"The WHO held an emergency conference on the 3rd" "Note:" "WHO stands for World Health Organization." "concerning ACIS, Acquired Cellular Induration Syndrome, more commonly known as Medusa." "The cause, among other details, is still unclear." "If no actions are taken, apart from the possibility of global political unrest, this will be recognized as a S-class epidemic." "Note:" "S refers to those are susceptible to the infection." "The WHO has advised each nation to focus on keeping the peace by implementing physical measures as well as making information available to the public." "...kind of chemical substance, you see." "When infected with ACIS, we've confirmed that a large quantity of it is generated inside the body." "By measuring this quantity, the presence of infection can be determined." "However, the cure aside, the cause hasn't even been determined yet." "In the first stage, 30 to 60 days pass from infection to onset." "Only a short time period of 12 hours passes until death, or petrification, occurs at the end of the second stage." "The mortality rate is 100%." "Unfortunately, the only information we have at the moment is still limited to simple statistics." "All over the country, people are in fear of becoming infected, attempting to flee the country only to be held up at the borders as refugees." "The government has begun discussion on plans to strengthen the border patrol as well as mobilize the country's armed forces." "The air raid on the 20th has been claimed as an unavoidable act of self-defence against the country itself, thereby justifying the preemptive strike." "The United Nations Security Council has established a temporary council regarding this matter." "Due to the closing of factories and companies accompanied by the significant loss of the workforce, corporate earnings are down all across the board." "Stock prices continue to fall at a drastic rate, resulting in a recorded -47% deficit compared to last year." "The United Nations Security Council has unanimously voted to declare this a state of emergency." "They are conducting expert panels at paced intervals..." "Large chemical manufacturer Venus Gate and their CEO Vega are holding a press conference at the company headquarters." "He announced the launch of an astonishing project." "In response to humanity's greatest and unprecedented crisis, one company has gone beyond the call of social responsibility." "On the behalf of that company, I unveil our secret project." "We call it..." "Cold sleep." "You mean to suggest that Medusa... no, ACIS, is most likely an act of bioterrorism launched by Venus Gate?" "Yes." "This sudden claim of yours is difficult to believe." "While Venus Gate is an important chemical manufacturer for our country as well as a well connected corporate ally, these past couple of years, they have not made any announcements regarding actual products." "Meanwhile, they have been gathering samples of biological species from all over the world, storing them in their corporate facilities." "These would be the cold sleep centers they unveiled?" "On the outside, yes." "On the inside is a heavily fortified and guarded structure, an armored fortress if you will." "However, the other party is, as you've stated, an important and distinguished chemical manufacturer." "All of the significant political powers receive a large amount of donations from them." "Venus Gate's current major stockholder is a religious cult thought to have been disbanded." "So this center is supposed to be their Noah's Ark?" "Also, CEO Vega used to be a distinguished officer in charge of investigating scientific affairs for the former Russian Ministry of Domestic Affairs." "However, due to a certain thoughtless remark he made, he was dismissed." "And the thoughtless remark was?" ""I was chosen... to find the path God has laid out."" "The drop in metabolism brought on by cold sleep slows the progression of the disease." "Our company's research has proven this to be effective against ACIS." "While temporarily asleep, our patients will embark on a journey towards the day when a cure is discovered." "We have no time to spare." "According to analysis from our intelligence departments, the commencement of their cold sleep center operation will coincide with their next course of action." "In other words, we have concluded that there is a high possibility that this very event is the second stage of their terrorist acts." "We won't have another chance to strike or defend if we let this opportunity go." "Is the President aware of this?" "The President passed away at 1206 hours." "His cause of death was Medusa." "Please make your decision." "Unfortunately, the center's capacity is limited to only 160 people." "In the event that the number of candidates increases, we will hold a lottery." "Then what will you call the operation?" "Sleeping Beauty." "Once upon a time, in a land far away... there were a King and Queen with a close relationship, but they were not happy." "The two of them were unable to conceive a child for the longest time." "The doctors and magicians were of no use." "Their servants and citizens pitied them." "Each day, they prayed to the heavens." "One day, a frog appeared in front of the Queen while she was bathing and said the following." ""Your wish shall be granted."" ""The heavens shall bless you with a child."" "But the strangest part was to come." "And what could that be?" "As foretold, the Queen gave birth at last to a cute, baby girl." "The King was overjoyed and threw a celebratory banquet." "He invited not only his relatives... but a great number of the country's citizens and foreign guests to the castle as well." "Even specially invited guests came." "Look!" "Look, Kasumi!" "It's a castle." "Hey, Shizuku." "On second thought, let's go home." "Geez, how many times does this make since we got here?" "It'll be fine." "You've got nothing to worry about." "That's not what..." "The 13 witches had special powers." "Their blessings would ensure the small princess a future." "That's Sleeping Beauty, right?" "That