Lucia: Inverse Crown I
>The first thing she feels is a cold that cuts straight to the bone.
It's night in the valley. Every breath turns into mist in front of her.
Then her vision blurs.
Thin white fog hangs everywhere. Distant trees and rocks blur together, forming faint ghostlike shapes under the moonlight.
When Alpha comes to, she realizes she's already here.
...?
She tries to speak, but only a harsh, hoarse rasp comes out.
A faint drip. She feels something wrong in her hand—something she recognizes.
She raises it. Red fills her sight. Blood.
Red lightning flickers across her blood-soaked left hand. Pain clings to her as the Punishing Virus stirs and scrapes at her M.I.N.D.
She looks at both hands and realizes her body has changed.
...Old frame?
Footsteps come from behind, and Alpha turns to look.
It's a human figure she doesn't recognize, yet somehow knows all too well.
[player name]...
You look exhausted, as if every step takes everything you have. But you still move forward, steady and unstoppable.
You step out of the fog, and Alpha finally sees you clearly.
She sees eyes full of cold hatred, and a body heavily rebuilt with cybernetics.
Your right hand grips the Pyro Katana. Your left hand holds a compact SMG from your composite gear. A firearm case rests on your back, and two Levi-Guns hang over your shoulders.
...!
The words leave you in a low, flat voice, almost emotionless.
Meanwhile, on a distant hillside, figures emerge from the dense trees. Weapons in hand, they move in unison, their fierce battle spirit breaking the stillness of the cold night.
...
These are Constructs. Lots of them.
They surge toward Alpha at full speed. The ground trembles under their charge.
Suddenly, a Construct's roar rips through the night. Like a signal flare, it lights the silence on fire.
Gunshots, shouts, cannon fire, the whine of leg engines... Every sound erupts at once, blending into a roaring flood.
Numerous transport aircraft appear in the distance. Their high beams spear through the fog and turn the valley bright as day. Ropes drop. A third wave of Constructs starts assembling.
Alpha tightens her grip. A string of battle plans flashes through her mind.
The fog around her quietly thins. Only then does Alpha realize she's standing in a heap of shattered Construct bodies.
What... is this?
Broken blades and snapped swords lie scattered across the corpses. Others are stuck upright in the ground, soaked crimson with vital fluid.
BANG—
Darkness hits. Alpha drops into a bottomless abyss.
From the dark, a vivid kaleidoscope blooms. Fragmented scenes rush past her and warp as they cross her vision.
They look like pieces of her past, twisted so badly they barely feel like her own memories.
A voice echoes up from far below.
I can't accept an ending like this...
I have to... live.
The warped space around her starts stitching itself into familiar colors, building a scene in front of her.
She sees F.O.S. College, the way it used to be.
Hah...
This illusion... is it the Punishing Virus?
Pain still lingers in her M.I.N.D. Alpha forces the stirring virus back down.
She steps outside. A bright red streak cuts the horizon. Warm sunlight quickly gilds the mountains and sea, and the morning mist fades away.
Alpha can feel it. Something is calling her from the old F.O.S. site.
Prism Square
Surface
Former F.O.S. Military Command College
You check the Punishing Virus detector again, confirm the reading, then lower it.
The Mist incident is over. The F.O.S. starship has returned to Babylonia.
To secure the area and prevent surprises, Babylonia sends teams to sweep the former college grounds and set up multiple virus monitoring stations.
You move through the silent square. Afternoon light stretches the shadows of broken walls. Everything feels asleep, except for the wind's howl and the pointless cries of a few Corrupted.
GRAAAARGH—
The monitors show nothing abnormal, but a vague sense of wrongness refuses to go away.
The Corrupted wander as if guided, always circling the exact center of the square. They even swing at empty air, attacking something you can't see.
You decide to test the situation and gather intel. You raise your sidearm and aim at a Corrupted in the distance.
The shot punches through its head and destroys its core. It collapses like a puppet with its strings cut.
Drawn by the sounds, two more Corrupted charge toward you, one from a corner, one from the shadows.
