Subaru felt the blood drain out of his face. “What do you mean?” He asked quietly.

Emilia’s eyes were huge. “I mean, I can’t move my legs!” Emilia’s voice broke into a shrill scream.

Subaru quickly rushed to her side and shushed her.

Emilia nodded and looked nervously at the door.

“It’s OK,” Subaru said, using everything he had to keep his voice calm and steady. “This… is a common temporary occurrence with these kind of curses,” He lied.

“Really?” She whispered.

“Absolutely,” He said, hoping he sounded more convincing than he felt. “There’s no reason to worry yet.”

Who am I kidding?! I have no idea if this is normal or how long it might last! What if it’s permanent?!

Knock it off! Emilia needs you to be calm right now. She’s the one freaking out so you have to be calm and reassuring.

Subaru slipped his hand under the bedsheets and found Emilia’s foot. He gave her pinky toe a hard pinch.

“Ouch!” Emilia protested.

This made Subaru feel much better. OK. So it’s not… nerve damage… If the curse is affecting her muscles then that’s likely to be temporary, right?

As soon as the curse runs its course, Emilia will be back on her feet…

But that could take weeks. Months!

Subaru swallowed hard and nodded. “OK. This looks like a very temporary situation,” He said awkwardly. “We just need to give you time to recover.”

Emilia closed her eyes. “Subaru, we’re on the run! The whole world is after us!” She whispered in despair. “If I can’t walk-”

“We have Patrasche!” Subaru reminded her. “You don’t need to walk to wherever we’re going! Look, I think that you’re just making trouble for yourself by acting like this might be a long term thing. It might go away in a couple of days! But even if it does take longer, we’ll handle it. As long as we’re together…” Subaru trailed off expectantly.

Emilia didn’t respond. She sat there staring down at her clasped hands.

Subaru felt a catch in his throat.

Subaru had spent close to half an hour soothing Emilia’s hysterics. She finally calmed down but that was more likely due to exhaustion than anything that Subaru had done.

He held her tight as her eyes slowly fluttered closed and she went to sleep. Then he left the room.

Subaru stood alone in the empty hall. He took a deep breath, squatted down, and buried his face in his hands.

Oh my god! What the fuck am I doing to do?!

Emilia can’t walk! She’s right! We’re on the fucking run for our lives! Emilia can’t sit on Patrasche safely if she can’t use her legs, I’ll have to hold her! And that’ll still be dangerous if we need to run away fast! If Patrasche makes a sharp turn, we could all get dumped on the ground!

Worse, what about the spirits?! I can’t take Emilia with me to try and rescue Beatrice and Puck but I can’t safely leave her behind either! She can’t take care of herself if I leave her all alone for days on end if she can’t walk!

How did I let everything spiral so far out of control?!

A panicked scream bubbled up deep inside of him and when he couldn’t hold it anymore he triggered Reason and Judgment.

Subaru’s worries drifted away like smoke.

Subaru didn’t think about anything. He just sat there, savoring the freedom from his own fears and doubts.

You need to get a grip on yourself. Emilia’s condition certainly complicates matters but handling complications is what skilled leaders do.

Subaru left Reason and Judgment with a sigh.

I can do this, He thought. I have to do this. Emilia needs me to do this.

I’m all that she has left. That means, I have to be enough…

Subaru took a deep breath and stood up.

Alright. So we’ll get out here quick. Buy some food from a shop, saddle Patrasche, and then we’ll take off. A quick stop at Nicholas’s to make some medicine and we’ll go.

…But is that the best idea? Emilia has only been sick for a day at most and she’s already paralyzed form the waist down! How fast could this curse progress? Maybe I need to lay in a stock of medicine. I wonder how much I could buy from Nicholas. Or conversely how much time in his lab I could buy and how much I could make?

Subaru was clomping down the stairs when he suddenly became aware of raised voices.

He emerged into the tap room on the first floor and found the place absolutely swarming with people.

Brother Cyril stood on a small table, haranguing the locals. As Subaru appeared on the stairs, Cyril stopped talking and glared up at Subaru with loathing. Most of the people in the tap room followed suite.

Subaru swallowed hard. Pretty sure I know what they’re talking about. This is a problem. Indomitable is an overwhelming ability but it does have limitations. A single powerful foe is easily handled but it doesn’t work well on trash mobs that swarm. There must be sixty people in this room and they’re all armed. They’re armed with farming tools and whatever else they could find but they’re armed.

If the crowd just rushes me, I’ll kill plenty of them but there’s only five seconds before they’ll tear me apart.

I need to scare them before it gets that far. The problem with my power is that cooldown. I not only need to kill somebody but I need to make sure that everyone sees me kill them and panics before this mob gives into blood lust and stops thinking.

Subaru tried to defuse the situation. “So, we’re going to be leaving. My wife needs a doctor and I’m going to head back into Lagunica to find one.”

“You’re going nowhere!” Shaun shouted up the stairs. He held a butcher’s knife in his hands and he raised it over his head.

A group of other voices muttered in agreement.

Subaru’s eyes narrowed. “Come again?”

“You’re a disgusting degenerate!” A woman cried out to more sounds of agreement.

Subaru took a deep breath. “I’ve been called worse. How about my wife and I just clear out of this village and you won’t have to worry about us anymore?”

“Your wife?” Cyril snorted. “Do you call your riding dragon your wife as well?”

Subaru’s hands made fists. “We’re leaving,” He hissed. “That’s all you should care about.”

“You’re going nowhere!” Shaun shouted again. “You’ve disgraced all of humanity by plowing a dirty demi-human’s gash! She’ll be put down like any other beast and you’ll be strung up by your balls.”

Subaru’s brain erupted in flames and he slowly descended the stairs. He knew that placing himself where he could be surrounded like this was unwise but he was simply too angry to think straight. “You are coming dangerously close to the limits of my patience,” He whispered.

“You’re a freak!” Cyril said, pointing at him as if sentencing a criminal. “Our people killed the Witch of Ruin centuries ago and since then, Gusteko has been a paradise for the pureblooded human race! We’re not about to let you lizard-fucking southerners bring your mutts up here! We’ll string you both from a tree as a warning to outsiders!”

The crowd roared in agreement.

Subaru’s rage exploded.

His Authority surged to life but it found itself… strangely thwarted. A great pressure built up in Subaru’s heart as he bit back a cry of pain.

This pain was unfamiliar to Subaru but it was something that all of the Archbishops could have easily identified.

Subaru now had two Authorities. He was remarkably compatible with the Authority of Pride. So much so that in the strictest sense, he had never suffered any damage from bearing it at all.

However, he was largely incompatible with Gluttony.

This was not especially uncommon. Extremely few people are compatible with more than one Authority, much less ever get the chance to hold more than one. Under normal circumstances, Subaru’s second Authority would remain dormant. When he finally died, it would simply abandon him and wait for a new host.

However, Daphne’s intervention had awakened the Authority of Gluttony. By teaching Subaru so many lessons about hunger and desire and satiation, Daphne had unknowingly increased his compatibility with the Authority. Now the two Authorities contended deep inside of Subaru’s soul.

Ordinarily, Gluttony could never have opposed the mighty power of Pride. It was like a wild boar attacking a dragon. But Daphne’s interference had changed the picture somewhat, as did the massive amount of poison that Subaru had absorbed from the Black Water and never successfully removed from his body. The Black Water’s poison was manifested by Gluttony and it now served to empower Gluttony. The battle was like a wild boar in an arena that was filling up with mud and water, attacking a dragon which could not swim.

They each fought and struggled with neither giving in nor gaining ground.

Finally, just as it seemed that they would both rip their host to pieces, Pride and Gluttony joined forces and a new power was born.

Subaru suddenly knew a new term as if it was engraved on his very soul

Endless Hunger.

Shaun was the first. He raised his butcher cleaver high and marched over toward the degenerate stranger. Shaun wasn’t sure himself if he was going to try to capture him or just bury the blade in his skull.

The fool stood there, as if wrestling with some intractable mental problem.

Shaun reached the stranger and raised his cleaver high over his head.

Every light in the inn went out at once. The cheerily burning fire on the hearth blew out like a candle.

Shaun staggered back. The room had become freezing. An icy wind had begun to blow inside the closed up inn. A wind that seemed to be trying to drag everything closer to the stranger.

Shaun’s eyes widened in fear. Where before the stranger had looked like a normal man, now he was nothing but a shadowy blur. Shaun found himself buffeted by a maelstrom of unseen forces, forces that were all trying to inexorably drag him closer to the stranger. The entire world became dark and blurry, as if he was looking at everything through the clear water of a raging river that thundered closer to the stranger.

Shaun looked around at his familiar inn and the neighbors that he’d lived beside all his life and found himself trapped in an alien world. Colors faded from the world around him and shapes melted into obscene distortions, every object revealing a hidden and somehow hideous nature unseen by normal eyes. The people were screaming but sounds faded in the gloom. His friends and neighbors were unrecognizable, their faces nothing but shadowy smears. The world around him felt like it had been opened and turned inside out. Shaun felt like he could see all of the secrets of the world and none of its beauty.

Shaun fought to pull away from this monster in disguise but it was like being chest deep in a raging river. There was a force pulling him closer to the shadow-man.

The crowd fought to pull away and flee. Some of them succeeded. The monster’s power seemed to diminish with distance.

A few paces behind, Shaun he heard a querulous moan. He turned and saw a slender woman collapse to her knees. Her face and body were a shadowy smear but Shaun recognized the contours of her maid costume. It was Jill, his employee of many years.

“Jill!” Shaun shouted. “What’s wrong?!”

“I don’t know!” Jill moaned. “My body… feels heavy…”

Shaun was also struggling to stay on his feet as most of the others ran for their lives. Shaun felt a bone-deep weariness that had him struggling not to fall to the ground. The crowd fought their way through the door. The crowd pressed against the doorway, everyone fighting to get away from this madness.

They fled the inn screaming about the end of the world.

Shaun turned back to face the monster and he felt a hand seize him by his throat and lift him up off his feet.

Shaun stared down at the monster whose face was nothing but a shadowy blur.

“You dare?” The monster murmured in a deep, inhuman voice. It was the kind of voice that one would imagine echoing out of a tomb. “You dare offer threat to my bride?”

Shaun could barely breathe. He tried to kick at the monster but his legs felt as if they were made of straw. Moving them at all took herculean effort and his kick faltered into feebly swinging his foot back and forth.

“By mine right of succession,” The monster whispered. “And the sovereignty of my throne, I claim what is rightfully mine.”

The walls around the monster began to glisten with silver as streaks of frost that spread across the room, freezing it solid.

Shaun’s eyes widened in horror. The monster was… doing something to him. He felt like a barrel that had sprung a leak. Something was being drawn out of him, slowly and inexorably. With each passing moment, breathing became more challenging. His eyes didn’t want to stay open.

The monster was opening Shaun, emptying Shaun. Leaving him a shriveled husk.

Jill struggled to lift her head off the floor.

A few moments later, the room was as cold as the Gusteko forest in midwinter. Frost coated the entire room and the monster dropped Shaun, or rather Shaun’s body to the floor with a thud. He had gone from a hale and hearty man in his prime to a cadaver that looked as though it had died of starvation and exposure in the winter cold.

The monster looked at Jill for a moment. Everyone else had managed to flee the inn.

“Please,” Jill begged in a whisper, uncertain what she was begging for or from whom.

A moment later, the monster simply turned around and walked back up the stairs. The swirling vortex went with it and vanished as the monster left the room. The roaring fire on the heart and the candles all leaped back into dancing flame. The room became warm and balmy again, just incongruously covered in frost.

Jill sat there, panting for breath and crying in fear. Every fiber of her being desperately wanted to leap to her feet and run away but her strength didn’t even start to recover until the monster had left.

