Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

The night sky stood covered in dark clouds, preventing the moon's light from reaching the frozen landscape below. A snowstorm raged, the snowfall hitting the ground, creating deep white floors along the land. A light hit the white surface, creating reflective sparkles from above.

The source?

A figure wandering below.

No matter what, when the wind howled, it always came with that bitter and familiar chill, no matter the scenario. It served as a reminder in ways as well, many times, had life ended under such circumstances. The bitterness of cold had been tainted for Natsuki Subaru.

Snow crunched as the young man traversed the rocky outcropping. His thick brown wool coat provided ample protection from the slashing winds, while his boots protected his feet from the cold and anything beneath the snow that he might step or run into. A scarf wrapped around the lower portions of his face kept his lips and nostrils from freezing dry, while the hood's fluffy wool lining helped keep his eyes from tearing up and freezing.

And to aid him with his trek was a shoulder-mounted flashlight, sitting comfortably on his left shoulder and having saved him in the past from falling to his death.

He carried a large backpack packed to the brim with supplies and a large fur bedroll strapped on top. A sling on his right shoulder carried an old weapon, one of mankind's oldest: a gun, specifically the Khvostov 7G-02. The weapon was well-maintained, its sleek black frame standing out in the white cold. For one, like Natsuki Subaru, having the gun felt a bit odd. But he had supposed he’d never be in a scenario where he’d see one, let alone use it, and hopefully, he would never have to use it.

Hopefully …

But then again, Subaru never figured he’d be on a post-apocalyptic Earth-God knows only how far into the future- and after being ripped away from the world he was genuinely getting to know, a whole Isekai Fantasy World if he were to put it simply, it felt all the more jarring. He never figured that his simple trip to the local market store in Japan would end with him being taken from everything he knew, not that he had much of a social life beforehand, being a Neet and all. So, Subaru supposed there was a first for everything.

He just wished that this first in particular didn’t happen! Ah! It had been months since he’d last seen his friends, and he had difficulty remembering their faces! The ever-adorable Beatrice, the wonderful expressions she’d make when pampered with attention, or the beautiful and ever-elegant Emilia flushed red with adorable blushes. Even Ram, with her primarily neutral or stern looks that she’d give him, seemed harder to recall in detail with each passing day.

It was horrible!

Evolution deserved to suffer for cursing humanity with such a debilitating weakness- or would it be Human Consciousness in this scenario? Whatever the case, one of them deserved it for making Subaru have such a hard time recalling it. Though now that he thought about it, the real culprit that deserved to suffer was the asshole that took him away from his friends! Like seriously, who was behind it, and why did it have to be him? Was he some magnet for being kidnapped to other worlds? And why did they have to send him to a post-apocalyptic Earth?

Couldn’t it have been somewhere more pleasant, like a Cyberpunk dystopia? At least there, he’d have working plumbing to use. Then he wouldn’t be shitting in a bowl or a ditch!

Subaru grumbled and huffed before tugging at the backpack straps and adjusting the heavy luggage. He picked up the pace and continued his trek up the outcropping. The wind’s slashes took exception to that and decided to punish him, sending a blizzard to blind him. Thankfully, purposefully placed sticks were visible and illuminated by his flashlight. Each stick was lodged into the cold ground and provided a path to move along.

Subaru didn’t even know the date, and most people he had the fortune to encounter said it was the Post-Collapse Era or Post-Dark Age. He didn’t have a frame of reference, only that a Golden Age existed and Humanity prospered amongst the stars, but now they didn’t. If he had to put this through his Neet filter, he would have gone from an Isekai Fantasy to an Isekai Science Fantasy in half a year. 

Talk about total genre whiplash.

Though it wasn’t all bad, his otherwise unfortunate return to Earth - which might not even be his Earth - had landed him close to what little civilization there was. Only he arrived in the middle of EASTERN EUROPE and not his homeland of Japan! No one he first met spoke Japanese; he had to spend a month learning the local language and living off the kindness of others while trying to provide some form of help. Subaru supposed he had lucked out a bit, though. At least someone he met knew Japanese, but they were… certainly a character.

 
A shudder ran down his spine as he remembered the gruel they had cooked and had to eat; Subaru wasn’t sure he’d be able to look at crab meat the same way again. Regardless.

