I stood before the mirror and didn't recognise myself.
Two years have passed, and I am now thirteen years old.
The boy looking back had the same crimson eyes, the same white hair. But everything else had shifted.
My hair had grown past my shoulders now. White silk falling around a face that had lost its baby fat. My Jaws were now sharper and my cheekbones more defined. My eyes are brighter, literally brighter. The crimson seemed to glow, even in daylight.
Handsome, the maids whispered when they thought I couldn't hear. Lord Zero is becoming so handsome.
I didn't care about handsome.
Nor did I care about the muscles.
They'd multiplied as a result of years of training with rocks, trees, and my own manic obsession had sculpted my torso into something that made the maids flush and look away when I trained bare-chested.
But today, looking in the mirror, I saw something else.
Not enough.
Still not enough
It was dawn, and the training yard was empty. My favourite time for training.
I moved through forms. Two swords singing throughthe air. I performed Flash steps. They were Sera's term for explosive bursts of speed, and they were crackling beneath my feet.
I'd mastered and perfected them. In fact, I made them mine.
Not enough.
I thought about the academy I was about to attend and meeting Cid. The chaosis waiting there.
I know his story, and I know his growth. I know he'll stumble into power and stronger opponents while I've been grinding for it.
If I meet him now—
I'll be a disappointment.
To myself.
To the being.
To everything I chased that truck for.
I stopped mid-form. Lowered my swords.
I need more.
This estate.. And this comfort.
I need DANGER
It's holding me back.
The decision crystallised in that moment.
Leave.
Train in the wild.
Fight real opponents.
Find my limits and break them.
That night, I wrote a letter:
Mother, Father, Lilia, Luna—
By the time you read this, I'll be gone.
Don't look for me. You won't find me.
I need to become stronger. Stronger than this estate allows. Stronger than training yards, wooden dummies and controlled sparring.
Just give me two years. I'll return in two years.
I promise.
Tell Luna not to burn anything down.
—Zero
I left it on my pillow.
I packed nothing but my swords, a cloak, and dried rations.
I then jumped out the window.
And didn't look back.
Luna's POV (next morning):
I found the letter first.
I read it once... No Twice... Three times.
My hands shook.
He left.
He LEFT.
Without me.
Without telling me.
Without—
The paper ignited in my hands, but I didn't notice,e and I didn't care.
I'll find you, Zero.
I'll always find you.
And when I do—
...
I'll hug you so tight you never leave again.
The first month was hell.
travelled east, away from Kameya territory, into forests so dense that sunlight didn't reach the ground. Creatures lurked in shadows, and bandits camped near trade routes. The weak died; the strong survived.
I survived.
Ihuntedd for food, and I slept in trees,s and I trained every waking moment.
The first monster I killed was a wolf-sized monster with too many teeth. It took forty-seven strikes.
The last monster I killed that month was bear-sized with too many limbs. It took twelve.
There was progress, but the damage I tookwasr too grave.
I keep overestimating myself.
I found a mountain and decided to make it my enemy.
I Cclimbedit every morning and trained at the peak. I descended at night.
And repeated the process.
The thin air stole my breath. The cold tried to kill me. The rocks tried to trip me.
I didn't care.
By month's end, I could climb the mountain in two hours.
By the next month, I did that in an hour.
And finally by month's end, I'd carved my name into the peak.
Still not enough.
A few weeks later...
I found them at dusk.
Bandits.
There were about twenty men, or maybe more. Their Camp was nestled in a valley, smoke rising from cookfires, laughter echoing off the trees.
I watched them for three days.
I learned their rotations, their weaknesses and their sleeping patterns. The ones who drank and the ones who stood watch.
Then I moved.
The first bandit was drunk and half-asleep against a tree.
I came from behind. I used my left hand to cover his mouth and drove my right blade across his throat.
He woke up and struggled. His blood sprayed hot across my fingers.
I held him until he stopped moving.
One down
The next were two men sharing a tent. They were asleep.
I slit the first one's throat; he gurgled, waking the second one up.
His eyes opened as he saw me. He then opened his mouth to scream.
But I drove my blade through his eye.
He instantly twitched and went still.
Three down.
I then saw a pair waking from a nearby tent. They heard something and came to investigate.
I met them in the dark.
I stabbed the first one through the chest. He instantly fell. The Second one swung wildly. I ducked and came up inside his guard. Then sent my blade under his chin.
He dropped with a light thud.
Five down
The fire woke some of the men up.
Four men, scrambling for weapons. I was already among them.
My Blades flashed through them, spraying blood everywhere. Their Screams were cut short.
One almost got me with his sword, dragging across my side. I felt flesh cut apart. But I ignored it. And killed him.
Nine down.
More were now coming my way. The camp was awake now. I heard shouting and running.
Good.
I wanted them awake anyway.
A big man charged at me with his axe swinging. I ducked and took his legs out. I stabbed down as he fell.
Two more came from the left. I Flash stepped between them. Decapitating both heads before they turned.
Twelve down.
I said coldly as I wiped the blood on my face.
They were organising themselves now, forming groups and trying to surround me.
I didn't let them.
I moved faster and hit harder. There was no pattern to how I swung.
A blade caught my arm. I felt the cut was deep. Because I was bleeding badly.
I killed the owner.
Another caught my leg. Making me drop to my knees.
I killed him, too.
Sixteen down/
Three were left. Standing together and shaking.
One pissed himself.
I walked toward them, limping. Bleeding from a dozen wounds. And my swords were dripping.
"Please," one begged. "Please, we'll leave—we'll never—"
I didn't stop.
"MONSTER! HE'S A MONSTER!"
The last one charged at me. Either brave or stupid. It didn't matter.
I killed him first. Then the others.
Nineteen down.
The leader was hiding. A coward. He watched his men die from inside a tent.
I found him curled behind supplies. Sobbing.
"Please—I have a family—a wife—children—"
I looked at him.
Thought about the villages he'd burned. The families he'd destroyed. The children who'd never see their parents again.
Family.
Like mine.
Like Lilia. Luna. Mother.
I raised my blade.
And brought it down.
Twenty down.
I stood among the bodies.
Twenty dead bandits. Blood was soaking the ground. The smell of iron and death thickens in the air.
My body screamed.
There were wounds everywhere. Deep gashes. Bruises covering bruises. One of my arms barely worked. My legs are threatening to give out.
I looked at my hands.
This is what killing feels like.
This is what it means to take life.
I waited for something. Guilt or remorse...
But nothing came.
Only the understanding that this was necessary. This was the path.
I am not a hero.
I am not a villain.
I am something else.
I walked out of that camp. Left the bodies for the crows.
"Twenty men."
"Twenty lives."
"Twenty souls who woke up this morning thinking they'd see another sunset."
I wiped my blade on a dead man's shirt.
"They had names. Probably families. Maybe dreams."
"Doesn't matter now."
I sheathed my sword.
"This is what the path looks like."
"Not glory or honour or some noble crusade."
"Just blood and bodies. Just the understanding that the world doesn't care about your name once you stop breathing."
I started walking and didn't look back.
"They'll find them tomorrow. The travellers and the next group of banditsare looking to claim this spot."
"They'll see the bodies and wonder what kind of monster did this."
"They'll never know it was a child."
"They'll never know I smiled the whole time."
I stepped past the last body.
I paused. Just for a moment.
"I am not a hero."
"I am not a villain."
"I am the thing that happens when obsession meets opportunity."
"I am Zero."
"And this?"
I gestured at the carnage behind me.
"This is just the beginning."
I disappeared into the forest.
Behind me, the first crow landed.
THE END.