FOR THEY CANNOT DIE ANYMORE, BECAUSE THEY ARE EQUAL TO ANGELS.

[cccorp]

Today, the canals of Mac Anu flow as gentle as they always do, gondolas drifting lazy through the paths of sunlight cut bright across the water. Shops and vendors line the stonework streets along the waterways, a general murmur of NPCs circulating through their preprogrammed business keeping Mac Anu, as always, feeling maybe a little more alive than a real city.

There is one particular bridge that nearly every player's taken at least once, because it connects to a great many other places of interest, and it's wide enough for easy travel. Besides, with the professions update, they've put a fishing spot on the other side of it. NPCs with fishing rods litter the spot in alternating shifts, their laughter mingling with the calls of shopkeeps advertising cheap prices for some simple plants to get started crafting with, and the clink of forks and plates at a restaurant nearby, its customers singing the chef praises.

Below the bridge, a gondolier passes, humming, his gondola drifting along its circuit through the canals, his tune in rhythm with the passing conversation. As he comes out from under it and sails further away, he glances up at the bridge, as if he were expecting something, and he seems to see it. His gaze remains fixed there until, eventually, the water takes him out of sight again.

Today, you might notice that at the base of this bridge, just before your feet, is a red sort of smear.

A little further down the bridge, about a fourth of the way along it, is a person collapsed on the ground. The red trails to him, fallen forward.

You see upon approaching his hand grasping at his throat at the singularly cut sliced deep into his neck. His one good eye wide and unblinking, he is—among all the laughter and conversation on either side of the bridge; in the shadow of the clock tower, which stands a silent witness, the sun at its back—no longer breathing, his body cool to the touch.

Perhaps this could be considered a kindness: for one who failed, time and time and again, to grasp the desire to live, maybe he found some suggestion of it in his last moments, his hand at his throat, his palm smeared with dried blood, a curious anomaly in the deathless Mac Anu. Fragment had, after all, taught him a great many things. Should he not be grateful for one more, no matter how permanent the lesson?

Mithrun is dead.

Comments

WELCOME.

[cccorp]

Welcome to your first (and only, hopefully) investigation! As detailed above, our buddy Mithrun is dead. If you think about it, the chances of him dying were pretty high, so try not to feel too sad. Flirting with death comes with its share of downsides, including actually dying for realsies.

Mithrun's death will be followed by an in-game investigation that will occur over the course of one week from 9/2/23 until 9/9/23. To give everyone a chance to digest the mystery of Mithrun's death and contribute their own theories and speculation, new clues and evidence will be issued on a daily basis.

The investigation schedule is as follows:

SATURDAY: Mithrun's body is discovered. Hien has erected a barrier around Mithrun's body to prevent crime scene contamination. See the 'SATURDAY' toplevel below for available clues.

SUNDAY through TUESDAY: The barrier is removed and players will be allowed to interact with Mithrun's corpse. A mod will be on hand to answer specific questions regarding Mithrun's injuries.

WEDNESDAY: NPC testimonials will become available.

THURSDAY thru FRIDAY: Circumstantial evidence and further clues become available, constructing a timeline of the events that lead to Mithrun's demise.

SATURDAY: A Viking burial at sea. It's what he would have wanted (citation needed).

SATURDAY

[cccorp]

• Mithrun's body lies collapsed on the bridge, as if he fell forward on the spot. His corpse is surrounded by a barrier.
• Muddled trail of blood from the Chaos Gate to Mithrun's corpse. Can only be seen from a distance at this time due to barrier.
• Injuries that can be seen from a distance: leaf lacerations, burns, bruises, deep cut on neck
• It is impossible to cross the barrier in any way whatsoever.

[dissimulative]

[ It's been over an hour.

Seeing Mithrun's avatar dead in some shape or form is unfortunately not new, so Oria waited.

And waited...

And waited. ]

Why isn't his avatar disappearing...? It's been more than an hour. He can't be sleeping like that, is he?

[ He's dead, Jim.

