I have included details of events that may seem irrelevant and trivial to most. This may make this section difficult to read and navigate.

Table of Contents:

– The Fall of Two Canes and The Creation Myth

– About The Species of Ribika

– Sanga and Touga

– The Void and Sickness

– The Nature of Two Canes

– The Nature of Leaks

– Konoe's Childhood

– The Four Devils and Konoe's Curse

– The Shaman's Prophecy

– The End of Times

– The Song of Two Moons

– Eclipses

– The Village of Kira

– Asato and the Village of Kira

– Kagari and the Village of Kira

– The Village of Meigi

– The Ring and Konoe's Parents

– Kaltz's Warning to Asato

Two Canes had built up a thriving civilization, but one day they roused the fury of the Gods and they wished to destroy all the life that they had created on Earth.

Two Canes predicted this destruction, so a male and female pair of every species was buried deep underground. But by the end, only a male human and a female cat remained unharmed. The goddess Ribika took pity on the Earth, and out of her eternal compassion, she entered the body of the cat and created new life by pledging herself to Two Canes through laying a rainbow egg which fell to the Earth. This created the species of ribika, the succeeding race, and new life on Earth.

By doing this, Ribika lost her eternal life, and lived the rest of her days as a cat. Ribika also lost the strength to support the sun, so it fell from the sky and into the sea. She then split the moon into two, and now there is the “Moon of Darkness” and the “Moon of Light” in the sky.

The ancestors of the ribika were regular cats that obeyed Two Canes (humans). ribika have many different colored tails and ears, with varying textures and patterns. But all ribika can be divided into two categories:

Small and Large.

Large ribika descended from the big cats of their ancestors, and have very strong bodies and superior fighting abilities. An example of this species of ribika is Rai.

Small ribika descended from smaller cats, are much more agile and nimble, and have longer ears and tails. An example of this species of ribika is Konoe.

Like cats, they are hunters at heart. A ribika’s diet mostly consists of meat and various nuts and fruits (such as kuims), but since the onset of the Void has been destroying most of the forests and the wildlife that lives there, meat is hard to come by and most ribika are forced to omit it from their diet. Luckily, ribika are able to go without eating for a long time, and don’t need to eat much.

Although ribika resemble humans in many ways, they have many of the traits of regular cats, such as being extremely sensitive to their environment, having the need to groom, having the ability to fall from high lengths, having a keen sense of smell, and having sharp claws. They have quite terrible eyesight, like their Two Canes ancestors. Their tails not only help them with their balance, but can also be used to tell how they’re feeling. When under extreme agitation, their pupils narrow to a thin slit.

Ribika also refer to themselves as “cats”, as the cats that appear in old literature share many traits with the ribika. ribika look at Two Canes like Gods due to them being so technologically advanced according to the legends passed down to them.

The Void （虚ろ） refers to the deterioration of certain areas around Sisa due to the darkness created by Leaks’s magic. It renders these areas practically uninhabitable, as all surrounding matter completely rejects the ribika and anything they touch leaves them with cuts and grazes. The Void slowly encroaches closer to Ransen and other surrounding towns throughout the story.

The Void is first mentioned by Konoe as he tries to find food in the forest surrounding Karou, and he remembers a story he overheard from the other villagers of a girl wandering into the forest to pick grass, and coming back out with many cuts on her hands without knowing why.

The Void erodes everything it touches into a “new life”, making an object’s appearance become brighter and more colorful. When Konoe entered the village of Karou after going back to it for the first time, the Void had completely overtaken it, and all of the flora and fauna had changed in this way. The deceased villagers were missing limbs due to the Sickness.

The Sickness is a strange phenomenon that has a higher onset rate for female cats, where parts of a ribika’s body seemingly vanish into thin air. It is rumored that this is also caused by Leaks’ dark magic.

Two Canes were akin to Gods on Earth. They could fly through the skies, bury deep underground and spend days at sea. They could express themselves fully through works of art and song, and they produced complex inventions and architecture. So, modern day humans.

The species of Ribika view Two Canes as their ancestors, and worship them as Gods due to their impressive feats. ribika still share the same similar method of documenting weeks and months as Two Canes, but are unable to read documents left behind by them as the ribika speak a separate language. It is hinted that Razel, Verg, and Froud were all Two Canes (humans) in their previous lives, and it is rumored among ribika that if you do good deeds, you will be reincarnated as a Two Cane in your next life.

