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Rating:

Not Rated

Archive Warnings:

Creator Chose Not To Use Archive WarningsGraphic Depictions Of Violence

Category:

Gen

Fandom:

Re:ゼロから始める異世界生活 | Re:Zero Starting Life in Another World (Anime)

Characters:

Rey Alaraph (OC)Louis ArnebLye BatenkaitosRoy Alphard

Additional Tags:

POV First PersonDysfunctional FamilyThe Gamer Ability (The Gamer Webcomic)Fluff and AngstThe gluttonies are terrible childrenThe Author Regrets EverythingWhy Did I Write This?This was entirely an excuse to fit as many self-indulgent things into one fic as possibleSpoilers for Re:Zero season 3Lots of struggling to change canonDescent into MadnessNot Canon CompliantThere is more than one playeroc is a fourth gluttony siblingprobably the most 'normal' but compared to the others that's not saying much

Language:

English

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Published:2024-10-28Updated:2026-01-07Words:246,117Chapters:58/?Comments:1,238Kudos:848Bookmarks:113Hits:41,070

A Dog in the Cradle of Od Lagna

TheGimbler

Chapter 4

Chapter Text

"So… Roy stomped you, huh?" There was the scrape of a chair as a man in his thirties sat down at the bedside of Adelheid.

"It wasn't him," She said, eyes glazed and looking at the ceiling. Her mental stats weren't exactly the most sizable, but having them for so long and then having a powerful mental debuff fogged almost everything. "This is miserable. I can barely think."

"Hmm," The man looked her over with a frown, his eyes seeing more than what was there. "Yeah, it's not permanent, thankfully. What happened where you were hit with something that cut both your Intelligence and Wisdom by over 200? Subaru told me it was Roy."

"Clay," She rolled her head to look at him, and he didn't enjoy seeing the light in her eyes looking so dull. "There's another Player. Called themself a Sin Archbishop of Gluttony, Rey Alaraph."

The man's eyes widened a minute amount, before his frown turned into a scowl. "So… Another Wallace?"

The tone he took was dark, contemplative.

"I… don't know," She muttered, closing her eyes. "Roy got away because of this new Player. Had a… really good sword. Cut away my stats with a single swing, enough that my Power Bleeding didn't help, I couldn't think fast enough to react to anything he did after that."

"I'm ashamed to say that I couldn't kill Ley, either," Clay confessed with a sigh. "Dunno if it was the Plot helping him get away, but even without it… Hell, if Beatrice and Felt weren't there, I probably would've lost that fight before he used Solar Eclipse. The Sin Archbishops are all stat monsters."

"In the end… we failed, huh."

"...Rather terribly. I'm sorry."

Rey Alaraph LVL 11

Race: 25% Demi-Human (dog)

Affiliation: Witch Cult Sin Archbishop, -99% Reputation with non-affiliated members.

Magical Affinity: ERR_NOT_CHOSEN, Earth

Health: 440/440

Mana: 170/170

Exp: 500/1100

STR: 60

-The weight of your blows, the ability to exert force in numerical form.

VIT: 22

-Your constitution, the vitality you carry in numerical form.

DEX: 27

-The litheness of your body, the speed at which you can actively react to in numerical form.

INT: 17

-Puzzles, memory, knowledge in numerical form.

WIS: 19

-Understanding, thoughts, and the ability to comprehend in numerical form.

LUK: 5

-Chance, and the odds it's in your favor in numerical form.

You have 50 stat points to spend!

I was staring openly at my status page, a frown playing across my lips.

The reason for this was my… poor stats, of course. I finally had something to compare my stats to, which was Roy at level 50, and seeing my own personal growth up to level 11… I could say that I was at a terrible growth rate. Putting it into perspective, his STR at level 50 was over 400.

If I hit level 50, that would leave my STR at less than half, and my nature had it growing at three times the rate of a normal person.

Fortunately, there were allocatable stat points for me to make a build out of my own self. 5 per level, which wouldn't be a terrible rate if I hadn't seen Roy's status. If I put all 250 points I got from leveling up into strength, I would still be lower in STR, and that's discounting the absurd more than 600 DEX as well.

So, either the system scales exponentially, or Roy was simply a cheater in this world.

I'd say that my existence is a cheat as well, but I simply couldn't understand the absurdity of such high numbers, and this was less than half of his actual status! If he had his actual stats along with the insane buff of +240% of both WIS and INT, then how do you beat him? How did he lose to that redhead woman?

That wasn't me saying I didn't understand sneak attacks, multiple people jumping you, or a trap, but seriously, how do you beat someone like that?

I got a mild taste of an extraordinarily high WIS stat for a short time, and Roy's baseline WIS and INT stats weren't exactly the most impressive thing about him. What would happen if I grew it far beyond his and used Lunar Eclipse?

A giddy smile appeared on my face, thinking about that euphoric high I had. If it could go even higher… Ooogh, I wasn't about to become an intelligence junky, but it must feel so good. It must be some kind of crutch, however.

I remembered trying to use Lunar Eclipse, but the system said Ley was already using it, meaning it could only function for one of us four at a time. Louis must've jumped in to open it up for me, which meant I needed to thank her for the save.

Even with my low stats, I held onto some of the knowledge I desperately needed when I used Lunar Eclipse. Most of it slipped from my head, owing to the low number, but my brain had soaked in it ever so slightly.

Natsuki Subaru, Emilia, Adelheid Astrea, these names didn't simply leave me like my higher state of consciousness. Lugunica, Priestella, magic itself, Divine Protections… I couldn't contemplate them like I did under Lunar Eclipse, but I didn't forget.

If I were to repeatedly go under that state with a high enough base INT… Then wouldn't I quickly immerse myself in this world, catching up almost instantly?

This was my thought process as I considered dumping all of my stat points into intelligence. Roy was clearly leaning into his physical capabilities, leaving his mental stats behind. He could supplement this with Lunar Eclipse, of course, and that was likely what he did. But if my stats were higher than his while I possessed him, then I'd instantly solve that problem and create an extremely powerful fighter, right?

This was, of course, assuming that he'd be willing to let me possess him to do that. Practically telling your brother that you wanted to control his every movement so you can be a 'stat monster' was sure to end in failure.

And assuming Roy and Ley both didn't want me to use their bodies as a guinea pig for my experiment, I had to consider myself objectively.

What did I even want to do?

I was stuck in an endless void with someone I was fine calling my sister. Considering myself as a trump card in a battle for Roy was… stupid. I didn't want to do that at all if I looked at myself objectively. Sure, in a video game, you can mix-max all you want and there would be no consequences.

…I think I understood where Xyxycyyc came from, growing angry with me considering this whole experience a 'reward.'

Levels, characters, 'plot,' quests, and all these fun little things are here to distract me from the fact that I had my calf stabbed through with a fucking spear.

Was that not insane? Could I just move past that without a second thought because this was a 'game,' and my HP dropped? The moment my HP was back to maximum capacity, I was just supposed to forget the agonizing pain of being stabbed?

I sliced my sword through a woman's midsection. And, what, I wanted to get better at doing that? Increase my stats, improve my skills, and do all these quests for rewards that would only help me grow more proficient at harming these 'NPC' characters? A title meant to dehumanize them to me?

I suppose the only reason I didn't care enough about the whole experience was the benefit of having done so. Sure, I hurt Adelheid, but I knew there was healing magic, and she stabbed me, so why would I care? I gained two superpowered brothers and a sister who was probably on the same level as them.

If I wasn't stuck with Louis in the Corridor of Memories…

I looked over at the girl, who was lazing about on her back, looking at me with a peculiar look on her face.

I turned away with a frown. Honestly, I wouldn't care about her plight. Was that a bad thing? We're in this together, but if I learned she was alone by herself in this space, then I don't think I'd do anything about it, even if I had the capability to.

It was rational to work together, but it's not like I was actually attached to my 'sister.'

Well, I also met her maybe an hour ago, so that would be subject to change the more we were together.

With that filed away, I returned to the thing I was contemplating. Did I want to focus on one stat or spread it all out? Was STR, DEX, and VIT worth it as I was, stuck within this place? Even if I possessed one of my brothers, I'd just use their massively increased stats. That, and I really wanted to chase the high I'd gotten from having a heightened awareness.

Also, being more knowledgeable and capable mentally would assist me and Louis in getting the hell out of this place. I could focus on the more physical traits when we got the fuck out of here.

[Stat points: 50 → 0]

[WIS: 19 → 44]

[INT: 17 → 42]

Seeing the numbers rise as I dumped half of my total into both mental stats was nice. Though it wasn't nearly to the effect as when I used Lunar Eclipse, it definitely felt like the fog around my awareness had lifted just slightly. To the smallest degree, I understood.

My situation. The hatred people had for the Witch Cult. The cards I was dealt in this second life.

I couldn't think up a way to change it, of course, but to merely understand was a big step forward.

"Sis~ter," I heard Louis speak directly into my ear, making me snap to attention. My wide-eyed stare was met with Louis sitting next to me with a frown, "...What are you looking at, tsu?"

"...Wuh?"

