Memory Tree key.
The Divine Tree Memories are experienced by Nier the second time he returns to the Forest of Myth. The memories are spoken to Nier by Sleeping Beauty as part of the main quest.
The answers given to the tree are different every time, depending on the words it chooses in the story.
Beginning[]
Black. Pure darkness. Painted over everything.
Words. Scattered here and there across the blackness.
Kind words. Difficult words. Amorous words. All sparkling
in the dark like jewels.
The words were few now. But time was shorter.
Grabbing the words in desperation, the tree turned to the
sky.
This is wrong, whispered the tree in the voice of wind
through the leaves. This is not how it was supposed to be.
...The plan has failed.
Once, long ago, the tree had remembered everything about
the world. This was its task. Its purpose.
It shivered with something approaching joy as it collected
the memories of mankind. This was no accident; emotions
were as much a part of the tree as root and bark.
Memories collected like dew on the thick green leaves of the
tree.
And once they had formed a web that spanned the entire
world.
Words collapsed into sunlight before passing through the
leaves and into the pool of memory. From the pool, the
words joined together to form colonies, the colonies united
into whirlpools of light, and the light coalesced into stars.
Each star was like a child of the tree, and it loved them all.
First Memory[]
Look at my memory.
A child is here, brought low by disease. He is far too young
to have suffered so.
Thin beyond words, the boy's skin is a shade paler than the
bleached hospital sheets upon which he lies. His parents no
longer visit him, for they cannot bear to watch him suffer.
The doctors have long since surrendered his fate to the
gods.
The boy, too, has abandoned hope. Strange emotions—
weariness, hatred—swell within the dark recesses of his
young heart. He tries to reject the black terror that
germinates in his body, but no amount of effort or tears can
drive the invader away.
He has long ceased to resent his parents and doctors. Once
he did, but now his pain is so great that there is little room
in his heart to think of others.
Only one person brings the boy comfort: a healthy young
girl with tan skin and deep blue eyes.
She is a beacon of brightness and light in the boy's world;
her very presence is a comfort to him.
But he is unable to look upon her face.
Whenever they meet, the boy is filled with loathing for his
own state. Soon, this loathing eats away at what joy he
receives from the girl's visits.
The girl will stop coming. He knows this. His every waking
moment is spent in fear of this day.
He thinks that if he could talk to her, if he could tell her of
his feelings, that this might not be so. But this conversation
never happens.
The girl disappears.
The boy dies alone.
The tree scoops up this memory and carefully stores it
within itself. Etched upon it is a single word: Envy.
Second Memory[]
Look at my memory.
There is a female warrior.
Her greatest enemy is a beast with red eyes that she cannot
fully comprehend. When she strikes it with her sword, it
turns into a pillar of salt and dies.
But when the white smoke clears, a new enemy rises.
And another.
...And another.
The warrior knows that her struggle is folly, but fighting
the unending stream of enemies fills her with a sense of joy
and purpose.
Somewhere deep in the warrior's drug-addled mind lies a
vague memory of a daughter. Perhaps the child exists only
in her head; the dying remnants of a powerful dream. She
does not know.
Her friends and fellow warriors come and go. Some flee in
terror. Some are eaten. She began the fight with 23
companions, but most are gone now.
The warrior's body shudders. She does not understand why
at first.
By the time she hears the fierce, low sound, the arena is
already enclosed in darkness. Looking up, the warrior sees
a beast so large that it blots out the sky.
She is laughing. She has been doing so for as long as she
can remember.
Covered in blood and dirt, the warrior laughs. She laughs
and laughs until the town that contains her daughter
collapses into a pile of dust.
This memory has been stored for a long time. It is etched
with a single word: Loss.
Third Memory[]
Look at my memory.
A red dragon falls from the heavens...
Ah, that memory has been lost. A shame. It was a favorite
of mine.
After many centuries of existence, the tree saw that its
carefully labeled memories were beginning to dwindle.
Once seemingly infinite, the memories now seemed ready to
disappear forever.
The tree did not feel sadness at this; grief was an emotion
beyond its comprehension.
It did, however, have the distinct feeling that something
was missing.
The mountain of memories it had so carefully assembled
had disappeared.
