Chapter 40
Before entering the main hall of the deserted temple where the Shepherds knew Validar would be waiting, they stopped for a moment to prepare their weapons for the confrontation. As they did, Nathan pulled Chrom aside to talk.
"If you're planning on asking me to leave you behind, you already know the answer to that." The Exalt told him. Nathan chuckled slightly, shaking his head.
"I considered that…after all, it's not like I can hurt you if I'm not there in the first place." The tactician confessed. "But I know I can't run from Validar forever. And if I want to overcome him…my best chance of doing that would be if we fight together, side by side, as we always have."
Chrom smirked at the man. "That's more like it."
"However, there is something I need to ask of you…"
"Hm?"
Nathan locked eyes with Chrom. "If Validar somehow manages to gain control of me again, and I can't stop him, promise me…that you'll do what's right. You know what I'm asking."
Chrom stumbled backwards in shock. "Y-you can't ask that, Nathan…you can't MEAN that!"
The tactician glumly shook his head. "You know I'll resist Validar with all I have. But there are too many people involved here who could die to simply let Validar win. My life can't take precedence over the lives of everyone else, we both know that."
The two stood in silence for a moment, before Chrom solemnly nodded his head. "…Damn you. I hate when you're right."
"That's what I'm here for, isn't it?" Nathan joked somberly.
"Just…do whatever you can, whatever the cost, to stop Validar from seizing control!" Chrom told the man in a stern voice. "Don't make me have to…"
"…I have no plans on it." Nathan retorted. "Now then, are you ready?"
The Exalt nodded. "Time to change fate, I suppose."
Chrom and Nathan lead the charge into the main hall of the temple, spotting Validar standing next to the altar at the front of the room. The two charged up to him, racing ahead of the other shepherds. Once they reached Validar, the man erected a barrier behind them made of dark magic, sealing the three in alone.
"As long as that barrier remains, your friends cannot disturb us…" The sorcerer sneered. The rest of the shepherds looked on from the outside as Nathan and Chrom stood before the Plegian man.
"So," Validar continued, "You've come to witness the glorious culmination of your failures, I assume? How nice of you. Now that I have the Fire emblem, so kindly provided to me by you, my son, with the Dragon's table set, I will return Grima to this world!"
"If you do that, that monster will destroy this world! Lucina has seen it!" Chrom told the man, who laughed maniacally.
"Oh, she has? Then I pray that today's spectacle lives up to her expectations!" Validar cried as he placed the Fire Emblem down on the altar behind him. "Now then, I suppose I should explain to you how this works…the Awakening rite is not only meant for Exalts and Naga, you know. Its powers have…other uses. With it, I'll arouse Grima! All the fell dragon needs is a mortal Vessel, which you were so kind as to bring along…"
Validar turned to his son with a twisted smile, as Nathan realized what was going on.
"Oh gods. He means me."
"Haha! That's my boy!" Validar answered. "You carry my blood-the blood of the fell dragon. His soul slumbers within you, and now it is time to awaken you both, as you realize your true destiny!"
"But how?" Chrom cried in disbelief. "How can that be?"
"The Grimleal have worked for countless generations to create someone like Nathan," Validar explained. "Simply having Grima's blood in your veins is not enough…my father was not worthy, nor was his before him. Even I was not able to accept Grima's most sacred gift!"
The Sorcerer then turned to Nathan as he continued. "But you? You had all the makings! You were perfection!"
"N-no…" The tactician weakly muttered.
"If your damned mother hadn't been seized by weakness and fear…she betrayed us, snatching you from your crib, and fleeing into the night! I have no knowledge of what happened to you after that, but all that matters now is your return. You being here confirms your purpose, and that this is the reason that you still draw breath!"
"Rrgh…you've proven nothing but your madness, Validar!" Chrom snarled. "This can be stopped…YOU can be stopped!"
The Sorcerer scoffed. "You may have killed me in some future past, but I am far stronger this time! With the power of the Dragon's table flowing through me, I am unstoppable!"
