"We're no match for you? What a joke. That's what you want us to believe, isn't it? But that's not the case from where I'm standing." The Grandmaster said calmly. "Morgan, intercept attack against Lucina. Argeni, please use a Barrier stave to stop his magic attack at Morgan."
Grima was already moving as Robin said those words, but, as Robin had predicted, he went for Lucina. Morgan appeared in front of him and managed to deflect his spear aside with her twin daggers, skittering backwards as she did so. Grima thrust his hand outward and fire a blast of electricity at the assassin, but magic energy surrounded Morgan and took away the worst of the damage. Morgan got up, hissing as smoke rose from her skin.
"Morgan, withdraw for now. Zulas, Balt; withdraw to protect our rearguard. Don't be afraid to use the full length of the lance." Robin said. "Chrom, Say'ri; you two go on the offensive, try to prevent him from moving as you do so, but keep the attacks coming, we'll need time to get into formation. Anyone who can cast better than they can swing a sword, scatter but stay to the to the back."
Grima had but a moment to react as both the Ylissean Exalt and the Chon'sin Blademaster were upon him. His spear moved like lighting, and the Dark Dragon wielded it masterfully to keep both fighters at bay. The black flames around him gave the Dark Dragon an even more horrifying visage as he parried both of them easily, more than a match even for the pair's storied skill and blades.
"You're truly no match for me." Grima said, spinning the spear around to force both fighters back with a single giant swing. "Even outnumbered like this, you cannot harm me."
"Ye of little faith." Robin bore a look of grim satisfaction. "There's more than two of us you're fighting, Fell Dragon."
"I'm stronger than any one of you!"
"No doubt." Robin held up a hand. "Chrom, Say'ri; withdraw. Pheros, Aversa, Vermillion; I want as much fire magic concentrated in his direction as you can manage. Morgan, Ravena; prepare to intercept if need be."
The three mages stepped forward and started blasting the caverns with fire magic, scorching up the entire cavern. The Dark Dragon, a clean target now that Chrom and Say'ri retreated, took the brunt of the attack, bracing himself from the blasts. Even as the fire magic washed over him, a black sphere of defensive magic started forming, bracing against the oncoming swath of fire.
"Let's get this formation a bit better." Robin said. "Zulas and Balt – I want you to take a few steps apart and stagger the formation a bit, we don't have enough you a proper shieldwall so let's not even bother and maximize our area of control. Argeni, I know you're a healer, but have faith in your wind magic and step a bit closer – take shots if you know you can make them."
"And what do you need me for, Robin?" Lucina was standing beside.
"Perfect." Robin turned to her. "Lucina, I have no right to ask this of you, but out of all people here, you and I know each other best. Can you protect me for this fight?"
"This fight ends today." Lucina said, holding her blade up in the guard position. "I'll finish this fight, as my father would have wanted it."
"Thank you, Lucina." Robin sounded relieved.
There was an explosion as the black wall exploded outwards, propelling the wave of fire magic throughout the cavern. Undirected, it did little damage to the rest of the imhabitants, but Robin still felt the heat wash over him as he braced himself. Grima surged forward and took three blasts from the mages in order to get out from his position, ignoring the little damage that it did. He charged forward and went towards Pheros, spear drawn back in a single thrust meant to take her life.
Once again, Morgan appeared in front of him, using her daggers to deflect the spear to the other side. As she did so, Ravena vaulted over her and swung down with her own spear. Grima withdrew his own and scythed his around to bat the young tactician's spear strike aside, tossing the young tactician aside and spinning through the air, only for Morgan to take advantage to close the distance, tearing into him with twin daggers.
Ravena landed less gracefully than she would have liked, but got to her feet and position quickly. Morgan had opened twin gashes on Grima and was going after him with close range knife attacks, only for the black flames surrounding Grima to give him the unnatural speed and reflexes to dodge the rest of her attacks.
