A series of blurred visions flickered behind my eyes.
First, a man stood before a legion. Both a leader and a storm in the guise of a human. With a single gesture, he loosed his army like wolves.
Blood washed over cities like spilled ink across a map. The conquered screamed. The rulers wept. Even the soldiers begged for the carnage to stop.
It didn't.
Another flicker. Now I was a king. Not just ruling, controlling. My voice carried through marble halls like law carved into stone. I smiled, and men disappeared. I whispered, and entire bloodlines were erased, then replaced.
No one knew who truly held the strings. That was the point.
Then, the final image. I was a child. Innocent, and yet not.
I walked through a beautiful city, dressed in white with others like me, all masked, all serene. There was no fear in us. Only purpose.
One word echoed in my head, heavy with conviction.
Justice.
We entered a grand courtyard filled with kneeling figures. Their prayers rose with the wind.
Then the sun went out.
I looked up, and there it was, a wall of black water, rising higher than the city walls, silent and eternal.
I knew right then and there. I would drown.
My followers scattered. The faithful turned away. No one looked back.
Then the sky fell.
I woke with a jolt.
Silver filled my vision.
Lavender kissed the air.
"Ethan? Are you alright?" A soft voice laced with worry spoke up, but in my sleep-addled mind, I couldn't figure out where the hell I was.
Suddenly, the silver shifted, and I realized it was hair.
I'd practically been draped across Emilia like a tired housecat, full-body leaned into her on the carriage bench.
And I swear I'd fallen asleep on the opposite side.
'Fuck.'
Leaning back, I was met with a pair of confused amethyst eyes that held more worry than the righteous anger I'd been fully expecting.
Panic short-circuited my brain. I rubbed my eyes and sputtered out the apology.
"I'm so damn sorry. I… didn't know I moved around so much in my sleep."
I waited for the slap to land with the force of a nuclear bomb.
But instead—
She giggled.
Hand raised to her mouth, eyes sparkling with amusement.
"It's fine, it's fine," she said, waving away my concern like it was nothing.
Suddenly, a new voice spoke up.
"You lucky bastard. It should have been me!"
Shifting my head to the right, I was met with a finally awake and most definitely alive Tracksuit. In the light of the moon, I was met with a glare so sharp it might have bested Elsa's blades.
"Uh, hi?"
The boy sitting across from me laughed as he ran both hands through his hair in an act of exasperation.
"Hi. He says."
Then he suddenly tried to stand, only to hit his head on the roof.
Rapidly sitting back in his seat and clenching his head, he immediately lost all intimidation factor in my eyes.
Still determined, he pointed at me like he wanted to make a statement, only to wilt under my flat stare.
I shook my head, suppressing a sigh, and turned back to Emilia.
"Anyway," I muttered, "how did I even end up like that—?"
Then I saw it.
Out the window.
"Damn."
A tree.
The tree.
A wooden skyscraper that split the sky in two.
Its trunk pierced the cloud cover, casting a shadow so dark we might as well have rolled into a second night.
We were rolling straight toward it.
"Have you never seen Flugel's Tree, Ethan?" Emilia asked softly.
I kept my eyes on the window, voice quiet.
"No. I stuck to the capital… but I really shouldn't have. Not if there were sights like these."
Suddenly, Tracksuit spoke up too.
"Wooooah. It's as tall as a skyscraper." He casually mentioned something that likely wasn't in this world.
Sure enough, Emilia tilted her head. "What's a skyscraper?"
Tracksuit froze.
His face did that thing people do when they get caught sneaking snacks at 3 a.m.—mid-guilt, mid-cringe, full of regret.
"Oh… uh…" He fumbled, clearly stalling. Then he snapped his fingers. "It's a type of building we had where I came from! But really, it was just hyperbole, y'know?"
I raised a brow.
"And where exactly do you come from?" I said, tone light, teeth behind the smile.
"No, wait. Let's all introduce ourselves, shall we?"
Tracksuit didn't look like he really wanted to answer my first question, but he brightened at the second one.
"Natsuki Subaru, at your service, milady!" he declared, throwing in a full bow… to Emilia, of course.
'This guy is a walking disaster.'
Still, I extended my left hand.