Oria knows a dead person when he sees one, but man. Man. ]

[tinged]

[ half an hour, an hour, more. the silent adagio of hani's heart keeps time for the breaths they aren't taking.

there's nothing. just nothing. hani presses their hand against the barrier and nothing happens. no matter how long their gaze lingers on mithrun, nothing. no movement, no spark in their eye. he wants for nothing now in this game. (...and outside of it?)

if hien's still around after erecting the barrier, hani only has one question to ask, low and toneless. it's a wonder that words can form from the nothingness within them. ]

... Do you have an answer now?

[ they stay long enough to memorize the scene, each detail burned into their mind like a brand. their lovely robes turn red, red, red, red - the color of devotion. ]

[trollophoroi]

[ This feels... strange. Like everyone else, seeing Mithrun dead on a street somewhere isn't a new sight but the barrier, the administrator, the way it doesn't despawn. Fandaniel merely stands there a time, watching Hien, watching whoever else comes by, but he doesn't say anything. He doesn't interact.

After that time, he simply leaves. He has other places to be. ]

[secondthoughts]

[ What the fuck.

This doesn't make any sense. It's just a video game, but... Shouldn't his body be despawned by now? Why is he being cordoned off like it's an actual crime scene?

Was he left alone? Why wasn't anyone watching after him? Hector knows, from the few times they've interacted, that Mithrun would walk into lava of his own volition. That's not to blame him for this, no. But wasn't someone around to help? What about the other kids he's seen him hanging around? Where were they?

It's too bad he doesn't know who Mithrun's friends are. Otherwise, he'd be pestering them with question.

A helpless feeling crawls into his throat, accompanied by red-hot fury, and he whirls on his heel to punch the nearest wall. The stone hurts. But who cares.

Hector hangs around for a bit, mostly pacing in frustration, before he ultimately leaves. ]

[aphonik]

[ This feels-

weird.

An uncomfortable sort of weird. Normally, he wouldn't even give a shit- he didn't even like the guy. Hated him, even, if he was being generous. It's why his face scrunches in an unreadable way as he looks from the edge of that stupid barrier, stares at the red smearing at the street and feeling a twisting in his gut.

Some dark part of him says he shouldn't be too surprised. That the older man really didn't know how to shut his mouth, and he probably just mouthed off to the wrong person. But the rest of him is feeling just...nauseous. He lets himself look for a few more moments, before he twists his gaze to the side, digging his boots into the dirt. ]

...Fucking idiot.

[ It's small, raspy, like a ghost of a whisper. But then Dosei turns on his heel and leaves, quickly, before he has to see anybody else. He really doesn't want to see somebody freak out right now. ]

[insinning]

[The moment Sinclair had known for sure, for himself, that the half hour respawn time had counted down (half an hour, one hour, more), he had logged off. There had been a series of messages. Calls.

Nothing.

Some time passes before he gives up.

So he returns to Mac Anu, to the barrier, and waits.

And waits. His gaze fixed on Mithrun's corpse, as if he could learn something by it alone.]

[gluttoning]

[It's late. Around 8pm PST, long after the body has gone cold, that Misteaks stumbles into Mac Anu, audibly out of breath as though he'd physically run to get his headset on.

He finds the crowd. He finds the barrier. He sees the red and the body and the nails on a chalkboard--]

Morgan...

[There's a frantic tone to how the name slips out, a fragility. The body doesn't answer. It's too far.

His raw fist slams onto the barrier, his eyes wide and pained.]

Morgan! Get up!!

Get up!!!

[Get up from the dunk tank get up from the ocean get up from the onsen get up before you--

The blood's soaked into the cobble. The concrete. The chest isn't moving. He isn't crying anymore.

Misteaks is.

He will punch the barrier a few more times, over and over, crying out like a dog calling out for a master that won't come home, asking and begging for movement from a dead body until his voice grows hoarse.

His fists hurts. His throat hurts.

His heart hurts so deeply.

MR MISTEAKS HAS LOGGED OUT]

[threatmewted]

[She logs in expecting the game to be the same usual suspects, but instead is greeted by a trail of blood and people in apparent mourning, and... inexplicably, a battered body surrounded by a barrier.]

