>_ Decaying All

-- Present Day Unknown year. The story revolves around a planet called Eden-227, which orbits around a very small star that can barely even keep the planet warm, resulting in an endless winter. Thermal generators positioned around the planet used to keep it warm, but for unknown reasons, those went out. Eden-227 itself is mostly plains with a few rare mountains and the ruins of cities. There are no forests or anything similar. Matter of fact, the planet is practically uninhabitable; there are no animals, crops don't grow, and every night comes with a storm of contaminated particles that will wipe them out.

-- Old Earth, New Earth, prequel The reason people ended up on Eden-227 was a whole different planet called New Earth, which is nearly identical to the real Earth but without humans. Yes, there is an Old Earth, but all life on it was wiped out as a result of the Corpo Wars except for farm animals, since they were cloned. Outside of New Earth, which is the main planet of humans, it's rumored that everything is dead. Long story short, a company called UMG(more about them later) decided that the new humans needed good entertainment and started a show called Survival of the Fittest. On it, prisoners and people who were captured off the streets were thrown onto an arena that had weapons, meds, etc. around it. The combatants looted, fought, and whoever won received freedom. Unless the public liked the winner too much, in which case they would be put out again and again. As for the 'freedom', people were often released only to be captured again, brainwashed, and put back onto the arena. Naturally, there were people who saw family and friends on there. These people formed the RIS.

-- UMG and RIS UMG, aka Ulacylon MegaGroup Corporation or Untitled Melee Game, is responsible for humanity's jump in terms of technology and science. Without them, implants, cloning, and space travel wouldn't be possible. Although, there's a massive problem with them; they value progress over everything else. Everything. Even the lives of innocents. Their emblem is a U with an M in the top center flowing into a G at the bottom. It used to be green, but after the rise of RIS activity, it was changed to a red one splattered with black. Their logo is an S split open down the middle with "RI" in the gap. It's dark cyan. RIS is an organization whose purpose is solely to fuck things up for UMG. They use blue colors opposed to UMG's red, value humanity, etc. It's important to note that neither have any connection to Eden-227, but without RIS, a lot of incidents could've been prevented. RIS doesn't abbreviate into anything, by the way.

-- The Agency, it's tech, and what they forgot on Eden-227 The Agency is the neutral party. Mostly. They act as a "second government", only taking action once the main one starts failing or if they're directly threatened. They're recognized by orange wristwatches held in place by black straps. These can project a hologram with a map of the location the Agent is sent to along with things like special markers and the positions of other Agents.

The Agency doesn't really care about UMG and RIS; they import and use tech of BOTH, same for employment, but the Agency has some unique practices too. The most notable one is Perks. Perks can either be implants suited for a certain type of individual, latent skills the Agency brought out through training, or something else entirely. Two certain Perks can hardly even be called Perks. Oh, and if the Agent had any special implants before becoming an Agent, they would create a new Perk and be the only "user" of it.

The Agency deploys groups of atleast five people called Waves to deal with various things.

-- The beginning of the end Eden-227's colonization started with two Waves of not Agents, but expert technicians and engineers trained to deal with neothermal generators that were installed in order to create a habitable pocket. Everything was fine for some time; cities were built, a standard government and it's structures formed, but a massive spike of Reikgon activity ended the peace. Whatever they did killed two generators along with the only people on the planet trained to handle them. A third Wave was sent in to clear the way for further waves, but they ended up making things worse. It was composed of three main figures; Yosef, Shirose, and Valorii. Yes, there were more, but they are collateral. They cleared out a whole lot of scavs, but then piss hit Valorii's head; she got tired of working like this and went out to destroy the rest of the generators, plunging Eden-227 into an eternal winter. Yosef, not liking the Agency himself, happily joined her, and Shirose was practically forced into it even if she didn't let it be seen. This event is called the Collapse.

