Chapter Text
It pulsed, a flicker of hope maybe, the pure vessel, as pure as one could be pulsed, its memory returning to it so briefly. It's eyes teared liquid blood, what was its name again, it had forgotten under these chains. Something was coming, someone was coming.
The Vessel remembered a boy with dark lack hair and an energic smile....
What was his name again.....What was its name again.
"Reinhardt" It muttered the words as if struggling to say them with its tongue.
The chains around its body felt heaver.
It remembered....No.....Not possible....How could.....
Its vision went black as Envy overtook it tears of blood still leaking from its eyes.
Lugunica/ 10 Miles from the Royal capital/ Village/ 10 years since Subaru's escape
The nights had been longer, the close he got to the royal capital that is. Subaru Natsuki's hair fluttered a little in the soft wind, its white strains fluttering with its black ones as the former Knight of the Emelia camp got within the 10 mile mark of the royal capital. As he took his slow walk he saw a sign up ahead. "Village of Crusch".
His mind immediately went to a Certain Green haired girl. Subaru wondered what became of her, last he'd heard she'd won the election and become queen. He had a lot of catching up to do. He still would wear his helm in public, in case anyone still recognized him as the believed Archbishop of pride, but Subaru had a huntch they'd forgotten about all that.
Now Subaru believed....He believed they had better things to worry about. As the stars danced in the night some fire flies danced in the grass which was seeming deader and deader the closer he got to the royal capital. His feet where starting to cramp a little with each step he took but he easily muscled through the pain. He wasn't an ex-Knight for anything.
He reached the top of a small hill on the road to the capital, down bellow was the village and in the distance, the outline of the capital, there where no longer lights shining in the capital so far away, now it was just an empty outline of buildings and there dark figures. The kingdom was dying and Subaru knew it. Lugunica had descended into a quiet apocalypse and so was Vollachia for that matter. Both kingdoms saw some cities fall to the cult through corruption and infiltration, while life in the countryside remained eerily normal and quite.
It wasn't a calm before the storm, it was just apathy on the peoples part. Those in the countryside outside of the occasional witch cult raid where no longer as affected as they used to be, so those who lived in the cities could be damned. Those once victim to the witch cult where now left alone and ignored for a bigger prize, that being the cities, so to them this was a long awaited peace and they would not be so keen to break it.
It disgusted Subaru all to much how people would so easily throw each other under the bus. He'd had a front row seat to it already.
It had begun to snow just a bit, if he'd been keeping count of days it was most likely Christmas back in his world. Subaru's eyes trailed upon the village he would be entering, it wasn't anything impressive, it was small but it still had some lighting. Subaru looked down to the bottom of the Hill. It was rather steep but Subaru took a leap forward and let himself fall, his armor clinging to his body as well as his sword as he fell.
The village looked like an empty husk, outside of the occasional lighting coming from the houses when Subaru looked through the windows there was no one there, it was as if everyone had vanished or packed there bags and left. Subaru could only hope it was the latter as he walked through the empty dirt streets. Subaru slowly put on his Helm which was somewhat similar to that of Al's.
Subaru could only wonder how Al had been doing in this mess, or maybe even Priscilla and Anastasia. Subaru had some doubts whether or not they where still alive considering they may have still been in the capital when everything reportedly went to shit, but Subaru relented and kept his head up high for the best case scenario.
Subaru briefly casted his authority of sloth allowing the invisible hand to wander through and into an abandoned Inn. It returned to him with a fresh loaf of bread which Subaru consumed with one hand as he entered an abandoned building and briefly made it home. The wind continued to dance outside as leaves twirled in the nighttime wind and fire flies haunting dances in the silent emptiness of the world around him.
The inside of the house was small, with a bed a room down, some small circular windows, 4 to be exact. They where small in size, while their was a dinner table, small like most things in the house in where the dining room would be. The dining room, living room, and kitchen all meshed with each other with the house being 2 rooms, one containing the formers while the next contained the bedroom.
There where cobwebs in the corners and when Subaru took a look at the poorly fenced backyard had a small hole, when Subaru wandered out his feet crunching down on the dirt as the wind continued to blow leaves and dust in the air. The hole in the backyard had some bones in them, 5, and a human skull. Subaru looked down with a little disgust. The witch cult had definitely wiped out the town and had somehow left very little evidence of such a mass vanishing.
Subaru climbed over the broken fence and made his way to a small bench that faced the direction of the capital, the capitals buildings blended in with the nights darkness which was only illuminated by the full moon. Subaru sat down and watched the capital from a distance, it seemed silent, dead but looks hide the truth, Subaru knew that well enough.
Once he reached the capital he'd be able to lay his curses all to rest.
Subaru had barely notice the figure that had made its way to his side and sat by him in the bench. The figure sat on the far end of the table looking at the lifeless capital with at stillness if not more so than the former knight. Subaru's eyes wandered across the stranger, there was no hostility in his posture though Subaru contemplated how quick he could bash the figure with his sword if need be.
