her eyes again, she found herself properly seated in the Count's desk, quietly staring at the picture of the blue eyed girl as an aura of wistfulness seemed to fill the air. Just in the corner of her eye, she could faintly make out what appeared to be an incomplete letter idly laying upon the desk's surface, complete with an abandoned quill staining the edge of the parchment with its ink.

Tempted as she was to read what parts of the letter she could, her father's vision was far too blurred to make out any of his writings. This time, however, the obvious culprit of this setback was the rancid smell of alcohol in the Count's breath, which was made readily apparent by the unsealed ceramic bottle lying just within hand's reach. With a tired groan, Allocer lazily reached out to take another sip directly from the source, when an urgent series of knocks suddenly echoed from the door to his study, nearly causing the man to spill the contents of his drink in surprise.

"Gah... who dares to disturb my peace at this hour-" the half drunken noble grumbled in frustration, only for his protests to be promptly silenced by the ensuing reply.

"Allocer? Allocer! I know you're in there!" the voice of Bernadetta's mother called out from the other side of the door, strenuously attempting to turn the knob to no avail. "Let me in at once! I have something of grave importance I must speak with you about!"

"Ah, Theresa...! I see you've returned from your latest venture earlier than expected!" the Count exclaimed in astonishment, his short lived fury quickly deflating as a result of his wife's abrupt presence. "Please, there's no need to strain yourself. I'll undo the lock for you in due time." the confined noble calmly reassured as his gaze restlessly turned down to the scattered contents of his desk.

With little time to spare, the Count swiftly procured an ornate silver key from his pocket, unlocked the concealed drawer on his side of the desk, and haphazardly shoveled what items he could into the compartment. Seeing as how he'd misplaced the seal to his wine bottle, however, the man was faced with little choice but to simply place the drink on the floor behind the desk in the hopes that it would go completely unnoticed.

"Are you feeling quite alright, Allocer? I can hear quite the commotion taking place in there."

"Tis' merely your imagination, dear." the off guard noble unconvincingly explained as he hurriedly undid the barrier separating himself from his wife. "My apologies for the delay. By all means, I should be asking you if you're alright, Theresa. You look positively exhausted; what news could possibly bring you back home so prematurely?"

"Yes, well... one of our servants saw it fit to apprise me via carrier pigeon of the proceedings here at the manor, and I simply had to return without delay..."

"Is that so?" Allocer asked, a hint of concern welling up in his throat as he took his lady's hand and noticed the grim expression forming on her face. "I'm afraid you must be regrettably misinformed; I've not received word of any emergencies that would require your immediate attention."

"Please, let's not waste time playing the fool's game, dear. And I can smell the wine in your breath as well. What did I tell you about excess drinking so late at night?" Theresa sharply reprimanded, furrowing her eyebrows as if her spouse was a misbehaving child.

"Gah, you worry far too much. I'm still quite lucid, as you can plainly see." the Count heedlessly brushed off his wife's warnings, earning a silent judgmental glare from the lady of the house as she calmly stepped into the study. "Why, if I had known you were en route, I would have taken the time to prepare a nice spot of tea for the both of us-"

"What has happened to our daughter, Allocer?"

"I... I beg your pardon?" the Count struggled to ask, clearly taken aback by his wife's sudden accusation.

"You should know just as well as I do; something is horribly wrong with Bernadetta."

"Well, of course. The girl is always causing trouble for us. I don't see what that has to do with-"

"Our people may be none the wiser, but I know when I'm being deceived. Has anyone in the history of Fódlan ever miraculously developed a Crest as a teenager?"

"Ah, so you've heard the good news..." Allocer reluctantly gave way, no longer able to bar his wife from the subject at hand. "I must confess, I was hoping to surprise you with our latest development, but there is a first time for everything, is there not?"

"In the thousand plus years since the very establishment of the Church of Seiros? I may not be of this land, but I am still well versed enough to know that Crests are solely inherited by birth; there are no exceptions... you had a direct hand in this, didn't you?"

"...And? What is there for you to be concerned about? We no longer have to feign the child's status to the frothing masses. And just in time, too. I may have finally discovered the perfect-"

"I have every reason to be concerned if whatever you've done to the poor girl has caused her to lose her mind! I've witnessed her affliction with my own eyes! Her mind is wracked with rampant headaches, she can no longer sit still in her own body, and her speech is slurred beyond recognition... I'll ask again: what in Sothis's name have you done with our child?!"

"Why does this trouble you so thoroughly?" Allocer asked, genuinely unable to comprehend the source of his spouse's unrest. "After all the whelp as stolen from us, I know full well how you've come to resent her. How could you not? Her very existence has been a leech in our side for as long as she's lived. At least now she can finally be of use to us after years of adversity and disappointment."

"Disappointment, you say? I suppose I can hardly deny that... Bernadetta was not the daughter I wanted for myself... she never could fill the lost void in my heart, but even so, she is still our child regardless. It should have been our duty to love the daughter we had with all of our hearts, yet all this time, we've allowed our own petty grudges to take control of our actions... do you not think we should take a different course of action with her?"

"You should know full well that everything I do is in pursuit of a brighter future for us and our people. Though there may be those who cannot understand, my every action is taken with our best interest in mind." the Count solemnly declared, falling into a period of contemplative silence as the two nobles cautiously stared into one another's eyes. "Would you like to have our real daughter back, Theresa?"

"My real daughter...?" the noblewoman parroted, unsure what to make of her husband's strange offer. "Allocer, we already have one-"

"No, my dear. That... thing may share our flesh and blood... we may personally have witnessed her birth, and watched her grow into the semblance of a human being we know today... but that thing is not our child."

"Allocer, have you lost your senses? Are you even listening to yourself?!" Theresa cried out in utter disbelief. "We have but one child, and there is nothing we can do to change that!"

"You haven't the slightest idea what that impostor represents!" Allocer fiercely shouted back, only to be met with a stronger judgmental gaze from his wife in return. Thoroughly frustrated, the Count briefly turned away to recompose himself as he returned Theresa's scrutiny with a single, succinct question. "What if there was a way?"

"A way? A way to do what, exactly?"

"You still hold our little Victoria dear to your heart, do you not? We can allow that innocent soul to see the light of day that was cruelly robbed from her by that hellspawn. And it's not just her... even the first child that was forcibly ripped from your arms, and my sweet-"

"What are you talking about!? All of those girls have long departed this world... I don't know how much wine has spilled into your brain, but-"

"I promise, if all goes well, we won't have to put up with that dissapointment for much longer. I know what I'm claiming may sound absolutely insane, and perhaps it may just be... yet I was promised-" the Count was quick to cut in, only to be unexpectedly interrupted in turn by the frantic footsteps of an approaching maid, who shortly arrived at the unlocked door to his study in a fit of total exhaustion.

