☆ ★ ✮ ★ ☆
Subaru now beheld an unthinkable present.
A future he had never imagined came to pass. His current circumstances were full of agony and despair. It was a reality so cruel he refused to accept it.
Pain and fatigue violated his body in ceaseless waves. Over half of his body had been scarred behind recognization— restored just enough to prevent infection. His bones and muscles were torn and intentionally mended back together in unnatural angles and positions to ensure constant suffering.
His frame was gaunt and frail, devoid of his prior atheleticism. One might think he would collapse like a house of cards under a small breeze. Not only that, his raven-hair, once a unique signifier, now hung low in white matted clumps.
The cell Subaru currently resided in barely provided enough space to lie flat. With the floor sunken into the ground, anyone entering or looking through the slot would be forced to look down at him. It was completely screwed shut, preventing even the slightest bit of light from entering.
He was adorned with numerous cuffs and shackles that chained him to the wall, and he wore a dirty, ragged prisoner outfit that hung off his skeletal frame in a ghastly way— more specter than man.
—These changes were brought about from over a year of brutal torture and isolation.
"—Guh…" with a groan, Subaru rolled over onto his back, his bones audibly creaking and crackling. He felt so tired, hungry, and thirsty. He counted the hours in his head. His next meal was a week from now, just a day after his next visit from Felix Argyle. It was a routine he had managed to completely grasp.
After all, he had lived this gruesome existence many times over, retracing past timelines due to the unique power of Return by Death. It was his ultimate trump card, and also his ultimate vice. It was a power that sent him back into the past with each death, making him redo.
Without his volition, he was sent back many times— forced to endure this unthinkable present endlessly.
Thanks to his authority, Subaru had managed to pinpoint every significant event in what was his 24th loop.
To start, his imprisonment happened two weeks into his investigation within temporary custody, following his suspected involvement with the Witch Cult, shortly after the Battle of Priestella. It was spearheaded by Crusch alongside the rest of the Royal Guard. However, due to her current sickly state, a product of the Cursed Dragon Blood, she was forced to take a backseat, lending most of the responsibility to the Royal Guard.
A big mistake.
Russell Fellow, a man who saw everything as either profit or loss, pulled some strings, willing to imprison and torture Subaru in order to extract what he saw as potential valuable information from the Witch Cult. Anastasia was also heavily willing to cash in— providing the resources to turn his imprisonment into a covert operation.
A week after, a desperate Felix Argyle, wanting to do anything to cure Crusch, participated in the extraction of information— his skills as a healer valuable. Julius joined in soon after in hopes of restoring his name, but after two months, he deemed his own desperate actions "unsightly" and made his permanent leave.
There was a long period of torture, in which nothing particularly notable happened beyond suffering, at least from Subaru's point of view. They had a rule to prohibit any discussion of the outside world from leaking to his ears.
The next notable event was the most important. It was the event that set his despair fully into place. After several months, his pleading of "being Emilia's knight" bore fruit, and on one special day, Emilia granted him an audience.
However,
"—No, Subaru. You are not my knight."
Those words were said with a voice akin to a silver bell. However, those words weren't laced with the caring and comforting tone Subaru had grown to love. It was different. Alien, apathetic. Unbeknownst to him, it was an interaction that was planned by the other camps. Her visit was meant to break the last bit of hope he had.
His heart shattered just thinking about it— her words repeating in his head like an unending crescendo— a tape playing over and over. No matter how many times he looped, she said those same words.
Subaru remembered how he admired Emilia. Throughout every loop, she was the only one who hadn't changed. She was the only one willing to reach out to him at his lowest. That same honesty had repeated here. However, he was in a different position.
Subaru had his name eaten by gluttony, erasing his memory from the world. Not only that, his witch miasma, accompanied by his strangely coincidental appearance, put him at odds with those he once called friends.
