Re;Living Their Past

Return by Death

Minerva was on the verge of tears, watching Flugel tread in dangerous waters, for now he was peeling 'tatoes.

After he told Echidna that he would become her Instigator, she led the trio to her kitchen, where they would have to make their own food.

Echidna was now using a fire crystal to heat a stove, which would boil the 'tatoes that Flugel was currently peeling. She was in a dreamy state, probably because she finally found the answer to her hopes and seemingly impossible dreams.

This new situation created an odd atmosphere for Flugel. In the past, he had made 'tatoes with Rem and Ram, in a time when everything was still simple.

Now, he was making a very similar meal with Echidna and Minerva, and he didn't know how he should be feeling.

Should he hold on to his past and hope to return to the future, or should he accept his new present and live happily with the two women who he was beginning to grow close to?

Thinking back, he still had to kill Pandora, and he still had to live out his life with... umm...

Who? Who was that person that always came to the edge of his mind, but never came into view? There was definitely somebody who he cared about deeply, but Flugel could not remember her.

Should he go back to his time and find out? Should he go back to the life that he had fought so hard for? 

Even if he chose yes, how?

How can he travel forward in time?

Or on a similar note, how can he travel back in time, when he was still in the future?

His hands stopped peeling the 'tatoes as a phrase came into mind. This was an evil phrase, but one that he had come to know well.

Return by Death.

This ability allowed him to go back to a specific point in time when he died, meaning that he could potentially die and then go back to a point before his confrontation with Pandora.

If this theory was correct, then he had to kill himself as soon as possible to get back. 

In the midst of these thoughts, Flugel resumed his peeling and looked at the two Witches who stood near him. 

Minerva looked at him with worry, not wanting him to cut himself with the knife.

Echidna glanced back at him and gave a warm smile, radiating gratitude for his dedication to becoming her Instigator.

This sight was one that would be painful to get rid of, but would it be worse than potentially giving up the only chance to return to his rightful place?

He didn't know.

There was a chance that his death would only send him back to a time after he arrived here, and even worse was the chance that his ability didn't work in this new time.

Time was a very complex thing, so he didn't know how it translated to Return by Death.

Would it act like he never got it? Would it still apply to him? Would it automatically send him back to a time after he got it (which would be in the future)? Would it 'refresh' and send him back sometime in the last day and a half?

Flugel didn't know the right answer, and he couldn't make up his mind. As a result, he needed to secure a way to kill himself in the case that he decided to follow through with his desperate plan.

Next to Flugel's hand was a cup that held several knives, and he 'accidentally' knocked it over, spilling a few knives on the floor.

"Whoops!" he exclaimed while jumping away, making sure to be careful of every knife. While Minerva and Echidna were still processing what happened, Subaru crouched down and began picking the knives up.