1Chapter 1: Routes
His first life was very boring. There was nothing and no one who could light the fire of his soul. He only felt apathy every time the blood of his enemies stained his weapon and many times his body. It was in that life that he met that strange mercenary… Shezia.
He defeated her and in the end spared her life. Not out of pity or mercy, he had simply found someone who could rival him in the future. Shez was very mysterious, especially because of that strange transformation that she had...
Leaving her alive was a mistake that cost him his life years later. He had underestimated her and as a consequence he hadn't shown her his full power. The fear of death came too late, just as Shezia's sword pierced through his heart.
His second life was just a little different. Of course he didn't know that he had gone back in time. He only knew he had the feeling that he was reliving something.
He met Shezia again and let her life again. However this time Shezia and him became friends ... and much more over time. There was still something strange. A feeling of disagreement that didn't let him rest at night.
Something wasn't right. The continent, those who slither in the dark, the three lords, Rhea… How did he know this mysterious woman? And why was the girl in her soul crying?
The Black Eagles
Involuntarily and without knowing how, Byleth went back in time again. In an attempt to find out what was wrong and fix it. His memory disappeared again but not that internal discomfort.
His third life was very different from the previous ones. This time his emotions resurfaced more easily. Unfortunately most were negative emotions. The apathy was almost gone, replaced by a lust for blood and a worthy rival.
Shezia wasn't that rival, even with her weird transformation, so he killed her. That changed things completely although he never knew it.
He met Claude, Dimitri and Edelgard. He was involved in political plots and wars. In the end he chose the path of Edelgard, the Fire Empress, as she was the only one of the three who would give him what his inner demon sought. Perhaps the death of Jeralt, his father, clouded his judgment quite a bit...
The Black Eagles had the potential to reach great heights in their lives, but they lacked the necessary knowledge and guidance. Byleth was willing to give them all of that and more. Thanks to him they became a death squad, killing anyone who stood in the way of a fairer world. Although Linhardt never seemed to agree entirely with such carnage.
The war wasn't even over when he asked Edelgard to marry him. They had formed a new empire whose pillars were the corpses of hundreds of innocents. There were many loose ends, and his beloved students were nothing more than imperial puppets who hardly ever questioned Edelgard's half-truths…or Hubert's. Ironic, because apparently Edelgard was someone else's puppet too...
Byleth didn't care about all that. Kronya, her father's killer was dead and a burning Fódlan was a fit place for a demon. Even so, there was still something strange... Stranger than fighting alongside someone who hated the very goddess that lived inside of her...
Manipulation, kidnapping, murder, genocide, the extinction of the descendants of the Goddess, the brutal deaths of Claude, Dimitri and Rhea… Rhea, that monster who controlled the continent with tricks for her own amusement, because she believed herself superior to humans… Right?
The Blue Lions
That discomfort increased with the days until it became unbearable, so he went back in time again, knowing that his memories would disappear but not his new feelings.
He killed Shezia again, but this time he chose Dimitri's path. He didn't know why but there was something about Edelgard that he didn't like. A blinding determination. Dimitri, on the other hand, was much calmer and given to diplomacy, at least it seemed that way because his eyes hid something that Byleth couldn't identify.
The Blue Lions were chivalrous to the death, following the ideals of justice, loyalty, and kindness. Yet they lacked the power and guidance to carry out those ideals. Byleth was willing to give them all of that and more. Thanks to him they became a squad of legendary knights, defending anyone who threatened to destroy the status quo. Although Felix never seemed to fully agree with these ideals.
During the war, Byleth was able to see firsthand how the darkness that Dimitri hid obscured his judgment, turning him into a bloodthirsty monster obsessed with killing Edelgard.
His inner demons caused unnecessary deaths and various tragedies, but thanks to his friends, Dimitri managed to push back that darkness. But like Dedue said, the darkness would always be there, lurking...
The final battle against Edelgard wasn't something glorious and exciting. It was sad to see how that silver-haired woman had turned into a black-winged demon, consumed by her stubbornness and her inability to see any other path than her own.
The life of the human who accepted the darkness was cut short by the human who rejected it. It was almost poetic…almost.
Fódlan's future had been saved. The weddings of Byleth with Mercedes and Dimitri with Catherine covered up a fact that many preferred to ignore: The Empire and the Alliance, which were very different cultures, were going to be assimilated into Dimitri's new kingdom whether they liked it or not. Over time they would learn the values of the kingdom and how being conquered would make them much happier. Of course no one mentioned that the Agarthans were still alive and loose all over the continent.
The Golden Deer
His fifth life was pretty fun, as fun as it can be when you're fighting for the fate of a continent. But it was impossible not to be amused when you chose Claude's rather irregular and confusing path.
It was hard to know what was going through that charismatic head. Even Byleth had to be careful not to get carried away by the enthusiasm of this golden deer. A pity that men weren't among Claude's tastes... Yes, those kinds of thoughts were normal when you spent too much time by his side.
