Chapter 17: The Great Escape

Rem stood silent and still, watching for any sign of life that remained in YN.

Finally, Rem knelt down. Putting the back of her hand in front of YN's face, she felt for breath, however faint.

There was none.

She then placed two fingers on his neck, feeling for a pulse.

She felt none.

Before she lifted her fingers back up, she ran them over the bruises she had left on YN's neck during the strangle. Each bruise perfectly fit one of her fingers. Rem traced each one, paring up each fingers mark that had been left.

Placing her weight onto her knees to sit, Rem flipped YN's corpse onto his back.

She proceeded to search his body, patting him down. Starting with his butler coat pockets, she found nothing. She then proceeded to search his trouser pockets. Finding nothing in his front pockets, she finally felt an object in his back pocket. It felt square, and while not hard, it wasn't entirely soft either.

Reaching into the pocket, Rem felt leather. Pulling it out, she realized it was an oddly shaped pouch. Handling it, the pouch folded open.

Going to investigate it's contents, Rem crawled with the pouch in her hand over to the metia torch that still shined upward in the darkness.

Folding open the pouch, the first immediate thing she were a few pieces of odd colored paper in the main fold of the pouch.

Taking them from their pouch, Rem examined them. On one side bore the face of a man, aged, and looking experienced. Flipping it, there was a drawing of a building. Both sides written with a language she did not understand.

Rem was astonished at the level of detail in each of these drawings. Putting the paper back in the pouch it had come from, she examined the rest of the folded leather pouch.

Looking near where the pouch folded, Rem guided her her fingers into a small slot.

She felt two or three distinct items, flat, and all the same size. They were a made of a material she was unfamiliar with. Solid like metal, but not cold like it. Flexible like wood, but it was clearly not. A texture like glass, but not as fragile feeling.

Pulling them out, she looked at them one by one. The first one she looked over was white and shiny. On it has more words she did not know. Highlighted across the bottom were more of the unknown language, this time raised up and textured. Flipping the item over, there was a strip of black going across it, with more language she did not understand, as well as a scribbled line.

The second of these items was almost identical, although this one was a matte blue.

The third caught Rem's attention like neither of the other two. Another item the same size of the others, this one also displaying the same unknown language, this time it appeared to list information in the way it was formatted.

But the main reason it was so shocking to Rem was the extremely detailed, miniature portrait of YN's face that was on it.

Rem examined the great detail in it. How could someone paint something so small yet so accurately?

Shaking her head, she was extremely side tracked. Putting the contents back in the leather pouch, Rem placed it back in YN's pocket.

Her search not yielding a single result, Rem sat next to YN's corpse.

Surely he is an adversary. He reeked of the Witch. But then why...

Rem thought back to YN's final moments of life, the words he had mouthed to her, his farewell words to her.

"I'm sorry."

That was an admission if guilt. Right?

Rem's thoughts began to fill with doubt. Had she just murdered an innocent person?

Sighing, she cast away her thoughts. Now wasn't the time to think of this. There was much more to attend to. Rem needed to see how her sister was handling the other guest.

Before getting back up, Rem placed her hand on YN's face. Still warm, the tears he had shed before dying had yet to dry. Bringing her hand down, she closed his eyes.

Standing up, Rem headed for the door, leaving YN's corpse alone and in the light of his metia.

Rem patrolled the hallways of the mansion, looking for any sign of the second guest, or her sister.

Finally after searching up and down, Rem found her sister, also in a state of search.

Rem: Nee-sama!

Ram: There you are. Have you seen our second guest?

Rem: No, Rem was about to ask Nee-sama about him.

Ram: He's disappeared without a trace.

Putting a hand to her chin, Rem thought of a way to locate the second guest.

Rem: Did you try your clairvoyance?

Ram: Yes, I saw nothing. Do you think you could find him by his Witch scent?

Rem shook her head.

Rem: Rem already tried. The Witches sent starts and ends in the guest room, and it doesn't continue out the window or anywhere else. Emilia-sama was also looking for him but she couldn't find him either.

The two of them thought together in silence, trying to brainstorm any idea of how to proceed.

Ram: Perhaps he got away then. He couldn't have gone far. Maybe he's hiding in Arlem?

Rem: Rem will have to investigate. We'll need to head to the village for groceries in the next day or after, won't we?

Ram: That might be a good time to look. Tomorrow though we'll need to devote to taking care of the first guest's... belongings. Speaking of which, did you have a difficult time? Did he have anything of suspicion on him? A gospel perhaps?

Shaking her head again, Rem answered her sister.

