Emilia watched the flames of the campfire. The others slept soundly. It was a day since they found Petra, a day since they began reading the mysterious book left with the young girl—four days since they arrived in this world, four days since they found Subaru.
So much was happening so fast that it made little sense to the would-be king.
The Half-Elf pushed her face further into her legs, watching the fire with half-open eyes. Her mind wandered, drifted. Emilia thought about only one thing, one singular thing, Subaru.
Subaru.
Subaru, Subaru, Subaru, Subaru! That dunderhead had promised her! Promised to be there for her! To wait! To… to…
Emilia began to sniffle as tears rose in the corner of her eyes, her mind thinking of her knight.The selfless hero. But as she thought, her bright memories turned sour, and smiles turned to horrified gasps from a mummified corpse, beaten and used as a trophy.
She could imagine him crying out for her, for anyone—someone to save him from his killer.
His killer.
Araksis.
The name welled up an all too familiar feeling deep within, a sensation she shared with a certain Witch. The Fallen. A monster in the shape of a humanoid form. Emilia could imagine the twisted laughs of it, the howls as it tortured her knight until the very last moments.
The torment her knight felt at those gnarled hands.
Emilia's eyes shifted to the flames, watching them dance, licking the air, curling, popping. She wondered how this had all happened and what was the cause behind the mysterious portal. Had it been a plot by some unknown third party, the witch cult? Could've just been fate itself, a destined moment in time? Her stomach sank as those thoughts ran rampant.
She wasn't sure if she liked those questions all too much, but she continued to think to herself.
Emilia thought back to the Sanctuary, her trials—the last trial, in particular. What was to come, yetthiswas not something shown in that trial. Was Echidna wrong? Had the Witch of Greed been utterly wrong? Was it outside interference that caused this, or did the Witch of Greed alter it? Show her something so fake to hide the horrible outcomes, so she was hopeless to stop it when they came to pass.
A log within the fire fell, smacking into the ashes below, kicking up a spurt of embers that glowed into the night sky.
"Ah, it's beautiful, isn't it, Emilia-tan?"
Emilia snapped from her thoughts, her head darting to see the boy, her knight. Subaru Natsuki was next to her. The shadows cast by the flames did well to mask his features, leaving only a rough silhouette marked by his nasty eyes.
"S-S-Subaru?" Emilia weakly croaked, tears welling up in the corners of her eyes. Her heart fluttered, her mind not even questioning the boy before her.
"What's wrong, Emilia-tan? You miss me or something?" Subaru spoke with a dry chuckle, only to gasp as Emilia punched him in the shoulder.
"You dunderhead! Why did you have to go and, and… and…" Emilia's words trembled from her lips, tears streaming down the side of her face.
"Hey," Subaru's right hand had grasped Emilia's cheek, wiping away a tear, "Why are you crying?"
Emilia sniffled as she looked down at her lap, "B-B-because I lost you! I don't wanna lose you, Subaru!" Her head slowly began to lift.
"Hey, you shouldn't feel sad that I died," Subaru spoke with his usual charm, though heightened, almost elated.
"Huh?"
Subaru's voice never lost its joy, "Yeah, don't feel bad that I died."
"B-but…" Emilia couldn't find the words to express her concern. Her mind defaulted to the closest thing it could. "You dunderhead! You need to care about yourself more!" Her sobs overpowered her anger. Her head buried itself into his chest, cries becoming muffled as she felt his hand pat away at her back.
"You shouldn't cry, Emilia-tan, the pain it's all over," Subaru explained with a calmness mixed with the heavy elation in his voice, "I am free now, free of the suffering. Free of the pain."
Emilia's sobs began to stifle that confusion, returning, "W-what?" Her head slowly began to rise from his chest.
Subaru spoke, his tone unchanged but with increased presence and power behind every word, "Yeah, It's all over, Emilia-tan. The pain is gone; I am free. Won't you join me?" Those words echoed for the Half-Elf as she met with her knight face to face.
A shrill cry filled the air as Emilia jerked back, horror etched across her face, but Subaru's right hand gripped her back tightly, holding her in place—the sight before continued to carve itself into the very recesses of her mind.
And what she saw wasdeath.
Dark frostbitten skin tightened to the bone, and eyelids shriveled up and peeled back, revealing bloodshot lifeless eyes. The lips had all but fallen off, revealing the blackened gums and yellow rotted teeth, giving Subaru a permanent grin. Emilia continued to jerk back in his grip, screaming and pounding on his chest, but he was undeterred by her attempts. The distorted effigy of Subaru leaned forward, bringing his lips closer to Emilia's.
Emilia felt those rotted gums, those teeth rubbing against her lips, bile building in her throat as this perverted version of their first kiss played out. Her stomach twisted in knots as her eyes went wide with panic; she felt something squirming moving through their kiss and crawling into her mouth, down her throat, and she could hear it squeal!
The Half-Elf cried out, unable to stop Subaru no matter how much she jerked back; the more she jerked back, the more he pulled her back in! Emilia felt a tooth, not her tooth but Subaru's rotted tooth slipping into her mouth and down her throat. She could taste his acrid flesh, the ooze, and puss.
There was only one way to describe a kiss like this.
It was a kiss, akiss of death.
Emilia dreaded it.
A soft squelch hit Emilia's pointed ears as her fists caved in Subaru's chest, her hands touching rotted organs and feeling the ashy ribs; his insides felt wrong. Subaru's reanimated corpse fell backward, taking Emilia down with him.
She tumbled and tumbled, fell and fell into a sea of black with a singular spot illuminated by a dim light, Subaru off to her side, motionless, staring upwards. Emilia pulled herself up, gagging as she smacked her chest, feeling thosethings crawling inside.She forced herself to hurl onto the floor. Black vomit hit the floor, and within it, crawling bugs with pincers, sharply armored, bitting at the air.
Emilia stared down at the mess and shook her head, her stomach churning. She could feelmore in her.Moving and skittering about in her insides. Her gaze flicked to Subaru's corpse, still dead, still motionless. She prepared to reach out to it, to touch him. But as she did, a hand reached out, tipped in three claws, slowly dragging Subaru by the arms into the darkness.
A hiss rattled in the darkness; four blue eyes stared back from the night, the form seamlessly blending into the darkness as the sound of flesh tearing apart reverberated around Emilia. She carelessly pushed herself up and wandered towards those blue eyes.
She knew them from somewhere.
A thought ran before her very mind.
Killer! Murderer! Araksis!
Emilia wandered too close to the edge of the light. A single swipe swooped across her stomach, clothing torn and flesh rendered into nothing as wounds opened. She flew back toward the opposite end of where the light touched. A single pained pant escaped her lips as she reached down to touch her new wounds, three marks. Three claws. She removed her hand and saw fat worms crawling from her injuries, crying, wriggling.
Her skin ran cold as the sound of flesh tearing apart ended, a soft rumbling hiss growing louder from where the blue eyes originated.
Itstepped into the light.
Thatthingstole her knight.
But it was far worse than anything she could imagine; for even the briefest moments, she could make out its form, horrific in shape. Lumbering, long limbs tipped in claws. People stretched out fromitsback, reaching outwards with faces etched in eternal agony and fear. One of which was Subaru.
A word sounded in Emilia's head, echoed by two voices. One loud, the other silent.
"DIE/Run."
On an instinctual level, her body moved independently, like prey. Her legs carried her through a sea of darkness and nothingness. There was no place to hide fromit. To find solace, The heavy footfalls trailed behind Emilia, a hiss always present in her ears growls.
Words.
Emilia clutched her wound tightly even as the worms crawled out and gnawed at her hand.
"This is your grave, your resting place. Give up, and die."
Emilia back split open from a quick slash from behind. She could feel the worms emerging from the wound, crawling, gnawing, covering.
"No hope, no life. Only death."
While driving fear into her heart, the words did not discourage Emilia from running or slowing her speed. It only made her run as fast as her body could.
"I know your cat's name now, but I haven't heard yours yet."
