(This gate is locked...)

(It looks different than the gates you've seen so far.)

(The lock keeping it closed has an interesting shape... It doesn't have a hole for a key..)

At this point, the generic dialogue for locked doors plays out, explaining what an openphrase is.

(The door has a sentence written above the lock, too.)

---

If you don't have Memory of Memories equipped

(But you can't read it.)

---

Mirabelle (anxious2) Such an imposing door, though... I don't remember ever seeing it before!

Isabeau (wonder2) Hm... There's some text written above the door, though, look.

Isabeau (hahaaa1) It says... Yyyyyyeoooooowch.

Odile (huh3) "Yeowch"?

Isabeau (angry2) No, no, it's just... My head hurts.

---

If you have Memory of Memories, but not equipped

(You could read it, if you equipped the Memory for it.)

(This gate is locked...)

(It's locked by one of those weird word locks.)

(There's something written above the lock, too.)

(Maybe you should take a closer look...)

(...)

• (Look at it curiously.)

  This option repeats the dialogue for if you don't know about openphrases.

• (Try to read what's written.)

  If you don't have Memory of Memories equipped

  (...)

  (You cannot read what is written above the lock.)

  
  

  Isabeau (boo1) Just trying to read this makes my head hurt.

  
  

  If you have Memory of Memories

  (You could read it, if you equipped the Memory for it.)

  ---

  If you have Memory of Memories equipped

  (You can read it, now.)

  (...)

  (It's asking a question.)

  (You answer it aloud.)

  
  

  (The door unlocks.)

  
  

  Isabeau (awkward1) Huh...? What did you say, Sif?

  Mirabelle (anxious1) I couldn't hear it either... Did you say something...?

  
  

  (You open the door.)

• (Say: "Change".)

  (You say the word "Change" aloud.)

  (Nothing happens.)

  
  

  Mirabelle (happy1) Worth a try!

• (Say: "Stostorage roomoom".)

  Only available if you've gotten the openphrase from Dormont's Shopkeeper.

  
  

  (You say the sentence "Stostorage roomoom" aloud.)

  (Nothing happens.)

  
  

  Mirabelle (happy1) Worth a try!

• (Say: "Openphrase123".)

  Only available if you've gotten the openphrase from the right side dead end room on Floor 3.

  
  

  (You say the sentence "Openphrase123" aloud.)

  (Nothing happens.)

  
  

  Mirabelle (happy1) Worth a try!

• (Leave the door alone.)

  (You leave the door alone.)

(Star charts.)

(It's...)

Isabeau (neutral1) What is this?

Bonnie (serious1) It has lots of balls attached to it.

Mirabelle (hm2) And there's a lever, here... If we turn it, it seems the balls will move around this big middle ball.

Odile (dotdotdot2) Does it represent something? It looks familiar somehow...

Mirabelle (anxious1) Yes, I feel like I've seen something like this before...

Siffrin (tired1) "It's called an orrery."

Mirabelle (oh!1) An orrery...?

Siffrin (fake1) "It's a machine to calculate the positions of astronomical objects!"

Bonnie (sulk4) Astro-what?

---

If you've read the newspaper in the Writing Dorm

Bonnie (happy2) Oh, you mean like...

Siffrin (fake1) "Like, stars and planets and stuff!"

Odile (dotdotdot2) Hm... Interesting...

Odile (gimme1) How do you know this, Siffrin?

(...)

Odile (serious1) ...

---

If you've not read the newspaper

Siffrin (fake1) "Like, stars and planets and stuff!"

Odile (hm2) Who would need to calculate this?

Mirabelle (pft1) Hehehe...

Mirabelle (happy1) For once, Siffrin hasn't forgotten something, but we all have!

(...)

(...)

(This is an orrery.)

(You remember this, at least.)

(You try to keep the word close to your heart.)

(You don't know when you'll start forgetting it again, so you might as well enjoy it while you can.)

(But there must be a reason why the world forgot it all, right?)