"M- Milord... and Milady... it's a disaster...!" the servant audibly struggled to inform her two masters in between bated breaths.

"Out with it, woman!" Allocer impatiently demanded. "You've already made the mistake of barging into my quarters unannounced; you had best not be wasting my time!"

"It's Lady Bernadetta, she's... she's thrown herself from the top floor of the manor!"

"What?!" the two nobles cried out in unison.

"I- I'm sorry, I should have noticed the signs earlier...! I tried to stop her, but now her injuries are-" the maid frantically attempted to explain, only for Theresa to wordlessly brush past her and dart off into the connecting hallway in the blink of an eye.

"Ah, Milord... I presume you'll be joining us as well-"

"Yes, yes, just hurry up and attend to the damned girl, Felicia! I will be with you in just a moment's time!" the head of the household impatiently roared once again, sending his servant scurrying off in the direction of his distressed spouse. With a thoroughly drained groan, Allocer lingered in the confines of his study as he paced towards his desk in deep contemplation. For but a brief moment, a sharp pang of guilt flared up within the man as his gaze wandered towards a seemingly inconsequential portrait hanging alongside a distant corner of the room. Shaking his head in disdain, the Count silently cursed his child's name as he hurriedly departed the study to survey the situation outside.


"W- what the hell was that...? Was that really why... I- I have to go right away!" Bernadetta muttered aloud as her long vision finally came to an end, all too eager to make a beeline to the doorway in lieu of her mother just moments before, much to the chagrin of her emerald haired companion.

"Wha- please calm yourself! Have you ever considered taking a moment to gather your thoughts before rushing off outside like a headless chicken?!"

"Wha- y- you saw all of that too, didn't you?! There's nothing else to think about!" the troubled young Varley snapped aloud in irritation, just barely able to prevent herself from loudly slamming the door behind her.

"Do you have the faintest idea as to where to go next? I realize this must be difficult for you to look back on, but do you at least have any recollection of-"

"NO! I- I mean, yes? None of this is adding up anymore!" the struggling seeress mentally struggled to make sense of her situation as she hurriedly scampered through the abandoned halls of the Varley manor. Even after her numerous years of absence, she at least memorized the necessary routes to avoid unwanted contact with anyone along the way. "Both of my parents always told me I was born with the Crest of Indech within me, right? That's the reason my... the reason he was so hellbent on marrying me off to some wealthy noble..."

"But what if that was never the case from the outset? If what your father said was true, then as the only child to the Varley name, they would have had all the reason in the world to lie about your Crest to the public... and yet you clearly possessed Indech's Crest by the time you began attending the Officer's Academy..."

"Then that could only mean... agh, there's only one way for me to make sure of this! I just... I don't think-"

"I know. I believe I understand how difficult it is to look back on this forgotten ordeal more than you might think..."

"Really? You don't sound too sure of yourself there. Can Goddesses... well, you know?" Bernadetta timidly asked upon finally reaching the front door to the manor. Once outside, at least, she was given more leeway to fasten her pace without making any alerting noises.

"I am hardly as infallible as my present-day followers would have you believe. I am able to experience pain and loss just as well as any human can... yet I cannot quite place my finger on the source of my sorrows... and that pains me more than the ordeal itself."

Taking a deep breath in a last minute effort to steady her nerves, it wasn't long before the violet haired seeress and her divine companion came to an abrupt halt at the eastern side of the manor. Though the mid-day sun shone brightly upon the surrounding area, the air around Bernadeta seemed to turn to take a chilly turn as her gaze hesitantly wandered up towards a seemingly innocuous fourth story window. By all means, there seemed to be nothing out of the ordinary in this arbitrary corner of the Varley estate, yet to the family's ever anxious heir, it was anything but.

"Well? Surely you won't require another vision to recall exactly what took place here, right?"

"You..." Bernadetta dully mumbled, not even surprised to hear the voice of Lilith sounding within her mind once again. "As much as I'd rather keep this buried up in the deepest depths of my memory, it's all coming back to me... if what Mom said was right, I couldn't have been any older than 16 at the time; that would be around a year or two ago from today." the seeress reluctantly reminisced as she slowly stepped towards the upper window. "I don't know for sure what happened beforehand, but I'm starting to have a sneaking suspicion... that must have been the sickest week of my life. I just woke up one day with an unbearable headache, and the rest of my body ached so badly that I was effectively paralyzed... I cried for help at the top of my lungs, but no one would hear my pleas... I could hardly hear or understand a word I was saying myself."

...

"I must have completely lost all sense of space, but I eventually got the attention of the manor's servants when I loudly collapsed to the floor in a sloppy heap... they made me well enough to get back on my feet at some point, but by then, my perception of time just seemed to slow to a crawl, and the pain continued to grow worse and worse with each passing day..."

"And no matter what remedies the maids and butlers pursued, they could never make the pain go away. Your mother was far away from home, and your father wouldn't even bat an eye at your weakening condition... it was only a matter of time before the pain became too much for you to bear."

"How do you... gah...!" Bernadetta muttered in confusion, her body now uncontrollably stumbling forward as she was overcome with an almost nauseating sense of déja vu.

"You were all alone in your torment, with no end in sight... after all you've suffered beforehand, it's only natural that you'd seek any means to escape from it. And so, when an opportunity finally presented itself-"

"S- stop! I don't need to hear any more of this! What are you trying to prove to me with all this?!" the inexperienced seeress pleaded, barely able to keep herself from collapsing to the ground with the aid of a nearby wall.

"Try as you might to hide from it, this very experience has shaped you into what you are today. Every last detail is still as fresh in your mind as it was on that fateful day; the immediate regret upon your feet leaving the ground, the desperate desire to cling onto life as your body laid broken, unable to so much as cry out in pain-"

"No, please... I don't WANT to remember this!"

"Why, it's a wonder you're still alive to this day. You've always been a surprisingly resilient one, or perhaps your father always knew just how far to push you without breaking you. Either way, the fates have chosen to spare you time and time again for a very specific purpose... Of course, since you still seek answers, you've no choice but t-"

"I've had just about enough of your cryptic answers here! If you're going to keep dragging me around by the chain, you should at least do it to my face!" Bernadetta hotly demanded, still struggling to regain stable footing when a seemingly innocuous brick of the wall supporting her suddenly gave way, nearly knocking the girl off balance once again as a loud rumble began to echo throughout the surrounding area.

Quickly taking the opportunity to regather her senses once the rumbling finally came to a stop, the young seeress was taken aback to discover that an obscure, human sized corridor had suddenly opened up mere inches away from her. Peeking her head into the newly unveiled gap in the wall would reveal a long, dimly lit stairway extending much further down than the eye could see, not unlike the passageway leading down to the Holy Mausoleum at the academy.

