Edward always thought that memories were weird; the idea of knowing that you did something in the past, and that it was permanently burned into your mind slightly disturbed him/freaked him out.
Most of his memories were of bloodshed; killing the bandits that raided the villagers, killing the Begnion soldiers, wounding the Greil Mercenaries, etc. Edward felt indifferent towards them; he thought that there'd be no point in dwelling on them for too long.
However, some memories made him happy. Memories where he and the rest of the Dawn Brigade stepped in the forests of Daein, and where they would tell stories around the campfire or Daein legends. He used to enjoy seeing the firewood crackle and spark, causing smoke to fly up into the air. He liked seeing Leonardo curled up next to his bow, Nolan with his axe next to his makeshift bed, Sothe with his daggers, and Micaiah with her tome. It got even better when more people joined them, like Laura and Aran. In fact, Zihark was a great teacher for him.
Those days were over, however. He slept in a regular bed in one of the buildings of Nevassa. He always saw the daily flock of people moving, and buying foods in the market. There were rarely any bandits, and if so, Edward took care of them mostly by himself.
Micaiah was often busy being the queen of Daein, with Sothe at her side. Leonardo was busy at work trying to rebuild the disarrayed army, while Nolan was often in another country to fight against injustices there. Things were supposedly perfect. But if they really were, why was Edward feeling so nostalgic?
He lived in the city that he knew by the back of his hand; he fulfilled his caretaker's wish of doing what's right. Edward was now a master at his blade, using it to defend the citizens of Nevassa from bandits.
Edward realized it under gray skies. It was because he no longer saw his friends as much anymore. Sure, there would be the occasional visits to Micaiah's throne, and Leonardo would come visit him, but there was nothing else.
As he began to think more and more of his shared memories, he realized that he would give everything, his mastery of the sword, his comfortable bed, everything, just to become happy fighting with his friends for a better tomorrow, sleeping in the forests. He would trade it all away in a heartbeat.
