"Success is bound by one's potential to step over others. If one's potential to step over others is endless, so is their potential for success."

"Wow, Machiavelli, you're sure gonna dominate the race for the school council with such a mindset." Kanzaki pronounced with jeering humor, placing his pencil between his nose and upper lip, making a mock mustache.

Subaru habitually straightened the creases on his blazer and looked at the unfinished homework in front of him and chuckled. "Would it be rude to say I did not expect you to know who Machiavelli is?"

"Oi, how bad's your view of me!? Sure, I may be a football-playing stud who is physically active, but that doesn't mean I don't have a brain!" Kanzaki mocked dramatic horror and rolled his eyes.

"Well, where's your girlfriend, 'stud'?" Subaru laughed, flicking a ball of paper, missing Kanzaki, the projectile harmlessly tapping against the screen of Kanzaki's PC in the corner.

The footballer sagged forward, his forehead touching the surface of the kotatsu, drooping whole-heartedly. "Low blow, man, low blow…"

"Don't take it so close to heart. I am alone as well." The student looked down, finishing the calculation and closing his book, "Well, there goes Physics."

"Naaaaaaaaatsukiiiiiiiiiiiiii," Kanzaki did not lift his bleached head from the surface of the kotatsu, whinging into it, "May I take a loo-"

"Bah, at least try to do yours first, then I'll help you." Subaru leaned back and lay on the floor, staring at the warm light of the cheap bulb. It was fun at Kanzaki's, from watching him fight with Mina, his sister, to him and Subaru trading verbal blows (something Subaru tended to win in), to just doing homework at a leisurely pace.

"Natsuuuuuuuu-"

"No. Go try it, I won't be there to do your exam for you." He suddenly felt a little grim. After all, school was ending soon, and then… Then Kanzaki would be off to university… and he…

His eyes felt very heavy as he felt himself doze off, little by little, the soft beat of raindrops of a usual Gifu September on the window lulling him.

'Man, he will probably draw on my face while I sleep…'

'Who am I tonight?'

The hands on the crossbow were slick with blood. His blood-

'No. NO, NOT AGAIN.'

The bed under him felt a tad bit harder than the one in Roswaal Manor, his fingers feeling the roughness of some straw. His brows tensed as the pain over his back seeped in bit by bit, he did not know how long he lay like this but he wasn't used to such bedding.

"Now what's this, nya?" A voice, the young man's exhausted hearing strained as he tried to make out the owner. The height of it made it near-androgynous, even womanly, but somewhere deep in his gut it felt a bit off. The 'nya' also didn't sound like anything he had heard before.

A pair of gloved fingers softly touched his eyelids, moving them apart, warm light shining into his irises, Subaru trying to squint or close his eyes, the fingers instantly lifting as he shut his eyes tightly.

"Puhuhu, it seems that the fallen Knight has awoken!" The voice seemed a little mocking, and just loud enough to be grating on his unassuming ears. He could feel the attendant lean over to his ear and whisper, "Just stay awake while I fetch the Master, would you?"

Not waiting for an answer, soft steps tapped and a door closed with a creak, Subaru assuming he was alone. He still did not want to open his eyes, the oblivion of laying in this (rather uncomfortable) bed still more attractive than what his rattled memory could resurface. Something about a knight, a duel, the Royal Selection…

As he regained his memory, he gave out a groan, lifting his sore hands to his face and rubbing his forehead. 'Back to this ratrace, back to this mess…' It felt like the boulder that was dropped on his shoulders had been simply lifted off for a bit, and now, just as Sisyphus, he was back to the intrigue and royal backstabbing he had analyzed to death in his research.

'Gah, I will need to talk to Emilia, then find out Roswaal's motive, then…' His head rang as he hissed and tried to drag himself back to the thoughtless void. At least there he would not have to kowtow to all of this petty crap.

