Marcus is like a book swept out to sea, floating directionless through the dead of night.
Familiar pages flash rapidly through her mind.
Echoes of the past ringing yet again in the present.
Marcus: I remember now ... I wanted to make a choice of my own ...
Marcus: So I joined the Foundation. I learned of the "Storm." I bade farewell to my era ... and my old dream ...
Marcus: A choice of my own ... But did I really make one at all?
A sudden agony almost tears the entire book apart.
The spine of the book trembles as it struggles to turn a new page.
Marcus: Yes, I made my choice. Now see where it's led me. I've ruined everything.
Marcus: Lady Isolde held a grand exhibition where she made that speech ...
Isolde: I wish for the arcanists to unite ...
Isolde: And establish an independent kingdom of freedom, free from repression and oppression!
Marcus: It's all my fault ... If only I hadn't violated the confidentiality agreement, she wouldn't have made that dangerous speech.
Marcus: What I did not only failed to help the arcanists, but worse still it intensified the divide between us and humans.
Marcus: Lady Isolde—and many other innocent arcanists deceived by Manus Vindictae—shouldn't have fallen into such a predicament ...
Marcus: Political assassinations, ethnic conflicts, and civil turmoil have erupted all over the world ... History has been altered; the "Storm" was formed.
Marcus: …
Marcus: I shouldn't have—I should never have called out to Madam Hofmann that day ... I should have stayed on the Flannan Isles!
Marcus: ... Madam Hofmann?
Then comes a clearer, more suffocating page.
Marcus: No! Madam Hofmann!!!
Hofmann: coughs weakly Don't cry, Marcus. I know what I'm doing.
Hofmann: The future ... is yours.
Marcus: No!
This page seems agonizingly long.
Marcus: What have I really achieved?
Images bristling with pain and regret ruthlessly intertwine in Marcus's frantic thoughts.
Marcus: Back on the island, I couldn't even stop my friends from fighting. How could I have thought I would be the one to change humanity's discrimination towards arcanists ...
Marcus: After I made just that one choice, to join the Foundation, every choice afterward only seemed to magnify the number of people I hurt, even Madam Hofmann ...
Marcus: I never once managed to live up to my aspiration ...
Marcus: C-Could it be that I ...
The cold abyss stretches out before her. Reality, naked of any illusions.
Marcus: I've never left the Flannan Isles.
The active cells within her body finally find an outlet amidst the surging pain.
A strange scent invades the air, blurring Marcus's vision.
"Donald": M-Ms. Marcus, how did you end up here?
"James": Oh, poor lassie, you look miserable ... What sort of trouble have you been in?
"Thomas": Dinnae worry, mate. We've always been here for you, always ready to lend you a hand!
The phantoms, as ever before, gather around her with great enthusiasm.
Marcus: James ... Donald ... Thomas ...
Marcus: I …
Her long-suppressed emotions finally breach their confines, finding a soothing haven on the windless island.
Marcus: Aren't you disappointed in me ...?
Marcus: On the Flannan Isles, I tried to tell your story, but everyone only saw it as fiction. They praised its plot and suspense ... But none of the credit really belonged to me.
Marcus: I failed to unravel the mysteries, and I failed to help people understand arcanum. My so-called dream ... was nothing more than an excuse to run from reality.
Marcus: I had run, tail tucked, to the Foundation, and then to Vienna ...
Marcus: In the end, it feels as though I've accomplished nothing.
Marcus: I couldn't help Madam Hofmann stop Manus Vindictae. I couldn't find the incantation that might grant immunity from the "Storm" ...
Marcus: I only ruin everything!
Yet the bitter chill of remorse fails to tear her down ...
For her loyal friends' warmth, even through the veil of death, can illuminate the darkest nights. Like a refuge on her dark seas.
"James": Lass, we don't know what kind of trouble you're facing now, but things are rarely as bad as you fear them to be. Take that on aged wisdom.
"Donald": Aye, I'm—no, we're all proud of you!
Marcus: But ... I didn't do anything helpful for you ...
"Thomas": Right, now I won't have you slandering a friend of mine like that, eh? Or did you forget who wrote those wonderful stories what made people remember the Flannan Isles–and us–forever?
"James": That may well have been the cleverest thing I've heard you say yet.
Marcus: But I didn't even uncover the truth behind your deaths. I've failed you all ...
Her head hangs low, with an irrepressible shake lurching her forward and back.
"James": Heh heh ...
A familiar touch of warmth reaches Marcus's shoulder again.
"James": Now don't be so hard on yourself, lass. How can we blame you if we haven't figured that out for ourselves! With a dozen years head start no less!
"James": We've always stayed here all this time, but we've never given up hope. We'll continue to seek out the truth, no matter how long it takes!
"James": Remember what Madam Hoffman told you, "Whether you find the truth or not, it is the journey that keeps us engaged."
Marcus: …
Suddenly, she is reminded of that edition.
Why was it so loved by her readers?
"James": ... You remember those letters from your readers?
"James": So many bright ideas, trying to fix the puzzle you set out for them. Nary a one got close, eh? But, remember the fun we had talking them over?
"James": Finding the answer is not what really matters, lass. What matters most is our perseverance—our courage to carry on.
Marcus: ...!
Marcus finally lifts her head.
Marcus: Madam Hofmann ... She understood that lesson all along and tried to pass it on to me.
Marcus: ... But do I really understand it now?
Marcus: If I were to die today, would I know what I was supposed to do?
Marcus: I think ... I do now.
Standing up, she races forward, just like she did on the island coast that fateful day.
Marcus: "What really scared me was not death, but the possibility of dying ignorant."
Donald: Marcus, d-did you hear that? It's s-some kind of strange noise ...
Marcus: …
She takes a deep breath and opens her eyes.
Marcus: We ... we can still make this right.
Marcus: Doctor, wait! There might be another way!
