"Worldly Stories Revealed" Memory Scrolls

* TW/JP Servers: May 27th - June 16th 2020
* GL Server: May 27th - June 17th 2020

This was the memory scroll event accompanying the release of the SP shikigami Ukiyo Aoandon.

### Rewards

When each part of the scroll is fixed, rewards will be distributed across server depending on participation. The participation value depends on the shards being given, and the more given the higher the value. Each portion of the scroll has a separate ranking for participation, and the ranking spans the entire server. Data is refreshed once every minute.

Personal Contribution Ranking Rewards

2

3

3

3

## Shikigami Story

* Scroll I
* Scroll II
* Scroll III
* Scroll IV
* Scroll V
* Scroll VI

### Lights Up

Stories are born at the right time. In the right conditions, they can sprout and grow into towering trees.

Sometimes, stories wither and disappear when they come to an end, and no one will see them again.

If granted new opportunities, stories have the chance to flourish again.

I arrived at this place, following the end of a story.

“We can feel that we are here because we share the same fate.”

“We can expect to see the same ending is waiting for them.”

Same kind of stories are happening in different corners of this world, each with a different protagonist. However, they all have the same kind of pain, the same kind of sadness, and the same kind of helpless moments. And they all lack company.

“We will stay here.”

“We will wait for a new ending.”

I open the door. Drizzle rushes into the house with me.

People taking shelters in the house welcome me into their storytelling. It feels strangely cold in the wooden hut on the mountain. They could only tell stories to kill time. The more listeners the merrier.

“I’ll start first. It’s about…”

As the candlelight starts to flicker, the shadows start to twist.

What they didn’t notice was that the wind had already stopped when they started telling stories. What makes the room cold was not the rain, but the white candles around them.

The flames are dancing on the white candles as the cold air filled the room. The sound of fire burning was made even louder.

I watched the candles.

Staying quiet while listening to a story is basic etiquette. Besides, I’ve already come this far, why should I be afraid?

Shhh.

The story begins.

### Unlightable

Let me tell you a strange story that happened in my house.

I have a house near the capital. I planned to expand that place earlier by adding a magnificent courtyard.

No, really, I’m not bragging.

When we moved in, we found the house seemed to be haunted. The candles in the house would be quenched without a reason. First the candles in the main chamber. Then the candles in the side chambers, followed by the candles in the hallway.

They’re all quenched.

No… It’s not that simple as ‘a mouse bit off the wick!’

The candles were quenched again and again no matter how many times I ordered my servants to light them up or change the candle holders. And we couldn’t even light up the stone lantern in the yard till this day. The whole house is pitch black at night. Not even the moon could shed its light on my house. We went to the onmyoji. It was useless no matter how many amulets he used.

And last night, the candles in my house all quenched with not one left lit.

I’m not joking, buddy, try it if you want. No one can stand that darkness.

What I’m about to tell you now is where it gets really strange - the darkness in that house kills!

We’ve already moved out of that place. I ordered my servants to pick up some stuff from that house a few days back.

The whole courtyard was pitch black in bright daylight. It was so creepy as if something’s lurking in that place.

And those who went in disappeared! None have returned!

Me? That place was cursed. I wouldn’t dare!

You’re saying it’s a haunted house? It’s not possible! I had experts looking into that piece of land before I started to build that house. Plus, the few houses around that place were given to me by my distant relatives. And no one had died in those houses.

Damn, how unlucky of me. What a waste of such a great location.

Why would I lie about it? I just came back from the house before it started to rain…

Say, why’s the house getting dark?

“Greediness filled his mind, causing him to perform evil deeds. However badly he wanted to run, he can’t escape his karma. This one shall be quenched.”

### Covered in Snow

Is it my turn? Well, then, I’ll tell you a story that happened to me some time ago.

It happened last winter, when I was on my way home from the pub. I saw a woman squatting on the side of the road as I rushed back. No, don’t laugh at me, it was not a lewd dream! I remembered it clearly!

I’ve heard stories that if you see a woman in the middle of the night, it’s probably a monster. But I was drunk, so I went up and talked to her.

Surprisingly, I knew the woman. She’s my neighbour. She’s young and my wife used to go to their house and chat with her. She said she was going to buy medications for her ill son and fell down halfway. Well, I thought it would be a big deal if her son was ill, so I helped her to the pharmacy.

No, really, I’m not bragging about my kindness.

The next day, when I told my wife about it, when I was sober, my wife yelled at me, saying that I was looking for an excuse for getting home late. She was saying that our neighbour’s son died when he was born. And it was impossible for our neighbour to buy medications at night. I was not fully awake when I heard the noise outside. The villagers were saying that the dead body of my neighbour was found in a temple outside the village. The body was frozen hard!

I thought I had too much booze last night and had a bad dream. But… but that night I found the lantern that woman was carrying in my house. I reached into my pocket and found the medicine I bought from the pharmacy the night earlier! It was not a dream!

So… what exactly happened that night?

She was holding a baby in her arms. And what’s that?

“Performing evil deeds in the name of kindness. Reverting truth with only one side of the story. What’s the point of being afraid when you’ve already gone this far? This one shall be quenched.”

### Half-extinguished

Alright, I’ll tell you a story that happened to my neighbours.

