The first reality that Subaru faced after transcending "death" was the taste of bitter earth.
"——Ahem"
Subaru coughed, spitting out the foreign object that smelled of earth along with his saliva, and then sat up. All Subaru knew was that he fell to the ground, and the place he was in was a cold and dark space.
In front of me is a stone wall shining with a thin blue light, and this uneasy silence - this is inside a cemetery
"I'm back……"
Subaru kept opening and closing his hands in front of his eyes, confirming the reality of "return from death" with a dry voice.
What happened before he died is still vivid in his mind, the memory of almost being swallowed by a shadow, and the memory of committing suicide are also very clear - as well as the severe pain in his throat.
"Suicide is also valuable, ah..."
The sharp dagger pierced the sore throat. Subaru touched the pierced Adam's apple and let out a long breath.
The pain of being immersed in your own blood, the gradually becoming hazy consciousness and the sense of loss. No matter how many times you experience this kind of death, it will still feel very painful. No matter how many times you experience it, it is still difficult to accept such a painful death.
"Death" is very scary. "Death" is scary, so is pain, and so is hardship.
But even so——
"Even so, it's much better than losing everything and not being able to come back..."
Subaru chose to return and chose "die" without hesitation on that occasion
In this case, Subaru can still fight, still resist, and continue to fight for future victory.
"However, I am actually touched by my success here...it is obvious that there are still many things that need to be done."
Subaru once again thought about what he should do. After calming down, he looked back and saw that he was back in the cemetery.
There were two people standing next to him, one was a silver-haired girl, and the other was also a silver-haired boy.
Subaru didn't know why Yuexing hadn't woken up yet. According to the past, Yuexing should have woken up earlier than him.
To be on the safe side, Subaru decided to try to wake up the moon star next to Emilia first.
But when he looked at Emilia, he couldn't help but reach out to Emilia who was panting in pain.
Because Subaru understands that here, Emilia has been having nightmares about her past.
"……What's wrong?"
The finger stretched out towards Emilia trembled slightly
While wondering what was going on, he wanted to stop the trembling of his fingers. However, the trembling fingers not only ignored Subaru's consciousness, but also trembled even more violently. Not only that
Strange sounds echoed in the stone chamber, harsh sounds, trembling fingers, I don't know what happened. Subaru's head was in chaos, and he had no idea what happened. Only later did he understand.
It turned out that Subaru's teeth were chattering, his upper and lower teeth couldn't close together, and his jaw was trembling.
As if laughing at Subaru's timidity, his fingers were trembling and his teeth were chattering.
——The reason for fear is seeing the face hidden behind the mask
"What is there to be afraid of...Am I going to do something to Emilia..."
The face of the witch I saw before the "death return" - it was a face that looked the same as Emilia. The fear at that time, the fear of the witch, still continues now after crossing "death"
Emilia is not a "jealous witch" and Subaru will never forget this.
"That stupid trap... I, shouldn't I know...!"
Subaru still hasn't figured out why he can come back from the dead
However, there are clues to the appearance of the witch, and there are possibilities that can be associated with it.
That witch probably possessed Emilia’s body and appeared in the sanctuary.
The Sin Archbishop Petelgeus is an evil spirit that can attach itself to other people's bodies. Precisely because Subaru knew that madman, he could fully imagine that a witch might be possessing Emilia's body.
Most importantly, if you think about it that way, you can explain Garfiel's profound attitude.
During the battle using the barrier, Garfiel was convinced that the witch had an entity. Subaru clearly remembered Garfiel's apology to him before the decisive battle with the witch.
That is to say, Garfiel saw the witch possessing Emilia, so he did not tell Subaru directly about Emilia's life and death situation, and apologized to Subaru that he wanted to defeat the witch together with Emilia.
This makes sense, it makes sense, it’s like that, isn’t it like that, it has nothing to do with Emilia, she didn’t do anything wrong, there’s no need to be afraid of her——
"Subaru, calm down——"
"--Aha!"
The sound came from behind his ears, and suddenly there was a fleshy touch on his shoulder. Subaru, who was already trembling, fell backwards.
The sound of heavy objects hitting the ground was followed by a muffled sound, stirring up the dust in the "grave".
When Subaru came back to his senses, there was a sound coming from the object under him.
"Good job, Subaru...and you're too heavy."
Yuexing looked at Subaru who quickly got up and noticed the fear in Subaru's eyes.
Subaru was about to say something when Yuexing shook his head, made a shushing gesture and pointed to the ground.
