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Líf is a character from Fire Emblem Heroes. A general of Hel, he shares a name with the first king of Askr.
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Once the first king of Askr, Líf formed an alliance with the Divine Dragon Askr, and with the dragon's blood he gained the ability to open gates to other worlds. He is also the founder of the Aether Keep. According to Reyson in Chapter 3, Líf has the power to bound Heroes to contracts.
In reality, Líf is Alfonse from an alternative future, one that succumbed to the wrath of Hel. Desperate to end her terror, Askr and Embla joined forces to perform a ritual, The Heart's Rite, to combat Hel. While successful, the rite carried a huge cost. Every living being was sacrificed in exchange. Among the casualties included Kiran and Sharena, the latter's death weighed particularly heavy on his soul.
Full of regret and despair, Alfonse agreed to become a general of Hel, taking on the name of Líf to hide his original identity. Hel informed him if he balanced the cohort of the dead in a way that if someone from another realm is killed, someone from his own Askr would be revived, including Sharena.
In Book III, Chapter 1, Líf is resurrected as a General of Hel who attacks the Order of Heroes during Hel's invasion of Askr, set on destroying the world. After his defeat, he vanishes, as his descendant Alfonse explains to his sister Sharena that Líf is their ancestor. Líf appears in Chapter 4 for a rematch before Hel arrives to take Alfonse's life, but he does not say anything at all.
In Chapter 6, Líf appears before Alfonse a third time upon entering the realm of the dead, saying that death cannot be defied, and the living will never understand until they die. Afterwards, he retreats to meet up with Thrasir. The two fight against the Order of Heroes as a team, and flee they are defeated once again. Líf opens up a portal to another world for him and Thrasir to escape to, while the Askrans and the Order of Heroes follow them in pursuit.
Líf appears once more in chapter 8, as the Order of Heroes attempts to traverse an alternate Askr in the hopes of discovering a way to defeat Hel. He attempts to assassinate Alfonse but is stopped when Sharena intervenes.
As Alfonse researches this alternate Askr, specifically why no life can be found here, he discovers that the citizens of this Askr formed an alliance with Embla and defeated Hel, at the cost of the lives of everyone in this reality.
From this information, Alfonse comes to the conclusion that Líf is not, in fact, the first king of Askr reborn, but is instead the Alfonse from this ruined reality. He confronts Líf with all the clues he has gathered, and in turn, Líf seems angry and maybe even afraid after hearing it.
Though reluctant to answer at first, When confronted a second time in chapter 9, "Líf" reveals his past and motivations for joining Hel.
After defeating Thrasir, Alfonse deduces out that "Líf" will be at his version of the Order of Heroes' castle with the weapon the "forbidden heart" created, as he would do this if he was in "Líf" position. However, though "Líf" is defeated, he was counting on Alfonse to confront him in the castle, and sets up the collapse of the building as a back-up plan in order to guarantee that he at least takes down Alfonse.
Much to "Lif's" surprise, the Order of Heroes survives the collapse. Upon seeing Sharena rising from the rubble he acts more gentler to her as she reminds him of his sister's counterpart. When Alfonse and the rest emerge, "Lif" runs where the Order of Heroes chase him and confront him one last time. Eventually they manage to defeat him and he succumbs to his wounds. Before dying he makes peace with Sharena and tells Alfonse to make a better future than his. Later Alfonse confiscates "Lif's" Breidablik and gives it to Kiran believing they have the power to defeat Hel.
In Chapter 13, Hel reanimates "Lif" and "Thrasir" but only as empty husks which the Order of Heroes easily dispose of. Later in the afterlife after Hel's defeat, "Lif" wakes from a dream where he saw an alternate reality where the heroes triumphed over Hel and their future was saved. After explaining his dream to "Thrasir", "Lif" reasons that there could be countless alternate realms other than theirs and hopes that Alfonse will guide that future well.