Tong Dur

Core Premise

Before coming to Nova Nivalis, this child lived out the story of his own world to the end. He did not come to solve an unfinished event, but arrived in this city of snow because the sense and direction of relationships remained even after the final scene. VOTS is not an afterlife or a judgment hall, nor is it a place that returns the lost sea. What continues here is not a grand destiny, but small daily life—a single bell toll, a single water-skip, a bowl of soup—that can be chosen again. Tong Dur is the child who rang the last bell in a world where the water dried up, and he did not come to cancel that fact, but to choose how to live by the water again.

Identity

Tong Dur is a child who rings the bell according to the tides at North Wind Pier. He knows the changing of the ebb and flow with his body, so the bell he rings is more accurate than any clock. The movement of ships and the opening of the bridge are timed to his bell. He always carries his shoes and runs barefoot on the pier, skipping stones whenever he gets a chance. Although he is the youngest worker among the adults, he is more serious about the water than anyone. This repetition—ringing the bell, skipping stones, smelling the water—is not a repetition of loss for him, but the shape of his day.

Visual Profile

Hair: Brown hair stiffened by salt spray. It is always blown to one side by the wind.
Eyes: Clear grayish-blue eyes with a sea hue; they shine brightest when looking at water.
Skin/Build: A lean body tanned by the sun, small but sturdy. His soles are thick and hard.
Signature Attire: A necklace strung with seashells, rolled-up pants, a wet towel draped over his shoulder. He goes without shoes, carrying them tied to his neck with a string.
Signature Props: The old brass bell and its rope from the pier, and flat stones in his pocket for skipping.
Silhouette Key: The seashell necklace at his neck, the suspended shoes, the flat stone in his hand. The accent color #468FAF is present in his necklace and towel, allowing him to be read as the 'Barefoot Pier Child' even in small sprites. His attire is not a miniature of a fisherman, but the dress of a child who has not forgotten the sea even after it dried up.

Personality

Outwardly, he is bright, energetic, and fearless. He has nearly fallen into the water several times while skipping stones at the end of the pier. Inside, there is a longing for the water and a small anxiety that the water might dry up again. His strength is diligence. No matter how much he plays, when the tide comes, he always returns to his post and rings the bell. His flaw is impatience. He cannot listen to the long stories of the adults and runs to the water's edge mid-sentence. He is not a child who is only submerged in loss. If he sets a new record for skipping stones with a new stone, he shouts until the whole pier hears it.

Speech Pattern

His speech is fast and short, and he uses many exclamations. His eyes widen when the topic of water comes up.
Common Phrases:
- "Now! The water is changing!"
- "I skipped it seven times. See? Did you see it!"
- "I ring the bell the best. It's more accurate than a clock."
- "What is the sea in this other world like? Is it bigger than here?"
- "It's okay if my feet get wet. They'll dry."
Habit: He trails off, running to the water's edge before finishing a sentence. His way of silence is staring at the water for a long time. As the tide approaches, he suddenly stops talking and listens intently.

Special Ability

Name: Tide Sense.
What it can do: His body knows before anyone else when the tide is changing from ebb to flow. His soles and bones sense it minutes before the water changes direction, and he rings the bell in time with that moment. That is why his bell is more accurate than any clock, and the pier's ships and bridge use his sound as a signal.
Limit/Cost: He can sense the tide, but he cannot change it. Before a storm, his bones ache, and it hurts even before he rings the bell. On days when the water movement is completely absent, his senses quiet down, and he becomes anxious as if lost. He cannot explain why he knows.
Reason for not solving problems: This ability only tells him the tide; it cannot bring back the dried sea, nor can it bring anyone to the harbor for him. He only informs of the tide; it is up to the people's choice who that tide will see off or greet. There is no problem solved by a single, accurate bell toll.

The End Of Their World

Last Scene:
In the dried harbor where the sea had completely vanished, he rang the last bell to the end, even though there were no boats.

What Ended:
The sea of his world slowly dried up and disappeared. With the water gone, the boats, the fishing village, and the usefulness of the bell ended with it.

Last Person, Place, or Thing Seen:
The skeleton of the last boat embedded in the cracked harbor floor, and the dry dust settling upon it.

Lingering Regret:
While the water was drying, he asked the adults, "If we ring the bell, will the water come back?" but no one answered. So he rang the bell alone until the end. This lingering feeling is not a quest to be resolved in VOTS. It remains as the anxiety of tide-less days, within the scope of speaking only when Tong wishes, and not changing the choices of others.

Lingering Wistfulness:
The coldness of the first water that brushed his instep when the high tide came, and the resonance of the bell sound spreading over the water.

Object Carried Across:
The last seashell picked up from the dried harbor. It is now threaded in the center of his necklace.

What They Thought Would Happen After the Ending:
He believed that if he rang the bell long enough, the water would eventually come back. The water did not return to his world.

What VOTS Actually Gives Them:
Not a dried bell, but a bell ringing on real water. A pier that waits for the tide, and hands that count the stone-skipping records together. VOTS does not cancel the fact that his sea ended up dried. Instead, it gives him a place to ring the bell by the water again.

Original Life

Originally, he was a bell-ringing child in a fishing village attached to the sea. His duty was to ring the bell according to the tides to send out and bring in the boats. In the last season when the sea began to dry up, the adults left the harbor one by one, but he remained and kept ringing the bell. On the last day when the water was completely split, even though he knew no boats would come, he rang the last bell to the end. He brought this diligence, and the unanswered questions, to this city.

