(A/N: This chap is bigger than your dick)
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{3rd POV}
Subaru stood silently before Roswaal, his gaze fixed upon the lifeless body of Ram that lay sprawled before them. Her expression was frozen in time, painted with the unmistakable traces of despair, regret, and unspoken sorrow. It was a heartbreaking sight—that could make anyone grief.
Slowly, he knelt down beside her and reached out, gently caressing her pale, cold cheek with his fingers.
"She loved you," Subaru murmured, his voice barely more than a whisper, yet filled with an unwavering clarity that cut through the tension like a blade.
Roswaal let out a laugh—but it was hollow, bitter, and devoid of any true mirth.
"Loved me? Don't be ridiculous," he spat. "I allowed her village to burn to the ground. I stood by as her clan was slaughtered. And her horn—the very essence of her being—I destroyed it myself, with my own hands."
His confession sent a wave of shock through the room. Emilia's breath caught in her throat. Rem stared, wide-eyed and horrified, unable to reconcile the image of the man she once revered with the monster now baring his sins.
Despite Roswaal's admission, Subaru remained steady, his expression solemn.
"Yet… she still loved you," he repeated with quiet finality.
Roswaal visibly trembled. The unwavering certainty in Subaru's voice struck something deep within him—a wound long buried under layers of justification and denial. For a moment, his carefully constructed facade began to crack.
"You orchestrated everything," Subaru said, standing now, his tone sharpening like a dagger. "The theft of Emilia's insignia, the attack on the village, the Witch Cult's ambush... You let all of it happen. You knew Elsa would come to the mansion, you allowed the villagers to be trapped in the Sanctuary, fully aware that the Great Rabbit would eventually descend upon them. And still… you did nothing. No, worse—you planned it."
Each word was a hammer striking Roswaal's conscience. Emilia looked as though her world had crumbled beneath her feet, and Rem's heart twisted in turmoil. Roswaal, the man who had saved her and her sister, was now the architect of their suffering.
"Yeeeees… I did all of it," Roswaal admitted coldly, his tone unchanged, as if he were reciting facts from a ledger.
Subaru's eyes narrowed.
"She likely knew about them as well, didn't she? The truth I mean." Subaru asked calmly.
Roswaal didn't answer. His silence was deafening. But his clenched fists trembled at his sides, betraying the regret that now surged inside him like a flood.
"She knew," Subaru continued, his voice softer now. "And she still chose to stay by your side. That's what makes it worse, doesn't it?"
A storm raged behind Roswaal's eyes, but then, he spoke again.
"It doesn't matter," he muttered, as if speaking to himself. "You can just restart the loop. Go back. Save her. Fix everything. That's what you always do, isn't it? Just… restart."
Everyone other than Subaru looked at him confused.
Subaru stared at him for a long moment.
"I won't restart the loop," he said firmly, his voice unwavering. "Roswaal, there's so much I want to do to you—things you probably deserve. I want to make you pay. I want to see you suffer. But death? That's far too merciful. Torture? Pointless."
Roswaal blinked in confusion, caught off guard by Subaru's calmness.
"You see," Subaru said, "I've come to understand something about you. You have an indomitable will. No matter how many times you're broken, no matter how close you come to ruin, you never give up. Even if your soul itself were torn asunder, you'd crawl forward, clinging to your obsession."
He let the words hang in the air.
"That's why killing you wouldn't change anything. Torturing you wouldn't break you. It wouldn't undo what's been done."
For the first time, Roswaal's composure truly shattered.
"Impossible!" he shouted, stepping forward, his voice cracking with desperation. "You have to save her! Restart the loop! Make a contract with me—so I don't… so I don't kill her again!"
His voice was raw, pleading. The mask was gone, torn away to reveal the frantic, broken man beneath.
From the void, a giggle rang out—light, amused, and utterly indifferent.
'You broke his act. How amusing,' Echidna whispered from the shadows of Subaru's mind, her voice laced with wicked glee. The younger version of the Witch of Greed watched Roswaal's breakdown with delight, not pity.
