"She always said she felt like she was losing something." "At the time I was in middle school, and couldn't understand what she meant." "But those words had a strange effect on me." "It was before the war..." "The big island of Ezo belonged to another country." "Wow!" "A plane?" "!" "Now, those days are long gone." "Our promised place was beyond those clouds." "KUMO NO MUKOU, YAKUSOKU NO BASHO" "In between the oh-so violent..." "[March." "Aomori Prefecture, Tsugaru District.] ...fevers and gasping you asked me to get the last bowl-ful of snow, descended from the skies..." "The realm of galaxies and suns and atmospheres..." "Upon two quarry-blocks of granite where the sleet is lonesomely deposited..." "I perched upon them precariously." "And from the glistening pine-boughs filled with cold transparent beads that maintain the hoar-white, two-phase equilibria betwixt snow and water,..." " ... at the time, we were drawn by two things." " I shall take away the last food for my little sister." "How much more time do we have?" "We're still okay." "How much more time do we have?" "Here you go." "Hot!" "Thank you." "When do you want to go to work next, Hiroki?" "My club meets tomorrow, so probably the day after." "What about you, Takuya?" "Tomorrow morning is my last practice..." "So we'll go the day after tomorrow?" "Sounds good." "One was our classmate, Sawatari Sayuri..." "The other was the giant tower across the Tsugaru Strait." "I was always looking up at that tower." "I felt that something very precious waited there." "I yearned to go there." "One day..." "One day I will go there." "Shirakawa-senpai!" "We'll go on ahead." "Ah, thanks." "Umm, since you guys are quitting the club today..." "We wanted to give you something." "Go on, Kana-chan." "Hey... wait..." "Umm..." "So you turned her down?" "Like always?" "Yeah." "That freshman, Matsura..." "She's cute." "So go out with her." "What?" "If it were you, would you go out with her?" "Huh?" "No... why am I...?" "Is there someone you like?" "Huh... why?" "Well, I think she's cute, but..." "To go out with her..." "I wouldn't even know what to do..." "You weren't the one she confessed to." "You're the one who asked me!" "Sawatari!" "Fujisawa-kun!" "Sawatari..." "You're going home pretty late." "Yeah." "It got late while I was practicing." "The violin?" "Yeah." "You aren't with Shirakawa-kun today?" "No, I went to my club today." "I see you practicing archery by yourself once in a while, Fujisawa-kun." "Y" " Yeah..." "I'm not very good." "I can't really seem to concentrate well." "What are you going to do over spring break, Fujisawa-kun?" "Well..." "Takuya and I are going to work." "Work?" "That's good." "Where?" "At a military factory in Hamana." "We put guided missiles together." "I see." "It's really great that you work." "I'm probably still going to go to my club." "I see." "Yeah." "We're almost at my stop." "You know, yesterday I dreamt of going home with you like this." "Bye bye." "See you next term." "Y" " Yeah..." "Hello." "Good, you're on break." "Yeah, come sit down." "Sure." "You're late, Hiroki." "Sorry." "We heard the news, Hiroki." "You guys stole a marine Chukar?" "I told you that's not true!" "We didn't steal it!" "We found it in the forest!" "So you guys did steal it." "Well, you'll be okay since they've been sending out a lot of drones for practice." "Make sure you guys don't get caught." "Yeah." "This place is always under government supervision." "Don't say that kind of stuff." "Get to work." "Yes, sir." "Later." "Yeah." "You guys come in tomorrow and start working, too." "I'll make you work harder than you've ever worked before." "Yes, sir." "Okay, then..." "We'll see you tomorrow." "Yeah." "There was a reason we started working." "When Ezo was still called Hokkaido, they planned to dig a tunnel under the Tsugaru Strait." "The plan was cancelled after the North-South divide took place, but there are still abandoned factories, stations, and rails all over these hills." "We were going to one of those abandoned stations at the top of the mountain to make something we had wanted since last year." "We worked at the Emishi Manufacturing military factory to make money to buy parts." "It was almost close enough to touch but we still couldn't go there." "We both needed to see the island and the giant tower with our own two eyes." "The snow's almost all melted." "I want to get started again." "As long as it's done snowing, we'll be okay." "We have to get all of our parts ready, too." "We still need the nanonet for the exterior and the cell motor." "We'll also need a big electric motor and some kerosene later." "What we make this week probably won't be enough for that." "We'll make it." "We still have summer break, too." "That's right." "We named the plane Velaciela, and we were going to go to that tower across the border." "[4 Months Later." "Early Summer.] The same dream