Chapter 31: Walking a lonely path
"Hey Subaru...Subaru!"
(What...?)
"What happened?! Curaga!"
(Is that...?)
"Wilhelm! Felix! Someone!"
"What's going on, Sora-dono?!"
"It's Subaru!"
"Subaru-dono..."
(What is going on? That voice is familiar...)
"My...apprentice...why...?"
"Why..."
(...that was Master Sora's voice! And Wilhelm's!)
"Why?! Why did you die so easily?!"
"Emilia, stand back!"
Subaru was able to see yet he realized that he was just a soul, unable to look away from the scene being played in front of him. He could see it was the time he committed suicide in a vain attempt to save Rem only to realize the checkpoint had moved. He saw Wilhelm and Sora crying with one punching the ground hard while Sora was preventing Emilia from entering the room, knowing that she would break down if she entered yet she managed to push her way through.
"Subaru...liar...liar...you liar!"
"Emilia-sama, you need to leave! We are going to get Felix to help!"
"Wilhelm, I healed him but his spirit is gone."
(What is going on?! I don't remember this at all!)
"No...why Subaru...you said you love me...why?!"
"Emilia, you need to stand back please."
"Why did he do this Sora? Why?!"
Emilia began to cry into Sora's arms, wanting to know why Subaru committed suicide while both Sora and Wilhelm were unsure on how to tell the others of what had transpired. She cried and cried with everything she had, having her heart broken by just the boy's simple suicide. Eventually she passed out with Sora moving her outside safely while Wilhelm and himself thought on what to do. As this crazy moment was going around the two with both of them unsure on what to think of, Subaru's corpse slowly started to move on its own.
(What the? What is going on?)
"This isn't right, Subaru-dono? Is that you?"
"Wait, Wilhelm watch out?!"
Sora jumped in front of Wilhelm to protect him from getting hurt and quickly blocked off an attack from the dead Subaru with his Kingdom Key. Subaru watched as everything was unfolding, confused on why his corpse was attacking his friends. Before Sora could do something, they all noticed Puck appear with anger in his eyes.
"How dare you make Lia cry."
"Wilhelm, stand back."
"Okay, Sora-dono..."
"Puck, stand back as well."
"No Sora! This witch...this man made Lia cry, he has to pay by my hands."
"Spirit...if we fight here and now, the casualties-"
"You violated your pledge, and froze my Lia's heart. -It's time I ende-"
Before Puck could finish, they all saw a bright light cover the room which got even the dead corpse attention. As the light lowered, it was Sora holding Ultima weapon in his hand while in Ultima form. He looks at Puck with anger in his eyes before speaking to the spirit.
"You will back off, Puck. I will take care of whatever is possessing Subaru's body."
"You will not stop me from-"
"If you do something Puck, and I mean anything, I will take you down without hesitation! Do you want that to happen knowing what it would do to Emilia."
"..."
"Are we clear?"
(I've never seen Master Sora this scary.)
Puck was looking at Sora with anger in his eyes yet the longer he looked at Sora, the more he started to back off, seeing that if he were to be killed by the Keyblade wielder, he would surely make Emilia suffer. Puck nodded and headed towards Emilia with anger still in his eyes as he wished to be the one to kill Subaru. Sora looked at his apprentice and began to say in a sad tone of voice,
"I really am sorry about this, Natsuki Subaru. I failed you as a master..."
Sora quickly charged at the body and without hesitation took it down with one hit, having a lot of guilt in his heart. As Subaru's body fell, Puck attempted to do something as he wanted the final one to finish off the boy that broke his daughter's heart only for a beam of light to hit his little furry chest.
"I told you to back off!"
Sora made sure the light wasn't lethal but enough to put the little cat unconscious. This worked as Puck retreated into his crystal in hopes of recovering while Subaru's body started to disappear.
"Subaru-dono...I wished you were still here with us."
"Subaru...forgive me for failing as a master. I promise to take care of Emilia for you."
As Sora finished speaking in a sad tone with a tear streaming through his left eye, the world went blank.