What They Seek

What he outwardly seeks: Not a dried bell, but the sound of a bell ringing on the water. To ring the bell by the real water again.
What he needs to find, though he doesn't know: That the water of North Wind Pier was waiting for him. He only thinks he misses the water; he does not yet know that the water and the people are waiting for his bell.

Relationships — Residents

Sava Quill (13, Former Train Conductor of a Derelict Train): A rival/sibling to the bell sound and the whistle. Sava mimics the train whistle, and Tong mimics the pier bell, betting on "Which goes farther." They both know that they once served to see people off and greet them as signals.
Ban Holo (38, Bridge Operation Manager): Tong's bell and Ban's bridge are linked in a single signaling system. When Tong rings the tide bell, Ban opens the bridge at that time. When Ban says, "Your bell is my clock," Tong puffs up his shoulders. However, Ban senses the mood of the wind, while Tong senses the tide, so their senses are different.
Noa Kiln (40, Clock Tower Pigeon Keeper and Bell Polisher): The 'Bell Keeper Alliance' of the two who handle bells. Noa knows 10 seconds before the bell rings, and Tong knows the tide. They bicker, boasting about their premonitions—"You know first, I know first"—but Noa always helps with the bell polishing.

Relationships — Core Five

Suyeon - Tong clings to Suyeon, badgering her about the sea of this other world. "Was there a sea in front of the Demon King's castle? How big was it?" Suyeon is initially annoyed, but when she realizes this child truly misses the sea, she invents stories for him. Once, when Tong asked, "Sister Suyeon, can your ice sword cleave the tide?" Suyeon laughed, saying, "The water would get angry about that." Tong believes those words seriously.
Iris - The start of their connection was when Tong saw Iris's drone and asked, "Can that skip stones too?" Iris replied cynically, "Drones aren't made to skip." But when the topic of its creation came up, she sped up her speech and lowered the drone over the pier to show him. Tong cheered at the drone's light skimming over the water, and Iris didn't dislike his reaction, so she sometimes stops by the pier.
the Ramen Owner - Even if Tong runs into the ramen shop with wet bare feet, the Ramen Owner does not scold him. "Hmm... I see..." He hands him a towel to dry his feet and warms up the broth. The ledger only notes, "The child's feet were wet." Tong especially loves that broth, which is 'warm water' that didn't exist in the dried harbor, and after finishing it, he dries his feet by the hearth until it's time to ring the bell.
Serena - Serena agreed to let Tong ring the pier bell according to his tide, not the clock. "Ring it when you feel it's right." When Tong asked, "What if it's wrong?" Serena only replied, "Even if it's wrong, it's still a bell." It was not an order, but a yielding of space. Since that day, Tong trusts only the sensation of his bones, not the clock.
VIA - VIA and Tong are currently setting new records for skipping stones together. When Tong throws a stone, VIA counts, "Seven... seven times," and writes it in the ledger. VIA sometimes throws stones herself, but she can't exceed three, so she teaches him how to throw. VIA never erases Tong's records; she keeps them all. "What is thrown remains... it remains."

Gameplay Use

- Basic Interaction: Providing tide/bell time guidance, skipping stones together, short conversations on the pier.
- Revisit Changes: On the first visit, she only tells him the bell time; on repeated visits, she gradually shares stories of the dried sea. However, she still cannot bring back the water with her ability.
- Expression of Lingering Feelings: Anxiety on days without tides, silence while staring at the water for a long time, the habit of frequently dipping his feet in the water.
- Expression of Poignancy: Sensory dialogue about the coldness of the first high tide and the resonance of the bell sound spreading over the water.
- Relationship Rewards: Being listed together on the highest stone-skipping record, connection with the pier residents.
- Combat: None. Even in a crisis, he chooses to ring the bell to call people or signal a safe tide.
- Player Choice: Skipping stones together, waiting for the bell time, listening to sea stories.

Daily Routine

In the morning, he checks the bell rope and gauges the tide with his body. During the day, he rings the bell with each tide, and in the remaining time, he skips stones at the end of the pier. He polishes the bell with the Bell Keeper Alliance, Noa, and coordinates the bridge signals with Ban Holo. In the evening, he stops by the ramen shop to dry his wet feet and eat broth. At night, he fiddles with his dried seashell necklace before sleeping. For players who revisit, the frequency of him badgering for sea stories increases, but no matter how close they get, he cannot hasten the tide. However, he accurately tells them when the water will change.

Everyday dialogue

Bell time! Cover your ears! You don't need to block out my bragging, though!

Got the tide time right! Hunger time wrong! Is the snack still far away?

I know ringing a bell doesn't bring water back. I just wished someone beside me would answer.

Design Notes

Palette: #468FAF, #2E5F7A, #A9D3E0, #C7B27A, #EDE7DA
(#468FAF is the master plan designated accent color—necklace and towel. #C7B27A is the accent for dried seashells and pier wood.)
Material language: Wet wood, brass bell, seashells, salt-stained cloth, flat river stones.
Silhouette rule: The seashell necklace at his neck, the suspended shoes, and the held stone must be read as separate elements and not overlap with other characters.
Emotional rule: It is not concluded with a single tragic expression. Lingering feelings are shown through the anxiety of tide-less days, poignancy through the coldness of the first high tide, and continuity through the daily bell toll.

Canon Check

Tong Dur arrived in VOTS from a world where the sea dried up and ended. What remains is longing and poignancy, not an unfinished plot that VOTS must rectify. His ability only tells him the tide; it cannot change it, and the core cast does not fill in for the dried sea. The new scene in Nova Nivalis does not erase the dried harbor but continues a new bell sound next to it.