For some reason, as Furukawa Hirozawa played up to this point, he felt a sense of déjà vu, like he was playing "reverse degree person."
In "reverse degree person," Time also moved backward step by step.
It's just that those were real events, whereas now it's like browsing Old John's past memories.
How good would it be if it were "reverse degree person"?
Then, as Time flowed backward, River would also come back to life.
Furukawa Hirozawa thought to himself.
Who is Anya?
Up until now, Furukawa Hirozawa had no idea.
In any case, as they moved backward step by step, by entering John's memories, they learned that—
John's wife, River, was getting sicker and sicker. To treat River, Old John even planned to sell his house and the lighthouse.
But even so, it still couldn't save River's life.
…
This memory fragment was a paper rabbit on the ground. They traveled back a few years, to a middle-aged John with a thick mustache. On the second floor of the old house, he picked up the yellow paper rabbit from the ground.
"River?" he called out, walking down the stairs.
The two doctors followed him down.
Downstairs, River was sitting in a chair, folding rabbits, with the plush platypus beside her.
A large pile of rabbits filled more than half the room. Beside her was a bucket containing a large bunch of freshly cut orange-red long hair.
John saw her and said, "Why did you suddenly cut your hair short? What are you doing?"
"Rabbits," River said. "Did you see the rabbit I left for you?"
"…I saw it."
"Tell me about it." River looked up and stared at John with deep eyes: "Describe it."
John scratched his head and said, "Uh… It's yellow and a bit chubby."
"And?" River stared intently at John.
"Alright… It's just a paper rabbit. You're acting strangely, River. Has something happened?"
River's eyes were a little red. She fell silent, lowering her head and continuing to fold rabbits.
Doctor Watts said to Rosaleen, "She's really getting more and more confused. Do you think River is a bit…"
"I don't know," Rosaleen said, "but as I said before, she's not our client. Let's hurry."
…
This rabbit must be problematic.
Furukawa Hirozawa thought to himself.
However, he still couldn't understand the mystery behind it.
But judging from River's reaction, the rabbit must be very important.
As Furukawa Hirozawa repeatedly traversed the memories, he learned that—
It turned out that River suffered from a rare disease.
Asperger's Syndrome.
A social disorder, considered a harmless form of autism, but only harmless to outsiders.
So River should be an autistic patient.
But, did she start folding rabbits because of this illness?
Furukawa Hirozawa didn't understand.
But he guessed that she must have been unable to explain why she folded rabbits because of this illness.
The plush platypus had continuously helped them travel through John's old age, middle age, and into his youth.
Watts's eyes widened in surprise, pointing to River's feet, where the plush platypus lay.
"It's incredible that this strange thing could be traced all the way back here."
Rosaleen said, "It seems someone protected it very well."
…
The game progressed by constantly traveling back to John's earlier memories.
This Time, it was John and River's wedding.
A beautiful and romantic outdoor wedding, held on the grass, with the beautiful sea in the distance.
Beautiful and dazzling colorful lights surrounded them, filled with people's laughter and joy.
At this point, the wedding was already coming to an end, but in such a venue, the bride and groom were nowhere to be seen.
Finally, Furukawa Hirozawa found John and River under the lighthouse.
Unlike the lively, joyful scene outside, it was very quiet around the lighthouse.
John said to River, "Do you feel anything different? I mean, we're married now."
River replied, "Nothing different. Why do you ask? What do you think?"
River blinked her big eyes, seemingly eager to hear something from John.
"I feel a little different." John scratched his head and laughed honestly.
"What's different?" River became even more excited.
A pair of big eyes stared at John.
John was a little surprised, but in such an atmosphere, he didn't know what to say. He thought for a moment and replied, "I just simply feel that something is different, maybe it's a sense of responsibility."
The light in River's eyes dimmed again.
Furukawa Hirozawa also didn't understand why.
John's answer should have been fine.
The two were silent for a while.
River said, "Do you like the name 'Anya'?"