"My, this is incredibly convenient... perhaps too convenient for its own good."

"Ah, Sothis..." Bernadetta courteously greeted the re-emergence of the Goddess's voice within her mind after her latest period of dead silence. "I'm guessing you didn't hear Lilith's half of the conversation back there-"

"There is no need. I am more than able to connect the dots for myself. You have my greatest sympathies for the injustices you've suffered before attending the academy, but more importantly, it seems that our witch friend has revealed another clue for us."

"Friend, huh? How much do you want to bet this is all some sort of elaborate death trap?"

"I would not discount the possibility; this does seem like a rather treacherous path to walk, however-"

"Yeah, I know. The answers lying beneath our feet are more than worth the risk, and we can be sure everyone inside must have heard all that racket too. We'd better get this over with quickly." Bernadetta reasoned as she hesitantly took her first steps into the secret stairwell, yelping in fear as the door seemed to magically slam shut behind her the moment she set foot on a secluded floor tile just slightly higher than those surrounding it.

"How fascinating... it seems this area operates on its own intricate security system..."

"Right, fascinating... that door would have crushed me to death if I was standing any further back..." the uneasy noble uncomfortably looked back to the sealed entryway in question, which had now shut off any natural light from within the shadowy corridor, leaving only a faint glow of azure and emerald emanating from the walls and steps in its wake. Out of curiosity, the girl attempted to step on the panel again in the hopes of reaffirming her way out, but to no avail, as the tile refused to budge again, leaving her only entryway firmly sealed from the outside world. "Oh. Lovely. At least it's easy to guess how this place must have gone unnoticed for so long."

Taking an anxious breath, the girl figured the best course of action would be to descend the stairs with the utmost caution; she was hardly in the mood to suffer another long fall after the bitter memory she was forced to recount. The passage itself proved to feel even lengthier than the stairs leading down to the tomb of Seiros in Garreg Mach, much to the collective dismay of the investigative pair marching down them.

"What do you think is keeping these stairs alight, anyway?" Bernadetta suddenly asked after a lengthy period of dull silence, hoping to at least break up the monotony of her slow downward trip.

"I can hardly say... though I do believe we've seen our own share of anomalies such as this before. Do you still recall the Holy Tomb beneath the monastery, and the Agarthan stronghold the Alliance raided late into the war?"

"Now that you mention it... the lighting around here does seem eerily similar to those places. They were so deep underground, yet none of us had any trouble seeing anything around us... Maybe there are more secret passages like this in the other regions of Fódlan, just waiting to be uncovered?"

"You may be right, but I highly doubt we would be capable of tracking down any others like this without any external aid. By all means, we only ever... oh dear." Sothis's musings were cut short when the path before her host widened out to reveal an empty medium sized space; a breath of fresh air from the claustrophobic stairway leading down to it if not for the three distinct forks in the road lying on each side of the room.

"Well, this just took a drastic turn for the worse. I don't suppose you had the foresight to bring a piece of parchment along with you? We may need to make use of a detailed map if we are to-" the tiny Goddess observed, only stopping halfway upon noting that her violet haired companion seemed to be spacing out once again, her attention transfixed by the strange abstract carvings lining the surrounding walls. "Gah, am I being interrupted once again?! How many times must our conversations be-"

"Quiet! Didn't you hear anything just now?" Bernadetta promptly reprimanded, craning her head towards the leftmost passage as if it were directly calling out to her.

"I'm... afraid I do not quite follow. I fear the stress of the situation may have gotten to your psyche... I must assure you; if there were any beings in the immediate vicinity other than us, I would be the first to- hold on, where do you think you're off to now?!" Sothis furiously demanded when her partner abruptly decided to scramble towards the seemingly interchangeable hallway that had attracted her attention. "We haven't the slightest idea of the scope of these tunnels! A single wrong step could very well set us off on an untraceable path-"

"Are you sure you can't hear anything? There's this... strange bell chiming from further into the labyrinth. It's extremely faint, but I can hear it growing louder every time I glance in this direction... it has to be telling me where to go!"

"Is that so? If this chime is as prominent as you say, then how am I unable to sense it in turn...?" Sothis wondered aloud while her host continued to race through the seemingly endless passage before her. "This path has been made too deliberately clear for my liking, though... I shudder to think of what that witch wishes to show us next."

Softly murmuring in agreement, Bernadetta continued to race through the network of tunnels without restriction. Though the path ahead continued to split into additional forks along the way, the mysterious bell echoing within the girl's mind always seemed to direct her ever closer to her unknown destination. Her extended search finally came to fruition when the pair came across another open room, even larger in scale than that of the junction lying beneath the stairs. The atmosphere surrounding them seemed to take a sinister turn the moment the noble set foot inside, and the putrid stench permeating the air did little to help matters either.

"Dear Seiros...! Have we been led into some sort of abandoned cesspool?!"

"Well, the small canal that seems to be lining the room isn't a good sign... but I think I'm more interested in all these strange contraptions surrounding us... what is this place?" Bernadetta silently wondered as her gaze darted back and forth between the multitude of bizarre shapes and artificial light littering the area. By all accounts, this space appeared to be a more archaic and downright decrepit version of Shambhala; the complete lack of lifeforms other than herself only served to add to the tension in the confused seeress's mind.

Perhaps the most eye-catching structure one might notice upon entering the chamber was a massive cauldron like apparatus situated in the middle of the room, surrounded on all sides by a multitude of stone pedestals, each sealed off with a cylindrical glass covering. The cauldron itself appeared to be connected to the ceiling through the use of a wriggling mass of thick metallic coils, almost as if a nest of curious snakes had poured down from above to feed on whatever contents lied within.

Immediately taking note of a small opaque window just barely high enough for her to reach, Bernadetta cautiously peered her head through to find that the inside of the cauldron had been largely empty; save for the trace amounts of blood lining the walls and floor.

"Wait, you don't think this was used recently, do you? If it was, then..."

"I may be far more concerned about the purpose of this gargantuan chamber myself..."

Shaking her head in a futile effort to ward off her growing sense of unease, Bernadetta eagerly turned away from the bloodstained cauldron and, seeing as how the eastern side of the room was veiled in an enormous jet black curtain, set off towards the opposite side of the room, where there appeared to be a row of white sheeted beds lined up against the wall, each separated from one another with a smaller series of thick green drapes.

"I think I have a good idea of what to expect... but I've never hoped I was more wrong about something in my life..." the lost student anxiously noted. By all means, this portion of the room greatly resembled an ordinary infirmary, much like Manuela's usual workplace back at the monastery, albeit on a notably larger scale, right down to the abandoned clipboards and miscellaneous medical equipment scattered across the nearby desks.

