Ignite the Star

If you gaze from the other end of the Milky Way, you will see a dim dot among the endless universe. As you get closer, the dot turns into a blue white dwarf with a pale ring of light around it. If you just so happen to witness the moment the star explodes, its dazzling light will shine on the orbits of space stations outside the ring of light—that is the fantastic Nimbus.

This is an amazing universe of competition. Legend has it that many centuries ago, a magical Twilight Orb flew to a dying star and gave it consciousness.

People built Nimbus with the guidance of the star. They now hold mecha competitions as they believe that the fervent spirit of competition is the fuel that ignites the star—the moment the champion is decided, the star explodes as a response.

The star is brilliantly beautiful during the explosion: Whitish blue flames gush out of the once peaceful star and soar to the sky like millions of flying dragons. In the blink of an eye, the pale and gentle light of the star is infinitely brighter, and shining through the halo of the star—on the space stations in different orbits, on the solar panels attached to the posts of the Arena Towers, and on the space shuttles that move slowly like shiny beetles among the darkness of the universe...

At that moment, people all over Nimbus look up in anticipation and mumble: M Championship! Ignite the star!

A few years ago when the star exploded, in the outermost ring of Nimbus, a 7-year-old short-haired girl gazed at the sky with her mechanical right hand above her eyebrows.

"Flare, what are you looking at?"

"Can you go to the sky and ignite the star, Dad?"

"Of course—"

"Can I?"

Half of a wing-shaped metal amulet was placed into Flare's palm. "Of course you can do it, with this!"

Ten years have passed in the blink of an eye.

Inside a mechanic shop on a crowded and rundown street in the outer ring of Nimbus, a holographic ad is playing: "Join the M Championship and ignite the star!"

Now a grown-up, Flare wears grimy overalls and short hair as messy as a bird's nest—she is a human apprentice at a Leonin's mechanic shop.

The shop is filled with broken mechas and the stink of metal and engine oil—the mechas are tailored for their users like ancient armor, and you can tell the owners' race with one glance: small mechas for Leonins, large mechas for orcs, and medium-sized mechas for humans like Beatrix.

Old Tommy is installing a power pack for the mecha he's working on. He puts the Titanium Stone that Beatrix passes him into the socket, and the mecha's eyes light up, but smoke soon rises from it...

"What did you do, Flare!?"

"I tweaked the power up a little..."

"How much?"

"50%... I guess you don't need me here anymore. I'm gonna try the other mecha!"

Beatrix prefers trying out mechas to helping Old Tommy. It is the only chance for her to pilot a mecha in an arena.

There are many arenas throughout Nimbus, each of which is full of posters for the new season of M Championship and players on the training tracks.

Beatrix perfectly beats all the holographic targets on the training tracks in the mecha. She stares at the results and thinks to herself: The mecha functions normally, but it is too ordinary to achieve anything in M Champion, not to mention to ignite the star...

Speaking of which, Beatrix looks up through the top of the arena: Ten years ago, she also looked up to watch her father soar to the sky along the energy field tracks... Beatrix's heart aches. She puts her arm over her chest, as if she could feel the small wing-shaped amulet through the mecha.

To free her mind from the painful memories, Beatrix secretly installs the mecha with the Switcher Weapon System that she developed. The powerful system allows the pilot to switch between the machine gun, sniper rifle, shotgun and cannon, turning the ordinary mecha into a fearsome killing machine.

Beatrix is overjoyed with the success of the test, but as soon as she thinks of the mecha she just burned at the shop, she takes out a thumb-sized space capsule and puts the mecha away, while mumbling in annoyance: "Hmph, it's all because Old Tommy that I have to sneak out and do all my tests like a thief..."

"Get that thief!" A sudden yell spooks Beatrix. She turns around and sees a group of orc bullies surround a young Leonin outside the arena.

"I'm not!" The young Leonin doesn't seem like the orcs' match at all, but he still yells back at them with confidence.

Beatrix suddenly feels the urge to stand up for him, before the orcs' huge fists could touch the young Leonin's face.

She shouts "Stop!" and takes out the Switcher that she secretly assembled with spare parts at the mechanic shop. First, the orcs see holographic firearms quickly spin and switch behind Beatrix, before a giant cannon manifests from her hands.

Then, a loud boom makes the orcs fall to the ground without any strength to get back up. Beatrix realizes that she not only helped the young Leonin out of his trouble, but also shattered the glass windows on half of the street...

When the police car rushes to the scene, Beatrix has already run all the way home. She turns around the moment she gets home, and sees the young Leonin walking around and tagging alone—he has followed her home as if he had every right to be here...

The young Leonin with bruises all over his face looks around the place and notices an old mecha in the backyard. He walks over and taps on it, before giving harsh criticisms: "What does it run on without a Stone? Failed! The structure isn't strong enough to sustain damage. Failed! Geez, the controls are done by an amateur. What a failure! You want to join the M Championship with this garbage?"

When the Leonin mocks the mecha, Beatrix can't hold back her anger anymore. She erupts and yells out "Shout up!", before kicking the guy out the door.

