Public Biography
Han Liang is not a name heard very often to those outside its hometown, or to those who aren’t incredibly familiar with fishing. They’re a rather underground figure, although they’re commonly known as an advocate for sustainable fishing. They had earned their Ultimate title for winning multiple local fishing tournaments at the age of 19.
Full Biography
You can find it here!Memoria Lumen : Chapter 1
“We all want the door opened for us.”
To every story, there is a beginning. Han’s story on Lake Metis begins with forgetting. It has forgotten why it’s woken up in a bed that’s not its own, in a strange place far from its hometown. It’s almost afraid, but it’s not alone, finding 21 other Ultimates stuck alongside it. 21 other Ultimates…and three masked supervisors, named Ms. Lagomoprh, Mr. Canidae and Ms. Suidae. Soon enough, the supervisors tell the collective this: they are in a test, and for that test, they will be trapped and forced to kill one another.
The characters Han meets are colourful, in both good and bad ways. There’s a prosthetist, a pop star, and a wedding planner, all curious about their situation. There’s a ghost hunter who doesn’t seem to care much about ghosts at all. There’s a roboticist who, surprisingly shares its goals. There’s two robot matchmakers, neither of which Han has good impressions of.
A week passes, and a motive is introduced to push them to kill. An internal rot which will take over their body, killing them if they don’t kill anyone else. Han remains alright, despite the nosebleeds and weakened state, although it knows it’s not the same for everyone. Especially with the girl named Reverie, who claims she has no talent. But Han keeps the door open for her when she enters, and they part saying that it’ll stay open.
But of course, rotting bodies lead to rotting souls. The body of Fennel Aiken is found, and those remaining are left to investigate. A trial is held, and they reach the conclusion that Mallow Kwon—the nature guide—had killed him.
To those who fail to kill and get away with it, there are consequences. Those consequences are brought swiftly, and when Han closes its eyes, it feels all of it. They wake up with a gasp of air, as if they had been struggling to breathe just moments before. With the feeling of a notebook underneath them, they know the test is far from over.
Chapter 2
“I am not going to kill Meilin again.”
Han and the others are brought to the foyer, with the announcement of new areas and…a new supervisor. Mallow Kwon had died, yes, but its body remained. Inhabiting that body is now Mx. Cervidae, who doesn’t seem to remember anything about its past life at all. It unsettles Han—anything in relation to forgetting does—but its news that doesn’t knock them down for long.
A week passes, with little to nothing happening. Han speaks to the pop star, Maeve, after taking care of her during the first motive. It speaks to the eccentric Hina, learning about her thoughts on freedom. To the motherly Nyomi, Han apologises for putting her on the spot during the trial, albeit in its own way.
But no deaths meant another motive will be brought to light. Called to the foyer, Its worst fear is realised: they will be forgetting everything. A slow, drawn-out process, but it doesn’t soothe Han in the slightest. They slip, they crack, and they leave to put themself back together.
They begin forgetting the names of their childhood friends, and it is terrifying. Called to Maeve’s room, they open up to her about their worries. In exchange, they’re given a performance by her. As soothing as it was, it doesn’t stop their memories from deteriorating. They forget parts of themself, they forget why they’re here, and they forget how to walk.
…And then it’s over. The memories slowly come back to them, and it only means one thing. In the ballroom is the body of Robin Kilgore, killed in a seemingly extravagant way. A trial not only reveals the killer, but her true identity; Hina Kyoke IV was really named Fuyuko Ono. Like the killer before her, Fuyuko is punished with a death that burns like the sun. When Han wakes up, they feel the notebook on their back.
They don’t answer its questions.
Chapter 3
“Never underestimate the love of a friend.”
A new day begins on Lake Metis, and new areas begin to open up to the participants. Han finds himself drawn to the graveyard, although it seems as if Maeve had been, as well. She confides in it, about her guilt over being unable to save Robin, but also about whether she should go by her real name, Nancy. Han tries to console her, and together, both the angler and the pop star decide to call the latter by her real name. At least for now.
For Nancy’s truths, Han gives out one of its own. It tells her the events surrounding Meilin’s death, and she hugs it in response. It’s a surprising reaction, but it’s one Han appears to accept.
