This Heart Eternal
Palace Balcony
Snow Globe
The instruments have been tuned, and all the refreshments are ready... I wonder if we hung the ballroom chandelier a bit too low? I should check it again...
As you push open the balcony door, you see Liv lost in thought as she mentally checks off tasks while her fingertips absently brush against the railing.
That's good. She listens to you more than me these days, Commandant.
That's exactly why this ball... must be a success.
Liv lowers her gaze with slight embarrassment, quietly whispering her thoughts to herself.
I believe we can do this. It's just that... this is my first time being a host, my first time attending an event I organized myself, and my first time wearing this dress I used to imagine when I was little.
When I first woke up in the Snow Globe, you were coming down the silken path for me. My heart suddenly fluttered like a flock of birds beating their wings as I turned and saw my reflection in the mirror.
She gently smooths her dress and ribbons as memories flit briefly across her eyes like skimming dragonflies. She lifts her gaze to meet yours.
I don't really mind whether my coating is fancy or not. I just want to look my best when I'm with you.
The host of the ball is supposed to lead the first dance. They say the more you cherish something, the more flustered you become. Our time here is so precious that I hardly know what to do... I might mess up right away...
But you're the only one I want to take by the hand. When I think of you, I'm not afraid of anything anymore.
[player name], will you be my dance partner?
You stand before Liv, nod, and turn sideways as you raise your arm, creating a perfect curve at the elbow for her to take.
She returns your gesture with a courteous nod. She takes a slightly trembling deep breath before gently linking her arm with yours.
Let's go. Together, we'll give this little world its grand opening.
Palace Ballroom
Snow Globe
Just as the Red Sorcerer foretold, the air seems to freeze for an instant when they are summoned.
Footsteps echo from the end of the corridor. You can tell multiple visitors are marching in formation with disturbingly synchronized steps.
A faceless shadow glides into the ballroom, their trailing garments leaving a path of crimson, like an eternal wound that never clots.
Behind them, a flock of white swan fairies follows in procession, their white feathers splattered with red stains, their faces hollow and empty.
A ball requires dancing. We have brought the dance.
With a curl of their claw, the fairies link arms with each other like puppets on strings, and they start moving with stiff, mechanical steps.
Kicks, jumps... Each movement seems cut and pasted from different ballets, forcibly cobbled together without a trace of genuine emotion.
Under the solemn gaze of Liv and you, the Red Sorcerer waves their hand again. The white swan fairies scatter and begin to dance alone, moving faster and faster as if trying to outrun time itself.
Patterns of blood spread from beneath their agonized steps, eventually encircling the entire ballroom.
The world is a cage where life performs its endless dance: never resting, inevitably scattering, and ultimately doomed.
...
Enough... You don't have to force yourselves anymore. Please, stop.
Her voice is soft and gentle, yet it instantly disrupts the Red Sorcerer's woven spell like a raindrop falling into a dark pool. The white swans stop their maddening dance, trembling as they embrace one another.
I feel your pain... I too trudge through this same crimson sea with you. Perhaps we cannot choose how life begins or ends, but we can decide where to go and with whom to dance.
Pausing isn't giving up. Separation isn't the end. Even in the worst calamity, people build havens of respite. As long as we share our smiles and tears, even the gentlest sway in the darkness can be our dance.
Our dance, our world...
It's a rest stop on our journey, the foundation of our home, a paradise where we hold onto each other.
Liv clasps her hands tightly together. She's ready.
Red Sorcerer, just as you use your dance to spread despair—
[player name] and I will show you our hope through this dance.
Hand in hand, you step into the crimson center.
Liv gazes into your eyes as if you are the only person she sees in countless worlds.
She parts her lips softly and begins to sing a melody you know by heart.
(Sings softly)
A melody once separated by countless miles and the boundary of life and death is now sung to the one who holds her in an embrace.
There are no lyrics, for no words can adequately express how she feels. Instead, every emotion flows through your connected gaze.
One, two, three. Sway, spin, embrace.
As you dance back and forth, her silver-white hair flows like white birds playing in the morning breeze, her skirt brushing against her knees like waves eternally caressing the shore.
Wherever your steps fall, the crimson silently fades away.
Until every tile returns to its original color, and every fairy's feather regains its purity. The two of you, breathing heavily, lean against each other's shoulders.
Commandant...
That's good... I knew we could do it...
I don't want to let go of you either...
After taking a moment to compose yourselves, you help each other to stand before reluctantly tearing your gaze away from one another to survey your surroundings.
In the now-pristine palace ballroom, only a single spot of crimson remains.
—The Red Sorcerer hovers there in a daze, the edges of their form already beginning to blur.
You and Liv exchange a glance and nod to each other. Together, you walk up to the Red Sorcerer, and Liv reaches out her hand, slowly but firmly grasping the faceless shadow's wrist.
Why...
We felt acceptance from your touch... Why?
Because I want to make peace with my pain. Because I want to truly heal and walk alongside Commandant for years to come.
Farewell. If souls have a path to return home, may your journey be accompanied by my song.
The edges of the red robe shatter and scatter away as the tall figure gradually turns translucent, stirring up a gust of clear wind.
