"~And I'm done!" Subaru exclaimed with a flick of his wrist, the pen he held up until now flying out of his hand.

"Whoops…" As he "threw" the writing tool somewhere to the back of his table, he instantly regretted it as it was late at night and he didn't want to wake his parents up.

The reason Subaru was writing something into his notebook even though he stopped going to school months ago was because his father told him to at least try to keep his handwriting at the same skills. After all, everyone knows that if you don't write with your hand for a long time, your handwriting is gonna look like scribbles.

"Alright. This month's notebook is full," he said proudly as he sat on his chair, moving his hands behind his head as if he was a boss of some kind.

He moved his chair side to side as he thought about what to do, his eyes closed.

'It's like 2 am. I should probably go to sleep if I want to wake up at a somewhat normal time tomorrow.'

His eyes rapidly opened wide as realization hit him.

"Ah nooo! If I filled my notebook, that means I'm gonna have to go to the store tomorrow…" Subaru quietly whimpered.

"Doesn't matter. I'm too tired to do anything anyway," he sighed and turned off his lamp. Then he stood up from his chair and jumped on his bed.

Closing his eyes once more, he recalled what he did today so he'd have an easier time falling asleep, as most of his days were spent by doing nothing but playing games, and lately, also improving his writing.

Ironically, as he remembered more and more of his time-wasting, the tiredness got to him. Feeling himself slowly drift to sleep, he managed to bring out one last thought.

'I don't want to be a disappointment to my parents. If there is a God, just kill me already or bring me to faraway places where I won't have to disappoint them further. By being gone they'll at least have more time to realize what a waste of space I've been.'

"No, Satella, he's not ready-"

"See? Even Minerva agrees with me, you half-devil. He's not ready to face the current world-"

"What is this?" Subaru inquired from no one in particular as he looked around.

"Where am I? It feels like someone is saying something but… it's so muffled I can make nothing of it." His vision was so blurry he barely saw up to his feet, and his ears weren't of much help either, yet he could bring up a couple of things from his surroundings. Minimal in detail, yet still important and questionable.

"Al Terra."

"What was that? And why the hell am I in a grass field in the first place?"

'The last thing I remember…'

Subaru's eyes widened. "That's right! The last thing I did was go to bed. Does this mean I've awakened in my dream? What is it that they called it? Lek.. Luk… Lucid! Lucid drea-"

Suddenly Subaru's vision improved. Now that he saw everything with maximum clarity instead of the earlier blurry mess, his head spun uncontrollably.

"Ugh, I'm gonna vomit." He fell to the ground, one hand touching the very real grass beneath him while the other was covering his mouth.

"E-E-Echidna, h-he's h-" A girl with beautiful pink hair called out to the woman seemingly called Echidna, but she interrupted with a stern voice.

"You do realize that spell has little to no chance to work? If it had failed, then Natsuki Subaru would be nothing more than a corpse shattered to thousand pieces," Echidna argued with a silver-haired girl whose pointy-shaped ears hid behind a veil of shadowy mist, only her amethyst-like eyes completely visible.

"..." The shadow-bound girl gave no word to the ever-so criticizing Echidna.

After a few heated seconds, everyone calmed down, so it once again came to the pink-haired girl to speak.

"E-Everyone. H-He's behind y-you." As soon as they heard her, all of them simultaneously turned around to see Subaru; still on the ground and struggling to get accustomed to the sudden change.

The silver-haired girl was the first one to immediately lock her sight on Subaru. Her look was possessive, but in a single moment, it was as if a switch flicked in her head as her expression turned from her previous one to a look of warmth.

She walked towards Subaru, slowly outstretching her hands.

Subaru realized someone was coming to him, and so he calmed his breathing and finally stood up. He raised his head to look just where he ended up, but he was surprised when a pair of pale arms grabbed him and wrapped around him.

"Whoah!" he exclaimed at the unexpected touch.

"It really worked… I am so sorry for sending you here. She gained control for a brief time and did the unthinkable," the girl said, her small sniffs interrupting her explanation.

