Editing Paradeus

{{Incomplete|reason=info from Isomer and Shattered Connexion}}
{{Spoiler}}
[[File:Faction_Logo_Paradeus.png|500px|frameless|right]]
'''Paradeus''' (帕拉蒂斯) is a violent non-state actor based in [[Germany]], described as a terrorist group and a cult.<ref>{{cite|gfl|sc|Confidential Information VI}}</ref> It acts as the third antagonistic faction of [[Girls' Frontline]] introduced in [[Continuum Turbulence]]. Before its true name was revealed in [[Isomer]], it was only known as ''The White Faction'' due to their primary color. Possessing advanced technology, it recruits Yellow Zone populations by promising them a cure for [[ELID]]. {{spoiler|Paradeus' motto is the [[Rossartrism|Rossartrist]] slogan “The shining beacon in a brave new world”, the same as [[Griffin & Kryuger]].<ref name=CT310 />}}

The apparent leader of Paradeus is [[William|William von Oberstein]], a [[90wish]] member with access to advanced [[Relic Technology]], who the Paradeus members call "Father"<ref name=CT310 /> or "Master".<ref name=CT0>{{cite|gfl|ct|Ground Zero}}</ref> Aside from forming fanatic communities and militias in Yellow Zones, Paradeus uses a technology known as "Technical Theory of Biological Human Automation" to create more-than-human soldiers<ref>{{cite|gfl|pr|Falling Star lambda}}</ref> and operates a powerful surveillance apparatus called the Bee Sting System.<ref name=FP11>{{cite|gfl|fp|E1-1}}</ref> Their troops are led by the Nytos, who are clones blurring even further the line between human and machine who can be used in battle, as command units, or even as body doubles to infiltrate the upper society.

Paradeus units use a force field applying a percentage damage reduction to incoming attacks, which can be destroyed by [[Heavy Ordnance Corps]].

==Story==
The earliest known activity of Paradeus took place in 2060, in the European Yellow Zone,<ref name=Invest>{{cite|rc|[[Secret Documents#Investigation into the Origin of Religions]]}}</ref> in Southern Germany, where an illegal orphanage was found to house multiple young Nyto clones.<ref name=PL /> At some point, Paradeus established a lab in the depths of the abandoned Paldiski Submarine Base near Tallinn, Estonia, on the site of a Starfish construct.<ref name=PL>{{cite|gfl|pl|Causality Separating Plane}}</ref> They had a long partnership with the [[Soviet Union#Vory v Zakone|Vory v Zakone]].

Shortly after Paradeus' existence became known, the Balkan Section of the [[Stasi]]'s Foreign Intelligence Service launched "Operation Cornerstone of Peace" to counter it, placing Major [[K|Kain Schwaben]] as operation commander.<ref name=Invest /> The Neo-Soviet [[Statesec]] quickly approached Schwaben to collaborate on the matter. Soviet intelligence enabled the Stasi to identify one of Paradeus' collaborators spotted in Belgrade, Captain [[Yegor]], leading to a clique led by [[General Carter]] and an unknown group based near Sarajevo.<ref>{{cite|rc|[[Secret Documents#Experimental Unit "Aurora" Mission Overview]]}}</ref>

As allies of [[General Carter]], Paradeus intervened as a fourth party during the [[Great Retreat]] in 2064, after the [[KCCO]] turned against [[Griffin and Kryuger]]. Their original goal was to capture {{enemy name|Elisa|boss}} after she melded with {{doll name|M4A1|AR|4}}, but this plan failed. The Nytos led the Paradeus troops in an effort to wipe out the remaining G&K troops, but they failed when the commanding [[Nyto Black]] was incapacitated by {{doll name|M4 SOPMOD II|AR|4}} and self-destructed.<ref>{{cite|gfl|ct|Chapter 2}}</ref> A separate force led by a [[Nyto White]] successfully captured [[the Commander]] before intending to sacrifice herself in an assault on the G&K forces coming to retrieve the Commander, claiming she would reach awakening. The Paradeus forces were pinned down when {{doll name|RO635|SMG|5}} used her megaphone to lure [[ELID]]-infected toward them, but the Nyto White refused to attack them, calling them “the Baptized” and opening herself to a headshot from {{doll name|M82A1|RF|5}}.<ref name=CT310 />

