author's note: I want to especially thank my beta reader for editing this chapter.
Chapter 5: Invisible ties
She could see herself following a path that stretched deep into the woods and rolling plains. It was a world of green in the dense forest that was all too familiar to her in many ways. She ended up arriving at a hidden place, not visible to the people of the forest, where a door awaited her. A voice from her urged her to come closer and to open it.
When she realized what was happening, the scene had already changed. Now it was a world of white. The snow began to fall, and the eternal winter began.
"Freak of the Witch!" She didn't know where that voice was coming from, but they pierced deep inside of her.
Back then, she didn't know what those words meant. Even now, she didn't know what it meant either, but they held so much disdain that it made her shiver.
"Seed of Disaster! Silver Misfortune! Life that should never have been born! Source of hatred! Unforgivable soul! Demon! Daughter of the Witch!"
Hateful words, insults that cursed her very existence. They did not hesitate or wait to fill the air with as many curses as possible.
People began to appear out of nowhere around her. These figures repeated curses as if they carried all the hatred in the world. They nailed her heart as if they were blades, cursing her mercilessly, hating her being. They were words said by people who had once loved her and looked at her gently, and now they were the people she had condemned to an eternal dream.
─The scene changed again. Now it was a place covered in blood and fire.
"W-why ?! Because she had-o?" A cry of pain, a cry of helplessness — was quickly cut off along with the head of its emissary.
She was now in the middle of a carnage. She couldn't help covering her mouth at the horrible sight.
They were the villagers who hated her, who looked at her with fear. Who had sold her to bandits for a debt. Now they were scattered on that virgin soil, with their blood and remains adorning the place.
The smoke limited her visibility, but that didn't stop her from recognizing them. She didn't want them to end that way. She kept on walking. The fire not impeding her advance. She had to continue. She had to find someone she could save.
The more she went into that town, the more bodies she found. Severed and beheaded, some had been pierced by arrows while others had died from the fire. The attack must have started long ago.
It was then that she saw them.
"El HUMA!" Icicles rained down on the monsters that were attacking the place. They were silhouettes of a deep black color. Inhumane things that had an aspect that made Emilia want to turn away instead of look at them. She shouldn't look at them. She knew them.
Once eliminated, she quickly went on her way.
But no matter how much she searched, she only found scorched bodies or more monsters. Was there nobody left alive?
She kept running, suffering from the tragedy that hit the place. There were weapons and farming implements scattered on the ground. The villagers had fought with everything they had, but those efforts could not defeat the threat.
Too late.
What happened? What had happened?
Why did such a thing happen? Why had these monsters mercilessly rape and slaughter these people?
"Ah." I heard another monster growl, "What a waste. We should have captured some women with us." They seemed to be conversing as they were heading towards an unconscious woman. But Emilia couldn't understand what they were saying, she couldn't shape their words.
"EL HUMA!" Icicles quickly impaled the things. They exploded as black masses once the ice pierced their torsos. Letting out sounds of pain, Emilia ignored them.
Approaching the woman, Emilia immediately noticed that she was no longer breathing. She was dead. There was no one to save. She could hear voices of pain in the distance, but from the sound, she already knew that she would not make it on time. Even so, she did not give up.
"There she is! Surround her! She is a user of spirit arts!" Another group of monsters approached her, quickly surrounding her while pointing their spears towards their prey.
She did not hesitate.
"UL HUMA." Several pillars of ice appeared from the ground, impaling the creatures, a quick death.
She looked around, making sure, clinging to the small hope of finding someone. But the screaming had already stopped. A deathly silence fell upon the village.
"Ahhh!" Suddenly I heard the cry of a child in pain. He was not far away. Without wasting a second, I went to the source of that crying.
Too late.
A man on a horse had already stabbed the boy with his spear as he brought the boy's remains to the fire. He seemed to be having fun as he roasted it alive like a marshmallow.
Emilia never felt so much hatred and anger towards a person. Doing such a thing was beyond cruelty.
"Look who we have here. A half-demon. I'll take you with me precious."
The rider lunged toward her, but she was used to similar maneuvers against the Forest Beasts. Subaru had given her advice to analyze her environment and use it. She had experience in her favor. She quickly created a strategy where she would use the speed of that steed against him. She just had to wait.
"UL HUMA!" They easily took the bait and fell into her trap. The ice pillar spawned from the ground, disrupting the animal's trajectory. Naturally, the thing was impaled, and ended up throwing the rider.
