The First Trial began with "The Sorceress and the Sage." Now, it ends with "The Sage."
…Kind of. This thing is over 23K words, so I'm splitting them into two parts. The next one will be uploaded tomorrow.
As always, special thanks to my wife for editing this story.
The Sage, Part 1
The moment that Satella's eyes were covered by the shadows, the Sage fell to his knees and wept.
He cried for Satella and her awful fate. He cried for Daphne, for Shaula, for Minerva, and all the others whom he had wronged.
He didn't cry for himself. That would imply that he was deserving of pity, yet he had earned all of his pain.
But them? None of them did.
His tears fell down the seal of shadows, and with it, all that he was. His love, his desperation, his anger, his will…With every drop, he felt more and more empty. Eventually, he wondered if there would be anything left to him aside from his name.
Yet at that moment, the Sage didn't even know what that name was.
The sounds were there in his memory, obviously. Flugel. Subaru. They had both applied to him at some point.
Flugel was an alias denoting a new lease on life. Satella called him Subaru because that's who he had been at heart.
Subaru was a loving father. Flugel killed his daughter. Surely, he could only be identified with the latter.
Despite that, both Subaru and Flugel had put saving Satella above everything else. All other promises were insignificant to that one. "Subaru" was the one who had made that promise in the first place.
Above all, Satella's last words were, "I love you, Subaru."
Not Flugel.
Others may still use that name, but he'd be damned if he spat on her love by calling himself anything but "Subaru."
He knew that he was crazy, what with his various conflicting epiphanies and resolutions, but at that moment, he didn't care. He wasn't sure that he cared about much of anything, really. He just felt so…drained.
With a grimace, he looked upon the stone construct that was his wife. It was perfectly molded to her posture in her last moments—even her tears were clearly visible.
It was just like Subaru to make her cry.
With a heavy heart, he lifted Satella up and carried her over his shoulder, using his dead arm to support her weight. He brought them deep underground, forming a tunnel as he did so. He could feel Envy trying to break out, but that horrible presence was reeled in every time.
"I'm so proud of you," he told the statue. His voice remained even, but the words were genuine. "You've got this, Ella. You're incredible."
Envy wasn't able to go very far after that.
Deep underneath the Watchtower, he set down the dark stone and crafted seal upon seal—ones that only he could open.
The seals were simple yet effective. It required all of the Authorities, but they needed to be in one place: specifically, in one soul. As he was now, even he wouldn't be able to enter it.
As he placed the final seal, he took one last look upon her immobile form. His eyes trailed over the lips that he had kissed mere moments prior and the arms that he had just felt wrapped around him.
That was the last time that he ever saw her.
He placed the final seal, trapping her in a shrine dedicated to the one whom he loved most.
Satella was well and truly locked away.
…And that was when he felt it. The Od Laguna was thrown into disarray.
Subaru wanted to scream.
Red flashed across his vision. He needed a reprieve, not another battle! A damn break was required after all that, wasn't it? He wasn't supposed to be instantly sent to face his next he hadn't earned a break, had he?
His skin, sensitive as it was to the mana in the air, felt like it was on fire. He tried to teleport to the Taygeta Library, but he was out of mana—what little that had been granted to him by Volcanica's Restoration Breath was all used up when he crafted the seals.
So, he ran. He dashed through the newly crafted corridors beneath the sand, desperate to reach the Od Laguna, or he risked unleashing a monster worse than Envy.
Years prior, when Satella's soul had split, the Od Laguna tried to offset this imbalance by granting a great portion of its power to a random person: Reid Astrea. Reid may be a jerk, but he was a saint compared to who he once was. The Heavenly Sword had been a calamity in his own right, though he had abruptly stopped killing everything in sight.
Looking back on it, that was likely Trisha's doing.
Subaru burst through the sand, panting as he tried to reach the Watchtower. An earthquake threatened to throw him off-balance, but it wasn't the Od Laguna, whose tremors were more spiritual.
Volcanica had come, carrying Reid and Shaula.
Subaru raised his face to the sky and shouted, "Top floor! Get to the top floor! I'll meet you there!"
Reid raised his chopsticks in the air with his remaining arm, signaling that he had heard.
Subaru forced open the door of the Tower and ran up the stairs, but an ethereal wind buffeted him. Stairs turned to slopes, as his legs felt like iron.
"Oh, come on!" he yelled, knowing that the Od Laguna would hear him. "I get that this is my fault, but I'm trying to help you over here!"
The stairs stopped turning to slopes, but his body felt even heavier.
"You're a petty asshole, you know that?! I'm dealing with a lot of shit, so the least you could do is go easy on me!"
If the Od Laguna was going to strike him down for that, then at least he was able to die an honest man.
He burst into the library, intent on grabbing his own Book of the Dead…but he found a stone-faced Reid, instead.
Reid's right arm was sliced clean off, all the way up to his shoulder. It was completely cauterized—likely Volcanica's doing—so there was no risk of dying from blood loss, but this was his arm.
Reid Astrea, whose entire identity relied on his own strength, was crippled, yet there he was, standing on his own two feet.
Subaru's chest heaved from the exertion of running. "Reid, are you—"
Reid gave a dismissive flick with his left hand. "Save it, ya cunt. No use bitchin' an' moanin' 'bout it. I can still kick yer ass jus' fine."
Subaru caught his breath and stood up straight. "There's still time. I can make another one."
"Yeah? With wha' energy? Ya look like death, ya twat."
"I meant later, asshole." He changed the subject. "Didn't I tell you to go to the roof?"
"An' I went there," Reid said, scowling, "but then I realized yer 'bout t'fight some shit, aren't ya?"
"Not fight, exactly…"
"Well, whatever it is, ya were gonna do it alone. Fuckin' hell, 'aven't we been over this? Yer fuckin' 'opeless by yerself, so lemme help, aight?"
Subaru's jaw opened and closed a few times, but he couldn't form a response. He ended up giving a sharp nod and asking, "Where's Shaula?"
"Yer brat's lookin' fer yer bird. I'll take a wild fuckin' guess an' say tha' she won't find anythin'."
The words hit Subaru as hard as they would any other day, but it was muted—like hearing his name called underwater.
He gulped and pushed it to the side for the moment. "The Od Laguna's panicking. It's making everything go haywire. Are you sure you'll be okay without…you know."
If Reid couldn't swing his weapon, he couldn't Concept Cut, meaning he couldn't handle what was thrown at him.
Or so Subaru thought.
Reid performed a little flourish with his chopsticks with his left hand even more smoothly than with his right. "Hey, ya wanna know a little secret? I'm a fuckin' lefty. All th'little fishes're jus' so pathetic, so I gotta give me some challenge, y'know?"
"I…I don't know what to say to that."
"How 'bout, 'I, a massive prick, do declare tha' I'm a fuckin' weaklin' compared to the strong, sexy Reid Astrea.'"
"That's way too high an opinion of yourself!" Subaru shook his head to clear it. "You know what? No. Now's not the time. I'm going into the Corridor of Memories to try and mitigate any damage. I don't know what exactly your job would be if you came along."
"I'll keep yer sorry ass alive. Trisha'd be…I'd be pissed if ya don't come back."
Subaru managed to nod past the lump in his throat. Without another word, he found his Book of the Dead and entered the Corridor of Memories with Reid.