Thus she was forced to sit there while her strength slowly returned to her, trembling and hoping that she would be long gone before the monster returned.

Subaru stood on the second floor of the inn, his heart racing. He dismissed the Endless Hunger with a thought and he stood there panting for long moments.

The black color swathing him faded and Subaru’s face and body became visible again. The unnatural cold in the inn ended.

What the hell was that?! Why did I turn into an ink-blot test?!

And what was I doing to those people? I looked at them and… they just fell down!

And I felt that innkeeper’s… something pass into me. It was just like what Daphne took from Jenevieve after she died. What is it?

No. Fuck it. That doesn’t matter now.

Emilia is in danger. I need to get her out of here.

Subaru took a moment to calm himself and put a calm smile on his face and then he entered their room.

Emilia was unconscious and breathing fast.

“Mili,” Subaru shook her.

She didn’t make a sound.

Subaru lifted the bedspread and now saw that the strange black and red marks on Emilia’s white skin were profusely weeping blood and black sludge. Worse, they now ran down both legs and they were beginning to climb her pelvis.

Subaru bit his lip hard. No. Medicine first. She needs medicine before I can do anything else.

What caused this? The Black Water?

Seems like as good a candidate as anything but what can I do about that?

Never mind. First I need to make her some curse remedies.

I’ll get Emilia out of here and then we’ll go visit that Nicholas guy.

Subaru quickly saddled Patrasche and left her outside in front of the inn.

The townspeople were gathered a long distance away from the inn, pointing at Subaru in terror.

Something tells me that we won’t be able to expect a warm welcome in Gusteko any time soon.

Oh well. It’s cold here and the people suck. I heard that Kararagi is nice.

This actually isn’t too bad. We were ready to leave anyway. The only problem is that we have no food. I need to find Emilia a doctor who treats curses and, assuming Brother Cyril had the slightest idea what he was talking about, most healers can’t do that. I don’t even know where to begin looking for a curse specialist. Does this world have a medical college?

So we may have another quest in front of us to treat one of Emilia’s afflictions and once again we have no idea where to go and we have absolutely nothing eat.

Perfect. Just perfect.

Subaru raced inside and ran up stairs. He bundled Emilia’s limp body in blankets and picked her up in a bridal carry.

I guess I shouldn’t worry about stealing the blankets when I already murdered the innkeeper…

Subaru left the bedroom. Has Emilia just lost a lot of weight lately? I mean… I’ve held her before but I shouldn’t be strong enough to carry her like this. Not without feeling a strain.

She feels feather light for some reason. Lucky me. Otherwise there’s no way I could carry her with only one arm. My left is barely able to provide enough force to keep her from flipping over.

Subaru gently carried Emilia down the stairs, stepping carefully over the innkeeper’s withered body and emerged outside.

Patrasche was waiting there, looking darkly at the terrified villagers cowering in the distance.

The earth dragon looked at Subaru and instantly descended to her knees to make it easier for him to mount while carrying Emilia.

Subaru climbed on top of Patrasche and set himself, making sure that he was holding onto Emilia securely.

Patrasche got to her feet and Subaru cast a final look of loathing at the frantic townspeople.

The townspeople saw him glowering at them and they scattered.

This made Subaru feel slightly better.

He kicked Patrasche and the earth dragon raced out of the village.

Nicholas was an old man in an empty house, many miles from the nearest town. His wife had died decades ago and his son had moved far away to the east to make a fresh start with his life. This meant that Nicholas rarely saw him or his grandchildren.

Nicholas had inherited the house. It was an old summer home that his noble family used frequently when he was a boy. His older brothers had no interest in the old place so they gave it to Nicholas when their father died. Nicholas had loved this house since he was a boy but a three bedroom home was too much for an old man to keep up with and it was gradually falling into disrepair.

This was the reason that he was looking forward to tomorrow’s visit to see his son in Sibarrel. Ever since his wife had passed away, there wasn’t much for him to do around here and he struggled to make ends meet.

There was a knock at the door.

Nicholas jumped to his feet and scrambled to the door as fast as his old and fat body allowed.

Maybe little Nell has colic again! I mean, poor dear but a few copper coins would mean a lot these days!

Nicholas flung the door wide. “Hello! Welcome to-” Nicholas trailed off. Standing in front of him was a young man that he’d never seen before. One of his arms appeared to be shriveled.

“You’re Nicholas?” The young man asked bluntly.

“Um. Yes, indeed I am, sir,” Nicholas said, thrown slightly off step. It wasn’t precisely unheard of for travelers to come and see Nicholas for medicine but it was awfully rare. “Can I help you?” He asked, stepping away from the door and inviting the visitor inside. “I have a variety of extremely useful potions! These range from…” Nicholas trailed off as the young man completely ignored him.

The stranger walked into the nearby laboratory that was Nicholas’s pride and joy.

The young man examined the equipment closely.

The lab was an enormous room with a gigantic table occupying the middle. The table was covered in a complex layout of interconnected flasks all connected by delicate tubing. The only other furniture in the room was a desk in the corner covered with Nicholas’s disorganized notes and a pair of easy chairs. One for when Nicholas was tired-

And one chair from the days when his wife had still been here to keep him company and ensure that he ate at least periodically…

Nicholas looked at the chair and felt a wave of nostalgia sweep over him until he brought his focus back on the boy.

Nicholas watched the stranger pace around the lab, studying everything intently.

Nicholas fidgeted in discomfort. Normally, Nicholas would have simply ordered the boy to get away from his delicate equipment but the stranger looked fairly well-off. Nicholas didn’t want to precipitate anything. A few silver coins could feed Nicholas for weeks.

“I have a wonderful cure-potion,” Nicholas hinted. “It works on everything from headaches to aching muscles to providing relief for broken bones!”

The young man ignored him and inspected all of Nicholas’s equipment and even went through his storage room of supplies and provisions.

The young man finally nodded. “This all looks satisfactory. Not exactly ideal but it will have to do,” The young man said finally. He turned back to Nicholas and gave him a look as sharp as a blade. “I want to buy your house and all your equipment.”

This was the very last thing that Nicholas had expected today. “You… what?!” He asked in disbelief.

“I want to buy your lab. Right now. Today. Twenty gold coins,” The young man said.

Nicholas’s jaw dropped. This was at least five times what he had thought he could get for the place. The land and the big but poorly maintained house were probably worth less than three gold coins combined. The sophisticated equipment in his lab had some value but it was decades old and it was too fragile to ship safely. No one would buy it from him.

“Um. I’ll need some time to think about it, my lord,” Nicholas said uncertainly. This was the deal of a lifetime. He could move down to Sibarrel and be with his son. But Nicholas was an old man and he didn’t care for things that happened too fast.

“I’ll make it thirty gold coins if you leave here in less than an hour with intent not to return,” The young man said bluntly.

That was good enough for Nicholas. “I’ll just… pack my things then, my lord,” He said weakly.

“Don’t bring any of the lab equipment or supplies,” The young man muttered. “I need them.”

The boy walked back outside. Nicholas watched them leave with a baffled shake of his head. Then he turned to his belongings and started trying to figure out how much of his life he could remove from the house in an hour.

With an hour to kill, Subaru walked back into the forest. About a quarter mile in the woods, he found Patrasche laying in a clearing. The sleeping Emilia was leaning against her.

Subaru patted Patrasche’s face. “Thanks for watching her for me, girl,” He murmured.

Patrasche clucked appreciatively.

Subaru gently lifted Emilia off of Patrasche and laid her head on his lap.

If Emilia was at all aware that she was being moved, there was no sign.

“OK, Mili,” Subaru sighed. “So… here’s the plan. We need to find you a doctor. Or a healer. Or whatever they’re called around here. The problem is that that… asshole I hired in the village thinks that these are cursed wounds and I think that I believe him. They’re certainly not natural. Apparently curses aren’t easy to treat and heal so the doctors who can handle them are scarce. I don’t even know where to start looking yet. But the disease is progressing quickly. We can’t just take off and run around in circles. So, I just bought us a house.

Subaru made a face. “This is a big step in our relationship, Mili,” Subaru said with a rueful smile. “I just wish that you were awake for it.

“Anyway, there’s a decent lab in this house. Not as good a lab as I would have liked but I can make some basic medicine for you here. We’ll build up a little supply to stabilize you and then we’ll go hunting for a doctor.”

Subaru frowned. “Oh. Wait a minute. I never even got a chance to tell you about Daphne, did I? Boy, do we have a lot to talk about when you wake up.”

Subaru sighed and waited.

Subaru cradled Emilia for just under an hour and then he left her with Patrasche again and returned to Nicholas’s home. The old man was tossing items out the door and into a small, hand-drawn cart.

As Subaru approached, Nicholas emerged from the house carrying a heavy bag over his shoulder and wearing several heavy coats. He put a few more things in the hand-drawn cart and cheerfully handed Subaru a key. “Here you go!”

“Thank you,” Subaru stood up to take the key and handed Nicholas thirty gold coins.

Nicholas looked delighted with the transaction. He lifted the front of the cart and slowly trundled off down the road with a broad smile.

“I sure hope that he’s not going to stop for lunch in Stoneybrooke,” Subaru murmured. “It wouldn’t be hard for the locals to put two and two together…”

Subaru returned to where Emilia and Patrasche waited. Since getting himself and Emilia back in the saddle for such a short walk seemed a little silly, he gently lifted Emilia into his arms and carried her back to the house. Patrasche followed.

OK, so earlier I thought that Emilia was light as a feather. Now for some reason she feels her normal weight again. I’m starting to regret not riding Patrasche back.

Why did she feel so light before? Was it just adrenaline? No, something weird is going on here.

“Wait here for a second, girl,” Subaru murmured to Patrasche. “I’ll put Emilia down and then I’ll find a place for you.”

Patrasche shook like a big dog but aside from that she made no objection.

Subaru stepped into the house. It was a two story home. The first floor appeared to have two large rooms on it and two smaller ones. One had been converted to a fairly comfortable sitting room, the other had been re-purposed into a lab. There was also a small kitchenette and a small bedroom with a pair of old bunk beds.

All of these rooms were bigger than Emilia’s whole cottage.

“OK. Let’s take a look upstairs. I don’t know about you, Mili but I don’t want to sleep in bunk beds. Maybe we’ll save those for when Felt and Garf come visit.”

Subaru made the joke without thinking but his heart felt leadened.

Felt and Garf. And Reinhard. Will we ever see any of you again?

And if we do, will it be as friends or enemies?

Subaru carried Emilia up the steep stairs to the second floor. The upper level was small but there were two bedrooms and a bathroom.

Damn. What luxury. When was the last time I took a shower? It might have been weeks by now.

Subaru stepped into the master bedroom. “Well, one downside of getting Nicholas out of here so fast was that apparently he didn’t have time to make his bed this morning.”

Subaru inspected the bed carefully, looking for stains, fleas, or anything else nasty before quickly making the bed and putting Emilia on top of it. He tightly wrapped her up in blankets until she looked swaddled. “OK, Mili. I don’t really have time to change the sheets right now. I need to start making medicine. So you just stay bundled up here and let me go start cooking something to make you feel better. I’ll worry about doing laundry and making beds while it cooks. Speaking of cooking, I wonder if there’s anything to eat around here. We’re going to get very very hungry very soon.”

Subaru got Emilia as comfortable as he could and then he raced down the steep stairs to the lab.

He frowned at the enormous table covered with a complex web of tubes and interconnected flasks and beakers, going over the ingredients and steps in his mind necessary to produce Vitae.

This is so strange. I never took a chemistry class in my life. I have no idea what any of this equipment does. Except… I do. Daphne memories tell me exactly what all this equipment does and what I should do with it even though there’s no reason that I should know.

It’s weird.

