7/31 Blue sea moon
Byleth opened his eyes when he heard someone knocking the door. When he opened the door he saw Cyril, the boy who assisted the archbishop in all kinds of works.
"Lady Rhea is waiting for you at the audience room. Don´t make her wait."
He quickly left after saying this.
"The little boy doesn´t like you" observed Sothis.
"I don´t know why, it may just be his personality"
"Anyway, you should hurry up. We may learn something about the events that happened yesterday"
He agreed with Sothis. After witnessing the events that unfolded yesterday he felt as if he was in the middle of a crossroad with not a clear path to follow.
When he opened the doors of the audience room he found Lady Rhea standing in the middle of the room. He was accompanied by Seteth and Catherine.
"Good morning Professor, I hope that you were able to recover most of your force"
"Thank you, I´m fine"
"I have summoned you here to explain you your next task. You will take your students into Kingdom territory to eliminate some thieves. They have stolen a Hero´s relic from House Gautier, the lance of ruin."
"You will recover the lance and bring it here" continued Seteth. "The leader´s name is Miklan, a disowned son of House Gautier."
"Fighting against the holder of a relic is not an easy task. I beg you to make use of the Sword of the Creator. You shall keep it with you until we have created a magic box capable of containing its power"
"I don´t agree with that judgment, but I will comply" said Seteth. "Make a good use of the weapon and don´t ever lose sight of it until we have developed an appropriate container of its strength."
"Understood"
"Catherine, give the sword to the Professor"
Catherine handed him the sword. The moment he touched it the sword emitted a faint glow.
"You should get used to your new weapon." said Rhea, with a smile on her face. "Catherine, could you train with the Professor for the time being?"
"It will be an honor Lady Rhea"
"Then don´t waste your time" said Seteth looking at him. "The sword may have accepted you, but that doesn´t mean that you can control it effectively"
"Understood"
He left with Catherine to the training room. His sword was lighter than its iron and silver counterparts, but it was cold to contact.
"As you will be using a relic I will be using my own" said Catherine unsheathing Thunderbrand. "I can´t wait to test the strength of the sword of the creator" she grinned.
Catherine charged at him. Byleth stopped her initial attack with his sword. Even though Catherine slashes were full of strength he had no problem to stop them. The sword was responding swiftly to his commands. He had the strange feeling that it wasn´t just a sword, but a part of his own body.
"Your sword is really strong, but how about this?" she said unleashing the power of Foudroyant, the secret combat art of her sword. The impact between the two weapons was brutal, but Byleth resisted the attack. "My sword may have a similar power within it" thought Byleth as he jumped backwards. He instinctively used his sword from the distance and it turned into a whip, which he used to grab Catherine´s sword.
"I didn´t expect something like that to happen" Catherine commented. Byleth´s sword had returned to its former self, even though a few moments before was used to attack from the distance. He handed back to Catherine her sword and they kept practicing.
When they finished practicing they were both exhausted. The sword of the Creator was really impressive, but Byleth had an uncomfortable feeling wielding it as if he were observed by something he couldn´t see.
"That was a blast of a training Professor" smiled Catherine. "I´m looking forward our next training"
"Me too"
After Catherine left him alone he headed to Hanneman´s room. He wanted to know more about the mysteries surrounding the sword and he had the hope that he had figured out Byleth´s crest.
"I was sure you will come, Professor Byleth. Come in!"
Hanneman offered him a seat and looked at him with a pleasant smile.
"You are surrounded by mysteries Professor. First your crest, and now the Sword of the Creator. Very interesting indeed"
"Have you discovered something?"
"Regarding your crest? Yes. I thought it would be impossible, that I was wrong with my hypothesis, but when I heard that the sword chose you…" He looked at him with a serious gaze on his face. "You have the crest of flames, long ago forgotten, believed to be extinct and the personal crest of Nemesis, king or murderer depending on the source"
"Nemesis…" A white bearded man appeared in his mind, alongside a green haired woman.
"The legends of the past are returning to the present. Could you lend me your hand?"
"I can do it on my own" he closed his eyes and soon after the crest appeared in front of him.
"Impressive. I didn´t know that you have learnt to make it appear at will. Is it related to the sword?"
"When I fought against the Death Knight I was able to use its power and shortly after I came in contact with the sword"
"That means that your force of will and not the sword are responsible of this success. I´m glad to hear that"
"What do you think about the sword?"
"The Sword of the Creator? I´ve been searching about it since last night, but the information provided cannot be completely trusted. According to the church, it was a gift from the Goddess to Nemesis, who was soon after corrupted by darkness. If we take into account the first historical documents related to the battle of the heroes it was used by Nemesis to slaughter countless enemies. A fearsome weapon which lost its strength the moment Nemesis was killed or so the legend says. And now I have in front of me a person who bears the very same crest"
"Does it mean that I am related to him?"