The moment that they appeared, a marble pillar almost fell on Subaru. He moved to dodge it, but Reid had already slashed through it with wooden chopsticks. Reid gave Subaru a look that basically said, "I told you that you're hopeless without me."
Subaru would have argued, but they didn't have the time. He made his way through the shaking halls, idly maneuvering around the falling pillars, letting Reid slice them for sport. "It didn't do this before," Subaru said. "Get all distraught, that is, back when…when she was given her Witch Factor."
Now, he even had trouble saying Satella's name. Disgusting.
He shoved his thoughts to the side and continued. "I guess it's because it could still…I don't know, see her? Can it not do that now?"
That would make sense; after all, Satella was sealed with yin magic. The Od Laguna likely viewed her as dead or lost.
"Whatever it is, sealing her has made it do…this."
Whether it was a temper tantrum or some kind of PTSD, he wasn't sure.
In the Royal Capital, the Witch of Envy had brought Hell to them, bathing the land in shadows. This, however, felt more like a library where all the books kept falling off of the shelves, and they were here to pick them up.
It was insane. Ridiculous. Stupid. He had just lost his wife, yet here he was, babysitting a supernatural entity. Wasn't he allowed a moment to grieve? Sleep off his wounds? Cry for longer than three seconds? His wife was gone, yet he was immediately thrust into his next task.
He just wanted to rest in Satella's arms, but he couldn't see her unless he died.
Yes, he may have planned to die for quite some time, but the last month had been full of so many changes and emotional revelations. Now, knowing that Shaula anxiously awaited him at the top of the Tower tethered him to life a lot more than it would have before all of this started.
She was all that he had left.
Would she be enough? He didn't know. He certainly liked to think that she would be.
Shaula was everything to him, but so were Daphne and Satella. He had sacrificed one to save the other. What if he had learned nothing from that? Would he do it again?
Would he abandon Shaula to save Satella?
He couldn't think of that right now. He shoved his right arm out to the side, signaling for Reid to stop. "This is your last chance to turn back," he said. "I'll be fine, really—the Od Laguna just needs a little guidance. But what lies ahead is something that I'm not sure you can handle."
Reid rolled his eyes. "Will ya stop bein' so fuckin' dramatic? I got my weapons, don't I?"
"Not if you go here, you won't. There's nothing physical."
Subaru could see the cogs turning. At length, Reid slowly asked, "I won't…have my sword?"
"You will not."
"Whatta 'bout my chopsticks?"
"Not those, your fists, or anything."
"…Well, then I gotta be there, or yer fucked, kid."
Once again, Subaru wondered if he had misjudged Reid or if the swordsman had grown since they met.
Without hesitation, they took a single step forward and moved to a higher plane of existence.
Subaru didn't speak. He couldn't. This wasn't like when he communicated with a projection of the Original Spirit in the Corridor. This was the core of its being, where words and sounds did not exist. And yet, he found himself "talking" to the Od Laguna.
"Satella's alive," he said formally. Now that he was here, there was no point in getting angry at the chaotic being. "You can't see her through her seal, but she's there. She's safe. She's close by."
The trembling decreased, but only slightly.
"You said that I can save her in another life. I'll do that. It was wrong to ignore your advice earlier."
…Damn, he was told that today? Things really hadn't processed yet.
One thing he did know was that it was pretty stupid to try saving her the way that he did. Hell, for years, he kept throwing everything that he had at her, ignoring all evidence that it wasn't going to work.
He then spat in the face of an impartial entity. What Sagely behavior.
He closed eyes that he no longer had. "I won't be long. As soon as I leave, I'll be setting things up in a way that should pull me to the Tower—and by extension, my Book—pretty fast. Satella will come back, and soon."
As the tremors slowed, he felt Reid come up next to him. They didn't speak, not really, but it could be interpreted as a conversation.
"That's all?" Reid asked, flabbergasted.
"Guess so. It just wanted to make sure that she was still there."
"Fuckin' ridiculous. Why th'hell's it so obsessed with yer bird, anyway?"
"Because it decided that my wife is the one that it loves most."
"Why? 'Cause she's hot?"
Subaru would have slapped Reid if he could. Instead, he gave the spiritual equivalent of a sigh. "Honestly? I don't know. It seems to make these decisions randomly, but there has to be some deciding factor. Why else would it be obsessed with keeping her safe?"
It felt strange to talk about Satella so casually, especially after everything that had just happened, but Subaru couldn't find the energy to care. He just moved from place to place, letting things happen to him.
Looking back on it, he was kind of like a hippie crossed with a Buddhist monk. "Go with the flow. Find the path of peace."
Then again, he wasn't a pacifist. Perhaps he was just sociopathic. That, or simply numb to it all, if he was being overly kind to himself. Who else had thoughts like these after fighting their wife to the death?
A presence moved closer to him—the Od Laguna itself. As the sheer power threatened to disintegrate his very soul, Subaru was forcibly reminded of a story about a prophet who died by "a kiss from God."
He didn't know if the reality was better or worse.
For the briefest of moments, the Sage and the Od Laguna became one.
The trembles ceased. The sense of unpredictability and randomness ended.
For a single instant, Subaru saw all that was and ever will be…and he felt at home.
Before he could truly grasp any concrete knowledge, he was forcibly ejected from the Corridor of Memories. He was knocked against a bookshelf in the real world, dazed and confused.
Once he managed to sort through some of the vague images, his head cleared enough for him to think, 'What the hell was that?!'
But he didn't really care to figure it out, as he was focused on one image. He somehow knew it to be from his future—at least, that of his next self—and it filled him with hope.
The vision was of Satella.
She was in his arms, smiling and crying tears of joy…wearing her ring on her finger.
It was her. Actually her. Not some vessel bearing only half of her soul nor a Witch. That was his Satella, somehow still in love with him despite everything that he had done.
When he had repeatedly said that he would save her, he knew that he had meant it, but to receive real, prophetic proof of it…
Was he really allowed to feel this happy?
He was taken out of his thoughts by Reid, who had been knocked against a bookshelf on the other side of the room. The swordsman seemed even more dazed, though it was likely from a lack of experience traveling between planes rather than being touched by the Od Laguna itself.
Just to make sure, Subaru called out, "You all right?"
Reid rolled his shoulders, skillfully hiding a grimace at his missing arm. "'m fine," he grunted. "Jus' a little dizzy, is all."
"That tends to happen the first few times."
"Then I'm glad this's th'last one." He looked like he would say more, but he was distracted by a Book of the Dead that had fallen off of the shelf. He narrowed his eyes at it and picked it up.
Subaru quickly made his way over and ripped the Book out of Reid's arms. "Don't touch that," he scolded. "If you read this, it'll mess with your mind. You might even end up thinking that you're…you're…Huh."
Reid folded his arms. "Mind tellin' me why ya wrote a biography on me? Are ya some kinda stalker? I don't swin' tha' way, ya prick."
Subaru ignored Reid's jab. He frowned at the Book that should not exist. On the spine, in clear, bold print, was a name that they both knew all too well.
Reid Astrea
"This doesn't make sense," Subaru murmured.
"Damn right, it doesn't."
"Will you shut up for a moment? This is a Book of the Dead. It shouldn't exist, unless—"
Reid elbowed Subaru in the gut. Or, at least, he tried to. "I'm not dead, fuckwad."
