AN: Guest review response time:
Guest from the 30th of April: First of all, I'm glad that you think my story is interesting. You're correct that it's moved away from baseline Fire Emblem quite significantly, but if Engage is any kind of measuring stick for baseline Fire Emblem, I can't say I'm terribly impressed by it. Recall that Three Houses, Three Hopes and Engage are the only three FE games I ever played. The latter of these showcased bland writing and characters, yet everyone calls it an excellent Fire Emblem. Gameplay-wise that's true, but the storytelling is very much subpar.
That said, I understand your reservations about the AU I've built in this story. It's not everyone's cup of tea, and I'll readily admit that. The fact stands, however, that I started to write Headmates because I wanted to do something with the mythological references in Three Houses. This is the result.
As for the whiny SI, you're not entirely wrong. Last chapter's internal monologue was meant to be more reflective than anything, though; a sign that Hyperion is slowly getting over his whiny tendencies. Don't be so sure they aren't a good thing, however. Low confidence is a form of restraint, after all, and the increase in decisiveness will have consequences later down the road. Divine power and lack of restraint don't mix well.
Chapter 52: Hyperion's Wild Ride with Sothis
Moments after the Rite of Rising. Location unknown.
Sothis and I were in a very weird approximation of space. It was kind of hard to think of spatial dimensions since the place we were in right now was above silly concepts such as the laws of physics. This kind of made sense since even leading physicists agreed that most concepts of physics, even those like the weak and strong forces, came to be after the beginning of the universe. This place we were in was the origin of everything and nothing, and had therefore no need for such trivialities, after all.
On top of space, time was also a bit wobbly here. We had just finished our short communication with Byleth, that much I could still tell, but everything beyond that was one big mystery. The only temporal feeling either of us had was associated with Sothis. She had sensed the presence of an old friend of hers approaching, as much as one could approach us here, where time and space had little to no meaning.
"And so, 1.0724% became 100. It is good to feel your presence again, Sothis. It is also nice to meet you, Hyperion," greeted the newcomer.
He had approached faster than I had anticipated. Or maybe my feeling of time had already deteriorated enough for me not to notice. Still, I was happy that he was here, for I recognised the voice, and knew that he was dear to Sothis.
"Metatron!" she exclaimed with joy.
If either of us had had a physical body in this moment, I imagined that she would have hugged the man turned angel and dragged me along with her. As it was now, she radiated happiness at meeting again with her old friend. To be honest, I was looking forward to it as well.
"I'm glad to meet you as well. Any friend of Sothis' is a friend of mine," I said.
Metatron smiled. It was through this that I noticed that the concept of physical form was slowly returning to me. This place was freaky.
"Remarkable, isn't it?" asked Metatron. "You're already re-instantiating. It's very hard to notice without outside help. Michael had a lot of fun at my expense when this happened to me after my ascension."
"Speaking of which, what's the status on that?" I asked.
The man laughed and answered, "Everything is fine on that front. It will take a bit of time, but that leaves enough for a proper meeting, doesn't it?"
"It does," I replied. Seeing Sothis' happy expression, I added, "Sothis has missed you terribly. I'm more than happy to let you two get reacquainted."
Sothis nodded in agreement. "He's right. It was incredibly tough without you or Manannan to help me raise my children during the War of Cataclysm. The older ones missed their uncles, and the younger ones never got to meet them. And now, all of them except Seiros won't get the chance again," she said sadly.
"Do not be so sure," said Metatron while shaking his head. "All afterlives are connected. I can visit them through Heaven once I am free to do so. Unfortunately, the war the Heavenly Host is fighting is keeping me busy. It was hard enough to get a few hours of leave to talk to you."
Sothis scrunched up her eyebrows. "Another war?" she asked.
He shook his head. "The same one we were talking about when last we met. Wars on a cosmic scale take a long time, even more so if they are demonic invasions."
She frowned, and I thought that statement over. It was not too hard to imagine. Fighting from planet to planet across entire galaxies would be very time intensive.
Metatron continued, "But Manannan should be free to visit your children now. The shattering of the Darkness of Zahras was felt even here."
Sothis let out a relieved sigh, and so did I. I'd promised to help free those imprisoned within it, not in the least because I liked Eros and because I owed my patrons. Plus, from what I had seen in Sothis' memories, Manannan and Hades would be great additions to the regency council of the Underworld.
"That's good," said Sothis. "He'll look after them."
Ignoring the absurdity of people over 11'000 years old needing to be looked after, I hummed in agreement. Being reunited with family, by blood or by oath, was a good thing for them.
However, something was bothering me about this.