again..." "Sawatari?" "Takuya-kun." "Hey..." "Hey..." "Sorry." "No, no." "Hiroki said..." "Hiroki said..." "We've never really spoken to each other, have we?" "You might be right." "Do you like physics, Takuya-kun?" "Oh, this book?" "I'm kind of interested in this stuff." "That's great." "My grandfather was a physicist." "Wow, that's better than me." "I never met him, though." "The North-South divide?" "Yeah." "I see." "So, you guys are still working, right?" "Is it fun?" "I don't know about that..." "There's a scary guy working at the factory who yells at us and treats us like slaves." "Is he that scary?" "He's like the demon from Nebuta." "Really?" "You want to see?" "Heh?" "But won't I bother you guys?" "No, Hiroki will probably be happy, too." "Yeah, I'll go!" "Hey, Takuya-kun..." "This might sound weird, but..." "do you promise not to laugh?" "What is it?" "I won't laugh." "Then I'll tell you." "It's..." "Hey, why'd you invite her?" "Sorry." "It just slipped out." "What do you want to do?" "You want to tell her about our plan to fly to the tower?" "No, that would be bad." "Yeah... but what if she asks where we're going with it?" "Hmm..." "Hey..." "Yeah?" "Hello." "Hey." "It's hot today, isn't it?" "Hello." "Sorry for interrupting." "Ah... sorry!" "So you're a friend of my two idiots?" "Is Okabe-san single?" "No, I heard he was divorced." "I think I can see why." "What a beautiful place!" "It's so open!" "Wow!" "A plane?" "That's right." "Are the two of you building this by yourselves?" "Yeah, we've been slowly working on it since junior year." "We work at the factory to get parts and to ask advice from Okabe-san." "Right?" "Yeah." "But it's still not finished." "It's incredible." "Hey, it's really great!" "T" " Thanks..." "Hey..." "When do you think the plane is going to be finished?" "Well, we want to finish it during summer break, but..." "We probably won't." "A lot of work still needs to get done." "The end of the year might be a more realistic goal." "I see." "Where are you guys going with that plane?" "We're going to that tower." "By tower you mean the Union's tower?" "Yeah." "We think we can get to the tower in about forty minutes." "We just need to figure out how to get across the border." "But we're working on that." "Wow, wow!" "I want to go to Hokkaido." "You want to come, Sawatari?" "Really?" "Yeah." "Really?" "Yeah, I want to go!" "Thanks!" "But we really don't know if it'll fly yet." "Don't worry, it'll fly!" "Yeah." "So let's promise!" "Yeah." "Then, it's a promise." "Yeah!" "Back then, I felt that this place..." "this time would last forever." "The tower I admired that lay beyond the clouds became the place of a precious promise." "At that moment, we weren't afraid of anything." "But in reality, the world and the flow of time kept on going all around me." "Yet I couldn't help but feel that the nighttime smell in the train, my friend's trust and the presence of Sayuri were the only things in this world." "Yeah." "Of course I'll sell you kerosene and anything else, if you pay for it but jet fuel is expensive." "Why don't you guys just use a reciprocating or large electric motor?" "You know how to do the rest?" "Yes." "Get to it." "Why do you guys want to use a jet engine, anyway?" "Because it looks cool!" "Is that the only reason?" "Wait a second... there were other reasons." "Umm... oh, I know!" "Because we were lucky enough to find it!" "That's not it!" "What was it... there was a reason we decided on two different engines..." "There was a good reason behind it." "Oh, I know." "We want it to transform!" "That's not it either!" "I don't really care." "Just don't die..." "I don't want it to get messy." "Hey, you guys should come to work every day once summer vacation starts." "Yes, sir." "Hey..." "Do I really have to play?" "Yeah, we'll go after school." "I'm not really good." "That's okay." "I've never seen anyone play before." "Play for me?" "I'd like to hear you play, too." "I'm getting nervous..." "The nanonet won't reflect radar waves, right?" "But we are going to fly through a military no-fly zone." "We have to do it right, or we might get caught by the Americans before the Union even sees us." "I guess we'll just have to fly really low." "Try to blend in with the waves and landforms." "If we leave early in the morning, we could probably hide in the morning fog." "Do you have a map of Ezo?" "This is the only one with any real detail." "We won't know the lay of the land till we get there." "So once we land, we'll have to figure out our elevation." "But if we land, we shouldn't show up on the Union's radar." "Velaciela should look smaller than a little bird on the radar." "Probably, but if we run into some bad luck..." "Sawatari!" "Hang on!" "It's okay... it's not that far down..." "Have we... done this before?" "Thank God, I made it in time." "I'll" "Are you guys okay?" "Yeah." "Sorry." "Thanks." "Hey!" "That surprised him!" "What did you do that