"I know," Subaru mumbled, not looking away from the Book. His eyes lost their focus, as he latched onto another image. His voice became monotone, as his message was no longer exclusively his alone. "It's an imprint. Your younger self. Less strong. Less wise. A force of nature, nonetheless."
Reid took a step back. "H-hey, ya all good? You, ah, looked kinda weird fer a sec."
Subaru kept going, only semi-aware of Reid's presence. "They shall come to take the Watchtower, so the Trials they must face. You must not miss a step, yet you shall. Your vices shall be your undoing. Your spirit shall die another death at the hands of those who would devour you. You shall persist, only to be defeated by a knight impeccable."
Subaru blinked, as his eyesight cleared. "Sorry, what was I saying? Oh, yeah. You're not dead, obviously."
Reid gaped. "Wh-wha' the—"
"Yet you've still got a Book of your own." Subaru placed a hand on his chin in thought. "Must be something with leaving the Corridor. I had to create my own Book to get in, but maybe it views going in there as dying? I don't know, really. Years of observation, and the Od Laguna is still a mystery."
Reid punched Subaru in the shoulder—hard enough to grab his attention but not to hurt overtly so. "Can ya stop ramblin' 'bout a fuckin' book an' tell me wha' th'hell tha' was?"
Subaru blinked. "What was what?"
"Tha'…tha' thin' ya did, where ya go all blank."
"I don't know what you're talking about. I care even less than I did ten minutes ago."
Without really thinking about it, he pried the Book out of Reid's hands and put it in his cloak, mumbling about how it'll be useful. He turned around and headed up the stairs to the next floor with Reid following behind.
Reid fiddled with his chopsticks. "Don't get th'wron' idea or anythin', but, uh, how ya holdin' up?"
Subaru abruptly stopped and looked at Reid over his shoulder. He didn't say anything.
Reid cleared his throat. "Right, right. Forgive me fer tryin' t'be a decent human."
"But you're not a decent human. You're Reid."
"Ah, fuck off."
They made it to the roof and spotted Volcanica, who was staring down and to the side. Subaru realized that it was looking directly at Satella's seal.
Without turning its head, it said, "The Calamity…is merely postponed."
"I'm aware," Subaru said. "Don't worry. With the right planning, I can heal Satella and eliminate the Witch of Envy."
Reid scoffed. "Yer still goin' on 'bout tha'? Yer firs' try only killed one cunt, but then ya killed yer own kid, an' then ya caused a genocide. Th'fuck is even left fer ya t'sacrifice?"
The harsh reality was almost enough to sap Subaru's motivation.
Almost.
He closed his eyes and let that same, wondrous image of him and Satella embracing fill his mind. The tears on her face were joyful. No fires or shadows surrounded them. A true happy ending for both them and the world.
He didn't really care to explain that to Reid. The swordsman would likely just dismiss it, and rightfully so—Reid had no reason to believe that the next time would be any different, let alone better.
So, Subaru ignored the jab and asked Reid, "Do you want me to take you back home now? There's no more fights. No more drama."
"…Ya want me t'leave? Jus' like tha'?"
Volcanica lifted its head a bit, speaking slowly. "Reid Astrea. Nothing remains for thee on these hallowed grounds."
Reid clenched his remaining fist. "Wha', 's tha' it? We slap around a few Witches, an' then yer all like, 'time t'go, see ya never!'"
Subaru's lips curved upwards the slightest bit. "Reid, are you…going to miss us?"
"Fuck, no! I'm jus' sayin' tha' I los' my arm fer you dickweeds, an' I don't even get a 'thanks, we couldn't 'ave done it without ya because we're weak fucks!'"
"Thanks, we couldn't have done it without you because we're weak fucks."
"Bah!"
Volcanica let out a puff of hot air, which Reid quickly batted aside. "The might of the Calamity hath fallen to the Sage…but the contribution of Reid Astrea shall not be discounted."
"More than a 'contribution,' ya scaly bastard!"
Subaru bowed his head, letting sincerity flow through his voice. "Millions more would be dead without you, Reid. Myself included. Something tells me that history will know you as the greatest swordsman to have ever lived…even though you're a total prick."
"Was tha' last part needed?!"
Subaru waved a hand dismissively, imitating Reid. "I'll bring you back soon," he said. "Let me just go find Shaula."
"Sage…wilt thou tell her the truth?"
Subaru turned to face Volcanica with a grim expression. "I will," he said solemnly. "I just don't know if she'll listen."
He walked away from them, already dreading the upcoming conversation.
He made a show of checking Shaula's room, his own room, the dining room, and any other place that made up the residential floor, but he knew where she was.
It was a bedroom, but there was no bed or furniture. If it weren't for him removing all traces of what had happened, one might think that it had never been occupied.
But it had, and Shaula knew it.
She stood in the center of the room, gazing down at one specific spot. Her ever-present, cheerful smile was nowhere to be found, as her eyes filled with tears. Not the playful or happy kind that he adored, but ones that he had promised she would never shed so long as he had anything to say about it.
As Shaula broke down in Daphne's room, staring down at the spot where her beloved mother had last drawn breath, Subaru realized that he had broken yet another one of his promises.
He took a cautious step forward, but her words stopped him from getting any closer.
"Where's Mother?"
Her lips had barely moved. Hardly any air passed through her lungs. She gazed down at a single drop of Daphne's blood, as her world slowly fell apart.
Slowly, her head turned to face Subaru, but their eyes didn't meet. With a wavering voice, she once again asked a question that he dreaded answering.
"Master…where's Mother?"
Millions had died in the Great Calamity. That was a fact.
They were fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, friends, rivals, neighbors, leaders, and more.
A closed fist had snuffed out their lives in an instant.
That was a fact.
They may not have been important to Subaru on a personal level, but they were important to someone. He felt that pain. He had lost people, too. There was no need to list them. He felt the gaping holes in his heart whether he named them one-by-one or not.
His own core family, ripped away by his arrogance, had dwindled from four to two. Subaru and Shaula were the only ones that remained.
Shaula, whom he always counted on to smile. Shaula, who saw the silver lining in the thickest of storms and fog.
Shaula was crying, and it was all his fault.
That was a fact.
"Sh-she's fine, right? M-Mother is just…out eating! Y-yeah! She'll be home soon, yup!"
With a wavering smile, Shaula stood up straight with her hands clasped behind her back. Her tears, however, did not stop falling.
"Y-you know, you're being awfully quiet, Master, hah, hah…C-can you say something? You've seen Mother, right? I kinda sorta thought that she'd be in the Tower, but she wasn't, so I thought that she already left, which was kinda weird, but not really? She does that stuff, yup!
"But then, I saw…W-well, that wasn't her! She wouldn't try to hurt me, nope! She's too soft, yup!"
Subaru felt like his lungs were going to collapse. "Shaula…"
"Th-things have been really weird lately, haven't they? I'm not imagining that, right? We fought together, which was super cool, but it was against…And Master got hurt…And Mother is missing…And, um, Minerva hasn't come by either, has she? What about that other kid? You know, green hair, talks about sinners? That one? She hasn't…And Master's been acting pretty sketchy recently, You're, um, more unstable than normal. I've been worried, but I thought, 'it's Master, so everything's fine, yup!'"
Amidst her ramblings, Subaru had slid his back down a wall, curling in on himself. Her words assaulted him in ways that Reid's had not—in ways that even his own sight had not. Something about Shaula, of all people, piecing things together…
He wondered if the Witch was crushing his heart.