"Morgan, I want you to pull back. Vermil, open fire." Robin directed. "Lancers, get ready to intercept but aim to wound. You can't stop him, so don't even bother."
"Worthless humans!" Grima blasted Morgan with dark energy, only for the assassin to disappear in a flash, appearing halfway across the cavern. Fireballs began pelting him from Vermillion, but light enough such that they were ignored. Grima turned and went after Robin with a feral snarl. Zulas and Balt intercepted him, scoring twin cuts with their lances as he went clean through them. Grima ignored the wounds and went straight for Robin. "You'll all die!"
First, he targets out of sheer spite, so that would be Robin's love Pheros or the Ylissean Princess. But now he's realized just what's going on, so the most logical target is me. Robin calmly watched as Grima aimed a killing thrust at him, ready to take his life. Actually, that make my job a lot easier."
"HOPE WILL NEVER DIE!"
Lucina appeared in front of Grima and deflected the dark dragon's killing blow, holding the spear at bay with her Falchion in a single titanic clash. The deflected spear tip shot past her arm, slicing a deep gash alongside it, but Lucina didn't even seem to notice, intent on thwarting her foe. Grima strained, forcing her backwards, but Robin kept his stance, coolly staring Grima in the face.
"Not a chance, you monster." Lucina hissed, straining. "Not while I draw breath."
"I will promise you, little Exalt, that you will cease drawing breath soon enough."
"Say'ri, Chrom." Robin said, coolly. "Now, if you please."
Twin blades slashed into Grima as Chrom and Say'ri attacked him with Falchion and Amatsu. With his injuries, Lucina forced his back and went on the offensive, slashing at him and drawing injuries. Chrom and Say'ri joined her, and Grima was forced backwards, then trapped between the coordinated offense of the three of them.
"He's going to try to escape vertically." Robin warned. "It's not worth trying to force him back beyond that. Argeni, as powerful a force as you can manage right above their heads, two seconds."
Grima, in the center of the trio, regained control and was spinning the spear as fast as he could, clashing with all three of them as black flames poured off his body. He tensed, waited for the blast of wind to go clean over his head, and then jumped.
"Morgan, whenever you're ready." Robin requested.
A second blast of wind caught Grima airborne and sent the dark dragon flying, slamming into the back wall of the cavern.
"Lucina, use the Falchion's healing aura to stop the worse of your injuries. Vermil, swap to a fresh tome. Chrom, Say'ri; make sure you're doing fine. Argeni, I want you to heal Morgan. Ravena, make sure you're footing is steady. Zulas, Balt, be prepared to strike again. Aversa, please stand by to counter any kind of dark magic hex he throws at us and Pheros, please be ready to use your fire magic should the need arise."
"A clever trick." Grima said, grimacing.
"I know you can hear us when I give commands. And I have no way of giving trick commands, given that I've just joined this battle." Robin explained. "But Morgan knows me well enough to read all of my tricks, and by consequence all of yours."
"Everybody gets one." Grima slowly got to his feet and set his stance, ready to attack with his spear. "But that was a fluke. You won't get me again. It's only a matter of time until I win here."
"No." Robin corrected. "You're not going to win. You've won enough times, Grima, honestly, far more than you should have. It's time you start losing, and you're fighting the worse of all possible opponents here – me."
"You've lost to me already, and that was before I had this incredible body." Grima laughed. "Maggot like you honestly have no chance against me."
"Right. That's why you've been the one bouncing us all over the cave and dealing us grievous wounds." Robin paused. "No, wait. That's us. We've been doing that to you."
"A fluke!" Grima insisted.
"I'll explain it to you, then. In case you haven't realized it yet, Grima, you possess the body of the Battlemaster, who is a master of strategy and unequaled in single combat. But, like all power, that come at a cost – the Battlemaster's personal skill negated his need to excel at the tactics involved in small party combat." Robin said. "On the other hand, my situation was the exact opposite. I didn't need to become as strong as him because of my friends. But, by my estimation, my tactical knowledge exceeds yours by at least three orders of magnitudes. The Battlemaster spent his life becoming as individually strong as possible. I've spent my life as the tactician for the Shepherds, a small squadron of uniquely gifted fighters."