...What happened?

[Her voice is harsh, but unusually urgent.]

[tylorific]

[ Tylor is here at some point, the commotion drawing him in after he logs in for the day. Predictably late. Always late, even when it's important. He glances happily to everyone's faces, the brightness of it unwavering even when he finally sees Morgan's collapsed form.

He's seen Morgan die. But he's never the first to know someone he loves is gone. And he never believes it the first time. Not the first, or the second, or the third. It's too hard, when his memory is still full of them alive. Breathing, warm, alive. But this is a game. Just a game. And everyone always wakes up eventually in game.

His hand meets the barrier, fingers curling slightly to test its give. He's still smiling, his gaze not shying away from any of it; the injuries, the carnage, the beauty he still finds there. He never had shied away from Morgan in all forms, and he doesn't start now.

He laughs, and then calls out breezily in full volume-- ]

Oh, come on. This isn't a very funny joke, you know.

[ As if Morgan might sit up and admit to teasing everyone any moment now.

He'll stay here for a while, staring. Too long for the smile that never fully goes away, but it mellows the longer he is here. This hits differently than Ganymede collapsing. His body is still there. Why is it still there? The unanswered question lingers.

Eventually, Tylor slides down to sit peacefully with Morgan's body. There's whiskey and a plate of cream puffs set out. Either to welcome him back or to entice him to wake up. He isn't responding to any of his texts either. And he doesn't much feel like playing without him today. Sally the Shiba Inu is here, sitting and waiting too. Her tail isn't wagging. There are so many unanswered messages, he wonders if Morgan is avoiding him again somehow.

Unless someone stops him, he'll be here for hours. With the occasional truffle tossed and rebounding from the barrier and a disgruntled mumble--- ] This really isn't funny.

[bleatingedge]

[Leo simply stands at the barrier for a while, staring intently at the body splayed across the bridge. A strange feeling continues to grind away in his chest, something akin to indigestion.

This feels way too real. He's seen his share of dead bodies before, and this definitely looks like a real one, not one you'd see ragdolling on the floor in a video game.

A sigh escapes his lips. He starts quietly talking as if the body can hear him.]

I'm sorry I wasn't there for you, Mithrun. If only I kept more in contact with you, maybe this wouldn't have happened.

[Leo continues to stare, transfixed.]

SUNDAY TO TUESDAY

[cccorp]

• On Sunday, the barrier is no more, though Hien will still be standing guard to make sure nothing happens (corpse gets taken away, crime scene is excessively disturbed, etc). The body is free to be examined.
• Upon taking a closer look at the blood trail from the Chaos Gate to the corpse, you can see that these are bloody footprints. The footsteps are the same direction as the trail of blood.
• Noticeable injuries when seen at a closer look:
  • Many shallow lacerations along the arms, looking very similar to the results of a BiJuk Rom
  • Broad burn injury across his left exposed shoulder, looking very similar to the results of a GiVak Kruz
  • Slice at front of neck, seems deep
  • Small scratches across his already-scarred body
  • Bruises across his back and arms
  • Impact bruises, possible from a water-based attack
• The barrier surrounding the trail of blood has significantly shrunk, but to avoid tampering with the crime scene even further, they won't be touchable, but still very observable.

• Any specific questions asked by the characters will be answered on Monday and Tuesday. Please have the comment header titled with "Investigation Question" so that the mods can find it easily.
• The body will not be removed from the scene under any circumstance.

investigation question(s): bloody footprints

[ganymed]

[ Of course, Ganymede returns, thinking to give Hien a piece of his mind again, but upon seeing the difference in barrier size, he reconsiders. So, let's zero in on the footprints, which is far enough from the body to a point from which it gets closer once more, and he is mature enough not to shoot any dirty looks (for now.)

--

1. If he compares his feeties to the size of the footprints, can he get a potential size estimation in regards to a height range of whomever left these?

2. Do the footprints look like they were left with a more...messy movement, or perhaps from the way they've been imprinted, a leisurely one?

