Story (Full) 33

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The story so far...

In the previous section, TheLaw initiated a "Tournament of Souls" - a contest that involved digital versions of the players' souls battling one another. This was visualized in the form of a "Soul Calibur 6" tournament. The winner of this tournament ended up being the player Azura. Her prize was the ability to supposedly make a substantial choice in the future - though what exactly this would eventually result in is unknown...

Around this same time, SKM finally managed to contact the players. He confirmed that he was indeed within the Parallelos - a location that is usually very dark. However, when viewed through a camera, it takes on a distorted green appearance - as seen in recent Silentdork uploads. Though SKM seems to be his usual self, the Parallelos has definitely taken a toll on him. He's currently dwelling in a small camp he's set up in the woods next to a strange building that he's stealing wi-fi from. It's believed that this building actually belongs to the Rune Entity - mainly due to various runes scattered around and also the fact that the "IIIII" account is logged into its wi-fi connection. Interestingly, SKM claims he's seen several people coming and going from the Rune Entity's building. Sadly, SKM himself can't get too close to it - doing so gives him a headache.

SKM is also next to a large highway just beyond the woods. These are implied to be the "Paths" that Tyler will be tasked with walking. However, just like with the Rune Entity's building, getting too close to it causes SKM to get a headache. SKM also encountered two entities within the Parallelos. The first was a girl who casually spoke to SKM inside his mind - possibly Erika. The second was a malicious flannel-wearing entity who spoke in several voices - possibly Tenebris. SKM also mentioned a magical exclamation - "IO". This seems to be a vocalization of the "ᛇ" rune, which holds connection to the five lines - "ᛇᛇᛇᛇᛇ". Unfortunately, the players' conversation with SKM was cut short due to the sudden submission of the "Elegy of Emptiness"...

Afterwards, BUP contacted the players once again. Here, he finally revealed a bit more about his identity, claiming that he was somehow "IIII" layers of Greth. This implies that BUP is actually an alternate version of Greth similar to how "IIII" is an alternate version of Tyler. However, it can also be assumed that BUP is somehow connected to every alternate version of Greth in existence. BUP then challenged the players to a game - specifically a game of "Dungeons & Dragons". This game sprawled across three separate continuities and worlds - each contained within their own "Dream Bubble". While most of this game's story was completely self-contained and fictional, two entities within it were actually real - Yuukichan and Pumpkinhead. As a reminder, Pumpkinhead is indeed a canon entity - however, Wolfcat's depiction and actions as him during the Pumpkinhead Gamejack were not.

It seemed as though Pumpkinhead was trying to capture Yuukichan. Thankfully, the players had a method of helping her escape - Munnin. Munnin was a "Raven Spirit" that existed within a small "Raven Figurine". Munnin implied that Yuukichan's spirit would have to somehow be inserted inside of the "Raven Figurine" before the whole thing is somehow transferred over to the real world. Interestingly, the "Raven Figurine" featured a rune that was reminiscent of the Amiibo symbol. This implies that the real world version of the "Raven Figurine" may be an Amiibo - a small figurine sold by Nintendo that can store electronic information and add extra content to certain video games.

However, the Dungeons & Dragons game is derailed as The Producer suddenly takes it over, transforming it into an interactive webcomic reminiscent of "Weenie-Licked" - the player Wolfcat's old webcomic. Here, the players spoke with a comic version of Tyler who claimed that he had recently been to some sort of anime convention - one that he describes as an "eye-opening" experience. Afterwards, the players go to visit someone named Erik. This is presumably meant to represent the player Wolfcat, as his real name was also Erik. However, Erik seems to be missing. In his place is a spirit trapped within a glass bottle and a "Nine of Clubs" card.

The players then began speaking with The Producer directly. He gave them some hints regarding the nature of his identity. However, he was cut short when BUP suddenly returned and angrily ended the Dungeons & Dragons game entirely. While doing so, he implied that his very existence is dependent on him antagonizing the players - possibly explaining why he's so adamant on fulfilling the role of "A bad guy". Afterwards, Munnin contacted the players one more time before going dormant. Here, Munnin implied that the concept of three lines - "III" - is partially related to sleep and dreams. He also transformed himself into an egg-like object, telling the players to keep him safe... Unfortunately, Yuukichan and Pumpkinhead's current status is unknown.

The players had quite a bit to stew on. They eventually noticed that the various members of BUP's group all seemed to hold connections to the ARG's GM's. The Rune Entity was an alternate Tyler. BUP was an alternate Greth. TheLaw looked and acted very similar to Dawn. The Producer looked and acted very similar to Wolfcat. This could possibly link to how they somehow hold extended meta-related knowledge of the ARG... While all of this was taking place, BUP also "leaked" some important information - one that seemed to imply that some sort of fusion between Vincent's Astral and Prime Timeline counterparts was going to take place. It's implied that this process is what's known as "Aggregation"...

Character Summaries

Expand the section below to access a list of characters. Hover over their icons to view a brief summary covering their current status.

