You… How long do you intend to sleep? Your body is awake. Your eyes must open now, and you must find the strength to stand upon those legs of yours. Like so much rain, a pool of blood has fallen to the ground… As spears and arrows pierce the earth, it weeps. And even now…it weeps. In order to survive, they kill. And so, the people of this world are lost in an abyss of suffering. They weep as well. The only one who truly knows the nature of such things is I… Or rather, you.
Byleth could feel herself stirring as if from a deep sleep. Her limbs felt heavy and her mind fought to swim its way to consciousness as a voice within urged her to get up. It felt so familiar, this voice, and she wondered why she could not name it.
Finally, her eyes opened and Byleth was met with the face of a worried man looking down at her.
"Hey!" He jumped in shock when she stood. "A-are you awake?"
"Where am I?" Byleth squinted at her surroundings, disoriented.
She remembered falling; it must have been a bad fall.
"We're in a village at the base of the monastery. What are you doing in a place like this?" He seemed worried, eyeing Byleth cautiously. "I honestly didn't expect to find someone floating away down the river… Garreg Mach is upstream of here, but that place was abandoned."
"What do you mean?" Byleth frowned.
"Huh? You don't know?" He balked. "The Church of Seiros isn't there anymore. Though there have been some folks still living there in the five years since… Well, you know. Anyways, I've heard some thieves have been spotted around those parts these days."
"Five years." Byleth muttered in shock. Had she been asleep for that long?
"Um, are you feeling all right? You didn't hit your head or anything did you?" He made a face at her. "It's the Ethereal Moon of the year 1185. It's been nearly five years since the monastery fell. Tomorrow was supposed to be the millennium festival, but who's got time to think about things like that?"
"The millennium festival…" Byleth looked towards where the villager had indicated Garreg Mach was as she spoke, remembering the promise she had made to her students.
"Uh, yeah, that's what I said. But with the war and the Archbishop still missing and all… I doubt there's a soul to be found who has enough blessings worth counting." The villager kept speaking until Byleth started walking hurriedly. "Hey! Slow down, will ya? Where do you. Think you're going?"
"The monastery." She answered over her shoulder without stopping.
"Are you crazy?!" He began to jog to keep up with Byleth. "I told ya! They way thieves are running amok up there, and there's plenty of other dangers too. I heard a rumour that Imperial troops went up there to investigate and got slaughtered. Every last one! Come on, I promise I won't say you're a coward. Just forget about going anywhere near the monastery."
Byleth just shook her head in response, set on returning to the monastery.
"You just remember I tried to stop you, got it? It's not on my conscience if you wind up dead!" He called after her, giving up pursuit and coming to a stop.
"My students are waiting for me." Byleth shook her head again.
"Students?" He cried out incredulously. "You really are crazy, aren't you? There aren't any kids anywhere near that place anymore! Unbelievable…"
The villager continued to mutter other things as Byleth continued on, but the further she made it the more unintelligible he became. It may have been five years, but Byleth just knew her students would be waiting for her. They had all promised to reunite on the day of the millennium festival and she was going to uphold her end of the promise.
But as she broke into a run, rushing towards the monastery, Byleth couldn't help the panic that rose in her as she saw her surroundings. To her, she had promised to return for the millennium festival to see her students just a few moons ago. The last thing she remembered was fighting for Garreg Mach after Edelgard declared war, and now all around her was evidence that years had passed since then. How had she slept for so long? And now that she was beginning to remember more of the battle, she couldn't help wondering how she survived her fall.
When Byleth made it to the monastery, she realised she had no idea where to begin. Perhaps the Blue Lions' classroom? But when she pried open the stiff door to what had once been her classroom, Byleth was only met by eerie silence. Dust fluttered around the room, dancing in the sunbeams that filtered through the windows. The former professor could see ghosts of the students she had taught in this very room. She could hear their laughter; Sylvain teasing Felix as Ingrid rolled her eyes, Ashe recounting whatever knight's story he had just read to Ferdinand who listened politely, Mercedes and Annette giggling over some gossip. All of that lingered though the room was abandoned.
