Chapter Text
The blackness kissed him gently, maintaining its death grip. His limbs started to feel numb.
“ — I love you. I love you. I love you.”
The only path that could free him got ripped away from his hands when he was one step away from reaching it. There was no hope of escaping this void alive, he would succumb to his death in those shadows.
“So? It's way too forced, you know…”
“ — I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you.”
However, there was no grief over himself. He will not mourn this death. Instead he will use his anger to push himself further. He will continue until he reaches the end.
“I will keep fighting. I will keep my promise. No matter how many times it takes.”
“ — I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you.”
He would not be overwhelmed by the whispers of love coming from the empty void before him. The love offered was not the kind he could accept, or reciprocate. Yet the shadows paid no mind to his rejection, and kept weeping their confessions from their very depths, tenderly invading his very mind and caressing his brain.
The words coated his world as they swallowed him whole.
“ — I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you.”
“I am Volcanica, In accordance with the ancient covenant, the will of thee-”
His distancing consciousness picked up on a weak, barely audible voice in the void. A whole world away. He would have quickly forgotten it as fast as he had noticed it, if it weren’t for-
A sudden agonizing pain cut through him, and a feeling of loss rippled through his very core. He gasped as nothingness filled his lungs. His eyes teary and burning. Something crucial had just been ripped away from him, even if he couldn’t discern what. The misery that accompanied this loss tore him apart. Something that the shadows should not be able to take away, his connection, his promise, the invasiveness of it so pervasive it was overwhelming.
It was gone. It was- gone.
Whe-re?
The scene in front of his eyes changed.
--=->-=-<-=--
The sudden change in temperature was the first sensation to reach him. A cold night’s breeze cut through him, in stark contrast to the relatively comfortable range of the green room he was in moments prior. The switch caused a shiver to run down his spine, as his mind ran to catch up with his body.
For a moment, the thought that he had died once again appeared in his head. The change in scenery that hit him was oh so similar to the one that came with Return by Death. His thought was disproven as his eyes began adjusting to the new scene in front of him.
The sidewalk he was now laying on was lit by a gentle blue light, illuminating the small specs of dust floating in the night air. The cold bricks from under him scraped at his palms. The sight was so vivid and familiar it felt almost alien, stunning him temporarily.
“My —dy! a— -ou -a-rm-, Ca- —u st-n-?”
“Y-h… y— I’m a-ri--t… ——-“
Muffled voices came from his right. Julius and Anastasia, no doubt. Their voices were laced with slight panic. He should probably be questioning how and why they are next to him, as just mere moments ago the two of them were in a completely different area in the tower. But his mind was preoccupied with something else.
“R-Rem!” Pushing over his uneasiness, Subaru scanned his surroundings. He found the girl he was looking for, laying just a few feet away from him. With his legs trembling, he got up to his feet and staggered towards her.
Before being swallowed by the shadows, he managed to grab a hold of her sleeping body, along with the unconscious Louis. Their path of escape was quickly blocked, however. Ram and Patrache were thankfully on the other side of the wall of darkness, but the three of them were not so fortunate.
He gently lifted her off the pavement, and sighed in relief when a quick scan of her showed no visible wounds. Her soft breathing indicated her wellbeing, still in peaceful rest.
Louis however, was nowhere to be seen. He didn’t know how to feel about that.
Alongside his current confusion and panic, there was a distinct feeling of a pit that opened in his stomach.
“Subaru! Rem! You two are here! Are you both alright?!”
The gentle ring of the distressed voice from his right brought him back to his senses. The white figure of Emilia made its way towards him in a great hurry.
“Are any of you injured? Can you stand?” Her amethyst eyes looked both of them up and down as her hand came to rest on his shoulder.
“Emilia! N-No I think we both are alright. Are any of you-” An attempt to stand up sent a swift ache in his chest and made him wince. Emilia picked up on it and reached out with her pale hands.
“Here, let me help you with Rem.” Emilia took Rem from his arms with great care, placing her delicately into a cradle carry. Subaru relinquished her sleeping body to Emilia, suppressing a bit of hesitation, as he slowly rose up to his feet. Emilia as always, was unbothered with the weight of Rem in her arms.
“I am all good. Rem seems to be alright as well, but…”
Something else that held an invisible weight on him, or more to say, the absence of something. A feeling of dread washed over him, that thing being-
“S-Subaru!” He spun around to the unmistakable voice of Beatrice. Her voice cracked, and she almost tripped on her long dress and she ran up to him. He let out a breath he hadn't noticed he was holding, and she slammed into his arms with full force.
“Hey, Beako- we are alright, it’s okay!” Subaru hugged the small spirit, the look of anguish in her eyes telling him all he needed to know about how she felt.
“The contract… For a moment Betty thought…”
It was their promise to stay by each other's side. Its presence was a protective blanket, their bond, with a significance so dear to the two it’s become an integral part of them.
When its presence disappeared a pit of endless despair opened in both of their stomachs.
