* Connecting to 7sRef world…
[ ok ]

unknown

…Huh?

You’re…?

No way

I didn’t think this would actually get through…

Please! You made it here — which means we need your help!
If things keep going like this… 7sRef will fall apart!

— I’m sorry. I just dropped that on you out of nowhere.
Let me explain properly.

I’m Acid.
And to be honest… I’m the one who caused all of this.

I introduced a bug into 7sRef,
trying to get my hands on the “Master Key.”

With the power of the Master Key — something that can rewrite the very laws of this world — I thought I could free Ris from it. That… was where it all began.

The collapse caused by the bug turned out to be far worse than I imagined — it’s even affected the gates that connect our worlds.

Ris tried to stop it all by releasing her own protection protocols.

As a result, she rebooted — as PRiSM, the system administrator of 7sRef.

To PRiSM, the current state of 7sRef is nothing but a broken system. To eliminate every bug, she’ll likely try to destroy the entire world and rebuild it from scratch.

You saw it too, didn’t you?
That blue screenWorld’s end BLACKBOX —
The exact moment the world began to fall apart.

If this keeps up, 7sRef and even the worlds beyond the gates — all of it will be erased.
We absolutely can’t let that happen!

“The Last Hope”…?
I see — that’s what led you here, isn’t it?

Directly interfering with the system to send a message — only someone like W■K■Y■ could pull that off.
I don’t like them, but it wouldn’t surprise me if they left behind something to deal with this.

If you’ve found the Last Hope, then maybe — just maybe — there’s still a way to turn this hopeless situation around.

I know it sounds selfish.
But please… help us bring Ris — and this world — back!

If there’s anything I can do to help, I’ll do it. If there’s something you want to know, just ask me.

Sorry, we’re in a hurry right now

…!
If it’s beyond the Seventh Gate — maybe…!

But how do you even know about that…?

No, I suppose it’s not so strange you noticed.

“Seven worlds, seven gates.”

To link 7sRef with the other worlds, six gates should’ve been enough.

That’s right — 7sRef does indeed have a “Seventh Gate” that’s never been opened.

The Seventh Gate definitely exists.
But opening it is strictly forbidden.

Even before this incident, it was always sealed shut. And I’ve never once seen it open.

We don’t even know if a key exists, or if it has a gatekeeper.

But if we can’t find the Last Hope beyond the other six, there’s a good chance it’s in the unknown world behind the Seventh.

Still… without a key, how do we even open it…?

If only it were that easy…

Just plug the tail into the keyhole and —

…What are you trying to make me do!?

…!

That’s right — we do have the Master Key. If we use it, then maybe… we really can open the Seventh Gate?

It’s worth a try.

But like I said before — the Seventh Gate is forbidden.

Even if the Master Key does open it, there’s no guarantee we’ll come out of it unscathed.

Are you really okay with that?
If you’re ready, let me know.

…Thank you.
I’ll use the Master Key to open the gate now.

…! What is this…?

The gate opened, but…it looks like the connection to the world beyond is broken.
We won’t be able to pass through the Seventh Gate like this.

How can we reconnect…?

You’ve repaired the connection to the other side!

I’ve heard of “backdoors” before.

When a “regular gate” in 7sRef malfunctions, a replacement gate can be set up temporarily — they call it a backdoor.

A backdoor temporarily links an existing gate from another world to 7sRef.

To prevent anyone from wandering in by mistake, you need to use a special method to open it…

…Wait a moment. There’s a big problem with this method.

To open a backdoor, you need to “open the gate from both worlds simultaneously”.

I can handle things on the 7sRef side. But there’s no one in the other world who can open it.

That means, before we can go through the Seventh Gate to that unknown world, we have to find the gate on that side — the one that connects to ours.

But how are we supposed to do that…!?

If the backdoor doesn’t work, then we’re out of options… I can’t think of anything.

We were so close to reaching hope… and now this.

…Huh?

Um… if I remember right, it’s a place where fragments are likely to form. In other words, it should be a gate located in a place full of people’s memoriesmaimai FiNALE.

Wait! You are —

You… do you know something about the world beyond that gate?

……

…It’s always puzzled me.
Sometimes, within the fragments that wanderers carry, I see memories of worlds that neither Ris nor I recognize.

Could it be… you are…

No — now’s not the time for that.
Right now, I choose to believe in you.

Let’s decide on a signal. When you find the backdoor, “knock seven times”.

Then, the two of us will open it together.

Please — find the final gate!

I can’t believe you actually opened the gate from the other side…
Thanks to you, we’re finally able to travel to the seventh world.

The Seventh Gate — one that had never been opened until now.
…Maybe you’ve known about that worldAFTER PANDORA all along.

Thank you for believing in someone like me, and for lending your strength.

Let’s go together —
to bring everything to an endXaleid◆scopiX.

It looks like your voice can’t reach me anymore. I hope this message still gets through.

The Gate of Hope we opened together —
with the power of the key that appeared from it, PRiSM shut down, and both 7sRef and Ris returned to normal.

And the two who came along with the keyMilk & Chiffon have been safely sent back to their original world, so don’t worry.

Without your help, we never could have reached this ending. I truly thank you.

I hope we can meet again somewhere.
Goodbye, someone whose name I still don’t know.