Chapter 1 is an entry to Paper Lily developed and published by Leef 6010. The Demo version released on Itch.io on January 31st[1] of 2023. The 1.1 version was released on Steam and Itch.io on January 26th of 2024.
Plot[]
The chapter follows Lacie, a young girl who is constantly rejected and mistreated by those around her, leading to a series of unfortunate events in her life. Seeking answers, she embarks on a journey guided by a mysterious golden letter, which leads her to a parallel world inhabited by demons. In this world, she befriends kindhearted demons like Rune, who reveal that her curse is the reason behind all her struggles, and that she must reach a lighthouse where a person named Red can help lift the curse. However, she takes a wrong turn and ends up meeting a peculiar human named Sai, and stumbles upon a group of demons conducting disturbing experiments.
Characters[]
Major characters[]
Minor characters[]
- Alba
- Aoi
- Boy Moth
- Girl Moth
- Hooded Figure
- Iris
- Kett
- Kozmo
- Milion
- Primal demons
- Shadow Girl
- Spider
- The Prisoner
Mentions[]
Locations[]
Endings[]
True Ending 1-1 - Against All Odds[]
After defeating Miss Knives, Lacie and Sai return to the facility. Lacie is passed out while Sai is leaning against the wall. When Lacie wakes up and realizes she was only out for 14 minutes, she scolds Sai for watching her sleep but Sai clarifies by saying he checked out the room first and then points out a door nearby. Sai compliments her skill at dodging knives, teasingly asking if she's secretly a demon in disguise. Lacie feels disheartened that she hasn't found Red or the lighthouse yet, but Sai reminds her that she's still alive and there's still time. Lacie reluctantly agrees and they continue on their journey.
They then stumble upon Miss Knives trapped in a cage, but she looks completely different from before. Lacie wonders if this is Miss Knives' true appearance, while Sai jokingly compares her to a used napkin. They decided to open the cage, noticing her scattered belongings. Sai questions how long she has been imprisoned, but Lacie is unsure. Before they depart, Lacie apologizes to Miss Knives for disturbing her.
After discovering the 2nd cell, they found out Spider was inside, and it was much bigger than before. Spider praises them and was happy to be back in that place. Sai mentioned Spider was locked up, but Spider didn't mind and found entertainment in their cell neighbor. When asked about Miss Knives, Spider assured she would recover and weave her web again. Spider also shared that Miss Knives receives visitors, one of them being Red who won't be returning soon. Before leaving, Spider gave Lacie three fragment doorknobs, hinting they may be helpful in her search for the lighthouse.
Lacie and Sai find a cursed door without a doorknob, realizing they must use a return doorknob to open it. Inside, they discover a garden with a door that can only be opened by placing a paper lily in a vase. Just as Lacie is about to proceed, Sai brings up her bucket list and proposes creating a new one centered around things to do once she is cured. Sai even suggests starting with treating him to her favorite dessert, providing Lacie with something to anticipate. Lacie is unsure how to react, but Sai encourages her to focus on the positive things and keep moving forward, believing it would be a shame to give up.
Lacie agrees and replaces the real lily for a paper one to unlock the door. She decides to bring the real lily along as well. Sai notices how calm Lacie is in this strange situation and she explains that she sees it as just another part of the puzzle. She wonders if she'll see him on the other side, and Sai assures her that she will. Lacie walks through the door, while Sai takes out the paper lily and closes the door to the real world, heading back through the cursed door.
Dead End 1-2 - Salt is for Cooking[]
After Lacie wakes up from her dream, she decides to call the number she was given, but the bus she was waiting for never shows up. She starts to wonder if she missed the bus or if it never came at all, making her doubt the effectiveness of the ritual she performed. Regardless, she concludes that the ritual didn't work and she needs to clean up, as leaving things unfinished can have serious consequences. She remembers that she left instructions to reverse the ritual on her PC. As she walks into her house, she notices more footprints and sees a message scribbled on the door. It says she spends too much time hiding from the world and questions if she's ever stopped hiding. When Lacie goes to her room, she tries to use her computer but realizes the internet is not working. Luckily, she still manages to come across the post she saved in the form of a PDF file.
The post discusses about a ritual called the bus ritual and advises that there are no instructions provided if something goes wrong or if the bus doesn't come. One user warns about the serious consequences of leaving a ritual incomplete and asks for safety precautions. Another user, with some experience in banishing spirits from their family's work at a shrine, details the steps of the ritual: untying the red string from the phone and spreading salt in front of any indoor entrance to their home. And so, Lacie sets off to undo the ritual but gets scared when she sees the creature in the mirror before disappearing. She completes the steps and goes to bed, but hears noises and suddenly, an injured Hiro appears at the foot of her bed, transforms into a demon form, and kills her.
Dead End 1-3 - A Walk in the Dark[]
After performing the ritual, Lacie falls asleep while on the bus and finds herself having that same dream from before. Yet this time, she spots some unfamiliar stairs leading into darkness. Unsure of where they will take her, but feeling the need to wake up before she gets too far, she takes a chance and decides to venture down the stairs anyways.
