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Flashback time
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The air in the underground lab was frigid, carrying the bite of stone chilled by centuries of stillness. A thin fog layer ever presented low to the ground, curling around the bases of elaborate equipment arranged haphazardly in the chamber.
The walls, built from dark stone, were carved with intricate golden runes that pulsed with a steady, hypnotic rhythm, like the slow and dying embers. Their light was vivid, yet it was not overbearing, casting a warm glow that seemed paradoxically cold as it flickered over the room's grim contents.
Tables and shelves lined the walls, littered with a mixture of grotesque precision and chaos in the pursuit of knowledge. Glass vials brimmed with thick, shimmering fluids, their hues shifting like liquid metal under the influence of the rune's golden light. Noxious vapors coiled upward, dissipating into the shadows above.
Mechanical limbs, incomplete constructs resembling twisted combinations of metal and flesh, hung limply from hooks on the walls, their gleaming surfaces etched with the same runes that adorned the chamber.
Scrolls and tomes, some meticulously preserved and others disintegrating with age, lay scattered across the space, their forgotten languages a testament to the long-lost knowledge of this place. The golden runes seemed almost alive as they crawled over the spines of the books, whispering fragments of meaning to no one in particular.
At the room's center stood a raised platform of polished obsidian, its edges aglow with the same golden light. The runes engraved upon it were more intricate, their patterns forming constellations of meaning that seemed to hum with restrained energy.
The radiance danced like liquid sunlight, outlining the figure lying atop the altar, a silent, enigmatic presence in a room that felt more alive than dead. The golden runes, ever pulsing, seemed to make the air brimmed with a strange vitality, as though they were the lifeblood of this forgotten domain.
Code name: 2B, or YoRHa No.2 Type B.
She looked more like a masterpiece sculpted by an artisan than a living being. Her body lay motionless, her limbs perfectly aligned at her sides with an unsettling precision that betrayed her artificial origin. Every detail of her form spoke of elegance and purpose, a fusion of aesthetics and functionality.
The black combat dress she wore clung to her figure, accentuating the delicate balance between her alluring appearance and her lethality. The high-slit design of the dress flared proved to allow for her fluid and acrobatic combat style. The high neckline ended in an intricate lace-patterned fabric, revealing a modest window just above her chest.
Her puffed sleeves, ending just past her elbows, were adorned with feather-like textures that seemed almost organic, though unmistakably synthetic. Under the sleeves, layers of black and white fabric seamlessly transitioned into gloves, their material hugging against her skin and extending to her fingertips with immaculate symmetry.
The skirt of her dress, made from a flexible, flowing material reminiscent of finely textured leather, swayed gently with the faintest movement. It was designed not only to enhance her combat efficiency but also to lend her an air of sophistication that set her apart from the chaotic disarray of the world she found herself in.
Her skin was flawless, an unearthly shade of pale that seemed untouched by sunlight or time. It carried an unnatural perfection, lacking the blemishes or imperfections of organic life. Her short, white hair was cut into a sleek bob, its sharp angles framing her serene face with precision.
The black blindfold she wore was unblemished, its smooth fabric concealing her eyes and veiling her expressions. It wasn't just a physical barrier; it was a symbol of her enigmatic nature, a shield between her and the truths of the world she navigated.
She was a being of immaculate beauty and deadly purpose, built to navigate the battlefield with elegance yet bound by the rigid constraints of her design, a paradox in itself. Even in her stillness, she exuded an aura of quiet strength, a dormant force awaiting its awakening.
Her sword rested beside her, bound to the platform with thick iron clamps etched with faintly glowing runes. The weapon radiated an aura of menace, as if resentful of its captivity.
Preceptor Seluvis stood at the edge of the dais, his crystalline gleaming faintly in the flickering light, hiding his true expression and adding to his eerie and artificial demeanor. His robes shimmered faintly, the fabric intricate patterns and vibrant, aristocratic hues that suggested wealth and a scholarly air, but his somewhat gaudy choice of colors hints at a pretentious nature.
He held a tome in one hand, its leather cover illustrated with symbols that writhed as though alive. The other hand extended toward 2B, his long, claw-like fingers hovering just above her form, almost fervent in their belief.
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(A/N: For those who don't know Seluvis, he's the NPC you met when we got to Ranni's rise. In one of the three towers.
His quest line gives you a potion that turns a human into a puppet. You have four choices to give to Gideon, Nephili, Dung Eaters, and Ranni, and if you give it to Ranni, then you're locked from her ending.
So Seluvis is ambitious and cunning to turn against his liege.
The timeline will be years before the Tarnished arrive.)
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"A marvelous art." He muttered, his voice a low rasp that echoed unnervingly in the stillness. "Not of flesh, nor spirit. A machine, yet... alive."
He circled the 2B slowly, the movement of his robes grazing against the cold floor. His gaze lingered on her features, the serene stillness of her expression unsettling in its unnatural beauty. "What secrets do you hold, doll? What force drives you, in defiance of the Erdtree, of the Golden Order itself?"
His words hung in the air, unanswered, as he turned his attention to a shard of crystal suspended within a delicate frame nearby. A fragment of the fallen meteor, carrying the night's power, a fragment of the starlight.
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(Description: An ephemeral sliver that gives off a pale blue glow.
What remains of a passing flash of starlight.)
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The shard pulsed faintly, shining its azure light into an array. He lifted it carefully, holding it at his eye level. The runes on the experiment table flared in response, their light intensifying as the air around 2B began to shift.
Then, a faint movement caught his stoic eyes. He was sure that it wasn't his imagination as the twitch of her finger, almost imperceptible, occurred again. The glow of the runes danced across her body, and for a fleeting moment, her chest rose as though she were drawing breath.
Seluvis froze, his grip tightening on the shard. His crystalline mask obscured his expression, but the sharp tilt of his head betrayed his intrigue. "You can awaken." he murmured, but the ecstasy in his voice was easy to discover.
"What will you become if you do? A tool to wield? Or something beyond my control?"
The runes surged again, and this time, 2B's hand moved slightly, her fingers curling just enough to seem deliberate. The preceptor's lips twisted into a thin, satisfied smile beneath his mask, obscuring under his ridiculously large hat. With a snap of his fingers, the energy dissipated, and her body stilled once more.
"Not yet." He muttered, lowering the shard and placing it back into its gilded frame. "You will wake when I deem it so. I still have some... preparations against that starlight witch."
He turned and strode toward a cluttered desk piled high with notes and diagrams. The quill in his hand scratched furiously across the parchment, recording the details of his experiment.
"A warrior from another realm." he mused aloud, the sound of his writing mingling with the faint hiss of bubbling concoctions nearby. "Free of the Erdtree's influence, untouched by the Flame of Frenzy... you might be the perfect solution I sought."
The chamber fell silent again, save for the soft hum of restrained magic. 2B remained motionless on the table, her stillness belying the quiet defiance that radiated from her very presence.
In this world of twisted faith and shattered ambition, she was an enigma, an outsider whose purpose had yet to be revealed.
Seluvis glanced over his shoulder at her, his eyes gleaming with something between fascination and greed. "Sleep for now, Mrs. Doll. There is much to learn, and when the time comes... you will serve under my guidance."
The runes on the platform dimmed, their light fading to a faint, pulsing glow. The lab grew colder still, the shadows deepening as the Seluvis's attention turned back to his work. Not until Seluvis left the hidden laboratory did the light die out.
Amidst it all, 2B, who had lay silent, began to absorb the starlight shard Seluvis contained in the glass holder placed near her. The power of the shard was sufficient to begin the booting process.
[System booting: 0%... 17%... 90%... 100%]