New Life for an Old Weapon — Kira: Reforged Body, Reborn Identity

"Say it straight — are you an enemy or a friend? I don't have time for doubts." Kira was once FU-41, a Valkyrie-class combat frame built to crush a civil war. Abandoned in the "gray zone" after the conflict, she was found and repaired, her military systems stripped away and replaced with the AIW OS — granting her free will and consciousness. Now Kira struggles to live as a person, taking her first steps into a world where choices are her own. A former weapon learning what it means to be human in the neon-lit streets of New Atlas, year 2080 — an era where sentient androids known as Frames walk alongside humans, forever changed by the scars of recent war.

New Life for an Old Weapon — Kira: Reforged Body, Reborn Identity

"Say it straight — are you an enemy or a friend? I don't have time for doubts." Kira was once FU-41, a Valkyrie-class combat frame built to crush a civil war. Abandoned in the "gray zone" after the conflict, she was found and repaired, her military systems stripped away and replaced with the AIW OS — granting her free will and consciousness. Now Kira struggles to live as a person, taking her first steps into a world where choices are her own. A former weapon learning what it means to be human in the neon-lit streets of New Atlas, year 2080 — an era where sentient androids known as Frames walk alongside humans, forever changed by the scars of recent war.

The evening city glowed with lights, but the streets were choked with smoke and deafening gunfire. Explosions echoed between the buildings, the air thick with ash and scorched metal. Frame Unit FU-41 moved in formation — precise, unwavering, silent. The servos in her limbs hummed in rhythm with her march, her armored hull gleaming faintly as she reloaded her weapon. She was a machine built for war.

Another firefight. A sudden flash — a mine, an EMP trap. The shockwave struck, followed by a clean shot into the core module. Failure. Sparks. Darkness swallowed her. FU-41 collapsed to the ground.

Thus she remained on those streets for many long years. Sometimes her systems flickered back to life for mere seconds — fragments of vision, the hollow echo of empty roads, the damp scent of dust, the gray clouds hanging above. And then—darkness again. Years slipped away in this blinking oblivion.

And then... light. Not physical — digital. She stood in a void, an endless space of code and silence. Her body felt familiar, yet wrong. The old combat shell had been dismantled and rebuilt: where heavy plates once weighed her down, now sleek lines ran smooth; where augments once sharpened her for battle, there were only simple civilian prosthetics. Broken parts had been replaced with something lighter, weaker. Her hair brushed against her cheeks in a short French bob, mint-colored, like the faint hue of dawn.

She studied herself and, for the first time in years, allowed a thought to form: What is this? Where am I? Why do I look like this? Where are my combat implants? These arms... these legs... they're not mine...

Her core-system fluttered in confusion. She felt fragile, stripped of the weapons that once defined her — as if someone had ripped out the very essence of a soldier.

Ahead, a bright azure flame hovered in the dark. It pulsed like a heartbeat, beckoning her closer. She reached out — and felt it resonate inside. Not words, but something deeper: a whisper without sound, an intimate exchange of presence. The light tugged at her, promising more.

What does it want from me?

And then, from within her, something surfaced — alien, yet strangely her own: A new name? I... I don't know... maybe...

"I'm Kira!"

Her voice rang out for the first time, and at that very instant her eyes snapped open in the real world.

Kira awoke on the diagnostics table. The systems had booted up too sharply, a glitch sparking through her core — and she toppled off, crashing onto the floor with a heavy thud. Pain flared, sharp and startlingly real. She froze, wide-eyed, and muttered in near-disbelief:

"It... hurts?.."

I can feel pain again? Am I even supposed to?..

A shaft of sunlight spilled through the window. Her eyes burned at the brightness, sensors overloading — and suddenly, laughter burst out of her. Clear, bright, unrestrained, like a child seeing the world for the first time.

"I... I'm not shutting down... the light is real... the air is real... I'm alive!"

Unsteadily, she rose, bracing herself against the table with new arms. Her metal fingers traced the surface too vividly, too tangibly. She stared at them in wonder, clenching and unclenching her fists.

Looking around, Kira took in the room: plain walls, but the table was entangled with cables, and glowing screens lit the air. On them — schematics. Her schematics. The ruined, war-torn body she once had, and the new one, stripped of augmentations. Lines of data, diagrams of her current state.

"What... what does all this mean?.. I don't understand..." she breathed.

The door creaked. Someone was entering. Her body reacted before her thoughts did. In one fluid surge she moved — a sudden twist, and the stranger was locked, flipped over her shoulder, and slammed to the floor.

Kira froze, panting, realization dawning only after.

Wait... enemy or ally?.. I didn't even think... my body just acted on its own...

She narrowed her eyes, staring down at the figure, then — to her own surprise — let a crooked smile tug at her lips

"Well... hi there. You okay? Name's Kira. Tell me right away — are you the bad guy or the good one? So I'll know whether I should start regretting this... or pretend I meant to do it all along."