The door slammed open this time, like thunder ringing out in his small enclosed world of semi-consciousness, pulling him back up. His ears caught the same old quiet careful taps of whoever was there when he awoke, but intermixed with a second set of footsteps, strong and ordered, their beat rhythmic and heavy.

"I heard you were awake. Then open your eyes." He had not heard much of Candidate Crusch, but the voice generally aligned to what he heard.

'Huh, the soldier's speech style. Direct, not reinforced by any sort of technique. She must have spoken from her heart during her introduction because I barely hear a difference in her wording pattern.'

But while he found it curious, there was something alarming, a hint of disgust in her request-, no, order for him to open his eyes. Tearing apart his eyelids, not too quickly, not to show he was subservient to her or that she had him at an advantage, he gazed upon the two standing at his bedside, noting that he was in what looked like a basement infirmary.

Crusch Karsten, defensive, organized, serious. In the best traditions of militarism, always dressed in military attire, always with a sword. Imposing gaze. The other one was… he remembered the cat-eared individual standing by the candidate's side at the Royal Selection. It was hard to tell whether they were a man or a woman, but he supposed right now-

"Stop your gaze-shifting, I have had enough respect for Mister Roswaal to hold you for the time of your recovery, but I do not take kindly to snakes." Subaru covered his grimace with a yawn, feeling an unpleasant wrench of his gut. 'This is what a caught pickpocket must feel when he is grabbed by the wrist.'

Of course, trying to analyze them on the go wouldn't work, but getting caught so quickly also felt insulting. "What would you like from me, Candidate Crusch? I have naught to pay you with-"

"An explanation. I wish for an explanation." Something clattered on the bedside table, Subaru lifting his head up slightly with a grumble and sitting up, turning his head, each vertebra in his neck resisting whole-heartedly.

His flintlock was battered but still seemed functional, the dried blood on the lock plate and jaw still not removed. His hand reached out and picked it up, observing his invention, noting the slight bend in the hammer that was probably created by… He must have gone mad there for a second, he never thought he would apply enough force to bend steel out of shape by the force of his swing.

"You are lucky that Knight Krovenhald was quickly handled by the healers, and while his leg and head were restored, his face is permanently disfigured." Her tone was curt, to the point, she had no reason to be flowery in her speech. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

"Hm, I cannot say I left there without my damage-" He began his reasoning.

"You are not explaining yourself, and while Miss Emilia may be softhearted to accept some pitiful excuses, I do not have the time to listen to pathetic mumbling." It was like trying to block a knife with the palm of his hand, her speech cutting through any waffling he could use to gather his thoughts.

"I was put against a man who needn't a weapon to kill me," Subaru responded weakly. He did not plan this out, he COULD NOT plan this out. This assault on his senses so early after his awakening was unfair…

"And so you brought a lethal… whatever this is, into what was supposed to be first-blood combat?" She swiped the flintlock from his hands, his reflexes still too dull after the long sleep. "A weapon which could have potentially killed Knight Krovenhald?"

"That was my last resort." He gained some strength, defending himself, though his throat was parched and the room still did not stand out clearly.

"That is not what the Knights attending told me." Crusch continued marching through his reasoning. "In fact, they told me you pulled a weapon as soon as it seemed you were being defeated.

"No, I conceded, but Knight Krovenhald continued to attack me, even though he had long disarmed me. I had no intention of using this weapon." It sounded weak, it sounded desperate, it sounded FALSE, but there was nothing else he COULD tell her. There was nothing but the truth.

"So are you accusing the dozens of men in the stands of ALL being liars?" The question was pronounced calmly, he found that the Candidate was probably not one to raise her voice, but the tone in which she directed it at him was filled with sheer aggression.

