Broken Rainbow

Biodata

Background / History

As a young child, Broken Rainbow was held in the Eye-Carving Bird’s dungeon. People in white coats called her a monster and described the things in her eyes as dangerous. Inanna later came to her and called her a “beautiful flower” 22.

At Scarlet Letter Mansion, Broken Rainbow underwent compulsory combat training under Inanna, whom she called “Mother.” She disliked training despite accepting Daffodil’s insistence that she needed it. When she skipped two sets of footwork, Inanna whipped her and ordered eight sets, counting the additional six as an advance on the following day’s training 7.

Her life with Inanna combined punishment and affection. Broken Rainbow said Inanna did not hit her when Daffodil was present; Jin'en also witnessed Inanna holding both sisters in her lap and tending their hair after Broken Rainbow’s punishment 7 10.

Appearance

• Hair: Long, white, and frequently untidy. Daffodil sometimes braids it into two crooked, uneven braids 4 8.
• Eyes: Green, with irregular coloring resembling broken glass and darker streaks through the irises 9 20.
• Build: Thin; more than a head shorter than Jin'en during their confrontation in the training ground 7 20.
• Teeth: Two pointed canine teeth, often visible when she smiles 3 8.
• Clothing: Oversized cargo pants, sometimes with the legs rolled to different heights 14 20.
• Footwear: Frequently barefoot, including on gravel and the iron-sand training floor. Her soles develop cracks that Jin'en later treats 20 21 23.

Personality

Broken Rainbow is talkative, teasing, and fond of provoking reactions from Jin'en. She uses playful demands and misleadingly serious explanations to draw him into her experiments. Her illusion tests are partly practical research and partly an attempt to frighten him out of his habitual reserve 2 8 9.

Her outward levity can be unsettling. Other children avoid her, and she describes Jin'en’s lethal Spatial Folding as beautiful—like erasing someone from a picture. She is accustomed to being treated as abnormal, recalling the people who called her a monster during her childhood confinement 3 22.

Beneath that manner, she is attentive to others’ pain and fiercely protective of those she accepts as family. She notices Jin'en’s self-destructive habits, worries about his response to past violence, and insists that he stop entering dangerous situations alone. Although initially suspicious of Porsette and resentful of the attention Jin'en gives her, she later explains that she helps the younger girl because nobody helped her when she was young 20 21 26 41 48.

Abilities & Skills

Eye of Bewilderment

Broken Rainbow’s named ability creates illusions. She describes it as fooling the eyes rather than producing an unbreakable reality 8 9.

• Momentary disruption: She makes Jin'en’s vision flicker for half a second, too briefly for him to consciously process an image 8.
• Immersive scenes: She replaces his surroundings with a featureless room and apparent encounters with Inanna and herself. The test lasts approximately forty-seven seconds 9.
• Breaking conditions: A clear-minded target can identify a flaw and shatter the illusion. Jin'en escapes after recognizing inconsistencies in her appearance; Daffodil previously cleaved an illusion apart after three seconds 9.
• Controlled output: She reports using roughly ten percent of her power for the brief flicker and thirty percent for the longer test 9.
• Guard distraction: Small finger movements briefly daze guards and redirect their attention, allowing her and Jin'en to pass through Hermann Voss’s club 21.
• Sensory interference: She can present a false source of ability fluctuations to a perception-type user. Against Mili, she estimates a maximum window of five seconds before the deception is noticed 21.
• Teleportation support: Her illusions can provide temporary teleportation points for Porsette, whose ability depends on seeing a destination 26.

Soul Perception and Visions

Broken Rainbow reports seeing people’s souls as colors or flames 14 20.

• Daffodil: A white flame that does not burn; her soul brightens when she embraces Jin'en before leaving Red Letter 14 20.
• Porsette: A transparent flame or vessel without a settled color or shape. Broken Rainbow considers such a person particularly difficult to control with illusions 20.
• Recurring images: She describes seeing Jin'en in a corridor lined with broken mirrors, approaching a door with her behind it. The scene varies; in one version, he turns away without opening the door 21.

Swordsmanship

Broken Rainbow carries a katana and uses direct combat when deception is insufficient 21 43.

• She offers to handle guards while Jin'en retrieves Prism’s surveillance materials 41.
• She subdues men at a guarded warehouse while pursuing Old Zheng’s network 44.
• During the pawnshop operation, she strikes a perception-type opponent as his concentration is occupied and breaks Miao’s arm with the back of her blade 49.

