A sudden jolt of agony spiked through the unconscious boy's mind forcing his body to wake up from its deep slumber. The heaviness in his chest forced the boy to slowly sit up in bed, the pain of a headache blaring along all the while. As he brought a hand to his throbbing head, his mind was a mess of swirling ideas and questions; why was he here, where was here, and what had happened all reverberated as if slamming against the confines of his skull. Attempting to open his eyes only brought more pain as bright sunlight filled his vision, worsening his ever-growing migraine. Slowly, allowing his eyes to adjust to the morning rays, he took in his surroundings.

The sights around the boy seemed both familiar and off-putting, something was wrong, but he couldn't quite understand what was so off about it. The room he was in was an exact recreation of his old room in the Roswall mansion, a room that, for all intents and purposes, should have been reduced to a pile of ash.

An uncovered window shined the rays of the morning sun through the near immaculate room. Not a speck of dust was seen on any furniture; even the cabinet tops seemed expertly cleaned, as if always in that perfect state.

'What happened? Why am I here?'

Suffering through the pain, Subaru struggled to sort out his thoughts.

What had he been doing? How did he end up here?

'Last thing I remember, I was heading back towards Luginica with Rem and Louis, and now I suddenly end up back at the destroyed mansion?'

Shaking his head at the absurdity of the situation only further worsened the pain assaulting his mind. He had just been on his way back home from Vollachia after helping Vincent retake his empire, not willingly, mind you. He finally closed the distance between him and Rem, and he sadly had to accept that the old Rem was still gone. Honestly, it was challenging getting this far, so Subaru was willing to take whatever he could get. On the other hand, Louis really did seem to regress to the point of being a child. Subaru could never forgive the original Louis Arneb, but he decided to give the new Louis a chance; after all, he understood better than anyone that you can change your ugly self with a bit of help.

"Well, first things first, is this real, or am I in an illusion or something?"

Calling out to the room around him, the boy was met with nothing more than the ever-present silence of the mansion. Taking a glance down at himself, Subaru began to inspect his body. Still wearing the clothes he brought with him to the Watchtower, Subaru could not spot any noticeable difference in his attire.

"Hmm, while I can't know for sure, I don't think someone could just recreate the whole mansion in a couple of months. The only other possibility besides an illusion would be…."

"...that I returned by death."

Subaru quickly dashed that notion out of his mind, shivering a little at the possibility.

"That can't be it! I mean, why am I wearing these clothes if that's what happened." Subaru grimly chuckled to himself, trying to get the idea out of his head. The possibility of going that far back scared him; for everyone to leave him behind like that again, it would surely break more than just his heart.

Trying to shake away his dark thoughts, Subaru slowly started to grin and forced himself off of his bed, only to be hit with an ice pick-like pain in his head.

"Damn headache!" Subaru groaned as he slowly forced himself steady, "This is nothing, Subaru, just think about everything you went through in Vollachia…" he started to grimace again. "Ok, on second thought, don't think about what happened in Vollachia. Damn, can I ever catch a break?"

Letting out a tired sigh, Subaru walked toward the window that let in all the light and took a good look out of it. The familiar sight of the mansion's courtyard filled his view. Memories of his times learning to buttle played through his mind like an old film. All the times he and Ram failed to keep up with Rem, all the times' Rem tried to compliment Subaru but just ended up making him feel worse, he could never forget the time he spent here with the Oni Twins.

"I promise that I'll reunite you with your sister Rem; after all, I'm your hero!"

A cloudy expression fell upon his face.

'At least, I was your hero.'

As Subaru's thoughts began to grow darker, something seemed to quickly move in the corner of his eye outside. Though barely seeing what it was, he could have sworn that a figure ran around one of the sides of the mansion.

"Sheesh, talk about creepy. It's probably just my imagination playing tricks on me; I mean, I did just wake up...It could also be a part of the Illusion." As if just remembering he was in an Illusion, Subaru scrunched his brows.

