Mercer knelt in front of the skeleton Nowi Falls was built around. Cordelia was by his side, gently rocking him back and forth. "It's alright… Mercer. It's okay."

"She was a person, Cordelia! I knew her as a little girl, and now her corpse is the landmark for a city! They named the city after the fact that she died here! You're telling me they picked her corpse apart like buzzards! Now people walk around her body every day! This is so messed up! What's wrong with people!"

"I know it's horrible. Come on. Things are fine now. Everything's fine. She's in a better place now. Naga is watching over her now." Cordelia hugged Mercer as he started to shiver. "Everything will be alright. Everything will be fine."

Mercer glanced up at the sound of a cart approaching him. He and Cordelia found a merchant taking what looked like pieces of armor out of her cart. The merchant was an eager young woman, and she moved like she couldn't wait to start peddling her wares to the two. "You two! I see that sword of yours, sir! I see that lance of yours, ma'am. You two don't look like Arch Surg. Let me guess? Mercenaries?"

Mercer frowned. "Well… no-"

"Yes." Cordelia interrupted. "We're mercenaries. That's why we're armed." Cordelia silently urged Mercer to go with it. The merchant smiled and finished pulling out the pieces of her armor. It was like nothing Mercer had ever seen in terms of what it was made of, but he could tell that it would assemble into a chest piece.

"I've got just the thing for you two! You're definitely well armed. Anyone could see that. However, you two look like you could use some armor! People argue about whether the best defense is a good offense, or other way around. I say, it's better to be well armed and armored lest you not live long enough to find out!"

"You're offering us armor!"

"Offering? Ha! If only right! No this will set you back a bit, but it's worth it. This is a once in a lifetime offer. This armor is like nothing you've ever seen before. This is dragonscale armor."

Mercer immediately tensed up as he could see where this was going. "What… what is that?"

"It's exactly what it sounds like. It's made from the scales of a dragon!"

"What?!"

"The dragon this city was built around in fact! This is the stuff the scavengers made a few years back. You can't get anything like it now. Supplies are limited, and I've got a deal for you. This stuff is indestructible! It'll stop any weapon. It'll protect you against magic. It can even stop those fancy bullets that some people use now! Interested?"

"This came from Nowi! This armor is made from her scales?!"

"Guaranteed! No forgeries here." Mercer drew his sword and aggressively advanced on the merchant. She didn't seem worried. "You want to try it out? Go ahead! Your sword won't make a dent."

"You little-" Cordelia quickly grabbed Mercer and wrestled him back as he tried to lash out at the merchant. "That dragon was a person! She was a person! Who are you to sell her! What's wrong with you! She was a person!"

"I don't… I don't see why you're so angry."

Cordelia forced Mercer backwards. "Don't worry about him. He's just not used to this city. We're sorry for the inconvenience. Really!" Cordelia pulled Mercer back until the merchant had left. "What's wrong with you?!"

"What the hell is wrong with these people?! They're selling pieces of her! This is so messed up!"

"Come on, Mercer. She wasn't the one that scavenged the corpse. She's just trying to make a living. She didn't mean anything."

"These people are horrible!" Cordelia hugged Mercer until his rage left him. It was replaced by misery, and Mercer cried into her shoulder. "Oh gods! I miss them. I miss them so much. How could people care so little about everything they did for the world?! How could people be like this?!"

"It's alright. It's alright." Cordelia let go of Mercer and patted him on the shoulder. "Hey… I know what'll cheer you up. Let's get a beer."

"Did you say… beer."

"Yeah."

"We can't afford that!"

"No, Mercer. This place is amazing! They have their own brewery, and they grow cereals that have gone extinct almost everywhere else. Beer here is ten times cheaper than it would be in any other city. I saw that you got into my wine at the homestead."

"I… I'm so sorry."

Cordelia laughed. "Don't be. I forgot I even had that thing. Who knows what else I had lying around that I forgot about. I guess if I never felt for it, then I'd never find it."

"I don't know."

"Come on. This place isn't so bad."

"How do you know about these places?"

"Vasto told me about them. He's actually not a bad guy. He talked a lot about his mother and her knitting, and he has some jokes. He had some degrading ones about Pegasus Knights… but he got better after I knocked some sense into him."

