Subaru turned to find Rem and Ram standing in front of a lifelike statue draped with a cover, as if hiding a work of art.
"So you weren't just helping—turns out you were part of this too."
"Oh, Barusu. As nonchalant as you are, it seems you couldn't help but be drawn to art like a moth to a flame."
"Putting aside how you just compared me to a moth—yeah, I came to see you, Ram. You're actually participating in the cold festival? What's going on?"
"Are you suggesting I should stay holed up in my room like some kind of hermit while others are having fun?"
"That was an unnecessary way of putting it… but I get it. You didn't want to be left out while everyone else was enjoying themselves."
"Saying that, I absolutely wanted to play with Sister. I forced her to come with me," Rem added cheerfully, smiling beside her sister.
"Don't you feel any guilt for making your sister admit that out loud?"
"Being able to feel Rem's love up close makes me superior to you. Be jealous," Ram smirked smugly.
Subaru grinned back, then turned to the large statue covered by a cloth.
"Ram and Rem—a piece of art showcasing both of our skill, power, and synergy," Ram declared proudly, smirking up at the statue.
"Yes. Following Sister's instructions and using what little power I have, we created the best sculpture," Rem added, grinning with satisfaction.
"So the fact that your sister was lazy and made you do everything was just exposed, huh?" Subaru said, calling her out with a grin.
"So… what's its name?"
"Yes," Rem answered. "It's called The Wonderful Subwaal Sculpture."
Subaru's smile fell flat. "I can visualize the result just from the name," he muttered, dreading what was beneath the cover.
"Well then!" Rem quickly pulled off the cloth.
Subaru took one look and recoiled. "What is that monstrosity?!"
From a distance, Beatrice shivered. "It's disgusting, I suppose."
"Our opinions were split," Rem said, hands on her hips. "Sister wanted to make Roswaal, and I wanted to make Subaru."
"And… neither of you caved in?" Subaru asked, staring in horror.
"Well, well. What might you all be gathered for?"
Everyone turned to find Roswaal suddenly standing there, looking at the statue with a rigid expression.
"And… this would be?" he asked cautiously.
"Roswaal! What an embarrassing sight to show you," Ram said, trying to sound composed. "But please, take a look!"
"It's our collaboration," Rem added. "It may be true that we are part of your household, but… please give us a sincere opinion."
Roswaal stared at the statue's face in disgust.
Subaru sighed and held up five fingers.
Ram lit up, posing proudly with finger guns. "Ehehe~!"
Subaru stared at her deadpan. "Out of ten."
Ram gasped and stumbled back in horror. "I-Impossible…"
Rem looked to Roswaal with pleading eyes. "What do you think, Master Roswaal?"
The clown finally smiled at the two maids and slowly raised seven fingers into the air.
Stars lit up in their eyes—until Roswaal lowered three fingers, revealing the true score.
"Four points."
Ram collapsed onto all fours, her soul visibly leaving her body.
"The quality isn't bad, it's just… creepy," Roswaal muttered, shaking his head in disgust.
"The concept shouldn't have been wrong. It must be the Subaru component in it."
Ram punched the snow beneath her, gritting her teeth in frustration.
***
Toyota sat alone in the mansion near the grand fireplace, surrounded by lavish velvet furniture, shivering as the warmth failed to reach his bones. It wasn't his fault. He just wanted to throw a snowball at Subaru. If it had hit anyone else, he would've been fine.
But no.
He hit the literal monster who could end the world with cold.
The melted snow had seeped into the few openings of his clothes, and now he felt completely miserable. After stripping off his soaked, borrowed clothes, he retreated to his designated guest room and planned to hibernate for the rest of the day. After all, he did participate—he deserved the reward.
Thinking about that, he checked his phone—which, strangely enough, always seemed to stay with him no matter what happened to his outfit.
Ding.
(Notification: Time limit on special mission has ended and is no longer available.)
Reading this, Toyota felt an immediate wave of exasperation.
"There's no way I could've gotten there in time anyway," he muttered.
Felt's fine. She has Reinhard.
He recalled the novel. During Arc 4, when Subaru saw simulations of the world after he died, Puck—after Emilia's death—attempted to freeze the world solid. Reinhard had been sent to stop him. And when Reinhard unlocked the Dragon Sword Reid—the sacred weapon that only unsheathes if it acknowledges the strength of its opponent—there was no contest.
The sword had a legend behind it:
"Once it is drawn, defeat is no longer an option."
It was said to cut through anything—even concepts like light or space itself. And when wielded by the strongest Sword Saint in history, who had unlocked its full potential along with perfect swordsmanship?
You could already guess who'd win.
Toyota remembered the line in the novel vividly—because of how completely over-the-top and ridiculous it was:
"With one strike, he cut the world in half and reformed it, exterminating the apocalyptic spirit from existence."
