THE ENDING IS TOO HEAVY 💔 | Until Then Part 3

Summary

Mark joins the school’s piano club after meeting Nicole, a talented pianist who stopped playing while grieving the disappearance of her childhood friend, Jake. A piece of music Nicole remembers from her mother reconnects her with happier memories and helps her find the motivation to play again. She becomes Mark’s demanding mentor, and his practice gradually improves his technique and confidence.

As they grow closer, the game follows their everyday school life—club activities, messages, prom shopping, and Christmas gatherings—alongside a growing mystery. Mark and Louise investigate strange memory gaps and déjà vu. Louise suggests that a catastrophe called the Ruling may have caused people’s memories to become mixed up, and that further unexplained events might make people disappear. When classmate Jessica is reported missing, the theory becomes more urgent.

Mark travels with Nicole to visit her grandparents, where he sees the lasting damage the Ruling caused in her hometown. Nicole takes him to Jake’s abandoned home, hoping to find something that might explain his disappearance. Their visit leads to an argument: Nicole feels Mark cannot understand how deeply she is still grieving, while Mark realizes she is holding on to Jake and struggling to move forward.

The final reveal turns the story toward Mark’s own loss. He has been telling himself that his parents are working abroad, but documents and old messages reveal that his mother was aboard Flight P111, which vanished during a storm. The Ruling redirected attention away from the missing flight, while Mark and his father continued hoping she would return. Mark’s piano performance and attempts to contact his mother are part of a painful effort to keep that hope alive.

After learning he has been accepted into the piano club, Mark finally tells Nicole the truth about his mother. He recognizes that they have both been clinging to painful absences and says he wants to stop lying to himself and try to move forward. The episode ends on this emotional turning point, with the mystery of the Ruling and the characters’ futures unresolved.

Gameplay Highlights

• Piano practice and audition: Mark works through rhythm-based piano exercises and practices pieces including “Wedding Day” and “Memories.” Despite making mistakes, he completes his audition and is accepted into the club.
• Exploration and dialogue: The player investigates rooms and objects, reads messages and social media posts, and chooses how Mark responds to friends and family.
• Everyday activities: The episode includes shopping for prom clothes, choosing cookies, playing an arcade game, and riding bikes with Nicole.
• Story clues: Louise’s research, Jessica’s disappearance, Nicole’s memories of Jake, and Mark’s old documents gradually connect the characters’ personal losses to the larger mystery of the Ruling.

Featured Gamer and Source

• Gamer/commentator: BeastBoyShub (Shubham)
• Game: Until Then