The Definition Of Inexorability:
Something that can not be stopped no matter what is done or utilized.
Inexorability Chapter 2
TEN YEARS EARLIER - Lugunican Capital
It was odd, the weather that is. Usually, Lugunica did not have this type of weather. Rain was normal, hot weather was normal, and chilly autumns were occasionally apparent but not this, not this.
He'd expect it to occur in the sand dunes as that made sense, and yet the capital was swarming with sand everywhere. It got in his eyes, his hands, his mouth. He remembered playing on beaches back in Japan and munching on the sand. It was stupid but it was a childhood memory and so he remembered happily. This, however, gave off a completely different atmosphere, all that could be heard was the swift and eerie rubbing of sand on any structure nearby. It was a sandstorm.
The others seemed to question the same things. The demi-human proclaiming himself to be the greatest of shields complained that the sand kept getting in his knightly uniform. It was unlucky that directly after receiving such a uniform, it was already being tarnished by this terrible weather.
The could-be oni goddess and her independent, beautiful sister questioned the situation too. They were confused as to why such conditions had to occur on such an important day for the nation.
In the royal palace of the capital, were two men of red hair and purple hair respectively pacing back and forth as both were worried about what could cause this unusual situation. Did something happen at the sand dunes?
Today was perhaps one of the most important days in Lugunican history, the day that would determine the next ruler. The Royal Selection Election. That somewhat rhymed.
The door to the palace slammed close, taking the attention off from the minds of the red-haired and purple-haired knights to the group at the front.
"Sir Subaru, I am glad you could attend. You have come quite far since the first time you've set foot here," Miklotov said, glad to see that he had lived long enough to see the new dawn of heroes.
The room contained many of the nation's greatest individuals.
Talking in the corners were Crusch and Anastasia, two powerhouses in military and business respectively. Priscilla was present as well and, despite her irritating attitude, it was clear she had natural leadership qualities.
The room also contained the greatest of knights that ever existed. The room contained the kingdom's blue, the kingdom's red, the kingdom's purple, and the kingdom's orange.
"This doesn't seem to be the best day for the selection, does it?" sarcastically commented Subaru.
"No, no it is not. The Sage Council has been discussing whether or not it is wise to cancel the current announcement to a more suitable day. I agree that we should move it, but I disagree with the others members on the idea that this takes more precedent," Miklotov stated.
"What do you mean?" asked Subaru.
"I believe that the Council should start focusing on what is causing the predicament outside rather than arguing on the matters that must obviously wait."
Subaru nodded his head in agreement, showing some knightly manners in which he barely ever used.
"Subaru, it seems like your amazing friends want to say hello!" elegantly spoke Emilia.
Turning around, he could see the redhead and purple head.
Subaru smirked, secretly happy to see those two again, especially after recent troubles and tribulations.
"It is nice to see you again, Subaru," bowed Reinhardt.
"Nice to see you too, ex-self-proclaimed knight," chuckled Julius.
"Julius, you really are a one-of-a-kind bastard. A good bastard but still a bastard," Subaru laughed.
The knights walked off, leaving Miklotov to greet the next potential Queen.
"It makes me glad that you could attend Lady Emilia. I will be honest that my first impression of you was not, per se, the greatest. However, I am glad that you have risen up despite the insults."
"Thank you, Sir Miklotov. I hope that the Selection's results give this nation the ruler it needs."
"EMT," whispered Subaru as he was walking off, glad that his Emilia had gained upstanding confidence in her ability to lead.
"It looks like the commoner has finally arrived, how rude of you to make us wait for so long," commented Priscilla, wearing her emperor robes as she was related to the current Emperor of Vollachia.
"Whatever Pris, have you seen the outside!? It's like a sandstorm, it's like a vacuum's dirt compartment accidentally came loose and now everything is spilling out!"
"Va-cooyum? Sorry Subaru, but you continue to confuse me with your odd terms," politely stated Reinhardt.
"Don't worry about it, Rein. I'm just confused as to why the outside is flooded with sand."
They nodded their heads, everyone was confused about the same things.
"Big Bro! You're okay!" yelled Felt as she entered the room, dropping her forced princess-like demeanor with her truthful, far more energetic personality.
She ran at him and hugged him and he hugged back, not in a romantic sense of course. After all, that seat was for Reinhardt.
"Can't believe that such an important event was stolen away from us, I'm not the keenest on waiting," exclaimed Anastasia.
Everyone chuckled, even the other candidates like Crusch and Emilia, despite the fact that they were technically rivals in this whole Royal Selection Race.
