S1017B

My vision cleared up once I pressed the button.

I feel the sensation of striking a hard floor, but the rattling aches pass before long. Cold water swallows my body in its tides and drags it under.

Soon, the water fills my lungs. I can't breathe.

Through my blurred vision, I see rippling water and cresting white foam. Sunshine pours down over the scenery beyond.

It isn't long before the pressure crushing my chest disappears. The water that surrounds me feels like a warm embrace.

Thoughts I normally would never entertain spring uncontrollably, flooding my mind.

I can feel my nerves pulsating.

I feel as though this head, attached to me but not really mine, is going to be submerged underwater forever.

Is it comfort that washes over me...? Or is it...

We extend our warmest welcome to the valued guests of Grand Magasin Sisyphe visiting today.

Grand Magasin Sisyphe is ever committed to cherishing every experience our customers procure within.

To keep abreast of the latest fashions, we actively encourage the wide variety of shops available at the department store to open and close according to trends. Please take care not to lose your way as you explore the establishment.

As always, restrooms on every floor are currently under repair. Please take note of this when planning your visit. We apologize for the inconvenience.

To prevent hygiene issues, entry to each floor will be limited to customers who have achieved the required Prestige Tier. Please visit our Customer Service Center on the sixth floor for any further queries.

Customers are welcome to make physical contact with all Mannequins on display. Conversely, Mannequins are also allowed to make physical contact with all customers. Should you wish to participate, please talk to the sales associate at the relevant shop, who will be delighted to assist you.

We ask everyone to do their best to ensure another day of worthwhile consumer experience for our customers. Thank you for choosing Grand Magasin Sisyphe, and enjoy your shopping.

What we experienced just now...

I just know it's something I never want to go through again... I mean, I've been killed in a variety of different ways on this team, but to be forced to face death when it wasn't even a combat situation... And on top of that, having to feel the sensation of doing it myself is just... a big no.

Can't believe residents in N Corp. pay money to purchase that nasty experience. You couldn't pay me to go through that twice.

.......

To package the very severing of life as amusement, then sell it as a product...

Though conquering boredom is, forsooth, no simple feat, this is... hmm...

It felt more real than I imagined.

I knew it was all taking place within a machine... Yet in that moment, I truly felt as though... I were witnessing the final moments of my life.

When the noose tightened, I thought my neck was gonna snap...

I'm with Ishy... People actually pay money to put themselves through this?

There are those who, with no real purpose in mind, tie themselves to a cord and leap from great heights, or surrender themselves to violent waves to see whether or not they will be swept under.

It is said that people come to feel the sensation of being alive more keenly via experiences that bring them infinitely close to death.

... So ya sayin' they do it on purpose?

Distasteful.

Wait, I've... I've heard this exact conversation before.

When... where did I hear this conversation before...? My brain feels like a chaotic scramble of disconnected information - I feel it's going to take a while to get it all in order.

<This is... the Fount...>

Wha? The Fount? We're obviously in a -

... It's a restroom.

Verily, 'tis a privy!

A place where one's innermost troubles may be emptied.

We went through all that shite in that bloody machine... just to get to a toilet?

It's true Nelly's lies did put us in danger before, but it didn't appear to me that she was trying to harm or deceive us this time around...

Fau. The machine we triggered... was it some kind of teleporter?

The verdict would differ depending on our interpretation of the experience, but it is certain that our bodies were not physically sent to this place. That shouldn't be an issue, however, as this is indeed the destination we were bound for, which we have reached successfully.

So... where the heck are we? Where do we go to find Meur?

<What are you talking about? Meursault's right there in his usual spot, by the exit - >

<Huh...?>

I turned toward the exit point to where Meursault... used to be, and realized that he wasn't there. I looked around the restroom, searching for his whereabouts, but I couldn't see him anywhere.

What are you talking about, Dante? The whole reason we're here is to find Meursault, remember?

... Oi, the Suicide Vending Machine must've knocked a gear off the Clock or somethin'. They're out of it.

<No, what are you guys talking about?! We failed. Doomed to forever - >

I turned to Faust, someone I could almost always trust to be in the know...

<Faust!>

... Ah. If... if that is the case...

... then I'd better speak as little as possible on this matter.

... but she simply looked away from me - a clear sign that she wasn't willing to divulge anything.

Clock.

<Am I the only one who remembers this? We already... we were there for the end of the Grand Magasin... We...>

Déjà vu... I've been here before. Witnessed something before returning... or being rewound, I suppose.

<…!>

So calm down, C.H.

Arayashiki vibrates, letting out a light hum as though in agreement.

... Hang on, hang on. I ain't so sure if they're okay to move on. Even that fire on their noggin feels a bit hotter, I think...

Who knows. Must be M.P. or something.

"Must be memory poisoning or something"...? Like food poisoning? What does that even...

Ohh, maybe that's why Dante hallucinated Meursault by the exit. That explains the random stuff they said about the Grand Magasin - they were probably bombarded by Meur's memories on the way here!

Maybe that's what happened. Whenever someone's "turn" comes, Dante tends to get a chance to peek into their memories.

Ryōshū looked around the room, discomfort visible in her knitted brows.

Maybe Ryōshū actually remembers something about the Grand Magasin from before...? No, I don't think that's what's happening. But I can't shake this nagging feeling that I'm missing something to be making any definite guesses at this moment.

Has all of that been a figment of my imagination, then? Or a dream?

<That doesn't seem plausible...>

If it really were just an illusion or a dream, Faust wouldn't have reacted as though she knew something. Besides, everything we went through at the Grand Magasin was vivid enough to dispel any notion of dismissing it as a product of momentary delusion - at least for me.

For now... I say that you must rest upon this wall awhile and recover. At present, naught appears to pose a direct threat.

Never should've thrown ourselves so blindly into that machine of dubious function...

Perhaps we can question that woman there and gather some information while the Executive Manager takes their much-needed rest.

...!

She looks similar... to Demian...

Identify yourself. What do you know about this place?

... This place...

The woman, with a benevolent smile gracing her lips, is watching us serenely.

I'd seen her before, too.

... It is where everything that is washed away comes to rest. The "Fount"...

The Fount?! Hey, that's what Dante called this place earlier -

Shh.

Outis paused, waiting for Rodya and Ryōshū's brief altercation to end, then continued her query toward the mysterious woman.

... That's not what we asked.

Are you affiliated with this establishment? Can't deny there is something familiar about you.

... All things appear... as one believes them to be.

Well, at least she doesn't seem hostile to us...

Do you happen to know what we're... supposed to do here...? Could you tell us if you do?

.......

... The woman in blue doesn't seem to have anything more to say. She just continues to regard us in silence with that same, benevolent smile.

Would it still be safe if we just... left through that door over there?

.......

There was one very clear-cut way of finding out whether this had all been just a product of my imagination or not, and I was ready to confirm it. Once we leave through that exit, we'll first be greeted by a veritable waterfall of corpses. Then, as we panic at the sudden turn of events, Kromer's sister will emerge from somewhere and chat us up with her feigned affability.

If anything, my memory of the previous experience remains. I remember every detail.

<First things first... Let's get a move on and see what's outside.>