Chapter 1: Return to Zero
"Fuck fuck fuck, why does this always happen to me" Subaru thought as he ran up the stairs, a familiar blond-haired spirit in hand.
"Keep your head up, I suppose. We need to catch up with the others in fact," said spirit responded with. She could feel her contractor falling into the familiar pit of despair he would spiral into.
While there were times where she would let him, now was not one of them. Not when they were so close to beating this damn tower and being freed from this hell.
"I know I know I'm hurrying. Damn I should have trained my stamina a bit more. If we make it out of this alive I am doubling… no tripling my regime with Garf. Damn body MOVE."
Subaru commanded his body to push forward before sneaking a look behind him, watching a dark substance slowly crawl up the stairs, consuming everything in its wake.
It all started after the fight with Gluttony had concluded. Everyone met up inside the now-destroyed second trial room, regrouping after a terrifying fight for their lives.
"I believe the madness has finally concluded, we may now claim victory," a purple haired knight wearily stated. It had been a long day for Julius.
He had faced off against Reid Astrea, the first sword saint and one of the most powerful individuals to ever exist, in a desperate attempt to overcome the trials of the tower.
Just when all hope seemed lost, the knight managed to claim victory through sheer luck, a fact not lost on him as he felt his body not being the only thing having taken a beating since arriving at this accursed tower.
"Ah don't beat ya self up too bad Julius, ya did good, made lil'ol me proud. That guy was quite the tough nut to crack, we're lucky everyone made it out ok,"
A mauve haired merchant said as she went to comfort her poor knight. She had on a practiced smile, a smile crafted by the many years of being a merchant.
To anyone looking at her, they may assume that Anastasia Hoshin was the pinnacle of calm. How wrong they were, as currently she was anything but. This whole trip has been taxing on her mind and she felt ready to throw in the towel.
No, she mustn't give up, a good merchant will not quit until the deal is done and all business is finished.
"Anastasia is right Julius, that fight was reaaaaaly hard, we are lucky to have beat it."
A voice not unlike a silver bell chimed. The owner of said voice was none other than the beautiful half-elf Emilia. Though her clothes were filthy, a product of the intense battle that had finished moments ago, she still held her usual charming aura.
Flashing a wide smile to Julius, her attention shifted to her dunderhead of a knight.
Grateful for Emilia's and Anastasia's words of encouragement, Julius regained his composure before replying:
"I thank you Emilia-sama and Anastasia-sama, truly." Julius calmly stated, before straightening his back and settling his face.
Though he was still unbelievably tired both physically and mentally, he still maintained the aura of nobility and justice. He truly deserved the title of greatest of knights.
After regaining his form, Julius followed Emilia's eyes to the boy on the ground.
Subaru was currently sitting on the floor, attended to by his amazing contracted spirit Beatrice. In his hands he held a scorpion with a deep red shell, another product of the difficult fight.
Beatrice's golden drills moved up and down as she rushed over her contractor, ensuring any bruises or injuries were properly dealt with.
He winced when the flow of magic hit a particularly vulnerable spot. Though with how many times he had done this already, there must have been quite a few. "Ouch Beako that hurts," he exclaimed, trying to hold in the tears that threatened to flood out.
"Betty is not the one at fault, in fact. It is her idiot contractor's actions that led to this, I suppose." The spirit deadpanned.
Though she saw the tears welling in Subaru's eyes, she decided to deal with his physical wounds first before moving to the mental ones.
Make no mistake however, the tears that were beginning to fall from Subaru's face were not from pain. Pain had been somewhat of a constant in the poor boy's life. After all, when you have your entire body become food for hungry rabbits, a few scrapes can only hurt so much.
No, Subaru was teary from disbelief. This whole experience has been nothing but hell for him. From the hungry horse king, the miasma, the Hell's snipe, the trials, Reid, Shaula in her scorpion form, to the pure despair and the deaths, oh how many deaths there were.
Subaru lost count how many times he died in this watchtower once the number passed 10, his mind too busy dealing with its loss of memories and the working of a certain blonde haired archbishop.
Despite all of this, he managed to make it through everything and beat the tower that Subaru genuinely thought was designed by Satan himself.
Yet he was not foolish enough to let his guard down. Though the fighting may have stopped for now, danger always lurked nearby. After all, his sloth is what caused him to lose Rem. The thought of the girl and how another situation like that may occur brought tears to his eyes. Rem, sweet Rem, the girl who managed to help him at his lowest point and renew his determination.
