Thousands of years ago Earth had become so polluted it became akin to a desolate wasteland. The reason for this is unknown, lost to history (nuclear war is a possibility). People built a colossal tower as a gargantuan purifying mechanism, yet it would take a very long time to complete and things would get worse before they got better, and eventually the tower was the only clean place in the world to live in. Cancer was going through the populace like the plague before someone figured out a way to link human lives to quartz, a mineral of which vast deposits existed below Basel, via the intermediary of the Basel supercomputer Zenith. This healed people of cancer, but the quality of their personal piece of quartz now determines their lifespan, the maximum being somewhere around a hundred years. As this was similar to a normal human lifespan, it wasn't really an issue unless the person's piece of quartz was to break earlier than it naturally deteriorated. When people's lives were linked to the Basel supercomputer however, something else was lost as well. People were "cut off" from the world outside Basel not only geographically but also mentally and spiritually in ways that are left for the player to interpret during the game.
Basel was never intended to be a place for people to live in, its function being a machine that heals the world from pollution. Thus it isn't really a suitable place for habitation, especially for thousands of years. Being both geographically and "spiritually" cut off from the outside world people forgot it exists. When they gaze out from Basel they don't "see" the world outside it. Who built Basel and for what purpose becomes enshrouded in mystery, and many come to believe Basel was built by God himself as a haven for His people. Because the builders of Basel are long gone, no one in current times knows what Basel is even for, or how to maintain or fix it. It thus deteriorates in a rapid pace, many areas malfunctioning entirely, the lower levels deteriorating faster than upper levels. Yet, when Basel was built it was known it would take for a very long time to purify the world, and thus it was intended to operate autonomously for thousands of years without need of human input, "looked over" eternally by the supercomputer Zenith, and thus the gears keep moving. People live among its tiers none the wiser, as knowledge of what existed before Basel slips ever further from consciousness. Some traditions remain, such as Christmas, though its link to Christianity is lost.
Twenty years ago Frieda was the Prelate of Basel with Cardinal Rowen as her right-hand-man. She reunited Basel under her will to free its people from suffering. It was at first time of hope and peace, and Rowen especially was enamoured with her (possibly being her lover). However, as the lower level people dug deeper into the Basel's base in search of rubies (used as currency in Basel) and other riches they came across a quartz vein and, not understanding its purpose, dug further. Unprecedented cases of "spontaneous instant death syndrome" happened all around Basel as the miners dug through the quartz deposit. Unable to explain the phenomenon people turned to religion, believing the spontaneous death to be a message from God. People became hyper religious, yet it seemed God would not answer their prayers, and eventually Frieda herself succumbed to the spontaneous instant death syndrome, her body becoming entombed in Basilica.
Sullivan and Juris were two men who lived in the lower levels of Basel. Unlike most people, they studied the tower trying to discern its purpose. Sullivan especially was a genius in this regard. Some people say that if you could reverse engineer Basel you could perform miracles. The duo's expertise on Basel sent them "flying through the ranks" and in a rare case of upward mobility in Basel they came to work in Chandelier.
After Frieda died Sullivan showed Rowen, who was the next in line to be the Prelate, Zenith at the top of Basel and explained the reason Frieda and the other victims had died. Rowen was crestfallen and his belief in God was shaken. Himself, and Frieda, and all the other people had been devout followers of God, yet this machine is the one that coldly decides the time a man's time is up? This machine is what people had been praying to for respite from the death plague? Rowen wanted to believe there being something "more" to life, some higher power, and that there really is a God who looks after people with a bigger plan, but this revelation shattered it. Though Rowen never took up the rank of Prelate, he became Basel's de facto ruler. As the first order of business he banned all mining expeditions and the miners who knew about the quartz vein were given massive sums of hush money. The miners took the rare chance at upward mobility in society and moved out of the lower levels never to be seen again by their previous peers. The lower level inhabitants were furious, as to them it seemed Chandelier had just denied them their main source of income out of seemingly no other reason than to keep them poor. As the mining stopped, so did the cases of spontaneous death.
The unity Frieda had cultivated between the Cardinals was lost. Each Cardinal had their own idea on how to better Basel, and started working on their private projects. Cardinal Theresa is the most "down to earth" Cardinal who wants to help the people through charity, and organizes events like soup kitchen in the lower levels, and gift giving to all children in Christmas. Cardinal Antourion retreated from society and buries himself in research, his goal to find an answer to mankind's predicament this way. Cardinal Garligiano lost touch with the people's suffering and dedicates his life in creating art, to find "meaning" this way.