Regardless of the terrible weather outside, it was clear that no matter the problem or situations or no matter who won the election, everyone in this room would keep their friendly relations and atmosphere. It was a nice feeling of reassurance.
And it would have stayed that way if things went the way they should've.
"AAAAAAAAAAAHHH"
The screams permeated through the palace's walls, echoing all throughout the chamber.
The finest of knights, the Sword Saint, the most proficient of healers, and the greatest of tacticians sprinted towards the front doors, opening it with a loud BANG!
The sand storm was getting worse. The sand was swirling everywhere, mountainous piles gathering on the tops of market stalls and houses. All food that could have resided in those stalls was now buried in piles of sand and it was not hard to believe that a couple of bodies may very well reside in it as well.
Subaru pushed his orange scarf above his mouth to prevent himself from accidentally swallowing the sand. He was currently wearing a combination of the clothes he wore to the tower and with his original style of clothing.
Al came up next, asking where the scream came from as he pulled his short sword out of his scabbard.
"Something feels… off," Reinhardt softly said, but loud enough for the others to hear clearly.
It was then that Reinhardt started kneeling down, his skin growing exceedingly pale as if he had been struck with some unknown ailment.
"Reinhardt!?" Julius exclaimed, quickly coming to Reinhardt's side.
"My protections… I can't feel them."
"AAAAAAAAHHH"
More screams could be heard in the sandy capital.
"Felix, go with Reinhardt back inside and tell the others to gather up and evacuate now!" screamed Subaru with a commanding and sure voice.
The two listened to Subaru's command immediately. Subaru was never wrong, he always had great assessments of the situation and amazing intuition. If there was one ally you could choose to have on one's side, the best choices would be either the Sword Saint or this raven-haired dunderhead.
But now was not the time for jokes, something weird was happening.
Subaru and Julius ran through the streets of the capital, trying to assess the situation. The sand got in their way through, making seeing and even hearing difficult as the sand brushed against their ears, giving off an irritating rubbing and scratching sound.
"Help Me! It hurts, it hurts, it hurts!"
Subaru turned his head in a sporadic fashion to catch a glimpse of a crawling merchant. The merchant's cries of help had reminded him of the many times where death had claimed his life despite the pleading and hope that he could somehow survive. The crawling form of the merchant also reminded him of the time where he had to drag Anastasia's cut-up body back at the tower.
Remembering such memories brought much discomfort and no matter how much those memories changed him in a technical positive fashion, trauma could never subside so willingly and easily.
But the merchant was in no way the same condition in which Anastasia was in during that failed loop.
His skin was bumbling with black and red spots, almost as if every disease on Earth, or whatever planet Lungunica was on, was unleashed upon him.
His face and hands began dissolving into a puddle of abhorrent ooze that would make even the most enduring of people shriek in shock and run.
His eyes began popping out, its pleading and scared look very much apparent. It was as if he had witnessed something that shouldn't exist.
His body was melting into a puddle of pitiful liquid, and all the while Subaru and Julius watched with dilated pupils and painful expressions etched unto their faces.
"What the hell!" yelled the clearly shocked Subaru.
This couldn't be happening!
Screams occurred all throughout the capital, their intensity only growing with each passing second.
"Subaru, do you see that large black piece of sludge over there?" questioned Julius.
Subaru looked in the alluded direction only to see the epitome of all disasters.
"Julius, I need you to locate the others and tell them that I'll be fine. Spread your spirits to accompany them in separated groups. You need to get out of here now!"
"Subaru, you can't be serious. I won't leave you here with whatever is going on!"
The black sludge started moving, as if it heard something… smelt something perhaps?
"Julius, if that black thing over there is what I think it is… I nor you have any chance against it right now. Our only hope from the top of my head is Emilia-tan or Reinhardt and we both know that this is terrible weather to fight in for a spirit user and Reinhardt doesn't even seem to be doing well."
"But if w-"
"Julius, I'm going to charge it and lead it away. I'll leave it up to you to end this dilemma but please take into consideration what I'm telling you. Get out of here!"
Julius couldn't believe what he was hearing. Could Subaru hear what he was saying? If that monster, god forbid what it was, was the one that caused that man to be transformed into nothing but a smoldering, sad pile of ooze then what chance did Subaru believe he had in leading its way? What if it was faster than they thought? More tactful than they thought?
And to Julius, he'd never leave Subaru, especially not after learning that he had disappeared to Vollachia only to get caught in a messy revolution. Subaru was his friend and he had learned it the hard way that even the most unlikely and weakest of persons could still do great things. The world did not require Julius to be a perfect knight, it simply required Julius to believe in his cause and to do what was right.