3. Just one pair of bloody footprints present? ]

Investigation Question(s): face, arms, and shoulders

[tinged]

[ between getting things settled irl and checking mithrun's apartment for the nth time, hani logs into the game. they greet hien with a nod, polite if nothing else. well, polite and nothing else. there's still so much nothing.

they kneel next to the body, dull eyes focused on his face first. (is there anything different about his face?) then, slowly, their eyes trail down and take in the other details.

are the shallow lacerations on the front and back of his arms? and does the broad burn wrap around from the front of his shoulder to the back? ]

[fatalitea]

[Mami had in fact seen the body the day before when logging in briefly, and despite everyone's panic, she had thought that maybe, just maybe, it was just another glitch that occurred that had kept the body from despawning. There had been so many of those kind of bugs being reported lately, after all...

She hadn't known Mithrun though, not really, so there wasn't anything she could do except let those who did worry about whether or not they could get in touch with the player. It'll probably be fine, she had thought. It may seem rather realistic, but it's just a game. Surely no one's actually hurt or dead.

But then she shows up today, and freezes because the body is still here. Why is it still here. Why haven't the admins or some game developer done something about it, why are they treating this like an actual crime scene...]

If... this is part of an elaborate event or joke, it's in rather poor taste...

[But, she does look toward the blood trail and where it seems to be coming from the Chaos Gate. Maybe... something went wrong during a dungeon run somewhere, so she asks whoever's nearby in lieu of just staring uncomfortably at the body anymore.

Focus. Stay calm. Try to see if there's anything you can do to be useful, as little as it may be.]

Do you... um, have any idea if he was coming back from a dungeon somewhere? And which one it might have been?

questions: injuries

[insinning]

[Sinclair returns eventually. Keep Tylor away, keep Tylor busy. And then, once he has a chance, he'll jump on a plane and get to Mithrun's place. He's not afraid of breaking in.

But for now, there were things to be found here and he stares intently.

1. Can they tell what weapon caused the slice at the neck and the direction it came in?
2. What are the shape of the bruises along the back and arms?
3. Anything on the hands? Mithrun's weapon?]

investigation question (kinda): inventory

[ophidie]

[She's not going to be much help with examining directly. Miharu can make inferences based on information, can say even at this distance what those cuts and burns look like, but getting those details is more efficiently left to others. If anything, it might be better to guide her attention to the Chaos Gate to see what might have been left behind there, but she'll wait until she has an answer to her question. which will also give other interested people a chance to slide in so we can spread out the love for investigation.

Still, someone with a level head can at least manage some of the logistics in place of people who are more attached to the situation. There are so many bureaucratic things to think of, many of which don't apply here - paperwork, posthumous divorces, record updates.

Personal effects, though... Standing near the barrier Chaos Gate-side, Miharu crosses her arms.]

Is it possible to have access to his inventory? At the very least, his friends may want to hold onto his items for safekeeping.

[And for expediency's sake, if the answer is yes, is there anything notable in his possession? Beyond this she'll leave his effects to those closer to him.]

Investigation Questions!

[threatmewted]

I can't believe we're doing this...

[First and foremost, Shoka's just going to take a look at the injuries and see if any of them are consistent with wounds she may have dealt herself as a Flick Reaper, Blade Brandier, and Tribal Grappler.]

WEDNESDAY

[cccorp]

PORTER

(MAC ANU) "A little guy bleeding through Mac Anu... Yeah, I saw 'im— in Lumina Cloth, actually. Was hobbling out from Diamond Casino to the Chaos Gate plaza. Bit of gambling gone wrong, I figured."

VENDOR BOOTH NEAR CHAOS GATE

(LUMINA CLOTH) "A small guy with distractingly bare legs was sopping wet and walking around town. He was pretty bruised up, for some reason. I think he passed in front of my booth at least eight times. The ninth time, he asked where the Chaos Gate was and I told him it was around the corner. I saw him go where I pointed him, but, somehow, he ended up passing by again, just as lost..."

