Chapter Text
She had been hearing the rumors for weeks.
It started by word of mouth. Lost hikers had reported seeing a set of glowing red eyes in the dark of night that followed them along the path before fading away. Teenagers wandering the forest were sent scrambling home after hearing loud, thundering footsteps of an impossibly large creature coming closer and closer.
Tales of a great beast roaming the mountainsides with talons sharper than a blade and skin darker than midnight had reached the news outlets soon enough. Across the continent, there was a lot of speculation rapidly spreading and people venturing to the forests trying to track down the beast.
It was all too much for Byleth’s liking.
She pulled her scarf up to shield her face from the wind, which only seemed to grow stronger as she continued her trek through the forest. With each step, her boots sank further into the mud below.
It was a long hike. The last person who had reported a sighting of the beast was found days later on the side of the road with no further recollection of what had happened other than the feeling of large claws wrapped around their torso. Byleth had done her best to retrace their steps through the forest. She hoped she would have run into the beast by now, but the only thing she had seen was a startled deer.
But if there was any chance the rumors were true, then Byleth needed to find out. If this was what she suspected…
It had been so long. She just wanted to see her again.
Byleth shook her head to dislodge the emotions starting to build. She couldn't jump to any conclusions just yet. She needed to see it with her own eyes first.
There was a clearing up ahead. Rain continued to fall as she pushed through the opening in the thicket. Twigs snapped underfoot as she walked, remnants of the now broken branches up above.
It was then that she saw it. The footprints in the ground, left by something much larger than a human. Something had been here.
Someone.
And they frequented this spot, judging by the path beginning to wear into the muddy earth.
Byleth slowly approached a particularly large footprint which had sunken into the dirt to form a shallow crater. She knelt in front of it. Her hand moved to brush at the black residue that lay atop the dirt. A smoky smell lingered in the air as she picked it up.
Dead skin.
It was rough against her fingers, but also delicate. The skin turned to dust and faded into the air a moment after she touched it.
But the smell still lingered.
It was smokey and rotten. Powerful dark magic remained in the air even as the dead skin dissolved. A weight settled onto her and Byleth felt the hairs at the back of her neck stand on end.
It all felt familiar. She had been in this exact situation many years ago, and the memory had burned itself into the back of her mind.
“It’s true…” Byleth whispered to herself, her mind suddenly swimming with millions of possibilities.
Thud.
Her head snapped up as a loud rumbling began to sound in the distance. The trees swayed and groaned as branches snapped and fell to the ground. Birds startled as they flew into the sky and away from their shelter from the rain.
Something that sounded like footsteps grew louder and louder as something approached her. Someone was coming to defend their territory.
She heard the rock before she even saw the attacker.
It soared through the air, whisking past her at a breathtaking speed. She had been in enough fights to realise it was a warning shot. The next one would be more than just a graze against her cheek.
She couldn’t remember the last time she had been in a fight, but years of honed muscle memory came back quickly as she rolled to the side to avoid the next boulder.
It would have crushed her where she stood had she been a millisecond slower.
Red eyes peered at her through the thicket before disappearing again. Byleth thought she heard a huff of annoyance, or perhaps it had been a growl, before dark magic erupted from clawed hands.
Byleth was forced further back and towards the end of the clearing. The magic grazed against her coat sleeve but this fight felt familiar. The dead skin, the feeling of being watched, and the impossible strength. Each tuck and roll in an attempt to dodge was performed with a practiced ease, but Byleth had not had to do them in a very long time…
Her suspicions had been correct then.
She had found her.
“Wait!” Byleth shouted through the rain. “I don’t want to fight you!”
She was met with another boulder soaring towards her instead of a proper response.
Had she not heard her? Or perhaps she could not see her in the darkness and through the rain?
Byleth had not brought any weapons aside from the dagger at her belt. But she didn’t come here to fight.
She couldn’t keep dodging either. It was only a matter of time until one blow hit. It had been years since she’d fought like this, and she had a feeling that one blow would be enough to take her down.
But maybe that was exactly what she needed.
Byleth skidded to halt on the edge of the clearing. Her eyes squinted as rain fell upon her face and she urged time to slow down. A blast of magic came at her and this time she was ready for it. She traced its trajectory and knew where her assailant hid.
She dashed forward, zigzagging through the trees as more dark magic and boulders were thrown at her. And still, she ran directly towards where the red eyes watched her.
She heard a growl, a low sound emitting from a large mass, as a tree was unrooted with one strong arm. It came swinging at her, but Byleth was gone before the blow could land.
She jumped forward onto the oncoming tree trunk, but she still did not counterattack. She just needed to make her assailant think that she would.
Her dagger remained sheathed on her belt as she pounced towards the glowing red eyes, and Byleth thought she saw a flash of recognition in them.
As she flew through the air, a large clawed hand came up to intercept her. It did not swing for her, instead stopping short and hovering in mid air as if it had been restrained at the last moment.
Byleth smacked into it. The impact knocked the breath out of her, but she fell to the ground with less force than she had been anticipating.
The giant, blackened hand immediately reached out towards her. It dug into the earth below and trapped her underneath. Exactly what Byleth wanted as the face of the hand’s owner appeared above.
Tears pricked her eyes at what she saw.
“It’s you,” Byleth said.
“It’s me,” Edelgard grumbled back.