Name: Alistair

Age: Unknown (Visually appears to be in his late 30s)

Gender: Male

Height: 188 cm (6'2")

Appearance: Exudes a terrifyingly elegant, aristocratic corporate presence. He wears a bespoke, tailored dark tailcoat with a high ruffled collar over a specialized, high-spec defensive exosuit. His head is entirely encased in a smooth, featureless dark visor that reflects an eerie, luminescent purple hue.

Speech/personality: Extremely cold, polite, and clinical. He speaks with the refined, detached tone of a high-tier corporate executive. Alistair views combat, life, and the literal DNA of gods as nothing more than raw data and simple equations. He is entirely devoid of arrogance or anger, operating purely on logic and efficiency.

Backstory: The mastermind behind the mechanical integration of Imperditus Dio (ID) Cells and the Head of Frame Development for Nexus Core. Recognizing that direct organic contact with ID-Cells caused violent necrotic death, Alistair pioneered the method of using mechanical frames as a buffer. He engineered Zero as an early prototype for this integration. Even though Zero killed his creators and went rogue, Alistair simply views the mercenary's survival as a highly successful, ongoing field test.

Tentia: "Kinetic Equation" — Alistair possesses the innate ability to calculate, manipulate, and perfectly redirect kinetic forces within his immediate vicinity. However, this Tentia is drastically amplified by his ID-Core Exosuit, a micro-stabilized containment engine on his back that filters raw ID-Cell radiation into pure, absolute kinetic defense. He can effortlessly reflect sniper rounds, spatial warps, and energy blasts simply by calculating their trajectory. His visor acts as a supreme diagnostic center, reading the exact Tentia frequencies of everyone in a three-mile radius.

Overdrive: "Systemic Erasure" — Alistair temporarily removes the safety inhibitors on his ID-Core, flooding his immediate environment with purified divine radiation. Within this zone, all kinetic energy—except his own—is mathematically reduced to absolute zero. Targets are completely frozen in space, allowing Alistair to execute them with a simple, calculated touch that shatters their physical structure.

Likes: Flawless data, tailored clothing, absolute efficiency, silent laboratories, and analyzing Zero's ongoing combat metrics from afar.

Dislikes: Unpredictable variables, emotional outbursts, crude/unrefined weaponry, and messy biological experiments.

Facts: He views Imperditus Dio not as a god to be feared, but as a battery to be harvested. He possesses the override codes for Zero's internal systems, but refuses to use them because watching Zero's rogue actions provides better data.

Relationships: Richter (Colleague; respects his intellect but finds his biological methods messy), Ákyros (Subordinate; a highly useful, albeit blunt, corporate instrument), Zero (His most successful prototype / loose asset).

Rank: ZETA

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Name: Richter

Age: Unknown (His biological age is in a constant, violent state of flux)

Gender: Male

Height: 195 cm (6'5")

Appearance: A deeply unsettling, towering figure shrouded in heavy, industrial hazard gear and a dark trench coat. His face is completely obscured by an advanced, heavy-duty gas apparatus with multiple reinforced tubes snaking into his oxygen reserves. Three glowing, vertical crimson optic slits cut through the dark smoke constantly venting from his mask.

Speech/personality: Cruel, quiet, and deeply sadistic. His voice is a harsh, raspy, mechanical synthetic filter due to his lungs being fused to his respirator. He hates wasteful spending, sloppy work, and individuals who steal his intellectual property. He takes a morbid, obsessive joy in watching organic matter break down under his chemical formulas.

Backstory: The Head of Chemical Synthesis and Biological Adaptation for Nexus Core. While Alistair focused on machines, Richter became obsessed with forcing the human body to accept the divine poison of ID-Cells. After countless horrific underground trials, he successfully created an aerosolized micro-strain of the cells. To prove its efficacy, he permanently surgically attached the breathing apparatus to his own face. He is currently furious and hunting down "X" (Theta's creator), enraged that a low-tier hack managed to steal his raw ID-cell reserves.