"It's… all the same." Subaru's head dipped, his eyes sore from constant crying. He now faced the inevitable— the last event in this timeline, right before he's sent back to the start.
In a few weeks, Felix will stop coming, clearly distraught and seeing Subaru as a lost cause. Alongside that, he too, was starting to become disgusted by his own actions. Russell and Anastasia would put an end to what was a failed business venture, and Subaru would be put onto the chopping block— right in front of the entire Royal Capital.
He experienced it many times. The screams and insults of the crowd as he's dragged by a knight along the street. Tied alongside Wrath— who was gagged, blindfolded, and deafened to avoid the use of her Authority. After that, they were propped onto a stake many meters high.
Subaru would look down upon the many hateful eyes he had come to meet. He would gaze upon the royal candidates, the royal knights, and the friends he had come to cherish.
There would be a grandiose speech, the lighting of a match, before heat roared over him like a tidal wave.
—Then, everything would go black.
☆ ★ ✮ ★ ☆
"Eat up, you sack of shit."
There was the opening of the cell's food slot, following the wet sound of something hitting the floor. Subaru, who was curled into a ball on the floor, looked back, barely making out the sight and smell of what was thin gruel staining the floor.
He then looked up, meeting the angry eyes of one of the prison guards. He smacked his lips, before closing the slot— his retreating footsteps fading into silence.
Subaru looked at the thin gruel staining the floor rather reluctantly. He stopped seeing the use in eating, especially so close to the end of this loop. However, the pain of his empty stomach was too much to bear, so he decided to crawl over and lick it off the ground. He didn't waste any time— feeding before the insects got to it.
"…" He groaned. After several minutes, with his belly temporarily satisfied, he rolled onto his back, his eyes staring up towards the ceiling.
He wondered how long he could go on with this. Unlike his other loops, it truly felt like he hit a dead end. No matter how much he screamed and pleaded, they would never listen. Like before, he would die, having achieved nothing. Fate had finally managed to checkmate him.
"What if I just… gave up?"
drowning in pessimism, he had entertained that dark thought. Subaru was foolishly stubborn, however, he was still human. Everyone had their limit, and from what he experienced, he could only endure so many more loops of suffering.
With the loss of his name, he had lost everything he had worked so hard to earn. He lost his friends, his family, and everything else that was achieved in Natsuki Subaru's name. He was nothing more than the "Archbishop of Pride".
—It was something he had no hope of fixing.
✦
"Grk—!"
Subaru's chest heaved as he jolted in alarm. He felt a sudden electric sensation— a feeling that made his hair stand on end. His heart beat faster in what was an instinctual reaction born from the constant stressful stimuli he had endured weekly.
However, unlike the vein-frying pain that accompanied Felix' healing magic, this sensation seemed to rattle him all the way down to his very soul, as if something was invasively burrowing itself in.
"W-What the hell!?" He yelled, his nails digging into his chest. Before he could continue to voice his confusion, that same feeling washed over him again like a tidal wave, however, that hadn't been the only thing to accompany it.
✦
Subaru's eyes widened, and his tongue went numb as he saw— no, experienced what appeared to be a vivid memory resurging deep within the crevices of his mind. What was strange, however, was that it showed things completely unfamiliar to him.
—He saw himself standing upon a pile of rubble, gleefully overlooking a burning city with a mad grin.
—He saw himself sitting upon a throne, deciding the fates of men. Whether they lived or died.
—He saw himself searching, finding, gathering. Piecing himself back together in a lonely crusade.
These visions hit him all at once, not giving him any chance to properly process what he had seen. Futures, timelines— Broken, rotting worlds, and broken, rotting people. But he also saw hope— of rejuvenation.
Past, present, and future. He saw it all— the birth of countless worlds and their deaths. At some point, he saw some that were familiar. He saw himself watch helplessly as Petelgeuse maimed Rem, and he watched despairingly as Puck delivered judgment upon the world. He watched as he was thrown into this exact cell, forced to rot and die while his friends continued on without him— happy and content.
