The next morning arrived beneath a blanket of grey clouds.
Zero watched them drift across the sky from the wooden steps outside the house.
Not that morning meant much to him.
He had slept.
A little.
Maybe two hours.
Maybe less.
He never bothered keeping track anymore.
Sleep had never come easily to him.
Whenever he drifted too deeply into it, something always dragged him back out.
A nightmare.
A feeling.
A terror he could never remember.
He would wake with his heart hammering against his ribs and cold sweat clinging to his skin, yet no matter how hard he tried, the dream itself was always gone.
Only the fear remained.
As though his mind had forgotten something his body refused to let go of.
Over the years he had simply stopped fighting it.
A few hours was enough.
Or at least that's what he told himself.
The village was only beginning to wake. Thin wisps of smoke rose from chimneys. Farmers stepped onto dirt roads carrying tools over their shoulders. Somewhere nearby, a rooster crowed with more confidence than intelligence.
Ordinary.
Everything looked ordinary.
His gaze lowered to the hunting knife resting in his hand.
Scrape.
The whetstone slid across the blade.
Scrape.
A thin silver edge caught the morning light.
Normally, sharpening a knife helped clear his thoughts.
Today it wasn't working.
Chains.
The image surfaced without warning.
Cold iron biting into flesh.
Blood.
Too much blood.
Then those eyes.
Golden.
Ancient.
Watching.
Zero paused.
The memory fragment disappeared as quickly as it had come, leaving only an uncomfortable weight in his chest.
Yesterday's vision should have faded already.
Instead, it felt as though something deep inside him had shifted.
Like a crack spreading beneath frozen ice.
His fingers tightened around the knife.
The feeling irritated him.
Not because it hurt.
Because he didn't understand it.
He hated not understanding things.
Around him, Ashvale continued its routine.
Children chased each other through muddy streets.
Merchants opened their stalls.
Hunters prepared for another trip into the forest.
Life moved forward as if nothing had changed.
But something had.
Zero knew it.
He couldn't explain how.
The village felt different lately.
Tense.
The beast attacks had increased again this month.
Three hunters were missing.
Several farms had lost livestock.
People smiled less than they used to.
Laughed less too.
And yesterday...
Zero's eyes narrowed slightly.
Yesterday he had seen fear in Elias' eyes.
Most people would have missed it.
His father hid emotions well.
Years as a hunter had taught him that.
But Zero noticed things other people didn't.
A brief hesitation.
A tighter grip on a weapon.
A glance held half a second too long.
Small things.
The kind of things that revealed more than words ever could.
Elias was worried.
Which meant the situation was worse than the village realized.
The knife let out a soft metallic sound as Zero resumed sharpening it.
Scrape.
The edge gleamed.
His gaze drifted toward the southern forest visible beyond the village rooftops.
Dark trees stretched endlessly across the horizon.
Silent.
Waiting.
For a moment, an uneasy thought crossed his mind.
Something was coming.
He didn't know what.
He didn't know why.
But for the first time in years, the peaceful routine of Ashvale felt fragile.
Like glass moments before it shattered.
"Still brooding?"
Klaus dropped onto the fence behind him.
Zero didn't look up.
"No".
"That's what someone brooding would say".
Zero continued sharpening the blade.
Klaus grinned.
"You're impossible."
A brief silence followed.
Then Klaus suddenly leaned forward.
"You know everyone thinks you're scary right?"
Zero shrugged.
"Most people are stupid."
Klaus barked out a laugh.
"I can't even argue with that."
He leaned back against the fence.
Several children playing nearby immediately changed direction after noticing Zero.
The reaction wasn't unusual.
It happened constantly.
The younger children feared him.
The older ones avoided him.
Most adults tolerated him.
Only a handful actually spoke to him willingly.
Zero never cared enough to correct any of it.
After all...
They weren't part of his world.
Klaus was.
His parents were.
Everyone else existed somewhere outside the boundaries of what mattered.
The two eventually made their way into the village center.
Ashvale wasn't large.
A few hundred people at most.
Wooden houses.
Small farms.
A modest market.
A single guard post.
Nothing remarkable.
Yet it was home.
As they crossed the village square, the usual whispers followed.
Not loud enough to confront him.
Just quiet enough to pretend he couldn't hear.
"...Zero..."
"...those scars..."
"Still no essence?"
"...almost sixteen..."
"What a waste..."
A woman quickly pulled her child closer as they passed.
Klaus rolled his eyes.
"They say the same thing every week."
Zero ignored them.
Because they weren't wrong.
At fifteen, most children could at least sense essence.
Many had already started preparing for their awakening.
Zero couldn't sense anything.
