"What... the... hell?"

From a distance of 1 meter, I slowly approached her and stopped just a feet away as I muttered those words.

We just saw each other on our way home together and chatted for a bit when it happened.

Faced with this hellish scene, those were the only words I could say.

We are in the middle of a highway and an accident was going on which stopped the cars. Needless to say, she was the cause of it. Me, who was safe and sound because I was pushed away by the other person in time, and the other person who is all bloodied and screaming in pain right now, regretting the fact that she saved me when it could have been me in her place. My younger sister.

"Aaaarrgggghhh!!! U- u-aaaaaAAaaAAA!!! Help! Help! Ahh! Aaah!"

I hear her screams of pain and cries for help. No matter how I see it, she is beyond saving.

With her stomach trapped and crushed between the truck's tires and the asphalt, she could only scream in agony and wait for her inevitable demise while even those people who noticed and approached us had already realized and accepted the horrible truth.

Others began taking out their phones and cameras then started taking photos and recording videos. I don't even have the energy to tell them to stop anymore.

I could still see her lower body still slightly attached to her torso.

"AaaaauuuaAAAaauughhhh!!! Help! Ow! Ow! A-aaaaH!!! Ihatethis!"

Pound and pound and pound, she pounded the heavy, hard tire repeatedly as if it would move eventually if she tried hard enough.

She kept struggling to get herself away from the tire holding her down on that spot. Even thought it's impossible for her to get out. Even though that if by chance she did get out, it would be because she was already torn in half and would die due to blood loss later. Even though she will die eventually, why must she keep trying hard like that? Please stop it. Just die peacefully. I can't bare to watch you suffer anymore...

Even when in fact, here I am, just calmly watching my sister slowly die a painful death. Well, it's not like I can do anything about it anyway.

Wait.

Why am I so calm? Ah, it must be because of the relief. That's right. I was happy that it wasn't me going through that right now. Disgusting, really. Even though it's my own sister, why am I feeling a sense of relief?

Huh? Why do I feel something on my cheeks?

Oh, so I was crying after all. That's better. I should just silently cry as I watch my sister flail around wildly in pain.

I noticed she stopped screaming and her movements are slowly weakening. She's still trying to pound the tire, yet doing it with lesser strength this time.

Ah, she must be at her limits. She will die any time now.

I should at least say something to her.

"Hey..."

She ignored me, but she stopped pounding the tire and then took something out of her skirt's pocket.

"This... no luck... but maybe... just hope."

She kept holding onto the object in her hand, not letting go of it even for a bit.

"Hey."

She reacted this time.

Our gazes met. What should I say to her now? I guess I should start by apologizing.

"Sorry."

"...Bro.."

Now what? I can't think if anything else to say anymore.

"B...Brothe-r...?"

She spoke to me. Her voice sounded weak though. It's clear that by just speaking, she's already suffering even more.

"Yes. I'm here."

"I. Hate..."

"Yes, yes. It will be over soon."

She probably wants to say how she hates the pain. She always hated pain so much that she can't even stand shots from syringes.

"You... Hate you....................."

"Ah."

".............."

She's not moving anymore.

"Nice last words. But still..."

Well, that was only natural, I think. I would've said the same thing to her at my last moment if it was me who saved her instead.

"Really... Nobody expected her to die this young."

I said that to no one in particular.

I recall what happened a earlier.

I am 3 years older than her so I was already working. After I finished work, I headed straight home when we happened to see each other. We stopped in our tracks, just near the highway and chatted for a few minutes. She told me something about this weird run-away bride who gave her a lucky charm, but that's not important right now. If only we kept moving at that time, this wouldn't have happened.

While we were talking with each other earlier, a truck suddenly lost its control and was on its way to ram both of us but my sister managed to push me away while she didn't have the chance to get off her spot.

I glanced one last time on my sister's corpse.

Still wearing her school uniform, her motionless, blank and dead eyes were staring at me.

Hmm? She has something in her hand.

I took it from her hand and examined it. It's a small white cube measuring half and inch from all sides. This must be important for her to hold on to it till the end. So I'll keep it as a remembrance.

I put the cube into my pocket and turned away from the nightmarish scene.

My tears were still flowing non-stop. I also hear the sirens slowly becoming louder and louder. Looks like help didn't arrive on time. Not that they can do anything even if they were early anyway.

In the end, I was still feeling happy that it wasn't me who died. Happiness over sadness.

"What a pathetic person..."

I said that to my self.

