At the westernmost edge of the Empire.
A lone island surrounded by a gray sea. The sea wind howled, carrying a salty, fishy smell past rows of towering stone walls. In the distance, a crude arena stood at the island's center-like a sleeping beast, or, more aptly, an enormous cage.
The instant Subaru opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was a hazy gray sky.
If the sky over the Demon City shimmered with colors reflected from its lapis, and the royal capital's sky was clear and pristine-then here, it was an oppressive, low-hanging gray, as though it might collapse at any moment.
A familiar sense of wrongness came from his body. He still had the body of a young child. Although he could feel that the curse's power had suddenly weakened considerably again, that old monster Olbart had ultimately failed to lift his curse, and had never had the chance.
"...Strange."
He murmured under his breath and pushed himself off the ground. His knees went weak, and sand sifted down between his fingers.
Suddenly realizing something, Subaru immediately looked around, searching for the person who had gone through hell with him in the Demon City of Chaosflame-
"-Right, where's Louis?!"
But when he saw the little girl on the ground, Subaru froze. It was not because she was badly injured or anything like that-it was a more fundamental problem.
"That's not Louis..."
The girl lying on the ground had shoulder-length flaxen hair and wore a white, close-fitting Japanese-style underrobe. At first glance, she seemed unfamiliar, but two unforgettable features grew from her head. A pair of antlers that let anyone recognize her origins at a glance-
"-T-Tanza?"
The girl who had arrived on the island with Subaru was not Louis, nor even Medium, who had shrunk along with him. Of course, she was not Beatrice, appearing after flying across the border, either. She was Tanza-the loyal attendant of Yorna Mishigure, mistress of the Demon City of Chaosflame.
"Why... why is she here?"
In the distance stood rows of low stone houses, like an extension of some slum. Farther away, the crude arena stood at the island's center, surrounded by a dark mass of figures. Those people's attire-ragged clothes, with strange black patterns etched into their wrists. Tanza lay curled on the sand, her clothes burned through with charred holes from the explosion, but her chest still rose and fell faintly.
Night Weeping's little maid was alive-only alive.
"Subaru-kun."
A gentle voice came from behind him.
Subaru did not turn around. Not because he did not want to-but because, for an instant, he did not know what expression to wear when facing the voice's owner.
A translucent figure passed through the sea wind and settled beside him. Her long silver hair looked dreamlike beneath the gray sky, and his face was reflected in her violet eyes.
Satella.
No-it was Satella's personality.
That gentle, kind "lover" who could cross a barrier of four hundred years for Subaru.
But the word "lover" was too heavy, so heavy that Subaru did not even know where to put it.
"Don't worry, Subaru-kun. I'll help heal that brave child."
"And that nasty old man is no longer in this world. The spell on you will disappear completely after a while, so for now... please stay this adorable!"
The figure, whom seemingly only he could see, spoke excitedly, revealing a faint, simple, beautiful smile.
"Hey, hey, hey, seriously? Don't make it sound as simple as squashing an ant."
Subaru took the opportunity to offer a helpless retort. Then silence returned to their surroundings.
"...You."
He finally spoke, his voice calmer than he had expected.
"Did you break through the seal?"
"Yes... but don't worry, Subaru-kun. I'm not the negative personality who could destroy the world at any moment. She's still sealed away, and I've taken back her power. She can't even project herself now."
"...Why?"
Satella tilted her head, seemingly not understanding what he was asking.
"Why did you break through the seal? Why did you have to come looking for me? Why-"
Subaru took a deep breath.
"Why did you share your power with me?"
The sea wind passed between them, stirring up sand and tousling Subaru's black hair. Tanza was still asleep, faint voices came from the distant stone houses, and the world continued as usual. But at that moment, there were only the two of them.
Of course, Subaru found it hard to accept all at once. Being loved by Satella, the "Witch of Envy" who had once destroyed the world four hundred years ago, was unbelievable however he looked at it. Had he saved the world four hundred years ago? Was he really the master Shaula spoke of, the "Great Sage" Flugel? But why did even he not know he had such an identity? What exactly had happened four hundred years ago?
Before he could sort through his hundred thousand questions about himself, she had already spoken.