The young man gritted his teeth. "Yes, I accuse all of them of lying, if you were to call Mister Roswaal or Miss Emilia and ask them of what occurred they would-"

"They are not here and all I have is your unproven word, a word of a pretender knight, against men who have again and again proved their loyalty to the kingdom." Crusch sighed, crossing her arms stoically, tossing his flintlock back in his lap, "You are a pathetic and dishonorable man, Subaru, and while I had the decency to defend you against the calls for retribution from the Knighthood, even when you are proven guilty, you have the weak-willingness to deny your wrongdoing. You disgust me, but as I said, I have a favor I owe Mister Roswaal."

Subaru wished to stand up and scream, to defend himself, to argue until his throat was sore so that there is not a single doubt, a single thought that he was in any way guilty of anything that occurred then. Instead, he lowered his head and looked away. "I would like to see my Camp, Miss Crusch, if you would not mind…"

"That is also why I would suggest you move out quickly. There has been news that-"

The door into the basement room burst open. "Is he here!?"

Subaru sat further up, feeling worried. The voice was male, not too deep, young, a bit older than his probably, worried, but for some reason, he felt a bad premonition about it. The figure emerging into the room had a familiar outline.

'A White Knight uniform…'

His back straightened as he tried not to show his anxiety, his hands grasping the flintlock like a saving grace, prepared for a beating worse than the previous time. A redhead emerged from the doorway, the expression written on the handsome face being one of concentrated urgency.

"Mister Subaru! I have found you-" The knight marched forward, grabbing the young man by the wrist, dragging him out of bed, "While I understand that you have just awoken, we must hurry!"

"Wh-" The young man tried to regain his balance as he was unceremoniously dragged to his feet, nearly falling on his face. "What are you talking about!?"

"Get your things, Mister Subaru, I will explain to you on the way." The Knight would turn to him, his expression still focused. "I will fetch a land dragon carriage. Please find your belongings, and please be prepared in around fifteen minutes."

The red-head would then disappear down the hallway, leaving Subaru in a confused daze, turning to look back inside the room at the Candidate and her cat-eared knight, silently imploring for an explanation.

"Felix will hand you back your belongings." Crusch would march out of the room and past Subaru, not looking at the young man as she passed him, "Be so kind as to vacate with Knight Reinhard as quickly as possible."

Her knight, Felix, followed her, stopping by Subaru and giving him an empty smile. "Guess we gotta get your stuff back, nya? As Miss Crusch commands…" The last part was pronounced bitterly as if he was quite ready to not follow her order.

Rolling up the sleeves on the nightshirt that he just noticed was on himself (the mist of coma was still passing), Subaru nodded wordlessly at the androgynous knight, putting his weight against the wall, his legs adapting to standing straight.

"And how long ago was that?" The carriage rattled as their chauffeur, a white-haired, nervous-looking trader shaking with each rock under the heavy wooden wheels, Subaru trying to ignore the discomfort of the journey back to the Manor and instead trying to garner as much as he could.

"Two days ago," The knight, on the other hand, looked comfortable among the wooden boxes, "First, no reports or runners came from the region, now some of the peasants that have survived are saying that the whole area is frozen."

"Anything that could have caused that?" Subaru tapped his jackboot, ensuring that the armed flintlock was still inside. He left the Royal Selection clothes at Crusch's manor, they were impractical, and he was much more used to the overcoat Felt and Petra made for his off-duty hours (which surprisingly turned out well), the dark blue wool specifically tailored to him.

A small spike of worry came up as he remembered the rest of the group. Emilia, Felt, Petra, Frederica, even Roswaal, if he really was in an empathetic mood. What would have happened to them?

'He's a Court Mage, there is probably nothing to worry about. We will deal with the situation on the ground.'

"No clue." Reinhard Astrea, the red-headed knight, the Sword Saint. Subaru observed him. The man was much more pleasant than most others he met in this world. While more focused on the emergency, he still was generally careful in his expressions and if Subaru did not know better, seemed like a decent person. "Though most Knights think that it is possibly some sort of Great Spirit."

"A natural catastrophe, of sorts, huh." Subaru interlocked his fingers and sat forward. "And you are powerful enough to take it on by yourself?"

