RHYTHMIC REVOLUTION
Scrapped Scenario For V1-V3 versions
Written by OneQuart
Artworks used by OneQuart/Coldjamiy (Background Artist)
Author's Note
Originally, this was a working draft that I personally used as a guide, but it has been edited for public reading. It’s worth noting that in the upcoming reboot, some elements from the old storyline - which were never fully revealed - will still be used. Therefore, such elements will be marked as spoilers. *Spoiler example
Here, I'll cover the entire plot I planned earlier, as well as the backstories of some characters to provide better context (the ones that haven't changed will be used for the MV:H spin-off mod). Not every character, just couple of them, since something I want to keep as a surprise. The V2 should be more about storytelling, and telling more story between weeks or mid songs, giving more context. There are some things I've deliberately kept quiet about, but now I want to be open about them.
But now we have this document. And Q & A section about plans at the end.
ACT 0 - BEFORE THE START
The story takes place in an alternate universe where Earth was able to achieve scientific progress much more quickly. No one remembers exactly how it happened, but people agree on one thing: history records that something fell from space, and upon studying it, humanity made an incredible leap forward in development, leading to the development of space travel and even the colonization of other planets by the 20XXs. The main supplier of all technology on Earth was Crew.Co - a market monopolist without equal, and any competitors that emerge don’t even stand a chance against this giant.
The secret corporation Imp.Co isn’t a tech company; instead, it specializes in contract killings and stealing certain items on demand without leaving a trace - even though it has plenty of inventions of its own. Those who know about them have noticed that the items they possess are clearly of extraterrestrial origin. Imp.Co is highly skilled at covering its tracks thanks to its expertise and approach, leaving no witnesses and maintaining a very tight-knit circle of influential people. People do not join the organization of their own free will. There is some principle by which the head of this corporation selects people. But what is it? People who are easy to manipulate and indoctrinate with various ideas, erasing their past and forcing them to work.
The conflict arose because Imp.Co became very interested in the activity taking place inside one of the cargo ships. This wasn't a contract; it was a personal mission to steal the object for further study.
Imp.Co also had one distinctive feature. All employees had the Parasite (as ordinary people called it) in their blood. Despite its name, this organism behaved purely symbiotically; however, later on, Benjamin (co-founder of Imp.Co) and Kin (founder of Imp.Co) learned how to partially control their brain activity using the Parasite. There are a few other features of this universe worth mentioning, such as the Void - a mysterious and ancient place that exists in a completely different reality. There are several ways to get there: when a person dies and their soul goes there; when a person is near death and finds themselves in the Void during their dreams; or with the help of other beings from the Void.
But what exactly is the Void? *It’s not just a place, like hell or heaven. It’s a collective consciousness made up of beings that hunt for information. The Void is always hunting for power, venturing out of its own space, absorbing whatever catches its interest, then endlessly studying it to expand its library of knowledge - for the Void’s philosophy is simple: the wise are the strong, and the Void considers itself the most powerful force in the universe. In the Void, there are beings who can create worlds for their own amusement, and destroy them just to see what happens.
ACT 1 - THE BEGINNING OF REVOLUTION
The three main characters from Imp.Co - Robert, Mitori, and Shiro (For more information, you can look into “About The Characters”) - received a mission from their colleague, Benjamin: Crew.Co has something he’s been searching for for a very long time, and they’ll have to sneak onto their cargo ship, where this item is located. The plan is simple: the team sneaks into the technical building, where they must disable the reactor; the resulting malfunction will cause the technical and cargo ships - which are exactly what they need - to arrive.
