Three days had passed since Joshua Walker’s death and Akinari Ueda’s unwitting murder — the time both excruciatingly long and painfully brief. A message cut any mourning short:
GET OVER HERE!!! YOU KNOW WHERE!!
Here and where were the trial room, for it was time to witness Akinari Ueda’s death.
The execution will commence shortly.
The waves lap at the shore of a familiar beach as Akinari takes in his surroundings. The air felt heavy and cold, like a wet blanket draped over him. Grey clouds rolled across the sky, threatening to let loose a flood at any moment. Despite the warning signs…
It was good to be home on Aomori’s beach once again. A shame it took dying to get there, even if none of it was real.
It’s only when the waves crash into the back of his ankles, then his calves, that Akinari is spurred to move further up the beach, but something holds him back - there’s a heavy concrete millstone chained to a harness under his shirt and jacket, too tight to take off. The stone emits a faint beeping, and to his apparent horror… the top surface of the block displays some sort of heart monitor, the rhythm fast and arrhythmic. The beeping increases beyond 140 BPM as his own rabbit heart betrays him, panicking at the hopelessness of his situation. The millstone was too heavy to move, he struggles and pulls-
“FIGHT! AKINARI!”
Sudden cheering erupts from the dry edge of the beach, and he whips his head around from the tide rising behind him. A crowd has gathered above the tideline, their facial expressions impossible to distinguish at this distance, but other features marking them as familiar people: his mothers, both with megaphones in their hands. His two sisters, waving pom poms and cheering with the voices he missed so much. Most of the ouendan from his old high school, and… the graduates from Hope’s Peak that were participating in Earthen Idyll. Everyone alive once again, yelling words of encouragement down at him.
So who is he to let them down?
Doing any warm-up exercises is impossible with the rising tide, as was taking this slowly, so Akinari hopes and prays that his heart holds strong as he bends forward, keeping his feet hip-width apart as he strains against the harness. There’s a shudder along the metal as the chain pulls, and slowly, the millstone drags through the sand behind him. The cheering increases in volume to the point where it becomes a roar, chants and the pounding of a taiko drum blending to drown out the crash of the surf as he climbs the hill slowly but steadily. The beep-beep-beep of the heart monitor pricks at the back of his mind.
Minutes pass as Akinari struggles up the sandy slope of the shoreline, and his chest aches with the effort. The distance between him and the top of the hill seems to stretch endlessly, even though he swears he should already be at the top. So he struggles on, doubling his efforts when he feels the splash of seafoam lap his heels.
Someone from the ouendan stops cheering, turning to leave the beach beyond his sight. Akinari stumbles a step backwards at the sight of someone giving up on him, heels losing their grip on the unstable ground beneath him as the millstone drags him backwards. There’s a hush that falls over the crowd of observers as he strains against the weight behind him, scrambling to find purchase in the sand while his breath leaves his mouth in short, sharp gasps. The terror is as clear as the sweat that runs down his forehead, leaving trails of water that resemble tear tracks along his cheeks. And although his legs are strong, his resolve firm as he begins the struggle back uphill, the crowd cheering him on has gone silent. Individually and in groups, they leave over the next few minutes. When the figures that resemble his mothers turn around to leave, guiding his sisters away-
“D-DON’T LEAVE ME A-A-ALONE! PLEASE!”
He calls out while extending a hand towards them, voice a high, desperate note that’s all but swallowed by the crash of the surf behind him. The heart monitor quickens past its already unnatural pace, the blips that represent his heartbeat chirping so fast at its peak that they sound like one long, piercing whine. It’s too much - he’s well past his limit, and the ache within his chest becomes unbearably, overwhelmingly tight. Akinari can’t climb any further.
He’s dying. He’s dying, and there was nothing he could do. Defeat hits Akinari like a tidal wave, seeping into his bones like cold water as he sinks to his knees. His hands tremble in the sand, but the earth feels cool. Welcoming. He was… so tired.
