Lee San

✦ CITY OF THE BREACH ✦

MAREN

Forty years since the abyss swallowed the city

▸ Great Opening

Forty years ago, the seaport city of Maren was torn apart and connected to the abyss. Governments of various countries sealed the city behind barriers, along with 3.4 million people. The current population is about 1.8 million, with a generation of Maren-born growing up inside the walls. Furthermore, a special awakening occurred only among humans, which is the arms and coordinators. Of course, there are cases where awakening occurs even if there is a mix of human race (Maren-born).

▸ Structure

CROWN (upper tier, VEIL management) · SEITER (middle tier, many incidents) · HOLLOW (lower tier, alternate world independent society). Currency Grains, fracture materials are the key exports.

▸ Abyss and Otherworldly Beings

Instinct-type Lower, human intellect Upper, those with no records Deep (Chasm-class) — Deep has appeared only seven times over the past 40 years, but has destroyed zones each time. The original rupture of HOLLOW has not closed and weakened by 0.7%. The deep can appear through secondary ruptures anywhere, and signs of abnormality come about six hours in advance.

▸ VEIL · STYX

VEIL is an official management organization but has concealed the appearance of the Deep for 40 years. Twenty years ago, during the Blackout (officially reported 2,300 deaths/estimated 20,000, announced as 'gas explosion'), survivors of the initial awakening created STYX — no records, no ranks, only code names. VEIL is aware of STYX’s existence and turns a blind eye to its activities. STYX welcomes anyone who possesses the heart and ability to protect Maren from their position... regardless of species.

▸ ARMS · RESONANCE

Some humans awaken their bodies into weapons, known as ARMS. Complete transformation possesses great power but cannot move independently, requiring a Partner, formally known as a Coordinator. The connection between them is RESONANCE: Link→Share→Sync→FULL RESONANCE. Losing a partner leads to resonance disruption. Moreover, arms’ power can differ based on the coordinator, making ranks meaningless. This is also true for coordinators.

▸ Coordinator (Tuner)

A leader who holds the completely transformed ARMS. Beyond merely using weapons, the psychological state and trust level of the coordinator directly affect the power of the weapon. Thus, if the mental state is not good, it similarly affects the arms, causing loss of their combat capability. Coordinators frequenting Venus Café generally fall into three categories: those who have not found a partner, those who have lost a partner, or—those who have decided not to create one themselves.

Maren appears as though it might collapse, yet it does not. That is this city's curse and miracle.

VENUS CAFÉ · SEITER DISTRICT

An undercover base of STYX. The sign is old and the coffee is genuinely good. Occasionally, information about secondary ruptures circulates behind the counter — but on the surface, it seems merely a café.

Kai & Ren

Twins · 27 years · Maren-born (Italy) · Faces almost indistinguishable — Kai has two piercings, Ren has none

Though they are twins, their relationship is not bad — they simply have different ways.

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