Azura dies at the hands of Hinoka’s blade, spear crashing through her stomach like a piece of meat.

Elise’s scream of terror pierces the air as she lifts her staff. Magic pours from the top of the Mend stave, swirling around Azura’s corpse as it falls to the floor, but to no avail; Azura is dead, their songstress’ last words echoing in the distance like a sad refrain. Elise barely has time to dodge a footsoldier’s Naginata, the tip of the spear narrowly missing her shoulder as her horse carries her away just in time.

Anger crosses Corrin’s eyes as she stares her sister down, hand on her Dragonstone as she brims with rage. There’s one thing she must do, even if it means having to later face much, much worse.

She grips her Yato, closes her eyes, and waits for the battle to restart.

It’s a strange power, one that she’s never quite known what to do with, and very mercurial, to say the least. But Corrin has come to realize she can go back to the start of a battle once she’s in the midst of it: to chart a new course of attack, or to take a different path that will lead them to certain victory. She shuts her eyes, feels the life drain out of her, and lets her body fall to the ether and the calling of an unknown force.

When she wakes up she’ll be back at Fort Corrin, counting weapons and checking staves, protected by the early break of sunlight and the knowledge that her friends are all here with her, safe. Charging into battle a second time will be equally hard, and she treads with care as to ensure she will not be too fatigued to come out alive herself, but at least she has this power.

None of her friends will die in this fight, not on her watch.

“So, Hinoka killed me.”

Azura’s smile is soft, serene as she slips her shoes off, as is customary before entering a house in Hoshido. She is surprisingly calm for someone who has been told that she was killed in their last fight, and Corrin feels her breath hitch in her throat. She nods, hurrying after Azura and taking her boots off as well.

“Yeah. She killed you, so I reset the battle and made sure you lived. Silas—he died in the next one, and I started again,” she says, shuddering at the thought of her childhood friend’s head being lobbed off by a sharp katana. She squeezes her eyes shut, trying to erase the thought from her mind. Losing Azura was bad enough. Having to watch Silas die in such a gruesome way would cause her to toss and turn with nightmares for weeks to come. Though Silas is here and Azura is here, next to her right now as she hops onto the bed. Azura stretches out a hand for Corrin to take, which she does, gladly. Corrin sighs.

“It sounds crazy, but it’s true. I haven’t told anyone else but you, because I’m worried that they might get careless, or scared, or not believe me, or,” Before she can say more, Azura leans in, sealing the distance between the two of them with a kiss. She smiles softly, and all the knots in Corrin’s stomach melt in a pile of goo.

“I understand, and I’m sorry you had to see that. Your secret is safe with me.”

There are limits to her powers. Corrin can only reset when she’s in the midst of a battlefield; she learned this the hard way after killing Shura, his blood staining her callused hands. Guilt weighed down on her for week upon week, suffocating her like a heavy blanket.

Certain things have been set in stone, and fate would never be so kind to let her reverse them.

Corrin screams Lilith’s name into the distance, holding her human form in shaking arms. She tries to close her eyes, fall into the distance and reset, reset this battle so she reaches her dragon friend in time, but the darkness does not swirl around her, consume her like she wants. No, she is on top of the Forbidden Stairway, Xander and Azura running up to her as she shows them Lilith’s lifeless body. Corrin falls to her knees, tears streaming down her face, crying about how unfair it all is, how awful it is that the dragon who granted her this new life cannot be saved to see it unfold.

Azura holds her as she sobs, petting her back and whispering that it’ll be okay.

The grim creature in front of her is hardly like the Takumi she knew, even for the brief amount of time they were acquainted. Not with its hollowed eyes and slurring voice, with its passionless chants of death and murder, carried across the room by shadow and purple smoke. She grits her teeth, steeling herself as she charges forward, prepared to fight.

There’s no saving Takumi. No turning back time, no returning to the past to tell him that she loves him, always loved him even if she didn’t know he existed, and would never stop loving him even if he was already dead.

She raises her Yato, pushing it through the chest of her brother’s husk.

Azura’s song rings through her ears, loud and clear. Corrin pulls her sword out as the monster falls, eyes stained with tears of inevitability and the knowledge that she cannot prevent what is to happen next.

Azura must die. Some things are destined to happen, and this is one of them. Azura must die for the beast to be quelled; only one song can save the world, even if it means her wife will perish at its flame. Corrin knows this, and has known this since she stepped on the final battleground. It would be unfair to everyone she’s fought with, fought for to deny them a new lease at life, even if it means giving up her own. Azura’s own.

Her hands lace themselves into Azura’s one last time as they look down upon Takumi’s corpse, watching as his soul is freed, fire and passion and an archer’s keen eye being released to the great beyond.

Corrin meets her lover’s gaze. She stands on her tiptoes to give Azura one last kiss to the forehead, callused hands lacing into hers before Azura starts to fade away in a cloud of stars and blue smoke, the last words of a bitter song echoing in the distance. She disappears like the final wisps of a Thunder spell: there one moment, and gone the next.

She says nothing when Xander asks where Azura went. Someone says she might have run off somewhere in the castle, and Corrin just smiles weakly, nodding in a half-hooded lie. The last thing she wants is to burden anyone with care or concern, not when they should all be rejoicing. Already Elise is spinning her round and round with glee, and she laughs and smiles, playing her part. There is, at least, no denying the intense wave of relief. The fight has been over and the world has been saved.