“I-I’m……. sorry. I w-w-was too-…. too weak.”
Beep…… beep………… beep…………
The world grows darker, the chirps from the heart monitor becoming sluggish and spaced out. Akinari collapses in the sand despite fighting to stay upright. Unconsciousness takes him as his eyes shut for the last time, one last sigh causing his shoulders to rise and fall in defeat.
A long, sharp note pierces the air as the heart monitor flatlines.
Akinari Ueda, the Ultimate Ouendan Danchou, has been executed.
The days leading up to Joshua Walker’s death had been physically and mentally draining, and in the wake of his passing, there was no time for rest. The remaining participants had to investigate, debate, and choose one of their own as guilty — only then would they able to rest.
“Even idiot dummies like you should get the PICTURE by now! It’s the same as before, and it’s the same as before-before! You’ve done this freaking thing twice already, which means… YOU KNOW THE DRILL!!”
“Who killed the dummy who died?”
Exhausted, though they were, the beta testers began to piece together just what had happened to Joshua. The Rimao Report had already stated his cause of death to be exsanguination, and they immediately deduced that glass had caused his wounds. A bump to the head had knocked him out, preventing him from seeking help as he bled out. Based on the debris and blood trailing throughout the nearby pagoda, the killer and Joshua had made their way from the ballroom to the balcony, where Joshua fell over the edge, landing in the boat below, beside which a copy of C. S. Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe was found floating.
They knew what killed him; what still remained was the question of who.
One by one, the beta testers offered up their alibis of where they were and what they were doing during the time surrounding Joshua’s death. As they struggled to find a damning discrepancy in the alibis, ED3N, the Ultimate Record Producer pointed out a fault within their process.
“We can’t exactly be sure of what we all saw. If we can’t trust our senses, then, well, it’s perfectly possible someone ended up someplace and fully believed that they were somewhere else. Or they just didn’t see the other person altogether because of their hallucinations. Like they were never there in the first place.”
With the recent motive causing constant hallucinations and sleep deprivation, it was difficult to fully trust in anyone’s alibi. In fact, the damaged map of the maze was a hallucination-induced accident on the part of Lychee Li, the Ultimate Tumblr Theme Coder, who had seen the paint as blood.
To narrow down the suspect pool, Arisa Takahashi, the Ultimate Mermaid, suggested sharing their fears and experiences with the motive.
“If you're in the suspect pool, maybe your fear will reinforce your alibi, or maybe I'm barking up the wrong tree. Kinda don't wanna air my shit and not have anyone else not, though.”
And then, Akinari Ueda, the Ultimate Ouendan Danchou, shared his fear:
"M-my fear was, um. B-b-being chased by a large..... l-lion thing. W-with, um, a human face. It w-was… horrible.... b-being chased like that. L-l-like prey. It f-felt so real....”
Juliet Ashikaga, the Ultimate Food Critic, had earlier suggested to attempt to identify the owner of the book that had been found near Joshua’s body: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Connecting the fears to the book, Mitsue Miyahara, the Ultimate Information Broker, said:
“... The book seemed like something you would read, as well. It's a classic. Fantasy. I know you like both of those. And if that's what you were seeing--a... lion, then... it would make sense, I think."
Denial.
“I'd remember k..... k-k-killing someone, r-right? I don't- n-no, t-there's no way I'd kill Josh a-and not remember! That's- that's insane!”
Defense.
"I saw t-the lion chasing me ever since the motive started- t-that's got nothing to do with the book.”
Realization.
"...M-my god. I- I probably thought.... J-Josh was the t-t- the thing chasing me. A-and that's why-"
The beta testers had found the killer, but this victory rung especially hollow. Joshua’s death had been a total accident. Akinari had been as unaware of his guilt as the rest of them. And their success would, in a few days time, result in nothing but his death.
The trial had ended, but how could they rest, knowing what was still to come?
