Satella/Synopsis

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Villain Overview Synopsis Gallery

The history of Satella from Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World.

Background

Satella, a silver-haired half-elf, lived four-hundred years before the events of the story. At some point, she absorbed the Envy Witch Factor, which bestowed the Authority of Envy upon her. However, the half-elf wasn't compatible with the Factor, leading to the creation of a split personality dubbed the Witch of Envy. The Witch of Envy possessed a burning sense of jealousy and was nearly impossible to reason with. With the Envy Witch Factor, Satella joined the Witches of Sin, a group of seven other women and one man who each possessed a Witch Factor of their own. Its other members were Carmilla, Daphne, Echidna, Hector, Minerva, Pandora, Sekhmet, and Typhon who possessed the sins of Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Melancholy, Wrath, Vainglory, Sloth, and Pride respectively. Of the group, Satella was closest to the Witch of Pride Typhon and the Witch of Wrath Minerva. Each of the Witches, including Satella, was dreaded around the world due to the massive amounts of chaos and death they sowed. Once a year, the Witches of Sin (excluding Hector and Pandora) would come together and have a Tea Party.

Although the abilities granted by the Authority of Envy haven't been detailed, Satella was the strongest of the Witches by a large margin. For unexplained reasons, Satella (notably not the Witch of Envy personality), lost control of her power and devoured six of the other eight Witches of Sin, and although the status of Hector remained unknown, Pandora was able to avoid Satella's actions. Notably, none of the six Witches devoured by Satella held a grudge against her with the exception of the Witch of Greed Echidna, instead directing their ire towards the Witch of Envy. After consuming the other Witches, Satella began a destructive rampage that led to the desolation of half of the entire world. She was eventually defeated by the combined efforts of the Holy Dragon Volcanica, the first Master Swordsman Reid Astrea, the Sage Flugel, and Flugel's apprentice Shaula. According to legend, the Dragon Sword Reid wielded by the Master Swordsman landed the final blow on the Witch. Upon her defeat, Satella was imprisoned in a shrine located near the Great Waterfall where she was constantly observed by Shaula.

In the aftermath of her rampage, Satella was universally considered a detestable figure. Even after four centuries since the calamity, the general populace expressed unease at the mere mention of the Witch's name. Half-elves, especially those with silver hair, faced prejudice due to the actions of Satella amongst all echelons of society. Despite the prejudice held against the half-elves, commoners still saw it as unnecessarily cruel to directly refer to one as Satella. Sometime after her imprisonment, a cult known as the Witch Cult was founded in reverence of the Witch of Envy. The Cult sought to free the Witch from her confinement and was led by the Sin Archbishops, the individuals who had inherited the Witch Factors of the six witches Satella had destroyed. The organization committed many atrocities in Satella's name, earning the hostility of several nations. The scent that Satella carried during her life became identifiable to some people, as the devout of the Witch were often covered in the stench.

Summoning Subaru

“	A scary witch, a truly terrifying witch. To even speak her name would chill you to the bone. Everybody referred to her as... the Witch of Envy.	„
	~ Subaru reading a history book out-loud.

Four hundred years past by and both of Satella's personalities fell in love with a young man from another world named Subaru Natsuki. Subaru Natsuki was a seventeen-year-old adolescent man who lived in Japan, a nation on a planet called Earth that was devoid of magic, instead relying solely on technology. The reasons behind Satella's feelings for the boy are currently unknown, as is when exactly she fell for Subaru. Regardless of the origins of her feelings, one or both of Satella's personalities used their power to transport Subaru from his world to the Dragonfriend Kingdom of Lugunica, a nation heavily affiliated with Volcanica, the dragon that had been instrumental to Satella's defeat four centuries ago. In the process, Satella also bestowed her scent on Subaru as well as an ability he would eventually call "Return by Death."

Return by Death allowed Subaru to return to a pre-established point in time every time he died. The point which Subaru returned to would update occasionally, making the ability act similar to a save point system in a video game. Subaru had no control over when the save point was, a variable that was presumably completely random or controlled by Satella. Return by Death also had a "curse" which prevented Subaru from telling anyone about it. Every time he attempted to tell anyone about the power, time would stop and Satella's shadowy miasma would engulf Subaru. The Witch would use the Unseen Hand to caress and/or grasp Subaru's heart, installing a wave of crippling fear in him that would ensure his silence. If Satella's grasp wouldn't deter Subaru, the Witch of Envy would simply kill whomever he told with the Unseen Hand. Every time Subaru died or tried to declare he could use Return by Death, the scent of the Witch grew thicker on him.

An artistic representation of Satella found in a children's book.