"Once again, I'm left wondering why I'm here. I could just be dreaming, but this feels too real for that." Looking at his arm, Subaru brought his other hand up and pinched himself. "Nope, this isn't a dream. At Least I can rule that out now."

Tearing his gaze away from the window, Subaru walked towards the desk sitting in the corner of the room. 'I remember Ram teaching me how to read and write here. The way she fell asleep halfway through the lessons used to piss me off, but now I kinda miss it.' Interrupting him from his thoughts, the sound of a click followed by a long creek emanated from behind him. Quickly turning around, Subaru noticed the once closed door now stood open, as if beckoning him to explore the rest of the mansion.

"Well, if I learned anything from RPGs, the story won't progress if you just sit still in one place the entire game!" Masking his apprehension and fear with a joke, Subaru made his way out and into the hallway.

In stark contrast with his beating heart, the hallway seemed calm and still. It looked exactly like he remembered it, though there was still a feeling of pervading wrongness. The hallway was immaculate, as if Rem had just cleaned it. It was spotless. The light pouring through the windows gave the hallway an almost ethereal feel.

Waves of nostalgia washed over Subaru. Memories of his time working in these halls ran through his troubled mind.

'Thinking back, I still remember my first day here.'

Slowly, Subaru began to walk down the halls while reminiscing.

'I still remember when I first woke up and met Rem and Ram, their insults in stereo, though annoying, were really endearing.'

Stopping for a moment to look at a door that seemed off, Subaru began to reach out.

'and before that…' grasping the handle, he twisted the knob and opened the door.

'I met Beako here.' The door gave way to what looked like the forbidden archives.

"Well, this confirms it. This is definitely an illusion; I don't think any extra-dimensional repair men exist here." slightly chuckling to himself, Subaru spotted a familiar stool sitting in front of the door. On it lay a black-bound book.

A shiver went down Subaru's spine as he walked towards the stool. "That's definitely not supposed to be there."

That black book was the cause of 400 years of pain for his contracted spirit, a little girl who wanted nothing more than to be free of her eternal binding.

'I still can't believe that the little girl I first met would've turned into one of the people I rely on most. Looking back, it's funny how violent our first meeting was. At least she isn't as aggressive nowadays.'

Subaru bent down and cautiously picked up the black book. Eyeing the familiar binding, Subaru turned the book around in his grasp. 'It won't hurt to look inside it, right? It's just an illusion after all.'

As if tempting fate, Subaru cracked the book open while averting his eyes. Apprehension slowly filled him, and hesitantly, he shifted his line of sight towards the page.

"Huh?" A questioning noise came out of Subaru's pursed mouth.

"W-what does this even mean?"

A lone word, that's all that was on the canvas—one simple command which sent burning pain through Subaru's head.

"Remember."

Subaru braced himself and fought to stay upright, placing one hand on his forehead and another on the stool. His eyes were forced closed from the pain, and the sound of something falling to the floor echoed throughout the room.

'What does that even mean? Remember what?'

Subaru let out harsh gasps and steadied himself until the wave of pain passed. Opening his eyes once again, he found himself back in the hallway of the mansion. The Library had disappeared as if it was never there in the first place.

"Th-that wasn't normal at all…" talking in a surprised and worried voice, Subaru's face scrunched up in confusion, fear present in his eyes.

The sound of light footfalls on the floor brought the stunned Subaru back into 'reality.' Quickly, the boy turned his head and spotted the slightest glimpse of flowing yellow hair retreating around a corner. Bursting into a sprint in an attempt to reach the retreating figure, Subaru rushed to the corner, and when he looked around the bend, was greeted with an empty hallway leading to the familiar grand entrance room of the mansion.

"Wher-no. Who are you?!" A disturbed Subaru shouted out into the empty mansion.

After waiting a few moments and being greeted with nothing but silence, Subaru let out a groan and tried to calm his rapidly beating heart.

'Either I'm crazy and seeing things, or this Illusion is trying to drive me insane. Either way, I'm a little pissed.' Masking his fear with anger and bravado, Subaru bravely descended the mansion's staircase.

