Author Notes: I really wish that I didn't have to get inspired by DLC to write this story.

Still, with how busy my life is now, I just decided to make this for fun.

After hearing and playing the Fire Emblem Three Houses DLC, I can finally start this chapter and end that horrible writer's block!

When I first laid eyes on you, what else could I do but bow in your presence? What else could I do but be humbled and in awe that your smile silenced my thoughts and soothed my soul? You welcomed me, a starving and dying stranger, into your paradise, and you showed me how small we all truly were.

At that time, I would have died for you. I would have pledged my entire bloodline to you.

Then the questions came.

I tried to ignore them, but like termites, they ate away the foundation of my consciousness.

"If you could heal the sick, why were my people dying and suffering?"

"If you could feed the hungry, why did so many of my people starve?"

"If you could make the earth bountiful, why create men who can be killed by its fury?"

"And if you are eternal, why did my sister die alone?"

The worst question came after all of them.

"You can do more, can't you?"

With everything you showed me, with how the world itself bowed in your presence, it felt like you spat on the face of those who were not your children.

Faith never dies overnight. It decays slowly, shriveling up into the tiniest speck until one day you realize you aren't staring at a goddess.

You're staring at a demon.

I swore vengeance upon my realization. I abandoned my name and took up the word in your tongue that brought fear upon you sycophants.

My new name...

"Lord Arundel, Lord Lanato will see you now."

The man continued to stare at the window, or rather, he looked for something his eyes couldn't show him. He turned to the guard and responded, "Thank you. I will enter posthaste."

Lord Volkhard von Arundel walked into Lord Lanato's study. There, he gave a polite bow, "I am honored to meet—"

"Enough of the formalities," Lord Lanato stood up and walked with too much purpose towards the Lord from the Empire. "Is what you say true? My son was falsified in his case?"

For the first time since he entered Gaspard, Volkhard showed a facial expression: he raised his brow. "Forgive me for assuming, but I was of the impression that you believed me. You have been raising your army in secret for the past several years."

Lord Lanato was old, but he was very tall for his age. Volkhard noticed this fact as the Lord of Gaspard stood over him. "I want an answer. Lord Arundel?" The pause before his name showed that the name came like an afterthought.

Many men would have flinched under Lord Lanato. Lord Arundel only blinked. " Your son pursued the true culprits of the Duscur Massacre and found a clue that pointed to the Central Church. That was why they silenced him. The papers I showed you were true." The ones they wanted to show him.

For one second, Lord Arundel mistook Lanato for a volcano about to explode. He turned and placed his hands on his desk. For the briefest of moments, Lord Arundel imagined the man throwing his desk out of the window. He didn't quite believe his eyes when the warrior lord did not do such a thing.

"Even if I mobilized an army, there is no possible way for me to match the power of the Knights of Seiros." Lord Lanato pressed his weight into the desk.

Lord Arundel stepped forward. "Are you aware of the tale, The Mouse and the Snake? The snake thought himself superior to the mouse in every way until the mouse challenged him to a race. Unkown to the snake, the mouse used a secret shortcut to outmaneuver his opponent."

The creaking on the stressed table stopped. "What does that mean?"

"A child's tale can mean many things, Lord Lanato," This time, Volkhard moved his lips to a smile. "To win, sometimes you don't need to be stronger or faster, you need to be smarter." He stepped forward towards Lord Lanato. At the same time, a cloud obscured the sun and darkened the room. "I find it fortunate that while we can't lend you extra forces, we can offer you a special gift in assaulting the Central Church."

Now it was Lord Lanato's turn to raise his brow. "Gift?"

"The end of that tale describes the snake owing a favor to that mouse." For a second, Lord Arundel's eyes seemed to glow in the darkness. "We give you that favor, Lord Lanato. Use it wisely."

The Lord of Gaspard did not understand until he heard hissing noises around the room.

You don't make deals with devils. Kostas made two deals with different devils. Do not follow his example unless you want a similar fate.

"Ah," The voice was calm despite the blood-curdling screams that surrounded him. "It seems as if this batch didn't work as well."

Several of those screams were silenced with great haste by the sound of flesh rending and blood splattering.

