The dwindling rays of the twilight sun shone dimly upon Garreg Mach Monastery as Bernadetta fondly cradled the ornate silver ring around her finger, her go-to method of alleviating her ever present anxiety as she restlessly wandered the scarcely occupied grounds of the academy. A small pang of guilt arose from within the violet haired girl at the sight of her surroundings, which still bore the scars of the Imperial attack from over five years ago; the very Empire she deserted in favor of the ragtag Leicester Alliance that stood in the former's fiery path of conquest.

Though in all truthfulness, there was a certain aspect of the academy that swayed the young woman's decision to side against the land she once called home above all else. Delicately raising her treasured ring to her lips to ease her rising tensions, Bernadetta continued to scour every last inch of the run down academy until she finally came upon the small graveyard in the northeast corner, where a solitary figure silently stood before the furthest tombstone in the field.

She probably should have expected to find the teal haired man she once called her professor lingering here in hindsight, yet whatever relief Bernadetta felt from finally tracking him down was quickly replaced by a feeling of unforeseen dread as for the briefest of moments, a strange spectral figure seemed to take his place altogether, looking down on the same tomb with an elegant bouquet of flowers in its hands.

"What in the... don't tell me Claude was actually right when he said this graveyard was haunted...!" Bernadetta thought to herself, letting out a surprised gasp as she hurriedly rushed down the stairs in a panic.

Stranger still, the moment she set off into the secluded field, the sound of her footsteps immediately drew the specter's attention, yet as the mysterious figure turned to face the loudly approaching footsteps, it disappeared from sight as it had never been there to begin with, leaving only a surprised Byleth in its wake.

"Ah, Bernie... I apologize for leaving you on your own on such short notice. I didn't wish to wake you at this time." Byleth calmly greeted as the shorter woman's eyes rapidly darted across the graveyard in search of the vanished apparition she had just laid eyes on. "Is something the matter? You look like you just saw a ghost or something of the sort."

"Y- yeah! You mean you didn't notice that phantom standing right in-" Bernadetta frantically questioned, only to quickly backpedal on her claims upon noticing the concerned expression forming across her companion's face. "You know what, forget I said anything... I think I might just be seeing things."

"Are you sure you're feeling alright, Bernie? If you need more rest, please don't hesitate to-"

"N- no, I mean yes- I... I swear I'm totally fine!" Bernadetta hastily stumbled over her response in an effort to reassure her former professor's worries, only to be met with a troubled sigh in return.

"You've been acting up more than usual ever since we invaded that bizarre underground stronghold... Shambhala, was it?" Byleth mused aloud, bringing a gloved hand to his chin in deep thought. "You really seemed to take a shine to that place... ironic, given the absence of natural light in the facility, but I digress."

"Well, yeah..." Bernadetta sheepishly admitted. "That whole city was like a recluse's paradise, you know? All safe and isolated from the rest of the world... I mean, I know the awful people there have been trying to kill us all for the longest time, but still..."

"We could always return there if you'd like." the ex mercenary was quick to offer, a warm smile forming across his face at the sight of his companion's visible elation. "We may even discover something new about our unknown enemies along the way."

"Somehow I doubt we'll learn anything from a smoldering pile of rubble at this point..." Bernadetta quietly pointed out, her head drooping down in disappointment as her gaze turned to the single tombstone lying before the pair: the grave of Jeralt and Sitri Eisner, the father and mother of the teal haired man she cherished so dearly, and the previous owners of the silver ring she proudly wore upon her finger.

"So, uh... hi, Captain." the reclusive archer awkwardly greeted the silent tombstone, ever so desperate to change the topic at hand. "I'm sorry I didn't bring any flowers for you this time, but I hope you're doing well..."

"That's quite alright, Bernie. I'm sure Jeralt appreciates your thoughtfulness more than anything. He and my mother are surely looking down on us fondly..." Byleth calmly reassured, staring fondly upon the jewel encrusted ring that his fiance had given him in turn. Out of the corner of his eye, however, the swordsman was quick to pick up on Bernadetta's involuntary shivering as her gaze lingered upon his parent's grave. "You know it's not healthy to keep your troubles bottled up inside, right? I'm just as willing to shoulder your burdens alongside you as I always have."

"Well, I've just been thinking..." Bernadetta muttered to herself, still reluctant to share the disturbing premonitions her mind had been plaguing her with. "Maybe you should skip out on the upcoming battle with this Nemesis guy... I'm sure Claude and the others can handle him on their own, don't you think?"

