PHASE I [ ?? ?? ] It's impossible to tell time in this place, and everything looks the same, but it won't be long before you're probably sick of the tower. Time to get down -- unless you have magical powers or can fly or something, it'll probably be pretty tough, too. You could try to climb down, but the walls look pretty slick, and -- oh god, your arm just went through the wall, what the hell.
Whatever you do, don't fall.
If you fall, you'll be stuck falling forever. And ever. And ever. Looks like they didn't put a failsafe into ViViD for falling, so now you're stuck. You might see some other people stuck in the same glitch, falling forever a la Alice in Wonderland, but honestly? You're stuck that way until your game resets itself.
PHASE II [ ???? ] Either way, you've made it to the ground (somehow). The ground looks like... a half-finished city, really. There are streets, and houses... but some of the houses are unfinished, just four walls and no roof, or only three walls, or nothing inside, and a lot of the NPCs are completely faceless, or only have one line they repeat over and over again.
It's honestly pretty unnerving, especially since there's no soundtrack at all. You can just traverse this creepy hellscape in complete and utter silence.
And then the cars start to fly away.
That's definitely normal (is there anything about this game that isn't faulty?).
PHASE III [ ???? ] It's not safe.
You could be anywhere in this level, wandering, searching -- and then suddenly, it's there. As it appears, a battle theme starts, but it's distorted, eerie and off-pitch. There's something very wrong about this enemy, that's for sure. It can't be defeated, either. Attacks can harm it, and it can be tossed aside or fought, but it just gets right back up, bloodied and beaten, as if unstopped by anything it's feeling.
Over and over and over again.
Just don't let it touch you.
Because it will start to absorb you, code bit by code bit, until there's nothing left of you. It's a cannibalistic distorted monster, wonderful.
PHASE IV [ ???? ] If it wasn't apparent already, physics is a little weird here. One second you're walking along, and the next there's basically no gravity; you could jump wherever you want, clearing buildings in a single bound like the superman you were always meant to be. One second you're your normal amount of strength, and the next you could life cars (if you so chose), for no apparent good reason.
Sometimes the world just tilts, making the ceiling the floor very suddenly, and sometimes the floor drops out from under you entirely.
Anything that could go wrong with the physics here does go wrong.
Just try not to get caught halfway through a now-solid floor. That sounds really, really uncomfortable.
BONUS [ ???? ] Of course, it wouldn't be glitch central without something weird happening to you. And it could be anything -- one second you're fine, and the next your arm is twice as long as it should be, and totally noodly. Suddenly you have a mermaid tail or animal ears, or your head has rotated upside down (how is that even happening?). You're suddenly able to walk through walls, or drag objects to you by pointing at them.
If this was a video game (it is), it would be the faultiest game to ever exist, that's for sure.
(Still, teleporting from one side of the world to the other by jumping on a single spot on a flowerbed is kind of entertaining, if nothing else.)
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But "sir" . . . ]
One minute I was jumping like I always do, and the next I was shooting up into the sky. Can you believe that?
[ Then he fell on Chihiro, which he swears wasn't on purpose. In any case, her mention of "level" confirms his suspicion that this isn't reality, and Izumi looks around at their general surroundings. ]
This is really ViViD, huh? So it's not normally this bad?
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Chihiro drops her hands back down to her sides, looking back up at his face. She gives him a little nod, but then hesitates. Can she say that for sure... ]
They can be really scary, or dark, or just horrible, but usually they feel like... they're complete? This doesn't. It's like someone started making a really weird game and gave up partway through.
[ Which makes sense in her head, considering CERES has been AWOL for the last month or so. She moves to the edge of the roof, glancing down, then glancing forward across the rooftops perpendicular to where he'd come. ]
There's fewer dead bodies and bear puppets and cages, and no weird mansion with talking portraits, so I guess that's kind of nice. I don't know how we're supposed to find an exit in this place, though.
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Yuu-san would have liked this.
[ She's way more into games than he is. Though, if it's this glitchy, maybe ViViD would have reduced her to enraged tears instead. ]
If this is a game, shouldn't there be a "return to title" or "log out" option?