"In other words, this situation doesn't play towards your strengths. It plays towards mine. In a fight between just the two of us, I could never win. But when the fight is just the one of you against the twelve of us, I cannot lose." Robin said. "Did you honestly think you had a chance of winning this fight from the outset? For all your power, dark dragon, there's one thing you never learned how to do. And that's very simple – you've never learned to get in the mindset of your opponent. You don't understand us, the ants you seek to crush. But I understand you."
"I-I-Impossible." Grima stuttered. "This body… you can't! I'm the strongest man on in the world! You shouldn't be able to defeat me. Not when I'm stronger than any one of you."
"I hate to be cliché like this, but you killed the man who normally says this line." Robin smiled grimly. "It's not down to the individual members of the army. It's about the bonds that strengthen those individual members and tie them together. Now, let me show you the true power of the Ylissean Grandmaster, something that a man like you would never use. RALLY SPECTRUM!"
A wave emanated from Robin as he raised his hand up and spread through the room as pale purple flames turned to silver as they surrounded the Ylissean Grandmaster. The flames lit up as they hit the room's other inhabitants, giving them all a faint silver aura. Robin smiled as he began to slowly walk towards Grima, keeping his sword pointed at the Fell Dragon.
"And now I'm going to finally end this nightmare of ours." Robin said. "Lucina, by right of vengeance, the first strike is yours."
"Thank you, Robin!" Lucina moved like lightning, moving at Grima with a powerful clean thrust. Grima dodged out of the way, but Lucina's Falchion still caught on to him, slicing a deep gash through him. Grima brought his spear around to attack, only for it to be caught by Chrom, straining as he brought Exalted Falchion to clash against Gungnir.
"Excellent timing, Chrom. Zulas, Balt, go!" Robin said. "Abandon the guard and strike him where it hurts!"
"This is for your betrayal!"
"And this is because there's two of us!"
Twin spears joined the clash as the half-brother stepped into the fight to support Chrom. With a powerful burst, the three managed to force Grima back from the clash, sending him staggering backwards. Even as he did so, a dark figure appeared behind him and slashed clean through the tendons in his legs with a low swipe.
Grima struck with magic, but to no avail. Dant managed to leap clean of the offending magic spell with a simple evasive maneuver. As he did so, Ravena got into place and used her wind magic to blast the offending dark dragon clean into the air. Grima tried to regain his bearings, only to be assaulted by magic blasts coming from the rest of the mages – fire, wind, and even dark magic impacted the Fell Dragon.
Grima responded with a wide wave of dark magic of his own to try and earn himself some room for respite, but even that didn't work as Aversa used her own shadowgift to completely nullify the attack. As he landed, Say'ri attacked him with the Amatsu. At full strength, he may have been able to hold her off, but as Say'ri was empowered by Robin's rally and Grima himself was battered, he stood no chance under her onslaught, taking the rain of blows with black blood spurting everywhere.
"I seek to right no wrong, nor do I ask for justice! I seek instead even payment, an eye exchanged for an eye!" Grima howled as he held out his hand. Dark magic energy coalesced into it, forming a giant sphere of dark energy. Its very presence drove Say'ri back. Grima aimed the attack at Robin. "Pact unbidden, chains unforged, summons foregone, I call upon the magic pure!"
"That's one of his Ignis Spectrum attacks!" Vermil cried. "He's using the same attack that Robin used to kill Walhart!"
"Finally." Robin grinned. "He's gotten desperate."
"No, this is bad thing! A very bad thing!"
"Everyone, pull back." Robin said. "I'll handle this alone."
"Robin, are you sure?" Lucina asked him.