for?" "!" "Stop it, Hiroki!" "Sorry, it was just too tempting." "What?" "What are you trying to do?" "Don't get so angry." "Of course I'm angry!" "Stay in the water forever!" "Let's go, Sawatari." "Takuya!" "Sawatari, say something to him." "Sorry, Takuya-kun." "Hiroki's an idiot." "Let's go." "Hey, Takuya..." "Earlier, I was in a dream for a brief moment." "A dream?" "What kind of dream?" "I forget... but it was probably about that tower." "The scenery here is pretty dreamlike." "The Union is amazing." "It seems like the tower is connected to another world." "The sun... is taking its time setting." "That was a really special summer." "But the world around me would betray me again and again after this." "Since that day three years ago, I haven't seen Sawatari once." "[3 Years Later]" "[Union Territory" " Ezo Airspace]" "[Fall." "Aomori City.]" "[American NSA" " Aomori Army College Wartime Special Information Processing Room.]" "We have some guests, but don't worry." "First phase complete." "Let's continue." "Okay." "Next, the filtration stage." "Starting second phase." "We have a 25% increase in the resolution power to reach our target." "Good, maybe we can make it this time." "Pick your algorithms wisely." "Yes, sir." "Which algorithm, Shirakawa?" "I put a lot of work into the group extraction filtering." "I got it from a paper by Ekusun Tsukinoe." "You mean the Ekusun Tsukinoe from the Union?" "That's right." "What?" "How'd you manage th" "Wait!" "Getting increased readings..." "Who's Ekusun Tsukinoe?" "He's a Union researcher who was the first person to prove the existence of parallel universes." "He's thought to be the one who designed that tower." "Got it!" "I'm getting exposure readings from the direction of XA YC ZC." "It-shows five... no, six diverging universes." "Six?" "Begin the tune-in stage." "Connect to it!" "Starting third phase." "Connect to the closest parallel world." "Yes, sir." "He's fast." "Shirakawa-kun is the closest one." "Connection is possible in 12 exa." "11... 10... 9.4... 9.2..." "I've connected!" "I've connected to one of the worlds." "My exposure readings are steady." "Let's move on to the transformation stage." "Fourth phase." "Replace space with the parallel world." "Transformation of space with a radius of 60 nm confirmed." "Spreading quickly." "It'll be visible to the naked eye in a few moments." "We can't do it." "We can't do it." "Exposure readings falling." "We can't maintain our connection to the world much longer." "Wave function is converging." "We've lost the connection to the divergent world." "We were able to switch a 1.3 mm radius area with the other world." "Good work." "Doctor Tomisawa, is Shirakawa-kun free now?" "Yeah, he's free." "You guys are always together." "You were the one who told me to stay with him until he got used to it here." "Did I?" "Oh yeah, Maki-chan, I'm going to Tokyo tomorrow for work." "You're going to report your findings, right?" "There's that too, but we think we've found the key we were looking for." "You mean the one you were talking about a while ago?" "Yeah." "Your cerebral science team might get some work soon." "Maki-san." "A lot of soldiers have been coming in lately." "The guy in the suit is probably from the NSA." "NSA?" "The National Security Agency." "I see." "I guess there have been a lot of rumors about terrorist attacks." "Did everything go well today?" "We've still got a lot of work to do." "We're starting to barely make it out with the naked eye, but it's nothing compared to the Union's tower." "That's not your fault." "They're way beyond the basic physics of it." "I saw those aerial shots, too." "What I don't understand is why the transformation stops 2 km from the tower." "If it were going to be used in an attack, it'd be useless." "Maybe something isnt' working right, or perhaps that's all it can do." "Or maybe the transformation itself caused some disruption the designer couldn't foresee." "Professor Tomisawa thinks there's an external factor as to why the tower isn't used at full capacity." "What are you doing tomorrow, Shirakawa-kun?" "You don't have school, right?" "There's something I want to find out..." "At the library?" "No, at an acquaintance's factory." "You want to see?" "We aren't exactly a museum." "Huh?" "What?" "A girl?" "How old?" "I don't know!" "But she's beautiful..." "I think..." "Okay, we'll be waiting for you." "Wow..." "What a big antenna." "It's not exactly legal, but... .. we can connect to some interesting places with this." "So, you specialize in the study of the brain, Maki-san?" "Yes." "Memory, dreams, sleep." "You work with Takuya, right?" "Weren't you doing research on the tower?" "Yes." "I'm doing research on the tower..." "How do I explain this..." "Both of our fields deal with parallel universes." "Parallel universes?" "The same way people have dreams, this universe also has dreams." "This world hides what it could have been