"You're not the only one who's stronger this time! Right, Nathan?"
Chrom turned to the man, seeing his friend with a helpless look on his face. "…Nathan?"
"Chrom…I don't know." The tactician weakly replied.
"Hey!" The man snapped. "We've all seen how strong you are! You can fight him! Don't let Validar shake your resolve!"
"ENOUGH!" The Plegian Sorcerer screamed. "This sorry display does not fit the heir to our master's power. And you, pathetic Prince-your sad poem sounds lovely, but it will not alter destiny."
Nathan looked up at his father, a defiant gaze coming to life in his eyes. "They're more than just words!" He yelled. Validar turned to his son, shaking his head.
"Be still now, my son…"
A fire was lit in Nathan's eyes as he stared down Validar. "My life did not begin with you, 'father'. It began the day Chrom and Lissa found me in that field. I have been all over this world, and have met so many wonderful people!" He cried, motioning to the shepherds standing on the other side of the barrier, looking on with wide eyes.
"I have fought, laughed, loved, and even bled with my friends, and THAT is what matters!" He emphatically told his father. "These ties we forged, the bonds we share…they are a power greater than Grima."
Validar scoffed at his son's speech. "A ludicrous idea. I will show you that soon enough…"
Nathan smiled defiantly as he drew his sword from his back, giving it a few swings in the air. "Well, we do agree on one thing…that my life so far has been in preparation for this moment: where I kill you, or die trying!"
His father laughed as Nathan and Chrom prepared to fight the sorcerer. "You have your father's courage, but your mother's judgment…" He muttered as he pulled a purple tome from his cloak. "Very well, come at me! There is no damage I can do to your body that the fell dragon cannot repair!"
With that, Nathan and Chrom charged at Validar. Their fight to change fate had begun.
The rest of the shepherds looked on from beyond the magical barrier as the struggle took place within. Validar used his dark magic to teleport about their battlefield, avoiding sword blows from Chrom and Nathan while blasting powerful dark magic at them when given the chance. The Sorcerer finally managed to connect, catching Chrom with a blast from his tome, sending the Exalt crashing into a nearby pillar, bringing it down. He tried to finish off the man by launching a powerful sphere of dark energy at him, but the blast was deflected by an equally powerful blast of lightning magic. He turned to Nathan, who stared him down.
"Why do you insist on these games, my son?" Validar pleaded. "Have you considered what will happen if I fall? These followers of Naga will spurn you now that they've learned what you are. And if you should kill me, you incur the wrath of the Grimleal as well…why do you choose to be so utterly alone? Your 'bonds' with these pathetic friends of yours…they will only weigh you down! You are destined for a greater purpose, one that these fools cannot even comprehend! Join with me, accept your destiny, and become a GOD!"
Nathan cracked his knuckles and swung his sword once again, his eyes turning purple as he activated his 'ignis' skill.
"Not your god-not today."
As Nathan charged at his father, the he saw the sorcerer's eyes turn the same dark shade of purple as pink flower petals danced around him as well.
"Ha! You think you are the only one who can use the sacred techniques of the Grimleal?" Validar cackled as he readied his tome. "YOU LEAVE ME NO CHOICE, MY SON!"
The Sorcerer cast his strongest blast of dark magic at Nathan, purple lightning surrounding the dark orb he unleashed from his hands. Nathan's blade was covered in a purple aura as he drove it through the attack with an emphatic yell, cleaving the magic in two and sending it exploding into the barrier behind them, the sound of the explosion echoing through the hall. Chrom had finally gotten up and stood next to Nathan as the two stood in front of a helpless Validar.
"Let's finish this! CHECKMATE!" Nathan cried as he and Chrom drove their swords through Validar's heart as the man cried out in pain.
"Heh heh…even this…was meant to be…" Validar weakly coughed as he collapsed to the ground, his body enveloped in purple smoke as it vanished. Nathan and Chrom panted heavily as they looked over at each other, knowing something was bound to happen next. The tactician spotted it as one final blast of dark magic formed from the purple smoke where Validar's body had fallen.
