Chapter 2: When the NPC Listens to the Players' Backstories

If Subaru Natsuki knew how to wake anyone up, it was via singing.

And no, not via soft melodies his mother would serenade him with when he was a toddler. Subaru was isekai'd as a shut-in obsessed with memes, video games, YouTube, and music that would cause anyone older than twenty to die of cringe.

Thankfully, his father gave Subaru some good taste in music.

And today's album just so happened to be "Break Stuff," by Limp Bizkit.

"IT'S JUST ONE OF THOSE DAYS, WHERE YOU DON'T WANNA WAKE UP! EVERYTHING'S FUCKED! EVERYBODY SUCKS! AAAAAA–"

WHAM!

Unfortunately, not everyone appreciated Subaru's musical choices.

Subaru's singing was immediately put to a stop as a pillow from Emilia was thrown at his face so hard it knocked him straight into the wooden floor of the room.

"Subaru! Stop yelling! It's very rude this early in the morning!"

"But it worked, didn't it?" he asked, grinning as he stood back up. "You're awake! I'm awake! Nobody's dead! I see this as an absolute win!"

Emilia merely let out an irritated groan in response, as she rubbed her eyes. "Ugh... I hate waking up this early…"

"Never had to go to school as a kid?" Subaru asked. "Those guys wake up pretty early."

"..." Emilia looked down in sadness. "No…"

Subaru winced at the sensitive subject matter. "Oh… do you know how to read?"

Emilia clicked her teeth at that. "Barely. I can read basic writing, but that's about it."

"Well, I can teach you, if you want," Subaru offered.

Emilia's ears perked up at that. "You would?"

"Of course I would!" Subaru said, as he flashed a smile and a thumbs-up. "Being able to read is an essential skill for any soon-to-be functioning member of society!"

"Good morning, Subaru and Emilia," Ralof greeted the two as he entered the room. "We'll be ready to make our way to Whiterun in no more than an hour. I suggest you prepare for the journey ahead of us."

"Great!" Subaru clapped his hands. "What's for breakfast?"

"A special stew my sister makes. It'll surely wake you up from any lingering drowsiness." That sounded very appealing to the Half-Elf.

"Guess pancakes still don't exist…" Subaru said to himself.

Emilia, however, heard what he said. "Pan... cakes?"

"Flat cakes that are made with flour and milk. You pour the mix on a hot pan, flip it once solid, and once both sides are nice and golden, you pour syrup and dig in!" Subaru said.

Ralof hummed to himself at the thought. "Hmm... Sounds delicious. We will have to try this tomorrow."

"Sounds great!" Subaru flashed another thumbs-up and smile.

After eating breakfast, Ralof said goodbye to his sister, and the three made their way to Whiterun.

Walking through the forest and around a small mountain wasn't anything mind-breaking. They were in the southern regions of Gusteko, so the only thing aside from the trees and big rocks was the gray sky above them.

And maybe some snow and ice, but only if it was really high up.

"Geeze, is it always this cloudy in Gusteko?" Subaru asked as he stared up at the sky, noticing a distinct lack of blue. "Makes me think of communist Russia…"

"Com… un… Rusha?" Emilia asked, butchering the name of a country.

"Com-mun-ist," the Japanese man accentuated with his lips.

"I am unfamiliar with such a term," Ralof commented.

"I wouldn't expect you to," Subaru said matter-of-factly. "The majority of the political spectrum around these parts leans closer to monarchies. Not even a single hint of democracy, much less socialism or communism. At least there's no Nazis out here."

"Another term I am unfamiliar with," Emilia said, scratching her head, trying to keep up with the nasty-eyed Undead.

"I'm sure we'll have more than enough time for me to explain."

"Actually, you two need not worry about this being a long journey. Whiterun is but a kilometer or two north," Ralof explained, as the Half-Elf and Undead followed behind him.

Emilia smiled. "More than enough time for you to explain!"

"Ehh, maybe some other time," the black-haired said. "You seem young and impressionable. Don't wanna radicalize you. Let's do something else."

"Probably for the best." Ralof commented.

"Well, is there anything else we can do?" Emilia asked.

"Let's see… I know! You wanna play "I Spy"?" Subaru suggested.

Emilia questioned Subaru. "I Spy?"