"Anya? I like it very much."
"Then, would you be willing to call her Anya?"
River looked up and pointed behind her.
A lighthouse stood there.
"How about calling her Anya?!"
Ah!
Seeing this, Furukawa Hirozawa suddenly had an epiphany, and his brain buzzed.
Anya.
It turned out that Anya was the name of the lighthouse!
And the two of them built their house near the lighthouse so they could see it every day.
For a lighthouse, River refused to sell it to treat herself. Was it worth it?
Was the lighthouse that important to her?
Could it be that because the lighthouse was a testament to their love, River couldn't bear to part with it?
But, Furukawa Hirozawa thought, your loved one is right beside you, why be so fixated on a lighthouse?
Hmm…
How to put it, Furukawa Hirozawa frowned.
Other games become clearer as you play, and as the puzzles are continuously solved, you'll find the truth within reach.
But this game is just the opposite. The previous puzzle hasn't been solved, and in the process of finding the answer, more and more questions arise.
What is the meaning of the folded paper rabbits?
Why did River keep folding rabbits before her death and keep asking John if he remembered what the rabbits were?
The lighthouse is now known as Anya, but why couldn't River bear to sell it?
What significance did the lighthouse hold for the two of them?
And what did that platypus doll mean?
More importantly—
Why did Old John have to go to the moon?!
These things don't seem to have any connection to going to the moon.
Furukawa Hirozawa thought to himself, if it were him, shouldn't his biggest wish be to grow old with his wife?
Or to keep Time paused on John and River's sweetest day?
These all seem more meaningful than going to the moon, right?
Going to the moon is more important than River, is that right?
You really don't take the usual path, Pokeni.
But then, Furukawa Hirozawa also vaguely felt that—
Ishino Mika must have designed it this way because something was waiting for him ahead.
That something, though he didn't know what it was yet, inexplicably tugged at Furukawa Hirozawa's heartstrings.
…
"Let's go dance up there," John said excitedly, pulling River's hand.
River, however, seemed a bit hesitant, her cheeks flushed, and she softly said, "But I don't know how…"
"It's okay, I'll teach you!"
With that, John stood up, holding River's hand.
The two ran all the way to the top of the lighthouse. A bright yellow light rose slowly above, like another full moon in the night sky.
Their shadows fell on the lighthouse's windowpanes.
Accompanied by beautiful piano music.
This scene was truly romantic.
…
Pokeni's art style is truly beautiful.
As Time rewound, the two also grew younger.
The bride at the wedding, River, was truly adorable, with long orange-red hair and big eyes, like a princess from a fairy tale.
As Time traveled back little by little, Furukawa Hirozawa also witnessed John and River's old age, middle age, youth, and teenage years.
In their old age, the two nestled together, buying the lighthouse and building their own house.
In their middle age, they rode horses together, just to treat River's autism.
In the lighthouse, the two gently held each other's hands and danced together.
In their student days, in the cinema, they had arguments, but they could reconcile immediately…
Through a flashback, Time allowed Furukawa Hirozawa to witness John and River's entire lives.
…
The next traversal returned to John's teenage years.
Young John tidied his clothes, ready to go out. Beside him stood who was presumably his mother.
"I'm going to school, Mom."
"Have fun, Joey."
"Hmm? Why does his mother call him Joey?" Watts said.
Furukawa Hirozawa also found it very strange.
Rosaleen also shook her head, "I don't know, maybe it's his nickname."
John left the house, and his mother murmured, "Grow up quickly, my dear son."
Looking at the expression on the mother's face, Rosaleen felt an indescribable strangeness: "No, something is getting more and more wrong…"
In the bedroom inside, there was a soccer ball, emitting a faint light.
"Come on, let's activate it," Watts said.
"Wait, there's something wrong in this room."
"What is it?" Watts looked around, a very ordinary bedroom.
"Never mind, maybe I'm overthinking it. Let's go."
They activated the soccer ball, ready to enter the next memory segment.
