Mera Canto String Instrument Repairer and Late Afternoon Tea Shop Assistant · Old Belltower Lane [Core Premise] This person lived out the story of their own world until the very end before coming to VOTS. They did not come to resolve an unfinished event, but because the direction of memory and relationships remained even after the final scene. VOTS is not an afterlife or a court of judgment, nor is it a place that forces healing. What continues here is not a grand destiny, but small, repeatable daily life—a meal, a repair, a record, waiting, play. [Identity] Mera Canto lives as a string instrument repairer and late afternoon tea shop assistant. They speak little, but they listen intently to the sounds chosen by others, and they do not call a failed note 'wrong.' Their function is not decoration, but essential daily labor needed by the city. When a customer comes, they work; when there are no customers, they organize their tools; they do not take someone else's story as their own to solve. [Visual Profile] Short, silvery-gray curly hair, ash-gray eyes, traces of rosin on their fingertips, a dark purple apron, and a small brass tuning key. The core of the silhouette is the brass tuning key, a broken string, and a teacup with a different handle. The structure prioritizes readability so that the face, hands, feet, and props do not overlap. The attire is not exaggerated heroic gear, but a form that retains the profession and traces of the final scene from their original world in everyday wear. One strong accent color conveys both profession and emotion, even in a small sprite. [The End Of Their World] Last Scene: The final concert in her world was over. Only after the last listener had left did a string on the stage finally snap. What Ended: All the songs and concert halls of the city closed their final curtain on the same night. Last Person, Place, or Thing Seen: The first row of empty seats, and the back of an audience member's head who was clasping their hands without applauding until the end. Lingering Regret: When a child asked Mera to accompany their final song, she said, ‘At the next performance.’ They never met again. This regret is not a quest that VOTS must resolve. It is spoken of only when Mera Canto chooses, quietly influencing present actions without changing another person’s choices on their behalf. Lingering Wistfulness: The tremor in the air, as if the stage comes alive before the performer, in the moment the audience holds its breath. This wistfulness is not a mechanism to restore the past; it remains as a sensation. When very ordinary stimuli—smell, temperature, footsteps, light, tone of voice—arrive, it briefly revives, only to soon overlap with the new sensations of Nova Nivalis. Object Carried Across: A brass tuning key with a single broken string wound around it. This object is not a world-building relic or a powerful magic item. It is tangible proof and a personal mark connecting the ended world to the present life. What They Thought Would Happen After the Ending: They believed the stage would be set up again after the performance, but the end was truly the end. What VOTS Actually Gives Them: Before serving tea, Mera lets each guest choose a cup. Each day, she quietly mends one person's lost song. VOTS does not undo their ending. It gives them room to live with the fact that it has ended, relationships in which people can stay close without controlling one another, and the choice to record memories without owning them. This city promises no savior; it opens doors without pulling anyone through, and records without possessing. [Role In Nova Nivalis] Mera Canto's day is tied to the rhythm of Old Belltower Lane. Their profession as a string instrument repairer and late afternoon tea shop assistant provides material support so that other citizens can continue to live. Even in moments of skilled work, the lingering regrets of the past do not disappear; rather, they remain as traces in the temperature and pace of how they work. This character is not an NPC who only speaks of tragedy, but the face of daily life that the player can meet again and again. [Personality And Behaviour] Their outward personality is as follows: They speak little, but they listen intently to the sounds chosen by others, and they do not call a failed note 'wrong.' They do not explain their own story to strangers first. If they receive help, they say thank you, but they do not turn it into a debt; when offering help, they step back if the other person does not want it. Conversations recalling the past begin not with sudden revelations, but with objects and habits. For example, the brass tuning key wrapped around a single broken string for Mera Canto is both a stored item and a place for their hands to rest when conversation pauses. [Relationships] They entrust the temperature of the tea to the ramen shop owner, and ask Eren to write 'Still Listening' instead of a song title on the record card. Serena is the founder who does not own this person, and VIA is the entity that leaves a door without forcing arrival. RamenOwner is an observer who yields space, not a judge who pries for stories. Lethe is an entity of record that does not resolve memories for them. The relationship with these four pillars is designed not as loyalty or dependence, but as a loose connection that allows each party to continue their own choices. [Private truth] They play one phrase of the accompaniment they couldn't give the child at the same time every week. They hope someone will listen, but they do not call anyone to come. This secret is not consumed as a major twist. Only when the player repeatedly visits, asks at the appropriate moment, and chooses to act themselves does a part of it become visible. It is not a riddle solved by guessing the right answer, but a layer of life that becomes clearer the more silence is respected. [Gameplay Use] - Basic Interaction: Service appropriate to their profession or short daily conversations - Revisit Change: Record what was said previously, but do not fix it as a conclusion without the other person's permission - Expression of Lingering Feeling: Recurring prop actions, short pauses at specific times, an