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18TRIP Theory- The Wolf, The Deer, and The Catalyst:

Renga's role within the plot revolving around Liguang and Kiba

This theory has been sitting in my notes for months now, so I decided to clean it up and post it to celebrate 18TRIP's half-anniversary :]

WARNING! The following post contains major Main Story and Mayor Novel spoilers!

Alternative subtitle: Renga’s role within the Kiba + Liguang reincarnation cycle

Upon reading R1ze’s Main Story and Renga and Liguang’s Mayor Novels, we find a looming presence in the undercurrents of the two mayors’ stories—Kiba. Despite being a faceless character who has yet to introduce himself in the current timeline, there is enough information on Kiba that allows us to piece together parts of his character.

From Liguang’s perspective, Kiba is a killer whose sole purpose is his demise; they undergo a cycle of reincarnation with memories of their previous lives intact. Kiba appears in Liguang’s every life without fail and attempts to annihilate him and his family. Within their current lives, Kiba finds a child who looks exactly like himself and switches places with him while erasing his tracks. He then builds and leads an underground criminal organization from the ground up, forming alliances with groups opposing the Lurong family. Kiba’s erratic and violent actions label him as a threat, and the narrative successfully establishes him as a persistent killer who chases after his goals across lifetimes.

On the other hand, Renga’s Mayor Novel provides us with a slightly different angle. To Renga, Kiba is his first and most trusted friend. He gave Renga, or “Ren,” everything he ever wanted without asking for anything in return, shaping him into the person he is now. After they switched lives under the pretense of a game, Ren continued living as “Nishizono Renga,” thinking that he would have to return this identity to Kiba one day. He knows nothing about Kiba and Liguang’s history; this ignorance, coupled with his immense gratitude toward his friend, allows him to wait faithfully for someone he hasn’t met in over ten years. If we were to read Kiba’s interactions with Renga in a positive light, it might sound like Kiba has some form of humanity in him; Renga may as well be one of the few people Kiba truly cares about, adding depth to his character.

So considering everything revealed thus far, it won’t be ridiculous to suggest that Kiba will likely make a complete appearance as an antagonist in the upcoming parts of the Main Story. He is a pivotal figure in Liguang and Renga’s stories; there is no way to escape from his eventual introduction and the role he’ll play in advancing the plot. However, despite all this information and character deduction, Kiba’s motivations are still somewhat mysterious. Although the story makes it known that Kiba wishes to kill Liguang and his family, we don’t know why he even began participating in this cycle of destruction. What drives him to go this far? How can someone become so possessed by such animosity? What can be done to stop him, if possible? Much like Liguang, we are mainly in the dark regarding those details:

Translation:

“During the beginning, I’ve tried to decipher the cause of this cycle of reincarnation and wished to know why we cannot be freed from this recurring fate. However, I’ve now ceased to think about such things.” (Liguang’s Mayor Novel, Track 5: “Reincarnation”)

As stated above, Liguang is unaware of the cycle’s origin, nor does he know how to stop it even if he wants to. Therefore, he focuses on what he can do to protect his family and those around him from Kiba’s ambitions instead of pursuing what cannot be solved. There is an assumption that perhaps he can halt the cycle if he figures out its actual cause, but at the current moment, it’s pretty clear that an answer won’t be spelled out to us or any of the characters. It feels futile to expect a complete explanation when the game has just started, and honestly, all that is left for us may just be to sit back and wait for the next Main Story update to unravel the mystery behind their entire storyline.

Except…

Is the root cause of the reincarnation cycle actually unknown to us?

This is where Renga comes in. As a confirmed “anomaly,” sufficient textual evidence makes me believe that the existence of Renga marked the start of this millennia-old feud between Kiba and Liguang. I also believe that he may be the person who will help stop this vicious cycle within their current lifetime, once and for all. Much like the sun that rises every dawn to close the night, Renga represents both the beginning and the end. To explain further, we must first discuss who Renga was and is to Kiba.

