The fifth volume, "May the Earth Be with You and Me," had officially come to an end. This volume had turned out unexpectedly long—even longer than I had anticipated at the start—but it had finally reached a relatively satisfying conclusion. To summarize this volume, its pace had been somewhat slower than the previous ones, and some parts really should have been shortened. But I still felt that it turned out quite well overall. As the transitional portion of this book's "middle period," it had made a good start while Shade was in the middle ring. In particular, it showed Shade's spiritual growth: letting him witness these stories, understand his responsibility toward love, his attitude toward the Chosen Ones, and his thoughts about the world.
The theme of the next volume will be "space."
The final scene of the first volume had been Shade and the Doctor walking side by side down the street with their backs to a burning building, Shade looking back while the Doctor lowered his head. The final scene of the second volume had been a view from a Steam Epoch street toward a 2nd Floor window; amid the thin mist, Shade gazed into the distance while the Doctor watched him. The final scene of the third volume had been a rainy morning, with Shade and the Doctor facing away from the camera, holding umbrellas as they looked at a gravestone in the rain. The final scene of the fourth volume had been beneath a snowy night sky, with Shade and the Doctor standing outside the Clock Tower's topmost clock face, watching the snow-covered city—one holding the railing, the other folding his arms across his chest. The final scene of the fifth volume had been an early spring morning, with Shade and Doctor Schneider sitting on a