( Short interlude story between Act I and Act II )

August 9th, 2048

Chicago, Illinois

I was born a survivor.

The streets and slums of the old 'Windy City' were my home, and it was not a forgiving one.

Remnants of the old bio-plague that had wiped out the original inhabitants still infected many areas, violence was rampant, and survival was never a guarantee.

Exactly seven years since my birth, and I was a lone rat hiding in the gutters of a dark road.

I killed for the first time that morning.

He had attempted to rob me, but something clicked within my soul, like a small spark igniting a forest fire.

Our fight is hazy in my mind at best, but I remember wiping his blood off my face.

As I lay shivering in that gutter, my soul felt cold and emotionless.

I had been reborn a killer.


June 25th, 2067

Somewhere in the plains of North America…

There always comes a crucial moment in one's life when a decision must be made.

The Forces of Nature were brutal people. As was I.

I had never experienced family before.

There was a sense of loyalty I felt with them that was stronger than the bonds that hold the continents together.

The years I spent with them made me feel powerful and proud.

They were my brethren, my people, but they did not see me in the same way.

I was a tool. A weapon.

I had natural talent as a warrior, but it had never appeased to me.

Fighting as a child was for mere survival, but here, fighting was for benefiting the Folk Nation.

I only ever opposed my clan leader once, but the result of our fight was that I had to be the point man for that damn raid.

My people encouraged me, said that I could use the opportunity to be a better leader. A better warrior. A better weapon.

Loyalty is a powerful motivator to make one commit the highest of atrocities. This raid was no exception.

I remember storming the small settlement, Warhammer shotgun in my arms, kicking in doors and turning our foes into paste.

When ammo ran low, I used my blades. When those went dull, I used my hands. I found a woman, petrified, hiding in her bathtub.

Our clan leader said that no quarter was to be given, that nobody could be left to report our location. My instincts took over.

It was quick. One small twitch of my hand at the base of her neck, and she went limp. Then my eyes saw something strange.

Feeling her slightly swollen belly, my hand passed over a second, much smaller skull. The world came crashing down around me.

That day, there was a crucial moment in my life where a decision had to be made.

I left to go find those who would treat me as a brother, never looking back.


October 30th, 2068

Los Angeles, Southern California

I had found the camaraderie I was searching for.

In my search for a higher cause beyond pure slaughter, I signed up to fight for the NUSA.

The Militech unit I was assigned to was not what I'd been expecting, but I felt at home finally.

My brothers and I had been fighting side by side for the past year.

Fighting was all I had ever known, so I acted as I always had: on instinct and muscle memory.

It earned me reputation and respect as I had never known.

Some would even give me nicknames, 'Machine', 'Drone', 'Terminator'.

Even the corpos above me knew one of them.

"The Indomitable."

I never allowed them to promote me or move ne away from being a frontline grunt. My place was with my new brothers.

So, they instead moved me to a special unit. One they said would field 'experimental and highly classified materials.'

To me, those suits just felt like a second skin.

Then the war broke out. And I would be shown just how correct I was.


February 14th, 2070

Ridgecrest, Southern California

It was the same nightmare every day.

Advance. Fire a burst. A body drops to the ground.

Turn to the right, fire another burst.

Missile incoming, boost left, use a destroyed coffee shop as cover.

Four minutes until reinforcements arrive, two mags left. Have to get close to conserve ammo.

Hear the rumble of a tank engine. Exit cover. Fire a burst.

Another body falls to the dirt.

Step over it, pick up a broken car, use it as a shield. Advance.

Get on top of tank, punch through the metal, rip out driver.

Jump off. Switch back to sidearm, take out two more men.

Advance. Fire a missile. Transport truck goes up in smoke.

A man crawls out, still on fire. I put him out of his misery.

Today is valentine's day.

Drop the empty mag, slap in a new one.

Another fires on me from a burned-out bakery.

Shoulder-charge through the wall he's cowering behind, grab the skull, and squeeze.

His brains splatter across my visor. I wipe them off.

There is no love in my heart.

Orders received, have to reinforce another sector.

February 15th, 2070

Advance.

February 19th, 2070

Fire a burst.

February 27th, 2070

A body drops to the ground.

March 3rd, 2070

The battle had been won.

I look around. I am standing alone on a mountain of corpses.


Outpost Grizzly, 26 Miles South of Night City

April 22nd, 2070

The commander attempted to stop me from leaving.

I told him that if he wishes to die on that very day, then he is more than welcome to try.

A command was shouted as I walked away.

Nobody tried to stop my desertion. They chose to live instead.

I felt tears leave my eyes as my walk slowly became a jog, then a sprint.

The barren land of the northern desert was a copy of my own soul, lifeless.

My name is Eyota Akecheta.

And I must never be a killer again.

Or the world will drown in my bloodlust.


Authors Note:

Hello everyone! I hadn't put one of these on here yet for those of you just finding this story, but this is a fic I've been writing on AO3 for a bit now and decided to cross-post on here as well. To catch you all up to speed on a few things, this is a story I've had stuck in my head for a while now and have had a blast constructing. It will likely be a long one, but I hope you'll all like that. Now, two other bits of info for you. First, I need to explain these dates I've been using, which since I had to before, I've already made a document that outlines it:

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners and 2077 Timeline

The other document I have is one that a fan requested for drawing the OCs I introduced, which is a doc that shows all the visual concepts I use/made for each of the new characters. Now if you have a preferred look for said characters in your head then feel free to keep it, but if you are curious as to what I used and/or a better visualization of their look, then this doc might be for you.

Character Visual Concepts

Anyways, that's about it for now. I'll see you all again when the beginning of Act II is out, but until then thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!