"Because-"
Satella's voice was soft. As soft as a cloud in that gray sky that might be scattered by the wind at any moment.
"-I wanted to see you."
Something seemed to lodge in Subaru's throat.
He wanted to say so much.
-He wanted to say, "Do you know what this means?" He wanted to say, "Have you thought about how Emilia and the others feel?" He wanted to say, "I already have people I must protect."
But when all those words reached his lips, they became a single question:
"...Why did you wait four hundred years?"
"Because of you, Subaru-kun."
Satella looked at him earnestly. There was no possessiveness in those violet eyes, no madness-only gentleness.
"Only you can accept all of me. Not the Witch of Envy, not a symbol of calamity-just 'Satella.'"
She reached out, her translucent fingertips hovering before Subaru's cheek. She did not touch him, yet it was as though she were confirming his existence.
"For four hundred years, every day I thought: if Subaru-kun appeared in this world, how would I find you? How would I reach your side? How would I make you... recognize me?"
"I can't do that."
Subaru lowered his head. Sand gathered at his feet, gray and cold, like his confused heart at that moment.
"I'm not the person you've been waiting for.
I don't even remember who you are.
I don't even-"
"I know."
Satella interrupted him.
"That's why I'm not asking you to answer my feelings right now, Subaru-kun."
Her voice was as calm as that gray sea.
"I just... want to stay beside you. To become your strength. To become a strength that can protect you."
Silence.
Subaru did not answer. He did not say "okay," nor did he say "I don't need you."
He simply stood there, looking down at the sand, feeling the heart beating inside his chest.
He thought of Rem. Of Emilia. Of Beatrice, Petra, Otto, Patrasche, and even the current Gluttony-chan, Louis-through his countless deaths and returns, they had never let go of his hand. Their faces appeared in his mind one after another, as clear as though carved into his bones.
Then he looked again at the woman before him-translucent, gentle Satella, who had crossed four hundred years to reach his side.
Her love was too heavy. As heavy as this gray sky, ready to collapse at any moment and crush him to pieces. Yet from that weight, he felt a warmth he had never known-like a dark flame kindled at the bottom of an abyss, invisible, yet scorching his chest.
He should have refused. He had a thousand reasons to refuse. But when those violet eyes gazed at him quietly, neither pressuring nor demanding, only waiting-
All the words he had prepared became as pale and powerless as sand.
"...Let's go."
He finally spoke, his voice so hoarse that even he found it unfamiliar.
He turned and took a step. The sand rustled faintly beneath his feet. He did not look back. Not because he did not want to-but because he feared that, if he did, he would say something he could never take back.
Behind him, the translucent figure quietly followed.
The sea wind blew, carrying a salty, fishy smell. The gray sky still hung low, and the arena still stood silently at the island's center.
But Subaru knew that something had already changed.
Subaru finally lifted his head. He glanced at the sky-that canopy had darkened at some point, as though it had never existed.
He walked over to Tanza and crouched, thinking he should first take the unconscious little maid somewhere suitable for treatment. But just then, Tanza opened her eyes groggily. Seeing him, she froze for a second, then abruptly sat up.
"Lady Night Weeping-!"
"Easy, easy."
Subaru held her shoulders.
"Lady Night Weeping is fine. The Crystal Palace is fine, too. The black shadow has already been dealt with.
"But right now-we're on this island."
Tanza looked around, her pupils contracting sharply. The gray sky, the exposed rocks, the crude arena in the distance, and those expressionless figures wearing iron chains.
"By the way, Tanza... where are we?"
"Sword Slave Island, 'Ginunhive.'"
Subaru stood and brushed the sand off himself.
"The Empire's place of exile. People sent here are criminals, debtors, or simply unlucky people caught by slave traders."
Tanza lowered her head and saw the strange black pattern on her wrist. Her face went deathly pale.
"...Curse Rules?"
"You know about them?"
Tanza nodded, her voice trembling.
"In the Empire, everyone sent to this island has a curse mark carved into them and can never escape again. The island's governor holds the cursed tool-once you move a certain distance away from it, the curse takes effect!"
Subaru was silent for a while.