She would make sure he paid for his sins. He had to pay compensation for what he did. She regretted not having Puck to support her, but the lesser spirits were more than enough for her to defend herself. As she mentally prepared herself for what she would do.
"MINYA" "EL FULA"
The match had already ended.
The man lay on the floor, writhing in pain as Subaru approached her.
"GET AWAY WITCH!" He was looking at her in absolute horror.
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Subaru was looking at her as if he had seen the witch of envy. She quickly looked around her and noticed those monsters that she had eliminated, those things that had attacked the village; they were human beings.
Cruelly killed by her, making lesser spirits do her dirty work, showing her true nature. She had refused to acknowledge him, driven by her anger and her thirst for blood, and now she had murdered human beings.
"WHY YOU KILLED ME," shouted one of the men she impaled. His head snapped up unnaturally as he stared at her with bloodshot eyes.
"WITCH!" "HALF-DEMON!" "WALKING DISGUST!" Subaru started to shout insults at her as he pointed his finger at her.
Puck was next to her, looking at her with hatred instead of fear.
Why did they do that to her? Hadn't they told her they were her friends?
"Suba… ru. Papa… ", the words did not come out of her mouth. She felt like she was suffocating. Panicked, she took a few steps back until she heard a hideously familiar voice.
"Witch, the witch, she's the witch," I turn in the direction of those words.
A girl and her family. That girl and that family. They were as terrified as she remembered them with visible wounds on all sides. To Emilia's horror, their blood seeped through their clothing, disfiguring them as it made the shape of a flower.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO HER DAMN WITCH!?" Subaru yelled as he started to get into a battle stance.
"It hurts, it hurts, please stop, please make it stop!" The cries of the girl accompanied the rustling of those red flowers that were consuming her being; cries of supplication and mercy.
"No, it's a mistake. I'm not what"
"MINYA!" Stakes of black magic lashed out at her fragile figure -
"Ahhh ..."
He, he was there when she woke up from that nightmare.
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Daylight slipping slightly through the windows, Emilia got up quickly as she held her head due to dizziness. Something had yanked her out of the clutches of her sleep.
She felt exhausted as if all of her strength had been drained.
She hadn't slept much the last day. It was a turbulent night. She was running away from the forest, running through hell, using her power to face strangers. She was running away again and dealing with a series of feelings before collapsing with Subaru.
"Subaru."
While Emilia looked at her companion, who was peacefully asleep next to her, Emilia couldn't help but touch her lips when she remembered what had happened. She preferred those memories. She preferred to think about what happened between the two of them rather than what had happened before, but she couldn't bring herself to do it.
Memories of yesterday were beginning to emerge.
A concerned Subaru had woken her up early before Puck informed her of a large number of people with hostile intent crossing the forest. Not wanting to endanger Subaru, she accompanied him in fleeing from them. In the middle of that, both could notice how the horizon was covered with black smoke, coming from those villages that were now on fire.
She didn't doubt it. She didn't think about it. She just ran away as fast as she could.
"..." A feeling of sadness, anger, and fear assailed Emilia as she began to remember that moment.
Death had visited that town and took the lives of the villagers while trampling their dignity after death.
No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't save anyone. No matter how hard she looked, she was too late.
The more she remembered that night, her body trembled more and more.
She didn't fight to save someone. She fought for a futile revenge for the people who hated her.
There was not a single pleasant memory with those villagers.
Emilia couldn't forget the terrifying looks on her, nor how they called her The Witch of the Frozen Forest. Witch. An insult that fit her.
Despite that, she would never have wished that end for those people, it was natural that she was hated. Fighting on their behalf was nothing but an insult to those people.
She was just masking the disgusting nature of her's, Right?
Who didn't hate her? He… he thought she was a witch after all. Her sins had painted the forest white, and she had killed a family that she had wished to protect. She had been unable to do anything to protect these people. Worse still, she had tried to use their deaths as a motive for her anger.
"... Subaru, no." She remembered when he saved her from that heartless man. Fear ran through her body as she remembered that moment. Or was it that she still couldn't forget the fear from back then? At that time,
a chill worse than any other shot ran through Emilia's body when she realized that he was there. The greatest fear was not the fight that had taken place, but what he would say if he saw her in that state.
What did Subaru think when he saw her in the middle of that hell?