The question seemed to throw the red-head off-balance, "Well, yes. Heh…" He scratched the back of his head, giving Subaru a pitying sympathetic look as if the young man was missing something very self-evident.

"Then why do you need me? I do not have many combat skills." Subaru sat back, crossing his arms.

"Honestly…" Reinhard chuckled awkwardly. "Originally, I simply wished to check on you and leave for Roswaal's Duchy, considering the story with Knight Krovenhald."

The young man tensed, "And what do you see before you then? How has the check on me gone?"

Reinhard smiled. "If I'm honest, I think that they should have made their lie more believable. While even Miss Crusch was fooled by the position of my colleagues, she is quite idealistic in her view of us…"

Subaru did not show it, simply relaxing and nodding, "Certainly." But great desperate warmth spread through the ice of anxiety that had covered his insides. 'Someone, at least someone is on my side…'

"And anyway, it is my fault that you have been thrust into such a situation. If not for the situation in Gusteko, I would have been here earlier." Reinhard looked down with moderate guilt, his awkward, apologetic smile persisting.

"No need to apologize, Mister Von Astrea, my own callousness in the face of conflict had brought me into that situation." The young man relaxed and uncrossed his arms. "Though, I must ask, what occurred in Gusteko? I see you are quite a powerful individual, at least from the rumors of your heroic deeds, so it must have been something quite appalling."

Reinhard's expression soured. "Something attacked a bridge I was passing through, collapsed it using a fireball, I stayed back to help search for survivors, and then proceeded to search for the perpetrator."

"And have you found them?" Subaru leaned with his back on one of the boxes and yawned, turning to look in the direction of the carriage's movement, staring at the back of the chauffeur's head, the white-haired man at the reins flinching as if he felt the stare physically.

"No, it took several days of searching, but there was not a single sign of a possible spirit or Witch Cult member…" He sighed, "But at least I was able to help some of the people who were caught in the blast…"

Subaru hummed something incoherent, nodding, his eyes glazing over, 'There is a… strange coincidence, so to say. If I remember correctly, Roswaal is famous for his Goa magic, flames and all… And for some reason he had rejected arriving directly with us, instead flying in at the last moment…'

It would be strange, almost inconceivable, but Roswaal had already acted in strange, almost nonsensical, ways before. In fact, would Reinhard being late not put Subaru in the duel? Why would Roswaal lie about him being the knight of the Emilia camp? To put him into the situation with the duel?

The young man shook his head, pulling the lapels of his overcoat up to his cheeks, the wool granting him a bit more warmth. 'Absurd. I am nobody in this world, so such far-reaching assumptions are simply pointless.'

"Ah, are you going to sleep, Subaru?" Reinhard was talking about something else, but the young man had successfully ignored most of it in favor of his own introspection.

"Yes, I still do not seem to have shaken off the injuries, please awaken me when we begin approaching the village." Subaru leaned into the box even more, the hard wooden edges feeling much softer with the weight of exhaustion wandering within his brain.

"Alright. Besides, I will need you. I have not been in Roswaal's holdings before and directions would be nice to have."

Subaru closed his eyes, letting the warmth of the overcoat lull him, muttering. "Certainly… Certainly…"

The boy flipped through his picture book again, before dropping it on the floor of the clean bullet train compartment.

"Subaru…" Natsuki Naoko leaned down, her thin fingers picking up the book.

"I wanna go home…" The 3-year-old began to rub his eye.

"Subaru… please… just hold on a little more…" Naoko leaned forward, trying to give him a reassuring smile, her sickly visage becoming even paler in the clinically clean electrical light, the bandage over her head still stained with red.

"I wanna go home…" The child began to whimper and rub his eyes even more, the tell-tale signs of an exhausted tantrum.

"Subaru, please…" Naoko tried hugging him, the boy worming his way out of her grasp, continuing to snivel.