story." "That's right." "Your parental authority no longer covers him." "He's entitled to his rights." "I submitted an application on his behalf, and he was selected." "I got a new event!" "Quit that." "You guys always follow the same pattern anyway." "You probably want to ask how I'm feeling right now." "Oh fine." "Film the scenery." "Got that?" "What, not gonna film us?" "We finally got to go on a field trip, so I tagged along." "Not even one commemorative photo?" "Keep quiet!" "Ouch!" "But how could this have happened?" "Of the royal tables specially prepared for the special guests, there were only 12 in total." "The 13th village has entered the hall." "Welcome to the Cold Sleep Capsule Center." "In a moment, representatives from our company will come to guide you." "For the moment, please stay where you are." "We have prepared anything you may need." "Please feel free to use any of the facilities." "BNN here, how do you feel at the moment?" "Ah, BNN here!" "Excuse me, BNN here." "How do you feel..." "Hey, Shizuku." "This again?" "Excuse me." "BNN here." "How do you feel at the moment?" "Please stop." "The rest area for accompanying guests is this way." "If you are not feeling well, please raise your left hand, and someone will guide you to a rest area." "Should I get some of the scenery?" "Excuse me..." "Yes!" "How do you feel at the moment?" "Never been better!" "Are you getting this?" "Yeah." "Welcome." "Yeah, nice meeting ya." "Come on." "Please proceed to the front reception desk." "Please do not stop and continue forward." "Next person please." "Welcome to the Cold Sleep Capsule Center." "The candidate Kasumi Ishiki and her accompanying guest Shizuku Ishiki, correct?" "Yes." "Please put out your left hand." "KHM050." "This is your ID number." "Only those with this bracelet on may proceed any further inside." "Make sure you do not remove it." "Excuse me..." "The orientation will be held in the chapel in 30 minutes." "Please make haste." "This way please." "I shall show you the way." "Shizuku." "It'll be okay." "I'm visiting after all." "When the 11th witch finished her blessings, the 13th witch, convinced that she had been ignored, said this to the 12th witch." ""On the Princess's 15th birthday, she will be pricked by a spindle and die."" "Those were the terrifying words of a curse." "Alright." "With the formalities out of the way, does anyone have any questions?" "Then if I may?" "Go ahead." "If while we're asleep..." "I'm not sure if I should say this..." "Feel free to continue." "What if the facility staff here die from Medusa?" "I see." "I fully understand your point of concern." "Then if I may introduce to you..." "Our state of the art master control system..." "ALICE!" "This system oversees not only the underground cold sleep capsule room but also has the ability to permanently maintain the castle and the surrounding facilities." "According to our calculations, its functional capabilities will last..." "Over 100 years!" "100 years?" "However..." "The 12th witch stepped forward and said the following." ""The curse cast on the Princess cannot be broken."" ""Instead, she will sleep on for 100 years."" ""And so shall the poison fade away."" ""Leave the rest to one pure of heart."" "Now concerning the bracelets we had you wear before coming into the center..." "Even now, ALICE is registering those of you with bracelets on, carefully monitoring your physical and mental status, even your current surroundings." "ALICE records your individual data as well as biological data such as genetic information." "This is all backed up and stored in a massive data bank." "Please leave everything to ALICE and sleep with peace of mind." "May I ask something?" "What might that be?" "I'm Bridget from BNN." "Do you dream during cold sleep?" "Quite an interesting question." "And a good one at that." "Please do not worry." "It's even possible for ALICE to control all your dreams." "To be specific, it deals with the pattern of electrical currents emitted from the brain." "Furthermore, by using an original algorithm to make modifications, we can generate feedback..." "Ah." "Well, let's leave the technicalities aside." "Take comfort in your dreams." "I guarantee that you can look forward to your journey to a future, developed world." "It's about time." "I have one last thing to explain." "The bracelet everyone is wearing." "This not only accepts ALICE's commands, but it also contains another function." "The white part in the center." "This part indicates the progression of the disease." "If by any chance your Medusa advances to stage 2, this part will turn blac" "AHH!" "No!" "No, no!" "NO!" "NO, NO!" "NO!" "Doctor, hurry to the chapel." "There's still time... for me to leave." "I am dreadfully sorry for the disruption." "Well then, it is time." "100 years in the castle?" "It's like you're a real sleeping beauty in a forest." "Even you're saying that Shizuku..." "In the fairytale, her family and servants were put to sleep too, but I..." "God doesn't exist, does he?" "But if he does, he's just a wicked mage." "Kasumi." "But isn't that true?" "Dad and Mom died, and now even you..." "Kasumi." "Didn't we promise?" "That the two of us would be together forever?" "That we'd live on together?" "Kasumi, it's not like I'm going to die for sure." "Sorry." "I'm acting strange." "Kasumi, here's part two of our promise." "I'll always be waiting for you, Kasumi." "When you wake up, come looking for me right away." "I'm sure we'll meet again." "Miracles don't happen without wishes." "Because the 12th witch wished it so, the princess didn't die and continued to sleep." "If I wish, a miracle will happen..." "Yeah, it will for sure." "I really can't..." "You may not bring personal effects inside the capsule." "Leave everything in the custody of the center." "Your possessions will be returned once you exit cold sleep." "What?" "Isn't this the same as prison then?" "You are only permitted to bring glasses or hearing aids into the capsules." "Will you really give this back to me?" "You have my word." "Mrs. Turner." "It's a memento of my late husband." "I'm afraid you can't." "I'm..." "That's right..." "I'm..." "Each time I look in the mirror, I'm sure I'll remember you." "You have the same face as me." "You, my older sister." "And when I turn 20, you'll be 20..." "Ouch!" "And when I turn 40, you'll be 40..." "I welcome you all once more." "While this is the last stop on our trip of the center, it is the starting point of the future!" "Now, we shall cast off Noah's Ark." "Glory to your future... to mankind's future!" "Please go ahead." "Ah, please leave your glasses in that sidetray." "When I turn 20, you'll be 20..." "When I turn 40, you'll be 40..." "When I turn 100, you'll be 100..." "And I can see you then." "Hello, my name is ALICE." "I will be taking care of you." "There's nothing to be afraid of." "Relax and count the numbers along with me." "1... 