"In the flesh." The witch uncrossed her legs; she had sat on him while he was asleep, using his stomach almost like a bench.

"Get off me."

"Phooey, what a killjoy." Echidna stood up, shaking the dust off of the school uniform she wore, "I must say, your school's uniform is great, but my, this attic is dusty. Why did such a mind have to be stuck in such a claustrophobic spot?"

"It was a necessity when I moved here." There was really no point in lying to the witch; she must have seen everything, "In the end, the plan was to move out when Mom could get stable employment, but things… went differently." Getting out of bed, Subaru stretched. It may have been the world of his imagination, but he still felt sore from the witch having sat on top of him.

"I'm not THAT heavy," Echidna pouted before running her hand along the bookbinders. "So this is the world you used to inhabit-?"

"What was this? Why did you show me where I came from?" Subaru would search for his jacket, hoping to reacquire his flintlock. Even if it was imaginary, he felt much more confident with it in his hand.

"Me? I don't determine these challenges; the tomb does; I can just watch." Echidna would turn to him, tapping her temple, "Though I can determine if you succeeded or not."

"So, the Tomb wanted me to take a good hard look at my past? Then how am I supposed to succeed?" Not finding his flintlock, Subaru would sit back down on his bed, unconsciously enjoying the familiar feeling of his bed.

"Well, do you think you faced your past?" Echidna probed, her stare becoming disturbingly predatory. "In the end, a part of the arbitration is determining the success factors."

Subaru closed his eyes, considering it. Did he face his problems? Well, if he had done what he just did in the dream, he probably would have been a much happier man if he did not fall into this torturous world.

"Yes, I think I faced my past. I made a choice; I think that was what I needed. I was split among two pathways and could not decide between my possible success and my conscience." Crossing his arms, Subaru opened his eyes again, "I think I have passed with flying colours, even if I struggled."

"You DID make some things up, didn't you?" The predatory expression on Echidna's face widened, "What makes you think that your mother would get better, that your friends wouldn't look at you with disgust, that the girl you liked wasn't simply friendly towards you?"

The young man felt his face contort slightly at the doubts, that stung. However… "In the end, I have rarely failed in my observations of people, and I put my trust in my own senses that the imagined versions of all those I loved in that past world are authentic."

"Kanzaki was an idiot at times, but he was probably the most loyal friend I had. Fujino was sometimes cold and authoritarian, but she trusted me, and I trusted her. My Mother was never selfish, and she wanted the best for me. Auntie simply wished the best for all of us, even if it meant having to wrestle me on some topics that I did not want to discuss."

"So the only thing there is to doubt is not my interpretation but your view of the characters of the people closest to me." Subaru stood up, standing looking down at the witch, almost a head above her. "And I will not take that, Witch or not."

Echidna would stare back as if devouring Subaru with her gaze before her expression suddenly melted to whimsy, plopping down on the bed. "Pft, you pass."

"So this is it, all the challenges of this supposed Tomb amount to a walk down memory lane?" Subaru looked at the books stacked around his room. Now that his head was clearer, he couldn't read the titles, though he somehow recognised them. His brain could make the general image but couldn't remember each book exactly.

"Hm? Oh, this is only one of three." Echidna checked the uniform she was in self-indulgently. Her curiosity about the 'other' world was visibly at its peak.

"So if the first is the past, then the other two…" Subaru couldn't guess the design exactly, but he seemed to get the idea, "The present and the future? How can the tomb weaponise it against me?"

"Why would I tell you that?" The witch stood up, walking up to Subaru, raising her eyes and smiling voraciously as she licked her lips, "After all, isn't there much more to find out from an unbiased subject?"

"I suppose so…" Subaru took a step back, nearly knocking over some of the books on the stands, really wishing he had a weapon in his hands.

"But not everything at once; the Tomb seems to be trying to spit you back out." Echidna raised her eyes at the walls and ceiling, Subaru only just noticing the jittering in the image. The smell of dust seemed to mix with the cold air of the void, the sunlight through the window feeling unnatural.

