"Keep the lines! Don´t panic!" They were suffering a surprise attack from the forces of the church, chaos quickly spreading among her troops, but her voice helped them to come to their senses as projectiles flew over them under the cover of the night.

"They are trying to surround us!"

"We can´t allow that! We need to send a message about the attack of the Church. Our forces at the Monastery must be alert!" she then looked at Randolph. "I command you to deliver the message, take one of the fastest horses and tell the Emperor about our situation!"

"But my general, my place is here fighting with the rest of the troops!"

"It is a command! Don´t dare to ignore it!"

"Tsk! Understood!" he said as he ran towards the horses.

In the chaos of the battle, she defeated one enemy after another, all of them wearing the symbol of the Church of Seiros. Meanwhile, her troops were reorganizing again, the ties of the battle starting to change.

"If we can keep this up, we´ll be able to repeal this attack" she thought when a group of her soldiers was obliterated by a blast. As dust disappeared, she could only see a heavily armored knight, a big sigil of the Crest of Seiros on its chest.

"Are you the leader of this army?" She realized that it was the voice of a woman, could it be the voice of Catherine one of the knights of the church? In that case, the battle before her would be a difficult one.

"I am and who are you?"

"That will resolve this matter rather efficiently. I am the archbishop of the Church of Seiros and I will be the responsible of your defeat"

…..

The battle had already started down there. He could hear the blasts of weapons as his troops counterattacked accordingly. The main forces of the Empire were fighting against Rhea and Catherine. The garrison at the monastery quite limited compared to their numbers, but the emperor was among them and that meant that his former benefactor was there as well.

"Destroy their artillery!" he shouted as he avoided another blast aimed at him. He could feel the presence of their ancient enemy there as well, using all kind of strange devices to hunt them down, but the sky was theirs. They had to get rid of it to allow their reconquest of the monastery to happen.

"Do not fail me, Seteth. The monastery is the symbol that will rally the people of Fódlan around us. With its conquest, the fate of the war will be decided" Those were the words the archbishop had said to him before heading to the battlefield. He knew the importance of the monastery, but he also knew that it would be a tough nut to crack, the Empire would never give up such piece willingly.

"Father, is it really ok to fight against him?" as he avoided another projectile aimed at him, he couldn´t avoid recalling the words of her daughter. She had doubts about fighting her former benefactor and he couldn´t really blame her about that. He also had conflicting feelings regarding the matter, but there was nothing he could do about it. On the one hand he had saved her daughter, on the other one he had sided with those that could bring the world down a new dark age. He couldn´t just simply forget about that, no matter how grateful he was to the things he had done for them. Besides, that would mean betraying Rhea and she wasn´t the same since his betrayal at the Holy Tomb.

"She changed for the worst, I have never seen her like that" Although they didn´t have the same opinion on many matters, she was still one of their brethren, the strongest one and if she fell that would mean that they would be hunted down like what happened centuries ago. The pain and the constant fear they had suffered…it was something that he wanted to avoid at all costs.

"Commander! Enemies in the sky!" A black cloud was approaching them at a shocking speed.

"Don´t let them overwhelm us, prepare…" he couldn´t finish his phrase as a projectile from beneath hit his mount´s right side, the wyvern uncontrollably approaching the surface.

"They had really improved their techniques" it was the only thing he could think about as the monastery came even closer.

…

The archbishop was a formidable enemy, no matter what she did she had a counterattack prepared. Her arms were starting to feel heavy as she continued pressing forward.

"Are you already tired? That would be a bit disappointing"

"I´m just getting started, don´t underestimate an imperial soldier!"

"Overestimating your own abilities will be your doom" the archbishop said, but she was distracted by an ax threw at her.

"Randolph, what are you doing here?" asked Ladislava in disbelief. There he was, his face red after being running wearing his heavy battle armor, but he was smiling.

"I came to help, don´t worry, the message has already been sent. Let me fight with you"

"You acted by your own volition and disobeyed a direct command from your superior. I will have to sanction you after this battle" Ladislava said while smiling.

