"Huh? Where am I? It's so cold..."
Subaru's vision returned to a familiar scene. He was sitting at the desk in his room, with the crystal lamp dimming his surroundings. Looking to his right, he notices windows that show the moonlight shining in the night's sky.
He was present at the Mathers' mansion, but how did he get here?
"What just happened...?" Thinking to himself, he gets up from his seat. The scent of the mansion made him feel a strong sense of peace and nostalgia. But why?
He puts a hand over his face. "Guess I'll take a walk." He nods to himself, walking over to the white door of his room. He turns the doorknob and enters the hallway. Red carpet laid across from left to right, lights lit the hallway, giving it a soft yellow glow. Once again, the strange feeling of nostalgia came back to him.
Choosing to ignore it, he walks through the hallway, finding the staircase downward in a short amount of time. He climbs down the steps, coming face to face with the main hall of the mansion. Strangely, it was quiet across the whole mansion. Not even his footsteps echoed throughout the emptiness of the hallways and rooms.
Walking outside, he was met with the courtyard he knew so well. However, no lights were lit. The moonlight illuminated the courtyard, along with the stars above him. "Woah..." Subaru looked up at the sky to be met with countless stars.
He moved forward at a slow pace, falling downward on a patch of grass, staring up at the stars. Relaxing on the soft grass, he felt at peace.
"What a beautiful view..."He thinks out loud.
Throughout this entire time, his mind was blank. He only felt the strange emotion of nostalgia throughout this entire sequence. His mind was still blank, keeping his eyes fixated on the sky. Suddenly, a thought crammed into his mind.
"Where's Ram?"
Suddenly, he heard a loud scream coming from a familiar voice. It was Rem, who sounded very frantic. It echoed loudly throughout the mansion, Subaru being able to hear it from the courtyard's silence.
His instincts immediately kicked in as he jumped up from his position. He looked around frantically. He saw no one. A shadow appeared across the courtyard, hovering from above. Subaru looked up at the mansion to see Ram, his love, standing at the edge of the balcony.
"RAM NO!"
Subaru frantically screamed while running as fast as he humanely could, hoping to save Ram. He did not want to lose her once again, nor go through another death.
He blinked and noticed that Ram was no longer standing on the edge of the balcony anymore. He was about to reconsider his sanity when he heard the terrible sound of a loud crunch and splatter. There, on the concrete ground in front of him, lay Ram in a pile of flesh, bones, blood.
Subaru was left beyond speechless. This was perhaps one of the most brutal deaths he had seen in his history of being in this new world. Organs were strewn all over the place. Her blood was flooding the small area he stood at, her bones stuck out from unique positions of her body.
Lost for words and in shock, he got on his knees and threw up. His vision became hazy as the smell of blood and other substances filled his nose. He got to his feet and looked forward to the mansion's door. He stumbled up the steps of the mansion, opened the door, and collapsed again at the entrance.
Tears flowed down his cheeks. He sobbed, remembering the scene of Ram's corpse he saw only moments ago. He gasped, clenching his fists and looking up, feeling as if his eyes were about to bulge out of their sockets. It filled him with rage. But why?
He stood up quickly and ran as fast as he could toward the steps. Subaru felt nothing but rage. Strangely enough, it felt as if he was not in control of his body. He dashed up the steps at an alarming rate. Making it back up into the hallway lined with rooms, he dashed down.
A sound of chains echoed through the hallway. One he never would have forgotten. Rem's Morning Star. However, as soon as his subconscious came to this conclusion, he slammed into the large room where the balcony was found.
Knowing where he would go, he let loose on resistance. He ran straight toward the balcony and prepared to jump. Once at a close enough distance, he leaped, making it over the balcony's banister.
He stared straight down toward the concrete, seeing Ram's corpse. He closed his eyes, accepting the hands of death once again.
Next thing he knew, an all-too-familiar hand greeted Subaru, the hand that reached out to him every time he died. But this time, he awoke in a different scenario, completely separate from the one that had just occurred.
"Huh?"
He was in a dark cave. Someone chained his arms up toward the rock solid wall. It was cold. He looked around and noticed something floating in the middle of the large space he was in.
Right ahead of him was a familiar blue-haired girl, Rem. Noticing her, Subaru's eyebrows furrowed slightly. Unable to tell from how dim the area they were in was, she seemed to look off. As if she were in an uncomfortable position.
"R-Rem..."
Darting his eyes around desperately, Subaru's mouth was wide open in shock as he slowly went insane from what was happening. He couldn't take this anymore. He banged his head on the floor while muttering "Kill... me." repeatedly until his forehead was bruised. It brought a mix of emotions to him, along with the emotions of the current situation.