"You have to guess what I'm looking at through the given context," Subaru explained the rules of the game. "Here's an example… I spy, with my little eye, something… brown."

Ralof looked around. "Is it… the dirt?"

"Bzzt!" Subaru said, crossing his arms in an X. "Try again!"

Emilia looked around herself. "Wood?"

"Getting warmer…"

"The mountains?" Ralof asked again.

"Getting colder."

"Well, you have exhausted our opinions," Ralof said.

"Guys, it was the trees!" Subaru pointed to the forest all around them.

Emilia just looked confused. "But isn't that what I said?"

"You said wood, not trees," Subaru explained the technicality.

Ralof chuckled a bit. "Perhaps, while we have the time, we should acquaint ourselves."

"Like, get to know each other?" Subaru asked for clarification.

Ralof nodded. "Precisely. Soldiers do better working with comrades they can trust."

"Alright… who wants to go first?" the Japanese man asked.

"Well, there isn't much of my story to be said,'' Ralof said. "Before the Oblivion Crisis, the Empire of Cyrodiil began to expand, looking for more land and resources for their people. They conquered Gusteko once they realized it had no "official" superpower. Despite this, the Empire was content to let us continue our way of life… until the Aldmeri Dominion came along…"

"The Aldmeri Dominion?" Emilia asked, causing Ralof to continue.

"Aye. The Altmer of the Summerset Isles had banded together to wage war on "lesser races''. They went to war with the Cyrodiilic Empire twenty years ago, and very nearly succeeded. A peace treaty was created known as the "White-Gold Concordat''. It contained a set of rules the Empire had to follow if they wanted to stay at peace with the Dominion, which included the outlaw of the worship of Talos; the Hero God of Man."

Emilia's eyes widened at that, while Subaru shook his head.

"Despite my disdain for this new way of life, I was willing to stay submissive with the Empire, believing they would keep us safe and that they would rise up to the Dominion and allow the worship of Talos again," Ralof said, but sighed and shook his head. "Instead, my sister and I lost our parents in a raid on our old village, and the Empire did not care to send troops to protect us. We found our way to Riverwood soon after, and I knew the Empire were not the benevolent guardians they once were. Now, they are nothing more than the spineless puppets of the Dominion."

Subaru could see where Ralof was coming from. "Yeah, I can see how that would radicalize someone, to be honest."

Ralof continued his story. "However, when I came of age, I learned of Jarl Ulfric's rebellion against the Empire, and I saw fit to join. I served my Jarl for over ten years, and I have not once regretted it."

"Alright…" Subaru turned to the Half-Elf. "What about you, Emilia?"

Emilia was silent for a minute before talking. "...Have either of you heard of Elior Forest?"

Subaru stiffened a little at that name. "Isn't… isn't that in Lugnica?"

Emilia nodded. "I'm from there, yes."

"If I'm not mistaken, Elior Forest was cursed to an endless winter," Ralof pointed out.

Subaru cringed at that, but played it off. "Dang, what could have caused that? Someone letting loose the Painted World of Ariamis? Some sort of ice-themed Dragon? Or did someone really piss off Kynerath?"

"I did." Emilia blankly answered, catching their attention even more. "I'm the one who froze Elior Forest…"

"Ohh…" Subaru cringed, as he tried to find a way to salvage this mess. "Well… umm… if it makes you feel any better… I've done far worse than that? Heh-heh…"

Emilia and Ralof simply looked at Subaru questioningly.

"Perhaps we should come back to that later. Would you mind telling us what happened, Emilia?" Ralof asked, as he put away what Subaru said for the time being.

"Yeah, I'm sure you didn't mean to!"

"You're right. I never meant to freeze all of the Elior Forest…" Emilia agreed with what the undead said before narrowing her eyes. "But she pushed me to the edge…"

Subaru asked, "What's with the pronoun game?"

The silver-haired Half-Elf sighed. "It was a hundred years ago, when I was still a little girl. I lived with my aunt, Fortuna. She had been visited by a close friend of hers, Guese."

Subaru felt a bead of sweat drop on his forehead. "Ohh… is that so…?"

"Then, one day, some fairies lured me out of my room, and that's when the chaos began. The Sin Archbishop of Greed attacked Elior Forest, along with the Black Serpent."

