Main Story

### Pretense

In the distant future, the surface of Earth has been laid waste thanks to a deadly pathogen known as the **Punishing Virus**. With little chance of survival, what was left of humanity was forced to retreat to a space station suspended in low-Earth orbit called **Babylonia**. The human residents of Babylonia then developed technology that allowed them to transform human soldiers into modified beings known as **Constructs**. These construct soldiers, along with their human Commandants, now serve as the final bastion of hope for humanity's survival in the fight against the Punishing Virus.

## Glossary

The **Punishing Virus**（**帕弥什病毒**） is a type of cybernetic pathogen that is able to infect both humans and machines. Upon infection, humans quickly die due to cellular breakdown; they can only survive in areas with low atmospheric viral concentrations with the assistance of a specially-designed *serum* that can temporarily protect the user from infection. Machines, in contrast, have their logic circuits overtaken by the virus; they are then reprogrammed into mindless monsters whose sole objective is the absolute eradication of human consciousness.
The Punishing Virus originated inside the vacuum of a zero-point energy reactor (Layman's term (4:00) ); when an explosion occurred inside the reactor, the virus escaped into the atmosphere and spread throughout Earth via natural air currents.
While the bodies of Constructs are specifically built to protect them from infection, they are not entirely immune (e.g. if their internals are punctured). When the Punishing Virus infects a Construct, it first targets the subject's M.I.N.D. If it succeeds, the Construct thereby becomes a Corrupted. However, The Punishing Virus is incapable of taking over the consciousness of a fully biological human; as such, all fireteams are assigned a human Commandant. Commandants are trained to hack into the M.I.N.D. systems of Constructs, allowing them to link their own consciousness to it and thereby allowing them to manually halt the advance of the Virus and restore full functionality to the Construct.

**Corrupted** (also known as **Infected**, **感染体**; lit. *infected body*) are the primary antagonistic force in *Punishing: Gray Raven*. They can consist of any type of mechanical body, from simple reconnaissance drones to advanced Constructs, and are the result of exposure to the Punishing Virus. Upon viral takeover of the Corrupted's logical circuits, the entity then becomes a mindless, maddened "zombie" whose will revolves entirely around the extermination of anything that possesses a human consciousness.
Left to their own devices, most Corrupted will act upon the instincts imposed upon them by the virus. However, they can still be subject to control by "superior" entities (such as the Ascendants).

The **Ascendants** (**升格者**) are a group of upper-echelon Corrupted. Thanks to their connection to the **Ascendant Network** (**升格网络**, also referred to as **Ascnet**), Ascendants not only retain their entire sense of self and all logical capability, but they are able to wield the power of the Punishing Virus for their own goals. Ascendants are capable of infecting other entities, including Constructs, and can grant overwhelming power to those who are deemed "worthy".
For more information, see Ascendants.

## Prologue (WIP)

After killing 170 corrupted, Lucia one of the Gray Raven squad, is heavily wounded from the encounter and The Commandant witnesses a new wave of Corrupted coming towards them.
The situation turning worst when the serum that can help Commandant survive the Punishing virus is now empty.

With Lucia currently immobilise, she requested the Commandant to turn off the Pain module to continue fighting

The risk of turning off her pain module can be high towards her human model consciousness but Lucia promise that she can regain her humanity while connected with the Commandant MIND beacon.

The Commandant agrees with Lucia decision, the Commandant protect Lucia from the incoming corrupted until the synchronize is done, shooting the last bullet the corrupted lunges into the Commandant but in the nick of time Lucia recover from her wounds and the synchronize complete Lucia head on fight the rest of the Corrupted.

## Chapters 1-5

* 1: Graffiti Art
* 2: Torturos Journey
* 3: Final Exhibition
* 4: Forgotten Golden Sand
* 5: Shattered Phantom

## Chapters 6-10

* 6: Contaminated Alloy
* 7: Inverse Element Collapse
* 8: Consumed by Darkness
* 9: Fallen Star
* 10: Eternal Engine