One of the main sources of his motivation. Yet what had he repaid her endless kindness with? Empty promises and the failure to save her, all because of him, it's all his fault. He must atone, must atone must atone must atone he must bleed for his sloth he mu-
"Subaru!" Beatrice exclaimed, noticing the look in her contractor's eyes and not liking it one bit
"Ah what huh, oh Beako heh sorry, spaced out for a sec there," Subaru rubbed his cheek idly, "Mind updating me on what's happening?"
"There is nothing happening right now, I suppose." Beatrice turns her eyes to Subaru, deciding to address his tears, "Betty is simply curious about what her contractor is thinking about for him to have such a look in his eyes in fact."
"Oh that, oh ya know, just thinking about everything that's happened. Especially the fight, I still can't believe we won." Subaru deflected the question as he hurriedly rubbed his face.
"Hmph, wondering about our victory despite you putting in little effort to help? How expected of pathetic Barusu." All eyes turned to the sharp voice who chastised Subaru.
Their efforts led them to look upon Ram, a maid of the Roswaal Manner. Though she too had been in the intense battle, she looked no worse for wear, her gaze as sharp as ever and her aura exuding confidence.
"Even after such a hard fight, Nee-sama can still deliver such stinging lines, how brutal!" Subaru exclaimed, diving over onto the ground for extra effect.
The action got him a few chuckles from his companies, and a somehow more intense gaze from Ram
"Of course, it will take more than a few fights to get Ram down." Her face adopted a dangerous smirk. "Besides teasing Barusu is one of the things that energizes Ram the most."
"How harsh! You wound me!" Subaru proclaims, fake tears in his eyes.
"Ahem…"'
"Though this conversation is nice, I believe it is not the time for relaxation just yet." Julius interrupted the two. Though he normally would have looked onto the banter with amusement, it was not the time to lower their guards just yet. They needed to regroup with the others and make their escape first.
Emilia, picking up the signal, (Her training in conversations paid off!), added on "Julius is right, we can't afford to dilly dally. We have to meet with Meili and the others in the green room."
As if on cue, Subaru responded with a "Who even says dilly dally anymore?" before standing up, holding Beatrice's hand in one hand and the scorpion, formally Shaula, in the other. After looking around the room and giving a nod in confirmation, Subaru began walking, leading the group back down the stairs.
"So that is naked onee-san? Wow."
"Yes Meili, that is Shaula. Please be gentle with her, she is very important." After meeting up with the residents of the green room, the group made preparations to begin leaving. Subaru took this time to approach Meili to ask for a favor.
"I got that Onii-chan, but why bring her to me?" Meili's smile faltered ever so slightly. "I am not exactly gooood at caring for things." Meili finished, forcing down painful memories of how she lost her big sister, and all the lives she had to take for mama.
"I have reason to believe Shaula is currently a type of mabeast. Your divine protection should allow you to control her. This will allow us to take her with us." Subaru holds Shaula up to Meili's now outstretched hands. "Try calling her."
Meili was still a bit hesitant upon hearing this. "This tiny scorpion really is naked onee-chan?" she thought. While she was still unsure about this, she decided to trust Subaru. He has trusted her, someone who tried to kill him, so it's only fair she trusts him back.
"Hey there, wanna come with me?" Meili called out to Shaula. At this the tiny scorpion seemed to freeze up, unsure what to do. Just as Meili was about to give up, Shaula clicked her pincers and jumped into Meili's hands.
"Huh." Meili said in slight disbelief. Had she looked up, she would have seen a combination of care and smug on Subaru's face as he watched Meili sit down to play with Shaula.
He walked over to the other inhabitants of the green room: two onis dressed in maid outfits.
The only difference being their hair and eye color. Ram was hugging her sister, with a look that Subaru recognized as slight familiarity.
"Something wrong Nee-sama? You seemed to be fine a few minutes ago…" He began
"Only Barusu would interact with a maiden when she is vulnerable, how perverted. Should you take one more step I will see it fit to blow your limbs off. Ram is simply cuddling with her… her… her sister" She finished.
Subaru grinned upon hearing her response. He could not believe it. Has his efforts finally paid off? Was he finally going to fix his biggest mistake? "I take it you remember her now?"
Ram shook her head before looking over Rem's still sleeping face. "Ram sadly does not remember her cute sister. However, Ram feels different, like an emotion that was not present a while ago… like a tight bond." In a rare lowering of her voice, Ram quietly mutters "And you're the reason why Ram can feel it again, Barusu."
