The elf's mouth twisted, ready to spit the insult again, when a woman's voice cut through the air, sharp, clear, and impossible to ignore.
"Thalioren, you don't have to be so rude to our guests."
The shift was immediate. Even Subaru paused, his reply dying on his lips.
From between the guards, Elarenya stepped forward, her movements smooth and unhurried. At her side walked King Vaelorian, his expression a mixture of resignation and faint amusement, one hand rubbing at the bridge of his nose.
The guards straightened and bowed, even the defiant Thalioren lowering his head.
"My Lady, but they…" Thalioren began, his tone defensive.
"Yes, these men are our guests," Elarenya interrupted gently, though her voice held the weight of finality. Her gaze shifted to Thorn, the warmth in her eyes cooling into steel. "He could kill you if he wished."
She smiled then, a graceful curve of the lips that didn't touch her eyes. "But I'm sure he won't."
Thorn rubbed the back of his neck, offering a crooked grin. "Sure, sure, I won't do any of that."
"Sorry we caused trouble," Subaru said, glancing toward Vaelorian with genuine regret.
"It's fine," Vaelorian replied, shaking his head. "I apologize on behalf of my people. Their behavior is not the norm… but you did arrive dangerously close to the World Tree."
Raphael's face drifted toward Thorn, then Auren, as though demanding an explanation without words. Thorn only lifted his shoulders in a lazy shrug. "I wonder that too."
"Oh, Thorn," Elarenya said, a soft chuckle escaping her. "I see you're still as clumsy as ever."
Thorn turned away, a flicker of unease slipping across his face before he masked it again.
"She hasn't changed a bit… "Subaru thought, catching the tension between them. He cleared his throat, stepping in before the silence grew too thick. "Alright, now that the air's cleared, what is it you want, Vaelorian?"
One of the guards shifted, about to speak, but Vaelorian raised a hand, silencing him. "It's fine. You can all return to your posts. My sister and I can handle the rest."
"As you wish, Your Majesty," Thalioren said, his voice clipped. The guards obeyed, their footsteps echoing as they departed.
Raphael leaned toward Auren, murmuring, "They could've just vanished instead of walking away."
Elarenya's lips curved in quiet amusement. "True… but they can't. They're still wary of you all."
"Alright, back to my question," Subaru said, turning to Vaelorian. "What is it?"
Thorn's gaze lingered on the retreating Thalioren, his tone sharpening. "Yes, Vaelorian…what was that I heard about the Sins?"
Vaelorian exhaled slowly. "I was getting to that. It's about you, Subaru."
Subaru arched a brow. "About me?"
"Aurelia requested to see you," Elarenya said softly, her voice carrying a weight that made Subaru glance up.
Subaru's eyes widened, a flicker of surprise crossing his face. "Aurelia? He's here?"
Thorn turned his head sharply. "Who is this Aurelia?" His tone was serious, edged with suspicion.
"The Sin of Sloth," Vaelorian answered, his voice low and grim.
Thorn's brows drew together. "And you have him here… in your kingdom? Knowing what he's capable of?"
"That is not your concern," Vaelorian replied, his words dismissive, though his eyes didn't leave Thorn's.
Thorn wasn't convinced. "Does him being here have anything to do with your kingdom not aligning with any other?"
Vaelorian opened his mouth to respond, but Subaru spoke before he could. "It's okay, Thorn. Whatever the reason, it's not our place to pry."
Thorn studied Subaru for a moment, his jaw tightening. Then he gave a short nod. "You're right. But knowing a Sin is here… doesn't that bother you?"
"No, it doesn't," Subaru said with a faint smile.
Thorn let out a short laugh and shook his head. "What else would I expect from you? Never afraid."
Subaru's smile grew warmer at that familiar jab. He looked between Elarenya and Vaelorian. "Alright… where is Aurelia?"
Vaelorian's gaze shifted toward the distant, towering form of the World Tree. "He is at his mother's home."