"You can't trust these people, Cordelia."

"Let's not worry about any of that right now. Let's just relax. You'll feel better."

Mercer briefly worried about drinking, but he hadn't had a beer in over ten years. The offer wasn't something he could pass up. "I guess. It couldn't hurt."

"Mercer, I think you should slow down." Cordelia looked warily at the numerous empty beer bottles beside Mercer. He continued to eagerly drink from the bottle he was holding.

"Gods, this stuff is good."

"I guess. That's your ninth bottle." Cordelia looked down to her own bottle, which was only about half empty. "You're scaring me."

"What's wrong?"

"I took you here to make you feel better. I didn't take you here so that you could lose control of yourself. Come on. Put that down. We have work to do."

"What work?!"

"We can't just stay here."

"Why not?!" Mercer slowly turned to Cordelia and glared at her. "I'm not part of your cause. Thank you for saving my life, but I'm not part of this fight against the Grimleal. Don't tell me you are."

"I can't exactly fight like the girls do, Mercer. I'm not a young woman anymore, and blindness does have its drawbacks, but I have helped the girls. I trained all three of them. I've sheltered them when they needed a place to stay. I am part of their fight."

"Well I don't care! I don't care about the Grimleal. I don't care about these rebels."

"You don't care that they turned your daughter into an attack dog?"

"How… how could you even see that?"

"You think I don't recognize her voice? You're not the only one of us that cared about her. She was an inspiration to everyone."

"Well now she's gone." Mercer responded bitterly.

"Don't tell me you're drinking like this to forget what happened."

"Of course I drink to forget what happened! If you came to my town back when I was still allowed there, you'd find me like this. All they had there was kumis. Who looked at a mare and said they wanted to drink whatever came out of that?! I drank anyways, because only then did I have some semblance of serenity. Now I actually like what I drink, and thirty years of agony just came back over a few weeks."

Cordelia stood up. "Stop this."

"To do what? I never wanted to be a part of this. I only agreed to help save Soleil and Caeldori when they were captured by the Grimleal. They're safe now, and the girls don't even want me anywhere near them now."

"They're just angry-"

"I butchered their parents, Cordelia! I killed Inigo and Owain. Severa may have escaped, but I probably tried my damndest to kill her. All in the ironic belief that I was protecting their younger selves. They hate me, Cordelia. They're never going to want to speak to me again."

"You can still help them."

"I'm nothing."

"That's a load of Pegasus dung! I'm not going to let you keep drinking like this. Libra was consumed by his depression, and I didn't know how to help him. Severa was clearly traumatized by some of the things she saw in the future, and I didn't know how to help her. I'm not going to just sit by and watch as you spiral into self destruction. Come on. Let's go."

"No."

"Put that down."

"No."

"Come on, Chrom."

"Don't call me that."

"Give me the bottle."

"Leave me alone!"

"Give-"

"THIS IS THE ONLY WAY I CAN FIND PEACE!"

"This isn't right, Chrom! Put that down!"

Mercer calmed down, but he didn't put down his bottle. "I'm sorry, Cordelia. I'm sorry I didn't spend more time with you all those years ago. I'm sorry that I might have taken your service for granted. Thank you for everything you've done for me… but I don't want you to care for me like this. I can't, I can't help you."

"That's not true."

"I can't help you, and the girls don't want my help! I just… leave me alone. I'm only going to let you down. I can't be the man you care about so much."

"Come on." Cordelia gently took Mercer's right hand. "One step at a time. Let's go speak to Cervantes."

"Why would I want to talk to him?!"

"He's the leader of this settlement. We should speak with him."

"He's our enemy!"

"A long time ago. Things have changed. Let's go alright? We'll take things slowly. Come on."

"I don't want to."

"You'll be fine."

"No."

"Come on."

"No!"

"Come on!" Cordelia said more forcefully.

"Just leave me alone. Please."

"I'm not going to let you try and drink yourself to death. Come on."

"Leave me alone."

"Give me that."

"Stop!"

"Give me that!"

"Stop it!"

"You're scaring me!"

"PLEASE LEAVE!"

