Chapter 50 - The Throne

Robin threw himself between the first of shadowy duplicates and Corrin, catching the sword strike with the flat of his blade. The copy was fast, frighteningly so, yet not so swift as the original. If it had, he'd certainly have been cut down an instant later, not being nearly skilled enough with a blade to match the former Hoshidan King. He was no Lucina, nor Marc for that matter, and both had struggled to fight such a foe one on one.

Even still he barely managed to intercept the next strike, nearly throwing himself off-balance as he abandoned all skill and finesse just to keep up with the mere copy. The next strike came even closer, a stinging line of pain cut along the length of his arm as he just managed to turn his foe's blade aside to prevent more than that shallow wound.

"Corrin!" Robin shouted, trying to shake the prince from his stupor.

Corrin didn't so much as twitch, his eyes wide as he continued to stare in shock.

Dammit, all, Robin swore inwardly. He'd figured the reveal of the phantom's identity would come not to be a pleasant one for Corrin. For indeed, he'd pieced it together himself from his observations during his and Lucina's previous encounter with that particular Invisible Soldier and what little he'd gleaned since regarding the previous Hoshidan king. In fact, his plan had very much hinged not only on his guess being right but also that it would be the resurrected King Sumaragi who confronted them here. He'd gambled, sure, but it had paid off…

At least mostly. He had, however, hoped Corrin would have taken it better. They still needed him in the fight.

Guess it's time to improvise.

Retreating back a step, Robin paused a fraction of a second, waiting for his foe to close the gap. The blade fell and he made no move to block. He'd be too slow to intercept at any rate. Instead, he suddenly stepped forward twisting so the blow struck the center of his pauldron. The blade sliced through the metal, landing a cut despite the armor robbing most of the power behind the blow. And in that instant, the blade was stuck in the plating and the padding beneath, unable to pull free.

"Arcwind!" Robin slammed his palm into the phantom's chest, unleashing a cyclone at point-blank range, tossing the clone back like a ragdoll, bowling over the two other closest copies as they closed in on him and Corrin.

Ripping the blade still stuck in his pauldron free, Robin flipped it around, catching it by the hilt. It felt odd in his hands, slippery, almost as if made of ice. Or perhaps oddly dense liquid held together by surface tension many hundreds of times stronger than what is normal.

"Lucina! Cover me!" Robin shouted, gaze snapping down to the blade as he reached out with his mind to it, focusing his will upon the magic that had conjured it along with its duplicated wielder.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught movement, watching as Lucina, already locked in battle with both the original and another of his copies, retreated back towards him, blocking a flurry of blows as she did so. She bled from a shallow cut on her side and her chin, a testament to her skill that she'd avoided more serious injury while so outnumbered. With a shout she brought Falchion across in a blinding arc, the blade crackling with a sudden surge of power that forced both of her opponents back, staggered by the very divine radiance even as the blade itself touched neither.

Standing at her full height, Lucina swept her blade up, holding it before her so that flat covered her right eye, the hole of the center of the crossguard burning with a fiery blue light that burned outward as the weapon again thrummed with divine power. The brand in her left eye flashed, glowing with the same light as the blade as she raised it upward, and with another shout, brought it down in a powerfully two-handed strike. Divine flames that crackled with power leaped forth, crashing over the phantom king and the two nearest of his copies.

Sumaragi grimaced, bracing himself the instant the attack struck. His copies fell back with silent screams, rupturing into clouds of violet smoke as they were torn asunder, even as the original slid back several feet while tanking the blast. Smoke curled from his singed armor, hair, and beard, and for the moment he seemed stunned. Then, shaking himself with a snarl, he straightened, sweeping his blade out as again his form blurred. Two more copies stepped outwards to either side, replacing those that had just fallen.

"Very good… you almost got me there," the phantom admitted, a hint of genuine respect in his voice. "Though not good-"

Robin didn't let him finish. Dropping his own sword, he raised his now free hand over his head, gathering lightning in his palm. With a shout of his own, he slammed his arm down, releasing the spell not into anyone's foe, but into the katana held before him. Electricity arced down its length, raining sparks as the metal began to hum and vibrate from the power.

"Catch!" Robin throws the sword into the center of the phantoms' ranks, extending his hand after it as it sailed through the air. Then, just as it came within a foot of the nearest foe, he snapped his hand closed, releasing the spell.

