Re: Tales from the Multiverse: Option One

by Ernalore

Subaru, along with his Camp, his rival Camps, his parents, and Meili, have all suddenly teleported into a theater, controlled by "the Warden". Said Warden has told them that they'd be watching alternate realities, and the Cast would be responsible for what they'd be watching. Seeing that their first option is Emilia arriving in Japan, Subaru makes sure that his secrets remain his.

9. Chapter 9: The Mirror of Envy

Chapter 9: The Mirror of Envy

"So… why? Why are you never satisfied…? Why are you so… greedy?"

And so, for the first time in a long time, Roswaal L. Mathers broke down in tears.

The entire Cast was silent.

After learning that the Witch of Greed, Echidna, was in love with Subaru, Roswaal lunged at him, and after being pried off, Roswaal broke down in his madness, and called Subaru a monster. One that would never know when enough was enough.

And he, of all people, begged to know why Subaru was so greedy.

As he kept quietly crying to himself, everyone else didn't know what to do. The clown had hijacked the bodies of his descendants, willingly let several tragedies occur, and orchestrated the attempt to turn Subaru into his mindless slave, by endangering everyone he cared for.

No one wanted to help him.

And yet, one did.

Emilia gasped, as she saw who stepped forward. "Subaru…?"

Subaru, slowly, walked toward the downed mage. But rather than kicking the man while he was still down, the black-haired boy got down to his knees, and onto the clown's eye level.

"Roswaal, I want to show you something."

Everyone's eyes widened as Subaru rolled up his sleeves and revealed… scars.

"These scars aren't from any of my deaths, or from any enemy," he said. "These are self-made. I did this to myself. Whenever I panic, or remember an unpleasant memory, I grab my arms… and begin to scratch. I scratch, and scratch, and scratch, until my arms bleed. Up until now, the only person who knew about this was Beatrice, who would always try to stop me."

A few people froze in horror as they heard what the Japanese teenager said, while a few others looked to the Great Spirit, whose expression betrayed that what Subaru said was true.

"These are the results of my loops, of the things I have seen in them, and how they ended. I hurt myself because I wanted to forget what I saw, to ground whatever sanity I have left back in reality, and… to punish myself, for letting so many of you so many times."

Roswaal had stopped crying, wondering why Subaru was showing him this.

"The reason I'm showing you this is to show you that I'm no winner. I didn't want any of the things we saw to happen. Hell, I didn't want everyone to learn about Return by Death because to avoid having everyone I care about having to burden themselves with such knowledge," Subaru continued. "Yeah, I'm a monster, just like you said. I want to have my happy ending, without caring about everyone else's opinion. I'm prideful, I'm wrathful, and given how I've caught Echidna's attention, I'm greedy, too. It's probably why I'm compatible with all the Authorities. I've paved the way to my victory with the price of my own corpses. So, yeah, I'm a monster, just like you. But there's a difference between the two of us."

"A difference…?" Roswaal repeated.

"Yes, a difference. Unlike you, I "squander" the everyone around me, because they're not tools or toys. They're people. They're my friends, and I don't want them to suffer. I saved the kids back at the village not because they were useful. I wasn't the one who snuffed out their own descendants, not letting them find love or have their own families and futures, that was all you. I don't sacrifice people for Emilia-tan… or in this case, for "my" Echidna. And above all, I didn't have someone else telling me what to do. Everything I ever did was of my own free will."

Everyone in the Emilia Camp felt a spike of hatred as they remembered that damn book.

"And as for the things we saw, I only want to use what I learned here to help others. I don't want to go to the Pleiades Watchtower just to add Shaula to some harem or to use her as a tool. I want to go there because I want to ease the suffering and loneliness she has felt for the last four centuries. I don't want Volcanica just because I can use him to flaunt some status of mine. I just want to be his friend, and ask him what truly happened four hundred years ago. And I want to ask the same of Satella, after I keep my promise of saving her."

"I didn't get everyone's love and loyalty just because of some status I've never heard about until today. I got it from my actions. And even then… no matter how warm I feel by the touch of those I care about… I know for a fact that I will never be the same as I once was before. There will always be that hollow feeling inside me, unable to ever be filled up."

Emilia and Rem hitched their breaths, as did Crusch, Priscilla, and even Petra and Anastasia.

"But even knowing that, I will spend the rest of my lives making sure everyone around me will live long, happy lives without the fear of someone like Pandora taking all that away at a moment's notice. I'll never stop, even if it takes me a hundred, or even a thousand loops, I promise you: I will create my own happy ending. So, are you gonna help me, or what?"

"SUBARU!" Reinhard yelled. "You can't be serious!"

"I am serious, Rein. I mean, look at him: For the last four centuries, he's been guided by a flawed book which told him that the only path he envisioned was one filled with sacrifices, only to learn that the woman he loved cared for another. I can imagine what he's going through. And if it was from my perspective, I get the feeling that I would probably do the same," Subaru said, as he extended his scarred arm towards Roswaal.

"So, from one monster to another… what do you say, Ros-chi?"

For one eternal moment, the greatest magic user in the world stared at the hand belonging to the Great Sage. His memories went back to when he was offered salvation by his Teacher. It was sweet, but in the end… a lie that led to this. But this offer was bitter… like the truth.

And so, while taking Subaru's hand, he asked, "Why?"

"You said it yourself, I'm greedy," Subaru said, helping Roswaal stand up while smiling. "And I want to create my own happy ending. I can't have one where you're not in the picture."

"..."

"..."

"Ahem!"

Both Subaru and Roswaal turned to see that everyone was still standing around them, while Al was waving his hand. "If you guys are done with whatever gay shit you're doing… the options are up. Well, they have been ever since the clown man tried to strangle Bro."

"That was like… five minutes ago," Julius deadpanned.

"Yeah, well, you all weren't paying attention," the helmeted knight replied.

"Yeah, bucket-head is right," Subaru said. "Enough with the sentimental crap. Let's see what sort of wacky adventures our counterparts could potentially get into this time!"

Everyone around Subaru mumbled in agreement, as they turned around and read…

What if Subaru Natsuki met Subaru Natsuki?

OR

What if Subaru Natsuki's memories were eaten?

…that.

"TWO SUBARU-SAMAS?!" Petra exclaimed, sounding more excited than she should.

That sounds like a dream come true! Rem drooled from her mouth.

"Uh, Al, what are the conditions, nyah?" Felix asked.

"Checking them now."

Conditions: Occurs after the Everlasting Contract.

References "the Original".

Hector escaped his Seal in Elior Forest.

Conditions: Occurs after the Corridor of Memories.

"Huh? More riddles?" Garfiel asked. "Wha' th' hell is th' Everlastin' Contract?"

"Hold on, lemme think about this…" Subaru said, reading the conditions again. Alright, contracts. What big events happened involving contracts… Wait a minute.

"Of course!" Subaru said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "That contract!"

"Subaru?" Crusch asked.

"My contract to Beatrice! It's everlasting since we're both technically immortal! Whatever happens here happens after the Sanctuary, as in the present or near future!"

"Then wha' about th' Corridor o' Memories?" Anastasia asked.

"It's probably even further into the future, if I have to guess," the nasty-eyed boy answered. "I mean, I've never had what happened to Crusch happen to me. I mean, not yet, at least."

Both Wilhelm and Felix grit their teeth at the memory of what happened to their mistress. Rem was also mad, even though what happened to her was technically far worse.

"But wait, shouldn't we pick the second one?" Meili asked. "It concerns your safety!"

"No, we shouldn't," Subaru said. "There's a good chance that it will only show the aftermath of what happened, not the initial inciting incident, just like with me contracting Volcanica. And besides… read the second part of the first option again."

"The reference to your past self?" Naoko asked. "What does that have to do with… oh."

"Yeah," Subaru nodded to his mother. "Think about it. A second version of me showing up, while also mentioning "the Original". There's only one logical conclusion to that."

"It means… we'll meet the original you. The Great Sage themselves," Emilia relaxed.

Everyone was quiet at the revelation of such information. After a few seconds, Anastaisa said, "We're pickin' tha' one," and no one argued with her.

Everyone sat down right away… and the lights dimmed.

What if Subaru Natsuki met Subaru Natsuki?

Conditions: Occurs after the Everlasting Contract.

References "the Original".

Hector escaped his Seal in Elior Forest.

"Huh, so we're just jumping right into it," Otto surmised.

"Yes, it seems like it," Frederica confirmed.

The opening scene appeared to be a carriage of the Emilia Camp going along its merry way on the road, with Patrasche carting it along. Otto was driving, while Subaru, Emilia, Beatrice, Ram, and Garfiel were inside the vehicle.

So far, so good.

"Betty should get a title too, I suppose."

Subaru jolted awake so hard he knocked Beatrice off his lap. Her light body tumbled to the floor with a thud. He sat there, breathing heavily with his hand on his chest, trying to recover from what had happened to his mind. While Subaru tried to think of what to do, Beatrice spoke while writhing on the floor in annoyance.

"Why did you do that, I suppose?"

"I must agree with my counterpart. What was that, I suppose?"

"It's a freakout of mine," Subaru explained. "This usually happens when I have a really painful death. What you're seeing is me looping back from your perspectives."

Everyone took in that information, when they suddenly realized…

"Wait, that means that you just died!" Emilia shouted.

"Yep. Get ready, everyone. It looks like we're about to see a whole lot of looping."

Subaru looked around frantically at his surroundings. His mind still felt twisted by the miasma. As he began to calm himself down, he truly realized how little time he had. His Return by Death had only given him seconds, but he was still going to try and escape before they were boxed in.

"Otto! Turn the carriage around!"

"Huh?"

"Miasma?!" Rem asked, knowing what the foul stuff could do to the nose.

"Shit, the danger is already upon us!" Subaru cursed.

"What do you mean, "Huh?" you idiot?!" Ram hissed.

Right away, the little ones held themselves closer to their guardians, while the warriors in the room braced themselves for whatever they were about to see or hear.

"Ul Minya."

Except for that, of course.

"What?" Wilhelm asked.

Crusch recognized that sound. "That voice, it's…"

"Subaru-sama!" Petra exclaimed. "The other one is here to save the day!"

A few of the other people in the Theater were excited by the prospect of the Great Sage coming in to rescue his counterpart, but the real Subaru, along with a few others, were skeptical. Especially considering the fact that the second voice was already there to begin with.