"Ethan Caldwell. Pleasure to meet you, Natsuki."
He cringed.
Taking the handshake, he said, "Please don't call me Natsuki. I'll think you're talking about my dad. Just call me Subaru."
Then, he squeezed.
Hard.
Like he was trying to crush every bone in my hand to assert… something.
Indomitable
The heat of my Authority surged through me. A familiar stillness blanketed my body, and the pressure against my fingers disappeared like mist in the sun.
To me, his grip was nothing. Weightless. Powerless.
I didn't squeeze back. If I had, his hand would've crumpled like paper.
Instead, I gave him a blank stare and a nod, one that might hopefully register as respect for his "strength."
To be fair, the guy did have a monster grip.
And it felt counterintuitive to antagonize someone who might be the Witch's favored… the one steering this time loop.
"Subaru it is," I said at last, letting go of both his hand and my Authority before I gave myself a heart attack.
'Finally, I no longer have to call him Tracksuit.'
Both of us turned to Emilia in sync, silent expectations hanging in the air.
I already knew what she'd say.
Subaru, on the other hand, looked genuinely curious.
Emilia shrank slightly under the sudden attention, leaning back with a faint pink rising in her cheeks.
"My name is Emilia," she said softly. "Just Emilia."
Subaru immediately launched into some kind of swooning monologue, gushing about her name, how beautiful it was, and probably preparing a wedding vow while he was at it.
I tuned him out.
A yawn slipped free as I turned toward the window. The moon still sat high in the sky.
Mentally, I'd been awake for a full day, maybe more. If I were lucky, I could grab a bit more rest before we arrived.
Leaning back in my seat, I let my eyelids start to droop—
A soft pat on my shoulder pulled me back.
"What's up?" I mumbled.
"Are you going back to sleep, Ethan?" Emilia's voice was gentle, almost playful.
"That's the plan. Why?"
She patted the seat beside her like that explained everything.
I tilted my head, waiting.
"Well," she said, a bit proudly, "I don't want you leaning on your wound… so you can lean on me instead."
That was oddly considerate.
Also, we could just swap seats, but before I could say anything, another thought arrived.
'…Or I could shut up and lean on the beautiful girl offering her shoulder.'
Plus, shuffling around in this cramped cabin sounded like more trouble than it was worth. With the illogical argument winning out, I shifted over without a word.
Subaru stared at me like I'd kicked his puppy.
"Uh… thanks," I muttered, leaning in, just lightly.
A quiet grumble came from the seat across from us, but I ignored it in favor of emptying my mind.
With Emilia's warmth seeping into my shoulder and the steady rhythm of the carriage beneath us, sleep took me quickly.
This time, I prayed I wouldn't have to deal with any weird dreams.
—
A soft tap on my cheek and a gentle whisper dragged me back to the waking world.
I groaned as my eyes cracked open, greeted once again by a curtain of silver hair.
Still half-asleep, I shifted upright. My shoulder ached. My back was sore.
Across from me, Subaru was halfway out the carriage door, tossing me a look that could only be described as resentful curiosity.
"Morning, sleepyhead," Emilia teased, tapping my shoulder again.
"Mmn. Yeah, I'm up. Where are we? Why'd we stop?"
Instead of answering, she pointed past the open door.
I followed her gesture and blinked at the massive structure looming just beyond the carriage.
'Damn,' was all I could manage again.
Far from poetic, but it fit the bill.
I gave a slow nod, brushing stray strands of hair out of my face before glancing at Emilia again.
She gave me a soft, expectant smile and nodded once.
With a quiet sigh, I grabbed my sword, slung my bag over my good shoulder, and patted my pockets out of habit…
Only to remember I'd left my phone and everything else from Earth with Reinhard.
Right.
I stepped out.
Boots crunched against the stone driveway, and a crisp breeze swept across the estate grounds, tousling my hair as I stretched and cracked my back.
Spinning around, I offered Emilia a hand to help her down, not because she needed it, obviously.
If anything, she could probably bench press me if she wanted. But she'd been kind to me all day. Least I could do was return the favor.
While I helped Emilia down, Ram dismounted from the driver's seat with practiced ease.
"I'll handle the ground dragon," she said curtly, already turning away.