“It’s okay, Beako… I’m here-! It’s okay-! Here, look up to me, take my hand-!”
Subaru had noticed it too, the moment the scenery around him changed, their contract disappeared. Almost as if it was severed. Of course Beatrice assumed the worst. He almost did himself before he saw her small figure sprinting up to him.
He wasn’t really distraught about the contract itself, but about what its disappearance would imply about Beatrice’s wellbeing. The contract meant so much to him, of course, but because it was his and Beatrice’s. It was treasured because of her, and not the other way around.
“Betty thought the worst had happened, I suppose.” She exhaled and gripped his hand defensively, perching herself close by his side. She was still recovering no doubt, her already pale face paler than it would normally be, but he could feel her relief.
From what it seems neither of them were the one to break it, and they would have no reason to ever do such a thing. That leaves the question of what caused it to disappear so suddenly. The shadows… her … perhaps. But this is not his main concern as of the moment.
“Are you okay, Beako? I am so sorry that I worried you- God would curse me for a thousand years if I dare make my Beako cry! He might smite me at any moment!”. He placed his free hand on her head and ruffled her bangs, trying to send her a reassuring smile.
“Betty would fight any god that would dare try anything like that, I suppose.” Beatrice made a shoo motion as she untangled his hand from her locks with a sigh. Her twin drills uncharacteristically messy, he could feel her quick heartbeat through his hand.
“Betty was worried… Our contract, it’s gone. When Ram told us what happened-” Beatrice closed her eyes and momentarily clenched her teeth. “Betty was relieved when she saw you, in fact.” She opened her eyes and looked at their surroundings. Her grip on his hand tightened ever so slightly as a frown came on her expression, her other hand clenched in her pink dress. Her concern lingered even as they were reunited, her guard high, and the feeling of unease practically radiated from her. Something else was wrong. Subaru opened his mouth to question her, but was quickly cut out by a feminine voice.
“Barusu has a natural talent in causing trouble to all those around him. Truly the toxic trait you would expect from a man like him.” Ram struck with her piercing words as she approached the four of them, Meili following closely behind her. Ram’s look softened as her crimson eyes met his.
“As usual. Your tendency to attract trouble causes all of us grief.”
“Ram-!”
He last saw Ram right before being surrounded by the shadow that engulfed the green room. She had managed to escape on top of Patrache. It looks like she has managed to reunite with Meili, who has left moments prior to warn them about the presence of the now missing Louis.
“You truly carry no shame.”
“I offer my apology… I will try my best to avoid attracting any more troubles in the future. Please forgive me”
“Empty promises. You sure seem to love exploiting those. Ram guesses she could not expect more from you,” she scoffed as she stopped in front of him.
“Barusu.”
“...Yes?“
“Ram is glad you are alright. Thank you.”
He blinked. Then smiled at her. “I am glad you are okay too!”
“Avoid endangering young girls in the future, and causing explosions of dark miasma in enclosed spaces, you smell bad enough as is.”
“Rude! Why do you hit me with sincerity and then turn right back and insult me! And why is it always the smell?! Is it that bad?!”
Emilia shook her head disapprovingly with a smile as she turned back to him.
“We heard from Ram about what happened in the green room,” her face scrunched up slightly. “She arrived with Patrache and Meili. We met them as we were making our way down from the top floor. Something caused Volcanica to react reaaaly badly, so we knew something was wrong. That was when she told us about the shadows…”
Still cradling Rem in her arms, she continued. “Beatrice panicked, so we all thought the worst happened… I’m soooo glad the both of you are all well!”
Emilia’s soft eyes bore into him with a newfound sense of confidence. “How are you feeling? Does anything hurt? You were very exhausted when we last saw each other, so I was wondering...”
“Ah-! My heart flutters over the thought that Emilia-tan was worried about me… I am overjoyed~ But I am fine, though, really. I’m not sure what happened, but it looks like we were transported somewhere… else.”
He focused his gaze onto her, and a feeling of panic flashed into him.
“What happened at the tower? And with the shadows? Did all of you get caught up in them too?!”
“Unfortunately, it appears like the shadow that invaded the tower spread through it.” Julius walked towards them. His knight uniform still slightly muddied after the ensuing encounters, appearing hastily brushed back into a presentable shape. Anastasia walked close behind, her white dress illuminated by the light above them. Despite appearing unscathed, there was a shakiness that lay over the both of them. “We were all swallowed by them, from what I gathered. They were all far too fast to escape. By some means, they had transported us somewhere else. Very suddenly as well.” Subaru would not need to be an expert to notice the way Julius hid his reaction with a wince. Practically glued to his lady’s side.
“Shit.. So you all got caught in it too… Did any of you two get hurt?”
“Thankfully, we weren’t harmed, at least not physically” Julius surveyed their surroundings with a frown and Emilia nodded with a solemn expression.