Lightning arced in every direction, homing in on the swords held in the grasp of each and every one of the duplicated warriors, using the resonating threads of magic that tied every copy along with every piece of their gear to the original. All the dozen copies reeled back, faces showing shock and pain as electricity conducted through their weapons into their hands and arms, sparking as it danced along with the metal buckles and ornaments of the lacquered armor. Several let go of the weapons on reflex or by involuntary twitches and spasms that came from being electrocuted. A few screamed as they burst in puffs of smoke, while most were left merely singed and paralyzed in the wake of the spell.

The last bolt found the blade of the original, detonating in a burst that sent the phantom king reeling back a step, his gauntlet blackened and purple smoke leaking in place of blood through the burned skin that crawled up from his hand to elbow.

The phantom king hissed, more in anger than pain; if he was capable of feeling the latter, eyes fixing on Robin with renewed fury. He raised a fist before him, violet flames erupting to life about it, spreading first down his arm to in moments engulf his whole form in a blazing aura. The palace began to shake, cracks spiderwebbing out from beneath his feet. One by one his copies ruptured into smoke that began to flow back towards the original, seeming to fuel the supernatural inferno. His eyes began to pulse brighter, the crimson dots becoming lanterns in the shadowing silhouette his form had become against the blazing violet halo around him.

A roar, more bestial than that of a man tore through the spectral ruler's throat, and for an instant, the flames towered upward into the visage of a great dragon wreathed in smoke and shadow. Then suddenly he was before them, crossing the great distance in a blink of an eye. Lucina reacted just in time, lifting Falchion to catch the incoming blow that would have bisected both her and Robin in a single blow had she been even a fraction of a second slower. The impact battered her arm wide as with speed faster than the eye could track a palm strike was delivered to her midsection. The impact sent Lucina sailing backward, Falchion knocked from her grasp to clatter against the stone some distance from where she landed

Then the king engaged Robin next, meeting him just as he'd managed to scramble for his own discarded blade and attempt a counter strike. Their blades locked, the impact jarring Robin's arm even as the phantom's parry seemed almost casual. A first struck his shoulder, nearly twisting him around with the impact and denting the already damaged pauldron. He didn't even have a chance to cry out from that agony split through his already injured shoulder as a knee strike took his stomach, sending him sprawling. He managed to only let loose a single bolt of lightning as he fell, one that Sumaragi deftly sidestepped. Through star-spackled vision he saw the phantom with a katana held high, preparing for another blow.

Then a shape crashed into the ghostly samurai. Corrin had, at last, recovered and rejoined the fight. The prince was in his dragon form, the entirety of his considerable transformed mass slamming into their foe. Talons rent armor as the phantom was taken to the ground. A katana flashed, catching Corrin in the side, blade cutting through scale and muscle. A growl of pain-mixed-fury accompanied another swipe of claws across the samurai's face before Corrin disengaged, narrowly avoiding the retaliating strike.

In an instant Corrin straightened in front of Robin, the dragon melting away into human form once more. The wound on his side oozed blood, though not as badly as it had moments before. Yato burned in his outstretched hand, the blade's sanguine light seeming almost to flicker like a torch before the looming shadows that wreathed the phantom king before them.

Even as they watched the ghostly king stood, deep gashes on his face spewing smoke already beginning to knit closed. Roaring the aura around him flared in intensity, once more taking on the visage of a great dragon of smoke and violet flame.

"What's going on, where is he drawing such a fearsome power from?" Lucina asked, stepping up alongside Robin as he too pushed himself to his feet. Falchion was held in one hand, her other kept gingerly at her side. From this Robin guessed she must have sprained or fractured the arm or wrist when she'd fallen.

"I…" Corrin shook his head, eyes squeezing shut for an instant as a pained look crossed his face. Then his expression hardened. "Something like this happened with my brother. I think… I believe it must be An- the dragon doing this. He must be channeling his power into my… into that phantom." Corrin corrected himself, twice, both before accidentally triggering the curse as well as before he could dwell on just who they fought.

"The throne," Robin said, eyes flicking over to the white throne still illuminated by a pale shaft of light, "we need to get him on the throne."

For a moment Corrin looked at him in confusion, and then something else entered Corrin's expression. Was it understanding? Anger? Something else? Whatever it was, Corrin buried it in a flash, nodding his head in acceptance of the plan. "Alright."