"There's a question on my mind," I said, "While it is great that you're here, I've got to ask why. If the Heavenly Host is as busy as you say, someone as high ranking as you shouldn't have enough free time to spend a few hours with us. What's the catch?"
Sothis threw me a questioning look before she adopted a thoughtful expression. "That's true," she said with a frown.
Metatron chuckled. "You're quick on the uptake. Good. Yes, there is a reason why I am here."
"I guess we have to prove ourselves worthy of our new position and power, I take it?" I asked.
"Correct," answered Metatron, "You have been taken to the very origin of creation and been granted authority usually granted to archangels responsible for whole worlds. Considering that you are responsible for a whole world, that is appropriate. Still, your worth must be tested."
"How will this test look?" asked Sothis.
Metatron took a deep breath before he asked, "Do you recall the conversation we had before we parted ways? About the survival chances of your universe?"
My beloved looked thoughtful for a moment before comprehension dawned. "Yes, I remember."
"Good," replied Metatron. "The odds of your universe's survival were extremely high. But there is always the chance of failure. The possibilities branch out and every possible world becomes real. Do you understand?"
We both nodded at his question.
He went on, "The possibility of failure was at 0.41553797%, so 0.41553797% of all possible worlds at that point were headed towards doom. One of these worlds has been chosen as your test."
"Wait a second. We can't leave to another world! Ours is in the midst of war. They need our support, especially if whatever Thales has done ends up being too dangerous for them to handle," I protested.
To be honest, I feared for Byleth and Seiros. They were the primary targets of the Agarthan regime. The things they would do to those two if they were caught were beyond imagination. I also feared just as much for Kronya and her team. They were in grave danger as well.
"That world is already safe from doom," said Metatron. "I feel for you, and I applaud your compassion, but you must be tested. Not to mention that an entire other world hangs in the balance."
Sothis then said, "We cannot dedicate years of our time at such a critical point in the war back home. Is it possible to take the test at a later time?"
Metatron shook his head and answered, "No. That world must be saved now, not later. Do not misunderstand me, however. You're not supposed to solve that world's every problem. Your task is merely to remove the potential source of its doom. How you accomplish this will determine your worthiness."
Both Sothis and I frowned. We did not like this. We had friends and subordinates to defend, damn it! But if my Adonai had need of our services, there was no going around it. I sighed in defeat.
"Do we have intel on this source?" I asked.
"You do, indeed," said Metatron. "The one who designed the Darkness of Zahras is still extant in that world. He fuelled the spell with life instead of souls, and circumvented the resulting weakness by spending time in it until the other deities were dead and destroyed. Only that world's Sothis managed to resist through her connection to the Ein Sof Aur."
That brought me up short. That world's Sothis, he'd said. She was probably disembodied like my Sothis had been. If she was in this state, and such an enemy was still at large, then she truly needed help.
"Is assisting her part of the assignment?" I asked.
Sothis snorted next to me. "Is one of me not enough for you?" She asked jokingly
I laughed. "Oh, that's not it, but if you're offering, I'll take you up on that" I answered in a teasing tone.
She opened her mouth to reply, but was interrupted by Metatron.
"As amusing as your banter is – and it is amusing – the answer to Hyperion's question is no. You're not required to help her, though I encourage you to do so." He looked at Sothis and continued, "She has suffered more than you, experienced more loss and was dealt a harsher hand during the War of Cataclysm. None stood by her. As you can imagine, this has made her personality differ from yours. She is still a good person at heart, but hardship and suffering have dulled her compassion in favour of pragmatism. I would regard it as a personal favour to me if you and Hyperion helped her and her vessel."
"Alright," said Sothis, "We'll help my counterpart and get rid of that monster."
"I go where she goes," I added. "Though I'd like one more question."
Metatron adopted an inquisitive expression. "Yes?"
"What exactly makes the Agarthan dimwit who designed the Darkness of Zahras the source of doom?" I asked.
The angel actually looked happy that I asked him this. He answered, "I'm glad you asked, because you will have to be on the look-out for such threats in the future. You see, there is a certain corruption that clings to beings such as him. It is an intrinsic part of their soul."
I frowned. "I though no one was inherently evil."
"That is true, yes" said Metatron, "Which is why I said intrinsic, not inherent. Souls enter the world – any world – entirely uncorrupted if they're new. But sometimes, when a soul is reborn, they make contact with the Father's Enemy. When such contact results in the soul willingly striking a bargain with the Enemy, that soul is marked. Over the course of the that person's life, they will eventually, inevitably, attempt to facilitate a demonic invasion."
"Can we recognise that marker?" asked Sothis.
