Seto

"At that moment, I was truly alone in the world."

- Older Seto, in the Introduction

Seto (セト), the protagonist of Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon, is a young boy who ventures out into the ruined world after his caretaker passes away. He inherits a mysterious blue stone and is left instructions to head for a red tower to the east, where there may be other humans. Throughout Seto's travels he meets people and spirits alike, however, a sense of loneliness continually grips him, and he longs to have a companion beside him.

Character Info
Seto is a teenager who seems to have been sheltered for most of his life. He is not used to being alone and desires companionship so he can have someone to talk to and share discoveries with.

For as long as he can remember, Seto lived with an old man who took care of him. The old man raised Seto in an abandoned Observatory, until one day he passed away. Ever since, loneliness has eaten at Seto, and he seeks out other people to share memories with.

Personality
Seto keeps a relatively light outlook on life, despite being through tough times. He is a somewhat quiet and shy young man, gentle in speech yet friendly to those he meets. He is often portrayed as childish and naive since he has not experienced much of the world outside of the observatory. Even with the hardships he faces, he overcomes them and remains optimistic on finding the silver-haired girl and other survivors.

He enjoys being around others, like Crow and Sai, to keep him from being lonely, He is also very trusting and often does what he can to aid others. Seto strongly dislikes to be alone and always tries to find someone to talk to, even if they don't reply. He seems to be severely pained each time one of his friends leaves him, and to remember them he keeps mementos which he holds close to him at all times. In the manga, Seto has a severe mental breakdown after thinking Ren was going to die due to lack of medicine. Seto then refuses to let Ren walk on her own and instead carries her to Tokyo Tower, showing how afraid he is of losing someone else he cares about.

Seto seems extremely forgiving, even to those who hurt him. Although he was angered when Crow stole his locket and mocked his precious belongings, he later cries when he thinks Crow has taken a fatal fall and is grateful that he emerges unharmed.

Appearance
Seto is a 15 year old boy with a reddish-brown hair with violet-blue eyes. According to the concept art gallery, he is 160cm (5'3"). He wears a light blue parka-like coat with black pants and worn out brown shoes. Around his neck, he wears a locket given to him by his late grandfather that he uses to hold his valuables. Over his coat are leather straps that go around his waist and over his shoulders for carrying items. In front of his waist hangs a large red fish food canister, seemingly for storage. During his time with PF, he carries her like a backpack, using her straps for support.

Background
Seto was born after the Glass Cage Project, and was cared for by an old man who he referred to as his grandfather despite not being related. The man taught him to survive, and so Seto would hunt for canned food, and it is also suggested he ate wild flowers and grass.

Observatory
Seto's journey begins shortly after the mysterious old man who took care of him passes away, sometime after Seto to gives him a burial. He then finds a letter addressed to him from the elderly man. In the letter, he tells Seto that their time together was the only time he really enjoyed life. The old man left a Strange Blue Stone with the letter, along with instructions to head east and "reach a tall, red tower." Seto heeds the old man's words and heads to the red tower in the distance.

Along the way, he witnesses the decayed state the world has fallen into, gradually feeling more alone since he is unable to share these moments with another. Seto eventually finds himself at the entrance to an old subway station. He soon hears a lone voice, strange and out of place. His attention turns toward a collapsed pillar, where a girl with silver hair sings of her loneliness. Seto moves forward to get a better look, but startles her when he steps on a squeaky slipper. She falls to the ground and Seto runs to kneel beside her. He touches her cheek, which awakens and frightens the girl, so she flees into the underground subway station. This leaves Seto to linger on the thought of having seen, and touched, another human. Seto's shock turns into determination, and he gets up to follow her into the station.

Azabudai Underground Station and Azabudai Station Mall
After running into the station, he hears a call for help. Following the cries, he finds a robot backpack named Personal Frame (PF for short), who becomes his first companion. PF agrees to help Seto navigate his way through the station. They find a Paper Crane left behind and discuss seeing a real crane together in the future. They eventually reach the surface where they view the sky at dawn together. PF tells him that she might know the where the silver-haired girl can be found, and advises him to head to the underground mall. They soon find that the entrance to the mall is locked. After searching an old building outside, Seto receives the mall entrance key from the ghost of a little girl.