Relevant Characters

Tyler

BUP

The Producer

TheLaw

Rune Entity

Erika

Greth

SKM

Yuukichan

"Wolfcat"

Munnin

Vincent
Adams

Tenebris

Other Characters

John

Regiminis

Patrem

Mat
Hubbard

Moonman

IsocelesAssassin

GHOSTBABEL

Pumpkinhead

Astral
Tyler

Tyler00

Yugi

Kaiden
Zoromichi

NotAHoax

The Watcher

Nocta

Doug

Alex

Spencer

Kelbris

Old Man

Ben
Hubbard

Max

Samuel
Charleston

Luna

Jacob

Helper

Jeremy
J

Rosa

Chris

Hunter

Diana
Hubbard

José

Daniel

Zack Nelson

Kayd

Thomas

David

Danielle

Quia

The Man

Mason

Mason
xxxxxxxxx

The Gray
Man

Ezekiel
Thoth

Jinn

Kuu

Nathen

Hina

Eddie

SheepDog

HarryM1

Alignak

Kalfu

Sin_yarikh

Tsukuyomi

Igaluk

Losna

Hope

Hope's
Friend (M)

Hope's
Friend (F)

Tyler
(SilentDT)

William
Reynolds

Justin
Reynolds

Carla

The Flying
Child

Drowned

Guide

Glossary

Expand the section below to access a list of terms. Hover over them to view their definitions.

Misc.

/x/

152

423

592

727

A

Absque Fascie

Aggregation

Amiibo

Archive

ARG

Ascension

Astral Child

Astral Observatory

Astral Observatory Forums

Astralobservatory.net

Astral Timeline

B

Beacon

Believers

Ben Drowned

Blood Moon Ritual

Bloody Mary

Blue Baby

Bomb Plans

Briefcase

Bullet Necklace

Bunny Hood

BUP's Group

C

Candyman

Cellphone Tower

Ceremony of the Three Elements

Cipher

Cherrington High

Cleverbot

Conduit

Contact Page

Crescent

Crescent Moon Necklace

Cycle

D

Dark Link

Decoy.link

Deku Link

Demon

Detour Sign

Devium

Downloadable Files

Drezz

Drok

Dungeons & Dragons

E

Elder Children

Electro Drek

Elegy of Emptiness

Elegy Statue

Epona

Epona's Song

Eulogy

F

Fairy

Fakeworld

Father

File 59

Finitor

Fish Ponds

Full

G

Gamejack

Gibbous

GM

Goron Link

Goron Lullaby

Greth Vlogs

Guestbook

H

Hacker Group

Happy Mask Salesman

Harbingers

Harbinger's Link

Haunted Majora's Mask Cartridge

Helper's Hat

Hiatus

Hole

Holy Building

Hubris

Hubris Game

I

IIIII

Internet Detectives

Inverted Song of Time

IRC

J

Jadusable

Jadusable's ARG

Janus Room

JanusVR

Jumping

John's Cellphone Number

Johnisdead.com

K

Kamaro Mask

Key592

Killing Assignment

King Kong

L

Layered Being

Lens of Truth

Letschasethemouse

Libro Lunarus

Link

Link.exe

Listening

Listening Device

Lostmemory.exe

Lostmemory423

Luna Prophecy

Luna's Parallelos

Lunar Children

Lunar Children Forums

Lunar Children Servers

Lunarchildren.com

Lunarum Oculus

Lurch.co

M

M

Majora's Mask

Malagasy

Masks

Mask of Truth

Max Headroom

Messenger

Meta

Methods of Revolution

Minuet of Forest

Moonlight Meeting

Moon Children

Moon Children Forums

N

Neophyte

New Moon

New Wave Bossa Nova

Night of the Father

Novum Ascensionem

Nullstorm

O

Oath to Order

Observation Duty

OOC

Overseer

Overworld

Owl Statue

P

Parallelos

Parallelos Child

Parallelos Forum

Parallelos of the Ascended

Parallelos of the Dead

Parallelos of Time

Parallelos Path

Parallelos Symbol

Pididoip

Playing Cards

Portal

Postman's Hat

Prime Timeline

Pumpkinhead Gamejack

Q

Quiet Family

R

Raven Figurine

Reading Session

Remember.exe

Red Dot

Redirect Page

Regiminis's Domain

Regiminis Sigil

Revival

Room 592

Rosa

S

Safehaven

Samsara

Scrying

Scrying Device

Shazbot

Silent Hill

Silentdork

Skull Kid

Skype

Sleeproom

Sonata of Awakening

Song of Double Time

Song of Healing

Song of Soaring

Song of Storms

Song of Time

Song of Unhealing

SSTV Signal

Sphere

Steganography

Stone Mask

Strand Sensations

Submitting

Sub-Parallelos

Sub-Traversing

Subspace

Sun's Song

T

Tatl

Tenebris Symbol

Tenebris.link

Tenor

The Blackout

The Bridge

The Cataclysm

The Gate

The Factory

The Fishery

The Four Giants

The Glitch

The Killswitch

The Legend

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

The Misguided

The Misguided Legion

The Moon

The Ocarina

The Orchard

The Paths

The Poem

The Rule of Three

The Spire

The Three Silver Secrets

The Truth

The Whiteout

TheLinkMissing

TheTruth.rtf

Time Bomb

Time Links

Transcendence

Traversing

Truth Seeker

U

Undecim Nocte

Usekeb

V

Vampire

Vigil

Vocaroo

W

Wayward Horizon

Weenie-Licked

Whatisben.com

WireTalk

Within Hubris

Wyndstrom Institute

Y

Youshouldnthavedonethat.net

YSHDT.com

Z

Zora Link

Story

While all of the players were partaking in BUP's "Dungeons & Dragons" game from the previous chapter, some interesting updates were also occurring on YouTube. So, before we progress forwards, we must first go back a few weeks to the middle of January.

On January 19th, 2020, a new video was uploaded to Silentdork that was simply titled "9".

