You're probably woken up by the explosion first. A loud, deafening boom comes from behind the walls of the residential district. When you look outside your window towards the darker, more secretive area of the city, you might see the structure around it... crumbling, the land falling in on itself slowly but surely. That might be what wakes you up first. If it doesn't, you may be awoken instead by the sudden jerking feeling behind your navel pulling you from where you are to somewhere... else.
It's dark. The first thing you notice is that it's dark -- and then come the scrabbling sounds of creatures in the dark, like metal being dragged across metal, a chilling, sharp sound. The first thing that becomes clear, as your vision adjusts, is that you're on a rickety pathway, metal and rusting and frail, above what appears to be yawning blackness. Far, far below, there's the faint sound of rushing water, a ways away.
The second thing that becomes clear is that you are very much not alone. Something is out there with you, and from the screeching metallic noises that come ever closer, it seems to be stalking you.
Thankfully, you're not alone -- right?  ...
...........
................
:)
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PHASE I [ ??? ] It’s drafty here. You’re below ground, that’s for certain from the echoes of the wind in the darkness. If you continue on forwards along the rickety, metal railing that serves as a walkway, the skittering noises of creatures in the dark follow -- but they don’t appear.
It seems everyone has been dumped along this pathway at random; you may be with friends, with enemies or with someone you’ve never met before, but either way, it soon becomes clear. There are only two ways to go along this path: up or down.
If you choose to take the path that follows a gradual slope down, the sounds of water lapping against a surface increase bit by bit, the air growing heavier and danker, until finally, the metallic platform gives way very suddenly (watch your step!) to a muddy bank. Down here, everything is darker, and not far away there’s the water. It’s cold and frigid and there are unfriendly creatures that await if you choose to delve into it. However, if you brave those creatures, and dive deeply enough, there is a mask. It rests half-buried by silt and rocks, but it’s there, and can be found by any intrepid explorers.
Somehow, it feels a little familiar.
And if you carry on in the cave system underground, eventually you will come across what appears to be an altar. There is blood on it -- not fresh, but not more than a month old -- and pieces of trinkets. Old bits of cloth, locks of hair, and some of them may even be familiar. Any dropped character who has a reasonably large amount of spiritual or magical power may have left scraps, such as pieces of clothing, trinkets, hair, or the sort behind at the altar.
Maybe that's why they weren't in the Nexus Code.
PHASE II [ ??? ] If you go up, you will eventually make your way above ground. It takes some time, and some luck -- you’ll have to avoid rusty railing and pathways, the path crumbling under you and that creeping sensation that something is following and watching you -- and then you’ll suddenly be in fresh air.
Well. It’s not so fresh, really.
The landscape is broken down and crumbled. It may have once been part of the city of Cerealia, but now it is in utter disrepair and decay. Buildings have crumbled, and debris is everywhere. There are signs of the same level of technology that Cerealia has -- but it is all broken down and utterly inaccessible.
And you’re not alone.
It seems the technology and metal and broken down destruction has gained sentience over its time sitting alone, waiting. And it is not happy to be disturbed. The creatures are made of pieces of everything around them, and when cut down, they’ll just slowly rebuild themselves from the debris.
It might be time to run.
They aren't happy about being disturbed, and you're in their way.
PHASE III [ ??? ] Above ground, there are a lot of broken down buildings.
Some can’t be accessed at all; some are too broken, too reduced to rubble. For those looking for shelter, they'll be able to find buildings where the doors can be forced open and they can camp out on the inside to various degrees of stability. Though the ceiling may cave in or the floor fall out from under you at a moment's notice, it's better than being out there. Be careful, because none of the architecture here can be trusted anymore.
And other buildings... are even less trustworthy than that.
There is a series of buildings in the midst of the wasteland, somehow still standing. They stand there silently, towering over the rest of the rubble in their two-story glory, and if the doors are forced open, it soon becomes clear that the building itself is full of mirrors.