"I had really high hopes for this concoction. What went wrong? Was the blood too sterile?" Rocks exploded, and dust clouds formed in the distance.

"Either way, I apologize dearly, Kalipso. It seems the elixir was a failure," The owner of the voice paused. "I did warn you that my elixir was experimental, right? And there was a chance of it failing?"

Something inhuman roared in response.

"Yes. Yes. I guess I'll have to start from scratch. Now? Where did I put that warp staff?"

There isn't much for me to do but bum around the blasted private school a hundred bloody times. Flayn is too distracted by trying to hunt down Marianne while Byleth is busy teaching three classes and going on seminars with the other two teachers. The other dogs have been trying to sniff my butt, and I'm finding out I might be into that. So in other words, I am now insane without the breakdown. Twas only a matter of time.

I suppose it's a good thing that the school feels slow. It gives me more time to figure out how things spiral down five years from now. The blasted thing is that I have made near no progress in anything!

"Is this all you do, mutt? You just wander around the school grounds all night looking for scraps of food? Doesn't Byleth feed you enough, you gluttonous beast?"

I ain't looking for food you pointy-eared, jail-baiter!

"I don't know what you're saying, but I don't like your tone!" Then why the bloody hell are you following me around?! There are other places to haunt, you Narcoleptic Spectre!

Ugh! Why is Sothis following me around!? I can't concentrate! I know I heard something last night that felt like it came from underground! Considering this place has a Hogwarts feel to it, I bet my sister's lunch money that there's a secret entrance around here!

But where? I've been traveling around the school for almost two months! I now this place is gigantic, but does this mean I have to look through every single nook and cranny—

Wait. I seem to recall something like this happening before. My mother once stormed the house in search of her glasses, but she didn't realize she had them atop of her head. What if I'm doing something like that? I'm looking everywhere except where I'm supposed to? The last place I'd look for a secret passage would be near Byleth's room, if not in the room itself. I suppose I might as well check there.

Sothis and I end up heading back to Byleth's room. However, Sothis suddenly froze and stared at a dead-end to the side before we reached the room. Before I could bark at her, my sense of smell picked up something. It was faint, but it felt like there was a scent behind that wall. I never would have noticed that if Sothis didn't look over there. I'm usually running around the place at full speed to really stop and look. I suppose I'm like me mum after all.

"I thought I heard something," Sothis spoke in a daze. I watched her float towards the wall and phase through it. Ah yes, I can totally follow the ghost girl through walls. Hmm? The stones at the bottom of the wall, they looked scratched as if something dragged over them.

This could be it! I glanced around, making sure I carefully and slowly observed the wall in front of me. One of the bricks smelled different from the others. After pressing on it, I stared in awe as the walls opened up to reveal a pathway to some underground cavern.

Wow, there really was a secret passage right under my nose. Speaking of my nose, a multitude of scents hit my nose, and not one of them smells promising in a good way.

I sighed.

But I was complaining that things have been too slow lately. This might finally give me a clue as to what's going on with this world or my arrival here. Even as a wolf, I can still somehow put my foot in my mouth.

It seemed like the wall was timed, as it started to close not long after I activated the switch. Without wasting a moment, I rushed in before the doors closed behind me... wait a second. I don't see a way to activate the wall again from this side. The smell here is stronger, and I can't tell which new brick I'd have to push to activate the walls again. Did I lock myself in this secret passageway?

"There you are!" I turned my neck towards Sothis, who seemed to be struggling to move down the hallway. It was like no matter how she tried, she could fly further down. "It seems as if I can't fly further away from either you or Byleth. So do me a favor and move it already! We must explore this secret passage!"

Great, I have to deal with her the whole way through. So that's why people say be careful what you wish for: it might come true in a way you don't want it.

As we made our way down, I wondered what was the purpose of these underground tunnels. I remember back in my world that there were cities built over underground ruins. With how some of these corridors looked so old, I'm assuming that these were built during the early stages of the Monastery? The more we moved down, I've spotted ruined statues of some noble-looking warriors. They must be the saints I've heard Byleth research some times.

...If I was back in my human form, I would have been stupidly scared going down a dark cave with danger coming at me with any second. As a wolf, I don't know why, but I'm calmer down here.