Leaks is the main antagonist in Lamento and is said to be a great sorcerer who had lived since long ago in the forest of Toride. He was hated and scorned by the people of Ransen as they believed Leaks was attempting to conspire against the Lord by forming a bond with Shui (the next in line as the Lord's Head Sanga), and because of his supposed use of powerful and illegitimate magic. Believing this, they then burnt his hideout and the forest surrounding it down. He became vengeful towards the people of Ransen and used his magic to devour the land to the Void, completely destroying most of it. His goal is to end the world and create a new one devoid of emotion and connection, as he sees these things as useless and only obstacles in the pursuit of true power.

Leaks’ Sanga is the devil Firi, but nothing is known about the origins of how they first met. Firi is fiercely dedicated and loyal towards Leaks, even singing his song for Leaks in exchange for his own life in an attempt to defeat Konoe.

He reveals to Konoe that he had been transferring his own emotions to a “vessel” to discard his own emotions. He chose a baby as this vessel, who was Konoe. Because of these excess emotions, Konoe found it easier to empathize with others and his own emotions often felt unbearable. He was also able to inherit some of the knowledge of sorcery that Leaks possessed, allowing him to read the emotions of objects that he touches. If Konoe lived perpetually in this state, his spirit would begin to falter, and it would soon die.

Leaks specifically chose Konoe as his vessel as a form of revenge - Konoe is Shui’s only son, who most of Leaks’ hatred is directed towards, as he betrayed his trust and accidentally turned the people of Ransen against him. His hatred of Shui is grief secretly disguised as hatred - it is hinted that Leaks still somewhat misses Shui, but he can’t bear to admit that to himself.

Thanks to his plan, he was able to obtain unrelenting power, but ceased to be a cat at all in the process. He became consumed with grief towards Shui’s supposed betrayal (and later demise.) He replaced his loneliness with hatred and unforgiveness to mask his own grief. In doing so, he pushed the world away and died alone, only realizing his feelings for Shui moments before his death. It is not known what these feelings were specifically.

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Shortly before Konoe’s birth, his father sent his wife to her hometown of Karou. After sensing a possible assasination attempt against him from another cat in line to be the Head Sanga, his father was killed, and Konoe’s mother Mei was left to raise Konoe alone in Karou.

She died of an unnamed illness during Konoe’s childhood, and Konoe was left to look after himself in solitude. He was ostracized by his village as an orphan, and he grew resentful towards the other cats living there, particularly because no one bothered to help his mother as she succumbed to her illness.

Konoe was cursed by the ancient sorcerer Leaks before he had even been born, as Leaks held resentment towards Konoe’s father for supposedly betraying him. He was then born with an overwhelming sense of empathy for others, as Leaks transferred his own emotions to Konoe as a vessel to be rid of his own emotions. Konoe also inherited the power to see the memories of others that have been imbued into objects from Leaks.

Due to being born as Leaks’ vessel, he looks exactly the same as Leaks apart from the natural color of his ears, and supposedly the determined look in his eyes that Konoe inherited from his mother.

The four devils in Lamento are Verg, Kaltz, Froud, and Razel.

They are summoned by people’s strong emotions, and ribika are able to make a request to them in return for something valuable, such as a piece of hair or a soul. Most people who summon the devils use their services for nefarious purposes, often asking for revenge against another.

The four devils are in pursuit against each other to consume Konoe’s soul in order to gain more power, as they feed on souls filled with strong emotions such as resilience and anger.

They were once in a contract with Leaks. They worked with him to degrade Konoe’s resilience and will to fight as a “test of endurance” by giving him terrible and vivid nightmares in which they tortured him in, but Konoe passed this test, and Leaks no longer had any need for the devils. Leaks then took all four of the devil’s powers, and left them much weaker than they were previously.

They then ambushed Konoe and asked him to make a temporary pact with them in return for their power to defeat Leaks. The four devils were in need of their power back, and Konoe needed help in fighting Leaks, so both parties agreed to work with each other until they had defeated Leaks.

Devils can move freely throughout time and space, allowing them to seemingly appear out of nowhere no matter the location.

