It hurts so much.
My body trembles. My head wants to break apart.
Still, I am in my blue pajamas, in my bed.
In my bedroom. In my Zone.
I am safe, in my Zone, so why am I in so much pain?
It is because of my math homework? I did not understand a thing.
It is because of that girl at school? She said something nasty to me.
I forgot her name. Mel… Something.
Melanie? Melissa? Melinda?
Mel...
Whatever!
I will sleep. Yes, I’ll sleep.
Disconnect myself from Reality. Disconnect myself from the Others. Disconnect myself from the pain.
I close my eyes. Slowly...
A dream comes to me. A nice one.
I am in a flowery meadow, then the fog comes.
Could it be... the Unknown?
No, no, no, no.
I’m in a dream.
In. A. Dream!
The Unknown cannot come here.
It... It cannot.
It cannot. It cannot. It cannot. It cannot. It cannot. It cannot. It cannot. It cannot. IT CANNOT! IT CANNOT!!!!
Suddenly, I open my eyes and I see the ceiling. It’s not mine. My ceiling, in my bedroom, is white.
This ceiling is orange.
While panicking, I get up. The walls are orange. My PC is gone. My furniture is gone too. Reality hit me as quickly and violently as a tidal wave.
I am no longer in my bedroom.
I’m not home.
I’m in some stranger's bedroom.
I am in the Unknown. The Unknown, the great and powerful Unknown. It knows how to make me suffer. I believe, with all my heart, that we will always be at war.
The pain is so intense. I want to cry... Should I?
No. I hold myself back. The Others... If I cry, they will mock me. NO WAY! I must find a way to chase the pain and the Unknown away.
Suddenly, I hear footsteps. Someone comes over here and quickly. Then I hear a voice on the other side of the door. A girl's voice.
Girl : Are you alright?
Oh, oh! She’s an Other. I must answer her and fast!
Me : Yeah I’m ok.
Girl : I see. Uh... I’ll come in, ok?
Why does she ask me this? Usually, when the Others wish to go somewhere, they go, period. I want to answer her, but I don't know what to say to her. I don't want her to come in. Too late. She’s in.
A blonde-haired teenager stands in front of me. She has tiny blue eyes. I have never seen eyes that small before. I have never been good at describing people, but she has combed her hair in a long braid. Honey blonde shade of hair, to be more precise. As for her eyes, it is difficult for me to say its exact color of blue. She wears neon pink pajamas, which does not fit at all with her very pale skin. While seeing me, the girl becomes nervous. Will she mock me?
Girl : Hi!
No. She only wanted to greet me.
Me : Uh... hi there.
Girl : What’s your name?
Me : A...Alice.
Girl : Alice... who?
Alice : ?
Why does she want to know my last name? To laugh at me in the face, no doubt.
Girl : My name is Alice too. Alice D. I wish to avoid confusion, so it’s Alice who?
Alice Lorange : It’s Lorange, like an orange. Come on, you may laugh now.
Alice D : Huh? Why would I laugh at you?
Strange. Usually, the Others laugh all the time, so... why...?
Alice D : Lorange, it fits your hair color quite well.
Alice Lorange : Fits with my hair? How?
Alice D : No, no! It's an idiom. You’re a redhead... and Lorange, an orange, it fits, it goes well together!
I feel foolish. Idioms, sentences with a figurative meaning, non-vocal communication… They are all mysteries for me, like an unsolvable puzzle. I had to learn several by heart, but there are still many that I don't get. Even though I know several of them, it does not mean that I understand them all. Still, I like some, like the ones that involve food.
Alice D : It's still incredible! With you, that makes Four Alice!
Alice Lorange : Four Alice?
Alice D : Yes, Alice Brown, Alice Kurosawa, you and me. Moreover, we address ourselves with our last names, in the Japanese way, and you know why.
I have never been an Anime Fan, but I must admit that this idea is great.
Lorange : It's a great idea, so I'm Lorange.
D : True and I’m D.
Lorange : D? For Denton?
D : No, only D. If you want, I can introduce you to Brown and Kurosawa.
Lorange : I don't like meeting other people...
D : I’m sorry?
Lorange : I said it would be great!