Not long after being summoned to Lugunica, Subaru was killed by the Bowel Hunter Elsa Granhiert, marking his first Return by Death. It took Subaru three deaths to understand the power bestowed upon him, although he remained clueless about its origins. Subaru first learnt about Satella from Emilia, a silver-haired half-elf girl who'd initially identified herself as Satella before revealing the context of the name to him. Using Return by Death, Subaru was able to find a way to save Emilia from certain death at the hands of the Bowel Hunter via trial and error. This became Subaru's reluctant main method of solving his problems, as he would use Return by Death to gather information on his opponents and events that surrounded them, using timing and all the resources at his disposal to essentially stop dangerous events before they could occur.

After the Bowel Hunter battle, Subaru was invited to stay in the mansion of Roswaal L. Mathers by Emilia as thanks for saving her. During his stay, he read the story of the Witch in a children's book and was later further briefed on Satella's life and characteristics by Beatrice. Rem, the head maid of the mansion, assassinated Subaru because she believed he was connected to the Witch Cult as a result of the scent that lay upon his person. Around this time, Subaru tried to tell Emilia about Return by Death, leading him to discover the curse that insured he couldn't tell anyone about the power. After several more events transpired, Subaru came to the realization that it was the Witch who had bestowed Return by Death on him, although he remained uncertain of the reason.

The Ordeal

Sometime after Subaru arrived in Lugunica, members of the Witch Cult led by the Sin Archbishop of Sloth Petelgeuse Romanée-Conti conspired to use the body of Emilia as a vessel for Satella to possess, hoping to free the Witch from her imprisonment. Emilia, despite her heritage, was one of the five candidates considered to become the 42nd ruler of Lugunica with the political backing of Margrave Roswaal L. Mathers. As such, the Cult had to enter the Mathers domain to enact their plan, which they called "the Ordeal."

Subaru, who had romantic feelings for Emilia, sought to save her from her intended fate after learning of the Cult's plan. He died several times in the process. During one of these failed attempts, Subaru resolved to tell Emilia about his secret power regardless of the fear Satella would infect him with. Meeting with Emilia in the Roswaal mansion, Subaru was able to overcome the embrace of the Unseen Hand. However, the secret was kept, as the Witch used the Unseen Hand to kill Emilia instead.

Satella whispering words of affection into Subaru's ear.

After a few failed attempts to save Emilia, Subaru decided to enlist the military aid of Duchess Crusch Karsten and Miss Anastasia Hoshin. However, to secure their assistance Subaru first needed to help Karsten and Hoshin annihilate the White Whale, a terrifying beast that had been created by Daphne, the Witch of Gluttony, four centuries prior. Mabeasts, including the Whale, were attracted to the scent of Satella. During the battle Subaru acted as bait for the Whale, twice declaring he could use Return by Death so that the scent of the Witch would thicken on him. When Subaru did so, Satella whispered affectionate words into his ear alongside her usual warped displays of love. Due to the scent of the Witch that lay upon Subaru, the subjugation force was able to kill the Whale.

With the Whale defeated, Subaru and his allies were able to move into the Mathers domain in their attempt to destroy the Witch Cult presence that infested it. In the process, Subaru confronted Petelgeuse and used his connection to the Witch to irritate the Sin Archbishop, claiming that he and the Witch were intimate as she'd even grasped his heart. Furious, Petelgeuse relentlessly pursued Natsuki until he was led to the base of a cliff where the latter's ally Julius Juukulius, a Spirit Knight of Lugunica, was waiting in ambush to kill Sloth.

The intruder

“	Petelgeuse: Oh yes, I've waited so long... waited for your love. Merciful love, affectionate love. Satella: No... You're not the one.	„
	~ Satella rebuking Petelgeuse's feelings.

Sloth, who was being thoroughly dominated in battle by Juukulius, began to question why the love the Witch had bestowed upon him was failing him for the first time in his life. After being backed into a corner by the combined efforts of Subaru and Julius, Petelgeuse Romanée-Conti tried to possess Subaru's body in a last-ditch effort to survive. Understanding that, for whatever reason, the Witch favored him, Subaru declared that he could use Return by Death. As Natsuki predicted, Petelgeuse's bodiless soul found itself in the realm of darkness that the Witch inhabited. Within the realm, a figure of utter blackness blotting out the immeasurable darkness of the world manifested itself—Satella, the Witch of Envy, had appeared before her devout follower.

Satella banishing Petelgeuse Romanée-Conti's soul from Subaru's body.

Petelgeuse, who was unable to express his love because of his lack of a body, was overjoyed to see the woman he had dedicated a majority of his life to. On the other hand, Satella, who had been expecting Subaru, felt nothing but dismay and despondency. As she expressed her disappointment in words, a new emotion began to swell in the Witch of Envy—anger. The Jealous Witch's rage blossomed, as the emergence of a figure who was not Subaru in a place that she considered to be just for the two of them stoked the fires of her infamous possessiveness.

