I always imagined that I'd die in the most wretched of circumstances.

It wasn't hard to imagine, in any case. My first life had been pleasant enough, but its end showed me that no matter how safe one could imagine themselves to be, how supreme one's position in life, all it took was a moment's inattention and a suicidal idiot to ensure all that safety came crashing down. That I spent the majority of my next year's formative years as a child soldier only really solidified that lesson. One does not spend all those years fighting without some of those lessons getting pummeled into your skull. I could only thank the fact that I still remembered my past life, otherwise I'd be some terribly unhinged war-freak of a person.

Toyed with by Being X, thrown into war, my country plunged into war and destitution. Really, only an idiot would expect a pleasant death in any of those circumstances. The best I could have achieved, especially during those days in the front-line, would have been to die with my unit. I knew better than to expect clemency from those that called me the Devil of the Rhine after all, I couldn't very well surrender. Perhaps at the beginning, when all they knew of me was a brave girl fighting for her life, though the period between that supposedly innocent girl and her more fearsome reputation after the fact was astonishingly short. Leave it to Being X to close any possible loopholes to a comfortable life.

Then even after the war, when the entirety of Germania went mad and put their hopes and dreams upon me, Being X toyed with me. I had thought nothing of its silence at the time, it had often waited until the perfect moment to unleash its next challenge upon me. What did it matter that the silence stretched from months to years, years to decades, decades until the end of my life. I had to be vigilant, constantly doing my best, ensuring that I didn't let my guard down at all, that I didn't allow myself to relax. I knew that the moment I believed it would all be over, the moment I thought I'd be safe, the trap would be sprung and all of my work, my entire country, would come crumbling beneath my feet.

The silence stretched on, and I did my work for Germania, even if, in all honesty, I might not have been the best suited to carrying it out. The people thought well of me, in general I suppose, and so I was encouraged to carry on. They believed in me something more than what I truly was, so I shrugged, left them to their own devices and carried on.

Yet despite that, that treacherous voice hovered at the back of my mind. That perhaps it had already forgotten about me. Perhaps it would be safe to just relax, even for a moment? My country was strong again, after all, not even he could create a miracle that could crush my people in a single night. Even if it threw some terrifyingly horrible problem at my head, I could bounce back. I could fight whatever that bastard had to throw at me, I had to.

So I crushed that whisper, turned my mind to metal and wheels, and I carried on.

I carried on for years. Decades. Waiting patiently for the day it would all come crashing down, and karma would come for the Devil of the Rhine. A person that had done as I did, killed as I did, deserved no mercy of course. I would not give Being X the satisfaction of seeing me beg again as I did with his previous challenge, but I would not resent any that came for me due to my own actions. It would only be reasonable after all, though knowing how Being X operated, perhaps it would empower them as it did Mary, all those years ago. In such an event, in the event that I failed, I only wished those that sided with me would be not fall with me.

Years turned to decades. Decades turned into a lifetime. That wretched death failed to materialize.

Even in my last moments, with Visha and all the rest by my side, I could hardly believe it. The world had long stopped calling me the Devil of the Rhine by this point, or at least stopped saying it within earshot. Instead they called me by a variety of extravagant titles that I honestly didn't see the point of. The Silver Chancellor, the Argent Princess, the Kaiserin in more conservative circles. All ridiculous. It didn't really matter, I thought. Their belief was useful in a way, even though I hardly understood why they sought to put me on such a pillar.

I can't remember, now, what my last thought was as I died. I remembered a murmur, a whisper, the urge to sleep finally upon me. I felt soft hands on mine, remarkably gentle, as though afraid I would break. That peaceful death I imagined was long beyond my reach, finally granted. I was finally safe.

...

And that was when that bastard Being X finally made it's move.

The Gate of Heaven Swings Shut

Author's Note: The initial seed of this idea was conceived of and posted on Spacebattles, and as such the initial upload of the piece will also include all posts as of 6/22/2020. After that, posting frequency will be done once a week or so, though there have been occasions of longer delays. The initial upload on this site will involve the first four chapters, including this one, followed by an update daily until we reach parity with the chapters posted on Spacebattles.

In the interest of context, this story is based on the fic A Young Woman's Political Record by jacobk. While I would not say that familiarity with that story is a necessity to understanding the events of this fic, understanding Youjo Senki would be. This fic presupposes that Tanya, upon the conclusion of both the Great War and the Second War after that, led Germania and a unified Europe into an age of prosperity. As a consequence, upon her death she was installed into the Throne of Heroes, where our story begins.