Corin's form began to shift, his skin writhing as muscles twisted and reformed, again taking the shape of a dragon.

Next to him, Lucina held Falchion parallel before her, the blade's light flaring back to life. The azure light.

Then Corrin charged, leaping at the phantom king. Sumaragi dodged the first strike, ducked under a sweep of Corrin's tail, that caught the follow-up on his arm. Then came the counter, Corrin throwing himself back to avoid the strike of the samurai's blade.

That was when Lucina closed in, taking over the very instant Corrin disengaged. Now Sumaragi was again on the defensive, parrying a flurry of blows and Lucina pressed him back. He managed to regain his footing then, knocking her final strike aside and moving to retaliate-

Only to be forced to retreat back as a pillar of flame engulfed the spot he'd stood moments before. The phantom growled, the sound almost seeming frustrated now, his aura of fell fire seeming the rage with renewed ferocity.

Robin didn't dare give Sumaragi a chance to try whatever he was planning. Clenching his extended hand shut, the flames suddenly fell, splashing against the floor like water dumped from a bucket at some great height, spreading outward. The ghostly samurai leaped back again, fire licking at his feet as he did.

Corrin closed again now, swiping at Sumaragi before again darting away. Lucina came in next, falling into a quick exchange that ended as Robin launched another spell. Each assault brought the king step by step closer to his throne so that soon he was mere feet away.

Sumaragi, however, must have realized something was wrong. For at that moment he changed tactics. When Corrin struck again, he merely dodged, making no move to retaliate. For an instant, Corrin hesitated, not sure what to do with his foe no longer taking the bait, and in doing so, for a mere instant, left an opening.

The phantom ruler rounded on Lucina extending a hand towards her. The flames ringing him seemed to ripple outward, extending like a tendril crash down unto the charging swordswoman. Lucina reacted just in time, throwing herself into a roll to one side, though foiling her assault. Corrin tried to reengage, only for the samurai to catch him with the back of his arm: half throwing, half knocking, Corrin back with strength beyond what a being of his size should be capable.

"Thoron!" Robin bellowed, the bolt splitting the air with a thundering retort.

Again dark flames lashed out, meeting the spell. There was a detonation and the wave of heat and smoke, which cleared to find the ghostly samurai unharmed. Energy crackled around him, and before any of the trio could recover the former king brought his hand down to the floor with a fearsome roar. Flames erupted out from him, seeming for an instant to take the shape of a dragon's maw.

Robin threw himself before Lucina, conjuring a shimmering shield between them. The spell slammed into him, the impact sending him staggering a step back. The shield began to crack, first at the edges, then towards the center. Robin gritted his teeth, pooling more and more of his power just to hold against the torrent of fell power. There was a boom, then the sound of glass breaking, and the next thing he knew he and Lucina were on the floor in the crumpled heap. If the shield had failed any earlier than it had… well, Robin wasn't sure how much of them would have remained.

Wait... what about-

Then Robin saw a blur of movement, crossing the whole of the throne room in an instant. Somehow, despite the power of the attack, Corrin was still standing. His scales blackened as if scorched, membranes of his wings torn in places, blood dripping through countless wounds, yet still, there he was. His claws flashed like daggers, piercing armor and flesh as he fell down upon the ghostly apparition of the man who'd been his step-father. Instead of following up the attack, talons snapped closed, muscles straining as he step-by-step forced Sumaragi closer and closer towards the throne, struggling against the immeasurable strength possessed by the phantom with every bit of fight left in him.

"Robin! Do...it! Do it now!"

Scrambling to his feet, not daring even to pause to check on Lucina, the tactician bounded forward, scrambling to cross the remaining distance between himself and both the throne and the struggle unfolding before him. He reached out with both his mind and his hand towards the throne, feeling for the humming threads of magic that intertwined with the object.

There! He could feel it: perceiving almost as though the white stone was awash with light not from above, but from within, shining with the very radiance of the sun in his mind's eye. He could sense its power, the magic within the artifact that allowed it to reveal the truth and to shatter illusions bound to those who sat upon it. But more importantly, he could feel the singing threads, a light that stretched out from the throne, reaching out across not only the city but all of Hoshido itself. The spell Queen Mikoto had woven using the White Throne as its catalyst, that so long as the rightful ruler sat on the throne, none could enter Hoshido with thoughts of war and conquest on their mind.