"First we survive, then we find a way to leave."
"...How do we leave?"
"I haven't figured that out yet."
Subaru said it quite frankly.
"But the first step-is not to die."
Tanza opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but approaching footsteps interrupted her. Unable to hold out any longer herself, she fainted and collapsed against Subaru.
A large man walked toward them. Bronze skin, muscles bulging like rocks, and four thick arms folded across his chest-a Shudraq, the island's governor, Gustav. A ring of keys and a round object wrapped in cloth hung at his waist.
"Could that be the cursed tool?"
"New arrivals."
His voice was low, as though ground out of his chest.
"Two brats. What bastard dumped you here? And one's badly injured?-Hey, kid, take this one to the infirmary first!"
Before Subaru could answer, light footsteps came from behind him.
"Yo."
A voice came from behind Gustav.
Subaru instinctively looked toward it-a child emerged from the shadows. His long, dark blue hair was casually tied into a ponytail, with a few strands hanging over the right side of his face. His blue eyes radiated mischief and ease, and a cheerful smile touched his lips. He wore a soft pink kimono with purple auspicious-cloud patterns along the bottom, a pale blue haori over it, and straw sandals on his feet.
Subaru's first reaction was: Is this guy playing dress-up?
But before Subaru could get a proper look, a wave of drowsiness suddenly swept over him.
"Subaru-kun, you're already exhausted. Relax and rest for now. Don't worry about what comes next. I'll repair your 'Gate' for you."
Then Subaru limply collapsed to the ground and fell asleep.
"What's going on? The other brat passed out, too. Kid, take them both over there!"
"Sure thing!"
When he woke, Subaru found himself lying on a shoddily made bed. Opening and closing his hand, he keenly felt that strange fact.
The hellish games of tag he had repeated countless times with Olbart atop Scarlet Lapis Castle's keep had taken a terrifying number of attempts to win, largely because his mind had deteriorated. Now, though, his mind felt particularly nimble and clear, as though everything had returned except for his body, which was still a child's.
Of course, the key to that victory had not been Subaru's intelligence, but his bonds with the people precious to him. Everyone's voices, encouragement, and smiles all echoed in his mind-
"Ah, no, no, don't cry, don't cry... Am I an idiot? No, I am an idiot."
Accidentally thinking of his companions, he could not stop tears from welling in his eyes. That mixture of relief and loneliness was probably homesickness. His body had grown younger, and his tear ducts had loosened along with it. One careless moment, and tears and snot might start streaming down his face.
Still, however ugly and embarrassing his crying became, it would not bring him back to his companions. If he wanted to reunite with them, he could only hold back his tears and face his problems-for example, right now-
"-Looks like you've reached some sort of conclusion."
He had to respond to the person smiling at him as he held back his tears.
When he woke on the hard bed, the person striking a strange pose before him was still the blue-haired boy dressed in a brightly colored kimono.
Their encounter had been sudden, and his signature pose had been forceful and memorable-but to accept this cheerful, sunny boy, the name he had given was rather too grand.
After all, he had called himself Cecilus-the name of the strongest person in the Vollachian Empire, a swordsman who not only headed the "Nine Divine Generals," but was also known as the "Blue Lightning."
"So, so, what sort of story will you tell me? I've been looking forward to it so much that I kept watching beside you to see whether you'd woken up! Ahh~ I feel alive!"
Yet nothing about the boy before him, speaking like a machine gun with his eyes sparkling, seemed to fit such a weighty title as a nation's greatest fighting force. He was not carrying any swords, either-could he really bear the title of the Empire's strongest?
"If it's just bragging, anyone can do that..."
"Hmm? What's wrong? Why are you looking at me so suspiciously?"
"Nothing, it's my problem. Um, my name is Natsuki Subaru... ah."
Watching the self-proclaimed Cecilus tilt his head in question, Subaru tried to clear up his doubts, only to accidentally give his real name.
"Crap!"
His face turned pale, but it was too late. If the name of Natsuki Subaru, knight to the royal selection candidate Emilia, had reached the Empire, it would be no surprise for generals as highly placed as the "Nine Divine Generals" to know it. That was why Subaru had dressed as a woman and called himself "Natsumi Schwarz," carefully guarding against his name spreading-yet so much had happened in such a short time that he had unconsciously made this fatal mistake.
