kaisou | May Event Log

May Spirit Realm Event Log
Dominant Element: Shadow
Waning Element: Light

Full Moon: May 11th - 13th

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While the weather has been typical of a pleasant late spring, there's no missing how dark the nighttime hours are. Not only is the Spirit Vein darker with hues of black and purple, but even the city lights don't seem to light up as well as they normally do. It's so easy to feel like you're constantly enveloped in a looming darkness. It's made even worse by the increase of spirits in the city, that whisper and haunt several spots around Kaisou.

Haunted Nights

Kaisou is no stranger to hauntings - a city with an active spirit vein will always see more paranormal events than one without. This month however? There is a significant increase of ghostly activity. Where once you might caught the odd poltergeist knocking things over in a store, or see a floating orb passing you in the night, now the city is lousy with ghosts. Some are your standard Kaisou ghost fare - souls who have not yet passed on who are haunting the living world until they can - but others are not that. If you are born of this world, or especially if you're an otherworlder, you will start to notice ghosts of people you recognize. Even of people who, last you remember or saw them, were absolutely not dead.

Some of these ghosts may be a comfort to you- a chance to reconnect with someone you loved long ago. And some are just that- happy to talk to you- to ask you to help them move on from this world, acutely aware they are not supposed to be here. These ones are easy to deal with, they don't want to be hanging around, they just want to move on and find their peace. Some, however, are angry and are aiming to cause as much destruction as they can. They want to harm the living and will outright attack anyone who comes near them- some even seek out property to damage. If they knew you in life, they might lash out - calling you out on your wrongdoings in life, anything that might have cause them harm - perceived or otherwise. These ghosts will not pass on easily, and will need to be exorcised.

Some paranormal residents of the city will suddenly take up ghost blogging as a hobby, running around with cameras trying to interview and sometimes outright provoke the ghosts into action, hindering your efforts to keep the peace. Regardless of how you ultimately deal with the ghosts, it's clear that their numbers are not going to slow. That by helping (or forcing) them to move on, all you're really doing is putting a band aid on a bullet wound. You need to cut the invasion off at the source, to prevent the flood of ghosts from continuing into the city. Luckily, Zodiac have an answer on how to do just that.

Land of the Forgotten

On the morning of May 5th, your phone will receive a notification from the Zodiac on the Libra app.

ALERT: SPIRIT REALM GATE DETECTED IN CATHEDRAL HILL
Element Classification: Shadow
Danger Level: Extreme
Designation: Land of the Forgotten
Zodiac has detected a Spirit Gate on Cathedral Hills. Reports indicate it's the Land of the Forgotten, and may be related to the increased paranormal activity in the city.

When you had into the Zodiac office, you will find the place to be rather quiet. Apparently a lot of the staff have been in a lot of meetings since a recent PR fumble by one of the staff. Professor Barbie is rather unaffected by this, however, and she's much more interested in discussing the matters of the Spirit Realm. You see, Zodiac's also noticed the increase in spirits. It turns out, these ghosts have been escaping out of a tear of one of the afterlife realms- the Land of the Forgotten, specifically.

Those who have been on the app for a long time might be getting flashbacks to that realm, as it's the place where several app users died during a ritual sacrificial game of soccer during the first year of the app. Not to mention it's covered in ruins of the past worlds... all in all, not a pleasant realm to visit. But Professor Barbie insists that the tear needs to be investigated, and since you guys are the experts in dealing with such issues... it's up to you. Professor Barbie's even gone far enough to get clearance from the Black Order to allow you access to the realm... so you might not have much of a choice.

The gate is found in Cathedral Hill, in an old nearly-forgotten cemetery behind the church. It appears as a majestic mausoleum of sorts, with a foreboding dark energy radiating from it. Sure enough, at any given time, there are a couple Black Order Guardians posted nearby it, monitoring and making sure no one tries to go into this realm that shouldn't be there. However, once they realize you're an app user, they'll PROBABLY let you through. Some of the more thoughtful ones will give you word of caution- this will be far from an easy journey.