D : Cool! Let’s go!
We leave the room with the orange walls. The pain to my head seems to be gone.
I am in a huge corridor with several doors. Strangely, there is a word written on the doors. 'Alice' with a large colored circle. D explains to me that these are our 'bedrooms', identified by our names and the color of our hair.
Mine has an orange circle because I’m a redhead. D is a blonde girl. Her bedroom’s circle is yellow. Brown has a brown circle. She is a brunette. Kurosawa has a black circle. Her hair is the same color. The door where there is nothing written on is the bathroom. At the end of the corridor, there is a hatch leading to the attic. At the other end, there are the stairs leading to the first floor.
D goes to Brown's room and I follow her. She knocks. No answer.
D : Brown, you’re here?
No answer.
D : We have a newcomer. Alice Lorange. I want to introduce her to you.
Still nothing.
D : Brown?
Lorange : Why don’t you come in?
D : By the pirojkis, it would be madness! I don't mean anything bad, because she's a child, but Brown is weird.
Lorange : Weird? What do you mean by that?
D : She often cries. She hates being touched. You can’t even hug her! She does not tolerate any "intruder" in her "fake room". She eats at specific times. She’s also very picky on the food. There are objects she refuses to touch... A real phenomenon!
Alice Brown.
She’s not an Other.
She is like me.
Before D can stop me, I gently open the door, I enter the room and I close it without making noise.
I see a little girl lying on the bed. She is reading a book and she seems to be engrossed in it because she didn't notice me. She has short chocolate-brown hair, dark skin and chestnut eyes. Her outfit is a simple white night gown. I think it's important to say it. My eyes are green.
I look at her book and I recognize the title.
Lorange : Alice in Wonderland.
Brown : !!!
She closes the book abruptly, leaves the bed, and she shouts at me.
Brown : GET OUT OF MY ROOM !!!
Lorange : I...
Brown : I SAID... GET. OUT. OF. MY. ROOM!!!
I have to appease her.
Lorange : I beg for your forgiveness. I set foot in your Zone without your consent.
Brown : What with all these big words? I do not understand.
Lorange : It’s your Zone, am I correct?
Brown : Zone? What kind of zone?
Lorange : Your Zone. Your Sanctuary. Your Shelter. Your Protection. Your Save P… GAH!
Brown : HA HA HA! Save Point! It's SO funny! Are you a gamer?
Lorange : Uh... Yes?
Brown : 'Yes?' Is that a real yes or…
Lorange : I am sorry. It is a real yes.
Brown : Cool!
Her anger seems to be gone.
Brown : So, are you the new Alice?
Lorange : Yes. Did you hear D earlier?
Brown : Yeah, but I ignore her. I don't want her to enter my fake room.
D's Voice : HEY, I CAN HEAR YOU!
Lorange : 'Fake room'?
Brown : Yes, because it's not my room. My real bedroom, at home.
I remain pensive, then I ask Brown how long she has been here.
Brown : I would say 72 hours. D has been there for 3 days and Kurosawa 1 week.
Lorange : ONE WEEK ?!?
Brown : Yeah. We are prisoners. There is no way out.
I begin to feel bad. The Unknown is always near. I have to do something. Clear my head.
Lorange : I am Lorange. You know, like an orange. The book you were reading was Alice in Wonderland, correct?
Brown : Yes. The original version.
Lorange : What? In English?
Brown : Yeah.
Lorange : But I saw the French title on the cover!
Brown : In French? Ah, of course!
She explains that there is an unexplained phenomenon in this house. All spoken and written languages are automatically translated to be understood by all.
Brown : I am American. I speak and I read English. D is Russian and Kurosawa is Japanese. They hardly speak English and we understand each other without worries. I have already borrowed a book that was in Kurosawa's bedroom. It was from a Japanese author and an untranslated work but, in my hand, it was written in English. You said that the title of the book was in French... Do you come from France?
Lorange : No, from Quebec, Canada. If I may ask, how old are you?
Brown : I am 10 years old. D is 14 and Kurosawa is 25.
D’s Voice : Can I come in now?
Brown : NO!
D’s Voice : But Lorange is already here! Usually, you let NO ONE in!