Shaula looked down once more. "B-but that…that smells like Mother's b-blood. Why is—why would she—was she hungry? Did she take a bite out of herself? Haha, that's s-so funny! Master's crying 'cause it's funny, y-yup! Mother's a hungry girl! Haha, so funny!"
Subaru slowly shook his head. "Shaula, please, listen to me."
She stopped speaking. Her arms hung loosely by her sides.
He told her the truth.
"Daphne's dead."
No fanfare or dramatic flair. No going back. No way to return Shaula's innocence.
"You're lying!"
The reaction was expected, but his heart wasn't prepared.
"Mother promised to never leave me, so she wouldn't! You're lying to me!"
"I wish I was," he said flatly. His eyes didn't leave the floor. "She died right here, in my arms."
"Stop! Stop lying! Mother is super strong! She can't just be g-gone! She promised!"
"In her final moments, her only request was to make sure that you were taken care of."
"Shut up!"
He jolted, having never heard Shaula sound so angry.
"Master isn't funny, nope! Th-this is mean! Y-you're making me angry, yup! Mother wouldn't just die! The…the Other one wouldn't hurt me! Nothing makes sense! You don't make sense! Tell me where they are! Where's Mother?! Where is she?!"
With every word, his eyes grew emptier. Every breath she took leeched more and more life out of him.
If he were a shell of a man before, he was now nothing more than a walking corpse.
"I killed her," he said abruptly, cutting off Shaula's tirade. He barely noticed how she paled. "I killed Daphne. I took a dagger and stabbed her in the heart. She's buried right outside. We've been there. You thought it was a drawing, but it was a tombstone. That's her. That's her corpse. She's gone forever."
Short. Clipped. Succinct. Factual. Humans didn't speak like that, did they?
"…Liar."
Shaula's cold, whispered words brought him out of his reverie. He slowly looked up, noting how the crimson dots in her pupils seemed to glow and pulsate with her heightened heart rate.
"I'm not lying," he said.
"Yes, you are," she stressed. "You promised to never lie to me, but you're lying! Does that mean you hate me? You do! You hate me!"
She may as well have run him over with a truck. "What are you—"
"You hate me! You hate me!"
"That's not true! I love you! You mean everything to me!"
"Then stop lying!"
"I'm not lying!"
She wrapped her arms around herself, shielding herself from the reality that he was forcing on her.
He couldn't bear to look at her like that. "I know that this is hard to understand, but I'm not lying…and I do love you, Shaula. I really do."
His shoulders tensed. The words kept spilling out. "I would understand if you never wanted to see me again, but at least let me make sure you're all set. You're…you're all that I have left, Shaula. Please, let me just make sure that you're taken care of. That's what Daphne would have—what she did want."
To his utter shock, she gave a choked laugh. "Only Master could be so overdramatic, even if he is a big, fat liar."
"I'm not lying," he repeated forcefully.
She put on a smile, straining her cheeks. "Just a liar, yup! I'll get you to tell me where Mother is, yup! And then we'll find the real, um, Other lady, and there will be lots of hugs to go around!"
For the umpteenth time that day, Subaru felt like crying, but he managed to hang on by a thread. He wasn't keen on letting her live a fantasy—especially with what had happened to Satella after it had crumbled around her—but he couldn't force someone to accept the truth. Shaula was like a student refusing to read their textbook—you can put the book in front of her, move her head along the pages, and even read it aloud, but you can't force her mind to accept the information.
She really was just a child, wasn't she? A child who had just lost two of the people that were closest to her and was slowly becoming disillusioned with the third. It was only natural that she would be in denial.
A voice whispered to his soul, surprising him. It had been utterly silent since she had joined him.
"You're right, Minerva," he mumbled in response. "She'll accept the truth in time."
Shaula looked at him curiously. "Master? Who are you talking to?"
"Myself, kind of."
"But only senile, old guys talk to themselves!"
"I'm not—actually, how old am I?"
Maybe he was twenty-five? Twenty-eight? Even after a few years, counting such things simply weren't important to the nearly ageless.
He dusted himself off and stood up, feeling drained, as expected. He wondered how much could be attributed to mana exhaustion versus emotional weariness. Perhaps it would go away in his next life.
…His next life. Had he made his decision?
He saw the tear tracks marring Shaula's face. 'That's it, then. It's no longer a question.'
Now or later, he didn't know for sure, but there was certainly no point in going on when he had failed even Shaula.
Subaru sighed. "I'll be gone for a while." At Shaula's inevitable pout, he clarified, "Not for too long, of course. It's just…if I go, then I can still save Satella."
Shaula perked up with a smug smile on her face. "Hah! I knew that they were fine, yup! Master shouldn't play such mean pranks, nope!"
He frowned. "I said 'Satella,' not Daphne. I never lied to you."
"Nuh-uh! I'll get it outta you yet! I gotta say, this is the worst game of hide-and-seek, yup!"
Subaru hated to admit it, but he was getting frustrated. He ran a hand through his hair. "I have to go," he said, already inching towards the door. "I need to take Reid back home. Check out the survivors from Envy's attack. Bring Geuse here, maybe."
"Oooh, I wanna see Geuse! But what about that massive cynic? Are we gonna get rid of him?"
It was a good question. What should he do about Volcanica? It was a veritable god, worshipped by millions. Its power level was, quite frankly, absurd.
It had also lost its mind.
It followed his instructions like a dog would commands. It repeated phrases endlessly. Its moments of lucidity were few and far between. Its loyalty to Subaru and Satella was its driving force now that the Witches were all gone.
"Maybe it should stick around," Subaru suggested. "There are some real crazy people out in the world, so I wouldn't be surprised if someone started a doomsday cult that worshipped the Witch of Envy. We need someone to protect the shrine while I'm away."
The full name of the Tower was the Pleiades Watchtower. It was originally intended to mean watching the stars, but its meaning would soon be much bleaker.
"I'll be setting up Trials," he said. "I already have plans to give myself back the Witch Factors, but there's no guarantee that will be enough. Things can fail, but I really need to be the only one that can make it through."
Reid's Book of the Dead weighed heavily in his cloak. At some level, he had already been planning this even as he was sealing Satella, hadn't he?
It dawned on him that it had only been a few hours, yet he keenly felt her loss. For most of his life in Lugunica, Satella had been a near-constant presence. He may have neglected her towards the end, but it was all in the hope that they would have more time to spend with each other in the future. Even when she had become the Witch of Envy, he at least appreciated being around her.
Now, she was a short walk away, yet he had never felt so distant.
He shook his head to clear it. "The Watchtower," he reminded himself. "Right. Keep that safe. Volcanica will get the Tower's perimeter. The spirit of Reid will protect the inside, blocking off access to the Od Laguna."
But what would protect the desert?
There was Sand Time, yes. It was an excellent natural defense—a swarm of miasma so powerful, even those not sensitive to it would feel sick to their stomachs. In all likelihood, it was caused by a mix of Lugunican geographic quirks, proximity to a portal to the Od Laguna, Daphne's mabeasts, and now, possible leakage from the Witch of Envy's seal.
The more he thought about it, the more the idea of taking advantage of Sand Time appealed to him. Even those who could teleport couldn't breach it, as you needed to know what a place looked like in order to travel accurately, and the Watchtower wasn't exactly a tourist attraction.
