The air hung thick with dust thanks to the gigantic mechanical crablike Rapture when it fell over a wrecked skyscraper. I stood amidst the rubble with my newly gained squad, broken pieces of concrete and twisted metal scattered around us like the bones of some long-dead civilization. Our own civilization, according to Anis when I ask her.
Did we do it? Did we save her? Where is she?
We have defeated the Black Smith, thanks to Anis and Rapi's effort. I did not contribute much aside from warning them when the Black Smith was about to use its deadly laser and cursed tentacles. I ignored Shifty's exclamation from our comms device as I looked at the Rapture, searching desperately for an indication of Marian's Survival.
"Over…Here….Here…."
My body stood frozen, staring helplessly at Marian. Gone is her small blue hat, with torn clothes that thankfully still cover her modesty. Her weapon is nowhere to be found. But most importantly, she lost her right arm and left leg, exposing the metal that is her flesh and bone. Her right eye is lost, revealing a deep socket that shines with red light as blood drips from it.
I failed her.
"This is bad. Her brain has already been corrupted." Anis said, but it didn't register in my mind.
"We all know the rules. Any Nikke who has sustained brain damage is to be disposed of."
Guilt punched the burning anger outside of my gut. My vision started to blur and tears ran down my cheeks as I tried to deny the reality before my eyes. I am her commander; I should have prevented this from happening. I should have saved her. And yet-
I failed.
It feels unfair. Just earlier today, she saved me from dying in that helicopter crash. A few hours ago, she saved me again from dying against the Raptures. The only thing I can do is bandage her wounds and offer some irrelevant help. That hardly even begins to make up for what I owe her.
"According to the law, the execution… must be carried out by the commander."
Shifty's words yanked me back to the moment. It feels like all the blood in my body is replaced with ice as I realize what I must do as her Commander. Rapi's action does not help to calm my mind as she hands me a pistol.
"This pistol is for when we must self-terminate, but humans can use it as well." She informed me, with her gentlest tone. "Just… get in close."
I gripped it with my shaking hand, feeling as if I was holding a death sentence. A death sentence I must deliver.
"Perhaps I should do it." Anis offers me. Her hand on my shoulder reassures me that she has my back. For a moment, I feel relieved that I don't have to do it. Then disgust replaced it as I realized that I would make her do that on my behalf.
"We can't Anis, NIMPH prevents us from killing other Nikke." I grip the pistol harder at Rapi's confirmation. In the end, I could do nothing but become a burden to them. I look at Marian's dying body and steel my resolve.
I am their commander, so I must bear the sin of executing them before they become fully corrupted. Before they become nothing but puppets dancing to the Rapture will. I start to walk, each step growing heavier than the one before.
When I find myself right in front of Marian, I raise the instrument of death that will seal her fate. I aim at her head, hands still shaking as my finger refuses to pull the trigger.
"No time to hesitate, commander. If we do not get this done, she will probably become an Irregular soon."
Shut up! You were not the one she saved when you could not remember anything after the crash landing. You were not the one she defended when you had no idea what to do. You are not the amnesiac, incompetent newbie commander she pulled from the jaws of death! You are not me!
But I cannot say that to Rapi, no matter how justified it might feel. She does not deserve to be hurt by my pointless insults. She and Anis deserved better than that. They all deserve a commander better than me.
"Commander!"
The pistol in my hands started falling as my resolve to execute Marian grew weaker. I have failed Marian again. Even now my mind refuses to obey my weakening will.
But Marian, even when she is corrupted, still tries to help me.
"Over here, Commander." Her remaining hand lifts my hands so that it is aimed directly at her forehead, as I vaguely recall that the brain is Nikke's most important part.
"Thank you… for your… bandages." Marian's hand rests on mine, her thumbs pressing against my index finger as she guides me to pull the trigger and end her life. Gunshot rings in my ear, as I stared at her in disbelief.
Truly, I am a failure.
She took her own life—to spare me the pain she thought I couldn't bear. There is no better word to describe me than failure.