It's almost like it's… a trap set up by my previous self, Subaru realized.

Too late, the purple crystal cage trapped the group once more. Otto pulled hard on the reins as the carriage was quickly surrounded by cultists. As the carriage skidded to a halt everyone inside was yanked to the ground. Subaru hit his head on the floor of the carriage, which clouded his thoughts and sent a ringing through his ears. Subaru staggered to his feet dizzy and disoriented. He shook his head and looked out of the carriage window. Outside, he once again saw his own face staring back, with a victorious smile, a smile you only wear when you know the plan will work because you know what's going to happen. Subaru had worn that face before, several times.

Oh, shit, the Japanese teenager gasped.

"No way!" Garfiel yelled, not believing what he was seeing.

In front of them was a Subaru wearing a Witch Cult outfit, and hanging out with the regular goons that occupied that damned cult. And he was smiling.

"No, not another one like him," Kenichi prayed that it wasn't true.

"Another cultist?!" Reinhard exclaimed.

"WHY THE FUCK IS THIS A COMMON OCCURRENCE IN THE MULTIVERSE?!"

"Damn it, how the hell am I supposed to get rid of this guy?"

"The hell was that?"

"You know, it always feels weird introducing myself the second time around, but I know I've got to since none of you remember the first time."

As the evil Subaru was giving his introduction, Subaru confirmed that the Sin Archbishop hadn't made another loop, unless he was deceiving them.

"Does that mean that I have the upper hand, or does he? And is the person who died last the one who keeps the memories of the last loop or does it work by whoever's return point is latest, or are our return points synchronized? Damn it, this is so confusing."

As Subaru muttered his conundrum under his breath the Sin Archbishop continued his introduction as he walked towards the carriage.

"I am the Sin Archbishop of the Witch's Cult, representing Envy, Subaru Natsuki."

Upon hearing that, everyone gasped in horror.

Knowing that in one universe there was a version of Subaru that became the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony was bad enough, but this… this was somehow even worse.

Envy, the sin associated with the Witch of Envy, the monster who destroyed half the world, was being worn by their hero. Sure, they knew better than to blame Satella, the innocent girl who was trapped in all this, but the idea that even Subaru of all people would wear that title regardless of the context was bone-chilling.

Especially now that they knew the Sin Archbishops were Pandora's lackeys.

When the Sin Archbishop said his name everyone in the carriage bore a look of confusion before inevitably looking towards Subaru. Subaru knew he only had about one minute to come up with a plan, so he continued to mutter to himself without acknowledging his comrades.

"First I need to establish what he knows from the first loop. I'd say he understands most of us, but he seemed to disregard Otto. Somehow Otto's ability to be overlooked keeps coming in handy. I assume that because I didn't use invisible providence last time, he hasn't seen that either. Also, based on what he said, I already tried the 'no plan' strategy and it failed."

"Oi, idiot! Pay attention!" Garfiel yelled.

"I don't think he can," Cruscha said. "He's too busy focusing on the previous loop."

"Do you always do that?" Priscilla asked Subaru. "Strategizing on the spot, I mean."

"It varies from situation to situation, but this one is way more intense than usual."

"Subaru?"

"Barusu, would you mind explaining yourself?"

Subaru turned towards his friends at the sound of his name, only to find Ram glaring at him with her hands on her hips. He tried to think of something to say but he was so engrossed in his planning he wasn't sure what they asked him.

"Well Barusu, spit it out. Why is there a Witch Cultist with your name and your face standing outside?"

"I've never met him before today, he's probably an evil clone or something."

"That sounds like an easy cop-out."

"Come on, it has to be the truth!" Emilia begged.

"Yes!" Rem agreed with the half-elf. "There's no way that the actual Great Sage would be willing to join Pandora as her lackey, considering all the horrible things she has already done!"

"Maybe he's being brainwashed!" Julius suggested. "Can Pandora do that?"

"Guys."

Everyone turned to Subaru, hoping for an answer.

"I think… that's the original me," he said. "From four hundred years ago."

"No way!" Petra yelled. "The Great Sage would never join the Witch Cult! You're both heroes!"

"Look, he's definitely not a clone," Subaru explained. "But maybe there's something we're missing here. So, we should probably sit tight, and watch out for any context."

"Subaru's right," Emilia nodded. "Let's keep watching."

Subaru answered in a sheepish tone this time since he was now aware of how similar the Sin Archbishop was to him. Ram must have picked up on his pensiveness because the conversation was different than last time. Ram remained unconvinced but the rest of the carriage seemed willing to give Subaru the benefit of the doubt.

"C'mon Ram, d'ya think he'd work sa hard ta fight da Witch Cult if 'e was one a dem?"

"Yeah Ram, Subaru would never betray us, even though the Subaru outside looks almost identical to him, we know Subaru would never betray us. Plus, our Subaru has way less scary eyes than the other Subaru."

"Thanks, Emilia, I can always count on you."

Ram rolled her eyes and huffed before turning towards Emilia with a straight face.

"My apologies Emilia-san, I will not accuse Subaru of betrayal any further."

So, my sister does have standards… Rem thought to herself. Low as they are.

Subaru didn't need telepathy to know what the blue-haired maid was scowling about.

"Now I'm sure you're all a little confused, I'm also confused as to how a weakling thought it was okay to steal my name and murder my best friend, Petelguese. But after meeting your friends Garfiel, Emilia, Ram, Beatrice, Otto, and Patrache, I can see that you're as good at making friends as me."

Ram looked even more skeptical of Subaru than before, but she held her tongue for now. However, everyone else in the carriage seemed to get a little weary of Subaru.

"Let me put your minds at ease, I suppose. The Subaru outside is definitely not the same person as the Subaru inside, in fact. My Subaru can't form contracts with any other spirits because he is contracted with Betty. Not only am I not contracted with the Subaru outside, but that Subaru has around thirty Spirits with him, I suppose."

"He has Spirits too?!"

"THIRTY?!" Julius nearly choked on his own cough hearing that.

"How can he have so many o' them?!" Anastasia was as shocked as her knight.

"Maybe it's because he was friends with Sloth?" asked Otto.

"Oh, what, because you think all of us Spirits know each other?!" Beatrice accused Otto.

This Archbishop just seemed to get stronger and stronger. He had likely tried to hide the fact that he had Spirits with him in order to limit the knowledge Subaru had in case he returned by death. While Subaru was still mulling over the strength of their opponents, the rest of the people in the carriage seemed to have had their minds put at ease regarding Subaru.

"All I want is you Subaru. If you surrender, I promise not to hurt your friends, even that oni bitch without the horn."

Everyone in the carriage, except Subaru, seemed shocked that the other Subaru knew that secret, however, they didn't seem to be untrusting of Subaru anymore.

"Shit, they even know about Ram-san's weakness," Frederica cursed.

"But how?" Meili asked. "How did he find all of that out?"

"Maybe he spied on all of you before attacking?" Tivey suggested.

"I guess that's an option."

"I just want you alive, because I know you have the same power as me."

Everyone in the carriage seemed more confused than shocked. They, of course, didn't know that Subaru had any unique power.

"Subaru? What is he talking about? What power do you have?"

"I can't explain right now, just trust me okay. I need to come up with a plan."

"C'mon, you know how impatient I am. I'll give you one minute to surrender, which is generous coming from me."

Everyone waited in silence as Subaru thought of a way to win. The tension was so thick it was almost visible. Then after about thirty seconds, Subaru looked up.

"Emilia, do you trust me?"

"Yes, of course, Subaru."

Emilia answered without hesitation, and at that Subaru smiled… his victory smile.

"Okay, so Bro has a plan!" Felt said. "That's good, right?"

"You are aware that most of my plans revolve around me being bait, right?"

"And yet you still manage to come out on top in the end," Roswaal humphed.

"Yo, incoming scene change!" Al called out.

"Great, now we're seeing things from the evil me's perspective."

"Garfiel should be the first one to attack, just like last time. I really do love to play these mind games with people."

'Subaru' muttered to himself as he waited one minute for Subaru to inevitably decide to go with the '"no plan" plan. Last time he had fought Garfiel for a considerable amount of time before realizing that he was super susceptible to the miasma because of his beast blood.

"This time around, our fight should go a lot quicker."

He also intended to give Ram an extra dose of miasma, just to see that stuck up oni be driven to madness. Just picturing it made him smile.

"I wonder what this version of Subaru-dono has against Ram-san?" Wilhelm wondered.

Elsewhere in the Theater, Subaru scowled as he saw that the evil version of him had already looped once. It's a good thing that the actual me-me got the upper hand in the next loop.

Suddenly, one of his Spirits flew up to his ear. Specifically, it was Su, the one he had sent to spy on the carriage.

"Someone… coming… unarmed."

"Wait, what?"

"He didn't see that coming?" Meili asked.

"No," Subaru answered. "Apparently the good version of me looped, so there's a good chance that the Sin Archbishop of Envy can't see this coming."

"So… there's a chance that they don't loop together?" Crusch asked.

"Let's hope so."

Suddenly the door to the carriage opened and out stepped the other Subaru. 'Subaru' staggered back a little in surprise. This did not happen last time.

"Did I slip up in my wording, I mean I didn't say the exact same thing that I said last time. Is that it? Damn it, what changed?"

Then he looked at Subaru's face and he knew. It was his, "I know the future" face. His victory face. He had died. Which meant that one more loop had happened that he didn't know about.

"So, we don't loop together," Subaru analyzed. "That's a double-edged sword."

"Huh? How so, Subaru?" Naoko asked her son.

"It means that neither one of us knows that the other has looped, unless explicitly told. That means that we'd both have to keep looping trying to one-up the other."

"Damn it, how much does he know about me, and what's he planning? Damn it, I hate not knowing what's happening, especially since I've never been in a scenario where I didn't know what was happening."

Subaru approached 'Subaru'. They stared at each other, eye to eye. They both looked identical to each other. Then Subaru smirked and held out his fists.

"I surrender."

"Bullshit."

'Subaru' didn't believe for a second that Subaru didn't have some plan up his sleeve. He knew that if the roles were switched that he would have only pretended to surrender and then get the drop on him.

"No way you don't have some kind of plan. I know that if I was in your position I would totally come up with something. Is Garfiel going to jump out behind me or something?"

'Subaru' said this while quickly spinning around to look behind himself. Subaru began to get annoyed with the Sin Archbishop.

