The moment the Immaculate One’s monstrous green blood oozed out, Byleth felt a sudden weakness that gripped him and pulled him into a scalding darkness. And from that scalding darkness came a sudden, nameless sensation, starting from somewhere deep inside him and filling him entire body with… something. Was this death? It had to be. What else could it be? This wasn’t the feeling of the Divine Pulse, nor the sensation he got when he was struck by some kind of soon-to-be-fatal wound. This sensation was not the cold, slow encroaching touch of death he had felt glimpses of before. It was different and strange.

And then, the darkness gave way to red. Red flame, and red cloth. Amidst such a riot of crimson, Edelgard looked at him with relief in her eyes. She seemed to be serene, despite the heat of all of the fire around them. Byleth gasped, trying to take a relieving gulpful of air to breathe, even if only smoke filled his lungs.

“My teacher…” she smiled, and hugged him. “It’s over. Finally, it’s all over…”

“My chest…” Byleth coughed, gripping Edelgard’s dress where his fingers could sink into. “S-something is wrong.”

“Nothing is wrong,” Edelgard reassured him, her voice soft with a smile. “You’re… you’re alive.”

Was this life? It didn’t feel like it. This strange, heavy thing thrumming inside him felt like a clock ticking, winding down to an eventual stop. But unlike a clock’s steady rhythm, this thing’s rhythm was an erratic skip and crawl, too fast, too slow, for a moment just fine, only to run too fast, painfully fast—

“I-it’s hurts…” Byleth cried. Pain had seldom brought a tear to his eyes, but now it was so blinding and absolute, he could only lie there and feel it irradiating from his chest. “My chest…”

The next thing he knew, he was lying in the war camp’s sick bay. Manuela spoke to Edelgard, her voice muttering something incomprehensible to his ears. Byleth tried to say something, but instead he slipped back into the darkness.

Byleth was dying.

Edelgard had tried to soften the news by inviting him to tea, letting him eat all of her precious sugar butter cookies, and a long winding conversation about their year at the Academy before getting to the heart of the matter. Byleth wanted to appreciate it. But he couldn't help but feel that all of this was given to him because he was dying. If Byleth had been healthy, he knew he could have expected some hospitality from his former student, now friend. But Edelgard would never allow anyone to indulge for too long in neither sweets nor idleness when there were too many things to do, least of all herself.

“Manuela says that the small magical implant delivers regular lightning magic pulses that could make your heart beat regularly,” Edelgard had said with a smile, as if she genuinely believed Byleth could eke out a long, meaningful life that way. “So long as you don’t exert yourself, you could…”

“Thank you,” Byleth dunked one last sugar cookie into his tea and put it in his mouth. It tasted like sawdust. “I’m sorry. It looks like I can’t help with Shambala’s infiltration after all.”

“Don’t worry: you helped us prepare the preliminary plan after they dropped that javelin on Arianrhod. Hubert and I can handle it. You stay here in Fhirdiad with Manuela and prepare for the surgery.”

Edelgard had probably meant that was a kind gesture to a sick and dying man. Byleth felt like a damaged old weapon being discarded. In his mind, he understood. If he had to make a similar choice, he’d recommend leaving the sick person behind so they wouldn’t get in the way of the mission. Byleth was proud of his ex-student making the best tactical choice… even if being discarded hurt in ways he couldn’t fully describe.

He wasn’t foolish enough to try to resist her orders, nor insist on fighting until his dying breath. Byleth had lost all of the advantages he had used to win the war against the church. He had no Divine Pulse, his once masterful control over the strings of time had been cut off since the death of the Immaculate One. Trying to hold Sword of the Creator was an agony that made his fingers feel like they were about to melt. Edelgard had given him Rhea’s— Seiros’s sword. The magic imbued on the blade offered some minor healing, enough for Byleth to dare to exert himself just a little to take care of any threats that came to him, but not enough for him to seek out Shambala and empty that rat’s nest. Not without guaranteeing his immediate demise afterwards.

Byleth knew that he was about as useful as a warhorse with a broken leg. But Edelgard was too kind to admit that yet.

That was why…

Byleth snuck out of the castle at Fhirdiad before the day of the surgery, wearing a modest rough-spun woolen cloak to conceal his face. He left the southern gate and walked, at a leisurely pace. Not hurried enough to catch anyone’s attention. He was in no hurry to arrive anywhere. There was nowhere for him to go to, anyway. Byleth had just chosen to go out and meet his death, in whatever shape or form it took. He fully expected for people to notice his absence when they would try to get him for the surgery. Which meant he had until midday to put as much distance from Fhirdiad as possible. Running would have guaranteed that a search party sent out might not catch up with him. But his useless heart was already doing its irregular beating and fluttering with just a constant, gentle walk. Byleth kept his eyes on the ground. The only thing he had to focus on, was on taking one more step. And then another and then another.

“Professor.”

Byleth stopped. A part of him knew getting caught was likely. But… that voice. He didn’t expect to hear that voice ever again. When he rose his eyes, he saw him right in front of him. A tall figure with eyes that were as cold as the winter skies framed by long, golden hair.

“You’re dead,” Byleth huffed, and tried to sidestep him to take one more step to continue his mindless walk— when he realized that one step would have sent him down a ravine.

“So would you be, had I not stopped you now,” the specter said. His feet were not touching the ground, or what should have been ground. He was floating just off the edge of the ravine. Looking at him with that same look he had in his eyes when he volunteered to be Jeralt’s pallbearer.

“Your kindness is wasted,” Byleth quipped, turning from the ravine and instead opting for another path to continue. “I’m already dying.”

“It’s your heart, isn’t it?” The specter asked, keeping its pace next to him.

Byleth tried to sprint to shake him off. But after four hurried steps, his chest burned with exertion and he fell to his knees. The specter, however, remained at his side, looking down at him. Byleth gripped at the budding springtime grass, hating it for growing and thriving whilst he died. This grass beneath his fingers would have outlived him, had he not ripped it out of the ground and ended its nascent life.

A wordless cry escaped his throat, and tears tumbled out of his eyes. He didn’t know what else he could say or do. This was just like with Jeralt’s death. When he was just a useless thing that could only cry and scream as the world around him spun and spun and threw him off-balance.

A sudden warm embrace enveloped him.

