All The Time In The World (FE:3H SI)

[Austrichh]

(Alt Title: You Can't Be Sirius)

There was rain, and with the countless raindrops were an equally uncountable beat, be it feet from man and horse or wings from pegasi and wyvern, as two opposing forces charged towards each other.

The armies of the both seemed endless as their numbers encompassed much of the plains that they were traversing. This movement marked the beginning of a grand battle, with its size indicating it would be the end to the war that had come before it.

Once both sides came into contact, when steel clashed, and bodies and blood dropped along with the rain, did the battle begin.

However, soon after the battle had just arrived, so did what appeared to be a flaming missile come crashing from the clouds into the ground. With its crash erupting a massive field of fire, visible to all who were fighting be it on the ground or sky, burning those who were unfortunate enough to be caught in it to ash, uncaring of allegiances. The flames were fierce enough to cause a halt to both sides of the conflict, neither willing to test their flammability.

Following the missile next came the wielder, Nemesis the so-called King of Liberation and leader of one of the opposing armies, who lifted the now revealed blade, known as the Sword of the Creator, from the ground. With the blade now lifted, so too were the fires' hold on the ground and their halting effect on the battle. Infantry and cavalry resumed their clash on the ground once more, joining the cluster of combat in the air and flares of magic spells on the ground once again.

As the number of losses rose, so too did the sun, now shining its bright light on what would be the center of the battle. Dozens of bodies laid in the space both sides gave a wide berth, for any who tried to approach and attack were swiftly mercilessly cut down. In that area stood the figureheads for each army. Seiros, to which the sun revealed an expression of pure hate, and Nemesis, to which the sun revealed a plain cold look. Said look was quickly broken with a yell as he extended and then whipped the Sword of the Creator towards the surrounding combatants. Much like those who were caught in the flames the sword created, those in the blade's extended path were wiped away and instantly killed, unable to stand to its power.

To that Seiros only pulled out her sword and rushed towards Nemesis, engaging in a clash of swords. Their blades only met with another blade but both landed physical blows on each other, but nothing truly concerning. Once he got some distance Nemesis extended his sword once again and swung it towards her. Knowing the consequences of allowing that to hit her she swiftly dodged with reflexes no ordinary human could hope to have. The King of Liberation made for a second strike, to which Serios dodged once again, and then a third trike, to which this time Seiros had wrapped around her sword, it being enchanted was the only reason it could last this long when most other swords would be hopeless against Nemesis' own.

With the Sword of the Creator stuck on her blade and Nemesis surprised, Seiros abandoned her sword, which ripped his blade from his hands as well and rushed towards him. Considered to be one of the most powerful humans the King of Liberation may be, Seiros' superhuman strength was well above even that. Which allowed her to swiftly and brutally assault him with a punch to the face and a kick, forcing him to the ground.

The man was dazed, still trying to find the strength to get back up. But any attempts were quickly stopped as she jumped on him with a dagger pulled from her waist.

As she held the dagger to his throat she asked. "Tell me Nemesis, do you recall the Red Canyon?"

His only response was the widening of his eyes. That seemed to be enough of an answer for her as she then began stabbing him.

"You'll die for that!" Stab

"Die! Die!" Stab

"You took everything that I loved!" Stab.

All that remained was the light fading from Nemesis' eyes and the panting breaths of Seiros.

The sun now fully risen illuminated the result of the battle between the leaders. To which the army for Seiros had cheered while Nemesis' army immediately fled from the battlefield.

Seiros moved to pick up the Sword of the Creator, a blade covered in the blood of an unknown but great number of people, of which she had lost far too many to and even threatened to kill her as well. Yet the woman brought it close to her face akin to a hug as if she were seeking comfort from it the way a child would a parent.

"He's gone now, Father." She whispered.

----------------

That image soon blurred away as many more, a few structures, lands, and then a masculine figure, began to flash before my eyes. The world became dark again with one last flicker of white light.

The first thing that greeted my eyes was what appeared to be a greyish void of some kind. I say some kind because this place isn't completely empty, as I'm sitting on a grey chair on a set of grey stairs. And judging by the ache I'm feeling that it wasn't too comfortable, but I imagine that stone may be preferable to sleep on than a floor of unknown makeup.

Oh yeah, speaking of sleep I feel like I need more of that, and on a proper bed please. As I stretch and raise my hand in response to a yawn I quickly take notice of said hand.

It was different from the hand I'm used to. For one it was way too pale and too clean. My skin was light but somewhat dark and while my hands weren't used for much hand labor, these looked way too presentine to be mine. And lastly, they were way too small. I was fairly average in size for a guy so I would say that I had medium-sized hands, but these were fit for a preteen at least and fifteen at most.

Moving on from my hand I look to the rest of my body to see what over changes there were. Well oh boy. The rest of this body seemed to be rather young, sixteen at most if I were being generous and since this was mine now I certainly was. Never mind the fact that I wasn't much older by a few years.

Then there were the clothes, thankfully. Not so much however is the fact that they were awfully similar to a fictional character's outfit, which if I recall correctly was the Sothis-themed outfit Male Byleth could wear. And a general sense of feeling confirmed that I was still male, more thankfully.

The last thing I checked just to be sure was the hair, my hair. I pulled a strand and noticed that while it was shorter than Sothis' original hair, it certainly fit the long and green theme that Nabataeans and many mantaketes had in the Fire Emblem series.

Spoiler: Male Sothis, not exactly but the best I could find

https://www.reddit.com/r/fireemblem...urce=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf

So, in the middle of only God knows where with just a chair and in a body that looks an awful lot like a fictional character. Not to mention a dream exactly like the one Byleth had at the beginning of the game. Yep, reincarnation/isekai story.

Well since I'm not in any immediate danger I feel that a moment of freaking out is well deserved. FUUUU-

---------

Alright, while it didn't accomplish much, I did feel a bit of a relief to get that out of my system.

But what now? I'm probably stuck here for who knows how long until Byleth shows up. Which should hopefully be soon since that dream I just had should be the same as theirs, and thus would bring them before Sothis, or should I start saying me.

As much as it might feel good to close my eyes and hope that this was a dream, this felt very much real and I've never been in a second dream before. And last I checked that only existed in Interception, so I'm stuck in a fictional presence regardless.

The best thing to do right now would be to recall everything I know about Three Houses. After all, my survival is linked to Byleth and I would very much like to remain alive and un-merged, thank you very much.

Which made it rather frustrating that I wasn't a hardcore fan of the game that played all the routes multiple times and could recall every little detail about the plot. I only played most of Claude's route, a bit of White Clouds on Dimitri's route, and haven't started Edelgard or the Church's at all. But the Church route was similar to Claude's last I checked so I'm only missing a few details from there. I knew about their plot points, but only broadly.

Sothis came to Fodlan a couple of thousand years ago from space. It was time to find a new home for myself, this planet seems nice.

SHe started a family using his blood, the Nabateans such as Rhea, Seteth, and many others. All my beautiful children.

ThWe lived in peace with humanity before the Agarthans fucked Fodlan over by launching nukes. We lived along them and helped pave a future to a better Fòdlan, great technology and social change. But not all were content with that peace, the people of Agartha abused my gifts, viewing themselves as gods and sought to replace me. Sought to kill me, but only succeeded in killing the land. It was only after the work of centuries that I could restore it to its rightful state, and work that had left me drained. I needed to rest.

Some of them survived however, the remnants of Agartha and ancestors of Those Who Slither In The Dark. (Really dumb name, I gotta give a better one to Byleth before that sticks. I can give them a title much more appropriate for them, so many to choose, yet lacking to fully describe). They found some bandit, Nemesis, and got him to kill me in my sleep and harvest my body and blood. They butchered my children while I was asleep, I could hear their cries yet could not help them. After my death they continued the cries of my children using my own bones. Please forgive me for failing you, my poor, poor, children.

The emotions overwhelmed me; the grief, anger, and sorrow at losing my children far eclipsing my previous panic.

I fell asleep once more.

————

And once more I woke up.

And damn did that suck. It seemed that as I recalled the earliest parts of Fodlan's history, Sothis' memories came in. Ugh, the physical pain of being harvested by some brute asshole was the worst I've ever had as well as the emotional pain of a parent losing their children and being helpless to stop it was just too much. Way too much. No wonder the original Sothis lost her memories, I already want to lose them and never think of it again. But I can't find bliss in ignorance since memory is how I'll regain my former strength, no matter how traumatic.

And would you look at that, a convenient excuse to ignore all that in the form of Byleth!

(Image)

Spoiler: Byleth

1st: byleth, byleth, and byleth (fire emblem and 1 more) drawn by sn48it | Danbooru
2nd: Byleth Redesign by Arneth-Myndraavn on DeviantArt

And female Byleth at that. She looks like how I expected her to, only differences being that she was far more beautiful than the medium of anime or the okay graphics of Three Houses could portray. Also interesting to note that she wore her male counterpart's outfit rather than her original, makes sense that she'd dress practically without horny fan service holding her back.

Any further thoughts I could have were interrupted by the person in them.

Byleth simply looked at me, staring blankly. But despite the lack of emotion in those eyes, I could tell that she was rather curious. From intuition or our link, call it what you will, I could get an idea of what she's feeling.

"Are you well?" She asked before I could say anything. "When I got here you were asleep. Which is rather odd as I'm sure that is what I was doing before I ended up here. And your eyes are quite red, either the signs of grief or drug use."

I blinked a few times before I chuckled lightly. "Despite being quite sober for longer than kingdoms and empires have existed, I certainly wish that it was from drug use. The pot back then was divine." Huh, never expected Dragon Grass of all things to be a thing. Oh what a thing it was, shame that I won't be having anymore for a while. Most of my children loved it, besides Cichol and a few others. Maybe that's why Rhea went unhinged, she must've run out. I finish my reply on a more somber note but in much higher spirits. "I am alright though, just processing some bad memories. But never mind that when I have a far more interesting matter to attend to, you!"

This time she was the one blinking, in what I could guess was confusion. "There is not a lot that is interesting about me, or so I have been told by many in my father's mercenary group." Despite confusion probably being what fueled her response, both the tone and face were blank.

"I've heard mysteries were quite interesting and you ma'am are very much both. So, how about your name? Who are you, dear stranger?" I ask in a slightly exaggerated tone.

"I am a demon. Feared and known as the Ashen Demon." She said, not giving me a proper answer. Huh, it seems that the playfulness of player choices are still there. To that, I just lean on my rail and place a fist on my chest.

"Normally such talk would belong to braggarts or children trying too hard to sound fearsome. But I can tell that you genuinely believe what you're saying." Ooh boy, I hope I'm not dealing with a genuine psychopath here. I mean, I could still make it work, and a good majority of the cast has a whole bunch of mental issues anyway so what's one more.

"They call me that due to my unflinching proficiency as a mercenary. I've ended the lives of many without even the slightest feeling. Despite my father trying to assure me otherwise that is the truth." That feeling of slight playfulness swiftly dies as she returns to her stoic expression. Not a hint of emotion in what she said, but I got a feeling of acceptance from her. She shouldn't have to feel used to that and I'm feeling a bit guilty since Sothis, now me, being here played a part in that via draining her emotions as she grew up.

"You have caused much death, yes. But couldn't the same be said for your father as well? He would be guilty of being a demon, much the same as you are would he not?" I ask, this time challenging her previous notion.

"No. My father is a great man, and I will not allow some child to defile his name." Her eyes look at me pointedly, with her brows slightly furrowed and her lips are forming a slight frown, either annoyance or frustration fueling that, and a tinge of what I could feel as love. Ah, so it seems that she's not entirely without feeling after all. No, that wouldn't be right. Perhaps extremely dulled would be a more proper term. Or maybe she just can't emote properly, I don't know I'm no psychologist dammit.

"Hehe, calm down. I didn't mean any disrespect towards Jeralt, simply trying to get you to change that outlook of yourself, it ain't healthy let me tell you. Since you're a mercenary that means you kill for money, yes?"

"Yes."

"And you were neither intentionally cruel nor malicious when taking the life of another?"

"I find such methods inefficient and distasteful." Byleth shakes her head as she says this. The same for my father as well." She adds after a moment.

"Well then, clearly you are no demon. While some would argue that killing is a mortal sin, sometimes one must for a variety of reasons. In your case, it's to simply get a job done, get paid, and support yourselves. Nothing truly evil or demonic, not good mind you, but decent like most humans. And don't argue otherwise, I have seen true demons in human flesh commit actions that would make you the greatest of saints."

I clap my hands before continuing on a different topic, also snapping me and even her from that abrupt dialogue. The feelings of old are still strong, and may even get strong the more I remember. "But enough of such serious topics. The whole point of this was to lighten the mood and get to know each other better."

"Wasn't the discussion we just had the means to get to know each other?" Byleth pointed out. She wasn't wrong but...

"No you smart ass, I mean proper and basic conversation. Again I ask, who are you? And don't you derail me again or I'm giving you another discussion."

"I am Byleth Eisner." She simply answered this time.

"Byleth, quite an interesting name for one such as yourself. I'd reckon that you're the only one running around with such a strange name."

"Father said it was fitting. My mother, who was a one-of-a-kind woman, gave a one-of-a-kind child a one-of-a-kind name." From this I could hear a bit of mourning and loss, possibly from a desire to see her mother.

"Your father, while right, is slightly off. Sitri was one of twelve." At that, her eyes widened before narrowing a bit. Hm, if I recall correctly Jeralt didn't mention much of her at all. And it seems that my mention of a name she's never said may have made her suspicious. But hopefully curious as well, it'll help hook her in.

"And how do you know such a name, one that I neither mentioned nor even knew? I don't even know if you're right yet I can feel that you aren't lying." She glared, suspicious of me. Honestly, I'm surprised it didn't pop up sooner, probably didn't take me seriously that much. Even more so is that she can feel something between us, though it wouldn't work well for her as it would for me due to me having more of an understanding of these things, though it ain't much let me say. Her glare remained but curiosity began to seep in as well. "And what exactly do you mean 'one of twelve'?"

"To answer that question, I'll give a different one which does that later. Who am I?" Seems that my crypticness is getting her annoyed, judging by that sharp and pointed glare. It annoyed me in various media too but now I can understand why it's done, it's fun being a cryptic asshole. "And don't you worry I'll answer."

"You could call me the Beginning or the Progenitor, either fits, an accurate title considering my role in this land's history and even your own. And as you gave me your name, the least I could do is give you mine. I am Sothis."

"Sothis, as in the Goddess of Fodlan preached by the Church of Seiros? At this time of year? Right now? In this part of Fodlan? Localised entirely within my head?" She questioned, laced with skepticism.

"Yep." Hold on did she say, Goddess? Is that term gender-neutral like Emperor is here? Well, I'm not complaining, the Goddess rolls off the tongue a lot more than the God, plus it just doesn't feel right walking around with that title. And I'm fairly certain Sothis should be male here considering how Seiros mentioned 'Father' while cradling my spine.

"I can see what you meant earlier now." Huh, what's that supposed to- "Such talk of being a demon or goddess does come off as bragging or the exaggerations of children."

"You dare use my own words against me?" I glare a bit before dropping it and chuckling a little as I shake my head. "Cheeky ain't cha? I guess it was too much to assume that you'd believe me right off the bat."

"I lack much of an understanding of the Goddess as my father never saw fit to discuss anything more than the basics, but one doesn't live in Fodlan without hearing about its main deity. I'm quite sure that Sothis was described as an all-powerful and caring father, yet you have the appearance of a boy who just reached adolescence and a rather crass attitude." Hmm, child and crass she may have called me, she didn't say that I wasn't caring so it was somewhat positive, though the child comments did rankle me a bit so I could understand how Lysithea and OG Sothis felt.

"You know, in a world where magic, special blood, and demonic beasts exist you'd outta give my words some consideration. Besides, what exactly could I be?" I ask. As much as I wanted to get back at her for those comments, I'd be proving her point which wouldn't be of much use. Besides, this was Byleth, I'm fairly certain any insult I could come up with or steal from the Internet wouldn't faze her at all.

"I'm still certain this is all a dream of some kind. The grand battle was here much like the last couple of times I dreamed, you and this location are new however. Yet you seem far more real than a dream could be. Are you some kind of ghost, or perhaps a long distant memory that resurfaced just now?" She asked. "Despite having just met, you feel familiar to me. It is confounding, you are confounding."

"Hm, a ghost is the best way to describe me at the moment, though distant memories are something I got plenty of. Physically I am dead and spread out, but my consciousness, as you can bear witness to and hear, is tied to this area, your mindscape. And boy is it fitting, much like your face there's not much going on." I made a show of gazing far and wide for something. To that she just looked blankly at me, in this case, I think that was her just deadpanning at me. Man guessing her emotions off whatever connection we have is getting a bit old, hopefully, that'll change with time. "But then again, I'm here now so maybe I can liven both this place and you up." I say with a little smile. Still unadjusted I see, but I'll break through soon enough lady.

"And to prove that I'm right, I'll give you information that only your father could know and verify. The first I've already given you, your mother's name is Sitri, she was a nun of the Church of Seiros. And the second, your father possesses the Crest of Seiros due to Archbishop Se-Rhea giving him some of her blood, it's how he's able to live for so long. I think he's one hundred something right now, maybe between 100 and 150."

"If he's lived for that long it'd certainly explain why he doesn't remember his own birthday." She mumbles to herself before shaking it off and looking back at me, curiosity rising once again. "How exactly do you know all of these things?"

"As I've said, I'm the Goddess of these parts. In spirit at least. Plus I got four timelines of the future to fall back on for info."

"I don't know what's more outlandish, you being a deity worshipped across Fodlan or that you could possess knowledge of four different futures. Then again, having that much information in the first place would explain those distant memories of yours."

"Well, feast your ears for even more proof of my vast and retained knowledge then. Remire Village will be attacked by bandits led by some guy named Costco as soon as you wake up. On that same day, you and Jeralt will encounter 3 random rich kids by the names of Dimitri, Edelgard, and Claude."

"And they're important because?"

"Well, it's the Prince of Faerghus, the Princess of Adrestia, and the future Duke of Leicester, all students of the Officers Academy and very important in those futures I mentioned."

"What?"

"You'd think for someone who's lived in Fodlan that they would know about the-"

"Now hold on a second. Why are they even there in the first place?"

"Here's another bit of knowledge of mine, they're all there because-Oh!" At that moment Byleth seemed to be fading away, I guess she must be waking up. Or rather it's Jeralt waking her up. I guess our conversation has been going on longer than it did in the game.

"It seems that's all we have time for. The next time you see me, be ready to hear a 'I told you so' or 'I called it'. Just know that I say it with love and a dose of I was right." I say as I wave her off. As I did, my eyes did catch a bit of movement from Byleth's hand, whatever it was it she meant to do was lost to me since she was gone before it could form. Probably meant to wave me off.

So, she's gone. It was nice talking to her and I'm sure our next conversation will be fun once she confirms what I told her. Let's see you try to dismiss me now, hehe.

The next time I should see her, ala canon, would be when she takes an axe for… Edelgard. Oh boy, her, not even online or here and she's already causing a debate. The Flame Emperor, a major antagonist for 3 out of 4 routes who starts a bloody war to remove the Crest system and destroy the Church of Seiros. A noble endeavor, yet those good intentions could and for 5 years had paved a road to hell, especially when you're working with the devil.

And she kills Seiros and potentially Cichol and Cethleann in the process. I won't let that happen. And besides my connection to them, they would be incredibly useful in recovering more of Sothis' memories and in turn boosting what power I have.

But the system of Nobility does have to go, it sucks as is. And her war does lead to Fodlan changing for the better. Pros and cons, upsides and downsides, such choices!

Whether or not to let Edelgard die, or flat out kill her? This is certainly the best time to ask such a thing with no witnesses, besides a bandit but he's easily a nonfactor, and especially no Hubert around, is something I really oughta think long and hard about, need to include Byleth in on that since she'd be doing the killing. I mean I technically have all the time in the world since I could just freeze time until we make a decision.

Damn it would be a lot easier if I could talk with Jeralt before having to decide. Having him and Byleth would really help in making a decision since they actually know about Fodlan, military tactics, and all that shit. Plus I am a bit biased with the Sothis' part of me pissed about Edelgard killing Rhea and working with the Agarthans despite the shit they've done to her and especially me.

Well, that's enough with the heavy topics, I need some rest. But I really don't want to lie on this stone throne anymore, why Sothis didn't put cushions here is beyond me but ok.

Then again, this was a mindscape. Hmmmmm. I turn my attention back to that stoney chair of mine and focus my mind on an intent to bring to form a-

Pop

Oho! Gone was that ancient chair and in its place, a top of the line massaging chair appeared right before me! I half expected that to fail since this was Byleth's mindscape, but we were linked so it makes sense that I could make some changes here.

I turned the chair on and rested back as the machine did its work. Hehe, that feels nice. I considered conjuring a Lazyboy, an actually comfortable resting place for a dragon, but I missed my shopping mall luxury more.