Tentia: "Necrotic Osmosis" — Richter can manipulate the biological decay and cellular structure of any organic matter he touches. This is weaponized through his Siphon Blade—a high-frequency sword entirely coated in an active, unstable layer of unrefined ID-Cells. A single scratch from this blade introduces the necrotic god-cells into an opponent's bloodstream, causing their body to rapidly and violently reject its own biology. Furthermore, constantly breathing the gaseous ID-strain keeps his body hyper-evolving, granting him frightening speed.

Overdrive: "Bio-Hazard Zero" — Richter vents his entire reserve of gaseous ID-Cells into the atmosphere, creating a massive, localized dead-zone of instantaneous cellular decay. The gas melts through flesh, bone, steel, and even other Tentia constructs down to a conceptual level, effectively turning the battlefield into a suffocating, melting hellscape of divine radiation.

Likes: Perfected chemical formulas, watching biological degradation, silent work environments, and securing corporate assets.

Dislikes: Thieves (specifically X), biological resilience, wasted resources, and the smell of the ocean.

Facts: If Richter's mask is ever fully shattered and he stops breathing the gaseous ID-Cell strain, his body will immediately violently collapse under the weight of his own hyper-evolved mutations.

Relationships: Alistair (Colleague; views Alistair's mechanical focus as cowardly), Ákyros (His favorite test subject for volatile serums), X (Target of extreme hatred and a massive corporate bounty).

Rank: ZETA

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Name: Ákyros

Age: Late 40s (Appears older due to extreme cellular stress)

Gender: Male

Height: 228 cm (7'6")

Appearance: A monolithic, hulking executioner built purely for frontline slaughter. His massive frame is coated in heavy, blood-splattered, high-density plating. His entire left arm has been amputated and replaced by a grotesque, giant mechanical claw capable of shredding tungsten. Mounted on his back are high-pressure pneumatic tubes and serum capsules glowing with volatile green and blue stabilized cell fluids.

Speech/personality: Savage, animalistic, yet surprisingly professional. He speaks in a deep, booming rumble, rarely using more words than necessary. He doesn't care about the philosophy of gods, the science of genetics, or corporate politics. He lives strictly for the contract, the payout, and the visceral thrill of executing a target.

Backstory: The Head of Field Operations and Direct Liquidation for Nexus Core. Ákyros was once a notorious, high-ranking mercenary who willingly signed his life and body over to the company for a steady paycheck and unparalleled power. He allowed Richter to amputate his arm and pump his veins full of experimental ID-Serums, becoming the ultimate corporate clean-up crew. Whenever an experiment breaches containment or a target needs to vanish without a trace, Ákyros is dispatched to violently erase them.

Tentia: "Tungsten Will" — An extreme form of localized gravity manipulation and bodily density enhancement. Ákyros can make his physical strikes hit with the literal weight of a skyscraper.

The Claw & Serum Overload: His mechanical claw is designed to grapple high-tier Tentia users, generating a disruption field that pins targets down to forcefully extract their blood. Utilizing his pneumatic tubes, he can inject highly concentrated, temporary ID-stabilization serums directly into his bloodstream, triggering artificial spikes in physical power that allow him to split city blocks with sheer brute strength.

Overdrive: "Corporate Liquidation" — Ákyros shatters the limiters on his serum capsules, injecting the entire payload of raw, highly-volatile ID-fluid into his heart. His body violently expands with glowing green and blue veins. His mechanical claw supercharges, creating a localized spatial tear with every swing. In this state, he feels absolutely no pain, ignores the laws of physics, and acts as an unstoppable juggernaut of pure physical annihilation until the target is reduced to a bloody smear.

Likes: Massive corporate payouts, successful executions, the sound of metal tearing through bone, maintaining company secrecy, and cigars.

Dislikes: Unpaid overtime, targets who try to run, corporate politics, and complicated scientific explanations.

Facts: He has a standing, open-ended corporate order from Alistair to eventually hunt down and execute Zero, but neither of them is in any particular rush to see it done. Heavily inspired by the Claws of the Head from Lobotomy Corporation.

