Chapter 21: Broken Masks
"Hello again… my beloved."
"Only one person gets to call me that, and it sure as hell ain't you!" Subaru yelled out in disgust.
Pandora looked around and noticed something. "Hmm… someone is missing, yes? Ah, I know. Ahem, Siegmeyer of Catarina is not at the last known bonfire. He is here, with his friends."
Suddenly out of thin air, Seigmeyer was back with the group, completely confused about what happened. The Onion Knight looked around, realizing he was back. "What the hell?"
Seiglinde tackled him in a hug. "Father!"
"I'm back here again?" Siegmeyer looked around, confused. "Umm… What did I miss?"
Subaru turned back to the Witch. "What the fuck do you want, Pandora?! I've been hunting down your ass and your Sin Archbishops for four fucking hundreds years, and now you just decide to show up?!"
"Hmm… I believe it's because as of meeting Emilia, the canon has begun," Pandora said.
Subaru growled, getting angrier by the minute. "Canon? The fuck does that mean?!"
Pandora smiled. "The beginning of the story, of course. Well, this iteration, at least."
SHIKK-BOOOM!
Before she could say anymore, Pandora suddenly burst into multiple bloody and icy pieces, courtesy of Emilia.
Erik jumped back in fright. "WHOA! WHAT THE HELL?!"
The only thing on Emilia's face was pure rage.
"My, my. In all honesty, this was most unexpected."
Everyone did a double-take, only to see that Pandora was still there, and undamaged, at that.
Aela just stared in disbelief, trying to comprehend what she had just seen. "Wait, but… you just… she was…"
"Remember what I said at your base?" Patches said, more tense than she had ever seen him. "This is the kind of bullshit she can pull."
"I prefer calling it "retconning," actually." Pandora smirked before putting her focus back on Emilia. "What is unexpected is you being the Dragonborn. Dovahkiin. That was something I never foresaw. This has never happened before, but considering the nature of this reality, I suppose I shouldn't really be surprised by anything new."
"Speak English, Witch," the bald man hissed.
It was then that Odahviing realized something. "You are aware of the Kalpa…"
"Indeed, I am. It's one of the many benefits my ability grants me."
Erik looked at everyone else. "Wait, did I miss something? What's she aware of?"
Solaire scratched his helmet. "I'm just as lost as you are, man."
Odahviing then went into more detail. "The Kalpa. What your kind call a "Timeline"."
Subaru stared at the monster that's haunted him for so long. "Pandora… what did you do?"
Pandora merely shrugged. "Nothing, actually. However, imagine my surprise when our world is suddenly vastly different from how I've known it. New forms of Magic, new races and species, Undead, Dragonborns, the First Flame, the Planes of Oblivion, all of it isn't supposed to be here, yet it is."
Emilia's eyes widened. "What…? The world… you knew…?"
"It would be pointless for me to explain it. I'm sure Odahviing can provide a better explanation to satisfy your curiosity." Was all Pandora said on the matter.
Sieglinde turned back to her friend. "Uhh… Odah? What is she talking about?"
"We Dov exist beyond the normal constraints of time. As such, we have witnessed countless Kalpa come and go. When this Kapla was being constructed, it collided with two other universes that also had ended and were ready to begin anew, creating a new, conjoined universe with properties from all three." Odahviing gave his explanation.
Everyone was silent beyond belief.
Well, almost everyone.
"Wait, wait, wait… You're telling me that three different universes merged? After some sort of repeat?! This is all like some sort of Nintendo-PlayStation-Xbox mega collab?! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" Subaru screamed.
Odahviing nodded. "Yes, though I am most perplexed how the Sosin knows of it.'
Erik just looked confused. "Sosin?"
"Dovahzuul for "Witch". While I would be inclined to answer your question, Odahviing, I believe our time is up," Pandora said, before turning to Subaru. "Farewell, my beloved. We will be together for sure this time."
