A Random in Re:Zero

Loop 682 - Part 47

"What the hell is this place?"

The sword led me to Betty's trail, using its magic as a link to find her. When I was creating the dimensional rift, a mental image of this place came to me, and that's what helped me get here, but...

"How am I supposed to find her?"

All that existed was a seemingly endless expanse of darkness. It wasn't an absolute void, because there were still certain things. For example, there was 'light' to reflect colors and 'air' to carry sound, or at least that's how I should explain why I could still see my body and hear my voice.

Otherwise, there was no floor, ceiling, or walls. I found myself floating in a seemingly weightless space. The appearance of this place reminded me of Echidna's dream castle when she stripped away all the decorations, leaving only the cosmic background.

Perhaps that was it: a pocket dimension or something. In any case, I wasn't going to find out by speculating, so I started moving. Since I couldn't walk or kick to propel myself, I used the power of sloth to get around.

As I flew around, I felt time flow differently. I couldn't tell if I was wandering for seconds, days, or centuries. I think I lost track of time because I had no reference point in the earthly world.

The Yin sword had stopped working when I arrived, but at some point it came back to life and began pointing me in a certain direction again. Once more, I spent an indefinite amount of time wandering around that place.

So...

"Betty!"

My eyes lit up when I saw the girl's figure, floating adrift. I accelerated my flight to reach her as quickly as possible, as if she would disintegrate if I didn't.

But Betty didn't disappear, neither before nor after I held her in my arms. I was so relieved that she had survived, that I had been able to find her... I also felt incredibly guilty, since all of this was part of the butterfly effect of my actions.

"Is that you?" She woke up, though she seemed very weak and barely moved. I realized this could be due to the library's destruction. In the first place, I had no idea how or why Betty had been transported here. Perhaps, when that dimension collapsed, the universe didn't know what to do with her and sent her to another dimension at random? I had no idea, but I definitely wasn't going to get the answer with such poor information.

"Yes, it's me. I came to save you."

Betty looked at me with her beautiful eyes, a mix of blue and pink. I could see the pain and sadness in her expression: a feeling accumulated over centuries, fueled by fear and loneliness.

"I... I thought I would finally be free." She murmured, her voice breaking. "Why...? Is it my destiny to suffer like this forever?"

It pained me deeply to see a little girl lamenting that she hadn't been able to die. It made me feel even worse than before, and my desire to comfort her grew stronger.

"Death is not a solution, Betty. Yeah, right, look who's talking. You have to learn to love life."

I wasn't exactly an example of that doctrine, but the important thing was to convey the idea.

"It's never too late to learn. As long as you're alive, you can try as many times as you want."

She closed her eyes for a moment, frowning with an old anguish.

"But that person..."

"There is no such person. You choose your own destiny."

Upon hearing my words, Betty began to cry. I had no idea what was going through her mind, so I simply hugged her silently while she let it all out.