Oh yeah, dragon. I should figure out how to do that. The closest thing to Sothis turning into a dragon was FEH and all she did was just fly into the air as herself. Probably not available right now because I lacked the memory, power, or body for that. But I had power over time which combined with Byleth's skills and no plot bullshit should more than make up for that. Except for the nukes but that won't be an issue until much later.

Hmmm, however, I can save those thoughts for later. Now is the time to relax, since I know when things start in earnest there won't be much of it for a while.

########

This here is a male Sothis SI. To be honest it was just a thought that popped up in my head and I got a little too deep into it. I went with Sothis because I didn't want to go for Byleth or throwing an OC in with or without some power since that's been done by better writers than me. But I've noticed that nobody did Sothis and figured that it'd be free real estate. Though someone else did something pretty close. In fact, I got some inspiration to write this from Headmates by Blackplant, I really recommend reading it.

I hope you liked what you read and please leave your thoughts, any feedback or criticism is good as it helps me improve. I thank you for reading it and have a good day!

 

[Austrichh]

Huge thanks to Sharuru over on AO3 for betaing this, she helped me greatly in being able to finally get this chapter out.

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"Hey kid. Time to wake up." A man said as he shook his daughter awake. Said daughter woke up, but rather than the usual silence he was used to as her greeting, he got a rather rude gesture as well as a crossed expression.

She awoke to the sound of her father's voice, as well as his hands which were just done shaking her. Upon opening her eyes she saw her father, who looked rather startled for some reason.

"I know you like your sleep Byleth, but this is the first time I've seen you so deep into it that I had to wake you like this. And certainly the first time I've seen you show your displeasure in such a rude way." Jeralt said with a small amount of surprise in his voice.

In response to that Byleth just blinked before noticing what position her finger and hand were in. A universal gesture she recognized, to express one's displeasure with another or as her father had once told her, to tell someone to 'fuck off'. But it was one she hadn't seen a use for.

'It seems that's all we have time for. The next time you see me, be ready to hear a 'I told you so' or 'I called it'. Just know that I say it with love and a dose of I was right'

Until last night that is. The boy and everything about him was confusing, and his manner of speaking didn't help with that at all. And as she couldn't convey her displeasure in words before waking up, she had seen fit to use that vulgar gesture instead. It was a shame she didn't get to see his reaction, though the one her father gave her was amusing enough that it would have to do for now.

"My apologies Father, that wasn't intended for you. I had a rather strange dream last night." After she apologized, she got out of her bed and walked out of her room with her father. There was no need to change as she slept in her armor, so as to always be prepared for a battle should one arise.

"Ah, was it the one about the war again?" Jeralt asked, to which Byleth simply nodded before pausing, debating on whether or not to talk about the boy and what he said. Normally speaking about the voices one hears in their head would be grounds for insanity, but neither Byleth nor the boy were normal. And if the information the boy said was accurate, she'd best inform her father of the bandit attack as to be prepared beforehand. That, and she wanted answers about her mother, of which her Father gave very little when asked.

"It was about the war, but this time there was more." At this Jeralt raised an eyebrow but motioned for her to continue. "There was a boy."

"Well now, a boy I hear. It certainly took a while but I guess it can't be helped. Who is it? Someone in the company, in Remire, or someone we met on our travels?" Jeralt inquired with a raised eyebrow, already interested but said interest shifted in a different direction.

"Much like the war, he was something I had never seen before. Yet he feels familiar somehow, like a distant memory of sorts."

"Hmm. While I can't help you much with the war, describe the boy to me and I'll try to see if we met before. What does he look like? What's his name?"

"He was an adolescent boy, about sixteen at most based on his size and features. With long and fluffy green hair in a single ponytail and pointy ears. He was dressed in a dark blue…. toga I believe it was, with gold details. He claimed to be the Goddess Sothis. He also had a lot to say."

"Huh, not what I expected. Not at all. Sorry to say but I don't believe that I've ever met anybody like that. Elves are mythical creatures after all. So, what exactly did he have to say anyway?"

"In terms of mythical creatures, I believe a gremlin would be more accurate. I say this as he was mischievous and what he said was rather troubling. He told me that my mother's name was Sitri, who was a nun of the Church of Seiros and one of twelve." Jeralt had frozen on the outside. On the inside, his heart ached at the name of his late wife. A name he had never uttered near her, but it may have been possible for him to have let it slip when he was rather drunk. Especially during the nights he was feeling particularly mournful.

"That you received the Crest of Seiros from Archbishop Rhea and that you're over one hundred years old. You're quite the relic father." Once again Jeralt had frozen, this time his mind crashed. Letting Sitri's name slip while drunk was possible, but even completely wasted he knew to never utter a detail of that event. To say that it would be a hassle to deal with if it was found out would be the understatement of the century. He was shocked enough that he almost missed her last remark. If he weren't still reeling from these secrets being revealed, he would've let out a smile at Byleth making a joke. That Byleth made a joke wasn't unbelievable but it was rather rare as she didn't talk much. Though he would've grumbled a bit due to it being at his expense.

'How the hell did some gremlin, and she was right in it being more accurate, know about one of those let alone both?! And what exactly did he mean about Sitri being one of twelve, she never had any siblings as far as I knew and she told me everything about her. Then again, Rhea…' The thought of said woman drove Jeralt to close his eyes as he brought a hand to his temple. 'First her and now this gremlin. What is it with people with green hair and causing me such grief...'

With a sigh he removed his hand and brought his attention back to Byleth, who had been staring at him in the meantime.

"Your reaction is telling enough Father. I will question you further about my mother, about Sitri, and why you felt the need to keep her name from me for so long at another time. For now, I will continue." She said, expressing some of her displeasure at the hidden secret. "And lastly, there will be a bandit attack on Remire with said bandits after the heirs of the Empire, Kingdom, and Alliance sometime today. Before I could question the boy for more you had woken me up."

'Something about the future now, hmm. Not as shocking or revealing as the other two but still concerning.' Jeralt thought.

"I'm not the superstitious type but based on what this gremlin told you so far, I think that it wouldn't hurt to be on the lookout for a bandit attack."

Before Jeralt could continue or Byleth add anything, one of Jeralt's mercenaries had barged into their room.

"Jeralt! Sir! Sorry to barge in, but your presence is needed." The mercenary informed in a hurry.

"What's happened? Don't tell me it's a bandit attack."

"Yes sir, it's exactly that. We also have what looks like three nobles in need of our assistance."

"Damn, it's something we'll have to deal with right away." Jeralt told the mercenary before turning to Byleth "As I said before, let's make this whole conversation an idle thought and put it out of our minds. We'll come back to it later," Jeralt said, thankful for the interruption.

'As much as I'd wanted to say never at all, the Goddess is rarely that kind. As soon as whatever it is is taken care of, and a few drinks, I'll explain everything. And find out how exactly those dreams of hers told her things I had never uttered near her.' he thought. 'I also outta give this guy a raise just for that distraction.' He also ignored the crossed look Byleth was giving him, it was hardly there but he knew her well enough to tell whatever she was feeling from the barest of expressions. 'And what's with her today, the dreams were one thing, and now she's acting more expressive, however slightly, than usual. I'd be happy if it weren't for the questions that I didn't want to answer and the ones I didn't know how to.'

"Lead us to them and let's get this over with."

"Right away sir."

----------

As the mercenary leads Jeralt and Byleth outside, three young nobles make themselves known. A blond boy in a black uniform with a blue shoulder cape, a girl with white hair in a black uniform with red leggings and a matching shoulder cape, and a brunette boy with darker skin in a black uniform with a yellow shoulder cape.

"Please forgive our intrusion. We wouldn't bother you were the situation not dire." The blonde respectfully said once he noticed Jeralt's arrival.

Both Byleth and Jeralt were shocked, three high-ranking heirs to the superpowers of Fodlan. Just as this 'Sothis' had said.

"What do a bunch of kids like you want at this hour?" Jeralt asked, snapping out of his shock to assess the situation, though he did so grouchily, not happy with current circumstances.

"We're being pursued by a group of bandits. I can only hope that you will be so kind as to lend your support." The blonde said.

"Bandits? Here? After you three?" Byleth asks, her gaze instantly intense upon hearing the word bandit. 'Was the boy actually right all along? First with Father's reaction to my questions, one he had never shown before and practically confirmed them, and now here with these kids. The albino must be Edelgard, the blond looks to be from Faerghus so he must be Dimitri, leaving the other one to be Claude.'

"It's true. They attacked us while we were resting in our camp." Edelgard said.

"We've been separated from our companions and we're outnumbered. They're after our lives, not to mention our gold." Claude continues.

"Troublesome, and just as we were about to head off to the Kingdom for another job." Jeralt grumbled.

"And we'll be more than happy to give you enough of said gold to make it worth your while." Claude quickly offered.

"And as the Prince of Faerghus, I'm sure that I could ease whatever strife this delay would cause between you and your contractor." Dimitri added on just as quickly.

"No need," Jeralt said, waving both off. "Remire is practically home for us and nobody with any self-respect needs to be paid to protect their home. Though if you happen to possess any fancy drinks I'd be more than happy to take them off you, I'll be needing them later."

"That's all? Pal, I'd gladly give you the fanciest wine cellar in the Alliance if that's what it takes." Claude said.

"As tempting as it sounds to drink a noble's cellar empty, we'll have to discuss it later. Anyhow, I'm impressed you all are staying so calm despite the situation. I… Wait. Those uniforms…" Jeralt compliments before trailing off, the uniforms of the nobles jogging an old memory.

"Judging from your uniforms and the way you hold yourselves, you are all noble students of The Officers Academy, yes?" A simple nod from Edelgard answers Byleth's question. She already knew but wanted to confirm as much of the boy's words as she could. She also took note of her father's reaction to their uniforms, it seemed that it was another thing she would have to discuss with him. "In that case, why exactly are they after you? Even if they wanted to take one of you hostage, no ordinary bandit group would dare risk the ire of the Church of Seiros and be hunted down by the Knights of Seiros. It would be far too much risk for them, unless someone made the risk worth it." Byleth found herself rather curious, it was one of her many unanswered questions from her time with the boy who claimed to be the Goddess and she very much wanted it answered.

While she asked her question to all three of the nobles, she also took care to keep a watch on their faces. Father told her to always be on her guard near the nobility, with their minds on some plot or scheme of theirs, she'd do well to ensure she would not be caught up in one of them. It was how she didn't miss all of their faces shift in response to her words, Dimitri's eyebrows furrowing in anger with a flicker of a much darker one flashing in his eyes, Claude's face gaining a thoughtful and calculating expression, and Edelgard trying an angry yet stoic expression. 'It seems that she's either trying to play brave or she may have a hand in this. I'll need to keep an eye on this one as well as the other two, I can tell that they're all hiding something.'

But before Byleth could get a reply from the students, once again a mercenary came in with news.

"Bandits have been spotted outside of the village! Damn, there's a lot of them." Another mercenary reports as he approaches the group.

"I guess that they followed you all the way here. We won't abandon Remire now, not after all they've done for us." Jeralt said. "Come on, let's move. We'll need to take care of these thieves before they overrun the village." He then turned towards Byleth. "Byleth, I leave the safety of these kids with you, I'll be commanding the rest of our group for the battle."

"Pardon me, but what makes you so certain that you could trust our lives in the hands of one woman?" Edelgard asked, not too thrilled to be under the protection of a woman only a few years older than herself.

"This one woman is my daughter, the Ashen Demon. The safest place for you to be on the battlefield is behind her." All three of the noble's eyes widened in surprise upon hearing this. They now recognized that they were under the protection of one of the most famous warriors in all of Fodlan, the daughter of the Blade Breaker. Jeralt then turned towards Byleth. "Try not to traumatize these brats too much or we'll be getting strongly worded letters, again."

"Yes, Father." Byleth replied. Following that Jeralt rode his horse off to meet with the rest of his men.

'Things today are quite insistent on interrupting my questions, aren't they? No matter, after this battle I'll be sure to get my answers from those three, from Father, and especially from that boy.' Byleth thought. She then emptied her gaze and nodded back in her father's direction. There would be time for answers later, for now, it was time for battle. Now it was time for the Ashen Demon to show herself.

And following that thought, Byleth and the rest went off towards the bandits.

-XXX-

It was weird to see this whole thing play out through the lens of an actual fight rather than a level of a tactical RPG. Even weirder was the point of view through which I did. I could see through Byleth's point of view, but more like watching it from a screen than it becoming my own. I could also switch to other viewpoints like a third-person view and even a view from above, similar to how it worked in the game. Speaking of games, I can't actually do anything as if I was playing one, it seems that Sothis just had this ability of sight and I subconsciously accessed it like one.

Anyway,

Byleth had led the charge with the three lords following her lead. And it turns out that Jeralt was right, the safest place on the battlefield was behind Byleth, or should I say in this case the Ashen Demon, as edgy as it was. Any bandit who tried their luck in attacking them from the front was swiftly and mercilessly cut down by her.

And it made sense, this wasn't a level one character against level one enemies. This was a seasoned mercenary trained by one of the best on the continent against a bunch of poorly trained, if they even had any, thugs.

And it wasn't just Byleth who fought, the few bandits that had enough sense not to go after her went for the lords instead. But they were dealt with easily enough, in melee by Dimitri and Edelgard, and from range by Claude. While not as experienced or skilled as their soon-to-be professor, they were no slouches though they were limited by the low-quality weapons they were forced to pick up.

Things were going well until they reached the bandit leader, and it turned out that his name was actually Kostas, not Costco. To be fair to me though, the dude wasn't that important to remember and gets murked later on.

Anyway, after getting his ass beat, he jumped right back up and true to canon, and the urge of many a working-class man, rushed to kill his employer. I don't fancy her chances of fighting a bloodlusted guy with an axe while she just has some dagger on her, turns out that her axe was rather used and broke a while ago. I wonder how Edelgard feels, karma must be quite the bitch huh?

Once again Jeralt was proven right, much to Byleth's self-imposed misfortune. Ala canon Byleth jumped in front of an axe, even though she had a sword and really ought to know better. Though judging by the faint pulse I felt from her chest where my heart was, it seemed that it was less a mistake on her end and more of an effect of a lingering will left on Sothis', my, heart to protect those who bore his children's blood. And Edelgard in this case happened to bear two crests, which only made it harder for Byleth to resist.

My annoyance at Byleth's situation quickly gives way to melancholy at the thought. But I stop myself from falling into it since saving Byleth was a much more pressing concern of mine.

I focused on myself and reached for the magic within, which was easy since it was very much noticeable considering that I had originated from a world lacking in magic (as far as I knew). And this power felt incredible, but I knew that this was merely a pale shadow of Sothis' former glory. Of my full power, a state I haven't been in for some time now. I then call back all of the instances of Fire Emblem magic that I recall being cast, usually it being a glyph of some sort with a bunch of symbols. This recollection then triggers my memory of how Sothis would be able to use his magic. I gathered a sufficient amount of mana and then focused my intent towards my will.

'Stop the flow of time!' I thought.

"ZA WARUDO!!!" I yelled at the top of my lungs, because I really could not help myself, as I held my hands out, and in front of them were glyphs with symbols that looked like gibberish yet were recognizable in meaning and purpose. I'll look into those more another time but it's best to focus on what I'm trying to do now.

I could see the effects of time freezing immediately, as the moment it did a pane of glass shattered and was blown apart before the colors of the world became inverted then turned purple. This view of the outside world was the same for all of my visual senses.

It's so unreal to be able to do something like that on such a large scale, and on what I know isn't the best I can do. Despite being an incredibly powerful Dragon, akin to how Naga, Grima, and Anankos were, it was very easy to understand why they were worshiped as gods with the powers that they wielded.

Then a few moments passed before Byleth started phasing in, with an awful lot of angst too. It seems that being about to die did that to people.

-XXX-

It was a tactical blunder, it was stupid of her to shield the girl with her back when a simple block with her sword would've sufficed, especially for a strike that was as angry as it was sloppy. Her father, if he had seen, would've beaten the basics back into her and she wouldn't at all fault him for it.

'How could I let this happen, and just when I finally learned of my mother's identity as well. Just when I was starting to feel-'

"To be honest, I feel rather torn. Granted, not as much as your back, but still torn."

She immediately opened her eyes, finding herself standing within the void that contained the boy from her dream. She had expected the next thing she heard to be the sound of an axe cleaving through her back, not the voice of that ghost. But perhaps it made sense, that she would join him in haunting wherever here was. Though she couldn't help but feel that last comment was uncalled for.

"I want to oh so badly, to just smugly tell you 'I told you so' or 'I called it'. And had it been almost any circumstance other than this, I would have relished in proving your skepticism wrong and I'd have a laugh. But here and now, all I can say,"

If the boy was going to chew her out, then by all means he should. Father wasn't here to do so and she already knew how badly she failed. Perhaps the crass tongue of this boy, one strange enough to call himself the Goddess and somehow predict the future, would further impress how much of a failure-

"It's just as I expected."

'What?' "What?"

"Which also falls under 'I told you so', but I'm missing a pair of glasses or a mask with a deep voice to give any real effect." She had no idea what any of that meant but she was sure it was nothing but rambling.

"What exactly do you mean by 'it's just as I expected'?' Do you mean to tell me that you foresaw this?"

"I mean, I was already right about your mother, Jeralt's past, the Lords, and that bandit attack. Don't be too surprised that I know."

"I'm not surprised that you knew," She was very much that he did at all but didn't want to give him the satisfaction that he sought. "I'm surprised that you knew and didn't feel the need to warn me that this would happen."

"Well, I was going to cover that in our last conversation before Jeralt woke you up. And besides, I too am surprised that the Ashen Demon, with her 'unflinching proficiency as a mercenary', unflinchingly forgot how to block." He scolded as he shook his head. "And now the Ashen Demon, known and feared throughout Fodlan, had died as any other human had. At least, in the absence of this Goddess, she would have."

While she agrees with him, a part of her balked at him using her own words against her and winced at the truth of them. Then she remembered 'You dare use my own words against me mortal?' and decided to let it lie.

Wait? Would have? Does that mean she's not dead? How could that possibly-

"The reason that you aren't dead right now is that I have stalled the flow of time, freezing it to all of the world but us two. You're welcome." He said, with that last statement coming out in the tune of a song she didn't recognize.

She finds it unbelievable, as much of a fantasy as this boy's claims of being a Goddess. However, she finds herself far more grateful for the fact that she's still alive after a foolish mistake that should've been her end. So she just bowed as her father had shown her, lowering herself a little with her hand over her heart. "Thank you."

To that, the boy just smiled at her. No, if he possessed such power then his claims of being the Goddess may have been true. But until she's seen it for herself she'll continue to see him as she does, this boy on a chair, a different one at that (when, where, and how did he even get that?). The boy who claimed to be Sothis was simply happy to hear her gratitude. She doesn't know why but the sight of his smile made her feel warm inside, not like how she'd feel on a hot day but one she could describe as a pleasant feeling. 'Such a feeling.' She shook her head, 'There will be time to reflect on that later.'

"What now? Are we stuck here forever, until I die-"

"No need to worry about being stuck or meeting an unfortunate fate." The boy quickly interrupted her inquiries. "I'd be a pretty useless Goddess if I couldn't undo my own work now wouldn't I."

"Many would say you already are, at least from what I have heard from the more jaded among Father's group."

"Sadly, courting death can happen even to gods." The boy merely shrugged at what she assumed would've been a great offense, judging from fierce debates among believers and non believers of the Goddess she had overheard over the years. "And I didn't even get it via Death of the Endless or Grim, just some bearded asshole." He then proceeded to grumble about dying, not that he had but because of who had delivered it to him. "At least my daughter returned the favor and that asshole is rotting in that shithole Shambala." She had no idea of what meaning any of that was supposed to have but was more than a little confused about the tidbit of a child speaking of his daughter killing his murderer, then again all were supposedly children of the Goddess. Maybe, her verses weren't the most accurate.

"What will happen when time resumes?" She asked to return to the topic and settle it. She just hoped the answer wouldn't be what she expected.

"Not a pretty sight, I'll tell you. Your back gets split open by an axe, if it doesn't kill you you'd surely be crippled. Saving Edelgard's life at the cost of your own, leaving her to accomplish the rest of her plans, and leaving you out of action, which would leave us quite fucked as well as the rest of Fodlan."

"I see, it's quite unsettling to hear," What would be worse, dying from her mistake and leaving her father to mourn her or to live crippled from it and have her father forever look at her in disappointment, she did not know and was once again thankful that she would never know.

"But what do you mean after that? Do you mean to tell me that this whole scenario was some plot of Edelgard's?" If so, her opinion, which wasn't that high due to her status but had risen a little with how she held herself in battle, of the noble fell. This plot of hers put not only the people of Remire at risk but her father and his men as well. It seemed that she planned to have the bandits kill the other heirs to powerful countries, Dimitri and Claude. It was little wonder why her father had such a low opinion of nobles besides the amount of payment they gave, when they weren't foolish enough to try and snub the Blade Breaker from what he was owed anyway.

