Chapter 1: A New World

I’ve finally done it. I cleared every bit of content and the entire story of GOD EATER 3.

Next up is using my clear data to start a New Game Plus.

Alright, let’s select New Game and dive back in.

Now then... I’ve played this through so many times and I'm pretty confident in my skills, so I think I’ll take the plunge and... play as a female character this time. I’ve always used a male avatar, but let's switch it up.

Thanks to the updates, you can freely change your appearance in-game anyway, but I’ve stuck with the same character for so long out of attachment that I never ended up tweaking him. Since I'm going to be re-watching the story from the beginning, I’d rather look at a fresh female design for hours on end than a guy’s backside. It’s not like the stats change between genders anyway. Cool guys are fine and all, but a "kawaii" female avatar has its own appeal.

After the opening cutscenes, it’s time for Character Customization. I choose the longest hairstyle. For the color, a gradient of silver-lavender purple. I add some fluffy red hair extensions to the center and sides. I give her sharp, piercing eyes with golden-yellow pupils—a look that’s both dignified and cute, a reliable but headstrong girl. For the skin tone, I go with a sun-kissed, glossy tan. Mmm, looking good. Her "buxom" proportions are definitely a sight to behold.

Oh, can’t forget the accessory: an eyepatch over the left eye. Perfect. She looks "cool-cute."

For the voice, I pick a brave yet soulful, deep-toned "big sister" type. The kind of voice that sounds like she’d say, "Ugh, just kill me already."

That should about do it. I can change the name and looks later at the Terminal, so I might tweak her again.

As for my gear, I’ve mostly only used the Variant Scythe, Heavy Moon, and Biting Edge. For guns, just the Sniper and Ray Gun. For shields, it was Tower Shields all the way, so I’ll probably stick to that.

The God Arcs I’m carrying over are already reinforced to +60, so I’m good to go. Items, Plug-in Skills, and my well-practiced Burst Arts are all set.

Let’s do this! GOD EATER 3!

I hit the confirm button on the controller to finish the character creation.

In that instant, my consciousness blacked out.

In the near future, the world was on the brink of collapse, most of it devoured by mysterious lifeforms known as Aragami that "consume" everything in their path.

This is an era where the only hope against the threat is the God Eaters—soldiers who wield God Arcs, biological weapons developed by the biochemistry corporation Fenrir.

However, humanity faced an even greater crisis with the emergence of the Ashlands, an unprecedented disaster. Those who narrowly survived built underground strongholds known as Ports. To combat the threat covering the surface, they created a new breed of soldiers: Adaptive God Eaters (AGE), individuals with high resistance to the Ashlands.

That girl was born in a small village built upon the ruins of an abandoned facility.

For a while—at least until she was ten—her life was peacefully unremarkable. Except, of course, for the fact that monsters called Aragami prowled everywhere, threatening humanity.

Her father wasn't a formal God Eater, but he was the only warrior in the village capable of fighting Aragami properly. Her mother didn't seem to have the same aptitude, but together as a "God Arc couple," they protected the village’s safety. Because of this, the daughter never doubted that this life would continue, and that she would one day become a God Eater just like her parents.

I had been reincarnated into the world of GOD EATER.

It took me a while to realize this was the world of God Eater. I figured it out because I saw my parents holding God Arcs. Plus, the monsters that occasionally attacked the village were the same Ogretails and other Aragami I saw in the game.

I was ecstatic. I had been reborn into my favorite game world. Why it happened was a mystery, but that was a minor detail. I wasn't sure which timeline this was, but geographically, it seemed to be Europe. Everyone was a foreigner; they weren't speaking Japanese.

Not being in the Far East Branch was fine. The real question was whether I could become a God Eater. This village was just a collection of shack-like Satellites connected to an old facility. I got excited seeing a machine that was clearly a Terminal.

Only my parents could use it, but it was so broken they couldn't even access the Archives. Disappointing. By the way, my parents were Second Generation types. I was jealous.

They never let me touch their God Arcs, though. They complained that because the facility's equipment was broken, maintenance was failing and the weapons were unstable.

I see. The classic setting—going berserk or eroding anyone other than the owner. That’s why they had to handle it themselves. Man, I want my own God Arc someday. Then I can go around slaughtering Aragami and feel like a total badass.

I was naive, entertaining such idle thoughts.

I understood nothing. I didn't realize how closely this apocalyptic world walked hand-in-hand with despair.

One day, that life came to an abrupt end. It was nothing special—just an Aragami attack, as usual.

But they came in massive numbers. A true swarm.

There were so many that two God Eaters couldn't possibly handle them. My father challenged a large-type Aragami, only to be brutally slaughtered. The fleeing villagers were eaten one by one. My mother acted as a decoy to let me escape and was devoured, head-first, right in front of me.

As I was drenched crimson by my mother’s blood, I thought: Ah, so this is the end. Game Over before I even started.

Just then, several God Eaters wearing bangles on both arms—AGEs—appeared from nowhere and saved me. That was the moment I realized I was in the world of GOD EATER 3.

As the sole survivor, I was taken away... and promptly thrown into a cage.

It was a cruel fate, but I was alive. That was all. Such tragedies were common occurrences here. The problem was that this Port wasn't Pennywort.

The people at this Port seemed to believe they could rise to power by hoarding supplies and renting out AGEs as mercenaries to surrounding Ports. Their ambition was impressive, perhaps even delusional enough to think they could rule this chaotic, Aragami-dominated world. I don't know what kind of calculations or chances of success they thought they had.

And so, I became what I had longed to be: a God Eater, an AGE.

There were a few other boys and girls like me, including children. But there was a catch. The guards would take us out of our cells and force us to fight Aragami.

