DISCLAIMER
This piece of fiction is a fan a made extension for the theatre of despair, an original LN styled story about Subaru's friends discovering his powers and releving his life, this story is filled with emotions and intense feelings.
That's why i felt dissapointed when i found that there's no adaptation for Arc 5/season 3, this is why i made this.
Don't forget to read the original story covering arcs 1 through 4 here
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/14392264/1/Theater-Of-Despair-Old-WHDAAA
This is also very important:
This story contains major spoilers for events from arc 1 up to arc 5, with small minor spoilers about the introduction of arc 6, with that said lets start
SETTING DESCRIPTION (to read before THE PROLOGUE):
The Theatre of Despair is a lonely place inside another dimension. Within this vast realm floats a room called the Sanctuary of Despair. No one knows who created this place, but according to Subaru, this theatre is modeled after something in his hometown called “The cinema.”
There’s only one door in this room, and it opens into a strange portal — more like a void made of miasma.
Subaru doesn’t like this place, but for some reason, it makes him feel safe.
THE PROLOGUE
Natsuki Subaru’s group continued heading east after leaving the city of Pristella.
They were moving toward the eastern edge of the world — an area called the Augria Sand Dunes. This land had a dark history filled with demon beasts that had guarded their territory for hundreds of years, rejecting any who dared set foot there.
A thick miasma filled the dunes, disorienting travelers and gnawing at their hearts.
“I think heading toward a place like this makes us no less crazy than those weird witch cultists,” Subaru said, his voice tinged with anxiety.
Suddenly, a bright light burst forth, blinding everyone inside the dragon carriage.
“What the hell is going on? Are we here again?” Garfield shouted, utterly enraged.
“Interesting,” Anastasia said as she recovered a flood of memories — the despair she’d endured here before. This wasn’t her first time in the Theatre of Despair. These memories weren’t false; they were real, but only Subaru could remember them once they returned to the real world.
Everyone looked back — Anastasia, the two maids, Frederica, Garfield, Priscilla, Emilia, Creush, Reinhardt, Wilhelm, Roswaal, and others — and they found Subaru was conscious this time.
“YOU IDIOT!” Emilia shouted, rushing toward Subaru. She hugged him tightly, resting his face against her chest. All of her memories of the Theatre had been erased — but she still felt the sting of failing him again. Unable to meet his eyes, Emilia let go.
“Looks like we’re here again. Well, that was one hell of a show. But at least bro’s here,” Aldebaran said.
“You’re right! We’re here again, and even Subaru-dono is with us this time! What a beautiful surprise,” said the clown who owned the mansion.
The entire group felt emotionally moved by Subaru’s presence. Finally, they could say what they wanted — what they had been unable to when he was absent.
But something was wrong.
Subaru looked at Rem — alive and well. He rushed forward, bursting into tears as he hugged his favorite maid.
“O-oh! Ohhhh!” Subaru cried, holding her tight.
Rem couldn’t meet his gaze. Not out of hatred, but because she didn’t have the courage. She had killed him — again. Her eyes were cold, empty, except for a single tear she couldn’t bring herself to shed openly.
Subaru glanced back at his friends, a bit stressed.
“Oh guys, this is Rem-chan, Ram’s sister,” Subaru said, looking around.
Silence filled the room. Priscilla smirked, intrigued. Reinhardt lowered his gaze, unable to face Subaru. Julius looked equally burdened. Darkness weighed on their faces, and no one dared look up — except for a few exceptions.
“Subaru,” Petra said quietly.
“Huh?”
“Can you Return by Death?”
He froze. His eyes widened impossibly wide, pupils shrinking like they were trying to disappear. The world around him muted, as if reality itself had paused. His heart slammed against his ribs, loud enough to drown out thought. His stomach dropped fast and brutal, like falling off a cliff with no bottom. For a moment, he forgot how to breathe. His mouth opened, then shut, then opened again — but no sound came out. Not even a gasp. Just silence. Heavy and absolute.
Cold sweat broke across his skin. Shame crawled up his spine with clawed fingers. The walls seemed to tilt in to mock him, like every phone screen in the world was turned toward him. His hands twitched uselessly, as if he could reach into time and rip it backward. But it was done. Irreversible.
He tried to lie, but when he looked around, everyone pitied him. They knew he was lying, but no one said anything — just held onto the off chance he was telling the truth.
Before anyone could process anything, the lights cut out. The room sank into darkness. A beat — then the screen flashed to life, and sound erupted as a weird man in a suit appeared. By his look, he wasn’t from around here; maybe he was from Subaru’s world.
The man had no face, like a dark illusion. Reinhardt attacked him with a swing of his sword — a move that showed Reinhardt recognized the man as a worthy opponent. He sliced through the figure, destroying his body with one strike.
“What was that?” Felt asked her knights.
“I thought he might be a threat, milady,” someone replied.
“But what if he had an idea about how to get us out of here?”
Reinhardt closed his eyes briefly, scared by the wrath of his master, stressed and unsure.
When he opened them again, the man was looking at him, his sword still in its sheath.
Julius lunged at the figure, but the man punched him hard, injuring but not killing him.
“Does he have the authority of Sloth?” Julius gasped, catching his breath.
“Let’s not use violence right now. What about diplomacy?” the man suggested.
“The fuck is diplomacy?!” Garfield shouted, jumping toward the floating man.
The man stopped Garfield mid-air with nothing but a glance.
“Now, you don’t seem to like Twister, do you?” the man said, frustrated at being interrupted.
“Anyway, let’s talk about your mission here. My name is Rafiel. Why am I here? To deliver justice.”
Rafiel smiled with excitement as he spoke directly to Subaru.
Subaru looked at him, surprised and a little scared, but met his gaze while thinking:
He doesn’t seem to have the authority of Sloth. Otherwise, I would see it. Reinhardt looks intimidated by him — does he know something?
“So, Subaru-sama, I want to say that all of your friends know about your little Return by Death ability.”
Subaru had already processed that earlier when they confronted him.
“You should have seen their faces — terrified, like they were watching a horror movie. We needed to manage a few suicide attempts here and there, but everything went great, don’t mind it.”
Subaru’s fists clenched at his sides, but the storm inside didn’t roar — it simmered, cold and precise. The betrayal cut sharper than any blade, but beneath the burning edge was an unexpected flicker: relief. The weight he’d carried alone for so long suddenly fractured, shards scattering among those who now knew. His voice remained calm, almost too calm, but every word was edged with quiet fire. This wasn’t just anger — it was the unraveling of a secret burden, the twisted freedom of exposure, and the bitter taste of broken trust.
“But look at them now. What are they scared of? You? Your suffering? They’re disgusted, afraid. You should have seen what they did — they killed you once, twice, thrice. They tried to explain their inhuman acts with the maids’ rules, the knights’ pride, the great spirit’s contracts. All unacceptable. Why should you suffer everything while they don’t even face their regrets? You have been killed for every minor inconvenience. I can’t stand this injustice. So, Subaru, welcome to the Theatre of Despair. And for everyone else, welcome to the Tribunal of Despair.”
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