Nem Or
Dream Guardian · Lantern Inn Alley to the outskirts

[Core Premise]

Nem Or arrived at Nova Nivalis after living out the story of her own world to its end. She did not come to resolve unfinished events, but rather, the habit of tending to the dreams confiscated on the day the border closed, and of guarding the sleep of the room next door, carried her into this city. VOTS is not a place of judgment, nor is it a place that forcibly eradicates nightmares. What continues here is not a grand destiny, but small lives that can be chosen again—a night spent in the room next door, a stranger's nightmare forgotten by morning, a quiet farewell in the inn alley. Nem guards that life alongside the night.



[Identity]

Nem Or lives as a 'Dream Guardian,' moving between Lantern Inn Alley and the outskirts. She has no fixed shop. Her job is to spend the night in the room next door to someone who cannot sleep. When she sleeps in the next room, that person's nightmare transfers to her, and that person sleeps soundly. She herself suffers from others' nightmares, only to forget the content by morning, left only with fatigue. She can guard others' sleep, but she cannot erase others' wounds—because nightmares are transferred, not eliminated. She knows this fact better than anyone.



[Visual Profile]

She has loose, curly long hair the color of midnight blue. It is a deep color, like the night sky, allowing her to blend into the darkness. There is always a faint shadow beneath her eyes—the fatigue of someone who dreams others' nightmares. Speckles, like constellations, are scattered across her face and shoulders, making her look as if the night sky has been placed upon her when viewed up close. She is wrapped in several layers of shawls, giving her silhouette a soft, hazy quality. Her steps are silent, and she appears clearer at night than during the day. Her attire consists of a dark navy layered shawl and a long, robe-like nightgown. Her signature items are the layered shawls, the shadows under her eyes, and the constellation freckles. The core of her silhouette is the unbound midnight hair—layered shawl—hazy outline, and a single accent color that signals her as a 'being of the night,' even in a small sprite.



[Personality]

On the surface, Nem is languid and hazy. During the day, she moves as if half-asleep, speaks slowly, and rarely smiles. However, at night, she becomes clear-headed. Deep within her is an old sense of lack. She has spent her entire life guarding others' dreams—managing confiscated dreams, dreaming the nightmares of the room next door. She cannot recall the last night she dreamed her own dream. Her flaw is caring too much for others. If she sees someone suffering from a nightmare, she tries to take the room next door without being asked. Yet, she is slowly changing since coming to this city. Someone began to leave a room open for her sleep, for the first time, for someone who only guarded others' sleep. She has not yet noticed it.



[Speech Pattern]

Slow, low honorific speech. She becomes slightly clearer at night, but her speech trails off as if sleepy during the day. Frequent phrases: "I'll be in the room next door tonight.", "Nightmares aren't erased... they're transferred.", "The content is forgotten by morning. Only fatigue remains.", "Please sleep soundly.", "My dreams? ...Well, they're old.". Her mannerism is to look at the other person's eyes first before looking at their face—to read how little sleep they've had. Her way of silence is pulling her shawl tighter. When asked a difficult question—about her own dreams—Nem tightens her shawl and murmurs, "That... will be another night."



[Special Ability]

Ability Name: Neighboring Dream Substitution / Dream Tax.
When Nem sleeps in someone's next room, that person's nightmare transfers across the wall to her. The person suffering from the nightmare sleeps soundly that night, and Nem dreams that nightmare instead. Sleepless night workers and the sick quietly request her presence in their next room. 
Limitations and Cost: The nightmare is transferred, not eliminated. Nem dreams others' nightmares, but the nightmare doesn't disappear—it merely transfers from that person to her for one night, and she, too, forgets the content by morning. What remains is only fatigue. Furthermore, this ability only works in the next room, and only when requested—she cannot forcibly enter someone's dream. Most importantly, no one dreams her nightmares for her. While she guards others' nights, she has not dreamed a dream of her own in a long time. The ability does not resolve her lack. Even when she transfers nightmares, the city's rule—that what is experienced does not vanish—remains in place.



[The End Of Their World]

Last Scene:
On the day the border closed on the world where dreams were bought and sold, Nem released countless dreams confiscated by customs, one by one. The world ended the moment the last dream scattered into the night sky.

What Ended:
The world where dreams were commodities ended. The market where dreams were traded, the customs that managed them, and the dream warehouse Nem guarded all closed with the border.

