Re:Strengthened By Death

by AiriMage

With endless regrets and wishes, all of which go unheard, Natsuki Subaru finds himself betrayed and in a cell, tortured by those he once called friends, the world having forgotten him. As he calls out for friends and family, and even the witch, none answer his call. Feeling more betrayed than ever, he steels his resolve to save himself. Strengthened by his will, can he escape?

4. Under The Bright Blue Sky part 2

Chapter 3 pt2:Under the bright blue sky.

Authors Note:

Edit: Sorry about that! Small error on my end, should be all fixed now.

Hello again! Yet another burst of inspiration is here! This time, it's due to some suggestions I got, as well as plenty of nice reviews. Thank you very much for suggesting things and leaving nice comments for me, it's seriously one of the biggest motivators to keep going. Anyways, apart from the nice reviews and suggestions, I've also gotten some questions, and since I figured it may be more than one person who have these questions, I'll answer down at the bottom pages authors notes. In fact, from this point forward, I'll have a little Q&A area down below Subaru's stats whenever I get a few questions, since it'll help me have a little more community interaction. Anyways, I'll let you get to reading now, I hope you enjoy this one as well!

(Ram POV)

Keeled over from the previous blow to the stomach, Ram watches in astonishment as the Archbishop just barely deals with all her Fura spells, then quickly darts towards the other end of the corridor, escaping through the door. Snapping out of her momentary daze, Ram grits her teeth in anger. partial humiliation, and a bit of pain, then begins to run after the Archbishop. "Fura! Fura! Fura!"

Three wind blades begin to rapidly close in upon the room the Archbishop of Pride entered, only to be met by a SLAM of a door, crashing into it, not making even a dent. Making it to the door only seconds after the wind blades, Ram begin's bashing it with her fist, kicking with her feet, and hitting it with more magic once again. However, despite all her attacks, it's more than obvious the doors more than durable enough to handle her. Considering it's made for keeping the worst of prisoners in, it should be capable of at least this much.

'Tsk, as expected of a cowardly dog, he's hiding instead of coming out and facing me. Well, it's to be expected, someone disgusting enough to be related to the witch cult is bound to be nothing more than a bug… still, I can't just let him go like this. Master Roswaal's become depressed and unresponsive to even me after the battle of Priestella and refuses to tell me what's caused him to become this way. If this goes on for too long, I fear the worst… this Archbishop may also have the cure for my sister as well. Mm… as I thought, I'll need to use it just a bit.'

Ram, coming to a conclusion, pulls her fist back as mana gather into it. Closing her eyes and bracing herself, blood spurts from her forehead as suddenly the mana within her body rapidly strengthens her body more than usual. Having accessed the remnants of the power that remained where her oni horn once was, Ram bashes the door with her fist with a resounding BOOM. The door flies through the air, off its hinges and with a hole through its center as Ram enters the room, glancing around in search for the Archbishop. 'Gone, it seems he ran away with his tail tucked between his legs. As expected of a mutt. Well, I'll at least acknowledge that he's smart enough to understand when he has no chance of winning.' Glancing around and feeling slightly smug at making him run instead of making him do something foolish like prepare a trap, Ram unconsciously compliments the boy, albeit in a twisted way.

Once again glancing around the room, Ram see three doors leading down additional hallways in front of her. On the left, the barracks for the knights, which has the exit past it. It's unlikely the Archbishop went that way, since it'd be far too dangerous. Next, the center door… Ram is unsure of where that one leads, just that she was told not to enter it. Finally, the right door. That's where the useless healer cat boy should be, along with Crusch-Sama. Most likely, the Archbishop went through the middle door…

'But I can't just cause trouble with the Crusch Camp by disobeying them, so… I'll ask for their cooperation instead.' Ram turns to the door on the right, opens it, and begins walking down it…

(Natsuki Subaru POV)

Quickly moving down the hallway, I pass by numerous empty rooms. Rather than cells to hold prisoners in, these rooms are more like temporary housing, from a dining room, to various bedrooms and a kitchen, and all of them are rather fancy too. Too fancy for Knights at least. 'Mm… I took this way since it seemed the least dangerous on the map, but will I really be able to escape like this?' Subaru couldn't help but worry. Just as he was about to lose himself in more thoughts a resounding BOOM comes from back down the hallway he came from. Turning slightly pale as the realization sets in, Subaru quickly speeds up his pace, not wanting to deal with an upset Ram. Fingers crossed they chose different doors.

As he continues to walk, Subaru realizes he's been going on a slightly uphill walkway for a while now, leading him to believe he must at least be above ground for the first time in a while. While his cell wasn't very far under the ground, being on the same level as a houses basement, having the only light come from some typically feet level bars at the top of his cell did start to take its toll on Subaru, along with all the other small things that kept stacking upon him.