Metatron nodded. "Of course. Even if you both did not have domain over souls, you are connected Father's light. The Enemy's influence is easy to detect for one who knows that it exists," he explained.
"Very well," said my beloved. "How long do we have until we leave?"
"An hour or two still. You must complete your re-instantiation," answered Metatron.
Sothis smiled and said, "Then that leaves us with plenty of time for lighter topics, doesn't it? Let's talk about something else before we get to work."
Having no objections myself, I said, "Better than doing nothing and being bored all day."
The angel laughed. "I will consider it time well-spent. There is nothing wrong with sharing a bit quality time with friends before the next big assignment."
Hours later, local time and date unknown. Skies above Fodlan.
"I should have asked for more intel," I muttered. "Do you have any idea where we are?"
We were in the air, having stabilised ourselves with our wings after Metatron had unceremoniously dropped is in the open sky of this new world. He had also neglected to inform us where exactly we were. I got the distinct impression that it was not just my Adonai who liked pranking me but also his entire bloody retinue.
Sothis simply laughed and said, "I'm not new to being high up in the air; don't worry. It looks like we're relatively close to the Oghma mountain range. Factoring in the position of the stars, the composition of the forest and those houses over there… We're close to Remire village."
"Seriously?" I asked. "That place has to be cursed with how much world-altering bullshit happens around there."
She snorted. "Stop complaining and let us get closer. We might know where we are, but we have no idea when we are, except that it's nearly dawn."
I agreed, and so we went into a descending flight. Fortunately, the trees and the lingering darkness of the light shielded us from curious eyes. We, on the other hand, got a good picture of what was going on. The banners of Jeralt's mercenaries flying over Remire was a big hint to our current point in time, and the sight people in Academy uniforms running from bandits was the confirmation we needed.
"Should we approach the students or the mercenaries first?" I asked.
"We split up. You go get the students and I'll rouse the mercenaries," said Sothis.
I nodded and pulled her over for a quick kiss. "Alright, my love. I'll see you in a few minutes," I said.
Doing as discussed, we split up. While she sped towards Remire, I descended into the forest. While that obscured my vision, the sounds of running feet and shouting were a good indicator of the direction I had to move into. So, I summoned my armour and my weapons, and started running.
The scene I came across was not quite what I expected. There were the Academy students, of course; the leaders of the Blue Lions, Golden Deer and Black Eagles were all present. However, there was someone else as well. He looked to be about the same age as the students, but he was dressed differently. He also had neon-purple hair.
That isn't normal. Is he an Agarthan? The complexion doesn't fit, but that hair is not part of the Fodlan colour palette at all, I thought.
The kid seemed to fight with the students and not against them, at least, so I gave him the benefit of doubt. Still, that left me to announce myself.
I did so with a bit of deception in case the unknown youngster was an Agarthan double agent. Instead of defaulting to Thaumaturgy from the get-go, I gathered magic in the form of Brigidian curse magic. It was a peculiar form of Dark Magic very distinct from Fodlan's use of it. It would serve to confuse anyone about my origins while also giving everyone a red herring to follow. Additionally, it packed a punch.
Indeed, the cursed purple flames that sprang forth from my hands impacted a handful of bandits. I ignored the screams that followed, knowing that the flames were mercifully quicker to kill than regular fire. The fight required more of my focus than my first kill.
"Never hesitate in battle. Cry if you must. Scream and rage to your heart's desire, but only once the danger has passed," Hector had told me during one of our spars.
So, instead of standing there and contemplating the nature of life and death, I continued shooting cursed flames at the bandits until they backed off, presumably to get more of their comrades. I did not pursue.
I turned to the Academy students and the strange boy I did not know. "I'm glad I got here in time. Quick, let's head south before they come back."
"Who are you?" asked Edelgard – this world's version of her at least.
"The name's Hyperion. Now hurry up. We need to move you to safety, and that means going south," I said.
"The path southward leads straight to Remire village," she said, "We would be endangering the villagers by luring the bandits there."
I shook my head and said, "Jeralt's mercenaries are stationed there. My partner has already gone there to rouse them. They're the safest bet."
The kid whose name I did not know frowned and said, "Well, I did come here to meet the Ashen Demon. I'm all for it."
That set off some alarm bells in my head. A person of possible Agarthan descent wanting to meet Byleth? That sounded like an assassination attempt to me. I said nothing else, however.
"Agreed. More allies are always good," said Dimitri.
So southward we went. While my sense of direction was not the best, I could feel Sothis' presence with exceptional clarity. I followed it, guiding my four temporary companions to our destination. We had to hurry though, as the bandits were hot on our heels.
