Luckily, the tracks hold, not just for Cloud but for Mercury also, who climbs painstakingly after him. There are times to be very glad for good physical conditioning, and for both of them this seems to be one. As she reaches the top, she relaxes enough to smile, actually smile, still self-satisfied but with the pride of accomplishment rather than arrogance.

She turns to Cloud, and seems about to answer him, but just as her mouth opens, somehow no sound comes out, a silence just as eerie as the hush in the air.

And then she's vanishing as something draws her back to light and waking, her form indistinct and then gone.