As she walks through the darkness, Lacie remembers being in this dream situation many times before. She stays calm, knowing that eventually she will wake up. However, not being able to keep track of time, she starts to worry about finding her way back but hopes that something in the real world will wake her up. As time passes, she notices she no longer feels hungry, thirsty, or tired. The sensory deprivation starts to affect her, making everything feel meaningless. Lacie confesses that she can't handle it anymore and desperately wants to wake up. She tries to pinch herself, but can't feel any pain, fearing she may be losing her sanity as she can't hear any sounds, see any colors, or smell anything. Lacie finally cries out for help, saying she'd rather die than stay in this place any longer. As she screams, the world around her turns red.
With that, she finds herself back at the starting point, only to find her bed, the stairs, and the path to her dream missing. Strangely, the white door that was once closed is now open, glowing with a bright light. Lacie decides to walk through the door, and just as she steps through, the screen abruptly cuts to black.
Dead End 1-4 - Carried Away[]
Lacie decides to go against the advice she read on online forums and stays on the bus even after reaching the end of the line. She ends up falling asleep and wakes up in what looks like a bus station. The place is filled with peculiar street signs on the walls and the garage door is locked. Lacie also sees a bus on top of another bus, along with some trash cans and wooden crates nearby. She goes upstairs and comes across a white door on the left. Inside, she finds a large fridge filled with stacked severed arms of different sizes, both left and right.
Feeling scared, she leaves the room and heads back upstairs where she sees a bright light coming from under a door, assuming it's an exit. But before she can enter, she bumps into two weird creatures, the "One-eyed monster" and the "Long-faced monster". The "One-eyed monster" suggests knocking her out, but the "Long-face monster" does it so hard that she gets seriously injured. The "One-eyed monster" scolds the "Long-face monster" for hurting her, saying there's now a hole in her. Lacie has to choose whether to scream or stay quiet, but both choices lead to the same outcome. The "One-eyed monster" mentions that if Lacie dies before extraction, their boss will be upset and might even kill them. Lacie closes her eyes and the screen goes black.
Later, the Doctor (Voice 3) questions why Lacie is bleeding, and the "One-eyed monster" apologizes and shifts the blame to the bus driver, saying they don't want Lacie to escape. However, The Doctor interrupts their excuses, reminding them that there have been very few subjects lately and the need to refrain from snacking on them. The Doctor threaten to report the situation to Glen, leaving the monsters visibly scared. The Doctor sarcastically questions if they believe it's okay to harm Lacie just because she's young, stressing the importance of not interfering with her. Lacie hears their conversation and slowly opens her eyes, realizing she's tied up in a strange doctor's office. Feeling her breathing, the Doctor asks the "One-eyed monster" to hand over the tools to extract her, killing her.
Dead End 1-5 - Become Snack[]
After fixing some signs, Lacie finds herself at a train station where she stumbles upon a vending machine. With a coin in hand, she decides to purchase a bag of chips. Despite not feeling hungry, Lacie opts to eat the chips to keep her energy up. But to her surprise, the ingredients on the chip packet made no sense and there was a warning about possible side effects like sleepiness, hallucinations, and headaches. Feeling alarmed, Lacie looked for a safe place but ended up collapsing in the middle of a dirt road.
As she loses consciousness, she experiences a peaceful sleep, which is a rare occurrence for her as she usually has nightmares in dark places filled with bad memories. Suddenly, she hears crunching noises and realizes she cannot move. Waking up, she witnesses a creature eating her. She questions whether it's a hallucination, but the pain is actually real. As she struggles to breathe and move, she pleads for help and wishes to go back to sleep to escape the agony. The creature stares directly at the camera before everything fades to black.
Dead End 1-6 - Ground Swallow Me Up[]
There are 2 possible outcomes for this ending:
- Lacie comes across a circle with a warning sign and accidentally steps inside, getting captured by a Venus Fly Trap. She feels sick, unable to move and realizes it's digesting her. Panicking, she tries to fight back but only ends up burning her skin and inhaling toxic gas. She laments her fate, realizing stepping into the circle sealed her doom.
- Lacie stumbles upon circle, only to get caught by a Venus Fly Trap. However, she manages to free herself using scissors and ends up in the Fairy Ring. Spotting another Venus Fly Trap devouring something, she cuts it open to find Aoi inside. They all decide to escape together but encounter strange sights like buses, buildings, and large skeletons along the way. Eventually, they come across a large hole leading down and fairy heads, eventually reaching a dead end at a small bathtub. As they start to lose motivation, Lacie notices Aoi melting and suggests they go through the drain to find a way out. As time passes, Lacie regrets sending Aoi down the drain, wishing she had said goodbye to Hiro when she had the chance. With her phone battery long dead, she starts to lose hope that Aoi will return.
Dead End 1-7 - Mortal Immortalized[]
Lacie arrives at the sculptor's house and finds the sculptor staring at a list. The sculptor spots Lacie and begins to chase after her. Lacie dashes towards the west, but finds herself trapped in a dead end surrounded by flowers. Unable to escape, the scene fades to black.
In the next scene, Lacie has been turned into a statue, joining the sculptor's collection. The sculptor admires the statue, marveling at its perfection and timelessness, and wonders if it's time to open the gallery.