"Hey, now. Since when did you question me?" Robin winked at her. "I'll admit that last time I was acting alone didn't quite end so well, but now the tables have turned. Trust me, alright, Lucina? I'll make amends this time, I promise."
"Don't let him kill you!"
"Don't worry. I had no intention of doing so." Robin strode confidently, standing in front the massive ball of energy that Grima was charging.
"Follow Robin's order, everyone pull back!" Pheros gave the command. "I need you all to listen to me! We can trust Robin – we have to!"
"Foolish. Foolish. Foolish!" Grima said, staring at Robin as the Ylissean Grandmaster stood before him. "This is the Forbidden Lance of the Ravens, Ashanderi! It will return all the damage that you have dealt to me to you, Robin! Why are you so careless, Robin? Or have you forgotten, perhaps, that I have no need of you anymore! This body is superior to yours in every way save one, and he's already figured out how to see better than you with only one eye. You have nothing to offer me save your death, Robin."
"Have you forgotten, Grima, just how that spell works?" Robin asked, softly. "Vengeance is a retribution, true. But of the two of us, which one do you think truly demands vengeance?"
"What are you saying?"
"Unfortunately for you, all your memories are mine as well, and you were there when Robin fought Walhart, hidden and watching. This isn't the first time that this body is using that spell." Robin gave a wry smile. "Don't you remember? Vermillion warned you that there would be consequences for using the spells more than once. There'd be a cost to pay. And even you aren't immune to costs – or else you would have managed to possess this world's Robin successfully when you first tried it. You got away with only wiping his memory, but this time you won't be so lucky."
"As if that would matter to me. I am Grima, the Fell Dragon. No matter what the cost is, I will pay the it to see you dead! I can pay it to see you dead!"
"Yes. You will." Robin said, quietly. "But don't think that the cost is something you can brush off. Or perhaps you've forgotten just what spell you're casting, Grima. That spells returns all the damage that's been inflicted back to the one who caused it. Think carefully, Grima. Of the two of us, who has damaged who? Because I haven't lain a single finger on you this entire fight. And that body you're in … well that body you're in has damaged the body that I'm in quite a bit."
"What do you think will happen when you cast that spell?" Robin continued. "Do you think that all the damage I have done to you will be applied to me? Or … perhaps … all the damage that you've inflicted to me will be done back to you!"
"No!"
"Yes. Using the Kuzu-Ryusen would have slowed you down to a crawl. Schrodinger would have trapped the attack in another dimension entirely without affecting us. Dyson would have drained your vitality to heal whatever wounds you caused. Shatterpoint would have broken your own weapon as you attempted to use it. Medallion would have amplified the next wound you received so a scratch might have turned into a gouge or a wisp into a fireball." Robin said. "But it's Ashanderi that I truly hoped you would cast. Cast your spell, Grima. And see what happens next."
"…Hmph. I don't need Robin's worthless spells anyway." Grima flicked his wrist and the magic dissipated. "I'll still be able to kill you all even without resorting to Robin's cheap tricks."
"True." Robin admitted. "Your stamina is impressive as the Fell Dragon, and that body's offensive abilities when combined with your own natural defensive abilities would mean, under normal circumstances, that we would still lose to you. But there's a single flaw with that plan. Namely, you'll be dead by my hand, first. You let your guard down in preparation for that attack, Grima. Just like I knew you would."
Grima's eye grew wide as he saw a dark ball of magical energy being held in front of Robin, the same kind of projectile that the Battlemaster had tried but failed to cast. Under the cover of Grima's own massive energy projection, the Ylissean Grandmaster had created one of his own, and one with the power to kill him.
"It's true that the Battlemaster lacked the conviction to kill you. But why do you think the same applies to me?" Robin smiled, but it wasn't one that any warmth or happiness behind it, a cold calculating smile of a predator. "He told you himself, didn't he? I'm the one who can kill you. And I won't hesitate."
