| DLC |
SPOILERS AHEAD, READ AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION!
If you haven't played Mystic Messenger completely, you might read something that will reveal to you the complete story of the game. So please pay attention!
THE FOLLOWING PAGE CONTAINS MENTIONS OF PEDOPHILIA AND ABUSE!
Read at your own discretion!
Rika Behind refers to a DLC (downloadable content) story that is obtainable after completing the Secret Ending. It costs a total of 480 hourglasses to obtain every episode, with each episode costing 60 hourglasses to unlock; for a total of eight episodes.
This story revolves around Rika's tortured childhood and what went into making her the way she is.
Contents
Episode 1
As we enter the first episode of this DLC, a supposed ??? says a deeply metaphorical monologue about everlasting love, then we skip to a flashback to an adoption center where Rika was as a toddler. A new character is introduced to us and that is Mika. At that time, Mina (Rika's real name) was 3 years old while Mika was 6. Mika is seen as a very mature and caring character. She introduces herself to a couple that arrives to adopt a child and explains how she studies the bible and loves to help around. Mika and Mina step outside to promise each other that they won't be separated and that they consider each other as sisters. Then Mika proceeds to trim Mina's hair because it has grown too long. A few days later, the teacher calls Mika to announce that she is becoming too old to stay in the adoption center and that in a few months she would have to move to an orphanage. Mika expresses concern to Mina about the adoption and promises that she would protect her from bad parents who forsake their children.
Episode 2
A few months after the first events, we get a flashback of the time Mina and Mika were still together. They envy each other for their hair and talk about the bad parents again. A new couple shows up to the adoption center looking for a child that's allegedly a "sign from God." The first kid to catch their attention was Mika, who once again mentions that she's religious and loves to study the bible. However after the couple leaves, Mika tells the teacher that she knows that these people are bad parents, much to the teacher's disapproval. Jumping to the recent past, Rika is seen in a therapy session, briefly mentioning Mika. The therapist says that Rika might have to be hospitalized.
Later in V's house, the couple discusses Rika's session for today. She begs him to take a picture of her. They lay in bed while V goes on about how he loves her weaknesses and darkness. Rika expresses how she's convinced that her fear and darkness would one day end up hurting him.
"I guess human beings are bond to rot, if they taste love they don't deserve while they are incapable of believing there's love in them."
Episode 3
In the beginning of the episode we go back in time when Rika was in her teen years. Now adopted, and named "Serena", her foster mother is constantly seen pushing down a narrative that "God doesn't want her and that she would be expelled to hell", every time she would so slightly misbehave such as louder speech. Refusing to believe Serena was "a sign from God", her foster mother reveals that she regrets adopting Serena, and should have adopted Mika instead. Due to this constant narrative, Serena starts to question God herself, since the God Mika told her about wasn't nice and loving as she said. Desperate to confirm Serena is the one "sent by God", her foster mother asks a pastor to come over and 'save her'. Soon, the pastor pays them a visit, and mother thanks him for coming while Serena panics. The pastor tells Serena's mother that she might be possessed by Satan, and that he should 'cleanse' her. Serena then, in a monologue, expresses how he had been inappropriately touching her.
We cut to a playground flashback. It's stated that other kids would constantly make fun of Serena, spreading rumours about her being possessed by Satan, and calling her creepy. Teachers at the school would refuse to teach her, preferring smarter, brighter children. She also mentions that she had to be doing what everyone else was in order to be accepted.
Serena's father works for the hospital, thus her mother orders the pastor and Serena to go visit him. At first Serena hesitates to go, but eventually accepts. At the hospital, Serena manages to lose the pastor and roams around, looking for her father. Eventually, she follows a nurse she once saw taking care of him, and finds herself at the entrance of Mika's ward. The nurse is seen announcing to Mika that she would be getting discharged tomorrow and that she should take her medication. Once the nurse leaves, Serena enters, astonished to find her childhood friend. As they catch up with one another, Serena wishes Mika would live with her, saying "it's not too late". Stating that it's impossible now, Mika says that she's still in an orphanage, and expresses how jealous she is that Serena has a family and goes to school.
Finding Serena, the pastor interrupts their meeting asking Serena to come home with him, saying he's her guardian. Mika then pleads with the nurse, since it was her last day, to take the men out since he isn't Serena's actual father. He leaves, visibly angry. The two continue talking, and it's revealed that Mika was sent to the orphanage a year after Serena was adopted. Mika says that she's been doing community service as a hobby, and encourages Serena to help others as well. Serena then informs Mika that the God Mika has been telling her about was nothing like a loving God, and He would forsake her for the smallest things. Mika then breaks into tears and Serena notices how skinny she's gotten. Eventually Mika brushes it off as it's nothing, while Serena doesn't ask any further questions to prevent triggering her.
"Perhaps that was the most desperate way for her to plead with me to save her."
Episode 4
Serena learns from her father that Mika is suffering from eye cancer. At the hospital when they met each other, Mika gave Serena her orphanage address and number which later turned out to be fake. Serena would then blame herself and question why no one helped Mika.
