The world around Subaru was a whirlwind of fractured images and muffled sounds. His eyes darted left and right, barely making sense of the scenes unfolding before him. Algol's silhouette loomed over him, her movements mechanical as she dragged his limp body through the winding alleys of Glacia. The city's cold air stung his face, but his mind was too clouded to process it fully.
Fragments of sound pierced his consciousness—unfamiliar voices, harsh whispers, and the creaking of wooden wheels. The scenery shifted violently; the grand, icy structures of Glacia faded into an open road, with dense forests looming on either side. He was tossed into a carriage, his body bouncing with every jolt of the ride. The rhythmic clatter of hooves against frozen ground melded into a haunting melody in his mind.
As the carriage rode on, his vision swirled and spun, his limbs refusing to obey his commands. He was helpless, a puppet with its strings cut. The cold seeping into his bones barely registered as his consciousness ebbed and flowed, finally succumbing to the overwhelming darkness.
In that infinite black void, Subaru floated, disembodied and powerless. His mind wandered, searching for an anchor, but found only the endless expanse of nothingness. It was there that the fluttering began—a soft, incessant sound, like the wings of a million butterflies taking flight at once.
Turning slowly, Subaru's eyes widened as he beheld the source of the noise. A colossal orb of yellow and white, as radiant as the sun itself, hovered miles away. Its light pierced through the darkness, casting an eerie, golden glow across the void. The sight was overwhelming, its brilliance both beautiful and terrifying. Subaru's breath hitched, his heart pounding in his chest as he was drawn toward the luminous sphere.
The vision distorted, the light becoming too intense, too blinding. His senses were overloaded, his mind fracturing under the sheer magnitude of what he was witnessing. The orb pulsated, its radiance swallowing everything around it.
Then, as suddenly as it had begun, the vision shattered.
Subaru's eyes snapped open, his chest heaving as he sucked in a desperate breath. The cold, damp air of his new reality stung his lungs. His head throbbed, a dull ache spreading through his skull as he took in his surroundings. The faint sound of dripping water echoed in the cavernous space, each droplet a cruel reminder of his confinement.
Heavy chains bound his wrists and ankles, their iron grip unyielding. The cave was cloaked in shadows, only the faintest hints of light filtering through unseen cracks. Subaru's pulse quickened, fear clawing at his insides as he strained against his bonds.
In the oppressive silence, the only thing louder than the dripping water was his own ragged breathing.
Subaru inhaled sharply, his breath uneven as he turned his head in every direction. The cave was nothing but endless shadows, the dim light barely enough to make out the jagged stone walls. The chains clinked as he struggled against them, cold iron digging into his wrists and ankles. His heart pounded in his chest. He was trapped—helpless.
He swallowed the lump in his throat, feeling the weight of reality pressing down on him. His body still felt sluggish, remnants of whatever Algol had done to him making his limbs feel like lead. His mind, however, was racing.
"Hello?" His voice cracked, the sound bouncing off the walls of the cavern. No response.
"Irene?" he called again, louder this time, his voice raw with desperation. "Tekka? Renwald?" Silence.
Subaru's breath hitched, his pulse hammering against his skin. His fingers curled into fists as frustration boiled inside him. What the hell was going on? Where was he? What did Algol do to him? His mind reeled as he tried to piece things together.
His eyes darted around, scanning the shadows for any sign of movement, any sliver of familiarity. But there was nothing. Just the steady drip of water somewhere in the distance, the cold, unfeeling chains digging into his skin, and the overwhelming sensation of being completely, utterly alone.
Subaru tugged against the cuffs again, this time with more force, feeling the bite of iron against his skin. No give. They were locked tight, restricting any movement beyond the smallest of shifts. He cursed under his breath, biting his lip to keep himself from panicking.
This was real. This wasn't some bad dream he could wake up from. He was locked, contained, and completely at the mercy of whoever had put him here.
He tried to focus, tried to push away the mounting fear clouding his thoughts. Think, think, think.
How did he end up here? Algol. The festival. The kiss. His face burned for a split second before the reality of it all came crashing back. She drugged him.
And now, he was here. But where was here?
