Part 1: White Clouds

The Goddess's Rite of Rebirth

"Another day… another contract…"

Jeralt sighed as he got out of his tent and went to the nearby river to wash his face. It had been five years since he left the Church of Seiros, and in that time he founded his own mercenary group. He had to think of some way to make money and this was the only way he could do it. With his skills.

Not to mention he had to pay for all the food that his daughter Byleth was always eating. Honestly, that kid was just as bad as her mother when it came to her appetite. He supposed that just came with the Saiyan blood.

Speaking of Byleth, he found her sitting near the river with her back to it and he wondered what she was trying to do. Though this wasn't anything out of the ordinary for her, she usually slept, ate, or just sat down waiting for him to tell her what to do. But this was different. She never went off on her own. And now she was just sitting there.

"Hey kid, what are you doing?" Jeralt asked, walking up to the child and kneeling in front of her.

"Fishing." Byleth replied still staring ahead. Jeralt was just confused as he looked around to find a rod.

"But… you don't have a fishing rod."

"The fish like my tail. So I use it."

Jeralt raised an eyebrow, before realising that her tail was in the water, slowly swaying as if to attract fish towards it. And right on cue, she lifted up her tail to reveal a very big fish on the end of it and she went to pull it off and presented it to her father.

"So the camp can eat."

He just chuckled and ruffled her blue hair. "I think it will take a lot more than one fish kid. But this is definitely a huge fish. Almost as big as you. Thanks for it though."

He was escorting Byleth back to camp when she asked a question.

"When can we train?"

She always had a monotone way of speaking. He assumed that was because of the fact she had no heartbeat, but the little one always had questions that he tried to answer in the best way.

But this was a different kind. The other mercenaries have tried teaching her how to fight, but they don't know that she is half alien warrior so her punches ended with them having broken bones. Now nobody wants to train with her except him.

"We will once we get into town kid. Remember your tail."

"Of course dad." Byleth replied as the furry brown appendage wrapped itself around her waist, to act like a belt. "I apologise. I will make sure to keep it better hidden."

She always sounded like a Noble reading off of a script. Straight to the point. Never dawdled. It was like this even when he taught her how to speak. "You can free your tail when we are alone."

That's when he truly looked around and noticed the scenery around him. A wide grassy plain with a couple of trees dotted across the scenery, with a nice long river behind them. "Hmm. Why don't we start training now? We don't have to leave for a couple more hours and this feels like the perfect place don't you think?"

He then got into his stance and watched as she slowly smiled and copied it, but lowering herself more to the ground. And there was that smile he loved seeing. But it rarely came and it was only when he mentioned fighting or bringing her food. But he would take what he could get when it came to his daughter showing emotion.

"Alright kid, let's take it slow this time around. No Ki blasts, just fists for now, got it?"

"Yes dad." Byleth replied before she charged towards him and jabbed at his stomach but he caught her fist and threw her towards a tree.

She landed on the trunk and used it to boost herself forward again, this time ducking when he tried grabbing her again and tripped him up using her feet. Normally, a child wouldn't be able to do this to a giant grown man but Byleth wasn't like most kids and was insanely strong.

While Jeralt was in the air, she stuck out her foot and hit him in the chest sending him flying towards the river. But he stopped himself in midair and flew towards Byleth who took a stance again and narrowed her eyes before jabbing him in the face.

But to her shock, her fist completely passed through him and he slowly faded away, and that's when she realised what was happening. But she realised it too late as she was forced to the ground with Jeralt pinning her down.

"You weren't paying attention again kid."

"…I know dad." Byleth said as Jeralt helped her up. "I apologise, I should've known you would use the after-image technique."

"Well, lucky for you we are the only ones who actually use Ki so you don't have to worry about an enemy using that on you. But you must still pay attention in battle. After all, you will be accompanying us on missions next week and I don't want you to get hurt."

"I understand. Thank you." Byleth bowed to him, as he did the same now that the little session had ended. "Can we try again?"

But before Jeralt could reply, a loud growling sound came from Byleth as she held her stomach. Jeralt just smirked a little and shook his head. "You haven't eaten today. It's better to fill in that cave you call a stomach first."

That's when he remembered the fish she caught and held it up. "Think you can get more of these kid?"

"I can." Byleth replied. "The fish are very attracted to my tail."

"Then let's surprise the rest of the camp by bringing in fish for breakfast. Sound good?"

"As you wish."

Byleth was currently in front of the cathedral and blew out a breath. Today was the day that they would undergo their task of protecting the Archbishop. At least, that used to be the goal before they all investigated further, and they theorised that the assailants true motive was to break into the tomb and take the remains of Saint Seiros who was allegedly buried there.

"Professor. Are you ready?"

She turned around to see Edelgard and the rest of Task Force 141 standing there in front of her. Jeralt walked up to her and smiled.

"Let's just make sure no funny business happens down there, got it kid?"

Byleth nodded and joined her Task Force as Claude looked at her. "Feeling confident about what they're truly after Teach?"

"I believe that this is what they are after." Byleth replied.

That's when Jeralt looked at his daughter and nodded. "All that matters is how they make their move from here on out. You okay kid?"

"Yes father." Byleth said, before noticing something was off. "Where are the rest of the Black Eagles?"

"They are off patrolling the grounds. I've placed them under the care of Alois while I accompany you down there. After Castle Gaspard, I'm taking no chances."

"Yes, you seem a might too relaxed for my liking." Seteth said, walking towards the group with Flayn in tow. "The Goddess's Rite of Rebirth is about to begin."

