Subaru stood in shock at the Witch's words. "A coma?"
He didn't know what to think at the moment. A sense of relief and fear washed over him.
"At least all of what I saw was a dream…"
Subaru sighed and focused back on the situation. Who is this self-proclaimed “Witch”? How does she know that he's in a coma right now?
"Agh, Dammit! Alright, fine!"
Hesitantly, Subaru walks over to the table in a rather irritated manner, plops down on a chair, and gulps the cup of tea that had been left at where he was sitting.
"Well, you're quite brave, aren't you? Gulping down an entire tea that has been served by a witch," Echidna tells Subaru, to which the latter smirked and then responds.
"If you really intended to kill me, then I'd already be reduced to ash right now. What kind of tea is this anyway? It's a little bit bland..."
He was confident that if Echidna wanted to kill him, it would have been done long ago, meaning she most likely would at least keep him alive for now.
Responding to Subaru's request, Echidna begins speaking. "It's something that's produced here. To put it simply, it's a body fluid of mine."
Hearing those words, Subaru hastily slams his hand on the table out of disgust and anger. He knew exactly what she meant by body fluid.
"What the hell did I just drink?!"
Met by Subaru's anger was laughter from Echidna, as if she was mocking him.
"You truly are a fascinating person. In fact, why not tell me about how you got into a coma in the first place?"
Seeing as Subaru will have nothing else to do with his time in a coma, he reluctantly agrees.
"I was rushing towards a friend who had his limb taken clean off, when the wound healed itself and I fell unconscious. Are you happy now?"
Changing her expression from a smirk to a rather serious one, she responds.
"I see. Some time over the last few days, you killed the one possessing the Lust Witch Factor, didn't you? At the time of their death, the Witch Factor chose you to be its new dwelling. You must have activated its power at that very moment, causing you to fall unconscious. It's also how I could bring you here," Echidna explained.
"I see. Now, if you don't mind me asking, when will I wake up?" Subaru queried.
"I'm afraid I can't answer that," Echidna said, a slight smile forming on her face.
Sitting quietly on the table, Subaru stares at Echidna, waiting to get out of his coma, when she asks a question out of nowhere,
"So, you've become "that person" for Beatrice, is that correct?" Echidna suddenly asks Subaru, which puts him in a state of confusion.
"Huh?" Subaru questions, puzzled.
"I see, then let me put it in simpler terms. Have you formed a contract with Beatrice?" Echidna asks Subaru a slightly more simple version of her question.
"I have. And what business do you have with Beako?" Subaru responds.
"You could say I'm her mother. After all, I did create her. It seems she's finally found that person after all."
Shocked at Echidna revealing Beatrice's origins, his curiosity spiked.
"H-how did you create Beako?" Subaru asks.
"It's not that hard for me to create an Artificial Spirit, you know."
Subaru sat in silence, his mind slowly processing what was just said to him. "Beako is the creation of a witch?" He places his hand on his face, stress overwhelming him.
"I suppose I must have surprised you then," Echidna says in a smug manner.
"Of course I'd be surprised if I found out I was in a coma and Beako was made by a witch!" Subaru yells at her.
Echidna retains the same expression, simply shrugging her shoulders at Subaru's remark.
"Not only that, but my friends are probably in danger right now!" Subaru clenches his fists in frustration.
"I wouldn’t worry about them. It’s just me and you right now,” Echidna speaks in a calm manner, her hand holding her chin up.
Subaru stands up from his seat, staring into her black eyes.
"You’re the one keeping me in here, just let me out already dammit!" Subaru slams his hand into the table once more, causing his empty teacup to tumble over onto the grass.
“I’m sorry, but I’m not the one keeping you in a coma. You seem to be quite mistaken in that regard, as I am only keeping you in my tea party,” Echidna reassures Subaru.
"Then get me out of this damned tea party!”
"Then you would only go back to your nightmares, wouldn’t you?" Echidna interrupts. "Like I said, I'm just keeping you at my tea party. All of that stuff you experienced was only part of your coma. I got you out of that, so shouldn’t you at least be a bit more grateful?"
Subaru could not speak. He was looking at Echidna emptily.
She returned his gaze with a fascinated glare. He sighed, slumping back onto the chair.
"So I’m guessing you want me to stay here then..." Subaru mutters.
"That's correct," Echidna eagerly responds.
-----------------------------------------------------------
"Man, it feels like I’ve been here for an eternity. Maybe I should ask Echidna how long it’s been…”
Subaru lays on the soft grass, with the sun that never sets still almost blinding his eyes as usual. He tilts his head up to see the witch facing him from her chair, drinking out of her teacup.
"Hey, Echidna, how long has it been since I've been in a coma?" He asks.
"I believe about 4 days," She responds, lowering her teacup from her face. “Now don’t tell me, are you already getting bored of being around me? You can be honest.”
Subaru shakes his head, clicking his tongue at her. "I just want out of this place already…”
“Would you like some tea to help pass the time?” Echidna shows a smug expression as she glances at Subaru.
Subaru scoffs at her. "You can’t fool me into drinking that again!”
Echidna nods. "I see. I guess there was no point in asking then.”
Silence falls in between the two again, not being new during their interactions. Subaru had talked about various topics with Echidna, only to pass the time as he awaited his awakening. He also made sure to not say too much as she was a witch after all.
However, Subaru could only think of so much over time. The weight of his situation had been present within him from the start, causing him to have long periods of silence, with only his thoughts intruding on his mind.
“It seems you will wake up right now… What a shame.” Echidna says, disappointed.