"Damn it," Subaru hissed, closing his eyes for a moment, willing himself to calm down. He needed to find a way out. He needed to do something.
But before he could formulate a plan, a sound broke through the silence—footsteps. Slow. Measured. Approaching.
Subaru tensed, his breath catching in his throat as he turned his gaze toward the unseen figure making its way toward him.
A slow, deliberate clap echoed through the cavern, each sharp sound bouncing off the damp stone walls. Subaru tensed, his breath hitching as his gaze snapped toward the source.
From the darkness, she emerged.
Algol.
But something was different.
Gone was the quiet, shy girl who had given him stolen glances in class, who had laughed softly at his jokes, who had blushed under the festival lights. This Algol was taunting, cruel, menacing. Her red eyes glowed faintly in the dim light, like burning embers, and her lips twisted into a slow, mocking smirk.
Subaru's stomach dropped.
"Oh, Subaru," she sighed, shaking her head dramatically as she took slow, measured steps toward him. "You look so confused. So lost." Her voice, once soft and hesitant, was dripping with amusement, condescension. She tilted her head. "You really don't get it, do you?"
Subaru felt his teeth grind together, his fists clenching despite the cold iron cuffs biting into his wrists. "Yeah, no, I guess I don't get it," he spat, his voice hoarse but defiant. "Why don't you explain it to me, Algol? Or is that even your real name?"
Algol chuckled—a slow, cruel laugh. "You're sharper than you look, but let's not pretend you've figured out anything." She crouched slightly, lowering herself to his level, her face inches from his. "You are special, Subaru. And trust me, I meant every word I said before." She raised a hand and gently traced her fingers along his jaw, tilting his face upward. "You really do make me feel alive."
Subaru jerked his head away, disgust curling in his gut. "Yeah? Funny way of showing it," he snapped. "Drugging me, dragging me to—wherever the hell this is—and chaining me up?"
"Oh, don't be so dramatic," Algol purred, standing back up and pacing in front of him. "I like you, Subaru. That's why I chose you."
The chains rattled as Subaru pulled against them, frustration bubbling into anger. "Chose me for what?" he demanded.
Algol paused mid-step. And then—she grinned. Wide. Too wide.
"To meet Mother, of course."
Something cold slithered down Subaru's spine.
Mother?
Before he could ask, before he could push for answers, Algol leaned in close once more, her crimson eyes gleaming with something twisted, something unnatural.
"And trust me," she whispered, her lips curling into a slow, sharp smile, "she's going to love you."
Subaru's body locked up as Algol—or whatever the hell she was—began to change.
Her skin ripped apart like wet paper, peeling away in grotesque, jagged chunks. The sickening squelch of tearing flesh filled the cavern, the scent of iron, bile, and something rotten invading Subaru's senses. His stomach churned violently. The very air felt wrong, like reality itself was rejecting what it was witnessing.
What remained was not Algol.
A new figure emerged, small yet sinister.
She was a short girl, barely taller than Subaru's shoulders, with golden-blonde hair cascading messily past her waist. Her ruby-red eyes gleamed in the dim light, filled with twisted amusement. Despite her childlike frame, there was something monstrous about her, something horrifyingly wrong. She licked her lips as she inspected Subaru, her gaze running over him like she was assessing a meal.
Subaru felt sick.
"What... the hell—" he croaked, his stomach twisting in knots.
The girl grinned—wide, gleeful, and utterly deranged.
"Oh, what's with that look? What, did ya like that boring little façade I put up?" she giggled, her voice carrying a syrupy sweetness that felt rotten at its core. "Ick! That was exhausting! Smiling all sweet and innocent, playing the good little schoolgirl—puh-lease."
Subaru's mind struggled to catch up. "You—who—what are you?!"
The blonde girl placed a hand on her chest, dramatically puffing herself up, as if personally offended. "How rude! Here I am, taking time outta my very busy schedule to welcome ya properly, and ya can't even introduce yourself properly? Tsk, tsk, what terrible manners!"
Subaru gritted his teeth. His body was screaming at him, telling him that whatever this thing was—it was bad news.
She tilted her head, mocking his silence before leaning in with a devilish grin.
