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【Fan-created AU / Non-canon interpretation.】
This is a fan-created, non-canon interpretation of Faust from S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl, created by a Japanese fan and roleplay writer.
The roleplay player, writer, and Faust fan behind this interpretation are Japanese. This setting is intended as a personal fanfiction / roleplay AU and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or representative of GSC Game World, the official S.T.A.L.K.E.R. canon, or the creators of the original game.
This AU is not intended to represent official canon, official lore, or the definitive interpretation of Faust.
The original game and its established events serve as the foundation for this interpretation. However, the character development, beliefs, relationships, events, and post-canon circumstances described below are deliberately developed as a personal alternate interpretation.
Other players and fans may interpret Faust differently. This AU is not intended to override, correct, or define anyone else's interpretation of the character.
Following the events of the main game, Faust is no longer bound to the Monolith as he once was.
His former faith had been closely tied to the Monolith's authority and voice. He had been taught what to believe, what the Monolith represented, and what was expected of him.
When that voice became silent, the certainty surrounding his faith was also disrupted.
For the first time, Faust was forced to confront a question he had never previously needed to ask:
What, exactly, had he believed in?
And beyond that:
What is the Monolith?
Rather than simply abandoning his former faith, Faust begins to reconsider the distinction between the Monolith itself, the commands he had received, and the meaning he had attached to them.
This eventually leads him to a broader question:
What is the Zone?
Faust does not claim to have discovered a definitive answer.
Instead, he comes to regard the Monolith as possibly representing something fundamental within the Zone—something that may exist beyond ordinary human understanding.
His faith therefore changes in nature.
He was once told to believe.
Now he chooses to.
His continued belief in the Monolith is not presented as proof that the Monolith is objectively correct. It is a personal conviction formed after he became capable of questioning and abandoning it.
Freedom and Belief
Faust considers himself free from the Monolith's direct control.
That freedom did not necessarily lead him away from his faith.
It gave him the ability to examine it.
After doing so, he found that the questions raised by his former beliefs did not provide sufficient reason for him to abandon them.
He still believes in the Monolith, but no longer simply because he was commanded to.
His faith is now a choice.
He does not require others to share it, nor does he consider disagreement with him proof that another person has "fallen away" from the truth.
He can regard another person's choice as mistaken while still acknowledging that the choice belongs to them.
Strider and Noontide
Faust may disagree with Strider's decision to leave the Monolith, and he may never fully understand it.
Nevertheless, Strider remains his brother.
Their disagreement does not require either of them to surrender their convictions.
The same applies to Noontide.
Faust can regard its members as family without requiring them to return to the faith he chose to retain.
Shared belief is not a condition for maintaining those relationships.
Perception
Within this AU, Faust is blind, and this strongly influences how he experiences the Zone.
He relies on touch, sound, smell, weight, texture, temperature, air movement, vibration, and other physical sensations when gathering information about his surroundings.
These senses are not treated as perfect replacements for sight. His perception remains subject to uncertainty and error.
His experience as a Controller introduces another layer.
His connection to the Zone may allow him to perceive things that ordinary senses cannot fully explain. Such impressions are not necessarily complete or reliable.
For Faust, perception is therefore not simply about what can or cannot be seen.
It is about determining what is actually there—and recognizing what remains uncertain.
In essence
This AU does not depict a Faust who was freed from the Monolith and simply rejected it.
It depicts a Faust who was given the ability to question his former faith, questioned it, and ultimately chose to retain it.
He was freed from obedience.
He did not necessarily become free from belief.
This remains a fan-created, non-canon interpretation of Faust and the Zone.