Chapter 2: Fighting the Shadow
Byleth was a bit shocked. Or maybe not; her uncertainty had died away. The woman had realized that her curiosity to talk to the new student was due to a bad feeling, and, finally, her feeling had been correct.
"You challenge me to a duel?" Byleth gave a small laugh. "After all, it looks like that's the only thing you'll accept as proof of my will. Although, I must ask: what if I beat you?"
"I'll tell you everything you want to know about me." Ernest's cool demeanor was mixed with a tone of righteousness. "And I will be your loyal companion and ally in the coming fight."
Byleth sighed as she lowered his head. She felt that things were drifting towards a somewhat 'violent' picture. This wouldn't be battle training, exactly. It was clear that it could even be a duel to the death. The professor sensed in Ernest the will to kill. Something fearsome lurked behind his grim, composed demeanor. She also wanted to provoke Ernest to learn his real intentions from his mouth.
"Well...if you insist." Byleth sighed again. "Where exactly would you like to duel with me? Should we go to the training yard? We can make it official, with a judge, if you want. That would make it a fair challenge."
"Tell me... Do you think that I will fight with you as a magic swordsman? Think of my origin in the well from which I come. Imagine what kind of warrior I am... And please tell me if my way of fighting is worthy of the public."
"Then I'll ask you again: do you want to conduct our duel in an official setting, with an audience? Or do we find a quiet place and work this out between us?"
"Just you and me, Byleth. I think I was clear enough."
"Perfect; so be it," Byleth replied, rising from his seat. "We'll meet before midnight in the training yard, in that case."
"See ya, Professor," Ernest said, taking both plates to leave.
"See you..."
"Ah, something else, Professor Byleth," the young man added surprisingly. "Remember to bring your new acquisition. You will need it."
"What? How come..." Byleth was surprised again, although he no longer understood why he was doing it. "Perfect, I will satisfy your whims. Until tonight, Ernest."
Byleth hurried away. Her heart was pounding. She didn't know why. She didn't know if it was because of the disturbing presence of that guy or because she felt that was being tested to show her will, something that hadn't been questioned recently.
"Don't let that brat scare you, mate," Sothis's voice echoed in Byleth's mind. "Don't think that he has as much power as he appears... You have me and a fearsome weapon in your hands," she added, further motivating the woman.
"I don't know..." Byleth murmured to herself, already inside her room. "I see something strange and dangerous in that boy... I think I see bloodlust in his eyes. Didn't you see it, Sothis?"
"It is evident that he is bloodthirsty. It must be someone quite skilled. However, his purpose for approaching you is still unclear. The only thing left for you is to beat him and have him tell you what he is and what he knows," Sothis replied, appearing to Byleth.
"Then it will be."
It was already a few minutes to midnight. Byleth arrived at the agreed place. It was a cool night with almost no wind. The sky was clear. There was no one in the training yard. Or at least that's what she thought. Suddenly, she heard someone speak behind her. It was Ernest.
"It's good that you're punctual, Byleth."
"Who will strike first?" she replied, still turning her back on Ernest.
"I don't care to tell you the truth."
Byleth turned quickly and swung his Sword of Creation. She saw that Ernest was carrying a dagger in his right hand. Byleth lunged forward, aiming for his torso. Ernest dodged the blow just in time, leaving Byleth a small opening. He took that split second of vulnerability to hit her. In that short moment, Byleth charged at him, managing to disarm Ernest. She stopped in front of him, pointing her sword at his throat.
Ernest offered her a smile. After that, Byleth didn't see him anymore. She looked around and saw Ernest to her right, a few feet away. The woman saw a copy of him to her left. Ernest's shadow clone's images continued to grow as they walked around Byleth. She was surprised, but she kept her defensive stance for that.
"This, Byleth, is not magic... Or rather, it is a 'killing magic' I devised when I was ten. As you can see, I may be a good magic swordsman prospect, but it's just a front. I am nothing but an assassin. And it's how I got my food when my stepmother couldn't give it to me."
"This is not right," Byleth replied. "What did you do to get your food at the age you learned to cook?"
"Exact. You're finally getting it," Ernest replied, still circling Byleth from all angles. "Now I do believe I see your will. You are much stronger than those mercenaries who commissioned me to kill before I was ten years old."
"What a surprise to discover that you were an assassin." The teacher's words were tinged with a tone of seriousness. "Your skills are certainly formidable. But I have to say that your past doesn't define who you are now, Ernest. It would be best if you did not let what you before prevented you from being the person you want to be now and in the future."
"Stop lecturing, Byleth," he retorted.
"It's not a sermon, man!" Byleth yelled, now genuinely annoyed. "If it were for that, I would be nothing more than a bloodthirsty and ruthless mercenary, either. I have tried to become something different since I came here, and I hope you can do the same. You're the only one who can decide that... And I'll be here if you want help with that."