The words the Witch projected at the Sin Archbishop, which whole-heartedly rejected the soul of her devout follower, shook with fury. Petelgeuse, who could only bare witness to the Witch's rage, was banished from the body of Natsuki by Envy. Satella, now alone once again, gazed into the abyss while earnestly chanting her love for Subaru over and over again, a whisper that, much like Petelgeuse's feelings, went unheard. Shortly there after, the Sin Archbishop of Sloth, who was utterly steeped in dejection by the Witch's rejection, was crushed under an avalanche of his own concoction.

The promise

“	Subaru: Next time, I'll probably come to meet you. Satella:—I'll be waiting.	„
	~ Subaru and Satella promising to meet again.

Unfortunately for Natsuki, however, the minions of Petelgeuse had one last trump card, as a smuggled explosive rested within the carriage that was transporting Emilia to the capital. Subaru, upon learning of the bomb, rushed after Emilia's carriage before it could explode. During his desperate attempt to catch up to the carriage, Natsuki was intercepted by the ever-diligent Petelgeuse who had survived. Sloth ordered Natsuki to hand over his body so that the Sin Archbishop could meet Satella again. His persistence was in vain however, as Subaru was able to single-handedly defeat the already severely-crippled Petelgeuse. Upon the Witch Cultist's death, Natsuki inadvertently absorbed the Sloth Witch Factor from the madman's corpse. Eventually catching up with the carriage, Subaru retrieved the bomb and personally carried it into an isolated area. The bomb detonated before Subaru himself could properly escape the blast radius, knocking the Japanese teenager firmly unconscious in the process.

Teetering on death, Subaru's mind once again entered the realm of darkness. Satella broke the utter darkness that engulfed Natsuki by uttering "I love you" to the boy. As Satella repeated the phrase once again with a face drenched with anguish, her obscured form appeared before the boy like it had to Petelgeuse. She slowly approached Subaru while spinning her words of love for him. Although he desperately wanted to conform to the Witch's offering, another voice, bright with light, pierced through the realm of darkness.

The voice, that belonged to Emilia, was calling Subaru from the other side, begging him to come back to the world of light. Satella grew more and more desperate with her offering, as she realized she was losing Natsuki to the light. The Witch reached out to her beloved with arms woven from shadow, hoping to take hold of the man she loved before he could leave her behind once again. However, the arms never reached him, and her voice trembled with sadness as she continued to proclaim her love for Subaru. Although his body did not exist, Natsuki, as he faded into the distance, was able to convey his thoughts to Satella. To the downtrodden Witch, Subaru told Satella that the next time they crossed paths, he would probably face her. Satella let out a surprised gasp at Natsuki's proclamation, and, as he was swallowed by the light, she affirmed that she would wait diligently for that time.

Attack on the Sanctuary

“	I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you... I love you... I love you... I love you.	„
	~ The Witch of Envy uttering her feelings of love to the terrified Subaru Natsuki.

A veiled Satella appeared before Subaru in the Sanctuary.

Later, the Witch of Envy entered the Sanctuary, a large secretive forested area where the Witch of Greed was laid to rest after her demise. The Witch covered the entire surface of the Sanctuary in black shadow that eroded anything it touched regardless of whether it was organic or inorganic. Subaru, who was in the Sanctuary, was extremely shocked to find the state that had befallen the Sanctuary as he had been sheltered in Echidna's tomb during the Witch's assault. The Witch, covered in a veil of darkness, materialized herself before Subaru under the moon light. The wriggling black shadow spoke her three special words reserved only for him—"I love you." The words of the Witch enveloped the helpless Natsuki in a curtain of sweetness that completely immobilized him.

With the break of the taboo, Subaru watched the Sanctuary slowly sink into the shadows of the Witch. As she slowly approached her paralyzed beloved, the Jealous Witch continuously chanted her love to Natsuki. Extending a finger towards his cheek, the Witch began to caress his face as she showered him with her words of utter devotion and affection. Breaching into his mind, Satella looked for information regarding the people Subaru loved, as she sought to kill them so she could monopolize Natsuki's affections. As Subaru began to sink into the abyss of Envy's feelings, an abrupt new arrival interrupted the "tender" moment. A young man with gruff features came crashing down from the sky, forcing a wedge between Subaru and the Witch with the sheer destructive impact of his strike. The boy, Garfiel Tinzel, hurriedly picked up Natsuki and bound into the tree tops that were untouched by the Witch's shadow. The Witch of Envy quickly returned to her senses and launched a massive salvo of destructive shadows at Tinzel that engulfed the entire forest in its wake as he leapt through the tree tops.