Coming to a stop, Subaru see's a slightly cracked opened room with light pouring out the door. Wary but hopeful, Subaru leans against the door and peeks into the crack. Inside he see's… a small shudder runs through his spine at the sight of Felix, at Crusch's bedside, silently crying his eyes out. Crusch herself is asleep, her arm completely pitch black from the dragons blood. Narrowing his eyes at her arm, Subaru for some reason feels a pull, as though something good will happen if he approaches her arm.

'Mmm… is it worth the risk though? Felix may not be combat capable… but just a touch from him will fry my nerves. I also don't want to kill him, at least not yet. That can come after everyone remembers me and understands the amount of bullshit he put me through. It'll have him suffer far more than simply killing him now as well…' if anyone saw Subaru's eyes right now, they'd say they're the embodiment of frigidness, that they could likely freeze anyone better than any ice magic could. Just by looking at them, it's rather obvious just how much Subaru has changed these last nearly 2 months. Although the kind boy still exist, at least to some extent underneath it all, he's not likely to sit around hating himself, or putting up with others bullshit anymore. Nor is he just going to forgive anyone for wronging him, at least, not without some work on their end. The only reason he's trying to forgive the Emilia camp is because he's rather sure they're going to try and earn that forgiveness back. However, if they instead spew some bullshit apology and expect him to instantly come back without any kind of resistance… Subaru could feel the race beginning to set in, so he quickly stops that train of thought.

Tip, Tap, Tip, Tap. As Subaru is contemplating how best to enter the room, he can hear the tipping and tapping of footsteps coming from behind him. Quickly feeling for the mana, he realizes his earlier fears weren't unfounded. Ram can be felt, walking towards his exact location. 'Shit! I need to hide. If we fight now I'm going to die again… the chances of my checkpoint having updated already is basically nothing. I likely won't be able to get Felix to just leave the cell like before either. So I definitely can't die this time, since I may not get another chance like this.'

(Ram POV)

As Ram nears the last couple steps to Crusch's room, a weird feeling washes over her, one of being watched. Quickly glancing around and shifting her stance to one of combat, Ram activates her clairvoyance, seeing through the eyes of several Knights in the area but finding nothing. As she tries to switch to another creature to continue looking, Ram feels an impact on her head, where he horn used to be located, followed by a rattling sound. 'Chains… it's the Archbishop.' Dizzied from being hit in the head, Ram feels herself stumble for a moment, then hears a quiet "Sorry Nee-Sama!" Followed by sudden height. Her legs have been grabbed, and now she's being… spun in a circle? Pulling one of her legs from the Archbishops grasp, she's about to kick him when suddenly WHAM her forehead is slammed straight into a wall. Collapsing to the ground, Ram can only hold her head in pain as her weak points been targeted twice. 'This Strength… it's abnormal. Compared to when I was previously whipped by chains, he shouldn't have been this strong. Was he holding back then? No, that's unlikely, in that case… an art? It's likely that.' Ram slowly glances up, her vision partially spinning because of the previous hits, and glares at the Archbishop "As expected from a insolent person like you, although you ambushed me, you created far too much noise in the process." With a scoff, Ram continues, attempting to bide time for Felix or the Knights to come. "Furthermore, didn't you learn it's rude to lift an absolute lady like myself? Truly, witch cultist must be the worst of scum if they're all insolent perverts such as you-"

About to continue with her harsh insults, Ram is forced to stop as Subaru places a hand on her face and says "Shamak." The world goes dark as she once again feels an impact, then a second, then a third, and a fourth, before finally, Ram loses consciousness.

(Subaru Pov)

'Man she's going to so kill me when she gets her memories back.' Subaru can't help but think while gasping for breath once again. Subaru collapses as he feels the immense strain on his gate from pushing his mana strengthening far past its limits in order to deal with Ram. Although he hasn't taken true any damage to his gate, it still feels as though he's being torn apart. Taking a few breaths before standing up, Subaru can only startle as he's forced to jump backwards, barely dodging a sword aimed at his face. Glancing at who wields the sword, Subaru can only click his tongue, preparing his chains as he mutters "Felix…" with true hate and a bit of madness in his eyes, Felix stared down Subaru and says "you've escaped, Subaru-Kyun?" His voice has that sickening tone of amusement again.