Natsuki Subaru lay there, gazing upon infinity itself. At this point he knew— he had gained power beyond understanding.
☆ ★ ✮ ★ ☆
A week had passed since that fateful moment— the sensation that changed his life forever. During this time, Subaru had done some experimenting, and had ended up figuring out some crucial things.
Something within him had changed. It was something primal, earth-shattering. Numerous fragments— witch factors, the otherworldly powers that bore Authorities, seeped deep inside his very soul, rewriting it and strengthening what was there. With that, Subaru's abilities had undergone a shocking transformation.
Subaru could now gaze upon the infinite multiverse— viewing the past, present, and future of many worlds to his heart's content. He could also view the futures and past of specific objects and people, however, he needed to focus directly on them.
It didn't take much for him to grasp how powerful such an ability was. It was a cheat, completely granting him nigh-omniscience. It was similar to Echidna's Authority, but on a much larger scale.
He had tested it, focusing on a single guard when he delivered him food once a week like always. He could then view future and past events of that guard— managing to map out his daily routine. He didn't go much further than that, however. Subaru knew how invasive his power was.
Plus, knowing anything and everything wasn't exactly fun, so Subaru decided that he'd only call upon his new ability— Sage Sovereignty, to access the far future when he absolutely needed to.
"It doesn't provide any uses in terms of boosting my physical abilities, however…" Subaru sighed. He was a bit discontent, but he wouldn't complain.
Aside from that, his other Authority: Sloth, had managed to get boosts as well.
Leaning against the wall, Subaru held his hand out, and just inches above his palm, the air itself seemed to distort. While the cell's interior was near pitch black, Subaru could still make out the blackened silhouette that had manifested.
It appeared to be a ball of pure shadow. Matte black, completely absorbing any trace of light. There was a small, smoky haze wafting off it as well.
With a mental order, the shape of the ball twisted, forming into a cylinder, before taking on the more complex appearance of a small knife.
"—Construct creation," Subaru breathed out, still amazed by the form his Authority of Sloth had taken. Unlike the original, which was only capable of manifesting a hand, and a weak one at that, Subaru could now manifest anything his imagination wanted.
To add, that was barely the full extent of his new ability. The constructs were made out of pure void— nothingness, the concept that predated creation itself. He could make his constructs corrosive, heavily effective against matter, magic, and life force. Subaru had tested the amount he could create, and so far, he could create up to 1000, a staggering amount, but that was taking into account the limited space of the cramped cell. He could probably create more if he were outside.
He gripped the knife— so black it looked like a silhouette, before weakly swinging it in an arc. Space itself seemed to distort from the unnatural sharpness of the blade. Satisfied, he commanded the construct to dissipate.
Subaru then focused, calling upon the Authority of Greed, which rested within his soul. Unfortunately, no matter how much he tried, nothing came out of it like the rest of his Authorities.
"Maybe there's an activation requirement I haven't figured out yet…"
Subaru sighed as he shrugged his shoulders. While he had gained new powers, his authorities still felt off— weakened, as if he weren't using them to their fullest potential. It irked him, but he'd go about figuring out the "why" for that later.
He now had a new goal. With the power he had amassed, his new plan was to finally escape this loop for good.
While anyone in his place might've attempted an escape days ago, Subaru had willingly chosen to bide his time so he could plan his next steps. He knew Felix's visit became infrequent at this point in the loop, so he wouldn't be doing himself a disservice and get tortured once more.
While the plan to escape should've been incredibly easy, especially given his new set of abilities, the reason for his insistence on staying was far more emotionally charged.
"Could I just really go back to them?" A pang of doubt manifested deep within his chest. Returning wouldn't be so simple. His friends had utterly denounced him— seeing him as nothing more than a man who had caused thousands of innocents deep pain and suffering. Even if he understood that they had their reasons, it still hurt a lot.
