august event.

[falsitates]

AUGUST 1 ~ 15

Vitae appears to return to normal as the night draws to an end and the new month's first day dawns. Its vanished citizens gradually begin to repopulate the city, and everything returns to normal. Everyone talks about how quickly July went by. August sure has come and gone in a blink of an eye, huh? How funny. They all laugh as they go about their business.

According to the news, the next two weeks will be cloudy, gloomy, and surprisingly chilly.

  THE MISSING

The news also reports that an alarming number of people have gone missing. Citizens of all ages, from young to old, have mysteriously vanished without a trace. It is estimated that approximately 20% of the population has gone missing. Local search parties have been organized and posters have been placed on bulletin boards. A group of volunteers goes into the forest and the abandoned castle every day to look for clues, but they always come up empty-handed.

Rumors quickly spread throughout the city about the disappearances and how spirits must have abducted them. Some of the more superstitious stockpile table salt and hire bogus exorcists to purify their homes. Others visit the shrine and begin praying to gods who have been forgotten. They claim to sense a presence that wasn't there before, and they use it as evidence that a higher being is present and will assist them.

From the trees, four crows watch. When members of the app approach the shrine, they all squawk and flap their wings. Only one flies down to the offering box and dares to come close. The other three remain on the sidelines.

  BRACELETS AND SIM CARDS

Every app user, new or old, are fitted with a watch on their left wrist. It's impossible to remove, and even the most powerful tools fail to make a dent in it. You simply have to live with it. Its user interface has changed since last month. It now has an identical copy of the app, allowing those who frequently forget their phones to have access. It also has a SIM slot on its side, but inputting any regular SIM card appears to have no effect and it's spit out. Anything else is spit out as well.

But for those who kept their mysterious SIdo M cards from June, as well as recent newcomers who wake up with one in their pockets, will find that the bracelet will accept them.

When it is inserted, it displays a city map. It looks a lot like the one that was unveiled last month. It updates every hour to show the user's immediate surrounding area and the precise locations of... something. White dots can be found in random locations, such as the middle of a beach, the back of a supermarket, and dark alleyways. There's no other information about these dots, and it's unclear what would happen if someone went to them.

There are a few scattered throughout the city. Do you dare to go?

  VITAEGATE

Your phone begins to vibrate.

It will not stop until you pick it up and when you do, it's cold to the touch. The buttons become unresponsive as it shuts down. Then, just like all the previous times, white lettering appears on a black background.

WELCOME TO WEEK TEN.
A NEW MODULE HAS BEEN UNLOCKED.
IT HAS THE POSSIBILITY OF PROVIDING VALUE.
DE OMNIBUS DUBITANDUM

The app now includes a new section. It reads 'forum.' The section is exactly what the name says. It's a simple forum where anyone can post comments, but they're all anonymous. No one can tell one from the other.

There are already a few comments.

  DECISION TIME

Your phone vibrates again on the 15th.

ALLY?
BETRAY?

You must choose one of the two options. You won't be able to use your phone otherwise.

YOU HAVE SELECTED [ALLY/BETRAY].
CHOOSE A USER.

The message is followed by a list. It contains the names and photos of all of the app's users. Your phone will remain unusable until you make a decision. Those who are adamant about not making a decision will notice moments before midnight that their watch begins to slowly overheat, with an ominous timer counting down from ten minutes. The options appear once more. After that, the timer will disappear.

YOU HAVE SELECTED [NAME].
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ANSWER.
PLEASE WAIT PATIENTLY UNTIL THE NEXT UPDATE.

Comments

[ehero]

what
is going on
in the forums

[whiteshroud]

I don't know, but it gives me the same off-putting feeling as when corporations use memes.

[ehero]

what are memes

[whiteshroud]

Popular jokes that format get repeated with slight variations.
But they all have a limited lifespan before they become overused and unfunny.
Corporations using a meme almost always herald its time of death.

[ehero]

herald?
whats a bird have to do with time of death

[whiteshroud]

[ehero]

o
i knew that

[whiteshroud]

[incompletely]

I didn’t think other people were watching us.
Unless we’re the ones posting these comments?

[ehero]

anyone can post to it right
so some of them might be from us

[incompletely]

Yes. Given some of the responses I got on my own post, I wouldn't be surprised if that were the case.

By the way, Yuki-san. What are "duel monsters"?

[ehero]

its a card game!
you duel each other with monsters
if you get your opponents life points to 0
you win

do you want to play
ill teach you

[incompletely]

A strategy game. I see.
Well, I'll give it a try, I suppose. I don't have much else to do right now.

[ragewheel]

GOT NO CLUE

ARE PEOPLE JUST THAT BORED AROUND HERE??

[ehero]

i dont think so
it was pretty hectic last month
but i also dont know

[ragewheel]

SO...NO IDEA EITHER?? THAT'S JUST GREAT.

MAYBE THERE IS SOMETHING IMPORTANT, BUT WE'RE NOT SEEING IT RIGHT NOW? WHATEVER THE HELL THAT IS.

[ehero]

maybe
i bet somethings gonna happen in 2 weeks from now
we might just have to wait it out

also are you new
i havent seen your name before

[ragewheel]

DAMN, THAT LONG? KINDA PISSED, BUT NOTHING TO BE DONE ABOUT IT.

AND YEAH, MAYBE???? I DON'T KNOW. I REMEMBER BEING HERE FOR A BIT WHEN SHIT WENT DOWN. IT'S KIND OF WEIRD.

[ehero]

if youre not from here then yea youre probably new
did anyone run down things for you yet

[silentends]

You can't just listen to everything people say online, Judai.

It might just be a bad joke.

[ehero]

i guess
but then you have to wonder whos writing that stuff
if its not us then who

[silentends]

Does it matter? It could have been written by the same person.

There's no name.

[ehero]

yea but still concerning dont you think
if its one of us then this is pretty shady behavior
if its not then theyre treating it like a game

[silentends]

This might just be a game to them.

You have to consider that maybe they're insane.

[ehero]

probably
anyway are you ok nier