Subaru's eyes slowly open, squinting against the bright sunlight filtering into the spacious room. He's lying on an unbelievably soft mattress, wrapped in luxurious sheets. For a moment, the chaos of the previous battle with Elsa feels like a distant memory. The unfamiliar surroundings make him wonder where he is.
His wrist feels heavier than usual, and when he looks down, the familiar green glow of the Omnitrix catches his eye. A reminder of his power and the strangeness of his situation. But the device is inactive—clearly on cooldown from all the fighting. Subaru tries to tap it, but nothing happens.
Great, now I'm stuck here… He muses. Before he can contemplate further, the door creaks open, and two girls enter, each wearing maid outfits.
One with pink hair stares at him coldly, while the other, with blue hair, stands quietly beside her, curiosity in her eyes.
"Welcome to Roswaal Manor," the pink-haired maid states curtly. "I'm Ram."
"And I am Rem," the blue-haired one adds, offering a slight bow.
Subaru blinks. He tries to sit up but winces from the soreness in his muscles. "Where... am I? And Emilia—she's okay, right?"
"Lady Emilia is fine, thanks to your efforts," Rem says softly, giving a kind smile. "You were found unconscious and brought here."
"Oh, so I'm the guest of honor, huh?" Subaru jokes, flashing a grin, but it's met with Ram's cold stare.
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Subaru, ever the curious one, decided to explore the mansion after his introduction to the maids. Wandering through the grand hallways, his sense of direction quickly faltered. Every door looked the same, and no matter which way he turned, he somehow ended up looping back to the same spot.
A soft, eerie giggle echoed through the air, followed by the distinct sensation that someone—or something—was watching him.
"Oh, I'm an expert at solving puzzles like this! Usually, the answer is to go back to the first room you came from," Subaru said aloud with a grin. Confident in his reasoning, he opened the first door he'd come across, only to be greeted by a small, blonde girl with piercing blue eyes and butterfly shaped irises, sitting on an antique chair in the middle of a room lined with bookshelves. Her irritated expression told him she was less than pleased by his arrival.
"You're quite the fool to have found this place, I suppose," Beatrice said, her gaze sharp and unwelcoming as she flipped through a thick tome.
Subaru, undeterred by the eerie atmosphere, chuckled. "So... this is the right door?"
Beatrice sighed, clearly unimpressed. "You weren't supposed to find this room. It was just luck, I suppose. Now leave before I change my mind."
Subaru scratched his head, completely oblivious to the tension in the room. "Well, you could've labelled the door or something. But hey, nice library!"
Rolling her eyes, Beatrice waved her hand dismissively. "Just go, I suppose."
With a light push from an unseen force, Subaru was unceremoniously ejected from the library, landing back in a normal corridor. The endless loop was gone. He let out a sigh of relief before bursting into laughter, still amazed by the strangeness of the mansion.
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Later, Subaru was led to the grand dining hall, where a banquet was already set. As he walked in, he was surprised to find Emilia seated at the table, with the mysterious Puck floating lazily beside her. At the head of the table sat Roswaal, dressed in his usual flamboyant fashion, a grin spread across his face. On either side of him stood the ever-serious Ram and Rem, while Beatrice sat nearby, elegantly flipping through a book, clearly disinterested.
Roswaal's eyes sparkled with amusement as Subaru took his seat. "Ah, Subaru! I trust you're feeling better after such a grueling experience?"
"Better than ever," Subaru quipped, still utterly confused but going along with the eccentric vibe. "So, you're the big boss around here, huh?"
Roswaal chuckled, clearly entertained by Subaru's bluntness. "Indeed, I am Roswaal L. Mathers, lord of this manor. But tell me, young Subaru, what is that peculiar mark you carry on your wrist?"
Subaru felt the weight of the question but managed to maintain his grin. "Ah, this? It's... complicated. Let's just call it my Divine Protection."
Before Roswaal could press further, Emilia chimed in, her voice gentle. "Subaru's been a great help, Roswaal. He even fought against the assassin with this... power of his."
Subaru waved his hands frantically, downplaying his role. "Ah, no big deal! Just another day in the life of a hero. But seriously, what's with the whole... supervillain getup?" He gestured dramatically at Roswaal's outlandish outfit.
Roswaal let out a hearty laugh. "Oh my, oh my~! Quite the observant one, aren't you?"
Subaru shot a glance at Ram and Rem, both of whom were watching him closely. "So, I guess you guys run the show here, huh? Must be tough dealing with someone like him."
Ram, ever the deadpan, responded flatly, "More than you can imagine."
Rem, on the other hand, fought to hide a smile. Subaru was clearly growing on her.
Turning back to Roswaal, Subaru cleared his throat. "I, uh, actually have a favor to ask. Can I stay at the manor for a while? I want to help Emilia."
Roswaal raised an eyebrow. "Help her? How exactly?"
Subaru puffed out his chest, trying his best to appear confident despite his exhaustion. "I want to be her bodyguard! I've got some pretty special abilities, thanks to this Divine Protection of mine."
Emilia, looking panicked, leaned forward. "Are you sure, Subaru? You've already been through so much trouble because of me. I don't want to burden you further."