Subaru tilted his head back up at her, sighing. "Finally,,,"
Echidna nods in return. Subaru looks up into the sky, suddenly being hit with a large feeling of fear. What has happened while he has been gone? Echidna interrupted his thoughts by waving her hand in front of his face.
"I look forward to us meeting again in the future, that is, if we ever do,” She speaks.
Subaru attempts to speak, but nothing comes out of his mouth.
Suddenly, the world around him begins to shatter, Echidna being the only visible thing remaining for a good few seconds, wearing a light smile on her face.
Subaru was met with a blinding light before regaining consciousness.
-----------------------------------------------------------
The air was chilly, along with dead silence contributing to the empty atmosphere. Subaru rubs his eyes, regaining his focus. He was met with a wooden ceiling and a voice to his left.
"Barusu?”
Subaru's heavy feeling of dread washed away. Hearing Ram with him made him feel relieved. He sits up, eager to see her face again. He turns to face her.
There were bags underneath her eyes, her eyelids hung low. The feeling of worry crawls into Subaru. "Ram…" Subaru stopped talking once his eyes drifted to the lower half of her upper body.
Just then, he noticed blood staining the sleeve on her right arm, along with the arm as a whole.
“Ram?!”
Subaru sat in utter shock as Ram looked away from him in silence. Subaru glanced around in the dimly lit room, looking for any sign of his other allies.
To his disappointment, the only one present was Ram, or so it seemed.
Looking to his left, he saw a familiar silver-haired figure.
"Emilia?"
Subaru gets up from the bed hastily, when he suddenly notices a key detail.
"Emilia?!"
Her skin is completely pale; lifeless.
Her eyes did not share the same color of the Emilia he knew, but rather a more lifeless color, complimenting the very pale skin.
"What the hell?!"
Subaru could not believe what he was seeing. One of his close friends had died, their body sitting in front of him.
Subaru whipped around to look at Ram. "Emilia's dead?!" She looked at him with a stern look, nodding.
He choked up, tears quickly filling his vision in his eyes. He tumbled back onto the bed, sitting on the edge of it. "Emilia…" he clenches his fists, quickly standing up and running out of the room.
"Barusu!" Ram yells.
Subaru stands outside of the room he was just in, recognizing it as the hotel they were staying at after their arrival at Priestella. He quickly locates the staircase nearby, stomping down the hallway hurriedly.
He was met with the large room, which was made vacant by a blue and purple-haired figure.
Julius stood next to Rem, who lay on a bench, appearing to be unconscious.
"Don't tell me she's-" Subaru glances at Julius, who was wearing a melancholic expression.
Julius remains silent, leaving Subaru's thoughts to wander. Tears begin to once again stream down Subaru's cheeks, almost hitting the carpet when he lifts his hands and slowly wipes them off his face.
With the doors in his vision, he runs towards them at full speed, slamming into them head on. He was met with the outside, dark clouds vanquishing the once bright sky.
He runs down the pavemented path, looking around for anything that can end his pain. He noticed that a lot of the buildings surrounding him had its windows shattered.
Walking over to one, he picks up a large shard of glass and slowly moves it toward the center of his neck.
"Maybe, if I return by death now, I can save everybody…"
"Even if it means I have to be stuck with that witch again…"
Subaru's hand got quicker and quicker, until it had begun to make contact with his neck, blood slowly dripping out of it.
In a matter of seconds, the small amount of blood turned major as the shard of glass fully penetrated his neck. The pain makes him collapse, feeling the warmth of the blood pool at the front of his neck.
The same hand reaches out to Subaru, but now for some reason it felt more ominous. Perhaps this was because he was worried if he could actually save everyone or not?
Opening his eyes, he sees the familiar hotel bed, and looks to his right to see-
"What the hell?!"
Ram was sitting down, missing a limb and matching last time.
"Barusu?"
He then glances to the left, a lifeless Emilia still there.
"What the hell is this?!"
Subaru hyperventilated, tears once again forming in his eyes, waterfalling down his face.
"Barusu!" Ram screamed at Subaru in an anxious tone.
Subaru's heart rate grows higher and higher each second, to the point where he suddenly collapses.
"Barusu!" Ram once again screams, picking up Subaru, who had fallen over.
Checking his pulse, he was at the very least still alive, but unconscious.
-----------------------------------------------
After about three hours, Subaru wakes up, feeling a pressure on his side. Rubbing his eyes once again, his arms slowly fall limp. Ram was leaning against him, fast asleep.
"Ram…"
Looking to his right, he saw an empty bed. Emilia's corpse was suddenly gone? Instead, a blue-haired girl took her place, laying conscious luckily.
"Rem?" Subaru said with a slightly surprised tone. The girl turned her head. There Rem was, a tired expression taking over her face. "Subaru…" She spoke slowly and quietly.
Subaru quickly looks around the room once more. "Where's Beako?..." He mutters.
Rem tilts her head slightly. "She was here with Miss Emilia when my sister and I left."
"Beako wouldn't just leave me alone at a time like this…" Subaru balls up his fists, wrinkling the sheets of the hotel bed.
"I'm sure she's safe along with Miss Emilia."
Subaru's eyes suddenly widened. "No…" His tears painted the bed sheets dark. "No!"
Rem looks at Subaru with a worried expression. "Subaru?" Ram, who was leaning against Subaru, began to wake up to the noise.
"No!"
Subaru put his hands over his head, curling into a ball. He began to loudly sob, filling the room's atmosphere.
"Why?! Why is this happening?! Why did I have to be so stubborn, putting everyone at risk like this?!"
Subaru continued to cry, feeling a pressure on his shoulder, Ram leaning on him once again.
To be continued…