[Nikke × ARC Raiders] Goddess and ARC

Prologue

I still clearly remember the words my grandmother and grandfather used to tell me.

When I was young, they would bring up the same story whenever night fell deep and quiet.

Back then, I thought it was nothing more than an old war tale—something meant to frighten a child before sleep.

But as the years passed, their words never faded.

They stayed with me, lodged firmly in a corner of my mind, like a promise I would one day have to recall.

Long ago—long before the appearance of the Raptures—humanity fought a different enemy.
We were at war with a mechanical legion known as ARC.

The first assault was repelled.

Cities burned and countless lives were lost, yet humanity called it a "victory."

The second assault, however, changed everything.

ARC was no longer just a weapon. It learned from defeat, understood combat, and returned stronger and smarter—having analyzed human tactics and improved itself accordingly.

Reinforced armor. Unpredictable maneuvers.

And above all, cold and flawless judgment.

No one could truly stop ARC. One by one, cities fell, and the very concept of a defensive line vanished from our vocabulary.

Then, one day, the tide of war shifted again.

A new enemy emerged, advancing toward the space elevator.