Subaru woke up back in the tomb with pain in his face, having seen the guilt he gave his master and the pain he brought to Emilia. He coughed a bit before looking around, trying to figure out what was going on until he noticed that he was back to normal.
"I'm inside the tomb. What was that?"
Subaru was extremely confused yet he figured that he is probably in the second trial, refusing to entertain the idea that worlds continue even after his death. As he started to get up, he felt his body lose energy and his mind starting to lose strength once again. As he fell to the ground once again, he could hear his voice say,
"Behold an unthinkable present."
Everything went dark for a moment.
(Where am I this time?)
"Subaru...!"
(Wait, that sounds a lot like...)
"My My, I didn't expect him to jump in the mix. What a shame too."
"I...I won't let you get away with this!"
(Rem!)
Subaru's vision was restored to him in order to view the scene right after his very first death, seeing that Rem was completely broken from his death before turning that grief into rage towards Elsa. Before the two continued their fight, they both noticed Sora in his valor form returning from the forest with Meili in his back.
"Rem! What is going on?! Where is Subaru?"
"My My, I was wondering when you were going to arrive, Sora dear."
Sora set Meili aside and began to walk towards the crater where he saw Rem with a horn on her forehead, seeing that she is a demon. This caught his attention for a moment until he noticed Subaru's lifeless head away from his body, making the keyblade wielder feel a rage in his heart towards Elsa, having realized that she is the one who killed the boy.
"Rem, I know your anger but I need you to get the girl to safety. I'll handle the Bowel hunter by myself."
"But Sora-"
"Please Rem."
"...okay."
Rem nodded and put away her horn before obeying the keyblade wielder's wishes and taking Meili out of the scene. As Rem left, Sora took himself from valor form and back into his standard attire.
"My My, aren't you going to go into your powerful form?"
"..."
"That's not nice to leave someone hanging, Sora dear."
"...I have nothing to speak to you about."
"My, I never thought that the boy's death would make you this angry. It makes me excited to see what you will do for the boy."
"...Avenge him."
"Then why-"
Sora cut Elsa off by covering himself in a black sphere for a moment before revealing himself in his anti-form with Kingdom Key in hand. As Sora along with his weapon had a heartless like design was shown to Elsa, she was intrigued since he looked like he was a heartless.
"My My, this is quite a treat. Is this your more angry side? Now that is interest. Please give me a desirable fight! Make me feel what I did when we fought in the Loot house!"
Elsa charged at Sora, excited to see how Anti-Sora would fare compared to Final Form Sora yet as she was going to land a hit on the keyblade wielder, she was completely thrown off when Sora's anti-form managed to land a powerful hit. This sent Elsa flying a few feet with the Bowel hunter beginning to plush as she enjoyed the painful hit she received. Before being able to recover, Sora was already close to the Bowel hunter and instantly started to beat her up without showing any mercy.
(I've never seen Master Sora this angry before...no, he was like this when Petelgeuse killed everyone which gave him the power of darkness to eliminate three organization members in a couple of hits. I don't like seeing my master like this.)
Sora continued to beat Elsa to a bloody pulp, showing how deadly he is when he allows the anger in him to take control, even worrying Elsa since she realizes that Sora is aiming to kill. With Sora about to finish Elsa with the final blow, the world went dark for Subaru.
Subaru awoke back in the graveyard and started to roll around in pain as he is beginning to think about all the pain he caused and may cause to the worlds after his death. This thought caused him to scream since he doesn't want to see anymore, he doesn't want to see his Master suffer or see Emilia suffer because of his death.
"Stop...it...please...! Stop it! Stop it!"
Subaru attempts to make a run for it yet he loses his strength once again and ends up passing out.
"Behold an unthinkable present."
"Subaru! Subaru!"
Emilia begins to cry out the boy's name as she just witnessed him getting crushed to death by the building that was aiming for Emilia and Puck. As she cried, Puck looked angry towards Xigbar as he is the cause for Emilia to be in great pain emotionally. Xigbar smiles as he sees Puck preparing to attack him while Reinhard is being pushed back by Young Xehanort.
"You broke my daughter's heart by killing the boy he cared for. Now you will die now."