That was why he was so desperate to stop the raven-haired boy from running to his death.
"Wait no, don't go Su-"
But the boy had already made his move...
"If I die, you better not make a contract with my adorable Beako you spirit swooner!"
And it was then that the boy charged directly at that mass of black sludge in which many called the Black Serpent.
Jump up, jump down, roll, jump, jump, grab the whip, latch, swing, jump, roll…
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That was a horrid sound.
As Subaru ran with the full intent of being bait, he constantly heard the horrid cries of the beast behind him.
Subaru had never run so fast in his life, though it made sense considering the Black Serpent was the tagger and he was the to-be tagged.
Subaru was fully aware of what he could be potentially getting into. The Black Serpent was the final boss of Mabeasts, more annoying and horrid than the Great Rabbit but also more dangerous and devastating than the White Whale. It was a creature from which no healer of any status and regardless of the level of training could heal no ailments.
It was a creature in which, to Subaru, one-touch was one life taken, a game over if you will.
It was also shockingly large and fast, as a snake should be he supposed. He had heard stories of the serpent through many mediums during his visits and tribulations at Gusteko. He also had learned more of the creature's abilities from his beloved Emilia-tan as she stated that its blood, which looked more like sludge, could move and kill on its own.
Subaru ran into an empty building, jumping over crates and counters all in the attempt to somewhat slow down the abomination behind him. Though it appeared to have been working for the first few buildings he recklessly ran inside, it seemed as if the serpent got faster and better at dodging and jumping over the obstacles in which obstructed it.
Subaru swung his whip to grapple on a little ledge on the stairs and pulled himself up to a higher level of the building, giving him more time considering the serpent didn't seem like the biggest fan of rock climbing large sections.
With sweat dripping from everywhere in his body and his mind carving up the possibilities in which he could die, Subaru continued to taunt and bait the creature into chasing him away from the palace. He sure as hell did not want to see any of his allies die again.
The serpent did something unexpected, however. Did it split into two? It seemed as if the snake could split apart, somewhat similar to what occurred back at Elior Forest. With double the speed, the snakes would've cornered Subaru if he had not jumped off the building, latching onto a loose piece of wood that held the building together.
Subaru, very much knowledgable of the desperation and hopelessness of the chase, did a 180-degree jump backward off the building and landed on a roof, glad that his training with Garfiel and all those obstacle courses were coming in this handy.
CRASH!
The serpent had split into even more parts, still chasing Subaru and with increasing speed and determination. It seemed like once a target was found, the snake would put all its might into its execution. Landing on the roof may have been Subaru's greatest flunk. As he landed, he had lost balance in his legs and tripped over, his face having direct contact with the hard floor.
Grabbing his ankle and still holding the determination to keep going, Subaru tried to limp away, but with the serpents gaining almost impossible speeds, he knew that escape would be impossible.
Subaru stopped running and accepted his fate.
Or at least he would have…
"AL CLAIZERIA"
A blinding white light encompassed the area, hitting the swaths of serpents and piercing their bodies. This sent black ooze and disease high up in the air.
Subaru looked to the source of the noise, almost annoyed by his presence and the fact that the Finest of Knights disobeyed an order as he never did before.
"Godamnit Julius," Subaru said, afraid that he may have unknowingly put his friend in danger.
"Subaru, you don't always have to play the hero, you know?"
"It's going to be just like last time, you idiot!"
"That is true, this does remind me of Sloth and that battle at the Tower," reminisced Julius, smiling to have the opportunity to fight with Subaru again.
The black sludge was rising up again…
Subaru's eyes scrunched up, feeling completely helpless…
"I wasn't talking about either of those."
The two knights looked head-on at the Serpent, its might on full display as it recombined and charged.
The greatest of tacticians and the greatest of knights would be fighting together to protect those they loved against one of the greatest of calamities.
10 Years Later - Lugunican Capital
The walk was silent as everyone was too shocked to speak a word until poor Petra took it upon herself to ask the important question.
"You really are Subaru?"
"I am"
"You look different, you look older"
"Ouch. I don't look that old, do I? It's been a couple of years, I don't think I would've changed much."
"You have messy hairs on your chin, you need to shave if you really are Subaru. Subaru looks better with a clean-cut face!"
"Thanks, I guess?"
"Uh, Warde- or… Subaru-sama?"
"You can call me Subaru. Once that one wakes up though, you guys probably need to start calling me something different. You know, to avoid confusion."