Once, the mirrors had perhaps covered the walls and ceiling. Once, this building might have been akin to something of a ballet studio, somewhere to express yourself creatively. But now the mirrors are shattered and broken into pieces and the building lacks the joy it might have once held. Shards of mirror cover the floor, some big, some not so big, but they still hang from the walls as well and everywhere you look, you can see yourself.
And then, the reflection changes. From one blink to the next, you see a memory playing in the mirrors. Your memory. You’ll see a glimpse of one of your most traumatic or life-changing moments, broken up but clear in the shards. Blink and look away, and it’s gone, only to show up again in the next mirror a few moments later. Surely it’s just a trick of the light, right?
Except if someone else is with you, they’ll see it too -- and you might end up seeing a bit of their own past as well. Hope you're fond of sharing.
PHASE IV [ ??? ] If you survive the monsters, the crumbling landscape and the untrustworthy buildings, you may eventually find a terminal. It is buried deep among the rubble. One turn around a corner, one stumble into a hole, and you will find it. It sits there, out in the middle of nowhere; the building in which it used to be housed is apparently long gone, reduced to nothing but rubble.
And if you turn it on, there is a brief message.
Transmission Broadcasting.
Transmission Connected.
And then, there is a face.
BONUS [ ??? ] For those who have been wearing their masks a little too much, they might also start to notice that there are some strange effects attached, which worsen the more they’ve been wearing said masks. How badly they worsen is up to your discretion.
➝ Broken Mask: An intense feeling of paranoia, focused on whoever your character is with. They might also begin to remember fabricated memories of being betrayed by those people.
➝ Barcode Mask: Everything will begin to have value to them. There will be whispers in the back of their mind of the worth of their friends, the worth of a monster, the worth of everything around them. An intense need to own and consume as much as possible and as quickly as possible.
➝ Dripping Blood Mask: An intense lack of self-worth, a hollow feeling and thoughts of being weak and empty. Feeling as disposable as possible and an intense listless along with it.
➝ :( Mask: A need to prove yourself, to show everyone how strong you are as quickly as possible. You can do things, you can be of worth to everyone around you. Why won't they see that? Why?
➝ Ivy Mask: A choking sort of terror from all things metal and technology based, and a need to lash out against it. An intense distrust for anything that they feel is against the laws of nature.
➝ Grey Mask: More personable than normal, more emotional, more empathetic. An intense feeling of kindness and gratitude to those around you and a renewed love of life.
➝ Feather Mask: A dulled, lack of emotion. A detached feeling to everything around you. A sort of bland curiosity towards things without any empathetic reaction.
➝ Bloody Fingerprints Mask: They'll feel absolutely fine. No change.
The effects of the broken mask can stack on top of the others, if they chose to break their mask after the other effects began to appear. No other effects can be stacked, as no other changes can be stacked.
PENALTY [ ??? ] For characters who die while in the dark parts of the city, things will get... a little strange. They will die as normal, but they will wake up almost immediately after their death -- in the Nexus Code. They will have a few surreal moments to be there, to see their friends who have left Cerealia hanging lifelessly from odd, glimmering strands (though there are some faces, of course, that are missing, anyone who was spiritual, or magical, seems strangely absent) and then --
They’re back to being dead.
When characters revive in Cerealia, anywhere from one IC day to three or four IC days later, they will find that things are… not quite right with their code. They’re glitching, for a lack of a better word. Sometimes, their fingers will phase right through an object, their own limbs registering as cold and lifeless. Sometimes, they will see a face watching them -- but when they turn around to try to see who it is, the face will be gone.
These effects will last an IC week, before slowly things go back to normal.
That was strange.
[ Remember to apply proper warnings on threads with sensitive or inappropriate material and do let a mod know if your thread careens off into maiming or canoodling so we can lock the log. ] |
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[ Kaneki chooses to go down; don't ask him why, maybe it's because he never heard of this place and up or down end up being the same. A bit. Probably halfway through it he will turn around and go up because if he wants to leave a hole, going up is certainly the way.
