Characters/CODE:I

"CODE:I is the guardian of Cancer. She is also a member of the resistance that fights for equality in the mechanical city of 'Neoncra', which is a city divided between the technologically advanced Upper District and the cyberpunk-like Lower District."

— In-game description

CODE:I is one of the characters in KALPA. She can be obtained in the Pleiades Shop for 100 Dark Matter, or by buying her pack for 500 Star Fragments.

Name
CODE:I's name is likely an allusion to her cyborg nature.

Appearance
CODE:I has long, straight black hair with chartreuse streaks; it is cut in long, uneven layers and kept in twintails. Her bangs are cut on an angle, and are long enough to cover her right eye. She wears a hair clip shaped like three diamonds, as well as triangular earrings. Her eyes are a cool red. CODE:I always has the same facial expression; the only changes in her countenance are the direction of her gaze and whether or not she is blushing.

She wears a sleeveless off-white empire-waisted dress with a futuristic aesthetic; it has a cutout above the chest as well as yellow and chartreuse decorations. A black belt is also visible. She also wears an oversized black jacket — low enough to expose her shoulders — with an iridescent green belt and hem. The top of her jacket is a gradient ranging from orange to chartreuse, and is overlaid with a grid pattern; some squares are noticeably lighter than others. An off-white cuff with slits above the sleeves flares out from this portion of the jacket. The sleeves of the jacket are black with white segments running down the length of each sleeve, and chartreuse laces crisscrossing these segments. CODE:I also wears an off-white collar with yellow decorations and gray lining, to which a short black tie is attached with a yellow star pin, as well as a pair of black gloves with chartreuse highlights. She does not wear shoes, as her legs are silver robotic prosthetics with green highlights. The left prosthetic ends midthigh, with the transition between it and her leg marked with a black band, but the right appears to extend completely up her leg.

In her character art, CODE:I is depicted holding a weapon with a blade of pure energy; it appears in her second story entry and has additional effects shown with some of her dialogue lines.

CODE:I is always accompanied by Q–Q, a drone in the vague shape of a crab. It has a short cylindrical body, and is predominantly silver with green highlights. A pair of protrusions with more green highlights are attached to its top surface, with a second pair of protrusions — shaped differently and reminiscent of feet — are located beneath it. It has a black screen for its face, and its display changes depending on the emotion CODE:I is expressing; the display color is typically green, but red — as are the rest of its highlights — when she is angry. Q–Q is flanked by a pair of green lights, and possesses a pair of floating limbs resembling a crab's claws.

CODE:I
Requirement: Unlock CODE:I

Transcript: CODE:I, is a cyborg who always has a shy expression on her face.

She is the guardian of Cancer and used to be the first in line for inheriting KEMAT, the company that controls the quickly developed mechanical nation of Neoncara.

Neoncra is formed of the Upper District, which is filled with skyscrapers reaching for the skies, and the Lower District, which has no source of light except for neon signs.

The technologically developed cyberpunk-like look of the Neoncra stemmed from the characteristics of the Cybrachyura inhibiting it.

The Cybrachurya once longed and lived for love.

Because they were so full of emotion, there were many cases of those taking their lives when emotionally wounded.

As the problem grew large enough to threaten the population with extinction, the government sought a solution.

The government gave full support to KEMAT, which was researching about replacing body parts with machines.

After some trial and error, the government and KEMAT turned most of the Cybrachyura citizens into cyborgs with a method that would transform their bodies and restrict their emotions.

However, they later faced backlash for forced surgeries, differences in modifications among different classes, and the fact that they added a program that could be used to control people through manipulating thoughts and emotions.

CODE:I, who realized through this situation that her happy life was built upon many people’s sacrifices, rejected her grandfather’s offer of inheriting KEMAT and left for the Lower District with her drone ‘QㅡQ’.

After learning about the resistance of the Lower District fighting against the government, she decided to help them with her knowledge and power.

Although the resistance at first shunned and doubted her for being the granddaughter of the KEMAT’s chairman they later accepted her after seeing her starting from the bottom, willingly taking on petty chores and fighting at the frontline. She soon was promoted to the position of Brigadier General for her talents in mechanics and proven performance.

Utilizing the knowledge that she learned as the heir of KEMAT and the power of amplification that she received after becoming the guardian of Cancer, she became responsible for supplying weapons with her gifted skills of making and repairing supplies.

Weaponry and equipment reborn through CODE:I’s unit have greater firepower and endurance, which led to the previously lacking resistance coming to equal levels with the government army.

She is often mistaken for a cold-hearted person due to the pressure from her high rank and the mechanized body without a function for presenting emotions, which keeps her from making varied facial expressions.

However, she is still a sensitive teenage girl who uses the handcrafted assistant drone ‘QㅡQ’ to express herself and is sadly disappointed whenever others find her discomforting.

Because she is so shy around people, though, her sentences tend to end in a small and unclear voice which makes people hard to understand what she says.

That is why she equipped ‘QㅡQ’ with the ability to express emotions for her instead.

Unfortunately the drone relays all of her secret emotions unfiltered as well, so she often forcibly shuts down ‘QㅡQ’.