Subaru opened his mouth, probably to say something stupid, but she was already gone.
The disappointment on his face was palpable.
With no one left to guide us, I turned to Emilia. She gave a confident little nod and led us toward the towering staircase.
At the top, the manor doors creaked open… and out stepped Ram.
Or, at least, someone who looked exactly like her.
Same outfit. Same build. Same expression.
Only difference was the icy blue hair and matching eyes.
She descended a single step and gave Emilia a bow, voice crisp.
"Welcome back, Lady Emilia. Who are your two… guests?"
Her eyes drifted first to Subaru, hesitating briefly, but finding nothing unusual beyond his wardrobe.
Then she looked at me.
I was only half paying attention, more interested in the architecture of the massive mansion, until I felt it.
A chill.
Her eyes locked onto mine, cold and sharp like frostbite.
For a moment, she glared at me.
'What the fuck did I do?'
I kept my expression flat. Unmoving. The look vanished as quickly as it came, hidden behind a pristine maid's smile.
Before I could process it further—
"No way!" Subaru blurted, stepping forward like he was auditioning for a stage play. "You're totally twins with that other girl, right? Do you two do that thing where you say stuff at the same time?!"
"I'm not sure what you're referring to, sir," she replied, impassive as stone.
Subaru's head drooped, theatrically defeated.
Emilia stepped in to rescue the moment.
"Hello, Rem. This is Subaru and Ethan, they'll be my guests for now. I was hoping to take them to Beatrice for healing. Do you know where she is?"
Rem shook her head. "I'm afraid not, Lady Emilia. You know how Lady Beatrice is, if she doesn't wish to be found, she won't be. Regrettably, it has been seventy-six days since I was last permitted to clean her room."
Subaru leaned toward me and whispered like we were trading gossip.
"Seventy-six days? That's… wow. Talk about devotion, huh?"
He patted my shoulder.
"Uh… yeah," I muttered.
Emilia hummed thoughtfully, then her eyes lit up with that brand of stubborn optimism I was starting to recognize.
"Then we'll just have to check every door in the manor!"
'You're tripping. Please look at the size of this—'
But before the thought could finish, she marched forward and pushed open the grand front doors.
Only—
Instead of a grand foyer or polished entryway…
Books.
A sea of books.
The "entrance hall" was a massive library, wall-to-wall shelves reaching up toward the ceiling, filled to bursting.
At the center of the room sat a spiral staircase that led to a second floor, which consisted of a large balcony that was filled to the brim with books of all shapes and sizes.
Golden light spilled from crystal sconces, casting soft warmth across the polished floors.
The contrast from the cold night outside was jarring.
Emilia gave a quiet, delighted yelp, then turned to wave us forward like she'd just discovered heaven.
I hesitated.
'This… has to be a crime. Who puts a fucking library right at the front door? What about the—'
I stepped past Rem, still shaking my head, only to catch another glance from her, emotionless, neutral, but just off.
The kind of look that said I don't like you, and wasn't sure whether she ever would.
'I don't even know who you are.'
Ignoring the weird maid, I followed Emilia inside, Subaru and I fanned out behind her… only to immediately be met with a bizarre sight.
A girl.
Maybe twelve. Maybe younger.
Frilly pink-and-purple vertically striped socks. Cream-blonde hair tied into elaborate vertical drill-tails that defied gravity. Blue irises with butterfly-shaped pupils. A dress that looked expensive enough to bankrupt a mid-sized town.
She didn't even glance at us. Just snapped her book closed with finality, like the sound alone was an indictment.
Then, without missing a beat, she spoke. Her voice was high-pitched, polished, and deeply annoyed.
"Half-elf, you wish for Betty to heal these two fools, I suppose."
The tone said it all: this wasn't a question. There was a sense of exasperation that could be drawn from the girl, like this was vastly beneath her, and yet she would have to deal with it all the same.
Emilia opened her mouth, but before she could get a single word out—
"Hey, hey, hey," Subaru cut in, waving a hand. "Little girls like you shouldn't be up this late, you know?"
That was not the right thing to say.
Beatrice's eyebrow twitched. If she looked annoyed before, she now looked like she was contemplating arson. Before the boy could double down, I clapped a hand on his shoulder, hard enough to get his attention, soft enough not to kill him.