"Ha, as if! I wasn't trying against you two, do you honestly think that I will lose to you just because you are angry?"
"Trust me, nobody gets away with hurting Lia."
Puck starts to go all out on Xigbar, not caring if he is causing destruction in the buildings nearby just to get a hit that'll kill Xigbar. While Puck was trying to kill Xigbar, Young Xehanort and Reinhard were both in a blade lock. Reinhard noticed that Emilia was crying, causing him to look at Emilia's direction to see why she was crying only to figure out that Subaru as been killed, angering the Master Swordsman.
"How dare you all attack the kingdom and put many people's lives at risk and for what?"
"We don't need to tell you anything, Swords Saint."
Reinhard quickly jumped back and used his most powerful move in hopes that he could take down Young Xehanort. As Reinhard is going with one of his one-hit attacks, Young Xehanort was prepared to dodge the attack yet he allowed himself to be hit, wanting to prove something.
Reinhard sends his strongest attack towards Young Xehanort, obliterating the organization member which made Reinhard turn around for a moment, thinking that the fight is over yet he felt a shift of mana which caused him to regain back his guard. He looked at the area Young Xehanort was obliterated to see a giant clock moving backwards to show Young Xehanort rewinded back his life prior to dying.
"What an impressive attack, but it wasn't enough to kill me."
"Wait, what just happened?"
"Let's just say that I have an ability that'll keep me from being taken down so easily. Well then shall we continue this fight."
"You and your friends will not get away with this!"
Reinhard charges at Young Xehanort and begins to go on the offensive, seeing that he can't hold back if he wants to defeat the organization member. As Reinhard continues his fight with Young Xehanort, Emilia continues to cry over Subaru's death.
"Why Subaru...? Why did you save me? I didn't want you to die..."
Emilia continues to cry as she wishes things went different until something inside her changed, causing her to slowly increase mana in a way that got both Puck and Reinhard's attention. The two quickly went towards her position, abandoning their fight, to check on Emilia only for her to start showing signs of mana storing up inside her.
(Emilia...I'm sorry...I didn't wish to make you suffer this much...)
Reinhard and Puck tried to calm Emilia down as best as they could before Emilia started to walk towards Xigbar with anger in her eyes.
"You hurt Subaru, my friend, the boy I saved a month ago. Now he is dead, because of you!"
Emilia's anger caused her to start freezing the area, getting both Young Xehanort and Xigbar's attention. The two organization members waited to see what Emilia would do to them, not realizing that they were in actual danger as Emilia's mana was building up to the point where anyone close would be killed within seconds, even the organization members wouldn't be able to survive this.
"I will avenge Subaru!"
Emilia exploded with large amounts of ice covering the entire area which eventually caused the world to go dark once again, indicating that the scene ended with Subaru's mind breaking as he sees what happens to the worlds he left behind.
"Behold an unthinkable present."
"Subaru? Did you fall asleep? Subaruuuuu. Subaru. Subaru. Subaruuuu?"
(Wait, what is this scene playing?)
"You really are selfish, sleeping on my lap but then again you look cute when you are asleep."
(Hold on...this is...the previous loop...)
"Subaru, you are very selfish. You are forcing me to watch over you after we just kissed. You dunderhead...though I don't mind seeing this side of you, the only thing that belongs to me. You are all to myself, Subaru-kun."
(This is...my fault...I should've been there...)
"I love you, Subaru. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you."
"Wow, you really have turned into quite the girl, haven't you?"
(Huh? Who is...)
The mysterious figure who Subaru spoke before dying in Emilia's lap had managed to enter the graveyard without getting hurt. This caught Subaru's attention, curious on what he was going to do. The mysterious figure approaches Emilia to check on Subaru, having sensed that the soul that once inhabited the broken and damaged body is now gone.
This disappointed him yet he expected this since he knew that the future is set. He also had a feeling that Subaru didn't have enough time before his body gave up before he could have the chance to heal himself. The mysterious figure tried to get closer to Subaru yet he felt something and just barely dodged Emilia's icicle attack directed to his head.