What about Rowen, the leader of Basel who lost his faith? He wants to honour Frieda's wish to free the people from suffering, and thus wants to gain the means of controlling Zenith. Though he has largely lost his faith...there is a piece in the Scriptures that keeps nagging at him. Resurrection. Could Frieda come back? If they found a way to control Zenith? He doesn't dare believe it. Rowen was never a scientist, however, but what about those Sullivan and Juris?
Wanting to study how human lives are linked to quartz, Sullivan and Juris set up a secret experiment in Aldersyde high up in Chandelier with financing from Rowen. Sullivan had figured out a way to locate specific pieces of quartz based on the individual's date of birth. Twenty orphans born on Christmas Day were taken to the facility, and their pieces of quartz were programmed to shatter at predetermined dates, one a year. Juris was the one who looked after the children. Every Christmas one kid "moved out" of the facility, or so was told to the ones who remained. Leanne is experiment #20. She eagerly awaited the day she would be released from the facility and planned for all the things she would do once that day arrived. Every Christmas she wished she would be chosen to "leave". One day, Leanne got ill and was on the verge of death. Sullivan came to see her, and determined she was not well off. Subject #20 dying early could mess up the experiment, and he ordered the scientists at the lab to do whatever they could to save her. A scientist placed something in Leanne's hand. She recovered.
Cardinal Lagerfeld is a strict man of religion. He wants to follow the late Prelate's ideal of freeing mankind from suffering by the strict following of the Scriptures. It was easy to find followers to this more fundamental side of thinking in the wake of the "spontaneous instant death syndrome", as people were terrified and desperately turned to God. He set up the Crank Seminar where orphans would be raised as devout followers of God to become the role models of everyone in Basel in due time, and in time everyone would follow the Scriptures to the tee and mankind would be saved and God would finally listen and save the world. Not everyone was as optimistic, however. The lower level inhabitants, still sour Chandelier banned mining, viewed it as yet another scheme for Chandelier to oppress people.
What nobody knew, was that the people who live in Basel, are not the only people in the world.
Long ago when the first people moved to Basel and became linked to Zenith via the intermediary of quartz, there were people who were left outside. Most died, but some mutated, entering the "second stage of evolution". They became immune to cancer, and their cell regeneration became so good they could live exceptionally long lives, and perhaps even become biologically immortal.
The young Vashyron was in the army serving under General Victor, Cardinal Theresa's husband. One day, there was a disaster in Lucia and Victor and his men were sent to deal with it without anyone telling them what to expect. General Gelsey was upset Victor was chosen to lead the mission and not him, and developed a grudge against the Cardinals, especially when the truth of the happenings at Lucia was never released to the public. All that is known is that everyone died but one man: Vashyron. What Victor and Vashyron and the others had met in Lucia was Rebecca, a mysterious girl with incredible powers who hated Basel and everything it stood for, and had attacked the town of Lucia. Vashyron was the last man standing and as Rebecca tried to kill him, something unexpected happened: As she thrust her hand through Vashyron's chest a mysterious sign knocked her out cold. Vashyron escaped the incident unharmed with a shocked Sullivan following the events from the shadows. While Vashyron went home and quit the army to become a hunter, unable to make sense of what had happened seeing that he didn't believe in God or miracles, Sullivan secretly took Rebecca home with him and had the incident covered up. After all, with Vashyron as the only eyewitness, keeping one man silent was not too difficult a task seeing Vashyron didn't want anything to do with the whole thing.
Sullivan realized Rebecca is from outside Basel, and thus a true "man of God", as she is free of Zenith. The contact with the sacred sign has made Rebecca mentally retarded, and mostly harmless. Sullivan lets her drink his blood, and studies her in secret. And thus started the second strain of research into Zenith's workings, one best kept secret from Rowen. Sullivan realized Rebecca's cell regeneration is so good she is practically immortal, and throughout the years she stays with him, she never seems to age.