I kneel beside her lifeless form, my hands trembling as I wrap her head and wounds with the last of my bandages. It's a futile gesture, I know. She doesn't need my help anymore, and yet… some part of me compels me to act. Perhaps it's guilt, or maybe just desperation to feel like I'm doing something, anything, that could undo this moment. But I can't. Nothing will.
I lean over, my breath catching in my chest. My throat is dry, burning with words I've swallowed for too long. I try to hold back the tears, but it's a losing battle. I want to be strong, but right now, I'm too tired to pretend.
"Thank you for everything, Marian," I whisper, my voice breaking as the words leave me.
I am sorry for not being good enough.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Rapi looks at the Novice Commander as he walks with them silently. Currently, they have reached the nearest elevator hub. It was a short walk for a Nikke like her, but keeping up with Nikke's pace for 1 hour would tire normal humans like him. Even more so when during the operation he had done it for at least 3 hours with little to no rest. Yet, even now he remains silent. His mind is most likely preoccupied with Marian, which elevates him from the other Commander in her selfish opinion.
Novice Commander Samseung "Sam" Jun, age 22, and height of 175 cm. There is nothing notable in her database about him, except this is his first mission deployment after graduating from the military academy. He acts like a complete amateur during the fights, yet Rapi knows that she and Anis cannot possibly defeat Black Smith during the fight without him unless she goes for 'that' mode.
Under his slightly less-than-stellar guidance and a surprising amount of trust, she performs better. Anis might have swept it under a rug and thought it was all due to luck, but Rapi knows she is not that fortunate. Because unlike most Nikke, she is much more aware of her core and its performance parameter, and how it sometimes jumps up during the mission, especially when fighting against the Black Smith.
"Shifty, the thing with Marian, what is going on with her?" Anis's voice trembled, questioning Shifty about their latest battle.
"That corruption code implanted into Marian must have overtaken her navigation unit first, guiding her to the Black Smith location." Shifty replied, her tone calm but gradually rising with tension. "She is also sending out distress signals to open frequency as if telling the Black Smith that the "food" has arrived." She added with frustration in her tone.
"But she is acting completely normal before she starts doing the broken recorder impression." Anis remarks, perhaps a bit insensitive in trying to make the situation lighter.
"When did it start?" A voice Rapi didn't expect came from her left. With Anis on her right, it could only be the commander. "When exactly did Marian get corrupted? I keep an eye on her all the time, and I never saw her acting out of the ordinary… even if I can't quite remember what 'ordinary' is."
His voice trembled with barely contained anger, sharp and tense. It wasn't just fury, though. It was a swirling mix of frustration, concern, and anxiety, all blending together like a river merging into the vast, uncontrollable ocean.
"Then it couldn't have happened during the operation, because Shifty said Marian was the one who sabotaged the transport ship, right? She must have already been corrupted by that point."
Rapi's calm, insightful words cut through the commander's anger like a blade. The fury he'd been projecting faltered, replaced by a hollow emptiness. He leaned against the elevator window, his posture sagging, as if the weight of everything had finally become too much.
"And that transport ship came directly from the Ark," Rapi added, her voice steady yet grim.
From the comms device, Shifty let out a sharp gasp, the realization hitting like a sudden shockwave through the team.
"Were the AEGIS Barriers broken?! Should we tell—"
"No," Rapi interrupted firmly. "The AEGIS Barriers still stand. They would have detected any corruption instantly if it had gotten into their range." Her tone softened slightly, but her eyes remained focused. "Besides, if the barriers were compromised, they'd have known about it already."
An uneasy silence followed as her words sank in.
"Rapi, what are you trying to tell us?" Anis questioned, triggering the commander to jump to a conclusion.
"That there might be traitors in the Ark," he declared, his voice flat, devoid of the anger that had once surged through him. His emotions were spent, drained by the relentless weight of the recent events. He sighed, the exhaustion seeping into his words. "Or maybe malicious groups or agents are acting against humanity."
