Escaflowne Prologue 1 - Earth VICL-60636 Translation by David Jao (http://dominia.org/djao/) 1. Prologue of prologue The winter sea, I can see it outside the window. The white waves, slowly approaching the beach. The cars on the highway next to the beach, maybe I could get on one of them and drive far away from here. The winter sea, steadily, the sunlight shining on it with white light, glittering light. The warm sunlight of the summer days is far away. At my feet with my textbooks packed into my bag, I'm just... looking out the window. My sixteenth year's... winter. 2. CALL YOUR NAME (Short Ver.) 3. After school Yukari: Hitomi, did you get to see the guidance office? Hitomi: Not yet. Yukari: What's wrong with you? Mr. Saeki's been looking for you. Hitomi: Saeki-sensei. I don't like him. Yukari: Did you decide on college yet? Hitomi: I don't like studying as much as you. It's not even spring break yet. It's not realistic. Yukari: Now what are you saying?! You'll soon be a third year! You have to figure out where you're going! Hitomi: My brain's not as good as yours. Yukari: Bah! You're not a very logical child, Hitomi. Hitomi: It's not like that! I'm just not academically oriented like you. Yukari: Oh that's right! Hey, I told Saeki that I wanted to go into science! Hitomi: Cool... Yukari: When I graduate from college, my dream is to find a job with the Japan National Space Administration! Hitomi: Yeah, that's... Yukari: To see a rocket of my own design go Boom! and blast off, that's my dream! Hitomi: Yes, yes, that's great! When that happens, I'll be showing my true colors eh? Carrying my box lunch and visiting you in the lab. Yukari: You _want_ to be an idiot? Hitomi: Of course not! I'm not a talented woman like you; I can't make rockets and UFOs and stuff. Yukari: Sigh, people like you don't understand dreams... Hitomi: Anyway, I'm not a woman with a brain. Yukari: Did you get a recommendation from the track coach? Hitomi: Nope. Yukari: The track manager told me that our track club is the most valuable recommendation to have for someone going to university. Hitomi: That may be, but... I... Yukari: What? Hitomi: I don't like track. Hitomi: Time's passing so fast. My thoughts are so confused, and time is passing so fast. I wake up in the morning, see the blue sky, and decide that today I won't go to school. Waiting on the platform for the train, I board an express train, and pass up my usual stop. Clickety-clack. Clickety-clack. The sound of the waves draws farther and farther away. The glow of the ocean fades in the distance. 4. Decided Hitomi: Inside the overflowing train station, I am led to seek out a strange place. Everyone here, heading toward their goal, is walking quickly. Here I am in the middle of the crowd, carrying my bag, trudging along. Nobody else notices me. I'm alone in the middle of the crowd, only me. What place am I looking for? (song starts) Hitomi: Huh? What could it be, this song? From the middle of the crowd, I can hear a voice singing to me. Where's it from? Is it from somebody far away? No. It's from somewhere nearby. Can nobody else hear it? It doesn't seem like anyone else is paying attention to it. Maybe it wants me to follow. I think I'll walk into the crowd and find out. Hitomi: It stopped! All of a sudden, the voice stopped singing. Here I am on the platform, with a train stopped in front of me. What should I do? All right! I'll get on! As the departure bell goes off, I jump onto the train. Hitomi: Sigh. I really shouldn't have taken the train. Where could it be going? Let me look around inside the car. It was sort of crowded in the station, but in this car the passengers are sparse. Weird how that happened. I'll put my bag down and sit down. Hitomi: The train's passing all sorts of stores and houses. The roofs of the skyscrapers are all lined up. It almost seems like the blue sky is missing. The windows on the buildings are sparkling brilliantly. Buildings filled with people, the raised splotches of the figures of the inhabitants, almost as if they lived in the blue sky. At the moment, we just disappeared into the small shadow of one of them. 5. Car window Hitomi: Clickety-clack. Clickety-clack. Passing countless stations, the train engine fires on. With the skyscrapers disappearing from view outside the window, all I can see are forests and fields. In the car that I'm in, the last remaining person gets off at the station. Am I the only one left sitting here? The train keeps on going. Clickety-clack, Clickety-clack. In the empty blue seats, the gentle sunlight shines. In the middle of this light, there's a small glittering white spot. Clickety-clack. Clickety-clack. Clickety-clack. I think I'll take a nap. Hitomi: Am I dreaming? It doesn't seem like it. There's a big mountain. The mountain rises into the clouds. This body of rock, must be a good place for animals to live. A fossil... I can see a big