第9話: Aiと仲間たちはストーリーサークルに到達し、幻と戦った後、Scarを見つけOstiaへ向かう。

9

Following Celica's directions to Scar's location, Ai had sends a letter to Ulla and Kiriko explaining their recent adventures. After escaping Goran Academy, Tanya returns to her parents' home, as the other students decide to stay with Tanya's family until they decide their own destinations. Alice and Dee travel with Ai, Julie, and Celica. Driving through wastelands, Julie relates Scar's identity crisis, since gravekeepers are naturally emotionless individuals. Soon Dee realizes that the day before was Alice's birthday, much to Ai's dismay. Ignoring Alice's protests, Ai convinces him that it's important to celebrate one's birthday, and ask Julie to bake a cake. At night, Alice apologizes and thanks Ai for her kindness. Later, after arriving in a foggy ominous land known as the Story Circle - the birthplace of gravekeepers - they encounter numerous identical gravekeepers being "born" and passing by. Julie explains that identical gravekeepers are categorized as "families" (such as the Bezel and Beeny families), and he also notes that some gravekeepers are unique, like Ai's mother. As Dee decides to depart, Ai, Julie (carrying Celica), and Alice walk through the fog when they unknowingly got separated. They all began to see illusions within the fog of their lives' most significant memories: Julie sees his deceased wife and daughter, Alice notices a strange open window of his past, and Ai sees her parents Kizuna and Hana. Confused and depressed, Ai begins to lose hope until she spontaneously remembers what Kizuna and Hana taught her were the essentials in life. Finally they find Scar, and Julie reassures her how Celica is important to her, no matter if she a gravekeeper, and he promises to protect her, while Ai and Alice think he is proposing to her. In the epilogue, Ai joins with Alice's quest to save his world, even though he believes it to be a small community, and they head for a town called Ostia. (Source: Wikipedia)