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Kiba’s Other Half: He and Renga Were Twins in Their Past Life (Or Doppelgangers. Or Just Really, Really Close)

At first glance, Renga and Kiba seem to be in a peculiar relationship; Kiba, born under the affluent Nishizono family, somehow finds young homeless “Ren," or Renga, who is identical in appearance and becomes friends with him, eventually switching places to live separate lives. Some might theorize that the two were siblings separated at birth, which would explain their appearance and miraculous encounter. However, the Lurong family confirms that they are not blood-related, as stated in Chapter 1, Track B10:

Translation:

“Sojun: Speaking of which, we’ve managed to locate the former lady of the Nishizono family after she left HAMA following the divorce. We conducted a DNA test, and as you predicted, Boss, the results indicated that… Nishizono Renga is not blood-related to either of his parents.”

Kinari also implies in his Renga 2024 Birthday voice line that the two don’t share a birthday, ruling out the possibility of them being twins.

Translation:

“Kinari: Today is Nishizono-sama’s birthday. However, there is a slight discrepancy in the birthday inferred from his biometrics. Am I imagining things?”

Not to mention, Renga’s novel title, “The Preppy and the Pauper,” is a direct reference to Mark Twain’s “The Prince and the Pauper,” and in this novel, the two protagonists are merely identical and not related by blood.

If we consider these confirmed facts, that would make them what is the textbook definition of doppelgängers, meaning Kiba didn’t have much of a “proper” reason to become friends with Renga (penniless, unrelated), going as far as to place him in the Nishizono family other than… for what purpose? One can simply claim that Kiba grew to care for Renga and wanted him to have a better life. Another can say that Renga was just a convenient double who Kiba found to cover his tracks. Or he may be doing all this to somehow mess with Liguang, his sworn enemy. To this, I propose one possible explanation: The two were very close in their past lives, Renga being a person Kiba wished to protect.

Within two separate stories of the same flashback (Renga’s Mayor Novel, Track 4: “Promise” and Main Story, Chapter 1. Side - B. Track 14: “Boy Meets Boy”), Kiba repeats the following dialogue:

Translation:

“Ren, you are my destiny. In some world, a looong time ago… we were together. We lived side-by-side, always next to each other… As though the two of us were one.”

We already know that Kiba reincarnated many times before, and here, he seems to imply that Renga existed with him in one of their past lives. Renga’s reaction after listening to Kiba confirms this implication:

Translation:

“For some reason, my heart stirred with unexplainable emotions. Two of us as one? Renga and I? He had to be messing with me, right? But despite the doubt, I thought about how nice it must’ve been if it were true.” (Renga’s Mayor Novel, Track 4: “Promise”)

This notion of ‘existing as though they were one’ evokes certain feelings inside Renga, and he welcomes it, possibly because he was unconsciously familiar with the idea of being together with Kiba in their past life.

As for the specific relationship they had, I bring up several possibilities:

Twins

Doppelgängers/ Body Double

Brothers in arms

Two Souls - One body

Although it’s impossible to deduce the true nature of their relationship at the moment due to the lack of some essential details, it’s pretty clear that Renga existed in at least one of Kiba’s past lives and was important enough for Kiba to declare each other as “destined.”

To better paint a picture of what Kiba’s motivations might’ve been, let us temporarily imagine that they used to be twins in their other lives: separated after the end of their past lives, by some by fate, they met again in this current one. Kiba wished to give his former twin a better life, so he gave up his identity as “Nishizono Renga” to Ren while plotting the Lurong family’s demise. It sounds relatively straightforward(?) if that was all there was to it. Previously, I stated that Renga was also “a person Kiba wished to protect.” Therefore, knowing what happened to Renga in his past life is crucial to understanding Kiba and the cycle in which he and Liguang are in.

