Chapter Text
[“—I see. This is the desire that drives you. How curious, I must say.”]
It was not with a blink, but with those words that they were brought into this place. The candidates, their knights, and their closest allies, they all were suddenly facing a void of black, hearing the dreadful voice of a girl.
There was a rumble of voices, most of them confused or scared, or hostile. Some, though, were curious.
Julius: “Lady Anastasia, that voice-”
Anastasia: “Relax Julius, I heard it too.”
The merchant princess tilted her head in thought, running her fingers through her fox scarf’s fur.
[In the blink of an eye, the darkness he’d thought would continue forever quickly faded while the world that had been drained of color now seemed painted in a dazzling array. Subaru realized he was standing on a grassy plain that should not have been there.]
This voice was more known, and though it felt empty and detached, it did not bring fear like the first voice.
Garfiel: “Is that the captain?”
Emilia: “Subaru? And was that voice earlier-”
Beatrice: “It was mother, I suppose.”
[“—Ngh.”
“Would you please stop playing around and come here?”
When he turned around, he noticed a slightly raised knoll. At the top, a parasol had been set up to provide shade for a white table and chair underneath—and in that seat, he saw a girl.
Monochrome.]
The voice that spoke this word was once again different. Different, and yet, familiar.
Schult: “Al-sama, was that you? Are you talking about that scary girl?”
Al: “Calm down Schult-kun, I don’t remember any of this. Most likely, it's just some artistic liberty whoever brought us here decided would be fun.”
Al was acting purposefully flippant, ruffling the shaking boy’s hair. If it was meant to reduce the suspicion on him, it was perhaps a mistake. After all, most everyone else felt the same tremors going through the young boy; the girl before them gave off a tremendous aura of fear and disgust.
Priscilla: Mine jester is hiding something…but I’ll allow it for now. It shall be interesting to see how this goes.
Yae: Al-sama is truly a monster. Ah, but Yae-chan isn’t shakin either, and I really want to hug Schult-chan, too.
Priscilla pulls Schult into her chest, making Al’s hand fall away from his head. He sighs, then catches Yae’s eye from a distance away, observing them. His gaze hardens as he thinks, then with a subtle shake of his head, does not allow her to approach them, not yet at least. She pouts, then sticks her tongue out and looks back at the screen.
[Her figure filled his mind with thoughts of white—pure white, as if all color had been bleached from her existence.
The sight of this girl injected overwhelming fear into Subaru’s soul, the likes of which he had never felt before.
Even his first encounter with the White Whale had not struck him this way.
“Oh my, have I surprised you?”
“…”
“Ahh, I see. I have yet to introduce myself. How embarrassing. It has been so long since I’ve spoken to anyone, my emotions seem to have gotten the better of me.”
“My name is Echidna…”
The girl’s lips softened into a thin smile as she added:
“Or perhaps it would be better to call myself the Witch of Greed?”]
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Garfiel: “Echidna? But doesn' t that girl look an’ sound like Sphinx?”
Ram: “Echidna, was it? Then this is her, Rosswaal-sama’s obsession.”
Roswaal: “It is no~ot her, my dear Ram. Altho~ough, she does seem to be very similar in essence. It is quite intere~esting.”
-
Anastasia: “Ah, Natsuki-kun did mention somethin like this, didn’t he?”
Julius’ gaze flickers from his lady to her scarf.
Julius: “The witch of greed, you say…”
-
Rom: “A real witch then, not a failed one like Sphinx was. Now dat’s just terrifyin'.”
Felt: "Rom-ji, don’t tell me ya’re afraid of a nobody witch? It's not even th' Witch of Envy, just one of th' other fuckers!"
Reinhardt: “Felt-sama, please, language.”
[“In the first place…are you really a Witch? According to what I’d heard, aside from the Witch of Envy, every other Witch in the world had been killed…”]
Julius: “Right. The witches are all dead, except for THE witch. Pride’s bones are even buried under pristella.”
Anastasia: "So how is he talkin' to her? You ain’t sayin' she’s the exception, are ya? Does anyone know how the Witch of Greed died?"
[“Whatever doubts you might harbor, you are not mistaken in that assessment. Envy destroyed the other six Witches, and I am no exception. This is merely my tomb.”
