Chapter 1

Day 1

A murky darkness filled the air. Strands of mist drifted through the space, filling the sky with uncertain, shifting patterns. From where the boy stood, only uncertain blackness filled his future. Then something shifted. An unusual swirl in the mists, a half-seen flicker of movement- a single extended talon. Hands began to form throughout the darkness- twisted and unnatural, fingers too long and spindly. With their needle sharp claws they reached out, groping through the mist, as if searching for something- as if searching for him.

In a panic Subaru flung himself from his bed. Sweat dripped down his face, and his breath came out in ragged heaves. Frantic, he fumbled for a long moment before his fingers came into contact with the light switch. In an instant, the room was flooded with light, dispelling all darkness from the darkness- all darkness except the memories that swept through Subaru's mind.

Forcing himself to begin breathing in a more steady pattern, Subaru looked around to reassure himself at the familiar sights. Rows of manga decorated his room, and on the shelves beside them sat numerous figurines- most of them depicting popular female anime characters. One of them- a miniature of an elven female warrior dressed in an ornate dress and with flowing silver hair- caught his eye. For some reason that figurine had always caught his eye- and he was glad for the distraction as his breathing was finally able to slow down to a reasonable rate.

With a grumble, Subaru dragged himself out of bed and downstairs. Passing by the kitchen, he saw his mom getting dinner ready. A wave of guilt flooded through him at how much of a disappointment of a son he must be.

Deciding that he didn't want to go into the kitchen to get a snack, Subaru instead headed for the door. As he stepped through it, he heard his mom calling after him, wishing him a safe trip. He didn't respond- after all, who would want to hear someone like him give a half-hearted response?

It was on the way home from the convenience store, plastic bag in hand, that something strange began to happen. As he waited to cross the street, Subaru felt something touch his head. Annoyed, he turned around, ready to unleash his bad mood- but no one was there. A second later, it happened again- this time more insistent. Then a third- and then the pain hit.

Blinding pain ripped through Subaru's head, an intense fiery sensation bouncing around inside his skull. With a rather pathetic shriek of pain, Subaru fell to the ground, his knees hitting the pavement, and closed his eyes against the agony.

A second later, the pain was gone as Subaru fell unconscious, crumpling to the ground as the world around him vanished.

The sound of chanting voices echoed throughout the underground chamber, their voices dying off as the echoes fled. A soft gasp filled the room- normally this would be cause for reprimand, but right now the small circle of dark-robed individuals were too awestruck to do anything but stare at the most wondrous sight they had ever seen- a young black-haired boy who lay crumpled on the ground.

[Cultist] "...He's here… He's finally arrived…"

At the head of the circle, an eccentrically dressed man stood, arms raised to the sky in reverent prayer. Tears rained down from his face, soaking the front of his robes.

[Sloth] "YES! YES! The sacred day has finally arrived! Our Gospels have been fulfilled! The time of Satella's return will be upon us! SATELLA, ACCEPT MY DILIGENCE!"

At these nearly unintelligible words, the reverent silence was broken as the other ten cultists broke out into raucous cheers. Many of them fell to hands and knees, and a couple of them clasped their hands so tightly in prayer that blood began to ooze out from where their fingernails penetrated the skin- and yet their fervor refused to let them notice the pain.

From amidst the raucous celebration, a soft grumble could heard coming from the object of their adoration. At the center of the room, Subaru shifted slightly as his consciousness slowly began to return. The exact instant this occurred, Sloth's keen eyes caught sight, and instantly his demeanor changed.

[Sloth] "SILENCE! Envy awakes! We must do as the Gospel commands!"

One of the cultists, caught up in his celebration, was slow to heed Sloth's words. As Subaru continued to stir, the cultist let out one last sob of joy- which quickly turned into a hacking gasp as an invisible force seized him by the throat. Cruel fingers wrapped around his neck, and his vision began to fade to black. Looking up with distraught eyes, he stared at Sloth- and saw Sloth staring back with cold, wrathful eyes.

[Sloth] "You... You… You have disobeyed the words of Satella- you have betrayed her love… you have rejected her!"

