"Re:ZERO − Starting Life in Another World," or Re:ZERO for short, is a hugely popular fantasy adventure set in a looping world. The long-awaited second season of the anime has been confirmed! The trailer features a mysterious woman having tea amid a sea of corpses. This article will introduce her, so please be careful if you don't want spoilers.
The true identity of this mysterious woman is...
The mysterious woman who appears in the trailer for the second season of the anime is Echidna, the Witch of Greed. She's a beautiful silver-haired woman clad in a jet-black dress, and bears a passing resemblance to Emilia. Incidentally, Echidna was killed by the "Witch of Envy," Satella, 400 years ago when she was 19 years old. Currently, only her soul remains in this world.
Why the Witch of Greed?
The reason Echidna is called the "Witch of Greed" is because of her insatiable desire for knowledge. The target of Echidna's thirst for knowledge becomes the power behind Subaru's "Return by Death," and she attempts to contact him. For some reason, Echidna knows about Subaru's "Return by Death" and is interested in the parallel worlds that can be seen when he does so.
Do you like Subaru?
For Echidna, "the desire for knowledge is love." She believes that wanting to know about Subaru's Return by Death powers means wanting to know about him, which means loving him. In other words, while she thinks she loves Subaru, it certainly isn't "love" from the perspective of others. Furthermore, Echidna doesn't really understand other people's feelings, and all of her communication with others is mere imitation.
Relationship with Beatrice.
Echidna and Beatrice have a deep connection. In fact, it was Echidna who created Beatrice. Beatrice is a spirit, but she is actually an artificial spirit created by Echidna. It's amazing that spirits can be created!
Echidna's Past
Echidna lived 400 years ago. There was someone who had a deep connection with Echidna during those 400 years...that person was Roswaal! Technically, however, her body is not the Roswaal of today, but her spirit is. In fact, it was Echidna who unlocked Roswaal's incredibly powerful magical abilities.
Roswaal's True Identity and Purpose.
In fact, Roswaal has been living for 400 years by overwriting his spirit into the bodies of his descendants. This means he has the experience and knowledge of someone who has lived for 400 years. But why is Roswaal doing this? It's because he wants to meet Echidna again. At this point, it's clear that Roswaal is holding many secrets!
Echidna's Gospel
Echidna left behind a book known as the Gospel, which reveals the future. Roswaal and Beatrice each possess a copy. Various events have emerged from Roswaal's Gospel over the past 400 years, and Roswaal has acted according to the book's instructions. It also contains information about Subaru's Return by Death power. In other words, Roswaal knows everything.
Beatrice's Contract
The Gospel, where Beatrice's writing should have appeared, remained blank for 400 years. So, as Echidna instructed, he continued to abide by the contract to "protect the archive's secrets until 'that person' arrives." However, "that person" was a fictional character created by Echidna, and the contract was intended to satisfy Echidna's desire for knowledge and to see who Beatrice would choose as "that person." This is a painful truth for Beatrice, who calls Echidna "mother" and places absolute trust in her...
Echidna seduces Subaru.
Chapter 4 of the novel marks a major turning point in the story. Here, Echidna offers Subaru sweet words. Echidna, who knows about Subaru's Return by Death, approaches him pretending to listen to his troubles, as he cannot tell anyone about it. At first glance, Echidna may seem like an easy person to talk to, but her true purpose is to use Subaru's Return by Death power to observe various patterns in parallel worlds. When Subaru realizes this, of course he does not give in to Echidna's sweet temptation.
"Echidna, the Greedy Witch" Summary
In this article, we've introduced Echidna, the Greedy Witch, and the people she's closely associated with. Hopefully, you've learned more about her personality and that she's truly driven solely by her thirst for knowledge. Echidna also appears in the trailer for the second season of the anime! We can't wait to see what she'll do in the second season!