Which brings me to my second point…

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Renga’s Death: The Catalyst

At the start of Main Story, Chapter 1, Side B11, an unknown individual appears in Liguang’s dream, shouting:

Translation:

“??: I SHALL NEVER FORGIVE YOU! YOU HAVE TRAMPLED UPON MY INNOCENT BRETHREN! My fangs may break, yet I so swear to continue chasing you to the depths of hell until I tear your body and kin to a thousand pieces! All of my suffering and my soul-crushing despair—I shall return every last bit of them to you!”

We can confirm that this dialogue belongs to Kiba for three reasons: one, the voice assigned to this person sounds like Renga’s VA; two, the word “fangs” or “Kiba” (牙) is present in it; and three, they reference back to this dialogue in Liguang’s Novel Track 4: “Encounter”:

Translation:

“ ‘Didn’t I tell you? That I’d kill every last one of your kin?’ —That’s right. I have lost everyone. My family, my friends, my people — I lost them all.”

Here, Kiba taunts Liguang before one of his deaths, reminding his enemy of an old promise. Thus, if we assume that this unknown individual in the dream is, in fact, Kiba, some pieces of his and Liguang’s history fall into place: in the past, Liguang had likely killed Kiba’s kin for reasons unknown to us, creating a curse which destined the two to enact a cycle of pursuing and killing. More specifically, I believe Renga is the “innocent brethren” who Liguang killed instead of Kiba. Renga was most likely not meant to die; the shock, anger, and hatred that cemented itself inside Kiba as a result of Renga’s cruel death made him lose a part of his humanity and rationality, consequently fueling his path for eternal revenge.

To further elaborate on why I believe this to be the circumstances surrounding Renga’s death, let's examine the textual hints planted across multiple story chapters.

-- Kiba’s attention to Renga’s safety and well-being

From the perspective of Liguang and Renga, we get a glimpse of the kind of person Kiba is/was. One recurring aspect of Kiba that I’ve noticed is that he is eerily concerned about Renga’s safety and well-being. In Renga’s novel Track 1: “A Fragment of a Memory, A Fragment of a Brick,” Kiba and Renga develop a secret signal that allows them to constantly check up on each other when they cannot meet. Renga calls Kiba a genius for being the signal’s originator, and to that, Kiba laughs and replies as such:

Translation:

“ ‘It’s because you’re you, Ren,’ ‘I only care about knowing that you’re alive... I mean it.’ “

He specifically uses the word “alive” (生きてるか), which sounds a bit heavy considering the context. Sure, young Renga might’ve been in a riskier situation than most children his age due to his homelessness, but even still, I feel like the word choice is very intentional since phrases like “doing well” would have sufficed.

Additionally, after Renga has a heart-to-heart talk with his father in the Main Story, it is revealed to him that Kiba has been sending letters at least once a year to his father and grandmother, constantly nagging them to “take care of Renga well” (Chapter 1, B18). Kiba’s letters, much to his grandmother’s exasperation, mainly focused on how Renga was doing more than anyone else. This revelation makes me believe Kiba had to care about Renga’s well-being regardless of his intentions because he was willing to risk having his letters traced back to him if it meant reminding his caregivers to treat Renga right.

Other than that, the rest is dependent upon my speculation. Kiba may have switched places with Renga to stay under the radar and leave Renga in a place where he can keep track of and guarantee general safety. Of course, Renga would be in contact with Liguang (his potential past murderer), but I believe Kiba was convinced he wouldn’t physically harm Renga despite their history since, in the end, Liguang would “always bear the burden of those weaker than him” (Liguang’s Mayor Novel, Track 3: “A Ripple”) and wouldn’t easily hurt someone who’s not aware of Kiba’s plotting at all (Hint: he was right).

