'Seed of Chaos' System

A/N: This chapter contains little in the way of story progression, so if the contents of Derek's Character Profile and Brainstorming Log don't interest you, you won't miss much if you skip it.

Orochi opened up Derek's Brainstorming Log and looked through it, referencing the "Derek E. Remington Character Profile" page on the PAD. Apparently, Orochi was far from the first patron to be interested in dissecting which parts of the Events were influenced by which identity (the participant or the role), so Character Profiles were provided with the basic information of each participant's role. Orochi wasn't sure whether to feel upset about how mainstream this made his curiosity seem or not. He liked to feel unique and special, so doing anything too popular or ordinary made him feel icky. 

In this case, his curiosity won over, and he decided to settle for being just a little bit "normal" today.

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DEREK E. REMINGTON, CHARACTER PROFILE

28-year-old nobleman, secretly involved in shady business involving drugs (Red Fox Coalition). 

Was whacked on the head, slashed over 20 times and left for dead in the woods by his jealous younger brother (Peter), then brought back to life by the evil god ("Savior") Deer Doctor Hyde. Diana (the head maid and Derek's old nanny) is a manipulative, power-hungry woman that incited Peter to kill Derek. He is married with 2 kids (wife: Jenneca - 25yrs; kids: Howard - 5yrs, Rachel - 2yrs). Lives in the coastal city "Relremark," population ~10 million.

Personality details:

♢ Likes to dominate, his way or the highway (his wife is the only one who can dominate him back)

♢ Puts on a noble air for others to see, but his true self is very harshly pragmatic

♢ Problem-solver, aggressive

♢ Cares little for the lives of anyone but himself and his family, but has an unexpected compassion for orphans (secretly donates to an orphanage every month)

♢ Very money-motivated

♢ Ignores his family when he shouldn't, but isn't cruel to them; feels a strong sense of duty towards them

♢ Closed-off, tends to hide anything vulnerable. Has a hard time being honest about the good parts of himself

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PARANORMAL EVENTS ~ BRAINSTORMING LOG, by Apostle Derek E. Remington

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Medicine-Craving Ghost

A mischievous, invisible ghost born from the spirit of a pet rat that got curious and overdosed on its owner's drugs wants to help everyone know how fun it is to eat medicine! It goes around "blessing" (cursing) people and making them crave medicine, eating it until they die. Anyone cursed in this way becomes especially susceptible to lethal overdosing. Anyone who dies after being cursed and overdosing generates another Medicine-Craving Ghost that passes the curse on to 5 living things before dissipating. Only the original ghost is able to stick around and curse as many as they desire.

RULES

1. The original Medicine-Craving Ghost can only curse those who purchase or ingest medicine produced by S&H Medicine Factory. (9000)

2. The cursed endlessly crave medicine, starting 2 hours after being cursed. (300)

3. The cursed become incredibly susceptible to lethal overdose. (200)

4. The corpse of a Ghost's victim spawns a new Medicine-Craving Ghost, which is identical to the original except that it is able to pass on the curse to any 5 living things before dissipating. (400)

5. Anyone who dies after receiving the curse of the Medicine-Craving Ghost has their soul harvested by Deer Doctor Hyde. (200)

TOTAL COST: 10,100 Paranormal Points

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Cult of the Stray Cat

Stray Cats in a certain alley of New Cleveland have been influenced by a paranormal force -- they seek out humans to meet their gaze, and when they do, the humans are infected with the Seed of the Cult. This seed takes root in their hearts. After a day of maturation, the Seed of the Cult can spread to other humans via eye contact and so on. There are no symptoms of infection, unless you perform an X-Ray on the person's heart after the Seed matures, at which point a heart-shaped seed can be seen. Once a month on the night of the New Moon, at midnight, humans infected with the Seed of the Cult flee out into the streets, where the Seeds they are hosts to sprout spontaneously. This bursts their hearts and rapidly grows large branches of enchanting catnip from their orifices. Any cats that eat catnip grown this way become new transmitters of the Cult of the Stray Cat. 