"I understand," Subaru said, his voice quiet but certain. "Well, I'm off."
"Let me come with you," Thorn offered, already taking a step forward.
Subaru shook his head. "No, Thorn. I go alone." His tone held a quiet resolve, the kind that didn't invite argument. "I just need to clear some things."
Thorn met Subaru's eyes — those steady, compassionate eyes — and after a pause, he exhaled slowly. "Alright."
From the side, Raphael leaned toward Auren, speaking in a low voice. "Did you know?"
Auren blinked, pulled from his thoughts. "Uh… no. No, I didn't know."
Raphael didn't press, but the look on his face was a quiet fire of curiosity.
Meanwhile, Subaru was already walking toward the World Tree, his mind a restless tide. "Aurelia… why do you want to see me? Did something happen… or is something going to happen? "He let out a slow breath. "It's better this way. I have questions that need answers too."
The passage into the World Tree loomed ahead, ancient and silent. Subaru stepped inside. The air was still, steeped in an ageless calm. He walked further until a simple bed came into view — Aurelia lay upon it, his posture utterly relaxed, as if the world outside did not exist.
Subaru lowered himself onto the edge of the bed.
Aurelia opened one eye, the movement so slow it felt like even time had been reluctant to disturb him. His lips curled into the faintest of smiles.
"Hello, Subaru," he murmured, voice smooth and unhurried. "You seem well."
Subaru smiled faintly. "Good to see you too. Healthy as always."
Aurelia's lips curved into that faint, almost sleepy smile — the kind that felt as if it had taken him effort just to form. "What a funny thing to say…" His eyes, half-lidded until now, opened fully.
Subaru tilted his head, studying him. "So, Aurelia… why are you here in the Elven Kingdom? And why did you want to see me?"
"You already know why I am here," Aurelia murmured. His voice came slow and deliberate, as though every word had to be coaxed out of him.
"And the other question?" Subaru pressed, leaning in slightly.
"I just wanted to see you," Aurelia replied without even a flicker of urgency. "Since we are… family."
Subaru's smile widened, though there was a trace of something guarded in his eyes. "Family. And what about the other Sins? How… are they?"
"I do not know." Aurelia's gaze drifted away, his tone flattening into stillness. "They do not disturb my peace."
"I see." Subaru nodded slowly. "I have more questions, and I'd like to ask them while I'm here."
"I was expecting you to." Aurelia's smile deepened by the smallest fraction, like a ripple over still water. "It's fine by me."
"Good," Subaru said, folding his arms. "Are the Sins involved with the Bloodbound Covenant?"
Aurelia's gaze wandered lazily toward him. "Which of the Sins?"
"Greed, to be precise."
Aurelia closed his eyes for a moment, breathing as though the question itself weighed on him. "I do not know. And I do not think he is involved. The Covenant came into existence before… everything that happened in our lives."
"I thought so too," Subaru said, "but how sure are you?"
Aurelia's eyes opened again, unnervingly calm. "How sure am I? I do not know."
Subaru exhaled in quiet exasperation. "Alright. Then what about the Aurum Fortuna? Are the Sins involved in that?"
"Which one, Subaru?"
"You can't keep saying 'which one,'" Subaru said, a flicker of impatience sharpening his voice.
Aurelia's slow smile returned, unhurried. "Oh, but I can. I am a Sin. And I have not been in contact with them for a long time."
"Fine," Subaru said with a resigned shrug. "Is Greed involved?"
"Straight for the kill," Aurelia murmured, his lips twitching up at the corners. "Yes. Greed is involved."
"Why?" Subaru's eyes narrowed. "What does he want with it?"
Aurelia's head tilted slightly, red eyes half-closing again. "Why ask me a question… when you already know the answer?"
"But I don't know the answer to that," Subaru said, his voice edged with frustration.
A faint hum escaped Aurelia, his eyes slipping shut. "You do not change… You keep lying to yourself."
"I don't understand what you mean," Subaru replied.