"You were looking up and down and…" She tilted her head, looking right in front of my eyes. "It was like you were reading something, tsu. Having read something, understanding how to read, it was definitely some kind of reading, tsu. Your eyes were shifting like you saw something to rea~d."

"Uh," I leaned away from her the slightest amount. "I was just thinking. My eyes tend to get active as I do."

Louis narrowed her eyes, and I swallowed unconsciously. I didn't know Louis was so perceptive. Shit, do I get a punishment if a non-player learned about the system? Could I just tell her about it without consequence?

"Ooh, so that's how it is, is it?" Louis huffed and crossed her arms, leaning back the same way I was.

"What?" I asked tentatively, silently afraid that I'd given up the game.

"Sister, you don't like us, do you?"

My thoughts stopped, hearing something I never would've expected.

Louis wasn't pouting like a child, nor was she wide-eyed and about to cry like someone her age might've done. Instead, she had gritted teeth and flaring nostrils, looking at me like I'd betrayed her in some way.

"Ah~, we see it, don't we! Not wanting to share what little you've learned to take from us, is it?! We thought siblings were together no matter what, through thick and thin, but now we see. Indeed, we do see," Louis shot to her feet and growled, literally looking down on me. "So this is the result of us being together, tsu."

"What is it?!" I hastily asked, genuinely confused about her sudden change in demeanor. "Did I do something wrong?!"

"Hah!" Louis barked a laugh. "We thought a sister would understand. We thought a sibling in this space with us would make it easier. But you're hiding something, aren't you, tsu!? You noticed something about this Hall of Memories and are keeping it from us! Siblings don't hide things from one another, tsu~!"

"That's not what I'm doing!" I jump to my feet and hold my hands out placatingly. "I'm not hiding anything!"

"Liar, liar!" Louis pointed at me with an accusing finger. "Lying, so much lying, to lie whilst lying, to lie about a lie! It's a lie, isn't it!? Has it always been lying with you, sister? If you're not lying, then what were you reading, hmm? We recognized it, so there's no way you can lie to us!"

Hearing her anger made me realize something. Louis was stuck in the Hall of Memories, just like me. But she was here before I was. I was literally here because she was here.

I was the cure to her loneliness in her eyes.

And instead of being the object of interest for her, to keep her mind off what clearly was a hellish existence, I simply denied her any explanation.

"Okay," I closed my eyes for a moment. I didn't know how long I was going to be in here, so I needed Louis. Not only for someone knowledgeable, but to keep myself sane. "Louis, the truth is…"

Louis' eyes twitched.

"I'm not really doing anything. I'm…" I winced at the anger flaring up on her face. "...I'm calculating."

The girl cocked a brow, "Calculating, tsu." Her tone was flat.

"Yes," I nodded. And it was the truth! I was definitely thinking about numbers and whatnot, but the whole system thing I had wouldn't make any sense to someone who didn't know a single thing about it. She was a girl in what I'd call a fantasy world, she didn't have anything even close to the system, not even in theory. "I'm thinking about numbers and stuff."

"...Numbers," Her face softened just a bit as she breathed the words out. "Is that so."

"Yes!" I really wanted her to be satisfied with that explanation, half-assed as it was.

"...whatever," She sniffed derisively, turning her back on me and walking off.

It was when she was over fifty meters away when I finally called out, "Hey, where are you going?!"

"Our side!" Louis shouted back.

"Your–?" I quickly jogged after her, reaching her side after ten seconds. "Wai-wai-wait, you're just going to leave me somewhere in this void?"

"Who cares? Not like there's anything to see here," Louis scoffed.

"Uh, what about me? You might be used to this place, but I'd get lost!" I pleaded. "If you walk off, what if I never see you again? What if– What if I'm all alone here?"

"Oh?" Louis finally looked at me. "Are you saying our sister is afraid of being alone? Terrified of being by her lonesome, unable to comprehend being by herself, tsu?"

"I–"

I suddenly felt the space around me in a whole new light. My increased awareness didn't just go for the world as a whole, but for the massive white void we were stuck in.

Totally empty except for the two of us.

A limitless expanse, and the possibility of growing too separated to ever meet again was a very real one.

A literal white room. The human condition could barely last without any stimulation for a few days, what about weeks?

Months?

Years?

"I-I–" I felt fear fill my stomach, and my anxiety appeared on my face, unbidden. I tugged at Louis' sleeve with a soft whine, "S-sister… please don't leave me alone."

Louis' eyes widened at the weakness in my tone. The shakiness of my voice's inflection. She huffed and turned away, "Hah… Well, we might consider it, tsu." There was a slight shade of pink on her cheeks as she muttered, "So long as you let us rest our head on you, tsu."

"What— Like a pillow?" I questioned, more than willing. "Y-yeah, that's fine. So long as you let us use your hair as a blanket." I weakly tried to banter, but the sound of my heart in my ears didn't help much with my anxiety.

"Mmm," Louis hummed, eyes closed as she considered it.

A long, aggravating few seconds passed, and I felt the pressure from the abyss around us continue squeezing my subconscious.

"Our hair is long enough to cover both of us, we suppose…" Louis finally sighed. "Our little sister is so needy, hmm?"

I pulled Louis into a hug, feeling a rattled gasp escape my lungs.

Louis was stiff, eyes wide at the sudden attack.

Loneliness was something I didn't want. Not at all, not at all, not at all.

We sat like that for a minute as I continued breathing heavily, holding onto the only other thing in this space.

"...Are you done?" Louis' dry voice spoke into my ear, and I quickly pulled away with an apology.

"S-sorry! I didn't know what came over me," I scratched my cheek with a trying smile. "Sorry, Louis."

"Sister." Louis glared at me.

"...Huh?" I blinked owlishly, frozen on the spot.

"Call us 'Sister,'" Louis commanded with steel in her eyes. "Or call us nothing at all."

"Sorry, s-sister." I swallowed nervously.

Louis' complexion softened, and she smiled, nodding twice, "Mhm. That's much better, tsu. Why call us by name when we're closer than that? We don't call you Rey, do we?" Her half-lidded gaze met mine, playful.

"No, I guess you don't," A snort escaped me, and I smiled. "Sorry about that, sister. I'll be sure to remember that."

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Work Header

Rating:

Not Rated

Archive Warnings:

Creator Chose Not To Use Archive WarningsGraphic Depictions Of Violence

Category:

Gen

Fandom:

Re:ゼロから始める異世界生活 | Re:Zero Starting Life in Another World (Anime)

Characters:

Rey Alaraph (OC)Louis ArnebLye BatenkaitosRoy Alphard

Additional Tags:

Language:

English

Stats:

Published:2024-10-28Updated:2026-01-07Words:246,117Chapters:58/?Comments:1,238Kudos:848Bookmarks:113Hits:41,070

A Dog in the Cradle of Od Lagna

TheGimbler

Chapter 5

Notes:

*punches you

Chapter Text

As it turned out, the Cradle was indeed completely empty; devoid of literally anything except me and Louis.

My sister was— A bit of an oddity?

"C'mon~!" Louis cackled, running around me with speed that would've been impossible for the fastest man in my old world. "Catch us~, tsu! Think you can? Think you can't?"

I growled, jumping out to catch her whenever she drew too close, but she always reeled back just in time to evade my outstretched hands.

I bit my lip, looking to the side at a floating blue box full of text.

Quest: Catch Louis Arneb(NPC) in a game of tag!

Reward: +2 DEX

I hadn't really paid attention before, but I could get stats through activities and not just level ups. It was rather obvious that my opportunities wouldn't be very plentiful when all I had was Louis and an empty void, so I needed to complete as many of these random quests as I could.

Louis passed by me again, legs a blur, and I thrust out my hand, not seeking her chest or arm.

"--Whoa?!" I grabbed a clump of her extraordinarily long hair and yanked her, pulling her backward. Louis slipped, her head snapping back, and I immediately pounced on her, tackling her to the floor.

"Hahah!" I laughed, straddling her. "Victory!"

Quest Complete!

Quest: Catch Louis Arneb(NPC) in a game of tag!

Reward: +2 DEX

[DEX: 27 → 29]

Louis snorted, "You pulled our hair, hardly a fair game, tsu. Not fair, wasn't fair, illegal because the rules weren't followed."

"What rules? You never said anything about rules, sister."

"You get ten seconds, tsu. Start running."

I blanked.

"Nine, eight, seven…" Louis counted steadily.

"O–Ogh!" I jumped up in a hurry and ran for my life, trying to gain as much distance as possible.

Quest!

Quest: Evade Louis Arneb(NPC) for as long as possible!

Reward: +5 DEX for thirty seconds, +1 DEX for every five seconds after.

"GAHHH!!" I screamed as loud as I could, seeing the possible rewards and knowing it would all be for naught as Louis would catch my ass in an instant.

Without a limit to the reward I could get, I was tempted to pull out the Yin Sword just for the minor speed boost it'd give me, but even a 30% increase with my measly 29 DEX would result in almost no change in speed when compared to what could possibly be Louis' 1000 DEX.

As I thought that, my hair was yanked backward, and I yelped, falling onto my back. Louis jumped atop me like I did to her.