"S-Sorry. I don't know what you're talking about. Who's 'she'?" Subaru answered to the girl and gave her a question of his own as he found the entire situation too strange. He also raised his hands and went for a hug, but before he did so, he dropped them, deciding it would be for the better as he didn't know who this person was.

The girl ended the hug and walked two steps backward to get a better look at Subaru's face.

"So happy…" the girl mumbled softly enough that no one heard her.

"Uhm, well, are you going to tell me what's going on?" Subaru repeated himself, slowly starting to get bored.

From behind the silver-haired beauty, another girl rolled her eyes and decided to confront Subaru herself.

"Hello, Natsuki Subaru. My name is Echidna, the Witch of Greed," she introduced herself with no emotion except for a wide smile on her lips.

"How'd you-"

"-Know your name? I know a lot of things, and I want to know a lot more. Isn't that the beauty of life?" She finished his question with a philosophical answer.

"This woman here is Satella," she said as she pointed a finger at the silver-haired girl. "She's the Witch of Envy. We don't need to go into the details, but Satella consumed a witch factor that gave her immense power, but at the cost of her apparently growing a second personality that's much more twisted. That's the thing she was saying when she embraced you in a sweet hug. By 'she gained control' she meant that the Witch of Envy personality was the one that overruled the two and used her power to summon you here with incomplete magic from my book," Echidna said with a single breath, making sure to make the point come across by mentioning that Satella was the bad one.

Subaru listened intently, looking into Echidna's eyes as she explained. Her dark eyes felt like a void in space where you'd easily lose yourself. When he stopped hearing her voice, he realized she finished her explanation, so he shook his head to get out of the trance.

"Hold on. What do you mean she 'apparently' grew a second personality? You're saying it as if it wasn't a confirmed fact even though you seem like friends."

"That's because it's not a fact, and we're definitely not friends. The truth is that when she consumed that witch factor, all her negative emotions were enhanced, making place for her possessiveness and obsession to grow more uncontrollably. It's simply that she can't find it in herself to be honest about it," she replied with a smile still instilled on her visage, but as soon as her eyes drifted towards the mentioned Satella, her gaze changed into a cold one.

A sigh could be heard coming from behind the two girls.

As the two turned around, they were faced with a blonde-haired girl.

"And who might you be?"

"I'm the Witch of Wrath, Minerva!"

Subaru raised an eyebrow. "Seriously, is everyone here a witch? I thought witches were supposed to be old and ugly grandmas that cursed you with a single glance…"

'Though I don't see any cauldron or magic wands. And from what I've seen, these girls calling themselves 'witches' are all really young,' Subaru thought as he allowed his eyes to drift all over the place. From the three girls already introduced, to a pink-haired girl that hid herself in her scarf as soon as their eyes met, to a soundly-sleeping girl and two children next to her.

Minerva ignored Subaru's comment. Instead, she looked at the white-haired girl and started complaining. "Echidna! You can't just go around telling lies like that! I thought you were one of the more honest ones!"

"Sorry, lies? There was not a single lie in my explanation to Natsuki Subaru," Echidna replied.

"And you! Subaru, was it? I can't believe you were believing every word Echidna just said! From what I've heard about you, you were supposed to be the bright, intelligent one as well!"

"Wait a minute. What do you mean I believed every word Echidna said? Witches, witch factors… What does it all even mean? Consuming a witch factor, immense power, growing a second personality? Magic used to summon me here? Do you really think I believe all that? I thought dreams were supposed to be for my enjoyment, but what the hell is this? I just want to wake up already!" Subaru complained to the Witch of Wrath, he was unaware of it, but he raised his voice to bring his point to the girl.

"It was obvious! You weren't even trying to hide it! You listened to Echidna explaining her version of events, insulting Satella, and you believed her without question! I saw you looking at Satella with cold eyes as if she was a monster!"

"N-Now, calm down, Minerva-chan. I-"

"-You know I'm right! I was observing you from behind. And don't call me Minerva-chan!"

Subaru gritted his teeth as he started getting annoyed with the girl's constant berating. "So what?! Listen, I didn't come here because I wanted to, alright? I was tired and went to sleep and now I'm dreaming about a girl calling herself a witch shouting at me? Do you think I'm capable of understanding everything you mashed up into a few words -as sleep-deprived as I am- just because you said so?!" Subaru shouted at Minerva, shutting her up with his argument.