"Woah woah woah! Careful, I only have one head here!"
"..."
"Okay, seems like I must've hit a nerve when getting close to that boy there, what was his name again?"
"Natsuki Subaru-kun. My Natsuki Subaru-kun!"
"Now now little girl, I'm not here to take the boy from you, I just want to check on something real-"
"No! Stay away from us!"
Emilia fired more icicles at the mysterious figure yet he was able to evade each and everyone of them.
"Alright Alright, man at the very least let me make sure he is still alive."
"No! You will wake my sleeping Subaru-kun!"
"You do realize he is-"
"Don't you say it!"
"...he is dead."
"He is not dead! He is not Dead. He is not dead...He is just asleep!"
"Look I get that you are a bit on the crazy side but if you pay very close attention to him, there is little chance for him to have survive the hell with those injuries."
Emilia looked confused and quickly blinked multiple times at Subaru's dead corpse, at first not able to see until the mysterious figure made the room bright where Subaru's body was shown to be bleeding out. This caused Emilia to be forced to accept the truth, truly breaking her.
"Noooo! Subaru! Subaru!"
Emilia exploded with anger and pain, causing the inside of the graveyard to freeze with the mysterious figure managing to create a barrier of darkness to protect himself from the deadly attack. As the whole place ends up frozen, Emilia ends up being frozen in a crystal, asleep. The mysterious figure looked at Emilia and started to speak,
"Wow, that was scary but it does bring my point to the kid, this world is set on a dark path. If he had the power of waking and did what Sora did back then, maybe he could've fixed this doomed world."
The mysterious figure approaches Subaru and begins to take away a light within the dead corpse's heart before creating a corridor of darkness to leave. As he was leaving, he turned towards the frozen Emilia and the dead Subaru before leaving the two to their permanent sleep.
"Darkness prevails and light expires."
"Behold an unthinkable present."
(Where is this now?)
"Sora, glad to see you are okay?"
"Huh? Darn it's really cold. What happened? What are you doing here, Reinhard?"
"He is here because of me."
Sora looked at the voice that sounded like Puck to see that there is a giant monster that's causing the entire area to be covered in snow. Sora summoned his keyblade and prepared to fight the monster only for Reinhard to stop Sora from starting the fight just yet. Sora noticed this and nodded at his red hair friend before asking the monster,
"Are you Puck?"
"Yes Sora, I am Puck. Beast of the End."
"Beast of the End? Wait what happened to Subaru? He was still alive when-"
"I killed him."
"Why?!"
"Because Lia is sleeping, eternally. Existing in a world without her carries no value at all. I who failed to protect her, and that man, share the same sin. I would have killed you as well but because you are not of this world, Sora, you are not part of the contract."
"..."
Sora was shocked that Puck killed his apprentice, making him realize how much he failed as a master. He falls to the cold ground on his knees, with tears in his eyes for the failure to save Subaru, Rem, Julius, and the others while Reinhard pulls out his Dragon Sword Reid to take on Puck.
"Is that why you're trying to destroy the world? Because Emilia-sama is gone?"
"I don't want to live in a world without Lia. So as per our contract, I will destroy the world."
"I am going to stop you from causing any further harm. If you must resent someone, please resent me."
"I don't resent anyone, Reinhard. You are a true hero. And a hero is all you can be."
"Sora, could you stand behind me for a moment, I would like you to not get caught in my attack."
Sora looked at Reinhard and nodded at him before getting up to stand behind Reinhard while he held his Dragon Sword Reid up highly while it's glowing. As he holds the sword high up, a large energy wave creates around both himself and Sora.
Reinhard quickly swung his sword which completely covered the entire area with a strong energy wave, easily wiping everything in the area out for a moment before the light around the two faded. The sword saint's attack simultaneously brought the end and rebirth of the world. Puck was hit by the attack and there was no trace of him, completely extinguished from the universe.
Sora looked around the area and was surprised that Reinhard was powerful enough to fix the entire place and take down Puck in one hit. As he was surprised by this, he could hear Reinhard speak in a low and sad tone of voice,
"...Felt-sama will be surely sad of this."