The cultist's eyes widened as he realized what he had done. His entire face transformed into an expression of utmost sorrow, and something within his mind- already irreparably broken- shattered into pieces. In desperation, the man pulled out his long, curved ceremonial knife and, with fumbling fingers, prepared to make the only penance he could for his unforgivable sin- the penance of his life.

A moment later the cultist was thrown roughly to the ground, sprawling about in an unsightly heap of limbs. His knife hung, suspended in the air- but held off to the side. Meeting Sloth's gaze, he was surprised to see that, while the cold wrath was still there, there was a flicker of another emotion as well, buried deep- but undeniably there was a seed of compassion and sorrow.

[Sloth] "Your life is not yours to take. You will seek repentance from Satella in other ways- and perhaps she will see fit to bestow it upon you. Or perhaps- this boy will grant you that reward."

Turning to the rest of the cultists, Sloth continued.

[Sloth] "Now- let us prepare to welcome our beloved Archbishop of Envy."

Subaru opened his eyes to find only blackness. With an internal groan he lay there, wondering where he was. At the store? In his room? Fumbling around for his lightswitch, he felt one- and then his mind fully awoke and he realized that the darkness around him came from a thick blindfold that was tied in place around his head.

A surprisingly soft, almost reverent voice interrupted his panic before it could fully take form

[Betelgeuse] "Honored one- welcome back."

Surprise ran through Subaru's mind as he lay there, his thoughts running a thousand miles an hour but failing to go anywhere.

[Betelgeuse] "My name is Betelgeuse, although I often go by my title- Sloth. If you see fit, then I beg of you to forgive my inexcusable behavior in treating you in such a manner- but I must be diligent in following my beloved's instructions."

Subaru tried to speak, tried to ask one of the millions of questions running rampant in his mind, but all that came out was a vague mumble as the blindfold interfered with his words.

[Betelgeuse] "Forgive me for being unable to answer your questions, honored one. Before we part ways, I was instructed to give a gift to you."

A small, rectangular object was pressed to Subaru's chest. Instinctively he gripped it and felt the distinctive outline of a book in his hands, although this one was bound in expensive leather instead of the cheap laminated paper that his books were usually made of.

[Betelgeuse] "Goodbye, honored one. If it be Her will, we will meet again someday."

Still trying to process what was going on, Subaru felt something being lifted underneath his nose- followed shortly after by an incredibly sweet sensation that filled his nose. Seconds later he felt his mind begin to fog over as he fell, once more, into the sweet void that is unconsciousness.

The next time Subaru regained consciousness he found himself on a crowded city street bustling with impossibilities. Regaining his senses much more swiftly this time, he quickly jumped up and looked around, alert to danger. Instead, an impossible world implanted itself into his eyes.

All around the crowded city street people walked around, dressed in medieval clothes which looked extremely realistic. Even more than that, however, were the people walking around that had animalistic features- oh, and of course there were the dragons as well. Medieval buildings rose around him, made from rough lumber and stone, with even the street being composed of an innumerable number of rough stone blocks fitted together.

Standing there, feeling a mix of awe and fear running through him, Subaru abruptly realized- this was no longer earth. Letting his enthusiasm have sway for a moment, he shot one hand into the air and loudly proclaimed:

[Subaru] "I've been isekaied to another world! This is awesome!"

Several hours later, Subaru began to regret ever leaving his room in the first place. The last few hours he had run around, talking with a bunch of different people to try and figure out where his questline started. After all, he'd been summoned here, and that weird Sloth guy had said something about him being 'the honored one', so there had to be something for him to do- right?

Yet he'd found nothing besides a rude apple salesman and some seriously shady merchants who were trying to convince some poor fellow to buy oil. Exhausted and weary, Subaru ducked away from the main street into a small alleyway, trying to get away from the noisy crowds so he could have some room to think.

Sitting down on the rough stone, he pulled over his plastic bag to grab the chips he had bought from the store. While reaching down to grab them, he noticed thin book bound in black leather in there as well. An ornate symbol was engraved on the front, but despite the ornateness it only took him a couple of moments to recognize it as the symbol of the Pleiades constellation from back on earth.