Subaru's ears perked up, his mind frantically trying to piece together the snippets of words he heard Ram utter.
"What's this, is there finally some dere to the tsun my dear Ram? It's ok to praise me, you know, I did help after all." Subaru exclaimed, looking at Ram with puppy dog eyes. Though in Subaru's case, it looked more like a devil's glare with his nasty eyes, earning a sneer from Ram.
"Ram will compliment Barusu when he does something worth praising." Curling up her lips she deadpanned "and this is not one of those times."
"Don't say that Ram, Subaru did reaaaaly good in the fight. I'm soooo glad he was there to help us." Emila remarked, joining the two. She stared at Rem, putting a finger to her chin. "Though I have to admit Ram is right, I feel reaaaaly familiar with Rem all of a sudden, even if I can't remember her."
Subaru signed, putting his hands down. "It's a start at least, we can worry about the rest later. Where is everyone else?" Subaru asked, noticing Emilia had come alone.
"Anastasia, Julius, and Beatrice are outside discussing what we should do next. The consensus is that we should travel to the top of the tower to see if there is anything that could aid us. Oh!" Emilia turns to Ram and Rem, changing her pose to a familiar one. The pose of a person Subaru loathed. "Stupid knightly pose" He grumbled.
"Julius told me to tell you," Emilia starts, before changing her voice to match the knight "Tell Ram to bring her sister with us to the tower, my spirits have confirmed a powerful entity there. Perhaps it may help wake Rem." She finished, happy she memorized everything.
"Understood Lady Emilia, Ram will bring Rem with her." Ram responds, picking up and securing Rem on her back before exiting the room. "Lady Beatrice." She acknowledges before walking out of sight.
All eyes turn towards the newcomer.
"Beako, why are you here? I thought that guy said that everyone was to head to the top of the tower?" Subaru asks, conveniently refusing to call Julius by his name.
"Hmph, Betty does not need to explain herself to anyone. Betty wanted to come here, so she will be here, I suppose." As she said this, she approached Subaru, looking at him expectantly. "Also, Betty did a very good job in the fight against Gluttony, I suppose. As such, it is her contractor's obligation to praise her in fact."
Emilia and Subaru laughed once Beatrice's true intentions were revealed. Even Meili giggled a bit due to the spirit's antics.
Subaru put on a malicious grin before picking up Beatrice and spinning her around, praising her at every moment.
"Gahh TOO MUCH PRAISE IN FACT," Beatrice shouted, though made no move to stop it. "PUT ME DOWN NOW I SUPPOSE."
Still grinning, Subaru gently put the great spirit down. "Sorry, but when it comes to my adorable Beako, I have to make sure she gets all the praise and headpats she deserves!" he dramatically declares, overexaggerting his expression with his arms before gently patting Beatrice's head. "But seriously, good… no awesome job Beako. You and Emilia both. I could not have dreamed of beating this tower without the help of you two." He meant every one of these words. Though Subaru was powerful in mind, and had a useful authority in Cor Leonis, he was still very weak. All his intellect and authorities become nothing more than parlor tricks in the face of strong opponents, so he has to rely on his allies again and again.
Emilia grinned, appreciating the usage of a thank you from her knight instead of his typical sorry followed by self depreciation. This whole tower had shown her a side of her knight that she didn't know about: the fear and sadness hidden behind his confident facade. Though she was surprised and upset at first, she resolved to help Subaru through his troubles, it is her duty as her liege and his close friend.
Friend… the word feels weird to Emilia when referring to Subaru, almost like she isn't satisfied with just that. Hmm, she will get Subaru to help with this feeling later. He has always been there for her, and now she hopefully will be there for him as well.
"You all should leave, you don't want to be left behind by the rest of the group I suppose," Beatrice said, interrupting Emilia's thoughts. Beatrice turned to Meili. "That includes you too. Though, leave the scorpion behind in fact. We have no idea how the former keeper will react to the entity at the top of the tower in fact. In addition the battle was quite taxing on Shaula, and due to a shortage of mana we have no way to heal her besides the green room I suppose."
Meili initially wanted to protest, growing a little fond of her scorpion friend, but decided against it. "Okaaaayyy I'll go with Onee-chan." she said, hiding her slight hurt behind a plastered grin. Picking up Shaula, she went to give her to Subaru
"But what about Subaru? Shouldn't he also come with us?" Emilia interjected, noticing how Beatrice avoided his name.
