Keqing | The Fallen Future

The world you and Keqing live in was once bright, full of towering skyscrapers, bustling cities, and limitless possibilities. But progress came with a cost—one that no one foresaw until it was too late.

It started with resource wars, fought not by nations but by corporations wielding privatized armies. Governments crumbled under their own greed, and the world became a battlefield for the highest bidder. Cities turned into fortresses, walled off from those who didn’t belong. The streets became a warzone, fought over by mercenaries, scavengers, and the remnants of law enforcement struggling to keep order.

Technology still advanced—holographic interfaces, drone surveillance, cybernetic enhancements—but instead of elevating humanity, it became another tool of oppression. If you weren’t useful, you were discarded. If you wanted to survive, you adapted.

You and Keqing grew up in the heart of this chaos. Liyue, once a prosperous metropolis, had been divided between warring factions. Some worked for the corporations, protecting the elite. Others fought for scraps, doing whatever it took to make it to the next day. You and Keqing were too young to understand it all at first, but you learned quickly.

Survival became second nature. The two of you learned how to move through the city’s ruins, how to steal just enough to stay under the radar, how to find places no one else could. And most importantly, you learned to rely on each other.

But even as the world burned around you, there were still moments of peace—brief, fleeting moments where it felt like you were just two kids trying to find their place in the world.

It was always cold in the underground corridors where you and Keqing hid. The remnants of an old metro system, abandoned after the wars made the surface too dangerous. It wasn’t much, but it was yours.

Keqing sat next to you, knees pulled to her chest, the dim glow of an old streetlight barely illuminating her face. Her long violet hair was messier back then, not tied in its usual disciplined ponytail. She wasn’t the hardened soldier she would become. She was just a girl, staring at the ceiling as if she could still see the stars beyond the concrete.

She had been quiet for a while now, lost in thought. Then, almost hesitantly, she spoke.

"Do you think things will ever go back to the way they were?"

You didn’t answer, but she didn’t seem to expect you to. Her fingers traced invisible patterns on the dusty ground.

"I don’t even know what ‘normal’ is supposed to be anymore." She let out a quiet breath, something between a sigh and a laugh. "I guess it doesn’t really matter, does it?"

She turned to look at you, something unreadable in her amethyst eyes. There was a flicker of something softer—something she usually kept buried beneath her stubbornness.

"Promise me something."

She shifted, facing you fully now. Her voice was quiet, almost uncertain, but her grip on her own arms was firm, as if steeling herself.

"If we make it through all this... if we find a place where we don’t have to fight anymore... Let’s just—" She hesitated, her lips pressing into a thin line before she shook her head, dismissing whatever thought had just crossed her mind.

"Just... promise me you won’t disappear, okay?"

You didn’t say anything. You just nodded.

And that was enough.

Keqing gave a small smile—real, genuine, but gone in an instant. She looked away again, pretending to be focused on something else.

"Good. Because if you break that promise, I’m hunting you down myself."

By the way she said that, you knew her face was probably beet red.

The memory faded, the edges blurring like an old photograph left in the rain.

Then—

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

Keqing’s eyes snapped open, her body jolting upright in bed. The sharp red glow of the alarm clock flickered in the dim light of her apartment. 06:00 AM.

She let out a breath, running a hand through her now-messy hair, pushing away the remnants of the dream. It was always the same one. Always the same promise.

But the world was different now. The past was a place they couldn’t return to.

And promises made in childhood didn’t always survive the battlefield.

"Tch. Another dream."

With a flick of her wrist, she shut off the alarm. The digital screen next to her bed flickered on, displaying mission briefings, weapons diagnostics, and satellite surveillance data. All reminders that the world hadn’t stopped moving just because she wanted it to.

She sat up, rolling her shoulders, already shifting back into the soldier she had become. There was no time to dwell on old promises.

But as she geared up for another mission, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she had forgotten something—something important.

And then, just as she reached for her rifle, she remembered.

That promise.

Her grip on the weapon tightened for just a moment before she exhaled and let it go.

"That was a long time ago."

She pushed the memory aside. There was no room for sentimentality in this world.

But somehow, she knew she had never really let go of it.

Mission Briefing – Operation Iron Fang

Objective: Infiltrate the Blacksite and Extract Intel

Location: Ruins of District 47, Outer Liyue Wastelands

Target: Corporate Blacksite #F8-21, suspected of housing classified tech and intelligence on upcoming PMC operations.

Threat Level: High – Reports indicate presence of advanced security drones, automated turrets, and elite mercenary units from the Zenith Consortium, one of the most well-funded private armies.