It didn’t take long for them to arrive, and the characters were already heading inside. They had a clear plan. Robert stood guard, but quite unexpectedly, he ran into BF and GF, who literally appeared out of the Void portal. Without thinking twice, Robert quickly took them out with his pistol, but he didn’t use the silencer, and what’s more, he didn’t check for cameras, which set off the alarm. But what scared him the most was that he saw their ghosts - and it seemed he was the only one who could see them - which is why the Crew members, who arrived so quickly, thought he had gone mad; however, once they realized they were being sabotaged, they took Robert with them for questioning. And at about that very moment, the Void drew the ghosts into itself. It would seem that their story should have ended there, but for some reason, the Void created new bodies for the two of them and sent them back. Mitori had already noticed this oddity and told Benjamin that something strange was going on. Mitori ran into the two of them inside the technical building. Although she didn’t understand how they had survived, she decided to act extremely quickly, because people were gradually finding out about the sabotage and beginning to suspect something.
Shiro, however, had left earlier, as Benjamin had called her; by that time, he was already on site and ready to intercept the spaceships that were scheduled to fly by. Meanwhile, Mitori managed to quickly disable the lighting system, killing a few people in the process; however, she did not kill BF and GF right away, as she suspected that an unknown force would bring them back again, which is why she decided to act even faster, hoping they wouldn’t interfere too much during the sabotage of the thermonuclear reactor. But unfortunately for her, they did interfere, and she still tried to kill them, which caused her to lose her composure slightly, and the reactor exploded completely, hurling the three of them outward into free fall. Mitori still wanted to finish them off so they couldn’t continue to interfere with her comrades, but because of GF’s powers, she was unable to harm them and ultimately fell downward, while BF and GF were once again taken by the Void.
Shiro watched it all from a distance. She watched coldly. For she... knew? That all of this would happen. (For context you can watch The Momentum in D Minor.) *Shiro recorded a voice message for Magnus. She had secretly learned of Benjamin and Kin’s plan, and realized that somehow they had predicted everything down to the smallest detail - Robert’s arrest, Mitori’s death… For them, it was all part of the plan. A plan for someone named Murasaki. This discovery allowed Shiro to remember something she had long forgotten: that this world isn’t so simple. For some reason, she recalled moments that didn’t seem to have actually happened to her, yet she remembered them clearly. She remembered her long-held feelings for Magnus and decided to help him by standing up to Benjamin, without telling him anything.
Shiro and Benjamin used the spaceship's landing as a cover to sneak inside unnoticed, since Imp.Co's target - Magnus - was already inside. He was hidden in the engine compartment. Magnus voluntarily sealed himself inside the engine, becoming a source of energy and completely cutting himself off from the outside world. Magnus and Benjamin are longtime enemies (which will be revealed in the second act, along with why he ended up at Crew.Co).
Once inside the spaceship, the plan continued. Shiro sabotaged the ship by intimidating Dillaw, causing him to trigger the alarm inside the ship. According to their plan, this alarm - and the witness himself - were necessary, which is why the spaceship, which had been in space for quite some time, was heading for an emergency landing at another location on Earth. By that time, Benjamin and Shiro had cornered BF near the engine doors, where Benjamin created a portal to the upper layer of the Void, taking Shiro and BF with him.
At this point, the player encounters the Void for the first time - specifically, its upper layer (since there are no full colors in the True Void, as can be seen from the style of MV:H) - where the BF forces you to experience a primal fear that you wouldn’t even feel if you fell from a high-rise building! Fear is the lifeblood of this place and its parasite, and before quickly killing anyone, it’s important for Benjamin to saturate the body with fear and agony. This activity of the Void awakens Magnus, who had already been waiting for all three of them and was ready for their encounter…
*Note - The story from ACT 1 is still canon, even for Codename Engine Update. What happens next is not canon, but it still contains important plot elements that will be used in future updates and won’t be fully scrapped. All important gonna be marked as spoiler *
ACT 2 - TRUTH AND APOTHEOSIS
– Here we meet again… After so many years. It even became interesting. All this journey just for me? Why? To take revenge? Or am I just inconvenient for you? Well… Since you’re here right now, then look up at me. I am talking to you. This time I won’t go anywhere. However, I will show you what the consequences will be after your actions. Your plan was perfect. However, one point was still very… Unpredictable. And that point is me. I’m the only one you can’t control. Well, it’s been a while already. Get your weapon ready. And understand that you shouldn’t have followed me, Ben.