in its dreams, and that's what we call parallel or divergent universes." "My research deals with how those parallel universes affect the human brain and dreams." "There are theories that the Union's tower is doing the same research." "We've been using technology to observe these parallel worlds, but organisms from long ago may have unconsciously been able to perceive them." "At the quantum level of the brain, we think information from parallel universes is what triggers precognition." "That's the type of research I do." "I see." "It's kind of romantic to think that the universe has dreams." "Romantic?" "What?" "Nothing..." "But you're pretty good, Maki-san." "So young, yet doing research for a government advisory board." "No, it's not like that." "But I have always been drawn to that tower, so I really like doing it." "Me, too." "To tell you the truth, I'm drawn to you." "But Shirakawa-kun is the one who's great!" "He's our youngest member, but he works the hardest." "I've always thought he was pretty cool!" "No, it's not like that..." "I don't do much..." "I have to be going soon." "I'm sorry, it seems like I ate most of the cake." "Don't worry about it." "Takuya..." "You going into town?" "Yeah, I'm dropping Maki-san off." "Can I come?" "What?" "Sure." "What?" "!" "Can you take me to the train station?" "Aren't you going home, Okabe-san?" "I'm going to Tokyo tomorrow to do some work." "Okabe-san." "Did you think about what I asked?" "What was it again?" "About the Uilta." "You're so persistent." "It seems you're working pretty hard at the lab." "That suits you better, doesn't it?" "It's not like that." "I just want to get everything out of the way concerning the tower." "[September." "Tokyo.]" "Can I help you?" "Oh, no." "I just didn't think you could see the tower from Tokyo." "Oh, on some days you can." "The air is very calm today." "This way." "Those are the reports from when she arrived." "Her condition started in her third year of middle school, cause unknown." "The time she spent asleep became longer..." "The only time she was able to stay awake was during the first two months..." "And she has been sleeping for the past three years..." "So she keeps having dreams, right?" "Those brain waves have been recorded." "How about a DNA analysis?" "See page six." "I see." "From a split blood line." "Thank you." "Here's the Health and Labor Ministry's request." "As soon as we confirm the move date, you'll receive the proper documents." "What's this letter?" "The patient wrote this letter when she first arrived." "Have you read it?" "No." "Emishi Manufacturing..." "By examining the diversity of the universes and how they occur we will be able to predict the future with great accuracy." "This is something we wish to achieve." "This is not just a theory as we have seen before, but something based on the reality of the future and its outcome." "The effect this will have on the government and military is surely immeasurable." "However, to put it bluntly, the Union's technology concerning quantum gravitational theory greatly surpasses our own." "The symbolic tower that stands in Ezo was first started in '74 after the North-South divide, and is thought to have been operational since '96." "It does seem ironic because the designer, Ekusun Tsukinoe, was born on the island of Honshu." "So..." "Moving on, I will explain the technological aspects of searching for these parallel universes." "I thought someone rude was in the room." "I was listening." "You were saying you're trying to sneak a peek at God's dreams and foresee the future, right?" "Well, you pretty much have it." "Are you interested in that kind of stuff, Oka-chan?" "I studied up on it a bit." "Anyway, how would you like to do something tonight, for old times' sake?" "Shirakawa-kun is really smart." "He has a good nature." "I told you he'd be good." "Yeah, but when did you start hiring students, Oka-chan?" "Well those guys were kind of special." "Those guys?" "Yeah." "There's another guy who's supposed to be in Tokyo that I'm getting worried about." "I can't reach him." "They were making a plane together." "They were making a plane together." "That brings back memories." "That brings back memories." "Is that why you came to Tokyo?" "Is that why you came to Tokyo?" "I thought you'd be here for another reason." "What did you think I was here for?" "The matter concerning the Uilta." "Actually, you're right." "That's what I'm really here for." "I've been able to get my hands on a PL outer-shell bomb." "Don't ask how, though." "I think I know your source." "So what?" "Are you going to ask if it'll work on the tower?" "That's right." "Well, I think it'd work..." "The tower's exterior would vaporize instantly." "They say the interior's composed of nanonet ribbons, but those would probably incinerate as well." "Well, the PL outer-shell bomb might be the best way to do it." "I see." "But a terrorist attack