37: I, I don't understand.
37: I should be giving them my blessings. They're brave enough to return to the essence. But instead, sadness washes over me.
37: I should feel happy for Sophia, now that she knows her soul number. Yet, I am filled with sorrow.
The beach is quiet, clean, and perfect again.
The "Storm" has washed away everything that's happened—the war, the crowds, and the clinking cups, all gone.
It's restored to the likeness of a better time, with no remnants left behind.
The last echoes of an era have faded into the distance.
37: Why? Why did you all leave?
37: Is it because I wasn't fast enough? Is it because I didn't do well enough?
37: I ...
Her petite frame sways in the breeze, until finally, she crumples to the sand.
37: sob
37: crying out loud
Rivulets of tears stream down her cheeks, mixing with the mud on the ground.
Her face, hair, and gilded robe are marred with stains.
But she shows no concern as she bawls her eyes out, her grief tearing at the core of her being.
... Like the first cries of a newborn entering the phenomenal world.
Vertin: ...
6: ...
Thus the leader knows; the question is answered.
Rather than looking on, she has chosen to be practical, involved, and suffer.
And now, the moment of parting has come.
6: Go, 37. Leave the island. To the world outside.
37: ...?!
6: Ms. Vertin, you're clearing a path out of the mires of the phenomenal world.
6: I sincerely hope you will steer it away from the horrors of war.
Vertin: It's our duty to do so.
6 nods approvingly. The importance of the scroll needs no further proclamation.
6: Also, the person you were looking for ... I am not familiar with a biographer named "Urd."
6: However, in my recollections from the previous 6, there was a lady with a soul number just as unique as yours.
Vertin: ...! Are you saying ...
6: Sadly, these vague scraps of information were all that I inherited. I hope they will be useful to you.
He turns around. Without another look at the empty beach, he starts walking back.
Some believers trail after him without hesitation.
Seeing this, the girl wipes off her tears and scrambles to her feet.
37: No. No, no, no. No! Wait, 6, where are you going?
37: Everyone is gone. Sophia, 210, 888, and now you too?
6: I'm returning to the cave, 37.
6: There are still people who refuse to be caught in the cycle of hatred, or give in to unrestrained passion.
6: The entrance to the sacred place may be destroyed, but the people's faith is yet to be extinguished.
6: We will persist in studying the scrolls, copying the scriptures, and restoring our halls. We will worship the ancient one in penance and work to rekindle the flame of our broken beliefs.
6: The island is a manifestation of our choices, a haven removed from the phenomenal world, a place of order and harmony. And it is our determination that will sustain its tranquil existence.
37: I will go with you!
6: No. Your choice has already been made, 37. You should not go back.
6: The sorrows and doubts you have can only be alleviated by experiencing the outside world.
37's face turns completely pale.
6 shakes his head, looking toward the setting sun.
6: Thousands of years ago, the first faithful ones fled from the Roman Empire and journeyed to this island, where they founded the School of Apeiron.
6: Five hundred years ago, refugees from Arabia found shelter here. They filled the cavern's shelves with copies of their writings and texts.
6: Half a century ago, scholars who had their research exploited for warfare came and expanded our knowledge on modern mathematics.
6: There were many 37s and 6s among them.
6: Yet, are we any different from them in essence?
37: ...!
6: Even if we are no longer here, the numbers 37 and 6 will still exist. Even if the island sank, these numbers would reappear elsewhere.
6: The integer sequence is infinite, 37. Rather than clinging to a set of specific numbers, you should go and work out your own calculations and conclusions.
Vertin: So now you're choosing to be wise and look on.
Vertin: But I don't understand. How could one be wise by being uninvolved and looking on from the sidelines?
6 lets out a sound, almost a chuckle.
6: You overestimate wisdom, Ms. Vertin. It can't do everything. Wisdom can free people from ignorance, but it can also lead them to a nihilistic void.
6: Yet someone will always seek this wisdom, even if nihilistic, to briefly rise above their worldly troubles and find some relief.
6: And someone will have to stay here, and provide a neutral haven for the drifters of the phenomenal world,
6: and give the lost souls a harbor to return to.
He turns again, ignoring the calling behind him this time.
37: Wait, 6, wait—
She rubs her face with her palms and pulls up her robe, running down the beach.
She stumbles over a pebble and falls, but she pushes through the pain and rises to her feet, still running as fast as she can.
37: Wait, 6!
37: ATTICUS!
6: ...!
The man stops.
He had not expected to hear that name.
Numbers are the essence of one's soul, and names are but echoes of the phenomenal world.
He was born into his number, long before he was given the name Atticus.
37 never once called him by that name, for she had always valued the essence above all else.
Now here she stands, hair tangled with mud, knees bleeding, all battered and bruised. Yet, her gaze remains resolute.
37: Will you leave a door open for me in your cave, like when we were kids?
37: I know the transcendental Law is in disorder, but that doesn't mean the Truth is gone.
37: I will carve a new path through the chaos, calculate better solutions than ever before, and delve into the phenomenal world to discover all it has to offer.
37: By then, if I run into problems that I can't solve, can we talk about them together, like we used to?
6: ...
Three maxims were carved on the pillars of the Temple of Apollo.
"Know thyself," "Nothing in excess," and ...
"Give a pledge and trouble is at hand."
6: ...
What can he say?
Alleviating doubts is a leader's duty.
6: Yes. A door will be left open for you, 37.
6: Both you and your friends can come in.
37: It's a promise, 6!
She brushes away her tears and waves to him.
It's still a goodbye, but it's no longer as devastating.
The last of the Apeiron followers have left, leaving only the Timekeeper's team on the beach.
Vertin: Zeno's sent a ship to pick us up.
Vertin: Let's go, 37. The researchers of Laplace would love to meet you.
The girl's shoulders are trembling.
Vertin: Are you nervous? Afraid of the unknown world?
37: Maybe a little.
37: But I will get used to it!
She lets out a breath, clearing the tangle of emotions from her mind.
A familiar smile lights up on her face.
37: Because the nature of the universe flows in all things alike.