Paradeus treated the Commander's radiation poisoning during nine weeks before interrogating them to determine the whereabouts of [[Squad 404]], [[Angelia]] and {{enemy name|Elisa|boss}}.<ref name=CT0 /> Squad 404 and G&K raided the base and rescued the Commander,<ref name=CT310 /> but they encountered Paradeus again three months later while searching for an informant possessing information about Angelia in Belgrade.<ref>{{cite|gfl|11-3}}</ref>

During the Belgrade international cooperation talks, Paradeus attempted to kidnap [[Gilda Ulrich]] and exchange her to [[Statesec]] for confidential information<ref>{{cite|gfl|iso|Lost Bargaining Chip II}}</ref> and to recover a lost [[Pike]] node. During the [[Paldiski Incident]], the Commander, K and Angelia discovered that Paradeus had been using the lost city of Tallinn as an ELID experiment site for {{enemy name|Isomer (Enemy)|alt=Isomers}} and lost refugees, and they found more information about them at the Paldiski Submarine Base where they had established and recently abandoned a Nyto lab.

In [[Germany]], Angelia tracked down William in Bremen and uncovered the network of Paradeus allies such as the Flora Institute providing them with modified [[Epiphyllum]] flowers and the Berle Orphanage involved in their child trafficking. Angelia also discovered that some Nytos like {{spoiler|{{enemy name|Morridow (Enemy)|boss|alt=Morridow}}}} were infiltrated among normal humans when she attempted to abduct her. In Berlin, Angelia and the Commander worked to foil Paradeus' Operation Cocoon by intercepting the [[Iaso's Box]]es they planned to spread Collapse Radiation all over the city, in order to locate [[ELID]] immunosomes. Angelia visited William's old home, but she was betrayed and captured by [[RPK-16|her own team member]] who wanted to become a Nyto. Paradeus also manipulated their rogue agent [[Machlian]] to lure the [[OGAS]] consciousness called [[Dandelion]] and the Commander into a trap, but they survived with the help of [[M4A1|M4A1(?)]] and captured {{spoiler|Morridow}}. They however lost her while attempting to exchange her for Angelia, and the Nyto revealed to William that M4A1 was still of interest to Paradeus.

As Paradeus shut down its operations in Berlin, they blackmailed the German government by organizing the massacre of a rogue [[Stasi]] team in one of the Ministry of Defense's plants, threatening to disclose the incident and destabilize the government if they revealed their ties with Paradeus. The Stasi struck back by weeding out [[Minor Characters#Colonel Dupieux|“Polar Bear”]], a Paradeus agent infiltrated in Statesec, and with the help of the Stasi's director [[Romy Riefenstahl]], the Commander organized [[Operation Aeneas]] to locate and infiltrate Paradeus' headquarters in [[Avernus]], in the Dead Sea Black Zone near Berlin. By that point, the Commander had become known as the only person to have not only opposed and survived, but successfully cornered Paradeus.<ref>{{cite|gfl|ls|18}}</ref>

== Members ==
*[[William|William von Oberstein]] (leader)
*Named Nytos 
**{{enemy name|Nimogen|boss}}
**{{enemy name|Mercurows|boss}}
**{{enemy name|Narciss|boss}}
**{{spoiler|{{enemy name|Morridow (Enemy)|boss}}}}
**{{spoiler|{{enemy name|Gray (Enemy)|boss}}}}
**{{enemy name|Grig|boss}}
**{{enemy name|Bramedb|boss}}
**{{enemy name|Nemhran|boss}}
**{{enemy name|Koleda|boss}}
**{{enemy name|Tareus|boss}}
**{{enemy name|Sana|boss}}
**[[Anna]]
**[[Machlian]]
*Other
**{{spoiler|{{enemy name|Pandora|boss}} (RPK-16)}}

