Chapter Text
Chapter 1, Welcome…..back?
Emptiness
That's what Subaru felt as he bought his game night snacks, stepping outside the store, Subaru started to feel lightheaded. “What the hell?!” he blurted out as his vision started, “ Dam they were right! I should not try three all-nighters in a row; I am already hallucinating.” A dry chuckle escaped his mouth.
Subaru rubs his eyes, hoping that doing so would stop the irritation but.
Everything goes white…
______________________________________________
The sound of the wind and sea surrounds Subaru. He looks around, staring blankly as he inspects the area around him. He seems to be on a beach, with the clear ocean stretching endlessly, with only an out-of-place small rock formation present. On the other side, there seems to be only one way in and out of the area. On the cliff wall, there seems to be a temporary camp that has a campfire and a rusty fishing rod
“Wait” A realization set in “….wait, DUDE I HAVE BEEN SUMMONED TO ANOTHER WORLD,” he screamed out loud to the heavens. “ Come ON! Where the cute girl that summoned or the obviously evil kingdom that follows a steaky religion or cult.”
The absurd declaration echoes through the place, seeing that nobody would acknowledge his presence, he decides to salvage the area, and he heads towards the rundown camp. The campfire was out, probably not used in a long while. He sits down using the camp's shade to protect himself from the harsh sun letting out a long breath.
“…Okay. Calm down, Natsuki Subaru,” he muttered, pressing his palms against his face. “Step one: confirm whether this is a dream, hallucination, or actual isekai jackpot.”
He pinched his cheek.
Hard.
“…OW—okay, not a dream.”
Subaru slowly stood up again, eyes scanning the surroundings with a bit more seriousness now. The ocean stretched endlessly, the waves rolling in with a strangely calming rhythm. Too real. Too detailed. Too consistent. “Alright… so if this is another world…” His eyes lit up. a manic excitement evident in his eyes.
He gets up, dusting the sand off his tracksuit, notices how hot it is due to the sweat buildup on his forehead, he takes off his jacket and wraps it around his head towards the inland, which requires him to climb up multiple small cliffs.
“You know how hard scaling a small cliff can be?But, I am decently athletic, so this should be easy!” he proudly exclaims as he begins his journey into Tevyat.
______________________________________________
Guess what Subaru learned today? Rock climbing is hard. There is a reason why professionals have to practice this stuff for 1 to 3 years, he laments this new discovery as he looked at his scraped hands and knees, which were injured due to his recklessness. As he walked uphill, he admired the beautiful scenery of the place; the air felt clean and pure, unlike the city. The undisturbed tree and wildlife around him gave the place a sense of life as he traversed.
“Man, gotta admit this place is pretty nice, but I hope I find some city or town cause even if I have seen plenty of videos on how to survive outdoors, I don’t think I can put that knowledge to the test just yet.”
Feeling that his legs were about to give out, he stops and sits down at a convenient and unnatural edge on the path, and the view it gives him takes his breath away. “ Wow” those are only words that could come out og his mouth. The various other cliffs became visible, a weird statue that was in the middle of a small lake, and the one thing that caught his attention, far off in the distance, appeared to be what looked like a city; tho he couldn't make many details of the place.
“Welp, Ain’t gonna find out nothing by just sitting here,” he comments as he continues his journey.
______________________________________________
Walking down the slope, he takes note of a yellow fruit, picking it up and taking a bite, the slightly sweet taste of it greatly improves his mood as he makes his way to the odd statue that was in the middle of the lake. “ do i really wanna see that Statue up close” he pondered as he will be required to swim and get his cloths wet which he really wasn’t itching to do, after a minute or so he decides to do it anyways, “ what the worse that can happen?”
Swimming his way to the small rock formation that housed the Statue, he curses as his clothes are now very much wet and heavy, were hindering his movement, possibly making his journey more painful.
“Okay this is bad, this Statue better be worth it” . A medium-sized figure, what he thought to be a boy, was dressed in cape as he stood on top with a ball up his arm as if he was offering it tothe heavens, it made up mostly of stone with some metal plating plastered on it, the cracks on the stone, and the dull look of the silver metal gave Subaru the impression that 1) the statue was probably very old and 2) Nobody really bothered to repair or maintain it,. Yet strangely enough, a thin sense of calm and relaxation wahed over him, tho the effect was only noticeable as he was already tired beyond his mind due to the trek it took to reach this place.
