The words hung in the air. Echidna stared at Natsuki Subaru, her lips tilted down ever so slightly. She reached into the back of her mind, where the spirit had used her new power over the trial to show Subaru a final possibility. She crushed it, destroying its sanity anew. It was quite a simple task now; he'd weakened himself with that little maneuver. With that done, Echidna turned her attention back to Subaru.
His jaw was set with determination and he was almost like a pillar, unyielding in the wake of the trial's horrors. Echidna's lips parted, "How troublesome," she said, interested.
"I don't have time for games, Echidna, show me the disaster yet to come," he said.
Echidna's tiny frown turned into a tiny smile. And there was her chance. Now she could destroy Natsuki Subaru with all the worst prophecies.
"Well then," Echidna put her hand up, "I declare this trial a success."
She waved her hand down and Natsuki Subaru disappeared.
Once he was gone, Echidna immediately went to work. She reached into the book of Wisdom to procure the worst prophecies available to her. She gathered all she could from the endless pages telling of all knowledge. After a little while, the corners of her mouth lifted. So many possibilities. Some good. Some bad. But even the good could seem bad if twisted the right way. So she twisted and twisted, readying the third trial for Natsuki Subaru.
Subaru pushed himself up from the dank floor of the tomb. The smell had gotten worse…no, it had always been like this, except now it was more vivid. He looked around, even in the darkness everything seemed so bright. So…crisp. It was an almost night and day difference. There was no blurriness in his eyes. And the tomb's blue glow was returning. He looked toward the hallway that led to where Ram was waiting. It was tempting to go out and wrap his arms around her, to feel her warmth. He'd leave Echidna hanging, but that made him want to go see Ram more. He suppressed the notion though; he had to see.
Whatever it was, Subaru would not be discouraged. He would push through it, and destroy any future Echidna tried to show him. Nothing she offered would stop him in his present course. This was just confirmation.
With his desire ready, Subaru stepped back into the center of the room.
His voice pounded on the edges of his mind, "Face the disaster yet to come."
Darkness consumed him. The sensation of his body hitting the ground came from a far off place. All had drained away, and now there was only dark. Subaru had no anxiety. He'd passed this trial before, but the timeline had changed, so he had no doubt that there would be new words from the future. And no doubt that they wouldn't deter him at all.
So he waited in silence and darkness, until a pack of stars rose on the horizon. They bounded toward him, rolling and turning as time itself approached. The inevitable march of tragedy shot at him. Indistinguishable voices screamed, and disaster crept up. The wails built and built. It all coalesced as the first star hit him.
Subaru's knees were pressed against the ground, his hands were too. Water ran over them. Heavy breath fell from his lungs. Despair hung on his back, weighing him down. The uneven jagged tiles of a roof made little cuts in his fingers. The water, which was a few inches deep even all the way up here, washed the blood away.
He looked up from his hands to get a better grasp on his surroundings. Corpses floated around him, ranging massively in age. Some were so young they might have been born mere days ago, and some were so old they would have died today anyway.
To his left, a body rocked back and forth. It pivoted on the roof while the water tried to wash it away. His future self sighed, "I guess the world doesn't always work in your favor."
Three green gemstones lay shattered on the neck of the drowned Priscilla Barielle. A shadow, cast by the daunting height of a massive wall, covered one side of her face. His body looked around at the great water gates of this city.
They were broken.
He crawled over and grabbed Priscilla's head, he tilted it to the side, sending water rushing from her throat, but no breath came to her lungs. Subaru took his hand from her body, and the woman's back lost its grip on the rooftop. The Sun Princess floated away, rotting in the water, along with so many others. She was just another body now. Anguish sapped his strength. Half of Al's helmet lay to his right. There was no other trace of the man himself.
As he picked up the metal remnants of the helmet, Priestella's walls disappeared. The watergates had already burst, but now with no barriers, all the remaining water streamed into the city. So much liquid, it rose far above even the clock tower Subaru was on. It would truly consume everything now. Subaru hung his head. He'd failed.
"Natsuki Subaru," a voice came, "tell me everything."
He turned to Pandora. The pale woman's face was gaunt. There was desperation in her eyes.
"Tell me. Tell me. Tell me. Tell. Me. Everything. I need to understand," her words burst forth, attacking him, trying to wash him away.
But he'd already failed, he knew that. He hadn't been able to link up with the others, where had he gone wrong here? He didn't know. Among all the decisions that had led to this confrontation, Subaru couldn't find anything wrong with them, but…they'd still led here. To Pandora standing above him, with water encroaching on all sides.
Her bleeding lips flopped around, screaming more and more words at him. A constant scream, one he didn't care to understand. After her ranting went on for almost a minute, he put his finger up. The water was almost here and its shadow hung over him, "Hey Pandora, fuck off and let me try again."