"But don't worry, we'll be seeing each other soon. Ta-tah!" Echidna waved to Subaru, the young man grasping for a grip, something to stop what felt like a fall, but in fact, was space itself wrapping around him. He could still make out her last words, "Don't keep me waiting, would you kindly..?"

'Goodbye, home. Goodbye, Auntie. Goodbye, Kanzaki. Goodbye, Fujino. Bye, Mom. I do not know when I will see you again, but I will try my best to make it back soon…'


"Gnh…" His eyes opened with great difficulty, the cold must have caused them to stick together, or maybe he had been so exhausted in that sleep, he wasn't sure. His fingers felt frozen solid, slight tingling at their base, but no more.

'What is this..?' Turning his neck felt like someone had stuffed broken glass between his vertebra. The door of the Tomb was still open, and the snow continued blowing through the halls, giving out a low, pained howl. The light reflected dully off of the flintlock's polished metal barrel, his swelled, sickly red fingers clutching the grip even now.

The sense of it in his fingers made him try to close his hand. The motion came with dull pain, but he felt his finger touch the trigger. Subaru turned his head, gritting his teeth. The cold left him barely alive, but…

"Come on…" He cursed at himself, commanding his body to sit up. "COME ON!" Subaru felt a slight pain in his lips as the dried skin did not withstand the pressure it was suddenly put under, his lip cracking. For a few moments there, he felt that thought creep in.

'It would take only one bullet.'

"COME ON, YOU FUCKING BASTARD! GET UP!" Lifting his other hand, he would slap his leg before trying to massage it, "GET UP, DAMN IT! GET UP!"

It took a lot of insane bravery, or maybe foolishness, to end oneself. One does it in a fit of irrational despair and desperation, but that's one thing he knew about himself. He was rational. He would NEVER be irrational. He was an enlightened man in an unenlightened world, thrown in by forces that did not care for him. And so…

"Gnah…" The young man finally turned over and was able to stand on his knees. Using the wall as his support, Subaru would pull himself up, his cheeks burning. He would not run; he would not hide. No witches, no assassins, nothing could stop him. He was a force of nature! HE-

The self-motivational thoughts were cut down by a groan not too far ahead. Lifting his eyes, Subaru would mutter, "Rein… hard..?"

One step, another. "Reinhard." He now felt most of his feet and hands, though the alarming numbness in the fingers still didn't go away. The knight didn't respond; he seemed to be asleep, just as Subaru was, and the frost had built up on his armour.

Dropping to his knees again, Subaru crawled up to the unconscious knight, grabbing him by the lapels and giving him a shake, "Reinhard! Wake up! There's… huff… This is a witch's den! You have to have some sort of Divine Protection for this, right!?" The knight was inert and unresponsive, locked into sleep, his handsomeness undamaged even by the cold and wind.

The cold was beginning to gnaw at Subaru's consciousness, desperation growing, "Reinhard! This isn't the time! I know you can break out of it; I KNOW YOU CAN! YOU'RE THE HERO OF THIS NATION, SO CAN'T YOU SAVE ONE VILLAGE!?" It was low to play up the moralistic side of their venture, but it didn't matter; if this force of nature of a knight got up, Subaru wouldn't be alone against this catastrophe.

Reinhard would slowly open his eyes, a pair of dark-blue sapphires staring dully at the young man. "I can still fix it…" The knight's voice was hollow as if it had joined the howl of this tomb.

"Wh-what..?" Subaru would pull himself closer, putting his ear closer to Reinhard's mouth, "What?"

"I can still… make it right… I can still save her… Grandma… The Divine Protection of Return…" The knight mumbled; he was barely coherent. Closing his eyes, a green light would glow from under his armour, Reinhard's weight sagging again. He was asleep once more.

"I have to get you back up. Come on, Reinhard, this isn't a place to lay to rest." Trying to drag the knight, Subaru's legs and arms instantly gave out on him, the young man losing his grip and dropping on his back.