Same numbers. Same positions. Just like your earlier scan.
Your thoughts keep moving, but your hands stay steady.
BANG—BANG—
Two quick shots. One Corrupted drops the moment it stumbles out from the corner.
Just as the echo of the gunshots fades...
VRRRMM—BOOM—
Something tears in from far away, grinding over gravel and debris. It threads through broken buildings, clears obstacles, and charges straight into Prism Square against the sunlight.
It's a striking red motorcycle. The rider has twin horns like a demon.
It kicks up dust, carves a wide arc across the ground, and stops. A tall figure swings off the bike.
[player name]...
Surprise flashes in Alpha's eyes, then her usual sharp focus returns.
GRAAAARGH—
The last Corrupted drops low, then springs forward with a screech.
Shut up.
Alpha draws her dagger and lunges. The blade cuts upward, splitting the Corrupted in two. It crashes down as scrap metal.
She sheathes the dagger and walks back toward you.
Why are you here? Did you see that illusion too?
Something... I'm not certain of, is calling for me from here.
Alpha studies you, remembering your modified appearance from that illusion. She shakes her head.
Probably just an illusion.
That wasn't "just" an illusion.
A ghostlike whisper slips in from behind you.
Who's there?!
You both turn fast, tracking the voice.
In the center of the square, everything looks normal at first, but in the next instant the entire space seems to freeze.
Like invisible glass pushed from the inside, the space tightens and tightens, paling as it reaches the edge of shattering.
Click—
A hair-thin crack appears in midair.
Crack—crack-crack-crack—
Then it splinters fast, spiderwebbing outward. The sound goes from a low rumble to a sharp, brittle crack.
Space itself is breaking. A black rift opens out of nowhere.
White mist pours out, rolling over rubble, flooding the ground, rising past your ankles.
A blood-red left hand reaches out from inside and clamps onto the edge.
Alpha draws her dagger, steps forward, and shields you.
Watch out, it's coming!
SLASH—!
Another hand tears through. Both arms wrench the rift wider.
A figure steps through the mist and warped light, entering this world.
Ah...
She flexes her wrist. Silver hair lifts. Chaotic crimson burns in her eyes.
Finally found you...
Through the mist, you can make out shapes behind her. Countless Hetero-Creatures and Corrupted howl in the dark.
You and Alpha recognize her instantly. It's Alpha's old frame, but changed. It gives off a chilling aura of chaos.
Her gaze sweeps past you and locks onto Alpha. Her mouth twists into a cruel smile.
...Another me.
Alpha's pupils contract sharply.
Switched to a new frame, I see? It's better this way.
I like those horns on your forehead. They'll look perfect on me.
Who are you?!
Dark crimson lightning sparks in her hand, laced with the Punishing Virus.
I am the path you never took, the probability you forsook. I am...
Before she can finish, she swings. It's too fast to track. A curved wave of red lightning slices through the air.
...Your Shadow!
It's like a command. Behind her, the rift spills open and a flood of monsters pours out, rushing straight at you and Alpha.
Tsk.
Alpha tightens her grip on the dagger. Crimson virus energy flares around her hand. She slashes once, sending her own blade wave forward.
The two arcs collide midair and explode. Shockwaves and debris spray across the square.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
A barrage of bullets rains forth, precisely striking the approaching Hetero-Creatures.
The first shot pierces its left eye. The second tears its open throat. The third punches up from the jaw and blows away half its head.
It collapses. The Hetero-Creatures behind it stampede over the body and grind it into scraps.
Alpha's right hand finds the hilt at her waist. She lowers her stance. The ground cracks under her feet.
In the next instant, she becomes a red blur and drives straight into the monster tide.
A half-moon sweep of deep crimson flashes out. The Corrupted and Hetero-Creatures in front split in two before they can even scream.
Alpha holds the line like a boulder in a flood, stopping the monsters by sheer force.
She looks past the chaos, straight at Shadow in the back.
Is that all you've got?
Heh.
Shadow ignores the provocation. Her arms crossed, she is relaxed like this is entertainment.