Subject #19 "moved out" of Aldersyde and only Leanne remained. During a tea break with Juris she lamented still having to wait a year before her turn. Juris suddenly declared she can leave today and hurried her to the gates. Leanne was excited, and promised to come meet him on her next birthday. They ran into Rowen and Leanne wished him Merry Christmas. Rowen was furious Juris was going to release Leanne early but Juris pleaded they had enough data and that Leanne should be allowed to live the last year of her life. Remembering words from Frieda, of how she had wanted to give people freedom, Rowen relented and Leanne was shoved out the door. In the hassle, she had stolen Juris's notebook. Bewildered Juris had called it "the last year of her life" she read it, and discovered the other subjects had not moved out, they had all died, and her time would come in exactly one year.
Zephyr was an orphan living in the Crank Seminar, but things were not going well with him. He did not fit in with the oppressing "brain washing" atmosphere and struggled to believe in an all-knowing benevolent God seeing how much suffering there was in the world. He clashed with Lagerfeld for not being devout enough. He had befriended a younger girl who tried to make Zephyr a devout and teach him about God, but Zephyr never even opened the Book of Scriptures she had given him. And one day he snapped. He brought a gun to school and the most horrific school shooting event Basel's history took place. If God is all powerful, surely God would stop him? Or if God let him kill his classmates, then this was part of God's "big plan"? Zephyr defied the teachings and asked for God to intervene and show He really exists, but alas, no divine intervention came to stop him.
Vashyron had become a legend among the Cardinals, being the only survivor of the Lucia incident, and thus he is privy to some exclusive jobs with the Cardinals other hunters rarely get a chance at. Lagerfeld hired him to kill Zephyr, who remained in a manic state at the Crank Seminary after having shot his classmates. Vashyron overpowered Zephyr in a gun fight and shot him twice in the head. But he didn't die, and the sacred sign appeared on the Statue of God Vashyron had pinned Zephyr's head against. Vashyron recognized it as the same thing as what had happened to him, and refused to try and kill Zephyr again despite Lagerfeld's insistences. Vashyron took Zephyr to Ebel City to live with him, while Lagerfeld must accept that for an unfathomable reason God has saved Zephyr with a divine miracle. The Crank Seminary project was dropped, people coming up with various interpretations of what happened. Some believe a boy was possessed by the devil, but some lower level inhabitants hail him a hero and started a cult around him, viewing him a role model who fought Chandelier's oppression. Vashyron gained even more notoriety as the hunter who killed the "boy possessed by the devil".
Vashyron and Zephyr lived for a year in Ebel City, Vashyron giving him a room in the attic, although Zephyr has no belongings other than the Book of Scriptures he still refuses to open yet never throws away. Neither can make sense of what happened to them, but try to make the best of it, though Zephyr battles depression. He has suicidal thoughts, but fears he would be unable to die if he tried, and thus never tries to commit suicide. He feels he has little reason to live, however, and not being afraid of death makes him put his life in a harm's way easily. This trait came to use on Christmas Day a year after moving in with Vashyron...
INIZIO TRAMA/MISSIONI DI GIOCO
Christmas Day, her 20th birthday, the day she was to die, Leanne went to the top of Chandelier her plan to commit suicide to have this last shred of agency in deciding her fate. She jumped, but Zephyr caught her midair and both fell off the edge. The bells tolled to midnight, the lights of Zenith flashed with the symbol of the sacred sign at the top of Basilica, and Leanne didn't die. Later Zephyr reminisces he saw a strange symbol on the ground where they fell. Zephyr took Leanne to Ebel City to live with them and join their hunter group.
Sullivan is selling out people's pieces of quartz behind Rowen's back to fund his secret research into Rebecca and has Vashyron deliver them. Only someone wealthy like a Cardinal can afford it. After Vashyron collects Cardinal Pater's quartz from the abandoned Cafe Chelsey, Sullivan lets Rebecca play in the ruins. She grasps something invisible from the air while Sullivan watches. He is holding another piece of quartz in his hand.
Vashyron, Zephyr and Leanne deliver the piece of quartz to Pater. Pater's father has recently passed away, and was the one keen on finding his son's piece, so he probably knew about its significance. Pater, having inherited the rank of Cardinal, only associates it with the story of finding one's star from heavens bringing one eternal good luck. As he turns the quartz into a light his eyes shine blue, proving the piece is his. Pater takes a liking to Leanne and starts hanging out at Ebel City but is always too shy to talk to her, although he befriends Zephyr. Pater's idea on how to improve the populace's lives is to rebuild Paterpolis that collapsed during the "instant spontaneous death syndrome" epidemic. He is part of the new generation of Cardinals alongside Cardinal Jean Paulet, Cardinal Barbarilla and Cardinal Veronique, who never served under Frieda. Jean Paulet is happy being the "Justin Bieber" of Basel, who, while greatly loved as an "idol", is out of touch with the people's struggles and thinks he can help by commissioning an (ugly) statue to be placed in the Forest of Idols as a symbol of hope to people. Veronique is the only truly religious Cardinal, her faith to the True God unshaken. She spends long days praying for Rowen, who has become clinically depressed and an alcoholic. Rowen mourns the deaths of the 20 orphans, the experiment he had funded, and drowns his sorrows with the bottle and rarely appears in public.