Rem: He had nothing but his metia that makes light like a small torch, and a leather pouch with nothing of interest.

Her voice going cold, Ram replied.

Ram: He didn't hurt you, did he?

Putting a hand to her chest, Rem shook her head and almost her whole body.

Rem: No... He didn't resist at all... He only begged Rem to stop, but Rem couldn't... Rem was so enraged by the smell and—

Ram: Rem stop. You're worrying over someone who was clearly involved in the Witch's Cult.

Silent for a moment, Rem replied in a soft and sad voice.

Rem: Nee-sama... He... He died with such a lonely, sad, and scared look in his eyes. Rem isn't sure she made the right decision...

Ram: Well there's nothing we can do about it now... But, we should be off anyway. Roswaal-sama will be expecting dinner soon.

Nodding her head in agreement, the twins went to do their duties as well as they could, given what had just transpired.

YN's consciousness drifted in the black, murky waters just as it had the last time he'd died. The absence of pain and his need to breath, still, while relieved, were simply eliminated, not satisfied.

Little to say, he knew he had died, but this was his first time he had died. Return By Death obviously wasn't triggered, unlike the first time he'd died, where his conscious was snapped to where the checkpoint was once Subaru died.

However that obviously wasn't happening now.

YN was left thinking there were two immediate theories as to what was going on for him.

He was dead, and that time here is one to one with where ever Subaru is, so he just needs to die and he'll get snapped back to life with him.

Or.

Time here isn't one to one, and Subaru never died, or worse yet, advanced to a checkpoint without YN.

Shaking his imaginary head, YN denied the later theory.

Subaru wouldn't do that. And how can THIS be death? Just floating around... You'd go mad from the isolation.

Still in the midst of his own thoughts, YN's consciousness began to flow and pour back into his body, he had come to know this feeling now, and knew that it meant he'd be right back in the guest bed once more.

However.

As his consciousness took hold of his body, the bed he was accustomed to this time was neither warm nor cold, more as it almost seemed to lack a temperature to begin with.

Opening his eyes and expecting to see the guest room with Subaru in the bed opposite of his, YN was instead blinded by bright white light, and thought for a moment he was looking at the sun. His eyes getting adjusted, YN realized what he was seeing was white.

All white. Nothing but white.

Sitting up and looking around, YN saw nothing but a large, white expanse before him.

Am I… dead for good?

YN began to feel terrible amounts of dread and regret. Looking around, he felt a sharp coldness from everywhere he looked. He began to feel immensely tired. This great expanse before him seemed to draw and pull the energy from his body.

Looking to himself, YN could see his arms, legs, and his body. He was dressed in his robe that he would normally wake up to on the first day of the loop he found himself in.

YN began to feel panic growing inside him. Knowing it would be a bad thing however, he strained to calm himself down.

Trying his hardest to not be overwhelmed, such a place had to be related to Return By Death. It had all the same familiar feelings, despite not being able to feel them. Truly, existence here is hypothetical by it's very nature.

Shaking his head, YN decided to lay down, and quickly feel asleep.

Feeling himself wake, he found he was still in the great white expanse. Nothing had changed.

Sitting up, YN thought to himself what all this meant. How long had he been asleep? What was he supposed to do?

Feeling the tiredness begin to return, he didn't have the energy to think about all these things. YN fell asleep once more.

YN began to spiral into a pattern of being awoken to the great expanse, with nothing changing, only to fall asleep once more. This went on for what felt like hours. A day. A few days even. YN's mind couldn't keep track of it all. His mind was beginning to strain from the lack of stimuli and the over abundance of powerlessness he felt. He felt as if he were in a dream he could not awake from.

After drifting in and out of consciousness almost non-stop, YN began to feel his senses flood into his own body once more. After so long in the void, it was almost relieving.

This wasn't the end. He has another chance.

I've got to think. I've really got to strategize.

This was going to be his fifth morning waking up at the mansion for his second time.

If Subaru was still in his state of shock, he could not count on him to be of assistance. Considering he had finally experienced the consequence of trying to confess Return By Death, YN did not hold much hope for Subaru's condition.

I need to remember what happens every morning, and plan what I'm going to say. Every 'T' needs to be crossed, and every 'i' dotted.

The first, second, and third first-mornings had played out exactly the same. The twins came in and wake them up, after having been returned to the guest room from having their mana sapped from them by Beatrice.

This was untrue for the last morning.

Doing the exact same thing the two of them said each morning, Rem had been cut off by the smell of the Witch's scent.

But why that morning? Why not the past three times?

