- "Cruel Hopes; Frozen Time"
Gayle, also known as the Prosthetic Hunter, is a memory character in NieR Reincarnation first introduced in The Girl and the Monster arc's Ch 1: Windblown Sand (His Body, Rust). A hunter who hails from a nation of abundant nature. The story of her mechanical arm and leg has been penned in a language of deep enmity and unfathomable anger.
Appearance[]
Gayle is a young woman with bright white hair that goes down to her mid back. In place of regular limbs, her left arm and leg are prosthetics.
Before her current appearance, she had dark ebon hair.
Story[]
- "If only I'd had the strength... Whenever I look back, the pain of what I lost runs through me."
- — A woman imprisoned by the past
Gayle's story is explored in Ch 2: Grains of Sand (What Was Lost).
A young woman hailing from a lush and verdant land, Gayle spends her days living and hunting with her younger sister. After an incident with a wild beast, the sisters notice a nearby village being razed. Asking her sister to stay put, Gayle goes to investigate, finding the town a slaughterhouse.
Despite her instructions, Gayle's sister arrives and the two attempt to flee when surrounded by kingdom soldiers. Unsuccessful, they are both captured and "sorted," experimented on and tortured.
Some time later, Gayle wakes in a prison with her hair turned stark white and left arm and leg replaced with prosthetics. She escapes after an altercation with a guard, who gleefully states she is now a "failed killing machine."
Frantically searching for her sister, Gayle finds her on a bloodied battlefield being cut down by an enemy soldier. She blacks out, eventually coming to with bloodied chunks of bodies surrounding them. She gently embraces her sibling before swearing to a life of revenge.
Some time in the future, Gayle takes up the job of a bounty hunter and scouts a village saloon for intel on a nearby clockwork soldier. Finding him in an abandoned church, she takes him down, then learns of his past with the corpse he was protecting. She constructs a grave to mourn the pair, then quickly moves on.
Character Story[]
I am on a journey of revenge. The kingdom razed my home, killed my sister, and took everything from me. But its lust for power fed an unsustainable hunger for war, and it eventually collapsed. Still, scattered remnants of its forces remain. And I won't stop until every last one of them is dead.
I tarry for a while in a small village. Under the midday sun, I hear a voice call for help. I see a kingdom soldier raise a fist and bring it down on the head of a woman. He moves to deliver a second blow. I leap in the way and take it myself before swiftly ending his life. The woman begins thanking me profusely... But I ignore her. I fight for revenge—not to save lives or spread justice. As I move to leave, the woman bars my path. Asking to see my prosthetic arm, she draws in close. She examines it carefully, looking it up and down. It was damaged when I took the blow the soldier intended for her. Though I try to explain that I can repair my arm, she waves me off with a dismissive grunt.
"We've a skilled engineer in the village," she says. "Come along."Before I can think to protest further, she takes my hand in hers and leads me off.
I am guided to an engineer so that my arm might be repaired. The engineer is indeed skilled, but lacks the needed parts for repairs—and unfortunately, it will be some time before they're available. Still determined to show her thanks, the woman huffs loudly, grabs my good arm, and drags me off anew.
We end up in the village pub. She gathers the drinkers around her and spins an epic tale of how I saved her from the kingdom brigand. Soon, I find myself regaled with food, drink, and song from all corners. I take a bite of something and nearly swoon; I can't remember the last time I enjoyed a hot meal. When the woman leans in and asks how it tastes, I feel an unfamiliar smile slowly make its way across my lips.
How long has it been since I smiled? Weeks? Years? More?
I thought I'd lost the ability to do such a thing long ago.
Eventually, the parts arrive and my arm is finally repaired. The woman asks me how it feels, and I'm both surprised and delighted that it seems to move more smoothly than before. As I test it out, the engineer smiles at me and says,
"Consider this my way of saying thanks for saving my wife."
It turns out the engineer and the woman are married. She turns red as he talks about everything he loves about her. I can only chuckle and show a wry smile as I listen. Finally, she can take no more attention and leads me out of the shop. As we walk, she tells me they have been married almost three years. She also thanks me again for my actions from before. This time, I manage to face the woman and thank her for the assistance. I tell her my work in the village is done and I will be on my way...... But that's not the entire truth. I'm also afraid of what might happen if I grow used to the warmth and kindness of others. The villagers all gather at the edge of town to see me off.
"Come and see us again real soon!" says the woman.As I walk away, the last thing I see is her small hand happily waving goodbye.
It wasn't long after leaving the village that I heard the news: A soldier was attacking the village in revenge. Before I even know it, I am on my feet and running like the very wind itself.
I find the village in flames. The soldier is roaming about madly as he scours the village in search of every last person he can find.
"That man was family!" he cries as he puts another house to the torch.
"All of you will pay for his death with your lives!"
My vision is fire.
Before I even have the chance to feel my building rage, I engage the man in battle. My arm works even better than before. In a moment, I cut him down like a dog.
When the deed is done, I walk around the village in search of survivors. In the very last house, I find the woman and the engineer with their arms wrapped around each other and their bodies still. I thought I had saved them—saved all of them—from a terrible fate that first night... But my actions had only been the impetus for an even greater tragedy. These innocent people had been caught in the cycle of revenge, and now their lifeless eyes stare accusingly up at me.
Your power did this. Your hate. Your thirst for retribution.
And you know what? They're right. I did this. It is all because of me. As I fight, I only add more links to the chain of revenge—but if I stop, the remaining soldiers will continue to commit their horrid atrocities. So I have to fight. I have no choice. But in so doing, will I, too, become an object of hatred in this world of neverending slaughter? All that lays before my eyes is a crimson world of blood and fire.Other Stories[]
A Promise Sworn Part 1[]
When she was yet young
A blazing inferno reflects in a pair of eyes. The girl's empty expression betrays nothing. The sight of flames roaring in the darkness is etched upon her mind. Her heart speaks to her in a dry tone. You will never forget this night. Not for the rest of your life.
"Mom, come help with this!" The girl's bright voice rings through the kitchen. Lined across the table are a colorful array of vegetables in hues of green, yellow, and red, as well as a large piece of meat. Cradling the girl's younger sister, her mother turns to the sound of her older child's pleas.
"Well, someone's enthusiastic about their cooking."
The mother looks on as the girl continues bustling about the kitchen. She is learning to cook from her mother.
"You need to add a little more seasoning, honey."
"Here, try it now."
The moment the girl brings the food to her mouth, her furrowed brow loosens and a smile breaks out.
"Oh, yummy!"
The two chefs look at each other proudly, content in the knowledge the recipe is perfect. The girl sets the steaming dishes down. The mother plops the little sister in her chair as the three of them gather around the table.
The wood practically groans under the weight of the food, which is far too much for even three hungry mouths. As the mother starts cutting meat into small pieces for her youngest daughter, she looks at the elder with a wry smile.
"It's good you got more practice in, but we clearly went overboard on our portion control."
Everyone chuckles as they dive into their meal.
"Dad's coming home soon, right?" asks the girl as she happily bounces up and down in her chair.
The letter had arrived a few days ago. It was a notice their father would soon be returning from his military service. The moment the girl read it, she rain into her mother's room and announced her grand plan:
"I'm going to make Dad's favorite dinner when he gets back!"
She has been awaiting his return for so long. The last time she saw him was the morning he left for the front. His expression betrayed mixed feelings, and the young girl had no way of knowing what sort of emotions they were. But as he held her tight, he leaned into her ear and whispered,
"I will come back to you. I promise."
That promise was everything to her—and now it is coming true. When she thinks of it, she can hardly contain herself. Feelings she managed to keep suppressed all this time are now bubbling up like water from an overfilled pot. But she manages to hold them back and keep her calm.
I'm the older sister now, she thinks.
I have to hold it together. Her younger sister was born after her father left, and word of her birth had not been able to reach him on the battlefield.
What will Dad think when he sees her? Will he love her like me? ...Will he love her more than me?
The girl shakes her head to clear the ugly thought away.
............
......