"It's at least a small relief to know that this corner is immaculately clean. You could even take a short nap here without fear of danger if the desire strikes you."

"I- I'd rather not... all these knives and scalpels littering the place are giving me some creepy vibes..." Bernadetta promptly refused the Goddess's offer as she hurriedly moved past the uncanny clinic to find a small library lying just beyond the final bed. Several bookcases brimming with all sorts of unfamiliar texts lined the walls in this corner of the massive chamber, complete with a neatly assorted series of desks nearby for maximum convenience. For her part, Bernadetta idly scanned the contents of each shelf as she walked by until a massive chart hanging high above her head caught her eye.

"Whoa... is that supposed to be some sort of map?" she gasped aloud, taken by surprise by the sheer size and bizarre shape of the landmass portrayed within. "It almost feels like someone just took a bunch of random shapes and stuck them together like a child's jigsaw puzzle... there's no way a single continent could stretch out this fa-"

"Xanadu..." Sothis abruptly spoke aloud, as if the name had suddenly burst from her mind.

"Wha- Sothis...?"

"This colossal land... I feel like I may have seen it somewhere before..."

"Wait, really? Now that you mention, that small shape in the northwestern corner does look a little familiar..."

"Well, mayhaps it's far too early to draw conclusions from this. Even after all this time, I am still unable to paint a clear picture of my original era... the present day's multitude of twists and lies only serve to muddle its history further."

Bernadetta simply nodded in agreement as she slowly walked away to the opposite corner of the chamber, mentally taking note of the unexplored hallway at the northernmost end of the room. Lying just outside the concealment of the black veil was a sizeable, nearly transparent bin filled to the brim with a large collection of tiny colorless spheres just large enough to fit in the palm of one's hand. Upon further inspection, however, each of these spheres was visibly marked with some sort of physical imperfection, ranging from prominent cracks to incomplete symbols etched upon their surfaces, and even a number of outright broken orbs as well.

"Hey... do these things kind of look like Crest Stones to you?" Bernadetta wondered aloud, reaching into the abandoned bin to examine one of the faded spheres up close. This sphere in particular bore enough cracks that even the slightest impact would likely be enough for it to shatter into countless pieces.

"Why yes, they do appear to be the right shape and size, yet something feels distinctively different about this batch. I do not believe I've seen so many in one place before, let alone haphazardly piled atop one another like a mountain of trash."

"Trash, huh? That might not be too far off the mark... I think I'll take one of these with me to show to Professor Hanneman when we get back to the monastery." Bernadetta concluded, trading the heavily cracked stone in her hand for a more visibly sturdy sample before turning her attention to the massive veil covering the remainder of the room. A massive lump formed in the girl's throat before she could even reach out to the concealing curtain, a sure sign that the sights awaiting her would be far from pleasant.

A single glance inside would be more than enough to prove the girl's worst fears: several rows of long stone tables, with layers upon layers of assorted glass vials scattered atop them, all containing various human remains idly floating within them.

"I can scarcely believe my eyes... this is just..." Sothis muttered aloud, unsure what to make of the utter travesty that had unfolded before her eyes as her companion reluctantly stepped inside. Thoroughly unsettled by the total disregard for human life surrounding her, Bernadetta could barely repress the urge to vomit while she uncomfortably wandered through the makeshift corridors comprising the area.

A closer look at the organs preserved within each container would reveal that they were all suspended in midair by a thin, nigh transparent liquid of some kind. There was no telling how long it had been since this laboratory was last used, or if it was abandoned altogether, but some of the preserved organs displayed were beginning to show signs of age. Bones, hearts, kidneys, even follicles of hair were beginning to gradually surround the fearful seeress on all sides the deeper she ventured into the lab.

"Why... why would anyone...?"

"Our people operate under a basic principle: that no life should ever be allowed to go to waste. Be it the young, the old, the strong, or the sick... even the dead can still be made useful when their time on this earth is up."

"Lilith...! What the hell do you know about all this?!" Bernadetta furiously demanded, her body still shaking with fear as the witch's voice echoed within her mind once again.

"Oh please, don't waste your breath directing your rage towards me. This is hardly the first time an operation such as this was carried out in Fódlan's history if I must remind you."

Stifling the urge to snap back with an objection of some sort, Bernadetta cautiously remained silent as she closed in on the furthest corner of the room, where large piles of preserved organs sat stacked upon each other like a veritable mountain of death. Furthermore, a good number of the remains stored within the pile were clearly much smaller than those of an average adult, the implications of which only served to further nauseate the wandering noble.

"Shouldn't you be more concerned with just how long this has gone on for, completely unnoticed by the unassuming populace? Think of all the mysterious disappearances that have been reported throughout this so-called plague. What do you think could have happened to all those poor, unfortunate souls who were never heard from again?"

"What is wrong with you people?! You can't just treat other human beings like... like animals to be slaughtered and torn apart for your own amusement!"

"Is that not how so-called regular humans treat those of Agarthan blood?"

"Th- that's not..."

"The same capacity for wickedness lies in everyone, regardless of the blood they possess. Do you need me to spell out who has willfully allowed this practice to carry on unimpeded for his own personal gain? Honestly, how could any of these revelations surprise you after all you've suffered at that man's hand?"

...

"Well? Do you plan on taking action with the knowledge you've garnered? Or will you continue to sit idly by until one of your friends... or even your dear professor becomes the next victim of this supposed plague?"

"You can cut the innocent act, Witch! You can pretend to help me out all you want, but you're just as involved in this sick atrocity as all your other conspirators! You're no better than him, and you know that-" Bernadetta's protests were cut short once again as the earth around her began to violently tremble, which in turn caused the makeshift pyramid of glass before her to rattle and give way.

"Oh, crap, oh crap, oh crap!" Widening her eyes in realization, the lilac haired noble promptly rushed off in the opposite direction as countless vials fell victim to gravity's pull, shattering on impact with the floor, and gradually flooding the area as their macabre contents began to spill out in every conceivable direction. Despite several stumbles along the way, the panicked girl had managed to escape from the laboratory just in time for the entire chamber to resonate with the deafening sounds of shattering glass, and for the progressing flood to leak outside the laboratory's surrounding curtains.

"Gah! It figures this trail of clues would culminate in a shameless attempt at a death trap! Are you quite alri-"

"I- I swear I didn't do any of that! Everything just started shaking on its own!" Bernadetta loudly defended, slowly inching away from the flooded laboratory when the spilled liquids began to encroach upon her feet.