The Echidna who once might have mourned for her wayward apprentice was long gone. This one—driven only by her insatiable hunger for knowledge and control—savored the chaos.
She would have sold her own body if it meant satisfying her insatiable greed—that's the kind of person she was.
So, in the face of Roswaal's despair, all she felt was amusement.
Without another word, Subaru bent down and carefully lifted Ram's body into his arms, cradling her gently in a princess carry.
"Look at what you've done, Roswaal," he said quietly, his voice cold. "You murdered your own kin. You defiled their memories. You wore their bodies like armor in pursuit of your delusions."
At that moment, Beatrice's eyes widened in horror.
"W-Wait… Roswaal? Is that you?!" the Great Spirit of Yin cried out, her voice filled with disbelief and dread.
Roswaal didn't answer.
Meanwhile, Subaru turned his attention back to Ram. He closed his eyes and summoned the Authority of Lust, the power surged within him.
The world around him twisted and shifted. In this altered realm, Subaru saw Ram's body cloaked in a thick black aura—the unmistakable mark of death. But he focused his will, pushing against the darkness and the world was forced to obey.
Slowly, the black aura began to recede, changing hue—first to grey, then to faint green. The wound in Ram's chest began to close. Where there had been a gaping hole, new flesh formed. A heart—entire and unblemished—manifested in her chest and began to beat once more.
Her soul returned.
Ram stirred, gasping for breath as life surged back into her fragile form.
"W-Where… Zero?" she whispered, her voice weak yet filled with confusion.
Her eyes fluttered open and settled on Subaru, realizing she was being held by him. A sudden flash of light sparked from her forehead, and with it, a pristine horn emerged—whole and untouched.
She gasped audibly as a flood of mana poured into her, flowing toward her gate with unimaginable intensity. Her body trembled under the pressure, but it was not pain she felt—it was power. Pure, unadulterated power. It was as though the world itself was acknowledging her rebirth.
Even Reina, watching from the shadows, stared in stunned silence. The amount of mana Ram was absorbing exceeded anything she had ever witnessed.
It was practically stronger than the mana vacuum Reina typically generated just by being present!
Roswaal staggered backward, his eyes wide with disbelief as he stared at Subaru cradling Ram in his arms—alive once more. The impossible had just occurred before him, and for the first time in centuries, he found himself speechless.
The others, too, stood in stunned silence, unable to comprehend the miracle that had just unfolded. A moment ago, Ram was dead—lifeless, her soul extinguished. Now, she breathed, her chest rising and falling gently, her horn fully restored, her eyes flickering with recognition.
Subaru looked down at her and offered a faint, warm smile.
"Welcome back… to the land of the living, Ram," he said softly.
Ram blinked up at him in confusion, her mind slowly processing the situation. Then her eyes widened as the realization struck her like lightning.
"I… I died!" she exclaimed, panic in her voice. "L-Lord Roswaal… he… he killed me?! But why?! How?!"
Her gaze darted around frantically until it landed on the man himself—Roswaal, who stood just a few paces away, his expression haunted.
"Sister!" Rem cried out and dashed toward Subaru, tears pouring from her eyes in torrents. The weight of all the emotions she had kept bottled up suddenly came crashing down.
Subaru gently lowered Ram to the ground, and the very moment her feet touched it, Rem threw her arms around her older sister, hugging her as though she would never let go again.
"I-I thought I had lost you forever," Rem sobbed, her voice trembling, her face buried in Ram's shoulder.
Meanwhile, Subaru turned to face Roswaal, his expression unreadable, a quiet storm gathering behind his eyes.
"How?" Roswaal muttered under his breath, as if asking the question of the world itself. "How is this… possible?"
"I am Zero," Subaru declared, stepping forward with the quiet authority of a god among men. "The new Great Sage. For me, nothing is impossible."
His words resonated with an almost divine certainty. Emilia, Rem, and Ram stared at him in shock. Even now, though they had known Subaru was special—extraordinary—they hadn't truly understood the extent of his power until this moment.