"Well, if ya really must know—" she purred, voice dripping with amusement, "I am Capella Emerada Lugnica~!"
She threw her arms out grandly, spinning on her heel like she was showing off a brand-new dress. "But for you, dear little Subaru, you may call me—Mother~!"
Subaru's blood ran cold.
"Mother?" he repeated, his voice tight.
Capella beamed, showing off razor-sharp teeth.
"That's right!" she giggled, her tone mocking and delighted. "Mother to you, mother to all my adorable little children. And soon—" she reached out and caressed his cheek, her skin cold and clammy, "—you'll understand exactly what that means."
Subaru jerked away, his chains rattling violently. His mind reeled, trying to grasp what the hell was happening.
This thing—Capella, Mother, whatever the hell she was—had kidnapped him.
And he didn't even know why.
One thing was for sure, though.
He was in deep, deep trouble.
Subaru's breath came in short, ragged bursts, his body still locked in place from the sheer wrongness of the thing standing before him. The chains binding him rattled as he instinctively tried to move back, pressing himself against the damp, freezing stone. He needed distance—any distance—from her.
The golden-haired girl pouted, her lips curling downward in an exaggerated show of disappointment. "Oh, come on. What's with that face? You look like I just told you your puppy died." She sighed dramatically, lifting a hand to her forehead like some tragic heroine.
Then, just as quickly, the act shattered. Her red eyes flashed, gleaming with something twisted and cruel. "Not that I'd waste time on some barely useful meat like you, anyway."
Subaru clenched his teeth. His thoughts were sluggish, struggling to make sense of what had happened—the grotesque transformation, the mockery in her voice, the way she spoke like he was nothing. His heart pounded against his ribs, adrenaline surging as the truth settled in.
He was in trouble.
His voice came out hoarse, raw with disbelief. "What the hell is going on?!" He yanked at his chains, a sharp clink echoing in the cavern. "Why am I here?! What do you—"
A cold, clammy finger pressed against his lips.
"Shhh."
The dark-haired prisoner flinched at the sensation, his stomach twisting violently. Her breath ghosted over his skin—sickly sweet but putrid underneath, like rotting fruit left to ferment in the sun.
The blonde abomination grinned, her lips stretching unnaturally wide. "Ahh, questions, questions. Such a habit of your kind, always demanding to know things that aren't your place to know." She dragged her fingertip down his jaw before pulling away, twirling in place like a carefree child. "But fine, since I am a kind and generous Mother, I suppose I'll humor you. Consider yourself blessed."
Subaru swallowed back the bile rising in his throat.
She turned on her heel, arms outstretched like a performer basking in applause. "What is going on, you ask?" A giggle bubbled from her throat, but there was nothing lighthearted about it. "Why, only the natural order of things!"
The chained boy didn't move, barely even breathed as she spun back toward him, her red gaze glinting with something hungry.
"Tell me, Subaru," she purred, voice dripping with amusement, "what is it that makes your pathetic kind think you can exist as you do? That you can walk around, making your little decisions, loving who you want to love, hating who you want to hate, rejecting me like it's your right?"
The warmth in her voice evaporated, her tone curling into something far colder.
"All beings should love me."
She stepped forward, and the space around them seemed to shrink, the air thickening with something suffocating.
"All beings should worship me."
Her lips parted, revealing razor-sharp teeth gleaming in the dim torchlight.
"All beings should belong to me."
Her pupils constricted into pinpricks, her golden hair swaying as her shoulders shook—whether from rage or exhilaration, Subaru couldn't tell.
"But instead," she spat, "you crawl around like the maggots you are, acting like you can just ignore me. Like you have the right to reject the love I so graciously offer!"
She let out a sharp, barking laugh, her entire frame trembling with it.
Subaru could only stare.
This thing—this monster—was insane.
Absolutely, certifiably, irredeemably insane.
The twisted woman exhaled, the last remnants of her laughter fading into a soft, delighted sigh. Then, in a blink, she was right in front of him, her face inches from his own.
The black-haired prisoner flinched, but the chains held firm.
"But that's why you're here, dear Subaru," she whispered, her breath brushing against his cheek. Her nails tapped rhythmically against the metal binding his wrists, as if savoring the sound. "Because I am merciful. Because I forgive."