Fears and nightmares had been haunting everyone for about a week now, in dreams and in reality. With each passing day, morale was dropping, little by little.
But all things come to an end, good or bad. Groggy, exhausted, and anxious, all imagined fears vanished, only to be replaced with a new one, thanks to an alarming message from Satomi Matsuoka, the Ultimate Jeweler. At 8 PM, on the dot:
POND IN CENTR OF MAZE. NOW.
Only… getting to the center of a maze wasn’t so simple. When the area had first opened up, Wisteria Yuuki and Ryouji Atsui had taken the initiative to paint a map on the walls of the maze. That same map was now freshly repainted, and also incomprehensible. Stones were toppled over and only added to the chaos.
Struggling through the maze took twenty minutes, but at last, they reached the center: the pond.
Floating lights bobbed in the air, hovering just above the water and dotting the night sky both. With the weeping willow nearby, the scene held a perfect, picturesque composition.
It was almost like a dream.
The red-pink tint in the water could almost be excused as another part of the scenery.
The dream shattered, turning into another living nightmare as it became obvious — there was blood, and far too much of it. Within a low rowboat sprawled the body of Joshua Walker, the Ultimate Surfer.
RIMAO REPORT 03
Victim: Joshua Walker
Location: Pond
Time of Death: 6:40 PM
Time of Discovery: 8:00 PM
Cause of Death: Exsanguination
The last time everyone was called together ended with exposed secrets and turmoil in the air. Rimao had promised the next time would be for yet another murder motive, and here she was, ready to make good on her word…
okay LOSERS!! u know the FREAKING drill. POND!!
Upon arrival, the participants could Yuetu rowing a boat back and forth at the pond, Rimao perched upon a bench.
“So? After that MESS of a freaking party, how are you suckers feeling? Scared? Worried? Boo-hoo-cry-cry SAD? I DON’T CARE! Myahahaha!”
“Whatever you’re feeling, it sure as HECK isn’t gonna be WELL. FREAKING. RESTED.”
Yuetu attempted to continue,
“A-As Rimao was saying… I doubt that any of you will get a good night sleep, s-sorry. It will b-basically — ”
But Rimao cut them off,
“As I was freakin’ SAYING. You’re all gonna see nightmares. Day or night, asleep or awake, you’re gonna see your dumbest, worst nightmares everywhere you go. Rats! Sinking ships! Public FREAKIN’ speaking!”
“O-Of course, we know… well, um, _you_ know s-some of your peers’ deepest secrets. But. Erm. That doesn’t mean you don’t know their deepest fears… or their nightmares.”
“Until one of you dies.”
Shortly after, everyone began to feel the effects of the motive, not one experiencing it like another. Each person’s nightmares and hallucinations were tailor-made to bring their worst fears to life, and only an overpriced item from the store could fight off the effects. Even then, they only gave relief for eight hours.
As the evening wore on, each pair took to the floor. Some were clearly better dancers than others, but for the most part, everyone did their best. They waltzed, twirled, box stepped and tangoed. Some performances were lighthearted, and others urgent, determined. The sight of everyone dancing across the floor in their finery was certainly a show, but, unfortunately, this was still a competition.
Winners had to be chosen, and the winners were…
Milamella and Satomi.
( by @/tendouary on twitter )
Following suit, were:
Mitsue and Juliet.
( by @cleokatriadraws )
Arisa and Wisteria.
( by @/moxy_by_proxy on twitter )
Ryouji and Hideki.
( by @dr-astormylasthurrah / @/crowkerus on twitter )
And tied for last were Margo and Rhoda…
( by @/ToyTsf on twitter )
( by @/reesecore on twitter )
( by @/ToyTsf on twitter )
and ED3N and Lychee.
( by @wrenkos / @/wrenkos on twitter )
With the conclusion of the competition came, at last, the time arrived to reveal everyone’s secrets — during which emotions ran high, and reactions ran the full gamut from outrage to grief.