CASINO ATTENDANT #1

(LUMINA CLOTH) "Yeah, I saw these two guys chatting near the crane machines. One had this black kimono, and one guy had this bob cut. Neither of them had working right eyes, I think? I just go around offering drinks, so I didn't pay any attention to them until I heard this big sound of impact and someone shouting, like— like someone getting shoved against glass. When I looked over, I realized the big guy must've done something to the little guy! Little guy was bleeding everywhere, all over everything. No clue what the plush cats had to do with anything, though... Anyway, I got so freaked out I ran to the back."

CASINO ATTENDANT #2

(LUMINA CLOTH) "The two guys by the crane machines? I wasn't really paying them much mind. Busy shift. I did hear them talking about something with a weird name, though... What was it... Δ Recursive Fool’s Errand, I think...? Then the tall guy told the smaller one to "bend over and steel" himself, so that's when I kinda picked up the pace and left."

credit.

( NOTE: For those who have determined the identity of the avatar in the black kimono, they may have noticed he has been offline since Saturday. Contacting this person will result in no response. OOCly, please do not contact this character via inbox about the case. )

THURSDAY TO FRIDAY

[cccorp]

Δ Recursive Fool's Errand

• Wood-based dungeon. The setting is a meadow with a forest when you go deeper in.
• There are scraps of Mithrun's armor and blood left behind in the Area.
• Monsters that can be found here are Thousand Trees, Red Wyrms, and Headhunters.

Lumina Cloth

• Muddled bloody footprints from Chaos Gate to the Casino, more specifically, the crane machine.
• Blood is smeared all across the front glass of the Casino crane machine with cute kitty plushies inside.
• An abnormal amount of water has spilled out of the water fountain. An impact crater is in the nearest building wall.

Misc.

• Hien has been standing here all day for several days. Maybe you saw him get a nosebleed at some point or cooking whatever right next to Mithrun's corpse. Either way, no matter when you pass by the scene, Hien was and is always there. Is this guy human... Anyway, he's finally taking a nap next to the corpse. He can be woken up, but would you want to?
• Time to process your evidence and line them up in a neat little timeline! Good luck, beta testers.

[tinged]

[ the last couple of days, hani will occasionally offer hien some miso soup and chicken karaage, whether or not he’s awake to accept. they don’t wake him up, just place the dishes near him.

the dishes themselves are hani’s brand of casual imperfection, clumsy attempts. the tofu in the soup cut in uneven chunks, the chicken cut in too big pieces and too small. taste-wise, a person’s first attempts at copying someone else’s home meals.

when they aren’t offering hien food or checking on mithrun’s apartment irl, they will sit next to the avatar, trying to (unsuccessfully) piece together a timeline. ]

… What were you trying to do…?

[gluttoning]

...

[He hates waking him up like this. But alas.

Shaking his shoulder.]

Hien. Can I look at the body?

SATURDAY: AND ON THE THIRD DAY HE ROSE AGAIN

[tablescraps]

( It's 12:02 PM PST, and, this Saturday, Mac Anu is, as ever, bathed in a beautiful honeyed sunset. Mithrun has been offline for a week. Fragment's gentle breeze blows through his messy hair, and his body looks as fresh as the day it was found. The canals flow as gentle as they always do, gondolas drifting lazy through the paths of sunlight cut bright across the water. The NPCs laugh and murmur as they walk the streets along the waterways, the shops still busy, the ambiance still pleasant as it drifts across the bridge, past the body lying there.

It's 12:02 PM, and Mithrun is still offline.

You might not really notice it at first, the way his finger starts to twitch. It's just one. A left over, sputtering spark; a reflex maybe come too late. You might not even be around the bridge. It's been a week and his body's just been around. Whatever can be investigated has been. But maybe you are here, by chance. Maybe you do see something in that glaring sunlight, maybe, making it look just like one of his eyes just rolled up.

Through the ambiance, through the murmurs, through the satisfying sound of shoes clicking against stone, and through the laughter, there is a sharp and croaking inhale.

Mithrun's HP ticks up by one.

As some of you may know by now, Mithrun's headset is missing. Even if he were here to play, he couldn't be. And, of course, Mithrun is still offline, if you check. Most of you know he isn't anywhere close to home, besides. Even were his headset still on the hook, he couldn't be playing right now even if he wanted to be— not when he's just gone.