"I never implied I was going to blame you for the effects of a natural disaster, Bernadetta..." Sothis sighed as the pair cautiously examined their surroundings for signs of major damage. Surprisingly enough, the massive cauldron in the center remained perfectly intact, but the rest of the chamber did not fare quite as well. The veritable trash bin of colorless Crest Stones had tumbled over, causing its fragile contents to shatter into countless pieces, a similar fate shared with the desks of the infirmary and the library's towering bookshelves, both of which had echoed throughout the room with a resounding boom upon impacting the floor. "Though I must say, for a facility built entirely underground, this area is remarkably stable. I would have expected the walls and ceilings to collapse on top of us under an earthquake of that magnitude..."

"Please don't give my mind any ideas like that..." the nervous seeress quietly pleaded, still needing to catch her breath after her narrow escape from the organ preservation laboratory. "Though something tells me that disaster wasn't entirely natural... We should probably get out of here before we experience an actual cave in." Bernadetta speculated aloud, all too eager to get away from these cramped underground confines when her attention was suddenly captured by a strange puddle of purple ooze emerging from the floor on the opposite side of the room.

"What in the world...?" the girl exclaimed in surprise as her curiosity took over and promptly rushed over kneel next to the mysterious substance. From the looks of it, the preceding earthquake had formed a number of minute cracks in the floor, which appeared to be the source of the strange slime in question. "What do you think this is...?" Bernadetta wondered to herself, reaching out her hand to examine the substance more closely. This would quickly prove to be a painful mistake when the ooze promptly burned her hand on contact, complete with a soft, yet prominent sizzling sound.

"Agh! That stings!"

"Do you plan on sticking your hands into every suspicious substance you come across?"

"I- it's not like I knew that would happen!" the seeress meekly explained as the purple ooze seemed to slowly sink back into the earth whence it came. "If I had to guess, I'd say the earthquake somehow pushed this weird goop up to the surface? Now I'm worried about everyone at the manor... I hope the effects were weaker up there than they were underground..."

"Hold a moment...! I can feel a presence nearby!" Sothis suddenly warned, jolting her companion back up to her feet in alarm.

"Wait, seriously?! I thought you said we were the only people in here!"

"Yes, well that situation has clearly been flipped on its head! But whatever this is... it most certainly doesn't feel like another human."

"I- I don't like the sound of that..." Bernadetta nervously gulped, instinctively reaching into her pocket to retrieve her crossbow... only for her hopes to quickly drop upon finding out that she'd forgotten to pack any weapons with her in the first place. "Oh no..."

"How lovely. Of all the preparations that could have slipped your mind-"

"Oh sure, if I knew our little investigation would lead us down to this underground deathtrap, I would have brought an entire armory with me!"

"Now is not the time to sass me- get down at once!" Sothis urgently commanded, prompting her host to jump to her knees just in time for a grotesque, almost alien creature to harmlessly sail over her head, letting out an inhuman snarl as it missed its mark and hit a nearby wall instead.

"Agh! Wh- wh- wh- what is that thing?!" Bernadetta shrieked out loud as she laid eyes on the misshapen creature, which now clung to the wall like an oversized spider. By all appearances, the abomination was nothing more than a pulsating brain like body supported by two thin, fleshy legs protruding from the sides. With another ear splitting snarl, the creature promptly detached from the wall, revealing it to be no taller than Bernadetta's knees; a small comfort, given the wriggling blood red "teeth" bulging out of what was presumably its mouth.

"Is this the result of the experiments those people were conducting down here?!"

"If that's the case, it looks like a resounding failure to me!" Bernadetta observed, slowly backing away from the short statured monster in hopes of gaining as much distance from it as possible. As tempting as it was to make a beeline towards what she hoped was the exit, it was all too likely that the creature would jump her again the moment she turned her back, with more success than its previous attempt on her life. "Gah... the infirmary's all the way in the opposite corner... I could really use one of those knives right about now..." she mentally kicked herself for her lack of foresight, when miraculously, her right foot backed into a hard metallic object with a distinct clinking noise. Without even looking, the cornered girl eagerly bent down, picked the object up without looking, and held it out as if it were a makeshift sword.

"Bernadetta, that's a pipe."

"What, do you expect me to strangle this thing to death with my bare hands?! I have to improvise!" the student hotly protested; just in time too, as the tiny monster swiftly leaped forth for another attack. With such a predicable jumping arc in mind, Bernadetta squinted as she brought her new weapon down upon the pulsating brain, tearing it apart by the seams and splattering blood across her clothes and face.

"Eugh, why?!"

"You should at least be thankful you still live after that encounter." Sothis dryly commented as her host frantically attempted to shake herself clean to little avail. A single glance at the newfound pipe in her hands would reveal that it had already started to bend from the impact with the failed experiment's body.

"You don't think there are any more of these things around here, do you?"

"The likelihood of that is extremely high." Sothis simply answered, much to her companion's audible dismay. Reasoning it would be best to prepare herself for any further surprise attacks, Bernadetta quickly scurried off to the abandoned infirmary hoping to gather whatever knives and scalpels she could.

"Hold- I sense another coming from above!"

Quick to heed her companion's advice, the young seeress instinctively jumped back to avoid another pulsating abomination dropping down from the ceiling, though not without injury as the impact of the fall seemed to break one of its legs upon landing. Adeptly picking up on the opportunity, Bernadetta brought her weapon down upon the second monster, this time making sure to avoid the ensuing spread of blood as its body was pulverized by her strike.

"Ugh... these constant ambushes are going to give me a heart attack sooner or later..." the girl grumbled aloud, hoping to gather materials as intended before another monster could literally get the drop on her. With few other options to take but the unexplored hallway at the northern end of the room, Bernadetta hurriedly sprinted across the chamber in hopes of finding an exit from this goddessforsaken laboratory.

If there was anything about this situation to be thankful about, it was the sheer single-mindedness of the hostile creatures infesting the tunnels, as a pair of the monsters predictably emerged from the seeress's intended destination. The first of the two leaped at Bernadetta just like its preceding brethren, meeting the same fate when its body was torn in two from a hefty swing of the pipe in the girl's hands. This time, however, the life of her makeshift weapon would prove short lived as her latest attack caused the pipe to snap in two with a loud crack.

The second monster was smart enough to capitalize on the opening created by its slain brethren, following up on the previous attack with little time for Bernadetta to respond, landing a deep scratch across the girl's right leg in the process. Remaining lucid enough under the yelp of pain that followed, the injured seeress wasted no time calling upon Sothis's power to undo her recent oversight before the monster could deliver another followup.

