You awaken in the cafeteria with a splitting headache.

That snack bar had more oomph than you realized. Regardless, lunchtime must be close and now is your only chance to talk to your peers.

 

 

It’s pretty close to noon according to your…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is not good.

 

You rush in an anxious panic in the ground floor of the art building. Surely someone can explain to you this cruel joke and your real watch is up dangling on a balcony. But…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nobody is here! Not just that, but an eerie stillness envelops the building.

 

There is no sound, no movement, no life. Just...silence.

 

What is happening? Was this all a nightmare? Yet, everything you felt before was so real. Your body starts to feel heavy as you walk towards the window. Outside, you see another version of your school, but people are there. Quickly, you push on the nearby door and try to make your way to them, but the heaviness drains your strength and you fall down.

 

 

Tiredness washes over you yet again…

 

 

 

 

…

 

 

 

 

 

…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A nauseating and deep sickness overcomes your senses. More than just the desire to vomit, it feels like your very existence is being torn away from you. Ahead, a bizarre landscape with a giant doomsday clock lies before you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Hmm hmm hm hmmmm hmmm hmm.”

 

 

 

 

At the edge of the cliff, a man is humming and playing a fiddle.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Inspiration comes in many form. I once had a dream that a dead star exploded and devoured a universe whole. It was...breathtaking. Once I awoke, I wrote out my latest and greatest work: ‘Deadstar Symphony’. It brought tears to the eyes of millions and inspired a myriad of others to make music."

 

 

 

"Ah, but I don’t dream. I haven’t slept in several eons. Dreams are of what may be, not what is.”

 

 

 

“I create. I destroy. I rebuild.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“I’m Quo, the Profane King. I don’t have a more pretentious title to trick you, sorry!"

 

"Once upon a time I was called Zoroaster, but that’s neither here nor there. Me and my magi hurdled ourselves into the Black Expanse and sacrificed our humanity in order to obtain immortality. We became one with the ‘human consensus’ and melded with the primordial id until we were no longer our old selves. Our reality is bound to the Black Expanse, so we can never truly perish. Regardless if you killed them or not, my magi will be reformed soon enough."

 

"They served their purpose and cultivated into the person you were always meant to be...

 

...a professional artist!”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Heh, art.”

 

 

 

“You are the vessel of my instrumentality.

 

You see, the solar eclipse ripped open a gateway into the Expanse and allowed me to guide a malleable soul into my zone of indifference. I cannot affect the world as I am because my existence is tied to the Expanse, but I can share a host.

 

I chose you because of the powerful negative emotions that fill you. We’re the same, really. The clock behind me is the wheel and once it hits midnight, the hour of darkness will open a path for us to emerge into the real world. You must be thinking about how I will do this, so let me show you.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“This the Nocturne Genesis."

 

"It absorbs the delights of dead dreamers and fuses them into a new form of dark matter. It’s missing a key ingredient however. It requires the delights of living dreamers as well.

 

That’s where you come into play. You’re bound to the waking world and have a stake in that game. With your consent, I can inhibit you and sacrifice the entirety of your art school to empower the Nocturne Genesis. With the orb at full strength, any wish I want will be granted.

 

I can finally prevent change from ever taking place again! People cling onto their desire for change and ruin the foundation for the instrumentality I have set forth. They sicken me with their worthless and meaningless desire for change.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“I know you hate them as well. They way they reject you and mock your hard work saddens me. You deserve better because you ARE better than them. In my new world, they will be gone and you will finally belong somewhere in your life. New people will greet you with kindness, love and never hurt you like the others.

 

In my new world….no, our new world, I will make sure that you are happy...forever.”

 

 

 

 

 

“Sacrifice them and empower the dark wish. I promise you won’t be disappointed. No false, unhappy endings. You will win for once this time. Do what you know is right.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A grave dilemma has been placed on your shoulders. The stillness in the air feels comforting as you stare into the emptiness of the abyss. No one is here to tell you what to do or deter you against this decision. The fate of the world depends on your choice, but all you want to do is go back to bed.

 

 

 

 

This is the end of your journey, one way or another.

 

 

 

 

What will you do?