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]

Fuck, no. I'm not your mom.

[After he says it, he thinks maybe Nier's mother is one of the missing family members, but he can't take it back now.]

You can learn by watching, but I'm not explaining shit unless I feel like it.

[silentends]

Huh? I've never had parents. Are mothers supposed to do that kind of thing?


[ Nier just looks more confused than offended. He was abandoned by his parents when he was younger and got used to living life without them. ]

Alright then, I'll try to learn. It's just that...I've had issues with cooking in the past. You don't want to know the details.

[cicadashell]

Guess so.

[His mother's dead, hence the dog. But it's said with just a shrug, because he's not thinking about that. He smirks at the description of Nier's past cooking attempts.]

If you burn down the apartment, it's not my fault.

[silentends]

Oh yeah? That's interesting.

[ Nier can't even hide the way he feels about that last comment and looks like he's in dismay. ]

I wouldn't say I'd go so far and burn down an apartment! Nothing I make is edible asides from toasting bread. Does that count as cooking?

[cicadashell]

[Oh my god.]

No! You can't just eat toast.

[He gives Nier a little shove towards a store he's just spotted. Tiny and less likely to have security cameras.]

C'mon, grab what fits in your pockets and isn't made of sugar.

[silentends]

I'll do that. Are we doing what I think we're doing?

[ Robbing a store???? This feels wrong somehow. Nier knows that it's not the right thing to do but given his recent situation he doesn't have much of a choice. He takes a few things off the shelf quietly.]

Erm...is this okay?

[cicadashell]

[Yeah, it's wrong, but only in the sense of 'against the law'. Jiro is firmly justifying this with the fact people's lives, and hence not starving, are more important than a less than $100 loss.]

You got any money? 'Cause I fucking don't.

["It's okay."]

[silentends]

Just give me anything that you took off the shelf.

[ Nier looks at Jiro inspecting his pockets curiously. ]

I used to work at a hospital so I can pay for it. We don't have to steal.

[cicadashell]

Sweet.

[And he'll empty his pockets of mostly dried and canned things.]

So we get more shit.

[Nier's admission has Jiro looking for more bulk-sized things, like rice and flour, and potatoes. They're spending more than $100 now.]

[silentends]

Do we really need this much though? I'll pay for it but if you aren't going to use it that seems like a waste.

[ Nier can't cook so it would ultimately just sit there, rotting away in a cupboard. ]

We don't have to take everything with us. Only the things we need.

[cicadashell]

Do you want to eat for a day or a couple weeks?

[But he puts some things back.]