"NO!"
"Checkmate."
Robin blasted the dark dragon back with a single burst of dark magic. With a single gruesome howl, Grima sank to his knees as dark flames rippled around him, then lit up, burning him and consuming. "YOU – YOU! CURSE YOU, ROBIN!"
Robin shook his head. "You were a fool to let your guard down around me. It's a lovely day to die, blood of my blood."
Grima opened his mouth as if to say something, but instead dropped to his knees, and gave nothing more than a single horrifying howl, shaking the room. The inhabitants braced themselves, wary of a torrent of magic, but nothing of that sort came forth.
"Huh." Robin said. He nearly dropped to the floor, only for Morgan to dash to his side and catch him so he could stand up. "It's … please, someone tell me that it's finally over."
"Yeah. I can do that."
"Robin!?" Pheros said, staring. The image of Grima burning flickered once, and then was replaced with a kneeling Battlemaster. "Are you alive?"
"Sorry, my love." Robin shook his head. "I'm afraid that I'm stuck within this dying body now. And, please, don't get any closer. Grima's blind rage is what's letting me take control of this body again, but if you get close enough, he'll notice and he's going to take control back. But the good news is that this battle is over. Grima is dying, slowly. And I'll die with him."
"Heh." Robin the Grandmaster replied. "Thanks."
"Father…" Ravena ignored his warnings and took a step closer, only for Robin to hold out a hand for her.
"Listen to me, please." Robin said. "There's nothing you can do right now to help me. Pick your battles, carefully, little bird. Know your own limits. This isn't one that you're strong enough to win."
"I will."
"Good." Robin winced and clutched his heart. "You'd think that with all this evil, it'd take longer for it all to die. But we're running low on time. Zulas! We're even now, hear me?"
"It's – it's not so simple like that for a man like me."
"Also, you left me in the dark!" Argeni scowled. "You were keeping secrets from me too! You used me, Robin!"
"But you're not truly angry at me for that, are you?" Robin asked. "The two of us are alike in that regard. Don't hold it against me."
"I guess I'm not mad about that." Argeni creased her brow. "You still could have told me, though! And you hurt Zulas! I'm not about to forgive you for that."
"Yes. I could have told you." Robin admitted. "But that was my gift to you, Argeni, even if you can't acknowledge it as such. Zulas, there is no debt that you owe me after this. As far as whether or not I am still in your debt, that is up to you."
"Damn you, Robin." Zulas scowled. "You can't just die on me and cheat me out of my vengeance!"
"I'm sorry, old friend, but I don't have a choice in the matter. Can you at least forgive me for that?"
"That… I suppose I can forgive you. Fine. I'll accept your death today as my vengeance." Zulas blinked and rubbed his eyes. "We're even, understand!?"
"Thank you, Zulas."
"And me?" Balt asked.
"You played the same game that I did. You can have no complaints. Zulas was the one playing a different game." Robin said. "Though … thank you for saving my friend. It can't have been easy."
"He's my brother. You really left me no choice there."
"Heh." Robin chuckled at that. His face grew serious and he turned to Vermil. "Vermil, can you forgive me? Yen'fay's death was my fault. I wasn't skilled enough to prevent it at that point."
"…I guess if Zulas can make amends with you, I can as well." Vermil said. "Besides, how am I supposed to say no in a situation like this?"
"Dant. Morgan." Robin said, turning to her. "Ultimately, this victory is yours. You've proved your worth a dozen times over, and now that I'm gone, you'll be the strongest person alive on the continents. That's no small responsibility, but it's also one that you're the most suited to have. That said, you need some therapy for that amnesia, similar to the retraining that I went through during my five-year journey, but once that's finished, you can be better than I ever was."
"Understood." Morgan retreated back into her emotionless Dant persona. "I … thank you, Robin."
"Not a lot of time, now." Robin said. "Say'ri, Chrom, Lucina. All my thanks for your help. Aversa … you've been a wonderful sister. Better than I deserve."
