(ROLE) CULT 4.0

[dormheads]

cult.

On Monday at 10 PM, Otome, Byleth, Luxanna, and Dimitri receive an encrypted e-mail.

d4rkness@Wiwaldi.edu

Come to classroom 1304; see attached map.

No one is in the halls as they creep to the abandoned classroom circled on the map. The normally locked door opens, revealing the room inside.

There are no windows and the lights are off, leaving the room cast in near darkness. Only a handful of candles, in what's probably a fire hazard, keep it illuminated; the fog being emitted from a personal fog machine doesn't help with visibility. What was once the teacher's desk has been pushed to the center of the room, with chairs seated around it. For some reason, there are cat decorations everywhere, mixed in with various (garish) occult items and patterns.

As of Week 3, a lamp has been added to the room to give it some light.

There is a cat-shaped bulletin board hanging on the wall, which reads:

» This world is trying to assimilate all of you, who started this year, into its setting. If it succeeds, you'll remain trapped in this school, your souls drained until you cease to exist.

» Each week, this place will make active efforts on a few select students. Once the weekend hits, they'll all be beyond saving. However, if any one of them is killed before then, they'll all be freed from the link, at least for the remainder of the week.

» Death isn't necessarily permanent. Those who died can potentially be saved. However, no such option exists for the fully assimilated.

» At the start of the week you'll be informed if you may recruit one person to join the cult. Provide a list of 4-8 people you want to recruit and you'll be told which one of them is approved. If you extend an invitation and they accept, they will join the cult the following week.

» Preventing the assimilation aside, even the original cult was meant to be a secret, so it's important that word doesn't spread. If anyone else learns about your involvement in the cult or your task, whether from your mouth or another's, this world may enact consequences. No guarantee on who they might affect, so it's up to you to decide if risking harm upon another is worth it.

As of Week 3, more notes have been added.

A summary of what the others were told previously:

» This world is forced to act according to an internal logic. It isn't always aware of everything going on, and it can't break whatever rules it wishes. This would presumably be why you all arrived here with your minds intact, rather than already assimilated; it's possible that this defence mechanism has manifested in other ways as well, to try and correct things to how they should be.

Comments

[divineimpulse]

[nodding approvingly. that's right. teatime is sacred.]

[repress]

[ his mouth makes... an approximation of a smile. it's a lot like his awkward teenage ones, mostly sad, but he's pleased to see her. ]

Enjoying your tea, professor?

[divineimpulse]

I'm enjoying sharing it even more.

[and she is. unlike the others, she's in a kind of zen calm, and generally veering more towards a peaceful easement. she gives him a look, though, and it morphs into a kind of caring concern.]

How are you feeling...?

[repress]

[ he's never been zen in his life, but it does help to have someone who's a little more... at peace around. like he can borrow some of that calm. he's not going to lie, though. ]

Terrible. But one should feel no other way about this.

[ it's better to feel remorse about murdering innocent people, he thinks. ]

[divineimpulse]

[she watches his face, and nods slowly.]

It's never something to feel joy over. I felt the same before Bradley and Crow.

[just mentioning it evokes the memories, causing relative flux to her state of mind. a quiet drowning regret, disgust, and despair—that slowly wrap themselves up, neatly, into just another part of her balanced mood.

...]

Does the tea smell nice, at least?

[repress]

[ it's very odd feeling her emotions, so different from his. he's often wondered what her emotions are like, and this sure is a way to experience them... ]

...It does. Thank you. If nothing else, tea will soothe my nerves.

[divineimpulse]

[his positive reply is more than enough for her to exude a kind of gentle happiness, although it doesn't meet her features as fully as the emotion does. simple pleasures were truly the best.

...]

I have something I want you to hang on to for tonight.

A good luck charm.

[repress]

[ this is my first backtag tonight because i need to see what FUCKING death flag you were going to give me you MONSTER ]

Hm?

[divineimpulse]

[she fishes into her pocket, and gestures for his hand. once he holds it out, she'll press a ring into it.]

You can give it back tomorrow.

[repress]

[ is. this a proposal? it's not if she wants it back, right? his emotions are a confused flurry for a second before he just laughs quietly. ]

...People could misconstrue this, professor. [ he turns the ring over a few times in his fingers. ] Is it an heirloom?

[divineimpulse]

There's only the five of us, here. No one will think anything of it.

[she gently pushes his hand closed around the ring, and nods.]

It was my Father's.

[repress]

[ looks at kia's ship chart

Anyway, his feelings turn slightly alarmed. ]

I couldn't possibly take something so precious from you, even for a night.

[divineimpulse]

[her hand remains on his, keeping his fist closed around it. she shakes her head, her own emotions resolute.]

You’re the person I would most trust to care for it.

Return it to me tomorrow, and stay safe tonight.