While he wanted to reunite with them, perhaps he had been incorrect. Perhaps that was the goal of the old Natsuki Subaru. Spending countless loops in imprisonment would change anyone. Not even Subaru himself was immune.
He didn't grow to hate them, but he'd be lying if he said he didn't hold at least a little resentment towards his former friends. That would remain a factor in his decision.
Thus,
After what was a long hour of painful consideration, Subaru decided to make his first move. There was no going back. From now on, he will forge his own path.
☆ ★ ✮ ★ ☆
"Alright, time to shine," with a voice laden with sarcasm, Subaru slowly stood up, using his Authority of Sloth to release himself of the chains. There was a dull soreness that ran through his limbs— a testament to how much bodily trauma he had endured, however, Felix's last visit was three weeks ago, so Subaru had managed to heal to where he could stand— albeit, with tons of effort.
Not nearly enough for him to be able to reintegrate into society anytime soon, but he could at least hold his own for about an hour or two.
"I've already scryed on the guard who fed me dinner. It's nighttime, the perfect opportunity to escape."
Security was at its lowest, but not by any considerable margin. There were still a lot of guards within this sector of the prison, so he couldn't realistically sneak his way out without running into several of them.
Subaru looked forward towards the cell door. With a flicker of intent, the air next to him distorted, a matte-black silhouette akin to a battering ram manifested— its form simple and sleek.
The battering ram then aligned itself with the door. It pulled back, before bursting forward like a missile, completely caving in the dense metal and blowing the entire thing off its hinges. There was a cloud of dust, and the door which had been blown off, formed a crater within the wall outside.
"—Shit! That was a bit too loud. Ahh, forget it," Subaru said. For a moment, he had briefly regretted escaping in such a loud manner, but after realizing that there was no one here that could possibly overpower him, he brushed it off.
He stepped out into the corridor, and then,
"—Archbishop! The Archbishop of Pride has escaped!"
The loud, horrified voice of a nearby guard rang out, followed by an approaching parade of footsteps. Subaru turned his head from side to side curiously. Numerous guards stood at each end of the corridor, swords drawn and mana being quickly gathered through their Ods.
The corridor was cramped, so just a single fireball would be enough to completely engulf him— leaving him with no room to dodge.
"The Archbishop is attempting to escape! Show him no mercy!" A man, who appeared to be the leader, yelled out, taking a defensive stance as he stared Subaru down with malicious intent.
"Alright, I guess this is a good time to test out my new abilities even further," Subaru smirked. "And it's not like I'll be gentle either. I won't kill them, but they'll definitely be missing some limbs."
They were lucky. Deep inside, Subaru still possessed the human aversion to kill— at least to people he didn't truly abhor.
Causally, Subaru stepped forward, and that's when one of the guards decided to stop his approach with a simple chant:
"Goa!" A simple spell, that of the fire affinity, manifested just before the man. It was blazing hot, easily painting the entire corridor red. That ball of fire, maliciously cast, barreled towards Subaru at high speeds, completely reducing his frail body to a blackened corpse— not.
"What!?"
"How!!?"
No way, it—!"
The attack, which barreled at Subaru in the form of a flaming hot ball of death, immediately dissipated just inches before it could hit. What should've been an absolute certainty of victory quickly fizzled out into nothing, leaving the guards stuttering in confusion and pure denial.
The flame wasn't stopped by any sort of astronomical luck from the heavens above— Subaru was never the lucky type. It was stopped by a flat, circular construct of pure midnight. It manifested right before him, and upon being hit by the fireball, its corrosive property quickly tore the spell apart, negating all of the precious mana used to cast it in the blink of an eye.
In the end, nothing was left, not even the smoke, nor the acrid smell that usually accompanied combustion. The fireball had been erased entirely.