Staring down Felix, Subaru nods and says "Yeah, I told Juli I would after all. I'm going to escape and have the memories of everyone restored, and then after that, I'm going back to Emilia-Tan… I think. I'm still not fully sure. At the least, I'll need to greet Rem, when she wakes up. Now then, Felix, why don't we se-" swipe, Felix sword soared through the air towards Subaru's neck as he was mid sentence, prompting Subaru to quickly take a step back. Although Felix's sword was unrefined, at least compared to all the others Subaru's closely watched, it was still a dangerous movement filled entirely with Felix intent to kill.

As Felix swipes with the sword once, twice, three times, six times, twelve times, Subaru dodges it all, Surprised by how easy he finds all of this. 'Mm… I guess I really shouldn't have been expecting much from Felix.' Again Felix swipes, this time delivering a grazing blow to Subaru's shoulder, but much to their surprise, it heals near instantly. 'This… I'll need to-' Felix, breaking out of his shock, swipes again '-Look into this later-' Felix once again swipes at Subaru '-Alright that's enough, this is annoying and I've recovered enough mana for one of these now.' "Shamak." Subaru flicks his wrist, almost as if throwing a ball and Felix is hit in the face by the black mist, stumbling backwards.

"You- isn't your gate supposed to be broken!? Felis was sure of it! Felis triple checked so how-" before Felix could continue his sentence, he heard a metallic rattling sound as chains closed in on his leg, followed by a sickening crunch as his leg was twisted towards the ceiling from the knee. "AHHHH!" Felix can't help but scream at the feeling of having his entire leg twisted around. Subaru, meanwhile, could only look at Felix like he was pathetic "Seriously, is that all you can do? I know you aren't a fighter but… you can't even handle a little bit of pain? Completely pathetic. I thought maybe you'd show me something new." Before Felix can open his mouth again or heal, he's smacked in the face with chains, being quickly dispatched. As Felix passes out, Subaru begins to feel a cold feeling in place of where his usual anger is.

'Was I really tortured by someone so weak? Or… have I just gotten that much stronger?' Looking over at the unconscious Ram, Subaru knows it's logically the later but… his feelings want to say it's the first. Although he's gotten stronger, he only beat Ram by catching her off guard through ambushes and cheap tactics both times. If it was head on, he'd have lost his head after the first couple exchanges… and knowing that, left him feeling disgusted. Disgusted by how weak he still is even with everything that's happened to him. Disgusted at how easily he could fall into this situation again even after he kills gluttony. Although Natsuki Subaru wished for strength previously, he only wished for it to stop the pain, and protect those he loves, but for once, Subaru sees that strength doesn't only have to be used for that. If he has strength, he won't have to die as much. If he has strength, he can complete his goals without having to suffer and plan ahead. Of course, he won't abandon his mind just to gain strength, his strategic genius is one of the few good things he has even without his strength, but… imagine what he could do with both?

Could he have beaten Elsa? How about Betelgeuse? Or Gluttony? Would he have been beaten during the duel by Julius? Abandoned by Emilia? Lost Rem? Eaten by the Great Rabbit? No… if he had strength, strength more than anyone, none of that would've happened. It's at this moment Natsuki Subaru felt yet another change inside himself. This time, it wasn't his authorities, or his gate, nor was it his body. His mind was finally ready to commit to strengthening himself while putting everything else as secondary. To move on from this prison and stand at the top, the place he could previously only dream of as he cursed his own powerlessness, forced to leech off of and rely on others. For once, he would do the saving with his body on the line, without dying just to do it. For once, he can proudly hold his head up and declare that he did it, all on his own.

As this mindset fully set in, Subaru opened his eyes he hadn't yet realized he closed. Upon opening them, he saw something out of the corner of his eye, something he'd forgotten about til now. Walking into the room and seeing the green haired Valkyrie, Subaru gently sits at her bedside, and looks at her sorrowfully. As he gently places his hand on hers, something surprising happens.

The dragon blood, originally infecting Crusch's arm, begin rapidly flooding into Subaru's. As he screamed in pain, all thoughts left his mind due to the pure agony of it all. He stayed still, stuck holding Crusch's hand for what felt like hours, but when he came too, he could see the duchess breathing peacefully, an expression on her face far gentler than before. Carefully glancing over her body, Subaru notices the almost completely gone dragon blood from Crusch's arm, and smiles. "Looks like I couldn't get rid of it completely… but she'll be fine for now at least."

Suddenly noticing something, Subaru tugs on his now much longer hair, as he stares at the mixed black and white pattern of it, looking as though the two colors are constantly weaving together, creating a sort of disbalanced harmony. "It healed my hair? Er… guess healed isn't quite right, considering about half of its still white. Still… I'm glad, I was missing my old hair color." Subaru had the brightest smile on his face he's had in the last 2 months just from examining his hair, as it reminded him of his parents. Throughout all of his time being tortured, more than Emilia, more than Rem, more than Beatrice, Subaru made it a point to never forget his parents faces or voice. Throughout all of this, it was the one thing he wouldn't compromise on. Thinking about his parents again, this time with his new mindset, Subaru can't help but think of another possibly, one the silver haired witch may not end up liking. "If I grow strong enough, could I go home?… Yin Magic should be able to control space after all… if I had enough mana and a way to teleport… getting home doesn't sound too far fetched. If that doesn't work… guess I could always bring them here?"

