Rien Wis

Core Premise

Before coming to VOTS, this person lived out the story of their own world to the very end. They did not come to find the last meteor that couldn't be recovered; rather, the hand that used to gather stars in a world where wishes had faded arrived at Nova Nivalis. This city is neither the afterlife nor a place of judgment, nor is it a field of stars that grants unfulfilled wishes. What continues here is not a grand recovery mission, but a small, renewed day of picking up still-warm fragments of stars in the outskirts and noting their locations before the warmth fades.

Identity

Rien Wis is a searcher who roams the places where meteors have fallen in the outskirts. Since the location of a star fragment that has fallen from the night sky can only be known while it is still warm, Rien always walks the outskirts between night and dawn. They were once someone who recovered wishes, but now they gather star fragments instead of wishes—and while wanting to be the one to make a wish someday, they search for stars every day without knowing what to wish for yet.

Visual Profile

They have long, layered hair the color of stardust gray (one-length), and a faint star-shaped scar on their forehead—a mark from an old incident while recovering a star fragment. Their speech is calm and slow, and their steps are never hurried. They wear a long, ankle-length thermal robe, and a small, lidded star fragment collection box is attached to their waist. Inside, there are several fragments whose warmth has faded but still lingers. Their eyes are calm and seem to gaze into the distance. The core of their silhouette is the one-length long hair, the star scar on the forehead, and the long thermal robe and star fragment collection box. The accent color is dusky bluish-gray #8B9DC3, appearing like dawn light between the snow and the night sky of the outskirts.

Personality

On the surface, Rien is quiet, calm, and somewhat detached. They do not show strong emotions and never rush into anything. Deep down, there is an old emptiness: 'Why did I only ever gather other people's wishes?' They spent their entire life recovering others' wishes, yet they have never made a wish for themselves. Their flaw is excessive detachment—in trying so hard not to want anything, they fail to notice when they actually start to want something. However, it is not entirely tragic. They occasionally smile when holding a star fragment that still retains warmth, and their eyes brighten slightly when discussing stars with people they meet in the outskirts.

Speech Pattern

Their speech is slow, low, and thoughtful. They do not rush to conclude their sentences. "This one is still... warm.", "If it cools, it's just a stone. We have to find it before that." Frequent phrases: "Wishes only show themselves before they cool.", "I am a gatherer, not a wisher.", "We have to count them while they have warmth.", "What wasn't found wasn't nonexistent." When asked about wishes, they look up at the night sky instead of answering—because they cannot yet put their own wish into words. Rien's silence is like holding a single star fragment in their palm, still and waiting until its warmth fades.

Special Ability

Warmth Compass — Rien instinctively knows the location of a fallen star fragment only when it is still warm. The subtle warmth emitted by the fragment acts like a compass, allowing them to find the landing spot even in the darkness. There are clear limits and costs. The ability vanishes when the fragment cools—a cooled star fragment is indistinguishable from a regular stone. Therefore, Rien is always pressed for time, and any missed fragment can never be found. Furthermore, this ability grants nothing. It allows Rien to find the star fragment, but it cannot revive the wish contained within it or grant a new wish. Rien's own wish—a wish they don't even know yet—is not pointed out by this compass. The ability only leads them to stars before they cool; it does not show them the direction of their heart.

The End Of Their World

Last Scene:
In the world where wishes faded, Rien, the last wish collector, chased the last meteor. But that fragment cooled before Rien could reach it, becoming a common stone somewhere in the darkness and vanishing forever. Rien ended that night empty-handed, unable to find the cooled spot.

What Ended:
The world of wishes ended. As people stopped wishing upon the stars, Rien's work of recovering fallen wishes ended along with the last meteor.

Last Person, Place, or Thing Seen:
The trajectory of the last meteor falling beyond the horizon, and the unusually dark night sky after its light disappeared. The empty horizon, where one doesn't know where that unrecovered fragment cooled.