His stomach dropped.
Capella's grin softened into something intimate, something cloying. "And because it is my duty as Mother to teach her little ones the error of their ways."
His pulse thundered in his ears.
A breathless giggle escaped her lips as she reached for him again.
"You're going to learn to love me, Natuski Subaru."
Her fingers curled under his chin, her touch freezing cold.
"Even if I have to break you apart and put you back together myself."
Capella sighed, almost wistfully, as she tilted her head. Her golden hair spilled over her shoulders, a curtain of shimmering silk that caught the dim light of the cavern. The hand on Subaru's thigh lingered, her fingers curling just slightly, pressing down with deliberate slowness.
"You're so stiff," she mused, giggling to herself. "Well, I suppose that's only natural. Boys like you don't really get it, do you? What people truly want? What really matters?"
Subaru clenched his teeth, his entire body rigid as she leaned closer, her breath ghosting over his cheek.
"There's a difference, you know," she continued, voice light, teasing, like she was sharing some grand secret. "Between love and lust."
Her crimson eyes gleamed, hungry and cruel.
"Love is a lie," she said, lips curling in amusement. "A fairytale made up by the weak, whispered by fools who don't want to face thetruth." Her nails tapped lazily against his leg, her touch feather-light but suffocating. "People don't fall in love with a soul, Subaru. They never have. People desire. People lust."
His stomach churned.
"They see a face," she went on, her smile sharpening. "They see a body. That's all there is to it. That's all there ever was."
Her fingers traced a slow, idle path, her touch crawling up his leg, dragging over the fabric in a way that made his skin crawl.
"And, wouldn't you know it," she giggled, flashing her teeth, "I am the pinnacle of such things."
Subaru turned his head sharply, sucking in a breath through clenched teeth, anything to escape the suffocating heat of her breath against his skin.
Capella's grin widened at his reaction. "Oh? Does that make you uncomfortable?" she cooed. "I wonder why. Could it be because you know I'm right?"
He jerked at his restraints, his wrists burning as the metal dug in.
Capella just laughed.
"Think about it, dear Subaru," she purred, voice drenched in sickly-sweet delight. "A man would kill for a beautiful woman. He'd abandon everything,sacrifice everything, for the chance to claim something pretty for himself. And yet—" She paused, her head tilting as her expression grew almost pitying. "They say it's love."
She sighed, shaking her head in mock disappointment.
"It's never been love. It's only ever been desire."
Her eyes gleamed, her fingers pressing down against his thigh once more. "And in that sense… I am perfect."
Capella let out a breathy sigh, her crimson eyes gleaming as if she were growing bored with the conversation. Her fingers drummed against Subaru's thigh, light and lazy, as if savoring the way his muscles tensed beneath her touch.
"Men are suchsimplecreatures," she mused, tilting her head. "All that nonsense about morals, about honor, about love—it's all a joke, isn't it? A weak little performance meant to cover up the truth."
Her grin stretched, teeth flashing sharp beneath the flickering torchlight.
"Because, deep down, all they really want is pleasure."
The hand on his thigh suddenly lifted, only to drop onto his lap, fingers splaying out with sickening ease.
Subaru jerked violently against his chains, his breath catching in his throat.
Capella merely giggled.
"Squirming already? My, my, such an interesting little meat you are."
His chest tightened, his body going rigid as the weight of her touch sent an unspeakable chill down his spine.
"Do you think it would make a difference?" she continued, voice light, playful. "If I were to do something pleasurable to you right now?" Her fingers pressed down just slightly, testing. "You'dbegme to stop, wouldn't you? You'd cry, struggle, maybe even curse at me with whatever strength you think you have left."
Her smirk deepened.
"But none of that would matter."
His stomach twisted.
"Because, in the end, this is what you creatures seek, isn't it?" Her nails scraped ever so lightly, her touch slow, deliberate. "No matter how much you deny it, no matter how much you scream, your body would still respond. That's just how meat works."
Subaru's breath came in short, panicked bursts, his heartbeat pounding in his ears like a war drum.
Capella's eyes drank in the sight of him, the way his face drained of color, the way he pressed back against the wall like he could somehow sink into the stone and disappear.
