Tome of All-Memory: Childhood's End

Caerula Recorder: Tome of All-Memory
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Transcripts of the Childhood's End Memory Mapping's Memory Selections.

Memory #1 Unlocked at the start

“ Be it the Corrupting Heart, the Nevermelting Glacier, or the Creeping Branch, none of Them still exist today. ” Be it the Corrupting Heart, the nevermelting glacier, or the creeping branch, none of Them still exist today. The Primordial Lifespring has already lost control. After Ishar'mla and Mizuki were both injured, He devoured the Firstborn one by one, and became the sole "Absolute". He converts all lives into resources, faithfully regulating them and ensuring their comprehensiveness. All existence is ever so neatly ordered– for almost everything that refuses to be part of this order has been eradicated. Humans failed to even erect their last line of defense, the ocean submerging the land beneath their feet in an instant. Terra is now the ideal ecosystem for the Seaborn. In a corner of this vast paradise, the Seaborns once known as Mizuki and the Doctor hide in a cave, avoiding being annexed by the order. In such an ecosystem, names are disorder, nostalgia is disorder, and sorrow is also disorder. What about the others? Amiya and Kal'tsit... How about the other Rhodes Island friends? Are there any survivors? Even being able to squeeze out thoughts like those is a luxury. Perhaps the only time when thought is worthy of those precious extra nutrients is when feeding is taking place. The "Doctor" wordlessly gnaws at the appendage Mizuki has just cut from his own body. At first, it would shed tears, whimper, and sometimes even cry hysterically while feeding. But these emotions and behaviors were clearly maladaptive to survival, and though it took some time, it eventually got over it. Or perhaps, it was finally engulfed by the enclosed environment and protracted silence and numbness that it was thrust in. Mizuki cannot console the "Doctor." Of course, he knows that it is a bridge too far to offer his own flesh and blood to the Doctor so that it may live, but he is even less willing to accept the Doctor's death. Nevertheless, all the flowers, plants, mushrooms, and even the water source itself have been assimilated into components of the Lifespring, turned into shining specks of fluorescent light symbolic of the order He has woven, let alone the sea monsters that were once creatures. No longer is there any more "normal" food. All of Terra has been absorbed into the glowing ocean itself. Mizuki is only barely able to decompose the special tissue he ingested into simple nutrients; that is to say, he may be the only "safe" food remaining. Mizuki does not expect the Doctor to accept his proposal at that time. Is it a result of survival instinct temporarily overwhelming the dignity of being human during extreme hunger? Is it because he does not want to die in front of Mizuki, to waste that which he snatched back from the jaws of death with his own life? No, the reason does not matter, as long as the Doctor can live on... But for how long will these days continue, and for how long can they hold on? Mizuki smiles bitterly within his heart. He hopes that in a different time and a different place, the Doctor will not be reduced to this inevitable end with him.

Memory #2 Unlocked after entering the 3rd floor

“ Mizuki rejects that kind of regret and fortuity. He and His powers are nothing special. ” He thinks, He has thought, He will continue to think. He will simultaneously receive several different answers at once, and receives His answer before they arrive. He has been sublimated, but only His body can be bound by the fetters of time, not His thought. At some point, these thoughts arrive in Mizuki's mind in a stochastic state. It is as if He himself exists in flux at this moment. If one could clearly know the answers pertaining to the future, that could indeed allow Him to make the correct decisions. But, as a lifeform bound to this dimension, His body and mind cannot transcend the fetters of time. For Mizuki, these hazy, probabilistic forks in the road manifest only after a decision is made, presenting themselves as possibilities in the form of memories. At that time, the option of choosing again will no longer exist, their presence bringing little more than regret or fortuity. Mizuki rejects such regret and fortuity. He and His powers are nothing special, and from his current perspective, He is nothing more than one of many possibilities for the future, one that violates his original intentions– that obviously cannot be humanity's ideal ending. However, the decisions that were made that gave rise to the possibility of His birth were presumably set in motion by some version of himself along with the Doctor, with some necessity or rationale in mind. As such, there is no need to treat each other with hostility rather than as friends who made different choices, always leaving each other with some vague ideas to think about afterwards. Mizuki even had a flash of inspiration while playing a game, deciding to give Him a name. And when Mizuki mentions these things to the Doctor and is able to share the stories that have almost become reality, it has been many long years since they faced the problems that lay beyond the sea together.

Memory #3 Unlocked after entering the 5th floor

“ What purpose drives some Sea Terrors to evolve into these rock-like forms to continually stand watch beneath the clouds? ” On a Bolívarian shoreline unknown to man, two Sea Terrors that have difficulty identifying due to mimicry have affixed themselves to the surrounding reefs, letting the waves beat against them. They seem to harbor no hostility toward other creatures, simply anchored there like timeless statues. Rhodes Island still has a few more stops around Columbia. In addition to wandering around cities to enjoy certain aspects of regional culture that can't be found on Rhodes Island, Mizuki, who has snuck out, occasionally comes to these remote locations, sitting on the reef while hugging his knees, listening to the sounds of the waves or the wordless whispers of the Sea Terrors. Are you guys trying to assess the weather by observing the clouds? Mizuki can tell that the two of them are looking up at the sky in a certain way, but their visual organs are so delicate and unique as if capable of reaching far beyond the clouds. The purpose of them doing this is fascinating after all, as the Sea Terrors have little to do with the sky above. Though some Sea Terrors have already tried suspending themselves midair to swim through the aether, the flocks of soaring fowlbeasts are far from a rich source of nutrients for nurturing their kind, and the practice of looking downward is maladaptive to life within the ocean. We do not care, about the weather. We are waiting. The two Sea Terrors remain motionless, just as they have for most of their lives. They neither possess nor need extra vocal organs. They have their own ways of transmitting the information they wish to convey to their kind. What purpose drives some Sea Terrors to evolve into these rock-like forms to continually stand watch beneath the clouds? Mizuki immediately understands that the reason behind this weighty mission might not be something easily explained in a few words. He doesn't ask any more questions, and stands up to leave. At that moment, a number of incomprehensible anomalies appear in the sky. Gaps rupturing in the sky, scintillating bursts of ionizing radiation, even never before seen– Was this their doing? No, there's no way a couple of Sea Terrors would have the power to influence the space far beyond their reach. Their only purpose is to observe. Did someone else do something? And why? Might it be Columbia in that direction? And what exactly was that...? When Mizuki finally comes to his senses once more, the two Sea Terrors have long since disappeared. Perhaps they were eager to return to their lair to deliver a message to their kin– one that may have taken hundreds of years to prepare for the sake of expanding their evolutionary strategy.