The crowd was cheering on, Subaru envisioned it to happen alongside his "happy ending" where they'd be celebrating Emilia's victory in the royal selection.

But he didn't expect the context behind the celebration

Everyone was here, Felt's camp, Priscilla's camp, Anastasia's camp, Crusch's camp, and last but not least his camp, or should he say his former camp, Emilia's camp.

His vision was foggy, exhaustion had been tailing him since months ago. All he could feel was the pain shooting across his body. He was struggling to keep his thoughts straight. But he was already on the verge of completely breaking down. But what good would that do? Reinhard was here, there was nothing he could do to prevent this.

"Filthy and disgusting as always." a feminine voice spoke with a faint cruelty behind it.

"It's unfortunate that you refused to give any information. Perhaps you have changed your mind? Tell us and we will make this execution painless." an elegant voice spoke, but the elegance only served to irritate Subaru more.

Lifting his head, he found himself looking at two figures, Felix and Julius. Their presence was more than enough to make him flinch, but he tried to keep his calm. It would be worse if he didn't.

"Still no answers? Well, I do respect your persistence, although it won't help you much." Julius sighed.

Subaru didn't respond, what else could he do besides enduring the unbearable pain? It seemed like it was the only thing he could do. He was hailed a hero for doing so, he was called a monster for doing so.

He was then kicked, causing him to roll on the floor like a rag doll, his wounds reopened, but little to no blood flowed out of the serious injuries.

The guard accompanying him yelled at him to stand up, but as he tried, his limbs wouldn't answer. He stared at his pale skin, there were barely any muscles.

"Still causing a hassle right before your execution huh," the soldier groaned as he grabbed Subaru by the hair. Dragging him towards the stage.

Subaru was reminded of his hair, it was white like snow. His hair was a different color, but he could no longer recall it. Was it brown? Was it black? It didn't matter anymore.

On the stage what he saw was a pile of logs, he was then strapped right on top of the pile. It took him quite a few moments to realize what was transpiring.

"People of Lugunica! We will now be executing the one who has caused many people pain and suffering! The Sin Archbishop of Pride, Natuski Subaru!"

The crowd roared as the announcement was made. Oh, the cruel irony, Subaru time and time again saved these people and what did he get? A crowd cheering for his death. But does it matter anymore? All he could think about was how he would prevent this death since he will just continue to be trapped in this endless cycle. What had been about a year for others, had been over 5 years for him. But he felt as if his entire life was spent in that godforsaken cell.

The word "rest" wasn't in his vocabulary at all. Even now his body is aching from all the pain caused by the inhumane torture he had received.

All of his thoughts stopped when he felt a bit of heat under him, it didn't take him long to realize that he was about to be burnt alive. What could he do? His gate was broken, he was physically weak,and his authorities were completely useless. He could only pray that he would pass out as fast as possible.

As the flame started engulfing his body, his consciousness began to slip away. He held back his scream, as it would only give pleasure to others witnessing the scene. As everything slowly faded away, he started wondering why he hadn't died yet.

As he moved his eye, he found himself staring at Felix, who was using some sort of magic.

"Thinking that you would finally escape this torment so easily? Nyah, we won't let you leave so effortlessly," Felix spoke, his magic holding Subaru's consciousness hostage. Unable to rest while experiencing massive amounts of pain, a little noise escaped out of his mouth.

"...tsk." His head was boiling, he was suddenly feeling extremely cold and every part of his body stung. His heart threatened to just explode and his brain slowly got mushed into a pile of goo. He started to think that perhaps his death with the Great Rabbit was merciful. At least he would succumb to the pain and faint, but now it was as if even the afterlife refused to accept him.

"What is that nyoise?" Felix spoke sharply as if something he anticipated was finally happening.

"AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" a blood chilling scream was heard throughout the area. But the crowd only roared in response. Hands were clapping, children were cheering and positivity could be heard throughout the plaza. And this positivity was for the execution of a man. A man who had inspired many, was hailed a hero by many, and was called a monster by the monsters.

As the flames engulfed his organs, he stopped feeling, he stopped screaming, he stopped seeing, he stopped hearing, he stopped doing anything.

It was an empty void for him, he was waiting for the sensation of cold stone behind his back, the same feeling he had grown accustomed to ever since being thrown into that disgusting cell. Oh the cell, the smell could repel even the worst of insects. The vomit, the blood, and the severed limbs were all piled up in his cell, which was bigger than your average bedroom, all with the intended purpose of torturing people. He had experienced being skinned alive, being put right next to food and water but unable to reach it, or left limbless for an entire month.

But it never came. He wasn't able to feel anything at all. Eventually, he wanted to stop thinking…

His eyelids were forcefully opened.