"Ah, so you noticed something was off with her. Good, because before you leave your mindscape we'll have to have another discussion, this time about… Edelgard." He says before placing his hands in front of his face and letting out a breath. "Fun." Despite the word itself, any feeling related to said word was absent from him.

"And what is there to be said?"

"Far too much for my liking."

"Really now? And here I thought you couldn't say enough with how often you ran your mouth."

To that, he only chuckled, but this one lacked much of his mirth. Now she was feeling more than a little concerned.

-XXX-

And here comes the moment of truth, at least for this point in time.

During most of the battle with the bandits, I've been debating with myself on whether or not to keep Edelgard alive. Her war brings with it a lot of suffering and lost lives. Yet at the end of the day, it did provide an opportunity for whoever won to change Fodlan for the better. Provided of course that the Agarthans are dealt with as per the game endings and not left to strike later on. The problem with that is that I can't exactly depend on things going as planned in the original timeline. I'm in Sothis' place now and I don't plan on getting stuck in Zaharas and merging with Byleth, letting her get lost in that pit for 5 years, or letting Jeralt die anytime soon. No, Fate can very much go and fuck itself rather raw and thoroughly, thank you very much.

But what does it matter what I debate with myself when the most important factor here is Byleth. It'll be her choice on what to do. The only thing I can do right now is give her all the information that I have to help her make a choice. After that, I'll continue to help her as best I can.

"On whether or not you should allow her to die." Hmm, that comment seems to have startled her.

"That is rather unlike you to say, based on what little I know of you, or of the Goddess you claim to be. But for you to say that would mean that whatever she commits in the future must be quite grave."

"She seeks to bring about her reforms to Fodlan by ending the system of nobility and replacing it with one of merit and the abolishment of the Crest System which she sees as upholding the system she hates." I start off.

"That doesn't sound too bad. From what I know, most nobles are either corrupt and arrogant or genuinely care about those under them." Byleth placed her fist underneath her chin. "So a system based on merit sounds much more efficient than one based on blood."

Makes sense that she'd be on board with that, since as a mercenary, she could appreciate the idea of a system where competent and skilled people were in charge as opposed to entitled and egotistical people being born into it for life. Though I'm about to see if she'll appreciate what Edelgard will do to get such a system.

"Sure, it sounds noble and all but," I start to say with a grin. "Her method is to start a clusterfuck known as not only the biggest but also the bloodiest war in the history of Fodlan that lasted for 5 years. It all started when Eldegard led an attack on the Officers' Academy. Not soon after, she declared war on her neighboring countries for they too follow the very system she loathes." Ah imperialism, never change.

That got a more proper reaction out of her, plain old shock. Though to be honest, hearing that a war is going to happen soon when things seem perfectly fine would do that.

After dropping that little bombshell I tell her a bit more, about everything I knew about Edelgard's role in the future (Mostly based on what I know from Claude's route and some osmosis from Dimitri's and Edelgard's routes). About the War and her actions as the Flame Emperor in preparing for it, the moments before and after she declared it, a gist of the five years that it went on, and four of its conclusions. I also told her of Edelgard's past, not to excuse or purposely sympathize but merely to give context to why she does what she does. Then I mention a link between Edelgard's past and my own, the Agarthans and their role in all of this.

----

"So you mean to tell me that this girl, Edelgard, starts a war across all of Fodlan to take it over so she can force her ideal form of government everywhere and abolish the Church of Seiros, with the backing of an ancient and advanced subterranean society that once destroyed the continent, was responsible for your death, continues to cause trouble with their vile experiments, of which she is a victim of, and political unrest throughout history to this present time, and in the future assassinate my father? And all of this ends up benefiting Fodlan regardless if she succeeds or not, provided that at least one of the leaders of the other factions remains alive and these Agathans are dealt with. Was my recounting of what you said accurate?"

"Yes. Unfortunately, it's quite a fucking mess and will be something we'll have to deal with. Since you know, you live here and the Agarthans may come after you and your father later on."

"You do realize how outlandish this all sounds when said at once?" She asked before placing her hands on her head, thumbs rubbing the sides of her head. "Though I could see having the bandits kill Claude and Dimitri to weaken their respective countries be something she could've planned, which does give some credence to the idea of her planning for war against their countries. But these Agarthans are currently something neither of us can verify the existence of right now without asking Edelgard about them, which isn't ideal as she certainly wouldn't trust me enough to be of any help and may even report my knowledge of them. That said, out of what you've told me so far these Agarthans are most certainly my highest concern. I am no knight nor do I have any right to say this but even I felt a degree of disgust at their lack of care for human life, demons in human flesh are certainly fitting. And a threat to my father's life is most certainly not something that I can ignore."

"So I ask this of you, can you tell me with the utmost certainty that Edelgard had not planned or had knowingly acted in a way that would've led to my father's death?" Byleth's face was blank, not the blank as she usually was but the blank she was when she acted as the Ashen Demon. And though she was devoid of most emotions in this state, I could certainly feel her anger.

I can tell that she's unmovable on this. If Byleth believes that Edelgard had ordered or allowed Jeralt to die, she would kill her. Oh Kronya I'd pity you, if you weren't such a batshit insane mole woman entirely deserving of Byleth's wrath that is. That said, Edelgard at the moment certainly didn't, even though I could argue that she would later on.

"She has no control over their decisions, it was an agent of Agarthans, Kronya, who chose to do so. You attempted to prevent this but their leader, Thales, stepped in to stop you. Edelgard is only working with them because as the old saying goes "The enemy of my enemy is my friend" and, from what I understand of Empire politics, the Agarthans have control or sway over the seven nobles who currently have more power than the Emperor position she will inherit, with one of the Agarthan leaders disguising himself as one of them, being Volkhard von Arundel, so she pretty much has to work with them if she wants to work on her goal. So in a sense, she was somewhat responsible, due to helping them get to such a point, but neither knew, approved, nor agreed with the decision. Though she is a bit of a cold bitch about it when offering her 'condolences' to you."

"Very well then. Edelgard's goals are noble and change is indeed needed, but there is a more pressing threat that needs to be dealt with by a united or at the very least allied Fodlan."

I see that she's much more focused on the Agarthans than anything else, which is understandable considering the threat they posed and the fact that they would kill her father making this very personal for her. And great because this was very much personal for me too, they must pay for their crimes against decency.

"Now let's say that I do kill Edelgard, what will the Agarthans do without their pawn? Will they start the war with or without Edelgard to act as their figurehead? The seven nobles carry the real power at the moment, so they could be persuaded to start said war anyway only for far less noble purposes."

"Hmm, to be honest, I put so much thought into Edelgard's role that I didn't think much of the other nobles besides Arundel. That said, Edelgard as Emperor served as a unifier and motivation for Adrestia to fight at all. And she does have two Crests, which would make her a super-soldier of sorts and give her great advantages in battle. Also committed terrorist attacks which weakened the Church for her and the Agarthans to exploit." 'Which had her minion kidnap Cethleann for the Agarthans in doing so.' The thought of the first confrontation with the Death Knight flashed through my head, but I quickly dismissed that as luckily nothing too serious had occurred then, Flayn was still alive afterwards.

"But honestly, I think that despite her rather bad actions she does mean well and even works to destroy them once she accomplished her goals, so I'd like to get her to work with us before you kill her for things she doesn't know better about."

"I agree. Though I must say, she is awfully idealistic. People aren't the sort for peace, especially not when they're forced into something against their will, supposedly good for them or not."

"You know, I figured that you might've been more opposed since a peaceful Fodlan means you'd be out of a job."

"I am not a mercenary because I enjoy it, I am one simply because it is what my father has trained me for and is where my skills are most suited towards. And it is because I am a mercenary that I know that there will be conflict where there are people." She shakes her head before continuing. "But, I would not be opposed to the idea of a peaceful Fodlan coming to fruition."

I simply nod back as I cross my arms. "That girl desperately needs someone to reach for her hand and guide her out of the darkness that she's surrounded with."

Byleth tilted her head to the side. "And is it not the role of the Goddess to pull such individuals from such situations?"

"That moment has long passed since the time she had started her path. But you are right, I wouldn't be worth much if I didn't try to make up for my absence. And as my vessel towards this material plane, you'll have to do. That said, she still remains a threat to the remaining elements of my family as a pawn of the Agarthans. While I do not condemn her to death now, I will not forsake my children or the rest of Fodlan for her either." I say as I shake my head and let out a sigh. "But I am in no state to be fulfilling such bold words. So Byleth, just to ask. What will you do?"

"I do have another question," I raised my brow in curiosity but said nothing. "When would there be another opportunity to dispose of her should we fail to change the course of her path?"

"The way to go unpunished is by killing her anytime she appears in her alternate alias and disguise, the Flame Emperor. The absolute last chance you'd have is near the end of March, during a raid of the Holy Tomb by the Flame Emperor. The day after she escapes is the day that she declares war, though by that point the war will be inevitable."

"I believe that's enough of the future for now," Byleth said. "And besides, shouldn't you be beginning to reverse time now?"

To that I just blinked, did she do that on purpose? If so then I must say, what a cheeky brat she's becoming. Hehe, shows that I'm getting through to her. Though I really gotta curb those puns of hers, otherwise I may not be able to help everyone when she meets Alois. "Ever heard that patience is a virtue, child?"

"Yes, the fact that I'm continuing to speak with you should tell you enough of my patience. I probably have more virtue than the greatest of your saints."

"I think a time will come when you'll find it wanting when compared to Cichol, barring certain fish-obsessed exceptions. And maybe Indech after some Dragon Grass, my boy is pretty chill that way. That said, you're gonna really gonna need it."

But for as fun as this was, I need to focus on turning back time.

I repeat the process of how I froze time in the first place. This time my intent was focused on turning back time a few moments and then unpausing it. It took more mana than just freezing time as turning it back required more effort to be spent and was adding in another action by unfreezing it, but it wasn't too expensive or draining on me yet would very much become so if I tried to push myself too much and too quickly.

"I'm going to reverse time by a few seconds and then unfreeze it. Things to note, currently I can't turn back time too far, only a couple of seconds. As of right now, my ability to do this is limited as is my current power, so you only have three times to use it. I doubt you need an explanation on why we shouldn't try pushing our luck, yes?" To that Byleth only nodded, understanding what I said. "But for someone of your caliber, it should be more than enough. Get ready and please use your sword this time."

"Very well. But before I go, are there any more revelations you wish to deliver so I may be confounded until our next meeting?" Ah she's coming around I tell you, a bit less stiff than before!

"And here I thought that an impending war and a new enemy in a secret subterranean society would be enough for you."

"Oh, it very much is. Enough that when my father and I have our talk I'll be joining him with his drinking. Heavily. But I meant more of your last couple of words for me."

"You know, trying to preempt me won't work like that. But since I gave you so much info on Edelgard, I might as well spill a bit on the other lords."

-----

"-so I very much recommend that you look out for the guy as well. Honestly, a whole bunch of those kids at that Academy would need it too but I'll go over that later. "


"Confusing and very concerning, but not world-shattering and nothing a drink or two with my father couldn't fix. It seems that you're losing your effectiveness." And before I could say anything she's fading away! And she's smirking at me too, rather slight on her face but I can feel satisfaction with a hint of smug on her. Tch, the cheek of this one, oh so eager to get back at me I swear. Would definitely get along well with Claude if she continues this, or most of her students really with that weird charisma of hers. Yet suddenly that smug aura gives way as confusion bursts in.

"Wait, why would I be at that Academy in the first-"

"All I'll say is that you might not be out of a job should peace come. And bye, have a wonderful time!" I gleefully say as I wave and cut her off. Haha, seems that I'll have the last laugh after- Hold up, is she flipping me off!? What the hell? And judging from how her smug quickly trumped her brief confusion and annoyance/frustration and she gave me an ever so slight smirk of all things, my surprise definitely gave her the last laugh after all.

I couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of it, getting flipped off by Byleth of all people. Tch, I'll get you back for that though woman. Hmm, how about knowledge about what she wore in the original timeline. She'd die of embarrassment from how impractical it was and the fact that she in all four timelines thought it was a good idea to wear it in the first place.

Now to more serious things for a moment.

Honestly, I was a bit hasty in calling for Edelgard's death. Commit many wrongs she will in the future, the same could be said for Rhea could it not? They have both suffered greatly, tried to do what they saw best despite the damage they caused, and in turn need great help.

But as I told Byleth, I will not forsake my children for Edelgard however.

Now finally a much less heavy but still important topic for later! Which house to join? I won't lie, I'm a bit biased towards the Golden Deer since they were my first house after all. But again, that'll be something I'll leave to Byleth. After all, she'll be their professor, not me. I certainly don't envy her for actually having to do things like grading and all sorts of paperwork that come with actually doing the job.

-XXX-

It's one thing to be told that you would be going back in time, it's an extraordinary thing to actually do so. Within her dreams it was easy to hear all of what Sothis had described, truly experiencing it with her own eyes in reality however had finally set it upon her that this was all real.

'He truly is the Goddess Sothis. And all of this…' Byleth thought with her eyes the widest they've ever been, completely shocked at what she was witnessing. Everything, herself included, had become some kind of purple before that had inverted and everything began to move in reverse rapidly.

Any other thoughts she could have were interrupted upon the sound of glass shattering and everything coming back to how it should've been, with proper color and motion returned to the world.

The bandit leader had gotten up from the ground and immediately rushed towards the first person he saw intent on cutting them down, that person being Edelgard. Said noble had stood her ground as she couldn't try to outrun the bandit leader and risk meeting his axe with her back, so she wielded her dagger and was ready to fight back as best she could.

As much as she'd like to claim that she had long since forgone it, she could feel an instance of hesitation towards her next action. Which was ridiculous as she had already gone in depth with Sothis about this.

Much like the last time this scenario occurred, Byleth had jumped towards Edelgard's side. Except this time when she had moved between Edelgard and the bandit, she had her sword ready rather than her back, and ignored the sudden feeling in her chest. With a slash of her sword, she had sent both the bandit and his weapon flying.

Once the bandit fell to the ground, his nearby underlings rushed and carried him off and ran away as fast as they could. Byleth considered making a pursuit and putting the one who nearly killed her into the ground but thought against that as she had more important things, people in this case, to take care of.

"Hey! Over here!" Claude, apparently an Almyran Prince, called out as he and Dimitri, also haunted by ghosts though much less nicer than her own, ran towards her and Edelgard..

"I'm glad to see that the two of you are alright." Dimitri says after looking them over, likely relieved that there weren't any major injuries on them..

"Same here. Thanks for the help." Claude's comment caused Edelgard to snap out of whatever haze she had been to look at Byleth with a more focused eye. As well as a faint blush on her cheeks, though it quickly disappeared.

"Yes, I'm glad that the both of you are alright as well." Edelgard said towards the two men, and then turned towards Byleth. "I must thank you as well. You didn't have to put yourself at risk yet you saved me regardless."

"Well now, it seems that not only are you skilled in battle, you're quite the charmer getting Her Highness to smile like that." Claude complimented Byleth while also teasing Edelgard.

"I am merely thanking her for saving my life. Surely gratitude would be expected for such an act, even for one with poor manners such as yourself." Edelgard said with a glare towards the heir to two countries.

"Why of course, but from how you're looking it seems that you may want to give our friend here more than just words as gratitude." He replied with a grin, somewhat reminding her of Sothis and his antics.

"Claude-" Edelgard looked annoyed and was about to chastise him before an unexpected arrival interrupted her. Arrivals in fact.

"The Knights of Seiros are here! We'll cut you down for terrorizing our students." A knight in shining armor had announced once his horse had come to a stop along with a dozen or so other knights. "Hey! The thieves are running away! Go after them!" He said once he noticed the backs of the fleeing bandits. After the knights rushed to follow his order, he rode over to the students.

"The students seem to be unharmed. And who's this?" The knight said, sounding rather relieved to see the students in their state before his voice shifted once he looked at the direction of her father.

"Ugh, why him?" Her father said as just as his horse brought him over towards her and in the line of sight of the one at the head of the Knights of Seiros. Once the knight's eyes lit upon in gleeful recognition, all the Blade Breaker did was place his hand over his face and groan for all to hear.

######

Hopefully this chapter won't be too much of an info dump for those of you already familiar with Three Houses but also decent enough for those of you new to or haven't gotten to into 3H.

So it's a sort of similar chapter like the last one in that events are mostly the same but Sothis' input leading towards changes later on. Also want to note that I tried to portray Edelgard fairly and think I did a decent job at it, as I like the girl and her goals but don't like how she goes about it. Though some bias may have slipped though, which I think is expected since Sothis isn't too happy with her considering her future actions and allies.

Anyway, I hope you guys liked what you read and please leave your thoughts, any feedback or constructive criticism is good as it helps me improve. I thank you for reading and hope you have a good day!

 

[Enthessi]

Oooooh interesting! Thanks for the updates so far!

 

[BigFan10]

Don't forget to account for what Three Hopes Revealed, if Monica is saved from the Bandits and Kronya interferes leading to the Argathans getting outed then there is very much an opportunity to avoid the war as Edelgard can make a move against then early

 

[Austrichh]

Don't forget to account for what Three Hopes Revealed, if Monica is saved from the Bandits and Kronya interferes leading to the Argathans getting outed then there is very much an opportunity to avoid the war as Edelgard can make a move against then early

Click to shrink...

The thing with Three Hopes is that I started writing this literally a day before it was announced. So while I'll be using some lore from it, I'm not too sure on whether or not I'll have Sothis be aware of it. He'll either only know some major spoilers from before being inserted, know what OG!Sothis + Byleth did during Hopes, or nothing at all. Still decided on any of those.

As for the Agarthans getting outted, I'll just say that all it'll take is Byleth/Sothis' word to get Rhea on the hunt asap regarding them.

 

[Austrichh]

A key of speaking format since I'll be introducing a new method of speech.

" Hello there. " - Speaking

' Hello there. ' - Thinking

' Hello there.' - Sothis speaking/thinking at Byleth

#############

"Captain Jeralt?! It is you! Goodness, it's been ages." The knight had gleefully exclaimed, his enthusiasm made clear for all to hear. Jeralt and Byleth especially. "Don't you recognize me? It's Alois! Your old right-hand man! Well, that's how I always thought of myself anyway. It must've been twenty years ago that you went missing without a trace. But I always knew that you were still alive!"

Jeralt had placed his face into his palm, eyes closed and already exasperated. "You haven't changed a bit, Alois. You're just as loud as ever." He complained as he lifted his hand away from his face. "And drop that 'captain' nonsense. I'm not your captain anymore. These days I'm just a wandering mercenary. One who has work to do and is late enough already. Good-bye, old friend."

Alois blinked before nodding, seeming to accept it. "Right… Good-bye, Captain." But he soon shook his head before exclaiming. "Wait! That isn't how this ends! I insist that you return to the monastery with me!"

"Garreg Mach Monastery… I suppose this was inevitable." Jeralt sighed in resignation as he closed his eyes again.

Alois then turned to Byleth and asked. "And how about you, kid? Are you the captain's child?"

"Of this Captain Jeralt, no. Typically children are aware of who their parents are after all." Byleth replied, which got a laugh out of Alois and a small grimace from Jeralt.

"Great sense of humor, this one. Clearly cut from the same cloth as the captain." Alois laughed before he turned to Jeralt with a curious look. "You mean to tell me that you haven't told her?"

"It's like she said, children are aware of what their parents are. And like I said, I'm not a captain anymore so I felt no need to mention that."

Alois accepted the reasoning with a nod before turning his attention back to Byleth. "That said, I'd love for you to see the monastery too. You will join me, won't you?" He asked, eager to bring her along.

"I'll admit, I have found myself curious. Since Father isn't too fond of telling me his past, then perhaps his past would enjoy showing itself to me." Byleth said, which prompted a sigh from Jeralt.

"What's troubling you, Captain? You aren't about to run off again, are you?" Alois asked upon noticing Jeralt's glum expression.

"Even I wouldn't dare run from the Knights of Seiros. Besides, I'm certain that Byleth would help you drag me back just out of spite, little traitor that she is." Jeralt said, harmlessly grumbling a bit towards his daughter at the end. "That said we'd best get our men and supplies ready to move if we're to get there as soon as possible."

"Am I to assist?" Byleth asked.

"There's no need to worry yourself with all that, besides I'm sure those kids you saved are eager to speak with you, so go hear them out and leave the rest to me." Jeralt waved off.

After saying that, both men walked off. Which left Byleth all on her own. Alone.

'Testing, testing, one, two, three! Can anybody hear me?' A cheery voice asked.

Except that she wasn't as alone as she thought she was.