Emilia thought it was natural for others to dislike her, she was a constant source of misfortune. She deserved to be hated, but she knew that Subaru would never say such words to her. He was a kind, funny boy, who always annoyed her, but also found a way to make her smile, and just yesterday he had told her that he was her friend and kissed her.
This was something she had been evading. It was something she had given up on having, reasoning that, even if she wanted it, she could never get it. It was something she had kept out of her awareness, but something she had always wanted. And precisely for having obtained it, because it was given to her, because she took the hand that was offered to her, Emilia, she could no longer bear to leave it.
What would happen now that Subaru saw her as the witch she is?
Would he hate her? Would he be afraid of her? Would he abandon her?
To say that those thoughts did not arise would be a lie.
The simple thought that Subaru, among all the people, looked at her with disgust. That simple thought was something that terrified her.
All the way to the city of Ganacks she had been silent, hiding her thoughts as best she could, keeping quiet. But the inside of her was a chaos of thoughts and insecurities.
When they arrived at that inn and Subaru asked to be in a separate room from her. It was the straw that broke the camel's back. He didn't want to be with her, and that was all she needed to know for her to break down.
She let out a gasp when Subaru left her in her room. Her body trembled, her chest ached, she felt like she was going to explode at any moment. Unable to bear it, her eyes got wet and she began to sob.
"I am so stupid." That was her honest opinion when she thought about it.
Subaru had rushed into the room and locked her in a hug.
She realized it then. That, in that hell, he had taken her hand, and they fled from the village. The touch of his hand holding hers, and his high regard, hadn't changed one bit.
His embrace did nothing but convey his true intentions. He was comforting her, trying to keep her from crying. It was there that she decided to look at him, and when she looked at him, she noticed how Subaru's eyes had started to fill with tears, and a single tear escaped down his cheek.
"Subaru was definitely acting strong," was the conclusion I reached.
She wrapped him in her embrace and assured him that everything was fine, that no one would hurt him.
He cried, screamed, and broke as she held him in her arms. The first thing Subaru did was insult her.
"How could she be so selfish to leave him behind?" he said, unable to hide a certain resentment in her voice.
Subaru began to blurt out words without sentences as he accused her. It was not an exaggeration to say that he was very angry with her, but somehow it was an anger that conveyed concern. She was being treasured.
What Emilia feared most, the day that Subaru would shower her with curses, had come, although not in the way she had anticipated.
Selfish. Moron. Stupid. They were insults that she truly deserved, but contained feelings that she did not understand.
She waited patiently for him to finish, and she didn't stop rubbing his back as he released everything on her.
He told her how he had been worried to death when he did not find her. Leaving without notifying him. "What would he do if something happened to her?" he accused as he continued to cry into her breasts.
"And I was so selfish." What Emilia had felt in those moments was undoubtedly relief.
Relief that Subaru cared about her. Relief that he hated her. Relief from him wanting to be by her side. Relief because in those moments, she felt that their souls had connected.
While she was processing what was happening, Subaru raised his face abruptly, placed his hand on her cheek, and kissed her.
"You stupid head." her cheeks turned red as she remembered that moment. What was he thinking? Doing something like that with a Half-Elf.
She couldn't hate him, but a part of her was furious at what he did. Did he realize what situation they were in? He didn't even ask her permission and to top it all off.
"Am I supposed to be the selfish one?!"
Her gaze centered from her to the boy who slept next to her. His expression silly as he wrapped her in a hug. So much had happened, but looking at his face, knowing that he was okay, comforted her.
Her annoyance quickly dissipated as she looked at him. His mouth was slightly open, evenly breathing, and his long lashes. Sometimes she wondered how he could be so carefree.
Emilia's heart began to race as she looked at him. She could feel it beating hard in her chest, excited to have Subaru so close to her. In fact, she was so close that she could feel the heat of his body roll over hers.
Emilia quickly started to get closer to Subaru, slightly tilting his neck, looking at his slightly parted lips. She could feel his breath tickling her and the delicious warmth of his body. She wanted to get closer to him, so she deepened her embrace like she never had before.
He had done something selfish, and it was only fair that she was selfish too. Validated by that thought, she tasted those lips again, assuring herself that yesterday was not a dream.
She accepted him completely and decided within herself that she would give him everything. He was hers, and perhaps, those were the conditions for a miracle to awaken.
In that instant, she felt her strength leave her. Emilia was never very morning, but this exhaustion was probably because of what happened yesterday. Not a few moments later, she fell asleep again in a warm shared embrace. Unlike before, she was now able to sleep peacefully.