Soon enough, we were in the clearing before Remire village. I could see Jeralt's mercenaries streaming out of the settlement. At the head of the column were Jeralt and Sothis, who now also donned her armour, and Byleth.
That last one gave me pause. The Byleth of this world was not the handsome young man I had grown used to seeing but instead a bombshell of a woman. She looked exactly like the female Byleth character model from the game, except real, which sadly also included the questionable choice in armour. This really was a different world, I realised once more.
Undeterred, we continued our approach, only stopping when our two forces met.
"Sorry to skip introductions, but you'd best get ready. We've got bandits in pursuit," I said. "I don't know their exact numbers."
I then proceeded to ignore Jeralt in favour of hugging Sothis, armour and all. Sure, we had only been separated for about quarter of an hour at this point, and we knew both of us would be fine, but putting on a front to establish a false image in front of unknowns tended to be a good call.
"It's good to see you're unharmed. Not that I expected anything less," she said.
In truth, she was scrutinising me. She knew I had never killed before today, and she was looking for signs that it was affecting me. It was, but I refused to let it bother me until it was over and done with. She seemed to reach that conclusion as well and let me go.
I brandished my lucerne and turned back towards the forest. From it emerged the bandits I now presumed to be under the command of Kostas. I was not planning on letting him get away. In fact, the same went for the entire band of outlaws. Bandits were never good news for anyone, and reducing their numbers was basically a public service anyway. They would get a taste of my hammer.
"How good are you?" asked an unfamiliar voice from the side.
I glanced over at the speaker and realised that it was Byleth. I answered, "You're the Ashen Demon, right? Your technique is probably miles better than mine, but I have enormous strength and powerful magic."
She nodded, turning to Sothis. "And you?" she asked.
"Much the same," said Sothis, "Though I'm also a bit rusty."
Byleth nodded and turned to the approaching bandits. "Cover my flanks," she said.
"Got it," I said.
"Very well," added Sothis.
Without saying another word, Byleth stormed off. We followed her, as did the rest of the company. A wedge formed with her in the lead. I was unsure if that was planned since this version of Jeralt's mercenaries seemed far less organised than the company I was familiar with, but it had the same result. We crashed into the bandits, and slaughter ensued.
It became quickly apparent that this Byleth was as good with the sword as ours. Her attacks were precise, fast and strong. She was a storm of death for everyone who faced her. But she also knew how to fight with others. Her aggressiveness left openings, but only where Sothis and I could cover her, which we did. It was a highly efficient style.
That was not to say that we only ran interference for her. Sothis was quick at delivering armour-shattering punches with her divine strength, and several unfortunate bandits had the misfortune to be blasted in the face with Seraphim spells. I was doing similarly on my side, smashing my way through the opposition with my hammer or setting them ablaze with the cursed flames.
It seemed we were a good team, but something bugged me about this. Byleth was a bit too trusting of two complete strangers who had not even introduced themselves. No experienced mercenary would put their lives in the hands of suspicious newcomers. Something was afoot there. But that was for later.
The immediate problem of Kostas' bandits was more pressing, even if the resistance they put up was barely worth the effort. To be fair, it would probably have been a difficult fight without divine strength, but that was beside the point. There was little the bandits could do to us, and I much preferred it this way over the inverse.
Jeralt's mercenaries apparently shared that opinion as well. They were following in our wake and cut a bloody swathe through the opposition. As much as they did not adhere to the team system, they were a powerful force, and it showed. It was not long before the smashed most of the bandits.
"Shit! Retreat!" Shouted Kostas.
Spotting the priority target alongside me, Sothis hit him with an Abraxas spell. It was overkill, seeing as the attack obliterated not only him but also his surroundings. That included a good chunk of the leftover bandits. Those who had survived the blast quickly ran away.
"I do wonder why they always have to scream and shout," said Sothis. "It's like they're begging to be targeted."
Unable to resist the temptation, I quoted, "Don't weep for the stupid; you'll be crying all day."
Her amused snort was all the answer I needed. Alas, it appeared that others wanted answers from us as well.
There was a crowd of curious mercenaries and students, and they all seemed to have questions. Some, however, were less hesitant to ask than others.
"So, who exactly are you?" asked Jeralt.
In hindsight, I should have been more prepared for that question than I was. I was rather suspicious, what with the black armour. Even worse, my armour also incorporated my crown, which presented a problem. I would have to resort to high-speed bullshitting, and hope that Sothis would play along.
"I'm Hyperion. I'm the king of my nation. Not much of a king though; no living soul bar myself inhabits my realm. My beloved and I are here on an errand, you could say," I told the older man.
