Pride sighed in utter bliss just before Subaru's inner self took control while still in front of the mirror in Emilia's room. His eyes immediately took a sullen look, almost as if he was bored with everything.

He remained where he stood. Staring at himself through Emilia's mirror and looking over every little detail.

The white hair that had once been raven-black. The eyes that once had more life and emotions in them. The skin and lips that were pale from being in a dark place for a long time. The body that became too thin from being starved. He took off his shirt to see the scars that were imprinted on his body.

While Felix's healing was the best there is in this world, he had intentionally left the scars after healing him. A way of reminding him exactly what they'd do to him the next time they come to visit him in the cell should he not speak of what he knows.

His left hand caressed every scar remembering each and every one of them.

A small line scar on his upper left torso from when a knight nicked him with a nail.

An X shaped scar on the right side of his chest from when a knight had slowly skinned him in that area with a serrated dagger.

Several lines on non-lethal areas from when Julius slashed him with his sword countless times.

Stab marks on his sides and stomach from when the knight, who always brought him food, used a knife while interrogating him. Trying to get him to accept a name that wasn't his.

Then his back which was filled with slash and whip marks as well. More reminders to confess of crimes he didn't commit, to tell of information he didn't possess.

Then he took in the appearance of his left hand, where the marks of the mabeast bites still existed. A circular scar surrounded the upper shoulder as well as the elbow, when a knight cut it off in those two areas and Felix re-attached it. Before they found out about his right hand which could regenerate.

Which led to him inspecting his right hand which was black and leathery from being newly regenerated, a favorite of the knights. It was afflicted with the dragon blood of Capella which extended to his right leg as well.

And finally he lifted his bloodstained pants to see his left leg. Many circular scars existed, as well as stab marks in and around the ankles and the knee.

He recalled his other self's words as he looked at his face in the mirror again.

'This is what our imaginations have done to us.'

'Our hair wasn't white. Our body wasn't thin. The scars on our body will always be there.'

'Why does this world want me to suffer so much ever since day one?' He asked himself.

'Did I offend some deity out there in a past life? Is this why they never answered my prayers? Or is someone out there having fun watching me get hurt endlessly?'

"No...don't take..." A bell-like voice interrupted his thoughts. He turned towards the speaker, the unconscious Emilia on her bed.

He put on the shirt again and walked closer to Emilia. He could see her breathing was heavy and she seemed to be having a nightmare.

"..I didn't mean..Please..."

Subaru stared at her coldly. 'She looks vulnerable. I should just put her out of her misery and get out of this place.'

He wanted to bring his hands towards her neck and yet they wouldn't move. It was as if another part of him was stopping him. His thoughts refocused as she began crying in her sleep.

'Pride didn't kill you and I don't want to see you die.' Subaru thought of as he sat on the edge of the bed.

The smell of smoke reached his nose. The fire from when Pride burned his old room with Beatrice in it must've spread out across the mansion.

He focused back on Emilia.

'What do I feel for her? Do I hate her or pity her? I don't know. What I do know is that I don't agree with what Pride did to her. I'm fine with not forgiving her but to break her mind worse than that time in Sanctuary even isn't something I wanted.'

He recalled how she looked different when Pride summoned the imaginations during their conversation. 'Why did her imagination change though? Why didn't Pride kill her?'

Before he could think on that further, the light of the sun reached him from the window signifying the start of a new day. It was a scene that he has not seen in years almost. The only light he had ever seen in that cell was that of torches.

Meanwhile, the smell of burned wood and smoke reached his nose even further.

His eyes started tearing from the smoke and he felt breathing was beginning to get slightly hard. Although he wasn't phased by it.

He began thinking over what to do.

'Do I survive or do I reset.. And if I reset then what if I return to the cell? I have no guarantee that I won't... Would it be worth to go back all the way to the cell just to see them live again?'

Just then he started seeing pictures in his mind of a time when they all lived peacefully here many lifetimes ago. His many interactions with them. Even the ones who betrayed him.