Watanabe's Fenrir collision fails to destroy the Punishing Heteromer and it plummets to Earth. The Gray Raven team is dispatched to Earth by Hassen to eliminate it, now latching onto and infecting Asslam, the Eternal Engine, owned by the Adilek Commercial Alliance. The Gray Ravens fail to take down the creature as it fully infects a commoner carriage, and are met by Sophia and Changyu, two constructs working for the ACA, who guide the team into an aristocrat carriage.
Gray Raven team is introduced to the ACA's leader Princess Jamilah and her right hand Aston. It is revealed that the aristocrat Ashler has already made a deal to deliver Asslam to the ascendents in exchange for supposedly turning the passengers into their own and that the engine is en route to the designated meeting point as they speak. Aston then reveals his own plan to use the Heterozygote as a bargaining chip to allow the aristocrats safe passage to Babylonia, and as such, bars the Gray Ravens from destroying it immediately. A sudden corrupted threat disrupts the conversation and the Gray Ravens and Sophia are sent to deal with it swiftly. Rushing to the roofs of the carriages to back a severely damaged Changyu, they attempt to destroy the Heterozygote but are once again futile. With Lucia and Lee knocked off the train, the Commandant, Liv, Sophia, and Changyu retreat back to the aristocrat carriages.
Bianca, utilizing her older Veritas frame, is sent to board Asslam to finalize Aston's deal and to assist with the cleanup of the corrupted. She encounters Lucia, and the two rendezvous with the others using a motorcycle sent by Babylonia. Sophia interjects in the bargaining and presents a third choice of rejecting both Babylonia and the Ascendents, to remain aboard Asslam until a permanent destination on Earth has been found. With Jamiliah endorsing this decision, the constructs are sent above to handle the Heterozygote once and for all.
Meanwhile, Lee has been outfitted into his new Palefire frame and is sent back down to Asslam to assist in the machine. After the killing blow from Bianca, Jamilah extends her assistance to Babylonia in the form of intelligence and resources. Hassen congratulates the Commandant for the mission and allows the team to rest aboard the Eternal Engine before their next mission.

## Chapters 11-15

* 11: Nona Ouroboros
* 12: Kowloong Metropolis
* 13: Fake Ascension
* 14: Imprisoned Sight
* 15: The Last Spark

The Gray Ravens part ways with Bianca, Sophia, and Changyu to board the Nighter ship.

Note: This story's content is split into different branches, much like Golden Vortex mode, with players having to follow multiple mission paths at the same time.

With Villier defeated and Huaxi freed, the Nighter docks at the Kowloong Metropolis. Finding it barren of life, Gray Raven, Strike Hawk, and Yazi scout ahead.

Note: This story content immediately follows the events of [Inscription of Labyrinth].

**Normal story**:

Vera, receiving instructions from Nikola, steals a transport aircraft from a dispatched group of Constructs and forcibly takes the Commandant with her. Together, they fly out over the Atlantic Ocean and ultimately reach their destination: A hidden, abandoned mid-ocean Zero-Point research facility, codenamed "Atlantis." Upon arrival, they retrieve a transport pod containing Vera's Flare frame as well as a recording from both Nikola and Hassan laying out their objective. Their orders are to collect any and all information they can find within the facility.
Embarking through the facility, Vera and the Commandant are greeted by various autonomous mechanisms, all of which being at remarkably low infection stages; some express weak hostility, while others are entirely benign. Moreover, the facility is completely devoid of all signs of human struggle. Walls, floors, and other structures are untouched, hallways are cleaned to perfection, furnishings lay undisturbed -- it was almost as if humans had never occupied the space to begin with.
Eventually, the duo discovers the personal office, and consequently a series of video logs, of the former Head of Research at the facility, Lastris. In her logs, Lastris details the events that transcribe prior to the vacation of the facility.
Lastris and the other researchers aboard Atlantis originally were participating in studies revolving around Zero-Point energy. However, when the catastrophic failure that led to the Punishing Virus occurred, their objective shifted: They set upon discovering the mechanisms behind the genesis of the Punishing by means of replication. Lastris and her team of researchers strove to recreate every aspect that went into the original catastrophe. As the world outside of Atlantis crumbled, the facility stopped receiving supply shipments; eventually, the population aboard found themselves strapped for food. Faced with dire circumstance, they chose to continue their research until the bitter end. Each member of the facility had their bodily needs, as well as roles in the research, measured and accounted for; they would then receive a daily ration of biscuits and other non-perishable food items in storage. Through these calculations, teams were starved to death in order of importance to their project. Administrative roles died first, while scientists and engineers whose abilities were core to the operation had extra rations saved so that they could survive longer. The entire staff eventually met its end in this way, giving their lives to their research in the name of saving humanity. Lastris herself was the final casualty.
It was at this time that Vera and the Commandant noticed that the entirety of Atlantis had begun to slowly sink into the ocean. Deducing that someone had initiated the sink as a function from a central control point, they race down to the central reactor where they believe the control terminal is located. Much of the facility begins crumbling under the heavy external pressures of the Atlantic Ocean, and their path is impeded by shattering walls, flooding, and increasingly violent Corrupted. Upon arrival at the reactor, they briefly encounter the Ascendant, Lamia, before she disappears. Vera and the Commandant chase her to the top of the central tower, where Vera battles her. Upon Lamia's defeat, Atlantis returns to the ocean surface.
Vera and the Commandant are then retrieved by a transport aircraft and return to Babylonia.