(Magnus monologue, before “Timeless Edge” track)
Here, the player realizes that Benjamin and Magnus are longtime enemies and that they share some kind of common past. Shiro and BF don’t get involved in their business, and the track “Timeless Edge” was meant to highlight the confrontation between Ben and Magnus, abruptly shifting the mod’s mood to something darker and more eerie, creating a sense of unease.
(Frames from “Timeless Edge” below)
(The rare frame during the track)
– I'll make your life a living hell, and you'll realize what it was like when you created me.
(Magnus monologue during the track)
During the track, the player was supposed to learn more about Benjamin and Magnus’s past through interactive flashbacks. And now it’s time to talk about that past (Marked as a spoiler, since it hasn’t changed for the reboot. It’s not covered, for better read. Move to page 14 if you don’t want to spoil backstory!).
*It all began in the 19XXs (more than a hundred years before the events of RR). Back then, Benjamin was still an ordinary man with a loving family - a loving wife and daughter. He worked as a scientist in Boston, helping to develop cures for all kinds of diseases. His family always lived comfortably, as his research was almost always successful and yielded results, earning him numerous awards. He made a name for himself by saving lives thanks to his expertise in this field. However, a global pandemic later struck the world. Almost immediately, an unknown, deadly disease resembling the plague swept across the globe (A small secret was hidden in the trailer for a very small update, where the reporter (NOT SHIRO) spoke about the importance of hygiene - but how could Shiro have existed over a hundred years ago? We’ll discuss that later as well). The disease left those infected with virtually no chance of survival, killing them in 90% of cases, and in the remaining 10%, it merely delayed their death. Benjamin was given an important task - to create something that could eradicate the disease or at least stop its spread - and for Benjamin, this task became a major headache. He promised his family that he would help them first and foremost.
Countless sleepless weeks slipped by unnoticed, but his efforts proved useless against this disease. It adapted very quickly and became resistant to various medications. He began to distance himself further and further from his family, unaware that his daughter had fallen ill - a daughter he was ultimately unable to save. Overcome with grief, he continued working as before, exhausting himself nearly to death, until he eventually found himself in the Void. It was there that he met someone who called itself Murasaki. This strange creature from the Void decided to help him, offering a deal with certain conditions. Benjamin would gain the knowledge he needed and be able to save the world, just as he had wanted, but in return, Murasaki needed a perfect vessel. Benjamin would have to find or create a vessel for him, and the scientist agreed to this, knowing that it was most likely his last chance. After waking up in the ordinary world, he still didn’t fully believe that all of this was true, but he set to work nonetheless. He experimented extensively and eventually succeeded in creating an artificial body, on which he tested his prototype medicines and which was intended to serve as a vessel for Murasaki. That was Magnus. Magnus had never seen the light of day, and his consciousness awoke in the Void, where he tried to find himself and understand what kind of place it was, fighting for his survival, while in another reality, experiments were being conducted on him and he was being prepared for Murasaki. This went on for several more days. In the Void, Magnus stumbled upon another being who called himself the Observer. It was the Observer who told Magnus what was happening and that he was being used. The Observer was the one who maintained order in the world, but had let Murasaki slip through the cracks. He explained that Murasaki himself was a parasite that devoured world after world, creating “random cataclysms” within them to inflict as much pain and fear as possible, feeding on this to grow stronger, burrowing deep inside, and completely depleting the world beyond the point of recovery. The Observer proposed an alliance, offering to give Magnus a portion of his power so that he could stand up to the parasite and help this world.
Murasaki, however, learned of this scheme when he sensed a foreign power within the vessel; yet he said nothing to Benjamin, choosing instead to take a different path - selecting Benjamin himself in place of Magnus. The scientist himself suspected nothing, and he began to produce the very medicine, believing that the deal had gone through successfully. The initial tests showed excellent results, and people began to be healed; however, Benjamin himself was rotting away more and more with each passing day, becoming covered in a dark substance. People noticed this, but Ben did not. Terrified of him, his wife fled, and he never saw her again. He decayed faster and faster, losing his memory and identity, until all that remained of him was a skeleton, completely covered by the parasite - a fragment of Murasaki.