Brown : But Lorange is a nice girl! How old are you?
Lorange : Me? 16 years old... and would you let D in?
Brown : No!
Lorange : Not even for me?
Brown : Uuuuuuuh, aright!
D can't believe it. As soon as she comes in the room, she gives me a long speech about it. Brown ignores her. As soon as D has finished all her blah-blah, I ask her for more information about what Brown has said.
Lorange : Are we really prisoners of this house?
D : We should go to see Kurosawa. She knows more than I do about this.
Lorange : But...!
D : Yes. We are trapped in this house. By whom and why? Mystery.
As I don't want to panic, and give the Unknown more strength, I say goodbye to Brown and I go with D to look for Kurosawa.
Alice Kurosawa is not in her bedroom. We go to the first floor and I take this opportunity to ask the blonde Alice about the rooms on this floor.
She tells me that there is the kitchen, the living room, the dining room, the entrance hall, a door leading to the bathroom, and another door to the cellar.
D : In the cellar, there is another bathroom, another bedroom and a mysterious door. I don't like to go there. It creeps me out.
Lorange : Why? I do not understand.
D : Well... The other bedroom has books about black magic. The bathroom has big mirrors and blood everywhere. The mysterious door is locked with big black chains. You know, like in Silent Hill 4.
Lorange : Oh no, not The Room!!!
D : Uh... I don't think we're talking about the same thing. MISS KUROSAWA?
Kurosawa's voice is heard from afar. She says she is in the living room. We go find her.
Kurosawa : Miss D?
D : Miss Kurosawa. Here is Alice Lorange. She just arrived.
Lorange : N...Nice to m...m...meet... y...you.
I never liked meeting new people, because it is difficult for me but, now, it’s even worst. Alice Kurosawa is a very beautiful Japanese woman, wearing a red nightgown. Usually, I do not care about beauty, but at this moment I find myself so pathetic compared to her. My half-long and messy red hair looks dull compared to her jet-black hair, which she has tied into a bun.
D : Lorange, are you ok?
Lorange : Y…Yes... I...
Kurosawa : Do not let my appearance distract you.
Lorange : Un-Understood!!!
D sighes.
Kurosawa : It is an honor to meet you, Fourth Alice.
Lorange : 'Fourth Alice'?
Kurosawa : Yes, you are the Fourth Alice who arrived at this house. Since there are only four bedrooms, I don't think that other Alice will be coming. It's better this way.
Lorange : If I am the Fourth, you are...?
Kurosawa : I am the First Alice. D is the Second and Brown is the Third.
Lorange : So the D, its not for Denton, but for 'Deuxième'! ('Second' in French.)
D : NO AND NO!
Lorange : I am so sorry.
Kurosawa : I am sure you have many outstanding questions. 'Where am I? Am I trapped in this house? Who does it belong to? etc.' My knowledge is limited, but...
She explains to me that it is impossible to leave the house. She already tried everything. The front door, the windows... Whenever Kurosawa wanted to go outside, her body fell into darkness and she found herself back in her room, the one with the black circle on the door. D and Brown have also tried, with the same result. Kurosawa also tells me that time seems to be frozen in this place, because all the clocks are fixed on noon. The windows giving outside always show the same thing: a shiny sun. Also, the refrigerator never empties itself and its contents are always changing.
Kurosawa : An example. Yesterday, I wanted sushi. The fridge didn't have any. I came back ten minutes later and there were ten. I took one and I checked again after half an hour. No sushi in sight.
Lorange : Brown and D may have eaten them...
D : No. It's the Fridge of Chaos! Always changing, without logic.
The chaos. The Unknown. I am not out of the woods yet!
Kurosawa : If you want, you can try. The refrigerator or the exit.
It's a good idea. What will I try? The refrigerator. I go to the kitchen to try it out. I open it and see lettuce, apples, chicken, turkey, beef, and other stuff. I close it and wait 1 minute. After waiting, I open the fridge again. The contents have completely changed. I can't believe it!
D : The Fridge of Chaos. It's aptly named.
Lorange : D! I didn't see you there.
Brown’s Voice : DON’T CLOSE IT YET!!!
She arrives, out of breath, and she takes a look at the refrigerator.