This solution wasn't perfect, however. There were breaks in Sand Time—pauses where once could pass through, unimpeded by the cursed storm. Instead, they were accosted by a horde of ravenous mabeasts. Only someone like Daphne or the second coming of the mythical Mother of Mabeasts could get through that, and something—perhaps his newfound connection to the Od Laguna—told him that the latter wouldn't be around for a long, long time.
"I should be back by then, but, if worse comes to worse, and the Mother of Mabeasts is reincarnated before Ella is able to bring me back…"
Part of him—the same part that held such powerful emotion towards Pandora and perhaps even the one that hated Trisha—said that the Mother of Mabeasts was a good kid. She wouldn't want to bring about a Calamity.
Subaru had long ago accepted that those inexplicable feelings were utter bullshit.
In so many ways, it hurt to say, but he managed to give Shaula an order. "Wait for me. In the Tower."
Shaula frowned. "Wait for Master? For, like, a few minutes, right?"
"More like a few months."
"…Oh."
Shaula clasped her hands behind her back, but she didn't rock on her ankles. Her frown disappeared, but she didn't smile. From her face alone, her emotions were indecipherable, but Subaru knew her well enough to know what she was thinking.
After a prolonged, uncomfortable silence, she said, "I've never been alone for that long before."
His heart plummeted. Against his better judgment, he said, "If it takes me more than a year to come back, you can leave."
She shook her head. "I'd wait a million years if I had to."
He may have been expressionless, but the resolve in her voice affected him on a fundamental level. He wondered if she'd feel the same way if she accepted that he had killed Daphne.
He sighed. "Don't wait that long, seriously. But until then, don't let anyone cross the desert unless it's me."
She brightened a bit. "Hell's Snipe?"
"You know it."
The corners of her lips twitched upwards. He considered that a win. She seemed to recognize that, growing happier as a result. "I can do that, yup! Sniper Shaula go pew pew, pow pow! No one's gonna get past me, nope!"
He didn't understand why that, of all things, made him choke up. Maybe it was her cheer in the face of adversity. This wasn't just her ignoring reality—it was simply who she was.
"…Damn it, Shaula. You're gonna make me cry again."
"That's 'cause Master's a big baby, yup!"
"I thought that I was 'old as dirt.'"
"Same thing."
"They're kinda not?"
Shaula giggled, making everything just a little bit better. Not for the first time, he wondered if there was something actually magical about seeing her happy. How else could it make a dead man smile?
"I'll be back soon," he said. "This isn't the whole 'gone for a few months' thing. As I said, I just have a few errands to run."
She grinned. "In other words, you're bringing back Mother, yup!"
He pursed his lips. "Goodbye, Shaula. I'll see you in a bit."
He turned away, not seeing how her entire demeanor shifted. Her joyous, innocent expression faded into one of dejection. Half-closed eyes looked listlessly at the red staining the otherwise pristine floor.
'Objectively, it's not the most extravagant house,' Subaru thought, standing outside of Reid's home, 'but there's something charming about it.'
Subaru wondered if he might have turned out differently had he lived somewhere like this instead of either the streets or a mansion.
"Or maybe it was growing up alone. Who knows?"
"I sure as hell don't." Reid cast an annoyed glance at Subaru, who had almost forgotten that he had company. "A conversation's supposed t'be with at least two twats, ain't it?"
"I am talking to another person," Subaru responded patiently. "You just can't see her."
"…Right. Well, you do you, I guess."
They made their way inside. Subaru hung back as Reid went to check on Trisha. Judging by the whispers that he heard—something about his missing arm and if he was okay—it seemed that she was awake, albeit drained. They weren't screaming at each other, which was good, even though Reid had absolutely deserved it when they had come by the day before.
Come to think of it, Subaru had been left outside last time, hadn't he? It was incredible how much trust had been built in only one day. It was just like Reid to bond via a battle, wasn't it? Considering how often he had talked about Trisha's strength, that was probably how the two had gotten together.
Most couples that fight nonstop are considered toxic. Reid and Trisha were no different. Even so, to a degree, Subaru could understand their relationship. They were basically sparring partners with some…extra permissions.
He heard Carmilla say something about how they shouldn't fight at all. Minerva retorted by declaring that it was completely understandable, as the world was full of destruction, and it was only natural that people would take it out on each other with their fists.
"I mean, I guess," Subaru said. "Still doesn't feel healthy."
Sekhmet sighed and drily pointed out that he had just fought his wife to the death. He bristled and said that he had fought Envy, not Satella. Echidna didn't seem to think that there was a difference. Subaru agreed to disagree.
He knocked on the bedroom door, asking to come in. At Trisha's weary "enter," he creaked the door open, peeking his head in. She was sitting up in bed, pale, shaking, and sweaty but otherwise okay.
"You look like shit," Subaru deadpanned.
"You look like the dying embers of a dumpster fire," she shot back.
Reid scoffed, as he helped Trisha sit up in bed. "Th'bastard jus' can't tell how hot ya are, Trisha."
"Shut up, Reid."
"Fuck off, asshole."
Subaru said the former. Trisha said the latter.
Trisha's hair, stringy and messy from her restless sleep, fell in front of her face. She brushed it to the side and glared at Subaru. "Did you need something, or are you just here to insult me?"
He paused. "I'm here because I want to know why I hate you."
She flipped her hair back and put on a haughty expression. "It's because you're jealous of my strength, obviously."
"Do you actually think that, or are you just putting on airs to avoid the question?"
She stiffened. He wasn't sure that he liked being right.
"Here's a better question," he said. "Do you hate me, or are you trying to avoid an uncomfortable truth?"
She shifted, gripping the sheets tighter. Reid moved to place a hand on her back but quickly put it down.
"You're the Oni God," Subaru stated. "It has to do with that, doesn't it?"
"…It does," she said at length. "You…you really don't remember it, do you? Any of it?"
He frowned. "Of course, I do. I saw you beat the shit out of Envy."
"Not that," she said. Her face fell, giving off a semblance of vulnerability. "I meant back then."
Reid reached out and gripped her hand. She shrugged it off.
"I haven't fully succumbed to the Oni God's spirit like he had," she said, "but I still remember what I…what he did to her."
"'He'? And to whom?"
"To…Do you really not remember?"
"I wouldn't be asking you if I did."
Trisha slowly fell back on the bed, closing her eyes. "I do not like speaking of this," she said flatly. "It is…tiring."
Subaru grimaced. "I see," he said slowly. "So, it's the Oni God that I hate, not you."
"I would like to think of it that way, yes. He comes out sometimes, but I have always managed to rein him in. It is not me. I have him under control."
He believed it. This wasn't like Hector, where multiple towns were destroyed. Here, there have been zero reports on the Oni God.
It was decided. Subaru wouldn't do anything to Trisha. It was better to have the evil spirit be contained in someone like her.
…But what about when Trisha died?
As if reading his thoughts, she reassured him, "He only takes a strong-willed host, though that also makes it harder for him to take over. I think that he likes the feeling of overpowering a great opponent."
Reid, who had been quiet up until that moment, put in his two cents before Subaru could respond. "I thin' tha's 'nough questions fer now. How 'bout ya stop bein' a dumbass an' let th'hottie sleep, aight?"
Subaru rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Anyway, this is goodbye, right? What, do we hug it out?"