2... 3... 4... 4... 5... 5... 6... 6... 7..." "Good night." "Maintenance code KHM050, Kasumi Ishiki." "Sweet dreams." "So Shizuku..." "Kasumi." "Live." "Ow." "What is this?" "What the?" "Hey, what's happening?" "They found the cure!" "Did they really?" "Ouch." "What is this here?" "Grass?" "Maybe vines?" "Be careful." "It has thorns." "What in the world is going on?" "What year is it now?" "What's wrong?" "How many years have passed since then?" "Like I know!" "Hello?" "Hello?" "Are there no Venus Gate officials here!" "?" "Hey, someone collapsed over here!" "Hey you, are you okay?" "Hey!" "Hey!" "NO!" "What's wrong?" "The birds!" "The elevator!" "Run towards the elevator!" "To the elevator!" "I'm sorry!" "Are you okay?" "Wow." "Come on, what are you doing?" "Death bats." "They're small sized monsters!" "I could take them all out if I could cast wind ruin magic." "Hurry it along." "Hurry!" "Hurry and open it!" "This damn elevator!" "Calm down!" "Just calm down!" "Everyone calm down!" "Wait!" "Women and children go first!" "Why them!" "?" "Out of my way!" "Damn!" "Please save me!" "Hurry!" "Quickly!" "Don't!" "We're gonna die if you open that!" "Yo!" "No getting ahead of us, got that amigo?" "Everyone, over here!" "Go!" "That's a lot of blood... are you okay?" "Ah." "This is someone else's blood." "In the end, only seven people survived." "No, maybe seven people." "Give it a rest already." "What did you say?" "Ugh, this is why I hate class pres" "I'm a police officer!" "Yeah, up until the world ended." "Take a look at our situation." "No matter how you think about it, there's no way all this happened in a short amount of time!" "That's true." "Those monsters." "I know them!" "Level 1 monsters, death bats!" "Huh?" "He's talking about a game..." "I guess." "That's garbage." "Some kind of lifeform probably evolved or underwent some unexpected mutation..." "Wait a second... nothing can evolve that quick..." "Exactly." "Like I've been saying... the world has ended, got it?" "Just how many months and years have we been asleep?" "Oh, right!" "Didn't they say that ALICE thing was supposed to protect us in times like this?" "What happened to ALICE?" "ALICE!" "Fool." "Contacting someone comes first." "Right!" "The phone, find a phone!" "Already called." "Huh?" "They don't accept collect calls." "You keep doing things off on your own!" "Just trying to lift the mood!" "Shut up, bastard!" "The hell are you so pissed off at?" "Same goes to you!" "P... please stop!" "Don't you think you're acting pathetic in front of the children at a time like this?" "Okay, okay, Mama." "I already tried calling too." "It was the first thing I did." "But..." "Those monsters aren't the only thing threatening our lives." "And we... can no longer return to the capsules." "What do we do?" "Isn't it obvious?" "We have to go up." "Up?" "This place is underground, so there's nowhere to go but up." "Wait, how can we be sure that the surface is safe?" "We can't." "But you know, staying here isn't safe either." "Is it that disgusting monster?" "That was a Hellworm!" "Let's go up." "Don't order me around!" "Hey, I'm not going." "I'm staying put!" "Feel free to." "But he can't!" "There's a possibility we'll all get wiped out, and this old guy'll survive." "The opposite goes too." "I'm not an old guy!" "I'm a big shot Italian senator, Alessandro Peccino." "Please wait, we really should go togeth" "That guy wants to stay here of his own free will." "We can't do that!" "I don't want to leave anyone else behind." "She's right." "You..." "You were with your twin on the bus." "What happened to her?" "Shizuku... only came to keep me company." "So..." "Ah, what a mood killer." "Like I said, we just need to go up and check out what happened to the world!" "Check?" "We'll see what happened to our loved ones." "Let's go." "Come on, Mr. Senator." "Let's go." "I said I'm not going, so I'm not!" "Like I could walk with my feet like this in the first place!" "What?" "What's this?" "Copy me and wrap up your feet." "But if you slow us down, I'm leaving you behind." "I'm leaving the slow ones behind, got that?" "As the Princess fell asleep, the King, the Queen, and the servants as well as all of the dogs, birds, and fish in the garden drifted deeply into a world of dreams." "Please wait!" "And in the blink of an eye, large thorns began to wind around the castle." "They fully enveloped it, becoming like the forests of yore." "Have we met somewhere before?" "Hey, is this really the right way?" "I've worked in this kind of plant before, so..." "So what now, Mr. Engineer?" "This is..." "I'm afraid that the tank that converts ocean water to coolant is broken." "Damn these Venus Gate bastards." "I didn't fork over a huge amount of cash to go through all this!" "I'm disgusted." "You bought your right to be here?" "I only got what's rightfully mine." "Shut up!" "Damn." "If anything happens to the stocks I set aside, I'm gonna sue Venus Gate." "Quiet!" "You shut up!" "Don't order me around!" "Don't!" "We can't run away!" "What?" "That thing reacts to sounds." "Why do you know that?" "It's a level 5 Demonsaurus." "Something else from your game?" "Its eyes can barely see anything, so that