But her eyes never leave Alpha. She studies her every swing, every step, every movement.
Alpha's new frame clearly surprises Shadow. That's why she doesn't join the fight herself. Not yet.
Fascinating... You're stronger than I imagined.
Her left hand rests lightly on the hilt behind her waist.
Enough observation. Time to test you myself.
In a blink, she's gone from where she stood.
A streak, barely visible, tears through the air and cuts straight toward Alpha.
Haargh!
Anything in her path gets sliced in half, Corrupted or Hetero-Creature alike.
Clang!
Their blades collide with a thunderous crash, sending shockwaves outward and cracking the stone tiles underfoot.
What... are you?
Alpha holds her crimson blade in a reverse grip. "Shadow's" dagger locks against it, grinding hard. Sparks burst where the edges meet.
Curious?
I already told you. I'm your shadow.
Before the words even leave her lips, both fighters vanish from where they stood.
Clang! Clang!
A rapid burst of blade clashes erupts, so fast they're almost impossible to tell apart.
Two figures weave and split across the square, colliding again and again. Every clash throws out a visible ring of shockwaves.
The Corrupted and Hetero-Creatures pull back at Shadow's command. The slow ones get caught in the crossfire and shredded.
Alpha's strikes are ruthless and precise. Every cut goes for the kill.
No wasted motion. No wasted strength. Each swing feels like a death sentence.
Shadow is just as lethal, but there's something unhinged in her rhythm.
She fights like she doesn't care about getting hurt. She trades damage for damage, forcing Alpha to adjust on the fly.
They're evenly matched.
Alpha sweeps backhand and knocks Shadow's blade aside, then dashes forward. Her next slash shoots upward toward Shadow's neck.
For a shadow, you imitate well.
But you're only a shadow at best.
Shadow leans back. The blade nearly grazes her nose. She twists with the motion and drives a kick into Alpha.
As expected of my chosen vessel! I wonder what other surprises you have to show for.
Such arrogance.
Alpha blocks with her knee. The impact hits like a heavy drumbeat.
The recoil throws them apart. Both slide back.
Shadow's mouth curls into a near-manic smile.
You—
Then her body jerks, her face contorting in agony.
Um...
Her abdomen turns faint and translucent. The edges of her body start dissolving into mist.
So this is the limit...
With a wave of her hand, the few remaining Corrupted and Hetero-Creatures vanish into the rift behind her.
I think I'm done playing with you for now.
Behind her, the rift begins to shrink.
Trying to run?
Alpha kicks off the ground and shoots forward like an arrow. Her blade swings up from below.
Shadow backsteps to dodge, feints to force Alpha back, then turns and sprints for the rift.
Not happening!
Alpha's blade follows close, thrusting straight for Shadow's back.
You flank from the side and fire in rapid bursts, trying to cut off her escape.
All three reach the rift's edge at nearly the same time.
Hah!
Shadow's aura erupts. She spins around and blocks both Alpha's slash and your shots.
Clang!
Alpha's strike gets knocked aside with a sharp ring. Shadow rolls her blade through the motion. Your bullets skim the spine with a metallic ping.
Keep that body safe for me. I'll come back for it.
Shadow steps back and grips the long sword at her waist. Crimson electricity coils around her as the blade slides free.
Alpha withdraws her dagger. Its mechanical components shift, and the short blade transforms into a long one.
The Punishing Virus gathers around Alpha. Her blade flares bright red. Then she swings, hard and clean.
Argh!
The two forces collide head-on. A shockwave detonates from the impact point. The air screams as it tears.
The powerful attacks collide without canceling out. The energy twists into a violent torrent and smashes into the rift's edge.
The rift swells suddenly, then collapses inward.
Vrrm—Vrrm—
Sound and sight peel away. Everything turns pure white.
The instant it expands, Alpha spins and throws herself in front of you.
[player name]!
Her voice gets swallowed by the roar. Her hands miss you. She can't grab you in time.
The square falls silent again. The monsters dissolve into mist. And then, all three of you vanish without a trace.