And if that wasn't enough, Reinhard was said to rival the speed feats of another character who could, allegedly, "dodge every grain of sand in a sandstorm if each grain moved at the speed of light."
At this point, Toyota thought, it was obvious who the author's favorite was.
The real question was… how the world didn't collapse entirely when monsters like that fought.
The only real way Felt could've been hurt was if Reinhard was either away… or distracted by a hostage situation.
He remembered that scene in the anime—when Reinhard's scumbag of a dad distracted him and held a sword to Felt's neck. Honestly, the man deserved a spot right alongside Endeavor and Shou Tucker in the "Worst Dad of the Century" club.
The only reason Reinhard's father hadn't physically assaulted him was because he literally couldn't hit him. And really, would it be smart to smack a hydrogen bomb with a sledgehammer?
Reinhards father was lucky he was a kind, honorable guy. If Toyota had been treated the same way? The entire kingdom would be rubble by now.
As he mused to himself, he slowly closed his eyes.
***
He was walking through a street full of demi-humans.
The sudden shift surprised him—but also made him excited. He started exploring until he ran through an alleyway… only to be stopped by three men of varying heights.
They wanted to mug him.
Thinking this was just some cliché event in a fantasy story, he fought back—until he saw the glint of cold steel.
Fear overtook him.
He bowed instinctively—his signature move when scared. But it didn't stop the beatdown. He was stomped on and left bloodied, broken.
That's when she appeared.
A silver-haired girl with captivating purple eyes.
Her name was Satella.
She saved him.
He pledged himself to her instantly. Offered to help her find what she was looking for.
Time passed—until they ended up in a dark, rundown slum. That's where he found his first corpse.
He vomited on the spot.
Then he heard a sound behind him.
And pain.
Looking down, he saw his stomach ripped open. He collapsed. As he bled out, all he wanted was to save Satella.
But she… was already lying dead beside him.
Rage overtook his fading thoughts.
I'll save her… I swear I will…
Darkness.
Something inside his soul shifted.
He woke up.
Back in the same place he'd started, hours earlier. Confused, panicked. He ran. He had to save her.
But again—those same three thugs.
Why again?! Did they want revenge that badly?
No—he had no time for them.
He took them down quickly and ran to the slum. Where Satella had died.
But… she was alive.
He was confused.
She didn't remember him.
The thing she was looking for had been stolen—by a thief. He thought, If I get that thing back, maybe I can repay her.
He had nothing to offer. Maybe some snacks he was transported with. His phone, though useless without service, still had value.
He lied. He haggled. He made a deal to trade it for the stolen item.
That's when she arrived.
A woman. Dangerous. The one who ordered the item stolen.
She attacked.
Killed the girl. Killed the big man.
She toyed with him—literally toyed with his body as she cut open his stomach, made him watch as his guts spilled out.
It hurt. It hurt too much.
He didn't want to feel that pain again. He didn't want to die.
Darkness again.
The soul shifted.
He woke up… once more.
He threw up immediately, trembling. Remembering everything.
He ran to Satella again—but she yelled at him, told him never to call her by that name.
The name of the Witch.
Confused, alone, aimless… he wandered.
The three thugs again.
He didn't care.
He tried to walk past them.
And got stabbed in the back.
As he fell, blood pooling beneath him, he noticed something strange—everything he'd previously eaten was untouched. Unopened.
This really is happening… I really died…
He was dying again, alone in an alley, in a world he was thrown into with no explanation.
And then…
Darkness again.
A familiar voice.
"Aishteru."
***
Toyota jolted awake.
His breaths were ragged, short, and terrified. He turned to the side and vomited onto the floor, his body spasming.
"What the hell was that…?"
It was like he'd lived someone else's life.
Their pain.
Their fear.
Their death.
He didn't want to sleep again. Didn't want to feel that pain again. That darkness.
That loneliness.
Was I… Subaru? he thought.
"Who am I? Am I Subaru Natsuki?"
"No," he whispered. "I'm me. I have to be."
But now he understood.
What Return by Death really meant.
The gut-wrenching terror. The trauma. The helplessness.
He didn't want anyone to suffer like that again.
"I'll be fine," he said, slowly breathing in.
"Everyone will be fine."
A resolve took root in his chest—one strong enough to carry lives on his back.
As that resolve grew, the pain seemed to ease. The urge to curl up into the fetal position and cry slowly faded.
"I need to save everyone."
He mumbled to himself as he stood, wiping the cold sweat from his brow. His body still trembled faintly, but he forced it to move. The Tatoe plate from earlier still sat nearby, and he decided to clean it up.
"System," he said aloud, his voice quieter than usual, "what was that caused by?"
(Host, it seems to be caused by the merging of souls.)
