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-Your POV-

"Professor. You would raise your sword against me? Your mother lies here, waiting for us. Waiting for you! Don't you want her back?" Aelfric continues to insist, voice weakening as his strength dwindles.

"Hey, Teach, is that true, or is he just trying to freak us out? If so... it's kind of working." Claude mumbles.

"As I said, I haven't met my mother." Byleth frowns, taking a longer look at the gorgeous woman who was placed daintily on the marble pedestal, serene as if she were merely sleeping.

"It's her." Aelfric grumbles. "I would know. How I've longed to see her speak once more, after twenty-one long years..."

"And you think that after so many years, someone would still be in such pristine continuation?" Dimitri asks in uncertainty.

"Incredible, isn't it? It's as though she remains untouched, even after all these years... Perhaps her body differs from others. Beautiful, ageless..."

"Halt, Aelfric," a soothing voice carries across the bloodshed as Archbishop Rhea strides in, her perfectly peaceful and steady demeanor making everyone freeze.

"You!" The monk barked angrily, "It's your fault she died, you wretched witch-!"

"I owe you no words on the matter." Lady Rhea held her head high.

Aelfric's eyebrows furrow. "Oho! You expect that I should believe you without question?! You see her lying here before you, and yet you 'owe no words.' Rhea, I am done with you. The only thing that remains to be done is to complete the ritual." Without another sentence uttered, he warps away, taking his remaining men and the dead woman along with him.

Not a single second of silence passes before everyone's voices rise to a sharp, panicked tone.

"Hurry, he couldn't have gotten far!" Rhea shouts over the din.

"Let's go!" Byleth quickly agrees.

"What about you four? You don't look like you're up for much of anything right now." I comment in concern, taking in their clenched teeth and paling skin, all because of the severe blood loss each had suffered.

"It'll take a lot more than that to stop me. If anything, I feel speedier with less blood weighing me down." Yuri tells me standing up on wobbling legs, but immediately placing a hand on my shoulder for support.

"Probably for the best that he drained us, otherwise our blood would be boiling." Balthus chuckles, though relies on a guiding hand from Hilda to get on his feet.

"Ugh, speak for yourselves. I feel atrocious. We must end this, and swiftly." Constance disagrees, putting her hands on her hips.

"At least I can stand. Frankly, I'm only a bit queasy." Hapi nods.

"I know where he'll be. Follow me." Rhea says, and we all as a multitude take off as fast as our legs can carry us, further behind the looming stone wall of the Monastery.

The Archbishop leads us to another enormous, marble cathedral, and when we all enter, a full view of Sitri's body can be seen. She's gently laid at the top of the stairs to the altar at the back of the room, the golden Chalice in her slender hands. Aelfric kneels in front of her, gaze never leaving her pale face.

"Aelfric, stop this at once." Lady Rhea commands, stepping closer.

"It is too late. The chalice is filled to its brim with the blood of the four. Should their blood prove insufficient, I will spill even my own blood to finish this."

"No, don't do it! This is horrible!" I shout, my voice echoing in the dim hall.

Aelfric doesn't seem to hear my pleas, instead leaning closer to the woman, murmuring, "I am here by your side, Sitri. Stiri... Si... tri..." Aelfric chokes and he crumples over, eyes dull as a blank slate.

In a flash of bright light erupting from the chalice, the sudden illumination blinds us momentarily, but when my eyes snap open again, all that can be seen occupying the large chamber is a demonic beast-like monster.

The creature growls and spits, violently shaking its head and sputtering in a deep, grumbling voice, "SITRI!"

"He... merged with the chalice and my mother?" Byleth exclaims quietly to herself.

"The Chalice of Beginnings absorbed them!" Rhea cries in horror.

"Is this really happening?" I step back, craning my neck in a futile attempt to see to the top of the barbaric beast. "That's... Aelfric?!"

Constance grimaces. "Oh dear, it does seem like some kind of lousy joke."

"So this is the Rite of Rising? Quite the dangerous ritual, if you ask me..." Yuri notes, expression betraying just as much astonishment and terror as the rest of us in the group.

"He's never going to be normal again, is he? For all those years, he tried to make this happen -- to bring her back -- only to lose himself. That's pretty awful." Hapi frowns.

