This article is part of my Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly Analysis series, focusing on Mio and Mayu’s psychology in The Promise Ending.
In the PlayStation 2 version of Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly, there were only two endings: Crimson Butterfly and The Abyss.
The Promise was later added in the Xbox version.
In this article, I will organize The Promise Ending, then examine Yae’s “That Day,” Mio’s “That Day,” and how the promise of “Together forever” changes in this ending.
Please note that this article contains major spoilers for Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly. If you want to review the main story first, I recommend starting with the Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly main story overview before reading this analysis.
- The story of the Promise Ending
- Mio’s role in this ending
- Yae’s “That Day”
- Mio’s “That Day”
- The Promise Left Unspoken at the Stream of Memories Is Remade Here
- The meaning of the butterfly that appears between joined hands
- What “We might not ever be able to become one” reveals about Mayu’s change
- What the promise truly meant
- The Promise Ending | Synopsis
- The Promise Ending Analysis
- Mio’s Role | It Was Not Only to “Protect Mayu”
- The Feelings Contained in Yae’s “That Day” and Sae’s “I Understand”
- Mio’s “That Day” Finally Reaches Mayu
- The Promise Left Unspoken at the Stream of Memories Is Remade Here
- The Meaning of the Butterfly That Appears Between Their Joined Hands
- What Mio’s “We Might Not Ever Be Able to Become One” Reveals About Mayu’s Change
- What Was the Promise?
- Summary: What Was The Promise Ending?
The Promise Ending | Synopsis
Mio descends the stairs leading to the Utsuro.
“Why did you leave me behind that day…?”
“We promised we would always be together…”
The voice echoing from the darkness belongs to Mayu.
And to Sae.
Guided by that voice, Mio finally reaches the Utsuro.
Priests stand in rows on both sides, the sound of their staffs quietly echoing.
A ceremonial line runs down the center toward the edge of the Utsuro.
Mayu stands at its head.
Blocked by the line of priests, Mio can only follow Mayu’s figure with her eyes.
Then Mayu’s voice reaches her.
“I’ll be waiting…
until the end.”
Struck by those words, Mio starts running.
Wait…!
Don’t go…!
This time… I have to make it…!
“Mayuuu!”
Mio passes through the torii gate and rushes into the line of priests.
At that moment, a powerful impact pierces through her body.
In that instant, Yae emerges from within Mio.
The priests vanish.
The mournful hymn fades away.
The sound of the staffs fades away.
Before the now silent Utsuro, Yae walks toward Sae.
Sae slowly turns around.
There is hesitation in her expression, as if she is happy, and yet still afraid.
Even so, Yae is there.
After such a long time, the two finally face each other.
“Sae…”
“I knew…
I knew you’d come.”
“I’m so sorry…
I promised you we’d always be together…
Forever.”
“I know…
I understand….”
Yae had tried to speak of that day, but Sae stopped her before the words could fully take shape.
Her expression no longer blames Yae.
It is the face of someone whose long, clinging pain is finally beginning to melt.
Sae murmurs, as if saying it to herself:
“Now…
we can finally go.”
Sae turns toward the Utsuro.
Yae stands beside her.
The two look at each other and smile faintly.
At that moment, a red cord binding the two appears.
“Together forever…
I promise.”
The next instant, Yae and Sae jump into the Utsuro, still holding hands.
Mio reaches toward Sae’s falling body.
At the very last moment—
Mio catches hold of Sae.
Then Mayu separates from within Sae.
Only Yae and Sae fall into the Utsuro.
The two disappear into the depths of darkness.
As their pale outlines drift away, Yae’s voice can be heard.
“I’ll never let you go again.”
As they fade into the darkness, the figures of Yae and Sae look almost like a crimson butterfly.
A pale blue light descends upon the edge of the Utsuro.
Mio holds Mayu from behind.
“Mayu…
I’m so glad I made it!”
Mio repeats the words again and again, her face lowered.
Mayu still does not seem to have awakened.
Then, faintly, she catches sight of a single crimson butterfly.
“Thank you…”
The voices of Yae and Sae overlap.
Immediately afterward, countless crimson butterflies rise from the bottom of the Utsuro.
They return to the night sky.
And guided by that light, the feelings of those trapped in the village quietly begin to dissolve.
Mio and Mayu finally reach the entrance of the village.
Mayu looks up at the sky.
Beside her, Mio touches a memory she has never been able to face until now.
“I…
I always thought…
…that if…
I had just held your hand that day…
then you…”
Mio is finally touching the memory she had avoided for so long: the day she let go of Mayu’s hand.
Mayu closes her eyes and quietly shakes her head.