Though well maintained, thin layers of dust lay around the grand staircase and the great room in front of Subaru. The light streaming in seemed a bit darker now as if it lost some of its radiance.

"My buterly instincts are screaming at me; this place needs a good once over." Forcibly joking with himself to keep calm, Subaru continued to gaze at the layers of dust. "I feel like this is what the mansion would look like with just Ram handling the chores."

Taking a sweeping look around the room and at the bottom of the stairs, Subaru's mind became clouded with memories of Rem after gluttony attacked. Her comatose figure resting on a bed and the rash decision to kill himself floated through his mind.

'It's been so long since then; I did everything I could to bring you back. I was too late, though. I'm sorry for letting you down like that, Rem.' Shifting his head downward, Subaru took a few short breaths to steady his breathing.

'I'm just happy you finally woke up, Rem. I'm so glad that you're ok.'

Without even noticing it, Subaru heard the sound of his dress shoes touching something wet on the floor. As his clouded eyes regained focus, Subaru was surprised to see a crimson puddle on the wooden floor of the mansion. Having stepped in it, a bit of the red liquid splashed onto Subaru's….dress shoes?

"Wawaw wait a minute, why am I-" As he slowly inspected his clothes, he realized he was dressed in his usual Butler outfit.

"Why am I in my Butler clothes?" feeling around his pockets, Subaru noticed a rather prominent bulge in one of his coat pockets. Slowly reaching towards it, Subaru felt the all too familiar feeling of a book's binding.

Subaru's breath caught in his throat, and ever so cautiously, he pulled the book out of his pocket. The easily recognizably black bindings of a supposedly blank book filled his eyes.

"I could have sworn that I dropped this back at the Library. Why do I have this?!" With fear etched into his voice, Subaru wrapped his fingers around the cover of the book, and slowly with careful actions and trembling hands, he opened the book. As if always there, a new word lay in the center of the page.

"Regret."

Subaru's body chilled instantly at the word; the feeling of ice entering his veins caused his body to tremble. A horrid headache wracked through his mind. The sense of claws scraping through his brain tore his thoughts into pieces; black spots and stars assaulted his vision. Flashes of a carriage ride briefly appeared in Subaru's head, Subaru, Louis, and Rem smiling and talking to one another.

Subaru's body fell to the ground, convulsing as a thud sounded through the quiet room. The only sound he could hear was his own pained cries escaping through his gritted teeth. Over time, the pain wracking his body and mind receded, and Subaru regained control of his tortured frame. The red liquid from the puddle now coated Subaru's suit and limbs. Slowly, Subaru began to stand up shakily. White knuckles and trembling fingers desperately clung to the black book. 'I...I don't understand.'

"I don't understand." Subaru whimpered out in a quiet voice. "Remember, Regret. What does any of that mean? I know I can't remember what happened, but what does this whole Illusion have to do with that!" Subaru's voice grew in intensity ending in an angry scream

Grasping the book firmly in his hands, Subaru reeled an arm back and launched the book across the room. The sound of a vase shattering echoed throughout the room and shook him from his stupor. Regaining his composure, Subaru took calming breaths and looked at the shattered porcelain now spread across the floor.

"Ughhh. This isn't my first time breaking a vase here." Sighing and ending his sentence with a weak chuckle, Subaru dragged his exhausted body towards the doors behind him. If this Illusion was accurate, as he hoped, the dining hall was just beyond them. "I might as well replace the vase; it might be some sort of mandatory event…."

As Subaru opened the dining hall doors, the scent of rot seeped out of the room and into his nostrils. Deciding to simply deal with the stench, Subaru walked through the door. The sound of nature and insects quietly entered his ears. Once the picture of elegance and beauty, the dining hall in front of him was now a dilapidated room with flora growing over the cracked and moss-caked walls. Although it looked familiar to the room he remembered well, the end of the hall opened up into a forest much like the ones he found himself in through Vollachia.