Not long after, Subaru had reassembled the equipment into a new configuration.

Around here, there’s no such thing as Bunsen burners. They have enchanted ceramic tiles that they use to generate heat for the flasks and beakers. Good thing I have Daphne’s memories because I never would have figured that out otherwise.

Finally, Subaru had seventeen different ingredients slowly bubbling their way through a maze of interconnected tubes and toward a final destination. A liquid that looked black as pitch was collecting in the final beaker.

Umbra is just the first step. Once I have a supply I can refine Vitae from it but even the Umbra will take a few hours to cook.

Shit. I need to find a place to put Patrasche.

Subaru found a dilapidated old stable behind the house. Patrasche and Subaru inspected it closely. It was old, small, and in poor repair but it did not seem like it was ready to collapse just yet.

“Sorry, Patrasche, it’s the best we’ve got,” He shrugged.

Patrasche took a look around the musty old stable and then gave Subaru a disapproving honk.

“I know, I know,” Subaru sighed. “I’ll try to do better.”

The dragon snorted.

Subaru put a cold facecloth on Emilia’s head and then went downstairs to look for food. Nicholas’s kitchen was pretty bare but there looked like there were enough vegetables to last them a few days.

Lucky, I more or less know how to make vegetable soup, Subaru grumbled to himself, trying to peel a few vegetables and struggling at it. If there were steak cuts here, I’d probably turn them into charcoal just trying to figure out how to cook them!

The cook-fire was out cold. Subaru gathered some twigs from the nearby woodpile and build up kindling.

At least the woodpile looks well stocked.

Subaru had to start a fire which was not something that he’d ever had to worry about before. Normally either Emilia, Puck, or Beatrice would start it using magic. I don’t know how ‘normal’ people in this world start fires. Maybe I should invent a cigarette lighter…

In irritation, Subaru went into the lab, took one of the ‘Bunsen burner’ ceramic tiles and brought it back into the kitchen. He cranked up the tile to max heat and shoved it into the kindling until it caught fire.

“Well,” Subaru muttered, pulling out the tile and returning it to the lab. “Not exactly the intended use but effective all the same.”

Subaru sat next to Emilia while the food and medicine cooked. Emilia was sleeping deeply. She hadn’t woken up the entire time that they’d been here. He had sat by her side for hours, changing her facecloth and desperately trying to keep her cool. The black marks were spreading. They had nearly reached her stomach.

Subaru went down to the lab and checked the final vessel in the chain. A black liquid was slowly collecting in the flask.

He watched closely as the last few drops dripped into the tube.

Alright. This should be enough Umbra to make a decent amount of Vitae. Luckily, making Vitae from Umbra is pretty quick. But I need to take my time and be thorough. Umbra is highly toxic and that’s the last thing Emilia needs right now.

Subaru placed the jar on an enchanted ceramic tile and hit the symbols to crank up the heat to the max.

The jar began to boil and steam. Subaru coughed at the intensely foul odor and stumbled away to open the window. After a moment’s thought, he walked around the lab and opened all the windows.

Subaru gave the process a few minutes until the cloud of steam thinned. When he returned, he found the jar had boiled dry and left a large pile of gleaming black crystals behind.

Subaru grabbed the jar of Umbra crystals tightly in his hands. This was a special trick of Daphne’s…

Subaru took a deep breath and concentrated. Without fully understanding how or what he was doing, he forced his Authority to remove the spark of life that he had stolen from the innkeeper and press it into the receptive black crystals. It made the chemical mixture in the jar something more than just chemicals. It transformed the remaining salts into something that interacted with the natural mana of this world in a special way.

The gleaming black crystals took on a faint but unmistakable violet glow.

That’s done it.

Subaru checked the supply closet and discovered another surprise.

Shit! Nicholas’s lab isn’t badly stocked but he has barely any sal-ammoniac. That means that I can make as much Umbra as I want but I can’t refine much Vitae! I have enough to make a few batches and that’s it. Daphne remembers sal-ammoniac as being pretty rare and that means pretty expensive. She knew a way to make it from scratch but that would require some serious equipment that Nicholas doesn’t have.

Although, I just used up all the life-force that I stole from the innkeeper so maybe it’s not an issue…

Whatever. I have what I need for right now. I’ll have to deal with this problem later.

Subaru transfered the Umbra crystals to an almost comically large glass container.

Subaru grabbed a scale and carefully weighed the sal-ammoniac, slowly pushing the excess white-crystal salt back into the bag.

When he had the right amount, he slowly and carefully poured the crystal salt into the large vial.

Then he placed the vial on a burner, cranked up the heat, and stood well back, hovering by the wide-open window.

The sal-ammoniac was melting into a white liquid, coating the black crystals and dissolving them. The mixture began to spit and boil furiously. It drove itself into a bubbling froth and the mixture started to climb up the sides of the container. The vial emitted a thick, acrid white smoke that reeked of urine.

For a moment, Subaru worried that the beaker wasn’t big enough to contain the reaction and that the volatile chemicals might spill out which would be a disaster but the reaction slowly calmed down.

The white mixture inside the beaker slowly turned a vivid electric blue and developed a faint glow.

The reaction seemed to be finished but Subaru kept his distance for several minutes, waiting for the toxic byproducts to disperse and the excess liquid to evaporate.

When Subaru finally returned to the mixture and shut off the burner, nothing was left but a tiny amount of glowing blue liquid, possibly enough to fill a pair of shot glasses.

This is… about two Years of Vitae I think… That’s more than I could usually get from a single person without the Stone…

Subaru measured out two years with a measuring spoon and then deposited it in two tiny vials.

Subaru held up the tiny vial with a single year of stolen life inside of it.

Emilia drinking this will transfer a year of life that the innkeeper would have had to her. That might be enough to cure the curse.

No it won’t, His own mind replied dryly. Vitae is only a healing potion in the sense that it provides time and time heals all wounds. But time doesn’t cure all conditions. If you gave a man dying of cancer a century of life, it wouldn’t cure his cancer because his body can’t heal that condition even given infinite time. It will just delay his death. And worse, because he is dying and the effect gets worse not better over time, he won’t get the full century. He’ll get a small fraction of that time.

Emilia is the same way. Her body can’t heal a curse so giving her Vitae is nothing more than a delaying tactic.

Subaru made a face. “Well… at least this will stall the damage for a while. The curse won’t be able to damage her any further until its damage consumes the year. Even if what’s afflicting Emilia is a particularly vicious curse, a year of Vitae should last us… seven months easily before the curse consumes it. That should be enough time to find a healer for her.”

Subaru paused. “Actually, maybe I should test it first…”

Subaru picked up one of the vials and he poured it on his shriveled arm.

The limb glowed blue for an instance and then began to swell. The wizened limb spasmed and shook and Subaru grit his teeth against the unfamiliar sensation of muscles rapidly growing.

In seconds, Subaru’s left arm was a perfect match for his right.

Subaru smirked. A year of healing in seconds…

Subaru started to turn away from the lab table and he hesitated. “I should probably cook some more Umbra,” He muttered. “We can take it with us when we leave. I don’t have any more life-force right now but I might find some more later and then we could make more Vitae.”

Subaru quickly reset and resupplied the chemical process to brew more Umbra while he was gone.

I’m burning through a lot of Nicholas’s supplies. I’ll need to find someplace to restock soon.

Maybe Ganaks? It’s probably the closest city.

Subaru sighed. “OK. If Daphne’s memories are correct,” He said to no one. “This should pause whatever curse Emilia was exposed to.”

Subaru took the vial of blue liquid and headed upstairs.

As the sun set, Subaru entered the master bedroom with the medicine.

Emilia lay in bed unconscious, her breathing shallow.

“OK, Mili. Time to wet your lips. This should help you feel better.”

Subaru slipped his arms around Emilia’s shoulder, helping her sit up.

Emilia moaned. Her body felt like a furnace and she weakly tried to push Subaru away.

Subaru sucked in a breath through his teeth when he saw that the strange, weeping black markings were now on Emilia’s stomach and running down both legs.

Subaru slowly and carefully poured the tiny cup into Emilia’s mouth.

Emilia took a deep breath and seemed to relax almost instantly. Her face lightened and she smiled in her sleep. Her head rested on Subaru’s shoulder and she snuggled against him for a moment before drifting back into deeper sleep.

I think that might have worked.

Subaru gently helped her lie down and wrapped the blankets around her.

He quickly checked the black marks. They were still all over her lower body but he thought that they might look a bit drier than a few minutes ago. It was probably too soon to tell.

“Hang on, Mili. Supper will be ready soon. Also, I need to see if I can find some clean sheets in this house and make the bed.”

Subaru did find some clean sheets in the closet.

He gently carried Emilia to the other upstairs bedroom and laid her down while he changed the sheets in the master bedroom.

Making beds was not one of Subaru’s talents and he made it far more difficult than it needed to be but he got it done.

Subaru brought Emilia back into the master bedroom and tucked her into a clean bed.

Then he went downstairs and took the soup off the fire.

He poured two bowls and brought them upstairs. He was forced to walk carefully as he carried them up the steep steps without a free hand on the railing to steady him.

I’m glad we made broth tonight. Emilia’s body needs fuel and I can get her to drink broth a sip at a time even if she is asleep.

Man, I’m starving. I mean, this soup doesn’t look all that special but my stomach is growling! I can’t remember the last time we ate something that wasn’t rations or just whatever we could find lying around.

The closest thing was that ‘stew’ that Emilia made the other night. The one that was more solid than most casseroles!

I love Emilia to death but she is not a cook.

Huh. I guess I better learn how to do it then. Nobody else is going to feed us.

The next few months could be very interesting…

Subaru put one bowl down on the night-table and pulled a chair up to Emilia’s bedside.

Huh. Do I eat or do I feed Mili first?

Subaru was fairly certain that the right decision was to feed her first but his stomach was making very loud noises right now.

He sat there in indecision.

Emilia murmured in her sleep and then slowly opened her eyes.

“Subaru?” She whispered.

“Emilia!” Subaru sprang to his feet. “Are you alright? How are you feeling?” He asked eagerly.

Emilia thought about it for a moment. “I feel… funny,” Emilia admitted, trying to sit up in bed but needing Subaru’s help to do so. “When did I fall asleep?”

Subaru hesitated. “You’ve been very sick, Emilia,” He said slowly. “You’ve been asleep almost all day. Remember those… weird marks we found on your leg?”

Emilia blinked and pulled off the covers with a gasp when she saw the strange black markings all over both legs and her lower torso.

Subaru was comforted to note that the markings all looked dry and had stopped spreading, at least for now.

That’s a good sign anyway. “How do you feel, Emilia? Are you any in pain?” Subaru asked, feeling her forehead. Her fever seemed to have broken.

Emilia thought for a moment. “No. I’m not in any pain but I do feel… funny,” She said again. “I think that there’s something wrong with my mana.”

“Your mana?” Subaru asked in surprise.

He thought about it. “Well… Maybe the curse attacks you through your mana?”

“Curse?” Emilia asked. “You mean the curse that made everyone forget me?”

Subaru coughed. “Oh. I guess with everything going on, I forgot to mention that. Um, good news about that, Mili. I got some new information. It turns out that you’re not cursed. Your name has been eaten.”

“What?!” Emilia blinked in confusion, processing the strange concept. She frowned at him. “Subaru, who told you that?”

Subaru scratched his cheek awkwardly. “Um. Well, funny story,” He hedged. “See, while I was unconscious from the Black Water, I sort of met a witch…”

“You did what?!” Emilia’s eyes grew huge.

Subaru put up his hands. “Look, I don’t understand it either. She says that she found me in my dreams by… following my Authority or something.”

Emilia looked skeptical. “Subaru, are you sure that you weren’t just dreaming?”