monster relies entirely on its ears." "You sure about that?" "My data's never wrong!" "Boy!" "What are you doing!" "?" "Everyone, jump in!" "Boy, boy!" "That was seriously reckless." "They're not coming after us?" "Yeah." "Didn't I tell you?" "That thing acts based on sound." "Yeah, yeah." "Where to next?" "This way." "The security office is over here." "Let's take refuge there for the time being." "Hey, that girl isn't here." "That slowpoke." "Kasumi." "Live." "Ah, here they are!" "Damn girl, next time I'm leaving you behind." "I'm sorry." "Come on, let's get going." "Wait." "What?" "There should be other people around." "Did everyone get killed by that thing?" "I don't know." "Don't take the lead if you don't know." "Shut it!" "What's got you so on edge?" "RUN!" "Seriously!" "?" "Get down!" "Toss me a gun too!" "Hurry!" "Quickly!" "Finish it off!" "Get down!" "Good going." "Look out!" "Bastard." "We did it!" "Stage 2 clear!" "He's no ordinary guy." "Is this stone?" "This thing had Medusa?" "How could that be?" "Wasn't Medusa only supposed to infect humans?" "An unexpected mutation, huh?" "If we consider the amount of time it would take for this thing to be born, then I fear that the creation of a mutant wouldn't be strange." "So that much time has passed..." "Perhaps the beings infected with Medusa mutate with it, bearing its characteristics, or..." "Or what?" "What indeed..." "You might have 2 or 3 broken ribs or maybe just some fractures." "Class 3 damage..." "Stop that." "What's this scar?" "It's a long story." "I'm all done." "Don't push yourself." "It's only a temporary measure." "You're good at this." "Damage sustained, but the adventure continues!" "Stop it." "I was a nurse after all..." "Up until the world ended, of course." "How are things on your end?" "Not good." "We only keep finding energy data." "Same for me." "But I really wish I could have switched out a party member..." "Hey now." "A child doesn't add to the party's strength." "Stop that!" "I wonder if it'd be hard to buy weapons after we get a lot of gold." "Would you quit already!" "?" "This is NOT a game!" "People are really dying!" "Sorry." "I..." "That look..." "I hate how you look at me!" "Hey." "How you stared at and believed me..." "That used to drive me crazy!" "I'm really sorry." "I'm so sorry." "I won't make this a game anymore." "Please don't hit me." "Come on!" "I'm sorry..." "I'm so sorry..." "Good grief." "Looks like the people here sure have their share of traumas." "Do you really think this is all a coincidence?" "Huh?" "Do you, amigo!" "?" "Why are you asking me?" "That's cause you're not a patient." "O... on what basis?" "Your pendant." "We weren't allowed to bring personal items inside the capsule, no?" "I snuck it in." "They had metal detectors." "I saw bunches of people get caught." "The truth is I bribed the staff with a little money." "You're a horrible liar." "I'm telling the truth, I'm" "Then why did you tell us to come here first?" "You bastard." "Don't move!" "Weren't you the ones who just up and followed me?" "I have an important mission to fulfill." "Listen." "You come after me, and this girl dies." "We've no intention of getting in your way, so just let the girl go." "4 blocks up ahead, there's a central shaft." "Use the emergency stairs there to get outside." "Got that!" "?" "Damn it!" "Why?" "I've met you before." "Who... exactly are you?" "That bastard's looking down on us." "What are you going to do?" "I owe that slowpoke a favor." "But above all, there's no doubt that glasses bastard's keeping something secret." "I'm gonna grab and make him talk." "Alright, let's go." "Wait." "It's only been 48 hours since we entered the capsules?" "Don't be ridiculous!" "Only 2 days?" "Then what's with those bizarre monsters, those thorns?" "That's why we're gonna ask that" "When did that happen?" "Right after everyone went into cold sleep." "After I fell asleep..." "That was Shizuku." "Shizuku?" "My older twin sister." "So she was alive..." "So Shizuku... where did Shizuku go?" "She suddenly disappeared." "By the time I noticed" "Oh come on." "Damn." "One hell of a sight." "What do we do?" "We climb." "Hey, you can't be serious." "You can do that, right?" "Dungeons have this kind of challenge:" "the Labyrinth Tower." "Alright, next up is you." "What did you say!" "?" "What are you trying to pull?" "You got something to do, right?" "Once we get outside, I'm gonna knock you a good one." "Come on now..." "Don't you dare let go." "Be careful." "The Labyrinth Tower has a lot of hidden traps." "Don't say such strange things now." "Damn!" "No other choice... here goes nothing!" "Hey, you're not gonna..." "Bingo!" "Damn it!" "Ah Kasumi, you came today too!" "Yeah." "Look, I can walk without using the handrails now." "It'll be okay." "I'll definitely get all better." "Kasumi?" "Shizuku." "It's my fault that you didn't get to go to summer camp." "And you're even so far behind in school." "What, just that?" "Take care of my study slack, 'kay?" "And we'll be even with that." "Okay." "Shizuku, pass it over here!" "Pass, pass!" "Amazing, Shizuku." "I knew it was in you!" "You couldn't normally make a goal like that!" "Why..." "Why?" "Why!" "?" "WHY!" "?" "Stop that, Kasumi." "But why do the two of us have to have the same disease?" "Why do we have the same one that killed Dad and Mom?" "Kasumi!" "I should have been the only one to get sick!" "You can't say such foolish things!" "The two of us are the only family we have left in the world now." "From now on, we'll go at it together." "We used to do this a lot as kids." "It's a promise." "What is this?" "You first." "Oh, sorry..." "I never..." "I never would have thought it'd turn out like this." "Calm down." "Sneaking past ALICE's monitoring and waking up just one patient is impossible, so I caused a blackout by temporarily switching the power feed." "But about that... something went wrong." "So what happened?" "At the start of it all, I took some clothes off a corpse and pretended to be a patient." "Hey now." "I lost a memory card with information