A journey from which you can never return.
Treasures that you can never again acquire.
Your very life, which once lost will never be restored.
Nearly all things in this world will never go back to the way they once were.
Understanding that,
people still continue, even today, to get up and take another step forward.
Spurred on by the thought of viewing a landscape they've never seen before,
they keep on walking...
A longing for the unknown, you see, is something not a single soul is capable of stopping.
In any case, that was pretty amazing, Nanachi!
Using the opponent's own special ability against it like that was a brilliant strategy!
I wish you'd come with us to the bottom of the netherworld!
W-well, actually...
I have something to ask of you...
Oh! What is it?!
You can ask anything of me!
Well...
I knew it would be, but it truly is a hard thing to ask...
Don't hold back!
Alright, here it goes.
'Kay.
Please kill Mitty for me.
Huh?
Everyone, unable to resist, goes down in
Make those eyes shine brighter than a torch
The destination we are aiming for is deep
We squarely lose our way
The trap of the open-mouthed netherworld
Let's chase the traces of truth
If an answer can be found now, we don't mind losing it all
The echo is still reverberating
So that we do not part with that voice
The compass is always
Pointed to the darkness
Where there is no escape
In that direction
Even if that is a curse
The pulse is the real thing
Never again will the yearning stop
What was that all of a sudden?
He was like, "I'm gonna sleep - just for two hours."
His belly button looks like it hurts, but it doesn't appear he's been poisoned.
I suppose...
he must be like this 'cause he fired that thing.
Finally...
Finally I have found it...
Mitty.
How nice it would be...
God...
if that's the bottom of this world, I...
would like to go there.
God...
Hey! Let's hurry over there!
You stink... Don't stand so close to me!
I hear he's a cave raider from the Abyss.
What's he doing in a place like this?
Now, I believe it is time for a new approach that's free from the influence of conventional wisdom.
From the chief territory of the far north, Sereny...
I've come here...
in search of children suitable for forging a path to the netherworld's next era.
I am Bondrewd.
I'm a cave raider of the Abyss and a White Whistle.
Brave children, who do not falter even at the prospect of setting foot inside the chasm...
please, take a step forward.
I'm really here now...
You're so annoying!
Get outta here!
Hey, let's give it a shot...
I don't keep company with idiots.
Let's go.
Ah... O-okay...
So we're not the only ones, then, huh?
Now, everyone, come and board the vessel.
Fear not, for my team of cave raiders will escort you throughout the journey.
Your destination is at a depth of around 13,000 meters.
There, in the depths' fifth layer, the Sea of Corpses,
lies the netherworld's forward operating base,
where we strive to unravel the final mysteries of this world.
This tastes so bland...
Hey, you!
What do you want to be?
A White Whistle, right?!
Hey, what's this all about?
Being a White Whistle sure would be great, huh?!
Don't you think we've got ourselves an amazing chance here?
I-I was fine with whatever as long as I could come here.
Before coming here, I'd go to garbage dumps and pick out the least disgusting stuff to eat.
Everyone else resorted to stealing or begging while singing songs on the streets...
But I... didn't have the talent for anything else...
That's a great skill to have!
Huh?
There's nothing but treasures to pick up down here!
Okay...
Hey, hey, if you're fine with whatever, then be my partner!
Uh...
I'm Mitty! A future White Whistle!
Hey, what's your name?
I-I'm Nanachi.
Yippee! Nanachi!
Nice to meet you!
Shh! Shh!
Oh?
It says, "Capital of the Unreturned."
You can read nether glyphs?
The only books found in the garbage are the ones other people can't read, you see...
The way to pronounce nether glyphs has been lost,
so pronunciations from our official language are used in their place.
It's simple once you get the hang of it.
Really? Teach me!
I wonder if that was a bird.
Next time, let's go check it out together!
O-okay...
Wow!
Please be careful...
If you climb more than 10 meters, you'll be hit with the strains of ascending.
Huh?
Nanachi, come with me!
Whoa...
It's beautiful...
It'll be alright!
Y-yeah...
Now, everyone, let me show you to your room.
Hey, so what's the Abyssal Faith?
Hmm... To put in a nutshell...
When a life is lost in the Abyss, the soul is said to return to the bottom of this planet,
and then the soul changes form and departs on a journey to someone who has wished for life...
Or something like that...
This very pit, the bottom of which is still unknown, replaces God.
Well, I suppose it's just kind of a source of comfort and support that cave raiders rely on.
Wow...
Nanachi, you're pretty amazing!
That's my partner for you! You're the brains of our team!
Hmm, I guess...
And you're good at drawing, too!
Ilim...
please come over here.
Okay!
