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A shuddered breath left her as Byleth looked out over the ruins of her former home. The sky was a brilliant shade of oranges and pinks as the sun set upon the world, casting the ruins in an ominous darkness.
Somehow it seemed appropriate that their battle was to take place here; the place where they had made so many happy memories together. Here the memory of them could be put to rest at last.
“Byleth?” Seteth’s asked, his soft voice full of concern. He knew better than to ask if she was okay. They all knew the answer to that one.
She shook her head and took a step outside their camp. “I’m going to go see it one last time.”
“Byleth,” Seteth repeated, his concern rising. “I cannot advise that. If...if he is there-”
“Then the battle is over all the sooner,” Byleth interrupted him, not unkindly. “Please watch over things for me while I’m gone.”
Her advisor, her closest friend through these hard centuries, was silent for a long moment. Byleth could imagine Seteth’s bowed head, hand over his heart, as he answered. “Of course, Byleth. Please be careful.”
/
Cracked stone crunched under her boots as Byleth made her way through the maze of rubble. The smell of jasmine and lilies was overwhelming, their garden having overgrown the grounds without anyone to care for them. Byleth could still pick out her way, following the outlines of hallways, peeking into rooms they had spent so much time together in. A lounge they enjoyed because of the privacy it provided, a war room in which his greatest plans were laid out, a nursery that had never seen use despite how hard they had tried.
Her footsteps grew slower as she drew closer to her goal, to the one place calling out to her. Deep cuts were carved into the stone around their room, marring what was once perfection. Byleth’s entire body tensed at the sight of those, remembering the clash of weapons that had caused them.
It was almost enough to drive her back. She did not need to be here, did not need to relive this. There was no reason for Byleth to put herself through this all over again. She faltered at the entrance to their rooms, the door having long ago rotted down to its hinges. She could turn around, there was still time to abandon this silly little idea.
But a flicker of movement caught her eye. In her heart she knew, this was why the place had drawn her. If he could face all she had put him through, then Byleth could face what she had made him.
The tiled floor of the room was cracked and broken, their most precious treasures lying in shatters. No one had come back after that terrible battle, not until now. His precious collection of books, the pages torn and yellowed, her sword having cut through it when he deflected the blow. Her own collection of gifts she had collected from her precious Deer were long forgotten in her haste to flee, a painting from Ignatz blow wide open from a shot of Failnaught. It was another ache, smaller this time. At least they never had to see what their leader had become.
He waited for her on what was left of the balcony, the clasp Byleth always used to wear held in one hand. He held it up, red eyes, once green, studying the metalwork with false curiosity. “Do you remember that night in Derdriu?” he asked without preamble. “There was still a war going on, and it was such a stupid thing to do, but I couldn’t help myself. I had longed for you for so long, and in that moment of quiet, when it was just us…” He trailed off, raising his eyes to meet hers.
“I remember,” Byleth responded softly, taking a step closer to him. Her body did not relax, hand still close to her sword. She knew better than anyone to underestimate him. She had done so once, and it had cost her everything. “The first time you said you loved me.”
He grinned at her, full of all the cheek he had always had, but there was something wrong with it now. There was too much malice and none of the mischief Byleth had so cherished in him before. “The first time you let me take this off,” he purred, holding up the clasp.
Byleth frowned in disgust. “Really? That’s where you’re going to take this?”
He shrugged his shoulders, tilting his head back easily to look at the stars overhead. “Why not? Seems we both came here to reminisce. Unless,” he paused, lowering his head once more to level that malicious gaze at her, “you came hoping for something else.”
“Claude.” His name was an ache in her throat. Byleth had allowed herself to say it over the centuries they were at war, but she never allowed herself any emotion connected to it. After Claude’s betrayal, her own folly, she had once more become the Ashen Demon, keeping all of her emotions hidden close to her heart. But here, in front of him, she could not deny what they had once had. Her heart still ached for him. “I never should have given you my blood.”
Claude’s eyes narrowed and he pushed off the railing. “You made that very clear the last time we stood here.” He opened his arms, gesturing to the broken palace around them. “But you did, because you did not want to spend eternity without me. And so you changed me, but now you can’t deal with it.”
“Because it twisted you,” Byleth shot back, the venom in her voice quickly draining away. “Everything you held dear, those dreams you worked so hard for, I was watching them crumble around us.”
Claude clicked his tongue in a noise of disgust. “They weren’t crumbling, By.” That old nickname sent a chill through her, and she fought not to show it on her face. But he read her eyes, still as easily as ever, and he knew. “They just expanded. We were going to open the borders of the entire world.”
