Ikenfell? Sure hope they’re alright!

"The future, the stars, all so bright, all so vivid. I'll paint that path, and more...!"

Awakening is meant to be a support for allied units, buffing them with the first coin, giving better SP healing and Coin Power, or improving their Aggro if they gain it, whilst dealing damage to actual enemies with the second, whilst also supporting keyword effects to maintain their Count.

"Hahh..Hahah...! Failure...Such a failure I carve...! So answer me, oh beautiful stars...Why must I paint a path full of fear within me?!"

Corrosion is meant to be an active risk such as every other Corrosion, however, it also toys around with keyword effects like its Awakening, being able to absorb Charge or Poise, and activate Burn, Bleed, Tremor, Rupture, or Sinking, not unlike Kurokumo Captain Ishmael. It also gives E.G.O. Resources to mimic Awakening inflicting Count. The Corrosion's properties also change based on who is getting hit.

UNIQUE STATUS: PAINT THE FUTURE

Paint the Future is a unique support status effect, giving Shield HP and HP to Yi Sang and 2 other allies, with Yi Sang getting 2 turns if it reaches its max Stack. The next turn will give allies a hefty SP gain, or Clash Power Up, tying into how Ima acts as a support unit in-game, if my memory serves me right at least.

Prologue: The Mirror’s Veil

Maritte’s tears dropped down onto the barren earth. Tears filled with dreams. As if her body floated, wandering endlessly through the heavens, as the world Wala had created wrapped around her, holding her gently. A feeling that resonated with her, a feeling that warmed her soul.

…

Only to hear the sound of a clock. A clock that seared into her mind, shaking that warmth away. The sound of inferno inching ever closer. A sound that shook her to her core. She didn’t know what this feeling was. She never feared this sound, so she wondered to herself… 

“Why now…?”

And when her eyes opened…

Bright lights. Unfamiliar lights. Lights that didn’t seem real. They weren’t like her flames nor flames born from a candle. It was… something else to her, hard to comprehend. It was… dark. A light that burned black. A clock that ticked down to midnight. And the flames burned until its tar-dark ashes disintegrated into nothing. The fear of the black flames settled in her mind.

Black…

Pitch black…

Like the Spirit Realm.

…

“P-Please… Ibn…!”

…The last thing she heard before she fell into the inferno.

Her body jolted awake.

When she awoke, there were no signs of Ikenfell. No signs of her newfound friends, or even her sister. She didn’t even know where she was. It was a sight so unfamiliar to her. It was… gloomy. The sky was perpetually a monotone color. It had splotches of blue, but it was dulled out by clouds; lots of clouds. And the buildings weren’t any sort of architecture she’s seen before. They weren’t like castles or cottages. They seemed more simplistic. Like tall, menacing monoliths with slots where windows would be. They felt cold, as if any life and joy wouldn’t be found here.

“Where… am I…?” she thought to herself, as this wasn’t like anything she had ever lived in before. It was so foreign to her, it made her head spin. It wasn’t even like a kingdom’s city, where the structures all at least felt normal. To her, it just felt… barren here. It didn’t help that there were little to no signs of anyone here, and ESPECIALLY not her friends. It was concerning to her with how little there was. It was just her, the buildings, and a few stops and vehicles. It confused her slightly, but now was not the place to ask herself what they were. When her unease subsided slightly, she finally got the energy to move her head other than left and right, and when she looked at herself, she noticed that her outfit was ever so slightly different. She still had her shirt with white trimmings and all. But she had gained a coat of some kind. It was cropped, and bluish in color, with purple and red accenting it; a red stripe going down the sleeves, slowly tapering into a violet hue, with her shirt’s pattern marked onto a pocket.

“Woah… Woah-woah-woah, okay… That’s… different.” she staggered back slightly, somewhat shocked at her new coat. It was different to her normal style, and whilst she saw some people wearing something like this, it was also somewhat strange to her. It was never her type of outfit - to be this rugged and sturdy. Though, she couldn’t deny that it does look good on her, even slightly, so she’ll stick to it for now. At least until she can find out what’s going on.

As she began to walk through the streets, she began to see some people. Not many, but far more than what felt like the desolate wasteland from earlier. Staring at the clock tower, it said it was 5:00. 

“5…” By the looks of the skies, it was 5 AM. Just fresh off dawn, the start of the day. That gave her plenty of time to search, but she felt like she was forgetting something. It echoed on the back of her mind, but she can’t quite see it. Like a candle in a night with no moon. She could see it, but it wasn’t anything she could realistically follow.

She wandered the streets, seeing more and more faces each step, but none felt familiar. No signs of Rook, Ima, Gilda, Pertisia, Petronella, not even Bax and Oxle-

…

A shiver went down Maritte’s spine. As if she felt a disturbance she shouldn’t feel.

“What was that…?

The feeling was vague, but it was there. And that feeling in her head returned. Faint, but induced a feeling of shock and fear within her.

She wandered the streets, taking in more of the minimalistic and brutalist buildings. She kept on wandering and wandering, until she hit someone.

“Oh-! So sorry sir-!” 

However… When she looked up, she saw a man in a red hood. He wielded a spiked and nailed club. He was a menacing figure. “Oi, watch where ya goin’!” The man yelled, annoyed at the nudge.

“S-sorry! I was just-!” she stammered until she got cut off by the voice once again. “You gots a problem with us?!” the menacing man readied his club, as she can feel his wrath building up. At the corners of her eyes, she spots about 5 other people.“Hey, what’s a bright haired, young girlie like her doin’ in the Backstreets? She looks like some kinda Birdie.” a man with a metal pipe continued. “Hah, she does! Bet that jacket will go for a high bargain!” another hooligan yelled out. They look like they just hit payday, and Maritte’s pockets were the jackpot.

“Now, now. We can settle this normally!” Maritte attempts to deescalate the situation, but her pleas fall on deaf ears. It looked like a fight was building up. 

One of the thugs swings their glass-covered batons at Maritte, only to miss, as their club strikes the ground with a heavy thud. Maritte readies her fist, as it coalesces into a hand of pure fire, striking the goon in the torso, staggering him immensely, as she readies a meteorite to throw at the assailant with a metal pipe, knocking him out of commission. She makes light work of the next couple attackers that strike at her. Their gang was very evidently, composed of frail and weakened fighters. Looks like they haven’t even gotten proper meals today. She felt bad for them, hoping their injuries would heal quickly enough.

After dealing with the last of the hooligans, all that was left was their leader, whose nailed bat looked like it could injure her pretty badly if she got hit with it. He wasn’t that much harder than the rest of the thugs, but it did take a couple more Fireballs to take him down. 

Seeing as she swept up the hooligans rather quickly, she checked her pocket.

“A couple Gold. It might help you?” she offers the group some Gold to at least help them get out of their situation. “You… damn… Birdie…” the head hooligan coughs up before passing out. “Well, I do hope you have a good day.” She drops the Gold in front of the head and his goons.

“Sheesh, they sure were an aggressive bunch… What’s life even like here…? Is it that desperate in this kingdom…?” she thought to herself, puzzled at the sudden encounter, as she attempts to wrap her head around the situation, she feels a sense of familiarity. It wasn’t far. In fact, it was closer than she could ever think. It was something she didn’t even think she remembered.

A clock that ticked down to midnight.