"That happened 1000 years ago and all the sources that I have consulted say nothing about Nemesis´s descendants. Such a powerful crest couldn´t have been ignored if he had descendants. A lots of things just don´t make sense. The sword lacks a crest stone, yet you can use it freely."
"A crest stone?"
"The relics have a crest stone that allows it to be used to its maximum power. Without it a relic would be nothing more than a normal weapon." As he explained that to him, he showed him drawings of different weapons that had a red sphere in them. "That sphere that you can see is the crest stone. To use a weapon to its max extent you would need not only a crest in the weapon, but you must be a holder of a crest that has an affinity with it. For example you could use Catherine´s Thunderbrand without a problem, but you couldn´t use its full strength unless you had a crest that has an affinity with the relic, usually the same crest that the relic holds."
"Then why I can use a crestless sword?"
"That´s the enigma that I have in front of my eyes. It is illogical to just say that is magic, since even magic has logical bases and limits. One element of the chain is missing. Do you feel something strange about the sword?"
"It feels cold when I touch it"
"Cold? Let me touch it."
"Hanneman examined the sword of the Creator, touching every single part of it. The sword was razor sharp and accidentally cut himself when he touched the blade"
"Ugh"
"Are you ok?" asked Byleth, but Hanneman was more fascinated by the blade and it didn´t appear to be hearing Byleth´s voice.
"The blood, it disappeared!"
"Is that common to other relics?"
"Not at all. Relics are like powerful version of standard weapons, but they don´t have this kind of power. I know that my request is strange, but could you drop some of your own blood on the blade?"
Byleth took Edelgard´s dagger and pinched one of his fingers. A blood drop fell on the sword, which emitted a faint glow the moment it came in contact with his own blood.
"It seems that it reacts differently depending on the person´s blood. It makes me feel uneasy. The use of blood is usually related to the darkest rituals within the dark magic. I would advice to use the sword as least as possible until we know more about it."
"I have to guard it until a magic recipient is prepared for its storage. I must carry it with me until they finish with the preparations"
"Don´t hesitate to come here if you find any anomaly. You are strong, but we don´t know yet exactly what you are holding and we can´t take unnecessary risks"
"I will take precautions. Thank you for your assistance Professor Hanneman"
"You can just call me Hanneman, I will do the same with you Byleth. And you can call Professor Manuela, simply Manuela; we are on the same boat, after all"
Byleth felt a small happiness hearing that.
"Thank you for your assistance Hanneman" he said as he left his room.
…
"Seiros´ remains weren´t found in the tomb" said Edelgard, covered in an intimidating armor, her voice distorted and metal sounding.
"It´s a pity. But I didn´t expect too much from the pigs of the Western Church" said a man with purple eyes and long dark brown hair.
She despised the sight of the man in front of him, but she had no other choice but to inform about her findings.
"The Sword of the Creator was found in the tomb of Seiros, but it lacked the crest stone"
"As one would expect. It would be too stupid to place such a weapon with its crest stone. I see nothing strange about that"
"Let me finish. Even though it lacked a crest stone, the new Professor was able to wield it"
"That´s impossible" the man in front of him was clearly surprised. "The weapon couldn´t be used if it were crestless and even if the crest were placed on it. That thief didn´t have any descendants. It would be impossible unless…"
"Thief?" Edelgard was annoyed by his response.
"I mean the King of Liberation. The fact that he can use such a powerful weapon means that we need to investigate more about him."
"I will investigate about him" she said "But I will tell you nothing that can harm him" she thought.
"Yes, you are in the best situation to share time with him. He could be a great asset to us if he were to help us, but we will probably need to get rid of it someday. After all, you are our weapon"
"You are wrong, a weapon has no will of its own, but I have one and you will pay for that" she thought but said nothing.
"I have nothing more to say to you. Continue as usual and keep an eye on that Professor of yours. Don´t waste our time and you will be rewarded accordingly"
He teleported, before she could say anything.
Every time Edelgard talked with him she had a sour taste in her mouth. She hated Tomas for what he had done, as he was the main responsible of the experimentations. However, she knew that the main threat was the creature she was forced to call uncle in public. He was the responsible of the rebellion of the seven, the coup that left his father without any power. Ferdinand´s father was corrupt and power hungry, but the real mastermind behind the tragedy of her family was him, Thales.