The woman didn't say anything. He had no idea why. What motivated someone as insane as the Witch of Vainglory? It didn't matter. Attempting to understand her wasn't the course he wanted to explore.
Subaru looked up. Water deafened him as it closed in. The sun all but disappeared under the weight of it all. For a final moment, all the abominable sounds canceled, and a semblance of silence settled over him.
Then, the roaring waves crashed into him, turning his bones to mush. All sound vanished as he held his eyes open against the weight of the water. Some fish, who'd already taken up residence in the flooded city, swam around him. They moved in to take a nibble off his body, though before they could a slab from some ruined structure blasted by them, riding the current. Subaru breathed out, the oxygen turned to bubbles and rose to the surface. He looked up at it, catching one final glimpse of the sun.
He shoved his hand up.
Ram.
A loose boulder crashed into the back of his head.
The vision ended.
He got a single second to breathe.
The next star hit him.
Words blared out, crushing his mind and reducing him to nothing. The voice was so loud. Unbelievably so.
"Show me! SHOW ME YOUR HEART, NATSUKI SUBARU! You've caused this. All of this. The destruction of Priestella is your fault, now let me understand you! HOLD ME CLOSE! SHOW ME YOUR HEART!"
Subaru's mind rose above the premonition. But he was quickly ripped down by the next and a new voice exploded.
"To think one so disgusting could even exist. What an utter and complete fool you are. I could not imagine anyone more forgettable."
The words of scorn stabbed into his heart. Anger, disgust, impulse, rage, and bloodlust flowed through each syllable. He'd never experienced anger so potent. It destroyed all his thoughts with its intensity. His hairs stood on end at being subjected to those words, and they hadn't even been that loud.
Who could speak with such a calm ferocity, deriding, berating, and insulting with a head held high? Before he could get a grasp on their identity, the next star pounded into him.
"Want to be happy, you get it right? To feel it. What is it to be happy? Happy? Show us happiness, please be kind and show us. We want to be happy, simple, right? So which of you knows what happiness is?"
Someone stepped up to the voice, "I can show you many things."
"You showing us happiness? You're funny ~tsu, comedic, quite comedic indeed. You could make a name for yourself in comedy. But other than comedy, you can only show us despair…you know. Though…your despair, it would be Satiating. Perspective is always nice. Looking at the past in a new light is interesting, you know. So you'll be delicious."
"Don't worry, foul Gluttony. I will not hide my name." The someone who'd stepped up responded.
They giggled, "You don't have to be so proper. Indeed there is no need. No need is required. No requirement creates need, you know?"
"It is the polite thing to do."
"Ooh…are you a knight?" They seemed to have knowledge of the answer already, just messing with the other.
They shook their head, "No, I'm not a knight. I'm just a man who likes being polite sometimes."
"Ah, then it would be rude for us not to, y'know." They bowed, held a hand to their chest and announced, "We are the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony, representing Satiation, Louis Arneb. So please don't fight too hard, though that's not a problem. You're pretty weak after all, you know? So don't fight too pitifully, we just want to eat you."
A crushing power radiated from their words. There was as much intelligence in that tone as Ley had possessed. Their body twisted into another's. Solar Eclipse. Activated so easily. And Ram's power was nowhere in sight.
The vision came to an end.
"Louis Arneb?" he asked, but the next star deprived him of any more thought.
"Oh, what perfection. Brilliant. Beautiful. Wonderful. Stupendous," a green man said, "truly, your faith amazes me! It is so wonderful to see. The perfect vessel of the Witch grovelling at my feet! OH MY BRAIN! How it trembles."
Subaru grabbed his head as the next future beset him.
"YOU! GET AWAY FROM MY PETELGEUSE! WHORE! SLUT! DISGUSTING BITCH!" Fire shot in all directions as chains rattled and bandages burned.
"Wrath," Subaru whispered when the future fled.
Another tragic light gripped him.
"You want Julius Jukuulius' help?"
"We need you."
"I'm sorry," the man responded, "but Julius Jukuulius is gone."
"Then who are you?"
"No one."
"Well we need a knight, it doesn't matter if he's nameless," that voice urged.
The man laughed as tears welled up in his eyes, "A nameless knight? What a joke. A knight is made of appearance, and my appearance is gone…so what am I?"
"A friend."
"Nothing."
The man in need had failed to reach the nameless man. Neither had any more time, this had been their final chance. Now it was gone.
A final parting occurred.
The nameless man and the man in need would never meet again.
Subaru's eyes shot open. The future flowed through him like ice in his veins. His breathing was quick and heavy. Another catastrophe pounded him.
"Oh…" a voice whispered, "I'm not cut out to be a leader, am I?"
He grasped his consciousness, lifting himself out for breath from the river of disasters yet to come. With reckless abandon he pulled in as much air as he could, leaving none out of his lungs. The long hand of time yanked him back in.
