⬣//GROWING WILDLY OUT OF CONTROL.

[cccorp]

>>Gathering // >>Waiting // >>Can't Return // >>It's Real

⬣//STERILE WHITE WALLS

September 23rd—conference day. In the hours preceding the meeting, beta testers are supplied with information on how to access the virtual conference room and offered a set of conduct guidelines. Testers are urged to read them thoroughly and instructed to sign their name on the bottom of the page to confirm that they’ve read and understand the following guidelines:

1. All questions will be addressed. Do not interrupt speakers or other beta testers when they are asking questions or having their questions answered.

2. Conduct yourself professionally and appropriately. Do not curse, shout, or otherwise engage in disruptive behavior. Violators will be muted and their speaking privileges revoked.

3. No eating or drinking. Keep your virtual space clean and free of debris.

4. Remain seated. Excessive movement or inappropriate behavior will result in restriction of your avatar’s movements.

5. PvP is disabled in the conference room. Weapons cannot be drawn and your Fragment inventory is unavailable during the duration of the conference.

Players are generously allowed one hour to filter in and find their seats, review the guidelines, and discuss the questions they’ve prepared with their fellow beta testers.

⬣//THE LOW RUMBLE OF DISTANT THUNDER

One hour comes and goes. The room remains occupied only by the beta participants, CyberConnect Corporation’s flashy logo spinning idly on the conference room’s 80 inch display. Restlessness begins to settle in, idle chatter turning to frustration as one hour becomes two. Still, no one from the Corporation shows.

The conference room remains devoid of purpose, some forty-odd people sitting alone in a sterile conference room, a locked room, should anyone grow so restless they try to leave. Any attempts made to break doors and windows will fail.

The door is locked, as are the windows, the world beyond their stark white blinds a slurry of purple and black. Thunder crackles in that dark, endless void. Even if you could leave, where would you go?

⬣//TORRENTIAL RAINS

It’s painfully evident after three hours of silence that no one from CyberConnect is showing up to the conference, but you knew that already, didn’t you? This mandatory meeting was fishy from the start, some would argue, while others may yet hold out hope.

That ends the instant anyone tries to log out and leave. Everyone who attempts to leave will be met with the same error Shoka was some weeks ago, but this time, the error is permanent. This time, there is no connection between mind and body anymore, and any attempt to “reach” your real self will fail.

You feel no one on the other end. You no longer feel the weight of your headset on your head or the keyboard beneath your fingertips. All your worldly aches and pains have drifted away only to find you here in your new reality, every sensation so real that Fragment no longer feels like just a game. Fragment is reality.

Three hours pass from the start of the conference. The boring white walls and rickety office chairs shudder and shake and give way to the Mac Anu everyone knows. You’re back where you started, more or less. What you do from here is up to you.

⬣//LOST TO THE TUMULT AND BEDLAM

Some menus remain online. Players retain the ability to send and receive friend and party requests, access their inventories, spells, and weapons, and so on, but a few notable items are missing.

Players can no longer toggle their pain sensors on and off. Every blow you take is one you’re forced to suffer through, and what’s more, your health no longer automatically regenerates when idle. You’d better keep a stash of potions or a pocket healer handy.

While you’re at it, try not to die. The sharp-eyed among the group may notice that the respawn information nestled in the menus is no longer accessible to them. The respawn counter now reads as a series of zeros instead of the typical 20 minutes. Now is probably not the best time to continue testing Fragment’s death mechanics, but nothing’s stopping you from trying. No one’s going to save you, either.

Good luck, players. The real test has begun.

>>Navigation

Comments

Wildcard, Oct 3 (very late)

[dissimulative]

[ Oria finally joined Moon Tree mostly out of convenience, but he can't deny that the guild interior isn't beautiful. The guild has its perks.

But none of that is on his mind when he finally comes back and sits on a bench. Orion eventually finds Oria and he finds it weird that Sinclair hasn't returned yet when it's so late (according to game time). He plays a little with Orion while waiting and even crafts things while he waits. He waits for a while.

Oria always sent him messages to let Sinclair know that he's still alive. He vaguely wonders the same now. Perhaps it's just him worrying, but...

Not even squishing Orion's pawpads is enough to distract him.

He tries very hard not to fall asleep. ]

[insinning]

[ Sinclair does not check his inbox. In the morning he had his excuses - helping with the picnic Hani and everyone put together - but after that...

There were no excuses. Just a relentless grind through the dungeons until he felt the restlessness ebb, his feelings fade out into a physical exhaustion that let helped make everything fade into a nothingness. He stumbles back into the Moon Tree guild close to midnight, his hair back to being short on a frustrated whim, greeted by the scramble of tiny feet and barking.]

Orion...

[Sinclair leans down to pick his dog up and then looks over in surprise when he spots Oria by the gardens too]

Oria? Since when...?

[dissimulative]

[ hello Sinclair your boyfriend returned as a level 75 steam gunner. He swears he didn't leave you to grind by himself!! He just had to look through regular dungeons too.... yeah.

Oria smiles tiredly over at Sinclair and gets up from the bench. The moment Orion got up and sped away, he knew the owner had arrived. ]

Hey, Emil. C'mon. Let's get inside first. You look exhausted.