"It destroyed it that fast? Interesting," while the guards stood aghast, Subaru rubbed his chin, impressed by the potency of the construct's anti-magic properties. Satisfied, Subaru then looked forward towards the man who had cast such a spell. The construct before him grew a jagged, bladed edge akin to a buzz saw, before turning it horizontally and launching it forward with a speed many times that of a bullet.
"Agghh!!!" It impacted the guard in his side, completely cutting through his shoulder and severing his limb. There was no resistance. The construct hadn't lost any sort of momentum whatsoever as it impacted the guards behind him, completely tearing through their forces with tremendous ease.
After Subaru met the first move with one of his own, the group that had organized to fight against him quickly spiraled into disorder.
"Aargh!"
"Guh!"
"Fall back, fall back!"
"Run!"
In a mixture of hysteria, despair, and the desperate need to overcome the great enemy before them, everyone started scrambling within the tight hallway. The men behind him, beginning their chants in hopes of catching him off guard, sent several spells his way. However, Subaru foresaw this. He manifested what appeared to be a geometric rectangle that almost completely filled the corridor's empty perimeter of space, blocking out entry and their ability to see him.
"See ya!"
He then sent it forward, the black construct flying towards the men. They were unable to dodge due to the lack of space, so they were forcibly shoved back to the other end of the corridor, crashing straight through a wall and out the other side.
The other guards began their frantic retreat— realizing they stood no chance against him head on. Subaru realized the inevitability of them contacting officials about his sudden escape, so there was no doubt a handful that were on their way to contact the outside.
He was located in a special prison built within the Royal Capital, meant for the most heinous of criminals. Alongside Sirius, the Archbishop of Wrath, he was given special treatment meant to ensure escape was impossible. There were many metia put into place to make sure he couldn't escape.
Subaru was currently located in a story a few hundred feet below ground. It was a level encased in many enchantments and defenses that severely restricted the use of a prisoner's ability to use magic.
Lucky for him, he wasn't using such a thing whatsoever.
He created a small platform to stand on before swiftly making his way down the corridor. He was still fatigued from over a year of torture, so he allowed his constructs to help him cross distances that he wasn't healthy enough to do on foot.
He was going to break out of here, and—
"—Hehehe…"
Halfway down, he heard a voice. It was an eerie, demented laugh. It was a voice that would make anyone shiver upon hearing it. Even Subaru flinched in alarm as his head turned to the side.
Located near the end of the corridor was another cell. In fact, it was one of the only two cells located in this hallway. It was obvious: imprisoned alongside himself was Sirius, the Archbishop of Wrath.
He didn't need Sage Sovereignty to figure it out. Throughout many loops, he was dragged through this hallway alongside her as they were both sentenced to execution before the kingdom. Although, he never interacted with her.
At first, Subaru considered leaving her here, then, an idea formed in his mind. He stepped up to her cell, manifesting a large hand that ripped the door open.
"—Oh my, oh my! My sweet dear Petelguese has returned~!"
The woman inside, Sirius, threw her hands up in celebration and welcome. The chains around her rattled— much more tighter and shorter than his. What was more, she appeared to possess tons of anti-magic and weakening seals, a testament to her dangerousness.
"Not exactly…" Subaru said absentmindedly, stepping inside with barely hidden contempt. Sirius tried to lunge at him, but the chains held her back, sigils glowing brightly as they prepared to activate at a moment's notice.
"If only I could embrace you~! It's been a long, long time my dear!"
She was utterly insane. Subaru knew that she wasn't addressing him personally, but the remnants of Petelgeuse that wafted off of his Authority. It was a sick love that surpassed even death.
"Let's just get this over with. You have something I need, and I won't leave without it," Subaru said. Sirius possessed the Authority of Wrath, and Subaru, who currently needed all the power he could get, couldn't resist the opportunity of acquiring more witch factors.
He decided he'll end it here.