And then Sothis ruined the atmosphere by talking again. "Keep moving, mutt! Something feels too familiar down here! I feel as if there's some kind of clue to my mysterious circumstance here!"

I stopped for a second and looked at her. I wasn't expecting her to also be looking for answers.

Sothis stopped as well and looked over to me. "W-What's with that look!? There is something imperative that I must learn!"

I tilted my head.

She pouted and threw her arms down like a child that was told they couldn't buy the toy they wanted. "You scamp! I don't need to explain a thing to you! If you listen to Byleth, then you must listen to me!"

"Hey, did ya hear something?" The two of us stilled when we heard the sound of a different voice coming from the end of the hallway.

"Don't scare me, man. It's scary enough down here." My ears picked up footsteps for over a dozen people. Not only that, I heard the clanking of metal. Specifically, the way swords, lances, and other weapons clank while they're being carried. Seeing as how I've been a school that practices how to fight, and the fact I've been traveling with a mercenary group, my ears know the distinct sound of weapons being carried.

I moved forward as quietly as I could. I don't know about Sothis, but I spotted a group of... mercenaries? I know I haven't seen them at Garreg Mach. How did they get down here? How did they know about this place when I know a large majority of people in the school and church don't!

"No ghost is going to stop us! They say there's treasure somewhere in this place called Abyss!"

"Treasure? Abyss?" Sothis repeated before we shared a look. Her eyes sparkled with determination. It was obvious this was some kind of clue to the feeling she had. "You must follow them!"

There wasn't much of a choice anyway, so I tailed after the group of mercenaries. Thanks to my senses, I was able to tail them in such a way they would never spot me. However, the more we tailed after them, the more it felt like we were heading somewhere that felt... what's the word? Habitated? No that can't be right.

"Why are there so many torches lit in this area?" Sothis looked up to a headless and worn-out statue of Saint Serios. "It feels like other people have been living here? What? Are there mole people here?"

Honestly, with how Awakening dealt with zombies, how Ike's games handled transforming animal people, and how I recalled how a trailer for Three Houses had some mechanical guardian, mole people might be a legitimate danger in this bloody world.

I froze when I heard the mercenary party stop in their tracks.

"What was that?" My ears picked up one of them say that. "Did you hear that?"

I hid behind the statue and made sure that I wasn't spotted by them. I really hope they didn't hear me.

"Not this again!" "No, no! This is different! Something might be here—"

What? Did I just hear a click?

My ears picked up something whizzing in the air. My nose smelled blood at the same time my ears heard a splatter. My stupid brain realized that information meant an arrow just pierced the dude's head. Sothis and I looked up from our hiding spot, and sure enough, we saw the mercenary group started to panic when one of their own got shot in the head. My ears picked up simultaneous clicks coming from the right of the mercenary group.

I saw the volley of arrows coming from a dark corner of the wall.

They didn't.

I turned away, but my ears and my nose painted a picture of their blood painting the floors and walls.

"It appears this place is rigged for defense. A bit tasteless, but better them than us."

I can't help but agree with Sothis on that. However, I heard several grunts and screams, which meant that some of that battalion was still alive. At that point, my ears picked up a larger fighting force rushing out of places my ears didn't believe.

"Well well, what do we have here?" Claude? No, wait. This one sounds more sinister. "I welcome all intruders to the Abyss. I hope you're comfortable, you'll be here for a long time."

I heard some of the mercenaries scream, some in fear and tried to run away, braver ones ran forward with battle cries. I heard the humming of magic, and after a few seconds, I heard no more of the mercenary group we were following.

Ouch. Poor guys. Wait, they said they were looking for treasure. And the guys that killed them, are they the protectors of that rumored treasure? Did I stumble on to an Indiana Jones-esque subplot in anime-medieval world while I'm going through a fanfiction-cliche?

Common Sense is a bipolar mistress.

"This sucks! I didn't get a fight out any one of them!"

"Don't be too sure... You there! Behind the statue! Show yourself!"

And Luck is her stoned-as-hell, drug-dealer roomie.

For obvious reasons, I don't want to step out and face whatever's waiting for me behind the statue.

"I see. Well, I won't fault you for being too shy." I don't like how this guy's tone sounds amused. I especially don't like how I'm hearing another magical hum from all the way here!

