Re:Zero - Reincarnated on a Co-op Route

ˢᵗᵃʳˢ ᵃʳᵉ ᶠˡᵒʷⁱⁿᵍ~

ᴹᵒᵒⁿ ⁱˢ ˢʰⁱⁿⁱⁿᵍ~

ʸᵒᵘ ᵐᵃʸ ⁿᵒᵗ ˢᵃʸ ʸᵒᵘ ˡᵒᵛᵉ ᵐᵉ ᵗᵒᵒ~

ˢᵗᵃʳˢ ᵃʳᵉ ᶠˡᵒʷⁱⁿᵍ~

ᴹᵒᵒⁿ ⁱˢ ˢʰⁱⁿⁱⁿᵍ~

ʸᵒᵘ ᵐᵃʸ ⁿᵒᵗ ˢᵃʸ ʸᵒᵘ ˡᵒᵛᵉ ᵐᵉ ᵗᵒᵒ~

ᴴᵉʸ ˢˡᵉᵉᵖʸʰᵉᵃᵈ, ⁱᵗ'ˢ ᵗⁱᵐᵉ ᵗᵒ ʷᵃᵏᵉ ᵘᵖ, ᵗʰᵉ ˢᵗᵒʳʸ ᵐᵘˢᵗ ᵍᵒ ᵒⁿ~

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Nightmare If I had to describe everything that's happened so far, that would be the most accurate word.

What happened last night? Was what I saw real or just an illusion? I don't know...

I can't take it anymore... Why is all this happening to me?

I feel... wet...

The first thing Kaoru feels is how his body is soaked. A chill runs down his skin, and a shiver runs down his spine.

Tsk... A voice echoes in her ears, piercing and almost mocking.

Minutes later, the voice returns, more insistent. "Wake the hell up," the voice commands, raspy and firm.

A bucket of cold water is thrown on Kaoru, making him wake up with a jolt.

"Ah!" he exclaimed, his eyes widening.

Instantly, he realized he was sitting in the hallway of the mansion, his back leaning against a door. He had fallen asleep there, in a state of confusion and terror.

When he looked up, he found Ram, who had an expression of irritation mixed with concern.

"Ram..." muttered Kaoru, still in a daze.

"Yes, I'm Ram, silly," she replied, dropping the bucket of water to the side with a thud.

"Rammm..." said Kaoru again, his voice shaky.

"Yes, you idiot, I'm Ram. What's wrong with you?" Her tone was firm, but there was a hint of concern in her gaze.

"You're not dead?" asked Kaoru, his voice trailing off.

"What are you saying? Of course I'm not dead, did the alcohol make you stupid or something? I woke you up with the bucket because I tried for an hour to get you to wake up, but you just wouldn't open your eyes. I was thinking of kicking you in the balls to see if it would work," Ram explained, crossing her arms and letting out a heavy sigh.

Kaoru stood up, approaching her, his mind still clouded with confusion.

"Hey, are you okay?" she asked, concern pouring from her voice.

Kaoru ignored the question and, with both hands, grabbed Ram's throat, not applying pressure.

"What are you doing, Kaoru?" asked Ram, visibly flustered by his strange attitude.

Kaoru checked Ram's neck, looking for any marks. Nothing.

Was it a hallucination? Everything I saw... was it real? thought Kaoru, his heart pounding.

"Ram, what did we do last night?" he asked, anguish taking over his voice.

Ram blushed like a tomato. "You idiot! Why are you asking me that? Do you want to upset me?" She stammered, clicking her tongue, but her discomfort was palpable.

...

"Ram..." said Kaoru, his voice shaking.

"̵̢̨̭̋̑̌̇̉̓̔͝W̴͙̩͍̉̈̉̓̎h̴͖͊͛̽̐̈́͐̈́̒̈̚ͅẙ̶̯̭ ̸̬̱̰̆̀̒̈̓͛̚a̷̳͙̦̬̟̓̆̓̾̈́̔̂͗͠m̷̼̹͊̐̐͂͝ ̷͙͚̫͈̺̄̿̑̈́̄̊͂͝Ḭ̵̡̨̧̛̥̞̗̝̍͊̂̐̓͝ ̸̧̬̥̘̭̹̀̽͝ͅn̸͖̬̖̹̜̜̪͖͚̔ő̸͉͆̿̎̾̒̊͘͝ẗ̶̤̞͎̼͚͕̠̬̗́̌͂̋͆͂̂ ̶̜̋̈́̊s̴̡̨͍̯̊̄̎̋̃̂́͆͝ò̷͓̻a̵̡͎̘͊̽̈̊͗̓͌k̸̖̞̟̳̮̜͚̠͛̔͜e̴͓̺͈̬͇̦̫̬͍͂̉̀̈́̔d̴̺͔̺͕͇̝̥̲̓̂͛̌͆̆̇̚ͅ?̴̨̦̹̰̫͇̦̤͓̱̓̃̀̓̌̚͝"̸̪̫̪̺̩͎͔̰͊͌ 

Kaoru blinked for a second.

