(Durmax – Occupation: RoT / Trapline Army) (Zero)

  Zero leaps from a wall into a roll, striking down two RoT members. A bright, well-lit room flickers in his vision as bones and metal clash. So much is happening, and he is surprised he can move this way—blades only hairbreadths from instant death. His heart beats faster than a machine gun, and he lands critical strikes in rhythm with his pulse. But how long can he keep this up? His body is already heating up, stressed to the point of blood leaking from his nose.

  Tall buildings near the city center, mostly three to five stories high, loom overhead. They may not be as tall as the towers of Sesseso, but they are still imposing. It takes patience and a calm mind to battle in these tight quarters, especially when opponents leap from building to building like apes. Escaping, if he chose to, would prove difficult.

  In an intersection, an ambush awaits. Almost from all sides, a metallic rope pulls inward. With a small opening just meters away, Zero doesn’t hesitate and leaps, blitzing past their setup. Traps like these are futile in long-range combat; they will have to—Just as his thoughts drift, his reflection in the third-story window reveals a glimpse of something behind the glass.

  Explosions burst outward as light beams zip across the street and lock onto Zero’s arm. They hold him tight, forcing him through the next apartment building and the one after that. Burning the metal and leather on his arm, this beam proves to be nothing more than an annoying strength. After the two buildings, the beam darts right toward the hard ground.

  Still scuffed from going through wood and concrete, Zero gathers himself enough to brace for impact. He hits the ground hard, cracking the surface beneath him. Now, with something to push against, he realizes it’s not impossible to overpower such a force. His gauntlets heat up as he tears the hot beam from his arm, breaking the tight grip around him.

  He has only a second to leap back before the beam pierces the ground where he stood. Steam rises from his arm and hands as his warhammer reappears out of thin air. Whatever that was must be a curse. There’s no way something that strong would exist in the game without consequences.

  Before Zero can react, another beam from above branches off the main one and hurls down to the spot where he stood. More beams follow, bombarding the areas Zero occupied just seconds earlier. Dust swirls around him as he weaves between the beams, grinning as he notices they are slowing down. It must be a curse exerting energy or costing him something valuable.

  RoT hybrids arrive, charging toward the cloudy area. Many come from those chasing him, while others emerge from the ambush intersection.

  Do you enjoy this?

  Zero’s eyes widen.

  What is the real reason you are doing this?

  Zero shoved the voices to the back of his mind. While dodging the light beams, he raised his palm with the crystal ring on his pointer finger. As his hand formed a finger gun, numerous crystal shards materialized around him, pointing at the advancing RoT members, and he released them all.

  In the next few seconds, ten to fifteen hybrids fell as the shards burst within their bodies. The few survivors rushed to their mixed brews for healing, not to seal their wounds. Crystal shard dust prevented wounds from healing unless most of it was scraped away. They knew they had fought him before, but Zero understood how painful it must be to endure such an ordeal.

  Soon after, the beams faded and retracted into the buildings back to their source. All wasn’t too bad… Why did Zero constantly contradict himself right before something worse happened right after he thought it… LIKE, COME ON!

  Ruto smashed the ground next to him with the Sword of Gods, sliding the blade across the gravel and bringing it up toward Zero.

  What are you trying to prove?

  Zero's eyes widened as he activated his melee protection Syndesis. But the pressure was so great that his feet lifted off the ground, sending him through one building and out the next. Syndesis drained mid-air as his helmet cracked and shattered into four pieces. Zero’s warhammer vanished as he twisted and turned before landing on a stone-tiled road. Sparks flew from his dark boots and gauntlets as he tried to stop himself along the ground. Blood trickled down his forehead, leading to his lips.

  Is any of this worth it?

  Before Zero could catch his breath, Feef, Ruto, and five other RoT members were on his tail.

  You know… the killing and losing your friends…

  “Shut up.” Zero swept past seven blades, balancing on either his heels or toes. Slashes across his cheek, armor, and skin flashed before him. Only after Zero kicked off the distance between them did he realize he had bitten off more than he could chew. But his mind, body, and will to keep going trumped his common sense. With a yell and a push of his legs, the gap Zero created closed as, within four strikes of his warhammer, he took out the five RoT members.

  The five members dropped, two screaming in a bloody gurgle as their throats collapsed; the others seemed to vanish a second after the strike.

