"I don´t like this place" muttered one of them. Unfortunately, he couldn´t disagree with them.

They had been walking for hours deeper and deeper into the forest, the warmth presence of the sun long ago forgotten. Around them a sea of trees was extending uninterrupted, a world of green covering everything they could see.

He was leading the group, with an eye on the path they were following and the other on his dear companions. They might be adults already, yet he couldn´t avoid thinking about them as his mentor. He couldn't avoid smiling at the thought when he suddenly stopped.

"What happened?"

"The path ends here. This is the deepest it goes" he said as he looked at his surroundings. It continued to their left, but that would mean that they would leave the forest again. "We´ll have to continue by our own. Stay sharp" he said as he cut through a bunch of bushes.

They advanced through the forest in silence, their chattering long ago forgotten. The place was completely quiet, not even a breeze coming through the leaves. "There is nothing" he observed as he searched for small animals around them in vain. Not even birds or small mammals could be spotted in the immenseness of the depths of the forest. The more they walked, the more unnatural the silence appeared to them. He was about to say something when the air around them changed a bit.

"Mist" he murmured as he observed the thin veil that was waiting for them a couple of meters away. Fog was something natural in humid areas like a forest, but his senses were telling him that something wasn´t in this case.

"Keep a close watch to your surroundings" he said in a low voice, but in the complete silence of that area of the forest it sounded like a roar.

They continued through the forest with all their senses focused on their surroundings, but everything appeared to be peaceful. The fog was getting thicker the more they entered it, a cold pressure hitting his chest. Then he felt a wet cold on his feet. Looking at his boot he realized he had just placed his feet on a mud poodle.

"Be careful where you place your feet" he was saying as he looked behind him, but he lost his voice in disbelief.

Around him there was none, only the thick fog and the ominous silence surrounding him. Alerted by the discovery he unsheathed his weapon as he looked at his surroundings while with his other hand, he prepared a spell to get rid of some part of the fog. Even if he got spotted, that would be preferably to the risk of losing them in that forsaken place.

The fog around him disappeared momentarily revealing nothing, only more trees and the muddy terrain. There was no logical explanation to their disappearance, yet it appeared to be that they have suddenly vanished.

As he was feeling increasingly worried about their fate, he was alerted by a light splashing sound coming from where the muddy terrain started. A cautious person would certainly have chosen to withdraw, but he couldn´t just give up on them, so he decided to follow the only source of sound he had heard.

The distance between the trees grew as he walked through the muddy terrain. The mist was even thicker there, but everything remained unnaturally silent. He was losing count of the time he had spent walking through it, when he heard a strange sound. He then proceeded to look back, his strength on his sword hand.

A man covered in armor was standing a few meters away from him, partially covered in mist. His armor was rusted and his helmet partially broken, but he couldn´t completely see his face due to the fog surrounding him.

"Who are you?" he asked. His eyes on him, but his senses paying attention to every little sound around him. He was ready to attack at any moment…

But the figure in front of him said nothing. It then started to slowly rise his arm as a screeching noise came from its gorge and in the split of a second his sword pierced his front armor as he jumped on him. Black blood was pouring from the man´s chest, a nauseating smell filling the air. The mist was still strangely covering the man´s face when he suddenly opened its mouth, mud coming out from it. He jumped back at the sight of it, looking around before looking back at him…

But he wasn´t there, his sword piercing a lonely tree in the midst of the fog.

"What…" he said to himself in disbelief. There was no logical explanation to what has just happened, his thoughts trying to process what had really happened there.

"Show yourself!" he shouted, but he was just welcomed with complete silence. His words had no use here in a place where loneliness and silence ruled over everything else. Feeling uncomfortable, he decided to continue, even more alert than before. No matter what spells he used, the mist wouldn´t disappear, it was a futile battle against the might of the forest.

"The blood is strong but the flesh is too weak" whispered an unknown voice in the middle of the mist just a meter from him, but a swing of his sword revealed nothing.

"That´s the curse of those unfitted to obtain the gift of the lords" said another voice to his left. There were other noises around him, as if he was in the middle of a library and a group of people were talking secretly between them, but the cold air and the mist were completely different to such situation.

The murmur of voices suddenly stopped as another figure appeared a few meters away from him. It was a woman, her face covered in mist yet he could decipher that she was a noble by the dress she was wearing.

"Who are you?" he asked, but she said nothing as she looked at something beyond his sight.