"You don't say?" Aurelia's eyes reopened, their glow catching the light as he fixed Subaru in place. "Subaru… have you noticed the world is changing?"
"Yes," Subaru said simply. "The world surely changes."
"Even when it leads to something good… or bad?"
"Even when it leads to something good… or bad," Subaru repeated, though confusion knit his brow. "But what's the point of this? You're going off topic."
"But I am not," Aurelia whispered, his voice carrying an odd gravity despite its softness. "I am stating something you should know. Those truly connected to the world can feel it…something is coming. It may be peace… or war. But in the end, the balance will break. And to mend itself, the world will add something… so rare, so strange, that many would not believe it could happen."
Subaru's voice lowered. "And has the world told you what that is?"
Aurelia's faint smile returned, the kind that seemed to belong to someone who already knew the ending of the story. "It does not need to tell me… when we already know our fates. Why… do you keep lying to yourself?"
"I don't lie to myself, Aurelia," Subaru said, his voice hard, each word steady as if nailed into the air.
Aurelia's head tilted lazily, a low hum leaving his lips. "Hmm… Then do you hate me?"
Subaru frowned at the sudden shift. "Hate? And why would I?"
"For the thing that I did," Aurelia said, his gaze unmoving, heavy. "The thing that happened before… Do you hate me for it?"
Subaru's eyes lowered, his breath slowing. For a moment, he seemed far away. Then a slow smile tugged at his lips. "Hate? If not for what you did, I wouldn't be happy right now."
"Happy?" Aurelia repeated, though his own faint smile faded. "Then why do you lie to yourself about the things you already know?"
Subaru's voice lowered. "Is it related to the next Demon King? Who is it going to be? What has the world told you?"
Aurelia blinked lazily, as though the question was dust in the wind. "If it was related to the Demon King, how would that concern you?"
"Oh, Aurelia, it does concern me," Subaru said, his voice quiet but fierce. "I have a family to protect."
"Family?" Aurelia's tone was flat, almost bored. "But you couldn't protect your old one."
"I know," Subaru admitted, the weight of regret pressing into his voice. "I couldn't stop fate then."
"Then what makes you think you can stop fate now?"
Subaru met his gaze. "I don't think I can stop fate, Aurelia… I have the ability to kill it."
Aurelia's posture shifted only enough for him to lean back into his postion again, as if sinking into the very air. A sigh rolled from his lips, long and unhurried. "You lie to yourself so much…Deluding yourself about what has already been decided… And you think you can kill fate?"
"I don't think," Subaru said, a hard spark in his voice. "I've already attained the impossible."
"The impossible that even the Sins cannot attain?" Aurelia's tone carried a soft, mocking lilt, but his eyes remained heavy-lidded. "And you… knowing that… think you can kill fate?"
Subaru sighed, shoulders loosening slightly. "Okay… I can't kill fate. Then tell me…who is going to be the Demon King? Is it going to be one of my grandchildren?"
"No," Aurelia said simply, unshaken. "It's not them."
"Then who, Aurelia?" Subaru pressed, leaning forward. "I need to know for my family."
"I do not know," Aurelia replied, his voice almost drifting away. "But you already know when the Demon King will return. It is bound to the changing of the world."
"I don't know," Subaru said, frustration creeping into his tone.
Aurelia's eyes closed once more. "Greed is using the Aurum Fortuna to divide the humans… but what is the point of it, when it is nothing more than a waste of time?"
"Why are you going off topic, Aurelia?" Subaru thought, brows furrowing. Aloud, he asked, "Okay… and all the Sins agreed to this? Even Pride?"
"It seems that way," Aurelia murmured. "You know how Greed is. He must have whispered something Pride wanted to hear."
"I see." Subaru's expression hardened. "Guess I'll have to put an end to everything."
"Put an end to it?" Aurelia hummed again, voice slow as drifting smoke. "Why do you lie to yourself, Subaru?"
"I don't understand what you mean, Aurelia."