Description

N/A

Tags

N/A

<--- Click for Video Transcript

This video begins with someone, presumably tyler, walking down a path near a highway while recording with their phone. They come up to a large electronic sign that has text reading:

ROAD
WORK
BEGINS

9/10/19

ROAD
WORK
BEGINS

9/10/19

Summary

• This video simply features someone recording an electronic sign near a highway that reads "ROAD WORK BEGINS 9/10/19".

This video is fairly short, as it simply shows a recording of someone walking down a sidewalk towards a large sign that reads "ROAD WORK BEGINS 9/10/19". While the significance of this date is unknown, it's worth noting that the highway shown here appears to be highly reminiscent of "The Paths"...

After the video was uploaded, it underwent a few strange changes... First, its thumbnail was changed - initially to a distorted image of the "Road Work" sign and then to a shot of the sidewalk. Afterwards, its title changed to "Real?" and then to "When?". Unfortunately, this only made the meaning of this video even more confusing... The question of "Real? When?" could possibly suggest that this isn't meant to be an actual recording by Tyler himself but instead some strange manifestation - presumably one that's just meant to bring attention to the existence of "The Paths" themselves and with no further significance.

On January 29th, 2020, the players discovered another video - one from a rather surprising location - Vincent Adams' YouTube channel.

Notice: As a reminder, Vincent is the former Overseer of the Lunar Children who previously hosted Patrem in his body before Greth did. However, Vincent hasn't been seen in quite some time and was presumed to be dead after the Cataclysm in 2016. The only evidence pointing otherwise was a lone video uploaded to his channel in 2017 that featured him playing the piano, though the context surrounding this was a mystery.

Notice: Unfortunately, Vincent's videos were later deleted and have not been archived. Please refer to the transcripts and summaries for more information regarding their contents.

This new video, "GLAD to be back", seemed to imply that Vincent himself had indeed returned.

Description

N/A

Tags

N/A

<--- Click for Video Transcript

This video simply contains footage of Vincent in a dark room playing the piano.

Summary

• This video simply featured dark footage of Vincent playing the piano.

There wasn't much to this video - it simply contained footage of someone playing the piano in a dark room - presumably Vincent himself. The players immediately flocked to the comment section with questions. Surprisingly, Vincent responded.

IIfan2001

Welcome back!

Vincent

Thank you it's good to be back.

otherLiam

Do you have any interest in talking about what you've been up to?

Vincent

Not now. I am still trying to understand.

I have been lost for what feels like a very long time.

Xenquility

How long have you been back for? I've missed your old techno stuff

Vincent

Not long. As for my old music, it's been a very long time.

Xenquility

Yeah, definitely seems like it. Where have you been?

Vincent

That is a difficult question to answer. I am still trying to understand it myself.

Xenquility

A few others have experienced similar things and many others are trying to figure it all out.

We have a chat server set up dedicated to trying to explain some weird bullshit that's been happening lately.

Any interest in joining? Even if you don't find anything beneficial out it's a killer way to pass the time.

Vincent

I may be interested. As of now I am not up to date with current technologies.

I am using Skype but as it has ben so long I no longer remember my login info.

Xenquility

If you want to switch off of skype, there's a new service called Discord.

If you want to join our Discord server, here's an invite.

((A link to the Internet Detectives Discord Server is sent.))

Vincent

I found it. I will make an account and join.

Vincent seems rather cordial with the players. However, he seemed as though he was still quite confused himself, claiming that he was still trying to understand everything... The players quickly invite him to the Internet Detectives Discord server, which he promptly joins.

Xenquility

Hey, welcome to our humble abode.

Good to see you were able to get into discord

Vincent

Thank you. Thankfully it was easy to make an account.

Xenquility

Sorry for the inconvienience but would it be okay if I sent you another server?

There appear to be many prying eyes in this one.

Vincent

What do you mean? I'll join it if you want me to.

Fearing that Vincent may be subject to malicious entities such as BUP and Tenebris, the players instead opt to add him to the Safest Haven Discord server instead.

Xenquility

Alrighty

welcome

Pako

welcome

IIfan2001

Hello!

Vincent

Hello thank you all for being so welcoming.

The players proceed to give Vincent a basic summary of everything that's transpired so far - mainly centering around their connection to Tyler and his friends, the Moon Children and the Lunar Children, and what the Internet Detectives actually hope to achieve.

Xenquility

You still with us Vincent?

How much do you remember from the past few years?

Vincent

I remember doing the sleep deprivation experiment.

There was a lot more after that, that I will attempt to explain in future videos.

Xenquility

Were those the Sleep deprivation techno songs?

Vincent

Yes.

The players manage to catch Vincent up. However, it's clearly going to take him some time to fully process everything... He also brings up his "Sleep Deprivation Experiment". This was briefly seen though a few of his uploads from 2015 where he was presumably using the "Sleep Deprivation" inadvertently inflicted upon him by Patrem as inspiration for a few songs. Interestingly, Vincent claims that he'll explain more of what happened to him in the form of more uploads on his channel.

On January 30th, 2020, Vincent returned to answer some more questions.

Vincent

Hello I am sorry for taking so long to respond.

I was very exhausted and had to rest.

I did not mean to just stop responding.

IIfan2001

It's completely fine

Xenquility

Do you recall what we said at the end? About what happened to you?

Vincent

Yes. I remember during the sleep experiments, I was experiencing terrible nightmares and waking up in strange places like a park near my house.

