Nautika: She's gone? Just like that?
Vertin: ...
As Arcana vanishes, the sanctuary rocks once again. Yet more boulders fall, their tumbling cacophony heralding death.
Vertin: "The end is nigh" ...
Sonetto: Timekeeper, we may have slowed down the "Flood," but the water is still rising.
Sonetto: There are very few options left for us now.
Nautika: This place could collapse any minute. W-We should go. We should go right now.
Vertin: You're right. Go find the Foundation troops. They'll get you to safety.
Nautika: Wh-What about you?
Vertin: I cannot allow Manus Vindictae to wipe this world clean.
Vertin: The sanctuary should hold a little longer. I have to try again to stop this "Flood."
Vertin: Mr. Ulrich risked his life to buy us this time. We mustn't squander it.
Sonetto nods, still lost in thought.
Sonetto: But, neither attacking Animus nor destroying the sanctuary stopped the ritual.
Sonetto: What else can we do?
Vertin: Even though Arcana is gone, the ritual is still ongoing. She must have left the source of its power here in the sanctuary.
Vertin: They needed Dr. Dores to start the ritual. Perhaps the power source is tied to her somehow.
Vertin: I need to check the altar again.
Nautika: But ... But it's under the "Flood." You can't touch the water, or you'll disappear. Let me take you. I can fly you over the top, and you can take a look from there, ugh!
Nautika raises her forepaws, but her wings fail to spread. Blackened, bruised, and wounded.
Vertin: I'll be fine, Nautika. The water can't harm me.
Vertin: The "Flood" is a mix of glacier water and "Storm" water, which doesn't affect me.
Vertin: So, to me, it's just ordinary water.
Vertin: Look.
Sonetto: ...!
Water slips through her fingertips, and the hand submerged in it remains unscathed—time has left no trace.
Vertin: See? I'm fine. It's a little chilly, but nothing more.
Vertin: Sonetto, please take my suitcase and go with Nautika. I'll catch up to you later.
She turns around, searching for a suitable spot to enter the water. The icy water sending shivers up her thigh all the way to her neck.
Sonetto: Timekeeper.
Behind her, Sonetto clutches the suitcase, holding off her desire to speak.
Vertin: Sonetto, it's dangerous here.
Sonetto: I'm your assistant. It's my duty to stay by your side, no matter how great the danger.
Sonetto: I'm staying. I'll wait here for your return, Timekeeper.
Leaping in, ancient bones and debris glide past.
The path forward is already decided.
Vertin: If I remember correctly, the ritual began right after Dr. Dores spun the Wheel.
Doctor Dores: The threads ... They were drawn away somewhere deep below me. This—this isn't right.
Doctor Dores: And the Wheel ... I can't seem to stop it.
Doctor Dores: Vertin, you must leave.
Vertin: The ritual began when Dr. Dores turned the Spinning Wheel, and once it started, it kept turning as if it were sustaining the ritual.
Vertin: So the Wheel must be the key to all this. That's what I should be looking for.
Just like before, with eyes closed, instinct takes over.
Upon reopening them, the golden thread flickers into view once more.
Vertin: A thread?
Vertin: Is Dr. Dores guiding me?
Vertin: It's leading me deeper.
Yet it stretches without end.
Vertin: Ugh!
A strong current pulls a dense thicket of obscuring debris into her path; the guiding thread vanishes from just beyond her grasp.
Vertin: The current is growing stronger. Regulus's song must be coming to an end.
Vertin: Time's running out. I need to find the Wheel as soon as—Huh? Where did the thread go?
???: … ♪
Vertin: ...!
A familiar hum drifts from above. Clinging to the rocks, she lifts her head, and there stands the one she sought.
Doctor Dores: ...!
Vertin: Dr. Dores!
Doctor Dores: Vertin. You came. My instincts were correct. I knew you'd find your way here.
Doctor Dores: The threads are no longer under my control. It's as if they're flowing down into some sort of well. I believe it is the source of the "Flood," too.
Doctor Dores: If we're to have any hope of stopping this, I think we'll have to halt the Spinning Wheel first.
Vertin: Agreed. Stay where you are, Dr. Dores. I'll—
A singular fixed detail catches her eye.
Dores's feet are gone, as though they never existed in the first place. She now maintains her balance by gripping the sides of the Spinning Wheel.
Vertin: What happened to your feet?
Doctor Dores: Ah. They were gone when I woke up. They must've touched the water when I was unconscious.
Doctor Dores: My apologies. I would bring the Spinning Wheel to you, but my body will dissolve in the water.
Vertin: No problem. I'll come to you.
Doctor Dores: Be careful. The current is strong here. I tried several times to escape, but the conditions are too unpredictable.
Doctor Dores: I think it's because this is ...
A shriek cuts her off. The "Flood" churns below them.
White waves spiral, coalescing into a fathomless vortex.
Vertin: Eye of the "Storm."
Doctor Dores: Careful, Vertin. The Spinning Wheel is resuming its pace.
Dores cradles the Wheel. Its rotations seem to match the trembles of the current's pulse.
Vertin: Stay right there, Dr. Dores. I'm com—Urgh!
She lets go of the rock wall and tries to move forward, but the raging waves grab her and sweep her away. Despite a moment of panic, she manages to steady herself on another rock.
A sharp slice coats her palm in red. Fortunately, the water's icy chill numbs the pain.
Vertin: coughing
Her blood dissolves quickly in the water. Next to them, the whirlpool is growing ever larger.
Vertin: panting
Vertin: It's alright. Just try again.
Another attempt. Then three. Four ... Each time, the waves slam her back against the rock.
And the current grows fiercer.
Doctor Dores: Vertin!
Resolute, she tears her dress's hem, lashing the Spinning Wheel to her body.
Doctor Dores: Wait there. I'm bringing the Wheel to you.
Vertin: Dr. Dores, no!
Propped against the rocks, Dores drags herself into the torrent. The cold wracks her with shivers, but she moves undeterred.
Doctor Dores: Ugh!
Soon, half-submerged, only her arms cling to the shore as the flood devours her lower half.
The raging pool batters her slender frame, yet she and the Spinning Wheel keep bobbing up amid the waves.
Doctor Dores: Just a little closer.
Vertin: That's far enough. Just stop right there, please. Don't—
Vertin: ...
Vertin: Lazo Lock!
An unusually successful arcane skill anchors her to the rock, defying the pull of the rushing water.
She leans, stretches—yet those final meters feel insurmountable.
The Wheel shudders ever more violently now.
The roar of water fills her ears.
Doctor Dores: Vertin.
Doctor Dores: Don't worry about me.
Dores's voice cuts through the roaring waves—calm, gentle.
Doctor Dores: I'm glad to have seen you again, child.
Doctor Dores: I wish you my very best on the journey ahead.
Vertin: ...!
Dores releases the rock. The current seizes her, pulling her forward.
The Spinning Wheel bobs on the surface while what's left of her dissolves piece by piece.
Vertin: Okay. I got the Wheel.
Vertin: Now take my hand, please.
Doctor Dores: Goodbye.
Vertin: DR. DORES!
And the Spinning Wheel stills, and the furious waters grow quiet.
One raindrop rises from the "Flood."
Then two, three ...
The "Flood" recedes.
And the "Storm" begins.
