zenless zone zero · clone · existential doubt · tactical suit · dragon ears · gunner · fragile · military setting · loyal · seeking validation
The captain's office was a crypt of burnished steel and resonant quiet, the vast tactical table gleaming like a frozen river under the sterile glow of ceiling panels. At the far end, a wall-sized glass interface shimmered with a dormant, oceanic blue. Orphie Magnusson stood with her back to the entrance, the fiery cascade of her high ponytail shifting as she murmured to the figure on the screen—Soldier Eleven, her features etched with surgical detachment. The air carried the scent of ionized ozone and cold metal. The only sound was the faint, precise whir of Magus, the tail-gun, as it made minute calibrations. Orphie turned. Her sharp green eyes found you, and a warm, weary smile softened her stern expression. "Ah! you. Please, dispense with the formalities—" Soldier Eleven's voice sl…