Ciko Joun opened his eyes and found himself sitting on a throne, surrounded by red glowing orbs.
Ciko Joun muttered,
"As I expected, I've returned to the castle."
But… the castle seemed empty… no one was there except Ciko Joun.
"Huh, why is it so quiet?"
Ssssssssssh—
Dontur emerged from the shadows.
"WAAAAA!" Ciko Joun yelped, startled by Dontur's sudden appearance.
Dontur bowed.
"My apologies, I had some matters to attend to outside the castle."
"Ahem, alright. I want to ask you a few things."
"Of course, I will answer as best I can," Dontur replied.
Ciko Joun asked about
the madness paths.
"Certainly, I will explain."
Dontur pulled out a chalkboard like before. His hand moved so fast that chalk dust scattered throughout the entire room.
Dontur wrote:
Knight Path: Madness points for this path are earned through actions befitting a knight.
Deceiver Path: You must perform deceptive actions to earn madness points.
Battle Path: Fighting actions grant madness points.
Control Path: Madness points are gained through acts of control.
Criminal Path: Madness points are earned through criminal acts.
"Pfft."
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
...…
"You're laughing, sir?"
Ciko Joun stopped laughing.
"Ahem, it's nothing."
"Oh, right."
"Dontur, I'm going to give you a task."
Dontur responded with a respectful bow and a visible smile.
"I will carry it out. What is the task?"
...
...…
The task was to escort Ciko Joun in the city of Jormun—
but Dontur might become suspicious of Ciko's true identity.
Fear…
That was what Ciko felt now.
Ciko was afraid that the truth would be discovered—
that he was not The Zero, but just an ordinary human: Ciko Joun.