When he thought about it, YN realized that the first loop had been the smoothest by far until they had died in their sleep from the curse, since he hadn't Returned By Death yet, he didn't smell of the Witch yet, or maybe just not as bad.

Rem will act in a more cold fashion if we smell like the Witch... Returning from death might actually bring the smell back.

But if that was true, why was it only on the last loop she had decided to be hostile on the first day? YN pondered his thoughts, thinking of a what he did differently to make Rem upset.

It has to be related to the smell, right? When else had Rem mentioned it?

The only time she had mentioned it in the last loop was entering the guest room. The only other time was—

After I tried telling her in anger in the forest! When I was punished for it, she immediately got more violent. Which means...—!

Right before Subaru was killed, YN had tried speaking of Return By Death, giving him a renewal of the Witch's scent, then upon returning, he was given another dose of the scent.

But I had tried telling Rem before about Return By Death when I already had the scent on me before... She didn't kill me then.

Thinking of the events right after waking up the last time, YN remembered the pain from when Subaru had tried to tell Emilia that he could Return By—

That's it! It's true that the scent gets worse even when Subaru does it too!

In the short span of probably no less then a few hours, the scent was three times what it normally was by just returning. He was on at least three layers of it, one from his confession to Rem, one from Returning from death, and one from Subaru's confession to Emilia.

The scent must stack then! But... that means—

A bolt of fear ran through YN.

This is bad. If three layers of scent are enough for Rem to get violent, when I return it'll be a fourth layer in the same short amount of time...

YN had come to the conclusion that he was in a horrible perpetual feedback loop.

If three layers in a matter of hours is enough for a violent Rem on day one, then four could mean another death might happen sooner, meaning the smell will compound more, and get me an even quicker death, and so on and so forth...

Images of a Rem, driven mad by such intense Witch scent, kicking down the guest room door and impaling his head before even being able to wake up filled YN's mind.

When he awoke, he had to wake Subaru as quick as could.

We have to escape this loop, we have to run... Maybe after awhile we can try returning, either physically or by...

The notion of an intentionally triggered Return meant...

Shaking his non-existent head, YN did not deny the need for such action, merely, he did not wish to think about it till it became a necessity. He truly did not wish to be another person who had killed Subaru.

Finally, after much thought, he was finally all in his body, ready to take command. He could finally feel time begin to start again, calling him to action.

YN was determined to not become trapped.

Bolting straight up, YN took no time to smell the washed sheets or the fresh flowers.

Instead of lingering and lying in wait while enjoying the last few minutes of his siesta, YN threw his bed-sheets off him, and readied himself for action.

YN: The twins will be here any minute... I've gotta buy myself time.

Grabbing the exact chair that Emilia had used when she visited them, YN propped it under the handle to the room's door.

YN: I know both of them easily can kick down this door but if buys us even a minute it might be worth it.

Stepping over to Subaru's bed, YN shook him awake.

YN: Hey! Hey! Subaru! Hey! Wake up!

Subaru: Hmmmmmmmm five more minutes...

YN: We don't have time Subaru! We're in danger! We've got to get out of here. We're going to get trapped in an endless cycle of death if we don't.

Startled by YN's words, Subaru sat up in bed and rubbed his eyes.

Subaru: *yaaaaawnnn* YN, what? What are you taking abou—?

Grabbing Subaru's shoulders and shaking him, YN pleaded to him.

YN: It's the smell Subaru. The scent of the Witch. That's the source of our problems here. Every time we die, every time we try to tell someone about Return By Death, it makes the smell stronger! Right now, our smell is stronger then ever. Even before, last loop, it was enough to get Rem to kill me on the first day!

Shaking Subaru's shoulders harder again, YN exaggerated what said again.

YN: The first day! Now that we have more scent on us? What do you think she and her sister will do this time?! We've got to act fast.

Letting go of Subaru, YN walked back to the sheets he had thrown off him and began to rip them off the bed, one by one.

Subaru: W-what happened to you? Last loop I mean, you disappeared. No one knew where you went and—

Beginning to tie the ends of the bed sheets together, end by end, YN looked up at Subaru to answer him.

YN: 'Where did I go?' What do mean? Rem killed me, Subaru. She... strangled me. Killed me with her bare hands...

Shock covered Subaru's face as he heard YN's answer.

Subaru: All because of the smell? I-is it really that strong now? How do you know this?

Nodding, YN replied.

YN: Because, while you were shell shocked and bed ridden, I tried salvaging that last loop, only to be killed on the first day.

Shaking his head in disbelief, Subaru let YN continue.