"I know, but for now let´s get rid of this problem before us"

"Are you already done with your meaningless talk? Both of you must be the highest ranked members of the Imperial Army in this area. Surrender would be the wisest option"

"Do you really think that our will is that weak? Do not dare to belittle us like this!" Ladislava said as she raised her shield and her weapon of choice, an ax with a golden lining on its surface. He did the same.

"In that case, come at me and face the doom of mankind" the armored archbishop said in a mocking tone.

They jumped on her from different directions, it was now or never. The archbishop stopped Ladislava´s attack, but he was able to hit her with all his strength on her chest, cracks appearing on its surface, a bright red blood coming outside. He then looked at Ladislava.

"You truly are a disappointment" she laughed as she sent him to the ground. The archbishop was collapsing on the ground…

"No…what´s happening?" he asked in disbelief as he realized that it was Ladislava the one on the ground, their armored enemy looking at them amused.

"It seems that you made a mistake when you tried to attack me. A pity that you attacked her" she said as she pointed to the body next to her.

"How does it feel? Killing someone that trusted you. Do you feel ashamed or perhaps you are panicking?"

"This must be a lie" he thought.

"Is it really?" asked a young voice. When he looked again, he could only see Fleche standing a few meters away from him.

"Why are you scared, brother? That makes me feel sad"

"F-Fleche?"

"Who else could be? Why you killed her…I´m disappointed in you, my dear brother"

"T-That…" He was feeling dizzy, was it all a nightmare?

"How about you find out?" Fleche said with a smile on her face as she handed to him a dagger. "How about you cut your throat with this? I´m sure you will open your eyes no problem. Besides, you should take responsibility for the lives you have stolen, even if it is only a dream, right?"

"Y-You are right" he thought as he looked at the pointing end of the dagger. It wouldn´t be a pleasurable experience, but he wanted to get rid of it.

"You idiot, don´t do that!" said a cracking voice that made him open his eyes. It was Ladislava.

"L-Ladislava?" he asked in disbelief, he then looked at Fleche.

"How boring" she said, her eyes looking at him disgusted. "I guess I will have to finish it the conventional way" she continued as a sword formed from the thin air.

"Can you still fight?" He worriedly asked as he approached Ladislava.

"Of course, I can, your aim is awful after all" she laughed it off. "Believe your senses, not your eyes. Don´t let her trick you again"

"Understood!" he shouted as she approached them. Sword met ax in a bewitching dance between life and death. Each clash released sparkles, the movements of their enemy matching both of them as each attack was responded by a brutal counterattack.

"Most humans would have died by now, even if you are injured that is something remarkable to see. May I know your name?"

"Ladislava, general of the Empire, and yours?"

"Forgive me for ignoring the basic concepts of politeness. My name is…Seiros"

"You are a liar!" he shouted, it was impossible, Seiros was a saint that had lived hundreds of years ago. Even though she couldn´t see her eyes, he realized he had made a terrible mistake.

"It is quite rude to say that I am lying when I am being completely honest about it. Are you really so entitled that you think that you are the holder of all the truth of this world? Are you implying that you are somehow wiser, more capable than me, that you know when I am telling the truth and when I am not? Such thought is outrageous, an insult to my intelligence. If my honesty is welcomed like this then there is no point on continuing this conversation, arrogant humans" she said in a cold tone as the ax of Ladislava shattered, the next thing that happened was that she was impaled, while he was sent to the ground, blood coming out of his mouth.

"NO!" He ran to her and examined her wound. She was losing a lot of blood, he needed to bring her to a safe place, otherwise she would…

"You must leave now, at once. She is far stronger than neither us. It is a suicide to keep fighting her…you need to survive…to prepare the counterattack" Ladislava said while coughing blood.