Of course the only possible explanation for this was Sothis, yet she wasn't asleep or in her 'mindscape'. Perhaps she was more tired than she thought and was feeling drowsy? Then again, she did face nearly dying, being dropped with an obscene amount of crucial information about the future, and seeing time itself reverse before her very eyes. Any of which would be draining for anybody, even one as abnormal as herself. All of which was thanks to the owner of that very same voice that called out to her.

She looked around and tried to locate him based on the direction of his voice, but it was hard to find it when it sounded as if it were in her own head. She was snapped out of her thoughts when the voice appeared again.

'Yes you heard right, and can now see, it's me, Sothis!' The now apparent Sothis said. As soon as her ears heard him, her eyes followed the direction of the sound, now able to follow it, and locked on to him as he floated out of and then above the ground on that strange chair of his, position lounged yet abuzz with cheer. 'Oh don't be too surprised that I'm here, I did just recently stop and rewind time itself after all. And as honored as I am that you're taking the time to feast upon the sight of me with your eyes, people are still looking for you. So you'd best get going now!' He waved her off. Though Byleth remained where she stood.

"Oh." Was all Byleth said, still surprised to see Sothis right in front of her, another sign that he was real yet just as much of a sign that she may be going crazy. Her surprised eyes soon narrowed as she then demanded. "No, what will be going on is you explaining what this is. I thought you were limited to haunting my dreams. Dead, I believe you said."

'Astral Projection!" Sothis exclaimed, but noticing that Byleth's look remained the same he elaborated. "I can project myself out of your mindscape and freely roam the material plane that you exist on. Though, I can't truly experience it, being unable to communicate or physically interact with the world." He finished in the same tone though she noticed that the light in his eyes dimmed a little. Before she could look any further into that, he, along with that chair, went straight through a tree and back to prove his point.

"While you can't interact with the world, does that mean no one else can see you?" Byleth whispered after subtly looking around, making sure that none were within hearing distance.

'Nope. As of now only you can see me due to being my vessel and us being linked. The only others who could notice my presence would be the Nabateans and potentially those who bear Crests. So basically you'd only need to worry about Rhea and she shouldn't be much of an issue.'

"But if you can't interact with the world physically, why aren't you falling through the ground?"

At that Sothis just blinked. 'Woman I'm on a floating chair, I can rise out of the ground just as easily as I can fall through. I wouldn't recommend it though, never dig straight down."

"You fell straight through the ground before you realized you could float, didn't you?" Byleth crossed her arms. "That explains that entrance of yours."

'I resent that claim, it was merely presentation!'

"Stage accidents are fairly common I believe. That explains your presence, but I heard your voice within my head before you appeared to me. How is that?"

It's also projection!' Sothis answered. 'We're connected, in body, mind, and soul. It's through our link that we can communicate with each other, mentally through projecting our thoughts to each other, which can also be labeled telepathy in a sense. So I'd recommend thinking of me when speaking to me like this, lest you want people thinking that you're crazy, any more than you already are of course.'

"And how-" Byleth was about to ask before she cut herself off. 'Is it really as simple as thinking to speak to you? What if I wanted to keep my thoughts private?' She finished in thought.

'You needn't worry too much about that. I'm only communicating to you in your head when you announce them or have intent to share them with me, to go any deeper would require your consent or brute force from me, something you can be more than able to resist.' Sothis explained.

'This makes things a lot more convenient to deal with now that I don't need to sleep or nearly die to speak with you.' Byleth nodded. 'You just have to haunt my waking and sleeping moments for it.'

'See, you got it, good. Now you really have to get going before those lads think that you're ghosting them.' Sothis urged, pointing at the three lords standing in the distance.

'And how exactly would I be doing that when I'm alive and you're the ghost.'

'You appear before them yet say nothing nor acknowledge them, thus you're ghosting them.' He lectured.

'If that's what ghosting is then you're doing a rather poor job at it.'

'Yes, and you and that blank stare of yours is already out doing me and my loud mouth, now stop putting me out of a job and go talk to those kids already.'

-XXX-

All three of the lords noticed Byleth's arrival, though Edelgard was the first to speak up.

"I appreciate your help back there. Your skill is beyond question." She praised genuinely. "Of course I suppose that is to be fitting considering the legends that you and your father carry. Yours being of the Ashen Demon and your father's being the Blade Breaker, former captain of the Knights of Seiros, with the both of you praised as the strongest fighters to have ever lived. Have I missed anything?"

"No you haven't, though I do find it a bit odd to hear of this seeing as I only just recently learned that he was a captain of that group." Byleth's tone was plain but annoyed underneath it.

"How curious. I'd wager the explanation for that is fascinating indeed." Edelgard said with a mixture of surprise and interest.

"Hey!" Claude waved with a smile and a hand on his hip. "You are coming with us to the monastery, right? Of course you are. I'd love to bend your ear as we travel. As you have already deduced, we're students of the Officers Academy at Garreg Mach Monastery." His cheery expression soon turned sour with his next couple of words. "We were doing some training exercises with a new professor, the esteemed whats-his-face, when these bandits came in and attacked us out of the blue. I definitely got the worst of it though."

With that last statement, both Dimitri and Edelgard turned to glare at Claude, not pleased at his choice of words at all.

"That would be because you ran off." Edelgard narrowed her eyes towards him.

Claude,clearly unfazed from Edelgard's words, nodded and even got his smile back up again. "Too true! I was the first to make a strategic retreat. Everything would've worked out if these two hadn't followed me and ruined everything." He shook his head. "Because of them, every single one of those bandits chased after us. Utterly ridiculous."

"Ah, so that's what you were thinking, Claude. And here I thought you were attempting to follow our professor's lead and act as a decoy for the sake of us all." Dimitri said, neither believing nor happy with his fellow House Leader.

"Their intentions were as clear as day. You will prove a lacking ruler if you cannot see the truth behind a person's words." Edelgard chastised while missing that Dimitri's words weren't truly his thoughts.

"You'll prove a lacking ruler yourself if you look for deceit behind every word and fail to trust those whom you rely on." He replied, chastising her back before adding on. "After all, if you only assume the worst of your allies, you may find yourself surrounded only by enemies when you need them most."

"Which would happen regardless with allies like Claude or teachers like Beorhito. Not to mention that a supposed ally likely was the reason that those bandits were aware of us in the first place." Edelgard said back with more heat in her words than her last. However, before one of them could argue back, Claude interrupted with a comment of his own.

"As much as I'd hate to interrupt a royal debate between their highnesses, I do have a few things I'd like to note for our newcomer here. One, it's quite the wonder how being completely predictable affects one's ability to wield power. Personally, as the embodiment of distrust, I'd say their little exchange smacks of naivete."

"Me? Naive?" Edelgard asked, shifting her aggression from Dimitri to Claude. "Tell me, are you actually incapable of keeping quiet? Or is your lack of self-awareness a condition of some sort?"

"And two, I'd really appreciate it if you didn't compare me to Professor Burrito." Claude half ignoring Edelgard's anger. "At least my 'lack of self-awareness' stems from me being my lovable self, rather than a typical ass kissing noble like that guy."

"In any case, forgive our digression." Dimitri shifted his attention to Byleth. "I must speak with you, if you can spare a moment." Dimitri asked.

"You already were speaking with me and I already gave you all plenty of moments," Byleth said, her first words since the conversation began. Also words which sent a burst of worry through the lords at potentially alienating her. "But I do have plenty to spare at the moment, so speak away." She then continued, much to their relief. With said relief amusing her.

"Of course, though I find that it never hurts to ask. Anyway, I must say that the way you held your ground against the bandits' leader was captivating! You never lost control of the situation," Byleth could hear a faint and distant sound of laughter as Dimitri said his praises. As much as she wanted to tell Sothis off she needed to pay attention, so she grudgingly put that out of her mind, for now, and returned to listening to what Dimitri was saying. "It showed me that I still have much to learn,"

"And that skill is precisely why I must ask you to consider lending your services to the Empire." Edelgard said, butting into the conversation as soon as Dimitri stopped talking. "After all, as the heiress to the Adrestian Empire-"

"Halt, Edelgard. Please allow me to finish my own proposition." Dimitri said, a flicker of annoyance flashing through his face for a moment before returning to his pleasant expression, as he turned back to Byleth and continued. "The Holy Kingdom of Faerghus is in dire need of exceptional individuals like yourself. Please do consider returning to the Kingdom with me. Your father did mention that he had a contract there, did he not? I'll be sure to amend any issues that our situation has caused."

"Whoa there! You two sure are hasty. Trying to recruit someone you just met. Tactless, really." Claude said as he shook his head at the other lords, yet just as eager to get his offer in. "I was personally planning to develop a deep and lasting friendship on our journey back to the monastery before begging for favors. Besides, I do believe that I owe your father a wine cellar."

"And what do you know of fine wine, besides of how best to tamper with it?" Edelgard asked.

"Geez Edelgard, Hubert must be rubbing off on you if poison is the first thought you have towards a drink." Edelgard was riled at the insinuation yet that only caused Claude to widen his grin as he continued. "Anyway, I know my way around a drink but I'll admit that I lack a proper collection of them. Though I hear that Count Gloucester boasts a mighty fine cellar."

"Claude, I sincerely doubt that either Lorenz or his father would appreciate such a thing." Dimitri said.

"Oh think nothing of it, the Alliance is all about helping each other out with stuff. Besides, I'm sure nobles of their stature would understand." Claude nonchalantly brushed off.

"Of course, and surely it's not because you found it amusing to abuse your position of authority." Edelgard criticized.

"Once again Your Highness, you show your naivete. All power is abused, it just differs on how you do it." Edelgard bristled at being called naive again but paused upon hearing the rest of what Claude had to say, something in her eyes shifted as she looked at him.

"Anyhow, like these two demonstrated, it seems there's no time for niceties in this world." Claude falsely lamented as he waved his arm at Edelgard and Dimitri before turning to Byleth with a charming smile. "So, capable stranger, let's get right to it. Where does your allegiance lie?"

Upon the question being asked, all three of the lords had their attention focused solely on Byleth and awaited her response.

'Hmm, to think that one would pledge themselves before someone just because they were born in their land.'

'Nationality is a fine thing, be proud of where you come from if you'd like but remember that nationalism is what gets people killed.' Sothis warned, a brief yet serious air around him. Byleth was confused as to what could've brought such a mood change before she recalled Agartha's and later one of Adrestia's motivations and soon saw his meaning.

'You aren't wrong on that. And even if I cared about such things, I hardly know where I was born to begin with...' Byleth agreed as her thoughts then shifted to ask. 'Where was I born? All Father told me was that I was born in some random village that he forgot the name of. A lie most likely.'

'Yep. You were born where your mother worked, at Garreg Mach Monastery. So you were born in 'neutral' territory. Though, Jeralt does hail from the Kingdom, so you're of Faerghus descent. But if you asked Edelgard for her real thoughts, she'd tell you that those lands belonged to the Empire and were stolen.'

'I see. Then I'll take care to avoid mentioning that with her then. In that case, I shouldn't place too much thought into it when there's such a simple answer.'

"My allegiance lies with my father, Jeralt, and the Jeralt Mercenary Group. If you wish to hire my allegiance, discuss my terms and rates with him." Byleth bluntly answered.

"Huh, I should've expected that a mercenary would be more for gold than nationality." Claude said, a bit surprised as well as disappointed at the unexpected response. Of which the same could be said for Dimitri and Edelgard who were equally hoping for a less neutral answer. Yet Claude recovered and soon continued along. "By the way, as a nation with the wealthiest merchants, the Alliance also has the most gold."

'That boy sure has some speed on him, skipping right to the third stage.'

"Amongst the merchants and nobles themselves, perhaps, but in regards to wealth the nation itself holds, it is quite lacking when compared to the vastness of the Imperial Treasury." Edelgard countered with a smirk and a not so small hint of pride as well in her claim.

"Didn't the Imperial Treasury's vastness become less vast after the Kingdom's Treasury became a thing?" Claude countered back with a grin, throwing the split of both countries at her. Dimitri tensed a little while Edelgard simply frowned and narrowed her eyes.

"All right, that's enough with the small talk. It's time to head back to the monastery!" Alois announced as he walked in, blissfully unaware of the conversation he just prevented from continuing any further.

"Looks like we'll have to pick this up another time." Claude said as he winked at Byleth before walking away along with Dimitri and Edelgard.

'A few deviations, and a bit more hostility, but it mostly went how I expected. Though for some reason I can't help but feel that I had heard that Beorhito guy's name before, though it doesn't matter too much since he never shows his face again after being scared off.' Sothis commented. 'That said, what do you think of them? I said a lot on Edelgard and only a brief few on the other two, but I find that it's better to also get a feel for someone face to face than to solely rely on what you hear from others.'

'Dimitri seems quite sincere, his words about my ability were genuine in their praise, but with what I can sense from him and what you told me, it's clear to me that he is quite troubled and trying hard to remain restrained. Claude seems easy going and relaxed, similar to you in a sense, but unlike you, that charming smile of his doesn't reach his eyes and they're rather distant, fake even, yet very much keen and focused. Edelgard… she's refined and focused, though she was constantly analyzing me, trying to see where I fit in whatever she had envisioned in her mind, yet she's a mixture of Dimitri and Cladue in that she has a distant and guarded front, but I can tell that she carries a sense of …wistfulness behind it.'

'Rather astute of you, pretty much got the gist of them.' Sothis said, yet his face turned a bit confused. 'Though I do find it strange that you'd compare Claude to myself.'

'It's just that you two share a few noticeable similarities. You and Claude both find joy in joking with others and carry yourselves lightly. Though a major difference between the two of you is in how you hold yourselves. You are far more open and authentic than Claude is.' Byleth clarified.

'You've only seen me interact with you, and since we share the same space of course I'd be a lot more open with you. Besides, we have drastically different backgrounds and gone through different circumstances, mine allowed me to be while his didn't.'

'Ah yes, I see, a child of a Fodlan ex-noble and the King of Almyra and given the hostile history between them, his childhood must have been a difficult one. I have more of an understanding now.'

'And that is the crux of his ambition, of the future he seeks to bring.'

'Like how Edelgard wishes to bring a Fodlan where commoners and nobles are equal, Claude wishes to bring a similar equality between Fodlan and Almyra where the people understand each other. Is that it?'

'Simply put, yes. Similar goals but how they go about it is different, due to circumstances and the actions each is willing to take. Though make no mistake, had Edelgard not started the war, it's just as likely that Claude would've. '

'You make a note of Claude and Edelgard's goals, but what of Dimitri's? He doesn't seem to have a wide scale goal such as they do, that inner darkness of his suggests a more personal motivation for him.'

'All the lad wants is revenge for the Tragedy of Duscar and to be a king like his father before him. Unfortunately, future events cause him to fully or partially fall into his inner darkness and the Kingdom gets screwed over for a time. But I think we've talked enough about all this for now. Now's the time to experience your present rather than to talk of their futures.'

After Sothis' last comment, Byleth increased the speed of her walk as she went off towards the rest of the knights and students. Yet she soon came with another thought, it was one she chose to keep to herself.

'Claude isn't the only one you share similarities with. Like Dimitri and Edelgard, you're holding back a trauma of your own. I have not forgotten that sense of sorrow I've felt from you from our first meeting… Yet now is neither the time nor the place to discuss this, though I will get to the bottom of that as well Sothis…' Byleth dwelled before moving on.

——————

Once the Knights of Seiros and Jeralt's Mercenary Group were finished with their preparations, both were on the move. The Knights along with a few of the Mercenaries to Garreg Mach by walking through the Oghma Mountains while the rest of the Mercenaries were on standby at Remire Village.

The lords were in the middle of their group, Jeralt and Byleth were at the front of their group along with Alois and the knights, and the mercenaries were at the back. Both groups were spaced out so that the lords could have some privacy but close enough to move upon them should an attack occur. After the events of the previous night, the knights didn't want to take any more chances as it was due to luck that a crisis hadn't emerged with the lords, the last remaining heirs at that, nearly facing death.

"Father, I received more of his words." Byleth said, as she and Jeralt were distant enough to speak to each other but close enough to the group to help should they be needed.

"More words? You haven't even taken a nap and he's already back to haunting you?" Jeralt asked, still retaining his gruff exterior but Byleth could tell that he was visibly concerned as well.

"He's haunting me as we speak, he's even listening in on what we're saying. In fact, he's floating right next to me."

'I am in your walls Byleth.' Sothis stated from his chair in the air.

"Addendum, he is in my walls." Byleth restated.

"...That's new." Jeralt narrowed his eyes as he looked in what Byleth's eyes pointed out to be Sothis' direction. He peered into it for a few moments before letting out a sigh and rubbing his temples. "Honestly, I'd want to have that talk just as much as you do. Preferably we'd have the privacy of an empty pub and I could get my lips loose enough to tell you everything and drunk enough to handle whatever else comes out of that gremlin's mouth."

'Ayo what?' Sothis asked, a little dumbfounded.

"I am aware that our current conditions are far from ideal. I doubt that the knights would appreciate hearing of our supposed, though well deserved, heresy." Byleth said with a brief chuckle before her mouth defaulted to a thin line. "We're still having that talk whenever we can, though it'll be an unfortunately sober one."

"Well that's new. Normally you'd be discouraging me from such a thing. Have you finally come around?" Jeralt asked, his eyes lit up with some hope and pride.

"There's a difference between numbing the pain, mildly enjoying a drink, and racking up a tab across Fodlan in the thousands Father." Byleth bluntly said, shutting down that notion.

"Ah, speaking of debts, we got a few nobles in ours. Powerful ones at that." Jeralt said, changing the subject as the hope died within him. "So, what do you think of them so far?"

"... I haven't known them well enough to form a concrete judgment, in fact most of what I know actually comes from my gremlin. But I do have a grasp on them." Byleth reflected.

'I can't believe that's what you're calling me!' Sothis cried out incredulously, though more annoyed than offended.

"Your gremlin, eh?" Jeralt inquired with a raised eyebrow, a teasing grin and his eyes filled with something Byleth couldn't identify but was already annoyed with.

"Yes, he lives in my heart, does he not?" She inquired back with a raised brow of her own, which only emboldened Jeralt and caused Sothis to groan out something about 'undertones'. "Anyway, from what I do know, all I can say is that they seem well enough on the outside and somewhat genuinely as well, but they all are certainly hiding something significant on the inside."

"A seem and an are? Interesting…" Jeralt commented as he got back on topic. "Do you plan on getting involved with them?"

"Would you disapprove?"

"No, no." He said as he shook his head. "Getting an in with any one of them would certainly be a beneficial opportunity for you in all honesty. Just make sure that you're able to get a safe out as well with an in, because those are especially hard to get when it comes to people of their stature."

"Do you have experience in this?"

"Hm, let's just say that there's a reason that I'm not as welcomed in Fhirdiad as I used to be when the late King Lambert was still alive." Jeralt said. Over in the back of the group, Dimitri found his attention caught towards them at the mention of Fhirdiad but his head was suddenly and firmly pointed towards them with the mention of the name Lambert.

"That's new, you never mentioned anything about this." Byleth points out.

'Certainly new to me as well.' Sothis added, joining in her curiosity.

'All the more reason to listen then.' Byleth affirmed.

"I'm sorry to interrupt but I couldn't help myself when I heard you mention Fhirdiad. I hope you don't mind me asking but why is it so?" Dimitri asked after walking over to them.

"It's a bit of a long story that can be best summed up with… you know what, we got some time so I might as well." Jeralt decided after some thought.

"The King and used to be friends of a sort. That started after I first became a captain of the Knights of Seiros. When he heard that a knight formerly of the Kingdom got such a position he invited me to his castle to give his congratulations. A few years later after I started my mercenary company he sought after my services, be it for mercenary work or even for guard detail. In fact I used to guard Queen Ionia when she was pregnant with you Dimitri."

"And I recall seeing you around the palace a few times when I was rather young. When you weren't on a job or on duty, you were with my father… and a rather unhealthy amount of alcohol for the two of you." Dimitri added, both fondly and with concern.

"See father, even the Prince agrees that you have a problem." Byleth pointed out.

"Bah, first Byleth and now you. Kids these days and their lack of appreciation." Jeralt grumbled as he shook his head. "I'll have you know that Lambert could drink with the best of them, even if that Crest of his was technically cheating. Could hold it better than that Rodrigue fellow and Alois too, even after all those years as my squire."

"You drank enough for the both of us, Captain," Alois butted in, who was content to listen to Jeralt's telling of his time out of the Church but spoke up to defend himself. "And someone had to be sober enough to pull your behind out of the pubs before you got kicked out. Especially after Lady Rhea forbade you from charging it to the Church since your tab was rivaling a donation from a noble. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if the two of you put a dent in the Kingdom's finances with your drinking habits."

'That tab is older than I am. In addition to how ever long Father has been a knight. How his liver still works I'll never know.' Byleth thought.

'Ah, the joys of being superhuman. Well, I wouldn't know since I'm not one but still, baseline humans get the short end of the stick.'