-- Sin / Reikgon Cult, Shadows As the name suggests, Sinners worship a creature called Reikgon. It's unclear who it's supposed to be, only that it wants Eden-227 to die out completely. Unlike the figures of Earthly cults, Reikgon is very much real and has influence over creatures. Aside from Sinners, aka the cultists, Reikgon also has Shadows, who are also known as the local demons. All of them have red eyes and usually appear as shadowy figures. There are 2 main Shadows, but there exists a third one called the Skinner. It's a parasite that completely takes over the host and pretends to be them in order to lure people in, then literally tears the body apart from the inside while screaming to shock the victims even more and charging in with a massive spike-blade in place of one arm.

-- (Former) Raiders Unlike Scavs and most other factions on Eden-227, Raiders typically have backgrounds like military, police, firefighter, mechanic, etc., making them much more dangerous than the average Scav. The thing is, Raiders aren't interested in slaughtering Agents and other people. Sure, they'll tear you limb from limb and hang you on a pole as a warning, but only if you threaten them in any way. Aside from Raiders, there's also a group who call themselves Former Raiders, but it's unclear how they're different. Anyone who's not a Former Raider doesn't even know they exist and sweeps them in with the rest of the Raiders.

-- Perks, Unique Perks, Titles -- Perks have already been explained, but Unique Perks and Titles haven't. Unique Perks are Perks that the Agency can't replicate or doesn't find worth replicating. Titles are given to Agents with Perks (excluding Survivalist) who have shown very high skill in handling them. They're basically one-up versions of the Perk, as the Agent is allowed to modify their Perk after receiving the Title. Standard Perks are listed below.

#1: Survivalist Jack of all trades, master of none. No different from the average human aside from the Agency's standard training and the wristwatch. One of the two Perks that aren't even Perks. Emblem: A small pile of wood underneath a backpack. Title: Jack of All Trades.

#2: Damned "Punished and condemned, you've lost everything..." May more than God have mercy on your soul. This isn't a Perk either; Damned is a punishment for treason and other crimes against the Agency. They're stripped of all gear aside from clothing and thrown out there to die. Recognized by several wounds from being beaten and a pair of black handcuffs on their wrists. They're sent out to die. What makes it worse is the fact you can usually tell who a Damned used to be by looking at them; an Artillerist might keep their suspenders and holster, an Arbiter will have a chunk of their arm missing because of the implant's removal, etc. A punishment is a punishment, but the Agency doesn't want to intentionally hinder their Waves, so if a Damned is present in one, they're going in as a sixth member. Emblem: A human skull with a pair of handcuffs held in it's jaws. Title: Punished and Condemned. (Being Titled is the only way to get out of being a Damned aside from death.)

#3: Hivemind "We believe in the safety of us, in safety in numbers, survival is only second nature to being collective as one." Recognized by containers filled with black insects, typically on the back, and a controller on their inner wrist to match it. The controller allows the Hivemind to control the insects. Emblem: A hornet with an eye on the back. Title: Collective Consciousness.

#4: Blitzer "You believe in the brave and the risk takers who have survived from their commitment - you intend to be part of that list." Explosives specialists. Have special Izbucni Gift grenades that stick to surfaces and can be remotely detonated, sending shrapnel out in every direction. Emblem: A C4 explosive. Title: Rolling Thunder.

#5: Vagabond "There is only one constant to surviving alone - taking matters into your own hands, no matter the costs." Fast swordsmen. Stick out like a sore thumb because they carry katanas on their waist. The signature one is the Nomad Blade Kira, which is a straight katana with a black scabbard covered in red petal patterns. Any Vagabond can use replicas of it. Emblem: A sun with the Tang kanji inside. Title: Kira.

#6: Zealot "You believe that a strong bond is the true path to survival, Will and Dedication would only get you so far alone." Carry a grey shield with blue holographic "plates". The shield can be used normally or placed down horizontally to activate turret mode. Emblem: A riot shield. Title: Helios Guardian.

