Chapter Text
Callisto just got done with another day of internships. They were going pretty fine at this point in time. They were almost done with their studies for the moment and were thinking of taking a break before they tried pursuing any further studies or work.
The only problem, though…
There was almost no time to do anything else!!!
The internship takes up so much time off their day. They never knew that working takes up so much time. At least it’s gonna end in a couple of weeks… But still! I’m already so over it.
They’ve been so tired every time they came back from work, and recently haven’t had the energy to even eat dinner these days. The routine of waking up, heading to work and coming back after 10 hours, to just come back around dinner time is taking a bit of a toll on them.
Callisto was a night owl and didn’t really like waking up in the morning, but years of conditioning themselves to wake up to alarms for as long as they could remember kept them alert enough to push through the drag of the rising sun and early rides to work.
They woke up in an apathetic state as the sunlight peaked through their window. They’d almost fallen asleep without eating dinner again the day before. They almost didn’t even get to do their daily missions in the games they play for the 4th time this week. Damn it, my internship only lasts 3 months and I’m already this tired?? I’m definitely not going to survive in modern society…
They’ve been wanting to catch up on other games other than the 2 they try to complete daily, more specifically Forsaken.
They’ve recently been reading and hyperfocusing on SI fics from Forsaken ever since they found them. It’s such a bad habit they have whenever they find a new interest. They’ve even been reading them during work and staying up just to continue another chapter. However, it felt like the updates for all those fics just died off. Sure, they’re a couple of months late to those possession stories, but surely at least more than a few would be updating… Still, even with some updates, there’s just been a lot more hornier stories lately…
Sighhh… “At least it’s a Saturday now. I can lie in bed for a couple more hours.” Despite only knowing most of the lore and knowledge of different characters from stories, TikTok and the wiki page, they really like a lot of the characters.
I probably only have like… a couple hours at most on the game. Only really joined when I saw JSAB skins in the game, and even then, I mostly played as Noob or Guest in they’re early characters. Jason and John Doe, being my main killers for the Vanity skin and Annihilation skins- Well, it would be Slasher now, wouldn’t it… When was the last time I played?
It’s probably been a good few months, probably before Taph and Noli, so their knowledge is quite limited. They don’t even know the proper names of the maps (they only know the names from fics) and what every character really does!@!!
I should catch up once they start those months of classes again after the internship, even if just to understand those fanfics better. Lol.
…
Is it just me, or is the sun dying or something?
The once bright line shining through the blinds was now fading as if a heavy storm was starting to pass through the city in an instant. The air tensed as the temperature dropped further than their AC was set to. What was once warm rays streaking through whatever gaps there were now seemed to sap all light and energy from the surroundings.
“Okay, what the hell is going on. Did the sun collapse into a black hole or something? WHY IS IT SO COLD-”
Callisto paused as they saw shadows slowly creeping up their walls as they sat squarely in the middle of their bed. They slithered like vipers waiting to spring right at them, which would be weird since I don’t think I’ve seen a snake in my short almost 20 years alive, snakes that seem to be coming from unDER THEIR BED-
“HOLY FUCK, this was what little me would be scared of all the time. Who in holy hell would do THIS?”
…
That would be us.
“Fuck right off back to your mother.”
…
That is… a reaction.
“What d’ya expect breaking into my room like that?” Callisto hissed back. It’s not my fault, I’ve never feared a day in my life that I’d be a victim of breaking and entering in this country.
It appears so.
…
“Well? Not every day there’s a being that looks like they were born straight out of a galaxy’s actual black hole…”
‘Cause that was what actually just happened, didn’t it? Some being as dark as Vantablack, just manifested right at the foot of their bed. The silky-looking shadows wrapped around, forming a cloak that hid the void-like body of whatever higher creature was speaking to them. TELEPATHICALLY TOO. Oh, how it deeply unsettles every nerve but rattles so delightfully within their mind. The cloak glimmers with the shine of thousands of stars within galaxies on the brink of collisions. The way the brilliant hues of celestial colours warp makes them look enticing and unnerving in every way possible. Streaking over each other and constantly shifting in blue, greens and reds, all framed in a pastel violet glow that seems to frame their being, yet it doesn’t brighten the room with even a single lumen of light.
… We will gloss over that comment for your sake. For our presence unsettles many throughout our existence.
…
Sigh. “So, are you going to force-contract me into a deal for some entertainment, or are you going to let me unwind from a week of work? If so, then please hold for like a month ‘til I’m done with my current internship. I don’t need 2 jobs at once.” I hide back under the covers. It’s bad enough that I’m on an empty stomach in the middle of the morning, but the winteresque temperatures were REALLY souring the mood a lot. There’s not even winter here for fuck’s sake.
…uhh, what is with the perspective change?
WOULDN’T YOU LIKE TO KNOW, HUH? I’m FREEZING MY ARSE OFF!