===Cultists===
*[[Minor Characters#Elia|Elia]]
*[[Minor Characters#Elsa|Elsa]]

The Paradeus community founded by Galatea Corporation in Bohnsdorf, who attracted refugees with promise of food and shelter, treated Paradeus as a monotheistic god and advocated for "post-technologic" primitivism, forbidding entertainment and electronic objects (including prosthetics and life-saving technologies), as they believed these objects were the source of [[ELID]].<ref>{{cite|gfl|ms|The Birth of Apate I}}</ref><ref>{{cite|gfl|ms|Lurking}}</ref> The village contained observation posts with one-way glass for rich upper-class people to spy on the refugees as entertainment.<ref>{{cite|gfl|ms|The Birth of Apate II}}</ref>

==Units==
===Nytos===
Nytos (sometimes called “Baptized”)<ref name=ISO1B3 /> are girls or women (there are no known male Nytos)<ref>{{cite|gfl|ms|Balls and Vase}}</ref> whose consciousness has been physically embodied and functions like a [[Neural Cloud]], which enable them to interface with digital networks like [[Tactical Doll]]s,<ref name=CT310 /><ref name=CT28 /> but also exposes them to hacking.<ref name=CT310 /> This biological neural cloud has been dubbed Virtual Cognition Image<ref>{{cite|gfl|ms|Ariadne’s Clew I}}</ref> (VCI)<ref name=FP11 /><ref group=Note>Though [[Dandelion]] says she made up the name Virtual Cognition Image on the spot in [[Mirror Stage]], the name is used by Paradeus Nytos themselves in [[Fixed Point]] and [[Longitudinal Strain]].</ref> or "virtual consciousness".<ref>{{cite|gfl|ms|Ariadne’s Clew III}}</ref> The people turned into Nytos are acquired through human trafficking,<ref>{{cite|gfl|dr|Sweet Dreams Box – End}}</ref> kidnapping of survivors of a [[Iaso's Box]],<ref name=MS29B>{{cite|gfl|ms|Cretan Labyrinth II}}</ref> or through cloning.<ref>{{cite|gfl|iso|Shark and the Sea V}}</ref> They are also said to be created from corpses.<ref>{{cite|gfl|ls|21}}</ref>

The basic Nyto Black and Nyto White are mass-produced, but among the named Nytos only {{enemy name|Tareus|boss}} was known to have multiple active clones at once.<ref>{{cite|gfl|ls|35}}</ref> Most Nytos have an appearance close to {{doll name|M4A1|AR|4}}<ref name=CT0 /> and have their bodies modified with cybernetic enhancements,<ref name=PL46 /><ref name=PL /> but they still bleed like normal humans.<ref name=CT310 /><ref name=CT28 /> Others remain mostly unmodified save for their brain, making them closer to humans, depending on the manner Paradeus intend to use them.<ref>{{cite|gfl|ms|Dreams on the Island of Dia IV}}</ref> Cybernetic enhancements typically include replacement of the legs and arms and added head equipment for lower-ranked Nytos, while higher-ranked Nytos can receive less visible enhancements and attachable extra limbs for combat.

Because all known Nytos are considered imperfect, they are all technically [[#Isomers|Isomers]], though they are rarely properly referred as such.<ref>{{cite|gfl|sc|Nameless Exiles II}}</ref><ref>{{cite|gfl|fp|E4-14}}</ref>