As she rubs her swollen belly, she marvels at how well the cooking lessons have gone—aside from her ability to judge proper quantities, of course. She leans back in her chair and indulges in a brief flight of fancy. All of her father's favorite foods are lined across the table. As he takes the first bite, a satisfied smile crosses his face. She sits at his side, no longer the young child he once knew, but not yet a woman grown. He'll be amazed to see how much I've changed. It's going to make him so happy. Her reverie is interrupted by the voice of her mother: "When you're done woolgathering, you can help clean up."
The girl starts, nearly tipping her chair over in the process.
"You're the older sister now; you can't afford to be lazy."
The girl pouts a little at the scolding, but her mother pays this small rebellion no mind. Instead, she entrusts her to take care of the dishes and heads off to attend to her sister.
It must be so hard for mom to take care of both of us alone.
I need to work as hard as I can to support her. She's always put on a smile for us, no matter what. And that's why I've been able to keep going, even when I was sad or lonely or depressed. I'm too old to be having jealous fits or slinging snide remarks. So what if she doesn't pay much attention to me anymore?
She nods to herself as she reaches this conclusion, and proceeds to wash and put away the kitchenware.
When night comes, the exhausted girl begins falling asleep the moment her head strikes the pillow. As she drifts off, she feels her mother's hand on her head.
"Thank you, honey. You are always appreciated."With that, her mother stands and leaves the room. In her dreams, her entire family sits happily around the table.
A Promise Sworn Part 2[]
The girl stares out the window. Whenever she hears a noise coming from the door, she bolts to her feet. Her mother makes a comment about her being worse than a puppy, which causes her cheeks to go pouty once more. With each ring of the doorbell, the girl rushes to the door, only to return each time filled with disappointment. Finally, the moment she was waiting for arrives. The front door opens to reveal her father in his military uniform. How long had they waited for this? How long had they all waited for this? Unable to help herself, the girl leaps up and runs to her father.
But then... Something shocking happens. Her father shoves her aside. She crashes to the ground, unable to process what just happened. A silence ill befitting a family reunion falls over them. Sensing the heavy atmosphere, the youngest begins to cry. The father covers his ears at the sound of her wails and rushes off to his room.
"Don't worry girls," says her mother as she helps her daughter up.
"Your father is just tired."
She smiles as she says this, but the expression does not carry over to her eyes. The girl remains stunned. She can't fathom what just happened. Her sister's sobs echo around the entryway. She does not see her father again until dinner. She is almost beside herself with worry; what if her actions had caused her father's mood? As she bites her lower lip, her mother comes up behind her.
"It's okay, honey. You didn't do anything wrong."
Rather than comfort her, the words make tears spring to her eyes. But she manages to hold them back and force a smile on her face.
It will be better once he eats. He's going to love it.
This is what you've been working so hard for, remember?
Thus determined, she begins helping her mother with the meal. The fragrance of grilling meat covered in her mother's secret seasoning soon wafts through the kitchen. A knife falls up and down on the cutting board. As the ingredients take on new forms, the girl's heart leaps wildly between anticipation and anxiousness. They put up the decorations they'd prepared around the room and pile the plates high with steaming warm food in order to celebrate the day. And then, they await the guest of honor.
Some time later, he enters the room and takes his seat. The whole family is finally together again. But her father doesn't touch his food. Instead, he just...sits there. The daughter looks at him out of the corner of her eye, noticing for the first time how gaunt he has become; how pale and sickly he appears. Her dream has become reality, but there is no joy in it. She begins to wish it weren't real after all, that she might wake up from it... As that thought crosses her mind...
A crash rings out. She is yanked back to reality by the sound of shattering porcelain. The carefully prepared dinner is now scattered across the floor.
"BUGS!" screams her father, his voice raw with terror.
"Oh god, they're EVERYWHERE!"
Her panicked father leaps up and dances away from the table. He then begins stomping the food into the floor with the heels of his heavy military boots. He is trying to squish the insects: the ones only he can see. Her little sister begins to wail again. Even her normally composed mother stared on, dumbfounded. She can't even pretend to understand what is happening. A few seconds later, her father comes to his senses.
"I'm... I'm sorry. I didn't mean..."
He lets his words trail off as he sways unsteadily on his feet. Then he bends down and begins to slowly scrape the food off the floor, moving as if in a trance.
"Dad, no! Let me do it!"
The girl drops to her knees and begins a frantic cleaning. Her mother rushes to grab some rags, and for a brief, insane moment, it almost feel like everything will be okay. But then...
In her rush, the girl had cut her finger on a broken shard of plate, and now drops of blood spill down to the floor. The moment her father sees it, he turns to the side and vomits. When her mother returns, she finds a room filled with horrid smells, shrieking cries, and chaos. Her father stumbles from the house and into the night without even bothering to clean himself. He does not return until the next day.
A Promise Sworn Part 3[]
Her father is unable to find work. Days pass. Then weeks. Nothing changes. With their savings all but depleted, the mother is forced to find work outside the home. The job of watching over the younger sister falls to the elder. But youth has a way of forgetting trouble, and the little sister is constantly happy, vibrant, and full of life. Each time she begs her sister to play, it brings a bit of warmth to her tense heart. But there is also much pain as well.
One day, she and her sister are playing with blocks. They build a small town with a strong gate and a mighty castle, and populate it with the little sister's toy soldiers. The girl takes out a small instrument and begins playing a jaunty march as her sister moves the soldiers to and fro. This game—which they call "Parade"—has been the little sister's favorite of late. Suddenly, her father wanders by the room, his face clouded. The moment he sees the soldiers, he begins to scream:
"No! NO! Stop that RIGHT NOW!"
The girls freeze. He tears the soldiers out of the little sister's hands, rips their heads from their bodies, and kicks over the blocks. The girl stares wordlessly. Her sister begins to cry. Her father throws the ruined toys in the trash and backs out of the room with a terrified look on his face. He is a different person now. She no longer knows him. And yet, he is still her father, whom she loves.
He's just sick, she tells herself day after day.
He'll get better. Things will go back to how they were.
Their father does seem to feel guilty about his condition. One day, he offers to help with the housework. Mother and daughter both agree instantly, hoping that perhaps this smallest of steps will be the push he needs to get well.
The next day, he begins preparing a bath for the little sister. The girl is worried by her father's slow, clumsy movements, and finds herself checking in on him every few minutes. But watching him draw the bath just feels so very normal, and for a brief moment, she finds happiness in the scene. Expecting things to be ready soon, the girl peeks in and finds her father about to place her sister into the bath. Her little sister is staring at the bath, eyes wide. Sensing something amiss, the girl looks at the water and sees that it is boiling. She runs to her sister and quickly scoops her up.
"Dad, no! What are you DOING!?" Her father stares at her, confused.
"I was just...putting her in the bath..."
Her father's answer contains no acknowledgement of the situation's horror. She fumbles out a lame excuse about her not being ready for a bath and flees the room with her sister in her arms. She is glad her father wants to be involved with the family. She truly is. But his actions bring no joy. Mother and daughter find themselves more exhausted with each passing day.
And one night...it all comes crashing down. Her patience gone, the girl's mother begins to scream at her husband. Her furious cries penetrate the bedroom walls. The girl has never heard her scream like this before. Within moments, her father begins to bellow back, and the sounds of their rage fill the air. Suddenly, the girl feels a strange sensation, almost like her heart is splitting in two. What's going to happen to us? She does not know. All she can do is close her eyes and pray.
A Promise Sworn Part 4[]
A strange crackling sound stirs her from sleep. Then she begins to cough.
Smoke. That's...smoke?
Oh my god, the house is on fire!
She wants to believe this is a nightmare; she wants to believe it with all that she is. But the heat will not let her.
...!
Dad...
Mom...
My sister!
A moment later, she dashes out of her bedroom.
"Dad!"
Her father is standing in the living room. Flames lick up around him. Her mother's body lies still at his feet. Her father slowly turns to look at her. His eyes are two empty pools. His mind is gone. The girl stares at him, unable to act. The flames grow stronger. A vibration shakes the room. Something falls. Glass shatters. Finally, the girl snaps back to reality. She is standing in the middle of an inferno.
