Mortal Shell 2: How to Unlock Proxima’s “A Life for a Life” Memory

“A Life for a Life” is the third of Proxima the Broodseeker’s five Shell Memories in Mortal Shell 2. It replays a short scene in which Proxima saves Merrick after removing a projectile from his wound, declares her debt repaid, and sets out alone to hunt the Hexapod. Playing through it also lets you pick up the Triarch Repeater before the memory closes.

Quick answer: Open Proxima’s Shell Memories menu, select “A Life For A Life” for 500 Gloom, walk through the frozen scene, press E to pick up the Triarch Repeater, and the memory registers as complete when you return to the character menu.

What the “A Life for a Life” memory covers

The memory opens with Proxima standing over a wounded Merrick. She explains that she has taken out the projectile, but the bleeding has not stopped. Merrick asks where he is, and Proxima answers that she owes him nothing further now. Her line, “A life for a life,” marks the debt as settled.

It sits third in Proxima’s list, between “The Weapon” and “The Endeavor.” Her full set of five reads as “The Exchange,” “The Weapon,” “A Life for a Life,” “The Endeavor,” and “A Bad Deal.” You do not need to view them in order, but this one is the scene that resolves the debt between Proxima and Merrick.

Proxima removing a projectile from a glowing fallen figure with the subtitle about extracting the projectile — The memory opens on Proxima tending to Merrick after pulling out the projectile. Image credit: Cold Symmetry

How to play through “A Life for a Life”

Open Proxima’s character menu and move to her Shell Memories. Highlight “A Life For A Life” and confirm to enter it. The memory costs 500 Gloom to view.

The scene begins with Proxima over the wounded Merrick. Let the opening exchange play out as she reports that the projectile is removed but the bleeding continues, and states that her debt is now repaid.

Armored Proxima facing a frozen figure with the subtitle recalling that Merrick said he owed her — Proxima reminds Merrick that he once said he owed her, then calls the debt settled. Image credit: Cold Symmetry

Move your character through the frozen scene. As you walk forward, Proxima decides to continue on her own rather than travel with Merrick any further.

Player moving through the paused memory scene as Proxima resolves to press on alone — You steer through the frozen moment while Proxima chooses to carry on alone. Image credit: Cold Symmetry

Continue to the point where Proxima vows to kill the Hexapod. Merrick objects that he will not miss the fight, but Proxima tells him he has served his purpose and instructs him not to follow before bidding him farewell.

Character standing near a ghostly seated figure as Proxima addresses Merrick by name — Proxima says her goodbye to Merrick and tells him not to follow. Image credit: Cold Symmetry

Pick up the Triarch Repeater

As Proxima commits to hunting the Hexapod, a prompt appears to collect the Triarch Repeater. Press E when the on-screen text reads “PICK UP TRIARCH REPEATER” to add the weapon during the sequence. This is a sidearm that deals Break Damage at the start of a fight, setting enemies up for a Riposte, and it pairs well with Proxima’s Lightning-focused loadout.

Tip: grab the Repeater before letting the closing lines finish. The pickup is tied to this stretch of the scene, so collect it while the prompt is on screen rather than after the memory begins to wind down.

Gloom cost and refund

Each of Proxima’s Shell Memories charges 500 Gloom to enter and returns the same 500 Gloom as its reward. Viewing “A Life for a Life” therefore nets nothing on paper, since the spend and payout match. Across all five of her memories that works out to 2,500 Gloom in and 2,500 Gloom back, a straight refund rather than a profit.

Detail	Value
Shell	Proxima the Broodseeker
Memory order	Third of five
Gloom cost	500
Gloom reward	500
Weapon pickup	Triarch Repeater (press E)

Confirm the memory unlocked

The scene ends after Proxima’s farewell, and the game returns you to the character menu. You will know it worked when “A Life for a Life” shows as viewed in Proxima’s Shell Memories list. With all five relived, her memory counter reads 05/05 and her Bond Tier shows as maxed at Tier IV.

Shell Memories menu highlighting A Life For A Life with a prompt to enter the memory — The Shell Memories menu with “A Life For A Life” selected and ready to enter. Image credit: Cold Symmetry

Once the memory is logged and the Triarch Repeater is in your inventory, there is nothing else to collect from this scene. The weapon slots straight into a Lightning Proxima setup, where Break Damage from the Repeater opens fights and Biosampler closes the gap for follow-up hits.