"This... what is this...?"
Subaru's fingers convulsively clutched Carlisle's lapels, the fabric crumpling into a distorted shape in her grip. Her fingers nervously brushed over the texture of the cloth.
"Fake... right? The one just now... that was... a dream...?"
Carlisle's lips were moving, but Subaru's ears were filled with a sharp ringing. All sounds felt distant, as if coming from underwater, indistinct and muffled. Her pupils shrank to pinpoints, her entire vision filled only with Carlisle's worried face.
"Subaru... you..."
"Don't... don't move! Let me... listen..." She let out a whimper like a wounded animal, then, like a drowning person grasping at a final straw, she trembled as she pressed her ear against his chest.
Thump... thump... A slow and steady heartbeat echoed from within him. Subaru's breathing caught, and tears instantly blurred her vision. This was proof of life.
She suddenly lifted her head, her hands frantically fumbling over Carlisle's left arm, the place where she remembered Sloth had severed it. When her fingers touched his intact arm, a broken sob escaped her throat.
"It's... it's still there..." Her voice shattered between breaths. "You... you're still alive...?"
Carlisle paused slightly, confusion flickering across his blue eyes. Still, he answered gently.
"Of course I'm alive. What happened? Did someone bully you?"
"No... that's not right... I have to confirm..."
Subaru's fingers trembled, then suddenly grabbed Carlisle's wrist. Her lips parted, but just as she was about to bite down, she jerked back as if shocked.
"No... this won't work..." she muttered, shaking her head. Her unfocused pupils suddenly sharpened. The next moment, she lowered her head without hesitation and bit hard into her own wrist.
"Subaru!"
Carlisle's voice carried raw panic. He grabbed her chin, but it was too late. Warm liquid filled her mouth, the metallic taste spreading across her tongue with a sickening sweetness.
"It hurts so much..."
At that moment, all of her defenses completely collapsed.
Her knees gave out, and she fell forward. Carlisle quickly caught her, only to hear a heart-wrenching sob erupt from within his arms.
She had never imagined she would see him again.
Those thoughts about reunion after death had only been self-deception. She knew exactly how Carlisle had died. His soul had burned away, turning into fragments of light that scattered into the world. A death like that meant that even if an afterlife existed, she would never see him again.
And yet... he was standing right in front of her.
Subaru's fingers traced his face, every line painfully familiar. That snowy night, the faint smile on his lips as he faded away. Back then, he had looked at her with the same gentleness.
"Why... why did you go that far...?"
Carlisle frowned slightly, confused, yet still gently wiped away the tears on her face. That simple action made Subaru's chest ache unbearably.
"It hurts so much... You idiot! Why didn't you run away!" She cried, striking his chest again and again. Each hit seemed to carry all her strength, yet turned weak the moment it landed. "Why did you protect me... why did you die...!"
"You died... You really... died..." Her voice broke apart. "Right in front of me... you turned into light... and disappeared..."
Her thoughts were in complete chaos. The warmth beneath her fingers, his familiar scent, the steady rhythm of his heartbeat. Everything felt too real.
If this was a dream... if this was an illusion... then at least... let me feel it for one more moment...
Carlisle felt the violent trembling in her body and heard her shattered sobs, like her soul itself was crying. His movements instinctively softened.
He slowly raised his hand, gently running his fingers through her soft black hair.
"It's alright now... I'm here."
Subaru lifted her head. Through tear blurred vision, Carlisle's face appeared painfully clear.
"Is it... is it really you...?"
Carlisle wiped away her tears with his thumb. The warmth of that touch made her shiver.
"Yes, it's me. I'm not going anywhere."
The market remained noisy, sunlight warm against their skin. Everything felt real.
Too real... Then what was that hell from last night...? Was it really just a nightmare...?
"Carlisle... I saw it..."
Suddenly, a chilling cold crept up her spine. Subaru froze. She felt it. Something was watching her.
Slowly, mechanically, she turned her head.
A silver haired woman with violet eyes stood behind her, impossibly close. Strangely, the bustling crowd showed no reaction at all. Even Carlisle and Rem seemed completely unaware of her presence.
The woman stepped closer, her pale, almost translucent fingers gently resting on Subaru's shoulder. She leaned in toward her ear.
"Live..."
In that instant
Memories surged back like a tidal wave. Blood. Flames. Carlisle dissolving into particles of light. Every detail was painfully clear.
Subaru's pupils contracted violently, and understanding struck her.
That was not a dream.
It was the future.
It was what was going to happen.
Pandora's voice echoed in her mind.
"Tell me, your Authority."
Subaru's lips trembled uncontrollably.
"Return by Dea..."
Before she could finish, a shadowy hand suddenly wrapped around her heart. An invisible pressure crushed down on her, suffocating.
A warning.
Yet what Subaru did not notice was that just before the hand could touch her heart, a faint layer of flame flickered into existence, blocking it. The shadowy hand could only encircle her heart, unable to truly grasp it.
That future... that hellish night... would still come.
Subaru looked up. Carlisle was still watching her, his blue eyes filled with concern. But now, those eyes overlapped with the image from her memory.
Carlisle, missing his left arm, covered in blood, burning away his soul until nothing remained.
"No... no... no!"
Subaru suddenly shoved him away, stumbling backward. Her breathing became ragged, her chest rising and falling violently.
This world... a world where he existed... would still be taken from her.
Her emotions reached their breaking point. The joy of seeing him again and the despair of knowing the truth clashed violently within her, tearing at her sanity.
Her vision darkened.
Her legs gave out.
Subaru collapsed backward into the void.
"Subaru!"
Carlisle's panicked voice was the last thing she heard before everything went black.
...
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