You are relaxed

After a while in the Hanging Garden, after Subaru had fallen asleep in the dream house crafted by the Witches, Minerva and Subaru were lounging around, playing Smash Bros.

Of course, it wasn't a real console—they had recreated it perfectly using Subaru's memories.

Minerva glanced at Subaru, clicking her tongue. "You know, Subaru, when you said, 'let's smash,' I was expecting something else. Kinda disappointed."

Subaru rolled his eyes but smiled, leaning over to kiss her forehead. "Love you too."

Pandora, lying lazily on the couch beside them, glanced up from her book. "You're very relaxed for someone who's supposed to fight the White Whale in two days."

Echidna sipped her tea, looking over her glasses. "Do you want me to remind you of all the abilities that monster has?"

Pandora chuckled, flipping a page. "We all know. Just like him, we've memorized every Authority he's gained."

Minerva smirked and leaned closer to Subaru. "Tch. You're ridiculous, you know? Acting all casual like this when you're about to throw yourself at death."

Subaru shrugged, still focused on the controller. "I learned a while ago, Minerva. If I spent every second worrying, I'd lose my mind. I enjoy what I can."

Pandora smiled faintly. "That's why you're different, Subaru. Unlike the others who carried Authorities, you're still… you."

Echidna scoffed. "For now."

Subaru raised an eyebrow. "You know exactly why I don't go all out recklessly."

Pandora smirked. "Because of the price. Every Authority chips away at you."

Minerva crossed her arms. "I hate how you always throw yourself into danger. You have us now, you know?"

Subaru glanced at them with a soft smile. "And that's why I can keep going."

Ding!

A sudden notification rang in his mind.

[Sin System Notification]

New Mission Activated!

Quest: Slay the White Whale with Style!

Objective: Eliminate the White Whale in a way that completely shatters its legend and humiliates its existence.

Bonus: Defeat the White Whale without letting it even touch you.

Bonus: Make it an unforgettable spectacle for the world.

Bonus: Record the entire fight.

Rewards: ???

Subaru groaned, burying his face in his hands. "You've got to be kidding me."

Daphne giggled from the corner, petting Able who was nibbling on bread. "You should be honored, darling! The system has faith in you."

Typhon twirled around excitedly. "Big Brother just triggered our trap card!"

Minerva rolled her eyes. "Seriously? This system is nuts."

Pandora chuckled. "But isn't that just like him? Subaru doesn't fight quietly—he fights to leave a mark."

Echidna tapped her chin. "It aligns with our goals anyway."

Subaru sighed, stretching. "Great… now I need to choreograph a perfect, flawless battle against a giant flying whale."

Typhon cheered. "Yay! Planning time!"

Sekhmet yawned lazily. "I wonder if you'll die again."

Echidna's eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "Calculating everything… there's a 0.5% chance of you dying."

Carmilla's voice trembled. "I-I-I don't want Subaru to die again…"

Satella nodded. "Neither do I."

Pandora smiled, her voice soft. "None of us want that. No more suffering. No more death."

Minerva cracked her knuckles. "That's why we've got a shit list."

Subaru raised an eyebrow. "Right… your 'shit list.'"

Echidna adjusted her glasses. "A comprehensive, constantly updated list of threats to your well-being."

Pandora added, "Every time you die, it grows longer."

Typhon giggled. "Big Brother, we're your family. If anyone messes with you, they mess with us."

Minerva smirked. "Damn right. If we could leave your soul, this world would already be ours."

Satella's voice grew soft. "We don't want the world. We just want you to live… free from pain."

Subaru sighed with a small smile. "You guys really do make me sound like a dragon's treasure."

Daphne chuckled. "That's because you are."

Echidna smirked. "And with the Fool's Pathway, you're rewriting reality itself."

Subaru rubbed his temples. "Great… another thing to worry about."

Pandora tilted her head. "Worried? Or excited?"

Subaru shrugged. "A bit of both."

Carmilla spoke softly. "I-it's okay… we'll always be here."

Minerva grinned, picking up her controller. "Now, enough sappy talk—rematch."

Subaru grinned back. "You're on."

Hours passed until Minerva finally won a match.

Even though the score was 1–20.

Minerva clicked her tongue. "Tch. Still counts."

Subaru laughed. "Yeah, yeah. I'm so proud of you."

