(The chapter opens as a direct continuation from the previous map. The royals are walking alongside Lyci towards Shigure's assumed location.)
Lyci: We're almost there.
Shiro: I have a bad feeling about all of this.
Siegbert: I hope that he will be able to provide us with a full explanation.
Tempest: I have more than a few questions.
Owen: Maybe he'll able to provide answers.
(Shigure appears before the group.)
Shigure: Greetings, everyone. Lyci, I'm glad to see that you found them.
Lyci: I'm happy to help.
Kiragi: Alright, pal! It's time that you told us the truth about what's going on here!
Forrest: Perhaps that would not be such a good idea...
Timpani: Why not?
Sumiko: There are more soldiers coming our way... Do they ever end?
Luna: It seems not... How aggravating.
Galatea: Well, they're going to see how badly they've screwed up by coming directly to us.
Kana: The sooner we take care of this, the sooner we can hear the truth.
Kanaya: I'm more ready than I ever have been!
(The battle begins. Shigure starts out as a new player unit and can be used from the start. He is a flying unit that can use lances and dance allies. The class is called Sky Bard, and it is exclusive to him.)
(After the battle, Shigure stands before the children alongside Lyci.)
Shigure: I'm relieved we were able to take care of that...
Shiro: We've been kept in suspense long enough. Can we hear an explanation now?
Shigure: Lyci, how much do they know?
Lyci: I told them there are two timelines, one where Hoshido won the war and one where Nohr did.
Tempest: We touched some odd stones in the mind and were transported into the other timeline.
Siegbert: Now, we're in the timeline where Nohr won the war.
Shigure: You are correct.
Owen: What are we dealing with now? Where do those invisible soldiers come from?
Shigure: These soldiers come from a man named Thalone.
Kiragi: What makes him so special?
Shigure: He's the reincarnation of the patron god of Valla, Anankos. Anankos was the older brother of Yugare and Akiri, twins who established Nohr and Hoshido respectively.
Forrest: I've heard of Anankos. He was killed in the war between Hoshido and Nohr years ago. A small group of Nohrian fighters snuck into Valla after an alliance was refused by the royal family, and Anankos was killed.
Shigure: That is all correct. He was reincarnated when the war grew more intense, just as Akiri and Yugare were. Anankos' reincarnation goes by the name of Thalone.
Sumiko: He's the one responsible for summoning all these soldiers...
Timpani: But how does it work?
Shigure: When a god dies of natural causes, power is distributed evenly to the surrounding area, enriching it with magic. This happened with both Akiri and Yugare. However, when a god is murdered, the magic and energy inside their bodies goes wild. Without a natural way to be returned to the world, it cannot be contained.
Luna: This magic is creating all of these soldiers then?
Shigure: Correct. Valla was destroyed completely by Nohr during the war after an alliance was refused a second time years later. The remaining magic festered when the people of Valla were massacred. The soldiers were kept alive in a constant state of suffering, unable to move onto the afterlife due to the remains of Anankos.
Galatea: But they listen to Thalone since he's the reincarnation of Anankos. He's the one with all the power, so they follow his every instruction.
Shigure: Exactly. If we can kill him, the invisible soldiers will all move on, stopping this war in its tracks, but... It may have unforeseen consequences.
Kanaya: Because he's like a god, it would be like destroying Anankos all over again...
Kana: A lot of people could get hurt if his magic goes crazy.
Shigure: Exactly... Tell me, Kanaya, Kana... What do you know of your family? Outside of your parents, I mean.
Kanaya: Mother always told me about a nice woman named Mikoto...
Kana: I heard the same stories!
Shigure: You two are rather special, I must say. You two are both children of the warrior Corrin from different timelines, so, in a way, you're alternative versions of each other.
Kanaya: Wow...
Kana: That's amazing...!
