Time Breaker
Byleth found himself standing by the pews. He cursed Dimitri's impulsive decision, but remembered that it was likely this version of the soon to be crowned king would not know what he chose to do. Byleth lurched forward from the jolt of the misused time pulse. He felt a sharp ache in his temples, and consequently, felt something pouring from his nostrils. He wiped it, unsurprised to discover blood.
Byleth plugged it with his knuckles. He felt unwell from earlier exhaustion, breaking time to overwrite his death, and the ghost pains of the wounds he erased. As if a pair of hands gripped him in full, air tightened in his lungs.
Dimitri touched the door, ready to leave the grounds, but confusion took over. He couldn't place the conversation they just had, but something felt amiss. Like he forgot the last few hours of his life.
The feeling of anger fluttered away – and dread devoured him. Something inside him remembered that dream he had, the premonition of the professor's death by his hands, and suddenly all he could think of was what could go wrong if he took another step forward.
He looked back and saw the professor faltering with a hand covering his face and the other stabling himself. Dimitri hurried back to him. The professor startled when he heard footsteps approaching but calmed back down when he saw that it was just Dimitri. When Dimitri was in earshot, the professor said, "I don't think I can make it back to my room on my own."
Dimitri nodded, unable to speak. He played the conversation in his head, the one that sent in a spiraling rage, and did not trust the professor because of it. Yet, even still, he did not want harm to befall the professor.
Byleth closed his eyes. His equilibrium failed and his vision spun out of control. A rush of blood fell, streaming down his fingers. Byleth grimaced as it happened. He tilted his head back to drain it. Vertigo knocked his senses into a frenzy, and he fell backward.
Dimitri caught him instinctively, with one hand supporting Byleth by the tailbone, and the other between his shoulder blades. Muffled by his hand, Byleth's said, "Did Gilbert mention anything about infiltrations lately?"
Dimitri nodded and pulled him to a better position. Byleth removed his hand to talk clearly.
"If they attacked me now, I'd probably lose," Dimitri's grip tightened, squeezing Byleth's clothes, "I need you to guide me. To the infirmary or to my room, I will let you choose. We can finish our discussion then."
Dimitri agreed nonverbally still.
"Thank you. Be ready for anything."
Dimitri slid his hands out and took the professor by his free elbow. They took slow steps to navigate around the pew, as Byleth's balance was poor. He constantly shifted too much weight to his right, and Dimitri ended up wrapping his arm around Byleth's back instead. They were locked at the hip, and Byleth leaned into Dimitri for support.
Part of Byleth's lack of balance was due to him holding his head back in a hopeless attempt to drain the nosebleed. In keeping his professor sturdy, Dimitri shifted his hand and found something under the professor's robes, making them both wince. It was rough and felt unusual, located just above the professor's hip.
"What is that?" Dimitri asked with a rough voice.
"Stiches."
"Oh," Dimitri shifted his grip to avoid that area.
"You're fine," Byleth laughed weakly, then listened and watched for the assassin or his accomplices.
Byleth's head rattled and his vision spotted. He covered his face with his hand, freeing his nose. He tilted his head forward, placing pressure on his forehead. In tending his forehead, blood escaped and dripped on the floor.
"Professor? What's wrong?"
He scrunched his fingers, covering one eye with the tips of his pointer and middle finger. His opened eye quickly went completely black. Byleth blinked a few times, trying to get his eyes to adjust, but to no avail.
Byleth started to worry now. He couldn't have just gone blind. He denied it, but it was a possible side effect of summoning the divine pulse without proper energy reserves.
Fortunately, he could start making out the door; however, giant blind spots still blotted his field of vision.
"Oh. Good. It's coming back now."
"Coming back?"
"Yes. I was completely blind just now."
"Blind?" Dimitri starred Byleth down, "And now?"
"Better," He squinted.
"Do you need to sit down a moment?"
Byleth shook his head, urgently insisting, "No. No. We need to get out of here."
"You feel it, too, then," Dimitri stated.