Ralof took a minute to process what Emilia said. "I had only heard tales of the Great Mabeasts and the Witch Cult. It's impressive you survived an encounter with them."

Subaru looked at Emilia questioningly. "Greed…? Isn't Greed a dude?"

Emilia nodded. "There was someone else with them. A woman with platinum hair and blue eyes, wearing a white cloth and blue ribbon as her only clothes... Aunt Fortuna called her –"

"Pandora."

Emilia turned around, and gasped. "You... know her?"

Subaru looked at the ground rather darkly. "You're not the only one she's hurt."

Ralof just looked confused. "Who is this... Pandora? I have never heard of her."

"She's a Witch," Subaru said. "And I don't mean like a slightly dubious female magic-user, or one of those pyromancers from Izalith, but like an actual, Authority-wielding, Witch."

"…" Emilia took a moment to realize what Subaru was saying. "Like... the Witch of Envy...?"

Subaru grit his teeth. "Yeah, only a whole lot more evil. The Witch of Vainglory, Pandora."

"Someone who can rival the Witch of Envy in power, and is free to roam the world... that is a terrifying thought." Even Ralof shivered at the concept.

"Yeah, and she's the mind behind the Witch Cult, to boot," Subaru hissed. "Just lovely."

That part confused Ralof. "I thought the Witch Cult was led by Satella…"

"Common misconception Pandora uses to her advantage," Subaru explained. "I mean, think of it like this: Someone bad exists that everyone hates, so if another person does a bad thing and says it was the first bad person who did it, no one would bat an eye."

"I suppose that does make sense…" Emilia said.

"I agree. However, I have to ask, why would she spearhead an attack on a forest?" That was another part of the whole thing Ralof didn't understand.

"There's a seal in Elior Forest. One only I can open, apparently. Pandora wanted me to open it, but I don't know why," Emilia explained.

"Hector." Emilia and Ralof looked at Subaru in confusion.

"Who is that?" Emilia asked.

"Another Authority user, specifically the Warlock of Melancholy. He's locked up in that seal."

Suddenly, Emilia's mind clicked as to what Pandora wanted from her. "So... she wanted her ally back...?"

Subaru grunted, "Ally, lackey, what's the difference to her?"

"When I wouldn't open the seal... Pandora... she killed Aunt Fortuna... and she tricked Guese into doing it." Emilia recalled the pain she felt that horrible day.

Subaru remained silent, but shed a tear, unbeknownst to the other two.

"After that... I lost it... I froze Elior in a desperate attempt to kill her... but I guess I failed…"

Subaru nodded. "Yeah… I've tried, too."

"After a hundred years, a spirit named Puck unfroze me... but he died fighting the Great Spirit of Fire, Melakura. They killed each other, fighting over whether I would be killed or not…" Emilia continued.

"Puck, too…? Dammit," the black-haired Undead cursed.

Emilia looked surprised. "You knew him as well?"

"I've lived for four centuries, I know a lot of people. Comes with the territory."

"Well... after six or seven years, I've been moving from place to place, trying to find a home. No matter where I went, everyone thought I was nothing more than the second coming of the Witch…"

Subaru and Ralof looked at Emilia with pity.

"So, I decided that Lugunica wanted nothing to do with me. So, I moved here, wanting to make a new life for myself and... well, you know the rest."

"You were arrested for trying to cross the border," Ralof deduced, to which Emilia nodded.

"Really? There was no one other than Puck that treated you like a decent person?" Subaru asked, shocked at Lugunica's apparent lack of a heart… Things really have gone bad…

"Well, there is someone. His name is Paarthurnax. You… could say he's the closest thing I ever had to a father, besides Guese," Emilia explained. "He's old, but wise. He never shunned me for my heritage, and even said that my appearance or heritage doesn't define who I am, it's what I do with my life that determines who I become."

"Sounds like a very nice grandpa," Subaru said. "Or a really old, but cool, uncle."

Emilia's smile wavered a bit. "He did say that… he wasn't always good, but he changed, and was given a chance to redeem himself. There was one thing he said that will always stick with me: "Is it better to be born good, or to overcome your evil nature through great effort?""

Ralof nodded at the saying. "Wise words, indeed."