"I´ll carry you"

"There is no use of me anymore. We need someone to tell them what happened here"

"You should be the one to live, you are stronger than me…you are more valuable to the emperor than I´ll ever be"

"As a military asset maybe…my loyalty to our Emperor is the only thing that holds me together...but you have more things that are worth to live for…You have a sister…"

"She might hold a grudge against me, but I can´t just leave you here to die to this monster" he said as he looked at the archbishop, that had been observing them in complete silence.

…..

He had crashed into the cathedral, he could see his wyvern impaled in one of the statues of the saints, its blood running down the face of the statue as if it was crying.

"More death and pain…is that the world you are fighting for?" He asked as he turned around. There he was, the wielder of the Sword of the Creator, the wielder of pain and death.

"…"

"The sunset of our brethren has already started, but that doesn´t mean that we can give up on living like this. You…you were our benefactor yet you insist on following the path of the wicked. Why? You weren´t supposed to join them"

"I made my decision and I have no regrets…But that doesn´t mean that we have to fight, Seteth. Drop your weapon"

"And then what?" Seteth said as he approached the center of the cathedral. "There is no place for someone like me or my daughter. We already know it since we have been running away for years. They fear us, we are too different. She had placed her hopes on you, yet you betrayed her, like you did to the rest of us!"

"She never considered me as something else than a tool, Seteth"

"Seteth…that name was nothing but a lie, but I guess that you are already aware of that, don´t you?" he said as he looked to the ceiling. "My real name is Cichol, one of the saints of the Church of Seiros. Your cause is nothing but a dream of nothingness that will bring nothing but pain and suffering to the land. Even if you are our benefactor, I cannot simply drop my arms before you. I challenge you to a combat!"

"I wish that my words could convince you, but I guess that only by the sword our differences will disappear. I accept your challenge, Cichol, saint of the Church. May the best one win" Byleth said with a slight bow.

And like that their dance of death started. His loyal lance allowed him to attack from a greater length, while his shield stopped most attacks and even those that hurt him quickly disappeared thanks to its magical properties. The movements of his adversary were calculated, always looking for the weakness of his defense, waiting for the opportunity to defeat him, but he had the experience on his side. Centuries of conflicts had taught him many lessons, some more painful than others.

"That sword has stained the pages of history with blood of innocents, it is a cursed blade that will stain your very own heart in black. A blade formed from the sufferings of others is nothing but an abomination, a sacrilege of life turned into death"

"Even if its origins are dark, it´s not the sword but the wielder the responsible of the blade. I won´t commit the crimes those before me did, I won´t use its power for my own sake"

"Noble words, but they are nothing but dust in the air, they have no meaning in this forsaken world. A world made out of lies for the sake of survival"

"It can change, the things that happened in the past aren´t bound to happen in our present. It is our decisions the ones that can help change this world for the better"

"…"

Both of them were continuing the fight in the cathedral, only the paintings and the statues of the servants of the Goddess witnessing their class, or so was it? He could feel a presence behind, slowly approaching. The sound of a blade echoed through the hall as Byleth´s sword blocked the attack aiming at his head.

"Alois, you too?" The disappointment in his voice was obvious as the wielder of the sword parried the attack.

"I promise I will bury you next to your father" he simply said, but he never tried to look at him to the eye, such was the shame he was feeling, the inner conflict between his vows and loyalty clashing with each other.

Now they were two against him, but the battle wasn´t decided yet. They needed to make a final attack, there was no other way. He approached him from the right as Alois did the same from the left. A metallic sound echoed through hall. His spear was piercing through his hand, yet he had been able to stop the fatal blow, next to him Alois collapsed to the ground a white pool of blood spreading around him.

"No!" shouted Cichol in disbelief. Another life lost in this meaningless war; how many deaths were still awaiting until the end of it? No matter what he did, lives were being lost. Perhaps, her daughter was already…

"This isn´t what I wished for" Byleth muttered as he looked at Alois´s carcass. "I could see it in your eyes, you had doubts yet you decided to find your end like this…"

"He fulfilled his vows as a knight of the Church…and I must do the same even if the dusk of our era is already on us" Cichol said as he bowed before the altar.

