Chapter 16: Disassociate

"Subaru-kun, you've returned," Rem greeted him the moment Subaru found himself before that same tree he'd seen earlier. "I hope the Infection went well."

"Infection?" Subaru asked, lightly gasping from the warping he had just gone through. His body was feeling tingly from its aftereffects, and for some reason, the taste of pomegranate filled his mouth.

"Rem, are you saying that you sent me in there to get Infected?" Subaru continued. "Why? How would being Infected have helped me?"

Rem paused for a while, looking away. "Subaru-kun, does this mean that you are not Infected? Hadn't you touched an Abyssal Crystal? If not, how can you explain the markings on your arm?"

Looking down to his arms, Subaru had once again confirmed that his long sleeves were still missing from when he'd ripped them out earlier. The 'infection' on his right arm was visible for the world to see.

"Rem… I had this the moment I entered Teyvat," Subaru explained. "And for some reason, it's not letting me get infected either."

"Ah! I had forgotten…"

"Huh? Forgot? What do you mean?"

"Rem means that she forgot how you had that as well. Hadn't Rem mentioned earlier that we've been watching Subaru-kun for a while?"

Subaru curtly nodded in response.

"Rem had already heard about that mark on your arm, and how it was not an Infection. I hadn't anticipated that it would keep you from acquiring the Infection, however."

"Wait, Rem…" Subaru asked, holding a hand up. "If you knew about me from back then, why didn't you contact me sooner? I thought you'd missed me?"

"Well, it was certainly difficult to get hold of you while you were with that old flying partner of yours. Moreover, I wanted you to be reminded of how dangerous Teyvat can become. That's why I fed you to the dogs, vowing to save you when the time came."

Subaru stayed silent for a moment, then nodded at Rem.

"Thank you, Rem. Now, what was the Infection going to do to me?"

"The Infection?" Rem asked, gently resting her hand on her own infection on her chest. "Rem doesn't know why, but being Infected restored her memories. Rem was hoping that it would do the same to you."

"Wait, so getting that Infection was the way to get my memories?!" Subaru yelled out in reply. "What the hell?! Then how can we get rid of this thing on my arm?! I need my memories, goddammit!"

"Rem wants you to restore your memories too, Subaru-kun! Tell me, do you think it's too far to cut your arm off?"

"Yeah, no, I'd rather not be armless in exchange, thanks."

"Ah, that's truly a shame. I would have certainly eased you through the process."

Once Rem finished speaking, however, they were interrupted by yet another familiar bass-heavy voice in the room.

"Herald?" Rem asked, looking back at the Herald in confusion. As such, Subaru looked back as well.

The Abyss Herald seemed exhausted. They were on one knee, heaving almost exaggeratedly. They were cradling the core within their chest as well.

"My Mistress… My Lord… I had ridden the waves to lose a poison to our school. From the Hexenzirkel, Alice. She was by Irminsul today. She had a momentary encounter with our Lord."

"Drat!" Rem cursed out loud, biting her lip as she looked away. "If Alice of all people found us, things would have been bad. Herald, are you certain that you lost her?"

"As certain as the moon changing the tides. I had ensured that my Lord's path was uninterruptable and untraceable, while I rode the rest of the tides for him instead. My Mistress, I will need time to recharge."

"Okay, you may go to another treasury. Make sure that you don't encounter another this time."

"The currents guided us poorly this time, my Mistress. It will not happen again for certain."

"Being guided by the currents is poor work, Herald," Rem replied. "You must guide the currents. That is why you are given the name of Herald."

At her words, the Herald couldn't say anything. What that silence truly was for was a mystery to Subaru. Bowing once more to the two, the Abyss Herald vanished from their midst once more.

"Subaru-kun, what did that woman tell you?" Rem hastily asked, marching up to him. "Did she do anything to you? Did she hurt you in any way? Just give Rem the word, she will certainly take care of her for you."

"R-Rem, relax, don't worry about it. She didn't do anything. I mean, yeah, she was a really mad scientist, and threatened to make me mute to restore my memories."

"Mute?! A Subaru-kun who cannot speak… unthinkable! She must die!"

"Rem, didn't you suggest cutting off my arm for this as well? Is this where that English saying 'Pot calling the kettle black' applies?"

Rem lightly coughed at that statement, looking away sheepishly as Subaru bored holes into her with his eyes.

Suddenly, they heard a pop from nearby. It was an Abyss Mage that teleported to them.

"My Mistress. My Lord. The preparations have been completed. We are now ready."

Rem smiled at that. "Good. I will join you in a moment."

Nodding, the Mage vanished just as it had arrived.

"Subaru-kun, I'd hoped to inaugurate your awakening with this celebration, but it seems like we should hold it anyway."

"Celebration? Are we going to a party?"

"Yes, you can certainly call it a party. However, it will be more of a pleasant surprise for you. I will not say any more, Rem does not want to spoil it for you."

"Ah, alright then! I'll take your word for it, Rem!"

"Very well, please come with me back to the portal. We will go to the site together."