The sleep deprivation was both an attempt to improve my music but to also, in some way, defend myself against my sleep in and of it's self.

Though, after a time, I was unable to deprive myself of sleep. I was just too tired.

Xenquility

So you don't remember any topic of possession?

Vincent

I remember after the fact. During the time that I was asleep, I would catch very blurry, vague, glimpses of what was happening.

I didn't know what was going on with me during the sleep experiments. But after my body was somehow free, I gradually became more and more able to peice together the events that I was indirectly involved in.

Xenquility

Well uh

Do you remember the Patrem guy?

Vincent

Yes.

Vincent claims that the "Sleep Deprivation Experiment" was an attempt keep himself from falling asleep and becoming possessed by Patrem. Though he wasn't entirely sure what was taking place at the time, the fact that he was experiencing nightmares and waking up in strange locations was enough to worry him.

Vincent

I remember a tower.

Xenquility

Like a spire?

Vincent

Yeah, like a spire. I remember having a quick flash of clarity. Whatever was happening there gave me a chance to escape.

My mind and body was free. Though I was disoriented, I managed to, in simple terms, get the hell out of there.

I'm not entirely sure of what happened but I knew enough to know I had to leave.

Xenquility

Do you remember what happened after you escaped?

Vincent

From that point on, my mind and soul was mine again. After leaving the tower, I made my way back home.

In fear that this would happen again, I packed up and relocated as soon as possible which is why in my other video of me writing a song on the piano, is in a different home.

Once I moved to a new home, I felt like things were going to be okay. Slowly during that time, I could feel my mind and maybe even my soul degrading. Everyday I felt like less and less of myself.

The last video of me playing the piano was the last thing I remember up until the last week or two.

Vincent explains that he suddenly regained control of his body, mind, and soul just before the Cataclysm in April of 2016. During this moment of clarity, he managed to escape The Spire and make his way back home. However, he was still understandably paranoid and eventually moved to a second home.

Though Vincent was safe in his new home, he felt his mind and soul slowly beginning to degrade... The last thing he remembers is recording the video of him playing the Lunar Children theme on piano in early 2017.

Xenquility

Do you specifically recall creating that piece?

The cult appears to think it was created by the Patrem guy before he made the lunar children.

Vincent

I do recall creating that peice. If felt very, fluid I guess you could say. Almost as if the song was writing it's self.

When writing that song it felt like I was writing it for someone that I cared for deeply.

Like I wrote a love song for someone I've never met. Since I've been back, it's mostly been confusing.

Xenquility

well Patrem's wife did die shortly before he made the cult

Vincent

I feel sad for that.

Vincent says that he's actually the one who wrote the Lunar Children theme. However, it's implied that this was heavily influenced by Patrem's presence inside his body. Though Vincent didn't realize it, the song was presumably always meant to be about Hank's late wife, Diana.

On February 2nd, 2020, Vincent returned to chat with the players some more.

Vincent

Hello you guys

I told you guys I would let you know when I am planning on posting a video explaining what I went through in the last years.

I have decided that I will upload several videos because there is a lot to talk about.

Xenquility

All at once or over a period of time?

Vincent

Over time. It is difficult for me to express these things in words which is why I have not simply explained everything here.

I considered a video log style series of videos but decided against that too.

I came to my conclusion that I will express this to you people the best way I know how and that is through my artistic expression.

Xenquility

That sounds interesting

Does that mean through songs?

Vincent

With a video, yes.

Probably soon.

Tonight or tomorrow.

Vincent reveals that he's decided to explain what happened to him after 2017 through a series of music videos. He claims that the first one will be uploaded relatively soon.

This conversation was taking place around the same time BUP shared the "leaked" information that mentioned Vincent's potential "Aggregation" between his Prime and Astral Timeline selves. Fearing for his safety, the players questioned him about this.

Xenquility

On an unrelated note, would you happen to be in any other discord servers? Be careful what you say in here.

Our current "enemy" accidentally showed us something that he shouldn't have and it had your username in the background user list.

Probably means they're able to see what we post here.

Vincent

That makes me very nervous. Is there a more secure place we could talk? Is that needed? Do you know who this "enemy" is?

Xenquility

we technically have a "safer" text channel but it's only safer because it lacks the prescence of one person who we just found out may not actually be dangerous

Vincent

Would talking there be safer for me? I really do not want to risk being around those people again.

Xenquility

I mean, it wouldn't hurt to try I guess

Vincent is understandably concerned about BUP's ominous messages... In an attempt to quell his fears, they briefly add him to a more secure text-channel within the Safest Haven Discord server - the "Epitome of Safety". However, they eventually decide to take things one step further and create yet another Discord server - the "Paradigm of Safety". In fact, the players were so dedicated to Vincent's safety and sense of security that they all decided to use code-names in this new server.

Xenquility

This is only for the most trusted people

Me, Liam, Slinky, Thorin, Dov, Vincent, and Pako

Do not inform others of this places existence unless a unilateral decision is made

Same with information

Vincent

Thank you for this. I am just nervous. You have eased my mind.

I am planning to upload the video soon if anyone is still awake for it.

Afterwards, a new video was uploaded to Vincent's YouTube channel - "Not Going Home".

Description

N/A

Tags

N/A

<--- Click for Video Transcript

This video contains footage of Vincent sleeping in his bed while his song "Not Yet Gone" plays in the background. The lyrics of the song are as follows:

Free at last and
I'm tryna go and
live on my own
I couldn't know

That I am different
I'm feeling down, man

Not going home.
Not on my own.