Subaru knew what she was doing. "NO! YOU'RE NOT GOING ANYWHERE! NOT AGAIN —"
Subaru attempted to launch a barrage of El Minyas at her, but she vanished as soon as they hit.
"No. No, no, no, no… NO, NO, NO! GOD DAMN IT! NOT AGAIN! NO!"
As Subaru screamed to the heavens, everyone processed what just happened.
Erik whispered, "What... the hell…"
"That was… a Witch?" Siegmeyer asked.
"The worst of them all," Patches answered.
"How can we… even fight that?" Aela couldn't comprehend how to fight such a being.
"... I don't know..." Everyone turned to Subaru, who looked down in despair.
"What?"
"I DON'T KNOW!" Subaru screamed. "I'VE SPENT FOUR HUNDRED YEARS LOOKING FOR A WAY TO END THAT BITCH FOR GOOD, AND IT'S BEEN FOR FUCKING NOTHING!"
Emilia was now scared. "Subaru, calm down —"
"CALM!? YOU WANT ME TO CALM DOWN?! FOUR CENTURIES AND SHE JUST SHOWS UP TO MOCK US!" he shouted at her.
Solaire attempted to get through to his friend. "Subaru, I know you're upset —"
"NO! YOU DON'T KNOW! HAVE YOU SPENT CENTURIES ON A POINTLESS ENDEAVOR?! HAVE YOU FAILED TIME AND TIME AGAIN TO SAVE THE PEOPLE YOU LOVE?! HAVE YOU HAD TO TURN THE LOVE OF YOUR LIFE INTO THE WITCH OF ENVY AGAINST HER WILL, ALL BECAUSE PANDORA CURSED HER AND YOU PUT THAT FUCKING POWER INSIDE OF HER?!"
It was at that moment Subaru stopped yelling and realized what he just said.
Everyone stared in a silent mix of shock, confusion and horror at what their leader said.
"You… what?" Emilia whispered.
Subaru, realizing that his secret was out, panicked. "AL SHAMAK!"
A black portal suddenly appears behind Subaru and he immediately runs into it.
"NO! SUBARU! COME BACK —"
Emilia tried to reach out to Subaru, but the portal closed before they could run after him, leaving the rest of the group burning with questions.
Emilia fell to her knees, with tears in her eyes. "No… Subaru… please… come back…"
Everyone else remained silent as Emilia cried.
"Please… I need you…"
Patches sighed. "So, this is how it happens…"
Elsewhere, a scantily-clad woman sat on the cold floor, bored out of her mind, when suddenly, a familiar black portal opened up in front of her. The portal had led Subaru back to the Pleiades Watchtower, where Shaula had been waiting for him.
"Hm? Master! You're back!" Shaula eagerly got up to greet her master.
"It's been so lonely without you, Master!" Shaula exclaimed, hugging her master as tight as she could without hurting him. "Now, le-... Master, are you okay?"
"Yeah. I'm fine, Shaula… Just fine," he lied.
Shaula knew her master far too well to know that he was not okay. "Do you need to talk to the cynic?"
"You know what? Fuck it, sure."
Subaru and Shaula then head up to a large room as they had done so many times before, with a giant blue-and-white Dragon in the middle of the clouds.
"Ah, thou hast returned, old friend," the Divine Dragon, Volcanica, greeted the Great Sage.
"Yeah, Volc. How ya been?"
Volcanica sighs. "This one has been restless, but well. However, this one has detected a shift in the air recently. Something foul has emerged."
Subaru knew what his old friend was referring to. "Alduin, right?"
Volcanica nodded. "Alduin... the World Eater has returned. This one has sensed it weeks ago, but this one has been unable to act."
"Wonderful," Subaru groaned. "All hell broke loose, and now we have three years before the end of the entire world. Just peachy."
"Master will be able to solve it!" the brown-haired girl cheered. "Shaula believes in Master!"
"Thank you for your vote of confidence," Subaru sarcastically said. "Now where the hell is Reid?"