He paused, the realization hitting him fully as he added, almost as an afterthought, "Is there something like that in the Ark?"
"It must be them!" Anis answered confidently. "You probably don't remember it, Commander, but there's a terrorist organization called Heavenly Ascension from the Outer Rim. They specialize in bombings and sabotaging Ark's infrastructures. They must have planted the corruption code inside Marian to kill you!"
The commander's brow furrowed, his expression caught between doubt and contemplation, but Rapi stepped in before he could respond.
"I can't see how that benefits them," Rapi said with assurance. "Corrupting a Nikke who's heading to the surface doesn't fit their usual methods." Her voice was calm but pointed. "And besides, the commander they're supposedly targeting is just a recent graduate—a novice. Not even the valedictorian of the Military Academy. No offense, Commander."
Rapi thought to herself how even the valedictorians rarely survived past their second mission, the distinction offering little more than a temporary spotlight in a short-lived career.
"Way to poke holes in my theory, Rapi." Anis's confidence deflated, her excitement over the idea of facing a known enemy evaporating. She almost looked disappointed, as if the idea of battling them had brought a strange sense of thrill.
"Umm, about that," the commander interjected, his voice awkward, cutting through the weight of the conversation. The grimness that had hung over him since Marian's loss seemed to have lifted, leaving him sounding more like his previous self. "I still can't remember my past… or anything related to it," he admitted, pausing to rub the back of his neck, the gesture almost sheepish. "Which is weird because I can still remember random facts. Like how old-gen Nikkes used to have green coolant for blood."
"Ugh, please don't remind me of that, Commander," Anis groaned, visibly cringing. The thought seemed to send a shiver down her spine. "It gives me chills just thinking about it." Her tone was dejected, as though even the memory of such grotesque details made her uncomfortable.
She crossed her arms as if warding off the thought. "I'd rather not dwell on the insane designs of the old-gen Nikkes. Who wants a rocket arm anyway? Those scientists were absolute weirdos," she muttered under her breath, shaking her head. Anis had long decided that some of the older designs belonged in horror stories, not in practical use.
"That is strange indeed," Shifty remarked thoughtfully. "Would you like me to make an appointment to visit the hospital later today?" she offered, her tone calm and professional.
"Please do," the commander replied. "Also, I would appreciate any information you can find about my past, especially my name. Referring to myself as 'the commander' in my own head is… uncomfortable."
"Very well." A brief pause followed, and then the sound of a slightly louder beep echoed through their comms. "Done. I've sent your details to your Blabla account."
"Thank you very much, Shifty. But what is this 'Blabla'?"
Anis's groan of disbelief was almost instantaneous, a perfect reflection of how utterly out of touch the commander was. Rapi's raised eyebrow mirrored her reaction, though she remained silent. Anis, however, couldn't hold back. She groaned even louder, suddenly remembering that he had lost most of his memory.
For a while, she had entertained the thought that he might be faking his amnesia, but after spending time with him during the mission, she could confidently say there wasn't a subtle bone in his body.
The commander's brief moment of ignorance quickly turned into a lecture on personal equipment—delivered with snarky commentary by Anis and the ever-dutiful assistance of Rapi. By the end, at least, he'd learned that he once had a phone. It was broken now, of course, so he'd need a new one issued.
Anis is kind enough to let him access his accounts from her phone.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
I'll have to thank Shifty later for giving me a piece of who I was before the helicopter crash. There's a strange comfort in knowing your own name after forgetting it. Samseung Jun—that's who I am. Or at least, that's who I was. The memories still aren't there, but something about seeing my name felt like a small piece of the puzzle clicking into place.
Looking at my Blabla account, I noticed the complete emptiness of the chat history. I don't remember having any friends during my days at the Military Academy—probably didn't, if this empty inbox is any indication. Tying my account to fingerprint lock was a wise decision to make, past me.