RULES

1. Stray Cats inhabiting the alleys of New Cleveland compulsively seek to meet the gaze of as many different humans as they can. (12,000)

2. Any humans that meet the gaze of these cats, even for a moment, are infected with the Seed of the Cult, which takes root in their hearts. (500)

3. After a day's time, the Seed of the Cult can spread to other humans via eye contact and so on. (300)

4. There are no symptoms of infection, unless an X-Ray is performed on the person's heart, at which point a heart-shaped seed can be seen there. (300)

5. Once a month on the night of the New Moon, at midnight, humans infected with the Seed of the Cult flee into the streets, where the Seed of the Cult in each one sprouts violently -- bursting their hearts and growing large branches of enchanting catnip from their orifices. (1000)

6. Any cats that eat catnip grown this way become new transmitters of the Cult of the Stray Cat, able to infect humans with the Seed of the Cult by meeting their eyes. (300)

TOTAL COST: 14,400 Paranormal Points

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Wendigo's Revenge

After being killed while protecting its young, an elk returns as a spirit, with wolf's teeth, an elongated neck, huge spindly antlers, the hands of a human and a malnourished, ghostly appearance, calling itself Wendigo. In search of revenge, but having lost most of its specific memories, Wendigo has sworn to kill "anyone who dared to take a life." Its revenge is focused on hunters (those who take the lives of wild animals) but will also go for murderers, soldiers who've killed, and anyone who's committed manslaughter. Butchers are not excluded. It wanders around in search of those who can see it, for it can only kill those who it is visible to -- and it is only visible to those who have taken a life. It kills by seizing the head of the killer in their jaws, then yanking to the side to snap their neck.

RULES

1. Day and night, Wendigo roams human settlements in search of revenge. (300)

2. It is visible only to those who have taken a life intentionally. (200)

3. It is drawn to those who can see it. (200)

4. It can only kill those who can see it. (100)

5. It kills by snapping the neck of those who can see it. (200)

TOTAL COST: 1000 Paranormal Points

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Ghostly Pharmacy

Flyers advertising the Ghostly Pharmacy mysteriously appear around the city every evening before the clock strikes 12. Performing the ritual described thereon at midnight summons the door to the Ghostly Pharmacy -- only those with desperate hearts can enter there. The medicines sold there can cure any ailment. However, the price of purchase is the same for all medicines: a piece of their soul. Those missing a piece of their soul are open to possession by violent, evil spirits while they sleep. Each time they are possessed, another piece of their soul is worn away, and they gradually begin to become like evil spirits themselves. Within a month at most, they're out secretly committing murders to relieve the pent-up urges. Souls are harvested both from those they kill and from the cursed once they die.

RULES

1. Hundreds of flyers advertising the Ghostly Pharmacy mysteriously appear around a new city every evening before the clock strikes 12. (1,000)

2. Performing the ritual described on the flyer summons the door to the Ghostly Pharmacy. (200)

3. Only those with desperate hearts can enter the Ghostly Pharmacy. (0)

4. The medicines sold within are nothing less than miraculous, able to cure any ailment or perform any medicinal function the person desires. (500)

5.The cost of all medicines sold within are the same -- a piece of the soul. (200)

6. Those who use a piece of their soul to purchase medicine from the Ghostly Pharmacy become open to possession by violent, evil spirits while they sleep. (300)

7. Each time they are possessed, another piece of their soul is taken, and their darker sides gradually become more prominent. (300)

8. Within a month at most, those who have purchased medicine from the Ghostly Pharmacy have their souls entirely taken away (harvested), but can still function as hollow shells so long as they satisfy their murderous impulses every night. (900)

9. The souls of people killed by users of the Ghostly Pharmacy are also harvested. (200)

TOTAL COST: 3,600 Paranormal Points

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Ghost Deer Stampede

A stampede of screaming, ghostly deer migrates at night, from midnight until dawn, following the roads. It first appeared in the woods outside of Relremark, then disappeared at dawn before reappearing at midnight to continue where they left off. Anyone who sees them will from then on perceive their reflection as having a ghost deer head. If they react to the strange reflection at all, the ghost deer head comes out of the reflection, bites off their head, and replaces it. Their body then continues as if nothing has changed, without a soul.

RULES

1. The herd of Ghost Deer stampedes nightly, from midnight until dawn. (150)

2. They first appeared from the woods outside of Relremark, then followed the roads Southward and have been traveling from city to city since, picking up each night where they left off the morning before. (600)

3. The screams of the Ghost Deer as they run have a mild hypnotizing effect, enticing those who hear it to watch the herd. (2,000)

4. Anyone who sees the Ghost Deer will, from then on, perceive their reflection as having a Ghost Deer head. (2,000)

5. If they react to the Ghost Deer head, it leaves the reflection, bites off their head, and replaces it. (300)

6. The person's body then continues as if nothing has changed, but is now a puppet without a soul. (300)

TOTAL COST: 5,350 Paranormal Points

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