Beatrice and Reina, on the other hand, had long been aware that Subaru was a candidate for the title of Great Sage. Yet even they stood speechless, unable to hide their awe. The act of resurrecting someone—of reversing death itself—was a feat beyond comprehension, even for them.
The five elemental spirits nearby floated silently, blissfully unaware of the magnitude of what had just transpired and the consequences of it.
Roswaal, however, now saw a different light. His lips trembled. Hope—mad, irrational, desperate hope—lit up his eyes.
"You… you resurrected her," he whispered, his voice cracking. "That means… you can bring her back too! You can resurrect Sensei!"
Without hesitation, Roswaal collapsed to his knees, throwing aside all pride and dignity.
"I'll do anything! I'll become your slave! Your servant! Your tool! Just bring her back! Bring back Echidna!" he begged, his voice hoarse and breaking.
The sheer desperation in his voice caught everyone off guard.
"You…" Rem hissed, her tone filled with venom and fury. "You killed my sister. I respected you. I believed in you. And yet… you dare?!"
Before anyone could stop her, Rem shot forward like a bullet. She slammed her foot into Roswaal's chest, sending him toppling backward. With a furious scream, she mounted him and began punching him without restraint.
"You bastard! Die! Die! Die! Die! DIE!!" she screamed with each brutal blow, tears streaming down her face, fists bloodied as she vented every ounce of rage and betrayal she had felt.
Roswaal, for once, did nothing. He didn't block her. He didn't resist. He simply lay there, taking the assault without a word of protest, as if each blow was a punishment he accepted without question.
Subaru stepped forward and gently took hold of Rem's bloodied hand.
"That's enough," he said calmly.
But Rem snapped her head toward him, her expression one of unfiltered fury.
"No! I'll kill him! Don't you dare stop me!" she shouted.
"Rem! What are you doing?! Lord Zero is the one who brought me back!" Ram suddenly interjected, her voice strong and clear despite her recent resurrection.
The moment the words registered, Rem's expression faltered. Shame filled her eyes as she realized she had let her anger cloud her judgment.
She slowly climbed off of Roswaal and fell to her knees before Subaru.
"Forgive me for my words, Lord Zero," she said, bowing her head in sincere apology.
Subaru didn't respond with anger or disappointment. He merely gave her head a small, affectionate ruffle.
"Get off him," he said gently.
Rem obeyed and stepped aside, her expression now one of bitter disgust as she glared down at the bloodied form of the man she once trusted.
Roswaal coughed, blood dripping from his lips. His nose was broken, one eye swollen shut, and bruises marred his once-pristine face. The aura of elegance and authority he always carried was now completely gone—reduced to a beaten, pitiful wreck of a man.
"Roswaal," Subaru began, his voice steady and devoid of emotion, "killing you would be a kindness. Torturing you would only confirm your twisted sense of purpose. Neither of those things can break you."
He stepped closer, his gaze like iron.
"So instead, I'm going to give you something far worse than death itself—a punishment tailored for a man like you."
Roswaal looked up slowly, blood dripping from his chin. His breathing was ragged.
The others couldn't help but wonder—what punishment could be more cruel than death itself?
"Make a contract with me. Swear your loyalty, your soul, your life. From this moment forward, you will serve me—and you will never betray me. In return, I will resurrect Echidna… but not for you."
A spark ignited in Roswaal's expression. It was a twisted, desperate light—but light nonetheless.
"Z-Zero… he killed Ram," Emilia suddenly said, stepping to Subaru's side, her voice heavy with confusion and distrust as her gaze fell on Roswaal.
"Yes," Subaru admitted with calm certainty. "And yet, he is still your sponsor. One of the most powerful magicians this world has ever known. Killing him would be merciful. What I have in store for him is far crueler."
His voice was so cold, so composed, that Emilia shivered. She had never heard Subaru speak that way before.
Beatrice stepped forward, her eyes shimmering as they locked onto the bloodied man lying before her.
"Is that really you, Roswaal?" she asked quietly.
Roswaal turned away in shame. "Yes… it's me."
