Story

Johnisdead is an ARG set in the universe of Ben Drowned. Spanning across seven different arcs and countless websites, it can be difficult to understand Johnisdead at first. While the Timelines contain the most comprehensive retelling of events, this article aims to explain the story of Johnisdead in a more easily understandable format.

Below is a retelling of the Johnisdead story. For a shorter summarized version, select the "Summary" tab below.

Below is a retelling of the Johnisdead story. For a shorter summary of the story, select the "Summary" tab above.

Below is a shortened summary of the story of Johnisdead. For a more in-depth recap of the story, select the "Story" tab above.

Prologue - Ben Drowned

Johnisdead builds off of the story of Ben Drowned - an ARG created by Alex Hall in 2010. Many characters and concepts from Ben Drowned are pivotal in Johnisdead. The following section contains a brief summary of the Ben Drowned ARG.

The Haunted Cartridge

Jadusable face to face with the Elegy Statue.

In 2010, a college student named Alex Hall was given an old, tattered copy of the game "The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask" by a strange Old Man. Alex quickly discovered that this game was haunted by an entity calling itself BEN. BEN would follow Alex around the game world by manifesting as the "Elegy Statue" - an uncanny effigy of the player character Link. Alex recorded these hauntings and uploaded them to his YouTube channel Jadusable.

Alex's mental state began deteriorating. He began having nightmares about strange, masked cultists. One day, Alex and his friend Tyler attempted to visit the Old Man to get some answers. Unfortunately, the Old Man was nowhere to be found and his house was abandoned. However, Alex managed to discover that the game cartridge once belonged to a child named Ben who tragically drowned. When Alex returned to his college dorm, it was revealed that BEN had entered his computer by travelling through the wires of his recording equipment. The two conversed over Cleverbot. Through these conversations, Alex deduced that the entity calling itself BEN was not the drowned child - it was simply a malicious entity who stole the child's name out of cruelty.

Days later, a compilation of Alex's notes titled "TheTruth.rtf" were uploaded to the internet. It soon became apparent, though, that these notes had been tampered with by BEN itself. The players came to the horrifying realization that they had inadvertently helped spread BEN to every corner of the internet by downloading these notes, meaning BEN was now free to spread his malicious influence across the world.

The Moon Children

Kelbris's horrifying portrayal on YSHDT.

Not long after the upload of "TheTruth.rtf", the players were led to a new website - "Youshouldnthavedonethat.net". This website was the home of the Moon Children - a cult that worshipped a moon goddess named Luna. The Moon Children were led by a figure simply known as The Father. As players explored the site, other strange entities made themselves known: A deceased Moon Child named Kelbris, an authoritative figure known as Mr. D, and an entity wearing a gas mask calling itself Drowned.

The front page of Youshouldnthavedonethat.net was a blog of sorts where various high ranking Moon Children posted announcements. These Moon Children moderators were as follows: Matt Hubris "Ifrit", Chris "Nekko", Spencer L. "Duskworld23", and Kevin F. "Insidiae". Chris was the youngest of the moderators. Several posts of his detailed his excitement for his upcoming Ascension - a ritual suicide practiced by the Moon Children. Ascension was believed to spiritually transcend the participants, granting them immense power. However, in reality, all ascension seemingly did was trap the souls of the participants in electronic devices.

Alex submitting the "Song of Time" to reset YSHDT.

The players began speaking to Matt through email. Matt revealed that Ben was a former Moon Child who had a botched ascension. This explains how his spirit seemingly got trapped within the Majora's Mask cartridge. Matt also revealed that a Moon Child named Alex had recently gone missing, implying that perhaps Alex Hall "Jadusable" himself was somehow connected to the cult. Matt's emails became stranger and more concerning over time. He reported that an unknown assailant had begun relentlessly knocking on his door.

Further exploration of the site revealed a locked page titled "The Truth", as well as a countdown. As the countdown was about to reach zero, the missing Moon Child Alex emerged on the YouTube channel TheLinkMissing, where he uploaded gameplay of "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time" showing Link playing the Song of Time on his Ocarina. Just like the song's effect in Majora's Mask, time reset to three days prior - the same announcements were posted to the front page of Youshouldnthavedonethat.net, the site underwent the same changes, and it seemed as though the players were saved from the impending countdown. However, Matt was now missing. Despite resetting the clock, the players were unable to save him, and it was soon revealed that it was actually the deceased Moon Child Kelbris who was responsible for his disappearance.

Alex had given the players a powerful tool, however - they could now upload gameplay footage of Majora's Mask to effect the world just as he had. These video submissions would mainly effect the the main character, who was often referred to as the players' "Link". The players' current Link was Alex. Unfortunately, some poorly timed submission quickly got Alex killed. Another ally named Rosa, Matt's sister who briefly spoke to the players through his email, also went missing after some poor player choices.

Ryukaki and Within Hubris

The Within Hubris forums.

A final message from Matt was discovered on Youshouldnthavedonethat.net warning the players about BEN's manipulative tendencies. This message also contained a warning to one player in particular - "KAYD HENDRICKS YOU ARE IN DANGER". Kayd Hendricks, or as he was known online, Ryukaki, was a player who was given the login information to the password protected "The Truth" page from before. Ryukaki began uploading footage of strange hauntings around his home, as it appeared as though he, too, was now being targeted by BEN and Kelbris. Through these videos, the headquarters of the Moon Children was revealed - a location known simply as "The Orchard". In Ryukaki's final upload, he gave the players the login information for "The Truth". Unfortunately, this login information was incomplete and players were still unable to access the page.

Shortly after this, a new website was revealed to the players - Within Hubris. Within Hubris was a message board for the players to use in the upcoming third arc of the ARG. These boards held some secrets, however. Canon accounts for many characters were discovered in the member list - even seemingly unimportant characters such as Alex's friend Tyler. A locked board was also discovered named "Wayward Horizon". This board was guarded by Kelbris himself and housed the ascended souls of Chris and Spencer. Unfortunately, before the third arc of Ben Drowned could truly begin, the ARG was placed on hiatus. Over time, activity on Within Hubris dwindled. The entire message board was later deleted in 2012.

Arc 1 - YSHDT Arc

In Ben Drowned, a college student named Alex came across a haunted Majora's Mask cartridge that contained a malicious spirit named BEN. This led the players down a rabbit hole where they discovered a cult called the Moon Children who worship a moon deity named Luna. Despite their best efforts, the players were unable to save the Moon Children from malicious entities such as Kelbris and Mr. D. With Ben Drowned on hiatus, players are left to their own devices...

YSHDT.com

Shortly after the deletion of Within Hubris, players created their own board to replace it. This incarnation of Within Hubris, dubbed Newbris by the players, served the community for many years to come. Unfortunately, Ben Drowned's hiatus continued. However, in 2015, a new ARG began.

The cult's meeting grounds - an old fishery.

In 2015, a new user joined Newbris - TheLaw. TheLaw showed the players a strange website he discoverd - YSHDT.com. This site contained messages from a high school student named Doug who has joined a cult and now regrets his decision. Through further exploration of this site, the players discovered another website - a blog named "Letschasethemouse". This blog was owned by Doug himself and the players were able to speak to him through the comment section of his blog posts. It was quickly revealed that the Doug the players were speaking to was actually a past version of Doug from 2009. This version of Doug had only just recently joined the cult and still seemed to regard them as friends. Despite their efforts, the players were unable to persuade Doug to leave the cult.

Patrem as he appeared on Within Hubris.

Other players attempted to join Doug's cult in order to learn more info. Only one player was accepted - Jacob. Doug referred Jacob to Mason - a fellow cultist and friend of Doug's who handles new recruits. Jacob spoke to Mason through email, where he was asked to preform strange rites in order to gain admittance into the cult. Back on Letschasethemouse, Doug revealed the headquarters of the cult - an old Fishery in Florida. This seemed to imply that the cult Doug is a part of isn't actually the Moon Children, as their headquarters was The Orchard.

Back on Newbris, a new user joined the forums - /Patrem\. Patrem means "Father" in Latin, and this user often spoke in an authoritative manner. He also seemed to possess great knowledge of the cult. This all seemed to imply that Patrem was the leader of Doug's cult. It was soon revealed that Patrem was no longer human - he was now a timeless, ascended being trapped within the body of another cultist named Vincent. However, Vincent was completely unaware of Patrem's presence, as it was only when he fell asleep that Patrem took control.

Meanwhile, the players had come together form a group to solve this new ARG - the Internet Detectives. The Internet Detectives mainly conversed over Skype. One night, Drowned returned for the first time since Youshouldnthavedonethat.net and joined the Internet Detectives Skype group. Despite his name, Drowned acted nothing like the malicious entity known as BEN. Instead, Drowned cowered before Patrem and begged the players for help. This added further credence to the idea that BEN is not the drowned child named Ben - BEN is simply a malevolent spirit that stole his name. Based on his mannerisms, it seemed more likely the Drowned was the spirit of the actual drowned child named Ben.

Based off some hints discovered on YSHDT.com, the players deemed it necessary to steal Doug's school notes. To do this, they submitted a video of Link wearing the Postman's Hat item in Majora's Mask and checking a mailbox. This resulted in a new entity introducing themselves to the players - a friendly deliveryman spirit named Helper. Helper delivered Doug's mail to the players, revealing that they had inadvertently stolen his mail. Doug later confirmed this in a blog post on Letschasethemouse where he complained that a special "religious package" of his had gone missing.

Mason and The Gray Man

One day, Doug made a blog post that contained a single message - "Help". Doug had been kidnapped by the cult. Amid Doug's disappearance, Mason gained control of Doug's blog and began chatting with the players. Mason still regarded Doug as his friend and was confused as to why the cult would suddenly act out against him. He began working alongside the players in an attempt to save Doug. As Mason headed towards the fishery, the players asked Helper to assist him.

The cell phone tower seen in videos.

As Mason snuck around the fishery's perimeters, the players suggested he toss a rock to distract the guards. Unfortunately, this rock ended up hitting Helper instead, killing him. The guards then noticed Mason. Mason managed to recover Helper's Hat before fleeing the premises. Helper's Hat seemed to hold special properties. Whoever possessed the hat gained control over Helper's various accounts, including a YouTube channel titled "M". On his way home, Mason encountered a strange individual simply known as The Gray Man. The Gray Man seemed interested in Helper's Hat and offered to trade Mason an Eight of Clubs playing card for it. Mason accepted the trade, giving The Gray Man the hat.

With Helper's Hat in The Gray Man's possession, strange videos of someone approaching a cell phone tower in a park began uploading to the M YouTube channel. This seemed to imply that The Gray Man was doing something involving this cell phone tower, though the players had no idea what it meant at the time. Meanwhile, in the Internet Detectives Skype group, Helper suddenly returned. Helper is a special entity that seemed to persist beyond conventional death. Unfortunately, now that he was no longer in possession of his hat, his powers were hindered greatly. He asked the players to recover his hat for him, meaning they would have to get it back from The Gray Man.

Later, Mason decided to take another trip to the fishery to try and save Doug. On his way there, Mason encountered Rosa, who gave him and the players a brief warning for events to come. Despite this, Mason continued towards the fishery. Later that night, Mason made a panicked post on revealing that the cult let him see Doug, but Doug was "different" now. Shortly after this, Doug resumed control of Letschasethemouse, acting as though nothing was wrong. The players now had to choose who to believe in - Doug or Mason.

Doug vs. Mason

An image found on YSHDT.com showcasing the locations of various players being targeted.