"Look out!" Nathan cried as the blast flew towards Chrom, with the man only seeing it at the last second, unable to evade. Nathan threw his body in the way, tackling Chrom to the ground as the blast hit him head on. There was an immense feeling of pain before Nathan felt himself black out as he fell to the cold hard floor.
Once Nathan slowly opened his eyes moments later, he saw Chrom standing over him. "Are you all right?" The Prince asked as he helped Nathan stand up. "Looks like that's the end of Validar, all thanks to you, I might add. We can rest easy now, at long last…"
"Y-yea-" Nathan began, before he felt an immense wave of pain fill his head. "Aaargh! Chrom…run!" He cried as he clutched his head, feeling Validar trying to enter his mind once again. The Prince looked on in horror, trying to hold up his friend.
"Hey, hold on-" Chrom began, but it was too late, as Nathan drove a spear of lightning straight through The Exalt's chest. He met eyes with the tactician, seeing nothing but an expressionless gaze from the man, his eyes now glazed over as they had turned a sickly blood red.
"This is not your-your fault…" Chrom coughed weakly as he stumbled backwards. "Promise me-you'll escape from this place…please…go."
The Exalt collapsed to the ground as he heard Validar's maniacal laughter echo throughout the chamber.
The barrier finally collapsed as Chrom fell to the ground in front of Nathan, with the rest of the shepherds charging inside, led by Lucina. However, they were stopped from getting to Chrom as Validar warped in front of them, sporting a wide, twisted smile across his face.
"With the Five Gemstones and the Fire Emblem in hand, my power knows no bounds!" He claimed. "Nathan is now powerless to resist me…these human bonds you fought so hard for are but leaves in the wind. They can offer you nothing."
Lucina shook her head in horror. "This…this can't be happening! We were supposed to change this!" She wailed.
Validar laughed triumphantly. "Don't you see?" He taunted. "This is your destiny, to fail, no matter how much you try! You can't change the fate your whole life has led towards!"
"Even if we fall here, we'll still give everything we have to stop you!" Frederick snarled, drawing his lance as everyone readied their weapons. Validar rolled his eyes, simply snapping his fingers lazily as he froze all of the shepherds in place.
"You fools really don't seem to understand what is going on here…it's over!" The sorcerer screamed. "I've WON!"
"I wouldn't be so sure about that!" A gruff voice called from the darkness nearby.
The shepherds and Validar all turned to see a very familiar one-eyed warrior clad in golden armour walk out from behind a nearby pillar, sporting bandages across his chest and a smug smile.
"B…Basilio!" Flavia yelled in surprise, her eyes widened as she looked upon the East-Khan. "H-how…"
"Now you listen here, kids…" Basilio bellowed, glaring a Validar. "Don't you put any stock in this destiny hogwash! Let these fools believe in it…but as long as I draw breath, I'll choose to keep fighting, just like we all should! That's what life is all about!"
"But…you were-" Lucina began.
"Dead, back in Valm? Almost. But, I scraped by, thanks to you." The man explained.
"B-but I saw you die!" Flavia interjected. Basilio rolled his eyes at her.
"Once I took a couple hits from Walhart, I knew he was too strong for me. Under any other circumstance, my pride would've had me dead before I could think twice about it. But Lucina's warning gave me the courage to be a coward! So I played dead like a big bald piece of meat! Apparently I did a pretty convincing job of it too…which wasn't that hard, considering I was almost dead anyways."
He then turned to Lucina. "However, you saved my life, little princess." He told her with a smile. "Had you not said anything, I sure as hell wouldn't be standing here today!"
The rest of the shepherds cheered as Lucina smiled back at the man. "Oh, Basilio!"
"FOOLS!" Validar screamed, putting their attention back on him. "THIS…DOES…NOT…MATTER! IF YOU WOULD NOT DIE THERE, YOU WILL DIE HERE!"
