"What are we doing here?" The wind was howling around them, all logic set aside as they looked at each other in the middle of the night sky.

"Instead of wondering about how you are able to stand in the middle of the air like this you continue to demand not so important information" she sighed. "Isn´t it obvious, so you can witness the true power of an entity considered a deity" she said as she extended her arms. "Thousands of years have passed since the last time the blessing of the Goddess descended upon this land. It is time that the blessing descends once again" she continued as her body started to glow. And then, a small orb made out of light came from her body descending upon the land beneath them.

Large cracks started to appear upon the land as a fierce torrent of water was released from the deepest part of the underground. In a mere few seconds, the enraged waters were everywhere, engulfing the fortress and all the lands around. Beneath them the land was no more, a dark sea extending and engulfing more land as time passed.

"What have you released upon this world?" he asked in disbelief.

"The blessing of the Goddess. Water is the source of all life, but at the same time can be the source of death and suffering. With this punishment, those with inferior powers realize how powerless they are against the fury of nature. No matter what you do, no matter how talented you are, the strengths of a mere individual can´t compare to an existence considered to be a god. This is the power that can end the war for good, the power that will make tremble this land once again. Unfortunately, I can´t just abuse it, but I hope that you´ve gotten the message" she smiled as she snapped her fingers once again, teleporting them to a hill in the middle of that dark sea of destruction. "Have this show of power changed your mind?"

"Such destruction just for the sake of showing your strength? This is just madness" he was saying when he realized something. "What have happened to them? Tell me!"

"Getting emotional, aren´t you? What would you do if I tell you that I forgot about them?" she said as she sighed. "I guess, that not even someone like me can keep everything in mind, right?"

"You…"

"It´s a joke, it´s a joke. I know that you hold them dear so I decided it would better to keep them away from this, they are safe, miles away from this mess" she smiled. "This show of strength was more frequent ages ago as the land was scorched and drowned thousands of times. This power was the key to win the great war and somehow the key to bring this world back to life. As I told you, water can be the source of life and destruction, such is the reality of someone considered a god. Adored by some, feared by most, a being wielding such name can be the source of many blessings and calamities" she said as she looked at him. "This is the power that I offer to you, a power of unlimited possibilities. By your side what remains of Agartha won´t be a threat and the rest of armies will crumble before us. With my power you´ll be able to save everyone, even if they don´t want to be saved…you can force your will upon them, enemy or ally so you can obtain the happy ending that your heart wishes. I might be able to bring your family back"

"My…family?"

"Sure! Even if I´m just a fragment of what remains of Sothis as I grow stronger, I might be able to do so. Sothis was able to redeem this world from its sins, bringing someone you hold dear won´t be such a daunting task. You only need to do one sacrifice, and then everything you wish for will turn into reality" she said as her smile grew wider. "A world where there is no more pain, a world where every possible outcome is under your control…A world where everything will follow your will. The fragment within you surely agrees with this. After all, she sacrificed herself for the sake of this world. Sacrificing herself once again can only be her rational way of acting. That´s the will of the Goddess, after all"

"The will of the Goddess…"

"Exactly, the world will be eternally grateful for her sacrifice. Don´t you want to save everyone? With her sacrifice, everything will turn into reality and no one will be able to change such outcome" she said as she offered him her hand.

"A world where everyone is saved" he thought as he felt a strange feeling within him. If such world was a possibility, who would blame him for making a pact with the being before him? A sacrifice for a greater good, for peace…the answer was just in front of him.

"A friend of mine told me to be myself, to choose my own path, to experience life at its fullest. She told me that I wasn´t a tool, that I had a will of my own. When I thought I was a heartless beast she opened my eyes.

I´ve smiled, I´ve cried, I´ve fallen in love…and all of it because she made me realize that I was capable of such emotions. The gratitude I feel for her will never disappear"

"What are you talking about?" she inquired, unable to completely understand what he was saying all of a sudden.

"She might be smaller than you, she might be sometimes lazy, but the Sothis I know has helped me countless times. Sacrificing her despite all she had done to me would be an insult! Without her I wouldn´t even be here. I can´t pay her kindness with her destruction" he said as he looked at her into the eye. He had already made his decision, he wasn´t thinking about changing it no matter how many sweet words were spoken by the being in front of her. Otherwise, he would once again be a tool for the purposes of a greater being.