“Through fear and bloodshed?” Byleth countered. “That was never the way you wanted peace.”
“The sheep don’t know what they want. You have to lead them.”
And it was that, that repeat of when she knew she had lost him, that had Byleth breathing in a great heaving breath, fighting back the urge to cry. Claude’s face frowned in what one could almost call concern, and he stepped forward, hands raised toward her. When Byleth made no move to pull away, Claude pulled her into his arms, and for the first time in so long Byleth felt warm again. She knew it was stupid, knew this man she had once loved so well was now her enemy, but Byleth was not strong enough to fight the urge to lean against his chest. She pressed her ear against him, listening to the sound of his heartbeat that had so often comforted her. It was slower now than when he was mortal, yet another effect of the powers from her own blood.
They stood together, absorbed in their own memories of the past, until the moon was high overhead. Claude raised his head from where he rested his cheek against the top of her head, and lifted her chin to meet his gaze. There was sorrow and longing there, and if only they were green again, Byleth would have convinced herself that he was back.
His lips brushed against her own chapped ones, pulling her tighter to him when she reciprocated. They still understood each other through that kiss. He clung to her with such desperation upon feeling her loneliness, and she in turn wrapped her arms around his neck at his unwillingness to leave her again. She could feel how broken it left him.
They were breathing heavily when they broke apart, Claude resting his forehead against hers. “It’s not too late,” he whispered. “You can still join me.”
Byleth shook her head, fingers tangled in his cloak as she tried to hold onto him. “I can say the same to you. Would you abandon this conquest if I asked you to?”
Claude was silent so long, face twisting in thought, that it almost gave her hope. But Byleth could see the schemes forming behind those eyes, see as they were quickly discarded. The madness of living too long had gripped her husband, and there was nothing Byleth could do besides end it. She had watched him, denying what she saw for too long, as Claude’s mind had grown wilder. It remained as sharp and dangerous as ever, but she had taken from him part of his humanity, and this was the price she paid for it.
“I can’t,” Claude finally answered. “Once, my dream became yours, and we achieved it together. Why is this so different?”
Byleth sighed, leaning in for one last kiss before she stepped out of the circle of his arms. “Because the man I feel in love with would never soak the world in blood like this. We fought together to stop that very thing so long ago.”
Claude’s eyes hardened again. He let her go without a fight. Byleth caught a glint of starlight off the metal clasp as Claude slipped it back into a pocket. Whatever moment of the past that had gripped him had released its hold. He moved to walk past her, back through the ruins of their home and away from the life they shared, but Byleth called his name once more.
I love you. I never stopped.
“Claude,” she repeated, giving herself time to form the words she wanted. “Tomorrow, let the two of us settle this. We don’t need to involve our armies.”
Claude’s eyebrows raised in surprise, but he seemed intrigued. “Do you really think you can end me yourself?”
Not without ending herself as well, but Byleth was not about to tell him that. “I created what you are now,” she whispered. “That makes it my duty to stop you.”
Claude snorted and shook his head. “You sound like Dimitri.”
Byleth glared at him halfheartedly, knowing he had meant the comment to hurt. But Byleth had long ago come to terms with the loss of her students. They were a dull ache in her chest, one she kept close and private.
Still, Claude pushed back his hair with a sigh, that all too wrong smirk on his lips. “All right, just you and me. We’ll let the new dawn decide the fate of the world.”
This time, Byleth did not stop him as he walked away. She waited until the sound of his footsteps faded before she let herself fall apart. It was the third time in her life she allowed herself to cry like this. Her father, her home, and now her husband.
Byleth walked back into their bedroom, curling up on the sheets of their broken bed. She clung to them, imagining the scent of pine needles and cinnamon upon them.
Claude kissed her fiercely, not even letting go as they fell back onto the sheets. His green eyes sparkled with amusement as Byleth wrapped her legs around him, rolling them over until she could straddle his hips. His eyes were glued to her face, to the smile on her lips and the joy in her eyes. They filled the room with sounds of laughter and passion, this happy space solely for them.
Byleth loved him so much, knew that somehow he loved her just the same.
She could capture this moment, have it for eternity. She had thought about it for a long time, but she knew she could never be without him. The mere thought of that life was too painful.
Byleth leaned down, whispering her question against his lips.
“Claude, would you like to be immortal?”
/
The dawn came, bright and new, shining light on promises that were soon to be shattered.
That did not stop the next one from coming, bringing light to a world that no longer contained legends.