Another week passes, and the participants are told to go to…the lake, of all places. What greets them is a parted lake, and when they’re insisted to walk in, Han very hesitantly obliges. It’s beautiful—terrifyingly beautiful. They’re about to leave with a suspicious letter, before the next motive is revealed: they will be having hallucinations of their loved ones. Back on the lakeshore, they read the note and learn more about the history behind the manor.
With the new motive in mind, Han goes to the indoor gardens and formally meets the graphic designer, Kou. However, Han’s introductions are soon cut off with a vision of Meilin. She speaks to them, insisting that they kill, and its troubles don’t go unnoticed by the real person in the room. They try to stand tall in the face of the motive, and although they fall under the weight, they pull themself back up. Despite it all, or perhaps in an attempt to stay lighthearted during all of this, Kou requests for Han’s hat. With everything he had to witness…Han gives it to him. They both learn it’s not a good look.
Later on, in their dorm, a knock sounds on their door. It’s Nancy, looking to spend some time with them. They speak of a variety of things, about fears, about hopes, about dreams of what they’ll do if they’ll escape. They speak of their visions, of their secrets, and yet it all led back to the bond which formed between them. Their loneliness and lack of recent friends had been mutual, so it seems.
But then, Nancy speaks of confessions, and she confesses many things. She confesses that she likes Han. She confesses that the ‘guy’ she’s been seeing is her manager who’d been using her. She confesses that she doesn’t let herself be sad. She confesses that she wants to leave, and she confesses that she wants Han to come with her. Nancy cries and cries out an ocean of hidden secrets, and Han listened to each and every one of them, giving advice where it could. That night, Han speaks of love. That night, Han has his first sleepover in years.
The days go by, and Han finds Michio blowing out candlelights like it’s his birthday. They are asked to join him, and reluctantly, they do. Within the growing darkness of a dining hall, Han breathes out what felt like a thousand wishes. With Michio, Han is again reminded of the better parts of childhood.
Two bodies are found. One belonging to Abigail Murphy, and the other, Minerva Seo. Later, the participants find out that Minerva had survived the attack, to which Esme would confess to be the perpetrator of. The trial goes on, and it seems as if Cuore is backed into a corner. That is, until they reveal they had only assisted in the kill, and the real culprit was Michio. He sobs and sniffles, but it doesn’t change his fate. It doesn’t change that Michio dies with abandonment.
It doesn’t change the fact that the feeling lingered in Han afterwards.
Chapter 4
“I will be here as long as you want.”
In a rare occurrence, Han finds himself unable to sleep. Its concerns for the others are growing and occupying more of their thoughts. Walking had always cleared its mind, and it decides to explore the ballroom. It was a place they hadn’t visited much, aside from investigating Robin’s murder. There, Han finds Nancy on the floor. In an attempt to give Nancy good memories to this place, Han accepts her offer to dance. It’s held, it holds back, and the two of them dance until the night catches up to them. Once again, Han sleeps in her dorm.
New areas open for the participants to explore, although there isn’t that much to see. On one of its investigations, they meet up with Aaria again. There, it learns that, while they have the same goals, their perspectives vary in a myriad of ways. Despite this, they’re able to appreciate what their opposing views bring to the table. Later, it decides to investigate the recently opened attic, where it meets with Nyomi again. They talk about their bloodstained pasts, the circumstances surrounding it, and the consequences it had. By the end, they gain new reasons to respect one another.
At the gallery, Han finally meets with the effects artist, Jess. They’ve seen each other, but never properly met. Han learns more about Jess’ past, and (with hesitation from Han) they exchange their signature accessories.
A new motive is announced sooner than they could expect it. This time, they will be visited with visions of their past selves. A seperation. The motive doesn’t scare Han much—at least, not in regards to himself. When it looks around, its concern for the others grow. Will they be able to face their past? This was a seperation, but how could Han manage to bring them together?
The library is where Han decides to go to relax. He finds Nancy again, and they speak of the motive to come…before Han is visited by its past self. They’re no older than thirteen. They ask a question: Will we ever make things right? Han answers that they will try, even if it leads to failures sometimes. They tell their youngerself that it gets harder, but it also gets easier, and it’s better than simply watching. Their past self leaves them, and they feel as if something had healed.
The pop star and the angler speak a little more, before Han asks to give her a performance. Nancy sings a song from her favourite role in her school musical, and the two sit close together for the remainder of time they’re there.
