Skip to content 
During the final stages of the Priestella arc, Subaru discovers that the cunning merchant-turned-royal-candidate Anastasia Hoshin wasn’t really Anastasia. At some point during the battle with the Witch Cult, her body had been taken over by a different entity.
At first, Subaru felt that it was the Archbishop of Lust Capella who was impersonating Anastasia. However, on confronting Anastasia at the end, he realizes that her body was actually possessed by a being which called itself Echidna.
Given Subaru’s history with the Witch of Greed Echidna in the Sanctuary, this new reveal leaves him stunned and furious. So, who exactly is this Echidna and why did she possess Anastasia?
Table of Contents
Who is the Echidna possessing Anastasia?
The Echidna who is in control of Anastasia’s body is not the Witch of Greed herself, but rather an artificial spirit created by the Witch Echidna.
Though the artificial spirit shares the same name as the Witch of Greed, she does not have any memories of her creator. True, there are similarities in their behavior, however, that is exactly where the similarities end.
Anastasia met Echidna more than ten years ago, and both of them have been together ever since. Unlike Beatrice (also an artificial spirit), she does not have the capacity to form a formal contract with a human. Despite that, she ended up forming a deep bond with Anastasia, considering her family.
Well initially when they met, Echidna was curious as to what a young Anastasia, who had a penchant for making bold and greedy claims, would achieve in her life. However, as they spent more time together, she ended up turning into a guardian of sorts for Anastasia.
This behavior is very much in contrast with the Witch of Greed, who only saw people as a means to satiate her curiosity (remember the contract she pitched to Subaru?).
Artificial spirit Echidna’s real form is the elegant, white fox-fur muffler that Anastasia is usually seen wearing. And in order to make a distinction, Subaru begins calling this Echidna Foxidna (Light novel translation) or Eridna (the Japanese name). The artificial spirit is also known in the fandom as Scarfdona.
How and why did Echidna take over Anastasia?
The reason why Eridna took over Anastasia’s body is rooted in Anastasia’s defective Gate. In the Re:Zero universe, a person’s gate is responsible for absorbing atmospheric mana and is a crucial part of an individual being able to use magic.
Anastasia having a defective gate resulted in the absorption function of the gate being non-functional. This left her in a chronic state of mana deprivation. As a result Anastasia could not use magic.
When the Witch Cult attacked Priestella, Anastasia was put in a situation where it was imperative for her to fight. In order to make sure that Anastasia would be able to use magic if push came to shove, Eridna takes over her body.
And we do see her using magic as she, Al and Ferris trapped Capella. Al was visibly confused when he saw Anastasia use Magic. But now, we know the answer as to what happened.
Eridna’s takeover was an act of desperation to protect Anastasia, especially considering the perilous situation in Priestella.
Using Anastasia’s Od (the foundation of life) as a medium, Eridna overwrote Anastasia’s consciousness with her own, effectively taking control of her body.
This was not done maliciously but with Anastasia’s prior permission, which Eridna explicitly states to Subaru.
This wasn’t the first time Eridna had borrowed Anastasia’s body; in fact, she had done the same on three separate occasions before (making this the fourth time).
However, there was a problem this time with the possession. Eridna found herself unable to extract herself from Anastasia’s body, leaving Anastasia’s consciousness in a deep sleep within her Od.
Now, this might seem like a perfect solution. With Eridna in possession, Anastasia could use magic and maybe be stronger. But no, that was not it.
In fact, Eridna being in possession of Anastasia’s body didn’t automatically fix her gate. In fact, Echidna was using the mana which was essentially Anastasia’s life force to cast the spells.
So, basically, Eridna was shaving away Anastasia’s life itself by using magic, and that was not a good thing. Though Eridna was a spirit who didn’t need too much magic, it was still killing Anastasia slowly.
How did Subaru figure out Anastasia was different?
Subaru’s realization that the Anastasia in front of him was an imposter was based on the changes in Anastasia’s demeanor.
According to Subaru, despite being a realist, Anastasia was someone who should have been visibly shaken by the damages that her camp sustained. Seeing that the royal candidate was able to maintain calm even in such a harsh time, Subaru began to have doubts about her.
It’s true Anastasia is the biggest realist of the candidates, but she would still be shaken at having someone that close to her suffer the sort of injury Ricardo did. At the very least, she wouldn’t have acted that emotionlessly.
Subaru to Echidna, LN vol. 20.
To put it simply, it was Anastasia’s lack of inherent humanity, despite her pragmatic nature, which helped Subaru recognize the imposter.
Interestingly, Foxidna revealed that Subaru wasn’t the first to notice the difference. Priscilla Barielle had also seen through her disguise, calling her a “she-fox,” referring to the fox scarf.
Subaru’s past experiences with the Witch Echidna made him immediately distrustful and hostile towards this artificial spirit bearing the same name.
However, as their conversation progressed, he began to understand that this Echidna was a separate entity with her own motivations, primarily centered around her deep affection and responsibility towards Anastasia.
Why couldn’t Anastasia get back control of her body?
As I mentioned above, though Eridna had takenover Anastasia’s body multiple times in the past, this was the first time they experienced a problem.
The artificial spirit was no longer able to switch back with Anastasia. And this was her primary motivation for suggesting that everyone visit the Pleiades Tower to meet the Sage Shaula.
Eridna wanted to know why Anastasia won’t take back control of her own body, why she chose to slumber deep in her own Od.
However, it seems that Eridna already knew the answer to the question, its just that she didn’t realize it sooner.
By locking herself deep within her own consciousness, her Od, Anastasia made sure that she wouldn’t lose anything that was close to her. For a girl who was greedy enough to own everything in the world, it seemed like a fair choice.
But that is just a poetic way of saying things.
Truth be told, if Anastasia were to come out and possess her body again, she would be affected by the authority of Gluttony. Meaning, she would end up forgetting her knight Julius. From the information that we get to know in Arc 6, Anastasia was probably aware (subconsciously) that she would forget Julius if she took back control of her body.
The reason was obvious. If she came outside, she might be affected. Out here, she was vulnerable to the influence of the Archbishop of Gluttony’s fearsome authority. That might force her to forget things she wanted to remember. It could force her to let go of things she wanted to hold on to.
Echidna’s monologue (Arc 6 Volume 25 (Good Loser).
Anastasia Hoshin could forget Julius Juukulius.
And that was not something she wanted to happen. So, she chose to slumber away in her Od, letting Eridna do the heavy lifting.
However, after witnessing Julius put up one of the best fights of his life – albeit as a nameless knight – against an opponent far stronger than himself – Eridna forces or convinces Anastasia to return to her body.
Yes, she does end up forgetting Julius, but the situation with the artificial spirit does get solved there.
