You try to tell Hassan about your earlier conversation with the beings in the fog, but the words that escape your lips are garbled nonsense: "&&%...%#)...)￥...%#." Hassan stares at you, certain you've gone mad.

Conditions:

• Slot #2 Has Card = Hassan

You hint at the happenings in the clouds to Jenna. She fiddles with her bracelets, lost in thought, and after a long pause, she speaks.

"How strange... I've had this dream many times before... Surrounded by clouds, and there's this 'baa, baa' sound, and someone reciting a poem to me..."

She can't remember the whole poem, but a few lines linger in her mind:

"Men believe that gems and gold can adorn their souls,

But once adorned with jewels,

Who still cares for their souls?"

Shaking her head, she gazes at you with a distant, reflective look.

The words stir something in your heart...

Conditions:

• Slot #2 Has Card = Jenna

Result:

• Counter (7000733): Add 1

You hint at the happenings in the clouds to Arzuna. She exclaims in excitement:

"The clouds! The sheep-like sounds in the clouds! I've dreamt of this, many times! And there was a poem in the dream... Would you like to hear it? But of course—I'm not exactly a dancer known for reciting poetry."

She clears her throat and recites in a clear, melodic voice:

"Remember, you must conceal.

With a supple waist and slender arms,

Conceal your heart of marble,

And the soul that gleams like steel."

She finishes with a smile, as if she had merely mentioned it in passing... yet you cannot help but feel deeply moved.

Conditions:

• Slot #2 Has Card = Arzuna

Result:

• Counter (7000733): Add 1

You can only vent your frustration and confusion to Lady Becky... but all it does is meow at you. Of course—it is, after all, just a little kitten.

Yet somehow, its meows sound different from usual... and that little difference stirs something in you.

Conditions:

• Slot #2 Has Card = Lady Becky

Result:

• Counter (7000733): Add 1

You hint at the happenings in the clouds to Malkina, who had been tidying her makeup kit. She pauses briefly at your words.

"Oh—I just remembered something!"

She picks up a snow-white palette she usually uses to blend powders. Carefully, she spreads a layer of ultramarine eyeshadow, then sprinkles on heaps of crushed shells. With her fingers, she grinds, mixes, and shapes the pigments...

"Are you talking about that room made entirely of clouds, with sheep-like sounds coming from every direction?"

You watch her work, and cannot help but admit: she has recreated the scene in your memory almost perfectly.

"I've seen this... I don't know exactly where. Whenever I have some free time, I find myself drawing this... And there's also a poem, do you want to hear it?"

You nod, and Malkina recites from memory:

"On a filthy face,

Using white,

Red,

Blue,

Black,

Powder;

Depict the visage

It wears when clean."

Her words leave a quiet impression on you.

Conditions:

• Slot #2 Has Card = Malkina

Result:

• Counter (7000733): Add 1

You hint at the happenings in the clouds to your twin brother.

"Huh... You'll probably think I'm crazy—though if I'm crazy, it probably means you are too—but I feel like I've been to the place you described."

He explains that sometimes he suddenly feels as if he isn't here at all, but floating in the clouds, inside a box made of clouds... And when he meditates, a few lines of poetry, whose origin he cannot recall, always come to mind:

"The waking envies the sleeper,

blaming him for devouring the sweetest dream.

Yet the sleeper cannot speak,

for the bitter one has sealed his throat."

It's a little unsettling... so the two of you exchange a knowing glance and, as usual, quietly steer the conversation elsewhere.

Yet the moment leaves its mark on you...

Conditions:

• Slot #2 Has Card = ?

Result:

• Counter (7000733): Add 1