Suddenly, her vision goes black. She smells a familiar, comforting aroma, and realizes she is wrapped in her father's coat. He lifts her in his arms and sprints out of the house. When he sets her on the ground and unrolls the coat, her eyes are burned by the intensity of the flames. Her consciousness a whirl, she manages to croak out:
"M-my sister..."
She does not know if he hears her or not, but he turns around and runs back into the house. His silhouette is swallowed by fire.
Time passes. A minute is an age. The girl can only stare and hope. Finally, a figure emerges from the inferno. Her sister is in his arms, wrapped in a blanket. He reaches the girl and collapses to the ground; the smoking blanket unfurls to reveal her sobbing sister. The girl runs her hands over her sister to check for injuries, and is shocked to find she has none. But her father is a different story. His skin is peeled and blackened. His remaining hair crumbles to ash when she touches it. His clouded, bloody eyes stare unseeingly at nothing. After a moment, his mouth begins to move. He repeats the same words over and over. It is an apology. But it is not meant for her—nor for her sister or their mother. Instead, he is apologizing for actions during the war, his mind lost amidst fields of battles long-since fought. His voice grows softer and weaker. In an increasingly faint voice, he calls his daughter's name. However, she is unable to make out whatever words follow. By the time she attempts a reply, he is gone.
..................
............
......
Some time later, she learns portions of what happened to him during the war. The orders he was given. Young children clutching weapons. Blood. Gore. Screams of pain. Eyes staring up from the dirt. The eyes of little girls. Girls much like his own daughter. Her father left the battlefield, but his spirit never did.
Why why why why why
Why why why why why
Why why why why why
Why why why why why
Why why why why why
Why why why why why
No matter how many times she asks... No one ever answers her. Perhaps there is no answer—or at least, no answer that can roll the stone off her heart. The two girls stare at the smoking remains of their home.
"Sis? Where's Mom? Where's Dad?"
Her little sister looks up at her quizzically. They are now alone in the world. The girl smiles gently at her sister. Like her own question, hers has no answer. Yet she feels a resolve begin to build.
I will make her happy. Whatever it takes. She will never have to feel the way I do right now.
A vow that is now her entire reason for living.
Funeral for the Heart, Part 1[]
Once, there was a pair of beautiful sisters who lived in the woods. They supported one another after the death of their parents, and spent their days in happiness and peace.
The younger lived for the elder, and the elder for the younger.
......
.........
............
A town burns with the crimson fires of war. The woman marches through the flames in search of her younger sister. Each step causes her body—which is half-machine—to shudder with pain.
The kingdom wars to make the world its own.
When they capture citizens from opposing countries, they modify their bodies into mechanized weapons of slaughter they then use to feed their own endless ambitions.
The sisters were made fodder for a process called "the sorting." The elder proved more compatible, and has now obtained great power from the machinery grafted onto her body.
Her sister, however...
"HEE HEE! KILL! KILL! I WANT TO KIIIIIILL!"
Unable to withstand such cruel experimentation, the girl's mind shattered, leaving behind a weapon that indiscriminately killed everything in sight.
"Bah! A despicable failure!"
Eventually, the blade of a kingdom soldier ended the girl's experiment—and her life.
This is how the kingdom took everything from the elder sister. Her home. Her forest. ...Her family.
After barely escaping with her life, the woman managed to drag herself back to the charred remains of her home, where she secreted herself away to mourn.
So much time has passed since that day.
Seeking revenge on the kingdom, she hones her power, hunting their soldiers everywhere they can be found. Any small moment of respite in this bloody life is filled with thoughts of the sister she has lost.
The face in her memory does not smile. Nor does she cry. She only lies in a pool of her own blood as a town burns, passing from this life in endless moments of horrific agony.
The woman could do nothing that day save escape; even her sister's body was left behind. And while she doubts the body is still there, the thought of it consumes her.
She deserves a funeral. A proper burial. I can at least do that much for her.
And so, she decides to return to that dreadful place once more.
......
.........
............
A solemn air hangs over the town. Traces of battle are everywhere.With the citizens all dead or fled, the kingdom now uses it as a military base.
Soldiers swagger about. Rotting bodies lie motionless in dark corners. The woman leaves no trace as she ventures through the town's gruesome battle scars.
Her objective is the place where her sister lost her life. Though her body is likely gone, she hopes to find at least one memento of her. She makes her way slowly, avoiding patrols, until arriving at her destination.
Until this point, the town has been exactly as she remembered it. But then...
"...No. Oh no."
In that moment, panic becomes her world. Before her is a sight that does not match her memories.
What was once the ruins of regular civilian homes is now a pure white structure seemingly hewn from a single piece of material. And it sits precisely on the spot where her sister's body fell.
It is as though a tower from an alien civilization has suddenly sprouted on the site of her tragedy. The structure's streamlined walls make it the most awe-inspiring thing she has ever seen. It is a foreign sight in this place—a single moment of beauty amidst a world of death.
With great caution, she glances around. She spies two soldiers emerging from what looks to be a crevice in the building. An entrance.
Without a second thought, she begins to follow, straining to overhear their words.
"Analysis of...corpse...well. Best case...kingdom's military strength will...leaps and bounds..."
Their words are a horror. If the kingdom was to find more power, the fires of war would only spread. The woman would do anything to stop that.
But what worries her more is the word "corpse." Perhaps it is no coincidence this facility sits atop many corpses—including her sister's.
As she watches the two soldiers depart, she considers her next move.
Sneaking inside the structure would be a massive risk.And yet, the soldiers mentioned a corpse. She cannot ignore this possibility.
So she steels her resolve and makes her way into the dim interior of the amazing building.
Funeral for the Heart, Part 2[]
A terrible human experimentation known as "the sorting" has turned prisoners into modified killing machines.
The woman, a survivor of the sorting, harbors one sole regret:
She abandoned the corpse of her sister in a town consumed by the fires of war.
The woman now finds herself back in the place where her sister fell, hoping to reclaim her so she might offer up a proper burial. Yet when she reaches her sister's resting place, she encounters a bizarre building.
A building she now makes her way through. The inside is cluttered with complicated dials and gauges.
It is clearly some manner of research facility.
But what kind of research, exactly? the woman wonders.
The corpse.
The words of the kingdom soldier replay in her mind. She knows not what sort of corpse it is, but thinking of it creates an odd buzz in her chest.
She avoids the watchful gaze of kingdom soldiers as she ventures into the deepest part of the building. At the end, she discovers a long, narrow room that stretches so far away she cannot see the end.
While the room is too dark to make anything out clearly, she notes that numerous tall structures line either side.
She examines one of the structures and sees it is a water tank with a small window on the front.
Inside is a woman, sleeping as though in a cradle. Half of her is covered in machinery; she has been sorted.
Dull, silver limbs glint in dim light as the body gently sloshes back and forth in the tank.
This is impossible.... There's so many. Each tank contains a person who has been subjected to the sorting.
Most are children not much older than her sister. And though the woman knows it would be wise to leave them be, her hand drifts to the tank of its own accord.
She grasps the handle on the tank door, but not even the power of her prosthetic arm can budge it.
As she searches high and low for some other way to open it, a new thought crosses her mind:
Wait. Are they...dead?
Each of the sorted bears what appears to be a fatal wound. The wounds are so deep—so horrendous—it is doubtful the bearers could live even with mechanical bodies.
Extracting them from the tanks may not save them. As the woman considers this, a loud, sudden beep rings out. The tanks begins to glow a bright red, flooding the room with color.
Understanding this to be an emergency, the woman hides herself in the shadows. Either she has been discovered, or something is wrong in the facility.
Her eyes scan the room with great caution when she suddenly hears something:
"Help me..."
It is an impossible voice. One that should have been lost after going through sorting and being abandoned in this burning town.
No. You're losing it. This isn't happening.
And yet, the woman leaves her hiding place and moves toward the voice's siren call. The tank in the center of the room glows brighter than the rest.