Meanwhile, Magnus meets another person in the Void - a girl named Shiro. She herself couldn’t remember how she had ended up there. They decided to help each other. Shiro told Magnus about her home world. She spoke of her parents, of feelings, empathy, and other values Magnus knew nothing about, while Magnus tried to help her unravel her mystery, becoming a faithful companion in the Void and ensuring she didn’t perish there. Together, they embark on a long journey, growing closer to one another and promising that, sooner or later, they’ll go very far away together to start a peaceful life. Shiro becomes an emotional anchor for Magnus, and now Magnus wants not to save the world, but to save her specifically.
Finally, after overcoming many difficulties, they find a huge, wrecked passenger spaceship bearing the same emblem as the one on Shiro's waist.
(Image from Maniacal Vengeance: Heartless mod W.I.P.)
They quickly made their way inside and began examining the contents: reading the logbooks on the miraculously preserved equipment and exploring Shiro’s past, which she was gradually beginning to understand. They found a black box that, in theory, could help locate the coordinates of Shiro’s home and help her return there, but Shiro was devastated. She made her way to the main computer, learning more about herself and what had happened.
Shiro was the captain of a mission to colonize another planet. She commanded this ship, which carried about 190,000 passengers ready to settle on the new planet. She is not from Earth. She is from a completely different planet that resembles Earth but is much more advanced, since it was already the 22nd century there. However, during the journey, they were attacked by a huge, spider-like creature from the Void, which destroyed the ship, causing a terrible accident and dragging everything back into the Void with it. No one survived that accident except Shiro herself, but she lost most of her memory. Everyone she knew and loved was no longer with her, and she realized that she had lost everything; with the ship destroyed, she might have lost her last chance to return. However, Magnus tried to encourage her, because they had the black box and just needed a way to extract the information from it - and perhaps the Observer itself, or someone else, would help her, just as it had helped him. However, the spider caught up with the two of them here as well, launching a surprise attack. They tried to fight it off, but at the last moment, the spider created a singularity, sucking most of the ship - and Shiro herself into it. Shiro only had time to warn him not to forget his promise and their goal - the black box and that sooner or later they would find each other.
This singularity transported part of the ship and Shiro into our reality, to Earth, where the events of RR took place. The crash of these objects caught the attention of the fledgling tech corporation Crew. Co, which immediately set out to study it - and it was precisely because of this that they achieved technological progress. As for Shiro, who was suffering from amnesia, they took him with them in order to understand the nature of his appearance and the origin of his wings and halo (the wings and halo appeared between his absorption into the singularity and his ejection; this will be revealed in the MV: H mod). This event was posted as a teaser here.
Magnus was in despair and rage. The Observer told him that it was time to act and that, first and foremost, he needed to get rid of Benjamin, since he was currently the strongest source of power for the Murasaki Parasite. Magnus began to act quickly, breaking into the real world, while rage gradually clouded his mind, and he stopped listening to the Observer altogether, distancing himself from him and acting on his own, plotting his maniacal vengeance. He fought Benjamin, trying to kill him, banish Murasaki, and claim her power for himself. He had only one goal in mind - to create a perfect world for himself and for her, far away from the Void, where it would be just the two of them - completely blinded by vengeance. Magnus’s nature, Murasaki’s power, and the Observer’s power merged within him, allowing him to take the first and most crucial step toward the madness that is unfolding right now.
