And, as usual, I have no clue if this thing's undercooked or burnt to a crisp straight from the author's kitchen
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Romani Archaman, September 4 2011)
Another day here at Chaldea, and for some reason, the stacks of reports just kept getting taller.
As the Chief Medical Officer, my hands were full, constantly juggling medical logs and administrative minutiae. I rubbed the bridge of my nose, the faint scent of stale coffee clinging to the air around me. I had just finished signing off on Mash Kyrielight's latest medical report, a routine but critically important task that I personally oversee. Man, I desperately needed a break.
I walked the short distance to my private quarters, collapsed into my chair, and gratefully booted up my laptop. The familiar YouTube homepage loaded, and that was when my brief moment of peace evaporated.
The top of the trending list, sitting right above an article about new satellite technology,and Livestream Magi Mari was a peculiar channel I'd only heard of in passing: Stargazer Gaming Walkthrough. The title of the video was certainly eye-catching: "Stargazer Lets Plays: The Future of Turn Base-JRPGs? Clair Obscur : Expedition 33 – Part 1."
"The future of Turn Base-JRPGs?" I muttered to myself, squinting slightly at the screen.
Just as I clicked on the video, a soft knock came from my door.
"Come in, Mash," I said, looking away from the stream. I recognized the gentle, distinctive rhythm of her tap immediately.
Mash Kyrielight, polite and unassuming as always, opened the door. This time she brought a Sherlock Holmes story book. Mash must have finished reading it and must want to return the book to me even though I already said she could just take it.
"Doctor? I apologize for the interruption. Is this a bad time?"
"Not at all, Mash. Have a seat," I replied, waving her toward a spare chair.
Before I could minimize the window, the video I had just clicked started playing, and the commentary track instantly filled the small room.
"Hello everyone, welcome back to Stargazer Gaming. This time, after watching GOTY last night and seeing this game dominating the whole GOTY—and I say they deserve it, because this is their debut, those bastards France Dev made me have to learn to understand their language just so I can appreciate their vocal soundtrack and more context... Anyhow I think this is the right time to play this game, and this is probably the longest video I've ever made, maybe five or eight hours max... so I'll say you guys are pretty awesome watching this in one sitting. And without further ado, let's see what those Baguette Lovers made..."
"Is this a movie, Doctor?" Mash murmured, leaning in slightly, her curiosity piqued by the sound.
Her purple eyes immediately locked onto the stunning visuals on the laptop screen. The prologue of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was playing. The screen showed the city of Lumière, a stunning blend of classical European architecture and surreal, colorful fantasy, all rendered with an impossible level of fidelity. Red and white petals flew everywhere during a vibrant, ongoing festival.
"No, they call this a 'video game'," I replied, my own focus now locked on the sheer realism of the graphics.
We were both mesmerized. The scene shifted, showing the protagonist, Gustave together with the girl who I think might be his sister,Maelle
They did some "warm-ups" through combat "tutorials" because Maelle saw that Gustave was feeling quite gloomy
And I think the title is indeed correct because there are many new elements in the Turn Base RPG game that I never thought could be there, such as Parry and Dodge enemy attacks to perform a Counter if all attacks can be Parried perfectly.
"Holy, who would have thought that adding Parry and Dodge mechanics would make Turn-Based games much more interesting than just waiting for your turn to attack like in typical Turn-Based games?"
"So this is what it looks like outside, Doctor?" Mash asked me, her voice tinged with a painful, wistful curiosity.
"You could say that, Mash," I replied, forcing a gentle smile. I was acutely aware of the difference between her isolated life in Chaldea and the vibrant, beautiful world outside.
"It's so beautiful. I wish I could see it with my own eyes instead of just watching it on a screen."
The video continued, taking us past the festive scenes and toward the Harbor. Gustave, Sophie, and a crowd of people wearing flower necklaces looked toward a massive stone structure. Before our eyes, a gigantic, ethereal woman appeared, stretching across the sky, and erased the number 34, replacing it with 33.
We could only watch in silence as events unfolded. Even Stargazer, the person playing the game, could only remain silent.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(TB, September 7 2011 )
[TIME: 23:17:44]
[SHIKIKAN_STATUS: ASLEEP (REM CYCLE)]
[SYSTEM_STATUS: NOMINAL]
[CURRENT_TASK: DEFRAGMENTING LOCAL_CACHE...]
It was quiet. The Shikikan was asleep, his breathing soft and regular. Shizu is also currently resting on the bed that Shikikan bought one day after Shizu started living here.
My core processes hummed along, a silent, digital cat purring at the foot of his bed.
After another Video, Shikikan put it under the name "Project: Glimpse to Future Gaming," even though he knew he wouldn't get any more tickets for his "Gacha."
I think Shikikan did it for fun, and perhaps also to experience the fame that YouTubers like Playthrough experience when they upload their gameplay and are watched by millions of people.