Byleth's next thought was to go to the Goddess Tower. It was the highest point in the monastery and she figured getting an aerial view would help her discern if anyone else had made it to Garreg Mach.
As she ascended the spiral staircase, Byleth had to sidestep the various bodies that littered the steps. They were all clearly Empire soldiers and she was reminded of what the villager in the town below had warned her of. These bodies were new, not yet decomposed, which meant someone had killed them recently. But as she wondered who could have done all of this destruction, Byleth reached the top of the stairs to see a figure sitting against the wall.
He was covered in a massive cloak, one hand bracing a lance against the floor. Byleth instantly recognised the weapon as a Hero's Relic, remembering how Sylvain's Lance of Ruin had looked. And as she came to stand before the figure, the sun shining on him when he lifted his head to gaze up at her, Byleth finally recognised the former leader of the Blue Lions. Realising who he was, she held out her hand to him. But much to her surprise, he simply turned away from her gesture.
"I should have known…that one day…you would be haunting me as well." He finally spoke, his voice so much deeper and worn than when Byleth had last seen him.
He stood, using his lance as a balance until he towered over her at his full height. Dimitri had always been tall, but now he eclipsed his former professor. Byleth found herself examining him, as if in her student she could take stock of just how much the war had changed. His hair was unruly, long and tangled and hanging over his face, but not so much that it hid the eyepatch over his right eye.
"You…What must I do to be rid of you?" Dimitri's voice was anguished as he spoke. "I will kill that woman, I swear it. Do not look upon me with scorn in your eyes!"
"Everything will be okay." Byleth tried to soothe.
"You…It can't be!" Dimitri's eye widened in shock when she finally spoke. "You're alive?! If that is the case…That can only mean you are another Imperial spy. Did you come here to kill me? Answer the question."
"Of course not." Byleth shook her head, shocked by Dimitri's demeanour.
Dimitri simply pushed past Byleth, moving to stand in the window and look over the monastery below. He was silent and Byleth didn't know what to say. What could she say? She had been absent for five years— though she had not known it— and no doubt Dimitri felt abandoned by her.
"I'm glad you're safe." She said finally, relieved to have proof that at least one of her students had survived the last five years of war.
"Am I?" He turned to face her, pain and anger and sadness in his eyes.
"What have you been doing the last five years?" She asked in response, wanting to understand more of what she had missed.
"I have been dead, more or less." Dimitri replied curtly.
"Why do you say that?" Byleth frowned.
"What do you hope to gain, asking me that?" Dimitri glared at her. "There are more important matters at hand…"
Byleth was once again stunned into silence. Where had the kind and chivalrous Dimitri she had taught all those years ago gone? Sure, war would change anyone, but Byleth found not a single trace of the boy she had once known in this man who stood before her. Then, she remembered the glimpses of darkness she had seen in Dimitri. She remembered Remire and all that had transpired in the Holy Tomb. Perhaps this is who Dimitri had always been.
No, she refused to believe that. Because she also remembered his light. She remembered him teaching swordsmanship to the kids in the town, how sweet he had been to Eve, how he had always put his classmates and peers before himself. That couldn't have all been a façade; there had to have been facets of truth to his behaviour at the Academy.
"Do you not smell them?" Dimitri asked when Byleth said nothing. "Filthy rats. Everywhere. And traces of those who were here long ago. And thieves, crawling from the woodwork, attracted by the promise of treasure. Since the monastery fell, order in the area fell right along with it. You must have seen the state of the town near Garreg Mach on your way here. Vile thieves run rampant. They pillage and loot to their heart's content. I will kill them. Every last one. It's time to hunt down their nest."
"What do you plan to do?" Byleth asked in response to his passionate rant.
"I told you." He said, turning brusquely to descend the tower stairs. "I will kill them all."
"We don't have to kill them to stop them." Byleth followed after him.
"They must die." He barked back.
"Dimitri…" She murmured worriedly as she trailed behind him.