on it then, so as you as can see, I'm trying to finish copying the data." "I made it so I could access the memory backups from anywhere for times like this." "Keep doing that, amigo." "I'm going to take a look around." "How come?" "Why?" "Why!" "?" "You must be wondering why..." "I was the developer of the cold sleep capsules." "I wanted to prove that my thesis was right." "It'd be wonderful if I could save humanity in the process." "Of course, it'd be a lie to say I didn't have the slightest bit of ambition." "That's what that fiend took advantage of." "Fiend?" "I'm talking the one sitting on a throne at the top of the castle's tower." "What a frightening idea." "Without realizing it, I lent a hand in defying God." "This is a warning from Heaven." "Please inform the world of Venus Gate's true nature." "Why?" "Why can you be so calm?" "Everything you'd said is all selfish logic!" "That's..." "You gave everyone half-hearted hope, but instead you made us fall deeper into despair." "If you had never invented those things, Shizuku and I wouldn't have needed to be apart!" "I'll accept my punishment, okay!" "I'm leaving this to you." "Those who close in on the hidden knowledge of Medusa shall triumph." "Don't forget that!" "You idiot!" "The hell are you doing?" "Move!" "Go!" "Liar, you liar!" "Shizuku!" "I've returned the favor with this." "Now it's time for a trade." "Hand this over." "I can't." "This isn't something worth risking your life over." "Who are you?" "Just who!" "?" "Nothing would change even if you knew." "Laura..." "Seriously..." "You're damn annoying!" "Hey wai" "You owe me one." "No way!" "What's with this thing?" "Hey, what are you doi..." "Damn, it wasn't like this earlier." "Climb up." "Go up!" "Go on up!" "Quickly!" "One special capsule for you." "Should I throw down a bottle?" "Now there's no chance of anyone going after you." "Hurry!" "Where's this?" "Boy." "Boy!" "You sure seem fine." "What happened to the guy with the necklace?" "He was attacked and killed by a monster." "That was a Demonzaurus!" "Why you!" "Right before he died, he told me to tell the world about Venus Gate's true nature." "But the proof of that is already..." "Who in the world was he?" "That person there should know exactly who he is." "Idiots." "What did you say!" "?" "Did you plan to wait here to be rescued, drink in hand?" "Holed up in this place without any sunlight?" "Bastard, who the hell do you think you are?" "I belong to the British SAS forces," "Note:" "SAS stands for Special Air Service, a British commando unit." "Second Lieutenant Marco Owen." "I disguised myself as a candidate and infiltrated the CSCC." "With his help, I was supposed to support the acquisition of information as well as outside covert operations." "What kind of information?" "Proof that Venus Gate used Medusa as an act of bioterrorism or clues leading to Medusa's true nature." "So cool!" "You're like True Commando!" "How could that be..." "Don't suddenly say something out of a movie..." "I already thought that this epidemic and cold sleep was something out of a dream." "And now this?" "I was better off believing it was a dream." "You knew everything and followed us around, laughing behind our backs!" "Even if you do know something, it's not going to change our situation." "Do we turn to stone and die or do we get eaten by monsters?" "It's all your fault." "It's not." "This situation is irregular." "What are you gonna do?" "I'm just going to carry out my mission... the capture of Venus Gate's leader." "You're still..." "Whether or not he had something to do with Medusa's origin, he still isn't infected." "He must be holding on to some secret." "Secret?" "Medusa's cure." "That person said something to me before he died." ""Those who close in on the hidden knowledge of Medusa shall triumph."" "Another monster?" "No, it's an earthquake." "The door!" "A monster?" "That lizard thing again?" "You mean Demonsaurus." "Let it in." "I'll finish it off with a single shot." "Wait, this..." "What's wrong?" "This might be a human!" "This person is..." "Mr. Vega!" "Don't shoot." "Please don't shoot." "Don't." "Mr. Owen!" "It's Marco!" "Are you okay?" "What happened?" "What's the outside like?" "The subject went out of control." "I can no longer handle this." "No... this has gone far beyond my power." "An experiment?" "What experiment?" "You could call it an experiment done to turn dreams into reality." "We were so close, and then we were interrupted." "It's a big one." "The coolant's flooded up to here?" "This..." "It's ocean water!" "Hey you!" "You didn't come running here by chance." "There must have been a reason." "It's the final dungeon." "Is this exit part of a dream?" "Is it real?" "You go first." "Don't try anything funny." "This happened 8 years ago." "Right after that, an unknown disease had wiped out a nearby village, except for a young girl." "Medusa..." "Medusa came from space?" "We included that possibility in our hypothesis." "The problem was the odd creature that appeared in the village around the same time." "Odd creature?" "My subordinates disposed of that creature after a bloody battle." "Larrue!" "That creature was far stranger than any creature that ever walked this earth." "Strange how?" "To put it simply, you could say it was taken from fiction or just... nonsense." "As I continued my investigation, I concluded it was born from the little girl's imagination." "A dream?" "Are you saying that her dream became reality?" "It'd be more correct to say something acted as a catalyst and brought her imagination into being." "Something?" "You can't mean..." "The unknown disease, the girl, and the odd creature had an intertwined relationship." "The girl was infected with Medusa, but by giving birth to an alternative, she survived Medusa." "Medusa has existed in space far, far before the birth of humanity." "It was an existence that intervened with the higher mental functioning of organisms, hastening their evolution." "That's just..." "The only one in the entire world who realized that was me." "But