He manifested a hand, and in a single motion, it pummeled Sirius' face, knocking her unconscious. Sirius' Authority only shared pain and injuries between people caught under her twisted form of hypnosis. Subaru eliminated the opportunity for her to do so. It would be inconvenient if he were forced to start this all over.
That same hand which had pummeled Sirius then slowly inched towards her forehead. Subaru focused, and the hand slowly phased straight through flesh and bone, before gripping her brain. With a mental order, the hand closed, and there was a disgusting squish as Sirius' brain was reduced to mincemeat.
It was a quick kill that left no immediate evidence of it having ever occurred.
"Rest in hell."
Subaru felt no sympathy for her. Witch cultists were the only people Subaru held no regard for whatsoever. He saw them as monsters— effectively dehumanizing themselves in his mind. That's why he didn't flinch upon taking her life.
Sirius' now dead form went fully limp, her head bobbing forward. The sigils glowed ominously. They could also monitor a prisoner's life force, so the sudden death of their captor was enough to make it go alert. They would no doubt be notified about it.
Subaru glided back upon his platform, taking one last look at Sirius' corpse, before making his way back out into the corridor. Then—
✦
"—Gnhh!!" Subaru gripped his chest as that strange, unsettling feeling returned. Like last time, he felt as something burrowed deep within his soul, nesting there. What was more, he felt something pulse— grow. The Authorities inside him shifted, their potency becoming increasingly more pronounced upon the arrival of another witch factor.
Unlike last time, Subaru wasn't left in the dark of what happened. He stood up, a smile etching across his face as he tightened his hand.
His Authority of Envy and Sloth had grown stronger— manifesting completely new abilities. Unlike Greed, he immediately understood the applications of his new powers.
"Death Manipulation and Space Manipulation. That's… broken," he sounded.
His Authority of Return by Death— an ability that let him walk the tightrope between life and death, now gave him full control over those very concepts. Now, he could kill anyone with just a thought, and resurrect anyone he wished without limit. It was an overpowered ability expected of an Authority.
His Authority of Sloth, on the other hand, granted him dominion over Space. In a way, sloth represented spatial manipulation a lot. One could lift things without moving a single finger, go to places without taking a simple step, and simply ignore all sorts of obstacles and phenomena with not a single piece of physical or mental effort. It was truly the personification of inaction.
Subaru grinned, satisfied with the additions to his skillset. Deciding that now was the time to leave, Subaru focused on the second ability bestowed by Sloth.
He then levitated, manipulating gravity to make him slowly rise in the air. He continued, not even stopping as he reached the ceiling and completely phased through it.
It took him moments to rise to each floor— passing more cell blocks, panicking guards, and other security checkpoints that a high-security prison provided. He also distorted the space around him to reflect light, making himself invisible to everyone.
After several minutes, he reached the surface, levitating through the air and into the sky. Subaru's mouth opened in silent awe. He looked upon the night sky, littered with stars. It had been months since he last saw such a beautiful sight. A tear rolled down his cheek. There were many small pleasures in life that people took for granted.
For someone like him, he went countless loops without a good meal, a fine bath, or even his favorite: gazing upon the night sky. He would cherish these moments for the rest of his existence.
Nonetheless, after another minute or two of silent contemplation, he looked down at the Royal Capital. Its beauty stretched far into the horizon. It was a beautiful sight. It was the city he had been summoned to, so it brought back both pleasant and painful memories.
Below him, a near endless sea of guards secured the perimeter. They had barricaded the front with their bodies, anticipating his arrival. Others were riding ground dragons outward to notify everyone about recent events— notably, the Sage Council.
"Alright. It's about time I get moving. There's a lot of stuff I need to do," He said, rubbing his hands together in preparation.
Now that step one of his plan had been completed, he had now moved on to step two. And that was:
"—It's time I freed Satella. There's a lot of stuff we need to talk about."
His words were laden with both conviction, love, and the barest hint of anger. Focusing on his authority, the air distorted, and he was gone.
☆ ★ ✮ ★ ☆