Then, just as suddenly as she had touched him, she pulled away.
Subaru inhaled sharply, his entire body trembling with relief, with fear, with the overwhelming, gnawing realization that she had been playing with him this whole time.
"Relax," she cooed, flashing a lazy smirk. "I'm not going to do anything."
His eyes widened, his breath still uneven, his wrists aching from how hard he had pulled against the chains.
Capella licked her lips, tilting her head as she watched him.
"Not yet, at least."
A shudder ripped through him.
She let out a breathy giggle, as if amused by his reaction. "You weak little things always make such a fuss over the smallest things. Honestly, it's adorable."
Her head tilted, golden strands spilling down her shoulders as she studied him with open amusement.
"Though I must say," she hummed, eyes gleaming, "you truly are a most interesting meat."
Capella suddenly jerked her head back, a sharp, barking laugh tearing from her throat. It started as a chuckle, low and bubbling, but it grew louder, shriller, until it echoed off the cavern walls in a shrieking cackle that made Subaru's skin crawl.
She clutched her sides as if something had broken inside her, her entire frame shaking with uncontrollable amusement. "Ahh, that face! That pathetic, weak little face!" she wheezed between laughs, tilting her head to peer at him through half-lidded, gleeful eyes. "You'reso mad, aren't you? So scared? But tell me, interesting meat—what's the point of any of it? What's the point of fear? Of anger? Of morality?"
She took a step forward, the chains at his wrists rattling as he instinctively tried to pull back.
"Pleasure.That's the only thing that matters." Her voice dipped lower, her crimson eyes glinting with something twisted. "All these rules, all these so-called virtues, all theseexcuses—they exist for nothing more than to delay the inevitable. Because all men, no matter how strong they pretend to be, succumb to their basic instincts."
She lifted her arms, spinning once in place, her golden hair flaring out around her like a wild halo. "Men destroy for pleasure, they kill for pleasure, they seek lesser meat to have more meat, and it never ends!" She threw her hands toward the cavern ceiling, laughing again, eyes blown wide with mania. "You weak little things only live to consume and be consumed, and youare no different!"
Her gaze snapped back to him, and the glint in her eyes sharpened.
"That's why you fell for Algol's trap so easily."
Subaru's body tensed. A rush of white-hot rage flared in his chest, cutting through his fear like a blade. His lips curled back into a snarl, his fists clenching.
"Shut up."
Capella gasped in mock offense, pressing a hand to her chest. "Oh? Did I strike a nerve?" she taunted, her lips stretching into adelightedgrin. "Are you mad because I said her name? Because I pointed out how you were so utterly weak that you let yourself be caught like a stupid little bug?"
His breath came heavy, sharp, but she only laughed harder at his fury, twirling in place like a performer caught in some drunken waltz.
"Oh, you poor, fragile little thing," she cooed, her voice sickly sweet. "It doesn't matter how much you scream. It doesn't matter how much you hate me. Because, in the end—" she spun faster, her laughter rising into a shriek, "—it's all meaningless!"
Capella threw her arms wide, her whole body trembling with exhilaration.
"Morality is a lie! Worth is a joke! And everything you believe in is nothing more than a pathetic, miserable fantasy!"
She stopped, her breath uneven, her pupils blown wide in euphoria. Her grin was wild, manic, stretching unnaturally across her face. "Why fight it? Why struggle? Just give in already!"
Then, without warning, her body shifted.
Her skin rippled like liquid, her entire form twisting as her flesh warped and melted. Her bones cracked, her limbs contorted, her shape bending into something new.
A second later, the grotesque transformation ceased, and standing before him was a beautiful woman, long, dark curls cascading down her shoulders, her full lips curling into an inviting smile.
Then, in the blink of an eye, she changed again—her form shrinking, softening, until a delicate, fragile-looking girl with shimmering silver hair and violet eyes stood where the seductress had been.
And then she changed again. And again. And again.
With each grotesque shift, she became someone new—each one a picture of perfect beauty, each one something entirely different, yet all of them undeniably desirable.
She giggled, her voice overlapping with itself, warping between tones, between identities.