Suddenly, another familiar figure approached him. The dark green, short hair along with his grey and magenta cap made him stand out. His bulging eyes sent chills down Subaru's spine, as he immediately knew who this person was.
"B-Betelgeuse?!"
Subaru stared in shock at the figure, as he could have sworn Betelgeuse was long dead. Was this a nightmare? Perhaps it's reality? Is this hell it brought him upon? He leaned downward, staring at the solid ground below him.
"Ah, how utterly comical! You've finally awoken! What a truly entertaining sight! Truly, truly, truly entertaining! My brain, it t-t-t-trembles!"
Hearing the deranged voice from the man, Subaru looked back up to meet his stare. The bulging eyes only sent him back on a flow of emotions from the past.
"Ram... Where is-" Subaru remembered the previous scene he had encountered, which made him drop his gaze again.
Although he felt like giving up on the spot and passing out, his determination welled up. He needed to keep an alert and focused mindset and excel in a solution. He stopped, cornering himself at the back of his mind, and looked back up at Betelgeuse.
"Now tell me, boy. You wouldn't be the one known as Pride, would you?"
Betelgeuse yet again spoke to Subaru.
Subaru ignored the words once again and focused on thinking of a way to escape the current situation. What could he do about being chained up? Maybe he could struggle out of the chains? The answer was simple. Nothing. He would just either have to starve to death or find a way to suicide, and see where fate takes him.
Subaru darted his eyes upward to see Rem, who was still midair. Footsteps crunched on the ground as Subaru met face-to-face with the green-haired man.
"Look at her, boy! This is all your doing! How awful! How cruel! You are truly slothful!"
He mocked Subaru for not being able to help. Subaru gave a small confused look. Betelgeuse was blaming Subaru for not being able to save her, although he could not remember any events leading up to this one, minus Ram's suicide.
Subaru felt anger well up in his body once again. He pulled the chains in frustration, whipping his head down and staring directly into Betelgeuse's eyes.
"BETELGEUSE! I'll kill you! I'll kill you! I'll kill you!"
Betelgeuse gave a wide smile to the words that Subaru spoke to him. He continued to threaten his life, over and over again.
Betelgeuse raised his arms, as multiple witch cultists appeared from the dark depths of the cave.
"All right, men! Time to resume your previously planned duties!"
Right before he left with his group of men, he mumbled something underneath his breath. Rem fell from the position she was in mid air, thumping onto the solid ground. Betelgeuse gave an echoing cackle and faded into the darkness with his men.
Subaru quickly spoke her name. "Rem!" He pulled as hard as he could from his chains but could not escape their grip. He observed her and gasped. Her neck was snapped, along with her whole body, which was deformed from shattered bones. Internal bleeding was made present through her pale skin. But the most notable detail was the fact that she lacked a face.
Seeing this, he screamed into the depths of the cave, looking upward into the darkness. Looking back down, he noticed he was elsewhere, away from the chains that held him bound. He felt a cold breeze suddenly blow toward him. Looking up, he saw a figure surrounded in darkness. It spoke.
"I love you."
He remembered this figure. Blinking, he looked up at the person with a slight feeling of hope. He reached out his hands toward the figure, only to be placed in yet another scene.
The air was heavily moist. It was cloudy, nearing sunset. Upon regaining his focus, he immediately recognizes this area. This was where he and his group encountered Lye and Regulus. The village's state immediately gave it away.
Subaru grabbed his head and slowly stepped back. What in the world is going on? Emilia, who was standing nearby, noticed this.
"Subaru? What's wrong?" Emilia turns to Subaru with a confused look. He shook his head and held his eyes shut. He suddenly heard loud footsteps against the gravel, darting in his direction. He opened his eyes to see Lye charging at him with fast speed.
"El Minya!"
Multiple shards of crystalized mana appeared around Subaru. Thanks to his quick reaction time, he could take notice and send an attack. The shards fly toward Lye, only to be blocked by the blades bound to his wrists.
Lye smiles widely at Subaru's attempt at defense. Subaru backed up quickly before being pushed away.
"BARUSU!"
As he tumbled backward, the voice and appearance brought small tears to his eyes. The image of Ram's corpse was still in his mind. Seeing her alive swayed his emotions as he screamed.
"Ram!"
Lye opened his mouth, leaping forward. Ram was soon launched across the area into the deep forest along with him.
Subaru's eyes open wide at the incredible speed she was launched at. Rem, who stood by, also had the same reaction to the scene. Her mace was in hand, prepared to send for an attack. Judging by her reaction, however, she seemed to have misjudged the speed of Lye.
"Rem, let's go!"
Subaru raises his hand toward her and begins to make a run toward the area Ram had been launched toward.
"What's the matter, I suppose?"
Beatrice ran around the corner, hearing his name being called by Ram moments ago.