"Feel what, exactly?" Byleth pushed, wondering if Dimitri remembered.
"There's something wrong. I just don't know what."
"Then, yes. I feel that way."
". . . You would tell me if . . ." He failed to find the proper words to express himself. They were just talking a few moments ago. But it felt like so much more time passed than that and it perplexed Dimitri.
"Are you getting hits of déjà vu?" The professor asked.
"No?" Dimitri shook his head, "Like I'm missing the last few hours."
"Oh," Byleth hoped Dimitri could remember it. There was evidence that he knew, somewhere deep down, as they were already defying fate. Then again, maybe it was easier to misdirect. Byleth was charged with protecting his flock but doomed to lie to them and live in isolation because the divine pulse just did not allow others to remember unwritten time.
"It's interesting how you came to déjà vu. On your own, I might add. You would tell me if you knew something, right? Then again, you haven't been very forthcoming with other things, so perhaps not."
"Can we please not fight. I will tell you everything you want to know when we are safe."
"Everything? I hope you can live up to that promise."
"So do I."
"Alright. I'll believe you, for now," He looked at the stretch they still had to walk, "Can you see?"
"For the most part."
Dimitri sighed, "It would be faster if I . . . if I carry you."
"What?" Byleth was caught off guard.
"It was just a suggestion," Dimitri sounded agitated, and regretted bringing it up.
"Well, yes. It would be faster . . ." Byleth felt another wave of the nosebleed trickle down. Honestly, he probably would collapse soon and needed a health evaluation before his body completely capsized again.
"Okay," Byleth consented with a nod, which was enough for Dimitri to crouch and sweep the professor's legs off the ground. Byleth yelped at the sudden motion and lack of stability. "A little warning would have been nice!"
Something flipped in Dimitri and laughed at the professor's expense.
"What was that sound, professor?"
From what little light flickered in the chapel, Dimitri could see the professor's expression: a cross between embarrassment and surprise. His startled breathing made it that much better, as it was not easy to make him lose composure.
With the tension gone and after the shock wore off, Byleth smiled. Dimitri, while not completely over the conversation from before, felt himself smiling at last.
Byleth leaned his head back and worked on draining again while watching for the assassin. Dimitri looked at the professor and he momentarily saw a blurry vision of the professor, torn apart and dying. He inhaled sharply, catching the attention of his professor.
"What?" Byleth asked. Dimitri focused on the blood on the professor's hand and compared it to what he just saw. The torrent flowing from the professor's face was only a rain drop of what the storm could bring.
"It's nothing." Dimitri lied. Something was terribly wrong here.
"Are you sure?"
Dimitri nodded and walked toward their exit. Byleth felt his empty insides warbling at the sway. A memory of his own surfaced and suddenly it made sense. It was Dimitri who returned for him and shielded him from the fatal blow.
No. The fatal blow came from the arrow. Regardless, reliving death was never a pleasant experience, but at least he could answer a few questions about the process itself. Yes, the soul existed. And yes, it went somewhere afterwards. But Byleth never reached the afterlife, though this last time was close. He suspected when it finally happened, he would not be able to return.
A similar struggle of forgetting elapsed between Byleth's dying moments and his attempts at rewriting fate. His will clung to an impossible hope and he was only successful when Dimitri chose to end his own life. Byleth wondered just how Dimitri manage to reach him in the window between life and death that first time.
Even now, Byleth knew that Dimitri yearned to learn the full truth. His mind worked to bring those broken shards together – to unite them under one full picture. Byleth would be more than willing to supply the missing fragments but feared the backlash from it.
They passed the spot where Byleth originally fell and lost consciousness. The curfew bell tolled, and a chill ran down both of their spins simultaneously. Byleth craned his neck to check their backs but did not see who he ought to have by then. Dimitri kept walking but struggled to find a way to open the doors once he reached them.
"Ah. This is so much faster," Byleth teased. He then outstretched his arm for the door. Together, they pushed on the door, but it did not budge.
"That's strange . . ." Byleth said.
"Did you push hard enough?"