"So, you refuse such offer because you value your pride over everything else" she said, her smile frozen on her face in an unnatural expression. "I offer you everything you would ever want and yet you think that you can solve everything by your own. Tell me, what will you do?"

"I´ll fight, I´ll suffer, but I´ll try to keep them all alive. Even if some of them are on the other side of the battlefield…I´ll try to protect them with everything I can" he said as he touched his own chest.

"You are delusional if you truly think that you will be able to save everyone. Only a child or a madman would ever think of such possibility. Saving everyone? That´s something impossible to do unless you are a divine being, yet you continue rejecting my offer. The time you spent as a professor has really made you weak"

"Being fond of others isn´t a sign of weakness. I´ll take responsibility of every decision I will take"

"How appropriate, but you should realize something. Your desire to save everyone isn´t something heroic, it´s just your greedy nature. You want to have everything without sacrifices, such outcome could only be possible in the world of a child. I thought you were an adult by now. But I already know that you aren´t going to change your mind. What should I do about you, dear? You have just witnessed the destruction I have caused. Do you think that you can stop a primordial being like me?"

"Someone could always try" he said as he unsheathed his sword.

"Just to tell you clearly, I hate wasting energy. Fighting you would bring me nothing. Why should I do something that would bring me no benefit? Besides, it really annoys me that you think that you can achieve everything without my help. Such pride is something I´ve never seen in a longtime, but don´t be mistaken. No matter what you do, some of them will perish under the flames of this war, innocent or otherwise. After all, four different forces are battling for the future of this land, most of them opposite in their aims.

Allow me to open your eyes, first of all, an unforgivable past…" she said as they were engulfed in a strange mist. When he opened his eyes, they were at the throne room of the imperial palace, the room where he had witnessed Edelgard´s coronation. He was about to say something to his companion when the room to his right suddenly opened.

"The Emperor has tried to leave his private rooms once again. It seems that he is feeling uneasy about the development of the last events" said a fat man with orange hair, although he had more than the last time, he had seen him.

"Does it worry you, Duke Aegir, I thought that you were the most interested in limiting the power of his majesty, am I mistaken?"

"Lord Arundel, such words offend me. I have only been diligent to make sure that rumors do not spread, but some of the guards are uneasy. They say that they hear cries in the aisles close to the deepest dungeons"

"In that case you only need to tell them to patrol the walls of the palace. I have already men loyal to me, if we keep in check the old man everything would be under control"

"Sure, my Lord. I have always obeyed your orders"

"Good, when everything is done the keys of this country will be all yours, your family will inherit the Empire and House Aegir will bring a new dawn to this land" Byleth was tempted to punch Aegir´s dreamy look upon hearing those words, but he knew that it was useless, they were in the past after all.

"I truly hope so. Although to obtain it, my son must marry what remains of Ionius´s legacy. As you know the children are in a really bad state, their bodies…"

"There is no worry about it, the girl is strong, I am confident she will survive, she is the wielder of a crest after all, and I am certain that she will grow into a beautiful woman"

"The kid that came with you from the Holy Kindgom? I was truly surprised when I received a letter from you, Lord Arundel. I thought you had run away from the Empire after…"

"Not at all, my dear friend. I just needed to fix some things in the Holy Kingdom, that was all. You have done great, the policies of Ionius would have caused too much harm on this land. The nobles exist to keep the power of the emperor in check, yet he was trying to steal such power from us. The rebellion was a truly wonderful idea, don´t you think so Prime Minister Aegir? In a few years you could be remembered as the savior of the Adrestian Empire, as the man that saved this empire from crumbling. The Hreslveg line will be erased by the Aegir´s and soon enough everyone would have forgotten these turbulent years" Arundel said as he casted a small fire spell as they started entering the depths of the palace.

"Such is my wish as well, although my son does not know about it yet. He is an exceptional boy, but his ideas are sometimes truly troublesome"

"Better to keep him ignoring the reality of this world, when he comes of age, he will understand the sacrifices that his father had to take in order to bring a better future to this land. The situation in the surroundings of the empire is getting worse as you should know by now. Dagda and Brigid have made an alliance and that could mean an invasion at any time and the nobles of the Holy Kingdom are displeased with King Lambert last reforms. In times like this we need a man like you as a prime minister. The Emperor is old and weak and we still need time until we develop our ultimate weapon"

"If my son will be the head of a new dynasty, he will need healthy heirs, do you think she will be capable of…"

"There is no need to worry about it, she will fulfill her role and bring new heirs to the throne…and when everything has been done, she will disappear as if she had never existed. But I know that look in your eyes, you still have your doubts, don´t you? In that case you just need to come with me, I will be paying a visit to my niece"

"Yes, my lord" Aegir said as he meekly followed Lord Arundel into the deepest part of the palace. They continued walking for many minutes until they suddenly stopped before an iron gate guarded by two masked men.