"Why would I try to surprise attack you? If I did, you'd just Return by Death and stop the attack."

"Okay sure, but still you must have some kind of plan. If you're anything like me, you definitely have a plan."

Subaru was getting even more annoyed at the current situation. Here he was giving the other Subaru what he wanted and he was complaining about it.

"Heh, now we know Barusu's greatest weakness: It's himself."

"Please be quiet," Rem chided her sister.

Alright, I gotta get those two to talk, ASAP, Subaru thought to himself.

"Okay, first off, let's get one thing straight, I am nothing like you. You're an evil cultist who was best friends with a maniac. And second, in my last loop, I learned just how powerful you are, and as a result, I've realized the only way to have all my friends live is for me to surrender."

'Subaru' looked his other self up and down. This Subaru had a weakness for his friends, just like himself. But still, even with that explanation, he couldn't let it go.

"I just can't believe that you would just surrender without a plan. The fact that you're willing to surrender to the weakest Archbishop, but you managed to kill Petelguese, obviously through some devious plan, makes me think you're hiding something."

"If you were never willing to accept my surrender in the first place, then why the hell did you offer it?"

"I don't know, I guess I thought it sounded cool. I just didn't think you would actually do it."

"It's at least good to hear that both you and that evil man care for your friends," Rem said, after hearing the initial internal monologues of the evil Subaru.

"I wouldn't be so sure," Reinhard said. "These similarities simply show how any Subaru could become a danger just by having one or two events occur differently."

"On the bright side, he's only the weakest Archbishop!" Mimi sighed in relief.

"Compared to the Archbishops we've seen, that's still bad, nyah," Felix said.

"Wait, he only offered the surrender option because he thought it sounded cool?"

"Wow, this version of your son is kind of a dick, man," Al replied to Kenichi.

"Well I did, and now you've gotta let my friends go."

Subaru said this while pointing at the large purple cage surrounding the area. 'Subaru' looked at the cage and then back at Subaru. I did say I would do that if he surrendered, plus it's a lot easier than fighting them over and over. Not to mention who knows how long this fight might have lasted, especially since we both have Return by Death. In any case, my Spirits detect no threat from him so it may actually be legit. 'Subaru' thought this to himself before grudgingly acknowledging Subaru's surrender.

"Alright alright, I'll release your friends."

With a wave of his hand, 'Subaru' dispelled the purple cage. It crumbled apart and disintegrated into mana particles that blew throughout the valley, making it glitter with purple light. 'Subaru' and Subaru watched as the carriage continued down the road, leaving Subaru behind.

"I told them not to follow us. I didn't want them to try and ambush you and then get killed for it."

"You know that's not going to stop me from posting a rear guard, right?"

As 'Subaru' turned to face the other cultists, Subaru gave him a mean look. 'Subaru' addressed the cultists that were with him.

"Alright guys, let's head back. Oh, and as for you…"

The Archbishop quickly spun around and swung his fist at the side of Subaru's head. Before Subaru could react, he was hit in the side of the head by the Yin Blade's invisible pommel and was knocked out.

"What a dick move!" Subaru yelled, obviously offended.

"Didn't he keep his promise, though?" Emilia asked.

"Eh, I'm giving it a fifty-fifty chance," the black-haired knight said. "For all I know, he could have recaptured everyone while I was out cold. Even if he didn't, hitting my face is uncool."

"I don't know, maybe it would be an improvement over your current mug," Ram smirked, but quickly flinched when Rem glared at her sister.

Opening Theme: Polaris

The opening begins with a bright and shining light, as a child's hand reaches for it. The hand then changes to an older one, with a very familiar tracksuit sleeve. The hand changes once more, to one wearing a knight's uniform.

The question still remains, though, the Japanese teenager thought to himself. Is that nutjob in the Witch Cult actually the Great Sage? Despite all the evidence, I really hope not…

The screen then shows multiple rapid still images. From when he encountered Satella in Japan, to fighting off several Mabeasts, to burning down the Capital. Him and Emilia as children in Elior Forest. Subaru in dark clothes sitting on a throne of shadows. Otto drinking with the female Subaru. Shaula with Elsa and Meili. Halibel with Zarestia. Volcanica and Reid. A smiling Rem. All of these images become background noise to…

Tales from the Multiverse

Volume II

The next shot shows Subaru, along with the rest of the Emilia Camp and the members of the other Camps, looking off into the distance, as Garfiel smiles maniacally. In an instant, the camera changes to show Volcanica, Shaula, Reid Astrea and Alec Hoshin all sitting together, while the next shot shows a silver-haired half-elf in dark clothes, all by herself in a grassy field, holding a black veil next to her, facing away from the camera.

The red-haired knight was looking over the audience as the second opening played as usual, when he noticed that Subaru was looking at him, and doing something with his head, like flipping up. Maybe he's trying to communicate something?

The next shot shows the woman in the black dress, her face obscured by the black hood-like veil, walking, as the faces in the background changed. First, it's a smug-looking Pandora, and next, an apathetic Hector. After that, a crying Echidna, and finally, a smiling Subaru, wearing traveling-like clothes, including an orange scarf.

The woman's mind flashes back to a moment where she cradles Subaru's bloodied body, while she cries. In an instant, she runs, and sees a dead Subaru, one with blood all over his tracksuit. Lifting her hands, the body rises, the blood disappears, and his eyes open up. The woman pushes the now alive Subaru towards the arms of Emilia and Rem, while she watches, crying, until suddenly, shadows engulf her and she becomes a monster.

"Hey, Rein. You there?" Subaru asked inside his head.

"Subaru? What is it?" Subaru heard Reinhard's voice in his head.

"I gotta ask you a question," Subaru replied. "Do you think that the evil me in this episode is the Great Sage? I know it's a sick idea to think of, but there's too much evidence."

"Perhaps," the Sword Saint telepathically answered. "The conditions, along with the fact that he appears to believe he is the original make a convincing argument. Still, let's hope not."

"Hope, huh? I guess that's all we really got. Thanks, man."

"Not a problem."

In a long shot, multiple figures appear, all of them moving on and off the screen in rapid succession. First, a smiling Stride Vollachia, followed by a charging Regulus. As the Sin Archbishop gets off the screen, Capella and Zarerstia appear, facing off one another, followed by Halibel and Cecilus. The O'Connell twins appear, followed by the Gluttony triplets of Lye, Roy, and Louis. Shion passes through them, along with Theresia van Astrea, followed by Shaula, Reid and Volcanica. The long shot ends when the dust clears, revealing Pandora and Subaru, both of them engaging in combat.

The next shot shows the shadowy monster, only for it to fall, making it dissipate and show the veiled girl in the black dress. Subaru dives after her, getting closer and closer, until the two of them are face-to-face. As soon as that happens, the veil flies off, revealing the crying face of Satella, who has black smoke coming off her.

Subaru merely smiles, and kisses Satella, whose black smoke disappears, as it begins emanating from Subaru. Subaru grabs hold of Satella, and like an olympic athlete, tosses her towards a nearby cliff, where she lands safely, only to see that Subaru is still falling. Subaru looks towards her, when he suddenly gains a pained expression, and the camera reveals that a shadowy tendril has stabbed him, and is dragging him down.

As the tendrils wrap around him, Subaru softly smiles through his bleeding mouth, and accepts his fate. However, suddenly, the shadow tendrils are destroyed, revealing that Satella had jumped off the cliff, refusing to ever let go of Subaru.

As the two of them hug and crash down, the scene fades to show Subaru and Satella standing up, and beside them are Echidna and the rest of the Witches of Sin. Softly smiling, Subaru holds onto Satella's hand, giving a determined look, as all eight of them run toward the sunset, with the final shot of the opening being a still image of the eight of them leaping across the screen, all of them smiling.

Episode 7:

The Mirror of Envy

"That does seem like an appropriate title," Reinhard said.

"Yeah, no joke, Rein," Felt answered.

Subaru slowly woke up with a massive headache. He was in a daze, but he could feel the pain of ropes wrapped tightly around him. His arms and legs were bound to the chair he was sitting on. However, he was left without a gag or blindfold. The room he was in was dark and plain and contained only him and his chair. He inspected himself and found that a piece of paper was taped to his chest. It read: "If you don't remember this person, kill yourself."

"What? What does that mean?"

Subaru pondered this as the door to his room slowly opened.

"He is awake, he is, tsu. We've been so lonely without our hero, tsu."

Before anyone could analyze what the meaning of that note was, a voice creeped through the audience. Crusch and Rem knew that voice. They hated that voice.

They wanted to murder the holder of that voice.

The holder of that voice had ruined their lives.

A small boy, who looked to be around ten years old, entered the room. He had long brown hair, green eyes, and sharp-pointed teeth like Garfiel. He wore a torn shirt and two Witch Cult daggers on the top of his wrists. He seemed to sway back and forth as he walked into the room.

"It's him," Rem said, her voice dangerously low.

"Who?" Subaru asked, growing concerned.

"The Sin Archbishop who erased our memories," Crusch said, glaring at the screen.

Understanding the context of what they said, Wilhelm and Felix were now glaring at the little fucker, while Subaru made sure to take in every single detail of that monster.

He still needed to know everything about how to kill him, after all.

"So long we have waited to see our hero again. We knew you would come back for us. Now we can be joined together, tsu."

The strange boy crept closer and closer, Subaru tried to push the chair backward but couldn't. He was at the mercy of this strange boy.

"Who the hell are you? Get away from me! And stop calling me 'hero'."

"Huuuh! He's forgotten us already! Well don't worry, Subaru, we won't ever forget you, tsu. Not ever."

"Wait, how do you know my name?"

Subaru asked this as the boy slowly drew closer. The boy had gotten so close Subaru could feel his breath. The boy began reaching his hands towards Subaru's face. Subaru tried to get his face as far away from the boy as he could.

"Don't you remember, we used to work at Roswaal-sama's mansion together? Tsu."

"What the fuck is this creep talking about?" Al asked, clearly disgusted.

Rem, however, recognized who spoke like that.

It was her.

"Wait… Wait a minute? Are you…?"

"The Sin Archbishop of the Witch Cult, representing Gluttony, Lye Betenkitos."

At the sound of that name, Subaru changed from fear to blind rage. All this time he was calling him hero, it now made sense. He hadn't just sent her into a coma, he swallowed her and added her to his collective. He had trapped her inside and had twisted her and was now puppeteering her memories. It was disgusting, it was horrifying, and Subaru couldn't restrain himself.

