Beep-bop. New stylist detected... generating message...
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Welcome, stylist ᡣ𐭩 •｡ꪆৎ
Introduction ᯓᡣ𐭩 🫧
Hime • she/her • in my 20s
Nothing really to introduce here actually. This is my nikkiverse sideblog. Follows are from @cnnmonbimee ⋆˙⟡♡
ᯓᡣ𐭩 🫧
Playing Love, Shining, and Infinity Nikki. Will return to Life Makeover too once I get more storage (*´･ω･)
I'm a rather casual player for all of the games. Completely f2p. Just here to vibe and do some stylings ⋆˙⟡♡
ᯓᡣ𐭩 🫧
Always hunting for lore
I got into nikkiverse earlier this year when I was introduced to infinity. Decided to play SN and LN too because I love Nikki and was really intrigued by the lore of Miraland.
ᯓᡣ𐭩 🫧
IN: Asia Server • SN: Rosset
Feel free to send me a DM if you wanna be friends in-game! I'm pretty much a loner there (-ω-｡) discord: #himebimee2828
ᯓᡣ𐭩 🫧
Relevant tags (for organisation):
#stylist-hime - general tag for all of my stylings
No this is not going to stop me, I will still be getting the recharge and pulling in the event and then transcribing and uploading the DR stories for everyone who is unable/isn't interested in getting the suit
wanted to see all the events we havent got yet together. for closeups/individual images see asuki's site or rummi's lensdump or my #shining nikki future suits tag
Haven't been able to post this earlier, but here I am now! Super styling contest was craaazy but I still had a lot of fun with my teammates :> Now here are my stylings for all of the three factions!! Click on the images for a better quality ✨️ (though they are still mobile quality 🤣)
More pics under the cut!! 🫧
⋆.˚ ᡣ𐭩 .𖥔˚
1. Gilded Past 🩷
Honestly I'm so in love. I never styled this dress before but the pink dye turns out so good 💕 one of my most favourite stylings ever.
⋆.˚ ᡣ𐭩 .𖥔˚
2. Peppergem 💜
The contrasting colours make her look so bold and free! I see peppergem girlies as free-spirited and fun people! They know how to spice things up!
⋆.˚ ᡣ𐭩 .𖥔˚
3. Wild Hearts 🤍
I know they're the chillest people of all Miraland. Very soft and kind-hearted. I see lots of people opt in doing stylings like fairy and nature, but I kinda want to make them look a bit casual :3!!
⋆.˚ ᡣ𐭩 .𖥔˚
That's all! I may make separate posts to show more pics of each styles! Thanks for tuning in, stylists 💕
Part 2: Chronology for the story and where to find lore
Hi!! I'm Maga, a daily player in SN Global server, S2 Cloudcrest, and I've been playing since release day. Lately I've encountered a lot of new SN players or Wannabe players on Twitter, and I see some confusion on how the game functions, how to farm diamonds, how does x y z feature work, among other things. So, I wanted to extend a hand and compile some useful videos, guides, docs, and tips that I think would be helpful.
Firsts things first: welcome, stylist! It's great to have you here, and I hope that, in spite of roadblocks and pulling woes, you can enjoy the game and have a positive experience playing it (⌒▽⌒)☆ Looking forward to your creations and reactions to the story~
To begin, I'd strongly suggest joining SNOD, that is, Shining Nikki Official Discord server. There, you will find lots of stylists to chat with, a space to share your outfits, channels to help you find a guild that matches your playing style, a channel dedicated to questions, guides and strategies; also activities with in-game rewards. And lots more, so it just makes sense for you to join and make the most of our community!
If you're planning on playing casually, maybe you're just interested in the story and want to read it, collect few sets here and there, then this compilation of resources will be overkill for you, and you might prefer to skip straight to Part 2 of these Guides. But, even if you're playing casually, you will at some point or another interact with different game features and be blocked by certain requirements, so it will help if you know your way around the game.
On the other hand, if you're planning on committing to the game so you want to build your account correctly from the beginning, or aren't sure yet but would like to play it safe just in case you get hooked, then this will be helpful for you.
Tip: If you haven't started your account yet, make sure to join S3 Rosset. The third server released months after the first two, so most players who locked in are in S1 and S2. Rosset is the most f2p server, with the least p2w players- so even if you're not staying f2p, it'll be easier for you to rank higher, which is a must to save diamonds.