I handed the phone back to Anis, thanking her for letting me use it. I also gave my thanks to both her and Rapi for teaching me how to navigate it. It felt… strange. Familiar, somehow, like holding the phone brought back the ghost of a routine I no longer fully understood.
Together, we stepped into the elevator that would take us down to the Ark. The descent felt far too fast for my liking—almost terrifying, like we were plummeting toward the earth. As we passed through the Outpost, Rapi pointed it out, explaining its purpose, but my mind was elsewhere.
And then, I saw it.
The Ark, the last bastion of humanity, is located deep inside of a massive cavern. I really mean it when I say massive. It is like someone removed hundreds of kilometers beneath the earth's surface and somehow did not cause a cave-in. There is no support structure to hold the earth above them as if it were done by magic. The Ark itself is placed on some kind of crater that spreads its materials outward, like a frozen tsunami made of metallic earth.
Viewing the Ark from inside the elevator see-through wall, I can see the bright light circling on top of the Ark. Hologram lights flashed with advertisements of an event about a championship I do not know anything about, shining on top of a white dome.
My eyes wander to Anis and Rapi. Anis is a Nikke from Tetra Line. She has short blonde hair and orange eyes. She wears an unzipped yellow and black jacket, a white tank top that doesn't hide much, criminally short black outdoor hotpants, black stockings up to her thighs, and a knee protector. She also wears high heels and doesn't even trip during combat. Let's not mention how big her grenade launcher is or how she wears the ammos like an accessory, but how can she fight while wearing high heels?
Besides her is Rapi. She is a Nikke from Elysion. She has long light brown pinkish hair and red eyes. She wears a black jacket with red lining, a red tie over her black shirt one-piece, a strange skirt that looks closer to a belt attached with several ammos, an assault rifle strapped on her back, black stockings with a red star on each of it, and high heels. Again with the high heels, does every Nikke have a death wish?
Scratch that. The heels on their shoes might be used to anchor them to the ground instead of showcasing their already very prominent figures. Get your mind out of the gutter, Sam.
"Commander, do you copy?" Shifty asked, her voice coming through the comms device I wear.
Shaking my head to clear my mind, I then pressed the button on the comms to reply. "Copy that. What is it, Shifty?"
"You, Rapi, and Anis are tasked to meet Deputy Chief Andersen at the HQ soon. Armed, preferably. But before that, did you suffer from any headaches recently? I ask because I will inform them if you need to get a check-up first." Shifty offers.
"HQ is calling us in?" Rapi asks for clarification, surprised by this.
"Seriously? Not this again man." Complained Anis.
I ignored her and turned my attention back to Shifty. "No. Aside from being a little tired, I'm fine."
"Understood. Good luck with your meeting, Commander," said Shifty's through the comms.
"Thanks. You too." I said awkwardly, the soft static of the comms filling the momentary silence.
"Commander, you should have said that you are injured. We would get a break from meeting them if you did that." Anis said after I put down my hand from the comms. I just look at her with my best poker face.
"Oh, I'm sorry? Isn't meeting your superior post-mission important?" I retorted.
"Not in this case, Commander. They are most likely going to be like," Taking a deep breath, Anis lowers her voice while holding a finger under her nose to give a mustache impression. She lowers her voice to add gravitas to her voice. "-Such a scarce number of you, and yet you manage to vanquish a Black Smith! Truly, a feat of unparalleled magnificence! Keep fighting for humanity, my most loyal and utterly subservient Central Governments lap dogs!" That is the most pompous arrogant noble depiction I have ever seen someone do, not that I have ever seen a real one. Anis has the talent to be an actress in my opinion.
"It's always the same song and dance." Anis looks like she is so done with life. Or the Central Government. I don't know why but I get a very uncomfortable feeling about the Central Government. Maybe I was a criminal in my past? I don't think I was, but it would surprise me if it turned out I was a criminal.
"Well, we did perform very well during the last mission." Rapi stated as a matter of fact.
"Let's get this over with. The sooner we go, the sooner we can rest." Anis said tiredly.
