『Zero: Before the Memory』
Chapter 1 – ⟪The Blood Contract, The Moment of Return⟫
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I couldn't breathe.
It hurt so much, I wished it would all just end.
A crimson light swallowed my vision.
Far off, a siren screamed.
Joohee's voice, the hospital intercom,
and her final desperate words rang in my ears—
> "Taemin… please, don't open your eyes.
I'll give you my blood if I have to…"
And then—
the world stopped.
My body sank into darkness.
My senses faded one by one.
And then—
> "It's not over yet, Taemin."
[Consciousness Depth – Entering the Chamber of Contract]
A white space without light.
At a black desk sat a humanoid figure—
no eyes, no mouth, no face.
> "If you want to save her…
go back to the beginning."
"…The beginning?"
> "Your blood and hers are already one.
The cycle of life is a contract.
Be reborn… as Zero."
The being placed its hand on my chest—
and a heart, red and wild, began to pound.
BOOM—!!
Agony like my soul tearing apart.
And I plummeted into the void.
[Initiating Return – Sperm Format Activation]
My body reconstructed:
a tail, a head, mitochondria surging to life.
I was one among millions of sperm.
And yet, I was the only one…
who carried emotion.
📍[SYSTEM – Temple of Senses, Gate 1 Activated]
📍[Trial of the Tongue – Entering the Gate of Spiciness]