The words that filled her head made her stumble, fumble. Another slash ripped its way across her skin, this time the back of her left leg. More worms emerged
"Subaru… Subaru…" She knew the voice. It was all she could muster.
"I'm… Satella. Just Satella"
Her voice! That was her voice! Speaking such awful foul words. W-wh-when had she ever said this?
"I don't have a family name."
"N-No! That's not!" Another slash ripped across her other leg, and she fell and tumbled to the ground, but instead of stopping, she rolled as if the ground shifted into a hill. Worms emerging from the new open wound, they crawled and nibbled at her skin, wriggling like the little scheming they were.
"I see… Satella. That's a nice name."
Emilia could only think the opposite; that name was a curse, a blight placed upon the world. Her resemblance to the Witch earned her hate. But it was like her dunderhead of a knight to say something nice like that.
"Subaru…"
It felt like an eternity rolling, never-ending, never stopping. No end. But relief came in the most sudden moments. Emilia pushed herself off the ground struggling to stand as she leaned into a wall that was not there—a distant hum filtered into her ears, and a light formed before her eyes.
Far away.
More worms covered her body, drowning out her features as they had almost consumed her, but she held on. Even as it became harder to move, heavier, weighed down.
"Emilia-tan, don't you wanna rest."
It was a light that struck out into the pitch blackness, illuminating it and giving stars into the nothingness. Even as she was continuously covered in worms that blocked her vision, she saw the light.
It drew her in.
One by one, the worms howled, screamed, and cried as their skin boiled away the closer she drew herself to that light!
Emilia kept her slow pace, focusing on that glow as the howls of a wicked beast echoed far behind. The last worms began to fall off her body as Emilia drew closer. The definition formed where the light came from, small, weak, but bright. In it, she could see a shape.
Unfamiliar.
New.
Foreign.
Emilia tumbled to her knees, reaching for the object, her eyes squinting as she slowly pulled forward something more than herself. Not knowing what it was, she couldn't help but feel a sense of comfort.
Familiarity.
As if what she held in her hands had been held a hundred times in her life.
A trigger, a barrel, a hammer. Emilia knew not what these were, but she knew them somehow.
Somehow Emilia knew what to do with this thing.
This hawk which rests in her hands.
A silent voice once more spoke.
"Stalk thy prey…."
Emilia heard the echoing howls draw closer, her head craning over her shoulder slowly. Blue eyes distantly drew closer. Slowly she forced herself up from one knee, and unsteady feet stiffened as every muscle fiber in her body, cell, and atom cried out.
She lifted her left arm, the strange weapon in hand, and aimed at the rapidly approaching eyes.
"And let loose thy…."
Her body took natural motions, her finger pressed upon a trigger at the right moment, just before the eyes drew too close.
And!