While searching the mall, they come upon graffiti that the silver-haired girl left behind. The graffiti gives Seto hope that he will find the girl, however, PF is unimpressed with her artistic ability. Upon reaching end of the mall, Seto expresses his gratitude for PF's guidance, despite PF calling herself unhelpful. Personal Frame then tells Seto that her battery is running low, and they have one last conversation together. As she powers down, PF asks for Seto's name and he obliges to her dying wish. Anguished at the loss of PF, Seto keeps a loose screw she'd dropped as a memento and cries as he performs a burial for her before moving on to the surface once more.

Lunar Hill Fun Land
Seto enters a deserted amusement park outside of the mall. Suddenly, he encounters a mischievous boy by the name of Crow who questions his intentions and arrival at the park. After the interrogation, Crow snatches Seto's prized locket and runs off, prompting Seto to take chase. Seto tracks Crow throughout the amusement park, even over the rusting roller coaster tracks before finally cornering him. Unfortunately, Seto falls into a trap laid by Crow, and tumbles into the tunnels beneath the park. While searching for a way out, Seto finds a book titled Pirate Isle in which he notices many of Crow's own words and behaviors.

Back on the surface, Seto spots Crow atop the ferris wheel before he is interrupted and attacked by a Tracker. After the battle, Seto climbs up the ferris wheel in hopes of getting his locket back. Upon reaching the top, Crow taunts Seto but then slips and falls to the ground. Crow tosses Seto his locket mid-fall before crashing into the merry-go-round. Seto rushes down to see if he is alright, before breaking out into tears. Crow, surprisingly unharmed, teases Seto for crying, and the two share a laugh at the night's antics.

Reconciled, they share a conversation involving the motivations for their journeys. Crow shows Seto a photo of himself in laboratory next to an older man, telling Seto he wants to find the place in the photo, since he does not remember much of his childhood. Seto proceeds to share that he is searching for a silver-haired girl and asks Crow if he knows who she is. He doesn't, but he tells Seto of a "bratty girl" at the hotel who may be able to help him. Wanting to apologize to his new friend, Crow presents Seto with his Skull Ring and tells him to place it with his other mementos. As Seto looks at his gift, Crow suddenly leans forward and kisses him. Seto backs away after realizing he is being kissed, and Crow explains that he read kissing is a simple act between friends, further showing his lack of experience in human interaction.

Seto, still confused, exclaims that it was his first kiss, and Crow simply replies that it therefore makes them best friends. They promise to see each other again before parting ways.

Kurato Hotel and Underground Tunnels


Following Crow's advice, Seto heads from the amusement park to the nearby abandoned Kurato Kankou Hotel. Inside, he hears a voice warning him of danger further in. Against its warnings, Seto follows the voice and reaches its origin. The voice belongs to a ghostly, floating girl named Sai. Before they can talk, Seto is again attacked by a Tracker. Upon being defeated, it drops the Key to Room 301 of the hotel. He finds Sai's physical body inside the room and realizes that she is dead. Out of boredom and curiosity, Sai decides to accompany Seto.

They continue exploring the hotel together, eventually meeting a ghost-like girl named Chiyo.



Chiyo bars their entry into one of the hotel rooms, and Seto is tasked with finding a Star and Moon in order to appease her. With Sai's help, Seto finds the Star and Moon back in the underground mall and the amusement park, respectively. Each time he returns, Chiyo refuses to believe he obtained the real items and requests Seto to find her lost Silver Ring to prove his trustworthiness. He manages to retrieve the ring from the hotel restaurant after defeating a giant tree spirit, before finally convincing Chiyo that he can be trusted. In the hotel room, Seto and Sai discover that Chiyo is not a little girl's ghost, but an old woman's body-less consciousness. The aged Chiyo is nearing her final moments, but before her passing, she expresses her thanks to Seto for finding her ring. Chiyo enlightens Seto on the small moments in life that must be treasured, and explains that memories of happiness, such as those that tied to her ring, are the true gems of life. She gives Seto her Yellow Flower Brooch as a memento of their meeting before thanking him a final time. She wishes him to live life to its fullest before passing away peacefully.



On the hotel roof, Seto and Sai discuss Seto's desire for companionship. Though skeptical, Sai agrees to go along with him. They then spot a cat who seems to beckon for Seto to follow it. He and Sai follow the cat down the hotel stairs to a manhole covered in doodles. Taking this as a clue to the silver-haired girl's whereabouts, the two venture down into the tunnels below.

After wandering through the utility tunnels, they find a white cat which Seto befriends. The cat leads them to the silver-haired girl, who is at first hostile towards them. She softens after seeing the white cat's approval of Seto, but before she can introduce herself, the voice of a man is heard over the speaker, commanding her to return. Sai mentions she recognizes the voice before the silver-haired girl heeds the call, leaving Seto chase after her again.