why?" "This was worthy to be considered a gift from the heavens!" "Why did the lifeform evolve?" "It did because it wished to evolve!" "Because it could imagine its evolved form!" "Our fate was decided as soon as Medusa landed on this planet." "No one can escape from the trial that was given to us!" "Unbeknown to them, humanity is being played for a fool." "I thought about taking control of that." "The human consciousness is already full of noise caused by outside stimuli." "Using willpower alone to focus the mind is close to impossible." "Without an immense amount of concentration and as long as reason prevails, we cannot remain immersed in the realm of imagination." "I do feel very sorry to Alice." "The feelings she had when she stiffly squeezed the hand I held out..." "The feelings she held in during those repeated experiments with not even a single complaint..." "Why didn't I realize them?" "I wanted to atone for her sacrifice." "I went for one last gamble." "He's gone." "That is..." "I gathered subjects with great potential from all over the world and hastened the evolution with one go." "The cold sleep center!" "You said you could control our dreams during cold sleep." "However, that all went to those fools!" "Powerful nations are always like that!" "They never reflect on their foolishness." "They think of it as their natural right to take and learn the fruits of others!" "Right after the cold sleep capsules were activated..." "A girl was carried into the lab." "What irony!" "What a coincidence!" "Although that girl was not one of the candidates, she was the second compatible user I had been searching for." "Could that have been..." "She had fearsome abilities of propagation." "Something had triggered her mind to go out of control." "Exactly what kind of emotions could have possibly caused that?" "What's wrong?" "ALICE's systems have shutdown." "Find out why right away!" "What came free from ALICE's mental control was an endless rampage." "Even if ALICE's systems were down, you should've been able to stop the compatible user's rampage by cutting the main power line!" "Why didn't you?" "You should have been able to!" "I couldn't..." "Ever since Alice, I kept having failure after failure for the longest time." "But at last..." "At last, the ultimate materials had appeared!" "An alternative born from a compatible user will not be infected by Medusa again." "They wouldn't live forever, but they would be near immortal." "Please remember that we were the beginning of everything." "That's right." "We are humans who heard God's voice!" "Stop!" "I owe you another favor." "I won't let anyone else die." "Where is that girl?" "Please take me there." "Boy." "Boy!" "BOY!" "Idiot!" "Boy!" "BOY!" "Go!" "This one's fallen for me." "Bastard, going at it alone again?" "Go!" "Only that kid knows the way out now!" "Let's go." "Mr. Owen!" "It's Marco!" "What's the matter?" "With those steps, the Prince won't invite you to dance!" "Later, honey!" "Sorry..." "Laura." "You..." "I made up my mind to not abandon anyone else." "I won't turn my back on them." "I know." "I owe that girl one after all." "Boy!" "Boy!" "It was my fault." "Mama won't hit you anymore, so please don't leave me alone." "God, please don't take my child away from me." "Boy!" "Mr. Owen!" "It's Marco!" "Is he... what happened to him?" "Chief Officer Ron Portman died in the line of duty." "What?" "Was there an accident in our schedule course?" "ALICE." "You invaded that kid's mind during cold sleep, didn't you?" "Why are you helping us?" "That can't..." "He's under her control." "My purpose is to protect the lives of the candidates." "Boy!" "Oh?" "Boy!" "The spell's broken." "But..." "Why would she do that?" "Why take over that boy?" "At this rate..." "We'll jump in." "That's crazy!" "If we jump in, we'll rise to the surface for sure!" "It doesn't matter what..." "Just grab onto something that's floating!" "Are you serious?" "You can go, right Tim?" "It's okay." "I'll be a hero!" "Tim?" "Your name's Tim?" "Yeah." "My full name's Timothy." "I'll become a hero and make Papa and Mama make up!" "There you have it." "5... 4... 3... 2... 1..." "GO!" "Take care of Tim, Turner!" "Tim!" "Shizuku." "You idiot!" "What're you doing!" "?" "If I die, you get to go in the capsule." "Sometimes Dad and Mom would mix us up..." "But I don't want you to be my substitute anymore!" "Substitute?" "That accident in grade school..." "That was originally supposed..." "Idiot, are you still not over that yet?" "Idiot..." "You're really an idiot, Kasumi." "It's okay." "I'm sure we'll meet again." "But..." "Humans are surprisingly tough." "They believe if they wish hard enough, that wish will come true." "Miracles don't happen without wishes." "Right?" "Don't you think so?" "Sorry." "Sorry." "Sorry." "Owen!" "Owen, are you okay?" "Yeah, I'm fine." "Get to the ladder." "Go!" "Hurry!" "Is anyone hurt?" "We're okay." "Tim." "I'm okay, Miss..." "You can just call me Auntie." "I'm fine, Auntie." "What is that?" "It looks exactly like the ruined city from "The Undersea Continent."" "To the rescue of Sleeping Beauty came many princes from many countries." "However, the thorn forest was vast and wide, eventually trapping the princes who came to her rescue in its depths." "Each and every one of them lost their lives." "We can't escape from this nightmare." "We'll be chased after everywhere we go and eventually die." "You know that, don't you!" "?" "And with that, this fairytale will be put to rest forever." "The rest of it..." "You didn't get to tell it to your child, did you?" "Shizuku." "Hey!" "If that girl's dreams actually did become reality, then what emotions could have possibly caused all this?" "Miracles don't happen without wishes." "Will it work?" "I'd say we'd have a fifty-fifty chance." "BNN here." "What happened her" "Don't come here!" "We have orders to bring her to the top level lab." "Top level lab?" "Wait a second!" "To Level 0, the top of the tower." "Why!" "Quit that!" "Don't film this!" "Miss!" "This is bad!" "She's..." "Idiot!" "You idiot!" "What