In the outlines of the storm, Subaru saw a figure ahead, which made walking that last couple of feet all the more bearable. As the details became less muddled, the vague figure morphed into a man who stood a foot taller than him. Segmented armor- faded and subdued purple- with pocks and divots covered his baggy suit. A sleek helmet obscured his face; two softly glowing red slits served as the eyes and fit into the flames that were painted on the helm, the colors a lighter blue. Subaru had to say the colors coordinated well; he never knew purple could look that good.

“Eh! You made it,” the man said, his voice distorted as if coming from a machine. The man reached out with his hand and placed it on Subaru’s shoulder, patting the young man on the back.

Subaru snorted, brushing the hand aside, “You almost sound like I wasn’t going to make it?” His eyes scanned the environment, and a brow slowly arched as he focused back on the man, “Where’s the others?”

The man stepped back and pressed his hand against his chest. “I’m hurt. You’d think I’d forget you?” He shook his head and looked to the left, "But the others aren’t far ahead, another two miles at most. I made another path; follow it.” He gestured to a small pathway that winded down marked by a stick. The man then walked past Subaru.

“Wait, where are you going?” Subaru turned to watch the man trail down the path he had taken.

The man paused and looked back up at him. "Removing evidence of our path, the snowstorm will cover our tracks. Now go on, babyface,” His hand waving off Subaru.

“Oh, come on, you won’t make up some conversation before disappearing for a couple of hours, Old Man?” Subaru smirked beneath his scarf as the man snorted.

“I mean, what would you talk about with me? The weather? It’s currently shit and freezing; you want your balls to freeze off because that’s how you freeze balls off,” His inflection a bit dry, though barely hiding the lightness that was there, “I know firsthand; lost mine like that… It’s never been the same,” He lowered and shook his head.

For a moment, Subaru wanted to object, but then he knew better than to argue with the man. He supposed that a Veteran with years of experience ahead of him knew better. And in the blink of an eye, the man was gone. 

“Well, better get a move on,” His legs kicked into gear, and he got to walking. Once more, alone for the time being left to his thoughts.

And boy, did he have so many thoughts. Subaru supposed there was a worse state of mind he could’ve been put in, and he’d prefer never to be in that state of mind again if he could help it. He wouldn’t give into despair, pain, or panic. Nor death, he didn’t even know what would happen if he died, whether he’d… It was a risk he couldn’t take, and he wouldn’t deny that on occasion, he felt a strange hold on him… A presence. Whatever or whoever had transported him may have nullified his one trump card in a situation like this, and it was terrifying because the only way to find out was through death.

So, he was stuck on Earth; it was a post-apocalypse, and he was in Eastern Europe. What was he supposed to do going forward? The answer was quite simple once he got his bearings. Get to the Last City on Earth, the only place to potentially help him, and it would be one long journey. Then again, that was why he set out with a group of men who were more than willing to help a man in need.

Subaru had lucked out when it came to that.

“Man, why couldn’t they have chosen a closer spot?” His feet were aching like mad. He had been walking for miles all day, and all he wanted to do was kick back and relax, like hanging out with Garfiel and Otto, helping Petra out, or spending time with his precious Beako. Ah! How could he forget hanging out with Emilia-tan and ending the day by speaking to the slumbering Rem.

But It wasn’t like Subaru was weak or unable to go for long distances; for a Neet, he had been decently active and capable of keeping himself healthy. Then, after being transported to another world, one he didn’t even know the name of, and now that he thought about it, he knew the country he had been in was called Lugunica, but the world itself? Honestly, he never thought about that till now. Getting back on track, however, Subaru’s physical fitness had improved overall; it wasn’t like he was superhuman or anything, but he definitely had improved, and his parkour skills were up there. Now, being back on Earth, his skills had improved significantly. 

Endurance was important in the post-apocalypse.

If there was one thing he could be honest about, he wished he didn’t have to walk so much, especially in the cold! But that was the nature of the beast, wasn’t it? Civilization collapsed, and all that remained were the ruins and those trying to pick up the pieces. In such a world, all Subaru had to keep moving forward was the thoughts of his friends and the singular hope that those in the Last City could get him back.