"I wish I could kill him with my own hands", she lamented, but with his death she would resolve nothing. She didn´t know the identities and locations of their kind, and she knew that to kill a hydra it was necessary not only to cut off its heads, but to destroy its filthy heart. It was an almost impossible task to do, since she could trust no one. She couldn´t know if she was surrounded by enemies since they could use other people´s appearances. "In this world only mistrust has helped me to survive."
She placed the flame emperor´s armor in a group of bushes next to her and started her return to the monastery.
She had left earlier in the morning and she was sure that the guards at the gates wouldn´t make strange questions to a student that was taking a walk around the monastery lands, but she had always to be cautious.
She had just arrived to the main entrance when she saw a familiar teal hair.
"Good morning Professor" she greeted him.
"Good morning Edelgard. I was just searching for you. I have something to show you. Could you accompany me?"
"Of course"
They entered an empty classroom, when Byleth made sure that no one was there, he extended his hand making appear his crest.
"Hanneman has completed its investigation. This is my crest, the crest of flames"
She had suspicions about the identity of her teacher´s crest since the events of Zanado. However, seeing it with her own eyes was a different story. She felt an itching in her hand, but she controlled the urge to make appear her own crest of flames.
"I wanted to show it to you since I promised that I would tell you if I discover anything related to my crest"
"I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I had suspicions about it when I saw you wielding the Sword of the Creator, but even now it is very difficult to believe."
"Hanneman is also intrigued by the sword. It lacks a crest stone, yet it reacts to my commands. He said that it didn´t make sense."
"I agree with him. I´ve never heard of a crestless weapon working, even if the bearer has a crest. The Sword of the Creator could be the exception to the rule, but we can just make conjectures about it. Our knowledge about it is nonexistent"
"I want to tell you something more, but only if you keep it a secret between us, even from Hubert"
Surprised by Byleth´s comment Edelgard couldn´t avoid feeling an intense curiosity.
"You have my word my Teacher. I´ll tell no one" and she was sincere about that.
He unsheathed the dagger that she had gifted him and pinched one of his fingers. When the drop of blood touched the inactive sword, it grew bright for a moment. When the sword turned inactive again, she noticed that there were no tracks of the blood that had touched the sword.
"The sword has absorbed your blood and it has reacted to it"
"It only reacts to my blood. Hanneman cut himself accidentally when he was examining the sword and its blood disappeared, but the sword remained inactive. Have you heard about something similar?"
"It is the first time I have heard about it. A crestless sword that reacts to the blood of its wielder. It sounds like a legend, but it is real. There is something unnatural about it." She felt that there was something unfitting about it.
"Hanneman has recommended me to use it as least as possible until we know more about it"
"I agree completely with Professor Hanneman´s advice. A sword that has been lost until now, we don´t know what could have happened to it." She was worried about his wellbeing.
"You don´t have to worry, Edelgard" he said as if he had read her mind "I will do as Hanneman says. They are preparing a box that can seal the sword when I´m not using it. Until then I have to protect it"
Hearing that made her feel irritated. Giving a sword with so many mysteries to her Professor without having a device to guard it was reckless at best.
"Even if such is the case you must be cautious. It would be regretful if something happened to you"
Hearing that, Byleth smiled to her. It was a short smile, but it was a sincere warmth smile.
"Thank you for worrying about me Edelgard. I will be careful"
Edelgard smiled to him.
"Thank you for telling me about what you know. We should leave the classroom. We don´t know if someone will come here"
They left the classroom behind them and returned to the main hall.
"I wanted to tell you too about our next assignment. We will have to travel to the north again. A group of thieves that is causing havoc has stolen a relic that belongs to House Gautier. Their leader´s name is Miklan, a member of the same family"
"A stolen relic. They can´t be an ordinary group of thieves if they have obtained a relic by force. You said that the relic belongs to House Gautier. That is the House of Sylvain, the troublesome student of the Blue Lions."
"That means that we may have to kill a member of his family. I have to tell him about our current task then"
"I appreciate your thoughts about it. If my knowledge is correct Sylvain is the second born of his family. Usually the first born is the one that inherits the House, but in this case the second born is the heir of the house. Do you suspect why he was chosen Professor?"
Byleth thought for a moment and then answered.
"Because he was born with a crest"
"That´s what I fear. I can tell you nothing about the reasons why he turned into a bandit, but I´m confident that the reason why Sylvain was chosen as heir of his house was that he was the holder of a crest. A world based on the existence of crests will only create additional inequalities to an already unequal world. I know that it´s just wishful thinking for now, but I will do my best to erase such problematic."
"I never knew about the existence of crests until I arrived here. If I had lived for twenty years without knowing about them that means that they are not truly necessary for this world to function"
Hearing such honest opinion made her feel a warmth sensation in her chest.