"I'm not going to give up on you! I can help you!"

"I-I don't want, I don't want your help! I don't want your suffering! I don't want the pain you're bringing back to me! I'm not that man anymore! Leave me alone!"

"Please."

"Stop it."

"Give it to me!"

"Stop it!"

Cordelia tried taking it from Mercer. "Give it to me!"

"Knock it off!"

"You can't do this! Give it to me!"

"I'm not-you can't-leave me alone!"

"Give it to me!"

"GET OFF OF ME!" Mercer briefly became consumed by fury and panic, and he wrenched his right arm free and struck Cordelia. She fell backwards into a barstool and onto the floor. Mercer immediately froze in shock as Cordelia struggled to find her footing. He was increasingly crippled by remorse as he watched his old ally fumble for the barstool and table. Every rational part of him wanted to come to her aid, to scream and beg for forgiveness, but he couldn't actually bring himself to do anything but stutter. When Cordelia finally got back on her feet, she didn't say anything. She just turned towards Mercer for a few seconds, her lip trembling and her breathing unsteady, and then walked out of the bar. Mercer glanced around to see everyone there staring at him, but they soon turned back to their drinks and conversations. Only the bartender was still glaring at him.

"What was that?!"

"I… I don't know-"

"If you do anything like that again, I'll give you a verbal citation. Three of those and you'll get a written citation."

"What… what does that do?"

"Oh who am I kidding. That warning never does anything. I'm assuming you want another beer? Wife beaters aren't usually what I'd call social drinkers."

"That's not… I can't… I would never… I… err… I can't-" Mercer molded himself into his stool and fought back tears. "Yeah. Just get me another one."

"Bring me another one!" Mercer pounded his fist on the table and drunkenly brought his head from side to side looking for the bartender. After several seconds went by without any service, Mercer grabbed his empty beer bottle and repeatedly banged it against the counter. "Another one!"

The now very weary bartender reluctantly approached Mercer and took the bottle away. "Haven't you had enough?" His tone was exasperated but also defeated, as if the man already knew the answer.

"Just GIVE ME *urrp*, ugh… oh. Just… just give me… I need another beer!" Mercer slammed a few gold coins on the table and pounded his fist on it again. "Give me another beer!"

The bartender shook his head and went to fetch another bottle. Mercer let his head fall to the bar table and moaned. He rubbed his forehead up and down the coarse and unforgiving wood while unintelligibly muttering to himself. He perked his head up after hearing something slam down on the wood, expecting his beer. Instead he found a levin sword buried in the table. He quickly looked up to see Courtney looking down on him, a smug expression visible even through the small openings in his mask. "Will this do? It's top shelf?"

"W-what the hell?"

Courtney laughed and brought his mask uncomfortably close to Mercer's face. "Look how pathetic you are. You're descended from great heroes. For thousands of years your family ruled this land, but it all came crashing down under you. Everything your ancestors had built was ruined because you were too weak to protect it, and now men like me are in charge. We do what we want. We take what we want! This is what you've done to the world! Monsters like me rule over humanity, and everything the heroes of legends did was all for nothing because of your failure!"

"Gaargh!" Mercer took a wild swing at Courtney, but he only succeeded at knocking himself over and falling to the floor. He slowly made his way to his feet, having to brace himself on the bar stool and the table to do so, and stumbled after Courtney. Courtney calmly walked out of the bar and paid Mercer no more mind as he furiously staggered after him, bumping into tables, chairs, and patrons as he did so. "Courtney! Get back here! Face me!" After several minutes Mercer finally navigated his way outside, only to stumble and fall on his face. When he looked up he found the familiar face of a young man smiling down on him. The man held out his hand. "There are better places to take a nap than on the ground, you know."

"Robin?" Mercer whimpered. Robin helped him to his feet, and his smile faded.

"Oh, Chrom. What happened to you?"

"How? What?"

"I didn't know anyone before you found me in that field. You became my family. You and the other Shepherds." Tears rolled down Robin's cheeks as he placed his hand on Mercer's shoulder. "I loved you. I thought the two of us could take on any problem. Why? Why did it have to end?"

Mercer broke down in tears himself. "I don't know! Gods I don't know! I'm sorry. I'm so sorry! Gods! I didn't want this to happen!"