And so, he kept his march going for thirty minutes, the howling wind being the only thing there besides his thoughts until he heard laughter and a crackling fire. Up ahead to the left was a small cave safe from the elements, and in it was a group of four men illuminated by campfire. Subaru stepped inside, leaning slightly to avoid hitting his head, “SUBARU! YOU MADE IT!” Boomed one of the men, a burly man with a thick brown beard and a brown wool cap on his head, his arm outstretched and the other holding a pot over the fire, “We’ve got stew being made. It’s your favorite! Now take a seat!” The loud man gestured to an empty seat facing the back of the cave.

“Oh…. You shouldn’t have, Ivankov,” Subaru nervously chuckled as he pulled away his scarf—he really shouldn’t have. See, you guys are already comfortable, huh?” He set his weapon on the ground, removed his backpack, and placed it on the ground before taking his seat.

Ivankov laughed and looked to the man on his left, an equally burly man in his own right, wearing a ski mask. “See, Dimitri, our baby boy didn’t get lost,” Chuckled Ivankov, attempting to elbow the other man while precariously avoiding hitting him with the hot pot. He’s a big man despite the baby face.” Dimitri simply shook his head before grabbing his bowl, which sat at his side.

“Ivan, just put the stew in my bowl.”

“So, Subaru, what took ya so long?” Another voice called out, this time coming from his right; Subaru turned to the source and saw a ginger-haired man with a curly mustache and mutton chops staring back at him, a pair of intense green eyes focused on him, “Happen to run into the some Roaches, or did ya get lost like Ivan with a pint?” The most stand-out traits of the man were that his green eyes possessed a shine to them, and his skin held a muted discoloration to it.

Subaru leaned into his seat, rolled his shoulders, and smiled, “Well, I suppose I had a bit of a fun run-in with-” However, his sentence did not get an ending.

“Hey! I don’t get lost with only one measly pint. I am a strong, big man,” Ivankov interjected, flexing his free arm and emphasizing his point.

The ginger-haired man glanced at Ivankov and smirked, “You’re right, it was two . It’s incredible the Roaches didn’t kill ya while yer piss drunk.”

“I’ve come back covered in Roach guts before; vodka is an elixir that turns roaches into stew,” Ivankov laughed and slapped his thigh as he pulled the pot away from the fire and set it on a foldable table on a potholder, “Anyways, stew is done! Grab a bowl and eat! Perhaps it will shut your mouth, McGohan.”

The ginger-haired man, McGohan, shrugged his shoulders and reached for the bowl at his side, “Or, more likely, I’ll have to show ya how to cook. Don’t even use proper spices for your stew.”

“Alcohol isn’t a spice, McGohan,” Another voice spoke up, the source coming from the last of the men positioned towards the cave entrance, a stockier man roughly just below Subaru’s height, give or take a few inches. Santiago Matamoros. His black hair slicked back with a shine, and his thin mustache finely trimmed.

“No, it’s just great for marinatin’; remember that chicken I marinated in whisky?”

Subaru rubbed his temples and sighed; he wouldn’t get to speak at this rate. Well, he supposed it could be worse. In fact, it had been worse earlier in the day. Subaru had to avoid a scavenging party of Roaches, and they were undoubtedly nasty. It had been a miracle he managed to sneak by. With a sigh, he lowered his head, opened his backpack, pulled out a bowl, and got up from his chair, heading around for the pot full of stew. 

He pulled off the lid with his free hand, wafting steam and hitting his hand with pleasant warmth and a mixture of smells. Subaru could tell that Ivan had not been joking about the vodka, but the weight of the other fragrances helped tame it. He could smell the garlic and onions and hint of what it was… Ah! Soybeans. In terms of appearance, the stew had a brown color, and when using the ladle that sat nearby, it had a fine viscosity, a thickness that was better than last time. He could make out the other veggies within: potatoes, carrots, peas. The meat … The Roach meat’s time in the stew, turning it into a delicate meat that pulled effortlessly apart when chewed.

It was the most post-apocalyptic stew ever, of all time. That is to say, it was an apocalypse on the way in and a post-apocalypse on the way out.

The corners of Subaru’s lips twitched. Some part of him wanted to pass on the stew, but the rumbling hunger in his stomach didn’t give him much of a chance; he sighed and lowered his head before glancing at Ivankov, “Yo, Ivan…”

“Huh?” Ivankov leaned back to look at him, “What do you need?”

