|Location: Outskirts of the wasteland. |
-OMNISCIENCE-
The battlefield where Zero and Dia clashed lay charred and blazing, smoke and dust thick in the air. Through the haze, Zero emerged from a pile of rubble, slowly stepping forward under the scorching sun.
[Warning host! 13.012002% Energy reserved used]
"Cough! Cough!" Zero pushed away debris as the dust began to settle. Scanning his surroundings, his eyes caught something convulsing nearby—an eerie, writhing form just a few feet away. He approached slowly and halted before Dia's tattered, deformed body, his gaze cold and unyielding.
As if sensing Zero's presence, Dia's broken form struggled to reconstruct itself. With each desperate attempt, a screech tore from her lips—an agonized protest as parts of her body fought against death. But the injuries inflicted by Zero's flames were too severe, halting any chance of healing. The breaking point had been reached.
But as if driven by instinct or sheer will to fight, Dia gave it her all to rise—relocating misaligned joints, forcing broken bones to stand, and clutching her melted and burnt flesh just to keep it from falling apart. Her eyes showed no light, yet, like a rabid animal at its core, Dia began growling toward Zero, exuding a raw, hostile energy.
Despite this fierce display, Zero knew the battle between them was over.
He observed Dia's usual reliance on instinct during combat, but now she showed no trace of rational thought—she was reduced to a savage beast. His voice was cold and cutting. "You're acting like an animal now; did the battle cause you to degrade?"
Zero's glare hardened as he flicked a small ball of fire at her feet. Dia trembled immediately, whimpering and tumbling onto her back, overwhelmed by his sudden shift in expression and the flickering flames. Zero scoffed, a mixture of disdain and disbelief crossing his face at her desperate act.
[Initiating live biometric scan on a recorded specimen Yg3798_1#60 Dia]
Almost instantly, the scan of Dia's body appeared on the SAI panel before Zero. His eyes locked onto the display, noticing an overwhelming golden hue saturating her entire frame. The glow was especially intense around her head, where it clustered brightly, with veins and rigid airways traced by flowing streams of this radiant light.
SAI quickly delivered a concise, direct explanation to Zero, breaking the tense silence.
[Sertium contamination is high, resulting in a decline in mental faculties. Only about 5% of the genes scanned were human; the remaining 95% were non-human genes—60% parasite-type genes, 23% mutated plant genes, and 7% unrecorded genes concentrated in the solar nexus, acting as an energy source preventing total organ failure. Advise host needs close examination for further details.]
Zero's curiosity sharpened as he absorbed the biometric scan's grim data. Without hesitation, as if possessed by an urgent instinct, he reached out and plunged his hand into Dia's navel. Golden blood welled out as he searched relentlessly for the elusive 7% condensed gene.
Dia screamed, jerking frantically, desperate to push him away. "No! The seed! The seed! He needs the seed! Stay away!"
Helpless in her predicament, Dia endured every agonizing moment of Zero's intrusion. Zero's hand moved deeper into her abdomen, causing Dia to foam at the mouth from the searing pain. She bore it all, unable to fight back.
Zero's fingers pressed and squeezed, probing every inch of her innards—from chest to potential exits. Dia's eyes rolled back in torment, golden blood pouring from her abdomen in a steady flow.
Though Dia lost consciousness multiple times, Zero remained relentless, his hand ruthless and unyielding. Then, finally, his fingers brushed against something small and rigid. Trusting his instincts, Zero seized the object—snatching it from Dia's flesh with a harsh pull.
To rid the seed of the clinging blood and flesh, Zero flicked his hand sharply a few times. He then wiped the golden blood from his hands on the rough bark of a nearby tree, eyes steely and unreadable as he prepared for what came next.
As soon as Zero pulled the object free, Dia's screeches grew louder, her cries turning manic as she desperately reached for the seed ripped from her. But no sooner had it left her body than her hands and feet began to wither, as if struck by a relentless plague. The decay crept swiftly upward, consuming her head. Finally, her body cracked and hardened, fossilizing completely.
Zero stared at the object—about the size of his thumb—but unmistakably a seed of some kind. Holding it up beneath the sun, he examined it closely. "What is this strange feeling? I feel like I've seen this somewhere... SAI, can you—"
[Scanni—- Error!]
Before Zero could finish, the seed vanished from his hand like a mirage fading in the desert or a daydream slipping away on a passing breeze. Startled, Zero quickly scanned his surroundings, trying to make sense of what had just happened. "Huh!? Just what in the world!?"
[Unable to scan object, failed to update the existing database.]
"Now… Now… I can't let you do that." A voice echoed sharply across the ruined landscape. Zero spun around, eyes sharp, searching for the source.
There, standing with an air of quiet menace, was a man cloaked in a pristine black hooded coat lined with silver and adorned with intricate gold patterns along the hem. The hood shadowed his face, but his pale left arm and distinctly darkened right arm were visible—an eerie contrast.