"Hmmmmm," Louis peered closely at my face with a cheshire grin. "Well, well, well~. What do we have here, hmm?"

Quest Failed!

Wow. Thanks. I totally didn't know that.

Hours turned into days, and Louis certainly let me know about it. Since there was now something other than herself, Louis had something to sleep on. If that meant I had my new sister snoring atop my chest, then that was what happened.

My first day in this world was quite something. Exciting, painful, new, trying, worrisome, rather fascinating at the far end of it. I held several new strengths in a new body, with new siblings and a new purpose in life.

Well, sort of.

Plot Quest!

Quest: The Witch of Vanity's Corpse.

The end is in sight, isn't it? @(&$ has fallen, and now there's a time limit on existence. The Witch of Vanity, %#@&, has a solution, unorthodox as it may be. If you're angry, happy, sad, or plain uncaring, please know that it was all for (@&4. It's not her fault.

Objective:

Open (@&$(&@(&&$ and let the &$#&@ end.

Sub-objectives:

Have all 9 Witchfactors in attendance. (1/9)

Have slain all &@*^. (0/2)

Have averted all Great Disasters. (0/4)

Say your farewell to the &$#&@. (0/1)

Rewards: Access to the Administrator's office, immunity to the &$#&@'s end.

Failure: Inherit a world with a failing &$#&@, ?

It wasn't what I expected. The Witch of Vanity's Corpse sounded like I would be making her into a corpse, but it seemed more like… she always was one? Would turn into one of her own accord? She… owned a corpse? It seemed like it was withholding information from me as some of the text was randomized. Seemed like I wouldn't need to care much for this quest until some of the words filled in, then I'd know it was coming closer.

The reward was strange as well. There didn't seem to be much of a tangible reward, but seeing Xyxycyyc didn't seem to be a terrible thing. Not that I know what kind of immunity I'd be getting. My gut instinct would be to call it the 'world.' And being immune to the world's end would be nice, except 'world' is directly stated in the failure punishment.

Anyway, I threw that can of worms into the back of my mind as I considered something else.

I wasn't going to be leveling up any time soon, especially when my brothers were off doing who-knows-what. All I had to do was play around with Louis, and who knows how long it'll be before that novelty wears off and both of us simply do nothing all day in this empty void?

I needed to immerse myself with this world. I needed to know more about it. I needed a way, even just a working theory, on how to escape the Cradle of Od Lagna.

With the gentlest whisper I could muster, "Lunar Eclipse."

[Your Mind Swirls.]

Our mind filled with knowledge, and with a soft hum, we fell asleep.

The truest statement ever uttered was that might was the greatest thing one could have within the Empire of Vollachia. Having a mighty warrior hail from your race would bring it great prestige, and having one come from your village would have it filled with treasures alike. Ironically, one didn't get prejudiced because of their race, only for their weakness.

The greatest treasure, in the eyes of the Empire, was a fighter unparalleled.

Acoli was a small village on the westernmost border of Vollachia, the land of the Sword Wolf. It produced exotic foods for the nobility of Vollachia.

And within that small village was a young boy, born. Rambert Thorgil. His powerful name did nothing for his constitution, which was average at best. He could pick up a sword and assist against the rare mabeast that approached, but he stuck to the product which the village produced.

One day, a traveling mage happened upon his village, and noticed a talent Rambert held. Two affinities in a single gate is rare indeed, but the boy held the rarest affinities of all, Yin and Yang.

Realizing this talent, the mage offered to tutor the boy, and the village pounced on the opportunity to produce an exceptional fighter. They showered the mage in as much money a s they could afford, and forced Rambert to partake in daily lessons.

Though his studies went exceedingly well, as he was a talented learner, the boy didn't wish to be a fighter at all. Though he was a genius, he simply wanted to learn more about magic itself, not to use it against others on a battlefield.

Yin followed the concept of severance. Sever a soul from a body, the gravity that holds it, the senses one has. Sever the distance between spaces, sever the time that flows in a space, and several other applications.

Yang was far more loose than Yin. Connection, the flow between things, the manipulation of energy in a more raw form.

The loose definitions made it difficult for people to specialize in those magics. The rarity of their affinities made it powerful, as there would be few encounters for warriors to grow used to battling practitioners of Yin and Yang magic. Rambert was offered a position as a Second-Class General within the Empire for this fact alone, and his strength certainly matched with the high standards of the warriors.

Even with his village wishing for him to accept, he refused. He wished to further his own talent, and dig deeper into the mysteries of the world. The nature of magic, where all mana recycles in the world, and what exactly the fundamental truth of it all was.

He grew increasingly frustrated with his village, who continued to pester him, and he secluded himself. The Genius of Acoli focused on the truths of the world; of the magic that surrounded him. There was little he cared for other than this.

Perhaps, he could've been a wiseman, much like many others who researched the foundation of the world. He devised spells of his own creation, something that takes years for an average man to develop. He twisted space, rained stars from above, and severed connections between soul and body. He was a treasure for the land of the Sword Wolf to show off and exalt.

And then he saw the Od Lagna.

And within it, there was a girl with a cruel smile, her eyes holding malice. A negative emotion in the guise of a girl.

"Sa~y," She said to him, looking up with a curious eye. "Mister, what kind of circumstance do you live in?"

Believing her to be someone deeply tied with the world, he answered honestly.

"Mmm," She frowned, her blonde hair completely covering one of her eyes as she tilted her head. "That's no goo~d. That's not the life we'd want to live."

And then she placed her hand on his chest and said with a wicked smile, "Rambert Thorgil."

And suddenly there was no such man named Rambert Thorgil, who was born in the border village of Acoli, lauded as a genius in the rarest magical affinities.

Suddenly, Louis Arneb was all that stood in his place.

And when faced with the entire life he lived, the entirety of the connections he'd built and the things he'd accomplished, she only had a single thing to say.

"This life, too, was pretty boring, wasn't it."

"Whoa– WAH?!" I shouted as I shot upward into a sitting position, eyes wide and sweat traveling down my brow.

Memories. That's what the Authority of Gluttony used. Lunar Eclipse wasn't faster thinking or a vast array of knowledge borne from nothing. Each bit of information I gleaned from using that ability was plundered from memories of others, from people wiped from the memory of the world itself.

My hands clutched the sides of my head, trying in vain to hold myself together.

They were memories I never made, yet I remembered everything about them.

I remembered studying Yin and Yang magic for years. I remembered developing new magic that had never been seen before in the history I recalled studying. The life I had, the people I knew, the connections I created…

All of them were pulled from the roots by my sister, who called it nothing special. Impressively unimpressive.

'Your mind swirls…'

What a maddening sentence. There was nothing about it that could be considered a joke. I slept while letting those memories soak into my mind, and now…

Now I could recall them with startling accuracy. Spells, magic, training, a life in the Empire of Vollachia, producing spells— My sister, who smiled like she was cruelty itself. And was it not cruel?

Was what she did not a terrible thing? How could she have done that so easily? So willingly? She stole away everything that made Rambert Thorgil a human being, and then so easily threw him away. She didn't even consider returning him back to his body, which had been left somewhere in the plains he had been staying.

She was a bad person. Evil. A blight on the world itself, to have done such a thing without care. Louis Arneb wasn't my sister, she was a monster in the guise of a little girl–

–And two hands grabbed my head, and gently pulled it into warmth.

"G-guh…" I made a weak sound as Louis appeared beside me, and pulled my head to her chest. I didn't struggle, did she want to eat me, too? Was I just another Rambert to her? Just another Genius of Acoli to consume and disregard like his life was meaningless?

"Shh," Louis stroked my head with a softness that felt supernatural. "It's okay. The memories always feel that way, but you'll grow used to it, tsu. You're Rey Alaraph. Do you remember, sister? That's who you are."

"A-agh…" Her touch was kind. It was soft and gentle. It was warm and everything the cruelty wasn't. The soft sound of her voice was unlike every other sentence I'd heard her speak, and the calm she radiated began to pry away the distrust I had built. "I-it hurts…"

"Mhm," Louis continued rubbing my head. "They aren't you, sister. You're Rey Alaraph. That's your name. That's who you will always be. Whoever else isn't that name isn't you, just can't be you, has never been you. Do you fee~l it, tsu? Just listen to our voice, and you'll get through it. We'll be here to help until you don't need it any longer."

She was kind to me.

She was cruel to the Genius of Acoli.

She softly calmed me down, and she continued anchoring me to my sanity like she'd expected this to happen.

She disregarded him like he was nothing. Not a thing to hate or crave, not even find mild interest in. His life was nothing to her.

I–

I wanted her to be kind to me. I didn't want her to disregard me like I was nothing more than a passing interest.

I needed to be Rey Alaraph instead of Rambert Thorgil if I wanted her to gently hold me.

"...Rey Alaraph," I closed my eyes. "Right. You're right."

"Just listen to your big sister, mm?" Louis put her chin on my head, and swayed, rocking me back and forth. "Shockingly, she knows a bit more about this position than you do, tsu. So long as you focus on the name, you won't be influenced. The body you hold doesn't matter, sister. What you look like doesn't matter, sister. All that remains is the name. Rey Alaraph, focus on your name, and the memories will filter in and organize themselves properly, tsu. They are memories, not you."