fossil. Bearing big wings, a long neck, it reaches out for the sky. A powerful... dragon fossil! Hitomi: Atop this mountain, a shadow of a man. He's kneeling, looking up at the full starry sky. The wind is blowing his black hair around. The shadow of a man unsheathes a bright shining sword, and brandishes it in the sky... Van: God of the Heavens Escaflowne... lend me your strength! Hitomi: From his back, wings ... from the body of the man, big wings unfurl! Flying away at this very moment, big huge wings! Old Man: Excuse me, miss, what's this bandage on your leg for? Hitomi: eh?! um... Hitomi: Waking up from a silent familiar dream, before I knew it, a strange old man appears by my side. With no one except the two of us inside this car, the sound of the wheels passing over the joints of the rails fills the room. Clickety-clack. Clickety-clack. Hitomi: Um, it's from the time, you know, when I fell... Old Man: Oooh. Is that so. That's too bad... Hitomi: Around my right foot is wrapped a white bandage. A memory that I want to banish... Old Man: Where would a student be going at this hour? Hitomi: This uniform, it gives away the fact of my truancy from school! Hitomi: Um, not really, I haven't decided where I'm going yet... Old Man: Well... would you follow me? Hitomi: Eh? Hitomi: Where to? Old Man: To a place where all your troubles disappear. Hitomi: Me... Old Man: The passing of time is not something that can be stopped. As it passes man's worries grow. Don't you think this is a good omen? Hitomi: Me? Old Man: You don't even know your own destination. Hitomi: I... Old Man: But is that all? Hitomi: I mean... Old Man: With you, almost all of my thoughts agree. Hitomi: The sunlight from the window gently rocks up and down on the old man's back. In the middle of the swaying light, the suspended white spot settles... slowly. Old Man: Memories that we'd like to forget are something that everyone has. Hitomi: As the light from the window embraces the old man, his figure becomes draped in light. Old Man: It's such an old, old thing. Inside this car, I suspect there isn't a single man filled with love and respect. Hitomi: As the surrounding light falls around him, his voice is the only thing I can hear. Old Man: In this world Gaea, even the twin gods have lost their way. The gods in this Gaea when they return to the heavens answer to the good graces of the same ruler as the one that all the rest of us have. 6. Vision Folken: Gentle wind. Calm ocean. True love. And abundant plains. Hitomi: Who? Folken: The gods created beasts among this earth. And then they created beast men. The world was filled with joyful voices. But then, at the very end, the God of Dragons created man in a sinful state. From there the sadness began. The demise started. Hitomi: Nobody is at my side. Inside this car, there is no one else aside from me. A dream? Or was it a vision? I descend from the train. The train pulls away. I'm left behind on the platform, as the train pulls away. Hitomi: I'm stuck here... Hitomi: Beyond the small platform where I got off, a small mountaincap still covered with snow draws near to me. Wow... it's really peaceful here. The unbroken cold air is all around here. The waves' sound doesn't reach here. The commotion of the traffic jams can't be heard either. I think I'll stay here for a little while. Even though I can feel the winter chill, the warm feelings from before are coming back to me... 7. The red distant sun Hitomi: Leaving the train station, I look up at the sky. In the sky, without me noticing, white clouds have formed. The red distant light fills this world. A world without shadow. Hitomi: It's cold... I wonder if it's gonna snow. Hitomi: In the small plaza in front of the station, there lies a red mailbox and a rusted bus. In front of this plaza, there's a narrow asphalt road. Surely this road, running off into the middle of the mountains, connects to the town that I just passed through. Right now neither people nor cars are passing by. On both sides, old houses are lined up. All the houses and doors are closed, and there's no indication that anybody will come out. Hitomi: Am I out of the county? My cell phone can't even connect. Fixing my scarf a little more tightly around my neck, I step up onto the bus stop. The timetable at the bus stop is pretty sparse. Is the bus gonna come soon? Hitomi: At my feet, a cat has appeared. A small Torijima cat. Hitomi: Are you hungry? Hold on, what do I have with me? Ah, here, will you eat this? It's my usual lunch, but... No, it's not stale! It's chocolate... Aaaa! It's eating it! Hey, where are you from? Are you from around here? On such a cold day, what are you doing out alone? Me? That's right... what in the world am I doing eh? At such a place like this. I've gotten a little down on myself don't you think? So that's how I ended up at a place like this. My friends, they seem to think I'm level-headed. But