His body ached. The floor beneath him seemed to suck the last remnants of warmth from his skin. He slowly opened his eyes, only to be greeted by darkness.

He tried to scan the room, but his subtle movement led to a metallic sound—a sound he was familiar with, the sound of chains.

"Are you affiliated with the Witch Cult?"

Horrible memories flooded his mind—loops of failure, torment, hopeless struggle. He shuddered, the weight of realization crashing down on him.

The chill around his wrists confirmed it. He had experienced this before, in the loop in which his feigned madness landed him in Betelgeuse's hands—the loop in which he was forced to witness Rem's death without being able to do anything.

"Shit!" Subaru's voice cracked with panic

The Sin Archbishop of Gluttony had devoured his name, he was forgotten by the world. Worse yet, his miasma was comparable to that of a Sin Archbishop. Beatrice's accusation was enough for all his friends to turn their backs on him. He was captured on suspicion of being the Sin Archbishop of Pride and he was currently being restrained in a prison cell. He had no time to waste.

He had to Die

That thought made his stomach churn. Suicide disgusted him. Hadn't he promised Satella that he would not abuse return by death? That he would include himself among the people he wants to save?

No, he couldn't afford to linger in a failed loop, not with the weight of Rem's fate pressing on him. Not when he had no guarantee their memories would return anytime soon after Gluttony's escape. But above all, the hatred in their eyes... he couldn't face it again.

In the end, there was no other choice.

"Invisible Providence!" he shouted with conviction

A shadowy hand sprouted from his abdomen. Since his battle with the Sin Archbishop of Greed, he'd unlocked a new ability. His authority of sloth could now phase through objects, becoming intangible at will.

He didn't hesitate. The hand moved towards his face, slipping through his skin like a ghost. It reached deeper and deeper until it found its target. Then, it regained its tangibility.

The pressure inside his skull instantly turned his brain into mush. Natsuki Subaru was dead.

When Subaru opened his eyes again, a similar darkness greeted him.

"No. No. NO!" he screamed, his voice echoing across the cell. "This can't be happening!"

Subaru didn't know how much time had passed, all he could do was patiently wait for someone to come to him. After he calmed down about his horrible spawn point, he started to think of arguments he could use to make them believe he wasn't a Sin Archbishop. He had to use his knowledge of the big events he participated in, knowledge that only someone present would know. After all, it was guaranteed that there would be discrepancies in what others remembered.

A sound brought him out of his thoughts. The sound of two pairs of footsteps quickly approaching his cell.

Looking up, he was able to see for the first time in a while. There he saw Felix in his knight uniform holding on to an oil lamp. Julius follows behind him.

This was it. He had rehearsed what he was going to say many times. Maybe they didn't believe him when he was captured because he freaked out and didn't say the right things. Now all he needed to do was to calmly explain his situation and get someone with the divine protection of wind reading to vouch for him.

'In the end, they are my friends. The mind might forget but the heart remembers' The black-haired boy thought as if trying to delude himself.

The steps came to a stop in front of his cell. The creaking of the bars signaled their entry.

"Are you ready to talk Pride?" Felix spoke with an uncharacteristically serious tone "Are you willing to tell me how to cure Lady Crush and the other victims of your wretched cult, or will we need to use force?"

Subaru was taken aback by the coldness in Felix's voice. It was terrifying how closely it resembled Rem's voice when she suspected him. Felix no longer used the Catspeak Subaru knew him for. It made him realize that he wasn't talking to the Felix he called a friend but to a Royal knight who desperately clung to anything that would save his mistress.

"I'm not a witch cultist Felix, I'm Natsuki Subaru the Half-Elf's knight and the Contractor of the Great Spirit of Ying Beatrice" Subaru spoke as concisely as he could, having learned firsthand that his usual theatrics would result in a horrible outcome "I'm a victim of Gluttony and just like Julius I lost my name, you could get someone to verify that what I'm saying is true" Subaru concluded.

"It was Beatrice who identified you as an Archbishop and many people heard Gluttony refer to you as Pride before his escape," Felix said "How do you explain having the smell of the Witch and such disgusting blood in your arm and foot! It seems you are completely unaffected while Crusch-Sama is in so much pain!" Felix screamed as he grew irritated

"C-Calm down Felix just because someone has the smell of the Witch doesn't mean they are a cultist, as for the cursed blo–"

Felix cut Subaru off and yelled "Shut up with your excuses! You were found with a Gospel in hand and yet you dare insinuate that your miasma is irrelevant!"

'Shit, the book of Wisdom Otto had just fixed got confused with a Gospel, I completely forgot I had that" Subaru internally thought as his sweating intensified. Desperation filled his mind as he got a growing headache.