"YOU BASTARD, you're the one who ate Rem! Spit her out, give her back, and stop talking like her, it makes me sick!"

"He remembers!"

Lye seemed delighted by Subaru's rage-filled shouting. Subaru continued to thrash about in his chair but Lye seemed undisturbed.

"He actually remembers us, tsu. No one ever remembers us, tsu. He must join us, tsu!"

"I'll kill you! I'll kill you and bring Rem back, I swear!"

"Yes for him, We'll savor, we'll gnaw, we'll bite, we'll chew, we'll devour, he shall make our greatest feast ever!"

"THAT MOTHERFUCKER!" Subaru growled. "He was using your memories?!"

"Calm down, Subaru-kun!" Rem begged with her hero.

"Okay... okay, I'm calm, I'm calm," he said, taking deep breaths and sitting back down.

So, he can use the memories he's taken… Beatrice analyzed.

Lye leapt towards Subaru with his arms outstretched and his mouth opened wide. Subaru closed his eyes and turned away when…

"Yin Defense!"

Lye slammed face-first into an invisible shield that had appeared over Subaru. Subaru looked up to see Lye's crushed face hovering just above him. Lye slowly slid to the ground and landed with a thud. Then Subaru looked towards the doorway and saw the Archbishop of Envy standing there. He had an annoyed but friendly look on his face as he walked over to Lye.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief as they saw that Subaru wasn't touched by that creep.

"I told you, I can't have you eating him, he's no use to us as a vegetable."

"But he is a feast like no other. He remembers, tsu."

"Lye go to the kitchen and I'll talk to you later."

"But..."

"Go."

Lye swiftly got to his feet and turned to face 'Subaru'. 'Subaru' seemed to get into a battle-ready stance as Lye licked his lips and squared his shoulders. Subaru started to get worried that they might start fighting each other, though he did want to see Lye get killed. However, it slowly de-escalated.

"Are they seriously friends?" Felt asked in disgust.

"Well, the Gluttony version of Subaru happened to also be friendly with that universe's other Gluttonies, so maybe they're the friendliest ones?" Naoko suggested.

Oh, yeah, definitely, Meili agreed with the Natsuki matriarch.

"But even if they're th' friendliest, they still look ready ta square up," Ricardo pointed out.

"Lye please leave, I will find you many more meals that will suit you if you just leave this one alone."

Lye seemed to relax his stance and shrugged his shoulders.

"Only the finest, tsu. We will only accept the finest, tsu."

Lye walked towards the door but turned back to look at Subaru once more before leaving.

"One day, we will eat you, tsu. One day, we will devour you, tsu. One day, we will savor you, tsu."

"One day, I will kill you."

"That makes two of us," Subaru growled.

"Uh, Subaru-kun? Maybe it'd be wise not to pick a fight with a memory eater," Rem suggested.

"I know, Rem, but given that he's one of Pandora's lackeys, we're gonna fight him eventually!"

"I agree with Subaru. I refuse to let that heathen eat him," Priscilla said, as she thought to herself, The only one who shall be allowed to have a taste of him shall be mineself.

Suddenly, Emilia, Rem, Crusch, and Petra had a sudden urge to punch Priscilla.

Subaru said this as Lye left the room. Once he was gone, 'Subaru' walked behind Subaru and pulled out a chair from the other side of the room. He put the chair in front of Subaru and sat down. The two nearly identical Subarus stared at each other for some time before the archbishop spoke.

"First off, who sent you?"

The question took Subaru by surprise. Of all the things Subaru was considering he might ask, "who sent you" was not one of them.

"Okay first off, nobody sent me, and second, I'm not going to answer any of your questions. You're insane, your face is scary looking, and the fact that you look like me disgusts me."

"I was about to say the same thing."

As 'Subaru' spoke he reached his hand out and grabbed Subaru's face. Subaru could feel miasma leak into his nostrils and fill his brain. He tried to struggle, tried to fight it, tried anything to make it stop. Because there was nothing left for him to do, he began to scream and thrash about. He began to feel a horrible drilling in his brain that dug deeper and deeper. The pain was nauseating and it felt like it would never end.

"He's torturing him," Crusch growled in anger.

"Do you feel it? The madness? Do you feel it pouring into you, twisting your very soul? If you don't answer my questions you'll be rendered as mad as the rest of us."

Naoko held her husband closer as they saw their son torturing, well, their son.

This was somehow worse than when the Warlock tortured Pandora, despite the fact that the platinum-haired woman was screaming bloody murder from the pain. It was probably due to the fact that they knew Pandora deserved it, and that she would come back unscathed.

But here? It was a villain torturing everyone's hero, even if they were both the same person. Not only that, but the muffled screams Subaru let out as his evil counterpart had their hand over his face were enough to let everyone know how much pain he was in.

The Archbishop released Subaru's face. Subaru coughed and wheezed and puked up black dust. He stared at 'Subaru' with rage-filled eyes. 'Subaru' only smiled, his victory smile.

"Now, tell me who created you. Are you like a magic clone or something?"

"Huff… my parents created me, the normal way, I don't know anything about magic clones."

"False memories probably. Look, cards on the table, I'm convinced that you were created by Pandora to screw with me and Petelgeuse."

"Magic clone?" Subaru asked, offended. "Who do I look like to you, Ryuzu?"

"That joke was in poor taste, I suppose," Beatrice said.

"And Echidna's way to honor your dead friend wasn't?"

Subaru had heard the name Pandora before. She was the Witch of Vanity who attacked Elior forest with the help of another archbishop, or at least that's what Emilia told him. She had also told him that Geuse, or a younger Petelgeuse, had fought against them.

"You hate Pandora? I thought you Witches and Witch Cultists would get along."

"Hell no, I've always hated Pandora, especially after what she did to Petelgeuse in Elior Forest."

"Wait! What are you talking about? How could you have been alive during the time of Elior forest, that happened a hundred years ago."

"Wait, how old do you think I am?"

"Seventeen, just like me."

"Try four hundred."

"FOUR HUNDRED?!"

No one could be, believe what they just heard. This Subaru who looked identical to the one within the Theater themselves, was old enough to be around during the Great Calamity.

Wait…

That's when it hit the Cast. He was around during the Great Calamity. He was "the Original", not a mention of him, or even a variation that became a Warlock. No…

This was the Great Sage.

Subaru doubled back in surprise. The Archbishop looked just like his 17-year-old self.

"Four hundred?! How?"

"Do you think that Return by Death will just let you die of old age? It doesn't have a mind of its own. I died of old age around a hundred times, repeating the same two weeks over and over until I finally created the spell that can stop or reverse aging. It was hell."

Subaru's eyes widened in horror. "Wait… what…?"

Everyone stared back at Subaru in horror.

"Not even old age…?!" Reinhard asked, in complete horror.

Subaru fell to his knees upon hearing that. "I'm doomed. Even if I save everyone, they're all gonna be trapped repeating the same two weeks of their lives…"

"Subaru," Crusch tried to comfort him. "Calm down –"

"HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO BE CALM?!" Subaru snapped. "I just learned that I'm immortal in the worst possible way! I can't even get rid of this damn Authority! None of you will be able to live your lives! There will never be a new day in your world as long as I exist –"

"WILL YOU SHUT UP AND LISTEN?!"

Subaru looked towards Priscilla, as did everyone else.

"The Sin Archbishop said that he created a spell capable of fixing that!" the Vollachian Matriarch said. "Not only that, but you have the clown, an expert in magic, to assist you! And even if those things fail, you can always ask Satella to change the effects of your Authority once we return!"

"R-Really?" Subaru asked, with a small glint of hope in his eyes.

"The Great Sage's story shall not end with you succumbing to insanity as you're trapped in a time loop forever!" the strawberry blonde huffed. "My divine self shall make sure of it!"

"And we'll do everything we can to help!" Reinhard said.

Felt stood up and agreed with her knight. "Hell yeah!"

One by one, everyone agreed that they'd be willing to help Subaru to make sure that he would live a long and happy life without having to worry about living forever.

Tearing up, Subaru cried, "Thanks, guys… Man, what did I ever do to deserve you?"

"I'm pretty sure your little speech to Roswaal-sama earlier summarized why," Roswaal laughed.

As Subaru calmed down, Al resumed the viewing, having felt a little calmer.

"Seriously?! So does that mean that I can never die?!"

"Well, we do have one weakness, which I will use to kill you forever, but we've gotten off topic so let's circle back. You're clearly a defective clone seeing as you don't think you're the same age as me, so then I guess I have all I need."

The Archbishop stood up and walked towards the door. Subaru still had a lot of questions for him and tried to get his attention but the Sin Archbishop turned at the door and spoke first.

"You'll stay here until I have everything I need to kill you. Lucky for you, Lye has eaten the memories of hundreds of chefs so the prison food is going to be amazing.

"Wait –"

The door slammed shut with a loud crash that echoed throughout the tiny room. When the Archbishop left there seemed to be a feeling of relief. It was as if Subaru could finally breathe better and think clearer. It was so passive he never noticed that he had been under the effects of a small amount of miasma the entire time. Subaru waited quietly in the room until he was certain that no one was outside the door, then he began to shuffle around. He wasn't trying to escape, not yet, he was trying to get something out of his pocket. Then something crawled out and scurried onto his lap. It was a small beetle. Subaru smiled and chuckled to himself.

"They always overlook Otto. Now go to my friends and tell them where I am."

The beetle scurried off of Subaru and slipped under the door to his cell. Now all Subaru could do was sit and wait.

"Oh, so there is a way for me to die," Subaru confirmed. "Cool, cool."

"Not if Brotto can help it!" Garfiel laughed.

"Yeah! Otto to the rescue!" Mimi cheered as she saw the beetle on-screen.

"And right on time for a scene change!" Petra announced.

Everyone paid close attention as they prepared themselves to see what would come next. Would the Emilia Camp make a daring rescue? Would Subaru make a plan? Or…

Or… they would see a black screen.

"Uh…" Otto deadpanned. "Nothing's happening –"

"...love you."

"...never mind."

Everyone immediately recognized Satella's voice, as Subaru realized.

"I think I looped…"

While everyone heard about the possibility that Subaru died, it was still nice to hear that Satella still loved their version of Subaru, and not the insane –

"I love both of you."

