James
Just through here?
Mitski
Yes, just follow that path and it will lead you to the barn.
James
Thank you very much.
(Hm, I wonder, could this guy be a manifesto user?)
(He doesn't seem like one, but I guess it's possible he might have a Manifesto and not know it…)
(If that's the case, would he really have gotten a Manifesto from him?)
(I doubt it, he seems like quite the talker.)
(I doubt he'd give someone a Manifesto and not spread his gospel to him, it just doesn't seem like his style.)
(Does that mean my intuition was wrong?)
(Was he not here to begin with?)
Cut to Will
Will
W-what just happened?!
That-that guy!
He's been murdered!
The camera shows the body being in the same condition as Sumatra's body after encountering him
Will
(Fuck this! I need to get out of here!)
(I need to find James!)
Will starts running
Will
(Why did I agree to come here?!)
(This was such a bad idea!)
(I shouldn't have decided to get involved in all of this!)
(I didn't need to!)
(It would've been better if I had just kept my head down and not done anything at all!)
…
(I wonder, when did I first want to get involved?)
(Was it back then?)
Flashback James
With all that said, what do you say Will?
Will you join me in seeking the truth?
Or will you leave here, satisfied with the knowledge that you have aided me in my journey to save the soul of New York and her citizens?
Will
(No, more likely it was back at that diner in September.)
(When I saw a man walk without fear towards two armed gangsters and defeat both of them without lifting a finger.)
(What was it that impressed me?)
(Was it his confidence? His power? Was it out of fear?)
(No, I think it was what he did after)
(This Norse god standing before me was upset at having to resort to violence.)
(Instead of taking joy from the experience, he regretted his actions…)
(He wasn't mad at the people he shot, he wasn't looking to pick a fight, he had to resort to violence…)
(That same man, he trusted me to follow him…)
(He didn't ask anything of me, other than to help him…)
(And I couldn't even do that…)
(What am I doing with myself?)
Auriga, can you speak?
…
Will stares at his Manifesto
Will
Heh, guess not.
I wonder if James's Manifesto can talk, Green Lizard or something like that.
What are you?
Auriga
…
Will
James seems to think you're curses, an evil to be cleansed, misfortune embodied…
…but I don't see it like that.
If you were a curse out to cause bad luck, then why would I have a power like mine?
What good would being able to see into the past do?
What could something like hindsight do?
Heh, now that I think about it, my power really is the power of hindsight.
Hey, Auriga, this whole thing reminds me of the story of Epimetheus.
Epimetheus was a titan from Greek mythology, he was the god of after-thought and excuses.
He and his brother Prometheus, the god of foresight, were tasked with populating the earth…
Epimetheus used up all of the gifts given to them by the gods, leaving humans with nothing to defend themselves.
Prometheus decided to steal fire from the gods in order to give us humans a way to defend ourselves.
Because of this, Zeus made a woman, Pandora, and married her to Epimetheus.
Epimetheus gladly accepted her, and once they were married, she opened the box given to her by the gods releasing demons and evil on the earth as punishment for stealing from the gods.
What I'm trying to get at is, Epimetheus was useless and made bad decisions constantly and didn't even realise until it was too late.
Pretty fitting for me, right?
I'm a screw up, only getting in the way of Prometheus as he does what he must for the good of humanity, no matter what fate he may receive.
All I can do with my power is reflect on my own mistakes and realise after the fact what's happened.
Auriga
…
Will, altius vultus. Tempus est impedimentum contritos.
Will
…
Hahahaha!!!
I have no idea what you said just now, but it's pretty cool that you can talk!
If I had to take a guess…
Based on your tone of voice…
Hmmm…
Ah!
You were telling me to believe in myself!
Right!?
Auriga stares blankly, no change in body language.
Will
Uhhh, I'll take that as a 'yes' I guess.
Well Auriga, let's go back to James!
Huh?
What are these?
(Foot prints?)
(How long have these been here?)
(I guess someone must've passed me while I was talking to Auriga…)
(No! Not the time for that!)
Auriga, show me the way back!
The world eclipses
Will
I'm coming James!
Transition back to James
James
(I wonder, if he wasn't here to begin with, then would Chuck have been here?)
(Chuck wouldn't have any reason to come all the way out here if it weren't for him)
(It just wouldn't make any sense.)
(Well, even if he wasn't here in the first place, I was still hired to investigate this farm.)
(So I'll have to make certain about some things first before I can leave.)
(Besides…)
(...I'm curious now…)
(Why was there a warm breeze coming in earlier?)
(And how can it be so nice on this farm?)
(It's January, not August.)
(So why isn't the farm covered in snow?)
(The roads being somewhat clear make some sense, cars and whatnot would be clearing the snow…)
(...but the corn fields of a farm–)
(Wait, corn? How is corn growing at a time like this?)
(How can this be possible?)
Mitski, question for you…
Mitski
Hm?
Yes?
James
Correct me if I'm wrong, but you're the only one on this farm, right?
Mitski
…?
Yes?
Why?
Haven't you asked me this before?
James
I have, I just wanted to be sure…
James gets down on his knees
James
(These footprints…)
(Something's definitely wrong with them…)
(They used to be in front of the barn, coming from the fields…)
(...So if Mitski and I are the only ones on the farm, then where did these footprints come from?)
Mitski, what kind of shoes do you have if you don't mind me asking?
Mitski
Ehhh?
Let me look…
Hm…
I have rubber boots on
Mitski smiles brightly to James
James
Not quite what I meant, let me be more specific, how big are your feet?
What size shoes do you wear?
Mitski
I'm sorry, I got these as a gift from a relative a few years ago, why?
Is there something over there?
What is it?
Mitski starts walking over to James
James
STOP!
Mitski
…?
James
Sorry, I just can't let you tamper with the scene.
Mitski, are you sure you don't know what size shoe you're wearing?
Mitski
I'm sorry, I don't know it…
James
Then can you hand me one of your boots?
I need to see if this footprint belongs to you, or if someone else is on the farm with us.
Mitski
I told you already, I'm the only one on this farm.
How can you be sure it doesn't belong to your friend?
He came here with you, didn't he?
How do you know he didn't just get lost and end up here at the barn?
James
(I-I guess that's a fair point to raise…)
(I don't know what size shoes Will wears, and he did leave and he doesn't know the area)
(On a farm this large, it would be easy to get turned around…)
(…but if that's the case…)
James looks towards the fields
James
(…why would the trail be coming from the fields?)
(He wouldn't get that turned around.)
(He would have to know we came towards the barn from where we entered the farm.)
Mitski, I don't think those belong to Will…
That doesn't seem like his trail…
Mitski
How can you be sure?
You're a detective right?
Isn't your goal to find out the truth of what happened?
Shouldn't you take all the evidence into consideration before coming to a conclusion?
Don't you think you're jumping the gun a little with that conclusion?
How do you know those belong to someone else?
What's to say they don't belong to your friend?
James
…
Mitski, if I may say so, you seem to be very adamant that my friend made these footprints…
Where are you getting that confidence from?
Besides, you aren't exactly above suspicion…
All of this is odd.
The weather is too nice for this time of year…
There shouldn't be this many crops around all thriving…
And you let a private eye onto your property without asking any questions…
Almost as if you knew I would be here…
How would you know that?
Is it possible he told you about me?
What's your secret old man?
Do you know something I don't?
Mitski
…
A clock is shown, slowly ticking away, as well as something waiting in the barn…