✿ OVERFLOW

[journaler]

WARNING. SYSTEM OVERLOAD.| A problem has been detected and the device has been shut down to prevent damage. To prove that you are human please░░░▒░▒▒░░??░▒cont▒nue. How m▒ny?body░parts a??▒list▒d▒░░head░▒▒eyes

Comments

[rebelia]

There's a chest.

[Yes, he did, although this part of the maze is too fancy to be an ordinary dead end. Perhaps this is actually the end of the entire level, protected by the branching intersection from earlier. With the ornate treasure chest before them, this area looks that much more special. But that may well be a trap, and IV stoops down to inspect the chest, which he pops open when the command to do so appears.

There's something inside. The moment he grabs it and pulls his hand out, the chest closes itself. With a curious tilt of his head, IV steps aside.]

It looks like it reset. Try opening it.

[journaler]

Me?

[...Yes, Leia, who else? She steps up to the metaphorical plate, looking down at the chest with a tilt of her head. Slowly, she'll reach forward with her free hand that isn't occupied with her staff.

No turning back now. She lifts open the lid and grabs some kind of paper she finds within; and the chest shuts normally.]

...Oops. I think I ripped it. [Though, she didn't hear or feel it happen. Huh.]

[rebelia]

[It's only then that IV inspects his loot. He understands what Leia meant by "ripping," though it just looks to him like that's the way they got it.]

No, it's the same for me.

[He studies the note's contents while his spear dismisses with another flicker of light, reading over the lines that, out of context, seem very insignificant.]

It's part of some kind of document. What does yours say?

[journaler]

Umm... [When she sees that her paper is blank, she flips it over to the other side. That's better.] Let's see.

"Good evening. This message, I trust, is reaching only those of you who truly desire to know the truth"...

[She reads it and stops abruptly, mouth still open like she's about to add "about..." and just continue on; but there's nothing more. That's it?]

[rebelia]

Is that all? It sounds like the beginning.

[And there are clearly many more pieces they're missing. He turns the paper over in his hand. No doubt others who've gone down the same path are picking up the same thing.]

So this is what the choice meant by "truth" . . .

[journaler]

It's signed in the corner... "Bellona Recreare."

[It does appear as if she got the beginning of the letter, yeah. Which is pretty cool, being number one and all... but IV just has to make her ask.]

What does yours say?

[rebelia]

"to see CERES stock fall, and investors grow wary due to a few fools and their weaknesses"

[That sure says a lot. Then he notices the name he didn't see at first in the corner.]

This one's also signed. Bellona Recreare . . . isn't that the name of the new CEO?

[journaler]

[Leia nods.]

I got to talk to her once. Not for very long... she was only taking questions for a couple hours, and a lot of people jumped on it.

She was all business.

[rebelia]

[He recalls where that window of opportunity must have surfaced. It was during that gruesome broadcast for which he didn't bother to stick around too long.]

What do you think? Can she be trusted?

[journaler]

I don't really know...

She wasn't the most pleasant person to talk to, but she wasn't really mean either. Even she admitted that the circumstances weren't great, but I think that's why she opened herself up for that small window of time.

If she was the one who wrote this letter, then maybe we'll know more if we collect the rest of it.

[rebelia]

[Nodding, IV turns away to give the chest an experimental kick. It doesn't open.]

That's all we're getting out of this. Guess that means we'll have to share clues with others who chose truth.

[On cue, the maze fades out around them as the completion message typical of ViViD flashes across the screen. Blackness encompasses their vision before the system gives them the option to log out now or continue on to another unrelated mission.

IV confirms for the former. Soon, he finds himself materializing back in the colony.]

[journaler]

[Huh...! So that's the end of it.

Leia logs out too after going through with the victory screen, and similarly, she reappears in the colony. She examines their immediate surroundings--all seems to be normal--before her eyes land on IV. She appears to continue their conversation.]

Good idea. I'll test the waters in a couple days and see who comes forward. That'll give the newbies some time to get their bearings.

[rebelia]

[The ViViD resolution was rather abrupt, after all. The couple of days' break should give the veterans some time to regain their bearings, too, he thinks.]

Sounds good. I'll be asking around, myself. [By which he means he'll talk to Vector about it and see if he's thrown any bones in return.] I'll check in with you another time, then.

[journaler]

Okay. [...That was a Really Long Mission for... a lot of reasons, and it's certainly given her a lot to think about. She's pleased with the overall outcome, though. With a relieved sigh, she'll add:]

...Get some rest.