Exploration, floor 4 c2

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These old, tattered pairs of shoes won't take us anywhere.

There are papers on the table. One of them catches my eye.

[MISSING PERSON]

[Description: Burn scar on the face, scarf, leather bag...]

[Last Seen: Courthouse Sisyphe, Hall ■, Grand Auditorium]

<... This has to be describing Dubois, right?>

... Courthouse Sisyphe is an ancient form of the Sisyphe System.

Unlike the things of eld, Dubois assumed a form that is generally accepted as human. If the individual this paper is describing truly is Dubois, I... fail to understand how this is possible.

<This might've just been a coincidence, but...>

<... Meursault, can experiences remain even when the memories of them have eroded away?>

... I believe so, Manager.

I don't know what to make of that.

I'll commit that to memory and revisit it later. Right now, making our way upstairs is our priority.

Don't think looking at it again will suddenly light the spark of inspiration in my head.

A slide. It's so old and rusted that it might crumble if we tried to ride it.

A chaotic jumble of remnants. Le Noir branded clothes... furnishings...

Can't even tell if this is made from leather or fabric.

A pile of broken furnishings. All that time, and no one's purchased a single one of them.

Busily inspecting the fissure.

The black couch... Le Néant falls still again under the shadows, awaiting.

The black couch - or what it looked like at first, at least - speaks to us.

... And here I was, surprised to see customers in the Furniture Hall again... I see that you are strangers.

What happened to the other furnishings?

They all met a predictable end. Concerned solely about making themselves more expensive, they failed to consider who, in their right mind, would purchase them.

They refused to lower their standards even after the Rouges have stripped them of anything even remotely valuable, and... well, the results lay plainly before you.

<... So you're the last survivor?>

The Manager would like to know if you are the sole survivor.

Oh yes, because I've chosen my buyer. And have had much to discuss with the sunshine, too.

She has very high hopes for you, dear strangers.

"She"... as in the sunshine? Are you talking about Miss Carmen?

Hm... The sunshine is indeed a warm and kind being... but it does not lead, nor does it promise us a tomorrow.

The sunshine is no different from any other natural phenomenon. The sunshine is as much a sunshine as rain is rain.

The Voice of Le Néant, on the other hand... has promised me a tomorrow.

<... Le Néant.>

If you are weary, feel free to rest your feet awhile. Though I can't promise it'll be too comfortable.

<No thanks.>

No thank you.

Then farewell. I look forward to your deconstruction of this department store.

An expensive handbag, but it is empty inside.

The worth of a bag does not determine the value of what lies within, it seems.

<Renée...>

Ah... you've already made it this far.

It seems it won't be long before we can enjoy a little sunbathing.

<Carmen - I mean, the sunshine... what exactly does it want?>

We wish to know... what the sunshine wants.

What a strange thing to ask. The sunshine... only wants what we want.

Even when the sunlight disagrees with us, so long as our wish, our emotion is sincere... it comes to want what we want.

<If that's the case, Meursault...>

Meursault had said that the sunshine was chatty. Irritatingly so.

Usually, those are the sort of words people use when something doesn't sit right with what they think...

... What the sunshine whispered to me was entirely congruent to what I wanted, Manager.

<Then... what makes it so irritating?>

.......

Meursault fell silent, sinking deeper into thought as if he could no longer bring himself to continue.

Almost as though something had frightened him.

Are you heading to 5F?

Yes. We need to climb higher.

5F... is where the Rouges have made themselves at home. That's where they are devouring the department store... bit by bit.

I do hope you'll make it past them... and find your way to the higher floors.

Soon, we will all return to our homes - save for the Crimson God.

We owe everything to you, strangers.