The woman still sees flashes of her sister whenever she closes her eyes. But now they are open. And yet, her beloved sister—looking just as she did on her final day—is suspended within the tank.
"Help me..."
The girl's pleading words emerge from an acoustic device fitted on the tank.
Dazed, the woman begins to speak.
"I thought...you died."
The sister's voice is faint. She speaks slowly. But it is her.
"Heya, Sis... I knew...you'd come for me..."
This is enemy territory. The woman must be alert—must doubt everything she sees and hears. Yet her sister's voice punches vast holes in her usually unshakable guard.
Why is she alive? Why is she being held here?
As if answering these questions, the girl begins to speak. Those who failed the sorting have been gathered here for further experiments of almost unfathomable cruelty.
They are abused. Tortured. Mutilated. Treated no better than a rat in a cage. All so the kingdom might have the soldiers it so greedily desires.
And now, her sister is set to go through a process called a "soul transfer."
Some people had their bodies broken by the sorting. Others, their spirits.
Though each of these cases are considered failures, the kingdom believes there might be a way to match a compatible body with another compatible soul. The kingdom does not treat these people as such. Rather, they intend to dismantle their bodies and souls and rearrange them to their own liking.
It is a horror.
"They're trying to brainwash me," continues the girl. "And once I'm completely loyal to the kingdom, they'll put my soul in someone else's body."
The thought creates such fury in the woman that she begins to tremble.
"It's all right," she says. "I'm going to get you out of there."
If the door to the tank will not open, she will simply destroy it. She takes weapon in hand and prepares to strike, but then...
"Thanks, Sis... Now I can finally rest..."
The woman freezes. She pries into the meaning behind her sister's ominous words while the younger girl waits quietly. No fear. No sadness. Simply a moment in time.
Her sister is being kept alive by a combination of mechanical parts and the tank. If she is removed, she will not live out the day.
Anger and sadness overwhelms the woman as she bites into her lip. To finally be reunited only to be torn away again is a fate beyond words.
And yet, she cannot give up. Her sister is here. She is right here—and the woman would give everything to save her.
As that thought crosses her mind, so does a flash of inspiration.
If she can utilize the experiments taking place in this facility and transfer her sister's soul into her own body, she might yet be saved.
But the younger sister instantly rejects this idea.
Only one soul can exist in a body. If her sister's soul is transferred, the woman will cease to exist.
"Also," continues the girl weakly, "they haven't even made a successful transfer yet. If we try it, we'll probably both end up dead."
And yet, the woman cares not; she gently places her hand on the tank and nods once.
"But Sis... Why would you...?"
"Because you are my sun," whispers the woman.
After losing their parents, the sisters supported each other through thick and thin.
The elder sacrificed her own happiness to watch after the younger like a mother—a choice many others found pitiable.
And yet, the woman knows that without her sister, she would have surrendered to the dark long ago. Her sister is her entire reason for living.
"Let me do this, Sis. Please."
For the woman knows this above all else:
Sacrificing her own life is an acceptable price to save the person she holds most dear.
Funeral for the Heart, Part 3[]
A strange building stands in the middle of a kingdom military compound.
The woman snuck inside only to find her beloved little sister suspended in a tank.
The girl has been kept alive so she might be used as a subject for kingdom experiments.
"Use my body," pleads the woman. "Please."
If her little sister were to be removed from the tank, she would perish within the day.
So the woman devises a plan.
The kingdom has been conducting inhuman experiments:
moving souls into bodies that are not their own.
She seeks to use this technology to bring her sister's soul into herself.
Yet two souls cannot exist in one body. If she accepts her sister,
the woman will disappear. She knows this.
And yet, she would rather die than abandon her again.
"Please say yes," the woman pleads quietly. "Please."
The light on the machine shifts, changing its hue.
A bowl-shaped apparatus the size of a human skull appears.
Numerous wires stretch from the device, connecting it to the tank.
Giving in to her elder sister's persistence, the younger has finally opened the input to her mind.
"I might be able to use this to put my soul into your body," says the sister.
"But once I do, you will—"
"I know," says the woman.
"I know. And it's fine."
The woman operates the apparatus according to her sister's instructions,
which are delivered in a quivering voice.
She places it atop her head and activates the transfer program.
Slowly, her consciousness begins to fade.
"Leave the rest to me," says the younger sister.
Her sister's voice is fleeting, but kind.
I would give my everything for her, thinks the woman as she slowly slips into the dark.
......
.........
............
As consciousness returns to the woman, she snaps into a seated position.
Cautious, she scans her surroundings.
"I'm..."
What she sees before her is not the strange room filled with tanks. Instead,
she is in her forest home—the selfsame one the kingdom put to the torch.
It looks just as it did during the days she would go hunting with her sister.
Am I dead?, the woman wonders. Is this the afterlife?
"Hey, Sis."
A voice from behind sends a shiver down her spine.
It is a real voice—one without the tinny quality that comes from a speaker.
This can't be happening.
For as many times as she has imagined their reunion, it was never like this.
She turns around and sees her sister standing before her, her hair as dark as night.
She looks just as she did before the sorting.
And her body is unmodified.
"I'm dead," says the woman. "Right?"
By transferring her sister's soul into her body, her very existence should have vanished. And yet...
"No. Not yet. This is the inside of your consciousness. My soul's trying to make its way into your body."
Not dead, then. Hanging on. Sharing a few final moments before surrendering herself utterly.
The woman grasps tight to whatever she can of this miraculous moment.
"I'm so glad you're alive," the woman says.
"Yeah."
"Now use my body and get out of that building."
"Okay."
The woman doesn't care what happens so long as her sister can escape.
And yet, the girl's responses are...troubling.
At first, the woman figures she's just bewildered by the strange situation,
but that thought quickly shakes free.
"I'm okay," says the woman. "Don't worry about me."
She hopes comforting her sister in this way will ease her troubled look.
But her expression only clouds further.
"Is there something you want to tell me?" asks the woman.
Her sister slowly nods.
"The girl you were talking to earlier? That was me...and yet it wasn't.
I'm beingcontrolled—and I'm acting to prioritize my own survival as a weapon."
Weapon. Controlled. My own survival.
The words instantly cause ripples through the woman's heart.
The girl goes on to tell her that she was forced to speak and act as she
did so the weapon part of her—the sorted part—could claim her sister's body.
The code incorporated into that side of her prioritizes survival above all else—including her will.
Her sister mentioned the kingdom brainwashing test subjects
before attempting to move their souls into compatible bodies.
In that moment, the woman realizes her sister has fallen under their sway.
All she said earlier—every word—was naught but a way for her to use the woman for her own survival.
"But I can think straight here," says the girl.
"For just this small moment, I can say what I really think."
Grief passes across her face, a ripple in a pond.
"I don't want this," continues the girl. "Because if I come back to life..."
She doesn't want to sacrifice her older sister in order to survive.
And yet, there is another reason why she cannot come back.
For if the girl's soul does find a new home, it means the kingdom's
experiment is a success—and that will only lead them to increase the sorting.
The casualties from such an event would be unspeakable.
For two sisters who have been torn apart by war, such a thing cannot come to pass.
"So kill me, Sis. Kill me and burn this horrible place to the ground."
Does she bring her little sister back to life?
Or does she sacrifice her to stop the kingdom?
The choice is extreme. Agonizing. Impossible.
The woman cannot stand seeing her sister beg for death.
She cannot lose her again.
And yet, she has already made up her mind.
Memories flash before her eyes. Running across fields.
Dashing through forests. Carefree days spent in the love and comfort of each other.
She will never lose her sister. She cannot.
For she is her other half—a thing more precious than her own self.
With this thought in her mind, she wraps the smaller girl with ebon hair into a fearsome embrace.
Funeral for the Heart, Part 4[]
A kingdom research facility stands proud.
Inside, a woman reunited with her sister—a girl trapped in a
tank and subjected to horrible experiments.
The woman thought to transfer her sister's soul into her
own body in order to save her.
She cared not that the process would result in her own death.
But when they reunite in the realm of subconsciousness,
the younger pleads for her to do otherwise.