Nodding, Subaru followed behind the Mistress. However, looking down for a moment, he saw how his sleeves were still ripped. Nodding to himself, Subaru unwrapped his orange scarf and wrapped it around his infected arm, not wanting to show that to the world. For some reason, he didn't like the sight of it.

Once his scarf was tied around his arm like a bandaid, Subaru followed Rem through the portal.

As soon as Subaru regained his senses, he could make out the differences in the environment around him.

Unlike the void-like existence of the ruins he was in before, now he was outdoors. The air there was fresh, as opposed to the slight staleness that permeated the ruins. The area was much brighter, enough to make Subaru wince in surprise. Subaru could feel the folds of grass beneath his boots as well, as well as the softness of the soil.

"Where are we, Rem?" he asked, only just opening his eyes.

"You know. Just look ahead."

Looking ahead as directed, Subaru definitely did recognize the location he was in. Surrounded by a body of water rested a large fortress, which had its only connection to the rest of the world in the form of a stone bridge going over the lake. A Stone Bridge that he had run out on. A fortress where he was supposed to spend four days, only to be killed by the dragon.

Almost immediately, Subaru put a hand to his hip. He did not feel comforted by the absence of his whip.

"Mondstadt," Subaru recognised, the weight in his chest returning the moment he saw the personification of his new devils.

Looking down, Subaru also confirmed that he and Rem were standing atop a ledge. Not a very high one, just a few feet off the ground. Looking behind himself, he noticed a huge set of stone doors with blue outlines. Something else he didn't recognise from Teyvat.

"Rem… why did you bring me here?"

"Subaru-kun, I can't say it for certain, but the people here hurt you, did they not?"

"… Yes, they did. They don't know how, but they did."

"As expected of Subaru-kun. Don't worry, as stated, Rem will protect you. Do you know of the certain benefits of the Infection within the Abyss Order, Subaru-kun?"

Subaru blinked in surprise. "Benefits? For Abyssal Infection? Definitely not, I've only heard that it makes people sick."

Rem smirked as she looked at Subaru. "There's more to the Infection than you'd imagine. To those of us who cannot resonate with the Ley Lines, such as you and me, Abyssal Infection grants us certain abilities. The one I am trying to talk about? The ability to communicate with others who have been Infected, and influence them to our will if they do resonate with the Ley Lines.

"As such, the Abyss Order is able to amass and control hilichurls, since they are beings made of Ley Line energy, albeit impure."

"Wait, wait, you're saying that this infection can control hilichurls? Does it work like how the rest of the order sees me as their Lord?"

"In fact, it does. Your presence should certainly allow hilichurls to respect you."

Subaru's look blanked as he gazed behind him. "Then… why did those hilichurls attack me that day? And the mitachurl? I enhanced that miasma around myself to summon them, but if the miasma is similar to the infection, then shouldn't they have…"

"Rem does not know why, Subaru-kun," Rem confessed with a slight bow. "By all means, the scent around you should let hilichurls work with you. Rem cannot explain why they didn't listen."

Nodding, Subaru looked ahead once again. Looking at Mondstadt once more, he was once again reminded of the threat that the country would soon face.

"Rem… how long had it been since I entered those ruins you brought me to?" Subaru asked.

"How long?" Rem echoed, gently tracing her chin. "I believe you should have been there for almost three days. You spent a lot longer by Irminsul than you'd imagined, and there was also the day to recover you from your state when we found you."

"O-Over three days?!"

Subaru's face paled upon hearing that. If that were true, then that was the unfortunate day. That was the day Stormterror would attack. Looking up, he confirmed that the sun had gone over their heads and was slightly dipping to the west, meaning that it was sometime past noon. Just the right time for the attack.

Subaru, now looking at Rem, started to wonder what this 'surprise' actually was. And yet, he could guess. At this stage, there was only one possible surprise that could actually happen.

"No… don't tell me…"

In fact, it was a very good guess.

"Subaru-kun, do you realise the true scope of our control over the Infected?" Rem asked, now turning to him with a wild smile on her face. The same one she had on when he had fallen into that pit. "Well, allow me to show you. Witness, Subaru-kun, the celebration of your arrival. Witness the destruction of Mondstadt."

*ROAAAARRR!*

From the skies, the same blue dragon that had caused Subaru so much torment descended once more. And as if being the one to summon it, Rem had her arms held out just as Stormterror made his appearance.

"Rem… You were in control of Stormterror?"

"Oh? You know its name? Of course, Subaru-kun always had to ability to learn things he shouldn't have. I'm not too surprised."

'No… No way. Come on. This can't be right. Rem can't be the one responsible for all that, right?'

"Come on… this can't be possible, right?" Subaru muttered, his gaze hollowing further and further as he saw the latest subject of his nightmares once more. "R-Rem… You can't… be in control of that, can't you?"

"You've already seen me do it, Subaru-kun," Rem stated. "Stormterror has been Infected. That allows us to manipulate his emotions and control him entirely. As of now, Stormterror is less one of the Four Winds, and more of an emissary of the Abyss Order."