"Well, I think you came pretty close." Aversa smiled. "Oh, dear. It seems like I'm losing another master. I don't think I'll be too well, after this."
"You can do it, Aversa. My friends are your friends and my family is your family. Use them when you need help." Robin said. "And, lastly, Pheros. My Queen."
"You knew this would happen, didn't you?"
"I did. I knew my death was written in stone from the time that I helped Chrom Awaken." Robin admitted. "You may think it was cruel of me to ask you to marry me when I knew that I would die shortly."
"No. Never!" Pheros said fiercely. "I would rather the pain I feel now then to have you suffer by hiding more secrets. I know it's something you wanted to do, and it's something that made you happy. So I'm happy for this too, happy with a pain so fierce it hurts."
"I see. That's why I asked you." Robin smiled. Black flames blazed into existence around him as the fire started consuming him as well. His body started disappearing from as the flames burned it away and grew increasing pale but Robin had a serene look on his face. "Happy, but with a fierce pain. So you are the same as me. You know … for the first time, I think I … truly understand … exactly how someone else feels... It's … a nice feeling … Goodbye … my love …"
The Valmese Battlemaster disappeared as he spoke the final words, fading into a single dying black flame, which in turned, quickly snuffed itself out. There was silence in a room for a few moments as all those paused in respect for the Battlemaster. Then-
"Robin!" The group turned to see Lucina looking at the Grandmaster. The new version of Robin was fading himself with black flames consuming him as well. "You're-"
"Dying as well, yes." Robin said, ruefully. "My life force is tied to Grima's, Lucina. With his death comes mine as well. No Robin is an exception to that rule. I'm afraid that I'll have to leave now, as well."
"Father, no…" Morgan turned to him. "Not again!"
"I'm so sorry!" Robin moved and grabbed both the Foreseer and the Tactician in a single embrace. "You've grown so strong in my absence, you two. Morgan, as the Robin of this timeline has said, you've indeed surpassed me. And you, Lucina. What you've done is nothing short of exceptional, and you should never sell yourself short! You've saved two worlds, with your actions!"
"Two?"
"Yes. Grima followed you here from your original timeline. That one no longer has Grima, and with Naga's power, eventually, the human race will recover. Lucina, listen to me. A very long time ago, I ran because I was too scared to fight. I didn't have any friends because I was too scared to have them. Then I met the most remarkable man I ever knew. Lucina, you are the spitting image of that man, your father Chrom. Morgan, honestly, you're closer to the person that I wish I could be than I am, but even you have room for improvement, as much better as you are than I. Good luck on that journey. And, as for me… well I have one last journey to complete and then I'll be back with my friends." Robin started fading himself as the flame consumed him. He gave a final smile. "You know, it's the wish of every mentor to have a student who surpasses their teacher. And I've had two. I'm … quite lucky… May we all meet again … in a better life …"
-Epilogue: Robin's Journal-
Things happened pretty quickly after that. Of course, with the warp necklace use to get us all there completely used up it actually took us a fair amount of to get back, so I'm not sure if 'happened pretty quickly' is so accurate to say. Most of us didn't talk that much on the ride back, though I made sure to talk to Pheros. Or maybe she made sure to talk to me. I don't remember that much.
We got back to Valm, safe and sound, at which point we had a lot of explaining to do. Well, we didn't have to explain why the Empress disappeared for a few months following the unification ceremony or why the Battlemaster went missing again, but we were faced with three options. We could deny everything and just say nothing, lie through our teeth until they were stained black and starting to rot out, or the wonderful third option of the truth. We mostly went with the third option. Mostly. The general public doesn't need to know about time travel.