"Move, mutt!" Sothis didn't need to tell me as I bolted away from the statue before a magical blast exploded from the base of the statue. Smoke covered the area and I saw the old statue start to fall towards m—

As smoke filled the area, the warriors of Abyss watched patiently.

"These guys just never learn, do they?" A red-haired girl complained.

"It matters little! Even if they were to send millions, we of the Ashen Wolves would always win!" A blonde-purple-haired young woman declared.

"Let's not be too hasty," A purple-haired and purple-eyed young man spoke up. "That straggler might have survived. Balthus, go and check it out."

"Why me!?" The one known as Balthus cried out.

"You said you wanted action. You get to go check to see if the coast is clear."

"Not what I had in mind, Yuri," The taller man spoke up as he walked towards the dead bodies.

As he reached the area, he noticed the dust cloud was still covering the area. The large man suddenly stopped in his tracks. His instincts screamed at him that something was wrong.

It was a good thing he wore steel gauntlets. His body was already moving before his mind could process what was going on. A sword flew out of the smoke and it was thrown right for his face. Yet, Balthus' hands moved with enough force and speed to slam the sword away and flying in the air.

"Okay! Looks like I'm gonna get a fight after all!" Balthus shifted into a fighting stance, ready for whatever was coming his way.

He, nor the others of the Ashen Wolves, expected an actual wolf to jump out of the smoke, grab the thrown blade by its handle, and descend like a meteor on an unsuspecting Balthus. At the last second, the large man regained his senses and rolled out of the way of the animal with a weapon.

"What in the eternal flames!?" Balthus shouted before he saw the wolf running fast enough to outpace the large man's eyes. He stepped back when he saw the Wolf had already closed the distance between them without him noticing. Balthus stepped back forward and threw a punch right for the wolf. Now despite his size, Balthus had a punch as fast an arrow shot by a world-class snipper. However, the problem was the wolf avoided it almost as if he was baiting the strike in the first place. Balthus realized something as he punched the ground with his fist: the gauntlet pierced through the ground and got stuck. This left Balthus open for the wolf to rush in with the sword aimed right for his nec—

In an instant, where Balthus should have been, the purple-haired man appeared in a flash of light. The purple-haired man parried the wolf's blade, but the wolf jumped back, snarling and growling as he did.

"Holy!" Balthus found out he was in the same spot as his friend was awhile ago. "Thanks for the save, Yuri!"

"We must help!" The blonde-purple-haired girl cried out, only for Yuri to throw his hand out.

"No, stop!" Yuri threw his hand out to them, motioning them to stop. He surprised everyone when he looked at the wolf and dropped his sword to the ground.

"Yuri-bird, what are you doing!?" "I am with Hapi on this! Have you lost your mind!?" Two girls screamed, but the man named Yuri focused his eyes towards the wolf.

"Hey there, buddy," Yuri spoke as he moved his hands towards a pouch. He slowed down when he saw the wolf tense as his hand moved. "Easy there. I'm sorry for scaring you a while ago. I really thought you were with those mercenaries."

Yuri was able to pick up a pouch with something wet at the bottom. He opened it up, and putrid scent filled the area around the two. "Smell that? It's a fresh, dead rabbit. I know you wolves eat those."

Yuri, even though he was starting to sweat, watched the wolf sniff the air. He was able to kneel and hold out the dead rabbit body. "Come on. Think of this as a peace offering. You're a wolf; we're wolves. Why can't we get along?"

The wolf continued to growl in anger. However, unknown to everyone, someone else spoke to the wolf.

"Mutt! It's alright! They aren't going to hurt us anymore! Mutt? ... Remus, snap out of it!"

The name seemed to snap the wolf out of his frenzy. Yuri spotted the eyes of the wolf calm down but still kept his guard up. The wolf blinked and dropped the blade he was carrying. Slowly, the wolf came up to Yuri. Everyone watched as the wolf sniffed the rabbit then started bitting on it. The purple-haired young man released a breathe he didn't know he was holding. As he spotted the wolf eating the rabbit, he found himself petting the wolf while it ate.

