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The floor is spotless. The kitchen boasts an overwhelming array of silverware, and a grand dining table to seat a dozen or more.

Sakiko cannot imagine Uika living in a place like this by herself.

Since it's a dream, is it not? You could just take the painful parts and throw them away completely...

I'm sure she felt this place was very important to the two of you.

You must be the owner of this villa... Miss Uika just left.

...Where did she go?

She finally recognized her own heart. She's set on finding you.

Wanna get on the boat?

Yes, I'd like a ticket off the island.

Oh? Well, you'll have to wait a bit. I'm holding up for another passenger.

That young lady's still not back... Hope she found who she was looking for.

It's fine. I can wait—

Halfway through her sentence, Uika forces the words back down her throat. Fortunately, the boatman doesn't seem to notice.

*sigh* The sea's rough at night, and the fog gets thick. It ain't good sailing. I've got your safety to worry about, y'know!

Hey, listen to the signal tower go. The guy running it wants us gone already.

I can see him up there. He's waving a flag at us...

Heh. Old booze-hound needs the beer I bring him every month.

'Safe travels, and don't forget—my beer.'

Pfft. Doesn't mind if I forget anything else, long as he gets his hooch!

With his grumbling over, the boatman heaves his steps onto the boat.

The sea wind carries its horn through every corner of the island.

As she looks back at this isle of countless joys and sorrows, Uika finds there's so much she wants to say.

...Don't forget me.

You couldn't have forgotten.

We lived here since we were children.

I trust that we <i>will</i> meet again—

Uika—!

*pant*... *pant*... *pant*... *cough* *cough*...

Uika—! UIKAAAA—!

Sakiko's voice is already hoarse.

The waves crash on and on against the coast, but they carry no response.

The boat has already left the island.

Now, she is the only one here, alone.

A girl who's waited day and night finally finds it in herself to set off in search of her partner.

But who could foresee that they'd pass like ships in the night at the last moment... Tut tut tut, such a pity.

Tell you the truth. I never thought she'd choose to leave.

If she'd followed the ending I'd laid out for her, she would have forgotten all about you, and lived a blissful, carefree life here.

But I see now, I underestimated your influence on her.

I'm a good sport. This round is a draw.

Shame, though. With the speed that boat's going at, she'll be in a nautical pickle pretty soon.

What...?

Making an entire island for the two of you was tiring enough. What, next you want me to create the entire continent of Terra so your pathetic farce can play out over and over?

No, the boat's about to reach the edge of this dreamland, and once it does, she'll fall into the next one.

Another cycle, another reset.

She's bound to forget about you in the end.

No. I'm going to find a way to catch her—

Sorry, out of time.

Sakiko feels a burst of cold under her feet. Somehow, seawater has crept up to her ankles.

Dark clouds gather where the sea and sky meet, punctuated by rays of dazzling light.

Uika—!

The water rises with a fervor. Sakiko senses something dragging her down towards the abyss.

Uika—! Wait for me!

Gloom; cold; suffocation.

The water strains against her eardrums. What oxygen is left in her lungs slowly dwindles, as does the feeble light from above.

Her sight blurs. Salty, bitter seawater forces its way into her mouth, in a bid to occupy the last vestiges of her consciousness.

And so, she falls, and falls.

Down to the seabed, a place that knows no light.

'Saki...'

'Saki... Saki...'

A voice approaches, though she cannot tell from where.

Where am I?

Who is calling for me?

Come... on... wake up...

It is a familiar voice. One she has not heard in a very long time.

The cold, waterlogged seabed is gone; was never here. In its place, dry land, and swirling eddies of dust.

Who...?

Sakiko struggles to open her eyes. A pale strand of hair greets her.

Saki. Are you okay?

...Mutsumi?

Mm. I'm here.

Such simple words, and yet they bring tears to Sakiko's eyes.

It's no fault of the sand in the air, she knows that. For only she knows just how helpless she feels in this moment.

If she speaks now, her voice will break. But she can't afford to care about that. All she can think of is to clutch at the final straw she has.

Mutsumi... I... What do I do...?

<i>We laugh together, we cry together.</i>

<i>Up on this beautiful stage, we act out a vibrant monodrama.</i>

<i>I do not fear death.</i>

Here, Saki. Drink.

My throat doesn't hurt so much now...

Good. Here. For you. Rim Billiton is all dust and sand. You need waterskins and goggles.

Sakiko takes each item as Mutsumi offers them. She clutches them tightly. The swollen waterskin looks fit to burst.

Saki. You seem bad. Are you sick?

No, it's nothing...

Mutsumi, you... remember me?

Of course.

You remember all the things we've been through?

Mmhm. I remember all of it.

Sakiko feels she can finally relax a little. She casts her gaze around—

The long, narrow mineshaft they have been following dives deep into the ground, all the way down to here.

It is damp and dark, with only oil lanterns and stoves to provide feeble pinpricks of light.

There is space for only one between the bed and dining table, and based on the number of cups on that table, Mutsumi is not living here alone.

Mutsumi, how... how long have you been living here?

A year. Maybe more. There's nothing complicated to think about here, and time doesn't pass that clearly.

No... You can't sense the passing of time because you're in a dream.

Mutsumi, why would you dream of <i>this</i>...?

Dream...?

I have something very important to tell you, Mutsumi. None of this is real. We need to—

Oh hello, now—back already, Mutsumi-chan?

Someone rushes in behind them, and tackles Mutsumi straight down on the soft bed.

M-Mum, you're all dusty, get off of me...