Unbeknownst to Emilia, Subaru's necklace throbbed with more life than ever.
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He was back in that place, in that lonely world made of Shadows.
It was dark. A whole world of nothing but darkness. He was thrown into a hazy world, seemingly floating in the water with no sense of left or right. His body was unable to move at will, and with his mind stunned, any thought he tried to formulate was simply slipping from his brain. Where am I? Who am I? What happened to make it so? What little awareness he clung to resulted only in ramblings that caused the darkness to flicker slightly.
Despite not being able to create clear thoughts. His soul. He could feel it, and because of it, he was still able to express himself in some way.
He felt different than last time, but the world still hadn't changed one bit.
He vaguely felt his body or part of himself. But it was insufficient.
He had no bones; he had hardly any meat. He had no eyes, nose, mouth, arms, legs; he could do absolutely nothing. What could he do in this lacking state?
How could she allow this?
How could she allow him to leave her alone for so long?
This was all so ridiculous. He could never forgive the absurdity of this.
He did not have a body with which to express her emotions, but her soul had no problem creating them.
Rage…
Hate…
Sadness…
Anguish…
Impotence…
Frustration…
Anger…
Contempt…
Disgust…
Indignation…
All those emotions swirled around the incomplete and weak being of his.
All those emotions meant nothing because of just one.
All those emotions were overshadowed, overwhelmed, overcome. they had no chance against this Emotion, a Feeling that made his soul cry out. It was nothing compared to this LOVE.
Immovable love, pure love, caring love, reciprocated love, warm love, family love, sensual love, romantic love.
Memories of love, precious memories etched in his soul, memories that should never have been taken away from him, memories of those moments of passion.
"I love you." In that total darkness, a voice penetrated deep into his heart. It dangled from his deaf ears. She reached into what should have been his heart, still and unfeeling.
The whispers tore at his heart, filling him with such longing that it threatened to tear him apart.
Hearing words so beautiful as to burn his soul made him feel like he was going crazy.
If he had fingers, he would touch her.
If he had a mouth, it would say her name.
If he had arms, he would hug her.
If he had feet, he would run to her side.
If he had a body, she would never be alone again.
But none of these wishes could be granted. He had no fingers, mouth, arms, feet, or body to give. The feeling was the same. In fact, it was an even greater passion than he had ever felt before. The warmth he received magnified his longing many times until they finally turned into sins.
Laziness, because he couldn't dry her tears.
Lust, because he wanted them to be found and become one.
Gluttony, because he wanted to consume her and take all of her for himself.
Greed, because he wanted to have everything he loved.
Anger, because he can't forgive the absurdity of all this.
Pride, because he despised everything that is not her.
Envy, because that's all he could feel for the world that hugged her.
With this realization, the world cloaked in black was filled with an overwhelming sense of love. In that instant, the supposedly empty space warped and then shattered as his memories slept.
It was very simple. He understood that he was resuming his journey again. In the darkness, there was light, and if he walked towards it.
The world saluted him once more, and this time he will do his part.
"I love you." He turned his back on the voice and walked forward. He wanted to turn to her, but he stood his ground. Surely one day he would hold her hand. One day they would meet again as themselves and ...
"I love you." The charming voice resounded until the very end, and Subaru Natsuki left that place.
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"Wake up silly," a sweet voice encouraged him to get up, but he was exhausted. Subaru knew that voice. He was the closest person to her, who had always accompanied her in this cruel world.
"Stop bothering Lena. I'll play with you later," Subaru fired at her while he made sure he grabbed hold of his cute pillow of Emilia.
Huh?
Blink, then he blinked again until he realized what he was doing. His face turned scarlet. He could feel her skin press against his, and, oh, it smelled so good.
"I would recommend that you get up before Puck comes back."
"…!"
He quickly pulled away from Emilia, falling ridiculously off the bed. He couldn't help but groan as he fell.
At this point, Emilia, who had woken up from the shock, leaned out to face Subaru on the floor.
"Em-m-m-ilia!" He stammered as he began to remember how he ended up there, his face turning redder than one thought possible. What the hell was she doing naked?
Emilia just looked at him. She still hadn't woken up correctly and couldn't understand the antics of her companion.
Lena could only sigh at her pathetic contractor.
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The life of the city could be heard even within their chambers.
Subaru and Emilia had just had breakfast, and several things needed to be discussed. Usually, an awkward silence would reign if not for...