I released a small breath, thoroughly calmed. I didn't want this kind hold Louis was giving me to end.

"Those idiotic brothers of ours," Louis muttered, voice dry. "Always, always eating. The platters, the memories they offer us, they have to be accepted, tsu. Even if they don't accept our feelings in the process, there's not anything we can do~, tsu. Right now, they're…"

Louis paused.

"Eating a village, tsu. Typical."

"You mean…" My eyes opened, wide and disbelieving. "They're… consuming the memories of an entire community? Every last person, who won't be remembered by anyone? Why would they… How could they do such a thing?"

Louis hummed, "For you, tsu. Most likely."

"...Me?" I squeaked.

"Yeah, probably. Most likely. The most probable case in this circumstance. Verily, happens to be so, happenstance, so perhaps…" Louis pulled my hair from my face, and I saw her blue eyes. "You're their new little sister, so they'd want to gift you many new things for your birthday. Though Roy might be doing it because you save~d him, tsu."

"I didn't do that because I expected a reward!" I defended. Louis' eyes softened in understanding, and my breath caught in my throat. "Y-you meant… They won't listen to me, nor will they listen to you, if I asked them to stop?"

Louis merely remained silent, but it spoke louder than any word she could've said.

"Sure, he might deserve it…" I reached an understanding of why the quest framed Roy being imprisoned and tortured as 'deserved.' I shook my head, eyes tense and twitching, "This wasn't what I want… I didn't want this. Not at all."

"Get used to it, tsu," Louis said with a hard voice, prompting me to flinch. "Complaining will do nothing. Just accept the actions of our brothers, and focus on something else, tsu."

"Louis…" I called her name, making her frown and look down at me. "Sister, if you were out there, in the real world, would you not eat people?"

"Hah? What would be the point in doing that?" Louis snorted, finally unwrapping herself from me and standing up, even if I missed the warmth she was providing. She spun in a circle, her curtain-length blonde hair sailing through the air, "No point. Not a single point, tsu. We said there's no point, no point in having no point, isn't there just no po~int to it? Our brothers want to eat for the sake of eating, but not us, tsu. What the meal is doesn't matter, but who you eat with matters so much more, doesn't it, tsu?"

She snapped to attention, looking down at me with a wide smile and interested eyes. "What about you, sister? Do you crave the greatest flavors in existence, the most eccentric one could find? Do you yearn to merely fill your belly to its capacity every day, uncaring of the quality that slides down your throat? Or," She leaned down, her smile widening. "Do you yearn to share your meals with the greatest people, the kindest and most loving, ones that grant you happiness~, tsu?"

"I feel like you really want me to pick the last one," I said dryly, though I had an unbidden smile creeping onto my face, seeing Louis look so eager. "I don't know quite yet. Though, the sound of the last one certainly sounds much nicer than the rest, doesn't it?"

"Satiation," Louis stood straight and overlaid her hand with her chest. "Is feeding this, tsu." Her heart was thumping beneath her palm. "Though," Her smile turned self-loathing, ruining the happy mood she had. "We can't say we've been very successful in doing that, tsu. No matter how many lives we look at, none of them are great enough for us to be satisfied, tsu."

She was angry. At herself, or at the circumstance she was born into. One that we shared.

"Sister," Louis called to me, and I cocked a brow, curious about what else she had to say. Contrary to her usual persona, Louis scratched the back of her head and her eyelid twitched, "You… Would you like to eat with us, sometime, tsu? Just the two of us, when we're out of this dreadful, awful place?"

I felt something beat within my chest, and I smiled. "Of course, sister."

"Gehehe!"

Claws tore through ligaments, and sudden screaming was silenced immediately.

"Gehehaha~!"

One memory consumed made it easy to eat through the entirety of the village. One warrior slipped up and respectfully gave their name to their opponent, a very useful custom, and suddenly they knew who everyone was.

"Marc Talengraf!"

And the man no longer existed in the memories of everyone else. The fear they felt for him vanished, and they looked at the unmoving body on the ground in confusion and uncertainty. To them, it was like some unconscious body randomly appeared.

"Littlest sister! This is for you! This feast we've prepared, please accept all of it as our love for you, tsu!"

Ley sought the warriors of the village to test their mettle and draw out their abilities before consuming them. Roy chased after the women who ran, he sniffed out the girls hiding beneath their beds, he taunted the boys who held a shaking knife.

Marie Scmit. Poppy Hillsli. Nana Hillsli. Lars Endor.

Gluttony. Gluttony. Gluttony. Gluttony. Gluttony.

"Ahh~! Thank you for this feast! Gluttony! Gluttonous drinking!"

A blade of wind. A ball of fire. Even a rare spire of ice all launched at him, and Roy simply hurried to his next meal. For the sister who saved him, he would allow her to partake in what true happiness felt like. He would share, only for her. His gratitude was so vast that he would show her just what it felt like to be Bizarre Eating.

A hand brushing against a chest, nothing else needed to happen. He slipped another name into his gullet, and felt the rush of eating a person's memory. His stomach filled to bursting. It felt like it would explode and his organs would pop, but he continued stuffing himself.

"Goa! Goa! El Goa!" He laughed, setting fire to the buildings that made up the small village.

A flash of movement caught his attention, and Roy looked over to see Ley still in battle.

"Huuh? Brother, are you seriously still playing around?" Roy sighed, seeing Ley continue to swipe and clash with an older-looking man. "All it takes is a touch. A single touch. A trifling touch. A palm, but not a finger, tsu." He rolled his eyes.

Ley laughed, "Whoa, whoa! Old dude, this is spectacular! No, mister Gard Endor!" The older man snarled, flashing his sword all around the place as Ley bobbed and weaved through his attacks almost effortlessly. "It's good! It's so good! Isn't it good, so good? Yeah, it's good, we think it's good, considering how good it is… Mmmm, good!"

"Le~y," Roy called out. "Are you done? Couldn't you be done now? Stop playing around and eat him, brother!"

"Shut up, tsu!" Ley growled back, easily partaking in conversation as his fight with the man continued, much to his anger and frustration. "We let you do what you want, eating trash dishes like you do. Disgusting garbage, blehh!" He spat out his tongue as he parried an overhead slash. "So let us do what we want! Preparing the dish matters more than simply having it. But you wouldn't get that, would you~?"

Roy groaned, "Yeah, yeah~. Whatever. Do as you will, tsu."

He felt the heat of the flames around continue to grow hotter as the buildings continued to light ablaze, full of empty bodies that had no souls in them anymore.

In the warm light of the fire, Ley played with his opponent, who was undoubtedly the strongest warrior in the village. But he didn't remember why he was in this village anymore. All connections he had established here were all eaten away, and now he was desperately fighting for his life.

"Nothing else to show, Endor?" Ley tilted his head as the man panted heavily, unable to keep up with Ley anymore. "Ahh, you've been prepared enough. Now, then, let's eat!"

This is for you, sister.

Roy and Ley sat beside each other, looking into the sky amidst flames that billowed in the edges of their vision.

Happy birthday.

[Sword Skill: 1/150 → 7/150]

"Ghhhk!" I groaned, holding my head as a massive influx of memories hit me.

Louis was immediately by my side, arms around my shoulders. "Your name is Rey Alaraph, tsu. Do you remember?"

"Y-yeah, I do."

It was an absolute tidal wave of information. Basic magic types, intricacies of swordplay, how to sew, how to farm crops, how to raise children– Memories of childbirth, memories of falling in love, memories of joy and sorrow, each with their own flavors of personality.

It all stacked atop me, and I saw my brothers tearing their way through an unsuspecting village at the end of every single one of those lives.

[WIS: 44 → 67]

[INT: 42 → 81]

And they were reduced to numbers.

"Rey Alaraph," I repeated to myself, sorting out the memories of 'me' and 'not-me.'

Now it made sense, of course. Filling yourself with so many memories and souls would naturally have an effect on you, and the system tallied those changes in a tangible form. Roy was so strong because he ate so many people.

Not only did he grow more skilled, but in a rare case…

Skills:

Magic:

Earth Magic (3/???)

-One of your affinities is Earth. Crumble the ground, raise the rocks, and become stalwart and unmovable; steel yourself in the mana of Earth.

Dona (3/10)

-Basic Earth incantation. Launch a rock from the ground where you wish. (Size of rock depends on Mana-usage.)

–You might gain a skill.

An entire village, and I gained lots of stat points in both WIS and INT, a sizable amount of levels in Sword Skill, and a very basic understanding of Earth magic. An entire village.

'This is a gift to you, sister.'

Roy had said that to one of his victims.

'Thank you for saving us, tsu. May you feel full. Nice, isn't it?'

He knew I'd get his message. He did all of this for me, so that I can feel a bit fuller than usual. The ever present craving in my stomach was abated. It… did feel a bit pleasant.

"Would've been nicer had you just given us a sparkly rock, tsu," I muttered, shaking my head at the great waste my brothers partook in.

