Seven days have passed since I arrived at the house by the lake.
Nothing happened.
For the first time since falling into the Eternal Depth, the world allowed me to simply exist.
I slept.
I read books without titles.
I drank tea with a man who points a revolver at people whenever they ask the right question.
Today, I sat on the grass outside his house and watched the lake reflect the black sky.
Not a night sky.
Just a black sky.
The world beneath the world has never shown me the one I remember.
And I thought.
Perhaps this is what I needed most, even though I spent my entire life avoiding moments like this.
Today, I decided to write down everything I know before I lose it.
If memories can disappear, then I will leave them here.
If I disappear someday, then at least these words will remain.
This is a letter to myself.
My name is Shura Arin.
I came from the Surface World.
I no longer know whether the place I remember truly exists, or whether it has become something I simply want to believe in.
I survived the fall into the Void.
I lost my memories.
Whenever I try to understand certain things, unbearable headaches follow.
...
I understand almost nothing.
About Myself
My name is Shura Arin.
I am a son.
I am a survivor.
I do not know whether I am human, special, cursed, or simply unlucky.
Things I Know I fell from the Surface World. I survived the Void. People react strangely whenever I mention the Surface. Empress Rose expected my arrival. Things I Do Not Know Why I survived. What I truly am. Why I remember things others cannot. Whether I was meant to fall into this world.
Conclusion:
I do not understand myself.
About My Mother
Ruka Arin.
My mother.
She told me the world listens to dangerous questions.
She told me to come back alive.
I no longer know whether those memories are real or merely dreams.
I cannot remember her face anymore.
That frightens me more than death.
I remember her voice.
I remember her warmth.
I remember that I was loved.
Sometimes I worry that one day even those memories will disappear.
Not all at once.
Just little by little.
Her voice becoming unfamiliar.
Her laughter fading into silence.
If that day comes, I hope this letter reminds me that she was real, even if I can no longer remember her face.
For now...
That is enough.
Current Objective:
Reach the sky.
When I wrote that sentence, I looked upward.
There was nothing there.
About the Surface World
The Surface World exists.
It has real skies.
Real sunlight.
Real oceans.
Real seasons.
Real stars.
The Surface was not primitive.
It was advanced.
Far more advanced than the people of the Deep could imagine.
We had:
Satellites. Radio. Automatic vehicles. Advanced medicine. Massive cities. Machines that connected people across entire continents. Electricity. Explosives.
And a Great Tree at the center of the world.
I do not know much about it.
Something religious.
I never believed much in gods.
According to the textbooks I once read, the tree had existed for thousands of years.
There had even been wars because of it.
Is the Great Tree connected to the Beacon?
I do not know.
Unknown What is it? Who planted it? What is its true purpose? About the Void Known It is alive. It listens. I survived it.
Everyone inside the city feels... different.
Outside the city, people simply live their lives.
I do not know which of those is normal.
About Viora Known It exists everywhere. It seems connected to emotions, thoughts, and will. It can corrupt people. Unknown
Almost everything.
About Corruption Known Black veins. Smoke leaking from the body. Mental collapse. Improper use of Viora may cause it. Unknown How does it begin? Can it be cured? Who is hiding information about it? About Ossuarium Known It is an artificial world. Its sky is false. Its light is manufactured. It controls time itself. Unknown Why was it built? What lies beyond its control? About the People I Have Met Zenkyou Yura Orin Osiris Saku Liyo Blair Einn Nexa Dagan Reva Esdras Halvic
Every one of them has shown me kindness.
I owe them more than I can currently repay.
About Osiris
He disappeared.
No.
That is incorrect.
Current Status:
Missing.
Objective:
Find the truth someday.
About Empress Rose
She knew I would arrive.
She welcomed me.
She terrifies me.
I do not know whether she is my greatest enemy...
...or my greatest ally.
Current Conclusion:
Never underestimate her.
About Halvic
I understand absolutely nothing about him.
He seems strangely connected to authority.
That is all I know.
He also points revolvers at people during tea.
I still do not know whether that is normal.
Things I Have Learned Food earned through labor tastes better. Not every mystery needs an immediate answer. The world is larger than I imagined. People matter more than destinations. It is acceptable not to understand everything. Memories are fragile. Questions are dangerous. Truth is expensive. Things I Still Do Not Understand This world. Viora. Myself. The Void. My dreams. Why people disappear. Why I survived. Why I was expected. Why I cannot stop asking questions. Final Thoughts
For a long time, I believed I needed to understand everything.
I thought that if I connected enough pieces together, I could uncover the truth of this world.
I was wrong.
This world existed long before I fell into it.
It will continue to exist long after I am gone.
I am not a god.
I am not a hero.
I am simply Shura.
Perhaps understanding everything is impossible.
Perhaps my responsibility is not to understand the entire world.
Perhaps my responsibility is simply to understand the next thing standing before me.
One truth.
One step.
One person.
At a time.
I do not understand this world.
I do not understand myself.
But I am still alive.
And as long as I am alive...
I will keep asking questions.
— Shura Arin