"Where did they all go? Where is everyone? Why did you all leave Betty behind, I suppose?"
Subaru tried to yell for Beatrice. Tried to tell her she wasn't alone, but the next future had already taken him.
"Why are you yelling?" a smug voice asked. It was the voice of a man who'd won, a man who'd destroyed all the things in his way.
"Fuck off," the loser rejected those words in vain.
"Do not be rude to me, that is a violation of my rights," the winner said.
The next vision was already upon him.
"Take the fuckin' metia to the face and die, bitch!" The voice held a spear aloft.
"Ah to die," a woman encased in bandages whispered, "to die in exactly the same way as everyone else, how wonderful."
The premonition shifted.
"So…all their sacrifices reaaally were for nothing."
Subaru shoved his head above water, he needed to breathe, to comprehend all he'd seen, but he couldn't, a new future had pounced on him.
"Barusu…why did you have to go?"
The vision bled into the next.
"Without sister…Rem is…nothing…"
A flicker as another star destroyed him.
"Ana…please wake up. Please Ana…you have to wake up," a scarf pleaded.
Subaru gasped as he was let out of the future. An ethereal sensation filled his heart as the third trial took hold of him again.
"You did not think you could escape, did you, Natsuki Subaru? I will have my Sage Candidate, though I no longer need a Bishop of Gluttony. But you…what position would you like, Sin Archbishop of Pride? No…that doesn't suit you in the slightest. Positions, so difficult to assign correctly, but I need to take thought with you."
"—" words he couldn't make out.
"No you're not just an audience member, Natsuki Subaru, you're far more."
The vision changed.
"Yes. Hug me. Pull me close. Let me feel the beating of your heart. Let me experience all the depths of your resolve!"
Reality shifted.
"So yet again, I'm a failure of a hero. I'm sorry, father."
Dread set into his bones as tragedy shoved itself into his mind and the final two futures reared their ugly heads.
"That's all? Really? If that's all you'll say then just shut up and die already."
The world ripped apart, then reforged for the last prophecy. A prophecy so distorted he could barely even hear it.
"Ah. —,doesn't it? But this is—. Sorry —, but —bad."
The trial lurched and a shadow floated above him. It loomed over the entire trial. A vainglorious glare pierced him, ripped him apart like a tiny bug.
"Natsuki Subaru. This is pathetic."
A body blasted into existence as Subaru's mind rocketed around. Within an instant that felt like an eternity, he was sitting in a white chair. The shade of an umbrella kept the dreamlike heat away, and there was a soft breeze. It rubbed the skin of his arms and made the hair on his head grow even more disheveled.
"Hey Baru!" a girl yelled from across the table, Typhon's elbows were on the wood and her palms were on her cheeks. There was a large smile on her face as she leaned over to him.
"Hey Typhon," Subaru said, a little less enthusiastically, "where's Echidna?"
"Disagreeing with herself."
Subaru tilted his head, "Huh?"
"Uhm…" Typhon played with her lips, "how do I explain it?"
Subaru shrugged, but Typhon had an idea, "Oh I know! Hold on, Baru, I'll be back in a sec!"
Typhon disappeared, and a tall woman took her place. Sekhmet—he'd learned her name from Echidna in the many years of their contract—sat up straight for only a second. When that second ended she slumped down on the table. Her massive upper body rested there, and her purple hair flowed from her head down her back and hung over the table's edge.
Sekhmet turned her head a little, "Haaah, so Typhon wants me to explain, something to haaaah you."
Subaru was like a statue as he waited for her explanation.
Sekhmet closed her eyes for a few moments, then yawned and explained, "Echidna, haaaaaaah, is in disagreement with herself because the one who made a contract with you merged from the one of this timeline," she let out a massive yawn, "and now they're disagreeing on haaaaaaaaaaah methods. The one from inside you wanted to keep us from interfering, but the one from this timeline wanted us to help her, haaaaaah."
Subaru rubbed his forehead, "Witch stuff is confusing."
"I know right," Typhon said, suddenly in Sekhmet's place.
Subaru didn't flinch at the shift, he only said, "So how's it been, Typhon?"
"Good," Typhon put her fingers together and played with them, "oh and Dona wanted us to do a couple things."
"Like what?" Subaru asked, he wasn't really scared. Even now, the premonitions he'd been shown didn't bother him in the slightest.
"She wants me to judge you," Typhon said.
"Alright. Go ahead," Subaru put his hand out.
Typhon didn't take it, "Wait before we do, Daphne wants me to give you something."
"Why can't she give it to me herself?"
Typhon pouted, "Because the new Dona's mean. Only me, Nerva, and Milla get to see you."
"Huh. Anyway, what is it?" Subaru asked.
Typhon put her hands together into a sort of tray, then a cup appeared. It was full of Echidna's tea.