Shock was all he felt at that moment. All of his senses rushed back into his mind. He could hear the wind rustling, he could smell the grass field he was currently in, he could see the warm sun, just bright enough to make him feel warm, without burning him. But most importantly, he could feel his head lying on something very soft.

A hand was soothing his hair, calming Subaru's heart and giving it a moment of peace, something he hadn't experienced in a long time.

"Are you… awake?" a silverbell voice spoke. Subaru almost flinched at the voice. He didn't know why, but his body just wouldn't calm itself.

"Yes…" Subaru replied, then he suddenly felt very flustered and asked, "Satella-san, may I ask why am I on your lap?"

"Well… you said it would make you happy to get a lap pillow… I'm sorry it's the only thing I could think of."

"Don't apologize! I'm so delighted to have the courtesy to get a lap pillow from you!"

Satella blushed at the comment, as she continued to soothe Subaru's hair. It went from being long and messy when he arrived to tidy and smooth. They sat there for another while to enjoy the moment before Subaru sat up.

"Satella-san… did you take away Return by Death?"

"Well, I wanted to do that as soon as you were trapped in that nightmare. But Envy refused to do so. Up until this point, where there were no possible ways for you to change your fate of being executed. That was when I was able to convince her to release you from your pain."

Subaru didn't speak, tears fell down his cheeks. There was someone in the world who saw his pain, all of the injustice and torture he had suffered. And someone who cared. That was all he wanted, all that truly mattered.

Satella immediately rushed forward and comforted him. "It's alright now, you're free now, I'm sorry for taking so long to save you."

"It's just… I know my name was eaten by gluttony, but they just immediately proclaimed me as a Sin Archbishop… Nobody would give me a proper trial… they just believed… I was Pride…" Subaru sobbed as he spoke with his unsteady breath. With clear eyes thanks to Satella, he was able to see all of his injuries, all the scars, and his once smooth skin given to him by his mother was now ruined… Wait. He had a mother. He had a father. What did they look like, he couldn't remember at all. He couldn't remember anything before coming into this world. Those faint memories… The one thing he remembered was that he never said goodbye to them when he left.

"It's my fault isn't it…? This is for my sins, of abandoning my parents. I wonder how they are now…? They… must be thinking about how useless of a child I was, or perhaps they had gotten over it already and got a new child? It… doesn't matter anymore doesn't it?" Subaru rambled, his body twitched ever so slightly as his hand moved to scratch his arm, but a hand stopped him.

"Subaru… It's not your fault! Love yourself more, please! It hurts me to see you berate yourself so much… Please stop! There is no need to think about them anymore, okay? We are safe here in the Castle of Dreams…" Satella cried as she hugged Subaru, while tears trickled down her cheeks as well.

Subaru stayed silent until his breathing became steady again. Then he asked, "Am I truly dead now?"

"Yes Subaru, they…burnt your corpse into ashes and blew them away…" Satella's heart ached as she spoke those words. They didn't even give him a proper burial. Almost all evidence of his existence had disappeared. Except for being known as the Sin Archbishop of Pride.

"How long has it been since… y'know?"

"It's been six months."

"So… you're telling me that you sat on your knees for six months? Waiting for me to wake up?"

"Weelllllllll…. I have a really diabolical sense of time…" Satella immediately averted her gaze, trying to hide her embarrassment.

"Nobody says 'diabolical' anymore." Subaru let out a small giggle. Which made Satella delighted. Subaru's mood lightened up a little bit, but when Satella looked at his features, she couldn't help but feel sympathetic. His eyes look dull, as if nothing in the world excites him anymore. His hair was completely white and long, his once signature black hair was nowhere to be seen. His body was covered by a simple bit of fabric barely enough to keep him warm. His body also looked poor, he looked as if he would collapse any moment.

"Six months have passed huh… what happened to my fr… the others?"

"They were all killed."

Subaru went completely silent, he felt… nothing, nothing at all. In the past, he would immediately throw everything he could to prevent it from becoming reality. But now… did it even matter anymore? They left him. They shamed him. They killed him. But yet… his heart ached. His body twitched a bit.

"Are you okay?"

"What…happened to them?"

"They were unable to fight back against the full force of the witch cult. Reinhard was completely distracted by the Sin Archbishop of Lust as the other cultists slaughtered everyone." Satella said coldly, she couldn't care less about those puny insects. They absolutely deserved the punishment they received, painful death while watching their loved ones getting slaughtered alongside them. Perhaps it wasn't the most torturous physically, but it was the most heartbreaking mentally.

"I…" Subaru was at a loss for words.

"You… want to go save them don't you?"

"It's just… I had spent a long time with them. They were my life… seeing them being killed just like that. It's like… making a sculpture for days on end… only for it to be broken by some rat which pushed it over the table." Subaru sighed. "But it doesn't matter anyway, does it? I'm already dead."

