Chapter Text
There were many things Edelgard wished she had done. She wished her time at Garreg Mach needn’t be cut short; she wished she did not cooperate with the Agarthans, who only used her as a pawn for a much larger game; she wished she held trust in her classmates—her friends, the ones who were lost by the wayside, a nightmare turned reality much like every other nightmare that soaked her mindscape—much earlier on. She wished she had convinced her professor to stay by her side, by whatever holy fate she no longer could believe in—hadn’t believed in for a long time—could somehow change her mind, and bring Fódlan to a brighter future together.
She wondered what would have changed if she had gotten to her professor before Seiros. How many lives would not have been lost, swept up in a war only she was prepared for? Their blood now spilled in oceans Edelgard had no choice but to wade through, each and every sacrifice stained on her hands like the scars she made impertinent to hide. Was all of it for naught?
Edelgard couldn’t help but chuckle gravely. All of that sacrifice, and for what? To be beheaded by her own professor, struck down in a moment of pleading weakness Edelgard hadn’t felt since she was young?
There was no point in dwelling on the past. Not now, with the tip of the Sword of the Creator pointed right at her neck. Not now, as she groveled on the floor of the Imperial Throne Room, begging for her to join the lives of those lost in the name of the Adrestian Empire.
When the cool touch of umbral steel and bone met skin, Edelgard could do nothing else but smile.
The Battle of Gronder Field was heartbreaking, in more ways than one. At one point so long ago that Dimitri only vaguely remembers it, the three houses of the Officer’s Academy marched down to Gronder Field and fought a battle all too similar to the one they fought today. They were confident, some would say naïve even, that the outcomes of that battle would be in their favor, bringing pride in their class, their country, and name, if only for a little while. Their lives weren’t at stake then, and only a few short months later, the tides of the relationships harbored at Garreg Mach would be altered forever.
The Golden Deer won that battle, too. Dimitri chuckles at the thought; he should’ve seen this coming.
A flash of silver and Dimitri finds himself chasing after it. Edelgard is retreating, barely unscathed, and the closest he’s been to her since the war began. He could end now. He could end the war right now, and all it takes is a lance to her neck. Claude would understand. Rhea would understand.
He hesitated, his lungs, legs, arms, and heart burning, aching, and seething in uncouth resentment, and yet he hesitated all the same. As much disdain he felt, he still held a sense of hope that somehow, some way, Edelgard would change her tune and stop her madness. Deep down, Dimitri wanted to believe that the Edelgard who taught him how to dance all those years ago was still in there somewhere.
Maybe, that hope was misplaced.
When the cool touch of steel and silver stabbed deep into his flesh, and the flash of crimson and gold flew past his solitary, glossy eye, Dimitri could only grimace.
When all was said and done, when the moon set before the sun rose, they knew what they had to do. They’ve done it before and they’ll do it again, however long it takes. They have walked down many paths, seen many lives lost and many other lives saved.
At this point, it was overwhelmingly and painfully familiar to them. Every step they made, every choice they followed, every tear, every laugh, everything. It was like second nature, this performance they put on. But, this time…this is the final time. They’ll make everything right this time. They had to.
They didn’t know exactly how it would pan out. But, this time, they knew everything that would change and everything that would be the same. There wouldn’t be any external factors affecting this path, not this time.
And they’d stop the war. They’d stop the bloodshed. They’d make everyone follow her lead into a brighter, better future for all. For all of them.
It was only a matter of time.
“If you think you can do it, then be my guest,” A childish voice rang out. “For you, I’ll bend the hands of time once more.”