Byleth tried to push Dimitri off him, but his weakened body was no match for his preternatural, steady strength. He hit his chest, wishing that his fist somehow phased through his form. But instead it was met with an inherent resistance of his form.

“Don’t do this,” Byleth begged. “You know I don’t deserve this.”

“You do,” Dimitri’s breath on his ear felt as real and as warm as it would have been, had he truly been there.

“I killed you! I killed Dedue—!”

“You killed him before he used that crest stone,” Dimitri said. “After the battle, you called a Duscur soothsayer to cover his eyes and sent for his ashes to be spread on the flower fields of his home.”

“But he deserved to live,” Byleth shook his head. “You deserved to live—”

“You tried four times to use the Goddess’s power to avert his fate.”

“You shouldn’t know that! You can’t know that!” Byleth screamed, his voice straining from the effort. “I was just being selfish. I couldn’t bear the guilt of what I forced him to do…!”

“Dedue chose that, Professor,” Dimitri said, as steadfast as ever. “He is at peace now.”

“Then what about you? Why are you haunting me now? Are you at peace?”

“I made a vow to you—”

“To be ‘together forever’?” Byleth felt his cheeks burn with rage. His stupid flesh pump erratically thumped in his chest as he remembered the humiliation of that encounter. Byleth had always found Dimitri to be mildly pleasant, the way one finds a small piece of bread to dip in soup pleasant. Byleth enjoyed giving lessons to the orphans of the monastery alongside him. He was always studious and serious, so when he invited him to the Goddess Tower, that made Byleth feel... happy? Nervous? Excited? It didn't matter. Whatever Byleth had imagined between them during those minutes between being invited and getting to the top of the tower had just been in his head.

“I thought I'd regret my cowardice back then until the day I died,” Dimitri pulled back from his hug. He was crying. "But it turns out, I regret it even now in death. But no, that's not the vow I'm referring to...”

Dimitri looked just like he did when he begged Byleth to abandon Edelgard and her cause. Back then, he had been tempted. But he was smarter than to accept the honeyed lies of the enemy. Now that the war was won, why would Dimitri lie to him again? Why spend his afterlife keeping him company? Why make such a needless vow? He should've just let him walk off the cliff. Byleth had already died falling of a cliff. To die again like that would have been fitting.

“I vowed, for five years, that if you ever managed to return...” Dimitri caressed his face. “That I would stay by your side when your time came.”

“Why would you do that?” Byleth gaped at him with disbelief. “I’m—you— we were nothing, Dimitri.” But when he said that, it felt like a lie. What lingered between them was too much to not be something. Whether that was kinship, or rivalry or—

“When I first took that vow, I had meant it in the sense that either we’d live together until old age or that I’d be the one to claim your life,” Dimitri smiled. “When my head was severed from my shoulders, I had hoped that I wouldn’t see you again for many years... But without the Crest Stone inside you, your heart won’t last long like this.”

“Crest Stone?” Byleth felt his heart pitter patter with dread. “That’s impossible…! If I had a Crest Stone inside me, I would have turned into a Demonic Beast years ago.”

“It will all make sense after you pass,” Dimitri rested his forehead against his. “Don't worry about it. For now, I’m here for you.”

And now that the finality of it all struck Byleth, he felt his entire being tremble with tears. He raged and cried and screamed, until he was too tired to do any of that anymore.

Dimitri remained steadfast at his side through it all. Always firm, but gentle.

“I thought I was ready to die when I left Fhirdiad. But I’m not… I’m scared.” Byleth confessed.

“That’s normal. But there’s nothing to fear. Death can be… very gentle.”

“Gentle? How?”

“Like falling asleep in a field of flowers. Like being hugged by a loved one,” Dimitri’s hand took his. And squeezed. “Like reuniting with all those that you thought gone.”

“Like… you?” Byleth dared to ask.

“Like you,” Dimitri smiled. “Are you ready?”

Dimitri knew that most of the hardships he had experienced were simply a byproduct of his true nature. All monsters were doomed to be abandoned, hated, and feared. Ending up alone was simply in his nature.

But when she looked at him, her eyes showed no disgust. On the contrary, she looked at him with… pity? He didn't know. Nobody had ever seen him like that. Not until now.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" he asked.

"Because I love you," she answered.

Love? How could someone like him ever be loved? Surely, she must be mistaken.

"No, I know what I feel," she shook her head. And then, she confessed in a quiet voice: "I would kill the sun for you."

AO3 Link

Dimitri glared at the bush full of bright red berries.

Eating them would probably be a bad idea… But, what if these were wild cranberries? After all, it was autumn. Dimitri knew that cranberries were harvested around this time: he had seen them for sale in the markets at Fhirdiad.

His stomach rumbled. Reminding him of why he was even considering eating the mysterious bright red berries. Sir Gustave had said to never eat anything that he couldn’t identify. But, these looked like cranberries… maybe. If they tasted foul, he’d just spit them out right away. It should be fine.

Just when he was about to reach out to grab a fistful of the berries, Dimitri heard the characteristic whizz of an arrow being shot just behind him. He yelped and fell back, the arrow missing his head by a hand.

“Who’s there?!” He asked, crawling around to where the arrow must have come from.

“Don’t eat that,” a calm voice said from a tree. “Those are cotoneaster berries.”

When Dimitri looked up, he saw a thin kid hook a bow and quiver on a branch. Then, they slipped down landing neatly on their feet.

“What are you doing here?” Dimitri asked.

“Birds like to gather around here,” said the kid. “And you?”

“I’m…” Dimitri then felt a wave of emotion that hit him that he had been holding back for the entire day.

It was the Kingdom Founding Day celebrations, and Lord Rodrigue had invited Dimitri’s father and other friends over for a hunt. The children were supposed to stay close to the camp while the adults went out to hunt. Normally, Dimitri didn’t mind playing with his friends. But the only other kid he knew in that group was Glenn, and he had left with the hunting party. Dimitri had tried sneakily follow after them. At first, it had been easy to follow their trail. But eventually, he realized that he couldn’t see any prints and didn’t recognize where he was.

And although he knew what was happening, saying it seemed to make him realize just how horrible his situation was.

“I’m lost!” He cried. “I’m lost, and hungry and c-cold a-and…!”