Finally, it would make sense for Kiba to be concerned about whether Renga was alive if he had lost him in his past life, and it would also explain why Kiba said he understands how Liguang, much like himself, cannot stand increasing the number of things he holds dear because they both believe that those precious things would all end up dying:

Translation:

“The lights in Xiaoya’s [Kiba’s] eyes gleamed at mine. I knew what those eyes meant. It wasn’t about whether the rabbit was dying or not. Xiaoya was trying to confirm that I didn’t show the rabbit any interest because it would ‘end up dying one day.’ ‘...I’m the same as you. I don’t like treasuring more things than I need to. So I get how you feel, Liguang.’” (Liguang’s Mayor Novel, Track 1: “Annihilation”)

-- Death Flags and Ominous Statements

Another aspect worth focusing on is the multiple ominous statements hinting at death scattered across Renga’s novel. For example, at the beginning of Track 4: “Promise,” Renga and Kiba are about to separate after spending the day together at the Yokohama Landmark Tower. Ren(ga), filled with gratitude, carves his new memories with Kiba in his heart and wishes to return the favor one day:

Translation:

“‘I don’t know how I can ever give back to you, but… know that I’ll do anything for you, Renga!’”

Then, after this, he goes as far as to think that he would not regret dying for Kiba.

Translation:

“I’ll do anything he asks of me. I’ll even give my life for him. Maybe my life exists for Renga’s sake. Those thoughts suddenly crossed the corner of my mind. There was no logic to them, but they felt more true than anything ever has.”

This inexplicable conviction possibly hints that Renga thought the same in his past life and is even more significant evidence that he may have just done what he has claimed, which is to die in place of his other half. Coincidentally, Kiba catches onto this as well because after Renga tells him that ‘he’ll do anything for him,’ Kiba barely whispers the following:

Translation:

“...Ren. Ren, you’re… always like that, aren’t you.” (Renga’s Mayor Novel, Track 4: “Promise”)

Kiba recognizes the familiar sentiment that had previously been expressed to him either through words or, unfortunately, through actions in the past. When Renga questions what Kiba means by this, obviously confused, Kiba smiles bitterly and tells him there may be a day he asks Renga for something.

And that’s not all. After Kiba talks about them being “one” in the past, Renga responds like such:

Translation:

“But at the same time, I thought about how nice it must’ve been if it were true. If we were two as one long ago, just as Renga said we were, I bet I was really happy. After all, we would’ve been together forever that way.”

It’s a cute, heartwarming thought, and Renga laughs at this wishful thinking. However, instead of receiving a cheerful acknowledgment from Kiba, Renga’s laugh is met with silence. This scene also plays in the Main Story with slight dialogue differences, but the reaction from Kiba is the same; he does not say anything when Renga imagines them together in their previous life, and the text points out this silence, leading me to believe that there was, in truth, some sort of misfortune (such as Renga’s self-sacrificial death) that prevented them from achieving a happy life together.

So, it has become quite clear that Renga was heavily involved in the beginning of Kiba and Liguang’s conflict, causing a violent reincarnation cycle through his death. But how would Liguang be in the dark if that was the case? How can he overlook a matter as important as the death of Kiba’s precious other half? And if Renga did exist precisely as an ‘other half,’ he shouldn’t have trouble finding answers as to why two people with the same face as his sworn nemesis exist in their current lives, right? I have thought a lot about this problem and come down to one probable conclusion: Liguang cannot remember.

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Liguang’s Memories: The Blanks and Unreliability

As discussed in the very beginning, Liguang stated that he does not know why the reincarnation cycle keeps occurring:

“During the beginning, I’ve tried to decipher the cause of this cycle of rebirth and wished to know why we cannot be freed from this recurring karmic fate. However, I’ve now ceased to think about such things.” (Liguang’s Mayor Novel, Track 5: “Reincarnation”)

This is not a statement someone with a complete understanding of his memories would make because if he did, he would likely be aware of the circumstances as to how the cycle began unless there was information he was not privy to in that particular life. Additionally, in the recurring dream Liguang has (Main Story, Chapter 1, Track B11), Kiba seems to state outright that he seeks vengeance because Liguang had ‘ trampled upon his innocent brethren.’ The fact that Liguang cannot fully find the root cause, even with this statement, may mean that he is likely missing the key person Kiba refers to in the dream.