"Give me strength, to defeat your enemies, to save those I hold dear" he begged as he felt a new fire burning within him. He then looked at him.

"Where there is only dark let the light reign to the end of times"

….

"Why are you standing before me? Are you unable to see the differences between our abilities? Is this the proof of the arrogance of mankind?"

"I won´t let you pass!" he shouted as he raised Ladislava´s shield. "I will correct my mistakes even if that costs me my life!"

"Only a fool would try to be a hero in this situation, you are the worst scum this world has ever created. I shall repay such arrogance with the annihilation of those you hold dear…and then you will truly find death, since those long ago forgotten are nothing to this world" she said as she looked to her sword and shield. "Killing you with these weapons would be an insult to them. I will do what I must with my bare hands" she said while approaching, the weapons disappearing from her hands.

He knew it was a lost battle, but he needed to buy time for those who still had the chance to escape. Before him hell itself was waiting, coming closer with each step. He ran towards it, his strength concentrated in the ax, aiming it to her chest.

"Pathetic" she simply said as she stopped the ax with her bare hands, with a small movement it shattered as she punched him in the stomach, sending him to the ground a few meters away from her. "Is this the power of mankind? Such a feeble thing…only with treason were you able to achieve something in your pathetic existence, but my revenge is closer and with it the end of this farce…"

The impact was brutal, he was coughing blood and he knew he had at least a pair of broken bones…but he was still breathing, he was still alive. Standing up again he approached the body of Ladislava and picked the sword next to her.

"You still are willing to fight…I guess that stupidity is something to remark among you humans, yet calling this a fight would be an insult to all the battles I have already experienced. This is just the punishment prepared for a group of children that have thought they were above everyone else…"

"Shut up!" he shouted as he approached her in pain, the sword in his right hand. His enemy was approaching, he didn´t have another chance. He moved the sword to the right, pretending to hit from there to…

"Boring" Rhea said as she caught his wrist. The force was brutal as she twisted her hand, his wrist broken and leaving his hand in an unnatural and painful to watch position…but he didn´t fell on his knees.

"This is a good blade…but nothing cannot compare to those blessed by our merciful Goddess" she said as she hit him with the hilt of the sword on his right knee, breaking his bones, she then hit him with her knee in the chest and sent him to the ground once again.

His mind was dizzy. His right leg was a mess and words couldn´t explain the pain he was feeling from his hand. Breathing itself was a torture…but he was alive.

"Did you have enough punishment? This is getting too boring. I must say that I am disappointed, I expected more from the generals of the Empire"

"I´m…not done…YET!" he cried as he tried to stand up but his leg failed him as he crumbled to the ground.

"You are unable to stand by yourself, yet you are still challenging my authority. Don´t you understand how insulting is this to me? Weaklings like you are just a gangrene to this world, your mere existence is an insult to our creator"

While she was saying that he was able to stand up, yet with difficulty. He then started to approach slowly, a dagger on his hand.

"You don´t really seem to understand your situation, don´t you?" the archbishop sighed. "How many times do I need to crush you so you can understand the futility of your cause?"

"How many times have you seen the sun rise again after darkness? You´ll need more to make my confidence in our cause disappear"

"That faith of yours could have made you a great cardinal…a pity" she simply said as she stopped the dagger, cutting his healthy leg off with it.

"Ugh!"

He fell to the ground, the world around him was starting to vanish, the sounds of his heartbeats inside his head.

"She is already gone. She lost too much blood and you were the responsible of her death. You failed and your army did as well. You…" she stopped talking when she felt something, he was grabbing her leg with his still intact hand.

"You are still clinging to life and to your cause, but you only inspire me disgust" she said as she grabbed him from his chest. He couldn´t see her face, but she knew that her tone was filled with anger, but that anger was what was blinding her. He then used his remaining strength, as he used his hidden dagger and stabbed her.