"I thought you said we'd already been merged?"
(The abilities of Envy Route Natsuki Subaru have been merged—not his memories.)
Toyota narrowed his eyes. "System, are you joking? The Sin Archbishop of Gluttony got Subaru's memories and went fully insane. If I take all of his memories, I might end up offing myself."
(Host, that's why I merged the soul's abilities first. Do you remember the passive skill you received?)
"…Whip proficiency?"
(Host… you received Envy Route Subaru's mentality.)
There was a pause. Toyota blinked.
"…Right."
(It makes you highly resistant to trauma—mentally and emotionally. That's why you're still standing right now.)
"…What about when I'm sleeping?"
(Host, it appears the passive ability can't reach your subconscious during sleep. However, once you awaken, it resets and functions as intended. Host will be good as new.)
Toyota deadpanned at the glowing interface.
"Coming from someone who seems to lack a soul, that's not reassuring."
After quickly putting on the guest clothes that had been left out for him, he walked over and pulled open the curtains to check the time. But when he looked outside, his breath caught in his throat.
The entire sky, though still dark, was lit up with hundreds of glowing spirits. They floated gently across the snow-covered ground, illuminating every snow sculpture the villagers had built. From the second-floor window, the view stretched wide, making it look as if the entire plain was blanketed in glittering stars and softly glowing orbs.
His expression shifted into something he hadn't worn in years—something he wouldn't even recognize on himself: childlike wonder.
He had always been able to get anything he asked for. Toys. Books. Rare foods. But never friends. Never permission to leave his house.
Only once had they granted him something truly different—when he asked to see the stars. Not in a book, not in a movie, but in real life.
They agreed… under conditions.
That night, they sent in several heavily chained men dressed in bright orange jumpsuits. He later learned they were called "D-Class." He was ordered to keep physical contact—just a finger on the wrist—of one of them for an hour.
It wasn't fun. The men all looked at him strangely, as if he were the monster in the room. Some of them shouted at the microphone embedded in the wall, swearing and begging to be let out. That's where he learned a few unique words.
But after an hour of boredom, index finger pressed against a sweaty wrist, the ceiling of his home opened like something out of a sci-fi movie. And he saw them—the stars.
That same wonder he felt then... he felt it now.
How could something so unique and beautiful exist?
***
"Alright, using the mana I have left... let's share some snow with the people of the capital."
With a flash of magic, the cat flew up into the sky, releasing a brilliant beam of white and blue light that soared into the night. Snow began to fall—light, glittering, and cold—drifting down over the capital.
Icicles sparkled as they descended onto its many citizens.
A busty, arrogant woman with flowing orange hair stared out the window with her knight and servant beside her, mildly impressed.
A strict woman with green hair, dressed in a military uniform, stood nearby, arms crossed, while a wide-eyed, feminine demi-human cat-boy bounced excitedly at her side, pointing out the window.
An old man with sharp eyes and greying hair, sword at waist stood calmly, his hand gently stroking the neck of a large black ground dragon as he gazed into the sky.
(Author's Note: The true heroine of the series—Patrasche.)
A petite, purple-haired woman in a luxurious fur coat stood on a rooftop with her entourage, all of them looking up at the falling snow in silence.
The Appa merchant's family smiled warmly as they stepped out into the light snowfall.
In the slums, a large elderly man with a ridiculous hairstyle and a massive club stood alone, watching the flakes drift down in the quiet.
Elsewhere, the three stooges—each a different height—lay unconscious in a dark alleyway, snow settling gently on their still forms.
A bewildered white-haired boy, bundled in a green outfit and seated atop a large dragon, stared up at the sky in awe.
In another corner of the capital, a beautiful red-haired woman in the white coat of a royal knight knelt in the snow. In her arms, she held the lifeless body of a blonde-haired girl. Purple veins stood out on the girl's pale skin, and two puncture marks were visible on her wrist. The knight's blue eyes stared blankly at the sky, her soul hollow, dead inside.
And far beyond the capital—near the edge of the forest where the trees stood tall and still—a group of hooded figures knelt before a green-haired man. His skin peeled in patches, and he read from a black tome with a smile stretched too wide. Snow drifted down around them, untouched by its beauty. His presence twisted the calm of the forest into something sinister.
All of it—every moment—was happening at the same time, under the same drifting snow.
(AN: Give me possible world ideas, I want to see something interesting.
I have 3 main world ideas. I know these worlds and the lore very well. they aren't cemented yet, but 1 of the 3 have a high possibility of being the next world.
MCU, Percy Jackson, One Piece.
I've set an official release schedule: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, Although when I get bored, I add extra.
Bonus chapters will drop on Saturdays if my demands are met. 🔫
Trade deal:
You give me 70 power stones, and I give you a bonus chapter.
Sounds fair, right?)