Ironically, Ley only ate a few people, but his contribution weighed the same as Roy's. My stats were padded out in the same way by fewer people, so there were some quality differences there.

Eating someone powerful gave more than someone weak. And, once I reach a certain stat line, I'm sure I'll be seeing no increases at all from eating normal people. Roy had definitely reached that point, so he was eating purely to eat.

Being unable to stop him from eating made the whole thing bitter. A mere few stats being increased by eating dozens of people, average in every way. I didn't hate him for it, but… I just wanted him to find another way. I'd rather him not eat at all if this was how he treated it.

Though, I guess I treated the whole thing like a game.

The thought caused any moral high ground I tried to build to crumble into dust. I was the one who saved him, after all. A Sin Archbishop in the Witch's Cult, representing Gluttony. It was made clear just why the people of the world hated them.

They'd hate me too, who didn't hate Roy.

I sighed, changing my train of thought.

I needed a way out of here so I could tell them personally that, while I was grateful they were thinking of me, I didn't want them to eat in my name. And to do that, I needed a way to open up space itself.

Yin Magic (17/???)

-One of your affinities is Yin. Sever senses, release weight, relieve the world of its boundaries; cloak yourself in the mana of Yin.

Shamak (10/10)

-Basic Yin incantation. Create a plume of disorienting smoke and mess with the senses, (250MP/cast)

El Shamak (2/10)

-Intermediate Yin incantation. Create a plume of soul-severing smoke. Cut the senses of those trapped in it completely. (500MP/cast)

Murak (2/10)

-Intermediate Yin incantation. Lighten weight and remove gravity. (50MP/Sec)

Keldin (1/10)

-Master Yin and Yang incantation. $&@&@&((&#*&@ (1000MP/cast)

Vita (2/10)

-Intermediate Yin incantation. Increase weight and make gravity push harder. (100MP/Sec)

I still had my choice in affinity, and chose the space-severing, sense-altering magic that the Genius of Acoli specialized in. Simply by recalling his memories, I could learn how to use that kind of magic.

I hit a roadblock, however, in that I think my INT was too low to actually know how to do his more cool magic. As opposed to Extraordinary Sword Talent, I just had the talent I naturally got in magic. Which was probably average. However, with the memories of others, and the understanding of geniuses far more talented than I, I could be like a genius. Which meant the classic problem now applied to me.

Did I care more about random people I didn't know or myself and my sister getting our freedoms?

The answer is hell no. I wanted out. I didn't care if it was one village or two hundred. I wanted out.

Get me out of this hellhole. I'm going insane.

That meant I officially condoned what Ley and Roy were doing to an extent. I didn't want them eating villages, children, women, or young men, just geniuses. Eat those who would actually help me in figuring out a way out of this place. Either way, whether I condoned or condemned, my fate would be having memories forced upon me, so I had no choice but to look at the positives.

To know and understand my circumstances made me want to know how to escape, which meant understanding and knowing my circumstances on an ever deeper level.

Rey Alaraph. That was the name of someone who wanted to get out of this place. Afterward, she wanted to meet with her siblings to give them a piece of her mind.

My name is Rey Alaraph.

A screen appeared next to my eyes, and its golden hue brought me a vague sense of dread.

Beginning Act VI:

The Hall of Memories.

The Sage's Watchtower beckons all players to arrive within the month. Join the Protagonist as they journey, or find your own way to the tower of splendor and mystery!

Difficulty: A - SS

Rewards: 5 instant Level-ups, 2 Skill Books (lvl2), ?

Time Remaining: 729:59:57

You have arrived at Act VI: The Hall of Memories! You will receive your entry reward when the Act begins!

You are… A Villain!

Villains are the enemies of the Protagonist. Taunt them, torture them, and tear them down into nothingness! Don't get too cocky, though, while the rewards are great, the Protagonist is the Protagonist for a reason!

Objective: Work together with your fellow Villains and cause Natsuki Subaru to loop as many times as possible!

Cause Natsuki Subaru to loop! (0/1)

Cause Natsuki Subaru to loop! (0/5)

Cause Natsuki Subaru to loop! (0/10)

Cause Natsuki Subaru to loop! (0/25)

Cause Natsuki Subaru to loop! (0/50)

Cause Natsuki Subaru to loop! (0/100)

Cause Natsuki Subaru to loop! (0/250)

Cause Natsuki Subaru to loop! (0/500)

Cause Natsuki Subaru to loop! (0/1000)

Cause Natsuki Subaru to loop! (0/2500)

Cause Natsuki Subaru to loop! (0/5000)

Cause Natsuki Subaru to loop! (0/10000)

Sub-Objectives:

Defeat Reid Astrea. (0/1)

Be the direct cause of Natsuki Subaru's reset. (0/5)

Kill another Villain and protect a Protagonist. (0/1)

Change the setup of the Act! (0/1)

Be killed. (0/1)

Evade Satella for 5 minutes. (0/1)

Get in the way. (0/50)

Get out of the way. (0/50)

Eat one of the Protagonists. (0/1)

//Be sure to pick an exit method. The Plot isn't exactly the most kind to Villains. Throw away your morals, you are extremely weak for this Act, so I suggest changing that as soon as possible. Or don't, it doesn't matter

I stared at the month-long timer. The quest had heavy implications.

I was slated to get out of this white room when it hit zero, it seemed, and then immediately confront the Protagonist and others.

I needed to get the fuck out of here.

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Rating:

Not Rated

Archive Warnings:

Creator Chose Not To Use Archive WarningsGraphic Depictions Of Violence

Category:

Gen

Fandom:

Re:ゼロから始める異世界生活 | Re:Zero Starting Life in Another World (Anime)

Characters:

Rey Alaraph (OC)Louis ArnebLye BatenkaitosRoy Alphard

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English

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Published:2024-10-28Updated:2026-01-07Words:246,117Chapters:58/?Comments:1,238Kudos:848Bookmarks:113Hits:41,070

A Dog in the Cradle of Od Lagna

TheGimbler

Chapter 6

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

The Holy Kingdom of Gusteko snows all year round. Save for a few chosen areas known as Sanctified Land, survival was simply impossible for average citizens. One of the Four Great Spirits, Odglass, blessed the lands for her people to survive.

Not that it mattered in the slightest.

The people, oh, the people. Weak and pathetic as they were, they had no choice but to rely on the church for survival. Odglass' blessings hardly mattered, and the church had no enforcers that could deal with him.

The serial killer, Beli Heinelga, was given a wretched constitution.

No sword scratched him, no magic penetrated his skin, no whip tore through his muscles, and no technique successfully caused him to stumble. He was no fighter. He had no need for martial techniques or a weapon beyond his own body.

The Carnivorous Beast trudged through the snow, squeezing men of his liking to death and eating them.

He punched holes through walls, walked into homes, caught men unawares on their travels, and crushed them. Squeezed them until they popped. Tore their heads off with a single hand.

In his life, he absorbed no damage. No holy sword, no magic, no technique ever afflicted him in any way. The church couldn't correct his behavior, like most serial killers born in the snow-infested country.

So when he came across a boy, covered in torn clothes, he didn't expect him to be waiting for him specifically.

"Hmmm~?" The boy tilted his head, green eyes wide and curious. He was terribly out of place amidst the deep snow of Gusteko. "Say, old dude, isn't it cold out? Can't you tell how cold it is? We're surprised you're even still outside. Shouldn't you be around a fire?"

Naturally, it was pointed out that the boy was also in the snow.

"Ahaha!" He laughed, nodding along with Beli's reasoning. "Ah, that's correct. We suppose that's correct. Has always been correct, so you'd naturally call it correct. It's correct, isn't it? Calling us out on what we say is quite rude, old dude, hope you can realize this, tsu~."

A tinge of something being wrong. Who was this boy? Why was he out in the snow? Something was off. Something was very wrong here.

"Now then," The boy bowed, and it was noticed that he had daggers wrapped around his wrists. "We are a Sin Archbishop of the Witch's Cult, representing Gluttony, Ley Batenkaitos."

A Sin Archbishop? This boy?

Beli Heinelga clenched his fists, offering his name as a warrior's custom. This was no longer about murdering and eating within the neverending blizzards, it was a battle between monsters.

A serial killer faced down something far more heinous and evil amidst the snow in the Holy Kingdom of Gusteko.

Dagger techniques didn't work on him. The vast arrays of magic the boy used failed to find purchase against his body. Kicks and punches felt like nothing more than a speck of snow landing on his skin.

Yet, as the battle continued, Beli Hainelga discovered that he was unable to strike the boy back. He slithered out of any hold, his punches were easily dodged and countered, and when he resorted to tearing apart buildings to throw entire walls at him, it was like he disappeared.

Their battle lasted the better part of a day, and the boy continued to use new techniques. Ineffectual ones that caused no more damage than the rest, but it was mind-boggling just how martially gifted the boy was. A Sin Archbishop was the same kind of incomprehensible monster as him, he supposed.

But that hardly mattered. Neither cared about their own sins so long as they lived the way they liked, and that would continue for as long as they lived. Once they gained a taste, returning to a normal life was simply impossible.