"Lord Arundel, it is always a pleasure to see you here"

"The pleasure is all mine, now if you can allow us to access"

"It´ll be done, my lord"

With a heavy sound, the door started to open, revealing an entrance to a room engulfed in darkness.

"Please, accompany me" Lord Arundel said as he entered the room. The room was completely empty, except for the chains that were holding a small girl at one of its corners. Her hair was still brown, but the ends of her hair were starting to turn white.

"Here it is, our greatest creation, the perfect emperor that will make this world tremble" Lord Arundel said as he approached her. "El, don´t hide your face and look at us, be a good niece to your dear uncle"

"Don´t call me by that name…"

"That´s not the proper way to address me, dear niece" he said as he kicked her stomach while Aegir just observed afraid of doing something that could enrage the Lord. "How many times do I need to correct you. Besides, there aren´t so many people that call you by that name anymore, it would be a pity if it disappeared, don´t you think?"

"Don´t call me…by that name"

"You are truly stubborn" he said as he grabbed her from her hair, she was extremely thin, countless injuries on her body, yet her eyes were filled with determination. "But I must admit that I like that side of yours, you would have been broken by now if you were weak" he smiled before looking at Aegir. "The power we have placed within her grows stronger as time passes. The fact that she has survived so many injuries is a living proof of our success. You should be proud of yourself, El, the sacrifice of your brothers and sisters wasn´t in vain. Someday we could place a monument in their memory. "For the greater good", how does it sound?"

"Don´t insult their memory! I will… I will!"

"Attack me, kill me? Do you think that you are capable of something like that? You are still a kid if you truly think that you are capable of even touching me" he laughed. "Killing me would only satisfy your own ego, do you think that your brothers and sisters would think proudly of you if you killed me for your own personal satisfaction?"

Ire was consuming him. He just wanted to cut in half Lord Arundel and Duke Aegir, yet he was powerless before them, a ghost observing the past.

"Well, as you can see, the little Princess is strong, you shouldn´t worry about it. Right now, there are more important matters to discuss, shall we return to your private rooms?"

"It would be an honor, Lord Arundel" Duke Aegir said as they closed the door behind them, leaving them alone with the Edelgard of the past.

"I´m sorry…I´m sorry…I failed all of you" the girl said as a lonely tear fell to the ground. Like him, the Edelgard of the past was powerless against her captors, but even if it was something that had happened years ago, he couldn´t avoid feeling depressed about it. He wanted to hug her, tell her that everything would go ok…"

"That would have no purpose, we are just silent spectators of the past" she said but he approached her. He extended his hand to cherish her face, but his hand passed through her body.

"In this place is where she developed her resolution, something worth of witnessing, but she isn´t the only one scarred by the past" she said as the room where they were disappeared. He could hear through the mist cries and the clash of swords. When he reopened his eyes, he could see a battlefield unfolding in front of him. Soldiers fighting against masked men, blood turning the dirt red. When he saw one of the banners, he realized what was happening in front of him.

"The tragedy of Duscur" he muttered.

"Indeed. The royal troops were ambushed and the king was murdered, but that story is something that you already know, right?"

Walking through the bodies, he spotted a downed carriage. Next to it a young boy was holding someone between his arms.

"Father!"

"Dimitri…We were betrayed…if I had been more cautious something like this would have never happened. I was…too naïve"

"No, father, please stay with me!" the young boy said while sobbing but he was stopped by his father´s hand.

"Dimitri…you must survive…to make sure that those here aren´t forgotten…to avenge us…to bring justice to this world"

"Father…"

"I´m sorry I leave you with such burden, but a king must live for its people…you might feel crushed by the number of responsibilities, but such is our fate…my brother will help…tell him to upbring you for the sake of the future…for the sake of the Holy Kingdom" King Lambert said as life left his eyes.