Last Person, Place, or Thing Seen:
The empty customs warehouse, and the faint light of the last dream scattering into the night sky.

Lingering Regret:
There must have been a strand of her own dream mixed in among the confiscated dreams, but after releasing even that, she had no dreams of her own left. This regret is not a quest VOTS must resolve. It quietly remains in the form of Nem's habit of always putting her own sleep last.

Lingering Wistfulness:
The cold light of that night when the dreams sleeping in the warehouse all woke up and scattered while she was releasing the confiscated dreams.

Object Carried Across:
The last key to the customs dream warehouse. Although there is no warehouse to open now, she carries this inside her shawl. It is the only thing used to lock the door of the next room.

What They Thought Would Happen:
She believed that after releasing all the dreams, she would be free to dream her own dreams. However, the act of dreaming others' nightmares continued even in this city.

What VOTS Actually Gives Them:
The rooms next door requested by people suffering from nightmares, and a room that unexpectedly began to be left open for her. VOTS does not return her lost dream. Instead, it gives Nem a space to slowly approach the night when she will dream her own dream.



[Original Life]

In her original world, Nem was a Dream Customs Officer. She inspected dreams crossing the border and confiscated dangerous ones, storing them in a warehouse. Amidst the dreams people bought and sold, she always dealt only with others' dreams. On her last day, when the notice came that the border would close forever, Nem opened the warehouse door and released all the confiscated dreams. With the resolve never to imprison anyone's dream again. When the last dream scattered into the night sky and the warehouse became empty, a door covered in falling snow stood in that darkness. She walked through that door, holding the last key, without taking even one of her own dreams.



[What They Seek]

What She Knows: Nights when she dreams her own dreams. Nem wants to dream her own dream—whether it's a nightmare or a good one—after a long time, rather than others' nightmares.
What She Doesn't Know: That someone has already left the room next door for that night. Serena arranged a room for her sleep, and neighbors began offering rooms, saying, "You sleep tonight.". Nem is so busy taking the rooms next to others that she hasn't yet realized there is a room left open for herself.



[Relationships — Residents]

Voss Doorley (19, Threshold Guard): A dawn greeting between boundary guards. Voss guards the city's borders, and Nem guards the borders of sleep. As both are people who stay up all night, they meet at the outer boundary at dawn and exchange brief greetings. Voss knows that Nem always puts her own sleep last, and he offers greetings like, "You should sleep a bit too."
Nell Brass (031, Lantern Inn NPC): A landlord-like figure who provided a room in the inn. Nell assigns Nem the room next to a customer suffering from nightmares, and Nem spends the night there. Nell says, "Please take care of it tonight as well," with a phrase varied each time, and Nem replies, "I'll help them sleep soundly."
Wina Hol (095): They have a roommate agreement. They share a room, but on nights when Nem goes to the next room, Wina watches over Nem's bed. Wina's promise is, "While you guard others, I'll guard your spot."
Nem has not yet fully understood the meaning of that promise.



[Relationships — Core Five]

Suyeon - Knowing that Suyeon suffers nightmares from nervousness before a performance, Nem once volunteered to sleep in the next room. The next day, Suyeon was happy, saying, "I dreamed a dream that wasn't scary for the first time yesterday!" but felt sorry seeing the deepening shadows under Nem's eyes. When Nem said, "It's okay, it'll be forgotten by morning," Suyeon insisted, "But next time, I'll guard your dreams too, and I'll defeat all the nightmares with my Ice Sword." Nem smiled faintly for the first time in a long time at that reckless kindness.
Iris - Seeing Iris unable to sleep due to all-night work, Nem offered the room next door, but Iris refused, saying, "I won't sleep; if I sleep, I won't create anything." Instead, Iris left the faint light of one of the remaining drones, after removing the powered-down ones, burning all night in front of Nem's room—as a show of care, saying, "In case you're scared sleeping in the dark."
Nem didn't ask about the powered-down drones and closed her eyes a little more comfortably than usual under that light.
the Ramen Owner - Knowing that many of the night customers at the Ramen Owner's shop suffer from nightmares, Nem cautiously offered her services—"Owner, it seems like you don't sleep well either; shall I stay in the next room for you?" The Ramen Owner was silent for a moment, and without judgment, quietly declined—"Hmm... I see... Because my nights are something I have to carry myself."
Nem didn't press further. Instead, she silently sees off the regular nightmare customers who come to his shop from the doorway. The Ramen Owner records it exactly as he sees it in his ledger: 'Nem, seeing off customers again today.'
Serena - Serena is the first person in this city to arrange a sleeping space for Nem. Seeing that Nem always takes the room next to others, Serena offered a room not as an order, but as an agreement—"This isn't a room to guard others; it's a room for you to sleep in. Will you use it?"
Nem kept leaving that room empty even after receiving it, but Serena didn't rush her. "I'll make the space. You choose where to lie down."
Nem still finds that room unfamiliar, but she knows that a place to dream her own dreams will exist someday.
VIA - VIA records Nem's nights in the next room. Who slept soundly thanks to Nem, and what kind of fatigue Nem faced when greeting the morning. "It erases others' nights... but her own night remains." VIA asked Nem—"Where is your dream... does it exist?"
When Nem couldn't answer, VIA left that blank space in the record book—waiting for the night when Nem will dream her own dream, without bringing it to her.