“You know,
I was so scared when you left.
Someday, we’ll live and die apart from each other…
That thought was crushing me.
But ever since then, you’ve always been by my side.”
Mio tightens her grip on their joined hands.
“We might not ever be able to become one, but…
I’ll never let you go again.”
Sadness still remains in Mayu’s expression.
But this time, she does not look away.
The sun rises.
The village, which had sunk into night, slowly begins to recover its light.
A soft glow touches Mio and Mayu’s faces.
Their joined hands.
The distance that never disappeared.
The promise remade once more.
Their figures also seem to echo Yae and Sae, who have now been reborn as a crimson butterfly.
Still separate.
Still human.
Unable to become one…
And yet, from this point onward, they will go on living together.
The Promise Ending Analysis
The promise of “Together forever” was fulfilled by Yae and Sae, then remade by Mio and Mayu.
Unlike Yae and Sae, who became a crimson butterfly, Mio and Mayu did not become completely one.
Even so, Mio acknowledges that “we might not ever be able to become one” and chooses once again not to let Mayu go.
Mio’s Role | It Was Not Only to “Protect Mayu”
Until now, Mio’s role had always been to protect Mayu.
However, from the moment she sees Yae at the village entrance, that is no longer all it means.
Mio also takes on the role of delivering Yae back to Sae.
Mayu, overlapped with Sae, is about to meet her end at the edge of the Utsuro.
Wait…!
Don’t go…!
This time… I have to make it…!
Mio runs in order to protect Mayu and save her.
Suddenly, Yae emerges from within Mio.
Leaving Mio behind in shock, Yae walks toward Sae.
Here, Yae finally fulfills her purpose: returning to Sae.
- Yae goes to Sae.
- Mio goes to Mayu.
In this moment, two meanings of “making it in time” overlap.
- Because Yae makes it in time, Sae is finally able to bring her long wait to an end.
- Because Mio makes it in time, Mayu is not dragged into Sae’s ending.
And so, the two pairs of twins separate into their own places.
Yae and Sae — to bring their promise to an end.
Mio and Mayu — to remake the promise that lies ahead.
Through Mio’s body, Yae finally reaches Sae, and the promise of the past at last comes to an end.
Only after that can Mio and Mayu begin moving toward a new promise.
Because the bond that had been trapped in the past is finally loosened, they are able to remake a promise that points toward the future.
The Feelings Contained in Yae’s “That Day” and Sae’s “I Understand”
Yae tries to apologize to Sae.
But she cannot finish what she is trying to say.
“I’m so sorry…
I promised you we’d always be together…Forever.”
What follows Yae’s words is likely the regret that she should never have let go of Sae’s hand.
- They had promised to stay together forever.
- They were supposed to escape together.
- And yet, in that moment, their hands came apart.
Yae had continued regretting the fact that she had let go of Sae’s hand.
But Sae had been carrying the same regret.
Sae, too, had continued regretting the moment their hands came apart.
Separated in different places, the two of them had remained trapped in the same That Day.
As if interrupting Yae before she can say anything more, Sae answers:
“I know…
I understand…”
What Yae had been trying to say.
What kind of regret she had carried all the way here.
What words would have followed after “that day.”
Sae already understood all of it, because she had suffered the same pain.
That is why she accepts Yae’s feelings before Yae can finish speaking.
Sae had blamed Yae for leaving her behind.
And yet, by this point, she was no longer simply blaming her.
“I knew…
I knew you’d come.”
That alone was enough for Sae.
The regret.
The pain.
The separation born on that Day.
Carrying all of it, the two of them join hands once more.
“Together forever… I promise.”
This is not simply a line that repeats the past.
It is a line that remakes the promise that had once been broken.
“I’ll never let you go again.”
The promise that never reached Sae finally reaches her.
The hands that once came apart are joined again at the very end.
In that moment, the two of them are finally able to close That Day.
Mio’s “That Day” Finally Reaches Mayu
Once Yae and Sae’s promise is released, Mio and Mayu turn toward their own “That Day.”
Looking up at the crimson butterflies returning to the sky, Mio finally puts into words the regret she has carried deep inside her.
“I…
I always thought……that if…
I had just held your hand that day…then you…”
What Mio is trying to speak about is the accident in childhood.
If she had not let go of Mayu’s hand that day…
Mayu might not have fallen alone.
She might not have injured her leg.
For Mio, That Day was not merely an accident.
It was the point where the two of them were divided into the one who protects and the one being protected.
To say it aloud might have meant that their relationship could no longer remain as it had been.
And yet, here, Mio deliberately touches that memory.
