Shin Megami Tensei: Sonata of the Collective

Devland

I arrived at Devland's house and knocked on the door. He lived in a small house, but it was enough for him. He lived alone, as his father passed away when he was in middle school. A thin dark-haired boy answered the door. Devland's face lit up as he saw me.

   "Come in! This is the coolest thing yet." He said, leading me inside. We both sat down in his room, as he logged onto his computer. His room was plastered with posters of various comics and animations he enjoyed, and books about anything from greek mythology to computer science. His room was unorganized, but he knew where each and everything was.
    "So- There's this weird email going around. It's from some guy named Steven, and he's talking about some crazy end of the world stuff-" He said. It surprised me to hear something so similar to my vague dream, but he continued.

   "And there's this sketchy program attached. Now at first, I thought it was totally just malware, but he says it's a demon summoning program." Devland smiled at me. He would always give the same offputting smile when he got a big idea. He reached for his Comp. It was a small arm-mounted computer that had various simple uses. Similar to a smartphone, but more for the technology inclined user. Devland, of course being the tinkerer he was, had modified his a lot.

   "I downloaded it, and, it seems like its legit!" He said with such wonder in his voice.

   "Demon summoning program? I don't get it. You're saying it really works." I asked.

   "You heard about that murder near the hospital right? How it seems like it was some supernatural occurrence? I think that it was a demon." He said to me with an almost concerning amount of excitement.

   "So I haven't been able to summon any demon, but that's because I don't have data for any. I'd have to go capture one to summon one." He said.

   "I- This is all crazy. It sounds dangerous." I said to him. His enthusiasm was frightening.

   "No wait, theres more. I really wanna see it in action, but like I said I can't. But- I've been messing with the program and I think that I could get it to work without encountering a demon. It's not finished yet, but I know i'm on the right track!" He said.

   "So- You're saying your program will really let you summon demons from nothing?" I asked, off-put by all of this.

   "Hopefully! I've been super interested in all of the weird stuff going on recently, and it feels like all the puzzle pieces are coming together!" He said. He noticed my bag and his eyes lit up.

   "Did you bring your comp? Download the program, in case you need it." He said with such conviction that I felt bad to turn him down, so I did. My comp was nowhere near as decked out as his, but he often tinkered with mine when he had the chance just because he liked to. I downloaded the program from the suspicious email, and Delvand seemed satisfied. I felt bad for him. I was really the only person he spoke to, and it didn't seem like the isolation was good for him.
   "I... I have to get going soon. I'm supposed to meet up with Umeko and Keiji at the mall in a bit." I said to him. His face dimmed, but he still gave a smile, "Well alright. I'll get in touch with you soon! You can check out my masterpiece once it's finally finished!" He said jokingly. I gave a warm smile, before exiting his house and getting on my bike.