"Yeah, definitely the "cool grandpa" type," Subaru added. "Like Yoda."

"Who?"

"A little green pointy-eared man who is over nine-hundred years old," Subaru explained. "He pretended to be senile every now and then, but he was super wise, even after he croaked."

"He is a ghost, now?" Ralof asked.

"Yeah, he's hanging out with Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi and all the other Jedi in the Cosmic Force," Subaru said. "It's the Star Wars equivalent of the afterlife, BT-dubs."

Emilia and Ralof look confused, before shrugging and carrying on.

"So, where is this Paarthurnax character now?" Subaru asked.

"Before I left Lugunica, he told me he had to return to his home. He said he lived in Gusteko, and now I'm here to find him," Emilia answered.

"I see…"

"But enough about me," the Half-Elf steered the conversation to another direction. "What about you, Subaru?

Subaru felt that he should lighten the mood, so he put on a big smile. "Oh, I grew up in an island nation called Japan. My dad was pretty popular, grew up in his shadow, developed self-esteem issues before becoming a shut-in, and eventually arriving on this mainland."

Ralof hummed. "Strange, I have never heard of an island nation called "Japan"."

Emilia agreed with the blond rebel. "Neither have I."

"That's because it doesn't exist in this world," Subaru finally dropped the bombshell.

After a few moments of silence, Emilia and Ralof processed what Subaru said.

"EH?!" Emilia shouted in shock.

Ralof stared, dumbfounded. "You are... from beyond our world?"

Subaru nodded. "Yep. Infinite worlds, infinite possibilities, and all that jazz."

"How did you arrive in Nirn?" Emilia asked.

"I just blinked, and I was here," Subaru answered honestly.

The blond man couldn't believe it was that easy. "Just like that?"

The nasty-eyed Undead just shrugged. "Yeah, nothing to it."

"And what happened after you had arrived?" Ralof asked.

"Oh, you know, fell in love, traveled the world, made friends, suffered thanks to Pandora, took part in the Great Calamity, became an Undead, the usual," Subaru casually said.

"I... beg your pardon?"

"You can have it!" Subaru laughed at his own joke.

"Subaru…" Emilia stared at him. "What do you mean you took part in the Great Calamity?"

"I was there when it happened," Subaru gave her a straight answer.

"So, you came face to face with the Witch of Envy?" Ralof asked the undead.

Subaru winced a little at that, and made an odd face. "Yeah…?"

"That must have been horrifying for you to witness," Ralof said.

Subaru cringed at that statement. "Ehh… it was more painful to watch."

Ralof could see that the line of questioning was making Subaru uncomfortable. "Well, we need not discuss more if you don't wish."

Subaru shrugged in response. "If that's what you so desire."

It's obvious that Subaru's hiding something, and he clearly doesn't want to talk about it… Emilia thought to herself.

Ralof moved on to another question. "Well, how did you become an Undead?"

"Voluntarily," the Japanese man said.

That took Ralof by surprise. "But why? To be cursed to roam the world for all eternity? Or worst, risk going Hollow. I had heard tales that it is worse than death."

"Oh, it probably is," Subaru agreed with the blond man. "But I still have some unfinished business, and I refuse to die or go Hollow before it's resolved."

"Is that so?" Ralof couldn't help but acknowledge Subaru's courage. "Well, I pray that your efforts will prove fruitful."

"Thanks." Subaru gave the man a two-fingered salute. "I hope so, too."

"So, how did you come to be captured by those Imperial pigs?"

"Me? I was just sold out by Patches."

"Patches?" Emilia repeated the name.

"He's a fellow Undead, and he really hates clerics," Subaru explained. "Ratted me out to save his skin. Can't blame him, though. It's just in his nature to screw people over."

Ralof scoffed at that. "Coward. I would not be surprised if he became an Undead because he feared death."

"Nah, Patches is a lot of things," Subaru said, as he listed them off. "A thief, a liar, backstabber, self-centered hyena, a spider, the world's most hated merchant, but not a coward."

"Are you sure?" Emilia asked.

"I mean, he did tell me once that he did technically run away from a battle against General Radahn, but I think that was more of a strategic retreat," Subaru said.

Ralof shook his head. "Anyone who would put the needs of himself over his fellow man or anyone else is a coward in my eyes."