"I can be anything," she purred, her shape shifting once more, her face molding into something eerily familiar. "I can be anyone."
She leaned forward, her lips just inches from his ear.
"So tell me, interesting meat—" her voice dripped with a taunting lilt, full of sick amusement, "—what do you want me to be?"
Subaru's breath was ragged, his chest rising and falling as his restraints dug into his wrists. His body trembled with fury, revulsion, and something deeper—something clawing at the edge of his mind, screaming at him to run, run, run even though there was nowhere left to go.
Capella shifted again, her ever-morphing form settling into something dangerous. Her golden hair, her wicked red eyes, her smirking lips—all of it mocking him, waiting, expecting him to break.
Her smile widened. "Well?" she purred. "Come now, interesting meat. Surely there's something,someone, you'd rather see before you lose yourself completely?"
Subaru swallowed the bile crawling up his throat. His fists clenched so hard his nails dug into his palms, his body aching from how violently he had thrashed against the chains. Every nerve in his body screamed in protest, but his mouth still moved.
"I want you dead."
For a second, silence hung between them.
Then, Capella's lips twitched—her expression cracked—before a single, breathless chuckle escaped.
Then another.
And another.
Until she was laughing, clutching her sides, doubling over in pure, unhinged delight.
"Ahahahaha!Oh, oh that's rich! That's—pfft, oh my, that's the funniest thing I've heard all day!" She wiped at her eye, as if she were shedding a tear. "You—you—want memdead?"
She took a step closer, towering over him, her breath hot, cloying, rotten.
"And tell me,how exactly do you plan on doing that?" Her voice curled, thick withmockery. "Look at you. Look at the pitiful state you're in."
She grabbed his chin, forcing him to look at her, her fingers cold as death.
"You can barely even sit upright," she cooed, her grip tightening. "You're shackled, weak, completely at this lovely ladies mercy—and yet you have the audacity to wish for my death?"
Her pupils shrank, her lips stretching into something grotesque. "How adorable."
Then, her grip loosened, her nails retracting—but only for a moment.
Because in the next instant, her entire hand shifted.
Her skin rippled like liquid, her fingers lengthening, sharpening, her bones twisting until her palm expanded into something monstrous.
Golden fur sprouted along her forearm, thick and coarse, her fingers now replaced by jagged claws, gleaming under the dim torchlight.
A lion's paw.
Subaru barely had time to react before she moved.
With a single, fluid motion, her clawed hand slashed across his chest.
Pain.
Blinding, searing, absolute pain.
Subaru's scream tore through the cavern, raw and broken. He gasped, his body jerking violently as blood splattered onto the cold stone floor. His entire chest burned, the gashes deep, merciless.
And yet—amidst the pain, amidst the sheer agony that left him breathless—something else shattered.
A faint, fragile noise—a sharp crack—echoed through the chamber.
His pendant.
The small, delicate charm that had rested against his collarbone, hidden beneath his shirt, crumbled into pieces.
Capella took a step back, admiring her work.
Her lion's paw flexed, the sharp claws glistening with his blood.
"Mmm," she hummed, licking a stray droplet from her knuckle, "there we go. Now you look much better."
Subaru's vision swam, his breaths shallow, his mind reeling from the overwhelming pain. His blood dripped steadily from the wound, soaking into the fabric of his tattered clothes.
Capella crouched down, her lips curling into something sweet, something mockingly affectionate.
"Poor little meat," she cooed, reaching out to cup his cheek. "Hurts, doesn't it?"
Her fingers dug in.
"Good."
A rush of power surged through Subaru's body, so sudden and overwhelming that his vision blurred for a moment. His chest still burned from the gashes Capella had left, his blood dripping steadily onto the cold stone, but that pain was nothing compared to the other sensation crashing over him.
Something was awakening.
Something familiar—something that had been sealed away.
The spirits spoke.
At first, it was a whisper—a chorus of voices at the edge of his consciousness, soft but urgent, like the first flickers of flame catching onto dry wood. Then, it grew louder, brighter, a chorus of a thousand voices flooding into his mind.
—You are our king.
—You called, and we have come.
—We have always been with you.