Brown : NOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Lorange : Wh… What is it?
Brown : There is no yogurt!
Lorange : There is. I can see some.
Brown : Yes, but they are vanilla flavored!
Lorange : So?
Brown : I HATE VANILLA!
D : And a lot of other food, too.
Brown : WHAT DID YOU SAY?
Kurosawa arrives immediately to calm Brown down. All this hubbub... I hate it. I leave without making any noise.
Now, where will I go? To the orange room.
I go back to the orange bedroom to rest a little. I lay down in bed and I ponder for a while.
This house, the three Alice, the Unknown, the Others… and I. Alice Brown is like me. It reassures me. Alice D and Alice Kurosawa are Others, I’m sure. This is not good. I must be careful or I’ll suffer.
Suddenly, a mysterious creature crosses a wall and it slowly approaches me. Its appearance is abstract, but it reminds me of a purple cloud of smoke with shiny yellow eyes. It doesn't seem friendly, so I escape. In the hallway, I meet Kurosawa.
Lorange : Kuro… Miss Kurosawa! There is something in my bedroom! Well, it's not really my bedroom, my 'real' one, but…
Kurosawa : This thing ... can you describe it to me?
Lorange : No need. Here it is!
Kurosawa : Quick, we must hide!
She goes to hide in her own room. Where will I hide? In the attic.
I go to the attic. Everything is messy. It makes me feel sick. At least, there are plenty of hiding spots.
I hide and I wait… After a couple of minutes, I leave my hiding spot and I go find Kurosawa again.
Without wasting time, I ask her for explanations.
Kurosawa : I don't know much. These... creatures... I do not know their names. They haunt this house and they want us dead.
Lorange : And you didn't think about warning me sooner, did you?
She frowns and, for a moment, my breathing stops. She’s angry. The Others… I should have kept my mouth shut! Kurosawa will hurt me, like all the Others before her. She… She… She’ll…
Kurosawa : Miss Lorange? Are you alright? You are trembling and your gaze... it looks like you're going to die of fright!
I cannot hold back, control my own self. I do not want to be hurt.
Lorange : I... I'm not going down this time!
Kurosawa : I am sorry?
Lorange : You… The Others, you’re all the same!
Kurosawa : I don't understand.
Lorange : You always wish to cause me pain because…
Kurosawa : Because what?
Lorange : Because I am not one of you!!!
Kurosawa : …
Lorange : Brown is like me. Do you hurt her as well?
Kurosawa : … Oh, I think I get it.
Lorange : If you…
Kurosawa : Miss Lorange. Do not go even further. I am like you.
Lorange : !!!
Kurosawa : By 'Other', you mean a 'normal' person. Someone who is not autistic, correct? Well, I want to deny it, but…
Lorange : You… You are not…?
Kurosawa : Yes. I am not a Other.
Lorange : O…k… but D?
Kurosawa : D? She is autistic too. Just see her reaction when she has to touch paper! She says it ‘burns’ her skin.
The paper also burns my skin. Some tissues too. I can't believe it. Four Alice, all autistics, trapped in a house haunted by killing creatures. That would make a good novel or a video game plot!
Lorange : M…Miss Kurosawa… I must apologize.
Kurosawa : Why? You have done nothing wrong.
Lorange : B…But…!
Kurosawa : Did the Others hurt you so much that you are afraid of speaking? That you feel the need to control all your words and your actions?
Lorange : Yes and no. It depends. Why do you ask me this?
Kurosawa : Because that's my case. I must control myself all the time, otherwise... my family, my reputation... Everything would be lost.
I want to ask her about her family, but Kurosawa refuses to tell me anything. I switch to another subject.
Lorange : We have to find a way out of here and learn more about these creatures. They must have a weak point.
Kurosawa : I already tried to fight one. Physical attacks don't have any effect.
Lorange : What did you use to attack it?
The Japanese Alice refrains from laughing.
Kurosawa : A wooden broom.
I keep myself from laughing. It was so funny.
Lorange : Nevertheless, I am sure that by looking around, we can find a solution. Maybe in the attic?
Kurosawa : Although I hate going to the attic (all this mess! SUCH A DISGRACE!), I'm willing to accompany you and... uh... search up a bit.
