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-Your POV-

"Beautifully executed, Yuri. The chalice is finally mine now. Along with the blood of the Four Apostles." Aelfirc claps his hands together in a mock applaud, a grim smile smeared across his face.

Not even tears could come to my eyes as I faced an impossible situation that played out in front of my eyes. I grip my stomach where Yuri slashed just a moment ago, surprised to feel that his blade hadn't even grazed my skin. What in the world was going on? Yuri was a... a traitor? Then why hadn't he actually hurt me? Why?

After all that's happened so far, was his only true intention to put me in harm's way and side with a monk whose strive for the Chalice is unexplainable?

"Guess this is the end of the niceties." Yuri's voice snaps me out of my thoughts and I watch as he turns to me, speaking with a gentle smile, "It's all on you now, friend. I'm sure you and the others will figure it out."

With another word, they all teleport away, leaving Byleth, the house leaders, and the students, along with me.

The wayseer from chapter three was right. My love life was doomed with betrayal.

"(Y/n)! Are you injured?" Ashe quickly asks, with Dimitri following right behind him.

"I made it out unscathed," I mumble, my voice low and breathy. I myself didn't believe what just happened.

"Impossible. Surely you suffered a wound." Linhardt comments.

"But I didn't,"

"I see you're well enough to make light of a serious situation. But you clearly were harmed, (Y/N)." Edelgard approaches me.

"There's no time for playing around. Tell us how... Ah, I get it." Claude blinks. "He only pretended to attack you, didn't he? So you were just playing a part in this grand performance. But was that really the smartest decision here?"

"The chalice and the Ashen Wolves are gone. I am afraid to think of what will become of them without our help." Dimitri says.

Hilda exhales. "And how do you propose we pursue them? We haven't a clue where they went."

"Well, we know what they're after. That at least narrows down the possibilities." Claude remarks.

"Professor! Are we too late?" A clear, pleasant voice calls out to Byleth, and the Archbishop arrives, slightly out of breath. She adjusts her long, pale gown and continues, "I began to investigate the lineage of the Ashen Wolves, and in doing so, I was able to confirm something rather alarming."

"What is it?" Byleth asks, sheathing her Sword of the Creator.

"The documented information about their Crests is fake. What was once a wild speculation, I now know to be true. The Crests they bear are the same as those of the Four Apostles -- the very same who long ago enacted the Rite of Rising. Once the blood of the four is poured upon the chalice, its power can be harnessed. I believe we have enough evidence to assume that our Ashen Wolves will suffice to carry out this ritual." The green-haired queen slowly and carefully explains.

"And this Rite of Rising..." I speak up. "It was used to revive a deceased person, was it not?"

"How do you know that?" Lady Rhea's voice turns stern and cold. "That information isn't displayed to the public."

"Aelfric told us," Byleth says plainly.

Claude says, "Aelfric is at the center of this mess, luring the Ashen Wolves to Abyss for his own selfish reasons. Without so much as a whisper of it to the church, of course."

"It appears he wishes to breathe life back into someone, but such incredible power is truly awe-inspiring -- and extremely dangerous. Those involved... Even I cannot foretell what horrible fate they will discover if the ritual fails." Rhea said.

"Lady Rhea, do you have any idea where they could have gone?" I ask, worry increasing by the second.

"I do indeed. Garreg Mach, which is protected by the goddess, is the only place the Rite of Rising can be performed. Holding such a ritual requires absolute focus, so I imagine the setting would need to be serene, peaceful." She pauses to think, and the rest of the group falls into silence.

"There are countless such places within the monastery walls..." Dimitri frowns.

Suddenly, it dawns on me. Where was the place Yuri asked me to go for our date...? Right. The Holy Mausoleum.

"Hey, (Y/N)?" Hilda glances at me as she speaks, "You look like you have something to say. What's wrong?"

I reluctantly tilt my head up and address everyone, "I know where they're at. It's the Holy Mausoleum."

"How could you possibly know that for sure?" Byleth asks.

"It's just... Yuri, um, well, he told me to meet up with him there." I admit, remembering the vivid moment he asked me to go on a date with him. "Right after twelve at night, and no earlier, if I recall correctly."

"I'm certain that Yuri had his reasons for setting up this meeting. He took the time to speak with you, however cryptically, before he left." Dimitri notes.

"Fair point, Dimitri. I do wonder why he told you it needed to be after midnight. Wouldn't it be better to rush to their aid immediately?" Edelgard tilts her head.