"Yeah...you're right about that," Ernest said, faltering a bit in his grim demeanor. "But I don't want that change to be just like that. This world you see here in the Monastery is nothing more than the packaging of the shit that is Fódlan. I want to see if the stupid, stupid optimism this place reeks of will help me out of the rot I came from, and that covers Fódlan from end to end."
With those words, Ernest threw himself at Byleth. Their attacks came from all sides. Byleth had much trouble dealing with those blows, even throwing her off balance because she needed to turn quickly to avoid the next thrust from a completely unpredictable spot. Finally, she needed to extend her sword to push Ernest back.
"So, this is the potential of the Sword of the Creator," Ernest said, returning to surround Byleth with his shadowy duplicates.
"Do you want this sword?" Is that your real goal? Byleth asked, shaken.
"I don't want anything those bastards have created," the boy replied with a voice of considerable annoyance. "I don't need anything from them. I hate everything that comes from there and is the seed of those bastards."
"You seem to have a lot of anger and resentment towards the Church and those who have taken part in it," Byleth replied, trying to understand Ernest's last sentence. "Do you mind if I ask where that hate comes from? Are there particular events that led you to feel this way?"
"Do you think this thing was created by people linked to the founding of the Church, or does it have some 'divine' origin?" Ernest asked in a mocking tone. "Everyone here lives with the bandage those damn bastards have put on them, both Rhea and those damn creeping snakes."
Byleth stopped for a moment. She stopped feeling the same murderous thirst as Ernest. She was sure that if she asked him more questions, he would only attack once she returned to her fighting stance.
"I would like to know more, Ernest. Can you tell me about the Church's involvement in the Sword? What is it that I don't know?"
"The Church, or Seiros, did nothing but recover what was most valuable to her: the desecrated corpse of her mother, the Goddess Sothis."
"What the hell are you talking about?" Byleth had already lost his composure by now.
"What you just heard," Ernest replied. "But if you want to know more... Beat me."
"It wasn't clear to me what you wanted if you won, Ernest," said the professor, trying to finish understanding her enemy.
"If I win... You will leave this place and help me do things my way to end the war. If you win, I'll fall at your feet, and we'll do things the Church's way, Claude's, or whoever else thinks of using you. Or if you decide to follow your will."
"Done deal. Now let's finish this." Byleth returned to his defensive stance. "I promise you here that I will win, no matter what."
"I don't want your promises, Byleth Eisner," Ernest growled. "I came here to know your will, shit!"
Just as she predicted, Ernest lunged at her to return to the duel. He lunged at her again from different angles. Now he was throwing some dark blades, nothing more than dark ice that cracked when they fell to the ground or when the Sword of Creation repelled them. Byleth, remembering his father's words, tried suppressing her other senses. She tried to trace the presence of Ernest, the real one, among all those shadowy copies.
Finally, the woman was able to detect a slight noise. It was nothing more than the rarefied air from Ernest's jumps and pirouettes, which left no trace of his footprints. Byleth gambled it all with a single swing of her sword, the one that hit Ernest squarely, who required all his strength to wield his dagger to avoid being cut in two.
Ernest crashed to the ground, dropping his dagger. His hands ached. Byleth's strength was overwhelming. She returned to stand before him, pointing her sword at him. The young man looked at her with a sincere smile on his face. He began to laugh like a fool, something that she couldn't quite understand.
"What are you laughing at, man," Byleth asked, still slightly annoyed.
"You are... You are everything I hoped for, Byleth Eisner," he replied, trying to snap out of his stupid reaction. "My hands are shaking from the power of your attack. Now I know your will. You will be the light of this damn continent."
"Uhm..." The professor tried to resume her composed attitude. "This experience was intense, but we resolved it without bloodshed. It would be an honor to have you as an ally in this conflict, and I am sure we will have much to learn from each other in the future."
"You're in charge, Byleth," Ernest replied, flashing a wry smile again. "You won. You will decide things from now on. Your ability has crushed mine."
"Maybe..." she replied. "Despite this, you have shown impressive skill: an excellent swordsman. But I'm glad you're willing to reconsider your past and the path you've been following. It takes courage to question your own decisions, and I hope our fight has helped you do so."
"I'm not reconsidering my past..." he replied with a stern look. "That is not possible. What I can do is chart my future with you."
"Well...so be it," Byleth added, offering Ernest his hand to get him up. "Together with the Class of the Golden Deer, let us chart a better future."
Ernest did not accept Byleth's hand. Instead, he took a kneeling stance and paid his respects and loyalty to the woman who had defeated him.
"It shall be so... Byleth... I, Ernest Schmidt, the illegitimate son of Volkhard von Arundel, known only to some as Thales, swear allegiance to you now and in the future to achieve your goals and objectives. Now and always, you have my word."
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