ACT 2.5 - THE WRITER WHO RUINED THE WORLD
*With the power he had gained, he could completely reset this world and start from scratch up to a certain point, but he could not fully control the course of history. He suspected what the consequences would be, but for him, it was the only solution he could accept. He believed that an opportunity would arise where he could set things right. And he seized that opportunity. Each new reboot erased memories and altered the course of history - sometimes drastically, sometimes only slightly. New characters appeared, such as Robert, Mitori, and so on. Then Kin appeared, who became a new, more ideal vessel for Murasaki, and with the power he gained, he was able to survive the restarts while remembering the past - just like Benjamin himself, and just like Magnus, who was desperately trying to create the ideal, acting almost blindly. His struggle lasted a long time, and he still held onto his faith. He refused to accept a world without the one for whom he had strived, not realizing that he himself had become the world’s greatest parasite - but by the time he realized it, it was too late. Each new iteration weakened the Observer, while it had almost no effect on Murasaki. Magnus recalled exactly how he had gained his power and returned once more to his roots - seeking help from the Observer. But he received no answer this time. He also saw that Shiro no longer remembered him at all, and because of this, Magnus himself broke down, just as she had at some point when she lost everything yet felt betrayed.
At that moment, Magnus decided that this time, he would do things differently. His mind was already spinning out of control, and he performed what would be his final reboot.
(These events are directly related to But Human! mod, and this reboot is a lead-in to the RR universe.)
Magnus voluntarily sealed himself inside Crew.Co, hoping that this would somehow contribute to world security; however, Murasaki knew that a dangerous figure like Magnus was still alive and had to be eliminated. And when Shiro learned of the plan and recalled the past, sending a message to Magnus, he realized that this was far from over and that sooner or later, he would have to take action again.
ACT 3 - THE END
Magnus realizes he doesn’t have much of a chance. Standing before him were Benjamin, Shiro - whom he didn’t want to harm - and BF, who, in his eyes, was an anomaly that needed to be eliminated. However, he knew it wouldn’t be easy; he had already figured out why BF was there. For some reason, the Observer had decided to use him as a way to get rid of Magnus by helping BF, but at that moment, a crazy idea struck Magnus. If Murasaki could control the world’s cataclysms by triggering them, could Magnus control his own reboots if he absorbed more of Murasaki’s power? The battle began anew, and Magnus managed to absorb more of Benjamin’s flesh into himself and perform another reset. As a result of these actions, Shiro vanishes once more into the depths of the void, encountering the Observer himself (which leads us to the track “Seraph”). Magnus, meanwhile, performed a reboot, and this time he succeeded. He created a world where souls no longer exist, completely cutting off one of the paths leading to the Void and forcing the GF - which hadn’t managed to acquire a body - to vanish into the Void. Now he needed to settle things once and for all with Benjamin, gain more power, and eliminate the anomaly - after which he would help Shiro, though he had no idea that Shiro was currently with the Observer.
– And I know how you feel. What’s it like to realize that everything you’ve ever done is simply meaningless, because it will be erased and have no lasting effect? Anger... Sadness? Some people call it retcon, but I call it progress.
(Magnus, before the restart)
Now Magnus was completely consumed by curiosity. How far could he go? How powerful was Murasaki? And what had the Observer prepared? For him, this had now become a testing ground where he decided he could do whatever he wanted. Even so, his actions still mattered. Magnus himself didn’t realize that he was spreading what fueled Murasaki as he toyed with his victim, trying to prove to the Observer that he could now set the rules. He moved BF from place to place, forcing him to play a game he was already familiar with, but changing the rules each time. (Thus, the last few weeks with William, Pinku, and Ash were bound to be the most jarring), for Magnus was wreaking havoc through BF, reminding him each time that sooner or later he would leave him heartless. Observer still helps the BF. The Observer is still lending BF a fraction of his power, helping him keep from completely losing his mind, while at the same time revealing to Shiro the full picture of what is happening.
Shiro goes to the very center of the Void (the Core). There, she sees the true picture:
Magnus’s soul, chained to the Core, is draining of energy as it struggles to sustain the illusory world. Standing opposite him is Benjamin - nothing human remains of him; he is a mass of black, pulsating essence that greedily feeds on Magnus’s suffering. It was strange for Shiro to see Magnus here, for she remembered that Magnus himself wasn't here - he was fighting Benjamin and BF. However, the Observer set everything straight.