A slightly manic smile made its way onto Subaru's face for a moment, but the sudden bout of insanity quickly faded as he slapped his cheeks and shook his head 'No No, here's too dangerous. No matter how strong I am, I can't be everywhere. I'll just have to go to them.' Subaru took a deep breath to calm himself, then quickly realized he'd been standing here far too long. Quickly leaving Crusch's room, he see's Ram has started to stir, mumbling something about the perverted clown in her sleep. Subaru gets chills just thinking about what kind of dream she must be having, and quickly bolts down the hallway, looking for an exit of some kind. As he makes it up what seems to be the last of the upward sloping hallway, Subaru notices a window. An oh so glorious window where he can see the sky… the sun in the sky, barely starting to rise, feels as though it's almost meant for him and only him, a way to welcome him back after being trapped in darkness for such a harrowingly long time.

With a smile on his face and softer eyes that'd charm anyone who saw him, Subaru opens the window, and leaps outside, gently landing on the grass. Taking a long, deep breathe, Subaru can't help but admire it… that bright blue sky he's standing under after so long.

Author notes:

Hello everyone! I'll make this brief, I had so much fun writing part 2 of this chapter that I went a little overboard, making it longer than the others. Still, longer's a good thing, right? Anyways, here's Subaru's Status, after that, I'll put a little Q&A area where I answer questions I've gotten so far, as well as respond to the suggestions I get so I can let you all know that I've seen them!

Status:

Subaru Natsuki

Hp:24 / 24

Gate Status: 144% over-limit

Affinities: Yin

Authorities: RBD, Sloth, Greed

Strength: 24

Speed: 32

Defense: 4

Health: 4

Magic: 84

Q&A:

Q:Thor90-a question: how many chapters before the memory come back with subaru become the one ignoring all the beg and "we are sorry" stuff from his former friends?

A-I'll be honest, I'm really not sure yet. I do know when I want to do it and already have it planned out, he's got one more big trial before the whole little arc I have planned for that plays out, and if I had to make an estimate, it'd be at the latest chapter 15, but I'm aiming to make it around chapter 11 or 12 if possible.

Suggestions!:

Suggestion: DashingSlayer101-Well if your accepting suggestion I have one. Ya know how Subaru's authority of greed granted him an ability that was identical to one possessed by Regulus who actually had two abilities. Well, if we keep following this pattern, why shouldn't he obtain a second ability from his authority of greed as well. As for what I'd recommend I think it should be the ability to temporarily freeze time with the side affect of pausing his heartbeat. It would be identical to Stillness of an Objects Time given they both manipulate time and space and they both force a time limit from stopping the users heart. It also matches with how authorities are supposed to manifest based on a persons desires. That makes this power appropriate given how his luck with the checkpoints has been lately giving him less and less time to act. Think about it the man who already possesses the ability to go back in time, now greedily desires to have even more time to save his friends and achieve success.

Not to mention that it can be considered a double edged sword and that it's true strength lies in its utility which seems to be another pattern with how Subaru's authorities manifest. Well I hope that you take my suggestion seriously and I especially hope that this comment doesn't disappear and actually reaches you soon so you could consider using it. Keep up the good work!

Answer: Thank you very much for the suggestion! I honestly had a similar idea at first, but couldn't find a way to limit the powers actual abilities since I'd mostly forgotten about Regulus heart stopping and even then considering it just a teensy bit more op than I was ok with. However, seeing your post about it got my mind racing again and I've managed to create a unique way for a potential time stop power to work, while still having a pretty rough limit! I've also got the situation in which I'd like it to come into play as well, though it may be a bit before anyone sees it. The only thing I'm a little worried about is that there's some similar abilities to what I've made in other novels, but I'm doing my best to keep things unique over here so hopefully I'll be able to add my own completely original twist again! Anyways, thank you again for your suggestion.

As always, thank you to everyone for reading, I've seriously been having a blast writing this and seeing everyone's reviews regardless of what they are, so I plan to keep this up for quite a while! Though I may slow down eventually, since I would like to make an original novel at some point, I promise I've got no intention of leaving all the people over here hanging. Anyways, bye bye for now, see you in the 4th chapter! (I'm going to go spend the next 3-4 hours editing first though)