"You…" sissed her voice in anger as a single green blood drop fell on the ground. That was the result of his efforts, a mere blood drop yet for him was the most valuable thing he had ever been able to do as a soldier. "I did it" he thought as he flew to the ground. Ladislava body was a few steps from him as he slowly started to crawl towards her.

"I must admit that your last movement was amusing, but fruitless as well. Have you come to realize how hopeless is the future of your people?"

Ladislava face was pale yet peaceful, dried blood running down her mouth. He was next to her as he used his free hand to wipe away the blood from her mouth.

"The one…that doesn´t understand…is you" he said with what remained of his strength. "As individuals we are weak…but if we remain together…we are stronger…a monster like you…self-absorbed in a world that doesn´t exist anymore…I pity you…and your existence"

"Enough of your insolence" roared her voice. "I will not tolerate such disrespectful behavior towards everything I have been fighting for!" she said as she raised her hands a giant fireball starting to appear just before him, but he wasn´t looking at it. He wasn´t going to waste his last moments looking at death. He was looking at Ladislava´s face, her face looking like she had fallen sleep.

"My general…I would have followed you to the end of the world…sorry for being so weak…Fleche…please don´t be too mad at me…"

The fire engulfed him, he could feel how his body was melting, but he didn´t separate from her.

….

Seteth was covered in an intense green light as he launched his attack. He stopped it with his sword, but he could feel a wave of pain travelling through his body. Looking at his eyes he realized that he wouldn´t willingly give up.

"If that´s what you wish for I will do the same!" he shouted as he extended his left hand, already recovered to counterattack with a spell while he whipped his sword towards him. He fell movement behind him as he avoided an arrow. Looking at the source he couldn´t believe his eyes.

"The paintings…" The archers in the paintings were shooting arrows at him, while the wizards prepared various spells to destroy him once and for all. The entire cathedral was attacking him. There were too many enemies to face and Seteth was already in front of him. Each blow was filled with the anger he was feeling towards him, an inner flame starting to rise once again.

A battle between two men that could have been friends in other life, was there something more tragic than that?

His thoughts were interrupted as the ground trembled, the statues of the saints of old started to join the battle as well. He could feel it, their hatred…their fury…they would do everything they could to destroy him once and for all.

"Destroy him at once!" Seteth roared.

The explosion that followed made the ground crumbled. Had he been able to defeat him? He wondered as the dust started to disappear.

"This must be…a lie" he muttered. Before him he was, completely unscathed a gloomy shadow on his eyes.

"You should be dead"

"Yet here I am" Byleth continued as black flames started to appear in different parts of his body.

"Magic? What kind of magic is this? Attack him at once!" He commanded as a new wave of arrow and projectiles made the ground tremble again, one of the statues crushed the surface where he was with its hand.

"I guess…that violence is the only option left" said his voice as the hand of the statue shattered. Now he was completely engulfed in fire yet he seemed to be unaffected by it. The same couldn´t be said of the surroundings as the fire spread more and more and in a few seconds the cathedral turned into a giant pyre.

"You are a monster" he said as he commanded the remaining statues to attack him as he approached as well.

"…"

He used all his strength to pierce his evil heart, but he was parried by his sword. The impact resonated in the crumbling cathedral, cracks starting to appear on his lance.

"This cannot be" he said as his loyal lance shattered, turning into dust. But he didn´t have time to think about it as a quick counterattack followed, his shield blocking what could have killed him.

"This situation is far from favorable" he thought. The heat was too intense, the centuries old stone melting away, the structure of the cathedral getting devoured by the flames. He then decided to charge towards him, but he was stopped by an intense pain.

"Ugh!"

He crumbled on his knees when he felt the sword beating his flesh, his shield had been pierced and was turning into dust as well. He tried to get up, but failed doing so. His energy had completely disappeared.

"So, is this the end?" he whispered as he looked at the hell surrounding him. He had been dragged into a conflict he had no wish to take part into, yet there he was, before his enemy, defenseless. He then closed his eyes.

"Father!" cried a voice as he felt warmth running through his exhausted body, that could mean only one thing.