She leaned in and kissed his forehead before pulling back. "You're getting comfortable with us."

Subaru chuckled. "It's only natural. Every time I sleep, I end up here… except that Fool's Pathway potion incident."

Echidna kissed his cheek. "And now you can even summon people from that Isekai Quartet world."

Subaru sighed. "Side effects from that tea and potion you fed me."

Pandora smirked. "So if we keep feeding you weird stuff…"

Subaru deadpanned. "I'd probably die."

Minerva clicked her tongue. "Tch. As if we'd let that happen."

Typhon giggled. "Big Brother is ours!"

Satella nodded. "Exactly… Subaru is ours."

Subaru smiled faintly. "You guys are way too overprotective."

Suddenly, Subaru held his head as something shifted inside him. A third eye opened on his forehead, and a dark, confident smirk spread across his face.

Sekhmet reacted immediately, binding him with Invisible Providence. Her bloodlust skyrocketed. "Who are you and what have you done to my Subaru?"

The Witches and Able all tensed, bloodlust filling the air like a storm.

Able's Authority of Gluttony activated, black smoke arms forming behind him. "What did you do to Dad?"

Subaru laughed, voice deeper. "Relax. I'm Subaru… just one from the future."

The entire room spoke in unison. "What?"

Satella's eyes narrowed, staring at him. "He's not lying. His energy… is exactly Subaru's. Just… older."

Echidna frowned deeply. "How far… in the future?"

Subaru smirked. "Can't say."

Pandora's eyes sharpened. "Why are you here?"

Subaru looked at her, smile calm but dangerous. "Just checking to make sure that me possessing my younger self's body… is stable."

The Witches and Able stood frozen, their collective bloodlust roaring silently in the room.

Subaru third eyes close, as Sekhmet removed her hand as Subaru spoke. "Ow, my head or heart's what happened".

Minver went too him as she hugged as she spoke. "Yup this one is ours, the one in the current time and not that future BS".

Echidna crossed her arms, still processing what had just happened. "So… the future you really hijacked your own body? That's insane, even by our standards."

Typhon huffed. "More like cheating! Future Big Brother must be really strong if he can do that!"

Pandora tapped her chin, looking intrigued. "Which means… Subaru's fate is far from set in stone. A version of him survives long enough to grow even stronger."

Satella, who had been silent for a moment, finally spoke. "That means we have to make sure this Subaru reaches that future safely."

Subaru groaned, rubbing his temples. "Great, another layer of pressure on me. As if fighting the White Whale in two days wasn't already enough."

Able, who had been quiet, still had his black smoke-like arms manifesting behind him. His glare hadn't softened. "I still don't like it. If he was you, why didn't he say anything useful?"

Subaru let out a bitter chuckle. "Probably because if he did, something worse would happen. Time travel rules, you know?"

Minerva tightened her hug around him. "Tch. Doesn't matter. Our Subaru is here, and we're making sure he gets strong on our terms, not some creepy future hijacking BS."

Echidna sighed. "Well, it is fascinating, though… If Subaru is meant to grow that powerful, then—"

Sekhmet yawned, interrupting her. "Then it means he's still got a long way to go… and we'll make sure he doesn't slack off."

Subaru sighed. "Yeah, yeah, I get it. More training, more suffering. Just another day in the Hanging Gardens…"

Carmilla then spoken. "I-i just hope the future i-isnt set in stone".

Subaru went to her as he spoke patting her head. "You really didn't like future did you?".

Subaru chuckled softly as he patted Carmilla's head, feeling the slight tremor in her shoulders. She clung to his sleeve, her usual timid expression showing a rare moment of unease.

"I-it w-was just… scary," she mumbled, her voice barely above a whisper. "You weren't you... You felt… d-distant."

Subaru let out a sigh, running a hand through his hair. "Yeah, well, I'm not exactly thrilled about the idea either. The thought that I could end up like that—strong enough to hijack my past self? That's not normal."

Sekhmet lazily waved a hand. "Nothing about you is normal, Subaru. Might as well own it."

Echidna nodded, adjusting her posture as she smirked. "Indeed. But this means there's a version of you out there that survived long enough to gain power beyond our expectations. That is fascinating."

Minerva, however, scowled. "Fascinating my ass. What matters is this one, the Subaru right in front of us. I don't care how strong he might become if he doesn't live long enough to get there!"