"There's one thing you're misunderstanding, Natsuki Subaru." A voice called out to him.

"And what's that?"

"You may be right about this being a dream. You are in my Dream Castle after all, but you've really been teleported to another world. Everything that's happening is real and the words you say carry weight," Echidna warned Subaru with her usual smirk.

Subaru stood still, frozen in one place as he thought about Echidna's words.

"What… What do you me-"

"As was already said, Satella used a high-class spell that teleported you here. I think it was a pretty reckless thing to do, as we can clearly see that you're confused, but time can't be turned back, can it?" she explained once more.

"But…" Subaru's head started spinning. He looked at Satella, the shadow mist around her head finally dissipated, allowing him to witness her silver hair, amethyst eyes, and most importantly; her pointy ears.

He looked back at Echidna. "What about my parents? Once they wake up in a few hours and don't find me in my room… what are they gonna think?"

"Now, now. Weren't you the one thinking you were a disappointment to your parents?"

"So you can read thoughts now?" Subaru questioned.

"I can feel and hear everything that's going on in my Castle of Dreams," Echidna explained.

Subaru was about to say something to Echidna, but he was interrupted as a pale hand reached out to him and grabbed his shoulder.

"Don't be sad. You're not a disappointment."

"How can you know that? We met for the first time today."

"Because you don't see yourself as I do. You may not remember, but we've known each other in the past. Back then I was the one feeling like a disappointment, yet you kept telling me the opposite. So now, it's my time to tell you that you're not. Smile, Subaru-kun."

"You know me? But that's not possible… And smile? Hah, how can I possibly smile in this situation?" he mumbled as he sat down on the green grass beneath him.

"This doesn't make sense!" he gritted his teeth as he punched the ground, immediately regretting it as pain coursed through his hand.

"Argh!"

"Could you… stop acting like a child? Even… Typhon here is more mature… than you." A voice commented.

Subaru raised his head to see the purple-haired woman that was once asleep finally awake. She was still lying on the ground unmoving, only her eyes open and locked on Subaru.

"That's the Witch of Sloth, Sekhmet. I'm surprised she's awake and talking to you. Usually, she ignores everyone and plays with Typhon, the Witch of Pride. All she desires is an uninterrupted sleep," Echidna explained to the bewildered Subaru.

"Oh, is it my time to introduce myself? Ah, I'm Typhon, and you're… Baru! Baru, right?" the green-haired little girl that was playing earlier came to him, almost jumping from joy.

"Hey, Baru. Are you a sinner?" she asked as she raised her hand.

"A sinner?" Subaru repeated, only getting a nod from the prideful witch.

'I suppose I am.'

"Is that a rhetorical question? Isn't everyone a sinner? And if they say no, they're liars which is just another sin," he answered as he stood up with a slight groan.

He went to grab her hand, but he was stopped by Satella's pale hands once more.

"NO!" shouted Minerva, Satella, Echidna, and from behind the trio, the pink-haired girl.

"W-What do you mean 'no'?"

"That's Typhon's authority. Had you touched her and she deemed you a sinner, depending on the weight of your sins, you would've either just shattered to pieces, or you would've shattered to pieces while feeling an unimaginable pain," Echidna said.

"What?! Why didn't you warn me sooner! I may have had some suicidal thoughts earlier today, but I don't really feel like dying yet! And not even to say a painful death!"

Everyone sighed from relief.

"It seems like you still have your head in the right place. Anyway, we've already wasted too much time, so let's finish our introduction. Carmilla, would you?"

Echidna moved to the left, revealing a pink-haired girl that hid- or at least tried to hide- behind her scarf.

"H-Hello. My name is C-Carmilla. The Witch of L-Lust."

"The Witch of Lust?" Subaru whispered.

'Honestly, she looks more cute than sexy,' Subaru thought.

"I-I see. I am Natsuki Subaru. It's nice to meet you," he said as he raised his hand.