This time it's Ilim's turn, huh?
I hope I get to go out there soon, too...
There are certainly a lot fewer of us here now...
In any case, it'd be great if the two of us are able to go out there together!
Yeah, I guess...
Mitty...
Mitty.
Mitty...
Now, please come with me.
Okay...
After today's medical checkup, let's go on a little walk outside.
Bondrewd, take me, too...
Just wait your turn, Nanachi. No need to be impatient.
Mitty...
Sovereign of Dawn! What in the world are you thinking?!
Bringing so many people down to the fifth layer like this...
Even children from overseas...
Why bring this up only now?
It is also for this very purpose that I advocated to have Black Whistles enter the fifth layer.
Well, it'd be different if they were cave raiders,
but taking children, who'll never be able to return given the strain of doing so, is simply...
from a humane perspective...
Ah, then there is no need to worry.
For I am not making use of them as humans, you see...
Care to have a look?
Mitty...
Mitty!
MITTY!
N-Nanachi...
M-Mitty...
My, my.
What perfect timing...
Nanachi.
Come, it is your turn now.
That elevator is capable of quickly going to the depths' sixth layer just below us.
Although its destination is no more than a dead end...
it is just the perfect depth for testing out a number of things, you see...
It's my own miniature garden.
The sixth layer's Curse: "Death, or loss of one's humanity"...
I'd sure like to do something about it.
Those chambers you are in are capable of forcing the Curse all to one side.
Attempts were made that paired a person with something besides a fellow human, but they didn't go well...
However, Nanachi just happened to come join us...
I regret having to use two cute, little beings such as yourselves...
But, as you two are such close friends, I'm sure this will be a success.
So you're saying... you tricked us?
Heavens no.
The result of this research will give birth to the hint needed to drive the darkness from this chasm.
It will be thanks to all of you...
Mitty, you will be on the side to which the Curse is driven.
Please do your best to endure it, okay?
Mitty!
If you die partway through, your partner will also be hit with the Curse.
Nanachi...
Well then, let's get started.
Nanachi!
It's alright. It's alright...
I'll endure this...
So, if I end up not being human anymore...
Please...
let my soul return to you, Nanachi!
MITTY!
NO!
It hurts!
It hurts! It hurts so bad! God... please save us.
I... finally found it.
Mitty! Mitty! I... finally found it.
I found a treasure I hold dear...
Ow! Please...
Please don't take her away from me.
Kill... Kill me...
Kill me...
PLEASE!
Oh...
My, my, how very interesting.
Wonderful...
The two of you are truly wonderful...
Nanachi...
Just as usual, I see you're drawing instead of helping with the research...
You sure are cute...
Oh, right...
I now understand the "curse" that Mitty received.
It's quite a wonderful result.
For it to produce such a byproduct, the Abyss truly is astonishing.
The Curse, which she received twofold, did not just cause the loss of her humanity...
but also made her incapable of dying.
Please have a look.
Her limbs, which should have been mashed up, have started to grow back.
While this is now the ninth time she's been resurrected...
the only change is that her form becomes slightly more distorted each time.
Mitty...
Mitty, I'm sorry for running away like this.
I won't just let him...
keep doing as he pleases.
I... I'll figure something out...
Look, Mitty, it's a bird.
It's the same one that was screeching back then, you know.
Not to your liking? Mitty...
It's no use...
No matter what I try using, she just suffers.
I'm sorry for forcing you to stay alive for nothing...
I'll put you out of your misery now.
I'll search for it...
A way to kill Mitty without making her suffer.
There must be one somewhere out there...
Somewhere...
"Sparagmos".
The "light that returns to the cardinal point."
There was a certain Relic that he called that.
One of Mitty's eyes was squashed by it, and that's the only part of her that doesn't regenerate.
Any spot it hits disappears as if it's completely come undone.
Immediately afterward, the surrounding air burns up to nothing...
It's just like the Incinerator!
If you were to use it... then Mitty...
H-hold on a minute!
Uh...
Has Mitty...
Has Mitty truly lost her humanity?!
She responds to people calling her, and-
Those are just reflexes.
No matter what I tried, real communication between us proved impossible.
But even so... her eye...
I'm sure you've seen it, too...
Even now, I have a feeling that Mitty's...
that Mitty's soul is imprisoned within that body.
Please...
give me some time to think.
Hmm... I understand.
N-Nanachi...?
I'm sorry...
I asked you to do something strange like that outta nowhere.
Don't worry, I'll still keep treating Riko either way.
That girl...
Mitty's really taken a liking to her, you know.
I thought of you as being so dependable, but...
just now you appeared so fragile.