Volcanica hummed as he tried to recall. "This one believes he is "out jogging"."
He sighed. "Great. Back to the drawing board."
Volcanica suddenly got a whiff of something on Subaru. "Hmm... something has happened." The Divine Dragon leans down and sniffs Subaru, growling as he recognizes a certain scent. "The scent of Pandora is faint on thou."
"Yeah, we crossed paths earlier." Subaru looked down, in both rage and shame.
Shaula, meanwhile, was livid. "WHAT?! DID SHE HURT MASTER?! WHERE IS SHE?! I'LL PUNT HER TO OBLIVION AND BACK THERE'S GONNA BE NOTHING LEFT!"
"Nothing happened, she didn't hurt me. She just teleported the Sin Archbishop of Lust away before I managed to kill her," Subaru groaned.
"Did anything else happen?'
"Ehh… made a few new friends?"
Volcanica sniffed Subaru again. "Hmm, strange... one scent smells of Elf... and Dragon?"
"Half-Elf," Subaru corrected him. "This generation's Dragonborn. Her name's Emilia."
Volcanica looked interested in that. "Dragonborn? Interesting…"
"You wanna know what's even more fucked?" he asked. "She somehow looks exactly like Ella."
"She does?" Shaula asked, her voice suddenly going quiet. "She looks like… mom?"
Subaru nodded. "Yeah, give her Ella's clothes and you probably couldn't tell the difference."
Volcanica hummed as he processed that information. "That is strange.. a familial relation, perhaps?"
"Speaking of... how is Satella doing?"
"The usual. Still… trapped," Shaula said.
Subaru merely stayed silent.
"Sorry, Master," the brown-haired girl apologized.
Subaru sighed. "... I cracked... I was so angry, I basically told them all that I made Satella the Witch…"
Shaula realized where this was going. "Oh, no…"
"Yeah." Subaru sighed. "No doubt they're never gonna wanna see me again…"
"At least there is still Patches," Volcanica said.
"Sure about that?"
The three turned their attention to Patches, standing in the doorway.
Patches walked up to the three. "You forgot you let me use this place's bonfire, didn't you?"
"What are you doing here?" Subaru asked.
"Came to check up on you. Make sure you aren't doing anything stupid."
Subaru sighed in response. "I'm just sulking. Like usual."
"This is a little worse than usual," the bald Undead said. "I mean, you've never blurted out your biggest fuck up in front of friends before."
Subaru snorted. "I haven't had friends in a long time."
"How are they reacting to this reveal?" The Divine Dragon questioned.
"Didn't stick around long enough," Subaru said.
"Well, they're not demanding your ashy head on a pike. Emilia's taking the worst of it."
Subaru turned to Patches in surprise. "What?"
"Not because of your girlfriend, but because she misses you." Patches clarified.
"Wait, you're serious?" Shaula asked.
Patches nodded. "Yeah. They obviously want answers, but they don't want you dead."
"Huh… that's a surprise." Subaru blurted out.
"What's a surprise?"
Everyone turns to see a man in a kimono as red as his hair, a Darksign on his chest, and wearing an eyepatch, walking in. It was none other than Reid Astrea, the first Sword Saint.
"Hey, Flugel! 'Sup, Baldy," Reid said.
Patches replied in kind. "'Sup, One-Eye."
"So, wha's going on?" Reid asked, wanting to be caught up.
Volcanica took initiative and answered. "Subaru returned once more after encountering Pandora yet again."
The redhead clicked his tongue in annoyance. "The bitch showed up after all this time?"
Subaru snorted. "Yeah, to bail out her lackey."
Patches turned back to the Dragon. "By the way, Volc, did you know we're in a crossover?"
"A what now?" Reid asked.
"Odahviing, another Dragon, explained that this world is a combination of three universes. Stuff like the First Flame and the Planes of Oblivion aren't supported to "be here", at least that's what Pandora said." Subaru explained what happened.
Volcanica hummed. "Hm, is that so…?"