(The Universe wanted it this way? What was that saying, again?)

("The Universe leads, you can only follow".)

(Ooooooh, you followed, you follow, you will follow, but you are tired!)

(You are bound to the Universe's will the same way the moon is bound to this planet, the same way this planet is bound to the sun, the same way a puppet is bound to its strings!!!!!!)

(You suffer, and you suffer, and you suffer, and you have to believe it is for it, for its entertainment, but you know, don't you?)

(The Universe is empty! No one is watching!)

(Nothing matters in this world, not even your own grief!)

(You're nothing, your pain is nothing, and no one is watching!)

(...)

(You've forgotten what this is, already, again, once more.)

(A telescope.)

(It's broken.)

(Broken telescope.)

(But it's still part of the Universe, even if it can't see it!)

(Aaah, are you still part of the Universe, even if you're broken, too?)

(Does the Universe still see you, even when you can't see It?)

(The Universe is infinite and always growing, so isn't its compassion infinite as well?!)

(Hello! Hello! Hello! You're here! You said it three times, so the Universe must hear!)

(But the only thing that answers is silence, as always!)

(Broken telescope.)

(A drawer.)

(You open it...)

---

First time

(There's a beautiful hat inside.)

(It's very similar to yours.)

(You got the STARRY HAT!)

(You put the hat in your Pockets to equip later.)

---

Subsequent times

(There's--)

The world skips.

(--Nothing inside.)

(But the Starry Hat was here before. You remember.)

(A drawer.)

(It's empty now.)

The world corrects itself without comment.

(A drawer.)

(It's empty now.)

(A journal with a star on its cover.)

(It looks very old. Feels like it'd break apart in one touch...)

Mirabelle (serious1) . . .

Mirabelle (serious2) I want to read it so bad.

Odile (urgh1) Please, let's stop wasting time and reading every book we come across.

---

If you have not completed Friendquest yet

Mirabelle (anxious2) But...!!!

Odile (urgh1) NO.

(You'd rather not have to read anything about stars right now.)

(Thinking about the stars right now is like touching a hot stove.)

(Maybe after you finish helping your [allies/family members].)

---

If you have completed Friendquest

First time

(But...)

(If the book has a star on it, it must be important, right?)

---

(You get closer to the book.)

Odile (sigh1) ...

Odile (awkward1) Urgh, fine.

Isabeau (brag1) Let's do it! Be careful handling it, though...

(Mirabelle carefully takes the book in her hands, and flips through the pages.)

Mirabelle (anxious1) Hm...

Mirabelle (awkward2) It's a little long. Seems like it's the diary of a very sad person...

Bonnie (wait1) Why sad? What happened to them?

Mirabelle (hm2) They don't actually say... It just feels like they lived through some hard times, and everyone around them seems to brush their worries aside...

Mirabelle (anxious1) Everyone is acting as if everything's fine, when this person continues to suffer.

Isabeau (boo1) Bummer.

Bonnie (and then1) More like "boring". Read a passage!

Mirabelle (anxious2) Um, sure... Well...

Sad Diary "No one can understand what I've been through. Not my friends, not my family, no one."

Sad Diary "If no one can understand me, if I'm doomed to never be truly seen by another..."

Sad Diary "If I'm the only one who can understand what I've gone through..."

Sad Diary "Then, couldn't I just create another self? Another me?"

Sad Diary "Someone I could talk to, who could understand?"

Bonnie (no!2) Huh?!

Isabeau (hahaha2) Oh, interesting! NOW we're getting somewhere!

Mirabelle (anxious3) Talking to another self, to come to terms with what they've gone through...

Bonnie (wait1) But in the end, they'd still be alone, right?

Isabeau (happy1) Sometimes, you just need a voice that answers back, Bonbon!

Bonnie (sulk5) Hm...

Odile (dotdotdot2) It would just be an echo chamber, though. You'd never get to any good conclusion, talking to yourself endlessly...