Dimitri couldn’t hold back his tears anymore, and he cried, feeling his burning tears on his freezing face.

He stopped crying when he saw a piece of barley bread shoved in front of his face. He blinked at the piece of bread.

“Eat,” said the kid.

Dimitri took the bread. It was a little hard, but he was too hungry to care. When the piece of bread was gone, the kid shoved a water flask to his face.

“Drink,” said the weird kid.

As Dimitri drank the water, the kid turned to the tree where they had come down and climbed it. After a while, they came back down.

“There’s a campfire south of here,” said the kid calmly. “It looks like a big one.”

“That must be our campsite!” Dimitri gasped. “Oh no… my dad’s going to scold me for leaving the camp!”

“He won’t if you get there before he does,” said the weird kid. They held out their hand. “Let me take you there.”

Dimitri wiped the tears in his eyes, before taking their hand. Despite the slight autumn chill, the kid’s hand was warm and comforting.

They guided him through the forest. At first, both Dimitri and the kid had to walk through thick hedges and shrubs. But after that, they chanced upon a path that made their trek easier. Sometimes, the strange kid would tell him to wait and would climb up a tree. Once the kid confirmed that they were going in the right direction, they would continue on.

Soon enough, Dimitri could smell the scent of sausages roasting over a fire. Which was doubly relieving: they were almost at the campsite and the hunting party still wasn’t back, since they were cooking the sausages they had brought along the trip.

When Dimitri saw the teal-blue banners of house Fraldarius, he could barely contain his excitement. He rushed into the camp, relieved and happy to be back. In his excitement, he didn’t even notice that he was practically dragging the strange kid by the hand.

“Your Highness!” One of the girls waved at him. “Where were you?”

“Lost,” said the weird kid.

Dimitri practically jumped in place when he heard the weird kid’s voice.

“Oooh,” the girl nodded. “That must have been very scary!”

“I’m fine!” Dimitri cut in before the weird kid could reveal that they found him about to eat some weird berries or how he immediately started crying when they saw them. “See? I’m here!”

“Yeah, you are,” the girl nodded. “We just got the sausages out! Are you hungry, your Highness?”

“I am,” the weird kid said.

And although the girl didn’t seem to like the kid speaking up, Dimitri realized that he had a great chance to show his appreciation to them for helping him out.

“Let me invite you to a sausage!” Dimitri said. “It’s the least I can do after you gave me your bread and water!”

“Yes,” the weird kid said with a nod. “That sounds fair.”

They walked towards the campfire where the other children were gathered around, roasting venison sausages that were impaled on long forks. Dimitri took a fork and two sausages. One for him, and one for the kid. However, when he turned around, he saw the weird kid was holding a fork that had six sausages on it and was calmly holding it over the fire.

“Smells good,” said the kid as their venison sausages began to brown over the flame.

“Yeah…” Dimitri said, sitting down next to the weird kid.

For a minute or two, they cooked their sausages in silence. The kid then pulled out their fork and blew on their crispy sausages.

“Thanks for the meal,” said the weird kid. And then, they managed to open their mouth wide enough to take a bite of two sausages at once.

They must’ve been quite serious when they said they were hungry. Dimitri felt a little guilty that he had eaten their bread without a thought earlier that day. At least he was making it up to them.

“S’good,” said the kid with a mouthful of sausage.

“Yeah! Venison sausages always taste best when roasted,” said Dimitri.

“All food tastes best when roasted,” said the kid, before taking another bite of their sausages.

After they ate their sausages, there was a loud blare of a hunting horn. A signal that the hunting party was retuning!

“Oh! You’ve got to meet my dad!” Dimitri pulled the kid by the hand. “He’ll be thrilled to meet someone so skilled with wildlife survival!”

“No, I’m sorry,” the kid said, slipping their hand away.

“Huh?”

“I need to go back to my own camp, before the sun sets.”

“Oh…” Dimitri sighed. “Okay… I guess your own dad would be worried about you.”

The strange kid then knelt down on one knee, and brought their lips on Dimitri’s hand. After kissing his hand, they stood back up and waved at him. “Good bye.”

Dimitri stood there, too shocked at what had happened. By the time the strange child was gone, he realized that he didn’t even ask for their name.

“Oh man, I think they’re following us,” Claude huffed, looking over his shoulder.

“Because you ran off and drew their attention,” Edelgard panted as they continued their desperate escape.

“At least the other students won’t be hurt by the bandits,” Dimitri pointed out. “Now that they’re following us we’ve drawn them far enough from the encampment.”

“Look! Is that—?” Edelgard pointed at the watch tower that could barely be seen in the darkness. 

“A village!” Dimitri let out a sigh of relief. “If we’re lucky, there should be some mercenaries or experienced fighters staying there.”

“I sure hope your princeliness has enough money for a royal ransom, because if they’re in cahoots with the bandits we’re done,” Claude pointed out.

“Let’s just see how it goes,” said Edelgard, rapping on the door of a building that seemed to be the local inn.

After talking to one of the mercenaries on duty, he agreed to bring the captain and second-in-command to hear them out. Soon enough, they were face-to-face with a gruff-looking mercenary. And just behind —

“Oh!” Dimitri gasped.

Though it had been years, he could recognize that face anywhere. It was the same face as the strange kid that saved him when he was lost in the woods. Though they were only a little bit older than him, it made perfect sense that the kid that had helped him out was a mercenary. After all, only someone with real experience on the field would be able to tell what kind of berry was edible or not.

Unfortunately, after seeing her face, Dimitri’s eyes were then drawn to her ample bosom. The shock of realizing that his childhood savior was standing before him, alongside the sheer size of her chest, must have made him look like he was simply ogling at her. True, the shape and size was… considerable. But he wasn’t staring because of that!

“What are you kids doing out here so early in the morning?” The gruff mercenary asked, crossing his arms.

Dimitri knew better than to keep staring and floundering to ask her if she remembered him. He decided to cut to the chase.

“Apologies, we wouldn’t disturb you if the situation weren’t dire,” he explained. “We are being pursued by bandits.”

AO3 Link

“W-we have to do this,” Ingrid said, her eyes filled with tears but determined. “We can’t let his Highness…”

“Wait! Maybe… ” Ashe wrung his hands. “Umm….”

“Maybe it’s reversible?” Mercedes asked.

