PHASE I [ ?? ?? ] This time, ViViD is a deathtrap.
There is random magma everywhere, monsters will spawn at random, and at some points, the game is entirely unplayable. It’s like the dev team totally disappeared mid-constructing the level.
Oh wait, that’s exactly what happened.
Monsters may spawn on top of you, you may suddenly be standing in a poisonous bog, you may suddenly lose your powers, or your senses, or so many different things --
It’s time to get out of here, ASAP.
Thankfully, the exit is obvious. Like. Blindingly obvious. It’s got a big sign over it that says EXIT
And just like that, you’ll be out of ViViD and --
PHASE II [ 0830 ] When you wake up (and it’s strange, because you were sure that you were logging out just a second ago), it’s in a pile of bodies.
They’re cold, but not in the same sense that a dead body would be cold. While they are lifeless and look incredibly real, they don’t feel real. They feel like dolls, mannequins, empty models and nothing more. Their code doesn’t seem to be functioning right.
And what some characters may realize upon looking at this pile of bodies is that they are all of the characters who were sacrifices before. Any character that was dropped who had a high magical or spiritual affinity is there in that pile of bodies, lifeless and eyes blank and vacant. Even you might be there, staring at your own dead body -- but it isn’t real It can be touched, but it’s really nothing more than a lifeless body.
You’ll have to crawl out of that pile of bodies to get anywhere, and then you’ll realize -- you’re in the Sanctuary, a building built by the characters as a safe place from CERES. And it’s looking pretty run-down at this point. The technology in it no longer functions, there is no security on it whatsoever…
Oh, and now there’s a pile of bodies. Great.
PHASE III [ 1000 ] There’s also a robot.
It’s wandering from place to place, though it’s impossible to follow. One second it’s there, the next it’s just gone.
Also, it’s wearing this. Weird.
But even with that on its face, the robot seems focused on one thing in particular. In fact, it has a sign, and it says:
Down with CERES. Up with Robots.
That’s a happy, cheerful message. If you try to go up to it to talk to it, it will look at you before...bonking you on the head with the sign and running off. That’s incredibly rude.
Alternatively, you may be safe and sound in your home, but then the doorbell rings, and there’s the robot again. The duck mask is gone, but now instead it has a pin on his fake lapel, and then he’s shoving a pamphlet at you.
He tips his hat, and then he’s gone. Weird.
(Also, if you hold onto the pamphlet, it will lead you directly to the person whose picture is on it, and you’ll feel like you’ve known them and have loved them for years.)
PHASE IV [ 1245 ] But not all is fun and games and shenanigans. There is something...well, strange happening, and the first real realization of that will be when it starts to rain. More than just the localized rain that a few unfortunates have dealt with -- no, it’s raining completely and totally, and that’s when it might hit you.
For the first time in Cerealia, there’s weather.
It’ll rain for a few hours, and then it’ll stop and become hot and sunny. It may get humid, considering it’s a jungle planet. At night, it’ll get rather cold.
Seems like whatever was keeping Cerealia’s atmosphere stable is now gone -- which also means that characters may start to occasionally experience headaches, nausea and dizziness if they go too close to the walls. It seems safer in the center of the city, and the Residential District is still okay, but… there’s no doubt that the planet’s atmosphere is starting to encroach on the city.
BONUS [ why o'clock ] But who cares about all of that? More importantly, you are here in this… totally not shoddy city to have fun, and it’s still being advertised as a pleasure colony. Or, well, it would be if, you know, CERES was still around.
But close enough.
And as a pleasure colony, it would figure that the first robots to really get fixed are...well, the Pleasure District robots. Unfortunately, the Pleasure District is still a nice big mess, so now they’re wandering the entire colony, looking for people they can hug, massage or...try to drag into more explicit activities.
Welcome to Cerealia!
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bless keigo, truly a good bean
[That definitely sounds like something Kashuu would do, at least... Actually, he's pretty sure he has done that before.]
But it's still pretty broken even out here, so don't get your hopes up too much.
he's moe
...Y'know, that might have been it... Things... look a lot worse than the last time I was here.
[ somehow... last he was there, robots were falling over and people were glitching... topping that was difficult. ]
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More and more of those aliens are moving out, so there's not even a lot of people left to keep stuff running. Especially since the robots are all broken.
[AH, CONVENIENCE... He'll miss you, even if there are bigger things to worry about.]
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Where are they going? And if there aren't people here to run stuff... what's causing them to keep pulling people back?
[ such as himself... ]
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[A little shrug follows. Guesses are about as good as he's got.]
I dunno where they're going, though. Maybe back to their planets or to somewhere that isn't, y'know, falling apart.
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So, they're leaving but still pulling us in... That doesn't... sound right at all.
[ what would the point be in doing that? ]
What's going to happen? If we're all stuck here and they keep leaving...
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[Which is definitely going to be a problem... for the people who need food and water. At least Kashuu understands that it's a priority.]
That's probably just the start, too. We can't really stay here long-term if CERES isn't around to maintain the technology.
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...Shit.
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Hey, hey. Don't get carried away or anything, yeah? Things aren't gonna collapse overnight.
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Not overnight, maybe, but it won't take long before it falls apart, right?
[ he hadn't felt this helpless since... well, since aizen, really. ]
And what would happen to us then? We can't rely on anyone from CERES anymore...
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We'll have to figure out what to do. There are still others we can try to rely on, like the gods or the spirits or the robot or whatever.
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...Alright.
[ there wasn't much else to be said of the situation. it was a "wait and see" sort of thing, for the time being. slowly, keigo resumed walking, staring down at the pavement as he went along. ]
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...You want some cake?
[Because even after over a year, he sure has a lot to learn about comforting humans in distress... This always seems like a decent bet, though. People love food! And they still have plenty to spare.]
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[ did he just say cake? keigo almost stopped in his tracks again. kashuu had inadvertently found one of keigo's vices: sweets. he blinked, then hesitated. was that even a question? ]
...What kind of cake?
[ yes, keigo. play it cool. ]
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Mm, we have a few types! Strawberry pound cake, some type of chocolate chiffon thing, castella...
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...All of those sound really good...
[ be still, keigo. don't be greedy... ]
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Oh... Well, if you can't pick, you can have some of each! Like, if lots of sugar doesn't make you feel super sick or anything.
[He may be talking from experience. Maybe.]
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Sugar can't defeat me!!
[ he said, with a distinct eagerness in his eyes... at least he's looking more jovial now. yes, apparently all it took was promise of cake to get keigo cheered up again. ]
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Per-fect! [On the plus side, cheering Keigo up had been his intention, so the fact that it's an apparent success just buoys Kashuu's mood, too.
AND LO, up ahead, the apartments! They're in pretty decent shape, all things considered.]
D'you like tea with your sweets? We have some of that, too.
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That sounds great!
[ the apartments! yes, good... keigo could definitely use some relaxation after all these terrible thoughts about the situation. ]
Ah, though... is it alright? I don't want to impose...
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Yeah, it's totally fine! We have three apartments with a looot of space, so we invite guests over all the time.
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Woooow, three apartments... There must be a lot of you...
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[Who hasn't been around for a while, but it would just feel Wrong to leave him out of a headcount...]
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There's that many of you? I didn't realize...
[ was his spirit sensing game off?? or maybe he just wasn't paying attention... ]
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Well, four of us just showed up today. Mutsu was gone for a little bit, too... And people come and go around the apartments a lot, so it seems like there are less of us than there really are, I think.
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