Our story begins in Japan. An international group of scientists, lead by the eccentric academic Andrew Zinoviev Raphael, began investigating a town which had experienced a statistically significant increase in both suicides and violent crime. They quickly discovered the cause to be an extremely advanced nano-virus, and set out to create treatment. Unfortunately, they also discovered that one individual left the village, and there was the potential for a pandemic to wipe out humanity.
Using a series of connections, they established the MEDIGO Project to investigate the source of the infection under top secrecy. One thing they discovered is that while ordinary individuals reacted normally to the virus, individuals less ordinary reacted in more unpredictable ways. The other thing they discovered was an underground pool of an incredibly disturbing viscous liquid- a small amount of investigation revealed two things-
- The liquid was alive. That is, it contained structures that heavily resembled the neuron activity of a human brain.
- The liquid was the source of the infection.
The situation became urgent, as the MEDIGO staff, constantly innoculating themselves, realised that they could not save the rest of the world in a simmilar way, especially if, as they suspected, the Wellspring was operating with the explicit intent of destroying humanity. Things were worse than they imagined. The Wellspring had caused one individual, to succumb totally to despair, and to merge with its’ mind. To become the Vessel, seeeking only to make humanity experience blissful despair. And the two, united, set out to make MEDIGO unintentionally destroy their own mission.
MEDIGO gathered 16 individuals with extraordinary talent and unique psychologies from across the world to begin extensive testing. They constructed a faux medieval castle at their cloaked headquarters containing a tiny sample of the Wellspring being continually sucked through the walls silently, in order to gague the effects on individuals. Some of them were somewhat unstable, but MEDIGO considered it neccecary to see how the psychovirus affected highly dangerous and abnormal individuals in order to develop a cure for them. Unfortunately, the Wellspring’s Vessel managed to sneak their way into the programme in the second batch of test subjects.
The situation outside the compound worsened. World War III began to tear through the world. The Mastermind, as they would come to be known, made preparations for their true objective- eliminating MEDIGO, their greatest threat, then using their facilities to make the virus unstoppable. To inspire a fearful abandonment of hope that would make the virus unstoppable. To run and broadcast… The Killing Game.
However, the scientists at MEDIGO began to suspect something was going wrong, and the Mastermind was forced into a corner at quite a few points. Fortunately, they were able to outsmart the scientists at MEDIGO using one key property their total infection granted them- the ability to completely fool all scientific instruments. MEDIGO considered terminating them, but unfortunately chose not to. Using contacts within the government, they arranged an edition of the circular newsletter to be sent- which contained a sample of the Wellspring’s water. When this sample reached MEDIGO, they tried to deal with it by placing it into a waterproof box, tearing it to pieces, and then leaving it in the Fountain Room. Unfortunately, there was a leak in the box. That is how ??? ended up in its’ current state, filled with a diluted sample of the Wellspring.
Pretty soon, the majority of MEDIGO staff were weakened with the virus such that they left the project of their own accord. Some of them committed suicide, some of them did not. The only one left behind was Andrew Zinoviev Raphael, the leader of the project. However, one day, he found most of the subjects under anaesthetic. Terrified, he hid in his office and turned the lights off. His rare fish went dark. There was no way anybody could find him, right?
Right?
Unfortunately, the Mastermind found them. Using their superhuman strength and their sense of dramatic irony, they thrust AZ Raphael’s hands into the fish tank. Betsy bit her owner, and her poison acted extremely rapidly. A younger man would’ve survived with only minimal illness. AZ Raphael was not a young man. He died quickly. Then, to gloat, the Mastermind took a single picture of the crime scene- using flash phtoography on the camera they carried with them everywhere. The little bit of light was enough to keep Betsy glowing for weeks afterwards.
They created an AI-operated robot named Monokuma to pose as running the Killing Game, and decided to use MEDIGO’s headquarters as the seat for the killing game, then administered amnesia-causing drugs to their fellow 15 test subjects. That is how you, the 16 participants, got to be in this situation. The Mastermind remained in the game for one critical reason- they fully intended to publicise their presence in the game in order to give a last bit of fleeting hope to those watching, knowing full well that they’d orchestrated everything from the start. MEDIGO’s choice of volatile personalities went against them, as cults and personal vendettas ravaged any chance of survival. The world could do nothing but watch helplessly.
Because, as mentioned earlier, the Mastermind was one for gloating, they left a large amount of information that pointed to them as the true perpetrator of this vile game available to the participants. A bulletin board concerning the actions of the Ultimate Conman, explaining the motive behind their killing. A diary by the Ultimate Survivor proving their past to not be fabricated, and their drive to survive no matter what. Emails explaining their ability to prevent investigation through direct means. The last plans of AZ Raphael. Scrapbooks of the Ultimate Escape Artist. Details on how his fish functioned. Hell, they even left behind repeated references to their jobs in journalism placed there explicitly to taunt onlookers with how obvious the Mastermind’s connection to journalism was.
The Mastermind was among you the whole time. Their true identity was none other than…