Aurelia's eyes snapped open, their calm replaced by sudden clarity. "Get out. I see you haven't changed."
"Sorry, Aurelia," Subaru said evenly. "I still have some questions to ask."
"Okay," Aurelia said — and in the blink of an eye, his arm moved.
A massive, unseen force slammed into Subaru, the blow so sudden he didn't even see it coming. The ancient wood of the World Tree groaned under the impact, splintering as Subaru was blasted through the wall. Air rushed past him in a roaring surge, and a massive hole yawned in the place he had stood moments before.
Outside, Thorn — who had been wondering what was taking Subaru so long — turned just as a deafening boom shook the ground. His eyes widened.
"Uh… that didn't sound friendly."
Vaelorian, Elarenya, and the others were already rushing toward the source of the noise. Thorn followed, muttering under his breath, Every time we visit someone important, it ends like this…
Subaru slammed into the earth, the impact shaking loose soil and sending a dull thud through the clearing. Dust billowed upward, curling in the air before settling around the shallow crater his body had carved. He pushed himself up slowly, brushing dirt from his clothes with a wince.
"Wow…" he muttered under his breath, voice half in awe, half in disbelief. "Aurelia really can pack a punch."
From where he stood, the village shimmered faintly in the distance. A chorus of panicked cries carried faintly on the wind, sharp and urgent.
"SUBARU!" Thorn's voice cut through the chaos.
Subaru turned, eyes tracking Aurelia—who hovered lazily above the ground, as if the act of floating took barely any thought. A faint frown tugged at Aurelia's lips, but there was no urgency in his gaze, no rush in his movements. Thorn and the others burst onto the scene moments later. Thorn's hand went instantly to his weapon, but before he could draw it, Elarenya caught his arm, her grip firm.
"Stop, Thorn," she said sharply. "Don't do anything foolish that will upset him."
Thorn's eyes narrowed. "And what exactly do you mean by that? I…"
"Thorn." Vaelorian's voice cut across his. His expression was hard, each word deliberate. "I would prefer my kingdom not be destroyed by your rashness."
Thorn's jaw tightened, his gaze darting between Vaelorian and Aurelia. The king's face held no hint of jest.
Raphael's face, however, were elsewhere—fixed on Aurelia. He could feel the mana radiating from him. It wasn't turbulent or flaring; it was calm, steady… unnervingly so.
Aurelia's gaze drifted down toward Subaru, his voice as slow and unhurried as falling snow.
"Why… Subaru… do you lie to yourself?" His words seemed to drag on the air, each syllable heavy. "From the first moment… until now… and into what has yet to come… what makes you believe you can change it? You already know the shape of the ending. You tell yourself you can kill faith… that you can stop it… that you can bend the path for the sake of your family. How… foolish."
"…Change it? He's talking like it's not even possible." Subaru felt the knot in his chest tighten.
From the village, the sounds of panic swelled again. Auren turned toward Vaelorian. "King Vaelorian… shouldn't your guards be here?"
"And do what?" Vaelorian's eyes never left Aurelia. "Their orders are to keep the people safe, not to provoke something they cannot stop."
Aurelia's eyes shifted, slow and deliberate, until they landed on Raphael. He studied him for a moment before looking to Vaelorian… then Elarenya. She shook her head ever so slightly, a silent warning not to act.
Aurelia gave a faint, humorless chuckle. "Ah… so you do understand. You feel it…the threads already tightening. And yet…" His gaze returned to Subaru. "Let me give you this, Subaru… a kindness, perhaps. Never set foot in the Elven Kingdom again."
He turned without hurry, drifting toward the looming form of the World Tree, as if nothing more needed to be said.
Subaru's eyes followed him until the figure blurred in the distance. "…Goodbye, Aurelia," he murmured.
"Subaru!" Thorn jogged forward, his voice snapping Subaru from his thoughts. "You good?"
"Yeah…" Subaru exhaled, brushing the dust from his shoulder. "I'm good."