Quest List
Actor No. 1:
...So, you've heard the story too, huh?
Actor No. 2:
Stop, stop! Just drop it! I'm seriously freaking out!
The night hangs heavy. Distant streetlamps flicker on and off like an eye fighting to stay awake.
Several students huddle in a loose circle, their voices hushed as if the darkness might swallow each sound whole.
Trembling Student:
C-can you stop telling the story? I'm already freaking out...
Flustered Student:
Are you insane? That name... you don't say it. Ever.
Rambling Girl:
Oh, come on. It's just a stupid ghost story.
Rambling Girl:
It's no different from the mannequins that move by themselves in the infirmary or the cyber-ghost girl crawling out of screens.
Serious Student:
You should stop there. "It" can hear you.
Rambling Girl:
Please. As if it's real.
Rambling Girl:
If it can hear me, then I'll just shout it loud and clear. Yep, that big scary name—
She cuts herself off on purpose, and the others hold their breath without even realizing it.
Rambling Girl:
The Dark Side.
Flustered Student:
Aaaah! Are you insane?! Stop messing around! That's not funny!
Trembling Student:
I-I'm done. I don't want to hear anymore. I'm going back!
Rambling Girl:
Hahaha, seriously? You're all such scaredy-cats.
Rambling Girl:
That gust of wind was kinda cold. Weird... why did the temperature drop?
Serious Student:
I warned you. "It" can hear you.
Serious Student:
I'm leaving. You should forget about everything you said tonight. Or… you might regret it.
Rambling Girl:
Tch, you're all hopeless. Like I'd get scared.
No one says another word. The students scatter in twos and threes. The girl who dared to speak the name is the last to leave, her silhouette slowly swallowed by the night.
Rover:
The Dark Side… What does that mean?
A cold ripple crawls up your spine. You shiver.
Rover:
Achoo! Maybe I should check this out in the daytime when it's... less freezing.
Trembling Student:
Caselli's missing… Madam President sent people to look for her, but her dorm mates, her teachers... No one's seen her.
Trembling Student:
It's like she just… vanished into thin air.
Flustered Student:
That's why we don't say that name. It never likes being called.
Serious Student:
The less we know, the safer.
Serious Student:
There's a layer between the Academy's public face and what's hidden beneath. Outsiders stay outside. Only those who get an "answer" learn what's underneath.
Flustered Student:
Let's just stop. I feel sick… I don't want to talk about this anymore.
Near the flowerbed, a damaged tablet lies half-buried in grass. Its cracked screen looks like it got clawed badly by something.
Recording from an Unknown Source:
...
Recording from an Unknown Source:
......
Recording from an Unknown Source:
.........
For a long while, there's nothing but meaningless static. Just as you consider stopping it, a voice cuts through the noise.
Recording from an Unknown Source:
...This is it? This is the big taboo? Who would even believe this...
Recording from an Unknown Source:
...Who… who said that?
Recording from an Unknown Source:
Cut it out! No... that's impossible... You can't be real…
Recording from an Unknown Source:
Stay away! STAY AWAY FROM ME!
Recording from an Unknown Source:
......
Recording from an Unknown Source:
...The Dark Side… is ▇▇… but the most terrifying thing… isn't the paranormal... It's… the human heart…
The recording cuts out. In the last second, it seems as if something brushes against the microphone.
Sometimes, silence is more terrifying than a scream.
In the silence, your Terminal suddenly blares to life with Mayo's voice, making you jump.
Mayo:
Rover, that girl, Caselli… Something happened to her, didn't it?
Mayo:
Told you already. Our Paranormal Fan Club isn't just some dorky hobby group. When something strange happens, we're the first to know.
Mayo:
Come on, we're basically the paranormal neighborhood watch. You think we could do our job without our own intelligence network?
Mayo:
So yeah, I know what's going on with her. And trust me, the Dark Side has secrets way heavier than that.
Mayo:
The Dark Side isn't a myth. But the myths about it? Plenty. I don't know which story you heard, but one thing's for sure, the Academy oversees our investigation into it.
Mayo:
Science or the paranormal, both are just different ways to explain the unknown. If something exists, why shouldn't we talk about it?
Mayo:
We're not cowards. To me, the Dark Side and all unexplainable phenomena around it are a gateway into the unknown.
Mayo:
Hear it? The wind behind that door—
Mayo:
The Paranormal Fan Club welcomes you, Rover. Whether you like it or not, you've already made it past the first "layer."
Rover:
(Hm? Is there something over there...? I'll check.)
Actor No. 1:
Caselli's gone...
Actor No. 2:
It's like she just… vanished into thin air.