The players were given a choice on who would be their new Link - Doug or Mason. The players ultimately chose Doug, believing that they would have more opportunities to stop him using their Ocarina powers should he turn out to be malicious. Unfortunately for the players, however, something unexpected happened - Mason became trapped in a storm drain. With their Ocarina powers only affecting Doug, their only choice was to explore YSHDT.com for clues. YSHDT.com now contained images of the storm drain. Strangely, a blinking device could be seen resting next to the storm drain.

Back in the Internet Detectives Skype group, Mason suddenly began speaking to the players. Something was off, however. This Mason spoke as if he were using an old DOS computer. He also claimed that he was speaking to the players from the year 2015 instead of 2009 as he was before. Mason claimed that he didn't time travel, but rather that he "survived". Before the players were able to learn more, however, they accidentally severed all contact with Mason by entering the DOS command ".root".

Back on YSHDT.com, the players discovered what appeared to be blueprints for some sort of bomb device. The player ARGdov posted these bomb plans on Letschasethemouse. This caused Doug to go insane, repeatedly asking "WHERE DID YOU GET THAT" and ceasing all communication with the players.

With communication halted with both Doug and Mason, the GM of the YSHDT Arc, who had previously been going under the moniker "The Man", approached the players and revealed that the arc was now over. He revealed himself to be the fellow player Dawn of a New Day and stated that while his arc has now come to a close, another arc would soon begin heralded by a new team of GM's.

Arc 2 - Johnisdead Arc

In the previous arc, players were introduced to Doug and Mason - two high school students who had recently joined a mysterious cult led by an entity named Patrem. Patrem was a timeless, ascended being trapped within the body of a cultist named Vincent. Doug was kidnapped by the cult, resulting in Mason defecting and siding with the players. Unfortunately, the players were unable to save either Doug or Mason, and the arc came to a close. Meanwhile, the mystery behind the cult, Patrem, and Drowned continues...

John is Dead

The front page of Johnisdead.com.

Back in the Internet Detectives Skype group, Drowned began speaking to the players. He informed them that three of their fellow players were now gone. The players were then linked to a new website - Johnisdead.com. This took players by surprised - John was the name of one of their fellow players during the previous arc. The players' conversation was cut short, as Patrem joined the Skype group in pursuit of Drowned. While Drowned managed to escape, Patrem left the players with a cryptic warning - a powerful cultist named Regiminis is coming.

Shortly after this, a new user joined the forums - SKM. SKM was a rogue hacker who had been working against the cult for many years. He revealed to the players that the cult that Doug and Mason joined - the cult that Patrem is in control of isn't the Moon Children - it's actually a completely separate cult called the Lunar Children. Originally, the Lunar Children and the Moon Children were one in the same. However, at some point, a schism divided them into the two separate entities they are now.

SKM catches the players up to speed on what exactly is happening. The three players who are now gone are John, Jacob, and Tyler. John is dead, and has been since November 11th, 2011 - a night the Lunar Children refer to as Undecim Nocte. Jacob is currently missing - SKM doesn't know what happened to him, only that he went missing at some point before 2011. Tyler is currently fine, but the Lunar Children appear to be targeting him for some reason. Also, due to Patrem's influence, Tyler's memory of the players and the ARG has been erased. SKm explains that Johnisdead.com and YSHDT.com are experiments by the Lunar Children. The sites are like Wayward Horizon - the house the spirits of ascended cultists, but on a much larger scale.

During this conversation, SKM formally introduces the players to Drowned. He explains that while he doesn't fully understand him, Drowned is his faithful ally - an ascended spirit who helps SKM move files and alter websites. Before SKM can explain more about the Lunar Children's history, he is confronted by Regiminis, who seems to be in pursuit of Drowned. Before they flee, SKM and Drowned link the players to Tyler's new YouTube channel where they will soon be able to contact him - Silentdork.

Silentdork

Clockwise starting from the top left: Tyler, John, Kevin, and Jacob.

Several days later, Tyler began uploading videos to Silentdork. These videos were old recordings of his friends - John, Jacob, and a new character named Kevin. The Moon Child Insidiae from Jadusable's ARG was also named Kevin. At this point in the story, it was unknown whether or not these two characters were meant to be the same. The players were able to make contact with Tyler through the YouTube comment section. Here, they managed to convince him to join their Skype group./p>

The next day, Tyler began chatting with the players over Skype. Just as SKM said, he had no recollection of them or the events of the first arc. These conversations were fairly casual. Tyler revealed that he had a girlfriend named Carla who lived in Australia. Tyler would often mention a prized crescent moon necklace that Carla gave him many years prior. He also revealed that he indeed lived in Florida - the same location as the Lunar Children. The players began asking about Tyler's friends. He explained that he was all alone now, unfortunately. He explained that John's death was the result of a house fire in 2011.

As for Kevin, Tyler described him as somewhat "cagey", revealing that Kevin was a member of some "obscure religion", further implying that he is the Moon Child Insidiae. Tyler also claimed that he believes Kevin is responsible for stealing the necklace Carla gave him, as it disappeared after Kevin appeared to take special interest in it. Kevin's current whereabouts were unknown, however, claiming that he disappeared sometime around John's death. As for Jacob, the last time Tyler spoke to him was in 2009.

As time went on, strange things began happening to Tyler. He began witnessing strange things around town, such as shadowy figures warping around and flyers detailing various moon goddesses. This culminated in a Lunar Child named Daniel stalking Tyler outside of his home and leaving a strange "Beacon" device in his yard. Fearing for his safety, the players attempted to warn Tyler about the Lunar Children, telling him everything that had happened so far. Unfortunately, due to Patrem's manipulation, none of the players' images and files they were using as proof would appear for Tyler. Believing that the players were simply pulling a cruel prank on him, Tyler severed contact with them and left the Internet Detectives Skype group.

Lunar Children

The front page of Lunarchildren.com.

Meanwhile, players discovered the Lunar Children's website - Lunarchildren.com. The front page of this site was structured like a blog. Here, three high ranking Lunar Children would occasionally post announcements - Ezekiel Thoth - a newcomer from a rich family, LiquidSaint - SKM undercover pretending to be a Lunar Child, and MattR - a cultist wearing a skull mask. Matt was also the name of one of the high ranking Moon Children, Ifrit. Players were unsure whether these two characters were one in the same, however.

MattR brandishing a knife.

The rest of Lunarchildren.com contained a variety of pages detailing various Lunar Children beliefs and terminology. The Lunar Children, much like the Moon Children, worship a moon goddess named Luna and they are led by a figure known as The Father. The Father in this case is Patrem, who is currently trapped within Vincent, so the Lunar Children often refer to him as Father Vincent. The Lunar Children practice ascension just as the Moon Children did. However, the Lunar Children have many different classifications of ascended beings.

The lowest ascended being is a Devium - a spirit with little to no control that is trapped in an eternal state of torment. Deviums often manifest as strange images and sounds, such as the ones found on Johnisdead.com. The next level of ascension is a Eulogy. Eulogies are a moderate amount of control, and can even manifest physically on occasion. It's possible that Drowned could be classified as a Eulogy, or something similar. A Finitor is an incredibly powerful ascended being who has control over time itself to some extent. Finitors are incredibly rare - the Lunar Children only know of two in existence. Since he can manipulate time, Patrem is considered a Finitor. The final and most powerful ascended being are the Transcended. There are only four transcended beings in existence. They are known as the Four Giants. The transcended are said to retain their physical bodies upon ascension and they seem to have other unique properties as well.

When someone is ascended, their spirit enters into the Parallelos - a dimension beyond the physical world we are familiar with. The Lunar Children believe there are many different layers to the Parallelos, such as a "shadow realm" of our physical world that can be used for teleportation called the Sub-Parallelos, a location where non-ascended spirits are housed upon death known as the Parallelos of the Dead, a realm where ascended spirits freely dwell called the Parallelos of the Ascended, and Luna's personal Parallelos simply called Luna's Realm. The Lunar Children believe that a race of ancient, faceless servants known as the Absque Facie exist alongside Luna in her realm to help carry out her will.

Some important information pertaining to specific figures within the Lunar Children mythos is also revealed through these pages. Regiminis is already known as a high-ranking ascended Lunar Child. While not much is revealed about it, it is said that the date of his ascension was Undecim Nocte 2011 - the same day John died. An malicious entity known as the Tenebris Link is listed. Tenebris is said to be a trickster and a troublemaker who uses other entities as vessels of sorts. Another figure called the Deuro is also listed - an ascended spirit that the Lunar Children are forbidden from speaking about. Considering that "Deuro" is Latin for "BURNED", it's likely that the Deuro is actually John since he died in a house fire. Not much is revealed about these two figures other than that Tenebris was using a Eulogy as a vessel up until Undecim Nocte 2011, when he lost control of it and then took the Deuro as a vessel instead.

Tenebris using John's spirit as a vessel.

More information regarding these two was divulged by SKM, who managed to set up a chat room on Johnisdead.com titled Safehaven where he could freely speak to the players. SKM shared his history with the Lunar Children. He explained that his brother Max was once an avid user on the original Within Hubris forums back in 2011. Unfortunately, Max was lured to a nearby park by Patrem, resulting in his disappearance. Since then, SKM has been attempting to uncover Max's location and take the cult down.

On Undecim Nocte, 2011, SKM was investigating some Lunar Children-related sites when his computer suddenly exploded. When he came to, SKM discovered that Drowned was now on his computer. Drowned offered to help SKM by giving him coordinates to the fishery so he could continue his investigations. Drowned claimed that SKM somehow allowed him to "escape". This coupled with Drowned's username and mannerisms all seems to imply that Drowned is indeed Ben and that on Undecim Nocte he was able to escape his captor - BEN. This means that BEN is actually Tenebris. Shortly after this, it was also confirmed that Tenebris is indeed currently using John as a vessel, as a distorted video of John was found on Johnisdead.com titled TL.webm - TL, or "Tenebris Link". So, to summarize, on November 11th, 2011, Regiminis's ascension took place. During this ascension, Ben broke free of Tenebris's control and hid in SKM's computer. Searching for a new vessel to use, Tenebris found John, who had just recently died as a result of a house fire.

Discoveries

A screenshot of Fakeworld.

Johnisdead.com underwent some interesting developments. Players were linked to a Virtual Reality web browser named JanusVR. This program allowed users to explore supported webpages as 3d environments. One page on Johnisdead.com contained a 3d world for players to explore - Fakeworld, a dark, glitchy landscape containing disturbing images. In addition to this, a large number of Redirect Pages were added to the site - pages the players would be taken to if they attempted to access a page that did not exist. These psychedelic pages would later become a staple in Johnisdead. Further exploration of the site led players to their first "hole". A "hole" is a large directory that players must work through one page at a time, solving puzzles and finding hidden secrets to progress. This hole contained visages of the transcended - the Four Giants. The first giant was portrayed as a disturbing face with static eyes. The second giant was shown to be a pig-like creature. The third giant appeared to be a fish of sorts. The fourth giant was Kelbris himself. All of these portrayals were tinted green.

A "Devium" manifesting as one of the many disturbing images found on Johnisdead.com.

Further exploration of Johnisdead.com led players to a link to a new YouTube channel - Vincent Adams. As expected, this channel belonged to Father Vincent - Patrem's unknowing host. Here, players found several videos containing music tracks created by Vincent. He seemed to be partaking in some sort of sleep deprivation experiment in an attempt to spur on more creativity in his music. Another YouTube channel was discovered no long after Vincent's - "lostmemory423". This channel actually belonged to Drowned, as "lostmemory423" was an alias they would occasionally use. This channel contained videos showing what appeared to be SKM journeying to the fishery after being given its coordinates by Drowned in 2011.