"Let's talk about it later when we get back. Emilia is about to wake up."
After receiving the message, Subaru lowered his head and looked at Emilia. Her eyelashes were trembling slightly. The noise that had just occurred awakened Emilia.
Yes, an unexpected answer——Emilia lying in front of you can give it
As long as Emilia wakes up, everything will come to light
If Emilia still smiles at Subaru after opening her eyes, it will prove that Subaru's worries are unfounded.
"Aimi, Liya"
Subaru himself found it incredible that the voice that greeted Emilia and the fingers that touched her cheek miraculously no longer trembled.
"————"
From Emilia's pure white cheeks, you can feel the warmth that could melt Subaru's fingers.
When she opened her eyes, those cyan purple eyes that reflected Subaru blinked a few times.
Then--
"……Pleiades?"
With this low voice, the burden in Subaru's mind finally dissolved.
Just because he heard Emilia's call, Subaru completely forgot about his previous fear. It was completely different from the empty love expressed by the witch and Subaru before.
Because that voice, eyes, attitude, everything was the Emilia that Subaru knew.
"Here...I, until just now..."
Subaru took a deep breath. Emilia did not wait for Subaru's reply. Instead, she slowly sat up, showing puzzled eyes, and looked around the stone room where they were.
Emilia didn't realize that she had woken up from the nightmare, but she slowly understood the current situation.
"--ah"
That tiny voice was probably caused by the memory of the nightmare.
After that, Subaru knew that Emilia would feel overwhelmed. He had seen Emilia heartbroken three times before, and Subaru had to comfort her gently.
In order not to hurt her, I told her it was okay, so——
"--Pleiades"
However, Emilia's actions were different from Subaru's expectations and exceeded his imagination.
Emilia began to calm down from being overwhelmed. Her strong will could be seen from her trembling lips. Surprisingly, Emilia gently stretched out her hand to Subaru.
"Why do you look so miserable?" He exhaled.
Subaru was stunned. Emilia gently brushed his face with her fingers. Her white fingers gently brushed the corners of Subaru's eyes. At this time, uncontrollable tears began to pour out.
Tears, those were tears, Subaru finally realized that he had almost burst into tears
"Ah, um, eh?"
Subaru cried the moment he realized
His fingers and jaw began to tremble again, but this was completely different from the trembling before. This time the trembling took away Subaru's strength to stand, and Subaru almost squatted on the ground.
Emilia hugged Subaru from the front with her slender arms as he was about to collapse before her eyes.
Through the thin clothes, Subaru felt Emilia's body temperature. He buried his head on Emilia's chest and could hear her heartbeat. He also knew that Emilia's mood was gradually recovering and he felt at ease.
——Yes, that is a sense of peace of mind
I felt at ease because Emilia was here, with Subaru, and not being possessed by a witch.
It was obviously something that made Subaru feel at ease and relieved, but Subaru's body chose tears and trembling in vain.
"I'm sorry for making you worry. It's okay. It's okay..."
Emilia gently comforted Subaru who was trembling and squatting on the ground, comforting Subaru with gentle words again and again.
Quietly, quietly, Subaru was comforted by Emilia.
…
"Things seem to be much more serious than imagined." Yuexing frowned when she saw Subaru reacting like this for the first time.
Yuexing did not participate in this reincarnation at all. After waking up from the tomb, he only saw Subaru lying on the ground.
When I looked up again, a white shadow flashed across the corner of the passage.
White is a characteristic of Emilia, which means that the shadow in front is most likely Emilia who is not beside her.
There was no time to think about why Emilia left alone, Yuexing quickly got up and followed her.
Jumping over the vines covering the floor and walls of the passage, I saw the white figure at the entrance.
The light shining in from the entrance was such that Yuexing could not open her eyes, unable to determine who the figure in front of her was.
"Aimi...Lea?"
As soon as the sound came out, the white figure in front of him turned his head, and then a large area of darkness erupted from around the white figure.
The darkness began to swallow up the surrounding scene. After a while, the darkness completely covered the entrance and spread towards the inside of the tomb.
Yuexing quickly retreated, having to protect Subaru who was still unconscious behind him.
Only when Subaru is alive can he obtain more information——
——But the night falls faster than the moon and stars
Before being swallowed by darkness, Yuexing finally saw clearly the white figure in front of her that was turning towards black.
That is, with Subaru's favorite angelic smile, smiling at Yuexing.
Black figure, same appearance, identity is already clear