With the unfortunate promise that the next time they would be summoned would be for a motive, the participants were allowed to leave, with their now-exposed secrets hanging over their heads.
Eventually, a week passed. Life slipped into a familiar, peaceful routine, and with a healthy dose of denial, the participants could have even convinced themselves that nothing else would go wrong.
And then, at the end of that beautifully ordinary week, each person found an invitation sitting on their beds, or wherever they slept at night… for a dance party.
The ballroom where the party was to be held was lavishly decorated. The room was rich with the perfume of fresh flowers — snapdragons, lavender, bittersweet — and the tables were piled high with food and drinks. Lights gently floated in the air, adding a magical glow to the atmosphere.
Rimao and Yuetu arrived in style; the event called for formal apparel, and nobody was exempt. Rimao was dressed in a green and gold gown with draping sleeves, the look completed with emerald paint on her eyelids and towering, bejeweled accessories. A step behind her was Yuetu, in gold and white, their signature noodle bowl exchanged for another with significantly more toppings.
“You dummies all know what you’re here for: a BALL! But not just any kind of stupid, fancy-schmancy ball… It’s a freaking partner DANCE competition! And not just any kind of competition, but one with a TWIST! And the freaking TWIST is—”
“The twist is s-simple. It has to do with your secrets. Um… they might get exposed, sorry...”
The rules of the competition, as explained by Yuetu, were simple. For the chance to protect their secrets the beta testers had to dance, and dance well. Every participant would be assigned a dance partner, with each partner knowing the other’s secret. Unless the pairing placed first in the competition, their secret would then be revealed to all. Landing in second and third place meant participants had the chance to conceal part of their secrets. However, a majority vote on the part of all other participants could force any high-ranking pairing’s full secret to be exposed regardless.
“So, you idiots better dance for your LIFE! Or. For your SECRETS! It’s gonna be judged and ranked, but, oh, WE aren’t the stupid judges!”
Yuetu had tugged away one of the balcony curtains, to reveal…
“...Everyone, please say hello to Tiger, Dog, and Horse.”
In the end, a total of twelve participants signed up for the competition. They were sorted into pairs:
Mitsue and Juliet
Ryouji and Hideki
Milamella and Satomi
Arisa and Wisteria
ED3N and Lychee
Margo and Rhoda
Once everyone had been paired up, it was time to dance. There was far more on the line that simply victory or possible humiliation; for these twelve dancers, it wasn’t just their own secrets they were protecting, but their partner’s as well.
The participants didn’t have long for the execution to sink in — if it even had — before Rimao messaged them all again.
LAKE!! hurry UP losers!
The beta testers arrived to find Rimao and Yuetu sitting before a slightly changed landscape; the site where a body had been found had been completely cleaned up, and off on the horizon, the silhouette of new buildings and structures could be soon. There was also a blanket draped over two villager-sized lumps.
Yuetu said:
“Y-You might — you might notice the building in the backdrop here… that’s because new areas have opened up for you to explore. Um… i-it’s? It’s kind of, nice, so. T-There’s that.”
The new areas available were a maze, which surrounded a pond, which surrounded a many-roomed pagoda, and a park just beyond the maze. But that wasn’t all. Ordering Yuetu to drag the blanket away, Rimao declared…
“And we have two new-not-new freaking IDIOTS, too! Give it up for… Yuetu, do the thing.”
They revealed a rabbit and a deer, one of them dressed like a recently fallen peer, Naruki Satono, and the other, Arianna Beebe, dressed less so.
Despite their disbelief, the participants accepted their fallen peers back. Not without questioning, however — questions that were mainly directed at Arianna, who responded with cryptic remarks in regards to her true identity.
Rimao and Yuetu thus made their exit, leaving the participants — both alive and dead — to their own devices for the time being.