“But… There is a bigger issue than that.” His gaze met his with a hardened look. The bastard has a remarkable skill at managing to hold up a knightly appearance at all times, to the point of it being annoying. However the time that they all spent together gave him a pretty good read on the knight, and he could easily notice the suppressed look of pain in his eyes, how his eyelashes flinched ever so slightly, and the light panic that accompanied his expression.
“E-Echidna is gone.” Anastasia perked up with an uncharacteristically distraught tone. “She hasn’t been replyin’ to me ever since we found ourselves here, n’ neither can I sense her at all.” Anastasia’s hand was holding the fox scarf that was tied around her shoulders firmly, rubbing it with her thumb in a circular motion. “It’s almost like she’s a regular piece of cloth…”
Julius was standing protectively next to Anastasia, one hand gently supporting her back, the other placed firmly on the hilt of his sword. He kept glancing at their surroundings, as if he was preparing for an ambush.
“I cannot call or sense any of my spirits either.” Subaru winced as Julius spoke. “More than that, I cannot sense or use my gate at all. Lady Emilia, Subaru, you might have noticed it too.”
Emilia closed her eyes. “I have. All of the spirits are gone.” Something akin to fear flashed on her face. “When I try to examine the air around us, I can't feel anything, not at all. It’s just so… Empty.” Emilia opened her eyes. “I feel considerably weaker too. Something is wrong.”
Emilia turned to beatrice. “Beatrice-! Can you tell if there are any spirits around us?”
Beatrice’s eyes darted to the ground for a moment before settling on the side of the road. “N-no… There are none, I suppose. At least so far as Betty can tell”
“Um… There is something else.” Meili, who was standing by Ram, held the crimson scorpion in her hands. The scorpions in her palms held its pincers up high and threateningly. “My divine protection is gone.”
All eyes landed on Meili. “Gone?” Emilia looked at her in disbelief. “How is that possible…? Can you not use it anymore?”
“Meili, could you please try and elaborate?” Julius turned to her, just as Ram squinted her eyes as Subaru held his breath.
“well… It’s not that I just can't use it. It’s just gone.” Her eyes were locked on the small scorpion in her hands, avoiding everyone’s gaze.
“Ah well, if there is a way to explain this… Usually there is something there that feels like a connection to my beasties. Umm.. no it’s a bad way to put it. There is something that lets me tell them to listen to me. I can't feel it anymore with this little one. This has never happened before… I never felt anything like this. Even when there are none of them around.”
While they were at the tower, the scorpion in Meilis' palms was very obedient, like all the other witch beast they had seen Meili with. But now Meili held the scorpion as if trying not to provoke it too much, rather than having it rest in her hands peacefully. Blood trickled from her thumb, the little scorpion presumably had pinched her.
Losing your divine protection was unheard of. It should be impossible, yet Meili’s expression remained unperturbed. At least until concern began to sweep through the other members of the group. Especially the spirit users, Emilia and Julius, who had their contracts severed and were separated from their spirits.
“Could it be that something, or someone is interfering with our abilities? A result of the shadow and what stranded us here? A spell or a hidden contraption could have meddled with our gates or weakened us. This could have blocked our abilities and caused us to lose our comprehension of our own Divine protections”. Julius frowned, fidgeting with the hilt of his word. Meili shrugged and skittered closer to Subaru.
“There are more concerning things on top of this, I suppose.” Beatrice, who had been quiet during the exchange, spoke out in almost a whisper. Her voice shook slightly as Subaru felt her grip on his hand tighten.
“It might not be just the loss of our abilities, or that there is the absence of spirits. B-Betty can’t feel any mana in the atmosphere at all, in fact.”
A deafening silence echoed between them.
Although the great spirit relied on mana from her contractor, she could still sense mana through the air as if it’s second nature. If there was anyone in the group that could understand magic or the way mana functions in general, it would of course be the 400 year old great spirit, who was physically made out of it. The fact that she couldn’t sense any, and her noticeable distressed tone were enough to raise several alarm bells in all of them.
For those who have lived their whole lives with it, the sudden loss of mana, their divine protections, spirits, and magic, was like losing their arms and legs. However, to one that had deemed this the standard before, albe shocking, it reminded him of a time not so long ago where this was part of his ordinary life.
Subaru turned to examine his surroundings.
He looked at the concrete buildings to his left, and the paved road in front of him, with a yellow painted line separating the two lanes. Across the street, small Japanese styled houses faced him. Small pots of plants were organized across their walls. On the familiar light pole across the road, was a notice poster written in a familiar language he thought he would never see again.
It was hard to breathe for some reason.
“But how is that possible?! No- it shouldn’t be, are you sure?”
“We might be afflicted with something. A curse maybe.”
“Tch- It’s almost like my gate is completely gone. Now that lady Beatrice mentioned it, there is clearly something wrong with this place.”
The chattering of the voices of his companions sounded like it was filtered through a pillow. His ears ringed. Almost like he was in a dream Or a nightmare. The nostalgia that hit him made him want to cover his eyes.
“Beware, this might be a trap. I have never seen surroundings like this.”