"Flayn?"

"There is no need to pretend anymore, father. I am Cethleann, your daughter, remember? Father…" she said while crying on her shoulder. "Professor, I beg you, forgive my father"

"…"

"He fought for his vows, for loyalty to Rhea, but the battle is over. Dying now would solve nothing don´t you think? I still remember what you did for us five years ago. I promised that we won´t cause any more trouble"

"Cethleann, what are you…" he said while looking at the man before him. He was standing there in complete silence, but he could sense a change within him, the flames surrounding his body starting to fade away. When they completely disappeared, he could only see his serene gaze looking at them.

"I wish our reencounter could have been somewhat different, but there is no point about complaining about it now" he said as he extended his hand. "I promise to not raise my sword against you, you have my word" he said as he waited for his response.

He was confused. He had been waiting his death, yet salvation was the thing being offered to him. How could it be? Even though he was meant to be a mere tool for Seiros, there he was offering him peace despite his efforts to annihilate him. It was something he couldn´t understand, mercy after all the things they had done? In a world covered in darkness they were offering him the only light of hope he had seen in years. It was too good to be true…but he looked at his daughter…and he knew what he had to do.

"And I promise I won´t raise my arms against you, even if I don´t share your aims you had been our benefactor as well. That´s something I did pretend to forget…to make it easier fighting against you, but it was nothing but a lie…and now you have bestowed upon us a new opportunity" he said as he shook his hand….

….

"Lady Rhea, victory is ours" Catherine said while bowing, but she wasn´t listening to her.

"Until the end they dare to challenge my authority…my existence" she muttered as she looked at the pile of ash before her. His will should have been crushed, his hope turned into despair and his love in pain like she had been suffering for centuries, yet it was all in vain. They had belittled her to the very end.

"Why do they refuse to understand? Why are they willing to die for that monstrosity?" she lamented. She, who had tolerated mankind even though they had caused so much pain. She, who had made her best efforts to prepare a suitable world for her mother. To bring to all kind of creatures a long-awaited peace…

"Why do they refuse to understand?"

"Lady Rhea?"

"Always alone, always belittled, no matter what. Does my love and devotion have no value to them? All these centuries guarding this world so they can set it on fire, how outrageous!"

"Rhea?" asked a worried Catherine again.

"Are there any prisoners?" she asked, ignoring Catherine´s question.

"Hundreds of them, but some of them had been able to escape. They must be heading to the monastery"

"Hunt them down before they arrive. Their mere existence is an insult to the Goddess"

"And what will we do with these prisoners?"

"They will reencounter our merciful mother after a fair trial for their sins" she said as she casted a monstrous fireball. "May their sins be judged fairly" she said as all the cries were silenced with a giant explosion, the scent of burned flesh filling the air.

"Do not disappoint me, Catherine. May the Goddess guide your way"

"What will you do, Lady Rhea? Won´t you come with us?"

"The enemy has other plans to me" she said as she saw a dark cloud in the distance. "The ghosts of old are coming here to torment me, but they will be the ones to feel true pain…and I need some time to be alone"

"Understood"

"Thank you for your understanding, Catherine. A loyal knight like you is the epitome of what a hero should be, not the rotten apple I had the disgrace to save years ago. But do not worry, his debt will be paid in no time, along with all those that had dared to continue this farce of a war against the will of the Goddess"

…

"How many casualties?"

"Thirty at least, it appears to be that our troops were trapped in an ambush by the rebels" he said as he read aloud the report he had just received

"That term is not accurate, change it for savages. The report must be written like this; "Our brave soldiers were carrying out labors of recognition when they were attacked by bloodthirsty savages". Continue, what happened next?"

"The troops found a garrison in one of the caves of the forest. There they found mostly old men, women and children, but they killed them all as retaliation"

"…Omit that part, it is not necessary for the war effort"

"Understood" he simply said as he crossed out the line. They were in the headquarters of the Agarthan army in Dagda. They were the responsible of reeducating the native population while cleansing those elements that were considered problematic. They were also responsible of informing the general Agarthan population of the war effort. They weren´t many, but their work was heavy he simply said to himself as he read the motto of their organization.

