Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly Analysis #14: Sprouting Wings + Remaining Sun Endings Explained — What It Means for Mio and Mayu to Return Alive

This article is part of my Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly Analysis series, focusing on Mio and Mayu’s psychology in the Sprouting Wings Ending and the Remaining Sun Ending.

In the Sprouting Wings Ending, added in FATAL FRAME II: Crimson Butterfly REMAKE, the feelings of Mio and Mayu, Yae and Sae, and the people trapped in Minakami Village are finally released.

The Remaining Sun Ending, which follows as an afterstory, depicts Mio and Mayu after everything has ended.

In this article, I will organize both endings, then examine what Mio and Mayu come to understand, what they overcome, and why this conclusion can be called beautiful.

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.

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Sprouting Wings + Remaining Sun Endings | Synopsis

Sprouting Wings + Remaining Sun Endings Analysis

What the Sprouting Wings + Remaining Sun Endings depict is a conclusion where Mio and Mayu touch Mayu’s wish to return to being one, but come back without remaining trapped there.

From here, I will examine the Sparkling Crimson Butterfly born in Sprouting Wings, the hand extended in Remaining Sun, and the form of “together” that Mio and Mayu ultimately chose.

Sprouting Wings Is an Extension of The Promise Ending

In the Crimson Butterfly Ending, a crimson butterfly is born from the marks left by strangulation.

In The Promise Ending, however, a crimson butterfly is born through the act of joining hands.

When the twins’ feelings become completely aligned, a butterfly can be born even in a form that does not require killing.

The Promise Ending was the first ending to show that possibility.

And the Sprouting Wings Ending passes that possibility on to Mio and Mayu in an even deeper place.

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At the bottom of the Utsuro, from between their chests as they embrace, a single Sparkling Crimson Butterfly is born.

To a place that simply joining hands could not reach…
To a pain that words alone could not touch…

The two finally arrive.

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The Promise is an ending where Mio and Mayu join hands again after accepting that they may not ever be able to become one.

Sprouting Wings is an ending where Mio and Mayu, after becoming one just once, still join hands again in separate bodies.

In that sense, the Sprouting Wings Ending is a variation of The Promise Ending that comes after a much deeper form of fusion.

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Why Did Mio Jump into the Utsuro?

In The Abyss Ending and the Black Flame Butterfly Ending, Mio’s hand reaches Mayu’s as Mayu falls into the Utsuro.

However, in the Sprouting Wings Ending, Mio reaches out to Mayu, but her hand does not reach.

The hand she wanted to grasp this time.

The precious person she never wanted to let fall alone again.

If my hand cannot reach, then I only have to go to the same place.

If Mayu is going to fall alone into the dark depths, then I will descend there too.

In this moment, Mio jumps toward the place where Mayu is.

What exists there is not logic.

It is the impulse not to let Mayu be alone.

And beyond that impulse, Mio finally comes to understand Mayu’s true feelings.

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Mio keeps moving forward, slipping away.

A world without Mio has no meaning.

When Mio touches that voice, she finally understands.

“Mayu could not be saved simply by being brought back to reality…

She had been afraid I would disappear, and all this time, she had been searching in this depth for a place where she would never have to be apart from me…”

What Mio chooses here is not to forcefully pull Mayu back up.

• to descend to the depth where Mayu is
• to see the darkness Mayu has been carrying with her own eyes
• to admit that, until now, she had not truly understood Mayu

Only within that depth does Mio finally reach Mayu’s pain.

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The impulse of “I do not want Mayu to be alone.”

At the bottom of the Utsuro, that impulse slowly begins to change.

I want to save Mayu…
I do not want Mayu to be alone…

And I want to be with Mayu too…

When that painfully desperate wish touches Mayu’s darkness, the impulse finally takes on understanding.

The Feelings Contained in “Then We’ll Die” and “Then We’ll Live”

At the bottom of the Utsuro, the words “…then we’ll die…” and “…then we’ll live…” point in opposite directions.

But immediately after that, Mio and Mayu arrive at the same word.

“…together!”

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For Mio, “together” means descending herself to the depth where Mayu has sunk.

If Mayu intends to return to the time when they were one, Mio will go there too.
Even if that place lies on the side of death, Mio will not let Mayu sink alone.

That is why Mio’s words become “…then we’ll die…”

This is not a line spoken in order to end Mayu.

It is a line spoken so that Mio can reach the depth where Mayu is.

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On the other hand, for Mayu, “together” does not mean dragging Mio into death.

Mio needs me too.
Mio wants to be with me too.

After realizing this, Mayu tries to return Mio to the side of life so that she will not lose Mio.

