If she can just make it through these next battles, then everything is going to come to an end, at long last. The odds have been tilted more and more in favor of the Adrestian Empire, and with a decisive victory in Fhirdiad, they can put an end to it all, once and for all. The rest of the Kingdom's strongholds have fallen, and the Alliance is no longer in the picture. The Church of Seiros and the Kingdom are indistinguishable at this point, with the way that they really on one another, and if Dimitri can be defeated, then so can Rhea, at least in theory.
There is, of course, the matter of Rhea's monstrous abilities, but they are so close now that they can't waste time dwelling on the potential difficulties surrounding that fight. They will simply have to give it all they have, and hope that by the time Rhea shows her face, that they will not be so worn out by the battles up until now that it hinders their ability to destroy the Immaculate One.
Perhaps they are gambling quite a bit at this point, but even in her position, assisting with battle strategies, Byleth is not sure if they have any other options. They have proven their strength time and again, but nobody has any real experience battling the Immaculate One, and so, there is not much that they can build on, no hints that they can use to form a better strategy. They will simply have to give it all they have- she, Edelgard, and even Hubert, have to agree on that, ready to put an end to this war, which has already gone on for far too long.
"And then," Edelgard says hopefully, "we can start to focus on making real changes. Both outside of the Empire...and within."
It will hopefully be the last time that Byleth has to fight people that she knows from her days at the monastery, back when the Church still controlled the land. She knows that Dimitri will defend his kingdom, and that Dedue will be at his side, as he has always been. Rhea will surely have Catherine and Cyril there to defend her, and Gilbert will remain loyal to his king and to his "goddess" until the end, even knowing that his own daughter falls on the other side.
But Byleth will not be alone, either. Always, she has leant her support to Edelgard, just as Hubert does, and she has her students, those that she chose, who remained loyal to her in the end, and the students that chose her , transferring to her class so that they could continue to follow her until the very end. Her fellow professors, the knights who chose to leave the Church because she and Jeralt did.
And of course, she has her father, as she always has, the one person she will always be able to count on and depend on, who has sworn to protect her the same as she has sworn to protect him. They are so close to finally being able to have the peaceful life that they have been waiting for, and when the war is over, though she knows that it will be some time before they know true peace, she hopes that they will one day be able to truly be together as lovers are, even if it is somewhere far away from here.
The two of them have wandered for as long as she has been alive, so not staying in one place does not sound all that unappealing, after being rooted to Garreg Mach for so long, and there are places outside of Fodlan that she has never seen, and has become much more interested in, after meeting some of the people that she has at the monastery. There is a lot that she wants to see, so perhaps after this, with Jeralt at her side, she will be able to.
But before any of that can happen, she first has to face off against Dimitri, and Rhea herself. She first has to bring down the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus, and the Church of Seiros, all in one go, and though she is hardly doing any of this alone, it will still be difficult, no matter how many numbers that they have on their side.
At the very least, she can count on Jeralt to remain at her side.
~X~
Jeralt knows that these fights are wearing on his daughter, that she is giving this everything that she has, and that she is worn out, tired of having to fight familiar faces, tired of watching those around her fall, and tired of this war. But still, she keeps fighting, making him proud as she sticks to her convictions, never allowing herself to falter, no matter how it may wear on her.
Sticking close by her side, he can see the horror on her face when she witnesses Dedue's transformation, giving his life to become a demonic beast in the hopes that he can aid Dimitri's cause, only to be cut down by former classmates, Ashe, Mercedes, and Annette in tears as they kill the man who was once their friend. He can see the pain in her eyes as she charges Dimitri with Edelgard close behind her, the two of them determined to put a stop to this, as quickly as possible.
He can see her disgust when Rhea finally shows her face, calling herself Seiros as she enters the battlefield, attempting to turn the tides before retreating into the city, ready to change tactics and lure them inside. Byleth is so tired of it all, but still she continues to fight, and he is endlessly proud of her, and proud of the decisions that she has made. It is only because of his pride that he has not forced her to abandon the cause already, all so that he can take her somewhere far away to protect her from all of the fighting.
But nothing can compare to the moment when the city is set aflame, all to hinder their forward progress. No one is able to escape the city first, all in the hopes that they can make it difficult for the imperial forces to take the city. It is clear now that the archbishop does not care what sacrifices that she has to make, just as long as she is able to win. Potential victory outweighs all of the losses along the way, but then, can they really say that their side has been innocent all along either?
Whatever the case, now is not the time to internally debate such things. They are at the end of it all, the final battle between the Church and the Empire, between the archbishop and the emperor, between the ancient beliefs of Fodlan, and a future that sees no need for a goddess. It is a long and difficult fight, stretching their forces as thin as possible, with their most skilled steadily chipping away at the Immaculate One, looking for any signs of weakness while enduring her attacks.
That means that he and Byleth are at the center of the action, aiding Edelgard directly as she is now moments away from achieving what she has working for all these years. It is slow progress, but they weaken her and weaken her until she can hardly stand, until she can't manage to fight back any more. The final blow has to be timed perfectly, Byleth and Edelgard moving almost as one, launching themselves at Rhea- at Seiros- so that they can put an end to the false church once and for all.
But then Jeralt, watching all of this, feels strange, a moment of weakness, growing so dizzy for a moment that he feels as though he could collapse, only returning to his senses when he hears Edelgard cry out, and looks up, realizing that Byleth actually has collapsed, that she is in Edelgard's arms, that she is not responding. As if she is dead, and if she is dead, then it has to be for real this time, because he can see her body, she has not simply disappeared, but rather, fallen right in front of him.
Edelgard is holding her and sobbing, her head against Byleth's chest. There is no heartbeat, but there has never been a heartbeat, but if she doesn't have a pulse, then that would mean the same thing. Jeralt's mind is running wild, and he can't make sense of what is happening, or make sense of his own thoughts. Why is he dwelling on what Edelgard must be realizing? Why can't he move closer, and why can't he move at all? He should be the one holding her, because if she wakes up, he wants her to see him, and he wants to be the first to know that she has woken up. Why wouldn't she wake up? He never even saw her get injured, and he was by her side all along.
He has been watching her and protecting her, so what happened? She can't be dead, because nothing happened that could have killed her. How can she possibly be dead? After everything that they have been through together, this was not supposed to be where it ended. They were supposed to have so much more time together, they were supposed to be making up for the years that she was missing. She was supposed to stick around to protect him, like she always, so stubbornly, swore that she would. He is supposed to protect her, no matter what.
Finally, he wills his legs to move, feeling numb with every step, until he falls to his knees beside Edelgard, his voice a bare whisper as he says, "Let me see her."
Without question, the sobbing woman hands his limp daughter to him, and he holds her, resting his head against her chest as he gives into his own sobs. This can't actually be real. Not after everything that they have overcome, this can't be where it all finally ends. He will not let go of her, not until she wakes up again, not until she can stand on her own and leave with him, hand in hand. The future that she fought for is finally starting to come true, can't she see that?
He refuses to let go of her, and there is no way of knowing just how much time passes like that, holding her limp and lifeless body, until he suddenly hears something from her chest, something that he at first thinks that he is imagining. He hears Byleth's heart start to beat.