"You know I can't do that." Byleth unhesitantly rejected the younger girl's proposition with a firm shake of his head. "I have a responsibility to ensure the safety of every member of this army, especially at a time like this."

"N- no, you don't understand...!" the violet haired archer raised her voice in apprehension. Though she could not bring herself to say it out loud, Bernadetta had always dreaded the fateful incident that had separated Byleth from her when the Empire launched its attack on Garreg Mach. Rather than return to her homeland and be branded a traitor the moment she set foot on Imperial soil, the reclusive Varley threw herself headlong into a tiresome search for her dear professor's whereabouts for five long years... suffice to say, the thought of losing the man she loved again was far too much to bear. "I just have this uncanny feeling that something terrible will happen if you go out to fight Nemesis."

"So I see... you seem to believe this premonition of yours wholeheartedly. I won't force you to participate in the upcoming battle if you don't wish to-"

"Wha- no, that's not what I meant...! I don't want you to leave me alone either!" Bernadetta hurriedly protested, reaching out to take her partner's ringed hand in her own.

"I know. I promised you as much myself... Tell me, have you given any thought to what you wanted to do once the war ends?"

"Er, what's this about all of a sudden?"

"Go on, humor me."

"Well, uh... honestly, I have no idea what I want to with myself now..." Bernadetta hesitantly admitted, hanging her head down in shame as her companion gently ran a hand across her thick head of lavender hair to comfort her. "All I really want is for us to take a nice, long, permanent break from... everything once this is all over. Maybe even have a proper ceremony for ourselves if we can find the time..."

"That does sound rather lovely, but I'm afraid we'll still have much work to do even after the fighting has come to an end."

"Come on, really...? Aren't you tired of all this hardship too?" the shorter girl looked up into her professor's eyes with a dismayed expression.

"I won't deny as much. I'm well aware of how much you want eternal peace and quiet, but we're going to have to actively maintain that peace if we want it to last... Do you still remember the promise you made to me the night we proposed?"

"Sure I do... but I dunno, it just sounds so silly looking back on it." Bernadetta quietly muttered, turning her gaze away in a fit of embarrassment. "We'll make a perfect world for the two of us? I don't even know what that's supposed to pertain. I swear I must have gotten too caught up in the moment. That's a lot easier said than done..."

"I don't think that dream is impossible at all. I have faith that we can accomplish this lofty task if we give it our all."

"I think you're giving me too much credit here..."

"Nothing you say will ever stop me from believing in you, Bernie. I only ask that you do the same for me as well, even for all of my faults."

"All your faults? Are you sure you're not confusing yourself for me, By?" The uneasy recluse couldn't help but crack a smile at her lover's words of encouragement, even as she casually insulted herself in the process.

"I always mean what I say, and you're the greatest light of my life. If it were up to me, I'd make it so that you and all those I care about would never have to suffer needlessly again."

"And if it were up to me, I'd tie you up to the bed and never let you go again..." Bernadetta half jokingly suggested, which prompted an amused smirk from her fiance in turn.

"That does sound like a rather pleasant arrangement, now that you mention it."

"Wha- hey, hey, wait minute! You're not supposed to agree with that so casually!" the now flustered archer could feel her face flaring up as Byleth boldly leaned in with an amused smile spread across his lips.

"Oh? I was under the impression you enjoyed these sorts of practices. You'd have free reign to do whatever you want with me again."

"Well, I mean, ah... ha ha..." Bernadetta found herself unable to form a coherent response, instead opting to return her lover's affectionate gesture with a desirous embrace of her own.

"You know you have your own room to engage in your celebratory lovemaking, right?" a familiar voice suddenly called out from atop the cemetery stairs, prompting the now self conscious Bernadetta to abort her attempted kiss before she could even make contact with her partner. "And uh, quick word of advice? You might wanna try locking your door this time."

"Agh, er, Claude...! How long were you-"

"Not long enough to learn anything of implicating value, I assure you." the voice of Seteth chimed in from behind, his left arm firmly wrapped in a cast as a result the previous battle he took part in while he followed the Golden Deer leader down the stairs. "After all, it is unbecoming of a gentleman to intrude upon the private affairs of others, right Claude?"

"Seteth, please. Let's not start throwing around baseless accusations now." the Alliance leader casually deflected his subordinate's claims. "So, Teach-"

"Let me guess, the long arm of the Alliance council is calling for my head once again?" Byleth was quick to cut in, barely managing to mask the look of weariness forming across his face.

