You truly are... slothful.

The voice echoed through my head as I woke up in the darkness, in a realm that I immediately knew was not the real world.

If so, where was I?

The voice did not sound itself again, and so I wandered around the place. With only a faint source of light in this plane of existence, I followed it until I came to a room with a faint purple light.

The source of the light was held in the sky, just a few meters taller than myself. Up close, I saw some tendrils of shadows bound together, pulsating as it gave off the faint purple light.

Is that... what I think it is?

I jumped up to try and get it, but I was way too short. I tried activating Akra, but magic did not activate as I sat down and sighed. I'm a tad lazy to get that thing anyways.

The moment the word 'lazy' came from my mind, the ball of shadows floated down towards me, and the familiar tesseract came out of my stomach as I held it in my hand. The Deceit Witch Factor pulsated with excitement, and I held it up to the ball of tendrils as it suddenly shot its inner cube out at it, before absorbing it into the tesseract.

Huh? Did you just eat it? Give it back, you moron! I tugged at the Witch Factor, but it didn't respond. However, a few minutes later, it spewed out an identical Witch Factor as it absorbed, and I saw the original Sloth Witch Factor fly away while the copy stayed inside my Deceit Witch Factor. The original flew away with haste, and went to attach itself to its original host, Subaru.

I looked at the pulsating copy of the Sloth Witch Factor, which began to glow brighter and brighter as the black completely faded, replaced by a purple colour with a bright light glowing through the tendrils of shadow.

The Sloth Witch Factor, as if excited and happy that its owner recognized its existence, happily merged with the Deceit Witch Factor as it floated into the safety of the tesseract, before both of them slamming into my stomach.

Grk-! I coughed as the sheer force wanted me to vomit, but I felt more calm as I heard a voice in my mind.

Synthesizing body with Sloth Witch Factor, process beginning now...

With the pain easing in with the sloth, I exited the shadowy realm.

I woke up in the middle of the night, with faint lights around me as I noticed the giant spike that used to protrude through my leg is now gone. The wound also healed, probably by a healer or something. However, before I can fully sit up to find my friends and Crusch, a hand grabbed me as I stared into the paranoid face of Subaru.

"Y/N! You're awake. Thank god..." Subaru said as he went into a smile, but it faded as the seriousness returned. "TELL ME. What happened to Rem?"

"I-" I struggled to say something, and the guilt stabbed me mentally again as I felt an uneasiness in my gut. The pain was so hard. The pain of failure...

"Tell me! What happened to Rem?"

"She... the... Archbishop of Gluttony erased her existence..." I muttered sadly.

"Why? How could you do this to me? You promised to protect her!"

"I'm sorry, Subaru. I'm genuinely sorry. I even told the merchants to take a long way around, but the archbishops still came. It was my fault. I was so focused on the Archbishop of Greed that I didn't even notice him slip past me... I'm weak, I should've taken Reinhard, I-"

Tears flowed from my eyes as I cannot hold them back any longer. Guilt, as sharp as a knife, stabbed me over and over again as the pain did not stop. It will not stop.

"I understand." Subaru said as he stood up, tears in his eyes as well. "It's not your fault, Y/N. You've helped me countless times. Whatever we do, we do it together. This was definitely out of your field of jurisdiction for you to control. I shouldn't blame you. So, let's get stronger together, okay?"

The figure who I thought was weak extended his hand to me. One who I thought I would be the one protecting. I suppose that's what friends are for, huh?

I took Subaru's hand as he pulled me up, and together, we limped towards the Karsten mansion, where people were waiting for our presence.

Timeskippu*

Subaru and I walked through the hallways of the Karsten Mansion, which was bright despite being nighttime. It was probably because of the many who got their existences and memories erased by Gluttony. Before we reached the room, however, Crusch appeared and we looked at each other before her eyes suddenly lit up at my appearance.

"You two are... Natsuki Subaru-san and Y/N-san, correct?" Her voice was timid and fragile, with the old Crusch completely gone. When Crusch was young, she had a feminine appearance and manner. However, as she grew older, her personality began to change, and she hardened herself more. That's what Fourier told me when he was in my dream world, anyways.

"I see. I'm sorry if I don't remember you two, but I'm trying my best to remember everyone that I... uh... forgot."

"Please don't be so hard on yourself." I said as I patted her shoulder. "Having your memories eaten is a hard thing, and it was partially my fault too, for not being able to protect you..."

"Don't be too hard on yourself as well." She looked at me with sympathetic eyes as I nodded back, and the meeting began.

Timeskippu*

"So, by the time the Iron Fang members brought back reinforcements from the capital, the only ones left were the casualties and..." Felix began.

"Those in situations similar to mine." Crusch supplied, and Subaru nodded.

"Crusch-san's memories were eaten, and Rem's name and memories were both eaten." Subaru said as he looked down, saddened by the fact.

"A lot of cases similar to this happened back in the capital as well, which people dubbed as the 'Sleeping Beauty Disease. But now..."

Wilhelm spoke up. "...it should be considered as the work of the Witch's Cult."

"We just took care of Sloth, and there's another Sin Archbishop now?" Felix said, exasperated. "This is really sucks."