The vast amount of medicines here... and the poisons, too...
all of them are for the purpose of trying to restore Mitty's dignity.
If that is your very reason for living...
after I have killed Mitty...
what... what will become of you?
Hey... just how many days have you been feeling down now?
Let's have a meal.
I'll make ya something really hearty.
You wanna have some shroom-bear meat?
Huh?!
It's gonna be another one of Nanachi's dishes!
N-Nanachi!
Let me cook!
From what I've seen...
Nanachi mixes everything way too much...
I've gotta bring out the best of the ingredients.
Hey, you really suck at skinning...
Want some help?
Just go and take a seat!
The meat is really quite dark...
and it stinks, too...
If I remember right, Riko did something like this...
Huh?! Were the innards supposed to come first?
Ah! Something ripped off!
This here... am I supposed to rinse it first?
Hey, doesn't this smell, like, super bad to you?
This is worse than the stuff I made!
Gross!
The smell of excrement is filling my mouth!
Hey, go on and call it irredeemable!
It's irredeemable!
Before anyone knows it, the shooting stone leaves a trail,
which falls as red-hot iron rain...
The ice-covered trees proceed to transform into clouds...
In the gap in the sky, a large turtle with its neck stretched out is...
"Please kill Mitty for me"...
Ever since then, Nanachi hasn't approached me about it again.
Is it okay to just leave things as they are?
Nanachi, allow me to ask just one thing...
Is Mitty unhappy being together with you?
Personally, I really don't think-
I know what you're trying to say.
You're thinking that, "She seems to be living so peacefully,
so is it really necessary to kill her," right?
I...
I myself will die somehow or other one of these days.
After that happens...
Mitty will be all alone for eternity.
You know, Mitty never eats and she still doesn't die.
But if she gets stabbed, it still hurts her...
and she even sheds tears.
Even if those are mere reflexes, she'd still be forced to continue suffering forever.
She's not even capable of screaming out, and yet her soul would remain imprisoned...
eternally.
Reg, this is the last chance for us.
You can set Mitty free.
Our last.
Please.
An opportunity like this won't ever present itself again.
I understand.
Nanachi, promise me this...
Even if Mitty isn't around anymore, don't take your own life.
I won't.
I've still gotta take care of Riko... right?
Even after you're done treating Riko!
Oh...
How cruel...
I understand. I promise.
In that case... leave it to me.
With every ounce of my thoughts and feelings...
I will send her off.
Alright.
Sorry for making you stick around here with me all this time.
It won't be long before we can meet again.
Reg, I'm counting on you.
WAIT!
Mitty!
Mitty, I'm sorry!
I was wrong!
I'm sorry.
I'm so, so sorry!
We'll always, always be together, okay?
Mitty, you're so warm...
Mitty, thank you...
Reg...
Do it.
Mitty...
My...
My... treasure...
C-cut it out!
Come on, this is no time to be feeling down.
I...
Why am I sad?
Hey, you need to eat too, right?
Ah, that smells great.
Once you're done eating, we're heading out.
What's that odd smell?
Hmm...
You're adapting way better than I could've ever imagined!
Nanachi, you're good at this!
Hey, is that alright?
Well?
Hey, that's dangerous!
Reg, good morning.
Good morning, Riko.
Since she's still recovering, I thought I'd make her a stew that's nice and easy to eat,
but she kept finding fault with the way I was preparing it.
So that's what that odd smell was...
If you remove the entrails, it's gonna taste bland, right?
It'll be fine, just fine.
I see demonfish also inhabit the fourth layer.
That's it. That's the way.
Now carefully take it out.
Nanachi, you're good with your hands, huh?
That's it. Now you've got it.
Hey! Don't just stand there, do something!
She's been like this since she first saw me...
Hey, why you acting like you wanna rub me, too?
Nanachi, you don't seem to be hating it as much as when I did it.
You...!
That's 'cause you rub me in a lewd kinda way, okay?!
Well...
Th-the bottom line's the taste. The taste, okay?
Was it good?
Well... It was alright.
You're not half bad.
I'm glad to hear that.
It's thanks to your help!
The eggs are yummy, too.
Try one.
Wait, wasn't there someone else here, too?
Hm? Hm?
How do you...?
Huh? Why did I think that, again?
Ah...
Well, you see, I had this terribly frightening dream.
I can't remember it all that well, but...
when I came to...
I found myself inside this pitch-black boulder-like thing that was horribly heavy and wouldn't budge.
At first, there was this cavity inside it that was about the same size as me...
but it kept getting smaller and smaller.
It was so painful, so agonizing...
I didn't even understand what I was anymore...
I even forgot how to speak...
I was scared - so scared - and I just kept crying...
Then I heard crying.