"I'll chop off yer dick if ya try it."
"Duly noted."
"'sides, I'll be seein' ya around. Don't get all mushy on me, ya prick."
Subaru tensed. "Yeah," he said quietly, "though the next time I see you, I might look a little different. Look for a guy with black hair."
Reid furrowed his eyebrows. "Ya gonna dye it or somethin'? Makes sense. Purple don't suit ya."
Trisha gave Reid a weird look. "Purple? His hair's green."
"Th'fuck're ya talkin' about?! Get yer eyes checked!"
Subaru didn't bother correcting either of them. His artificial body was made of mana, so people perceived it differently. There was a reason he wore his pendant—it functioned as a name tag of sorts.
He interrupted the bickering couple. "Before I go, at least let me heal your arm, Reid."
Reid waved him off—at least, he tried to. "Bah, save yer energy."
"I've recovered enough. Please, let me help you."
"Don' need yer 'elp," he said gruffly. "Can do jus' fine without 'n extra arm."
To prove his point, he stood up and unsheathed his sword. With precision and grace unbefitting his rough appearance, Reid sliced his sword in an arc, intentionally missing Subaru's neck by a hair's breadth.
"I los' my arm," Reid said plainly. "Gotta live with th'consequences, aye? 's 'bout time ya learn that."
With that, he turned away, not providing any further argument. Trisha sighed. "Reid is a stubborn idiot. You can't convince him."
Subaru had already known that, but it still made him feel helpless.
They traded a quick goodbye, and Subaru left. The moment the door closed behind him, Subaru whirled around, calling out, "Reid—"
The words died in his throat. What was he doing? Saying goodbye? He already did that, and he wasn't about to explain his convoluted suicide plot to Reid.
"Gotta live with th'consequences, aye?"
Subaru couldn't do that, not while there was a chance to make things right.
He whispered his farewell to the wind…and never returned.
The air whipped past his ears at unfathomable speeds, threatening to tear them off. The cold air rammed into his skin, yet he couldn't help but feel so alive.
It was quite the experience to ride a dragon.
Subaru peeked over Volcanica's side, watching the microscopic ground fly past. The last time he and Volcanica had flown together instead of teleported, he had been so focused on keeping Satella stable. Now, he—
…What was he doing? Living out a fantasy of being a Dragon Rider?
Well, no. He was going to meet with the survivors from the Witch of Envy's attack. It was just too easy to paint himself in a horrible light. They say that you're your own worst critic, but Subaru thought that he was a pretty good judge of his actions.
For a moment, he saw himself in a courtroom being cross-examined by himself, with himself as the judge and jury. His attorney was Shaula, who wasn't very good at defending him. Subaru ended up sentencing himself to death.
It was grim, but it also made him laugh. There was something morbidly humorous about Shaula bouncing from Subaru to Subaru, saying, "Master's great, yup! He wouldn't hurt anyone, nope!"
He patted the side of Volcanica's neck. "Let's do this quickly," he said. "I don't want to keep Shaula waiting too long."
Volcanica rumbled its agreement.
Subaru had originally wanted to go by himself to avoid some grand, dramatic entrance. However, Volcanica had been…out of it, to say the least. It hadn't been able to clearly state where the survivors were. Subaru had gotten impatient and said to just take him there.
So, here they were, arriving…back at the Capital?
It was a painful sight. Envy had erased entire districts from existence. The ground was flat and leveled, as she had swallowed everything, living or dead.
…But the castle was standing. Could it be—
His hopes were quickly dashed, as Volcanica said, "The king…hath fallen to the shadows."
"…Ah. I see."
Farsale Lugunica, Subaru's friend, ally, and liege, was now confirmed to be deceased.
Subaru's feelings on Farsale weren't as complex as they were with Echidna nor did they run as deep as with Satella, but they were overwhelmingly positive, nonetheless.
"Rest in peace, Farsale."
A poor send-off for a man that he had murdered, but it was all that mere words could do.
He could go on, but did he really need to? Did he need a whole inner monologue to say, "I miss my friend"? It was obvious that he was sad. It was obvious that he felt guilty.
Honestly, he was pretty sick of wallowing. He'd been doing it a lot when he should be cherishing his last breaths.
"I mean, it's not like I deserve even that, but I've always been pretty selfish. Maybe I'll be poetic and say that I'm breathing for those who no longer can. Wait, shit, that's wallowing again. Ah, well. Not like a pathetic asshole can stop self-deprecation."
Maybe it was a coping skill. He really needed some better ones.
"How about deep breathing? Or reading? I read a lot, but that's all textbooks. What about fantasy novels, like I did back on Earth? …No, Dona. Your library of archaic, forbidden knowledge isn't what I'm looking for. It's interesting, yeah, but it's not 'light reading.' …I'm not punishing sinners for fun, Typhon! Shit, you're all so—"
"We are here, Sage."
"Oh. Yeah. We are."
Volcanica had touched down in front of the castle gates to a gaping crowd, but Subaru hadn't even noticed.
Mere weeks before, he was a fumbling psychopath, screaming at children while blaming them for his actions, yet at that moment, he felt even less in tune with reality. His face fell into a flat expression once more. His mind and heart dulled. He jumped off of Volcanica and landed on his feet. He didn't look up right away. When he did, it was to the side, away from the awestruck city folk.
His eyes landed on what looked like a makeshift homeless shelter. Actually, that was exactly what it was. He even recognized one of the people that he had saved before reaching Envy.
That man's home was swallowed whole. That man's family was likely killed. That man's life was destroyed because of Subaru's greed.
Subaru went over to apologize, but he was stopped by a soft, feminine, and somewhat familiar voice.
"Sage? Is…is that you?"
He turned to face painfully familiar rubies, but they were rounder, less fierce. They shone with the gentleness of a girl who had been sheltered and doted on instead of the fearsomeness of the Lion King. She looked a bit older, but Subaru remembered her well. Years ago, he had rebuilt her heart from scratch, earning the loyalty and admiration of her father, the late King Farsale Lugunica.
This was the new queen of Lugunica.
Instinctively, Subaru bowed his head. "Lady Fallyn."
Fallyn Lugunica shook her head. It normally would have been accompanied by a tinkling laugh, but not today. "Formality is not needed. You have earned that much."
"I've earned nothing, my lady."
"Your actions today prove otherwise."
Once again, his eyes wandered over to the downtrodden group, huddling together under blankets with empty eyes. "You received testimony, I imagine?"
"Many. They all spoke the same. You really do live up to your legend."
"I'm not a legend," he said firmly. "At least, I shouldn't be."
Her eyes darkened. "Today, the vast majority of my people died. I don't have time to deal with your survivor's guilt when I need to focus on rebuilding my kingdom."
It was cruel, but it was exactly what he needed to hear. Perhaps there was hope for this country yet.
"You'll be a good queen," he said, giving a small smile.
"But not a Lion King" went unstated. She already knew that.
"Your father would be proud of you, Fallyn. You've managed to keep order after…"
"After a Calamity struck?" she suggested. "After millions of my people died? After hearing mothers and fathers crying over the corpses of their children? After I watched my father lead a platoon of soldiers into the shadows, never to return?"
Subaru averted his eyes. "I—yes. Being a leader means keeping a level head in a stressful situation, and you've done that wonderfully."