The Shaman prophesied that the ribika would end up facing the same fate as their Two Canes ancestors, who drowned in their indulgence the longer they existed. Two Canes had destroyed themselves this way, and the ribika were beginning to follow the same path. He became quite pessimistic, and asked Konoe if he thought a world like theirs was better off disappearing, one filled with sickness and suffering.

Konoe rejected this way of thinking, and criticized the Shaman for assuming that the ribika would follow the exact same path despite being two different species. Konoe believed that even if the world were to end, he’d draw the line at accepting it without retaliation.

The Shaman praised Konoe for his enthusiasm, and told him of his great hopes for him as someone who’s song could save the world. The Shaman believes that something immovable is inside Konoe, and that is strength.

Although the Shaman warned Konoe that his personal feelings wouldn’t be able to change the path that lies ahead for him, he believed that as long as Konoe didn’t lose sight of himself, he would be able to save Sisa and his friends. This was valuable to Konoe, as he realized that the most important things were bonds, and the invisible connection between two hearts.

If he lost sight of himself, he would succumb to his emotions, and waiting for him would be an end full of sorrow.

This was prophesied by Leaks when he met with Konoe for the second time. When both the Moon of Light and the Moon of Darkness eclipsed each other, the world would be reborn and all of existence as the ribika knew it would end.

Once it was triggered, Leaks used his magic to puppeteer every local who had ever died in the forest from the Void and Sickness to invade Ransen. Leaks used the magical power emitted by the eclipse to carry his song all over Sisa.

A song that says that the world will be reborn if the Moon of Light and the Moon of Shadow were to overlap.

The full story comes together through another famous song. It goes that on a cold winter day where everything is frozen over, the moons yearn for each other, and weep tears that fall and melt into the earth. They then become one and turn the same color as an inflamed eye. The cats of Kira had been taught this song.

Rai offers up the idea that the “moon’s tears” are actually falling snow, as the tears fall and “melt” into the world.

This is what the Song of the Two Moons and Leaks prophesied the events of.

Two Canes commonly spoke about lunar eclipses, which occur when the Moon of Shadow and the Moon of Light rise together and overlap one another. Since an eclipse hasn’t occurred in Sisa for thousands of years, the knowledge Two Canes knew as to how to measure the time one would happen was lost, and no one knew when the End of Times would come.

All magical power is heightened during an eclipse, making it an ideal opportunity for Leaks to use very powerful magic.

The village of Kira is where Asato and Kagari originate from. It is an extremely isolated and closed-off community, so much so that other villages and towns believe its existence to be an old wive’s tale. Many unpleasant rumors about Kira have been passed down through word of mouth in other villages, such as the belief that if you passed through Kira, you would be hunted and killed by the ‘savages’ that live there.

In reality, it was a relatively peaceful but remote area before Razel began to manipulate the villagers so as to hunt and kill Asato and Konoe. The cats of Kira are very unwelcoming of other species of cats living amongst them, and they are prideful of their ancestry, despite their black tails and ears being recognized as a sign of misfortune by other ribika.

They have a long-standing feud with a neighboring village of cats from Meigi, presumably because Meigi cats worship evil magic. They contain a darkness inside of their blood, which is why Kiran cats forbid mating with the rival clan.

Asato is sent to chase away Konoe when he first arrives at Kira as he is seen as an intruder, but as he begins to explain that he has similar markings to them and came to see if they knew anything about them, Asato takes Konoe to the village chief and is told that his markings are not related to theirs. Kiran cats draw their markings on as a way to show that they belong to the village.

Asato is hated by the village of Kira as he’s seen as a child of darkness, due to being born from a father from their rival clan, the Meigi.

Asato is hated by the village of Kira and is seen as a child of darkness due to being born from a father from their rival clan, the Meigi.

The relationship between his mother Kaya and father Kaltz, who was from the Meigi clan, was eventually exposed, and they fled from place to place in the forest in order to escape being executed. Eventually, Asato’s father was separated from Kaya as he tried to draw pursuers away from her, and his whereabouts were unknown.

After they had been separated, Kaya fell from a cliff in Yuukoku Valley after being cornered by pursuers, and she was pregnant with Asato at the time. Though she survived and gave birth to Asato without incident, she was weakened by the fall and eventually passed away. Kagiri was then left to raise Asato alone. When Asato was born he was not in the form of a cat. He was born a literal monster. As he grew up he turned into the proper form of a cat. The Meigi clan worship evil magic, so when they cross with other blood, random incidents such as this happen. There are other incidents similar to Asato’s father and mother that have happened in the past, so it is strictly forbidden by the Village of Kira to mix with each other.