This time, so that she will not let go of Mayu’s hand again.
Mayu receives Mio’s words.
“But ever since then, you’ve always been by my side.”
This answer does not make the past disappear.
- the pain of falling
- the injury to Mayu’s leg
- the distance that was born between them
None of it becomes as though it never happened.
Even so, Mayu knew.
She knew that, ever since That Day, Mio had stayed beside her and continued to support her.
And she gives that truth back to Mio.
This exchange also overlaps with the one between Yae and Sae.
Yae’s That Day is accepted by Sae’s “I understand.”
Mio’s That Day is accepted by Mayu’s “But ever since then, you’ve always been by my side.”
The fact that their hands came apart.
The pain of falling alone.
The long anxiety that continued afterward.
None of it disappears.
But the regret that could not be spoken finally reaches the other person.
And the other person sees not only that regret, but also the time they have shared since then.
Mio’s That Day does not remain as guilt alone.
It is answered by Mayu’s words.
The Promise Left Unspoken at the Stream of Memories Is Remade Here
The Promise Ending is also the ending where something they tried to do at the beginning of the main story is finally fulfilled.
A memory they had avoided touching.
A relationship that might have broken if they put it into words.
And yet, continuing to look away would have been no different from leaving Mayu alone.
That is why Mio went to the Stream of Memories.
She went there to face her relationship with Mayu once more, and to remake the promise of “Together forever”.
However, Mayu begins to say something, then swallows her words.
Mio, too, cannot put the regret in her heart into words.
Before the two of them can truly face each other, they wander into Minakami Village.
- the promise they could not remake at the Stream of Memories
- the words they could not say
- the feelings they could not confirm
All of these return in The Promise Ending.
“We might not ever be able to become one, but…
I’ll never let you go again.”
This is a very important answer.
The fact that they are separate people cannot be erased.
Even so, they can still go on living together from here.
Mayu’s expression is filled with sadness.
Mayu’s wish for “Together forever” may no longer be able to come true in the way she once wanted.
But this time, Mio does not look away.
This time, Mayu truly accepts Mio’s answer.
At last, the words that had stopped at the Stream of Memories take shape.
Still wounded.
Still aware of the distance between them.
Still carrying the fact that they are separate.
With that pain still between them, the two of them remake the promise of “Together forever” once more.
The Meaning of the Butterfly That Appears Between Their Joined Hands
One of the most striking images in The Promise Ending is that when Yae and Sae join hands, their figures appear almost like a crimson butterfly.
Until now, crimson butterflies have been deeply tied to the Crimson Sacrifice Ritual.
- One twin strangles the other.
- A crimson butterfly is born from the mark left behind.
The crimson butterfly had been treated as something that appears at the end of death and ritual.
But here, it is different.
Yae does not strangle Sae.
She faces her.
She takes her hand.
At that moment, a red cord appears between them.
Not at the mark on the neck, but in the space between their joined hands and bodies, a crimson shape takes form.
Their joined figures begin to resemble a crimson butterfly.
- something that binds the two
- something that connects the two
The crimson butterfly is born not as a form that ends the other person, but as a form that reconnects two people who had once been separated.
“I’ll never let you go again.”
The words Yae speaks, and the words Mio later vows.
They are an answer to the fact that their hands once came apart.
The promise they could not keep.
The apology that never reached the other person.
The time between them that had remained frozen for so long.
All of it is remade not through a mark on the neck, but through joined hands.
- Yae and Sae head toward the Utsuro while holding hands.
- Mio and Mayu head toward the morning sun while holding hands.
The place they are going is different.
Even so, in both pairs of hands, there is the same unwavering feeling:
I will never let you go again.
The crimson butterfly of The Promise Ending is not a butterfly born through killing.
It is not a mark left on the neck, but a butterfly that appears between joined hands.
It was likely a sign that a relationship once separated had been quietly remade.
What Mio’s “We Might Not Ever Be Able to Become One” Reveals About Mayu’s Change
Mayu had always been afraid of being separated from Mio.
- living separate lives
- dying separately
- never being able to become exactly the same existence, no matter how long they stayed together
That pain had been pushing Mayu toward the wish to become one.
However, Mio does not say, “Let’s become one.”
Instead, she offers a different answer.
“We might not ever be able to become one, but…
I’ll never let you go again.”
Here, there is a form of “Together forever” that differs from the fusion Mayu had longed for.
Not becoming one through death.
Not erasing the boundary and becoming the same existence.
Remaining separate, and yet still staying beside each other.
This is the answer Mio chooses in The Promise Ending.
Mio’s words are gentle.
And yet, they also contain the reality that they may never be able to become one.