Observation and Fieldcraft

• Power testing: She constructs a rope-and-stone apparatus to measure the pull and range of Jin'en’s spatial rift 8 9.
• Reading behavior: She notices Jin'en’s pupil contraction, hand movements, and changes in his conduct after taking over Daffodil’s assignments 8 20 21.
• Counter-surveillance: She identifies followers, follows their vehicle to a warehouse, and helps trace a van with duplicated registration plates 34 44.
• Training: She corrects unsafe practice, warns Porsette to check behind herself before emerging from a portal, and encourages her to learn how to watch her pursuers 21 31 36.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Life Binder: A katana given to her by Inanna. Its blade’s base color is scarlet and cannot be washed away. She commonly carries it behind her waist, though she also wears it at her left hip 21 44.
• White braided cord: Kept in her pocket or wrapped around her wrist. She repeatedly winds and unwinds it, including during tense conversations and missions 21 22 48.
• Homemade eyepatch: Made to imitate Daffodil’s eyepatch. Broken Rainbow kept it in her pocket and says she stopped wearing it after her sister left 22.
• Rope-and-stone testing tool: A short cotton rope with knotted ends and a stone tied near its center, assembled during confinement to test Jin'en’s rift 8.
• Secondhand boots: Bought for her by Jin'en in the Bridge District before he treats the cracks in her soles 23.

Relationships

• Daffodil — Older sister and primary source of protection. Daffodil treats her injuries, braids her hair, and arranges extra chocolate during her confinement. Broken Rainbow supports her departure from Red Letter, saying the organization was never where she belonged 4 7 10 14.
• Jin'en — Chosen “big brother” and mission partner. What begins as teasing familiarity develops into sincere attachment after he cares for her injuries and repeatedly risks himself. She eventually insists on accompanying him into danger and obtains his promise to warn her before going alone 2 7 23 41 48.
• Inanna — Authority figure addressed as “Mother,” responsible for her training, assignments, and severe punishments. Inanna also gives her Life Binder and assigns her to protect and train Porsette 7 21 26.
• Porsette — Initially someone she confronts over escape plans and avoidance of training; later her assigned pupil and field partner. Broken Rainbow teaches her illusion escape, teleportation safety, observation, and counter-surveillance 16 17 26 31 44.
• Unica — Brings meals and news during Broken Rainbow’s confinement, including extra chocolate arranged by Daffodil 10.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Jin'en’s Arrival and Early Training

• Welcomes Jin'en with food and chocolate, calls him “big brother,” and notices the silver light from his wrist 2.
• Introduces him to the underground training ground and explains the severity of Daffodil’s training 4.
• Seeks refuge in his room after punishment. His willingness to bandage her wounds also earns Daffodil’s thanks 7.
• Tests his rift with her homemade apparatus, then subjects him to increasingly elaborate illusions 8 9.

Daffodil’s Departure and the Voss Assignment

• Recognizes the significance of Daffodil’s farewell to Jin'en and accepts that leaving Red Letter is best for her sister 14.
• Challenges Jin'en for treating Daffodil’s vacant role as a debt he must repay 20 21.
• Partners with him against Hermann Voss, using illusions to bypass guards and divert Mili’s perception 21.
• After the killing, questions Jin'en’s decision to spare Mili and reveals her own childhood confinement. Jin'en subsequently buys her boots and cares for her damaged feet 22 23.

Training Porsette

• Receives Inanna’s order to lead Porsette on missions, with Jin'en providing perimeter support when needed 26.
• Establishes illusion-escape training with a three-second target and explains how her illusions can support Porsette’s teleportation 26.
• Sends Porsette to observe Jin'en in the field, arguing that she needs to learn judgment and counter-surveillance rather than rules alone 31.

Conflict with Prism

• Helps trace Prism’s vehicles and intercept its operatives; the group’s recovered coordinate list names Scarlet Letter Mansion as her unconfirmed location 34 36 38.
• Learns that Old Zheng used photographs of her to measure Jin'en’s reaction and establish connections between his targets 41.
• Covers Jin'en’s infiltration of an old building, then moves inside when he fails to emerge within thirty seconds. They recover photographs and negatives documenting the mansion’s residents 41 42.
• Works with Porsette to expose followers, track Old Zheng’s movements, and watch his departure aboard boat zero-seven 44 45.
• Stays in Jin'en’s room after the Old Port operation, concerned that Prism may retaliate against him or those close to him 48.
• Helps dismantle Prism’s Miguel District network. During the pawnshop confrontation, she exploits the opening created by Jin'en and Porsette, sustaining a cut to her right hand 49.

Notable Quotes

“It's good that she left. Red Letter isn't where she belongs. It never was.” 14

“Everything I taught you was to help you protect yourself. I never taught you to use yourself as bait.” 41

“If there's no movement by thirty, I'm coming in to find you.” 41