Subaru snorted. “No way. She’s the one who gave me the recipe for your medicine. And a bunch of other recipes too.”

Emilia frowned, considering that. “How did she know I was sick?”

Subaru shook his head. “I don’t think she did,” He sighed. “We… bargained. She gave me all her recipes and I gave her copies of my memories because she was hungry.”

Emilia looked at him in confusion.

He sighed. “Yeah, I don’t get it either. But anyway, she suggested that she knew a way to cure your condition. She says that there’s a potion called Anima that could cure you.”

Emilia’s eyes brightened for the first time in days. “Really?” Emilia said in excitement.

Subaru held up his hand to forestall her excitement. “Yeah,” he said. “But it’s tough to make. It might take me a while to be able to do it…”

Emilia’s smile was huge. “But at least we know how to cure me now!”

Subaru chuckled. “Yup. We have a plan. Finally.”

Subaru couldn’t help smiling. Emilia looked truly happy for the first time in he couldn’t remember how long.

Now all I need to do is admit to her that in order to make this potion I’ll need to spend years if not decades and god knows how much money doing alchemy to create a mystic artifact or we need to find said artifact that once belonged to an ancient witch and that’s been lost for four hundred years…

“Anyway,” Subaru continued. “So, when you got sick, I consulted an incompetent healer in Stoneybrooke and he told me that your wounds were likely the result of a curse.”

“An incompetent healer?” Emilia raised an eyebrow.

Subaru shrugged. “He was the best I could find,” He admitted. “Anyway, if that curse really is attacking your mana then maybe we can use your mana levels to measure the disease’s progress. How much magic do you think you have right now?”

Emilia raised her arms and concentrated for a moment.

Her eyes widened in shock. “Nothing. I… I don’t have any magic…” She breathed.

Subaru’s jaw dropped. “What?! Oh, Mili, I’m so sorry!”

Emilia was quiet for a long time. Finally, she looked up at Subaru. “Why are you sorry?” She asked quietly.

Subaru bit his lip. “It’ll be OK. This is probably temporary! Just a result of the poison and the medicine. You’ll get your magic back,” Subaru assured her.

Emilia chuckled ruefully. “I’m just fine with this, actually.”

Subaru blinked. “Huh?”

Emilia gave her a sad smile. “Subaru, my whole life, all I could ever do with my magic was hurt people. I don’t have healing magic. My magic just curses people and wounds them. For the first time in my life… I actually feel free of my magic,” She said in a tone of wonder. “I don’t have to be afraid of hurting you or anyone else by mistake anymore…”

Subaru wasn’t sure how to respond to this. “Well… just try to stay calm. I’m going to make sure you feel better soon. Hey, are you hungry?”

“Famished!” Emilia giggled.

“Well, I just made some food,” Subaru handed her a bowl and a spoon. “Aren’t I a great guy? I even brought you dinner in bed!” Subaru said cheerfully.

“You’re an amazing guy,” Emilia said seriously.

Subaru blushed and coughed.

“Subaru, where are we?”

“Oh. Good news, Mili. We’re homeowners,” Subaru said, sipping his soup.

“What?”

“I bought a house,” Subaru said laconically.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Emilia’s jaw dropped. “You bought a house?!”

“Yeah. See, I needed to make some medicine for you to treat the curse so I found a poor alchemist and I bought his lab and his home from him. We should be safe here for a while. We’ll build up a supply of medicine and then go looking for a healer who specializes in curses. Any ideas where we should look?”

Emilia thought about it then shook her head. “I have no idea, Subaru. I wonder if Puck and Beatrice would be our best chance.”

The pair looked at one another sadly for a moment.

Subaru took a deep breath. “Well. Then that just adds more incentive for us to rescue them, doesn’t it?” Subaru said boisterously.

Emilia looked somber for a long moment. “Subaru, what are we going to do about the fact that I can’t walk?”

Subaru hesitated. “Well, we’re going to cure your curse,” Subaru said finally. “There’s no reason to think that curing the curse won’t also fix your magic and your legs.”

Emilia looked skeptical.

“Those marks are running up and down your legs, Mili!” Subaru pointed out. “Don’t tell me that’s a coincidence!”

Emilia made a face. She did not look convinced.

“Come on, Mili,” Subaru urged. “Your soup is getting cold.”

She sighed. “Subaru, I don’t think I’m very hungry anymore…”

Subaru poked her. “Hey! Eat something! You’ve barely eaten in two days!”

Emilia’s expression was somber as she picked up her bowl and started to drink her soup.

Subaru kept a cheerful smile on his face but his thoughts were bleak. Now what? Did the Vitae make Emilia any better? She’s awake at least. And the marks look dry. But her legs still aren’t working. I knew that the Vitae couldn’t cure her but at least it seems to have hit the pause button on the damage. But how long will that last?

Later, after Subaru had done the dishes and carried Emilia to the bathroom to freshen up, the pair got ready for bed.

Emilia watched patiently while Subaru got undressed. “Ready for bed, Subaru?” Emilia asked.

Subaru sighed. “Well, first thing’s first… Mili, while we have a minute,” Subaru whispered, sitting down on the bed beside her. “I… I wanted to talk to you about that fight we had the other day. When I… stormed out of the cottage…”

Emilia looked at him, stricken and then she burst into tears. “I’m so sorry, Subaru! I never meant for any of this to happen! I’m so, so sorry!” She blubbered.

Subaru blinked in shock and quickly threw his arms around her. “No! I’m sorry! I… I never should have yelled at you like that,” He sighed.

Subaru felt Emilia calming down in his arms. “I was angry and scared and I took it out on you. I’m really sorry. I never want to do that ever again.”

Emilia took a ragged breath. “Subaru, what do we do now? I can’t move.”

“You’re going to focus on getting better,” Subaru said with a smile. “That’s all I want you to be thinking about. You’re going to rest up and we’ll find a doctor who can lift your curse. Then we’ll rescue the spirits and disappear into the forest. Do me a favor and start thinking about how to word a mocking letter that we can leave behind before we vanish permanently that will tell everyone who screwed with us to piss off!”

Emilia didn’t smile.

Subaru chuckled and forced a smile. “Don’t worry, Mili,” He whispered, holding her tight. “I already have a plan,” He lied. “Everything is going to be fine. I promise.”

Emilia murmured. “But Subaru, what are we-”

“Don’t worry about it,” Subaru soothed her firmly. “I don’t want you to worry about anything except feeling better. And once you are, we’re going to rescue Puck and Beatrice and start our family. As long as we’re together, we can do anything.”

Emilia sighed. “No, Subaru. You can do anything. I’m just along for the ride…”

Subaru shook his head. “Mili,” he whispered. “Your legs are going-”

“I’m not talking about my legs, Subaru,” Emilia said with quiet dignity. “This is just making… more obvious what should have been apparent a long time ago. All this time, I’ve tried to prove that I can be more than a helpless little girl…”

Subaru winced at the hard words Emilia used to describe herself. “Mili, you never have to prove anything to me,” He promised.

Emilia gave him a sad smile. “I wanted to prove it to myself, Subaru,” She whispered. “I wanted to prove that… I don’t know. That I could be more than I am…”

Subaru kissed her gently. “You don’t have to be anything more than you, Mili,” He murmured. “What you are is wonderful. I wouldn’t change a thing about you. You are love of my life…”

Emilia gave a deep sigh and Subaru felt a great deal of tension drain out of her body. “I am, aren’t I?” She whispered with a smile.

Subaru chuckled. “Yes. Yes, you are.”

Emilia giggled. “Then that’s plenty! That’s all that I need and more than I could ever deserve! Why did I ever think that I needed more than that?”

Subaru held her close. “Whatever you want, whatever you need, I’ll make sure that you get it,” He promised.

Emilia snuggled against him for a moment. “Subaru, it’s really late. Get into bed,” She murmured.

“Good idea,” Subaru said with a yawn. He slid into bed, wrapping his arms around Emilia. “Um. Does it hurt when I touch your legs?” He worried.

Emilia chuckled. “I can barely feel them, Subaru,” She murmured.

“Oh. Right,” Subaru said, sounding off-put.

“Go to sleep, Subaru,” She whispered, stroking his face. “You’ve had a very long day.”

Subaru tried to respond but he was interrupted by another yawn. Finally, Subaru nodded and snuggled close to Emilia. He was asleep as soon as his eyes closed.

Emilia gently stroked his hair. Subaru is right. Since I left the capitol, I’ve been struggling to prove that I can be a hero, to prove that I can stand beside Subaru as an equal. But ever since I started this, all that I’ve managed to do is ruin people’s lives and make everything harder for everyone.

I once told Subaru that a wife needs to be something more than a pet but… maybe ‘Emilia’ can’t be anything more than a pet.

It’s time to accept reality. If Subaru is willing to accept me as I am then… I should just be grateful and stop trying to prove that I’m something I’m not.

Subaru will take care of me. And I’m going to do my best to take care of Subaru. I’ll probably make a mess of things as usual but Subaru will forgive me for my mistakes. He always does.

What else do I need? We’ll have a happy life together. Surely a happy life is enough for anybody.

Emilia laid down with a smile. She kissed Subaru goodnight and as she closed her eyes beside him, she felt an overwhelming weight fall from her shoulders, a weight of invisible expectations and demands that she had never truly wanted.

I never imagined how freeing simply ‘giving up’ could be…

Only in the darkest depths of her mind did Emilia wonder why the idea of finally giving up on herself should feel so very much like dying.

Crusch Karnstein stood before the sages’ council in a private, closed session. She was dressed in her uniform and stood ramrod straight, trying to convince the sages of the seriousness of her report.

So far, this had proved difficult.

“Lady Crusch,” Dore began with a sigh. “Do you truly expect us to believe that the Witch of Envy is free and roaming the world again? And that she has made an alliance with Subaru Natsuki?” Dore’s skepticism was palpable.

Crusch took a deep breath. “Your excellencies, we know that this person was freed from a place referred to as ‘the Witch’s Tomb’ in the Sanctuary. My officers and Subaru Natsuki’s own faction can both attest to the powerful and dangerous magic that she possesses. She even managed to escape from Reinhard van Astrea! I would respectfully argue that assuming she is a threat to the Kingdom until we discover evidence to the contrary is wise and prudent.”

The sages seemed to mull that over.

“That might make sense,” Byrd admitted. “But what are you suggesting that we do about it?”

“We must immediately devote all of our efforts to locating Subaru Natsuki and ascertaining what is really going on,” Crusch replied. “We can not make any kind of effective strategy for a situation that we do not understand. Whether Subaru Natsuki is a willing conspirator of the witch or a helpless captive, we must understand what the situation really is as soon as possible in order to take whatever steps are necessary to protect the kingdom.”

“Aren’t we already doing that?” Aghart said in a bored voice.

“I’m suggesting we allocate more resources in the search,” Crusch urged.

“To my mind, we’ve already allocated more than ample resources to find this… person,” Aghart’s lip curled. “A man who can so easily get lost in the forest is no true king.”

“Got lost?! This is a man who was fighting the Witch Cult to protect innocent people and was likely forced to flee into the wilderness in fear for his life!” Choi reminded him.

Aghart waved the distinction away. “Precisely my point. Subaru Natsuki is almost certainly dead, killed in retaliation by these monsters which he fought. A heroic death by all accounts,” He admitted dismissively.

“You believe that he’s dead?,” Byrd asked. “Even if that’s so, shouldn’t endeavor to recover his body?”

We couldn’t be that lucky, Crusch mentally agreed. And even if he is dead, that just means that no one is left to hold the witch’s leash…

“And what should we do about that?” Aghart asked, throwing his hands in the air. “Will we pour the wealth and manpower of the kingdom into hunting through the forest looking for the mossy bones of an untitled foreigner of no known family? If we even found his bones, whom would we give them to?”