Thankfully, Sothis was quick of wit and added her own words. "I'm much in the same boat. I'm a queen, though my kingdom is long gone. Few survived the massacres that destroyed it, and most of my people's descendants now call other lands their home," she said.
"But why Fodlan?" asked Byleth.
Jeralt blinked in surprise. It appeared that she rarely took initiative in conversations if that was how he reacted.
"It's where my family's kingdom used to be. It was but one of many lands ruined by Nemesis and his bandits," said Sothis.
"I go where she goes," I added.
"That still seems way too suspicious to me," said Jeralt.
I raised an eyebrow in my play for deflection, even if nobody could see it through the helmet of my armour. It was bullshitting 101. If people start to catch on, distract them with something else. Fortunately, I had plenty of information to distract them with.
"Of course, but I thought that was normal here, considering you've got a half-homunculus with a dragon heart-" I pointed at Byleth "-an Agarthan half-breed-" I pointed at the unknown boy with purple hair "-and a girl who looks like she overdosed on two kinds of dragon blood-" I pointed at Edelgard "-not to mention two other kids with dragon blood in their veins-" I pointed at Dimitri and Claude "-and a centennial man who also has dragon blood-" I pointed at Jeralt "-So who exactly isn't suspicious as fuck here?" I finished with a question.
They all looked shocked, for various reasons. I gave them all a lot of awkward questions to ask of each other and a lot of potential fires to put out. Though, if this world's Claude was anything like the one back at home, he had just hit a gold mine. The others, however, now had question marks hanging over their heads.
Byleth was perhaps the calmest about this. She asked, "What is a half-homunculus?"
"That would be the child of a human and a homunculus. A homunculus is an artificial human. Creating one is forbidden, as they are often frail and sickly, and their organs are prone to failure," explained Sothis. "Considering the dragon heart in your chest, the homunculus parent of yours must have been made by a dragon. Your body would reject it otherwise."
We were airing quite a few secrets right now. It was risky, but we did not have all that much time in this world. So, the best and most effective way to disrupt Agarthan operations in this world was to lift as many secrets as possible. Plans would be shattered over these revelations.
"What's all this talk about dragons?" asked Claude.
Sothis merely chuckled and released her wings from the back. Fortunately, I had made the armour a marvel of magical technology, so there was no problem with her doing so. There was even a protective armour membrane over the wings now. So, her unfolding them had a decent visual impact.
"More creatures than simply humans once called Fodlan their home," she said. "You didn't think the Heroes' Relics look like bone and sinew for no reason, did you? They are the mutilated corpses of my butchered kin."
"You could say this is one reason for our visit to these lands," I told our audience, "Find those who enabled the slaughter, if they still exist, and neutralise the threat."
I could guess that at least one person was now very nervous. Edelgard's plans for war had now hit a snag and would require a thorough re-assessment.
Before we could continue this delightful Q&A session, however, we were interrupted.
"The Knights of Seiros are here!" I heard the familiar voice of Alois shout.
Hours later. Temporary field camp of the Knights of Seiros.
"Are you feeling alright?" asked Sothis with concern.
After Alois had shown up, there had been a brief panic about what to do. Asking more questions about sensitive topics in front of the newcomers was a no-go, after all. They had demanded explanations as well. Not to mention that there was a bit of an image problem concerning a bunch of bandits sneaking up on the most proficient knights in Fodlan. On top of it, Sothis had still had he wings out, causing a bit of a ruckus. Ultimately, it had boiled down to the Knight of Seiros strong-arming everyone into coming along to Garreg Mach.
After several hours of march, the order to make camp had been given. Tents had been put up, food cooked and patrols established. Dinner had followed shortly thereafter. Now, as night was slowly encroaching, everyone else was in their tents. Those who could, which was limited to Sothis and myself, erected sound-blocking wards.
"I'm not sure. Today was the first time I killed someone. I've been responsible for many deaths before, but this was the first time I did it myself," I answered.
She gently brushed a hand through my hair and kissed me. When she separated her lips from mine, she said, "I love you all the same. I have killed too, and you still love me. You deserve nothing less from me."
I chuckled. "There was a time when I would have denied that statement," I said.
She smiled and asked, "And now?"
"Now I'm just happy to have you in my life. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me," I answered.
"I feel the same way about you, my love," she said, that gentle smile still on her lips.
I simply kissed her in response, pulling her closer to me. She responded enthusiastically, and soon, there was quite a bit of touching going on. We were no longer in Byleth's mindscape, after all. We had some privacy too thanks to the sound-blocking ward. So, we did not plan to get any tamer.
"Hello."
Alas, it seemed that our plans for the evening were cancelled. By the tent's entrance, a head stuck through the opening in the canvas. The curious eyes of its owner looked at the two of us and our compromising position with a sort of innocent wonder that did not belong on an experienced mercenary such as her.