"I can actually recall Mother and Rodrigue nagging at Father about it. Though he was being chastised he accepted it with a smile. If I recall correctly he mentioned putting that discount you gave him to good use in helping pay towards that, considering that companies of your quality usually charge exorbitant prices."

'Father gave the King a discount? He never gave a noble client a discount.' Byleth thought with some surprise.

"Huh, so that's why my tabs in the Kingdom were so short for a while. Nice to know why." Jeralt commented under his breath. "Anyway I got a bit off track with reminiscing, but that discount actually brings me to the point of this. Following the unfortunate events of Duscur, I came to offer my condolences. A little while after the funeral service, the Prince-Regent Rufus wanted to speak with me."

"And I suppose that whatever Rufus said was the reason that you left so soon." Byleth guessed.

"Yeah. He wanted to hire my services much like Lambert did. And for the sake of it I even offered the same discount I gave for him. But the Regent was rather insistent that since I was from the Kingdom and no longer a Captain of the Knights of Seiros that I'd be obligated to work exclusively for the crown. I told him that I only worked on my own terms. He didn't like that very much."

"Sir Jeralt, I must offer my most sincerest apologies for how my uncle had acted towards you. He had no right to demand such a thing." Dimitri apologized, shock and anger in his eyes at the fact that his uncle would so quickly try to abuse his position and during such a time.

"Oh think nothing of it, his actions aren't yours so don't apologize for him." Jeralt said, waving the Prince's concern off. He then turned to Byleth. "And like I told you kid, an out can be hard when it comes to nobles, no offense to you Dimitri. Or you two as well." Jeralt said after giving Edelgard and Claude a look, having noticed them listening in.

Dimitri was startled at the mention of them, having not noticed them while engaged with the story. Claude caught this and answered his silent question. "You did leave our conversation a bit abruptly and we're just as curious as you are about these two."

Dimitri accepted that and turned to answer Jeralt. "There's none to be taken. I am well aware of how… difficult some of the nobility can be."

"They're also vain, egotistical, elitist, entitled, self-centered, delusional, snobs, jerks-" Claude listed off.

"As much as I agree with you Claude, if we were to go over all the flaws and faults of the average noble we'd be here all day." Edelgard injected before turning to Jeralt. "And you're quite fortunate to find that opportunity to escape, such things can be hard to come by. Be it for a commoner or noble."

"Glad you could understand." Jeralt nodded before finishing up his story. "The reason I was able to leave without much issue was because it was known to those close to the king that Lambert and I were somewhat close and it wouldn't look well for the Regent to be seen acting hostile towards me. But that's enough from me your highness-"

"Please, sir Jeralt, just call me Dimitri. As of now I'm only a student at the Officers Academy, and if you were able to speak my father's name so freely then I'd like for you to do the same for mine as well."

"Well then, Dimitri, it was nice reminiscing but I believe I've said enough to Byleth here about memory lane. I oughta get back to standing on guard." Jeralt said to the student before turning to address his daughter next. "I'll talk to you later kid." And walked off to rejoin the group at the front.

"This is the most that I've gotten from my father about his background by far. He usually isn't as open when talking about it. I think you being here got him to open up about it." Byleth said once Jeralt walked a distance from them.

"I'm glad to have helped, especially after getting to hear of his time in the Kingdom and with my father." Dimitri said. "Speaking of his background, since he was from Faerghus, would you not mind considering picking up where our fathers left off. I'd very much would like to develop such a friendship as they had, not to mention that I'd be happy to pay every bullion of your prices."

"From Faerghus my father may be, I was born in a village whose name my father had forgotten. So of Faerghus descent I may be, I'm not a citizen." Byleth stated blankly, which put a damper on Dimitri's good mood. She then gained a slight smile as she continued on. "That said, I wouldn't be opposed to such a friendship developing between us."

"You seem to be fond of doing that, aren't you?" Dimitri grumbled at her twist of words, but from the smile on his face it seemed that his mood was happier from her next set of words. "Still, I'm glad to hear it, Byleth." Dimitri said. Upon the two of them walking back towards the back of the group, Dimitri noticed that the Monastery was now within their sights. "And since this will be your first time visiting the monastery, I'd be happy to start by showing you around."

A small smile was Byleth's response.

"It really is Fodlan in a nutshell, both the good and the bad." Claude said.

"Like it or not, we'll be there soon enough.

There it is…" Edelgard said, staring intently at the monastery. While many would just chalk it up to her appreciating the place in its beauty, Byleth knew that Edelgard's look possibly held a much more malicious intent. "Garreg Mach Monastery."

Spoiler: Garreg Mach Monastery

Though she must admit, the place does hold a kind of beauty. But more than that, she can feel something from it. And the closer she moves toward it, the stronger the feeling gets ever so slightly. As she turned to look at Sothis, she saw that his eyes, glowing with that familiar green, were fixated at the sight.

--------

"Rhea's here." Jeralt pointed out with apprehension as he looked up above, toward the top of the monastery where a woman in a white dress with green hair stood, a different shade from Sothis' yet a similar green. Who looked so much like the woman from her dream with the only differences being the hair in style and color and their general demeanor. But it was clear as day to Byleth that Rhea was indeed the Seiros she had seen in her dreams. Seiros, a warrior filled with hate and sorrow, and Rhea, a serene yet intent peace upon her. Who was also Sothis' daughter, oddly enough.

Both her and her father were gazing at Rhea as much as she was gazing back at them. Yet Byleth could tell that while she was focused on both herself and Jeralt, Rhea's main focus was directly on her. Yet her eyes seemed to be searching beyond her.

-XXX-


XXXXXXXXXX

And that's where I'll end things for now. As much as I hate cliffhangers, I feel that this is the best place to end this part of the chapter at. Yes, part, which makes this part 1 of Chapter 3. As a whole, this would've been about 10k words which is way too long for my liking, especially after pushing 9k last chapter. That, and I didn't want to make you guys wait any longer for an update. Rest easy though, there shouldn't be as much exposition as the last chapter either, though there may be some in both parts. A worry of mine is that this may feel disjointed or incomplete since this is half of a greater whole.

Sothis is free to roam this Earth though unable to touch anything, yet. Byleth gets to interact with the lords some more, Jeralt tells a story, and surprisingly Dimitri gets a decent chunk of focus. (Three Hopes kinda soured my opinion on Claude a bit while also making me like Dimitri more than I already did. Speaking of which, I'll use some things from Three Hopes, I may change some things, but that's all I'll say on that for now. Also, Shez is dead.) And as the cliffhanger may hint, the first major change is about to happen in the next part and continued into Chapter 4. Hoo boy.

 

[Enthessi]

I like the dynamic between Sothis and Byleth and am curious about how it continues to develop especially with Sothis not being nearly as informed as Byleth is staring to think. TFTC!

 

[Austrichh]

I like the dynamic between Sothis and Byleth and am curious about how it continues to develop especially with Sothis not being nearly as informed as Byleth is staring to think. TFTC!

Click to shrink...

Glad to hear that you liked their dynamic, writing Sothis and Byleth's interactions have been the highlight of this fic for me.

As for how it'll develop, Sothis is proving to be a 'good' influence on Byleth's nascent personality, much to the misfortune of others lol.

 

[Austrichh]

Allow me to start this off with an author's note. This is NOT Chapter 4. As I mentioned in the last chapter notes, though I don't blame you for not reading those, this will be a continuation of Chapter 3. Not much new in terms of events besides the very end, and boy will that be big, but it will be new in terms of information and Sothis' growth. Basically this would've been Sothis' POV last chapter had it not ended up so large. Feel free to tell me if this feels too much like info-dumping of any kind or if I dropped the ball on emotional aspects, I'm new to writing those. The main reason that Chapter 3 isn't in one single chapter is that it would've been too long for my liking. Nonetheless I hope that you guys enjoy it and tell me what you think.


###############

A key of speaking format since I'll be introducing a new method of speech.

" Hello there. " - Speaking

' Hello there. ' - Thinking

' Hello there.' - Sothis speaking/thinking at Byleth

#############

--------

"Rhea's here." Jeralt pointed out as he looked up above, toward the top of the monastery where a woman in a white dress with green hair stood, a different shade from Sothis' yet a similar green. Who looked so much like the woman from her dream with the only differences being the hair in style and color and their general demeanor. But it was clear as day to Byleth that Rhea was indeed the Seiros she had seen in her dreams. Seiros, a warrior filled with hate and sorrow, and Rhea, a serene yet intent peace upon her. Who was also Sothis' daughter, oddly enough.

Both her and her father were gazing at Rhea as much as she was gazing back at them. Yet Byleth could tell that while she was focused on both herself and Jeralt, Rhea's main focus was directly on her. Yet eyes seemed to be searching beyond her.

-XXX-

It was nice knowing that I could leave Byleth's mindscape. Sure my chair was nice and all, and the space had the potential to change as either Byleth or I desired but it'd suck if I couldn't get to see Fodlan with my own eyes rather than just through Byleth's. A land oh so familiar to my old one yet oh so different and new. I wonder if this was how the explorers of old felt when they first discovered the Americas.

But what brought me down a bit was the fact that I couldn't really experience the sensations of the land. Much like most other ghosts, I couldn't affect the physical world and vice versa. Hell, I didn't even need to breathe since I wasn't getting any air. Which very much made me thankful that, like most who possess the ability of intangibility, I couldn't just slip into the bottom of the planet. Though I very nearly did when I accidentally toggled it off and had to float to avoid such a thing. Not that I'd ever admit it to Byleth of course, a Goddess has to keep an image after all.

So it very quickly caught my attention when I began to feel something other than my connection to Byleth and the magic within me. There were four of them, each very faint but… recognizable.

I felt them from those with Crests, the remnants of my children's blood.

Most notable being Edelgard and Jeralt.

Edelgard likely due to having two crests within her, a minor Crest of Seiros and a major Crest of Flames, gained from the blood Seiros willingly gave her ancestor and the one Nemesis gained by harvesting me. It unnerves and infuriates me that my essence was used for Edelgard and her siblings to go through so much pain.

Jeralt, the reason for which I'd say is due to his Crest being both a Major one and one that Seiros willingly gave recently, if you could call the past 100 or so years recent. A stark contrast to how Edelgard received her, Seiros willingly gave Jeralt her blood to save the man's life.

Dimitri and Claude were less noticeable due to only containing minor Crests, though that isn't to say that neither were within my radar, just that they didn't stand out as much when compared to Jeralt and Edelgard.

Yet despite these newfound connections, there wasn't much I could do with them at the moment. They weren't nearly as strong as my connection to Byleth, not even close. But that made some sense, I'd just woken up from being dead and started using my power after a millennia of atrophy, so it's understandable that such things would be limited. Though it did make me curious as Sothis never developed or showed such a thing in Three Houses.

Perhaps the original Sothis never developed this ability until well after merging with Byleth, maybe it was a result of me possessing the knowledge of such things being possible that awakened it, or for any number of reasons that I'll never know. But unfortunately I'd probably have to chalk it up to the writer's not utilizing Sothis beyond Byleth and the Divine Pulse, or perhaps this was something new…

And seeing as this started on the way to Garreg Mach, I also began to feel that bit by bit the growth of my own power as we moved closer to it.

Which seems to also make sense, it's the biggest center of worship for the Goddess in Fodlan and a center for a massive amount of faith in a world where magic exists and can be fueled by such faith. Yet it feels diluted, which may have something to do with the fact that I'm not the same Goddess that these people worshiped. Seeing as Rhea had told her idealized version of a Goddess to the people, a Sothis that she didn't truly know due to losing him at such a young age. No child could really.

So along with my power, so does my connection to other Crest bearers grow. Of course I'm just assuming this based off what knowledge I have and I'm feeling right now.

Also something to note was the increase of strange glances that Jeralt has made towards my general position when he became aware of my presence. He couldn't truly perceive me just yet, but he could feel something was off, and to a warrior of his calibur such things were not to be ignored.

Edelgard also gave a few glances, though that could've just as easily been her crush on Byleth acting up as they were more toward her area. She did stray towards me a few times but quickly dismissed my presence to look and avoid looking at my vessel when she thought no one was looking. Jeralt and Claude caught her a few times.

Now upon reaching the Cathedral, I could feel three more presences. They shine oh so brightly to me and it's instantly recognizable. The flesh of my flesh. Seiros, Cichol, and Cethlenne.

Previously characters of a story that I had sympathized with in a past life, seen in various different lights and portrayals, debates and discussions, art forms and interpretations (the less said about some of the art and debates the better). They now lay in a strange area for me. Especially Rhea. Though I do feel sympathy for her and understand her actions, having the full picture that none in this world could have, I still recognize that she wasn't without fault and had a role to play in the current state of Fodlan. Had she been more attentive and less restrictive over the past centuries, or even learned to finally let go, there may have been much more peace. Both for her and the land.

Yet, despite this body being mine somehow, the echo of Sothis remains and along with it the love and mourning of a father. While disappointed in some of the deeds of his youngest and final child, he-I would want nothing more than to comfort her and let her know that her father is back. That it'll all be alright.

And here she is now, standing here above me…

'While her eyes may be on you Byleth, she's looking for me…'

'How would she know to look for you, more so, within me?'

'She could sense me within you. That, and because she's the reason you have my Heart, my Crest Stone, to begin with. And the reason you're still alive.'

'The reason you're within me and that I'm still alive? You can't just reveal such a mystery and not explain. Especially when I know that you already know.'

'It's kinda heavy.' I started but I could feel that she was undeterred. 'Still, you're eager for an answer so I'll sum it up to this, you were stillborn and Sitri asked Rhea to take the Crest of Flames in her and place it in you to save your life.'

'…I was stillborn?'

'Your original heart didn't beat at all. Fearing for your life, and knowing that hers was coming to an end, your mother's last act was to save you. That Heart you carry is both figuratively and literally the symbol of the love that Sitri had for you.' I said, emphasizing it by placing my hand over her non beating heart.

'...Thank you Sothis. It seems that Father hadn't lied about everything...'

'Hard to lie about something that you don't know about.'

'...Father didn't know? Why didn't Rhea say anything about it?'

'Distasteful as it may be to say of my daughter, but that woman was far too secretive for her own good. Even among those few that are closest to her, the last of her own flesh and blood, they knew little of what she truly had planned. But those truths will be revealed soon enough I assure you.' Byleth wasn't entirely satisfied with that, I could feel, but she was willing to go along and wait to hear it.

'But beyond that, don't you feel it?' I asked.

'Feel what? What is this?' She asked, the thought laced with confusion. But not at what I asked, but more towards the sensation she was becoming aware of.

'Hm, this may have been dormant until I've awoken in you, so you wouldn't have much experience with this. Hell, it's foriegn to most humans in Fodlan, and what you're feeling is very much exclusive to you and likely two others. You possess the Crest of Flames, the very same as Nemesis did millennia ago and Edelgard does in this current day.'

'You mean to say that I could possess the same kind of power that he did?' Thoughts of what the King of Liberation had done with the Sword of the Creator, my spine weirdly and tragically enough, during his final battle in her dream flash by. 'Could Edelgard possess that power?' She then thought of it with great concern. She was right to as well, since the Sword of Creator with the Crest of Flames fully realized could cripple armies and destroy a mountain, though it required a fully charged swing to do so.

'Nope to Edelgard. She never gets the chance in the four timelines and many of their derivatives. And even if she did gain access to it, with her condition I doubt she could use it to that effect or for long.' Byleth was relieved at not having to face that. Hell even Caspar, Felix, and the Death Knight, battle addicts that they are, wouldn't want to face such power. 'And nope to wielding the same power of Nemesis.' At that she just deflated, pouting even at not gaining such power. It was enough to get Jeralt to stop suddenly and look at her with visible concern. She ignored him in favor of glaring at me for dashing her hopes.

Ehehe, while she is cute like this, I better cheer her up. 'In fact, it'd be better than his. Since I'll be willingly working with you, rather than having my damn spine pulled out and my essence crammed into you by some crackpot.' After all, a look of wonder and the glee with it looks far better on her. Though she quickly became annoyed since I was messing with her.

'Didn't Rhea do the same thing but with your heart instead?'

'Annoyingly enough that description can fit her too, lack of medical license and all. But that kinda ruins the thought behind your mother's last act, doesn't it?' I asked, ribbing at her back. At that, her expression turned sour at such a thing. I reassured her by projecting that I wasn't truly serious nor was it truly offensive before I continued.

'You'll be even more powerful than that bum could ever hope to be. You possess a potential far greater than that.'

'How so? The man's entrance on the battlefield alone is considerable enough.'

'Certainly, though I'd think that you'd appreciate what you have access to more, via an undetectable scout who can also give a bird's eye view of the battlefield in yours truly, can pause and reverse time," I listed off but stopped when I noticed that she had stopped walking and her mind went blank. Before her glee from earlier had returned with an unholy vengeance in the form of Byleth smiling with a Cheshire grin. Ok not really, but it was a full smile and her first at that judging by how strained her face was along with how shocked Jeralt is right now, a mix of happiness and concern at the sight. Her thoughts were abuzz at the potential uses of each ability on their own and ecstatic when all were combined. I can just tell that she's going to abuse the shit out of this and I'm all for it.

With all of that mental activity going on, I decided to hold back on the other possibilities for now. Thoughts of cutting through and out of the other dimension of Zaharas popped up, as did her moves used when fighting in Smash Bros Ultimate, maybe something from Heroes via Aether or cracked status effects to apply video game terms to reality. And that's just limited to the feats she herself has shown, not to mention the other stuff I could borrow from other Fire Emblems and even worlds regarding similar abilities. Time stop would probably send her euphoric.

Though I do wonder how the hell could I get Byleth to replicate Aether to even work effectively, with that needing her to jump in the air, do a few flips while still in the air, before slamming her sword into the poor sucker beneath that.

After some time I continued once her mind became clearer and less abuzz. 'Despite the power that he wielded, don't compare yourself to that asshole. Though you possess the moniker of demon, you are so much more than that barbarian who fancied himself king. Anyway," I clapped, breaking the minor lull I fell into. "We're in Garreg Mach, the center of worship for yours truly, and faith is one hell of a drug, let me tell you. It's even aiding my growth somewhat. You'll feel it kick in soon too, maybe.'

'You are aware that drug use can carry detrimental side effects for one's body, especially for the development of one so young.'

'This is less of a development and more of a recovery in my case. Besides, all medicines are drugs. my Bylass.'

'You aren't wrong, they do contain similar properties.' Byleth paused when she noticed what I called her and gave a blank look at the floating me. 'That is not my name. I believe you were insistent on me giving it to you, were you not?'

'Yeah, and I introduced myself as Sothis, the Goddess, not a gremlin, woman.' I replied with a look of my own.

'It was a name from before I believed that you were actually the Goddess. Besides, you certainly fit the image of one with an attitude to match.'

'An elf I could get due to the pointy ears and stunning good looks, but a gremlin of all things. I'm not even that hairy nor am I that green!' I cried out in faux outrage, I'm not too bothered by the nickname but I'm kinda annoyed at it tho.

'Yet you appear before me as an adolescent boy who would be more adorable than stunning, and lacking the hair of a man or beast but carrying a large mane.'

'The sheer heresy I'm hearing, and in my place of worship no less.' I lamented as I shook my head in mock offense. 'You oughta consider yourself lucky that the Church of Seiros is no Imperium of Man-aketes.' For all the faults she saw in the Church, Edelgard really ought to consider herself fortunate that they bore little to no similarities at all with the Imperium of Man. Not even going to mention any of the other horrors from there, no thank you sir.

'What's a manak-'

"I wonder, was it the flow of time that brought you here?" Rhea asked at the top of the Monastery. That comment got our attention back to her. Her voice would've been hard to pick up from the softness alone, not to mention the great distance between us, yet it was heard by us nonetheless. Her eyes were gazing at Byleth yet they soon turned searing around my general area. I know that she couldn't see me, for her eyes still reflected a desperate yet ecstatic hope. So while she couldn't see me, she could sense me.

'It was! In a sense…'

'You are aware that she can't hear you, yes? In fact I'm surprised that I could even hear her from such a height.'

'You have enhanced senses, perks of hosting a Goddess and being part Dragon homunculus, Nabatean if you want to be accurate, from your mother's side. Who got that from Rhea, her mother and my daughter, who also gave Jeralt some of her blood long before you were made. All of which makes for a rather looped family tree.' And that's just the family tree as is, Byleth could add to that mess depending on who she ends up with since the rest of my children along with myself are just as eligible as all of the playable staff and students at Garreg Mach, some of which contain Crests technically making them incredibly distant relatives. Even if you consider the fact that Sitri is more of Rhea's creation than her daughter, it's still a bit strange. Oh incest, a Fire Emblem classic.

'Why is it that sometimes when you answer a question of mine I only end up more confused than when I asked?' Byleth sighed as she rubbed her temples trying to puzzle that out. Jeralt gave her a worried glance and placed a hand on her shoulder, Byleth gave a dim smile back. 'And while I do find the state of my family tree to be quite an interesting 'clusterfuck', I can tell when one is trying to avoid something.'