"Yes?" They put more force behind it, "It's locked? Do these doors even have a – Dimitri, put me down."
Without argument, he lowered the professor while also steadying him. They were both on edge. Dimitri tested the door with now freed hands.
"We are locked in," He confirmed.
"When did that happen?" Byleth asked. It was unusual for the enemy to deviate from the script, too.
"No idea. Let's try one of the side doors."
Byleth nodded in agreement.
"Are you able to walk on your own?"
"I'll have to be."
"I don't care for that answer. Not like we have a choice," He gripped his sword, since he left his lance at his personal quarters. Better than the professor, who had nothing on him.
Dimitri took the lead and Byleth kept his balance on Dimitri's belt; he found himself moving faster, at least. They stayed to the wall and both kept an eye on their surroundings, approaching the Goddess Tower entrance, where they previously conversed. The door opened with ease. Even so, they both suspected a trap.
"I see no one," Dimitri said. They walked to the outside and the cold wind only became more brutal.
"Any one of those towers would be a good place for a sniper," Byleth said, "Though that would mean they have access to the guard stations."
"Surprising lack of patrol," Dimitri noted.
"If they're in the guard ranks. . ."
". . . Yeah," They approached the stairs, lowering to the central area. Byleth placed a hand on the wall, looking uneasy about tackling steps.
"Just be careful," Dimitri stayed to the right of the professor. Byleth hugged Dimitri's arm on the descent.
They reached the bottom step. To the left was another set of stairs that fed to the main entrance, and to the bridge connecting the chapel to the rest of the monastery. To the right, a gated off area; normally, a guard protected this area, but it too was vacant.
"Nowhere to go but up," Byleth joked.
"You should go first. If you fall, I will catch you."
"I hope it doesn't come to that . . ."
Byleth took the first few steps but started to hold his side on the way back up. Dimitri held out his arms in anticipation. The professor's knees gave out a few steps later and he grunted as he staggered. Dimitri caught the professor and propped him back up, growing increasingly concerned.
When they reached the top, Byleth slumped against the wall by the scaffoldings and strained to catch his breath.
"Professor. . . How are you holding up?"
"I'll live," He said. Byleth regulated control over his respiration. Dimitri did not like that answer, either.
"I find it too odd that we've made it this far, without so much as a hint of another soul. If they wanted to ambush us, they had ample opportunities to do so."
"They want to lead us somewhere," Byleth said.
"If they locked that door to the chapel, then the gate to the bride may be lowered as well." The only convenient way out of the chapel without resorting to tunnels under the riverbed.
"We'd be trapped in an enclosed area." The professor agreed to Dimitri's line of logic. "That does mean they are close. If we can find their location first, we might gain an advantage."
"Stay here a moment, professor." Dimitri peered into the cramped space that served as their only exit. A chain held the cathedral doors from opening and the gate was lowered, just as they expected. The professor started to shiver.
Dimitri undid his cloak and wrapped Byleth in it, then commented, "Whatever we do, we need to do soon. I don't care what you say, professor. You are not well."
"Oh. I wonder," Byleth said.
"Are you contesting it?"
"No. I made a conscious effort to hide my injuries. The only ones who'd have known are those who witnessed it and the healers."
"What are you saying?"
"They knew about my injury. This is an attack of opportunity."
"They were waiting for a misstep. . . We should have returned much sooner." Dimitri grimaced.
"There's nothing we can do to change that now. Do you know how to raise the gate?"
"I'm not sure where the lever is." Dimitri shook his head.
"Above?" Byleth pointed to the windows. Clearly, there was a way to get up there, though neither had the slightest clue how.
"That's likely. No telling how to get to it."
Byleth inspected the scaffolding, which rose to barely a fourth of the total height of the wall. There was, however, a balcony a few feet away from the structure and a farfetched idea came to mind, "Up, around, and down?"
"You can barely walk, and you want to try a ladder? Over a steep fall?"
The professor shrugged, acting casually about the whole situation, "It's not ideal. But I'm not sure what else we can do."
