act27side

I thought... you weren't ever going to come back.

Are you kidding me...?

When you're on the adventure team... you never work alone.

Let's go home.

The seawater has risen above their soles, making it difficult to even walk.

Hurry!

At first, the waves were just a hazy line at the far reach of their vision, but in just the blink of an eye, they are right here in front of them.

Enis tightly clutches his sister as the waves beat against his less than robust back, causing him to stagger.

Another, taller wave is approaching them.

(There's no way...)

(Let's try this—)

Enis tries his hardest to feel the 'rock' in his body. It's close to his heart. Every time his heart beats, he can feel its hard texture.

A rock the size of a man rises from the ground in front of the siblings and immediately crumbles just barely withstanding the crashing of the wave.

There is an intense pain in his chest.

Enis!

Look... Didn't I tell you...? I know magic...

Enis wipes the blood on his face and pulls his sister so she isn't hurt by the crumbling gravel.

Quick, hide behind me!

One, two...

Seemingly formed by the white waves, a countless number of fluffy creatures rush toward them from the coast. They stack together and form a wall, or more precisely, a dam.

The waves clash against the furry dam, completely absorbed by it the very next second.

I must've gone crazy...

What exactly is this...?

Having absorbed the seawater, their white wool has grown even puffier, enough to keep the siblings safe from the dangerous waves.

After who knows how long, the ground has finally stopped shaking, and the waves gradually start to calm.

Are... Are we saved?

(Shivers) (Shakes to dry body)

Th-Thank you...?

(Happy bleat)

Just like cotton candy dissolving in the water, the beastling suddenly disappears.

I guess that's... a near-death hallucination...?

Enis!

The night deepens, and at some point in time, the bustling crowd's clamor gradually started to fade.

Someone has taken out a guitar and started playing a gentle melody.

Almost like some kind of tacit understanding, everyone looks in the same direction.

A pillar of smoke gradually rises from the volcano's caldera, followed by spews of dark red and ash gray. The ground is trembling slightly underneath their feet.

We're so far out. We definitely won't get caught in that, right...?

*sigh*... It still came.

Oh... It really erupted...

*sob*...

The people in the crowd hold the hands of those around them. Parents hug their children tight, as pedestrians begin to hold their breaths.

As though they all finally feel a weight off their shoulders, or perhaps like a giant boulder has finally crushed their hearts, sighs and quiet mumblings can be heard amongst the crowd, yet this just makes the whole street seem even more quiet.

This continues for a very, very long time, until the crowd snaps back from the sight before them.

I can still recall that back when I was a young boy... my parents would take me to this little hill. It was full of flowers and trees whose names I never knew. There were so many of them, and they smelled so wonderful every spring.

My father was allergic to their pollen, so he would wait for us at the bottom of the hill. My mother and I would bend the flowers' branches and weave garlands. We ran and ran across the hill, and waved down to the bottom of the hill...

...That won't ever happen again...

Mr. Tom...

It's nothing, girl. I'm just thinking about the past... I used to sell ice cream every day, meeting all kinds of children.

Now my children are all in Columbia. They didn't come back home, even for a time like this.

Sir, your children are far away. It's possible that they didn't know Siesta's volcano was going to erupt today. The might be on their way, or they could have a package still in transit...

I came here because I wanted to build a logistics center that connected all regions and shortened the distances between them.

Maybe someday, you'll get things from different places more quickly, and your children will know how you're doing that much faster.

But we're still a long way away from achieving that... Just now, I was thinking that I might be able to do something to help...

What's that...?

If anyone needs to send a postcard to family abroad, Mountaincomm Trade could deliver them for free the next few days.

By the time they get them, or when they come back after they get their postcards, Siesta will be a better place than it is now.

I'll do my best to make this a better place, too. It's a small wish of mine, aside from my commercial ambitions.

Thanks, kid.

It's such a nice thing to be able to write your family...

When I was studying in Columbia, I would sometimes get homesick at night. I always wanted to write home, but I couldn't afford international postage, so all I ever did was cry myself to sleep...

That's when I'd remember a poem that means something like, wheresoever someone is, the twin moons in the night sky are always the same, and if we look at the moons, even the greatest distances are nothing.

Does Siesta have any songs like that...?

The old man clears his throat. His beard slightly twitches, as though he remembers something, and starts singing a song stiltedly.

The volcanic ash slowly spreads, covering half the sky.

Each day I linger, aside my dreams ♪

I've lost my way, I'm a fowl without wings ♪

I grasp at hope, I'm holdin' on out ♪

Oh on the road, will I come tumblin' down ♪

And maybe somethin' scares in me, if tomorrow's sun I see ♪

But I'm just headin' far, I'm no wanderer ♪

...I'm just headin' far, I'm no wanderer ♪

'Cause right out there... I've been lookin' to be ♪

Lady Ceylon.

Schwarz! What are you doing here?!

I had a few missions for Rhodes Island, but I came as soon as I was finished with them.

It took me forever to find you. I'd been searching the crowd for the better part of the day. I have your favorite tea in my bag. I'll give it to you as soon as we get back.

And... I also wanted to come back...

They see the rocks in their memories crumble, as a magnificent evening glow they had never before seen rises from the top of the volcano.

A pink smoke covers half of the sky and gradually flutters downward toward the ground. Although they did not see it for themselves, they know a memory that belonged only to them has now been forever buried underneath the white volcanic ash.

Am I seeing things... How did the top of the volcano turn white?

What are you talking about? I don't see it...

Siesta... has been wiped out.

I think... 'reborn' might be the more appropriate word here.

I say we remember this day forevermore... How about we call it the 'Volcano Festival?'

Sweet peaceful dreams to you each evening ♪

Not a worry, not a sweat ♪

For what's gone is gone, and the future will come ♪

The sun will rise tomorrow, happy days ♪

See you, Siesta.

See you... Siesta

...Don't be sad, Lady Ceylon. Tomorrow is a new day.

Right... tomorrow is a new day.

Hey! You ugly-ass sheep...

Keep my vinyls out your stinkin' mouth...! No chewin' my limited edition shirt, either!

Watch that lava! Dammit! Heat degrades a vinyl's sound!

You think <i>this</i> gonna wear out my patience? You got another thing comin'. I'd do this ten thousand years...

Dolly! I swear, I'ma feed your clones to the wolves...!