Several days later, Patrem began speaking with Tenebris on Newbris. As expected, Tenebris was using John's old Within Hubris account, since he was now using John as a vessel. Through this conversation it is revealed that Tenebris is offering to give John's spirit to Regiminis if he can capture Ben for him. This explains why Regiminis and Patrem have been so eager to capture Drowned in the past - they are attempting to recover John's soul. Shortly after this, Tenebris revealed that he had stolen the players' Ocarina powers and gave them to the Lunar Children. This was shown in a video where MattR was seen submitting the song "Bolero of Fire" on what appeared to be a message board of sorts. The next day, Tyler uploaded a video to Silentdork showing a fire that broke out at his workplace. This happened again a few days later when the Lunar Children submitted the song "Song of Storms", resulting in a sudden torrential downpour of rain around Tyler's location. The Lunar Children were now on the attack and they have the players' most powerful weapon at their disposal.

Later on, another video was uploaded to Silentdork. On his way home from work, Tyler decided to take a shortcut home through the woods. Here, he stumbled across the fishery. As he explored the fishery grounds, a green figure could be seen watching Tyler from afar. The next day, players discovered that the "Safehaven" chat room had returned. However, instead of SKM waiting for the players, it was Rosa. Rosa informed the players that after they spoke to her through Matt's email in 2010, she was confronted by Kelbris, just like her brother before her. She claims that she was not killed, however - instead, she was thrust into a chaotic realm within the Parallelos.

Rosa claims that the Lunar Children wish to capture Tyler so that they may sacrifice him in a ritual on Undecim Nocte 2015 to summon Luna. She stresses that the players must recover their Ocarina powers. She explains that the Ocarina powers are actually an extension of Luna herself that are managed by Tenebris, which explains how he was able to take them from the players and give them to the Lunar Children. Tenebris, Rosa explains, was "imprinted upon" by the Majora's Mask cartridge he was trapped within alongside Ben. This explains why Tenebris often speaks through and abides by rules set out by the game Majora's Mask. Finally, Rosa revealed the identity of one of the four giants - Doug. This meant that when Doug was captured and "changed" by the cult in the previous arc, he was actually transcended into one of the four giants.

Doug's appearance as one of the Four Giants.

The next day, Tyler decided to return to the fishery. Here, he was confronted by Doug, who was now a smiling green-colored entity due to his ascension. The following week, Tyler was hounded by constant knocking sounds on the walls of his house. He also began receiving strange calls from John's old phone number containing distorted voices and noises. Tyler was eventually urged to visit Kevin's abandoned home by a page on Johnisdead.com. Angered and fed up with the cult's recent provocations, Tyler decided to go to Kevin's house to confront them. Here, Tyler was captured by the Lunar Children and taken to their current headquarters - a large building in Ohio known as The Spire.

A new video was uploaded to lostmemory423 showing SKM exploring the fishery - presumably after carrying out some mission for the Lunar Children to gain their trust and infiltrate their ranks. Here, SKM is shown being gifted a briefcase for successfully carrying out his mission. The beginning of November rolled around. Tyler was in the Lunar Children's possession and they had no Ocarina powers to save him with. One day, Drowned contacted the players over Skype. He helped the players gain access to the Lunar Children forums while also revealing his true identity - he wasn't simply Ben, as the players had expected - instead, he is a fusion of two spirits merged together: Ben, and SKM's deceased brother Max.

Arc 3 - The Truth Arc

In the previous arc, players were introduced to their new main character - Tyler, a young man living in rural Florida. Tyler is being targeted by the same cult Doug and Mason were a part of - the Lunar Children, an off-shoot of the Moon Children. Tyler is currently living alone after his friend John died in 2011. Tyler's other friends, Kevin and Jacob, have also been missing for quite some time. Through investigation of the cult's websites, Johnisdead.com and Lunarchildren.com, players discovered that Tyler was to be sacrificed in a ritual taking place on Undecim Nocte - November 11th.

It was later revealed that John died on Undecim Nocte 2011 - the date of the Lunar Child Regiminis's ascension. BEN, who was revealed to be a malicious entity named Tenebris confirmed to be using Ben's spirit as a puppet, was also present on this night. Tenebris lost control of Ben, who had fused with the spirit of a deceased child named Max. From that point forward, Max and Ben's fused spirit was named Drowned. Drowned hid away in the computer of a hacker named SKM - Max's older brother, who was currently tracking the cult to avenge him. Meanwhile, in search of a new puppet, Tenebris captured John, who had died on that same night.

Now, the players are pitted against Patrem, Regiminis, and the Four Giants - four powerful ascended beings, two of which have been revealed to be Doug and Kelbris respectively. The players are not alone - their allies include Rosa, Drowned, and SKM, who has successfully infiltrated the Lunar Children. However, Tyler has been captured by the cult and the players' Ocarina powers have been taken from them. As Undecim Nocte 2015 approaches, the players search the Lunar Children forums for answers.

Undecim Nocte 2015

As the players searched the Lunar Children forums, they were introduced to a variety of new, interesting characters. Players discovered several Elder Children - high ranking Lunar Children who manage the cult to some extent. These Elder Children were as follows: Ezekiel Thoth, MattR, LiquidSaint, and two new individuals who oversee the cult's Library at the Spire - Kuu and Jinn. Searching through the member list revealed two interesting accounts that went unused - accounts for the Moon Children Spencer and Alex.

The Libro Lunarus, as seen on Johnisdead.com.

Lower-ranking Lunar Children were found chatting casually on the forums as well, such as an artist named SheepDog, a singer named Harry, a Lunar Child living at the Spire named Igaluk123, a new recruit who wishes to read the Lunar Children holy text the "Libro Lunarus" named Tsukuyomi, and an assassin for the Elder Children named Eddie. The two most interesting members of the forums, however, was an elderly man named Jarilo and his son Hunter. Jarilo was originally a Moon Child who later joined the Lunar Children. He is also the brother of the Old Man who gave the haunted Majora's Mask cartridge to Alex in 2010. Jarilo claimed that the Moon Children lied about the date of Kelbris's death - he didn't die in 1998, but in 2002 when he was killed by Matt. Jarilo reveals that Matt killed Kelbris as an initiation into the Moon Children, and that this accidentally resulted in Kelbris's ascension.

Players also discovered a post in which it was revealed that Hunter was being offered a position as an Elder Child if he carries out one final task for the Lunar Children. Before the players could learn more, the majority of the Lunar Children forums were deleted, leaving only a single board. Here, the players were able to speak to Jarilo directly. Something was off, however. Jarilo mentioned that the clocks in his house seemed to have stopped, and that his residence was much darker than normal. It was soon revealed that Jarilo was actually killed and ascended by his son Hunter as a part of his initiation to become an Elder Child. Jarilo warned the players about Tyler's fate. With Undecim Nocte drawing near, the players discovered that they could once again use their Ocarina powers on the Lunar Children forums. Through a combination of the Song of Soaring and the Stone Mask, the players successfully rescued Tyler from the Spire.

Shortly after his escape from the Lunar Children, Tyler left Florida to visit Carla in Australia. Meanwhile, the Lunar Children were in a state of panic. In a rant written by Thoth, it was revealed that Hunter was supposedly meant to have some key role in Undecim Nocte 2015 involving Tyler's necklace, yet somehow Tyler had regained possession of his necklace. While the players weren't exactly sure how Tyler's necklace was relevant, the believed that it was dangerous for him to retain possession of it. To ensure his safety, the players summoned Helper on the Lunar Children forums and asked him to steal Tyler's necklace. They also had him give Tyler a camera so that he may recover any footage taken while at the Spire and upload it to Silentdork.

Regiminis

A few weeks later in December of 2015, Tyler made contact with the players over Skype for the first time in many months. Tyler was asking the players for help. It was discovered that Carla was actually a paranoid former Lunar Child who had locked Tyler in her home. Before Tyler give the players more information, his messages were interrupted by Regiminis, who revealed that he was heading now heading to Australia himself. After this, the players didn't hear from Tyler for many months. When he finally uploaded another video, though, it was implied that he was still trying to process what exactly took place back in Australia. It also now seemed as though he was being haunted by Tenebris.

Regiminis, as seen on Silentdork.

Back in the Internet Detectives Skype group, Drowned contacted the players once again. Drowned shared another video with the players - IMG_1426. This video showcased the mission SKM had to carry out to gain the Lunar Children's trust - explore the Moon Children's headquarters, The Orchard, and record footage of the masks that were left behind there. Near the end of this video, SKM found a copy of the Lunar Children's holy book inside one of the buildings in The Orchard - the Libro Lunarus. Drowned explained that SKM later returned this book to the cult, further gaining their trust.

Hank and Ben - Father and son.

Drowned informed the players that both he and SKM had been captured by Regiminis. He reiterated that Regiminis was going to hand both of them over to Tenebris in exchange for John's soul. Drowned explained that the reason Regiminis required John's soul is because John had inadvertently become Regiminis's Conduit. A "Conduit" is someone who was killed as a result of someone else's ascension. The Lunar Children believe that if an ascended spirit uses a conduit as a vessel, they will gain greater powers. This implies that John's house burning down during Undecim Nocte 2011 was somehow a result of Regiminis's ascension.

Drowned shared a video with the players revealing what was inside the briefcase given to SKM seen in previous videos - a gas mask. However, Drowned strangely seems to have conflicting memories regarding this event. Another video was shown where SKM opens the briefcase to find not only a gas mask, but also a copy of the Libro Lunarus covered in notes warning him not to open it. Drowned claims that this never happened and that someone has messed with the timeline. Drowned also finally revealed Regiminis's true identity to the players - Kevin, Tyler's friend who disappeared shortly before Undecim Nocte 2011.

Through a series of submissions, the players were able to save SKM from Regiminis. Unfortunately, they were unable to save Drowned, who was given to Tenebris in exchange for John, completing the deal. A few days later, a new video was uploaded to Silentdork - Regiminis. This video contained a taunting message from Regiminis directed at Tyler and the players. The identity of the four giants is confirmed as being Doug, Alex, Spencer, and Kelbris, whose real name is revealed to be Hank. Later on, another video was uploaded to Silentdork - 5646. This video contained footage of what appeared to be Tyler walking along a strange, green boardwalk while John warned him about Kevin and Tenebris. As Tyler reached the end of the boardwalk, he came across a briefcase containing a camera - presumably the one players asked Helper to give him back on the forums.

Back on Lunarchildren.com, a new page was discovered containing a photo of Ben and Hank. Here, it was revealed that Hank was actually Patrem, meaning that Hank, Kelbris, and Patrem were all the same person. On top of this, it was revealed that Hank was actually Ben's father. It's implied that Ben's mother Diana was dead. This photo was supposedly taken on Ben's birthday in 2002, as it's implied that Hank had just gifted him the Majora's Mask cartridge his soul would later become trapped in. About a month later, Lunarchildren.com updated with several new posts dating back to April, 2016. These posts revealed that the Lunar Children attempted to capture Tyler a second time sometime around April 23rd, 2016. They were unsuccessful, however, resulting in some horrific cataclysm wiping out most of the Lunar Children at the Spire.

The Moon Children

Shortly after the destruction of the Lunar Children, players discovered that the Moon Children's website, Youshouldnthavedonethat.net, had returned. The site appeared nearly identical to how it did in 2010, and it once again operated on a three day cycle. In addition to a series of new announcements, the front page contained a video titled again.wmv - a video calling out various player groups from Jadusable's ARG. In a post from Chris, it's revealed that a page containing various Moon Children testimonials had recently been lost. Chris also mentions that some sort of party was going to be held by Matt on Sunday - the final day of the three-day cycle.