I sighed. "Hello, Byleth. What brings you here?"
She tilted her head slightly and answered, "I wanted to talk about something with you two."
Sothis waved her in. "Come and sit down with us."
She nodded and stepped into our small tent, sitting down in front to us. Her blank but curious gaze eyed us. She had not seen us out of armour yet. "I like your looks," she said bluntly.
Sothis and I laughed lightly. "Thanks," said Sothis, "You're quite the looker yourself."
"Seconded," I said.
Byleth tilted her head again and looked down, inspecting herself. The tiniest hint of a pleased smile made its way on her face. "Thanks."
With the pleasantries out of the way, I cut to the chase. "So, what did you want to discuss with us?" I asked.
"You two feel familiar, especially you," she said while pointing at Sothis. "Do you know why?"
Sothis nodded and said, "I do, yes. The explanation is a bit complicated and probably hard to believe. There is one way to speed it up, however. May we touch your head?"
The young woman once more tilted her head – that just had to be a tic of hers – and looked between the both of us. She asked, "Are you two planning to kiss me?"
It took me a moment to get why she asked that. When she had walked in on us, we had been entangled with each other, including holding each other's heads in a tight grip. Sothis was a bit faster on the uptake, since touching heads was a sign of intimacy among dragons.
A small laugh left her as she jokingly answered, "There's someone else waiting for that before you, so you might have to wait. So no, that's not the reason behind this."
"To make things a bit clearer," I added, "Touching your head makes the sort of magic we want to cast easier."
Byleth nodded slowly. "Alright."
Sothis looked at her for a little longer, studying her facial expression, and then asked, "Wait, are you actually disappointed?"
"Yes, I've never kissed anyone. I'm curious," said Byleth.
"It's not something you should do with strangers like us," I told her. "Has no one ever told you that?"
She shook her head and said, "Jeralt was never good at explaining things like that."
Sothis and I looked at each other with uncomfortable expressions. I had the uneasy feeling that this world's Jeralt had dropped the ball hard when raising the resident Byleth. That really needed addressing. No young woman this attractive should have been as horribly naïve about this topic as she was.
"We'll talk about this later, but first, let's get to what we were doing before. You want answers, and we shouldn't delay answering them any further. Hold your head still," I said.
Byleth did so, and we laid our hands on her head. A small burst of our soul-based powers, and our surroundings changed.
Immediately afterward. Byleth's mindscape.
"What is this place?" asked Byleth.
She looked around warily. It seemed that the dark surroundings had startled her.
"We are in a visual representation of your mind," said Sothis.
"It's so… blank," said the younger woman.
I snorted and said, "Don't sound so disappointed. The lack of details doesn't mean you're empty-headed. In fact, this place is quite packed. You have a hanger-on."
She looked in the direction I was pointing and spied the stone stairs and the throne at the top. The thing really looked like the one in the other Byleth's mindscape. So, I very much expected to see the local mini-me version of my Sothis on the throne. It seemed that Byleth was curious as well.
"What's up there?" she asked.
Sothis answered, "An important part of the answers you seek."
"In other words," I began, "Let's get up there."
As we made our ascent, I mused that this was an odd reflection of my arrival in this new life. This time, at least, I was not alone in my quest to wake up a sleeping gremlin. I cringed upon remembering how that went last time. I had no wish to repeat the miserable performance from back then.
We reached the top before long, where we found the person we were looking for. There, with her head on the armrest, laid this world's Sothis. She looked exactly like I remembered my Sothis when I had first seen her. Also like back then was her sleeping state.
I turned to my beloved and asked her, "Would you do the honours? Last time I woke up a sleeping Goddess, I messed up."
Byleth tilted her head at the mention of the word Goddess, but she stayed silent. Sothis, on the other hand, snorted.
"At least you acknowledge it," she said with a faux-mocking tone.
"I'm sorry, okay? I'm just awkward that way," I protested with humour.
She laughed softly and said, "I know you are."
Then, she reached out with her hand and put it on her counterpart's head. I followed suit, apologising in my mind for the invasion of privacy. It was sadly the fastest way to restore her memories and power.
Not losing any more time, I channelled my power in tandem with my Sothis. Since I had great practice with soul-soothing and felt no particular desire to go the slow way with anyone other than my beloved, I sped through the process. The aid I received helped as well. It still took a few minutes, however. Many thousands of years left behind a lot of memories to restore.
While this was going on, the sleeping form of the local Sothis – for whom I really had to think of a better name – underwent rapid changes. She grew in height and in other dimensions until she was practically a carbon copy of my Sothis.
