Re:ZERO; Ram:IF (Original)

Chapter 35: The Dream of Despair

"Huh? Where am I? It's so cold..."

Subaru's vision returned to a familiar scene. He was sitting at the desk in his room, with the crystal lamp dimming his surroundings. Looking to his right, he notices windows that show the moonlight shining in the night's sky.

He was present at the Mathers' mansion, but how did he get here?

"What just happened...?" Thinking to himself, he gets up from his seat. The scent of the mansion made him feel a strong sense of peace and nostalgia. But why?

He puts a hand over his face. "Guess I'll take a walk." He nods to himself, walking over to the white door of his room. He turns the doorknob and enters the hallway. Red carpet laid across from left to right, lights lit the hallway, giving it a soft yellow glow. Once again, the strange feeling of nostalgia came back to him.

Choosing to ignore it, he walks through the hallway, finding the staircase downward in a short amount of time. He climbs down the steps, coming face to face with the main hall of the mansion. Strangely, it was quiet across the whole mansion. Not even his footsteps echoed throughout the emptiness of the hallways and rooms.

Walking outside, he was met with the courtyard he knew so well. However, no lights were lit. The moonlight illuminated the courtyard, along with the stars above him. "Woah..." Subaru looked up at the sky to be met with countless stars.

He moved forward at a slow pace, falling downward on a patch of grass, staring up at the stars. Relaxing on the soft grass, he felt at peace.

"What a beautiful view..." He thinks out loud.

Throughout this entire time, his mind was blank. He only felt the strange emotion of nostalgia throughout this entire sequence. His mind was still blank, keeping his eyes fixated on the sky. Suddenly, a thought crammed into his mind.

"Where's Ram?"

Suddenly, he heard a loud scream coming from a familiar voice. It was Rem, who sounded very frantic. It echoed loudly throughout the mansion, Subaru being able to hear it from the courtyard's silence.

His instincts immediately kicked in as he jumped up from his position. He looked around frantically. He saw no one. A shadow appeared across the courtyard, hovering from above. Subaru looked up at the mansion to see Ram, his love, standing at the edge of the balcony.

"RAM NO!"

Subaru frantically screamed while running as fast as he humanely could, hoping to save Ram. He did not want to lose her once again, nor go through another death.

He blinked and noticed that Ram was no longer standing on the edge of the balcony anymore. He was about to reconsider his sanity when he heard the terrible sound of a loud crunch and splatter. There, on the concrete ground in front of him, lay Ram in a pile of flesh, bones, blood.

Subaru was left beyond speechless. This was perhaps one of the most brutal deaths he had seen in his history of being in this new world. Organs were strewn all over the place. Her blood was flooding the small area he stood at, her bones stuck out from unique positions of her body.

Lost for words and in shock, he got on his knees and threw up. His vision became hazy as the smell of blood and other substances filled his nose. He got to his feet and looked forward to the mansion's door. He stumbled up the steps of the mansion, opened the door, and collapsed again at the entrance.

Tears flowed down his cheeks. He sobbed, remembering the scene of Ram's corpse he saw only moments ago. He gasped, clenching his fists and looking up, feeling as if his eyes were about to bulge out of their sockets. It filled him with rage. But why?