"Pain…pain…pain…why it doesn´t stop" she murmured as she touched the lower part of her belly, where a deep red stain had just appeared. "Maybe I´m unfit…maybe my blood was not worth the…" but her voice stopped as she started to disappear just as she had just appeared.

He was about to say something, but a numb pain ran through his body as he rolled through the muddy ground, his mouth filled with his own blood. He had just been attacked.

The cold was intense as he tried to recover from the impact. He felt a sharp pain as he applied some healing magic on himself, but his eyes were trying to find the source of the attack.

He wasn´t alone, someone…something was close to him, his attacker probably watching him from the deep mist. The fog was so thick that he tripped onto something. Avoiding to fall thanks to his quick reaction, he realized he had just stood upon a body. The moment he saw the light blue short color his blood froze.

"Caspar?" he asked as he turned the body around. It was him without a doubt, his once energetic face deathly pale, his gouged eyes staring at the nothingness.

"This can´t be real…" he muttered as the deep fog was drowning his lungs in despair, a muddy taste in his mouth. Mud, like the thing he had just slayed…

"Wait a second…"

Following his instinct, he set fire to a dry enough stick that was near him, the moment he did, the corpse of his student turned brown as it started to melt into the ground. The mist around him weakened a bit too, although it wasn´t enough to make it disappear.

"So, you realized" said a soft voice from an unknown place near him.

"Show yourself" he said to the sea of fog, his voice sharp as the steel. He had already seen a mage once play such tricks in the mist; he was going to repay such visions with the life of the unwanted visitor.

A feet meters away from him appeared a figure covered in shadows, its shape irregular.

"This forest is my sanctuary; you must be just a group of thieves…like the others. They come to this place in the search of the treasures of old, yet they turn into bones and dust. Such is the fate of those greedy enough to face the wrath of an old warrior"

"What treasure? My group is just searching one of our friends"

"A friend…I haven´t heard that word for years" the voice in the midst said, its tone deeper than before. "I used to treasure such connections…but my thirst of flesh took the best of me…but they never truly left…they are with me until my days come to an end" the voice continued as he sensed some movement in the surroundings.

"You are just talking nonsense" he said as he unsheathed the sword of the Creator. With a gentle movement of the edge of the sword the deep mist surrounding him disappeared and with it his eyes were filled with the horror in front of him.

He had never seen such monster, its hide was completely hidden by a carapace, spines covering every inch on it. Its jaws were big enough to shallow a wyvern without chewing, a slime like substance pouring from it. It was taller than the trees surrounding him, its body covering the land in darkness. It was a monstrosity, yet its eyes, looked strangely rational.

"That sword…that glow…my king…in the end have you come to fulfill your promise?" the beast said as acidic tears started to fall from its eyes. "The pain…it never truly goes away…I´m begging you to make me rest. But why alone…where are the others…our brothers in arms"

"What are you talking about?"

"Have you really forgotten…you the one that gave us this curse, the only one that can redeem us from this fate!" the beast roared as it suddenly stood on its hind legs. In the split of a second its front legs were smashing the ground where he had just been a moment ago.

"Agh, my head…it hurts…it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, IT HURTS!" it continued as the ground trembled with each attack. "Why the pain doesn´t disappear. All this time I´ve waited in vain…but the blood is strong"

"I don´t know what you are talking about…but I will put you out of this misery. If you wish to die, so be it"

"By the hands of someone like you I shall not redeem myself. You are just another thief!" it sissed. Around him different creatures started to appear, all looking at him, all prepared to feast on his corpse.

"This forest is our sanctuary…and your flesh shall nourish it" Among the enemies, human like figures started to appear, but its muddy faces made him realize that they were nothing, but puppets controlled by the foe in front of him.

"My friends…they never truly abandoned me, even though many years have passed ever since. Farewell, thief, your bones shall rest in this place for the evermore"

With a slight movement of its claw, the creatures around him started to approach from all directions. With a couple of attacks, he was able to slay some and injure even more, but their numbers weren´t decreasing at all. It was just a matter of time, that they could overwhelm him.

Then, a giant fireball exploded above them, creating a small passage among the sea of enemies.

"Professor, this way!"

Without doubting ever once, he ran as fast as he could as all kind of roars echoed behind him, but the worst of them was from that monstrosity, its lament almost human like.

…

"It´s a matter of time that they come again. We need to prepare to defend ourselves at this place"

They were in what appeared to be an abandoned fortress. The forest had completely surrounded it, but it still resisted like a proud rock in the middle of a green sea. There was all kind of different equipment scattered around, even some ballistae, but the most important thing was that the walls appeared to be sturdy enough.