And little did I know
that staying in my home
would set me loose

And Little did I know
Creeping ever slow
was something new

as life goes on
my time begins to stall
I want to feel im near
and see and feel and hear

but if I try
a little harder
maybe I could stay

but I have been so tired
now I have to fade

Towards the end of the song, a tower-like object can faintly be seen over the footage. A strange droning sound begins playing as the video zooms in on Vincent's eye, which is now wide open.

Summary

• This video features a melancholic song playing over footage of Vincent sleeping.
• The lyrics of this song seemingly relate to Vincent slowly degrading after fleeing The Spire and eventually "fading".
• Near the end of the video, Vincent's eye suddenly opens up as faint footage of The Spire can be seen.

This is the first upload in Vincent's series explaining what happened to him after escaping the Cataclysm at The Spire. The lyrics match up with what he's revealed so far - he attempted to start a new life and move on. However, he felt himself slowly beginning to degrade over time. Interestingly, he claims that he eventually had to "fade". What exactly this means is unclear...

The video itself is rather simple and mostly featured a still shot of Vincent sleeping on his bed. While most of his face was blurred out and obscured, the video zooms in on his eye opening near the end. Additionally, faint footage of The Spire can be seen in the background. Interestingly, this footage seems to be of a 3D model rather than a real location.

Later that night, Vincent confirmed that all of this was indeed what the video was meant to represent:

Vincent

"I will say this is about my life after regaining control at the tower. The next video should help explain things further."

On February 3rd, 2020, TheLaw suddenly became active in the Internet Detectives Discord server and posted a rather odd audio file... This file was actually an SSTV signal. As a reminder, SSTV signals were strange audio files that could be transcribed into images. Strangely, this SSTV signal revealed a distorted image of what appeared to be the silhouette of "The Gray Man".

"The Gray Man" is a mythical entity that often shows up in dreams. "The Gray Man" is also often used as the player Circlehunter's avatar. Additionally, the individual who received Helper's Hat from Mason back in 2015 and took over the Helper account was also known as "The Gray Man". However, the significance of TheLaw posting this image is unknown...

Meanwhile, a bit of trouble was brewing amongst the players...

Erika hadn't been very active as of late. She was last seen becoming noticeably uncomfortable - mainly due to the fact that all of her conversations were being recorded on the Johnisdead Wiki. Additionally, she noticed that she had been excluded from the "Epitome of Safety" text-channel in the Safest Haven Discord server. This dynamic also spread into the Internet Detectives Minecraft server - the same server where Munnin last spoke with the players. Here, Erika was still being treated as a canon character and was often being asked various questions.

To be fair, this treatment was understandable - Erika had divulged some fairly important information in the past and the players had no reason to believe that she wasn't important... Regardless, this all seemed to make her very uncomfortable as she continuously asserted that she was a real person - not a character. Erika eventually shared her complaints with a fellow player who was friends with the GM's. Together, Erika and this player asserted that she was indeed NOT canon to Johnisdead...

On one hand, this seemed to line up to some degree - Erika hadn't been directly referenced by any other characters. In fact, some characters such as The Producer seemed completely unaware of her presence. The only counterpoint against this was the "IIIII" account initiating a countdown when she spoke with the player Xenquility - though this was written off as a coincidence as the "IIIII" account would often post random and cryptic messages regardless.

On the other hand, Erika suddenly being written off as non-canon was a tough pill to swallow. Her esoteric insight felt very substantial and it helped the players better understand various characters and concepts within the ARG. Additionally, her possession of exclusive videos and knowledge was rather hard to ignore... However, this was eventually hand-waved away by her being loose-friends with a former GM and having access to certain behind-the-scenes assets.

Ultimately, the logic was as follows:

• Q: How did Erika have access to exclusive videos and knowledge?
• A: She has loose connections with the GM's.


• Q: How was the IIIII account able to initiate a countdown in response to her private messages?
• A: It was a coincidence - the IIIII account often posts cryptic messages at random.


• Q: What about all of her other canon apperances?
• A: Erika has actually never made another canon appearance - some characters were even unaware her presence.

Or, as Erika herself explains:

Erika

"The youtube channel I showed before where I said I could get clips from used to be called something else. I forget what though now. I was shown a funny video on the channel while a ton of stuff was still public and that was basically where I got all the footage, then all the videos went unlisted later when I was almost done with my music video and the name changed and I noticed it was spooki. I honestly think in hindsight I was seeing stuff I was not supposed to be showing or seeing lol but I felt super cool about it XD"

Erika's claim that the "Quiet Family" YouTube channel used to be named something else is true. Before it became canon within the ARG, the channel was previously used to archive a few non-canon memes.

While this all seemed to make sense on paper, this left many players confused and frustrated. This was all very reminiscent of the Pumpkinhead Gamejack - albeit on a much less "explosive" scale. However, considering that Erika's knowledge was supposedly taken from behind-the-scenes sources, it can at least be assumed that her insight is still accurate and can still be relied upon. To summarize:

It is currently being asserted by Erika and a fellow player that she is NOT canon - she is simply a devout fangirl who got too carried away with her roleplay. The information and videos she divulged are indeed canon - however, she supposedly only had access to these because she has some loose connections to behind-the-scenes content through this aforementioned fellow player. To avoid making Erika uncomfortable, the players agreed to treat her as just another Internet Detective.

Though many players still had their suspicions, they decided to treat Erika as a fellow player. This seemed to make her happy. Perhaps she truly was just a rogue fangirl who had gotten too carried away with her roleplay...