"What happened to the Capital," asked Julius
Though the finest of knights was skeptical in the Warden's claim, Reinhardt nor Crusch had decided to interject yet. Unless they were purposely hiding the truth, it made sense to assume that this may very well be Subaru.
But what happened to the cheerful act that Subaru kept on full display?
After hearing the question, the Warden flinched a bit, though there was no supposed reason as to why.
"An attack happend, I don't like to speak about it."
Silence….
Reinhardt looked down, he wondered how the capital could have reached this state. Was he not here? Was he miles away back at Flanders when this attack occurred? Why did he have to be so useless?
Felt smacked his wrist, snapping him out of the self-deprecating realm. She knew very well that Reinhardt, despite his bravado and power, was simply a human with the same tendencies to push himself down in the attempt to cope with trauma. She then turned her attention to the older Subaru in front of them.
"You think that is actually him, Rein?"
"I detected no lies"
"I didn't either," chimed in Crusch, her protection was in full force now and she could pinpoint no lie in the boy's statement that he was who he was.
Meanwhile, in the back, Emilia was a tad-bit heartbroken. Did Subaru lose interest in her that he started calling himself the Champion of Satella rather than the Great Knight Of Emilia-Tan?
No, it had to be a misunderstanding...yes, a misunderstanding…
And yet, she could not let go of the thought. Her thoughts were similar to those of everyone's as well.
Similar to how the Warden previously stated that this was their capital but not their current one, I suppose the same thing could be stated for the state of Subaru. This was indeed Subaru, but his demeanor and attitude were not that of their current one.
This Subaru dropped the act he once continuously upheld. Yes, it was true that little sparks of energy and that same personality occasionally sprouted out but it seemed more like an action out of habit rather than an action of conscious choice.
"Subaru, why are you here by yourself? Where are the others? Where are...us?" asked Emilia, her voice indicating no strain despite carrying the other sleeping Subaru for nearly 20 minutes. Elven Strength simply was amazing.
How should Subaru answer that though?
.
.
.
"I'm the only one that needs to be here right now."
"Commoner, don't treat us like idiots," proclaimed Priscilla.
"What do you mean?"
"You did not answer her question fully. I don't like the half-wit but I dislike those who simply give false ideas more"
Priscilla said that with venom within her voice. It was clear that she mistrusted him as, though she may have trusted the sleeping boy whose journey had been witnessed and analyzed, the Subaru in front of them held more knowledge and futuristic intuition than they and could very well be different in ideology than the current one.
Priscilla had her fan up to her face, it irritated and saddened Subaru, the older one that is, to see that the empress contained her old attitude and personality.
"Jeez, no breaks here I guess. Some of them are most likely safe. I'm simply here to free you from that theater. You may have noticed there was an exit behind the screen, yes?"
But his declaration was ignored completely by the blue-haired oni.
"You don't act fully like Subaru-Kun," Rem observed.
After spending many nights with him back at Vollachia, she was bound to pick up some of his habits and mannerisms. It went to the point that she occasionally utilized Subaru-isms similar to how the great spirit did.
"I guess some things change over time. Don't worry, I'm still a fully operational and talkative Subaru!"
Petra and Frederica chuckled, Petra more so because she perceived his increase in energy as an indication that this was truly Subaru and Frederica more so because she wanted to join Petra and let her know she wasn't alone in the whole endeavor.
"Hey, Cap'n, do I ever become a knight?" asked the curious cat, still secretly afraid to mention Return by Death or discuss such things with this Subaru.
Subaru smirked…
You guys won't believe this but yeah… you do. You never did look too fancy or proper wearing the knight's uniform though. You preferred to only wear the pants with the coat, no undershirt or anything. At least it wasn't buck-naked.
Garfiel's face beamed with joy and happiness. It was an almost rare occurrence after watching those viewings days on end.
"Ya hear that Sis!? I become a full-fledged knight!"s
"Yes, yes, I am proud of you Garf," clapped Frederica.
In the back, a certain pink-haired oni had enough of this pointless conversation. This Subaru was clearly different but had told them nothing of what was going on. What caused him to leave the theater audience? Did he lose control? Wait, this was Barusu, wasn't it?
How could Barusu ever construct a room that restricts divine protection and so much more? Barusu couldn't be that smart, he had shown no expertise in metia-making after all or in fighting so how could he have protected the theater?
Similarly, the spirit walking right beside him seemed to get fed up with his neglect. She was the adorable great spirit of Yin and she would have no one ignore her beauty!
"Betty is getting irritated, in fact. When are you going to start telling us the truth, I suppose!"
"What?"