"Shit," Subaru cursed to himself.

"I guess Satella will always love you regardless of how you turn out," Crusch said.

It appears that I have an eternal rival! Rem pouted.

Subaru opened his eyes and jerked around from the shock of dying. His hands were bound behind his back and Lye and 'Subaru' stood before him. Lucky for Subaru, their return points were linked and 'Subaru' had Returned by Death while facing away from Subaru, so the Archbishop didn't know that Subaru had returned. Now Subaru, in his dazed state of mind, just had to hope that 'Subaru' hadn't gone through another loop. The Archbishop turned to face Subaru with an annoyed look on his face.

"Damn it. That damn oni bitch just exploded my throat, man that hurt."

Subaru nearly let out a sigh of relief before swiftly realizing that it would have been a terrible mistake. Subaru did his best to repeat this interaction like his last loop.

"Oh, shit!" Subaru released. "We just skipped into a loop!"

"What? Why?" Emilia asked.

"I dunno, I guess this is the more action-filled scene," Subaru guessed.

"Hence why these scene changes exist in the first place," Al surmised.

"Wait, did you just return just now?"

"Yeah, that Ram was tougher than I thought."

"Heh, serves you right, Ram exploded my neck once before, it was awful."

"That's what you get for trusting an oni."

"Wait… I –"

"All that matters is that I confirmed that the disguise worked, and if I retrace my steps right, I'll still get ahold of Beatrice and choke her with my miasma."

As Beatrice growled at the impostor of her contractor, Subaru planned.

"Okay, so it seems that both me and evil me have looped at least once before, with me having the upper hand at the moment, given that he's trying to hide his face," he analyzed.

"So, it's just a matter of tricking the other you, while also trying to make sure that he doesn't use Return by Death?" Priscilla asked, watching Subaru's mind at work.

"Yeah, I'll have to act the same like I did in his previous loop, and the second I'm out of that evil douchebag's sight, I gotta go rescue everyone, given that Ram's here."

"So, you have to rescue your own rescue party, huh?" Roswaal chuckled at the irony.

"Pretty much."

Subaru pretended to be shocked by this revelation, and by the look on the Archbishop's face, his bluff was effective.

"That's right, I'm going to kill you with your own Spirit."

'Subaru' said this last line with noticeable fanfare. Subaru pretended to be shocked by this revelation, which was helped by the memory of 'Subaru's' success in doing so. Then the Archbishop left the room and Lye turned to lead Subaru to the carriage outside. Subaru needed to think of a plan, if he was restrained in the carriage again there would be nothing he could do, so he needed to act now. As they walked through the bowels of the temple, Subaru plotted his escape. As he thought he started to walk slower and Lye pushed him forward.

"No stopping hero, we don't want our hero's plan to fail."

It was that push that finally clicked an idea into place in his mind. He knew what he had to do, he was going to take what was stolen from him. He turned to face Lye and braced himself.

"Lye… I can use Return by De–"

Time stopped. Lye's ghoulish grin was frozen in place before his eyes as shadows crept in from the corners of his vision. He felt the cold presence of Envy creep along his back and he knew that she was there, just behind him. He could feel her cheek against his as she drew in closer. He felt her hands slowly shift through his body, creeping towards his heart.

"I love you… I love both of you."

"Yeah whatever, just get it over with."

Everyone cringed as they saw Subaru's heart get clenched by the shadows of Envy.

"Nyah! Why did he do that?!" Felix asked, cringing at the scene.

"The only reason I would do that on purpose these days is to increase the smell of my miasma," Subaru said. "My guess is he'll try to use that to fool Lye."

"Let us pray that it works," Reinhard said, eyeing the screen.

Subaru wasn't sure how he was able to voice the words, especially since he hadn't moved his mouth, but when the words rang out Satella hesitated for a second, clearly hurt by what he had said. Her hands clenched around his heart, crushing it tighter than ever before. The pain, the fear, the envy coursed through his body embedding themselves deep within him. After avoiding this pain for as long as he had it now felt worse than ever. Then, just as quickly as it had started, it dissipated, and time resumed its normal speed.

"Huh, what did you say… Woah, you smell like our hero?"

Subaru took a deep breath, burying the pain from the Witch of Envy as best he could. He may not be able to generate miasma as easily as 'Subaru' could but that didn't mean he was incapable of doing so. Once he was ready, he spoke to Lye in a confident and demanding tone.

"That's because it is me, Lye! Seriously, you really dropped the ball on this one."

"What?"

Lye seemed utterly bewildered by what Subaru had said; he certainly hadn't expected banter from a prisoner. Lye sniffed the air almost as if to confirm his suspicions but it only seemed to make him more confused. Subaru did his best to talk to Lye as if they had been friends for a long time.

"Geeze Lye, try to keep up, you can eat memories but you can't even remember which Subaru is which?"

"Wait… wait, wait, wait. No, no, no, no, no, you are the other one. You cannot trick us. Our friend Subaru told us not to trust you, tsu."

"Oh, I get it!" Subaru laughed. "He's doing the old switcheroo!"

"Wouldn't that require the two of you to already be swapped out, wouldn't it?" Al asked.

"I guess I'm making him think that I pulled off the old switcheroo!"

"So you're tricking him with a different trick," Wilhelm nodded. "Clever."

"Yeah, exactly. The other Subaru switched our places as part of his plan. The idea was that you wouldn't listen to me because he told you not to, but I'm the real Archbishop of Envy. C'mon, I figured that if anyone could recognize my scent it would be you."

Lye seemed conflicted and confused. To be fair, even Subaru didn't fully understand what he had just told Lye, but that was the point. If he could just sew enough doubt, he might be able to make the Archbishop a temporary ally.

"C'mon Lye, don't you trust your hero, when have I ever led you astray. I always have a plan when you need it, and no matter the struggle I always come out on top. That's why I'm your hero, remember."

C'mon Rem, convince him for me. I'm counting on you Rem, save me one last time,

Subaru pleaded for Rem's memories to help convince Lye. Subaru could feel tension creep across his back as Lye tried to make sense of the situation. Lye was the only card he could play, and if this play failed, he would undoubtedly be killed… permanently. Finally, Lye looked up and spoke to Subaru.

Everyone was tense as they waited for the Sin Archbishop to answer.

Would he let Subaru go?

Would he figure out the trick?

"So the delicious one, the savory one, the one we want to eat… tricked us, tsu. We will gnaw, we will bite, we will chew him until there is nothing left, tsu. What should we do, hero?"

THANK YOU, REM!

"Oh, thank goodness it worked!" Frederica sighed in relief.

"So, it appears that Gluttony becomes influenced by whoever's memories they eat," Subaru analyzed. "Hey, Crusch, do you have any triggers? Fears? Or any mental cracks?"

The green-haired woman understood what her crush was trying to say, and she said, "Maybe mentioning Fourier in a negative light. Oh, and I also have a fear of heights. Does that help?"

"It's better than nothing," he admitted. "Thanks."

"Not a problem," she smiled. "Anything to help in our crusade against Pandora."

Subaru nearly shouted the words out loud but managed to contain himself. He gathered his thoughts and quickly came up with a plan. It was a risky and extremely dangerous plan, but it was the only one he could think of.

"Okay Lye, first, untie me."

"Yes, of course, hero."

"Of course any plan that comes from Subaru-dono is risky and extremely dangerous."

"Mmm…" Subaru noted how his on-screen counterpart was holding it all in.

The silver-haired girl turned to see her knight's face. "Is something the matter?"

"Mm, I'm just noticing that the other me is probably restraining himself from strangling the little fucker right there and now," the nasty-eyed teen commented.

"My son, you really are a remarkable actor!" Kenichi laughed.

"Thanks, I practiced a lot."

Lye swiftly cut the ropes binding Subaru's arms in place and Subaru rubbed his sore wrists. He turned to Lye and did all he could to resist trying to kill him, and instead treated him like they were old friends. The feeling killed Subaru inside, but he pressed on.

"Thanks. Now we need to make the other Subaru think that his plan is working, so go along with the rest of the plan you had discussed with him, but whatever you do, don't eat anyone's names, we need them alive for now."

"You promised us a meal, tsu. But yet all you say is that we cannot feast, tsu."

"Don't worry, if you don't eat any of them now, once we're done, I'll let you eat all of them."

Lye's face lit up as Subaru spoke his lie. Subaru could feel his guts tightening as he told Lye he could eat his friends. But nevertheless, he continued.

"Subaru, quick question."

"Yeah, Juli, what's up?"

"You wouldn't actually gamble on our lives like that, would you?"

"Who do you take me for?!" Subaru said, offended. "I was obviously lying to the dumb fuck! There's no way in hell that I would sacrifice any of you to that cannibalistic meatball!"

"Apologies, I was merely checking."

"Great, you go get ready for your part of the plan, and I'll do mine."

"Yes! Our hero has a plan once again, tsu. We will feast, tsu!"

Lye turned to retreat down the hallway. Subaru watched him go until he was sure he was out of earshot before letting out a huge sigh of relief.

"Holy crap, I was sure he wouldn't believe me."

Subaru thought about Rem, trapped inside that horrible creature, yet still helping him win the day.

"Thanks, Rem… don't worry, I will save you. But first, I've got to save everyone else."

"It's fine," Rem said. "Rem –"

"Rem, if you say that you're not that high of a priority, I'm going to flick you."

"But, Subaru-kun, I –"

FLICK!

"Ow!"

"I warned you."

"Meanie."

Subaru turned and ran down the hallway towards the exit. As he ran he went through his plan on how to defeat the Archbishop of Envy.

"First, I need to get rid of his reinforcements, all the cultists should be at the carriages outback. If I can convince them to leave, then we will outnumber them. Next, I'll intercept the group that initially headed to the carriage and convince them that I am their Subaru. Then I'll save Ram and Beatrice, and then I'll fight Subaru."

Subaru had no idea what challenges he would face in order to accomplish these tasks, but whatever they were, he intended to defeat them. He thought this last thought just as the warm glow of sunlight engulfed him and he was staring at the carriages being loaded by the cultists. After a moment's hesitation, Subaru strode towards them with mock authority and spoke to the cultists.