"Why would I drink this?" Subaru asked as he leaned over and took the cup from the little witch.
"Daphne wants you to actually use that little piece of her that's in you," Typhon said, then scratched her chin, "she said that it was…uh…hungry, yep that was it, hungry!"
"The Authority of Gluttony?" his mind clasped a meaning from the cryptic words.
"Sounds right!" Typhon clapped.
Subaru rubbed his jaw, did he trust Typhon? Not at all. But Echidna's tea couldn't alter his will, so there was no reason not to drink it. And if Typhon was right, then the Authority of Gluttony could be useful.
Subaru pondered the question for a few more moments, then put the cup to his lips. With a small tilt of his head he poured the tea down his throat. The sensation was odd in this dream, but it wasn't unwelcome.
The familiarity reminded him of another time.
A time when he loved Emilia with all his heart and Ram like a sister. A time of Rem lost and Otto welcomed. But that time was gone, no use getting caught up in it. Subaru set the cup down and looked at Typhon. She was smiling in anticipation at the notion of judging him.
"Been a while since this happened, reminds me of old times. Anyway, judge me," he laid his hand out on the table.
"Okay!" Typhon grabbed it and tilted her head. All of her childlike innocence disappeared, "Sin becomes a shackle."
Immense agony stormed through him, though for him it seemed tame. Fissures spread along his skin. He relaxed in his chair. His legs broke apart. A tranquil breath travelled from his lungs into the dream as his hands began to fall to pieces. There was still guilt within Subaru, but he wasn't going to run from it any more.
Subaru accepted his crimes.
He'd make it so those he loved in this timeline never had to experience any more of them. Return by Death made it so no one remembered but him. Which meant he could fix it. This power…it was so beautiful. It let him save everyone.
Truly, a beautiful gift.
Subaru's neck turned to little pieces and his head dropped onto the chair he'd been sitting on. He stared up at the blue sky as his ears fell off. His lips grew flaky and starter chipping—they'd be gone in a moment—but Subaru still had a use for them.
"Thank you, Satella."
Subaru's head turned to pieces so small they bordered on being dust.
He was in a land of darkness, until a blazing fury descended upon him.
An instant later, Subaru was sitting in his chair, entirely unharmed. He opened his eyes to the Witch of Wrath. She was standing next to him, slouched over, with breath coming heavy from her lungs. None of it from exhaustion, just anger.
"Hey, Minerva," Subaru said.
"You should have avoided Typhon!" Minerva berated him, "You could have died. And you said thank you to Satella. Hypocrite!"
"I could have died, yes. But I trusted in Echidna's desire to not let me go so easily," Subaru said, "there are a few things she can be trusted with."
Minerva grabbed his collar, "If you want to thank Satella, then value your life! You're so annoying!"
"I'm very good at it," Subaru responded, "I'm a younger brother at heart who never had an older sibling to annoy."
"Value your life more," Minerva ignored him and spoke the words of her rage-filled heart.
"I wonder. Why did Echidna ever think she could use you to manipulate me?" Subaru asked.
"Because a part of her doesn't find a contract satisfactory. Now, value yourself or forever be a hypocrite," Minerva said.
Subaru took note of the first part, then asked about the second, "You can't let that go, eh?"
Minerva shook her head, tears forming in her eyes from the sheer anger running through her, "NO!"
"Then, I apologize," Subaru said, "I don't really value my life. But the people I value value it. So I won't let it slip through my fingers."
They were words so simple, but the mindset behind them was full of logic so twisted and circular that it looped around to insanity. But Subaru was insane and Ram, somehow and wonderfully, still loved him. So he'd remain insane and value his life if that was what she wished.
Minerva loomed over him as she replied, her voice having gone quiet, "You're more twisted than any of us, maybe even all of us combined."
"Yes," Subaru nodded, "I am."
"HYPOCRITE! Don't thank Satella anymore with that attitude! IT'S JUST AN INSULT!" Minerva screamed, her arms slammed down, air blasted off of them. Tears welled up in her eyes from her sheer fury, and the ferocity of her voice.
Subaru raised his arms out to the side, "I'm sorry, but I guess I'm a hypocrite."
"Then I have nothing to say and you aren't hurt, so enjoy Carmilla!" Minerva finished with yet more rage. Within a breath, the Witch of Wrath was gone.
Then an incredible sight exploded before him.
Ram stood in a noblewoman's dress, and her lips were tilted up into that small smile which signified so much. There was a lightness to her brilliant red eyes. Sunlight danced through her hair—the same floral hairband rested atop her head—and her skin glowed. Ram's right arm was holding the hand of a small child, little older than a toddler.