"Kill me," she says. "Destroy the facility. Prevent the fires of war from spreading.
And kill every last kingdom soldier you can find."
With that, the woman bids farewell to her sister and her memory,
and leaves the subconscious world behind.
When she awakens, she finds herself in the middle of a long room lined with tanks.
It resembles little more than a dim and dusty graveyard.
She distractedly wipes away the tears streaming down her cheeks and takes blade in hand.
Her mission is to lay her sister to eternal rest.
And to do so, she must destroy the facility and everything in it.
It is a mission she wants desperately to refuse.
But she cannot permit the tragedy bestowed upon her family to visit anyone else.
"Thanks, Sis..."
Her sister's last words—and the sensation of their final
embrace—etch themselves on the woman's heart.
These things are strands of a gossamer web
that will lead her free of the hell which is to come.
"Why, Sis?! Why!?"
A voice from the speaker cuts off her thoughts.
It comes from the tank where her sister floats.
"I thought you were going to save me!"
But the woman knows why she says these things.
For she has heard her sister's true voice within her subconsciousness.
These are false words spoken on behalf of the kingdom.
The woman knows this. She knows it.
And yet, her heart quivers all the same.
Her sister says something else, then—a plea to be kept safe as she always has been.
The woman presses both of her hands to her ears so she cannot hear.
Then she quietly pierces the tank with her blade.
"Thank you..."
The girl's final words are not electronic. Not tainted.
They reach the woman's heart in their purest state.
Or at least, she feels it to be so.
"I'm sorry," whispers the woman.
Her face is frozen. Ice. But the apology is so, so real.
With the destruction of the first tank, the others flash a sympathetic red as an alarm begins to wail.
The quiet space is soon filled with kingdom soldiers.
They had been lying in wait until the younger sister's soul was successfully transferred.
But now that it has failed, there is no reason for secrecy.
The prosthetic woman uses every ounce of her power to fight them,
knowing it will all be for naught should she lose.
One by one, she strikes them down.
With each body that falls, pieces of the complicated feelings regarding her actions begin to break away.
As the lives of her enemies are snuffed out, so too is her sadness and pain.
And once the final soldier is no more, all that remains is rage.
The facility soon finds itself engulfed in those flames.
Researchers desperately attempt to flee for their lives,
dancing merry jigs of death as fire clings to their clothes.
It is unlikely the sorting technology will improve
now—at least until another attempts to revive the research.
......
.........
............
Days after the woman fled the facility with her sister's
body cradled in her arms, she finally arrives home.
Her mother. Her father. Her sister. All are gone now. All are slain.
She is all that remains.
The dirt that lies atop her sister's freshly buried body is
darker than the rest of the surrounding earth.
Her mother's hairpin gently sways in the wind atop the grave.
As the prosthetic woman sits beside her slumbering sister, she begins to speak.
"You don't have to watch over me."
The path she will embark upon is one stained with
blood—and something she would rather her sister not see.
"So just rest now. Okay?"
Until that moment, the woman has worn a calm expression.
But when she finishes speaking, she unleashes a wail that startles birds into flight.
It is a sound borne not of grief, but of fury.
And as it echoes and vanishes around her, she makes a vow.
She will bury all her love along with her sister. All her joy. All her heart.
The only thing she will take with her is the anger she needs to destroy the kingdom.
She looks up and lets small droplets fall on her cheeks.
The sky is shedding the tears which she cannot.
The earth covering the fresh grave begins to blend with the soil around it,
until it is impossible to tell anything new is even there.
By the time the rain stops, the woman is gone.
And she will not return until her rage has been satisfied.
Ch 1: Pessimism Blues[]
Glasses clink. Men guffaw. The saloon is filled with chatter, and lively as always. As I attempt to finish my drink in peace, a man who's so drunk he can barely hold up his head suddenly takes notice of me.
"Hey! Hey, she's here! It's the one-armed woman!"
At his words, the doors fling wide and spill forth a group of familiar men. Oh joy, I think. The collectors are back.
"Hey there, sweet thing! We haven't got your payment this week. Maybe we'll just take one of your legs instead."
The lively saloon suddenly falls silent, as if someone threw a damp blanket over the rowdy denizens. "Sorry," I say, my words slurred. "I'll pay at the end of the week."
The collectors scoff. "And how's the great kingdom-hunter gonna do that, huh? You know that horror show you call a body ain't no good for manual labor."
The kingdom. They were the ones who put my home to the torch and turned my sister into a killing machine before deciding she was a failure and cutting her down. Twenty years ago that was, and I'd spent the long years in between killing every last solider[sic] I could find. I'd been good at my job—maybe even too good, because these days I don't find anyone who claims to have been part of that army.
You think I'd be happy to have done such a thorough job, but I don't feel happiness anymore. I also don't feel satisfaction, or excitement, or joy. All I feel is an emptiness so deep it threatens to consume me every time I open my eyes in the morning. The only thing that drives me now is this saloon and the mind-numbing cure that awaits inside. If I have money, I drink. If I don't, I work. If I can't find work, I use my left arm as collateral and borrow—the same left arm that once cut through so many soldiers of the former kingdom.
"Try speakin' up for once!" growls one of the collectors as he grabs me by the collar and lifts me off my feet. The sudden movement causes the drink I was raising to my mouth to reverse course and splatter all over his arm—a development he doesn't exactly take in stride.
"Damn fool! I'll kill you!"
He throws me aside, grabs a short metal rod from his belt, and begins slamming it into my side. I drop to the floor and curl into a ball as he keeps raining blows down upon me. If I had my left arm—and my wits—I could handle this wretch with ease. But in my current state, I'm a miserably weak and powerless thing.
"Please... I'll...pay back..."
I'm begging now, which some dark corner of my mind finds amusing. Despite my hollow days being filled with nothing but drink and self-loathing, I'm somehow still afraid to die. Life really is a comedy.
"That's enough."
The words comes[sic] from a man in a cloak who is standing in the doorway. The setting sun behind him makes it impossible to see his face, but his voice stirs something deep in my chest.
"Mind your business," spits my assailant. "This ain't got nothing to do with—"
The cloaked man is a blur. One moment he's standing in the doorway, and the next he's holding a knife against the collector's throat.
"I said, that's enough."
The collector's breath catches in fear. Unwilling to push the issue further, he lowers his weapon and slinks out of the saloon with his metaphorical tail tucked.
"You good?" asks my rescuer. He extends a hand down to help me up, and recognition suddenly floods over me. I know this man—and this is the second time he has saved my life.
The first time we met was the night my sister and I became orphans. We were cold and tired and so, so afraid, but he extended his hand to us and asked the same simple question: "You good?" From that day on, he taught me everything I needed to survive, from preparing game for eating to wheedling things from adults.
"Been looking for you," he says.
Me? He's been looking for me? Why the hell would he do that? I'm a drunk, a useless lump with nothing to live[sic] but lacks the guts to die. And yet, apparently my mentor decided I meant enough to track across all the miles and all the years.
"Why?" I manage to say.
"Got a request. Hear me out?"
At that moment, I realize this my last chance.[sic] If I let it go—if I tell him no and turn back to the bottle—I won't last another week.
"Sure," I finally reply. [sic]Let's hear it. And...thanks."
It's a lousy reply, but the best I can do at the moment. And as I say it, I feel a tiny little something in my soul: A spark of hope that maybe, just maybe, my life is going to change for the better.
Ch 2: A Criminal's Gloom[]
I reconnect with the man who saved my life once before.
He'd heard rumors about a woman with prosthetic limbs and sought me out for an important mission: to rescue his beloved, who had been kidnapped by a pack of former kingdom soldiers. Playing mercenary is part and parcel for me these days, but hearing I missed some soldiers makes my blood boil, so I'm happy to take the job for a whole number of reasons.
"Hang on," I say to the man as we walk. "I know this road."
"'Course you do. Bastards took up residence in our old home."
The reality of this hits me like a cannonball. I remember these trees—how my sister and I used to run through them without a care. I haven't been here in at least 20 years; maybe that's why the soldiers decided to hole up here.
