Episode 0 - Chain Mail - Part 14 - Alt. + Bad Endings

Don't forget to check the last part!

As you've surely noticed, this post will have the remaining endings. Why? Because the remaining dialogue for the alternate ending is short and the bad ending is even shorter. It's a bit disappointing, but that just means we'll be able to move forward to the next episode. So, let's begin.

(Verification 1)

The true identity of "Erisa Hattori" is that of the murderer... If you believe Miyuki Kawahara's testimony, that is.

But now that the only witness, Miyuki Kawahara, has died, there is no one left to prove it.

We might be able to see the whole picture of the case if we can grasp the relationship between "Erisa Hattori" and Miyuki Kawahara.

(Verification 2)

Miyuki Kawahara witnessed "Erisa Hattori"...

What if that was an alternate personality of Miyuki Kawahara...? In other words, the "Dual Personality" theory.

Miyuki Kawahara said that a specialist's diagnosis denied her having a split personality.

But, what if it is a special split personality that cannot be explained by modern medicine...?

Of course, this is just a guess. A deduction that was only considered because it's from a detective belonging to a unique department within the police organization.

However, at least at this point, the dual personality theory seems to be the most plausible.

As I said last time, they're the same answers.

 "Mr. Kogure, maybe Miyuki Kawahara had a split personality."

 "A... split personality?"

 "Yeah. She may have denied it, but that's my only conclusion."

"If you think about why the culprit named themselves "Erisa Hattori" and didn't kill Miyuki Kawahara, it would make sense if it was because of her having dual personalities."

"In other words, the murderer "Erisa Hattori" and the popular singer "Miyuki Kawahara" coexisted inside her."

 "Ooh... Mmhm... I-I can't believe it myself. Miyuki-chan being like that, there's no way..."

For Mr. Kogure, an avid fan of hers, it is only natural for him to not want to acknowledge her dual nature.

Even I can't fully bring myself to support this dual personality theory.

Because I can't believe that the same person can have such extremely different personalities.

"Sir... If your deduction is correct, why did Miyuki-chan inform us about the culprit?"

"Normally, you wouldn't want to talk about a killer that looks exactly like you, would you?"

"Moreover, Miyuki-chan is the number one singer in the country... If this became public, she would become easy prey for the mass media."

 "True... Not to mention her death. To suddenly die in the same night she told us about the case..."

"Well, maybe that was a doppelgänger then." The Inspector, who had been lying on the sofa, sits up with a yawn.

"Doppelgänger?" We tilted our heads once we heard a word we never knew before.

 "Doppelgänger. It means "Double" in German. It's a person's other self."

"Those who see their other selves will surely die within a few days. It's a famous story over there."

 "T-that's ridiculous...! Inspector, what a bad joke... hahahaha... Right, sir?"

Mr. Kogure's face was pitifully constricted with a smirk of denial.

After that day, the serial murder case that shook the city was brought to a close.

Despite the desperate efforts of the First Investigative Division, the criminal has still not been arrested.

The Miyuki Kawahara that we met. She may have been the last conscience left in the cold-blooded killer "Erisa Hattori".

[I love this picture so much, it makes going after this ending all worth it]

Comprehensive Evaluation: S Class

Episode Zero - Chain Mail - End

[We're near 100% completion rate, let's see how much we'll gain after seeing the bad ending, shall we?]

[I'll put some lines before the choice, but I'll also leave a link to the full context here.]

From the other side of the phone, mumbling and incomprehensible words flowed out.

I'm making no progress.

Frustrated, I decide to---

       >ask to meet with her.

                >reprimend her for prank-calling.

There are two ways to get the bad ending, by denying the chance to meet with Miyuki Kawahara in her route, or leaving after her disappearance into the alleyways. They have the same dialogue, except a little extra here.

                >reprimend her for prank-calling.

Disappointingly enough, there doesn't seem to be any truth to her words. If she had no guilt, she wouldn't be so upset.

I saw the need to be very careful here for the sake of her future.

"It's your fault for sending this stupid chain mail! I'll arrest you if you don't put an end to this!"

[The call is then disconnected.]

I reprimanded the prank caller and hung up the cell phone.

That didn't come from being mad, me snapping, or any other personal feeling at all.

"Oi oi, Kazami. Why are you snapping at our honored guest?"

"We're in business to meet the needs of our customers, aren't we?"

The Inspector has a point, but I have no obligation to deal with such a malicious prankster.

We police officers are allies only of law-abiding and righteous citizens.

Damn. I still haven't got rid of this feeling in the pit of my stomach. Working like this will only make me less efficient.

I think I'll report to the Inspector and leave early.

That same night---

As usual, I went to a nearby convenience store to buy dinner.

Although easy to prepare, the lack of human warmth in the bento emphasizes the dreariness of being a bachelor living alone.

"Huh? This is strange..."

Usually, I pass by office workers leaving work and students making their way home, but today, there are no people at all.

W-what? Something is wriggling in the darkness.

