Rifts of the World (Epilogue)
A Zenless Zone Zero original story!
To start from the beginning click here.
Chapter 6: Epilogue.
Main Characters: Lucila (OC) Supporting Cast: Zhu Yuan, Qingyi Thanks for reading!
The aftermath, in many ways, was messier than the actual mission.
Well, I wasn’t there for most of the actual mission. Soldier 11 found me on her own and then we simply survived. She had promised rescue, back in the rifts, from a group of soldiers. Had told me of a grand city where humanity, and others, thrived.
Honestly, I thought she was crazy. Not that other people existing was so weird but cities of tens of thousands? Ether generators? Cars and guns, music and parties, restaurants with spicy noodles and arcades?
That was from another world.
Then she saved us, the girl with fox ears, and I woke up in a hospital.
Well, it’s been four months since then. I’ll record the story someday, I’m sure, but after all this time with Obol Squad things were just getting more and more insane. That’s when Trigger, reluctantly, suggested going to someone else for protection. For safety.
Plus, it’s about time you saw what a normal life looked like. Unfortunately, those words had convinced the rest of the squad. Everyone but me. There was no time for a normal life. Each day was a day wasted. A day I could be working on getting back.
But not today. Today I was crawling through the air ducts of the police headquarters, freezing at the slightest creak in the metal, praying no one would hear me. It was late in the night and, besides two officers leaving, no one had passed by that I could tell. I’d be fine. It was fine. Breaking into this place was all part of the plan. No worries at all.
“I’m serious, Zhu Yuan,” a voice said directly below me. It sounded young, really young, like a girl, but her tone was serious like an adult. Then another voice, deeper and serious, but skeptical, replied.
“Well, if that’s the case, why would you be so obvious?”
“Because they are.”
Wait.
They?
Something hits the bottom of the air duct once, testily, and my eyes widen in horror. I bite my lip to muffle another yelp, only for whoever was down there to hit harder, right through the metal connecting two sections.
I can’t help but yell as the duct falls to the ground, spitting me out onto the floor and sliding a few feet. I can hear a gun being drawn, recognize the click of a round going in the chamber, and my training kicks in. I swiftly spin, pushing myself to my feet and raising my hands high.
“I’m a member of Obsidian Division and looking for help!” I yell, eyes closed, heart racing as I wait for a gunshot to tear through me.
It never comes.
Slowly, I take a peek, seeing two people before me. One is a girl, just as I heard, short and skinny, with long green pigtails, and glowing eyes. Small lines crisso cross her bare arms and legs, even her face, and she holds a staff that’s glittering with electricity. In any other situation I’d be confused but her expression was dead serious. Beside her was someone I could imagine as an officer: A tall woman with her dark hair tied back and an orange streak, wearing a blue officer’s jacket and black leggings, and aiming a pistol at me.
The small one frowns, stepping forward and poking me with the (non-electrical) side of the her staff. “I don’t know, Zhu Yuan, it’s pretty suspicious. If you’re a soldier then why are you breaking in?”
“As it stands we’ll have to arrest you for trespassing, breaking and entering a government building, and impersonating government agents,” Zhu Yuan warns, clearly as a prompt for me to speak.
“It’s long story,” I admit, swallowing hard. “But there’s a badge from the squad in my back pocket. Only squad members have it. And, um, Lady Miyabi knows me. She’s saved my life before.”
The younger one walks behind me, ruffling through the several pockets of my cargo pants before yanking the badge out. “The badge is here, Zhu Yuan. No other finger prints on it. Seems real.”
“She could have stolen it, Qingyi,” she warned. “And she broke into here. We have no reason to believe this.”
Quingyi pouts, almost annoyed, and sighs. She puts a hand on her hip, glaring at her partner. “Zhu Yuan, my systems don’t detect any lies. Actually, she seems pretty terrified.”
“I’m aiming a weapon at her, of course she’s-”
“People are after me,” I blurt out, closing my eyes and making up my mind. I’d tell them everything. It was my only way to safety, after all, and Obol Squad had good information that this one could be trusted. That she was a connection to Lady Miyabi. “The military found me out in the Hollows, almost dead, alright? Miyabi saved me and Obol Squad. They think I’ll be safer with her but...but I can’t just go to her. They’ll know.”
“Who’s they?” Zhu Yuan asked suspiciously, as Qingyi’s stepped closer, her annoyance turning into a curious frown. She poked my shoulder as her superior continued. “Can you prove anything you’re saying?”
“I can answer any of your questions,” I plead, choking on my words. “I can tell you every story. Take any- any lie detector test. Anything you want. Okay, I’m out of options?”
“Zhu Yuan…” Qingyi murmured, poking my tricep this time.
The officer was having none of it. “Lady Miyabi is my friend. She’s already been hurt. She carries the world on her shoulders. I wouldn’t risk her safety for some stories.”
“I need help!” I growl back, gritting my teeth. “Isn’t your job to protect and serve?”
“Yes, the citizens! I don’t even know who you are. Where are you from?”
“Zhu yuan,” Qingyi says again, more insistent, standing uncomfortably close, her eyes clicking as she stares at my arm.
But the question is what sticks with me: Where are you from?
I could lie. Who would believe me, anyways? That I’m from another continent? But if I did...I could lose the help I need.
“I’m not from New Eridu,” I admit reluctantly, glancing away. “Your language isn’t my first tongue either. I came from very, very far away.”
“What do you mean? Waifei Peninsula? The Outer Ring? Some nomadic tribe living throughout the Hollows?” Zhu Yuan demands, stepping closer. One hand reaches back, grabbing her handcuffs.
Qingyi raises her voice, annoyed. “Zhu Yuan!”\
“No!” I interrupt, the growl returning, deep in my chest. I can see the officer tense at the noise, brow scrunching in confusion or worry, and realize she’s gotten close enough I could grab the gun. It’d take one step. One second.
“Don’t even think about it,” Zhu Yuan warned lowly, freezing.
“Take that thing out of my face,” I hiss.
“Zhu Yuan, look!” Qingyi finally yells, yanking my arm down and pulling my sleeve back as far as she could. The room went silent for a good minute. Zhu Yuan was stunned, her eyes wide with either confusion or horror, while Qingyi just seemed to pity me. My face burned with shame.
She finally lowered her weapon. For the first time, her voice was soft. Concerned. “What happened?”
“...I said Miyabi saved me,” I repeated quietly, slowly dropping my hands. I couldn’t bring myself to look them in the eyes. “Never said she was fast enough to save all of me.”
“But that...that’s…”
“The best the military could do,” Quingyi finished, giving her superior a firm nod. “This has to be military, Zhu Yuan. The technology. The design. Besides, anyone else would have tried to amputate. Or considered her too corrupted to be saved.”
The arm was a mix of sleek, white metal, with openings where ether crystals were growing in, and the flesh beneath could barely be seen. Cabling ran along the prosthetic with etheric energy traveling back and forth through it.
It was horrifying and I knew it.
“...what’s your name?” Zhu Yuan asked, holstering her gun and reaching out. “Who are you, really?”
Who am I? The question felt impossible today, less than a half a year since the Hollow destroyed my home. What could I tell her?
“My name’s Lucila,” I answered with a sigh. Finally, our eyes meet, and Zhu Yuan hesitates, surely seeing the anger behind my green irises. “I’m a survivor from far, far away, and all I want is to find my way back and save my people.”
“That’s it.”