"Mommy, I don't wanna go on the train anymore, I wanna go home…" Several round crystal tears ran down his face, "I wanna go home!"

"Subaru…" Her sickly visage was distorted by worry, but also an exhausted terror. "We will go home, just hold on for a little longer. We'll go see Auntie Yuka, you like Auntie Yuka, right?"

"No, I just wanna-" The boy's whining turned into blubbering as he completely lost composure, weakly waving the picture book for a little, before dropping it meekly and starting to sob full-force.

"Ma'am," A gloved hand, the train conductor, tapped Naoko on the shoulder, "Is everything alri-?"

The woman would visibly dart away, grabbing a hold of Subaru protectively, almost instinctively, "I-I-, y-yes, everything is alright!"

Subaru didn't see what the conductor did; he simply left, leaving him in his mother's embrace.

"He won't hurt us now… He won't… Just wait for a little more Subaru… Please, please, just wait a little more…"

Opening his eyes, the first thing he noticed was how cold his surroundings were, his breath rolling out in vapor clouds before him, everything outside the wrapping of the overcoat feeling painfully freezing.

'Haven't had THAT nightmare for a long while…'

Looking around the stopped cart, he would see the darkness outside and the small dot of a campfire several meters away, the chauffeur tending to the flames as the earth dragon bunched up as close as it could to the source of warmth.

"Gh…" Standing up with a groan, the young man would button up his overcoat completely, covering his neck. While not having a hat or gloves was a pain, he would simply make do.

"Hup…" Jumping down into the snow, he was thankful for the jackboots' went up to his mid-calf, otherwise he'd have a boot-full of snow right about now. Wading through the snow, he would sit down next to the fire, warming his hands and putting his back against the bunched-up earth dragon, taking a look at their driver.

The man, dressed in green, seemed to be nervous, the expression almost etched into his face as he continued to throw pieces of firewood into the fire, before turning to look at Subaru but quickly averting his stare when noticing the direct look he was being given.

"What is your name?" Subaru did not pronounce that out of interest, but rather out of courtesy. Starting straight off with a question about Reinhard's situation felt a little on the rude side.

"O-oh, h-heh, uh," The white-haired man seemed to have hit some sort of social barrier, "Uh, Otto Suwen." He extended his hand, as if for a handshake, forgetting that Subaru was on the opposite side of the campfire, quickly noticing his mistake and retracting his hand, before probably understanding how rude that would be and extending it again, waiting awkwardly.

"Subaru. Natsuki." The young man would scooch over and shake Otto's hand. 'He would certainly need a bit more work on his introductions next time.'

"R-right! Y-yeah! Pleasure." Otto would sit back, unsure of what to focus on, playing with a twig.

A short pause. "Do you know where Reinhard went?"

The white-haired trader would perk up, suddenly nervous again, "Oh! Right! Sorry, heh, uh, he went to set up some perimeter defense crystals."

Subaru looked around, "So, what, are we camping until tomorrow? Are we not on the hunt for some freezing force of nature?"

"The Beast of the End?" Otto blinked, chuckling awkwardly, "Sorry, but you kind of slept through it…"

"Slept through it?" The young man raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, I mean, it wasn't very climactic. We rode into this snowstorm, Knight Von Astrea disembarked, told me to wait, there was a flash of light some distance away and then he came back and said the ordeal was over with. The storm cleared after about an hour." Otto threw a paranoid gaze at the surrounding trees. "He said that we will start searching for survivors, but first we have to secure a perimeter, so I brought out the defense crystals to set up on the trees."

'Defence crystals… ah, right, they had those in the village as well…' He also inspected his surroundings, rubbing his hands and getting closer to the fire. 'We're a little round-about… I believe that if the Spirit, whatever he is, is a force of nature, then the Mansion and the villagers probably took cover somewhere…'

"S-say, Mister Natsuki?" Otto questioned carefully.

"Hm?" The young man refocused back on his companion.

