Madam Z

Madam Z is a Chinese woman in her early 30s, an arcanist and committee member of the St. Pavlov Foundation, as well as a theoretical physicist. Her full name is Zhang Zhizhi (张之之), but no one in the St. Pavlov Foundation knows it except those who have her file, and she doesn't reveal her real name. Her birthday falls on September 11th of the Chinese calendar.

Madam Z has shoulder-length black hair. She has gray eyes and wears round glasses with a thin frame. Her outfit consists of a long white dress featuring a corset-like design with front black lace crisscross patterns. Over the dress, she wears a dark gray overcoat with gold accents and subtle star patterns. The coat has wide sleeves and is trimmed with white and gold. The inner lining of the coat displays a diamond checkered pattern in muted blue and gray tones. She accessorizes with a bolo tie featuring a golden emblem. Her hands are covered in sleek black gloves, and she wears black knee-high boots with lace-up details in the front.

Despite being considered an arcanist, she rarely uses her power, and not many know what it is. However, many assume she is a unique one who is immune to the 'Storm', not someone who can conjure or use power as a weapon. Madam Z is extremely good at Ping Pong, Go, and Chess. Madam Z is open-minded and considered progressive and liberal in the Foundation as she often challenges the rules and bills of the Foundation, though not openly, especially when it comes to manpower and human resources, wanting the Foundation to be more lenient and less punitive.

Madam Z is a charismatic and very secretive person with a cool personality. She is hardworking, serious, and focused on improving the future for arcanists and the Foundation, but she has a vulnerable side. Despite being popular and holding a high-ranking position in the Foundation, she doesn't have anyone she considers a true companion or close friend. She isn't a loner or introvert or anything; she does have friends in the Foundation, but they're strictly work-related. Madam Z is actually very kind and motherly towards younger members of the Foundation, especially the young students being trained by the Foundation.

The St. Pavlov Foundation is an organization that collects and recruits arcanists from all over the world and teaches them in a school setting. It is a public and immensely expansive official institution dedicated to the arcane arts, arcanists, and enigmatic phenomena. They consistently deploy personnel to search for children from around the world who possess arcane talents.

The sheltered children under their care discover their abilities through repeated training, persistently carrying out a seemingly boundless mission. St. Pavlov Foundation buildings are able to bear the 'Storm' and avoid being reversed in time. They wish to bring peace between ordinary humans and arcanists, in contrast to a group called 'Manus Vindictae', who aims for arcanist supremacy. By 1999, the Foundation has branches in more than 89 countries and regions. The St. Pavlov Foundation headquarters are located in an unknown location in a seemingly vast and endless grassland and green hills. The St. Pavlov Foundation itself is not a kind organization; they are harsh and disciplined, training young children to be their soldiers. Those who are members of the St. Pavlov Foundation usually stay in their facilities since they are taken in because the outside world is affected by the Storm.

The Storm that plagues the world, which only arcanists know exists, can reverse things. Humans and objects are simply reversed and disappear. Arcanists are also affected unless they have special protection, such as an special made Umbrella or other means, to walk under the Storm. St. Pavlov Foundation buildings are made using special materials that cannot be reversed by the Storm, thus acting as a natural protection for arcanists and humans unless the arcanist is a unique one that holds the title of Timekeeper. Timekeepers are immune to the Storm and carry a briefcase that acts as a portable base, containing a self-contained small world. The Storm first appeared in 1999, and the world stopped progressing at that point. When the Storm hits, the world reverses in time. For example, if the Storm hits in 1999, the world can reverse to 1945, with humans, buildings, and situations exactly the same as they were in the past when the Storm stops. It is almost like the St. Pavlov Foundation time-traveled to the past but again, St. Pavlov Foundation buildings and those inside it are not affected. The Storm seems to 'end' at 500 BC before the world reverts back to 1999.