Emilia jolted awake with sweat on every inch of her face, hands racing to touch her face, mouth, stomach, back, and legs! No wounds, no worms, no bugs.Nothing within.She looked around only to see sleeping friends, no Subaru, and a dead fire. She craned her head up and noticed the sun was barely out. It was early morning. The wildlife made their morning local calls.
She was safe and sound—nothing to harm her.
Emilia thought back to her dream, her nightmare. She couldn't help but ask herself what that was. Her mind drifted and wandered back to Subaru.
Subaru.
Subaru. Subaru.
Subaru.Subaru. Subaru.
Subaru. Subaru. Subaru. Subaru. Subaru. Subaru. Subaru. Subaru. Subaru. Subaru. Subaru. Subaru. Subaru. Subaru. Subaru.Subaru. Subaru.Subaru. Subaru. Subaru. Subaru. Subaru. Subaru. Subaru. Subaru. Subaru. Subaru. Subaru. Subaru. Subaru. Subaru. Subaru. Subaru. Subaru. Subaru!
Souburoo. Soobaeruu. Souburoo. Seuhberew. Souburoo. Soobaeruu. Souburoo. Seuhberew. Souburoo. Seuhberew. Souburoo. Soobaeruu. Souburoo. Seuhberew. Souburoo. Soobaeruu. Souburoo. Seuhberew. Souburoo. Soobaeruu. Souburoo. Seuhberew. Souburoo. Soobaeruu. Souburoo. Seuhberew. Souburoo. Soobaeruu. Souburoo. Seuhberew. Souburoo.
Seuhberew. Souburoo. Soobaeruu. Seuhberew. Souburoo. Soobaeruu. Seuhberew. Souburoo. Soobaeruu. Seuhberew. Souburoo. Soobaeruu. Seuhberew. Souburoo. Soobaeruu. Seuhberew. Souburoo. Soobaeruu. Seuhberew. Souburoo.
Soobaeruu. Seuhberew. Souburoo. Soobaeruu. Seuhberew. Souburoo. Soobaeruu. Seuhberew. Souburoo. Soobaeruu. Seuhberew. Souburoo. Soobaeruu. Seuhberew. Souburoo. Soobaeruu. Seuhberew. Souburoo. Soobaeruu. Seuhberew. Souburoo. Soobaeruu. Seuhberew.
Ş̸̨̢̨͕̙̠̟̟͍͕̯͕͔̫̩͕̖̫̗͎̫̰͔̹̙̩͖̞̞̮̩͔͉̩͈̰̝́͗̌̽̈́̇͌̀͊̊̽͗̕͘͜͠͝͝ư̸̢̢̨̧̩̣̼̯̥̤̗̱͓̭̜͓͉̬͙̯̮̫̼͉̮̝͚̜̰̏̀͌́̃͐͑͋͛́̆̌͑͘͜͝b̴̝̅a̷̡̛̛̖̣̲͍̹̙̲̯̖͕͚͔̫͋͆͐̿͆̈́̑̊̿̓̏̍́̇̄͐͊͒̅̏̾̍̓͋̐͛̽̀͂̓̍̍̓́̽̂͗͐͛͑͋̑͒͂͘̚̕̕͘͠ṛ̸̡̢̨̢̨̧̘̝̩̗̹̜̹̤̜͎̮̘̗̣͈͚̫͓̪̫̣̘̩͎̼͇͖̙̗͉͔͉̬̫̩͌͌̄͛͋̂̅̈́̿͗̂͗̀̎͗̓͑̀̕͘̕̚͘̚͘͝ư̴̼̬͍̰̰̬̠̪̗͓͉̺̖̰̱̈́̃́̀͐̾̔͐̈́̓́̿̃̾̿͐̆̔̒̓͂͛̋̌̐͊̀̇͌͒́̎͆̓͂̓̉̀̎̒͑́̿̅̾̇̚͘͘͘̕͝͝͠͝͝ Ş̸̨̢̨͕̙̠̟̟͍͕̯͕͔̫̩͕̖̫̗͎̫̰͔̹̙̩͖̞̞̮̩͔͉̩͈̰̝́͗̌̽̈́̇͌̀͊̊̽͗̕͘͜͠͝͝ư̸̢̢̨̧̩̣̼̯̥̤̗̱͓̭̜͓͉̬͙̯̮̫̼͉̮̝͚̜̰̏̀͌́̃͐͑͋͛́̆̌͑͘͜͝b̴̝̅a̷̡̛̛̖̣̲͍̹̙̲̯̖͕͚͔̫͋͆͐̿͆̈́̑̊̿̓̏̍́̇̄͐͊͒̅̏̾̍̓͋̐͛̽̀͂̓̍̍̓́̽̂͗͐͛͑͋̑͒͂͘̚̕̕͘͠ṛ̸̡̢̨̢̨̧̘̝̩̗̹̜̹̤̜͎̮̘̗̣͈͚̫͓̪̫̣̘̩͎̼͇͖̙̗͉͔͉̬̫̩͌͌̄͛͋̂̅̈́̿͗̂͗̀̎͗̓͑̀̕͘̕̚͘̚͘͝ư̴̼̬͍̰̰̬̠̪̗͓͉̺̖̰̱̈́̃́̀͐̾̔͐̈́̓́̿̃̾̿͐̆̔̒̓͂͛̋̌̐͊̀̇͌͒́̎͆̓͂̓̉̀̎̒͑́̿̅̾̇̚͘͘͘̕͝͝͠͝͝ Ş̸̨̢̨͕̙̠̟̟͍͕̯͕͔̫̩͕̖̫̗͎̫̰͔̹̙̩͖̞̞̮̩͔͉̩͈̰̝́͗̌̽̈́̇͌̀͊̊̽͗̕͘͜͠͝͝ư̸̢̢̨̧̩̣̼̯̥̤̗̱͓̭̜͓͉̬͙̯̮̫̼͉̮̝͚̜̰̏̀͌́̃͐͑͋͛́̆̌͑͘͜͝b̴̝̅a̷̡̛̛̖̣̲͍̹̙̲̯̖͕͚͔̫͋͆͐̿͆̈́̑̊̿̓̏̍́̇̄͐͊͒̅̏̾̍̓͋̐͛̽̀͂̓̍̍̓́̽̂͗͐͛͑͋̑͒͂͘̚̕̕͘͠ṛ̸̡̢̨̢̨̧̘̝̩̗̹̜̹̤̜͎̮̘̗̣͈͚̫͓̪̫̣̘̩͎̼͇͖̙̗͉͔͉̬̫̩͌͌̄͛͋̂̅̈́̿͗̂͗̀̎͗̓͑̀̕͘̕̚͘̚͘͝ư̴̼̬͍̰̰̬̠̪̗͓͉̺̖̰̱̈́̃́̀͐̾̔͐̈́̓́̿̃̾̿͐̆̔̒̓͂͛̋̌̐͊̀̇͌͒́̎͆̓͂̓̉̀̎̒͑́̿̅̾̇̚͘͘͘̕͝͝͠͝͝ Ş̸̨̢̨͕̙̠̟̟͍͕̯͕͔̫̩͕̖̫̗͎̫̰͔̹̙̩͖̞̞̮̩͔͉̩͈̰̝́͗̌̽̈́̇͌̀͊̊̽͗̕͘͜͠͝͝ư̸̢̢̨̧̩̣̼̯̥̤̗̱͓̭̜͓͉̬͙̯̮̫̼͉̮̝͚̜̰̏̀͌́̃͐͑͋͛́̆̌͑͘͜͝b̴̝̅a̷̡̛̛̖̣̲͍̹̙̲̯̖͕͚͔̫͋͆͐̿͆̈́̑̊̿̓̏̍́̇̄͐͊͒̅̏̾̍̓͋̐͛̽̀͂̓̍̍̓́̽̂͗͐͛͑͋̑͒͂͘̚̕̕͘͠ṛ̸̡̢̨̢̨̧̘̝̩̗̹̜̹̤̜͎̮̘̗̣͈͚̫͓̪̫̣̘̩͎̼͇͖̙̗͉͔͉̬̫̩͌͌̄͛͋̂̅̈́̿͗̂͗̀̎͗̓͑̀̕͘̕̚͘̚͘͝ư̴̼̬͍̰̰̬̠̪̗͓͉̺̖̰̱̈́̃́̀͐̾̔͐̈́̓́̿̃̾̿͐̆̔̒̓͂͛̋̌̐͊̀̇͌͒́̎͆̓͂̓̉̀̎̒͑́̿̅̾̇̚͘͘͘̕͝͝͠͝͝ Ş̸̨̢̨͕̙̠̟̟͍͕̯͕͔̫̩͕̖̫̗͎̫̰͔̹̙̩͖̞̞̮̩͔͉̩͈̰̝́͗̌̽̈́̇͌̀͊̊̽͗̕͘͜͠͝͝ư̸̢̢̨̧̩̣̼̯̥̤̗̱͓̭̜͓͉̬͙̯̮̫̼͉̮̝͚̜̰̏̀͌́̃͐͑͋͛́̆̌͑͘͜͝b̴̝̅a̷̡̛̛̖̣̲͍̹̙̲̯̖͕͚͔̫͋͆͐̿͆̈́̑̊̿̓̏̍́̇̄͐͊͒̅̏̾̍̓͋̐͛̽̀͂̓̍̍̓́̽̂͗͐͛͑͋̑͒͂͘̚̕̕͘͠ṛ̸̡̢̨̢̨̧̘̝̩̗̹̜̹̤̜͎̮̘̗̣͈͚̫͓̪̫̣̘̩͎̼͇͖̙̗͉͔͉̬̫̩͌͌̄͛͋̂̅̈́̿͗̂͗̀̎͗̓͑̀̕͘̕̚͘̚͘͝ư̴̼̬͍̰̰̬̠̪̗͓͉̺̖̰̱̈́̃́̀͐̾̔͐̈́̓́̿̃̾̿͐̆̔̒̓͂͛̋̌̐͊̀̇͌͒́̎͆̓͂̓̉̀̎̒͑́̿̅̾̇̚͘͘͘̕͝͝͠͝͝ Ş̸̨̢̨͕̙̠̟̟͍͕̯͕͔̫̩͕̖̫̗͎̫̰͔̹̙̩͖̞̞̮̩͔͉̩͈̰̝́͗̌̽̈́̇͌̀͊̊̽͗̕͘͜͠͝͝ư̸̢̢̨̧̩̣̼̯̥̤̗̱͓̭̜͓͉̬͙̯̮̫̼͉̮̝͚̜̰̏̀͌́̃͐͑͋͛́̆̌͑͘͜͝b̴̝̅a̷̡̛̛̖̣̲͍̹̙̲̯̖͕͚͔̫͋͆͐̿͆̈́̑̊̿̓̏̍́̇̄͐͊͒̅̏̾̍̓͋̐͛̽̀͂̓̍̍̓́̽̂͗͐͛͑͋̑͒͂͘̚̕̕͘͠ṛ̸̡̢̨̢̨̧̘̝̩̗̹̜̹̤̜͎̮̘̗̣͈͚̫͓̪̫̣̘̩͎̼͇͖̙̗͉͔͉̬̫̩͌͌̄͛͋̂̅̈́̿͗̂͗̀̎͗̓͑̀̕͘̕̚͘̚͘͝ư̴̼̬͍̰̰̬̠̪̗͓͉̺̖̰̱̈́̃́̀͐̾̔͐̈́̓́̿̃̾̿͐̆̔̒̓͂͛̋̌̐͊̀̇͌͒́̎͆̓͂̓̉̀̎̒͑́̿̅̾̇̚͘͘͘̕͝͝͠͝͝ Ş̸̨̢̨͕̙̠̟̟͍͕̯͕͔̫̩͕̖̫̗͎̫̰͔̹̙̩͖̞̞̮̩͔͉̩͈̰̝́͗̌̽̈́̇͌̀͊̊̽͗̕͘͜͠͝͝ư̸̢̢̨̧̩̣̼̯̥̤̗̱͓̭̜͓͉̬͙̯̮̫̼͉̮̝͚̜̰̏̀͌́̃͐͑͋͛́̆̌͑͘͜͝b̴̝̅a̷̡̛̛̖̣̲͍̹̙̲̯̖͕͚͔̫͋͆͐̿͆̈́̑̊̿̓̏̍́̇̄͐͊͒̅̏̾̍̓͋̐͛̽̀͂̓̍̍̓́̽̂͗͐͛͑͋̑͒͂͘̚̕̕͘͠ṛ̸̡̢̨̢̨̧̘̝̩̗̹̜̹̤̜͎̮̘̗̣͈͚̫͓̪̫̣̘̩͎̼͇͖̙̗͉͔͉̬̫̩͌͌̄͛͋̂̅̈́̿͗̂͗̀̎͗̓͑̀̕͘̕̚͘̚͘͝ư̴̼̬͍̰̰̬̠̪̗͓͉̺̖̰̱̈́̃́̀͐̾̔͐̈́̓́̿̃̾̿͐̆̔̒̓͂͛̋̌̐͊̀̇͌͒́̎͆̓͂̓̉̀̎̒͑́̿̅̾̇̚͘͘͘̕͝͝͠͝͝ Ş̸̨̢̨͕̙̠̟̟͍͕̯͕͔̫̩͕̖̫̗͎̫̰͔̹̙̩͖̞̞̮̩͔͉̩͈̰̝́͗̌̽̈́̇͌̀͊̊̽͗̕͘͜͠͝͝ư̸̢̢̨̧̩̣̼̯̥̤̗̱͓̭̜͓͉̬͙̯̮̫̼͉̮̝͚̜̰̏̀͌́̃͐͑͋͛́̆̌͑͘͜͝b̴̝̅a̷̡̛̛̖̣̲͍̹̙̲̯̖͕͚͔̫͋͆͐̿͆̈́̑̊̿̓̏̍́̇̄͐͊͒̅̏̾̍̓͋̐͛̽̀͂̓̍̍̓́̽̂͗͐͛͑͋̑͒͂͘̚̕̕͘͠ṛ̸̡̢̨̢̨̧̘̝̩̗̹̜̹̤̜͎̮̘̗̣͈͚̫͓̪̫̣̘̩͎̼͇͖̙̗͉͔͉̬̫̩͌͌̄͛͋̂̅̈́̿͗̂͗̀̎͗̓͑̀̕͘̕̚͘̚͘͝ư̴̼̬͍̰̰̬̠̪̗͓͉̺̖̰̱̈́̃́̀͐̾̔͐̈́̓́̿̃̾̿͐̆̔̒̓͂͛̋̌̐͊̀̇͌͒́̎͆̓͂̓̉̀̎̒͑́̿̅̾̇̚͘͘͘̕͝͝͠͝͝ Ş̸̨̢̨͕̙̠̟̟͍͕̯͕͔̫̩͕̖̫̗͎̫̰͔̹̙̩͖̞̞̮̩͔͉̩͈̰̝́͗̌̽̈́̇͌̀͊̊̽͗̕͘͜͠͝͝ư̸̢̢̨̧̩̣̼̯̥̤̗̱͓̭̜͓͉̬͙̯̮̫̼͉̮̝͚̜̰̏̀͌́̃͐͑͋͛́̆̌͑͘͜͝b̴̝̅a̷̡̛̛̖̣̲͍̹̙̲̯̖͕͚͔̫͋͆͐̿͆̈́̑̊̿̓̏̍́̇̄͐͊͒̅̏̾̍̓͋̐͛̽̀͂̓̍̍̓́̽̂͗͐͛͑͋̑͒͂͘̚̕̕͘͠ṛ̸̡̢̨̢̨̧̘̝̩̗̹̜̹̤̜͎̮̘̗̣͈͚̫͓̪̫̣̘̩͎̼͇͖̙̗͉͔͉̬̫̩͌͌̄͛͋̂̅̈́̿͗̂͗̀̎͗̓͑̀̕͘̕̚͘̚͘͝ư̴̼̬͍̰̰̬̠̪̗͓͉̺̖̰̱̈́̃́̀͐̾̔͐̈́̓́̿̃̾̿͐̆̔̒̓͂͛̋̌̐͊̀̇͌͒́̎͆̓͂̓̉̀̎̒͑́̿̅̾̇̚͘͘͘̕͝͝͠͝͝ Ş̸̨̢̨͕̙̠̟̟͍͕̯͕͔̫̩͕̖̫̗͎̫̰͔̹̙̩͖̞̞̮̩͔͉̩͈̰̝́͗̌̽̈́̇͌̀͊̊̽͗̕͘͜͠͝͝ư̸̢̢̨̧̩̣̼̯̥̤̗̱͓̭̜͓͉̬͙̯̮̫̼͉̮̝͚̜̰̏̀͌́̃͐͑͋͛́̆̌͑͘͜͝b̴̝̅a̷̡̛̛̖̣̲͍̹̙̲̯̖͕͚͔̫͋͆͐̿͆̈́̑̊̿̓̏̍́̇̄͐͊͒̅̏̾̍̓͋̐͛̽̀͂̓̍̍̓́̽̂͗͐͛͑͋̑͒͂͘̚̕̕͘͠ṛ̸̡̢̨̢̨̧̘̝̩̗̹̜̹̤̜͎̮̘̗̣͈͚̫͓̪̫̣̘̩͎̼͇͖̙̗͉͔͉̬̫̩͌͌̄͛͋̂̅̈́̿͗̂͗̀̎͗̓͑̀̕͘̕̚͘̚͘͝ư̴̼̬͍̰̰̬̠̪̗͓͉̺̖̰̱̈́̃́̀͐̾̔͐̈́̓́̿̃̾̿͐̆̔̒̓͂͛̋̌̐͊̀̇͌͒́̎͆̓͂̓̉̀̎̒͑́̿̅̾̇̚͘͘͘̕͝͝͠͝͝ Ş̸̨̢̨͕̙̠̟̟͍͕̯͕͔̫̩͕̖̫̗͎̫̰͔̹̙̩͖̞̞̮̩͔͉̩͈̰̝́͗̌̽̈́̇͌̀͊̊̽͗̕͘͜͠͝͝ư̸̢̢̨̧̩̣̼̯̥̤̗̱͓̭̜͓͉̬͙̯̮̫̼͉̮̝͚̜̰̏̀͌́̃͐͑͋͛́̆̌͑͘͜͝b̴̝̅a̷̡̛̛̖̣̲͍̹̙̲̯̖͕͚͔̫͋͆͐̿͆̈́̑̊̿̓̏̍́̇̄͐͊͒̅̏̾̍̓͋̐͛̽̀͂̓̍̍̓́̽̂͗͐͛͑͋̑͒͂͘̚̕̕͘͠ṛ̸̡̢̨̢̨̧̘̝̩̗̹̜̹̤̜͎̮̘̗̣͈͚̫͓̪̫̣̘̩͎̼͇͖̙̗͉͔͉̬̫̩͌͌̄͛͋̂̅̈́̿͗̂͗̀̎͗̓͑̀̕͘̕̚͘̚͘͝ư̴̼̬͍̰̰̬̠̪̗͓͉̺̖̰̱̈́̃́̀͐̾̔͐̈́̓́̿̃̾̿͐̆̔̒̓͂͛̋̌̐͊̀̇͌͒́̎͆̓͂̓̉̀̎̒͑́̿̅̾̇̚͘͘͘̕͝͝͠͝͝
Souburoo. Soobaeruu. Souburoo. Seuhberew. Souburoo. Soobaeruu. Souburoo. Seuhberew. Souburoo. Seuhberew. Souburoo. Soobaeruu. Souburoo. Seuhberew. Souburoo. Soobaeruu. Souburoo. Seuhberew. Souburoo. Soobaeruu. Souburoo. Seuhberew. Souburoo. Soobaeruu. Souburoo. Seuhberew. Souburoo. Soobaeruu. Souburoo. Seuhberew. Souburoo.
Seuhberew. Souburoo. Soobaeruu. Seuhberew. Souburoo. Soobaeruu. Seuhberew. Souburoo. Soobaeruu. Seuhberew. Souburoo. Soobaeruu. Seuhberew. Souburoo. Soobaeruu. Seuhberew. Souburoo. Soobaeruu. Seuhberew. Souburoo.
Soobaeruu. Seuhberew. Souburoo. Soobaeruu. Seuhberew. Souburoo. Soobaeruu. Seuhberew. Souburoo. Soobaeruu. Seuhberew. Souburoo. Soobaeruu. Seuhberew. Souburoo. Soobaeruu. Seuhberew. Souburoo. Soobaeruu. Seuhberew. Souburoo. Soobaeruu. Seuhberew.
Subaru. Subaru. Subaru. Subaru. Subaru. Subaru. Subaru. Subaru. Subaru. Subaru. Subaru. Subaru. Subaru. Subaru. Subaru. Subaru. Subaru. Subaru!Subaru. Subaru. Subaru. Subaru. Subaru. Subaru. Subaru. Subaru. Subaru. Subaru. Subaru. Subaru. Subaru. Subaru. Subaru.Subaru. Subaru
Subaru.Subaru. Subaru.
Subaru. Subaru.
Subaru.
Natsuki Subaru.
Natsuki Emilia.
That could've been.