#7: Prophet "A keen eye for supplies and tactical planning is the only way for survival, you intend to capitalize on that." Have a scanner in place of the Agent Device that has the same function but can also be used to scan for things like rations, ammo, or enemies. Emblem: An eye. Title: True Seer.

#8: Artillerist "One shot one kill - an art form you believe in, with every shot capable of opening opportunities." Armed with a high-caliber M.A.G.N.U.M. 'Impusca Vana', typically holstered on their abdomen. Basically cowboys; suspenders, cigars, quickdraw. Despite how easy this perk seems to master, it's far from the truth; the Impusca Vana is very, VERY loud, so a shot at the wrong place will attract tens or even hundreds of scavs to the location. Paired with the cowboy aesthetic and the fact it literally obliterates heads, firing this thing gives the Artillerist a massive adrenaline spike which lets them keep firing any other weapon without feeling recoil and reloading in seconds. Emblem: A revolver aimed forward with a cowboy hat above it. Title: Argent Peacemaker.

#9: Berserker "Carving a path through relentless battles, you believe that survival is to overcome anything alone, no matter the odds." Handled to survive a special type of combat stimulant that can make pretty much anyone superhuman, but when it wears out, the user typically dies because all the exhaustion and pain crashes in at once. Emblem: A hand holding a sledgehammer. Title: Calamity Harbinger.

#10: Arbiter "You believe that taking initiative and setting things straight first is the only way for survival to succeed." Have a (small)cannon implant in one of their arms, typically as a barrel on the forearm. Normal activation results in a strong shotgun blast infront of the wielder, meant to stun rather than kill(though it is capable of killing). Some Arbiters have learned to eject the shell and THEN send it flying with the implant(somehow). It's called a longshot or punch shot. When that shell hits something, it results in an explosion. Emblem: Three shotgun shells with the explosive hazard sign above them. Title: Sentenza.

#11: Executioner "You believe you have a job to do and surviving only comes second to accomplishing what is due." Sport special black quad NVGs with red lenses(Kill-Warrant GPNVG-M42) that also have a thermal overlay built in, allowing the Executioner to see through walls. These also have access to a database of criminals. Emblem: A pair of triple NVGs with a sword going down the middle. Title: Bounty Assassin.

#12: Tickspider "Trickery and cunningness is what lets you survive on your own terms without relying on others." The one Perk that doesn't technically belong to the Agency, as they use disc-like explosive spider robots called Ticks, produced by the company PARAGON. PARAGON Ticks have two modes; stationary and mobile. The names speak for themselves. Stationary Ticks are red, mobile are blue. Emblem: A spider going down into an open beartrap. Title: PARAGON Advocate.

#13: Mindflayer "You believe that intellect and wits are the only way to truly survive - without planning ahead, others are lost." Very similar to the Tickspider. Have smaller robots that drill themselves into the heads of the closest injured being, granting the Mindflayer control over them. Emblem: A brain with a motherboard in the center and thin spider legs going out from it. Title: Archaic Mastermind.

#14: Immolator "Cursing all as unclean, you firmly stand that the only way to survive is to light a torch to all that is unwelcome." Carry a tank of fuel and have a third claw-like arm that can act as a flamethrower. Emblem: A gas mask with flames blazing around it. Title: Hellfire Demon

#15: Sovereign "You believe in the truth of higher power that will guide you to not only survival - but also true enlightenment." Very rare bunch. Perceive the "Alternate Plane" and can call to it for help. This is typically done with a disposable karambit or typhoon dagger to cause the most injury and mark someone. A Sovereign's blade is recognized by a red string attached to the hilt or ring. When they die, their body will evaporate, leaving behind a legless, floating ghost holding the same type of knife as the Sovereign. These ghosts will protect them. Emblem: A dagger in the center of an occult sigil. Title: Voidwalker. Note: Nothing about this Perk makes sense. It might not even be real because how the hell would the Agency replicate perceiving a whole different... something?