"Okay guys, plans changed. I'm gonna need you to start riding into the forest. We need to get you guys as far away from here as…"

Subaru trailed off as the cultists swiftly obeyed his initial order, without waiting to hear his reasoning. They moved silently, not even stopping to question his instruction or authority. Subaru stood in mild horror at the willingness they all had to follow their leader's orders. Subaru stopped one of them from moving around and pulled off his hood out of curiosity. It was an ordinary-looking man, who simply stared straight ahead, his eyes never blinking once.

"It's like they're zombies, following any order without questioning."

Everyone grimaced as they witnessed those bastards follow those orders without question.

Subaru watched as, in seconds, their carriages were loaded up and they took off into the forest. Subaru was still a little shocked by the cultists' level of efficiency and neglect in questioning their instruction, but quickly came to his senses when a familiar smell touched his nostrils.

"Miasma."

"Shit, the evil me is beginning his plan, too," Subaru grimaced.

"You'll stop him!" Petra was confident in her hero. "Right, Meili-chan?"

"Yeah, sure, whatever you said," the blue-haired assassin replied.

Right now, she was a bit more busy thinking over what to do about Mama.

Black, putrid mist was billowing out of the temple exit. Subaru knew what would happen once he reentered the temple, the blind aggression, the madness, the urge to murder his friends. But he also knew that he had to go back in to save them. He drew in his last breath of fresh air and dove back into the temple.

Subaru wound his way through the halls, trying his best to keep his calm state of mind. As the miasma twisted his mind his anxiety began to grow. He wasn't sure if his friends would all be alive, or if he could even save them all. As he approached the main hall he began to hear voices, one of which was identical to his own. Subaru crouched in the entrance to the hallway and craned his ears to listen in to what they were saying.

"I don't care about what makes more sense ta you. I told ya, I'm goin with Ram."

"That is a pretty rude way to address your boss."

"Then act like ma boss. Ya been actin' weird all day."

"Damn… either Garfiel is more perceptive than I thought or the miasma is really messing with his brain. Didn't Subaru say that the miasma would affect him more because of his beast blood?" Subaru whispered this to himself as he listened to the interaction. Next Emilia spoke up, the madness already clear in the tone of her voice.

"How is Garfiel not noticing that putrid smell?" Rem asked.

"Garfiel, I thought you could smell the miasma on me," Subaru said.

"Nah, I can't. Granny was th' one who could smell tha' stank," the blond answered.

"We need to find that cultist quickly, especially after what he did to you Subaru."

"Yes, exactly. That's why we need to split up. Julius will go alone down that path. Emilia and Wilhelm will go down that path, and me, Ram, and I suppose Garfiel will go down this last path."

"But…"

"No buts, this is our best plan. When have my plans ever failed you?"

None of Subaru's friends said anything but Subaru himself seethed with rage. The Archbishop had interrupted Emilia, and in his miasma-induced rage, Subaru was about to lose it. But some small inkling in his mind told him to hold off, it was a desperate feeling in his heart about saving his friends. He remained quiet, but the rage was boiling just under the surface.

We're here, too? Wilhelm and Julius thought to themselves.

"So, are we about to watch a suicide but with extra steps?" Meili asked.

"What are you talking about, Meili-can?" Frederica asked, slightly disturbed.

"Onii-chan seems ready to pop out and sucker-punch the cooler Onii-chan in his anger, and given that everyone else thinks he's the Archbishop, thanks to the miasma-induced madness, there's a good chance that they're gonna kill him on sight," she explained.

"Purple thing, there's a difference between suicide and death by stupidity," Beatrice spoke.

"Oh? What?"

"One's intentional, the other's explanation is in the name."

Soon after, the group began to split up and Wilhelm and Emilia began to move with their group of mercenaries towards his hiding spot. Subaru darted back down the hallway, intending on intercepting them and convincing them that he was their Subaru. He hid behind a corner and began taking off the cultist's robes until he was wearing black pants and an orange and black shirt.

"This'll have to do."

After a few minutes' wait, Wilhelm and Emilia could be heard coming down the hallway. Subaru prepared himself for the encounter and stepped out in front of them with his arms held in the air.

"I come in… peace."

In a movement faster than the human mind could register, Subaru found himself staring down the length of Wilhelm's blade, centimeters from his face. Panic surged through Subaru's body and he froze like a deer in headlights. Wilhelm was the sword demon, and Subaru did not want to know what he would be like under the miasma's effects. Wilhelm's eyes were transfixed on Subaru's, as if he were measuring him, judging his character. After several heart-stopping seconds, he lowered his blade.

"How can you do that?" Subaru asked.

"It's the eyes," Wilhelm explained.

"Ah, yes, the windows to the soul," Al chuckled.

"Subaru."

"Wilhelm! Thank God, I was so scared I nearly cried. How did you know it was me?"

"I know you. I know what kind of a person you are. I see that person in you, and I didn't see that person in the Subaru I just spoke to. He is like you in almost every way, looks, mannerisms, speech patterns, but his eyes… they held a malevolent, love-lost malice in them, and I don't see that in you."

Once again, Subaru marveled at the skill and state of mind that Wilhelm possessed. To be able to resist the miasma to such a degree that he could see such imperceptible details was nearly inconceivable. Then Subaru turned to look at Emilia and his heart sank. She held her palms towards him and her eyes were glazed over with madness. Her face was twisted in a confused rage and she turned to Wilhelm.

"Why didn't you kill him? We're supposed to kill him, kill him!"

"Actually, we were specifically told not to kill him, which is strange. An Archbishop telling us not to kill Subaru is not something one would expect. Subaru, do you have some death-activated ability?"

"WHAT THE FUCK?!"

Everyone turned around to see Subaru had jumped out of his seat.

"HOW THE FUCK DID YOU MANAGE TO FIGURE IT OUT?! ROSWAAL DIDN'T EVEN FIGURE IT OUT, AND HE HAD A MAGIC BOOK THAT GAVE HIM HALF THE ANSWER!"

"I have to admit, I am also surprised by how quickly my other self was able to figure it out," Wilhelm said. "However I can guess a few ways: First, I have noted that you seemed like you had seen death before, despite the fact you never were in active combat. Second, the evil Subaru-dono said not to kill you, something a Witch Cultist would have no problem with. And third, I've seen your planning strategies, which are clearly based on future knowledge."

"..."

"..."

"Okay, when you put it like that, it feels kinda obvious…"

Subaru was astonished at Wilhelm's deductive ability. As Subaru stared in awe at Wilhelm he realized that he was waiting for an answer.

"Yes, kind of. I can't explain it. But the other Subaru has the same power, which is why I need you guys to follow my plan, and if possible Wilhelm, could you not tell anyone about what you said."

Wilhelm nodded slowly.

"I understand. What is your plan?"

"All you need to do is go wait outside at the exit. I'll come to you when it is time to act."

"Understood. Good luck Sir Subaru Natsuki."

"Oh, right, I totally forgot I'm still a knight," Subaru chuckled.

"Subaru! How could you forget something like that?!" Emilia asked, offended.

"Well, the whole "Great Sage" thing was kinda occupying my mind."

"Knight, Great Sage, total badass, hard ta believe he's still single," Anastasia joked.

"Not anymore!" Priscilla cheered, as she hugged Subaru's arm with her chest.

""""HEY!""""

Hearing Wilhelm call him by his official title felt strange to Subaru. To be called sir by someone as great as Wilhelm felt undeserved. But it was Wilhelm's way of showing his respect to Subaru so Subaru accepted the response.

"Yeah, you too Wilhelm."

"Wait, what is happening?"

"I'll explain as we walk, come with me. I have a plan to beat the evil me… go down the hallway where Emilia and Wilhelm went, you'll meet up with them there."

"Wait… What about you?"

Subaru's face clouded over with determined rage.

"I'm going to get my Spirit back."

"Hell yeah, I will," Subaru said, giving back the same face his counterpart had.

"I know tha' face. It's Bro's patented "Someone's gonna die" face," Ricardo chuckled.

Subaru was running down the last hallway as fast as he could. His heart pounded to the beat of his footfalls as he jogged down the dark cavern. He could hear shouting and fighting in the next room and he increased his pace. Then just as he was about to turn the corner, he stopped. He could hear Ram and Garfiel fighting 'Subaru', but under the effects of the miasma, he didn't have much faith that his friends could win. Subaru looked around the corner to absorb the situation. Garfiel was striking 'Subaru' rapidly, but it seemed to have little effect. Ram was launching wind spells at 'Subaru' but they also didn't seem to be doing much.

'Subaru' seemed perfectly in control and Subaru knew that it would be over soon if he didn't do something.

"But what I do has to cause enough confusion so that he doesn't use Return by Death."

Subaru knew what he had to do. He knew it would be painful, and even potentially deadly, but to save his friends, he would do anything. He locked his eyes on Beatrice and grasped at his chest in preparation.

"Beatrice is going to scold me for this later, but I have no choice."

Subaru took a deep breath and shouted for all to hear.

"SHAMAK!"

Subaru felt as a piece of his Od was spent to cast the spell. A pain like nothing he had ever experienced before tore through his body like a hurricane. It felt as if a piece of his mind, a piece of who he was as a person was torn to pieces and scattered to oblivion. A pain that no living being should have been able to handle was still no match for Subaru's determination. Black smoke filled the hallway and all three combatants turned in surprise before being engulfed in the darkness. Subaru ran forward, against the pain, and scooped up Beatrice from the Archbishop's grasp. Subaru felt as Beatrice greedily ate away at his stored-up mana and slowly came back to her senses. As Beatrice wrapped her arms around Subaru, he used his two free hands to grab at Garfiel and Ram and lead them back down the hallway towards the exit.

"SUBARU!" Beatrice gasped. "That was incredibly reckless!"

"What? Did you have a better plan?" Subaru asked. "Also, he did it, not me!"

"It doesn't matter! You casted magic with a broken Gate! You could have died!"

"Alright, alright! I'll never do what my counterpart did!"

"The hell was that? Can Garfiel use Yin magic?"

Subaru kept running, leaving the confused Archbishop behind in the empty hallway. After a while of running, they made it back into the main hallway and Ram pulled free of Subaru's grip.

"What the hell is going on?!"

"SUBARU!"

Beatrice, having come back to her senses, began to hug Subaru tighter and tighter. Subaru returned the gesture, having missed his spirit companion. Then she slapped him across the face.

"What were you thinking, I suppose? You should never have let yourself be captured in the first place, in fact. You left Betty all alone. Then you spend part of your Od to save me. That is insanity, I suppose. You could have died!"

