"Hey sis, your glass is half-empty already! Or… is it still half-full?"

My sister's voice came to my ears, spotting her usual, curious tone with no signs of fear or worry in it. Though her words sounded muffled and distant to me, my mind being somewhere else entirely.

"Hmm." was all I could bring out in response, my stoic gaze focused on the half-empty glass on the table in front of me. Usually I would be in a better mood, if not ready to pass out, after half a glass of Chateau Romani. Though it seemed today of all days the famed white beverage would refuse to work. Or… perhaps I was already drunk, and my restless mind simply didn't notice.

Really, what difference did it make?

A deep rumble… no, a thunder could be heard from outside. For a few seconds, I could feel the earth shake around me; a quaking that seemed to run through my every fiber, leading me to force my eyes shut.

One…

Two…

Three…

Four…

Five…

A weak sigh escaped my lips as the rumbling stopped, and I let go of the jug on the table in front of me that I'd grabbed instinctively as the shaking had started - god forbid if the glass would be knocked over.

Five seconds. The quakes were getting exponentially longer.

With the bitter realization now clearer than ever, part of me wanted to cling to the little bit of innocence I had preserved for the past years; to hold on to that childish ignorance and simply pretend like I didn't know what that meant.

But no. Try as I might, I couldn't stop the agonizing truth from embedding itself into my brain - the end was getting near.

I chewed on my lip, fidgeting with my hands, before grabbing the half-full glass in front of me again and taking another sip of Chateau, just as I watched my sister raise her head and look to the side, out the large window overseeing our ranch.

"Whoa!" she exclaimed with genuine amazement, "Sis, look at the sky!"

I remained motionless, my eyes resting on the glass in my hands, refusing to look outside.

Of course I'd seen the sky; I'd watched it turn red half an hour or so ago, accompanied by the ever-increasing thunder and earthquakes outside. The signs couldn't be clearer.

"Romani," I spoke up softly, but noticed my voice threatened to be suffocated by tears. Clearing my throat, I gently reached for her hand lying on the table and softly put mine over hers. "Don't look outside, kay?" I asked her with a smile that I hoped looked convincing enough.

"But look at the-" Romani, her gaze still glued to the window, wanted to continue, but was cut off as I gave her hand a gentle squeeze with mine, leading her to finally look over to me.

The look on her face shifted from amazement to a blank expression - had she finally caught on? She was a smart kid, after all.

"It's much nicer in here, isn't it?" I asked, forcing the corners of my mouth upward.

"I… guess so." Romani agreed a bit hesitantly and sat back down again, finally looking away from the window where the apocalypse was inching closer ever so slowly. "Shouldn't we check in on the cows?"

"The cows will be fine," I explained, but felt my voice crack on that last word, forcing me to clear my throat again and double down on my efforts to give my sister a convincing smile. "They'll be fine. Don't worry, sis."

"Huh…" Romani tilted her head to the side, eyeing me with those big, innocent blue eyes of hers. A sight that forced me to turn my head away so as to not break out in tears.

"Is something the matter, sis?" she asked, her innocence unbroken, "You've been acting weird all day."

Hastily, I nodded my head. "I'm fine." I lied straight through my teeth, giving her a reassuring smirk, "Just a little tired."

"Ah," Romani noted, seeming content with that explanation. "Would you like to go to sleep?"

"Soon," I said, slowly nodding. Inadvertently, my glimpse briefly darted outside again - a decision I found myself regretting near-instantly. Good god, the moon was so much closer already.

"Actually," I spoke up again after a moment of silence, looking at my sister again. She'd kept her eyes on me this whole time, adhering to my request to not look out the window again - such a good girl. Such a…

I ended that train of thought right before I could feel myself going weak again, doing my best to finish my sentence. "W-would you like to sleep in my bed with me tonight?" I offered as nonchalantly as possible.

"Sure!" Thankfully, my little sister's enthusiasm seemed unbroken, her face lighting up visibly at my proposal. "It's been too long since we cuddled!"

"It has been." I agreed with a wry smile and a slow nod of my head that died after a few moments. My gaze went back down to where my hands were still clutching the mostly empty glass of Chateau.

Perhaps things would be more bearable if we were asleep. Perhaps…

"Hey, Romani," I spoke up, just as another earthquake shook the ground. I refused to count along this time, though I could have sworn it was even longer than its predecessor. Trying not to let myself get distracted, I reached for the large metal milk can standing next to the table and held it over the glass, pouring until it was almost filled to the brim.

"Here," I said to my sister who was looking at me with those big, curious eyes, and slid the glass over to her. "Drink up."

My little sister held the glass in her hand, shooting me a look that bore genuine confusion. "S-sis?" she asked curiously, "That's Chateau Romani."

I closed my eyes, nodding slowly.

"B-but…" my sister stammered, "You said it's only for-"

"You're an adult now, Romani." came my thin-lipped interjection, and I forced a smile on my face yet again. "I acknowledge that."