Best server to join as a new player looks like this:
Rosset > Flowerland > Cloudcrest
Miscelaneous: server population and competitiveness (S1 and S2)
Useful Videos
Next, I'm going to add every video that I have personally used all those years ago, plus other guides I consider important to understand the game and play smart from the beginning. Please try to read or skim my notes first and don't just dive into the videos directly.
Simply Nightshade and LoveEffie's Beginner's Guide Playlist
✔ Great, concise introduction to many game features for you to not go in blind.
✔ While these guides will feature an old version of the game with a different UI, the mechanics for the features present there are mostly the same as they are now. This applies to most videos on this list. Some game features aren't present because they hadn't been implemented yet, but I'll try to get those covered through other videos and resources.
✔ I wanted to include this playlist because they cover little things like friend affinity points, which is one of many features that have been left forgotten for a long time now, because we old players are alredy done with them, and have been for a long while.
Vivi Gaming's guides for V0 players for the first week of the game
Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5, Day 6, Day 7
✔ I don't love these guides, because in retrospective I disagree with certain things, but I can't deny that when you're new and lost and there are so many things to do the first few days, something like this is very helpful.
✔ If I remember correctly, she tells you to buy the diamond stamina pack at first. While I did do that, I don't recommend it if your goal is to start saving from the get go. The schedule used to be a lot more forgiving back then, so that decision didn't affect me too badly, but It's still 300 diamonds down the drain, 60 short of 3 pulls. If you're really itching to speedrun stages and farming, you can do it, I can't stop you, but I have warned you. Maybe the first week it's alright, but it's not a good long-term deal (unless perhaps you're planning on paying for monthly cards often and don't mind it).
✔ I don't remember if she also says to buy diamond arena attempts to get the arena reflection sooner- but in case she does, also take this recommendation with a grain of salt. It will help you rank faster if you're not pulling for current UR limited events, but it's still spending diamonds in an otherwise free feature of the game. Still, if you feel like you want to, go ahead. And do use the Arena Calculator to manage your bought attempts.
✔ My intention with these videos is for you to familiarize yourself with the game and its core mechanics. The long format and repetitive nature of Vivi's videos makes for a great teaching tool regarding the names of different menus, tabs, features and other details. This will help you learn from the basics so you can work your way up to understanding other guides that can confuse you if you don't know the terms, concepts, and names of things very well. It'll also help you develop a routine for dailies: make some actions more natural for you so you don't forget about them. I suggest watching them while you play, so you can see the new locations or looks of certain features that have changed since.
Sei Nikki's guide on Styling Power and scoring
This video covers scoring for Clothing, Designer's Reflection (DR), Awakening, Passive Effects, Call of Reflection, Concepts, and Stylist Academy (This is super important to do early game, I'm begging you to not forget about it. I'll link a farming doc later)
✔ Obviously we've gotten tons more DRs by this point, so when she says "this is the strongest for x attribute" remember this was during global release. It can work as a reference for which DRs you should work on as a new player, but for current rankings refer to the DR tierlists I'll share later. There are plenty of f2p friendly DRs there, that will help you direct your resources to what works best with what you can get.
✔ She mentions that concepts that are part of a Resonance will be numbered, but there are exceptions, so watch out for Concepts that look like pairs, and check their resonance info on 'Promote Concept' in the Ark.
✔ Bond with Nikki isn't super high priority for scoring, but it blocks some rewards, like Chapter rewards in the Achievements menu.
Simply Nightshade's full Concept crashcourse
This video is a wonderful guide to understanding concepts, Concept Voyage stages, how does leveling and petaling (deepen) works, which concepts to prioritize and why, decomposing and merging.
Tip: I didn't go throught the entire video, just skimmed it to verify it was useful, but! In case it's not included: don't decompose R concepts, at least early game. Either merge them to obtain SR concepts (this is just at the very beginning when you're struggling to get new concepts), or leave them as leveling fodder. SSR and UR concepts take a lot of points to level up, so be mindful and allocate your R concepts wisely.
Benign Chaos on Stylist Academy
✔ Stylist Academy is a feature you need to do a lot of farming for, and includes Mind Maze and Challege Stage drops, which you get 10 tries per day for, so you should start farming ASAP so you can be as efficient as possible and not waste those tries. Of course, you'll struggle with stamina at the beginning, so even if there's a lot to work on, it's understandable if it takes a lot of time, be kind to yourself and do what you can when you can. The amount of things to do at the start is simply overwhelming. But don't neglect the Academy.