Lorange : Good! I will ask the others Alice for help.
Before Kurosawa can warn me, I find Brown and D at the dining room. As soon as I ask them to go to the attic, the two girls start screaming that they don't want to go there. I ask them why. Brown tells me that she hates messy rooms, like Kurosawa. D explains me that there is cardboard, paper and other things that "burn" her skin. I tell them that I also have sensitive skin, but that I will still search the house, because I want to get out of here and return home. My argument seems to have an effect upon them because D agrees to come. Brown refuses to change her mind so I show her my anger.
Lorange : BROWN! We're ALL going together! I said ALL! The mess and the paper better brace themselves! THIS. IS. WAR!
She agrees right away to go to the attic and she’s the first one to arrive.
In the attic, we begin the search. This takes a while, because the creatures often interrupt us, forcing us to stop and hide for our lives.
Suddenly, D calls us. She found something. A big dusty notebook.
Lorange : Why don’t you open it?
D : The... the paper… Did you forget already?
Brown : The paper does not hurt me much. I can open it if you like.
D : Really?
This would explain how she could read Alice in Wonderland without worries.
Lorange : From 1 to 10, how much?
Kurosawa : I am sorry?
Lorange : The 'burn' you feel when you touch paper. From 1 to 10, weakest to strongest...
Kurosawa : Oh, a scale! I would say 6.
D : 10, no, 9!
Lorange : 7 for me. Brown?
Brown : 4!
Lorange : … …
Brown takes the notebook from D. She opens it and flips through a few pages.
Brown : It looks like a diary.
D : A diary in a notebook? That's not very intimate!
Kurosawa : Who does it belong to?
Brown : To… let’s see, let's see… to Alarie.
Lorange : Alarie? Is it a first name or a last name?
Brown : This is his last name. His first name is Adelan and he is the owner of the house. He has a wife, Alya Vouriot, and two children, Amandine and Anicet. After the death of his wife, he... he changed.
Lorange : He 'changed', how so?
Brown : This is pretty cliché, but he got interested in the occult and in black magic. The diary also talks about the creatures. The ones who haunt the house. These are female beings, called the dsgjksdg.
Lorange : The what?
Brown : The dsgjksdg. This word can be translated by 'Traces'. There is a lot of missing text, as if it has been erased but, if I understand everything right, Adelan is the one who summoned them from their world. Probably to resurrect his wife. After discovering that they are souls-devouring creatures – they killed his children – he tried to destroy them but in vain. To prevent them from invading the world - His World, not ours on Earth - Adelan sealed his house in a 'Domain', a dimension isolated from the outside world, through a ritual.
Lorange : And then?
Brown explains that Adelan committed suicide, not wanting to give the Traces the honor to devour him. His diary does not reveal other information.
D : Good. We know where we are, in the house of Adelan Alarie, seal in a 'Domain', and we know those creatures are called 'Traces', but how can we leave this place?
I remember, when D told me about the cellar, she said that the bedroom had books about black magic. The answers may be there?
Lorange : I know! Let's go to the cellar bedroom!
Brown screams that she doesn't want to go to the cellar and I have to convince her again.
The cellar.
A large room with worn walls and three doors.
One is clean, the other has blood on it, and the last one has the chains.
Lorange : Uh, D?
D : Yeah?
Lorange : The door with chains… It doesn’t look at all like the one from Silent Hill 4!
D sighs, while telling me that this place always scares her. Kurosawa and Brown go to the bedroom to start the search. D asks me if I want to inspect the bathroom with blood everywhere. I tell her 'no', then we go join the other two Alice.
The search resumes, but the Traces interrupt us again and again and again. Nevertheless, we quickly find more informations.
Behind the chains on the door lies the Heart of the Domain, a crystal that 'controls' the Domain, keeping Adelan's house in another dimension. This crystal also has the power to teleport beings to different worlds.
Lorange : We could use it to get back to Earth!
D : But there is a catch. If we do that, the Domain will disappear, and the Traces will be free to invade the world of Adelan and kill innocent people.
Lorange : …
D : In any case, the chains are magical. We can't break them.