"...yeah, she will."
"But I think she would be grateful that you still survived."
"I just wish that Subaru survived as well...Rem..."
Sora falls to the ground and cries as he begins to think about how he failed to save anybody, making him feel worthless to which Reinhard patted his friend in the back.
"I wish I had the power of waking...maybe then I could've fixed this..."
"Behold an unthinkable present."
"Sora! Sora! Please snap out of it, we need to get the girl out of here!"
"Subaru...I am sorry..."
(Wait, where is this?)
The world begins to fade in with color after a moment to reveal to Subaru the world he is in was after his second death, seeing that Rem is trying to help Sora calm down from his anti-form. As she was trying to do this, the two would be interrupted when three black coat organization members arrived.
"Who are you three?"
"Don't mind them, they are just my creation is all."
Rem looked to her left side to see that there is another organization member yet this one had a mysterious aura that made her very cautious. Sora noticed the mysterious figure which caused him to snap out of his anger for failing to save his apprentice and start focusing his attention on the new threat.
"Xehanort? The Organization?!"
"Now hold on kid, you have got the wrong person. I'm not Xehanort, I'm more of a Master of Masters if you get what I mean."
"Master of...Masters? Anyway who are you and why is the organization here?!"
(Wait...he is the reason that Master Sora's enemies had returned? Then he is probably the reason my parents are in this world...but why?)
"Didn't I just...urgh whatever. As for the organization, they are not here actually. These are more data versions of themselves."
"Data versions?"
"Sora, what is he talking about?"
"I'm unsure Rem."
"Um guys, I'm right here, I can answer those questions."
"Is Xehanort among them?"
"In a sense yes but no. You defeated him and his spirit moved on but I was able to recreate a version of him, along with the others."
"Why did you bring him back?! Why did you bring them all back?!"
"I didn't bring them all, I only brought the ones who you faced in the Keyblade Graveyard."
"But why?"
"I have a goal in mind."
"What is your end goal?!"
"Hmm I would tell you but that'll ruin the fun."
Sora and Rem both got their guards up and prepared for the fight as they saw the one who calls himself a Master of Masters snap his fingers, causing the three organization members to get their weapons out to charge at the two.
"Rem, get the girl out of here. I can take care of them!"
"Are you sure? I can help-"
"I know but I need to make sure that the girl you and Subaru fought so hard to protect to be safe with the others."
"Okay, please be careful."
"You too, Rem."
Rem grabbed Meili and started to run away from the fight while Sora tried to go into one of his drive forms only to realize that he used up too much power, forcing him to switch his Kingdom Key to Ultima keyblade just to make sure he doesn't get overpowered. Just as Sora charged at the three organization members, the world fades into darkness.
"Behold an unthinkable present."
"Behold an unthinkable present."
"Behold an unthinkable present."
"Behold an unthinkable present."
"Behold an unthinkable present."
"Behold an unthinkable present."
Subaru was on the ground, mentally exhausted and almost broken by the stress of seeing how worlds continued after his death, making him remember just how much he hates himself. He came into the world wishing to be as strong as Sora and even though he enjoyed being trained by him and having a friendship with the Keyblade wielder, a part of him was jealous of Sora. He was jealous of how he was able to get strong within a month while he is still completely weak. As he thought of this, he began to hate himself even more, having known that he isn't special.
'I'm a failure...why did the keyblade even choose me...a loser...a pathetic loser...'
Subaru began to cry on the floor, feeling the loneliness of knowing all the suffering that has happened because of his Return by Death ability and the fact that he isn't strong enough to even put up a decent fight. As he was on the ground, ready to give up on everything, he could see that someone was at the door yet he couldn't tell who. He was about to ask something yet his mindset was of giving up, of wanting to quit until he heard a voice, a familiar soothing voice speaking in a concerned tone,
"Subaru! Subaru, please be alright!"
"..."
"Sora, I think he is broken! Help me do something!"
"Don't worry Emilia, we will help him."
'Emilia...Master Sora...'
A part of Subaru's mind was happy that they came to help him yet he still felt the guilt buried by the worlds he left behind. Ones where others died because of his incompetence and ones where others suffered greatly because of it.