Beatrice gave a worried look upon seeing Subaru's face. "I-it's nothing." Subaru stuttered his words a bit as he is still in emotional shock from the event leading up to this one. Beatrice squinted her eyes, knowing that was nothing but a lie. He ran into the forest, with Beatrice trailing behind the two.
"Ram!" Subaru yelled.
Ram stood in the middle of the forest, Lye nowhere to be seen.
"Stay away." She spoke sternly, jumping back at the two running toward her.
Subaru knew this meant bad news. When Ram had her memories eaten in a previous loop, she had resorted to strangling Subaru to death. Shaking his head, his determination got the best of him. He walked toward Ram when suddenly he stopped in his tracks. It was as if he was frozen, along with the entire world.
After a brief moment, he caught his breath. He looked around and noticed the surrounding girls were on their knees, hands covering their eyes. He heard distant sobs, farther away than Ram, Rem, and Beatrice were. He clenched his fists.
The forest became dark, as thunder was heard. The sobbing continued, however, there was a fourth source of sobbing. He could barely make out who it could have belonged to. The forest became darker and darker. The thunder struck more, sounding increasingly violent each time.
The world around him began to crack. The thunder became deafening, forcing Subaru to cover his ears. "Subaru!" He heard the voice of Rem and Beatrice shout his name. The lightning strobed his eyes, as he saw a girl with white hair and white eyelashes before him. Along with her, the sobbing became louder and louder, until his vision was obscured by white.
Tears welled up in Subaru's eyes. Hands still grabbing his head, his eyes shut tight, he gritted his teeth.
A cold, calm breeze came upon him. Soft grass touched his ankles. Light shined down onto him. Opening his eyes, he was met with peace and confusion. The tears that were welled up rolled down his cheeks.
He sat in a grassy field, with no sight of any buildings or civilization. It was simply a plain field, with a blue sky and shining sun, with clouds that surrounded the sky. The only thing that stood out was a small table, with two chairs and an umbrella giving shade to the area.
Someone was present at the table. It appeared to be the same person Subaru saw as the world was breaking. They sat calmly at the table.
Subaru stood up and walked toward the white-haired person. He still was not sure if this was part of the strange occurrence that he was going through, so he was reluctant to approach the person. Could this mean death for Subaru? Are they a threat?
Subaru's thoughts distracted him from the fact that they were staring at him. He froze upon noticing this. Using his hand to shield his face from the light, he observed the person's features. Now that he could see this person up close, they were a girl, with long white hair, black eyes with white pupils, and white eyebrows and eyelashes. She wore a long, black dress that reached down to her ankles, along with a black and green butterfly hairpin. She was pale and wore a wide smirk toward Subaru.
It struck Subaru with confusion.
"My apologies. Did I startle you? It's been quite a while since I've spoken to anyone, so perhaps I was a bit too eager." She spoke.
"Wh-who are you?!" Subaru spoke to her.
"My name is Echidna. However, my official title is the Witch of Greed. Perhaps you would know me a bit better that way."
Subaru gasped slightly, taking a step back. A witch? Hearing this, he did not know how to feel. Subaru recalled Beatrice telling him about the different witches that existed. These are the witches that those insane Sin Archbishops worship?
"It hurts to see you look so alarmed by me. Despite who I may be, I am still a tender young maiden, you know." Echidna spoke.
Subaru gave a slight blush and shook his head. "I'm sorry, but there's no way I'm not going to be alarmed when I hear you say you're the Witch of Greed." He told her.
"Ah. I see. Well, you do have a fair point." She responded.
Although Echidna was a witch, Subaru had no choice but to question where he currently was.
"What is this place? Last I remember the world was shattering, so what is this? Where the hell did you move me?" Subaru asked.
"I see... Well, in that case, you are quite mistaken. I didn't physically move you. I merely invited you to my tea party. Right now, you are in a coma, so I'm afraid I cannot get you out of here until your physical body wakes up."
Subaru's eyes widened at her words. "A coma? But how?" He asked himself in his mind. He did not know how to feel about this. Was what he experienced all an illusion? What about the current scene he was in now? There was no way that someone in his dream would tell him he was in a coma.
"Tea party?" Subaru muttered.
"Indeed. It's a witch's tea party. So are you just going to sit there forever? Why don't you sit down before the tea gets cold?" Echidna told Subaru.
With the additional facts at hand, Subaru was unsure of what to do. Being in a coma meant there was no way he could physically make himself wake up. The only thing he could do was lean into whatever would come his way. He sat down on the chair and looked up at the witch, meeting her gaze toward him.
To be continued...
The nightmare is finally over; it seems. Subaru Natsuki meets a girl who is claiming to be the Witch of Greed. Is she trustworthy? What is currently happening while Subaru is asleep? Chapter 36 of Ram:IF coming soon!