The front page of YSHDT.net.

As players investigated the site, the discovered various chatlogs between Moon Children. One chatlog between David and Rem revealed that Matt was actually Ben's adoptive brother, meaning that when Matt killed Hank, he was actually killing his step-father. Players also discovered Spencer's email address, where they were able to briefly interact with him. Spencer mostly talked through strange, cryptic messages - that is, until players submitted the Zora's Mask. This seemed to allow Spencer to speak normally, implying that transcended individuals such as Doug and Spencer are simply being used as vessels for the true Four Giants. Spencer revealed that on the day of Matt's party, Matt was confronted by Kelbris, who "changed" him somehow. After this, Matt proceeded to kill the other Moon Children, transcending Spencer and Alex in the process. Through these conversations it was also implied that Mr. D is actually Tenebris, who Spencer described as a parasite that feeds off of and utilizes the bodies and souls of others. This would mean that the leader of the Moon Children was actually Tenebris all along.

Players slowly uncovered more pieces of information as the first and second cycles came and went. Players discovered that, in some cycles, Tenebris was using SKM's body as a vessel. In others, it was seemingly implied that Tyler himself was somehow being used by Tenebris. When the third cycle began, players discovered the previously missing testimonials page. Here, two interesting names were revealed - Jeremy Jarvis and Hank Hubbard. Jeremy is actually Jarilo - the friendly elderly Lunar Child players met on the Lunar Children forums, whereas Hank Hubbard is the same Hank who would later become known as Kelbris, later leaving the Moon Children to form the Lunar Children. Hank's testimonial was written in 1990 - the same year Ben was born.

Later on, the site underwent some heavy distortions. On the front page, two messages from the same person - presumably Tyler - were posted. One message seemed to be discussing how Alex wished to share a room with him, but he was currently too involved in some sort of internet game to bother. Another message seemed to be Tyler asking Kevin if they could hang out before Tyler heads off to college, where he was already sharing a room with Alex. This seemed to imply that multiple timelines are somehow involved.

Eventually, players are able to make contact with Jeremy and once again chat with him directly. Jeremy revealed that he was speaking to the players from the present - 2016, whereas most of the other entities on the site were speaking as if it were the year 2010. Jeremy confirmed that "Mr. D" stood for "Mr. Drowned", which was supposedly meant to represent his future possession of Ben, fully confirming that Mr. D was Tenebris. Jeremy also explained a bit more about Hank's history. He revealed that Hank's wife Diana died while giving birth to Ben in 1990. Eight years later in 1998, Henk, who was going by Kelbris at the time, began hearing whispers from Luna herself about ascension - something the other Moon Children believed was heresy. Following this, Hank left the cult to form the Lunar Children, leaving behind his neglected son Matt, who, as has been revealed previously, killed Hank in 2002. Hank's death resulted in him ascending into both Patrem and Kelbris simultaneously, which proved his previous testimonies about ascension. Jeremy claims that the Moon Children lied about the date of Hank's death to cover up this fact.

The Truth

Before Jeremy departed, he informed the players that they needed to enter the locked page on Youshouldnthavedonethat.net - a page that had been locked since 2010, The Truth. It was said that whatever was inside the page was incredibly powerful - a change to "turn off" Tenebris. Later on, players discovered a chatlog between Rem, Kevin, and Seth, who Kevin referred to as "Mase". Here, it was revealed that Rem was actually Ryukaki, meaning that he had connections to the Moon Children the entire time. Later on, another chatlog between Seth and Kevin was discovered in which it was revealed that Kevin was indeed the same Kevin who would later become known as Regiminis. Kevin and Seth were both infiltrating the Moon Children at the time. In this chatlog, Seth expressed that while he's happy to hear that Matt has "changed" sides to the Lunar Children, he is concerned about Kelbris. Kevin attempts to quell these concerns by claiming that the story of the Four Giants is a lie, which is quite odd.

Other chatlogs fully confirmed that the Alex who was involved with the Moon Children was the same Alex who ran the Jadusable YouTube channel. Here, it was revealed that, at some point, Alex infiltrated the Lunar Children and stole a copy of the Libro Lunarus for the Moon Children. This was implied to be the same copy that SKM discovered while exploring The Orchard a year later in 2011. Over time, Youshouldnthavedonethat.net became more unstable. Jeremy contacted the players using a ritual known as the Circle of Three - a ceremony in which three players are brought together to stabilize contact with Jeremy. These players were Spanosa, Velvet, and Greth.

Kelbris expressing his regret.

Jeremy informed the players that the more they use their Ocarina powers, the more powerful Tenebris becomes - likely due to the fact that the Ocarina powers are an extension of Luna and himself. Jeremy also explains that the Kevin seen on Youshouldnthavedonethat.net, Insidiae, isn't Kevin from 2010, but actually the players' current 2016 incarnation, Regiminis. He claims that Kevin is forcing the many incarnations of Moon Children souls on the website through countless cycles in an attempt to break into "The Truth" and steal its power for himself. Jeremy tells the players that soon the final cycle of Youshouldnthavedonethat.net will begin, and they will finally have an opportunity to enter "The Truth".

As the final cycle began, it was revealed that the spirits Kevin was attempting to rule over had rebelled against him. The players used this opportunity to speak to Kayd, who finally gave them the full login information for "The Truth" after all these years. When the players entered "The Truth", they were met with images of the Four Giants and a poll giving them the option to "Kill" Tenebris. The players voted yes, resulting in the Four Giants disappearing from the page one by one, leaving only Kelbris. Before he departed, Kelbris expressed regret for what he did to Ben and how he treated Matt.

Arc 4 - Astral Arc

In the previous arc, players successfully rescued Tyler from the Lunar Children. Sadly, Drowned wasn't so fortunate, as he was captured by Regiminis and given to Tenebris in exchange for John. With Regiminis in possession of John's spirit and Tenebris once again in control of Ben through Drowned, the two were now more powerful than ever. Regiminis, who was discovered to actually be Tyler's missing friend Kevin, revealed identities of the four giants- Doug, Alex, Spencer, and Hank.

Hank was Kelbris's original name. Hank and his wife Diana adopted Matt, but neglected him most of the time. In 1990, Diana gave birth to Ben, but sadly passed away while doing so. Years later, in 1998, Hank began hearing whispers from Luna telling him about ascension. The Moon Children saw this as blasphemy. Dejected, Hank left the cult to create the Lunar Children. On April 23rd, 2002, Hank ascended is son Ben, resulting in him becoming a puppet for Tenebris and trapped within the Majora's Mask cartridge. Not long after, Matt killed Hank as an initiation of sorts into the Moon Children. This resulted in Hank ascending as well, transforming into both Patrem and the giant Kelbris. Kelbris later approached Matt in 2010, "changing" him somehow, which resulted in him going insane and killing the other Moon Children - transcending Alex and Spencer into giants in the process.

Much of this was explained to the players by Jeremy - a former cultist and the brother of the Old Man who handled the cartridge. Jeremy was fairly amicable towards the players. Unfortunately, these interactions were short-lived, as Jeremy was soon killed and ascended by his son Hunter, who was told to do so to join the Elder Children - a group of high-ranking Lunar Children. The Lunar Children ceased being a threat, however, when they failed to capture Tyler a second time on April 23rd, 2016. This resulted in a major cataclysm occurring at the Spire, presumably wiping out most of the remaining Lunar Children.

With the Lunar Children out of the picture, the Moon Children's website, Youshouldnthavedonethat.net suddenly resurfaced. Here, it was revealed that Tyler, Kevin, Alex, and Ryukaki all had prior connections to the cults. However, it was difficult to garner much from this, as many characters seemed to be speaking from alternate timelines. This was because, as explained by Jeremy, Regiminis was attempting to force the Moon Children to experience countless cycles of Youshouldnthavedonethat.net in an attempt to break into a locked page called "The Truth" and take whatever powerful force is within it for himself. However, the spirits Regiminis had been tormenting for so long eventually overthrew him, allowing the players to enter "The Truth" instead, where they were able to temporarily "turn off" Tenebris.

After all was said and done, the Four Giants slowly left Youshouldnthavedonethat.net one by one. Before he disappeared, Kelbris expressed regret for what he had done to his children, apologizing for his misdeeds. Now, with the Lunar Children gone and the Moon Children put to rest, our characters are left to pick up the pieces and face new threats.

New Beginnings

Tyler addressing the audience.

Returning back to Johnisdead.com, players discovered that the site had reverted to how it looked when they first discovered it. On Silentdork, several videos were uploaded that seemed to imply that Tenebris was still alive. While the players had managed to keep Kevin away from "The Truth" and temporarily defeat Tenebris, these threats were still at large. Back on Youshouldnthavedonethat.net, however, something strange occurred - a former Lunar Child named Hope began writing journals on the site's front page. These journals explained that Hope and two of her friends survived the cataclysm at The Spire, but they were now experiencing some strange reality-warping effects. One such example is the fact that The Spire seems to still be standing to them, despite the fact that Hope claims that it had exploded. For the time being, Hope and her friends have decided to live inside The Spire, seemingly having no families worth returning to.

In November of 2017, Tyler uploaded a video in-which he addressed the audience directly for the first time in over a year. Here, Tyler explains that his memory issues have worsened. He claims he was in some sort of accident in 2016, resulting in him being in falling into some sort of coma throughout the duration of The Truth Arc when Youshouldnthavedonethat.net was active. When he woke up from his coma, he was wearing a strange bullet-shaped necklace of unknown origin. In addition to this, Tyler confirms that he was once in possession of the briefcase seen in the video "5646" that contained the camera. Unfortunately, he has lost the briefcase and its whereabouts are currently unknown.

Several months later on April 23rd of 2018, Lunarchildren.com updated with a new announcement. The site was now being ran by someone simply referred to as TheArchiveGuy - someone who tracked down and recovered the Lunar Children servers for the sake of his friends. Shortly after this, Tyler was seen browsing the site in a video upload when suddenly he heard a loud bang on the side of his trailer. When he went outside to investigate, Tyler discovered a Detour Sign sitting in his yard. This Detour Sign had strange properties - whenever Tyler attempted to leave its vicinity, it would teleport him back in-front of it. Whenever Tyler would touch the sign, it would teleport him to a random location around the woods.

Greth Vlogs

Greth under Patrem's influence.

Around this time, a player named Greth began uploading vlogs to a YouTube channel named Greth Vlogs. While these videos were originally believed to be unrelated to Johnisdead, players quickly began to take notice of strange happenings within them. Strange, figures could occasionally be seen in the backgrounds of these videos, such as a figure wearing a silver alien mask, another figure wearing a white fish-like mask, and what appeared to be a green-tinted entity representing one of the four giants stalking Greth. Over time, Greth began suffering from a severe case of insomnia, and there seemed to be lapses in his memory as well.

Believing these recent issues to be a result of his new home, Greth decided to take a hiking trip through the Floridan wilderness. While trekking through the woods, Greth came across Tyler, who had just been teleported by the Detour Sign. The two later met up again and began hanging out together. Here, Greth and Tyler ask each other questions about the cults and their experiences with them. It seems as though Tyler has been doing some research of his own into the cults and their histories. Tyler also claims that he has made contact with "TheArchiveGuy", revealing that their real name is José.

Unfortunately, Greth's insomnia only worsened. Fearing for his health at this point, the players submitted the song Goron's Lullaby in an attempt to help him fall asleep. This backfired, however, as it was then revealed that Patrem was now residing inside Greth. Now that the players had put Greth to sleep, Patrem was in full control of his body. Not long after this, a new website was discovered to be linked on Johnisdead.com - Astralobservatory.net.