"Sure." I agreed. "I wonder why they want us to arrive armed."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"Nice to meet you. I am Andersen, Deputy Chief of the Central Government Command."
A man in his late 30s, sporting a meticulously groomed beard, addressed us from behind his polished metallic desk. His military uniform was pristine and far more impressive than the standard-issue ones I wore. The fabric gleamed under the office lights, each medal and insignia meticulously arranged. He appeared to be in peak physical condition, with a straight and commanding posture. There was an air of authority about him, a combination of discipline and style that spoke volumes even before he said a word.
"Let's skip the formalities. Call me whatever you like." He said while focusing his eyes solely on me.
At that moment, I heard the sound of a hammer hitting an anvil very loudly followed by a sudden headache assaulting my mind. It makes me instinctively cover my ears while grimacing from the pain, drawing attention from everyone inside Andersen's Office. I almost lost my balance if not for Anis and Rapi holding my shoulder.
I suddenly gained the ability to think several times faster. Strategy Trance, my mind supplied. My eyes glaze over as I immediately use it to process a large amount of information dumped in my head by the headache.
Celestial Forge, is what my scattered memories tell me. I recall communicating with it in some strange sideways dimension where time seemed to lose all meaning. It felt like an eternity in a single instant. In there, the Celestial Forge offers me powers it calls perks to pave my own path through creation. In exchange for the kind of powers that can shake the world to the core, I cannot recover my memories before the crash through its perks. I remember accepting the offers, but not why. Well, except for the bad feeling that faded as soon as I stopped trying to recall it.
Okay Sam, calm down. Strategy Trance's main ability is to construct hypothetical scenarios based on information I can gain, and when the Trance ends, I can more easily follow through with the plan I made during the Trance. It is like having a map that shows multiple paths to your destination, but the path depends on the information accuracy thus the more information I possess, the more accurate the path is.
To facilitate Strategy Trance's main ability, it has three supporting abilities. The first one is that a few seconds of normal time can give me up to ten minutes of internal thought. With this, I can carefully analyze and create an effective strategy for anything. The second is that I will automatically get out of the Trance if I get attacked. I also can stop the trance whenever I want, so there is no risk of getting trapped in my own trance. The third is that this perk can be enhanced by future mental perks, which will make Strategy Trance future-proof.
Focus Sam, organize your mind by order of importance. Do I need to know the full details about the Celestial Forge right now? No—save it for later, when I'm alone. What about Mari—stop. Don't focus on that. Set it aside for now. Right now, I'm standing in Andersen's office, here for a reason. Get your mind back on track.
After pulling myself out of Strategy Trance, I became aware of my surroundings again, realizing I was being supported by Anis and Rapi.
"Commander, are you alright?" Rapi asked, her voice steady but her eyes full of concern.
"I'm okay. Thanks for helping me again, both of you," I said, trying to reassure them, even though the weight of the past few days hung heavily on my shoulders.
"You shouldn't push yourself if you're hurt, Commander," Anis reminded me, her worry clear as she frowned slightly. "I told you, we could've taken a break."
"I'm fine, really. It's nothing to worry about," I insisted, though I wasn't sure how much they believed me. For now, they seemed willing to accept the excuse, however flimsy.
Shifting my attention, I addressed the man standing behind his desk. "Mr. Andersen, may I ask why you called us?" I inquired respectfully, my voice steady despite the lingering exhaustion.
"…Andersen will do just fine." He sighed. "I called you in today because I wanted to conduct a little test, but if you are still hurt then I will reschedule it for later today." He explained.
"Respectfully, Andersen," I began, "I'd rather be doing something than be left alone with my thoughts right now."
"Very well. Go straight to the Simulation room. There will be someone there to fill you in." He stopped briefly. "…That is all." His eyes glinted with what I could only identify as amusement, as if he were telling a joke to himself. It disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.
"Umm, you called us here just for that?" Anis asked, tilting her head in confusion.
"Anis!" Rapi cut her off, looking scandalized by her bluntness.