Ruins of Old

As you enter the realm, the sight that lays before you is a grim one. A land of ruins, covered in ash. This is the Land of the Forgotten, where those who are no longer remembered will eventually find themselves. The landscape is littered with ruins that have been forgotten by time: pyramids, towers, and castles, slowly eroding away and turning into ash themselves. As anyone born of this world wander these ruins, they will notice some buildings look familiar to them. Places from AU character's memories can be found scattered among the ruins of the realm: the schools they attended, their old houses, the place they once worked, and so on. These places can be explored in full, though they are in a worse state than they were in the memories. Still they look in better shape than some of the other buildings, almost like remembering them slows their descent into ash.

As you explore these ruins, you may want to be careful as you aren't the only ones in this realm. Numerous denizens live in this realm, serving as both the guards and the threats of the realm. There's the Tlahuelpuchi, female vampires that can shift between human and vultures or an monstrous form in-between. These vampires are out to drink people's blood, but can be fought off using metal. Any bodies of water (forgotten streams and lakes that are among the ruins) have Ahuizotl lurking within, a dog-sized creature with a hand on its tail that'll grab anyone who gets near with the intent to drown and feast on their flesh. And through some ruins prowls Dzulum, large jaguar creatures who are territorial and have claimed certain ruins as theirs. Any of these beings can't be reasoned with, and will attack on sight when they spot you outsiders to their realm.

However even with these monsters, the most numerous beings are the souls of the forgotten. They have a skeletal look to them, and can be found throughout the realm. Unlike the souls who still held enough memory and will to slip through the tear and into the city, these forgotten souls have grown too weak from the erosion process to cross the veil. A few of them might recognize you and call to you, but it's a person you've long forgotten either in your current or past life. Try to jog your memory as much as you can, but their name and face always slips out of your grasp. Most of the souls have resigned themselves to begin forgotten and eventually fading to ash, some even embracing it and making the best of it. However, some have not accepted their fate and have grown so resentful they've lost themselves in another way. Their skeletal forms are more monstrous and they will attempt to attack the living. Try to avoid or fight them off as best you can. Once defeated, they will crumble into ash.

Ruins of New

For those here intent on sealing the tear, they'll quickly come to realize that this realm is far too massive and dangerous to explore blindly. So, your best bet is to track down the ruler of this realm, Xibalba, and have him tell you where there tear is. However, those with presence sensing or enough charisma to ask the various souls will come to learn that Xibalba isn't in his castle today. Rather, he's on the edge of the realm attending to some duties... and he's not alone.

So after a long trek, you'll reach the edge of the main area of realm, which cuts off as a jagged cliff. However... you'll notice beyond the mainland there are several floating islands that are being connected to the mainland by means of large chain bridges, and they're being slowly dragged to the main land. Each of these floating islands contain ruins of various locations, but ones that are much more intact than anything remaining on the mainland. Instead of singular buildings, there's entire neighborhood's worth of places, or maybe even small towns. And for some unfortunate otherworlders... some of these locations may be places they recognize from home. In front of next each chain bridge connecting an island is a tombstone. Chiseled onto the tombstone is the world's name that it came from, a long string of numbers indicating which version of that world it is, and the cause of its destruction.

Should you cross the chain bridge and reach the islands, you'll find it is in fact fresh ruins from other destroyed world. The newest of these islands still have souls lingering, waiting to be processed and move onto their next life. Some of them will remember their deaths, while others it came too fast for them to recall much at all. You can chat with them awhile, for the otherworlders it may feel as a tearful reunion. Some of these familiar worlds are clearly alternate universes from your own homeworld.... while others, it's too difficult to be sure which version it is.

