GAMEPLAY
Lamplighter: Watch out!
Lamplighter: It's the Bananach! It's here!
Flutterpage: Lamplighter, leg it—quick!
And then ...
Amid the endless darkness, something briefly flickers before her eyes.
Flutterpage: What? That's ...
Lamplighter: Don't come any closer, you beast of foulest darkness!
Flutterpage barely registers what's happening before Lamplighter raises her stick and strikes the earth with incredible force.
A brilliant light bursts forth, banishing the darkness for a fleeting moment. Lamplighter seizes Flutterpage by the wrist.
Lamplighter: Let's get out of here!
Flutterpage: No. I can't!
Lamplighter: What are you talking about?! That thing'll be the end of you!
Flutterpage: I saw it! My name! It's there.
Flutterpage: In the depths of the dark! It's on the Bananach!
Lamplighter: Wait, no! Flutterpage?!
Lamplighter's call goes unanswered, as Flutterpage's trailing dress vanishes into the shadows.
GAMEPLAY
Flutterpage: Hey! Where are ya?!
Her voice is consumed by the darkness, vanishing completely.
Flutterpage: No answer. Not that I thought there'd be.
Being a child full of questions, darkness is a pain. It always remains silent, as if it's saying, "Don't ask me nothing."
Flutterpage: But I'll find ya.
She moves across the grass, at first making every effort to step softly.
But the silence around her is unnerving. Even the faintest crackle of crushed leaves beneath her shoes feels harsh and intrusive.
Flutterpage: Right then, if that's the way it's gonna be.
And so, she steps confidently into the enveloping darkness.
Flutterpage: ...!
Something is indeed lurking in the dark as expected, bursting to life like an erupting spring.
Crawling and seething, shadows spill out from every corner of the darkness.
Flutterpage: They, they're coming! I ... What?!
The slimy darkness fills Flutterpage's mouth and nose before she can resist. Even her sight is turning dark.
She can't breathe, and all is black.
Flutterpage: coughs
Her consciousness begins to slip away.
Flutterpage: coughs
All around her, the darkness begins to ripple, and faint mocking laughter echoes from every side.
Voice in the Dark: Look at her, poor child.
Voice in the Dark: Why would you try so hard? What for?
Voice in the Dark: You look ridiculous. You surely know that, don't you?
Flutterpage: What? You're ...
Voice in the Dark: Give it up. You don't need that name of yours as much as you think. It's nothing more than a title.
Voice in the Dark: Just leave it to us. This is what you wanted, isn't it?
Flutterpage: Give ... up ...?
Indeed, someone provides her with the answer—the simplest solution.
All she needs to do is give up, then she will no longer have to endure this suffering.
And why shouldn't she?
!+*?%&#: I ...
The once again nameless girl drifts into a vast, unyielding void.
The warm darkness promises her every answer she seeks. But she has no need to ask anymore.
But just as her last bit of sense fades away, a beam of light breaks through.
!+*?%&#: …?!
Flutterpage: No.
Flutterpage: This isn't the answer I want! I know what you're up to, and I won't fall for it this time!
Flutterpage: Look out, I'm coming in!
Flutterpage jumps into the depths of the dark, where the voice had come from.
And then, she crashes straight to the ground.
Flutterpage: Oof!
Flutterpage: ...
She scrambles to her feet, paying no mind to the dirt and grass clinging to her clothes, and stares into the empty nothingness.
Then, she laughs.
Flutterpage: Haha. Hahaha!
Flutterpage: I've got it. I knew I was right about you all along! Bananach, you—you ain't even got a body! Yer just an empty shell!
Voice in the Dark: ...
The whispers trail into silence.
The darkness thins out, revealing a sea of stars. The night sky is lit by fireflies.
Flutterpage: Gotcha! The sixth letter.
Flutterpage: What a riot, really. I was frightened of that thing for ages, and it weren't nothing!
Lamplighter: Flutterpage! Are you alright?
Flutterpage: I'm standin' here, ain't I? Right as rain.
Flutterpage: Turns out, it was just me frightenin' myself all along. The Bananach mumbles a lot of odd things, but that's as far as it goes.
Flutterpage: Whatever mumbles on about from now on, I won't let it bother me no more.
Lamplighter's eyes grow wide, and after a short pause, she finally speaks.
Lamplighter: You're amazing, Flutterpage. I knew you had it in you.
Lamplighter: Hang on! Now's not the time for celebrating!
Lamplighter: We've only found six letters, but the Administrator said there were seven altogether!
Lamplighter: That means we're still missing one more, and we have no idea where those fairies hid it! We've gotta find it—fast!
Despite Lamplighter's mounting anxiety, Flutterpage looks strangely relaxed.
Flutterpage: The fireflies ain't flyin' no more.
Lamplighter: Huh?
Flutterpage: Look.
Lamplighter: They've sunk down to the bottom of the pouch.
Lamplighter: What's going on? Shouldn't they be able to sense where their friends are?
Lamplighter: Now we're in for it. Dawn's almost breaking! M-Maybe we should hurry back and ask the Administrator?
Flutterpage: I think I know the answer.
Lamplighter stops in her tracks, a look of confusion settling on her face as she glances at Flutterpage.
Lamplighter: What do you mean by "answer"?
Flutterpage: The answer to everything.
GAMEPLAY