Chapter Text
“Well well, it’s oddly strange to be meeting you here, onii-san~.” Subaru heard the voice of a young girl calling out to him in a world of darkness.
Stretching his hand outward, he attempted to grab at the voice. But with an obvious lack of arms, he failed to do so.
“Have you calmed down now, onii-san? I hope so, you looked pretty scared once you saw me… hehe. But it doesn’t matter, does it?” She giggled, filling Subaru's ears with the shrill laugh of someone he hated.
“There's something I want from you~... I had it, but you stole it back. And now…” The voice continued, and Subaru felt it leaning closer towards him. “I’m going to take it away again. Because that is gluttony, you see.”
The voice and soul of the little girl practically breathed down his shoulder, and S__a_u felt his entire existence being wiped out once more. She continued to feast on his soul, until nothing more was left of _______ ______.
“I, am Volcanica. In accordance with the ancient covenant, the will of thee who hath reached the top shall be questioned.” A booming voice echoed through the black world, and ______ felt the soul of the little girl release its grasp, ending its feast half finished.
A piercing blue light shattered the world around them, and _______ ______ lost consciousness.
The world shattered into fragments of black and blue, then reformed. A bright blue sky manifested above, adorned with drifting clouds and fluttering birds. Regaining consciousness, ______ tried to recall this sky in his memories, but ultimately failed.
In fact, ______ was incapable of recalling anything that had led up to this point. Rolling around in the grass and gasping for air, he saw another person laying in the grass.
“Kh– ah, this is…” ______ muttered, unable to grasp the situation at hand. Staring at his own hands, he noticed that they looked strange. Pale and small, his soul instantly began to reject them.
Even if he could not recall an original body in his memories, his soul knew that something was wrong. Something had changed within him. And his soul, the essence of his very being, hated it.
Long strands of pale gold hair fell to the side of his face as he rubbed his head violently, trying to make sense of his situation. ______ was unable to recall anything past the permeating darkness.
“So you’re awake now, onii-san? I’m glad, very glad.” A voice called out to him, reverberating in his mind. He looked around, trying to find the source of the voice.
“Ooh~? It’s so strange, hearing our dear sister's voice so suddenly, tsu~.” A new, unfamiliar voice appeared. ______ clutched his head, pulling out small strands of golden hair as a raging headache emerged in his brain.
“Shut up… who the hell–?” He groaned, making both voices laugh at once. Their shrill cackles shook his brain, and he doubled over in agony.
“Us? You want to know who we are, tsu~? We thought you would know that by now, onii-san.” The second, more male-sounding voice, asked in a mocking tone that stabbed like knives.
“We are, Witch Cult Sin Archbishop representing Gluttony, Louis Arneb.” The first–Louis– said, the sound of a conniving and mischievous child in her voice.
“And Witch Cult Sin Archbishop representing Gluttony, Lye Batenkaitos, tsu~!” The second–Lye– added on, cackling as he did so.
There was some sense of familiarity in those names, but it was one that ______ could not discern no matter how hard he tried. Something began to move at his right, and he turned to face it with a fearful look.
A girl with bright blue hair cut in a bob was lying down on the grass, making small sounds as she began to stir. ______ watched as her eyes slowly fluttered open, her lazy glare being drawn towards him. He flinched, moving backwards.
“Keheheh! Look at onii-san being so scared, tsu~!” Lye laughed, and he doubled over in the grass.
Whenever a voice spoke in his mind, an agonizing pain akin to being stabbed coursed through his body. Groaning, ______ smacked his head against the grass over and over, bludgeoning himself.
Watching this, the girl behind him began to speak. Her weak voice was barely audible, but ______ heard it nonetheless.
“Who…” She muttered, turning her head towards ______. “...are you?”
Upon hearing those words, ______ froze in place. Staring wide-eyed at the blue-haired girl, the question of who he even was rattled his mind. His fractured memories, rejection of his own appearance, each and every one of those things pointed towards one truth: that he was not, in fact, himself.
The blue haired girl blinked slowly, as if to size him up. She looked apprehensive but also worried at the same time. What a kind person, he thought.
______’s body began to tremble uncontrollably as he scratched his head in terror, trying to recall any of his memories. But he could not even remember his own name.
“Onii-san’s shaking so much~. This would be my fault though, right? It’s funny to watch.” Louis giggled with childlike innocence.
“I’m… I’m–!” ______ called out, unable to find his name. Searching endlessly in the bottomless pit that was his mind, the only things that called back to him were the mocking voices of the two gluttonies.
Unable to take the pain anymore, he ran. Gathering every last ounce of his strength, he stood himself up and clumsily ran towards the trees, pushing through shrubs and wood to make his way towards nowhere at all.
“Louis… Lye…” Without anything else to say, he simply called out the only two names he knew. They were people without form, trapped in his mind. Yet he somehow found solace in their names, despite his own hatred and indignation.
A whistling sound cut through the air, and ______ felt himself being thrown towards a nearby tree.
“Kh–! Augh…” He moaned. A searing pain began to creep up his chest, and he struggled to breathe. Looking down, he noticed an arrow pinning him against the tree behind him.
It was embedded directly through his ribs, sending panic through every inch of his body. Blood began to fill his mouth and lungs, as he began to drown in his own blood. He tried to scream, but only ended up spitting out crimson red blood instead.
His mind began to dim, and the shadowy figure of someone just ahead reached his vision. ______ extended a hand outward towards them, attempting to call out–
But before he could, he was dead.