I started walking towards home since it's not really that far. What good would it do to keep looking at the corpse of my sister anyway?

Since my whole family lives under one roof, Mom and Dad must be waiting for us back home right now.

Ahh... How should I say this to my parents?

Hi mom and dad, my sister just died and I watched it all happen from start to finish without doing anything.

No, I would be the next to die if I did that.

And while thinking that, I arrived on the front door of my house.

Thump. Thump. Thump. I can feel my heart is beating loudly.

The pressure is killing me.

I slowly reach for the door's handle... No! I'm not ready yet.

I wiped the tears on my face with my dry hands to make sure they don't notice that I was crying. They wont... maybe.

I took the cube from earlier out of my pocket and looked at it again. Doing so made me remember my sister.

Alright! I'm ready now.

With the cube clenched on my left hand, I opened the door with my free hand and then tried to enter.

What greeted me was...

...a white room very different from the inside of the house that I was familiar with.

The room has four sides and is not small but not very big either. When I looked back, the door was gone.

I looked around and there's a thick round table and three chairs yet everything was white. There were no windows or doors, yet it felt like air was breezing.

But... When I tried to get out, I can't find any exit and the walls are pretty solid. Not even slamming on the wall helps. It's like the wall is made out of very thick concrete.

This is too unnatural.

There is no sign of anyone and I am now trapped inside this room.

Oh no. This must be my punishment!

"Let me out of heeeeere!"

I shouted at the top of my lungs and yet there was no answer.

But then suddenly...

========

A Certain Girl's Point of View

========

After going inside this book, in other words "travel to this world", I did some preparations and then went to do what I had to do.

I convinced the girl in the uniform that this "key" is a lucky charm and forcibly gave it to her since it was important that she receives it.

After successfully giving her the "key", I turned around and started walking away.

"How cute! Thanks for this. May I know your name, Miss?"

Miss? She called me "Miss"? Uhehehe. That word brings back memories...

In any case, she asked me politely so I should answer properly.

Smile, check.

Elegance, check.

Approachable and caring attitude, check.

While carefully calculating my movements, I slowly turned around and did my best to look majestic as I replied. It's a necessity since we would be working together in the future anyway. I'll just call this a little investment. I hope I will leave a good impression on her.

"You can call me Rea. Miss Rea."

"E-er, yes. Thanks for this, Miss Rea!"

"*smile* Bye."

I then turned around very slowly after I said that.

Good! It makes me look more elegant!

But...

I think she was a bit startled back there. Did I overdo it? Maybe I should have just turned around normally.

I started walking again.

".....Eeh. Ah! Yes, see ya.......... What a weird girl."

What a delayed reaction. And did I just hear something bad? Never mind that. I think it was my fault anyway.

After walking for some time, I reached a huge building with lots of people going in and out.

I think this is what they call a Department Store?

"Now then, what should I do now?"

I said that to no one in particular but I think I spoke my mind out too loud. The bystanders are giving me strange looks. Please don't look at me like that. It's making me uncomfortable.

Oh, maybe it's because of what I'm wearing. Do I stand out too much with this dress I'm wearing? Well, it kind of looks like a wedding gown here in this world though.

Should I buy some new clothes?

I should have considered the clothes before coming to this world... Not that I'm staying here for long anyway. Or maybe not. Or should I? No? Yes? Ah, I can't decide!

".....?"

Oh? I spaced out. More people are staring at me right now.

"...Whatever. I'll just see what's inside."

I walked inside the huge building.

When I went in, I was surprised to see so many different stores inside. There are lots of of stores. They got food, cloths, gems and other stuff that I've only encountered in this world. But more importantly, food!

Though my body doesn't need to eat, it doesn't necessarily mean that I can't enjoy eating. Doing so would make me need to excrete the food after sometime though, so I try to not eat too much. Well, it's not too bad if it's only once in a while. Different worlds mean there's lots of different food so I can enjoy myself from time to time, and now is one of those times.

With lots of money that I gained from doing some of my "preparations" before meeting the girl, I freed myself from restraint and bought lots of food from different places inside the building.

I ate and occasionally went to the toilet, never minding the strange looks that I attracted.

So much time has passed, a few hours maybe? But I didn't notice it until I ran out of money.

"Awe~ Too bad. Well, time for me to... time?"

I checked the clock displayed on a wall nearby. It displayed 7:34PM.

Oh no.

I forgot about the time!

It's been a while since I gave her the "key". She must be so scared and lonely right now!