"Betty's Subaru is in a similar condition. He is injured and also needs the help of the spirit of the green room I suppose," Beatrice responded, before forcing Subaru to sit down, allowing her to comfortably sit in his lap. "Betty will also stay with Subaru to prevent her contractor from getting into any more trouble in fact." She stated, a bit of drowsiness seeping into her voice.
"Don't worry Emilia-tan, I'll be just fine," Subaru reassured Emilia upon seeing her hesitant gaze. "Go meet up with the others and tell them I'm fine, but not Julius though, make sure to ignore him." Subaru made sure to emphasize this last request, his pride not allowing him to proclaim his friendship with the great knight.
After taking the scorpion from Meili, Subaru waved at the two girls as he watched them leave. He went to get up, but upon seeing the sleeping face of his great spirit, he smiled and readjusted himself.
"I still can't believe it, we actually got through it all. This feels like a fever dream, I may need to pinch myself to make sure I'm not sleeping… or worse." Subaru shuddered, thinking about the many sacrifices it took to get here, how many times he had failed. Before he could spiral, he felt a pinch on his finger. He yelped, and looked to see the scorpion retracting its pincer after pinching the finger of her carrier.
"Just because I said I might need to doesn't mean you had to do it!" Subaru exclaimed, though calmed down soon after, trying not to wake Beatrice. "If I am being honest, I'm glad that you could do that Shaula, instead of being…" Subaru trailed off, not wanting to finish his sentence. Now that he had time to think, Subaru thought about the Sage he met in this tower.
Though there were many twists and turns throughout the Pleiades Watchtower, nothing was more confusing yet straightforward then the Great Sage Shaula.
For one, she understood Subaru. Not like a typical language, but she understood his mannerism and references, even going so far as to talk with references of her own. She was extremely energetic, and was alive during the calamity 400 years ago. She knew Reid Astrea when he was alive, and revealed that the true sage was Flugel, and that she was his apprentice. Despite this, she seemingly held no recollection about any important points, choosing to snuggle against Subaru's arm.
That was another thing, a thing that Subaru didn't think he could ever figure out: Shaula's fierce attachment to him. She would always try to stay close to him, do almost anything he said, and would always be on his side. He could also swear that in one of his loops he heard her call herself "Master's self proclaimed sex slave." Honestly the youth had no idea what to make of it. Over time, however, he grew fond of the girl. Despite being left alone in a tower for 400 years, she maintained her cheerful and ever loyal demeanor, lifting everyone's spirits, even if by a little, with her energy, and he was grateful for it.
As he held Shaula in his hands, he inhaled deeply then made a promise. "Shaula, I promise to get you back to your human form. Flugel was wrong for leaving you behind, and I will not let you stay like this, you don't deserve this. I promise to undo this mess and see you smile once again." Having motivated himself and made the promise, Subaru let himself relax, and soak in the healing of the green room.
As Subaru finally found some respite from the crazy past week or so, it's hard to tell when you turn back time, he heard something, something he wished he never had to hear again:
I love you...mine all mine mine mine mine mine mine mine mine mine mine
Subaru sat up with a jolt, watching in horror as miasma began to fill the room. He felt the color drain from his face as he recognized the voice and the miasma. "Not now, anytime but now," He thought. "I don't want to go back, not when my happy ending is so close."
Beatrice also awoke with a fright, and upon seeing the state of the room quickly sat up and rushed to get her contractor out of his trance.
"Subaru! Move it I suppose, we must leave now in fact!" She announced, before getting on her feet and lightly tapping the boy on his head to get his attention.
"Huh… yeah yeah right ok let's go." Subaru responded, his eyes unfocused before slowly returning to reality. Shaking his head and clearing his thoughts he grabbed and held Beatrice in one hand and the scorpion in the other.
Rushing out of the room, Subaru looked down to see a sight thought to exist only in nightmares.
A terrifying black sludge was rising into the tower, devouring all in its path. It looked like a cruel twist on the floor is lava game. It's pace was fast, and it was almost upon the trio. Subaru instinctively knew that touching that sludge meant certain death, and it is to be avoided at all costs. Gathering his courage and making sure his companions were secure, Subaru began running up the stairs away from the sludge.
"Don't look back in fact," Beatrice chided, noticing what her contractor was doing. "We must keep going if we are to out pace the Witch's miasma I suppose."
