Ren Yue stoof still, frozen from the shock, the booming thunder drowning her own heartbeat. The air still lingering with the smell of rain and something burnt, but she didn't care about any of that, all she focused on, all she saw, was the spot where her brother was standing in just moments ago. Now, nothing except a burnt spot on the ground, like her was never even there. No body, no blood, no sign of him, just a lingering energy that she couldn't fathom, like embers dying out in the harsh weather.
"Tianyu... Tianyu....no,no,no, NO NO NOOOO!" Her voice broke, her heart screamed, her knees gave out as she collapsed on the cold wet ground. The cold rain mixed with her warm tears, drowning it out as she clutched the spot where her brother was just standing, her fingers digging through the mud, even while knowing how hopeless it was. "No...thi--this can't be real. It can't be, yeah, it cannot be, h-he must be playing a prank on me yeah, that must be it. Heh--heheh, hahaha...."
She started wailing, but the world around her didn't care, why would it? The storm continued to rage, wind howling, drowning out her cries of pain. The silence where her brother's voice once filled her ear was louder than anything else.
She remaind there, shivering, crying, wailing, unable to comprehend the stillness and emptiness in her. Ren Tianyu, her brother, the one who was always there for her, was...gone? Did she actually save him? Or did she actually doom him to something far worse? She didn't know.
Time lost it's meaning in her grief, she didn't know how long she just sat there until the storm subsided, with it her mind started to clear and she realized something.
He was chasing something.
The truth!
And if no one believed him, she would.
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A young Ren was sitting cross legged on the floor, books still scattered around him though. His fingers flipping through pages faster than a human can read. Besides him sat a golden haired young girl, Ren Yue, her sparkling eyes watching him with admiration and adoration.
"Tianyu, you're always buried in books! Hmph!" She complained "other kids play outside, but you just sit here reading and talking about things that aren't even there."
The young blue eyes looked at her before saying "but Yue, what if they do? What if those things exist? What if those other worlds exist? Who says they don't? We just haven't found them yet." He grinned."and I want the one to find them to be yours truly."
"Haven't you ever thought of yourself as...Crazy?" She joked." Did no one ever tell you that?"
"Maybe, but not like it'll change anything." He laughed." I'll still do it, and if I find proof will you believe me then?"
"It's a deal, if you ever find a way, I'll support and believe you fully."
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Ren Yue stood up, wiping her tears with shaking hands. He body was weak, tired from being in the harsh weather, but her eyes were clear, filled with newfound determination as she remembered that day's events. Then she started tracing what he did before disappearing, how the air felt charged and the madness that was evident in his eyes and actions.
His eyes, as mad as he seemed, were filled with certainty, he saw something, something real. The symbols, the patterns, the energy, they all pointed to something, and he saw it, he felt it, it was real.
And now, he was gone.
No, not gone. She didn't believe that.
She clenched her fists as a fire ignited within her. If there was even the slightest chance that he actually achieved the impossible, then she would find him. She would follow him and support him like she had promised.
No matter what.
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Years passed, the world had moved on from the death of one of the greatest scientists tk ever exist, but Ren Yue hadn't, she was determined.
Same as they did with her brother, she was called foolish, mad, obsessed, but that didn't matter, at least not to her. Every day, she spent her time deciphering his research, retracing what he did, how he thought, not leaving a clue or thread behind.
Every night, she goes outside to the place where he disappeared, talking to him, as if he was there, promising to find him.
And one day...
She truly did.