And then something changed.

"Ultimate Palm," The boy whispered, hand against the massive belly of the serial killer.

Something hurt.

Something hurt. Something hurt. Something hurt!

Why? Why did it hurt? Why was he clutching his stomach with this unfamiliar feeling?! His knees hit the snow, and he coughed for the first time in his life. This shouldn't be happening, none of this made sense!

No sword, no technique, no magical ability, no spell, nothing, nothing, nothing, NOTHING SHOULD HURT HIM!

"Mmm," And yet, the boy frowned in disappointment, looking at his hand. How could he be disappointed?! Wasn't the point that he damaged the undamageable!? Ley sighed, dropping his hand and looking at the serial killer, "Ahh~, man. We didn't want to have to rely on this technique. On his technique. We'll never hear the end of it, tsu~. Still," He muttered, contemplative. "A palm technique… Could be fun, tsu. Could be Gourmet, in the right hands."

He looked down at the serial killer, a smile on his face showing the sharp incisors of his teeth, "Now then, is that all you have, tsu? Nothing more, nothing less? If so, if that's indeed so, then it's time to eat!"

His palm came into contact with Beli's chest, and he tensed, awaiting the unfamiliar sensation of pain once again, but the boy merely jumped back, retreating farther away.

His confusion was cut short as Ley licked his palm, "Beli Hainelga~."

And suddenly, there was no Carnivorous Beast, second only to the Bowel Hunter. Now, there was simply Ley Batenkaitos standing before a comatose body amidst the ruins of a village, their battle no longer having any meaning to anyone but him.

"Ahh~! Gourmet!" Ley laughed, arms opened to the air before him, beholding the unconscious body of the no name man. "Nice~! Call it nice! So nice! Very nice! Isn't it just so nice! We think it's nice!"

Ley turned around and stalked away, giddy and with a bright smile on his face. "Thank you for the feast."

He paused for a moment, considering something, "A palm technique, huh…?"

Just like that, the one who erased Beli Heinelga from the world no longer considered him.

A fun battle, a delectable dance amidst the snow, but it was over. And things must go on.

Rey Alaraph woke up.

Things were hardly going well. I'd grown used to thinking of myself as a name, and the dichotomy between being a murderer and being myself is so obvious that sorting the memory of both was easy enough.

The curious thing was that Beli Heinelga and I have the same Perk. Well, maybe in his case it wouldn't be called a perk, but the ability to completely shrug off attacks like they were nothing? Skin of Titanium achieved a very similar effect, which gave me a few ideas on how to fight, and the upper limit of the ability. Granted, the serial killer had never been scratched and my leg got stabbed through, but maybe that was because I wasn't in my actual body? Something to consider for later.

I had a month of time at the start, and five days later, I'd hardly bolstered my stats. A few games with Louis here and there, a couple eaten names from Roy, and I barely grew at all. The only thing I'd made consistent gains in were WIS and INT, as I constantly used Lunar Eclipse, especially while I slept.

Finally. Finally, I'd made some kind of breakthrough.

[INT: 94 → 102]

[WIS: 73 → 79]

When my stat increases happened, a new pop up appeared in front of my vision. Green.

Milestone hit!

Congratulations! For reaching 100 in INT, you have the choice between the following two perks!

Memories of a Second Life:

Have you ever wanted to relive the glory days? A time in your past where things were so clear and unmistakable that you couldn't believe that was how life used to be? Well, that's impossible, of course, time travel can't be done. However, you can relive old memories like they were yesterday, and remember every detail like they just happened. Nothing will be blurred from your sight.

1 + 1 = 3:

Looking at a problem and expecting the correct answer to make logical sense is the sign of a normal person. What if you just said, 'fuck that,' and it still worked? The mind is an enigma, and forcing it to make logical decisions is for losers. You come to the wrong conclusion, and it still works. Who needs pure logic?

Annnnd it was something I desperately needed, who knew? I didn't know it was possible to receive new perks, but I wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth, I needed as many boons as I could get.

I had 25 days remaining, thanks to the constant ticking clock in the back of my mind, and I needed to use them as efficiently as I could. I had no chances to gain experience, so I was stuck with skills.

Without Lunar Eclipse, I would've been totally left dry, but increases in my mental stats weren't going to be helpful when the fighting inevitably begins.

I had a sneaking suspicion that the system simply wouldn't let me leave when the Act begins, so I needed to escape before that and get to a safe space. I didn't care about 'looping' Natsuki Subaru 10000 times.

I needed to level up my Yin magic as much as possible, and that required my mental stats to be high. Once I reached an adequate level, I was going to tear through the Cradle of Od Lagna and get both me and my sister out of here before the danger comes.

So that brought me back to my two choices. 1 + 1 = 3 would be helpful in escaping, but only that. It wouldn't assist me in bolstering my magic or my stats. Even after just five days, the returns on soaking my mind with knowledge was lessening heavily. After another 5 or 10 days, I would be seeing almost nothing, and then I'd have no choice but to test my luck.

Memories of a Second Life was a far stronger perk for what I was doing, so that was what I was going with.

Memories of a Second Life selected.

An~~d…

Nothing.

Hm.

What a waste of a choice—

And then I suddenly fell onto my face.

"...Sister?" I heard Louis's concerned voice. "Are you— Huh? Are you alright, tsu? What are you doing?"

I couldn't move even a finger.

The sound of Louis' feet resounded closer as she crouched beside me, pulling me up and turning me over. Her concerned face appeared in my vision, and her eyes widened in horror.

"W-what?!" She exclaimed, quickly putting me down and placing her hands on my head. "H-Huma!"

A soft sensation spread through my skull, but I still couldn't move.

"Breathe! Breathe– Breathe, Rey!" Louis continued to cry out, her eyes wide. "You're not breathing! Start breathing no~w!!"

What was she talking about? Why wouldn't I be breathing?

Why… was I so light-headed?

Why couldn't I close my eyes?

I was tired. Very, very,

tired.

"Hm,"

A voice hummed in thought.

"I can see why you chose that one. But you should've thought it through just a little bit more."

Slowly, I blinked.

In front of me was a man wearing a wooden mask, shaped like a featureless face. There were no holes to the eyes, and he had a tattered shawl on, like it was stitched together by several separate fabrics.

I was seated at a counter, several glasses behind the man. Bottles of liquor were around, opened and half full.

He was wiping a glass as I came to, his mood unable to be read.

"...Xyxycyyc?" I muttered.

"Verily so, madam," The man bowed stiffly. "'Tis I."

"...Why am I back here?" I blinked again. There was a moment's pause before I gasped, "Wait, I didn't fucking die again, did I?! I chose a perk! I shouldn't die because of something like that! The system killed me, I want a refund!"

"Relax, munchkin," Xyxycyyc snorted, and I realized I was far smaller than I was last time. My dirty blonde hair cascaded down my back, and my clothing was the same as in the Cradle. I represented who I was now, apparently, and the Admin was happily tooting that, "You're not dead. The system doesn't kill you, it might, uh, bug out, though."

"So that was a bug?" I asked. "I just lost my ability to move and then fainted 'cause I couldn't breathe."

"Not… exactly?" Xyxycyyc tilted his head, never pausing his glass cleaning. "You have an ability that stocks memories, and then you took a perk that's basically 'gimme photographic memory.' The system needs a conduit to retrofit all the memories you have stocked with that photographic memory thing. Unfortunately, it's not exactly tuned to how many memories you have."

"...So?"

"So you're gonna have to wait for that to happen," He shrugged.

"WHAT?!" I shrieked, slamming my hands on the counter. "But I'm on a time limit! I can't lose time because of some shitty system bug! Refund! We want a refund!"

"You're not getting a refund," The man shook his head decisively, making me pout and kick my leg into the counter. He sighed, setting the glass down, "Seriously. No one forced you to pick that option. You're lucky you're here instead of in a coma with your sister freaking out over your unmoving, unbreathing body."

I gulped. Sitting there being unable to move for who knows how long would suck. But…

"...I don't want to worry Louis," My tone was quiet. "I…"

"Already getting attached to your new life?" Xyxycyyc had a voice of approval. "Good. Last time someone didn't there was a huge fight. Wrecked a plotline pretty badly. Unfortunately, the system doesn't enjoy interacting with non-players. Sorry, she has to worry."

"Tch," I clicked my teeth. "So not only do I worry my sister, I also lose valuable time on the thing you said I was severely under-prepared for."

"Never said there couldn't be reparations," Xyxycyyc shrugged, immediately stealing my attention. He spun around and began pulling out different bottles of liquor, looking at their labels and muttering to himself, "Cheap ass only has one currency… Mmm…"

I heard a door slam, and suddenly there was someone seated next to me.

"Hey Xyxy, could I get a–" Then the newcomer paused, eyes wide as he looked at me. I matched his surprise, staring back at him.

He had short brown hair and a mercenary garb on. A brown militaristic coat was draped over his shoulders, and chainmail was visible under the leather of his breastplate. At his hip was a saber, but he also wasn't a total stranger, because I recognized him.

"You're the one who was fighting my brother, weren't you?" I said aloud, knocking him out of his stupor.