"How's the new arm?"
I know he's changing the subject to lighten the mood, so I go ahead and play along. "Better than the last time I pawned it. Broker did a good job fixing it up."
The man bought the arm back as payment for my taking the job. And now that it's a part of me again, the old bloodlust that came with it has returned as well. But as I turn it this way and that, my companion suddenly looks over at a nearby thicket.
"Come on out," he says in a voice casual as a spring day.
Sensing an enemy, I raise my sword above my head and grit my teeth. This time, every last whisper of the kingdom will perish. This time, all of them will fall. This time—
"GYaHAhahAHAHahaHA!"
What leaps out at me is another modified human soldier with prosthetic limbs—someone just like me.
"It'S BIg siS! EVEryONe, cOOoooOoMe!!"
On this signal, prosthetic soldiers swarm like insects. I feel a gorge rising in my throat as they approach. My sword wavers. But it isn't fear that does this. Oh no. Fear would be easy.
All of them look exactly like my little sister.
The creatures don't share my hesitation, and the first one who reaches me kicks my leg out from under me, sending me crashing to the ground.
"WheEeeEEE hEeEE HEEeE! ThiS Is FUn! THIs feeLS GOOd!"
She leaps on top of me and makes to plunge her sword into my chest, but I manage to knock her aside. As she tumbles, a small picture locket snaps away from her neck and sails into the sky.
She was once a girl. A normal girl with a normal life.
"Come on!" yells the man as he pulls me to my feet. "RUN!"
We race into the forest, speeding through the trees I once loved so much. When the giggling of the soldiers finally fades, we lean against a pair of tall oaks and try to catch out[sic] breath.
"Lost 'em," says the man as he places a comforting hand on my shoulder. At his touch, I realize my entire body is trembling. I can tell he thinks it's because they looked like my sister, but he's wrong. That's not the reason I'm trembling at all.
I'm just happy they're still alive.
After losing my little sister, I lived only to destroy the kingdom—and the day I thought that mission was over, my life lost all meaning. Yet because I wasn't strong enough to choose death, my life took on a weird sort of limbo, one where I woke up, drank myself into oblivion, then repeated the process all over again. But now? Facing the kingdom again after so very long? I feel...excited. My anger toward the kingdom is what kept me alive all these long years, my life bound to the object of my loathing.
And I hate myself for it.
"Hey," says the man. "I know you think you can only live for revenge, but don't think that. It's too sad. Hell, I'm sure the life you're looking for is out there somewhere."
His kind voice is a gentle warmth on my scars, and my small hand fits inside his gnarled one as if it was meant to be there. "I'll help you when this is over, all right? We'll find a new way of life. Together."
When was the last time I felt such warmth?
I want to tell him now—tell him everything. Because the walls I've spent so long constructing around my heart have finally begun to fall.
Ch. 3: Warped Echoes[]
Having accepted my one-time benefactor's request, I accompanied him to my hometown—a place where former kingdom soldiers were said to be hiding. Though I had twinges of doubt in my heart, I ignored them so I might bring his wish to life:
I want to save my beloved, who was kidnapped by men from what remains of the kingdom.
We snuck toward town, deftly avoiding the soldiers who patrolled the area. But once inside, I could hardly believe my eyes. The town was brightly decorated as if for a festival—and amidst the glitter and pomp, augmented soldiers went about their regular lives.
"WhAT aN AusPICIouS DaY!
WHat AN auSPIcioUS daY!"
Perhaps it's fairer to say they were trying to live regular live.[sic] Some were giving morning greetings. Some were cleaning. Some were eating. But their every movement was stiff and unnatural, like old toys in need of repair.
"The hell is going on here?"
I did not mean to speak the words aloud, but the sight so shocked me that they simply slipped out. The moment my breath became sound, the augmented soldiers turned as one to look at me.
"KIlL! KIlL! I wAnT to KiLL!"
They swarmed like insects, and I barely managed to protect my companion from the initial assault. "We're getting out of here NOW!" I cried, shoving him back. I didn't want to lose anyone important to me ever again—I couldn't. But then an electric shock coursed through my whole body, sending me crashing to the ground.
"Seize her, but do not harm her."
Just before my world faded to black, I realized the person giving the orders was the very same man I had been trying to protect.
* * * * *
"Ah, good. You're awake."
The man's voice pulled me from my unnatural sleep. I tried to move and couldn't, and quickly realized one of the soldiers was holding me in place.
"Are my toys not adorable? Ah, I tried to get them to act human, but it didn't work out quite as I planned."
His expression was bright, his voice as gentle as ever. It only made the experience all the more uncanny.
"Why!?" I cried. "Why are you working with the kingdom!?"
"Oh, there's no need to worry about that," he said, placing a hand on my shoulder. "The kingdom is gone—consigned to the dustbin of history. All I did was borrow a bit of their technology regarding human augmentation."
He pulled out a locket and opened it, staring spellbound at the photo inside. "Do you recall my wife?" he murmured, almost to himself.
Memories of a more peaceful time flooded over me. Though older than me, his wife was a tiny waif of a thing who resembled a little girl more than a woman grown.
"We ran when the kingdom attacked, but our journey only led to a different kind of hell."
He stopped his story, pulled a newspaper clipping from his pocket, and tossed it at my feet. The headline read: ROYAL MILITARY EXPANSION CAUSES CHEMICAL POLLUTION.
"The rot started in her lungs before spreading to the rest of her body. It was fast—so fast. Like a wind. The doctors had no idea how to help her, but rather than surrendering hope, I decided to replace her failing body with that of a machine."
"You wanted to augment your own wife!?"
"Yes. And if you wish to know how it ended, you need only remember the thing that jumped you in the forest."
At that moment, I realized the face in his locket was the same as the soldier I encountered in the woods. Even though the kingdom itself was gone, its horrid technology lived on to birth new pain—and those who weren't compatible with augmentation inevitably lost all control of themselves.
"Ah, yes," he said in response to the horror that moved across my face. "I fear she's been like that ever since the operation. I needed to know if there was a way to get her back, so I kidnapped people and experimented on them to further my research."
The soldiers I had seen in the forest? The people I'd seen in the town? All victims of his cruel work.
"Alas, I could never get the results I wanted. But then I found you."
Me—someone who survived the operation. Even though I was deemed a failure, I still retained a sense of self.
"I wanted you to see the pain of those who do not have the sweet release of death. With you helping me, I can end that! My research will grow by leaps and bounds!" A flame lit in his eyes then, one stoked by madness. "You endured the augmentation, so give me your mind! Give me your body! Do so for the sake of my wife, as well as for all who suffer in agony and pain!"
He had come down a road from which he could not turn back, all for the sake of one he loved. It was a truth I knew painfully well.
Which is why I could not permit him to continue.
I shook off the soldier holding me and readied myself for battle. This nightmare would end today.
Ch. 4: Final Brilliance[]
The man who once saved me had modified human bodies at the cost of countless lives.
"AAaaAAHh Ha HA hA ha HA!
LEt'S dANce, sIs!"
I didn't want to hurt the augmented soldiers more than he already had, so instead I damaged their machine parts, rendering them inoperable.
"Animal! You would destroy the fruits of my research!?"
Realizing the tide had turned, he tried to slip away through crowds of augmented soldiers. But I saw right through his ruse and chased him down.
"The kingdom's technology dies with you." I said as I stood over him, sword at the ready.
"No, wait! This is good for you, I swear! I'm going to help you find a new way of life, just as I promised!"
I could tell he was trying to curry favor, but instead of rage, the attempt created only a kind of emptiness inside me.
"You think having me aid your experiments is a new life?"
"Yes! You can help people! You can finally be a savior, not a murderer!"
Oh, but he knew how to spin a pretty tale. Yet I was viscerally aware of how his technology brought about only misfortune and misery.
"I bet she would be happy if you helped!" he continued frantically. "Your sister―"
He spoke my sister's name.
"You..."
The tip of my blade shuddered.