Odile (gimme1) I suppose they felt so alone they saw no other recourse, though.

Odile (lol2) But tell me, Mirabelle... Do they get a rude wake up call, as they realize creating another self is absolutely impossible?

Isabeau (wonder1) Yeah... Using Craft to change a body is already hard enough...

Isabeau (really1) reating a whole new one, AND identical to another, AND one able to talk back? That's just impossible.

Mirabelle (awkward2) Um, they spend a good chunk here trying to figure out how to do it...

Mirabelle (thinking1) It's a lot of complicated theory. Their writing seems to be getting more frantic, too... It's barely legible, in places.

Odile (lol2) Of course. Realizing this can't be done.

Isabeau (boo1) That's kinda sad.

Mirabelle (oh!1) Oh...? This page... It only has a few words, but...

Sad Diary "I've figured it out. How to create another me."

Sad Diary "Body Craft didn't work. Crafting clay didn't work. Nor wood, or marble. Nothing worked."

Sad Diary "But one thing could."

Sad Diary "Wish Craft."

Sad Diary "Wish Craft will make my wish come true."

Sad Diary "I just have to do it."

Sad Diary "I just have to ask."

---

First time only

(!!!)

(Wish Craft!!!)

(The King mentioned Wish Craft before, didn't he?!)

(He seemed to imply it was used to trap you in this time loop, didn't he!!!)

(So it IS real...)

(It's real, it's real.)

(You hide your smile by covering your mouth.)

Odile (awkward1) Siffrin?

Siffrin (nya1) "And then? And then?"

---

Subsequent times

(Wish Craft...)

---

Mirabelle (awkward2) Oh, and then...

(Mirabelle turns the page.)

Mirabelle (oh!1) Oh!

Sad Diary "My wish came true."

Sad Diary "I will always be understood, now."

Isabeau (neutral1) Huh!

Odile (dotdotdot2) Happy for them, I suppose.

Bonnie (serious1) So they did it? They created another them?

---

If you have not read the first Wish Craft book in the Floor 1 Storage Room

Bonnie (oh!1) Wish... "Wish Craft"? What's Wish Craft?

Odile (dotdotdot2) Surely a type of Craft they invented for this tale.

Odile (doubt1) As we've said, it's impossible to create a copy of yourself.

Isabeau (brag1) Interesting premise, though!

Isabeau (neutral1) And making this fictional tale look like an old diary was interesting.

Isabeau (boo1) Too bad Wish Craft isn't real, though. I'd wish for stuff, too!

---

If you have read the first book on Wish Craft

Odile (dotdotdot2) With Wish Craft... Interesting that there's another book mentioning it, here.

Isabeau (hahaha1) It is, isn't it?

Odile (dotdotdot2) ...

---

First time only

(But it is real. It has to be.)

(It has to be!!!)

(You have to tell Loop about this!!!)

---

Subsequent times

(But it is real. It has to be.)

(You smile.)

(This journal looks older than you are.)

(This room is very dusty, too... You're probably the only ones to enter it in years.)

(You wonder who wrote this.)

(The journal with a star on its cover.)

(The journal is old, old, far older than you are.)

(You've heard that story before, you remember now. Before this play even started.)

(It was a story told to you, when you were a child. To make you fall asleep.)

(A cautionary tale of some kind, even if you could never remember the moral of the story)

(but you loved that story, the idea of finding someone that's just like you, that would understand all of you, because they ARE you)

(you thought it would be so nice)

(and...)

(. . .)

("A story told to you, when you were a child"...?)

(Back to it.)

(The journal with a star on its cover.)

(A bookcase.)

(All the books are so old they'd probably disintegrate in a single touch.)

(Bookcase.)

(...)

(Why are you alone, again? Why did you leave on your own, again?)

(You're here because you wanted to stay with everyone, didn't you?)

(Why are you the only one standing here, in this House?)

(This isn't it.)

(This isn't what you wanted.)

(This isn't what you--

A flash of red.

(...)

(Bookcase.)