Subaru and the stranger continued to look out at the lifeless royal capital in comfortable silence. The figure who wore gloves over his hand, had a top hat of sorts, and a rather fancy jacket/uniform that reminded Subaru of those the nobility wore slowly turned his head over to him. Subaru could not make out the figures face, no matter how hard he tired, only lifeless eyes looked at him, eyes that where an aqua blue.
"What matter brings.....a Hero such as yourself to such a desolate place." The stranger addressed him, his left hand slowly pointing to Subaru slowly before retracting.
"Not a hero, I'm just a traveling knight." Subaru excused weakly.
"You lie." The Stranger said with such certainty it made Subaru's skin crawl.
"I wish....To kill the witch cult where they are festering and rotting.....Every last one of them." Subaru explained as he stretched his right arm wide gesturing to the lifeless royal capital.
"A noble goal."
"A cruel one you mean...It means more killing and blood, this kingdom had seen enough has it." Subaru remarked quietly as the stranger absorbed every word he said, his face never showing as if a shadow covered it all expect the eyes.
"Cruel goals are often noble." The Stranger said before pausing. "Though do next expect this city to be a place for hero's hero of Lugunica, that time has passed long, long ago." The stranger remarked causing Subaru's heart to quicken.
Subaru's face was hidden well by his helm, how did the stranger, the figure so easily identify him, the voice the figure spoke in, it sounded slightly distorted now that Subaru was paying close attention, like it didn't belong. Subaru kept his right hand on his sword sheath in case confrontation occurred. The stranger continued to look at him with an area of chill that internally shrink Subaru.
"You hero's." The stranger began his voice changing to that of one that sounded nearly the same as Reinhardt before modeling into Julius's voice and then to another voice continued on "Do such deeds, to dance and please your crowd. Validation is it? This city isn't no place for a hero, yet you wander their, you will die, whether you cripple the cult nor you don't hero of Lugunica, Natsuki Subaru, but you shall fall at the end of this...."
The stranger paused his speech looking at Subaru gauging his reaction as Subaru kept a cool under his helm.
"Do not take this as a threat but that is how all tales end, tales bended in reality. We like to create tales of the hero winning though they never really win by the sense of the fantastical, either you fall from grace.....Or you fall a martyr. You however will be forgotten by the world for your deeds, maybe a select few will remember you but you shall have no crowd by the end of this.
You can live the peaceful life on a farm, a farm I am sure you have, but once you wander towards the capital from this point, your fate has already been sealed. Prophetic is it, but one cannot simply fight the witch cult and come out unscathed....However since you as much as you dream of it.....will perform for no crowd, I shall leave you a parting gift...." The stranger spoke his voice morphing into that of Capella's chillingly enough before ending in a perfect mimic of Subaru's own voice.
The stranger got up, his right hand holding a cane of sorts. His left hand moved to one of his coat pockets slowly pulling out a small necklace with a crescent moon on it as he placed it in Subaru's palms, Subaru remained frozen where he was his body refusing to move despite his attempts to make it so. The stranger tipped his hat to him before slowly walking off into Oblivion.
"There are gods older than those Witches of the cult....Gods who will be more either to support Thy followers than the witches..." The stranger remarked before he vanished into the background as fog began to slowly roll in.
Subaru could only shift uncomfortably at the sight of the road to the capital, that lay in front of him, well next to him and the bench he sat on. Subaru got up taking off his helm as he breathed in the foggy night air, the moons rays breaching and giving some light to the fog. He looked at the Necklace he held in his palm.
Subaru gently put it around his neck as it glowed slightly. Subaru would not die by the end of this he swore he wouldn't, he had escaped the dungeons flaying's and all the curses Felix could bring upon his wretched body. Subaru endured the worst of what the kingdom had to offer, he swore he would not meet such an end by the witch cult....Even if his connection with Satella had been severed as of lately.
Subaru could only assume she had left him to his fate, to wallow in misery and try to recover from constantly being burned, flailed, bended, and broken in the dungeon. Maybe he would need a new God, a new idle to follow, or maybe he would not, they had only gotten him into trouble, but...He looked back at the necklace as it glowed slightly around his neck...He would take the help he needed, even if it came from a Stranger.
However he could not afford to freeze up again, that thing, that figure had the voices of the people he knew and his own, that needed answering. Subaru looked back at the road he came from, he could walk out go back to a peaceful life, one where people didn't know he was still alive. But what was their to lose, he hated the witch cult they had been the reason his friends had turned on him so they would reap what they sowed.
Subaru took a step forward on the road to the capital.
And then another.
He began his walk.
Somewhere inside the capital the vessel that sensed his approaching presence let out a human wail before envy consumed its vision again.