On Prelate Frieda's day Theresa tasks Vashyron with delivering a silk rose to Lucia to where Victor and the other men died. She is shocked to see Zephyr with Vashyron, and to hear Zephyr had saved Leanne. During a blackout Vashyron's team fixes a power generator. To get more work from the "Elder Cardinals" and climb the social ladder, Vashyron dresses Leanne up to inspire Garligiano to create a statue on her, which is later commissioned by Jean Paulet to be put on display to "raise the morale of the poor" although everyone ends up thinking the statue is hideous. While delivering the statue to the Forest of Idols they spot flower petals flying in the air. Leanne ponders where they come from and Vashyron reminds her there is a world outside Basel. Leanne gets ill and hallucinates of the time she was ill in Aldersyde when a scientist saved her by putting something in her hand, and of the time she left the facility, but Zephyr and Vashyron deliver her medicine.
Gelsey, the army officer holding a grudge over the Cardinals having chosen Victor over him, breaks into the quartz mines to find out what the Cardinals are hiding in there. Wanting to keep the area a secret from general public Sullivan sends Vashyron's group to deal with it instead of the army. After Gelsey is killed Sullivan arrives and is shocked Leanne is with Vashyron, but Leanne doesn't recognize Sullivan because it was Juris who looked after the orphans. Sullivan is dumbfounded Leanne is not dead, and asks Vashyron to take good care of her.
This poses a problem for Sullivan, however. Were Rowen to discover Leanne is alive he would discover Zenith cannot be controlled, and would think the experiment with the 20 orphans was in vain, jeopardising Sullivan's coveted position. Sullivan expedites the project and asks Rowen to provide something to work as the key to control Zenith, and Rowen gives his ring, given to him by Frieda. Sullivan knows Rowen views him as expendable, and that if he really got the means to control Zenith he would get rid of Sullivan, no longer needing him and now viewing him a threat for the inside knowledge he has. Sullivan eventually procures the ring and tells Rowen he can control Zenith and provokes him by talking about resurrection, claiming it is possible. Sullivan needs to keep manipulating Rowen so he would believe controlling Zenith is the only way to reach his goals, whereas Sullivan knows otherwise with his secret research with Rebecca. Sullivan had told Rowen before that it would be imperative for the two of them to locate their personal pieces of quartz and keep them safe.
Pater summons the courage to ask Leanne out for a date but during it his piece of quartz he now always holds on his person shatters and he dies. Paterpolis project is abandoned. Cardinal Antourion tasks Vashyron to look for the sacred sign from Lucia, as his research has let him to believe it was the thing that saved Vashyron that day, despite Vashyron insisting he didn't see a sign. Vashyron's party discovers Vashyron's old gun but not much else. The sight of it triggers a flashback where Vashyron remembers confronting Rebecca, and remembers the "sign" appeared on her when she thrust her hand through his chest. He starts to laugh, realizing it is impossible to find the sign if it was on Rebecca, but what is he supposed to tell Antourion?
On the day of the school shooting Vashyron delivers a flower to Crank Seminary and Leanne accompanies him, discovering Zephyr was the culprit, greatly upsetting her. Lagerfeld, who hasn't had much meaning in his life after the Crank Seminary project fell apart loses his faith in God and decides to settle the matters and kill Zephyr. He calls Zephyr out to the Rainy Bridge and during their confrontation reveals that if Zephyr had even tried and given God a chance and opened the Book of Scriptures he would have learned he had a sister. Zephyr gives up but Leanne shoots Lagerfeld and admonishes Zephyr for being willing to die so easily. Ever since saving Leanne Zephyr has made her his reason for living, but can't shake the suicidal thoughts, unable to understand why he is still alive when all the people around them are dying, him surely being the least deserving of anyone. Zephyr opens up to Vashyron of his plan to commit suicide once he has made sure Leanne will be happy.
