middaeg | and i know the wonders that my hands can make

The Divine Pulse. I'm an exceptional tactician, but... [ the past byleth moves closer to the clash of heavily armored knights and the cavalry. she looks between hilda's body and the remnants of her troops, to the defensive position she had left, seeming to run mental calculations. her attention then turns to the remains of the cavalry battalion, mentally tracing a line. then something... strange happens. the scene warps further, but still remains frozen. everything jumps with a further ripple, the frozen scene replaced with one from a few moments prior. hilda and marianne both alive but still unmoving in place, their troops distanced from one another. further back, more skips and jumps until the imperial line is unified. then the still scenes jump forward again as the past byleth watches the sequence of events more closely, watching when they broke off. when they drew hilda's attention. she's apparently still trying to make sense of what exactly went wrong and when. ]

More than the Sword, or anything else... this is the power Sothis granted me. A hand on the flow of time.

[Lorenz watched breathlessly, his gaze carefully following every warp and change to the scene with the backward flow of time. It was beyond anything that he had ever dared to imagine, but already his thoughts were leaping with parallels to the version of Byleth he did know.

Somehow, the particular weariness he had seen underneath the quiet mercenary's seemingly passive demeanor during moments when the Ashen Demon felt he wasn't being watched made more sense.]

...You may turn me into a believer yet, [He intoned softly, as if unconsciously unwilling to disrupt the eerie silence. The itself was still; no birds cried in the distance.]

But what a terrible power to wield. How many times did you have to do this? How much have you seen?

[A rational man at heart, he had to know-- even if a part of him wavered in trepidation over the truth.]

I've no desire to do that. She's gone. [ slight hesitation, for a moment ] ... And I've seen more than I care to think of. [ she says that, finally, a bit of weariness in her voice. ] This is why I say your timelines are broken. It's not... pride, or arrogance, it's...

[ it's a hard-fought certainty, in her eyes. she's poured too much into ensuring the correct future to see them as anything else.

the still scenes seem to jump forward to the "present" again, and the phantom byleth finally nods. the dark inversion of the colors around them sets back in again, and the battle... rewinds. everything plays out in reverse but faster, until they stand back at the outskirts of derdriu alongside the imperial army. time resumes.

"...take over the port and close the entry to the city, derdriu will be under our control. each soldier should bear that in mind as they advance." edelgard's voice, as she confers with byleth and hubert as she had before. the past byleth, tone still deadened, speaks. as she had not before.

"our goal is claude. he wants to force an engagement, so we must do it on our terms as much as possible. we risk unnecessary casualties pushing through the city... i'll have a detachment block entry by land and assist any remaining evacuees. if we mass our forces to punch through the almyrans at the docks, then soften his fortifications with the vanguard: mages, archers, flyers hitting and running... we can take his position with minimal loss..." ]

Edited 2020-04-16 04:19 (UTC)

...It's too great a weight for one person to carry.

[He said simply, quietly. There was no pity or sense of accusation in his tone, but a statement of fact. No single person should have had to carry the fates of so many people on their shoulders.]

It's no longer mine.

[ she says that just as plainly. ] What remains, when I return to Fódlan... that's the hard part. But I don't fear what's to come.

[ the scene shifts, in a strange shimmering of their surroundings. it's an imperial encampment, near sunset. the walls of fhirdiad loom in the distance. phantoms of byleth and edelgard, both equipped for battle, are having a moment alone. their body language is... open, unguarded. edelgard's currently mid-sentence. byleth's hand, as it has in the past, goes to the gold and red pendant at her neck. ]

... swore to free the people from Rhea by striking her down, whether or not it meant making an enemy out of you. And yet...you came to my aid and chose to walk with me on the path against Rhea. I was overjoyed of course, but I was also confused. I thought that perhaps it wasn't the path you were meant to take. But I chose to trust in you, to rely on you and your strength. And now, here we are.

[ the phantom byleth seems to have the hint of a smile on her face, and nods. "i understand." ]

After Rhea is gone from this world, I don't know what will become of you. But whatever happens, I hope you know that you're very special to me. I hope that I hold a special place in your heart as well. But regardless...

[The change in the scenery was dizzying, but the towering buildings of Fhirdiad in the distance was a strange comfort once the scene settled. Although they were now in Faerghus, he had seen those walls enough times to recognize them and what they represented. The quiet in the air, as if waiting on bated breath for a storm to crash upon them, was also a strangely peaceful backdrop for the hushed conversation.

Brows furrowing at the implications of what he heard, Lorenz turned to Byleth.]

You're not...?

['Dying'. The word itself was not one to be said lightly.]

... No. But I gave everyone a scare, after the battle... I collapsed after the Immaculate One fell.

[ the phantom of edelgard continues. ]

You are the one person in this world who can share the heavy burden I must carry. Someone without equal who I can always speak my mind to... [ her attention shifts as a signal is given. ] It's time. Let's go, Professor.

[ the two phantoms make to leave, heading to where the army waits to start making its final march towards the city. ]

And that was the time you came from, wasn't it?

[He recalled the Byleth from that dream-- how harrowed she seemed, and how uncommonly weary she looked on her feet.

Lorenz watched the scene quietly, not bothering to hide the soft smile that came to him unbidden.]

...You two are good for each other.

[ she hums confirmation at his question. as for the rest...well, that's not a simple statement of opinion, byleth thinks. especially with that smile. ]

It's that obvious, is it?

[He turned that smile upon Byleth.]

You're softer when you speak of her, [Lorenz explained quietly,] And she seems softer when you come up in conversation.

