Wish Upon a Sin

Arc 2 - Chapter 11

A blue sky, deep and pure.

That was all he could see. Echos passed through his head, though he didn't pay them any heed. There was no point.

A dark grey sky, shepherding in the cold.

He thought he heard screams, but he couldn't be sure. Why would anyone be afraid of the cold? It was comforting, in its own way.

A black sky, lit only by the stars of his home world.

Instinctively, his eyes found the spot where his namesake, the Pleiades, dwelt. They weren't there, of course. They never were, in this place, the singular flaw in this otherwise perfect recreation of his sky.

The blue sky.

"Hey kid, you alright?"

The grey sky.

"This is the only way she can be saved."

The black sky.

"I love you, I love you, I love you."

They seemed to blend together, the colours and voices blurring and fracturing into a kaleidoscope of sensations that overwhelmed his strained mind. Screams and terror. The ordinary sounds of a day at the marketplace. Being embraced, with only love shown to him. A merry-go-round of warmth and cold, coming and going with the blue and grey skies.

Each cycle was clearer, letting him see more, remember longer, spot more stars among the sky.

"I love you."

He tried to look at the person speaking to him, but he wasn't able to move. He wanted to share his own love with the voice, but couldn't do a single thing to show it. That was how it always turned out, wasn't it? It was all his fault. He could never do anything. He could never be anything. Once more, he drifted away from that place.

"I don't blame anyone, least of all you. You are a hero, and a hero is all you can be."

He felt cold, and then he saw the dark sky again. But this time it was different.

"I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you..."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Can you hear me? I'm so, so sorry."

This time, he could hear the voices of two girls, similar, but they felt slightly different. One was repeating the same phrase over and over again, while the other other cried pitifully, begging for forgiveness.

Or maybe it was just one girl, trying to say two different things with one voice.

Subaru tried to respond, but his mouth wouldn't move. Did he even have a mouth? He felt like he should, but it wasn't responding to his instructions.

He strained himself beyond anything he had done before, trying to turn to see her. The girl had never been distraught like this before. He needed to do something to comfort her. He needed to.

"I'm sorry. I love you. I didn't know... I love you. I didn't know it would turn out like this! I love you."

Finally, he could see her, the figure of the voice that always appeared in this place of darkness. She was a shadow, merely another silhouette in the black world, but Subaru could feel his heart light up with his love for her. He wanted to go to her, to reach out and hold her, but his form was indistinct, and blurry, little more than a cloud of will.

"I love you. If I had known, I wouldn't have... I love you. This isn't what she promised! I didn't mean to! I love you. I love you. I love you."