He then turned his attention to Byleth, Jeralt and Shamir. "While we are in the Goddess Tower, we are relying on you to secure the locations that are lacking in defence."

But that's when Flayn shook her head and spoke up, directly speaking to Byleth. "May I let you in on something, Miss Byleth? My brother can be a bit… callous."

Everyone turned towards Flayn as she cracked a smile. "He told me that he was concerned about you, and hinted that perhaps you would be better off patrolling a coffin!"

Seteth quickly cleared his throat and tried to hide the embarrassed blush creeping up on his face while everyone either laughed or smiled. "That was said in jest Flayn! And in confidence. Please just remain by my side and do not cause any more trouble."

With his composure collected, he turned to the trio again. "As the leaders of this Task Force, you would do well to remember that your members are still students at the end of the day, and I expect you to guide them down the path of righteousness."

Flayn bowed to the group and smiled again. "Please excuse us, everyone. We shall see you again after the ceremony has concluded!"

Everybody watched the duo walk away and Jeralt shook his head, letting out a smile. "A coffin. Glad to know he has some sense of humour."

Shamir chuckled too before turning to the group. "Alright everyone, no time to lose. We need to find a good hiding spot where we can guard the steps to the Holy Mausoleum."

"Indeed." Edelgard nodded, smiling. "If the enemy moves as predicted, we should be able to cut off their escape path and capture every last one of them."

Byleth smiled and looked at all the students who had their training uniforms on. It was amazing on the progress Edelgard showed when it came to exposing her skin. And everyone pretty much got used to it once the shock faded away. And she was honestly proud to see everyone wearing them.

"Then let's get going."

"You guys ready?" Claude whispered, hiding behind a pillar with Leonie.

"Stop talking!" Edelgard hissed from her hiding spot. "You'll give us away!"

"Ssh! Here they come!"

Task Force 141 held their breath as the Western Church soldiers came in, wearing strange things on their faces as a mysterious robed figure lead the charge.

"Open your eyes." He said to the soldiers. "Show us the way."

The students then stiffened once they heard a series of commands and shouts.

"Quick, to the coffin!"

"Guard me!"

"Hey! Show yourselves! We know you're here!"

"What? How do they know?" Dimitri whispered to Annette who shrugged.

"So much for a surprise attack. Might as well head on out. Come on Caspar." Edelgard muttered picking herself up.

Task Force 141 exited out of their hiding spots and faced down soldiers from the Western Church who were in front of the mage wearing a mask, guarding him.

They were all wearing something that chilled Jeralt to his core. It might've looked slightly different, but he recognised that design anywhere.

The Western Church soldiers all wore Scouters. That's how they were able to tell where they were hiding.

But the rest of the group were confused. Caspar scratched his head and pointed at the Scouters. "What's with the thing covering their eye? Seems a little strange."

Byleth then noticed how shaken up her father was and frowned. "Is everything okay, dad?"

"How the hell did they get those…" Jeralt muttered as one of the soldiers measured their powers. He turned to his comrades and pointed at Byleth.

"Keep an eye on the blue haired girl. She has the highest power level."

"Buy me some time!" The mysterious mage in front of a coffin at the top yelled. "While I open the seal to the coffin."

"Got it." The soldiers replied getting ready to fight the group.

Claude scratched his head, looking at the mage in the distance. "Looks like they're trying to break open the coffin in the back. Maybe they're going after the Saint's bones? Weird."

Dimitri glowered at them, forming a Ki lance. "We must defeat them before they open the casket!"

He was about to run forward but was quickly stopped by Edelgard. "Look. There are contraptions of some sort on the floor."

Dimitri looked to where she was pointing and saw glowing tiles on the floor. She turned her attention to the group.

"We must pay attention to our enemies' weapons and devices and advance while attacking them from advantageous positions."

"Good call Edelgard." Jeralt replied. "Everyone stay close. Do not get separated. They know how tough you are with those devices on their heads, so be careful!"

Everybody present took their stances as they charged towards the soldiers who were making it their mission to not let them through.

Leading the charge was Caspar who delivered two blows to a soldiers chest and gave him an uppercut right in the chin sending the soldier flying skyward before he gave a right hook to his chest sending him crashing into a wall. He pumped his fists in the air and grinned. "Aw yeah! One down! Who else wants a piece?!"

"Come at me!" Annette yelled from her side of the room at the approaching enemies. "I've been training on how to assemble weapons! I'm not afraid!"

That's when she went and produced a sword and started swinging it wildly. The two soldiers just staring at each other as Annette had her eyes shut while swinging.

"That's it! Take that! Hah! You are done for! I'm going to chop you to pieces!"

They then shrugged and drew their own swords and were about to charge when suddenly they were sliced from behind by Felix, who quietly disposed of them before Annette opened her eyes. She smiled brightly and raised her hands in the air, cheering.

"Hah! See Felix? I told you I'm getting better!"

"You need to work on your form." Felix replied bluntly, walking away from her whilst trying not to look at her. "Now come on. There's more to handle."

"Hey! Don't just walk away! That's rude! At least I'm doing stuff!"

Meanwhile, Leonie yelped dodging an arrow aimed at her head, and shot a Ki blast at another one, disintegrating it. "Hey! I'm trying to get past! You're in my way!"

She dodged another arrow and charged at the archer, punching him in the face knocking him out as she rubbed her knuckles. "Jeez, these are some of the worst henchmen I've ever seen. Can't even take a punch."