me, I don't seem to amount to anything. Having said that, I'm a little lonely you see! All by myself, it seems I'm trying to get away from it all. That's it. I was just talking to the track coach about all this. But you see, it seems hopeless! Like, even the inter-high competition meets scare me... I don't have any talent! Even though, except for one person, I'm faster than everyone else at the races... but that's how it is eh. I, I wonder what I should do from here. Well, I hate everybody... I have no idea where this place is... That's not it! It's not like that at all! Surely that's right. But... Old Man: Would you like to come along with me? Hitomi: Huh? 8. Door Hitomi: That old man, was he standing in the street the whole time? Unbeknownst to me? Old Man: Ahead there's a small limestone cave. Wanna go see it? Hitomi: The old man, smiling calmly, beckons toward me. The cat isn't around. In this world, there's just that man and me. We walk along the mountain trail. The sound of our footsteps is absorbed by the trees of the forest. The old man is silently and peacefully walking with me. A little bit behind him, I wander along aimlessly. But the old man's walking style, sinking into the ground with each step, almost makes it seem like he's walking atop a soft cloud. This man, why would he come to a place like this? Hitomi: Is this in a song? Yesterday to forgive, tomorrow to love. I think I'm being unreasonable. Yesterday's failings I can't forgive. Tomorrow's failings I can't accept. I can't bring myself to love my weaknesses. But, even if I'm like that, tomorrow will surely come, right. Hitomi: Why in the world did I just tell the old man all that? Hitomi: The old man slowly turns his head back toward me. Old Man: Why is it that you can't find anything to believe in for tomorrow? Hitomi: I... I was on the track team in school. Old Man: Oooh. Hitomi: Last fall during the competition, I fell down. At that time, I sprained my ankle. Right now I'm still recovering. Old Man: That's too bad. Hitomi: It's not just that. During that competition, I saw the dark side of me. Old Man: How so? Hitomi: You see, in short track I'm one of the faster ones. But in my district, I was always second place. Old Man: That's wonderful... Hitomi: That's right. Every time I was second place. In front of me, there was always this same girl. With long hair, and beautiful eyes. Her running form was really pretty too. That girl's back was always in front of the finish line. So I... to get in front of that girl, I wanted to finish before her more than anything else. In order to beat this girl... to have her disappear, to have that girl disappear I thought... and while I was thinking that, I... I fell. The instant that thought entered my head, I fell down, and to make it worse I denied my injury... and it hit me right there ... what a jerk I am. I even thought that it would be great if that other girl fell down right there! Old Man: It's not just you now, isn't it. Hitomi: The old man's looking at me and grinning. The eyes in his sweet smiling face speak of a deep sadness. 9. Heart of darkness Old Man: One wouldn't expect it to be just you... who succumbs to these kinds of thoughts. Everyone has them. The majority of people live their lives without being self-conscious of these things. Man is jealous, and hateful. Hitomi: The old man's voice, it seems to be coming from the middle of the depths of the dark. Old Man: However, the belief of the two ruling gods, the god of the Black Dragon Clan and the god of the White Dragon Clan, was that they had to protect this status quo. Man, from the beginning with each and every god, has always ignorantly entertained the notion of having equal power with the gods, and gone to war. Hitomi: Trapped in between the past and the future I can see... light. Old Man: The gods made armor for their brothers. From the souls of others. The armor of the gods will entomb everything, bring back the flames to this world. A long age of war is about to draw near upon us. Hitomi: The two of us somehow came to be standing at the entrance of the limestone cave. Hitomi: Somehow, I've quickly gotten to hating myself again. Even my friends it feels like are drifting far away from me... why is it, that I'm getting so lonely, and can't even see myself for who I am? I've become unable to believe in tomorrow anymore. But there's no excuse for it, at least none that I understand. But still, no matter what I do I cry and get sad. Old Man: Would you like to look around and explore together with me? Hitomi: The figure of the old man is disappearing. Only his voice, from the middle of the far off darkness of the cave, can be heard from here. Me, as if drawing me in, into the limestone cave. Old Man: Welcome, my lady! Would you like to search together with me? For what you have lost? Hitomi: That's not right! I... it would be best if I disappeared, right? I