We removed our hands from her head once we were finished. My Sothis then gently shook her counterpart and stepped away. Waking up with people in one's face was uncomfortable after all.
Byleth simply stood there with a tilted head. This had probably been mildly boring for her so far. Still, I noticed he gaze switching from my Sothis to the local one. It would not be long before she connected the dots, I assumed.
I took my focus back to the matter at hand when the sleeping Goddess began to stir.
Despite knowing that this was probably a bad idea, I couldn't help but make a joke. "Rise and shine, little star," I said.
My beloved next to me snorted before she caught herself. Then she shot me a dirty look. "That was inappropriate," she said.
"But highly amusing," I retorted.
She rolled her eyes, but her smile told me that she thought so too.
"Ugh," I heard her voice say. "What is this racket?"
It was not her who had spoken, however. Instead, it was her counterpart sitting on the stony throne. She was likely waking up.
"That would be us: Your host and two visitors," I answered.
She blinked rapidly and snapped her head up- She stared hard at me, then Byleth, and froze when she spied my Sothis. Her eyes went wide at the sight.
Her breathing sped up before she hurriedly touched her own body and inspected it. It would have been funny if she was not displaying the signs of a panic attack.
"Calm down; we're here to explain things to you and your host," said my beloved.
"What host?" asked the local Sothis. "What is going on? Who are you and why do you look like me?"
"Metatron sent us," I said.
The panicking Goddess froze at the mention of this name. "You know him? And he sent you to me?"
I nodded and answered, "We're here for another errand on behalf of his… employer, but he requested that we aid you as a personal favour. We agreed."
"That still does not explain why she-" she pointed at my Sothis "-looks like me or why this one-" she pointed at Byleth "-is supposedly my host. I do not remember asking her for shelter."
"I look like you because we are to some degree the same person," answered my beloved. "In short, my soon-to-be husband and I were displaced in time when a ritual supercharged my power over time."
"You're… me from the future?" asked the local Sothis.
Her counterpart shook her head and said, "We were displaced sideways, not backward. We're from an alternate timeline."
"As for your host," I cut in, "You said you don't remember asking for shelter. That's correct. She didn't have a choice in giving it to you either. If you can consider being stuck in her body and mind a form of shelter, that is."
Byleth turned sharply to me together with her Sothis. "What do you mean?" she asked.
"You were stillborn. No heartbeat. A Crest Stone was attached to your heart. Since Crest Stones are Nabatean hearts, the one implanted into you functionally replaced your heart. Nabateans, by the way, is what the Goddess and her children are called," I said.
"That gave me more questions than it answered," complained Byleth.
I sighed and looked at my beloved, who sighed as well. "Alright. We'll go into a bit more detail about everything. This mess started with the end of the world, ironically…"
The next day. En route to Garreg Mach.
Needless to say, neither Byleth nor the local Sothis had enjoyed finding out that there was an entire civilisation after their heads. The latter, especially, had been incensed. Her response to it had hit home that what Metatron had said about her was correct.
"Mercy is for the weak. They, who claim to be stronger than anyone, will not receive any. I gave it to them once, and they have spit on it. Never again!" she had proclaimed.
Thankfully, her ruthlessness only went so far. Upon being asked, she had clarified that she did not mean to slaughter them wholesale. However, she very much wanted to eradicate Shambhala, their leadership, their culture and every piece of advanced technology they possessed. It was still harsh, but I could not fault her.
Still, this meant that the local Byleth was a grouchy trooper this morning. It was difficult to see since her face was eerily expressionless, but there were signs, such as the slight twitch of her shoulder every once in a while.
My Sothis and I were more relaxed. We were still hoping to get our job done quickly and leave, but rushing led to mistakes. We were now also discussing our plans for the immediate future.
"How much are you willing to bet that Rhea will faint when she sees you?" I asked.
Both she and I were now out of our armour. The knights and the students who had seen the Archbishop could not help but see the similarities between her and the woman walking next to me.
"None. That, my dear, is a sucker's bet," she retorted. "She hasn't seen one of her kin so unafraid to declare what they are in a long time."
"And what would that be?" asked someone from the side.
It was that strange young man with the neon-purple hair. "Sorry, but before we answer that, do you mind telling us your name? I'd like to have a name to the face."
"I'm Shez," he said. "And your names?"
"I'm Hyperion," I answered
"And I'm Sothis," said my beloved.
Some of the Knights of Seiros stiffened at the mention of the name. We ignored them, though.
"To answer your question, Shez," I went on, "Sothis is a Nabatean. You of all people here should know that."
He looked at me puzzled. "Why?" he asked.
