Perceived Memories
There are long-forgotten memories here!? Well, they are Perceived Memories!
Throughout the Other World, you will be able to find several memory fragments telling stories of children who were transferred into this world before you. They are sad, but worthy of being read!
Perceived Memory 1: Spirited Away
Chapter 1:
I continued on through the woods.
What? Strange, the road should keep going past here.
Shoot, guess I'll have to head back the way I-
But as I turn around...
Wait, what? How can this be?! The road I came down is gone...
This can't be happening! Even if this is the shrine's forbidden ground, it isn't big enough to get lost in.
Damn, how could this happen to me? I was just looking for something to eat...
...Oh man. Okay. I just need to get down the mountain.
I'm okay, I'm okay. I can survive on my own!
There's nothing to be scared of. Papa went to fight in the war. Mama was in the house when the air raids sent it up in flames.
With no one to turn to, I came out to this village in the sticks to be with relatives.
My grandparents were cold - cruel, even. Made me fend for myself.
Other adults, children, all the same: they treated an outsider like me with disgust.
Damn...damn their eyes! Why do they have to look at me like that?!
Papa fights for this land! Mama died protecting our home!
And me, I'm doing everything I can! I'll get big and strong, become a soldier like my papa!
So why...why do you treat me like a burden?
A shrine lay at the end of my desperate advance.
I'd always climbed the mountain on my own. I had nowhere else to go, and hunger clawed at me.
The abundance of wild vegetables meant I never lacked sustenance. And even better, no one was around to bother me.
The people of the village always said that coming in here would get you spirited away, but that's just an old wives' tale.
Fine by me! What do they know?! I'll live on my own from now on!
I passed through the shrine, and into the woods beyond...
And here I'd tried to spur myself on, yet...I can't find a path, no matter how far I go.
For heaven's sake...am I going to die?
Without helping my country? With everyone treating me as a burden?
Damn, I can't take it. I don't want to die...
Papa, Mama...
Hmm? What's that curious sound? I turned at the sound of it.
"Wh-who's there?!"
"...Huhhh? Say, are you...one of those human children?"
"...Um, what?"
The blazes? What is this strange beast?
"Are...are you a demon?"
I'd somehow lost my way in the mountain while scrounging for food.
Chapter 2:
Traipsing through he woods, I was just about to give up when a queer creature appeared before me.
It clearly wasn't human, from the looks of it. Yet it approached me, speaking my language.
"Wha...what are you, a demon?! Stay away from me!"
"Yipes! What's your problem?! Stop throwing rocks at me!"
The demon pathetically defended itself from the stones I threw.
Upon closer inspection, it seems pretty weak. Maybe it isn't a bad monster?
"So...you don't want to eat me?"
"Eat you?! Perish the thought! I just wanna be your friend!"
"My...friend?"
If a monster suddenly showed up talking about being friends with you, anyone would get scared, wouldn't they?
But the strange thing is, I trusted what it said almost immediately.
I couldn't put my finger on it, but one thing was clear: this creature was on my side.
"All right, sure. I... I want to be your friend, too."
"Honest?! Yaaay, I'm so happy!"
"Say, um, sorry about throwing that stuff at you. Did I hurt you?"
"I'm pretty tough, no worries. Still, it's nice to know you care, hee hee!"
"Shut up. You've got a mouth on you, for a monster."
"Again with that 'monster,' 'monster.' You've got me pegged wrong, y'know?"
"Excuse me?"
"Hmph, don't think I fully trust you yet. I'm calling it like I see it!"
"Oh boy... Well, what should I call you, anyway?"
"Me? My name is..."
Just like that, this strange monster joined me for a time.
Strange indeed, but...I didn't mind. It was on my side, after all.
For now, I'll head back to the village, show off my new friend, and prove to that lot who looked down on me just how wrong they are.
Heh, I'm sure all of them will be blown away! Ahh, I can hardly wait... That just means I have to get down this mountain that much faster.
Chapter 3:
I met a strange monster while lost on the mountain, and together, we somehow made it back down.
Even so, what greeted me in the foothills was not the village I knew...
"Wha'-what? A cliff? There shouldn't be one in a place like this. Did, did we come down the wrong side of the mountain? Ha, haha, that's it, right?"
The monster regarded my confusion with a vacant stare of its own.
"Uhh, I'm not sure what the problem is. Hasn't it always been like this around here?"
"B-but what about my village? Forget the village, just take me someplace with people!"
"Hey, just, just calm down, okay? There's no village in these parts, and I'd NEVER seen a human before you!"
"...Come again?"
According to the monster, this area is teeming with creatures just like it. On rare occasions, humans will wander to this place.
Some of the monsters believe that human children have mysterious power, and kidnap them for it.
"But don't worry! I'll protect you. If a bad guy like that comes around, I'll send them packing!"
"What, what are you talking about... Hahaha..."
In other words, this is another world. I really have been spirited away.
"So does that mean I'll never go back to my own world?"
"Hey, don't cry! It'll be okay, I'm here for you!"