Nothing.
No matter how hard he tried.
It was like essence simply refused to acknowledge him.
The thought irritated him.
More than he cared to admit.
Power mattered.
People who said otherwise were either powerful already or lying.
Without strength you couldn't protect anything.
Couldn't keep anything.
Couldn't stop anything.
Zero knew that instinctively.
Even if he couldn't tell why.
The village square slowly emptied as noon approached.
Most people returned to work.
Klaus, however, had different plans.
"Come on."
"No."
"We're going."
"No."
"Too late."
Before Zero could refuse again, Klaus grabbed his arm and started dragging him toward the southern gate.
"You're annoying."
"I've been told that."
Half an hour later they stood atop one of the wooden watchtowers overlooking the forest.
The view stretched for miles.
Dense trees.
Rolling hills.
Endless wilderness.
Klaus stared into the distance with shining eyes.
"Beautiful."
"It looks like trees."
"That's because you have no imagination."
Zero sat against the tower railing.
Klaus remained standing.
Watching.
Dreaming.
Thinking about beasts.
As always.
"You really want to become the Beast Sovereign."
It wasn't a question.
Klaus smiled.
"Yep."
"Why?"
The answer came immediately.
"Because somebody has to."
Zero raised an eyebrow.
Klaus folded his arms dramatically.
"Think about it."
"I'd rather not."
"I'm serious."
He pointed toward the forest.
"Beasts aren't evil."
"They eat people."
"So do some people."
"..."
Klaus continued anyway.
"Most beasts just follow instinct."
His expression became more serious.
"Nobody understands them."
"Nobody tries."
"I want to."
Zero studied him quietly.
Most people treated Klaus like a fool whenever he talked about his dream.
Zero never did.
Because Klaus believed it.
Completely.
And there was something admirable about that.
The ability to chase a ridiculous dream without caring what others thought.
Zero wasn't sure he possessed that quality.
The conversation ended when movement appeared below.
Several hunters were returning from the forest.
Only...
There were fewer of them than before.
Klaus frowned.
"So soon?"
Zero stood.
Something felt wrong.
The hunters moved quickly through the gates.
Faces pale.
Weapons drawn.
One man was injured.
Blood covered his arm.
The atmosphere changed immediately.
Villagers began gathering.
Whispers spread.
Fear followed.
Elias was among the hunters.
The moment Zero saw him, relief appeared before he could stop it.
Elias noticed.
And smiled faintly.
Then Zero saw something else.
The expression in his father's eyes.
Concern.
Real concern.
Something had happened.
Something bad.
Klaus noticed it too.
The two immediately climbed down from the tower.
By the time they reached the gates, the hunters had already begun speaking with the village guards.
"We found another nest."
"How many?"
"Too many."
The hunter shook his head.
"They're migrating."
Silence followed.
Then someone asked the question everyone was thinking.
"Why?"
No one had an answer.
Elias finally looked toward the forest.
His expression dark.
"The beasts are running from something."
A chill passed through the crowd.
Because that answer was somehow worse.
That night, Zero stood alone outside the house.
The village had long since gone quiet.
Only the wind moved now, drifting softly through Ashvale while distant trees swayed beneath the dark sky.
Above him, countless stars stretched endlessly across the heavens.
Zero stared at them silently.
For some reason, he always felt strange whenever he looked at the night sky.
Small.
Existentially.
As though something far beyond Nyxara was staring back at him.
Watching.
Waiting.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
Then suddenly—
Pain exploded through his skull.
Zero staggered violently.
A sharp breath escaped his lips as his hand immediately gripped the side of his head.
The pain was unbearable.
Not physical.
Deeper.
Like something was forcing itself against a locked door inside his mind.
Images flashed uncontrollably.
Chains dragging across stone.
Blood spreading across black floors.
Screaming.
So much screaming.
A woman's voice—
Crying.
Begging.
Then—
Golden eyes.
Cold.
Ancient.
Merciless.
Zero's breathing became uneven.
His scars burned.
Every mark across his body suddenly felt like fire had been carved beneath his skin.
The pain grew worse.
His vision blurred violently.
Then—
A voice.
Distant.
Distorted.
"...raeth..."
Zero froze.
The voice vanished instantly.
Silence returned.
His body trembled faintly.
And then—
A notification appeared before his eyes.
A faint blue screen.
Transparent.
Impossible.
[ERROR]
Memory Lock Detected
Primary Identity Unavailable
Access Denied
The screen vanished immediately.
Zero froze.
His heart skipped once.
For several moments he simply stood there.
Motionless.
Silent.
Then he spoke.
"...What?"
No answer came.
Only the wind.