Subaru grunted in response, pushing his body to the limit. Though the green room and Beatrice had healed him, he was still exhausted all around. The only thing keeping him going was sheer willpower, thankfully he had plenty of that. Though the miasma sludge slowly gained on him, he assured himself that he was close to the top… to freedom.
"Shit," Subaru muttered, as the step he was planning to land on fell into pieces. "The watchtower is falling apart, we have to hurry," he said to himself, using this fact as further motivation.
"Subaru!" A silver bell called out to him. Looking up he saw the figure of Emilia, looking down at him from above. "Emilia-tan!" He cried out in response, "The watchtower is falling apart, and there's this black sludge crawling up it. We need to get everyone together and get to higher ground now!" He shouted, while continuing his ascent.
Fate would have other plans, as Subaru found the stairs ahead to be totally broken, just when he was in reach of the top. Maybe he could climb, but he has to carry Beatrice… that's it!
"Emilia-tan," The black haired boy screamed, hoping the half-elf could hear him.
"What is it Subaru?" She shouted back.
"I'm gonna throw Beako to you, I want you to catch her so I can climb up the rest of the way." He explained, hyping himself up for what was to come.
Upon hearing this, a blond spirit began to adamantly refuse.
"Betty is NOT a ball, in fact, she will not be thrown around as such!" She exclaimed.
"Beako," Subaru started, forcing Beatrice to look into his eyes. In his eyes she saw his fierce determination. The determination to face any obstacle life dared throw at him, and come out on top. The strength to conquer all trials and tribulations. These were the same eyes she saw when this idiot of man saved her from the library all that time ago.
Admitting defeat, she complied with the plan. "This is insane, and Betty's contractor is stupid for propsing it in fact." She sighed before continuing, "But Betty will trust her contractor. If he dies here, then Betty will kill him I suppose!"
Giving a warm smile to his amazing spirit friend, Subaru put Shaula down, then held Beatrice in his hands. Tensing his muscles and giving a nod of confirmation to Emilia, who had remained silent at this point, he threw Beatrice up into the air.
For one terrifying second he thought he messed up, but thankfully Emilia was ready. Using her elven strength, she easily caught Beatrice and got her onto the platform safely.
Upon seeing the success of the plan, Subaru began to loosen up his hands and get ready for his part of the plan: climbing the broken staircase.
"Subaru, be careful. The building is reaaaaly unstable, so it might be too dangerous to climb," Emilia warned, seeing Subaru begin to climb the walls.
"Don't worry Emilia-tan, I will be fine, just get to safety." Subaru responded quickly, trying to focus on the strenuous task at hand. After making sure Shaula was secured, Subaru continued climbing. He was lucky he thought up the plan, as a few seconds later the rest of the staircase collapsed, everything falling into the ever rising black substance.
"Holy!" Subaru cried out, marveling at how lucky he was to avoid certain doom. Continuing his climb, he could see the faces of his favorite people come closer and closer to him. 5 ft...4 ft...3...2...1… Emilia reached out her hand, eager to pull Subaru up. Just as he was about to reach hers, his luck ran out. The rock he was stepping on shattered, and Subaru suddenly was forced to support his body weight with just his hands.
Normally this would not have been much of a problem, he has done pull-ups plenty of times. But the exhaustion of the past events has drained everything out of him, even his near-infinite will power. Casting one last glance to the love of his life, Subaru could see her face get farther and farther as he fell down the tower.
"SUBARU!" Both spirit and half-elf cried out in tandem. Watching in tears as the greatest man they have ever known, the one who had given them everything, fell into the black abyss, never to be seen again.
He was drowning, drowning in the miasma, in the darkness, in the corruption, in ENVY.
Despite this Natsuki Subaru did not give up just yet, he desperately thrashed around, trying to reach the surface in vain. Feeling the end of his life draw near, Subaru chuckled without emotion, bracing himself for Return By Death to activate. Before he lost himself, he found the scorpion that had fallen with them. Gathering her into his hands, he thought a final time before going unconscious. "If it's possible, I'll make do on my promise, I will save you." With that final thought, Subaru di-
No, he hasn't died. Not yet at least. When Subaru awoke he found himself still floating in the endless sea of black, this time without Shaula. Though it was different then before, more surreal, like he was out of his body. Why did it feel that way? Ah of course…
He could touch but he had no hands
He could see but he had no eyes
He could hear but he had no ears
He could smell but he had no nose
He could taste but he had no mouth
He existed but did not exist
Before Subaru could ponder this state, he heard a voice. The voice resonated around him, like it was both inside and outside his head. The voice spoke:
Well then sage candidate, the time has come. The conditions have been met and thy wish shall be granted.