"What? I'm just asking," Anis defended, shrugging.
"I simply wanted to meet you in person. No other reason," Andersen said, pausing to glance at his wristwatch. He grimaced at the time, then looked back at us. "I believe we're done here." The unspoken message was clear. It was time for us to leave.
But I couldn't go—not yet. I needed to confirm something. "Before we go, Andersen, may I ask you a question?"
His eyes flicked to his watch again, and he let out a sharp breath. "I suppose I have time to answer one question," he said, his voice clipped. "Just one." His tone sharpened, making it clear he wasn't in the mood for a discussion.
I didn't hesitate. "Do you know anything about how Marian could have been corrupted while inside the Ark?"
"Commander Sam!" Anis exclaimed, my name sharp on her tongue, raising her voice at me. "This isn't the place to be asking that!"
"Marian? Doesn't ring a bell," Andersen said indifferently. After a brief pause, his expression shifted. "…Oh yes, the other Nikke who fought with you, right? I heard she was destroyed." He offered a faint, almost dismissive smile. It took everything in me not to punch him. "I'm terribly sorry, but I have nothing for you."
"We're conducting an investigation as we speak. The only thing we're certain of is that the AEGIS barriers are impenetrable."
Andersen glanced at his watch again, his impatience barely concealed beneath a calm exterior. "Now, if you don't mind, I have another meeting soon."
Taking the cue, I turned to leave, eager to exit the room before the tension could stretch any further. But just as I took a step, Andersen's voice stopped me.
"Hypothetically," he began, drawing my attention back, "if you were to encounter someone who maliciously corrupted one of your Nikkes—someone so powerful that you wouldn't stand a chance against them…"
I turned to face him fully, and for the first time, I looked directly into his eyes. They were tired. It was as if he had seen everything life could throw at him, and nothing surprised him anymore. That weariness carried the weight of hard-earned knowledge, of battles fought and decisions made that still haunted him.
"…what would you do?"
I entered Strategy Trance without a second thought. I can feel my heart beat faster as the embers of rage deep in me start to burn again. The possibility that there is a traitor who purposely corrupted Nikkes made me furious. But what could Andersen mean by that? Marian is a Nikke from Silver Gun Squad, and Silver Gun is a single-manufacturer squad from Elysion. So did he mean someone powerful from Elysion?
No, that doesn't make any sense. Elysion wouldn't gain anything from corrupting their own Nikkes. But what about their competitors—Missilis Industry and Tetra Line? If Nikkes from Elysion became more susceptible to corruption, it would ruin their reputation, making Missilis and Tetra look better in public. That sounded plausible.
First, I need to check if it's even possible for them to have corrupted Marian. If my opponent was one of the Big Three companies, I would have to tread carefully. This wasn't just about fighting enemies on the battlefield—this was politics, power plays, and hidden agendas.
I need to bide my time. To build my own power base and influence within the Ark. But that meant being careful who I trusted. Could I rely on Andersen? No—not yet. Not until I understood him better and knew exactly where his true allegiance lay.
So how should I respond to his inquiries? His question still hung in the air, heavy with implications. If I gave the wrong answer, it could expose me too much or put me in a vulnerable position. But after careful consideration, I decided that sometimes, having an ally meant being honest—at least to a point. So I pull my mind out of the trance and give him my answer.
"I want to make them pay for their crime," I said, my voice steady, though the weight of the words settled heavily in the room. "But to do that, I need to understand why they did it first."
Andersen raised an eyebrow, his expression unreadable. "So, would you let them go if there was a reasonable cause for their actions? Or would you still fight them, regardless?" His tone wasn't accusatory; it was curious, almost neutral, as though he were testing the waters of my resolve. "I'm not blaming you for being contemplative. I'm just interested in what you'll do."
Before I could respond, he leaned back in his chair, signaling that the conversation was over. "You may leave now. I'm sure we'll meet again soon."
With that, we all left his office, the tension still lingering in the air as we stepped out, the weight of Andersen's words following me.