[ He holds out a hand towards him. ]

[insinning]

So do you...

[He takes Oria's hand, a few wobbly steps forward and just leans against him. Warm...]

[dissimulative]

[ Oria laughs a little. ]

I'm not used to pulling all-nighters. Haven't really had a reason to.

[ Then they stand in front of Sinclair's room and Oria waits for Sinclair to open it since he can't. ]

[insinning]

Mm...sorry. I thought I'd be back earlier...

[ But he hadn't felt tired enough. He opens the room, letting them all in before he closes it behind them. ]

But I'm used to working weird hours so I guess the habit stuck.

[dissimulative]

Yeah?

[ Oria walke in and phew. He's tired. ]

I thought you were having a lot of fun at the party and cleaning up after.

[ Since Sinclair is responsible when he has to be... ]

[insinning]

Ah. I was.

[ ...maybe he should have gone for that instead?

Just hugging Orion a little more before he sets Orion down, who immediately makes for the dog bed in the corner and falls asleep. Good dog]

I just thought I'd run some dungeons after too.

[dissimulative]

Running dungeons solo really helps to get you used to fighting really fast.

[ Since it's either that or die now, but it also held true for before. Kiting and learning how enemies act... his lv50 armor reducing their HP to 1 if he gets hit helps immensely though.

He reaches out with his other hand and ruffles Sinclair's hair. ]

Feel better now?

[insinning]

Mm... it's a bit different way of fighting...

[ He leans into Oria's hand, eyes sliding shut. He's exhausted. Tired. He doesn't feel better at all after all the dungeons, but he doesn't want to say that.

His heart feels heavy]

Yeah. Did you find her?

[dissimulative]

[ Oria knows Sinclair doesn't feel better after doing dungeons, but he really just asked to fill in the void of... something. There's some sort of emptiness that he feels, and he's not sure where that's coming from. ]

... I did, actually.

[insinning]

[He studies Oria's expression for a moment before he takes a half step forward and wraps his arms around Oria in a firm hug]

...so she really is still here. How was she?

[dissimulative]

I'm sure she's still taken aback, but...

[ Oria returns the hug and lets them both fall onto the bed together on their sides. Good thing he took a shower before he started waiting on the bench... ]

... she's trying her hardest, as always.

[ His hand moves up on Sinclair's back as he hugs him tighter. ]

It won't change her body's condition though. If she dies here, that might be it for her.

[insinning]

I can imagine.

[ But Sinclair hasn't had a chance yet??? He wont protest being pulled down though, since he changed into one of his clean skins before returning]

She's sensible. She's not the type to be reckless. But it must be difficult...

[dissimulative]

[ mmm comfy ]

She's a little like you... except she does a lot better at hiding it.

[ With the hand that's still holding Sinclair's he moves them both up so that he can poke Sinclair's nose. ]

But that's okay, because I don't want you to hide that stuff when you're with me.

[insinning]

Ah.

[ Sinclair wrinkles his nose. What is that booping. He frowns a tiny bit and presses closer. Oria is so warm...if he soaks up enough of it, he'll get better like he normally does]

I wasn't trying to hide it...?

[dissimulative]

Exactly! But I mean the stuff when you're trying really hard to be polite when you'd rather go off the rails.

[ You are a bottler, Sinclair. That bottle has already turned into an incendiary molotov. ]

Other than that, you two are pretty different people.

[insinning]

I don't think going off the rails is helpful for anyone.

[ Unfortunately, Sinclair cannot deny this. He plants his face against Oria's neck to breath in his clean scent]

But you're right about that too.

[They are very different. He admires Uta a lot]

[dissimulative]

[ Nice and clean ☆

Oria goes back to hugging Sinclair with both arms now, pulling him close so that they can snuggle. ]

Nice outfit though. It makes you look really cool and trendy.

[ Hehe. ]

[insinning]

[ Oh. That's nice. Sinclair snuggles against Oria properly, feeling the warmth creep into how numb he feels]

Yeah? I got lucky... it's comfortable too...

[dissimulative]

It looks like it was made for ease of movement.

[ Do Lord Partizans need that? Probably not, but it still looks cool and that's what matters to Oria more. ]

What else did you get?

[insinning]

Mm, a hunch of suits weirdly enough. Something I can't figure out--oh and a pajama set.

[ He'll look silly but he'll be comfy at night]

[dissimulative]

Pajama set?

[ Oria is thinking of something like a nice, cotton shirt and comfortable pants of the same materials with a simple repeating pattern all over it. ]

I bet it would look cute on you. Maybe they ran out of creativity and that's why you kept getting suits.

[insinning]

It's very fluffy. Kinda weird.

[ Fair warning Oria. He presses a little closer. He'll try to recharge a little more before he showers ]

Mmm... maybe. Guess they had only so many templates to use.

[dissimulative]

Fluffy...?

[ Oria is confused. He may be a closet nerd, but kigus aren't on his mind right now. He gently rubs Sinclair's back to try and make him feel better. There, there. ]

Guess you'll just have to put it on for me to know.