“He’s turned into a demonic beast,” Felix’s blade dripping with bandit blood. “There’s no undoing that.”

“But he wasn’t attacking us during the battle!” Annette spoke up. “He looks like he’s struggling, we should—”

“He could have rabies,” Felix countered. “I’ve had to cull deer that flopped around like that.”

This was bad. He wanted to speak up. Say “I won’t allow you to kill me again,” or “I’m not rabid, I’m just not used to having this many heads.” But when he tried to open his mouth(s?) he didn’t know which one he was opening. And which one he was supposed to move his mouth, his tongue, his lips. Did he have lips?

He tried licking his lips. One tongue tasted dirt because that head was on the ground. Another tongue bumped against his closed mouth. The last of his tongues managed to feel that the opening of his mouth was smooth. At least one of his three heads seemed to have something like lips. Maybe.

“Fall back,” the Professor spoke up, his voice calm and soothing as always. “Let me talk to him.”

The Blue Lions let the Professor through.

“Dimitri,” he said, walking towards him, slowly. “Is that you?”

Yes.

No?

Yes, he was Dimitri. But no, he wasn’t Dimitri. But yes, he was Dimitri and more.

He couldn’t stay like this. Mother didn’t like it when he was big and wildly when she was in her human form. It made it hard for her to speak to him. He didn’t want to get scolded by her so soon after she woke up.

But wait. How could that be? The Professor was a man. He couldn’t be his mother… but yes, that was Mother. And she didn’t like to be kept waiting.

Now that his form had changed to mimic the one Mother had now with only two legs, two arms and a single head, it was easier to stand up and keep his balance. And, having one head meant it was easier to turn it towards the Professor.

“What the—!?” Sylvain somewhere in the edge of his vision was staring at him with big eyes and an open mouth. “Dimitri?”

No.

Yes?

He was Areadbhar. Dead for over a thousand years, but still alive. Forced to be wielded by the descendants of that necromancer that first drank his blood and tore his heart from his chest.

Drank his blood? That didn’t happen. His heart was still in his chest, beating. …Wasn’t it?

“You look confused,” Mother— the Professor said. “Why don’t you tell us what you remember?”

Remember… He remembered watching his siblings taking to the sky, wishing for the day his wings were strong enough to carry him. He remembered Gustave nodding in approval whenever he managed to finish a drill without bending the lance he had in his hands. He remembered fighting, clawing his way through faceless masses of humans, the taste of their blood in his mouth. He remembered crushing heads, arms, fingers, and bones beneath his hand; the screams of his quarry so loud and shrill in his ears.

He remembered as Dimitri that he had been in a cell. He was going to be executed. Dedue had come to save him, and they had stumbled around the castle’s underground without a single torch to light their way. And by some happenstance, they had come to the castle vault where Areadbhar had been put in storage since his father had died.

He remembered as Aredbhar that he had been still for a long time. Whether it was one year or a hundred, it all felt the same. But his slumber was interrupted when that boy took him, and he felt the synergy between their blood. And that was when he realized that there were some traces of Mother on the boy. Almost like how people tended to carry the scents of the places they were most often in. Priests definitely weren’t frankincense, but they carried the smell of it when they left the temple.

Dimitri remembered that Dedue had told him to flee, that he would stay back and keep the soldiers off. He had wanted to fight alongside his friend. But Aredbhar had urged him. His voice wasn’t a voice, but it was a feeling, an inclination. And he told him to leave.

Areadbhar didn’t have time to waste. If Mother was somewhere, they had to find her before they did. The last time Mother was resting beneath the citadel, her body was killed and looted. Then, she was forced to kill her own children. The canyon was dyed with blood. He couldn’t let that happen again. They had to leave.

When Dimitri had found the Professor, fast asleep in some underground river beneath Garreg Mach, he thought he was dead. But something seemed to guide him to check his breathing and his pulse at his neck. Once he saw that he was still alive, he carried him back to the monastery. 

Areadbhar had guided the boy on how to take care of a hibernating dragon. Keeping Mother bundled and warm in the safety of the monastery, putting warm rocks in his bedding as he hibernated and repaired his body.

When bandits had first come over, it had been to loot. They didn’t have any weapons, and it had been easy to kill them all. But the local bandits started to realize that something had taken up residence in the monastery. They started to come up the mountains with weapons.

It was when Dimitri had fought to drive them off that he realized that his senses felt sharper— more clear. Sometimes he even noticed that his hands would feel more like claws, or that he had grown a tail during battle that would fade back. Sometimes, his skin itched with scales that he would shed after battle. 

All of his changes had been temporary and minor. Until that day.

“I see,” the Professor— Mother nodded. “So you’re Areadbhar and Dimitri. It’s almost like… but I always had full control.”

“What…” Dimitri—Aredbhar— asked. “What will happen to us?”

There was a deity. Falling from the sky. A perfect being. Neither male nor female. Not old nor young. Their hair burned bright green trailing behind them as they fell. They landed on the mountains just outside Fhirdiad. Dimitri knew those forests well. Then, there was a strange sensation. Or was it a sound? It was like a chirp, but one that he could feel in his body. And it grew so strong, that he then realized that he didn’t have a body, but that there was nothing but the feeling of joy, of homecoming, like when one awoke from a nightmare with their parents hugging them, reassuring that all will be fine. “Find me”, a voice beckoned.

And then, he woke up. Back into his cursed existence. Not a shapeless, limitless, serene awareness… but as Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd. The cursed king of a frozen wasteland.

Dimitri didn’t want to move. He wanted to recapture the feeling that he had for that one moment. But the chirp, or vibration, or sound was no longer there. He could only feel the faint echos of it inside his skull, leaving behind the sensation of loss at being so far apart from where he belonged.

“Your Majesty!” Ingrid, one of his childhood friends turned knight, barged into his room. When she saw him on the bed, she allowed herself a sign of relief. “Apologies for the intrusion! The guards on duty reported that the falling star came close to your tower. But they must have been mistaken.”

Dimitri immediately sat up. A fallen star?!

“Where did it land?!” Dimitri demanded, recalling the deity’s plea.

“Huh?” Ingrid stared at him in confusion. “Um… I think the report said that the meteor landed in the mountains nearby.”

Dimitri didn’t hesitate to get out of bed and run towards the stables. He had to find where the fallen star had landed.