He blinked at me, confused. I gave him a stare that translated roughly to: I would very much like to be healed before sunrise, thank you.
He returned a look of genuine What did I do? innocence that I chose to ignore.
Then the tiny girl marched up to us. For someone half my height, she radiated enough judgment to rival a royal inquisition.
She stopped in front of Subaru and jabbed a finger toward the floor.
There was a pause. Subaru glanced at the spot she pointed to, then back at her.
"Uh, what are you trying to ask of me, little girl? You know you often have to use words to get concepts across, right?"
'Please stop talking.'
"I'm telling you to kneel on the floor, you stupid, tall, annoying human, in fact."
Subaru blinked. Opened his mouth to argue. Then caught Beatrice's glare and dropped to one knee like a disgraced knight.
She placed a tiny hand on his slashed-up arm, the same one Elsa had carved into. Emilia had done a decent patch job, but when Beatrice's fingers touched him, a bloom of bright blue magic flared to life.
Seconds later, she pulled away with a haughty hmph.
"Dang. You really are the real deal!" Subaru said, flexing his now-healed arm. "I thought maybe Emilia got scammed or something, but nope. You're totally S-tier."
"I have no idea what you're saying, in fact. Exit the library and never bother Betty again, I suppose."
Then she turned to me.
There was a flicker in her eyes. Recognition. Her gaze narrowed, calculating.
I knelt down before she could say a word, offering her my injured shoulder. No sense dragging this out.
She placed her hand on my arm.
But the light didn't come.
Instead, she leaned in, voice dropping to a whisper.
"I know what you possess, in fact."
Our eyes locked. My breath hitched.
Emilia and Subaru were off to the side, chatting about books like nothing was wrong.
Beatrice's tone sharpened, quiet and certain.
"And quite the potent strength, I suppose."
Then pain.
A searing lance of agony bloomed in my chest, burrowing deep, like someone had jammed a hooked blade behind my ribs and started pulling.
Indomitable
My Authority surged, and the pain vanished in an instant.
I gasped, recoiling from the girl.
Every nerve in my body screamed danger.
I almost struck her. A single thought away from backhanding her into the nearest wall for… whatever she'd done to me.
She didn't flinch.
Indomitable faded, but I kept my guard up.
She stepped closer and finally cast her healing spell. Blue light shimmered over my shoulder. The pain that had gnawed at my arm for hours was gone.
But the rest of my body still ached like hell.
I rose to my feet slowly, eyes never leaving her.
But she said nothing else.
Instead, she turned her attention to Emilia, who had just returned, Subaru in tow, already wandering back from a nearby shelf.
"Are you alright now, Ethan?" She asked, completely oblivious of the exchange that had just happened.
"Yeah, I feel way better." I half lied. "Thank you, Beatrice." I side-eyed the girl while stepping away.
The girl only hummed, taking a seat back at her little table in the center of the room. Without another word, she cracked open the book she'd been reading before we arrived, like none of us had ever existed.
"Betty expects the half-elf to let her play with her Bubby as a reward for this little exchange, in fact," she muttered, not even glancing up.
"Of course, Beatrice. Thank you for your—"
BANG.
The same library door we'd entered from slammed open with a force that cut her off mid-sentence. A silent command.
"Eep!" Emilia squeaked, flinching at the sound before hastily herding me and Subaru toward the exit.
We stumbled through into… a hallway?
Third floor. Somehow.
'What the hell is even going on anymore?'
Subaru, of course, was more vocal with his shock.
Spinning around, he lunged for the door we'd just come through, only to find himself staring into a broom closet.
"Ahh, teleporting room, huh? That's pretty cool," he muttered, surprisingly unfazed. "Now I wonder…"
While I glanced at Emilia, who was quietly staring out the window at the moon, Subaru wandered one door over, curiosity driving him like a wind-up toy.
The door creaked open—
"Annoying boy! Leave Betty alone, in fact!"
A gust of wind slammed into him hard enough to rustle my hair from across the hall. Subaru, meanwhile, got blown clean off his feet and crashed into the opposite wall with a theatrical groan of defeat.
