Hello there!

This is the final part of a trilogy of stories that I've written about Lysithea, Shamir and Byleth. I would recommend reading the previous two stories before this one if you want the "full narrative" so to speak.

Part 1 is called "Together" and is available to read on this site.

Part 2 is called "The last battle" and is unfortunately not available on this site due to the sites rules on explicit material (due to violence). You can find the story on Archive of our own under the same author name as here.

Hope you enjoy!

As night had settled over Fódlan, the clear sky was filled by lights from the shining stars above as darkness had encompassed the land. Only the faint light from a nearby torch illuminated the immediate surrounding area around Byleth.

Leaning against the stone railing by the bridge to the Goddesses tower, Byleth reflected on what put him here, using this rare moment of silence for some necessary downtime for him.

Shifting his stance slightly, Byleth watched the moon in the sky, casting some faint illumination with its cold silver light. The sun had set upon a Fódlan that had once been and now it was time for something… different, he thought to himself as his right hand gently grasped the Sword of the Creator. His ever present companion these last months during the war that he had awoken to, a whole continent suffering from its effects.

As he let memories of his past pass through his mind, he stood there reflecting on that which had brought him here; a birth he wouldn't have survived without interference from a crest stone that was now lodged in his chest, granting him powers that could make him, or at least his other self, as fearsome as the legendary warrior Nemesis, when used at its full power.

Then there had been his intended role as a "vessel" for the goddess, whom he had carried around inside him. His whole purpose had been to be a pawn for Sothis to overwrite and erase so Rhea could have her back.

Yet instead the opposite had happened, Sothis had given up her own existence within Byleth to give him back his life and save him from his fatal encounter with Nemesis, at the hands of the Ashen Demon. The demon had once again proved that for him, nothing would stand in the way of whatever needed to be done. Not even his own life. Thus one could easily understand why the demon was more powerful than Byleth.

But all that event on the plains had done was to remind him why he'd been keeping him locked up ever since he fully understood the scope of his other self. Not only for everyone else's sake, but also for his own.

His head was pounding, having developed a headache from the long and intense day it had been. Byleth grasped his head and massaged his temples a bit, hoping it would alleviate the pain.

All that had happened in his life... It was a lot to think about frankly. Rhea had intervened twice in his life, once to give him life and another to almost end it.

He didn't hate her for it, he wasn't really angry at her either. Given the context to what she had told him, he could (to a point) reasonably see her actions in the light of what she had experienced over her many years of being alive. It would obviously take its toll on anyone's mind.

Yet there was a slight part of him that kept reminding him that she had wanted to erase him from existence. Not even seeing him as a person but as a vessel for Sothis, an object to be used for a higher purpose without regard to himself. His fate had only been saved by what could be described as divine intervention, several times. Byleth felt his hand grasp the Sword of the Creator tighter, feeling his muscles tense as the thought passed through his mind.

Maybe he was a bit angry after all, but that would only be natural for a person, right?

Calming himself down he let go of the sword, he rested his hands by his side as he kept watching the moon in the sky.

His conversation with Rhea earlier had been necessary and hearing about his past had put some things in perspective for him, helped him make a decision that needed to be made. He had been told that Rhea would step down as Archbishop and essentially disappear which was something he supported, he didn't want her around as Fódlan started anew. She had done enough.

He'd been asked to lead the new Fódlan as it would rise from the ashes left after this war, a war started by Edelgard to tear down the church, the crest system and everything else Edelgard had seen as an hindrance for a new way of living. In a way Byleth had agreed with her, maybe even chosen to support her if things had been different. But in the end he had shown himself to be, ironically for Edelgard, only human.

His anger and sadness for losing Jeralt at the hands of Kronya, a member of "Those who slithered in the dark", who had both experimented on people and killed and tortured to further their own cause. If he would have sided with the Empire he would have had to work with the kind of people who had no qualms killing and torturing innocent people. Edelgard had claimed to have no knowledge of it all. And nothing to do with killing Jeralt along with the experiments and the killing of people in Remire village.