Robin withdrew his hand and began to walk away. "I just don't see why it had to end." Mercer desperately tried to grab him as he walked away, but once again he lost balance and found himself on the ground.

"ROBIN! Come back! I'm sorry!" Mercer crawled forward, unable to bring himself to his feet again. He glanced up to see Lucina standing over him. She smiled warmly at him, but she didn't help him up. Instead she knelt down to eye level with him.

"Father."

"Lucina?! What is this?!"

Lucina placed both of her hands on Mercer's cheeks, and she breathed irregularly as tears went down her cheeks as well. Even then, she didn't lose her warm smile. "I'm so happy to see you again, father. I was always so happy to see you again. When I first came back, I didn't want to get in the way. I didn't dare to think of myself as part of your family. I didn't want to get in the way of my younger self's life. I just thought I would be your ally, but you accepted me with open arms. You loved me as your daughter without hesitation. You made me so happy. I could finally be with the man I had heard so much about in my timeline. Hearing stories of you, of what you did, was one of the few things that kept me going."

"Lucina…"

Lucina looked away and took a deep breath to calm herself. "But you weren't the man I thought you were. You hurt us. You hurt all of us. I only ever wanted to live up to your legacy. Why did you turn on me?" Lucina broke down crying and brought her forehead to Mercer's, almost nuzzling him. "Why?!"

"I didn't… please! You have to believe me! I didn't want this!"

Lucina stood up and gave one last sad smile. "I know it wasn't your fault. But you weren't… you just weren't the man I thought you were. You were too weak to save the world, and maybe I never had a chance. Maybe I never could have changed the future. If you couldn't stop it, then what could I have done. I just wish… I just wish we all could have been together."

"Lucina! I didn't… no! Come back! I'm sorry!" Lucina turned and walked away as Mercer sobbed into the street. "COME BACK!" Mercer dragged himself forward, and as he did a man approached him. When he glanced up, the man morphed into Maribelle.

"I didn't really know you, did I Chrom? I wanted to be close to you because you were the prince, and I wanted you to like me and I wanted to be close to the Ylissean government. We didn't really get to know each other though. I didn't really see the man you were. Maybe… maybe we just weren't right for each other."

Mercer finally forced himself to his feet and reached towards Maribelle. "Wait! Hold on!"

Maribelle shook her head and walked off. "I'm sorry, Chrom. I'm sorry I couldn't understand who you were. I'm sorry I couldn't prevent whatever got a hold of you from happening."

"Wait!"

Maribelle walked away, and as Mercer chased after her other passersby approached him. Each one morphed into a woman he had known. Sully walked up to him and looked at him with a mixture of fear and confusion. "Yeesh, Chrom. I've known you since we were kids. I couldn't help but always think of you as that boy I grew up with, but I guess I wasn't seeing the man you were becoming. I didn't realize what you were capable of."

"I would, I would never hurt you!"

Sully disappeared into mist and Sumia walked up to him. She looked very pained. "I guess… I guess you weren't such a dashing prince after all."

"But… I-"

Sumia also disappeared and Olivia came from the side. "I've spent my life worrying about the attention I get from men, and some of them have been very forceful. I thought I would be safe with you… but you were the most violent of all."

"I didn't-"

Olivia disappeared and a young Cordelia approached from the street. "You know, Phila talked about you. She told me to watch out for you and the Shepherds. She said you were playing soldiers. She said you had no discipline. No accountability. You went where you wanted to and killed who you wanted to. The only thing that kept you in check was your personal morality. Privately I always supported you. I believed in your cause. Now though… I see my feelings blinded me. You hurt Ylisse, and I was too busy following you to rebuild the Pegasus Knights. Phila and the others died for me because they thought I was the most dedicated Pegasus Knight. It was my responsibility to rebuild everything. It was my responsibility to ensure that the order that had protected Ylisse for thousands of years would survive. I failed them because I was too busy following you."

"I… I just… I didn't mean to-"

Mercer fell to his knees and ran his hands through his disheveled hair. "Stop it! Stop talking to me!" He cried out. When he looked up again, he saw other Shepherds looking down at him. Frederick helped him to his feet.