At the balcony, Han speaks to Minerva about the previous motive, and the upcoming one. Together, they speak of the past, regret, and whether they’d do everything all over again. By the end, they both reach the understanding that survival is not avoidance, but endurance.
But good times must come to an end. The power goes out, with Aaria and Nancy going to investigate. Together, they find an unlocked door to a new room. The group follows them inside, where they find vials, candles, and most importantly, a chalk circle with strange sigils.
Aaria was always curious. Nancy had always acted first, thought later. A simple swipe of chalk from the pop star’s hands had costed her life, although it seemingly spared Aaria’s. Her final words don’t belong to her. May there be Mercy to us all.
Han runs to Nancy and holds a still warm corpse, the reality of her death settling in. When they look up, they’re greeted with their past self again. It asks another question: Did we let it happen again? Han can only apologise for standing back and watching, for letting it happen. This time, their past self comforts them: They will make it right again.
The supervisors come in, and Han pleads with them to let it stay with Nancy for just a few more minutes. But Lake Metis is not a place for kindness, and the angler is ushered out before anything could happen to them. The group attains a code, which unlocks a part of the archives in the manor. They learn that they’ve travelled back to 1973, and they find everyone’s participant files, containing all their history and secrets, as well as some comments from Mr. Canidae and Ms. Lagomorph.
It’s much to take in, and Han goes to the nature trail to muse on it all—his grief and his confusion both. It finds Aaria there, her eyes now greyed out and lifeless. Although they their regrets, by the end, they still see a beautiful day in front of them.
Grief is still something to grow around, however, and Han decides to call Mr. Canidae over to speak about it. It learns they regret getting close to Nancy, whereas Han does not. Han also understands that she has the same goals as it, too. They both wanted to reduce suffering, however by vastly different means. Mr. Canidae wanted to right the wrongs as if they’d never happened. Han fought for a future where it can make up for the mistakes it had made. The two are still at odds, and yet, Han tells him that in another life, they could’ve been on the same side.
Girl was a strange character, always standoffish, however Han had noticed something strange was going on with her. She had been frequenting the gym an awful lot, more than she normally had. In an attempt to dig deeper, it asks her why—to which Girl accidentally confesses that she plans to get rid of Cuore, to bring justice, to be worth something. Han argued, so that she wouldn’t have to face a trial, however Girl grew angry and took her emotions out on the rec room. She exits to the gym, and Han was certain this wouldn’t end well if they let it be. They had resolved not to sit back and watch anymore, after all.
But Han’s words are not enough to ease the other. She continues to throw a fit in the gym, and it alerts the attention of Mr. Canidae, who arrives to the scene. They ask Girl to stop what she’s doing before she’s punished, but neither supervisor nor participant are able to calm her down. She lashes out, and a punch meant for Han hit Mr. Canidae instead. On instinct, the supervisor hits her head with their prosthetic hand, giving Girl a nasty head wound. Han tries to help her, tries to stop the bleeding, but its hands were always clumsy. The bleeding worsens because of their intervention, and they leave to try and get gauze for Girl. When they come back it’s too late.
Mr Canidae says he can write it off as punishment. But Han knew that would make Girl’s death pointless. Han knew he could at least end the motive with his involvement. It argues that it was responsible for killing Girl, and that It should face trial—to which Mr. Canidae accepts. As it thinks to itself, it realises that there will still be more motives. The group would continue to hurt. If there was something it wanted to do in its final moments, it would be to remind them of all the reasons why they still had to struggle and live.
Later, on the landline, it hears Aaria pleading for her life. The line goes dead, and the participants go to search for her. In the foyer, they find her dead body, eyes crying blood instead of tears. Han wonders, briefly, if what they did was now worthless. The group later discover Girl’s body, and the trial soon commences. They learn that Aaria’s death was inevitable, a more drawn-out death from that moment in the strange room. Han’s resolve grows stronger.
It waits for the group to accuse them, but the moment doesn’t come. Its voice breaks through and confesses, before giving the group an ultimatum: vote for them and live, or die and suffer no longer. They ask for the other participants to stick with the decision they make, before voting commences…
…A unanimous vote has Han sigh with relief. They all wanted to fight, for one reason or another.
Its final words are ones of forgiveness.
Its final lesson is to remember the happiness that will return to them all in the end.
Its final expression is a hopeful smile.