I dashed off outside the building which in turn attracted even more attention but I kept running towards my destination.

My destination is the girl's house. It's not far away so I should be able to go there quickly by running. Since the vicinity within the girl's house is my starting location, the "key" should activate anywhere near that spot. That means she should be inside the "Observation Space" right now.

I kept running while remembering what happened when I first went into this world, 12 hours ago.

Around the time when I just arrived in this world, I walked around a bit and I had already spotted a robbery going on so I tried to sabotage it, taking with me all the very little money those robbers earned. This is just one of those preparations. I also did some modifications to a certain truck to ensure that it would arrive a bit later and would not kill the girl's older brother. I also did some other things and that probably summarizes what I did.Those are only natural since I already know what would happen beforehand because this world is just like an open book. No, it literally is a book, and the same goes for the other worlds out there.

"Ahh! Finally here."

I reached the place. Now I only need to activate my "key".

I also have my own "key" and I'm wearing it as a necklace since it's too much trouble to put it in a pocket and take it out every time I use it because it requires skin contact to activate it and it's also in risk of being lost or accidentally dropping it if placed inside the pocket.

The conditions to activate the "Key" are simple.

1. Being within the vicinity of the starting point which looks like a white shining crack in space

2. Skin contact

3. Thinking about "Entering"

After that, when you fulfill all those conditions you then get sent to the "Observation Space".

That's what I am doing right now.

I stand close to the door of the girl's house. The starting point or should I say the crack should be hidden from view behind this house.

Enter.

White light suddenly shines around me. I'm being transferred to another space call the "Observation Space".

She should be inside already, ah there, I can see a silhouette.

I guess I should start with a friendly greeting.

"Welcome to Observation Space! It's me again~ I'm sorry for making you wa-- huh?"

When I looked closer...

He's not a she in a high-school uniform.

He's a guy in an office worker attire.

He's not her. I looked around and confirmed, she wasn't in the room.

No... No. No. No! No! Nononononono! I screwed up!

========

The Brother's Point of View

========

But then suddenly...

Even though the room is already glowing full of white, a strange beam of whiter light appeared on the other side. Before I could shout in panic, I heard the voice of a girl,

"Welcome to Observation Space! It's me again~ I'm sorry for making you wa-- huh?"

A girl in a white gown suddenly came out of the white light and said something random.

She looked as confused as I am after she spoke and then she looked around the room. Her already pale face went even paler after she was done looking around the room.

Is something wrong? I think I should ask her but she's acting weird right now so I think I should just leave her be and wait for her to talk to me.

Or so I thought.

She stopped moving for a bit, probably spacing out. Her hands then slowly went to grab her hair. And then,

"Noooooooo!!! What! Went! Wrong!"

"!!!"

I was shocked at her sudden screaming. She kept pulling on her hair while standing and screaming some nonsense.

"Why! It wasn't supposed to be this way! Noo! There are no do-overs! I can't enter again! What do I do now!"

"Um... Excuse me?"

"What to do... what to do..."

"Hello..."

She kept ignoring me.

"........."

"Hey."

Oh, she's spacing out again.

Alright, I've decided to do something that will grab her attention for sure.

=========

The White Girl's Point of View

=========

"What to do... What to do..."

"Hello..."

What should I do now? I only get one chance and I failed horribly. If it's not her, I don't know of anyone else who can.

Her world may be inside a book but that doesn't mean I can go back in time just like turning a page to redo things.

The best I can do is to pause the time in her world, but that's all. I can't jump to a world's past or future, and even if I go back into that world, I can't give her a "key" anymore since this person has the last one I have left and had already activated it. Once a "Key" gets activated for the first time, the ownership won't change anymore meaning only that person can activate the "key". I know it's for anti-theft measures, but why did such a thing happen now of all times? The "key" can be taken back, but if only he agrees to it without subconsciously wanting to own the key. I'll deal with that later, I should think about my course of action for now.

I only have two books right now. I also don't have any "White Miracle Essence" on me.

All my "Miracle Essence" and other books got stolen and the culprit locked himself up inside a book. I already paused the time on that book but it's pointless since I can't enter it. But I'm pretty sure it was just me alone who is unable to enter the book.

Me not being able to enter the book is a problem, but I figured if I use the main character girl from the other book I could have her enter the book in my stead. But---

---CLAP!

"Ah! Who's there!?"

=========

The Brother's Point of View

=========

---CLAP!

"Ah! Who's there!?"

With one loud clap coming from my hand, she finally noticed me. It's Time for me to ask some things.