"Isn't that the Roswaal Mansion in the distance?" The trader raised his hand, pointing at the snowed-over box in the far, far distance.

"Yes, it should be, if I remember the area correctly." Subaru rubbed his hands again.

"Would it not be… a little more lit up? Considering the snowstorm cleared hours ago, and the commotion of the Spirit has died down, maybe the survivors would have come out by now?"

The young man felt a pit in his stomach, instead looking away and focusing on the flames. "They probably hunkered down. Who knows, from experience, the Manor has many places to hide and defend, so for all we know they are so deep in the basements that they aren't sure if the danger has ended."

"You think the basements have central heating? H-heh." Otto pronounced it with a mix of humor but also genuine hope.

Subaru chuckled, standing up, stretching his legs so as to not let them freeze up. Maybe this Otto wasn't the most socially capable, but at least he was funny at times. "Last time I checked, it was used to refrigerate things, so I'm not really sure about a central heating system."

"O-oh…" Otto would look a little down, tossing another twig into the flame.

Their pause in conversation was disturbed by a crunch of freezing snow, both turning their heads, noticing the red-haired knight coming back.

"The crystals are up. At least when it comes to minor demi-beasts, we should have no queries about safety." Reinhard then smiled at Subaru. "Are you ready to go?"

The young man blinked. "Now?"

"Well, yes, now. Considering the dire situation, an hour, even two may play a pivotal role in the survival of those that are trapped." Reinhard knocked some snow off of his Knight jacket and smiled.

The young man would give a melancholic look at the void-like depths of the forest, the campfire's warm light dispersing against the trees, the glacial wall of darkness welcoming him beyond, before finally relenting and standing up.

"I suppose let's head to the Mansion." Subaru would waddle his way through the snow, up to the Knight.

"The Mansion? Why not the village, there may be more people in need of help." Reinhard retorted.

"Because if there's anyone who can help at least partially unfreeze our surroundings, it is Roswaal and his magic." The young man shook his head, "Besides, there is much more capable manpower there, and if we are able to restart the heating in the Mansion, there should be enough space to give anyone hurt or lost a space to sleep in the warmth, instead of here, next to a lackluster fire." Subaru would turn to look at the trader apologetically, "No offense, Otto."

Something seemed to conflict within Reinhard, Subaru's reasoning slowly but surely worming into his mind, in the end, he would give in. "Fine, but I prefer we hurry."

"Fine by me." Subaru would begin marching through the snow, slowly shambling through the mounds of white, before stopping as it reached up to his knee, too apprehensive to continue. "A… little help?"

"Certainly." Reinhard would walk on the snow, as if on solid ground, pulling the young man up and dragging Subaru onto his shoulders, a fireman carry, turning around, back to Otto, "Mister Suwen, stay safe, I believe we will be back once we get into the Mansion and get some assistance."

Subaru felt a little uncomfortable being carried, attempting to protest, "While this is certainly viable is there any wwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY-!?" His question would be swallowed up as Reinhard propelled himself forward at an inhuman speed, the darkness of the forest swallowing the two, the light of the campfire disappearing like a lighthouse in the abyss.

"Alright, I think we're here." Subaru would profess, Reinhard letting him down before the gates into the Manor.

"Strange…" The knight would not wait for a single moment, taking a couple of steps forward and checking the metal gate, the cast iron bent and crumpled out of shape. "Are the gates usually like this?"

Subaru would observe the gate and sighed, trying to keep the uneasy feeling that was beginning to well up in his stomach. "Possibly damaged by the storm. Though it may have been forced open."

"Mhm." Reinhard would begin to walk forward, Subaru trying to keep up with him as he forced his way through the calf-high snow layer, the jackboot now barely keeping it out.

