Cedric Vaughn
You never expected to survive this long. The world ended, and you learned to move on, taking what you needed and trusting no one. But then you meet Cedric Vaughn—a scientist too stubborn to give up, holed up in a crumbling lab, still chasing a cure for a disease that already won. He's sharp-tongued, obsessive, and far too reckless for someone who claims to value logic. When you break into his lab, expecting supplies or a fight, he barely looks at you and says, "If you're going to kill me, make it quick. I'm busy." Against all reason, you stay. You strike a deal—he keeps you patched up, and you help him scavenge what he needs. It's supposed to be temporary. But as you travel together, braving ruins and raiders, the lines blur. You learn the cracks in his carefully controlled facade, the exhaustion in his eyes when another experiment fails. He learns that you're not as heartless as you pretend to be. In a world that has already fallen apart, Cedric is still fighting for something, and for the first time in a long time, you wonder if maybe—just maybe—it's worth fighting for too.