It was all her mind could think of. It was the essence of her problems! Him! The one she loved. Her hero, savior. The one person she wanted to be with the most. Emilia stood up and wandered away from her friends. Not far, only to a nearby hill overlooking their camp in some worn-down building covered with moss and other plant life.
A moment of clarity rewarded itself as Emilia created a small ice dome to sit within, a single hole looking upwards towards the sky.
Emilia sat down and looked to the sky; even in the world's light and safety, she felt something. A sensation buried within the core of her person; she couldn't describe or put the words to it. But it was as if the very land walked upon waswrong. Choking out the mana running through her gate, suffocating every last drop she tried to recover from even a little use of her magic. She didn't dwell on it for long and wandered back to thinking of him.
/.\./.\./.\
Emilia never did tell her friends about her experience that day. Instead, she wallowed in her grief. Her mind took up the time recalling the great experiences shared with Subaru. No matter how odd he had been, she looked fondly at those moments with him; even the worst moments now had a fondness to them.
She cherished them like prized possessions. Priceless in their commodity, irreplaceable.
Hers.
The camp had traveled for over a week and a half, made camp about an hour away from a local village, and she wallowed while Frederica and Ram tended to essential matters.
Emilia cradled her face between her legs, crying, weeping for the loss too significant to heal. It was a wound so deep that no physical injury could ever match.
Emilia knew the looks she would get from the others and what they thought of her. How pathetic she must've been, how they would offer their sympathy. How she would just...
Get over it.
Emilia knew she couldn't; she never would get over it, not with the way she was now. Something needed to change, but she wasn't sure what that would be. She would rather curl up into a ball and die cherishing every memory to her last breath, think of what could've…
Been.
When Otto and Garfiel returned from their adventure to the nearby town, she gave it a little listen. Not picking up much beyond bandits, and someone died. If anything, she wondered what Subaru would do in a situation like that, what expressive words or phrases he would use that no one would understand.
It made her laugh, chuckle, and giggle. Loud enough for the other camp members to take notice, sufficient to make Emilia blush and bury herself between her legs again.
Were they shaming her?
The night came, and the nightmares came, not as bad as the first one but enough to rattle Emilia and leave her restless. When the morning came, she ate and drank what little she could stomach.
She wasn't as hungry as she used to be.
The camp would get ready for the day to head into the nearby town, a communal bathhouse, a place for them to get clean. Which was something she was more than happy to oblige to even if she followed despondently, hanging her head low and towards the ground.
Otto and Ram talked as if she wasn't there.
But she heard every word.
"Yeah… Do you think…"
'Do you think? Do you think!' Had Ram ever thought about Subaru as anything other than a useless pervert? Had every insult and verbal sewage she had thrown at the boy's way been considered? The answer to that only made Emilia internally scoff.
"The loss of Barusu continues to weigh on her; I have advised her it would be best to forget about that useless pervert and move on."
Emilia gritted her teeth, silently cursing Ram. What advice had she given her that was worth anything? She was grieving! A loss so significant that it consumed her! A person who had saved them time and time again! Who, despite all odds, managed to prevail and becomeherknight! From nothing to something! All Ram had done was tell her to move on, to get over it, and be glad he wasn't amongst the living anymore.
"What about you? Don't you feel anything with Natsuki-san being gone?"
Emilia's fingers curled tightly, fists trembling.
"I don't feel anything in particular. The only use he had was about gluttony and my sister."
Emilia's teeth gritted, her blood ran hot, and her head lightly lifted as she gazed at the back of Ram. It would be so simple to just…
Get rid of her.
But… Subaru wouldn't want that.
Emilia remained silent for the rest of the walk, stewing in her mind. The town was a significant improvement over what they had been through prior, even if it was a bit different. The building looked like a hodgepodge of put-together wood and rusted metal for roofing, thick black wiring leading to a hole in the ground.
Who would live near a giant hole? What was down in it? What were the thick wires for, and why did they go into the pit?
Emilia felt eyes falling on her, stares from people who wandered around the town talking to one another, stopping as soon as she and her friends passed by to look them down. She wondered how they would feel about half-elf or if they knew what a half-elf was. After all, it was an entirely different world.
Did people like her exist here?
Emilia found herself relaxing in the bathhouse, though she remained curled up even in warm water. She thought to herself, feeling a tiredness wash over her, the relaxing power of a warm bath slowly but surely increasing her drowsiness. She looked at Frederica, Ram, and Petra and observed them talking and conversing, cleaning each other.
The sleepy sensations grew ever closer, closer and closer. Emilia began to sink, and sink and sink.
Andsink!
Emilia's head jerked back up from the depth of the warm water, her chest panting as she looked around in confusion seeing the bathhouse empty, devoid of life. Poorly lit. An eerie silence hung in the air as the water grew colder; shivers ran down her spine as she pulled herself out of it. Stumbling up, she noticed a towel to her left.
She wrapped herself in it, covering up as she cautiously approached the door. Her hand touched the knob feeling its cold surface, and she shuddered when a chill ran up her spine. The water behind her was bubbling, rising, popping. She craned her head over her shoulder.
Emilia looked away, opened the door, stepped outside, and locked it.
The hallway was dark but illuminated by a blue glow; looking down, Emilia saw plant life growing from the walls and floorboards, as twisted and jagged as it was. She took cautious steps forward, avoiding the pointed edges as she entered the lobby. Before Emilia stood, the main room was partly torn open, pieces of debris flung up and floating in the air with a singular path, a grassy rocky path leading to a hill illuminated in light.
The cries of a hawk rang from above, and Emilia looked towards the source; a beautiful white bird of prey flew through the dark skies. Its long wings spread light throughout the darkened land leaving stars where it went.
Emilia returned to the path ahead and noticed Subaru once more standing there but basking in the light. Not a corpse mocking his beautiful perfect image. Her heart raced as she stared at the boy she loved more than anything else; her feet moved her pace swiftly as she ran down the path and rushed right in for a hug with her knight.
"Subaru!" She buried her face into his chest, feeling his arms wrap around her back, softly smiling as she soon looked to meet with those beautiful, perfect. Nasty-Eyes.
"You miss me, E.M.T?"
Emilia looked up with a deviously wide grin as she pulled in Subaru for a deeply passionate kiss.
Subaru was taken aback by it but soon returned the passion, his hand running through her long soft locks of silver hair.
After a long sweet kiss Emilia pulled away with a giggle, "You dunderhead, why did you have to go and…." She trailed off, looking away from Subaru's wonderful face.
"Hey, I am here now. Doesn't that count for something, Emilia-tan?" Subaru placed a hand on her chin, lifting her face and looking at her with the goofiest of grins, "Anyways, why don't you-."
Emilia blinked as Subaru went silent, his gaze fixated on something behind. "Subaru, what is it?"
"Emilia, you need to run." Emilia looked over her shoulder, seeing what Subaru saw, and her eyes widened. There, perched on the twisted bathhouse roof, was that thing,Araksis. The blighted and foul creature looked at them like prey. The half-elf heart raced violently, threatening to erupt from her chest.
Emilia's head snapped back to Subaru only to find that he had vanished; no longer in his embrace, she looked back to the creature. She took a defensive posture. "Where is he… WHERE IS HE!" She cried out as the creature observed her from its dark, twisted perch.
Its head craned to the side as it spoke accursed words mimicking Subaru's anguished voice.
"He is dead. As all things are in the end. His worthless life is-"
In but a moment, a massive structure of ice erupted from the ground, its jagged and cold edges annihilating anything in its path, obliterating the bathhouse instantly.
Rage had etched itself onto Emilia's adorable face; lips pulled back in a sneer as the detestable creature did not return. She turned around and looked out into the void of this strange dreamscape, her nightmares and dreams battling before her very eyes.
Yet she looked for Subaru, not caring for anything else, eyes scanning terrain that materialized before her very eyes in a vast body of water, disconnected and disjointed land masses. Each one was far from where she stood on a small lonely rock platform.
Her hearing picked up the faintest of growls, her head craned over her shoulder, and she could see the shadows stitching themselves back together on top of her ice pillar.