But this Time, something went wrong. The place they arrived at was a blank space. There was a row of houses in the distance, but a huge, black void separated them, preventing the two from reaching those houses.
Furukawa Hirozawa also felt something was off.
…
Old John's memory abruptly stopped here.
Further ahead was a blank space, as if it had been destroyed by something.
He wanted to explore, but the front was hazy. And it emitted a foul odor.
Furukawa Hirozawa was a bit confused.
Stuck?
"What's going on? What is this void? Wait, what's this smell? It smells like that squashed squirrel! How did it follow us here?" Doctor Watts was full of questions.
Rosaleen said, "I don't know what's going on. Maybe the memory reconstruction didn't connect. It must be a malfunction in the machine's advanced data protection system."
"I can't believe there are so many idiots in the maintenance department."
"It's okay, don't worry, we've saved the teenage part of the memory."
"Okay, I guess that's it… There's nothing more to do here."
…
"Next is to instill in John the desire to become an astronaut, thereby fundamentally fulfilling his wish to go to the moon," the female doctor said,
Nani?!
Furukawa Hirozawa was a bit confused.
Are they going to the moon already?
But there were still a lot of mysteries left unsolved.
The previously described lives of John and River had no connection to going to the moon, did they?
And what kind of secret was buried in that unexplored memory?
None of these were explained!
How come it suddenly felt like it was going to end by forcibly fulfilling a wish to clear the game?
Furukawa Hirozawa was actually a little angry inside.
He felt that this game had built up for so long, only to end in such a sloppy manner at the last moment, which was truly outrageous.
No wonder his friends who attended the Tokyo Game Show before said this game wasn't worth buying.
Just think, he had been playing this game for over 3 hours now and was still completely confused.
Not only were the mysteries not solved, but they kept getting bigger. Anyone would be angry, right?
…
Holding a glimmer of hope, Furukawa Hirozawa still gritted his teeth and continued the game.
It had to have a beginning and an end.
But the subsequent plot made him even more frustrated.
This company, Sigmund Corporation, was simply a cold machine that did things for money without any emotion. According to company regulations and Vice President Sam's instructions, whether it was this business or other businesses, the male and female doctors, as constructors, only had to strictly fulfill the contract according to the employer's requirements!
In other words, from the very beginning, their purpose in coming here was to fulfill the old man's wish to "go to the moon."
That's all.
As for what happened between John and River, it didn't matter at all.
As long as they could travel back through the old man's memories and instill a strong dream of becoming an astronaut in young John, helping him fulfill his wish to go to the moon in his memories, then the contract would be successfully fulfilled.
"Damn capitalists!"
Furukawa Hirozawa couldn't help but curse out loud when he played to this point.
"This is more than just a business deal, okay?"
This was John and River's entire life.
"Can't you show a little respect for people?!"
Moreover, judging from Old John's previous experiences, he had no motive to go to the moon, nor was he interested in the moon or astronomy.
On the contrary, Furukawa Hirozawa believed that River held the most weight in his heart.
You ignored a living human's emotions and instead went after some astronaut dream.
Just going to the moon for the sake of going to the moon, isn't that too heartless?
…
However, Furukawa Hirozawa still couldn't understand—
Old John was simply not the type to be an astronaut. His whole life was spent accompanying River, living with River. Why was he so fixated on going to the moon?
Logically, this made no sense at all.
Unless River had some connection to the moon.
But…
So far, Furukawa Hirozawa hadn't been able to discover this point.
…
Furukawa Hirozawa found the next part of the plot very difficult to bear, because, as the female doctor said, it was about strictly executing the contract.
The two went into John's childhood memories and began posting various posters related to space travel.
Inserting astronomy into John's elementary school curriculum.
Even changing his extracurricular activities to astronomical observation.
…
In short… influencing John through various subtle details.
Damn it, damn it!
If the plot just ends like this, Ishino Mika would be too terrible!
This is completely an act of ruining her own reputation!
…
John! Hang in there, don't let them influence you!
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