Tip: what she says about not being sure what the strategy is to choose what to upgrade, she must be referring this:
First, upgrade everything to lvl 3 for the 7-day Tour
Then, prioritize Dress > Hair > Accessory > Shoe > Sock > Coat > Full
Evie Gaming's Guides
Evie has several guide videos, but next I'll list the ones I think you would need the most.
Ultimate Battle Guide: These videos are heavy on math and calculations, but they offer great insight into how scoring works and what features affect your overall scores. The guide is incomplete, sadly, but that couple of videos are already a great boon.
Nail Salon: Both the video on how the feature works, and the one with tips.
Memory Stairway: Full Guide on the feature, with the weekly schedule, currencies, Idea lab recolors and score boost (though please don't reset your recolor levels if you don't want to spend diamonds freely, this is more for monthly cards players), how to best pick your DRs and concepts, and a couple other details. Super useful.
Memory Stairway Shop
✔ She says there's no reason to exchange the Star Wish (puzzle piece) currency for the Rewinding Hourglass one, but that's more for old players. Since you're new, you might prefer to work on old sets that you aesthetically like more, so feel free to play around with that exchange if it's what you want.
✔ Current Idea Lab cap level is 400, soon to be upped to 500.
Feel free to peruse the rest of her playlist, but there's a lot of videos that were meant to be useful before the events came out (pre-farming for example), so I didn't feel it was necessary.
Sei Nikki's other guides
✔ Diamond farming guide (doesn't include Memory Stairway)
Recommendation: Like she says, please don't spend your diamonds on the permanent pavilion sets. And as an adendum, don't spend your Fantasy tickets (InNikki equivalent is the blue crystals) on the Fantasy pavilion- focus on Gleam. You'll collect SR and SSR sets way faster, and slowly but steadily nip at the permanent URs. There's a strategy with Fantasy for endgame but until you get there, you'll see more results with Gleam.
✔ Intel Hub Tips
✔ Redundant, but in case you prefer her video about the Nail salon
✔ Styling Competition feature
Tip: These competition DRs are SUPER easy to max for their Call of Reflection, so make sure to check the DR tierlist I shared below and see which ones are worth gunning for if you're lacking a good enough UR. Remember; a good and properly leveled SSR with maxed Passives and Call of Reflection can beat a base leveled UR.
✔ General tips, tricks, recommendations, and reminders
More Videos:
Mind Maze
How to make and/or change your name card: unfocused but it does show you. This video is on a playlist of similar inquiries, such as profile pictures, use lighting, filters, backgrounds etc. I will continue linking a few more I consider important, but you can check out other things she explains in those.
"Why Can't I Decompose My Echoes?"
Hard stages for Clock Workshop and Concept Voyage (same idea applies to Neverfall Courtains and Memory Stairway): This video and This video
Reverie Moment: basics about our Instagram-ish feature
Set Breakdown videos so you can decide what limited events you'd like to save for, and see a variety of other sets.
Docs, Written guides, Tierlists, Archive of Past and Future Suits, and more
Here I'll put together guides and other resources available on Shining Nikki Official Discord (this is partly why I insist you join), that I have used myself in the past and that are incredibly useful. Lots of respect and love for the creators and contributors of these.
Remember to make copies of the docs that require it
Terminology used in the server
So that you can understand the other docs and answers you receive in the server
Farming Docs
Designer's Reflection upgrade costs (elexela)
Academy farming guide (kami.8518)
Crafting Sheet for Main story, Lifetimes and other Workshop sets
Designer's Reflection Tierlist
Go to the Doc
Again, for those times when you want a second opinion deciding on what to prioritize or if a DR is better than another depending on the context, don't hesitate to ask for help on discord!
This doc was last updated mid 2024, next is an adendum made on SND
Make-up Album by crystalrainchimes
✔ Awesome archive, because you can see the make-up close-ups on all skin tones.
Gallery for past and future event sets (both limited and permanent) by Rummi
Tip: make good use of this archive to create a wishlist. This way, you'll prioritize what you absolutely want to get and plan your savings accordingly.
Recently I sent this gallery to a new player, but they weren't sure how to navigate it, so I made some basic explanations that I'll share as well. Though, on this other post so as to not clog this one
✔ Just in case you miss Rummi's note on this- this gallery uses the TW/CN server rarities, which basically they go up to SSR instead of UR. Our URs are their SSRs, our SSRs are their SRs and so on and so forth.