Now knowing what to expect in advance, the moment the pair of fiends emerged again, Bernadetta prompted to throw her temporary weapon at the initial attacker with all her might. The pipe may have broken on impact once again, but before skewering the girl's target through its malformed brain. With a knife readied in her other hand, Bernadetta was perfectly prepared to slash at the second monster as it leaped towards her once again, though the blade's shorter reach left her with no way to avoid the creature's corpse as the force of the careening body promptly shoved her to the ground.

"Ah, please, I just want to get out of here now! I really hope I don't get sick from any of this..."

"Situations like this are precisely why you put so much training into your archery skills." Sothis nonchalantly cautioned as her companion threw the monster's lifeless body off of her in abject disgust.

"Yeah, don't remind me..." Bernadetta mentally groaned, more impatient than ever to make her escape as she scurried into the uncharted hallway before her. True to form, more grotesque experiments continued to lash out at her along the long winded path that followed, slowly dwindling the student's supply of knives and scalpels. It was as if the monsters were magically drawn to her for every handful of steps she took. As luck would eventually have it, she stumbled upon another grand staircase that seemed to lead back above ground. Though the ensuing climb felt longer and more arduous than the descent into the labyrinth, this staircase was miraculously devoid of any further monster attacks, lifting a great strain off of Bernadetta's weary heart until she finally reached the peak.

Though the door to the outside world was clearly blocked off, the weary noble was quick to take note of another floor tile just slightly more elevated than those surrounding it. With one final step, the barrier before her gave way for a beam of nearly blinding light to shine down upon the shadowy tunnels once more.

"Ah, sweet, sweet natural light...! I never thought I'd be so relieved to see you again...!" Bernadetta deliriously exclaimed, ignoring the aching pain in her light deprived eyes as she strolled out onto the sunlit field before her. By the looks of it, this passage had taken her out just behind the manor; a roundabout trip to be sure, but one she was oh so glad to be finished with.

Of course, in the girl's relaxed state, she was still in for another unwanted surprise when the door to the underground slammed itself shut again, eliciting a surprised yelp from Bernadetta as she feverishly turned around to check on the source of the racket.

"Right... there's nothing else to worry about. All I have to do is get back to my room, clean myself off, and everything will be just peachy... And By's gonna be there waiting for me when all the torment is over-" the seeress let out a reprieved sigh, resting her body against the sealed wall... only for the sound of a low growl from the distance to break her peace of mind once again.

"What in the- Sothis, if this is your idea of a joke, I'm not laughing!"

"That was clearly not me, you pinhead! I've no desire to alarm you, but I must urge you to turn around as gently as you can." the Goddess gravely warned, causing her companion to instinctively freeze up in apprehension.

"Wh- what is it this time...?"

"Just remain calm, and make no sudden movements, whatever you do." Sothis calmly instructed, to which Bernadetta nervously complied until her eyes widened in terror at the sight of a trio of wolves hiding out by a nearby bush, their bloodthirsty eyes all trained on the solitary student.

"...You're kidding." Bernadetta held back the urge to swallow a massive gulp in fear of inviting an attack she knew she could not defend herself from. If memory served correctly, this small offset of wolves bore an uncanny resemblance to the larger pack her group encountered on the way back from Weiler, right down to the absent irises in their primal eyes. "This is bad... I only have one knife left after stumbling through those tunnels, and the blade's looking awfully dull on this one... what do I do now? Maybe-"

"No. There is no guarantee we will find another exit back in the labyrinth in a timely manner; or before we're inevitably overwhelmed. With our backs to the wall, our only option may be to face these beasts head on, but I doubt they will go down as easily as those failed experiments..."

"So in other words, I'm completely screwed. Nice to know." Bernadetta grimly noted, gripping the handle of her sole remaining knife with more force than necessary. Against her better judgment, the solitary girl maintained fierce eye contact with the trio of beasts before her, practically daring them to make the first move as her body resisted every urge it had to tremble in anticipation of her sure demise.

In the space of merely a few short seconds, the trio of wolves eagerly accepted their prey's free invitation, simultaneously leaping out to their lone target with claws outstretched. Though fully prepared to lash back at the encroaching foes with her last knife, Bernadetta was thrown for a loop when the three wolves were violently thrown off course by what appeared to be a nearly invisible streak of fire. The next thing she knew, the trio of attackers all laid dead a good distance to the side, each with a flaming dagger firmly implanted in their chests.

"S- Sir Rowan!" Bernadetta pleasantly cried out in surprise, immediately recognizing the identity of her fortuitous savior as she turned in the opposite direction to find the butler in question delivering a graceful bow to his fallen enemies, five knives grasped in his fingers before they all magically vanished into thin air with a single sleight of hand. "Oh, and Claude too...!" Bernadetta added upon noticing the Golden Deer leader standing closely behind, signaling out to the girl with his trademark friendly wave.

"Whew, I've gotta say, you've got some seriously impressive moves for a lowly butler."

"You may come to pick up a handful of useful tricks when you've lived as long as I have, Claude." Rowan humbly downplayed the Alliance heir's praises as his young liege eagerly hurried over to reunite with them.

"Geez, what is it with everyone pulling disappearing acts on us lately? You had us all worried sick looking for you all day, Bernie- and what is that god awful smell?!" Claude instinctively brought his sleeve to his nose in disgust the moment his violet haired classmate drew near.

"And dare I ask what could have led to your clothes getting drenched in blood? You do realize how difficult it is to properly clean stains such as these, yes?"

"Ah, sorry, Rowan. It's kind of a long story..." Bernadetta sheepishly dodged the issue, rubbing the back of her head in utter embarrassment. "This isn't good... just how long was I stuck down there, exactly?"

"...I am truly sorry, Lady Bernadetta."

"Wha- for what?" the Varley noble awkwardly asked, unsure what to make of her butler's abrupt apology.

"Ah, have I spoken out of sequitur again? Do forgive an old man for his meaningless ramblings. Come along now, we'll be sure to get you cleaned up in a jiffy." Rowan casually dismissed his earlier statement, though not without staring into Bernadetta's eyes with a knowing look for a few brief moments.

"You know, Rowan, I can't help wondering if I've heard of you somewhere before..." Claude wondered aloud as the dutiful servant courteously took Bernadetta's hand in his and began to escort her away from the backside of the manor.

"Really, now? That is a surprise to hear, young Claude. Why would an up and coming Alliance leader such as yourself take an interest in an arbitrary servant like myself?" the Varley butler innocently asked with a comically raised eyebrow for good measure, to which the Golden Deer student gave an offhand shrug in turn.

"Oh, no reason in particular. I just have a habit of overanalyzing everyone I meet."

"What's up with these two?" Bernadetta silently wondered. "So, uh... I'm sorry to ask, but did I happen to miss anything important while I was, er..."

