It’s nearing 11PM when your IDs buzz again, summoning you to the Light Garden. Istari and Zertro are waiting for you there as per usual, and you head into the courtroom. There aren’t any oversized animals here to observe this time around, but you can’t help but notice that the air in the courtroom feels a little...different.
Zertro’s chuckle echoes through your heads.
Glad to see some of you are making good use of your roles.
What’s that supposed to mean…?
I doubt I need to explain the rules to you again. This is the trial for Takumi Ito, the SHSL “White Hat Hacker”. You may now begin.
...You’re not sure why he put Takumi’s talent in air quotes, but that probably doesn’t matter now.
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As the results pop up, a devilish grin spreads across Zertro face, and he speaks. Not telepathically, he actually speaks, in English, in a voice that is so deep it sounds like the voice of the void itself.
“<Are you pleased, Cheshire?>”
He doesn’t seem to be speaking to anyone in the room in particular, but he chuckles before addressing the rest of you.
I don’t need to tell you that you got that wrong. There is no memory to show. I’ll still be preparing our little southern boy’s execution.
Whether you came to the sleepover at the House of Nature or not, it’s getting well into nighttime when suddenly, you get a message on your IDs:
Come to the House of Nature! :3c
Uh. Well, that’s weird. You guys who are already at the House of Nature just ignore it while worrying at the back of your mind, while those not already here make your way. Once everyone has gathered, a plume of black smoke appears in the doorway, before solidifying into the form of Zertro.
Istari immediately runs forward and puts herself between you and Zertro with her little wand out...only to be immediately smacked aside by Zertro’s shadow hand. She is knocked to the ground and the wand is knocked out of her hands, and starts to turn to ash. She pushes herself over so she’s laying on her side, glaring at him, but it’s pretty clear that she can’t do anything after that hell of a blow.
...Good. Now, for the motive.
Zertro’s form turns to smoke again and suddenly zips past the rest of you. When you see him back in his human form again...he’s right next to Crypt, who suddenly has a knife in their gut. Their eyes widen and they let out a pained cry before immediately pressing their hands to the wound. They crumple to their knees, struggling to breathe and to just process the pain. It all happens very fast, then, there’s a loud howl, like an animal in anguish, almost heartbreaking in its sincerity, and Johnny dashes forward, towards Crypt, or maybe towards Zertro, it’s hard to tell.
He doesn’t make it far.
Zertro meets him halfway and swivels around him with ease, leaving a large slash across his back as he does so. Black blood pours from both of their wounds, with some of it even splashing on those nearby. Johnny seems surprised by the sudden pain on his back, but strangely enough his first reaction is to turn to the side and push Yoshiki away from him, hard, before himself falling to his knees, where he stays, on his hands and knees, grimacing as every movement sends waves of agony through him from his back. Crypt tries to crawl back, away from anyone, but it’s hard for them to focus on anything.
Everything's happening so fast, but you can hear Istari screaming and crying in a language none of you recognize. Zertro chuckles, as his form starts to turn to smoke again.
If you want a cure, then someone needs to die.
And with that, he disappears. Istari slowly gets up to her feet and limps over to the injured, but it seems as if even she is at a loss as to how to treat them.
It’s...not a cure, but there’s a potion in my house that should slow down the effects. If you got the taint on you...please, drink it.
And she goes back to trying to treat Crypt and Johnny as best she can.
More details under the cut!
If your character has made contact with Johnny or Crypt’s black blood, they will move to max aggression on the Passive/Aggressive scale over the course of an IC day. They will more or less go feral, and the rational part of their brain is fully aware that the change is happening.
Once they go into feral mode, they will receive a dark orb, similar to the lights in the Light Garden, that will follow them if they are in that area.
Their wounds will not naturally heal and will bleed the black blood continuously.
Also, non-fatal wounds received in the trials will persist when they return to the Light Garden, even if the trial was failed.
If they choose to drink Istari’s antidote, the change to max aggression is slowed down depending on where they currently are on the Passive/Aggressive scale. If they lean towards Aggressive, it’ll take two days; if they are neutral, three; and if they are Passive, four.
