Explosion of Light

The house rattled. The light faded and my vision was impaired as the once translucent girl rushed towards me claws and teeth gnashing. If it weren’t for Nyx chattering in my mind I wouldn’t have leapt from the bed in time to miss the grotesque fingers reaching for my leg.

I jumped off the bed reaching with in the heart of the phoenix feather melded into my chest and my body was engulfed in an inferno of fire that didn’t burn me. Nyx chittered away guiding my blinded actions as the girl who’d been idle before came at me with mouth open and arms out stretched. I knocked her hands from my body and she hissed as the flamed shrouding my skin grazed her nearly dead body.

Zombies looked different when they’d been dead a while. She was no longer alive, whatever had triggered her manifestation had killed her. I needed to figure that out — after I escaped the clutches of my once friendly visitor.

I didn’t know what happened to Alex. But he was just an echo — I hoped he was just an echo!

Nyx reassured me that Alex was fine — still an echo in all his translucent glory. I made my first attack and the girl growled and hissed as my fist to her chest ignited more of her flesh on fire. The clothes that had protected her from the desolate landscape in which she’d come ignited with ease but she came at me again relentless in her desire for flesh.

Another near escape but her hands were now emblazed with fire as she reached for me and I pulled out of her hands. A small scratch left from the sharp nails of her former self. I attacked again, and this time she fell to the ground and thrashed around as the flames took her.

The silence was deadly as the fire roared in my ears, but the flames barely licking anything important. There would be a scorch mark on the floor but a new program would wash it away with ease — after fixing any broken circuitry of course — not something I could do. An expense I’d have to invest in.

I waved my hand and concentrated hard on the fire now that the girl had fallen silent and still and the flames winked out. Safe for now. But every alarm in my house was going off. I had to go to work — the city had been breached and apparently not by just this one small zombified girl.

Alex was standing in my bedroom. His visage still see through and it made me happy. I passed my fingers over his cheek with a smile. “I have to go to work.” I said out loud.

“Will you read it to me again next time? I promise to listen better.”

Alex blinked at me and nodded. But he stared at the fallen girl. “I don’t know when I’ll be back. Sleep. Next time.” I said.

I didn’t wait for his acknowledgement or even his resolution. The alarms blared and I had a job to do. I grabbed my jumpsuit and pulled it on. It immediately changed to look like jeans and a t-shirt of the modern day and age on Shift #0. And I ran out the door. Nyx chittering in my ear about saving lives making him happy. It made me happy too.

Nox Luxignis is a Mystical Warrior who Bears the Phoenix Feather and Drifts from Shift #0

Advancement: □ +4 Stat □ +1 Edge □ +1 Effort □ Skill □ Nyx

Tier: 1
Effort: 1
Armor: 0

Recovery:
□ □ □ □
Damage:
□ □

Might:
■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ □ □ □
Speed: (1)
■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■
Intellect:
■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ □ □ □ □ □
XP:
■

Skills: (p): light weapons, (t): supernatural, artistic, speed defense when not wearing armor, computers, magic (i): mental defense, persuasion, deception, initiative, hear or notice danger

Cyphers: L2 Condition Remover, L5 Stim
Abilities: premonition, sense magic, hedge magic, manifest phoenix, shroud of flame, drift, determine shift
Weapons: unarmed (caestus) 2 – eased, unarmed (caestus) 4, blaster 4 long range

Equipment: programmable jump suit, pair of caestus, blaster, ring/eye computer, first aid pen, moderate slot, energy pack (50 shots), inexpensive slot, inexpensive slot, inexpensive slot, wooden stake, metallic phoenix feather (in chest)

Setup

Zombie Girl L3 (9), immediate, Health 12, bite – 3 damage

Initiative: N 14, Z 18

Z attacks N: 15 defense – miss
N shroud of flames: (int 12 to 11) +2 fire damage, +2 armor against fire
Z attacks N: 17 defense – miss (Zombie health 12 to 10)
N attacks Z: 6 attack – miss
Z attacks N: 8 defense – hit (might 13 to 10) zombie (health 10 to 8 fire damage)
N attacks Z: 13 attack – hit zombie (health 8 to 2)
Z attacks N: 14 defense – miss zombie (health 2 to 0)

1 int + 1(3) effort Hedge Magic the fire out (int 11 to 7)

Cypher System disclaimer and Open Game License
Numenera, the Cypher System, No Thank You, Evil!, Invisible Sun, and their respective logos are trademarks of Monte Cook Games, LLC in the U.S.A. and other countries. All Monte Cook Games characters and character names, and the distinctive likenesses thereof, are trademarks of Monte Cook Games, LLC. Content derived from Monte Cook Games publications is © 2013-2022 Monte Cook Games, LLC.