"Well," I cut in, trying to supply information. "The Witch's Cult have six sin archbishops for each one of the seven deadly sins, excluding envy. Considering that Sloth is defeated and Pride is vacant, we still have four more to go. However, we technically still have six. Gluttony refers to themselves as 'we', since they are siblings that share the title of Sin Archbishop. Fortunately, one cannot materialize themselves in a physical form, which lowers that number down to five."

"Really?" Subaru said, gasping at my words.

"Well, the moment Emilia-sama got involved in the Royal Selection, we knew that the Witch's Cult will be involved."

"Maybe it really is my fault..." Emilia said, worried. Subaru immediately jumped up and tried retaliate, but Felix sneered and shot him down. Crusch got a little mad and told Felix to apologize, which he did, but he was not done yet.

"So, you know, the alliance between our camps? Let's scrap that idea." Felix said as he slammed his hands on the table, and everyone looked shocked, including Wilhelm.

"How did this conversation lead to dissolving our alliance?" Subaru asked, shocked that Felix could suggest such a thing at a time like this.

"You expect us to ally ourselves with Emilia-sama, the Witch's Cult's target? How can you be sure that Crusch-sama won't be hurt again?"

"I am opposed to that opinion." Wilhelm said as Subaru was struggling to give a response, and Felix looked baffled at his comrade's decision.

"Why, Old Man Wil?" Felix shouted in disbelief. "Do you want to see Crusch-sama hurt again?"

"No. But reagrding this 'Gluttony', who attacked Crusch-sama, we may be given an opportunity for revenge."

"Also," I added, hoping to calm Felix down a bit to make him think more rationally. "when a Gluttony dies, all the names and memories eaten by the user will return, so if we can defeat Gluttony, Crusch's personality could return."

"Felix." Crusch said, and Felix immediately turned towards her. "I can listen to you and walk the path that is the safest. But I loathe the thought of going with my life, knowing nothing. If I had a choice, I would rather choose my own path than do as someone says."

For that single moment, for both Felix and myself, the old Crusch emerged for just that tiny moment, and Felix broke down into tears as we resolved the issue. "If this is Crusch-sama's will, I'm sure no one would be in favour of dissolving the alliance.

And thus, that problem was over.

Timeskippu*

Dawn came, and it was time to carry on to enter Arc 4.

The Sanctuary Arc hasn't officially began yet, but it's a long road ahead. As I stumbled out into the sunlight, ready to leave the Karsten mansion, a flurry of white and blue scales barraged into me as I felt a long tongue lick my face.

"Ah, Fulgenta... really sorry about that. I shouldn't have abandoned you for you to go and fight with Subaru and the others..." The white and blue dragon nuzzled me again before motioning me to get on her back. I complied and rode on her back before I suddenly noticed Crusch coming out of the mansion.

I decided to delay my little ride with Fulgenta for a while, and greeted Crusch as she motioned for me to follow her to a remote place.

"Is there something wrong, Crusch?" I asked, and she turned around with eyes of recognition, ones that I've seen before her memories were erased.

"Why is it you? Who were you to me?" She asked me, and I was taken aback by the comment.

"Who I was to you? I think we were just comrades, or possibly friends? I honestly don't know since you were quite a cold woman on the outside, so I didn't know." I replied sincerely.

"If that's the case... why are you the only one who I still have memories of? It might be vague, but they're there... so I figured you must've been somebody important to me." Crusch said, and I widened my eyes.

"What exactly do you remember?" I asked, curious to know the details of a game-changing discovery.

"Well, there was that one time I talked to you about your intentions behind the alliance, but that memory came in fragments." Crusch said, and I immediately willed the Panel of Deceit to appear as I noticed a new frame: Scindo.

I tapped into the screen, and saw an unusual percentage: Deceit Witch Factor percentages:

Y/N L/N: 99.997%

Crusch Karsten: 0.003%

Huh?

HUUUUUUUUH?

I could split my witch factor? Does that mean it's similar to Betelgeuse's ability to create fingers? But I'm not a Spirit, and I don't want to do that...

This is new information. I know that for a fact I'm immune to Gluttony's authority, but does transferring parts of my own power potentially save others?

"No, that's not how it works, Y/N." Alchemis said in my mind, and Cahya appeared as well.

"The moment you split your witch factor, you can't gain the piece you split back until a year later. And splitting diminishes your total power, so I advise you to not split it again." Cahya clarified. "However, it is okay to keep the piece in Crusch, and when you restore her memory, the piece will return to you immediately, since it's purpose would be fulfilled."

Wait... so when did I give it to her, exactly?

"It is when you saw Lye Baitenkaitos eat Rem's name and memories, you instinctively tried to save her and Crusch. However, since Regulus slammed a wheel into you, the shot that you didn't even know you were performing curved, and only hit Crusch." Alchemis explained, and I silently nodded.

I see. I turned back to Crusch, and gave her a smile. "Well, we might've not been insanely good friends, but we can start over to be better, right?"

Crusch hesitated, but she took my hand and shook it. "Thank you, Y/N, for being by my side."