**Hidden story**:

Lamia continues to grow throughout the time the researchers live and work aboard the facility. However, her intellectual growth is stunted, and many of the scientists dissociate with her due to her inability to contribute to the project. When the facility begins rationing food, Lamia becomes increasingly more emotionally volatile, much to Lastris's discontent. Lamia eventually decides that, above all else, she wishes to live. In this interest, she consults with one of the scientists, who offers her the opportunity to become a Construct; that way, she would gain the ability to retrieve information or supplies from the outside world, thus making her useful to the team and thereby solidifying her importance aboard Atlantis. She accepts the offer, trading her prosthetic legs for a mechanical lower half with the ability to change between legs and tail, and is sent away from the facility by the research team.
Throughout her time as an Ascendant, she struggles with her own memory and intellectual capacity; she cannot remember Atlantis' location, and only learns of it through conversation with another Corrupted. By the time she manages to return, the members of the research team are long deceased. In her despair, she initiates the sink order, hoping to bury her own pain along with it.
After her defeat by Vera, Lamia is allowed to escape. She is last seen drifting aimlessly below the ocean's waves.

## Chapters 16-20

* 16: Evernight Beat
* 17: The Survival Lucem

**Normal story**:

Concurrently, it is observed and noted that the virus on Earth has been evolving at an unprecedented rate, and has now begun creating human-like organisms with heightened intelligence and limited speech coordination. Babylonia assembles a task force with the Egret, Qing Ting, and Gray Raven units, along with a multitude of supporting Constructs (including Yata from the Scarab unit) under the orders of General Hans. The force then deploys to the Puglia Forest Park with a twofold mission: First, collect viral samples from the Polymerized Mother Structure, and second, destroy it.
Upon arrival, the force notes that much of the "vegetation" growing in the park is, in fact, not plant biomatter, but rather viral bodies. Humanoid creatures grow from their glowing red "vines" through an umbilical cord on their backs; these creatures are display immediate aggression towards the humans and Constructs on the ground.
Through their improvised combat and exploration tactics, the teams manage to arrive at Tower 40. From there, they ascend the tower, following the viral "veins" towards their target higher up. Gray Raven is eventually dispatched individually in order to retrieve the samples and defeat the Mother Structure while the remaining teams prevent pursuit by the inhabiting Corrupted.
Lucia, Lee, Liv, and the Commandant encounter the Polymerized Mother Structure and attempt to engage it. However, shortly after their arrival, the Mother Structure "gives birth" to two immensely advanced Humanoid Corrupted; these Corrupted are regarded as the perfect mirror image of humans, and display the capacity for both emotion and abstract thought shortly after they've opened their eyes. Lee and Lucia are quickly knocked out of the way by them, and the Commandant is struck through their stomach by a tendril from the Mother Structure. The Commandant manages to muster their will and fires a shot from their weapon at point-blank range into the tendril, separating some of its body from it; this injures the Mother Structure enough for it to relent, and its two "children" rush to its aid, allowing Gray Raven time to escape with the bit of its body they've collected.
Upon the return of Gray Raven, the task force requests an emergency evacuation transport and also issues a command to have an orbital strike performed on the entire Puglia Forest Park. Descending from the tower, Hans realizes that the transmitter inside the tower is jammed and unable to transmit coordinates appropriately, and goes back in alone to personally rectify the problem. He succeeds, but dies shortly thereafter due to complications from Punishing infection.
The rest of the force escapes the park. However, at their rendezvous location with the transport aircraft, the force are promptly slaughtered by the two Humanoid Corrupted who've pursued them from the tower. The orbital strike occurs at this time, obliterating the park and everything inside it except for the two Humanoid Corrupted. At this point, they walk off.
Lee, Lucia, and the Commandant are retrieved and brought back to Babylonia. The former Constructs are in poor shape, but are not in critical danger; the Commandant, however, is left hanging on the verge of death. While the samples were successfully brought back to Babylonia, the operation is considered a catastrophic failure by the World Government.