The child looked almost exactly like him, but his hair was pink, and his smile reminded him of Ram's. He wore a little suit. It was exactly like the one Subaru was wearing right now. The child gazed at him, and the smugness of the child's smile melted away into pure joy. The boy held the exact grin Subaru had worn after he'd helped Rem see the future on that day so many epochs ago.
Looking away from him, and into Ram's left arm, he found a small baby. Subaru immediately knew it was a boy, after all, he'd constructed this vision. This was his greatest desire. And in his heart his second son had his black hair, but Ram's red eyes. The combination was amazing. An aura of joy rose from the child, and Subaru forgot he was supposed to breathe.
At Ram's shoulder was Subaru's new older sister. Rem. Long blue hair flowed down her shoulders. Rem had always wished for it, instead of keeping it short to be the perfect image of Ram. Below her hair, she wore her own dress, not a copy of Ram's. Subaru enjoyed the strength in Rem's eyes…the individuality. This was Rem, and nothing else needed saying.
Emilia was on Ram's right. The silver-haired woman was playing with his first son's hair. At the boy's right was Beatrice, who was a little bit taller than him. She was, of course, lording over the boy. And he kept snapping back that eventually he'd be taller. Beatrice continuously shook her head, informing the boy she had the perfect Yin spell to keep him the same age.
Otto and Garfiel stood together a little ways away, telling Beatrice to stop threatening him. Both men had large smiles. Beatrice crossed her arms and turned away. His desired son retorted by saying he'd use his own magic and retaliate if she tried. Beatrice finally relented, with the sentence, "Fine, Betty won't do it, I suppose."
His son's smile turned smug, and Ram's expression grew into pure pride. No doubt a similar pride to the one that swelled in his own heart now. Subaru didn't hold anything back, why fight the storm? After all, he had Ram to help him recover after. Subaru breathed out as so many emotions joined forces; pride, excitement, happiness, joy, contentment, love, warmth, and awe all rushed over his barriers.
Tears dripped down Subaru's face.
And he'd said he wouldn't cry for a while.
But who could keep themselves composed at a time like this?
Subaru rubbed his knees and hunched over.
The tears slipped down into the grass. He tried to speak, but his breath was gone.
Oh yeah, it's Carmilla. Sudden sensation came to him. A tiny flame of discomfort had wormed its way into his lungs. How long had it been since he breathed? Probably two minutes, maybe a minute and a half. A little humor rose in his lips, this future was so beautiful it had left him breathless. But it was only the future, and he was in the present. This wasn't reality, not yet. Subaru closed his eyes, then breathed in.
With breath in his lungs he bowed, and said, "Thank you, Carmilla."
The vision melted away into a pink-haired witch sitting across from him. Surprise had stormed across her face. She tried to speak, but disappeared before any words could leave her mouth.
Echidna sat in the seat now, but she'd changed in the short time they'd been separated. Her back was hunched over, and she looked haggard, on the verge of tearing apart. Her emotionless smile was slipping, and her eyes kept jumping away, like she had other things taking her attention.
"Your plan backfired a bit, didn't it?" Subaru said. He'd won, now he'd have some fun twisting the knife in a little.
"My plan has not yet come to fruition, but it will," Echidna responded.
"You want me in a contract, yeah?"
"We can do so much good together. That beautiful gift you've been given is a wonderful thing really."
Subaru looked down at his hands. He flexed his fingers. He'd never felt it but it was there. Just beneath his consciousness, a darkness streaming through his body and soul: Return by Death. A way for him to fix all his mistakes. To right every wrong. To erase everyone's deaths, and make it so they lived. Even if they were just moving timelines, at least there would always be one timeline where they breathed. It was a power which always left him with a chance. To grasp, to hold onto, and follow to the greatest future.
"Yeah. It really is a wonderful gift."
"Well, shall we use it?" Echidna offered her hand.
Subaru looked back up at her, and her twitching smile, "Huh, you really are desperate."
Echidna's smile slipped, but she pushed it back on quickly.
She was really desperate. There was an opportunity here, time to use his powers of eternal annoyance once more, "Sell me on it, then."
Echidna's eyes flashed with annoyance, but it was so fast he wasn't sure he'd seen it.
Her flat voice came, "Very well."
The woman began to give her sale's pitch, but Subaru had already tuned her out. Why should he listen to the woman who'd screwed him over so many times? If there was anything he'd learned over the past few loops it was the ability to not trust. And now he got to make use of those skills on Echidna.
While she droned on, Subaru summoned up as many memories as he could. He needed all the information he could get about Echidna's current situation. He recalled dreams, and anything else that dealt with Echidna in some way. He parsed through them all, making connection after connection. Some connections he later tossed away and some he built on with new information.
Within a few minutes he had a mental conspiracy theory board. Strung together with memories and the like. He needed evidence if he was going to gamble this much, and thankfully, there was more than enough. But still, he wanted to be as sure as he could be. So he put his hand to his chest and felt within himself. A dusty contract that he hadn't touched in a while remained there. He followed it to where the other end was. Instinct guided his movements, and those same instincts pushed his head up and his eyes onto Echidna.