"Father…I promise you I´ll avenge all of you, your deaths won´t be ever forgotten. I promise you…I will claim justice for this…" the young boy said as he stood up and looked around. His eyes were red because of crying, but he was familiar with that look of his face. "Justice for the dead…justice for all of you…that´s the only thing that matters…the only thing that has a purpose"

"Pretty strong words coming from such a young boy, right" muttered her companion. "The little girl and the little boy are the most scarred by the past. One cherishes a future that may never come to fruition, while the other cherishes the past out of respect for those who have left this world under such tragic circumstances"

"But Dimitri accused Edelgard of the tragedy of Duscur, but that doesn´t really make sense. Why he thought that she was responsible of it?"

"Perhaps, in the hopes of finding a culprit he chose to believe she was the one. Understanding a tormented soul is something that not even a being like me can fully understand. The only thing that matters is that his hate forwards her will never change. There is no world where both of them can coexist, not like this…and there is also my daughter. She will never forget and she longs for a past that will never be…Such are the burdens of immortality I guess…Being unable to forget, being unable to forgive. In the hopes of seeing her mother she defied the laws of nature and as a result you are among us. Tell me, do you hate her because of what she made to you?"

"No, even if she thought of me as just a vessel…even if I was nothing to her, that doesn´t mean that I hate her"

"A hero´s heart is generous, I guess, although some people would say that being merciful of your enemies is the proof of a foul" she said while covering her mouth. "It would be rude to leave the last protagonist of our visit to the past alone, don´t you think?" she said as the reality around them started to fade away one more time.

"You are an abomination"

"That´s not true!"

"You have the marks of the demons, only people from the grey lands are like that, your blood is mixed with them. You will never inherit the throne, half-brother" said a tall boy to a younger one, green eyes his most unique feature.

"I speak the same tongue than you, we have the same values yet you still consider me a foreigner. What do I have to do so you can accept me?"

"Just disappear from here, this is not your place. You are a shame to our ancestors, half-human. The grey lands have always caused pain and demise to this land yet you think that you can be one of us. Don´t think you are above us all!" the older boy said as he slapped the younger in the face, but he didn´t cry. "I´m leaving, you are pissing me off"

"Why things have to be like this…why everything has to be so irrational…this world needs to change…someday I´ll do it…I´ll make a world where everyone has their opportunity to shine…a world where prejudices are a thing of the past"

"Instead of wishing for his death, he wants to change the world. Talking about idealists…A world with such qualities is something certainly difficult to achieve without enough power"

"That´s why he is the leader of the Alliance, to achieve his dreams"

"Certainly, and he will fight to achieve them. As you can see, all of them have their own desires. How will you save all of them without divine powers? The answer is that you cannot. You are doomed to fail since you´ve already chosen a side. The consequences of such decisions would mean the end of many of the people you know so well, although if I wanted to bet something, I would say the most prone to listen would be the little boy before us"

"Thank you for showing me these visions of the past"

"I didn´t mean to help you. I´m just showing you why you are doomed to fail in your quest" she sighed. "Everyone has their own story, but in the end, one must prevail among the others. In your state there is no possible way that you can save them all…in the end…" she was saying when she suddenly stopped.

"What´s the matter?"

"It seems that we have a visit waiting for us" she said as she snapped her fingers once again, the world of the past disappearing into the reality.

They were again on the hill, surrounded by the dark waters, yet two persons were standing in front of them, clothed in black armor.

"Who are you, as you can see I´m trying to have a conversation"

"You…are you responsible of this?"

"I´m not interested in talking with someone that hides their true face under a helmet…although your scent tells me who you are. What brings you here, inhabitants of the underworld?"

"The fact that you are capable of talking is truly unnerving" said a man´s voice. "Such unnatural being must be eradicated for the greater good"

"Don´t waste your energy talking with it, Chilon" said a woman´s voice. "Don´t you see that it´s just a copy of our ancient enemy?" she said as her attention was caught by him. "So, it´s true that you have somehow survived. We have underestimated you, the fact that you are still breathing is a proof of your resilience and our lack of sight"

"Ignoring me like this, have a price don´t you think? I was in the middle of a very important conversation, yet you dare to disturb it and then you proceed to ignore me? Such behavior is something that I can forgive"

"The answer to your question is simple. We have no intention of engaging in conversation with an abomination like you, we have only come in the search of him"

"Why?"

"To offer you an alliance, to avoid that this world drowns in despair"