Our suffering was too heavy... so heavy we couldn't break free from that crimson veil...
Until you began to build this place... We heard it... That familiar, joyous song...
The wind gently brushes against the garments of every soul present. They slowly rise upward, finally dissipating into the golden radiance of the honeysuckle chandelier.
Thank you.
You and Liv both hear their final whispers.
A loud sob breaks through the silence.
Sob... sob... T-they're all back...
The black swan butler stumbles through the back door of the ballroom and rushes toward the white swan fairies. Black and white wings flutter wildly as they embrace each other tightly.
Just as you and Liv are overcome with emotion…
The feathery puffballs come rushing over with a whoosh, clinging to Liv's and your legs, sobbing so hard you can barely make out what they are saying.
How about we stop crying now? Your eyes are going to get all puffy, you know?
After frantically calming everyone down, Liv shoots you a quick glance and whispers as the fairies begin interrogating Othilde about the palace's new decor.
Follow me.
The first dance is over. It's time for the hosts of the ball to enjoy some time alone.
Let me keep you in suspense for now!
The silver-haired girl freezes for a moment, then tugs at your sleeve in protest, but doesn't object.
M-maybe. I'm going to whisk you away.
Before the swans can notice, you follow her as she tiptoes out through a side corridor.
Only when she stops and turns around do you realize what makes this place special.
In the beginning, this was where you stood on the bridge with arms outstretched, catching Liv as she gracefully leapt down from above.
The palace lights from above filter through the cloud-like foliage beside the bridge in the night, scattering tiny reflections in her eyes.
The Professor said that we'll know it when the Snow Globe is successfully built.
When the objective is achieved, the dream completes its purpose. So I've been quietly telling myself not to grow attached, in case we'd be forced to leave the moment the Red Sorcerer was purified.
If that's the case, there are words I've been keeping in my heart for years that I want to share with you in this most special place.
Liv approaches with almost reverent devotion, pressing her palm against yours as your fingers intertwine.
The world outside our hearts contains everything we both love. But the world within our hearts holds nothing but our love for each other.
If we are the gods of this place, then I make this vow to us both—a promise that will surely be fulfilled.
She presses your intertwined hands against both your chests.
I swear on my name that I will always share with you my mind, my strength, my faith, and my life, no matter where or when.
I have but one ultimate wish, and that is to walk the path of joy with you.
A faint, joyful cry escapes from her lips.
The moment your lips touch, it feels like kissing the first blossoms on a spring night.
The next moment, Liv leans forward. Flower petals chase and brush past her gray feathers, mirroring the gentleness, sincerity, and resolve she showed when making her vow.
The blossoms sway with gentle rustling, and the rivers sing a lively melody. In the soft glow of fading lights, the world born from your love bestows its blessing upon its creators.
Holding Liv in your arms, you seem to understand a different kind of "eternity," one that exists beyond time.
—"Eternity" can be measured by how deeply you are moved by her.
[player name]... [player name], I love you deeply.
The moment you embrace Liv, she nestles into your arms like a weary bird returning to its nest, resting all her tender emotions in the crook of your neck.
The blossoms sway with gentle rustling, and the rivers sing a lively melody. In the soft glow of fading lights, the world born from your love bestows its blessing upon its creators.
As your feelings echo each other, you seem to understand a different kind of "eternity," one that exists beyond time.
—"Eternity" can be measured by how deeply you are moved by her.
Liv's Lounge
Babylonia
Several days later
The silver-haired girl sits beside you with an exquisite box, her gaze irresistibly drawn to one side, where another gift box of similar size is placed.
The idea of exchanging "commemorative gifts" was suggested by both of you simultaneously after waking from the Snow Globe, and today is the day to unveil these surprises.
Just to be fair, let's open them at the same time, Commandant.
She hands you the box with both hands, then picks up the gift box you prepared for her and places it on her lap.
Both of you open the box lids at the same time.
Inside the box before you lies an exquisite paper-cut sphere lamp, intricately carved with the palace and lake where you both confessed your feelings to each other.
Sitting on a wooden base, the overlapping silhouettes spin with a gentle push, creating an ingenious transition where snowflakes transform into floating petals and back again.
It's so beautiful...
She holds the gift you gave her with both hands, her eyes sparkling with joy.
It's a real snow globe: half winter landscape, half spring scenery, a black swan is leading a flock of white swans across the lake, while two unmistakable figures stand by each other on a bridge by the shore.
Liv's fingers linger around the figures as she gently presses her lips together. Reminiscing about the warmth you shared that night on the flower bridge, she nestles into your arms once more.
Good idea.
She looks up at you after a while, her eyes sparkling as she breaks into a bashful smile.
As for what to write... would you mind if I decide it, Commandant? I just thought of something that seems perfect.
She takes the terminal and types out a line.
"To all the worlds we have yet to build."
She nestles closer to you, her posture relaxed and peaceful.
Next time, what kind of world will we forge together?
You stop mid-sentence to build suspense, waiting for Liv to finish your thought.
...Certainly be a unique, magical journey that belongs only to us.
