Garreg Mach. The center of everything, and the only place that felt like home. Byleth tucked a bit of stray hair behind her ear, taking in how the sunlight seemed to make the stone walls sparkle. A strong sense of longing swept over her, and she found herself thinking back to the first time she wandered around its twisting grounds, attempting to remember where everything was. It'd been so long since then. She was essentially a different person now. Whether that was a good thing or not had yet to be seen.

"There it is. Garreg Mach, and the Officer's Academy." Edelgard stated, coming to a stop by her side.

"It's quite beautiful," Byleth said, turning her gaze to Edelgard. "But I get the sense it's full of depth few have quite comprehended."

"Oh?" Edelgard replied, her eyebrow rising in likely either intrigue or confusion, "That's an interesting thought. Care to elaborate?"

"Places are a lot like people, in a way." Byleth folded her hands behind her, and met the younger girl's eyes, tilting her head slightly as she continued, "For example, I've only just seen Garreg Mach, and only just met you. Both are beautiful, and both undoubtedly hold an amount of depth that is carefully guarded and known to very few. From this surface encounter, I don't know much about either. If one can be split into the many perspectives of others, what, then is the truth of one's being? Is it an amalgamation of all these perspectives, or perhaps it is something completely unique, that can only be revealed by the one in question?"

With a quick spin of her heel, Byleth continued forward once again, waiting until she heard Edelgard's briefly delayed steps catch up with hers. "It's my opinion that you can never know a place, or know someone completely, until you reach out your hand and listen closely to what they leave unspoken. I wonder, if someone were to reach out their hand to you, would you reach out right back?"

She glanced over to her favorite student, who had her brow furrowed. "I-" Edelgard began, but Byleth simply shook her head.

"No need to give an answer, I'm speaking hypothetically, after all."

The rest of the walk to the interior was spent conversing with Dimitri and Claude, enthusiastically asking about her past jobs and achievements. She may have mixed in a couple things that were yet to happen, but really, as long as Jeralt couldn't hear and object, who would be the wiser? As expected, Sothis chimed in to suggest telling them about the time they fought a dragon, and Edelgard remained silently deep in thought, oblivious to the idle chit chat around her.

"It's Rhea. Great." Jeralt grumbled. The walk through the grounds had gone by quicker than expected, it seemed. Byleth lifted her eyes to meet those of the Immaculate One, looking down on them from above and framed by sunlight in a way that made her appear ethereal. They held each others' gazes for a beat, and then another. The air felt heavy with tension, tightness settled into Byleth's chest. Another beat, and then they were inside, out of her field of vision. Byleth let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding, forcibly attempting to seem more lax than she really was. If she hadn't been swirling with anxiety over the woman before, seeing her face to face again would have certainly done it. She almost wished Sothis would interrupt with a silly quip, or offer up her opinion as she did for most things, but the goddess remained silent. It's not as if she could be blamed either, surely her own feelings were in just as much turmoil over the matter.

"Listen, kiddo." Jeralt whispered, "I know she's the archbishop and all, but be careful around Rhea, okay? She's got to be up to something." Byleth nodded, her throat feeling as though she were being strangled. Once again, Rhea stood before her, desperation and longing hidden expertly behind a gentle smile.

"Thank you for your patience, Jeralt. I am Seteth, advisor to the archbishop."

Seteth and Jeralt faded into background noise as dark clouds enveloped Byleth's mind. She couldn't break her gaze away from Rhea, conflicting memories of betrayal, of hatred, of love, of parenthood, all crashing into one another like wild waves of a stormy sea. Sothis's memories and feelings, and her own memories and feelings, were both soaked in indecision.

"Are you alright, dear?" Byleth blinked, realizing all eyes were on her. Rhea wore a worried expression. She must have zoned out too far to notice she was being addressed.

Taking a shaky breath, Byleth quickly tried to gather herself. "...Yes, my apologies. I was simply...overwhelmed. I'm afraid I'm not used to such large places." She lied through her teeth.

Rhea's features softened, and she placed a comforting hand on Byleth's shoulder, to which Byleth had to use all her self control to keep from tensing at. "I understand your fears, but I hope Garreg Mach can, in time, feel like a second home for you. Should you need any help accommodating, please, do not hesitate to come to me."

"O-Okay…" Byleth squeaked, begging Sothis to let this interaction end already.

As Rhea removed her hand, Byleth could feel Jeralt's eyes on her. "Come on, kiddo. Let's head to the captain's quarters for a bit, yeah?" Byleth could only nod as he excused them, and led her away. Once certain they were alone, Jeralt turned to her, worry evident in his face. "You doing alright, hun? I don't remember a time I've seen you so rattled."

Byleth sighed, rubbing her arms absentmindedly. "Yeah, it's just nerves is all."

"Bullshit." Byleth looked up sharply. Jeralt had never called her out so blatantly before. "That was genuine fear back there, and I know for a fact I've never seen that expression on you till now. Spill."

"Look, I…" Byleth frowned. She couldn't exactly explain why she'd been frozen to the spot like that without revealing too much. The other times she'd been in Rhea's presence had been simple, she didn't have to feel anything if she knew she was going to reset it all in the end. This time, however, was supposed to be the last. Confronting the feelings she'd been suppressing for multiple timelines had been more overwhelming than she'd expected.

"Why not tell him?" Sothis offered suddenly, "If we can't save him, then why waste what should be our final timeline pretending with him?"

As Byleth looked into her father's concerned eyes, the grief of his past deaths washed over her anew. Sothis had a point.

"Dad...I have something I'd like to...let you in on."