Yi Sang/Story

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"Wait!"

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Backstory

Yi Sang is a former member of the League of Nine Littérateurs, a society of inventors and scientists, alongside Gubo, Dongrang, Dongbaek, Aseah, Young-ji, and many others. The members of this society were all from S Corp., having emigrated to T Corp.'s Nest to avoid corruption and to seek research opportunities. Yi Sang picked up a job as an architect, designing factories for producers in T Corp., which allowed him to comfortably fund the League. During his time there, he developed the Mirror, a device capable of reflecting the alternate worlds and timelines of the viewer, modeled after a concept (the "Glass Window") by Young-ji.

Yi Sang became engrossed in his invention, which he dubbed "Yeonsim", and within it, he encountered and befriended his alternate self, Sang Yi. The Mirror provided Yi Sang a comfort from the reality of his situation, allowing him to dream of a distant world in which he did not need to submit his abilities to the will of the City, that would only twist his inventions to hurt others. As the fate of his compatriots and the League began to be threatened by various Wings, that had taken interest in his and Young-ji's inventions, Yi Sang found himself relying more and more on Yeonsim and Sang Yi, while starting to lose interest in the painful truth of the League's internal problems.

"As it turned out, each of us wanted to protect a different point in time."

After a raid by T Corp., the League fell apart. Yi Sang, shocked from the experience and unable to shake himself out of the feeling of apathy that seized him, was taken by Gubo, who wished to keep making use of Yi Sang's abilities, and together they escaped through the T Corp. Backstreets. Gubo whisked Yi Sang away to safety to an N Corp. laboratory, where Hermann and Gubo would attempt to gather a new League of Nine to further research the Glass Mirror. After spending an amount of time confined in a featureless room, sedated daily and interacting only with his mirror, Yi Sang eventually defected after Hermann ordered him to research a way to destroy all the possibilities of the Mirror Worlds. He was then found by Faust who invited him to Limbus Company; there, he would refine his Mirror into the current engine of Mephistopheles, developing the Identity system, a technology capable of pulling forth alternate selves and abilities to be used in battle.

Yi Sang is noted by his documentation to have been the youngest chief researcher of an unknown Wing; in reality, this refers to his time under N Corp., where his research was used as the basis for further experiments.

Developments

After fleeing N Corp. and meeting Faust, Yi Sang was invited to join Limbus Company: he would be the first Sinner.

During his early time with the Company, Yi Sang would come off as exceptionally closed-off: during the group’s exploration of the old L Corp. in Canto I: The Outcast, Ishmael appeared clearly surprised to see him willingly join in a conversation, leading to Faust explaining that he wasn’t always like this, and that he just “had a shift recently”. This would later be explained as a consequence of Yi Sang's psychological collapse following the fall of the League.

During this mission, Yi Sang crossed paths with one of his old compatriots for the first time since leaving N Corp., as he once again faced Gubo, finding out with a mix of disappointment and resignation that his old friend had decided to continue working with Hermann. Later on, during the mission at J Corp., Yi Sang was surprised to witness Rodion and Sonya's quick separation, and questioned Rodion on her feelings about it, hinting at the matter of the League still weighing heavy on his mind.

In early May, Limbus Company's search for the Golden Boughs led the LCB to continue their travels within K Corp.'s Nest. Here, Yi Sang reunited with another of his former compartiots, his old friend Dongrang. Initially, Yi Sang did not acknowledge nor recognize Dongrang, to the point that Dante, despite being told by Dongrang that he was friends with one of the Sinners, was not able to figure out the Sinner in question was Yi Sang. Yi Sang only first directly interacted with Dongrang upon the latter showing the LCB around to the K Corp. Modification Lab, staring Dongrang in the eye and commenting on the barbarous system of production he had developed. When confronted by Dongrang later on, Yi Sang remarked that at this point, he had no companions left by his side.

During the exploration of the K Corp. Lobotomy Corporation Branch, Yi Sang would also meet Dongbaek again, and die by her hand as she plunged the Golden Bough into his heart. At this point, he began to resonate with the Bough, which would form his fathoms of ego, taking on the appearance of the fallen League. Within the fathoms, Yi Sang relived the events that would lead up to the fall of the League, starting from the group's reunion after their moving to T Corp., to Young-ji's creation of the Glass Window and Yi Sang's development of the Mirror, to the eventual raid by the hands of T Corp. agents.