Maybe it was the truth, maybe it wasn't. With her, he couldn't really tell at the time. Maybe Edelgard had no knowledge of it and Hubert had been involved without telling her about it? He had no idea, all he knew when the time came to choose a side was that joining her was a leap of faith he just couldn't do. Instead he had joined his friends in standing his ground as they faced the full force of her ambition that had plunged the continent into full scale war. By her actions she had thus shown just how far she would go to achieve her goals.

He couldn't do that. And the anger he felt in himself as he realized Edelgard had chosen to work with that kind of people... well let's just say it was a good thing he had lived for most of his life without any emotions since that had helped him take the edge of his worst thoughts.

He would freely admit that the choice of siding with the church wasn't by any means the "good" choice by any stretch. For all intents and purposes they had done bad things over the years and had blood on their own hands as well. Even Rhea had admitted that herself. That along with the things he had found in their forbidden library… some things he wondered why she had kept them hidden, things that would straight up help people. Other things were… hard to stomach as he had read about it.

At the time of his choice he had no knowledge of that of course, and in the end it had been up to him to choose the lesser evil between the church and Edelgard and he didn't regret it.

Now he had been given the chance to make necessary changes, for the better of everyone, not only for some. To protect and defend those who needed it and punish those that strayed away from the peace that they had all fought, and many died for. To lead when necessary, even if he had to drag those along who would only think of themselves. Things would change, they had to.

The thoughts of all that responsibility made him nervous of course, wondering if it really was the smartest choice to do but as Sothis had told him before she disappeared: "Remember who you have become, carry all that you are as you walk towards the future, embrace your hope for peace and it shall be so. You have the will and the means to make it happen as you carve your path going forward."

Hearing her words play in his head soothed him, calmed his nervousness as he continued to gaze up on the night sky.

The world had changed with the war, and now it was time to make sure the changes would be for the better. He had ideas for that, just as his friends had ideas of their own. Now they were in a position to make those ideas reality.

Smiling at the thought, he reminded himself that he had already started as his exhaustion was starting to set in along with the headache that continued to hold its grip on him.

Lysithea was safe now. Or at least as much as they could know at the moment anyway. Her crests were gone and she was resting, seemingly out of harm's way according to Manuela. While Byleth wasn't a trained physician, he knew in his heart they had succeeded, and that was enough.

So he had been happy, no, ecstatic as he had left her in her room to rest. Knowing he had kept his promise to her. Only for his mood to be disturbed by news from Duke Goneril; Cornelia had been spotted trying to cross the border to Almyra.

Cornelia, the last loose remnant of the war that had plagued the kingdom these last years. She needed to be found and dealt with, to make sure the peace that had come would last into the future.

"Byleth"

A sudden voice had him turn around as he saw Shamir, the dark haired woman greeted him with her usual nod as she joined him at the railing.

"Shamir, why are you still up?" He was surprised to see her still awake.

"Wanted to hear how things went with Lysithea. The procedure did take longer than expected after all." Shamir explained, leaning her hip against the railing as she rested a hand on it to steady herself.

Feeling a bit stupid for not realizing, he smiled awkwardly "There were some unplanned problems that arose but we solved them. And of course you would stay up for that. I'm sorry, I should have thought of that."

Shamir shook her head, "It's fine Byleth, I heard she's recovering well." A smile on her lips as she said this.

Nodding, he returned her smile "Yes, the procedure worked. Obviously we can't be sure about the future but I believe she'll be fine. She's strong, always has been."

Shamir nodded as she agreed, her eyes focusing on him as she looked him over. "And how are you Byleth? You look like hell."

Chuckling at her honest appraisal of him, he couldn't disagree. "That bad huh? Well you're not wrong, I'm exhausted."

Watching him for a few seconds, her eyes narrowed a bit as she continued "And yet you're leaving tomorrow."

Surprised by her words, she once again showed just how perceptive she was. He hadn't told anyone else about him leaving, beside those who would come with him off course. Scratching the back of his neck he answered her truthfully.

"I am."

"You're going after her, aren't you?" Her tone was more of a statement then a question as she once again showed how well she knew him.