The official story is that Grima awoke from his slumber and Robin was forced to sacrifice his life in order to kill it – close enough to the truth, really. And, like I said, things happened quickly after that. Chrom returned to Ylisse and Aversa to Plegia. They weren't exactly on speaking terms last I saw them, but Pheros said that their relationship had improved from what she could see – Chrom had at least a modicum of respect for her now, and that's why he was giving her the cold shoulder. I don't get it, but I'm a tactician, not a people-person.
Say'ri left for Chon'sin and is back there; handling the squabbling dynasts as best she can. Balt somehow wound up with the position of spymaster, something I have no idea how he pulled off. He doesn't really like me (its mutual) but I get the feeling that he's not willing to pick a life-or-death fight with me like his predecessor did against Robin.
Zulas and Argeni have settled down. Last I heard, Argeni was seven months pregnant, possibly with twins, though the physician isn't sure. They sent me a letter asking me to be godmother, which is rather nice of them, especially considering I never had a proper mother, so I have no idea what the job entailed. Can't be that hard, Robin was an absentee father for the most part and I turned out fine, so I have no reason to refuse.
Lucina and Dant (I'm still going to call her that) have disappeared. Completely. I couldn't find any trace of them, or Lucina's other companions. Dant left behind a note with a brief explanation, and something about how they're going to seek new lands or something. It makes sense, I guess. Ultimately, they're only travelers to this world – we can't expect them to stay.
Pheros is back to being Empress, and she's really good at it. I think Robin would have been proud of the Empire she's trying to build; or at the very least say something about 'how there's no place for him in it', which would be the same thing for him. I see her the most out of anyone from the old group. Well, second-most.
Vermillion is still around. I'm not sure why I'm surprised that we spend so much time together. I mean, we are technically in a relationship, but considering his past record of relationships, I kind of expected that we'd have broken up by now. And we haven't. Well, worse things have definitely happened to me and I kind of like so I'll keep it up for now. He kept to his word and resigned from the army, but he hasn't put any pressure on me to do the same, which is definitely something I can appreciate. He has a small lab in the Vermillion City that he does all his work in these days, which is (of course) perpetually on the verge of exploding.
On the plus side, the houses nearby are on the cheap side, so I bought a few, smashed out some walls, and now I have a new low-cost mansion right next to his lab. I set aside a room there for Vermillion too, so he doesn't have to sleep in that cramped lab whenever he stays there too late.
As for me? Well, Pheros held me to my agreement, and I became the next Valmese Battlemaster. People didn't take me so seriously at first, but after a while and a lot of dead bandits/rebels/leftover Risen (still!?), that changed. Most of what I do is sit around, twiddle my thumbs, and look at maps and say 'Well, let's say this implausible attack happened. Do we have a plan to deal with it?'
Hah. I'm joking of course. I'm actually quite busy these days, what with juggling research, forbidden artifacts, ancient legends, and going through my father's old notebooks, which you are reading right now, given that I attached this note to the end. I know my father kept these journals private, but I think he wouldn't mind this note. One final postscript, if you will to the tale of the Valmese Battlemaster. And so, it is with a heavy heart that I write these two words of the final chapters of my father's tale:
The end.
…Or is it?
- Morgan Obsidian, Battlemaster of Valm.
Author's Notes:
This is end. True, there's one more chapter in the story, but that's more of an epilogue type chapter - something akin to FE:A's epilogue where is goes through the fate of all of your units, but as far as the story goes, if this were to actually have been a game, this would be the final chapter of it. It's been awhile that I've spent writing and working on this project, and while I'm kind of sad to see it come to a close, I'm also satisfied - it's a story that happened because one day I just thought 'How would the story be different if Robin was Valmese instead of Ylissean' and it kind of just progressed from there.
That being the case, the final chapter - Chapter 62 - may not come out for a while, but like I said, don't be too concerned about it. This is a perfectly acceptable place for the story to end, but check back occasionally, alright? I might have a new fanfic that's being written even as you read this and might have the first chapter posted shortly.
Thanks for reading! And feel free to leave a review if you want to discuss parts of the story with me.