“It’s only been a few days since Subaru Natsuki disappeared,” Choi said critically. “It’s premature to simply assume that he’s dead. Do you really think the Witch Cult killed him?”

Aghart shrugged. “I believe that… somebody killed him. His speeches about demi-human rights and starving peasants have irritated a number of people across the kingdom. He was a royal candidate, lost and alone in the woods, tired and vulnerable. Certainly this was a target that someone with vision and boldness might have taken advantage of,” His gaze flickered across Crusch.

Crusch started, realizing what Aghart was thinking.

Aghart shook his head. “Besides, with Subaru Natsuki gone, perhaps the royal selection can focus on… more worthy candidates now. Ones who reflect the pride and dignity of the Lagunican throne and who don’t associate with riffraff. I move that we call off the search,” He declared.

“No!” Dore and Byrd said together.

Dore, Byrd, Choi, and Aghart all began to argue at the same time.

“Calling off the search is premature at this time,” McMahon declared, silencing the others. “The search shall continue for now. However, we deny any new resources be allocated. You already have an army, Lady Crusch. Tell your officers to do their jobs. If they’re incompetent, find new officers.”

Crusch bristled at this disrespect directed to her men.

“Are there any objections?” McMahon looked right and left.

The other sages said nothing.

“Then we are adjourned,” McMahon gaveled.

The sages all walked out of the room without a backward glance, leaving Crusch alone and frustrated.

Emilia was exhausted after struggling with a fever and the curse so the next morning she was ready to sleep in.

Subaru would have cheerfully done the same thing but he had too much to do. He forced himself to wake up and stretch.

Subaru tried to creep out of bed as quietly as he could.

“Subaru?” Emilia murmured, stirred by his movements.

“Sorry, Mili,” Subaru whispered. “I didn’t mean to wake you. Go back to sleep.”

Emilia struggled to sit up in bed using just her arms and Subaru assisted her. “It’s fine, Subaru. I think that it’s time that I woke up.”

Subaru sighed. “Well, I need to go and make some more medicine before we head back to the forest. But I’ll make breakfast first,” Subaru said. “Anything in particular you’d like to eat?”

“Really? What can I have?” Emilia asked in surprise.

“Vegetable soup,” Subaru said cheerfully.

Emilia started to smile and shook her head ruefully. “Wow, Subaru. How did you know that was exactly what I wanted?” She teased.

“Just lucky I guess,” Subaru laughed. He climbed out of bed and pulled his robe on.

Subaru briefly checked the lab and discovered that a new jar of Umbra was ready for processing.

I don’t have any more life-force to spin into Vitae but at least the Umbra is ready. And with our luck, we’re never too far off from getting into a fight.

Then he went into the kitchen and started to heat up the leftover vegetable soup from last night.

He brought the food back up to Emilia and they ate it together.

After finishing breakfast, Subaru closely inspected the black marks up and down Emilia’s stomach and legs. They all appeared to be dry again and no longer bleeding or spreading.

OK. So, so far so good.

“Mili,” Subaru said. “I’m going to go see about making some more medicine before we leave here. You try to get some sleep, OK?”

“It’s still morning, Subaru,” Emilia complained. “I’m not tired-” Her voice cut off in a yawn.

Subaru smirked.

Emilia pouted. “It’s just a coincidence, Subaru.”

Subaru bent over and kissed her. “I know,” He said indulgently. “I won’t be gone too long. Try and rest up. We’ll be heading back to the forest today or tomorrow.”

Emilia nodded with another yawn. “OK, Subaru,” She murmured, sounding on the edge of sleep.

Subaru slipped out of the room with a smile.

Subaru sat in the lab, preparing to cook more Umbra.

Maybe we could live here? Subaru mused. It’s certainly bigger than Mili’s cottage. There’s plenty of room for us and the spirits. Even a baby or two someday…

Then again, I feel like staying this close to Stoneybrooke is just begging for trouble. People are going to panic if they ever catch sight of Emilia. I can’t just imprison her in the house. Not to mention our kids might look elven as well.

I was stupid to head to Gusteko in the first place. It was the closest border but it didn’t solve any of our problems other than the immediate threat of Reinhard and Crusch coming after us. Emilia told me that Gusteko was a racist country but I never imagined how virulent that racism would actually be!

No. Gusteko isn’t a workable option for us. We need to heal Emilia, find the spirits and then head to either Kararagi or Vollachia.

Kararagi is probably the best option but I think that they’re fairly broad-minded in Vollachia too. They don’t mind demi-humans as long as they’re strong. Emilia certainly qualifies. Or she will once the curse’s seal on her magic comes off.

Granted, I doubt we’d like living in Vollachia. It’s too violent and confrontational but at least the weather would be nice. Maybe we could find a little house way out in the middle of nowhere…

Subaru looked over the lab for a moment, ruminating on the available equipment.

So for right now, I need to focus on how I’m going to heal Emilia. We can go try to find a healer but I don’t even know where to start. We can’t just go running around in circles trusting to luck. We tried that after the Sanctuary and that cost us the spirits…

A way of despair swept over Subaru and he violently shook his head.

Well, I could start by heading to a nearby city and talking to healers. Maybe one of them can help me or at least provide a bit of direction.

If the healers can’t help… Well, Daphne gave me recipes for every potion under the sun including hundreds that specifically cure curses. So why can’t I just cure Emilia myself?

Azoth would certainly dispel the curse. But I can’t make that without the Philosopher’s Stone.

Daphne says that her Philosopher’s Stone is probably still out there somewhere but I doubt she knows that for sure. And even if it is still out there, that doesn’t mean that I can find it. If it’s out there, likely as not, the Witch Cult has it.

So if I can’t find the Stone, I’d have to try to make one but that’s also a nonstarter. Even assuming that I did everything right the first time, I’d be spending months at the very least preparing the Stone. And I’d need Regulus’s help to do it!

Subaru had a sudden mental image of himself meeting Regulus in a coffee shop to ask for a favor.

OK. So that’s not going to fly. What else can I do?

With Daphne’s memories, I can make lots of curse-curing potions. It’s possible one might do the job but they’re not like Azoth. Azoth works on anything. It breaks any magic down into its base components. But most curse-curing potions are extremely specific. That means I can’t brew the right one until I identify what the curse afflicting Emilia is.

The other problem is that most of those potions are extremely complicated. And that’s a problem. I’m not sure if a chemistry lab like Daphne’s has existed in centuries. The equipment needed to brew some of these potions properly would be very expensive since I need to control pressure, temperature, and create vacuums to avoid contaminating the reactants.

And don’t even get me started on how hard making a Philosopher’s Stone for Anima would be.

What’s worse is, I can’t be certain that the equipment I need still even exists. Does anyone do chemistry on the level of Daphne anymore? Nicholas’s lab looks like a child’s chemistry set compared to Daphne’s workshop.

The equipment I need might not be available anywhere. I can create the designs using Reason and Judgment but those would all be custom orders.

And God knows how much that will cost.

Subaru grabbed his money pouch and for the first time since he came to this world, he wished that it was larger.

While Emilia slept and a new batch of Umbra brewed, Subaru spent much of the morning going through Nicholas’s supply closets with a fine-toothed comb.

This guy was not organized! I found some supplies that were probably unopened and in his closet for years.

On the bright side, I did find the address of Nicholas’s chemical supply company. They can help me, assuming that they’re still in business. A lot of these packages are kind of old.

It looks like they’re located in Kocytos and even if the company is out of business, it’s a decent place to start looking for a supplier. Ganaks is a good idea too. It’s a huge city with a big commercial area from what I’ve heard.

It seems like my best bet right now is to go to a major city, see if I can find a healer, and investigate the current ‘state of the art’ for alchemy to see what resources I have to work with.

I don’t know how much healing Emilia is going to cost. Can a healer dispel a curse in one visit or are we committing to months of treatment?

Making more money might become a serious concern. And longterm treatment plans would pin us down in unfriendly territory for the foreseeable future. That could make it hard to hide…

The day flew by. Emilia slept through most of it with Subaru only waking her up for lunch and carrying her to the bathroom a few times.

Subaru took hours to go through all of Nicholas’s disorganized supplies, taking inventory and labeling a variety of compounds.

Subaru had brought up soup for them to eat in Emilia’s bedroom together. But first he had carried her to the bathroom and back.

“After we finish dinner, maybe you should try to get some sleep,” Subaru suggested, laying her down in bed again. “I know being stuck in bed is boring but you are still recovering from a serious-”

“Subaru,” Emilia interrupted intently, “What’s that?” She pointed at his stomach.

Subaru looked down at his shirt and saw that it was speckled with drops of watery blood.

Subaru pulled the blankets back and saw that Emilia’s cursed-wounds that resembled strange letters were bleeding and leaking black pus again.

One day! Subaru thought in shock. This curse burned through a full year of life-force in one day?! This curse could eradicate whole cities!

Emilia swallowed hard. “So the medicine didn’t work?”

“It worked fine,” Subaru said firmly. “The marks haven’t spread and they stopped bleeding for almost twenty four hours. We just need to give you another dose. You sit here and finish your soup-”

“I have to sit here, Subaru,” Emilia said bitterly. “I can’t get out of this bed!”

Subaru took a deep breath. “I’ll be back as soon as I can with more medicine, OK?”

“Back?” Emilia echoed. “Where are you going?”

“I need to go… out. I’m missing an ingredient for the medicine and I need to go grab it.”

“Will stores be open?” Emilia asked dubiously. “It’s almost sunset and Stoneybrooke is dangerous for us right now.”

Subaru hesitated. “I think I know a place I can pick it up without going to Stoneybrooke. Will you be OK here for an hour or two?”

Emilia looked at him, her face awash with frustration, anger, and fear. Finally, she nodded once.

Davi was a merchant. Actually, merchant was being generous. Davi was a peddler. He walked between Ganaks, Iruk, Stoneybrooke, and Sanshi carrying bags of small valuables for sale and trade. He was heading for Stoneybrooke along the King’s highway, planning to spend the night there before continuing on to Ganaks. He had just spend a few days with his family at the homestead they shared with his brother’s family near Iruk. His bags were empty as he started his route again and he walked quickly.

Just after sunset, Davi saw a man on a black riding dragon coming through the forest road toward him.

The young man was clearing looking at Davi and the peddler found himself stiffening under the intensity of that gaze. He reached into his pocket to grip the handle of the knife he carried for emergencies.

“Excuse me,” The young man said, dismounting. “I wonder if you would help me with something.”

“Let’s not beat around the bush,” Davi said in a clipped tone. “I’ve got no gold and I don’t have anything valuable right now.”

Davi’s bags were indeed empty and his gold coins were cunning sewn into special pockets in his bags that were nearly impossible to find. Davi was certain that the highwayman would inspect his bags and then head off.

“You misunderstand me,” The young man said in dolorous tones.

Davi only had enough time to frown in confusion before the young man seized Davi by the throat. Davi desperately drew his knife and stabbed the young man in the eye but the blade snapped and went flying as if he’d tried to stab a boulder. The shock of the impact traveled up his arm and Davi dropped the now useless knife.

His hands clutched at the grip around his throat but Davi’s fingers felt weak and feeble and they could only flutter at the boy’s hands like spider-legs.

Davi shook his head violently as the world dimmed around him.

Why?! Why is he doing this?! I have nothing to rob! Nothing worth killing for. He has no idea if I have any money or not! Why is he killing me?!

“For what it’s worth,” The young man said somberly. “I really am sorry about this…”

Davi’s eyes rolled back in his head. He faintly heard a soft crack before the world went dark.

The young man sighed at the dead body in his hands. “But that isn’t really worth anything, is it…”

Subaru dragged the dead body off the road and hid it deep in the bushes where it would be unlikely that anyone would notice it.