Event Costs (from SNOD)
✔ Every pull costs 120 diamonds
Single SSR: 70-100 pulls
Double SSR: 130-180 pulls
Single UR + SSR set: 70-100 pulls for just the SSR set, 180-240 for both, up to 360 pulls for echo
Double UR: 180-200 pulls for one set, 300-350 for both, possibly more for awakening
Collaborations: Are a special type of event where SN collaborates with another brand and make in-game sets featuring said brand. Collabs cost about the same amount as regular events of the same rarity, though they don't come with reflections. Collaborations do not return.
Arena Costs Calculator
✔ Remember to make a copy to use it
Weekly Gems Calculator and Gem sources by Ruby, doc by nununana9515
✔ Remember to make a copy to use it
✔ Adendum to set completion rewards: If the UR set doesn't come with a DR, sometimes the reward will be 300 diamonds. If the SSR set doesn't come with a DR, the reward will be 75 diamonds (so half compared to one that has a DR). If the SR set doesn't come with a DR, the reward will be 25 diamonds (so half compared to one that has a DR).
Last words: join the discord!! there are many more guides, calculators and resources there. I just listed barebones here ;) Plus other wonderful stylists you can interact with and ask questions to.
Sometimes being a good detective means stealing the victims skin and sewing it to your own. Somehow this acceptable in Miraland and nobody questions it.
I played because I wanted to see if music could help a broken pigeon learn to fly again.
Doc Link + Full transcript below.
1. Perfect Noon
A century ago, when Merlin Hildale built the Verse Opera House, he spared no expense installing intricate mechanical devices throughout the theatre to elevate each performance— all for his beloved.
Now, a hundred years later, most of those devices have rusted into silence. But among them, a few mechanical pigeons have caught the eye of Hestia, the opera house’s renovator.
She believes that with some help from Ruins technology, these pigeons can still take flight—this time, as part of the show.
Because of their age, the pigeons can only be repaired by hand. So [Player] steps in as Hestia’s assistant, helping her work on the flock. The two sit crouched on the stage floor, working with their hands as they chat.
[Player]: Hard to believe the opera was canceled so long ago, and the theatre hasn’t been used since. The pigeons’ wings are caked with rust. It’s tough getting them apart.
Hestia: Once you figure out the right method, it gets easier.
Unlike [Player]’s clumsy attempts, Hestia quickly manages to take apart a few pigeons with ease.
>You’re really good with your hands.<
[Player]: You’re seriously good at this. Are all scientists this skilled?
Hestia: Just coincidence. Before I went to Ruins, I spent most of my time tinkering with pigeons. I guess I got used to it.
[Player]: Before you went to Ruins? What were you like back then? I don’t think you’ve ever talked about it.
Hestia: It wasn’t a very exciting time. I was either reading or trying to fix mechanical pigeons. Probably even more boring than you’d think. But…
>But?<
[Player]: But?
Hestia: But, talking about mechanical pigeons does remind me of something.
As a child, Hestia loved fixing mechanical pigeons. She often snuck out of the palace to a hidden clock shop, searching for ways to bring them back to life. It’s a sunny afternoon. Her repairs have hit a wall for some time, so she comes here to ask a human clockmaker if there might be another way.
Sunlight spills into the alley. The air smells like leaves. A cat naps on the roof. People pull chairs into the shade. The whole afternoon feels lazy and calm. But the girl keeps gazing to something far away. She has no time to enjoy the sun or breeze. All she wants is to fix her pigeon. She pushes open the shop door. The bell above the door rings softly. The old man in the rocking chair opens one eye, sees who it is, then closes it again.
Hestia: I’m here to ask if you can take a look at this mechanical pigeon.
Clockmaker: I know, I know… It’s a beautiful day. Why aren’t you out enjoying the sun?
Hestia: No need. I’m past the age where sunshine helps you grow taller.
Clockmaker: Haha… of course I know that. Let me think… Oh yes, I’ve told you, haven’t I? I used to travel a lot. The furthest I went was a small island outside Ruins. That place was nothing like Pigeon. The sunlight there was never this nice.
His chair creaks as it rocks. He doesn't get up, just starts rambling about what he saw on that island.
Clockmaker: I saw a type of mechanical pigeon there. It looked like yours but was different. When it heard music, it’d flap its wings and fly, because it was powered by sound.