"I´m glad to hear such an honest reasoning my Teacher. If you were the majority of people I know the world would be a better place to live" she sighed. "What are you going to do?"
"Now? I think I must find Sylvain. He deserves to know that our next task objective is his brother. And you Edelgard?"
"I have particularly nothing to do, since you gave us a free day. I could accompany you if I´m not a burden to you"
"You have never been a burden. Then come with me and let´s search for Sylvain"
They found Sylvain talking with Felix in the Blue Lions classroom. Looking to the face of Felix, Edelgard though they were arguing about something but they quickly went silent when they noticed her and her Teacher approaching.
"Hello Professor Byleth. I see that you are well accompanied" commented Sylvain, looking at her, though his smile froze the moment he was scowled by Edelgard. "Apologies, I didn´t mean to disrespect"
"I was searching for you Sylvain. Our next task is to eliminate a group of bandits that is causing problems in the north. Their leader´s name is Miklan"
"My brother, I knew that that idiot would cause problems the moment he was expelled from our house." He sighed. "I have received a letter from my father talking about that matter; he says he had robbed the lance of ruin, the relic of our family. I know that it´s going to be troublesome, but I would like to accompany you. No need to be soft with me Professor, if my brother must be killed, he deserves it" he sighed again.
"I don´t have any problem to accept your request, you will be coming with us then. You will be training with us from tomorrow. Be punctual."
"In that case I want to take part in it too" said Felix. As I told you before I want to experience a real battle alongside you. You won´t be disappointed" he grinned.
"Then it is done. Both of you will train for the following month alongside the rest of the Black Eagle´s students. Don´t be late. I won´t be indulgent with you, even if you aren´t students from my own house"
"Why would I be late to an opportunity to train?" laughed Felix. "My sword is always ready"
"Don´t worry about me Professor, I will go too, but first I have to arrange a date I have" Sylvain winked to Byleth, recovering his usual façade.
"I too have matters to take care of" said Felix, excusing himself.
They were again alone, although it was strange to be alone in the classroom of a different class.
"I think that for our next task we will be using battalions. We will start practicing positioning and combats in real battle simulations"
"You are right, we may need every help we can find. That a group of thieves could acquire a relic weapon proves that they are a dangerous foe."
"I will be talking to the different groups in the monastery and the township. You are free to leave. See you tomorrow Edelgard"
"See you tomorrow Professor"
Her eyes followed his back until she lost sight of him. "He bears the same crest of me, then" she thought. She was in part relieved to know another person who was holding such burden, but she was also intrigued about the origin of her professor crest. "He has never mentioned something strange about his uprising, but his lack of emotions and lack of knowledge of the world surrounding him was suspicious to her. Due to the experimentations she had suffered, she had scars around her body. Most of them had disappeared with the use of magic, but one was perfectly visible in her chest, the place where she was cut open and applied different substances that she didn´t want to remember again. "If he had endured something similar he may have the same marks in his body, but asking to see that would be…troublesome" she felt a bit of warmth in her cheeks as she thought that. "I shouldn´t be thinking about something like that"
She left the room, a part of her thinking about her Professor and the other about the Sword of the Creator.
….
It was already late when Byleth returned to his room. Members of the church of Seiros and mercenaries he had found at the town will join forces with him and his students for the following month.
He had nothing much to do and he was feeling unusually exhausted, so he decided to immediately go to sleep.
….
"Your highness, the city is ours"
Byleth smiled hearing how his soldiers were naming him. He was sitting at an immense throne made of stone.
"Good job. They were completely surprised by our attack; they never suspected they would be attacked at their own capital"
It was a risky maneuver, but thanks to the help of his new allies they were able to enter the city under the protection of the night.
"Extract as many crest stones as you can, our allies have required a part of it as repayment for their services. The rest will be for us."
"Understood your Highness"
After he left Byleth got up and started walking around the throne room, the sun already setting. The city was full of unimaginable treasures and he felt an incredible energy within him.
"It was truth what they told me. The power of a God lives within me" he said extending his hand, making a crimson mark appearing in front of him. "A price worth it, after killing just one little girl". The same day he acquired his new powers after killing the girl he was urged by his allies to take the city. He was at first doubtful about the possibilities of victory, but he wasn´t disappointed by the result.
He was standing next to a column. He could see his face, the face of an old man with hair long ago turned white.
When Byleth opened his eyes he was covered in sweat, next to him the sword was shining, casting shadows to the wall.
"Was it a dream or was it real? There were still two hours until dawn, but he didn't sleep again.
In the final part of the chapter we see the dream through the point of view of Byleth, but in reality is Nemesis as you can see. I explain it here to avoid unnecessary confusion.