Despite the apocalyptic feat of destruction showcased by the Witch that churned up countless trees and destroyed numerous houses, Garfiel and Subaru were able to find safe footing on top of a house. As they caught their breath, Tinzel explained the situation to Subaru. Natsuki, who already had enough problems on his plate, furiously questioned the Witch's presence as the large mass of shadows continued to plunge the Sanctuary into eternal darkness. However, the Witch proceeded to ignore her beloved as she headed for the outskirts of the Sanctuary with the intention of breaching the barrier that surrounded it. Her goal was to head to the mansion of Roswaal L. Mathers she had seen in Subaru's memories, as it was the residence of several of Natsuki's loved ones. Natsuki and Garfiel, who both knew the barrier of the Sanctuary would stop Satella in her tracks, resolved to take vengeance on the Jealous Witch by destroying her physical body.

Envy, with killing intent fuelling her actions, swiftly floated towards the boundary of the Sanctuary with her shadows trailing behind her. Her relentless advance was eventually confronted by Garfiel and Subaru, who had used the tree tops to circle around and catch up to her. The pair of young men were standing in a small opening with an army of emotionless young girls at their command. These children were all magical replicas of a half-elven girl named Ryuzu Meyer who the Witch of Greed had experimented on over four hundred years ago. The replicas of Ryuzu Meyer were bound to the commands of Garfiel and Subaru because they had both attempted the Trial of the Sanctuary in the past and were therefore considered Apostles of Greed by Echidna.

Noticing her beloved standing before her, the Witch of Envy halted her movement and once again told Subaru that she loved him. The Witch hovered over Garfiel and the replicas of Ryuzu, hoping to envelop Subaru who was standing at the back of the formation. In response, Tinzel, filled with righteous fury, leapt at the Witch while shape-shifting into a bulky anthrompohpic bipedal tiger. Noticing the change in her surroundings, the Witch immediately extended her shadows to defend herself from the great tiger's oncoming assault. Grasping his limbs with her shadowy tendrils, Satella began to tear into Garfiel's enlarged body. Seeing their commander in distress, the many replicas of Ryuzu joined the fray. With zero regard for their own lives, the Ryuzus courageously leapt at the Witch, who used her shadowy tendrils to impale them as they approached.

However, Satella had made an oversite, as the slaughtered replicas began imploding, causing a series of powerful magical explosions. The living copies of Ryuzu followed suite by leaping at the Witch while detonating themselves in an attempt to bring her down. However, Envy, who had been using her tendrils to keep the children at bay, was ultimately left unharmed by their lethal attack. Fortunately for the heavily-wounded Garfiel, the replicas' attack gave him an ample opportunity to make one last gambit against the Witch of Envy. Anticipating an attack, Satella raised a defensive wall of shadows to keep her barbaric foe at bay. Garfiel, however, was able to breach her defense with his mighty fists and land a powerful blow on the figure doused in shadows. Ultimately, the attack proved to be in vain, as the shadows woven around the Witch's body nullified the physical force. Completely unscathed, Satella used her shadows to shred Garfiel into bloody mist.

With the death of Garfiel and the replicas of Ryuzu Meyer, Subaru and the Witch of Envy were alone in the moonlit forest. With no further interruptions, the woman caked in shadows began slowly approaching her beloved, wriggling into his heart with her words of infatuation along the way. The words of the Witch only served to fuel Subaru's disgust and resentment, who saw the love she offered as a selfish perversion of true adoration. After uttering "I love you" over and over and over again, the Witch chose to call Natsuki by his name, sending a shiver up the young man's spine. Knowing he couldn't wound her physically, Subaru began hurling a barrage of insults at the Witch, hoping to make her feel a fraction of the mental turmoil she had caused him. The Witch merely ignored the teenager's words, seemingly unaffected by his verbal abuse as she continued to tell him she loved him over and over again. However, the Jealous Witch's mood was finally shifted when Subaru told her that he found the other Witches of Sin more desirable than her, a statement that ignited her jealousy.

Satella crying as Subaru died from his wounds.

Finally halting her curse-like words of love, the Witch of Envy engulfed Subaru in the shadows surrounding her. With feelings much more forceful than before, Satella began ordering Natsuki to love her over and over at a pace that exceeded her previous ramblings. The words cut deeply into Natsuki's soul, shredding apart his emotions as Satella slowly began to dissolve his mind with her shadows. The feelings and emotions harbored by Subaru began merging with those of the victims of the Witch. He remembered that Echidna done something to the Petra's handkerchief as she knew this was gonna happen, The handkerchief turned into a blade and Subaru killed himself and Satella stopped saying I love you. However, before Subaru died he unmasked Satella and vowed to Satella that he would save her.