“ Okay, usually this is the place where the protagonist gets his power up or something, let's just hope that works.” With a stupid enough logic, he places his hand on the metal center of the statue and in an instant SOMETHING escaped, SOMETHING he didnt know he even had escaped from his guts, it moved like a liquid from his guts, to his chest, then to his arms, and finally to the Statue, where the Ball the figure seems to be holding flashed with green light before going dark.
As for Subaru, he collapsed at the stop. As a strength, he didnt know he had vanished from his body, his vision started to go fade, he tried to use his arm to get up but they didnt have the strength to do so, and with that, a few hours into the adventure in another world, Subaru fainted.
_____________________________________________
Darkness…
That's all his mind could register for the moment, but slowly his mind caught up to his body, as he opened his eyes, a slight numbing pain encapsulated his body.“I don’t recognise that ceiling.” those were the first words that came out of his mouth turning his head sideways he analysis the room he is in, he seemed to be in some fancy place with while marble walls with simple but grateful decoration on them. He then removes the blanket placed over him. He turned left, and through the window, he caught a glimpse of the outside world. Evening had settled on the world, a red-orange colour painted over the sky. “ holy hell! How long have I been asleep?”
Seeing that no one was there to answer his question, he decided to get some answers himself. The moment his bare feet landed on the floor, sharp pain shot across his body. "OW! OW! SHIT! OW! Ok, ok, deep breath deep breaths,” this time he slowly places both his feet on the ground, the pain was still there, but not to an extreme extent as before.He wears his shoes that were conveniently kept near the bed. While doing so, he realises that the injuries he got from rock climbing were completely healed with no scars left, “ ok either I have been asleep for weeks, the medical care here is top-notch, or most probably they have a magic healer here, really hope it's the last one”
As he mumbled to himself, suddenly the sound of the doorknob turning caught his attention. The door creaked open slowly. Subaru instinctively straightened his posture, trying (and failing) to look composed as a girl stepped inside. Blonde hair tied into twin tails, dressed in white and blue with a small cross motif—she carried a gentle, almost glowing presence with her. “ oh your awake !” she said, her cute voice filled with relief.
Subaru stared at her blankly, not only was she so pretty, but also because he barely had any social interaction, so his brain deflated to something he knew he couldn't mess up. As his thought caught up to his body he raised his one hand to the heavens( or ceiling in this case) and the other to his hips as he strikes a pose.
“My name is Natsuki Subaru, not only am I hopelessly lost, but given the usual isakaied troup, I am probably broke and illiterate”
The girl blinked.
Once.Twice.
“…Eh?”
The room fell into a heavy, almost awkward silence. Subaru froze in his pose “... A bead of sweat rolled down his temple.“…Was that not cool?” he muttered, slowly lowering his arms like a malfunctioning robot.
The girl brought a hand to her mouth, trying—and failing—to suppress a small laugh.“Pfft—sorry! It’s just… you woke up and immediately said something so strange.”
“Strange?!” Subaru pointed at himself. “That was a perfectly refined self-introduction! It had honesty, humor, AND tragic backstory elements! And besides, my dad taught me that it's always best to get the embarrassing details out of the way first,” he defended his cringeworthy introduction
“…You said you’re broke and illiterate.”
“DETAILS!” She giggled again, this time more openly. “Alright, alright. My name is Barbara. I’m a deaconess of the Church of Favonius.”
Subaru’s eyes widened slightly.“Church… Favonius…?” he repeated slowly. Yep, definitely in medieval fantasy type of stuff. “ Introduction aside, what happened exactly, as you can see, I don’t have the best memory.So like how did I get here, and where is my stuff? I couldn't help notice that none of it was here.”
Barbara's face goes a bit stiff at the question, “ Well, what happened was that knights Amber and Captain Eula found you unconscious at the Statue of Seven, and then they brought you here. After that, strangely enough, Captain Albedo came here, wanting to see you. After I told him that he couldn’t, as you were awake, he took your strange items for inspection, said that you would have to meet him later to get them back.”
Subaru took a second to process all that “ Wait! You're telling two girls who carried all the way here, and I wasn't even awake the whole time. Oh God, why must you be so cruel to me!?”
“I don't think that should be your worry right now,” Barbara chided. “Also, I don’t know what to make of this, so I will leave with you when Amber and Eula pick you up. They reported multiple monsters attacking them as they made their way to the city.” Subaru froze, listen to this, his goofy attitude vanished in a second.