To reason this conjecture, let’s return to some of Liguang's stories. First, one of the glaring indicators denoting Liguang’s lack of memories is that Kiba recovered his memories far earlier than Liguang and seems to know more about the reincarnation cycle than him. In Liguang’s Mayor Novel, Track 3: “A Ripple,” Liguang feels a distance between him and Kiba when they hang out after months of not seeing each other. Before Kiba leaves, he tells Liguang to look forward to his birthday party because he has prepared a surprise that will make him cry:

Translation:

“Against the backdrop of the evening storm, Kiba smiled as though he was about to pull a prank. ‘I’ll prepare a surprise for your birthday. I bet it’ll move you to tears.’”

The surprise, as it turned out, was Renga. When Liguang meets Renga for the first time and realizes that the person who arrived at his birthday party is a stranger with the face of his childhood friend, he suddenly recalls memories from his past lives and passes out. As hinted by his taunting declaration, Kiba likely prepared for this encounter, seeing how Liguang reacted upon reliving one of his deaths. Kiba knew that Renga would be the trigger that would bring back Liguang’s memories; the three must’ve had some sort of vital connection to each other before, since it’s hard to believe that a person entirely unrelated to the two’s history would cause Liguang to revive his memories just by looking at their face. So for these reasons, it’s safe to assume that Liguang is still missing some pieces of the puzzle, especially those related to Renga.

Next, we must discuss the scrolls of names Liguang had written over his many reincarnations. According to Liguang’s Mayor Novel, he inscribes the names of people who have helped him in his life to honor their deaths and confirms that the number of these scrolls amounts to the thousands. I doubt that he can recount all of them, which is probably also why he recorded their names in the first place for remembrance. Additionally, they note that his oldest scroll has deteriorated to the point where certain sections are illegible, helping us visualize the immense amount of time Liguang spent repeating the cycle. Hence, if we consider the amount of time that has passed and the information lost along with the contents of the scrolls, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to assume that Liguang cannot immediately recall the complete details of his past lives.

Lastly, Liguang briefly hints at a forgotten person who existed between him and Kiba. In the main story, Renga talks to R1ze about his situation with Kiba and his identity as “Nishizono Renga,” saying that he wishes everyone could get along with the actual “Renga” once he and Kiba switch back. A little while later, Liguang sits alone, reflecting upon Renga’s wish:

Translation:

“(It’s impossible for us ever to get along. …Ah…but someone else had the same wish long ago. …… In a time that has been long forgotten… someone, whose existence I now cannot ascertain…hoped for the same.)” (Main Story, Chapter 1, Track B16)

Liguang isn’t sure if this person ever existed, and even if they did, he cannot remember who it was. If this were to be someone Liguang was fond of, he could at least find their name in one of his scrolls. But the oldest scrolls have deteriorated and are missing some sections; it’s pretty plausible that he cannot confirm the existence of certain people from his earliest memories. This assumption reinforces the idea that Liguang may not recall everything and everyone ever involved with him, meaning he’s yet to remember the specific memory about Renga with Kiba in the past.

Providing that Liguang has trouble recalling specific memories, his inability to remember Renga, who was undoubtedly an essential individual in the past, can be reasoned with. The novels can only depict the characters’ perspectives, helping us conclude that Renga and Liguang are unreliable narrators when pursuing the truth behind the stories.

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This Lifetime’s Anomaly: The Light at Dawn

After examining what I’ve established until now, the picture of Kiba and Liguang’s reincarnation cycle is now apparent; the blood for revenge seeps into the present, paving the way for what may cause another violent end. Lifetimes ago, Renga may have been the genesis— but how does Renga in the present potentially tie into the story’s future development?