Hestia: …Music? Powered by sound?
It feels like a new idea. Hestia rarely thinks of combining art with machines.
Clockmaker: Amazing, isn’t it? Too bad I never figured out how it worked.
Young Hestia doesn’t catch the old man’s subtle way of asking her to leave. She just nods, picks up her pigeon, and heads out. She wants to test if music can move her mechanical pigeon. Even if there’s only a tiny chance, she wants to try.
She walks into the music shop next door, leaves her hairpin as collateral, borrows a violin, and brings both the pigeon and the violin to the plaza outside the alley.
Violin: Screech—
A harsh saw-like sound rings out. Hestia frowns. She doesn’t know how to play. She’s never been interested and her brother August only taught her the basics.
Violin: Screech—screech— screech—
She keeps playing anyway. Luckily, there are only a few people in the plaza. A flock of white pigeons nearby takes off suddenly, startled by the sound. Except for her pigeon. No matter how many songs she tries or how she changes her rhythm, her mechanical pigeon stays perfectly still.
Hestia: …Looks like this isn’t the solution after all.
She lowers the violin and happens to meet a pair of clear violet eyes in the distance. A boy painting on the bridge quickly looks away when she turns toward him. She notices the pattern on his shirt—it matches something her brother August owns. That kind of fabric is only worn by Pigeon’s highest nobles.
Great, she thinks. Some noble kid. Now I’ve been seen.
2. Instant Love
Merlin, eldest son of the Hildale family, loves poetry and painting. Since he was young, he’s always seen the world through a romantic lens. Today, like always, he comes to the bridge to paint. In the quiet afternoon, sunlight lays a soft golden veil over the world. A gentle breeze carries away the heat of early summer.
Violin: Screech—
Then, a sharp violin note breaks the peace. Merlin looks toward the sound. A girl with pale golden hair is playing the violin in the center of the plaza. She’s not playing well, but she doesn’t stop.
Merlin: … A beginner?
In Merlin’s poetic view of the world, he starts imagining her story on his own. He guesses she might dream of music but doesn’t have access to proper lessons for some reason. Maybe she saved her allowance for a long time to buy her first violin, and now comes here alone to teach herself to play. Thinking this, Merlin pauses his painting and watches her more closely. At that exact moment, the girl lowers her violin and looks in his direction—
Their eyes meet. In them, Merlin sees the colors of sunrise and river water. He’s never seen these eyes before, yet he knows them. They are the famous mismatched eyes, said to bring misfortune and curses—one of a kind in all of Pigeon. He never imagined they could look this beautiful. So this is the odd little sister August talks about, the one who doesn’t act like a Princess—a girl full of life.
Across the river and flurry of white doves, the girl blinks at him in alarm. Then she puts a finger to her lips and gives him a quiet “shh”.
Hestia: “Please don’t tell anyone you saw me here.”
Right then, the goddess of love lets her arrow fly, and it hits Merlin square in the heart. From that moment on, he can never forget what he sees that shine like morning light and running water.
After that, Merlin comes to the plaza every day to paint. He captures their first meeting on canvas, hoping he’ll get the chance to give it to her. Today is his lucky day. He finally sees Hestia here again. Merlin, nervous and excited, takes out the gift he’s prepared and walks up to her.
Merlin: H-hi, I’m Merlin Hildale. I don’t know if you remember me, but we met here once before…
Hestia looks at the blushing boy in front of her. She remembers that brief glance across the river a few weeks ago. Maybe that’s why she doesn’t turn him away.
Hestia: I remember you. You were painting on the bridge that day.
Merlin: Yes, that was me. Do you have time? The weather’s really nice. Maybe we could, um, take a walk? I have something I want to give you.
She’d say no, She still has to find a way to fix the mechanical pigeon. But the sunlight is so warm, and Merlin’s eyes are so sincere. Before she knows it, she nods.
They walk side by side under the trees. Merlin reads her poems and essays he’s written, but halfway through, he stumbles on his words and ends up rambling. Hestia laughs softly and kindly changes the subject herself.
Hestia: By the way, thank you for not reporting me.
Merlin: Reporting you? Why… does the royal family not let you learn violin?
Hestia: That day, I wasn’t there to practice. I played because I wanted to see if music could help a broken pigeon learn to fly again.
