introduction log.

[falsitates]

JUNE 1, 2021

The first day of summer - it’s unbearably hot. Temperatures are high and relentless, and without a single cloud in the sky, the sun blazes down heavily on the unlucky few stuck outside.

Weather predictions warn of an intense heatwave that’ll last all week long. The young and elderly are advised to stay indoors and hydrated, and anyone with the symptoms of a heat stroke is urged to head straight to the city hospital. Schools are temporarily closed until new air conditioners can be installed, and businesses come to a slow grind as many call out sick from heat exhaustion.

The city warns that it’s going to be a long seven days.

  NEWCOMERS

You wake up.

You’re left to your own devices. You have a vague memory of the last few moments of your time back in your world, in familiar surroundings, but you’re now somewhere new. Whether you’ve awoken on an unknown rooftop, in a stranger’s bedroom, behind cell bars, or under six feet of water - you know that you’re no longer at home.

You’re on your own for the time being. You must escape whatever predicament that you’ve found yourself in and find answers to your own questions. What brings you here? How did you arrive? What happened to your friends and family? You have an hour to explore and speak with the people of this world before your time runs out.

Something then vibrates in your pocket.

  RESIDENTS & NEWCOMERS

Your phone vibrates.

It buzzes incessantly until you pick it up, but when you look at the screen, it’s blank. It will not turn on, no matter how hard you press the buttons. It’s possible that it overheated and shut down, but it’s unusually cold to the touch, almost as if you’re touching a brick of ice. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, white text appears on a black background.

Decryption confirmed.

Condition green.

Booting program.

The screen goes dark once more. Seconds later, new words are typed.

WELCOME TO [ AVA ]

→ MISSION 001
HEAD TO THE CITY CROSSWALK BY 1500. FIND THE [ OTHERS ]. YOUR REWARD WILL BE ANNOUNCED THEN. FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION.

  WELCOME TO [ AVA ]

You can't avoid the mission; you don't have any choice. Any attempt to ignore or avoid it is futile, as convenient coincidences occur all around you as a motivator to go.

Did you have work? For some inexplicable reason, your shift has been cancelled. Were you trying to get some rest? The fire alarm went off and you were evacuated from your home. Did you attempt to travel to another part of the city? The sidewalks and roads have been closed due to a sudden blackout.

No matter what you do, you are compelled to head to the city crosswalk.

For the middle of the afternoon, it's unusually quiet and empty. Despite the heat warning, there should still be more than just a handful of you and a few others, but you won't have the time to ponder about it. Your phone finally reboots and appears to be back to normal - or so it seems. You've got a new app.

[ AVA ]

It's an icon with a white eye. It stares at you, and the screen remains frozen until you press it. It then starts the initialization process.

WELCOME TO [ AVA ]

PEACEFUL DAYS ARE OVER

ALEA IACTA EST

The text vanishes, revealing the app's interface. It's an online social media network with public forums and private messaging, but it's completely devoid of content. It currently only contains the user profiles of those who have signed up for the app, and you are one of them. Your full name, date of birth, personal address, height, weight, and a mugshot that you don't recall taking are all listed on your profile.

You quickly discover that you have no way of deleting or even editing your information. You can't even get rid of the app. The option simply does not exist.

Minutes after opening [ AVA ], you receive a notification. There have been two new forum posts. MISSION 002 and MISSION 003 are the names of the new threads. You open them to read.

→ MISSION 002
NEWCOMERS, WELCOME TO VITAE. YOUR GOAL FOR THE NEXT TWO WEEKS IS TO SURVIVE. IF YOU ARE ALIVE TO SEE THE MIDDLE OF THE MONTH, YOU WILL BE GREATLY REWARDED.

→ MISSION 003
RESIDENTS, BE AWARE OF YOUR ENVIRONMENT. YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO LEAVE THIS CITY. ONLY TRUST THE PEOPLE YOU KNOW. YOUR COMPENSATION WILL BE PROVIDED IN TWO WEEKS' TIME.

These threads allow you to leave comments. What do you do now?

Comments

[ehero]

[ It takes Judai a second to recognize the person standing before him. Out of shock, he does not choose to sit wherever. Instead, he stands there dumbfounded. ]

Jun?! You work here?

[whiteshroud]

[Oh no...he's been recognized. He'll keep smiling because he has to per his job description, but inside he's dying.]

H-Haha, yep! Started a few days ago...!

[ehero]

Really? Your hair grew pretty fast in a few days...

[ judai is a fucking idiot ]

[whiteshroud]

[ ... 💧 ]

They're extensions... [He clears throat]

A-Anyway! Have a seat! I'll get a menu for you, uh... [crap the manager's watching, he gulps] M-Master. ♥

[He knows he has to say it, but my god is it 1000x worse when it's someone he knows]

[ehero]

[ He doesn't even know what to say because he has absolutely no idea how to feel about being addressed by "master ♥". Without a word, he just walks towards the back of the cafe and sits down at an empty table. ]

Man, this is so weird...

[ While waiting for Jun to drop by with a menu, a special duel spirit makes its appearance to keep him company. It chirrups a few times, and he just nods. Of course, no one else can see or hear it so it just appears like Judai is staring off into thin air and speaking to himself... ]

Right? But I already sat down. Should we just order it to go?