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It's not that kind of game. We're... not here because we really want to play. From what the others have told me, this is just a way we're um. Having our energy taken.
[ She brushes imagined dirt off her arm, since the idea makes her skin crawl now that she's actually back in ViViD. ]
The exit is usually a place you find, but is there really only one way out of a whole city? Maybe there's a bridge, or a tunnel...
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Isn't there usually an indicator that tells you where to go? If we go on a wild-goose chase, it'll take us forever to find the exit.
What does it look like, anyway? A save point?
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Well... one time it was an exit door in a room filled with caged aliens crying and begging to be let free? It was all a trick. You couldn't free them.
[ She's now ticking off what the mansion exit was... ]
In the mansion, you just had to find a door outside. Then you got out through the gardens or the front... but it was way harder to do than you'd think.
[ She shakes her head. Either way, she's determined! Things will work out here, even in "no one finishes anything ever, the game." ]
But Kashuu told me that it's anything that looks like it doesn't belong. If we find something like that, we might find the way out! [ She look sup to the sky, now wishing that her new friend still had gravity turned off. Sure would be convenient right about now... ] Sir, do you have any super powers or magic or anything like that?
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Seriously, though, does ViViD have levels that aren't of the horror genre? Izumi wonders. He'd rather be in a fighting game and blow everything up. ]
Hm . . . well, first of all, that's enough with the "sir." I'm not all that interested in the formalities. You can call me Izumi.
Secondly, my "super power" is my body. [ He thrusts a thumb at his chest. It'll do for now, seeing as he's not allowed to divulge too much about Triggers. ] It runs on special energy and is stronger, sturdier, and speedier than the average human. There's a little more to it than that, but the rest is for combat. Anyway, that's the reason I've been able to use the rooftops to move faster.
[ Izumi pauses. ]
Still, even with enhanced speed and reflexes, finding something out of place in this city's going to take time. What about you?
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Izumi came in on the wrong test drive, clearly. He should have words with management!
She nods once when he introduces himself. Nods twice when he talks about his "super power" body. Does not nod at all when it comes to answering his only question. ]
I'm Chihiro, Izumi-s... Izumi, and I'm an average ten year old human girl.
[ She gives him a completely serious, unsmiling thumbs up. ]
Who's really stubborn and doesn't like giving up. Though... every simulation can only run for so long. Probably 'til it drains most of us, now that we know about that part... and you don't die in the real world when you die in here. If that's a worry.
[ She is not testing that and she has no desire to test that truth, but she takes it as true since her friends have told her as much. ]
Actually, it's sometimes hard to even stay dead in the colony. I don't recommend testing that out either.
[ At any point she will say something nice about being here. ]
So if we don't find an exit, we just need to stay alive long enough that we're let back out.
[ She brightens up at that much. (That's not the something nice about being here...) ]
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But there are nice things about this place? Izumi already gets the sense that this is a glorified prison using similar methods as Neighbors – fishing people out of other worlds and using them like batteries never sounds nice.
In contrast to Chihiro's expression, his own is a casual smile. ]
Dying early on won't help? It doesn't work like bail out does, huh . . .
[ He rests his hands on his hips. ]
But you know, I'd hate to lose to the game and take the easy, long way out. So what do you say to looking for that elusive exit together, Chihiro-chan?
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He is and isn't wrong. CERES is more about outright profiteering, and that's not talking about how they contracted to destroy worlds then recreate people from those worlds to exploit to sell energy to yet other people. It's not even preventing their planet from dying. This isn't even "their" world!
Geez, though, to her he seems too casual about the dying early mention... she's not sure she wants to understand what "bail out" means. Dying doesn't equate to a great "bail out" in her mind. His suggestion, on the other hand? She's behind that entirely. She might not smile, but she gives him a tight, firm nod, expression determined and eyes wide and clear. ]
I say that I would like that very much, Izumi.
[ She glances back over the side of the building, brow furrowing. ]
There haven't been many monsters I've run into. Mostly the faceless people... should we check things out from the streets?
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Let's find higher ground first. If anything looks off from there, we can focus our search.
