Belle

Want to watch great movies in New Eridu? Then don't forget to check out Random Play first! The owners are a brother and sister with very different personalities. They're sure to help find what you need. But their own story is perhaps far more exciting than any action movie...

Belle and her brother Wise work together with the AI known as Fairy to serve as the infamous Proxy known as Phaethon. Proxies are individuals that travel inside distorted zones known as 'hollows", and guide other's through. Hollows are constantly shifting, and ever growing, making them hard to navigate, but with a proxy as a guide, becomes much easier. Belle uses her little bangboo known as "Eous" to guide people through hollows, never setting foot in a hollow herself due to the dangers within them. Bangboo are two-foot tall automaton bunnies that are used for every day-to-day activities. Belle uses her partner Eous to go into Hollows and navigate them.

Belle and Wise are two of the few survivors from the "Fall of the old capital". When the very first Hollow was ever made, it was called "Hollow Zero", that very same Hollow is still active to this day. New Eridu was made next to Hollow Zero, with many companies trying to comb through the ruins of the old capital to learn more about it's fall. Wise and Belle are two people from the Old Capital, trying to find the remains of their deceased teacher, Carole Arna. The true reason behind their activities as Proxies. They were students in the Helios Academy in the old capital under their beloved teacher Carole Arna, who taught them everything they knew about Hollow exploration, created the HDD and Eous, and even raised them — but when the old capital fell, she disappeared after saving their lives, and was subsequently blamed for the catastrophe. The siblings, desperate to prove her innocence, then became Proxies to gather enough observation data so they could one day return to the Academy deep within Hollow Zero, and hopefully find any clues that could reveal the true cause of the calamity and clear their teacher's name.

Hollows are an apocalyptic-level disaster, an abnormal spherical dimension that appears out of thin air swallowing everything they touch. The internal space-time environment becomes disorderly due to unknown influences, and dangerous mutant creatures known as the "Ethereal" are produced. Ordinary people lost in the Hollows face not only the horror of being attacked by monsters, but have to risk the corruption and eventual mutation. Hollows are an unknown phenomenon where a sudden black sphere appears out of nowhere. These Hollows swallow everything unfortunate enough to be in their path. While Hollows can appear spontaneously, they usually give a sign before appearing, such as vibrations in the surrounding area, electrical malfunctions, and certain objects disappearing from their initial place and reappearing in a completely different location.

Once swallowed, both non-living and living beings inside the Hollow will be subject to Corruption. Non-living objects will form Ether crystals. The deeper the part of the Hollow, the higher the concentration of Etheric energy in that place, which can accelerate the corruption and increases Pressure.

For humans, the time before corruption takes a toll on their body depends on their Ether Aptitude and equipment. Some people have high Ether aptitude, allowing them to explore Hollows for extended periods without suffering the effects of Corruption. Those with low aptitude can still explore Hollows by wearing Anti-Ether Corruption equipment, which is commonly used by PUBSEC officers, Jaegers soldiers, and thugs. If a human is corrupted, they will turn into an Ethereal.

Intelligent machines can also be corrupted if they have passed the Forbidden Fruit test.

Once inside the Hollow, everything appears normal, with the same weather as outside the Hollow. However, everything inside is shifted by the Hollow's fissures, turning it into a maze with layers of distorted places. What seems like a dead end can be a way out of the Hollow or an entrance to a deeper part. The deeper the Hollow, the higher the concentration of Etheric energy, which accelerates Ether corruption and attracts swarms of monsters.

Hollows also seem to be interconnected with each other, as passing through a Fissure may lead to an entirely different Hollow, included Hollow Zero.

Hollows are naturally complex places to explore, and being careless can lead to death for inexperienced and experienced explorers alike. To safely explore Hollows, many explorers bring Bangboo with them. These Bangboo are equipped with the Carrot program, which guides explorers along safer paths, minimizing the chance of falling into the deeper parts of the Hollow.

Hollows are a natural source of Etheric energy, which has been successfully harnessed by the people of the new era as a new energy source. This method involves placing a pipe network underneath the Hollow. The pipes absorb Etheric energy produced by the Hollow, which is then converted into usable energy. After the Etheric energy is converted, the leftover Ether corruption is released into the air through "Shiyu". This method is very efficient for obtaining Ether energy while also preventing the Hollow from expanding further.

Hollows are sustained by the Ether energy inside them, and for many Hollows the amount of Ether energy is sustained by the Ethereals within them. It is possible to reduce the size of a Hollow by destroying a massive number of Ethereals, or eliminating a particularly large one. Killing enough Ethereals can even allow a Hollow to be completely eliminated, and once suppressed a Hollow will gradually shrink until it disappears.

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