Subaru hesitated a moment and then mentally sighed and began to go through the merchant’s large backpack, looking for anything useful to steal. In for a penny, in for a pound…

The bag was basically empty although he did find a few gold coins hidden inside.

He also found a child’s drawing. Three small children beside a man and woman.

Subaru took it for granted that he had just crushed the neck of ‘Daddy.’

Subaru took a deep breath. Your focus needs to be on Emilia, A cold voice whispered to him. Nothing else matters. Nothing else can be allowed to matter. You know full well what kind of people live in Gusteko. You saw it demonstrated yesterday. If they hadn’t been so vile then Emilia might have gotten medical treatment and two men might still be alive. The locals here are filth. They’re pigs. They’re not even people, they are a resource. And as a resource, there is no higher calling than to be expended to preserve Emilia…

Subaru raced back to his lab. Luckily he had plenty of Umbra already prepared.

Alright. Just need to refine this with a little sal-ammoniac and add the years I stole from that… trader tonight.

But this is a huge problem. Emilia burned through an entire year of stolen life in a single day! Daphne’s memories tell me that I won’t get more than a year or two of life from a person without the Stone. Emilia needing a year every single day isn’t tenable! I need to find a solution!

Subaru gathered up the Vitae once the clouds of poison gas had cleared and measured it carefully.

It’s about two years…

And that means two days until the curse reactivates again… How much more punishment can Emilia’s body take until it just…

Subaru walked back upstairs with a tiny vial of blue liquid in hand.

“Alright, Mili,” Subaru said cheerfully. “Time for your medicine!”

Emilia still looked frightened. “Subaru,” Emilia whispered. “What if the medicine isn’t working?”

Subaru forced an amused look onto his face. “So, the lack of symptoms that you had all night was just a coincidence then?” He joked. He gently tousled her hair. “The medicine works fine, Mili. We just need to get the dosage locked down.”

He handed the Vitae to Emilia.

Emilia looked dubiously at the faintly glowing liquid but she obediently drank it.

Her eyes brightened. “Subaru, this tastes delicious!” She chirped. Emilia leaned back against the pillow, her eyes dreamy. “This medicine feels wonderful…”

“Hey!” Subaru mock-scolded her. “No pretending to stay sick just so you can enjoy the medicine, OK?!”

Emilia giggled. “OK, Subaru.”

Subaru lifted the blanket and looked at Emilia’s legs. The wounds had already dried up.

“Subaru, where did you go tonight?” Emilia asked in a dreamy voice.

Subaru hesitated. “I didn’t go far. I got lucky. I found a peddler on the road. He… had what I needed…”

The next morning, Subaru sprang into action, knowing that he was on the clock.

Subaru woke Emilia up for an early lunch and then carried her to the bathroom to freshen up.

When he’d brought her back to the bed he broached a subject. “Emilia, do you think you’ll be OK here for a few hours?”

“Where are you going?” She asked.

“I want to run over to Kocytos,” Subaru said. “It’ll give me a chance to buy some supplies and look for a doctor who can treat curses.”

Emilia frowned. “Will a doctor from Koctyos be willing to come all this way, Subaru?” Emilia asked.

Subaru shrugged. “If we pay him enough, probably. Or we’ll bring you there. Even if the doctor can’t treat you personally, they might have some suggestions for how to treat the curse.”

Emilia took a moment to absorb that. “How long will you be gone?”

Subaru rocked his hand back and forth. “I’m not sure. I’m hoping to be back a little after dark but I’ve never been to Kocytos before and the road might be rougher than I think.”

Emilia took a deep breath and nodded. “I’ll be alright, Subaru,” She said firmly. “I don’t want to chain you to my bedside. I’ll be just fine while you’re gone.”

Subaru nodded. “I know you will,” He murmured. “But I’ll make sure to leave you something to drink and some food to eat before I go, just in case I’m late getting back.”

Subaru flew into a flurry of activity. He had placed a pitcher full of ice water on the night-table just in case she got thirsty and then left a bowl of raisins beside it for her to snack on.

He found several blankets and left them folded on the bed if it got cold and left some painkillers nearby in case she got a headache.

Finally, Subaru flew up the stairs and brought a book to the exasperated Emilia.

“Subaru,” She said with an edge in her voice. “What are you doing?”

Subaru chuckled ruefully. “I wanted to find you something to read. I tore the whole house apart and this looks like the one book in the place that isn’t a chemistry textbook of some kind.”

Emilia took the book. “Sophia and the Ruby Princess,” She read.

“Yeah. Is there anything else you think you might need? Should I try to go find some more pillows? Or maybe-”

“Subaru! Go!” Emilia snapped. “I’ll be just fine for a few hours. Go and do what you need to do or you won’t get back before it gets dark. It gets cold in Gusteko at night.

Subaru looked awkward but said, “I’ll be back as quick as I can.” He kissed her gently and left the room, heading down the stairs.

Emilia sat there and heard him leave and lock the door.

Emilia looked down at her useless legs with the sort of glare reserved for the worst of traitors. “This is all your fault,” She hissed at her own limbs.

Subaru reached Kocytos late that afternoon.

Subaru didn’t have a map to Kocytos and was limited to following the road signs. He made several wrong turns and needed to deduce where the city was located. This meant that the trip took much longer than he had anticipated.

Kocytos was a large city, situated on the plains in central Sanshi. The field outside of the city was bustling with activity. It looked like a festival was being set up just outside the town. Stalls with games and food were being assembled everywhere and a simple wooden crane was being used to build an enormous pile of wood for a bonfire.

Subaru rode Patrasche around the festival grounds and into the city.

Sanshi was much smaller than the Lagunican capitol but it was still a good-sized city for this world. The buildings were mostly made of stone and they had a thick, squat look about them as if the buildings were grimly determined to endure the worst that the winter could throw at them.

Subaru rode Patrasche down the main streets and went searching for an alchemist or a pharmacy that he could question about supplies as well as keeping his eyes open for doctors.

As the sun set, Subaru rode out of Kocytos with a disgruntled expression on his face.

I can’t escape the feeling that all I did today was waste my own time. I bought some useful ingredients that could let me cook a variety of curse-curing potions but that’s pointless until I know what curse I’m dealing with.

God, I never meant to be away for so long! I haven’t seen Emilia since lunch!

And the doctors were even worse. I spoke to four different ‘medical experts’ about lifting curses and they all got extremely evasive. No one claimed that they could actually heal Emilia just that they might be able to mitigate the symptoms. Worse, none of their diagnosis and treatments agreed with each other which makes me wonder if they were all just stringing me along anyway.

And each Doctor demanded gold before they’d even talk to me! It’s ridiculous! I’m going to need to find a new way to make money soon.

Subaru rode past the festival where a large crowd was gathered. There were huge stalls everywhere, selling all manner of toys, gifts, and food. Subaru also noticed that a number of farmers had made the trip to the festival to sell their wares.

Food. That’s something I didn’t even think of trying to purchase but we really need it. I’m already here so I might as well go shopping. It would be nice if I could find a way to prevent this trip from being a complete waste of time.

Maybe I could even find a new book or a toy or something for Emilia to use while she’s stuck in bed. She must be going out of her mind with boredom…

This convinced Subaru to hide Patrasche in the woods nearby. He pulled his hood up and walked down the hill to join the festival.

The festival was centered around a huge as-yet-unlit bonfire. The bonfire was situated in a large empty clearing in the center of the fair, empty except for a large wooden crane nearby that had helped build the pile of wood for the bonfire. The fair had dozens if not hundreds of stalls offering games and refreshments. The area was lit by a staggering number of burning torches.

This place feels just like a carnival back home.

Subaru quickly bought several bags of vegetables and some slices of meat. After debating for a moment, he took the bags back to Patrasche and slipped them into her saddlebags to free up his hands.

Then he went back to the fair and tried to roam around, looking for games, books, puzzles, or anything else that might serve to entertain a poor woman stuck in bed.

The crowd was noisy and enormous and it took Subaru close to an hour of constant frustration to find what had to be the only book stall in the fair.

What was I expecting? Subaru sighed to himself. Most of this world is illiterate! Did I really expect to find a bookstore on every block?

The books were all old and secondhand but they were legible. The stall was run by a kindly old man.

These books are cheap. Probably unreasonably so, despite being secondhand. I’m guessing that the man is doing this as a sort of charitable act, trying to make sure that poor people have something to read.

Subaru rummaged through the shop and grabbed four books almost at random, only confirming that they were stories and not treatises on some obscure subject.

I know this sounds bad but I don’t have the slightest idea what Emilia likes to read. I don’t think most people in this world read for pleasure at all and those who do are certainly the nobility. Everything that Emilia and I have read since we met was for the purpose of studying for the royal selection.

Subaru noticed some ‘puzzle games’ on one of the shelves and studied them.

It’d be nice to give Mili something that would keep her hands and mind busy too. But I’m not sure if any of these would work.

He looked the stall over and became aware of a loud conversation at the next stall.

“I’m just saying, Captain, I don’t think that it’s fair,” An older man in plain armor joked good-naturedly.

The captain was wearing more ornate polished armor. “I agree it’s not fair, Sergeant. But as an officer, they give me the dirty jobs!” He snorted sarcastically. “I’d much rather spend the evening drinking with all you jackasses. Instead, I’m forced to spend the night with Count Morgen.” He rolled his eyes.

The soldiers chuckled. “Well, hey. We’ll be drinking cheep beer and you get the real hooch,” The sergeant pointed out and the men all laughed.

The captain snorted. “Ugh. And I’ll be trying to get drunk as fast as humanly possible,” The Captain mourned. “Count Morgen is just the fucking worst. Do you know that he insists on regaling me with the story of his heroic bravery at the Battle of Tannath every single time I see him?”

“Battle of Tannath, sir?” One of the other soldiers muttered. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard of it.”

“Because there’s no such thing!” The Captain snorted. “Morgen’s just dressing up a minor skirmish involving a few bandits so that he sounds like a real soldier instead of a noble who came along on a few patrols to further his political career!”

The soldiers all grumbled about that.

“So in four days we’re going to be at the Great Hall and you’re with Count Please-Be-Impressed-By-Me,” The sergeant said. The other soldiers chuckled. “When do we march on Siros anyway, Captain?”

“Soon,” The captain replied. “I haven’t gotten exact instructions from the general yet but it’ll be soon. An army burns gold like you wouldn’t believe. The Prince won’t let us just camp out here for much longer.”

“Uh, Sarge?” One the soldiers raised his hand. “Can I ask a question?”

“I thought that I’d trained you out of that bad habit, boy,” The older man sighed with a weary chuckle. “Asking questions in this job has a funny way of getting you answers. And you won’t like any of them.”

The soldier made a face. “Sarge, I just don’t get it. I mean, I know I’m just a soldier and that I don’t need to understand-”

“And don’t you ever forget that, son,” The sergeant deadpanned. The other soldiers laughed.

The soldier flushed but continued talking. “Thing is, Sarge, I just don’t get this! What are we doing? Rumor has it that Siros is under siege and we already have twice their number there. When we arrive, it’ll probably be three times their number. But what’s the point? I mean, no sense in attacking a fortified city when you can just starve it out, right? It’s not like winter’s nipping at our heels. Why are we marching at all? I just don’t get the Prince’s plan!”

The sergeant and the captain shared a long look. “We don’t get it either,” The captain admitted quietly. “The Prince’s orders have been strange lately.”

“Can I help you find anything, sir?” Subaru jumped as the the stall-keeper walked up behind him and addressed him in a friendly voice.

“No,” Subaru replied. “Just browsing. Thanks.”

The old man nodded with a smile. “Take your time. A good book is like a love affair.”

“Uh, thanks,” Subaru replied.