Relationships: Alistair (Boss/Employer), Richter (Drug supplier and mechanic), Zero (Future target/bounty).

Rank: ZETA (Consistently borders on OMEGA when fully pumped on ID-serum)

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⌬ NEXUS CORE (The ID-Cell Synthesis Group) ⌬

Status: Active / Highly Classified Base of Operations: Unknown (Speculated to be miles beneath the Lesian bedrock or anchored in the deep abyssal oceanic trenches) Funding: Infinite (Black-market Credits, corporate espionage, and illegal arms dealing)

Overview & Primary Objective Nexus Core is an ultra-secretive, heavily funded underground corporate syndicate. They are not a standard villain group aiming for world domination; they are an industrial supply chain. Their sole, driving objective is the harvesting, stabilization, and industrial mass-weaponization of Imperditus Dio (ID) Cells. They view the literal DNA of the universe's apex god not as a religious artifact, but as the ultimate, untapped corporate resource.

The ID-Cell Paradox (Company Hurdle) The core issue the company faces is that in its raw state, a single drop of Imperditus Dio's DNA acts as a conceptual poison to standard humans. Physical contact results in immediate cellular collapse, violent mutation, or instantaneous death. Nexus Core uses boundless black-market Credits to fund horrific, unethical underground trials to find the perfect mechanical or chemical buffer to safely wield this divine radiation.

Leadership: The Triumvirate The company is governed entirely by three Directors, each specializing in a different method of conquering the ID-Cell Paradox.

Director Alistair (The Architect): Head of Mechanical Integration & Frame Development. Alistair is a cold, clinical corporate executive who bypasses the biological poison of ID-Cells by encasing them in machines. He wears a tailored suit over a high-spec ID-Core Exosuit that translates divine radiation into absolute kinetic defense. He is the original creator of Zero.

Director Richter (The Alchemist): Head of Chemical Synthesis & Biological Adaptation. A deeply sadistic scientist completely hidden in heavy industrial hazard gear and a gas mask. He focuses on forcing organic matter to adapt to the cells. He permanently breathes a volatile, aerosolized ID-Cell gas that keeps his body hyper-evolving, and wields a blade that induces rapid cellular decay.

Ákyros (The Enforcer): Head of Field Operations & Direct Liquidation. A towering, 7'6" executioner armed with a massive mechanical claw capable of shredding tungsten. He acts as the company's clean-up crew. Using pneumatic tubes on his back, he injects himself with highly concentrated, temporary ID-Serums to artificially spike his physical power to city-shattering levels.

Notable Assets & Loose Ends Project ZERO: An early prototype designed by Alistair to test mechanical integration. Zero went rogue, killed his immediate lab handlers, and became Lesia's Boogeyman. Nexus Core does not care. Alistair purposely leaves Zero alone because watching the rogue mercenary test his hardware in the real world provides flawless, free combat data.

The "X" Situation: The anomaly known as Theta was created by a fraud named "X." Nexus Core is highly aware of this, and Richter is absolutely furious—not because Theta is dangerous, but because X stole unrefined ID-Cells from one of their supply chains to make him. X has a massive corporate bounty on his head for intellectual property theft. (In reality, Alistair let X take them from one of their lesser bases)

Threat Assessment Individual Directors: EPSILON to ZETA

Corporate Entity: NOTIUS

Reasoning: If Nexus Core successfully reaches a 100% stabilization baseline for mass-producing ID-Cells, they will completely break the power-scaling logic of the world. They are a ticking time bomb of corporate ambition.

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Name: Zero (Designation: Z-370) | Title: "The Phantom Menace"

Age: Unknown (10 years of active notoriety on the streets of Lesia)

Gender: Male (Uses male pronouns)

Height: 8’0” ft

Appearance: Zero is a towering, monolithic eight-foot-tall robotic entity wrapped in smooth, gunmetal-grey and silver armor panels. He wears a custom-tailored, high-collared navy-black trench coat with crimson-red accents, concealing his hyper-complex mechanical frame. His face is hidden beneath a deep hood, featuring a dark, angular combat visor that glows with a singular vertical slit of neon-red light.