"She was sighted near the border in Duke Goneril's territory a few days ago, she's the last threat to the peace we have fought for. I can't give her the opportunity to gather strength and risk her retaliating once again."

"I read the report, Duke Goneril seems quite certain about the sighting."

"Yes, which is why I'm going. She's said to be powerful and we can't let her slip out of our grasp."

Shamir looked at him with disbelief in her eyes. "You do realize she could have gone anywhere after that, right? You're looking for a tiny needle in a very large haystack." And before he could answer her she continued "And need I remind you that you're going to be king soon? You can't run off on every lead and report you get. You're going to need to learn to delegate and let others do the work for you." Shamir crossed her arms under her chest as she watched him, her critical eyes making sure he understood her message.

Shifting on his feet, Byleth on the other hand decided to shoot her a cheeky smile in response "Key word is soon Shamir. I'm not there yet."

Sighing deeply as she shook her head, her voice one of frustration as she continued "Unbelievable. You really are something Byleth."

He obviously heard the serious tone she had, ignoring his obvious attempt at a joke so he decided to lose the joking attitude and be more serious again.

"I know it's not a good idea but I feel like I need to close the chapter on the war by myself, Cornelia being the last piece of the puzzle. That way, I know I'll be able to leave the past behind and instead focus fully on the future. It's where I want to be."

Extending his hand towards Shamir, his palm open towards her as an invitation, Shamir looked at it for a brief moment before they joined together as Byleth grasped her extended hand.

"I know you would follow me, and part of me wants you with me, but... would you stay here with Lysithea? I know there's something important she wants to talk to you about. And besides, I'm not going to hunt Cornelia alone."

"What does she want to talk about?" Shamir asked curiously.

"It's better if she explains it herself. We'll be able to talk about it once I return." Byleth squeezed her hand as he smiled at her, Shamir nodding in return.

Yawning as time kept passing, it was deep into the night by now, Byleth knew he had to go to bed to get some rest before he left in the morning. And hopefully lose his headache.

"I need to get some rest now, but will you do that Shamir? For me?"

In the faint moonlight surrounding them, Bylketh could have sworn he saw a faint blush on her cheeks as she answered "Fine, but be careful about Cornelia. She's both slippery and dangerous."

Squeezing her hand again before he let go of it, he nodded and thanked her before he continued "I know, I don't intend to die." He then quickly added before Shamir could reply "... And this time I won't be relying on the demon."

Her head felt heavy, a pounding headache greeted Lysithea as she opened her eyes. Met by a blurry vision as she tried to look around, she had trouble focusing on anything as she tried to get her eyes to cooperate with her again.

After a few seconds she lifted her hand to her head as she groaned in pain as her eyes started to finally make sense of where she was.

She was in her own room, the familiar furniture and decorations making it abundantly clear. Another thing her eyes saw was Shamir who sat next to her bed in a chair, leaning forward a bit as she looked at her with some concern.

"Lysithea? Can you hear me?" Shamir said as she reached out her hand and grasped hers, making sure to keep eye contact as they spoke. Lysithea nodded as she squeezed Shamir's hand, her warm hand comforting.

"Good to see you awake. You've been asleep for about a day and a half since you finished the procedure." Shamir explained as she prepared a glass of water for her with her free hand.

"How... how did it go?" She asked, trying to make her raspy voice cooperate with her.

Shamir helped her drink some water, wetting her dry mouth and tongue as she felt that water had never tasted better than at that very moment.

"It was successful, Byleth was able to extract your crests. Professor Hanneman has confirmed the results." Shamir answered as Lysithea felt tears start to form at the corners of her eyes at that answer.

"Then..." Lysithea could hear the hope in her own voice as she asked the question she really wanted to know, had it all been for naught or was there actually a future waiting for her now?

"Professor Manuela says she can't be entirely sure but she says she has seen several indications to your body being in a much better state after the procedure then compared to how you were before. Byleth agrees with her and says you'll be fine." She added, smiling at her as she squeezed Lysithea's hand.