"Lena is so cool that you have reached your adult form, you are so cute," Emilia said as she caressed her with a finger.
"I never thought she would have been a goth version of Tinkerbell," Subaru commented as he gave her his own caresses.
Apparently, Lena had evolved from Quasi-Spirit to a full Spirit. She was not a Great Spirit like Puck, but she would undoubtedly easily pulverize 100 Subarus together.
By the way, Subaru's words were not an exaggeration, the form that Lena took looked like a Fairy from European folklore. Her long silver hair of hers, combined with eyes of the same color.
"I see you understand, yes? This is my perfect form. Am I not simply a sin for this world? Subaru, you should be more grateful to me than usual. I had a hard time adapting to your tastes, you know? Your caresses will no longer be enough. Since you would be lost without me, I will make an exception and only consume more Mana than usual. Be grateful," the spirit declared shamelessly as she was caressed by a cheerful Emilia.
"What's that about altering the contract as you please. Well, I suppose it's natural for you to absorb more mana. Are you sure I'll be able to keep the contract with the little ones now? If you keep so much of my mana, won't you get fat? Nice shape!"
"What a terrible way to put it! No matter how much mana I absorb, I will always remain this way!"
"Come on, come on, I was just kidding. You know I always want you to stay as cute as you are now, like a fairy."
"..."
The moment he said that an awkward silence formed. Lena, who had a pompous attitude due to her Digi-evolution, looked at him with a downcast expression, blinking a couple of times as if she processed what she had just heard. Tears began to come out of her little eyes.
"That…"
"Subaru, you donkey!"
Wait, could she cry despite being a Spirit? I was going to ask that until he was assaulted by an angry voice and a painful sensation of being pulled by his right ear. "Ouch, Ouch"
"That's a horrible thing to say to your family member. Lena tried so hard to take care of you!"
"Wait, wait why are they acting like this?"
Emilia was looking at him in utter disgust while Lena couldn't even look at him, looking incredibly dejected.
"I suppose it was normal that one day I would be a victim of cultural difference."
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The Elior forest was taken over by Gusteko's forces. Attempting to regain it was basically impossible.
Using a kind of Metia that had the function of a Radio, it was reported that some knights were on their way to ensure the safety of the city. Currently, the entrance and exit of it are closed due to the recent attack that the Kingdom suffered.
Emilia, Puck, and Subaru were still at the inn while they talked about what happened.
"Besides that, the venom of the black snake keeps pulsing inside the ice. Emilia had hoped to tell you this with more preparation, but there is no way to save those people. The ice was what currently keeps them alive, but once it disappears, the poison will destroy everything. The sick will only infect those who are healthy. I read that this poison is uncontrollable, and the diseases it produces are not only incurable but also lethal.
"I can confirm Subaru's words, Lía. Also, I don't think those men can alter the statues. They won't be able to do anything to them." Puck also did his best to dissuade her in his usual nonchalant tone.
Both men were silent, their minds working as fast as possible. It was obvious that she would not accept this and would insist on doing the impossible.
"I get it. I guess there is no other option."
"Emilia, please understand that we cannot do anything at the moment. I promise you that I will do my best to help you, but the ideal would be to wait for the answer offered by the lord of these lands or the - wait, you understand?"
"Yes, dear. You don't have to worry so much. Even I know we can't just go and get them out right now." A pain pierced Subaru's heart upon hearing her voice. It was obvious that knowing that the poison would kill her people affected her.
"Emilia-tan"
"Don't worry Subaru, I know this is not the time to show my pathetic parts, especially when I have you by my side and you well… I just want you to give me a little time to clear my mind."
"It's okay Emilia-tan, Lena and I are going out for a walk. I am going to look for a job since we will be staying in this place for a while."
"Subaru, we haven't finished talking yet!"
"Eh? Okay, what's wrong Emilia?"
"It's about what happened last night you know."
"Last night?" What happened last night? So many things happened last night."
Seeing her blush deeply, Subaru quickly grasped the meaning of her words.
"You think we shouldn't have?"
"No. Well, I don't know. I liked it a lot, but maybe we should wait for the right moment. When we're both ready." The right time for a kiss? Isn't that being a bit of an exaggeration?
"What happened last night, Lía?" Shit, this was the landmine that Subaru wanted to avoid stepping on.
"Last night Subaru and I… Subaru and I decided to make a baby together!"
Huh?
What did you just say?
—The world vanishes.