The Phoenix of Múspelheim

"Kiran, you have a visitor."

Anna wasn't one for lingering, exiting as soon as she left. Had anyone been watching for the last 10 seconds, only her announcement (and Kiran's instant frown) could be used as evidence that she was even there. Even her footsteps, despite wearing plated boots, rapidly faded away.

Lifting heavy-lidded eyes from a bottomless stack of paper, the summoner gave a very slow nod, void of any energy or happiness. As the door closed, Kiran's head met the surface of a very solid desk, like a hammer meeting steel. Except this hammer felt much pain, both physical and at the moment, mental.

"Ugh."

Kiran's head rose, only to strike mahogany once more. If the first strike wasn't enough to bruise flesh, the second one sure was close. Ringing commenced, specifically between Kiran's ears. Strong enough to null the sound of his doors opening, and footsteps soon after. These ones, much louder than Anna's.

But softer than the sound of frustration. Alas, they might as well have been warped in, and Kiran would still not notice.

"Again with the meetings. They always get me at the wrong time."

"Do I wait until you're finished then?" a voice asked from the doorway, causing the legendary summoner of Askr to rise up quickly.

"S-sorry, I was- Queen Laevatein! It's- What are you... Doing here?"

"I'm... visting."

It didn't take an expert to know that the Queen of Múspelheim wasn't here to just prance about. Askr was a long ways away, so there was most certainly more to it than just a 'visit.'

"Well, welcome to my humble office. What can I do for you?" Kiran asked, relaxing a bit.

The war had been over for about a month now. Not that it mattered; Laevatein surrendered long before Surtr's corpse hit the floor. She had no will to fight, not with Laegjarn's charred corpse in her sobbing embrace.

"Frostlord Hrid sends his regards as well," Laevatein added quickly, not immediately addressing her concerns.

Kiran nodded slowly, hesitantly.

"Oh? Does he need something too?"

"Well, no. But he could not accompany me. He said he would, but matters arose."

Kiran winced. It was too soon.

"Yes. With Princess Fjorm... well, um..."

"I'm sorry. I did not mean to bring-"

"Nonsense. We've all lost someone. I'm not special. At least, not in the eyes of Fate."

Kiran sighed wistfully, wishing a pained heart to beat a little slower.

"I... I came here to ask a high favor of you, Summoner Kiran."

It wasn't often that Kiran had any talents that anyone else could provide. Except for summoning. Obviously, no one else besides Veronica could do that.

"I can assure you I will try my best. What needs doing?"

"I... I did my research about the Breidablik. All these heroes, patrolling these halls..."

"Laevatein, no."

"I know they're dead. Long dead. This life, what we are among, is their second breath."

"Queen Laevatein, I cannot."

"You have to try. Please."

Words needed not to be said. Kiran already knew the moment Laevatein mentioned the relic slung by his hip. Laegjarn couldn't be brought back.

Fjorm was a painful reminder that the departed could not so easily be returned.

"I will not. I am a summoner, your Majesty. Not a necromancer."

"P-please. Kiran, I know that this goes against Askran tradition-"

"I will say it again, your Majesty. The Breidablik's call is only answered by the souls of those long departed. Your sister, I will not disturb her rest. Not in this lifetime."

"I order you. A-as Queen of Múspelheim!"

"I cannot. You know full well the pain... the permanent pain that we inflict ourselves and those we lost if I call them before they are ready to live again."

"Kiran, I cannot rule my kingdom by my own. I am not a Queen. I am a swordsman. Everything I am, everything I was, was for the purpose of war!"

"Our war is over," Kiran stated flatly, shoulders dropping. "We all have to deal with the aftermath. Even you, your Majesty."

"I see. Well, I suppose... it was worth a try. I... I will take my leave then. Your Commander suggested I rest in the castle, if you don't mind."

"Not at all. I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault, Summoner. I am just not ready for the crown."