"The monopoly of truth belongs to us"

He was alone with the general responsible of the Dagda protectorate, Odesse. He was the one acting on behalf of their mighty Master so he was the maximum authority in the region. On one of their devices, he could hear the message of their leader to the nation.

"The war is entering a crucial phase, now more than ever we need to stand together against our merciless enemy. The time of painful humiliations has come to an end; only with their eradication the peoples of the world shall prosper. Only with war shall we have our peace. Proud people of Agartha, the future of this world is in our hand and I, as your leader, I will guide you towards a new era of prosperity. The decisive strike is closer than ever and we will have our revenge!"

He got distracted when the doors opened, an official appearing with a folder. He left if on his desk before leaving again without muttering a word. He then started reading its content.

"It seems that they have incarcerated a group of officials that they were trying to prepare a coup"

"Traitors and defeatists, the cancer of our nation" Odesse simply said. "They don´t believe in the cause of our glorious leader, bring it to me" he said as he looked at the folder. "Some high ranked officials as well…what a pity. They will be executed, but first they must confess their crimes against the nation and swear undying loyalty to our leader. Their family members must be reeducated as well to avoid counter-revolutionary sentiments to spread" he said before looking at him. "What are you thinking about?"

"Nothing, my general"

"Your eyes tell the truth; you still need a lot of training" Odesse sighed as he made sure that no one was close. "You are losing faith in the capabilities of our army, am I mistaken?"

"My general…"

"I won´t send you to reeducation for stating your opinion before me; I exonerate you for the next 5 minutes since you are my secretary"

"We suffered heavy losses at the battle of the monastery and the insurgent movement in Dagda has not been pacified yet, even though we cut their communications with the rest of the world off, we destroyed their army and killed thousands of them. The production of new vehicles has been hindered as well because of them"

"But most of our air forces have been relocated to Fódlan and they will enter in combat at any time. From the skies we will be able to obliterate them and our artillery will do the rest of the work at the ground"

"We don´t have that many men"

"True, that´s the true weakness of our nation; the low populace. That´s why it´s important to instruct the locals, to strengthen our army. Even if some have decided to start a guerrilla war against us, some others have joined our ranks. Even if inferior to us, they will be able to operate under the supervision of our officials"

"You mean indoctrinating them as our population"

"Careful now, you are a capable man, but it seems that the load of work is loosening your tongue. We are providing them a better education. Remember to use the terms properly or you might make a mistake before others that might not take it so lightly"

"My apologies for my unnecessary comment, my General. I am sure that the education provided to them will enlighten them to achieve new heights, all for the wellbeing of the great Agarthan nation"

"That is something far more reasonable" Odesse laughed, although he couldn´t see his face. "If the Agarthan people have been able to endure the costs of war all this time it is because of the patriotism that our leader has inspired to us. The glorious world he has envisioned is the will of our people, only with his authority we have been able to overcome all the doubts and defeatism we have been suffering during hundreds of years. Do I need to recall you what happened to those that opposed him directly last time?"

"No, my general, if our leader is confident in the victory of our people only an imbecile would dare to say the contrary"

"Very well. I admire your renewed confidence in our great leader" he said as he handed him some files. "Could you bring them to the Intelligence service?"

"Of course, my general" he said while bowing

He then waited a few moments before activating his communication device. "I suspect that my secretary is working for counter-revolutionary forces. He had stolen some important documents. Apply the greatest countermeasures" he said while looking at a map of the world. "I am sorry, my friend, but the monopoly of truth belongs to us"

Unnoticed to them, other person had been hearing their conversation, her lips twisted in disgust, her short hair and purple covered under the Agarthan uniform.

"Tsk. Agarthan scum…I hope they have received the message by now" It was a tiny possibility, but perhaps they could be willing to help, her life had been forgiven at the monastery five years ago after all.