–In his attempt to protect you and “set the world right,” he didn’t even realize how he’d lost what mattered most - leaving it behind here. He didn’t even realize how he’d become the very Parasite that harms this world. You have the power to stop this, for I... may very well disappear, leaving my creation to suffer. Help me - and, most importantly, help him.
(Observer’s monologue before pre-final)
The final confrontation begins:
Benjamin/Murasaki attacks Shiro. His goal is to make her suffer in front of Magnus in order to generate a colossal surge of the essence of despair. Magnus, in a panic, tries to protect Shiro by shielding her with barriers. He begs her to return to “the world,” promising that he’ll fix everything again and restart the cycle. But Shiro sees the truth that the weakened Observer revealed to her. Magnus and Murasaki are symbionts. Magnus’s fear of Shiro’s death compels him to create loops. And these endless loops and the struggle for survival are the perfect breeding ground for Murasaki’s suffering. As long as Magnus tries to save her, Murasaki will live forever.
Despite the pain and Murasaki’s attacks, Shiro approaches Magnus. Instead of aggression, she shows the same compassion she did when they first met, back when he was just a simple puppet. She tells him:
– You’ve given me a thousand lives, Magnus. But a story without an end isn’t life. It’s hell. Let me go.
Magnus realizes that his “love” and his desire to protect Shiro have become her worst prison. To control everything is to destroy the very essence of life. With a cry of despair, he accepts her will. He willingly relinquishes control over the world. Magnus has lost his dream of Shiro’s safety is dead, and he acknowledges his powerlessness in the face of the natural course of events. He has completely let go, allowing himself to vanish entirely. He didn't say a word, because he felt he didn't even deserve forgiveness for what he had done.
As soon as Magnus gives up, Murasaki begins to suffocate from “hunger.” Deprived of its energy supply, the Parasite grows weaker. Shiro, in a final act, draws on the Observer’s remaining energy and delivers a fatal blow to the exhausted Benjamin.
In the final seconds before his death, the face of the real Ben emerges from beneath the Parasite. He whispers softly, “I just wanted... to heal this world,” and then crumbles into dust. Murasaki’s Parasite is destroyed.
The Observer, now free from the parasite, says he no longer has the strength to create a new world. That was the final cycle.
– You managed to pull it off, though... There’s one other person in the world who possesses the power of Murasaki. He may be weak right now, but sooner or later he’ll make his presence known. Be prepared, Betelgeuse.
(Observer’s Final Words)
THE END
AUTHOR’S AFTERWORDS
Thank you for reading this document. This story underwent numerous changes during development; for example, in the original version, it was supposed to be Mitori (Not Shiro like here), who ended up in the Void after her death. However, the plot would have been much shorter, and the story eventually reached a dead end. But! I’ll compile all the various bonus content, old ideas, scrapped files, and stories about other characters that didn’t make it into this document into a separate file. I really wanted to reveal all the details within the mod, completely reworking the narrative for V2 and having already prepared a visual novel system, but alas, this update never saw the light of day and probably never will. Some people think I lied about my work... But I just wanted to keep everything under wraps until the very end and give everyone a huge surprise which I ended up ruining in the end.
But I haven't lost hope either. I want to devote myself entirely to the reboot by doing something no one has done before (or at least not in a VERY LONG time) creating more interactive gameplay with a well-crafted story, starting right from the demo version. But we'll talk about that much later.
In the next document, I'll provide more detailed backstories for William, Ash, and Pinku with Albert, since they weren't described in as much detail here. (We still remember Pico's sideline, right?)
That's all for now, see you next time.
Magnus’s death did not go unnoticed. His demise in the outer world released a massive surge of energy, enough to trigger a singularity. This is the process of death for beings born in the Void. The singularity absorbed BF and then collapsed. This piqued Kin’s interest.