The hierarchy of Nytos is based on their closeness to William's ideal Nyto, and higher Nytos often despise lower ones. Higher-ranked Nytos tend to have white hair. Nyto Whites are considered to have a greater sense of self than Nyto Blacks and have complete authority over them, though they still share the same gestalt mind.<ref name=CT310>{{cite|gfl|ct|White Doll}}</ref> {{spoiler|{{enemy name|Gray|boss}} and {{enemy name|Narciss|boss}}}} had authority over Nyto Whites,<ref>{{cite|gfl|ms|Hemera Points to the Light III}}</ref><ref>{{cite|gfl|ms|Night Festival}}</ref> while {{spoiler|{{enemy name|Morridow|boss}}}} had authority over {{spoiler|Gray and Narciss}}.<ref name=MS29B /> Lower-ranked Nytos usually call higher-ranked ones “Big Sister”, though some with significant bonds use other titles like “Teacher” or no title at all. Higher-ranked Nytos don't emit the same characteristic signal as lower-ranked ones<ref name=ISO1B3>{{cite|gfl|iso|Cat and Mouse III}}</ref> and refuse to be called Nytos,<ref>{{cite|gfl|iso|Faith of Blood I}}</ref><ref>{{cite|gfl|dr|Bridge of Eternity}}</ref> though there are no alternative name for them yet apart from descriptives like “augmented human”.<ref>{{cite|gfl|ms|Absent}}</ref> The strict command hierarchy means Paradeus units not commanded by a Nyto will stop moving.<ref name=CT28>{{cite|gfl|ct|For the Future}}</ref>

It is possible for a Nyto to weaken or break free of Paradeus' indoctrination, such as with [[Adeline]], [[Alina]] and [[Tareus]].

*{{enemy name|Nyto Black|boss}}
*{{enemy name|Nyto White|boss}}

===Isomers===
While [[Dandelion]] calls all Nytos "Isomers" as she sees them as imperfect copies,<ref>{{cite|gfl|sc|Nameless Exiles II}}</ref> [[Persica]] uses this term for "failed" Nytos candidates who didn't live up to expectations and were abandoned by Paradeus.<ref name=PL46>{{cite|gfl|pl|Sintering}}</ref> In chemistry, isomers are molecules with the same number and types of atoms, but organized differently.

Isomers aim to merge with a similar but perfected consciousness like their own to be liberated.<ref>{{cite|gfl|sc|Isomer I}}</ref>

*{{enemy name|Isomer (Enemy)}}
*{{enemy name|Isomer White|boss}}
*{{enemy name|Isomer Black|boss}}

In Tallinn, the Isomers recognized the existence of four previous Chosen Ones while awaiting a fifth one who would liberate them:<br>
:<i>The first walked into the night with the inferior articles for Father. The black of night dyed the hems of her dress, and the flower blossoms withered within the cage of the fallen.<br>
:The second was incomplete, and fell before she went out. The colors of evening froze her time, and the flower blossoms ceased to grow amidst eternal suffering.<br>
:The third held her sisters' hands, and together they charged into the day. The sunlight shattered upon her black sleeves, and the flowers fell into the steely water without blooming.<br>
:The fourth lost her friend, and lost her way within the fog. Her time has not yet come, and she merely lives by imitating her kin.</i><ref>{{cite|gfl|sc|E2-5}}</ref>

===Standard units===
Paradeus' basic field troops like the {{enemy name|Strelet}} are manufactured from the bodies of ELID {{enemy name|Infected}}.<ref>{{cite|gfl|11-4E}}</ref><ref>{{cite|gfl|dr|Pollinosis III}}</ref>

*Humanoid units
**{{enemy name|Strelet}}
**{{enemy name|Rodelero}}
**{{enemy name|Grenadier}}
**{{enemy name|Murat}}
**{{enemy name|Defender (Enemy)}}
**{{enemy name|Hannibal}}
**{{enemy name|Warden}}
**{{enemy name|Maccabee}}
**{{enemy name|Staff of Aesclepius}}
*Armored vehicles
**{{enemy name|Uhlan}}
*Mechs
**{{enemy name|Doppelsoldner}}
**{{enemy name|Thunder (Enemy)}}
**{{enemy name|Roarer}}
**{{enemy name|Garmr}}
**{{enemy name|Hymnal Organ}}
**{{enemy name|Quill of Patmos}}
**{{enemy name|Gebbennu|boss}}
*Other units
**{{enemy name|Pyxis}} (turret platforms)
**{{enemy name|Dish of Aceso}}/{{enemy name|Elusinian Mysteries}} (Collapse Fluid cannon)

==Note==
<references group=Note />

==References==
<references />
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