Dimitri contemplated it for a moment and gripped one of the legs, "It would be easy to push this over. We would have to make sure it doesn't collapse, though."
"Or that it doesn't get tampered with as we climb."
"That too," Dimitri nodded, "How do we know we won't run into trouble at the top?"
"We don't." Though Byleth knew for sure that they would, "Well, do you have a plan B?"
"No, I do not."
"It would be a good place for a marksman to hide," Byleth recalled there being only one archer, but it only took four encounters to end his life. There could be more than just the four waiting patiently for their turn. "There are a few crates blocking the corner. Hm. Can you lift them or push them and block off this area? That would make climbing unhindered far easier."
"I can." Dimitri let go of the leg and moved the crates. The first was considerably heavy, but Dimitri's prowess let him lift and rest it on his shoulder with ease. One of the things that Dimitri absolutely loved about the professor, he realized, was that the professor disregarded his royal lineage and would ask these tasks of him. There was never any fighting about why his status should undermine his ability. Tasks like this suited him. And the professor was quick to utilize it.
Dimitri sat the first crate down, then double backed and lifted the other two simultaneously. He figured he could handle them and barely struggled to do so. The professor waited near the bench, resting on the back but not allowing himself to sit. He made sure they were not ambushed by an aerial attack.
Byleth felt uneasy about the change in the opposition's movements. Normally, he could count on them retaining their exact actions – yet, the assassin with the dagger had not shown his face – which could be explained by Dimitri's presence, sure. A change in course caused by catalyst, such as Dimitri, may ripple into something else entirely.
But they locked the door and lowered the gate. This was troubling. Dimitri finished blocking their area and began shifting the scaffolding slowly, to keep the construction's crossbars structurally sound. Once that was done, Dimitri waved him over and said, "I have an idea. I will climb up first. Then you stay at the bottom of the ladder and keep a firm grip on it. Okay?"
"Okay. What is your plan?" The professor asked.
"I will pull you and the ladder up at the same time." Dimitri said and the professor agreed. Dimitri ascended quickly and the professor positioned himself to stay in place while Dimitri drew him up. They were on the first platform, with one more to go. They followed the same plan and were on the upper deck of the framework.
Dimitri placed the ladder on the wall and readied to climb it to reach the balcony. The professor stopped him and said, "We don't know what's up there. Do you have a way to counter at range?"
"No." Dimitri shook his head, "I can take a few hits, though."
"I can attack with magic, if it comes to that." Byleth argued, "Let me go first."
"Definitely not. No. I refuse. You are unstable and you don't need to fall to your death, again."
"Again?" Interesting, as Byleth had learned that Dimitri did not know about that fact until they discussed it in his dream phase. He retained that information, but it did not make sense, yet.
"Didn't you fall? Isn't that why you disappeared?" Dimitri asked.
Byleth nodded, "Oh, that's true all right. But, how did you know?"
Dimitri thought about it for a moment and said, "I . . . don't know." He just knew. The professor's silence for five years was due to an injury sustained by a fall.
"It doesn't matter at this moment," Byleth changed the topic, "Whoever goes first may have to respond to a threat. Do you know any spells, Dimitri?"
"Um. I know thunder? But not consistently," Dimitri shook his head, "I only use spells if I have nothing else going for me. And it usually isn't all that strong. Or reliable."
"Well. You have nothing else going for you if it's ranged like a bow or magic. If you can, use whatever is at your disposal."
"Okay." Dimitri went up first, having apparently won the argument. Byleth followed him up, though, stubborn men that they both were. Once Dimitri's head was above the balcony's fence, Dimitri looked around for anyone. An arrow came at him and he ducked below.
At the same time, Byleth noticed the assassin climbing the crates from below. They were trying to corner them after all. While the threat came from both above and below, Byleth and Dimitri had to act quickly and precisely to make it out of the cathedral area.
Author Notes:
This chapter is giving me a hard time. This chapter I decided to split into two parts, which is why the ending may seem abrupt. Will try to post the next part soon :)