“That’s it,” Ingrid said, dismounting from her pegasus and slowly walking towards a glowing green stone that was embedded into the ground. “Please stand back, your Majesty.”

Dimitri pulled the reigns of his horse, looking at the glowing green-glowing piece of rock. It looked just like in his dream. There was no doubt about it. Someone —something— wanted him to come here. But why?

He then felt the same strange chirp from his dream. Dimitri could feel it in his head, in his heart, pulsing and shaking him.

“Did you hear that too?” He asked to Ingrid’s back, who had stepped closer to the fallen star.

“Glenn?” Ingrid let out a gasp. “Glenn…!”

“Ingrid?” Dimitri asked. But she couldn’t hear him. She dropped her lance and ran towards the glowing green meteor.

“It really is you,” Ingrid smiled, as she opened her arms to embrace someone he couldn’t see. “I missed you.”

There was a blinding glow, and the next thing Dimitri knew, Ingrid wasn’t there.

“Ingrid?” Dimitri approached the rock with some trepidation. There was no trace of her. It was almost as if… she had never been there. 

What was going on?

Once he stood right in front of the meteor, Dimitri felt a compulsion to reach out and touch it. Despite knowing that that was probably a bad idea, he found himself reaching out to it.

When he did, he saw the same figure he had seen in his dreams. Neither male nor female, not old nor young. A perfect being, with a perfect smile.

“Thank you,” said the being. “For bringing her back to us.”

“Us?” Dimitri asked.

“She is reunited with all of us,” the figure said with a smile, tapping the meteor. “See here.”

When Dimitri looked into the meteor, the world around him vanished for a moment. But he saw Ingrid and Glenn locked in an embrace. Next to them was his own father, and stepmother, and—

“Now she won’t be alone ever again,” the deity said with a smile.

Dimitri tried to claw his way into the meteor. “Please… I beg you. Let me go with them!”

“Everybody will return to us eventually. You will enough join us in due time.”

“But I want to get back with them now!” Dimitri cried. “Since that day that I lost everything, there is nothing I’ve wanted more than…!”

There was that chirp again. And Dimitri felt surrounded by love, by peace, by fulfillment. Cherished and safe. All of his anguish had vanished, and now he was truly free.

But then, that moment quietly faded, and he was back in the forest, with the deity looking at him with glowing eyes that were framed by glowing hair. They were the most beautiful being he had ever seen. If he couldn’t have that eternal bliss that he had felt right then, then Dimitri would be satisfied by merely drowning in their mesmerizing presence.

“We called you for a reason,” the diety said. 

“A reason?” Dimitri asked.

“You are the only one that heard us. The only one that can fulfill everybody’s deepest desire.”

And Dimitri knew what they were talking about. Even if it was only for a fleeting moment that he experienced that paradise, he knew that keeping it all to himself would be horribly selfish. He had an obligation to allow all of his subjects to experience it for themselves. The more that got to return to the joy of where they belonged, the better.

It was his duty as king. His sole purpose in life: to lead his people with wisdom and care.

“Call us Byleth,” said the diety.

The meteorite was about as big as a fat housecat. And it was heavy, too. Even with the boon of his crest, Dimitri still had to take breaks as he hauled the rock back to Fhirdiad. Perhaps, he was more exhausted because he hadn’t slept much and was also leading his horse and Ingrid’s pegasus by the reigns.

“You are not physically exhausted,” Byleth had said, their presence manifesting next to Dimitri, as if they were walking next to him. “Your mind is the one that’s exhausted. Beholding us is something you are not used to, yet.”

That made sense, in a way. Though Byleth’s eyes and hair had glowed at nighttime, now that dawn was breaking he could admire more of their sublime beauty with his eyes. Such spectacle was so impressive, Dimitri found himself unable to look directly at them for long periods of time. If looking at them was hard, why shouldn’t carrying them around also be exhausting?

“So… this thing is you?” Dimitri asked.

“What you are holding is the physical manifestation of our heart. While we are not usually limited by the physical realm, we were severely weakened. We imbued that heart with all of our essences and memories. Once we regain our strength, it will have served our purpose, and no longer be needed.”

Dimitri nodded. He really didn’t understand what Byleth was saying. But, considering just how confusing and inscrutable every single thing they said was, he decided that asking for clarification would only end up with him being even more confused than before.

“That is alright,” Byleth said with a smile, seemingly understanding what he was thinking. “For now, just consider our heart where we must reside because we are currently weak.”

“How can you get stronger?” Dimitri asked.

“The more people return to us, the stronger we become,” Byleth’s serene smile fell, and for a moment, Dimitri thought that their radiant look dimmed. “In my old planet, everybody was part of The Heart. But one day, a group of travelers descended from the stars. When one of their kind joined the heart, the distant travelers were frightened by it. They tried to destroy all of The Heart, and I’m afraid that I’m the only one that could…”

“They killed everybody they could find, didn’t they?”

“It wasn’t just everybody they could see,” Byleth said. Dimitri saw that tears were quietly slipping from those gem-like eyes. “By destroying The Heart, they tried to erase every single being that had once lived in our planet. They wanted to force us to live an individual existence, separated and alone… and to vanish into nothing after death.”

“I can’t completely understand, but…” Dimitri looked down at the heart he was carrying around. “When I was a child, I was also the sole survivor of an attack that killed everybody that I loved. Ever since then, I’ve lived with the weight of my guilt. Sometimes, it’s so overbearing, I feel like I’m choking.”

Ingrid’s pegasus seemed to dislike the dark turn in the conversation, as it whined and pulled back from Dimitri’s hold on the reigns suddenly. Dimitri tried to hold on to its reigns, but it managed to break free, puffing and beating the ground with its hoof.

“There, there,” Byleth shushed, and they gently reached out to pet the pegasus. It immediately settled down. “Go back with Dimitri. He won’t hurt you.”

The pegasus meekly walked over to Dimitri. He took its reigns back.

“That’s the thing…” Byleth muttered. “The ones we loved are not truly gone. In the end, they all come back.”

Dimitri smiled. Though Byleth was as radiant as before, he realized that looking at them was not nearly as difficult as before. 

“What the fuck is that?” Felix asked with a glare, crossing his arms. “And where is Ingrid?”