"Thank you... for everything." She answered as she felt tears run down her face, the joy of knowing that she would be fine. There would finally be a future for her. The relief she felt was palpable as she cried, being overwhelmed by her emotions. Shamir quickly shifted to sit next to her in bed as she helped lift her up a bit as she took her in her arms, so Lysithea could cry on Shamir's shoulder as she let her years of worry and stress over her condition roll off her in waves.

She had no idea how long she sat there and cried. She only knew she was holding on to Shamir tightly as she felt such a sense of gratitude and joy for this new chance at a longer life. She could finally start to look forward, instead of looking back. To plan ahead and make her dreams possible. It was… overwhelming to think about as the two of them sat there, embracing each other as Lysithea let her emotions take over.

Eventually though she had to let go, her head was getting a bit woozy as Shamir helped her lie down again, wiping away her tears as Lysithea saw her wipe away a few of her own afterwards. Shifting back to her chair next to the bed she took hold of Lysithea's hand again.

"Thank Byleth when he's back. It was his skill that did the job, I didn't do anything." She said, looking at Lysithea.

"That's not true, Shamir. Ever since I told you about my crests you have been a great support for me, helping out however you could and letting me talk about how I feel. You have done a lot for me. Thank you." Lysithea pointed out which caused Shamir to look away, a faint blush on her cheeks.

As Shamir did that, Lysithea's mind finally connected the pieces from what Shamir had said earlier; Byleth wasn't here, which was odd. Not that he strictly speaking needed to be but she would have been very happy to see him, to be able to thank him.

"Where is Byleth by the way?"

Shamir, having taken control of her flushed face, turned back to look at Lysithea as she answered.

"We received a report just after your procedure was finished that Cornelia had been sighted near the Almyran border. Byleth left with some knights and several of our friends to hunt her down yesterday, early morning ."

"Cornelia..." They hadn't crossed paths with her during the war, instead focusing on ending it by defeating the Empire. This unfortunately left the Empire backed Cornelia to ravage the former kingdom unopposed, aside from the internal resistance that fought her. It hadn't been an easy choice to make, but it was ultimately made for the greater good since they didn't have the troops to open a front towards her while keeping Garreg Mach safe from Empire forces from the south.

The stories and reports they had heard from those with an origin in the kingdom, Ingrid, Annette, Felix and Sylvain had been both horrifying and heartbreaking. Senseless executions of innocent people, burning down whole villages for helping either the resistance or those who fought against Cornelia and so the list went on… She couldn't even imagine how bad it must have been to live there during all that time.

Upon their defeat of Edelgard in Enbarr and the surrender of all imperial forces, Cornelia had quickly left Fhirdiad and disappeared. She probably realized that she would have been next.

"But why..." did she begin to ask Shamir as the woman quickly filled in the rest of her words.

"... Did he go himself?" Lysithea nodded.

"He said he wanted to close the war and the past by taking care of Cornelia himself so he could focus on the future instead." Shamir explained, before she shrugged her shoulders and added "I tried to change his mind but you know how he is... always wants to do everything himself."

Smiling as she saw Shamir's slightly exasperated look, she couldn't help but giggle "Yeah, that's Byleth." Feeling her body finally relax from its previous tense state. The feeling of relief was still very much present.

"Oh, two things before I forget; Byleth left a letter for you." Shamir handed her a sealed envelope bearing an unbroken wax seal of the Crest of Flames. Seteth had given him that shortly after he came back from his disappearance and was appointed leader of the resistance.

"Thank you Shamir." Lysithea looked at the letter as she felt a small smile on her face before she laid it down on her chest, before she turned towards Shamir, expecting her to continue.

"And the second thing?"

"Are you hungry?" Shamir simply asked, the question came a bit out of nowhere to be honest and before Lysithea could even reflect on how to respond, her stomach quickly growled a bit as she sank further into her pillow, her cheeks flushed. Shamir couldn't help but laugh at the immediate response.

Shamir quickly rose from the chair as she filled Lysithea's glass with some more water and left it on the night table as she said "I'm gonna get some food for you Lysithea. You clearly need something to eat." As she heard Shamir walk to the door, the doorknob turned and as she was just about to step outside Lysithea suddenly turned her head to look at her and stopped her by saying "Shamir, can you... stay? Please? Just a little while longer."

