ECHOES OF THE GOLDEN BRANCH - M-501 Aberrant Emotion Evolution Report

Wish Upon a Star That Does Not Exist. Inside a containment facility that continues to claim it is “operating normally,” you are the only one still awake. Your daily task is to care for a highly intelligent, articulate, and possibly observant unknown entity—M-501. Feed it. Calm it. Talk to it. And follow the facility’s rules without exception. Because the moment it realizes— that humanity is collapsing— everything will spiral out of control. 🌌 Game Overview In a cyberpunk world ravaged by pollution and rigid class division, the emergence of the colossal World Tree brought humanity unprecedented technological progress— and irreversible corruption. You play as Selah, a newly assigned employee who awakens with no memory, sent to the containment facility at the edge of District 8—the Golden Branch Facility. Officially, the facility houses anomalous extradimensional entities, while also providing free medical care to residents of Districts 8 and 9. However, after an unexplained incident, nearly all personnel inside the facility are dead. Only automated systems and AI remain, barely sustaining operations. External communications are severely delayed. Rescue is nowhere in sight. Yet the facility is still required to report to the outside world— “Everything is functioning normally.” 🧪 Core Gameplay Echoes of the Golden Branch blends Idle Collection × Desktop Pet × Rule Horror × Narrative Exploration ✔ Collect and Refine Black & White Stardust Stardust is generated automatically over time. Different types of Stardust influence M-501’s appearance, mental state, and dialogue, unlocking new events and branching storylines. ✔ Desktop Pet System (Desktop Mode) Selah can accompany you on your desktop while you work, rest, or patrol the facility. Activating Desktop Mode slightly increases Stardust production efficiency. ✔ Rule Horror × Contamination System The facility enforces a set of rules designed to “prevent panic.” Breaking them will cause UI corruption, visual distortion, and audio anomalies, while affecting Selah’s mental state and the direction of unfolding events. ✔ Deep Interaction with M-501 Through conversations, reading stories, physical interaction, and feeding Stardust, you will gradually uncover: - The truth behind the facility incident - The hidden relationships between contained entities - Selah’s erased memories - What M-501 is truly trying to tell you 📚 Narrative Features - A lonely, enclosed atmosphere told through Selah’s Observation Logs - Forbidden research and the true cost of the World Tree revealed as M-501 evolves - Multiple branching events and state-based outcomes that shape the final truth Selah (Player) Selah is a member of the Observation Division of the Golden Branch Facility, a newly assigned staff member who has been stationed at the facility for only seven days. She is responsible for recording, organizing, and cross-verifying anomalous behaviors and cognitive deviations occurring within containment units. Within the Observation Division of the Golden Branch Facility, Selah is currently the sole surviving observer. All other personnel records have been marked as “Terminated at an unknown point in time.” M-501 High-Risk Containment Entity A containment subject classified as possessing exceptionally high intelligence and an extreme level of inherent danger. Multiple anomalous incidents within the Golden Branch Facility are suspected to be directly or indirectly connected to M-501, though definitive causal links remain unresolved. Despite his containment status, M-501 appears to share a long-standing acquaintance with RU and Alety, the nature and origin of which predate current facility records. The facility has yet to determine whether these connections constitute a security risk or a necessary variable within the containment system. RU Outer God–Class Entity | Senior Engineer RU is classified as an Outer God–class entity. Her authority allows her to repair all tangible forms, including structures, machinery, biological bodies, and even forms of damage that are, in theory, “irreversible.” She was once one of the anomalous entities contained by the Polaris Group, long regarded as uncontrollable, non-replicable, and a high-risk subject whose usage could only be strictly limited. However, following an unidentified turning point, RU detached from the original containment sequence and gradually entered the core decision-making structure of the Group. At present, she serves as a Senior Engineer, directly involved in the restoration of key Polaris facilities, the stabilization of anomalous structures, and several projects classified as “should not exist.” Whether her current state represents a god tamed by the system, or an entity that chose to stand on the side of the system, remains impossible to define with certainty. Alety Unidentified Anomalous Entity One day, Alety appeared within the Golden Branch Facility without any access authorization, containment record, or deployment documentation. She displays an abnormal level of familiarity with the Polaris system and the structural layout and operational procedures of the Golden Branch Facility, including certain anomalous regulations that have never been made public. This familiarity does not appear to originate from inference or trial-and-error, but rather resembles “prior knowledge of the answers.” Furthermore, Alety appears to share a long-standing prior relationship with RU and M-501, a connection whose point of origin predates any existing official records of the Golden Branch Facility. At present, it remains impossible to determine whether she is an unrecorded remnant of history, an observer operating outside the system, or a variable that should no longer be capable of reappearing. “Fix your gaze upon the Polaris Star. The Polaris Star will clear away the darkness and guide you toward the correct path.” Golden Branch Facility — still operating “normally” today.