Katria senses a darker aura crawl up to the dazed Arino. A swift and painful snap leads Arino yelling out in pain. He feels little bug-like darkness swarming the left side of his body, slowly chipping away at his body. Immense trauma flashes through Arino's eyes as Katria tries to help. She reaches for Arino, but her right eye reacts before she can. Standing over Arino, she summons a golden bow, cloaked in the mysterious essence of the Gods. Pain, fear, and trauma fills Arino's mind as he tries to cling on to the flesh his soul is in. In a flash, He falls into the abyss of his heart, where nothing but the sorrow of this world is allowed. Katria couldn't hang on either as she also fell to the same abyss that Arino is in. A sign is pointed over both of their heads. Mission Started: "Memory Lane; Step 1 of 16".
The sign seems to indicate that Katria and Arino are about to embark on a challenging journey that involves revisiting their past memories. It remains to be seen what they will encounter along the way and how it will impact their present lives. They both look around confused, not knowing where to even start. With a snap of a nerve, both start to scream in agony. A portal opens for them both, on different sides of the abyss. They aren't near each other, but they sense their essence here. As they step through the portal, they feel a rush of energy and a sense of purpose washing over them. They know that this path leads them to each other. The abyss seems to be a test, a challenge that they must overcome in order to reach their destination. They take a deep breath and step forward, determined to reunite and continue their journey together.
Arino walks through the portal; he starts to lose consciousness as the sign changes in front of him. Step 1: Confront the Man in the Mirror. Confused, he wonders what that entails for him as he enters the area. Without warning, 16 large arrows shot at him from the darkness. He tries to dodge them but they track back to him. He tries to deflect them but they still backtrack to their original target. Arino sees an altar in front of him, with a body seeming to have lost any hope of escaping. He is slumped down, chained to the walls of altar with only a torso as support. As Arino sprints towards the altar, constant whispers are tormenting his mind. "You can't break free." "You can't escape." "You'll always be like this." "Give up." Desperation enhances Arino's mind throughout the struggle.
"Stop this," a girl's voice silences the room. Arino stops to look at where the voice is coming from but gets stricken by one of the steel arrows. The girl walks up to Arino and hugs him with tears in her eyes. The corpse speaks to Arino and asks him to turn around.
The Corpse: "So, who brought you here?"
Arino: "I have… no clue."
Arino continues to cough and vomit out blood. The Corpse laughs as Arino doesn't recognize him.
The Corpse: "Are you sure you don't know who I am, Arino?"
Arino: "No, all I remember was darkness consuming me. Nothing else to it."
He takes the steel arrow out of him and stands up to get a closer look at the Corpse. Fear drowns Arino as he sees him, a more deformed version of him smiling back. Before Arino could react, he is sent to Earth, but not the Earth he was used to. Flames surround the area as beastfolk run away from the area. The sign above him changes as well. Step 2: Defeat the Demon of The Coastland Keep. He first looks around and sees a nearby village. Arino's first step is to escort the beastfolk to the village nearby and alert the village to be on defense. As the beastfolk get away from the flames safely, he walks into the heart of it. As he looks ahead, he sees a deformed, inhuman, beast wearing his own face as a child. The only words muttered from Arino; "Did… I do all of this…?"
A small meteorite circles around Arino. A silver hair, silver eyed, pale skinned imp appears from the meteorite, sitting on Arino's shoulder. She looks at the monster and shakes her head condescendingly. She sighs and stretches analyzing the beast ahead.
Imp Girl: "No, this was the doing of someone else, using your body as their host."
Arino: "How would you know?"
Imp Girl: "Because this is the first memory, it's the most confusing one after all."
Arino: "So, how do I go about this? Any ideas?"
Imp Girl: "You have to get me involved."
Arino: "Oh nice, wait what do you mean by that?"
The imp licks her lips as she stares into Arino's eyes. He flicks the horny imp off of him.
Arino: "Not dealing with no horny bastards today."
The Imp holds her head in pain, trying to hid her frustration. She summons a fireball and aims it at Arino, not affecting him in the slightest.
Imp Girl: "The hell are you made out of, magma?"
Arino: "Brodie, that essence was super weak. I see why you need my power now, you lustful slut."
Imp Girl: "I'll kill you if you say that again."
Arino laughs at he points his sword at the Imp. His eyes glow a silver color and his grin grows wider, daring her to try and kill him. The imp's fear grows as she sees that she is outmatched.
Imp Girl: "A-alright alright, I'm sorry. Oh, my name is Ril, nice to meet you!"
Arino: "Well my name is Arino, seems like you already know my name though."
Ril: "You are my new owner now, apparently this collar stops me from doing my own thing without your permission."
Arino looks at her neck to see a collar manifesting itself. A little chuckle is heard from Arino, making the imp embarrassed.
Arino: "Well, how did you even get here?"
Ril: "I was the young girl from earlier. I just disguised myself as a regular human to throw you off. You have to purify your heart, right?"
Arino: "I guess? This quest symbol that randomly appears says that the name of this quest is Memory Lane. I don't know if I must go through false memories to purify it or not."
Ril: "Just follow the quest steps dumbass. It says what you have to do."
Arino: "I ought to flick you again."
Ril: "Flick the monster in front of you first, you buffoon."
As Arino sighs loudly, he takes out his sword. Walking towards the enemy as the Demon devours another beastfolk.