"That's probably because we have insane strength. Just a suggestion." Claude smirked, as he fired a Ki beam at an unsuspecting soldier going after Edelgard. She looked at him with wide, surprises eyes as Claude saluted. "Thank me later, Princess!"

Edelgard just glared at him and was next to Dimitri who held his lance. "I'll take the five on the left, you take the five on the right."

"Sounds like a plan. Let's go!"

With that, they charged, careful to avoid the contraptions on the floor as the soldiers tried overwhelming them. But between Edelgard's smaller stature and Dimitri's Crest, both were very difficult to take down. Edelgard just kept on dodging attacks and punched them away, her axe long forgotten. Overtime, she just got sick of using it and preferred hand to hand, like Byleth.

Back at the coffin, the mage turned around and yelled to the figure at the centre of the room who was just sitting there on his horse. "Death Knight! Prove your strength and scatter these fools!"

The being known as the Death Knight just stayed at his spot and growled. "I don't take commands. Or deal with weaklings. There is only one foe that I am after."

Shamir dodged a sword swing and punched a soldier into a wall before staring at the Death Knight. Her head throbbed as she managed to sense the power. "That foe is giving off an incredible aura. We may be wise to avoid him for now."

But Edelgard clenched her fist and gritted her teeth after noticing it, knowing full well who that figure was. 'Those bastards! They really went and done it! I knew I shouldn't have… but this is necessary… isn't it?'

She quickly disposed of an archer and piped up, trying to distract herself. "I agree. No good can come from challenging him."

"The one known as Byleth Eisner. Face me in combat."

Byleth was holding a soldier by the throat and slowly dropped him to the ground, walking over to the Death Knight, with the idea of a challenge sounding good, to which Edelgard protested.

"Professor you can't!" Edelgard screamed, trying to hold her in place. "He's too powerful."

But Byleth narrowed her eyes and stepped forward and looked at the students. "Dispose of the soldiers. Don't let any escape. This one is mine."

Edelgard tried to get her to stay but Jeralt spoke up. "Listen to your mentor, brat. Help is round up survivors too. We can use them for questioning."

She slowly relented and ran off, with Death Knight getting off his horse as a dark aura enveloped him, staring down Byleth. "Long have I waited for this moment. You are the only worthy foe. Now come at me."

Byleth growled and powered up to her max, not taking any chances. She couldn't explain it, but his Ki was absurd. It was like the Goliath and Lonato but more potent… did they manage to perfect that dark crystal?

To test out her theory, she charged an Ashen Blast and fired it at the Death Knight who sliced through it with his scythe and charged towards her. She growled silently and braced herself. She knew if she got hit by that scythe then it was over, and she didn't want to waste too many Divine Pulses. She back flipped over the knight and punched him in the back sending him flying towards the wall which dented it. A few seconds passed before the Death Knight got back up and slowly cracked his neck with his aura getting darker.

"Ugh… impressive. This is what I wanted for so long. Show me more!"

She gritted her teeth watching him power up and channel dark Ki into his scythe which oozed deadly energy. He then swung at her which cut her clean in half… only to realise that it was an After-Image technique he struck which meant she was still around. He then looked up and saw her come sailing down with her feet outstretched and the blow landed on his head which sent him flying again into a wall. Byleth landed on the ground and glared.

"Had enough? I can tell you aren't used to this power." Byleth explained while staying in her stance. "It's like you don't even know how to use it."

The Death Knight panted and slowly picked himself up and pointed at Byleth, charging up a dark Ki beam from his finger. "Let's see you survive this- URK!"

He collapsed to the ground after getting struck by a powerful attack. Byleth whirled around to see Lysithea holding her hands out and charged up an attack as she clenched her fist which had a dark glow to it and thrusted it forward.

"SUPER DEATH SPIKES!"

The attack struck the Death Knight in multiple areas, making him spill to the ground, with his armour cracked badly and smoke coming off it as he grunted, slowly picking himself up and he sighed. "You're good… the girl interests me… we shall meet again, Byleth Eisner…"

With that, the Death Knight teleported away as Lysithea pointed to the mysterious mage and yelled at Byleth. "Stop him! You have a clear path to him! We will hold off the rest!"

"Thank you Lysithea." Byleth nodded and glared at the mage who was chanting to himself and his hands had an aura around them and raised above his head. She dashed forward when he noticed her charging towards him and turned around.

"You are too late!" The mage yelled cackling. "The seal will be broken any minute now! Begone with you!"

He charged up a fire spell and threw it at Byleth but she dodged out of the way and punched him straight in the stomach causing him to slam against the coffin and he grinned under his mask after feeling the cover budge.

"It's no use! The seal is broken!" He yelled pushing the cover off and digging through the contents. "You are too late- huh? A sword?"

The mage pulled out a strange looking sword which Byleth saw and quickly disarmed him by punching him and tripping him up causing him to fall down the steps. She caught the sword and looked at it before clutching her head in pain as a massive migraine hit her. It was like a burning feeling as she felt her head becoming lighter.

"What's… going on…"

While she was distracted, the mage charged up a fire spell and launched it towards her. But she luckily saw it coming in time and slashed through the attack before noticing the sword glowed red.

"I-Impossible!" The mage yelled backing away from her, before realising he was backed into a corner. Byleth decided to take advantage of her new weapon and charged towards the mage who conjured up a shield. But between her strength and the sword, she cut through it with ease and shot a Ki blast through his heart, killing him instantly.