There was a reason he had told Farsale that he shouldn't be a king. In all likelihood, he would have abandoned his subjects in favor of crying in a corner.
Granted, if that were true…why was Subaru here right now?
He didn't need to be here. There was no personal gain to seeing the destruction he had inadvertently caused. By all accounts, he could leave, find a corner to cry in, and ignore the consequences of his actions. Instead, he stood in ground zero of a missile that he had launched, asking the question, "What can I do to help?"
Fallyn trained her eyes on him, refusing to look away. "You have it all wrong," she said. "It is us that should be asking you that. We owe you a great debt—you, the Divine Dragon, and the Heavenly Sword. Wish for it, and it shall be yours."
Silence. Subaru wrapped his cloak tighter around himself.
"But you wish for nothing, as expected."
At length, he said, "That's not true. I wish to hold my wife, but I can't. Satella's gone."
Her eyes drooped. "Satella…I remember her. A lovely woman. I am sorry for your loss. The Witch of Envy has taken many souls, and it is unfortunate that the Sorceress was one of them."
"Satella's not dead," he couldn't help but say. He couldn't save a dead woman. "She's just…gone for a while."
Fallyn's gaze sharpened. "Gone, you say? Not dead? Surely, you could not be implying that the reports of the Witch's silver hair and elven ears—"
"Satella is not the Witch."
Her eyes widened a bit at his sudden vehemence, but she quickly composed herself. "I see," she said slowly. "I cannot claim to fully understand, but I have met Satella. She was a kind woman. I admired her."
"Then you know that she isn't the Witch."
She pursed her lips at the implicit confirmation. Considering her words carefully, "I may see it, but others will not. Those who know her name will only see her as the one who had killed their families."
Subaru clenched his fists. "So, what? I'm just supposed to let people villainize her? To hell with that!"
Fallyn was unfazed. "What will you say? Will you attempt to explain to a largely uneducated public the nature of Witches, magic, and psychological dissociation?"
She made a good point, but that didn't stop him. "Spread an alternative legend. Speak of a being who could never be Satella. One who…who can't speak. Who can't love. That's the one that was defeated."
Her eyes narrowed. "Are you asking me to manipulate my people, Oh Wise Sage?"
"Not at all," he said firmly. "Envy doesn't understand love. She really is an unfathomable, evil demon. She'd destroy anything to get what she wants. I've seen her swallow entire regions by clenching her fist. She is absolutely a monster to vilify…but Satella isn't."
It was quiet between the two for a moment. Onlookers couldn't hear what had been said, but even they could tell that things were tense.
"That is your wish," she said at length. "To pardon your wife."
"There's nothing to pardon her from."
"Then…are you perhaps pardoning yourself through saving her image?"
He gritted his teeth. She may not be a full Lion King, but damn it, those royals were sharp.
He elected not to respond to that remark, so she continued. "Every villain is defeated by a hero—three, in this case. The legend of the Three Great Heroes who sealed the Witch of Envy shall serve as a stabilizing presence. As we do not currently have a Lion King, well…"
"I understand," Subaru said. He didn't like the idea of being revered for his actions, but he'd go along with it for the kingdom's sake. It would have been nice to just have Reid, Volcanica, and Shaula take the credit, but—
'Wait a moment.'
Fallyn had said "three" heroes.
Shaula's battle wasn't in the capital.
He was about to inform Fallyn about Shaula's contributions, but the queen spoke before he could.
"These heroes need names. We have Volcanica, the Divine Dragon, and Reid Astrea, the Heavenly Sword, but you…
"What is your name, Sage?"
He almost laughed. "What kind of question is that? We've met multiple times, haven't we?"
"We have. Not once have you said your name."
'…Huh.'
Come to think of it, he hadn't said his name, had he? Very rarely did he introduce himself. He had always found it to be so…awkward. After all, he hadn't had much practice back in his homeland, and he hadn't met many people before becoming "the Sage." As such, it was almost better, in some ways, to have his reputation do the talking.
Satella, on the other hand, was still known as "the Sorceress," though she had freely given her name to many people. She was always so excited to meet a new friend. Now, it had the potential to tarnish her name for years.
But Subaru…He had hardly even said his pseudonym to very many people, had he? There was Puck, who lived near Elior Forest. Geuse went around using Subaru's title in a display of misguided reverence. Volcanica also used the title. Reid usually called Subaru a prick. Shaula didn't really go places, and if she did, she'd probably refer to him as "Master." The Witches weren't saying anything outside of his head. Who was left? That old bartender from before he even got his title?
It seemed that the Sage was a nameless entity, known by all but understood by none.
Everyone had seen him, but no one knew what he looked like. No one knew his name, his history, or his crimes.
They only knew of the Sage who sealed the Witch of Envy.
"Please, Sage," Fallyn was saying. "You wish to help? Grant me a legend that will move people's hearts for a century. Tell me your name."
Subaru looked her straight in the eye. He knew what to do.
"Shaula," he said. "The legendary Sage who defeated the vile Witch of Envy is named Shaula."
Subaru didn't deserve to have his name nor his pseudonym be immortalized in such a positive light. Shaula, however, deserved all of that and more. Everything she had ever known was torn out from under her, yet she put on a smile. She fought with all that she could, yet her words alone were enough to hold back a Witch. She was a hero in every sense of the word.
Fallyn gave a sharp nod. "I see. As long as you approve of that name." She swiftly cut off his inevitable protest. "The legend will fool the masses, but that's only because you're not the one telling it."
"…Am I really that bad of a liar?"
"I wasn't even sure if you were trying to fool me."
Honestly, he wasn't sure, either. What mattered was the result—people would revere Shaula as the powerful, incredible warrior that she was.
Subaru may come back and save Satella, but "Flugel" would fade to obscurity—even more so than before.
He relaxed a bit, feeling strangely at peace. He squared his shoulders and held his chin up. "Now that that's done, how can I actually help?"
A glimmer of something that seemed like respect appeared in Fallyn's ruby eyes. It was instantly replaced by exhaustion. "That's quite the loaded question. After all, it wasn't just Lugunica—half of the world was swallowed. Entire species have gone extinct. We've lost communication with all major trading cities. Our borders are defenseless, and tensions with Vollachia will undoubtedly rise once they deduce that the Calamity was of Lugunican origin. Suffice to say, I'm the queen of a dying kingdom."
Subaru smiled. "Well, that last one has an easy solution."
She eyed him warily. "My kingdom dying…has an easy solution? Are…are you okay, 'Shaula'?"
"Good question. Anyway, I was referring to your borders."
"Is it just me, or did you avoid answering?"
Subaru reached back and patted Volcanica's side. Fallyn jumped, having almost forgotten the massive dragon—talking to someone at Subaru's level of instability took a lot of your mental faculties.
Lowering his voice to a whisper, Subaru and Volcanica conversed. Well, Subaru spoke, and Volcanica raised its gargantuan head, sending it slamming down to the ground. A draconic nod, he supposed.
He looked to Fallyn. "We make it in Farsale's name. It's not remotely enough, but…this is my apology to him."
She didn't know what he meant. That was probably for the best.
Subaru stepped back and faced the crowd. "Meet Volcanica," he said, loud enough for the onlookers to hear, "the Divine Dragon. One of the heroes that defeated the Witch of Envy."
He expected a whoop and a clap. He didn't realize that a small group of people could nearly topple him with cheers alone. Grief was replaced by hope, at least temporarily.