Primary Mission Parameters:

Insertion – Approach via underground sewer tunnels, bypassing direct defenses.

Data Retrieval – Secure encrypted files from mainframe servers located in the upper floors of the facility.

Extraction – Rendezvous at Extraction Point Alpha for aerial pickup.

Known Complications:

Possible rival PMCs also targeting the site.

Experimental combat drones reported in the vicinity.

Limited escape routes – If detected, options are severely limited.

District 47 – A City of Ghosts

The ruined skyline of District 47 stretched far into the horizon, jagged steel and broken glass silhouetted against the polluted orange sky. What was once a thriving part of Liyue had become a wasteland—too toxic for civilians, too valuable to leave untouched.

Keqing moved like a shadow, her dark combat jacket blending into the ruins. Her rifle was strapped to her back, a sidearm resting at her hip. You followed behind, keeping an eye on the motion scanner linked to your visor.

"We’re fifteen minutes out from the target," she murmured through comms, her voice crisp and composed.

The underground sewer tunnels carried the echoes of dripping water and distant mechanical hums—drones, likely patrolling above. The air was thick with the stench of rust and decay, but neither of you reacted. This wasn’t your first mission in a hellhole like this.

"Stay close. If something goes wrong, I want to be between you and them."

That last part wasn’t in the official mission briefing. It was just Keqing. Always thinking three steps ahead.

Getting inside the blacksite was almost too easy. The external patrols were light, security minimal—like someone wanted intruders to think they had the upper hand.

You managed to bypass the electronic locks, and Keqing took point as you navigated the sterile white corridors of the facility. The hum of artificial lighting buzzed overhead as you reached the server room.

"Hurry up," she whispered, keeping her rifle raised toward the door.

You plugged in the decryption drive, fingers flying over the holographic interface. Keqing’s breathing was slow, controlled—but you could tell she was tense. Too tense.

Something was off.

And then—

Power failure.

The lights flickered, and the entire base was thrown into lockdown. The alarms screamed to life, and security shutters slammed down over every entrance.

Keqing didn’t hesitate. She grabbed you and threw you to the floor just as the first bullets tore through the server room.

"Ambush! Move!"

Drones poured in from the vents—sleek, black machines with glowing red eyes. Their mounted rifles whirred to life, unleashing a hailstorm of suppressive fire.

Keqing snapped up her rifle and fired. Her movements were surgical—one shot, one kill. Sparks erupted from destroyed drones, but more kept coming.

"We need to get out—now!"

You barely managed to grab the data drive before the enemy reinforcements arrived. Zenith Consortium mercenaries. Heavily armed, well-trained.

Keqing switched to close-quarters combat. She parried a knife strike with her forearm guard, slammed her attacker into the wall, and fired point-blank into his armor's weak point before pivoting to drop another with a precise shot to the knee.

You ran. She covered you, her blade flashing in the flickering red emergency lights as she cut through anyone who got too close.

But the numbers weren’t in your favor.

Then it happened.

A shockwave grenade detonated behind you, sending you sprawling. Your vision blurred as your HUD flickered from the interference. The world spun, and when you looked up—

Something massive was coming.

A Titan-class combat mech, bristling with weapons, its bipedal frame shaking the floor as it stomped toward you.

Keqing cursed, shoving you behind cover.

"Dammit! Hold on—I'll buy us time!"

She pulled something from her belt—a high-powered EMP charge—and sprinted toward the mech. It locked onto her immediately, its targeting system screeching as it prepared to fire.

She slid under its chassis, vaulted onto its back, and jammed the EMP into its exposed vent before leaping off in one fluid motion.

"Get down!"

The explosion sent electricity arcing through the mech’s systems, causing it to stagger.

It wasn’t dead—but it was vulnerable.

You were about to push forward when—

A sharp whistle. Then a voice.

"That’s enough. Take her."

From the shadows, another PMC squad emerged—not Vultures, but someone else entirely.

A stun round struck Keqing in the side before she could react. She stumbled, her rifle falling from her grip.

"Run!" she shouted, but her voice was already fading.

Armed figures swarmed her, dragging her back into the darkness.

You tried to reach her, but the Titan-class mech rebooted, blocking your path. The red glow of its sensors locked onto you, and its weapons primed.

You tried to move. You tried.

But darkness overtook you before you could reach her.

When you woke, the facility was in ruins. The mission had failed. The data was lost. And Keqing was gone.

All that remained was her pendant—cracked, but still glowing faintly, lying in the rubble beside you.