The deep, resonant tone of his voice, coupled with broad shoulders outlined beneath the cloak, made it clear he was a man. The soft rustle of his cloak in the sudden gust filled the tense silence as Zero blinked, dazed by the sense of familiarity stirring within him.
The trance broke abruptly when the man strode forward and perched atop a pile of debris, waving the seed mockingly before Zero's eyes. Snapping back to full alertness, Zero lunged without hesitation, snatching the seed from the stranger's hand.
"You—what are you doing? Give it back!" Zero landed firmly behind the man, voice sharp and uncompromising. "You can't just steal someone's property."
Zero glanced behind him and saw the man still sitting on the debris, his back turned casually against him, doing nothing despite Zero's efforts. A smirk crossed Zero's face—perhaps the battle had taken its toll. After all, some random stranger had managed to sneak up and snatch the seed from his hand.
But just as Zero opened his hand to check the seed, a pale white hand suddenly snatched it away. Zero was thrown backward several feet. Looking up, he found the hooded figure standing before him again, waving the seed mockingly in his face. Zero was left speechless.
"I named myself Steve, and I can't let you do that," the man said, circling his finger toward Zero as if framing his entire being. Then, with rigid certainty, he added, "You also can't have this." He turned and walked back to the pile of debris, waving the seed in his hand.
"What… How!?" Zero struggled to process the moment, but instinct took over. He commanded SAI under his breath, "How did he do it, SAI!"
[Scanning Biomet—]
"Like I said, whatever you're doing, I can't let you." Without warning, Zero coughed up a mouthful of blood as Steve's hand plunged into his stomach, lifting him off the ground. "Think of this as payback for what you did to our experiment. I also needed more data from that thing. But no matter—I have something even better here."
"Yo–u… I didn–'t, G–et o–ff me! SAI!" Zero's mind began slipping away. He tried to summon his fire abilities, but concentration eluded him. The moment Steve's hand pierced him, the surge of energy he'd felt moments before vanished.
Worse still, he could no longer hear or feel SAI.
"Woah! You're holding on quite well. Let's see... oh, this is!" Steve dug even deeper, then suddenly chuckled before bursting into maniacal laughter. "Amazing... I didn't know there's still more of you."
Steve pulled his hand out of Zero and began pacing back and forth, lost in thought over his next move. "If it were me, I would have—no, a promise is a promise."
Zero could only feel his body hit the ground as Steve's erratic behavior unfolded before him. Steve started mumbling incoherently, pulling strands of his own hair one by one, his relentless, unhinged actions filling the tense air.
Then, abruptly, Steve stopped and turned his head toward Zero. Though his face remained hidden beneath the cloak, Zero could sense the devilish grin spreading across it.
"Seeing as your wound is healing at an incredible rate, that's the proof I need to know you're the same as him." Steve knelt to Zero's level and raised his hand toward him.
Zero instinctively curled into himself as Steve's bloody hand hovered over his body. The lingering pain from Steve's earlier intrusion was deeply etched in his nerves—this was the first time he felt truly helpless. Yet something in Steve's words caught his attention. "What do y-ou me–an by 'the s-same as h-him'?"
Steve chuckled darkly at Zero's question, then grabbed Zero's healing wound, digging his hand into it once more. He leaned close, his lips brushing Zero's ear. "You'll know someday. Also, a word of advice: when you're done squirming from what I'm about to do, I suggest you run as fast as you can and get the hell out of this place."
Steve pulled his hand away and stood up. Zero gasped for air, groaning as he fought through the pain. "What do you mean?"
"Hmmm... It should be any second now."
As soon as Steve said that, a sudden surge of pain and electrifying energy burst from Zero's stomach, as if something inside him was being electrocuted and burned.
Zero screamed at the top of his lungs, clutching his chest as the energy surged toward his head.
"After you're done, don't forget what I said—unless you want to get caught and blown to smithereens along with this place. The explosives I planted while you were busy playing with my experiment… Well, now that I think of it, that would be rude to her. Anyway, just run. Till we meet again, Zero."
Steve waved his hand, leapt into the air, and vanished from sight, disappearing completely from the scene.
But Zero's body continued to convulse violently. Every nerve was ablaze with rampaging energy, and he could feel his eyes straining, as if trying desperately not to burst from their sockets and bleed.
"Ah! What's happening, SAI? I need help!" Zero shouted, trying to call out despite feeling no presence of SAI within him. His desperate plea grew louder: "SAI, please!"
When all hope seemed lost, a familiar tone echoed. The voice is clearly different but it's somehow familiar—not inside his head, but hovering just above his body.
"ERROR OVERRIDE SYSTEM ADMIN CODE… Apologies, Zero."
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