"It really has been a long time, huh…"

February 6, 2035.

12 years later.

The front door of the house numbered 275 on the ever so quiet White Street opened with Shiina Sakato stepping out of the residence with his husband, Kei, following behind her.

Over the years, Kei's eyesight had gotten somewhat worse. It had been a while since he graduated from the usual thick-framed glasses he wore, and decided on ones that are thin and rounded. The pair of glasses had shown its age, but it was clear that it was being taken care of very well before it came to his possession.

With his electric car descended from the house's elevation, he took her wife's hand until she had entered the car.

They had a clear destination in their minds.

Throughout the few minutes of travel, Kei had maintained an expressionless face, only looking ahead at the traffic in front of him, and peering to the rear-view mirror of the vehicle. Shiina silently expressed her concern but kept it to herself.

12 years—that was how long she had seen the exact same scenario in this very day. His husband has not missed a year, no matter how important work can be, he insisted that this was more significant than anything else.

It has been 12 years, and she had surmised that her heart still bore something very heavy. So heavy that it had prevented the couple to have a child of their own.

They had arrived at a place just as quiet as the street of their residence. Kei climbed down from the vehicle as he let out a large plume of white breath still visible amidst the zenith of spring. He then opened the back seat of the car and brought out a small bouquet of flowers. Shiina nodded as she waited for him, and they locked hands as they walked away from the car.

The sky was blue and very clear. The sun was shining brightly only a few after the sunrise. The weather was incredible, painfully so. In the open fields, only their footsteps and the chirping of the birds can be heard. Only that, and not a single soul to be found.

With an abrupt yet expected halt, Kei paused on his feet for a few moments, and then he knelt as he gently put down the flowers beside a few ones, some still fresh and some not, that were presumably left there in the same morning or a few days ago.

In front of them, it says:

Eijiro Kurogane

April 7, 1973

October 27, 2001

Ringo Akanami

November 9, 2001

January 31, 2023

Gin Sakato

October 27, 1999

February 6, 2023

The gravestone used to only have the name of his late uncle from his mother's side, but things changed a decade ago.

Rin had passed away as BEF-1 had stolen away her flesh and life. All the doctors that had aided her to a potential survival had once again failed to see a light towards preventing the spread of the bacteria.

Gin, however, had died of old age. He was not able to witness her lover's final moments.

"I know you're not there… but let me talk to myself again, alright?"

It was in fact that the only remains below that earth was Eijiro's.

As per Rin's wishes in the event she died, she was to be cremated and her ashes would be returned to the earth. For Gin, the Sakato family had took it upon themselves to follow on his lover's wish, as he did not leave any will or statement.

"Mom and Dad's still healthy. Anna's daughter is growing up really well, and Shiina and I are also doing fine.

I probably didn't tell you this some years ago, but Yuna and Hiroomi moved next door to live with Uncle Shuu and Aunt Sumi. Uncle Shuu is already retired, so he's enjoying the time with his children and grandchildren. Well, he's cheerful again thankfully.

Your friends probably visited you earlier, or maybe even the Exiles. You just have to know that they still remember you even after all these years. Really, you didn't give yourself credit for the things you've done to them, but you really did leave a huge impact to all of them.

It's just that… it's unfortunate that you're remembered the same way as Uncle Eijiro."

Kei then stood up, and held his wife's hand once more.

"Honestly… we wish that both of you are here to see your nephews and nieces. It's hard only telling stories about the two of you when you're not here.

Well… I guess we'll be on our way now. We're all glad that you've both been released from your pain."

▪ ▪ ▪

January 2023.

Cotona experienced several casualties all around the province. They were not severely devastating, but it felt like it was akin to very small but very strong earthquakes. But different from an ordinary one, strong, high frequency vibrations occurred unlike ones that cause shaking from tectonic plates.

399 people died in a matter of a few minutes. 97 out of that were concentrated to one single location, which was an abandoned building that had collapsed, considered to be the "epicenter" of the disaster. Then, from that 97 recorded, one of them was Joseph Horach.

Later in the same night of the disaster, Ken Ichikawa, within his consciousness had felt like he daydreamed about a large door closing. He rushed to the underground base of the Exiles, and in front of the gateway to the room dubbed as: Room of Reality, the White Room, or the Void. He opened the doors and hurriedly walked inside the midpoint room, and nervously halted as he gripped on the doorknob of the main room.

He however had his reservations. He knew it was Gin inside. They had been searching for him for a few hours since the assault towards him back at Giotto's. They were so close to pinpointing his location, but then they received word of multiple damages being inflicted at incredibly fast intervals all throughout Cotona.

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It was at that point that they had realized that the worst-case scenario had happened.

Ken did not want to open the door as he wished for Gin's space in the accelerated time, but he was extremely worried, thus he mustered up the courage to open the door to see him…

But he wasn't able to.

It felt as though the door of the white room was locked. He tried to put more force onto it, yet he still failed.

Hopeless, he had realized that perhaps it was only Gin that can interfere with the Room, as he had been the only there that had stayed the longest, and had a deep connection with it.

The analog timer that they used to keep track of the white room seemed to not have worked, or glitched, but they had assumed that Gin would return after a few years inside. The only thing that the Exiles could do was continuously store necessities in the midpoint room as they had observed that Gin was taking the supplies, although without saying a word through notes, unlike what he had done until now.

They trusted that he would be back eventually.

▪ ▪ ▪

A few days ago, January 31, Ringo Akanami succumbed to her disease and died.

Her and Gin's family was there to be with her in her final moments, but not Gin himself. Together with the Exiles, they decided to not inform Gin who was still inside the Room, until it was time for him to come back.

