The Moment of Collapse
In the border fortress, now reduced to ruins not long ago, a madman hurled insults at Subaru's corpse.
The unusual setting made Subaru suddenly recall the events of this particular loop.
Even Subaru himself couldn't understand his thoughts back then.
Perhaps it was an act of atonement. Or maybe he just didn't want to see Rem, the one who always risked her life for him, who abandoned everything to escape with him, die in front of his eyes once more.
Whatever the case, Subaru had done something that he still couldn't comprehend.
He handed Rem a cup of tea laced with sleeping medication.
Subaru remembered how her movements had subtly paused for a moment, but the girl who believed in him no matter what drank it down.
Subaru left most of his money behind, entrusted the girl to Patrasche, and rode off on a dragon unfamiliar to him. In the end, he died here.
—If parallel worlds truly existed, then…
"Witch Cultist!!!"
The familiar roar froze Subaru.
As a disembodied consciousness, he could neither stop the scene from playing out nor look away.
A ground dragon with a rope clearly torn from its neck and a blue-haired girl clutching her head in anguish blocked the path of Sloth.
The madman, witnessing the sorrowful scene, seemed to understand something.
He praised them while letting them pass, and they walked to Subaru's side. Rem embraced Subaru's cold body.
"Wait for me, Subaru-kun. Once I avenge you, I'll come join you."
Naturally, her cold corpse was flung aside by the Invisible Hands. Subaru's consciousness watched from above this hellish scene, slowly being worn away.
The world he had abandoned… the condemnation of that world was now tormenting Subaru's soul.
There was no salvation. Only self-satisfaction. And even that self-satisfaction was denied.
The girl's lightless eyes seemed to look directly at Subaru.
Blood formed a lake on the ground. This sight—no, it tormented Subaru even more than before.
Suddenly, the world transitioned out of darkness, and his consciousness returned. It was as if his mind had leapt through thoughts into abrupt clarity.
"Ah... ahh…"
Subaru rolled on the ground in despair, trying not to think about what he had just remembered.
—He had abandoned all of them, selfishly choosing death and fleeing alone to another world.
That irresponsible choice—that hell worse than hell itself—was everything he had just seen.
"Behold the present that could never be."
For the third time, he heard it. Subaru finally realized it was undoubtedly the voice of his own heart.
He had to escape.
Subaru reached toward the entrance bathed in light.
As drowsiness took hold, he was pulled once again into the far end of the white world.
It was like a shadow submerging the entire world.
Trees, buildings, creatures—everything was slowly being swallowed by the blackness.
When Subaru's awareness returned, what he saw was the apocalyptic scene of a weeping witch destroying the world—or rather, a hero saving it.
"Haah!"
A clear shout rang out. Sharp sword energy tore through the endless darkness.
A red-haired girl, her hair flowing like flames, stood in a knight's stance, blocking the doomsday before her.
"I can feel your sorrow. But no matter what has happened, it can't be a reason to destroy the world. That's why... I'm sorry."
Amid a ruined world, her voice remained perfectly composed.
The girl looked at the witch with eyes like the sky. In those eyes was a flicker of sorrow.
"You've taken Lady Emilia's body and, as the Witch of Envy, sought revenge for Subaru.
I understand your regret. I feel the same way. But acting recklessly because of regret and harming the world—I cannot allow that, not while people still live in the future."
"Sword Saint" Reinhild van Astrea opened her eyes and pointed the Dragon Sword at the witch.
"I am the proper standard. The sword that corrects all wrongs. Therefore, here and now—I shall strike you down."
The Sword Saint declared.
The Dragon Sword vibrated with power.
Its sword aura made the space itself scream, surpassing any attack Subaru had ever seen. Even the shadows at the Jealous Witch's feet began to tremble.
Both stood ready to unleash a fatal blow. Reinhild raised the Dragon Sword high overhead. Light exploded—
The sky was split. The earth cracked. Even the atmosphere fractured.
Mana was swept into the vortex. The world along the path of the slash twisted.
The shadow of the witch—deemed a defective product by Echidna—was finally cleaved apart. Reinhild appeared in an instant before the Jealous Witch.
A thousand demonic hands launched a final counterattack. The Sword Saint's blade turned into a blur of afterimages.
It was perhaps the most magnificent, most powerful battle in the world, yet it failed to capture even a fraction of Subaru's attention.
Subaru merely stared at the blood-stained hand of the Jealous Witch—as if confirming something. As if something had been lost.
Back in the real world, Subaru didn't move.
Before long, a familiar voice rang out once again.
"Behold the present that could never be!"
Subaru saw it. He saw what happened after Roswaal's self-destruction.
"Behold the present that could never be!"
Subaru saw it. He saw Reinhild's expression after Subaru first chose to kill himself.
"Behold the present that could never be!"
He kept witnessing what happened in the world after his deaths.
His tears had dried up.
His spirit had shattered.
Subaru no longer knew where he was.
Though the trial should have ended, he remained unmoving.
The boy had fallen into a nightmare from which he would never awaken.
"Do you need help, Subaru?"
A dear voice spoke—but it was undoubtedly too late. A voice he had heard countless times in the trial no longer reached Subaru.
"Subaru, are you okay?"
His face was forcibly turned. Subaru's eyes met a sky-colored blue gaze.
His body trembled instinctively, and the hands he used to push away landed on what appeared to be "Reinhild."
"Fake...?"
He stared in confusion at the tearful girl before him.
Then, as if realizing something, he nodded.
Fake. Fake! That's right—they were all fakes. All of them... fake...
"No... that's not it, please listen to me, Subaru…"
'Reinhild' desperately tried to explain.
But seeing the boy before her, laughing and yelling "fake" over and over, she knew—she had missed her chance.
Then she noticed. Noticed what was in Subaru's vision: a pink-haired girl.
Her true appearance.
"Ah... Why...? Echidna-chan said... she said... all I had to do was let you spoil me... I... hate this. Echidna-chan... lied... you're bullying... bullying me… Is that it...? Echidna-chan… you too… you're the same... this is too cruel... too cruel…"
The pink-haired girl vanished in anger.
About ten minutes later, a blonde beastkin appeared before Subaru.