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There is no one here to answer her. Muelsyse's voice echoes throughout the empty office. Her shadow is split into two halves by the wall, like two people standing at a branching path.

When and where did this all begin? Everything that once was has changed, yet she knew nothing about it.

This familiar room... this familiar hallway both seem so foreign to her now.

She hates this feeling.

It's just like the time after she was born, when she realized for the first time that she was all alone in the world.

On the day of Rhine Lab's foundation, everyone had faith that this was the starting point of a company destined for greatness.

The idea made everyone nervous. It cheered them all up. It put smiles on their faces. It kept them up at night.

She and Saria chatted about the future on the balcony until the next day's beaming sunrise shone directly into their eyes.

At that moment, she thought that she, Saria, and all these people would walk with Rhine Lab forever.

It was an unrealistic notion.

When topics like profit, conflict, and misunderstanding piled onto her desk one after another, she couldn't help but laugh... What exactly is confining mankind?

She lifted her head to look at the sky...

It was so, so ugly.

Rest stop, Trimounts Outskirts, roughly eighteen miles from the city center

Hi there. Four large cheese dogs, extra cheese.

You got it. Coming right—

Holy shit, bro, what the heck is this?

I caught some kind of disease when I was a kid. It's only because of the exoskeleton that I'm still alive. Sorry for spooking you.

Spooking me? Hell no, that looks so cool.

Oh... so it's got to do with the Trimounts tech companies? No wonder. The gizmos they pump out are evolving so fast!

...Something like that.

Uh, my bad. That was probably rude of me, acting so surprised.

I'm used to it. Mind if I smoke here?

You can still smoke? That's amazing.

—Phew, so empty here. This road doesn't get much traffic, does it?

Just today. When the Vice President came through not long ago, the traffic jam was miles long.

Maybe it's the weather—Here, your hot dog. That's some appetite you've got, bro. Take a seat wherever you want. Not like there's anyone else today.

Thanks.

'Hot dog,' huh... Columbian fast food really is really making strides.

Well, it's all the same to me.

So why are they called 'hot dogs' again? Anything to do with the Perros?

It was the first wave of Bolívarian settlers who introduced this particular food item to the Columbian masses. This type of sausage sandwich was frequently sold in knight competition arenas at food carts attended by scantily clad Perro females or well-built Perro males.

And with the passage of time, this food item came to be known as the 'hot dog' in Columbian parlance.

Passage of time, huh? Funny how things can turn out just because of time.

Want one, miss? My treat.

No, thank you.

*sigh*, the years really haven't been kind. When I still had a sense of taste, my appetite was probably a dozen times what it is now. I guess that's how things turn out with the passage of time.

I envy a young lady like you.

I wonder how many things on Terra are built atop of this passage of time.

Everything is.

I guess you are right about that.

It's been a while, Dame Kal'tsit. When was the last time we met?

The day of Theresa's ascension ceremony after the war was over. Most Sarkaz who still had a lingering nostalgia for Kazdel were there. You were no exception.

What should I call you now?

Tin Man. That's what my coworkers call me. It's an apt descriptor, and not like names have much meaning to me anymore.

You represent the Maylander Foundation.

I do.

A powerful revenant.

An <i>once</i>-powerful revenant. And besides, you know that the Teekaz are closely connected to every corner of the world, and the Columbian plains are no exception.

Or would it make you feel better if I told you the whispers of hatred still keep me up at night, and that I can't wait to turn into a flying fortress and fly straight back to Kazdel?

No. So the Maylander Foundation noticed Rhodes Island long ago.

This isn't the first time you've showed up on Columbia's radar, even if the last time was just a minor legal dispute... Was that in Tkaronto or someplace else?

Rhodes Island is still a young organization.

You know who it belonged to and what course it is taking.

*sigh*, I'm not trying to talk you into giving up, but based on our agents' intel, too many old friends are mixed up in this mess. A fair amount of them are your old friends, too.

I have no issues with Rhodes Island getting involved in this, so long as you hear Maylander's thoughts first.

Is it thoughts you want Rhodes Island to hear or demands?

Regardless, personally speaking... I do hope we're on the same side this time, Dame Kal'tsit.

I understand.

Are those girls yours?

The Tin Man lifts his head up to gaze at the bottom of the dark clouds. Not far away, a pure white Feline and a fire-red Savra sit on a bench.

The Savra girl enthusiastically tries to tell something to her buddy, but her buddy simply stares at the sky, seemingly paying no attention whatsoever.

She is thinking about the past.

She seems to know why she received that letter and why she had to come back to this country, but she actually doesn't understand it all that well.

She is simply thinking that there are things you have to face, sooner or later.

Hm. I should remember this place, but... I don't think I wrote it down.

Why didn't I write it down?

Do I... need to remember this place?

Duh. You don't remember anything, no matter what I ask you. This sucks!

Do you remember?

Me? O-Of course I remember!

Hm?

This is Columbia! I've been here, and I hear you've been, too!

Oh... I remember them... I see now.

It's a cruel twist of fate, Kal'tsit, but you'll have children so young face their fate head on?

This is their decision. I have no right to intervene.

Kal'tsit silently looks at Trimounts shrouded in dark clouds in the distance.

Its tall skyscrapers remain under the thick, dark clouds; its base hidden by the fields around them.

Likewise, the Tin Man lifts his head.

Up in the sky above the city and the entire lands, at an unreachable altitude that mankind has dreamt of reaching for thousands of years—

—A burning fireball is tearing through the skies like a falling star.

Ifrit, do you want to hear a story?

A story... Alright. Today's story takes place in a beautiful city in Sargon...

There was once a well-respected king, loved by his people, but when he finally grew old, he had an anxious look on his face, never calming down for even a second.

He gave it his all to rule his city, but he found that not one thing in the city would bear his mark forever. His statues would crumble, and his legends would fade. People forget too easily.

In the final days of his life, he eagerly hoped for there to be something that could truly symbolize his whole legacy and ensure that it would be told for generations to come.

And so, he asked his wife. He hoped to find this treasure with her together.

They searched all over the lands and found a bottomless pit of gold, clothing that restored youth, a magic mirror that allowed its user change races at will, a sword that could rend mountains, and a treasure map that led to mythical realms.

None of these were what the king wanted. They were all too specific, and the desires they bore were too strong. The old king did not think any of these could represent his legacy.

This left the queen stricken with grief. She prayed to the night skies that her husband would get his wish. Finally, hearing her faithful prayers, a star arrived in the mortal realm—

Ifrit stares blankly at the blazing red tail sweeping through the sky.

She suddenly recalls a story out of the thousands that Silence has told her.

Legend has it, there is always hope wherever a star so happens to land. The differences that divide mankind are mended the moment the star reaches the ground, and everyone's wishes will be fulfilled all at once.

Will a star come falling down? There's no time to think. Time is flying by.

I wish for—