“Maybe this is another trial? It’s so quiet… There’s this weird buzzing”
“My lady, please stay close to me.”
This had to be fake. Wasn’t it? Everything around him felt vivid. Even the night breeze, and smell of the street that carried the faint tone of gasoline. It was all so real. Another trial? It had to be. That or some kind of elaborate illusion.
It was a scene he had seen in his dreams many times. He felt nauseous and his head was spinning.
“Subaru?” Beatrice brought her free arm and placed it gently on top of his.
“Subaru? Subaru, what’s wrong I suppose.”
“I know where we are”. He spoke out in a quiet voice, but one that was loud enough for all to hear. Silence fell yet again as all heads turned to him, the yellow light from the convenience store buzzing behind them.
--=->-=-<-=--
“So… What yer saying is that ya came from here?”
Anastasia petted the white fox scarf around her neck in repeating motions as she leaned her back on the apartment building behind her.
They stood in an alley between two buildings, having moved away from the open street to keep away from the cold night’s breeze. Despite being dressed enough to handle the cold nights of the desert, without a source of heat, the chilly temperature could be felt among them. Not enough to be freezing, but enough to be uncomfortable.
The relative privacy of the alley kept them away from the view of any passerby that could be wandering across the street. It provided them enough sense of security to stop and properly discuss the situation they have found themselves in.
“Yes, well, this is the place where I lived before coming to Lugunica. If I can put it like that. We are currently in my home city, in the more suburban area, or at least a place that looks like it.”
For all he knew, this could be another trial of the tower. He wouldn’t put it past that prick Flugel to have pulled something unexpected like this out of the blue, given how he seemed to be from earth as well. However, This area was the exact street where he was last in before he had suddenly found himself in the capital of another world. Convenience store and everything. Either that this specific location was an isekai-hot spot, having claimed multiple people from this exact place, which was highly unlikely, or that this trial or Illusion was building the scenery from his memory.
Well, assuming this is a trial and not the real thing… And if it is…
Damn it, Satella.
“Subaru, you always said that you came from a small village named ‘Ja-pan’. Could this be it…?” Emilia standing in front of him, tilted her head to the side.
“Yes, you can put it like that. We are in Japan, but as you can probably see, I wasn't really truthful about the small village part…” Emilia hummed and glanced around at that remark, examining the buildings some more. Subaru took this as a prompt to continue, and took a very deep breath.
“Back where I came from, we didn’t really have magic. It was seen more as a fantasy concept, something that is used only in stories and little kids believe in… So, gates, mana, spirits, magic, people don’t believe they are real. Hell in the case of Od and gates and how spirits work I think we weren't even aware of their existence…”
Subaru continued, his hands fidgeting with Beatrice’s twin drills, who was seated in his lap as he sat crossed legged on the alley floor. Her small hands clutched the fabric of his pant leg a little tighter as he spoke.
“We have stories and beliefs about spirits, but they are mostly just that. No one had ever contracted a spirit, or was granted a divine protection. People do believe in souls, a bit in magic too, but an Od that stores Mana and things like a gate that uses that mana for spells is pretty unheard of. It’s more of a fantasy concept…”
Tilting her head to the side, Anastasia kept her focus on the boy, processing his statement.
“Do yar people really not use magic at all? To the point where they don't believe it exists?”.
“We really don't have anything like spells and magic. At least not that I know of. Well, some people do believe in magic, but they are not taken too seriously… I mean, there are a lot of people that live here, and we have never had proof that spirits or magic exist. The few times when someone claims they saw magic it’s very easy to disprove. So no, no magic at all.”
“Hmm~? Do your people know about Witch-beasts? And that they live off mana?” Meili, seated between him and Ram, crossed her legs as the small scorpion on her palms pinched in Subaru’s direction.
“Nope, not at all. No witch-beasts, just regular animals.” He replied as Meili down up at the scorpion and hummed in thought.
Do the times people claim they saw spirits real? There are tales like wisps and some stories in the past of people that used magic… now that he thinks about it, could there be a possibility they were real?
He quickly shook his head.
No… There is no reason to go in that direction. Regarding the stories that passed through history, and even the recent ones, both don’t resemble anything like the magic from Lugunica. It has a very unique magic system, thank you very much! The stories that come anywhere close to that system of magic are ones from video games and light novels, which I doubt existed for hundreds of years.
What was more likely was that earth really didn’t have any magic or spirits.
“Well, if Barusu’s people truly weren’t aware of the existence of magic, and were never even under the threat of witch-beasts, it would explain his incredible ignorance when he first came under Lord Roswaal’s employment. Ram has never met a man that matches him in his unawareness of common knowledge. It was a great sight to behold. Like watching an infant stumbling around.”
“No need to expose me like that in front of everyone, sister! It wasn't my fault! We really didn't have any magic here! So I had no idea of how it worked when I first came here!”