She looked over his corpse to make sure he stayed dead before inspecting the weapon, noting the strange hole in it's hilt. But that's when the migraine came back and she grit her teeth, clutching her head.

"My teacher! Are you okay?" She turned around to see Edelgard and Dimitri run up to her and her vision went white completely and she remembered it felt like that dream she had.

Byleth opened her eyes and realised that she was no longer in the same place that she was before. She was in a throne room, and she realised there was someone on one knee panting hard, as if having fought a hard battle.

But upon closer inspection, she realised this was Edelgard, in the same outfit as the last vision. Byleth then looked to her left to see her future self standing there, with that same sword in her hand. Her mint green hair seeming to radiate and her green eyes staring down at the girl. Her tail coiled tightly around her waist.

Finally Edelgard spoke. "It seems… that my path… will end here…"

She gripped her axe which housed a strange stone in the hole… a hole similar to the one in Byleth's sword. The Mercenary looked at her weapon and back between her future self and Edelgard.

"My teacher… claim your victory. Strike me down, you must!"

Byleth ran up to Edelgard and fell to her knees trying to grab her, but found her arms pass through her student. "Edelgard… I can't do that…"

But she looked straight into Edelgard's lavender eyes as she continued. "Even now… across this land… are killing each other… if you do not end it right now… this conflict… will go on forever…"

Edelgard looked straight through Byleth and towards her future self and grit her teeth. "Your path… lies across my grave. It is time for you to find the courage to walk it."

"If I must fall…" Edelgard muttered, bowing her head. "Let it be by your hand."

Byleth turned around to see her future self grip the hilt of the sword tightly and slowly walk over to Edelgard. She tried to stop her but forgot that this wasn't real and so Future Byleth passed through her, and slowly raised her sword high above her head, and Byleth noticed something different about Future Byleth.

Were those… tears in her eyes? Did she learn how to cry?

"I wanted… to walk with you."

"NOOOOOOO!"

Byleth reached out and tried to stop Future Byleth from killing her, but there was nothing she could do. But when the sword connected with Edelgard's head, everything went white and Byleth clutched her head, dropping the sword in the process.

When the pain subsided, she realised that they were in the same room. But something was different. Dimitri was there now, and was walking up to Edelgard, and Byleth noticed how different he looked from the first vision. He didn't look crazy and manic anymore. She saw Future Byleth stand behind him and he extended a hand towards Edelgard who looked up at him.

No words were exchanged and Byleth noticed something in Edelgard's hand which she then threw at Dimitri. But as quick as a flash, Dimitri stabbed her in the throat with his Ki lance and grunted loudly in pain mixed with disappointment. He watched Edelgard flop to the ground as he pulled out a dagger from his shoulder and dropped it on the ground. Byleth placed a hand on her chin and rubbed it in thought.

"So Edelgard is the key to this future? Every vision involves her death?"

Then Byleth clutched her head again and screamed, falling to her knees as everything went white once more. When she opened her eyes, they were in a different place. Ruins were around her, and fire was everywhere.

Suddenly, she whipped her head around to hear a loud roar and saw a giant beast in front of her Future self and….. Edelgard?

Wait a minute. They're working together now? So there's a path to which they are together?

"GIVE IT BACK!"

"Wait… that's Rhea's voice…"Byleth said as she looked at the giant beast. She knew something was off about the Archbishop but nothing to this extent.

"When humanity stands strong and people reach out for each other, there's no need for gods! Rhea, your reign of tyranny is over!" Edelgard stated as Rhea just breathed out, having no energy to retort.

Tyranny? Rhea? Byleth thought she was a little strange sometimes, but she feels like she's missing a lot of context for this situation. The other two visions before this were easy to understand but not this one.

Future Byleth looked to Edelgard and nodded to her as she nodded back. "The time has come."

Rhea did one last attack and charge up a ball of fire before spewing fire down their path as they both dodged it and ran towards her.

"I am ending this once and for all!" Edelgard screamed as she and Future Byleth jumped towards Rhea's headband slammed their weapons down on her head, killing her instantly as the beast collapsed to the ground, green blood oozing out of the wound. Everything was silent.

"Is it… is it over?" Edelgard whispered before she noticed Future Byleth collapsed and fainted. Something Byleth wasn't expecting to happen.

Was she dead? Edelgard noticed how there was no pulse on her and her grip on the sword loosened causing it to fall on the hard stone. Edelgard bowed her head and started crying, something Byleth never saw her student do.

But then she saw her future self change. Her hair slowly turning back to it's original colour of blue, and Edelgard hearing something in her chest and started laughing to herself and hugged Future Byleth crying happily.

Everything was now frozen in place as Byleth watched the scenery slowly zoom out and be with the other two she saw. Like three distinct paintings.

"They are the paths that I took."

Byleth slowly turned to see her future self standing there, clothes disheveled and panting, while bearing some new cuts than the last time they met.

"I don't understand, how did this happen?" Byleth asked as she looked at the three visions before her. Future Byleth just laughed a little and shook her head.

"You won't remember much after this, so I will tell you. There will come a time where you have to choose a path. Those include fighting for the Church, fighting for the Kingdom of Faerghus, fighting for the Leicester Alliance, or fighting for the Adrestian Empire."

That's when Byleth turned to her Future self again. "When we last met, you told me to break the cycle. What did you mean by that?"

