「Everything that lives is designed to end.」
「We are perpetually trapped... in a never-ending spiral of life and death.」
「Is this a curse? Or some kind of punishment?」
「I often think about the god who blessed us with this enigmatic puzzle... and I wonder if we will ever get the chance to kill him.」
---xXx---
13th ORBITAL SATELLITE BASE — BUNKER
The Bunker, humanity's silent orbital fortress, floated above the cosmic void like a cold jewel of steel. It was the heart and brain of YoRHa—the last hope of the human race.
Within its metallic walls, the constant hum of turbines and the faint buzz of communications formed a mechanical symphony that never ceased.
The Bunker functioned as a command, surveillance, and deployment station. From there, missions were coordinated, troops were sent to the surface, and reports were analyzed with precision.
Inside its corridors, illuminated by cold white lights, the steady sound of life-support systems blended with the distant echo of android footsteps.
Amid that artificial stillness, the door of one of the rooms suddenly opened, releasing a faint hiss of compressed air.
A female figure with a cold presence stepped out.
She walked with firm steps through the bunker's corridor, wearing a standard black blindfold that covered her eyes—a trademark of YoRHa soldiers.
The android stood about 1.68 meters tall, including the heels of her boots.
Her pale, slightly yellow-tinted white hair fell softly to her chin, cut in an asymmetrical bob that swayed with each movement, its ends slightly uneven. Just below her left lip, a small beauty mark marked her face.
Her outfit consisted of a black high-collared dress with a deep side slit, designed to allow freedom of movement without compromising aesthetics. The neckline was covered by a translucent black lace fabric, adorned with the YoRHa logo in an almost symbolic pattern.
The puffed sleeves ended midway down her forearms in a set of black feathers, resembling a raven's wings. Beneath them, a white inner fabric contrasted sharply, extending just before her tight gloves, made of the same dark, glossy material as her boots.
Her partially exposed back revealed the contrast of pale skin against dark fabric. The skirt, made of a flexible, leather-like material, moved fluidly with her calculated steps. If one looked closely, the YoRHa emblem could be seen stitched along the hem.
On her legs, she wore thigh-high black leather boots connected by dark garter straps.
She was YoRHa No.2 Type B—better known as 2B.
---
"Everything that lives is designed to end."
Those words echoed silently in her mind as she walked toward the command room.
As she moved forward, the wide windows revealed the spectacle of the cosmos: the star-filled void, the distant glow of nebulas, and below it all, the blue planet that had once been humanity's home.
Now, it was nothing more than an eternal battlefield between soulless machines and androids programmed to fight for a people who no longer existed.
2B kept her gaze on that distant globe for a moment.
The Commander likely had a new mission for her.
Perhaps another extermination operation against the machine lifeforms dominating the surface—or maybe a support task for the Resistance.
But the tone of the message she received was unusual.
The Bunker, though functional, wasn't particularly large, so it didn't take long for 2B to reach the command room.
Other soldiers were already waiting. Standing beside her were Type D No.1, Type B No.4, Type E No.7, Type B No.11, and Type H No.12 units.
Each stood with impeccable posture.
Each carried their own role and purpose—equally precise, and equally replaceable.
YoRHa organized its units by specific designations, and each type fulfilled an essential role in the organization's military balance:
Type A (Attacker) — specialists in close combat, fast and lethal. After the creation of Pod systems, they were merged with Type G, forming the multi-purpose Type B model.
Type B (Battler) — balanced units capable of switching between close and ranged combat, with predominantly combat-oriented personalities.
Type D (Defender) — frontline units focused on squad protection and defensive barriers against logic viruses.
Type E (Executioner) — hunters of their own kind. Designed to eliminate corrupted or captured androids, and sometimes even to secretly monitor other squads.
Type G (Gunner) — long-range weapon specialists; later incorporated into Type B.
Type H (Healer) — medical and repair units responsible for maintaining the physical and data integrity of allies.
Type O (Operator) — logistics androids confined to the Bunker, responsible for coordinating and monitoring field units.
Type S (Scanner) — reconnaissance and hacking models, specialized in analysis and data gathering.
---
When the group entered the command room, at the center of the area, surrounded by holographic panels and operators, stood an android of distinct appearance.
Her eyes were a greenish-blue, and her long blonde hair was tied into a high ponytail, adorned with golden ornaments on each side of her head.
She was Commander White.
Her outfit strongly contrasted with the others: a white high-collared dress with golden details and delicate lace over the neckline; white gloves; a deep side slit revealing part of her legs and waist; black stockings and white boots with golden heels. The YoRHa emblem was embroidered along the hem of her skirt and on the top of her boots.
The group saluted her with the impeccable posture of those made to obey.
"Hmm." the Commander replied with a slight nod, acknowledging their presence.
She then ordered one of the operators:
"Operator, display the images."
The main screen lit up with a sudden glow, and distorted footage began to appear.
"These are the records received from the reconnaissance team seven minutes ago," the Commander reported in a firm, controlled voice.
2B remained still, observing carefully.
…Did the reconnaissance team discover something new about the machine lifeforms? she thought, processing the information in the background.
But there was something in the Commander's tone that suggested something different had occurred.
White sighed lightly before continuing:
"What you are about to see is not enemy movement. It is an anomaly detected in surface records."
"Huh?" 2B's reaction was almost a whisper.
On the screen before them, the image shook for a moment before stabilizing.
Dozens of plasma spheres flew toward a blond-haired man.
Beside him, a golden ripple opened.
From it, the stranger drew a sword with a red blade.
With a fluid and precise motion, he turned his wrist.
In fractions of a second, each sphere of energy was split in half, exploding into luminous sparks that dissipated before even reaching him.
Even through the recording, the calmness of his movements was evident.
2B frowned beneath her blindfold. Beside her, Commander White stood with arms crossed, her expression hardening by the second.
With unsettling ease, he defeated around ten machine lifeforms of different types attacking him, as more golden ripples appeared around him, firing various weapons.
But the footage did not end there.
More mechanical lifeforms appeared—dozens of them—emitting distorted alarm sounds as they surrounded the man.
The man immediately charged forward and destroyed each one with ease.
---xXx---
"There is no record of any YoRHa soldier or Resistance android with an appearance or abilities like his."
Commander White's voice broke the silence.
All the androids in the room exchanged glances.
That meant only one thing:
An unknown and extraordinarily powerful entity had appeared on the surface.
"Could he have been sent by the Council of Humanity?" one of the operators asked, her tone filled with hope.
2B slightly turned her head, recognizing the voice—it was Operator 6O, a blonde android with twin braids.
"Impossible," White replied without hesitation. "There are no records of the Council deploying new units. Furthermore, there are no transmissions or authorization codes matching anything in the database. Whoever he is… he is not a YoRHa android."
Then the video restarted, showing the man turning toward a nearby forest.
He disappeared among the trees within seconds.
"You already know what the mission is, correct?"
"Locate this entity," she continued. "Collect all possible data on him—origin, abilities, and whatever his intentions may be."
Her tone turned colder, more authoritative.
"And if possible… capture him alive."
"He eliminated a squad of machine lifeforms in less than a minute. Consider him a high-level threat. Do not approach without prior analysis. The priority is observation… until we understand what we are dealing with."
---
(End of Chapter)