Chapter 11: Unwanted Beginnings

Day [?]

Loop 3

Murky darkness surrounded Subaru. He floated there, completely shut off from all senses, even the sound of his own breathing muffled and distant to his ears. For a long time he stayed there, cradled in the grasp of this strange realm.

A faint sound echoed throughout the void. Closing his eyes Subaru ignored it, resting fully in the warm embrace of this strange place. The sound repeated itself, echoing over and over through the void. Drawn from his slumber, Subaru opened his eyes, instantly alert. Forcing his ears to resume working, he focused on the faint sound.

It was the sound of a young woman crying.

Forcing his mind to fully awake from the comforting embrace of oblivion, Subaru forced himself through the void, stumbling in the darkness.

Stumbling forward, Subaru found the murky darkness growing ever deeper, its darkness somehow seeming to affect more than just the eyes. Commanding his hesitant feet forward towards the soft sounds of sobbing, Subaru broke through the darkness and found himself in a small garden.

Everything about it was shrouded in darkness and shadows. Yet somehow the darkness wasn't intimidating or worrying… instead, it was beautiful.

Everything was layered in darkness, but instead of blinding, the dozens of layers of darkness provided a unique texture to the garden, outlining everything in crystalline shadows. It was beautiful, like a thousand crystal statues, each so lifelike they swayed in the breeze, every one sparkling with a different shade of shadow.

In the center of the garden knelt a young woman. Subaru's breath caught as he recognized her. It was Emilia… no, not her. The resemblance was uncanny, but there were differences. This must be Satella, the dreaded Witch of Envy.

She wasn't what Subaru had imagined- and, somehow, she perfectly matched the strange dream he had weeks before. An unexpected sense of affection rose within him. Guided by instinct, he walked forward, his footsteps utterly silent as they sank briefly into the shadowy ground.

Kneeling down, he put his arm around her shoulders. With a start she looked over and saw him kneeling there.

She was beautiful. The crystalline tears that ran down her face brought forth a powerful protective instinct within Subaru, and he gave her a reassuring smile. She hesitantly returned it; a pure smile, filled with all the love and joy that one would give upon seeing a long-lost loved relative.

Subaru looked down to see what she was kneeling over. It was a small statue composed of grasping shadows holding up a small bowl as an offering. Within the bowl swirled dozens of shadows. Leaning forward, Subaru felt his blood run cold.

The image in the bowl was of him, strapped to a crimson table. Surrounding him stood several white-clothed figures preparing to cut him open with a hook-shaped blade.

All of the paranoia returned to Subaru in a rush. Hurling himself backwards to his feet, he formed a windblade in his right hand, readying to use a spell with his left. The strange feelings of protectiveness and familiarity still remained, but now they lay drowned underneath suspicion and hostility.

The young woman- Satella- looked down in sorrow. With a wave of her hand the image dissipated and she looked up at him, her eyes so vulnerable it made him want to drop all his defenses immediately.

[Satella] "I'm sorry."

[Subaru] "..."

Looking hesitant, Satella spoke in a soft, gentle voice.

[Satella] "I'm sorry… I'm sorry… I didn't know…"

She looked to be on the edge of breaking down again, but Subaru still didn't drop his guard. Satella paused, looking down, sorrow entering her gaze as she saw his guarded stance.

[Subaru] "... what do you mean."

[Satella] "I'm the one that brought you here… but I never thought you'd have to go through something so horrible."

Subaru watched closely as Satella looked down, regret playing out on her face.

[Subaru] "So do something about it."

[Satella] "... what?"

[Subaru] "You heard me. Do something about it."

Subaru looked up, focusing his intense glare directly on her. She flinched back slightly at the force behind them- it was a skill that Subaru had been practicing lately, and he was glad to see that it his naturally intimidating eyes were beginning to pay off.

[Subaru] "I'm going to be honest. You weird me out. This entire place reeks of some unnatural scheme that I don't want any part in. You say it's all your fault? Fine. Then do something to fix it, because that apology sure as hell won't make a difference."

Satella flinched back once more at the harsh statement. Subaru didn't care… at least, he tried not to. There was still that strange unnaturally natural affection he felt towards her, but he pushed that down for the moment.

[Satella] "Alright, I can try… no, I'll make sure to do it! No question about it!"

She looked up at Subaru with such eager, fervent eyes that Subaru couldn't help but avert his gaze, embarrassed. Silence stretched for several seconds, then a minute, as they both tried to figure out what to do next. Finally Subaru broke the silence, clearing his throat and attempting to speak in a commanding voice- although it apparently failed pretty bad when Satella giggled upon hearing the tone.