The tree stretched its branches as far as it could, but new
memories refused to flow.
The pool of memories was a black, empty pit; a hollow
place where life had once flourished.
The tree had lost its purpose.
There was nothing to be done but sift through the few
remaining memories littering the ground under its
branches.
This is why the tree was pleased when the man and his
companion entered the room.
Continuation of Quest[]
Nier: Well, this place is gloomy as hell.
The room Nier had entered was almost completely empty.
All he could see were a few crystals scattered haphazardly
on the ground.
Picking up one of the crystals and peering into it, Nier
suddenly saw a familiar sight.
It was the Forest of Myth—its villagers prisoners of their
own dreams.
I apologize, the tree thought. That is all that remains.
As Nier stared at the jewel, bewildered, a voice suddenly
called out from the depths of his mind.
The voice implored them to listen.
It was an order. Following it was mandatory.
Abruptly, the pair realized that they must listen.
They m us t li st en!
Weiss: Look.
A small, shadowy presence appeared from beneath the
floor.
It looked to be a Shade.
The Shade grasped several jewels in its hand. More jewels
tumbled out of its mouth like shards of broken teeth, sights
and sounds tinkling from each one before vanishing forever.
The creature was abusing the memories, treating the
precious objects like a collection of cheap playroom toys.
Weiss: This Shade appears to be consuming the memories.
Nier: That little thing? It's barely worth my time to kill.
The tree extended a branch toward Nier.
Without a second thought, Nier brought his blade down on
the Shade, tearing its stomach wide.
Jewels burst from the Shade and poured across the
chamber floor.
Look, thought the tree. There is the Conviction memory I
had lost. And Satisfaction. And many others as well. Yes,
this is good.
The tree opened its mouth and attempted to speak, but no
sound emerged.
A millennium of silence and solitude had caused the tree to
forget certain things. But rather than be upset, it greeted
the development with good cheer. Focusing all its power on
the riddle of speech, the tree formed a kind of makeshift
vocal cord and tried again.
"Ahem! I... I implore... *HACK*!"
It spat out a glimmering green jewel.
Hmmm... One more time.
"I implore you."
There we are.
"What was the color of the lost envy?"
Brown
Green
Blue
Weiss: It spoke! ...This Shade has intelligence! And
emotion!
Nier: Who cares?
Nier brushed Weiss's comment aside as his sword sliced
through the Shade's right arm.
The Shade extended its remaining arm to Nier. I must must
touch him. I must make contact.
The moment its fingers brushed against Nier, the tree felt a
warm sensation begin to burn. Something hot coursed
through its fingers, up its arm, and out to its entire body.
It was emotion, more than the entity had felt in centuries.
The tree cried out in surprise and joy.
One thousand years alone. One thousand years in quiet
contemplation.
The tree felt like it was going to break apart.
For long centuries, the tree had been alone, its heart sealed
with heavy chains. But no more. New, powerful emotions
began to take hold, causing its heart to lighten. This was
more than the simple emotions it had been designed to feel:
it was the beginnings of a soul.
And the man was the key.
This was the promise made long ago. This was how it would
be released.
The tree's stomach began to throb in pain—a new and
unpleasant sensation.
But the time was not yet right.
"I implore you: How many were lost by the warrior who
fought the red-eyed beasts?"
Her daughter and 23 friends
Her daughter and 33 friends
Her daughter and 63 friends
Nier: Okay, riddle time is over. I'm gonna kill this stupid
Shade once and for all.
Something round and shiny fell from the open stomach and
clattered to the floor.
"The key!" shouted the book. "Grab the key!"
The man's sword slowed.
Time began to dilate around them, stretching and slowing.
Time is essential. The next word must be heard.
The words exploded. It became diffi cult to discern their m
eaning. The p ool of memo ies began to cr ack as infinite
black ness burrowed its way into the wall. Wei ss: "Thi s
world is fa lling apart!" Nier: "How can a wo rld of le
t er
"I implore... most important thing wo rld"
Yo nah
Yo nah
Yo nah
... ...
... ... ... ...
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
The light was complete.
The memories disappeared.
The tree's identity began to dissolve.
As the letters slowly faded, Nier was drawn back to the real
world.
And the tree was satisfied.