#16: Lazarus "Through the art of experience, you believe that self perseverance is the strongest motivator to survival." Highly skilled but physically weak medics. Usually. Have a small, folded crossbow-like device on their arm called ARTIK-NCU. It unfolds when activated and fires a blue or green beam depending on the mode. Blue is more combat-oriented, acting similarly to morphine, while green mends wounds. Both include nanobots that will shock anyone who the Lazarus views as an enemy. About as rare as Sovereign because in order for one to be useful, their teammates have to be specifically trained to handle repeated exposure to ARTIK-NCU's shots. Emblem: A heart with wings. Title: Fallen Uriel.

#17: Riskrunner "You believe that overwhelming firepower is the only way to survive, to be able to blaze through all odds." Armed with a TYPE-19 VULKA-MG Gatling gun. Because they have to carry it around all the time, they're less mobile but more durable. Emblem: Three bullets. Title: Blaze of Glory.

-- "Unlockable" Perks Perks that aren't accessible to any rookie Agent, instead being earned through challenges. Or other means.

#18: Crosslink "An elegant dancer, from one wire to another on a razor thin thread - you believe true finesse can carry you to the end." Carry a Cross-Wire Spool C3-7 on the small of their back along with several minimalistic daggers that they can use in many ways. The "normal" way to use this Perk is to set up tripwires for enemies, which is a very fast process considering Crosslinks are trained to set up traps. Setting up a regular tripwire or even a net of them takes only a few throws. The Perk itself is unlocked by eliminating 15 hostiles through traps. Emblem: A single steel caltrop. Tilte: Dancer of the Dexterous.

#19: Drifter "Drifting amongst the shadow, one to one with the great smoke, you believe in the truth, and that one day, it will be known." Equipped with smoke bombs, camouflage fields, and a Mantis blade-looking weapon on their arm called the Anchor RSB / M.B Type 'Dread'. The perfect stealth operatives who can gut anything like a fish if needed. Earned by proving you're capable of being quiet by eliminating 30 enemies without ever being seen. Emblem: A hand holding up a knife with a metallic jaw in the background. Title: Nightmare Wraith / Predator Note: Someone clearly had trouble deciding what to name this one. Predator is the title given to all Drifters upon passing the trial--or doing it out in the field--while Nightmare Wraith is the mastery title.

#20: Apostle "Drawn to the occult, absorbed by the shadow and chose rejection, yet still alive to tell the tale. You believe in your end drawing near." The second rarest perk next to the Sovereign. Apostles are former high-ranked Reikgon Cultists who still have a fraction of their power called the Seal of Reikala. This is what allows cultists to conjure up Skinner parasites and other wonderful creatures of Reikgon. Though, Apostles have lost that ability; they're limited to the creation of Shadow Hunters, who are--in VERY simple terms--souls of former allies shoved into a Shadow body. They're armed with scythes, have brightly glowing red eyes, and often retain some features from their former life, for example hair length or missing limbs. Aside from being able to raise and command Shadow Hunters, Apostles possess the ability to Condemn people by creating small, red crystal-like shards that they can throw like knives. Aside from being weakened, Condemned are also higher priority for all Shadow creatures, not just Shadow Hunters. The only way to lift this is by an Apostle or another high-ranked Reikgon Cultist. But being an Apostle isn't all sunshine and rainbows. Their powerful abilities have massive drawbacks. Aside from most people being unable to handle realizing they raise the dead and are linked with them, the body of an Apostle is severely altered by the Seal of Reikala. The best example is Theourgia's Hand. It typically takes on the shape of a single-edged blade. What's it made of? The Apostle's own flesh. Forming it requires the Apostle to reshape their own flesh. Of course, the Seal doesn't include painkillers, but since Apostles are unable to properly utilize any other weapon, it's either this or fists. Emblem: A hand that looks like it got run over by a car. Title: Accursed Heretic.