It was Ram's turn now…
"I think what lady Beatrice is trying to ask is if you did anything idiotic Barusu #2."
He chuckled, it unnerved some of the group.
"I didn't do anything stupid and you guys don't need to worry about where we are going. We are just going to my… What would I call it?... My base of operations! Yeah… base of operations."
"I'll... explain a tad bit more once we're there."
No matter how long it seems that Barusu contains the same amount of intellect, observed Ram. He sounded like he didn't even know where they were going now.
And so, they walked silently once again.
"AAAAAAHHH"
As Subaru and the other knights rushed out of the palace, a worried half-elf yelled for her beloved Subaru to come back. However, as Reinhardt and Felix quickly came back in was when everyone inside experienced a great decrease in hope.
"Rein, what the hell happened!" screamed Felt, quickly rushing to her knight's side to clutch his hand in worry.
"Felix, report," demanded Crusch, aware that Felix could make a quick diagnosis. She was astounded though as she once believed that harming or even getting the Sword Saint to back down in this way was theoretically and physically impossible.
"I don't know, Rein just started turning pale. I don't sense any mana interference nya. Subaru said that we needed to get out of here fast!"
It was then that Emilia's skin turned equally as pale, almost as if Reinhardt's current condition had transferred over to her. Her skin paling though was for a far different reason than what apparently befell the Sword Saint.
Subaru was a dunderhead in all possible regards. He was kind but was too kind, almost to the point of being willing to sacrifice himself regardless of circumstance. He was brave and charismatic but was too brave to the point of doing reckless things and was too charismatic as to easily sweep his worries and insecurities under the rug.
And just like always, it seemed her knight was going into a dangerous situation without her consent once again.
"Cap'n going out into danger without my amazing self!" Garfiel exclaimed, clearly prepared to go into battle despite the terrible condition outside.
"Garf, don't be stupid. Fighting out there is a death wish, Subaru probably will realize that soon enough," stated Ram in a very manner-of-fact fashion.
Ram was equally as worried, however. She could not let her sister's light fade away in such conditions and no matter what people initially perceived it as she did care deeply for Barusu. Hopefully, Barusu would make the conscious decision to retreat.
However, a retreat was a very unlikely thing for stupid Barusu to do.
"Nee-sama, do you think Subaru could be-" Rem said, scared at the possibility.
"It… it is a possibility," Ram responded, making the tiger boy and the silver-haired princess look at them confusingly.
"What do 'er mean?" Garfiel asked, a confused undertone laid beneath his voice.
Rem's head was spinning. Subaru was going to use himself as bait for whatever was out there. His sacrificial nature desperately needed to be fixed and attended to.
Felix, though his mind too was spinning, knew that Subaru's word was law in this situation. He understood that Subaru may have perceived this to be an attack by the Witch Cult and so he ordered them to retreat as the conditions were not ideal.
Quite logical thinking for such a chaotic catastrophic situation.
It didn't make entire sense though as he believed that all the Archbishops had been defeated already. Was this finally the supreme leader of the Witch Cult they were searching for a couple of months back?
In all apparent honesty though, his guess wasn't too far off.
And as Emilia worried and the sands outside got louder and louder, almost drowning out the cries of pain and for help outside, was the same exact time the two great knights charged at the serpent.
Author's Notes:
I want to say something in response to a review/comment left by the Reactionist himself.
This is what Reactionist commented:
I don't think I like how this is played. the logic behind warden being just another copy of Subaru is really a turn-off for me since it's so overdone.
but maybe that's just because I know the true lore of the theater and don't like others making their own explanations as if it was canon. either way, I recognize the talent in this chapter. glad you used my story enough to write in its world, though I would appreciate it if you don't give this idea around without telling people to ask me what they will do first. either way, nice chapter.
My Response:
I'm sorry that you didn't enjoy it as much as you or I may have hoped, but I still sincerely hope you enjoyed it in a general sense. Also, for other viewers reading this author's note, please be aware that this is NOT canon in the actual Re; Zero universe nor is it canon in Reactionists fic, like at all.
I am simply writing for the sake of writing and this random crack idea just popped into my mind. I decided to write it and publish it, that's it. I mean no insult to Reactionist's fic that this very fic obviously takes inspiration from. This fic does not relate to his canon and it is simply meant to be taken as an alternate thing.
Also, I do also agree with Reactionist that it is most probably best to consult with him first before continuing to make any fanfics revolving around the story of the theater.
Other than that, I hope you have a nice day Reactionist!
No, scratch that…
Have an exquisite day, man!
That goes the same for the other readers too!
Yorelis, signing out...