Then he pictured their cruel deaths by his other self's hand.

'In a past life, I would've gladly sacrificed myself for all of them but do I have an obligation now? They're the ones that permanently severed all ties. I have no attachments to any of them. What's to stop them from betraying and hurting me again? Moreover, what's to stop Pride from killing them again?' Subaru reasoned with himself. He wanted to find a good reason to reset but couldn't.

Soon enough he heard a scream and a loud crying. No doubt Garfiel had died and it was Frederica, Petra, and Annerose crying after him alongside the others who had died and the mansion that was burning. He was reminded of the devastated looks of the ones who survived. The ones that didn't hurt him.

He grit his teeth and let out a loud heavy sigh. "Fine."

Deciding to reset this version of the world as a favor to his past life, as well as the innocent ones that never hurt him. He laid next to Emilia, who involuntarily hugged him like a teddy bear in her sleep. A scene that would've made him happy once. He felt nothing, however.

Soon enough the flames consumed everything around him without him feeling any pain.

He heard the loveliest voice speak out to him as he floated adrift in an endless void. He had no eyes to see, no ears to hear, no mouth to speak. But he knew exactly what would happen. Outside of his dreams, this was the most peaceful time for him.

"I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you." Continuously repeated like music to his ears.

'I love you too, Satella/Satella-tan.' Two voices spoke out without a sound. As Envy embraced him lovingly and caressed his cheeks.

-------------------------------------------------

- Guest room, early night time-

"I don't recognize this ceiling." Subaru said as he opened his eyes.

He found himself back in the guest room he was using. He was asleep on the bed, though it was uncomfortable.

"Thank Satella I'm not back in the cell atleast."

He got out of bed and started thinking back to the events of the last loop.

'I could've interfered at any moment. I could've stopped Pride from killing them but I didn't. Why.. Why did I hold back? And now that I'm here, what do I do?' He questioned himself.

'Leaving is the only option, I still need to fulfill my promise to Satella. But I'm in a bad shape at the moment and I wouldn't be able to make it anywhere by myself. Which means I'll have to live with them however hard it sounds until I'm somewhat fit before I go away. I'll have to convince Pride that he shouldn't kill them. Easier said than done.'

He walked to the window to look at the sky. It was late at night. This was the point when Meili came to assassinate him.

'Meili should be here soon to kill me. How many times have I died because of her?!' He clenched his fist.

'P-please n-not Mama..'

Subaru took a deep breath and let his fist ease up.

'She's still a child. A child that didn't know any better and was raised by the worst person imaginable... She didn't betray me or hurt me in Priestella at least. I'll need to see if I can make reason with her. So far I suspect she's trying to kill me because Pride reminded her of Capella with his... Jokes..'

He stayed staring out the window at the evening sky. He thought she would probably not attack him considering he was awake, as opposed to the last loop where Pride was trying to sleep. Suddenly he heard a quiet noise.

"It's late at night. You should go to sleep, Meili." Subaru spoke without looking behind him.

"Huh?" He heard before turning to look at her. Her eyes were wide with surprise that he knew she was here.

His eyes stared into hers, making her divert her gaze as they had reminded her of Mama. She immediately masked her surprised expression.

"I just caaame to um..." She was trying to think of an excuse as she badly messed up her assassination attempt and had no idea what to do next. She was curious how he knew she was there without him staring at her.

He took a step closer to her and she pointed her knife threateningly at him before noticing his eyes had a different look.

"To kill me, I know."

She was about to ask how he knew when she noticed he sounded different. The last time she heard him was when he laughed at the demi-human maid with cheerfulness all the while taunting the others. Now he seemed more.. different.

"What do you think will happen afterward?" He asked her seriously. Carefully gauging her reaction to see if she thought this through. She looked as if she didn't have an answer. Making him disappointed that she was only here to kill him without any plans or thinking about the consequences.