would probably increase the chance of war, so why do it?" "That's exactly why we're doing it." "Has it been confirmed?" "Basically." "Lots of important people want a war." "Wasn't unifying the North and South your philosophy?" "It still is." "It's such a waste..." "From our perspective, it's a marvel of technological success." "It's not hurting anyone just standing there." "Don't give me that." "It might seem harmless now, but the tower has the powerful ability to replace the space surrounding it." "So you knew?" "Yeah." "I really like the view..." "There are always romantics." "Oka-chan, let me ask you something." "Some time ago, we may have found someone linked to the secret of the tower." "Yeah?" "She's still in her teens." "Yeah... and?" "You might know her, Oka-chan." "I might sound a little too persistent, but you might not want to say anything about her to Shirakawa-kun." "Especially if they were good friends." "He's going to find out sooner or later." "Even if that's true, there's no need for him to start worrying now." "He works for the NSA now." "He doesn't need to get involved." "Even I would like to see the dreams this world is having, though." "The chill wind seemed to blow from the depths of space, and the scent of a different universe was present." "The sky, the clouds, the ruined city..." "No matter how far I walk, nobody appears." "It's so cold." "Why am I here?" "Someone... please, someone..." "Hiroki-kun..." "I'm having the same dream again." "In the end, we didn't get to fly Velaciela." "Three years ago, when Sayuri left us without saying goodbye it came as a shock to us." "I guess we were also mad at ourselves for stopping the project for that reason." "Once we graduated middle school, Takuya went to a high school in Aomori, while I left for a high school in Tokyo." "I thought that if I went to Tokyo," "I wouldn't be able to see the Union's tower." "But I was wrong." "When the weather's good, you can even see it from Tokyo." "In those days, I was overcome with bleak feelings." "These tanks are going to your hometown, right, Fujisawa-kun?" "Yeah, I gue" "Hey, I wonder if they're slow enough to hop on..." "Want to stow away to Aomori?" "Sometimes I got letters from Okabe-san, describing his situation." "I didn't reply to a single one." "Once I got to my room and shut the door, it felt like the bones in my body were tearing through my skin as I was overcome with an intense, heartfelt pain." "When did I start having such pain." "Living alone, the nights seemed to last forever." "When I couldn't pass the time effectively," "I went to a nearby train station and pretended to wait for someone." "Once I grew bored of that, I'd walk home as slowly as possible." "I had friends in high school, but I didn't feel like hanging out with them when I wasn't wearing my school uniform." "In a city of thirty million people, there wasn't a single person I wanted to see or talk to." "It was on those kinds of days that I dreamt about Sayuri." "Those dreams were about me trying to find Sayuri, who was alone in cold place." "But I never find her." "Only Sayuri's presence, which made my heart tremble, remained in my body after I awoke." "When I think about it, I realize this is the third winter since I've come to Tokyo." "It's as if I've spent my days holding my breath under cold water." "It's as if..." "It's as if..." "It's as if I'm the only one left in the world." "That's how I feel." "[March, The Following Year]" "[Southern Edge of Union Territory] [The Coast of Cape Shiragami]" "It was my dream to go to Ezo one day." "Being able to come here just seems too easy." "This is just the southern edge, though." "Do you have family on the Union side?" "No, nothing like that." "I guess it's because you're from the post-divide generation..." "It's not like I don't understand your attraction to it." "The boss lost his family in the North-South divide, so he must feel differently about it." "Oh, really?" "But I was really surprised." "About?" "I didn't think the boss would get you involved." "I made sure he would take me." "I told him that if he didn't take me, I'd leak it to the public." "That's a dangerous thing to say..." "Boss!" "You've gotta be kidding me!" "Those are some stupid government officials." "Our communications were breached!" "Let's get out of here!" "It was pretty dangerous this time." "But we might know how to get in by air now." "It's just as well we came here." "Right?" "Boss, a ship!" "It's a patrol boat!" "Your ship is in our territorial waters." "Halt, or we will open fire." "Why are they following protocol when they know the war's about to start?" "This is bad." "Lose them." "Yes, sir." "Three minutes till we reach the border!" "Sato!" "Miyagawa!" "Get your guns ready!" "Halt, or we will open fire." "Takuya!" "Are you okay?" "Takuya!" "Those wings..." "I know them!" "When I first wake up, it's like I don't know where I am." "I sometimes