Act 5, Scene 4
I undergo a brief moment of stunned shock as I watch the tail of that terrifying blood snake Ouroboros transformed into vanish through the hole it just smashed through the floor - is that allowed!? This looked like a simulator room-!
Tezko kicks me out of the way as the bird-headed shadow whips by, vines trailing behind him from his fingers. The lion-headed one attempts to follow up, but a flicker of the [Leaper's Talent] sees my possible weirdest ally of all time catch his razor sharp claws as well. "Nyaa!" The gag character(?) shouts. Is that her version of the 'Woo!' thing the male Tezcatlipoca was doing? I guess he was in a sort of cat outfit too… no, this is still stupid.
Ugh, focus, dammit-! Do we go after him? I think Tezko can protect me from these two, but what about what's further up the tower?
No. No, our chance to reach the top was already shot the moment Algol transformed into something else. Now the only chance is to go back down and regroup.
"We go after him! Tezko, handle the landing!" I shout as I leap into the hole. Nanaya's cat jumps off my shoulder as I do so, dashing for the door Ouroboros came in through, but I don't have time to think about that right now. Small arms wrap around me from behind so the traumatic flashback to the time I plunged to my death in this place is able to be shut out from my mind.
"You're super demanding for someone who's not even my Master, you realize?" She says, but the tone of her voice doesn't seem irritated at all. "By the way, NRVNQSR just entered my underworld, so it looks like there's only the basement trial left."
Who-? No, with that weird freaky name, it's probably the weird freaky guy made of monsters that killed me earlier, right? "The one above us-?"
"Cleared as we were talking to Roa. Ouroboros must not have been able to descend without killing Stridburg," she answers. "So? What's the plan?"
Yet another person I don't recognize is nothing new at this point, so let's move on to the plan. Just dashing into the basement and ignoring Ouroboros isn't an option - is what I want to say. But that mysterious instinct of mine is screaming that fighting it out is the wrong call. Because…
Right, if he read all the books in the entire library, that means he's looping. There's not actually a chance at final victory against this guy in the first place. The most sure path to victory is to have Recorder wipe out the Tatari, and he can only do that once the last trial is cleared and someone is able to reach the top.
"Is Len still headed to the top?" I ask after another instant's thought as we hurtle straight through Ritsuka's boss room - looks like he's got Shaula pinned down pretty well, or at least did until he got distracted by the giant snake. "You told her to hop off, right?" Tezko's not quite the cat's contractor, but they've got some sort of relationship.
A veil of smoke catches a snipe from her tail, and we exit into the open space of the tower's main chamber. Below, I see a whirlwind of blood as Ram eviscerates the snake form of Ouroboros - but that's just a shell, and already the red-eyed form of something that was once Natsuki Subaru has exploded outwards seizing her by the throat.
"Yeah. You're pretty insightful in the heat of the moment, huh?" The Aztec god says. "I figure if it's a clear path to the top- ah!?"
Instinct screams at me, but it's too late. There's a sudden pull from above, and I hear the sound of snapping bone. The arms wrapped around my torso go slack, and I fall. I manage to turn my head to look - and see a crimson willow tree, crafted of blood, sprouting upside down, dangling from the ceiling. In its more sturdy bows, a third of the shadowy figures called by Ouroboros perches, his features undiscernible amid the branches.
All I can see is the noose, a fine rope, swaying just like one of the branches, trailing from the hands of He-Upon-the-Willows. And hanging limply, snared with unexpected ease, is-
"D-dammit…" I mutter. I could sort of already feel a reset coming on, but-
I plummet past the fourth floor, where the living quarters are stationed. Emili- no, it's still Rem. She locks eyes with me for just a moment as I hurtle past, worry written on her face. Already she's in motion, about to hurl her spirit-bound flail and catch me with its chains - but I don't think she's going to be in time.
It takes an unreasonable amount of time to hit the ground from here. I know that all too well. And so, with nothing else to do, I shut my eyes and grit my teeth.
"-Well, I can just generate bodies endlessly, though," says Tezko as she re-forms clinging to my back.
There's a jarring burst of motion that makes my head swim with nausea as we flicker further down the open air in the tower's center, dodging Rem's attempt at saving me since at this stage it would have just slowed me down.
"Ram, make a hole!" I roar, and despite Ouroboros tearing his own stomach out and hurling it at me like a flail, the still connected intestines trying to wrap around me what the FUCK, The force of wind and Tezko's momentum propels me past it, down the stairs and into the basement.