Mana rushed through his body like a storm breaking free from its cage. His wounds still bled, his limbs still trembled, but he felt alive in a way he hadn't in so long.
Capella took a sharp step back, her crimson eyes narrowing as confusion flickered across her face.
"What…?" she muttered, staring at him.
Subaru's chains rattled as he exhaled, his breath shaking, his mind racing as realization crashed over him.
The pendant.
That damn pendant—the tiny, delicate charm that had been limiting him all this time—was gone.
Broken.
And with it, the seal on his divine protection had shattered.
Capella's gaze darted to the remains of the pendant on the floor. Something dangerous flashed in her expression—an emotion she never should have had.
Fear.
"What the hell are you doing?" she snapped, her voice no longer laced with amusement, but unease.
The cavern shook.
A faint glow spread across the floor, small at first, but rapidly growing brighter. The cold, damp air shifted, becoming alive with energy—his energy—their energy.
The spirits had come.
Capella took another step back, her body stiff, her expression twisting into something unreadable.
Subaru lifted his head.
All around him, they appeared.
Thousands—no, tens of thousands—of spirits materialized from the very air, their shimmering forms bathing the cavern in a radiant, multicolored light. Small embers flickered beside him, warm and protective. Wisps of wind curled around his shoulders, their touch gentle but strong. The ground trembled as earth spirits rose, their presence steady and unyielding.
Water spirits rippled through the air like liquid silver, their whispers filling the cavern like a swelling tide.
The dark-haired prisoner could feel them—every single one.
They were his.
His hands trembled, but not from fear. Not anymore.
Capella's expression twisted into something between rage and disbelief.
"What—" she hissed, her body tensing, her golden hair catching in the glow of the spirits' light. "What the hell is this?!"
She stepped back again, her claws twitching.
For the first time, the monster in front of him looked nervous.
The chains binding Subaru burned to ash.
The instant they vanished, a storm of energy surged through him, so vast and overwhelming that the very air hummed with power. His body, still battered and bloodied, suddenly felt weightless, his senses sharp, his mind clear. The countless spirits surrounding him flickered, their tiny glowing forms spiraling around him in an endless, shimmering dance.
A million little lights, all at his command.
Subaru exhaled, his breath steady, controlled.
Then, he uttered a single word.
"Fire."
The air roared.
From the palm of his right hand, a towering inferno erupted, swallowing the space before him in an instant. Heat blasted through the cavern, the force of it so great that the very stone beneath him cracked and splintered. The fire was not wild nor untamed—it was absolute. The spirits, responding to his call, fed the flames, pushing them higher, hotter, until the world became nothing but a sea of pure destruction.
Capella didn't even have time to scream.
The golden-haired monster was incinerated in a heartbeat.
The flames swallowed her whole, devouring flesh, bone, and blood, turning her into a charred husk in the blink of an eye. The force of the blaze blasted the cavern walls, shaking the very foundation of the space they stood in.
When it was over, all that remained was blackened bone, resting in a pile of scorched debris.
Subaru lowered his hand, a breath escaping his lips. His body trembled—not from exhaustion, but from the sheer weight of what he had just unleashed. The spirits still swirled around him, their tiny voices singing, their energy flowing through him like an endless river.
For the first time in so long, he felt free.
But the moment was short-lived.
A crack echoed through the cavern.
Subaru's eyes widened as, before his very eyes, the blackened bones shifted.
A sickening squelch filled the air as charred remains twitched, cracks forming along the burned surface. Then, like something out of a nightmare, flesh began to knit itself back together.
Her bones stretched, reshaped, regrew.
First, her fingers, long and slender, flexed as skin wrapped around them once more. Then her arms, her chest, her neck—each piece of her body regenerating, reshaping itself from the destruction. The melted remnants of her face bubbled as new skin crawled over her skull, fresh golden hair sprouting from the burned remains.
The impossible happened in mere moments.
And then—she moved.
Capella took a slow, deliberate step forward, rolling her shoulders as if testing her freshly reformed body. A deep, satisfied sigh left her lips as she stretched, her movements eerily fluid, like she had simply woken up from a nap.
Then, she grinned.
"Well," she mused, her voice mockingly casual, "that was rude."