"Damn it…" Covering his stinging eyes, Subaru clenched his teeth. He was sore all over, frozen to the bone; his world was collapsing, and yet he still had to carry it all, "DAMN IT! DAMN IT! DAMN! DAMN! DAMN! DAMN!" It was a hopeless type of scream, one that is released when the person screaming acknowledges his situation.

"The Gods of this World! Spirits! Volcanica! ANYBODY!?"

Silence.

He was sore from screaming; even the few words had torn at his throat, "Show me something, anything… Please, I need something…" The tears were running down his cheeks freely now, "THIS HAS TO HAVE A POINT! FUCK FAITH, SHOW ME SOMETHING REAL, YOU BASTARDS!"

Nobody responded, the tomb continuing to wail and howl along with him.

"I'll put down my life for you! I will serve you! PLEASE TURN IT ALL BACK!" His whole body was shuddering from weeping. His self-assurance mere minutes ago had turned to sand, running through his fingers.

There was no sign; he was alone.

He didn't know how long he lay sobbing next to the knight's unconscious body, but he had soon calmed down, wiping at his eyes. No one was coming. And so…

"Fuck it. Fuck you. I'll do it myself."


Having dragged the knight away from the entrance, deeper into the tomb, Subaru felt much warmer now. The stone acted as insulation, and while it was still freezing, it was not the same as the windy entrance hall, the snow not reaching either of the men.

"What now?" Subaru mumbled to himself, shivering as he tried to wrap himself in the overcoat even more tightly, pushing himself further into the corner he had sat down in. Where was the challenge? Why was he spit out of his dream? When was the Tomb going to let him back in?

His worried thoughts were disturbed by the sound of steps. 'That's it. I'm starting to hallucinate from the cold.'

"Subaru..?"

The voice… 'No way…'

"Subaru!" The steps got closer and louder, Emilia running up to him and dropping to her knees to check on him, her hands feeling so unbearably smooth on his cheeks, "I finally found you!"

"Miss Emilia, I thought…" His vision was blurry, and he suddenly felt a scent of warmth and comfort envelop him. He could not place his finger on what the scent was, just that he felt himself relax. It didn't make sense, not with Roswaal's words, not with his current situation, but somehow his brain wanted to skip over the details.

"You're so hurt." Her fingers ran along his lips and bruised sides, "You're frozen stiff, Mister Subaru. Let me warm you."

"Wait… but Reinhard…" This was moving too fast; this wasn't the time-

"You come first, Mister Subaru. Please, just let me." Silver hair filled his eyes as she pulled in close, the scent growing only stronger. "You have worked so hard; you've tried so much…"

"Yes… Yes, I…" Subaru began to feel light-headed, his breath catching. What was happening? He felt so loved, so struck and yet why was it so hard to breathe?

"Let me just…" Emilia would tighten her grasp on him, the closeness warming him further, "You have worked so hard for my sake, Mister Subaru. I love you so much…"

'Something is wrong.' The scent was becoming overpowering; he was drowning in it, his breath not just hitching; he could not force any more oxygen through.

"You…" Subaru choked out, his left hand lifting to her cheek, Emilia leaning into his fingers slightly, "You…"

"What is it, Mister Subaru?"

"Who…" The motions were quick, the young man surprised himself at how much force he could push out of himself. His fingers slipped past her cheek, grabbing onto her hair and pulling Emilia away, almost tearing the strands out as his other hand lifted to aim the flintlock just under her chin.

Emilia shouted from the pain of her hair almost being pulled out, but Subaru felt his chest ease as the scent receded, "Who are you to imitate others…"

The copy of Emilia looked like it was on the verge of tears, trying to open his fingers on her hair, "S-Subaru, I-"

"You are not the real one; spare me the confused act." Nonetheless, the young man winced and weakened his grasp, though he kept his aim steady, "The real one never overlooked others for me; her kindness stretched a bit too far like that. And the clown told me that something got Emilia. You're a fake, and if you do not wish for this to end badly, UNMASK YOURSELF!"

