Story Reader / Collab / Blazing Simulacrum / Story
What in the world... is going on?
Her consciousness experiences what feels like an endless fall through the dark, and when she opens her eyes again, she finds herself in this cold and empty space.
Is this... the inside of the castle?
Commandant...
Lucia doesn't see her commandant, but the connection of their minds remains unbroken. The Mind Beacon is still securely anchored in her M.I.N.D., meaning that her commandant is not in immediate danger.
Lucia looks around, and when her gaze falls to the floor under her feet, she notices a faintly glowing mark.
Is this... a chess piece?
That's the symbol for the knight from chess, and when a piece's bottom is black, that means it's a black.
If my memory serves me correctly, the "King" gave me...
Each of them was given a chess piece, and Lucia recalls being given a black "Knight".
Is this what the "King" meant when she said she was going to play a "game"...? Chess... Does that mean this whole castle is a chessboard?
Does anything feel familiar to you?
The girl in black appears next to Lucia, seemingly out of nowhere.
Ms. BLACK… BLACK★ROCK SHOOTER?
It seems we've been brought to the same "starting point."
Under her feet, there's also a mark displaying a chess piece that's different from Lucia's "Knight". She represents the black "Queen".
Feel free to drop the honorific when you address me.
The girl nods slightly, not nearly as overly cautious of her surroundings as Lucia. She seems familiar with all the weird things that are happening to them now.
What did you mean by that?
When we were at the main entrance just now, it seemed like it wasn't your first seeing the "King".
Do you all know her?
Well... let's just say, it's a bit complicated.
Complicated, huh? Then I won't pry.
Sounds like a whole lot of trouble.
Uhm sure...
The "King" looks like someone I know, but I'm pretty sure they're not the same person.
I think there's definitely a connection, though, and I think it might have something to do with how my commandant and I got brought here.
And you, BLACK★ROCK SHOOTER? How did you get to "Corridor" yourself? We never had a chance to have this conversation before.
...I don't know.
Nor is it something I need to understand.
Never mind me. Look up there.
Hmm... Is that—
The ceiling is adorned with a three-dimensional hologram composed of floating data streams, almost perfectly mirroring the castle's appearance.
Then, near the base of the castle, several red dots flicker into existence.
Do those dots up there... represent our location?
It seems like we're supposed to head to the top of the castle, but...
BLACK★ROCK SHOOTER starts making her way toward the stairs that lead up to the second floor. A few steps in, however, she gets stopped cold by an invisible barrier.
She swings her blade at the barrier blocking her path, but her sword gets flicked away the moment it touches the barrier.
Seems like we can't just go anywhere we want to go.
Now...
In front of her and Lucia, seven floating "dice" appear.
We need to roll the dice to move... And it seems like your dice and mine are different.
They have the same number of dice, but the one before Lucia is an old-school six-faced dice, whereas BLACK★ROCK SHOOTER's is a twelve-faced die with more points on it.
Guess this is because of the different chess pieces we represent.
Chess pieces and dice... It seems like this is actually based on some actual "game." Now, that's a surprise.
Wait... could this be...
Faint memories stir, and Lucia's thoughts drift back to the mansion from her childhood.
Was that an eureka moment just now?
Luna... she...
Lucia raises her head, her gaze intense and heavy with worry as she keeps her eyes on the top of the castle.
Commandant...
...
Well?
No... don't mind me.
In the chilling hall, the Craftsman casually sits on an exquisitely made counter, while Fida stands somewhat dazedly in a corner of the room.
Beneath their feet, black chess piece symbols flicker; Fida is a "Pawn", while the Craftsman represents the "Bishop".
Looks like there's no way out of here...
Looks like you always try to avoid conflict. Why is that?
Isn't that the mission Mental Images were born to fulfill?
The Craftsman, with a keen interest, poses the question to Fida.
Oh... that sure caught me by surprise... See, I don't know how to answer that.
I don't see conflict as inherently right like some do. What becomes of Corridor... I think it has little to do with me...
Melaka and they have told me that coming back to Corridor is just part of the process... but...
Even if a new "Fida" appears in this world, she would be someone else and not me...
The emotions and thoughts we show while trying to resolve conflict change during the process, too...