Dead End 1-8 - Part of Your World[]
Lacie heads to the lake, but is stopped by a sea monster blocking her way to the boat. She wants to splash the monster with water, but the faucet at the lake hut isn't working. Inside, she ignores instructions to feed the goldfish and instead takes it to try and feed the monster.
Then, the ground shakes and the water turns to blood, with all the rabbits dead. The boat is gone, and the paths are blocked. Lacie spots a new white rabbit and approaches it, only for a giant hand to emerge from the water and grab her. The hand opens to reveal the fish unharmed, but Lacie and the rabbit are gone. The hand returns the fish to its bowl, and everything goes back to normal. Can also be interpreted as the hand turning Lacie into a replacement goldfish shrine keeper.
Dead End 1-9 - Doubt[]
While exploring the facility, Lacie decides to return to the prison room where she originated. Before stepping inside, Sai warns her that he will wait outside because the door only opens from the outside. However, once she's in the room, Lacie considers escaping through the vent, leaving Sai behind, as a way to potentially get rid of him.
She reunites with Rune and asked him what he knew about Sai. However, Rune admits he doesn't know much about Sai as he keeps to himself and doesn't share much. Although Lacie questions if Sai is a demon, Rune denies it but mentions that there is something unusual about him, even though he appears human.
Deciding to look for Sai, Lacie is shocked to find him already dead and torn apart. Shocked and confused, she struggles to accept his fate and chooses to flee the facility instead of facing the repercussions of leaving him behind. As she's about to leave, she sees something shiny near the gate, but before she can pick it up, a creature drags her into the dark floor and kills her.
Dead End 1-10 - Sensory Overload[]
Lacie and Sai discover an electrical panel in the Mechanical Room and successfully place fuse No. 5 in its proper place, unlocking a previously inaccessible large door which leads them into a conference room. Sai begins to invent fantastical theories about the room's purpose, such as it being a headquarters for world domination or a portal to another dimension. Lacie, on the other hand, interrupts Sai's speculations, frustrated by her worsening headache.
As they looked around, they spotted a coat hanging on a chair with a note labeled "MEETING 221 NOTES". The note mentioned that the group in the conference room was getting fed up with Lilith and considering removing her. Lacie then decides to wear the coat despite it being too big, finding it comfy. And just when she's about to learn about who wore the coat before her, she faints in Sai's arms and starts having intense visions. Turns out, these visions seem to be flashbacks from Lilith's past, showing how her colleagues used violence to get rid of her, leading to her losing a hand. Despite Sai's efforts to wake her up, Lacie tragically passed away.
Dead End 1-11 - Deep Sea Misadventure[]
Lacie and Sai successfully fixes the elevator and drains the water in the facility's lower level. They decide to go even deeper to the B4F level, but the elevator stops with a splash. Lacie tries to go back up, but the buttons don't work and the elevator is filling with water. Lacie reassures Sai that there should be an emergency exit, but they both realize they are unsure of what to do.
A few minutes later, Lacie suggests that there might be an exit on the ceiling and they can wait for the water to fill up the elevator, allowing them to float up and open it. However, despite Sai's attempts to remove the ceiling panels, they remain stuck. When Sai asks what to do next, Lacie is silent, overwhelmed by the fear of drowning. The screen goes black, and Lacie chooses to forget the events that followed, declaring drowning as the worst way to die.
Dead End 1-12 - What's At Stake[]
Lacie manages to gather all the items needed to defeat Miss Knives, but unfortunately, she unknowingly burns them in the wrong order. This causes everything to fall apart, with doors vanishing and paintings opening its eyes. The ground starts to crumble beneath them, leading Lacie and Sai to fall into what appears to be Miss Knives' dimension.
They both survived the fall, although Lacie had injured her foot and Sai was bleeding out. Sai tells Lacie to continue without him as he needs a moment to recover. Lacie agrees, but Sai insists she come back for him later. While trying to find a way out, Lacie encounters Miss Knives who is standing next to a person tied to a stake with knives. She whispers menacingly that she's returned and sings hauntingly. She then turned to Lacie, uttered "burning," and stabbed her before tying her to the stake.
Dead End 1-13 - Stuffed Animal[]
Lacie and Sai, having just defeated Miss Knives, decide to head back to the facility. To their surprise, they stumble upon some dead primal demons. In the middle of the crosspaths, they spot a stuffed animal that looks like a bunny. Sai approaches the bunny, calling it an abomination and pointing out its lack of legs and mismatched appearance. Just as Lacie is about to warn Sai to keep his distance, the bunny's head suddenly grows larger and devours them both.
Later on, an unknown person discovers the bunny and asks if it's finished cleaning. They notice something in its mouth and tell the bunny to spit it out. The bunny refuses initially, but reluctantly complies and spits out the bodies of Lacie and Sai, much to their annoyance. They scold the bunny for the mess and refuse to eat whatever it had in its mouth, offering it back to the bunny. However, they urge the bunny to hurry up or they'll leave without it. The scene ends with the person swearing and feeling creeped out by the surroundings.