'Like you're trying now?' I counter, but she remains stone-faced. To that, I drop a weak chuckle and let out a sigh. 'I know, I know. I just, I feel a sense of longing. A parent could hardly stand to be away from their child for so long and to now have her here in front of me yet not able to even say anything. But I'm not even the same father she once had. And honestly, I'm new to this parenting thing. This whole thing is weird. '

'Glad to know that I'm not the only one who's lost with all of this.' Byleth chuckled before returning blank. 'Still, just the knowledge that my father would die in the future was painful to bear, if he actually died before my eyes…'

'It was the first time you shed tears. He even mentioned them as a part of his last words.'

'How cruel must fate be to have me present in their final moments and thoughts …' Byleth lamented, sadness seeping into her words.

'Cruel fate can be, but it is never set in stone. For the waters ever change, flowing like time. You are more than able to defy it, the path is yours to climb after all.' I reassured, yet rather than the power I was used to flowing through, it was mixed with a different one. As if my words invoked a foriegn power of sorts… But it seems that it had its intended effect as she lighted up a bit.

'Then I can hardly imagine how difficult it must be to live with that pain for the millennia you've been dead.'

'Some would expect you to let go.' I said, these words not truly my own but ones that many may have spoken. May need to be said.

'I would be one of them, I'd used to be at least. But even now, that pain of hearing of Jeralt's passing lingers. From what I know from interacting with other mercenaries who've faced loss like this and my own, however much it may not even apply, it can dull but it will linger.'

'There's one thing. Don't feel bad, don't let go, don't look back.' A lullaby echoed from within. It's sound advice but like most of it when it comes to emotions, that's easier said than done. Especially when it comes to loss.

Still, I get what Byleth means.

'Though I can't help but feel somewhat nervous about this, but like you did with Jeralt, it'd be better that we just get it out there and over with. We do need to talk with Rhea after all, and this'll be the easiest way to get her to be agreeable.' And may prove to ease her sorrow once and for all. 'Besides, I could always just turn back time if we fuck things up.'

'That sounds like an irresponsible use of such godly power.'

'Irresponsible, yes, but it is hella convenient, no? Besides, I've seen some of what you had done with that power in other timelines and you're just as irresponsible as I am, if not more, my Bylass.' And abusing Divine Pulse was a staple for these kinds of things anyway. I have enough for some at least.

'...Alright Sothis.' Byleth replied evenly, though for whatever reason I could sense a faint bit of mischief within her.

What chicanery do you have planned, vessel of mine?

-XXX-

"It's been years since I've set eyes on this place. To be forced to see her now." Jeralt said once inside, the situation now seeming to settle in for him.

"I'm assuming that you mean the Archbishop, Rhea?" Byleth asked.

"Yes, her. As you know, the majority of folks in Fodlan are devout followers of the teachings of Seiros. Archbishop Rhea is the leader of that ridiculously large organization." He explained.

"The religion as old as the empire that once ruled all of Fodlan tends to be rather large, Father." Byleth pointed out.

Anymore that could be said between the two died down as a man walked before them. He had dark green hair and a goatee, and was dressed in a dark blue uniform with a pink cape.

"Thank you for your patience Jeralt. My name is Seteth. I am an advisor to the archbishop." Seteth introduced.

"Right, hello." Jeralt greeted back with an even tone, though he was a little wary of the new face and green hair.

Just as soon as Seteth had walked in, so did another. The same woman from before.

"It has been a long time, Jeralt. I wonder… was it the will of the Goddess that we have another chance meeting like this?" Rhea greeted upon meeting her former Captain and bodyguard.

'I thought it was the flow of time that brought us here?'

'I control time so it's technically the same thing. It is by my will that time flows, ceases, and reverses after all.'

"Forgive my silence for all these years." Jeralt apologized before bowing. "Much has happened since we last spoke."

"So I see. The miracle of fatherhood has blessed you." Rhea said to Jeralt, and for a brief instant her eyes glowed green with a faint power and it passed just as it appeared. She then turned towards Byleth, her gaze locked on her. "This is your child, is it not?"

"Yes… Born-" Jeralt was about to say, intending to lie to Rhea on the subject of Byleth's birth, but found himself interrupted from a hand on his shoulders. Though Byleth didn't say anything, just the hand and a look told Jeralt enough. He would let her handle this.

'You better not introduce yourself as the Ashen Demon Byleth or so help me…'

'Don't you worry about that. You did say that we could just reverse time after all…'

'That doesn't give me the most confidence you know?'

'Here is something to have confidence in then.'

'Did you just-!?'

"I was born in this monastery, twenty years ago. My name is Byleth. It was a name given to me by my mother, Sitri. A one-of-a-kind name from a one-of-twelve woman."

Everyone in the room had a reaction to Byleth's statement. Seteth's was merely one of confusion, as to why this mercenary would bring up having so many aunts. Jeralt and Rhea both slightly widened their eyes, Jeralt surprised at the fact that Byleth would mention it so blatantly and Rhea in recognition of the woman she knew to be Byleth's mother and surprised that she knew of how many were before her.

"...A fine name indeed." Rhea simply commented after a moment, her surprise now gone. Though her eyes told a different story, her surprise was replaced with giddy eagerness. "Though I must ask, what brought up that last comment?"

"You should know, you were the mother to her and the eleven before her."

"What nonsense are you trying to claim? Lady Rhea had never birthed one child let alone twelve of them." Seteth exclaimed, baffled at what he heard from the mercenary. Yet that bafflement only grew once he noticed that Rhea made no move to rebuke that claim or react as he had expected.

'She certainly has the hips for it.'

'If you actually said that I'd have already turned back time, I cannot believe you!'

'I'm not wrong, am I?'

'You're not wrong but did you really need to point it out?'

'Because how she got them from you confounds me. And seeing your reaction is amusing to me.'

'I'd explain to you how genetics work and show you why you're wrong but now ain't the time, now go back to confounding their heads and leave your amusement there.'

"That my grandmother, Seiros, has placed Sothis' Crest Stone within Sitri and the eleven previous vessels. And me at my birth."

"She what!?" Both Jeralt and Seteth cried out in shock and some degree of outrage, then turned to glare at Rhea once she made no move to dismiss or argue with this claim.

"He misses you terribly by the way," Byleth added on.

"F-father!?" Rhea gasped, eyes watering at the words yet glee remained on her face.

'Well, I can certainly see why you find this so enjoyable now Sothis.' Originally Byleth thought that she enjoyed revealing such hidden information as a means of getting back at her father for hiding it for so long. Now upon seeing the reactions of not just her father, but also her grandmother? (she's still not sure on that) and Sothis' son(?), she finds that she has gotten a taste for such dramatics.

'Yeah, glad you got to enjoy it…' Sothis said absentmindedly, his focus more on Rhea and Seteth. Especially on the hopeful look on her face. He quickly brought his attention back to Byleth. 'You broadcasted your intentions to me yet I'm just as surprised as them. Though it was a bit ham-fisted…'

'I was only following your example.' Byleth pointed out.

'As you should. It's only natural that a mortal such as yourself should try to emulate a divine like me.' Sothis haughtily affirmed.

'I doubt I could ever reach your height, such a thing seems beyond my mortal reach.'

'Bruh. Just you wait until I ascend from this form.' Sothis broke his haughty air with a playful groan. But he soon dropped it as something else came within his notice. 'Huh. Turns out that Cethleann is watching us.' Sothis pointed out, gesturing towards a young woman in a black dress with light green hair in an elaborate style hiding behind a pillar, her eyes wide at what she had heard.

"It seems that you're not the only short one here, Sothis." Byleth addressed, speaking to Sothis out loud before turning her attention to the young girl. "Hello Cethleann, Sothis is in my walls."

Upon being called out, she stepped out of the pillar which caused every adult in the room to turn to Cethleann. After a moment of silence, and a squinted face confusedly looking between Rhea, Byleth, and where Sothis floated, she blurted out. "Pardon me, but what the fuck is going on here?"



XXXXXXXXXXXXXX


We reach our first major change in all of Three Houses, Rhea knows of Sothis' presence! And Byleth pulls a page from Sothis' book and drops some secrets, of which neither Seteth nor Jeralt are going to be too happy about. And Flayn too. So there's gonna be a whole lot of drama with that. Also sorry about the cliffhanger being even worse than the last part but at least it didn't take months to resolve, eh? (You guys on SV are lucky compared to the guys on other sites, my original update time was a lot worse lol. Also, a thing to note, this is the last chapter for this fic that I have written, so you'll have to wait for me to finish chapter 5 like the other sites do.)

Sothis has shown some of his growth in the last part, but now you have a wider lense on it. He can explore the world though he can not interact with it just yet, but interacting with people may just be a different story. And as some of you who are more familiar with TH may know, most of this growth doesn't happen at all there. I kinda have to expand on Sothis if he's to be the main character and when the games doesn't give the fella much love after merging with Byleth. (or FEH for that matter wtf was with that refine IS) So feel free to consider this a bit of an AU.

Also this may look a bit rough, I'm writing this part without a beta at the moment, so I'll pretty much die like Glenn. Though I did add some more words which does make this whole thing longer than I'd like, making me really glad that I split this from the last part. I'd like to look at this some more but I'll be busy for a bit, so I'll let this stir for a while before coming back to fix or add some things that I may have missed or things that you readers may not have liked.

Anyway, thanks for reading and I hope you'll like this chapter and please leave some feedback or criticism on what you liked and what you didn't.

 

[Fire_Fox]

Read this on Spacebattles, I was browsing SV though and saw it and was happy to see a new chapter even though I didn't get the E-mail alert, then tragedy~ It was chapters I had already seen, my heart has been toyed with QAQ

 

[Austrichh]

Read this on Spacebattles, I was browsing SV though and saw it and was happy to see a new chapter even though I didn't get the E-mail alert, then tragedy~ It was chapters I had already seen, my heart has been toyed with QAQ

Click to shrink...

Sorry to say my dude, but alas nothing new just yet. If it helps, I am more focused on working on chapter 4 atm, though it ain't ready yet. Might be during some time this month, no promises tho.

 

[Enthessi]

Lmao I almost feel bad for Seteth after all this. Almost. TFTC!

 

[Waruiko]

I like where this is going

 

[Isiri Pudireach]

Sothis is in my walls

Click to shrink...

Byleth is gonna get so much use out of that, isn't she?

 

[Aeoniam]

All her walls are belong to Sothis, bruh.

This fic is actually great! Sothis as the MC could flub really hard, but this is just working and I'm loving it.

Good job on this one Austrichh! I'm truly hooked.

 

[Austrichh]

All her walls are belong to Sothis, bruh.

This fic is actually great! Sothis as the MC could flub really hard, but this is just working and I'm loving it.

Good job on this one Austrichh! I'm truly hooked.

Click to shrink...

Indeed, all of Byleth's walls are belong to Sothis lol

Sothis certainly could as at the moment he is a backseat driver until he becomes corporeal which won't be for a long while (a moment I'm really looking forward to). Though that isn't to say that he won't be limited to just interacting with just Byleth (though I do love writing those two) until then since she isn't the only one he has a connection to, it just depends on the strength of them at the moment (the strongest being Nabateans). This is why I try to involve Byleth as an MC as well since she's the most active role as well as being linked with Sothis.

 

[Alan975]

Heresy, I say, it is a FACT that Flayn is incapable of swearing and I will hear no arguments against this!

 

[Austrichh]

Heresy, I say, it is a FACT that Flayn is incapable of swearing and I will hear no arguments against this!

Click to shrink...

As much as Seteth would love to agree with you, Flayn's got some decent arguments otherwise lol

 

[Austrichh]

Update notice!

It's been 6 months since the last update, sorry about that. A bit of writer's block for this fic and life's been busy, also been a bit unfortunate in my beta moving on to other things, leaving me unsure about certain aspects of the chapter (I wish them well tho they were great.)

But since I posted a notice for a 2 month absence before, I figured that half a year would warrant one too.

This fic ain't dead, the next chapter is coming and is about 70-80% done. So if I'm feeling hopeful it should come out by the end of the month.

To give a bit of an idea of what to expect: it picks right off after chapter 4 where Rhea's gonna have to explain herself to Jeralt and the Nabateans, all of whom aren't going to be too happy with her. But things won't be too down for her since Sothis and Byleth will be up to a bit of ribbing.

But since I don't want to leave you guys with nothing after all this time, I'll leave a sneak peak of the chapter

Spoiler: sneak peak

Upon being called out, Cethleann stepped out from behind the pillar, causing every adult in the room to turn their attention towards her. A moment of awkward silence hung in the air as she squinted, trying to make sense of the bizarre scene before her as she looked at Rhea before shifted back and forth between Byelth and the general space where Sothis was supposed to be. Her confusion was palpable as she blurted out, "Pardon me, but what the fuck is going on here?"

It was the sentiment that everyone in the room shared, yet it was to a varying degree for some. Though the crudeness of Cethleann's language and the unexpectedness of her outburst caught everyone off guard, bringing about a moment of stunned silence.

"Flayn!" Seteth was the first to react as he cried out in outrage once he registered the words. "How could you utter such deplorable language!? Who taught you such a word!? I swear if it was that Gautier boy or von Riegan-"

Flayn interrupted, "Father, I have fought in a war before as a healer. People on the battlefield tend to have much more pressing concerns to worry about than censoring themselves."

Seteth's expression darkened at the memory, but he persisted, "Regardless, you cannot just reveal our identities like that!"

"I don't see the need to hide our identities as Miss Byleth has already done so," she countered as she gestured towards Byleth, "And seeing as she is apparently the vessel of the Goddess, such secrets are a moot point to keep."

Seteth sighed as he couldn't refute her point, "You may be right regarding the mootness of hiding our identities in front of present company, however, we will discuss your mouth and the uncouth things you have uttered later, young lady." he promised sternly before turning towards Byleth. "You and this current matter, however, we will discuss now. Explain."

Byleth merely nodded before turning to Rhea and asked, "Seiros, would you like to explain, or should I?"

Rhea's voice quavered with emotion as she asked, "I…I would like to know first, is Sothis, is Father truly there as we speak?" Her eyes shone with a fragile hope.

"Yes, but-" Byleth started to answer.

"But?!" Rhea demanded in alarm as she rushed over to Byleth in a split second and grasped her shoulders tightly. Jeralt tensed at the action and swiftly moved his hand toward his sword but let go after Byleth waved him off.

"He is not what you may remember him to be." Byleth continued unaffected by Rhea's sudden closeness, "He and his power are still recovering, as is his memory."

"…that is troubling to hear," Rhea admitted with a sigh, but soon picked herself up in spirit. "But regardless of that, the fact that he is finally back to me in some way is more than enough for me."

"As happy as I am to hear that our Goddess, who has been revived in my daughter after apparently being dead, I'd still like to talk about what Byleth brought up. The vessels, Sitri, my daughter's birth." Jeralt spoke in, very much confused but focused nonetheless.

"I too feel the need for an explanation. Especially since I wasn't aware of any of this." Seteth agreed before turning towards a general area of where Sothis floated. "Forgive me if I do not seem overjoyed to have you back with us Father, it's just that apparently my own kin didn't trust me enough to inform me of her plots. Or the fact that she had become a mother at all."

"Seiros, after what we've been through you should've had more faith in us." Flayn was also open with her disappointment.

Rhea looked guiltily at her kin before explaining, "It wasn't that I couldn't trust you. When I first tried to resurrect Father, it was after the War of Heroes and you were already with Cethleann in hiding while she was in her resting trance. I couldn't pull you away from that."

"Maculi, Indech? Are they aware of this?" Seteth asked.

"You know that Indech has no mind for things such as this Seteth. He lacks knowledge on the magical or ritualistic and the temperament necessary to assist me." Rhea explained.

"Perhaps if he hadn't skipped his lessons to smoke that damnable Dragon Glass, he'd know a thing or two. But the Immovable was not one to go against his desires, having lounged in that lake of his ever since the War ended thousands of years ago." Seteth chastised with faint mirth before he schooled his expression. "Which is why you are not to partake in such narcotics, Flayn." He ignored the protest of "But I'm old enough!" as he continued to question Rhea "And Maculi?"

At the mention of the other kin, Rhea's face darkened with anger. "You know well enough why I could never go to him for aid with this. He blames Father for what happened! He has the nerve to hate him! For all I knew he would've sabotaged my efforts!"

"I do not believe that he would ever go as far as that, he still cares for us despite his distance. And that hate you claim he has could just be resentment, Nemesis' actions and the War of Heroes have soured his view of humanity and in turn Sothis' decision to allow them access to our home." Seteth defended calmly, though saddened that she would feel such anger at her kin.

'It's a heavy thing to hear of my son's feelings for me, but I could understand his feelings. The lad has always been a moody sort, Agarthans and humanity having turned him harsh for their deeds and towards me for opening them to us.' Sothis commented, a fragment of rue coming out.

"Perhaps, but he would've refused to help nonetheless. I was the only one who could bring Father back, and I had!" Rhea said with conviction, her anger forgotten at the reminder of her goal finally succeeding.

"You still haven't explained how you've gone about that." Jeralt pressed on.

At that Rhea just closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Her time of attempting the task had been one full of grief, failure, and mourning. She opened her as she turned her head towards her shoulder. She found Byleth's hand there along with what she felt was the sensation of another hand encouraging her. She immediately seized Byleth's hand and gave a grateful smile.

sorry that this ain't the update for a chapter but I hope that this is alright

 

[Austrichh]

Since it's been a while since the last update, I figured that I should leave a temporary summary of the last chapter's events in case you want to get into this one without having to reread them. Though you could just read the last few parts of chapter 3 pt. 2 and get enough of an idea of what'll be happening here.

Byleth and Jeralt have just entered the Catherdral in the Monastery. Upon meeting Seteth and Rhea, Byleth drops some info bombs (Sothis' presence, her mother Sitri and the twelve children Rhea had before her, that she knows about the Nabaeteans)

This chapter will be the aftermath of these revealed truths.


------------

Upon being called out, Cethleann stepped out from behind the pillar, causing every adult in the room to turn their attention toward her. A moment of awkward silence hung in the air as she squinted, trying to make sense of the bizarre scene before her as she looked at Rhea before shifting back and forth between Byleth and the general space where Sothis was supposed to be. Her confusion was palpable as she blurted out, "Pardon me, but what the fuck is going on here?"

It was the sentiment that everyone in the room shared, yet it was to a varying degree for some. Though the crudeness of Cethleann's language and the unexpectedness of her outburst caught everyone off guard, bringing about a moment of stunned silence.

"Flayn!" Seteth was the first to react as he cried out in outrage once he registered the words. "How could you utter such deplorable language!? Who taught you such a word!? I swear if it was that Gautier boy or von Riegan-"

Flayn interrupted, "Father, I have fought in a war before as a healer. People on the battlefield tend to have much more pressing concerns to worry about than censoring themselves."

Seteth's expression darkened at the memory, but he persisted, "Regardless, you cannot just reveal our identities like that!"

"I don't see the need to hide our identities as Miss Byleth has already done so," she countered as she gestured towards Byleth, "And seeing as she is apparently the vessel of the Goddess, such secrets are a moot point to keep."

Seteth sighed as he couldn't refute her point, "You may be right regarding the mootness of hiding our identities in front of present company, however, we will discuss your mouth and the uncouth things you have uttered later, young lady." he promised sternly before turning towards Byleth. "You and this current matter, however, we will discuss now. Explain."

Byleth merely nodded before turning to Rhea and asked, "Seiros, would you like to explain, or should I?"

Rhea's voice quivered with emotion as she asked, "I…I would like to know first, is Sothis, is Father truly there as we speak?" Her eyes shone with a fragile hope.

"Yes, but-" Byleth started to answer.

"But?!" Rhea demanded in alarm as she rushed over to Byleth in a split second and grasped her shoulders tightly. Jeralt tensed at the action and swiftly moved his hand toward his sword but let go after Byleth waved him off.

"He is not what you may remember him to be." Byleth continued unaffected by Rhea's sudden closeness, "He and his power are still recovering, as is his memory."

"…that is troubling to hear," Rhea admitted with a sigh but soon picked herself up in spirit. "But regardless of that, the fact that he is finally back to me in some way is more than enough for me."

"As happy as I am to hear that our Goddess, who has been revived in my daughter after apparently being dead, I'd still like to talk about what Byleth brought up. The vessels, Sitri, my daughter's birth." Jeralt spoke in, very much confused but focused nonetheless.

"I too feel the need for an explanation. Especially since I wasn't aware of any of this." Seteth agreed before turning towards a general area of where Sothis floated. "Forgive me if I do not seem overjoyed to have you back with us Ancestor, it's just that apparently my own kin didn't trust me enough to inform me of her plots. Or the fact that she had become a mother at all."

