Revision 2

SEAL headquarters is the central base of operations for the Shadow Emergency Alliance (SEAL) in Varsapura. Located within the City of Rain, the facility is where agents are recruited, briefed on missions, and deployed to handle Cognosea disruption events. The Hollowone protagonist visits headquarters during her application process and returns between missions.

Interior layout

The 31-minute gameplay demo showed portions of SEAL headquarters. The interior has a distinctive "bureaucratic-but-spooky" atmosphere, with grey concrete walls, surreal shape-shifting architecture, and office spaces filled with paranormal artifacts:

• Monitoring stations with multiple screens displaying data on ongoing operations and Mindrot activity across the city

• Briefing rooms where agents receive mission details before deployment

• Interview/processing areas where Sayuki conducted the Hollowone's entrance interview and reviewed her application paperwork

• Paranormal artifacts including strange telephones, vintage camcorders, and documents that build out SEAL's organizational lore

• A dimensional gateway within or near the facility that leads to another dimension, used for assessments and field access

• Mr. Shadow's office: a dimly lit room where Mr. Shadow, SEAL's director, sits behind a desk with his black cat nearby

Role in gameplay

Headquarters appears to function as a mission hub. Between field deployments, the protagonist returns here for debriefings, new assignments, and story progression. The demo showed interactions with multiple SEAL staff members at headquarters, including conversational sequences with Sayuki and Mr. Shadow.

SEAL provides "full-spectrum oversight of ongoing operations" according to text visible in the demo. This suggests the headquarters also monitors agent well-being alongside operational objectives. Given the psychological nature of Mindrot and consciousness space threats, monitoring agents' mental health makes practical sense within the story.

The recruitment process

The demo opened with the Hollowone protagonist going through the SEAL recruitment process at headquarters. This involved:

1. Submitting application paperwork (the infamous documents with the "2026.04.01" date code that fans have analyzed)

2. An interview with Sayuki covering the protagonist's background and motivations

3. An assessment trial in the Otherworld, accessed via dimensional gateway from within or near the facility

The assessment trial went wrong when Mindrot seeped into the controlled environment, turning the test into a real combat situation. Whether this was an accident or orchestrated by someone within SEAL is an open narrative question.

Security and secrecy

SEAL deals with supernatural threats that the general public may not be fully aware of. The headquarters is presumably a secure facility, though the specifics of its security measures, public visibility, and relationship with the city's regular government have not been detailed. Mr. Shadow's shadowy nature and the organization's name ("Shadow" Emergency Alliance) suggest an element of secrecy in their operations.

Open questions

How much of headquarters is explorable in gameplay, whether it contains shops or upgrade stations, whether players can interact freely with NPC staff between missions, and whether the facility plays a role in any combat sequences are all unconfirmed.