Subaru continued to stay in the ground until he finally was able to lift his head up when he noticed that the room was all but silent. This confused him greatly until he looked forward and saw that Emilia was there, standing in front of him with a smile on her face.
"Emilia-tan...where is Master Sora?"
"Don't worry about it Subaru, I'm here to help you."
"You...are honestly amazing Emilia-tan."
"I appreciate it, now tell me why do you look like you are in so much pain?"
"I took the trial. I know I am being selfish here, I just wanted to build a path for you, for everyone to be safe. I want a future where everything works out and we all make it there together but I realize that it is impossible for me. I'm weak, I have no actual strength, I'm nowhere near as awesome as my master."
"..."
"After all, within a month he got to be extremely strong compared to me. I mean I have done everything in my power to be strong but I'll never reach his level of strength...Damn I'm pathetic."
"..."
"Damn it, how many times have I let you down? How many times did I make you cry? How many times...did you die because of me? If I were just stronger, smarter, if I was actually useful then maybe everything would've been alright...maybe then I could've saved you, saved all of you without leaving the world behind. Damn it I hate that Master Sora is just stronger than me..."
As Subaru was going to break down from his frustration in not being able to get stronger, he felt Emilia's warm embrace, confusing him in the process. He doesn't believe himself to be worthy of being hugged by her, after all he failed Emilia so many times at this point. He was going to say something until Emilia began to speak,
"You don't need to worry anymore Subaru-kun. I'm here for you and I'll protect you. All you need to do now is rest, you've done more than enough. I love you."
Emilia gets closer and closer to Subaru, preparing to kiss him which the boy was about to allow until something in his mind made him realize that the person in front of him cannot be Emilia. Learning from his previous loop, he knows deep down that current Emilia wouldn't say those words. Just as Emilia's and Subaru's lips were going to touch for the second time in his case, he stopped it by asking one question.
"Who are you?"
"Huh?"
"I'm asking who you are?"
"S-Subaru-kun, what are you-"
"Emilia is a kind girl, she would look out for me and take care of me, after all she saved me in many ways. She would always make sure I don't burn myself out and would get mad at me if I am pushing myself too far but she would never wish for me to give up. She would never say that she loves me! Not unless she was broken like before. I refuse to allow Emilia to see me broken like this! Get out of here, you fraud! Don't you dare coddle me with Emilia's face and voice!"
"..."
Subaru looked at the imposter Emilia with anger in his eyes, which caused the Imposter Emilia to close her eyes and look down in shame and fear.
"Th-This isn't...what I...was told...t-to expect..."
"Huh?"
The entire room begins to move oddly for a moment only for the Imposter Emilia to reveal herself to be a girl who has long, light pink hair that goes down to her hips. She has a very refined face with round, red eyes. Subaru grew angry while asking the girl in front of him who she is.
"I-I'm Carmilla, th-the Witch of Lust. N-Nice to meet...you..."
"Is this weird place part of Echidna's dream? I mean it has to be considering that the real Emilia and Master Sora aren't here."
"Y-You are c-correct…"
Subaru looked around for a moment while getting annoyed by the way the witch of lust was speaking, making him slowly approach her in a threatening manner. This caused Carmilla to hug her head.
"Stop...d-don't hit me..."
"Oh calm down, I'm not going to do that! Hell Master Sora would punish me if I did something crazy like that."
"...O-Okay..."
"But I do want to fucking know, What were you trying to pull earlier?!"
"W-What...?"
"I'm talking about you coming to me disguised as Emilia! How dare you look like the beautiful angel that is Emilia-tan!"
"I-If I looked like s-someone else, it's because...y-you wanted to see me that way..."
"Right, you have the lust authority, of course."
"I-I didn't w-want to, but Echidna-chan said a-all I had to do was dote on you..."
"So Echidna is behind this?! That damn witch!"
Subaru starts to get closer towards Carmilla only for Echidna to pull the boy back to the dream world with Subaru angry towards the Witch of Greed.