“Umm, then what about this street light?” Emilia pointed to the street lamp outside the alley. “It looks to have an illuminating mana crystal in it. Do your people not know it glowed thanks to mana? Or do your people have a different explanation for it?”
“Good question Emilia-tan! But the light from that street light is actually not from a mana crystal, but from electricity. Err, I won't get too much into it. It’s a little confusing, but it’s not magic or mana. Electricity is a type of technology from my home. It was also used in the glowing signs above that store that was behind us.”
“A technology that can simulate a mana crystal without using any mana…” Anastasia looked at the street light in fascination. Knowing her she was most likely already scheming in how it can be replicated and mass produced for profit.
“But we are getting a little off track, what I wanted to explain with that is that I have a theory for the lack of spirits and mana in the air.”
Julius raised his eyebrow. “I think I understand where you are going with this. Do you have an explanation for our condition? I assume it is connected to the fact that your people don’t use magic?”
“Well, yes. As I said before, we don’t have any knowledge or use of magic, but it’s because it was never discovered here, or well, never existed here in the first place.”
“Never existed here…?” Emilia blinked at him.
“I haven’t thought about it too much since I arrived in Lugunica, but I have a theory that Mana and spirits just don’t exist here, maybe even things like an Od or the gate. It can explain why we lost our access to spells, or this feeling of nothingness in the air, or why our contracts and spirits disappeared… If our gates, or mana were to disappear, then it would explain our condition.”
“B-but, then how is it even possible?! Without an Od or a gate you shouldn't be able to regulate the mana in your body-! How would people even be able to live in the first place without an Od?! Or without mana existing?”
“Subaru, this theory is quite implausible… Living without mana shouldn't be possible. Maybe something is just blocking us from sensing or using it? Our gate would still be intact and regulating the inflow and outflow of mana in our Od, but without us being able to control or access it.” Julius paused for a moment before continuing. “Our contracts too, could have not been broken, but we simply lost the ability to sense them, our communication with our spirits, and their ability to materialize included. It could explain some things.”
Suabru was inclined to agree with him. But there were just too many things that, based on his past knowledge, went against this.
“I do have one thing that contradicts this theory.” Julius claimed, as he turned to Subaru, or well, to the Spirit seated in his lap. “If it is not too rude to bring up, it appears that Lady Beatrice is still with us, despite the odd absence of all other spirits.”
Beatrice flinched at the sudden mention of her, and averted her gaze to the ground as attention focused on her.
“It is quite odd… But Betty has no clue why she is an exception.” Beatrice said as she started to pick at her contractor’s pant leg.
“I don't know why Beako is still here while the others aren’t, but I doubt my Beako has anything to do with it.” Subaru spat back and hugged his arms around her defensively.
Julius’s expression visibly deflated at that. “Of course, I would never imply anything of the sort. I’m in fact glad that she is still with us.”
“Ah- Sorry. didn’t mean for it to come out like that.”
Now he feels like shit for jabbing at Julius in that way. The gesture came more out of habit, Julius deserves them most of the time after all. But this instance was a bit uncalled for. Julius, Anastasia, and Emilia had all lost contact with their own respective spirits. For Anastasia and Julius especially, who had just rekindled his contract with his spirits, this was a very heavy blow.
Despite not being at fault in this scenario, from as far as he knows at least, He felt quite guilty for being the only one to keep his spirit with him while the others remain in the dark about the well-being of their own. He didn’t know how devastated he would be if he were to suddenly lose Beatrice like that. If his contract disappeared but he didn’t have her next to him to reassure himself about her well being.. . Lost in his thoughts, he hugged Beatrice a bit tighter.
“But yes, you are right. It is really odd that Beako is still with us while Echidna, your spirits, and Emilia’s are gone…”
It truly throws a wrench in the theory that something was blocking out their access to magic. Since if it really were so, then it would be more plausible for Beatrice who was made out of mana to disappear like the other spirits.
“It’s pretty odd.” Anastasia cut out his train of thought. “I technically still have Echidna with me, but… she seems to be stuck as a scarf.” Anastasia sent a sad glance to her scarf, whom Echidna took the form of, and Emilia made a “Ah,” noise at the revelation.
“Then… If Echidna’s still here, but just stuck as a scarf, could it be that we lost contact with the spirits that didn’t take a proper physical form that can talk?” Emilia looked to Anastasia with a somber look, as she proposed the idea. Spirits require mana to appear in a physical form. Therefore if their theory was correct, could it be that they lost the ability to appear in physical form? Or more accurately, lost the ability to change their physical shape.
“That just might be it. We cannot communicate with our dematerialized spirits the way we usually can, but since Lady Beatrice takes the form of a human, we can still hold a conversation with her.” Julius held his chin as he contemplated.
“N’ as for Echidna, she’s stuck unable to talk…”
Julius leaned down and whispered something to Anastasia that he couldn't quite hear. Her expression softened a bit, then turned to a melancholic smile as she shook her head and whispered something back.