After Dongbaek and Dongrang's deaths during the combat that ensued, Yi Sang was reached by a remnant of Dongbaek's consciousness, who spoke to him for the last time, and reminded him of the function of his invention, to show any possibility, therefore reminding him that the worth he had seen in his self in the mirror had always been within him as well. At this point, Yi Sang was finally able to come to terms with his invention and his past, and to recognize his ability to flight, his talent as a creator and worth as a person. Pushed on by Sang Yi, he decides to once more to flutter his wings, and continue living.

After the events of Canto IV, Yi Sang appears to be slowly recovering, his newfound ambitions making him a much more active member of the Company, who revels in his new friendships and makes continuous effort to help his fellow Sinners. During the events of Canto VI, after learning of the ways N Corp. had been twisting his invention for their purposes, Yi Sang laments this outcome and chastizes his friend Aseah for his complicity, a behavior that makes it clear he has shrug off the apathy to life that had seized him after the fall of the League.

Relations

League of Nine Littérateurs

“ We were neither highfliers nor greedy vultures; we were merely children who loved technology. ”

—Yi Sang recalling his old compatriots

"If I were to choose one, the happiest occasion in recent memory would be..."

The members of the League had, for a long time, been Yi Sang's closest friends. He, Dongrang and Dongbaek grew up in the same hometown, but nonetheless, he fondly remembers all members of the League. Following the League's departure from S Corp., upon finding a job as an architect for T Corp., Yi Sang would gladly give up much of his income to fund the League, often offering to pay the high tax fees the others were not always able to handle by themselves. When asked about a particularly happy memory that he recalls, Yi Sang picked the League's illuminator's conferences, during which he and his friends would share their inventions.

Among them, Yi Sang harbored a deep admiration for Brother Young-ji, being fascinated and inspired by his inventions, and recalling him as a man of great kindness. Even in the present day, Yi Sang misses the members of the Leage, appearing greatly pained when meeting many of them under less than friendly circumstances, but still greeting them as old friends and referring to them as his compatriots.

Limbus Company

Upon joining the team, Yi Sang took some time before warming up to the LCB crew. His interactions with his coworkers were quite limited, and he would often remain passive in many circumstances, not forming ties with anyone in particular, not interfering when the other Sinners would fight, and refusing to pick a side even during Gregor and Ryōshū's cook-off. Even still, he would begin to enjoy the new companionship, having his abilities recognized by some of the Sinners, such as Heathcliff and Faust and being at times involved by others, like Don Quixote and Sinclair, in their time off.

The events of Canto IV marked a profound change in Yi Sang's relationship with his coworkers. In the fathoms of ego, upon reminiscing on the fallen League, Yi Sang would compare Hong Lu to Brother Young-ji, recognizing many of positive qualities of his lost compatriot in the Sinner's kind and calm demeanor, and at the end of the mission he would decide to confide in Dante his decision to walk forward and no longer be carried along by the course of events, and rely on them to help him on this path.

After this, Yi Sang began to make a continuous effort to forge new friendships. During the group's stay in U Corp.'s Backstreets, Yi Sang is the first to invervene during Ishmael and Heathcliff's fight, reminding everyone of the various plans they had for their stay in the District and suggesting to indulge in a moment of respite, helping Dante momentarily defuse the situation. As Ishmael's mood worsens once more, leading to a second fight, Yi Sang appears heavily dejected, being reminded of the infighting he'd already witnessed in the moments of highest tension in the League, but still not giving up, instead searching for new ways to help his fellows, such as asking Faust for insight on the other Sinners' preferences, supposedly to present them with gifts.

Yi Sang would continue to reveal this side to his personality during the mission in U Corp., showing care and worry toward Dante after the Manager's heavy injury, and for Ishmael upon the group readying to face off with the Pallid Whale. Similarly, Yi Sang would be one of the first Sinners to attempt to comfort Heathcliff during the group's journey towards Wuthering Heights. In the same instance, Yi Sang would also appear strongly impressed by Rodion's color-themed personality test, further showing Yi Sang's consistent and genuine interest in learning of his fellows' likes and unique talents.