To begin with, let’s first understand what “reincarnation” even means regarding Kiba and Liguang. The basic idea of reincarnation (or Saṃsāra, the alternative title for Liguang’s 5th novel chapter, “輪廻”) is that all people go through an endless cycle of rebirth affected by their karmic debt until they liberate themselves from the said cycle. Depending on the religion, the means necessary to attain liberation differ slightly; for example, in Buddhism, one must come to terms with the Four Noble Truths and let go of worldly attachments to achieve Nirvana, or the release from suffering. (Note: Reincarnation is not necessarily spoken as a specific religious concept in Liguang’s stories; however, since Buddhism is a prevalent religion in Japan and China, and some of the language used within Liguang’s novel aligns with Buddhism, I decided to reference some of their viewpoints here.)

If we follow this belief behind reincarnations, Liguang and Kiba are still stuck in the karmic cycle because they have not freed themselves of attachments such as desire and hate; in every life they are born in, the two are consumed by the need to kill the other mainly since for whatever reason, they carry over their past memories across lifetimes. For example, right before Liguang dies in one of his lives, he sees his reflection in Kiba’s eyes and is met with a man whose face is contorted with “resentment and anger.” These feelings then carry over to the present as Liguang experiences this flashback and remembers most of his past at his birthday party. (Liguang’s Mayor Novel, Track 4: “Encounter”) They inherit hate through their memories, making it difficult for them to escape their need to eliminate the other. The act of killing, regardless of intention, generates negative karma, and they end up reincarnating again, keeping them trapped in this vicious cycle. Then, what they must first attain to liberate themselves is the cessation of hate. But how can this be done when there are hundreds, if not thousands, of years of unresolved hostility?

The answer lies, as you may have guessed, in Renga. Throughout the game, Renga is considered an anomaly. In the Mayor Novel, Liguang mentions that he does not know why a person with Kiba’s face exists in this life and further claims that he knows for sure Kiba has never switched places with another person in their other lives.

Translation:

“I don’t know what Kiba’s plotting with Renga, nor do I know why a man with the same appearance as him exists in this life. … I don’t know, but I am certain of one thing: Kiba has never switched places with another person in any of our lives.” (Liguang’s Mayor Novel, Track 5: “Reincarnation”)

Additionally, Liguang confirms that he hadn’t been able to meet any of his past kin’s reincarnations, as souls do not come back to him.

Translation:

“...My sister, who I can only meet in this life. Souls never return. At least, they never return to me.” (Liguang’s Mayor Novel, Track 4: “Encounter”)

This claim implies that it’s uncommon to come across past souls for a second time, and if we assume that the circumstances are the same for Kiba, his reunion with Renga can be considered a miracle— and perhaps an indicator of change in their current lives:

Translation:

“Things might be different in this life. If there’s even a small chance for us to sever our fates and end this foolish cycle of reincarnation— Then, this time, I won’t let anyone die.” (Liguang’s Mayor Novel, Track 5: “Reincarnation”)

I like to believe that Liguang’s speculation here (and silent wish) is probably close to the truth. Renga doesn’t know about Liguang and Kiba’s relationship so far, and he purely hopes the two can get along again once Kiba returns after years of switching places with Renga. And what’s more, there was also someone who “wished the same” in the past; I previously noted that Liguang mentioned a person, long forgotten, who hoped for peace. After considering all the hints revealed so far, I believe it’s safe to speculate that this person was Renga from his previous life. Liguang and Kiba opposed each other from the beginning, and Renga may have been the bridge that had attempted compromise until everything fell apart at his death. His reincarnation is meant to represent the “small chance” Liguang is hoping for, thus, tying into the desired end of the cycle.

When we take a step back, we are reminded that part of R1ze’s theme is about the retention of the “ego” despite the situational circumstances that arise from family ties and upbringing. All five mayors come from backgrounds that deeply entwine them to their roots; their stories draw a salient struggle to develop the “self” as opposed to what’s been determined for them by immutable conditions. Their message acknowledges that although what had been established in the past cannot be changed, progress is always possible when building a better future for the individual.