"Well, I'm looking forward to this meeting about as much as you are." Claude admitted with a defeated shrug. "Even with the revived King of Liberation knocking at our doorsteps, we can't so much as move a finger without those stuffy nobles breathing down our necks."

"I suppose I should have expected as much. If that's the case..."

"Ah...!" Bernadetta yelped in surprise as her lover deftly swooped in to deliver a peck to her lips before she could even react.

"Duty calls once again. I'll return to you when I can, alright?"

"Chin up, Bernie; we've all got a bright future waiting for us that the end of this tunnel. And just for you, I'll try not to let the council manhandle your hubby for too long. After all, that'll be your job when you finally get your alone time together." the Alliance leader added, eliciting another embarrassed blush from the already flustered archer as the former promptly vacated the area with Byleth in tow, leaving Bernadetta and Seteth alone in the cemetery in their wake; the latter of whom seemed to be peering into the archer's eyes with an overbearing sense of wistfulness.

"Oh, I guess they didn't need you to come along, Seteth... is there something on my face right now?"

"Ah, please, don't mind me. I'm merely looking back on an old, old friend of mine..." the church official quietly brushed off the girl's question with a shake of his head. "You know, the affection you share with your husband is not unlike my experiences with my own wife."

"Oh wow, I never knew you were married, Seteth."

"Indeed I was. The two of us could never seem to get enough of each other, or so we were often told. You may also be interested to hear that the friend I mentioned was the one responsible for bringing us together in the first place... Unfortunately, both of them have already passed away, quite some time ago."

"O- oh, I'm so sorry...! I didn't mean to bring up such terrible memories-"

"No, that's quite alright." the emerald haired official was quick to reassure his colleague with a nostalgic smile. "In fact, you've done just the opposite for me. I quite enjoy looking back upon my fondest memories in the face of an uncertain future..."

"Uncertain might be underselling things a bit..." Bernadetta lightly bit down on her lip in worry. "Fódlan's undergoing this radical change as we speak, and before then, we're setting out to fight against a legendary figure that's been dead for over a thousand years... It's scary not knowing what will happen next. "

"Your fears are entirely understandable, to say the least... yet I don't believe the uncertainty of the future is necessarily a bad thing either. No soul should ever bear the burden of knowing what the crossroads of fate hold at every turn..."

"Er, what do you mean?"

"This is a sensitive topic I have been struggling with for the longest time..." Seteth muttered aloud, his eyes carefully narrowed, filled with the faintest sense of guilt as he continued to glare into his ally's deep silver eyes. "I have something to ask of you, Bernadetta. I've been deliberating over another fable as of late, and I would especially like your assistance with this entry as well."

"Oh, ah, sure, I'd be happy to help. What's this one about?"

"To be frank, I am still in the process of determining its contents myself... however, I've decided that the time is right for this tale to become known to the people, whatever the consequences."

"Wait, consequences? You're not trying to get me to commit sacrilege, are you...?"

"Well, that's certainly one way of putting it." Seteth vaguely confirmed with a soft chuckle. "I'll spare you the finer details for now; you have a future to secure for everyone, after all. You should get all the rest you can in preparation for the upcoming battle." the church official soundly concluded, leaving Bernadetta alone to ponder over the mysteries of their upcoming project as the former cradled his wounded arm on his way out of the graveyard. It was another weight on her shoulder, but the mental challenge of crafting a children's story was much preferable to the thought of battling an ancient warlord out for her blood.

"Come on Bernie, you can do this." Bernadetta thought to herself, bow fully drawn and safely perched atop her steed. With a single motion, she let loose an arrow that pierced through the head of an enemy mage.

"Look! I think the poison swamp is starting to disappear! Good job, Bernie!" Hilda called out as the mage's body limply collapsed to the ground. The lavender haired archer looked over with an affirming nod in response, but was taken aback when Byleth suddenly rushed in to cut down a warrior attempting to strike her from behind.

"Er, thanks." Bernadetta clutched her heart in an effort to calm her nerves. Even after all these years of practice and fighting, the girl was still as easily spooked as ever. "That makes… three rescues in this battle alone. At least I'm not curled up on the ground begging for mercy this time…"

"I promised I'd never let anything happen to you, didn't I?" her former professor comforted her with a reassuring smile, turning his signature blade into a lethal whip to fend off the oncoming hoard of undead warriors looking to make mincemeat of the pair.