They’re a newly-wedded couple. The wife comes from a rich family and has a cheerful personality. She used to show me the special things she bought from the town. But she's been a different person ever since her husband joined an army.

She would have her candles lit all night, so her husband would easily find their house if he returned. And she always stayed up all night, sewing clothes by the table, saying that they were for her husband when he returned.

You want to know what happened to her husband?

I can’t tell you how terrible it is. He died on the battlefield! It was me who told her the news from the official.

She cried all day the day she received the letter. I could hear her crying all night from my yard! She was such a darling before she went mad!

One night, she came to our house, claiming that her husband was not dead and that he was sitting in her house, accompanying her. We thought the official made a mistake and rushed to her house. Then she started to sort the clothes and brew medicines. She said her husband was injured on the battlefield and that she has to take good care of him.

I was scared by her words. No one else was in her house! There was no husband!

We saw her talking to nothing and thought she must’ve gone mad. We had a doctor from the capital come check on her and onmyoji to exorcise her. But it was all in vain. So I told her to stay in the house and treat her illness until she gets better. But she never listened. Then she started to make clothes and act strange again.

What more could I do to help her? Everyone, including myself and her relatives, gradually alienated her.

Then one day she came to me and bid me farewell, saying that she was leaving this place with her husband. I was worried about her going out alone so I went to check up on her the next day and… oh, it was horrible. She’d hung herself in the house! The clothes she’d made for her husband were lying there on the table!

Do you think there’re ghosts in this world? Why am I asking this? Because what I’m about to tell you has been on my mind for quite some time.

When I went to her house to clear the remains, I found that those new clothes she made were clearly once worn by someone.

I wonder if she saw the ghost of her husband and decided to accompany him.

“It’s easier to make the living dead than to make the dead alive. However madly in love she was, it failed before a filthy mind. This one shall be quenched.”

### Burnt Out

I’ve liked strolling around ever since my childhood. I would venture into any place I found interesting, so I’ve seen quite a lot of strange things.

Last month, for example, I saw a deserted house while I was strolling around. The weeds growing there were as tall as my waist.

So I sneaked in with my friends. I figured I could dig up some treasures and trade them for money…

What? You got a problem with that?

I was thinking that, if I sold every relic I could find in that house, I’d have money for drinks for the next two weeks. I scavenged that big house up and down, but found nothing valuable. All I could find were torn books and broken bowls. I was disappointed.

So me and my friends, we smashed a few rooms out of anger. Guess what we found just as we were about to leave?

A real monster! There was a monster locked up in the house! And it was a she! I used to think monsters have long fangs and scary faces. But, boy, that monster was beautiful. Her long hair flowed all over the room. Her skin was as white as pearls and smooth as silk. She even had a fishtail! She looked exactly like those merfolk from illustration books. The stories say the tears of merfolks are pearls. If we could catch her, we would surely get rich.

We thought the monster was weak, so we slowly approached her. And sure enough, she was exhausted from being locked up for too long.

Pearls? That’s what made me mad! No matter how much we beat her, she just wouldn’t cry. Imagine how frustrated we were when we didn’t get one single pearl out of her!

Then we figured if we could get this monster out and sell her to the nobles in the capital, we would make a fortune. We tried everything to break her chains but nothing worked. It was as if the chains were created by some kind of magic. And we had to leave that deserted house.

You don’t believe I did nothing? Heh…

Have you ever seen a scorched monster?

I burned that house down with a torch of flame! There weren’t any treasures there anyway. And we couldn’t take that monster with us. So, we burned her along with the house.

Hahaha, just looking at her pained face…

What do you think of me?

I did what’s good! I told the monster that the humans are not to be messed with!

Hahaha…

“Acting high up and looking down on pain as if it is joy. This one shall be quenched.”

### Embers

You’re all looking at me like you want me to tell a story…

My story has already begun.

A story must have an ending that makes the soul of the story. It must be connected to its beginning and serve as a proper end. I will put an ending to the stories you haven’t yet finished.

“The first story. Candles are only lit for the true master of a house. The reason why the darkness followed you was because it was trying to settle the score for its master. That poor old lady would never know that what killed her was not a monster who barged in, but the greediness of an outsider.”

The quenched candle re-ignited.

“The second story. You were emboldened by a few drinks and lust-filled your mind. You tried to lie. But everyone knows what happened, except you. That lantern saw it all.”

The blue flame kept burning in silence without the pulse of a life.

“The third story. You should know now that there are ghosts in this world, since you’ve experienced the whole story. Unfortunate for your neighbour. She ran into a living person. I wonder who was smirking with the so-called ghosts after she died.”

The white candle dropped a tear. It was not to mourn the dead, but to celebrate the beginning of a new story.

“The last story. I’ll make your answer as the connection. Look who’s standing behind you.”

The sky was clear as the rain stopped.

It’s already morning. The overnight rain washed away all those sins. The mountain smells fresh. That’s the smell of leaves sprouting. A sour but refreshing smell. The smell of a grudge’s en, the smell of destruction and resurrection.

A lantern appeared on the statue next to the wooden hut. I took them along with me as I returned to the capital.

The name of the next story is World.

It’s time to add a few chapters to the ending of the World.