So considering their theme, it’s clear that Kiba is the antithesis of R1ze: he is stuck in the past, constantly repeating a cycle of hurt. Even when he looks at Renga, he seems to see a person from one of his previous lives, long gone. He failed to bury his anger and regrets many years ago, losing “himself” in the process of enacting revenge for “someone else”. Kiba is yet to accept what occurred in his past life and move on from it and as a result, confines Liguang to a similar situation. For Kiba to advance, he must eventually overcome this personal battle by letting go of not only Liguang but also the Renga he knew in the past.

Translation:

“ ‘You [Ren] always get drawn to the light no matter what, don’t you…’ Renga [Kiba] smiled, looking a little sad. I didn’t get why he made that sort of expression.” (Renga’s Mayor Novel, Track 2: “The Sun Symbol”)

Symbolically speaking, Renga is often depicted as a source of light both in the past and the present (Main Story 1, Renga and Ten’s Mayor Novels). He is the sun R1ze revolves around, and directly juxtaposes with Liguang and Kiba who have been described as people who exist in the “darkness” (Main Story, Chapter 1, Track B17). Therefore, as the indiscriminate metaphor of light, we can conclude that no one else other than Renga is perfect for playing the reincarnated “key figure” needed to resolve the two’s conflict and help them reach a new dawn.

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Reflections and Holes in the Theory

This theory obviously has its faults. It makes a lot of assumptions about Kiba's intentions because he could very easily be lying and using Renga for his benefit. We also don’t know who Renga actually was in his previous life nor can we confirm the nature of their relationship. And if we were to interpret some of the text literally, we can’t even say for certain that the two existed as separate people in the past. (This idea encroaches on my Two Souls- One Body theory so although I won't get into it now, I may talk about it some other time.)

Additionally, I feel like this theory lacks faith in Liguang: for my reasons to go through, we must assume that Liguang’s memories are incomplete and that he doesn’t “remember” anything about past!Renga. I’m not sure how fair that is to him, considering he does seem to retain a good amount of memories from his past. I’m sure more will be revealed later regarding Liguang’s past lives so for now, I had to present him this way because of the lack of information and stories that focus on him.

Also, the theory itself is generally Kiba-centric, and there’s definitely more analysis I could’ve done on Liguang’s character, role, and visual symbolism. Not to mention, I haven’t gotten into how Renga finding out about Kiba would tie into his personal development post-Main Story and its potential effect on his future actions as the “key figure”, however, I guess that’s justified because that would be a different topic meant to be discussed elsewhere.

I think the least believable aspect of the theory (other than the whole memory-intact reincarnation of course) is the possibility that Kiba is determined to destroy Liguang only because of one person’s death. He had undoubtedly involved thousands of people for his goal, and falling into a millennia-old path for revenge all because of Renga seems a little illogical. But at the same time, this game does have aliens, time travelers, demons, and fudanshi, so the existence of a single-minded psychotic killer may not be a ridiculous proposition.

I can bring up a list of other things to debunk this theory (such as the problem with the forgotten person from Kiba-Liguang’s past, the lack of analysis of the stories outside of the trio and how that may intertwine into the larger narrative (e.g. Ten being Renga’s foil), etc.) which is why I only have about 25% confidence in it. Essentially, it’s best if this whole theory is read as fanfiction because we really don’t know much for certain. Regardless, I’m very excited to see how the writers will develop the story and hope my theory increases even a little bit of interest in 18TRIP’s plot revolving around Kiba, Liguang, and Renga.

Before I end, I’d like to point out that I tried including as many in-game screenshots as possible so the original text is present alongside my (rather amateur) translations. The intent of the translations isn’t for “entertainment” but for the presentation of the original text in English form to use as “evidence”. However, personal interpretation and wordings inevitably permeate into them, therefore, I judged it’d be best to provide an alternative for those who can read Japanese or would rather run the text through a machine translator.

Anyway, thank you for reading!

And HAMA NICE TRIP!

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