Satella's voice was barely a whisper, but it carried weight. "Then we will make sure he does."

The statement hung in the air for a moment, the sheer conviction behind it making even the normally chatty Typhon pause.

Able, arms still cloaked in black mist, narrowed his eyes. "Fine. But if Future You tries that again, I'll rip him apart before he gets the chance."

Subaru winced. "Geez, thanks for the vote of confidence."

Minerva huffed, still not letting go of him. "You better appreciate it. Now stop whining and focus! You've got a White Whale to kill."

Subaru sighed, rubbing his temples again. "Yeah, yeah… No pressure, right?"

Pandora suddenly smiled. "Oh, but it is pressure, Subaru. After all, fate is watching~."

Subaru groaned. "Fantastic. Just what I needed. More cryptic nonsense."

The Witches merely exchanged glances, knowing that no matter what the future held, they weren't letting go of their Subaru.

No matter what.

Meanwhile, in a different place in reality, or was it time, it was hard to tell, it was Subaru but he looked much older, he looked 25, but it was clear he was probably way older than that, he was sitting on a throne, as he has white hair, as his third eyes was opened as he has a smirk, as he was holding a few cards.

Future Subaru chuckled, sitting on his throne and holding the cards. "And now I have Given my past self the push to make these cards, things are gonna be fun".

He looked at the cards in his head 10 then so far. "I wonder if he will make more cards of Disorder; either way, if he doesn't, I will send this one".

He summoned 4 more as he looked at them. "But I guess I just need to wait and see, what the past me does".

The throne room was silent, the heavy air crackling with an unseen power as Future Subaru leaned back, eyes gleaming with the satisfaction of a game well played. The white strands of his hair flowed slightly in an unseen wind, the elegance of his age clashing with the coldness of his expression. His third eye, glowing faintly, seemed to pierce through not just the room, but the very fabric of time itself.

With a lazy motion, Subaru shuffled the cards in his hand, their edges glowing faintly with an unnatural light. Each card he held was a fragment of his past, his future, and all the possibilities that lay between. They weren't just ordinary cards—each one represented a choice, a pivotal moment in the grand design he had woven. His past self was just a player in the game he had already seen, and now, he could only watch as the pieces moved into place.

"A few more cards," Subaru mused aloud to no one in particular, his voice a mixture of dark amusement and anticipation. "I wonder if past me will follow through. Will he make the right choices, or will I need to... intervene?" He chuckled softly, his fingers caressing the edges of the cards, as though savoring the suspense of it all.

His gaze drifted to the cards, flicking through each one in his mind. Ten cards—powerful, all-encompassing—each representing a different turn, a different fate. And yet, there was one card that stood out, the one marked with the word "Disorder." The concept itself was volatile and unpredictable. It could unravel all that had been carefully built, or it could empower the one who dared to play it. Subaru's smirk grew wider.

"If he doesn't make more cards of Disorder, then I suppose it's up to me to send this one into play." Subaru's voice was almost contemplative like a strategist considering his final move before executing it. "But that's the beauty of it, isn't it? The uncertainty of it all. The chaos... it's what keeps me entertained."

The cards he summoned swirled around him, glimmering with faint energy. There were four in total, each one representing a different force, an element of change that would push Subaru further down the path of power. Yet, none of these cards held the final answer. None of them would reveal the endgame.

"You've got a lot to learn, past me," Subaru muttered, eyes narrowing as he gazed at the flickering cards. "And you'll need to do it fast... before I make the next move."

He rested the cards in his hands, waiting for the inevitable. Time was a delicate thing, after all. Too much interference could break the cycle, too little would leave everything in chaos. But for now, he was content to let his past self tread the path laid before him. It would be interesting to see just how far he'd push himself before reaching the breaking point.

With a snap of his fingers, the cards scattered, each one vanishing into the ether, where they would wait—quietly, patiently—until the time was right.

Future Subaru leaned back in his throne, his third eye glowing brighter, a quiet but intense determination etched on his features. The game was still in motion. And soon, his past self would make the next move.

"Let's see how far you'll go," Subaru whispered, almost to himself, as the throne room darkened, a sinister smile playing across his lips.

And so, in the world of endless possibilities, the future was set—at least for now.