With that, Laevatein left, leaving Kiran all the more troubled.

"Fancy meeting you here," Alfonse greeted, setting down his candle and examining the texts that Kiran had been perusing in the Order's library.

"Your grace," Kiran half-teased, nodding to the scholarly prince and scooting over to give the man some room at the table.

"Oh please. Not that again. What are you up to this late? You usually just bring the books into your room."

"I suppose I couldn't be bothered to walk around so much," Kiran explained, lowering the book gently onto the table. "I've been attending to pressing matters lately. Regarding our Múspelli resident."

"I'd advise against upsetting her, if you can. She could turn us all into mince-meat on a good day. I'd rather not square off against her again."

Kiran laughed lightly at this, picking up the book absently.

"I'm afraid upsetting her is the best course of action at the moment. It's tricky."

"I see. May I ask what she had need of us for?"

"She wants me."

"O-oh, I see. Well, I suppose that couldn't be so bad-"

"Not like that, dumbass. She wanted Breidablik to bring her sister back."

"Princess Laegjarn? But why?"

"You know just as well as I do that they were close."

"Yes, but..."

"I know. I can't bring her back. I would like to, too. It would help our patchy relations with Múspelheim, even with Frostlord Hrid's help."

"Ah, so it's political just as much as it is sentimental."

"The latter more than the former," Kiran explained, idly thumbing pages back and forth. "It's vexing business, all of it. This damn war has taken so much from all of us."

"It's hard to think it was only last month we were marching through volcanoes and dealing with resurrecting kings. But it's over. Thank goodness for that."

Her boots on dewy grass... A smile brighter than a sunrise off a snowbank. A laugh, fading into the cold, unforgiving winds of a blizzard.

Kiran jolted up quickly, catching a lost breath.

"Hmm? What happened?"

"Just a bad taste in my mouth. Pay it no mind," the summoner attempted, hiding quivering hands.

"Are you sure? It's not cold in here, and you're... Oh."

"I'm not ready to admit that I can't stop death," Kiran admitted, bowing to hide a very unbecoming frown.

"Hey. I miss her too. But I'm here for you just as everyone else is. C'mon. I can at least help you with this, if you'll have it."

"..."

"Unless you want Sharena to provide her own brand of cheering you up-"

"Oho, no. That won't be necessary," Kiran laughed, not bothering to hide the tears that fell.

"There is no shame in mourning," Alfonse comforted, placing a gentle hand on Kiran's shoulder. "But when you're ready, we're here for you. Just like you were for us."

"O-of course, Alfonse. Thank you. Ahem. Wow, I don't handle this well- Ugh."

"Take your time."

"I do, trust me. But this is a library, not a fountain of tears. Let's get to work. I suppose I could use your expertise on history and theorems and all that- I have an idea."

"Shoot, go for it, I'll see what I can bring up," Alfonse said, rising, already ready to hunt for text.

"So from what I can understand, at least from some of our Heroes like Lucina and Corrin, are that multiple iterations of the same world have happened. All with different histories. Different wars. Different survivors."

Alfonse lit up, not needing a book for this one.

"Butterfly universes, yes. A couple worlds we know have them. Not all. But they are out there. How do you think we have a Male and Female Robin, Corrin, Morgan, Kana... et cetera?"

Kiran closed both eyes, taking a hopeful breath.

A determined smile that looked at fate's plan and never faltered. Even in the face of a slow, cold death.

"You think there's one for us?"

"Kiran. No."

"I won't bring her back, Alfonse. I would be breaking another Kiran's heart," the summoner joked in a lamenting sigh. "But there has to be a place where Laegjarn could have been taken alive."

"Kiran, I will not. Even if we find one, it is our duty, no, your duty to ensure that Askr is never tipped out of balance! I cannot aid you with something that will endanger you in another timeline. Even if I never see it."

"I know you won't. But I just needed to hear you say it was possible."