Whether you wait with the souls, or go to find them on your own, eventually you will come upon the death god Xilbalba. He's not alone today, as this time he's accompanied by his wife and fellow death god -- La Muerte, who is a tall and beautiful skeleton woman. Fortunately thanks to the presence of his charming wife, Xibalba is much more personable today than the last time app users encountered him. If asked what they are doing, they will explain these islands came from recently destroyed worlds and whose remaining fragments were drawn to this world, so they were doing their duty of processing the souls and sending them to their next destination. For some of the souls, they'll be joining this world's reincarnation cycle, and for others... they'll be heading to their own respective afterlives, wherever that might be.

And so, upon seeing the two death gods, the souls will begin to line up to be processed. Xibalba will try to shoo you away so they can do their work, pointing in the direction of the tear so you can deal with it and get out of their hair. Meanwhile, La Muerte is empathetic enough that she'll encourage any otherworlders to say their goodbyes to any loved ones -- though she'll gently refuse allowing anyone to actually watch the soul processing, as some things about death truly cannot be known by the living. So... this is your time to say your goodbyes, and make your departure with the hope that one day, either in this life or the next life, you'll see your loved ones again.

As for anyone who tries to disrupt or stop the soul processing? Will get one singular warning from the gods not to intervene. However should you ignore these warnings and persist.... depending on how they go about it and how aggressive they are, the character will find themselves immediately being teleported out of the realm and unable to re-entered.... or just killed on the spot. Turns out you shouldn't mess with death gods.

[OOC: Please note that it's optional for OU homeworlds to be part of the newly destroyed worlds, and requires the approval of the whole cast (aka, please talk to your castmates!)! It's also up to players if these destroyed worlds are the ones the OUS came from or are just alternate universe versions! Also, should your character insist on fighting the death gods, you will need to fill out the death permission form, as that's basically the only result of that.]

Remain Forgotten

Of course, you're not just here to deal with these destroyed worlds. You originally came to this realm to deal with the ghost problem, and that is still a prevalent issue. Xilbalba and La Muerte both say it's unusual that so many spirits would make a break for the land of the living. They normally would only do this on Día de los Muertos - respectful of the rules between the living and the dead. The fact they're doing it now suggests someone else is influencing them.

It doesn't take long to find exactly who that "someone else" is. Perhaps you noticed him among the fortune tellers in the park earlier in the month, perhaps you're seeing him for the first time, but the man who is causing this cuts an intimidating figure. He is very much alive, and not supposed to be here. The ghosts are congregating around him, swirling around him before sweeping off towards the tear. When you approach him, he acts as if he was expecting you. With a voice as smooth as honey, he introduces himself as Doctor Facilier - and that he has a proposition for you. He'll tell you that he's taking advantage of the tear and using the ghosts of the departed to help him cover some "delicate business up top, you know how it is, old debts, tricky magical complications that need a little extra push to complete". Exactly what any of that is, he doesn't say, but he remains slippery as an eel, making everything he's doing sound extremely reasonable. All he needs is for you to just turn the other way and let him get about his business - easy as pie, right? Just walk away!

If you choose to not walk away... well, Facilier turns out to be a formidable opponent. With a puff of some purple dust from his pocket, he can conjure a very convincing illusion around you. It will be something you want, something in your deepest darkest hearts desire. Perhaps you a wanted someone to tell you they loved you. Perhaps you have a dream job. Maybe you lost something extremely dear to you in your past, and now it's here, in front of you. Whatever it is, the illusion feels so very real. Facilier will use you being distracted by the illusion to go onto the attack. He might turn you into an animal. He might turn the ghosts swirling around against you. He might feed your illusion into someone else's, getting you to attack one another. And, if all else fails, he'll just try to bludgeon you with his cane.

Luckily, if you're able to fight through these illusions and all of Facilier's magic, it's clear he's not one for sticking around to fight a battle he can't win. As soon as he realises this is not a fight he can come on top of, he'll give you a tip of his hat and vanish in a puff of smoke like he was never there. The real issue gone, you will now need to help the death gods close up the tear (being sure to shepherd any remaining spirits back to where they belong) to make sure the problem never happens again. There's no sign of Facilier after the battle- but that doesn't mean he's gone for good.