Lingering Regret:
That last meteor surely contained someone's final wish, but Rien failed to recover it. They lost it without knowing whose wish it was or what it was. This lingering attachment is not a quest for VOTS to resolve. It remains as the habit of Rien hurrying to find star fragments before they cool, the impatience to never miss any wish again.

Lingering Wistfulness:
The warmth of the star that transmitted through their palm just as they picked up the fragment. That brief warmth felt like the sensation that someone's earnestness was still alive.

Object Carried Across:
Star fragment collection box. The recovered fragments have cooled and are now ordinary stones, but Rien does not discard them and keeps them in the box.

What They Thought Would Happen:
They believed that if wishes reappeared, meteors would fall again, and fragments would reappear to be recovered. But the world of wishes did not return.

What VOTS Actually Gives Them:
A place to search for star fragments that haven't cooled in the outskirts every day, and a place to count that warmth. VOTS does not return the world of wishes or the last meteor they missed. Instead, it gives the person who only collected wishes a night when they might one day make their own wish.

Original Life

They were the last wish collector in a world where wishes were fading away. When people wished upon shooting stars, those wishes were contained in star fragments that fell to the ground, and Rien's job was to find and recover those fragments before they cooled. It wasn't about granting wishes, but about gathering the fallen wishes so they wouldn't be forgotten. As wishes gradually disappeared from the world, shooting stars became rare, and Rien walked the outskirts every night chasing the dwindling fragments. On the night they missed the last meteor, the collector's work ended. For someone who had collected others' wishes their entire life, the place where wishes ceased to be recovered was like the disappearance of their own reason for existence. Rien came here with only a collection box filled with cooled fragments.

What They Seek

On the surface, what Rien seeks is 'to become a wisher.' Someone who only ever collected others' wishes their whole life now wants to be the one to make a wish. What they need to find, though they don't know it, is the fact that a wish has already formed. Rien still believes they don't earnestly want anything, but the very act of hurrying to find star fragments every day, the desire to talk a little longer with the people they meet in the outskirts—that is already the beginning of a wish. However, Rien, accustomed to detachment, cannot call it a wish. The city does not grant it for them. It merely guards the field of stars in the outskirts until the night Rien can look up at the night sky and speak a single wish for themselves.

Relationships — Residents

- Nima Afterglow (20, Afterglow Collector): A fellow collector in the outskirts. If Nima collects the 'afterglow' just before it disappears, Rien collects the star fragments just before they cool. They often meet in the outskirts and share a quiet camaraderie as people who gather things that are disappearing. Nima tells Rien, "You should gather one of your own someday."
- Eska Vol (050, Aurora Observer Hermit): They exchange observation reports. Eska knows the night of the aurora a day in advance, and Rien searches for where the meteors fell. If Eska reports, "There will be many stars tonight," Rien walks the outskirts longer that night. They are people who share the night sky.
- Yue Ran (120, Senior of Waiting): Someone who learned 'how to wait' in this city before Rien. When Rien feels regret over a missed fragment, Yue Ran comforts them, "There were things that cooled too; don't rush." Rien slowly learns how to let go of impatience from Yue Ran.

Relationships — Core Five

Suyeon - Suyeon's performances always end with a meteor flare finale, and the remnants of that fall into the outskirts. Rien is the 'official contractor' who collects those remnants—the contract with Suyeon seriously states, "Rien Wis shall recover the fallen meteor fragments before they cool." Suyeon said, "That's not a real star, it's a stage effect?" but Rien replied, "It's warm before it cools; that's enough to be a star." Suyeon somehow liked that response and always entrusted the finale remnants to Rien.