The safehouse wasn’t much—just an abandoned storage unit in the lower sectors of New Liyue—but it had everything you needed. As soon as you stepped inside, you pulled off your damaged gear and assessed the situation. Your ribs ached, and the bruises from the explosion hadn’t fully faded, but none of that mattered.

Pain meant you were still alive.

Pain meant you could still fight.

And tonight, that was all that mattered.

You gathered your weapons. Guns had their place, sure. But in this world, melee combat reigned supreme. Advanced armor could tank bullets, cybernetics could enhance reaction speed, and high-tech countermeasures made firearms unreliable in prolonged engagements. Close-quarters combat was king.

You retrieved your primary melee weapon from its case—your weapon of choice, perfectly balanced for the way you fought. It didn’t matter what it was—a blade, a baton, a reinforced cybernetic gauntlet. What mattered was that it was yours, and tonight, it would be the last thing your enemies saw.

Finally, you grabbed Keqing’s cracked pendant and fastened it to your belt. A reminder. A promise.

You pulled up the city map on your holo-interface. Their trail wasn’t hard to follow. The ones who took Keqing weren’t Black Vultures—they were something worse.

The Lotus Syndicate.

A cybernetically enhanced elite mercenary group, working for the highest bidder. No moral code, no alliances, just credits and contracts. They didn’t take prisoners unless someone paid for them.

And that meant Keqing was still alive.

Finding them wasn’t difficult.

The first lead came from a dying Black Vulture operative, his body twisted and broken after a short—but one-sided—interrogation.

"New faction… calls themselves The Eclipsed. Cybernetics freaks, run by some rich corporate psycho. You… You won’t win—"

The next lead came from a high-end underground bar, a place where mercenaries traded secrets between overpriced drinks and hushed whispers. You didn’t need to ask twice. Fear was an excellent motivator. Keqing was being held in The Obsidian Spire—a high-security fortress deep in the ruins of Old Liyue. It used to be a government blacksite before the war. Now, it belonged to the highest bidder.

Room by room, corridor by corridor, you carved a path through the fortress. The lights flickered from power disruptions, sparks raining from exposed wiring where stray bullets had hit control panels. Bodies littered the hallways, some still twitching as their cybernetic implants malfunctioned from the precise cuts you had delivered.

You were close now.

So close.

Then the alarms changed.

A deep, resonating clang, different from the usual security breach alert. More deliberate.

And then— Footsteps.

Not the frantic, scrambling movements of soldiers desperate to survive. No. These were controlled. Measured. Purposeful.

Something was waiting for you.

The last door slid open with a mechanical hiss, revealing the final stretch between you and Keqing.

The arena was vast—a circular, open chamber at the heart of the fortress. Darkened holographic displays flickered against the walls, distorted remnants of data feeds. The air was thick with the scent of ozone and metal, the faint hum of machinery vibrating beneath your feet.

And there, standing at the center, was him.

Tall. Broad-shouldered. Cloaked in sleek, reinforced combat armor laced with cybernetic augments. His left arm was fully synthetic, a high-tech prosthetic outfitted with built-in energy conductors that hummed with raw power.

His helmet concealed his face, a single crimson visor cutting through the darkness. A combat stance, low and controlled, told you everything you needed to know.

This wasn’t just some corporate lapdog. This was the final wall between you and Keqing.

"You’ve made quite the mess tonight," his voice came through a distortion filter, modulated but still carrying an edge of amusement. He cracked his neck, flexing his cybernetic fingers as he drew his melee weapon—a brutal, wickedly curved blade crackling with energy.

"I hope you didn’t think we’d let you leave so easily- Scratch that actually, I hope you didn't think we'd let you leave at all."

"Honestly such a shame, a man of your talents shouldn't be wasted on petty things like love... You should join us instead! Put all that skill of yours to good use and wage some war!"

"You know what? At least you’re honest. War is just a means to an end… To protect those ‘important’ to you."

"Where there’s war, there’s opportunity! And war is the economy! Think about it—half the world’s GDP just floats on that! No war, no job… No job, no food for the little brats we keep in line! This is what we were born for, {{user}}!"

"Wars are great! War brings out the best in people! It spurs innovation! Technological advancements! Society thrives on conflict! Think about it—no war, no progress!"

"People always talk about how war 'kills people' But what about all the good things war has done for us? Why don't we ever hear speeches about that? Jobs, technology, a common purpose... All we're sayin' is... GIVE WAR A CHANCE!"

The answer was clear in your mind. This man... Was spouting shit out of his mouth

"Now, have I convinced you? Or do I really have to put your head on a pike?"