☆ WELCOME TO HELL, YE POOR SOULS.

[raisingproject]

Magical Girl Raising Project

Graveyard

The last thing you remember is dying. Whether it's by murder or execution, that's was all it. But surprisingly enough, you wake up in the hotel room that you were assigned in, as if you had never died to begin with. However, once you walk right outside, you'll start noticing that while this is the Town A you remember, there are some slight differences that you notice.

The first thing is the fact that while you can see those who are still alive, they simply cannot see you. In fact, they pass through you, as if you were a ghost. And spoilers: you kind of are one, now. The second thing is that sometimes, if you look at a building for too long or too closely, you'll notice that it fizzles a bit, almost glitchy.

But that's completely fine, isn't it? There is, however, one more thing to keep in mind: there are voices of other people, mumuring. Of course, these other people, unlike you, don't have a complete shape; they're just a silhouette of themselves, looking like static.

However: it wouldn't be Town A without an announcement, would it? Of course not. Hence why upon rearriving, there will be a message, typed out:

Welcome to the afterlife, everyone. This is a greeting message to introduce you to how exactly this works. You have the ability to send one message to the living a week, so choose your words wisely. Of course, there are limitations to what you can say! You cannot reveal the mastermind's true identity, even if you know it. You cannot reveal a culprit or a victim, even if you know it.

Also, all messages will be sent to all players during the trials. If there is no trial, the message shall be sent on Saturday. You may investigate as you wish. If you have any questions to ask of me, please leave a message and I will get back to you as soon as possible.

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Comments

[selfloving]

Given they are apparently sustained by a force other than mana--unlike this town--you might get your wish eventually if we want to end this nightmare.

[Dahlia's words, her anger, don't really come as a surprise. Maybe One never knew what type of person she was, alive or dead, but there's no jarring reaction, at least, from her.]

Conveniently, the dead here lose their memories over time. [Her patience with them is often tried, no matter how little of the fault is theirs.] It sounds like there's a book recording a ritual in an area that was recently revealed.

[hawthorned]

Ah, fancy that. Satisfying resolutions can happen here...

[She'll scoff at that after a moment because that sounds too convenient somehow.]

You'll have to explain this in greater detail for me, Miss One. What's known about this outside force?

[She'll hold off on talking about the ritual for now because she's heard from Hinata before and she's honestly still kinda eyerolling at the idea of it.]

[selfloving]

That's just the hope, for now. [Don't get carried away, Dahlia.

She's more keen on the ritual, at least, because the ghosts and Zange do not always seem to see eye-to-eye on solutions. There are some of those tensions that don't seem like they can be faked, like the chafing between her and her sisters that made their family connection seem truer than anything else.]

Do you actually care to hear the details?

That girl [Zange] appears threatened by the vigilante's presence. From what I gleaned, the killer is from outside, like the arcade games and television equipment. It seems Fav was not lying when it said the world is kept intact by mana and that the supply is declining.

How fortunate that some of us found the time to dance and throw food before the shortage became clear.

[hawthorned]

Oh, I'm quite sincere in my efforts to learn about who killed me. Things like revenge aren't usually gained by being passive, as you well know.

[But she can't help smirking at the Eliza burn.] I'll admit Miss Eliza's antics were at least... amusing to watch while they lasted. You can't really expect anything else from the simpleminded though.

[More seriously:] What exactly does Miss Zange find threatening about the hunter? The fact that she might die. perhaps? How wonderful, if so.

[selfloving]

She's a child. Her beliefs in this world are...childish. [But she does nothing to correct Dahlia's harsh words, and the sharpness in her voice might suggest that One has some of the same perspective.]

She's not about to lay down and die so easily. However, there is little guarding against the hunter, who I have been told has mind-reading capabilities.

[hawthorned]

[A child, yes. A child not really worth wasting words over even, which is why Dahlia readily drops the subject of Eliza.]

I suppose you'll next be telling me it's essentially our faults for using the keys to open too many doors which weakened the barrier enough for the hunter to enter in the first place?

[She'll scoff here, and gives One a sideglance before continuing.]

But who's the source of that information? Anyone can pass themselves off as a "mind reader" if they've been given the opportunity to study their prey long enough. I can already think of one such individual amongst us who's been doing exactly that.

[selfloving]

[She doesn't say anything about the keys, because it very well may be their fault for using them. Is that failure worth the rest of these dead spirits no longer being drained dry?]

Would you rather know nothing about your enemy or at least pursue the possibility to the furthest extent? If the murderer is indeed a magical girl, then it follows that they have one additional power. Let's start with telepathy as a possibility and move on from there.

[hawthorned]

[That gets a raised eyebrow.]

Do you really consider the source of information irrelevant when considering its credibility? Whether we have many leads or not, I'd still like to know who's spreading that claim.

[selfloving]

[Don't start with her. In fact, Dahlia is going to get a 'don't start with me' look right now.]

Until you all started dropping like flies, there were only a few of us here to gather any information regardless of the source. [She's surrounded by so many Tired people, and Tired for her own reasons.]

Of course I consider the source. No doubt Zange is manipulative, as we all now know, but she is bound by certain rules. This much I believe. They are much too inconvenient to be performative. She avoided an answer when pressed on the mind-reading. Not even a snide comment.

[hawthorned]

[The look on One's face might've gotten a more overt reaction while they were both alive, but seeing as they're both dead it doesn't make much of a difference. Dahlia's eyebrow remains raised.]

Very well then. [Actually, she doesn't feel like holding back a snide comment of her own.] If you'd simply answered the question when I initially asked, there wouldn't have been a need for follow up questions you find insulting.

[...That is indeed not an apology. And she moves on.]

If there is a former magical girl with mind reading abilities, that ought to be documented in the museum. Has that been investigated or have your interests been elsewhere. Miss One?

[She means the ritual here. If she wanted to imply One was being frivolous with her time, she'd have been considerably nastier about it.]

[selfloving]

Your definition of 'answer' is very stringent, isn't it?

[Her words are harsh, but there's no venom in her voice. She can spar verbally with Dahlia without wanting to do her any real harm. It's just a terse barb, in the end.]

I only learned about these abilities recently. Reopening lines of communication with the living and solving the mysteries of this game's final stage have been pressing for longer. There have been few here capable of doing the work until now.