Castle Nohr is awash with smiles, celebration and laughter. Xander has ordered a great feast for them all, sparing no expense in hiring the best chefs in town to make them the finest Nohrian foods. Laslow and Elise are smiling and singing, pulling Selena onto an empty space to teach her how to dance. Even Leo lets Niles show him a public embrace: she catches her brother’s boyfriend sloppily planting a kiss on his cheek, eye closed and face flushed in half-drunken happiness.

Some things can’t be fixed, but she’s thankful for those that have been. Corrin knows it is greedy, but her insides twist like the blade of a knife. If only she could have one more.

She retires to her bedchambers early, locking the door behind her. When she is certain she is alone, Corrin drops onto her newly-fluffed pillows, allowing the tears to fall.

Fort Corrin is mostly abandoned now the war is over: they have no reason to return to the space between life and death, no more preparations to be made or weapons to be purchased. Corrin’s footsteps are the only sound that echoes-- she still returns once in a while to thank Lilith for her blessing. Now they are no longer short on supplies, Corrin brings the dragon spirit better offerings: sometimes a grilled steak from the kitchens, or a loaf of freshly-baked bread. A plate of cookies baked by Odin, Laslow and Niles before the former two’s departure is mysteriously left untouched. She doesn’t want to know why.

It is a quick and lonely trip, a swift in-and-out that she makes out of obligation more than desire. Though one day, after the food has mysteriously vanished and the sun is starting to set, Corrin decided to stroll around the fort alone. Magic has kept the place in fairly good condition, though it is terribly strange to not hear the laughter in the barracks or the arena’s curtain call. It feels like she might almost run into old friends with the turn of every corner, but she keeps walking; to the accessory shop, between the tables of the mess hall, and then to her private chambers where she and Azura once lay.

She takes a deep breath, pushing the door open, only to be greeted by a sight she thought she’d never see again.

Azura, lovely Azura, sitting on her bed like she has never left, the same kind bright eyes and sky blue hair, smiling at Corrin and mouthing the words “welcome back.” Her eyes widen and her lips part, and before she knows it she is diving into her lover’s arms, burying her face in Azura’s shoulder and sobbing, clinging onto her for dear life, smelling the ocean and magic and the scent of her soft skin. She looks up for a moment to see that Azura is crying too. Tears stain the fabric of her clothes, and that’s when it sinks in that this is real, Azura is real, and she’s here, and—what kind of a miracle is this?

Lilith, of course. Corrin glances out her window towards the sky, sending a silent thank-you to the dragon girl. She’ll be sure to bring her an extra-large serving of berries the next time she visits. No more oddly-shaped cookies made by odder retainers. Of course her attention can’t stray from Azura for long though, and she quickly captures her lover’s lips in hers, cupping the back of her head in a long, languid kiss.

Finally, they pull away, breathless and gasping for air, and Corrin laughs.

“Are you here?” she gasps. “Can I—can I bring you home?”

Azura shakes her head. Corrin frowns, though she understands. Of course: this place transcends space and time, hangs between life and death. If she’s going to find Azura, it will be here and here only. Still, it feels like her heart has been torn from her chest one more time. Corrin leans down on Azura’s shoulder, letting Azura lace her fingers into her long, tousled hair.

“Can I at least come back and see you?” she manages to gasp. “Or is this the last time?”

“It depends on how you see it.”

Azura’s tone is calm as she explains. There are plenty of different timelines, with millions of different Corrins running around, hand in hand with different Azuras in different times. Corrins who might be different genders, who made different decisions and took different sides, each and every one standing up for the cause they believed was right. But each and every one of them is her, just as she is them. And she has the chance to return to the start.

She’ll save the world once again, because it always happens, even if she doesn’t know it at the time. Maybe this time though, she could save Takumi, save Ryoma, save Lilith and Shura and each and every one of the people she’s lost. Most of all, Azura says, toying with a lock of Corrin’s hair, they could be together, at long last.

Corrin takes a deep breath. She nods, silently, once, curling her pinky finger into Azura’s in silent agreement. Azura gets up from their bed, stepping out of their quarters, walking to the Dusk Dragon statue in the middle of the square. Corrin follows her lead, putting her faith in her as she always has.

Azura lifts her hands into the sky and bursts out into song. The sky swirls with all the colors of the aurora, yellows and greens and golds. A gate opens behind the stone dragon, brimming with incandescent light. Corrin grips hold of Azura’s arm, then glances back at the gate. She takes a deep breath, feeling her brow cross with doubt.

“Azura- this is all happening so fast. Are you sure this is the right thing?”

“It’s not too late to say no,” Azura says. Her music swirls in the atmosphere, dancing in the distance though she has ended her song. “But I don’t have very long left, so you'll have to decide soon.”

Corrin swallows the lump in her throat. Already, she can see how Azura is fading in the light. Her voice is waving and her face is pale, and Corrin realizes that this might be her last chance to save her, along with everyone else. She steels herself, knowing what she has to do.

One more restart, one more time.

“Will you love me again?” Corrin asks as they pull away, tearing themselves apart. “What if I don’t save the world this time?“

“You always save the world,” Azura says. “You won’t remember it when you go back, but no matter who you side with, everyone who lives will be okay. And,” she says, waving as Corrin steps into the Dragon’s Gate, “I will always love you.”

“Even if fate tears us apart.”