"Milord, I swore to always be at your side, but that was because I believed in your cause. For you to give up like this, to sit and do nothing, you dishonor everything I lived for."

Mercer looked away to see Gaius. "A bag of candy! All that killing I did for you, all over a bag of candy! How could I be so idiotic?!"

Mercer stumbled backwards and saw Vaike. "We were always sparring with each other, weren't we? We would really throw everything we had into winning. I guess you beat all of us in the end. All of us."

Mercer turned around to see Nowi looking at him, her lip quivering. "Why did you attack me?! What did I ever do to you?! For so long I never knew any humans, but you were so nice to me. I trusted you. Why did you attack me?!"

Mercer looked away to see Tharja shaking her head. "When we first met, I told you I might stab you in the back. I never thought you'd do it to me."

Mercer turned away again to see Henry smiling at him. "And I thought I had a knack for killing! Watching you throw yourself at your friends and family, carving them into little pieces, that was really something! I just wished you killed our enemies like that, instead of us."

Mercer stumbled backwards and closed his eyes while shaking his head. "Leave me alone! All of you! Leave me alone!" He fell into some barrels and could only bring himself to his feet after several minutes. When he looked up, he saw Lissa, Emmeryn, and a strange man.

Lissa looked at him with a mixture of rage and sadness. "You said you'd always be there for me! You used to get mad at me when I acted irresponsibly. You said you just wanted to keep me safe, but you… you butchered ME!"

"Lissa! I'm sorry! I would never-"

Lissa disappeared, and Emmeryn walked up to Mercer. "Oh, Chrom. I'm so glad to see that you're safe. My adorable baby brother. I wished you could stay that way forever, but I knew you would someday take up the Falchion. I saw our father's violence in you. I just hoped you would be able to use it to help people. You made me so proud. I'm sorry about what happened. I just hope you can find peace."

Mercer fell back to his knees and wept. "Emmeryn…" When Mercer finally looked up again, he saw the man standing over him. The man was tall and armored, and he had a frazzled blue beard on his face. Through that beard, Mercer could see the Mark of Naga on his right cheek. "F-father?!"

"So you're all grown up. Look at you, boy. I always knew you would be too weak to protect Ylisse. You looked down on me. You and your elder sister. You called me a warmonger and an imperialist. I did everything I did for the future of Ylisse. The people of Ylisse are suffering because you were too weak to protect them. You have no right to look down on me!"

Mercer buried his face in his hands and struggled to hold back his tears. "Oh, gods. I'm sorry everyone. I'm so sorry." Mercer whimpered to himself in a drunken slur. When he stood up again, he found himself in a crowd. It was like the crowd he had seen Cervantes speaking to, but he didn't recognize anyone in the crowd or the speaker.

"Alright everyone! Gather round. Listen to my tale. It's a good one. It's a story that reminds me of the fight between the Shepherds and Grima, so many years ago. There once was a lion cub, abandoned by its parents. The cub was found by an elderly ram. This ram had once been a proud and powerful beast, and it was formidable still, but it was also old and frail. The ram took the lion cub under its care. He raised her as if she were his own lamb. The ram knew however, that he could never match up to the lion. He raised her as if she were but an ewe." Mercer couldn't help but listen to the strange story, and he struggled to connect it to the Shepherds. Then he started to think about Lucina. "One day a terrible dragon, with four leathery wings and six glowing eyes, began to prey upon the herd. The dragon would swoop down and grab sheep right from the flock, and the elder ram rallied his kin to battle as if he were the shepherd. When the dragon returned next, it found one angry flock of sheep waiting for it. The sheep fought hard, but they were only sheep. The lion though? The lion was fierce, and with claw and fang she caused the dragon much grief. But in the end, in the end, the lion was doomed. Perhaps had she fought as ferociously as she could, she may have driven back the dragon, but alas she did not fight as fiercely as a lion could have. Instead, she fought as fiercely as an elderly ram could have." Mercer looked up at the speaker solemnly as his mind was consumed by painful memories of his daughter. She had once been so independent, but when she joined the Shepherds she became a lot like him. She began to fight like him. She followed the orders she was given without question, whereas she had worked entirely on her own when she first came back to this time. Mercer wanted her to feel like she belonged, but did being with him doom her? "The battle was witnessed by the actual shepherd, and he returned to his family in frustration as the dragon swooped away, free to terrorize the flock once more. As the shepherd returned to his children, he warned them that times would be hard as the dragon preyed on his sheep. His children seemed surprised. They asked 'Didn't we have a lion in our flock? She looked so powerful. Could she have driven off the dragon?' The man shook his head, and replied "Aye. That lion was powerful. She might have fought off that dragon if she'd fought as a lion, but if you'd ask her, she'd tell you she was a sheep.'" The speaker chuckled at his own story as Mercer stared blankly ahead. "Lions lead by sheep. That was the problem thirty years ago. Now though, now the people lead their own struggle for freedom. The Arch Surg will not falter!" The people in the crowd raised their weapons and roared.

