All This Time

The Wonders of Divine Pulse

Time stopped.

.parC.

"!mih dellik uoy ,hcaeT"

.mih htaenrednu tuo evig ot nageb sgel s'yob eht sa deifirroh ,demialcxe edualC "!EHSA" .ecaf sih no feilebsid fo kool a htiw edalb eht gnidloh,dekohc eH .hcamots s'ehsA hguorht decreip ti sa gnicniw ,sdrawrof drows reh tsurht ehS .ehsA sdrawot dna edualC sdrawot ,sdrawrof hsur flesreh tlef htelyB-

I have no other choice.

This time, She swung her sword out, watching as it creaked into a menacing whip form. Byleth quickly flung it forwards, concentrating on making sure she'd hit her target. The sword wrapped around Ashe's bow, flinging it out of his hands.

Byleth let out a sigh, satisfied with her decision. However, she didn't expect him to come charging towards her with only his arrows, and Ashe desperately tried to stab her. Byleth dodged each blow, gritting her teeth as one of his arrows manages to scrape her. Unable to draw another conclusion, Byleth grimaced as she was forced to run her sword through Ashe's chest.

This is ridiculous.

.suolucidir si sihT.

.tsehc s'ehsA hguorht drows reh nur ot decrof saw ehs sa decamirg htelyB ,noisulcnoc rehtona ward ot elbanU .reh eparcs ot seganam sworra sih fo eno sa hteet reh gnittirg ,wolb hcae degdod htelyB .reh bats ot deirt yletarepsed ehsA dna,sworra sih ylno htiw reh sdrawot gnigrahc emoc ot mih tcepxe t'ndid ehs ,revewoH .noisiced reh htiw driftsitas ,hgis a tuo tel htelyB-

Byleth didn't waste anytime once she had disarmed Ashe. She ignored her pounding headache, trying to spit the words out of her mouth quicker.

"Ashe, are you really willing to fight me, fight us!?" Byleth asked him, holding her sword defensively. Knowing that he was desperate to come at them with almost no weapon, Byleth didn't drop her guard for one moment.

"I-"

"Lonato wouldn't want you to die trying to fight us!" Claude reminded him of his late 'father'. "Ashe, the Church of Seiros was wrong. I know that. We all know that. But do you know what's worse? Not fighting against those who are spreading needless bloodshed! Do you want Edelgard to be successful when all she's done is killed!?"

"I...I just want to help..." They could see Ashe's resolve wavering. Good.

"Knights are meant to retain honor and chivalry. Help us fight a war, help us win a war against a tyrant!"

"...C-Can I really do that?" Ashe questioned, a doubtful look on his face. "How could you even trust me...?"

"I don't know," Claude replied simply. "But I have a gut feeling that I can trust you."

"...Okay," Ashe relented. He fell to his knees, a distraught look on his face. "...But I can't come with you."

"What?"

"...I'm going to go clean up the mess I left behind," Ashe explained, a disheartened expression placated on his features. "I'll take my leave, then. Thank you. You both could have easily killed me."

"There's really nothing we can do to persuade you to join us?" Byleth tried one last time to recruit him. He shook his head from side to side, and Byleth sighed. "Goodbye, then."

"Farewell, Professor, Claude..."

"Take care," Claude advised, scanning the area around them diligently. They were still in a battle, after all! Ashe scampered away, and Claude carefully aimed his bow towards more soldiers.

Byleth's heart was still racing from the adrenaline of needing to use Divine Pulse. Her head was aching slightly, but the pain would subside in a moment. As long as Byleth could keep moving or fighting, she knew she'd be able to distract herself long enough to be okay.

They advanced further, taking out more and more soldiers. Hilda rather impressively swung her axe atop her wyvern, swooping down to take out her enemies in one fell blow. Byleth joined her student, blasting powerful fire magic from her hands to take out an enemy closing in on Hilda. Claude smirked as he scouted the area further ahead.

"Ah, Judith is here! We have to hurry to her. She's strong in battle, but better to be safe than sorry."

"Judith..."

Byleth was kind of worried about meeting Claude's friend. What if Judith hated her? Would Claude abandon her, taking his mentor's advice?

No, he wouldn't. Are you crazy?

"Let's finish this," Claude told her, a determined look in his eyes. "Are you ready, Teach? Anyone trying to hurt Judith is not going to get away. If you have to kill someone, only kill the commander. Understood?"

Byleth nodded, a grave look on her face. Killing was like second nature to her, but Claude wanted to pave a new path forward. A peaceful one. They had already spared Ashe, why not save as many lives as possible?

"Okay. Understood."

Gritting her teeth, Byleth braced her weapon and jumped into the fray. They needed to save Judith? So be it.

She'd fight as hard as she could to end the battle as quick as possible.

hope you're all enjoying :) HAPPY NEW YEAR!

me: has writers block

also me: has 40 published parts in this book (and more in drafts)

i need help.

thanks for reading!