Content with being amongst their ranks once again, Erika resumed chatting with the players as they added her to the "Epitome of Safety" text-channel.

Erika

The epitome of what lol

Omg what was this supposed to mean you weirdo XD

Xenquility

((Xenquility mirrors Erika's first conversation with him, quoting "You never should ever know" from My Chemical Romance.))

Erika

Sorry I had to listen to it since you posted it =p also hey do you play minecraft?

Oh WAIT I just realized you are literally the guy who was being weird to me on the minecraft server but I am actually sorry DX

Xenquility

Please forgive me for that

it was quite a large understanding that was in no way your fault

it came mainly from jid related confusion and i was not trying to be mean

sorry if I made you uncomfortable

Erika

I have been being weird about how I try to play "john is dead" and I probably really confused everyone because I was having too much fun rp'ing

Xenquility

sorry again for the misunderstanding but these days we cannot tell what is real and what isnt

the last time we thought something wasn't real we were tricked into thinking everything was ending lol

if anything I blame that IIIII guy

Erika

I dont know for sure who that is in "canon" but for sure that is Tyler right?

Xenquility

I mean maybe?

We don't really know

Erika continued chatting with the players on February 4th, 2020.

Erika

I just want to say sorry for always being confusing again btw

otherLiam

eh.

everything is confusing.

i just can’t believe one gamejack died only for another to take its place

Xenquility

i dont think this was necessarily a gamejack just us being stupid

Erika

Also did I honestly gamejack?

Well I guess considering there is a bloody wiki page about me XD

Well I am gonna go take my walk now and think on all this before sleepy time has to come. Bye bye friends ~ ❤️

Xenquility

Cya Erika

Before departing, Erika shared one of the several non-canon meme videos that existed on the Quiet Family YouTube channel before it became canon.

...As you can probably tell, this video is a complete shitpost and holds no actual relevance to the ARG. However, it does act as proof that the Quiet Family channel was once a more public meme-centered channel - one that could have easily possessed the exclusive footage that Erika used for her music videos, as she claims.

Shortly after this, the Rune Entity became active in the Internet Detectives Discord server and posted two strange images. The first was labelled "ᛖ", or "E". This seemed to depict someone reaching out to pet a cat in a distorted, green environment - possibly even within the Parallelos itself.

The second image was labelled "ᛏᛚ", or "IT" - a red, distorted photo of someone staring into the camera.

Unfortunately, the significance of these images is unknown...

Activity from the "IIIII" account continued on February 20th, 2022 - this time presumably from the "Mask Entity" - Tenebris. These files were titled "mine.jpg" and "I.mp3" respectively.

Once again, their significance is a mystery...

On February 24th, 2020, Vincent returned to chat with the players.

Vincent

something doesn't feel right

i have memories that arent my own

otherLiam

What are they memories of?

Slinky

If you tell us we may know of whom they are

Vincent

i feel like if i tell you the world will collapse. these are not things i should remember.

these are not my memories. but they are. Memories of myself and another.

otherLiam

Who’s the other?

Vincent

me.

otherLiam

They’re the memories of another you?

Vincent

no.

they are all my memories

We are one in the same

this complicates things

i have two memories.

two minds.

gradually converging into one.

Concerningly, Vincent claims that he's beginning to recall memories that are not his own. To be more specific, they ARE his memories but from a completely different lifetime - a life that he himself did not experience... The cause for this is unknown, but it's seemingly resulting in these two separate identities and selves merging into one... This is possibly the aforementioned "Aggregation" mentioned in BUP's leaked messages - the supposed idea of two alternate versions of someone merging into one.

Vincent

I am becoming aware of things i should not know

is anyone here aware of the green place?

the place of nightmares

the place where darkness is green

otherLiam

Yeah, we’ve seen glimpses and we know some of our friends are stuck there.

Vincent

the more we speak of this the more aware I become

this is not what I want

I do not want to know

I was in this place for eons

otherLiam

The green place, you mean?

Vincent

yes

the green is darkness and the only way to escape it is to keep moving

as time went on I failed to continue. I gave up.

I felt as if I was stagnant but the world around me kept moving as if I was immobile

I sat upon a tree

after thousands of years, millions even

the tree grew around me, consuming me

the only thing left was my vision of the distance

otherLiam

The distance? To what?

Vincent

The storm

it was approaching

the black storm

tornadoes of black

like tendrils sent to enter the very reality I was in

otherLiam

Who sent them?

Vincent

This, I do not know

The creatures that exist beyond

they were hungry

I had already given up at this point.

I was willing to let this abyssal creature take me away

To where, I do not know.

It seems that Vincent is finally beginning to recall what happened to him after he "faded" away in early 2017. He reveals that he had somehow entered into the Parallelos. He describes the Parallelos as a terrifying realm of nightmares - a place where you have to constantly be moving or else you will stagnate and become consumed. This nearly happened to Vincent - he gave up and stopped moving, allowing a tree to slowly grow around his body. Despite the fact that Vincent was only missing for three years, this supposedly took place over the course of eons. This implies that time moves differently in the Parallelos.

While he was stuck within the tree, Vincent saw a terrifying storm slowly approaching him - a storm that was actually a massive tendrilled creature that was ready to devour him. Supposedly, this creature existed "beyond" - possibly implying that it originates from outside of the Parallelos...

Vincent

The place is larger than I can comprehend.