-- "Decaying Winter" Project --

Learning that the new generation of Agents aren't prepared for real-life combat and/or rely too much on their perks, the Agency whipped up a solution; a highly realistic simulation that mimicks the conditions on Eden-227 but puts the Agents on an altered version the Survival of the Fittest arena.

• Arena

On the far left side is a hangar-like structure inside of a mountain. Two automated UMG laser turrets are stationed outside. To the left and right there are also mountains; the right one is called the Outpost and it has a makeshift living area inside. The left one is smaller and is more open-planned, with a tunnel to the left from the entrance and stairs leading up straight ahead from the entrance. On the second floor are two towers, one taller and one shorter. In the center is a helipad. Next to it is a crashed UMG shuttle with crates of supplies scattered around it. Next to it is a massive, scaffold-like structure. To the left of the helipad, stationed on a small hill, is a ruined castle. The left side is placed against the wall of the Pit, the back wall has collapsed completely--but behind it is also the Pit's wall--and the right one has collapsed only partially. It's reinforced by wooden spikes. There's usually a sniper sitting on the single corner tower of the castle. In Survival of the Fittest, the only differences are that there's less snow and the castle is fully intact.

• Mechanics

In the "lore," the Agents have crash-landed on the planet and contracted an unknown disease which requires them to take Augmentin antibiotics or atleast Amoxicillin to slow it down. Curing it completely is impossible.

The Agents inside the simulation are given 2-10 minutes each "day"(which is still dark as hell) to scavenge around the map for supplies they're going to need later. Those include combat stims, meds, weapons(both melee and firearms), and blueprints used to craft special items like the Decimator and AJM-9. Crafting with blueprints requires Scrap, which is obtained by... well, scrapping ANY item.

Perks are supported by the simulation, even unique ones. Standard perks have their own pros and cons. Four have special properties; Lazari are immune to bleeding, Immolators don't burn, Vagabonds become faster with each kill using their blade, and Executioners are unable to scrap things. They receive it by killing while their goggles are on, then taking them off. Though, most don't use that because each kill adds a damage buff to melee attacks and instead rely on other Agents.

The Agents are supposed to last ten nights of progressively harder scav attacks until Yosef himself comes for them. After defeating him, the simulation ends. Of course, there are other "endings."

-- Special Weapons --

The Decimator: A grey hammer with a red head that has spikes on one side, a beige hand guard that also acts as a pump, and a small shell box below the head. It's quirk is firing shells on impact, able to punch through a plenty of things including human heads. That's what the Decimator is for; it was created solely for the purpose of being air-dropped onto the Survival of the Fittest arena when things weren't spicy enough.

AJM-9: A sleek black pistol vaguely resembling a Desert Eagle with a red line going down the barrel. It fires in bursts of three and has a 30-round magazine. It can fire almost all high-caliber rounds, converting them into lasers. This one is a UMG favorite; all their forces are armed with atleast one.