Subaru could see where Ralof was coming from, but continued. "Yeah, but that's not what Patches usually does. His main shtick is to punish the greedy. He just backstabs others when he's really desperate. And besides, he knew I'd be fine. I've survived worse."

"So... you really can't die?" Emilia decided to ask.

"Nope!" Subaru huffed in pride. "I'm literally immortal!"

"I've heard that Undead are immortal, but I never knew how. Jarl Ulfric told me there were different kinds of Immortality," Ralof commented.

"I'm the kind where someone can kill me over and over again, but I'll just keep coming back over and over again. Burn me, stab me, crush me, don't matter, I'll just come back lickity split."

Emilia looked confused at what Subaru said. "Well, you obviously don't age, but how do you survive and recover from your injuries?"

"We light these neat things called "bonfires." They're scattered all over the world, and all Undead can use them. If we die, we turn to dust, and just reassemble at the bonfires."

"And what if no bonfire is available?" Ralof asked.

"We just go back to our most recent one, which… is back in Lugnica for me. Oof," Subaru said. "I better find some materials to make myself a new bonfire out here."

Ralof looked ahead, realizing they had nearly arrived at their destination. "While there are questions left to be answered, it would seem we have nearly arrived at Whiterun."

The group find themselves in a large valley, with a wall of stone encircling several wooden huts with a massive wooden building at the highest hill within the stone wall.

The party had arrived in the village of Whiterun.

"Huh," Subaru hummed to himself. "Nice little village ya got here."

The party walked past the uncharacteristically green grass and made their way to the village gates, in order to get their jobs done, and for each of them to continue their own personal quests.

Little did two of the three of them know, they'd be together for quite a long time.

Author's Note: And with that, another chapter is complete!

Now, let's begin with this serie's first batch of comments! Whoo!

nekoshiroinu: Yeah, we all already knew Subaru was a mad lad, him screaming "Leroy Jenkins" just cemented World of Warcraft as a game Subaru played once a long time ago. (Gotta keep yourself entertained somehow if you have immortality.)

5queso: Glad you find the story interesting. Expect Subaru to be hitting you with more pop culture references than in the average Marvel movie. (I guess you could say that this Subaru is the Deadpool of this story, just without the cancer or fourth wall breaking.)

SentinalSlice: Yeah, I guess Subaru does actually have all the info this time around, given how old he is. Unfortunately, the age thing is also leading to his degrading sanity (Along with other factors.). The references probably are a way to keep him from forgetting Japan. And in terms of strength, just imagine a Dark Souls player at the end of the game, and who also prefers playing a mage build. And sure, Subaru will be grabbing some Authorities, but if anyone's gonna be getting stronger, it's Emilia.

AkiyamaKatsuko: Glad to see this is your dream come true! (Me and Erna were hooked on the idea almost immediately, so we're glad to see that others enjoy this story. Also, this isn't taking place "in" Tamriel, but it will be explained more later.)

Kifhjoofff: Me alegra que te haya resultado interesante y no te preocupes, ¡no necesitas saber nada sobre los juegos de Elder Scrolls para disfrutar la historia! Pero también, sí, que Satella sea la chica que Subaru mencionó es como decir que dos más dos juntos son cuatro. (Sí, es bastante obvio a estas alturas, incluso si no has visto las otras ficciones de Erna).

Echidna_the_witch_cannot_be_this_hot: How many four-hundred-year-old sarcastic Subarus do you know? Anyways, glad you liked this, you'll like where it goes next! (It's only gonna get worse from here.)

Perch: I'm glad you liked what we're making, but to answer your question about the setting… might be a bit hard. (Infinite had a stroke reading this and f*cking died.)

Tykronos: Confused about how the setting works? Same here! (We're still working out some of the smaller things, but have a good structure of the big picture.)

Anyways, it's time for the weekly shilling!

If you want more content, visit my Discord, the link is /3PFYSt8Dqz. You can chat with others, post memes, fanfic recommendations and prompts, role play, fan art, and we even have a writer's corner now! I'll also drop by with announcements and chat with you all every now and then! Also, if you want to add me as a friend, my username is Ernalore#8663! Just please make sure to follow the rules!

That's all for today, thanks for reading, and we'll see you next time!

- Ernalore and Infinite the Celestian