"Why… NO!" Subaru suddenly yelled out, clenching his fists as hard as he could. The pain of his nails piercing his skin barely even registered to him. "Y-You can't… Rem… you were… YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO HELP ME!"

In rebuke against her, Subaru decided to jump off the ledge they were standing on. He didn't hurt himself from the fall; it was a very short one. However, he didn't care about that. What mattered was that he stood between this monster posing as Rem and Mondstadt.

"Rem…" Subaru hissed, wanting to make certain of his doubts. "Tell me something. You had your eyes on me the whole time, right?"

"Of course, I had. I never missed a moment of your life."

"Were you going to send Stormterror to Mondstadt even if I weren't involved?"

"Yes, I would have, I will confess. Although the joy is only enhanced by your return. We rarely ever need a reason to celebrate, but when we have one, it becomes so much better."

"In that case… tell me this, Rem," Subaru crossed his eyes as he bored holes into Rem with his eyes, his rage building up within him. "If I were still in Mondstadt… and you knew about it… would you have still sent Stormterror in?"

"Of course, Rem would never do such a thing!"

Subaru's mouth went dry upon hearing that. She wouldn't do that? Then why did it happen for those last two times? He had it all but confirmed that Stormterror would attack Mondstadt on the fourth day of his arrival due to his repeated experience of it. And here was the person who orchestrated that attack, claiming to never be willing to do such a thing.

'Then how the hell do you explain what you did then?! You can't say you didn't know I was in Mondstadt, you just claimed you were watching my every step. Then why… Rem… why did you kill me again?'

Looking up to her, Subaru saw nothing in her expression that broke character. He saw nothing to prove the existence of the monster he suspected to lay within. But despite that, he knew it was still bearing its fangs.

"Rem… why are you lying?"

"Of course, Rem is not lying! Rem would never do so!"

And that was when it hit Subaru. The manner in which she was talking. She was basically admitting to the crime.

"Rem won't lie to me, Rem won't attack Mondstadt when I'm in there, am I right?" Subaru asked, warily taking a few steps away from the monster before him. "But you will do it, won't you? You just admitted it, after all. You will attack Mondstadt. You've been keeping an eye on me. But you're not Rem, aren't you? You're just someone else, wearing her face, making a fool of me, and taking advantage of my heart."

"What are you talking about? Rem certainly wouldn't – "

"STOP! Stop using her name like it's your own!" Subaru yelled out, stepping further away from the imposter wearing Rem's face and pointing at her. "You're not Rem! I should have suspected it the moment you talked about destroying Mondstadt, but I see it now! You… You've been lying to me from the very beginning, haven't you?!"

Rem, who had on a look of shock and fear, suddenly froze. After a few moments, her expression went neutral.

"I suppose congratulations are in order," 'Rem' responded in a flat tone. "You've figured it out, albeit partially. I was hoping that the infection would take over you so that I wouldn't have to go through this, but the moment I heard that you couldn't be infected due to the blood on your arm, I knew that you could not lead us. I knew that I could never sway you or infect you."

"Couldn't infect me?! You… tell me the truth this time. What would that infection have done to me?"

"It would afflict you with the same condition as us within the Abyss, rendering you as one of us. Just as I am Rem taken over by my infection, you too, would succumb to the Abyss and become one of us. Although now, that will never happen. I truly do commend you, Subaru-kun. I expected you to find out only after I used Huma on you from behind your back."

"You… that's impossible! You were trying to turn me into someone else?!"

Gritting his teeth, Subaru wondered how dangerous someone like that could have been. Armed with Return by Death and willing to destroy the whole of Teyvat, Subaru wondered what it would take to defeat someone like that. Moreover, how many times would he let himself die if that happened?

He hadn't really cared about it before, but at that moment, he was glad for the 'blood' on his arm.

"You…" Subaru muttered. "Let go of her! I'll… I'll do anything you want! Just leave her alone! I'll cut off this damn arm and let you infect me if that means you leaving her alone!"

"Unfortunately, I cannot, Subaru-kun. The infection is permanent. It's not something that can be cured, especially when it's as deep as mine."

"Then… Then let me try," Subaru replied. "I can try to remove it. I've already proven myself immune to the infection, maybe I can help others as well? Maybe… Maybe I can take the infection out of a person and nullify it by myself?"

Rem stayed silent at that. At that moment, Subaru wondered if he had gotten through to the thing possessing her.

And then, she smiled yet again.

"And why would I sacrifice someone as powerful as this Oni for a boy who was careless enough to break his own gate?" the imposter remarked. "In fact, since you claim to be able to nullify infections, you can be deemed a threat to the Abyss Order. Henceforth, even though you are our Lord, I now name you a traitor to our cause. A simple Teyvatian sympathiser, that's what you will be from now on.

"Well, it certainly was fun while it lasted, Subaru-kun. Rem will certainly miss you. I, on the other hand, just say good riddance. Huma."

Suddenly, spikes of ice crystallized into being before her, their sharp ends aimed directly at Subaru. Looking at the spike before him, Subaru couldn't help but feel lost.

