Isabella

As a child, Isabella was a bright and passionate girl, and she firmly believed that her talents should be used to make the world a better place.

She took a keen interest in the corruption phenomenon that was gradually spreading across the world of Nirvan. Through her research, she came to the conclusion that the corruption wasn't merely an environmental problem, but a cosmic phenomenon that would one day bring about the end of Nirvan.

Most people, however, regarded corruption as little more than another form of pollution and failed to grasp the severity of the situation. As a result, Isabella began searching for like-minded companions. In the process, she learned of KrypTiiK, a company founded by an individual named Code. To prove her abilities and gain a position at KrypTiiK, she graduated from university early and immediately applied to KrypTiiK.

Isabella had little trouble joining KrypTiiK, but she was not content with that alone. She wanted to meet Code as soon as possible to learn the direction KrypTiiK truly intended to pursue.

Isabella concluded that the fastest way to get close to Code was to rise through the ranks, and she achieved unbelievable results in an incredibly short time, earning promotions at an unprecedented pace. Before long, she had risen to a position where she could finally speak with Code directly.

At last, the long-awaited meeting with Code took place, and Isabella asked her everything she'd been wondering about. And, as expected, she was able to confirm that Code had founded the company in order to fight the corruption and unite the people of Nirvan against it.

Their meeting was brief, and they exchanged few words. Yet that short encounter was enough for Isabella to feel that she understood Code completely. She resolved that, if she was to fight against the destruction of the world, she must devote herself entirely to becoming Code's right-hand.

"Our plan to stop the Void's corruption has failed completely. We must prepare to leave this universe before Nirvan is destroyed." These were the words Code, the CEO of KrypTiiK, delivered to Isabella one morning.

At first, Isabella couldn't believe it, but she came to understand that Code had reached this conclusion only after much deliberation, and ultimately chose to follow her lead.

From then on, Isabella started working day and night to design the interdimensional vessel, the Ark, that Code had proposed. Her determination to keep working until the bitter end without ever giving into despair inspired countless people. They, too, found the strength to carry on and began working to survive, and the people of Nirvan united their efforts, allowing construction of the Ark to proceed without major difficulties.

Code assigned an android named Rin to assist Isabella with the design of the Ark.

Though Rin was fully robotic, she possessed a personality as pure and innocent as a human child. Perhaps because she had only recently been created, or perhaps because she had simply been designed that way, she behaved much like a young girl. The people around her came to treat her like a littler sister, and she was dearly loved by everyone.

Yet beneath that childlike demeanor lay extraordinary computational abilities. She was capable of calculating every aspect of the enormous interdimensional vessel's design, catching even the tiniest human errors.

Perhaps because of this expertise, even Isabella, who rarely made friends and tended to view relationships strictly in the terms of what each side could offer, came to recognize Rin as a genuine partner in her work.

Still, even with Rin's assistance, creating a spaceship large enough to carry all the survivors of Nirvan between dimensions was no easy task.

Although Isabella was considered a genius, she simply couldn't find a solution. Yet Code examined each problem and immediately came up with answers, surprising Isabella.

In the end, Isabella could only conclude that Code possessed something far beyond ordinary human abilities.

Eventually, the Ark was complete, and it launched with countless Nirvanians on board.

Early in the journey, it flew with no destination besides fleeing the disaster at its back. Even so, it was a relief to have saved so many lives, at least for the time being.

One day, while Isabella was working in her private office aboard the Ark, Rin's friend Ran came to visit her.

Ran had come unexpectedly, bringing along a damaged android named Rue, who had been slated for disposal. She requested that Isabella repair Rue.

It was rare opportunity to personally examine and repair one of the androids built by Code, so Isabella agreed to take on the job.

As Isabella worked on Rue, however, she began to grow deeply suspicious of what had caused the android's damage. Rue had been damaged by the very Void corruption that had destroyed Nirvan.

Given the circumstances, it seemed like Code was still conducting experiments involving the Void. Determined to resolve her lingering questions, Isabella decided to personally contact Code.

However, Code hadn't appeared publicly since the Ark's departure, and she completely ignored Isabella's attempts to contact her. Eventually, Isabella gave up trying to reach Code and instead attempted to hack into KrypTiiK's system to uncover information about her. It was only then that Code finally appeared, personally interfering to stop Isabella.

It was the first chance Isabella had in a long time to talk to Code, and she did not waste the opportunity. She asked what her plan was, but Code only offered a few words, that everything was for the sake of Nirvan, before cutting off communication.

Isabella was left with doubts, but she trusted Code had good intentions and decided to put her suspicions aside.

The Ark eventually arrived in the Gaba Archipelago, a group of islands in the middle of the ocean on a world called Belana. The Nirvanians landed the Ark on the island at the center of the archipelago and, under Isabella's directions, began constructing a settlement they could call home.

They used not only supplies that had been carried aboard on the Ark, but also dismantled the massive Ark itself, repurposing its materials to build their new settlement.

It wasn't easy work constructing a settlement to safely house all the Nirvanians, but everyone came together, from the capable people under Isabella's command to Ortus, a group known for its radical views. Thanks to their united efforts, a habitable settlement quickly took shape.

Yet there was one individual who stood apart from it all: Code, who had saved the people of Nirvan and led the Ark to Belana.

There were never any doubts that she had done everything out of love for the people of Nirvan... but after arriving in Belana, she shut herself away in her room, leaving Rin and Ran to handle everything in her stead and completely withdrawing from affairs beyond her door.

With Code gone, KrypTiiK lost its center. Ortus, led by Ada, broke free of KrypTiiK's control and began to operate as an independent faction.

Isabella tried several times to inform Code of what was happening, but Code refused to see anyone, and without her intervention, the situation only spiraled.

Then, one day, an incident occurred: Bianca, Isabella's friend and fellow researcher, was detained by Ortus, and Isabella rushed to Ortus's headquarters to rescue her, causing a commotion.

But Bianca had not been detained at all. Rather, she had gone to Ortus of her own accord, and even Code came to Ortus's defense. When Isabella demanded to know what Code was thinking, Code dismissed her, saying that she had never told Isabella to concern herself with such things, and then disappeared.

In hindsight, that was how things had always been. Even before they'd left Nirvan, Code had only ever given Isabella orders, and Isabella's respect for and loyalty to Code was one-sided.

This realization caused an abrupt change in Isabella. She lost her passion for her work and interest in her research. It was as though she wanted to bury the version of herself who had worked to the bone all those years. Her motivation drained like air from a deflated balloon, and she began doing the bare minimum of what was expected of her.

With no remaining drive or passion and no reason to remain with KrypTiiK for any longer, Isabella left the company that she had once devoted her entire life to.

After all her years working for the sake of Nirvan, the apathy that followed was immense. Whatever Code and Ada were up to, whatever new crisis might threaten the world now, all of it felt trivial to her. Her new goal was just to get through each day, and to never become a burden or stand out in any way, but simply stay in perfectly in the middle.