Just as before, a mere three days have passed since the death of Arianna Beebe and the jailing of Naruki Satono, the situation no less troubling or easier to swallow than before. Rimao, though, wasn’t going to wait for you to accept it. A message dinged —
PUNISHMENT time!!! NOT mandatory!! GET here NOW!!!!!!
DID I SAY NOT MANDATORY I MEANT IS MANDATORY YOU CLOWNS!!! FREAKING GOT YOU!!!!
Just as before, everyone could witness the killer’s fate through a projection in the center of the room.
The execution will commence shortly.
Tick… Tick… Tick… Tick…
The scene starts off in a small, dark, and dreary office. The windows are dark and the only thing currently lighting up the small room is a lit computer monitor, revealing a door out of the room, a small package sitting on a desk and Naruki Satono passed out at said desk decked out in a 3-piece-suit fir for a businessman.
Tick… Tick… Tick… Tick…. Tick….
After Naruki finally came back to his senses to process his new attire and the situation, he took a quick once-over of the room he’s found himself in. He knew his fate was sealed the moment the results had appeared, but he didn’t want to die a slow and ironic death.
Tick…Tick… Tick…Tick….Tick….
When Naruki woke up, he noticed that the computer had begun opening up a program before lighting up in bright red with white text.
“EXECUTION START”
...But more importantly, he recognized the package on the desk, and that’s when it finally hit him.
Tick..Tick..Tick..Tick..Tick..Tick..
This was a package from Nephrex Inc, and that ticking wasn’t the sound of any clock.
Upon realizing this, instead of choosing to blow up by the package, Naruki chose to make a sprint out of the room, shutting the door behind him just in time for…
TICK TICK TICK TICK TICK TICK
KABOOM
The explosion blew the door off its hinges, and Naruki was lucky enough to not get caught in the blast… but he now found himself in a packed office and a long hallway lined with cubicles and an exit door at the very end of it. With the flames and smoke growing bigger from the explosion earlier, Naruki didn’t have any other option but to run for the exit.
As he ran, however, nearby objects started flying at him from the cubicles. Ranging from pencils, to coffee machines, to computer monitors, felt like they were being controlled by a ghost, but whatever it was, it hurt when they hit Naruki, and they were slowly wearing him down. It didn’t help that he had already been weakened significantly from the events of the murder leading him up to this execution in the first place.
Naruki trekked and endured countless flying objects thrown at him in an amusing fashion, but even after enough blood loss and bruising from it all, he had made it to the exit door. Was this just another part of his execution or was this going to be a moment of respite after enduring this entire execution and making it to the end? Regardless, Naruki put his hand on the doorknob before opening the door to find the sunlight and natural scenery of the outside world… only for a fatal jolt of electricity to shock Naruki through the doorknob, stopping his heart, and knocking him out cold. It doesn’t look like he is ever going to get up from that.
As anticlimactic as it was, it was obvious from the start. Escaping his execution was never going to happen.
Naruki Satono, the Ultimate Office Assistant, has been executed.
As Arianna’s body was pulled out of the water and confirmed to have no pulse by Akinari Ueda, Rimao and Yuetu arrived on the scene. Just like last time, the participants were to investigate what happened, and, after a few hours, they were summoned once more to the fountain and the trial room below.
“It’s… Um… It’s the same as last time. Discuss and, and try to find out… what happened. G-good luck.”
“Good luck? I bet they’ll freaking NEED it. Let’s hope you dummies did your homework. ‘Cuz THIS is going to put it to the test — everything you found, everything you thought of… You better HOPE that you get this right! It’s the same, stupid question as last time:”
“Who killed the dummy who died?”
With no other choice but to press forward, the beta testers discussed amongst themselves what had happened to Arianna. Though her body was found at the lake, they deduced that the cliff — where faint traces of blood and a suspicious plastic shard could be found — was where the crime had been committed, and that she had fallen off the high, perilous edge into the lake. Moreover, Arianna’s wounds were consistent with the damage a fall would’ve caused. Complicating matters was evidence of the culprit attempting to help her, such as a used first-aid kit.