The one person he thought would be by his side, no matter what. Even if Teyvat turned him down, she would be there, for she loved him with all her heart. That was who Rem was.

And now… all that was left of her was this thing. This monster who was willing to kill him and not even bat an eye. This disgrace to Rem's memory.

"No, you cannot be Rem. Isn't that right, Mistress?"

The Mistress did not care for what he had to say. As her red cloak bellowed from her left shoulder, exposing the full curvature of her dress that still seemed wrong on her, the Mistress who was once Rem thrust out an arm, fired out the three spikes formed before her at her once-dear Subaru-kun.

And Subaru couldn't do anything.

Maybe she was right. Teyvat was an evil place. Everything about the place only spelled tragedy for him. There was no one to help him at all.

And so, Subaru did not oppose the incoming ice spikes. He did not know how to move away, so he resolved himself to accept this death, and try again. Maybe next time he would be able to save Rem from that Infection within her.

And he would have died then too if it weren't for the ice bullets Melting.

Subaru was stunned as flaming arrows appeared from his left, aimed directly at the incoming spikes, melting them all before they could hit him.

"Subaru!" the Outrider Amber called out as she ran up to him from the side of the forest rather than Mondstadt. "We need to go, now!"

Subaru wasn't able to respond. Amber grabbed onto his cloak and pulled him back, outstretching it. However, Subaru was unable to follow, leaving her to drag him along, letting the soles of his boots track a trail into the mud below.

"Pathetic, Subaru-kun," the Mistress remarked from above. "Needing the assistance of a Teyvatian. You truly were never one of us, weren't you?! Huma!"

Forming another volley of spikes, Amber winced as she found them approaching her. Needing to defend herself more than anything, she decided that she had to let go of Subaru and pick up her bow to fire at the incoming ice bullets.

And so, Subaru was falling once more.

It was a short fall, but for the now broken Subaru, it felt like it would take a century. He felt his body twisting in midair, finding himself to face the yellow dirt pavement below rather than the blue sky. For some reason, it reminded him of himself.

Just a boy, trying to reach for the skies, but belonging to the dirt.

As he fell, he could only think of one other thing. The cause for all this pain he was feeling.

Rem.

The one that he loved, although he rejected her for some reason. The one that he couldn't return his feelings to until it was too late. The one who made him confused about his past, due to the conflicting memories of love and hate from her end.

The one and only family he had left in Teyvat.

Now, she was turned into a monster. Something beyond his recognition. A monster so heartless, she was willing to let him die just to fulfil her 'role' of destroying Teyvat.

There was nothing left of the Rem he'd once known and loved.

And now that she was gone, what did he have left? Who did he have left?

His parents? Back in Japan, where he couldn't return, no matter how hard he tried.

His 'friends' in Lugunica? He barely even remembered them. Maybe if he weren't an amnesiac, he would have tried to return somehow, even though that would be just like the situation with his parents.

There was only one group of people left.

Paimon. Amber. Kaeya. Lisa. Jean. Barbara. Rosaria, even.

They were all that he had left.

'In that case, I swear… I will protect you all,' he resolved to himself. 'I know I've been failing, but I'll try to find out why. I need to know why I failed. I need to know why none of you listened to me. I don't mind if I die again and again anymore. I will find out the truth, and I will protect you all.'

But right now, what mattered was doing as much as he could. He didn't need to worry about surviving, he would survive even if he didn't want to. What really mattered at that moment was to learn as much as he could, and to brace himself for his eventual death.

And that meant dealing with Rem in some way or the other.

Gritting his teeth as he found himself still falling to the ground, Subaru finally decided to act. Accepting the fact that Rem was no longer his Rem, Subaru decided to act out against her. And so, instead of falling pathetically, he decided to stick his arms out and defend against it.

However, the ice bullets from Rem were still approaching him and Amber. As Subaru blocked his fall, his cloak billowed upwards, causing Amber to lose focus of the trajectories of the bullets for a moment. She gained enough sense to jump out of the way of the obstruction.

Luckily, none of the bullets hit Subaru. Instead, the only casualty was his cloak. As it rose up into the air, an ice bullet caught it dead in the centre and sheared it in half. It was still wearable, but now, the loose end of the cloak was split into two parts that hung loosely to his neck, still billowing from the air catching it.

Ignoring his now split cloak, Subaru pushed himself off the ground the moment Rem's Huma volley had terminated. Now standing, he faced her.

"Rem… no, Abyss Mistress," Subaru said. "I should have never joined your side. I should have never even considered destroying Mondstadt. I've decided that you're the one in the wrong here, Abyss Mistress. So, I will stand against you. At least now… I know who I'm truly fighting."

The Mistress smiled as Subaru stated his claim. "Very well. Then it certainly means that I can give the Abyss Order full authority to ignore your stench and treat you as a threat."

"So it seems, you imposter. And I swear, I will free Rem from you. I swear it on whatever pride I have left as a Natsuki."

"Wait, Subaru, that's Rem?!" Amber called out from nearby. "She's the one you were looking for?!"

