"All hail the Saviors of Bruma!"
"Hail the Saviors!"
"Divines bless you, Saviors!"
Shez was exhausted. After leading a battle against the invading armies of Nemesis, entering a plane of Oblivion, and bringing this latest invasion of Tamriel to a halt, all the while the clock ticked down until the World Breaker siege engine manifested onto Nirn… who wouldn't be?
Yet she kept her head held high, doing her best to bask in the celebration of victory when all she wanted to do was lie down. At her side was Lysithea, the short mage clinging to Shez's arm like a lifeline and at risk of falling unconscious then and there.
Byleth remained unbowed, seemingly unruffled by the literal descent into hell they'd endured, but Shez knew the last Imperial heir was tired. Edelgard fared much like Shez, clearly drained, but standing tall to keep up appearances. After all, it would be quite tragic if their heroes collectively collapsed, even after they'd secured victory.
Thankfully, Jeralt was along shortly to usher them away to privacy, his mercenary group distracting the adoring crowd with free alcohol.
As soon as they were inside, Shez found the nearest bed and plopped herself down, Lysithea joining her as they awkwardly shared the single sleeping space. Lysithea was out like a light, but Shez remained cognizant enough to look to Jeralt for a quick debriefing.
"You all did good," smiled the former knight with pride. "We saved Bruma, closed another Gate, and even took out that giant eye thing, whatever it was."
"The Oblivion Gates are getting worse," observed Byleth with concern.
Jeralt hummed in acknowledgement. "They are," he confirmed, "But don't worry about that right now. You can all stay here for the night. We'll talk more about it in the morning."
"What of its rightful occupants?" questioned Edelgard.
The Blade Breaker waved her off. "The place belonged to the spies I had Shamir's people take out. Don't worry about a thing. Just rest. I'll have someone posted outside just in case."
As he left, Shez finally settled back on the bed and let Lysithea's rhythmic breathing lull her to sleep.
Lysithea breathed a sigh of finality as she finished drawing the last symbol on the surface of their summoning circle. Stepping back, she adjusted the items of power they'd gathered over the course of their adventuring, tweaking positions and relative distances ever so slightly in an attempt to encourage their chances of success.
She stopped fidgeting when the others entered the room.
"Okay… The Ritual of Zaharas is ready to go," she declared. "Before we actually do this, I just want to say one more time. I can't join you, so don't do anything stupid." She very pointedly addressed Shez.
"Lysithea…"
"I mean it, Shez! I won't be around to heal you, or shield you, or shadow you, or cast featherfall on you because you thought it'd be a good idea to jump off a cliff-"
"One time! That was one time!"
"That I know of!"
"Ahem!" interrupted Edelgard. "While I appreciate the warning, perhaps we should get on with it?"
The mage's shoulders sagged. "Right. Anyway… I can get you in. But the only way you're getting out is by killing Thales. Once he's dead, Zaharas should fall apart and bring you right back to me. Us!" she hastened to correct, "Back to us!"
"We will return," promised Byleth solemnly.
"We didn't come this far just to fail now," agreed Edelgard.
Shez offered an encouraging smile. "I'll bring you back a souvenir."
Lysithea gave a huff of annoyed amusement and commenced the ritual. Under her guidance, the various sources of magic danced and twirled, coming together and coalescing into the promised miniature Oblivion Gate. She felt the magic pulse as the portal was activated, and the conjured gate vanished, taking with it Shez, Byleth, and Edelgard.
The lonely mage frowned, before falling back into a chair she'd set up for this specific purpose.
She waited.
And waited.
And waited...
An outburst of magic erupted from the summoning circle, a brand new miniature Oblivion Gate manifesting into place. Three familiar figures flashed into place before the portal dissipated, forever ending the plane of Zaharas.
"You're back!" cried Lysithea, leaping out of her chair. She ran forward, wrapping her arms around Shez in a great hug.
"We did it," confirmed Shez with a smile. She returned the hug and pressed her face to the top of the mage's head. "Feels like home," she murmured.
Behind her, Byleth and Edelgard clasped hands in a show of silent solidarity, sharing a look of warmth.
"You got the Crest of Flames then?" asked Jeralt as he looked up from his paperwork.
"We have it," nodded Byleth, turning to show him the adornment hanging around her neck. "The Dragonfires will burn again."
Her father whistled low in wonder. "Well I'll be damned. My kid's got the Crest of Flames and she's even able to wear it." He smiled with paternal pride and stood to leave. "I'll send a message to the capital telling them to expect us. You kids relax and have fun in the meantime. We can leave tomorrow."
"Out of curiosity, what was it like?" asked Lysithea, stepping back from her embrace.
"Ah, you should've seen it!" enthused Shez. "We got to kill Solon again! Multiple times!"
The mage blinked. "What?"
"Thales mentioned something about binding his followers' immortal souls to Zaharas for eternity," explained Edelgard. "Though I couldn't begin to understand the magical theory, it essentially meant everyone we killed would regenerate after a certain amount of time had passed."
Shez nodded eagerly. "First Edelgard killed Solon, then I killed Solon, then Edelgard got him the third time… Byleth would've gotten the next one, but she just cut his arms off so Edelgard could kill him again."
"It was extremely therapeutic to plant my axe in his skull so many times," remarked the former noble. "Thank you for allowing me that, by the way."
Byleth turned to her with a smile. "You're welcome, Edelgard."
Shez continued. "Thales only died once, as expected, but it was pretty great. I got close enough to stab him in the dick before Byleth cut his heart out. We didn't even plan it, it just happened."
"It feels oddly poetic," mused the blunette.
"Oh!" remembered Shez, "And I managed to get something for you, just like I promised." She presented Lysithea with a tome. "Do you like it?"
The arcane prodigy looked it over. "Suttungr's Mystery," she read. "Fascinating…" An adoring smile crossed her face and she looked up to the mercenary endearingly. "Thank you Shez. Both for the book, and for coming back to me alive."
Shez grinned, a flush descending on her face. "Ah, well… What can I say? I like seeing you happy."
AN: For those familiar with Oblivion, you may have noticed a few of the main quests have been skipped. That's because they're mainly fetch quests. Not something I care to write about. Let's just say there's a bit of a time skip and leave it at that.
And for those unfamiliar with Oblivion, the Amulet of Kings (aka the Crest of Flames) falls off if you try to equip it. It literally chooses its wearer.