Subaru couldn’t help but feel sorrow and guilt as Anastasia looked at the scarf draped on her shoulders. He wouldn’t say that he had a very good impression of Eridna, due to a previous witch that shared the same name, but it was clear that Eridna and Anastasia were incredibly close, even mirroring him and Beatrice in some cases.
Speaking of. Subaru looked down to Beatrice as he rested his hand on her head. “Beako, how are you feeling? Is everything alright?” He whispered so that only she can hear.
She shifted in place before answering. “Yes, Betty is alright. Everything is just quite odd, I suppose.”
Beatrice had been unusually quiet so far. Subaru had noticed her glancing around uncertainly every few moments, always keeping him within arms-reach, if not clenching her hand around his. Even with their grim situation, her reaction hit him as out of character. He didn’t like seeing her like that.
“If anything is up, be sure to tell me”
“Do you think of me as a child?” she huffed out and pinched his leg, earning a small yelp from her contractor, before murmuring “I will, later on. Betty is alright, in fact.” Suabru smiled at her, before turning back to the rest.
“I do think that this strengthens the theory that Mana is still present, but we simply cannot access it.” Julius addressed them again. “If mana as is truly did not function here, or were to disappear suddenly, lady Beatrice and Echidna would have simply been unable to keep a physical shape.”
However, that idea wouldn’t explain how everyone on earth had lived for tens of thousands of years without finding out about ‘mana’ and ‘gates’ in the same way that those concepts existed way back in Lugunica. Even if everyone did not have access to it, and spirits didn't materialize, wouldn't something this essential to living be discovered or known about in some way?
Subaru sighed. “I still believe that it might be a complete absence of mana. An entire energy source wouldn't go unnoticed, not even starting about how we don’t have any mana stones, despite how common they were back at Lugnica.” Subaru closed his eyes in thought. “I do have a theory that maybe we stopped being dependent on Mana when we came here? That is why our gate is gone. When we were transported here we could have been changed in some way, ‘translated’ to this new place if I can put it like that. I did have an unusually weak gate when I first arrived in Lugunica.”
The non-existence of those things would explain it the best. It could be that when he was transported to that other world, his being ‘translated’ in a way and he received a gate. It would explain why his gate was so weak and underdeveloped. It would also explain how all of them lost anything ‘magical’, all those things would have just been lost in the translation.
“Subaru, I’ll have to stop you there.” Julius raised his hand. “I feel like you are jumping to the conclusion that isn’t backed too much by our situation.”
Julius looked at him with a confused and skeptical look.
“You seem very adamant about the non-existence of magic here. I feel like it’s more plausible that we are just barred from accessing it, rather than something so essential to us living disappearing all of the sudden. The theory that we were changed in such a fundamental way to not even have a gate or rely on mana as well… it’s very far-fetched.”
“Julius is right, Natsuki, yer jumping a little too fast to conclusions.” Despite her words conveying her skepticism, He could notice a glint in her eye. She looked at him with great interest.
“Your home could just be lacking in local mana-stone natural resources. N’ a simple transition’ to a different place shouldn’t cause us to somehow change, or even lose access to our gates, cause’ ya’ seem to be pretty sure it’s not some kind of trap.”
Subaru breathed in. “Well, it can be explained if this place just works by different rules.”
“ — Different rules…?” Emilia looked at him with confusion, as Ram raised her eyebrow.
“Work by different rules? What do ya’ mean by that?” Anastasia locked her eyes with his. ”Where do ya’ actually come from? I’ve never seen architecture like this anywhere.” Anastasia looked at him with intense curiosity, leaning a bit forward and away from the wall behind her.
Ah well, there is the million dollar question.
Subaru took a deep breath.
“I come from another world.”
“…”
There it goes , He thought. He had revealed his origins before in another loop, but back then they struggled with believing him. To their credit, he had been in a less than reliable state, suffering from memory loss after having read one of the books of the dead, potentially having lost his mind. He wasn’t sure if they would believe him now. The awkward silence wasn’t helping either, but keeping it away from them in this scenario would be irresponsible. If not impossible too.
“Subaru, do you claim to be from beyond the great waterfall…?”
“Beyond the great waterfall?!” Emilia covered her mouth with her hand.
“Yeh. I am, or at least something similar to that, I am not really sure... I know it’s hard to believe, but please believe me on this.” He put his palms together over his head in a pleading gesture.
Anastasia scratched her cheek with one finger. “Well, it sure does explain a lot of things. Especially the scenery around us.” At his words she took back to examining the buildings and signs a second time. To someone from Lugunica, or even anywhere else the modern architecture would look incredibly alien.
“If we entertain that idea… it is possible that this place is simply outside of Od laguna’s reach. And therefore spirits or mana simply can’t materialize or be used. The implications of this are fascinating, but also potentially very dangerous to us.”
“Ah… don’t say scary things like that Julius” Anastasia shifted in place uncomfortably.
“I’m glad you are at least considering it.” Subaru sighed.
“So… ‘Ja-pan’ is the name of this other world?”
