"Hmm... I don't see what makes you so special," Silver Wolf said, hands resting on her hips as she scrutinized him with a skeptical look. "Take away those scary-looking eyes and you'd blend right in with the rest of the NPCs."
Subaru merely chuckled, unfazed by her snark remark.
"Don't be like that, Bronie. I desperately need your help here!" Clasping his hands together, he comically sank to his knees, casting a pleading look her way. "See? I've even prepared to cast off my pride!"
"You..."
Silver Wolf was left speechless.
Certainly, his frivolousness had caught her off guard. Whatever expectations she had of him has been thrown out the window.
The basic premise of a tragic protagonist wasn't lost on her—she'd seen her fair share by now. Most of them were the brooding, burdened types, haunted by regrets larger than life itself. Subaru, from what she could glean from Elio's script, had all the makings of that type.
At least that's what she thought.
But then, there he was, kneeling before her like some over-the-top fool.
"Honestly, I was expecting more," Silver Wolf said, crossing her arms and unconvinced. "You're not exactly what I imagined."
The pause that followed felt almost too long as they locked gazes.
Awkward was putting it lightly.
His eyes lingered on her longer than she could handle, thick with nostalgia that practically oozed from his sockets. Even the way he called her Bronie felt too intimate, as if it had been said a thousand times before, as natural as breathing.
She struggled to put the feeling into words.
It was as if he were seeing the shadow of someone else in her.
She could hazard a guess at how much her past selves meant to him, but the truth remained: she wasn't that person anymore. And try as she might, she couldn't bear the brunt of those feelings.
Faced with a man she couldn't understand, Silver Wolf found herself at a loss. There was even a part of her that felt like she owed him nothing.
His sacrifices were of his own volition. There was no doubt about that.
Still, she was certain of one thing:
Life is precious.
It is an unchanging, immutable truth.
Humans—rich, poor, young, and old—all had inherent value. Even for someone like him, with countless lives to throw away, and the will to do so without hesitation, death should always be the last resort.
Besides, Silver Wolf was a softie at heart, even though she refused to admit it.
While she couldn't fully understand him, she would at least try.
Turning her back against him, she coughed. "Ahem. I already have an idea what's going on, so you don't have to tell me. I'll graciously let you tag-along, provided the script doesn't go astray. How's that for a cooperation?"
Subaru's face lit up, his relief palpable as he slapped his chest in exaggerated fashion. "Just like that... I knew I could count on you, Bronie!"
He sighed dramatically. "To be honest, I was expecting it'd take a lot more to convince you. I didn't have to tell you what you told me in order to get you to help me, after all."
The line came out awkwardly and both of them shared an uncertain glance. But there was something else about it that made her snap around at attention. "Wait, what did you say?"
Subaru blinked in confusion. "Did you not like how I call you Bronie?"
"No, not that!" Silver Wolf shot back, frustrated. "Well, yes, that too, stop calling me that—but I mean, what I told you to say!"
"Oh, that." Subaru scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "In case you refused to help, the you from the past said I just needed to tell you, 'By nature, the most exalted people are the ones you can't see easily.'"
★ ★ ★
Silver Wolf, still recovering from her surprise, trailed behind Subaru.
Just as they walked out of the room, a figure clad in pure black attire stepped into view, as though he'd been waiting there the entire time. He gave them a quick once-over before his gaze landed on Silver Wolf. His expression soured immediately.
"Who is this guy?" Silver Wolf asked, snapping out of her daze. "And what's with that face?"
Ignoring the little girl pointing at him, the man turned to Subaru. "Is this brat lost? What's she doing here?"
"That, Gojo-san..." Alternating between the both of them, he began to introduce, brushing off the friction between them. "Silver Wolf, this is Gojo. Gojo, this is Silver Wolf..."
Subaru continued from there, explaining something along the lines on how they met and reached some kind of agreement, but none of it registered in Silver Wolf's ears.
Her entire body felt as if it had been struck by lightning. Gojo?
The name slammed into her like a truck, and the world around her seemed to blur. She stumbled, her knees almost buckling beneath her as the weight of the revelation settled in. Her breath then caught in her throat.
As she rummaged through her memories, a particular scenario resurfaced.
"Hey, Silver Wolf, what's wrong!?" Subaru called, his voice full of concern.
Silver Wolf's voice trembled as she asked, "Did you just say... Gojo? Y—you're not Reinhard?"
Even as the facts presented themselves, her mind instinctively tried to reject the truth.
But there was no mistaking it.
Gojo Satoru.
He was a character who should have remained uninvolved, playing a role much later in the story. Yet, somehow, he had appeared prematurely, taking the place of the Sword Saint. And in one of the worst possible outcomes, he was the one meant to die at the hands of a sorcerer.
That meant two things.
Yes—Gojo was going to die, and for that to happen, he would appear.
The thought of his visage sent a shudder down her spine, bringing with it vivid memories of the night her crew perished. Each life taken away was a price that had to be paid in order to protect her best friend's legacy.
And what more she couldn't forget: his parting words, spoken as he couldn't even be bothered to finish her off.
"Get out of my sight and exercise your free will to die."
All of a sudden, Silver Wolf had the urge to vomit.
'I've already had enough in a single day', she thought before blacking out.