Shigure: As for Mikoto... She was your grandmother and Corrin's mother. She was also the reincarnation of Akiri. However, she was murdered by invisible soldiers sent by Thalone to bring Hoshido to ruin. Her power was not distributed properly, and it fueled Corrin in a sudden spike. They transformed into a dragon, unable to control their power. Since they had never transformed before and they were being driven by Akiri's power, they nearly went crazy, if not for the aid of another item touched by godly power.
Shiro: Another item?
Shigure: Mikoto had a twin named Arete, who became a consort for King Garon of Nohr for a time. Arete was the reincarnation of Yugare, and she was murdered during the power struggle for Nohr's crown. Her power fueled the amulet that she possessed, granting it incredible powers. While it was already used to dispel corruption due to the power it already had, its magic was magnified greatly to seemingly impossible levels.
Siegbert: So, the amulet was used to calm Corrin's rage, and it was able to do so due to its being fueled by Arete's leftover magic.
Shigure: Exactly. However, Anankos is much stronger than either Akiri or Yugare. There will be more magic left when Thalone dies, and... Its results could be disastrous.
Tempest: We need to deal with the Thalone from the Nohr timeline then? But what about the other Thalone?
Shigure: That one died many years ago in the war between Nohr and Hoshido. The Thalone from the timeline where Hoshido won the war was killed due to his alliance with Garon, and his magic did have unprecedented effects... Lyci.
Owen: What about Lyci?
Shigure: His magic manifested itself into creating a new person. This is not entirely unheard of, as when Thalone unlocked his full power, he created a child by the name of Lilith. Both of them are Astral Dragons, able to transform since that is the only blood they have.
Forrest: Then... What about Corrin? What about Kanaya and Kana? Why can they transform into dragons?
Shigure: Normally, it's impossible. The blood given to the royals, the Dragon Veins, has grown thin over the years. The dragons that once existed have since gone nearly extinct due to the strength of the royals' blood disappearing. After all, the only people who could transform into dragons were select royals who had strong enough dragon blood since they were the only ones who had draconic strength in the first place... However, Thalone's magic, Thalone's blood, runs through all three of them, allowing them to transform. His strength was passed onto them, and it is manifested in the form of their draconic abilities.
Kiragi: What do you mean that they have Thalone's power?
Shigure: Thalone is Corrin's father.
Kanaya: What?!
Kana: No way...
Shigure: It's true.
Sumiko: How did you find out all this?
Shigure: My mother... She goes by the name Azura. She perished in the timeline where Hoshido won, but she survived in the Nohrian timeline. A Hoshidan retainer, Kaze, fell in love with her, and they spent their lives together. They researched Valla intensely, and my mother wrote of her findings in a notebook. From there, I was able to find the mines of Valla with their stones of transportation, and I filled in the gaps by digging around between the timelines.
Timpani: How can the stones move people from timeline to timeline?
Shigure: The stones were powered by Anankos' death just as his soldiers were. They give anyone the power to travel across space and time by merely touching them and thinking of a location. They were used in ancient times to forge the first dragonstones, but they have since changed purposes. Anankos' magic returned their power to them after they lost it with time.
Kana: Your amulet... It reminds me of a dragonstone.
Shigure: In a way... It is similar. The gem at the center of it is a scale of Anankos' from before he died. It is related loosely to dragonstones because it is a piece of a dragon, just as a dragonstone is an extension of an Astral Dragon.
Kanaya: Wow... That's amazing.
Shigure: Other ancient weapons, such as Raijinto or Siegfried, contain scales of the dragons as well. However, the amulet can be sensed because it is the same one that was once fueled by Arete's power when she died. Her magic strengthened it greatly, which is setting off your instincts now.
Galatea: All of this is incredible... I don't know what to say.
Shigure: We have a lot of work ahead of us if we want to stop Thalone. I believe that we can do it.
Luna: It's not like we have any options...
Lyci: We should all get some rest soon. It's been a long day.
Shigure: We can start heading towards Thalone tomorrow. Until then, have a nice night, everyone.
Lyci: We have our work cut out for us... But I think we can do it.
Shigure: I'm sure of it.
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Exposition is nice
-Digital