"T-That was" The black-haired youth couldn't find the words to defend himself. He couldn't just say that it was Roswalls' bock. That would just put Emilia's campaign at risk.

Then it occurred to him, he could just say he picked it up from a fallen cultist or something of that nature.

"And what was that about being a knight? You, a despicable Archbishop dared trample on what the knights stand for! What kind of knight even dresses the way you do?" Felix didn't give Subaru the time to think "I have already confirmed that you have a broken gate, you have neither the magic power nor physical strength to ever be a knight. The only way for you to even be useful to anyone would be for you to have authority"

He was right. Deep inside Subaru knew that his true value lay in his Return by Death which he had speculated to be an authority. Even with his contract with Beatrice, he was just holding her back.

"A Knight doesn't need to be physically strong to be useful and you and me are the perfect examples of that," Subaru said quietly.

"Don't you dare compare me to you! You disgust me, saying you are Emilia's knight just because she resembles the precious witch you so passionately love. Lady Emilia already has a knight and his name is Garfiel Tinsel" Felix said "You and your love are as Disgusting as Betelgeuse" The frown on his face deepened.

"Shut up! Don't talk that way about my love for Emilia!" The black-haired youth's patience reached its limit "As I said before my name was eaten so Garfiel took my place as her Knight. There are probably many holes in how you two remember events" he said while relaxing his rage

"You claim that you aren't a Witch Cultist and that you are Lady Emilia's Knight. However, there is an irrefutable scene that completely disproves both" Julius who had remained quiet until this point finally spoke.

Subaru turned his head to the left, his focus acknowledging the presence of the Finest Knight. The oil lamp was barely illuminating the room but Subaru could tell, Julius face was twisted into a scowl his eyes reminding Subaru of his own.

"W-What scene" the black-haired youth felt a sudden nervousness overtake him.

"You had a knife and everyone who witnessed the scene could tell you had the intention of using it, not on others but on yourself. If it wasn't for Lady Emilia stopping you who knows what you would have done. No sane individual would ever do that, especially in front of the lady they promised to serve." Julius said with his tone clearly showing disgust to

That was it. There was nothing Subaru could say to defend himself. He had tried to take his own life but he was too slow in doing so. He had shown such an ugly part of himself in front of so many people he cared about. All he could afford to do now was to change the conversation.

"I was the one who organized the White Whale subjugation and the death of Sloth by allying with Emilia, Crusch, and Anastasia. With the help of Beatrice, I sent the Great Rabbit away. I even helped figure out the weakness of Greed." Subaru said with a tired voice "As I said before, we can find holes in history. Please bring someone with the divine protection of Wind reading to confirm my side of the events"

"Shut up," Felix said quietly, unheard by Subaru.

"Lady Crusch is in Critical condition and Reinhard isn't present. The words of a Great Spirit and your actions are more than proof enough that you are a cultist." Julius said flatly

"W-wait Julius I am not a cultist… if anyone would understand what I'm going through that would be you. Weren't you also forgotten by the people closest to you? So, please Julius I swear on the Dragon that I'm innocent and that all I said was nothing but the truth." Subaru said with desperation in his voice.

Before Julius could respond, Felix rushed towards Subaru and grabbed his forearm.

Immediately Subaru could feel his blood boiling. His body grew hot as his nerves picked up an immeasurable pain. He felt his muscles contracting against his will, he wanted to scream but his jaw was clenched shut. His sweat felt like hot lava against his skin and he secreted boiling tears. His body didn't feel like it was his body anymore, he wasn't in control of anything. All he could do was wait for the misery to be over.

He wanted to die. He wanted everything to be over, but his body refused- No, Felix was the one to refuse him the sweet relief of death. Whenever he was close to death Felix would pull him out of it and force him to endure the pain once again.

"AAHHHHHHHHH!" Subaru let out a scream that resonated across the entire prison. Letting his body fall to the ground.

That scream signaled the end of his suffering as Felix restored his body functions and quickly pulled his hand away. Felix's hand had an almost unnoticeable tremble. It was like his body tried to reject the act he had just committed. An act that went completely against his beliefs as a healer. He had used the hands he swore to use for the sake of Crusch to cause harm to another.

Gilt flared inside Felix for a single moment but it was dismissed just as fast as it appeared. He was doing this for Crusch's sake. He was dealing with the Sin Archbishop of Pride, a monster that wasn't even human. He didn't owe monsters any pity especially when their suffering would bring good to others.