Robin's hand began to glow, prismatic light pooling around his fingertips. He extended his other hand to join it, the glow becoming a brilliant light that stretched out to seize hold of the spell, adding new threads to it, altering its spell-song with fresh notes, and so too shifting it to his new purpose.

A roar cut through Robin's concentration. His eyes snapped open in time to see Sumaragi gripping Corrin by the throat with one hand, tossing the dragon off of him and stagger a step away from the throne. His eyes fixed on Robin, a flash of realization in them, and he charged, sword in hand once more.

A blast of a crackling blue light smashed into the king, staggering him a step. The attack from Lucina did little harm, only slowing his charge for an instant. But it was enough, however, for Corrin to recover, leaping back at the phantom, now in his hybrid form, catching the strike. Blood ran down his arm from the taloned hand gripping the samurai's blade, while the other dug into the warrior's arm tightly enough to pierce flesh and draw trails of inky smoke.

Then Lucina was on him as well, a cry falling from her lips as Falchion plunged deep into the phantom king's midsection. For a single instant, no one moved, the only sound was the soft drip-drip of Corrin's blood that splashed drop by drop against the floor. The phantom's visage showed shock, then, suddenly turned to rage. Flames licked around him and with a mighty roar he erupted with fell power, the force flinging the two assailants away from him, Corrin still managing to tear the sword away from him, so tightly did he grip it.

In an instant of desperation, Robin threw himself at the phantom, seizing him by the wrists. The light of his spell seemed to crash against the darkened flames, pinpoints of radiant light against a void of fell power. Roaring like a beast the phantom bared down on him, forcing him back a half-step. Every muscle in Robin's body screamed in protest, his whole body trembling with the strain. His knees began to buckle, his feet sliding another inch back.

No. You. Don.t! He lashed out with a knee, catching the phantom in the spot Falchion had pierced, causing him to flinch, and, just for a moment, the force pressing against him to weaken. "Take. Your. Seat!" Robin shouted shoving with all his might. The phantom reeled back, off-balance. Then Robin crashed into him, using his full weight to drive the king down into the empty throne.

And then, he completed the spell.

There was a blinding flash of light, the phantom's eyes changing from red to white as he screamed in rage and defeat. Robin scrambled off of him, watching now as the ghostly king began to spasm and thrash in place, seeming almost as though the throne was binding him with invisible shackles, preventing his escape. Cracks began to split his form, light shining through instead of smoke. Then suddenly his thrashing stopped, his eyes first looking at Corrin, filled with regret. Then he glanced to Robin, voice barely more than a whisper.

"Thank you…"

Then the cracks split open, rupturing in a wave of glittering energy that shot out in all directions, passing harmlessly over the three still surrounding the throne, the energy vanishing from sight as it passed through the walls and outward in all directions. A sense of serene calm seemed to come over him, if only for a moment as if all the pain and stress of the day's fighting was washed away.

Nothing of the phantom king remained, only a faint glow humming around the throne indicating that the spell had done its work. He couldn't yet know for sure, but Robin felt as though he could be confident the spell had indeed worked.

Less certain, however, was Sumaragi's fate. Had the throne freed him from Anankos' control, allowing his soul to at last pass on from this world? He did not know, but the king had thanked him in the end. So he would have to hope this was the case. Then perhaps then the sacrifices had been worth it, winning both the day as the former king's freedom.

"What happened?" Lucina asked, coming over to Robin and extending her uninjured hand to help him to his feet.

"Queen Mikoto's spell," Robin explained, coughing painfully. "I modified it, using Sumaragi as the catalyst. Since he was both the former king, as well as an Invisible Soldier, I changed the effect to repel the invaders instead of simply preventing entry. Normally this wouldn't work, but since the Invisible Soldiers are more spirit than actual physical forms…" he shrugged. "I am just glad it seems like it worked."

"So they are all gone then? The soldiers attacking the city?" Lucina asked.

"And all of Hoshido," Robin said, nodding. "However, without a proper king, the spell will only last a few moments I'm afraid. They can come back, but it will certainly take time, a few days maybe before they can muster a new assault."

"So it bought us some time," Lucina noted, Robin again nodding to confirm this.

