"No! This isn't over yet! Can... Can I not save her? Can't I protect anyone!? Kyoko... Leave me alone! If I don't change, change now, will I need someone protecting me forever!?"
The meadow disappeared with a poof, leaving Ryo surrounded by darkness on all sides. The lone figure of Mithra whooshed into view from its depths.
"Ehehe. I'm impressed, Ryo. Kyoko must be so pleased to hear your deliver such a fine speech," Mithra's voice spoke directly into his head. "Mika really is very important to you, isn't she? If only you'd realised sooner, before she went and died - even more easily than Kyoko did."
"...What? What are you saying? You don't mean Kyoko was your doing, too...?"
"I mean, we are friends, after all. Kyoko, Sumio... I know all about you, too, Ryo."
"What the hell are you doing all of this for!?"
"...Oh, no particular reason. I just want us all to play together. I just want to play with Mika, and with you, Ryo. Let's just play, and forget all our cares. Come on..."
"Quit screwing with me, goddamn brat!"
"...You don't get it, do you, Ryo? You don't have a choice. I want to play, so you have to play with me."
"...You... You... killed Kyoko, didn't you? It was you. It was you. It was you!!"
"Don't try to blame me for that. Kyoko's death was an accident, remember? Bam! And I wanted to play with her, too... So I decided to play with Mika instead. But then Mika died, too... I want to save her, whatever it takes."
He heard Mika sob. The sound grew gradually louder, finally turning into a pleading voice. "...el... H...p... He...l...p..."
Mithra giggled. "See? Mika's asking for help, too - don't you hear? I'm a good boy; I can't just ignore her. Come on, Ryo - let's help her!"
"Hmph... Fine... How do we do that!?"
"Really? Really really? Ahahaha, yaaay! I knew you were more mature than Sumio. Okay, then promise me. Umm, just saving her isn't fair, so I want a reward! I'm gonna save Mika now, so in exchange, I'll take the very first person you hug."
"...What're you talking about?"
"Nooo, you promised - right? A living person, okay? Somebody, anybody, you hug, okay? You said you would, Ryo. Don't break your promise..."
Mithra vanished, and Ryo's consciousness stuttered momentarily. When he came back to himself, it was almost dawn.
"I'm alive... It's all over... All of it, done..."
Ryo began to walk, his legs spontaneously carrying him away from Hinashiro High. He wasn't sure where he was going, or how he got there, but he suddenly realised that he was standing on the embankment where he and Mika had first met.
"I want to have a good long rest... It's over... The nightmare is over..."
Ryo turned his gaze ahead of him along the embankment. Staggering along unsteadily, as if sleepwalking, there she was - Mika.
"...Mika!!"
Ryo broke into a sprint, Mika's form growing steadily larger. As they drew within touching distance of each other, their eyes met. Mika, however, looked as though she were on the verge of collapse. Ryo scooped her up, holding her tightly to him.
"...I see," he heard Mithra's voice say from out of nowhere. "...It's not over yet."