The Golden Deer were a very chaotic group to say the least. They had no unity or a common goal and their philosophy was: "Each one to their own and without bothering the others." Byleth taught them to see beyond their own problems and dreams. Thanks to him they became one of the most united groups willing to use their dreams to change the world for the better. Although Raphael… Well, the truth is that the muscular young man spent all his time trying to help others.
On the other hand, Claude's curiosity and his eagerness to get to the bottom of things, something he didn't seem to want to do so much when Shezia was his friend, was what led them to discover the truth behind Fódlan, the children of the Goddess, the sacred weapons, the Ten Elites, the evil Nemesis being a thief manipulated by snakes, ect...
All the secrets were revealed by Rhea after being confronted by Claude. Such secrets would only be known to a few, for they had the power to destroy all the pillars on which the cultures of Fódlan stood.
Killing those who slither in the dark and the zombie of Nemesis after a divine battle was the first of many gifts from the Golden Deer to Claude and his wife Hilda's new kingdom. Byleth and Shamir's wedding was another.
Still, Byleth couldn't help thinking that if he'd only known all those secrets, he might have changed things. Did Edelgard know all this? He doubted it, surely she had been manipulated just like everyone else in Fódlan. If only diplomacy were stronger than the sword…but in that medieval culture blood was the only thing its inhabitants seemed to think about. At least Claude was a regent more than willing to listen to other cultures and break down the barriers of prejudice.
The Church
He couldn't see the ghosts of the past that with their chains bound Dimitri and dragged him into the shadows of madness. He failed to see Edelgard's obsession with reaching the light of the future at the end of the tunnel, not realizing that behind it was a great darkness about to consume her. He couldn't see how Claude put a blindfold on the present to avoid seeing what he left behind, not realizing that he couldn't see what was ahead either.
Yet in this life he retained something other than memories. Edelgard's tenacity, Dimitri's kindness, and Claude's curiosity. All those gifts from Byleth's past lives stayed with him forever. And it was those gifts that helped him in his sixth life.
He chose Edelgard again, but this time he went with his instincts and didn't entirely trust in his best and brightest student. Perhaps if he had spent more time with her, he would have seen the darkness behind her judicious gaze.
This time something even more fascinating happened. He met the motley group of renegades from society called the Ashen Wolves, which led him to learn the secret of his late mother. And without knowing it, that contributed to the fact that what little remained of his mask of apathy was completely broken… that and his relationship with Rhea. Those mornings and afternoons when they had tea together. Those nights when they talked endlessly about the Goddess, the Church and the emblems…
When Rhea asked him to finish off Edelgard, the answer was clear. A resounding yes. Edelgard was in league with the murderers of his brave father Jeralt, with the kidnappers of the sweet Flayn, and with the bandits who tried to kill Dimitri and Claude…Although if it hadn't been for Byleth, the bandits would have killed Edelgard too…No, definitely that hadn't been a good plan.
Perhaps that failed plan was the reason why he underestimated his former student. Edelgard was well prepared for war and her sinister allies even more so. For five years Fódlan was devastated by the fire eagle and the shadow snake. Even Rhea was defeated and trapped in the heart of the Empire.
Still, hope in the form of Byleth came and ended the darkness that gripped the continent. With him, the ecclesiastical forces and the black eagles defeated the Empire and brought death to those who had provoked such a war. Mercy was never an option when Byleth came face to face with his brightest and most promising former student.
Saving Rhea was a relief to the heart of the former demon. Still, the terrors the archbishop had suffered took their toll, and she ended up becoming a monster that almost devastated the entire continent. Delivering the final blow was Byleth's most painful moment. Luckily, Rhea survived and her recovery was more than successful.
The agarthans were dead. Rhea was alive, Claude was alive…But Dimitri and Edelgard weren't. Even so, their deaths would not hinder the birth of the new united kingdom of Fódlan, to which must be added the long-awaited wedding between the new king and the archbishop.
However, his soul continued to cry. So many deaths and so many sacrifices… Why? Wasn't there a way for everyone to be united against the real enemy. If Edelgard hadn't been so naive and stubborn, if Rhea had told the lords the truth, if Dimitri hadn't fallen into darkness, if Claude had been more proactive…
It was at that moment that he realized that he really could change destiny. He only had to retain his memories when he went back in time. It was a long shot, and it might be the first and last time he could perform such a miracle.
Was he willing to risk everything to save them all? His life with Rhea being king of a continent was very tempting, but he had to stop the war. He had to tell everyone the truth. He could do it even though it hurt his soul to part with his loved ones.
Golden Route
Five years had passed since Byleth arrived at the monastery. One since the war with the Agarthans ended. Byleth didn't know what the future held for him, he only knew that he had made it, he had saved them all… Shezia included.