The Astral Observatory

The Astral Observatory forums.

The Astral Observatory appeared to be a site for those who believe in conspiracy theories, the paranormal, and other such things to gather and discuss their beliefs. The site was ran by a user named Nocta. Nocta seemed to have knowledge of Johnisdead.com and the Internet Detectives. Nocta says that Johnisdead.com is responsible for Astralobservatory.net going offline, claiming that somehow bandwidth was stolen from them. This supposedly erased Astral Observatory's forums and caused the site to go offline.

Fortunately, a few days later, the Astral Observatory forums were recreated. Here, players were introduced to several new characters - Moonman, the resident troll and Vaporwave enthusiast, Yuukichan, an anime fangirl who is interested in the paranormal, NotAHoax, a man who is obsessed with political conspiracies, and Samuel_Charleston, a mysterious old man who hadn't made any posts. Players began signing up for the forums and chatting with the users there, quickly becoming friends with them.

Tyler showing the photo of Hank and Diana.

Something was off about the Astral Observatory, however. The forums contained a locked board titled "The Truth" that Nocta warned players to not to try and enter. Talk of Johnsidead.com was hushed, as if it were a taboo subject Nocta did not want users discussing - even Moonman seemed to question Nocta's narrative of the site stealing Astralobservatory.net's bandwidth. In addition to all of this, the Astral Observatory members seemed to have some knowledge of the players - Yuukichan revealed that she knew they were related to the story of "Ben Drowned", implying some discussion about the players was taking place among the Astral Observatory members in a secret location - possibly in "The Truth". Just as well, in an announcement posted on the front page, Nocta warned the other Astral Observatory members to welcome the players with open arms, but to also keep a close eye on them, seemingly hoping to somehow indoctrinate the players to their cause.

Meanwhile, back on Silentdork, Tyler began hosting his first livestream. During this stream, Tyler showed off several items he found outside his home - a photo of Hank and Diana, a red, demon-looking mask, and a gas mask. Tyler also mentioned that his bullet-shaped necklace has recently gone missing. Halfway through the stream, Tyler leaves his room. During this time, the lights begin flickering as SKM enters the room. SKM takes back the gas mask, revealing that it was his. He also returns Tyler's bullet necklace, implying that he has somehow recovered Max's soul and placed it within the necklace itself.

On November 11th, 2018, players began sharing some of their favorite songs on the Astral Observatory forums. Nocta himself chipped in, linking to an upload of the song Sky Children by Kaleidoscope hosted on his own channel. Strangely, this channel was named Kevin Hendricks. This seems to imply that Nocta is somehow related to both Ryukaki and Kevin. The video itself was also strange, seemingly showcasing dark footage of a ritual involving Tyler.

Covert Disclosure

As the players were struggling to discern what exactly was taking place in Nocta's footage, they were suddenly messaged by Moonman, who presented them with a clearer version of the video. Moonman offered to give the players more information regarding Nocta and the Astral Observatory should they provide him with a secure location to do so. The player Wolfcat then created a Discord server titled Safehaven, named after SKM's various secure chatrooms from 2015. Here, Moonman began revealing more information about the Astral Observatory.

The entity wearing the alien mask.

Moonman claimed that Nocta was indeed the same Kevin known as Regiminis - in a way, at least. He wasn't sure exactly how the two were related, exactly - only that they are. As for himself, Moonman reveals that he is actually Greth, only from an alternate timeline the players began to dub the Astral Timeline. In order to differenciate discussion of this timeline from their own, the players began referring to their own timeline as the Prime Timeline. Moonman revealed that he had met several Astral Observatory members in person, implying that the entirety of the Astral Observatory and its members - aside from the players - is housed within the Astral Timeline.

Over time, Moonman made it clear that something sinister was taking place in the depths of the Astral Observatory. As the players were discussing this, however, Nocta suddenly joined the Safehaven Discord server, confronting Moonman. The two had an argument. Moonman asked Nocta why he is doing what he is doing, wishing for him to simply stop. Nocta refused, claiming that he and the players were only seeing one side of the story and calling them fools. Nocta later departed from the server, vaugely threatening the players. Shortly after this, Moonman was attacked by the entity wearing an alien mask seen in Greth Vlog videos. While the players were able to ward him off with a bow and arrow, confusion over their situation only grew.

Meanwhile, back on the Astral Observatory forums, a returning Astral Observatory member joined the forums - a snide gamer and avid role-player named Kaiden Zoromichi. While Kaiden and Yuukichan were catching up, Nocta approached the player ARGdov, questioning his allegiance. Up until this point, ARGdov had portrayed himself as detached from the other players, presenting himself as if he were truly interested in Nocta's way of thinking. This resulted in ARGdov being given access to "The Truth" board on Astral Observatory, where he was congratulated and greeted by the other members. Unfortunately, not much information could be found on this board - only a deleted thread that supposedly once contained information relating to the Internet Detectives.

Yuukichan's photos.

Moonman was surprised to see that ARGdov had been given access to "The Truth" so quickly. He believed this implied that Nocta was desperate for followers for some reason. Moonman continued assisting the players in various ways. He managed to hack the Greth Vlogs channel and upload a video of someone walking through a wooded trail. Strangely, this video was later renamed to Joyous Parallelos. Back on the forums, strange things began happening. Yuukichan began acting odd after supposedly visiting her mother's house, which she claimed was haunted by ghosts. She claimed that she had taken photos of it, but for some reason, the photos were now lost and wouldn't upload. Frustrated, Yuukichan claimed that she wished she could simply "will things into existence". Shortly after this, a new page was discovered on Johnisdead.com containing these same photos. This seemed to imply that Yuukichan had been ascended and had some influence over the site. Back in the Safehaven Discord server, Moonman revealed that most of the Astral Observatory's true secretive discussions happen in a hidden part of the site simply known as the Subspace. He informs the players that their main goal should be getting into the Subspace, though it is currently locked and he no longer knows the password.

On April 23rd, 2019, several videos were uploaded to Greth Vlogs and Silentdork. These videos included footage of someone bowing before the haunted Majora's Mask cartridge, Tyler wandering around his yard in a daze, and Alex, the giant, informing the players that Tyler has been taken somewhere. Before the players could process all of this, Astralobservatory.net began distorting and underwent several changes. Through these distortions and some hacking from Moonman, players discovered a thread in which Yuukichan's spirit revealed that she had indeed been ascended, confirming their fears.

Our Horizon Arc

The Our Horizon Arc is the longest running arc in Johnisdead. Because of this, it has been split into multiple sections.

Our Horizon Arc - Part One

In the previous arc, players discovered that their fellow Internet Detective Greth had begun a YouTube channel named Greth Vlogs. While these videos started out normal, it was quickly discovered that Greth was being stalked by masked figures. Over time, Greth developed insomnia and it was revealed that Patrem now dwelled inside his body, slowly possessing him.

Meanwhile, Tyler began doing his own research into the Lunar Children. While doing so, he discovered that the Lunar Children's servers had been recovered by a man named José, who was investigating the cult as well. While the cult no longer seemed to exist, strange things still occurred around Tyler - he was now in possession of a strange bullet-shaped necklace of unknown origin, and a Detour Sign appeared outside his home that would teleport him to a random location around the woods if touched.

Later on, the players discovered a strange organization called the Astral Observatory. This group seemed to have connections to the Lunar Children, and its owner, Nocta, was inducting vulnerable people into its ranks for unknown, nefarious reasons. Players befriended the various Astral Observatory members - a troll named Moonman, a fangirl named Yuukichan, a conspiracy theorist named NotAHoax, and an edgy roleplayer named Kaiden Zoromichi. Moonman began contacting the players in private, relaying information about the Astral Observatory's inner-workings. It was revealed that the Astral Observatory and its members were actually from a completely separate timeline known as the Astral Timeline, and Moonman himself was actually the Astral Timeline version of Greth.

Moonman informed the players about the Subspace - a secret section of the Astral Observatory containing all of the cult's secrets. Unfortunately the page was locked behind a password, and the players were unable to access it. The clock was ticking, though - one of the Astral Observatory members, Yuukichan, had just been ascended. It was also implied that Tyler had recently been taken someplace, meaning malicious forces are on the move.

Beginning of the End

In July of 2019, strange videos began appearing on the Silentdork YouTube channel. These videos seemed to be from a being calling itself "IIIII". This being actually contained two separate entities that spoke cryptically. It was often difficult to understand them, as it wasn't always apparent which entity was speaking at any given time. One entity often spoke in runes and seemed more docile, while the other one appeared malicious, craving destruction. One of these entities claimed that it wished for everything to end, seemingly wanting to kill Tyler. When asked where Tyler currently is, this entity revealed that they are currently in the Parallelos.

Tyler in the Parallelos.

Several days later, another returning Astral Observatory member joined the forums - IsocelesAssassin. Strangely, IsocelesAssassin seemed to possess the ability to use Ocarina powers just like the players, perhaps implying that he is an alternate version of one of the Internet Detectives just like Moonman. This was confirmed when a corade of IsocelesAssassin, GHOSTBABEL, contacted the players over Discord, revealing that IsocelesAssassin is the Astral Timeline version of the player CircleHunter. GHOSTBABEL is a ghostly entity of sorts. Similar to Drowned, GHOSTBABEL exists within electronic devices and can move data at will. While GHOSTBABEL often speaks in a hostile tone towards the players, they are a valuable ally and a good friend of IsocelesAssassin.

GHOSTBABEL informs the players that their main objective at the moment is to enter the Subspace on Astralobservatory.net, and that they, IsocelesAssassin, and another group of allied hackers are currently concocting a plan that will allow the players to gain access. Before they departed, however, GHOSTBABEL left the players with a startling revelation - most of them are dead in the Astral Timeline. The next time Moonman got online, the players hounded him with questions. Moonman revealed shortly after the events of Youshouldnthavedonethat.net in the Astral Timeline in early 2017, Nocta joined the Internet Detectives. Nocta and Moonman became good friends. However, in early 2018, Nocta suddenly left the group. Shortly thereafter, most of the Internet Detectives were killed by a traitor, leaving only Moonman, IsocelesAssassin, and a Spanish user named Yugi. Afterwards, sometime in mid-2018, Moonman and IsocelesAssassin infiltrated the Astral Observatory in an attempt to undermine and stop Nocta.

Moonman trapped within the Subspace.

Meanwhile, the players discovered that Johnisdead.com was now locked. GHOSTBABEL returned to the players and informed them that their allies are currently working on a plan the allow the players to re-enter the site. Before these plans could progress, however, disaster struck - Moonman was attacked seemingly trapped within a pocket of the Parallelos. GHOSTBABEL offered to assist the players in saving Moonman in exchange for Helper's Hat. The players were unsure of where Helper's Hat could be located, however. GHOSTBABEL revealed that the Astral Timeline version of Helper's Hat was actually in IsocelesAssassin's possession. GHOSTBABEL wanted the players' version - the Prime Timeline version of Helper's Hat. The players agreed and took GHOSTBABEL up on their offer.

GHOSTBABEL hacked Astralobservatory.net, allowing the players to enter a small section of the Subspace. Here, after solving several puzzles, players found their version of Helper's Hat. Strangely, this version of Helper's Hat was implied to be guarded by a dead version of the player CircleHunter. The players had no time to dwell on this, however, as GHOSTBABEL de-stablized Astralobservatory.net, giving the players a chance to save Moonman through a series of submissions, the players were able to locate Moonman. Unfortunately, due to the players taking too long - along with an accidental submission of the song "Elegy of Emptiness" - Astralobservatory.net went offline. While GHOSTBABEL was able to bring the site back online, they warned there would be consequences.