"For a moment I thought we had lost you in the middle of this place. It is truly a relieve to see you well, Professor" Ferdinand said as he checked his lance. His glance was serene, but the tension of his arms was telling him that he was expecting an attack from the outside at any moment.

"The Professor wouldn´t simply die because of a couple of beasts. He has done more awesome things and survived…just like us!"

"That´s true Caspar, but in this case brute force won´t be the key to this victory. We need to use this location the best we can, otherwise we are done" Lysithea muttered as she placed some defensive spells around.

Looking at all of them, he couldn´t avoid focusing his eyes on Marianne. His group had been able to find her, but she was extremely pale, especially when their group started to discuss the best plan to slay the beast. He wanted to know why she had just decided to go into such place, but he knew that now wasn´t the moment to press her about the matter.

A roar in the distance alerted them, as the ground started to tremble.

"They are already here…prepare for combat!"

…..

"How many of them are out there?" complained Caspar as he released his axe from one of the beasts.

"Your fate was sealed the moment you came to this place, now is the moment for you to perish…even you" The giant beast muttered as its eyes lingered on Marianne, but he stopped moving as he placed himself between them.

"I won´t allow that"

"You, thief, you might have stolen the king´s power, but you don´t even know how to handle it. I will crush you!" the beast roared as he quickly approached him, its jaws completely opened.

He could smell death as he jumped on one of the horns of the beast, his sword biting the bland flesh of the creature´s eyes. His body was stained in black blood but he continued pressing, the handle of the sword deep within the beast´s eye. He could hear anything but the beast´s roar, when he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his leg.

"You did well, but it wasn´t enough" The monster smiled as it grabbed him. The wound was quickly healing, a new eye growing from the rests of the other. He could see all kind of spells and attacks aimed at the beast, but it didn´t move an inch. "Your time has come to an end" it said as his grip grew stronger, his bones starting to crush, blood pouring from his mouth. He tried to turn back in time, but he then realized as a sharp pain pierced his heart, that such power was no more.

The world was starting to turn dark around him as he was unsuccessfully trying to release himself.

"So weak"

"…"

"Pathetic"

"…"

"Death is all that we´ll await them" He could only see a pile of corpses, all of them lined before him, all of them covered in blood. A familiar sight caught his attention, a carnation between her hands.

"Is this what you wish for?" asked a voice. "If not search within you…let your true power arise…"

"…and the world shall drown in blood"

…..

He could only feel pain, yet he was somehow alive.

"You are still alive…" the monster sissed as he used all his power to crush him…and then its claw fell to the ground, engulfed in black flames.

He looked at his hands and he realized he was engulfed in fire, yet he felt nothing.

"Cursed being…kill him!" roared the beast. Giant demonic beasts approached him. One was jumping in front of him, but was sliced in half by the Sword of the Creator, which was shining in a vicious red as the flesh of the beast fell on him like rain, the others devoured by his ire. His senses were numbed by the pain he was feeling, yet an inner force was pushing him, its ire increasing with each slayed enemy. When he partly recovered his senses he could see the mountain of corpses behind him, terror and pain drawn on them. In front of them the giant beast was on its knees, its carapace partially melted by his fury.

"Cursed you…you are nothing but a monster…" the beast said as he tried to crush him with its intact claw, without success. He was about to finish him, when he felt a deep pain, as if his flesh was starting to tear apart, making him fall on his knees.

"Professor!"

"Don´t approach!" he commanded as he throwed up blood from his insides.

"It seems, that your time is approaching as well" the beast said as he slowly crawled towards him. He could feel the spear of its tail piercing his flesh, as he did the same with his sword. His mind was boiling, his body a raging storm…

And then everything stopped.

"You did it…" whispered a voice. Before him was a middle-aged man, cracks starting to form across his body.

"You…"

"I´m just a hero of old, released from its cursed existence. Thanks to you, I´ll be able to leave this world as what I used to be…" the man said as he looked around him, his eyes calm yet filled with sorrows. "So many atrocities I committed, but my bloodline won´t end here" As he said so one of his fingers fell to the ground turning into dust.

"You…"

"I was one appraised by many, but I got corrupted by this sword, this gift from our king" he said as he looked at his sword, a relic. "Our king also cherished your sword, yet in the end was his undoing, don´t let it poison your mind as it did with me. There are things far worse than death" he said as one of his arms fell to the ground.

His voice reverbed in his head as the world grew dark around him

….