think that I may have come to the wrong place." "The dreams I have about Sayuri seem more real than reality surrounding me." "From the hospital?" "Sayuri..." "Hiroki-kun, Takuya-kun..." "I'm very sorry about leaving you two without saying anything." "I'm disappointed we couldn't spend our summer vacation together." "When I woke up, I was in a hospital in Tokyo, and I have been here since." "Although the staff said I should cut all ties to the people I know," "I was allowed to write this letter after pestering them." "I am sending this letter to Okabe-san so you both can read it." "But I'm not sure what I should write about." "I have the same dream over and over again." "In the dream, I am alone in an empty universe." "In that dream, my whole body..." "fingers, cheeks, fingernails, heels, and even the tips of my hair are painful with loneliness." "Those warm days we spent together seem more like a dream." "But as long as I don't lose those memories," "I think I might be able to keep a grip on reality in the future." "She was transferred to another hospital?" "Yes, about a week ago." "If you want to know more, please ask at the hospital she was transferred to." "Okay..." "Umm... could-you show me the room she was in?" "Hiroki-kun, Takuya-kun..." "Did that beautiful white plane safely fly across the sea to the tower?" "What is this?" "It's the same feeling as in my dream." "Sawatari are you there?" "I've been looking for you looking for you for a long time." "Sawatari." "I want to keep our promise this time." "I want to take you to that tower in Velaciela." "I have a feeling that if we do that, we might be able to meet again." "I won't leave you by yourself." "I won't give up." "I will protect you, Sawatari." "I promise." "Yeah... it's a promise." "Let's go to that tower together." "Doctor, come quick!" "The tower's operational level has risen dramatically." "The replaced area is growing rapidly!" "It's rising at the same rate as the subject's consciousness level." "She might wake up soon." "Is this really...?" "Replaced area has passed a radius of 20 km!" "What is this?" "Are they trying to rewrite the world?" "Subject's consciousness level is dropping rapidly." "The replacement speed is dropping as well." "It stopped." "They have replaced a radius of 26 km with the parallel universe." "Subject's consciousness level has also dropped to normal." "She is sleeping stably." "Doctor Tomisawa..." "Yeah." "The subject's sleep really is the key to what's holding the tower at bay." "The information the tower gets from the parallel universe while able to change the space around the tower, is being blocked by the subject's dreams." "We have to keep Sawatari Sayuri dreaming." "But I might have just been dreaming." "Even so, the warmth Sayuri left on my skin was still flowing through my body." "On those now distant days we made a promise we couldn't keep." "Hey, Takuya-kun..." "This might sound weird, but..." "do you promise not to laugh?" "What is it?" "I won't laugh." "Then I'll tell you." "It's about this dream I've been having lately." "Big towers?" "Like the Union's?" "No... they're distorted, and have this weird shape." "There are lots of other towers around the one I'm on." "I don't know how, but I know that each of those towers is another world, different dreams that this world has." "I can't move from that place, and I'm all alone and so lonely." "And when think that my heart is going to disappear I see a white plane in the sky." "A white plane?" "Yeah." "Anything else?" "That's where my dream ends." "[Aomori Prefecture, Tsugaru Distinct] [Private Hospital]" "Oh, good!" "You're awake, Shirakawa-kun." "Maki-san..." "I was worried about you." "Umm... why...?" "Does your shoulder still hurt?" "Excuse me for a second..." "Your fever's gone down." "Are you hungry?" "Do you want something to eat?" "I bought some apples, bananas, and some cake, too." "You want anything?" "[A Few Days Later]" "[Inside Aomori Army College] [Special Ward]" "You won't be able to get in with your ID." "Are you okay now?" "Yes, sorry for worrying you." "Umm..." "You heard from Maki-chan?" "Want to see her?" "We think she's sleeping because her brain can't handle the information from the parallel universe sent to her by the tower." "If she were to wake up we think the world would be engulfed by the parallel universe, with the tower located at the center." "But we really don't know how to wake her up anyway." "In anticipation of the war, she'll be moved to NSA HQ in the United States in a few days." "To the people in this field, she's a precious sample." "Why was it Sawatari?" "Even though we don't know much about it it's probably not a coincidence." "The designer of the tower, Ekusun Tsukinoe is her grandfather." "As we've heard before, that tower is a weapon." "For the past twenty-five years..." "that tower has been a part of the scenery, and has been symbolic of many things." "Symbolic