"Worse than that, I could have died forever."

"That's what dying means, I suppose!"

"It's still uncomfortable to hear that with context," Tivey gulped.

"Good, that means we haven't become desensitized to it," Reinhard said.

Beatrice's anger quickly subsided after that, then she hugged him again.

"Don't leave me again, I suppose."

"Never again, Beatrice."

Garfiel had a look of confusion on his face and he was clearly trying to make sense of what had happened. Ram simply looked at Subaru with contempt.

"Wait… Boss? Th' real boss? Or is it a trick? I'm starting ta get really pissed off."

"He's the real Subaru, I'd recognize that insufferable smile anywhere."

"As jaded as always Ram, now c'mon, the others are waiting outside."

Rem took this moment to glare at her older sister, who was still sitting with Roswaal.

Subaru had just one last part to his plan, and if this failed he was done for. If his theory was correct, he could manufacture a Return by Death save point. If he was wrong then there was no way he could win.

All of Subaru's allies sat in a circle outside the temple. The scene seemed reminiscent of the war council that took place after the defeat of the White Whale. At least, Subaru hoped it was. Subaru now knew that return by death worked by sending the soul back in time to a point where his destiny met a crossroads. Which meant it updated at a crucial decision, after a victory, or within enough time for him to survive an event. If he could convince his Authority that this counted as a crossroads in his destiny, he could update both of their save points to right now, and cement his victory over 'Subaru'. The best way Subaru could think to do that would be to present multiple options on how to proceed.

"Wait… I CAN DO THAT?!" Subaru gasped in amazement.

"What does it mean?" Emilia asked.

"It means that I control when I loop, not Envy! Do you realize the applications for that! I could make it so that I can have entire months to prepare for an attack, rather than –"

"Nerd out later!" Ricardo hollered.

"So, we escaped the temple and are now free of the miasma, but the two Archbishops are still in there, what should we do now?"

"What do ya mean? We go in there and we kill them! We have the advantage now, what are we waiting for?"

"When fighting an enemy as strategic and as versatile as this one, we have to be cautious. This other Subaru has already proven himself to be cunning and ruthless. Charging in blindly would be a poor decision."

"Hk... I guess that's true."

"Is it possible to reason with him? If he is like Subaru then maybe there's something good in him."

"Always the optimist Emilia-tan, but unfortunately I tried that and he is way too far gone."

"Also he orchestrated the extinction of my people and the attack on my village, mercy is not acceptable to me."

"I'm sorry… he did what now?!" Felix gasped.

That threw everyone in a loop. Especially Ram and Rem.

Meanwhile, Subaru was now steaming. That bastard, willingly allied with Pandora, became a Sin Archbishop, and now, was responsible for the extinction of Rem and Ram's race?!

You bring shame to all of us Subarus… you don't deserve the title of "Great Sage".

"Seriously?! I didn't even know that."

"Then we agree that he must be taken down now."

"I agree, but unfortunately there is a problem. I'm a little hesitant to reveal this because I can't explain how I know but, if we kill him, it will only make him stronger."

"What?! How the hell does that make sense?"

"I can't explain it very well, but he can only be killed permanently in one very specific way, if we kill him any other way, he'll just come back stronger than last time."

"Again with these mentions of this permadeath spell this guy has," Subaru said.

"Rein, it's imperative we find one of those," Felt said.

"I agree," the Sword Saint whispered back. "No one should be forced to live the last two weeks of their life over and over again. Especially not someone like Subaru."

Wilhelm and Julius seemed to take this information at face value. Garfiel cursed under his breath, which told Subaru that he believed him. Emilia seemed confused but Subaru knew that she trusted him. Beatrice trusted Subaru unconditionally, and Ram seemed unconvinced.

"If we can't kill him then what do we do?"

"Simple, we arrest them. We are knights after all."

Julius said this as he referred to himself, Wilhelm, and Subaru unreluctantly. Ram didn't seem happy with this solution, but a lack of options forced her to agree to their plan.

"Excellent, then all we have to do is…"

"DAMN IT ALL!"

"Oh, fuck, it's him," Meili cursed.

Petra merely looked at her friend with shock at using that adult word.

The group leapt to their feet and turned to face the entrance to the temple. Black miasma billowed out of the entrance like a forbidden tomb. Julius and Wilhelm drew their swords and Ram pulled out her wand. The suspension grew as they heard the sound of twin blades scraping against the stone floor of the cave. The awful scraping became louder and louder until 'Subaru Natsuki' and Lye Batenkitos emerged from the cave, both wearing very angry faces.

"You tricked us hero, tsu. We trusted you, tsu!"

"Damn you, Subaru. Damn all of you."

"I assume this means you've already tried going back."

"How? How did you do it? How did you update the save point? I don't even know how to do that!"

Everyone looked toward Subaru for an answer.

"Uh, I'm guessing I asked Satella nicely?" the Japanese teenager shrugged.

"Ehh… it's better than nothing, I guess," Kenichi hummed.

"I just did what we're both good at, befriending Witches."

"I'm not friends with any Witch, my finance is Satella, not the Witch of Envy."

"You were going to marry the Witch?"

'"I'm going to marry Satella after I take the Witch of Envy out of her."

"That confirms it," Crusch grimaced. "He actually was the Great Sage."

"Not anymore," Subaru hissed. "Not after all the evil shit he pulled."

"Wait, does he actually know how to do that?" Naoko asked.

"I think he just has a general plan for now," the Japanese teenager told his mother.

"How perverse. I've heard enough from you. I'm the knight Julius Juuklius, and for your crimes against the Kingdom of Lugnica, I shall defeat you."

'Subaru' stared at Julius with a look of contempt on his face.

"You're pathetic. I hate knights like you. But fine, I'll play your game."

Miasma began to pour out of the Archbishop as he spoke, filling the field around them.

"I am the Sin Archbishop of the Witch Cult, representing Envy, Subaru Natsuki."

"We are the Sin Archbishop of the Witch Cult, representing Gluttony, Lye Batenkitos."

"Again with this "we" shit," Felt grumbled.

"Yeah, it is disturbin'," Anastasia agreed. "So, aside from this one, the other evil Natsuki-kun, and maybe that Spirit, Louise… there's gotta be more Gluttonies."

"There are."

Everyone turned to look at Priscilla for an explanation.

"Back during the episode where we found out about Subaru's Return by Death ability, he mentioned that he had brothers. Everyone else was too busy being horrified by the fact that he was a Sin Archbishop, but mineself was able to pick it up," she explained.

"Great, so there's at least two of those fuckers I gotta deal with. Fantastic," Subaru groaned.

Everyone in the field tensed up as they prepared for battle. Everyone was ready for the slightest action to begin the battle. Then something unexpected happened.

"Ul Shamak!"

That caught Subaru off guard. Darkness engulfed their entire group. Subaru felt nothing, saw nothing, heard nothing, tasted nothing, smelled nothing, and thought nothing. Everything was blank and empty. He didn't know how much time had passed until the world came back and he was standing in the same spot as before, all of his friends were there, and they were all fine.

"What happened?"

"He cast Shamak then left, I suppose."

"What? Why the hell would he do that?"

"Because he's a coward!" Subaru barked.

"Plus, they were vastly outnumbered," Reinhard added.

'Subaru' and Lye managed to catch up with the cultist's carriage that was waiting in the forest. Both Archbishops were sulking due to their humiliating retreat. 'Subaru' had accepted that it was his only option but Lye was seriously angry.

"Why did we retreat? We could have beaten them."

"We had no choice, Subaru had us in checkmate. I couldn't loop back further than our meeting in the main hall, which means that Subaru secured himself in a superior position. In addition, if any of his friends died, he could just loop back in time, and keep doing so until he won. Not to mention, they had us outnumbered, there was no way we could have won."

Lye seemed confused by some of 'Subaru's statements so 'Subaru' explained.

"Normally the gospel forbids us to explain our Authorities to others, but since we'll be fighting Subaru in the future, you should know. The two of us loop through time when we die."

Understanding dawned in Lye's face and they took in the news.

"That's why both heroes didn't want us to kill the other, tsu."

"Yes, that's right."

"WHAT IS THIS BULLSHIT?!" Subaru screamed at the top of his lungs.

"Hmm… Maybe he's built an immunity to Envy's penalty?" Al guessed. "I mean, the guy has lived for four hundred years, and he's obviously tougher than you are."

As the two Archbishops approached the carriage a cultist rushed over to greet them.

"Sir, the honored guest has arrived."

"Finally some good news. Where is my old friend?"

"Old friend?" Mimi wondered.

"Does he mean Shaula?" Anastasia asked.

I swear to God, if he dragged her into his nefarious schemes, I'm gonna…

'Subaru' ran over to where the cultist had indicated and saw his old friend. This was exactly what he needed, he had no doubt that Subaru would be on his trail, and this was his chance to slow them down.

"Hey there, long time no see, old friend."

"...Subaaaaaru. Goooooood to see you, I guess."

"HECTOR?!"

"FUCK!"

"GODAMMIT! HECTOR'S HERE, TOO?!"

"Listen, a group of knights and mercenaries are following us, I need you to slow them down while we make our way to Lugnica. I can no longer keep my existence a secret, so it's finally time to put my plan into motion and resurrect Satella. Just destroy their carriage or something but whatever you do, don't kill any of them."

"...Oooookay."

"Resurrect Satella?" Subaru repeated the phrase. "Dude, she's not dead. She's sealed away."

Otto put the ground dragons into a full gallop in the direction Ram indicated. Ram had used her clairvoyance to find out where the Archbishops had gone, and now they were speeding through the forest after them. Subaru's heart was pounding and his mind was racing. He wanted to catch this Archbishop and make him pay for all the stuff he had put him through.

"We're almost on top of them… who is that?"

"Who is who?"

"I'm not sure, someone I've never seen before is standing in the middle of the road."

"Otto, when you see him, don't let him stop us."

"Got i-"

Before Otto could even finish his sentence, an explosion was heard.

Rem and Crusch felt a surge of memories when the Sin Archbishop of Greed destroyed their carriages on the way back to the Capital,

"OTTO!"

"Frederica-san!" Otto said. "It's fine! I'm perfectly fine! See?"

"I… I… you're right, I'm sorry, I was just so worried."

"It's fine, I'd be worried for you, too."