Subaru smiled reassuringly, "It's okay, Emilia-tan. Honestly, I'm new here, and getting a job would be the biggest win for me right now. So, rather than troubling me, you're actually helping."
Emilia blinked in surprise, her face flushing slightly at his sincerity. After a moment, she let out a soft laugh. "Well then, Subaru, I'll be in your care."
Roswaal hummed thoughtfully, tapping his chin. "Hmm… I suppose it wouldn't hurt to have someone with your... unique skills around. But you'll have to earn your keep. Do you agree to help with the daily chores?"
Subaru's confidence faltered as he stared blankly at Roswaal. "Chores? Like… housework?"
Ram and Rem stepped forward in unison, both smirking ever so slightly.
"Consider it part of your training," Ram said, her tone icy but amused.
Rem nodded with a smile. "We'll guide you through your duties, Subaru."
Subaru sighed dramatically, realizing there was no escape. "Fine, fine. I'm in. But for the record, if anything gets set on fire, it's totally not my fault!"
Roswaal chuckled while Emilia stifled a giggle, and even Beatrice glanced up from her book, mildly intrigued by the disaster waiting to happen.
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Later, Subaru accompanies Rem to the nearby village. It's supposed to be a simple visit—helping with chores and meeting the villagers—but Subaru's attention is quickly drawn to a small, adorable puppy that trots up to him.
Without a second thought, Subaru crouches down, petting the puppy with a wide smile as it eagerly licks his hand. "Aren't you just the cutest little thing?"
However, the puppy's demeanour suddenly shifts. Without warning, it sinks its teeth into Subaru's hand and bolts off, leaving him yelping in shock.
"Ouch! Why do you hate me?" Subaru howled, clutching his wounded hand and writhing in pain.
Rem, hearing the commotion, rushed over and knelt beside him. With a concerned look, she gently healed the bite wound with her magic. "You should be more careful around animals, Subaru-kun. They seem to hate you for some reason... perhaps because of your mean, predator-like appearance?"
Subaru groaned, pressing his palm to his forehead. "There are so many things wrong with that statement, I don't even know where to begin."
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Despite the bizarre incident with the puppy, the rest of the day passed uneventfully. Subaru, however, couldn't shake off the excitement. As night fell, his mind was still racing, replaying everything that had happened since his arrival. Sleep eluded him entirely, his thoughts too restless to allow for peace.
But as the night wore on, something felt terribly wrong.
Lying in his bed, Subaru's breath became shallow. A wave of nausea twisted in his stomach, followed by a sudden, sharp pain that stabbed through his chest. The pain was overwhelming—sudden, brutal, and all-consuming. His eyes widened in terror as he clutched his chest, struggling to draw breath, each gasp feeling like fire in his lungs.
"What… is this?" he muttered through gritted teeth, his body trembling as the pain intensified, spreading like wildfire.
With every pulse of agony, his strength waned.
"What... is happening... to me?" Subaru groaned, his voice barely a whisper as he doubled over, vomiting everything he had eaten earlier that day.
Panic consumed him as his vision blurred, the room around him warping into a dark abyss. His body refused to move, no matter how desperately he tried. His limbs felt like lead, and the Omnitrix, his last hope, remained silent and inactive on his wrist.
"No, no… I don't want to die!" Subaru's voice cracked, his breaths ragged as his tears began to fall. "I finally got to live the life of a protagonist... I don't want to DIEEEE!!!"
His desperate cry echoed through the empty room, but there was no one there to hear him. Alone, in agony and regret, Subaru's vision faded completely as he succumbed to the darkness, his final breath leaving him in a trembling whisper.
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Subaru jolts awake in the same bed he had woken up in before, his heart pounding in his chest. Confusion washed over him as he instinctively checked his body, searching for signs of injury—there were none. He sat up, his mind racing. He had just died, hadn't he? The pain, the fear, the despair—it had all felt so vivid, so real. But now, here he was, alive and back in the same place he'd started.
"What... just happened?"
As he tried to piece things together, a cold, unsettling realization crept into his mind. He hadn't just survived—he had returned. Time itself had rewound, bringing him back to an earlier moment. Death wasn't the end—it was a reset. A chilling truth began to sink in. This power, this unnatural ability… Return by Death.
His suspicions were confirmed when Ram and Rem entered the room, introducing themselves as if meeting him for the first time, just as they had on his initial day in the mansion. Their words echoed in his mind, heightening his disorientation.
After they left, Subaru sat in silence, still reeling from the shock.
"I... I died... and came back?" he muttered to himself, his voice trembling. His entire body shook as the full weight of it pressed down on him. The memories of his painful death were still fresh, the terror too vivid to shake off. His heart raced, and beads of cold sweat dripped down his face.
The Omnitrix, his supposed Divine Protection, remained on his wrist, yet now it felt like only part of the puzzle. Something else, something far darker, had taken control. There was a force at play—an unseen power—that had resurrected him.
Subaru's eyes narrowed as he tried to grasp the magnitude of what he was dealing with. Return by Death. It wasn't just a gift... it was also a curse.