"Oh, I'd hug you right now if I could." Bernadetta felt her cheeks flush slightly as she turned her attention back to the battle at hand.

"We can do that later! For now, just stay close to me no matter what!"

"R- right, just like always...!"

All the while, the battle for the Dawn of Fódlan continued to rage on all around them as the other members of the Golden Deer fought with all their might against the overwhelming forces of the newly resurrected Nemesis. The Alliance's strike force of former students had spread themselves thin in their efforts to rout the Ten Elites scattered across the massive marsh. All the while, the fearsome enemy leader tightly gripped his artificial Sword of the Creator as he kept a curious eye on his counterpart's identical blade.

"Agh... that visage..." the Liberation King muttered aloud, seemingly overcome with a feeling of intense pain as his attention slowly shifted towards the mounted sniper fighting at Byleth's side. "No, I see it now... you bear his countenance, but not his soul... you will not be forgiven for this disgrace...!" the reanimated warrior let out a sneer of dismay, tightly gripping the handle of his blade with malicious intent as he finally set out from his original position.

"Teach, look out!" Claude warned from across the battlefield. "Nemesis is heading right for you two!"

Realizing the severity of the threat approaching them, Byleth deftly finished off the squadron of soldiers he was facing with a wide sweep of his bladed whip before rushing off to meet the opposing leader directly.

"Wai- I'm helping too!" Bernadetta quickly shouted, shifting around to fire an arrow into the air as Byleth ran past her. Smirking at the girl's attempts to harm him, Nemesis nonchalantly caught the arrow out of the air before using his other arm to block a leaping strike from Byleth.

"Are you so cowardly that you must rely on a little waif to win your battles for you?" Nemesis taunted, showing little effort in holding back his enemy's attack as he turned his gaze to look Bernadetta directly in the eye, sending a deep chill running down the archer's spine. Quickly picking up on his foe's dark intentions, Byleth broke away from their clash to create a magical explosion at the old king's feet. Before the smoke could clear, a familiar bladed whip lashed out and wrapped itself around Byleth's sword like a snake strangling a rodent.

"Wha- what do you want from me?!" Bernadetta cried out as she shot a flaming arrow into the cloud of smoke. This shot managed to hit its mark, though it quickly became apparent that Nemesis was no worse for wear when he pulled up his still active blade with enough might to throw Byleth up into the air towards him. The professor was shortly met with a brutal haymaker punch that sent his body tumbling to the ground. Bernadetta couldn't help but let out a sharp cry as she witnessed the man she loved getting the wind knocked out of his lungs. Thinking quickly, she immediately fired another arrow into the back of Nemesis's neck before he could make another move.

She immediately came to regret her decision when the old king once again craned his head towards her, sporting what could only be described as a look of pure, unadulterated malice. "I will have your head, impostor." The very sight chilled Bernadetta to the core, causing her to miss her next shot by a mile and leaving her frozen in place, mouth agape.

"You won't lay a hand on her, you monster!" Byleth roared furiously, ignoring the searing pain in his gut as he clashed blades with his adversary once more.

"Teach! Agh, dammit!" Claude cursed, too overwhelmed by the enemies surrounding him to come to the aid of his best friend. "Please hang in there as long as you can!"

"Enough Fell Star, your turn is up." Nemesis demanded whilst matching each of his opponent's swings blow for blow. Upon locking blades once more, the Liberation King broke away from the encounter by slamming his head into Byleth's skull, bringing him to his knees. "Your time will come soon enough, for the hour of my vengeance is at hand!"

Her fiancé's cry of pain was enough to snap Bernadetta out of her stupor, but before the archer could take another shot, Nemesis's blade suddenly wrapped around one of her horse's front legs and knocked the creature to the ground, sending its unfortunate rider down along with it where her head collided with a nearby boulder.

"OW! Oh… you should have known this would happen, Bernie…" the petite archer murmured to herself as the Liberation King began to make a murderous dash for her. "Did you really think you'd get a happy ending after all this time? You should have known this all too good to be true! This isn't a fairy tale!" she struggled to sit herself up, tears starting to well in her eyes as Nemesis continued to close in on her position. "What I wouldn't give to die in my room instead of some empty field… I just… I just…" Bernadetta raised her hands to her face in a vain effort to shield herself from her attacker.