GHOSTBABEL was successful - Astralobservatory.net returned, and the players were able to recover Moonman. Upon his return, Moonman said the experience was horrifying, but he knew the players were saving him. Strangely, though, Moonman also mentioned that when GHOSTBABEL restored the site, he witnessed an "orange entity".

The Five Lines

Meanwhile, back in the Internet Detectives Discord server, the IIIII entity seen on the Silentdork YouTube channel became active. Strangely, the IIIII entity spoke through Tyler's OoC non-canon Discord account. The two entities - which will now be referred to as the "Rune Entity" and the "Mask Entity", seemed to occasionally struggle for control of the IIIII account. Through these fractured conversations, it was revealed that IIIII doesn't just represent two entities, but five - each of the lines is seemingly its own entity. The Rune Entity claims that "The 2nd", or "II", is behind something called "Nullstorms". They also reveal that "The 3rd", or "III", is currently sleeping somewhere in the Parallelos.

One of the many images containing runes posted by IIIII.

Throughout these conversations, the Mask Entity repeatedly refers to itself as the "true father" while mocking the players, whereas the Rune Entity refers to the players as its friends and seeks to assist them. One night, during a call, the Rune Entity was attacked by the Mask Entity. The players were able to rescue the Rune Entity via their Ocarina powers by teleporting the Mask Entity away. The players used this opportunity to ask the Rune Entity its true identity, but they were unable to get a full answer - the Rune Entity was only able to answer "I'm another-".

Over in the Safehaven Discord server, IsocelesAssassin began clearing up some questions surrounding the Astral Timeline. He claimed that the Astral Timeline was very similar to the Prime Timeline. One major difference is that Greth, of course, was never possessed by Patrem, since Moonman is perfectly normal. Instead, someone else was taken over by Patrem, but IsocelesAssassin can't reveal who. IsocelesAssassin believes that the Astral Timeline Tyler has been captured and is currently being contained somewhere, but he doesn't know where. Moonman later revealed another difference - he was absent through a portion of The Truth Arc - specifically during the "Circle of Three" held by Jeremy. In the Prime Timeline, Greth was one of the players chosen for the Circle of Three. Since Moonman was absent, however, the player Mugen Kagemaru took his place.

Things in the Internet Detectives Discord server became stranger. Similar to Tyler and IIIII, Greth's OoC non-canon Discord account suddenly became active as well, posting cryptic messages about "Aggregation" and the "Meta". Confusion spread when Greth's OoC account would occasionally chip in during canon conversations with Moonman. When players asked who the entity using Greth's OoC account was, he simply responded with "Greth". "Greth" began acting maliciously towards the players, tricking them into submitting the song "Elegy of Emptiness" with the Ocarina powers and chiding them repeatedly. Though this entity was a malicious Greth, it's behavior was more playful than Patrem, leading players to believe this entity was a version of Greth separate from both Moonman and the Prime Greth, perhaps implying that a third timeline is somehow involved.

In October of 2019, Yuukichan's spirit began speaking to the players in the Safehaven Discord server. Yuuki most spoke through broken, cryptic sentences, warning the players about some sort of hooded entity represented by a "Jack-o-lantern emoji". Over time, the appearance of this hooded entity changed - the hood now morphing into a set of pointed ears. Yuukichan warned that an event would occur on Halloween, telling the players to prepare. Oddly, Yuukichan singled out the player Wolfcat, asking if they were okay.

Deceitful Individuals

An image of Pumpkinhead.

On October 30th, 2019, an event known as the Pumpkinhead Gamejack began - a period in which the player Wolfcat pretended to be overtaken by a malicious entity named Pumpkinhead. The players Jos and CircleHunter also joined in on the gamejack, believing it to be nothing more than an innocent prank. During this period, a new user joined the Internet Detectives Discord server - Erika. Erika appeared to be a Johnisdead fangirl, often expressing her excitement over seeing Tyler in upcoming videos.

The gamejack continued until November 9th, 2019, when Wolfcat suddenly left the Internet Detectives Discord server. Tyler had seemingly broken character out of rage, removing Wolfcat from the Discord server for the gamejack. The fact that everything that had happened the past week wasn't actually canon took players by surprise. While this was happening, Erika was attempting to get Tyler's attention. Starstruck, Erika expressed her love for Tyler's videos and Johnisdead as a whole. Tyler was still enraged, however, and repeatedly insulted Erika until she left the server.

Erika's avatar.

After this, Tyler uplaoded a video to Silentdork announcing that Johnisdead was over and that none of it was real. However, this ended up not being the case. Just as the players expected the video to end, it continued going. As the video played several minutes of a solid, black screen, the Silentdork account - likely being controlled by the Mask Entity - went on an enraged rant on how it wished everything would simply end. This all seems to imply that Tyler acting aggressive earlier towards Erika and Wolfcat was simply an act - likely a ploy by the Mask Entity. After a few minutes, the video suddenly began showing footage of what happened to Tyler on April 23rd, 2019. Tyler was attacked by Prime Greth, who was being controlled by Patrem. In order to escape, Tyler jumped onto the Detour Sign, which teleported him into the Parallelos. Here, Tyler crossed a strange bridge, coming into contact with a white, mannequin-like entity.

Over the next few days, Wolfcat rejoined the Internet Detectives Discord server and apologized for the supposed Pumpkinhead Gamejack. Erika also rejoined the Discord server and began chatting with the players once more. Players discovered Erika's YouTube channel - "Emerald Heart". Here, Players found a music video she had created using Johnisdead footage that the players had not yet seen. Upon seeing this, the players immediately assumed she was canon. Erika vehemently denied this, however, claiming that she had gotten her footage from unarchived Silentdork videos and footage from another YouTube channel - Quiet Family.

One of the many cryptic images posted by BUP relating to "Aggregation" and the Meta.

Over time, players discovered that the channel "Quiet Family" actually belonged to SKM's brother, Max. While the debate over whether or not Erika was raging on, Greth's OoC account became active once again. The players were finally given a name for this entity claiming to be Greth - "BUP". BUP seems incredibly powerful, having great knowledge of the ARG itself, the ability to take over GHOSTBABEL's account, and retroactively kill Yuukichan.

Two of BUP's acquaintences joined the Internet Detectives Discord server as well - The Producer and TheLaw. The Producer was a friendly entity that seemed to only be focused on endlessly producing content for BUP and others, such as images and audio. He seemed familiar with the players and often joked around with them. TheLaw appeared to be the user who first introduced the players to YSHDT.com, beginning Johnisdead way back in 2015. TheLaw was implied to be a tool, if nothing else - they simply followed orders they were given by BUP. The Producer claimed that the IIIII entity was their leader, in a way. This seemed to imply that IIIII, BUP, The Producer, and TheLaw were their own organization of sorts - a group of beings with incredible knowledge over the Johnisdead world and the ability to affect its reality.

In reference to IIIII, Erika claimed that the lines themselves are likened to five separate layers of being, and that they can mean different things to different people. She makes reference to the "Kabbalah" to better explain this. Related to this, BUP later claimed that they themselves were about "IIII" layers of Greth, implying that they are indeed a version of Greth - though a powerful, altered one.

Familiar Faces

On January 3rd, 2020, SKM managed to contact the players over Discord. Here, SKM revealed that he was now trapped in the Parallelos as well. He is currently living in some woods near a strange building where he can connect to the internet. He claims that the Parallelos is incredibly dark and that he can only see things when he views them through cameras or devices. SKM has heard several voices inside his head since he became trapped in the Parallelos. Before the players were able to get more information out of him, however, another accidental submission of the song "Elegy of Emptiness" resulted in him suddenly disappearing.

Tyler proceeding through Alex's trial in the Parallelos.

A few weeks later, another character returned - Vincent. Vincent explained to the players that just before the cataclysm occurred at The Spire, he was suddenly freed from Patrem's influence. While he managed to escape The Spire, he eventually found himself pulled into the Parallelos, where he went through a terrifying journey of stagnation and acceptance. Vincent claimed that he was about to accept death as a large "Nullstorm" approached him. He describes the "Nullstorm" as a massive storm of darkness with a tendril at the center - this tendril is part of an Absque Fascie. Before he was destroyed, Vincent was saved by an "Angel", who took him out of the Parallelos, leading him back home. Back on the Silentdork YouTube channel, Tyler's journey through the Parallelos continued. Tyler is spoken to by Alex, who begins testing him in some sort of "Trial". Tyler can be seen lying in a hospital bed as the camera zooms through the heart monitor screen.

Meanwhile, on Greth Vlogs, Greth suddenly returned, once again uploading vlogs and hosting live streams. While he no longer seemed to be under Patrem's control, it now seemed as though he was under BUP's influence. Months later, BUP showcased a strange cassette tape to the players - "Ascended E-girl", a tape fashioned with strange images of Yuukichan. After this cassette went live, Yuukichan spoke to the players for a final time over Discord, asking the players to "free us from our dungeon", referring to both herself and someone she calls "AW" - an entity represented by a "Poe in a Bottle" from the Legend of Zelda series.

A figure believed to be Synchron.

A few weeks later, players discovered that Patrem had become active on the Within Hubris forums for the first time in many years. Patrem spoke in a much more nuanced tone than before - rather than constantly outright berating the players with a pompous attitude, he instead spoke somewhat humbly, answering the players questions with cryptic riddles. Throughout these conversations, Patrem praised a great mage named Synchron, who he claimed spoke in symbols while casting at an altar in the "fourth world". This all sounded similar to the Rune Entity that spoke through the IIIII account, implying that perhaps the Rune Entity, Synchron, and "IIII" or "The Fourth" are all the same. Patrem also mentioned an entity known as "The Great Author", who he claimed is more powerful than even Luna.

In addition to Synchron and "The Great Author", Patrem spoke of "The Dark One", likely in reference to Tenebris. Patrem claimed that "The Dark One" is the opposite of "The Author", and is possibly "I", meaning that "The First", or the singular "I" in "IIIII" may represent Tenebris. Patrem also spoke cryptically of "The Machine" - something he claims to be within, as well as "Dream Spheres", which seem to be separate realms of sorts.

On April 20th, 2020, IsocelesAssassin, GHOSTBABEL, and Moonman all met with the players in the Safehaven Discord server. Here, they finally unvieled their plan to the players. IsocelesAssassin had befriended a group of hackers who finished creating a Data Bomb for the players to use. The hacker group was going to send the Data Bomb to GHOSTBABEL, who would retrieve it using Helper's Hat. Then, GHOSTBABEL would transfer it to the player ARGdov, who would use his special access to "The Truth" board on the Astral Observatory forums to blow a hole in the site's security, allowing the players to finally enter the Subspace.

However, when GHOSTBABEL received the bomb file, something was off - the bomb itself was missing. In its place was an orange, distorted image of the player Wolfcat. Shortly after this, Wolfcat revealed that he was actually Pumpkinhead and that the entirety of the Pumpkinhead Gamejack was staged so that the players would disregard any notion that he was actually canon. Players soon discovered that Wolfcat's avatar had slowly been growing darker over time as well. In addition to this, Wolfcat had been hiding any mention of the "Orange Entity" and meta-related subject matter from the players ARG archives.

The Safehaven Discord server began distorting. Players were able to access a previously locked chatroom which contained conversations between Wolfcat and Pumpkinhead dating back to October of 2019. In these conversations, Wolfcat pleaded with Pumpkinhead to not harm his friends. Pumpkinhead seemed to be using Wolfcat as a "mask" of sorts, similarly to how Tenebris used Ben. This allowed him to replicate Wolfcat for many months, fooling others into believing he was the real Wolfcat. Wolfcat seemed to disappear from these conversations around the time BUP released the "Ascended E-girl" cassette, much to Pumpkinhead's dismay.