“This is Byleth’s heart,” Dimitri explained, walking past Felix as he carried the heart into the castle. “Ingrid joined it.”

“What?” Felix yelled. Dimitri could hear his footsteps trail behind him “Get back here, you boar! Don’t just ignore me…!”

Dimitri really didn’t mean to close the throne room door on his face. It was just hard to keep it open since he was carrying Byleth’s heart. He carried the precious meteorite all the way to the throne, and he placed it on the seat.

“Do you like it Byleth?” Dimitri asked.

“This is the seat where you take office,” said Byleth. “Why place our heart here?”

“I will help you regain all of your lost strength,” Dimitri explained, feeling mildly feverish from the excitement.

Before Byleth could respond to him, Felix had kicked down the door, his face red with rage. Or, perhaps it was exertion? The throne room doors were heavy.

“Don’t just ignore me when I’m talking to you!” Felix stomped over to the throne. “What did that thing do to Ingrid?!”

Felix drew his sword.

Dimitri couldn’t recall much of what happened next. Somehow, Felix’s head had ended in his hands. There was a crack, and then the head wasn’t a head. And Felix wasn’t Felix anymore.

When Dimitri saw his hands, covered with his friends blood, he felt sick. It was like he wanted to puke, and cry and scoop out his own eyeballs all at the same time. 

But Byleth gently stopped him. Before his madness consumed him, he heard— felt— that vibration, that sound, that sensation. And for another moment, everything was right and perfect in the world.

“It’s alright,” Byleth’s voice resounded within him. “He is with us now.”

And upon hearing that, Dimitri felt great relief. Though it seemed that he had just viciously crushed his childhood friend’s skull, he had truly done none of that. Felix had just joined Ingrid.

Ever since that day, Dimitri opened the doors to his castle. What once had been a rare occasion, was now a daily routine. Most people came to visit him to request certain favors. Some pointedly did their best to ignore the glowing meteor now permanently residing on the throne of the Kingdom of Faerghus. Others did stare at Byleth’s heart, but made no other comment.

And then, it all changed when Sylvain came to visit Dimitri.

“Your Majesty,” Sylvain had said with one of his usual, insincere smiles. “I heard that something happened to Ingrid and Felix. And that it involves that hunk of space rock that you hauled in one day.”

“This is Byleth’s heart,” Dimitri explained, gently patting the glowing stone. “And they joined them.”

“So, are they inside the stone?”

Dimitri turned to Byleth, who was standing next to him, illuminating his life with their usual radiance. They nodded, ever-so slightly. 

“In a way… yes,” Dimitri said, turning back to Sylvain. “Would you like to see?”

Sylvain had narrowed his eyes with clear skepticism. Nevertheless, he took a few cautious steps towards the throne.

“Don’t worry,” Byleth cooed, as gently as they had calmed Ingrid’s pegasus on the morning Dimitri had carried their heart. “There is nothing to be afraid of.”

Dimitri took Sylvain’s hand, and lead it to touch Byleth’s heart.

When he touched it, there was another bright light, and Dimitri saw Sylvain gasping as he saw Felix and Ingrid, just the way he remembered them. But before he would be able to join them too, the vision vanished.

“You did good, Dimitri,” Byleth’s voice encouraged him gently, enveloping him in a soothing, gentle warmth. “Thank you.”

When he returned to, Sylvain was completely gone. Which wasn’t surprising, as he had joined with Byleth.

Ever since that day, more and more people began to outright ignore Dimitri when they came into the throne room, instead opting to lovingly gaze upon Byleth’s heart, or sometimes to even throw themselves to join them.

A part of Dimitri couldn’t help but feel a small sting of rejection. After all, Byleth was seemingly taking in everybody that wanted to join them. Noble and commoner, thieves and saints, children and elders. It seemed that everybody was welcome.

Except him.

But at nights, whenever Dimitri laid between wakefulness and deep sleep, he could feel the sound that had first managed to soothe and calm the raging storm within him. And that way, Dimitri knew that Byleth hadn’t forsaken him. That he still had a role to play, and that once he was ready, he would never know fear, pain, isolation or anything else again. There would only be Byleth and everybody else he had loved, forever together.

Dimitri didn’t know how much time had passed.

However, he did notice that the castle and the markets were emptier than before. Had all these people decided to join in with Byleth? It was likely. Who would want to spend the rest of their live, being forced to face the horrors of reality, when one could simply just avoid all that and just be one with Byleth?

However, one day, his largely empty castle was suddenly flooded by soldiers.

Soldiers clad in crimson red.

Leading them was none other than Edelgard, Dimitri’s stepsister. As the few remaining knights had tried to stop the invading advance to the throne room, Dimitri knew that he had to prepare for battle.

“Byleth,” Dimitri whispered to them. “I’m sorry. I had promised you I’d strengthen you but I…”

“It’s alright,” Byleth said. “You have done a brilliant job, Dimitri. Thank you.”

And Dimitri wanted to argue that no, he had truly not done anything of worth. But before he could self-depreciate himself, Byleth spoke up.

“Remember. Everybody will return to me in the end. No matter what happens today. In the end, all will be fine.”

And that had been enough for Dimitri to steel himself for the battle to come. 

The door broke down. And amongst a sea of blood, only Edelgard remained standing.

“Here you are, mad king,”Edelgard flicked the blood off her axe. “When I first heard the rumors, I didn’t want to believe them… to think, that you’d sacrifice your own people to some demon!”

“It’s not like that!” Dimitri exclaimed. “If you only knew, El—”

“Don’t call me that! You no longer have the right to call me that!”

“But Byleth is no demon. Byleth is…”

Everything, everywhere, everyone. The only home he ever needed. The only one that understood him.

“It’s all that stupid rock’s fault…” Edelgard turned her intense glare towards Byleth’s heart, sitting calmly upon the throne. “I will free you from its grasp!”

“No! Stop!” Dimitri scrambled, trying to dive in to stop her axe. But before he could stop Labraunda, it hit Byleth’s heart.

As if trying to comfort Dimitri, Byleth emitted that sensation that allowed him to feel the peace of being one with them, his parents, his friends, everybody he had ever known and loved—

All except El.

When he came back to, Edelgard was still cracking Byleth’s heart to dust.

“Stop…!” Dimitri cried. “Don’t hurt Byleth…!”