are you doing!" "?" "Shizuku's..." "Shizuku's..." "Don't go, Kasumi Ishiki!" "I memorized the patient list for my infilitration." "Shizuku's in there!" "She's inside the castle!" "She's no longer the older sister you know." "I realize that..." "I think." "Kasumi!" "Jump!" "You have to jump!" "You idiot, get back here!" "You idiot!" "What's this?" "It works after all." "I told you I wouldn't know until I tried." "Oh no, the castle's..." "Shizuku!" "Go up!" "Alright, let's go." "No, that's not where we're headed." "You..." "Fly Tim and I as far as away as possible." "It'll be the same no matter where you go." "It's okay!" "I'm fine with it, so please stop, Auntie." "As long as I stay alive," "I might get another chance to see the child who was taken from me." "I came here with that in mind." "But that was only a dream." "No, Tim at least is real." "I've decided to dedicate the life I have left to this child." "Auntie..." "Wings?" "It's got more than just wings." "Is that thing planning to cover the world in thorns?" "It's the King of Thorn!" "Shizuku!" "In the first place, did Sleeping Beauty even want to wake up?" "What do you mean?" "Wasn't she happier when she was fast asleep?" "The thorns did trap the Princess, but if you look at it differently, they also granted her peace of mind." "She'd never age, and if she wanted to see the Prince, she could just meet him in her dreams." "I wonder what the Princess wished for and what she dreamed of?" "Didn't she wish for her dream to last forever?" "Stop already!" "Inside her dreams, she'd never be hurt, and she could start over as many times as she wished." "Does reality have anything better to offer than that?" "All the more reason too if your circumstances are overwhelming." "Shizuku." "Let's go home together." "From the start, dreams don't hold true to reality." "Princes are no exception either." "The prince might break the curse, but there's no guarantee for the happiness that lies ahead." "The prince from her dreams can try over and over, but the prince from reality exists in a different dimension." "I suppose you're right about real princes." "Auntie?" "Auntie." "Auntie!" "Tim, don't let go of Mrs. Turner!" "Mrs. Turner?" "That's right!" "Mrs. Katherine Turner!" "Marco!" "Damn it." "Mr. Owen!" "It's Marco, you idiot." "Where's Tim?" "And..." "Katherine Turner." "I'm pathetic." "I joined the army thinking I could do what someone else couldn't." "In the end, I realized that I couldn't do anything." "Please help me." "Yeah." "Level 0 is like one of those black boxes." "We couldn't get any detailed information about it." "In the end, it all comes down to chance." "Right?" "Amiga." "Yes." "Come on." "This way." "Auntie, this is bad!" "We have to get out quickly!" "Auntie!" "Auntie?" "Soon after came the arrival of a young and gallant prince." "As the prince entered the forest, the thorns blossomed and welcomed him inside." "The prince was guided along all the way into the depths of the castle." "He flinched not at the sight of the dogs, birds, fish, and servants who were dead asleep." "And at last..." "He made his way to..." "Sleeping Beauty's room." "Actually, I've met you before." "Excuse me?" "Someone wished for this world to become a dream." "For what reason?" "To protect something, to obtain something..." "Shizuku." "I'm not sure how to put this, but Sleeping Beauty isn't the problem." "The problem is the dream Sleeping Beauty is having." "Shizuku is thinking about me..." "I have to go see for myself." "I'm the only one who can." "And I'm the only one who can stop her." "That's how I feel." "Good resolve." "Let's go." "Yes!" "Is this some kind of bad joke?" "Or maybe it's..." "You're correct on both accounts." "You're correct on both accounts." "Your role ends here." "You are no longer useful, so I shall exterminate you." "It's been a while, Marco." "My older brother." "Laura?" "That's the dress I gave you as a present for your high school graduation party!" "You took information out of my head while I was sleeping in the capsule, didn't you!" "?" "I see... so I'm also..." "What's wrong?" "Aren't you happy to see me?" "ALICE, your program isn't functioning properly." "Fix yourself!" "No, I am functioning just fine." "My top priority function is to remove all unstable elements surrounding the S-class candidates." "How is that related to taking over our minds!" "?" "The petite, asian girl with glasses must be protected at all costs." "One is the guide." "One protects the guide through maternal instinct." "One is a capable leader with a strong sense of justice." "One is my meat shield designed to hide my link to you." "And last is the ultimate soldier incapable of dying from Medusa." "Mr. Marco?" "Am I dreaming?" "Relax and count the numbers along with me." "1..." "Why do I... 2... 3 remember his name?" "4... 5... 6..." "What does that have to do with protecting the S-class candidates?" "The link is Medusa." "A human must have had a certain emotional stressor prior to becoming a host for a psychological parasite." "You mean trauma?" "The emotional frailty known as trauma spawns powers of mental concentration but is one step from disease." "These two sit on a delicate balance." "Kasumi's existence depends on the S-class candidates' greatest mental instabilities." "That's why I must protect them." "Even that arrogant Italian man had one." "The fact that his little brother committed suicide in shame of his corruption was always in the back of his mind." "By the way, what is yours?" "Hey, wizard." "Did you lose someone precious too?" "Did you wish it was all just a dream?" "Damn." "ALICE doesn't have the ability to create alternatives." "Then what's making me see Laura?" "Think." "You have to think, Marco Owen!" "How did she tell Tim the way out?" "How is she showing me this?" "What other objects could transmit something like this?" "That's right, that injection!" "Did they embed a biological chip into me back then!" "?" "You should have kept quiet and escaped." "Did you not realize that coming back here in itself was a futile