Here it is! +45K words. I can say nothing about the plot content of this chapter because everything is spoilers 🫢

Once again, the two main paths have wildly different scenes until they converge. The results of this chapter will continue to have serious consequences in the next one. There is basically a branch for everything: [redacted 1/redacted 2] states, high/low sanity (with suspicion on/off on low sanity), the routes and romantic/platonic paths, etc. I'm very curious to know how this chapter will play out for you 👀

A big thank you to my beta-readers for their help!!

This isn't all I've been working for the past six months; if you missed my previous post, I split this chapter in two, and I'm working on the last scenes of what is now chapter 10. Hopefully, I can finish it soon enough and post it too :)

Thank you everyone for waiting! I hope you will enjoy the new chapter 💛

Other notes:

The content warnings have been updated. Please check the list in the game; there are 5 new warnings at the bottom.

This chapter has a path that might be hard to read for some people because there is a description of a heavy injury. Not everyone will get this path, but I'm warning you just in case. This path does not lead to a bad ending in the future, so don't be afraid to explore it if you're interested in angst and hurt/comfort.

The cycle choices look different now and are easier to notice in the text.

There are many branches, so my beta-readers couldn't test everything. If you see a bug, or a double space line, or a typo, or anything that sounds like it shouldn’t be in your specific playthrough, and etc., please let me know! You can put it in the tumblr askbox, in the bug form, or message me directly anywhere.

The only reason I can keep writing (and publishing the base game for free) is the people supporting me here, and I appreciate it greatly! Please don't publish the chapter anywhere—the public release is in two weeks. Thank you!! 🙌

LINK

❗️ If itch.io lags and doesn't let you access the file, message me privately, I'll give you a separate key.

To play in the browser, click "← Game page" under "download".