The kit, however, was missing far too many supplies than could be found near Arianna, meaning the culprit was likely to be injured as well. In addition, a hammer had been discovered in the lake with the body, and according to Hideki Kuromiya, Ultimate Surgeon, Arianna had been inspecting the tools at the local craft store earlier that week to “become a handyman to contribute to society”. At the craft store was yet more evidence — the tools were in complete disarray, and caught amongst them was one dark-colored thread.
Slowly but surely, a profile for the killer was made. They had to be strong but injured. They had to wear dark clothing. And they had to be willing to fight Arianna in order to survive.
The truth came to light eventually, as students offered to check for injuries, or avoided a check themselves.
From Milamella Maestri, the Ultimate Fine Art Restorer:
“Mind rolling up your sleeves for us? Better safe than sorry about proving your innocence, y’know.”
From Arisa Takahashi, the Ultimate Mermaid:
“You just happen to fit the hypothetical killer profile so weirdly well? Long sleeves, dark sweater, pretty sure you're at least a little athletic since you can climb trees. [...] Like, I'm not super duper gonna say it was you, but you're not, like, any good at making yourself less suspicious, huh?”
The accusations (not all verbal, such as the stare from Margo Majoris-Maroune, the Ultimate Magician’s Assistant) were quickly deflected by their target — Naruki Satono, the Ultimate Office Assistant. He rolled up his sweater sleeves, revealing bandages and bruises:
“Is this what you’re going to consider damning evidence? I fell out of a tree not too long ago, and I didn’t reveal it because others would assume they came from a struggle with Beebe. Plus, Beebe was the hammer, wasn’t she? If I fought her, how would I survive a fight like that when she could’ve easily taken me out with a well-aimed hit?”
But it was soon pieced together by Mitsue Miyahara, the Ultimate Game Master:
“We were quick to assume that that piece of plastic we discussed earlier was from the broken handle of the hammer, and it's true that they matched in material and color, but before realizing that, I had been wondering if it were possible it had come from an accessory of someone's. Unfortunately, the only thing I could really think of at the time were Mx. Satono's headphones. If they'd been struck at all during their scuffle with Miss Beebe, it's possible a piece could have fallen off of those, yes?”
With the evidence mounting up, Naruki confessed soon after, letting out a cough of blood into his sleeve.
“There’s not much I can really say now here now that you can finally see these, but at least we finally have some actual damning evidence here. I suppose I should confess this now... Yeah, I'm the killer of Olivia Gaines... or Arianna Beebe I suppose.”
“It was an accident, and I just didn't want to die.”
But they soon raised a question, directed at their fellow participants.
“What would happen if we voted someone who's already dead?”
“There weren't any rules in place of a situation like this from what it seems, so I figured a different outcome might be possible... though I wouldn't know what that exact outcome would be, I figured if it leaves us with more people alive, perhaps I could try whatever I can to help you all with what I can in the future if you all choose to do so? After all... I'd want to live to see Nephrex burn as much as all of you do after what they've done…”
“...But then again, I can understand if you don't think any good would come out of doing this and choose to vote me instead.”
One by one, votes were locked in. The decision was not unanimous — and the question was whether the majority vote would end up being for the accidental killer or the tragic victim of this murder.
With 10 votes for Naruki and 5 votes for Arianna, the office worker’s fate was sealed. Once more, they were to remain in the trial room until their punishment was ready.
“It was worth an attempt, but I can understand why you wouldn't want to take the risk.”
Dread from Rimao’s motive had settled in — though seven videos had been shown, there was still over half the beta testers to go, and there was no telling for how long it would all continue to go on.
But before Rimao could get to calling everyone for the next video, someone else did. A text of alarm grabbed the attention of all the students, from none other than Milamella Maestri, Ultimate Fine Art Restorer.