I was not brave enough to continue.

otherLiam

How did you get out?

Vincent

I did not get out.

I was taken out.

By an angel.

otherLiam

An angel?

Vincent

At least I perceived her as such. Who else could come to me, reassure me, convince me I need to keep trying?

She took my hand, pushed away the Black Storm, and lifted me from this plane

What is more horrifying is what was outside. Outside of the green place was this horrible darkness.

Darker than is fathomable. There were sounds of water. Sounds of fear. Sounds of torment.

Glimpses of light but she assured me that was not the way.

She held me and carried me through the darkness.

I was warned not to look. Not to listen. Not to speak.

I looked. I listened. I did not speak. Not because I did not want to, but because I couldnt.

This fear was unimaginable.

otherLiam

Then what?

Vincent

Then we were out.

She bid me farewell.

She left me at my home hopefully safe from any of that cult activity

I have to wonder

Why me

Vincent says that he was rescued from the Parallelos by an Angel - or at the very least, someone who he perceived to be an angel. This angel supposedly freed Vincent and lifted him up out of the Parallelos. However, beyond the Parallelos was a horrifying darkness - a darkness that contained sounds of water, fear, and torment. Eventually, after being pulled through this dark, watery realm, Vincent was suddenly back in his home. Afterwards, the Angel departed.

Vincent

I feel like two people at once

I am remembering an entirely new life

I can remember my childhood

I can remember my pains growing up

I can remember the stupid decision to join the lunar children

But also

I remember another childhood

I remember another set of pains growing up

It feels as if I am two people at the same time

I do not know if it is wise to understand exactly "who" the other memories belong to

I already feel as though, through these memories, I am beginning to know too much.

otherLiam

What does that mean, knowing too much?

What consequence is there for having this information?

Vincent

I feel there is a strong consequence for having this information which is why I am slowly panicking.

The more I learn the more aware I am of my position in all of this.

This if forbidden knowledge. It is very clear that I should now know the things I am learning.

The further it gets the more I understand why I am here and why we are all here and what this whole things is really about.

This does not feel comforting in any way.

I am doubting myself as a person.

As in.

A real person.

Vincent reiterates that he's begun to recall two separate lifetimes - both of which seemingly belong to him, but only one that he's experienced himself... While this other person does seem to be some form of Vincent himself, he's terrified of learning more about their identity - possibly due to both the "world-collapsing" ramifications mentioned earlier and also the fact that he feels as though these memories are giving him "forbidden knowledge".

While Vincent does not reveal what this "forbidden knowledge" is, he claims that it's helping him understand his position in this world. He now understands why he's here. Unfortunately, this has caused him to have some sort of existential crisis - he's no longer sure if he's actually a real person...

Vincent

The lunar children have an experimental treatment

otherLiam

An experimental treatment for what?

Vincent

Creating the person they want or need at the time.

otherLiam

You think they’re using that to give you these memories?

To try and turn you into someone else?

Vincent

That, or they already did and leaving this green darkness somehow counteracted the treatment.

I can not tell as everything on both side feels so real

It feels like I have to learn to integrate the two minds together to form a third identity

I don't think that this has ever happened before in regards to the lunar experiments

If it has, they have definitely been terminated immediately without a doubt

Having inside knowledge on how the lunar children operate, they have no sense of morality.

They have a goal and they will stop at nothing to achieve this

Vincent speculates that this strange identity crisis he's experiencing may be a result of some sort of experimental Lunar Children treatment. Supposedly, this treatment somehow altered people's identity into something more beneficial for the cult. How exactly this worked is unknown, though... Additionally, Vincent admits that his current situation is rather unique - no other cultists who received this treatment experienced the same sort of crisis that he is right now. This might suggest that there's more to Vincent's current predicament than simply the results of this treatment... Afterwards, Vincent offers to conduct a QnA with the players.

On February 25th, 2020, Vincent initiated the QnA. Instead of being conducted through text, the QnA actually took place in the form of a fairly long voice chat in the Internet Detectives Discord server. However, Vincent's voice was actively modified through some sort of program - presumably an attempt to keep his identity hidden.

Xenquility

So

How goes existence?

Vincent

Existence is... very confusing at this current point in time.

I know that I'm me, but I'm having memories of a different me.

But it doesn't feel like me? But it does feel like me.

It's- it's hard to explain. I hope you understand.

Slinky

Have you felt like that before?

Vincent

No, this is new. It's either new or it has been happening so slowly that I hadn't noticed it.

Tyler is a part of some of the memories that are coming back to me.

The name is familiar but I don't really know why.

Vincent reiterates his current predicament - his strange recollection of two different sets of memories from two different lives. One of these lifetimes is the one he's inherently familiar with - his own life that he himself remembers experiencing. However, the other one is completely foreign to him... And yet, despite the differences between it and his own life, he feels as though it belongs to him. It seems to be a very confusing situation.

Vincent reiterates his current predicament - his strange recollection of two different lifetimes.

One of these lives is his own life - the one that he personally recalls and is inherently familiar with.

The other life seems completely foreign to him... And yet, he feels as though it also belongs to him. Interestingly, he implies that "Tyler" is somehow involved in this second life, as that name seems very familiar within this new set of memories.

Slinky

Have you been able to contact any old family or friends?

Vincent

They're around, I just haven't really tried contacting them. At this point, I don't know if it's the best idea.

I'm scared about a lot of different things. I'm aware of the lengths with which the cult will go to to keep track of someone.