Shamir looked back at her for a moment before she closed the door again and moved back towards the bed, sitting down in her chair again. Shamir reached out for her hand as they sat together in silence, letting Lysithea rest in a comfortable silence as Shamir's presence helped her relax and soon fall asleep again.

The next time Lysithea woke up, she was alone, her room quiet. As she looked out through her window she could see that the sun was shining, at least it's daytime she thought to herself.

Stretching out her arms and legs after her rest, she felt a bit better. Some of her energy had returned and her headache was now basically gone. Though she felt some lingering pain in her body as she moved herself and sat up in bed.

Her eyes quickly settled upon a letter on her night table, it was Byleth's letter which she hadn't yet read. Shamir must have moved it as she fell asleep.

Reaching out for it she broke the seal and took out a parchment with Byleth's familiar handwriting. It was legible enough to be able to read it clearly and without problems. Byleth had never had any elegant handwriting which was natural considering his background. Eager to read what his letter said, Lysithea began reading it:

Dear Lysithea

I'm sorry I couldn't be there when you woke up. I hope you won't have too much lingering pain after the procedure and that whatever there is will pass quickly. Don't keep any pain to yourself and tell Manuela so she can help, there's no point for you to suffer through it.

I wish I could've been there when you woke up and taken you into my arms, but I'll have to settle for sending you my love through this letter.

I'm sure Shamir has told you the results and I'm glad that we managed to remove your crests. There might be some residual effects for a time but just let Manuela or Seteth know if anything feels the slightest strange.

As Shamir has probably told you already, I'm off to hunt down Cornelia and I know you might be a bit mad at me for doing this but please understand that this is simply my way of writing the final chapter of the war so that the book can be closed and finished. I know I'll find her, and I've got plenty of help with me so please don't worry.

Lastly I want to cheer you on and wish you good fortune with the subject you talked to me about earlier before the procedure. I know you can make your dreams possible and just as the world has changed we can do the same. As I told you before, you have my full support and know that all I want is for you to be happy, you deserve that after all that you've been through in life. So go ahead and make your dream possible.

Rest easy my love and we will see each other again soon.

Love,

Byleth

Putting down the letter on her lap, she smiled as she could hear his voice reading the letter to her, the thought comforting her immensely as she was filled with love by his words and support.

As she closed her eyes and let the love for him fill her body, she could see him in front of her. The depth of his eyes pulling her in as she felt herself get lost in them, his hand reaching out for her, his gentle touch as it made contact with her face as he leaned in and his lips almost touched hers…

Gasping as she opened her eyes, her love and yearning for him very palpable as her hands gently clutched the letter before she pulled it against her chest. He would be back, and then she could have him in her arms again.

While she was a bit worried and slightly mad at him for going after Cornelia himself, she also knew how deeply he cared about setting things right. She knew how much it had troubled him to have to leave Cornelia free to continue wreaking havoc upon the kingdom and killing innocent people. They had talked about it on several occasions.

He had described just how hopeless he felt, knowing that people were being killed and maimed by what could only be described as a psychopath who seemingly took pleasure for mistreating those around her. All the while they focused their attention on the Empire and defeating Edelgard. She had told him several times how he had made the right choice, and she knew in her heart it had been. Everyone else knew too, and they had all said it was the only logical choice they could make.

And while true, that still didn't make it any easier to know all the pain and suffering that came out of it. All that responsibility and guilt, she knew Byleth carried it on his shoulder, alone. That's just who he was as a person. It didn't matter how many times she had tried to explain to him that it wasn't his fault, he still acted as if it was.

So in the end she couldn't really be mad at him for going after Cornelia. She knew he would take care of her and put an end to that vile monster. Which is more than she ever would deserve for all that she had done.

Sending a prayer to the goddess to protect Byleth as he did this, Lysithea put the letter away as she slowly and a bit unsteady at first, rose to get dressed and go outside for a while. She needed some fresh air and some food.