In any case, down he goes for now. Careful not to slip and fall down, until he reaches the mud which he replies to with a face. He arrived covered in mud, he really doesn't want to be covered in mud now. Bt as he tries to look ahead and realizes there is water and he decides this is definitively a dead end. He is not a brave creature ready to explore water nope.
So he turns back and sure is set on going up now until he comes face to face with that creepy altar. Noping out of here is the way to go; the blood is creepy, but hair, clothes and such left behind as well?
Hell to the nah, bros. Kaneki out. ]
Phase II
[ and up he goes, decided that going down is the worst idea that ever crossed his mind. What was he thinking you ask? he wasn't thinking. Once he reaches the top, though everything is broken he is glad to see the familiar technology.
He is not glad to see the crazy AI robots, though. For a second there, Kaneki freezes, takes a deep breath and hopes he will go unnoticed, but that's not his luck. And thus, the moment he realizes they are heading towards him Kaneki decides this is the perfect moment to run.
He doesn't want to face things he never saw before. He has no idea if he could even face them, but he isn't a fighter, despite having the abilities to be one. he'd rather run than take a chance.
And so running it is. Fast. ]
Phase III - a
[ The ruined buildings make kaneki think that something really terrible happened here. And sure, this isn't new, but it creeps him out that no one outright told him what happened out here. And apparently, it's not like CERES is willing to explain either - it all feels like it came from a post-apocalyptic distopia and oh boy he sure would like for his imagination to be wrong.
Still, Kaneki will slowly walk around the place, exploring as he can. he isn't worried about food, and if he finds himself thirsty he remembers the water he found the way down - it would probably take a long time to get there again but water is important.
Eventually he sits down to rest for a moment. Good thing he ate, that's what he thinks to himself; nobody would like to find a hungry ghoul in this place. ]
Phase III - b // CW: cannibalism, blood, violence
[ He ventures through the buildings, slowly and careful, mostly because he doesn't want to be hit by a falling ceiling. The floor, covered in glass, doesn't seem to upset him so much, and for now kaneki ignores it as he looks around.
So many mirrors, honestly-
and from the corner of his eye he notices something out of place. kaneki looks down, certain it's probably nothing and just his own reflection, but... did he see purple hair? No, no way, no-
Kaneki forgets to breathe as he sees a familiar face ]
Rize...san...?
[ it's gone, fast, but suddenly there it is in another mirror up ahead and Kaneki wastes no time running towards the mirror, but once he reaches there it's gone. The same continues to happen and Kaneki continues to follow until he does fall down, but he doesn't seem to mind the shards of glass that might cut him. In fact, he isn't bleeding or anything.
The scene that will appear in the shards of the mirror is this one. ]
Wildcard
[ Go crazy! ]
phase i!
Or stumble in - quite literally into Kaneki, as it were, apparently quite disoriented. The trek down had been dank and rude and full of other confused people, so apparently that general sense of being off-balance had never really gone away.]
Ah—! Excuse me, sir.
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Are you alright? [ lost alone in the dark, kaneki - who would be alright under these conditions ]
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[The whole "potentially being kidnapped again" thing and all... Who even knows where they are now?]
But my apologies. It's a bit difficult to see down here.
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I don't think this is the best place to be at all- [ you know. altars with blood and all. ]
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...Is there anything important here? [Lips pressed thinly, Kaoru takes a cautious step forward, surveying the scraps.]
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[ Kaneki looks back at Kaoru, before he finally looks around ] Do you recognize anything?
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I believe this belonged to someone who was here until recently.
[Which doesn't exactly... bode well. Considering the whole set-up of this room and all.]
Do you?
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... why would their things be in a place like this? [ WELL ISN'T THAT A NICE QUESTION KANEKI ]
I only arrived recently so I don't think I could recognize anything...
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I don't have an answer to that, though I certainly wish that I did. [But Kaoru was also around to learn about the people missing from the supposed Code, and wonders if these things are connected. Probably, because that's just the kind of awful luck they all have.]