“Japan is a country in this other world. Just one of many. I guess you can call this other world ‘Earth’.”
“Subaru… Why did you never tell us you were from beyond the great waterfall?” Emilia’s expression saddened a little as she spoke.
“Ram doubts we would have believed Barusu if he were to make a claim like that. Ram hardly believed the small village east of Lugunica claim as is.”
“That is pretty much the reason.” Subaru sighed. “Ram is right, it is pretty hard to believe, and explaining it would have been very hard… I never had much hope of ever returning, so I never really talked about it.”
Subaru looked away to avoid the sad glances that were thrown in his direction. Maybe he shouldn’t have brought the last sentence. There was an uncomfortable heavy weight in his chest.
“Even if it would have been hard to believe, we all trust you very much, Subaru. We would have heard you out.” Shaking her head at Ram’s claim, Emilia turned to him.
“You mentioned before in your theory that you could have ‘gained’ your gate when you came to Lugunica- or well, our world. But how exactly did you come to us if you were beyond the great waterfall? It could help us understand what happened.” Emilia’s eyes widened. “W-wait-! Did you also get swallowed by those black shadows before!?”
Subaru smiled at her. “I’m really happy to hear you worry about me like this~! But there’s no need. My arrival was pretty similar, but I wasn’t swallowed by those shadows or anything like that. It was pretty anticlimactic.” He waved his hands in front of him to try and calm her concern. It felt oddly good to talk about this with her so openly… and have Emilia worry about him. But there is a weight in his chest, like a ball of anxiety telling him that he is reaching dangerously close to a line he shouldn't cross.
“It just happened suddenly? I was walking out of this exact store when I blinked and well… Next thing I know I was in the capital.”
Emilia’s sad eyes bore into him. “Oh Subaru… Were you just torn away from home like that? How long have you been in the capital before we met…?”
“Don't worry Emilia-tan! I didn’t get into any trouble before we met. We actually met on my first day here.”
Ram choked on something.
Emilia looked at him in horror. “Y-you got into that on your first day in another world?!”
“H-hey don't look at me like that! You too Julius!”
“You got into that fight with Elsa on your first day? How did you even manage to do that?”
“Back on topic!” He held his palm up in a stop to cut the conversation where it is. Anastasia sighed in disappointment.
“I really believe in my theory because of all of that. Maybe it’s possible that we still have our gate and Od, but I really mean it when I say we never had anything like that… And our world is very big and connected.”
“Betty believes her contractor is right. We might have been changed on a very fundamental level, I suppose.” Julius looked to Beatrice as she spoke
“What makes you think that?” His question was unanswered as Beatrice looked away to avoid eye contact. “I will explain later. But Betty has a strong reason to believe that Betty’s Subaru is right, in fact.”
He hummed in thought, seemingly considering the theory more closely.
There was a period of pause before Anastasia broke the silence.
“What about that shadow? Was that…” Anastasia perked up, saying the thing that was on everyone’s mind, but they all were desperately trying to avoid thinking about.
“Do you think that… It was really-?” Emilia spoke in almost a hushed whisper.
“The resemblance of those shadows is very clear… However she should be sealed, and have no ability to influence anything outside the seal. And if those shadows really were of her, we wouldn’t be standing here right now.” Subaru wasn’t sure if Julius was trying to reassure the two candidates, or himself. But they seemed to attempt to stray away from the conversation.
“What happened? At the tower I mean.” Subaru looked at Emilia as she took a breath in.
“Volcanica said something. I’m not reaaaly sure what he meant, but afterwards he seemed very distressed. That’s when yours and Beatrice’s contract was severed.” She sent a sympathetic glance to Beatrice. “After we met with Ram, she told us about the shadows that appeared in the green room. She also lost her connection with Rem so we thought that… Well the shadows spread through the tower very quickly after. Somewhere in the panic we were separated from each other and surrounded by them.”
Julius nodded. “We all attempted to avoid them the best we could, but escaping them was impossible. By the time we fully understood what was happening, they already surrendered the whole tower.”
“Ugh… that is…”
The shadow sounded more aggressive than it was in all other times he encountered it.
Did something agitate Satella? And the most important, why would she transport all of them back to earth? What could have caused her to react like this?
“Did you happen to see what happened to Patrasche? She isn’t here with us,” Subaru looked at Ram, who slowly shook her head.
“Ram was unfortunately separated from her in the ensuing chaos. Last Ram had seen her, she was in the staircase while we were trying to make our way down. The black shadows got between us.”
This isn’t good… was Patrache left behind? Was she still alive…? Would Satella have killed her?
“That can mean that Patrache got away.”
Emilia put a hand on his shoulder. “I am sure she had. She is a very smart girl. She could have found a way out and avoided the shadows.”
Emilia sent him a smile. Subaru smiled back, but it’s hard to say that his worry was completely gone.
“Yeh… yeh you must be right. Out of everyone, Patrache would be the one to manage to get away.” He chuckled and Emilia brushed her hand in a petting motion over his head. Anastasia clapped her hands and all attention went to her.