Okay okay… There, how is that now?
The temperature rose back to more survivable temperatures. Peeking back out, I see the glow that was emitted from the being lessen to a mere faint outline. “I guess that’s better. Christ almighty, why don’t I have thicker blankets…”
Religious?
“Fuck no. Anyways, you gonna deal me a contract coded in digital pain and mind games yet? I might just go back to sleep and forget all about this.”
We thought you just said to delay until the following month-
“Yeah, well, I’m no longer feeling like my fingers will freeze off like popsicles, so… Yeah, contract. What game, how long and what to do. All of that.
… You will be transported to Forsaken for the entertainment of higher beings. You will be paid based on how long you remain within the realm. You may do whatever as long as emotions are stirred from within. You may pick and choose who to possess each time, and time distortion also applies. A single hour equates to a day within, and a day here is a week within.
So like the classic time dilation in every self-insert I’ve read so far. “So like… will it be freelance? Full-time? Internship? How the fuck will all this happen anyway? And how much do I make? This economy ain’t gon run itself.” I cross my arms and start going through every detail I can wring out, unlike some of the fics just accepting everything without a care. How much will I even get paid? I only know rates from my internship, and that’s based on the basic internship payment.
A careful one you are, perhaps a bit paranoid… You may join and leave as you wish as a freelancer, as long as you complete at least 10 hours of your time within the week. This may be completed whenever possible or passed to the next week at a rate of 1.5 times the hours delayed. So if you were to avoid joining for 2 of your hours, it will increase to 3 the next week. You will receive a total of 4 thousand per month, starting with an additional bonus of 200 when you begin into a separate account only accessible by you. It is also completely secure from any interference or viewing from anyone else. There are also employee benefits, like all of the healthcare and insurance stuff, which will all be provided, even though you do not seem to comprehend what it amounts to in the first place.
Hmmmmm.. That all seems okay, those seem like fair enough conditions. How does the possession even work? Also, am I able to just view and observe Forsaken for like a week first before I do any of the actual possession? All I really know are headcanons and half-clear information, haven’t seen the game in months, y’know.
That might be possible. Let us confer…
The being starts glowing brighter once more… I’m just going to hide under my blanket again before it starts turning into an ice box again. God, why didn’t I get thicker blankets.
Okay! First off, since it is Saturday, you will only start fully possessing others next week. Sick. I peek out once again as I start hearing that voice in my head. For these 2 days, you may spend as much time as you need spectating the survivors, and you can then assess which one you would like to possess by Monday. You will don a spectral form, where you may interact with the survivors as you wish. THEY suspect that it would be more entertaining meanwhile you observe.
“Oooh, that seems fun at the very least, like a ghost, right?” I start fidgeting with the hem of the blanket, zoning out a bit just thinking about what I could do. Haunting people without actually dying for it? Pretty pog if ya don’t say.
…
Eh? Wait, pause, hold… “…What would happen to the survivor and their body when I possess it? Is there going to be any physical changes and all that mumbo jumbo that comes with these plotlines?” Yeah, I NEED to know what will happen. With all of those fanfics, there comes a time when their appearance just changes on the spot, and the other survivors just suspicious immediately. That wouldn’t be fun at all, not one bit! Oooh, and the PAIN part…
That is up to you to decide, we honestly do not care. Keep them the same or change them, it all ends with more entertainment either way. What happens to their soul is also up to you. Pain will, as well, be reduced in severity, though it depends on how lethal each injury is. I can sense that you already have ideas within that twisted mind of yours.
“Sweet, that's all I need to know for now. I would prefer to contact you on Discord if I do need anything else, if it's possible at least. Also, I would like to have a physical contract for this, a copy if you would mind. Gotta be a lil paranoid now, don't I?”
Of course, you may. You are quite the thorough one, if we must state. We sense that it'll be quite entertaining…
Oh yes… This will be an exciting 2 days before the real performance. Pleasure doing business!
The being robed in starlight melted away, strands of shadow slinking back under the bed as the shadow lifted off their window like a curtain. That will still freak me the fuck out if I ever have to clean under there…
Welp. Not my problem anymore. I hop off my bed and dust myself off. I go and wash up before opening up the Forsaken wiki again. If I'm going to haunt these survivors, I'm going to need to know everyone and everyplace they will know. Hmm, I should've asked what part of their timeline I will hop into. Eh, I can find that out myself as I watch them…
It’s been a couple of hours since that whole fiasco occurred, and, frankly speaking, Callisto was excited to start observing the survivors. Sure, this was a VERY bizarre situation, but they’ve always wanted sneak peeks into different worlds. (If their watch and reading history of multiple isekais and alternate realities doesn’t make heads or tails about their fantasies, then I don’t know what would!)
