Chapter Text
A blood-curdling scream was heard across the battlefield. Most of her allies had caught up to her and hovered a generous distance away. Some were crying, but it was masked by the sudden downpour of rain.
"Dimitri… Dimitri…" she cried out, shaking him. Byleth was kneeled down, holding Dimitri's lifeless body to her as his blood pooled beneath him.
Why. She couldn't see clearly exactly what had happened since Dimitri had rushed forward for Edelgard. He had quickly beat Edelgard and caused her to retreat. Byleth wasn't near him, but considering the enemy had called for a retreat, she turned her attention to any stragglers and Claude’s army. She doesn't remember seeing anything until she heard some girl screeching. When she turned around she saw a girl standing over Dimitri, knife sunken into him. Byleth rushed to his side and watched as the girl ranted and Dimitri made no attempt to defend himself. She watched him get stabbed again and again before she could reach him.
The girl was now only a foot away from them. It was that girl they picked up from the last battle. Eyes opened in a silent scream when Byleth sunk her blade into her. She tried to Divine Pulse back but it didn’t go far enough back in time. There was a limitation to the time she could rewind.
She didn't know how long she stayed there crying. She gripped her tightly as if somehow she could trade her life for his. At some point, Seteth tries to pull her away, but she continues holding his cold body shaking like a leaf. Hours passed before she resolved herself.
As she got up she gingerly set his body down. Her arms were now aching from holding him for so long. As she stood up, she gazed one last time at his face. He looked at peace for the first time in the past few months since she had reunited with him. She turned unceremoniously away and started walking in the direction of her goal. She could hear footsteps chasing after her.
A hand caught her wrist, "Where are you going?" Felix half snarled. She shook him off and kept going. She thought she heard Annette quietly tell him to let her go.
"You're the same you and I."
Those words she heard before their Battle of the Great Bridge still rang through her ears. Since the day Jeralt died, they were both fueled by vengeance. “ So be it ”, she had decided-- she'd let him use her until her flesh fell from her bones.
Her only goal was Enbarr. Moving without any troops made it easy and her natural speed meant she was making good progress towards her destination. She had always been fast and she's only grown faster with her time in the monastery. It had been exemplified out of necessity to keep her students out of harm's way—she'd often run ahead to dispose of any troublesome soldiers. By the time she had reunited with Dimitri, she had essentially become an assassin for him.
However, the ceaseless rain made the trek troublesome. She had no idea how much time had passed or whether she'd been walking for a day straight, her memories after leaving Dimitri were hazy. At some point, exhaustion got the better of her and she decided to take a quick rest before continuing. That was a mistake.
Shortly after she fell asleep she dreamt of Dimitri.
"Byleth."
Although he's never called her by her name, she knew exactly whose voice it belonged to. She turned to see Dimitri standing with her in the dark forest.
He looked sadly at her. "Let this go. I...I was a fool. You do not need to go down this path like me," he said shaking his head.
"Remember when you promised you would kill anyone I asked?" Byleth asked without making eye contact.
"No—I mean, yes, but you know I was already a monster then. You don't have to...be dragged down here with me."
"I should not have left your side 5 years ago. I wanted too much. I didn't know that by trying to save Rhea, I would lose you forever." She finally turned and looked him in the eyes. "Begone," she said coldly and abruptly turned away.
She woke up with a start. It felt too real to be a dream. Perhaps these types of visions were what haunted Dimitri. She now understood why he rarely slept.
She is constantly visited by Dimitri when she sleeps. With her upcoming mission, she could not afford to be exhausted. They go back and forth, with Dimitri trying to talk her out of her revenge. This time was no different.
"Byleth, this is a suicide mission. You won't even make it past the first set of guards."
"Have I disappointed you enough over the past years that you would think that?" she asks him coldly while gritting her teeth.
"No. Any disappointment I've felt has been directed towards myself."
"Then we are in agreement," she says clenching her fists until her knuckles turn white. "Instead of wallowing in my disappointment, I'm seeking redemption." She paused before continuing, "I used to be called the Ashen Demon. It's only fair that I finally live up to that name."
Any dreams she had from there slowly twisted. Dimitri used to hinder her, begging her not to continue this farce, but then he slowly began to beg her for Edelgard’s head.
“Why are you taking so long? You should just go in and remove her head from her shoulders.”
“I need to survive my journey there. It would do us no good if I fell at the gates,” Byleth responded.
“Fool. You are useless to me.”
Byleth didn’t respond as Dimtri walked away.