"So… Emilia?" I said, not even trying to hide my amusement. "What's the plan now?"
"I know! I'll get you and Subaru guest rooms! They're down this way… I think."
'You think?'
I stepped past Subaru, gave his foot a little kick for morale, and kept walking as he grumbled and rolled over. Behind me, he muttered something about how a kiss from Emilia would cure his tragic loss at the hands of the "murderous loli."
She laughed, brushing him off like a bug on her sleeve.
I, meanwhile, focused on mapping the place out.
We'd entered through the front. Stepped into a library. Then exited from the same door… only to wind up on the third floor, opposite side of the manor. Judging by the moonlight and layout, we were now in the right wing.
The hall stretched out ahead, lined with paintings, landscapes, forests, mountains, even some weird abstract swirls that looked like spilled wine trying to find meaning.
A sudden poke on my right shoulder shook me out of my thoughts.
"Sooooo… you ever gonna give me back my tracksuit?" Subaru asked, fingers making greedy grabby motions.
My eyes flicked from a painting to my sleeve, then to him.
"Yeah, sorry about that. Heat of the moment. Your jacket was the closest thing to stop me from bleeding out."
"Oh, totally. Bleeding out's a rough way to go." He nodded solemnly. "Glad we all made it out with our guts still on the inside and no knives in our backs. You know what I mean?"
I gave him a flat look while peeling the jacket off my arm. Beneath the torn black undershirt, fresh skin had replaced the mangled flesh. Not a scratch left.
I passed him the blood-soaked jacket.
He whistled. "Yeesh. How do you even have blood left in you, dude?"
I shrugged. "Just lucky, I guess."
Then a thought clicked.
"Hey, you never did say where you're from."
"That's easy!" he said, tying the ruined jacket around his waist. "I come from a land far to the east."
"Lugunica is the furthest nation to the east."
"...Damn. You too?" He slumped slightly. "I just want to tell that to one person and have 'em believe it."
"So, where are you actually from?"
He paused, then leaned in like he was revealing a state secret. "A land so far away it's not on any map."
"Sounds tough," I said it lightly, but I understood exactly what he meant.
"And where do you come from, huh?" he countered, pointing at me as we walked. "You're over here interrogating me, and you're not even a cute girl like Emilia!"
"Practically born and raised in the capital," I answered smoothly. "My parents came from Vollachia to Lugunica when I was born. They passed away a while ago."
"Oh, damn. Sorry for bringing that up." Subaru's voice dipped with genuine remorse.
Even Emilia, walking a few steps ahead, turned and spoke gently. "Are you alright, Ethan?"
I gave a faint nod. "It's old history. I've learned to live with it."
A half-truth.
If I ever sat down and really thought about the fact I never got to say goodbye to my parents…
Yeah. I probably wouldn't hold it together.
She hummed softly at that, then turned back around and led us a few more doors down.
"These are the guest rooms," she said, gesturing to a stretch of doors that ended near a stairwell.
"Will you two share a room, or are you doing separate?"
"Separate," we both said at the same time.
"Oh… alright then. Well, I hope you both rest well. We can talk more in the morning, if that's alright?"
"Sounds good to me," I replied, and Subaru echoed something similar.
With a quick wave, Emilia walked off toward wherever her room was.
I stayed where I was, watching her go.
Subaru hadn't gone into his room yet either, but I wasn't in any rush.
Instead, I wandered over to a small alcove in the hall and sat down. A window stretched wide in front of me, the moon hanging high and heavy in the sky above this strange world I'd found myself in.
I needed a plan.
Out here, away from the capital, I had no allies. No Reinhard to step in and handle the impossible. No structure to fall back on. No safety net.
Just me.
'Only myself to rely on now.'
A voice pulled me from the thought.
"I'm just gonna… go to sleep. Good night, Ethan," Subaru called from his doorway.
"Good night, Subaru," I murmured back, and heard his door click shut.
Eventually, I'd have to figure out what the hell I was doing here.
But for now?
I think I'll just stare at the moon.
Author's Note:
Damn, why did this feel more like a proper ending to the arc than my supposed actual ending to the arc?
Major wistful vibes. Y'know what? I think imma go stare at the moon too.
(Tell me if I made any mistakes this chapter.)