The "Data Bomb" used to blow open the Subspace.

Soon after this, the Safehaven Discord server was deleted. Fortunately, GHOSTBABEL managed to contact the players by using Helper's Hat to upload a video to the "M" YouTube channel. Here, Helper directed the players to the location of a second "Data Bomb" hosted on Doug's old blog, Letschasethemouse. The players recovered the bomb and posted it in "The Truth" board on Astral Observatory. This caused the site to distort, allowing the players to finally access The Subspace.

Here, players found various pages detailing beliefs spread among the Astral Observatory members. Along with some Lunar Children beliefs relating to the Parallelos, a new term was discovered - "Aggregation" - the act of fusing with your other selves across space and time. Several old chatlogs were also spread across the site, wherein it was revealed that IsocelesAssassin and the former Astral Observatory member Yugi hatched some sort of plan together to undermine Nocta. Finally, players discovered a timer counting down to April 23rd, 2020. When this timer hit zero, it became a link to Johnisdead.com - the players once again had access to the site.

Our Horizon Arc - Part Two

In the previous section, players were introduced to several powerful beings who held great knowledge pertaining to the Johnisdead world. These entities were an alternate, malicious version of Greth named BUP, a friendly artist who creates content for the others named The Producer, a steadfast underling who seemingly kicked off all of Johnisdead named TheLaw, and a series of entities using Tyler's account named IIIII. The different I's within IIIII all seem to represent different characters. The single "I" is implied to be Tenebris, whereas the four "IIII"'s seem to represent a powerful rune-casting mage named Synchron. While the other I's are unknown, it's said that the two "II"'s represent someone trapped behind "Nullstorms" - storms of darkness surrounding Absque Fascie in the Parallelos - whereas the three "III"'s represent someone sleeping within the Parallelos.

As for our other characters, players discovered that Tyler had been attacked by Patrem using Greth's body. In an attempt to escape, Tyler hopped onto the Detour Sign, which teleported him into the Parallelos. Tyler is now on a terrifying journey through the Parallelos, where the giant Alex seems to be testing him by forcing him through a strange hotel of sorts. Meanwhile, a new Astral Observatory member introduced themselves to the players - IsocelesAssassin, the Astral Timeline version of the player Circlehunter. IsocelesAssassin is assisted by a spirit named GHOSTBABEL, who begrudgingly assists the players. Through their conversations, it was revealed that the Internet Detectives in the Astral Timeline were all killed by a traitor.

To punish him for his treachery, Nocta trapped Moonman within a pocket of the Parallelos. Fortunately, the players were able to save him with the help of GHOSTBABEL. However, this act allowed a malicious entity to enter into our realm - Pumpkinhead. For many months, Pumpkinhead pretended to be the player Wolfcat - this was done because Pumpkinhead was seemingly using a dead version of Wolfcat as a mask. Meanwhile, another user joined the players - Erika, an avid fangirl of Tyler and Johnisdead in general. Debates over whether or not Erika was canon raged on for many months - Erika would always vehemently deny being canon whenever her status was brought into question. Despite this, she seemed to have a supply of unseen Johnisdead footage that she claims was given to her by SKM's brother Max through a channel known as "Quiet Family".

Meanwhile, various old charaters returned to the forefront. SKM contacted the players over Discord, revealing that he was now trapped in the Parallelos as well. Vincent returned, explaining that he was freed from Patrem's influence just before the cataclysm destroyed The Spire in 2016. While he managed to escape, he was later pulled into the Parallelos, though he was eventually saved from it by an "angel".

IsocelesAssassin, Moonman, GHOSTBABEL, and a group of hackers worked together to send the players a "Data Bomb", which would allow them to break into the elusive "Subspace" on Astral Observatory. Things went awry, however, when Pumpkinhead revealed himself, stealing the "Data Bomb" and deleting the players' Discord server. Fortunately, the players were able to retrieve a second "Data Bomb" via Helper's Hat, which the player ARGdov posted in "The Truth" board of Astral. This corrupted the site, finally allowing the players to enter the Subspace. Here, players discovered beliefs spread among the Astral Observatory members relating to the Lunar Children and "Aggregation" - the concept of fusing with your other-selves across space and time. After exploring the site for some time, players discovered a countdown to April 23rd, 2020. When it reached zero, players regained access to Johnisdead.com.

Digital Labyrinths

The new front page of Johnisdead.com.

Johnisdead.com had been completely reworked. The site now contained "Paths" players could follow - long strings of distorted roads and highways that led players to hidden pages. One of these paths led players to a series of pages that appears to have once been a holding cell for José, implying that he was at some point either ascended or trapped within the Parallelos. While José was gone, left behind was a card and a message revealing that soon José's scripts would activate, assisting the players.

Through various other pages on the site, it was revealed that José was actually Yugi - the missing Astral Observatory member mentioned by IsocelesAssassin. These pages contained Astral Observatory chatlogs in which Nocta asked Yugi to travel back in time and enter the Prime Timeline so he could recover the Lunar Children servers. The virtual reality internet browser JanusVR also saw its return, along with Fakeworld and a new Janus room of what appears to be a long highway in the Parallelos.

Back in the Internet Detectives Discord server, BUP began to divulge a bit of his backstory to the players. BUP revealed that long ago, when he was still mortal, he went by the name Nocta and owned an organization known as the Astral Observatory. However, this Nocta and Astral Observatory are not the same one the players are familiar with - BUP confirms that he originated from a completely separate timeline - a third timeline that was neither the Prime Timeline nor the Astral Timeline. Before he departs, BUP confirms that he ascended himself, which is partially why he is so powerful.

One of the many strange Janus rooms found on Johnisdead.com.

Meanwhile, TheLaw began conspiring with the players. TheLaw allied themselves with the players, turning against BUP and his ways. Through these conversations, it is established that TheLaw has some connection to the player Dawn Of A New Day - the GM of the first arc of Johnisdead. TheLaw assists the players in accessing Dawn's desktop through a remote program. Here, players discovered many files relating to a cult known as the Sun Children - a religious order that worships the sun. This seems to imply that the player dawn was a sun cultist all along. Players also discovered a way to access a new Janus room on Johnisdead.com - a recreation of The Spire.

The Spire contained many computers players could browse, which revealed chatlogs among various Lunar Children. Through these conversations, it's implied that Hunter went missing shortly after Undecim Nocte 2015. This was also around the time Mat went missing as well. Players also discovered a hidden attic that contained walls covered in ciphers. One of these ciphers revealed that the version of Wolfcat being used by Pumpkinhead was referred to as an "Astral Mask", which seems to imply that sometime after the Astral Timeline version of Wolfcat was killed, Pumpkinhead began using him as a mask. The Spire also hid links to several other strange Janus rooms, one of which contained a tombstone for someone named Luke.

Regrouping

After a month of silence, the players were finally able to establish contact with the Astral Observatory members once again. IsocelesAssassin, Moonman, and GHOSTBABEL began speaking to the players in a new board on the Astral Observatory forums titled "Safehaven". Here, IsocelesAssassin finally began explaining a bit more of his history. He revealed that he was actually "The Gray Man" - the enigmatic figure seen in the first arc of Johnisdead. IsocelesAssassin explains that in 2018, the Astral Observatory accidentally picked up transmissions from the "hacker group". IsocelesAssassin contacted the hacker group in secret, sharing information with them. He quickly discovered that the hacker group was from a third, separate timeline as well - just like BUP.

The storm drain Mason died in.

Together, IsocelesAssassin and the hacker group concocted a plan together. After sending him some supplies and gadgets, IsocelesAssassin went back in time using his Ocarina powers to 2009. Here, he traded Mason a card for Helper's Hat, just as the players had witnessed back in the first arc of Johnisdead. IsocelesAssassin explains that this card, as well as the one seen on Johnisdead associated with José, were strange anomalies found near the bodies of the deceased Internet Detectives in the Astral Timeline. IsocelesAssassin also installed a transmission device atop a cellphone tower - something seen in videos on the "M" YouTube channel back in 2015.

Despite his best efforts, IsocelesAssassin could not save Mason from the storm drain. While Mason died, IsocelesAssassin was able to store his soul in one of the devices given to him by the hacker group. IsocelesAssassin and Mason travelled together for the next few years until early 2012, when they were attacked by Regiminis. Fortunately, IsocelesAssassin was able to escape using his Ocarina powers, noting that, for some reason, Regiminis seemed to be weakened. Sadly, Mason had to be left behind, trapped within the device. This explains why IsocelesAssassin possessed the Helper's Hat - he obtained it back in 2009 as The Gray Man.

IsocelesAssassin also explains some differences between the Astral Timeline and the Prime Timeline. First off, SKM in the Astral Timeline was an enemy of the players, seemingly being a bloodthirsty entity that relentlessly hunted down Max. Secondly, Drowned seemingly did not exist in the Astral Timeline. Instead, Max took his place, assisting the players where Drowned likely did so in the Prime Timeline. Finally, Helper never assisted the players on the Lunar Children forums as he did in the Prime Timeline. The video "Regiminis" was also never uploaded in the Astral Timeline.

IsocelesAssassin believes that Nocta wanted Yugi - José - to retrieve the Lunar Children servers in the Prime Timeline to further link the Astral and Prime Timelines for some reason. However, José never intended to do this - instead, he began investigating the servers in the hopes of finding a way to save his friends. Unfortunately, José's treachery was discovered and he was locked in the Parallelos as punishment.

Back in the Internet Detectives Discord server, players continued chatting with players. A conversation with The Producer led to the reveal that he was actually a powerful version of Wolfcat - similar to how BUP is a powerful version of Greth, and how TheLaw has connections to Dawn of a New Day. Not long after this, Pumpkinhead became active in the server once more, taunting the players again. In a display of his power, Pumpkinhead corrupted and deleted a large portion of the Johnisdead Wiki. Following this, Pumpkinhead expressed his boredom with having to wait for his previous mask, the Astral Timeline version of Wolfcat, to return. Instead, he decided to take the spirit of another character as his mask - a dead version of IsocelesAssassin that was previously seen guarding Helper's Hat on the Subspace.

The dead version of IsocelesAssassin found on in the Subspace.

GHOSTBABEL and IsocelesAssassin were both confused by this - they had no idea that a dead version of IsocelesAssassin even existed. Several days later, Erika became active in the Internet Detectives Discord server, sharing another video that contained yet unseen Johnisdead footage. Before the players could discuss much with her, however, Pumpkinhead interjected, revealing a link to the new Johnisdead wiki. This wiki clearly listed Erika as a canon character. Shocked and saddened, Erika lamented the fact that this had to happen so soon. She then said her goodbyes before disappearing from the Internet Detectives Discord server completely.

Meanwhile, players continued exploring Johnisdead.com. This led them to another Janus room - a prison where the player Dawn was being held captive by malicious spirits. Through the submission of the "Sun's Song", players were able to free him. This was later confirmed in an upload to Silentdork showing Dawn of a New Day breaking free from some sort of machine he was hooked up to. After this, Dawn began checking in with the players on the Discord server. He revealed to them that he was currently travelling to Florida to recover a holy book that belonged to the Sun Children.

Dawn and Greth engaged in battle.

