"A Fox's Life and Struggle" Memory Scrolls

* TW/JP/GL Servers: December 20nd - January 9th 2024

This was the memory scroll event accompanying the release of the SP shikigami Honma Sanbi no Kitsune.

### 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

### Sunshine

Once upon a time, there was a sorceress who ran a shrine all on her own. A girl who claimed to live in the mountain forest nearby came to the shrine almost every day. The sorceress often combed the girl's long hair. The girl was hesitant about telling the sorceress her name, so the sorceress called her "Makoto".

"Can I really keep this accessory, Lady Sorceress?"

"Of course, don't you like it, Makoto? It looks so nice on you."

"I love it! But... I thought this was from your late mother."

"Don't worry about that, Makoto. As a maiden of the shrine, I don't really use it much. Besides, I've always seen you as my little sister. So please just take it."

The sorceress catefully tied the hair accessory in Makoto's hair. As the sun shone down on them, Makoto blushed.

"The sunshine is so warm, Lady Sorceress. I wish this moment could last forever."

The sorceress smiled gently, "The sunset is indeed beautiful. But shouldn't you be on your way home now, Makoto?"

"Uh-oh!"

Makoto jumped up and rushed out in a panic. Then suddenly, she stopped at the gate and turned around.

"Don't forget your promise, Lady Sorceress! I'll be back for another Rite Dance lesson tomorrow!"

"Sure, I'll get your clothes ready before you arrive. Be careful on your way home."

Makoto quickly disappeared from the sorceress' view. As she entered the forest, she bent down and tapped the ground before she nimbly leaped up and traversed through the forest like a free wind. Three bright red fox tails emerged from her back.

### Vulpine Sentiment

Inside her den, Makoto carefully picked up the ripe fruit and held them in her hands as if they were rare treasures.

"They're finally ripe! The sakura cakes will definitely taste better with the jam! I think Lady Sorceress will love it!"

A strong gust of demon force poured in like a storm. Before Mkaoto could get up, she was enveloped by heavy smoke. An old fox snorted angrily. Scared, Makoto quickly hid the fruit behind her.

"G-Granny..."

"Haven't I made myself clear? Look at my left eye... and my leg! The human you have grown fond of will one day hurt you!"

"No! I just went for a walk in the woods."

"Do you know what they'll do to you if they realize that you're a spirit? Not only you will be harmed, but the..."

"The Lady Sorceress I know wouldn't do that to me! She's not like them!"

Makoto picked up her fruit and stormed out of the cave, not realizing that the accessory the sorceress had given her had slipped out of her hair. Granny vented out her furious fox fire and it burned to ashes before it reached the ground.

Makoto returned to the cherry tree. When she saw the sorceress, she suddenly dropped the fruit.

"What happened, Lady Sorceress?"

The sorceress' hands were trembling uncontrollably. She was either terrified of the spirit standing in front of her, worrying about the future, or she was trying to fight against her identity as a maiden of the shrine. Before Makoto could figure it out, the sorceress spoke.

"Please... don't come here anymore."

Makoto's tails limply dropped to the ground as tears rolled down her cheeks. She didn't know how to respond, so just turned around and fled, heartbroken.

### Cherry Blossom

Makoto returned to the cherry tree many times, but never saw the sorceress again. Every time she came anywhere near the tree, she was chased off by the people, and returned home with nothing but wounds. By the time she had finally mastered the ability to conceal her demon force, after so many years of practice, the sorceress, whom she longed to see under the cherry tree, had died.

With the death of the sorceress, something disappeared from Makoto's life. She ceased to smile as the sunlight in her life was gone. She returned to her old den and tried to commune with her granny who had also passed away a long time ago. Or rather, she tried to talk to herself.

"It seems that my body is not the only thing that can get hurt. My longing heart hurts too..."

Gradually, Makoto grew tired of her identity as a spirit. Then she made a decision: to see the world as a human, as a remedy for the pain and loneliness in her heart. So she traveled to farmhouses in the mountains as well as tall mansions in the city, to try and find someone with a pure heart who would be the one to wait for her at home. But every time she mustered the courage to reveal her identity, she was met with fear and expulsion. Even so, Makoto remembered the human etiquette the sorceress had taught her, and always remained calm and kind. She would gracefully bid those who were frightened farewell and leave them in silence.