“You uh…” He scratched his cheek awkwardly, “You uh… Got anything else to go with the stew?” A part of him felt like an ass for asking, but it was worth a shot if it made the meal more manageable to eat, “Like bread?”

The brows of the older man furrowed, “I got goat milk… Want some of that?”

Where in the hell did he get goat's milk from? It was the middle of Winter! “Eeeeh,” Subaru awkwardly smiled politely, turning down the offer before filling up his bowl and returning to his seat.

“I’m just saying, McGohan! YOU DON’T PUT OREGANO IN FUCKING STEW!”

If Subaru had to be brutally honest, he didn’t like Roach meat; it wasn’t that it tasted terrible, but the moral implications were well there… and it was edible. But he supposed that if someone else made it and it wasn’t a fucking stew. It wouldn’t be so bad… He missed Ram and her steamed potatoes.

“Let’s list some spices then. Oregano, Basil, Garlics, Onion. Come on, stop me when I am wrong, Santiago.”

Subaru took a deep breath and began to dig into his meal, the warmth of his food filling him, the sound of the fire and the others present giving him a sense of comfort. While his predicament wasn’t great, he was glad to have met the men before him, men who were willing to help him on his journey. It gave him hope that he’d return to his friends one day.

“ONION AND GARLIC ISN’T A FUCKING SPICE!”

But that was hope for another day.

“Hey! Subaru, baby boy,” Ivankov said, snapping Subaru from his thoughts.

“What?” He lifted his head and made eye contact with the man, “You need something?” He took a spoonful of stew and stared at the man.

Ivankov moved his hand in a so-so manner, “Eh, not need something, more um uh…” He looked to Dimitri, “Dimitri, help me here; what would you call my question?”

“A question on the matter of love?” When Dimitri said that Subaru wanted to spit out his stew, what kind of questions was Ivankov thinking about?

“No, no! Not that one, the other one,” Ivankov snapped his fingers and sat up. “You know the one I told you about the other day?”

“The matters of his virginity?” A sudden blockage hit Subaru’s throat as he beat his chest with his free hand, a part of him shocked from the words and the other trying not to laugh his ass off at the absurdity.

Ivankov shook his head, “Not that one; it’s on the tip of my tongue, and I can’t think of what it was,” He scratched his bread and mused loudly, “I think it had something to do with what the Old Man said about him, you know… uh death wish ?”

A cold sweat rushed across Subaru as he dropped his spoon, and the emotions from his first day back on Earth rushed to him like a tidal wave—despair, pain, confusion. Loneliness… It had just been him and wilderness for the first couple of hours. Subaru wouldn’t deny that day he had been contemplative of suicide, a willingness to die, someone to kill him. He couldn’t bring himself to do it, and not a single person he met did either; if it hadn’t been for the Old Man, he wasn’t sure what would’ve happened.

The sudden turn of emotions didn’t go unnoticed; all eyes fell on Subaru as Ivankov rubbed the back of his head, “Oh shit, uh well… fuck . So about that Weather-”

“Can it, Ivan,” McGohan interjected, “Ya hit the touchy subject; now give the lad a moment,” The ginger-haired man stood up from his seat and, with the bowl in hand, headed for the pot, “Can’t say I blame ya for asking though, our otherworldly friend here hasn’t talked too much about his experiences, I can’t say I blame him for not being chatty,” He filled his bowl and put the lid back onto the pot, “Losing everything you ever knew twice, it’s not a pleasant thing, is it lad?” As he passed by Subaru with a free hand, he gave a simple pat on the back.

Subaru watched McGohan take his seat and sighed, “Yeah, it isn’t. Twice, and there are so many questions I don’t think will get answered. People I won’t ever see again, but I’ve come to terms with that… At least I thought so…” On his first day in Lugunica, he knew deep down that he’d never see home again, and at the Sanctuary, when confronted with its first trial, he had made peace with his past, even if it was a reconstruction of his world and family based off his memories. Subaru had still gotten closure on that chapter in his life, but being back here on Earth.