"Stop saying nonsense and start talking already! Not only did you claim that Curch-sama's achievements against the White whale were yours but you dared to swear on the dragon while lying through your teeth!" Felix yelled while tears formed in his eyes "I let you talk hoping that you would give us any information out of your own free will and this is how you repaid my kindness!? By saying a bunch of nonsense and trying to deceive us!"

"I should have forcefully interrogated you as soon as I entered this cell!" Felix's last words broke the remaining hope inside Subaru.

'They never had the intention of hearing what I had to say, they came here expecting to hear what they wanted to hear…'

"Julius.. Please listen to me" Subaru pleaded weakly while regaining his breath.

"You learned any knowledge you have about those events either from your authority or Gluttony told you. After all, I heard the memories of a maid called Rem were eaten" Julius firmly declared "Now tell me how I can get my name back so I can serve Anastasia-sama properly"

That was it. They never had any intention of listening to him and even if they did they would just attribute anything that could prove his innocence to some sort of authority or magic. There was nothing that Subaru could ever do that would change minds that were already made up. This realization weighed deeply on his soul.

Subaru screamed when both Julius and Felix joined up in torturing him.

It had been a couple of days since Subaru's imprisonment and things started to fall into a routine. Felix and Julius would join up in torturing for hours or only one would come if the other got too busy. He had to admit that he preferred the days were Julius was alone because he couldn't go as far as Felix could without killing him. And they didn't want to kill him until they got anything out of him. He would have to deal with the injuries Julius dealt onto him until Felix healed them but there was nothing worse than what Felix could do…

On another note, guards would give him meals every other day. It was more of a sludge than a meal but when you have nothing else to eat anything can start tasting good. After all, the best spice is hunger. The guards liked visiting him since they could take out their frustration on him. Beating him, insulting him, spitting on his food, you name it. They seemed to enjoy humiliating the Sin Archbishop of Pride. Ironic

"Get ready Pride here comes your best friends Ferris-chan and Julius-Kun," Felix said in a mocking tone.

Behind Felix, Julius was standing while shining orbs floated around him. It seemed like he had regained the contracts with his spirits.

Subaru shut his eyes when the room suddenly got bright. Julius Ying's Spirit was releasing what seemed to be the power of the sun. Felix seemed to take note of Subaru's reaction and smirked. Planning his next method of torture.

"So Ferris was thinking and came up with an idea," Felix said playfully as he let the room get silent before continuing.

"Take off your clothes" Ferris demanded his voice flat and cold

"W-what?" Subaru spoke in surprise. His eyes widened and terror spread across his face.

"You heard me, take it off" Felix repeated

The room was again silent

"Julius cut them off" the cat boy spoke while nodding at Julius

"N-NO PLEASE! ANYTHING BUT THAT" The black-haired boy begged to no avail

Julius pulled his sword out as he walked towards Subaru. He looked at the prisoner's moistened eyes. Without hesitation, the sword went down toward Subaru at a speed faster than the eye could see.

Subaru just kept staring for a second. Nothing had happened, right? But Subaru knew better, he had once experienced such a delayed reaction against Elsa The Bowel Hunter.

A second later all his clothes came apart at his midsection. A perfect cut that didn't even spill a single drop of blood on his body. It was a cut with a purpose that Subaru could never dream of achieving.

Deep shame fell upon Subaru as his body was out there for everyone to see. All the scars he had gotten to save his friends, the scars he had received in the few days of torture, and the worst of them all, the scars that were a reminder of his self-harm. The scars he had tried so hard to hide from everyone except Beatrice. Those scars tainted his forearms with shame, shame for participating in such a disgusting practice, and shame for the constant failures that led to their creation.

He was too in shock to respond to Julius ripping away his clothes.

"Now Julius burn them" Felix ordered

The black-haired youth finally regained his composure but it was too late. Julius said the words goa and a ball of fire was shot at what remained of his clothes. He sat there witnessing the destruction of the last thing he had from Japan, the last thing that connected him to his parents but most importantly the last thing that made Subaru Subaru.

He was stunned. He didn't know what was worse, the shame and disgust he felt for being naked or that the last proof of his existence and identity was now gone.

He didn't have much time to think. Julius was walking towards him once again. In his right hand was something Subaru was very familiar with. It was a whip, or more specifically, it was Subaru's custom-made weapon.

"You were carrying this when you were detained. Let's see if you like the pain this thing has caused to who knows how many innocents." Julius proclaimed as he closed in on Subaru.

The purple-haired knight proceeded to cover Subaru's eyes with a cloth before getting him into a position where his back pointed towards him.

A whoosh sound was heard followed by screaming. Continuing to repeat for an unknown amount of times.