"You knew?" a voice croaked, Robin turning to see Corrin dragging himself from his feet, blood still dripping between clenched fingers from his slashed palm."You knew that… that he was my… was King Sumaragi. You knew all along. Your plan needed it to be him, so you had to have known…"

"I… I suspected it was. Enough to hinge my plan on it, though I didn't know for-" Before he could finish Corrin crossed the distance between them in a blink of an eye. Pain blossomed in Robin's jaw and the next thing he knew he was flat on his ass, lights flashing at the edges of his vision. He felt something wet below his mouth and for a moment he thought it was his own blood. Then he realized it was Corrin's, the prince having punched him with the hand still covered in Corrin's own blood.

Lucina was at his side in an instant, standing half between him and Corrin as if ready to leap between him if Corrin made another attempt to harm him. But instead, Corrin just stood there rooted at the spot, fists trembling, facing one of hurt and fury in equal measure.

"You knew, and you didn't tell me? Didn't you think I deserved to know?!" he demanded, his voice cracking as he spoke.

"I… I didn't want to-"

"To cause me more pain? For my own good?!" Corrin snapped, cutting him off once again. "You, Xander, Leo… everyone thinks they know what's best for me, but you know what, maybe if I was let in on what was going on, I could actually be prepared for this!" He gestured wildly behind him. "I froze because I only found out in the middle of us fighting for our lives. Keeping it from me didn't protect me! It nearly got us all killed because you thought I couldn't 'handle' it. Well, I did handle it in the end, no thanks to your efforts."

With a hiss of breath through clenched teeth, Corrin turned his back to him, starting towards the doors out of the throne.

Then he stopped, speaking up without looking back at them. "I just hope any other secrets you and everyone else are probably still keeping from me are worth it. I lost what was practically my home today. I hope that too was worth it," and with that, he stormed away, leaving Robin and Lucina alone in the empty throne room.

Only once Corrin was long gone did Lucina turn and kneel at Robin's side, helping him up. "Are you okay?"

"I… no, not really," Robin admitted. Then, seeing her look of concern, he added. "Physically, I could be better. That punch from Corrin really hurt, and I'm probably gonna have a bruise to show for it. But that's not what I was talking about." He sighed regretfully and shook his head.

"You meant his words then," Lucina said. It was not a question.

"Yeah," Robin whispered, sighing again. "Those hurt more than the punch did. Because he's right, I certainly deserved all of that."

And yet you're still keeping secrets, the all too familiar voice of his conscience reminded him. And with no intention of telling him.

"Robin?" Lucina asked, her gaze fixing on his face as if trying to read his thoughts from his expression as he just stood there silently.

"Come on," he said, taking her hand as he turned towards the door. "We should see how the others are doing before getting our wounds patched up. With the enemy gone, I don't think it will be long before Xander and Hinoka make for the city. And with tensions how they are… I'm not sure we're out of the firepit just yet."

In the end, they had won the day, saving the Hoshido capital from destruction and buying themselves precious time in this war. It had come at the cost of many lives, people who they'd been too slow to save, as well as necessitating the destruction of the astral keep that had been the home for Corrin and all of his friends. The cost had been worth it. And now came the harder part. Somehow convincing the people of Hoshido to fight alongside the very nation that had invaded and ravaged their homes mere months before.

Let's see if we can make it through the next couple of days without starting another war.

Author's Note: So I completely failed to get this chapter out by the end of last year like I'd hoped, huh? Sorry about that, life got incredibly busy recently which prevented me from being able to focus on this as I'd have liked. Also unfortunately I have to announce that this chapter, which had originally been planned to be the 2ed to the last chapter of Act 2, is now the 3ed to the last chapter of the act. However, fortunately, this is not because I didn't get as far as I'd hoped, but rather because after writing what became both this chapter and the next, I realized the two worked a lot better as two chapters instead of one. As a result, I already have the next (shorter) chapter 90% done, which I plan to post in about 1-2 weeks' time. So look forward to that! And I am going to meet this self-imposed deadline this time, come hell or high water.

Anyhow, that's all for now. Let me know what you guys thought. As always, please leave all your comments and criticism you have, as it's the only way I am going to improve as a writer. Besides, it always makes my day to hear your thoughts. Until the next one, have a wonderful day everyone!