While awkwardly, Carmilla took it in her own and shook it.

"Now there's only one left. Daphne?" Echidna called out to the last of these so-called witches.

Very loud and quick footsteps started coming towards everyone, frightening no one but Subaru.

"Chidna-Chidna, your cookies disappeared." It was a girl about 150 centimeters tall, her entire body inside a large coffin. Her limbs were locked in place and her eyes were covered with a blindfold.

"If you wouldn't eat them all, they wouldn't disappear, Daphne."

So this was Daphne. From the way Echidna and she talked, and the fact that almost all of the seven deadly sins were named, that would make her the Witch of Gluttony.

"Um, hey, Daphne. The name's Natsuki Subaru. It's… nice to meet you?" Subaru introduced himself. Daphne looked at Subaru- well, her eyes were blindfolded, so she most likely used her other senses to track him- and used her coffin to come closer. The coffin surprisingly had legs, and if he wanted to run away at full speed, he's certain it could catch up if it'd even be a challenge for it.

"Ahh~ the fresh scent of meat."

"Um, pardon?"

And then, she opened her mouth, but it was not to speak. She showed her teeth and moved her mouth closer and closer to his hand. Now close enough, she quickly closed it with a bite so strong the sound of her teeth coming together resounded throughout the entire grass field.

"Hey! Don't just decide to eat my hand like that!"

Fortunately, Subaru managed to retract it fast enough. He himself didn't know how he managed that feat. Perhaps him switching worlds gave him some form of super speed?

"But you smell so good~."

"I know I showered not even ten minutes before coming here, but I'd rather not be eaten alive. Thank you very much," Subaru retorted back.

"So that's everyone. What do you think, Natsuki Subaru? Are you scared of us witches? Or perhaps there's something you find interesting and want to ask more about?" Echidna asked.

"Well," Subaru chuckled. "There's definitely some oddballs here," he said as he gazed at the drooling Daphne and the grinning Typhon. "But the rest of you are really interesting and I could definitely ask a lot more questions. Though, you answering them is not certain."

The witches smiled at each other.

Daphne decided to leave them as she stopped caring as soon as food stopped being the topic of their talk. For some reason, there was a table with an umbrella on one of the field tops, and it was refilled with various food. That interested Daphne more.

On another note, Typhon went to play with Sekhmet since she was awake anyway. From the looks of it, Typhon seemed to be flying in the air, no tricks included. Though, after all that Subaru has witnessed today, flying certainly wasn't that interesting anymore.

The only ones left to talk were Minerva, Echidna, Satella, and somewhat Carmilla.

"Oh, after what has happened to you I bet you have a lot of questions indeed. And answering them is possible. Though before that, I have one request," Echidna pointed out.

"Sure, speak. Though if it's about money, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but all I currently have on me is my clothes and my phone."

"This isn't about something you own. Natsuki Subaru, would you be willing to form a contract with us, with witches?"

Hearing that, everyone quietened down. Daphne's gluttonous eating, Typhon's playful chatters.

"A contract? What is that?"

"A contract has certain conditions that both parties set up. For example, my only condition would be for our ods to be connected. That way, we can get a physical body and roam the world like the old times. And as a safety precaution, your condition could be that we can't do harm to anyone. That sort of thing," she explained.

"Hmm, I see. That would certainly be handy. Oh, by the way, what do you mean 'roam the world like the old times'? You speak as if you died," Subaru chuckled.

"That's because we did."

Subaru's chuckles died down, now panic entailed.

"Wait! Don't tell me I have been talking to ghosts this entire time!"

"Calling us ghosts is not the right word. Even we can get angry," Echidna said with a fake sadness in her eyes.

"S-Sorry."

"Well, it doesn't bother me that much. Yes, we are dead. How to put it hmm… You're currently talking to my soul. Thanks to this artificial world I created before dying, you are able to see me and communicate with me. If we finalize our contract, we will be able to leave and live in the real world."

"So you're basically gonna get revived?"

"Hm, yes, you can put it that way."

Subaru's eyes drifted to the sky as he thought about the offer.