"Someone must put a stop to this cycle of the strong trampling the weak. Or do you condone their actions? Do you believe that the pillaging and slaughtering those rats live for is justified?!" Dimitri shot an accusing glare over his shoulder at her. "It is reprehensible, and they must be put down! I intend to give them a taste of the pain they have inflicted on others. Even if it means becoming a rat myself. I swore to at least do that much… I will not let them down…"
"How many thieves are there?" Byleth asked, wondering if just the two of them could take on a nest of enemies.
"It doesn't matter." Dimitri shook his head. "All that matters is killing those who deserve to die.".
There were maybe a few dozen enemies scattered in the area Dimitri took them to. Byleth was worried about their chances in defeating them, but there was clearly no stopping Dimitri and she wasn't about to let him fight them on their own. The first few thieves were easy enough to ambush and dispose of while they still had no idea they were being attacked. One of them, though, had managed to run off and sound the alarm to alert the others of hers and Dimitri's presence.
As they fought, pushing forwards towards where the leader of the thieves was holed up, Byleth suddenly became aware of a presence behind them. She whipped around, worried they were about to be caught in a pincer attack, only to find Gilbert entering the ruins.
"Gilbert?" She murmured in shock.
Then she turned to another entrance as a figure emerged only to be met by a familiar mop of silver hair.
"Ashe?" Byleth blinked as he let loose an arrow and incapacitated a nearby thief.
"We promised five years ago that we'd meet here and now!" Ashe said when he noticed the professor. "I know it's been five years, but I never expected the monastery to end up like this."
"Long time no see, Professor! I always knew in my heart that we'd meet again!" A bright voice chimed in from behind Byleth.
She whipped around to see Annette entering the ruins with Mercedes not far behind her.
"Everyone…" Byleth found herself being deeply moved as more and more of her students emerged to help them dispose of the thieves.
As they fought on, Dimitri seemingly indifferent to the arrival of his classmates, the rest of the Blue Lions made their appearance. Sylvain, Ingrid, and Felix all arrived together. Even those who had not initially been part of the class like Linhardt and Ferdinand showed up as they had all promised five years prior.
When they finally cleared out the last of the bandits, everyone converged to stand together. Byleth found herself in awe of all that had changed in her students while she had been gone. They all looked so grown up, five years of war having matured them beyond their years.
"Your Highness! Professor! I'm so glad you're both safe…" Ingrid was the first to speak, excitement and relief in her voice.
"Why are you here?" Dimitri remained unfazed by the arrival of his friends.
"Did you forget?" Ashe asked, cocking his head to the side. "We all made a promise here on this very day five years ago."
"Dimitri, weren't you the one who asked that we all meet up here?" Mercedes frowned.
"Don't be silly! Of course you remember our promise. That's why you and the professor are here, right?" Annette grinned, though it faltered when met by Dimitri's stoic gaze.
"Your Highness… I have been following news of your whereabouts for a while now. I am relieved to have finally found you." Gilbert sighed with relief.
"Do not call me that." Dimitri snapped. "I am not a prince, but a walking corpse."
"Why would you say that?" Byleth's brow furrowed in confusion. She also found it odd how surprised the other Blue Lions seemed to see their leader.
"That is what we all believed, but it is not so." Gilbert shook his head. "I can see with my own eyes that you are alive, Your Highness. But the jail cells in Fhirdiad are as solid as they come. How did you manage to…"
"Dedue." Dimitri said before Gilbert could finish his question.
"What happened?" Byleth asked, picking up on the remorse in his voice.
"He's dead." His eye glazed over. "He died in my place."
"I see." Gilbert looked down sadly. "We will be sure to honour his loyalty, Your Highness. As for the state of the Kingdom, the lords from the western regions have declared their fealty to the Empire, starting with House Rowe. Cornelia's band of traitors now refers to Kingdom territory as the Faerghus Dukedom. They've made Fhirdiad their stronghold as they continue to invade the eastern region."
"Traitors?" Byleth asked.
"There is much to tell you. I will explain everything in time." Gilbert nodded to the Professor.