of the state, war, people, or even despair and admiration." "How someone interprets the tower depends on which generation they're from." "But we all see it as something we can't reach or change and as long as we see it that way, this world will not change." "On the morning of three days from now, the United States will declare war on the Union." "We will carry out a terrorist attack on the tower in the confusion of the war." "Using an unmanned Predator plane flying at low altitude we will infiltrate Ezo and use a PL outer-shell bomb equipped with a seeker missile to take out the tower." "The Uilta Freedom Movement will also disband after that day." "This factory will also shut down after today." "Yeah." "Yeah, okay." "I'll see you tomorrow." "Hey." "It's been three years, Takuya." "When did you get here?" "Two days ago." "I'm staying at the abandoned train station." "At the abandoned train station?" "Yeah." "What happened to your arm, Takuya?" "Oh, just something..." "What's that supposed to mean?" "I'll tell you later." "They're closed today, too..." "Hey!" "Chobi!" "How are you?" "It's been a long time." "You're going to fly Velaciela?" "With Sawatari on board?" "Yeah." "It should take a day to put the rest of the stuff together." "All that's left is the operating system" "Wait a second." "Were you listening to what I just said?" "Sawatari is still sleeping, and the tower" "The tower is a target for a terrorist attack?" "That's why I need your help." "I told you, I've been thinking about this for a long time..." "If we fly to the tower together, I think Sawatari will wake up." "You..." "You came back for that?" "W" " What do you mean?" "We made a promise!" "I have dreams about Sawatari." "I see them again and again..." "Sawatari is alone somewhere and she said she can't remember anything." "But she remembers our promise." "I promised her again in the dream that we'd go to the tower this time." "That couldn't have been a normal dream." "You came back after all this time and all I hear is a story about a dream." "When I look at you, I get irritated." "I don't have time to play children's games." "It's because you can't get over this thing." "I'll make you forget." "Stop it!" "Takuya!" "It's a choice between saving Sayuri and saving the world." "I forgot something." "I see." "Aren't you going home, Sawatari?" "Uh, yeah." "I'm going to go home." "Hiroki-kun." "What happened to your cheek?" "I just got into a fight with Takuya." "Are you okay?" "Yeah, I'm fine." "We'll be friends again soon." "See you, good night." "Hiroki-kun!" "Are you going to the train station?" "I always have this feeling." "The feeling that I'm losing something." "The world is really beautiful, but it feels like it's just me who's drifting away from it." "But at the time I thought Sayuri was the center of this bright world." "Oh, now I see..." "I thought I had understood something very important." "Excuse me!" "Is anyone there?" "!" "Okabe-san!" "It's Hiroki!" "Okabe-san!" "Is there a forwarding address?" "So it really is you, Hiroki." "You've gotten big." "Okabe-san!" "What is thi" "I heard from Takuya." "Let's see how determined you really are." "You guys are gonna take down that tower." "I wonder if all those rumors about the terrorist attack are true." "I don't know." "The war is almost here and once it comes, we won't have time to study the tower." "I think what Tsukinoe and the terrorist groups like the Uilta are doing are protests against the North-South divide." "You're so mysterious, Shirakawa-kun." "You seem to have a lot of secrets." "No, I don't think so..." "Sorry, I'll go make some tea and then I'll look at your wound." "You've been getting hurt a lot recently, Shirakawa-kun." "Sorry..." "Is something going on?" "No." "I'm okay." "Sorry..." "He was my best friend." "What?" "The guy I had a fight with." "We admired the same things and wanted to achieve the same things." "We both took different paths, and I'm not sure how to say this, but I didn't know which way to go." "I didn't know where lots of the strengths and impulses inside me came from." "So when I got into this research facility, I was relieved." "I think it's because I found something I needed to do." "And I'm very happy to have met you, Maki-san." "That's why I don't want to get you involved." "There's something I need to do." "Once it's all over I'd like to see you again." "Shirakawa-kun!" "Sawatari." "This time, for sure let's go to the promised place." "What's the meaning of this, Oka-chan?" "!" "You're going to use kids to do this?" "They want to do it." "Besides, the area around the tower is a parallel universe, right?" "No one is going to die." "That's no reason..." "Calm down, Tomisawa." "When they come back, they won't be kids anymore." "You want me to say what you're thinking right now?" "Well, well..." "I'm going to hang up, then." "It's time to end this." "Is Sayuri-chan really going to