𝘙𝘢𝘮 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦...

"No... no..."

Anxiety began to fill Kaoru's face, rising from his chest like a dark wave.

"Why, what did I do last night?" he repeated to himself as he began to stagger down the halls, his footsteps echoing in the silence.

Please let it not be true. Please, please... Kaoru thought, as tears began to gather in his eyes.

The atmosphere of the mansion was eerie, as if the walls themselves held dark secrets and echoes of distant laughter.

Kaoru approached one of the mansion's bathroom doors, his hand trembling as he reached out for the knob.

This just has to be a bad dream...a nightmare. He smiled through his tears, a gesture that only reflected his despair. He approached the door, ready to face whatever might be behind it.

When Kaoru opened the door, a rush of nausea assaulted him, as if the air itself was permeated with indescribable horror. Uncontrollable vomit erupted from his mouth, each retch reminding him of what he had done last night.

He had killed her. He had killed her. He had killed her. He had killed her. He had killed her. He had killed her. He had killed her. He had killed her. He had killed her. ˙ɹǝɥ pǝllıʞ pɐɥ ǝH ˙ɹǝɥ pǝllıʞ pɐɥ.....

The repetition echoed in his mind like a terrifying echo, a mantra that dragged him into madness.

"Ram! RAAM!" he cried out, his voice wracked with terror, but the silence that answered him was even more terrifying.

As he drew closer, the sight before him was devastating. Ram lay dead on the ground. Her skin, a cadaverous blue, showed strangulation marks on her thin throat. Her eyes, unfocused, were filled with dried tears, as if her suffering had been eternal. The image was a brutal blow to his sanity.

"RAAMMMM!" cried Kaoru, kneeling beside her corpse. Desperately, he began to use his healing magic again and again, his mana flowing with each attempt. But the effort was taking its toll; he felt as if a crack was opening in his mana gate, a searing pain threatening to consume him.

He didn't care, he didn't care if his door stopped working and he could no longer use magic. He just wanted to bring Ram back, as if his life depended on it.

Although her body was intact thanks to the healing, her soul had already left that fragile shell long ago.

"Ram...I'm sorry...I'm sorry.... why...why did I do this?" Kaoru sobbed, the weight of his guilt crushing him. "I'm the worst human being..."

A dark thought crossed his mind: Who was the one who hugged me when I fainted?

Eyes wild, Kaoru walked out of the bathroom, his face a mess of tears and despair. When she looked around, the mansion seemed gloomy and oppressive, as if the walls themselves were whispering dark secrets. Why hadn't anyone come, even though he'd screamed at the top of his lungs? Where were the others?

"You really did it, Kaoru. Do you consider yourself a good person?" A soft voice echoed behind him, filled with an eerie tone that made his skin crawl.

Kaoru turned around, his heart pounding, each beat echoing like a drum in his head.

She was an extremely beautiful girl, childlike in appearance, as if she were barely twelve years old. Her skin was as fair as snow, and her long platinum hair fell in soft waves. Her dark blue eyes reflected a disturbing calm, as if she knew more than she let on. She wore only a white cloth covering her slender body, giving the impression that she wore nothing else.

"Who the hell are you?" asked Kaoru, his voice trembling with disbelief and fear.

"You hurt me. I was the one who comforted you all night."

"Don't play games with me! What the hell is going on? Why did I kill Ram?" Madness was beginning to take hold of Kaoru, his eyes full of despair and terror.

"Kaoru... Seeing you like this makes me sad. My little prince should always smile. After all, you are the hero of my story."

"You! You did something! I know. You manipulated reality! You fucking bitch. I would never kill Ram," Kaoru said, teeth clenched, feeling his sanity slip through his fingers.

"ᴷᵃᵒʳᵘ, ʷʰᵒ ᵃʳᵉ ʸᵒᵘ ᵗᵃˡᵏⁱⁿᵍ ᵗᵒ?"

As he blinked, he realized there was no one in front of him. 

"You know what you have to do. The way to solve this... he's asleep in the guest room."

"Just kill him, and the return by death will act."

