The carriage creaked gently as it rolled along the forest path toward the Sanctuary, the soft clatter of wheels on dirt masking the heavy silence that hung between its passengers. Subaru leaned back, arms folded, his expression unreadable as he gazed out the window. Trees blurred past, bathed in the soft glow of the setting sun.
Sitting across from him, Emilia fidgeted. Her silver hair shimmered with every subtle movement, and her violet eyes were darting between the floor and the window. She kept twirling a strand of her hair between her fingers, tapping her other hand nervously on her lap.
Subaru shifted his gaze to her, watching her movements with quiet intensity before finally breaking the silence.
"So, are you sure you wanna do this?"
Emilia blinked, her eyes meeting his. Caught off guard, her cheeks flushed slightly as she stumbled over her words.
"Um, what do you mean? Of course, I want to—I mean, why wouldn't I?" She sat up straighter, trying to project confidence. "It shows that I'm worthy of being a Royal Candidate… it's part of proving myself to the people, right?"
Subaru's gaze didn't waver. His voice was softer this time, almost too calm. "I'm not asking what it proves. I'm asking if you want to do it. Not for Roswaal. Not for the throne. For you.
There was a pause. Emilia's lips parted, but no words came out. She hadn't expected that question. Her eyes dropped, scanning the floor of the carriage like it held the answer.
Outside, the wind picked up, shaking a few leaves from the trees. Elsa, riding ahead with Meili beside her, glanced back for a moment but said nothing.
Inside, Subaru sighed and leaned forward, his hands resting on his knees.
"You don't have to carry everything on your shoulders just because people expect you to. If it gets too much... you can always rely on us."
Emilia's expression softened, the tension in her shoulders melting slightly. She nodded, slowly. "Thank you, Subaru... I don't know what's waiting for me there, but... I'll try to be brave. I want to be someone I'm proud of."
Subaru smiled faintly, but his eyes flickered with a hint of worry. "Just remember to be you, Emilia. That's always been more than enough."
The carriage rolled on, the sun dipping lower behind the trees—casting long shadows ahead, toward the unknown that waited in the Sanctuary.
The gentle clatter of the carriage wheels was suddenly drowned by a hum—deep, pulsing, and unnatural. Both Subaru and Emilia winced, clutching their heads in unison as a strange force washed over them like a tidal wave.
"Subaru, do you feel it?" Emilia managed to say, her voice tight with pain.
"Yeah, I also fe—" Subaru was cut off mid-sentence.
His eyes widened as the necklace Frederica had given Emilia began to glow an intense blue. A blinding flash enveloped the carriage, and in an instant, everything went black.
When Subaru opened his eyes, he wasn't in the forest or the Sanctuary. He was The Hanging Garden.
Ding!
[20% Digestion of Sequence 8 of the Fool Pathway Completed]
Subaru groaned as he sat up. His head was pounding. The sudden transition from reality to dreamscape had never been pleasant.
He looked up to see Minerva, arms crossed and a frown on her face.
"What happened?" he asked, brushing his bangs from his face.
Minerva sighed. "Yeah, I don't know. But she probably does." She gestured behind him.
Subaru turned, and like clockwork, the rest of the Witches turned as well. Sitting gracefully at a table with her ever-present teacup was Echidna.
She smiled, swirling her tea with a silver spoon before taking a sip. "Oh, nothing much. Just that the Sanctuary… reacted to you."
Subaru blinked. That didn't make sense.
"Reacted? Roswaal told me the Sanctuary only reacts to demi-humans or non-humans. I'm human."
He paused, brows furrowing.
That's when Pandora, leaning against a floating pillar, looked at him with amused curiosity. Her voice was soft, but cutting.
"Are you, though?"
The words hung in the air like a blade.
Subaru flinched. Suddenly, memories and thoughts flickered—the Authorities, the Sin System, the Fool Pathway, the Witches living inside his soul, and even Return by Death.
What was left that was still purely human?
The Witches didn't answer. They didn't need to.
Subaru stood there, stunned, as he slowly came to grips with a truth he hadn't dared consider.
Subaru then spoke. "Then what am I"
Echidna looked at him as she spoke. "A Witch".
Subaru blineked as he spoke. "Explain".