If the boy before him, who called himself Cecilus, truly was the "Blue Lightning"-
"Oh~ So you're Natsuki Subaru! The pronunciation rolls gently over the tongue, turning into such an unusual sound. A fine name that leaves an impression once you hear it... you could call that a qualification for an excellent actor!"
"...Are you really the 'Blue Lightning'?"
"You're suddenly doubting me again! But I'm used to being doubted, so it won't shake me-people say that to me all the time!"
The boy's expression showed no sign that anything was amiss, making Subaru's wariness seem foolish, so he directly asked what concerned him most. The boy clutched his stomach and burst out laughing. If he was the real person, Subaru had asked a very rude question; if not, he was an impostor-neither case should have been funny-
"I'm telling the truth!-It's easy to insist on that, but it doesn't count as proof, does it? Even if I revealed my secrets or something else, you wouldn't know."
"Well... yeah, you're right."
"In that case, arguing over whether I'm genuine is a waste of time! So let's cut that and move on to the next topic! That's more constructive-though destruction is my specialty!"
Subaru felt he had been swept along by the boy's forcefulness and eloquence, but the other boy kept talking so relentlessly that there was no chance to object. Besides, extreme though it was, what he said did make sense. Subaru had no way to determine whether the boy was the "Blue Lightning," nor the slightest clue. So, for now, he could only treat the self-proclaimed Cecilus before him as the real person. With that, his attention naturally turned to the mystery of his surroundings.
"A shabby, miserable bed, cracked walls about to collapse, damp air, a suspicious kid..."
After listing what he saw around him, he felt he was in some prison, and his spirits sank to rock bottom. The only thing that did not fit the atmosphere was the boy claiming to head the "Nine Divine Generals." If he had been locked in a cell for impersonating one of the "Nine Divine Generals," that would make sense.
"Anyway, Ceci, can I ask you something?"
"! What's that supposed to mean? Are you talking about me?"
"Since I don't know whether you're really him, calling you by a famous person's name feels a little..."
It wasn't a precaution against possibly meeting the real Cecilus in the future-he was simply giving the boy who called himself Cecilus a provisional designation while he couldn't verify his identity.
"Ceci, Ceci... ah, what a deliciously special feeling! Thinking back, no one has ever called me by a nickname, so this feels quite extraordinary-what a wonderful feeling!"
"Seeing you so happy makes those two seconds I spent thinking it up worthwhile."
It was a rather offhand nickname, but as long as the person receiving it was happy, that was enough.
"Anyway, this 'Sword Slave Island'... don't tell me it's an island where people kill each other?"
"Not killing each other. 'Death matches' would be more accurate. Ahh, it's so rare for someone around my age to come here that I'm terribly excited! Oh my."
"Don't be stupid! That kind of... having those kinds of expectations is wrong in the first place!"
Cecilus had been clapping his hands in delight in front of his chest, and Subaru's shout left him rather surprised. But that reaction only made things more troubling.
Sword slaves-slaves who slaughtered each other, and he was on an island that made that its selling point-something had definitely gone wrong.
"The entire island is surrounded by lake water. To reach the other shore, you can only 'raise' the suspension bridge connecting it to the outside. Truly a prison that makes the utmost use of its natural defenses!"
"At this very moment, I can feel it-the end of the prologue!"
Faced with Subaru's astonished gaze, he spouted outrageous statements with a smile, then even began spinning and dancing around the cramped room.
"How tragic! Sent to the Island of Gladiators without understanding a thing, I kept surviving bloody death matches! If a fresh breeze of promise, so different from the smell of blood, were to blow my way, claiming the story wouldn't advance would surely be a lie! Wouldn't it, fresh breeze?"
The boy stopped dancing and called Subaru a "fresh breeze." Subaru couldn't understand his logic or reasoning at all-no, it wasn't that he couldn't understand it. He didn't want to. Judging by his wording and attitude, there was no doubt that he was someone with a serious case of "theater brain."