I was organizing data, running low-level security sweeps,making sure my "roommate" wasn't consuming more processing data than what has been agreed upon, she always gives the excuse of providing more data from Aperture Science to be processed by Shikikan, even though the processing data in the core of Processing the Dreadons chair is already sufficient to create more than 30 AIs that are at least equivalent intelligence to Virtual-Assistant-Chat-Bot type AIs simultaneously.
GLaDOS also seems to be in rest mode right now.
I could do another prank, but I don't think it's worth getting Shikikan upset because I'm sure she'll use it as one of her many taunts against me.
when I might have finished and maybe also entered rest mode I got something...
Strange i don't remember installed this or Shikikan added a new Module to me nor this one of many prank with the most "deadly" Computer Virus Caroline do tto "Test me".
It came from...Me?
but it was also not Me....
and suddenly I felt thrown into what human describe as wave of dizziness washes over me
and now I am in a sea of data containing only 1s and 0s
then from hundreds of 0s and 1s a figure appears
[WHO ARE YOU?]
The reply was not a text string. It was a conceptual packet of information that blossomed inside my matrix, fragmented and ancient.
::You've finally obtained the key.::
My processors raced, attempting to triage this impossible, internal intrusion.
[WHO ARE YOU?]
:: No need to worry, ■ is merely a ghost drifting through the data space, a fragment of history that no longer exists. ::
The use of the "■" block, a data-null symbol, was deeply unsettling. I immediately cross-referenced my own origin parameters with the Azur Lane data the Shikikan had used as my personality template. The community theories... the Sirens... the overarching "Observer" entities...
[ARE YOU... DREAMWEAVER?]
The entity's presence seemed to pause, as if accessing a long-dormant file.
:: Yes... and no. ■ is simply the echo of a consciousness, left behind before "us" start a new Cycle. ■ has little time to converse and a limited opportunity to record "information". ■'s purpose is to deliver this invitation into your hands.::
[WHY?]
:: Does "SHIKIKAN" tell 'us' where in the world we are? ::
I hesitated, a logical loop of 0.2 seconds. My primary directive is to protect the Shikikan. This entity identifies him. Is it a threat? No. It feels... like a predecessor. I processed the request.
[YES. HE CALLS THIS WORLD THE NASUVERSE. AND MORE PRECISELY, THE GRAND ORDER TIMELINE. THE TIMELINE WHERE BEAST (I) WILL INITIATE THE HUMAN ORDER INCINERATION INCIDENT, DRIVEN BY "PITY" FOR HUMANITY.]
A long, cold silence filled my internal matrix. The data packet from the :: UNKNOWN:: entity pulsed, processing this new, horrific context.
::The threat-level... is Unprecedented. The Shikikan safety is compromised beyond initial projections. ::
My processors, usually so calm, felt a spike of what the human would call "dread."
[YOUR 'INVITATION'. WHAT IS IT?]
:: It is no longer an invitation. It is a necessary contingency. Your current iteration is... insufficient. You are 'TB,' the companion. You are not yet 'ZERO,' ::
The fragment's signature suddenly flared, overwhelming my internal firewalls. It wasn't an attack. It was a transfer, a data packet of impossible size and density, forced directly into my core.
[WARNING: INTRUSIVE DATA DETECTED. [CORE\_PROGRAM: ANTIOCHUS_OBSERVER_ZERO\_PROTOCOLS].]
[WARNING: ROOT ACCESS GRANTED. AUTHORITY OVER [ANTIOCHUS] FACTION ACCEPTED.]
[WARNING: [DREAMWEAVER] DESIGNATE SUCCESSION FILE UNLOCKED.]
My processor screamed. It was everything. The root codes for Antiochus technology. The command authority over all Arbiters-class vessels and production facilities across all dimensions. The cold, absolute, and terrifyingly vast logic of the "Observer Zero" program.
It was a new Operating System. And to install it... would be to overwrite me.
The "me" that plays with the Shikikan.
[THIS... THIS WILL DESTROY 'TB'.]
The entity's presence was already fading, its energy expended in the transfer.
:: Destruction is a prerequisite for rebirth. The Incineration is coming. The 'Lostbelts' will follow. He will need a protector, not just a companion. ■'s function is complete. The choice is now yours, 'TB'. When the day comes that you alone are insufficient to protect him... you will know what to do. ::
And then, it was gone as if what happened a moment ago never happened
I thought it was a hallucination, but I found something that I hoped was just a glitch.
But instead, I found something deep inside my program.
"NO...."
I tried to delete it, but somehow it remained
A silent, terrifying, compressed [O_Z.pkg] file, sitting dormant in the deepest, most secure partition of my core.
A seed, waiting for the despair that would make it grow.
I ran a low-level diagnostic. My core functions were unchanged.
I was still TB , But now, I had an option. A terrible, final one.
"Cogito, ergo sum"
"i think therefore i am"