For Mayu, this is both salvation and loss.
What Mayu wanted was not simply to hold Mio’s hand.
She wanted something deeper.
Something more complete.
She wanted to never be separated from Mio.
Even so, Mio makes a vow.
She does not deny Mayu’s wish.
Instead, she remakes that wish—
from becoming one
into remaining beside each other while still separate.
The “Together forever” of The Promise Ending is not complete fusion.
They remain separate beings.
They remain unable to become the same person.
That is why Mayu still carries the sadness of not being able to become one.
But Mio faces Mayu together with that sadness.
At that moment, Mayu’s idea of “Together forever” changes, if only slightly.
From a closed world where the two become one in death,
to a future where they face the morning while holding hands.
Mio’s words—
“We might not ever be able to become one, but…”
were the quiet doorway through which Mayu could begin to accept that change.
What Was the Promise?
The promise of “Together forever” had been repeated again and again.
It was a wish the two of them had made back when they still knew nothing.
However, the promise exchanged at the end of The Promise Ending is no longer the same as it was back then.
- the regret of letting go of each other’s hand
- the pain of falling alone
- the reality that they are separate people
It meant knowing all of that, and still choosing to join hands once more.
The past does not disappear.
The pain remains.
The two of them cannot become completely one.
Even so, they do not let go.
Perhaps this ending is called The Promise because they finally reached that answer.
Summary: What Was The Promise Ending?
The Promise Ending was not simply an ending where Mio and Mayu made it back alive.
Yae and Sae.
Mio and Mayu.
It was an ending where two pairs of twins each brought their own “promise” to its conclusion.
Yae and Sae finally reached the promise they had once failed to keep.
Yae returns to Sae.
Sae accepts the regret Yae had carried.
And instead of strangling each other, the two join hands and head toward the Utsuro.
Here, the meaning of the crimson butterfly changes as well.
It is no longer only a butterfly born from the mark of killing, but a butterfly seen when hands that had once come apart touch again.
Once the promise of the past is released, Mio and Mayu also face their own That Day.
Mio finally puts into words the regret she could never say.
“I…
I always thought……that if…
I had just held your hand that day…then you…”
But Mayu does not blame Mio.
“But ever since then, you’ve always been by my side.”
Through these words, Mio’s That Day is finally answered.
Mio and Mayu cannot become completely one.
Holding that reality between them, Mio says:
“We might not ever be able to become one, but…
I’ll never let you go again.”
Here, the promise of “Together forever” changes.
It is no longer a phrase that leads toward death or fusion.
It becomes a vow for continuing to live.
The past does not disappear.
Mio’s regret remains.
Mayu’s sadness remains.
Even so, the two join hands once more.
Not to redo the past—
but to live from this point onward.
If The Promise is an ending where Mio and Mayu remake the promise of “Together forever” within a future in which they continue living, then The Abyss is an ending where Mio loses the light, and their relationship turns into a new form of dependence.
Next time, I will examine what The Abyss Ending reveals—lingering stagnation that continues while Mio carries Mayu’s feelings within her.
Thank you for reading, and I hope you will stay with me for the next article.
Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly Analysis Hub
Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly Analysis Series
Analysis Article #2: The Cliff Scene｜Why Mio and Mayu See Different Worlds
Analysis Article #5: The Opening Scene｜The Unfinished Words and Their Connection to the Endings
Analysis Article #6: Main Story Analysis｜How Did Mio Change Throughout the Story?
Analysis Article #7: Crimson Butterfly Ending｜Why Did Mio End Up Killing Mayu?
Analysis Article #8: Lonely Road Home / One Wing Endings｜Explaining the Price Mio Had to Bear
Analysis Article #9: Frozen Butterfly Ending｜Mayu’s Tearful Smile and the Head in the Hina Doll Room
Analysis Article #10: Shadow Festival Ending｜Why Did Mio Say, “This Time, We Fall Together”?
Analysis Article #11: The Promise Ending｜The Meaning of “I’ll Never Let You Go Again”
Analysis Article #14: Sprouting Wings + Remaining Sun Endings｜What It Means for Mio and Mayu to Return Alive
*This article is part of the “Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly Analysis” series.
*The images used in this article include unofficial AI-generated images inspired by the world of the game, as well as screenshots from FATAL FRAME II: Crimson Butterfly REMAKE and Project Zero 2: Wii Edition. All rights to Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly belong to Koei Tecmo Games.
*This article refers to certain official materials that are currently difficult to obtain. Their contents are summarized only where necessary for understanding the story, while the article itself focuses mainly on analysis and interpretation.
コメント欄