"I guess making sense now would be pretty weird, huh?" Subaru tiredly mumbled out.

As he turned around to see where he came from, he was greeted with an open forest. Blotches of red were splattered upon the bark of trees, rough dirt covered his surroundings, and a splintered wooden carriage wheel lay on the ground in front of him. Looking down at himself, the sight of a blood-covered Vollachian uniform filled his gaze.

"Is this reality then?"

"Ahah."

Subaru quickly looked to his side and saw a little girl with long blond hair. Her once pristine white dress was now caked in mud and blood. Her face was covered in scratches, and she had a long gash going down from her right temple to her chin. She was lying down on the ground in front of a tree. Her legs were missing.

"Louis!" Rushing to her side, Subaru attempted to get closer to the girl, but as he was within touching distance, Louis let out a shriek and desperately tried to crawl away from him. Her face contorted with fear, and her eyes were tearing up. Seeing that he scared the girl, Subaru took a step back and cautiously began talking to the soon-to-be-dead Archbishop.

"Louis, what happened to you? What happened to Rem?" Gradually growing in desperation and worry, Subaru erratically questioned Louis.

"Aaagh, agah ahhh." A string of unintelligible noises and sobs came from the young girl's mouth. Louis shrunk away from Subaru's gaze.

As if suddenly becoming aware of its presence, Subaru noticed an extra weight in the pocket of his uniform. Reaching down, Subaru's fingers coiled around a small book's binding. This book was different from the last two, it was much less thick, and something from within him desperately told him, screamed for him to leave it be. As if on autopilot, Subaru pulled the small book from his pocket, the weight of it in his hands defying reason. As his eyes met the cover of the book, a feeling of revulsion washed over him. He recognized this book; some of his worst deaths were at the hands of those following its writ. Slowly, as if putting great care into his actions, Subaru opened the cover of his gospel and stared at the white page. A blurry line of black seemed to be flickering in and out of reality on the page just below where the words from early rested. After a few moments, the line solidified into a coherent sentence.

"Turn around, and look behind the trees."

The boy felt his gut twist as if struck by a heavy blow, and he bent over in pain. Subaru violently shook his head in denial. He didn't want to go back there. Something was telling him not to go over there. However, Subaru's legs didn't follow his head's commands and quickly shuffled themselves over to the trees. Slowly walking around the cluster, the scent of rot and death came towards him in full force. There was something very wrong with those trees. Something he doesn't want to see. Something he doesn't want to remember.

As if fighting against himself, Subaru's head slowly twitched its way towards the splintered remains of a wooden carriage. Long gashes appeared to be dug into the wooden sides; a singular palm mark ripped through the opposite wall. From below the wooden walls, a pool of dried blood covered the ground and nearby grass. Subaru unconsciously walked towards the remains. Once he got a foot closer, the book in his hand called his eyes towards it. One final word appeared on the page, a word he tried to avoid looking at with all of his might.

"Accept."

Dropping the black book, Subaru looked at the broken form of a Woman with blue hair. Her body was crumpled, her chest caved in, and her exploded insides exposed to the world. Her limbs were twisted in unnatural ways, and her head was cracked open, smashed from the outside. Dried blood coated her entire figure. Bits of pink were scattered around the broken mess her head used to be, and dark bruises lined her neck.

"Ahh, how truly wonderful. Truly amazing, love at its finest. Amazing how far into denial one can go for the one they love. Her own expression, a permanent look of betrayal, is forever present in my mind. It was pure emotion. It's truly, truly wonderful." a voice lined thick with emotions bordering on profoundly moved called out from behind Subaru.

"Your love is truly wonderful, but it seems like you broke again. No matter, I will do this again and again until you're ok because I truly see your value. I don't care how many times it takes because I truly value you."

"Natsuki Subaru is moments from waking up from a dream that will let him accept his fate."

A sudden jolt of agony spiked through the unconscious boy's mind forcing his body to wake up from its deep slumber.