The Midnight battle ended in a victory...a hollow victory as Claude Von Riegen, Seteth and Flayn were reported killed in action although their corpses were never found

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Hilda and Lysithea present themselves in front of the remaining Golden Deer which are Lorenz, Raphael, Ignatz, and Leonie

Leonie is leaning against the tree while attending her scar on her lower right cheek

Ignatz attended Raphael wounds with a vulnerary by pouring over his bruised fist and scars on his body

Lorenz that someone is missing...well beside Marianne "Where Claude?" Lorenz asked as he examines his surroundings

Hilda sighed before placing her hand onto Lorenz's shoulder "Gone,"

His face made a confused expression "Gone? What do you mean? Are you saying that..he just left us here?" He frowned in frustration however, he noticed that Hilda is...sad within her eyes

"I am afraid that he is no longer with us," Lysithea replied with sorrow within her voice

The other golden deer reacted with disbelief in their way

"Claude? Is...dead?" Ignatz asked as he continues to shake his head

Raphael looked to the ground as he covered his face in shame

Leonie tighten her fist as she punched a nearby tree creating a large crack within its skin "Dam it! Not another one!"

"Uh...so that means...I am the new house leader?" Lorenz asked

Hilda frowned at Lorenz "Oh, you must be so happy that Claude is gone," She groaned under her breath which completely caught Lorenz off guard

"Huh? What no...of course, not. Claude was our house leader," his words stumbled while Lysithea frowned alongside Hilda

She shook her head in disappointment "Don't act like a dumb fool...I might be a bit 'native' but I can easily tell that from the very start...you hated Claude due to...not 'acting like a true noble'," Hilda's comment completely counteract her character of being lazy and not caring about reality

Lorenz remained speechless at Hilda

"I...please, Hilda. I would never do that. Sure, I might not like Claude from his...schemes and manners but it doesn't mean that I completely hate him," Lorenz cried out while Hilda isn't buying it

---------------

Ashe spun the knife within his hands as he waits within deep underground until someone has arrived

She pulled down her cloak and looked at Ashe "Did she make it back?" Marianne asked

Ashe shrugs "Yea...it shouldn't be that surprising...did you save 'him'?"

She nods "He should be inside my new room although his reactions were..." Marianne shook her head "Nevermind, I make this easy on us. He will recover in a couple of days,"

Ashe walked up to Marianne and pinned her against the wall "Marianne...are you sure about this? Are you truly going to stay in this...hole for the rest of your life?" Ashe asked with a concerned look on his face

Marianne sighed "Ashe...you know that I already made my mind about this. It would be better for Fodlan if I didn't reappear at all,"

He became speechless for a moment "B..but what about Hilda? She is one of your closest friends...yet you are going to leave her in the dark?"

She pats Ashe on his shoulder "I am sorry but...I can't. I am reported missing and...I just...can't. I am scared of my curse and that it will harm others if I 'come back'." Marianne slowly pushed Ashe away from her "...The beast is still within me,"

Ashe looked down as he took a deep breath "I...I understand, I just worried...about your possible future,"

Marianne sighed as she looked outside of the entrance "Ashe...you know that...we can't live a normal life without the Chalice...right?" Marianne asked

He nods "I know...the Chalice is the only reason why we are still here. I don't know if I should be happy about being alive again or be sad that...I won't get a chance to live a normal life," said Ashe

Marianne appeared to be confused "You know that you could stay with me after you...finish your love life,"

Ashe tossed his right glove onto the ground "And just to waste years of my life underground...yea no thank you. I rather attempt to find the cure or die trying then forced to stay underground for the rest of my life," Ashe replied

"...Ashe...it impossible...please. I don't what you burning within the depth of Faerghus," She attempted to grab Ashe hand but he just brushes it off

"Marianne...you might be used to this but...I am not!" Ashe shouted as he reveals his right hand which has a bunch of cracks that flow throughout his arm and hand "How can I live like this? Are we even human?" He tightens his fist as bits of it started to fall off onto the ground "Now I understand your feeling of not being human,"

Marianne closed her eyes "Please don't say that. We might not be truly human but within our hearts...we are,"

He rolled his eyes "That easy for you to say. Not being able to taste food...not being able to feel the fresh wind into my skin is just...it killing me slowly. I don't think I can get used to living like...this."

Her eyes gave a sorrow look as she turned herself away from Ashe "Ashe...what about your descendants and their future? What will happen if they grow up without their father?"

Ashe chuckled under his breath "That means I am just a failure as a father figure...in their point of view, I am just a terrible father who left their mother on their own within the wilds. If they truly understand my reason behind my action...maybe they can forgive their father but for now...let us focus on the present," said Ashe as he reveals his bow

Marianne sighed as she entered the underground system while Ashe followed behind

-------------------------

Thales formed a smile as he turned towards the viewer "Oh, hello! Welcome! Are you happy to see me?" Thales asked

He chuckled under his breath "Of course you don't. They painted me as the villain within your own game and never bother to explore my side the story."

"Anyways, its time to play a little game," Thales pulls out two decks of cards and started to shuffle them with one hand"It's called, the test of fate." he reveals the right deck bottom towards the viewer which has the image of Petra on it before turning back to its top and shuffling it "The game is simple. You flip two cards," Thales flips the other deck bottom towards the viewer which has the image of people being burned alive "One character card...and one fate card. You better choose wisely otherwise one of your favourites could suffer a...terrible fate," he smirks as a table appeared right in front of them

Thales set the two decks apart before spreading it wide "Now, I know that you viewers can't physically pick up these cards...so, therefore, please type the down below under the comment section on what set you what to pick. We are going by left to right. There are 40 character cards within the deck and there are 60 fate cards within the other deck. Therefore, if you what to select I don't know...number 20 from the character deck and 30 from the fate deck. You would type like this 20/30. To select your card,"

He leans back on his seat "Now pick wisely. If there are no comments under this chapter then I am going to pick ten random sets for you. If three or less, I am just going to pick seven...but if there are at least five comments...then I won't pick for you however, I should give you a suggestion...don't think about voting the same card as with another viewer. Otherwise, I will give you a penalty by selecting it randomly for you." Thales smiled "But in exchange...I will tell you that not everything inside the fate deck is...cruel. Some of them are...peaceful wind which means...nothing happens to them but there are more 'cruel' fates then peaceful fates inside the deck. So keep that in mind,"

Thales opens his arms over the cards "Now, it's your turn to decide their fate. Select a card from the character and select a card from the fate deck...have fun,"