Hours after Dunstan left, Charise curled up in bed. She had a very strange dream…

She sat up and realized that she was in a coffin in a barren white room. No furniture or anything. It was almost like nothingness! Charise climbed out of the coffin and stood in the middle of the room. As Charise turned slowly, marveling at the sheer whiteness of everything, she felt the presence of someone behind her. She turned slowly, scared of what she might see.

She found herself facing a very pretty woman, wearing a very unusual dress. Charise stared at the woman. She looked so familiar…

“Are you the Grim Reaper?” Charise asked.

“No. I do not bring death. Don’t wonder that now,” the woman said. “If you need something, call me Grace. That was my name… once.”

“Grace,” Charise repeated. She looked around. “So… uh… where are we, exactly? This is a pretty nutty dream.”

“Charise, there is something I need to show you,” Grace said.

Instantly, the whiteness vanished. They were in a desolate, terrible place. Destruction and chaos surrounded them.

“Where are we?” Charise asked.

“We are near the apocalypse, Charise,” Grace said.

“What caused it?” Charise asked, looking around in wonder.

“This is going to shock you, Charise, but…” Grace paused. “Remember how in Back to the Future, a single choice could alter the future?”

Charise nodded.

“Well, our scientists have worked out what caused things to get this bad, and… well… a single choice caused this,” Grace said.

“What was the choice?” Charise asked.

“I can’t tell you that, because if you knew, you could possibly change events even more. All I can say is that you play a role in this.”

“How will I know when the time for the choice has come?” Charise asked.

Grace sighed and said cryptically, “When the sacrificial lamb dies. That’s as much as I can tell you. When that happens, you will learn something. That knowledge may be the deciding factor in your part in all this. However, there are others whose roles must play out. Your cousin, for instance--”

“Ophelia?” Charise asked.

“Yes. She has many more secrets than you know of-- hurtful secrets. She is not unjustly bitter, dear.”

“…I… see…” Charise said hesitantly, not understanding at all.

“Remember, dear-- a single choice can change everything. And one last thing-- there’s none so blind as those who refuse to see.”



Charise sat up in her bed.

“It’s morning,” she said wonderingly.

She dressed and hesitated by the door. After a minute, she opened it.

She walked down the stairs and peeked into the kitchen, where S, Sheridon, and Gideon were sitting, eating breakfast.

Gideon looked up at her and said, “Then, the next day, she’d come out of the coffin. And there was something about the look in her eyes.”

“What the heck are you talking about?” Sheridon asked.

“Just remembering a scene from this anime,” Gideon replied, with a small smile. “Anyways, it appears that something has finally enticed the great goddess from her cave.”

“Yes…” S said, refusing to look up at Charise.