[whiteshroud]

[Jun goes to grab a menu, coming back. He...sure notices that Judai is talking to himself, but you know- what, maybe the guy's just tired it's been a week!]

Here you go!

[Setting the menu down]

Do you have a coupon? Otherwise the cheap options are on the second page.

[Because bro, he knows youre broke]

[ehero]

Oh, yeah, the girl outside gave me one.

[ He digs it out of his pocket. He's only had it for a minute but it's already crumpled. He will then open up the menu to see what his coupon can apply for, but something catches his eye. ]

What's an "eating buddy"?

[whiteshroud]

Ah-

[So it's that coupon. Is this the guy his coworker was talknig about earlier? The one she felt bad for? Huh...]

It means you can choose a maid to sit and talk with you during your meal.

[ehero]

[ look......... there's nothing wrong with a pity coupon. a boy's gotta eat more than the stale crackers at the bottom of his bag. ]

Does that mean I can choose you? C'mon, take a break and chat with me!

[whiteshroud]

Haha, sure!

[He's not going to fight a chance to take a break. He'll slide into the chair across from him.]

If my manager comes by, don't mind if I suddenly swap into character, ok?

[ehero]

Yeah, of course!

[ After quickly choosing his meal (a plate of omurice), he closes his menu. He'll give his selection to the next maid who comes by so Jun can sit rather than running to give the order and bring it back. ]

So, why are you working in a maid cafe? Why not a normal cafe?

[whiteshroud]

[you're a good dude judai. Jun will just ask for a water, since he's still on shift and rather not anything come out of his paycheck]

Haha, because the maid cafe pays more. I need enough money to support myself until whatever going on here is resolved.

[ehero]

Huh, makes sense.

[ Yeah, Judai will just accept that answer. Jun is obviously a cute girl so the job is perfect! Wait until he finds out the truth and goes ?!?!??!?!?!! ]

Though if you sleep outdoors, you don't have to worry about making that much.

[whiteshroud]

Hm, that's an idea- one that I'll give a hard pass.

[Instant rejection]

[ehero]

[ :( ]

What's wrong with sleeping outside? If you find a nice patch of grass, it's better than any bed!

[whiteshroud]

Judai, we've been here one week and you've already gotten shot.

[ehero]

-- which wasn't my fault!

[whiteshroud]

I'm not saying it was!

But this place seems really dangerous. I don't want to sleep outside if I can help it.

[ehero]

Ehh, I guess...

[ wow way to be a bummer, jun :/ ]

Does this mean that I should get a job as well?

[whiteshroud]

Probably...

What kind of stuff do you like to do? Maybe you can pick something based on that.

[ehero]

Hmm, well, I guess I like Duel Monsters, but it's kind of hard to get a job in that field if no one knows what it is.

[ which is outrageous and it still boggles his mind. what kind of messed up world is this??? ]

[whiteshroud]

That's true...that is a problem.

[He can relate, considering his actual job is not one he can put on a resume]

But you were pretty good at Blade! What if you got something at a game shop?

[ehero]

Hey, good thinking! Maybe I can start to introduce Duel Monsters there while I'm at it!

[ customer: can i get a pack of blade ]
[ judai: no ]
[ judai: time for duel monsters ]

I still need to show you how to play. I bet you'd be good at it!

[whiteshroud]

Haha, yeah there you go!

[Would it cause problem for his place of employment? Probably! But it's not Jun's problem if Judai gets himself fired.]

I'd like that! I'm a fan of card games with nice art to look at.

[...his deck will be entirely based on aesthetic]

[ehero]

Here! This is my deck.

[ He reaches behind him to pull out his cards from his deck box. He spreads them out onto the table, looking incredibly proud. Half of the monsters are heroes while the other half are aliens. i already know that i've forgotten at least two monster and i didn't bother with the spell/trap cards but shhhh. all you need to know is that judai is a kid who loves heroes and alien heroes. ]

I run heroes and Neo-Spacians. They're weak on their own, but when you combine them, they form stronger monsters! Like, here, this is my ace card. See how Neos' attack is high, but he doesn't have any effects? That's because he's meant to be fused! So, if I use either Polymerization or Neos Fusion with him and a warrior-type like Aqua Dolphin, I'll be able to summon Elemental Hero Neos Knight, which now has the effect to attack twice. Or I can simply contact fuse Neos and Aqua Dolphin without any spell cards to get Elemental Hero Marine Neos, which can destroy one random card in my opponent's hand once per turn.

[ As he speaks, he gestures towards the mentioned cards and picks them up. He has not spoken to another human being about Duel Monsters for a week, so he is absolutely dying. Therefore, while Jun is trapped by the rules of an eating buddy, Judai is using this opportunity to word vomit. He would have gone on for a bit longer about his heroes, but a little floating spirit is chirruping, causing him to pause. He turns his head to look upwards, waiting a few seconds as it finishes saying its piece. ]

Okay, okay, I didn't forget about you. I was just about to bring you out.

[ He looks back down at the table and picks up a specific card. ]

And this is my partner, Winged Kuriboh! He's gotten me out of more jams than I can count.