"Ah yes, I guess you wouldn't have been around to see all this while you were busy getting into fights with vampires or something. It's been a crazy day so far, but I think it'd be easier to see the results for yourself." Claude casually informed as the trio rounded the corner to find a field filled with the corpses of numerous wolves, just like the triad on the verge of attacking Bernadetta earlier; it was the very same corner of the mansion the seeress used to infiltrate the manor's underground tunnels at that.

"I do believe our witch friend has made thorough fools out of us." Sothis noted as her host gazed upon the aftermath of a grizzly battle scene. Many of the Knights of Seiros were hard at work disposing corpses and retrieving stray weapons from the manor's bloodsoaked grounds. A small handful of knights seemed to have fallen in the recent battle as well, much to Bernadetta's visible regret. Furthermore, the seeress's silver eyes widened in realization as she made note of the unusual drool coming from the wolve's stagnant corpses; faint traces of the same purple ooze she had encountered underground were mixed in with the normally white saliva as well.

"Oh no... did-"

"Don't worry, the rest of the class is largely unhurt. The knights made sure of that, and we were pretty lucky to have Edelgard and Hubert helping out as well. And Monica's really sticking her neck out for us too, surprisingly enough." Claude coolly explained, putting his classmate's fears to rest as their group gingerly marched through the field of corpses around them.

"Ah, good... and how about-"

"Sorry, I'm afraid Teach is still a no show too. I'd help track him down if I could, but none of us have the slightest clue where to look."

"Oh... I see..." Bernadetta lowered her head in disappointment. Noticing his classmate's discouraged mood, Claude made the effort to run a hand through the girl's messy hair with a spare handkerchief he had on hand.

"Wha- you don't have to-"

"You know just as well as I that Teach would want us to take good care of ourselves while he's gone. We can't have you looking like a trainwreck when he does get back, right?"

"I must concur with Master Claude on this subject. I believe the rest of your friends would be quite remiss to see you in this state as well."

"Aha... thanks..."

"There's a good girl. Now if only we could get Ignatz to listen to my advice too. You see, this impromptu monster raid all started when Ignatz's group came rushing back from their respective expedition far ahead of schedule. Lo and behold, the lot of them had a pack of bloodthirsty wolves chasing after them all the way here, and-"

"IGNATZ! GET BACK INSIDE BEFORE YOU OPEN UP YOUR WOUNDS AGAIN!" the voice of Raphael suddenly boomed from the front of the manor.

"Ah, speak of the devil..." Claude audibly groaned as the olive haired archer in question emerged on their side of the manor against his best friend's wishes.

"Oh, Bernadetta! I'm glad to see you're alright after all this chaos!" Ignatz called out to the approaching trio, which only served to give away his position to the blonde giant calling out to him just moments before. Upon closer inspection, Bernadetta could easily tell what had gotten Raphael so worked up: her bespectacled classmate's right arm was wrapped in a sling, and he had a noticeable limp in his step as well.

"Come on, buddy, Marianne and Flayn's groups still haven't gotten back from their trips yet. You've gotta rest up and leave the heavy lifting to us, alright?" Raphael sternly scolded his short statured friend.

"No, it's okay, Raphael. I know I deserve all this after all I still owe you-"

"Hey, I thought I told you to drop this stupid behavior. Seriously, I've never blamed you for what happened to my parents. It's not your fault."

"But still, I-"

"Yo, how are you two besties holding up?" Claude promptly cut into the two friend's heated argument, which did serve to heighten Raphael's spirits as he took notice of his other missing classmate.

"Hey again, Claude. And, Bernie, it's a relief to- ah man, what happened to you? You look like-"

"Yeah, I know. I'm sorry to worry all of you. Though Ignatz is looking pretty worse for wear too..."

"Yeah, well he hasn't exactly had the best day today. Our group came across an injured wolf in the middle of a forest trail on our way to our next town, and since we didn't have a dedicated healer with us, Ignatz was the first to go up and see what was wrong with the furry guy. Big mistake. It turns out the crafty dog was just faking its wounds and bit right into Ignatz's arm the moment he came near. Next thing we knew, our entire party was ambushed by wolves on all sides."

"Oh, that sounds terrible...!" Bernadetta muttered in sympathy as she intently listened to Raphael's recollection of events. Much like Ignatz, she couldn't help but feel responsible for the chain of events due to her prominent absence from the recent battle.

"Mhm. And I've never seen animal behavior like this in my life, either. Usually, large wolf packs like this tend to keep to themselves, not bothering humans as long as they don't feel threatened in any way... but this pack was downright malicious. And they all seemed to be in serious pain, too..." Claude followed up on his classmate's story, just as unsure what to make of the mysterious attack as everyone else. "Things weren't much better when Raph's group retreated all the way back to the manor. Especially when a certain someone I know still insisted on fending off the incoming hordes with a broken arm..." the Golden Deer added, casting a mixed glare to the olive haired archer in question.

"Suffice to say, this manor is not well suited to fending off enemy invasions of any kind." Rowan chimed in, his eyes dutifully scanning the surrounding area for further threats all the while. "This entire estate has essentially been backed into the face of a canyon, leaving only a single route of travel for friend and foe alike; that is, discounting the possibility of hostile aerial combatants if I might add."

"That paints a pretty poor picture for us..."

"Yep. And that was a comparatively small raid, too. For all we know, an even bigger invasion could be on its way in the future, and we'd all be sitting ducks as long as we stay here. Damn, I wish Teach was here just as much as you..." Claude ran his thoughts aloud. The gears in the Alliance heir's head were clearly spinning in search of the right solution to his class's sticky situation, but his train of thought was quickly brought to a halt when the sound of a brass horn promptly echoed throughout the estate.

In turn, Bernadetta's ears perked up the moment she heard the familiar sound of an approaching horse drawn carriage, not unlike the vessel her departed uncle once used to visit her on numerous occasions before. Instinctively hoping this was a sign that her professor had finally returned from his long overstayed absence, the noble eagerly rushed out to the front of the manor, where Edelgard stood waiting in anticipation of the approaching carriage as well.

Before the Black Eagle leader could take note of her schoolmate's less than ideal appearance, however, Bernadetta's heart quickly sank when she laid eyes on an unfamiliar velvet red carriage headed by an eerie jet black horse, surrounded on all sides by soldiers from the Kingdom of Faerghus of all places. Her disappointment sunk further still when Count Varley subsequently stepped out of the carriage, eying her down with a fierce glare as he unexpectedly bowed and made way for another newcomer to follow in his wake. Surprisingly enough, the Count didn't so much as speak a word about the ravaged state of his home either.

Disappointment then turned to shock and fear when a familiar, loosely dressed woman gracefully stepped onto the Varley estate; one who bore a disturbing resemblance to a particular rose haired Gremory she had witnessed in one of her recent visions.