Onto this mass of what Typhon had told him was two people. It was really three. Well two people, one of something else. Subaru readied himself to gamble. To prepare he let Echidna's words reach him.
"Those beautiful sights you saw with Carmilla, we could make an infinite number of them—"
"Echidna."
"Yes?"
"Don't care," Subaru said, then shoved his hand forward. He let it rest, palm toward the sky, on the table.
This was his toss of the dice.
He held as tightly as he could to the contract within his heart.
Echidna was speechless for a second, then she grasped his hand. He gripped hard, squeezing her. Then he jumped out of his seat and punched Echidna in the face. She slammed back, almost coming out of her chair, but he held tight and kept her here.
His soul began to meld with her, a contract was forming. He glanced the interior of Echidna's mind for a moment.
BILLIONS of outcomes exploded out. Subaru's lips pulled back, forming a scream, but no sound exited him.
The futures took over Subaru's vision.
A crimson throne, shining as a massive crowd gathered at its feet.
"By the will of the people and dragon, Emilia is the winner of the Royal Selection!"
"By the will of the people and dragon, Crusch Karsten is the winner of the Royal Selection!"
"By the will of the people and dragon, Priscilla Barielle is the winner of the Royal Selection!"
"By the will of the people and dragon, Anastasia Hoshin is the winner of the Royal Selection!"
"By the will of the people and dragon, Felt is the winner of the Royal Selection!"
A burning city. "I am Natsuki Subaru, Sin Archbishop of Gluttony!"
A glimmering city. "I am Natsuki Subaru, Slayer of the Witch's Cult!"
A look of warmth. "I love you, Barusu."
A look of hatred. "I'm going to kill you, Barusu."
A burning capital.
A flooded trap.
A fallen watchtower.
An open seal.
A door with seven jewels. Each one glowing.
A dragon laying dead.
Roswaal speaking to an Echidna with a different nose.
Reinhard driving a knife through his throat in a burning palace.
Shaula laying waste to the capital.
Shaula laying waste to the Witch's Cult.
Sirius murdering Emilia.
Sirius hugging Emilia.
Emilia stabbing ice through his throat.
Emilia kissing him.
Ley Batenkaitos facing Capella Emerada Lugunica in battle.
Ley Batenkaitos and Capella Emerada Lugunica working together.
Subaru kissing Echidna.
Subaru cursing out Echidna.
Possibilities blending, twisting, coming together, coming apart, thriving, regressing, progressing, slipping, climbing, falling, trying, failing.
Timelines ending and restarting a million times over.
A life that never ended.
A life that ended with Amue Sears strangling him in an empty village.
Echidna forming the contract.
Echidna shoving away the contract.
A scream building and thrashing as a whale called.
Subaru!
He snapped back into reality, barely intact. Echidna's thoughts had almost washed him away to nothing. But now he knew that he was right. They were three in number. One Echidna wanted the contract with him. Another wanted a different plan. And the third…Subaru already knew what they wanted. He gripped his trusted contract even tighter.
"Echidna, I said we were going to save each other. I meant all of us!" Subaru shouted and yanked. Both with his arm and his very soul itself. The other Echidna who had a different goal joined in the struggle. The black-haired Echidna's face twisted in pain.
Subaru shoved as much of his resolve through the bond as he could. The third didn't join.
"No. One. Left. Behind!" Subaru proclaimed.
Echidna tried to resist him and the other Echidna. And she was managing it, barely holding onto her control and sense of self. Her massive age and experience gave her power over the other Echidna. But Subaru was the same age, and the other Echidna had the same control over this dream, but it still wasn't quite enough. They needed more.
Just on the edge, so close.
They were right at the tipping point.
Echidna's lips fell open in a wordless howl.
Subaru threw his unoccupied hand forward toward Echidna's chest. His fist dug into her consciousness, he increased the flooding of emotion into his old contract.
"If Ram could save me then I can save you," Subaru said to his contracted spirit.
The dream trembled, and a shadow covered the sky, blotting out the sun. Someone railed at the walls of the dream.
Subaru let his eyes close, love washed over his heart at the image that appeared there.
"Satella," Echidna breathed out hatred as her teeth bit into her lip.
Subaru snarled. He shoved his hand further into Echidna's chest, her body moved aside and he reached right into her soul. The dream's rules were bending and breaking due to Echidna's attempts to circumvent them. For a moment, the five witches burst from Echidna, but she yanked them back in. Echidna's lips ripped open, and she groaned. Within a breath, she pulled herself together and glared at him.
"I will have you. I will rekindle my love, Natsuki Subaru!"