Jean Paulet gets married in secret hiring Zephyr and Leanne as decoys for a fake wedding while Paulet's bride's ex boyfriend hires Vashyron to stop it. Hilarity ensues. Christmas is coming and Pater was meant to be this year's Santa, but seeing he passed away Theresa asks Vashyron's party, knowing Pater had taken a liking to Leanne and would probably be happy if she took up the role in his stead. After the gift giving Theresa invites the three to the mass in Basilica where Leanne passes by Rowen and wishes him Merry Christmas mirroring the event from two years ago. Rowen recognises Leanne as Subject #20 and is shocked. Either Sullivan has been lying to him about the experiment with the 20 orphans and gaining control of Zenith, or a miracle has happened and resurrection is real. He sets out to confront Sullivan and sends his men to raid Aldersyde, but Sullivan is one step ahead. He tells Juris to leave, but the latter refuses, not seeing the point as he doesn't have much to live for now that the experiment is over. Rowen's men ransack Aldersyde but as they can't find Sullivan they depart.
Meeting Rowen has reminded Leanne of Juris and her childhood and how she promised to go see him on her birthday and departs to Aldersyde where she meets Juris and he comes back to Ebel City with her. He is shocked Leanne is alive but cannot explain how. He theorises Leanne's piece of quartz was swapped by Sullivan, though he cannot fathom why Sullivan would do that. Zephyr is upset Leanne's quartz is in the hands of some mad scientist and urges they go confront him.
Sullivan is at his residence at the Outer Wall of Chandelier and he releases Rebecca to the wild. He gives her a piece of quartz and tells her to destroy it if he fails to join her in time. As Rebecca leaves Basel Vashyron's party shows up demanding for Leanne's quartz but Sullivan claims he has organized to have it destroyed should something happen to him. Rowen, who also pursues Sullivan, arrives and overhears. He demands to know why Subject #20 is standing before them alive and well, and Sullivan claims miracles are part of the system, Leanne's survival doesn't mean the experiment was futile. Rowen demands to see a miracle with his own eyes so that he could believe in God, and shoots Sullivan. Vashyron confirms he is dead. With Sullivan dead, Leanne should die soon after. In Rowen's mind, if she does not die, surely Leanne is immortal and God's Chosen. Fighting through Rowen's ranks the party flees.
Leanne wants to go talk to Rowen one last time. She has accepted her impending death; her wish came true after all, to live her life like she wanted. She deems the year she had was enough. Before she dies she wants to ask Rowen something. Zephyr is beside himself, as Leanne is his only reason for living. Cardinals Antourion and Garligiano defend Rowen as per their promise made to Frieda, but fall to the party. They meet Rowen in Basilica and Leanne asks if he regrets anything. Rowen doesn't and Leanne is satisfied. Zephyr isn't, and draws his gun and shoots Rowen. The bullet passes through his body into the painting of Prelate Frieda at the back that begins to shine with the sacred sign. Zephyr is infuriated but Vashyron leads his team out, and they again ponder about there being a world outside Basel.
Rowen has had the proof of a miracle he was looking for and his faith in the True God, not Zenith, is restored. He leaves the ring on Frieda's tomb to signify he has given up on trying to control Zenith. Whether the appearance of the sacred sign that saves a person from a sure death is just a glitch in Zenith's programming or a real miracle, no longer matters to him. Antourion and Garligiano also rise, the symbol of the sacred sign burning under their bodies as flower petals rain all around Basel, Cardinal Veronique who had been praying spotting them as well as Juris back in Ebel City.
Outside Basel Rebecca awaits for Sullivan who never shows and thus destroys the quartz in her possession. Sullivan finds her and sees the flower petals swirling in the air. He realises the petals were what Rebecca was grasping when she was playing in the abandoned Cafe Chelsey during the time they delivered Pater's quartz to Vashyron, and says "Now I see what you see." Rebecca, who has been unable to speak ever since the incident with the sacred sign, musters a word, "Sullivan", an embraces him. Further outside Basel in a world purified of pollution Vashyron, Zephyr and Leanne explore the land. Leanne raises her hand to the sun and a blue stone shines through it and her eyes turn blue, like Pater's did when he confirmed the veracity of his piece of quartz. The unknown scientist had put Leanne's piece in her hand, literally "putting her life in her own hands", and the piece Sullivan had was never hers.