The scene shifts to the recent past, where V takes notice that Rika looks dejected and asks if her therapy is going well. She then explains that she needs to go back to her past for it, to which V offers to get a puppy like Sally, but she rejects. The reason why Rika kept the puppy with her was because she was abandoned, and expresses that she would like to save more people. Much more than what the RFA parties had to offer. V takes notice and they continue talking about Saeran's whereabouts. Rika tells him that Saeran switched boarding schools. As V asks her why he can't talk with him, she says because he isn't letting her talk with Saeyoung, she won't let him talk with Saeran.
The scene moves further back in time to when Mina was getting adopted. Mika is seen attempting to fix the situation by yelling at the teacher, explaining that these people are bad parents and to take her instead - to which she fails at trying to convince the teacher. Ever since Serena reuinited with Mika, and seeing how forsaken she was, she promises never to abandon anything in hope of providing it with 'true love'. Serena rescues Sally as she saw her on the streets alone. Her mother is not very pleased with her decision to help the dog. She then reveals the fact that the pastor had been sexually harassing her when they were alone as a way of "cleansing" her, to which her mother brushes off as "a ritual to condemn Satan out of you". Eventually, Serena grows tired of her mother's lessons about the God who would forsake her.
Serena and Sally then run away and end up at the local cathedral where the pastor is holding a sermon. Her foster mother chases after her, much to Serena's amusement. Once reaching the cathedral, she expresses disgust towards everyone and accuses the pastor of being a criminal. People attending try to get her out of the cathedral, and beg the pastor to protect them from Satan.
"You forsake children just because they've done something wrong. Or just because you don't like them. You call that love?"
Eventually she was kicked out, only 16 at the time. She believes that she made a contract with the devil at that time and she found courage. She would then threaten her mother to let Sally be, due to her beliefs of having a devil living inside her.
Episode 5
At a cathedral away from her foster mother's house, Rika begins to assist the nuns in community service. She abandons the name 'Serena', and instead adopts a new name - Rika. Two nuns strike up a conversation with her, and point out how hard-working she is at such a young age. They then call her for lunch, to which Rika says that she would join them after she's done helping just one more elderly person. It is mentioned that Rika would often stay up at the place until late evenings, even on weekdays. Rika suggests to the nun that she would like to visit an elderly home in the south where people who don't have homes, since no one deserves to be forsaken. Whenever she would help someone, their faces would light up with hope and love, just like Mika's. Since she was never able to experience that type of love, Rika wished to know what being a truly loving parent would feel like. Thus she prayed for a sign.
2 years later, her relationships with people started to follow a pattern. Due to her charisma it would take less than a day for her to look after and care for them. She would sympathize and help out the wounded and the traumatized, while staying distant from the ones who didn't need her help. She set out wanting to be a light for others, yet at the same time, afraid of them noticing her own flaws and fears.
By pure chance, Rika managed to get a ticket for a photography exhibition. She would describe the pictures she saw as enlightening and warm. She would soon remember everything that happened in her life, from being forsaken at birth, getting adopted by abusive parents and then having Satan and darkness being used as a treat to her in the church. As days passed, she tried to forget the pictures she saw but couldn't. The ever-so-lasting love and light that the pictures would portray would stick to her. In the end she would do personal research to find out who V is and would admire him, hunting down his exhibitions and visiting them.
A few days later, a curious teen named Saeyoung decided to approach the cathedral since he heard someone singing, thus meeting Rika. It was brought to her attention that his clothes were faded and tattered, he seemed old enough to go to middle school, and was very thin. Saeyoung would wander around the cathedral asking lots of questions regarding what kind of place it was. He asked if he was allowed to bring his brother, Saeran, there one day so he would be able to hear him sing. His visits were irregular and he would avoid talking about his family which concerned Rika. She would teach him basic subjects, finding out he was very talented in math which surprised everyone at the cathedral. Although Saeyoung enjoyed his time at the cathedral, he was always concerned about his brother. Over time, Rika could see both Mika and herself in Saeyoung, growing attached to him.
Due to her devotion to serving the cathedral, Rika was highly regarded by the people there. However back home, Rika's foster mother would show up again. Her mother states that after 2 years, she will get rid of Rika's bedroom and kick her and Sally out of the house. Again, she expresses how it would have been better if they adopted the angelic girl, Mika, instead of her. Rika despised this behaviour, calling it pathetic and poor.
"Bad parents will never hear what children have got to say, unless the children become devils."
Episode 6
When Rika first met Yoosung she could picture him as forsythias in full bloom, as he grew up basking in his parents' love. Rika mentions that she only belonged with people who have crooks and holes in their lives and not with someone as bright as Yoosung. Yoosung proceeds to ask Rika why she was staring at him "like that." She replies that she thinks that he grew up with kind parents, jealous she couldn't do so. As they continue to talk, Yoosung states that when he grows up, he wants to be like Rika - someone who is passionate and sincere when it comes to helping others around her. However in her eyes, Yoosung was overly bright for her. She was afraid of him getting too close, her darkness would ruin him and thus she tried to avoid him. He didn't need to be saved by her.