"Don't care, I love Ram," he poured all of his love into his arms and grabbed the third directly, "And I love all of my friends, there's not a single bit of room left for you!"
Subaru pulled with both arms and all the emotions in his heart. He let out a scream, filling it with all his resolution, his determination, his will, his desire. The third sputtered to life and finally gave their aid. The tide was against Echidna now. The Echidna within her yanked, along with him and the third.
Subaru steadily pulled his hands from Echidna. She tried to hold on, to keep him here, but he had no interest in being chained again, "See ya later, Echidna."
"No."
The word boomed across the entire dream, forcing it to quake and tear. Her face finally twisted in rage.
"You will form that contract," Echidna's words held emotion. Pure feeling. It seemed she'd grown some kind of heart.
Subaru didn't feel even a tiny bit bad when he ignored it completely and saved his friend. He yanked his arms, and the black spirit, from within Echidna's soul. She desperately gave one last attempt to hold on, to keep herself together, her face scrunched up, and her eyes forced shut. Subaru ripped again, the other Echidna pressed from within.
Echidna groaned; she exerted all her mental strength to hold herself together. She had nothing left to sustain even the dream, so all went black. Darkness reigned over them. Unending deep nothingness: the void of a soul bent only on a singular desire. Subaru tried to navigate within, but even his arms were out of sight. It was sheer opacity. Echidna groaned, and Subaru kept pulling. Echidna kept pushing. The spirit joined.
Echidna's hold reached its maximum effectiveness, and somehow they still couldn't break it.
Until a shadowy hand reached into the dream. It caressed Subaru's back with a warm softness. He closed his eyes and let the warmth flow through him.
Thank you for everything, Satella.
Steeling his heart once more, Subaru yanked on Echidna.
Finally, she cracked.
The dream yowled.
The seam was torn, now Echidna came apart in the physical and mental sense.
Her soul ripped, and she lost control. The Castle of Dreams regained life. It burned in the sun's light, then all went black again, and all went light. It flickered over and over again, back and forth. Light, dark, light, dark.
Subaru dusted off his hands. They'd been inside Echidna; he grimaced at that. How disgusting. He rubbed his palms on his jacket.
Subaru didn't care for Echidna now, so all he said was, "Well, that settles that."
Then he turned and walked toward where a large door waited for him. The daunting thing that stood perfectly, even though it had no support. It was just a lone door in the middle of a grassy field. As the sun kept flashing, Subaru reached for the handle that would at last allow him to pass the trial.
A grating voice interrupted his action, "You'll need me, Natsuki Subaru."
Subaru directed his gaze back at Echidna; somehow she'd already been able to repair herself enough to speak. Her form was beaten and broken, practically melted. The darkness had faded from her hair, leaving a mix of black and white strands. One of her eyes was missing, and dark ooze was dripping down her face. Her skin was torn in long wounds but was held together by something he didn't know how to describe. Though he could say she looked a bit like Frankenstein's monster.
And to this abomination, all he had to say was, "I don't think I will."
"You will. You've passed the trials, and Emilia's failed hers. She'll never be able to conquer them and move forward as a person," Echidna forced out through a raspy voice.
"Oh that's right, shit." Subaru rubbed his forehead, he'd forgotten about that in the heat of the moment. His lips tilted up at the absurdity.
"You really did mess up," Subaru said at the hilarity, "You reminded me about Emilia, then in the same sentence missed a key detail. I guess human emotions aren't for everyone."
Echidna's face twisted. She tried to rack her brain for the meaning of his words, but for Subaru it was so simple. He looked over at the door and ran his hand along the wood. It was well-polished and smooth. By all measures a brilliantly crafted door. One he rolled his head away from, and gazed back at Echidna. He ignored her little squirms, and the weight of her chair shifting while she thought.
Why was it taking her so long? There was no complexity here at all.
Subaru took pity on her and decided to explain it, "I never opened the door. I never continued even with a tragic future ahead."
Echidna's eyes winded. Everything about her stopped. She was still. Empty. He supposed she was figuring it out now. Her mind must be reeling, for her to have missed such a simple thing. It seemed Echidna didn't know how to regulate emotions from getting in the way of her thinking.
"You got too passionate for yourself Echidna, you should have just stayed the heartless monster. The monster in love was a tiny bit dumber," Subaru said, his heart full of hatred, but it was also comical. The tiny specks of emotion she'd let in had overwhelmed her and allowed Natsuki Subaru to triumph over her. Echidna really was an idiot, no matter how much she tried to deny it.
He began walking away, but she hadn't given up yet. Her will pushed a word from her mouth, "Wait…"
Subaru didn't care what her next words would be. He met her eyes and waved. Then substituted her words for his own, "Anyway it's Emilia's job to pass the trials. So, I won't continue in light of such tragedy ahead."
