#stalarmonios

As he leaves his dorm, he finds Chrom and Shigure chatting in the hall outside (and what a delight to see the light-haired bluenette again! though he seems to have aged between his last stay and now), and he instinctively scans them for injuries. Their battles had been difficult, though Chrom had been rather lucky on his end, while Shigure had managed to hold on at the end by a thread. He’s so very proud of both of them and how well they fought despite their limited equipment and spells.

Funny, isn’t it, how the three of us survived lethal missions by the skin of our teeth with only a couple items available to us. I’d almost call it a rite of passage between the three of us. However, next time, I hope all of us have at least a small arsenal in order to take on whatever our enemies throw at us.

“... and then I must’ve been empowered by something heavenly, because I nearly felled our Melanthios with a single strike! I think the only thing that prevented me from killing him was that strange armor he was wearing, but Kris—you know, Marth’s best friend—he finished him off right after.”

“That’s impressive! I almost ended up dying, but I managed to kill our group’s Melanthios after he killed Uncle Leo... Uncle Leo!” Shigure tears up, covering his mouth with the back of his hand.

Saias steps forward. “He’ll be fine, Shigure.” The two bluenette teenagers startle and whirl around, then cry out with relief, and in two seconds he’s buried in a double-sided bear hug, very enthusiastic on Chrom’s part, hesitant but no less gentle on Shigure’s. The redhead chuckles and pulls the two close—oh, how he’s missed them so! It’s just not the same without his friends.

“You’re back... I didn’t know whether the other students that were trapped got out, but you’re really back...” Oh, Chrom. He must be taking all of this particularly hard, what with him being written into the empire only to find out he was on the evil side. Saias shushes him and murmurs that there’s nothing to forgive. Poor thing, knowing him he’ll be blaming himself for a while. Luckily, Saias doesn’t plan on leaving him to wallow in self-deprecation, and there have to be plenty of others willing to help the young Ylissean prince recover.

Shigure shifts and withdraws from the hug, and the priest-in-training takes the pause to look over this older, more mature version of his younger friend. “You said... you said Uncle Leo will be fine? But how... he’s dead.”

The redhead shakes his head with a smile. “Nope, he’s alive. If last time has taught me anything, it’s that everyone will always make it out alive at the end of the month, no matter whether they died during the mission or not.”

Sapphire and golden eyes widen. “Wait, what do you mean, ‘last time?’” Chrom asks. “Did something like this happen before?”

“First time?” Saias quirks a brow, then chuckles. “Yes, it has. Last time we were sent out throughout Fódlan on a mission to uncover more about our mysterious enemies. I was sent to the Sealed Forest... several of us died, and those who died were resurrected as shadows that were forced to fight us. The less said about it, the better.” He winces. Oh, and that reminds me: whatever happened to Theo? I still haven’t seen shell nor tail of that little spider droid since then. “In any case, when we finally won our battles, everyone got out alive, even the ones who died. I know for a fact that your uncle made it out alive with you.”

Shigure frowns. “I don’t recall hearing anything like that from our classmates—in fact, I don’t believe I’ve ever heard of that particular mission.”

“Now there’s an interesting phenomenon. When I first came here to Fódlan, I entered the academy in the Pegasus Moon of 1180.”

“Saias, you can’t have entered then.” Chrom furrows his brow in exasperation. “You were here months before me, the Pegasus Moon of 1180 would’ve been during the time you were trapped in the book.”

“Yes,” the Jugdrali mage agrees, “and no. The mission I was on took place during the Lone Moon of 1180—just like this enchanted book mission—but we returned during the Great Tree Moon of 1180. Do you see what happened?”

“Time travel,” Shigure breathes. “Or, no... time reset. That’s so strange, why is it that that happened? Was it a result of your battle with these enemies you mentioned?”

Chrom pales. “You mean to tell me that we might have to do our entire school year all over again?! But wait... you were already in higher-ranked classes than you would’ve been if you had to start the year over... so does that mean everyone remembered and were able to pick up where they left off? Oh Naga, does that mean our enemies remembered?!”

That would explain a lot, actually, such as Chrom’s mission during the Verdant Rain Moon and this latest mission into the tomes. “You know what, I wouldn’t be surprised if they did.”

“I need to see this.” Shigure heads back into his dorm room, and, after trading a bemused shrug with Chrom, Saias follows after the singer. He finds the other teen staring at the calendar on his wall...

... which shows the Great Tree Moon... of 1181.

“Oh.” Saias sways, a bit lightheaded. So time has returned to its natural course, then? “I thought... I thought it was gonna reset again. I think I even hinted at it when I talked about course direction with you, Chrom, said you had all the time in the world.”

“... People are gonna wonder why I’m a year older when I go back home,” Chrom murmurs, looking faint. “That is, if time in Fódlan doesn’t run parallel to time in Ylisse.”

“It does not. I’ve been gone for two years at home and about nine months here,” Shigure says, tone matter-of-fact. The other two Blue Lions give him a quizzical look, at which he offers a sheepish smile. “I’ve lived in a Deeprealm for most of my life; they run much faster than the rest of the world.”

“... Right. I knew that.” Chrom rubs the back of his neck. “Well, looks like we’ll have to make the most of this opportunity. It’s a new day for Fódlan, huh?”

Saias smiles. “It seems so. And if I’m not mistaken—not to break up this little reunion—we all have family and friends we need to go check on and make doubly sure they’re all right, don’t we?”

Both bluenettes nod, then Chrom, as if remembering something, turns to Shigure with his finger in the air. “Your great-uncle’s here. I met him while we were trapped in the book.”

“He is!!” The youth is out the door before the young Ylissean can say anything else, and the redhead chuckles at his friend’s quiet enthusiasm. Bragi, he missed his younger friend... it feels so good to have him back, and that he has the chance to meet Saias’s other closest friend. Speaking of which... the swords-mage turns to the older teen, gaze gentle and kind.

“Chrom... for what it’s worth, I don’t hate you at all for the role you were slipped into and the actions you took because of what you believed. I’m willing to bet your family and friends don’t hate you either, and they’ll welcome you back with open arms if you just have the courage to go to them.” The bluenette nods, eyes fixed on the ground in evident shame. Saias withholds a sigh, then thinks of something else and smirks. “And if it takes me beating that into your thick skull with a heavy tome for the next several months—”

“All right, all right, all right! I get it! No more wallowing in the depths of guilt and misery!” Chrom holds his hands out to keep the other teen away, laughing. “When did you become so violent?”

“Being trapped in a book is boring and stressful. Or, it was on my end.” Saias grins, then wraps his arm around the other boy’s shoulders. “You know you can talk to me about anything and anyone, right?”

After a bit, Chrom nods, slow but understanding. “Yeah. Thanks, Saias.”

“Of course, anytime. Come on, we have plenty of people to check on and make sure—ohmyBragi Sigyn’s gonna be pissed.”