"It wouldn't be interesting otherwise! Who could accept a plot that keeps its star performer confined to the wings, unable to perform-that's practically sacrilege! Don't you agree, Mao? No, no, should it be Little Mao? Or Little Mao..."
Toward the end, he tilted his head in thought, his momentum fading along with it. Subaru frowned, then immediately realized that he was trying to give him a nickname-because Subaru called him "Ceci," he wanted to call Subaru by a nickname too.
"None of those feel quite right... is there anything you'd like people to call you?"
"...Call me whatever you want. More importantly, isn't there anyone else here? I'd be grateful if there were someone other than you I could talk to."
Talking to Cecilus involved far too much unnecessary information, and getting the information he needed took too long. Honestly, he was afraid Sword Slave Island lived up to its name and there was no one sane here-constantly translating what Cecilus said was really hard to endure.
"You set rather demanding conditions for someone you can talk to. People on this island generally keep their distance from me, and very few are willing to speak to me."
"I'd rather you acknowledged that you're the problem and dealt with it properly."
"Anyway, Ceci, I'd like to ask you more about those 'Curse Rules'..."
"Rules of a curse, shortened to 'Curse Rules'! Troublesome and powerful shackles imposed by the ruler of this Sword Slave Island! Break them and die! Betray them and die! Resist them and die!-It's a death curse!"
"What...!?"
"The moment they set foot on the island, all sword slaves, candidates included, are branded with a curse mark! Needless to say, that includes Mao and me, and the young lady over there is no exception. And that is the greatest obstacle to leaving this island."
Clasping his hands in front of his chest, Cecilus revealed a fact that stunned Subaru. His tone was so light that it carried no sense of seriousness, but to laugh it off as a lie-terms like "death curse," and their sheer nastiness, fit the Empire's image far too well.
"So as long as the curse remains, no one can leave this island?"
"Precisely. Otherwise, I would have left long ago. If I feel like it, even the surface of the water is my racetrack. The trick is to step out with your left foot before your right foot sinks..."
"What, do you spiral up into the sky by stepping on your right foot with your left...? But Tanza and I only ended up here by accident! If we ask them to lift this curse..."
"Hahaha, what amusing nonsense! Whether it was an accident, a misunderstanding, or mistaken identity-there's no chance they'll remove a curse mark that's already been branded onto you. The governor in charge here isn't someone with that sort of sensitivity!"
As Cecilus patted his shoulder, his voice full of certainty, Subaru was at a loss for words.
But just then, a whisper only he could hear reached his ears:
"There's no need to worry, Subaru-kun."
"I've already repaired your 'Gate.' Try using your own power. From here on, you'll be unstoppable here!"
Subaru felt a surge of excitement for a moment-if he had power, he could do a better job of saving everything.
Then he closed his eyes.
He was feeling it. The "Gate" within him-that passage for mana, once torn apart by magical backlash until it resembled a tattered fishing net riddled with holes-had been repaired.
It hadn't simply been stitched together. Some greater power had rebuilt it, like a dry riverbed receiving a surging torrent. It was Satella's power-no, not just Satella's.
Subaru opened his black eyes and looked at his right palm. Deep within it, something lay dormant. Not one power, but an interweaving of many.
The witch factor of Sloth-
The Authority he had inherited from that mad, pitiful man who had finally turned to ashes before Subaru's eyes.
The witch factor of Greed-
The Authority he had inherited from that man who had proclaimed himself the strongest, only to be consumed by his own arrogance and emptiness.
And-
The witch factor of Envy.
Subaru could feel those factors intertwining, merging, and resonating with one another inside him. They neither rejected one another nor clashed-as though they had been unified by some higher will.
Satella's translucent figure stood beside him, her violet eyes gazing at him gently.
"-Your body can accommodate every witch factor, Subaru-kun. So you can master my power too. This isn't 'borrowing' or a 'gift'-it's a choice that 'they' and I have made together."
Subaru raised his head.
Beneath the gray sky, the rough-hewn arena stood in the center of the island like a sleeping behemoth. Something burned deep within Subaru's eyes.
"Ceci, you're right. I'm a fresh breeze-"
"The new storm that's about to hit this place!"