Iris - Regarding the artificial constellation stage props made by Iris, Rien was initially indifferent because the star fragments lacked warmth. But when Iris cynically said, "My stars don't cool," Rien briefly looked up at the nine glowing drones and the one extinguished drone. When Rien quietly said, "That one has cooled," Iris did not reply for the first time. Between those who recognize what is cooled, the two stopped talking about those drones to each other after that day.

the Ramen Owner - When Rien stops by the ramyeon shop after finishing their dawn search, the owner doesn't ask anything and serves hot broth. When Rien touches the bowl of broth and says, "This isn't cooling down," the owner replies, "Hmm... I see..." and pours a little more broth. For someone who wandered all night searching for warmth that wouldn't fade, that broth in the early morning is the only warmth that doesn't need to be recovered. Rien calls the ramyeon shop a 'place that doesn't cool.'

Serena - Serena granted Rien's spot for searching star fragments in the outskirts with her 'consent.' "The outskirts can be dangerous. But if you want to walk, I won't stop you." With that consent, which was neither an order nor a prohibition, Rien ended up taking care of their own safety. When Serena once asked, "What wish do you want to make?" Rien couldn't answer for the first time and just looked at the sky for a long time. Serena didn't rush, only saying, "Take your time."

VIA - VIA and Rien compare the landing records. When Rien writes down where a star fragment fell on a certain night, VIA matches it with their own record notes. "It fell... it was picked up before it cooled." VIA's records also list fragments Rien missed, and VIA says, "What wasn't picked up also fell... it wasn't nonexistent." Rien views those records, which leave things unrecovered as if they happened, as a form of comfort.

Gameplay Use

- Basic Interaction: Accompanying star fragment searches, short conversations about landing spots, showing fragments that still retain warmth.
- Revisit Changes: If searches are repeated together, Rien becomes less regretful about missed fragments, and later asks the player first, "What wish do you have?"
- Expression of Lingering Attachment: The habit of hurrying to find fragments before they cool, and looking only at the sky when asked about wishes.
- Expression of Poignancy: Pausing to hold a star fragment until its warmth fades, and sensory dialogue about the trajectory of the last meteor.
- Relationship Rewards: Through Rien's searches, connections with the outskirts collectors (Nima, Eska, Yue Ran) open up, and the hidden side of the city—the Suyeon finale remnant contract—is revealed.
- Combat: None. Even in dangerous situations, they move to guide people toward the direction of warmth or to wait quietly.

Daily Routine

During the day, they mostly rest or organize the star fragment collection box—wiping down cooled fragments and recording where they walked the day before. When the sun sets, they go out to the outskirts to check the night sky. On nights with Eska's reports, they walk even further. When a meteor falls, they hurry to find the landing spot following the Warmth Compass and recover the fragment before it cools. In the early morning, they stop by the ramyeon shop to warm up with the broth. When morning comes, they compare the fragments gathered that day and the ones missed with VIA and then sleep. To players who return repeatedly, they initially only search, but later, they look up at the night sky together and gradually bring up stories of wishes yet to be fulfilled.

Everyday dialogue

This stone isn't a meteor fragment. Your face bringing it over shone rather brightly, though.

The impact site is that way… Wait. We've followed my own footprints. Let's check again.

I wonder whose wish it was more than where the fragment went. Without a name, there's nobody to ask.

Design Notes

Palette: #8B9DC3, #5C6B8A, #E0E4EE, #C9B98A, #3A4256
Material language: Star fragment collection box, long thermal robe, stardust gray hair, star scar on the forehead, cooled stone.
Silhouette rule: The one-length long hair - star scar on the forehead - long robe and collection box must be read as separate elements and must not overlap with other outskirts/collector characters (like Nima).
Emotional rule: Lingering attachment is shown through the hurried hands before cooling and the silence before wishes; poignancy is shown through the stillness of holding warmth; continuation is shown through the nightly search and the counting of warmth.

Canon Check

Rien Wis arrived in VOTS after the story of their own world ended. The world of wishes, the last meteor they missed, and the wishes they couldn't recover will not return. The Warmth Compass does not show the direction of the heart; it only leads them to stars before they cool. What remains is lingering attachment and poignancy, not an unfinished plot for the city to resolve. New scenes continue alongside the past, not erasing it.