Subaru tried to catch up with the soldiers’ conversation. He found himself listening closely. After the week of fleeing from Crusch’s army, Subaru had a paranoia about military campaigns nearby. “-Just been crazy!” The captain finished.

“Keep your voice down, Captain!” The old sergeant warned him. “But yeah. I feel the same way. I’d have said that during this war, the Prince’s orders have been mad as a march-hare but we won every single fight and we won them easily. He ordered us to advance right into the teeth of their spears and he ordered us to fall back when there was no reason to. But every time, we later found out that we attacked at just the right time before their reinforcements showed up or got out of what we thought was safe territory right before an ambush was sprung.”

“Must be spies,” The captain mused. “The Prince must be basing his instructions on some kind of secret intelligence.”

“Knowledge is everything in war,” The sergeant agreed sagely. “I thought this campaign was going to be bloody and grinding. Now it looks like we’ll all be home before the snow flies!”

“Works for me,” The captain murmured. “I’d like to spend some time with my kid for a change before he’s all grown-up.”

The sergeant nodded. “I’d like to spend some time with little Suzy myself. My granddaughter just turned four. She’s cute as-”

Sensing that the conversation had shifted, Subaru shook it off. He bought the books he was carrying and shoved them into an over-sized robe pocket where they bulged out comically.

Subaru started heading back to Patrasche.

OK so the Sanshi military is busy on some kind of campaign. I guess that’s good to know although I’m not sure if there’s any way I can spin that to our advantage. Except maybe to keep clear of ‘Siros.’

The festival crowd started to cheer.

Subaru stopped short. He looked through the crowd and saw that a group of men in robes were approaching. They were carrying something on their shoulders.

Subaru began to move his way through the crowd to get a better look. Careful. Those robes make them look like mages.

Subaru finally reached the front of the crowd and saw that the mages were being led by a man in noble-attire who wore thick glasses. He had dark hair and a smug, superior expression. The group were all carrying a scarecrow-like effigy that was wearing a black dress on their shoulders.

Subaru frowned, wondering what was going on.

The men gathered at the crane and began to tie the dummy to a strand of rope. Then they began to pull a wheel and the dummy was hoisted into the air high above the bonfire. A few men began to douse the woodpile with what looked like lantern oil.

The nobleman turned to face the crowd with an exalted grin. “Praise the righteous for their clarity!” He shouted.

The crowd shrieked out in glee.

“Today we honor our forefathers who saved Gusteko from the evil witch and the Witch Hunters who bravely continue to root out and capture evil witches even to this day!”

Subaru blinked and then his face twisted in disgust. There are no more witches! I mean OK, Daphne told me that she’s not dead but she is locked up… somewhere, somehow…

Look, the point is that all the witches are either dead or locked up. There’s no way that these ‘Witch Hunters’ have found any actual witches in centuries! I don’t even believe that they’re tracking down Witch Cultists. How many people in this world could take on Regulus and win? Or Capella? Or even Lye?!

They’re probably just putting innocent people on trial because the locals dislike them or worse, they’re doing it for their own amusement!

The noble was talking again. “Tonight we feast to celebrate a new day in Gusteko! The time is coming for the heretical blasphemers of Siros!”

The crowd booed loudly at the mention of Siros.

What’s Siros and why do these people hate it so much? Subaru stood there with a morose expression, wondering why he’d ever bothered to come to this festering cesspool of a country.

“Soon our soldiers will burn Siros to the ground! No root nor branch will escape this cleansing!”

The crowd cheered.

Subaru looked around in disbelief. Wait a minute! Did any of you even hear what he just said?! He’s saying that they’re going to kill everybody! How are any of you OK with that? You might dislike the people of Siros. You might even hate them. But what the hell makes you happy to hear about them dying? This isn’t just killing soldiers this is killing women and children and other innocent people! What the hell is wrong with you people?!

“Tonight,” The noble shouted. “We celebrate our impending victory! Tonight we celebrate our victories of long ago! Tonight, we burn the witch!”

“Burn her!” The crowd screamed, laughing and cheering.

Subaru blinked and looked up at the dummy that dangled from the crane’s rope with a horrified, new understanding.

The nobleman took a torch in hand and flung it onto the bonfire.

It immediately burst into flames.

The crowd cheered.

Subaru looked up the effigy dangling high overhead. He expected that it would have been lowered onto the bonfire but instead it was suspended some forty feet above it.

“Confess!” The noble shouted.

“Confess!” The crowd cheered.

The crane’s rope was released to unwind freely. The effigy crashed on top of the burning pile of wood. It quickly caught fire and the crowd went wild.

Subaru assumed that this was over but the crane quickly picked the effigy up off the flames. The effigy still burned but sullenly.

It’s not a scarecrow. It’s made out of some kind of flame-retardant material. But why bother doing that?

“Confess!” The noble demanded.

“Confess!” The crowd cheered.

The crane dropped the effigy onto the bonfire again.

Subaru’s jaw went slack. This isn’t even celebrating an execution, this is celebrating torture! These people would actually keep lowering a person into fire until they confessed to some crime!

This is sick! This isn’t like throwing an effigy of a monster onto the fire back home. Monsters don’t exist back home! But witches are real here and you enormous bastards are celebrating one being slowly burned alive!

No matter what the Witch of Envy might have done, witches are still real people. They can’t all be evil. Are the witch’s actions even up for consideration here? I haven’t heard what she did wrong yet. We’re celebrating her execution but was there even a trial back in the day?

Look at Daphne. I mean, the girl was an absolute freak. Maybe the strangest person that I’ve ever met in my life. But what did she do that made her deserve death?

I mean, yeah she killed Jenevieve but that was by Jenevieve’s request. Jenevieve spent a full ten years of her life getting ready for it. And yeah, maybe Daphne shouldn’t have been allowed to do that to her but still, it’s hard to call it ‘murder.’

The crowd was cheering in a frenzy and the effigy was being lifted up and brought crashing down onto the bonfire over and over again.

Subaru felt sick. The joyous, bestial frenzy on the people’s faces filled him with disgust.

These people are scum…

Morbid curiosity caused him to slowly step out of the crowd. He walked closer to the bonfire, seeking a better look at the dummy.

The heat of the flames were overwhelming at this distance.

The effigy hit the bonfire again and this time its head snapped clean off and rolled off the bonfire.

The crowd went wild.

The head landed at Subaru’s feet and kept rolling. He instinctively put his foot out and stopped it as if it were a soccer ball.

Subaru slowly took his foot off the effigy’s face. The witch was clearly intended to be grotesque, resembling a goblin. It had a long nose, huge pointy ears and slanted eyes.

The blood drained from Subaru’s face as he suddenly realized that it was an elf. This effigy was a racial caricature of what the people of Gusteko thought elves looked like.

The world stopped as Subaru noticed that the effigy had silver hair. It was nearly all burned black now but as he watched, a few strands of silver fell onto the ground.

The world spun around Subaru. He saw the towering flames in front of him and for a moment, he saw these flames engulfing the Stoneybrooke inn while he watched helplessly. He could almost hear Emilia’s screaming as she withered in the heat.

He closed his eyes and held his breath but the sound of the screaming just wouldn’t stop. It was all too much. The loss of the spirits, the Black Water nearly eating Emilia, Emilia encountering Elsa, and then her unknown sickness.

The people at the inn screaming about how Subaru and Emilia both needed to die just for the crime of existing and wanting to be together. Now he saw firsthand what sort of fate Emilia could expect if she was ever unfortunate enough to fall into the hands of the people of Gusteko.

It’s too much… Subaru whispered.

Subaru’s Authority awoke deep inside of him. It surged through him and swallowed him whole.

Subaru stared unblinking into the roaring fire. The heat was barely noticeable now.

“Endless Hunger,” Subaru whispered.

As the bonfire burned that night, Robert an Griest sat in a chair in the field surrounded by the mages who served as his personal guard. They were keeping the smelly riff-raff at a comfortable distance from their lord.

Robert only used mages as guards. He’d never had much respect for swordsmen, mostly because of several incidents while growing-up with his bully of a brother, Prince Malcolm. Robert had at best been an indifferent swordsman but he had grown up to be a highly capable mage. Robert’s spellcraft had earned him the kind of respect that other men gained with their fists and blades.

Now Robert was the lord of Kocytos. He ignored his brother as much as possible and as a rule, Malcolm was surprisingly civilized enough or apathetic enough, to return the favor.

Robert hated these festivals. He had done his duty, riling the monkeys up for the bonfire and now he was just waiting for the fire to burn out so he could go home.

One of his guards glanced at him. “My lord,” Theodore murmured. “I know that this has delayed your dinner. Would you like me to fetch you some food from one of the stalls?”

Robert looked at Theodore incredulously. “Thank you, Theodore,” Robert said begrudgingly. “But I’d sooner put paint on my tongue than indulge in peasant cuisine. They only have one recipe: throw everything into the pot and boil until you can’t recognize it anymore!”

Theodore chuckled.

Robert made a face. “Tell me, Theodore,” Robert mused. “Do you recall what’s for dinner tonight?”

Theodore thought about it. “I believe peacocks’ tongue in honey sauce and pearls dissolved in vinegar.”

Robert’s face brightened. This was one of his favorite meals. Robert’s cook cost him more than a few gold coins every year but the man was an artist and Robert had never been one to be tightfisted where the pleasure of his table was concerned.

Knowing the feast that awaited him upon returning home, Robert could watch the bonfire and the hundreds of assembled cheering monkeys with patience and even a bit of good humor.

Although, I do wish that flaming tower of lumber would burn out faster, Robert thought ruefully.

No sooner had Robert thought this then the bonfire went out.

It didn’t sputter or dim, it went out like a candle that someone had pinched off.

The dozens of torches held by people in the crowd and the blazing torches set on poles around the festival winked out as well.

The crowd murmured in surprised confusion as they were plunged into darkness.

The crowd began to shiver. A warm spring night had suddenly developed the inexplicable chill of a Gusteko winter. A cold wind picked up and blew across the field.

“Theodore!” Robert snapped.

Theodore didn’t need further direction. He raised his hands and concentrated. A moment later, a brilliant ball of fire, somewhat bigger than a grapefruit, appeared in his hands. The ball shed a warm, bright light over the immediate area and some of the peasants sighed in relief.

A peasants even tried to get closer to the fireball.

Robert frowned. He was about to order his guards to keep the peasants back when Theodore’s fireball zipped out of his hands like a comet.

Robert turned to demand an explanation but he was silenced by the completely comical look of shock on Theodore’s face. Theodore hadn’t thrown that fireball, somehow his spell had taken independent action.

The ball of fire streaked across the field toward the snuffed bonfire. The brilliant light of the fireball revealed that a dark shadowy figure stood in front of the bonfire pile. The fireball should have illuminated him clearly but it did not. Instead the fire dimmed and darkened as it fell under the man’s shadow.

The fireball crashed headlong into the black silhouette, smashing into his chest.

Robert knew from experience that a fire spell of this magnitude should have sent the person it struck flying if not engulf them in flames but instead the fireball vanished with nary a ripple, like a pebble tossed into a deep lake.

Robert felt his teeth chattering. It was getting cold. Unrealistically cold for a spring night.

“Fall in,” Theodore snapped. The mages took up positions around their lord and Robert slowly rose from his chair. He mentally rehearsed his best spells in case they were needed.

A voice whispered across the field. “What is happening here?” The voice was inhuman, deep as a well and as cold as a winter night.

A chill wind blew across the field and the peasants shuddered. They quickly stumbled away from the now ice-cold bonfire, clustering together and murmuring anxiously.

Robert’s eyes narrowed.

The stranger was moving. He was coming closer to him. And he brought his darkness with him.