But this crying wasn't coming from me.
At first, I was startled...
but then I realized that the other girl was afraid, too.
That helped ease my mind, if just a little.
Then, you see, I stayed like that for quite a while...
Even when I got scared, there was this girl right in front of me who was surely even more frightened.
I couldn't speak, but with my eyes alone I kept on telling her, "It'll be alright, it'll be alright..."
Then I smelled something like smoke, and the crying stopped.
You know, that girl simply left without ever turning to look back...
but I could see her profile.
And she was just like all of the cave raiders I've seen...
That eye I saw was filled with longing.
And then, I remembered what it was I wanted to be one day.
I thought, "I need to get going"...
At the time, I had a feeling I'd see her again.
And then I woke up.
Hm?
Nanachi, Riko once...
Riko died once when she was a baby,
and was brought back to life again by the power of a Relic.
Riko's life may very well be deeply tied to the Abyss...
Reg... it's alright.
I'm gonna head out for a bit to fetch some water.
This time, make sure you really protect her.
Riko...
Hm?
The truth is...
We're here.
I come to this same place when I'm injured.
Wow...
Strange beasts that I've never seen anywhere else also come here to take a dip.
You sure this place is alright?
They're docile to the point you can even pat 'em.
The deep spots can be overly stimulating, so stay outta 'em.
'Kay.
There's light coming up from below.
Reg, sorry, but I can't get this off by myself. Give me a hand.
O-okay...
Riko, lift your arm a bit.
Hey, Reg, you wanna go in with me?
I-I'm just gonna keep a lookout, okay?
Go on and get in...
Sometimes blood-sucking insects come to have a bite...
and you're pretty good at shooing those away, right?
I'll take lookout duty myself.
It's warm!
Ah, the bottom seems pretty slippery...
Be careful.
Whoa!
Wherever we go, the color dissipates around us!
Reg, look, look!
Even though the water's hot, there are small fish in here!
The fish are eating the dead skin that's floating up.
For some reason... I feel thirsty...
Ouch! O-ow...
Riko?! Ouch! O-ow...
I-I...
I-I'm fine...
The hot water just stung a bit.
Huh?
Hm?
Reg...
What's up with your penis?
Hm?
I don't know!
This is... This is...
irredeemable.
Hmm? What's with you two?
You're really still that fickle about this?
Reg, come on, you've already kissed her, right?
Kissed...
No point in acting embarrassed now.
Reg, what's this kiss thing about?
Uh, that was...
That was hardly a kiss...
Nanachi, how cowardly! You get in here, too!
What are you talking about?
I'm on lookout duty here, so go ahead and take your time in there.
What's this about a kiss?
Hey, come on.
Jeez, I can't bear to watch this...
Mitty... thanks.
You pulled Reg's treasure up outta that place...
A bit longer...
I hope you can wait for me just a bit longer...
Riko! Hang in there!
Five more left!
A big central one comes next. Hold her down tight.
Just the thumb...
Even if it's the thumb alone, at least it moves!
Riko.
Reg, what's the matter?
I'm sorry...
Because I did such a bad job making the cut...
your arm is...
Reg, I'm the one who asked you to do it.
B-but...
In the end, it was Nanachi who saved you.
Nanachi told me...
Told me that while you were working to save me, Reg, you were crying the whole time and were very worried...
I also heard that upon seeing you like that, Nanachi thought, "That's me right there,"
and rushed to save me without so much as a thought.
Reg... this scar is proof.
Precious proof that you protected me, Reg.
Riko...
Huh?
Nanachi!
What's wrong?
Well...
Oh, it's nothing...
Hey, Nanachi!
Hm?
I have something to ask of you.
Would you consider coming along with us?
Sure.
Really?!
Nanachi, I'm so happy! You're really okay with it?!
Yeah...
Nanachi!
Ah, get off of me!
W-well... Mitty did take a real liking to you.
If I abandoned you midway through your journey, she'd be mad at me next time we meet.
And you can't rely on just Reg alone, after all.
That's a good point.
Let's not forget that Riko's cooking is also really good, right?
Well...
What? What did you say?
That aside...
Well, I'll tell you the full story in due time, but...
I came from the place that you're heading for.
You mean... the one you mentioned earlier?
I said, "in due time."
Well then!
Let's get started with the preparations.
We've got quite a lot to do.
Hey, you wanna get going as soon as we can, right?
Yeah!
My mother is waiting for me, after all!
Well then, shall we get going?
Yeah!
Nanachi!
Oh?
I see her signature has disappeared...
Congratulations, Nanachi...
You've finally managed to do it.
I would like to express the extent of my gratitude to you.
I would very much like to see you again...