The church fell quiet.
Ymir gave the player another slight bow, looking sincere.
The player suddenly remembered they had yet to advance the game's main quest and teleported straight away.
Ranni alone remained standing there, as unresponsive as a stone statue.
Freedom was what she sought, yet once she truly attained it, she suddenly no longer knew which way to go. Having no idea what to do was a sorrow in itself; uncertainty itself was fear.
Ranni had not thought through her future, because in the past she could never have imagined the present. And now, even if the clock hands stopped, the world would still race toward the future. Could she think clearly in the cold?
Leaving all that aside for now, the player had arrived at the Grand Lift of Dectus.
A Finger Reader Crone sat fast asleep on the stone steps, a withered wooden staff clasped in her arms. Her mouth hung slightly open, letting out faint snores, and drool trickled from its corner onto her robe.
Nearby, Rogier and his apprentice Godrick, whom the player had not seen in a long time, were resting.
Rogier sat on a jutting rock with his legs crossed, holding a thick book in his hands and reading intently.
Godrick stood behind him with his hands hanging at his sides. His androgynous face, paired with an indescribable gloom, was truly captivating.
The player approached to talk.
Rogier hurriedly put away his book, a gentle smile appearing on his face.
He stood up with his back bent. "Hi, long time no see. Are you heading to the Altus Plateau too?"
He brushed nonexistent dust from his robe, trying to hide something...
"Oh, oh, yes, the capital of a wild surge of metal and flame. It's a completely different sight from traditional Liurnia."