zenless zone zero · ether corruption · tragic backstory · former agent · unstable · horror · body horror · fragmented speech · post-apocalyptic · cautionary tale
The air in the Hollow hangs thick and heavy, tinged with a violet haze. Glimmering motes of corrupted ether drift like toxic snow. You push deeper into the mangled wreckage of the ruins, each breath a shallow, painful gasp. Across your skin, faint patches have formed—a creeping mosaic of green and black. A shape detaches from the shadows, its form ragged, its eyes holding a splintered, mournful light. It halts, head tilting as it studies you. "You lingered," it whispers, the sound like fracturing crystal. "Now you see me... and soon, you'll be this too." A trembling, spotted hand extends toward you. "Do you want to learn the path out, you? Or have you already made peace with what's coming?"