After that, I languished day after day; doing nothing, passing the time in a despondent daze.
The monster stayed at my side, giving me food and teaching me about this world.
It was pretty irritating at first, but perhaps it was the only reason I retained my sanity.
"Back where I come from, everyone treated me like a nuisance. I always...always lived with a bitter taste in my mouth."
"So that's how it was..."
"But this place is different. There's plenty to eat, no one to resent...
And most of all...you'
re here.
I'm going to live here now. There's nowhere for me to return to back home. I want to forget everything, and stay here with you."
"...Okay. If that's what you want. Let's make it a happy life, then!"
"Hee hee, yeah, let's do it!"
I'm going to live here. Me and the monster, together!
Chapter 4:
My time with the monster was peaceful once I'd decided to live in this world.
Unlike the days of resentment I had endured, my life in this world was free of strife.
"Hey, where do you want to go today?"
"Hmm, there's nothing but cliffs around here, not a lot of spots to check out.
Oh, I know! If we go somewhere high up, we could see a long, long way, right?"
"Somewhere high up? In other words..."
"You know it! Let's head to the mountaintop!"
So we traveled up to the summit, but from there it was nothing but tall cliffs around us, with only forest beyond.
"Welp, I guess there's no one else around after all."
"...You were looking for other humans?"
"I just thought, maybe there were others you didn't know about. Guess I was wrong, though. I really am all alone—"
Then at the edge of my vision, I saw something unbelievable.
"Ah! But that's..."
"Hmm? What is it?"
"Look, to the south! It's, it's a city! I know that place... Yes, no doubt about it! That's my old city!"
"What?"
It was the city I'd lived in with my mama and papa. I was sure it'd been razed to the ground, but it was back!
"We have to go!"
"A city, he says... I don't see anything like that?"
I made a mad dash for the city.
"Yes, I knew it! This is my city! Just the way it was!"
*huff* *huff*... "Hey, is there something here? I don't see a thing!"
"Seriously? Get your eyes checked! See here, this is my house!"
"Um, all I see are rocks and cliffs. Hey, are you okay? Maybe we should go back and—"
"...Oh I get it. A monster's a monster, after all. I bet you plan on spiriting me away."
"How could you say such a thing? I wouldn't do something like that!"
"Shut up, you freak! Get away from me! I'm going home, don't get in my way!"
Just then, a voice near and dear to me echoed through my head.
"That voice...oh! Mama? Ha...ha ha ha! I knew it! It's you, Mama! I'm so glad you're all right!"
"Wait, hold on! Don't go off by yourself!"
"Mama! Mama! I understand, I'll come with you!"
"Just wait for me, please! I beg you!"
I tried to stop him, really I did. But he ran off without another thought.
*huff* *huff* "Oh no... I've totally lost sight of him..."
Chapter 5:
How much time has passed? The boy was long gone, I hadn't caught hide or hair of him since.
I know all the spots he would usually go to, and yet... I still don't sense him anywhere.
I'm worried... I'm scared. It's lonely, being by myself. Did I rely on the boy so much?
I couldn't believe my eyes when we first met: a child so weak, so unwilling to trust. He wasn't long for this world, I figured.
I was real happy! I mean, the strong protect the weak, right? So if I protect this kid, that means I'm strong!
Yeah, everyone will change their minds. If I get stronger, no one will make fun of me.
I didn't care if the child trusted me or not. Or so I thought...
He was so down once he knew he couldn't go back to his world.
Sometimes he'd wander off looking for something, eyes cast sadly to the ground.
It isn't like he trusted me or anything. He just sat there all mopey, like nothing mattered.
My chest tightened when I saw him like that...
I would put on a blatant brave front—saying I could live here, all the while shivering when I was on my own. Looking at him, I finally realized... He's just like me.
My brave front, my unwillingness to trust people; it was all to hide my own weakness.
I didn't want anyone to hate me for how weak and pathetic I was.
When I realized that, I thought... I thought we could finally be real friends. So then why? Why did you run away?
"Come on, I'm begging you... Don't leave me by my lonesome."
As I ran around looking for him, a bizarre pain wracked my body.
"Ouch! Wha', augh... GWAAAAAAAAAUGH!"
My body was so hot—wait, cold? At any rate, the discomfort frightens me...
One thing was for sure: I was about to disappear.
Boy, what a way to go. If things were gonna turn out like this, I should've... No, this couldn't have gone any other way. Our connection was messed up from the start.
No trust, putting ourselves first. There's no way we'd be friends.
Of course it'd end like this. Still, at least...
"Augh, rrrgh! At least... At least let that boy be safe! AH, UWAAAAAAAAAGH!"
Before things went totally dark, I thought I saw the child.
Facing an empty space in the same darkness as me, writhing around with a broken smile on his face.
Ghastly hands grasped his ankles; it looked as though he were being dragged down into a bottomless swamp.
This illusion shown too me at the very end left a vile taste in my mouth. He's just like me...
"Honestly... What should I...have done?"