felt it then too. If I disappeared, it would be for the best. Folken: That's right. If everything disappears then sadness will disappear. You have been waiting for me. From far away, awaiting your deepest desires. Hitomi: From the darkness, a solitary male voice calls to me. Hitomi: Who is it?! Folken: Someone who shares your thoughts. Come to me. Hitomi: Who's that? Who is calling me? 10. Hand in hand Hitomi: In the midst of the blackness of the cave, a pair of red eyes appears. Folken: So... Goddess of Wings. Welcome to my world. Hitomi: As if drawing me in, I approach the source of the darkness... Van: Go away, Orm! Hand Folken over to me! Hitomi: The voice stops and comes back to me. Hitomi: Who was that? Are you here? Hitomi: I look around the blackness inside the cave... the light from the entrance is not visible. Hitomi: Oh no, I'm lost... why... I didn't think I'd walked that far... Hitomi: From within the dark, the voice of a beast reaches me. My heart is pounding, shaking violently... Van: Goddess of Wings, make the evil spirits go away. Hitomi: By my ear, a voice runs past me from behind. Van: As the Dragon King I command you, leave this place now! Hitomi: From the surrounding blackness, in front of the eyes a twinkling light rises up. Stretching beyond the sky the light extends upwards. The light, striking a regular beat, expands and sucks me into it. Hitomi: Noooo! Don't come here! Hitomi: The light wraps around me. At that moment, my body starts to float effortlessly, and the ground under my legs starts to draw away. Hitomi: Who? Hitomi: From within the light, a figure of a bird flaps its wings toward me. No, it's not a bird. That's a man's figure. The figure of a man stretches out his hand and takes my arm. Van: Are you... the Goddess of Wings? Hitomi: The man gently asks me a question... Hitomi: I... Van: The black magician Orm was aiming at you. Folken is ordering him... Hitomi: The black haired man looks at me with his penetrating eyes. Do I know him? Yes, perhaps I know this man? I saw him in my dream... with his shining white sword... the man waving it in the starry sky... Orm: Now, Van... don't scare the poor girl by kidnapping her. You seem to be forgetting the past, the Gaea of the distant past... Van: Orm! I haven't forgotten! The Goddess of Wings will accomplish her destiny. The descendants of the dragon clan ... since they are not able to provide guidance, I will guide the Goddess of Wings myself. Not Folken. Me! Orm: You don't have that power. You who are unfamiliar with the ways of life, to lead the Goddess of Wings is not something that you can do! Van: As if Folken can do it?! Orm: Now that Folken is about to finish his drive to bring to Gaea a new destiny, you should come back to this world. Van: No! Hitomi: The man's hand detaches from my arm. The man's shadow is ... disappearing away into the light. Leaving me behind... Van: Folken! Let me go! Give the Goddess of Wings to me!! Hitomi: The man's voice draws away in the distance. Van: Let go of me!!! Hitomi: Inside the darkness, the sound of the wind is the only thing that howls. With my shivering body, I hug both arms to myself. Hitomi: Who? Goddess of Wings?? They came to kidnap me? Somebody... for me? Hitomi: That strange song is heard again. From within the darkness I can hear it coming. That's right, from somewhere, I can hear that singing voice. Where's it coming from? Seems like it's far. From before I was born, from before the distant past... 11. Portent Sora: Lord Folken, the black magician Orm's spirit has disappeared. Hitomi: In the blackness's interior, I can see a large dim room. A large stone castle. In the floor a large circular pattern of a dragon is inlaid. In the center, there stands a long haired woman. Was it her who was singing? Facing her, a tall man is slowly pacing. Folken: Is he dead? Sora: No, I can still hear him beating. Folken: If the spirit of the black magician Orm betrays us, then the power of the dragon will once again rise. Sora, have you secured the way to the Mystic Moon? Sora: Yes. However, I need another full moon. Folken: With your power can you summon the Goddess of Wings? Sora: I cannot yet open up a road to the Mystic Moon on my own. To travel this road, and guide the Goddess of Wings to Gaea... must be left to the Dragon King. Folken: Orm's black magic was not able to summon her either. If that is so, I may have to go out to meet the Goddess of Wings face to face myself. Sora: Lord Folken, are you feeling all right? If the Goddess of Wings does not choose you... and you are not the Dragon King, so she wouldn't recognize you... your fate would once again be sealed. Folken: Heh, is that so. That's all right. I will not bow before fate and its ilk. Sora: I can sense the Dragon. The Goddess of Wings will surely come meet us. Mystic Moon... Folken: We have nothing to fear. If the Dragon brings her to Gaea, then I will find