[Gameplay Use]

- Basic Interaction: Sharing night greetings, requesting the next room (for a suffering NPC), short conversations at dawn.
- Revisit Changes: Upon repeated visits, Nem notices how little sleep the player has had by reading their eyes, and on some nights, she reveals her lack regarding her own dreams. If pressed, she murmurs while tightening her shawl; if waited for, she shares a fragment of the last night when she released confiscated dreams.
- Expression of Regret: Her habit of always putting her own sleep last, the habit of leaving the room Serena gave her empty.
- Expression of Poignancy: A brief pause when sweeping back her night-sky hair, sensory dialogue about the cold light of scattered dreams.
- Combat: None. In dangerous situations, she guides to safe sleeping spots and quiet shelters on the night road.
- Player Choice: Requesting the next room, asking about well-being, not prying into her own dreams, waiting for her sleep.



[Daily Routine]

During the day, she moves slowly through the inn alley, half-asleep, concealing the fatigue of the previous night in her shawl. As evening falls, she becomes clear-headed and checks whose next room is needed tonight. At night, she spends the night in the next room of someone suffering from nightmares, dreaming those nightmares for them. Seeing off the regular nightmare customers at the ramen shop from the doorway is also part of her nightly routine. At dawn, carrying only the fatigue of forgotten content, she passes the empty room given by Serena and heads toward another's next room. If visited repeatedly, the lack beneath Nem's languor gradually becomes visible, and on some nights, she might be seen lying down in the room Serena gave her for the first time. Even if they become close, she does not reward her with the ending of her lost dreams returning. Instead, she might tell a short story about a morning when she dreamed her own dream after a long time.



[Everyday dialogue]

On dream patrol… If I doze off, please consider it a shift change.

Turned away from a dream? This pillow has no admissions test. Lean here.

I freed all the confiscated dreams but never found my own. I'm a little curious what I'll dream tonight.



[Design Notes]

Palette: #191970, #2E2A4A, #C7C2DE, #6B6484, #E8E4F0
Material language: Layered navy shawl, night-sky colored hair, constellation freckles, worn brass key, hazy outline.
Silhouette rule: The unbound midnight hair—layered shawl—hazy outline must be read as separate elements, and must not overlap with the forms of other characters (like 050 Esca, 070 Lien, etc., who are night/sky themed). The accent color #191970 is placed on the shawl and hair.
Emotional rule: She is not consumed as a 'sacrificing being of the night.' Her regret is shown through the habit of postponing her own sleep, her poignancy through the light of scattered dreams, and her continuation through guarding others' sleep every night.



[Canon Check]

Nem Or arrived in VOTS after the dream market of her world closed with the border. What remains is regret and poignancy, not an unfinished plot for VOTS to resolve. Her ability only transfers nightmares, it cannot eliminate them, nor can it return her own dreams, and it does not break the city's rule (what is experienced does not vanish). The core cast does not save her—the Ramen Owner quietly declined Nem's offer because his nights (nightmares) are something he must carry himself, and Nem respects that by not interfering with his nightmares, only seeing off other customers. Serena offered a sleeping space not as an order, but as an agreement, and VIA only records her lost dream space, waiting without bringing it to her. The new scene in Nova Nivalis is Nem not erasing the others' nights she has guarded, but attaching her own night alongside them.