Sooooo...yeah, you kids are smart to figure out that you can’t just kill willy-nilly with this. You have to use your brain and all that good stuff to figure out who’s your allies and who’s your enemies and make sure you kill your enemies and not your allies, yadda yadda, all that good stuff. I don’t think I need to explain this any further. The roles are just there to make this interesting and make things easier for some of you, as always~
As always…?
...Are you just a one trick pony?
Hm? I dunno what you’re talking about~ Anyway...you kids better get to killing if you ever want to see home ever again! I’ll be watching~
And with that, Zertro disappears in a puff of black smoke.
...Somehow, that was more ridiculous than the other times he’s done this.
He’s done this before? What?
...This isn’t an ideal situation, but try not to do anything hasty. The progress I’m making on getting you guys out of here is slow, but it’s progress nonetheless. So...please don’t do anything stupid that you’ll regret. In the meanwhile...I suppose I’ll create a way for you guys to open up the way to the trials on your own to keep you occupied in the meanwhile.
She gives you a curt nod and heads back towards her own house, leaving you all scared, tired, and confused. This is...a lot to take in all of a sudden, especially with the absolute lack of explanation on Zertro’s part, but you at least know one thing:
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...Nincompoop, huh? That’s a new one. Didn’t your mother teach you not to interrupt people while they’re talking, little Iffi?
...Istari is clearly not happy at his taunt, but bites her tongue and clenches her fists at her sides. Allo...Zertro just laughs and turns his attention back to the rest of you.
Theeeeerrree we go. Now...I brought you all here for a reason. We’re gonna play a little game. And if you happen to win this game...I’ll let you return home and all that fun jazz.
Oh, and to win this game...you just have to kill one of your fellow classmates!
...What?
Not just any of your classmates, though...that would be far too simple. It’ll be boring to explain all the rules, so here, read up.
Three days have passed since you first woke up in this strange place, and it feels as if no progress has been made towards getting you back home. At least this place is...relatively comfortable? Some of the places are a little unnerving to be around, but you have food, shelter, and company.
There’s not much you could really ask for...except for information as to where exactly you are and a way home.
It’s on the morning of the fourth day that things start to feel...strange. The air around you feels...cold, and it sends something of a chill down your spine. Before you can dismiss it as your imagination though, an unfamiliar voice rings through your head, just as Istari’s did before:
It’s time to get this party started. Come to the Light Garden or face dire consequences.
...Yeah, talk about ominous. Maybe it’s best that you try to avoid these dire consequences for now.
When you arrive at the Light Garden, you notice two things. Well, one of the things you noticed as you left your dorms. There’s now...a massive, ominous-looking tower behind the House of Rest and House of Strength now that seems to stretch infinitely up into the sky. When...when did that get there?
The second thing you notice is Istari and the one you’ve come to know as Alloran waiting for you in the Light Garden.
...Well, waiting might not be the right term in Istari’s case.
Hey guys! I got my memories back~! So, turns out my name is Zertro, and–
...His tone does not match his threatening appearance at all.
–actually, y’know what? That can wait. Now, let’s get straight to business.
Once you’re all in, Zertro soon follows, closing the door behind him, and with it, the way back out. You find yourselves in a room of white that seems to stretch infinitely in all directions, with two rings of freestanding doors that look like they would lead to nowhere as the only landmark around. The inner ring consists of doors with all of your fellow classmates’ names on them, and you can’t help but notice that Aidan’s door is cracked down the center. The outer ring has much bigger doors with epithets engraved on them. It’s a familiar sight to the frequent trial-goers, but the difference is that every door now has a podium in front of it.
Go ahead and stand at the podium in front of the door with your name on it.
Zertro himself takes his spot in front of the Destroyer, while Istari stands in front of the Creator.
Now, let’s get started, shall we? This is your chance to discuss and vote on who you believed killed the airplane man. Whoever gains the majority of votes by the time you’re done discussing will be executed, regardless of innocence, bar very specific circumstances. And...that’s about it.
He’s...really pushing you guys into the deep end, huh?