That is why Mayu’s words become “…then we’ll live…”

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They begin from the same wish to be together, yet choose opposite answers.

And yet, the feeling beneath them is the same.

—Never apart again.

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“…then we’ll die…” and “…then we’ll live…”

The two lines collide with each other.

But in the end, they return to one shared word:

together.

Not to drag the other into death.
Not to abandon the other on the side of life.

But to take each other’s hand after knowing the depth of the other person’s pain.

The Sparkling Crimson Butterfly | A Butterfly for Returning to Where They Were One, Then Going Outside

At the boundary between the death Mio offers and the life Mayu offers—

at the moment when two wishes that should have faced opposite directions touch the same place—

a single Sparkling Crimson Butterfly is born from between Mio and Mayu’s embracing chests.

This butterfly could be born because, just once, the two were able to return together to the place they had believed they could never return to.

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Inside the Utsuro, Mayu says:

“We can never return to being one.”

The place Mayu had wanted to return to was likely the feeling of the time when they had once been one.

• a place where the boundary between Mio and Mayu was still vague
• a place where they were so close that neither could tell where one ended and the other began
• a place before they knew the pain of living separately, or the fear of someday being apart

But because Mio jumped into the Utsuro, Mayu was able to touch that place again, even if only for a single moment.

“Finally, we’re one.”

“I remember this feeling…”

These words show that the two were able to return, just once, to a feeling they had thought was lost forever.

However, they did not remain closed inside that place.

• They overlapped their feelings.
• They returned to the place where they had been one.
• But they did not stay there.

Mio and Mayu returned to the place where they had once been one, and then came back outside together.

They did not only sink.
They did not only rise.

They shared both.

That is why—

the crimson butterfly born as proof that the two had overlapped shone more brightly than any other.

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After witnessing the birth of the new Sparkling Crimson Butterfly, Yae and Sae also join hands.

Then they, too, transform into a single Sparkling Crimson Butterfly.

Just as Mio and Mayu overlapped, Yae and Sae were finally able to overlap as well, after their long pain had finally come to an end.

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• Mio and Mayu reached each other’s pain.
• Yae and Sae were released from their long curse.
• The night covering Minakami Village began to move toward morning.

Everything began to come undone.

The Sparkling Crimson Butterfly was a butterfly through which twins who had been separated could overlap just once, opening feelings once sealed in darkness toward the light.

How the Crimson Wings Bring Dawn to Minakami Village

For several decades, Minakami Village had been sealed inside a night that would not end.

• the failure and sacrifices of the Crimson Sacrifice Ritual
• the regret and pain of Yae and Sae
• feelings that remained trapped, unable to come undone

Everything had been sinking in darkness all this time.

But the Sparkling Crimson Butterflies carry morning into that night.

They do not make the darkness disappear as if it had never existed.
They do not deny the dead.

Instead, they calm the darkness that had been pouring out of the Utsuro, and slowly begin to move time that had stopped.

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If the black flames were something that burned everything away and sealed it shut,

then the crimson wings were something that loosened everything and opened it.

The wounds carved into the village have not disappeared.

The time spent waiting…
The pain of being left behind…
The feelings that remained without ever reaching an end…

None of it can be made as though it never happened.

Even so, they no longer have to keep sinking at the bottom of the darkness.

The night that had been closed for far too long begins to welcome the light of morning.

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While restoring the boundary between life and death that had fallen out of balance,

the crimson wings lead Minakami Village out of its long dream.

What Does “Remaining Sun” Mean?

Remaining Sun is the light of reality to which Mio and Mayu return after the Sprouting Wings Ending.

It is not the full, overwhelming light of midday.
It is the golden light of twilight, left behind at the border between day and night.

A time when outlines begin to soften,

when people, scenery, and even the difference between day and night become vague.

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• the fear and pain Mayu had carried
• Mio’s wish not to lose Mayu
• the long misunderstanding that had lain between them

Even after everything ends, those things remain inside the two of them.

That is why Mio places a hand over her chest by the lakeshore and says:

“Everything may be over…

…but what happened, all the emotions of the villagers,
they’re all… here.

Along with my love for you.”

These are words for moving forward while still carrying what happened in her heart.

Mayu no longer tries to keep Mio only by her side.
Mio no longer tries to walk ahead while leaving Mayu behind.

The two now know what the other had feared.
They also know how deeply they had needed each other.

They cannot become one.
The fact that they are separate people has not changed.

Even so, there is meaning in staying beside each other while understanding the other person’s pain.

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Mayu’s injured leg does not simply heal overnight.
The pain of the past does not disappear.

And yet, while carrying the feelings they have come to know and the weight of those feelings,

the two take each other’s hands and return along the same road.