Reality seems to break down for a moment. The familiar starway dissolves into a corridor of stars, hurtling past me. In the distance, I can see two silhouettes, they're…
"Pepe and Gogh, huh?" I mumble. The first is frozen in place, mid-step, trying to make his way forward. The second, slipping from his grip, is beginning to scramble backwards towards me - but she, too, is frozen.
"They're not frozen. You probably can't tell with your eyes, but they're still moving - just incredibly slowly," Tezko says. "Looks like some kind of time dilation, probably."
Shit. "Is it the type of thing you can work around?" I ask.
"Depends on the mechanism. If it's an attack, then yeah, I can dodge it easily. If it's a 'trade', then I can't do anything about it," She says as she lets go of my back and moves to stand at my side. "Well, that's for dodging it myself. I can probably kill you if you get caught up in it."
A wry chuckle leaves my lips. "That'll do, I guess. Let's see what we're up against."
And so, leaving her beside, I take a step forward.
"Face, the unbearable future."
Ah, shit-
***
Chorus
"Ah… AHHHHH!"
My own screams are the first thing I hear, interspersed with the sound of flesh slamming against stone.
"Die! Just die! Why won't you just die, Natsuki Subaru!? You miserable bastard, just how much!? Just how much are you going to fail!? Just die alreadyyyy!" My howl ends with a final-sounding crack.
And then, another voice comes, and then another, and another.-
"[Red Hilt]," The voice of Mash Kyrielight, choked with tears, intones.
"The only path forward is to play it safe," mutters Daybit Sem Void.
"Of course, this is my revenge, Lancelot. Surely you can understand," A woman I don't know says.
"My name is Natsuki Subaru," comes my own voice. "Witch Cult Archbishop of Pride, Natsuki Subaru!"
"Eat them. Please, eat them," again comes my moaning voice.
Eventually, the voices smear together, becoming garbled, and I can't even tell who's speaking.
"Congratulations. You won without even realizing I was your enemy - isn't that just the most pathetic possible result?"
"BegiNniNg vOIce plAYbaCK: 'He'll arrive in time. Natsuki Subaru always arrives, just in time.'"
"Die, thou, as tears unshed, shall dry and die-"
"Flugel, this is goodbye for now."
"Cut it off. This is the only possible call I can make as the director of Chaldea."
"Those girls? I already ate them, obviously."
"Kehahaha! The real bomb was inside you all along!"
"You! This whole time, you were-!"
"Ha… Hahaha! Like a newborn's cry across this fog-smothered sky - she's just as beautiful as I remembered!"
"The most evil, most cruel ninja-!"
"P-please… Please, Master-sama, I need you to break them, the way he used to-!"
"It's impossible. Once a Tohno inverts, there's no going back. That goes for the Arima, too."
"Because the real culprit of all of this isn't BB. It's you, right?"
"It's my loss. It's my total defeat, and I can't even feel upset because I'm too grateful to you-"
"This humble Priest is no expert in spiritual surgery, and besides, my master will be quite miserable with this outcome."
"[Nega-Summon]."
"Of course I killed her. I can accept that part of her, but I can't stand the thought of leaving her like that."
"I'll admit, I'm curious about what happened since we last spoke. What on earth happened to that eye of yours?"
"For her sake, I can betray anyone."
"For her sake, I'll believe anything."
"For her sake, I can lose everything."
"For his sake, I can become anything."
"For their sake, I'll pay anything."
"For our sake, you're accepting everything-!"
Enough. Enough, I get it already. The future won't be easy. I've already accepted that. But just accepting it won't be enough, I know that.
Scandinavia Peperonciono doubtless accepted the future he was shown - but he failed, and his time was 'taken' as some kind of way to pay back the visions he was shown.
Vincent van Gogh doubtless fled from the future she was shown - and in doing so, she too failed.
The answer here, is the one Wallachia would desire. The answer of the protagonist of a tragedy… could perhaps be running away, but I think what he wants is-
"I get it, so I'll overcome it all," I snarl, and I take a step forward.
The stars move even faster, and the voices become indiscernible, more and more lights zipping past me until finally they all pass by and only darkness remains.
"There's no such thing as a tragedy," the voice of Georgios echoes in the dark. "For I know that my redeemer lives, and he shall stand astride the world on the last day."
"-Then die in that foolish hope." The voice of Wallachia scoffs, and with the sound of bloodshed, and a severed head hitting the ground, the vision ends.