“ Dam, so am I monster magnet or something?” he rubs his head sheepishly, slight guilt evident in his voice. “ No no, that's… probably not the case. Anyways, your condition seems stable, tho i have one thing I want to discuss with you” “Please take off your shirt.” That comment caught Him off guard as a visible blush appeared on his face. “ Miss Barbara, aren’t you a nun?" he dramatically replies. Barbara to his shook just stands there unamused, “ First of all, please just call me Barbara, and second, I am healing people from all sorts of injuries(a certain white-haired boy with the worst luck known to mankind comes to mind) and have seen a lot, this is not enough to faze me in the slightest now please take you shirt off and look the other way.
Subaru blinked.
“…Oh.” That… was not the direction his brain had gone. “…OH.”
His face went from red to even redder as he immediately turned around, fumbling with his shirt. “Y-yeah, okay, medical reasons, totally normal, not weird at all, definitely not what I thought—”“Please stop talking,” Barbara said flatly. “Right. Silence. I can do silence.”
A few seconds later, his shirt was off, and he stood there awkwardly, back turned, trying very hard to focus on literally anything else.Barbara stepped closer. For a moment, she said nothing.Then—
“…That’s strange.”
Subaru stiffened slightly. “Strange how? Like ‘I need more exercise’, strange or ‘I should start writing my will ' strange?”
“…Neither,” she replied softly.
A faint glow began to emanate from her hands as she placed them near his back—not quite touching, but close enough that he could feel a gentle warmth.
Subaru blinked. “Whoa… okay, yeah, that’s definitely magic.”
Barbara didn’t respond immediately. Her focus had sharpened, her usual cheerful tone replaced with something more thoughtful.“…There’s something inside you,” she said slowly.
“…That is NOT reassuring.”
“It’s not harmful,” she quickly clarified. “At least… I don’t think it is.” “You don’t think?!” “Please let me finish.”
Subaru shut up again.
Barbara continued, her voice more analytical now. “It seems to resemble a Vision, a somewhat different and a weaker version of it” , “ Should I know what a vision is ? it sure as hell sounds important,” Barbara just stared at him, utterly baffled by the boy's ignorance, even wondering if he had been dropped by the head as a child.
“…so how is it Different ?” he asked, breaking her out of her thoughts
“It’s weak… but also deep,” she said, almost to herself. “Like a small stream connected to something much larger. And the element… it’s not one I’m familiar with.”
Subaru tilted his head slightly, even though she couldn’t see it. “Not familiar? I thought this world had, like, the usual elements. Fire, water, lightning, that kind of stuff.”
“It does,” Barbara nodded. “Pyro, Hydro, Electro, Anemo, Geo, Cryo, and Dendro. But what you have…”
She hesitated.
“…It feels closer to darkness even i daresay the abyss .”
Subaru froze.
“…Abyss?”
“No!, I would put it closer to darkness as it doesn't have the usual Malice that should be present in the Abyss,” she added quickly. “Just… heavy. Quiet. Almost like it pulls inward instead of flowing outward.”
Subaru’s mind flickered for a second—something distant, something unpleasant—but it vanished before he could grasp it.“…And you said it’s weak?” he asked.
Barbara nodded again. “Very weak. If I had to compare it… it’s like having a Vision that hasn’t fully formed. Or one that’s… incomplete.”
“Incomplete, huh…” He let out a small breath.“Man, even in another world, I can’t get things done properly.” “…That’s not what I meant,” Barbara said gently. There was a pause. Then—
“…But there’s more,” she added.
Subaru stiffened again. “There’s MORE?!”
Barbara frowned slightly, her hands still glowing faintly. “Your ‘Vision’—or whatever this is—it feels… strained.”
“Strained?”
“Yes. Like it was forced open suddenly. If you try to use whatever this power is recklessly, you might hurt yourself.”Subaru went quiet.“…So I’ve got a weird, off-brand Vision… and if I try to use it, I might explode.”
“That’s a very dramatic way of putting it, but… yes. Something like that.”
“…Awesome.”
Barbara finally pulled her hands back, the glow fading.“You can put your shirt back on now.”