"Well, I certainly have nothing to lose. And I doubt you'd just let me go to the real world after sharing so many things with me. Yes, Echidna. I accept your contract."

"Great!" Echidna exclaimed from happiness.

"Uhm, I mean, let's create the conditions."

"For the contract's creation to initiate, we need direct contact. The easiest way to do this is just touching hands," Echidna informed Subaru.

Their hands touched. Subaru felt Echidna's pale hand on his own, but it wasn't cold as he'd expected. It was warm. Even when Echidna spoke of herself being dead, she just kept showing him how alive she truly was.

'I suppose they're called witches because of their magic powers? That's basically how it went down in our history too. If you were a woman in the middle-ages and showed something never seen before, they marked you as a witch and burned you at the stake. If Echidna is telling me she can cheat death, no wonder she's called a witch.'

Echidna looked at him with a smile, indicating that she heard what he just thought. Subaru's breath choked up in his neck. Then, Echidna finally began. "I, Echidna, the Witch of Greed, initiate this contract between the Witches of Sin and the individual Natsuki Subaru." The hands they were connected with started glowing in a green light.

Echidna gazed at Subaru and nodded for him to continue.

"Uh. I, Natsuki Subaru, a high school student, agree to this contract and wish to proceed?"

Echidna nodded in agreement.

"My first condition is that our ods shall connect, granting all the individuals in my Castle of Dreams a physical form able to interact and feel like a real human being."

Subaru looked for a sign that Echidna was finished with her condition so he could start saying his, and that sign came.

"Go on, it's your turn."

"R-Right. My condition is that the witches won't use their power for naught, but only for defense."

"Do you wish to add something else?" Echidna inquired.

"I think that's all. After all, I don't know the limits of this, and I'm doing it for you. I doubt I can get something from this," Subaru said honestly.

"In that case, I am willing to teach you magic. Though it's been some time since I've used it, so don't hurt me if I'm a bad teacher."

"Really?! Thank you!" He wanted to hug her, though that would most likely hinder their contract. "Also, I'd never hurt you for something so trivial. Please don't say anything like that."

Both Subaru and Echidna laughed.

While the two were making a contract, the trio of Minerva, Carmilla, and Satella were standing nearby, gazing at them.

"A-Are they making a c-contract or f-flirting?"

"Honestly... That Echidna always manages to capture the hearts of young boys and then do whatever with them. Let's just pray he doesn't end up like that Roswaal she used to bring up from time to time," Minerva said with a pout.

"If that's the case, shouldn't we jump in and end the contract?" Satella asked.

"I'd say leave them be. From what I've heard, Roswaal became annoying after Echidna's apparent death. Though Subaru doesn't seem to be like that, so we'll be good," Minerva replied.

"Mhm, Subaru-kun is a good boy," Satella nodded at her fellow witch's words, a warm smile appeared on her lips as she continued looking at Subaru.

While Typhon's authority allowed her to shatter sinners and Sekhmet seemed to use some invisible force, Echidna's authority of greed created a book of wisdom for her. That way, Echidna could read the future, present and past. Of course, she almost never uses it because she prefers to get knowledge by herself instead of using a cheat book. Though there was a single time where Typhon begged for a good night story and what better way to chuckle than to read Roswaal's pathetic adventure to try and bring Echidna back to life?

"With that, I establish this contract, not to be broken through time or space."

The light between their hands dissipated, and both of them let go.

"What now?" Subaru asked.

"We simply close our eyes and feel our consciousness drift away. Once we open them, all of us will find ourselves inside my tomb."

"Hold on. We'll be literally in your tomb? Won't it be too packed then?" Subaru asked.

"You don't have to worry about that. My tomb is inside a large building. Fitting all of us won't be an issue. The issue will be trying to leave," Echidna replied.

"Leave?"

Echidna nodded. "My tomb is located inside the Sanctuary, which is being protected by a demi-human called Garfiel Tinsel. The problem is that he is being influenced by one of my creations. If we were to be seen by him inside Sanctuary, I'm certain he'd tear us apart without question."

"Yeah… Don't want to do that," Subaru deadpanned. "But once we get out, what do you want to do? We'll be without home or any money after all," Subaru asked, concern visible in his voice.