YN: Roswaal decided to make a me butler after I asked for work as reward, and I ended up actually helping on the first day. After Rem lured me to some non-existent storage room to help, she got me there.

Subaru: I-I don't understand. How does this come back to you knowing about the scent?

Finishing tying his sheets together, YN began to tie one end to the post of his bed.

YN: You were passed out for it, but when Rem was torturing us, back in the woods, I tried telling her about Return By Death, just like how you tried telling Emilia. Rem got extremely angry saying I was taunting her when I couldn't tell her. It had made the scent stronger. Remember what happened when you tried telling Emilia?

Putting a hand over his heart, Subaru remembered the pain, the fear, of trying to tell someone about Return By Death.

Subaru: Yeah, a hand, a shadowy one squeezed my heart. It hurt so bad.

YN: Exactly. I think that punishment is exactly what causes the scent to increase when we do, just like dying does. That's why the first loop we didn't experience any hostility from Rem or Ram.

Subaru: Because you hadn't returned at all yet, and the last time I had was way before coming here.

YN: Which brings me to what we need to do here. Survive. We have to let the scent wear off.

Checking the tightness of his knots, YN tugged on each as he listened to Subaru's reply.

Subaru: So wait. You died on the first day? Which means you died before I did... And Return By Death wasn't triggered with your death, but—

Opening the window, YN let the breeze and the rest of the light in.

YN: It only seems to trigger with your death, which means you're the VIP here. I have to keep you alive till the scent wears off, and when it does, we can decide what to do from there. Either we return here after a few days or—

Subaru: Or we force a reset. Which means...

Without either needing to say anything else about what that entitled, YN turned to throw the tied sheets down and out the window.

With Subaru in thought as to what YN's plan here was, he came to realization.

Subaru: Wait. Does it really take that long for the scent to wear off?

YN: I don't know. All know is we're both sitting here with four layers of scent from just the past few hours.

Subaru: —? 'Past few hours'? 'Four layers' of them? How did you reach that conclusion?

YN: Because I tired confessing to Rem about Return By Death, that's one. Then we died, that's two. Then you tried confessing to Emilia, that's three. And we just returned again, that's four.

Putting his fingers up with each count, YN put his hand down, and brought his other up to his chin in thought.

YN: This all probably happened in... Hmmmm, if you timed it out linearly, less the half a day? That's why we need to wait a few days to let the scent wear off if we have to return again, so it doesn't compound again for a fifth time.

Subaru shook his head.

Subaru: That can't be right. On the last loop, I didn't die until—

*Rattle rattle*

The handle to the door that was being propped closed by the chair began to rattle. Someone was trying to open it.

*Rattle rattle*

YN whisper-yelled over to Subaru.

YN: We've gotta go!

*Knock knock knock*

? (muffled): Hello? Guest-sama, are you okay?

With a final wave from YN, Subaru leaped out of bed, and made his way over to the window.

Grabbing the tied sheets, Subaru stepped out the window and climbed his way down.

*Knock! Knock! Knock!*

Ram (muffled): Guest-sama, please open the door. Ram does not want to have to break it down.

With Subaru firmly on the ground, YN took up the rope of sheets and stepped up into the window, turning to make his decent.

Just as he began to work his way down, the chair holding the door had it's wooden frame busted and splintered. Ram had finally knocked the door open without having to kick it down.

As YN climbed down, feet hugging each knot and slowly descending, his and Ram's eyes met before he sunk out of her view, below the windowsill.

Halfway down, Subaru was waiting for him at the base of the mansion. Looking up, YN heard Ram call to Rem.

Ram (muffled): Rem! The guests are trying to escape! They might be confused!

With a final jump, YN landed on the ground next to Subaru.

Subaru: Now what?!

Catching his breath, YN huffed out a response.

YN: We've gotta split up. Make a brake for the treeline and don't stop running. I'm going to try and run a distraction play.

Subaru: But wait, there's something—!

Shoving Subaru's shoulder, YN turned him around gave him a push.

YN: Go! You're the VIP, remember? Doesn't matter if I die.

Knowing he wasn't going to have the opportunity to explain anything to YN, Subaru had no choice but to make a break for the tree line.

A/N: Well, here's another weeks of chapters to keep you all busy. Chapter's 15 and 16 were some of my favorite to write. I'm really happy to see the positive feedback and I'm glad you all are enjoying reading this. One of you however, made a correct prediction of what will happen in the story later on, that is secret though.

But I can promise you all, everything that has happened in this series has happened for a reason, and I'll leave the foreshadowing at that.