"Seiros, after what we've been through you should've had more faith in us." Flayn was also open with her disappointment.

Rhea looked guiltily at her kin before explaining, "It wasn't that I couldn't trust you. When I first tried to resurrect Father, it was after the War of Heroes and you were already with Cethleann in hiding while she was in her resting trance. I couldn't pull you away from that."

"Maculi, Indech? Are they aware of this?" Seteth asked.

"You know that Indech has no mind for things such as this Seteth. While he was procieficent with generating illusions with his magic, he was more a fighter than a mage. Thus, he lacked knowledge on the magical or ritualistic and the temperament necessary to assist me." Rhea explained.

"Perhaps if he hadn't skipped his lessons to smoke that damnable Dragon Glass, he'd know a thing or two. But the Immovable was not one to go against his desires, having lounged in that lake of his ever since the War ended thousands of years ago." Seteth chastised with faint mirth before he schooled his expression. "Which is why you are not to partake in such narcotics, Flayn." He ignored the protest of "But I'm old enough!" as he continued to question Rhea "And Maculi?"

At the mention of the other kin, Rhea's face darkened with anger. "You know well enough why I could never go to him for aid with this. He blames Father for what happened! He has the nerve to hate him! For all I knew he would've sabotaged my efforts!"

"I do not believe that he would ever go as far as that, he still cares for us despite his distance. And that hate you claim he has could just be resentment, Nemesis' actions and the War of Heroes have soured his view of humanity and in turn Sothis' decision to allow them access to our home." Seteth defended calmly, though saddened that she would feel such anger at her kin.

'It's a heavy thing to hear of my son's feelings for me, but I could understand his feelings. The lad has always been a moody sort, Agarthans and humanity having turned him harsh for their deeds and towards me for opening them to us.' Sothis commented, a fragment of rue coming out.

"Perhaps, but he would've refused to help nonetheless. I was the only one who could bring Father back, and I had!" Rhea said with conviction, her anger forgotten at the reminder of her goal finally succeeding.

"You still haven't explained how you've gone about that." Jeralt pressed on.

At that Rhea just closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Her time of attempting the task had been one full of grief, failure, and mourning. She opened her as she turned her head towards her shoulder. She found Byleth's hand there along with what she felt was the sensation of another hand encouraging her. She immediately seized Byleth's hand and gave a grateful smile.

"After I slew Nemesis in revenge for killing Sothis and butchering our kin, I had taken the Sword of the Creator and reclaimed Sothis' heart within it. I wanted to use that heart to resurrect him. Even though I had to do some… questionable things to achieve that goal, I wished to see my father once more. I believed that if I could resurrect him, I could regain all that has been at Zanado and all would be right again."

"Sothis had made it forbidden to delve into resurrection for a reason Rhea! That way could lead to necromancy, a dark and foul magic that goes against the natural order of things and its results show it! Rather than bringing the person back as they were, they are brought back as husks of their former selves only able to spread death and destruction."

"I know! As much as I missed Father, as desperately I wanted him back, I would never descreate his body in such a way! No, necromancy wasn't what I used."

Seteth was relieved to hear that, but still worried about the risks involved. "It is thankfully evident that you hadn't. But still, to think that you'd even risk what would utterly ruin mortals on a god of Father's power… Yet you risked it with an unknown ritual, didn't you? The Rite of Rising."

Rhea sighed, "Yes, that was my first attempt to resurrect Father. But I assure you that it was heavily researched by the Four Apostles, one of the most gifted mages of the time."

Seteth, clearly uneasy, asked, "If not by necromancy and dark magics, then what magic was used to power it?"

"The Crests of the Four Apostles, Aubin, Chevalier, Noa, and Timotheos, as well as their blood." Rhea explained, "But we did not have much of Sothis' body besides the Sword of the Creator and his Crest Stone, so I had used my blood in place of his as his daughter. We poured that blood into the Chalice of Beginnings, a powerful artifact created by Sothis' power."

Seteth looked even more concerned now. "Blood magic is incredibly powerful, always taking some kind of effect! And seeing as it hadn't worked, something must've happened."

Rhea's expression turned somber. "Yes, the ritual was a failure. Rather than fulfilling my hopes and bringing Sothis back… it crushed them and created an Umbral Beast, one of the most powerful and monstrous of its kind. Had the Four Apostles not kept it distracted and unable to complete its formation long enough for me to slay it with the charged Sword of the Creator, I may have had to use my full power as the Immaculate One to kill it, and in turn destroy the Monastery and kill all those who resided in it."

"How could you have taken such a risk! Such a creature would've caused great harm to Fodlan, a Fodlan need I remind you had just come out of a brutal war with itself and was still recovering from. And if you, the strongest of the Nabateans, would've needed her Dragon form to stop it, then the only hope of killing it would've fallen to Indech and Maculi as the only ones who could transform still in Fodlan."

"I thought that I had too. The Monastery was the center of faith and worship for Sothis, I thought that would aid greatly in resurrecting him. I know not what was behind the ritual's failure, perhaps it was because I lacked Father's blood as it was in the hands of those who killed him, or perhaps it was what they had done with the Sword of the Creator. Regardless, the Four Apostles were not willing to continue to assist me any further in regard to the ritual. And so they disbanded and left into exile all over Fodlan."

Rhea turned to Sothis, seeming to have a better idea of where he was, "...But you are here, Father, so perhaps you could answer the questions that I could never answer back then. Could the ritual have worked?" Rhea asked.

'Could it?' Byleth repeated the question.

'...the ritual has only been performed twice. Once by Rhea and once by Aelfric, an obsessed priest, whom we most certainly need to stop before he does. The second time was done to Sitir, it had created an Umbral Beast out of the vessel and the priest.' I answered. 'Both attempts carried disastrous results, but they were not complete. Rhea lacked my body for me, the priest lacked my heart for Sitri. Both lacked the whole to resurrect.'

'What would it be then?' Byleth asked.

'I would not truly know. But if I were to wager a guess, perhaps it was because I was not yet awake. But even that seems not to be enough, something is still missing. Maybe… no, not maybe, that something is everything. Everything that must be used.' I said.

'Hmm, you said that physically, you were dead and spread out. Perhaps that is the missing element to the ritual. Would you happen to know where these parts are?'

'Rhea is seeking to create a new body for me, and while she had the right idea with using the Crests of the Four Apostles, she needed more than just their Crests. Since all Crests have descended from me, all of them must be used!'

"Rhea, the Ritual can be used," Byleth said confidently. "Your error was that you missed a key component of the Rite. The Crests of the Four Apostles are only a part of a greater whole. Everything must be used! All of the Crests must be used."

Rhea's eyes widened in realization. "Everything must be used… Of course! How could I have failed to realize this all those years ago!" she exclaimed.

Rhea stood up, her eyes shining with newfound determination. "Byleth, thank you for this revelation. And this requirement is something that we should be more than able to fill with us having most of the Crest bearers here, the only one missing being the bearer of Maculi's Crest. And the only thing that remains is the right time, the day of the Rite of Rising."

Seteth looked at Rhea with concern. "Are you sure this is the right thing to do, Rhea? The risk of creating another Umbral Beast is too great."

"I understand the risks, Seteth, but Father's return is crucial for the future of Fodlan."

"And if such a thing occurs, it can be reversed. Sothis' has a hold on time after all."

Rhea nodded in agreement. "Yes, with Sothis' power, we can reverse any negative consequences that may arise from the ritual."

Seteth sighed but nodded in understanding. "Very well, Rhea. But I implored to remain careful."

"Of course."

"Now please continue. I believe that your other method of resurrecting Sothis still needs to be addressed, the vessels."

"Once I found that I could not revive Sothis' original body, I decided that I would need to revive him in a new body. One created from a child birthed from my blood as I had been from his, with his Crest Stone buried within it. A young woman I created for my twelfth try, the latest and the last, Sitri. After much heartache… failed to awaken the conscience of the progenitor Goddess."

"You birthed twelve children from your blood, twelve times you have committed what you knew was forbidden for all Nabeateans to do without Sothis' presence!" Seteth chastised in disbelief and anger.

"Hold on. Why exactly was this forbidden? Don't tell me that Sitri would be considered a sin?" Jeralt asked in worry, the possibility of his beloved wife being condemned by the deity she piously worshipped not sitting well with him.

"She would never be considered such a thing. It was a blessing to have her for as long as she was here, you and I know that." Rhea reassured as she reached out to leave a hand on his shoulder. Though Jeralt was relieved at her words, he brushed her hand away. And while he was mollified, Flayn and Seteth could only feel discontented as they heard more.

"A blessing neither I nor my father were able to enjoy or were aware of. One of many at that." Flayn pointed out.

"Yes," Seteth agreed before turning to Jeralt. "And no, Jeralt, she would never have been considered a sin in Sothis' eyes. He had forbidden the Nabateans from birthing children from their blood as he did because as we may share in some of his power, we do not possess the same degree of it. While he could birth a fully powered and healthy Nabatean from his blood, an attempt to do the same from us would result in a frail and weak offspring. And that's not even going into the fact that our hearts, the Crest Stones, can only be made naturally by Sothis or through natural reproduction."

"Which means that Sitri had to rely on Sothis' heart to live. And when Byleth was born, she lacked a heart…" Jeralt realized. A question that had been gnawing at him ever since he had left the Monastery 20 years ago.

Rhea picked up where Jeralt's thoughts were and answered, "The process of childbirth is grueling for any woman to go through, and with Sitri's frailty, it was killing her. In addition to her being a Nabatean improperly created, she couldn't pass down a heart to Byleth. Her last request to me was to implant her heart-"

"Into Byleth." Jeralt finished for her, face numb at the realization. Not for long as anger soon came forth. "That's why it never beats! Why she was so different from how babies are supposed to be! No tears or heartbeats! Damn it Rhea, Seiros, or whoever the hell you are, why didn't you fucking tell me!?"

"I'm sorry Jeralt. Looking at it from your point of view, I can understand why my actions led to you leaving. But I-" she went to explain.

"I already know about your extended lifespan," Jeralt interrupted as began listing her secrets, "I know that Crests are transferred by blood, that the Hero's Relics create Demonic Beasts and some of your other dirty little secrets. Why was it so hard for you to trust me with this? A secret involving my wife and child!?" He roared at her, years of frustration being let out.

Rhea said, her voice heavy with regret. "...I hadn't deemed it necessary. I had assumed that life would continue, just that instead of Sitri we'd have young Byleth to look after. It was what I have done after the loss of each vessel as I had grown used to it despite the pain of losing them. Her lack of human traits wasn't unusual to me as I was used to all the other vessels lacking human traits. I didn't take into account how this might have been for you, having been the first time you felt such a loss."

"You hadn't deemed it necessary?! After all I've done in service to you, the least you could've done was tell me that you did a heart transplant with my wife and daughter! The only reason I left was that I sensed something was wrong. Sitri dying, I could understand. Her spirit was strong, but her body could never keep up with her. But that along with Byleth being abnormal, and your strange behavior was too much. If you had just told me what happened, her last request, or something other than silence, I would've stayed!" Jeralt shouted, the last of his anger spent with it.

Still he continued, subdued as he did wistfully, "Leaving wasn't an easy choice you know. I would've rather raised Byleth in the safety and stability of the Monastery than to have raised her in the life of a mercenary. The only way I knew how to keep her safe, teaching her how to fight and kill to protect herself in this dangerous world."

Byleth was surprised at the reveal of what her life could've been, 'I can't imagine myself in a life outside of the one that I lived in. To live the life that my mother had. Though I do find it quite strange that she would worship a version of you who isn't truly you. Or you in general.'

'Even if you can't imagine it, you do end up becoming the Archbishop after Rhea in one of the main timelines as well as a bunch of branches. So do be prepared to preach my name to all who would hear and for a position of power you'd be really unqualified for.'

'One could argue that I'm most qualified of all considering that I possess you in my head. Though I suppose it wouldn't do for me to get the religion disbarred because I preached the true you.'

'I know that you're just messing with me, but I can honestly see myself being really unpopular with most of the ruling nobility. Especially since I'd be nullifying their divine right to rule.'

Byleth reached out and placed a reassuring hand on her father's shoulder, "If it helps Father, I never had an issue with the way that you raised me. I only had myself to find a fault in."

Jeralt's face softened, relieved to know that his daughter harbored no resentment towards him. Though he couldn't accept her laying any issue on herself, "Well, apparently isn't really your fault, not that it ever was, mind you. Just the consequences of what Rhea did to you by placing the Goddess within you, though those are much preferable to losing you in the first place. Which is strange since you and Sitri shared the same heart yet are so different…" he trailed off.

Sothis interjected with an answer, 'Had I awakened within Sitri, the same would've happened. While I may have just awoken recently, I've always been within you. And much to my shame, I've been draining your emotions for as long as you've been alive.'

'...you said you were essentially dead. It would make sense if you needed to leech on something to survive.' Byleth accepted with a nod.

'I'm sorry to have-' Sothis attempted to apologize, but Byleth interrupted

'It couldn't be helped. Besides, there were times that my lack of feeling emotions properly had helped me survive on the battlefield. Not to mention that I wouldn't even be alive if it weren't for this heart. And then there's you. You who have saved my life, given me the chance to save my father's life, and given me the first friend I've ever had.'

Sothis looked at her solemnly, and Byleth felt a sinking feeling in her stomach.

'…You're wrong about one thing. I'm not your friend.' Sothis said solemnly, and her heart seemed to drop.

Byleth was no stranger to rejection, she was used to it from those who feared her or those who couldn't understand her. Yet to hear it from Sothis of all people had made her feel down to her heart…
However, Sothis' demeanor shifted, and he smirked wickedly.

'I'm the first of many friends you'll be getting! You can be surprisingly popular, you know?' Sothis continued with that smile belonging to a gremlin.

That he was full of shit and she wanted to exact violent revenge. Though she was happy to hear that her feelings were mutual, she wasn't with how it was delivered. 'If it weren't for the fact that you cannot interact with the world, my fist would be the first thing to introduce you to it.'

'You did it to those royal brats first, don't get angry when karma strikes.' He continued to grin at her with that damned smile, but it soon turned to a more genuine smile and one that she couldn't help but return, 'Still, I'm honored that you would consider me a friend as I'm glad to consider you one as well.'

Still, she was rather cross with him for the joke. But before she could express any violent retribution, Seteth spoke up with a question of his own. "Speaking of Sothis' presence within Byleth, what exactly does that mean for her?"

Jeralt's expression grew concerned as he realized the implications of Seteth's question. He turned to Rhea, his tone forceful. "What have you planned for my child?" he demanded.

"It was my hope that the Goddess would have awoken within Byleth and would eventually merge with the vessel, this being in mind and body. After the fusion is complete, I would've brought Byleth to the Holy Tomb to complete the transformation. This would see the Progenitor God revived and able to guide Fodlan once more. And all would be right with the world, as it should have been." Rhea explained.

Jeralt's eyes narrowed. "And what would this have done to her?" he demanded, "You speak of a merge and of Sothis but hardly mention after for Byleth. Is she in any danger?"

Rhea seemed taken aback by the question, "I do not see the issue you have with this Jeralt, the result would've been to add Sothis' consciousness to Byleth's."

"I believe the issue that he had was that you'd have the Goddess consume my being entirely." Byleth clarified.

Rhea recoiled as if she had been struck. "What!? I would do no such thing! To do that would be a betrayal of both Sitri and Sothis!"

"You haven't given me a reason to think the best of you." Jeralt countered, "And you haven't mentioned how this was supposed to end either."

Rhea sighed, "...As much as it stings, I suppose that you are right in that I hadn't given you much reason to have faith in me."

'Seeing as I hadn't shown any signs of shrinking recently, I don't think we're at that point of becoming one yet.' Byleth noted idly.

'Take note that she said eventually. Do rest easy though, when we would've merged, the result was that you now held my power. Of course, such things would take time to bloom so the most that such a change would have then is dying your hair green and giving you pointy ears. Effectively transforming you into a Nabatean, rendering you no longer human.' Sothis informed.

'Hmm," Byleth hummed nonchalantly.

'Most would have a bigger reaction to such a change than that.' Sothis questioned with a raised brow as he hovered over her.

'It'd be hard to fret over no longer being human when I hardly counted in the first place, possessing no heartbeat or lacking the full emotions of one.'

'You are right, only in that you aren't fully human.' Sothis cut in,' Remember, Sitri was Nabatean, which makes you a hybrid of the two races. Besides, being a Nabatean comes with some nifty perks, you have a life span long enough to be effectively immortal, powerful abilities, and can turn into a huge dragon!'

Byleth was taken aback at the last feature, 'I can turn into a what!?'

'A large wyvern but it can brea-'

'I know what a dragon is. It's just that it is one thing to turn into a race of people who look exactly like humans barring the elvish ears and green hair but turning into a dragon is something else entirely. To be able to become a flying fortress while raining fire upon the battlefield…'

'Now really ain't the time or place to fantasize about burning people alive, we will have enough pyromania out of Edelgard and Rhea already. Besides, without you to butt in, this can turn ugly quickly between my daughter and your father, so keep focus and relay to them what I'll be speaking to you.'

"Father, you needn't worry about Sothis possessing or subsuming me." Byleth reassured, her attention back to the conservation outside of her head.

Somewhat skeptical, Jeralt questioned, "And why would that be?"

"Sothis is a part of me, and in that we're connected. He's been protecting me ever since he woke up and is the reason I still live, I trust him."

"...hm. You don't trust strangers easily nor that quickly. For him to get such a response out of you… alright, I can accept this."

After a moment's pause, Byleth tilted her head before adding, "...Addendum, from Sothis' own words, 'the body dysmorphia from being in a younger body was bad enough already, switching genders and receiving back problems from 'lugging around these massive melons' doesn't seem worth it'."

"E-excuse me!?" Rhea sputtered out in shock at what she just heard,

"I beg your pardon!?" Seteth choked out. He rushed over to a shocked yet giggling Flayn to ensure that she would be corrupted no further by this language.

"T-there's no way that he actually said that!" Rhea exclaimed in disbelief.

"Byleth sure as hell can't say that on her own!" Jeralt laughed, amused with Rhea's reaction. Though he felt the need to have words with the Goddess for that comment about his daughter.

She continued, "He also added 'Seiros, child of mine, I'm male. Neither Sitri nor Byleth would've been the best bodies for me to take. Why you'd wish such a pain on me when you know it all too well, I'll never know'."

Rhea's mouth was gaping with a blush while Jeralt lost control of himself and started cackling, Byleth joined in though she only lightly chuckled.

'You're cruel to tease her in this way.' Byleth thought as her chuckles died down.

'She needs to lighten up a bit after having Jeralt and Seteth tear into her, though she certainly deserved it. Besides, I need to make up for the lack of my humor in her life. Now's as good a time to start as any other, and you're enjoying this just as much as I am.' Sothis replied.

'True. And it doesn't surprise me that a gremlin would be quick to impart its mischief to its spawn. Though I'd be hard pressed to call her yours considering the difference in size…'

'Byleth!' Sothis exclaimed, interrupting her with a playful yet sharp reprimand.

Once she got a hold on herself, Rhea finally answered, "Father, your original form was never that of a human, the human form was something entirely crafted by your will to better fit in among the humans. The flesh wouldn't truly matter to beings of your level… though I can understand why you'd be weary of using a female form…"

'Hm, she's not wrong on that. Other deities like Naga were able to appear as either male and female at times… I guess that she'd be right about the flesh not mattering.'

When he was able to breathe through his laughter, Jeralt added with a grin, "Sitri did complain about her back a lot, so she always appreciated some work from my hands."

Byleth, rather uncomfortable about hearing of her mother in such a way, interrupted with a glare, "Father, cease speaking of such acts with my mother."

'Jeralt, cease speaking of such acts with my former vessel.'
"Jeralt, cease speaking of such acts with my daughter."
"Jeralt, cease speaking of such acts in front of my daughter."

The rest of the Nabatean adults also chimed in with their displeasure, all expressing similar sentiments at once. They exchanged looks with each other, surprised but united in their disapproval.

Jeralt grinned impishly as he remarked, "It seems like prudishness runs in the family," then his face gained a thoughtful aspect to it, "And speaking of which, if Sitri was the vessel of the Goddess, does that mean that I slept with the Goddess?"

'NO! Ignoring the fact that I wasn't awakened within Sitri at all, me and my vessel are still two separate entities!' Sothis exclaimed, now sharing in Rhea's mortification, 'Besides, while I do not begrudge an individual for who they love, healthy at least, my eye only falls upon the female form.'

'Which is quite the relief, we'd lose a lot of clients if word got out that Father slept with a child.'
'It would not count as sleeping with me damn it!'

'Ah, so you finally admit to being the child you are? I never specified who after all.'

'... alright, I'll give you that, I walked right into that one. Fuck you though.' Sothis acquiesced calmly while also flipping her off as she had done to him hours ago.

'Speaking of, if I wished to engage in intercourse, what would you do then?' she asked inquisitively.