A look of surprise flashed over my sister's face momentarily, before making way for genuine excitement. "Really!?" she asked as though she couldn't believe it herself, "D-does that mean I'll get my own mask too?"

"S-sure." I responded with a small smile, swallowing that blob of tears I could feel crawling up my throat. "S-sure, sis. I'll make one for you, then we'll go have a night-out at the Milk Bar." I explained, doing my best to suppress the quavering in my voice.

"Tomorrow!" Romani exclaimed, her voice now seemingly more excited than ever before, "Let's go there tomorrow!"

I drew in a sharp breath, suppressing that shudder running down my spine. "... sure." I repeated myself. The smile was getting harder to keep up. "Sure, we'll go there tomorrow night. Sound good?"

Romani nodded excitedly, her eyes wide with amazement.

"Good," I responded, and could feel how the smile on my face became a bit more genuine for just a moment. I slowly raised my hand, gesturing towards the glass in her hands, "Now drink up." I commanded her gently, "And welcome to adulthood."

"Thanks sis!" Romani exclaimed excitedly and raised the glass to her mouth with both her hands, throwing her head back.

I watched her drink the potent liquid with a strange mixture of sorrow and pride in my heart. To think… this would be the day she has her first drink. Certainly a lot earlier than I'd expected. And certainly… certainly not under the circumstances I would have hoped for, but… nevertheless, I couldn't help but to acknowledge the feeling of pride I felt.

I'd brought her here. Despite all the hardships, all the struggles, and all the troubles that had haunted the two of us ever since our father passed away, I had raised her into a strong young woman.

A weak sigh escaped my lips.

Yes, she'd be an amazing adult at some point. Or rather… she would be, if…

Once again, I stopped that train of thought before it could gain any speed. Instead, my gaze went back over to where-

"Hey. Hey!" I called out as I watched my sister hold the now almost empty glass nearly completely upside down over her mouth, "You're not supposed to chug-"

Urrrrp!

I was cut short by a fully grown belch coming from my sister as she half-placed, half-slammed the glass back down on the table.

Her eyes widened, and she quickly held her hand over her mouth, a mild blush on her face.

"S-shorry." she excused herself, her voice betraying a heavy slur already. "That washn't verrrry ladylike of me."

Against my better judgment, I couldn't contain a brief chuckle. Despite everything, she was still my little sister.

"You weren't supposed to chug it all in one go, you dingus." I pointed out, a more genuine smirk on my face now.

"Shorry." she excused herself a bit sheepishly with a thick blush on her face. Her head swayed gently from side to side - it seemed the Chateau was already doing its job. "It'sh good though. Veeeeery good!"

I smiled at her, feeling a single tear running down my cheek.

"I'm glad." came my curt response. Not because I didn't have more to say. By the goddesses, there was so much more I wanted to tell her in this moment. So many confessions that wanted out, so many compliments for all the accomplishments she'd reached so far. And goodness, there were so… so so so many words of endearment I still had to say to her.

But… try as I might, my lips wouldn't part. It killed me to leave my sister in silence in our final moments, but I knew that, no matter what I would try to say, I wouldn't be able to hold back my tears if I opened my mouth in this moment.

"Canwe… canwe…" Romani stammered, though she seemed to have trouble forming her words, her head drifting around, eyes having lost any and all focus. Little surprising, really. Usually, a large glass like this was enough to get me severely intoxicated, it should knock her right off her feet. "Can we do dish more often? Pwease?" She finally managed to bring out.

Again, I nodded curtly, a gentle smile plastered on my face like a mask made of stone.

Romani continued to look at me curiously, and I swallowed heavily, doing my best to fight down my tears once again, then drew in a deep breath.

"Sure, sis. Tomorrow we'll make it a night at the Milk Bar. … Promise." I finally fought to bring out, finding the lie a little easier to pronounce now.

"Thanksh sish." Romani responded with a muddled smile, and her eyes finally managed to settle on me. Her eyelids seemed to be getting heavier, each blink lasting a little longer than before. "I lo…" she wanted to bring out, but was cut off as her head dropped forward slightly, only managing to catch it right before it hit the tabletop. "I lov… I lov…"

But it seemed the divines wouldn't let her finish the last sentence of her life. Before she could bring out the final word, her head sunk onto the table, and gentle snoring indicated that she had already drifted off to the land of dreams.

My eyes remained on her for a long moment as I sat there in silence. Another earthquake tore through the country, shaking our farm house to the very core.

I sighed heavily.

So… the time had come, huh?

Briefly, I turned my head to the side, but looked away again at the sight of the moon. It'd come so close now I was sure I could just open the window and touch it if I wanted to.

Honestly, part of me wanted to cling to the childish belief that out here on the ranch, we would be safe from the impending apocalypse. At least, that's what Mamamu Yan and Grog seemed to believe. That's what Anju and her family seemed to believe.