effort?" "In the end, Sleeping Beauty was fated to be woken up." "That kind of metaphor exceeds my logical capabilities." "Ever since humans could start making stories from something, they've been pushing themselves towards that very ending." "How irrational." "I think so too." "Can you shoot me?" "Your little sister?" "My little sister was just a woman who was too afraid of Medusa." "3 years ago in New York, she jumped to her death, smashing into little pieces." "Farewell, Laura." "Kasumi." "Kasumi!" "Right... damn it." "How long have I..." "In your current state, you cannot use physical means to destroy me." "I know that." "That's why I'll use my knowledge of Medusa." "If you shut me down, my controls will fail." "There's no telling how out of control the compatible user will go." "You won't have a second chance." "Are you fine with the world being entirely covered by thorns?" "If I consider my original goal, your way might be the right one." "But right now, I really feel like making that idiot's wish come true." "Stop this instant, Second Lieutenant Owen." "Owen!" "It's Marco!" "Did you lose something precious too?" "Did you wish it was all just a dream?" "Mr. Marco!" "Shizuku." "I'll always be waiting for you, Kasumi." "When you wake up, come looking for me right away." "I'm sure we'll meet again." "Miracles don't happen without wishes." "Because the 12th witch wished it so, the princess didn't die and continued to sleep." "If I wish, a miracle will happen..." "Yeah, it will for sure." "Kasumi?" "I really can't..." "Kasumi." "I can't accept any of this." "I don't want to die, but I don't want to survive and be alone either!" "Kasumi..." "Kasumi." "Live." "Relax and count the numbers along with me." "1... 2... 3..." "What is this?" "4..." "Another dream?" "5... 6..." "Another!" "?" "7..." "This isn't a dream." "Marco..." "Mr. Marco!" "Where is this?" "Mr. Marco!" "Shizuku?" "Shizuku!" "Shizuku!" "Shizuku." "Please, leave me be." "Why?" "I'll save you" "You're an alternative that Shizuku's mind created, aren't you?" "I am Shizuku." "Why are you getting in my way?" "I'm doing no such thing." "I will stay the me that you desire while you stay the you that I desire." "I don't understand a thing you're saying!" "You don't have to understand." "You just don't." "Give up on me." "No!" "Please, just stop." "I'll never do that!" "I..." "Stop." "I will definitely save you, Shizuku!" "Stop!" "I'll put an end to this nightmare!" "STOP!" "Shizuku!" "Please... stop." "Why did it turn out like this?" "Please!" "If I... if I've sinned somehow, kill me." "So please... don't destroy the world!" "DON'T!" "Shizuku." "Please open your eyes!" "Listen to the sound of my voice!" "Shizuku!" "No!" "Kasumi!" "Shizuku?" "The scar..." "Don't!" "Don't try to remember!" "I..." "I'm..." "So Shizuku..." "Please, let's jump together." "Kasumi." "Okay?" "Shizuku." "Stop it!" "Shizuku!" "Stop means stop!" "Are you okay?" "Thank you very much..." "Are you hurt?" "Kasumi." "GP03 here." "There's been an accident." "Please send emergency medical staff over here." "Where's Kasumi?" "Kasumi?" "NO!" "BNN here." "What happened her" "Don't come here!" "We have orders to bring her to the top level lab." "Top level lab?" "To Level 0, the top of the tower." "Wait a second!" "Why!" "Quit that!" "Don't film this!" "Shizuku." "Kasumi." "Live." "I was an alternative that Shizuku's mind made." "I only wanted to make a world..." "A world where you could go on living without knowing any better." "That's what I've been wishing for this entire time." "I've always been the one getting saved." "That's not true." "I became stronger because you were there with me." "I..." "My wish went out of control." "From now on, you have to live on your own, Kasumi." "I can't do that." "I won't leave you." "I'll stay here with you, Shizuku." "Once Sleeping Beauty wakes up, the world has no choice but to change." "I don't want that, Shizuku!" "Live, Kasumi." "There's no more rampant energy left?" "Run!" "Run for it!" "It's going to fall apart!" "I..." "I've been thinking how nice it'd be if this was a dream." "A dream that I was having while asleep in the cold sleep capsule." "How great would be that be..." "But..." "I myself was one of Shizuku's dreams." "To our surprise, we might be part of someone else's dreams." "Whose?" "A dream belonging to some evolved being from long ago." "If..." "Even if a great loneliness overtakes you, bear through it and become someone who brings comfort to others." "Is that..." "That's... my last wish." "Mr. Marco?" "Marco?" "Thank you, Mr. Marco." "And... farewell." "Ah, Miss!" "What are we going to do now?" "Miss?" "Let's go." "Where?" "To a place with people..." "To where your Papa and Mama are." "Miracles don't happen without wishes." "Yeah!" "No one knows what lies at the edge of this endless world." "Even if by chance I could see what's ahead," "I'd want to go where you are." "Lonely and sad, my love for you has grown stronger." "These painful feelings kept building up." "I'll send you my wishes now." "Will they reach you?" "These feelings kept fading away in my dreams." "I can't even give you my heart." "Time just keeps slipping by." "As I strongly grip your hand," "I once again feel your warmth." "Even time couldn't erase these wounds, so let our hearts come together to heal them." "Even if we're apart, I won't forget those honest eyes." "These painful feelings kept building up." "I'll send you my wishes now." "Will they reach you?" "God, I want to protect them, so erase this sadness." "Erase everything that hurts you." "I'll reach the edge of this world." "If I wish strongly for something," "I can stay as myself." "If I could one day find something for someone's sake," "I'd choose the path of believing." "One day I'll reach the edge of this world." "These painful feelings kept building up." "I'll be sure to send you my wishes." "Will they reach you?" "I believe this wish will bring forth a miracle." "I dream of eternal love." "I'll reach the edge of this world." "I dream of the edge of this world."