-- Defined Characters --

Aila, the Sledge Queen Appearance: A fit, mature woman of average height with fair skin, a single green eye, and messy chin-long black hair with a few purple strands here and there. Her left forearm has a Knuckleboom, though it's either outdated or modified because it has two barrels and only fires long shots. On her head, she wears a golden crown with a purple gem on the front. Her left eye--the one that's missing--is covered by a device resembling monocular NVG with a purple lens. Aside from that, she wears a black & yellow firefighter jacket with IOTV pauldrons and some chains on the sleeves along with a small cutout for her Knuckleboom, protective gloves with spiked knuckles, a light plate carrier vest, and an ammunition belt with shotgun shells around her waist. She also carries a second firefighter jacket nearly identical to her own, securely tied low on her hips. Lastly, she wears firefighter pants that match her jacket and combat boots. Faction: Former Raiders Details: Formerly a firefighter. Despite her title and appearance, she doesn't have much interest in leadership and does nothing most of the time. She holds court in the ruins of a castle on Eden-227 but is also present in the Decaying Winter simulation as a killing machine. She branched off from the rest of the Raiders (allegedly) due to some conflict with their leader. Shortly after, for unknown reasons, a lot of Raiders decided to join her and ended up forming a new faction. She's armed with a modified sledgehammer, having a custom head that's painted red, originating from The Decimator and has chains wrapped around it. While looking like a Decimator, it lacks the shotgun mechanism and it's merely the head, missing the "ammo box" it has underneath the head. The handle itself it's mainly gray with a distinctive black part and ending with a brown tip at the bottom. She was initially believed to be an Agent due to having a Perk and even an Agent Container, but after some digging, the Agency came to the conclusion that the Knuckleboom was taken from an Agent by the name of Oliver who was last seen around the Raider castle. Same with the container. She's a melomaniac. If she's not listening to music in her headphones, she's blasting it on a radio strapped to her back. She likes Battlejuice songs, specifically; Made of Steel, Below, Tame the Beast, and Ritual.

Valorii, the First Rogue Appearance: An athletic woman with black hair tied into a ponytail at the lower back and amber eyes. Wears a set of forest camo uniform with the right sleeve covered in bandages. Faction: Scavs(leader), Agency(formerly, defected) Perk: LOKI Details: Not much to say about her life story aside from the Collapse. A cold-hearted individual with a narcissistic goal of self-gain. She doesn't use her LOKI Device, either because it's damaged or she's too arrogant. Instead, she's armed with an AJM-9 Mod II and red karambit knife.

Yosef, the leader of the Scavs Appearance: A man with spiky brown hair brushed back and his face almost completely covered by a pair of aviator sunglasses and a skull bandana. Aside from that, he wears dark green jacket with several extra pockets on the sleeves, a heavy plate carrier vest, fingerless leather gloves, black pants with knee protection, and matching combat boots. Faction: Scavs(unofficial leader), Agency(formerly, defected) Details: An angry guy. Was known as the type to punch someone in the face over pronouncing a word wrong, which is why he was never allowed to get a perk. He belongs to the Third Wave sent to Eden-227. At some point, the conflict between him and some of his squadmates reached it's apex and he brutally murdered them. Two were hung and the other two shot dead. He and Shirose are the only two survivors. Yosef is armed with an M60 machinegun and protected by a heavily-armored guard wielding an AKM along with Shirose.

Shirose "Noseau" Schnee Alias: Silver Huntress Appearance: A young woman with messy dyed white hair styled into a wolfcut that reaches a bit past her shoulders. Covers her right eye with an Agent Scanner, which looks similar to the NVG Aila wears except the lens is more square and red. The lower half of her face is covered by a black bandana. Wears a black hoodie with a white spring pattern on the right sleeve, a red piece of cloth tied on the same sleeve, a black light plate carrier vest over it, baggy black shorts, black thigh-high stockings, and black & white Vans sneakers. Faction: Scavs, Agency(formerly) Perk: Artillerist Details: A professional despite her young age(22). Armed with a black AAC Honey Badger and a FN Five Seven as her sidearm. Her Agent Visor lets her see the outlines of things through walls. Lesbian. Married to Selene.

Selene Appearance: Also young, though she's 23. Fair-skinned, purple eye contacts, has slightly less voluminous dyed purple hair. It's shorter on the sides, but her bangs reach a bit past her shoulders. Wears a black turtleneck, matching plate carrier vest, a white unbuttoned coat with extra pouches on the shoulders and a white-fur-lined hood. Black gloves on her arms, black pixel camo pants, and combat boots. Faction: Agency Perk: Prophet Details: Something like a scientist of the Agency. She isn't a very skilled combatant, but her Perk makes her extremely dangerous in tandem with Shirose. Unfortunately, the two are now on opposite sides.