unfinished sentence - Expression of Wistfulness: Sensory dialogue about weather, light, sound, or food - Relationship Reward: Small changes connecting the player to other people and spaces in the city, rather than new quest items - Combat: None. Even in dangerous situations, functions like guiding, evacuating, repairing, recording, or accompanying take precedence over survival - Player Choice: Talking, waiting, yielding space, entrusting an object, returning later [The rhythm of a day] In the morning, they check the tools and representative props from the previous day. This check is not compulsive staging, but a small ritual separating the final scene of their own world from the present time. When starting work, Mera Canto first observes the pace of those around them. They respond briefly to those in a hurry and do not demand explanations from those not ready to speak. Around noon, the sounds and smells of Old Belltower Lane become most vivid, and this is when the faintness of the past overlaps with present sensations. At night, they place the brass tuning key wrapped around a single broken string in its place. This is not about locking or hiding the object, but leaving it so it can be seen again tomorrow. The core of the daily loop is not retrieving the past. If the player visits repeatedly, Mera Canto's working speed, the length of their dialogue, and the distance they maintain from others change very slightly. On the first visit, they only show their role; on the second visit, they reveal a piece of the sensation from the final scene; and thereafter, they ask about the present of VOTS first. Even if they become quite close, they are not rewarded with a path back to their past world. Instead, changes occur, such as connecting the player to service with a new person, creating a small space in the city, or storing someone's memory in their own way. [Scene beats] In the first scene, the daily function of being a string instrument repairer and late afternoon tea shop assistant must be read first. The player learns what this person makes, what they guide, and where they spend their time. In the second scene, the brass tuning key, the broken string, and the teacup with a different handle appear not as mere decorations, but as objects that dictate the placement of hands and gaze. In the third scene, even if the player does not ask a question, the sensation of the tremor in the air, as if the stage comes alive before the performer, is revealed as background action. Only in the fourth scene can 'telling the child who asked for accompaniment for the final song, 'at the next performance,' and ultimately never meeting again' be expressed directly in a sentence or a short silence. The final scene does not resolve regret. It shows the present choice of 'letting the customer choose their cup before serving tea, and quietly repairing one person's lost song every day,' ending in an open life where the player can return. [Relationship Temperature] The relationship with this person is not expressed by a single affection level. The frequency of giving and receiving help, the time spent without finding silence uncomfortable, the degree to which one can entrust an object, and the way they address each other's names are indicators of the relationship. If the player pries about the past or urges them to go back, the relationship does not grow closer. Conversely, if they hold their ground, return an object, or wait even if the conversation is unfinished, the next dialogue opens up. The result is not 'salvation,' but a change in the way they coexist. [Nova Nivalis Connection] Mera Canto is not a monument representing their world. While acknowledging that their world ended, they reuse the skills and sensations learned in that world within the current city. Therefore, their profession is not a replica of the past, but a transformed continuation. The final performance becomes the habit of tea and tuning; the last train becomes the habit of benches and guidance; the last lesson becomes the habit of leaving questions. The past is not sealed in a museum; it moves quietly within the current hand movements and spatial arrangements. This setting does not make the character unnecessarily tragic. They can smile, they can make mistakes, and they can show interest in other people's stories. Lingering feelings and wistfulness do not replace their entire personality. They are aftertastes that surface at specific moments, and even after those aftertastes fade, Mera Canto continues to work, eat, walk, wait, and greet someone. This is the concrete manifestation of 'continuing' in Nova Nivalis. [Everyday dialogue] Wait. Play that again. Let me hear whether it's a wrong note or one you invented. I'll make the tea. Last time I got distracted tuning and steeped it three times. It tasted… remarkably determined. If you need an accompanist, let's play today. I have trouble saying 'at the next concert' now. [Design Notes] Palette: #6D567F, #C9A46C, #3E4851, #E7D9C4, #B86A72 Material language: Well-worn fabric, hand-patinated metal, paper, glass, damp leather. Silhouette rule: Head-torso-hands-feet-representative prop must be separated and not overlap with the representative forms of other characters. Pose rule: The occupational action must be readable even in a static pose. Movement, conversation, and work poses must separate the arms and legs from the torso, and the prop must not obscure the face. Emotional rule: Do not end with a single 'tragic expression.' Lingering feelings are shown through pauses and storage; wistfulness through temperature and sound; continuation through repeatable daily actions. Asset rule: The notebook artstyle must be made from a single clean designer notebook page, and the sprite must be made from a consistent directional/walking sheet for one character. Collages of cut-off limbs, paper scraps mistaken for characters, or mixed-in other figures are not approved. [Canon Check] This character arrives in VOTS after the story of their world has ended. What remains is lingering feeling and wistfulness, not an unfinished plot that VOTS must resolve. New scenes in Nova Nivalis continue alongside the past, without erasing it.