"I'm sure you realise how it is that I know about these different outcomes. We have lived this countless times. But it all ends the same way…"

Byleth was confused now as she walked towards her future self. "What do you mean?"

That's when a force threw Byleth back and she heard a voice coming from somewhere which made Future Byleth freeze in fear.

"FINALLY… I HAVE FOUND YOU…"

"There isn't time!" Future Byleth yelled, drawing her sword and powering up. "The next time we meet, I will explain more! Now go! GO!"

"No wait!" Byleth yelled stretching her hand out but found reality around her shattering. And she frantically tried looking around before she realised she was in a black void once more.

"Professor! Are you okay?"

"Hey Teach! Snap out of it!"

Byleth blinked as she realised that they were back in the Holy Mausoleum and everybody looked at her strangely. She then noticed a newly healed Catherine had run downstairs with the Knights of Seiros and looked confused at what happened.

"Kid, you've been staring at that thing for a while, are you okay?" Jeralt asked as Byleth suddenly felt light headed and collapsed to the ground, sword still in hand. Everyone was now alarmed and ran to her.

"Professor!"

"Teach!"

"Get her to Manuela now!"

"Round up any survivors!"

"Oh please be okay…

"Wake up already!"

Byleth groaned as her eyes fluttered open once more and found herself in the familiar black void once again, and wondered if she was having another vision. But then she heard a voice she was glad to hear.

"Finally… you really worried me." She turned around to see Sothis sitting on her throne, brows furrowed as she sat up. "Your mind completely closed off when you touched that sword. I couldn't communicate with you or anything. What in the world happened?"

Byleth was about to respond but frowned deeply as no memories were available to view. She just shook her head. "Just break the cycle…"

Sothis also frowned and rubbed her chin while closing her eyes. "It seems our little mystery is getting deeper each day. Between my memories and your fainting spells, we are quite the odd pair aren't we? But more importantly, are you ok?"

"I think so." Byleth replied, as her tail wrapped round her wrist before she pulled it away, and let it swing about naturally. "Just a sore head. Whatever happened, that sword is connected."

"Yes, I got hit with a wave of nostalgia when you touched it. It's like it's a part of me…"

But then Sothis smiled and clapped her hands together. "Well, it is time for you to wake up. I promise that we will sort out our little mysteries together. Right?"

"Right…"

Byleth groaned softly and slowly sat up, rubbing her head as she was in the bed of the infirmary. Manuela noticed her waking up and smiled.

"Hello dear, welcome back to the land of the living. You gave everyone quite the scare."

"How long… have I been out for?"

"Oh just a couple of hours." Manuela replied, pouring herself a drink. "Though your ailment is a mystery to me. The only logical conclusion I could draw up was stress crashing down on you. Unless you can help me out?"

Byleth looked down and frowned. "I'm afraid… I cannot. I have no memory of what happened, I touched that sword and then everything went white."

"Curious… well, if you will just give me a minute, I will perform some checks on you to see if you are fit to be discharged."

Manuela picked up some tools and placed them on a tray before carrying it over to Byleth's bed and sat on a chair now starting the tests. They involved testing her temperature, looking at her pupils, and once Manuela was happy with the results, she got Byleth to stand up and do some balancing tests such as lifting a leg and touching her nose at the same time. Lastly, she asked Byleth to walk to one end of the room and come back to the spot. Manuela nodded and looked at her sheet of paper, before looking at Byleth.

"Okay, you seem to be fine. There's no lasting ailments… aside from your lack of a heartbeat, but Professor Jeralt informed me how you've had that since birth. You are free to go."

"Thank you. I apologise for troubling you."

"Oh don't be silly, I'm just doing my job." Manuela laughed, before smirking at her and shaking her empty glass. "But you could treat me to a drink at some point."

"Oh? Sure, just tell me when and I'll do that." Byleth said, not expecting something that easy.

"Fantastic! Oh, and be sure to visit your father, he was wanting to talk to you."

"Right… thank you…"

With that, Byleth quickly grabbed her coat and slung it over her shoulders and walked up to her fathers room and was surprised to see him talking to Shamir who had her familiar cup of tea. He stood up once he heard her come in.

"Hello dad. I am okay now-"

She stopped as he hugged her tightly and sighed stroking her hair. "Don't you ever worry me like that again kid. It's one thing to be recovering from injuries, but when you collapse out of nowhere, that's when I assume the worst. Are you definitely okay?"

Byleth was stunned at the hug but slowly nodded, pumping a fist. "I am. I'm sorry that I worried you all. Did we…"

Shamir, having a hunch on what Byleth was asking, set her cup down and nodded. "We manage to wrangle up stragglers. Turns out they were from the Western Church. We sent them to be executed for their crimes."

But then she saw her friend stiffen at that and sighed. "Rhea gave the order. Not only were they the ones behind the plot, but they were also the ones responsible for convincing Lord Lonato to rebel. The amount of crimes-"

"That doesn't mean that they should be killed." Byleth interrupted, as her tail twitched in anger. "Sure, they committed crimes, but we shouldn't pass judgement on who lives and who doesn't."

"Kid, calm down." Jeralt grunted. "I may not like it either, but what's done is done. Don't forget that we are under Rhea's command while we are here."

Byleth was staring at the floor, but that's when Shamir spoke up. "There's more. That masked individual that you fought. He got away, and we have not seen him since."

"Though while Rhea prefers this to be a open and shut case, this is still bugging me." Shamir continued, rubbing her chin. "It makes no sense for the Western Church to pull something like this."

