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

[cicadashell]

No, the fuckers are whoever's tracking the dots.

[Clarity is important.]

[silentends]

So that's what you meant by fuckers! I get it now.

[ He understands everything. Honestly, Nier agrees with that statement. The individuals who are tracking the dots seem like real assholes. ]

I wonder what it all means. Do you think there might be hidden treasure somewhere?

[cicadashell]

[Jiro shrugs.]

Doubt it. You wanna find out, though?

[Track down some dots.]

[silentends]

Alright then. We can go check these places out I don't mind but...

[ is it even safe for them to do that? He has some doubts. ]

Will it be fine with just us? We could be walking into some serious danger.

[cicadashell]

Scared?

[Jiro can't ever resist provoking.]

[silentends]

Of course I'm scared.

[ no shame in admitting it. ]

Aren't you? It's normal to be afraid.

[cicadashell]

Nah.

[He waves a dismissive hand.]

Whatever's out there's gonna get its ass kicked!

[silentends]

Just like that? Well, okay.

[ Nier wants to believe that he's over thinking and there's no reason to be scared. He pulls out a white spear from under his baggy sweater.]

Wait! I'm not going to be left behind. We can go.

[cicadashell]

[Jiro eyes the spear.]

Where'd that come from? Whatever, tell me later. We got shit to do first.

[They're doing this now while he's pumped for it. To... the supermarket!]

[silentends]

Okay, I'll tell you next time.

[ they're off to the supermarket now! Nier feels confident that he can manage himself if he's got a weapon. He doesn't want to be a burden and slow Jiro down. ]

What are we gonna do if we find a ghost??

[cicadashell]

[Perhaps to his detriment here, as they don't know what they're going to encounter, Jiro hasn't obtained anything remotely resembling a weapon. He's a fisticuffs guy, and maybe some martial arts if required. Plan A is always "punch it in the face" and so:]

Punch it in the fucking face.

[And then maybe grab a nice melon soda from the store after the hypothetical ghost's defeat.]

[silentends]

Alright, I've got it. We're punching it in the face. You can yell at it when we get there.


Let's go.

[ off to the supermarket!! Nier isn't sure what he's going to expect down there. He's with Jiro though so maybe they'll be okay. As long as they stick together it should be fine. ]

...I think I see something.

[cicadashell]

[Jiro steps out from behind the corner of the building, no care given to who or what Nier's looking at before he yells.]

The fuck you doing back here, huh!?

[silentends]

Wait a minute please.. ! There's no need to shout.

[ Nier runs over and it looks like there's a scared boy crying all the time. Could this be one of the missing people? He doesn't know any better but the other kid is a ghost. ]

I think we should help him.

[cicadashell]

[He hears the crying too late.]

Aw, shit, it's a kid.

[But there's no apologies for yelling at the little guy.]

You lost?

[He'll just approach this ghost boy and clap him on the shoulder. Jiro's not the most nurturing person when it comes to humans, but this... is good enough.]