Echidna looked as she spoke. "Witch's are not a turm for Female Magic User, same goes for Wizard, They Are Races them Self, like how wee were born Witch's, and same can be said about Wizards".
Subaru sat down as he spoke. "What's the difference between a Wizard and A Witch".
Echidna took another elegant sip of her tea before setting the cup down gently. Her silver eyes glinted with amusement—yet beneath that was a rare seriousness.
"The difference, dear Subaru, lies not in gender, but in origin and essence." She leaned forward slightly, folding her fingers together.
"Witches," she began, "are born from chaos. Our existence is tied to emotion, to excess, to imbalance. We are born in defiance of the world's laws. Each of us embodies a concept taken too far. We are not just people—we are manifestations."
Minerva, sitting nearby with her arms crossed, muttered, "We're distortions, really. Miracles that the world tries to erase. It's why Od Lugunica hates us."
Echidna nodded. "Exactly. And Wizards are similar—but they are born of logic. Of knowledge. Of control. Where Witches twist the world emotionally, Wizards rewrite it with formulae, with understanding. They are the opposite end of the same unnatural spectrum. Both are threats to the natural order… but Witches tend to be more emotionally volatile. You've noticed."
Subaru stared down at his hands, feeling the weight of every Authority within him. Sloth. Greed. Wrath. Gluttony. Lust. Envy. Pride. He had them all. They lived in him now. So did the Witches.
"So… I'm not just a human anymore." His voice came out quiet, heavy with realization.
Pandora floated by and whispered, "You've become something worse in the eyes of the world. Something Od Lugunica wants erased."
Typhon giggled nearby, "But we love you, Subaru!"
Echidna's gaze turned sharper. "You're not just a Witch anymore, either. You're evolving into something... unique. An amalgamation of every Authority, every Pathway. That's why the Sanctuary reacted. It thought you were one of us. One of the originals. Maybe even something older."
Subaru's breath caught.
He wasn't just walking down a Path anymore—he was becoming it.
Subaru then spoke looking at them. "So, what does this mean".
Satella looked at him as she spoke. "You will need to take the trials, if you choose to that is".
Subaru looked at him as he spoke. "I see, but I am not calling my self a witch".
Daphne looked as she spoke. "Why not call your self a Warlock".
Subaru looked at her as he spoke. "Ok, what does that mean, sure I have you girl's living in my soul, but I am not shooting elders blast".
Minerva had to stop her self from laughing. "No, no, it is not the same in DnD, Male Witch's Call them Self Warlock, because they find being called Witch's too feminent".
Subaru blineked as he spoke. "So what, Female Wizard Call them Clerics". He said that as joke, but sesen no of the witch laugehed. "I was Joking".
Carmilla spoke Looking at him. "Will, um Y-yes".
Subaru stared at Carmilla, his mouth slightly open, processing what she just said.
"Wait… seriously?!" he said, raising a brow. "Clerics? Like, holy magic, smite-evil, devotion kind of Clerics?"
Carmilla nodded shyly, twiddling her fingers. "T-they… thought it sounded noble and graceful… i-it stuck."
Typhon grinned wide. "It's because they wanted to feel special! Wizards are too boring!"
Subaru rubbed his face, muttering, "Okay, so I'm apparently a Warlock now, Clerics are real, Sanctuary thinks I'm a Witch, and Od Lugunica wants me dead. Great. Absolutely wonderful."
Echidna clapped her hands, smirking. "Now you're finally catching up."
Satella stepped closer, her tone gentle but firm. "The Trials will react to what you are, not just what you claim to be. And the Sanctuary... it's not going to play nice with someone like you."
Subaru stood up, brushing off his coat. "Doesn't matter." He looked at them with renewed resolve. "Emilia's counting on me. If I have to be a Warlock to get through this, then I'll be the damn best one around."
Typhon bounced up. "Yeah! Warlock Subaru! Make the Sanctuary cry!"
Minerva snorted. "Just don't try to cast Eldritch Blast, and we'll all survive."
Subaru then release something. "Ok, what the hell is a Od Lugunica, is that like God, this is literally the first time I heard that name".
The witches all went quiet.