He stared at her with a blank expression before sighing and rubbing his forehead, '...I cannot believe that this is coming up so soon. You're about 5 years too early to be asking this. As for whenever that happens, not telling you with who by the way as that's entirely up to you, I'll give you two some privacy and close myself off in the mindscape or wander about until you're done.'

'And what am I to do if you find yourself engaged in intercourse with a ghost or with some entity able to touch you? Or whatever else a teenage boy does to-'

'Byleth, staph. Jeralt has infected you with horny.'

'You initiated it by bringing up my 'massive melons, so if anybody would have infected me with their 'horny', it'd be you.' Byleth pointed out, before a smug smile sprouted on her face, 'Though I suppose that you could hardly be faulted for noticing as your size predisposes you to do so.'

Sothis couldn't help but chuckle at Byleth's teasing remark. 'I suppose you're right…,' However, upon noticing the sudden heat rising in his face and her giving him a 'look' of some kind, he decided it was time to shift the topic. 'Perhaps you outta stop emulating your father and make sure that Rhea doesn't execute him for degeneracy. Or Seteth because he's indulging in such behavior near Flayn's ears.'

'That won't actually happen, will it?'

'Rhea, no, there's a long history between the two despite Jeralt's rather low opinion of her at the moment.' Sothis assured, 'Seteth, however, doesn't grant such level of defense or protection.'

"Jeralt! How dare you claim to do such… such… such lewdity! Within these halls in the Church of that very Goddess!" Rhea exclaimed.

"In front of my daughter no less!" Seteth chimed in.

"Again, Father, I'm a healer, I'm fully aware of how children are made and what parts are used. I've carried out pregnancies! Those are a lot more graphic than the process behind it!" Flayn added in annoyance before turning to Jeralt. "Still, please do not speak of my grandfather, or of the cousin that I just recently learned of, that way."

"Coming from the Goddess himself, the answer would be a resounding no," Byleth butt in with a declaration, "I'm sorry Father but you aren't pretty enough."

"Of course, the answer to such a ridiculous question would be no!" Rhea grounded out before adding, "Besides, Jeralt is an unworthy match for my father."

'I suppose that I should be insulted on behalf of my father, but I do agree with Rhea. Someone closer to your age would be more appropriate.' Byleth mused.

Sothis chuckled, 'I could argue with that assumption, but to be honest, I don't have a taste for the elderly either so I'll give you that too."

Jeralt shrugged it off, unfazed by the rejection from the Goddess of the continent. Though amused at the reactions it got from father and daughter. "With all this spiritual mumbo jumbo that you never told me a thing about, could you blame me for making such a guess?"

Rhea was quick to respond, scolding Jeralt, "Yes, because you are enjoying this far too much Jeralt."

Jeralt chuckled, "I couldn't help myself; you know that I'm a simple guy. Put me in a battle or hand me a bottle and I'll be able to handle myself just fine, but all this spiritual stuff is beyond me. And hey, Sothis himself was the one who started with the innuendos, I'm just following in his example as prophesied by Byleth."

Despite that, Rhea was still unamused with her former Captain, "And even if I hadn't informed you of Sothis residing within Byleth, didn't you attend scriptures with Sitri? Did not a single thing stick with you?"

"Well, if you want to talk about things sticking during scriptures…" Jeralt was about to begin,
"Don't even finish that! Or start another!" Seteth interrupted, having had more than enough innuendos, implicit or explicit, being thrown around his daughter. "That goes for you as well, Father." he glared over at Byleth and Sothis.

"It seems that even after so many years, you still possess a knack for antics, don't you Father? And that has seemed to spread to your vessel as well." Rhea mused with mirth. Despite her not appreciating Jeralt's crass tongue regarding Sitri, she still smiled at the thought of her father's old behavior and humor, though it was much more adult than she remembered as a girl.

Finally, Seteth spoke up, "I believe we've digressed for long enough."

Byleth nodded, as while she did enjoy the antics she and Jeralt had with Rhea, it was more important that they continue with their conversation. She still had more information to reveal after all.

Seteth turned to address Rhea, "I still cannot believe that you went behind my back like this, Seiros."

Rhea nodded, "I know that what I did wasn't right, but I acted out of a daughter's love for her father and to bring back the Goddess to fix all that ails Fodlan. I hope that you can forgive me and help me make things right."

Flynn spoke up, offering her own words regarding Rhea's actions, "...I do not know what I would do should my own father pass away, especially in the manner that Sothis had, other than that I would want nothing more than to see him again. I already feel the same about my mother. But her passing was something that I had come to accept, and I do not mean any offense when I say this, but you should have accepted Sothis' passing as well."

Seteth sighed, "Flayn has already shared what I feel regarding your feelings over Sothis, so I'll say no more of it. And as you have said, we are kin, so you are forgiven. And I suppose that I hold some blame in this for not noticing or pressing you more regarding your actions. But do not think that this will be forgotten. Before, I accepted your decisions despite disagreeing with some of them because I had trust in you, now that trust has been heavily damaged seeing as you lacked such trust in me. Going forward, I expect you to be open regarding anything and everything you have planned."

"You're preaching to the choir here. I want the same out of you Rhea. I've had enough of you hiding things from me. Not even a little white lie from you." Jeralt added.

"Of course, with Father here I have no more reason to hide anything any longer. Still, I'll do as the two of you ask, it's the least I could do." Rhea agreed readily. Despite feeling some sadness at the people closest to her expressing their distrust, the knowledge that Sothis was alive and her first interaction with him in millennia made her accept this easily.

"And regardless of the mistakes that I've made in the things I had not informed you all about, do know that I very much appreciate having you all here on this day. Even more so now that Father is back. Now, all we need to do is help him regain his memories and power, then the time will come for him to become corporeal and all will be well again."

"I'm sorry to say this, but the future is not as well as you would hope." Byleth warned.

"What do you mean?" Rhea asked, now feeling uneasy.

"Agartha still slithers in the dark, and they have infiltrated Garreg Mach."

"What." Rhea said frigidly, any previous joy heavily damped. At the news that the people who had ruined her life were infesting her home, Rhea's face merely frowned. Yet from her face and tone, her feelings were more than able to be read by the absolute hatred burning in her draconic eyes along with her hands clenched into fists so tightly that blood was beginning to leak out.

"WHAT!? I had just taken Flayn out of hiding! And you mean to tell me that those damnable Agarthans have infiltrated Garreg Mach!?" Seteth exclaimed, much more open in his alarm and rage. Flayn too gasped in alarm at the thought of their old enemies remerging.

"That is most displeasing to hear, but I thank you for revealing this to us nonetheless. If you don't mind me asking, who would the infiltrators be? They must be purged with the utmost haste." Rhea asked calmly while clear to all that she was anything but.

"There are two that Sothis knows of within the Church, though their infiltration does not end there. Tomas the librarian has been replaced after his retirement, by the dark mage Solon, and student Monica von Ochs who had been kidnapped recently and will be replaced upon her reappearance, by the assassin Kronya." Byleth explained with her usual blank tone, but spoke with distaste when referring to the assassin.

"It is unfortunate to hear of Tomas' fate, he was a kind one who only sought to share the delights of literature and knowledge with the students. And to know that a student has fallen into their grasp worries me greatly. But the time for mourning can be delayed, I must gather the Knights and move to smite this imposter at once."

"Before you do so, ensure that you confront either in an area that prevents the use of the Warp spell. Magically inclined Agarthans are more than capable of using it to escape should they need to." Byleth advised.

"Thank you Byleth, and you too Father. Already your knowledge aids us greatly. I'll need to look into our wards and ask Hanneman to assist in preparing a trap." Rhea said.

"Speaking of said knowledge, how do you know of this?," Seteth inquired, "It is not that I'm ungrateful for the advantage it can bring, it is just that you've been in a deep sleep until very recently."

"During his sleep, Sothis has received visions of multiple futures. It is through these visions that he had witnessed the great turmoil that Fodlan would be going through in the next five years." Byleth explained.

"Of course, Father's main domain has been over time. Its flow remains with you even if you aren't here. As for the strife, it must be those damnable Agarthans behind it."

"Wait, if you know of the future, does that mean you know how this will be resolved?" Seteth asked.

Rhea caught on to and added, "Do you know where they are located then? Just name the location and I will call for Fodlan to commence in the greatest crusade in its history. I'll even drag out Indech and Maculi to assist us in razing their city to the ground if necessary."

'If only things were so simple…' Sothis muttered as he shook his head.

"That isn't doable. The city of Shambhala is located within Hrym, which is Empire territory."

"What do you mean? Ionius has no reason to refuse my call."

"Ionius and the position of Emperor are no longer the dominant power within the Empire ever since the Insurrection of the Seven. Seven nobles rule it now, most of them Agarthan puppets, manipulated by them, or in the case of the one impersonating Volkhard von Arundel, the leader of the Agarthans himself, Thales."

Rhea gasped in shock, "They've taken over the Empire?!"

"What about the Kingdom and the Alliance?" Seteth asked.

"They've also infiltrated the Kingdom as well. The royal advisor Cornelia is one in disguise and holds great sway over Rufus. They more than likely orchestrated the Tragedy of Duscar to put him on the throne, as well as gain influence over the western lords."

"I knew that the guy was rotten, but to think that he'd go so low…" Jeralt said, numb in relief at having dodged that bullet.

"Unfortunately, such a thing has not been unseen or unheard of, as I had witnessed far too many times to count throughout my tenures as Archbishop." Rhea sighed.

"Don't tell me that they have some sway over the Alliance as well?" Seteth asked.

"Actually, the Alliance is the one major faction in Fodlan that they don't have their hands on. But they have committed horrific experiments upon the children of House Ordelia when it was under Empire occupation. It was a success; another Crests has been implanted into one who already bore one, at the cost of all but one child and one left with a massively reduced lifespan and bleached white hair." Byleth informed.

"No…Lysithea…" Seteth realized with horror.

"Not just her but… Edelgard as well…" Rhea added in shared horror, "How could I have been so blind!? I've allowed them to repeat their atrocities from long ago not once but twice!

'Would she still be so sympathetic once she learns of what Edelgard plans to do?'

'She's much more sympathetic than if she learned before hearing of what made Edelgard plan such a thing. Let that sympathy build for a bit before breaking it to her of Wilhelm's treachery and Edelgard's role in this mess.'

Byleth then spoke up, "Because you've been too hands off in your approach. While it is good that you haven't abused your vast power and influence for tyranny, you've also been far too complacent which has allowed things to fester to the point that the Agarthans could freely act using the corruption brought about by the nobility and the Crest System."

"I had thought that once I brought you back Father, you would fix all of these issues. All I needed to do was keep Fodlan stable and together, then any issues that occurred while I went about bringing you back would be handled and in the end, you would bring Fodlan into a golden age."

'I'm afraid it's not as simple as that, my child. Our problems are much deeper than mere issues.' Sothis said with a heavy sigh.

"The corruption of the nobility and the influence of the Agarthans run deep, and it will be far too much for Sothis and I to prevent on our own, especially before he can regain his strength. We must work together, gather allies, and prepare if we want to have any chance of defeating the Agarthans and bringing peace to Fodlan." Byleth said.

Jeralt nodded in agreement. "She's right. We can't wait on Sothis to fix everything. We need to work together and make a plan of action."

Seteth added a note of caution, "And we must be careful. The Agarthans are dangerous and have many powerful resources at their disposal. We must be cautious in our actions and not play into their hands."

Rhea nodded in agreement, a determined look in her eyes. "Yes, we must do whatever it takes to protect Fodlan and its people as well as put a stop to the Agarthans once and for all."

Byleth's gaze met each of theirs as she spoke again, "Much like how everything must be used to bring Sothis back, everyone in this academy must work together to best stand a chance of defeating the Agarthans and saving Fodlan."

"Hmm, now that you've mentioned the academy Byleth," Jeralt mused before turning to Rhea, "What about that teaching gig you were about to stick on Byleth?" he asked.

"I knew there was more to your decision than you let on," Seteth realized with recent information now known. "There'd be no reason to hire a random mercenary, even if it's a talented one, to teach the nobility at this prestigious school."

"admit that I had ulterior motives in offering Byleth the position, to keep her close," Rhea conceded, "But I had the utmost faith in her ability to teach. A major point of this academy was to prepare its students on how to handle themselves on the battlefield, which Jeralt's daughter and Sothis' vessel would be more than able to fulfill. And which will be needed with a incoming war."

'Is that what you meant when you said that I wouldn't be out of a job when peace came? A teacher?'

'I don't exactly see you as the type to end up a merchant or tax collector any time soon. Besides, you do great as a professor, enough that you hold a massive influence and respect over your students and the lord of your chosen house.'

'They must be attracted to my reputation as the Ashen Demon more than anything I could offer.'

'Well, the point is to learn and who better than a well renowned mercenary. Though I'm afraid that what I'll ask you to suggest will make your job harder.'

'I already have no experience in teaching, what could you suggest that would make teaching a class harder?'

'What I'll have you say next will explain it well enough.'

"I accept the position; however, I will not teach any one house. They each play roles against the Agarthans differently in the future, all costing far too much in their success. And it would be far too risky to place all of our hopes into one house. If Fodlan is to stand a chance with the least bloodshed, it must be unified as allies. I will teach all three houses along with the other professors." Byleth dramatically announced.

Seteth groaned as he rubbed his temples, "...do you have any idea of the logistical headache that is going to be to organize with it being so close to the start of the school year, let alone explaining to various nobles why we're so suddenly going against a long established tradition?" he complained,

"I have spoken, let that be reason enough, my boy." Sothis commanded.

Byleth simply replied, "The Goddess has spoken."

---XXXXXXX-----

"Excuse me," a woman with purple hair asked the first person she encountered upon arriving in the village. "Is this Remire Village?"

Spoiler: purple woman

The man was taken aback by her sudden appearance, as well as the two swords she carried, but replied politely, "Yes, it is. Welcome, traveler."

"Great!" The woman exclaimed with glee, but her excitement quickly turned into stubborn anger. "Can you tell me where the Jeralt Mercenary Group is? I'm looking for the Ashen Demon in particular."

"Ma'am, if you're looking for Miss Byleth, she's not here. She left rather recently in fact"

"What? If she's not here then where is she?" The woman demanded.

"She left with the Knights of Seiros to the Garreg Mach Monastery."

"Wait, what? Why? Did she get arrested or something?"

'You think this guy would speak so politely of the Ashen Demon if she were a criminal of this Church of Seiros?' a pale figure chastised as they suddenly appeared beside her.

Spoiler: Pale figure

"Nonsense! She saved our village! From the gossip that I could get, Jeralt was once the Captain of the Knights of Seiros and has been asked to retake his post. Byleth has gone with him."

'Shez, I don't think it'll be a good idea to pursue this.' The figure said from behind the woman, now named Shez.

"Hmm, could you tell me which way is to the Monastery? I need to… meet up with her." Shez asked the man.

"...I'm no good with directions and such so you'll have to give me a moment to find something." The villager said before he went off to find a map or person for directions. As the man left, the pale figure continued to talk to Shez.

'Seriously? You're going to try to attack her while presumably working with some of the most elite warriors in the continent? Not to mention while she's working for one of the most influential groups in the continent at that.' The pale figure criticized.

Shez rolled her eyes, 'You're acting like I'm trying to assassinate her or something.'

'Didn't she almost kill you and played a role in destroying the mercenary group you were with? And with how you've been obsessing over her for the past 6 months, could you blame me for assuming that?'

Shez clenched her fists, remembering the time she had met Byleth. Berling's Mercenaries were supposed to become the greatest mercenaries in the Leicester Alliance, where they were mainly based. And to do that Berling had them take on the Jeralt Mercenary Group, the most renowned mercenaries in Leicester, as they were there at the time, and in Fodlan as a whole. And they were doing rather well in beating their rival until Byleth and the main force of Jeralt's Mercenaries entered the fray, Berling went ahead to face the Ashen Demonbefore she could reach her and assist.

She herself nearly died against the Ashen Demon but was saved when Arval granted her overwhelming power… but it was proven to be rather whelming in the face of the monster that the Ashen Demon proved to be, still defeating her effortlessly at that. She even mocked her by ruining her hair, telling her that it might've been getting in her way and was why she kept missing her hits!

'Considering your awful sense of direction and how often you've been getting lost, she might've had a point.'

Since then, she had been obsessed with defeating the Ashen Demon and proving that she was the better fighter. She also chose not to deign Arval's comment with a response.

'Nah, I don't hold their deaths against her, we're mercenaries after all so it's not personal. All I want is to get my revenge for her beating me and prove myself better than her. So surely an all out spar isn't too much to ask?'

'And if she beats you again?' Arval chuckled, knowing he had hit a sore spot with Shez.

Shez gritted her teeth, her fists clenching at her sides. 'I told you to stop bringing that up!' she growled, her eyes narrowing at the pale figure.

Arval raised their hands defensively, still smirking. "Alright, alright, I won't bring it up anymore," he said, amusement still evident in their voice. "But just remember, if it weren't for me, you would be dead by now."

Shez huffed, turning her attention back to the villager who had returned with a map.

The man answered, "Yes, of course. Now, the Monastery is to the north, just follow the road and you can't miss it. But please, be careful on your journey. Just a little while ago there were bandits who tried to attack our village but fled after the Knights arrived and killed a good number of them."

"Of course! Thanks a bunch, old man!" Shez thanked the man and flipped him a gold coin before running off in the direction of the monastery.

"I'm only 45, damnit!" He yelled at her retreating form. Despite the inaccurate call to his age, he was rather absorbed with his gold coin.

Still, he couldn't help but feel curious about what might happen when that woman reached her destination.

XXXXXXXXX

Also sorry about the cliffhanger being even worse than last part but at least it didn't take months to resolve, eh?

Click to shrink...

...that kinda aged poorly lol.

Well, it has been a long while since I lat updated this huh? Of course, I'm sorry for the wait. Honestly this was about 80% done since December but writer's block decided to be a pain in the ass in regards to writing the finishing parts of this chapter. And I was going to end the chapter a few 1-2k words sooner (not counting the segment with Shez) but I figured that cockblocking you guys with another cliffhanger would be a dick move so I pushed on a bit further.

So, we continue from where we left off from last chapter where Rhea has to explain herself to Jeralt and the Nabateans, then Byleth drops even more bombs about the future. And we now have a decent idea on how Sothis will be getting brought back in a physical body.

A bunch of dialogue but things are progressing at least, at last, and I expanded a bit on the lore and stuff.

And as for Shez, in a previous author's note I stated that she was dead. Well, I happened to get Legendary Shez in FEH and I loved her ever since, so she'll be getting involved. And with that, some of Three Hopes gets to be thrown in.

-----

And to be honest, I'm not totally satisfyied with this chapter. Idk, maybe too much dialouge, maybe I inserted bits between Byleth and Sothis too much, not to sure honestly. And since I've been kinda out of it in regarding to this fic for a while I might not be in the same grove as I was when writing the eariler chapters, please do offer some feedback or critique on what worked and what didn't, if edits will need to be made, minor or major, or if some plot points were too vague or confusing so I can fix any of those issues or more.

But I figured that I made you guys wait long enough and honestly I'm trying to not to do a repeat of my other fic and take 8 months to update. So if this doesn't do too well then at least I got something out for you guys to read and a good idea of what to do going forward.

anywho, I've been up for the past 6 hrs so Imma crash and answer comments later

(Also, funny enough this came out the day that Rhea finally has a base version on FEH! Maybe this'll give me some luck towards pulling her.)

 

[BigFan10]

,,,Ah if Maculi's Crest is needed, then yeah you're going to have to hunt down those Bandit's Quickly as Monica has it.
And Shez and Arval, here's hoping your SI has a plan to ensure Argatha can't hijack Arval

 

[Austrichh]

,,,Ah if Maculi's Crest is needed, then yeah you're going to have to hunt down those Bandit's Quickly as Monica has it.
And Shez and Arval, here's hoping your SI has a plan to ensure Argatha can't hijack Arval

Click to shrink...

It'll be the first mission that Byleth will take the students out on.

As for Sothis' plan regarding Arval and keeping them away from the Agarthans, it'll be just to deal with Epimendies and stop him/remove his soul from Arval. The rest of the Agarthans don't seem to know about Epimendies thing with Arval at all besides recognizing it as magic like their own, though they may have records unless it was a secret project.

 

[ThatOtherSatori]

I mean, canonically speaking, Shez was dead for a time. Then Arval happened.
As for the deal with Epimenides, I figure it probably was a secret project since they don't really react beyond going 'oh hey same shit as us. That's rad.'

 

[Austrichh]

I mean, canonically speaking, Shez was dead for a time. Then Arval happened.
As for the deal with Epimenides, I figure it probably was a secret project since they don't really react beyond going 'oh hey same shit as us. That's rad.'

Click to shrink...

Solon probably thought so too until he got a taste of his own medicine and got Zaharas'd lol