A bright light. He was chasing a bright light. It was so beautiful and pleasant. It reminded him of home. A home that he can't remember. A home that he never had. A home that he will never see. But it was there, right in front of him. He raised his arms to take it into his hands.

Then it vanished. Suddenly, his surroundings changed.

At first, he could see only movement and color. A thousand blurs swirling continuously in a miasma of color. He could feel his head pound as his brain tries to process the images. A few of them seem familiar, while most are completely foreign. Names. Places. Dates. It all hurts his head. He tries to close his eyes, but he can't, for some reason. He struggles until his mind and soul almost breaks in the confusion.

Then something frees him from the pain. Something pulls him from the chaos. And everything begins to grow clearer.

"Can you hear me?" asks a distant voice.

He nods slightly as he waits for his vision to recover. He seems to be standing in some kind of garden. The green bushes and trees calm his eyes. However, when he looks up, he sees, in the place of the sky, a swirling sea of blood and darkness. He shudders slightly as he recognizes humanoid shapes reaching out at him before being swallowed up by the torrent of crimson.

"Can you hear me?" repeats the voice. "I know that your existence should be stable by now."

He turns to the voice. He stares blankly at the person, dressed in a red and pink dress full of frills. He recognizes her immediately, of course. Even without those bat-like wings attached to her back, her deep red eyes and her light blue hair are unmistakeable.

"Remilia?" he asks uncertainly.

The vampire smiles mysteriously at his response.

"Remilia? I suppose that you can call me by that name for now," she says. "Though it doesn't really matter."

"I don't understand," he says.

"You don't need to understand," she says bluntly. "It's already over. You failed."

"I guess I screwed up then," he returns. "So is this hell?"

The vampire raises an eyebrow.

"It can be, if you like," she says. "But what you like doesn't matter either way. You are going back."

"What?" he asks. This is really getting confusing.

"I don't know how many more times I can do this, so get it right this time," she says sternly.

"Get what right?" he asks.

"It doesn't matter," she says, pouting. "You won't remember any of this when you return, so answering your question is completely pointless."

"Huh?" he says.

"Anyway, this is the best chance we all have," she says. "The other one opened the way for this possibility."

Something glimmers in her eyes as she says the word "other".

"Don't waste it," she continues.

A moment passes in silence as she waits for his answer. He doesn't understand, but..

"I will do my best," he says.

The vampire nods at him approvingly.

"Be sure to say 'hi' to the other me when you get back," she adds.

"But how am I supposed to do that if I don't remember any part of this?" he argues.

The vampire stamps her foot on the ground and puts her hands on her waist.

"Just do it anyway!" she pouts. "I won't forgive you if you act mean to me!"

"What?" he says blankly.

"Forget it," she says, sighing. "It's pointless to explain. Anyway, I'm sending you back now, so get ready."

He gives her one final shrug. He still doesn't know what's going on.

[ ] The Investigation Continues
[ ] Entering the Lower Library Chamber
[ ] An Unscheduled Concert