Hortus Arcanus planēta

ACT 2

remember

“Hey, El… why do you know so much?

Didn’t you say you more or less know how this story ends?

What do you mean by that?”

“…Sigh. Lumia… I suppose this is something I should tell you.

Though, to be honest, it’s something I’d rather never remember.

It was in the previous story…

About two days after I first awakened in the third iteration of this tale.

When the midnight bell rang, I heard something in this decrepit attic.

At first, I thought it was a mouse.

But it wasn’t.

A young man appeared—holding a button just like the one on your arm.”

“W-wait…!

A button… like mine?

Does that mean… someone else can enter this story besides me?

What was his name?”

“Hey. Calm down. Don’t rush me like that.”

“…Let’s see.

If I remember correctly… his name was Refah.”

The moment I heard that name, memories from long ago came flooding back.

“Re… fah…”

“What? Do you know him?”

I couldn’t answer.

“I see… so you have your own history too.”

El said nothing more about my connection to Refah.

“…Anyway, let’s get back to it.

That boy—Refah—was probably from the same world as you.

Judging from your reaction… I’d say he definitely was.

And from the moment the midnight bell rang,

he began to appear before me.

He barely spoke—almost never, in fact.

But he always stayed by my side.

I thought he was strange… unsettling, even.

But… like you, he wasn’t a bad person.”

“Hey… something’s been bothering me.

The way you talk about all this…

it almost sounds like you weren’t really there—like you’re talking about someone else’s memories.

Why is that?”

“That’s because…

what I’m telling you are things I saw and heard—

but not things this ‘current me’ experienced.”

“…What do you mean?”

“I don’t fully understand the mechanism myself.

But my guess is this—

When this story reaches its conclusion… its ending…

the memories of everyone inside the book are reset.

When I awakened for the fourth time,

I had no memory of what came before.”

“Then how…

how do you know this is a world inside a story?

And how can you remember things from before the fourth cycle?”

“…That’s something I learned shortly before you came into this story.

Refah appeared again in the fourth iteration.

And then… I touched his button—

the one just like yours.

It was completely by accident.

When I first met him in this fourth story,

I was curious about that button he wore, so I asked him about it.

But he said nothing.

He just stared at it… silently…

as if it were something precious.

I couldn’t ask any further.

Or maybe… I simply couldn’t bring myself to.

Then, as he was leaving that day…

the string of his button snapped, and it fell to the floor.

When I reached out to pick it up—

the moment I touched it—

everything came rushing into my mind.

Memories from previous stories…

what Ella had felt…

what I had felt…

even the ending of this story.

And within those memories…

Refah was always there.

Quietly… by my side, ever since the second story.”

“After seeing all that… my mind was in complete chaos.

I couldn’t understand anything at first.

But little by little… I began to grasp what was happening.

And that’s why…

I refuse to let this story end beautifully.

I felt rage toward this fate.

At the same time…

I came to resent Ella—who knows nothing of it—

and Refah, who never tried to change it.

So I’ll destroy everything.

I’ll crawl my way out of this…

until I can see the morning sun as myself.”

The moment El spoke those words,

I felt the cruelty of this fate.

A deep sadness tightened in my chest,

almost painfully so.

And at the same time—

knowing that Refah had been in this world…

for some reason…

I felt like I was about to cry.