They’ve been spending the past few hours occasionally reading through the Wikipedia pages and looking at lore summaries for a bunch of different characters. Somewhere in the afternoon, a shiny round keychain was left on their table along with a couple of notes that seemed to emanate a slight unease. The keychain was double-sided, with one side being celestial clouds resembling the entity in their room earlier and the other a matrix design of lines of red code that shone against the light. It was all bordered by white, messy strokes, as if a mere toddler were told to trace an outline.
“We have confirmed from the being residing over the realm that you will appear at a time after the false void being. We heard your thoughts earlier, so we supposed that would be enough information to suffice.
~ [QUX] 🟪”
QUX…? Is… Is this the name of the entity? And how did they get emojis on paper…
They had searched it up earlier and found out that it's some weird thing in coding languages, as well as a placeholder naming thing that's also for coding. Not like they've heard about it before when they had coding classes though…
Still, “false void being” is kinda harsh for Noli. Sure, they aren't actually real and all, but he's probably as real as they get in Robloxia's level of reality, at least. Sigh… they wish that his old lore wasn't so revamped. The high school dynamic was fun to imagine, and now he's a god of the void with the Void Star or something. I wonder if there's still going to be some differences with this realm and actual lore since, well, they're actual people reacting and all that…
…
Time to find out!
They already had an idea of who they would possess when they actually start, but it's not like they're too hasty with it. They want to drag out the paranoia as much as they can! Though they are quite relieved that they won't be dealing with that beast of a being that is Guest 666. It would be amazing except for the fact that the monster was just added to the game and would be so much trouble to deal with. They've seen enough videos to know that their act would fail immediately if they had to deal with that big creature jumping at them like a Withered Foxy jumpscare. They didn't really understand Veeronica enough, either to be honest… She would just be plain annoying to deal with since she's so new. She really needs a nerf from what I can see on gameplay… At least it's good to know about them before they actually join, it would be easier to fake them if they do.
…
It's currently past 4 pm… I could probably go for a couple of hours, honestly. I would just look asleep for the most part, I think… Hope the being- uhh, BARQUX had a way to keep people from coming into my room while I'm away. I don't need my mom coming in trying to wake me up for dinner or anything. I should be fine for maybe 3 hours, so 3 whole days spectating the soon-to-be victims of my harassment! That- doesn't sound that good in hindsight… Ahhh nevermind.
Callisto took out their phone and opened up Roblox. They haven't played it on their phone in quite a bit, so it had to update for a bit. They made sure to check that their computer was off to their right so that they wouldn't waste that much electricity even though they had the AC on. It's so hot today… Forsaken should be nice and chilly with no sun in the sky constantly.
They opened Forsaken on the app to find an additional server added to their server list, just labelled with a circle symbol. () Looks like the frame of a mirror or something. Or a portal lol. Once they clicked it, they felt their body tense up and lay back on the bed. It felt as if a sinkhole opened up in the middle of their chest with such an overwhelming amount of dread. It was… exhilarating. They felt their eyes fall shut as their very soul was dragged down into the digital realm, squeezed and condensed into a dimension not their own.
…My body feels so light and feelingless. I open my eyes to see the wooden rooftops of the cabins below, the lights within being warm yet oppressing in this place, though there was not a voice in range, so they should all be in a round at the moment.
“Holy shit, I'm actually in Forsaken… This is so fucking cool.
…
Oh, I really do look like a ghost, lol.”
I look down to see my translucent body, now wearing what seems to be a black hoodie with silver rims and drawstrings, and grey sweatpants that end at the middle of my calf. I have white gloves and socks on, no shoes, though. The clothes barely feel like anything, almost like wearing flowing silk that defies gravity.
“I mean, it would make sense that I wouldn't be wearing what I was actually wearing now, though it's not like anyone would be seeing me like this. Very monochrome though”, I start to float down towards the main cabin, which had a bunch of smaller cabins branching from the entrance. Guess that's where all the survivors sleep.
I phase through the door to see the upgraded main cabin from the game. There are some changes, like the kitchen being right where the downstairs back area would be, and there were doors next to the casino machines on the second floor. There also doesn’t seem to be any NPCs in here either, except for that weird talking cat that just sits there. The kitchen seemed to be filled with a bunch of random food scattered all around, ingredients sorted and half open. Guess they were preparing lunch? Or was it dinner? It seemed to be the same time as when I entered, so are they just having a late lunch? I doubt the Spectre gives them convenient schedules since they'd be running for their lives.
…
Speaking of survivors, the first few were coming in, apparently dying early in the round. Hiding around the corner next to the blackboard, they see a lad clad in red and hear a familiar ting of a coin just out of view.
“Hah, sorry El. Tried to get ‘em of yer’ back, but Lady Luck has not blessed me this round…” Chance sounded off as they flopped over the top, and from the sounds of it, their gun misfired right as Elliot was chased. The one in question gave out an exasperated sigh, “It's fine, Chance. I'm just worried about how long the others will last without my pizzas… That little brat’s gonna win once again, dang it.”