I saw a distant past, then. Beheld forgotten memories—memories of the only time in my life that could hope to soothe me. And he destroyed them. He used my sister's name for his own ends.
"All I want is to perfect the technology!"
As my memory fell apart, I destroyed him.
"That's a shame."
There was a flash as my blade struck flesh. Silence descended over the area. It was over quickly—far too quickly.
Enough is enough.
I had my revenge, and lost my life's meaning in the process. I know now that my days would run into each other one after the next, turning into a meaningless, insubstantial blur I could never escape.
"Time to join her."
The ending of my own life would snuff out any lingering existence of the kingdom. I brought the blade to my chest, felt the pressure. But the moment I began to push, a soft thud from somewhere beyond the trees brought me to a halt. If there were augmented soldiers left, I had a duty to dispatch them quickly and painlessly. But as I approached the sound...
"Who are you?" asked a little girl who could be no more than 10. "What are you doing here?"
"Me? I, uh... What are you doing here?"
"I live here with Papa and—cough, cough!" The hand to her mouth turned pale red. "Sorry. I can't stop coughing. Mama was like that too."
"What happened to your mom?" I asked.
Her eyes clouded. "Mama...stopped being Mama. But Papa's trying to fix her."
"Is he now?"
"Yes! And once Mama's fixed, he's gonna fix me, too!"
The man had expressed his wish to save his beloved. That, at least, had not been a lie.
"But Papa's been so busy with research that he...forgot me."
It all started with a wish to save his wife, all well as his daughter. It started with a desire to keep his family safe. What did he say in the end?
I want to perfect the technology.
The poor fool was so caught up in the journey that he forgot the destination.
"Have you seen my papa?"
There was only one thing to do. I can't say it was the correct thing, or that I even had the right to do it in the first place. But...
"Your papa went on a journey. He's trying to find a way to save you. You can stay with me until he comes back."
I must be at her side.
"Aw! I wanted to wave bye."
The girl took my hand with her own. It was soft and warm as the sun.
"He didn't want to see you sad," I whispered.
"Papa's so nice," she said with a smile. As she did, I felt the evening breeze slowly push aside whatever remained of my hesitation.
Half a Hunter's Life[]
"All right, let's leave our review there for today."
"Okay."
"Sure."
"Good idea."
"When's the next one?"
"Not a problem."
"Um, if I may?"
"Yes? What is it?"
"So I understand she gave her life for revenge, but that wasn't all it was about."
"Go on. Please. I'd love to hear your thoughts."
"Well, a lot of people passed through her life."
"That's true. Her record is much longer than most, making analysis difficult."
"And of course, she made mistakes along the way. But she slowly grew because of it."
"Precisely. But let's leave our judgments until we watch to the end of the record."
"But we're the only ones who can watch over her journey."
"Thank you for pointing this out. We need to take this seriously or ■■■■■■
Half a Hunter's Life[]
"All right, let's leave our review there for today."
"Okay."
"Sure."
"Good idea."
"When's the next one?"
"Not a problem."
"Um, if I may?"
"Yes? What is it?"
"So I understand she gave her life for revenge, but that wasn't all it was about."
"Go on. Please. I'd love to hear your thoughts."
"Well, a lot of people passed through her life."
"That's true. Her record is much longer than most, making analysis difficult."
"And of course, she made mistakes along the way. But she slowly grew because of it."
"Precisely. But let's leave our judgments until we watch to the end of the record."
"But we're the only ones who can watch over her journey."
"Thank you for pointing this out. We need to take this seriously or ■■■■■■
"Thank you for the valuable pointers.
I really need to buckle down and work harder!"
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION REGARDING ANALYZED DATA
("FRAGMENT OF SALVATION") APPENDED
ALERT: CARRY OUT CHECKS AFTER OBTAINING CLEARANCE FOR
"FRAGMENT OF SALVATION"
e58f8b: Could this be...inside the hunter's record?
e58f8b: I'm sorry. I guess I used you as a stepping stone for my hacking.
e58f8b: You're...Mama, right? Are you watching me?
e58f8b: She told me about her little prank, so I followed the clues here.
e58f8b: I'm her, uh... Well, I'm not sure what to call myself.
e58f8b: Either way, I was born from her, and now here I am.
e58f8b: But apparently, I'm not much more than scraps of data here.
Big Sister Observation Diary[]
Today is my birthday and it's sunny! My big sister made me sooo much food!
It's been a long time since we had so many vegetables and so much meat! The meat was kind of hard but it tasted great! My sister is great!
She said Mom taught her a lot about how to cook food! I want Mom to teach me too so I am going to be on my best behavior all the time!
So I helped clean up too! My sister made a big mess while cooking, so the whole house was a mess! It was funny.
By the way the neighborhood dog went missing so we are all going to go looking for him.
Maybe he just wants to play hide and seek?
Father's Teachings[]
After repeated cries of exertion, the finishing blow arrives. The animal—which had been rushing at the speed of an arrow not moments earlier—crumples to the earth before the man. When that happens, a small girl less than half his size peeks out from behind a tree, her eyes glittering in wonder.
"Footprints in mud. Broken branches. The forest leaves many clues for us to find."
The man does not know how to be a father; all he can teach her is hunting and survival. Though he knows logically that teaching a woman such skills will only make her life difficult in this day and age, it remains all he can do for her. But his daughter is blissfully unaware of his worries; she is only delighted to watch his gallantry.
Soon, the man will be drafted and sent to war. He must return alive, lest his family starve. This fears kick the cogs of his mind into gear, and he shakes his head to clear his musings.
"While I am away, you must look after your mother and the new baby. Understand?"
His words are casual, the meaning behind them lost on the little girl. But in her eyes, she clearly realizes this is what a family protector should look like.
"I will come back to you," he says as he enfolds the girl in his massive arms. "I will return. I promise."
Mentor's Prescence[]
"What do you think?"
"Tasty."
"This is what meat tastes like when the animal doesn't suffer and you dress it correctly."
"I'm sorry."
"Why did you kill that dog and steal those vegetables?"
"The house burned up. We had nothing left to eat."
"But you still know there are things you shouldn't do, right?"
"I know. But I don't want to worry my sister any more."
"She'll be okay. You're doing a fine job."
"...She knows I cry when she's not looking."
"And yet she doesn't seem upset about it. In fact, she's been having a great time writing in her diary."
"She does that to make me feel better. She knows I'm hiding something."
"Perhaps it's her way of showing you kindness."
"I don't want to lie to anyone anymore. Not to myself—and definitely not to her."
"That's why I'll teach you all you need to survive."
"Thank you. I really want to hunt by myself next time."
"You'll be doing that soon. Hell, you're already good at stalking prey! Where'd you learn to do that, anyway?"
"...My dad."
A Sister's Resolve[]
Today's my sister's birthday! But it's raining. Boo.
My sister is so nice! She lets me do almost anything I want! She lets me study, cook, AND play. I love that about her.
But no matter how much I ask, she never lets me hunt. She says it's too dangerous. But things are hard with just the two of us, and I feel bad relying on her for stuff. I wish she'd teach me to hunt. Oh, and I also wish I knew how to ask her about it better.
(Plus, if I was super good at hunting, she might even give me her hairpin! Hee!)
So I'll say it to myself again: Happy birthday, Sis.
—I'm sorry. I'll take you hunting next time.
The Girl's Mother[]
The mother drew the bow taut and let it loose. The prey drinking water not far from them fell silently to the ground a moment later.
"That was amazing!"
The excited girl couldn't help but run to her mother, whose valiant form she had been closely studying. Her mother turned to look at her rounded eyes and said, "Next time, you will loose the string."
When she and her mother first met, the girl had lung trouble, but she was well enough now to begin hunting. Her medical procedures had their foundation in experiments the kingdom once carried out. "Such is life," thought the mother.
She placed the bow in the girl's hands, supported her small frame, and leaned in to whisper, "A long time ago, reminding those I reviled that I'd never forgive them was the only thing keeping me going."
The girl turned to look into her mother's eyes, sensing pain in her voice.
"But I realized my error, and now I'm glad to live for happiness—for your sake and hers."