But what should I be asking? Oh, I know.

"I just want to ask, where are we?"

"You look familiar...... Oh I see! You're that girl's brother!"

"Where are we?"

"So... If it's him.... but... no, he can't possibly..."

Kuh! she is ignoring me on purpose.

=========

Weird Girl's Point of View

=========

"Where are we?"

"So... If it's him.... but... no, he can't possibly..."

I see now. It might be okay even if it's just a bystander or her parents or in this case, her brother. He may be not as good as his sister, but I can still help him a bit... Yes! I can still use him.

Problem solved! ...I think.

"*smile*"

"Why are you smiling now!? You're doing this on purpose!"

I can't help but smile. I thought I'm in trouble, but it turns out that I was wrong.

Huh? I seem to have made him angry.

"Hmm? What's wrong?"

"You ignored me all this time. Are you trying to piss me off?"

Oops, my bad habit seems to have offended him.

"I, I'm sorry."

"...Okay, now what?"

Oh... Right. I should start by asking.

"Brother, why do you have that cube? Didn't your sister have it with her?"

=========

The Brother's Point of View

=========

"Brother, why do you have that cube? Didn't your sister have it with her?"

"Hey I'm the one aski-- Ah?"

I feel like I should be the one asking questions, but what I just heard is more important right now.

"Wait, did you just say something about my sister?"

But more importantly,

"And why are you calling me Brother? We're not siblings or anything right? My name is... huh?"

I can't remember my name.

=========

The Girl's Point of View

=========

Finally, being inside the Observation Space finally made him aware of one of the many flaws in his entire life.

Namely...

The fact that he doesn't have a name.

Not that he really doesn't have one. He will remember his own name when he's back in his world, but once he's in the Observation Space, he will instantly forget it as if it was not there to begin with. The world, or should I say book, automatically fills in the blanks for its inhabitants which makes them think they know their names and the like.

This problem only happens when someone gets out of their own book. Anything not written or describe in the book they belong to ceases to exist when they are outside. He was described as the main character's Older Brother, so that's just what he is inside the book, and even more so outside where he is just known as the nameless Older Brother.

Not that I don't know his name back in his own world, but it's fun to use this opportunity to tease him.

I'll try asking him some more things that would shock him a bit.

"And your sister's name is? Your parents' names? What are the names of everyone you knew?"

"Eeh... umm... uhh... I don't know."

"But earlier, you did think that you knew, right?"

"Yes... How is this happening? Do I have a brain disease? Is the memory of my sister dying not real?"

"Eh?"

Wait wait wait wait. Did he just say his sister died?

=========

The Brother's Point of View

=========

"Eh?"

"Ahh... maybe this is all just an illusion or a dream. I should go see a doctor."

"What!? Your sister died!?"

"Yes? Maybe? Seeing her getting crushed by a truck might be just a dream."

Oh boy. I never realized I actually have a mental disorder.

Do I even have a sister? Ah! I don't know which is real or not anymore.

"Erm... Ehem! I think you misunderstood something. You're not dreaming. Everything you're seeing now is real."

"Yes, yes. So you say."

--Pinch

"Ow! You pinched me."

"See? It's real."

"So... my sister dying is real too?"

"Yes, most likely."

And I hoped it was all just a dream... Every time I remember that scene, I feel chills and sadness.

"Alright, enough playing around. Brother, tell me what happened to your sister in detail. I'll explain everything else later."

"Okay, but my name isn't Brother."

"My name is Rea, but call me Miss Rea. Nice to meet you, Brother."

Seriously... I had my name just in the corner of my memory. I just can't remember it right now.

I told Rea about what happened to my sister and that if only we didn't meet up and chatted a bit, we wouldn't even be anywhere near the truck when the accident happened.

"Dammit, I screwed up even more than I thought..."

"It's okay, you weren't there to begin with."

"I know! But I was still the one responsible."

What is she talking about?

"Rea, you-"

"Miss Rea."

"Rea, -"

"Miss!"

"Miss Rea... You didn't do anything wrong."

"No, you don't understand. I'll explain everything now, so listen carefully. But first, take a seat. We've been standing for too long."

"Ahh, right. Okay. Go on."

"That habitual 'ahh' of yours. You're just like your sister. Now then,"

Considering the supposedly impossible circumstances, I'll just believe everything she says.

Rea began explaining things to me that I don't understand at first, about a guy who stole some books, about Observation Space, Books and worlds inside it, about the "key" that sent me to this place, and more importantly about her action when she came to my world, which she thinks led to a chain of events that eventually killed the person who was supposed to be in my place, my sister.