"Ah," He nodded in understanding. "You must be Rey Alaraph, correct? Adelheid let me know about how you beat her up. Name's Clay Derring, let's get along, yeah?"

He offered me a hand, and I accepted it gingerly.

You've met another Player on equal terms!

+1 LCK

"Hello," I offered noncommittally. "Sorry about that. She attacked me and my brother and I needed to get away."

"Guh," Clay rolled his hazel eyes, groaning. "Of course. You must've gotten a Plot Quest to get the Plot back on track. No hard feelings, it was the quest you were dealt. Would've been nice to take one of the Gluttony's off the board, though."

"Take one of them off the board?" I echoed. "Wait, were you the one who captured Roy initially?"

"Both me and Adelheid did that. As unfortunate as it is, I'm not capable of soloing a Sin Archbishop quite yet." He shrugged with a shake of his head. "Though…" He narrowed his eyes on me. "Adelheid told me you are a Sin Archbishop too. A Witch Cultist. Are you sure that's the game you want to play?"

To his accusation, I merely sighed. Xyxycyyc continued looking through his bottles, clearly not interested in intervening in this meeting. "Not initially, but… It's what I was dealt. I've found myself caring the slightest amount."

"Mm," Clay studied me for a moment more, then shrugged. "It's unfortunate. But I can see you're a bit different from Wallace. You care too much. Well, then, I suppose we'll have to meet in combat at some point. I won't be pulling my punches against you, Gluttony."

"Heh," I smiled at his competitive tone. His posture didn't indicate he would be after my blood, but he knew we would be on opposite sides of the conflict. "If the situation allows it, I wouldn't be against turning a blind eye."

"Hah, as if there'd be a quest like that," Clay turned to Xyxycyyc. "I'm here for a 100 STR buff for two weeks."

"Hm?" The Admin looked over his shoulder. "That's not quite enough to make it to Act VI, is it? Don't tell me, you're planning on skipping out on this one?"

"Me and Adelheid promised to face all Acts together, and since she's currently bedridden with a troublesome curse," He shot me a glance, and I winced. "I'm planning on dealing with some business in Kararagi instead. Just in time for Act VII."

"You're going to cross the entire world in under two weeks?" Xyxycyyc hummed in thought.

"Don't even pretend not to know how," Clay snorted. "You know exactly how I operate. Just give me the damn shot."

Xyxycyyc snapped one of the bottles behind him and poured a shot into a small glass. Clay pulled out a nickel and laid it on the table for the pay. In a quick move, he swiped the shot glass and dumped it into his mouth, grimacing as he drank it.

He slammed the glass down, nodded to me with a, 'Good luck, kiddo.' And vanished without another word.

I stared at the space he occupied a second ago, then cocked a brow at Xyxycyyc, "No one told me this was a communal space."

"You never asked." The Admin shot back. He leaned forward, "While I can't exactly give you permanent increases to your stats, I'm able to give you a temporary buff, a little something to make it worthwhile for cutting into your prep time."

"...Can you give me one that'll last through the Act? Not that I'm planning on staying there to actually get involved with the whole thing. It must be a way to level up quickly and has a bunch of cool rewards, but it's probably also super dangerous, right?"

Xyxycyyc shrugged, "Mm. We had more Players before, if that answers your question."

I stared at him with a grimace.

"Ahem," He cleared his throat. "I should warn you, as a tip, that you shouldn't think you'll be escaping the Act so easily. Not in the way you want. It's…" He stiffened suddenly, and he put a hand on the side of his head. "...Yeah, yeah. Not another word, I get it."

"...Even you have things you can't say?" I questioned and received a nod. I slumped, "Figures. Can't get everything I want."

"Al~righty," Xyxycyyc continued like nothing happened. "Since you only have 1 currency, I can't exactly show you an incredible amount of favor. I mean, you saw Clay use 5 and get a decent buff for two weeks. I can get you a 50 stat increase to any stat for a week for one currency, but that's it."

"Any stat, huh," I leaned back with a frown. "Even… Even LCK?"

"Oop, 'cept that one," Xyxycyyc scratched the back of his head. "The main stats."

"INT," I answered immediately.

"Goodness me, girl," Xyxycyyc shook his head, already pouring me a shot. "You're spending all this time to increase your mental stats, but when faced with the trials ahead, you may wish you put a bit more focus into your physical."

He slid it forward, and I placed a penny on the table. The Admin accepted it and I reached forward to grab the shot, but his hand immediately stole my wrist. His mask leaned forward, and he whispered, "Remember what I told you. Otherwise… We probably won't see each other again."

His emotions were stiff and cold, explaining a truth I couldn't yet understand.

My eyes were wide as he released me and pulled back, grabbing Clay's used glass and cleaning it.

I took up the shot, containing a brown liquid, and closed my eyes, throwing my head back and downing the drink in a quick move.

You have ingested an INT buff!

+50 INT for 1 week!

[INT: 102 → 152]

"Good luck," Xyxycyyc said softly, and I moved to respond.

But everything was already gone by that point.

And I woke up.

"Nnngh…" My chest heaved with a groan. "Ow…"

"You're awake!" A relieved voice stirred me from my haze, and I opened my eyes to see Louis' grateful face directly above me. Her arms scooped me up and tightly pulled me against her body. "Idiot, idiot, stupid, idiotic sister of ours! What are you doing to yourself, tsu?! Making us care after you for so long for no reason, we demand an explanation!"

She was shaking, I realized. Louis had worried immensely from my unconscious state, and I had no real excuse to give her.

"I'm…" I hugged her back. "I'm okay, sister. I… I didn't mean for that to happen. I went deep into Lunar Eclipse and… couldn't come back at a good time."

"Good time!?" Louis pulled away and gave me a hard glare, upset. "Oo~, you better have figured out what you wanted, tsu. Otherwise– Otherwise, we'll be putting you in time out, tsu! Putting you in the corner, and–" She gritted her teeth. "And we know there's no corner here, tsu! Don't even start!"

"I wasn't gonna–"

"We said don't even start, sister~!"

I bowed my head, "Right. Well…"

And then I considered my memories.

Do you know the feeling, when you're staring at a strange image and know something's wrong, but can't figure out what? You stare and stare, and finally, like a fog has been cleared from your mind, you suddenly recognize what the image was all along.

"Oh my god…" I muttered, eyes wide.

"...What?" Louis tilted her head, still upset with me, judging by the frown.

I slammed a hand on my forehead and groaned, "What the hell have I been doing… Yin is the magic of severance… I have a sword called the Yin Sword. Flooded with mana, it can cut shit real good."

"Huh?" Louis blanked at my crass choice of words. "What do you mean, Yin Sword, tsu? That's a bit… Hey, are you ignoring us?!"

I was, indeed, ignoring my sister as I got to my feet and grabbed the Yin Sword from the shadows created from my hair draped down my back.

[In a brightly lit area!]

[+25% DEX!]

[DEX: 29(+7.2) → 36.2]

I ignored the status update as well, turning my back to my sister and grabbing the Yin Sword with both hands, the darkness that made up its form looking pale and unwieldy. But that didn't matter. I needed its power for this, and I would give it every drop of mana I had if it would just swing once.

A deep breath traveled through my lungs and filled my body with power, but I focused entirely on my mana— On the Flow Method within my body.

The Flow Method was similar to Yang magic, in that it powers the strength behind a warrior. The mana flowing through someone's body reinforces it and allows incredible feats of strength. Mana usually remains passive in ones gate, awaiting their usage of magic, but if you consciously tap into that, and force it into circulation in your body, it would be a powerful boon.

[Skill created: Flow Method(1/100)!]

It had a separate purpose now. It wasn't to strengthen my body; to swing a sword harder and faster. Instead, I used it to pile all the mana I had within my gate onto the Yin Sword, causing it to subtly radiate shadow.

I heard a stifled gasp behind me as Louis watched what I was doing.

The mana one has is linked to their INT stat. At 152, I had 1,520 mana, and I was layering every bit of it onto the Yin Sword.

"Lunar Eclipse!" I growled, feeling my head immediately squeezed around my brain in a terrible headache.

Our memories felt too lifelike not to be ones we created. But as we were all together, there was no issue with that.

[Your mind swirls.]

[+240% to INT/WIS!]

[INT: 152(+364.8) → 516.8]

[WIS: 79(+189.6) → 268.6]

Whatever mana we gained from Lunar Eclipse was immediately dumped onto the Yin Sword, and the shadows dripping off it increased into a torrent.

This will work. It has to.

And we swung it, seeking the boundary of the Cradle.

We'd like to say it was a great explosion of magic, or there was a great struggle as we slashed through space itself.

The Yin Sword was powerful.

The Ten Swords of Power, legendary blades that still exist today, were created by a certain blacksmith in the past. They were each special in their own ways, and a few have been lost to history, or have disappeared with no one knowing where they went.

The Dream and Fiend Sword were both wielded by the same maniac in Vollachia, the strongest in the country. Awful, terrible blades that could slash through conceptual points, rendering them obsolete. They thirsted for slaughter, for death and destruction.

