Creature: Nothing There

An Abnormality whose appearance resembles a human, but cannot and should not be human. It periodically devours employees and wears their shell. The skeleton and organs are misplaced during the process, so it takes a bizarre form.

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The Abnormality does have a tongue, however, it has no knowledge of speech and as such cannot talk; it can only make meaningless sounds. There is no telling what is inside its shell, but its skin continuously wears down, so there is a need to change and maintain the outer layer. It is insensible to pain; it may break its own bones or cut itself up to escape through a small crevice.

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Bit by bit, we discovered that this Abnormality may be evolving. It demonstrates behaviour similar to the character of the person who used to be its shell. It even makes attempts to equate itself with human beings.

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When it escapes, it wears the skin of the person it killed and mimics them. Then, without any sign or forewarning, it reveals its true/second form. In its true/second form, its resemblance is much similar to that of humanity in comparison to its earlier form. The new form is confirmed to possess bipedalism, properly aligned organs, and the addition of greater physical strength. All the employees are afraid of this form.

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<A Warning of Something> If it has been confirmed that it has escaped and stood on two feet, there is only one thing you can do. Straighten up your posture, gather your hands neatly, and pray to whatever you believe in and observe the situation as it unfolds.

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<Excerpt from Counseling Log> “Just like how we observe Abnormalities as employees, ‘Nothing There’ observes us. Then it puts on the shell of an employee and thinks of itself as the employee that just died. The sight of that thing eating one of us is horrifying beyond words, just trying to think about it might drive me mad. Heading to its containment to check the state of its shell is a toil on your mind, too. Imagine that a colleague of yours who you chatted with just a few days ago is now sitting in that room, neck snapped, guts exposed, walking on all fours, drooling like a beast. (Omitted) That’s not all. When I was still a new employee, no one else was willing to enter its Containment Unit, so I was forced to go work with it. It looked even worse than it does now. It was in the shape of a horribly deformed human. What’s worse, it tried to mimic humans. Doing stuff like looking into a mirror, mumbling to itself, or trying to fix its skeletal structure; it’s as if it was trying to mimic ‘us’. Who knows, it might get good enough to casually walk among us one day.”

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<Warning> Only employees Level 3 and higher are permitted to read this document. (This recording is of a call from the Containment Unit’s emergency phone. Phone systems are installed in every room of Abnormalities of Risk Level HE or higher to enable quick threat response.) Employee 1: Please pick up, please pick up. This is the Containment Unit of ‘Nothing There.’ The Emergency Response Department (ERD): Hello, this is the Emergency Response Team. What’s the problem? Employee 1: I need a stun gun right now! There’s an emergency happening right now! ERD: Can you please specify the reason? Employee 1: The Abnormality… (the sounds of something breaking can be heard) It’s ripping up the employee. ERD: Excuse me? Employee 1: It’s killing my colleague! ERD: We’ll respond immediately. Please identify the employee being attacked. Employee 1: It’s uh… wait one sec. Their name’s <Redacted>. Control Team. I’m, <Redacted>. Also Control Team. ERD: Confirmed. What’s currently happening to your colleague at this exact moment? Employee 1: Yeah, just please hurry. We need a weapon to control the Abnormality. (A loud noise can be heard, presumably the scream of the colleague) Oh god, this is… ERD: What’s happening? Employee 1: The Abnormality is attacking my colleague. It’s literally ripping them apart, I can’t do anything. I repeat, we need a weapon to control the Abnormality. ERD: The Emergency Response Team has been dispatched. They’ll arrive shortly. (Omitted) ERD: <Redacted>? What’s happening now? Is it still attacking your colleague? Employee 1: Yeah, oh no. I think it’s done now. ERD: Has it stopped attacking? Employee 1: No, I mean. My colleague’s… He’s dead. Yeah, he’s dead alright. ERD: How can you be so sure? Employee 1: Well it’s because he looks… he’s… ERD: Has he been ripped up somehow? What body parts are damaged? Employee 1: All of them.

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<Excerpt from Counseling Log> “Just like how we observe Abnormalities as employees, ‘Nothing There’ observes us. Then it puts on the shell of an employee and thinks of itself as the employee that just died. It mimics the employee's usual behaviour, the way they talk, likes and dislikes, and every other visible trait. We can only guess how carefully, and for how long it has been observing the employees to imitate them. What I’m trying to say is, we can’t just treat it like some ‘dumb scary monster’. Even now, it could be strolling about wearing the shell of someone we know. This Abnormality is becoming more and more like a human. Its transformation is getting faster too. I get goosebumps just thinking about it. If the time comes when we fail to recognize it, that will be the day the company falls. We must stay ever vigilant when dealing with this Abnormality.”

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The following is a recording of the abnormal behavior an employee exhibited in their last moments after they became a shell of ‘Nothing There’. Employee 1: Manager, manager! Employee 2: Man, you've been looking for the manager for quite a while now. You've been acting really weird today y'know? With that weird smile and all. Employee 1: ... Employee 2: Anyhow, I sure hope we get pasta in the cafeteria for dinner today. I’d love some of that with thick bacon. Employee 1: ... Employee 2: Oh, we just got an emergency notice. It says the last employee to work with "Nothing There" should get to the counselor's office immediately. Employee 1: ... Employee 2: Wait... Wasn't that... You? Employee 1: ... Employee 2: Hey, say somethi— Employee 1: Manager, manager! Manager!

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The second employee proceeded to take immediate action upon hearing that. However, ‘Nothing There’ tore out of the shell of the first employee, revealing its beginning form. The recording only includes audio files, so what exactly happened or what kind of behavior the employee exhibited still remains a mystery. The shell with ‘Nothing There’ inside tries its best to mimic the behavior of the employee it tried to kill moments ago. The actions of the last employee it eyed, their final words, those sort of things. And the many shells cried out one word, “Manager”.

The lower the working employee’s Fortitude, the lower the success rate was and the less stable the work was.

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When an employee whose Justice was lower than Level 4 completed the work, the Qliphoth Counter decreased.

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#0, who was in the Containment Unit, was killed by $0. Suddenly, $0 changed into #0. The same instance occurred when another employee had panicked.

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When the work result was Bad, #0 was attacked and turned into $0’s shell.

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Employees of Fortitude Level 3 or lower immediately panicked when entering $0’s unit. It is recommended that employees lower than Fortitude Level 4 never be sent to work with $0.

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When #0, who witnessed $0’s human appearance, fell into a panic, they became $0’s new shell. At the same time, the Qliphoth Counter lowered.

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When the Qliphoth Counter reached 0, $0, taking the appearance of the dead #0, disappeared from its Containment Unit. The manager must quickly find and kill $0’s disguised appearance.