Sora and Emilia both noticed that Subaru passed out once again, of exhaustion is what they concluded as before they entered the room, they could hear him screaming, begging the trial to stop. During their wait before they were able to enter the room, it was hard for the two since they listened to Subaru breaking down each time he was resent into the trial. Emilia had cried during his seventh and eight attempts since she couldn't handle it anymore. As the two were escorting Subaru out of the graveyard, the two had a chance to chat without having to hear Subaru's screams for help.
"We should have helped him..."
"I know Emilia but if we did, we could've been thrown into the trial ourselves. I don't want to risk it and even though it was lucky of us to have saved him without being forced into the trial, I don't think he would've wanted us to know what he was doing."
"Still, I don't want to see him suffer...like I am."
"I wonder, why was he taking the trial even though he attempted to leave the trial..."
Sora pondered for a bit, trying to figure out why things went the way they did yet he knows that he should focus on Subaru for now.
"Man Subaru, you should really stop trying to do things on your own."
"I agree with that statement, Sora."
Sora and Emilia laughed a little by this, both of them knowing that they are giving Subaru hell when he gets up for doing things alone, more Emilia than Sora since the keyblade wielder knows what Subaru was thinking. 'Wanting to protect her, right?'
Sora smiled as he thought about all the times he risked his life to save those he cares about on his own. As he smiled, he heard something that sounded like Emilia call out to him.
Keyblade Wielder...
"Huh? Did you say something Emilia?"
"Um no...you okay?"
"Yeah, just thought I heard something."
Keyblade Wielder...I need your help...
Sora was confused as he looked at Emilia at first, seeing that she was focused on getting Subaru out of the graveyard as fast as possible, making him think that he might be forced into another trial since he knows now that the voice is not from Emilia. He stops in his tracks which catches the half-elf's attention.
"Sora, are you okay?"
"I think I might end up taking the trial..."
"Why do you say that?!"
"I keep hearing this voice...it sounds like you but it's not you..."
Sora was beginning to lose consciousness as the world around him was beginning to disorient, which only caused him to start moving sideways until he fell to the ground. As he hit the ground, Emilia was forced to put Subaru down and check on Sora, worried that she will also end up in the same state as the Keyblade Wielder.
"Sora. Sora! Resist the trial!"
"...Emilia...get Subaru...out of here..."
I know this is sudden but I need your help.
"Who...are you..."
Everything in Sora's vision faded to darkness until he was able to wake up in the station of awakening once again. He got up and was confused on why he was there but before asking himself that, he first needed to see what pillar he was in. He looked down to see that he is in Subaru's heart once again, which confused the keyblade wielder since he has no clue how did he ended up getting into Subaru's heart. As he walked around, he noticed that heartless appeared around him.
"The heartless? Here?"
Sora pulled out Kingdom Key and quickly took on the few heartless that appeared, not wanting any of them to damage his apprentice's heart. As he was taking out each heartless, he could hear vivid voices speaking.
("Don't bother listening to these two, Natsuki Subaru.")
'Huh? Who is that?'
After Sora defeated the basic heartless, a giant darkside type heartless appeared to attack the keyblade wielder. Sora got himself ready for a fight while he continued to hear the vivid conversations, figuring out that some of the conversation was being cut off from him.
("This wouldn't be the promise you always precede with "in the end..." would it?")
Sora dodged one of the powerful attacks, seeing that the darkside heartless creating a portal for many of the shadow heartless for him to deal with. The keyblade wielder focused his attention first on the Darkside heartless before focusing on the shadow heartless. He jumped towards the darkside heartless's head before hitting it hard enough to destroy the darkside heartless.
("For the purpose of attaining the future you desire, you must accept any sacrifices made along the way.")
Sora continued to easily wipe out each heartless, attempting to piece together what is going on with Subaru. He swung his keyblade a couple of times in order for him to make sure every single shadow heartless was taken care of while hearing bits and pieces of what Subaru's conversation with females were.
("It's not as if I never considered that your intentions might not be 100% good. But...that's just way beyond the pale!")
