Very unique and awesome story.

First off, this is pretty damn unique. I've read a lot of speculation as to what Mio is, was and might be, but Raem's past and objectives often seem to be... overlooked. Probably because he's an evil monster and no one really wants to delve that far into his mind. Still, it makes for a fascinating and relatively unexplored subject, no? And you did a great job, from what I can see :)

I had to read this a few times before I began to see the shape of it. There are so many puzzles! That of the pregnant woman and her mysterious absent husband, Alex, for instance. Was Alex Raem's name, before he became a god and left the mortal plane? Was Alex a man of Tida's caravan who would never return home? Was he one of the two children who became men, who died? Was that a fragment of history that never quite happened? The pregnant woman herself is an enigma - was she the one who Raem spurned to marry the miller's eldest?

Since there are no names in this piece used more than once (apart from Raem's, obviously), there's a feel of looseness and overlapping or missing time periods as you try to work out what happened when, and who it happened to. And then I thought, hey, that's what it would be like if you genuinely remembered nothing of your past life.

What you did - the possibly-but-maybe-not-chronological layout, the lack of recognisable names - made us readers feel like Raem and understand how he must feel. If all he's got left are these flashes of past, and he no longer knows which are his and which are ones left over from those he's stolen, it's no wonder he's so bitter and confused.

My favourite bits, hmm. The the part about the Black Knight's love for his son, which was at the top of his mind when he stood, was so... sweet. It was almost like you were saying that Leon Esla was the driving force that made him get up again to fight. Plus, the idea of Raem licking his lips at that was bizarre but somehow perfect. I also thought the way you wrote the father at the beginning (whose father? Whose? Raem's? Probably! Maybe not! The puzzles!) was spot-on. His gruffness, and the sharp "ain't", were so raw and made me genuinely sad.

If I had to make any criticism at all, it would be perhaps that there are a few too many things left unexplained. Then again, since we know next to nothing about Raem and I sure as hell enjoyed trying to work out the story myself, maybe that's not an entirely bad thing.

I wish I had time to write a more detailed review but unfortunately I'm at work! The temptation to check your page is always too great, haha.

Very interesting.

And interesting story, no doubt. I never took much thought as to what Raem's 'life' had been before. It's a little bit confusing at parts, but otherwise a very good read.

I wondered who among devout Crystal Chronicles fans would be the next to write about either Mio or Raem, as thus far I've been the one oftenest writing of the grand scheme of things, the great battle between the good Queen of Memories and the evil memory-devouring demon. (Your reviewer Seoul Gamer isn't the only one who has credited me with being a strong influence on the depiction of Lady Mio - and her nemesis Raem, by the same token - in fanfiction; I've had one TitleContreven also say so in his review of my crossover "Sword of Redemption.")

You have thus written a dark and interesting take on the ascent of Raem. He has lost all but his most painful memories, so when he gained immortality (even you don't seem to be sure how), he started feeding on the dark and painful memories of all who dwell in the mortal realm. Hurdy, Leon, the caravanners of Tida - pity the poor souls unfortunate enough to cross his path! And even those who don't face the demon directly - since the miasma and monsters are such major sources of pain in the realm, it's no wonder that Raem realized just what a threat De Nam was and sent monsters to kill him. "Everyone lusts for power, it seems." (Terra Branford, Final Fantasy VI)

On a side note, I'm glad that this website finally started including character filters in the Crystal Chronicles category (though I suppose they eventually had to, with the prequels, sequels, and spin-offs). Although I doubt that many of the much older stories will ever be filtered by featured character(s); I imagine that most of their writers have fallen out of love with the fandom and thus aren't paying attention.

An original and thought-provoking take on the origins of Raem. The game merely states that he was born of the meteor cataclysm, and until now I thought no more of it.

This section needs more stories like this one-stories which ask the questions no one ever thought to ask, and which answers them in ways no one else could have imagined.

I like that even the gods die over time. They're not true gods, in that sense, merely very powerful beings. This is how I had thought of Lady Mio-I never believed, as LadyCordelia17 did, that Mio was literally a goddess with power over life and death.

In your view, Raem was not inherently a perversion of nature but a part of the natural order corrupted by his own desires. From boy to man to deity, the way you tell this story is just as extraordinary as what you have to say.

I honestly hope that you grow bored more often. As I believe at least one reviewer has said to you before: Never stop writing, Sasukeblade. This section would grind to a halt without you.