-eng- The Shell Part Iii- Paradiso - -v1.0.0h-

“That’s the story they tell children,” she said. “The truth is worse. The ninth circle isn’t ice. It’s love. Frozen love. Love that has nowhere to go, so it turns into a crystal that cuts you from the inside.”

He turned. Toko stood in the aisle, no longer in a hospital gown but in a black dress that seemed to absorb light. Her hair was longer. Her eyes were older. And floating beside her, translucent and flickering, was a figure Reiji knew all too well. -ENG- The Shell Part III- Paradiso -V1.0.0H-

“You saved me from the Shell,” she whispered. “But you opened the door to heaven. And heaven, Reiji, is where God watches you drown in your own happiest memory.” That night, Reiji dreamed of his mother. “That’s the story they tell children,” she said