00 Prologue





The Commandant of the Gray Ravens and a heavily-injured Lucia find themselves surrounded by the Corrupted during their mission to retake City 015. Seeing that they are out of Anti-Punishing Serum, Lucia suggests they turn off her pain receptors to buy time for them to retreat, despite the risk of M.I.N.D. deviation.



The Commandant fights the Corrupted as they wait for Lucia to recalibrate. Lucia manages to come back in time to finish off the rest. At the same time, Liv, another member of the Gray Ravens who specializes in support, launches an attack against the enemies from afar.



Lucia becomes more and more aggressive in combat as she suffers from the symptoms of M.I.N.D. deviation. They take a short break before arriving at the ruins where they are joined by Lee and Liv, the two other members of the Gray Ravens. Because of the damage they sustained during the mission, the team decides to first rendezvous with the nearest supply team. They take a shortcut through a church, where Lucia feels a sense of déjà vu.



The team encounters a Construct-like figure at the church but soon realizes that she is not an ally when they sense a high concentration of Punishing Virus from her. Lucia in particular is affected severely upon encountering the mysterious figure: her sensor modules are unable to perceive the unknown Construct, and her M.I.N.D. starts to further destabilize. The Construct, labeled Alpha, challenges Lucia to a fight. Alpha nearly kills Lucia but is interrupted by the Commandant.



Alpha then redirects her attention to the Commandant. She immobilizes the Commandant with ease and asks them if they can understand what Lucia is currently going through. The Commandant’s determination convinces Alpha to let them go. Before leaving, Alpha tells Lucia that she looks forward to her choice once she sees humans for what they truly are.