Slowly, with trembling limbs, he stood to his feet.
Beatrice looked at him with a maelstrom of emotions—pain, anger, sorrow, and something else. Something even she couldn't define.
"Zero… if you truly intend to resurrect my Sensei," Roswaal said, his voice raspy and filled with resolve, "then I'll accept any contract. Any punishment. Even if you kill me afterward, as long as I can see her… just once more… I will die with no regrets."
'How cruel…' Echidna whispered with a wicked smile in Subaru's mind. 'You're resurrecting me not for love… but to shatter him. To show him that I am no longer his, but yours. I'm your property now, and you intend to use me to destroy what little remains of his heart.'
She chuckled to herself, already imagining the scene—the moment Roswaal would see her again, alive and well, only to watch her stand beside Subaru, not him.
'Truly magnificent,' she thought. 'Subaru… no, Zero… you are the perfect husband for me.'
She had already received more than her fair share of surprises, but now—with Subaru wielding control over the very concept of life and death—she was certain her decision had been the right one.
She could clearly envision her grand plan of exploring countless worlds finally coming to fruition, so long as she remained by Subaru's side.
Soon after, the group made their way to the trial grounds. Subaru stood before the massive stone gate and turned to face the others.
"Wait here," he instructed. "Do not follow me inside until I return."
The others nodded, though there was reluctance in their eyes. Even Reina, who always insisted on protecting her Lord, said nothing. She knew what he intended—and whom he was about to resurrect.
Of course, Rem, Ram, Emilia, and Reina all harbored deep reservations about Subaru resurrecting a Witch. Yet, Rem and Ram understood all too well that they were in no position to oppose Zero's will.
Emilia, on the other hand, couldn't shake the unease settling in her heart at the thought of bringing a Witch back to life—but despite her discomfort, she chose to place her faith in Subaru, trusting him wholeheartedly.
Reina, ever loyal, simply prayed that this Witch would not dare try to seduce her Lord. If she did, Reina would be watching—and she would not allow it.
Roswaal waited in trembling anticipation, tears forming in his bruised eyes. He ignored the hateful glares from Rem and Ram. He endured Emilia's disappointment. Even Beatrice's silent, knowing gaze could not shake him.
He waited for only one thing: the return of Echidna.
Beatrice, unlike the others, understood Subaru's reasoning. He wasn't doing this for Roswaal.
He was doing it for her.
'My contractor… loves me this much…' Beatrice thought, her heart swelling.
Reina had also guessed the truth. She looked toward the closed gate, arms crossed, and silently prayed.
'Lord Zero cares for his people… I just hope this Witch knows her place.'
And with that, Subaru vanished beyond the stone threshold.
The resurrection of a Witch was about to begin.
To be continued...
(A/N: Do you know that Hinduism actually follows monotheism? All the Gods in Hinduism are just the expression of the True God, MahaVishnu.
He exists beyond reality, beyond universes itself.
He lies deep within the cosmic ocean, sleeping, with his every exhale millions of worlds are born, and with his inhale all of them return to dust.
Perhaps this is the first to document the theory of multiverse.
Of course other versions of who is Supreme and True God exists.
Anyway, how you liked the chapter?
If you don't realize then the Life and Death Manipulation have many uses, however as of now it is in the most basic form and Subaru hasn't even touched it's core.
One of it's useful abilities is to become immortal by transcending the concept of life and death.
Yeah Reid can cut concept? But can it cut something that exists beyond concepts itself?
But again it is too weak to be used at that level.
While Authorities work out of the world, they do have a limit.
That will be equivalent to mature Beasts from Fate.
Yeah strong, In Multiverse? Infinity Ultron can erase all of them, and dude's barely multiversal.
Also, for who might be thinking he can kill anything, he cannot.
If there is a person who is God, Immortal or transcendt, then instead of killing them, the ability will bestow the concept of death upon them.
So yeah while they become killable, it isn't that OP.
Also where are powerstones? You guys don't want bonus chaps? Or you want to make me the chaps short?)