And they treated us like nameless dolls. My young body was used as a plaything for the guards' amusement. When they grew bored, they sent me back to the cell. That cycle became my daily routine.

Years passed. Only a few AGEs had been lucky enough to survive. Since the day I was brought here, the abuse had never stopped.

I was now the female character I had created. Ironically, my eyepatch wasn't a fashion choice; I wore it because an Aragami had taken my eye.

Another new female God Eater was being toyed with just like me, but recently, she committed suicide by intentionally letting an Aragami eat her during a mission.

We couldn't run away. The Dual Bangles controlled our bodies. The only time we had a shred of freedom was during combat. She took that opening. I didn't even have time to stop her. It was over in an instant.

As the last remaining girl, I was no longer a person; I had been reduced to a sexual outlet for the guards. My other comrades—nameless members of the combat team—were too busy trying to survive to do anything but look away. No one was going to save me. Everyone feigned ignorance to avoid severe punishment. I was used to it.

Living a life like a maggot swarming on rotting meat, I eventually began to train my body.

I had realized the truth. I wasn't the "protagonist." Hugo and the others weren't here. This wasn't Pennywort. My fellow AGEs were desperate just to stay alive. They didn't have the luxury to care about anyone else. Neither did I. If that was the case, the only thing I could trust, the only thing I could rely on, was myself. Instead of harboring expectations that someone would fix things, I had to do something with my own power.

I remembered the rudimentary, play-like training methods I had begged my failed GE father to teach me when I was a child. I repeated those exercises endlessly. By "allowing" the guards to use my body, I obtained sufficient food as payment and built up my muscle.

Someday, an opportunity to escape would come. When it did, this trained body would be my weapon. Holding onto that thought was the only thing that kept my mind from breaking.

Day by day, my body grew sturdier through battles with Aragami, but the guards didn't care and continued to use me for their pleasure. Perhaps by devouring and defiling my body—which was becoming more muscular and attractively curvaceous—they were venting their daily frustrations.

It seemed the leadership changed. The Head Guard became a greasy, fat old man. A piece of trash pig who looked at my tanned body with a lecherous, slavering gaze. The faces of the guards changed, too. But what they did never changed. And that went for both me and them.

And so, as the months passed and the faces of the rulers and those who raped me shifted, the day finally came. I finally took action.

Perhaps my daily conduct was exceptionally good. Or perhaps it was exceptionally bad. That day, an Ash Storm occurred.

The tempest of Devouring Ash spread nearby, leaving the guards bewildered and panicked.

They started to flee, leaving everything behind to save their own skins. Usually, the protocol was to open the cells and let the detained AGEs escape as well, but they ignored the rules and tried to run. They were the kind of people who would rape a defenseless woman; of course they wouldn't follow regulations.

I was in the Head Guard’s room at the time, providing my usual "service." I sensed the commotion. I wouldn't let this long-awaited, golden opportunity slip by.

The Head Guard panicked, trying to flee half-naked in whatever he was wearing. In contrast to him, I acted with total calm.

The fat Head Guard, who had brought me to his room and was pinning me down on the creaking bed like a piece of property, heard the noise. As this slab of "excess fat soon to be turned into ham" tried to scramble off me to escape, I grabbed the boar’s head, yanked it back, and swept his legs at the same time, kicking him down. And then—

I stomped on his neck with everything I had.

There was a dull thud through the layers of fat. His neck twisted in an impossible direction, his body convulsed violently, and then he went still. Ignoring the carcass of the slaughtered pig, I stripped him of his clothes, his gun, his gear, and the Access Key for the bangles. I unlocked my restraints and stepped outside.

Once outside, I used the gun I stole from the Head Guard to shoot down every panicked guard in sight, one after another. Even when the bullets ran out, I could deal damage by bludgeoning them with the heavy metal frame. With my muscle and the strength of a God Eater, every hit was a lethal blow.

Kill. And kill again. I stomped on the backs of those crawling away, snapping their spines. I slammed their faces into walls until they were embedded, crushing them like tomatoes. I knew this wouldn't truly clear my head. But I had to do it. Otherwise, my rage wouldn't subside.

I slaughtered them all. I shot, beat, and strangled every guard I laid eyes on. Once I had killed most of them, I left the scene and headed to the God Arc Hangar. Perhaps because they were in a rush, the management was sloppy, and the hangar was left unlocked. I grabbed my partner, my God Arc, from the rack and started running at full tilt.

I didn't look back at the village where I grew up, the Port where I suffered, or the other AGEs left behind. As the Ash Storm intensified, no one followed me.

Was it the joy of freedom? Was it the sudden regret of abandoning my comrades? Or was it the years of endured suffering finally erupting? Tears wouldn't stop flowing.

I wiped my cheeks and fled from the Port as it was swallowed by the Ash Storm. I just kept running, further and further away.

When I eventually looked back, the Port was already submerged in the dark vortex of devouring ash. My heart didn't waver. There was nothing left inside.

No more orders. No more being used as a toy. No more need to run. If anything, I felt refreshed. My chest felt empty in a way that brought peace. If anyone tried to hunt me down, I’d just kill them.

Then, I realized something. I had no way to make a living. It made sense; I was raised in a ruined village and then chained in a cell. I hadn't learned any way to earn money.

The funds I took wouldn't last forever. I had to do something with this as my starting capital. But the only thing I had was—

But what did I have?

I had this body, forged by constant battle with Aragami. I had a God Arc. I was a God Eater. What profession could utilize this? A mercenary hunting Aragami? No, I was sick of being surrounded by people like those guards. Then what? Maybe I should just attack Ports or passing ships and become a bandit.

As I pondered my options, Aragami began to gather in the area, slowly closing in on me.

Well, whatever. I have time. I’ll think about it slowly.

I readied my Variant Scythe.