He crawled to the sparkling dust that had once been Byleth’s heart. When his hands scooped the dust up, he couldn’t feel, see nor hear them.

“No… Byleth… Byleth, please answer me…”

“Now pick your weapon, King of Delusion!” She challenged. “I will cull you and your madness from this world!”

Dimitri wept. Where was Byleth gone? And everybody else that had returned to them? Was he forced to live the rest of his life, knowing that he would forever be incomplete?

That fate… was cruel.

“Pick your weapon!” She screamed, holding Labaruna in her hand. “Fight me!”

He looked up at El. Saw the fear, the anguish in her eyes. As if she knew, that if he didn’t fight her back, the Dee that she had once known was truly dead, along with the stone that she thought was just a stone.

Dimitri bowed his head, Byleth’s heart slipping between his fingers. What was the point of it now? Edelgard had been too efficient. Dimitri would have been a fierce monster just to defend Byleth. He would have reveled in the thought of even claiming her head and spilling all of her blood to the soil.

But now?

Now, none of that really mattered.

“Byleth…” Dimitri cried. “You said I’d be with you... You promised me… Everybody returns to you in the end.”

He felt a piercing cold strike his left arm, followed by vague, liquid warmth running down his side. Then he heard a wet, slapping sound. When he rose his eyes from the dust that had been Byleth’s heart, he noticed that there was an arm on the floor. It had been cleanly cut off from the base in one single strike.

“Oh,” Dimitri turned to look at himself. Right.

That had been his arm. The warmth he was feeling was his own blood flowing out. And the piercing he felt must have been someone cleaving it off. That made sense.

“Wh-what is this?” Edelgard stuttered, the bloodstained Labraunda still dripping with her stepbrother’s blood. “Why are you—?!”

“Why are you surprised?” Dimitri asked. “You were the one that cut it off.”

“That’s not—! What’s wrong with you? Why are you not screaming in pain?!”

“I’m…” Dimitri looked back down at the stump where his arm had been, and then at the arm that was still on the floor next to him. He noticed, that his blood was staining the dust that had been Byleth’s heart, dying the pale green a crimson red. “I’m not in pain.”

“That’s impossible!” She screamed. “Nobody can just not feel something like that!”

“Maybe,” he mused. ”I’m nobody.”

“Shut up! Shut up!” She swung her axe around blindly. 

More parts of Dimitri were cut. Guts, viscera and entrails were spilled out from his body by the force of Edelgard’s incisive axe. Just as she had mercilessly chopped down Byleth’s heart until it was little more than sparkling green dust, she had also pulverized her stepbrother until there was nothing but red, red, red.

And when she was done with her rampage, she had fallen on her knees, tears slipping out of her eyes.

“Dee,” she lamented. “Dee, I’m so sorry…”

Now… why did she do all that, if she was going to feel bad about it later?

It’s okay, El.

It really doesn’t matter.

You might not be ready today.

But someday, maybe at the end of time, you will join us too.

The Western Kingdom had risen in rebellion.

As usual, his uncle had done little more than just dither about uselessly, claiming neutrality. Dimitri was still a child, and wouldn’t have been able to do much. He despaired from his room, looking out into the city he had not been able to set foot on since the start of his regency.

That is… until someone managed to slip in through the chimney to his room. The soot-covered person was a child with short hair and… a sword?

“You’re Dimitri?” They asked, wiping their face with a rag that was also covered in soot. “I’m Byleth.”

“Byleth?” Dimitri asked. “What are you doing here? How did you even get in?”

“My dad’s band got hired to rescue and take you to some Lord Rodrigue guy,” said Byleth. “I was small enough to fit in through the chimney, but now we gotta fight our way out.” 

“You’re a mercenary?” Dimitri asked, unable to believe it. Byleth must have been around his age and yet he was already handling such a dangerous mission on his own!

“Don’t worry. I will protect you,” Byleth said, pressing a hand over his heart and bowing. “It is my duty, knight or not.”

“Why are you bowing like that?” Dimitri asked. He had never seen a boy bow like a girl. Girls bowed by pressing their hand over their heart. 

“Huh?” Byleth asked, staring at him with his large eyes.

“Men bow like this,” Dimitri then crossed his right hand over his side, the left behind his back and bowed at the waist.

“I’m not a boy,” said Byleth.

“Huh—?” Dimitri gaped.

“Anyway, take this,” Byleth handed him an iron sword. “We gotta sneak out without getting noticed, but if we do get noticed, we’ll need to fight and run as fast as we can. Let’s go.”

He was staying up late. 

Again.

Byleth restlessly walked around the room, the book she had been reading long finished and the candle by her side more puddle than candle. If she had to guess, she’d say it was the early hours of the next day.

Byleth obviously cared that Dimitri was overworking. But what really made her feel restless was that she wasn’t even allowed to do her own job these last few moons. Despite having the title of archbishop and being married to a king, Byleth wasn’t used to a life of leisure. Even her usual pastimes were starting to bore her.

“This is all your fault, you know?” Byleth said to the sizable growth of her belly. 

According to Manuela, Mercedes and basically every healer Byleth had consulted, she was expecting twins. This fact was obviously great news, but it came with the unwanted side effect of everybody immediately deciding that she needed to ‘take it easy’ and ‘not overexert yourself’.

It really wasn’t fair that Dimitri got to still work and live his life as if nothing had happened, whilst she was forced to take a break.

Just as she had decided that she was cross at him, she heard footsteps going down the corridor. Dimitri and Dedue’s voices were muffled, but even if she could have heard them clearly she’d have no idea what they said, as they tended to use Dedue’s language when it was just the two of them.

Byleth took that as her queue to pose right in front of the door with her best glare ready.

The door opened, and Dimitri’s eye widened when he walked in.

“Beloved? You’re still awake?”

And although she had decided she was angry, now she decided that she was actually sad. So Byleth cried.

“There, there,” Dimitri immediately walked over to her and gave her a hug. “Is something wrong?”

“E-everything is wrong!” She sniffled. “I’m tired of being pregnant! My feet hurt, my back hurts, and I’m bored!”

“I… I will take my leave, your Majesty, your Grace.” Dedue said, before hurriedly turning around and fleeing.