"Suppose it just proves that the Church isn't as united as you may think." Jeralt grunted, folding his arms. "The church is lead by those here, while the Western Church seems to have always hated the fact that the church is ruled centrally at Garreg Mach."

"The Western Church…" Byleth frowned, confused on the naming conventions and Jeralt sighed.

"That's right, I forgot I raised you without any knowledge of the Church."

"Where in the world were you taking her growing up?" Shamir asked, astonished at that fact. She may not be from Fódlan, but even she knew about the church. She then shook her head and decided to help explain to the clueless Byleth.

"Basically, to be more efficient, the church split into several smaller groups. The Central Church is the largest and it leads the organisation right here."

"The Western Church is around Castle Gaspard, where Lonato made his rebellion." Jeralt continued, scratching his head. "It's near the Kingdom's strongest fortress known as Arianrhod. If I had to imagine, I'd say the whole point of the Western Church's mission was to Eliminate Rhea and with that, the Central Church's authority."

"Except they focused most of their efforts below the Monastery."

Both Shamir and Jeralt looked at Byleth who was adjusting her wrist braces. "You saw it yourself. They were more interested in the Holy Mausoleum. And what was in that coffin…"

"You're right. This isn't making any sense." Shamir commented, pinching the bridge of her nose to quell an approaching headache. "But what's done is done. Though I have to admit, you've surprised me yet again Byleth."

Byleth tilted her head as Shamir continued. "I may be from Dagda, but I grew up with knowledge of the Church of Seiros. But you? You didn't even know what it was when you came here."

"I would've preferred if we never came back." Jeralt said. "It's not exactly calming my nerves being here still."

Byleth was about to ask him what he meant by that, before they heard the door knock and Seteth entered, with his hands behind his back. "Miss Byleth, I was told that I would find you here. It seems that Lady Rhea would like a word with you. Come with me."

"The Archbishop lives." Lord Arundel scoffed as he was talking to the Flame Emperor in the middle of a field somewhere. "Not that I had ever placed much faith in those swine from the Western Church."

"I have news. Both good and bad." The Flame Emperor stated. The remains of Seiros were not in the tomb. However, something else was. The Sword of the Creator."

"Ah, the weapon wielded by that thief, the King of Liberation." Lord Arundel chuckled to himself while under the mask, the Flame Emperor bit the inside of it's cheek to prevent lashing out.

"Thief? Hm. At any rate, it is now in the hand's of Byleth Eisner. She is very powerful and-"

"I am fully aware of Miss Eisner and her abilities. Considering we have fought someone like her in the past."

He could see the Flame Emperor wanted to know more but smirked to himself. "Back on topic."

"Hm. Very well. I doubt you'll be surprised to hear that the Crest Stone had already been removed from the sword when it was found."

Arundel frowned and nodded. "Hmph. As expected. It would be foolish to keep both in the same location."

"There's more." The Flame Emperor replied. "Byleth Eisner was able to awaken the sword's true power. Even without the Crest Stone, the sword glowed red. Byleth Eisner's Crest is compatible. There is no mistaking it."

Arundel just shook his head and frowned. "Absurd. Using a Relic without it's Crest Stone should be impossible. The King of Liberation's bloodline should not even… Hmm."

The Flame Emperor continued it's report. "They should be allowed to keep it, for now. I do not have enough information about Byleth Eisner to act."

That's when the Flame Emperor was silent for a moment. Which Arundel noticed. "You seem like you want to say something. Well, out with it."

"As for your request… I assent. The Death Knight is yours to command. Use him well."

"There, was that so hard?" Arundel smirked, knowing that behind that mask was an irritated look. "And I believe you brought your Vassal to our ranks too. You have proven yourself worthy of coming into our cause. Be sure that you do not waste this opportunity. And how do you plan on getting Hubert von Vestra out of the Academy?"

"You leave that up to me. I have a plan."

Arundel let out a dark chuckle as he walked away. "Good. I believe I will enjoy this a great deal…"

The Flame Emperor watched him teleport away as dark magic enveloped it's armour and Edelgard stood in place with her training outfit still on. She looked at her scarred hands and clenched them at the thought of punching her uncle in the face.

"It is done?"

She turned to see Hubert standing there with his hands behind his back. She slowly nodded. "You know of the plan?"

Hubert nodded back as Edelgard sighed. "Thank you."

He smirked and bowed. "Anything for you, Lady Edelgard."

"Well then… let's do it."

Byleth was standing in front of Rhea, who smiled widely at her. "I cannot thank you enough for defeating those invaders in the Holy Mausoleum, and especially for protecting the Sword of the Creator. It seems that I was right to place trust in this Task Force."

She looked at Byleth who was looking at the sword Rhea was holding. "This sword is one of the Heroes' Relics and the most precious guarded artefact in the church's possession. But it is also a weapon of terrifying power."

Rhea then smiled and held the sword out to her. "For now… I will entrust the sword to you. Please, use it wisely."

This angered Seteth greatly and he wheeled around to glare at the Archbishop. "Lady Rhea, wait! Do you truly mean to give the Sword of the Creator to this stranger?! Surely it is not the sort of thing one hands over so readily, even to someone who has the ability to wield it! If someone like Nemesis were to appear again, all of Fódlan would be consumed by war!"

A sharp pain rang through Byleth's head as she rubbed it and asked. "Nemesis? Who is that?"

