Story PV#
People look at the flowing water and sigh at the passing of time.
In the village where the clear spring stops, emotions are as clear as the lake's reflection.
"Waiting doesn't feel bitter, but if you really turn back, I will feel that the wait has been long."
Game Text#
Volume 1#
The legendary story passed down by the hunters of Qingquan Town tells the tale of the encounter between the water spirit and an unknown boy.
Under the moonlight like water, the tearful boy makes a wish to the clear spring.
The wandering spirits in the spring, without memories or dreams, listen silently to the soundless wishes.
The spirits in the spring have no distant memories or profound dreams. They come from the essence of water and are descendants of faceless angelic beings.
Therefore, when a curious spirit emerges from the clear spring and hears the boy's voice in his tears, she immediately becomes interested in this younger and more fragile life.
The silent spirit extends her shapeless fingers and gently touches the boy's forehead and cheeks. As cold as the night dew, as soft as a lost blessing.
The boy is awakened by the unfamiliar touch, looks up, and meets the spirit's gaze.
"Can you fulfill my wish?" the boy asks.
The spirit in the spring is surprised and puzzled by the sudden question, but she cannot speak, only nods gently.
The boy leaves satisfied.
He never knew that the water spirit was lonely. She has no companions or family, and has lost most of her wisdom.
Only when the spring water continuously flows from the cracks in the rocks and merges into the pond, looking at the shattered moon in the ripples, does she gradually gain the ability to contemplate and gradually imitate broken words.
The curious spirit gazes at this world with pure love and ignorance, with childish spirituality. She rejoices at the foxes and squirrels stealing berries, and mourns the clouds that obscure the Milky Way.
A complex yet immature feeling flows in her heart for the boy of that night.
Being powerless and lacking intelligence, she cannot fulfill his wish in the end.
But she can share the wish, draw life from his troubles, and share it with him.
Volume 2#
The legendary story passed down by the hunters of Qingquan Town tells the tale of the acquaintance between the water spirit and the boy.
Looking at the shattered moonlight in the ripples, the boy pours out his heart to the spring.
From his words, she learns many stories about him.
And from her silence, he gains confidence in himself.
The water spirit in the spring gradually understands that the world is not only filled with moonlight and berries, and the sorrowful darkness is not only about clouds covering the night sky.
The boy tells her about forests, cities, and high walls, and shares his joys, sorrows, and fears with her.
In listening, she becomes increasingly fascinated by this imperfect world that she has newly discovered.
When the boy is troubled by his own powerlessness, the water spirit gently and silently wipes away his tears. From his tears, she gains a deeper understanding of the world beyond the clear spring.
The tears merge into the pool, and the spirit purifies them, transforming them into the spring of sweet dreams for the boy. In his dreams, he forgets all the pain of being awake and meets the silent spirit in the clear spring.
Every time this happens, the sleeping spirit in the pool also reveals a smile.
The dew moistens the boy's beautiful dreams, and the boy's dreams moisten the lonely spirit.
In the dream, the water spirit tells the boy about distant water kingdoms, about sapphire-like homelands, sings of the homesickness of the exiles, and sighs about leaving home and finding a place to belong. And the boy becomes a silent listener, shedding tears for her experiences and rejoicing in her happiness.
In this way, the water spirit in the spring gains the ability to speak in the boy's memories and dreams.
In this way, she becomes a friend who is always happy without words.
Volume 3#
The legendary story passed down by the hunters of Qingquan Town tells the tale of the promise made by the water spirit and the boy.
When the night wind stops blowing and the moon in the pool returns to its fullness, the boy hears the voice of the spirit for the first time.
The spirit, being more delicate and sensitive than humans, captivates the boy with her gentle language like a lament.
But the spirit, being more delicate and sensitive than humans, sees through the boy's eyes the unmistakable longing and the promise about to be spoken.
Suddenly, the spirit panics.
The lives of mortals are tenacious yet fleeting. The boy will eventually grow up and grow old. When he sheds his youth and innocence, how will he treat the pure descendants of the elements? When he ages, will he blame himself for wasting his life on a childish promise?
The water spirit is pure and kind, but she does not understand the love of the human world. She has never witnessed the miracles of humans and only sees the passing of thousands of years as insignificant. It is because of this that she is particularly afraid of parting.
To humans, the miraculous waiting may seem beautiful, but to the elemental spirits, it is only a fleeting moment of beauty.
Even the power of the spirit cannot reverse the aging of the one she loves.
The delicate water spirit cannot bear to witness the irreversible day, so she stops the boy with a kiss.
The boy, being foolish, mistakes the spirit's cold rejection kiss as an acceptance of his promise.
At that moment, the spirit resolves to eventually leave the boy's side.
And the boy makes a vow to always accompany her by the clear spring.
Volume 4#
The legendary story passed down by the hunters of Qingquan Town tells the tale of the bitter ending where the boy is no longer a boy and the immortal spirit faces regrets.
Later, and even later, the boy gradually grows up, makes new friends, and has new experiences.
The water spirit in the spring still sings every gentle lament for him, just as she did when she was young.
Until one day, she finally leaves, no longer looking in the direction of the boy.
The spring no longer makes tinkling sounds, and the shattered moon in the ripples no longer reunites in the footprints on the water's surface.
The water spirit suddenly realizes that despite finding a home and experiencing fleeting happiness, she is still lonely.
The boy, who is no longer a boy, fails to realize the spirit's escape and blames his loneliness on himself.
"Perhaps she was just a childish illusion."
Listening to the murmuring of the clear spring, he sometimes thinks this way.
But that cold kiss was real, just like the night wind that used to play with her long hair.
Suddenly, he realizes that even after meeting and parting with countless new friends, experiencing numerous adventures and returning home, he is still lonely.
So, like years ago, the boy's tears fall into the tranquil pool, wetting the shattered moon.
But this time, the water spirit does not come in response.
She stubbornly turns away, preferring to see herself as a pure childhood dream, a temporary guest who came from a distant foreign land, rather than betraying the promise of the one who admires her with an almost eternal lifespan.
Legend has it that whenever it rains heavily, the tears of the water spirit mix with the raindrops falling into the pool.
When the boy finally grows old, he still believes in such groundless tales.
Unfortunately, the water spirit, who avoids true feelings, also cannot question such facts.