Eve glanced over at a butterfly landing delicately on a flower as she and her classmates gathered outside of the defunct church building.
"It's hard to believe we were having a wedding just yesterday." Eve murmured half to Sylvain who stood beside her and half to no one in particular.
Suddenly, she snapped her head up and furrowed her brow. Why did she feel like she had already said that? Something felt off—as if all of this had happened before.
"Eve." Byleth called out to her from where she was standing a little way away from the group. "Can I speak to you briefly?"
Eve nodded and went over to join her professor.
"What's the matter?" Eve's brow furrowed as she saw the concerned look on her professor's face.
"I need you to promise this stays between us." Byleth began.
"Of course." Eve nodded, even more concerned now.
"First of all, how does your Crest work?" Her voice dropped low.
"I- you're going to have to be more specific, Professor." Eve dropped her volume to match.
"Could you, hypothetically, revive a human with the life of a black beast?" Byleth asked after a beat.
"My Crest functions on equivalent exchange." Eve frowned. "The lifeforce I'm exchanging would have to be at least as strong as the one I'm trying to revive. Hypothetically speaking, a black beast should have enough lifeforce to revive a human life."
"You seem hesitant." Byleth cocked her head.
"The only black beast we've encountered before was when Miklan was swallowed by whatever came out of the Lance of Ruin." Eve began. "That would imply a human at the core is the difference between a black beast and a demonic beast."
"Defeating the black beast Miklan became also resulted in Miklan's death." Byleth nodded in understanding.
"If what Alois said is true and there were students seen entering this church…" Eve trailed off, looking over her shoulder at the building that stood there. "I don't feel I'm wrong in assuming those black beasts used to be those students."
"If that's true, I don't know that we can save them regardless." Byleth said with a small frown.
"Professor, why are you asking me this?" Eve shook her head to clear it of her doubts.
"I can't elaborate now, but Yuri dies." Byleth lowered her voice even more. "No matter what I do, no matter what strategy I use—Yuri dies."
"What are you talking about?" Eve balked, blinking in surprise.
"Again, I can't elaborate on how I know this." Byleth shook her head. "But Yuri is going to die. I need you to go with him and be prepared to use your Crest. I also need you to ensure no one kills the beast before Yuri dies."
"You want me to pull my punches and wait for Yuri to die?" Eve asked.
"I know how it sounds. But no matter if you go at it with your all and slay the beast quickly, Yuri still falls." Byleth shook her head. "I need you to ensure you have a way to revive him."
"On one condition." Eve said sternly to which Byleth nodded nervously. "After this, you and I are going to sit down and be honest with each other. I expect an explanation."
"As you rightfully should." Byleth nodded.
"I will do as you ask, then." Eve replied. "And rest assured this conversation will stay between the two of us."
Byleth nodded again and the two broke out of their little strategy meeting to join the rest of the Blue Lions. Eve's mind was running wild as she tried to discern how the Professor knew Yuri was to die.
"No matter what strategy I use—Yuri dies."
The Professor's statement implied that she had watched Yuri die multiple times in multiple ways. Could she look into the future? Had she looked forward to every possible outcome of their battle in her mind's eye? It would perhaps explain how Byleth was such a talented strategist if she could look into the future.
But then Eve remembered the moment before the Professor had called her over; that uncanny feeling that she had already experienced that very point in time. Was it possible that rather than looking to the future, Byleth could return them to the past? If that was so, it meant Yuri had already died. Rather than simply envisioning his death, Byleth had had to watch her student die before her multiple times.
But if that was true—really if either option were the truth—why didn't she intervene when Felix died and Eve revealed her Crest? Was her power a result of the part of the Goddess that Eve believed existed in the Professor making her inaction some kind of divine intervention?
"Are we really equipped to face this many beasts?" Yuri frowned as the students entered the old building to face the black beasts within.
Eve was startled out of her thoughts and looked over at her lavender-haired classmate. Soon, if the Professor was correct, he would die. And though Eve knew she could revive him, it still meant he had to die first. She just hoped it would be a swift one. She still remembered one attempt on Rodrigue's life that had resulted in an excruciatingly painful and drawn out death.
"We could barely take down Miklan." Yuri continued when she didn't respond. "And now we're expected to face four beasts?"
"We are stronger than we were at Conand." Eve answered simply. "Look alive."
Byleth had tasked Balthus, Yuri, and Eve to take on the beast at the southwest corner of the ruins. And as they approached, the monster snarled and snapped its jaws at them.
"We're going to have to be." Yuri said bitterly and moved to attack.
As they fought, Eve wondered how long they'd have to fight before Yuri fell. She didn't want to have to pull her punches against the beast. And thought it was a formidable opponent against just three of them, the longer they fought the chances of them actually felling the beast rose exponentially.
"Take that, you big oaf!" Balthus cried out as he attacked the beast from where he had flanked behind it.
The black beast let out a mighty roar, whipping around to face Balthus. In doing so its massive tail knocked into one of the crumbling interior walls sending debris everywhere. And as soon as the wall began to collapse, Eve knew that this was the moment. She didn't even have time to cry out to her friend before he was buried beneath the rubble of the old wall.
"Yuri, no!" Balthus shouted from where he stood, rushing over to join Eve.
"Balthus, help me clear the rubble." Eve said as she began tossing the rocks she could lift off of Yuri.