"I'll walk you through it." He started to detail how badly her lack of planning is, in a stern tone. Like a parent to a child.

"Let's say I won't go down without a fight and you still manage to kill me. Rem will wake up from the noise of our fighting at some point and come to investigate. If you've killed me and haven't ran off by then, you would die since Rem would be in a state of rage and shock at seeing my dead body. If you, through sheer luck, kill a shocked Rem, then Ram will instantly be aware of it and you would die. If you managed to escape then Rem will scream from seeing my corpse, waking everyone in the mansion up and alerting them."

"You can't go back to your room and play innocent since you'll have my blood all over you, meaning you'd have to run away. If I were you, I'd go into the forest as it's the safest place for you. Although Rem will turn into her Oni mode and come after you. Ram will use an ability to see through the forest creatures to look for you. Garfiel can outpace you, outlast you in terms of stamina and he can easily destroy trees in his way, he's also likely able to detect your scent. Otto can ask the insects to comb the area for you. Roswaal can fly around to search for you, assuming my death gets him into action."

"What will you do when they find you? Surrender? You would die. Call mabeasts to fight them? Bad idea, you'd only aggravate them. Rem, Ram, and Garfiel will easily tear through the Mabeasts by the dozens to get to you. Roswaal can burn all of them without breaking a sweat. Even Otto has a way of fighting them. You would die. And if you somehow evade all of them and find a good hiding spot then it wouldn't help you either. Emilia, who's likely to have her mind shatter from her guilt at failing me and seeing my dead body, will freeze everything around her which inclu-" He stopped as he noticed her frightened expression.

She was frozen in her place with her eyes wide and her hands that held the knife shaking.

He sighed as he realized he went too far. "Look, what I mean to say is. No matter what you do. No matter what scenario you think of. No matter what plan you come up with. You'll die alongside me, are you willing to accept that?"

She didn't reply as she was still afraid and thinking over it. She thought she could just go back to the dungeon after killing him and act innocent. Or even simply run away and live with the Mabeasts. Hoping that her Mama wouldn't find her if that's the case. She hadn't counted them in.

He lifted two fingers.

"There are two ways you would make it out alive." He said, catching her attention instantly. He paused to make her ask him.

"Hmm? W-What is it?" She asked nervously although she tried to hide it.

"If I don't fight you."

He continued as he saw her expression turn into confusion.

"I don't know why you're here to kill me. If you tell me why then I won't fight you. Which means you can kill me and escape without anyone chasing you for a few hours and by then you'd be far away from here for anyone to track you down."

She looked doubtful that he wouldn't fight her, which he assured her. "I promise I won't fight you or struggle." Subaru offered a way out for her. He partly suspected why she tried to kill him, it was likely because Pride reminded her of Capella but he had to find out to be certain.

Meili looked completely confused. Why would he promise that? Most victims struggled and fought off their assassination whenever she accompanied Elsa. She'd seen how they always looked smug and fought, and when that didn't work they'd get really angry and threaten her and Elsa, and when that didn't work they tried bribing and offering riches. And finally, they'd look afraid and start begging in tears.

And yet he's saying he's not doing any of that.

"Why?" She asked in confusion. Why isn't he angry or afraid? Why wouldn't he struggle? Was it because he wanted to die like he'd often murmur in his sleep?

"Tell me your reason for wanting to kill me first." He deflected her question with his previous question.

She looked as if she didn't want to speak before eventually whispering very quietly.

"..ma."

"Hm?"

"You reminded me of M-Mama. Your eyes looked like Mama's. You laughed like Mama... You talked like Mama does." She bit her lips as she continued, glaring at him. "You talked about sister and laughed."

'So it was exactly what I thought.'

"When you sleep you sound like you want to die. And you mention your mama and papa." Meili added.

His eyes widened for a moment. He didn't expect to hear that. He had no idea he begged for death when he was asleep since his dreams were often spent in the shadow garden with Satella, he hasn't had any nightmares since...