"Please, not yet... I don't want to die... I don't want to die...!"

…

Bernadetta fearfully waited for Nemesis's blade to cleave her in two, but the fatal moment never came. Instead, she felt a warm splatter of blood across her entire body… but the blood wasn't hers. When the girl opened her eyes, the sight she witnessed simply broke her heart into a million pieces. There was Byleth, having just saved her life, with the artificial Sword of the Creator impaled through his chest and a tearful smile spread across his face.

"Finally... I'm glad… I made it in time…" her former professor calmly stated before taking his own blade and thrusting it through the same gaping hole left by Nemesis, decisively returning the favor to his opponent. With a sharp grunt of pain, the Liberation King removed his blade from Byleth's body and painfully staggered away from the wounded couple. He didn't make it far until a vengeful Claude came with a sword in hand to cleave the king's head from his shoulders. With the enemy army crumbling to dust all around them, Byleth gave Bernadetta one last smile before collapsing into the arms of his distraught fiancé.

"No… Gods, NO!" Claude shouted in despair at the sight of his friend's battered body. Her voice utterly broken, all Bernadetta could do was let out a soft whimper before the tears began to stream down her face. "Marianne! Flayn! Anyone! We need to heal him right now!"

"I'm so sorry Claude…" Marianne stood in solemn prayer. "There's nothing we can do for him now."

Although the final battle had been won, the mood in the air was anything but victorious for the members of the Golden Deer. Raphael dropped to his knees in disbelief. Hilda buried her face into Lorenz's chest to hide her tears. Ignatz and Flayn joined Marianne in her prayers. Leonie drove her fist into a boulder out of anger at herself. Lysithea had subconsciously bit her lip hard enough to cause it to bleed.

Having quietly accepted that no amount of magic could bring back the dead, Claude slinked over to remove the Sword of the Creator from his old professor's chest. "I can't even begin to imagine what you must be going through right now…" Claude spoke to Bernadetta in a voice barely above a whisper. Even as Claude silently planted her lover's blade into the ground, she was unable to formulate a response of any kind. "I've never seen anyone as happy you were after your big proposal, and now… I'm really sorry."

With nary a word, Bernadetta slowly picked herself off the ground and began to back away from the grizzly scene that had unfolded before her.

"This is… this is all your fault, Bernie!" the young girl thought to herself.

"If you hadn't screwed this up… If you hadn't even been here… this never would have happened!" she continued to distance herself from the site, not even caring to watch where she was going.

"Useless!"

"Worthless!"

"Unmarriageable!"

"You've lost the love of your life once again, Bernie... and this time, he's never coming back."

"It's just like father said… What did Byleth ever see in you? Why did you ever think you deserved to be happy...?"

"Hey… Bernadetta! Stop!" Claude called out to the girl. "You're getting too close to the edge of the cliff!"

The Alliance leader's words completely failed to register as the lavender haired girl continued to inch closer to the cliff's edge. It was only when a piece of gravel crumbled beneath her feet that Bernadetta finally realized what she was doing, but by then it was too late. She subsequently lost her balance and fell into the dark ravine below with an echoing scream.

"AAAAAAGGGGHHH!" Bernadetta suddenly rose up in a cold sweat, screaming at the top of her lungs. Still in shock over the series of events she had just experienced, her breathing became extremely labored, causing the girl to hyperventilate for a short while as she scanned her environment… and something immediately seemed off to her. "Wait a second… am I in my room again?"

She took another look around to confirm she wasn't just seeing things. "Holy crap… Was that all just a dream? But it all felt so real…" Bernadetta continued to monologue as she rose out of her bed. "And it's so bright out… Oh no. Is this supposed to be the afterlife?" she had decidedly come up with a different conclusion. "Am I in some sort of hellish purgatory now?! Is that it?! I know I wished to be able to die in my room earlier, but I didn't mean it like this!"

Bernadetta quickly found herself in a panic, frantically pacing back and forth whilst she debated the situation with herself. "Is this a dream or am I dead? Is this a dream or am I dead? I know I can just open the door to find out, but what if it's a trap? I just know something's out to get me-"

The girl's monologue was cut short when the door to her room was suddenly busted open by an unknown assailant. "Bernadetta, are you all right?! I just heard the most ear-piercing scream coming from your room!"

"I- I think I'm fine Edelgard, thanks for coming to check on me."

…

"Wait, EDELGARD?! I really am dead! AAAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHH!"