She doesn’t mention that it’s a mechanical pigeon. She simply says she’s helping one learn to fly again.
Merlin: I see. I thought you were a beginner chasing your dream of becoming a musician… Sorry, I completely misread that.
Hestia: I’m more interested in machines and science than art… Most people think that’s kind of strange.
Merlin: Why would that be strange? It’s what you love. Do you want to become a scientist?
Hestia nods.
Hestia: What about you? Do you want to be a poet?
Merlin: I’d love to, but my father wants me to take on the family duties… Still, I won’t stop writing poems.
They keep walking for a long time. Both of them are bound by status but full of dreams. There’s always more to say. At the end of the day, Merlin gives her the painting. He wishes her pigeon will learn to fly soon. She smiles and accepts it.
By the gods, Merlin thinks, dazed—she’s even more beautiful when she smiles.
3. Young Hearts
Later, they meet many more times. Sometimes they visit an art exhibit Merlin loves. Sometimes they go to the library to look for an out-of-print manual. Most often, meet again at the plaza where they first met—
Merlin still paints, and Hestia still slips into the alley, searching for ways to fix her mechanical pigeon. By the time Hestia comes back from the alley, Merlin has usually finished his painting. They chat and walk side by side toward the palace. In Hestia’s monotonous life, the little moments with Merlin feel like sunlight on a heavy winter day. The memory alone brings her warmth. They spend many seasons together. And soon, when spring ends, Hestia will face her coming-of-age ceremony. Her brother August will choose a marriage match for her.
Hestia has always been quiet and distant, with few friends. Knowing she’ll leave Pigeon one day because of the mechanical pigeon, she accepts her brother’s plans. At least… that’s what she believes before she meets Merlin.
She knows Merlin likes her. He’s the only one who, after learning about her obsession with machines, never mocks her or scolds her for being improper.
Merlin: Hestia, don’t feel pressured. And don’t change yourself for me. You can always be who you really are with me. You’re free to do what you love.
He says this to her on a warm spring day years ago, and he truly means it. Merlin remembers her favorite desserts. He checks if she’s sleeping enough. He’s always the first to notice when she’s feeling up or down. He’s unlike anyone else. Merlin’s feelings are pure and simple, and Hestia is almost moved by him.
On a summer night, they walk back toward the palace. They’ve just watched an opera. Merlin turns down the carriage—he wants to walk with Hestia a bit longer.
Merlin: Thanks for coming with me. I know you’ve never been interested in this kind of thing.
Hestia: It’s fine. I happened to be free. And the show was actually really good.
Merlin: They say the playwright based it on her and her husband. If I ever get the chance, I want to write one too—maybe about… us. What do you think? Hestia, have you ever thought about what life would be like for the two of us?
The question catches her off guard. After a few seconds of thought, she shakes her head honestly.
Merlin: Then let me tell you what I imagine. I think we’ll get married. We’ll be like the couple in the play—always together, facing every challenge side by side. I’;; build you a lab where you can keep chasing your dreams. Whether you become a scientist or a mechanic, I’ll support you with everything I have.
Under the stars, Merlin’s eyes shine. Hestia looks at his serious face, and before she can stop herself, her thoughts start drifting toward that faraway future. In that future, she could leave behind royal rules and expectations. There, she can keep studying her pigeons and the machines no one else understands. She won’t have to endure endless formalities or worry about being pulled into the struggles of power. She believes the man in front of her will keep his promises.
Merlin: Hestia, I’m going to ask August for your hand in marriage.
>Were you moved?<
[Player]: Were you moved?
Inside the Verse Opera House, [Player] sands the rust from the wings of the mechanical pigeons. Hestia fits each pigeon with a sound-triggered device.
Hestia: Back then, I still hadn’t fixed Glow’s pigeon. My dream felt so far away, so of course I was tempted by the kind of peaceful life Merlin offered. But that’s all it was. It wasn’t enough to call it love. So, I didn’t give him an answer. I needed time to think it through.
[Player]: So what happened next? Did Merlin really ask August?
Hestia: Yes, he did. My brother had no idea Merlin and I had already met in secret. He just saw the Hildales as a perfect match and quickly agreed to the proposal. But I didn’t know they had made that decision without me.
4. Path’s End
Hestia has no idea that Merlin and her brother have already decided her future. That night, she spends a long time thinking. In the end, she makes up her mind. She asks Merlin to meet her at a restaurant in the center of the capital. For once, he’s a few minutes late.