During cherry blossom seasons, Makoto would bring her handmade sakura cakes to the sorceress' grave. The cherry blossoms would follow her on her way to the sorceress' grave, and she would dance in the spring breeze in the sorceress' style, reaching up to catch the falling flowers, only to see the petals slip through her fingers.

"The lifespan of humans is as short as the cherry blossoms. I'm curious, Lady Sorceress. Will I be able to stay with you longer if I'm not a spirit?"

### Heart Torn

One day, when Makoto had finished visiting the sorceress' grave and was ready to leave, she noticed that the village nearby was holding a ceremony. So she hid her tails and joined the crowd.

A person in a sorceress' costume was tied up in the center of an improvised stage, and the narrator of the play was vividly telling the crowd about the history that Makoto had missed.

"...at that time, the crowd had long suspected that the savage girl who was always with the sorceress was not human. Then one day, after the girl had left the sorceress under the cherry tree, she revealed her true form. It turned out that she was Mio, the three-tailed fox! The crowd realized that the sorceress was not being honest. She was supposed to protect the villagers from monsters and spirits. And yet, she had refused to provide any information on the fox. So the sorceress was punished for her negligence!"

On the stage, a man playing a warrior drew his blade and the screams of the sorceress's execution pounded heavily on Makoto's heart.

"It's my fault that Lady Sorceress..."

Distraught, she fled from the crowd, feeling even more wretched than the day the sorceress had sent her away.

"Lady Sorceress had never refused to see me... she simply couldn't see me."

Makoto curled up in a cold dead-end alley, unable to contain the savage growth of her tails and her pointed ears.

"If I'm not a spirit..."

Darkness soon consumed Makoto's Mind's Realm. As her grief and self-loathing tore her soul apart, something pure was was extracted from her. It was the embodiment of her reason and kindness.

### Burning Memories

With her purity extracted, Mio was left only with her demonic nature. Now, as she strolled through the village, she razed it to the ground with her fox fire. The villagers had already fled in haste, but simple destruction was not enough for Mio to vent her anger. Trust, home, harbor... For her, those things were beyond her reach.

Then she saw something moving in a corner. She wondered if there was still a bold onmyoji or warrior lurking there. With a swish of her tails, she swept away the lantern which was blocking her view. There, in the waste, a white fox cub was staring at her with trembling eyes. Mio tried to pick the fox cub up with her tails, but it nimbly dodged them. She ignored it and moved on. But then the fox cub started to follow, walking determinedly behind her, not leaving either.

Mio walked into a shrine that had been abandoned for a long time. The sunlight streamed in. She gently wiped away the dust on the dresser and thought to herself: This probably isn't a place where I, a spirit, should set foot. Still, Mio danced the Rite Dance lightly. Not having been blessed by the gods, she had no respect for them in her heart. She danced only to remember the perfect lady in white and red who she missed.

When Mio walked out of the shrine, the rising sun ended the bloody night. The morning sun shone so brightly that she couldn't open her eyes. Feeling exhausted, Mio passed out before she could lick her wounds. Behind her, the shrine crumbled to the ground.

### Vulpine Silence

Mio stopped visiting the cherry grove after the night she learned the truth.

One rainy evening, when she was gazing at her reflection in a pool of rain, she realized how insignificant her life was: even a small ripple could slap her and tear her apart. Then a stranger approached her from the light, gently held an umbrella for her, and gave her an invitation, promising to make her world perfect again.

"Does that kind of world really exist?"

Years went by. The village outside the cherry grove was not filled with strange faces, bringing new life to the area. as if only the land remembered the suffering in its history. All the tears and laughter had faded, leaving no trace behind but memories for Mio.

On her return to the grove, Mio did not linger, instead walking straight to the place where she and the sorceress had first met. She didn't expect to see a sea of flowers as it was already late fall. She had simply hoped to have a reunion in the small woods. Perhaps the new world really does exist, she thought. She was determined to stay this time, no matter how merciless the stranger's words sounded. She had decided not to worry and risk everything for the slightest possibility that her loved one might return. A hint of madness surfaced in her eyes. Her confusion turned to joy as a smile appeared on her face.

A ripple swept by; with the cherry tree in the center, a completely different scene unfolded, turning the wasteland into a marvelous realm. The shrine regained its solemnity, and new buds sprouted on the withered branches of the grove. It started drizzling as the sun was shining bright. In the fragrant and wet air under the rainbow, the drum and trumpet of a palanquin procession could be heard in the distance. Mio narrowed her eyes.

"Now, it's time to pick Lady Sorceress up."