Back at the cathedral, Rika asks Saeyoung if he would enjoy doing anything and mentions a movie theater downtown. She also mentions an exhibition, as she knew V's works were being shown that day. Saeyoung agrees, then gets caught in a science exhibition while Rika visits V's. She lost her heart while looking at his works, as if she found her parents that were never there for her. V ends up approaching Rika asking her if she likes the photo she's been staring at. Rika admits that she's a huge fan of his works, further admiring him. Like with other people she meets, Rika wonders if he is a 'dark' or 'light' person, but is unable to tell. Just when V is about to leave, Rika stops him and explains how the sun is the mother of all, and flowers wouldn't bloom if it wasn't for its embracing energy. Her fears would disappear when she meets the picture. She asks if he believes that one day she would be able to experience nothing but love and warmth.
Amazed by how deeply Rika thought of his works, V decides to give his picture to her as a gift. She hesitates and states that she can't take something like that since it's so priceless. She would hate to get it for free and would never get detached from it. In response, V suggests she gets him a cup of coffee in exchange for his work and then give each other their names.
"Regardless, I never told him my real name."
Episode 7
After they agreed to this suggestion, V and Rika sat down at a coffee shop and started a discussion. V told her that he needed her and that he has come to this realization as soon as they met. As Rika asks why, V says that he never saw someone as honest and kind as she was. Rika loved what he had embedded into his photos, asking if she can as well bask in love. Even now, Rika would still question if she deserved such a thing, and if V was a sign from God. Becoming his model, she would visit his home regularly, hoping she would receive love and affection from him. Instead, the two would be distant, with V observing her, taking his photos, then developing them. Trying to break things off, Rika suggests a good theater actor she knows that's still in high school, but V ignores her. As time went on, she would pretend to be a bright person in his presence, only causing her fear to increase.
2 months after she started working with him, her foster mother kicked her out of the house, leaving her with a temporary home at the cathedral. Naturally, Sally went with her. It was if no one could understand what she had been going through for her entire life. She couldn't stop admiring 'the light'. She would crave it and later bash herself for it. As if the three-year-old Mina was still in her, Mina wanted to be loved - there was still hope left in her. However, she knew if she asked V to love her, he would forsake her as well. As a result, she stopped visiting his studio.
When V noticed that Rika didn't visit his studio for the photoshoot, he decided to visit her house, only to find her kicked out. Meanwhile at the cathedral, Saeyoung prepares himself to find a new teacher. As he and Rika say farewell, a nun informs her that she has a visitor. To her surprise, V appears. Desperate to know what was going on, he looked into her absence. Rika explains that she is not the model he's looking for, and she's not the bright, happy person he takes pictures of. Expecting him to hate her for saying this, she is shocked when V asks her to show him how dark and tragic she is. Could she show him his fears? Would he despise her for it and simply hurl her away? V begged her to tell him, and so she did.
"Please don't leave me... even if I make a mistake... or do something that's out of human comprehension, even if i turn into a bunch of flaws..."
He was the only person to accept her for whom she was.
Episode 8
Rika expresses how happy she is to have met V, and the two get engaged the year they meet. She wished for a happy ending, but as 'her devil' was too strong, she would ask to be alone. She stays in a separate apartment for a while, where Rika and V discuss the first RFA party. Soon, V leaves the apartment. Rika ponders about the state of her life, whether it is going in the right or wrong direction. Sure that V is gone, Rika tells someone to come out, and surprisingly, it's Mika. Though Mika was actually at V and Rika's engagement ceremony, due to her eye damage caused by cancer, she couldn't see well. Mika had no trust in V, believing he would leave Rika, thus making a plan for the two of them to survive in this world without being forsaken.
Part of Mika's plan involved using Saeran to gather information from the RFA, tricked to believe a hacker is after them. At first, Rika refuses, indicating she needs to save that boy. However, Mika continues manipulating her into thinking that she should make secrets and avoid telling V about their plan. Mika tells her that he was going to ruin Rika, since she was "weak." Mika once again thanks Rika for letting her stay in her apartment, and says she hopes to live long enough to see their kingdom - Mint Eye being perfected. Rika begins believing Mika, following what she said since Mina depended on her. Rika merely wished to be loved without being forsaken. They had to show people fear to do so.
Later, Rika is seen at a ceremony hall announcing their first RFA party. She thanks everyone who was able to attend, but specifically mentions V and how he is her sun. She says they got together because his pictures were extremely beautiful for her, and how V represented such a warm person. She wishes that everyone would stay away from calculating thoughts, and instead choose benevolence and love, so no person would end up being forsaken. Her speech finishes off, saying that we all deserve every right to transcend space and time and share the purest form of love. Because of this, the RFA was created.
"Once the night falls, I'll once again feel space and time on my very skin. But, right now... I am something that has transcended relativity. I pray there is a sun within me."