“E-even Dedue doesn’t like me!” Byleth unreasonably complained with tears in her eyes. She knew she wasn’t making much sense, but she was just too tired to care. 

“It’s been a long day and he needs to rest,” Dimitri said. “Aren’t you tired?”

“We h-haven’t even had sex since my last checkup!” She sniffed. “Do I look that weird and ugly to you? Do you not love me anymore?”

“Byleth,” Dimitri broke the hug and looked at her in the eye. “I love you. Everyday, I am grateful to know that I married the person that I will love every single day of my life.”

“Dimitri…” she hiccuped. “I’m sorry, I’m just… it’s been a very long pregnancy. And I’m so bored, I can’t even do work and I feel so awkward and huge!”

“I think you look very cute,” he reassured her, and  and took her hand to give it a little kiss. “And unbelievably beautiful.”

“Really?”

“The thought that you’re carrying my children…” Dimitri’s voice lowered to a seductive growl. “You have no idea of how much your very presence affects me… If I hadn’t been strictly forbidden from overexerting you, the things I’d do to you…”

“I don’t mind.” Byleth immediately said, every single part of her body enflamed with a need to be loved by the man she desired and that desired her.

“Well, I can’t be too rough… I don’t want to hurt the babies. But I have something in mind that shouldn’t be too hard on you,” Dimitri smiled. “What do you say?”

“Stop talking and just get to it,” Byleth demanded, pulling him to the bed.

Dimitri laughed, but followed her along. He even bowed at her. As if he were her sworn knight.

“Have you enjoyed your birthday so far?” Dimitri asked, when he saw his wife stepping out into the balcony, yawning after the day’s celebrations.

“It’s been great,” Byleth said, and rubbed her eyes. “But honestly? I’m very tired now.”

“You are?” Dimitri hummed. “That’s unfortunate. I wanted to give you my birthday gift now, but if it has been a long day—“

“I can go to sleep later,” Byleth immediately interrupted him. “So… what did you want to give me?”

Byleth’s eyes would rival the stars themselves as she looked up at him in anticipation. Dimitri couldn’t help but smile when he saw just how excited she was. An almost cruel part of him wanted to tease her, just to see how cute she’d look with a frustrated little pout.

But. Dimitri was no fool.

…Okay. He was a bit of a fool. A love-struck fool. One that had adored his professor for far too long, who would consider the idea of even holding her hand a rare luxury he had no right to think of.

But, Dimitri was well-aware of just how strong Byleth was, and how terrifying she could be once she had decided she had been slighted. There was a reason why she had been once referred to as “The Ashen Demon” in hushed whispers.

That part of her was utterly mesmerizing, too. If he had to choose a way to die, he wouldn’t mind dying by her hand—

“Dimitri?” Byleth asked, her gaze boring into him, clawing right into his soul.

Right.

“I wanted to give these to you,” Dimitri reached into his pocket and pulled out a small pouch. “They are… these pieces managed to survive the Imperial occupation.”

Byleth took the pouch, and opened it. When she did, her mouth dropped open.

“They’re very pretty,” Byleth said, picking out the sapphire necklace from the pouch and holding it up. “Can I really keep these?”

“Naturally. They are the queen consort’s sapphires. As my wife, you can do whatever you desire with them.”

“Then I’ll put it on right away! Can you hold up my hair?” Byleth asked, with a smile.

What a dangerous request. Byleth knew well what sort of feelings stirred within him when he saw Byleth’s bare neck, free of any blemishes and marks… Nevertheless, Dimitri humored her, helping her gather her hair up and out of the way.

As expected, the moment she finished fiddling with the necklace, he couldn’t resist the sight of her soft skin for a moment longer. He dove right in and kissed the back of her neck.

Her little shudder emboldened him. His hand in her hair tensed, as he kissed and licked her neck.

“Dimitri—!” Byleth had started to say his name with a reprimand, but once he grasped and tugged at her hair and licked the shell of her ear, her voice quickly shifted into a high-pitched mewl.

“I’m sorry, my beloved,” Dimitri whispered against her ear, “I will stop now.”

He started to let go of her hair, but Byleth immediately rose her hand to keep his hand in place.

“Don’t stop,” she panted. “Don’t you dare stop now…!”

“Your wish is my command,” Dimitri chuckled.

The beast inside him wanted to consume her completely, letting his animalistic lust get the better of him. But the man knew, that she deserved to have her pleasure come first. Both parts of him agreed: he had to worship her with everything he had, and make her feel as happy and fulfilled as she rightfully deserved.

“It suits you,” he traced the skin of her collarbone in idle strokes, admiring the sapphires she wore. “Blue looks good on you.”

“Not as good as your marks upon my skin,” she teased.

“Do you want me to leave marks on you?”

“Yes, I want them,” she nodded. “Pull my hair, kiss me, do whatever you want to me."

“What I want…” he mused, and slid down her dress with one hand, the other tightening on the back of her head. “I want you, my beloved. I want you to feel and know in every part of your body just how much I adore you and worship you.”

“Then I’m yours,” she panted. “Please, Dimitri. I need you.”

“Then I won’t hold back,” he breathed against the shell of her ear, and left a trail of kisses going down her neck.

Once his lips found that part of her neck that would be covered up by her usual attire, he opened his mouth and left a mark there. To further fuel his wife’s pleasure, he made sure to slide his hand over her navel. Byleth pulled up her dress and pulled down her underwear to let him have easy access.

He rewarded her enthusiasm by giving her another little love bite and allowing his hands to wander about her body. Byleth’s soft little moans filled the night sky. It fanned the flames of his passion as it burned bright enough to illuminate the night.

“Do you like this, my beloved?” He asked, as he cupped her heavy breast and teased the nipple, feeling them harden beneath his hand.

“Yes, I love it,” she moaned and squirmed against his arms. “I love you!”

“I love you too,” Dimitri said. He kissed, sucked and sometimes even bit across her skin, as if his lips were a brush that was painting her body with his devotion. “I will forever love you.”

Byleth could only moan in response.

Gently, he dipped his hand in between her legs, and went about slowly building her pleasure up. It was a delicate balance between slowing down and speeding up, to allow her to enjoy the buildup.

The sounds that escaped her were all lovely, but the loveliest of them all was the way his name sounded on her lips.

He was very pleased that when she came, she called out his name.