The sight of Mio and Mayu running side by side in the evening sun softly shows that the feelings that overlapped inside the Utsuro continue all the way into the path of reality.

How Familiar Words Change Meaning in Different Endings

In the Sprouting Wings + Remaining Sun Endings, phrases that appeared in other endings are placed again with a slightly different resonance.

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One of those phrases is “Let’s go.”

“Come on, Mio.
Let’s go.”

This line is very similar to Mayu’s “Mio… Let’s go home” in The Abyss Ending.

However, its meaning is not the same.

“Let’s go home” was a line through which Mayu guided Mio, who had lost her sight.

It sounded gentle, but it also carried an unsettling feeling: Mio had become someone who could no longer easily move forward without Mayu.

It was a line that supported Mio, yet at the same time, it could also look like a line that kept Mio by Mayu’s side.

What exists there is a relationship where one person leads, and the other follows.

By contrast, “Let’s go” was not a line meant to keep Mio beside her.

Mayu offers her hand, and Mio chooses to take it herself.
Mayu starts running, and Mio runs beside her at the same speed.

What exists there is an equal relationship.

If “Let’s go home” in The Abyss was a whisper that led Mio into an imbalanced dependence, then “Let’s go” in Remaining Sun was a call for two people, now aware of each other’s pain, to move forward side by side.

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The other phrase is “Never mind.”

In the Futagomori / Twin Enclosure Ending, after calling out to Mio, Mayu says:

“…Never mind.”

Those words echoed inside the darkness where the two were wrapped in a single kimono.

Even without saying it, Mio was beside her.
Even without putting it into words, their hands were joined.
The two were sinking into the same depth.

The “Never mind” of Futagomori / Twin Enclosure was a silence that closed words away.

But the “Never mind” of Sprouting Wings is different.

Here, not putting something into words does not become confinement.

Even without saying it, Mio is beside her.
Even without putting it into words, their hands are joined.
The two sank into the same depth, and still rose upward together.

If the “Never mind” of Futagomori / Twin Enclosure was a signal of silence sinking into an inner world meant only for the two of them, then the “Never mind” of Sprouting Wings is a space where they can stay beside each other even after letting go of words.

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The invitation to go changes from a phrase that keeps Mio by Mayu’s side into one that lets them return side by side.

“Never mind” changes from a sinking silence into a space that allows them to remain beside each other.

The echoes that sounded closed in other endings open, if only slightly, within Sprouting Wings + Remaining Sun.

The words echo what came before.

Only their meaning has sprouted wings toward the light.

Summary: What Were the Sprouting Wings + Remaining Sun Endings?

—Never apart again.

When that wish aligned, the two were able to overlap in the truest sense, just once.

• They returned to the place where they had once been one.
• They did not shut themselves inside it.

They descended into Mayu’s inner depths, were changed there, and then stepped back outside once more.

That is why this ending was likely named Sprouting Wings.

And that change was not limited to Mio and Mayu alone.

The Sparkling Crimson Butterfly born from the two of them released Yae and Sae, and carried morning into the long night of Minakami Village.

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Later, at the Stream of Memories, Mio and Mayu sit back to back.

Mayu’s words—

“It was beautiful.”

—may refer not only to the dawn, but also to that single moment when she overlapped with Mio and the Sparkling Crimson Butterfly was born.

Mio, however, answers:

“Yeah, it was…
So beautiful.”

She receives it as the beauty of the real world—as a beautiful dawn.

Even when the two share the same event, what they layer onto it may be slightly different.

Even so, they are able to call that night beautiful.

• Mayu looks outward while still holding the beauty of the inside.
• Mio sees the beauty of the outside while also accepting Mayu’s inner world.

The gap between them is no longer a rupture.

It has become a quiet space that allows them to remain beside each other.

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Remaining Sun is the reality that continues after the miracle of Sprouting Wings.

Mio and Mayu are no longer the same as they once were.

Mayu no longer tries to keep Mio only by her side.
Mio no longer tries to walk ahead only in order to protect Mayu.

Knowing each other’s pain, they return along the same road.

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This is an ending where the two take each other’s hands.

They cannot return to being one.
But they do not have to throw away the memory of the time when they were one.

They will live as separate people.
But now, each knows the other’s pain and the weight the other has carried.

Mio and Mayu descended into Mayu’s inner depths, were changed there, and then stepped back outside once more.

Then, in the evening sun, they take each other’s hands and go home.

Not chasing after each other.
Not leaving each other behind.

Still separate,

and yet walking beside each other.

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Next time, I will examine how Mio and Mayu’s wish for “Together forever” changes across the endings, using the feelings contained in the theme songs as a guide.

Thank you for reading, and I hope you will stay with me for the next article.

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*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.