Robert and the guards stood ready. Maybe this is some kind of prank or just a weak mage with a real flair for drama. Maybe this is all that he’s capable of.

Maybe but I doubt it.

The strange man came closer and closer. Robert saw him as a pure black silhouette. His face was as featureless as an oil slick.

“You celebrate death?” The stranger asked calmly. “You celebrate the pain of others?”

Robert clenched his jaw. He considered a variety of responses to this impertinent question. He even considered being conciliatory but ultimately, Robert decided there was only one choice. The man had disrupted the Festival of the Witch’s Pyre, the most important night of the year for these miserable people. If he was some prankster then he needed to be captured and punished. If the stranger was a clear and present danger to Robert, his guards, and the assembled peasants, then there was no way he’d be satisfied with polite words anyway.

“We celebrate the death of a witch,” Robert said bluntly. “We celebrate the restoration of peace and order in Gusteko. Who are you and what business do you have here?”

The figure paused for a long moment as if considering his answer. “I am Taiyang… the Witch of the Frozen Wastes,” He whispered.

Robert’s eyes hardened. Most of the people claiming to be witches or heirs to their knowledge and power are liars and frauds. A few hours in the torture chamber changes their tune. Of course, pretending to a be a witch is a capital crime itself. If he’s lying then I can kill this freak without any concern. If he’s telling the truth then he’s a lethal threat to the entire world and needs to be treated as such. Either way, he dies now.

Robert took a single step forward. His guards fell in behind him. Robert noted their well-trained reactions with approval. “Only a fool would declare himself a witch in Sanshi! Much less to the Prince’s brother!”

“Because you will throw me on the fire?” He murmured with no apparent concern. “Because you will cheer for my death and suffering?”

Robert clenched his jaw. “Whether you are a witch or a liar you are not welcome in Sanshi. Surrender immediately and I may decide to show mercy,” Robert snapped.

“You are very kind to me,” The monster said in a whisper that could be heard throughout the fairgrounds. “But I shall not be kind to you…”

Robert didn’t hesitate. He stepped forward. “Al Jiwald!” He thundered, pointing at the fool. Power built up in his body and crackled like lightning as a beam of unimaginable heat and energy leaped from his hand to slam into Taiyang.

That will illuminate this fool to a good examination! Robert thought with glee. If there’s anything left of him to see!

Al Jiwald was the apex of Yang magic. A searing blast of heat and light without equal. The spell was extremely costly to cast and normally lasted only ten seconds before Robert simply couldn’t sustain it any longer but that was long enough to reduce nearly anything to scraps and ashes.

The beam struck Taiyang square in the chest. For a moment, the power refracted off of him like a jet of water striking a wall.

He has some kind of shield! Robert thought as his guards prepared their own spells. And a powerful one at that! What a remarkable defense! An ordinary shield would crumble instantly under Al Jiwald’s power. This man has talent! No matter. No shield will stand up to this kind of magic for long.

Five seconds later, as if the spell had broken through some protective layer, the beam stopped refracting and simply burrowed straight into Taiyang’s chest.

That’s done it! Robert thought with glee. Your preparations were masterful! I salute you as a fellow virtuoso of magic. You would have been well-prepared to face most mages in combat. But you’re not in my league, fool!

The beam blazed on but the stranger stood there, unmoved and unmoving.

Robert’s jaw dropped. What’s happening?! Whatever shield he had is gone! How is he just standing there and enduring this?! Is this some kind of heat protection magic?! Even so, he should be feeling the strain from maintaining it!

Robert was so shocked by Taiyang’s durability that he almost didn’t realize that his spell should have already timed out. It had been the full ten seconds but his Al Jiwald was still going strong for some reason.

Robert didn’t understand what was going on but he needed to stop before his mana was completely drained. Rather than rely on the spell timing out, Robert manually canceled it.

It didn’t work.

The beam of unimaginable heat kept going. If anything, the energy pouring out of him was increasing in intensity. In desperation, Robert tried to jerk his hand away. It was hard. It felt like his hand was buried in solid rock but he finally managed to wrench his hand free and the spell canceled.

All around Taiyang, the darkness grew and the cold increased. The chill wind picked up, howling across the field. The wind was blowing in from every direction and blowing toward Taiyang.

He’s feeding off my spell! Robert thought in disbelief and horror. Somehow he’s stealing my mana and it’s just making him stronger!

With a shout, Theodore ordered his guards to attack. Each mage flung spell after spell at Taiyang. Schooled by Robert’s blundering into Taiyang’s strange trap, no one tried to cast any spell that needed to be channeled. Instead they flung huge fireballs, enormous icicles harder than steel, blades of wind hard enough to shatter stone and huge boulders dredged up from the earth.

Taiyang calmly marched toward them. Each spell was sucked into Taiyang’s shadow and vanished.

Robert fell to his knees. He’s still stealing my mana. And now he’s stealing theres’ as well. Robert’s mana was nearly gone and his entire body ached with exhaustion.

The peasantry were screaming in fear. A literal winter storm had formed around Taiyang and it was beginning to snow on the field. The wind howled all around them. The peasants ran for their lives, fighting the strange wind with each step as it tried to push them back toward Taiyang. The wind was blowing from every direction and it was all blowing toward Taiyang.

The peasants dashed toward the debatable safety of the city of Kocytos, yelling and screaming about witches and demons.

The guards threw spell after spell at Taiyang but nothing seemed to have any effect, much less harm him.

The guards were panting for breath. They were not only expending their mana in attack spells but Taiyang’s savage black wind was drawing their mana way, drop by drop.

The guards looked at one another in terror.

As one, the guards broke and ran for their lives. Theodore, Robert’s captain and long-time companion, waited perhaps an extra second or two but he knew that the fight was hopeless and he fled.

The guards were trying to run but the terrible wind and their own overpowering exhaustion meant that they stumbled away, only spared from Taiyang’s wrath but their insignificance in his eyes.

Down on his knees, Robert tried to scream at them to stop but he had no strength left to yell.

Taiyang slowly approached Robert. Robert could do nothing but kneel there, panting for breath and shivering in the terrible cold.

“Me-Me-Mercy!” Robert whispered through chattering teeth.

Taiyang cocked his shadow head. “Very well,” He intoned. “I shall show you mercy.”

Robert’s eyes lit up.

“I shall show you the mercy of the Frozen Wastes.”

Robert looked up at Taiyang in sheer terror.

A hand, darker than night, slowly came down to gently grasp Robert’s face. Robert was lifted with great strength up to Taiyang’s face where he could be examined.

Even a scarce inch away from Taiyang’s face, Robert could see nothing. It was like looking into the black ice atop a deep pond. There was nothing but blackness.

Robert gasped. If he’d had any more breath, he would have screamed. Robert was under the impression that he’d already been fully drained but now Taiyang’s magic dug in.

Robert’s mana was completely depleted and yet Taiyang’s power still demanded more. Devouring every ounce of power Robert tried to save up. Robert’s body felt like a rag doll. He felt weariness right down to his bones. Even to save his life he could not move a muscle.

Robert thought that about the grapefruit that he’d enjoyed this morning, brought from Vollachia at great expense. The fruit had been nearly bursting with juice. To draw out the flavor, Robert had taken a straw and plunged it into every single section one by one, drinking the delicious juice. By the end, the fruit must have thought that it was well and truly drained.

Until Robert had raised the fruit to his mouth and tore into its flesh with his teeth.

Robert now felt like that grapefruit. He’d been hollow before but now he was more than hollow. Taiyang was taking something from him, something that slipped away every time that he thought it that he’d managed to identify it. It was getting harder and harder to think, to remember anything.

Finally, Taiyang let Robert’s shriveled and desiccated body fall to the ground.

The festival grounds were completely empty of people.

Taiyang turned and walked away.

It was the middle of the night when Subaru rode Patrasche to the house.

What the hell just happened?! How did I even do that?!

My Authority activated and it got me in trouble. That’s basically what it does, what else is new? But what’s up with this… ‘Endless Hunger’ shit? That’s the second time that happened.

It seems fairly self-evident, A cold voice whispered in Subaru’s mind. The magic was called ‘Endless Hunger.’ You devoured the magic around you. That’s why those people fell to their knees. You drained their mana until they couldn’t stand.

The area around you got cold because you were feeding off the mana in the air. It got dark because you devoured the light mana around you. It seems that the closer something is to you, the more you can drain.

You gripped that fool Robert and drained him dry. And now his strength is part of you. At least for the moment. It seems to fade relatively quickly. You also managed to steal a few years from him which could be very valuable.

Subaru shook his head. That seems like… kind of a stretch honestly. And why did I suddenly get a new power anyway? Was it a gift from Daphne?

And where did ‘Taiyang’ came from? I had already started talking to these assholes when I realized that I never picked out a fake name for myself! I knew that giving them my real one was a terrible idea. Taiyang just popped in my head and I rolled with it.

Was that the name of a Chinese Sun God? …Maybe?

It doesn’t matter. Nobody will recognize the name anyway. Fine. I’m ‘Taiyang’ now. ‘The Witch of the Frozen Wastes.’

I can already imagine the look on Beatrice’s face when I tell her that…

Those men kept throwing spells at me! Powerful spells! I used Indomitable to block the first one but once it timed out, I thought I was dead!

But somehow none of the spells hurt me! Honestly, I felt stronger every time one touched me.

I can feed off spells? If I really can devour mana now then I suppose that would make some sense…

And is it really making me stronger?

Subaru paused as he was about to put Patrasche in the stable.

Patrasche looked down at him questioningly.

“Hey, girl. You mind if I do an experiment?” He asked.

Patrasche cocked her head.

Subaru slid his arms under her stomach and picked up the riding dragon.

Patrasche gave a wild squawk of protest as her feet left the ground. The dragon instinctively tried to bolt forward but her claws didn’t reach the ground and she flailed and struggled.

I’m holding her. I’m picking up at least eight hundred pounds of dragon and I don’t even feel any strain.

Well, actually, I do feel strain but not in my muscles. I feel… a sort of… mental fatigue.

Is that what it feels like when Emilia uses mana to increase her strength and speed? Can I do it too now?

I felt much stronger after devouring that… innkeeper the other day but it only lasted for a few hours. This will probably fade quickly too.

Patrasche slammed her chin down onto Subaru’s head, not hard enough to bruise but hard enough to indicate serious disapproval.

“Oh. Sorry, girl,” Subaru said, coming back to the present. “My mind wandered.” He gently put her down on the ground.

Patrasche gave Subaru a deafening honk. The earth dragon seemed mortally offended.

“Sorry. I won’t do it again.”

The night was extremely cold for this time of year.

He put Patrasche in the stable, fed her and then spent a few minutes praising her for all the hard work she’d put in today.

The earth dragon finally mollified, Patrasche was more than ready to sleep.

Subaru crept to the house and opened the door quietly, hoping not to wake Emilia.

He heard a faint sobbing coming from upstairs.

Subaru sprang to the stairs and raced up to the second floor.

Subaru gasped.

Emilia huddled naked on the floor of her bedroom.

Emilia had pulled all the blankets off the bed to cover herself in a desperate attempt to stay warm.

“Emilia!” He shouted, racing to her side.

Emilia’s face was a study in hopeless misery. “S-S-Subaru,” She stuttered as he wrapped her in his arms and fought to warm her up. “Yo-You were gone for so long…”

Subaru didn’t know what to say. “Mili, I… I’m sorry…”

“I tried… to take care of it myself,” Emilia wept. “But… I couldn’t get there alone and I couldn’t climb back in bed either!”

“Get where?” Subaru asked in confusion.

Emilia’s face twisted in abject shame and humiliation. “I needed to go to the bathroom!” She wailed in despair.

Subaru could stare in horror as Emilia buried her face in his shoulder and cried.

Subaru realized that they were both kneeling in a puddle.