Seteth turned his attention back to Byleth and explained. "Nemesis, the King of Liberation. He is an ancient king of mankind who was defeated by Seiros over a thousand years ago. When Fódlan was attacked by wicked gods, it is said that the goddess gifted Nemesis with the Sword of the Creator. Nemesis used that sword to defeat the wicked gods, saving all of Fódlan. Henceforth he was dubbed the King of Liberation."

Seteth then closed his eyes and shook his head. "However, his power began to corrupt him until he, himself, turned to the darkness. Saint Seiros was forced to destroy him."

He looked back at Rhea who still held the sword out and had a glazed look over her face, as if remembering something. "Lady Rhea, I beg you to reconsider. Given a little more time, we could more accurately assess this stranger's abilities."

Rhea just shook her head and smiled. "No I have faith Seteth. Faith that our friend here will not be corrupted by wickedness. Since the death of Nemesis, none have been able to wield the Sword of the Creator. Now, after all those long years of being sealed away, it has returned and found a new master."

But before Rhea could continue, Byleth just stared at her. "I don't want it."

The room fell deathly silent as Rhea just stared back, unblinking as she tried to comprehend what Byleth just said, the sword trembling in her grip. "I-I beg your pardon?"

"I don't want it. I was never one for swords, I prefer close combat. And should I ever need weapons, I could just make them. So you keep it."

Rhea was at a loss for words. She was not expecting this outcome as she tried to form words. "I can…. Keep it?! B-But you must!"

"Lady Rhea?" Seteth asked, now a little concerned at this change of behaviour.

"B-B-Besides, one more t-thing." Rhea stammered, as her eyes turned to slits for a split second, which sent Seteth on edge. "Y-You are the most powerful person in this Monastery, so who better to guard it?"

"I suppose I can not argue with that…" Byleth mumbled but gasped as the sword who shoved against her.

"Then take it! I insist!"

Byleth looked down and blew out a breath, hoping those images wouldn't flash in her mind again. But when she grabbed the hilt, nothing happened. It was safe to take.

But both she and Seteth took note of Rhea's strange behaviour just then as Rhea collected herself. "I will have a new mission for you tomorrow. Come back in the morning for a briefing. You are dismissed."

Byleth frowned and slowly stepped away from her and left the room as Seteth turned to Rhea.

"What in the world was all that about?! You have been acting strange lately Archbishop, and I want to know why."

"You are dismissed."

"But-"

"Leave!"

He made a face but slowly bowed to her and turned around. "Very well, Lady Rhea."

Rhea let loose a shaky breath as Seteth exited the room. "Mother… we are so close."

Outside the Audience Chamber, Seteth passed Byleth and looked at her. "Well there you have it, Miss Byleth. See that you do not betray the trust the Archbishop has seen fit to bestow upon you."

With those parting words, Seteth left and Sothis appeared next to Byleth rubbing her chin. 'The Sword of the Creator, The King of Liberation. Each tale is more confusing than the last! And I really can't read that Rhea at all…'

"Her Ki was all over the place during that exchange…" Byleth muttered to which Sothis nodded.

'And that sword is clearly precious… So why is she so keen to gift the thing to you?'

Both of them stared at the sword in Byleth's hand and Sothis sighed. 'I feel as though we have become entangled in a mystery… and there is one more thing that has been plaguing me.'

She floated down and traced the hilt with her fingers. 'The Sword of the Creator… It somehow feels distinct from other Relics we have seen. Such as the one that…'

Sothis groaned loudly scratching her head. 'Oh goodness, what was her name? Cat… Ca…..'

"Catherine?" Byleth said, still looking at the sword as her tail twitched.

'Yes, her! The Sword of the Creator is different from her Thunderbrand in one key way.'

She pointed to the hilt where a giant hole sat in it. 'It bears a hole… where something should have been. But is no more.'

Sothis growled loudly and clutched her head. 'I despise not knowing what's going on! Your heritage, my memories, your visions and now this? It frightens me… and yet, I have to place my trust in you. I must. Whatever comes to pass, please cut a path that is your own.'

"I will." Byleth replied as she sheathed the sword. "I suppose I should train on how to use this thing, shouldn't I? Especially with our foes out there…"

'Hmmmm, yes. That certainly would be wise. Make use of the gift given to you.'

Sothis then yawned loudly and smacked her lips. 'You go ahead and do that… I'm going to… rest…'

Byleth frowned after hearing that and couldn't sense Sothis anymore. She then looked at the sword in her hand and sighed.

"Well, let's get started…"

A couple of days had passed since that day, and right now Byleth was training with the sword in the training arena. And she was surprised how easily she was adapting to using a weapon. It even helped to use it with her Ki attacks. But then she saw Jeralt running up to her, looking really angry. "We gotta go. Now."

"What, why? What's going on?"

"…Hubert is being arrested. For plotting against the Empire."

"Hubert, I can't believe that you would do this! You were my Vassal!" Edelgard cried out, looking at the scene before her.

Hubert had magic linked cuffs on his wrists as two armoured Empire generals were on either side of him. He looked at the Black Eagles before him who were a mixture of shocked and angry.

"Hubie… plotting to kill Edelgard… how could you?" Dorothea whispered while hugging Edelgard tightly and Edelgard hugged back, not baring to look at him.

"I must say Hubert, I am very disappointed in you." Ferdinand said, shaking his head while trying to keep a straight face. But his eyes showed clear betrayal at the man. "Our job was to help Edelgard grow! So she could be a better Emperor!"

