On a night of your choosing (one which works for both you and Shun's player) the nearest radio will crackle to life, and your character's laptop will chime, repeating the single note until the device is acknowledged. All the usual text and menus are gone, replaced with only a single message.
we need to talk.
It won't be until they read the message that another manifests, typed quickly beneath it:
come to the arcade, both of you.
The display begins to distort: static bars appear across the screen, words flickering in size, before it all goes dark. Any attempts to boot the laptop back to life result in it powering back down. The radio continues playing, and no amount of fiddling with knobs will turn it back off.
If one reaches the arcade before the other, they will remain unacknowledged until both have arrived. At this point, all the robots in the arcade will try to gently shepherd them to the front counter. There, a hidden door will open behind the counter, and a decrepit robot will beckon for the two of them to enter. As they walk in, the wall will seal behind them, and the Fourth God's voice will crackle from the old robot: "Do you trust me?" As long as one of them takes care of answering affirmatively, the voice will continue: "I trust you too."
At this point, the room will lurch violently, like an elevator which has been out of service for decades, and start a visceral feeling of descent. This will continue for some time - a few minutes, at the very least - with the air around them continually growing more musty and moldy. Finally, when it is almost difficult to breathe without choking, the room will grind to a halt and the door will open again.
When they step out, and their eyes acclimatize to the darkness, they will find themselves in an almost-exact copy of the arcade. None of the lights are working - many of them seem broken, and the glass of the arcade machines has been shattered in many. The scent of mold is overpowered by the scent of earth, fresh and fertile, and if they get close enough to the walls to look they may find small sprouts and signs of life coming through. After they have had a few moments to grow used to the place, a set of dull lights along the floor will spark to life, leading to a room not in the original building. This room is where the scent of earth is strongest, and as they enter they will see mounds of dirt and plant life all around - flowers, vines, and grass, all somehow surviving in the dark. In the center of the room, there is a small, fresh grave.
"I buried her here," the voice of the Fourth God will speak again through the robot. "You helped a whole bunch, and I wanted to make sure you knew."
As they stand before the grave, a sense of electricity will begin running through the both of them - unpleasant, but not painful. This feeling will build up and build up, until finally a single static spark will arc from both of them to the old robot. Once this happens, they will both immediately have access to their new boons. The robot will explain how their powers work, if they choose to ask what they have been given, and further give them a few new things:
a jet-black card with their name and a symbol (a sixteenth note for Yuzu, two wings overlaid for Shun) embossed on it; and
a golden pendant in the shape of a flower (monkshood for Yuzu, larkspur for Shun).
From this point on, whenever they pass a robot in the arcade, it will take a moment to bow (or make the closest approximation possible given its chassis). Finally, Shun and Yuzu's room will have an interesting and unique quality built in: an old wooden door, with no visible lock or key. If they use their card to swipe through the doorframe, it will open up to the "normal" arcade's variant of the burial room. Only Shun and Yuzu are permitted in here, and no matter which door they enter from they will not see any other exits. This room does not have a grave, but instead a stylized coffin with light blue lines and tubes running through it. When either Yuzu or Shun enter this room, they will feel strangely at peace, and if they try to talk directly to the Fourth God they are more likely to receive an answer (even if it is a short, not particularly useful one).
no subject
we need to talk.
It won't be until they read the message that another manifests, typed quickly beneath it:
come to the arcade, both of you.
The display begins to distort: static bars appear across the screen, words flickering in size, before it all goes dark. Any attempts to boot the laptop back to life result in it powering back down. The radio continues playing, and no amount of fiddling with knobs will turn it back off.
If one reaches the arcade before the other, they will remain unacknowledged until both have arrived. At this point, all the robots in the arcade will try to gently shepherd them to the front counter. There, a hidden door will open behind the counter, and a decrepit robot will beckon for the two of them to enter. As they walk in, the wall will seal behind them, and the Fourth God's voice will crackle from the old robot: "Do you trust me?" As long as one of them takes care of answering affirmatively, the voice will continue: "I trust you too."
At this point, the room will lurch violently, like an elevator which has been out of service for decades, and start a visceral feeling of descent. This will continue for some time - a few minutes, at the very least - with the air around them continually growing more musty and moldy. Finally, when it is almost difficult to breathe without choking, the room will grind to a halt and the door will open again.
When they step out, and their eyes acclimatize to the darkness, they will find themselves in an almost-exact copy of the arcade. None of the lights are working - many of them seem broken, and the glass of the arcade machines has been shattered in many. The scent of mold is overpowered by the scent of earth, fresh and fertile, and if they get close enough to the walls to look they may find small sprouts and signs of life coming through. After they have had a few moments to grow used to the place, a set of dull lights along the floor will spark to life, leading to a room not in the original building. This room is where the scent of earth is strongest, and as they enter they will see mounds of dirt and plant life all around - flowers, vines, and grass, all somehow surviving in the dark. In the center of the room, there is a small, fresh grave.
"I buried her here," the voice of the Fourth God will speak again through the robot. "You helped a whole bunch, and I wanted to make sure you knew."
As they stand before the grave, a sense of electricity will begin running through the both of them - unpleasant, but not painful. This feeling will build up and build up, until finally a single static spark will arc from both of them to the old robot. Once this happens, they will both immediately have access to their new boons. The robot will explain how their powers work, if they choose to ask what they have been given, and further give them a few new things:
From this point on, whenever they pass a robot in the arcade, it will take a moment to bow (or make the closest approximation possible given its chassis). Finally, Shun and Yuzu's room will have an interesting and unique quality built in: an old wooden door, with no visible lock or key. If they use their card to swipe through the doorframe, it will open up to the "normal" arcade's variant of the burial room. Only Shun and Yuzu are permitted in here, and no matter which door they enter from they will not see any other exits. This room does not have a grave, but instead a stylized coffin with light blue lines and tubes running through it. When either Yuzu or Shun enter this room, they will feel strangely at peace, and if they try to talk directly to the Fourth God they are more likely to receive an answer (even if it is a short, not particularly useful one).