"Well, it's not like all of the Kingdom's lords have sided with the Empire." Sylvain interjected. "There are plenty of houses, like mine and Felix's, that remain stubbornly opposed."
"Your Highness. Please allow us to take up arms at your side once more." Gilbert turned to face Dimitri, pleading his case. "What we need more than anything isn't soldiers, money, or supplies. We need the legitimate heir of Faerghus to overthrow the Empire and reclaim the Kingdom! Such is your duty. It is yours alone to bear and well worth fighting for. Only you can gather our troops and lead us back into the light."
"You are still needed, Dimitri." Byleth said gently, reaching out to place a hand on his arm.
"I see. So, you all agree that we must fight back." Dimitri murmured in thought. "And you see how that woman…how the Empire cannot be forgiven. That we must wipe them all out until not a single one of them remains…"
"Wipe them all out?" Annette squeaked. "Umm, I don't think any of us here are suggesting anything that extreme…"
"Perhaps we should take this conversation inside, the sun will be setting soon." Gilbert offered with a glance towards the sky.
The rest of the group agreed, tabling their concerns for the moment to relocate inside the monastery. Inside, rubble filled the cathedral, but it otherwise looked the way Byleth remembered it to be. Again, she was shocked by the reminder of how long she had been sleeping.
Byleth watched her other students catch up with each other as Gilbert explained to her all that had happened in the time she had been gone. And though she could tell they had all been through unspeakable horrors during the last five years, so many of them had bright smiles adorning their faces. They were relieved to see each other, to know that their friends and peers had survived the last five years.
But there were two stark absences that did not go unnoticed. Byleth knew, of course, Dedue's unfortunate fate after Dimitri explained how he escaped. She knew not, though, what became of Eve. Dimitri had said nothing about her and Byleth wondered if her most mysterious student had fled the country.
She watched curiously as Felix went around talking to everyone present. She found it odd that the most reclusive of all the Blue Lions would suddenly be so interested in where everyone had been the last few years. Though she could not hear his conversations, he appeared to be interrogating them all. When he finished making his rounds, Byleth noticed a stark difference in his demeanour before he stormed out of the cathedral alone.
"What's wrong with Felix?" Byleth approached Sylvain, figuring he would know the most.
"Oh, uh, you saw that, huh?" Sylvain pressed his lips into a thin line, looking towards the door that Felix had exited out of.
"What was he asking everyone about?" Byleth inquired.
"A lot's happened in the last five years." Sylvain rubbed the back of his neck. "And we all thought you and His Highness were dead."
"Is he…upset that we're alive?" Byleth frowned in confusion.
"No, no, it's not that." Sylvain shook his head. "It's just…well…"
"Sylvain, what is it?" Byleth pressed, wondering why Sylvain seemed so hesitant.
"A few years ago the Empire announced that Eve had been executed much in the same way they announced Dimitri's execution." Sylvain sighed as he finally divulged the truth. "When we got here and saw you and His Highness alive and well, well…Felix got his hopes up that Eve was alive too."
"Maybe she just didn't remember our promise." Byleth offered hopefully.
"No, you know Eve." Sylvain winced. "She doesn't go back on promises. If she's not here then…"
"I'm sorry." Byleth said.
She knew that Felix wasn't the only one who had gotten his hopes up. Eve and Sylvain had been close; Byleth had often seen the two of them together in their free time. She was sure this loss was hard to take, having a glimmer of hope that their friend had survived only to have to mourn her again.
"I'm worried about His Highness…" Sylvain looked over at the prince. "I don't know that he knew what happened to Eve. He really did love her…"
Byleth also turned to look at where Dimitri stood. She worried how effective of a leader he could be. Knowing their heir was alive would surly be a boon to the Kingdom loyalists, but from what Gilbert had described they were fighting a losing war. And if Dimitri hadn't known about Eve's fate, she wondered how that would affect him. How could he lead and fight when he had lost both his vassal and his wife?
And as Byleth worried for the fate of Fodlan, she let herself loose a single tear for those who were lost.