the way to the Goddess of Wings. I will run to anywhere in Gaea, in order to know where the Dragon armor is, in order to obtain it. Sora: Goddess of Wings, please grant Lord Folken's wish. Folken: Without fail, the Goddess of Wings will sympathize with my wishes. Surely, in all the expanse of this Gaea, in all of the wisdom of the Mystic Moon, out of all the encounters in all of the distant past, once more in this world Gaea... one day for sure, the Dragon, Van, my brother, and I shall meet again. Sora: To meet again... perhaps, it will mean your death. Folken: I don't mind. With all the sadness in Gaea, if I can have the power to make it disappear, then my death is something that I will accept. Hitomi: My eyes awaken to a white ceilinged room and hospital sheets. I must have fainted at the train station... there's a nurse here. The old man, was it a vision I saw? The stuff with the limestone cave, was it a dream? Was everyone a dream? But, in that dream I saw reality. Standing in that cold big stone-lined room, the tall man with the sad eyes, Folken, was what he was called. Next to him, the long haired pretty girl... Sora... was that the girl's name? A dream? So... it was a strange dream that I saw. But... Van... the man named Van... 12. Voices Yukari: Hitomi! Come on now! You had me so worried I couldn't even leave school! Because I was so worried! Hitomi: Sorry. Yukari: Besides, what in the world were you doing in a place like that? And on top of that landing yourself in the hospital... it's shameful. Hitomi: No dignity. Yukari: Next time, if you decide to skip school then invite me along, okay? Hitomi: Okay! Next time I will! Yukari: Hitomi? Hitomi: What? Yukari: What's happened? Hitomi: What...? Yukari: You've started again, just now... Hitomi: Is that so... Yukari: Well, you sometimes start feeling like this, so... Hitomi: Thanks! Yukari: Does your leg still hurt? Hitomi: Yeah. Yukari: But, does it bother you when you walk? Hitomi: No, but it still hurts when I run. Hitomi: Yukari? Could you give this to Coach Ueda? Yukari: What's this envelope? Hitomi: Notification of my withdrawal. Yukari: Withdrawal?!?! You're quitting track? Hitomi: Yeah. Yukari: Why are you stopping now? The spring meet is the only one left! It's the last one for our school... Hitomi: It's okay. My legs are a disgrace. See you later, Yukari. Yukari: Wait, Hitomi! That girl. Look, isn't she running! Hitomi: Why is everything so terrible? Everybody's so irritating. Time is all that moves. Leaving me behind, racing past me. Hitomi: When I want to be alone, I sometimes come to the roof of the school. Since the winter breeze is so cold, there's hardly anyone ever up here... and no one who will come here either. A space just for myself. Hitomi (2): Wow, today the sky is really blue! Hitomi: Yukari's surprised face comes to mind. The one I saw at the end, that sad face. Hitomi (2): With such a spacious sky spreading out before me, I get the feeling that this world has me as the only person in it. Hitomi: Why didn't I tell Yukari? My true feelings... Hitomi (2): Well, I don't understand that either. In my own heart, maybe being alone is most suitable for me? Hitomi: But doesn't being alone mean you're lonely? Hitomi (2): Arguing is so distasteful. Hitomi: If I'm alone then I can live my life without having to argue with anybody right? Hitomi (2): But still... somebody's always-- Hitomi: If you would be by my side... Hitomi (2): That man, did I see him from within my heart? I wonder if I can fall in love with him? Hitomi: Blue sky... it seems to turn black as I gaze at the blue sky. Almost as if, it feels like I can see the light of the stars. I get the feeling that I can see the light of a flood of stars as they begin to pierce through the blue sky. Hitomi: I hear a song. That song... Folken: Stars of the heavens, give me power... so that I can fulfill my desires... power... Orm: So, Folken, I see that your delusions of clinging to power that you never had are finally coming to an end. Orm: As for your old burdens, the fictitious power of the empire is no more. Folken: Hm. So you know now. What we received from our forebears is not suitable for us. I would not expect anything less from Gaea's number one black magician, Orm. But... you will fail. The Goddess of Wings will not get lost on her way to this earth. Orm: Your own brother just now, you gave him back his weapon and let him escape. With my power I could have stopped him... Folken: You've followed along so far with what I am doing, but this is as far as you come. Orm: Having lived a long time in this Gaea, I've learned various things. "Things about you" too, Lord Folken. Folken: I destroyed my homeland. With these hands I killed my own father the Dragon King. Orm: Your homeland was the country of the White Dragon Clan. The country of the life-honoring descendants of the Dragon Clan. Having sealed away their