"Shut the hell up!" Mercer roared at the crowd. Somehow the soldiers heard him through their roaring, and they all turned and stared at him. One by one everyone in the crowd disappeared into mist, until there were only a few people remaining. One large man with a sinister smile walked up to Mercer. "Excellus?!"

The former member of the Grimleal and tactician for Walhart cackled. "Oh! It seems that the brave prince wasn't able to stop us in the end now was he? Hee hee hee, you thought that you could prevail over my deceitful methods. Your honor and virtue wasn't enough to stop us. We won in the end, didn't we?!"

"Shut up you fat… you… you little… shut up you fat!"

Excellus disappeared and Walhart himself approached Mercer. "Look at you, boy! Look how pathetic you are. Once you had the audacity to come to my continent and challenge me. Once you claimed that my ideology was wrong, and that your beliefs were correct. Now look at you. You're just a drunken old man! You should have died then, and my empire should have lived! Maybe I wouldn't have been able to stop the Fell Dragon's resurrection, but at least I would have had the strength to keep fighting for the world."

"Leave me alone!" Mercer tried to swipe at Walhart, but he shoved him to his back.

"Mewling worm!" Mercer tried to get back up. As he did, Aversa crouched by him and ran her finger down his chest.

"Oh, poor baby. Do you miss your family, love? I guess you weren't above my manipulations after all."

"You!" Mercer snarled. Aversa laughed.

"Prince Chrom, descendant of the Hero King himself, was defeated by my spells. Not bad for a peasant woman huh?" Mercer tried to get up and attack as Aversa smiled menacingly and walked away. When he finally did, he saw Kryczek standing over him.

"Your daughter belongs to us now. She is a weapon for Gangrel. That is what you have left for the world. She is the epitome of your legacy."

Mercer roared at Kryczek and stumbled. When he got up again, he found Gangrel himself standing over him. He wore the same clothes he wore during the war between Ylisse and Plegia thirty years ago, and he brought his lips into a twisted and sadistic smile as he laid his eyes on Mercer. Mercer went into a fury at the sight of him, but in his drunken stupor he struggled to reach him.

"Well if it isn't my old friend? Calm yourself, boy, and retreat back to your pen. You haven't the mettle for the world I've created."

"Aaarrgh!"

"Look at you. You were born into a family that has ruled over this land for thousands of years. A family of great heroes and warriors! A family blessed by Naga herself! What did you do with it? Leading around a group of young men and women thinking what, that you were bettering society? You thought they were your friends? Your family? You thought that you could stand with them as an equal? Ha! You believed that you were protecting and standing up for the common man, but your life was defined by entitlement! Without your birth, you never would have been able to create the Shepherds! You never would have recruited many of your allies! If you had been a commoner, and had tried to create your militia, you would have been hunted down by the military as a threat to the state. As prince though, everyone fawned over you. They threw themselves to your feet and begged for but a glance from you. You did nothing to earn your place in society!"

"GRRRAAAGH!"

"Me? I rose to become what I am! I was born in the slums! I had nothing! I became king through strength! Through my own force of will! Even when you thought me defeated, I rose again! I unified humanity! I saved the world from the Grimleal! I am the greatest hero in the history of humanity!" Gangrel rose his hands into the air. "I know what it's like to be at the bottom of society! I rose to my position through merit! I have dipped my hands in the dirt, and the mud, and the blood, and the sweat of the world, and withdrawing them, I find it is better to be a lord than a commoner!"