Shaking his head at his forgetfulness, Subaru grabbed the book to being reading it. Upon seeing it he began internally reprimanding himself. 'How could I have been so stupid as to forget about the very first quest item that I got!... Well, to be fair, that entire meeting was super weird. I wasn't sure if it was just a dream or something, but this book confirms it… I wonder what's in it?'

Opening the book, Subaru was surprised to find the first page completely blank. And the second page- and the third, the fourth, etc. Subaru was so engrossed in trying to find any hidden messages that he completely failed to notice a group of three thugs approaching him in the narrow alleyway- and they failed to notice which book he was reading from.

[Thug 1] "Hey kid, you're looking mighty lonely out here."

[Thug 2] "Yeah, sittin all by yourself readin a stupid book."

[Thug 3] "Yeah, who knows what might happen? Maybe a few broken bones- or a broken face."

Upon hearing the third thug speak, the other two turned to stare angrily at him.

[Thug 1] "Seriously? Cmon, we've been trying to be subtle! How was that subtle!"

Thug 3 shrugged his shoulders self consciously, looking a little sheepish.

[Thug 3] "What? It's not like I said WE were going to beat him up. Just emp… implei…"

Rolling his eyes in an exaggerated manner, Thug 2 interrupted.

[Thug 2] "It's IMPLIED, you idiot. Now come on both of you, it looks like that idiot over there doesn't understand the situation yet. Cmon kid, hand over everything you've got, and things won't have to get ugly!"

As if to contradict that statement, Thug 3 cracked his knuckles loudly, an eager expression on his face.

Subaru sat there in shock. Was he getting mugged? This kind of thing never happened back in his home town… Uhoh, they look like they're getting really impatient. Well, guess it's time to try out my epic new Isekai Protagonist powers!

With a confident smile, Subaru closed the book, putting it in his bag before standing up.

[Subaru] "All right, are you ready to feel my awesome new powers! Prepare youselv… Guys?"

As soon as Subaru stood up and closed the book, its black cover came into view. The moment it did, all three of the thugs stopped dead in their tracks. Looks of horror froze on their faces, and one of them let out a quiet scream.

[Thug 1] "Hey man… I'm super sorry, I had no idea who you were!"

[Subaru] "...Who I am?"

[Thug 2] "Please… don't kill us! We didn't know! We won't tell anyone you're here, I promise!"

Extremely surprised by the turn of events, Subaru looked towards Thug 3 to see if he had any idea what was going on. As he did, Thug 3 let out a terrified shriek and fell to the ground in a prostrate position, urine seeping out in a puddle beneath him.

[Subaru] "What are you guys talking about? I just arrived in this city today so I really have no idea what's going on. Some guy who called himself Sloth summon..."

The mention of Sloth was the final straw for the three thugs. As one they ran screaming from the alley, trying to put as much distance between themselves and Subaru as possible.

Thoroughly perplexed by what just happened, Subaru could only stand there and watch them leave. Moments later, someone else came running down the alley- a young girl dressed in ragged clothes. She ran with supernatural speed, and, seeing the screaming thugs, looked wearily at Subaru. Apparently judging him to be no threat, she ran straight past him, although she kept a cautious eye on him the entire time before she quickly disappeared over the top of the roof.

Shaking his head, Subaru couldn't help but wonder what in the world was going on. He was clearly caught in some kind of questline, but he had clue what direction it was taking him! Well, maybe the book had some answers to this weird situation- if he could ever find out what was written in it!

As Subaru was reaching down into his bag to get the book, his day was interrupted yet again- but this time by a much more welcome visitor than the two previous. As he caught sight of the figure standing at the entrance of the alleyway, he felt his hand freeze halfway to the bag, and couldn't help but gape at the person standing before him.

An absolutely gorgeous woman with vibrant silver hair and glistening violet eyes. She was dressed in an odd style of clothing that looked like it had come out of a TV show, though it very nicely accentuated her figure. Quickly scanning the alleyway, she began to rush down it, paying only momentary attention to Subaru.

However, none of this was what held Subaru captive. The moment she came into view, a memory crashed into his mind, transporting him far away from that narrow alleyway, leaving his now vacant body to crash to the ground in front of a shocked half-elf.