With this memory stuff going on, I don't think it's safe to contact them. My HOPEFUL fear is if I contact them, that puts them in danger.

My not-hopeful fear is that they're a part of it. And I'm really hoping that that is not the case.

Slinky

Any idea if the cult still looks for you?

Vincent

I'm not sure if they're still following me. I'm just not sure. If they are, they've been really quiet about it.

As far as I know I haven't had any contact with them since after the tower.

Vincent claims that he still has some old friends and family around. However, he's afraid to contact them. He fears that doing so would put them in danger because the cult may still be watching him... Alternatively, he fears that his friends and family themselves may have connections to the cult. That being said, Vincent isn't entirely sure whether or not anyone is even still observing him - he's simply paranoid due to this sudden new phenomenon with his memories.

Xenquility

Did you ever have to do "rituals"?

Vincent

During the early initiation process there were some "rituals" that you'd have to go through.

What exactly do you mean by "rituals"?

Xenquility

Not exactly sure. One of our friends from there, someone named SKM, managed to contact us a while ago.

He said he had to complete rituals to keep up appearances as a good "child of the moon" or something

Vincent

We had like ceremonies and that kind of thing, but more serious rituals is when Patrem fully took over me. So I only caught glimpses of that.

I've seen possession described in media like sitting in the back seat of a car and you're just watching what happens, but it's not like that.

It's more like you're asleep. Every now and then you get a chance to see a snapshot but it's very difficult to formulate any narrative from that.

During the time that he had control over my body, I don't really know what happened at all during that time.

Vincent seems to vaguely recall partaking in some ceremonies for the Lunar Children. However, most of the important rituals took place when Patrem was possessing his body. He expands on this, explaining what the possession was like. He claims that it was similar to being asleep - he would only occasionally be given brief glimpses of what was taking place.

He then recounted the night he was finally freed from Patrem's control - the night of the Cataclysm:

Vincent

On the night of the tower, all I know is that something went wrong and he was getting pulled into some place.

Me, being myself for the first time in however long it had been, was excited to be myself.

But I also thought it best to just get out of here - I shouldn't be here.

ARGdov

Do you remember much of what was happening in all that chaos?

Vincent

Everybody was panicking. It's like whatever they were trying to do went wrong.

Whatever they were trying to do in that tower, they had a system set in place and they expected it to go one way and then something just went horribly wrong.

I was on the floor on my back and right in front of me was Patrem getting sucked into something, or starting to get sucked into something? I'm not sure.

And that's when I just kind of scrambled to get back on my feet and from there I don't know what happened. I remember a lot, I just didn't see a lot, you know?

I ran home and grabbed the necessities. I wanted to leave all of that behind me, because they didn't keep it a secret that they were monitoring me.

Everything from my internet history to what time I went to the bathroom.

Unfortunately, Vincent wasn't able to witness much of what actually took place during the Cataclysm because he was too busy fleeing from The Spire - understandably so. However, he does recall a great deal of panicking and chaos. He believes that something went horribly wrong - possibly due to a ceremony going awry. As speculated previously, this was likely caused by their failure to capture Tyler.

Upon regaining control of his body, Vincent briefly returned home to retrieve some necessities before moving away. He did this because the Lunar Children had been keeping him under heavy surveillance for the past several years.

Interestingly, Vincent also claimed that he witnessed Patrem getting "pulled into some place". The players decided to press on this:

Xenquility

Sorry, you said Patrem was getting pulled into some place?

Vincent

Yeah, that was the last thing that I saw. It's hard to describe what it looked like.

Xenquility

Do you think there's a chance he was getting pulled into the parallelos?

Vincent

I don't know. If there's an entrance or an exit to that place, I don't know what it looks like.

So I wouldn't want to say "yes" or "no" as I genuinely don't know.

Xenquility

Do you know at what point you actually went to the Parallelos?

Vincent

April 3rd, 2017 was the last day. it was on that day that I went to the dark place.

I don't know how exactly - I don't know why, but I felt my mind degrading and I felt my soul degrading.

So, it seems that the reason why Vincent was able to regain control is because Patrem was somehow pulled out of his body and sucked into another location... It's likely that the location Patrem was pulled into was actually the Parallelos itself. However, what exactly caused this is unknown - as is what happened to Patrem after this. All that's known is that he was later housed inside Greth's body.

Vincent also clarifies the timeline a bit better. He escaped Patrem's control in April of 2016 on the night of the Cataclysm. Then, on April 3rd, 2017 - the same date he uploaded the video of himself playing the piano - he entered into the Parallelos. Once again, the reason behind this is unknown - it simply seemed to happen after he felt his mind and soul slowly degrade.

The players then bring up the subject of the Parallelos itself.

Xenquility

Did you see anyone else in the dark place?

Vincent

I did see other people in the dark place. It's hard to describe what it's like in there.

At first there were people but eventually we just kind of wandered.

Xenquility

Were you able to converse with them?

Vincent

Probably, but I didn't just out of fear. Once I was there, it was just horrifying. And that was it. It was just horrifying. There was nothing else.

Xenquility

How expansive was the place? Was it infinite?

Vincent

I couldn't answer that definitively, but, um... As far as I understand, time functions differently in this place.

That's why I asked what year it was when I came back and all that. I just- I saw it on my computer and didn't believe it.

It felt like I was in there for a very long time. I don't even believe in heaven or hell and I believe I had died and gone to hell.

Vincent claims that there were other people in the Parallelos with him. However, no one really spoke - everyone simply began to wander off.

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