power, with the people living peacefully in the mountain village, there really was no need to go out and eradicate the whole nation, now, was there? Folken: The Dragon Clan has such a long past, I had to eliminate them from this world. Or so the legend goes. Orm: So. Breathing life into the Armor, you can clean away all the sins of our forebears. One of these days I'm afraid the use of this power will ruin all of Gaea. Folken: Better to look at the Gaea of today. All the countries, in pursuit of wealth, initiate war after war upon each other. In the midst of all these wars between the tribes, the coming of the day when the Dragon Clan's power is used is not something to fear. Orm: May I meet with you then. Folken: Looking forward to it. 13. Thoughts Orm: You're the child of the Dragon King aren't you. However, the Dragon King chose your younger brother as successor. So, you were supposed to be king... of this empire. But if you were to run the Dragon Clan, the tribe and everyone within it would wither and die. Folken: I will not tolerate such vulgarities from you! Orm: What a sad story it is... when you were born, the prophecies surrounding the circumstances of the time did not yield any proof that you would be king. They had no reason to believe you would become king. Your mother's sorrow was all that remained. Your brother arrived later, from the princess devoted to that marriage, bearing the Dragon King's child. From the moment he arose your brother was presented as the one who would play the role of the Dragon King. That being the case, they found proof that he would be king, proof that he would be king for the next thousand years, proof that he would be the rightful leader of Gaea. You then told the king, that in order to ensure the ascendancy of your brother, that you would take your own life. For the sake of Gaea you would die to protect your brother. Folken: This father fought against me and failed. The Dragon King died by my sword. Ha ha ha ha. The rightful leader of Gaea, the Dragon King, lost against me. Orm: That's right, all of this is ancient legend by now. However, you took your little brother away too... took him with you as you left. Your little brother then ran away by himself. Your mother risked her life to get him back. After that, hiding among the members of a helpless nation left with no hope, your little brother, Van, was raised very well and grew into a strong little boy. Folken: What the hell was he doing alone all that time? His country ruined, his people and his army all dead. Alone. Orm: He has carried with him a strong thought all this time. But, it is a sad thought too. Folken: A sad thought? As the one who destroyed my homeland and killed my people I have decided that it is my duty, as the last acting ruler of the Dragon Clan, no matter how hard the struggle may be from where I begin, when the time comes, to kill with these hands my brother Van. Orm: Is that what you in your role as older brother would call... kindness? Folken: Is that to say that you can read people's minds? Orm: No way! I'm a sorcerer. I just happen to well know people's penchant for deception. Inside people's hearts, my eyes see right through their honesty, of which they usually have none! Folken: Is that so. I would not expect you to understand my thoughts. But I have things to do. So, if you could please leave me now, and, then, die. Orm: Well, Folken, what could your thoughts possibly be? Folken: Go away, Orm. Orm: I've overstayed my welcome, eh. Your strength will be washed away. Your little brother, Van, will soar away. Hitomi: The sound of the wind brushes against my ears. Do I sense that somebody is calling me? At ease, I stand up and look at the sky. The roof of the school building spreads out all around. I gaze at the blue sky. I feel like time has stopped. Aside from me, everything else's time. Hitomi: Esca-flowne? Hitomi: I hear words that seem as if they are from a spell. Hitomi: The sky, the sky is blackening! Hitomi: The blue sky which I was looking up into becomes dyed in black. Countless stars begin to shine in the heavens. A vision, it seems that I'm seeing it again I think. That's right, a white-winged bird is approaching from the distant sky, as I see it coming at me. Hitomi: A white bird? No! It's a white winged... Hitomi: The figure with big white wings extended, is not a bird. It's a white winged incarnation of a man, Van. The one who was there that other time inside the light. Is he an angel? Or, an ex-angel banished from the heavens? Van: Goddess of Wings, come with me... Hitomi: I am in the man's arms, flying into the sky. The countless stars scattered about fill up the entire sky. Into the Shikoku sky... Van: Dragon Armor, Escaflowne, to me... Hitomi: Escaflowne... what a strange sound. My senses once again sink into the middle of the night. Peacefully, quietly, this world... the world that I'm from, vanishes away.