Whether sentient beings truly possess autonomy is a question worth exploring... But more specifically—
So, you're saying you don't want "the current you" to disappear. Is that it?
...
Does that sound... weird to you?
I can't give you a definite answer. That's something you need to decide for yourself.
Besides, I can't really tell you what makes an idea "weird."
Why don't we try to focus on the game instead? I'm curious, though. If you hate conflict so much, why are you here when you could have avoided this?
I... just...
Fida, her gaze flickering, doesn't answer the question.
What about yourself? Why are you helping us now when you've always remained neutral?
Hehe... Would you believe me if I said it was just a whim?
...
Well, guess your face says it all.
No, I didn't mean to...
But honestly, what "I" want to do isn't really important.
It's a rare opportunity, so let's see how the "Kings" are going to move, shall we?
In the room lit by a ghastly white light, you find yourself strapped to a chair.
You feel bound to place by chains you can't see. Unable to stand up or move, you're forced to look at the chessboard before you.
What's the matter? Just FYI, you don't have the whole day to think.
The "King's" mocking tone makes its way into your ears, her red eyes reminiscent of two greedy black holes that threaten to suck into them your consciousness.
You're asking your opponent to make a move without telling them the rules?
You seem to jolt awake seeing the red figure that, apparently having shown up out of nowhere, strikes you like a bolt of thunder.
She walks up to you, her presence every bit as formidable as the "King's".
Or are you just a coward who preys on beginners?
C'mon, I'm better than that.
This human can connect their consciousness with an agent, and I just wanted to see if I could dig something special out of this human here...
Now, now, this is a civilized place, and I'll do my duty as a host.
The basic rule is this—this castle is a chessboard, and you roll the dice to move toward the goal.
The "King's" fingers brush over the data model on the table with a dozen specks of light in different colors. Clearly, they represent the "chess pieces" from both sides.
The chess pieces are people from either faction, and their starting positions are randomly determined to avoid immediate captures. Easy enough, right?
The "King" waves her hand—and with it, you see a new set of data projected before you, showing the status of the chess pieces and the remaining number of dice each chess piece has.
Board games played with dice aren't uncommon. The guys from WGAA have made you play a few with them.
That would have been lame, no? It tests you on your computational skills and nothing else, which is super lame.
So I thought we'd do something a little more peaceful here.
There are actually more rules than what I just said, but I don't think I need to go over every single one of them, right?
I'm sure someone from your side is very familiar with this game.
...
Luna and I came up with this game together.
Of course, I know all the rules, it's just that...
Alpha stares at the "King", her gaze sharp as a blade.
You're not Luna. What have you done to her?
You know Alpha is moments away from drawing her sword and slicing the chessboard, except this is no place for a rampage.
I see you're very worried about your "sister." Well, not that I was going to keep anything hidden from you anyway.
Burdened beyond its capacity by relentless filtering, the shard of the agent showed up here and was regarded as an anomaly that shouldn't be here.
Corridor mirrors the shape of emotions, and it is by accepting these emotions that I was able to appear.
Agents are destined to enact the will of the Ascension-Network; I am merely fulfilling the duty she was meant to carry out.
Which means, we need to defeat you to save her.
Alpha lowers her eyelids, choosing to ignore the "King".
[player name], you know what to do.
A flash of red crosses your mind. The forced connection causes a familiar sting of pain to your consciousness.
Didn't know you kept this passage open.
Didn't think you could afford to lose anyway.
Alpha is right. the "King" stands as your greatest roadblock one way or another if you want to find a way back.
Under Alpha's feet, the mark of "Rook" twinkles. She, too, was supposed to occupy a position on the chessboard.
Right from the get-go, both Rooks dim on the projected "scoreboard."
Ah, that's because she defeated the person I was going to assign the role of Rook on my side before the game started.
So, in the interest of being fair, I decided to get rid of the "Rooks" from the start.
Fair, huh?
It only shows how little confidence you have in yourself when you pull these tricks.
Is that so?
The "King" smiles, seemingly unfazed by Alpha's taunt.
Well, if there are no objections, allow me to take the lead to show all of us how this game works.
The "King" touches the white "Queen" on the virtual chessboard, making her first move.