[Subaru] "Well? What are you waiting for, get back to work already."

Satella nodded, reluctantly tearing her gaze away from her beloved. Channeling a complex array of darkened yang magic, Satella directed the spell towards the bowl in front of her, and once more the twisting images resumed their enactment of Subaru's tortures.

Time seemed to blur and twist, losing all meaning as the two of them stood there: Subaru, alert and on guard, blade in hand, ready to take on any trap or ambush that this strange young woman might have planned. Satella, on the other hand, focused her entire attention on the bowl in front of her, only occasionally looking up during particularly bad parts to whisper tearful apologies. Eventually Subaru moved to where he couldn't see the images in the bowl; it was bad enough reliving them each night, and he had no desire to do so while awake.

After an indeterminate amount of time, Satella sat up abruptly. Turning to Subaru, she gave him a worried smile.

[Satella] "I'm sorry."

Subaru, instantly alert at the ominous statement, deigned to reply, instead increasing his alertness and preparing to fight off any potential attack.

[Satella] "... I found you a reset location… but I don't think you're going to like it…"

[Subaru] "Well, then pick a different one."

Satella looked up at him, tears once more glistening around her eyes.

[Satella] "I tried… but I had no idea how bad your life was… if I send you back too soon, you won't have enough time to stop her…"

[Subaru] "Stop saying such cryptic things. Stop who? What are you saying?"

Satella looked up at him. For an instant, her the shadows are her face seemed to darken, taking on a malevolent air. The shadows all around began to lengthen, extending into sinister claws that jutted out from distorted hands and arms, all of the reaching, straining to touch Subaru. His mind was flooded with a sudden, overpowering feeling of love… no, not love- OBSESSION. An all-consuming desire to take him, make him theirs, and never allow anyone to hurt or approach their beloved, their precious…

Then the impression was gone, the shadows fleeing back into themselves. Satella crumpled to the ground, a tired air permeating the garden. Subaru fell to the ground as well, frantically gasping for air, shocked at the sudden violation of every facet of his mind, of the horror of discovering that such a feeling could even exist, let alone be directed entirely and solely at him.

Satella looked at him, desperation and sorrow in her eyes.

[Satella] "Her. I've fought her, held her off for centuries… but now that you're back, I can't… it's all I can do to maintain the seal that we build… but everything else- the Gospels, the Archbishops, the Authorities… everything else she is ripping away from me, twisting and corrupting their minds and powers. I've been able to hold the Cult in check, at least in a small way… but now they are becoming unchained. Please, Subaru, you need to stop them- stop her."

Subaru looked up at her, his mind still reeling, barely able to comprehend the words she spoke. With a sigh and a gentle look of concern, she raised her hands into the air. Thick black cables of yang magic sprang forth, rushing towards Subaru, interacting with that strange power which had lain dormant for so long.

Darkness began to creep into the edges of Subaru's vision, overshadowing the borders of the Garden. Still gasping for air, mind reeling from the assault, he heard Satella last words as if through a long tunnel.

[Satella] "Please stay safe, Subaru. I'm sorry for what I've done to you… please, I hope that you can someday love me again- someday, I hope that you can once again call me sister."

With those last words, Subaru's mind collapsed in on itself, darkness enveloping everything.

The next thing he saw was a massive surge of light, intensely searing his retinas. Shading his eyes at the sudden contrast, he looked out and stopped dead, frozen in shock. Sprawling out in front of him lay a bustling city, hundreds of people walking to and fro, ground dragons pulling carts- and besides Subaru stood an all-too familiar appa vendor.

Author's Notes

I noticed a couple of people who were dissatisfied with the manner in which Reinhard was killed off last chapter, and I wanted to elaborate on the manner in which that occurred. I made the stylistic choice to have last chapter be paced in an extremely fast paced and frenetic manner, particularly the last thousand words or so. Due to this a lot of the finer details were left out. Instead of writing a 500+ word Author Note (which nobody wants lol) I decided to write a standalone short story titled The Hero's Death which is also posted on this account. Feel free to check it out if you want additional details.

Also, as a side note, Reinhard didn't go down easily. In the end every Archbishop except for Lust and Greed were dead (and Louis, of course :)). Big thanks to all the people who pointed out their dissatisfaction in Reinhard's death- without you, the short story wouldn't exist!