[ He didn't think they would, but the houses with one or more missing walls will come in handy for narrowing down their search, too. He points his chin toward a long, narrow building not too far into the distance. ]
How about that one?
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Yet here she is, and here she stands ready to find higher ground first. Chihiro moves to better peer in the direction he'd pointed with his chin, lifting a hand to shield her eyes from a sun that wasn't there (and a light source that wasn't at any point really unified). ]
The one up on that hill?
[ It's not much of a hill, but she does seem to have sighted the long, narrow building he'd indicated. It might actually be built up on pylons from unfinished structures. ]
Mm, okay. So we need to get over there.
[ She rolls up her sleeves, looking down the side of the building. He can manage some pretty awesome leaps, she's guessing, even if the lack of physics applying consistently here can mess with how smoothly things proceed. She's fully prepared to climb down and run the streets to meet up with him there, popping her head over looking for a fire escape or ladder to use. ]
Be careful if you jump off on this side. The gravity reverses really suddenly.
[ Falling upward at speed was frightening as all get out, she can say that for certain. ]
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[ Izumi nods, appraising the side Chihiro has indicated. He pauses, however, when he notices her strange position. ]
You're going down? Aren't we heading there together?
[ Even if she's an ordinary 10-year-old, the fact remains that she's more knowledgeable about the goings-on of the place than him. Plus, she's a kid. Izumi hadn't thought about splitting up to reach their destination, but her actions speak of another idea. ]
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... I'm not all that good at jumping, so... I thought I'd climb down and run that way?
[ Do you actually expect anything other than basic tactics from a ten year old. Her most creative endeavours so far have been "makeshift rappel down a building to try and break in through a window using a friend's borrowed sword." Meaning this was simply her not knowing what he was going to do, but facing what she figured she could do without slowing him down (too much). ]
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[ Izumi claps his hands. He's not going to jump around and leave Chihiro to potential monster encounters. ]
. . . Want me to carry you? It'll be faster.
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[ She gives this proposition proper thought... then nods. ]
Piggyback?
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[ Testing each step (because he would rather not be flung into the sky), Izumi comes to stop before Chihiro and stoops down with his back to her. ]
Whenever you're ready.
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She's way too cool with this idea of clinging to someone who's rocketing around relative to anything she can do, but hey. For no reason past deciding on it, she's got Faith in his capabilities. ]
I'm ready.
[ The building, however, is ready to give in, starting to break apart in batches underneath their feet. There's a muffled roaring sound as the earlier reversed gravity starts to slowly wind up again, causing sections on the far side of the roof to start shooting up into the sky behind them. ]
Oh — !
[ DON'T YELL, DON'T FREAK OUT, just hold on for dear life everything will be fine! ]
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He grins wryly in disbelief. ViViD's timing sucks. ]
Seriously?
Here we go. Hang on!
[ Because he would rather not lose Chihiro to the sky, Izumi hooks his arms around her legs. Just as the tiles under his feet tremble and he feels the sensation of being airborne, he sprints into a large leap. He slams onto the neighboring rooftop, tearing off a tile or two in the process. ]
Phew! That was close. You okay, Chihiro-chan?
[ No urge to throw up on him? ]
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Woah.
[ She's entirely fine, but apparently falling long distances, riding writing dragons, and hitting terminal velocity don't phase this kid, so forceful roof-top leaps is right on par with things she finds surprisingly invigorating? Either way, she loosens her grip with one hand to awkwardly pat his shoulder (or his collarbone... clavicle... whatever in the world she reaches without trying) and confirm: ]
I'm fine! You're really good at that.
[ "That." Jumping, leaping, going into action — she's looking over his shoulder toward their current objective. ]
Do you see that floating stuff to the right? I think that might be like what we just left. [ As in, reversing gravity or reversing reversed gravity and dumping everything it's collected back down to the "ground." ] So we might want to avoid it, unless the exit's in the sky.
[ That would be so stupid she has three seconds where she seriously considers if that's the solution. ]
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The sky? You've gotta be kidding me.