"Aunt Cornelia?!" though she discreetly shot a number of suspicious glances towards Bernadetta all the while, Edelgard was the first to call out in surprise.

"Why, if it isn't my favorite niece...! I see must be hard at work as usual, Edelgard." Cornelia pleasantly greeted the Adrestian heir as the latter courteously stepped forth to greet her aunt in person.

"Well yes, it's a pleasure to see you again as always... what sort of business could possibly bring you all the out from Fhirdiad, if I might ask?"

"Ah yes, you see, Count Allocer has personally reached out for my aid in quelling the terrible plague that has ravaged his land for so long, and, in my boundless compassion, I simply could not ignore his people's desperate cries for help..." Cornelia calmly explained, delicately running one of her long sharpened nails across her niece's caped shoulder when she suddenly caught wind of Bernadetta peeking out behind a nearby pillar by the manor's main entrance.

"Oh, and what's this...? Allocer, am I correct in presuming that this girl is your beloved daughter?" Cornelia curiously asked, her eyes slightly widening in anticipation as the Count's steely reluctantly shifted back and forth between Bernadetta and the visiting Gremory.

"In a manner of speaking, I suppose."

"Excellent. Bernadetta, I presume? There's no need to be so nervous around me. Please, come closer so I can have a better look at you."

"Like hell I will! She looks like she hasn't aged a day after whatever she did to my mom all those years ago...!" the seeress thought to herself, completely refusing to budge from her spot as she looked back upon her prior vision.

"Bernadetta, you are to do as you're told at once! You will not make a mockery of our family name in the presence of the modern Saint of Faerghus!" the Count loudly demanded, vocally intimidating his daughter into obeying Cornelia's request, though not without a disapproving frown from the latter.

"That woman is a modern day Saint?! Are you kidding me?! She has evil written all over her body!"

"Come now, there's no need for threats, Allocer. You ought to treat your child with more respect than a common beast, boy." Cornelia softly reprimanded the Count, eliciting a rare show of insecurity from the man before turning her attention to Bernadetta. "Not one for conversation, are you? That's quite alright. I've always had a fondness for shy children myself." Cornelia chuckled to herself, her sweet words practically paralyzing the younger girl to the spot as she promptly bent down to look her directly in the eye.

"Ah... personal space, please...!"

"Yes... yes... finally... you have his eyes...!" Cornelia softly whispered to herself, seemingly blind to Bernadetta's bloodsoaked appearance as she firmly transfixed her gaze on the younger noble's frightened face. At this rate, the violet haired girl was half expecting to be enveloped in a suffocating embrace at any second.

"Aunt Cornelia... you're making my friend rather uncomfortable. What are you doing...?"

"Allocer, why have you not informed me of this rousing success of yours after all these years?" Cornelia asked, completely deaf to her niece's confused inquiry as she continued to gaze into the Varley heir's silver orbs.

"Bah, you vastly overstate this girl's utility. She is nothing more than-"

"I shall be the judge of that, thank you very much." the rose haired Saint brushed off the Count's contempt for his daughter as she made a move to rest her hands upon Bernadetta's shoulders; a gesture that was promptly cut short by the sudden emergence of a particular redhead between the two of them, which suffice to say, caused the young Varley's heart to skip a few dozen beats from the scare.

"Long time no see, Lady Cornelia! I bet you'll be happy to hear I've been-"

"Bernadetta..." the Saint quietly started. To say that Monica suddenly barging in on her introduction left Cornelia totally unamused would be a massive understatement. "Has this whelp been a bother to you throughout your time at the academy?"

"Of course not! We've been getting along better than-"

"I scarcely remember asking you a single question, urchin. I was clearly speaking to Bernadetta." Cornelia refused to play along with Monica's typical antics, patiently staring into the young Varley's soul for an answer while the former silently pleaded with her for a favorable response.

"Well, uh... no, Monica's been a great help to me so far... yeah..." Bernadetta unconvincingly replied, backed up by a rapid series of nods from the redhead in question.

"I see... well, if anyone does happen to trouble you in the future, then please don't hesitate to come to me for assistance."

"Uh, I'll try...?"

"I hate to interrupt this extended family reunion, but I can't miss out on the chance to meet with the famous Saint of Faerghus herself!" Claude loudly called out from afar, no doubt as eager as Bernadetta to put an end to the awkward introductions unfolding before him.

"More of your friends, I presume? The future leader of the alliance, no less... and oh, what sort of harm came upon this poor lad?" Cornelia's pitch suddenly rose in concern when she noticed the injured Ignatz hobbling closely behind Claude.

"If I might be brief, our class was the target of an unnaturally vicious wolf attack not long before you arrived, and my friend here got the worst of it."

"Oh, you poor thing... Please, come with me, child. I believe I have just the cure for your ailments." the Gremory kindly offered, bringing a luminescent blush to Ignatz's face as he graciously accepted the woman's offer.

"Now hold on just a minute! I agreed to bring you here to treat my ailing wife first and foremost!"

"Patience, Allocer. The Lady of the house is far from the only soul in need of my gracious aid. As a Saint, it is my duty to extend that aid to everyone, regardless of social status."

"Wow... Saint Cornelia is every bit as kind as I've heard!" Ignatz adoringly commented aloud, much to Bernadetta's abject discomfort.

"Wait, you're going to operate on my mom ag- I mean you're going to-"

"Worry not, dear. Your mother's life is in safe hands, as is yours." Cornelia confidently reassured as she lightly used her extended nails to stroke Bernadetta's thick lavender hair. "Edelgard, be a dear and help me gather the sick and wounded for immediate treatment. Rowan, I trust you can swiftly prepare a suitable workplace for me within the manor. Allocer, you're free to inform your spouse of my timely arrival." the visiting Saint expertly demanded as if she were passing out orders to an acting army, immediately prompting the names she called to swiftly set out on their respective tasks. "And Bernadetta... I do look forward to watching your continued growth... oh, and do be sure not to neglect your own hygiene either. I would truly hate to see you fall ill as well."

And with the authoritative snap of a finger, Cornelia neatly set off into the Varley manor as a small score of Faerghus soldiers flooded the area to aid in the resident's endeavors, leaving Bernadetta and her assorted friends wholly astonished by the woman's pervasive, yet effectively commandeering personality. Monica couldn't help but breathe a loud sigh of relief now that the Gremory had finally left, a sentiment shared by Bernadetta as well. Though masked by a shining veil of compassion, her discoveries over the past few days made it perfectly clear that Cornelia's presence was casting an invisible shadow all throughout the surrounding land, and the anxiety ridden seeress was caught right in the middle of it along with her increasingly unfamiliar situation.