The Bright Star [Fire Emblem: Three Houses AU]

Unveiled (Byleth)

Ever since his last encounter with Rhea, Byleth's life felt oddly different. Byleth didn't notice any changes about himself physically right after waking up, but he always felt emotionally drained and was prone to tiredness easily. Standing up felt more challenging than usual, with him feeling like his chest was pounding.

Byleth went to the infirmary after his encounter with Rhea to rest himself, and he never felt the same since he woke up.

He was greeted with the sight of Rhea, who instantly came over to him seeing that his blue eyes were awakened. "You're awake," Rhea said, gently putting her finger under his chin and lifting up his head to be parallel to her angle. "Are you doing alright?"

Byleth was still laying down, so he didn't notice much pain yet. "Am I supposed to be feeling any pain?" He lifted up his hand to try and push Rhea's fingers away gently, but his hands felt heavy trying to lift them up. It wasn't impossible to lift them up, it just felt more difficult to do so.

Rhea noticed Byleth having trouble and lifted away her fingers. "Oh my," she said. "I never noticed that your hands were injured. Was this a result of you training with Jeralt the other day?"

"I can't tell for certain. Sure, I did accidentally injure my hand training with him the other day, but I feel like I recovered quickly, so I don't think that's the cause." He didn't want to glare, as that would be extremely impolite to Rhea considering that she was the archbishop, but he felt like he did so as he gazed into her eyes, feeling slightly contempt. "This has to have been because of what you did to me in Abyss. I demand you tell me what you did to me."

Rhea looked nervous. "I didn't think this would have any side effects," she said. "I'll take care of you until you recover, sweet child, I promise."

"I appreciate the sympathy, but I would like you to tell me what you did."

Rhea gazed at Byleth with sincerity. "I gave you the Goddess's power, as you agreed to. Your body must be getting used to the power that you have obtained."

"But how did you give me the power of the Goddess? All I can remember is that you put your hand on my shoulder, then the other one towards my chest with the heart of the Goddess, and I saw a bright, white light in my eyes before it faded to nothingness, and I woke up here sometime later to this."

"That's what happens when the Goddess's power that has been resting in magic for years finally finds the right vessel to give its power to. One who knows the secrets of the arcane, in this situation being myself, and one who is eligible to receive the power, in this situation being you, both come together and the arcane-wielding person takes the heart of the Goddess, and uses their magic to transfer the power of the Goddess to you."

"So all of the power of the Goddess Sothis is resting within that heart that you presented with me?"

"Yes, sweet child. I used it to give it to you, and now you have the power resting in your body."

"Will this affect my everyday life in any way?"

"Not that I know of, but I don't think it'll be anything major. To take your mind off of it, why don't you participate in the upcoming ball? There'll be dancing, snacks, and everything else you can think of."

"Perhaps," Byleth said to her as he stood up. Right as he stood up, he felt a sharp, conflicting pain from his chest that prompted him to sit back down, his palm nearly clenching his chest together.

"What's wrong?" Rhea asked him, putting her hand over his shoulder once again.

"I feel pain when I stand up," Byleth said truthfully. "Like my heart is going to burst out of my chest and leave me for dead."

"I'll give you a few days off of work to rest. Thank you for taking in this power and accepting it. You're a savior to Fódlan."

"How will people view me after this? Am I the same person? Will I even be the same person I was before inheriting this power?"

"Surely people will see you the same, if not as a divine being. You were born Crestless, but thanks to this power you have a special Crest that no one else in this world can have genetically."

"There are more Crests?"

"Of course there are more Crests than what you may think. The Goddess works in mysterious ways, giving specific Crests to bloodlines and some Crests to others. Most Crests you may know of were gifted to the allies of Saint Seiros, who became the noble and royal families within the continent of Fódlan. Once they learned that these Crests were genetic and could be passed down from their blood, the children of these holy bloodlines succeeded their parents based on if they had a Crest or not. This is how the world came to be, sweet child. But the Goddess has given special Crests to other bloodlines. House Hresvelg has the Crest of Seiros, but I and many other Church members have the Crest of Seiros. We all share the same blessing that the Goddess gave us, and it unites us all in our divine journey called life."

"I know my father had the Crest of Seiros. Does this mean I have a Crest of Seiros now just like him?"

Rhea shook her head. "Oh, it's a little more complicated than that. Your mother had the same Crest you have now as well."

"My mother had a Crest?"

"Sitri had a very rare Crest indeed. The Crest of Flames, otherwise known as the symbol of the Goddess. The Goddess only bestows her Crest on to very few people, and you're lucky enough to have inherited the power of her Crest."

"So, essentially what you're saying is that I am—"

"Yes, sweet child. You're right. You are the new Goddess of Fódlan— God of Fódlan in this scenario— with this new power you have been gifted."