Sora waited as he tried to focus his mind on the conversation Subaru is having only for a second Darkside heartless to appear, forcing him to return to protecting Subaru's heart. He dodges many of its attacks, sensing that this one is much stronger.
("Echidna...You are a witch! You're an unfathomable monster beyond all comprehension!")
'Echidna? Isn't that...the Witch of Greed?'
Sora continued to hold his own against the second Darkside heartless only for something in the air to just easily take it down with ease. This caught his attention and he quickly got his guard up while looking around.
As he was looking around, he noticed a female in a black dress made of shadows with a black shadow covering her above her neck. Sora could sense a strong darkness which caused him to first believe that it is a heartless only for the female to speak to him.
"Don't fight. I'm not here to fight."
"Huh? You are not a heartless but...why do you have Emilia's voice?"
"Emilia?"
"I guess you haven't heard of her. Who are you? Are you a friend or foe?"
"I'm sorry I brought you here. Your connection to my Subaru-kun is what is allowing me to talk to you. He holds you at high regard but also is jealous of you."
"Jealous? I haven't seen him show signs of jealousy towards me."
"He has them. He wants to be stronger than you. But he also sees you as a friend."
"That doesn't answer my question, who are you?"
"My name...is Satella."
"Satella...the witch of envy?!"
Sora got his guard back up, having remembered the stories of how the witch of envy nearly destroyed the world if it wasn't for the sword saint, the sage, and the dragon sealing her up. The keyblade wielder looks at the witch of envy with a serious look on his face, asking her what she is doing here.
"I have to help him. I have to help Subaru-kun."
"What are you talking about?"
"He needs help. He needs someone to help him."
"So you need my help?"
"Yes...and no."
"Huh?"
"If I go alone, he will have a hard time listening to me. If you go with me, he might listen to what I have to say."
"What are you planning on telling him?"
"That I love him. That he should love himself."
Sora was unsure on how to take this, surprised that the jealous witch would show so much concern towards the boy. He lowered his guard and gave a nod that he will help, knowing that his friend might be in trouble. Satella walked towards Sora before a door appeared near the two with a keyhole appearing.
Sora's instinct was to point his keyblade directly at the door to unlock the keyhole. As the keyblade creates a beam of light that hits the keyhole, unlocking the door, both Sora and Satella went through the door with Sora wary of the witch of envy but at the same time more concerned for Subaru's well being.
"I won't go with you."
Subaru had spoken with most of the witches shocked by the response the boy gave while Echidna gave a slightly annoyed facial expression as she had been rejected by Subaru. As they all stood there silently for a moment, a dark cloud appeared around them which caught everyone's attention.
"She's here." Minerva spoke in a calm manner.
"N-No! I have nothing to do with any of this!" Carmilla spoke in fear while holding her head.
"A really troublesome girl just showed up at a troubling time to start some trouble." Spoke the witch of sloth, Sekhmet.
"Oh! I'm feeling very, very hungry!" Daphne spoke while her saliva was dripping from her mouth, thrusting with hunger.
The reaction Echidna gave towards Satella was one of anger at first before noticing that she isn't alone, having her change expressions from pure rage to one of curiosity. Subaru noticed this and turned towards the direction of Satella to see his master walking beside her.
"M-Master Sora?...(Why is he here? Why is he with her...?)"
As Subaru was left confused, Typhon noticed the two newcomers to the witch's tea party and was excited to see them.
"Hey! It's Tella and Sora! Long time no see!"
Sora and Satella continued to walk towards the group, both of them with a serious facial expression.
Author Update:
1. I will be posting each chapter every 4-7 days since they require a lot more time to work with.
2. Regarding the story, I will try to deviate it from the story, just wait a few chapters since we are passing Season 2 Episode 13.
3. After the next chapter, I will be heading into spoiler territory (basically I will be heading in Episode 14–25 of season 2 before the anime goes into it)
4. Regarding to the story, Subaru's second trial is more or less similar to his counter part. I was going to make it be him watching a world without Sora yet I sorta wanted to do some original stuff.
5. Lastly I enjoy your reviews and criticism, please continue with that.
Overall I'm excited for Re:Zero Season 2 Cour 2.