"Oh so you killed my sister, is that what you're saying?"

"...Yes, sorry."

"Okay."

"Is that all? You're not angry or anything?"

"How can I be angry? You actually tried and succeeded in saving my life, it's not like you killed her intentionally."

No, how can I be angry? At that time, I was thankful that it wasn't me but my sister who died instead. Getting angry at her now would make me a hypocrite. I'm actually angry at myself. I couldn't forgive myself for not even trying to save her.

"You're actually very different from what I expected since the book didn't fill in this part about you not actually caring about your sister. And now I wonder why I even bothered to save you."

"You're wrong, Rea-- Miss Rea. It's not like that. I'm just angry at myself for not even trying to save her. I convinced myself that it's okay to not help since she would die anyway. Maybe that's why my sister said she hated me."

"She said she hated you, huh? I can understand why... She thinks of you as someone really important to her. When she was struggling at that time, maybe she was trying to find comfort from you but all you did was watch her die, and you even encouraged her to die. Even I would get really angry if someone says such a thing to me."

Rea's words struck deep wounds on my heart. I know I couldn't excuse myself but it really hurts more when someone says it straight in my face.

"--But...."

Rea continued. What is she gonna say next?

"We can still save your sister."

"What?"

Impossible. How can we save a dead person? It's not like I can travel back in time to save her. Such a thing is impossible.

"Oh? You have a look on your face that says 'Impossible'."

"Are you telling the truth?"

"Look around you, Brother. Remember your name, look for an entrance or exit, find where wind comes from. Are these thing really possible?"

"What the hell are you saying? But more importantly, you're saying we can--"

"But I have a condition. Though it was my fault, you will have to work hard for it if you want to see her filled with life again."

"Ah! Of course! What do I do? Anything, ask me to do anything."

Why would I refuse? I'll never get a chance like this again.

"So do you accept whatever terms of this deal will be?"

"Yes."

"Wait, I can't have you saying that now only to regret it later."

Rea then took out a stack of papers from below the table. I didn't know you could put things under the table. I check with my hands and confirmed there are gaps under the table.

"Here, read this. This was originally meant for your sister. I worked hard to write it by hand. I don't want my efforts to go to waste just because she can't be here anymore."

I received the stack of papers and checked its contents.

"Why is it so long!? And you wrote it by hand? 50 pages? Back to back?"

"Go read it first! If it was your sister, she would read it from start to finish. You got all the time in the world so take your time."

"O-okay."

This is really so long...

"Remember, that's a contract. If you still don't get it, think of it as a magical absolute contract."

Did she say something? I didn't listen so I don't know.

I pretended to read it, but I actually just skimmed most of it. At the last page, there was a written sentence telling me something about placing my dominant hand on the center of the first page if I accepted the terms.

I immediately placed my right hand on the first page and the stack of papers suddenly vanished.

"H-hey, are you really sure? You've barely read an entire page."

"Yes, yes. I've read something about me being able to negotiate about the terms but I'm sure it's not important anyway."

Yeah, no. I just don't like reading a lot.

"*SMILE* Uhuhuhuu~ As of now, you are my slave!"

"What the!? You bastard!"

"Hey, hey! I'm just kidding!"

"...You almost had me there."

"Yeah~ *SMILE*"

Why is she smiling too much? Don't tell me...

"Hey, I want to read it again. Where are those papers?"

"Sorry, it's all gone. You've already read it all, rii~ght? *SMILE*"

I think I screwed up back there...

========

Rea's Point of View

========

Heh heh hehh~

I now have a slave-- Err, companion.

I didn't know that the brother is this stupid. If he only read the first page, he would've noticed that all the other pages except for the last one are just filled with lyrics of songs from his own world.

Can't stop smiling, everything is going so well for me.

Oh, I know! I'll try taking the "Key" from him later as a little experiment.

But I must try out something else first.

"Now then... As a little experiment, I will have you do something."

I took out the other book from the shelf hung below the table, the book that I can't enter.

With the cube shaped book on one hand, I stood up from my chair and approached him.

I gave it to him and he accepted it after hesitating for a bit.

"...Hey, Miss Rea. What is this thing?"

"It's a book. I'm testing something so try opening it, 'kay~?"

It would take I while for him to discover that he can't disobey me no matter what.

Now then, let's see if you can use books the same way as I do, my little sla-- my helper.