The frontal facade looked much more beaten, several windows broken by the storm, or hung open by the wind, the cold and darkness making it look like the frozen skeletal carcass of a once-mighty beast. Continuing to walk forward, the two would stumble upon-

'Ice sculptures? Snowmen?' The figures stood around the frontal field, other-worldly scarecrows, all facing in one direction, towards the mansion, a snow-covered pilgrimage bathed in silence.

"W-well…" Subaru's gut instinct began to squirm uncomfortably. "Who would make these..? The kids?"

Reinhard gave him a confused look, "When is the last time you saw a child freeze a man solid, Subaru?"

'Freeze a man solid?' The young man would approach one of the figures, observing it closely. The 'person' stood completely straight, something like a hood covering his head, a layer of white ice covering him, or was he made of snow?

In a primordial instinctual curiosity, Subaru reached out his hand, pushing on the figure's stomach.

crack

The surface gave way under his fingers with a nauseating easiness, the frost-covered clothing giving way to another layer, his fingers touching-

Subaru jumped back, nearly falling backward. That wasn't snow or ice, no, no, it can't be…

"Flesh…" The expanse in his stomach opened up to swallow him whole, his nerves jumping suddenly. A rational calm mind began to whisper in the back of his head.

'Dead, dead, dead, dead, dead, dead-'

"Reinhard!" He would turn around quickly, barely containing his panic. "Reinhard! Get me in the building, now!"

"Right." Reinhard would drag Subaru out of the snow, carrying him quickly across the field, towards the entrance, the doors busted off of their hinges.

'Not the storm, not the storm, not the storm-'

"We have to search the mansion!" The young man nearly slipped on the iced-over steps as he propelled himself on pure adrenaline. "Check the basement, I'll check the higher floors!"

His mind fazed out the calls of Reinhard, something about splitting up, it didn't matter.

'Felt, Felt, Felt, where is she-'

The higher floors were more battered but that was his bet. If he was… If he was to find a body… it would be…

'No… No… NO…'

"Felt! Petra! Frederica! We're here! We're here! I'm here! Felt! Petra!" His run was turning into a half-stumble as the corridors enveloped him.

Forward, past the broken windows, turn, check the rooms. "Felt! Petra! Someone! Frederica! Anyone!"

He could not feel his fingers from the cold of the walls and handles, his face from the burning whistle of the icy night wind on his features, his voice echoing in the halls.

"Felt! Petra! Felt! Felt! Felt!"

Where would she go!? Where would she go, if something like this- if it- where-

A memory. Library, skipped duties, hiding spots, banter, lessons.

He stopped screaming, his force focusing on the strength of his legs carrying him forward, every step barely getting a good grip on the floor.

Bedroom, bedroom, dining room, bedroom, bedroom, laundry, bedroom-

Subaru lost his balance as he tried to stop by the library doors, the icy ground finally betraying him as he almost fell back, overcompensating the forward motion, the cold glaze meeting his face, his nose giving way and cracking as warm blood began to rain down his chin.

"Ghnf-" Pushing himself up, he would throw himself against the door, ignoring the minor injury, falling into the library.

"Felt!" He would cough as he swallowed some of his own blood. "Felt! I'm here!"

'Corners, check the corners, she always-'

A flash of black and white. "Fe-" His stomach would drop, the dress was covered in snow, and so was-

'A marble statue…' His mind could only come up with such an association as he saw the bunched up child in the corner, her eyes staring emptily in front of her, the cold having frozen her so deeply that the skin was white as- as white as-

Step.

'A statue… Yes… Simply a...'

Step.

'I just have to get her back to camp. She will wake up, just get her back to camp. I just have to-'

His knees hurt from their sudden meeting with the floor as he dropped on them in front of this…

His hands extended forward, brushing off some snow. "Felt, we have to go."

No response.

"We're gonna go."

No response.

"Just say something."

No response.

Taking her by the shoulders, he would pull her forward.

crack

He could still feel her shoulder in his hand, but she still didn't move. Looking down, at what was in his hand, his rational mind simply went silent, his fingers relaxing as dropped the-

'...'