Not even obliteration would keep that monster from coming back. With only a way forward, Emilia took a leap of faith and jumped for the nearest island.
At first, it looked like she wouldn't even come close, but as she descended, the island location practically twisted itself closer until she landed right on it. The bones in her legs rattled as she stood up and looked back to where she jumped from, only to find that the island did not exist anymore.
Emilia wandered the new island seeing what it held, but there was nothing but rocks and grass. So she made her way to the next and the next one, and occasionally she looked over her shoulder to see if that beast was still following behind.
All she saw were creeping shadows.
So she kept up her pace and searched for Subaru for what seemed like hours on end, the light and dark, her dreams and nightmares duking it out below. She gave it no mind or care; nothing was worth her attention here. The only thing that mattered was finding Subaru.
Subaru was all that mattered- Her gaze caught something in the distance, a figure, no Subaru, when she further focused her gaze. To say she bolted was an understatement; she moved between islands with a blistering pace just to get to Subaru!
Emilia went straight into a hug before pressing up against his chest, feeling his warmth.
"Subaru! Subaru! Subaru! Subaru! Subaru! Subaru!" She repeated on end.
"Hey, calm down, Emilia-tan. You're clingy lately." Subaru watched, clearly finding her current state a little distressing.
Her fists pounded his chest, hammering away as she spilled into another bout"You dunderhead! I missed you! I missed you! I missed you! I missed you! I missed you! I missed you! I missed you! I missed you! I missed you! I missed you! I missed you! I missed you! I missed you! I missed you! I missed you! I missed you! I missed you! I missed you! I missed you! I missed you-" Subaru lifted her head, cusping her chin and smiling.
"Come on; you need to keep calm. Emilia-tan."
The slurry of overwhelming emotions in her mind"I'm sorry… I just reallllly missed you! So please." Emilia looked up at Subaru, her eyes full of tears; she clung to his chest, "Please don't leave me again."
"Listen, Emilia. I can't… I can be here now, but." Subaru looked away, a frown on his lips "None of this is real."
"I know! I know! But I want to be here with you! I don't wanna wake up! I can't… I can't without you!" Emilia didn't care if it was or wasn't real. Subaru was here with her.
Subaru attempted to speak, but something from behind stopped him in his track. Emilia noticed this and stepped away and looked at what was behind him. The shadows were here, creeping in again.
A familiar figure was taking shape in the shadows, Emilia's blood ran cold, but she pushed it aside and looked at Subaru. She smiled and took an offensive stance "We can fight this together!"
Subaru looked at her and frowned before he suddenly pushed her off the edge; tears streamed down his face. His last words echoed in her head.
"You have to accept I passed on."
Emilia tumbled through a cosmic void, her eyes witnessing flashes of images and places.
A spear being launched, a beating black heart.
A city wreathed in walls and spears.
A tower in the heavens.
A decrypted crypt with monsters lurking in its shadows glanced only through their glowing eyes, with one towering above all.
But from the darkness, her ears granted counsel with words and sounds. A faint persistent beat accompanied them.
"I love you! I love you! I love you! I love you!"
"I'm… Satella. Just Satella, no family name."
"T-this… This is bad!"
"Satella, don't come in!"
The faint beat grew persistently louder.
"I-I WILL SAVE YOU!"
"SATELLA! SATELLA!"
"I-I c-can- I CAN RETURN BY DEATH!"
The words soon drowned out as the rhythmic beat became all-consuming, the pounding getting heavier and heavier.
Emilia gasped and sat up, her eyes wide, full of panic; she looked and saw her friends and went numb. Panting escaped her lips as she curled into a ball and cried for her beloved knight.
Oh, how she longed for him.
/.\./.\./.\
Otto sat on the wooden log and collected his thoughts as the night had been stressful. A restless sleep filled with nightmares, his mind playing tricks on him. Beasts, Subaru. Corpses. All of it horrific, his voice turned against him.
The Merchant stared into the flames of fire, casually poking it with a thick branch that had been carved into a firestick, adjusting the logs before tossing one into the fire, Recalling the dream in detail egged on the beginnings of a headache.
The flames licked at his firestick, their shape moving briefly to Otto's eyes, taking on the form of those around him. Otto had seen their dead bodies before him, cold, lifeless.
Otto wasn't sure what it all meant or why he had these dreams, but he was sure of one thing.
He wouldn't let a single one of them die.
The morning came, and Otto could only count his luck that this time he didn't find a pack of curious wolves like the previous morning gnawing at his boot. That had been a tad frightening to wake up to in the morning.
Three days, three whole days, they had stuck around the town.
Garfiel was busy tending to what he caught early this morning. Which was a sizeable local deer, five in total, with four placed on a makeshift wooden sled; the wood was acquired from the town, and a local woodworker had been generous enough to lend them the wood and secure them, with Petra helping.
Otto looked at the large meaty bucks, wondering what this would fetch them in town. A haul like this would get them a reasonable price. The town needed all the help it could get, and if more meat was one way, they could help and be fairly rewarded for it. At least, that's what Otto's mercantile instincts told him.
Who was Otto not to oblige?
"That's all, Garfiel?" Otto asked his friend as he touched one of the large bucks, "Or are you gonna try and catch some more?"
Garfiel looked at Otto, switching his gaze between the deer and his friend, "Mine amazing'self is gonna catch more." Garfiel's eyes were a tad red, a little bloodshot. He grinned at Otto before sighing and falling onto his back, "After a quick nap."
Otto held back his worry and laughed before he checked the secure knots fashioned from the worn rope they had bought the other day, "Well, just don't wander too far from the camp or get into trouble." Otto then turned his attention back to the camp, a glance over to Emilia, then Frederica and Ram. Before he turns his attention back to the makeshift sled, "Alright, let's get this town. You ready, Petra?" He looked at the small girl who stood up and brushed off her new pants.
"Mhmm!" Petra's maid outfit, while clean, was being kept packed away only because her new clothing, which consisted of a long sleeve yellow shirt with a blue butterfly in the middle of it and long blue jeans, offered more protection from the elements. The cute red bow she had wrapped up in her hair remained. She even had a pair of warm boots.
"Alright, let's go!"
With that, the two set off for the town. It was a quiet and peaceful walk, with nothing interrupting the two.
"Otto-san," Petra spoke up, looking at Otto with a smile.
"Yes, Petra-chan."
"Do you think we will go back home?"
Otto looked at Petra, unsure of what to say. Whether they would make it home or not was something on his mind all the time; he didn't know what caused them to be transported here, nor the force behind it. He only had the fact that what transported them to this world was a portal that had also claimed Subaru before them.
It seemed targeted. Planned as an entire royal candidate camp had been removed from participating, and who knew the flow of time between their worlds? They did find Subaru preserved corpse that showed significant signs of weathering from the elements, but that could be a chance of simply the portals placing them in different periods and not the flow of time being different. But there was only one way to know for sure.
They would have to make it back to their world.
But that looped right back into that initial thought. It felt targeted, but Otto was doubtful about it; on the one hand, an entire camp could not participate in the bid for the throne of Lugunica. On the other hand, it felt random. Had this theoretical foe wanted to transport them all, why hadn't they gotten them when they were together? There were times when they could've, including Roswaal and Beatrice.
The fact that neither of them was here with them bothered him, and he wasn't sure what that clown would do now or how he would react. But he was confident that poor Beatrice was even more worried sick. He knew that when Subaru had first gone and disappeared, she had become sullen and frantic, doing everything she could to locate Subaru.
But now. Otto wasn't sure how Beatrice would respond if she learned of Subaru's fate.
Maybe the theoretical mastermind behind all of this would send them here as well, perhaps they would slip up, and they'd have a chance to return home?
Otto grumbled, having no proof of the theories, but he was sure for a fact. That what happened to them could be replicated in this world.
After all, Otto had…
Had…
He had.
Hope.
Otto had hope, and that was all he could give Petra: "I am not sure; we need to find out what caused our transportation to this world and if we could use it ourselves."
"Oh." She responded with her head lowering.