"Not exactly. It is her, but she's Infected, so she's different," Subaru briefly explained as Amber walked up to his side. "Forget about that. Didn't you warn Mondstadt about Stormterror?!"

"No, I left that to Paimon. She was with me, looking for you."

"… Shit, for what it's worth, I'm sorry. But in any case, my head's back on straight now. I think."

"Are you two done?!" Rem called out as she formed another volley of ice bullets.

"I won't let you! I'm all fired up now!" Amber replied, aiming her bow to the sky. Looking at her, Subaru remembered the ability she was about to use. "Dodge this!"

Releasing a charged arrow into the sky, the arrow seemed to split into multiple in midair. And as it fell, it turned out to be a whole volley of fiery arrows raining down on Rem.

However, Rem didn't react as Subaru had hoped.

"… This is your Burst? This is it?" Rem asked, not even being bothered by the raining arrows. Before they reached, she simply raised a hand into the air and formed a plane of ice guarding her against them. Despite how Subaru thought that the fire could melt the ice, it seemed that it wouldn't be the case. Because as the ice Melted, Rem simply restored it with more of her mana.

"Subaru-kun, did you know that our Gates can channel Teyvat's Elemental Energy better than Visions can?" Rem explained, still holding up her shield. "That's not all! While a Vision moulds a user's energy for them, our Gates can freely use the energy present! That means that even with my water affinity, there is enough mana in the world to do this, something that Nee-sama would certainly be proud of.

"Ul Fura."

Suddenly, the wind started to pick up around them. Subaru watched in horror as the remaining flaming arrows got sucked into the forming vortex, with the two of them in the eye. Watching the wind around them catch on fire, Subaru couldn't determine if the sweat on his face was from the heat of the fire or his pounding heart.

Was this it? Was this how he was going to die this time? Was he going to be burned to death? He remembered a death such as that, although it was at the hands of some monstrous-looking centaur. Was he going to relive it?

However, it seemed that for once, fate smiled upon him.

"Leave Stinky Space alone!"

Rem's focus on the vortex was removed due to a collision from a small, white-haired and clothed pixie, wearing an unusual crown on its head. While the hit barely hurt her, the surprise of it was enough to make Rem stop the vortex, letting it dissipate and instead, setting the grass on fire.

"Paimon!" Subaru yelled out. "What are you doing here?! It's too dangerous!"

"Paimon wanted to help! Paimon already spread the message to everyone in Teyvat, and so Paimon decided to return to Amber to help you, Stinky Space!"

"N-No, you can't fight her!" Subaru called out. "She's too strong!"

"He's right, Paimon!" Amber called out as well. "We're running too! She took my Elemental Burst like it was nothing! We can't stop her!"

"Pai… Pai… okay! Let's go, then!"

"Not so fast, you insolent little bug."

Before Paimon could fly to them, she was caught by the one person Subaru wanted to leave her alone. Rem.

"You get in the way of my work? Well, I'll make you my next target, then."

"PAIMON!"

As Subaru ran up to Rem, who was still standing on the ledge above them, he found himself unable to do anything. He was helplessly running to her as frost started to inch across Paimon's body, emanating from Rem's hand. Even Amber's flaming arrows didn't stop her, she simply shrugged it off by casting another Fura.

Subaru couldn't do anything to stop her from cracking open the now fully frozen Paimon, leaving her to fall down, dissolving into the stars that Subaru was familiar with.

"PAIMON!"

Finally making it to the site of the crime, Subaru held on to whatever remained of her. Of the first person he'd met in Teyvat.

She was unresponsive. Her body was completely frozen, retaining that expression of horrid fear. Her body was now dissolving into sparks through the holes in the ice.

"Well, that was simple," Rem simply dusted her hands off the small bits of ice that remained. "Now, onto the two of you. How am I going to do this?"

"Rem… No, Mistress…" Subaru hissed, gripping his fists as Rem stopped before him as well. "Amber, did you bring my whip?"

"No, I didn't! And don't fight her, Subaru! She's too strong, and she can manipulate different elements! Let me fight instead!"

Subaru grit his teeth. "Don't fuck with me! Weren't you the one to let me fight against those hilichurls?! Then let me fight Rem too! And if you don't have my whip, that's even better."

Balling his fists, Subaru held them up against Rem. "I've wanted to punch you in the face for a while now, you imposter."

Rem snickered upon seeing his upraised fists. "As if your fists are going to do anything to me, Subaru-kun. Just like everyone in this world, there is no way you can fight against a Vision-bearer or someone like me. El Goa."

From the palm of her outstretched hand, Rem formed a large ball of fire, further lighting up the wild toothy smile on her face.

As the ball of fire was launched at him, Subaru took a moment to think back at everything that happened. He didn't know why he chose that moment for it, maybe it was the rush of death coming after him. Something he was disgustingly familiar with by then.

'How am I going to stop this? How am I going to stop a ball of fire?!'

"Subaru!" Amber called out from behind him, nocking an arrow and aiming it at the fireball.