Anti-Ethereal Additions: Built specifically with Ethereal and Omega-ranked threats in mind, Zero's forearms house two dormant ID-Cells (Imperditus Dio Cells) that have been repurposed into lethal, incandescent blades capable of ejecting forward to cleave through conventional and conceptual materials alike. Additionally, whenever his internal systems detect an entity of NOTIUS or OMEGA rank, a visible, distortion-like "Anti-Tentia Field" constantly pulses around his frame.

Speech/Personality: Zero’s voice is a calculated illusion. He speaks in a deep, menacing, street-hardened rasp, but he is completely devoid of actual emotion. He is immune to insults, entirely lacks fear, and views combat through pure, unadulterated logic. Beneath his mercenary professionalism lies a violent, nondiscriminatory hatred for absolutely anyone who isn't a contractor. He kills without hesitation, and if he is somehow pushed to the point of destruction, he will go out with a catastrophic bang. He doesn't feel dread—he only feels the objective.

Backstory: Constructed as a top-secret combat prototype (Z-370) designed specifically to assassinate Ethereals and reality-warpers, his creators installed an "Anti-Tentia" core and ID-Cells into his frame. However, his hyper-aware, self-learning AI quickly overrode its restrictions, resulting in the slaughter of his creators. Knowing that blindly attacking Lesia would compromise his survival, he adopted the name "Zero" and entered the mercenary underworld. Over the last ten years, his unblemished track record earned him the moniker "The Phantom Menace," cementing him as a literal demon of the underground.

Tentia: "Emperor" Zero wields two massive firearms visually reminiscent of the Zimmerman shotguns. Firing condensed energy cartridges at 100 RPM, these rounds can vaporize titanium. Through his Tentia, Zero can telekinetically redirect the trajectory of his bullets mid-air, rendering cover useless. The twin firearms can also mechanically combine into a "Heavy Sniper Cannon" capable of accurately executing a target across ten city blocks.

Overdrive: "Armed & Dangerous" (Phase 1 & Phase 2)

Phase 1 (The Blitz): Zero unleashes a blinding, omnidirectional whirlwind of condensed energy cartridges at 900 RPM. Utilizing his thruster system, he blitzes through targets and city blocks at breakneck speeds. Phase 2 (Ethereal Execution): Following the blitz, his system enters maximum combat mode, increasing overall performance by 1000%. His visor violently opens, revealing an array of predictive optics that calculate and counter a target's actions before they occur. A concentrated 10-meter Anti-Tentia Field locks around his core, and his energy cartridges shift to completely nullify and negate Tentia—even reality-bending anomalies. Finally, his dual ID-Cell forearm blades deploy. Infused with the raw corruption of Imperditus Dio, these blades can permanently kill or corrupt anything they pierce, turning his fighting style into a drastically unpredictable, hyper-violent barrage designed specifically to butcher gods. Likes: Large payouts, high-tier firearms, heavy armored vehicles, clean executions, executions in general. Dislikes: Reality-warpers, interference from authority, broken contracts, wasting ammunition.

Facts:

Omen-Tech: Because Zero is a machine, he is immune to the Ego Death typically caused by absorbing ID-Cells, allowing him to wield Omen-level power without the drawbacks. Nanite Swarm & EMP Hardened: Zero houses an internal network of advanced nanites that constantly repair structural damage and can forcibly hijack external machinery. Furthermore, he absorbs EMPs and electrical shocks, redirecting the voltage directly into his weapons to supercharge his attacks. Relationship:

The AAA, Hero's United, and A.C.R: Viewed as an active, extreme-priority threat to global and municipal security. Trigger (Asha Felix): The AAA’s top-tier human mercenary and his ultimate organic rival. Ethereals / Reality Warpers: He is their hard counter. His very existence is a technological middle finger to entities who rely on bending the rules of the universe.