...I do not know the details, Byleth. Even if it were possible for me to know, it wouldn't be my place to try. The both of you are good for each other in a way that's rare to see in any world, and I'm glad that you both have each other.

[ byleth smiles a bit, glancing away from lorenz. her relationship with edelgard, largely undefined as it is, is something she doesn't know how to talk about with much specificity. but hearing that her feelings are clear, even to someone uninvolved... that's reassuring, in an odd way.

the scene shifts forward again. fhirdiad is in flames, the fanatical last holdouts of the church and the kingdom standing alongside the church's looming mechanical dolls as the black eagle strike force punches through the "defenders" of the city. an inhuman, bellowing roar echoes from the near distance. a warped, howling version of a woman's voice—the archbishop's voice—screams out: ]

Open your hearts and accept your fate... The immaculate roar saves only the righteous!

[ dream-byleth slices through a wave of kingdom troops in a single swirling arc of the sword of the creator, extending her hand as magma surges up from beneath one of the machines and eats through its outer armor.

they're deep towards the city center now. they've gained too much ground to turn around.

gilbert rushes for annette. there's an exchange that the past byleth hadn't quite heard, and he continues, axe in hand. annette extends her hand to cast, glyph circling in front of her... and a tornado of cutting winds entraps gilbert and several of his men, shredding them where they stand.

dream-byleth stalls the flow of time, that same searching look briefly on her face... and then shakes her head after only a second, mouth twisting with grim determination, allowing time to resume. saving gilbert could bring nothing good. "can't turn back now..." she says to herself. edelgard, next to her, doesn't appear to hear. dream-byleth speaks up much more loudly, calling orders over the din. ]

Linhardt! Lysithea! Warp us to the Immaculate One's position! Everyone break through the last line and link up with us!

Edited 2020-04-17 22:20 (UTC)

[Anyone who openly made claims of righteousness was far from righteous themselves.\

Lorenz's lips formed a tight line on his face as he watched the beast that was the Archbishop-- the Immaculate One-- preside over the havoc of the once glorious city of Fhirdiad. The miraculous wonders of engineering that were the towering dolls only added to the surreal nature of the battle that was happening before them. There were too many details to grasp at once-- he was far from a professional strategist-- but Lorenz could still see the general flow of the events on the field.]

You both are going for the Beast alone? That's madness!

[But, there was no other way.]

Just watch. [ she only smiles slightly at lorenz, as before them the mages do as ordered, sending the emperor, the general and their personal troops onwards. in a flash, they stand before the mad dragon who towers above them. with only a look, they understand each other's resolve. ]

I see the years have not cured humanity of its folly... You still wish to hurt and betray my mother and myself! [ dream-byleth fully unleashes the sword of the creator with two words, "sublime heaven.", staring down the dragon with hatred in her eyes. a swirl of power from the blade, a strike meant to clear whole sections of the battlefield at once, shatters part of her defenses. the immaculate one lets out a pained roar, swiping her claws at dream-byleth's position. a few soldiers fall, but she rolls to dodge. ] Give her back... Give back my mother!

[ edelgard gives seiros a challenging look. ]

So it's true. You don't value human life at all. Isn't that right, Immaculate One?

[ the dragon snarls. ] Nonsense! Fools who do not accept their own sins are undeserving of salvation! You humans are the ones who betrayed! You betrayed me, and you betrayed my mother!

I did not betray you or her. I never believed in you from the beginning.

[ the two phantoms begin hammering the image of seiros with the full force of their relics, moving with an unnatural speed and strength. her strikes either miss, don't properly connect, or the two of them manage to endure it. their soldiers get in strikes where they can, but they're practically scratches in comparison, and the strength of their battalions is quickly dwindling. as for the final line of defenders, the warp has thrown them into disarray on how to respond, and the strike force routs them without issue. as the imperial soldiers and their commanders begin pouring into the city center, arrows begin to find their marks. ]

[The enraged wails coming from the depths within the beast sounded less and less divine as the minutes passed by, as Edelgard and Byleth both attacked with the full strength of their bodies and weapons. The raw emotion he witnessed was far more earthly than the more pious and devout of their companions would be willing to believe without having witnessed it. Primal fear melded inextricably with a deep, unbridled fury and culminated with a complete disregard for the lives sacrifaced both on that day and in the centuries that had passed before.]

...That is no Saint, [Lorenz uttered in a low voice, giving his innermost thoughts and observations voice.] That is a tantruming child wielding far more power than they had any right to bear.

[To think that this creature had constructed a religion that threaded it's fingers across the expanse of the continent, defining the whole of civilization for the thousands of years that followed.

Lorenz shook his head. He wasn't a believer, but it filled with him disgust to know that the foundations of their culture and society were an utter sham.]

She would have burned down the world out of spite.

[ before long, their personal soldiers have fallen back to the secondary line. the others with relic weapons move to encircle seiros: annette, ingrid, marianne, sylvain, balthus.

before long, the dragon is on the ropes. the other members of the strike force fall back to join the ranged effort, and the final stage of the battle plays out before them. ]

[Nodding, Lorenz quietly stood by Byleth and watched the climactic scene play out before them, noting the way the two warriors fought side by side with the full depths of their hearts. Truly, he could see why Byleth was so firm in her beliefs about the path she had took being the 'correct' one.

Lorenz had no idea that a similar outcome would happen in his.]

Thus is the dawn of a new era,

[He intoned quietly.]

...I'm glad that you get to see it.

... The war isn't truly over. It's simply changed its focus, now.

[ the scene begins to fade out, leaving them back in the looking-glass house. ]

But yes, Fódlan's new dawn is on the horizon.

and i know the wonders that my hands can make

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