Fallyn was right—a legend might be what the public needed to help them heal.
"Yes, its quite amazing," Subaru said when the noise died down a bit. He raised his voice, trying to give off the vibe of a motivational speaker, or perhaps even a charismatic, religious figure. "It is the most powerful, most generous dragon, as its followers know well. It has agreed to enter into a contract with the Lugunican Royal line. When there is a conflict with a foreign nation, it shall come down from on high and strike judgment upon your foes!"
To him, it was lame, overly grand, and something straight out of a poorly written novel. To the grief-rattled citizens, he may as well have handed them salvation on a silver platter.
'The masses are strange,' he mused. Put people in a crowd and they'll follow any cause. That wasn't to say that he was misleading them, but surely, it was too early for them to be smiling.
But they were smiling, nonetheless.
These were the people that Satella loved, even as they cast her to the streets. He should do more for them than just a damn contract.
He faced Fallyn and resolutely spoke. "Anyway, trade problems. I have a good friend that helps out with stuff like that for fun. He'll practically beg to go from city to city as an envoy, delivering supplies. He'll be a huge asset. As for the ecosystem—"
What were the other things, again? Bad ecosystem and trade problems?"
Fallyn tilted her head. "'Eekohsistem'?"
Ah, right. Back on Earth, it hadn't even been a century since the term was coined. He briefly explained the concept of a food chain and how removing or introducing a species could destroy the environment.
She gaped at him. He wondered if he inadvertently kick-started science in Lugunica.
He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "So, um, yeah. I might be able to help with that."
Still surprised, she asked, "How can one man take on such a task?"
Subaru's eyes lit up with mirth and a bit of pride. "Have you ever seen that big tree on the Lifaus Highway?"
She nodded. "Father took me there when it first appeared. From what I hear, it is almost a dozen times larger now."
Subaru allowed himself a bit of a smile. She gasped. He didn't need to say more.
It was quite convenient, actually, that Shaula had carved her name onto the tree. Maybe they'll start calling it the Sage Tree or the Shaula Tree.
That wasn't the point, however. The point was that he could mess around a bit and rebuild some lakes and whatnot. It shouldn't be too hard, right?
It was really, really, really hard.
It wasn't only a matter of strength. He regained his mana reserves over time, and a good night's sleep had drastically accelerated the process. Still, destroying a massive swath of land to form an empty lake bed wasn't easy.
He fell onto his behind, grimacing as he did so. He rubbed his eyes with the heels of his palms, grumbling about recklessness and empty promises. Making a big, dumb tree didn't qualify him to *rebuild an entire ecosystem!*
He had thought that he'd grown out of the whole "jump headfirst into an insurmountable task without a solid plan" character trait, but it seemed that he was as dumb as ever.
He sat up, gazing at the desolate field before him. It had once been a town, but it had since been leveled into a flat plane. He frowned, realizing that it looked like Envy's handiwork. He consoled himself with thoughts of how lively it would be when it was complete.
But how could he get there from nothing?
His current power level wasn't the entire issue. After all, he had built Priestella with his thoughts alone, but this wasn't the same situation. Back then, he had simply put some buildings on top of a lake. Here, he needed to create the lake itself, connect it to nearby towns, establish a water cycle, make the area habitable by specific flora and fauna, modify the food chain to make sure that certain species don't become too dominant, and more.
It was a monumental task. How the hell could one man artificially create an entire ecosystem?
He had power, yeah, but he wasn't a god. He wasn't omniscient and omnipresent. He couldn't take millions and billions of years of natural formation and create it artificially.
…But he didn't want Satella to come back to an utter wasteland.
He couldn't do this alone, but he didn't have to. There was another being that could help him.
The Od Laguna.
With only the slightest thought to the harm that would inevitably befall him, Subaru reached out and grasped the tentative connection that had formed between himself and the Original Spirit. For an instant that felt like an eternity, his mind was assaulted with information that he couldn't quite grasp. He pleaded for the Od Laguna to help him, as the Od Laguna pleaded for Subaru to do…something. He couldn't figure out what it was. Perhaps he wasn't ready to know.
Most of his awareness faded. For a fleeting moment, he felt like he was finally home.
People weren't allowed to resurrect the dead or perform certain feats of magic because the Od Laguna prevented it. Both Subaru and Echidna had thought that Satella was the exception, but the Od Laguna recognized the Sage as its master.
As the master of the highest being, the Sage would reshape the world.
Subaru couldn't feel his arms, his legs, his pulse, nor his breath. All sensation and emotion fled, leaving only an instinctual sense of trepidation and duty. He had a promise to fulfill, and he'd use everything at his disposal to do it. He refused to rest until he could guarantee Envy's eradication as well as Satella's freedom into a world that she would want to live in.
He raised his hand in the air, circling his index finger around his head. The clouds above followed that motion. They bent to his will, changing their course—some sped to distant corners of the country, though most stayed. They spun faster and faster, dancing to the Sage's will. Suddenly, rain fell, as if the clouds themselves were crying over the desolate landscape. Every drop of water filled not just the lake, but the soil as well, breathing new life into it.
At long last, Subaru opened his eyes to an oasis, but he couldn't see it right away. He couldn't feel anything—was he even breathing? Why wasn't he freaking out?
He was a soul without a body. The Od Laguna had tried to drag him to a place that he wasn't quite ready to go back to yet.
Objectively, he knew that he should be more surprised—possibly frightened. For just a moment, he had nearly become one with the Od Laguna, and his feats had matched that. However, he had almost lost himself along the way. Considering that he still couldn't feel anything, neither physical nor emotional, he wondered if his soul had already been claimed by the Spirit.
At that moment, he couldn't even grieve for his wife. He only felt his everlasting sense of duty to fulfill his promises.
More clearly than ever, he heard the Witches speak. "To become the avatar of a god…You truly are fascinating."
"I wouldn't call that 'fascinating,'" he told Echidna. "It's dangerous. It tried to rip my soul out of my body."
"That's not very nice of it," Daphne said. He tensed, as that was the first time that he had heard her adorable voice since her death. "Flu-Flu still has more to eat."
He shivered at that. "I'm not killing any more people."
Carmilla spoke next. "Um, in, in th-this case, 'eating' j-just…er, it might mean that you, um, you have stuff to do? I-I think?"
Minerva huffed. "Is 'eating' just an all-purpose term now?! That's stupid! It pisses me off!"
"Can you…haah…tone it down a bit?" Sekhmet grumbled. "So noisy…Just let the girl talk how she wants to…haah."
Subaru leaned back and rested on his elbows. His emotions may have been dulled even further by his recent experience, but it was still unnerving to have six voices in his head.
"You guys give 'internal conflict' a whole new meaning."
Carmilla muttered an apology. Subaru ignored it.
He jumped to his feet and dusted off his hands. It didn't matter what effects this had on him; Satella was counting on him. Surveying the landscape alongside his mental map, he picked a place and teleported. He raised his hand to the sky once more.
'Be careful,' Echidna warned. 'Once was risky. Twice is foolish.'
"Then call me a fool, because I'll do whatever it takes to save her."
He closed his eyes and let the Od Laguna take over. Darkness clouded his mind. He saw nothing, felt nothing, thought nothing. He was nothing more than the host of a higher being.
He would heal this world, or he would die trying.