Due to this adorable side of her, the fighters call her the angel of the battlefield.

Even when continued battles take a toll on the mind and the body, her shy encouragements to the tired people in the barracks regardless of their rank make them smile and grant a sense of peace.

The experts of the Neoncra have come to a conclusion that not realizing the value of CODE:I early on is one of the reasons for the continued defeats of KEMAT and the government army.

CODE:I did not care much about the world’s view of her.

The only important thing was Zerr, the guardian of Gemini.

She approached him for research after seeing him at the meeting among the 12 guardians, intrigued by how he freely expressed his thoughts and emotions without being intimidated.

But as she continued observing him, she found herself with a quickly beating heart and heated temperature, as if her body maintenance program was malfunctioning.

She could not help but admit that she came to like Zerr, as she kept thinking of his face day and night.

She confessed to him on the last day of the meeting, asking him to take her with him, but was rejected with the answer that the right time has not yet come.

She is currently heartbroken over this.

Raid
Requirement: Accomplish CODE:I's 1st Reverse

Transcript: The lowest area of Neoncra.

In this desolate place full of steam, heat, and dust from the machinery reside the members of the resistance, who rose against the government and KEMAT that control and censor people’s emotions forcibly. In the Maintenance District, responsible for all the weapons and supplies that the resistance used to fight against the army, a soldier’s stiff voice was heard.

“Brigadier General CODE:I! May I be allowed to enter!”

“....yes.”

[Permission-You may come in.]

From the room came a shy voice of a girl, followed by a cold voice of a machine.

There was a sound of a door opening. Inside the room was a drone with a question mark popping up on its monitor, and a cute girl, CODE:I, who put down the gun that she was fixing to look at the soldier.

“Purpose. What is it.”

[Curiosity-What purpose are you here for?]

The soldier looked surprised at first, but quickly calmed down and explained his purpose.

“Thanks to the hoverboard that you, the Brigadier General, have upgraded, the resistance was able to win against the army in the battle yesterday.”

Hearing the soldier’s words, CODE:I looked at him again. Although her face showed no change as if the message of victory did not delight her, her drone QㅡQ was displaying an expression of great happiness.

“Glad..relieved.”

[Joy-I am glad to be of assistance. I feel relieved.]

“Haha, I think that the army and KEMAT must be biting their nails right now. Ever since you, CODE:I, have joined us, they have been only facing defeat.”

The soldier went on with an affable smile.

“The enemy’s top brass seems to be in a difficult situation. Enough so that they’d hire a savage mercenary like me for an assassination.”

As soon as he finished the sentence, the soldier took a combat knife from his pocket and lunged upon CODE:I with a crazed look on his face.

“Danger. What are.”

[Shock-What are you doing.]

Evading the soldier running towards her, CODE:I removed a hilt from her inner pocket.

As she grabbed the hilt, powerful energy emanated from it in the shape of a blade, clashing against the knife that the soldier once again lunged with.

Snip. There was a sound of something being cut, and soon there was only a broken half of a knife within the soldier’s hand.

“Yeah. I guess I can’t win on the weapon level. There’s a reason why the army keeps losing.”

“...give up.”

[Anger-Warning. Surrender. You cannot win against me. You are mistaken if you believe that I received this position on my mechanical skills alone.]

What the girl wanted to say flowed out instead from the angry-faced QㅡQ.

“We’ll see about that. My specialty is not assassinating with weapons, but martial arts!”

The soldier threw away the broken knife and threatened her by getting into a fighting stance with his fists clenched.

“Eugh.”

[Advice- I recommend that you do not attempt close-quarter fighting against me.]

Seeing that the soldier did not surrender, CODE:I put away her blade showily.

“What are you doing!”

“Fighting, on the same level.”

[Ridicule=I will fight under the same conditions. I hope that your skills make up for your big words.]

“How dare you mock me like this!!!!!!”

With that cry as a signal, CODE:I and the soldier clashed again and again.

As the battle continued with exchanging blows, the soldier became anxious. After purposely distancing himself, he rushed towards his target by propelling himself with momentum. CODE:I, who was calmly concentrating on his movements, did not miss this chance. She dodged the fast-moving fist, caught him from behind, and bound him with ropes.

“Grgh…”

“Feeling resentment? So selfish…”

[Annoyance-Are you feeling resentment? To think that the common people are deprived of their emotions and controlled while the Upper Area citizens like you can express their emotions freely, even when you are expressing petty frustration over this small loss.]

“Shut up. You are the disgusting, hypocritical one that decided to side with the filthy workers of the Lower District. This would have never happened if you just decided to inherit KEMAT and rule over those ignorant people!!”

The soldier went on, with a hint of determination on his face.

“Haha. At least they will commend my achievement if I take you down with me. Goodbye, hypocrite.”

With those words, the soldier activated the self-destruction device that he had hidden between his teeth.

“Foolish man..QㅡQ.. Amplification. Barrier. Activate.”

[Core energy amplified. Barrier mode is activated. Protecting the area from the explosion.]