The possibility this might be his Earth, the possibility that he’d never see his friends again. It had wounded what he thought resolved. The doubt and fears, while not controlling him, were there nagging at the back of his mind, nipping, gnawing- “So if we’re bringing up the past as a question, I think we should focus on the better parts,” McGohan’s interjection ripped Subaru from his thoughts as he focused on the ginger-haired man again, “Subaru, why don’t you start telling some stories from your time in that other world, I think it might be quite interestin’ and you can share some awesome moments.”

A smile plastered on McGohan’s face, and for a moment, Subaru hesitated, “I agree with McGohan; I’m kinda curious about this otherworld. You know what type of food they have. What are the women like? What sorta cool shit did you get up to?” Santiago added, leaning forward in his seat, letting the fire illuminate his brown skin.

Subaru stared silently at the campfire and then at McGohan, Santiago, Dimitri, and Ivankov. Not a word escaped his lips as he looked down at the bowl in his lap. With a deep breath, he relaxed and closed his eyes, leaning against the back of his seat. It wouldn’t hurt to speak of his time, would it? It arguably would be better for his health to talk to others about it, but Subaru knew he had to be creative when telling his experience. Despite being unsure about the state of Return By Death, he wasn’t willing to risk triggering the Taboo and invoking Satella’s response. His eyes opened, and he smiled, “Alright, I guess you have a point,” Subaru’s lips spread into a confident grin, “I’ll tell you about my Journey in Another World and how I started over from ZERO!” He raised one arm into the air, hand-held tightly in a fist, to add to the declaration.

This statement earned a few chuckles from the guys…

Just before Subaru started regaling his tale, a thought crossed his mind; he looked around and scratched his head, “Hey, shouldn’t we wait for everyone to be here?”

“What do you mean everyone is here?” Ivankov responded.

“No… The Old Man isn’t here-” The sentence never finished as a loud bleat from behind caused Subaru to jump in his seat, the bowl of stew sloshing about and partially spilling onto his lap. With wide eyes, he looked to his left and saw… A fucking goat? A white mountain goat was at his side with a thousand-yard stare, “What the hell? Why is there a goat!” Subaru turned to face the men while gesturing exaggeratedly at the goat.

“It’s Goatsy; she’s my perfect little goat,” Ivankov answered with a laugh interlaced in between, “Scared of goats or something?”

Scared of goats… what? Subaru shook his head and stared incredulously at the man, unsure what to make of the answer. Not because it was hard to understand but because of how stupid of a response it all was, “I… I…” Subaru raised a hand to his head and rubbed his temples, “Where… did… you… get… a… err.. get… Goatsy?” The name felt wrong; he was ninety percent sure he could recall seeing something on the internet with that name, and it wasn’t remotely pleasant.

Thank god he couldn’t verify that.

The burly man's eyes brightened up, and he slapped his knee, “Oh! We got her a while back, why?”

A while back? How long was a while back? You don’t just give such a vague answer regarding animals! He should’ve been seeing this goat a lot! Where the hell was it? “I… How long is a while back?” Subaru’s brows furrowed as he felt the beginnings of a minor headache, “She's a mountain goat; there's no mountains out here!”

“Uh… A couple of months ago,” Ivankov spoke as if it was the most obvious answer in the world.

“I would’ve seen her! Where has Goatsy been?”

“Ah! You see, that’s secret.”

Subaru’s right eye twitched as he watched from the peripheral of his vision, Goatsy walking up to Ivankov, “That…” Some of him wished he was somewhere else, “I am not doing this,” Somewhere warm and not in the middle of Eastern Europe. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case, and he had to move on, “I’m just starting the story,” Goatsy pressed against Ivankovs leg and bleated, almost adorably,  “Seriously, why a goat?” He asked that last part quietly.

“Who's a good goat you are! Yes, you are!” Ivankov petted the goat with a goofy smile on his face.

”Alright, let’s get to the point, how my journey started in another world-” Subaru rubbed his temples, “Wait, we still need to wait for the Old Man. Otherwise, I will have to start over when he gets back.”

“Don’t worry, baby boy, we'll give him spark notes.”

Subaru sighed heavily and lowered his shoulders, “Ugh, fine… Just know my storytelling is impeccable, so I will be able to get far, so you better have some damn good spark notes….” He sighed again and adjusted his seat, sitting straight, “It all started one night while I was at a convenience store.”

