WEEK ZERO: REMOVAL

[retellers]

WEEK ZERO: REMOVAL (41 remain) Time to wake up, participants of the Realm. At 8am, everyone will receive a message on their PHS. Please be at the plaza by 9am. Even if the participants ignore the message (or are sleeping in, shame on them), as 9am approaches they will fall victim to a compulsion to head to the specified location. Three Leaders, Fox, Rabbit, and Wolf, are already present, Virid with them. Wolf (again) speaks. "... Everyone's here now, so we'll learn what needs to be done soon." Once they finish speaking, an alert goes off from a PHS in the crowd—specifically, Yona's. Her PHS displays a simple message. You have been selected to remove Virid Visette Viridian. Regardless of her will, she will feel compelled to walk towards the scene. No other participant will be able to interfere; should they try, a barrier blocks their way.

NAVIGATION locations ₓ˚. statuses *+:｡ ic profiles :ₓo ic rules ･ﾟﾟ･｡ audience requests murder proposals ｡✧o private conversations ･ﾟo｡ curfew ･ﾟ✧ memories

Comments

[favourable]

[...

virid smiles.]

Yeah. It's kind of funny, actually. If I got a wish, I was going to ask to live. That wound... I thought it meant my brother had killed me.

... What I forgot was that we both died that day. Instead of playing by their game, we'd decided to escape to another world and live on together—but things didn't work out that way. He was killed, and I was still bleeding out, so... I made a decision for myself, for the first time.

[he remembers now. why, he doesn't know for sure, but... there's really only one thing he's done differently here than others, isn't there?]

I chose to abdicate the throne and die with him.

So, you don't need to feel bad about this. I'm already dead, and I don't need any wishes this place can give me. I already made one on the Amaranthine.

[he's content with that.]

[dawnblushed]

[...oh, yona hates this.

hearing this doesn't make it any easier. maybe it should. if he's already dead, then a week here is a week more than he would have had, isn't it? but a life is still a life. he chose to die once, but he could have lived here, if he hadn't...

if things hadn't turned out this way.

yona brings a hand up to wipe at her eyes and takes a breath. when she speaks, her voice comes out mostly steady.]

Is that... is that all that you wanted to say?

[she can't say that she won't feel bad about this, because she will. but if it brings him peace, then she at least won't argue with him, either. the best she can do now is give him the chance to say anything else he wants to say.

and if there's nothing, then... to make it as quick as possible.

her other hand comes to rest on the guillotine's lever, waiting.]

[favourable]

Mm. You can go ahead whenever you're ready.

[death doesn't scare him. he's spent his entire life knowing he might die at age thirteen, and now he knows.

as long as his brother can be saved, everything will be fine. virid will guide his soul to the world beyond, in this life or the next. that's his his responsibility as the older twin, right?]

Just remember what I told you last night. Be careful, okay?

[dawnblushed]

I'll remember.

[yona takes a breath, and then - ]

I'm sorry, Virid.

[she pulls the lever.]

[favourable]

[in some ways, it's all strange to virid. to have people here tell him that they're friends—a concept practically foreign to him. though he learned towards the end of his life that there were those who could tell him and his brother apart, most never bothered to.

why befriend someone you can't even recognize as an individual?

honestly, he's not sorry about killing hajime and pikachu—he's not a good enough person for that. but just as he's sorry to his mother that his death will weaken her grip as queen, for all that she was the one who said most often for one of them to hurry up and die... he's a little sorry, he thinks, that he hurt some of the people who were kind to him.

but it doesn't matter now, does it?

the blade comes dropping down, slicing off his head. which is to say, virid visette viridian is dead. extremely so, really.]

[retellers]

[ A number of things happen when Virid's head is cut off. Fox lets out a strangled, horrified-sounding noise, before they move to catch Rabbit, who screams and faints into their arms. Shaken, Fox turns to Wolf. ]

... Can you—

[ There's a pause, before Wolf nods and retrieves Virid's corpse from the guillotine (and his head). Wolf always gets stuck with the worst duties, honestly. Once that's done, the guillotine disappears, as do the barriers blocking everyone in the plaza.

You're all free to leave now! Hurray!

With that said:

Later in the day, everyone will receive an alert for the NOVA CHECK app. Looks like weekly rankings are up! Furthermore, the Leaders will be responding to requests at the Planetarium again. ]