The soft glow formed every organ of the giant bird in the water—its crest, its wings, its beak. It curled its body as tightly as possible, its chest rising and falling gently as if it were asleep, while the silent dolphins all around slowly circled.
The scene was so beautiful that Charles felt as if he were dreaming. The pitch-black Abyss-Sea had only ever contained disgusting Monsters; something like this could never exist there.
The first moment he saw it, Charles was struck by a familiar sense of comfort. Connecting it with all that had happened before, he quickly understood.
There was never any island at all—everything was a dream of 041. If one stayed too long in its dream, they would become a permanent resident of the dream's island, forever transformed into an eyeless dolphin. No wonder Aaron had said he couldn't leave.