But he didn't want her to do that. He didn't care if the fireball hit him. He would do anything to get his goal.

'And my current goal? I want to punch that imposter in the face.'

Just as Subaru thought that he began to feel something coil within himself. Something that felt familiar, yet equally dangerous. At that moment, however, the danger he was in was the last thing on his mind.

The next thing to happen was absolutely inexplicable. Even though it was slightly past midday, the sun went out. The world plunged into darkness due to the missing sun, only being barely lit up by the distant stars.

In that induced darkness, Subaru remembered what to do.

"Invisible Providence!"

Suddenly, two arms made of darkness phased through Subaru's chest and rammed into the fireball. Splitting apart, the hands dispelled the force of the incoming fire.

From the middle of the split pathway formed, however, a third hand emerged from Subaru's chest. Racing ahead, it curled into a fist and rapidly approached Rem's face.

*SLAM!*

Rem was taken aback by the sudden impact on her face. Something he couldn't see had approached her and slammed her in the face.

"Not yet!" Subaru called out.

The two arms from the sides came into her and pulled her down the ledge. Even though it was a short fall, a headfirst collision with the ground would certainly lead to some damage. And to go even further, Subaru used his third invisible arm to strike Rem down onto the ground, hitting her at the nape of her neck.

The moment she landed flat on the ground, Subaru knew that Rem was knocked out completely.

"… Well, shit, that was… quicker than I expected," Subaru muttered as Invisible Providence retreated back into him. After its use, however, Subaru felt weaker somehow. He couldn't explain it, but he felt like something was being consumed every time he used that ability.

"What… What happened?" Amber muttered from nearby. "How… what happened to her? Why did it become night so suddenly? Subaru, what did you do?"

Subaru, having uncovered a few memories about this ability of his, knew that those arms were invisible to everyone. Only he could see them.

"Don't worry about it. Rem won't be bothering us for now. What we should do is figure out what is going on with the sky."

Looking up, Subaru watched the now night sky. After the sudden disappearance of the Sun, Subaru was left confused. He was certain that Invisible Providence was not able to wipe out the sun, nor did his memory recovery do the same thing. However, upon closer observation, Subaru noticed something else.

"The stars… they're all going out."

"Oh!" Amber called out, looking up as well. "You're right! This is so weird!"

Subaru looked back at Mondstadt, hoping to understand something about the situation. It seemed that as soon as it turned to night, Stormterror had run away. For some reason, it was afraid of what was going on.

And yet, Subaru had absolutely no idea what was going on. Specifically, he had no idea why this was happening.

However, he did remember the symptoms.

"This is… the Endless Night," Subaru coined the phenomena that was occurring. "The stars are all going out. The Sun is also a star, so it makes sense that it will go out as well."

"The Endless Night? Why do you call it endless?"

"Because… the Sun probably won't return."

As he spoke, Subaru started to notice frost escaping his lips. It was getting colder already.

"Amber, we're going to die," he confirmed. "And it's not just us. Everyone will die. Teyvat will die. We're all going to freeze from the lack of heat provided by the Sun, although the rate of freezing is so much faster than it should be. It's as if Teyvat doesn't have a CO2 layer in the sky to trap the heat in."

"Wait… what are you saying, Subaru?" Amber said. "There's no way we're going to – brr…"

Amber suddenly rubbed her arms, feeling the place becoming colder and colder.

"S-Subaru… what… what's going on?" Amber asked, her eyes widening and her lips quivering. "Are we… Are we going to die? Really?"

"Yes. We are. I'm sorry, Amber, but I don't know how to stop this."

"B-But why?! We can't die yet! Mondstadt still needs us! Why is something like this happening right now?!"

"Amber, please rel – "

"NO!" Amber yelled out, tears flowing from her eyes. "I-I still need to find Grandpa! I h-haven't found him yet, so please, Subaru, do something! Please! Don't… don't let us die!"

"Amber…"

The Amber before him was a complete stranger. Subaru had always seen Amber as a highly courageous woman who would do anything to protect anyone she'd even just met. But now… Amber was a far cry from who Subaru thought she was.

"Amber… aren't you a knight? Aren't you… supposed to be Brave?"

"Brave?! When the whole of Teyvat is dying?! Why should I be Brave?!" Amber yelled back. "I'm going to die, Subaru! I… I want my death to be worth something! I don't want to die like this!"

After saying that, Amber collapsed into a ball, trying to warm herself up, although the rushing tears from her eyes did not help it in the slightest.

"How… How are you so okay with this, Subaru?" Amber asked, peeking an eye out to look at him. "How are you not breaking down?"

Subaru's mouth went dry at that statement.

"Let's just say that… I'm used to this," Subaru admitted, clenching his fist at his inability to speak further. "Amber, can I ask you something? Before we… die… can I just ask you something?"

Amber, who was still curled into a ball, slowly stopped crying. Tears were still falling from her eyes, but she stopped being vocal about them. "O-Okay…"

"Thank you, Amber. If… If I said that I wanted to help you fight Stormterror, would you let me join?"