Oikawadani Dam
The two arrive at the dam, to which surprises Seto since he had never seen it before and thought it was beautiful. He laments on how he was able to share the discovery of the dam with Sai and mentions that he doesn't like being alone when making discoveries. He finds the silver-haired girl again and she disappears down the elevator, pleading Seto for help. After deciding he would go after her, Seto and Sai together head towards the inside of the dam.

After entering, they meet the merchant who was attempting to awaken an already dead young girl with unique and shiny objects. After scaring Seto and Sai off, the merchant later apologizes and rewards Seto with another memento he keeps permanently. Seto goes on his way to rescue the silver-haired girl. Upon reaching a room filled with discarded robots, Seto finds Crow among them. Despite his comments about not really being a friend, Seto exclaims that Crow was his best friend. After Crow dies peacefully in Seto's arms, Sai claims that Crow had shut down, but Seto harshly claimed that his friend died, hinting that Crow was the most human-like friend he had encountered and seemed extremely distraught over losing someone again.

Upon returning to the surface, Seto is attacked by Shin and his wrecker, but he survives thanks to Sai's help. With the help of Sai, he decides to again to find the girl and they go to her cell, revealing that Sai knew the password to the cell. Together they go down the stairs to find the silver-haired girl.

The Final Chapter
Seto and Sai go through a series of dangerous laboratories (one filled with toxic gas, one filled with motion sensors) and they finally reach Shin, who is now a ghost. He has the silver-haired girl trapped in a glass tube. Seto attempts to attack him, but is knocked away easily. After angering Shin, he and Seto have a brief battle, but Shin disappears after being temporarily defeated. Seto frees the girl from her glass prison and the three attempt to find Shin at the Red Tower.

Upon arriving, Seto reveals that he wants to face Shin alone. To avoid injuring the silver-haired girl, he decides to leave her along with Sai to keep her company. As he scales the Red Tower, he hears the voices of previous friends. He first hears Personal Frame who claims that she never forgot him that he will defininately win the battle, because he set his mind to it. Next, Seto hears Chiyo's wise words and he thanks her. The final voice is of Crow, his deceased best friend, who encourages him to go up and "give 'im the best you got" and reassures Seto that he will watch his back.

Seto arrives to the top of Red Tower and confronts Shin. Before the battle, Shin asks Seto why he fought the end of humanity and Seto claims that it is because of his need for someone to talk to, as well as human contact. After a battle leaving both sides exhausted, Seto then questions Shin why he hates humanity so much. Shin reveals that he made himself the first subject of the Glass Project. This project had the goal of rendering language obsolete by allowing humans to communicate using thoughts. Having the ability to listen to thoughts allowed Shin to see the farce and hatred within everyone, and he ultimately lost all faith in society. Shin claims that no one ever loved him, but Sai, who has come up the tower along with the silver-haired girl, told him that she loves him and that love is an emotion that can only be expressed though words. The two vanish together, after thanking Seto, who then collapses and weeps at the loss of yet another friend.

Seto's older voice is heard, explaining that he and Ren had traveled together for many years, but he is eventually left "utterly alone" once more. This could allude to Ren leaving his company for unknown reasons, or it may refer to his own eventual death.

Seto and the silver-haired girl go down the Red Tower together. Seto finally asks for her name and she reveals it to be Ren. Seto tells Ren that there are many survivors that can still be found and asks if she wants to search with him. Ren agrees, and thanks Seto for being there with her. As she begins to run off, Seto calls out to her, and thanks Ren for being there with him, also.

Manga
The manga is set a year or so after the defeat of Shin, and Seto is seen to be traveling with Ren and her self-proclaimed cat named Shiro, who seems to be a cat reincarnation of Shin. They intend to go to Tokyo Tower to find out why Shiro was having nightmares about his forgotten past and to find some medicine for Ren since she is running out. Seto dreams about school and he meets the friends he has left behind or passed on (excluding PF). He is shown to be extremely worried and has a severe mental breakdown after he starts thinking that Ren was going to die too. He starts carrying Ren on his back and refusing to put her down, thinking it was the best option. He berates himself on how life is short and that he cannot bear to lose anyone else.