Basilio laughed at Validar's frustration. "It looks like you still haven't realized that you've been tricked." He told the man. "Nathan predicted everything that would happen here, and saw it all in a nightmare that came to him nearly every single night. He even saw this very fight, with you."
"If you think-"
"Guess what else he planned for?" Basilio continued. "Your plans to gather all five gemstones. When Flavia gave my stone to Chrom, Nathan saw what fate had in store. He knew they couldn't let Chrom bring the real stones to Plegia…that would just be too damn stupid!"
Validar laughed at the man. "A worthy bluff, you Feroxi fool, but ridiculous all the same." He spat. "I've had your merry little band watched since Carrion Isle, your every move! So I know Nathan hasn't touched the stones-in fact, he hasn't even been near them!"
"You watched our party, yes…the live ones. No point in watching a dead man, who, as far as you knew, isn't even around, is there?" Basilio taunted.
"What? Then you-"
"The minute I caught up to the shepherds, I began to sneak notes to Nathan, to let him know I was alive. We kept communication in secret, knowing you would be watching his every move." Basilio explained. "It's been hard, hiding under caravans and in crates, just to give Nathan some paper…but the priceless expression on your face makes it all worth it!"
"T…this isn't possible!" Validar sputtered, looking down at the Fire Emblem with the gemstones tucked neatly inside. "These have to be…they must be…"
"Why? Because of destiny?" Basilio scoffed in reply. "Ha! Nathan had your destiny beat weeks ago, when he came up with this plan!"
"Rrgh…DAMN YOU! DAMN YOU ALL! NONE OF THIS MATTERS!" Validar screamed. "Chrom is dead! Your fates are sealed! Grima will-"
The man was cut off, however, by a blast of thoron magic from behind him, which he quickly dodged out of the way of.
"Damn. I missed." Nathan muttered, clutching his thoron tome as he helped Chrom up, who was clutching his stomach. His eyes had returned to their natural colour as he smiled towards the other shepherds, who cheered to see their tactician had broken free of Validar's spell.
"Father! You're alive!" Lucina yelled in joy as the Exalt managed to stand on his own, still clutching his wound.
"Er, sorry about the whole stabbing thing, but it was part of the plan, I swear!" Nathan joked to his best friend, who managed to crack a weak smile at him.
"I managed to gain enough control to weaken the blow at the last second," Nathan explained. "Chrom is injured, but not dead, at least."
Sumia and Cynthia rushed over to help the man, using their healing staves to help seal the wound, as Nathan turned to Basilio, giving the man a wink.
"Nice to see you out of your holes in the ground, old man." The tactician playfully called.
"I'll admit, I've never felt better than I do right now!" Basilio bellowed in reply. Validar looked at all of them, his anger and frustration rising.
"Damn you all! I won't need those stones to kill you!" The Sorcerer angrily screamed, teleporting to the other side of the room as he summoned risen beasts to defend him.
Nathan turned to Chrom, who was healed up as best he could be now.
"Ready to end this?" He asked the man, who smiled back at the tactician.
"Let's see what our true future has in store. Together."
He then turned to the rest of the shepherds as the group prepared to face off with Validar and his risen army. Chrom drew Falchion and raised it high.
"Let's put down this crazy old man, for good this time!" He cried. "Shepherds, to arms!"
With that, the group charged at Validar, slamming their way through the waves of risen. Nathan and Chrom cut through the middle, intent on cutting a path directly towards Validar. The two tossed risen aside left and right, allowing nothing to get in their way. It felt like only a matter of minutes before they reached Validar together.
"Rrgh…fools…destiny cannot be unraveled!" The sorcerer spat at them as he drew his tome.
"Well, we've decided we'll give it a try." Nathan taunted. "Sorry, old man."
With one fell swoop from Nathan and Chrom's blades, Validar collapsed to the ground, coughing up blood.
"No…nngh…this is…all…wrong…" He coughed weakly before he fell for a final time, meeting death as his body disappeared into the wind.