The next day is Beatrix's day off. Despite the lack of sleep, she gets up early and stares at the mecha, deep in thought.

She knows perfectly well that the pesky Leonin was right. She can come up with innovative and ingenious systems, but the complicated design of mechas is too difficult for her to understand. She only built this mecha based on her imagination and scarce knowledge of the theories.

All of a sudden, a tiny rock from somewhere hits her head.

Before Beatrix could jump up in anger, she notices a note attached to the rock. She opens it and sees the poster of the M Championship, with a mecha blueprint carefully sketched on the blank space next to the title "Ignite the Star". After a closer look, she realizes that the rock is actually a Titanium Stone of high purity!

"It's for saving me yesterday. I'm Willie, by the way..." The young Leonin slowly sticks out his head that is wrapped in bandages, saying: "I'm a mecha expert!"

"Hmm? What's up with your head? You met those orcs again?"

"I can't believe you—you kicked me yesterday, remember!?"

That's how Beatrix made friends with another Leonin.

With Willie on board, the assembly of the mecha is soon completed. Beatrix lets out a sigh of relief as she looks at the mecha in the overgrown grass: "Finally, it's done!"

Willie hands over an old helmet to Beatrix: "Go join the M Championship!"

But Beatrix answers in a defeated voice: "People like me from the outer ring have never won the M Championship, not even once! I don't want to be a fool like... my dad."

Beatrix shares her story with Willie: Her father's biggest wish in his life was to make his own mecha and compete in the M Championship. But he went missing in the Championship ten years ago, and Beatrix lost her one and only family. To commemorate her father, Beatrix wants to use the parts he left behind and recreate his old mecha. But she knows that people in the outer ring all think of her father as a fool who bit off more than he could chew, and she is afraid to be mocked as well.

Willie remains quiet for a while before asking: "You've never been in the M Championship before, have you?"

Then, he tells Beatrix about his past: "I have. I was in an amazing squad, and it made me feel alive fighting in the arenas."

Willie looks Beatrix in the eye and speaks: "Flare, your father must have enjoyed the mecha fight and combat. If you don't join the competition, you would never know how your dad felt..."

In the mechanic shop, Old Tommy is cutting sheet metal for the mecha that Beatrix broke during the test. All of a sudden, a loud jet engine rumble comes from the street, so he pushes open the door and sees a mecha flying just above the roofs...

That day, many people in the outer ring notice the reckless mecha like Old Tommy does. But Beatrix is quite proud of herself—it didn't take long for her to adapt to the mecha with a powerful engine and weapon system.

A holographic interface pops up on the screen inside the old helmet—it is the login page of the last M Championship season!

From the records in the helmet, Beatrix sees how hard her father practiced and the message he left: "For my Flare, I'll ignite the star!"

Beatrix touches the old wing-shaped amulet over her chest through the mecha, a teardrop falling down her cheek...

It is at this moment that she finally understands her father.

The next day, Beatrix sees a police officer and her teacher waiting for her at the front door of the mechanic shop.

The wanted person on the holographic sign that the officer is showing her is clearly Leonin Willie.

When Beatrix and the police arrive at Willie's home, the boy is long gone. The Titanium Stone that he gifted her is also confiscated by the police.

Inside a rundown house in the outer ring of Nimbus, Beatrix sits on a step in the backyard, feeling frustrated and staring at the mecha blueprint that Willie left her.

"I've heard about Willie..." Old Tommy sits down next to Beatrix and continues: "That boy is a genius at designing and remodeling mechas, so an underground group of cheaters persuaded him to join. He didn't want to be a snitch or a criminal—that's why both the gangs and the police are after him..."

Old Tommy looks up at the sky, which isn't azure with white clouds. All he sees are factories and buildings packed together and hanging upside down in the circular space stations.

"He is kind of like your dad, thinking that he would be the first hero from the outer ring to ignite the star..."

"Your dad gave me this, and I'm giving it to you now." Old Tommy places a Titanium Stone into Beatrix's palm and tells her: "Flare, it is your choice to make."

The mecha blueprint is turned over as Old Tommy moves and stirs the air. It shows the front AR image of the M Championship poster: the arenas, the Arena Towers, and a line of words written in a hurry―Flare, light the star!

A smile appears on Beatrix's cheeks...

The AR Arena Towers are now a reality. All the players are inside the Power Fountains―the start of the matches.

The M Championship officially starts. As roars come from each and every Arena Tower, holographic broadcasts of the matches are played in every corner of the city, and tremendous cheers and boos can be heard from the audience.

In the crowd is Leonin Willie, anxiously searching the broadcasts. Finally, he finds what he wishes to see and snaps his fingers in excitement. In the broadcast, Beatrix stands next to the Power Fountain and throws a space capsule in it, before rays of light quickly rise and form a mecha around her. In a flash of golden light, Beatrix is in the mecha! With a smug look, she spins both guns in her hands, and then gazes at the Arena Towers reaching above the space stations and the distant star.

"Watch me ignite the star!"