And yet Mithrun's nails dig into the grinding grit of the stonework bridge, all tremors and no strength as he tries to hobble to his knees. He's breathing loud and raucous like he's learning how again, like he just can't keep the air in. He can't help that he's disoriented given how he died; now with only 1 HP to his name, the time about to roll into a lovely 12:03 PM, and still, as it were, offline.

But through will alone he gets up to his feet, unsteady, and stumbles back a few steps. He catches himself on the low stone railing before he goes over into the water (and wouldn't that be a funny thing, to return from death and then drown the moment after?). His gaze unfocused, his eye drifts vaguely upwards to the clock tower, and he seems almost to realize the time, like it's important. His breathing remains loud and haggard.

He goes still in that way players do when their avatar pauses as they navigate the menu to log off. Being already offline, this seems like quite the feat.

The first person to speak up has the briefest window—the shortest breath—to catch his attention before he goes, though he doesn't seem all that there. Everyone else will miss his attention as he proceeds to log out of the game— whatever that means, for him. Feel free to comment in this thread to react, if desired. )

[tylorific]

[ Whether he is the first or not, he's returned after the investigations to nap here more than once. Usually after drinking. And today is no different. Because this is last day to see Morgan's avatar before the funeral. One he hadn't decided that he was even attending.

It's the sound of labored breathing that has Tylor blinking his eyes open first. Sleepy before rising to his feet the moment after. ]

Morgan!

[ He looks way too happy to see him. Until his expression turns the same as it had in the small phone screen after seeing the marks on Hani's neck. At the wounds, the low hp, and the haggard breathing, his gaze flickers over all of him as he's moving closer.

Just as Morgan's already leaving, logging out, Tylor is holding out a potion in one hand and reaching to provide support with the other.

The effort is to no one, for no one, eventually. ]

SOLUTION

[cccorp]

Note: THIS IS OOC KNOWLEDGE ONLY!!

Lumina Cloth, fountain area

• Mithrun fished up a level 3 fugu/pufferfish from the fountain in Lumina Cloth despite his profession level being 2. The fugu is a level 3 fish, which have not been added to the game yet. Mithrun encountered it before it was meant to be patched in. The fugu's creature ID was linked to the Acanthaster's monster ID, causing it to use water spouts (water impact bruises) and attack aggressively when encountered. (small scratches across his body, bruises across his back and arms, impact crater, spilled water out of fountain)
• He ate the fugu fish (long, thin scratches along his lips) in which its poisoning is known for shutting down your muscles and ability to breathe (hand at his throat, eyes wide open).
• After consuming fugu, Mithrun obtains a debuff--after certain amount of time, the player automatically dies and remains dead for a period of time (longer than 20 minutes). The debuff also prevents healing by normal means (nonaggro auto heal, potions, spells, etc).
• Vendor at booth in Lumina Cloth spots Mithrun circling the place many times. He got lost.

Recursive Fool's Errand

• Mithrun receives a message from DV supplying unique keywords, Recursive Fool's Errand, a wood-based dungeon with dark, fire, and water enemies.
  • Thousand Trees: leaf-like cuts
  • Red Wyrm: burns
  • Headhunter: deep cut at neck
• Mithrun takes damage from monsters and other hazards. HP does not get restored even after he leaves due to debuff. Evidence of his injuries remain in the Area.

Lumina Cloth, casino area

• Mithrun meets Matoba at the crane game machine in Lumina Cloth's casino after asking to meet up.
• Matoba decides to test whether kitty plushies can be taken out of the crane machine as opposed to winning them fairly. Mithrun is used to help elevate him, which gets blood all over the place.
• After their experiment, Matoba logs off and Mithrun writes a bug report about his injuries not healing.

Mac Anu

• Mithrun goes to Mac Anu to fish, but the fugu debuff timer hits 0 and he dies on the spot. He remains dead for much longer than the intended period of time, since the fugu wasn't supposed to be released yet.