What looked like a strange mass, was actually a fallen woman. ...Is she injured!?

"Are you alright!?" I run over to her, throwing down the bento I had just bought.

"Please stay strong! I'll call an ambulance right now!"

I took my cell phone out of my breast pocket and dialed 119. [The ambulance and fire brigade emergency telephone number in Japan.]

"Why... didn't anyone..." She mutters breathlessly. At least she seems conscious.

"Why... couldn't anyone..."

"Don't speak. An ambulance is coming soon."

"Even that person..."

"That person...? That person, who...?" I was curious and asked.

YOU!

"It's because of you that I've been through this!"

[We get a file for failing too, it's named "YOU!".]

Comprehensive Evaluation: D Class

Episode Zero - Chain Mail - End

[No F Class? Oh well.]

[Only 4% more? I guess we'll need the other Class rankings to complete it, however... It doesn't seem we'll get any more dialogue. Instead, let's see the title of the next episode before we begin it.]

Episode One - Kokkuri-san

Next time, we'll start Episode One. I can say for certain that it will be much, much bigger than Episode Zero. After all, it is meant to be an introduction to the game's mechanics. I am extremely anxious in every meaning of the word. I hope you are looking forward to it too.

Anyway, see you next time!

25 - YOU!

【お前だ！、omaeda!】

["Omae" is a very informal version of "you", it implies either aggression or familiarity. Literally means "the one in front of me". The "da" is an impolite version of "to be", used in most sentences without verbs.]

It happened when a family stayed at an inn.

The daughter of the family was brutally murdered in the bathroom. Her face was mutilated and her tongue was removed from her mouth.

The bathroom was locked, and there was only one window with a lattice that no one could pass through.

The investigation was extremely difficult, and the case seemed to be going cold. One day, however, the son of the inn's owner appeared before the police with a videotape. The son happened to have videotaped the crime scene.

The police tried to ask him about the details of the incident, but he was just too afraid to answer any questions.

The officers, frustrated, decided to take a look at the tape. When they played it back, they saw the victim's image appear on the screen. The next moment, the investigators, watching with bated breath, were confronted with a horrifying image.

From the small gap in the latticed window emerged an old woman no more than 30cm in length, holding a piece of glass in her hand. The woman stabbed the girl with the glass in her hand until her appearance was unrecognizable, and then cut off her tongue as she lay dying.

Then, unexpectedly, she turned her head to the camera and said to the investigators, who couldn't raise their voices due to the unimaginable images,

"You're next!"

This videotape is said to still be stored somewhere in the Metropolitan Police Department.

Above was written the urban legend "YOU!". This rumor is said to have originated on the Internet. Other Internet urban legends include "Kaijin Answer" [Lit. Mysterious Person Answer".] and "Hikiko-san". Over time, even the tools for spreading rumors change.

143 - Doppelgänger

【ドッペルゲンガー、dopperugengaa】

Doppel means "double" and gänger means "goer" in English.

As the name suggests, a doppelgänger is a person's alter ego, another self that exists in this world. There have been doppelgänger encounters not only in the West but also in China, Japan, and many other countries around the world.

Many famous and well-known people have claimed to have witnessed doppelgängers. Maupassant, a leading French naturalist writer known for "A Woman's Life", met another version of himself who visited his room in 1889. And, the German Goethe, writer of "Faust", was riding his horse in a park when he saw another self coming from his front on a horse. Other doppelgänger witness accounts include that of English poet Shelley, considered a representative of the Romantic school, and the novelist Ryuunosuke Akutagawa.

In addition, the Russian novelist Dostoevsky and the American poet and fantasy writer Edgar Allan Poe have also written novels based on doppelgängers.

Creepily, it is said that anyone who sees a doppelgänger will die in the near future, and that is what tugged at the heartstrings of these writers.

However, it is difficult to say that the rumors are true because Goethe, who witnessed his doppelgänger at age 21, lived until he was 83.

In recent years, seeing doppelgängers is said to be a kind of psychosis.

In the psychiatric world, this is called "autoscopy" and its characteristics are:

- Clearly seeing oneself several tens of centimeters to meters in front of oneself, or to the side.

- Most of the time, the doppelgänger does not move, but sometimes, it moves in accordance with one's own movement.

- Full-body images are rare, with partial images such as only the face, head, or upper body being more common.

- Generally, the doppelgänger appears to be monochrome.

- It can appear to be flat and lacking three-dimensionality, as a vague image, or transparent like gelatin or glass.

- It does not necessarily need to look like oneself, it can be wearing different clothes, having a different expression, and even sometimes being of different age.

- Etcetera.

However, those who witness doppelgängers, no matter how different they may appear from themselves, are said to have no doubt that they are images of themselves.

According to recent studies, it is also believed that some causes, such as tumors or migraine headaches, may alter the border region between the temporal and parietal lobes of the brain, which controls body image (the unconscious perception of the shape and size of one's own body), causing the actual body and the body image to be perceived as two separate entities.