"… No, I wouldn't," Amber confessed, her voice losing the usual life that it had. "It would be… too dangerous."

"But you let me fight that mitachurl that day. Why not Stormterror?"

"Stormterror… and a mitachurl… are at different levels. You… won't handle… it…"

"Amber, please," Subaru leaned down and grabbed her hand, pulling it out of her face. As Amber was forced to look at him, she noticed the tears forming on his face as well.

"Please, before we die, tell me this. Why shouldn't I fight Stormterror? I took care of the mitachurl. I defeated Rem. What does it matter if I lose my life if it's to protect you and the rest of Mondstadt?"

Amber's mouth went dry as she watched Subaru crying before her. She had no idea who he was, or what he was going through, but he was all that she had at the moment. If he wanted to hear the response to such a thing as his last wish, then Amber wouldn't ignore it.

"… I would still say no," Amber confessed as she straightened out some and rested her hand on Subaru's as well. "Subaru, as I said, Stormterror is too dangerous. You should not do anything that rash. That's what the knights are there for."

"Then… what's the difference? What's the difference between a knight and a regular person like me?"

"The difference is that us knights are trained more than you are, Subaru. If we fight, we know we'll be able to make a difference. I hate to say it, Subaru, but you might not be able to fight Stormterror.

"What's the point of dying if you end up accomplishing nothing, Subaru?"

Those words, out of everything Amber said, resonated within Subaru the most.

"Then… am I just weak?! Can I just do nothing?!"

"Subaru… there's nothing wrong with being weak. That just means that you can grow stronger. And even then, physical strength isn't everything, you know? You can still be strong in a field other than the physical one. A lot of knights end up carrying other people instead. Master Jean herself uses her Vision to heal rather than hurt. You haven't met her, but there's a maid with a Geo Vision named Noelle who shields people more than fight."

Subaru was taken aback by that. There were those that didn't use their Visions to fight? But why? Offence was the best Defence, so why was it that those who are granted so much power are willing to use them for means other than their own growth?

Then, as soon as that train of thought hit Subaru's mind, everything became clear.

"… I see," Subaru stated, a soft smile escaping from his quickly drying lips. "I was being selfish, wasn't I? I wanted to handle everything myself. I thought that the knights wouldn't survive Stormterror, so I tried to take the burden on myself. That was my mistake."

"Wait, Subaru… you knew about Stormterror?!"

Blinking in surprise, Subaru noticed that Amber was still listening to him.

Amber kept her gaze trained on him for a while, but then let go. "It doesn't matter anymore," she said. "We're still going to die, aren't we? It's fine if you knew about it."

"I'm sorry, Amber," Subaru confessed, truly expressing himself for once. "I'm sorry I was being such an idiot. I'm sorry for leaving you and Paimon alone. I'm sorry for letting Paimon die. I'm sorry for not warning you about Stormterror. I'm sorry… for everything."

Amber sighed softly upon hearing Subaru's confession. "Saying sorry is a bit too late right now, you know? I mean, Teyvat is about to get destroyed."

"Yeah, that is true. But… I can't help but feel like that was my fault too."

That was the only conclusion. He was the cause of this. This had never happened in the earlier loops. In fact, when it first happened when Amber died in his arms, there was a discrepancy. When Subaru finally survived the mitachurl, the Endless Night did not happen again. As such, he was certain that if he survived Stormterror, he would be able to avoid the Endless Night once more. That meant that there was something that he was doing that led to the Endless Night, no matter what.

But he couldn't determine what it was that led to the event. As much as he hated to admit it, the only way to find the truth would be to experience it yet again.

"Don't say that, Subaru," Amber replied. "I don't think everything you've done would lead to Teyvat falling.'

"… But I know it is my fault. You can't change that, Amber. This is all my fault. It's all my fault that Teyvat is being frozen."

"… I don't know why you're saying that, but I don't hold it against you. You said it yourself, didn't you? You were acting like an idiot. Well, I believe there was a reason why you were acting like an idiot."

"W-Wait… you don't mean…"

"I forgive you, Subaru," Amber said, looking up at him from the ground with a smile. "You were hurting. You had no clue what you were doing. That's why I'm not going to blame you."

"Amber… what happened to the girl who was crying earlier?"

"She accepted the fact that she's going to die. I wonder if this is what my Dad felt like when he died… I get it now. Back then, I was so frantic in trying to find a cure or getting enough money for the Fatui cure, that I couldn't understand why daddy was so calm about it. He was dying, shouldn't he have been a little angrier? But… I get it now. In the end, nothing will change it, right? So, what's the point? What's the point of fighting?"

Subaru scowled at that. While he agreed with the train of thought, he couldn't ever imagine Amber saying something like that. Amber was the girl with the best go-getter attitude he knew, the strongest knight in Subaru's eyes. To hear that she was accepting her death was obnoxious to him.

"Amber, I'm going to save you," Subaru declared. "I promise you, I'm going to save you. So please, don't ever say things like that. I may be unable to do anything now, but I will save you next time. I won't be an idiot about it anymore. I'm going to come up with a plan. I'm going to find a way to break out of this mess we're in."