"You… you would?" the blonde maid asked, looking at him.

"Of course! You're my friend!"

"Friend… right… that's what I am… to you…" Frederica smothered her blush.

Otto never finished his sentence because the carriage was propelled upward through the air by an invisible force and thrown upside down into the road. Everyone in the carriage was thrown from their seats and were slammed into the ground as the carriage blasted into splinters. Subaru felt his head spin as he tried to regain his bearings.

"Quick, everyone out of the carriage!"

Wilhelm helped Subaru into a crouch and escorted him swiftly out of the carriage. Everyone else followed suit just in time before something else slammed into the carriage and blasted it into dust. The dust clouded Subaru's eyes and made his cough hard. He looked around and saw that everyone else was dealing with similar problems. Subaru looked around for the person who attacked them and saw a glimpse of purple and white clothing.

"...Thaaaaat ought tooooo… slow you down."

His voice was slow and full of melancholy. He almost seemed bored by what was happening. Wilhelm was the first to get to his feet and he charged the figure. The strange man didn't even flinch, he began to glow purple and Wilhelm was launched backward at high speed and slammed into a tree. The roots and branches of the tree seemed to move and twist unnaturally and they tied Wilhelm in place.

"Wait, can you manipulate gravity to that degree?" Emilia asked.

"Honestly, I have no goodman idea," her knight answered.

"...Thaaaaat was annoying. I just wanted tooooo… slow you down. That's all."

Subaru could see the man clearly now, he had a long face, pale skin, and purple-brown hair. And his clothes looked like something Roswaal would wear. Subaru had heard about him only as a description, but he could recognize the genuine article. He knew who it was and the realization chilled him to the bone.

"You're Hector! The Witch of Melancholy!"

"BAHAHAHA!" Subaru died of laughter.

Several other members of the Cast also laughed at Subaru's gender assumption, and even Roswaal let out a few chuckles at the Warlock's expense.

"...Waaaaarlock of Melancholy, but whatever, you know who I am anyway."

"Wait, a Witch, as in one o' th' seven Witches of Sin?"

"Nine Witches would be more accurate. You remember Ryuzu's story, right? He attacked the Sanctuary when the barrier first went up."

"Tha's gonna piss the other me off, fer sure."

"Tha' was him?! Ya caused a lotta suffering, ya bastard!"

Garfiel lunged at the Warlock but he was swiftly slammed into the ground by an unseen force. Then slammed again and again and again.

"I guess I could do this all daaaaay… but I've lost interest. I've done my paaaaart... I'll be seeing you arooooound… Subaru Natsuki. You can be sure of that."

With that, Hector disappeared down the path, leaving Subaru and his party to walk back to the capital. Which, oddly enough, was exactly where the cultists were heading.

As the lights went back up in the Theater, everyone had a lot to think about.

"Ahem! Well…" Ricardo coughed. "Tha' happened."

Tivey squeaked out, "Yeah…"

"I think…" Reinhard slowly said. "That a break would be appropriate right now."

"I'm with you," Subaru said. "So… an hour?"

"Yes, that sounds about right," the Sword Saint said, before he turned towards the rest of the Cast. "All of you, get some rest. We shall reconvene here in one hour."

As everyone got up, Subaru spoke to his favorite blue-haired maid. "Rem, during this hour, I want you to talk to your sister. This cold war can't last forever."

"But, Subaru-kun, you heard her, she –"

"She doesn't know how to express herself!" Subaru cut in. "And besides, I'm giving Roswaal a chance after he strangled me, give your sister a chance to explain herself."

"..."

"..."

"Fine."

"Thank you, Rem," he smiled softly, as he watched the blue oni confront her sister. He didn't hear what they said, but judging from the fact that Ram nodded to whatever her sister said, and both of them leaving the Theater together, it was safe to say that it was successful.

As everyone cleared out, Subaru wondered to himself, How could I spend my break? I –

Turning around, he saw that Meili of all people was looking at him.

"Oh, hey," he said. "What's up? You're not gonna hang out with Petra?"

"Onii-chan," she said. "I need to talk to you. About the Witch Cult."

Little did Subaru know, an hour later, he would swear to protect that little girl with all his heart.

---

Author's Note: HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME! Oh, and happy Thanksgiving, I guess. The original story is called "Re:zero The Mirror of Envy, written by Whoovien57, the link is s/13895359/1/Re-zero-The-Mirror-of-Envy. Saldy, it's only on , not ArchiveofOurOwn. Anyway, time for the comments!

Scattershot98: Yeah, Priscilla was fun to write. And yeah, Pandora ruining everyone's lives is pretty much a universal constant. She's like the Joe Chill of the Re: Zero world. And yeah, my plan was for the readers to sympathize with both Roswaal and Subaru, but in the end, to have everyone sympathize with Subaru more.

ZACK2357: Eh. No esperaba que alguien leyera en exceso todo lo que tengo hasta ahora. Pero sí, me diste mucho en que pensar. Espero verte en la final.

cheemz: Yeah, we were debating over who should get to punch Roswaal. Eventually, Infinite decided for it to be Reinhard, given how fast Roswaal got slammed into the wall.

Guest: Yeah, well, from Roswaal's perspective, Subaru only showed up two months ago, and got more done than he did in four hundred years, so, of course he's mad.

RandomGuest: I thought Subaru's death count was around fifty at the moment, but considering I don't know all of his Arc 7 deaths, I might be off. Oh, and one more thing, thanks for your comment. It helped me write part of the beginning of this chapter.

Shamshir: I had the majority of these chapters ready for publishing. But I'm gonna be spending the next month writing the next batch, and be back with those.

Pryd: Yeah, Subaru's greed technically isn't an evil one, but to Roswaal, it might as well be Satan's. And don't worry, your opinion is valid as long as you don't go around harassing anyone. I hope you'll be back for the future chapters!

Wally991: That's one Priscilla down, one more to go.

SleepingGeneral: We weren't looking for popular stories. We were looking for ones that featured as many characters as possible, while also establishing that Subaru has left his fingerprints in every corner of the world. Your story happened to fill all of the checkmarks, while also being entertaining, to boot! Glad to see you enjoyed it!

LouisCy: Glad to see you're such a huge fan of the reactions, plot, and characters!

5queso: Yeah, Subaru is pretty lucky. But, really? This version of Subaru? Slothful? Nah, man. The one that seems more likely to be slothful is his parallel timeline version.

Godzilla is the goat: How do you know Subaru's not gonna keep all these lovely ladies?

Chuck B. Winanaki: Of course Subaru is a catch! Speaking on this topic, are there any FemBaru stories where she actually manages to charm Reinhard? Yeah, Pandora is evil as can be. And your wish for more Shaula has been granted in the sister chapter!

Deathenglegamers1144: I think Priscilla might actually go yandere, but then again, so would Rem, and probably Petra. Glad you loved the story, hasta la vista, amingo!

RealBarto: Actually, the idea for Subaru to show his scars came from your comment, so thanks for the help! Wish I could have added everything else, though.

calderoneric758: Who's right? Roswaal?

Insane Wombat: I was super tempted to write that into this chapter.

Soul Dust13: Awesome comment. I was kinda walking on eggshells with Priscilla's mommy joke, but I'm glad to see that people enjoyed it.

Commander Cost: Everyone is spitting very skewed facts from their perspectives.

R-king 93: Awesome comment.

KnifeMare: Yeah, the idea was to make people feel bad for Roswaal. But I gotta ask, which Pridebaru are you being reminded of? The canon one? A fanon one?

The reader2234: Of course! I will always answer all of your comments! Warlock of Greed? Nice. But yeah, like I said before, I won't be doing any crossover fics for this. Sorry.

King_LAO2964: I think that in the author's headcanon, Echidna was technically born as a Witch, it's just that she didn't manifest her Authority until she was older.

Imperius: Great comment, glad you enjoyed the reactions. Yeah, Roswaal's book is messed up, and I also added some of your words into this fic! Thanks for that!

hlglh: Wait, what happened with Priscilla in Arc 7?

Terra: You wanted these fics to be darker? Wish granted! Also, I wanna thank you for adding your comments regarding Shaula. I used that for Subaru's speech in the beginning.

yeetusdeletus: I get the feeling a lot of people enjoyed Roswaal losing it.

Don tico: Close, but wrong! But about the Sun Princes… heh-heh… about that…

Poofbomb: Well, why don't you visit the sister chapter and find out?

Wolfx88: Aight, thanks for letting me know.

Ghastly_guy: I'm faulty certain some of the stuff you wrote made it into this chapter. Maybe you can make a game out of it and find out which dialogue is yours!

Phoenix_Rayz: Maybe? There's bound to be one or two fics that have Reinhard x Felt.

ArcRayREI: Hey, man. Thanks for commenting. I snagged some of the stuff you wrote and added it to this chapter! But yeah, everything you wrote is pretty much in Subaru's favor, hence I had him say all of it to Roswaal. Also, sorry for the miscommunication about when my fic will be ending. I'm just taking another month-long break before I'm coming back with the final parts. And as for the whole lap incident, it's due to the fact that, while yes, Priscilla is attractive, she's nothing compared to Satella in a bikini, at least from Subaru's perspective. See you after my hiatus!

Mythril: Yeah, it seems like I'm introducing everyone to some obscure fics. You're welcome for the experience. Roswaal is gonna suffer for a while…

Meiliholic: Yeah, all the future chapters are gonna be wild.

But before I continue, I have an announcement to make: I'll be taking another hiatus to relax and write up the next batch of the story. The end of the semester has been a pain, and I need to relax. So, both versions of "Re: Tales from the Multiverse" will return on January 5th! Hope you'll all be patient for the third and final wave!

(Hello everyone, sorry that I can't comment on any of the reviews, I've had a busy week. Anyways, hope you guys and gals enjoyed these new chapters, and we hope to see you next time! -Infinite)

Now that that's out of the way, a special thanks to Infinite the Celestain for helping me in making this story, and for being an all-around great guy! If you want to join my Discord server, the link is /xgKPWBES. You can chat with others, post memes and fan art, and I'll drop by with announcements and chat with you all every now and then! If you want to add me as a friend, my username is Ernalore#8663! If you want to read more, check out my other stories! Thanks for reading, see you all in January!

- Ernalore

---

Next time:

What if Subaru Natsuki joined the Priscilla Camp?

OR

What if Subaru Natsuki ran away from everything?