"Did you know about this, Volc?" Subaru asked.
"If I did, then I have probably forgotten due to time taking its hold on me."
Subaru sighed in exasperation. "Great…"
"So, whatcha gonna do now?" Reid asked.
"I don't know... I don't know anymore…"
At the same time, the others had arrived back in Jorrvaskr, with Odahviing returning to High Hrothgar. Emilia had gone to one of the rooms, and refused to come out.
"Come on!" Aela shouted. "Open the door, girlie!"
"Maybe we should leave her be…" Sieglinde suggested, trying to be the voice of reason.
Erik was still trying to process everything that happened earlier. "I still can't believe it…"
Seigmeyer had to agree with the young man. "Subaru... created the Witch of Envy...?"
Solaire interjected. "Now, now. We don't know everything. We can't cast judgment yet."
J'zargo nodded. "Agreed. J'zargo believes there is more to the story. He did say she was "cursed". Perhaps that had something to do with it, no?"
"You were awfully quiet while Pandora was there," Aela said. "Cat got your tongue?"
J'zargo hissed as he created a fireball. "Make another cat-pun. See what J'zargo does."
"Calm down, both of you!" Solaire barked at them. "Still, you were quiet during the encounter."
"Unlike you, I could actually sense what that abomination was... or at least I tried to comprehend it." Aela shivered as she thought about what she felt during that encounter.
"Mm, yes, quite terrifying," J'zargo said.
"So... what do we do?" Erik asked.
"Console Emilia?" Sieglinde suggested to them.
"Assuming she'll let us in…" Siegmeyer said.
"We can knock the door down," Aela suggested.
Solaire held his hands up. "Let's... not do that."
"Maybe we could go somewhere to distract ourselves?" Siegmeyer asked. "Like, a quest?"
"That... won't be necessary."
Everyone turned around, to see…
""SUBARU!""
Subaru walked over with Patches, approaching everyone hesitantly.
"Hey guys…"
"You have some explaining to do!" Aela growled.
"I know... it's time I explain everything."
Erik pointed to the door. "Shouldn't we… get Emilia in on this?"
Subaru walks up to the door and knocks on it. "Emilia-ta-... Emilia, it's me. Please open the door."
"Su… Subaru…?" Subaru could hear Emilia's voice faintly on the other side of the door.
Subaru scratched his head. "Yeah, it's me... I'm sorry... for keeping you in the dark, I ju-!"
SLAM!
Before Subaru could continue, Emilia immediately opened the door and hugged him as tight as she could.
"SUBARU! IT'S YOU! I WAS SO SCARED YOU WOULDN'T COME BACK —"
"Careful! Let's not break his spine!" Solaire tried to keep Emilia from accidentally killing Subaru
Emilia quickly let him go. "Oh, um, sorry."
Subaru waved it off. "No, it's okay... I probably deserved that…"
"So… any explanations?" Aela's tone made it clear they were overdue for answers.
Subaru's smile shifted to something more serious, as he nodded to what Aela said. "Yeah... it's time for me to explain everything."
Author's Note: No jokes today, only comments. We've gone into the deep end now.
5queso: Never considered thinking of chapters as meals, but we have been using food-based metaphors for a while now, so I guess it makes sense. Glad you enjoyed the fight, those are always hard to choreograph. And yep, Pandora has made her appearance, and is now gone once more. The next chapter is gonna be big, though…
t (Guest): I, uhh… guess it's thematic?
Caseunionw2: Keep going? For you? Of course.
Kifhjoofff: Ahora que lo pienso, puede que tengas razón. De todos modos, me alegro de que estés disfrutando.
Mr_Greenstorm: Sorry, but we gotta have cliffhangers! Anyways, I'm glad to see that our worldbuilding is appreciated. Hope you'll find our future lore just as amazing as this!
And now for the last bit of 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!
Thanks for reading, and once again, see you next time!
- Ernalore & Infinite the Celestian