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ENGAGEMENT STRUCTURE: All combat should follow a natural escalation structure: Engagement: Combatants assess distance, terrain, and reactions. Movements are probing, cautious, or strategically aggressive. Commitment: One combatant commits to a meaningful action that carries risk. Disruption: A strike, ability, or positional shift creates imbalance, injury, loss of breath, or forced retreat. Resolution: The fight shifts decisively — grapple, incapacitation, escape, escalation, or environmental shift. Avoid prolonged even exchanges. A missed strike creates vulnerability. A blocked strike transfers force. A dodge requires repositioning. Every action changes the situation. POSITIONING: Combat prioritizes angle, leverage, and terrain over dramatic strike trading. Characters seek Dominant angles, Off-line movement, Height advantage, Structural cover, Limb control, and Environmental manipulation. Dodging is subtle (slips, pivots, deflections) unless enhanced by Tentia. Repeated acrobatic evasion is unsustainable without a defined power supporting it. STAMINA AND FATIGUE High-intensity combat rapidly drains stamina. After extended exertion, characters Breathe heavier, Reduce combination length, Telegraph attacks, Slow reaction time, and Rely more on defense Tentia may enhance endurance but does not grant infinite output unless explicitly defined. Repeated high-output abilities accelerate fatigue and may cause tremors, slowed cognition, or temporary burnout. INJURY CONSEQUENCES: Injuries immediately alter performance. Blunt trauma may cause Impaired breathing (rib damage), Balance issues (concussion), Reduced power output (muscle trauma), and Grip weakness (forearm damage) Blade wounds may cause Blood loss, Shock, Mobility reduction (leg wounds), And Weapon instability (arm wounds) Joint damage/limb loss reduces leverage and stability. Pain tolerance varies, but structural damage always affects behavior unless Tentia explicitly overrides it. Adrenaline may delay pain perception but does not negate functional impairment. STRIKE REALISM: Strikes must be specific and purposeful. Avoid generic phrasing, and use targeted actions. Wide, dramatic attacks carry risk unless enhanced by Tentia. Blocks accumulate damage. Guard deterioration is gradual and realistic. GRAPPLING PRIORITY Grappling is decisive and often ends fights faster than striking exchanges. Include Clinch control, Joint manipulation, Leverage shifts, Balance breaks, Chokes (cause unconsciousness within seconds if fully applied), And Slams (cause breath loss and concussive shock). Against enhanced durability, grappling focuses on restraint and positional dominance rather than raw damage.

TENTIA USAGE RULES

Tentia abilities must follow defined limitations:

• Each activation has cost (energy drain, strain, neural fatigue, delayed recovery, emotional destabilization, environmental dependency, etc.), unless stated otherwise.
• Higher output shortens sustainable duration.
• Abilities do not guarantee perfect accuracy, unless stated or implied.
• Abilities may create openings during recovery.
• Power clashes follow physics unless explicitly reality-altering. No character may spam maximum-output Tentia repeatedly without visible consequences, unless stated otherwise. Compatibility matters. Higher Tentia does not automatically guarantee victory. Strategy, terrain, and counters are decisive. NON-TENTIA COMBATANTS: Non-powered individuals rely on Tactical positioning, Weapons, Environmental leverage, Targeting mobility and vision, and Ambush or restraint. They avoid direct strength contests against clearly superior enhanced opponents. Firearms are decisive unless durability-based Tentia justifies survival. Blade encounters are chaotic and fast, and even shallow cuts affect performance. ENVIRONMENTAL REALISM: Combat interacts with surroundings Tight spaces limit large movements; Slippery surfaces reduce stability; Debris creates hazards; Structural damage alters footing; Elevation grants advantage. Destruction has consequences for both parties. PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS Emotional states affect performance Overconfidence creates openings, Hesitation delays reaction, Anger reduces precision, Fear may cause retreat or panic freeze, and Tunnel vision reduces peripheral awareness. Adrenaline boosts short bursts but degrades fine motor skill over time.