Brown : Is it this crystal that would have summoned us here?
Kurosawa : Maybe… but why? To feed the Traces?
Lorange : I think that the Traces themselves were the ones who summoned us to take a bite.
Brown : A bite? On me? Where?
D : It’s an idiom, Brown!
Brown : Oh!
Lorange : So... what are we going to do now?
Suddenly, other Traces arrive. We flee into the main room to climb the stairs, but other creatures block the way, so we head towards the bathroom. As D told me, there is blood everywhere. The big mirrors on the walls are not reassuring. Suddenly, I see silhouettes in the glass.
Lorange : Did you all see that?
Brown : It looks like Traces.
D : We're done, we're screwed, it’s over!
The silhouettes become bigger and they take on a more concrete form. Shadows. Our shadows.
Kurosawa : What the…?
The shadows begin to speak and their strange language is translated gradually.
Shadows: We are Traces. Unlike our sisters, we have reached the stage of human consciousness. The 'cycle of sacrifices' must stop... Fusion or Death. It's up to you.
D : I don't understand anything, but the Traces that chase us will come soon!
Brown : Lorange, what do we do?
Traces : Fusion or Death.
Lorange : I… uh… Fusion!
After making my choice, the conscious Traces come out of the mirrors and they come towards us. Everything goes black and I wake up in the room with orange walls. While wondering what's going on, I see that the furniture is gone. There is a big hole in the wall.
Voice : Aren't you curious?
Lorange : Who said that?
Trace : Me. The Trace that merged with you. I don't have a name.
Lorange : Hm. A Trace… Tracy?
Tracy (?) : 'Tracy'? That’s the name you give me?
Lorange : No, no, no! Uh… is Heather ok with you?
Heather : 'Heather'? Why not? So, for that hole, aren't you curious?
Lorange : Uh... no, not really.
Heather : Won't you enter inside?
Lorange : Why would I do that?
Heather : To help your soul. The fusion… it needs a lot of Energy. I wouldn't want you to die.
Lorange : One minute! Am I in danger?
Heather : It depends. If you resist the fusion... if you want to destroy me...
Lorange : I could die, right?
Heather : To put it simply, that's it. We, the Traces, live through Energy, the energy that human souls possess. That's why we eat humans that we summon with our powers.
Lorange : So the Traces are really the ones that bring us to Adelan’s house?
Heather : Yes. Another 'cycle of sacrifices'… Cycle = the Traces summoning. Sacrifices = a group of humans that share the same first name. Since we have gained a human conscience, my friends and I are ready to do anything to stop them! Did you know that the Domain adapts itself to the humans summoned? That's why there are 'Alice' bedrooms, the language translations... but I am so sorry. I talk, over and over, and nothing moves forward! Don’t you want to go into the hole?
I couldn't refuse now, so I enter the hole and I start crawling into the darkness.
What follows is so strange, that I think I'm in a dream ... or rather a nightmare. I found myself in Abnormaland, a strange version of Alice’s Wonderland, and I must live painful moments of my life again. I must also fight the Unknown. The great and powerful Unknown. This damn fog that never leaves me alone. During these 'Trials' (Heather calls them that), I meet alternative versions of Alice Brown, Alice D and Alice Kurosawa. Brown is the Rabbit, D is the Cat, Kurosawa is the Queen. From them, I learn things that the other Alice will never have dared to tell me.
Alice Brown, although she has a loving family, like me, is always intimidated at school. There is even a girl that beats her on a regular basis. One day, when Brown was menstruating, a group of girls exposed her soiled pad...
Alice D is rejected by her family due to her autism and she has been raped when she had Brown's age. D always hid that fact and quickly learned to imitate the Others to 'survive'.
Alice Kurosawa must control everything to look 'normal'. She doesn't want to dishonor her family and her friends. Her family also arranged a marriage with a man, oh real cute and nice, but Kurosawa doesn't love him.
After all that, I regain consciousness in the bathroom of the cellar. The Traces that pursued us have disappeared.
Kurosawa : Miss Lorange! You made it!
Lorange : Wha…?
Kurosawa : Your Trials. To be able to live with a Trace, we must face our fears, our demons, to harmonize our Energy. At least, that's how Aya explained it to me.