Merlin: Sorry I’m late. I was helping serve porridge to the poor on behalf of the Hildale family. The prayer afterward ran longer than I expected.
Hestia: Porridge? Why not hold training programs instead, and teach them a skill they can use to earn a living?
Merlin: Why teach them? The Hildale family can just provide for them directly. We have the wealth to do that.
Hestia: But to truly eliminate poverty at its root, something has to change.
Merlin hears her reply and smiles gently, as if he’s indulging a child.
Merlin: But then they would become like us. We’re not the same.
Merlin means no harm, but his words cut like a blade, drawing a sharp line between them in that moment. Hestia suddenly realizes that all of Merlin’s kindness and affection is still wrapped in the poetry of nobility. His gaze is soft, but his heart is just like August’s. He will never look downward. He shares the same innocence and cruelty that all nobles are born into.
But Hestia sees how the people at the bottom struggle to survive. That’s why she wants change—to push back against the kingdom’s decline. But Merlin can’t understand that. She spends that day thinking carefully. She makes her decision and plans to tell him tonight. She can’t marry him. Because she’s destined to leave Pigeon behind and walks a harder road.
Merlin: By the way, you asked me out so suddenly—was there something you wanted to tell me?
Hestia: …Nothing really. I just felt like having dessert here. I remembered you like it too.
Hestia decides not to tell him. She starts to worry he might inform August. To her, the two of them now are no different. She finds it hard to trust Merlin again.
In the days that follow, Merlin plans their engagement banquet. Hestia, meanwhile, pours herself into repairing the pigeon, hoping the day she leaves comes sooner. Merlin and August remain unaware of her decision—or maybe they simply don’t care enough to notice. They talk about possible dates and feel certain she’ll say yes. A perfect noble match, a gentle fiancé who adores her—what reason could she have to refuse?
Merlin even begins planning a grand opera to celebrate their engagement. He writes the script himself, using their story as inspiration, just as he once promised. In the opera house built just for this, he hires skilled craftsmen to design a new kind of mechanical dove, embedding them into the stage to match Hestia’s tastes. The mechanism is costly and hard to operate, but the sight of the doves flapping their wings is stunning. Merlin believes Hestia will love it.
Days go by, and midsummer finally arrives in Pigeon. Merlin plans to unveil the surprise at their engagement banquet. But before he can— Hestia disappears on the night of her own coming-of-age ceremony.
When Merlin hears the news, he’s stunned. Then comes confusion— why would the girl he loves leave? His thoughts drift to his family, and the opera he’s planned. Only now does he realize that no one has ever asked what Hestia actually wants. At last, he begins to understand why she chose to leave. The opera is canceled, and for the next hundred years, it never resumes.
In a quiet, forgotten corner of the city, the Verse Opera House stands alone—said to be built by young Duke Hildale with Pigeon’s finest materials and technology. But no music has ever played inside.
Hestia: You already know the rest. Not long ago, I returned to Pigeon and learned about this opera house.
>Didn’t think there was a story like that.<
[Player]: I had no idea you had a past like that…
Hestia: Surprised? I had some childish dreams once too.
As Hestia speaks, she finishes fixing the last pigeon. Now, every mechanical bird in the theatre can flap its wings to the sound of music.
Hestia: That’s enough talk for now. It’s time to see what we’ve made.
She walks to the stage and lifts the violin she plans to use for the performance. Soft golden light shines down like sunlight, gently bathing Hestia in its warmth. She suddenly remembers how the story began— a perfect afternoon, and a gentle boy who once felt different from the rest of the nobles.
But the rest of that story isn’t as beautiful as its beginning. After fleeing her wedding, the Princess returns and becomes Queen. Her brother weds a noble’s daughter in a bid to reclaim the throne. The Princess is imprisoned. That political marriage falls apart. The Queen dies of illness, and the Duke is exiled to the frozen north. Then the King is killed by his own child. A wandering knight returns to Pigeon to take up the duties of his house once more.
A century of memories and sheet music flash through her mind. She’s still bad at violin—worse, even—but Ruins’ tech won’t fail because of that. At last, music echoes through this long-silent theatre. The mechanical pigeons rise and spread their wings.
I'm just absolutely in love with the details of this dress. I didn't get the shoes and I'm not planning to complete this suit so I kinda mix and match things! So glad that the mermaid leg piece was dyeable into gold.
