Warning: The following contains spoilers for Re:Cipher - Starting Life in Another World , Flavour 2, Episode 12, "The Witches' Tea Party," at present streaming on Crunchyroll.

The mysterious Witch of Greed Echidna has finally given Subaru some context for all of her weird machinations, though perhaps he would have been better off non knowing. Backside her grinning, the Witch embodies her namesake entirely as she offers Subaru a rather one-sided proposition following a disturbing revelation regarding Return past Death.

Later on a fleck of exposition where Subaru recounts his experience with Roswaal -- namely, that the patriarch of the business firm is aware of Return by Death and is exploiting it for some unknown goal -- he does the simply logical thing by returning to the Sanctuary to consult Echidna. As he enters the temple wherein the Trials have place, Subaru asks once again to be invited to Echidna's tea party merely to be rendered unconscious.

Suddenly a vision of a dead Subaru appears, his limp body haemorrhage out beside the presumably dead Rem as Emilia and Felis endeavor to resurrect him, to no avail. The vision is the first fourth dimension Subaru witnesses the backwash of Return past Death, a glimpse into an alternate earth presented by a mysterious vox telling him to behold the unthinkable. Again the voice echoes through the bedchamber and Subaru returns to another post-Return by Decease reality where he'd been murdered, leaving behind his mourning allies. When he awakes, Subaru is thrust yet again into an alternate reality where his death has a serious result on those who care for him -- until he reaches one where Puck, standing in a frozen wasteland, is fix to destroy the globe.

Puck, who had previously promised to destroy the world should anything happen to Emilia, is in his savage-creature form when he is confronted by Reinhardt. Just equally the confrontation escalates towards barbarous boxing, Puck coldly tells Reinhardt that he'll only ever be a hero. As Reinhardt lifts his Dragon Sword, Puck is completely destroyed. The Dragon Sword is said to merely piece of work at its full ability for worthy opponents, meaning Puck was truly set to total the world.

When Subaru wakes again, he's subjected to a montage of worlds in which he died either by his ain hand or by others'. When he begs for it to stop, Rem appears. She offers to console him and the battered Subaru obliges before realizing that she couldn't possibly be at that place. Lucky for him, the illusion is shattered and the Witch of Animalism appears in her stead. Using a power called "Faceless Helpmate," Lust appears as whatever her target desires the almost -- and also forces the person to forget to breathe, suffocating them. Echidna steps in before that can happen, notwithstanding, and Subaru is thrust into her Tea Party.

Righteously upset, Subaru asks why he was shown these awful visions and bluntly Echidna tells him that they may actually exist in, well, another globe. This flips the entirety of Re:Null on its end and gives the pregnant of "Starting Life in a New World" an entirely different context. If Subaru is actually leaving behind the worlds he physically dies in, that means he'south too leaving behind endless versions of his allies to mourn and endure without him.

But there'southward no time to consider the consequences as Echidna presents Subaru with a contract. By allowing Echidna to "take part" in his Return by Death, she will assist him in working his style toward a "happy ending." Earlier he tin can hold to the somewhat loose terms, the Witch of Wrath interrupts the proceedings to inform Subaru that Echidna isn't beingness honest regarding the terms, specifically, the portions of the agreement that would exist bad for him.

When Lust arrives, even more is revealed regarding Echidna'southward true intent: she wants a taste of everything Subaru uncovers. When the Witch of Sloth appears, she notes that the promise would exist preceded by "in the finish," whenever that may be. Every bit the rest of the Witches announced, Echidna reveals that while Subaru would receive the "all-time possible ending," he may not take the "best possible path." Earlier a decision can be made, the Witches shudder in unison as the final and most powerful of them all appears. Satella, the Witch of Envy, has arrived and the others are not happy to see her.

With the latest revelation regarding Return by Death on his mind, Subaru'south choice of whether or not to agree to Echidna'south terms may very well residue on his ability to live with the guilt of abandoning his friends to a earth without him.

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Chris O'Neal (69 Manufactures Published)

Chris O'Neal is a announcer and author based in Birmingham, England. Previously, he was a journalist based in Ventura, California, and prior to that, an ESL teacher in Seoul, South korea. Chris cutting his anime chops on convention floors in the early aughts and enjoys introducing unsuspecting friends to the wild world of '90s anime. He has written for numerous print and online publications including VegNews and the Ventura County Reporter.

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