"Y-you're…" The fake's voice would take on different intonations, going from Emilia's worried but smooth to shaky and nervous, the vocal range rising slightly. The hair in Subaru's hand melted off and dissipated into smoke like burning spiderwebs. "You're way scarier than she said y-you would be."

"Really now?" Subaru asked rhetorically and raised his eyes at the collapsing walls around him, the tomb cracking, revealing the same green field where he met Echidna, the witch herself sitting not too far away under her parasol. He had not noticed how he was dragged into the dream. The young man would then observe the fraud.

The girl was shorter than Emilia and covered in baggy, white-and-pink clothing, looking at him from under her green scarf and waist-length pink hair, hiding her face in it. If not for the display he had just witnessed, Subaru would have considered her completely harmless.

"You both!" Echidna would stand up from her table, approaching them with a faux-serious expression, "You clearly overdid it!"

"I simply did what y-you asked of me, E-Echidna!" Even exclaiming, the pink-haired woman sounded like a small cornered animal, "This man… th-there's something wrong with him! He's-"

"I did not know that you wished to suffocate your own experiment, Echidna!" Subaru rose to his feet, finding his matchlock again, the rage in his unrestrained voice making the pink-haired woman "eep" and cover her head.

"Well, that's your fault, isn't it? A weak heart is something really dangerous in the presence of Carmilla, after all." Echidna laughed slightly, "After all, one can forget to breathe, how much they fall in love with her."

"The Witch of Lust?" Subaru's rage was quickly tempered by confusion. He looked at Carmilla again, expecting her to suddenly change into exactly what he imagined when he heard the title, "Is this some sort of trick?"

"You expected some easy-looking woman, did you not?" Echidna was clearly enjoying the show, seeing the Witch of Lust squirm at the phrase. "Shame on you, Subaru dear; Carmilla is so upstanding, after all. It's your fault that you keep your heart so unguarded."

"Shame on her for using that opening," Subaru growled, giving Carmilla a death stare, the witch herself having shut her eyes tightly, continuing to cover her head.

"Tsk-tsk. Does a flood destroy a city because it hates it? No, it simply follows nature's course." Echidna would pat Carmilla on the head, the Witch of Lust continuing to shake slightly. "She showed you what you wished to see, and you almost forgot how to breathe, that is all."

"A manipulator from nature or a manipulator from nurture, a manipulator nonetheless." Subaru spit through his teeth, not letting his rage die down, even at the display of Carmilla's meekness.

"Now, now, make up and shake hands. We have much to discuss." Echidna snickered, returning to sit in the shade, leaving Subaru to follow her.

Looking at Carmilla, the young man would sigh, putting the flintlock back in the inside pocket of his overcoat before proceeding after Echidna. Though his temper didn't let him pass quietly.

"You best stay away from me." He had calmed a bit, but the statement still came off as a hushed threat. Wandering up to the seat, Subaru would sit down. While before, he was reluctant, at this point, his mind and body were too exhausted to not take the opportunity to rest.

"So, feeling better?" Echidna would pour another cup of her 'tea', setting it in front of Subaru.

"I feel like shit." Subaru would move the cup to the side, not wishing to drink another drop of the witch's… whatever it was. "If your point was to enrage me, I congratulate you."

"Hmmmm." Echidna put her index finger up to her lower lip, looking up, making a thoughtful face, "Well, no, you looked like you were about to give up, so I wanted Carmilla to cheer you up." The witch swirled the 'tea' in her cup, "You know, give you a little bit of a motivation boost. Then again, seems that rage works as good fuel for you as well."

"Tch, yeah." Subaru sighed, "So, what is this about now? Another challenge? It would be nice to hurry it up before I freeze to death."

"Interesting." Echidna sat forward, putting her chin on her palm, observing Subaru hungrily, "You've let go of all that hostility. Instead, it's faux bravado now."

"I am extremely angry and tired. Hostility will not get me out of here quicker, so I will just-" Reinhard. His mind just remembered the knight. How could he forget? Though he did feel a stark difference between the tomb and this grassland, his emotions weren't as sharp as if this field had soothed his worries or, rather, dulled them.