They faceless knew what had happened, but they did not want to question the man himself even after he steps out. They knew the reason as to why such a loss occurred in the surface, and it was not as if it was an act that could be forgiven and accepted easily even to their values. Gin was also an Exile; he would not be judged the same way as the law of the above does not apply to them. He has a place to belong, just like how Makoto Koyanagi found his place and family.

They waited for him patiently.

~ ~ ~

Ginji and Kuroko had decided to stay underground.

The two coincidences met on the place just before the White Room's door and had sat side by side in silence.

It seems that only the two of them among all the people underground had heavy uncertainties in their hearts.

They had recently learned that peering into Gin's consciousness was entirely impossible once he is inside the Room. Ginji had tried it for the first and last time, and experienced a headache painful enough to knock him out. Because of that, they reached a conclusion that treading that thin line again trying to peer in accelerated time may result to the both of their brains having irreversible damage.

"How is your school life fairing, Ginji?"

"Well… IIAT's buildings got a bit damaged recently because of you-know-why so I'm staying here for a while to help out. But that aside, I'm still doing well for Yui's sake…"

With the mention of a significant other, he fell silent and his face hardened.

"It's… It's still such a shame that we all lost Ringo just like that…"

"…Perhaps what could we have done differently for both of them before these all happened…?"

"We were against a tall enemy. Thinking back now… I don't even know if there's anything we could do that's more substantial. It just wasn't our field that we can involve ourselves willy-nilly."

Inevitably, the two of them despaired.

"We're probably thinking the same things and it probably sounds very rude, but I wonder what Gin is going to do now…"

"Do we agree that he pretty much devoted her life to Ringo at this point? From the start, she was basically involved in his life even indirectly.

So much for serendipity when things have ended like this…"

"Let's just welcome him back when he… returns…" Kuroko's voice faltered.

It has already been established that the existential coincidences cannot link their consciousness so simply. And even then, the two of them can only meet within Gin's cognitive realm. Nevertheless, they looked at each other with their eyes moistening, and shared an embrace.

▪ ▪ ▪

A few days later.

"Please come to the outside of the White Room as soon as possible."

Ken Ichikawa sent out an emergency message to the Exiles.

Minutes after, the important names of the underground base and a few Subordinates, including the Sakato family gathered to the location.

"I take it that you all have heard about what happened with me and Gin two years ago," Ken started. "It seems that staying in that room and establishing a connection with it made us able to sense if someone enters and leaves the room. In Gin's case however, he's the only one that can freely enter regardless of the duration it was set to.

What I'm try to say is… I felt that the room has opened from the inside."

It felt as though everyone could hear each other's thumping heartbeats.

They waited with expectations that Gin would exit on his own, but minutes have passed and they have decided to meet him from within.

Only a select few have been entrusted on entering—some of which who have experienced the room, and those who entered while synchronized to the Earth's gravity and time. With a few encouragements, Ken stepped forward on the lead and opened the door going to the Room.

Their eyes widened and their heart sank.

It was as though they were inside a painting. The once white box was riddled blotches of black from all sides. All the materials have been erased, and there was only two things that they could see inside.

The first one was a timer that the one that enters the room brings with them. Escaping from the bewilderment, Tenth stepped forward and picked up the clock and gently wiped the dust from over the interface.

In the span of a week, 87 years had passed before the door opened. As though the others have been escaping from the reality, they were intentionally averting their eyes from a single spot in the room.

From there was the sight of a corpse which bones were more exposed than its decomposing flesh lying on the ground. Without any other evidences, it was difficult to identify when the corpse had died, but from the looks of how much have decomposed, it was most likely too late nonetheless, assuming a minimum of a decade since that person's passing.

On the 6th day of February, year 2023, Gin Sakato was declared dead.

▪ ▪ ▪

From then on, years have passed. Friends and families had no choice but to move on.

Even after some time since the "disaster", some families have not recovered their homes, unease slowly crept up into the province as solutions to the casualties were at a snail's pace. Resurfaced or not, the Exiles have taken a step back from helping above. Decades of distrust was not something that can be easily removed just with a few positive changes within a few years. They had decided that it was still best to not be too involved in matters they have long cut their ties with.

No one knew if this is what Joseph Horach really envisioned, or if he was just incredibly hellbent on his personal desires and satisfaction. Even then, it felt as though he left a mark that can't easily be replaced.

But amidst the overcast, friends have tied the knot and new families began. Successes triumphed over failures as people looked back to the things that helped them be what they are now. Albums have been filled, but to which pictures tell a subtle story, some might say scary.

The friends' pictures have always had a gap somewhere between them, as if there were two people standing on that space, yet obviously no one was there.

The missing two have always been remembered, and only remembered, for the time has long ran out for them to be cherished on the flesh again.

The friends wished that they would be there to share the memories together, but alas, there was no way to wake up those who have reached the eternal slumber.

▪ ▪ ▪

"Was that convincing enough, I wonder?"

The sound of crumpled papers unraveled back to sheets slammed to the floor.

"I know you're awake, so thank you for listening to that story. But unless you want a conclusion like that…

What the hell are you doing here when nothing has changed?"

Kuroko Nijisaki stood up to see his reflection from a window he had slammed with his palms, with the other side all too dark with only a faint silhouette of a person sitting seen from beyond. His immaculate white hair, enough to reflect the light from the outside to the inside adequately illuminated a weak shimmer from one's grayed out hair.

It was an all too familiar—some would say painful—place as select Exiles have been observing from the outside of the same isolation room that housed the very same man from back then. Garments still covered in dust; he slightly raised his head; the only movement he had done for the past 13 hours.

Gin Sakato had, for several hours, reflected on the vicious and gut-wrenching laughs that had loudly reverberated inside his mind.