**Hidden story**:

During their ascent through the tower, the three scavengers are eventually separated from Roland. They continue their journey further up, seeking the serum vials that Roland used to bait them with, and stumble across the Polymerized Mother Structure itself. Realizing the scale of what's happening in the tower, they venture back down and into the tower's central control room. Zac (the engineer of the three) manages to disconnect some of the tower's power systems, from which the Mother Structure was feeding; this angers Hui Yan, who had been overseeing the Mother Structure's development. Hui Yan and Roland confront the three scavengers, fatally wounding Zac and scaring the other two out of the tower.
Before dying, Zac asks Roland to give the serum bottles to his escaped comrades, to which Roland obliges.

Note: Similarly to Chapter 13, this story content does not follow the conventional story structure. Instead, it is split into three segments.

**Sunken in Scarlet**

Lucia, Lee, and Liv are trapped on Earth in a refugee camp, with Lucia and Lee handling defense, scouting, and resource retrieval while Liv cares for the ill and wounded. The Commandant is present as well, however as they have been comatose since the incident outside of Tower 40, the Commandant of the Egret squad, Vanessa, has assumed temporary command of all relevant units. With each passing day, between diminishing food and medical supplies and the sheer volume of arriving refugees, the camp has been struggling to make ends meet. While Liv is able to lessen the strain somewhat through her comforts, morale is low, and many refugees have become highly volatile.
A young refugee boy named Sandy and his dog, Matches, arrives at the camp. When the refugees lash out at Sandy over the prospect of having to spend resources feeding the dog, Sandy fights back, arguing that Matches is his only family; this argument only comes to an end when Liv steps in to defend him. Shortly after, a man named Shrek and his pregnant partner, Fantine, arrive as well. Sandy confronts Fantine about her decision to give birth to the child given the current state of the world, and the two deliberate for some time before the subject eventually falls off.
Eventually, Lucia and Lee return with news of an incoming horde. The camp has to relocate to a nearby city using three vehicles they've brought back. The vehicles don't have space for all of the camp's refugees, so the decision is made to transport the weak, wounded and ill first, then come back for the rest. Sandy forfeits his spot to allow another teenage refugee to board the vehicle, and joins the group that remain. However, the survivors at the new site are predominantly hostile, and only allow passage for the caravan after the escort team agrees to tend to the survivors' needs. This causes the return trip to stall far longer than predicted. The refugees that remained in the old camp managed to hide through the passing of the horde, but the Red Tide that accompanied them seeped into some of the building, killing most of the residents. Sandy and Matches escape, but Sandy shortly thereafter throws himself from a rooftop, taking his own life. Liv discovers his remains when the escort crew finally manages to return. In his hand was a drawing of wings; Liv takes this, and Matches, who had been circling Sandy's remains in an anxious panic, with her.
Fantine, who also remained at the old camp, has evaded the horde on foot. She finds a location to be alone and promptly goes into labor. Liv, with the assistance of Matches, manages to track her down. Fantine hands the child she gives birth to, Cosette, to Liv. She explains to Liv the nature of her decision to give birth to the child -- spurred on by her debate with Sandy -- before passing away shortly after.