GUYS
i think it happened again please come to the lake NOW there’s somebody in the water
At Milamella’s call the participants rushed to the lake, the morning sun at their backs. Its warmth was gentle, and the air was fresh and clean. The mountains surrounding the lake were as majestic as ever, their peaks piercing the clouds. The trees were lushly green, and as for the mirror-like water—
Its tranquility had been shattered.
Within the water, her eyes shuttered closed and her arms below her head, posed the body of Arianna Beebe, the Ultimate Celebrity Impersonator.
Or, as she was known, Olivia Gaines, the Ultimate Controllerism Artist.
RIMAO REPORT 02
Victim: Arianna Beebe
Location: Lake
Time of Death: 7:39 PM
Time of Discovery: 9:01 AM
Cause of Death: Blunt Force Trauma
Days five to seven showcased the loved ones of Margo Majoris-Maroune, ED3N, and “Olivia Gaines”.
On the fifth day, the person shown was the brother of Margo Majoris-Maroune, the Ultimate Magician’s Assistant, who upon seeing the video had turned and stumbled away…
The first scene showed a boy around the age of the participants and an older man appeared to be in the middle of a busy work day — moving boxes around, waving around notepads, and the like. The video itself was fuzzy, but the building they were in appeared to be high end.
Now in a bright green jacket, the second scene depicted the boy standing atop a stage, holding a microphone with one hand. The participants couldn’t tell what he was saying, but once he finished speaking, the crowd before him on-screen laughed.
The third shot showed the boy sitting at a desk. The papers before him appeared to look relatively important, but he had leaned back with a sigh, and twirled a pen in one hand. He didn’t look very engaged with the content.
Rather abruptly, the camera cut to a brief moment of darkness, and then shot another scene. Instead of focusing on the boy, though, instead the camera zoomed in to a large, overhanging, stage light. Faintly, in the background, the sounds of of laughter could be heard, and the stage light wobbled once, twice...
Until the camera cut out again.
It’s wasn’t an explosion, but the sound was almost just as loud. There was a clash and a clatter and a loud, resounding thud as something hit the floor. And, just like that, it was over.
On the sixth day, the person shown was a friend of ED3N, the Ultimate Record Producer, who had stood and stared as the sound echoed in his ears…
The first scene seemed to be shot at a high-end studio. The camera panned to a boy who seemed to be around the same age of the participants, who was following a dance routine of some sort. With a skip and a flourish, he landed.
The second scene was him at a recording booth, with a handful of other people gathered around him and a notepad. Though the audio was hard to make out, the general gist was carried through — a new song was in the works.
In the third scene, he had appeared to be on public transit. A cup of coffee was held between his hands, and he appeared to be heading home after a long day of activity.
Abruptly, the camera cut to darkness. The faint sound of a phone’s vibration, and a click, were heard. One voice rang out, assumedly from the boy.
“Hello? Who are…?”
The camera panned out. The subway bus — assumedly the one he was in — entered a dark, unlit tunnel.
The camera cut to darkness, once more. An explosion didn’t happen. As the video begun once, there was, instead, a cracked phone and spilt coffee on the subway floors. The video cut out shortly after.
On the seventh day, the person shown was startlingly familiar: an identical lookalike to Olivia Gaines (?), Ultimate Controllerism Artist (?), who had ran after demanding if Rimao knew what the consequences would be if this was all real…
The video had begun by showing a girl that has a face known to the participants — the spitting image of Olivia Gaines was onscreen, walking along a beach, shoes in one hand. It was faint, but the distant sound of the ocean’s crashing waves could be heard.
In the second shot, not-quite-Olivia held a phone to her ear. There was an extended period of silence before she put her phone down, looking a little disappointed.
In the third shot, the girl now sat before her TV screen, holding a gaming controller in her hand. She seemed to be having a good time playing — but beside her was another set, empty.
The camera showed a flicker of darkness.