And thus began his tale of his journey in another world; unfortunately for Subaru, upon the Old Man's return hours later, he would be forced to start over his story.

From Zero!

/.\./.\

Natsuki Subaru slumbered like a baby, his body wrapped in wool blankets and trapped inside a warm bedroll. It was the perfect level of warmth to fall asleep to and forget that the outside was a frozen and cold hellhole. Despite the pleasant nature of his sleep, his facial features would contort, his body twisting and thrashing as sweat beaded down the side of his head. “Mmmm… Emmmmilia… Beako… Help…”...” he'd mumble out, “No…” Subaru twisted and jerked the blankets, getting tighter and tighter as he slept.

And then suddenly.

“Ah!” Subaru shot up in his bedroll, the blankets slipping off him, his chest rapidly falling and rising as sweat drenched his face, and his nasty, panicked eyes looked around the cave, partially illuminated by light from the entrance. The fire was still going, and Ivankov and Dimitri slept together with… Goatsy between them and Santiago was passed out with a bowl of stew spilled over to the side. His scream hadn't woken them up, but a second later, Subaru realized that McGohan and the Old Man were not present. 

Slowly, he raised his hand to his head and felt the sweat; Subaru pulled his hand away and watched it tremble and shake. Goosebumps were going all the way up his arm, and his lips curled into a frown when he saw the fresh marks along the bottoms of his arms. He’d take a few minutes to collect himself. Eventually, Subaru got out of the bedroll and dressed himself before heading outside, noting that at the entrance, a pair of footsteps had made a small path through the fresh snow and headed off to the right, “Where’d they go?” Subaru spoke to himself before following the path to see where it led.

With the sky clear and the sun shining down, the snow became quite bright once outside, forcing Subaru to at least partially block it with his arm. After another five minutes of walking, he’d have to make another right turn heading up a hill; at the peak, he found both McGohan dressed up in a green Parka and the Old Man standing, chatting, “Hey!” Subaru called out,  slightly panting as he worked his legs through the heavy snow, “What are you guys doing?”

McGohan turned to face him and smiled, “Sightseeing. Wanna join us, lad?” At that moment, as Subaru approached, he’d stumbled, and the snow would slip and give away thankfully; however, McGohan caught him by the arm, the man pulling him up to his feet and brushing off snow, “Careful with the hills and slopes, they can be a fickle mistress,” Subaru nodded as a few pats were delivered to his back.

“Eh, I remember that one time you slid down a twenty slope a decade back,” The Old Man chuckled as his gaze settled on Subaru, “Anyways, Babyface, what are you doing awake?” The Old Man approached Subaru, “Not exactly like you… Usually, I have to kick you awake,” He placed his hand on Subaru’s shoulder, “You good?”

“Uh…” Good? He stared at the hand for a moment before brushing it off and chuckling, “I’m doing pretty fine, you know,” Subaru put on a smile and did a jogging motion, “Just getting my new morning routine into shape,” He moved his arm over his chest, “Gotta keep myself in shape for when I get back to my E.M.T-” The snow gave out beneath him once more and Subaru falling backward.

Thankfully, The Old Man’s hand grabbed him by the collar and pulled him forward, “Well, I suppose that’s an answer,” He let go and shrugged his shoulders, “But only a moron would buy that, and unfortunately for you, Babyface, I accrued many IQ points.”

A heavy sigh escaped Subaru’s lips as he slumped his shoulders, “Well, I… don’t know how to put it, but I…” The words failed to come out, not because Subaru couldn’t tell them precisely what it was, but when he thought about it, his mind blanked out no matter what he did. It was like his brain just was refusing to allow him to speak on the matter.

McGohan stared at him, brows furrowed and a soft humming coming from him, the man nodding his head before sighing, “I think I got an idea,” He stepped to The Old Man’s side and placed an arm on his shoulder while gesturing towards Subaru, “I think the lad subconsciously awakened his trauma, must’ve been those dogs or that crazy assassin bitch that done it.”

A blunt stare was all that Subaru returned, his mind deciding on whether to go with the out or try and tell the truth…

An out was an out. At least for now, until Subaru could figure out what was happening with his mind. If his precious Beako were here, she’d probably already be proposing several possibilities for what was happening or solutions. She was just the greatest!