"You seriously don't know?" I asked, somewhat surprised. "You're half-Agarthan. Your people and the Nabateans are old enemies. Heck, the Red Canyon got its name from the massacre agents of Agartha committed against the Nabateans and their followers in Zanado."
"What the Hell is an Agarthan and why do you keep calling me a half-Agarthan?" he asked.
The guy seemed genuinely clueless, so I explained, "Agarthans are, as I explained, old enemies of the Nabateans, including the Goddess, who is the first of their kind. The nation of Agartha once ruled all of Fodlan, and their government policies were beyond degenerate, which was what brought them into conflict with the Goddess in the first place. Long story short, Agartha got its ass kicked hard in the war that followed. Mercy was given to their survivors, and they scurried away, plotting revenge."
I paused for a bit before I continued, "They feature crazy hair colours and extremely pale grey or white skin. Your complexion is bog-standard Fodlanese, but that hair of yours can't be anything but Agarthan, which is why I assume you have an Agarthan parent."
"My mom was really pale," muttered Shez.
"In any case," said Sothis, "Do not let your ancestry define you. The conflicts of your ancestors are their own; not yours. It does not do to bear grudges for things long in the past."
Shez scowled. "And what about things that happened in my lifetime?" he asked.
"Again, that is entirely your decision. Do not be so quick to resort to violence, however. A life, once taken, cannot be returned," she cautioned him.
"Barring a few exceptions of course, but Necromancy is dodgy shit you shouldn't involve yourself with. The punishment for that sort of thing is extreme," I pointed out.
Sothis shot me an annoyed look. "Why would you even mention that?"
I raised an eyebrow and answered, "Because Agarthans like experimenting with dangerous stuff like that all the damn time. I can feel necrotic energy around the kid." I looked at him and said, "Either you did something involving necromancy, which I doubt but cannot discount, or you were exposed to an environment where such things were practiced at some point in your life. I'm telling you now: don't ever perform this sort of magic without permission."
"Not that I'm planning anything in that direction, but who would even give permission for that?" asked Shez incredulously.
"That would be whoever is in charge of the realms of the dead. In Fodlan's case, that mean's the Goddess," I answered.
"Cease this heretical nonsense!" barked one of the knights.
"Excuse me? Heretical nonsense? I'm educating this young man here," I protested. "Just because you don't like the truth doesn't mean that it's heresy. I also don't see you wearing a Cardinal's robes. You don't get to decide what heresy is."
"Hyperion," called Byleth.
"Yes?" I replied.
"Shut up," she said.
I snorted. "Never!"
Sothis laughed. "Indeed, you will never get him to shut up by force."
"Then how do you manage it?" asked the knight.
She smirked. "Observe," she said.
Her hands grabbed my cheeks and she planted a firm kiss on my lips. I returned it enthusiastically, which made both the knight and the other onlookers a bit uncomfortable. I cackled internally, but I focussed on the kiss instead. For that, I would not mind playing along.
When we stopped, I simply grinned a bit and then looked on the road ahead.
"And like that, your prayers are answered, my good knight," she said smugly.
"A lot of people's prayers get answered these days," I commented, "I'll give you the silence you want."
That last exchange was a bit of code between Sothis and I. While we were quite open with sharing information in this new world, we held back on the fact that we were deities; at least for now. What our statements conveyed was that we still received prayers from our previous world and could answer them.
It was something I took comfort in. It meant that we were not quite out of the loop, and that we would be able to help with advice, even if we could not interact with our friends at this point. There was a bit of trouble over there, after all.
AN: Hello there, my dear readers, and welcome to another chapter of Headmates! I hope you enjoyed it.
This time, the focus lay entirely on the divine dynamic duo of Sothis and Hyperion. The Rite of Rising was quite consequential.
Speaking of consequences, this chapter marks the beginning of the Three Hopes arc I briefly talked about last year in response to a review. It will not be terribly long – at least I'm not planning on making it so – but it will have consequences for the Fodlan of the main timeline. The arc will also be concurrent with the events there, so I will switch between the two timelines on a chapter-by-chapter basis.
Now, some of you will ask why the two deities are not just blasting away and blowing up every problem in their way. The answer is that it would fail the purpose of their visit. Part of having vast power is to use it responsibly. Wildly obliterating anything and everything in one's way is not responsible. There's also a lack of information as to their target's whereabouts and identity. Causing a violent ruckus could cause that person to flee; not to mention the lives lost in such an action. In other words, it would mean failing the test.
With all that said, I would once more like everyone who followed, favourited and reviewed this story. Your continued support matters a lot to me.
Until next time. Stay happy and healthy, everyone!