"Emperor, the troops are ready for the assault to the capital"

"Thank you, Hubert. We need to strike them as fast as possible to engage the church forces to the west". If the reports were true, a huge movement of troops had started within the Kingdom. With most of their forces in the Leicester Alliance, they were at risk of getting attacked from behind. The armies of the Leicester Alliance had been steadily retreating to their capital. She suspected they were trying to buy time for the church forces to engage them from behind, but she wasn´t sure if they had something else prepared to them. In any case, their only opportunity to conquer the city was now or never.

"If we take the city, we´ll obtain many goods to continue our fight to the west and many trading routes will open to us. We must strike them down, before they can join forces with our enemy.

"Any reports of enemy armies around us?" The area where they were had a dense vegetation, and she couldn´t afford any time to deal with ambushes or skirmishes.

"The situation is confusing, to say the least, but our explorers haven´t discovered any hidden enemy forces near us. The city will be reachable within an hour and there are reports of many enemy armies within it"

"How about the docks?" A siege was out of question not only because of their lack of time, but also because of the protection of the sea. The Empire wasn´t prepared for a naval battle, they had the upper hand on the ground, but a battle of endurance could put them into a risky situation.

"There aren´t any ships left in the city. All of them have sailed away"

"An evacuation? …. Big vessels use the docks of the city. They might come with reinforcements if the battle prolongs for many days.

"There is nothing to worry about it, Emperor. If we get control of the cliffs nearby there is nothing to fear, since we will be able to attack from the distance"

"Derdriu is a highly populated city. We don´t know how many reinforcements will try to fight against us, but if I defeat Claude and his generals, we might be able to make them lose their confidence"

"They have been running away from our main forces for many days, I highly doubt that their will to fight will be a problem to us"

"I doubt that Claude would just surrender. Even if I wasn´t able to completely know him, I know he is ambitious, he won´t simply give up"

"Neither you, if you forgive my insolence, Claude is more similar to you than someone like King Dimitri, but even if he is a great strategist, I am confident that his overconfidence will be his undoing"

"Hopefully so, but remember that we don´t have all of our forces here" she sighed. She had thought that covering the terrain and gaining the loyalty of the Lords would help her in her campaign, but the rest of the pieces had started moving and now she needed to crush the Leicester Alliance before facing new enemy forces. "I hope that they receive the news in time" Part of her companions and Byleth weren´t there. With them, victory was more possible…and she also wished they could be there to give her more strength, especially him.

"Knowing him, he will come, do not be afraid about it"

"Am I that easy to read?" she asked a bit embarrassed.

"A servant´s duty is to understand the needs and thoughts of its Lord. It would be an embarrassment to me if I was unable to understand you to some degree" Hubert said while bowing.

"I see…it´s time to rally our troops and encourage them for the upcoming battle. Hubert, the magic division is yours. She then looked at Jeritza that had been standing silent the whole time. "Take control of the Cavalry and the flanks. Live up to your reputation. I´ll take control of the infantry, the troops will fight fiercely if they see their Emperor besides then. Survive to see another day"

While Hubert bowed to her command, Jeritza simply nodded as he covered his face with his helmet.

"The pieces are set, Claude. I´ll crush your strategy with my sheer determination" she promised looking at the blue sky above her.

…

"The Imperial Army is approaching"

"Huh? The battle that will decide the fate of Fódlan is about to start, make sure that everyone remembers their part of the plan"

"Yes, my Lord!"

"Tsk, she is fast when she wants to be, but that must mean that their troops will be tired of their journey, while ours are fresh. Hmm, not bad" he thought as he caressed his weapon of choice, a relic bow. He was satisfied to know that the Church was finally moving to fight, that way he had an opportunity to slow the Empire down while the Church took most of the damage.

"Derdriu is capable of resisting a siege and you don´t have the time to overwhelm us…she must be thinking of crushing us with sheer strength, concentrating her forces on one spear head, the southern gate" The southern entrance was badly defended compared to the rest, since most attacks from pirates had taken place in the other gates and had been consequently reinforced. "You want to take the city with a great entrance? I´ll let you do so and then you´ll experience a crushing defeat. I´m not the one betting all my money on one basket"

"There is no room for defeat. The old walls that separated all of us will collapse after this fight" he promised himself. He wasn´t nervous, his mind frenetically checking every bit of his strategy to that moment.

"If you overcommit you´ll pay hard your mistakes, Edelgard, I´ll teach you such lesson" he smiled as he left his room.

So long no see, thanks for the understanding