001 | video? nope. video games.

[gentlebrother]

[So whatever means of communication you're using, you're all getting not a voice, not a grunt or even a sigh, but a peculiar tune. It sounded as if someone's playing a game, and an old one at that. And on the screen, aside from the black background, there are tiny colorful sprites running around. One of which is avoiding numerous obstacles along the way. Looks fun, right? But you can't play it, sadly.

Because upon closer inspection, it seems that the sprites, the numbers and letterings, everything is shown backwards. And that background? That background isn't exactly black in color, just dark. But not dark enough to show what seemed to be someone's face from the other side of the screen. It's as if you're looking at a tinted window or something.

And from the looks of it, seems like the player's having trouble. Now that his character has met a Grim Reaper along the way. Whoops.

Hopefully everyone enjoys a good livestream of someone playing and failing a classic game?]

Comments

( audio )

[argents]

Oh. It keeps noticing you. Can you sneak up behind it?

[ ...Enjoy your console talking? Sort of? ]

( audio )

[gentlebrother]

[Lucas becomes startled upon hearing that voice, and hits the start button to pause the game. ...He's pretty sure that this game does not have voices. Especially from an old game like this one.]

[argents]

Pausing it might work on the game, but I don't think that carries over to people.

[ As an afterthought: ]

Sorry, this must seem pretty weird to you!

[gentlebrother]

Way too weird.

[He thought after talking to Hajime, it'd be done and over with. Nope, it doesn't seem like it. And Lucas will just sigh. All he wanted was to ignore all this weirdness and finish his game. Is that too much to ask for?]

[argents]

No one really means to see this stuff, or to broadcast the first time. The numbers are kind of their own entity.

[gentlebrother]

I still don't get why or how'd this all happen. The numbers, this network, all this weird stuff going on. It's as if something big's going to happen soon...

[argents]

[ The more talking that happens, the more Banagher seems to realize how young the person on the other end is. Good job, magical demon numbers, good job. ]

It doesn't seem to be at random, at least not totally. But there's not much we have to work with in trying to find some kind of pattern either.

What happened to you?

[gentlebrother]

[So nobody has a clue after all. He'll just sigh at that.

As for that last part, he doesn't seem to get it.]

Eh?

[argents]

To get your number, I mean. Did something strange happen to you too?

[gentlebrother]

O-Oh, yeah.

[A pause.]

Like... Like one time, I got this really nasty headache while I was watching the shop. Then suddenly, one of the vases we have just... exploded!

It was freaky.

[argents]

[ Sounded like Kenji's experience. ]

Exploded? And you think you did it? Or I guess I should ask if it's happened since...

[gentlebrother]

I guess... I mean, no one's around by that time. And mom left to buy groceries. So it was just me and the shop.