"Hello, are you thereeee?" She asked him, bringing him out of his thoughts.

He looked confused for a second before realizing she was waiting on him.

"I guess it's my turn now. It's been... A long.. time." He didn't finish his sentence as he paused and let the words sink to himself. It had been an eternity since he was in this place. The world said he had been imprisoned for months, but Subaru himself didn't know if that was true. One particular day lasted as long as years after he lost all hope. He had been in that cell for so long that very common sights such as the night sky were a thing of extreme rarity for him. Pride shared the same sentiment.

He adjusted his answer. "I'm tired. That's why."

"Tired?" Meili asked as she didn't know what he meant. She expected a lengthy explanation like the one he gave her before. She expected him to also laugh and mock her further after she spoke about Mama. Why is he acting differently?

He didn't say anything but he stared deeply into her eyes.

She felt nervous from his stare. Subaru's eyes had the look of one who was broken beyond repair and longed for death. She had seen this look whenever Mama toyed with someone she found interesting.

She bit down her nervousness and asked him. "What's the other way? You said two ways."

"You walk out of here, go back to your room and we pretend this never happened." He said as a matter of fact.

Meili thought about it, however, what's to stop him from snitching on her? She would get punished if she walks out.

"Hmmm, I don't think so. You'd just tell on me and I'd get punished." She focused on him, to see if he'd react to that. His expression remained unchanged. She thought he would react negatively to her answer, like the other people she and her sister taunted before killing.

"I have no one that I would snitch on you too." She looked doubtful so he assured her bitterly. "I don't trust anyone."

He took another step closer to her, making her point her knife threateningly at him.

"Well, I told you the two ways you get to live. Rest is up to you." 'Are you going to betray and hurt me?'

For the next few moments nothing happened. Subaru stayed still staring at her not moving an inch. Meanwhile, she kept her knife pointing in his direction.

Eventually she lowered her knife, although he didn't know whether it was out of tiredness or if she chose not to kill him.

"So that means you won't kill me then?" He asked in curiosity.

She smiled innocently at him. "Noope. I mean, don't remind me of Mama and I won't, okay?" She watched his expression remain unchanged. Neither relieved nor disappointed. She wondered why he was different again, but before she could ask he told her.

"You should go to sleep. It's getting super late anyway."

She headed for the door before pausing and looking at him. "Hey, Mister. Can you make me a toy of you with your new hair?" She requested of him.

The corner of Subaru's mouth twitched again. Before he answered her. "Sure."

He turned towards the window as she left. "Shut up." He spoke to himself.

But it was such an amazing performance from you! You looked pretty cool there, all badass and the likes *Exaggerated robotic tone* 'Kill me for the fourth time, Meili. And I won't fight you. Yes, Meili. I won't fight you. Did I say I won't fight you, Meili? Because I promise I won't fight you, Meili.' So good! You should definitely get a prize for peacekeeping hahaha.

Subaru rolled his eyes at hearing all of that. Pride continued.

Your approach was so beautiful that you even made her ask you to make a doll! What a sweet and innocent angel! The only thing she's missing is an adorable puppy in her hand for us to pet. Hahaha

He sighed. 'If only I was in traveling shape.'

He went to the bed to try and sleep, and yet he couldn't sleep. The bed was uncomfortable, he was far too used to sleeping on the rough ground. He got up from the bed and did exactly that.

'One Zeus..'
'Two Hades..'
'Three Poseidon..'

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-The next day-

Subaru felt his head was resting on something soft, someone was holding his hand while humming a tune.

Slowly opening his eyes, he found Rem watching over him and caressing his hair with another hand.

"Good morning, Subaru-kun." She said softly as she noticed him moving and starting to wake up.

"Mm." He greeted her as he gained view of his surroundings. "What time is it?"

"Just reached noon. You must've been really tired." She responded softly while still caressing his hair.

Silence dominated the area for a few seconds until Subaru spoke again.

"Rem?" He spoke in a quizzical tone.

She hummed