rogue_4

You cannot give her the answer she seeks—how to save everything—but you are the only one capable of walking with her on this eternal, endless path.

Yet another ending.

You watch yourself defeat 'Amiya', Furnace's Finale, and you know that she will soon seal away Nymph with this story.

Most of the time, you tap the strange symbol on the upper right, allowing you to skip all previously seen messages, and taking you straight into yet another Storyteller's tale.

But this time, you quickly tap the boundary between you and her. You watch Amiya's eyes open, and the white cocoon slowly forming before your eyes.

Perhaps you are just imagining it, but you feel like Amiya is looking at you. Your thoughts do not affect your actions, however; tap a few more times, and everything here will come to an end. After a fleeting moment of darkness, you will see a detailed list of all that you have seen, then you will visit an elaborately-designed screen and experience it all again.

A few taps, and the screen grows dark. Once again, you see yourself in the reflection of the dark boundary.

Soon, a faint light appears.

You are puzzled. These lines of text have never appeared before. You are quickly overcome with the joy of discovering something new, and begin to read the symbols carefully.

The lines are filled with Amiya's kindness. Their approval and blessings feel familiar.

Then, the familiar list fills your vision.

From that moment on, from time to time you choose not to touch the symbols after a story has ended, hoping for more surprises from Amiya.

You do not remember how many stories you have seen. It has been a long time since you last received feedback from Amiya. And so, you begin to forget about it.

But sometimes, after completing a challenge and defeating Amiya with a great sense of satisfaction, you give the final scene the smallest bit of kindness, and end it with a sort of ritualistic tapping.

You tap and tap, watching the blessings Amiya gives you, and an image of her. All returns to the familiar...

Amiya's image? Something new again?! By the time you realize this, you are already far from the moment that it appeared. You feel regret over this, but also renewed motivation to continue the challenge. Finally, after you have defeated Amiya once again, you see the image of Amiya that you missed.

What else awaits? You feel joy, as one is prone to when discovering a new message. You feel like you are willing to wait a long time for them.

And then...

You forget about it.

Your attention is soon drawn to the new things appearing on the screen. The Furnaceside Fables are now a thing of the past. There are more things, more meaningful things, waiting for you, compared to that elusive message.

In the end, for whatever reason, you decide to take the Storyteller's path once again. Three hollow rectangles appear in the very familiar darkness, behind Amiya's image.

They are usually buttons that only appear when there is a choice to be made, but this time there is nothing in them. You pick one of them at random, and see Amiya close her eyes and disappear.

Nothing new appears from that point on. Just as one of the lines of text said:

'Let it be the final word on this page.'

What did those blank rectangles mean?

You may not have realized, but Amiya sensed your emotions when you pressed the rectangle.

Whatever they were, Amiya chose to accept them. It is the most she could do under the constraint of the rules.

Even if the boundary separates your world from hers forever.

All is well, for communication has been established.

A single tap, a single meeting of gazes, changes little.

But that is what you and her can do—that is what we are.

There is always meaning emerging from nothing.

Perhaps someday, when you have tapped them enough times, words corresponding to emotions will appear on those rectangles.

And this exchange will become one of the supporting pillars on our life's journey, subtle though it may be.

Amiya departs.