Though - with the set-up and the blood, it's a little reminiscent of something ceremonial, yes?
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a shiver runs through his spine and kaneki feels some discomfort in his stomach ] Do you think something like that happened? [ a ritual or a sacrifice he means ]
The blood isn't fresh or recent, through... [ how does he know this without even touching the blood, everyone asks? Well, let's say Kaneki is just way too familiar with blood, sadly. Especially the way it smells. ]
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It's possible that that's what this area was once used for, but that it no longer is. Though... this area itself hardly seems abandoned. If it has been, it hasn't been left behind for very long.
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phase iii-b
When she finds him on the floor, she sighs. Kaneki will be able to hear her approaching first, then see her as she moves to stand in front of him, and finally, she'll offer him a hand.]
Come on. You should stand up.
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At the footsteps, he rises his head and looks back, looking back at Touka as she approaches ] ... Touka-chan...
[ that's when he remembers he is kneeling down on glass and looking utterly ridiculous. Plus, if he IS hallucinating, he doesn't want anyone - specially not Touka - knowing about that. ] Ah- sorry, this whole place is so strange. [ with a smile as he tries to hide his worried, Kaneki cleans up his hands before he reaches for Touka's to stand up ]
Thank you.
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ii
what a shame that flynn's running from the opposite direction. not only does that mean twice the monsters coming kaneki's way, but it doesn't help much that flynn's attention stays focused over his shoulder as he rounds a corner. this leads to one inattentive knight suddenly appearing directly in the path of one incoming kaneki. whoops]
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Kaneki is worried seeing up ahead rather than behind him, at least, so he sees flynn running towards him. He doesn't have enough time to step aside, though, and ends up bumping right into him with. Kaneki is seriously really sturdy, pretty much like a brick-wall, so it might have hurt the other a bit while it's questionable if Kaneki even felt it.
He gasps, however ]
S-sorry!! [ not much time for anything else, really, because Kaneki looks ahead and sees the robots following Flynn ] There's more!!
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N...no, that was my fault and I--
[the apology dies on flynn's lips as those stars stop popping up. finally facing forward to properly apologize leads to spotting kaneki's fanclub getting closer, too. going forward and backward both are a no go so...]
Come on, this way!
[he darts off to the right. will it lead to safety or them making more fun friends? who knows, but it's better than remaining here and dealing with this bunch.]
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W-wait!
[ He suddenly stops next to a pile and reaches for it, pushing it so it'd fall along the path and block the way. Which he has to do fast, and that means he is going ghoul-mode right now; super-strength is very handy. And due to how unstable everything is, it doesn't take long to fall and do as Kaneki planned.
Ah. Great.
Except it's better not to hang around, because maybe the robots can climb ]
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Good work.
[what do you know, flynn has the same idea about the robots. great minds think alike! or maybe anyone who didn't wanna die would think of that. either way, smiling ends as his gaze shifts over to the fallen pile.]
We still need to get away from the area. We can't be certain that'll stop them for too long.
[with his recent luck, they'll sprout wings and fly over them. ...hopefully thinking as much didn't jinx them.]
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anyway, back to the business at hand, which means they need to move again ]
Let's keep going, then!
[ and with that, off he goes, still running. As long they are far away enough, it's fine. And Kaneki will only stop when he no longer hears the metal banging and moving ]
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thankfully, no protecting anyone ends up being necessary. slowly but surely any noises that those monsters were making start dying down until flynn can't even hear them anymore. only once that happens does he glance over a shoulder and speak up.]
I think we've lost them.
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yeah-
Those things are really scary...
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Yeah, their ability to reform after defeat makes it near impossible to dispose of even a single one.
[...which doesn't really address the scary point at all. whoops. flynn doesn't scare easily.]
But your quick thinking earlier saved us from needing to fight. Thank you for that.
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Ah- no, it's fine. [ kaneki, the person who thinks he has zero skills ] Everything happened so fast. And thank you for helping me aswell!
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