Anju…

Briefly, I felt my heart contort as my thoughts went back to my best friend. She'd changed plans nearly last-minute, deciding to stay in Clock Town after all and wait for her husband.

I wondered where she was right now - had her husband actually showed up? Would they make true on their promise to get married? Or was she back in Clock Town, all by herself, with nobody to turn to?

Had she perhaps changed plans again and was now on her way here after all? Did she really believe that she'd be safe here!?

No. No, they had to be either blind or severely delusional if they didn't know that a few miles of land wouldn't protect us from the literal moon crashing down. Our hours, our minutes, even, were numbered, and there was nothing… nothing anybody could do to avert the inevitable!

Briefly, my thoughts went back to that mysterious fairy boy who had shown up at our ranch two days ago. He'd said something about wanting to save the world; about awakening the four giants to stop the moon from crashing down.

Inadvertently, I found a wry smile creep onto my face.

Oh, what I'd give for a bit of that childlike innocence. Clearing dungeons? Awakening the four giants to stop the moon? Don't make me laugh! Those were all just fairy tales! Sure, he had proven to have the heart of a hero, but he was just a kid, for crying out loud!

I felt my lip tremble, accompanied by another quake breaking loose outside. Who was to say that that wasn't just his way of coping with the inevitable? And even if not, it was clear as day that there was nothing he could do. We were doomed. Doomed! All of us!

I bit my lip as I felt my pulse quicken, my hands clenching into fists.

But…

My gaze went over to the other side of the table where my sister was sleeping peacefully as ever, not seeming bothered at all by the frequent earthquakes.

Was being in delusion really so bad? Ever since Father had passed away, I'd learned to be pragmatic; a down-to-earth, no messing around woman. If anything, running the farm and raising my little sister demanded this sort of attitude.

But now… now that I was literally looking at the end of the world… would it be so wrong to seek refuge in the sweet embrace of delusion?

After all, me, my sister, this farm… heck, the entire country would be no more in just a few moments. What difference did it make? If anything, wouldn't it be nicer to face our inevitable end with a smile, rather than a frown on my face?

I contemplated these thoughts for a long moment, just as another earthquake set in. At this point, it might have just as well been one continuous quake.

I sighed.

What point was there in being stuck in the real world anymore?

Shaking my head, I pushed myself up off the table and reached for the milk can again. It was half-empty, allowing me to easily raise it up and lift it to my mouth.

One chug, two chugs, three chugs, four chugs…

I swallowed until I felt the urge to cough well up inside me. Only then did I lower the can again and set it down on the ground. The ground was shaking continuously now, the sky outside red as blood. The dishes and pots in the cupboards were clacking, the window pane next to me clattering from the concussions.

Blinking the tears out of my eyes and feeling the Chateau finally kicking in, I slowly crouched down next to my sister, and pulled her out of her chair and into my arms.

A weak, Chateau-flavored gasp escaped my lips as I held her close to me, arms supporting her thighs and chest resting against mine. She was a lot heavier than I remembered.

And yet…

Carrying her like this brought back memories of carrying her around when I was still a child myself - back when Father was… was still…

I felt my throat getting tighter just as I could feel Romani shift in my arms. Deciding not to waste any more time, I left the table behind and walked towards the stairs leading up into our bedroom.

All the while, Romani was breathing softly into my ear. Some dark, twisted part of my mind was hoping she'd stop breathing from the alcohol alone, so that she wouldn't need to see what was going to happen soon.

But I quickly banished these thoughts back into the dark depths of my mind again where they belonged. She was sleeping peacefully - and she would continue to sleep… forever.

Clearing my throat, I opened the door to our bedroom. The blood red sky seemed to shine in through our window, but I paid it no mind, instead walking over to my bed and gently setting my sister down on it.

For a few precious moments, I just watched her lying there, sleeping peacefully, before I briefly turned to face the window again. The moon would hit the clock tower any moment now - I knew that I didn't have much time left, and god knows I wanted to make the best of it.

Thus, I glimpsed at the impending apocalypse outside for a moment longer, before letting out another sigh.

Soon…

Soon, we'd be reunited with Mother and Father.

Feeling the ghost of a smile hush over my face at that thought, I lifted the covers and slipped underneath them, snuggling up to my sister in a big spoon position. My arms were hung over her chest, pulling her against mine, as if that could somehow protect her from what was to come.

No, Cremia. No. Positive thoughts. I didn't want to spend my final moments on this world moping.

Thus, I cleared my throat for one last time, pulled Romani as close to myself as I could, snuggled my head against hers, and softly spoke the last words I would ever speak as I let my eyes drift shut.

"Goodbye, Romani. … I love you."

Over the rumbling outside and the quakes shaking our house to its very foundation, I could feel the gradual heaving of my sister's chest stop momentarily. She shifted in my embrace, then gently rubbed her head back against mine, whispering softly.

"I… love you too, sis."