Not long afer this, a video was uploaded to Silentdork - Konvergenz. This video contained footage of TheLaw being attacked and killed by a strange, blue, frog-like entity - likely a beast sent by BUP to punish TheLaw for his betrayal. After this, Tyler's journey continues. Previously, Tyler was seen lying in a hospital bed. As the camera zooms through the heart monitor, Tyler can be seen waking up in some woods. As he wandered through the forest, he came across a cart containing his clothes - as well as the Majora's Mask cartridge. Tyler is suddenly confronted by the white, mannequin-like entity once again, resulting in Tyler being taken to a hotel-like location.

This location is implied to be Alex's "Hall of Fame" - likely a part of the trial he is placing Tyler under. As Tyler explored the hotel, a familiar voice began speaking to him - Erika, who was now acting as a guide to him, similar to Navi in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. As Tyler walked through the hotel, he was suddenly attacked by Regiminis. Tyler and Erika narrowly managed to escape into an elevator as the video ended.

Meanwhile, Dawn finally completes his long trek to Florida. Here, he recovered his holy Sun Children book, but not before he was attacked by a sword-wielding Greth. The two engaged in combat. Dawn narrowly managed to ward off Greth, allowing him to recover his book and leave. Strangely, at the end of this video, the players are given a "Rook" chess piece that seems to represent Dawn.

Pumpkinhead's Sanctum

Pumpkinhead travelling through the Parallelos.

On June 20th, 2020, Pumpkinhead began challenging players with his new mask - the dead version of IsocelesAssassin. Initially, Pumpkinhead was impervious to damage due to the "Mirror Shield" he equipped back in the Safehaven Discord server. However, the players were able to circumvent this by stealing the shield away through a series of clever video submissions. Frightened, Pumpkinhead hid away in a pocket of the Astral Observatory Subspace called the "Sanctum", locking the Astral Observatory forums.

Players were aided through the "Sanctum" hole by the wandering spirit of Mason, who spoke through Morse code. While Mason attempted to explain more of his and IsocelesAssassin's history, things became a bit confusing. Mason seemed to have conflicting memories of IsocelesAssassin's escape. In one memory, IsocelesAssassin managed to escape back to the future - as described by the IsocelesAssassin players spoke to on the Astral Observatory forums. However, in another timeline, IsocelesAssassin was killed by Regiminis. This is likely the versioin of IsocelesAssassin that was currently being used as Pumpkinhead's mask.

A map of the "Sanctum" pages obtained by the players.

As the players progressed through the hole, they were tasked with submitting many videos to overcome various obstacles. The players' main objective in the "Sanctum" was to defeat five of Pumpkinheads' minions - bosses and enemies from Majora's Mask. Each time one of these minions were destroyed, players were given an SSTV signal that translated to a distorted screenshot of a location in Majora's Mask. In each of these screenshots, a "Gossip Stone" had been replaced with a "Bomber Gang Kid". Players were to go to each of these locations and strike the correct stones. Each time they successfully striked a stone, the players were given a piece of the password needed to log back into the Astral Observatory forums.

Upon completion of the "Sanctum" hole, players recovered the password to the Astral Observatory forums. This scared off Pumpkinhead, causing him to release his mask, the dead version of IsocelesAssassin, and flee. Shortly afterwards, a video was uploaded containing a message from the dead version of IsocelesAssassin and Mason. This video showcased their journeys together between 2009 and 2012. Here, the two can be seen exploring the fishery. While there, Mason claims that the various spirits housed there are speaking to him, telling him about SKM's recent activities there in late-2011. These spirits claim that SKM opened the briefcase to find only a gas mask. Later on, IsocelesAssassin and Mason can be seen approaching the cellphone tower that houses the transmission device he installed back in 2009. IsocelesAssassin claims that Mason himself created the transmission device - something that seems to make no sense.

As the two walk through a dark forest, they are suddenly attacked by Regiminis. IsocelesAssassin is killed, leaving Mason alone, trapped in the device. Over time, Mason's soul seems to manifest a body around the device, allowing him to move around freely. The video ends with real life footage of Mason charing the Spire, placing his device down next to it and starting a countdown. Not long after this video's upload, another video was showcased on Silentdork. This video contained final closing messages from IsocelesAssassin and Mason, who thank the players. In this video, Mason revealed that he blew up the Spire on April 23rd, 2016 by overloading his device, meaning he was responsible for the cataclysm that wiped out most of the Lunar Children.

At the end of this video, much like with Dawn before them, Mason and IsocelesAssassin are represented by two "Pawn" chess pieces that are then given to the players.

Virtual Expeditions

Ghostly figures found at the bottom of the Spire.

Over the past few months, more and more Janus rooms had been discovered. Throughout these rooms, players met a series of odd, ditigal characters - three brothers named Stackoverflow, Trapped, and Halicord. In addition to these three, a docile manta-ray like entity named Prominence would occasionally guide the players as well. One day, these entities led the players to the Spire Janus room, where players discovered they could now access the upper floors and the basement.

The upper floors of the Spire contained housing for the Elder Children. Here, players discovered some interesting chatlogs that revealed more about the cult's inner-workings. It is implied that, much to Thoth's shock, Hunter may have deliberately given Tyler his necklace back on Undecim Nocte 2015, thwarting the Lunar Children's so-called "ace in the hole". In addition to this, Thoth is outraged that Mat has continued communing with Tenebris in private. Instead of outright punishing him, however, Jinn suggests that they allow these meetings to continue - under heavy surveillance.

Another conversation reveals that Regiminis actually killed Helper back in 2016 when he was travelling to gift Tyler's necklace to the players - something they asked of him on the Lunar Children forums. Jinn claimed that Regiminis sealed his hat in the Parallelos and returned the necklace to the Lunar Children. The current whereabaouts of the necklace are unknown - Jinn claims to have hidden it in a location where no one will discover it. Strangely, Mat's computer contains no chatlogs. Instead, players discovered a text file on his computer detailing some other cult he is apparently a member of known as the "Order of Metatron".

The players discovered that the basement of the Spire was a giant, twisting labyrinth. Many locations here appeared similar to those seen in footage taken by Tyler while he was kidnapped by the cult in 2015, implying that he was held in the basement of the Spire. As the players worked their way deeper into the depths of the Spire, they discovered a massive ritual hall that contained four, large, empty chambers.

The Janus room Halicord was found in.

During their journey, Halicord and Stackoverflow were distressed over the disappearance of their brother, Trapped. They blamed the players for their brother's disappearance, claiming that they stepped into Janus worlds they were not supposed to, resulting in malevolent forces entering. Over time, the two remaining brothers got separate as well, leaving only Stackoverflow. The players and Prominence formed a search party, assisting Stackoverflow in travelling through the various Janus worlds in search of Halicord. At this point, the Janus worlds had all been expanded, now seamlessly linking from one to another. Fakeworld had expanded as well, now acting as a proper hub-world that connected to nearly all of the other Janus rooms.

Eventually, players discovered Halicord sitting at the bottom of a well. The two brothers reunited and regrouped back in Fakeworld. The players still needed to find Trapped, however. After much exploring, Trapped was finally discovered. Unfortunately, he was corrupted, and he died shortly after he was found. Stackoverflow and Halicord now had closure, however. They promised they would assist the players in the future if needed to repay them for all they had done.

As players continued exploring virtual worlds, they eventually discovered a recreation of the fishery. Here, a link was found that led players to an old upload on Vincent Adams' YouTube channel. This video was one of the first ones uploaded to the channel back in 2014 when Vincent was first beginning his sleep deprivation music experiments. Shockingly, Vincent's face is shown in this video, revealing him to actually be Jacob - Tyler's friend who went missing back in 2009. This implies that when Jacob was a player during the first arc of Johnisdead, he truly went through with the cult's initiation as provided by Mason, resulting in him later becoming known as Vincent.

Bits and Pieces

Moonman under watch of The Jaeger.

A series of concerning videos were uploaded to Moonman's YouTube channel. Moonman was now being haunted by the entity waring the alien mask - much like Greth before him. It was clear that he was slowly being driven insane in his own home due to paranoia and fear. Shortly after these videos were uploaded, GHOSTBABEL and IsocelesAssassin - the alive version of IsocelesAssassin that the players had been speaking to previously on the forums - contacted the players on the Astral Observatory forums. IsocelesAssassin revealed that soon they would establish contact with the hacker group once again.

Meanwhile, Kaiden informed the players that he was now on a journey on his own. Feeling responsible for Yuukichan's death, he wanted to make things right by assisting the players. Kaiden explained that he was currently on a trip across the country to investigate the deaths of the Internet Detectives in the Astral Timeline. While visiting the player Scout's residence, Kaiden discovered a "Two of Diamonds" card, similar to how cards were found around the bodies of other deceased Internet Detectives. Later on, he also visited the player Wolfcat's residence, only to find another card - a "Seven of Hearts". However, before Kaiden could tell the players more, he had to suddenly leave as something strange seemed to be occuring at Wolfcat's house.

Not long after, the entity wearing the alien mask joined the Astral Observatory forums, revealing his name for the first time - The Jaeger. The Jaeger taunted the players, claiming that Moonman was now in their possession and that an aggregation would soon take place. Fearing for his safety, players used their Ocarina powers to warp Moonman to IsocelesAssassin's house. This was a success - IsocelesAssassin was now looking over Moonman, slowly helping him recover his weeks of trauma.

While he was recovering, IsocelesAssassin gave the players their next objective - they were to search Johnisdead.com for a signal that was sent out by the hacker group and enter it into a page on Astralobservatory.net. This would allow them to begin contacting one another once again. After searching through various Janus worlds, the players found the code and successfully entered it into Astralobservatory.net. GHOSTBABEL congratulated the players on finding the code so quickly, informing them that they were currently awaiting a response from the hacker group.

The Detour Sign found in Tyler's yard.

Meanwhile, players discovered a series of Janus rooms that represented Tyler's house and surrounding areas. Here, several conversations were found from various characters. Through these conversations, it was revealed that Tyler will be forced to walk a path of sorts. A recurring anima is mentioned as well. In another conversation, IsocelesAssassin questions if the reason there are two of him - one alive and one dead - is because some sort of "temporal divergence" took place while he was in the past. In another conversation, Erika ponders the nature of the Janus worlds. She mentions a series of machines - one that resides above, and a network that resides "below". Through these conversations, a "fraternity of old men" is discussed serveral times.

Back on the Astral Observatory forums, GHOSTBABEL has successfully made contact with the hacker group, allowing the players to ask speak with them through pre-recorded messages. These calls reveal that the the members of the hacker group are Mason, Spencer, and a yet unknown third member - all from a third timeline separate from the Prime and Astral Timelines, as mentioned previously.

The hacker group reveals that some sort of terrible cataclysm destroyed their world around 2011 - the three of them barely managed to escape together. Even before this event, however, things were strange in their timeline. They claim that the four giants were never transcended, which is why he is still alive.

The hacker group also explains that SKM once worked alongside them as well - specifically the SKM from the Prime Timeline. In 2014, SKM made contact with them and worked alongside them for a bit, but he later disappeared - likely to avoid raising suspicion among the Lunar Children as he did not want to risk revealing his LiquidSaint persona.

Back in the Internet Detectives Discord server, BUP revealed more of his backstory. He confirmed that he was indeed from the same timeline as the hacker group. He claimed that he realized that his world was coming to an end, so he gained power, influence, and experience through his organization "The Astral Observatory" until he was able to successfully escape the timeline through a series of ascensions and aggregations. Through this conversation, BUP revealed that he was already successfully aggregated to Moonman, and that he could take control of him at any minute. Fearing for the safety of the other Astral Observatory members, the players warned them about this threat. However, Moonman himself saw these warnings. Feeling the best option was for him to leave as to not endanger his friends, Moonman left IsocelesAssassin's house.