An accident occurred involving Asato where a villager was attacked by a monster. Everyone grew suspicious of Asato, and everyone pinned the blame onto him. In a narrow-minded village like theirs, it’s much easier to latch onto an easy target than to be afraid of something unknown to them. Konoe’s village was the same - that’s why he had to leave as well.

If the Kiran cats don’t hunt and kill Asato then they'll cause an uproar, and their reputation as a tribe will be ruined. Asato had broken the laws of the Kiran tribe as soon as he was born, so he’ll never be pardoned by them.

Kagiri volunteered to kill him herself rather than another cat of Kira. Kagiri had always seen Asato as her own son. She didn’t want to let anyone else kill Asato, because she knew that his last moments would be filled with scorn and pain. In the end, she protected him from being killed by a Meigi cat.

Kagari had to live with being watched by the males of the village as one of the only females, and she was forced to mate against her will. Apart from the chief, she hated every male belonging to Kira. They were her enemies.

When Asato was born, she felt strangely sympathetic for him, who looked too grotesque to be a cat. She believed that he resembled her in a way. When Kagari tried to pet him, he reciprocated the gesture and started to hug her as well. As a gesture with no malice or ulterior motives, it brought tears to Kagari’s eyes, even when she recalls it in the present.

Kagari knew that if she abandoned him no one would be left to raise him, and Asato would be left to fend against the other villagers of Kira on his own. She decided then and there that she would raise him herself, even if everyone else disagreed. Even if Asato’s mother died, she would take sole responsibility for Asato until she died as well.

So when it was time for Asato to be killed by the villagers for being a “taboo” child, Kagari begged the Chief to let him live.

The village of Meigi is a clan of cats belonging to a relatively isolated community, just like the cats of Kira. They’re perceived as secretly looking down on other cats with contempt – and while appearing mannerly at first, their brute strength is merciless.

Many cats in Sisa scorn the Meigi cats due to their use of dark magic and rituals. Their blood is said to be cursed by darkness because of this, which is why the village of Kira is afraid of mixing amongst them and becoming tainted as well.

Kaltz was originally from the village of Meigi, and so he had this dark blood inside of him. Asato inherits some of Kaltz’s Meigi blood, which is why he is seemingly “cursed” and “monsterous”, according to the cats of Kira.

Shui sang a song to Konoe and told him that he had left something behind in Karou, and Konoe remembered the ring belonging to his mother that he couldn’t get back. The ring was a memento of Konoe’s father.

Konoe went back to the village to retrieve it, and he inspected the memories imbued into the ring.

The first image Konoe saw was of a man singing a song to the Lord of Ransen at his side. The Lord was surrounded by people, and he sat on a magnificent chair next to a flag with the crest of Ransen on it.

The second image was in the viewpoint from behind some rocks. A cat stood in the distance not too far away wearing long, black clothes, with a monstrous shadow that seemed to have a will of its own. The shadow seemed to linger on the cat, flickering with a strange flame. The shadow then engulfed the cat, and he opened his arms wide to accept it.

Konoe suspected that his father must have been a powerful Sanga who was chosen to work with the Lord of Ransen, as he is seemingly singing next to him in his memory. Konoe was unaware of this, as his mother may have forgotten or not thought it necessary to tell him.

He also theorized that his father had some kind of connection to Leaks. Konoe worried about this, as he had always had strong respect and affection towards his father, even if he never knew him.

In case you were wondering, when Shui puts his ring on Konoe's finger when they're in Leaks' fortress (which had been engraved with his song), it was his middle finger on his left hand. Because you deeply care about that information.

Kaltz tells Asato that he will soon completely change into the form of a beast due to his blood. He’ll have the body and mind of a monster, and he’ll be unable to change back. The likelihood of the sorcery carried in his Meigi blood awakening is not high, but Asato is being touched by a “great darkness”, which accelerates the waking of his Meigi blood. Kaltz tells Asato that this “darkness” is due to his connection with Konoe, as his existence is “concealed in great darkness.”He is a cat that was born with a tragic fate as well.

Still, Kaltz believes that Asato can live a normal life despite the fact that his blood was passed onto him, as Konoe may be hiding a vast darkness, but he is not of the darkness himself.