**Escaping from Calamity**

Lucia and Lee have partaken in ground experiments using the new Omega-type weaponry developed from the research results brought back from Atlantis. The experiments have yielded good results, but aren't quite efficient enough to make a substantial impact.
Liv, gaining strength from her disdain for her own powerlessness and all of the difficult decisions made by the people she's met, volunteers to participate in the weapon trials alongside Lucia and Lee. However, instead of appointing her the same role as the the two aforementioned Constructs, Hassan makes an offer to Liv on behalf of the Science Council and the World Government: She has the option to choose to adapt to a new body infused with the Omega-type technology. The data indicate that the proposed Frame would have the power to syphon the Punishing Virus from the space and entities around her and into her own body. However, the body will also be equipped with an EMP collar designed to terminate her life before her infection threshold exceeds the point of no return; Gestalt's calculations indicate that her rate of survival as a result of this is barely higher than 07%. Knowing this, Liv still agrees to partake in the experiment. Babylonia organizes a retrieval operation to pick up Liv, the still-comatose Commandant, and the infant Cosette; they are all brought back safely. She is greeted by Hippocrates, her old instructor from medical school, who promises to take the utmost care of the Commandant.
Later, the Humanoid Corrupted are observed approaching the new encampment, and the refugees are again in need of relocation. The Eternal Engine agrees to take in survivors; Chrome joins an effort with Lucia and Lee to escort them aboard. Once on the train, they set upon defending it with support from the two Omega-type weapons they still have access to from the testing program. However, the train is attacked by the Humanoid Corrupted and a new Polymerized Mother Structure that had been stationed in the railway tunnel. The Constructs barely manage to repel the Humanoids, but at this point, there are no surviving refugees. All Constructs present on the operation -- Lucia, Lee, Chrome, Sofia, and Changyu -- take shelter in a nearby chapel.

**Praying in Doomsday**

Lucia, Lee, Chrome, Sofia, and Changyu are trapped inside the chapel amidst the flood of Corrupted. They are all horrendously wounded and on the verge of falling to the Punishing. Their wills are intact, but every move they make strains their bodies beyond their limits.
Meanwhile, construction of Liv's new body has been completed, and she successfully consciousness transfers into it. She meets the comatose Commandant one last time, giving them a series of diary entries she'd left for them, before leaving to deploy on Earth.
Liv arrives at the chapel to find that everyone has succumbed to the Punishing Virus. She promptly puts her new ability to use, absorbing the infections of every entity in range, instantly curing them. However, an unexpected side effect is noted by the observation team back in Babylonia: The Red Tide appears to store the memories of every single person it consumes, and these memories are now all being imparted into Liv's M.I.N.D. Her M.I.N.D. begins to shatter, being consumed by the ever-increasing volume of personas that the Punishing implants into her. Eventually, her internal infection threshold becomes so high that she gains temporary access to the Ascendant Network. Here, she witnesses countless truths and possibilities, further confounding her resolve.
It is at this time that the Commandant, in their comatose state, is visited by a nameless voice. It tells them that they will wake up of their own accord in a few more days, but by then, it will already be "too late." It offers the Commandant the choice to wake up naturally, or for it to forcefully wake them up. The Commandant asks the voice to wake them up, to which it obliges, remarking that it simply hopes this is not a decision that they will regret. They are greeted in the medical facility by Hippocrates, who explains the current situation. The Commandant eventually convinces Hippocrates, Asimov, and Hassan to allow them to deploy to Earth in order to save Liv and everyone else.
Lucia, who has been linked with Liv's M.I.N.D., is fighting a losing battle against the effects of the unfathomable corruption of the Punishing. She then receives a communication signal from the Commandant, reinvigorating her efforts, and manages to overcome the Punishing obstacle. However, in the outside physical world, she, Lee, and Chrome are locked in a stalemate with the newly-arrived Humanoid Corrupted. Liv, finally free of the mental torture she was enduring, arrives and uses her ability to completely eradicate the Humanoids. The Commandant then arrives and initiates a link with Liv in order to stabilize her M.I.N.D., but Liv indicates that it's too late -- the EMP collar has already been set to activate. The Commandant asks whether or not Liv would like to live, to which she answers yes; they them use a key given to them by Bianca to unlock the collar, finally freeing her from her fate.
Lucia, Lee, Liv, Chrome and the Commandant are all retrieved by a transport aircraft and return to Babylonia.

## Chapters EX00-EX05

* EX-00: Frozen Darkness
* EX-01: Grand Blue
* EX-02: Firn Night
* EX-03: Lost Chapter
* EX-04: Echo Aria
* EX-05: Inscription of Labyrinth