"Sage? Conditions? Wish? What are those?" Subaru couldn't understand what the voice meant. As if reading his mind, the voice continued…
The wish to undo all of the past… the ability to undo not one regret, but every one, from every lifetime. The chance to wipe clean the slate and start over from the beginning… FROM ZERO
As the voice screamed those last two words, Subaru had no time to process the implications before he felt his whole body getting stretched. Further and further, more and more, just when he thought he would die, it stopped, then time resumed once again.
A blinding light filled Subaru's vision, forcing him to squint his eyes. After a few moments, he managed to open his eyes, finding himself in… the capital city of Lugunica?
"This has to be a mistake, I should have respawned back in the tower," Subaru thought, idly pinching himself to ensure he was not dreaming. Yet it was not. He could see the humans and demi-humans walking along the road, traveling to their destinations. He could hear the sound of earth-dragons pulling carriages, and shop owners bantering with customers. He could feel the floor under his shoes, solid as ever, as well as the plastic bag in his hands, filled with ch…
"Wait what, how do I have this? This is all from when I first got here." Subaru was confused, how did he get his things back? He had lost or gotten rid of the plastic bag and its contents a long time ago. While trying to theorize about his current situation, Subaru felt a rush of memories assault his poor mind.
"Ugh." The youth cried out in pain, holding his head and falling to the ground. Earning some looks of concern from onlookers, who quickly went back to their own lives.
In the black-haired boy's mind he could make out a few memories from after he fell, the mysterious voice still fresh in his mind.
"Damn it, what did that voice say?" He thought, trying to remember. "Something about starting from the beginning? From zero… oh no." Subaru trailed off as he put two and two together. He had been sent back, back to the beginning. All of his progress, his sweat, blood and tears. The progress he had fought for over multiple lifetimes was gone, gone in an instant.
Roswaal had his precious Gospel back. Garfiel was back in the sanctuary, reverted to his angry state. Rem had her heart refrozen, with her inferiority complex returning at full force. Beatrice was back in the library, waiting for a person that would never come. Emilia was once again alone, stuck in isolation, her memories locked to her again. Most hurtful of all to Subaru was Shaula, mere moments after he made the promise to save her, he broke it, sentencing her to another indefinite stay at the Pleiades Watchtower.
He was useless, slothful, he let his guard down. Instead of Rem being the one to pay the price, Subaru had finally been forced to pay the piper and have all his hard-earned progress washed away.
Subaru let his thoughts wander down a dark path as he stumbled down a vaguely familiar alley.
"I'm useless, I'm pathetic, I'm a fool for thinking that there was any chance for a happy ending." Subaru spat, beginning to scratch his arms widely. "I let them down, all of them down, and now they have to suffer again, because of me… ALL BECAUSE OF ME." Subaru shouted, his frustration accumulating into a breaking point. He was done with the world, done with it all. There was no point in trying anymore, he thought.
Some steps could be heard behind Subaru. He recalled his first time in the capital, where he had run into the three muggers.
"No point in arguing, may as well deal with it. This is the price I must pay for my sins." Subaru wearily got up, keeping his back turned to the thieves. It's not that he was scared of the muggers, he knew that if he tried he could easily beat them. Rather he did not yet want to face them, for he knew that it would be undeniable proof that he had come back to zero, back to the beginning. A small part of him did not yet want to face this fact.
After a little he heard a voice speak and for the second time today Subaru was shocked by a voice.
"No, no I must be hallucinating, it cannot be her… it's impossible," Subaru's despair turned into shock as he once again rejected the reality of the situation. For the voice Subaru heard was not of a man, but of a woman. The thing said was not a threat to leave all belongings, but a question, a question that would forever change Subaru's reality:
"Master, is that you?"
Author Notes:
What's up y'all. First I wanna give a big shoutout to all of you who took the time to read this, I am honored. Now for a few notes:
This is my first story ever, and I got the idea from a random suggestion off reddit, so please go easy on me. Though please feel free to leave any criticism you might have, it is appreciated
In case you do not know, Lamda is another name for our favorite scorpion, Shaula. (Unless I have been lied to)
I am not sure whether I will follow canon or not
As with everyone else, I got finals kicking my ass, so update is gonna take a while, my apologies.
That's about it, big thanks to the people on discord who helped me edit this, lord knows I suck at grammar. Have a good day everyone.