Chapter Text
Satella cried, and Subaru did his best to calm her down. But as her tears kept flowing, a profound emotion stirred within him, a desperate need to reassure her that she wasn't alone.
And that was when the reality of it finally settled in. ‘Oh, how lonely she must have been… completely isolated for hundreds of years.’ He placed his hand on her head, patting her soft hair gently.
As he softly cooed to calm her down, he couldn't help but notice how closely her features resembled Emilia's.
Yet, he could tell with absolute certainty that she wasn't Emilia. Call it a byproduct of his deep appreciation for the half-elf, but he just knew.
Satella wiped her tears using her sleeves and slowly got up, taking Subaru's hand as she dusted off her skirt. She stood there holding her own arm, looking aside, utterly unable to face him.
“Umm, so…?” Subaru scratched the back of his head. He couldn't figure out what to say; after all, everything about this situation was a complete shock.
But the surprises didn't end there. The chamber shook violently once more, and this time, a sudden surge of pitch-black shadows enveloped them both.
The Witch of Envy's voice echoed through the cavern, distorted and furious: “You made her cry.”
Two shadow hands manifested from the darkness, clamping tightly around Subaru's neck. “Die, die, die, die, die” The words felt less like speech and more like physical curses.
“Argh…!” Subaru choked, grasping for air. He tried to pry open the dark extensions with his bare hands, but he knew it was impossible. He coughed violently, choking on his own breath.
“Envy-chan, stop!” Satella screamed. “Stop it!”
“Te… lla…” Subaru, barely able to breathe, reached out toward her. Even in this state, he wanted to make sure she was safe. He desperately hoped she wouldn't be consumed again.
“It's love, Envy-chan,” Satella said softly.
It was as if she were speaking to another side of her own soul. Subaru's vision clouded over as the lack of oxygen pushed him to the brink of unconsciousness.
The last thing he saw before the darkness took him was the shadows violently dissipating. The suffocating grip on his neck vanished, and his body fell limply to the stone floor.
“Subaru!” Satella screamed, rushing toward his side.
But by the time she reached him, he had already passed out.
Slowly yet steadily, he regained his senses. The rough stone floor beneath him, the soft warmth of someone's breath right beside him.
It was an awfully calm and quiet moment. He heard the faint sound of humming, a rhythmic, gentle melody, singing a voice that felt familiar down to his very soul.
“Witch from the land far away…”
“Tell me your stories.”
“The friends you met.”
“The foes you defeated.”
“Oh, Witch from the land far away…”
“I offer these flowers…”
“And pray for your life.”
Subaru listened, quiet and still. Her soul-soothing voice helped clear the fog in his mind. As he slowly opened his eyes, he found Satella crouching right beside him, staring directly into his face.
“Sate–”
Before he could finish her name, cold drops of tears fell onto his cheek.
“Subaru, I’m so sorry! Envy-chan is just a little overprotective of me… Please, don’t hate her,” she begged. The endless stream of tears threatened to ruin her beautiful face.
‘How could anyone be so genuinely terrified of such a gentle beauty?’ Subaru realised his heart was beating faster, completely unable to control its rhythm. He tried to force his body up, and Satella immediately moved to help, gently supporting his back.
But his limbs were still entirely drained of strength.
“Take it slow, please,” Satella pleaded, her voice trembling in a mild panic as she watched him struggle.
Settling back down slightly, Subaru looked up at her. “Hey, Tella-tan… why do you love me so much?” It was the one question that had lingered in the deepest, darkest corners of his heart for so long. Gulping down his nervousness, he braced himself for whatever the truth might be.
The chamber went completely silent.
“Uh… that is…” Satella opened her lips, trying to find the words to explain.
But her mind suddenly flashed with vivid images of ruin and destruction. She recalled the burning, bitter tears that had traced paths down her face so long ago.
Staring down at Subaru, her head throbbed with a sharp, agonising ache. An odd silhouette flickered in her mind, someone she yearned for, someone incredibly dear to her.
Someone who was supposed to never leave her side. Yet, no matter how hard she tried to grasp the memory, she couldn't recall *who*. That bottomless, agonising longing was her true form of envy.
The love that remained completely unclaimed.
Lost in her own thoughts, she forgot about Subaru completely, leaving him hanging as he anxiously waited for a response.
“SUBARU!”
A voice strikingly similar, yet distinctly different, pierced right through the heavy silence of the underground room.
“Emilia,” Subaru muttered, sitting up straight.
At the sound of the approaching voice, Satella immediately turned her head away, instinctively flinching and moving farther into the shadows away from him.
Subaru noticed her retreat. Clenching his fists tightly, he bit his lip, knowing there wasn't anything he could physically do to bridge the gap at this exact second.
But if things were about to get ugly, he would have to find a way to protect them both. An ugly twist of guilt hit his stomach; he felt like a complete asshole, already trying to draft up an excuse that felt like backstabbing Emilia's trust.
Though looking at the trembling Witch beside him, he knew it was the only real choice he had.
“Subaru! Are you okay?!” Emilia came running inside, her posture tense and completely prepared to protect him. “You look unwell. What happened here? Don’t tell me…”
“No, Emilia-tan, it's fine! I just passed out due to exhaustion. The threat is neutralised, it's totally fine,” Subaru said, smiling awkwardly as
He scrambled to find his footing.
Satella, hiding her eyes in the shadows, looked down. *“Threat…”* The word stuck heavily with her.
She knew it was inevitable. Though her memories were hazy, she could still recall the sheer weight of those past emotions vividly.
“Subaru…”
“Y-yes, Emilia-tan?”
“You’re very bad at lying.”
“Ah…” Subaru sweated profusely, slanting his body backwards as he tried his absolute best to avoid her intense inquiry.
“Hmmm, I wonder what you mean! Me, lie? To my EMT? Never happening!” Subaru kept making up frantic excuses.
Until he slightly cut his gaze toward the corner where Satella had been hiding.
And she was completely gone.