Echidna's lips struggled for words, but there were none to find. The dream rocked, trying to excise him. She held on, keeping him here, until fissures opened along her skin. The other Echidna was no doubt coming to destroy her. Subaru stared her down; he wouldn't give way, not after coming so far. Her hair turned so white it was almost transparent. Her lips contorted into a snarl. She stopped breathing, too focused on holding him prisoner. A groan started emanating from her mouth, and even the mighty Witch of Greed had to accept it.
She slumped over, her eyes cast down.
Echidna had failed, she was defeated.
His consciousness was thrown from the dream, along with another's.
Subaru opened his eyes within the trial room. The urge to vomit began to overpower him, his world spun. He tried to shake off the urge, but the movement only made it worse. And he hadn't eaten anything horrible, what was this? Was it that Echidna's favor had turned against him? Had he lost the right to be here? Why? Wouldn't Echidna want him to come back?
The questions all went unanswered, as Subaru had no desire to answer them. He had something else to worry about. He reached into the back of his mind, where the contract with his spirit lay. It was no longer empty. Something rested back there in a comatose state.
Comatose wasn't dead though.
He was back, and it was only a matter of time before Subaru could greet him again.
Subaru let his head fall back to the ground, he lay against the floor, content. And now, he set to work on his final task for right now. He took in all the memories he'd accumulated over this visit to Sanctuary, then created a plan. With little motions of his hand he formulated the methods by which he and those he loved would destroy what was in their way. Subaru made up the missing variables by trusting those around him, they'd have the strength he needed for this. They could, and would, do this.
After nearly an hour, Subaru had it. The best plan he could come up with. He was still a little short of success, but that difference could be made up. They would succeed. And Subaru would do it all without dying. He wouldn't be the only one to remember Ram calling him his name. He could not let that opportunity for making fun of Ram slip by.
It simply wasn't an option he would allow.
With the plan formed and his resolve ready, Subaru stood up. Vertigo made his world rock back and forth, but he disregarded it and walked away from the hallway, toward the back end of the trial room. He leaned down.
Suddenly the dizziness disappeared. Then, just as quickly, reappeared. It was likely the two different Echidna's fighting within the dream. Subaru paid it no attention, instead summoning some spirits.
With a couple dozen rushing around his arm he whispered, "Minya."
A sharp purple crystal formed in his hand. Tranquility washed over him as he aimed the glass for the locked door and began to carve. Armed with a vision and a knife, both of his own making, Subaru created. Little bits of dust trembled and floated to the ground. It took him a couple minutes to form what he wanted.
All the things he carved held no bearing in past experience. He had no idea if these would even be seen, or if they would do anything. But still, he made them, as his heart called for it. Some little pieces of his emotions were breathing with life again. His heart pumped faster as he worked. When he was done, he wiped a tiny bit of sweat from his forehead and stepped back.
The work was complete.
Standing up, he let the Minya crystal dissipate, then turned to the hallway and strode outside.
At the end of the corridor, there was pink and orange light. The beautiful sky, with the sun rising up. All the colors were there in crisp detail. Each one even more vibrant than before he'd lost his ability to see them. Subaru slid his hand along the stone of the tomb. It was incredible how many slightly different shades made up the rock.
He took in deep and serene breaths.
It didn't take him long to reach the outside, where Ram was waiting. She was beautiful. The way her pink hair reflected the light of the sun made tears well up in his eyes. Such an amazing sight. He knew something in his heart while he walked toward Ram. That sight, where the sunlight reflected through her hair, would become his favorite in the world.
Ram set off toward him. When the two met in the middle of their paths, Subaru wrapped his arms around Ram and hoisted her up into the air.
"I did it, Ram," Subaru said, proud of himself for the first time. He'd truly done it.
He'd apologized, and he was satisfied with those apologies.
He'd seen those possibilities, and he was satisfied knowing Ram could stop them all.
"Is Sanctuary liberated?" Ram asked after Subaru set her back down. There was a smile on her face that she couldn't hide no matter how much annoyance she tried to fake. Dawn's light bloomed along her cheeks and illuminated her smile.
"No," Subaru said, staring up at the sky, "that's Emilia's job."
"You truly are inept, Barusu," Ram crossed her arms.
He ignored her and glanced over at the sun, "Emilia can do it, but…we have to give her a helping hand."
"What do you mean?" Ram asked while she tried to discern his emotional state. She was so worried and concerned for his well-being. His lips tilted up a tiny bit more.
"I have a plan, but we have to hurry," he answered.
"Then why are we still standing here? Get going, Barusu," Ram shoved him. He stumbled and barely regained his balance in time, but he did. With his footing restored he grabbed Ram's hand. She grinned as he pulled her along.
As the sun rose at their backs, Subaru and Ram sprinted toward uncertainty. But they did it together.
And that was infinitely better than going alone.