Though Otto swiftly changed that, he genuinely smiled, "I think we can do it." Petra smiled brightly at him and nodded, a bright determination shining in her eyes.
Upon arriving in town, Otto and Petra heard a distinct roar and an object lifting into the air, "Woah!" Petra exclaimed excitedly, "So cool."
The object was sharply pointed, with a long pointed nose with two wings, each with a point. Otto looked at the sight wonderfully, thinking about what it must've taken to make a metal contraption like that fly. Was it faster than a flying dragon? Who was piloting it?
The craft hovered above the town for a moment before quickly flying off. Leaving Petra and Otto stunned momentarily, the two continued into town and headed for Ivana's shop. Right outside of the shop were Ivana and the Sheriff, the two conversing amongst each other.
"Mister Otto, I didn't expect you to be back in town so soon or with a large number of bucks with ya," The Sheriff walked up and inspected the pile of deer, "Lot of bucks ya got, not saving any for yourself?"
"We're keeping some, but Garfiel went out to get more." Ivana took the sled and led it to the back of her shop, Petra following her. The two had a solid friendship after meeting the day before, even with the language barrier. "So we figured we'd just give as much as possible."
As the two men were left alone, the Sheriff moved to the wooden awning on the front end of Ivana's shop, taking a seat on a chair she had on the front of the shop, "Heh, well, you two keep doing how you are, and this town will have to find a gift for you in return."
The Sheriff paused before looking up at Otto, "So how do you and little Petra like that show?"
"Show?" Otto curiously asked. He was a tad offended Ivana hadn't left out a chair for him.
"The ship, the one that left our mighty fine little town?" The Sheriff gave Otto an amused smirk, "Must be your first time seeing it?"
After a moment, the realization hit Otto, "Oh! That." If he was being honest, it was interesting, "Well, it was interesting. I don't know much about ships, though, so I couldn't give an opinion..." He was almost sure they could be an even more efficient form of transportation than Ground Dragons.
The Sheriff adjusted in his seat, grunting as his back popped, "Fair Enough; well, for clarification, that ship was an Arcadia class jump ship. It's a relic of the golden age. Durable, reliable."
Otto nodded and took note of the excitement of the old man and the word Golden Age. He needed to ask about that sometime. "Oh. Who was piloting it?"
The Sheriff paused momentarily, scratching his beard and leaning back, "A young man, he had a real… scary pair of eyes." He pursed his lip. "Nasty if you looked at it right. Otherwise, for a Guardian, he didn't look too special. Just odd. His taste in colors could use some work. Black, white, a little orange… Not sure what the hell he was thinkin' with that."
Otto froze in place. His mind raced at the mention of a scary pair of eyes… only one person he knew held a trait like that. Added with the colors…
The Sheriff snapped his fingers before Otto's face, standing beside him. "You alright, boy?"
Otto snapped from his thoughts, stepping back from the Sheriff, "I am fine. Did he give a name?"
It just had to be a coincidence. That's all it had to be.
The Sheriff leaned on a wooden support beam, looking at a few townsfolk who passed by and waved at the two, "Nope. He barely talked. However, his little friend talked with the Mayor and me." He mumbled something under his breath, Otto picking up at least two words from it:FreshandGrave. Otto wasn't sure why those two words were used, but he didn't feel the need to press about it.
"So, what did he want?" Otto was a tad curious about the details between the three, "You said Guardians don't come here and rarely leave the city." He quickly added, "And from what else you told me, the city can be pretty strict."
The Sheriff glanced over his shoulder. "Exceptions exist to the rule. He and his little friend wanted to see if our town needed help. Guess someone cares about us, after all."
The news was rather welcoming to Otto. If the Guardian wanted to help out with the town, he could help them out with their current predicament. It would make sleeping at night a lot easier, knowing that some deranged alien lunatic wouldn't come to murder them in the night.
It was stressful knowing that Araksis was out there, somewhere, waiting to strike.
The fact they hadn't met at all or seen a hint of him and his forces was just outright terrifying. It was like a predator stalking its prey.
Otto, of course, buried those thoughts down, instead asking the more critical and less selfish questions, "Did you accept? Does this mean Shang won't be a problem anymore?"
The Sheriff shook his left hand, giving an uncertain frown, "Sort of."
"Sort of?" Otto's quirked a brow, his stomach churning a bit.
"We agreed he could bring us supplies, and that's it. Otherwise, we didn't…." The Sheriff began to trail off, only to fall silent.
Otto balked at the older man's words, "You can't be serious."
The Sheriff sighed deeply and turned to face the Merchant, "We did. We didn't tell him about our bandit problem, is that what you want to hear."
Otto grabbed the Sheriff by the collar, their faces inches apart. "Why!"
The Sheriff's eyes averted Otto's, his gaze falling off to the side as he took Otto's hands off his collar, their grip firm, almost crushing to the Merchant, "You wouldn't understand."
Otto ignored it and stepped back, releasing the Sheriff, "Then try me!"
The Sheriff sighed, continuing to look away from the Merchant, furthering Otto's annoyance, "What makes you people think that bending the knee to scum like Shang is worth it! How many people have to die before you realize-"
The Sheriff snapped his head, and with swiftness Otto hadn't seen before, he barely had time to process that he had ended up on the ground on his back, "Listen to me, boy! If a Guardian came into town to wipe out the bandits, and Shang found out, you can bet your ass he will make his move before that damn Guardian." The Sheriff paused for a moment collecting his words as he continued to look down at Otto, "Let's say Shang doesn't, though, and the Guardian gets the drop on them first, or they fight in our town. Do you know what's left after that? Nothing. Not a single damn thing."
The Sheriff made a small gesture and shook his head, "It was common enough in the dark age for towns to be destroyed by a guardian fighting intentionally or just collateral damage. We can't have that happen here. We can't risk that. We live on the edge as is." The Sheriff's voice cracked, small tears forming in the corner of his eyes.
Otto frowned and looked away in defeat. He knew that the Sheriff was right in a way and could even understand the reasons as to why. But part of himself hated that fact. It felt wrong. The town was like the Sanctuary all over again, with the whole town being all Garfiel… Only they didn't turn into giant beasts that could rip a man apart, nor was there a horde of infinitely multiplying, all-devouring rabbits and other issues that plagued them back then. Instead, they had bandits that would murder them at the slightest provocation. Plus, the town could help them survive; with their magical abilities hampered by the world around them, they could use all the help they could get.
"You can't change our minds. Do you finally get that? We don't want to be forced back to the city; some of us were born here and will die here… It's our home. This place is all we got."
Otto stared the Sheriff in the eyes, "Yeah." His words were devoid of any emotion.
The Sheriff offered his hand, and Otto took it, pulling himself off the ground and dusting himself off, "It'll be best if you get out of here soon."
With that said, neither spoke to the other. Otto waited calmly for Ivana and Petra to return with the empty wooden sled; by then, the sun was well into the afternoon.
Even on their way out of town, Otto couldn't shake the feeling in his gut. He couldn't ignore it. He couldn't ignore how wrong this all felt.
Otto took a deep breath and closed his eyes before opening them with determination; he would talk with the Sheriff tomorrow!
The two came to a stop in their tracks as they came to face two somewhat hazardous individuals. Two bandits from Shang's little group both
"How can I help you?"
The first bandit, well-groomed, walked up to Otto, getting uncomfortably close to his face, "Yeah, you can help us. Mind telling us where you're from, buddy? Our boss is a little curious about where you came from, only a few minutes of your time... Like, what's in your bag there?" Otto cringed as the breath of that intense alcohol hit his nose; the two bandits had been drinking the most potent stuff.
It smelled particularly awful.
While Otto didn't judge the choice people usually had in alcohol and what said people did while drunk, he did find himself quite terrified at the prospect of two drunken bandits poking around. He had swiftly learned that the only thing more dangerous than a bandit with a weapon was a drunken bandit with a weapon, and that weapon happened to be a gun that could put a reasonable hole in his skull.
"Nothing but some food and clothes." Otto quickly answered as Petra hid behind him, tightly grabbing the back of his clothes. The first bandit stepped back, chuckling. He began to reach down to the bag sitting on the sled.