When Mercer finally reached Gangrel, the sun became blinding. Mercer shielded his eyes, and when he could finally open them again he found that he was no longer in the street. Mercer could hear horrifying screaming and shouting behind him, and he turned to see memories he had long repressed. He could see his younger self, wearing the outfit he used to wear, fighting with the rest of the Shepherds. He saw himself slash off Tharja's legs. He wrenched Inigo's neck out of place. He severed Cynthia's arm at the elbow and kicked it into an advancing Sumia. He slashed Nah across the face as she fumbled for a dragonstone. He grappled with Robin and swung his sword through Cordelia's face when she tried to stop him. He engaged his own daughter in a bitter duel that ended with him rending off her arms and stabbing her through the abdomen. It was all accurate. Mercer hadn't allowed himself to think of that day so vividly in thirty years, but now everything was coming back to him. He could only remember fighting Risen, but he fought them exactly as the instance of himself in front of him did. "Stop it! No! Stop! NO!" Mercer fell to his knees and grabbed his head. "STOOOP! NO MORE! STAAAHHHHP!" When Mercer finally opened his eyes again, he saw himself standing over him. His armor was coated with blood, and his eyes glowed bright purple. He raised his sword and prepared to strike down Mercer, and Mercer simply hung his head and accepted it. As soon as the blade went through his head, Mercer was enveloped by another bright flash. When it ended, Mercer was back on the street. In front of him were Ophelia, Soleil, and Caeldori. Ophelia seemed to have some sympathy for him, but Soleil and Caeldori gave him bitter glares.

"Leave us alone!" Soleil shouted as she stepped in front of the others. "We don't want anything to do with you."

Mercer stuck his finger at them, struggling to hold it straight as he stumbled forward. "You three! I needed you. You ABANDONED me!"

"We abandoned you? We thought you could help the world, but you're the cause of its problems. Never speak to us again!"

The three girls disappeared and a much older Gaius appeared. "I won't let you lead more young people to their deaths. I won't let innocents suffer again because of you."

"Go away!"

Gaius disappeared and Mercer found Tiki looking at him sadly. "Why can't you see that there's still a hero in you? It's not too late to help the world. You can still protect humanity. You can still be like your ancestors."

"What do you know about humanity?! For thousands of years you slept through all our suffering! Don't tell me what I should do!"

Tiki disappeared and Mercer could see Cordelia again. This time she was much older, and she had her blindfold over her eyes. "Oh, Chrom. Why can't you see that I forgive you. Why can't you see that you can still be the man you were thirty years ago. I failed to rebuild the Pegasus Knights… but that doesn't mean I can't serve the Exalt."

Mercer fell to his knees. He couldn't bear to look up at Cordelia, even when she approached him and placed her hand on his shoulders. "Cordelia… I don't deserve your forgiveness."

"You took my husband from me. You took my best friend from me. You took my daughters from me. But I forgive you. I want you to forgive yourself." Cordelia turned and walked away. "But if you won't, then I will leave you alone."

"Wait! No! Don't go!"

"You can't bear to lose your loved ones again, but you won't be there for them when they need you? If you won't help us, then we will leave you alone. We haven't given up on the world. We will fight for it. We want you to fight with us. We want you to be the hero that we know you still can be. If you won't fight for the world, then we will leave you alone. That's what you originally wanted right? To die in peace? I love you, but if you push me away, then you'll find the peace that you wanted… and there won't be a man or woman by your side to share it with you."

"No! Please! NO!" Mercer reached up at Cordelia, but she disappeared. This time no one else materialized in front of Mercer. He was left alone. "You left me! Gods-damn you all! You abandoned me!" Mercer hung his head and whimpered. "Please… don't leave me."

Mercer opened his eyes to find himself sprawled out in a hay cart. A stinging headache hit him as soon as he tried to move, and he was so overwhelmed by the taste of vomit in his mouth that he could barely manage a groan. Over the course of several minutes, Mercer slowly made his way out of the cart. When he finally hit the street, he was rewarded with gravel in the face and the urge to vomit.