Authority(ies):

Authority of Deceit (Commonly known as Authority of Elements):

-Vacuum Trigger: An innate ability stored within the tesseract-shaped Deceit Witch Factor, allowing the user to spring themselves from unconsciousness when the mana fluctuations around them changes drastically, as a built-in self-defence mechanism of the body.

-Critical Overload: A mysterious ability that protects the user of the Deceit Witch Factor, causing them to unlock their true potential while their actions are coordinated by ?, helping them avoid certain death. This ability only triggers when the user is about to die and has a 15 minute cooldown.

- Haywire Warp: A variation of Critical Overload that allows the user to warp the attack that will kill them, creating a tear in space-time to absorb the attack. Meanwhile, the abilities of the elements are unleashed and they will defy the chemical laws before the user decides to cancel their existence.

-Decagenso Rupture: A variation of Critical Overload that allows the user to combine ten elements into one attack, fusing them into a substance unable to be defined by chemical laws. Then, the substance explodes from the inside to spread parts of itself into the opponent's body, replacing their atoms with the substance itself.

-Pure Truth: Y/N's knowledge of the future. Although he claims that he can only know up to a certain amount, it is only a cover-up to avoid suspicion. This ability also allows him to lie without being detected (e.g. Crusch's divine protection), as long as it is part of his knowledge of this world's future.

-Veritas Oneiro Chunyu: The 'Truth Dream Injection'. A sub-ability of Pure Truth that allows the user to show others fragments of Pure Truth to get a better understanding of a situation or past. This ability cannot show the future.

-'Suitoru': A magic spell that allows the user to absorb a certain ? of the enemy, making it their own and can be stored for later usage.

-Partial Authority Immunity: Y/N is fully immune to some authorities, while some still have a diminished effect on him.

-Scindo: The ability to split the Deceit Witch Factor into pieces to implant them in others, but the pieces can only be taken back a year later. Current Percentages: Y/N L/N: 99.997%, Crusch Karsten: 0.003%

Authority of Sloth:

-? ?

Elemental Masteries:

Hydrogen Mastery: Stage 2, 150/5000 complete. (Spells: Hydrogen Gas Formation, Hydrogen Gas Wall, Hydrogen Gas Mist)

Helium Mastery: Stage 2, 90/5000 complete. (Spells: Helium Gas Formation, Helium Hydride Acid Creation)

Lithium Mastery: Stage 1, 1895/2000 complete. (Spells: Lithium Hydride Solid Formation, Lithium Pellet Bullets)

Beryllium Mastery: Stage 1, 1925/2000 complete. (Spells: Beryllium Solid Creation, Beryllium Mirror)

Boron Mastery: Stage 1, 1550/2000 complete. (Spells: Boron Metalloid Creation, Boric Acid Creation)

Carbon Mastery: Stage 1, 1745/2000 complete. (Spells: Carbon Creation, Coal Creation, Diamond Creation and Manufacturing, Adamas Wave)

Nitrogen Mastery: Stage 1, 575/2000 complete. (Spells: Ammonia Creation, Ammonium Creation, Nitric Acid Creation)

Oxygen Mastery: Stage 1, 755/2000 complete. (Spells: Oxygen Gas Creation, Ozone Creation, Oxide Creation, Water Creation)

Fluorine Mastery: Stage 0, 750/1000 complete. (Spells: Hydrofluoric Acid Formation, Fluorine Gas Creation, ?)

Neon Mastery: Stage 0, 660/1000 complete. (Spells: Neon Gas Formation, ?, ?)

Spirits: Alchemis- fire spirit (Elder Spirit, turquoise), Cahya- yang spirit (Great Spirit, fairy)

Magic Spells:

Goa- shoots a small ball of fire from the tip of the user's index finger when imbued with mana.

El Goa- manifests three fireballs around the user, and shoots them towards the opponent at high speeds.

Ul Goa- The user fires a large amount of powerful fire bullets. A powerful flame scatters when the bullets land.

Al Goa- The user lets loose a massive fireball, scorching away everything in its path. The bigger the caster's skill, the fireball hotter and bigger the fireball.

Ol Goa-the user concentrates by making a giant fireball, before compressing it to insane densities, and shoots out the beam of fire from their palms

Il Goa- Al Goa, but the user applies a homing technique to the spell itself

Al Huma- The user creates a sharp ten meter long spear of ice.

Absolute Zero- The user creates a vacuum in an area, by freezing the atmosphere to an absurd degree. By doing so, even time will freeze inside of that vacuum and no one is capable of escaping it unharmed.

Akra- A yang magic spell that allows users to enhance their physical abilities as well as sharpen their senses.

El Akra- A yang magic spell that allows the user to move extremely fast, almost becoming one with wind as they fill the user with mana in their nerves, muscles, bones, and veins. This technique is able to match Felt's Divine Protection of Wind

?-?

Jiwald- fires heat rays from the user's fingers.

El Jiwald- The user fires several rays from their fingers which are then brought down in a claw-like motion.

Kilat- The user gathers lightning on their fist/ weapon, and slams it down at the opponent, creating a giant electric arc to shock and paralyze enemies.

?-?