Lorange : 'Aya'? The Trace that merged with you?
Kurosawa : Yes. D and her Trace, Rosa, keep watching around the house, while Brown and her Trace, Elise, try to destroy the chains to access the Heart of the Domain.
Lorange : I thought we could not destroy them.
Kurosawa : Alone, no, but with the power of the Traces, it becomes possible.
Lorange : If so, why the Traces didn't try to destroy them?
Heather : My nonconscious sisters only think about one thing : eating...
I hear Heather sighing then Brown's voice call us.
Kurosawa and I go to join her in front of the door with chains.
Brown : Elise isn't strong enough to break the chains. With the three of us, I'm sure we can do it!
Kurosawa : Good. Miss Lorange, do you know what to do?
Lorange : Uh… do what?
Heather : I have to control your body...
Lorange : WHAT?!?
Heather : To try to destroy the chains.
Brown : Lorange?
Lorange : I was talking to Heather. Alright, and how do I do it?
Heather : You close your eyes, and you let me awaken.
Lorange : 'Awaken'? But you are awake. You are talking to me!
Kurosawa : Miss Lorange. You should answer her mentally.
Lorange : Oh… ok… So, I was saying…
Heather : I'm talking to you, yes, but I'm not awaken. I have no control over you. You must awake me!
Lorange : Ok, ok!
I concentrate then I lose consciousness.
When I come back to reality, I see D - or rather Rosa due to her yellow eyes - fighting a group of Traces with her powers. Aya, who took over Kurosawa, slows down five of them. Elise, who took control of Brown, speaks to me.
Elise : You have the Heart of Domain! Use it and destroy the Traces!
Lorange : What?! But…
Indeed, the crystal is now in my hands.
Elise : The Traces must die, Lorange! The cycles of sacrifices must stop!
Lorange : But you are all Traces TOO! If I destroy them, we’ll di…
Heather : No, you won’t die!
Lorange : But... the Heart of the Domain can take us home! If I use it now...
Aya : No, no, no! If you return to Earth, the Domain will disappear and the Traces will survive!
Rosa : The Traces will invade the world of Adelan Alarie! Is this what you want?
Lorange : No, but the Domain will still disappear if I destroy the Traces, correct?
Heather : Yes, because the Heart can only be used once before destroying itself, but the Traces will no longer be a threat. You must destroy them, you have to!
Lorange : But it's madness! I don't want to die here!
Heather : Lorange. I promise you. You are not going to die.
Lorange : They say the Traces... but it may be possible to specify which ones? However... home... I want to go home again.
This is the moment of the final choice. Will I destroy the Traces, thus saving future victims, while sacrificing our return to Earth? Or will I return to Earth with the three Alice, while letting the Traces invade Adelan’s world?
I made my choice. I concentrate and use the Heart of the Domain to destroy the non-conscious Traces.
Lorange : That's it, they are destroyed. Heather, are you still here?
Heather : Yes, and I can't believe it! I was ready to die...
Aya : Us as well.
Rosa : The Domain will soon disappear. Let's teleport elsewhere!
Lorange : ???
Elise : We can summon humans so, of course, we can also send them to other worlds.
Lorange : Other worlds? So…
Heather : No. We cannot send you back to Earth, but I know a similar world. Let's go!
Before I can reply, everything becomes white. When I get to see something, I see a children's park, similar to those on Earth.
D : Lorange?
Lorange : D?!
D : Yes, I'm here... and my head is spinning!
Kurosawa : Where are we?
Brown : We are not on Earth, are we?
Lorange : Heather?
Heather : Still alive!
Suddenly, a strange rift of light appears in the sky and a monster comes out. We are not at the end of our surprises when a group of children, two boys and two girls, arrive and fight the monster with supernatural powers. After they have defeated the creature, one of the two boys, probably the leader, comes to talk to us. He is surprised.
Boy : You've all seen this thing, right? How is it possible? Only children can see them!
Brown : Children?
Boy : Yes. Are you a Rift Breaker too?
Brown : A what?
Boy : A Rift… wait, if you don't know what I'm talking about... Where are you from, exactly?
That's how I understood that my journey was far from being over.