Amber kept smiling at him. "… You do that, Subaru. I… I just wish that I could see everyone else. Master Jean, Eula, even Kaeya. I want to see them again, but… there's no more time left, isn't there?"

Gesturing in Subaru's direction, Subaru turned around to see what she meant. The entire lake around Mondstadt had frozen. The frost was rapidly climbing towards the two of them as well.

"Subaru… can I ask you a favour as well?"

"Sure, Amber."

"Can you lay down here with me?"

"… Alright."

"Hold me too?"

"…"

"I… don't want to be alone, Subaru. At least I'll die in the hands of a good friend. I've always wanted to be surrounded by my friends when I die, but now, you're the only one left. Funny, I barely know anything about you, and yet I trust you enough to call you a friend."

"… Thank you, Amber. Thank you for everything you've done for me."

"Thank you, Subaru. Thank you too."

Amber and Natsuki Subaru froze to death in that Endless Night, in each other's arms.

A/N: And so ends this death arc. This was a short one compared to the others, mainly because there was no need for any fillers like in the previous cases. That meant that I could handle this however I wished.

Now, onto the apology I mentioned last time. I slowly came to realize that while the story did imply it to some extent, it was mainly due to my A/Ns that Rem was identified as the antagonist. Meaning that anyone who wouldn't have read my A/Ns might have seen Rem as a good person who joined a bad gang up until now, and only now realized that she was 'evil'. I don't know if this is actually the case or its just my bad writing, but in any case, I'm sorry.

I hope that this moment was impactful enough for those who complained about it earlier. I still do think that Rem was introduced at the right time, and this chapter could have only worked with her in the equation. So, please let me know if you liked it.

One thing I myself didn't like about this chapter was the suddenness of things. I'd initially meant to keep the Irminsul segment with Alice in this chapter as well, and honestly, it would have been better that way. I just split it to even out the word count. As of now, we're starting off with one segment in the ruins as a compiler from the last chapter, then heading to Mondstadt to reveal Rem's true nature as the Mistress (still a little iffy about that name, but I can't change it now, sadly), then suddenly cutting out the Sun to form the Endless Night. Its flow is jagged, and I'm not skilled enough to resolve this issue. Individual chapter compilation is certainly something I need to work on, along with all my other weaknesses like settings and character design.

Another thing I want to say is that I'm taking quite a few liberties at how the Dragon's Blood works. Abyssal Infection is not Dragon's Blood, I'll confirm that right now. But I'll explain it some more next chapter, that's probably the best place to do it.

Now, onto the reviews!

kerrowe: Well, while he did stay there for another day or two, he certainly did not time travel. He was just sent underground. And I have a lovely habit of stomping on whatever can be seen as precious, so I'm sorry for how I abused Subaru's and Rem's relation from the last chapter.

worrierfierce: I would agree with Subaru being wary of her, but since she acted as he remembered, he imagined that Rem would be his only form of peace in that land. He did not want to ruin his only remaining good social connection, so he was desperately trying to hold on to her. That's why, even if she was with a shady group, he didn't care for any of it and still loved her and followed her, imagining that he could trust her. And as this chapter showed, he paid dearly for that.

For Inazuma, I do have a few prospective ideas on how to handle it. It's Enkanomiya that I'm concerned about right now.

KazeelBaYz: I really should change that older introduction, huh? At this point, it can become pretty tedious to explain every little detail to readers, but I am trying my best. But there's way too much information to keep it all coherent.

That being said, if you're really not understanding anything, then something's wrong with my writing style. I'm writing to help people follow along with the base story, although not the Easter Eggs or the foreshadowing. If you really don't understand anything, you should either try reading it from scratch once more to catch all the details or just let me know what you're finding difficult. I'll see if I can modify the older chapters to help.

I'dMakeANameButIDon'tWantTo: Glad to hear the rating, even though I'm not quite satisfied with it. There's just too many details for me to mention to safely handle the plot. I'm not one for gentle introductions to a story either, which could be part of the reason why I'm finding it so difficult. But yeah, I know that my pacing can be off at times. And hopefully, I'll be able to amp up the impact in the future chapters. All this tells me is that I still have quite a ways to go with my writing, that I can still get better at it. Thanks for the review!

papaprep: Yeah, I get that. Even for Genshin Players, I believe it can be pretty difficult. It involves a ton of deep lore of the story.

Maximum Rhapsody: Rem does have all of her memories unlocked, but this chapter should answer some of your questions. As for whether she improved her Oni powers specifically, you'll just have to see. Rem didn't need her Oni powers for this fight, so she went at it in her most base form.

ptl: Unfortunately, I don't play Honkai. I'm already hooked onto Genshin, I can't afford to stick to another game as well. I'd forego my life if I did so. But do remember that the alternate timelines from RbD are localized to the local universe, meaning that it won't influence Honkai at all.

And that's all! I hope you'd enjoyed this chapter, and please let me know what you thought! I'll see you next chapter.