"Actually, screw that conversation." The young man stood up, putting his weight on the table, towering over Echidna, "What have you done to Reinhard?"

"Me? Nothing." The witch would suddenly become really bored, "He did it to himself."

"Did what? Your tomb's curse had reactivated on him, so you best fix that."

"The tomb doesn't reactivate; it just spits you out; he would have to get up, walk out of the tomb and walk back in to retry a challenge. This is… different." Echidna picked up the tome sitting next to her tea set, opened it, and flipped through a few pages.

"Ah-hah, see?" The witch lifted the text on the page to his eyes, Subaru squinting to make out the old Lugnican written word.

"Di- Vi- Ne Pro- tec- tion o-f Re-tu-r-n. Divine Protection of Return." It took him a second to go through all the symbols before pausing, "Is that supposed to mean something?" The realization of Reinhard's words only hit him seconds after he asked.

"Well, considering the Knight's ability to generate any Divine Protection, it seems he created a copying ability." Echidna continued to swirl her tea thoughtfully. "So essentially, he is forcing himself into a dreaming loop."

"But… Why?" It didn't make sense to Subaru, was Reinhard's past that much better than the present? Why would he choose to abandon reality?

"You're thinking too much inside your own little box, Subaru." The witch chuckled, turning her finger around her temple and then taking the spoon out of her tea and licking it, "After all, do you believe that peoples' past is always better than the present?"

"But then… there's no reason to…" It clicked. The word 'Grandma', the constant need to return, the dream loop. "What does this have to do with Theresia van Astrea?" No, it didn't click; he just thought it did. What did a hero that passed away many years ago have to do with this era's hero losing his mind?

"Tell me, Subaru dear, what do you know about Theresia van Astrea?" The witch sat back in her chair, lounging, not particularly interested in giving away the answers instantly.

"Not much. There were a lot of books about her adventures in the library; she seemed like a big figure in this world's history. The last mentions of her I saw were in the Bestiarae; she passed due to one of your-"

Echidna's eyebrows visibly scrunched up, "Daphne's."

"-creations." Subaru stopped, "Unless…"

"Unless what?" Echidna sat forward, her curiosity visibly reignited.

"Did… no, that would not make sense." Subaru rubbed his face; this was beginning to hurt his head. "I know of no records where Reinhard, a child at the time, could have wronged her."

"Not on purpose, at least." Echidna continued to swirl her tea, nearly spilling it. "Go on, go on, tell me what you think next. I want to hear it."

"Wait… Why would Theresia fall to the Hakugei? While it is not a well-researched beast due to its danger, from what I have read, she had fought many a more dangerous foe…" It clicked again, "This was when Reinhard manifested his powers… The blessing of the Sword Saint…"

Echidna smiled, "As you say in your world, Biiiiiiingooooooo."

"But that does not make sense; the books were explicit that powers transfer after death-" Subaru rubbed his jaw, struggling with all the concepts and details he at best saw a couple times in text.

"What came first, the Land Dragon or the egg?" Echidna picked up the teapot and the cup, moving them up and down as if her hands became the two plates of weighing scales. "Is it death that causes the transfer of power, or is it the transfer of power that results in death?"

Placing the cup and the teapot back down, Echidna giggled as if drunk, "Many Astreas fell in battle; very few have lived to a ripe old age."

"So, if what you're alluding to is that she was struck down because her powers were suddenly transferred to Reinhard." The picture was complete. "He wishes to fix what he considered his own fault."

"The scars of childhood run deep because they are formational. If a house is built on a broken foundation, one can keep trying to fix the walls, but the problem always lies at the deepest levels." The witch yawned and chuckled, "My, how exciting."

"But this is not rational; why can he just not let the dream-" Subaru stopped himself from finishing the phrase, instead rethinking what he was about to say. Sure, it was easy to say that the knight could simply rationally take that dream and ignore it, but the tomb specifically made people face their past as a challenge. The design of the trap in and of itself was to wrap someone up in their own history.