As much as he would like to wallow, they are the main cook in this entire realm. So Elliot drags his hands down his face and heads towards the kitchen. “I’m gonna continue with dinner, should be ready in an hour or something.” “Alright, bud. Good try tryin ta get the kid off ya trail for as long as ya did, though.” Elliot waves the gambler off as he walks away, unknowingly passing their new visitor.
“Guess they really can't see me then, huh… I doubt I would be able to do much to mess with them right now…” I float on over to hang right over Chance upside down. Nice perks of being a temporary ghost, I won't be feeling a headache whenever I flip, and I can hang wherever I wanna. I can barely see behind Chance's sunglasses and spot some bright gold eyes that glint whenever he gets a heads on the coin. Gold eyes in this universe? Very classy, shines like all that money he “owes” to a certain someone. Lmao.
Another 2 spawn in after a minute or so, I doubt that clock is accurate-, one hooded up and covered so much that no features are revealed. The wings on their head make me want to pet them all over. The other, outfitted with an army uniform is leaned against the wall the moment they arrived. Taph and Guest 1337. Is c00lkidd hyper on sugar today? I wouldn't expect them to be dropping like flies this early- oh, there's another one. Though the blue pumpkin upon the admin’s head was quite the giveaway on who had just perished.
“😓🙏🙇🏃🔴🔪🎃” Taph started to sign to Dusekkar as he shifted his grip on his staff. “It is alright, my dear friend, for it does not matter in the end. A mistake or two is not your fault, for many in our situation would mindlessly bolt.”
Guest speaks up from his position on the wall, “Yeah, it's fine, Taph. Some of us have our off days, just try to come up with more trap spots with your abilities for the next round, alright? Plus, it was a good idea trying to find us, too bad it feels like that child is getting more erratic the longer we're here.”
That does bring up a bit of a point, though. Does the whole Milestone thing happen over time? These guys don't really seem to have anything that benefits them for Milestones other than new outfits, and they seem to be wearing the same old outfits as beginner players. I flip back upright and hover just over the new arrivals, “Would the personality change from the Milestones for c00lkidd just affect him? But then what else would affect the people here over time???”
Dusekkar suddenly started looking around with unease, “I sense something amiss in the air today, as if a higher power is at play.” …Oh shit.
I backed away towards the head mounted on the wall, far enough from the survivors as they started tensing up. “Welp, guess that's what I get thinking that an admin wouldn't notice something different the moment it happened.” To be fair, he does have the Staff of the Winds, so it isn't too shocking that he noticed something.
There was just a heavy silence for the rest of the round, no one else died, so they probably had been able to stay far enough away from the killer to last the added time. The grandfather clock started chiming once the 30-second countdown was reached and the dead survivors started moving again, preparing for the rest coming in.
The front door opened to reveal the head admin and the ex-exploiter, who must have been excluded from this round. “Heya, Builderman. The others gon be coming back right bout now. Seemed like the kid’s having a hard time tryin to get the others.” Chance perked up from the couch, pocketing his coin.
“Yup, ‘eard the clock goin’ so I thought I'd come back in.” Builderman fixed his hat and wandered over to the mage and group. 007n7 looked like he ate a lemon hearing that c00lkidd was this round's killer, though he just went to sit down by the fire. Right under me…
“Is- Is it just me, o-or does something feel… wrong?” 007n7 spoke up, feeling a slight chill as he got to the flames of the fireplace. Those who heard Dusekkar’s warning started tensing up again, the pumpkin man himself gripping his staff tighter, prepared to defend with whatever limited spells he had at his disposal.
“What's gotten all of you so tense? The round's just about to end.” Elliot walked back into the main room after grabbing a bunch of water bottles for the remaining survivors. “Double the times an unknown factor has been noticed, we must remain alert, for it is unknown if this new presence will hurt.”
…
“Boooo! No fair, why are they all so sensitive to change? They already noticed something's up! Whatever, I can work with this paranoia easily. Entertainment, right? Easy pickings! Let's see…”
I sneak back behind Chance, who was in clear view of everyone, and tried touching the nape of their neck. My hand phased through, obviously, but Chance definitely felt it as he jumped straight out of his seat onto the floor, letting out a high-pitched scream. Pfft-
“AHHH! Oh, admins! What was that?!” Chance turned towards me as he guarded his neck, but saw nothing there. The poor guy was shivering like crazy from that one touch.
Every survivor in the room paled slightly at this shocking reaction, now more on guard than they're used to within the safety of the cabins. At that moment, the round ended, and a cacophony of noise was let out all at once.
Ohh, this is gonna be very entertaining, and not just for THEM, but for me too!