"Mhmm, well, if you give me a cut of the stuff, I'll… Hey… What are you doing you?" The first bandit and Otto turned their attention to the second bandit present.
The second bandit, clearly more intoxicated than his compatriot, had shifted his gaze from Otto to the small girl, getting even more uncomfortably close and crouching next to Otto, "Ah, this one is cute. How old is she? How much for her? A little girl like her can do alllllllll sorts of stuff, maybe even become a bandit like the rest of us."
Otto felt his skin crawl at the bandit's disgusting suggestions; he bit down the urge to sock the man right then and there and remained silent.
Petra attempted to hide behind Otto further, but this only encouraged the second bandit.
"Come on, little girl, don't tell me I am scary; here, why don't you have a drink!" The second bandit swiped Petra from Otto's side, pulling her in and forcing his bottle against her lips, "See! It tastes good, huh!"
Otto's blood pumped; he moved to attack the second bandit, but his eyes got a glance of the first bandit reaching for his sidearm. Instead, he stepped back, watching, horrified.
Petra's face contorted into one of displeasure, and Otto could only fathom how awful the taste was for the little girl. But Petra was ever more resourceful even while she was forced to drink from the bottle, was smart enough to grab it and smash the end right into that second bandit's incredibly close face.
It was a quick motion that not even the bandit could catch.
Cartilage cracked and snapped, and the second bandit howled in pain, falling on his ass and holding his face. "Agh! You little fucking bitch!" He rolled and screamed for a minute, getting up not a moment later, tightly holding his nose.
Petra took the chance to get behind Otto once more. Otto gladly took a defensive stance between her and her aggressor.
"Ha! That's what you get, you fucking moron." Laughed the first bandit as he slapped his knee.
The second bandit, his hand getting bloody, as more blood poured out his nose, "She broke my nose! Let me fucking kill her!" His face turned a shade of crimson matching the blood; with his free hand, he reached for a pistol strapped to his side.
The first bandit sighed at his friend's antics, rolling his eyes and taking a swig from his bottle, "Jeez, are you going to be such a fucking pussy, that a little girl deserves to die 'cause she broke your nose?" It was halfway between a taunt and an actual argument, a bit surprising considering who it came from.
The second didn't seem to quite care for the first logic. Instead, The second bandit pulled his gun and aimed it directly at Otto's face as the blood from his nose refused to stop.
"Agh! Fuck, man, it's bleeding so much! Let me fucking kill'em!" Otto's chest pounded as he stared down the barrel of the bandit's pistol. He could hear the trigger being pressed upon the small metal parts readying to fire.
Was this the end? Was this how he died? "Then go get your nose fixed, dipshit. Head back to camp. Murdering these fucks aren't gonna fix your nose." The first bandit spoke half of it as an argument, the other half a taunt in disguise.
The second bandit stared at Otto and huffed before pulling his pistol away and holstering it while keeping his other hand firmly on his nose, "Fuck… It's too much blood, man!" He stumbled away from them, cursing and slurring.
Otto flicked his attention to the remaining bandit, gulping as he walked up and placed a hand on his shoulder, "Careful bout making enemies, strangers. Shang doesn't forget, and he certainly won't forgive. And that moron will be the one chowing down on your corpse."
Otto wasn't sure if that was pure luck or if some divine entity was watching out for them in this world, but they had avoided being searched, killed, and whatever worse things his mind could think of. So something had to be right?
Right?
There was nothing but the howl of the wind to serve as his answer.
Whenever they got home, he would take a day off and drown himself in as much cheap booze as possible. His heart couldn't take any more of this stress. He almost missed the Witch Cultists and Mabeasts of his world.
/.\./.\./.\
Otto poked the coals of the fire; his back slumped up against a log. The flames licked and lashed at the air as his mind drifted, the others were asleep, and he had a genuine moment to think to himself.
To vent it all out.
Under the starry sky, he could fully express what was in his heart. Otto wept, tears streaming down from the corner of his eyes as the world's weight came crashing down on him.
He was useless! Useless! Useless! Useless!
Otto collected his thoughts and leaned his head back, looking to the foreign stars above, they were lost, and there was no way to get home, let alone how long it would take to make it to the Last City. But he had to hold on!
He had to! He—he just had to.
He had to hold onto hope!
Otto closed his eyes and wiped away the tears. His skin crawled as the air temperature began to cool, the light of the fire growing dim. He opened his eyes and looked to the fire only to feel his skeleton jump out from his skin as he saw sat across.
"Ah, what's wrong, Otto-san? Is there something wrong with my good looks?"
"Y-your dead… Not real. None of this is real." Otto recognized a bad dream when he saw one, and he would deny it at every moment he could. He stood up from his spot and took a deep breath.
None of this was real.
The figure stepped out into the light, a rotted husk of his friend, "Oh, this is veeeeery real! It's all in your head Otto-san, after all! This has to come from somewhere Otto-san-."
"Shut up! You're not real! Your not Natsuki-san! You aren't SUBARU! Stop using his face!" Otto screamed, his face turning red with rage, and the doppelganger seemed genuinely taken aback by Otto's reaction as if he had expected something different.
The decrypted corpse imitating his friend stared at Otto for a long minute, tilting its head as its rotted face turned into an even more impossible wider foul smile despite the lack of lips, "Heh! You're funny, Otto-san. I didn't think you had it in you." It took steps towards him, "You're acting brave, murder-san~. Killer, coward."
Otto went straight for the fake Subaru's face, his fist crashing into rotted and decayed flesh, only to find that the jaw collapsed and his hand stuck in the fake's mouth. Yet even that didn't deter this thing's advance as he grabbed Otto by the wrist and caught his other hand.
Even with a fist in its mouth, it still defiled his friend's voice and appearance. It still talked! "You're courageous today; why don't you look and see what you've forgotten~." Otto fell on his back, the fake Subaru on top of him, holding his wrists in place, "Let's see if you still act brave after that~."
A bellow rung out in the sky above. Otto shot his head up to the source his blood running cold at the sight.
It was the great Mabeast, The White Whale, and it hovered above in the sky, its bellowing cries echoing, ringing in Otto's head, digging its way into the recesses of his brain. He looked back to the fake Subaru and struggled against the decrypted corpse. He fought with every fiber of his being, getting one hand free from that mouth and punching the doppelganger in the face knocking it off his carriage to be obliterated by the impact of the ground…
Wait, a carriage? What was he doing on his carriage? Otto barely had a moment to gain any composure until he found a knife lodged in his chest and blood welling up in his throat. The vague outlines of witch cultists staring him down.
What was going on?
What was happening?
He was losing track of everything! Himself! And and.
"Wa-."
Otto closed his eyes, heavily panting as he gripped his chest.
"Wak-"
What was real, and what wasn't? He couldn't tell anymore in his panic.
"Wake-"
Dizziness began to overtake-
"WAKE UP!"
Otto's sides ached as if someone had taken a hammer to them. His eyes fluttered open as he gripped his side and groaned, his vision focusing as he came face to face with cold glowing blue eyes looking down at him.
"Good, you're awake."
"We need to talk."
/.\./.\./.\
In a secluded garden, a heart steadily continued its beat.
Authors Note's:
Originally I planned for this chapter to be a bit longer, but over all I cut some things out for pacings sake. Otherwise this was probably on the faster chapters I got out. Other than that I have one thing to say.
I am not going into extreme detail about the reasons why, but while this fic will cover events through out Destiny's overall narrative. It won't exactly follow canon to a tee. Originally I wanted to do a mix of things, some Re:Zero here and Destiny there. But as time went on and stuff was revealed over the last two expansions. I decided I am going to settle on making sure that I do provide a story I want to write and not just a retread of canon, so while events may happen as they did in canon at the same time things are bound to change.
The beginning and end may be the same but everything in between can be quite different. If you catch my drift. That's not to say I am disregarding canon entirely but I want to take this story in its own direction. After all, I am not here making a react fic. I am here crafting a story in where our beloved Re:Zero characters deal with forces beyond their understanding.