“Tomb… You mean I’m inside your grave?”
The ruin was, properly speaking, a tomb. But it was the tomb of a Witch.
“After my death, my soul became a captive of this place, the Witches’ Tomb. It is not my body but my spirit that has invited you into my castle. Put one way, you are inside my dream.”]
Waves of confusion and horror spread throughout those gathered.
Felix: "Then, she’s not really dead, is she? Just, contained. Like the Witch of Envy, nyan!"
Welhelm: “But how did she pull Subaru-dono into her dream?”
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[“Why do you not try it?”
“—?!!”
“To test in hope of a result is an action to be praised. We only covet that which has value.”]
Disjointed, far too disjointed. Subaru looked different, the girl, the witch was closer to him. The words she said, they should not have been related to what was happening beforehand. This was a jump forward in time, The events in this mirror were being shown with intent.
Foxidna “A jump forward in time, is it?”
Anastasia: “Tch-. Why bother showing us this if the context is being cut?”
[Hesitation. With hesitation, Subaru answered-not. Subaru delayed further.
“You might not have time to regret it…?”
“If that time comes, may I expect that you will break down in tears before my remains?”
Echidna replied in a tone that was sunny to the bitter end.
He felt like her way of life, not harboring the slightest of doubts, was mocking his own smallness—]
Panic was starting to fad-no. Those bearing witness never allowed themselves to panic, and so it could not fade. What was fading was the shock, the anxiety. It was making room for curiosity.
Rem: “What could that person possibly do to threaten a dead witch?”
Ram: “Does Barusu have a secret anti-witch trump card?”
Otto: “Surely not, he would have used it against the Sin Archbishops in Pristella if he had.”
[“Echidna. I Return by Death.”]
Confusion rippled through the crowd. No one quite understood those words, what Subaru was trying to convey.
“Return by Death, was it?”
“Death?”
“What could that-”
[“…Eh?”
He shifted his gaze toward the Witch sitting directly in front of him.
“Hmm…”
The roots of his teeth, and his voice, were shaking.
“When, when I die, I go back in time, and I restart the world. I Return by Death.”]
Silence. A palpable air of disbelief filled the room.
Emilia: “Subaru?”
[“I heard you. And I perceived it before I heard. I see—it is an exceedingly rare circumsta…”
“I! Return by Death! Return by Death! Return by Death! Return by Death!!”
“W-Wait a—?!”
Her composure from the moment before was lost; the Witch’s eyes opened wide as she hurriedly urged Subaru to calm down.
“C-Calm yourself. I understand how you feel, but…”
“I’ve! Returned by Death! Over, and over, I die and restart! I! Return by Death…”
“I get it already! So let’s advance the conv…”
“I…! Return by Death, starting things over, over and over……!”
“…”
As Subaru shouted, hot droplets poured from his eyes. The droplets trickled down his cheeks, rolling down to his jaw, and fell— This was not sweat. These were tears.
“All this time… I’ve…! I…!!”]
Before fear could take hold, Subaru's tears and cries rang out. They halted any untoward thoughts about this power, and how it may have been used. It reminded everyone who Subaru is, and what exactly ‘Return by DEATH’ implies.
Otto: “Over and over..”
Roswaal: “Dy~ying, was it?”
Emilia: “But, when- how?”
Beatrice: “Subaru! Subaru! Say it isn’t true, in fact!”
[“—I understand.”
As Subaru wept, the Witch stood at his side. Her fingers touched his black hair, seemingly ready to enter it. Then, her slender, delicate hand gently stroked his head.
“I know, the footprints you have made until now. I saw them, after all.”
“…”
“But, I have merely seen them. If possible, I would like you to tell me about them from your own lips. I want to know what you thought, what you felt, how much you embraced.”
Stroking his head, the Witch added, “I mean,” and continued, “—I am Echidna, the Witch of Greed, she who craves knowing everything in this world.”]
Subaru stood frozen, staring at the screen. He didn’t feel Beatrice hugging his waist, nor Emilia taking his hand. He didn’t hear anything anyone had said. Instead he stood and waited.
He waited for the Witch to collect her due, for this breaking of the taboo to kill them all.