Bye Bye, Earth (ばいばい、アース)

Upon this sword, I swear to you all...

I have resolved to play the leading role!

Would any challenge me for the kingship?!

The king and his sword have been chosen!

I, too, shall dwell within this divine tree!

The old king is dead!

I am your king now!

This is order, Belle.

Order means performance,

with every subject playing the role our god has granted them.

I will play the part of king with all my heart.

Belle...

Our god has already decided how to cast you.

Do not make me cut you down.

As priest, I relay a divine message...

The word of god!

Let the newborn king do his duty.

Seek out the key to journeys...

Sherry!

Can you not hear this divine summons?!

Destroy it.

The key lies in the black hour, in the black direction.

Only one can discover it: the elder prince who may claim the throne.

Destroy the key to journeys.

Bye Bye, Earth

Bye Bye, Earth

Adonis.

You cling to your sword's shell, afraid to let it go.

That tells me all I need to know.

What are you doing here?

Don't touch me!

I'm not dead yet, and neither is Runding!

It will wither away eventually.

Release the power from its shell.

Sacred ashes?

No...

The kind for keeping swords alive.

The Ashes of the Tried.

What's your game, Adonis?!

Why did you bring me this crap?!

You... Damn it.

I'm waiting for you.

You still haven't found it?!

I beg Your Majesty's pardon.

Assign every priest not serving with the solists to this mission!

At once!

The black hour in the black direction...

We live in this castle. How could it elude us so utterly?

And what will I do once I've found it?

Will I smash the key to journeys?

To what end?

Adonis.

You've recovered already?

I'm still at half strength.

I'm sorry I left Belle entirely to you.

An unpleasant role, I'm sure.

Listen, Gaff,

would you bring that sword from the Katakombe to the king's funeral?

Oh?

I'll agree to be your brother prince if you do.

Will you return the swords, then? All the swords you've taken?

I won't rule it out.

Besides, the funeral will be my last chance to doubt this land.

Doubt

Don't tell me you believe I'd allow that.

I'll take on your doubts,

the dark side of order.

You can breathe easy and bask in the glory of the bright side.

So you don't rot, huh?

You must be exhausted, singing songs of restoration day after day, Princess Sherry.

Why did you fight Belle?

If someone has to throw Belle in jail, I'll be the one to do it.

Why must you and Belle fight one another?

You remind me of me.

Don't change the subject!

Have you ever considered how she feels?

I just can't stop...

Why do you laugh?!

Sorry. This is just how I am.

Do you... regret fighting Belle?

I'd feel better if I did. If I could cry over it.

You're just taking your doubts about god out on me.

I was obeying the divine summons you relayed when I fought Belle.

Not another word!

I no longer wish to speak with you.

Sherry, I'd like you to share your doubts with me.

I have no idea what you're talking about.

You doubt this land so much that you wish it would just fall apart.

Don't be absurd!

I'll take on the dark side of order!

Unhand me!

Are you saying you would sacrifice yourself?

I'm just doing my job.

You mean like how you had to fight Belle?

That's right.

I... doubt that our god truly loves the people.

I believed that maintaining preestablished harmony

brought the people happiness because god loves us.

But I sense no love in imprisoning Belle and her friends.

Or in any other order I've relayed!

You're the only one in the castle who hears god speak,

but that doesn't mean god loves you most.

That's what you suspect, isn't it?

But as princess, you can't ever tell a soul.

Must be hard.

I'll take on your doubts and put everyone's questions to god myself.

I need a favor from you, our lead vocalist.

Please, give me a chance to find out why I'm here.

I will.

Behold black.

The color black maps to no direction, no hour.

Yet it is also the color to which all directions and all hours return.

Black lies at the end of every return,

signifying endings and beginnings in equal measure.

Wait!

Only kings know the ritual and can grasp the black direction and black hour.

Why?

Why does it have to be me?!

Black is our god's blind spot.

Uncover the key.

Before god aims to destroy what it cannot see...

new-minted king.

Why me?

King Rawhide!

Oh, just a prison cell...

Hey.

That sure went about as we expected, huh, Bennett?

Well, well. Look who finally woke up.

I don't suppose I need to fill you in?

Did making contact go according to plan?

More or less.

But wouldn't it be risky to gather the solists now?

If worse comes to worst, we'll reach out to Mist and—

What's wrong, Gwyn?

Nothing.

How funny...

He made himself at home in my arm.

I don't believe it.

Come again?

As far as Park City is concerned, we might as well not exist right now.

This prison is another one of god's blind spots.

What in the world are you on about?

What we think of as "god" is probably the oldest of all spells,

Gwyn, you're giving me the creeps.