As the wolf looked up and smiled back at him, Yuri couldn't help but return a smile of his own. "There we go. Wolves always stay in packs."

"Huh! This is most fortuitous!" Sothis mused beside me as I followed this Yuri fellow back to these people who called themselves the Ashen Wolves.

"Now we have a chance to explore this Abyss and find that treasure they're guarding!"

I looked up to Sothis with confusion. Why is she bent on this treasure? She's a bloody ghost! When Sothis looked back at me, I saw her tone shift.

"W-Well, seeing as how you're the only one here who can hear me, I suppose I can reveal my machinations." She sighed deeply before she looked at me with the most serious face I've ever seen from her. "I've been having these strange dreams lately."

I almost stopped in my tracks, but by pure instinct, I kept walking until Yuri and me got up to his allies. Wait, she also had dreams as I did?

Whatever they were saying about me, I couldn't quite pay attention to it. Sothis continued on, "I don't know why, but I've had strange dreams of... I don't exactly know. Whenever I'd wake up, I'd forget everything but a sense of fear and dread." I felt my heart skip five seconds. Sothis and I were having the same forgotten nightmares? There is no way that's a coincidence. "I feel like something is hunting me down, or maybe it has? When I reversed time with Byleth, I saw something that troubled me."

My ears picked up something about Yuri and some others wanting to keep me. Unfortunately, my brain was too focused on Sothis spilling her feelings to the one being she knew could speak.

"The flow of time, I don't know why, but it felt corrupted. I could still rewind time, but I felt something wrong about it that I just couldn't put together." Sothis folded her arms and looked away. "When we came here, I felt some kind of shift. I don't know how to explain it, but you did something, mutt. I feel like you might be a clue to something I cannot grasp. This treasure might be helpful in a mystery that even I do not know."

Well, so that's why Sothis was so interested in this. It's the same as me then. There's something wrong with this world, and if a being that can manipulate time says something is wrong, I am more than royally bum-rushed.

But then that means so is everyone else here.

Well then, I suppose it's time to save the world! Who can pass up the chance to be a hero? I can't quite promise I'll be a hit with it though... Still, it's either that or a horrible death. For clarity's sake, I am not a fan of the latter.

"It's decided!" I spotted the loud girl shout with pride. "The Ashen Wolves shall take on an actual ashen wolf! It is a sign that we are destined for greatness!"

"I still don't know about this, Yuri-bird," The redhead looked over to me. "Are you sure it's a good idea to keep him?"

"I admit, I usually distrust everyone I meet," The one known as Yuri spoke up before looking over to me. "But even I find the idea of us meeting an actual ashen wolf to be some kind of interesting sign."

"As long as he doesn't wield a blade near my neck, I'm all aboard for this!" Balthus gave off a hearty laugh before rubbing my head with more force than I'm used to. Good on him to not hold grudges, but if he keeps this up, I will be the one to hold a grudge.

"We'll talk more about this later," Yuri spoke up. "We need to reset the traps and pilfer whatever goods we can get from the mercenaries."

I assumed he was the leader. With how everyone obeyed his word, it was easy to confirm that theory. Soon, I followed these 'Ashen Wolves' to what I hoped was the Abyss.

I now had a mission. With Sothis by my side, we would find the Treasure of Abyss!

... Hold on a tick.

Am I forgetting something?

Byleth woke up that morning feeling more peaceful than usual. This was somewhat disconcerting. She spotted the reason for this discomfort: she couldn't spot Remus sleeping beside her bed. He always greeted her in the morning. That was always followed by Sothis' attempts to get Remus to do whatever she said.

She had gotten so used to this routine. But now that it was gone, she couldn't help but worry.

"... Sothis, did you see where Remus went?"

...

"Sothis?"

A/N: This has been an eye-opening experience. The DLC made me realize a few of my headcanons were wrong. That's fair in all honesty. Still, I'm sticking with it for this story and hopefully, my direction is still going to be fun.

I am glad that I made this story before the Ashen Wolves were announced. And the next chapter is going to explore Abyss with Remus and Sothis.

I'm having these two paired up for something down the line. I hope you'll enjoy it.

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this story. I'm still surprised this is so well-liked even though I just have fun with this. Thanks for reading, see ya soon!