Sunlight streamed down from a clear, breathtakingly blue sky. A field of soft green grass swayed gently, rubbing against Subaru's legs as he sat there, staring out at the flowered field. A soft breath of wind danced through the meadow, causing the grass to sway in mesmerizing patterns and highlighting the vivid flowers against the portrait of grass.

Beside him sat a young half-elf, only 12 years old at most. Then again, Subaru was only slightly older than that himself. Together they sat there, a feeling of peaceful companionship passing between them, the feeling of a moment which neither ever wanted to end.

Turning towards Subaru, the girl- Satella, that was her name- gave him a big, innocent smile before grabbing onto his hand. Enjoying the mutual warmth, they both continued looking out over the gorgeous landscape, enjoying the scenery with all the innocence which youth can afford.

For the third time in as many hours, Subaru felt himself waking up in an unfamiliar location. The images in his memory still burned through his mind, and an involuntary smile crept onto his face. Then his current situation hit him, and he bolted upright.

The same girl from before sat in front of him- was that the girl from his memory? She looked a bit older, but otherwise looked very similar.

She'd been standing over him with a concerned expression, eyes closed as magic radiated from her hands, healing magic washing over Subaru as she tried to figure out what had happened to him. When he abruptly shot up without any warning, she fell backwards with a soft 'eep!'. She was surprised when a hand caught her arm, stopping her downwards fall.

[Emilia] "I could have caught myself, you know."

With an adorable pout, Emilia pulled her arm away from Subaru. She hadn't been expecting him to actually help her, not with what she was. He must not have seen her ears or else he wouldn't be treating her like this

[Puck] Now Lia, that's no way to thank someone!"

Like the unhelpful parent that he was, Puck, her guardian spirit in the form of a fluffy cat, floated over to tease her. Pouting at him too, Emilia turned away, refusing to look at him- which put her face-to-face with Subaru.

He was looking at her with an unusual intensity, eyes scanning her features as if looking for something. With a soft voice, as if talking to himself but unsure about what he was saying, he spoke.

[Subaru] "Satella?"

Emilia stiffened. She'd been expecting this! It was what always happened, although most of the time people were much ruder about it! So why did she still feel so icky inside whenever someone called her that?

[Emilia] "No! Please, don't call me that! My name is Emilia… just Emilia. Nothing else, alright!"

[Subaru] "Did I say something wrong? I'm so sorry if I did! You just looked a lot like…"

[Emilia] "I know, but the resemblance doesn't mean anything! Please, don't call me that again!"

Despite wanting to be anywhere but that alleyway right now, Emilia summoned up her courage. She needed to know if he'd seen where her stolen pendant had gone!

[Emilia] "I'm sorry if this is troubling you… but did you happen to see someone carrying a small pendant with a gemstone in the middle of it? I'm looking for the person that took mine, and it's really important!... But I'll understand if you don't want to help."

Seeing that she was clearly upset, Subaru rubbed the back of head, feeling awkward and uncertain about what to do. Wait, this had to be part of the questline, right? Why else would she look so similar to his memory?

Taking his signature Natsuki stance, he pointed one finger at her, then another at the sky while proclaiming loudly.

[Subaru] "My name is Natsuki Subaru! It's very nice to meet you, just Emilia! In repayment for making you so sad, I'll be happy to help you find the thief that stole your pendant!"

Silence fell over the alleyway following that extremely cringy statement. Emilia tilted her head to one side, confused by… well, everything he had just, while Puck struggled to hold back laughing at the human making an idiot of himself. The silence stretched on for an uncomfortably long time before Puck decided to break the silence.

[Puck] "Wow, you must feel stupid right now!"

Seeing the flush rising in Subaru's cheeks, Puck smirked before turning to Emilia.

[Puck] "Well, I can't speak for his style… but his motives seem clear. I didn't sense any hostility in him, just an astounding lack of sense… but you don't need to be able to read minds to figure that one out."

Pride wounded beyond repair, Subaru could only help but hang his head in shame before following the odd pair out of the alleyway in search of Emilia's stolen pendant.