As you and Omori walk away from the picnic, you visibly see your theory proven correct. The leaves on the trees gradually become less grey, shifting closer to either pure white or pure black. Out here, it seems that things were regressing to their previous nature, the simple childlike perception in absolutes, literal black and white thinking.
You had walked far from Grey Town, but not too far. Seeing this around you, you know the same could be found all around the perimeter of the town. Grey Space was small and fragile. Your resolve strengthens. As the trees grow more two-toned, the forest also grows more barren. Eventually, it clears enough for you to get a good view of the landscape.
To your left, blinding radiance. To your right, pitch black darkness. The land in front of you, which seemed to stretch out infinitely, was cut in two. The land on the border expanded and contracted, changing from one side to another. The border itself wobbled as though it were liquid. The pure colors of White Space and Black Space lapped at the shore of Grey Space, eroding it as waves are want to do. This had to be stopped.
"I was wrong again," Omori mumbled, "Of course. I'm always wrong."
"Come on, Omori. That's not what's important right now," you say in an attempt to comfort him, "If anything, this just shows how much I need you with me. Black and White is your forte, right?"
He squints at you. "Was that... a music pun? Because you have a violin? Forte?"
"Maybe," you smirk.
"I hate you, Sunny," he says, walking ahead of you.
You follow him, as he seems to know what he's doing. At least, more than you do. He walks across the border, shifting his weight from one foot to the other to get his bearings. He picks up a clump of grass and holds it in his palms. It begins to settle its color shifts after removing it from the ground, but it doesn't grey out. It settles on a two-tone division.
"Hmm... interesting," Omori says, "You seem to be right again. White Space and Black Space truly are like oil and water. If there's any hope of solving that problem, we'll find it here."
He stands back up and turns to face you.
"We should scout the area," he says, "There's bound to be something behind here that didn't get sent to Grey Space in the merge."
There wasn't much to do but explore aimlessly, hoping you would find something. Though White Space had little to begin with, it seems it has absorbed some of Black Space's content into itself. Small objects litter the ground, bricks and chunks of railing, wire and shards of glass. You and Omori encountered a few more strange monsters, and through some more battles you began to get a feeling for one another's combat style: you took a slower approach, charging yourself and your partner before suddenly releasing a wave of damage. Omori was quicker, and attacked more frequently and with more damage and debuffs, but he would quickly get tired. Your supportive abilities complemented his insatiable consumption of JUICE, and his quick attacks complemented your slower methods. You made quite a nice team.
Eventually, something pops up in the distance as you crest a hill: a small house with a clock above its door. Through damaged, it's still standing. You put your hand to the knob and begin to turn it, but Omori swats your hand away, motioning to his ears. You listen closely, and hear a voice from the other side.
"...Goodness, there really is nothing left here, is there? All been taken in the merge. Nowhere left for me now. I've served my purpose."
You could hear the sound of objects being thrown around.
"...No food. No water. No building materials. Just a bunch of garbage, as always."
The voice sighed.
"...We've all run out of purpose, haven't we? Nothing to hide, no secrets to guard. No truths to repress. Nothing to fear. The Dreamer is happy now, forgiven and loved. Where does that leave me? Maybe I'm just not real to him. Maybe I'm just not real."
You hear another voice, distantly, as though through a telephone. The voice in the house responds to it.
"I know, I know. I shouldn't say that. I'm sorry, dear."
It sighs again.
"I'll keep going, for you. I'll let you know when I get back home."
You hear footsteps going further away from you, eventually sounding as though they are walking outside, and then disappearing. The house seems empty. You open the door. Inside, it looks as though the house has been looted. Drawers and cabinets lay open and empty, their contents strewn about on the floor. It seems to be nothing out of the ordinary for a house, just your usual junk drawer affair. You continue walking along the house while Omori seems preoccupied with the objects on the floor, picking them up and inspecting them, seemingly pocketing a few of them. You find it a bit cute.
Omori motions you over to look at something he's found. It's a compass. Contrary to what you'd expect, its needle is pointing steadily in one direction. He moves it around, rotating it as he stares at it with intense focus.
"North is the border," he says.
"What?" you reply, confused.
"The border between White Space and Black Space," he says, "That's where north is. So White Space is in the northwest, and Black Space is in the northeast."
He took out a pencil and a piece of paper, which you presumed he had taken off of the floor. He drew a small, basic map: At the center, the word "Grey", surrounded by a circle. Lines jutted out from the circle in each cardinal direction, dividing the negative space outside the circle into quadrants. Omori had labelled the northwest and northeast accordingly.
"If I had to guess," he says, "At the South we'll find the border between Red Space and Head Space. It wouldn't make sense for there to be a conflicting border between Red and Black Space, or White and Head Space, since those were already closely linked before the merge."
He put Red Space in the southwest quadrant, bordering White Space, and placed Head Space in the southeast quadrant, bordering Black Space.
"So, this is probably how everything is laid out," he says, "Each space in a corner of the map, four borders where Spaces don't quite want to mix. White and Black, Black and Head, Head and Red, Red and White."
You admire his work. "That's really impressive, Omori," you say, "I'm glad I have you with me. You've always been the pragmatic type."
"Given you're the idiot who brought me back," he says, "I think I need to be pragmatic. At least one of us has to be smart, or else nothing would get done."
With your map in hand, the two of you begin to realize just how much work needs to be done. With the house serving no further use to you, you get up in anticipation to leave, but Omori grabs your shoulder. He readies his knife and holds a finger to his mouth, motioning upward with his eyes. Something is crawling on the ceiling. Not SOMETHING, just something. It appears to be a purple, staticy bunny. It seems as though it's been here the whole time. You draw your bow across the string of your violin, jolting up. Time to fight!