Subaru blinked. "...Okay, now that's creepy. Why did everyone suddenly go silent?"
Echidna set her cup of tea down, her eyes sharpening. "Because, Subaru... you weren't supposed to know that name."
Minerva folded her arms, looking unusually serious. "Od Lugunica... is not a god. Not in the way you're thinking."
Satella stepped forward, her tone soft but heavy with weight. "It's the Will. The 'Soul' of the nation. Not the kingdom's people or rulers... but the land itself."
Pandora added calmly, "It is an instinctive force. A collective subconscious shaped by generations. It keeps balance. When something goes against that balance... it reacts."
Subaru narrowed his eyes. "You're saying it's like the Counter Force from Fate?"
Typhon nodded rapidly. "Yup! It doesn't think like you or I do. It just acts to correct 'mistakes'... like us. Or like you, Subaru."
He felt a chill go down his spine. "So... why is it after me?"
Echidna looked him dead in the eyes. "Because you're the biggest mistake it can't fix. You defy death. You carry the Witches. You use Authority without corruption. You're not just outside its rules—your very existence is like a bug in its system."
Satella added quietly, "And now that you're growing stronger… it's getting desperate."
Subaru groaned and ran a hand through his hair. "So it's like I have a whole damn country's will trying to off me. That's just... peachy."
Carmilla spoke hesitantly, "B-but you're not alone. You have us."
Subaru sighed. "Yeah, lucky me. A soul full of witches and a death god of a nation breathing down my neck."
He glanced up, determination flaring. "Fine. If Od Lugunica wants a fight… it can get in line."
Subaru then saw he was fading. "Looks, like I am gonna be up".
Echidna kissed on the cheeks as she spoke. "Good luck beloved".
As Subaru woke up back in the carriage, as he saw Emilia was still nocked out, as he then heard figthing, he armed him self with Witch's Edge open the door, only to find Otto in the ground defeated, as then saw Meili to the side and Elsa figthing a Tigger like beast, it was like if Tony The Tigger was given a lot of steroid and then went to try Gym everyday, he didn't know this was Garfield sense he never meet the man
Subaru just slowly close the door.
[Carmilla then spoke in his head. "That is rude".]
Subaru spoke in his head. "Coming from the Cinnamon roll that actually hurts".
[Carmilla then spoke in his head. "S-sorry".]
Subaru sighed as he leaned back inside the carriage, locking the door gently like he had just seen a cursed gym advertisement.
"Okay… that's a problem for future me," he muttered under his breath, glancing at the still-unconscious Emilia. "Right now, I've got enough on my plate."
[Minerva chimed in next. "That 'tiger' is Garfiel, one of Ryuzu's grandchildren. He's... very territorial."]
Subaru raised an eyebrow. "You think? He looks like a protein shake away from suplexing a mountain."
[Typhon giggled. "He could, probably. But he's not evil! He's just... intense!"]
Subaru peeked out the window, seeing Elsa darting around with uncanny speed, keeping Garfiel busy as Meili pouted on the side, clearly not being taken seriously.
[Beatrice's voice came next, curt and annoyed. "I told you I should've come with you, I suppose."]
"Yeah, well, next time maybe don't lose at rock-paper-scissors to Frederica," Subaru muttered.
["Remind me why you even played that dumb game for a mission this serious?"] came Echidna's voice, half-curious, half-irritated.
Subaru shrugged. "I wanted to keep things fun while we're being hunted by a spiritual death entity. You know, balance."
Then Subaru blinked as he realized something.
"Oh crap, wait… if that tiger's Garfiel… then I need to get on his good side before he throws me through a tree."
[Carmilla softly spoke again. "You should go help. He respects strength… and guts."]
Subaru groaned. "Fine. But if I die again, I'm blaming all of you."
He grabbed Witch's Edge, slid the door open dramatically, and charged out, shouting, "HEY! OVERGROWN TIGER GUY! LET'S TALK!"
Garfiel turned, eyes gleaming and blood pumping, cracking his knuckles with a wide grin.
"So ya finally came out, huh? Let's see what ya got, outsider."
Subaru cracked his neck and muttered to himself, "God I hate my life sometimes…"
To be continued
Hope people like this Ch and give me power stones and enjoy