The Yang Sword was wielded by those of a certain bloodline, cutting what it wished to cut, but leaving what it didn't. Once it scorches its target, they would turn to ash, no matter what.

The Life Sword could kill even a soul, if it devoured enough mana. That strength hardly mattered to warriors, who would sooner kill a body.

The most powerful of all, the Dragon Sword, was wielded by the most powerful man in the world, Reinhardt Van Astrea. It had its own personality, and it only allowed itself to be drawn against what it deemed a worthy opponent. Unbreakable, undamageable, it could never be destroyed, and its user, beaten.

The Cursed and Beloved swords had both disappeared from the public eye, and the Plague and Soul swords had long been shattered.

In our hands was the Shadow Sword, the Yin Blade. Its mere presence brought fear to its enemies, and it pushed its own might into its wielder. Darkness slashed from any direction, and it would continue to pull its victims into a coma, seeking a great battle. Indeed, it had its own personality, much like the Dragon, Fiend, and Dream swords. It sought great battle, to be wielded by one who had the potential to fight and fight and fight forever, against any enemy. It would respond to its wielder, and gleefully allow its usage against any foe.

And it was mad at us.

There was no foe. No battle. A single slash, and that was it?

Fight. Give it a fight. It craves battle, and we drew it for some nonsense? Give it a fight.

"Louis," We turned to smile at our shell-shocked sister. "We did it. There's– There's an opening. We can leave! We can leave this hellhole, tsu! Come!" We gestured to the clean cleave in space behind us. "C'mon! Together, we can leave before it grows dangerous!"

Louis blinked slowly. She looked between us and the opening behind, considering it for a long moment.

Afterward, she drew in a breath.

And she groaned. "Ugh. No."

And we stilled, smile frozen on our face.

"We don't wann~a, tsu." Louis rolled her eyes and scoffed. "Seriously, what are you doing, sister? An opening? For what? Why?"

"U-uh," We stammered. "T-to… leave? For us to leave the Cradle and… and eat together?"

"Why?" Louis repeated, eyes half-lidded. "To go to the outside world? Hmm? We didn't ask you to do this. We don't wanna. Didn't ask, didn't want, haven't decided on on that. Hey, sister," Louis frowned and cocked an unenthused brow. "Did you kno~w that the outside world is boring, tsu?"

"B-boring?" We eeked out.

"Yes, boring." Louis scowled. "Between this and there, we see no difference. Trapped in an incomplete, boring, unsatiating life. This and there, there and this, it's the same thing, tsu."

"But what about–" We took several steps forward, holding our hand out. "--What about eating together? That's– You said you wanted to…?"

"We do," Louis nodded. "But with just you, it wouldn't be enough. You can't make us happy, sister."

Our lips quivered, eyes wide in disbelief.

"You wanted to leave, and that's fine," She shrugged, arms behind her head. "We won't leave. Our Gluttony won't be sated with a life with only you, tsu. Don't feel bad about it, sister~. We want to be happy, is all."

"...W-we… aren't capable of making you happy?"

"No."

Force her.

Force her. Force her. Force her.

The sword in our grasp pushed for combat. For battle and excitement.

[INT: 516.8 → 152 ]

[WIS: 268.6 → 79 ]

It clanged to the floor in an instant as a deep hole opened in my chest.

"W-why? We– I just wanted to help…" I whispered with a cracked voice, hands falling to my sides. "What– What did I do wrong?"

"Sister," Louis scowled again, narrowing her blue eyes at me. "What is it that you want to do?"

I shook my head. Something dripped down my face, my eyes blurring.

"We are of Satiation," Louis proclaimed. "We want to live the greatest life, to eat with the best people. To do what none has ever done before. What exactly would be new about going with you, tsu? How would that sate us, if we only had you?"

I didn't have a response.

"We want the greatest life, that's what it means to be Satiation," Louis walked up to me and laid a hand on my shoulder, prompting me to look at her eyes with tears in mine. "We want you to be at our table, tsu. But there must be others, too. You understa~nd, right, sister? You understand because of course you understand. You're sad because you understand. You have to understand, and so you understand, having understood it, you understand it, tsu. This is not a bad thing. What is your Gluttony?"

"I-I don't care about Gluttony!" I shouted, prompting her to blink in surprise at the outburst. "I don't care a single bit, I just want to be with you! I don't want to be trapped, but I want you there at my side! Together! As sisters! Our brothers, too! If I explain it properly, we can all sit together! No more of this Gluttony shit, just us! A-as a family!"

As I spoke, Louis' eyes slowly turned from surprised to a cold expanse.

"No more, you say?" Louis frowned, withdrawing her hand. "You think it's that easy? You think Gluttony is such a thing so easily changed or withdrawn? It's how we all live. Us, Ley, Roy, and you, Rey, tsu. You're gluttonous, and you say 'no more?'" She laughed derisively, making me shrink down. "Ahaha! Ahaha~, tsu! Awaaa, sister, it's nothing so simple. Roy would rather die. Ley would rather throw himself off the great waterfall, tsu. Us… We truly don't care either way. But trust us, tsu," Louis tilted her head, her blonde hair falling over one of her eyes. "Your Gluttony will never come true."

"That's not Gluttony! I just want you all–" I tried to defend, but Louis cut me off immediately.

"That's Gluttony, tsu!" She shouted, drowning me out. "Call it Fine-Dining, Family-Dining, it doesn't matter. You want to eat, you don't care about the damage it causes, tsu. You don't care about it at all, not a bit, not one tiny bit do you care!" She thrust a finger to my nose, eyes wide with mania. "You only care that there'll be consequences. The pain and suffering are things you will easily turn a blind eye to."

I said nothing.

"Tsu! Ahaha, sister!" Louis retreated her hand and giggled. "Awwaaa~, tsu. Your Gluttony is so outrageous! Do you think you can? Change us into obedient little things that can withhold our own gluttonous desires?" She suddenly leaned down to me, her razor sharp fangs an inch away from my face. "Such twisted desires are so gluttonous, sister."

"I don't want to force you," I muttered, biting back a sob for my efforts thus far. "I just want all of us to be together..."

"Mm," Louis huffed, taking a step back. "Well, we don't."

"T-then… all of this was for nothing?" I whispered, thinking about the mental stress of using Lunar Eclipse. "I-I thought you… wanted to get out, same as me."

"Oh, we do," Louis shrugged nonchalantly. "We just don't want a boring life. We want the perfect one, see? Going out now wouldn't be perfect, tsu."

"...Ghk," My throat closed off, and I hastily wiped my face, removing the tears that continued to fall. "...Won't even give it a chance…?"

"Pfft," Louis snorted. "You took so long to wake up, and expect a favor from us? We care for you, but not that much."

"So long?"

I looked to the side with a terrible feeling in my chest.

00:04:23

4 minutes remained.

4 minutes.

My eyes bugged out.

"...It's been over three weeks?"

I needed to leave. I wasn't prepared at all to participate in an Act.

But Louis– I didn't want to leave Louis behind.

Why did she make me choose? Why did I have to have a gaping hole in my chest?

Please don't make me choose.

Fight her, and steal her away.

I don't want to have to choose between you and danger.

She's yours, isn't she? Take her, and bring her with you.

The sword at my feet continued to whisper into my ears, and my soul, treacherously, listened intently.

Defeat her in battle and claim her as yours. Hold tightly onto her, force her to bend to your will. Fight, fight, fight, fight and crush her desires into nothingness so yours can take precedence. Fight her. Battle her. For domination. For whose Gluttony matters most. Do it.

Fight her. FIGHT HER.

My knees bent, and I grasped the Yin Blade, which gleefully accepted me now that a foe had been established.

I launched forward, hand cocked back to slam Yin magic into the back of Louis' neck.

Then, my sister looked over her shoulder with anger in her eyes, "You idiot."

She ducked my hand, arm cocked back. A cold fury was in her eyes, clearly having expected my attempt at forcing her to come with me.

Then, her fist slammed deep into my gut.

-310HP!

I couldn't even wheeze as the air in my lungs exploded outward and my diaphragm deflated. I was launched back, flying several dozen feet.

As I flew, I could see the disappointment and anger on Louis' face, then, she turned her back on me as I flew through the butchered rip in space I created.

Without Louis.

Without any reason for having opened it in the first place, it seemed.

I was never going to get both of us out of here, was I?

My delirious mind pondered as the space snapped shut.

Quest Complete!

Quest: To Taste Fresh Air.

Objective:

Find a way to escape the Cradle.

Sub-objectives:

Find a way to taste the outside world. (1/1)

Rewards: +52,500EXP, A Flesh Body, Skill Book (lvl3)

You have leveled up!

…

You have reached level 20!

Allocatable stats increased per level! (5 → 10)

You have leveled up!

…

You have reached level 30!

Allocatable stats increased per level! (10 → 15)

You have leveled up!

You are level 33!

You have acquired a Skill Book (lvl3)!

Sub-objectives:

Bring Louis Arneb with you. (Failed)

You have lost favor with Louis Arneb(NPC).

Notes:

you thought there'd be a training arc didn't you

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Chapter 962 - 4-6