Claude shakes his head and adds, "Yuri's no fool. There's a method to his madness..."

-Yuri's POV-

"Where the heck are we?" Hapi grunts, struggling to break free of the thick ropes bound to her as well as two of her classmates, Constance and Balthus. The bonds were digging into her and the others' flesh ever so slightly, but not drawing a single drop of blood.

The three glance up without taking in their surroundings, gaze making a beeline for me, as I stand over my fellow Ashen Wolves, an unreadable expression plastered on my purposefully blank face.

"Finally, you're all awake. Good morning, sleepyheads. Or is it a good evening?" I tell them, fingering my lavender hair.

Constance speaks first, her voice strained in hatred, "Yuri! You traitor! You are unfit to speak to us, the liar that you are!"

I pout, saying, "Yeah, yeah, liar, blah-blah. Nothing I haven't heard before."

"Look, pal, enough beating around the bush. What exactly are you trying to accomplish here? Where's Aelfric? And what the heck are you plotting?" Balthus spat, also frantically trying to loosen the ropes that tied his large arms behind his back.

"Questions, questions. You're wearing me out, Balthus." I scoff. "Fine, then. I'll lay it out for you. Aelfric intends to reenact the Rite of Rising. He's preparing everything as we speak."

"Why do this silly ritual anyway?" Hapi asks with a firm frown.

I explain with a speck of hesitation, "Well, by offering up the blood of the Four Apostles in the chalice, you can bring someone back to life. It was performed almost a thousand years ago, but not enough blood was given up. So the ritual was a bust. No clue what happened after that. And now, through extreme persistence, Aelfric found and gathered the four of us, with our Crests. All of it to ensure a successful ritual -- the Rite of Rising."

"You mean to say that he intends to drain our blood? To kill us?! Such an act would be unforgivable! An atrocity! I mustn't die here!" Constance sobs.

"Yeah, that sounds painful... and permanent. Count me out." Hapi gasps, "Hang on -- the number four includes you too, right? So you're gonna die too?"

"Yep. That's the idea." Came the dreaded response from me, and yes, I uttered such a horrible thing without much of a reaction. Didn't I care about my life? Sure, just as much as the next person. But there simply was something the others didn't know. I was going to muddle everyone out of this myself, and of course, with (Y/N). I was heavily relying on the backup she would bring -- if she would only remember the date I asked her on.

In all honesty, I regret requesting such a ridiculous thing, only to use her for reinforcements. Part of me really, really wanted to go on that date... but that wasn't the objective here.

"And here I thought we were close, but all this time you've been sneaking around, deceiving us. It hurts, Boss. Hurts bad. You wanna die, that it? Fine. I'll kill you myself. Just stop that crafty nonsense of yours and face me, fist to fist." Balthus demands, thick eyebrows furrowing.

"Shut it. I've lived through heck and worse. After clawing my way here, you really think I want to die."

"Then why throw your life away for the likes of Aelfric?" Balthus shouts. "You're not making any dang sense! What about your girlfriend?"

"My... what?" I flinched, startled at the remark.

"You're dating (Y/N), correct?" Constance tilts her head.

"I thought you guys had been together for a little while now," Hapi adds. "So, don't die. She still would want you to be alive, trust me."

"I'm not dating-"

My pathetic protests were interrupted once Aelfric walked in and put a hand on my shoulder. "Yuri, stop this pointless banter."

"Precisely what is it you are hoping to accomplish, Aelfric?" Constance cuts to the chase.

"To resurrect someone I lost long ago -- no matter the cost. Surely there are those for whom you'd do similar." The ever-humble monk answers.

"Perhaps... Even so, never would we annihilate those we care for!" Constance insists.

Aelfic smiles serenely, a daydream reflecting in his eyes. "There's nothing I wouldn't do, nobody I wouldn't trade to see the light in her eyes once more..."

He draws back an enormous velvet curtain to reveal a pale, pale woman lying on a pedestal, hands folded across her chest. Her lengthy locks of teal-ish green hair cascaded to the ground around her, framing her immaculate face. She donned a simple but bright white dress that fit her form exactly. Her eyelids were closed, as if she was merely sleeping, rather than passed on.

"Whoa... that lady looks real dead, pal." Balthus comments. He wasn't wrong. The woman that lay before them was very clearly deceased.

"She is... for now," Aelfric says wistfully.

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Word count: 1716 words