"Ah, I'm glad you asked. You see, I thought of becoming a merchant."

"A merchant?"

Now that he thought about it, becoming a merchant in another world doesn't sound too bad. What's a better way of discovering a fantasy world than by travelling through it?

"Yes. Long before you came here, everyone talked about it and agreed. Once we'd get out, we'd become merchants. In fact, we want to become the best ones out there," Echidna said.

"You will have fierce competition."

"That may be true, but I think we can handle it."

Subaru smiled. Echidna really was ambitious.

"In that case, allow me to join you. I might be dead weight for a while though."

"Did you think we'd leave you behind? I'm not a barbarian to use you and then leave you at the nearest sidewalk. I think you'll be useful in your own way. And what you won't handle, you'll leave to us."

A few more preparations later, everyone was ready to leave.

"Alright, close your eyes, and once you feel yourself drifting away, open them."

One by one, all of the witches closed their eyes. Subaru was the last one as he wanted to have a last look at the grass fields.

Subaru saw nothing but darkness. Then, he felt himself falling. He wanted to move and avoid his fall, but he guessed it was just his mind playing tricks. A moment later, that feeling dissipated.

Opening his eyes, he found himself on a cold, stone ground.

"Uh, is this the tomb?" Subaru asked as he quickly stood up.

"So it seems it worked."

"Somebody wake up Sekhmet. We need to move."

Whispers resounded in the building, calming Subaru down.

"I thought I was the only one that got sent here for a second. Glad we're all here now," Subaru said.

"Mhm, but don't walk too far away or you'll be in danger," Satella said with a warm smile.

"Thank you for the warning. Though I think I can handle myself," Subaru replied, still a little bit weirded out about the entire situation with Satella..

Echidna walked towards them.

"I hate to say it, but I agree with the half-elf. Remember when I talked about Garfiel being influenced by my creation?" Echidna asked.

Subaru nodded and allowed the witch to continue.

"If you see a pink-haired girl with pointy ears, make sure to quietly call out to us. Those are called 'the Eyes of Sanctuary' and act as cameras. Once they see you, all you can do is either allow them to escape or kill them before they get to Garfiel or the other ones."

"Other ones?" Minerva inquired as she caught onto what they were talking about.

"Yes. There are four other clones called "Ryuzu". While those adorning white clothes are simple eyes that follow any order without question, these ones are like their big sisters. They can talk and think like a normal human, unlike the unfinished products," Echidna answered.

"I'd be better if you didn't call them 'unfinished products', Echidna," Subaru said with worry.

"But that's all they are, unfortunately. I never had enough time to perfect them like the main four."

"Doesn't… matter. Let's quickly… leave before they see us," Sekhmet interfered, uncaring towards any of the mentioned Ryuzu clones. That's all they were. Clones.

"Sekhmet's right. We need to move. We're really visible when standing in the middle of the tomb," Minerva said.

When they finally left the tomb, they were surrounded by trees from almost every direction.

"The forest of Kremaldy. How long has it been?" Echidna reminisced as she looked around, the trees as tall as she remembered.

"By the way, Echidna. Do you girls still have your authorities? Otherwise, how will we defend ourselves?" Subaru asked the most important question.

When Echidna looked towards the individual witches, all of them nodded.

"In that case, let's do this!" Subaru beamed, finally able to traverse the fantasy world.

Author's Notes

Hello guys, long time no see, right?

The reason why I wasn't active much was because school got me really busy, and I wasn't in the mood to write. I thought I was lacking in my writing skills, but now I'm somewhat here.

Again, don't expect any schedule from me, I am doing this as a stress relief/hobby and not as a job.

Also, once this gets uploaded, I'll be deleting the story called "The Sage and a Witch" since I am not satisfied with how it went, and the premise of it is fairly similar to this story except for the fact that this one (at least in my opinion) is written much better.

Anyway, I'll be glad if you gave me your honest feedback regarding what you liked, disliked, and so on. (Not just "This story sucks" - I don't know what to think of messages like that. If it sucks, tell me why.

That is all, thank you very much, and I'll see you around.