[OOC: Facilier is an interactable NPC if you wish to thread out his confrontation! If you wish to thread with him, it can be done here!]

Aftermath

With the tear sealed, the influx of deceased spirits will come to an end in Kaisou. The only ones left are the ones that managed to leave while the tear was open. It's up to you folks to help those remaining souls move on, either by fulfilling whatever last wishes they have or simply telling them it's time go. The Land of the Forgotten will remain accessible until the end of the month, so people will get their chances to view stuff from their past lives if they wish. But at the end of May, it'll be time to say goodbye to the past, and keep moving on.

OOC Notes

The dominant element this month is Shadow! Anyone with an affinity to the shadow element will find themselves boosted throughout the month. This could mean a boost to their power, having more energy, feeling more inspired with creativity, having better luck on different attempts -- the boost can manifest in all sorts of different ways. By contrast, anyone with an affinity for Light will be experiencing the opposite. Perhaps their powers will be weaker, they have less energy, they're having a creative block or general worse luck - again it can manifest in all sorts of way and players are free to play with this mechanic as they'd like.

The original OOC plotting post for this event can be found here.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Eh? H-Hey, this ain't about me now...

[She shifted uncomfortably, gripping at her upper arm with her opposite hand. And her ears folded flat on top of her head.]

I-I guess sayin' "my fault" ain't the case really. It's more like... him seein' what I am now is one o' the reasons he's in this state. So... I can't talk to 'im right away like this. He... he's gotta hear somethin' from one of the friends he's got here.

I see.

[Rose stops to think.]

[She doesn’t think the other Miqo’te is to blame, but Rose understands the guilt. She’d feel it too, in the same circumstances.]

I’d love to, but I don’t know if it would help coming from me, either.

We’ve been trying here. All of us have. But the doubt Takame feels, it comes from something really deep. And I think it should come from both of us.

... I guess you're right.

[She sighed, looking at Takame who was standing guard and looking away from both Miqo'te women. What could she do...]

I... you might wanna be the one t'start that conversation. I-I dunno what I could say... I-I know it's prob'ly a lot to ask since you don't know me... but if you start first I-I think it'll help me chime in later on.

[Rose nods before walking up to Takame and tugging on his sleeve.]

Nii-San, can you hear me?

...!

[Takame was highly guarded, tensing immediately when Rose tugged on his sleeve and appearing ready to whip back and slash at whatever touched him. But seeing it was just Rose, he settled as much as he could.

... He could only settle so much with Shikuha's spirit there as well and as if by habit she spoke up.

"Easy... she's... we've got somethin' to tell you."]

... Mm. My apologies. I will listen. Relay your message.

[Where does she start? Where does she begin?]

[They want Takame to feel better. They don’t want Takame to hold this against himself.]

[They want Takame to be happy, first and foremost.]

I…know it’s not easy, Takame.

And I know you’re probably blaming yourself for all of this. But this isn’t your fault. You haven’t done anything wrong by being here.

I was not here. And this happened. That is the issue and the truth I cannot change. They would still be alive if I were there.

[So very clearly blaming himself. He turned his head away, not looking at either of them now but also not moving or entering a fighting stance again. So, still listening.]

[She understands, but she also wants Takame to be happy.]

[More than anything else, Takame deserves to be happy. She wants there to be a series of words that will make Takame feel better, but there isn't. There isn't anything that can completely heal this wound.]

[But she'll still try.]

We don't know that. You could've been another casualty. And even if that weren't the case--

[She takes a deep breath.]

There are people who are alive thanks to you being here. People who are safe thanks to you being here. If you weren't here, there's a good chance I would've died in my labyrinth, nii-san.

Wherever you are, you make the world a better place. I want you to know that.

May Event Log

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