As the video came back to focus, the Nephrex logo could be made out, though staticy. The Olivia look-alike saw it, too, as she leaned forward.
“Hm? Some sort of hacker? Wait, isn't that...”
The video went black, and the sudden sound of glass shattering could be heard, almost as loud as the sounds of explosions that came before it. The shocking noise cut through the air, and, just as sudden as it began, the video had ended.
On the eighth day, another video did not play. True to her word, if somebody killed, the videos would end.
Days two to four of the motive showcased the loved ones of Wisteria Yuuki, Naruki Satono, and Juliet Ashikaga.
On the second day, the person shown was the mother of Wisteria Yuuki, the Ultimate Forensic Cleaner, who almost lost her composure with a flash of brief anger…
The first scene showed an older, brown-haired woman. Two children — one boy and one girl — trailed after her as they walked. The camera zoomed in, and the woman smiled down at them, green eyes showing an expression of love.
The second showed the same woman, though in a starkly different environment. It looked as if it had been a busy day with work, and the indistinct sound of business chatter could be made out.
In the third scene, the children and that woman sat at a dinner table, with an unknown man there. The father, you could only assume. Everyone looked happy.
The screen flickered out. Darkness.
It was that same feeling again. Dread. As the silence thickened, you might have braced yourself for what was to come…
But what came was not an explosion, but rather, the sound of something being poured on the ground — slick, quiet. The strike of a match and a fwoosh followed. One crackle of fire sounded, then another, and you could almost smell the smoke.
Though just as glitchy and staticy as before, the projection once again began. You saw it. Fire.
And just as quickly as it restarted, the projection stopped.
The third day, the person shown was the sister of Naruki Satono, the Ultimate Office Worker, who had muttered that there was a special hell for the mascots as he struggled to keep his cool…
The first scene was of a woman slightly older than the rest of you. She was on public transit, with bags next to her. Though her eyes were tired, she had a small smile on her face.
The second scene was of her entering a house. A teenage boy, an older woman, and an older man all greeted her. Their conversations were indistinct, but it looked like they were all happy. “Law school”, you made out, but barely.
The third scene was of the four of them eating dinner — though there was one empty chair.
Once again, the screen flickered out.
Once again, you were filled with dread. Once again, there was silence.
The camera, just as glitchy and filled with static as it usually was, focused once again. A package from Nephrex sat in the corner, and as a quiet beeping began, what was alarming was the response that was lacking in the former videos.
“HEY, WHAT THE HELL IS — ”
The screen cut out once again, as the boom of an explosion echoed from the speakers once more. Then, there was nothing but silence. It was over.
On the fourth day, it was the parents of Juliet Ashikaga, the Ultimate Food Critic, who were made to suffer as she looked to the ground and asked for them to leave her parents alone…
The first shot sat outside a window, watching curtains get drawn back to reveal a woman pulling them out of the way. Her green eyes glinted with joy as the morning sun filtered in, the light pouring over chairs and tables already set.
The shot switched to focus on a dark-haired man in a garden, gloves up to his elbows and dirt somehow beyond that. Despite his messy state, there was a wide smile on his face as he added a handful of greens to the basket hooked onto his arm.
The final shot flickered on to reveal the Nephrex-labeled package set on top of a crate of bottles, tucked away by a side door. The metal door in front swung open and someone in a chef’s uniform gathered both up, passing the Nephrex package off to someone else.
The camera followed the package as it traveled through a bustling kitchen, from countertop to table to cart. Its journey was interspersed by the clangs of pots and pans and the good-spirited cries of “Out of the way!” “Package for the bosses!”.
Eventually, it got handed through a doorway and reached its final destination on the center of a wooden desk. Two pairs of hands slid paperwork and pens out of the way to make room for it as two voices chatted about finances and menus — completely, utterly unaware as an increasingly familiar ticking noise faded in and the video dropped to static.
And just like that, the horrible sounds of an explosion rung out once more.
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