"But what about Divine Blessings?" Subaru was still hopeful, "Would a Knight of Reinhard's calibre not have something to protect him from these mental effects? If I just-"

"Pfft, what do you take this tomb for? Some cheap knock-off?" The witch seemed to take pleasure in tearing down Subaru's ideas. "This is an Authority-driven mechanism, and as I know you know from your little research tour-"

"Authorities always trump Divine Blessings." Subaru clenched his teeth, trying to think up something, anything to get Reinhard out. "Will he not… exhaust himself?"

"Maybe. Maybe not." Echidna was fairly unbothered, "Considering the things I got about the man, he is infamous for his indomitable will. It takes a strong man to deny reality, and oh my luck, we have gotten the strongest one, probably in the whole world."

"Then I will remove this Authority's hold over this place and make sure that Reinhard awakens again."

"Not taking on too much?" Echidna tapped her chin in an entertained manner, "You have already made a lot of promises, after all."

"The least I can do is try my best," Subaru replied grimly.

"Well, I won't hold you back then. I will have something pretty big to offer after this round, but for now-" Echidna stood from her chair and put her hand on the young man's shoulder, her fingers feeling completely different from how they looked, cold and hard like granite. "Cheerio." The witch would push him backwards, the chair tumbling from underneath him, Subaru reflexively trying to grab onto something as he disappeared down that familiar void.

'I'll prove you wrong, damn it.'


"Behold an unthinkable present."

"Mister Reinhard, I don't understand; it was as if he went mad!" Someone swiped the snow out of Subaru's eyes.

'Otto…'

The merchant looked terrified, his cheek swollen and red. "Oh Od, SUBARU!" Otto squeezed his hands into fists, continuing to dig at the snow with his bare fingers.

"Mister Suwen…" Reinhard's voice was soft and melancholic.

"Please help me, Mister Von Astrea!"

It was strange to see himself like that, frozen solid, his eyes made of ice, an expression filled with malice still on his face.

'Otto… I punched you… I'm sorry…' What a strange thing to focus on; it was just a single swing and yet-

"Mister Suwen, I do not think there is anything we can do." Reinhard put a hand on the merchant's shoulder, trying to calm him, his voice solemn.

"No. No, there must be." Otto pronounced breathlessly.

'I wronged you, Otto. I'm so sorry…'


"Behold an unthinkable present."

A pair of gauntlet-covered fingers traced the glass cut on his neck; Subaru's eyes rolled back, his mouth covered in the blood he spit up as he cut into his own flesh.

"I must have known you would do this, Mister Subaru." Reinhard's voice was hollow, "In the end, I should have known."

'You couldn't have, Reinhard. This is not an end of despair; it was an end of a glimmer of hope…'

The knight would lift Subaru's body, small puffs of vapour still wafting from the fresh cuts. "It seems, no matter what I do, I can wrestle the greatest threats, but these things, these common things, I cannot overturn." Reinhard's expression would harden.

'You are a hero, Reinhard, but there is nothing you can do to prevent these things…'


"Behold an unthinkable present."

Emilia ran through the corridors, "Mister Subaru! Where have you gone!? Please, there must be a way to help Felt; please come ba-!" The shout caught in her throat as the smell of gunpowder and blood hit her nose.

'Ah, there I am.'

The scene of the struggle was covered in wood chips and remnants of the walls, Rem having swung her Morningstar without any restraint. Though it didn't help her, the maid having collapsed to the floor, gurgling through the hole in her windpipe, the musketball having zipped through her and left a mark in the wall behind her.

"Miss Rem-" Emilia's tone was shaky, full of disbelief. Still visibly in shock, the half-elf walked up to the broken-down door before sinking to her knees, her legs giving out. Subaru had no head; the only reason his hand was still on the trigger was that his fingers had tangled up in the rush to fire the smoothbore. The Morningstar had done its job.

'There was no other outcome…'

"Why…" Emilia would raise her hands to her face, beginning to shake her head, "It can't be! It can't! WHY!? Why would you do this to each other!?" Her screams would turn into sobs.