"Do… you w….want to… go b….back?" Satella asked, her words were stuttering and her mouth was shaking ever so slightly.

"It wouldn't change anything anyways…I'll still be executed, and there is nothing I can do to get them to trust me, the Sin Archbishop of Pride." Subaru sighed once again. Thinking all of this was stressing him out, wrinkles started to form on his forehead, although it was subtle due to how skinny he was.

"How about becoming a new person?" Satella asked.

"Soul Transference? Just like Roswaal? I don't want to harm another soul."

"Of course not you dunderhead, I will create a body with mana. Think of it like… Echidna creating Artificial Spirits." Satella explained, calmly. But Subaru could feel as if her emotions were about to explode.

"So it's possible… but do you want me to go back to the living world?" Subaru asked.

Satella went silent for a few moments, before replying, "I would rather… that you remained here with me forever… but I know you want to save them… don't you?"

"If you want to, I'll remain here… the only thing I care abo-"

Satella embraced him, stopping his sentence while whispering to his ears, "It's okay, I've been alone for hundreds of years. I can still continue watching you… just understand that once I send you back… there is no assurance that I can convince Envy to undo Return by Death again… are you sure you want to do this?"

Subaru was at an utter loss for words. But he unknowingly had a bright smile on his face. "I could not express how grateful I am. Thank you Satella-san."

Satella smiled as a single drop of tear fell down her cheeks. Then she stood up and she started casting a spell. "Subaru, I will be sending you to a few days after the e…ex…execution. You will most likely arrive somewhere near the mansion. So please be prepared… Good luck Subaru."

"Thank you Satella-san… And I promise that I'll sa-"

I promise that I'll save you

The rustling of leaves startled Subaru as he shot up, looking around him he was surrounded by trees, with nothing particularly interesting in sight.

Great, I have no clue where I am and I'll just have to pray that I somehow find my way out of this. Subaru thought to himself. As he listened to the forest he could sense that something was moving around him, watching him.

Subaru had to make a choice. Would he approach it? Or fight it? But it wouldn't even matter as a wolgram immediately lunged at him, taking him by surprise.

"Invisible providence." Subaru muttered right before its fangs could reach him, a hand appeared and immediately smacked the mabeast down, killing it upon the impact.

Before Subaru even had the chance to take a breath, five more wolgrams launched themselves towards him. Subaru rapidly dodged the attacks and started escaping.

This is bad, the wolgram packs are going to reinforce each other and overwhelm me sooner or later. I have to run. Subaru thought as he started sprinting away. The only problem was that the mabeasts were catching up, fast. Subaru had no clue what his new body was capable of but he certainly didn't have as much mobility as he used to have. Or perhaps he was just being egotistical and thought of himself too highly.

As more wolgrams approached Subaru panicked and summoned more unseen hands to fend them off. It was starting to take a toll on his body as his breathing got heavier and heavier and his head felt like it was going to tear apart.

I don't think I can take it any longer… Only a few minutes have passed and I already have to start a new loop huh… Subaru was hobbling at this rate. As he tried to move his legs he tripped over a single pebble. How pathetic.

Chomp. One wolgram latched on and bit him. Subaru cursed under his breath and quickly crushed its heart. But two more pierced their claws and fangs into Subaru's skin.

"AGHHH!" Subaru screamed as pain overwhelmed his body as he continuously tried to fend them off, only for more pain to pierce through his body as he summoned as many unseen hands as he could. But in the end, the hands disappeared as his strength failed him. He could only continue to scream as the mabeasts continued to maul him into pieces.

It was familiar for him, just like his death against the Great Rabbit, or just like that one time he tried to save R… Hkk, tears formed under his eyes as he was reminded of his painful memories.

It was always like this, he was like the magnet of danger. Wherever he went, death followed him like paparazzi. He rarely got a chance to take a simple break and now being thrown into the world with a new body the fact didn't change. He was in the wrong situation at the wrong time…

"Fura!" Subaru could hear the faint noise of a magic being casted. Within seconds, all of the noises around him stopped.

… That was all Subaru could think of as his consciousness slowly faded away. In his vision covered in red, he was able to recognize a figure approaching him.

"Sssss…st…staay…bbb…baaa…baaackk…" was the only thing he said subconsciously as the figure picked him up and his vision turned black.

Author's Notes:

This is my first try at writing something, so I have no clue what am I supposed to do... Anyways criticisms are welcomed. They say you can't improve without other people opinions aye? Please correct me on my grammar as it's not my first language.

I will try to follow the canon stuff but... yea I can't remember all of them so please point them out if you see them, although I will be adding a little bit of stuff on my own for story purposes.

Anyways, I hope you had a fun time reading and I will see you when I see you :)