Subaru didn’t waste a second, quickly pulling it over his head before turning around. His expression was… calmer now. Still confused, still overwhelmed—but thinking…
Subaru tugged his shirt down properly, smoothing out wrinkles that didn’t really matter. His mind, however, was anything but smooth. Weird pseudo-Vision. Possibly dangerous. No money. No home. Stuff confiscated by a suspiciously important-sounding guy.“…Yep,” he muttered under his breath. “This is definitely an isekai.”Barbara tilted her head. “Is… what?”
“Nothing! Cultural phrase! Very advanced!” Subaru waved it off quickly, then coughed. “A-anyway… thanks. For, uh… not letting me die on a rock.”
Her expression softened again, that gentle warmth returning. “You’re welcome. It’s my duty to help those in need.”Subaru scratched his cheek. “…Yeah, about that ‘in need’ part…”Barbara seemed to anticipate what he was about to say. She clasped her hands lightly in front of her. “You mentioned earlier that you don’t have any money… or a place to stay, correct?”
“…Correct,” Subaru admitted, shoulders slumping. “Also possibly illiterate, depending on what language you guys use.”
“…You’ve been speaking perfectly fine this whole time.”
“OH THANK GOD but there a good chance that I wouldn't be able to read and write tho.” he mumbled to himself
Subaru dramatically wiped imaginary tears. “You have no idea how terrifying it is to think you’ve been isekai’d into a world where you can’t even read the menu.”
“…Menu?”
“FOCUS!” Subaru snapped back into place, pointing at her. “Right, survival plan. Step two after ‘don’t die’: income source. Got any suggestions, Miss—uh, Barbara?”
Barbara nodded, slipping back into her calm, helpful demeanor. “In that case, I recommend you visit the Adventurers’ Guild.”
Subaru froze. Slowly…
“…Say that again.”
“The Adventurers’ Guild?”
His eyes lit up like fireworks.
“THE Adventurers’ Guild?!” he grabbed her shoulders—very lightly this time, remembering pain exists—“Like quests? Commissions? Ranking up? Fighting monsters for money and glory?!”
Barbara looked mildly startled. “…Yes… that’s… generally what they do.”
Subaru turned away, clenching his fist dramatically.
“YES! LET’S GOOOO! This is it! The classic isekai starter pack! I knew it! I KNEW IT!” Barbara watched him celebrate in the middle of the room.
“…Are you always like this?”
“Only on days ending in ‘y’!” he shot back instantly, then cleared his throat. “Right. Adventurers’ Guild. Money. Food. Not dying. Got it.”
He paused.
“…Where is it?”
Barbara smiled faintly. “In front of the City gates really hard to miss.”
“Nice, nice…” Subaru nodded, committing it to memory. “Okay, step three: retrieve my confiscated belongings from the mysterious alchemist man.”
“Albedo,” Barbara corrected.
“Right, that guy.” Subaru snapped his fingers. “Where do I find him? Secret lab? Evil tower? Suspiciously well-decorated basement?”
“…None of those,” Barbara said. “He’s usually stationed at Dragonspine, but he visits Mondstadt occasionally. And besides, he was just here to take your stuff, so he should be nearby. You should speak with Sucrose .”
“Sucrose?”
“She’s his assistant. A very talented alchemist,” Barbara explained. “If anyone knows where Albedo is—or where he kept your belongings—it would be her.”
Subaru nodded slowly. “Okay… Adventurers’ Guild for survival, Sucrose for my stuff.” He looked up.
“…And both are in the city?”
“Yes.”
“…So everything I need is in one place?”
“Yes.”
Subaru placed a hand over his heart.
“…This world might actually be kind.”
Barbara smiled gently. “I’m glad you think so.”
A brief silence settled between them. Then—
Subaru’s stomach growled.Loudly.
He froze. Barbara blinked.
“…Right,” Subaru coughed awkwardly. “Step zero: food.”
Barbara let out a small laugh again, softer this time. “You really are something else; most people would be worried out of their mind.”
She moved toward the door. “Come on. I’ll walk you part of the way. The city can be a bit overwhelming for newcomers.”Subaru followed, slipping on his jacket again—though he hesitated for a second before doing so, remembering the heat.
“…Man,” he muttered, stepping out into the hallway, “new world, weird powers, no money… and now I have to grind from level one.”
Barbara glanced back. “Level… one?”Subaru grinned.
“Don’t worry about it,” he said. “Just know—”
He stepped forward, a spark of determination flickering in his eyes.
“—I’m gonna make this work.”