Record: The Devil's Tray is an event in NieR Reincarnation.
Story[]
Part 1[]
Clouds hang heavy over the rural village.
The boys wear grim expressions, clenching sharpened tools in their hands as they make rounds through the withered paths of the fields.
An endless war has disturbed the order of things, and this remote village has fallen victim to the plundering ways of bandits and highwaymen.
They come over and over again, claiming not only food and valuables, but lives.
But the village has no one to rely on for protection; the men have all been taken by the draft.
So the boys have no choice but to stand.
There comes a commotion at the village entrance.
Dust billows in the truck's wake as it roars into view.
The boys seethe at this new arrival, charging it with weapons held high.
Helpless children armed with rusted farm tools have no hope of victory against such a foe.
But then the eldest boy lifts his hand, and a group of hidden children let fly with flour.
The sky goes white. Like mist. like bone.
The eldest lights a match and throw it.
A pillar of fire erupts into the sky, as though the very clouds themselves are eager to burn.
The boys scream at the oncoming vehicle:
This is what you get for thinking us helpless children!
But their plan is discovered.
At the last moment, the truck swerves out of the way, dodging the pillar of fire with an almost eerie grace.
Their plan has failed.
The eldest boy and his friend hold their breath, fearing retaliation.
The door swings wide.
It's all right, says a voice "we're here to help."
A young man steps out, dressed in a weathered uniform.
His voice calm and soothing, he informs the boy that the military has sent to protect the village from bandits.
Excitement ripples through the children.
It is the help they have long been waiting for.
Adults are reliable.
The children all think this, but the eldest holds it especially true.
Soldiers muster their courage to venture into the fray and protect the people just as he seeks to do.
And now, his very ideal of a hero stands before him.
Part 2[]
The soldiers make their rounds of the village and take stock of the damages the bandits have wrought.
Stolen valuables. broken buildings. shattered lives.
The commanding officer's face clouds upon learning the butcher's bill, but when he hears plans are in place to infiltrate the bandit's stronghold, he collects himself.
This is their chance.
The eldest boy, who has been watching from the shadows suddenly dashes towards the man,
He begs him to come along and help drive the bandits from his home.
The village has not had a moments of rest since the bandits arrived.
With fathers and elder brothers lost to the draft, the remaining children and elderly spend their days huddles together for safety.
When the bandits strike, the never know which of them will lose a mother that day. A sister. A friend.
The boy burns with a desire to protect his village.
Nearby, the soldiers exchange bewildered glances/
But the commanding officer does not avert his eyes.
He does, however, refuses the boy's request, for the risks are too great.
No matter how the child begs and pleads, the man's meek features belies his steadfastness, and he does not give in.
As the boy grins his teeth in frustration, the officer leans down and says, "It's best you don't see."
As the soldier hop aboard the truck and prepare to leave, the villagers gather around them.
Their voices trembling, they make themselves heart.
"You're our only hope!" they cry.
"Please protect us!" they plead.
Desperate hands reach out to them. Eyes brim with tears.
The soldiers mutter soothing words and nod in turn as the villagers cry out with their threadbare hearts.
As the villagers press their hands together and sob, the eldest boy finds himself shamed by their actions.
These same adults--who once preached their truths and scolded the boys--are now little more than powerless children themselves.
And seeing this, the fire of conviction ignites in his heart once more.
Part 3[]
The soldiers drive to the bandit stronghold.
It is an abandoned factory in a forest not that far from the village.
Tension fills their vehicle.
The commanding officer reaches into his pockets to check his equipment one last time.
But when he glances into the rearview mirror, he sees the eldest boy.
He is holding a long stick in his hands, chasing after the truck with a look of ferocity scrawled across his face.
The man tense, unsure of what is about to happen.
But then the boy plunges the stick into the ground and uses it to propel himself into the air.
His body traces a magnificent arc though the sky before landing in the open truck bed.
As the soldiers' eyes go wide, the boy chuckles.
But his joy lasts only a moment.
When he sees the gun in the officer's possession, he freezes.
The bandits wielded this weapon; it is a symbol of violence.
The boy looks around wildly. Realizing that every soldier carries the same, memories of tragedy begin to race through his mind.
Easy, says the officer as he offers the boy some water. "It's fine."
The boy snatches it with surprising vigor and downs it in a single effort.
"I want to be a soldier when I grow up," he says.
"This doesn't scare me."
Though his voice quivers, he has no intention of leaving.
The boy plants himself in the bed of the truck, swaying as it careens down the beaten, rugged path.
After a while, he dozes off.
When he wakes, he finds the truck parked near an unfamiliar factory.
The commanding officer is long gone; all that remains are a few lookouts.
The boy shakes the vertigo from his head and spits out a curse.
The water. He has been drugged.
But he will not give up.
He avoids the wayward glances of the lookouts and makes his way inside the old factory.
It is a silent as a tomb.
Irritation grows as he walks; he wonders if he missed his chance for glory.
But he has no idea that a sea of blood awaits.
Part 4[]
The bandits have make their home in an old factory.
By the time the boy arrives, it has been transformed into a silent sea of blood.
With shaky steps, he searches for the soldiers, but all he finds are bandit corpses with faces frozen in fear.
Despite his bewilderment, he presses on.
At last, he comes across the commanding officer holding a gun to a bandit who is begging for his life.
Before the boy can even wonder if such a thing is necessary, the bandit's head explodes in a geyser of red.
Silence descends over the building once more as the man stares down at the body and smiles.
The boy screams then--though he knows not why.
The man turns; his face and clothing crimson.
Ah, he murmurs. "You're up."
The man approaches, looking to the boy like nothing more than a murderer.
Stay away from me! he cries as he tries to make his traitorous legs move again.
"I'm sorry you had to see this." says the officer.
"We'll be leaving your village. now. You can tell the others the bandits won't be bothering you anymore."
With that, he turns and leaves, a trail of red footprints in his wake.
A year passes. The boy's dream of soldiering is abandoned.
One day, as he minds the fields as he always does, he spots a familiar man in uniform emerging from the factory with a thoughtful expression on his face.
The nauseating, crimson nightmare of the previous year suddenly plays again in the boy's mind.
But there is also curiosity, and so the boy lays down his tool and makes for the factory.
Traces of fear remain inside: a reminder of the slaughter.
The boy ventures deeper, afraid of the silence.
When he finally comes to the space that was once an ocean of red, he finds it covered in flowers.
Perhaps it was the officer who offered them.
The multitude of color bloom in mourning. In remorse.
In compassion. In nightmare. In repentance.
The boy feels as though he has been given the slightest glimpse into the depths of the man's heart.
Despite how he smiled as he killed those bandits without mercy.
And though so much time has passed, he still comes to this place to offer them flowers.
The boy does not know the man's true face; a day will never some in which he does.
Yet as the scent of the blossoms chokes him, he offers up a prayer.
Please. Someone save him.
Event Characters and Weapons[]
Medal Exchange[]
- False Guardian Captain (Griff) | Bequeathed Pistol (Gun)