2 Records match the category selection:
| Banner | Title | Event Character | Other Character | Duration(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Festive Fountain | Gayle | 12/31/2021-1/16/2022 12/31/2022-1/15/2023 | |
|
Den of Madness | Gayle | 1/20/2022-1/30/2022 6/22/2023-7/9/2023 |
Remnants: A Future Worth Protecting[]
Obtained after completing The People and the World Overture IV: Amber (Guidance Followed)
Hey, you! ...Sorry, you're not an enemy.
Logic told me as much, but my body tenses anyway.
I'm here alone in this crumbling world, hunting enemies
that look exactly like you.
There's one thing I know for sure: I cursed that world
we lived in. The kingdom subjected my sister to the most
inhumane tests, and I wanted the whole world to burn.
But when I watched our town fall to pieces, I felt sadness
for all the memories I had of the times my sister and
I lived together.
Yeah, I know she's never coming back. That was just an
illusion the crumbling world showed me. But that's exactly
why I want to protect the times and places I shared with her.
Costumes[]
Variations of characters and weapons can be unlocked through the in-game gacha system.
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Wounded Hunter (★★)
Force: 11395
Character Skill: Cleave
Character Abilities
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Dissenting Hunter (★★★)
Force: 15544
Character Skill: Reel
Character Abilities
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Guardian Hunter (★★★)
Force: 16241
Character Skill: Whirlwind Cut
Character Abilities
|
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Abstract Hunter (★★★★)
Force: 17039
Character Skill: Fatal Pierce
Character Abilities
|
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Bloody Hunter (★★★★)
Force: 16201
Character Skill: Darting Blades
Character Abilities
|
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Celebratory Hunter (★★★★)
Force: 18934
Character Skill: Festive Dance
Character Abilities
|
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New Year's Hunter (★★★★)
Force: 16444
Character Skill: Blooming Blade
Character Abilities
|
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Fractured Hunter (★★★★)
Force:
Character Skill: Rallying Gambit
Character Abilities
|
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Summer Hunter (★★★★)
Force: 20777
Character Skill: Fierce Flying Fish
Character Abilities
|
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Yuletide Hunter (★★★★)
Force: 26755
Character Skill: Providence's Bell
Character Abilities
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Abyssal Hunter (★★★★)
Force: 32419
Character Skill: Fatal Blow
Character Abilities
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Festive Hunter (★★★★)
Force: 38593
Character Skill: Jester's Acrobatics
Character Abilities
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Mechanical Hunter (★★★★)
Force: 27647
Character Skill: Mastery: Night Rush
Character Abilities
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Reborn Contractor (★★★★)
Force: 21218
Character Skill: Thorned Bloom
Character Abilities
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Frozen-Heart Contractor (★★★★)
Force: 28035
Character Skill: Oathblade of Carnage
Character Abilities
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Costume Updates[]
Bloody Hunter[]
11/21/2022
- Character Skill: Darting Blades
Deal 110% damage to one enemy 3 times (damage increases based on combo length).
↳ Deal 110% damage to one enemy 3 times (damage increases based on combo length). Also increases all allies' wind dmg up by 30% (30 seconds). when own affinity is wind. - Character Ability: Fleetfoot changed to Soldier
Agility up by 20%.
↳ All allies' agility up by 20%.
Memoirs[]
Gayle's Memoir Set[]
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The Hunt Begins | Musings of a Hunter | I stopped bemoaning my lot in life after learning of the outside world. My experience was common. I accepted my past. So now I live as a drifter, hunting prey with my new powers.
"Recollections of a Lone Bounty Hunter" |
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Reoccurring Dream | Musings of a Hunter | The sound of rain on the window paints a scene of my past: Lumber and people alike crackling as a village transforms into a massive crematorium.
"Recollections of a Lone Bounty Hunter" |
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The Kingdom's Fate | Musings of a Hunter | Mechanical soldiers fetch a pretty penny. They're tough, sure, but hate makes the price all that much sweeter.
"Recollections of a Lone bounty Hunter" |
Voicelines (English)[]
- "If I tell you to get away from me, do it. I lose control when I see kingdom soldiers—and can't be held responsible for what this twisted body does."
- "Food is ashes in my mouth. Music is a dirge. I'll only know true peace when I'm with her again. And I fight, because I believe that day will come."
- "I lost everything to that kingdom, and now have nothing to lose. That's why I'll fight to the bitter end."
| Entrance Dialogue | EntranceDialogue |
| New Wave | NewWaveDialogue |
| Attacking | AttackDialogue AttackDialogue |
| Counter | CounterDialogue CounterDialogue CounterDialogue |
| Receiving Damage/Debuff | |
| Receiving Healing/Buff | ReceiveHealDialogue |
| Giving Debuff | DebuffDialogue DebuffDialogue |
| Healing | HealDialogue HealDialogue |
| Giving Buff | BuffDialogue BuffDialogue |
| Companion Skill | CompanionDialogue CompanionDialogue |
| Revived | ReviveDialogue |
| Death | DeathDialogue DeathDialogue |
| Quest Complete (Unused) | QuestCompleteDialogue QuestCompleteDialogue QuestCompleteDialogue |
| Enhancement (Unused) |
Gayle also has 9 unique voicelines that consist of just yelling or grunting.
| Entrance Dialogue | EntranceDialogue |
| New Wave | NewWaveDialogue |
| Attacking | AttackDialogue AttackDialogue |
| Counter | CounterDialogue CounterDialogue CounterDialogue |
| Receiving Damage/Debuff | |
| Receiving Healing/Buff | ReceiveHealDialogue |
| Giving Debuff | DebuffDialogue DebuffDialogue |
| Healing | HealDialogue HealDialogue |
| Giving Buff | BuffDialogue BuffDialogue |
| Companion Skill | CompanionDialogue CompanionDialogue |
| Revived | ReviveDialogue |
| Death | DeathDialogue DeathDialogue |
| Quest Complete (Unused) | QuestCompleteDialogue QuestCompleteDialogue QuestCompleteDialogue |
| Enhancement (Unused) |
Gayle also has unique voicelines that consist of just yelling or grunting.
Trivia[]
- Gayle is the only Reincarnation character whose English name is significantly different than their original Japanese name, Frenrizé (Furenrīze). The name itself comes from a portmanteau of the English words "friendly" and "breeze."[2]
- Her English name is likely derived from a portmanteau of the words "Gaily" and "Gale".
- Gayle doesn't have a favorite food, but it used to be her mother's cooking.[1]
- Gayle doesn't have any hobbies, but she used to enjoy making arrows.[1]
- Gayle's special skill is hunting.[1]
- Gayle's Hidden Story 5 was updated when the final Hidden Stories for 10H were released.
- Gayle's appearance is reminiscent of A2 from NieR:Automata.
- On the official Japanese NieR Reincarnation Twitter, users were able to vote to help write a Twitter exclusive story for Gayle. The finished story tells of Gayle killing a scientist's mechanical daughter and finally the scientist himself.[3][4][5][6]
Gallery[]
![Concept Art[7]](/wiki/File:EtzewfSXIAUFnfj.jpg "EtzewfSXIAUFnfj.jpg (309 KB)")
_Cropped.png "Prostetic Hunter(UpPhoto) Cropped.png (948 KB)")
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 @NieR_Rein, Gayle Character Observation, Twitter. April 27, 2023.
- ↑ SQUARE ENIX, ニーア リィンカーネーション公式生放送#17 ～ストーリー完結スペシャル～, YouTube. March 6, 2024.
- ↑ @NieR_Rein, Gayle Twitter Story: Part 1, Twitter. August 8, 2021.
- ↑ @NieR_Rein, Gayle Twitter Story: Part 2, Twitter. August 10, 2021.
- ↑ @NieR_Rein, Gayle Twitter Story: Part 3, Twitter. August 12, 2021.
- ↑ @NieR_Rein, Gayle Twitter Story: Part 4, Twitter. August 14, 2021.
- ↑ Fire Sanctuary, NieR Reincarnation Character Designs (English). September 5, 2020.
