Subaru opened his eyes, but a heavy, unnatural sensation weighed down his entire being.
"W... Where am I? I was just..." Subaru thought to himself, his mind a hazy blur.
He bolted upright, panic surging through him. "That's right! Emilia...!" He looked around in bewilderment. "Where am I? This road... this is where the tree stood, the one where we defeated the White Whale. But..."
He raised his eyes, scanning the horizon left and right to confirm his suspicion. His breath hitched. "The tree... it's not there. It's impossible!"
He suddenly noticed his clothes—they were strange, unfamiliar fabrics. "What on earth...!"
Then, the ultimate shock: his hair. As he looked at a strand falling over his eyes, he realized it had turned snow-white. "What is this?! Is this some kind of joke...?"
Subaru paused, the gears in his mind turning as he connected the impossible dots. "It can't be... Have I traveled back in time? No... no, it's as if my soul has been transplanted into a body that lived hundreds of years ago."
As the realization took hold, he felt it—the Authorities. They were pulsating within his body, settling into a perfect, rhythmic order. Subaru took a few tentative steps, his mind racing.
"So, what will my name be?" he mused. "My old name was that of a Japanese star... so my current name shall be... Flugel."
As he walked, a colossal scorpion emerged, its shadow looming over him.
Without a thought, Subaru's body moved on its own. He unleashed a strange, overwhelming Authority upon the giant beast. The scorpion began to shrink rapidly, its monstrous form shifting and molding until it became a small, young girl.
When she opened her eyes and saw Flugel, she cried out, "Papa! Papa!" and lunged forward to hug him.
Flugel blinked several times, stunned. "Your father? I am nothing more than a Sage."
The girl tilted her head. "Then, I shall call you Master!"
A cold, distant smile played on Flugel's lips. "From now on, your name is Shaula."
"Now, I am the linchpin," Flugel thought to himself. "I am Point Zero. I must lay the foundation that Subaru will walk upon hundreds of years from now. My goal isn't to protect the Emilia who will be born centuries later... my goal is to craft the very path of Subaru's story. I am no longer Subaru... for now, I am the Sage, Flugel."
Shaula stepped back slightly as Flugel resumed his stride. He continued until, before his eyes, he found her—a half-elf girl with silver hair.