After making out Shiro's painful memories, Shiro parts way with the two, but Ren decides that she needed to part ways with Seto too. She knows she will die because she is running out of medicine again. Seto is seen to be acting strangely and keeps having the recurring thoughts that everyone around him is dead and becomes terrified of being alone, becoming desprate to keep Ren close. After a fond farewell, Ren forcefully runs away from Seto because she doesn't want to die in front of him and make him sad. Seto who is now abandoned and alone, panics and attempts to find her, running into Shiro again. Following Shiro's advice, Seto goes to find Ren and the medicine.

Personal Frame (PF)
Seto first saves PF from malfunctioning in the station after she was abandoned by her previous owner. He enjoys her company and depended on her to help navigate through the station and mall. He also made a promise to see a real crane together, which meant a lot to PF. PF seems to care very much for Seto's well being, and keeps him encouraged despite unfavorable odds. Though their time together was short, Seto admits that he liked having PF around and was extremely distraught when PF left him. He fulfilled her last wish to know his name and gives an emotional farewell to his short-lived companion, embracing her once last time. After making a small burial mound for PF, Seto keeps one of her screws to keep as a precious memento and later attests to missing her "dutiful voice".

Item Merchant
Though not close friends, Seto and the Merchant have an amiable relationship. Inside the Oikawadani Dam, Seto discovers the Merchant's true identity, and is promptly kicked out in a huff. The Merchant later apologizes, and not wishing to lose his acquaintance, offers Seto a gift. Seto holds on to the Merchant's gift as a personal memento.

Crow
Although he was simply acting out a scene from a book he read, Crow immediately bullies Seto upon meeting him. Crow steals his locket, making Seto give chase, however his antics help the two form a bond as first-time friends. When Crow takes a near-fatal fall, Seto is genuinely concerned for him and even begins to cry before Crow reveals himself to be unharmed. Seto asks if he will see Crow again, to which Crow replies that "friends always see each other again." Though he is soon quickly shocked at having his first kiss taken by Crow, Seto is sincerely touched and agrees to being best friends.

Later, when they meet again in Oikawadani Dam, Seto is distressed by his friend's weakened state. Before he passes on, Seto reiterates their friendship, stating that Crow was, and will always be, his first best friend regardless of his identity. He respects Crow's request to stop crying, and adamantly states that his friend did not "shut down", but died.

In the manga, Seto meets Crow once again while he is dreaming. Seto is elated to see his friend again and starts sobbing in his dreams, claiming that he did not care if it was a dream or not. It is quite clear that Seto had missed his best friend very much, enough so that he even dreamed of him.

Sai
The ghostly girl that Seto met in the Kurato Hotel. She attempts to intimidate him to make him leave the hotel, but she eventually agrees to accompany him. At first Sai follows out of boredom and curiosity, but she later begins to show actual concern and attachment to Seto, in spite of her teasing and sarcasm. Above the Oikawadani Dam, she warns Seto what lies ahead if he continues to pursue the silver-haired girl. Not wanting build false hope, she tells Seto that the silver-haired girl may end up hating him, however, Sai relents to Seto's wishes and guides him to the captive girl. At the story's climax, Sai confesses her love for Shin before disappearing with him. She thanks Seto before vanishing and Seto tears up silently afterwards, hinting that he felt hurt that he had lost another friend.

She appears one last time in the manga within Seto's dream as Seto's classmate, which demonstrates Seto's attachment to her.

Ren
Although they did not formally introduce themselves until the end, Ren and Seto have formed a unique relationship. Ren is the motivating force for Seto, who is desperate for human interaction. At every encounter with her Seto shows nervousness due to his lack of experience with others. He admires her whimsical doodles, despite not knowing her, and becomes anxious when Ren is called to action by Shin. After seeing her captive, Seto makes it his goal to rescue her, despite Sai's warnings and the possibility that Ren may dislike him. After the game's conclusion, Seto and Ren travel together for some time, but Seto states that he is eventually left alone again, implying that he and Ren later separated.

In the manga, which takes place immediately after the game's events, Ren and Seto travel together with her white cat named Shiro. Upon stating that she needs medicine back at the Tokyo Tower, Seto is determined to make his way back and save her. She later separates from him, to save him from witnessing her death. However, this leads to Seto desperately searching for her again. Seto later dreams of Ren and all his friends, showing his love for them all.

Quotes

 * For all quotes by Seto see Seto/quotes

"Heh heh heh! I guess being on my own has made me that way."

- Seto, after Sai comments that he is tough

"Because, I wanted to trust you. Um, does that sounds weird?"

- Seto, replying to Chiyo about believing her

"I just want someone...to be with."

- Seto's reply to Sai about the silver-haired girl

Gallery

 * For all images of Seto see Seto/Gallery