“Yeah…” Subaru chuckled and rubbed the back of his head, “Honestly, bringing up how those Mabeasts went at me was something else, and such a close brush with death… It just doesn’t leave you un-scarred,” A brush with death that had killed him more than once with the curse placed on him by said Mabeasts, “Ulgarm are pretty scary when you think about it, nightmarish even with how their curses work.”

The Old Man chuckled, “Nightmarish for some,” He rolled his shoulders, nudging McGohan, “Or perhaps, a dream for a certain demographic .”

… A dream? Who the hell would find that a dream… What the hell did the Old Man mean by that?

Subaru squinted at the chuckling men before shaking his head, “Anyways, what are you guys doing up here again?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” The Old Man bluntly answered; he turned and gestured with both arms open, “Sightseeing!”

Sightseeing? Subaru's brows furrowed as he walked around The Old Man and stared out with him, and all that he saw was a smattering of barren trees, snow, hills, decayed buildings… What was he supposed to be seeing? “Uhhhhh….” Then, a sharp pain originated from his head, and he dropped to a crouch, holding the back of his head and hissing in pain, “Agh! What the hell!” Subaru looked up at the source and saw the Old Man’s hand stretched out, “What did you hit me?” He stood up and glared at the man.

The Old Man did not turn his head even slightly to face Subaru, “Was giving you a clear mind,” He crossed his arms and snorted, “Take another look.”

Subaru stared for a moment longer before he sighed and looked back at the landscape; what was there to see but a desolate and quiet wasteland? There was nothing but the remains of what once was illuminated by the snow reflecting the light, glitter, and sparkle, and it was then that Subaru noticed how the decayed buildings had become reclaimed by nature, how the trees shot up through the middle, how the buildings sunk more into the ground. There was a certain beauty to it all, “Huh… Never noticed that.”

His mind drifted, going to those longing thoughts of his friends… Subaru wondered what they were doing at the moment. Had they moved on? Were they still grieving over his disappearance? What was happening with the Royal Election? So many questions were emerging in his mind, but what was he supposed to do-

The Old Man chuckled, interrupting Subaru’s thought process, “Civilization may have collapsed, but there is beauty in the aftermath, no?” He then let out a sigh, “It’s a good reminder that there’s a brighter side to it all, that and getting a good lay of the land,” The Old Man placed a hand on Subaru’s shoulder, “We’ll get you to the Last City, you’ll see your friends again,” Subaru couldn’t see the smile, but he knew it was there beneath that helmet.

Subaru closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and relaxed his shoulders as he breathed out, “Thanks,” He faced the Old Man and smiled, “I needed that,” He gave a thumbs up, “You are more than just a racist uncle that I never had.”

“Racist?” The Old Man shook his head and sounded almost offended. I’m a professional racist. Get it right.” He lifted his hand off Subaru’s shoulder and headed down the hill. “Alright, heading back down to the cave, come on, McGohan. Let’s make breakfast. I am hungry.”

Subaru moved to follow them but stopped momentarily, looking out at the frozen landscape, “I’ll be back soon, I promise.” He clenched his hands and furrowed his brows. “I’ll see you guys no matter what and make whoever did this pay,” As Subaru’s gaze shifted away, clouds began to form on the horizon.

Thus, Natsuki Subaru descended the hill, his determination burning brighter than ever as he continued his journey on a post-apocalyptic earth.

From Zero.

Authors Notes:

Well, I decided to rewrite everything. I changed things but kept the premise as before, with subtle variations, more noticeable changes, and a few surprises. Anyway, enjoy the chapters.

As a minor update relating to the other story, Times of Change, which you can find on Archive of Our Own and Questionable Questing. I will be handling both stories simultaneously, roughly trying to rotate between the two; as I try this out, I will be seeing about changing how I handle it and see what workflows end up working better. Overall, I aim to produce more chapters for both stories this year.

However, given my current life affairs and my attempts to get a job (God willing) in my field of expertise, I will finally have that take priority if it comes to it.

So, if you’d like to help support me, I have Ko-Fi. I am also looking to get a beta reader in your Long Shot of A Destiny case, at least. As my co-writer/beta reader, and all around chad Ickbard for Times of Change is unfamiliar with either setting. So I am on my own.

Anyway, there will be more chapters in the future!