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Yes!

That's good...

The Feline witch stands up and struggles toward the exit.

Miss Witch? Are you leaving?

Yes... It's time for me to go...

November 27th, 1097, 3:47 A.M.

The abandoned district on the edge of Caladon. It's the quietest part of the city.

Ever since a natural disaster swept across Caladon a few years ago, this district, having fallen into disrepair, was moved to the edge of the city.

The crumbling buildings, the collapsed foundations. All of it bore witness to Caladon's history.

Gazing out from the top of the abandoned towers, there is but a vast, endless wasteland in the distance.

If I had to pick a resting place, this might be one of the fun ones.

I knew this day would come. I can't really say it came sooner than expected, either.

The Feline witch sits against a wall in a corner and gently closes her eyes.

The sharp pain of the Oripathy lesion is starting to fade, and her body feels heavier and heavier by the moment.

Her memories flash quickly by, as though playing back before her eyes.

All her witch friends, the gentle Great Witch Grant, and the night the Victorian soldiers burned the Witch Forest by their cannon fire.

The times she spent drifting in the wastelands and the cities, the days she had to steal to get by, and all the unfair treatment she has suffered.

None of it matters anymore.

It's all coming to an end.

Yet, suddenly, she hears someone sobbing.

I can't even have my last moments to myself, can I...?

Now I know this place gets visitors.

Haze follows the wailing to another part of the abandoned tower.

In front of her, a Feline girl stands next to a window, trembling.

*Sigh*.

(Sobs)

Sorry... I'm sorry, Mum... I'm so sorry...

I... I don't know what to do anymore.

With a helpless, grief-stricken look, the Feline girl totters at the edge of the building.

That's very dangerous, you know?

Yagh!

Wh-Who are you...?

Nobody important.

But I do need to tell you a few things before you jump.

After you do it, you won't be nearly as adorable as you are now. Honestly, I can't recommend it.

Your friends will be awfully sad to see you in that state when they find you tomorrow.

Friends... Quercus...

The sobbing girl hesitates and steps back from the window.

That's better, now!

What do I call you, little kitten?

Susie... Susie Glitter.

That's a pretty name.

You can call me Haze.

Miss... Haze...

Miss Haze... What are you doing out here so late?

I was about to ask you the same. This is my personal, secret hideout. How did you find it?

Oh, well, I can give a cute little kit like you special permission to play about here. But not if you've come for a cordless bungee jump, however.

*Sniffles*...

Oh, dear, what are you crying for?

No... I...

*Sigh*... It's okay. Cry all you want. No one will hear you, so no need to hold it in.

Nobody's ever around here—though there's no booze, either. It would be nice if we had some, though, wouldn't it?

What I do have for you is free time. Come, have a talk with me?

Why were you about to do something so silly?

I...

I... had this dream. I've had it for years...

A years-long dream? That sounds lovely.

I... I worked so hard towards for it, years upon years...

It was... I dedicated my whole life to it.

And a few days ago, it was gone in the blink of an eye... Somebody destroyed all of it...

And I don't even know why...

None of it's left... nothing...

How much time do us Infected get, anyway?

Someone destroyed it, you say...

And so the first thing that came to mind was to destroy yourself too?

Seems awfully odd, doesn't it?

Huh... Huh? What do you mean?

Well, you said it yourself. Someone destroyed your beautiful dream and your life's work, but what are you doing now? Aren't you trying to destroy the very last thing you have?

No... That's not it...

Show me your hand. Let me see it.

Huh? Huh? What are you doing?

No crystals... It looks like you aren't too far along?

I—I don't have much idea myself...

Eep! What are you bonking me for?

A silly kit with a muddled head. You need some sense knocked into you.

Living for a dream... That's quite the luxury for an Infected.

Most of us are just trudging along aimlessly, from one day to the next.

'We don't have that much longer to live. Why tire yourself out with goals and ideals?'

But you chose to make your dream come true, and that's impressive. There aren't a lot of people like you out there.

But, you see... So long as you're alive, things will work out.

You have more time than you think, not like... I digress.

It'd be a shame to give up just like that.

But what can I do?

I'm sure a cute little kitten like you has lots of friends.

Why don't you go talk to them? You won't get anywhere mulling over it by yourself.

If you've lost something, find it. If someone stole something of yours, find a way to steal it back.

Give up like this, and you won't have a single thing left, you know?

The bad ones will laugh ever harder, and that's no fair to yourself.

It's the bad ones ruining your dreams who should be thrown off the tower, not you. Don't you think?

The young Feline looks hesitantly at the window. Her face is shrouded in helplessness. Time drifts slowly by in the pitch dark of this abandoned tower.

She spends a brief moment pondering in silence, before finally letting out a long sigh and freeing an exhausted smile. It seems the weight on her shoulders is gone.

You're right.

Now, if you still feel down in the dumps, just cry it all out. Nobody's around to judge you.

No... It's okay... Thanks...

That's more like it.

The Great Witch says, as long as the sun rises tomorrow, there is still hope.

As long as... there... is a...

Hum? Um?! Miss Haze, what's the matter?!

Be careful... stay away from me...

Miss Haze! What's wrong?