"He made his choice. All we can do is accept it. Let's do all of us a favor and take him out real quick-like, yeah?" Balthus asks.

"We'll help too." Claude gestures to the students, speaking for all of the house leaders.

"Yes, you can rely on us until the very end," Dimitri adds.

"Time to lower the curtain on this unfortunate tale." Edelgard sighs.

"Let's do this," Professor Byleth solemnly shoots out a hand, and we charge forth, wielding any weapon we had accessible -- whether it was a spear, bow, or magic of any sort, every unit available fought to the end.

Soldiers from the Church of Serios eventually even came to our aid, and to their beloved Archbishop, of course. With the help of them and my fellow students, we all begin to chip away at the thing's huge health bar.

Before we even get far, however, the umbral beast summons a phantom-like monk. When I approach it, I shriek and flinch backward, pointing a trembling finger at the husk of a pale antagonist we all knew far too well now.

Aelfric.

A hand is placed on my shoulder. "Is that... who I think it is?" Yuri mumbles under his breath, just as shaken as I was at the sight of the man.

"No, it is an illusion," Linhardt concludes from several feet behind me. "But it does look just like him."

"I'm not sure I can fight him... even if it's not truly him," Yuri says softly by my side.

"Now worries -- I can!" Hilda jumps out from my left and hacks at the man with one of her iron axes. "Now, keep fighting!"

"Right," I reply, nodding in unison with the lavender-haired male beside me.

Only a bit more was needed, and our Professor rushed deep into the bloody fray, destroying every enemy who engaged in a battle with her. Sweat poured down my neck and hands like a river, and the grip I had on my blade's handle almost faltered once or twice, but I made it.

Everyone was severely out of breath and beaten down to their limits, but the Professor continued to push through, heading straight for the winged behemoth.

With a mighty leap, she plunged her glowing sword into the colossal titan's bone mask of a face, shattering it to bits. She continued to slash mercilessly at the monstrosity of a creature until its oversized limbs lay limp and unmoving on the floor, its blood spilling into the flooring's cracks.

And still, her face was her usual uninterested, empty stare as her gaze swept the mess. "Good work," Byleth tells us once turning to meet our gaze, weapon coated in blood as it sinks to the floor.

"Is this what you do when you tell me it was a team effort in your monthly reports?!" Lady Rhea admonishes.

"Not important,"

"Nevertheless, it is finished. Well done, everyone. Because of you, her restless soul has finally found peace. Professor... I imagine you have much on your mind. I'm certain you all do." The serene Archbishop retains her calm demeanor.

"My mother..." Byleth whispers though Rhea doesn't hear.

"Boss," Balthus interrupts, "Tell me, was ol' Aelfric really just using us all this time?"

"How would I know? He always acted that way around me, like we were tools for him, but I suppose he could've meant well at first." Yuri responds, returning his weapon.

"What's done is done," Hapi says firmly, hopping off her horse.

"I guess so," I sigh, making my way to Yuri's side again, clothes soiled and torn like the others, the heat of war chewed us up and spit us out, ragged, to the dirt ground. "I'm just so glad it's finally over."

"Heh... Anyway, what do you figure will happen to Abyss? The church will want to step in, no doubt." Hapi says.

"After everything that's happened, things can't stay the same. The church will probably assign an official to oversee things. Hopefully whoever they choose knows how to get along with Abyssians well." Yuri explains -- a tinge of sorrow could be heard in his tone.

I reach out and interlace his hand in mine, a hopeful smile on my face as I tell him, "Let's worry about that another time. I'm sure it'll all work out just fine."

"I'm with you. I hurt in places I didn't even know could hurt." Hapi agrees along with Constance, and I sympathize. Every muscle in my body ached and throbbed. I doubt I'd want to get up for a solid week after this.

"It has been a terribly long night, indeed. One I won't ever forget." Constance says dreamily, though exhaustion is written all over her expression.

We all turn silently in unison, the door of the chapel thrown open by remaining soldiers, and a strong curtain of pure, unfiltered sunlight pours into the room, lighting up all our faces as we step out into a new, better dawn.

"It has been a terribly long night, Constance." Yuri laughs, grasp on my hand tightening as we all breathe an inhale of raw and hard-earned relief. "But also a beautiful morning."

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Word count: 1674 words