"Welcome. I've been waiting for you here for quite some time."
What is this place...?
Everything around you is pitch-black. You try to remember, but nothing comes to mind.
Your name, age, identity, and memories of the past feel as if they never existed.
Your mind is a blank.
"Who are you...?"
You try to get information from the only person here.
"I'm your guide. I know what you're thinking, so don't worry. Everything will be revealed once this game is over."
A rather cold voice comes from beneath the hood. Although they address you as "you" with a respectful honorific, you hear no respect in their words.
They seem to know you well, or at least the person you used to be.
You're curious about their identity and the "game" they mentioned.
"You'll be playing a game next. You should already see the interface in front of you."
The other person makes no attempt to reassure you and quickly gets to the point.
You know nothing, and your thoughts are a tangled mess. You can only convince yourself to accept what they're telling you for now.
"First, look in the upper-right corner. The menu lets you view the dialogue log, adjust the screen brightness and game volume, and save or load your game."
"Be sure to learn the controls and adjust everything to your liking before the game begins. Of course, you can also change these settings once the game has started.
For example, if you can't see something clearly, or don't want to hear a particular sound, adjust the brightness or volume in the environment settings."
You glance up and, sure enough, find a three-line icon in the upper-right corner.
"Click."
At the thought, a menu appears before you. From top to bottom, it reads:
[Save]
[Load]
[Dialogue Log]
[※※※※]
[Environment Settings]
The menu is simple, almost bare.
You try clicking the option made entirely of asterisks.
Nothing happens.
Do I have to unlock it by playing the game? you wonder instinctively.
You click Environment Settings again and turn the brightness all the way up.
It doesn't help. Everything is still pitch-black, and you can only see the hooded figure. Actually, there isn't any light source here at all. You can't even see your own hands, so why can you see the person in the hood?
"All right, that's enough of the opening. This is a game. You'll play a girl aboard the Black Whale and accomplish a certain goal. Once you succeed, your reward for completing the game will be the return of your original memories."
What?
"Wait!" you say urgently. "How am I supposed to know what to do when you've told me so little? What's the quest? I mean, if this is a game, at least tell me the objective. Defeat the calamity and rescue the princess, or become the champion or something?"
Huh? Your mind is completely blank, yet you instinctively say things that seem strangely familiar.
Are these things the person you used to be knew? Calamity? Champion? What are those? They sound like they belong to different worlds.
You feel lost.
"That's something you'll have to discover for yourself," the hooded figure says coldly. "I'm only here to guide you. I won't interfere with your game. As for that goal, your past memories aren't necessary for survival. Whether you pursue it is up to you."
"Now, enter your character's name here. Once you confirm it, the game will begin."
A translucent panel appears before you.
Character Name: __________ (Enter up to six English or Chinese characters)
*As you can tell from the synopsis, this is something I wrote while completely obsessed with the source material, but it doesn't really matter.
*Updates are irregular and very slow (I'm mostly updating my other work, and I haven't figured out the Black Whale plot yet).
*There is a true ending, but it isn't necessarily the best ending (The previous synopsis spoiled it, but I guess that doesn't matter either (scratches head)).
Theme: What is it that you really want?