“Well then, I doubt that this is another trial. If it were, I don't think Volcanica would have reacted the way he had if it was. That leaves us with two options.” Anastasia held two fingers up as she spoke.
“Option one, is that Natsuki’s theory is right n’ we really were changed when we were transported here. It can explain our loss of abilities, the mana in the air, the loss of Meili’s Divine protection and possibly Julius’s, the loss of our contracts, n’ better explain what happened to our spirits, Echidna especially.”
Anastasia paused and took a breath. “Option two. Our abilities and gates were just suppressed, n’ our spirits were separated from us, or locked in their current form. That would imply we might be purposefully weakened.” Julius grimaced as Anastasia continued. “I have never heard of magic that can sever contracts, or block one from accessing mana this drastically. But this explanation does make some sense on some level.”
“Of course, both can be wrong and there is somethin’ else goin’ on. But those are the things we got so far. But if the ladder is the case, I’m afraid Natsuk and miss Ram, might be in serious danger.”
Julius widened his eyes at the realization, and Emilia gasped. “You can’t regulate your mana! I-if Beatrice and I can't do it, then-!”
“Ugh. I haven’t thought of that…” Subaru looked down to Beatrice who widened her eyes.
“Ram, how are you feeling right now?! The last time I transmitted mana to you was… Ah! And you had used a lot in your fight!” Emilia looked at Ram. Who held a thoughtful expression as she was seated against the wall, holding Rem in her lap.
“Ram is doing well. Nothing someone like Ram wouldn’t be able to handle. As for mana, we weren’t here long enough for Ram to be able to tell, but so far Ram has not noticed any deterioration. As expected of her.”
“Betty’s Subaru would be able to hold on without having his mana drawn out for about three weeks at worst… a month at best. Betty made sure to draw his mana not so long ago, in fact.” Beatrice clenched his hand in hers. “The main concern should be the girl. She would not be able to hold on for too long without receiving any mana. A few days at best”
An oppressive silence washed over the group of seven. For a few moments the only thing that could be heard was the gentle blowing of wind that swam across the alley, brushing against their hair as they contemplated their next move.
If they really were blocked from accessing magic, and they would not find a way to get back or restore their abilities. It can prove fatal to some of them. Not even considering the fact that the new situation they found themselves in could be proven to be more dangerous than they even realize.
Without the means to protect themselves. Anything could happen. But… was that really the case?
Subaru felt the pace of his heart quicken. Why is he even considering that, they shouldn’t even be in any danger. He had been avoiding thinking about it for a while now, but, could it be? Am I back home?
Was he really, truly back? Could it be possible? He had come to terms with the fact that he would most likely never come back home, never see his parents again, and now he was proven wrong with an unexpected ‘welcome home!’ rug thrown to his face.
How should he go about this? What does he do? God, he didn’t even know if time flowed the same way between his home and the other world. Was he missing for over a year? Or was he brought back to the exact moment where he got sent away to Lugunica, with little to no time passing back here?
He looked up from the brick wall he had been staring a hole into, and looked to the exit of the alley. A car whooshed by, no doubt the foreign object alarmed the rest, just increasing their growing tensions. Judging from the death grip Julius is holding on his sword, they all are at a breaking point.
What he is about to do is so selfish.
“I need to go and check something.”
Beatrice spun to look at him. Her grip on his hand remained as strong as even as he shuffled to a stand, moving his eyes to meet the amethyst of Emilia’s.
“I won’t be gone for long. But… it’s something I need to go and figure out on my own. I will be just at the store nearby, within earshot. I already said before, but I know this area isn’t dangerous. I’ve been here many times. I promise I won’t be gone for too long.”
Emilia's eyes widened slightly as she met the determination in his, looking over the rest, before closing them in thought.
“I’ll keep watch. Be careful Subaru.” Her eyes opened to meet his in a flash of understanding. What could he do without her.
“Beako. I promise I’ll be as quick as I can. Please keep Emilia safe while I’m gone.” He smiled at her, but Beatrice hadn’t let go of his hand yet, opening her mouth to speak out objections that can’t seem to come out. The look in her eyes made him feel terrible.
Emilia walked over and took Beatrice’s free hand in hers. “We will be alright. Me and Beatrice will keep a lookout for everyone.” She whispered a reassurance that only he and Beatrice could hear, her eyes met with the small spirit in sympathetic kindness as the other sighed and let go of his hand.
“Betty will be very mad if something were to happen again while her contractor is away, I suppose.”
“And I’ll be sure that nothing like that happens. I promise.”
Beatrice signed yet again with a small shake of her head as Emilia took her back to the group.
Subaru ignored the concerned glances from the rest as he reared the alley’s corner and out of their view.
He needed a moment to figure out the circumstances of their situation. Just a moment. Just a quick one by himself.
The billing nausea at the back of his throat grew as he made his way towards the convenience store.