Kaoru felt a shiver run down his back, as if a cold hand was stroking the back of his neck. He didn't know if that voice was the girl's or if it was his own madness speaking to him, an echo of his own despair.

With trembling steps, he began to walk towards the kitchen, looking for a knife.

Kill him.

Kill him.

If you kill him, Ram will come back to life.

Kaoru staggered through the shadowy corridors, everything around him distorting into a nightmare. The shadows seemed to lengthen, whispering dark secrets that threatened to devour him. His mind heard only echoes of dread as he approached the room, each step echoing like a drum in his head, a reminder of the madness that stalked him.

Kaoru entered the room, the air heavy as if foreshadowing what she was about to do. Subaru was there, asleep. The image of his friend, oblivious to the storm raging in Kaoru's mind, filled him with a deep uneasiness.

In the back of the room, the girl with long platinum hair watched, her eyes fixed on Kaoru with a mixture of anticipation and delight. 

"You should stab him in the throat, repeatedly. That way you'll kill him instantly," her voice whispered, like poison seeping into his mind.

Kaoru looked in his direction, but again, there was no one there. He was going insane.

With a knife clutched in hand, he climbed onto Subaru's bed, feeling cold sweat break out on his forehead. The instructions echoed in his head like an incessant echo. 

Do it.

Do it.

Do it.

Without thinking, Kaoru stabbed again and again, the blade piercing flesh with a dull sound. Blood gushed out, hot and viscous, staining the bed.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I'm sorry..." repeated Kaoru between sobs, each stroke of the knife filled with despair and horror. 

The platinum-haired girl clapped her hands, tears of joy welling up in her eyes. "Wonderful," she said, admiring Kaoru's courage with a blood-icing smile.

When he finally finished brutally murdering his own friend, he dropped the knife, his body collapsing against the ground. He wouldn't stop sobbing.

And then, the inevitable happened...

Shadows began to emerge from Subaru's corpse, rising like dark, malevolent snakes.

"You seem to have her very mad, Kaoru. Very mad at you," the platinum-haired girl said, her melodic tone contrasting with the gravity of the situation.

"I don't know why Raigor came up with writing such a strong character. Even I can't stop her. She's immune to alterations," she continued, her voice laden with a haunting fascination. "Although she hates me too, so I guess, in and of itself, she hates you. Kaoru-san~"

Shadows began to envelop everything; the world seemed to be devoured by darkness.

"Kaoru..." the platinum-haired girl approached him, cradling his trembling body. 

"Pandora!" shouted the voice of an angry woman, the echo of her anger echoing in every corner of the room.

"So you've arrived, Satella," said the platinum-haired girl, her tone disdainful.

"I swear I'll kill you," Satella said, her gaze burning with fury.

"Kaoru, it seems our meeting has come to an end. I don't think I'll have time to visit you again, so I look forward to our meeting soon. I have something for you in Lunara," Pandora said warmly, leaning down to kiss Kaoru in a goodbye that left him stunned.

"But, even if you forget all this, don't forget how much I love you~" Pandora whispered before turning back to Satella.

Kaoru's consciousness faded into nothingness...

.

.

.

.

Subaru opened his eyes, a little surprised and disoriented.

"What the hell...?" he muttered, feeling the flush of alcohol still in his system. On his thigh, he noticed Rem's head, which was asleep, rendered by the same effect of the liquor.

"Subaruuuuuuu, you woke up!" exclaimed Emilia, grabbing one of Subaru's cheeks. "What a silly face you have! Hehe."

Kaoru was at the banquet table with a drunken look on his face and a goofy grin.

"Heu, Subaru... the Snow festival was the best idea tou ev er came up with. Ha".

"I caan't wait to see what Lunara w. ill be loke," Kaoru muttered, plunged into a state of carefree joy.

"I thunk I had a bad dteam..." said Subaru, shaking his head. "Shit, I yhink I'm goinng to slrep... goodbye world," he mumbled before falling back into a deep sleep.

"Subaru, wake up!" cried Emilia, but there was no response.

"It's no use, Emilia. Subaru id in Wondderland with Alice and the Chesgire Cat," Kaoru commented, laughing at the situation.

"WonderlAnd? I want to go top!" said Emilia as she pouted.

"WherE's Alice? W.ho's Slice?" asked Emilia, her curiosity palpable.

"We hace to fiind the rabbit hole to get there," Kaoru joked, laughing as he settled on the floor.

The night occurred as in the past loop without any anomalies.

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Who doesn't kill their friends once in a while? —Guignol

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