wake up?" "I don't know why, but I'm now convinced." "The promise we made is Sayuri's bond to reality." "In her dream, she's still waiting for Velaciela." "I think Hiroki and I felt that somehow." "Velaciela is made to seat two, and since I won't able to pilot it with this arm I'll stay and watch the destiny of the tower unfold." "I thought it was cold, and now it's snowing again." "I'll be going now." "Okay." "Well, since you guys are back together after being apart for so long try to get along!" "Which one is it?" "This one!" "Did Okabe-san tell you?" "Yeah..." "Takuya..." "Which BIOS version do I use?" "You changed the naming scheme." "I don't have anything after that." "It's on here." "There's also one for the seeker missile." "What else do you need to do?" "I have to check the wiring on the electric engine, and tune the software." "Five hours till war is declared." "After that, you'll need to fly through a war zone." "I'll look after the software, you look after the wiring." "Okay." "And, Takuya!" "What's with that error message?" "What?" "On the version check." "The version check?" "Oh, that?" "You did that, remember?" "Three years ago." "What?" "Really?" "You haven't changed a bit... idiot." "Hiroki, come look at this." "What is it?" "A battle plan has come out for the Tsugaru coast." "It's almost how I thought it would be." "The front is on the 42nd parallel..." "The area around the tower is empty." "The land around there has really been affected, I guess." "How do you want to go?" "I'll pass over the water using the jet engine at low altitude." "Once I pass the 42nd parallel, I'll get to these mountains." "I'll pull up and cruise along." "What do you think?" "Yeah." "It's not like we have much choice." "When you're approaching the tower, there will probably be some land replacement nearby, and more after Sawatari wakes up." "When that happens, fly 10 km away from the tower and release the seeker missile." "It'll fly on its own to the tower." "And that'll finish everything." "Yeah." "It's going to be okay, right?" "Yeah." "We still have two hours until war is declared." "We finished faster than we thought." "Yeah." "Hiroki." "Hmm?" "Can you play the violin?" "You're such a single-minded idiot." "Don't say that!" "You're the one who asked..." "Face this way and play." "Shut up!" "Be quiet and listen!" "I feel my body trembling at the anticipation of waking." "I wonder why, right now my fear is greater than my anticipation." "Sayuri said that she felt like she was losing something." "Right now, I feel the same way." "But..." "That promise we made after school..." "I'm going to that tower." "The tower's operational level is rising." "The affected area is increasing." "Current radius is 36 km, and is gradually growing at 0.4 km/h." "Is this a sign that she'll soon wake up?" "Are you sure everything's going to be okay, Oka-chan?" "Doctor!" "War has been declared!" "The first skirmish off the coast of Tsugaru is imminent." "There's land!" "Hey, Sayuri." "It's our promised place." "Those wings..." "Velaciela..." "The dreams are disappearing..." "Oh, now I see." "I now know what I'm going to lose." "God..." "Please, God let Sayuri wake up from her sleep." "Please." "All I need is one moment after I wake up..." "Please don't let this feeling disappear." "I have to tell Hiroki-kun that the connection in our dreams and in our hearts is something special." "In a world with no people all that existed was my need to see Hiroki-kun and Hiroki-kun's need to see me." "Sayuri!" "Please!" "For all this time, I've needed to tell Hiroki-kun how much I love him." "I won't need anything else." "Just one instant." "This feeling..." "Sayuri..." "Fujisawa-kun..." "Replacement is rapidly accelerating!" "It's swallowing Ezo!" "Sayuri..." "I..." "I need to tell you something..." "Something very important..." "But it's gone...!" "It's okay..." "You woke up." "You can do it all over..." "Welcome back." "Sayuri." ""The white cloud blurred with blue reminds me of those distant days. "" ""The hidden pain everyone shares lies deep in my heart. "" ""I put everything on the line, the words in the distance. "" ""Losing everything, you still keep me warm. "" "In a world in which we lost our promised place even though, we keep living." ""The light shines on your voice and figure. "" ""I hope my voice will reach you, wherever you are. "" ""I will live on. "" ""From the sun-soaked rail, I hear the voices of those distant days. "" ""The promised place still lies beyond those clouds. "" ""Your heart surrounds my lonely self. "" ""As time passes, I'm losing you. "" ""Your hair, the sky and clouds dissolved together in this secretive world. "" ""Your voice, your soft touch and the skin against the wind. "" ""Make my heart strong. "" ""The light shines on your voice and figure. "" ""If it can be granted, even though we live in different places. "" ""I want to live gently and strong. ""