"Mercer?"

Mercer had to wait half a minute before he finally finished regurgitating to look up at his grandniece. Ophelia was clearly unnerved by the sight of him, but she put on a faint smile. "Ophelia?! You're okay!"

"Yes. I-" Ophelia winced as Mercer vomited again. "Are you… are you okay?" Mercer's only response was a kind of gurgling grunt. Ophelia looked down. "Cordelia was right. You had no control over your drinking."

"You talked to her?" Mercer said in a soft tone, his voice choked with guilt.

"She was there when I woke up. So were Soleil and Caeldori. Even Gaius was there. Everyone was there except for you."

"I… I didn't know. But I can be there for you now-" Mercer quickly turned around and threw up into the hay cart. Ophelia sighed.

"You don't have to respond anymore. I just… I just came to tell you something."

"W-what?"

"I'm sorry. For everything. All of the pain you've been feeling for the past several weeks is because of me. You just wanted to be left alone, and I dragged you out. I made you relive all of this misery."

"I… I don't know what to say."

"Mercer… no more. It doesn't have to be like this anymore. We all went to speak with the Arch Surg commander. He said that things might change when the Justicar, the man normally in charge of this settlement, returns, but for now you can stay here. So long as you help out with maintaining the place. I'm sorry you were kicked out of your town because of us. Really."

"What… what about you?" Ophelia glanced away. "You're leaving!"

"Not for awhile, but we will eventually. We only came here for medical attention. You don't have to leave with us. We want to fight against the Grimleal, Mercer. You wanted nothing to do with us, and we forced you into our fight. You're suffering because of us. I'm sorry for that. If you truly want to be left alone, then we'll do that. "

"Wait… that's not-" Mercer tried as hard as he could to resist it, but he was forced to turn and vomit again. Ophelia shook her head.

"I just… I just wanted to tell you. Don't feel like you have to stay with us if you don't want to. Just… just think about it." Ophelia almost grabbed Mercer's shoulder, but she ultimately recoiled as he continued to throw up. "But for everything you have done for us… thank you."

"Ophelia…"

"Just… come find us if you want to join us but… but don't feel like we're making you. We need you, but if you want to be alone then we won't make you fight for a cause you don't believe in. I know Soleil and Caeldori are angry with you, but I'm not. I promise I'm not. I can see how much suffering you've had to endure. We… we have no right to ask anything of you. Goodbye, Mercer."

Ophelia quickly turned around and hurried away, as if she were seconds away from breaking down. Part of Mercer wanted to follow her, but the rest of him forced himself back to the hay cart. The next thing he remembered doing was falling back into it and blacking out.

When Mercer regained consciousness, the sun was directly overhead and the street was crowded with Arch Surg soldiers and merchants who made a livelihood selling to them. Mercer was finally able to stand without considerable difficulty, so he brought himself to his feet and wandered around. "Ophelia?! Hello? OPHELIA?!" A few of the townspeople gave Mercer sideways glances, but no one responded. For several minutes Mercer stood in the street, staring blankly at anything that moved in front of him. Eventually his eyes drifted down to the Falchion still sheathed at his side, and the memories immediately came flooding back. He could see his fight against the dozens of Risen, every move he made, every way he killed them, and his stomach turned at the knowledge of what they really were. Every time he looked back at the sword, he saw it stained in blood. Mercer looked away and back at it several times, but he couldn't shake it from his mind. It was coated in blood each and every time.

The bartender that had served Mercer the previous night smiled as Mercer walked back into the building. "Well if it isn't my new regular? Sure he hits women and he yells at people that aren't actually there, but he doesn't piss all over the place. That alone makes him better than most of the off duty Arch Surg soldiers."

Mercer sat himself down on the same stool that he used before and slumped on the table. "Hrrmm." He moaned.

"Hey you know, you didn't actually drink that beer you paid for right before you started yelling at nothing. I can get you a bottle if you want? It's already paid for."

Mercer sighed. His mind briefly thought about Cordelia and Ophelia, but he also thought about the painful memories that continued to come flooding back to him. "Yeah." Mercer took out a handful of gold coins and slammed them on the table. "And I'll need a lot more than that."