"He's gotta be fine, right?" Balthus choked as he hefted the larger sections of wall away.
Instead of answering, Eve looked up across the battlefield to where Byleth was standing and directing her students. The two of them locked eyes, Byleth giving her a knowing nod. She had foreseen this. But how?
"Yuri, c'mon man, wake up!" Balthus lifted Yuri's lifeless body out of the rubble once he had cleared enough to move him.
"Stand back." Eve put her arm out as Balthus laid Yuri back down to the ground.
"Hey, you beast!" Balthus now turned to the black beast as it was approaching them. "That was my friend you killed! I'm gonna make you pay."
"Balthus!" Eve shouted in a panic before he could move. "Don't kill it!"
"Like hell I'm not gonna—"
Balthus cut himself off as he saw the glow of Eve's Crest activating over Yuri's body. The black beast suddenly became lifeless, dropping to the ground before its body began to dissipate in black tendrils leaving behind an unconscious—but breathing—student.
"Yuri?" Eve asked, kneeling down to put her ear down to his chest in hopes of finding a heartbeat there.
Under normal circumstances she would have full confidence in her Crest. But she had never tried to exchange the life of a black beast for anything. And the fact that the student that had been transformed was still alive gave her pause.
"Boss?" Balthus was back at her side, shaking Yuri as he shouted. "Boss!"
"…so loud." Yuri grimaced as he spoke, finally stirring.
"Thank the Goddess." Eve let out a breath she didn't realise she was holding as he opened his eyes and sat up.
"No, thank you." Yuri gave her a meaningful look. "I'm not so foolish as to believe I was simply knocked out by that."
"We should help the others." Eve nodded, standing and reaching out her hand to help Yuri up.
"Agreed." Yuri took her hand gratefully before pausing. "Though, are you okay to continue fighting?"
"I can't protect you all with my Crest like I usually do if that's what you mean." Eve shook her head. "But physically I can fight."
"You're perhaps in your most formidable form with a blade in your hand." Yuri smirked.
The three of them ran over to where the others were fighting only to realise that much of the battle had already been fought. The Blue Lions were, in fact, stronger than they had been in Conand Tower. And with Byleth's excellent direction, all but one of the beasts had been slain.
The whole class converged on the final black beast where it had cornered itself at the back of the decrepit building. They made quick work of it, watching the tendrils of malice leave behind a frightened monastery student.
As the Blue Lions assessed the damage they had taken, Happi and Constance worriedly checking in on Yuri when they heard what had happened, Jeralt and the knights began to investigate the old chapel for hints on what had transpired. Thankfully, the students that had once been black beasts were still alive though that gave Eve some pause.
If she was able to revive Yuri with the life force of a black beast but still maintain the life of the student within, it implied that there was another source of vitality within the beasts outside of the human life at the core.
"There isn't a trace of evidence to be found in the chapel." Jeralt re-joined the group with a puzzled look on his face. "This must have been something to do with Remire. Perhaps..."
"Wait!" He was cut off by a voice coming from a short distance away.
"Huh? Another student?" Jeralt frowned as he turned to see where a redheaded girl was waving him over.
"Isn't that Monica?" Ingrid asked no one in particular as they all watched her speak with Jeralt.
"Who?" Eve frowned.
"The girl we saved with Flayn." Ingrid replied. "Remember they said she'd been missing for a year?"
"Right." Eve nodded distractedly as she again had that feeling that they had already had this conversation.
Suddenly, the Professor was unleashing the Sword of the Creator towards Monica as she walked behind Jeralt. Eve was astounded by the seemingly unprovoked attack before she was even more shocked by the appearance of a mysterious man who shielded Monica from the Professor's blade. And as he shielded her, they all watched Monica plunge a dagger deep into Jeralt's back.
Just as quickly as he had appeared, the figure disappeared—this time with Monica. But no one cared about them as the Professor bolted forward to where her father lay in the grass.
Eve whipped around looking for something, anything living that could revive him. She hated herself for the fact that her eyes flitted to her classmates, a brief thought crossing her mind wondering if any of them were worth sacrificing for the only person remaining outside of her Lord who knew what she was.
"Eve, Eve!" Dimitri called out to her, gripping her shoulders tightly as she spun around wildly. "There's nothing, there's no one."
"I have to help him." She said, pushing aside her bewilderment that he knew what she was doing.
"Even if there was, you don't have it in you." Dimitri tried to get her to look at him as he spoke. "You already revived Yuri, you couldn't do it again."
"I have to try, don't I?" She finally looked at him, panic and fear in her eyes.
"You've done enough, Eve." Dimitri shook his head. "You can't do anything more."
"Can't…" She stopped struggling against Dimitri's hold and watched as the Professor wept over her father's body.
He was right, there was nothing she could do. She felt foolish as she watched the scene before her, the clouds darkening as it began to rain. Eve had always considered herself a healer, a saviour. But who had she really helped? She had sent her first husband to his grave, had forced her father to endure two deaths, abandoned her brother and mother in order to save herself, failed Glenn when he needed her most. Who had she ever really saved except herself?
And as she leaned into his chest, defeat and fatigue filling her being, Eve decided that she would save Dimitri. She would dedicate herself to freeing him from the pain of his past. No matter how long it took, she would heal his wounds.