"Look away, Miss Emilia, please…'

"Puck, they all die! I'm…" The half-elf would clench the crystal on her bosom, continuing to weep, "It's all my fault; I could have fixed this."

'This wasn't your battle, Miss Emilia, you couldn't have.'

"I… I killed him… I kill them all because that's just me…" A hushed exasperated proclamation, "If he hadn't met me… If I had taken closer care…"

'No… No, this isn't right… IT WAS ME! ME! I CAUSE THAT! PLEASE DON'T BLAME-'


"Behold an unthinkable present."

Felt ran through the moonlit corridor, still in her pyjamas; the commotion had woken her up. At first, Subaru's voice just convinced her to fall asleep again, maybe that weirdo just sleepwalks. But the scream for help and crash of the window convinced her otherwise.

'Please stay in bed, Felt.'

"Hey!" The blonde saw Rem jump out of the broken window, weapon in hand, dashing after her, not noticing the pain her bare feet were in from stepping on the broken glass, "What's going o-"

'PLEASE GO BACK! I'M BEGGING YOU, FELT!'

Looking down through the broken window, she would capture one last moment.

'DON'T!'

"He- HEL-" Subaru's choked-out call for help was silenced by a wet crack as the Morningstar left nothing of his face.

"Suba-" Felt would freeze, her expression melting into shock. "Su-... S…"

'Felt, no, this doesn't matter, go back to sleep, please!'

The shock would turn to anger as the thief would clench her teeth, her hand finding a shard of glass. Felt would ignore the tears of rage building up in the corners of her eyes, climbing onto the window sill in position to strike.

'What are you-'

Felt would tumble downward, towards Rem, wielding the glass shard like a shiv, her fury turning into a shriek. "I'LL KILL YOU, MAID BITCH!"

Rem would lift her eyes, nudging the Morningstar with an almost lazy motion.

Felt's rampage was suddenly cut short; instead, two halves would meet the ground with a wet thud. Rem observed the two remnants of the newbie maid dispassionately.

'FELT!'


"Behold an unthinkable present."

'Stop.'


"Behold an unthinkable present."

'Stop it!'


"Behold an unthinkable present."

'I DON'T WANT TO SEE IT!'


"Behold an unthinkable present."

'NOBODY ELSE DESERVES THIS!'


"Behold an unthinkable present."

'JUST LEAVE THEM BE! LEAVE THEM ALONE! NONE OF THEM DESERVE THIS!'


"Behold an unthinkable present."

'IT'S ALL MY FAULT I'LL ADMIT IT; I'LL ADMIT ALL OF IT! JUST DON'T HURT THEM ANYMORE!'


"Behold an unthinkable present."

'But it's not someone, is it? No one is constructing these. It's just…'


"Behold an unthinkable present."

A maggot crawled through his carcass, eating its way out through his face. The well-pressed uniform was covered in shit and dried blood from the stomach wound. His precious books were gone. A face of odious calm stared ahead, as if the corpse felt at peace in this state, being eaten inside out.

'It's just me…'

It was night out; he must have died to those thieves a day or so ago, and nobody came to clean his body. After all, in these shitty districts, no one cared.

'Maybe this was the right path.'

The corpse didn't respond, simply continuing to stare, its flesh porous with the nests of the different corpse-eaters of this other world.

'But this opportunity is long gone. I don't have the privilege of an ineffectual death any longer.'


Subaru opened his eyes again. It was this meadow again, the same tea set, the same table, the same seat. Just a different person sitting in front of him.

"Carmilla." He pronounced it more for himself than for anyone else, labelling her to make sure that his mind wasn't playing tricks on him in this hellscape.

"Y-yes." The Witch of Lust nodded, looking away, hiding her eyes. "I was a little w-worried; Echidna said that y-your present would be a terrible challenge for you, much more than y-your past."

"So you stayed to watch the show?" The question was exhausted, disinterested.

"N-no! No, no, n-no! I just felt… bad." The Witch of Lust hugged herself, "I did not wish to see you cry; it w-was scary when y-you did so in the tomb."

At that, Subaru simply stared. He stared an odiously calm stare.