It took mere seconds for the drone to unfold an energy field that surrounded the soldier.

A great sound of explosion followed, but any hint of the explosion was left only where the soldier originally was, and other places were left unharmed.

As CODE:I expressionlessly looked at the remnants of the explosion, with QㅡQ showing a face of dejection, a group of armed resistance soldiers entered from the door behind them.

“Brigadier General CODE:I! We heard a big sound, are you all right?”

“I am fiiine..”

[Secret expectation- I fought against an enemy that sneaked in. I was actually scared but tried not to let it show. I tried my best. I want to brag about how cool I was. I wish that someone will compliment me.]

Seeing the QㅡQ showing an embarrassed expression, a resistance soldier quickly complimented her.

“Gre…great job, Brigadier General. As you always do.”

“......QㅡQ. System down.”

[System down.]

CODE:I gave a glance towards the soldier after catching the drone that shut down.

“Aah..please..go outside…I’m embarrassed..”

A day in the life of the Brigadier General CODE:I, a girl filled with emotions inside despite being expressionless on the outside, was thus finished.

Diary of CODE : I
Requirement: Accomplish CODE:I's 2nd Reverse

Transcript: The siren rang, signifying the enemy's attack against the lower part of Neoncra.

“Be careful! The enemy has attacked! Everyone, get yourself equipped and ready!”

There was a rain of bullets and thundering noises from powerful guns. There were moans from wounded soldiers on both sides. The acrid smell of blood flowed.

This was a war between the government and KEMAT who wanted to control everything and the resistance force that aimed to find freedom.

Although I wanted to go to the frontline and defeat the enemies, my mission was to protect this base from any attacks.

Troops without supplies are destined to lose. Because I know that this is a very important mission, I can only pray that the equipment from this base will be of help to others.

I realized that the desperate noises stopped sounding at some point. Finding that the alert has been turned off, I went outside of the camp to take a look.

The situation was dire as I thought. There was a destroyed base, sounds of agony everywhere, and medics following those sounds.

A soldier replaced his expression of pain with a smile when he saw me, even though he was bleeding on the ground from his wounds.

“Sir yes sir! Brigadier general, my life was saved thanks to this bulletproof jacket that you worked on!”

I could tell that he was making an effort for me because he knew that I could not go to the frontline.

After asking the medic to get him treated, I made Q_Q express a smiling face and went back to the camp. I write my feelings down here in the diary.

Kalpa, why did you revive everyone in Cancer? Are you saying that KEMAT and the government is also just in some way? Are you ignoring our pain and agony? You may be the savior of the universe, Kalpa, but you are not everyone’s savior.

Main Menu
[Greetings-Nice to meet you. I am CODE:I. I hope that we will get along.] [Adoration-Please look at me, Sir Zerr.] [Redemption. I decided to live my life for them.] [Admiration-I heard of a guardian who can move people's hearts with a song. I admire them.] [Amplified. Battle mode ON. - QㅡQ Eliminating all enemies.] [Anger-I will not forgive KEMAT and the government.] [Concentration-Hard at work] [Suspicion-Was it you?] [Joy - The saltiness of soy sauce and the chewy crab meat. Absolute delight. Just thinking of it makes me happy.]
 * "Hello. I am CODE:I."
 * "Sir Zerr..how can he be so true to his em ot io ns   ...."
 * "My life. Sacrificed ma ny pe op le    ...."
 * "A guardian who can move people's hearts with a song.... I am je al oo ous   ...."
 * "Brigadier General CODE:I on standby." [Waiting for orders-Waiting again. I am tired. How much longer should I wait?] "Q…! QㅡQ system down!"
 * "Amplification. QㅡQ. Expanding the area of detection. Destroyer mode."
 * "KEMAT. The government. I will make the selfish people pay the pr ice   ...."
 * "Raise the output by using the power of amplification here.."
 * "....it feels like somebody's wat ch ing me ee    ...."
 * "Marinated crab, the meeting of soy sauce and crab.. ma kes my heart beat    ...."
 * "Z…z…Z…..hm..Sir Zerr…" [Charge mode - Charging]

Profile
[Greetings-Nice to meet you. I am CODE:I. I hope that we'll get along.]
 * "Hello, I am CODE:I."

Pleiades
[Happiness – My name is CODE I. Nice to meet you. I hope that we get along.]
 * "Hello, my..CODE:I. Nice to meet you.."

Skill
"Strangee..InefficentCostPerformanceStructureI...willhelp ...." ''[Question-It's sad to see such a bad cost performance. I'll adjust this for you.]'' — Flavor text

CODE:I's skill adds a bonus to the player's Cumulative ranking score in the Dark Area. The exact amount of the bonus will always be 4% of the score obtained that run. Thumb and Multi Finger ranking scores are not affected by this skill, and it has no effect outside of ranking seasons.

CODE:I is highly beneficial to players who can clear Chaos and Cosmos charts and are looking to place in the Cumulative rankings. However, Thumb Mode players will benefit more from Ares' skill's bonus, or from using Aste's skill to play S.Hard+, Chaos, and Cosmos charts without consequences.