In the outskirts of the forest
"Chrom what is that!?" Chrom, Frederick, and Robin were awoken from their pleasant slumber by the shrill shriek of the Shepherds' cleric.
"Lissa… what is it?" the still groggy Chrom asked his ever so energetic sister.
"Don't look at me, look up there!"
Confused, Chrom followed Lissa's pointing finger and turned his attention to the sky. Where a circle of darkness blocked out the light of the stars. Before a gigantic eye replaced it if one looked carefully one could see tiny figures falling out from it.
"What in the world," Frederick exclaimed, his shock lasted only a moment before he recomposed himself again. "Milord, what do you suggest we do?"
"Something like this has never happened before, it may be dangerous but we have to get closer to see if it poses a danger to Ylisse," Chrom said, resolution burning in his eyes. He wasn't very proficient in magic but even he can sense the dark energies spiraling out from the eye.
"Wait, brother"Lissa cautioned, "the land over there is ruptured, heading over there is suicide!"
"Looks like it was a good thing that I collapsed from walking before we actually made into the forest," warriorsRobin commented, gesturing to the flaming meters and lava that began to appear after the land itself turned over.
"You're still not getting out of training." Frederick didn't even skip a beat before rebutting him.
"Damn."
"Lissa! Get back!"
Grima watched as the Risen warriors closed themselves onto the prince and his sister. 'Punctual as always my servants. Though it's too much to hope that you killed Lucina before she crossed over, right? Nevertheless, you will have your uses, I will attempt to drain what power I can from you to regain my former glory' "Frederick, let's go help them."
"Milord! Robin and I are coming to assist you!" Frederick readied his horse and charged towards Chrom and Lissa while Grima made his way to a small group of Risen.
"Now my servants, hold still while I cull your numbers a bit. Now just stand there obediently.' Grima unsheathed his sword, commanding the Risen to remain still and slicing off the heads from their unresponsive owners. It felt a bit cheap killing enemies that can't fight back but they were only living'?' in the first place because of him. Watching the Risen bodies disappear, Grima basked in the leftover energy of the Risen. Feeling his power return little by little, Grima felt himself enjoying something for the first time since he came to this stupid place.
"Lissa! Watch out!"
'Arg… what now?' Grima turned away from his enjoyment to the sight of his least favorite cleric in the path of a charging risen warrior. 'Eh, I'm sure she's not that important. I'll leave it to fate.'
Truthfully, Grima didn't really remember any of the Shepherds' faces except Chrom's. At some point, there were just too many of them to keep track of. Because of that Grima didn't care about anyone who didn't hold a significant role in history, Chrom seemed to care a lot though.
"Lissa!" Chrom rushed desperately towards his little sister, the footsteps gradually moving faster and faster but bringing him no closer to saving her. While the girl herself, for the first time since Grima met her, was silent. Lissa seemed to have accepted her fate and made no attempts to escape. Just when the Risen warrior was about to impale her with its sword, it was intercepted by a flash of blue. Chrom stopped in his charge and stared shocked at the masked figure who saved his sister from certain doom.
"W-who?"
'LUCINA, we finally meet again.' Grima sneered, 'you thought you could run from me but guess who's welcoming you the moment you step out of your little portal. Though there's not anything I can do to you at this moment. So I'll just leave you to your touching little reunion with your precious father' "Fredrick! I'll go take care of that group of enemies over there."
"Understood, be sure to tread lightly Robin. These monsters are nothing like I've ever faced before." Frederick cautioned but Grima was already gone.
"That should be enough.' Grima absorbed the energy of the last Risen, he threw his bloodied sword down at his feet and sat down to catch his breath. Even if they weren't fighting back swinging a sword was exhausting. 'Strange, even if it's just the leftover energy of a few Risen, my power should still naturally recover over time. But that hasn't happened at all, why am I still so weak? Could it be…' Grima stood up and glared in the direction of the Shepherds, 'the future where I ruled has disappeared? Did those brats succeed!?' Grima fire a blast of dark magic at a nearby tree, incinerating it. His face contorting in anger.
"Calm down!" Grima tried to recover his breathing. 'That's right, there no way those brats managed to change anything so soon. So why would the future be so unstable?' Grima thought carefully, his eyes eventually landing on the blood the Risen left behind and thought back to the almost death of the annoying cleric. 'That's right, the Risen came from the future and if that brat Lucina hadn't interfered, the cleric would've died. But that didn't happen in the original timeline… does that mean the path that this world was on changed tonight? No, it changed when I came here and it can change again. Damn! No wonder my power wasn't coming back, my power doesn't even exist yet. At least… not right now' Grima chuckled at his genius, it would require some effort but it would be worth it in the end. With the power he managed to gather, he let his mind free from his body and linked it to the one person he knew would always remain useful.
"Validar."
"That voice!? Who are you."
"I am the wings of despair, I am the breath of ruin, I am the fell dragon-"
"Lord Grima!"
"Do not interrupt me Validar!"
"My apologies, Lord Grima. It's just that I have dreamt my entire life to be able to hear your voice. But I am confused as to how I was shown that I had no prospects of being your honored vessel."
"You do not. But your son has submitted himself to me and now that I have gained a proper vessel, I need the power to go along with it."
"Yes, of course, I would be honored to offer my assistance. I and the entirety of the Grimleal are yours, Lord Grima."
"Good, what I need is to gather my power from my real body sealed in this world so that I can absorb it with my vessel. And for that, I require the Fire Emblem."
"I'm afraid to say that it will be difficult my Lord, the Fire Emblem is in possession of the Ylissean Exalt-"
"I have already infiltrated in the ranks of Ylisse as a tactician to its prince. Declare war and I will create the openings you need. I know that Gangrel has been planning for this war for years now. Tell him that getting his hands on the Fire Emblem will shame Ylisse and leave its people defenseless. That will get him to accelerate his plans."
"Excellent plan, it shall be done with haste, my lord."
"Very well, till we speak again."
With that out of the way, Grima started to make his way back to the Shepherds. He had spent too much time here, after all, he would have to spin a tale of a hard-won battle as an excuse but that was no trouble. From now on his objective has changed, he was no longer going to sit back and make sure history stays on its course. He will now have to make his own history. Grima smiled at the thought, he was going to look forward to this.