"Oh spare me your drivel." Hubert scoffed and glared at Edelgard. "She is weak. Not fit to take the throne. I was merely doing the Empire a favour by killing her. If only I wasn't caught-"

"SHUT UP!" Caspar screamed punching him right in the face, his fists trembling with fury as Hubert fell to his knees, shocking the Black Eagles. The other Empire guards stood in front of Hubert and aimed their lances at Caspar.

"Do not harm the prisoner, or you will join him!"

"Bring it!" Caspar yelled, his aura flaring up around him. "I'll take you all on! I won't rest until he's paid for what-"

"Caspar. Enough."

Caspar felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Jeralt. He lowered his eyes and slowly powered down looking away. "Very well."

Jeralt looked at Hubert and shook his head. "Anything you have to say?"

"Nothing. I do not regret what I planned." Hubert replied.

"…Take him away."

"Right, get moving!" One of the guards snapped shoving him away to the entrance.

"I-I knew he was scary but…" Bernadetta whispered hugging herself. "I didn't think he would…"

"Unfortunately, some people like to hide their true intentions. You never truly know people." Linhardt replied, before yawning. "Anyway, I'm off to bed. Too much excitement for one day."

"Are you okay, Edelgard?" Petra asked as Dorothea kept hugging the Princess.

"I will be… I suppose it just proves that I can't trust anyone…"

"Don't be silly!" Dorothea yelled. "We will never betray you!"

Edelgard let out a small smile and nodded. "Thank you."

But Byleth noticed her staring out into the distance to where Hubert was taken away and frowned. 'Was that the reason for the assassination plot? No… that can't be right… I'll need to investigate further.'

Hubert kept a straight face as he was lead out of the Monastery and to the top of a hill. He sighed and shook his head before he heard a voice that made him growl.

"Well now, I must admit, I wasn't too keen on the theatrics but I did have a good laugh."

Hubert looked at Thales who appeared before him and the two guards who escorted him were getting covered in black flames before changing into black robes. He simply just held up his wrists. "My cuffs."

"Yes, yes. I shall remove them."

Thales held out his hand as a black aura enveloped it and snapped the cuffs off. Hubert held his wrists as Thales chuckled. "This must be very tough for you. A puppy on it's own can be… frightened easily."

Hubert kept a straight face and bowed. "Anything Lady Edelgard requests, I shall do. My full services are in your hands now."

Thales grinned and nodded. "Well then. Let's get started on our plan."

This confused Hubert greatly. "What plan?"

"It's simple. We are going to use Byleth Eisner and her biology against her. Next month is the full moon. We need to be ready."

Don't worry folks I'm not dead. Like I said though, updates will be slower due to my new job. But hey, at least I got this out.

So one thing. I noticed looking back on my published chapters that at a certain point all the chapters are in italics. Now, I've no clue why as the document I write these on aren't like that. Thankfully, it gets fixed with another upload so I'll need to edit some chapters. Apologies for that folks.

So yeah, another set of visions for Byleth. If you're confused about visualising how it works. Look up MLP: Friendship is Magic, Season 4 where Twilight drank the potion to look into the past. It's basically like that. Byleth is there in the future but nobody can see her.

I was a little iffy on this chapter, mostly because I never think I'm doing enough, especially with the fight scenes. But hey, gotta try right? And of course I had to have Lysithea fight the Death Knight as that would be silly not to.

So yeah, Hubert is out. Well, not really. He will serve an important role for Edelgard to pave her way to her golden path by helping her discover the truth.

Join us next time where we will be doing something a little different. We will not be following the Miklan chapter. Something different.

And holy crap, we passed 50 favourites and hit 65 followers. Thank you guys so much, it's crazy seeing this.

And before we go, a teaser on a story I hope to do later down the line. A sequel to Ashen Saiyan. Here you go.

Song: Doomsday (Doctor Who)

Byleth slowly opened her eyes and found herself in a dark void. But this felt different. Her body was enveloped in a black fog which prevented her from moving. Only her eyes and head weren't covered.

She looked into the distance and saw a series of figures who were standing in place with their eyes completely covered in shadow. She tried looking at a few of them.

A man in overalls with a red hat.

A yellow mouse.

A strange being wearing orange armour.

A blue creature with white gloves and red shoes.

A man with a blue tunic and a strange looking sword that seemed to glow in the darkness.

A green haired goddess.

A strange woman in a shimmery blue dress with a star creature.

A brown haired ape with a tie.

Those were just to name a few. Byleth couldn't make any sense of this at all.

But then she saw another woman. This one had white hair styled in twin pigtails. She wore a purple coat with eyeball designs on it and was holding a book with her arm outstretched.

What shocked Byleth more, was a familiar appendage. That woman had a tail! She was just like her?!

But then Byleth saw light to the right of her and slowly moved her head to see a bunch of figures next to her with no shadows over them.

A young man wearing a white mask and a black coat.

A warrior with a sword and long brown hair.

A brown bear and a red bird.

A man with a red cap and a ponytail

A girl with blonde hair, a mask on her eyes, and strange looking arms.

A giant potted plant.

Along with other figures she couldn't quite make out.

'What is going on? I don't understand…'

She then saw a pink puffball creature in front of her looking to the sky where a white ball of light got brighter and brighter. She tried to cover her eyes but everything went white.

Byleth snapped her head up and panted hard, waking up in a cold sweat while looking at her hands, noticing a strange flame aura around them before disappearing. She looked down at the covers on her bed and frowned in the dark.

"What was that…"

Ashen Saiyan: World of Light