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← Sonatine for the Forgotten
Chapter 11 of 13

As per the Manual

Claire

Ms. Carnelia.

Claire

I still can't tell what kind of person you truly are.

Claire

I spent so long looking up to you and following the image you left behind.

Claire

I thought I would understand you by the time I was close enough to touch your shadow.

Claire

But... the moment I entered this place, you moved beyond my reach again.

Claire

The version of you I faced had become a traitor whose every act had been hypocrisy...

Claire

And now I can no longer tell what to believe.

Carnelia

...

Claire

This is exactly the kind of moment of being unsure of what to do, even after thinking it over through and through.

Claire

In fact... I might never understand, no matter how long I think about it.

Claire

The manual only tells us what to do, not about the means to understand.

Bell

...Claire.

Claire

That is why, as someone who once looked up to... No.

Claire

...As someone who was once the youngest maid. As someone who cared deeply for Carnelia.

Claire

I will do as the manual instructs.

Claire

No matter the situation... trust your fellow maid. Support them.

Claire

And if they stray from the right path, don't hate them.

Claire

...Once we're back, I will come to your aid.

Claire

To guide you back to the right path.

Carnelia

...

Carnelia

Fufu... I must have been quite fragile back then to write something like that.

Bell

...Carnelia.

Bell

See us in the real world. And when we do, we'll talk again.

Bell

Claire and I will come for you, whether you're in the Astro Sanctum or anywhere else.

Carnelia

...It would be nice if that were possible...

Carnelia

...Actually, no.

Carnelia

Perhaps I should hope for that as well.

Carnelia

After all... we'll have so much to talk about.

Carnelia

As I said, this world consists of various remnants.

Carnelia

And among those remnants...

Carnelia

There is also Dissonance.

Claire

...Dissonance?

Carnelia

The Light of Dawn, artifact of the Master Maid, originally held the power to attune.

Carnelia

It allowed power to be stabilized, preventing instability from spiraling out of control.

Carnelia

...But the Witch of Favoritism... reversed that power.

Witch of Favoritism

The Light of Dawn, symbol of the Master Maid, possesses the power to attune the Heart of the Star.

Witch of Favoritism

An artifact that keeps the Heart of the Star under control through stability and balance.

Witch of Favoritism

But...

Witch of Favoritism

Imagine if it became the exact opposite.

Witch of Favoritism

What if it ceased to attune... and instead brought Dissonance?

Carnelia

The power I used in Aganon to break the Heart of the Star and awaken Mogulus... was Dissonance.

Bell

...

Carnelia

The power of Dissonance still lingers in both my journal and the projection of the past.

Carnelia

Of course... it hadn't reacted until now.

Claire

You mean, just as Bell and I entered this world through your journal...

Claire

The Dissonance left in it has awakened too?

Carnelia

To be exact, the unstable memories and thoughts of the version of Carnelia lingering within this realm...

Carnelia

...have amplified the Dissonance to grow stronger the closer I came to NOA.

Carnelia

And now...

Carnelia

It seems that the remnants are trying to become the owner of this place.

Bell

What?! Wait a second...! How many times has this place shaken already?

Claire

Ms. Carnelia!!

Carnelia

Once that self-proclaimed owner is defeated, both of you should return to reality.

Carnelia

That said...

Carnelia

...I wanted this world gone as well.

Carnelia

Allow me to lend you a hand.