[ Izumi also has three seconds where, looking up, he considers if that's the actual exit. ]
All right, that'll be our last resort. The sky's not exactly an easy place to search, so it'd be convenient if the entire thing were the exit . . . Man, how annoying would that be?
[ Because as a last resort, that would mean they wasted their time doing everything else. He's almost tempted to try it out right now, except the fall might be too great if they happen to be wrong. Refocusing on the building from earlier, Izumi readjusts his grip on Chihiro's legs. ]
Well, let's see what the view has to tell us. Who knows – it might have a thing or two to say about the sky. [ He glances over his shoulder. ] Since you were fine with that jump earlier, I'm gonna move fast, okay? Say the word if you want me to slow down.
[ Then he breaks into another sprint, leaping from one rooftop to the next while avoiding noticeable spots with floating debris. At one point, without slowing down, he takes a short detour due to the lack of a roof on a three-sided building. Aside from that, however, they weren't so far to begin with, and so reaching their destination doesn't take long with none of that zero gravity nonsense. ]
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As it is, she has no particular death wish, no matter how impermanent or non-real death is both in and outside of ViViD. She had the dubious pleasure of sitting through the presentation on what being here meant twice, so the reality is any of them "caught" by CERES and given physical form both were already dead and also not (can code die? do backups ever live?) leaves her with a headache even when malfunctioning equipment isn't doing the same.
She's resolute, however. Working with Izumi means she's also resolute that he'll get out, too. That's what friends do. (Welcome to the vetting process of friendship involving no vetting process whatsoever or at all.) ]
Mm! I'll be fine.
[ She tightens her grip on him and holds on, feeling as prepared as she can be when he takes off. She has nothing to say about the sky being an annoying exit, if it's true. It'd be too like the nonsense of having to leave people suffering and crying and begging to be set free. Maybe it is. Maybe it isn't.
She squints so she can look around while he's sprinting and leaping like some spring-loaded gazelle. She's reminded of Haku more than Kashuu, despite Kashuu being the one to give her a piggyback ride in ViViD before. The temporary nature of the arc of each leap has that touch of almost-flight that reminds her of clinging to the head and neck of a dragon-friend as they flew over an inland sea at night.
The spirit world had made a lot more sense than this place, and the spirit world was nonsense where normal logic was concerned. She turns her attention outward, missing a whole slew of things that can't be addressed from back home, trying not to miss what there might be to see here.
The far left has a cluster of better constructed buildings, different from the initial start to the level. They're not skyscrapers, for one. A series of bungalows? No; she's not sure, but they do look more residential in nature. To the far right, on the other hand, a series of half-constructed skeletons jut out of the ground at awkward angles, some frameworks of buildings emerging from halfway through another set. It's a half-built graveyard tumbled around and glued back together with no regard for which pieces fit where, and it leaves her stomach feeling unsettled.
They were the two oddest looking places in view. It might be either of those... or neither. She levers herself up to take temporary advantage of Izumi's height (compared to her own), but further scanning of the area once he's got them firmly on the roof he'd been aiming for doesn't show her any conveniently labeled "Exit." ]
If it's in a place that stands out, I can see two that are different from most this place. What are you seeing?
[ She's not sure if what she's picking up on makes sense, or is even all that actually unusual in comparison to the rest of the decaying, shifting landscape. ]
This can't be very energy efficient...
[ This ViViD session. She's not sure what emotional energy, or bonds, or spiritual energy is even being harvested when things are this uncoordinated. Plus that contract with DC was blacked out. What was CERES going to do with their energy now? ]
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Once they reach their destination, Izumi takes the opportunity to observe the land below them. He cranes his neck to halfheartedly match Chihiro's height of vision. If nothing else, he notices two places that are in direct contrast to each other – and because those are the most obvious differences, he imagines they're what Chihiro meant for him to see. ]
It's like day and night . . .
Normally, I'd say that junkyard looks suspicious; but in a place like this, maybe the nicer side is more worth looking into.
[ And who knows what it'll look like on the inside.
Whether it's energy efficient or not, their primary objective is to get out. Izumi glances up at the sky – as unhelpful as ever – and then looks over his shoulder. ]
Speaking from previous experience, which would you choose?
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FINE
arigatou