  Ruto chuckled as he brushed off his caved-in steel shoulder. “You never disappoint, Zero. But one thing you’ll never learn is that when you anger RoT, you can never escape the lion's den!”

  You're gonna die. Then what will it be worth?

  “Shut up!”

  Ruto’s smile widened. “The title we gave you really went to your head.”

  Let us help you; we can be…

  “I SAID SHUT UP!” Zero slams his warhammer into the ground, cracking the tiles around him. Between heavy breaths, he scans the area. His eyes widen as his chest sinks.

  Over a hundred RoT members surround him on the streets and rooftops—a fraction of the strongest clan warring against a single man. Most may not be on Zero's level, but they are equipped with some of the best weapons, spells, and armor, while his are just a few strikes away from falling apart.

  Zero shakes his head and picks up a steel scimitar from the nearest dead body. “I won't let you take me over, not when I have to break the tie.”

  You are mistaken; we don’t want to control you.

  Blood drips from Zero’s chin. “Then what do you want?”

  We want to see you prophesy your mother's words, fulfill…them and your memories. In doing so, you will become the lasting evil. Your death, your fulfillment is the Generational Duties.

  Zero calms his breathing, and his eyes do too. But the sinking feeling in his chest doesn’t go away. “Who are you?”

  Us? Well, we are many things. We are that which takes comfort in your white room. We are the alpha and omega. We are loved yet hateful. But the one we like the most is… The Fifty In One.

  Ever since Zero was a kid, after his mother's death, he was on his own. Avoiding his stepdad and stepbrother, he relied on no one until he met Cazel and Amos. He has never shown vulnerability but has no choice as a being who can see all of it. Teleport-blocked, out of energy, outgunned, and outnumbered, Zero accepts it as the white room flashes before him. Black liquid seeps through the white tiles, filling the large room and reaching his ankles within seconds.

  Show us, Zero. Show us the future you envision.

  Ruto laughs hysterically at the young man. “Seven years! Seven years and hundreds of fights, and yet you still don’t know me!” He cradles his face while distorting his features. “Disrespect, THE EGO I CREATED!” Ruto grabs his chestplate. “IT’S ME, ZERO, YOUR GOOD OL’ BUDDY RUTO, THE LEADER OF ROT!”

  Zero glances up at the hysterical man. “I wasn’t talking to you, dumbass…”

  Ruto calms down, a wide smirk remaining. “Even though I always hated you, I can’t deny I respect a man's dying wish.” Silence fills the streets as the temperature drops. “Fire…” Ruto says calmly.

  Feef stomps his feet. “FIRE!”

  The hundred RoT members pull back their bowstrings and release hundreds of arrows at Zero.

  Vibrations surge through Zero’s body as the world empties, leaving only what he wants to see. All the arrows vanish except for the closest one. With a single step, that one passes until it too disappears. An arrow comes within an inch of his eye, perhaps gaining its color as Zero sidesteps it. The same happens with the next hundreds of arrows that appear one moment and disappear the next. What feels like a minute or two in his world is just three seconds in reality.

  To the onlookers, it almost seems like Zero phases through the arrows.

  Zero stands on the nocks of the arrows, their tips sticking in the ground. Not a single arrow has hit him.

  Unlike everyone else, Ruto’s reaction doesn’t change; the madman seems even more excited. “Impressive… But not impressive enough!” Ruto casts his five-fingered cap as an earth pillar rises from the ground.

  Zero slashes at the earth pillar as it follows him. The more he slices, the more that emerges until the tenth second, when it finally stops. Ruto flashes next to him, ready to swing his Sword of the Gods. That is, until Zero dodges the blade and raises his foot to Ruto’s face.

  Ruto blocks the kick with his forearm, lifting off the ground.

  Zero clashes with Feef, striking down two RoT members with ease. Before Ruto can recover, Zero touches the blades of over fifteen people between him and Feef. Blood spills from his mouth as Feef kicks him in the groin. Sliding back, multiple RoT members attempt to strike him down—one with a longsword aimed at his knees and another targeting his neck. Zero kicks off the nearest attacker, leaps between the blades, spins, and kicks back the two men. He casts a tier-four Fire Bolt from his left hand as he switches his steel scimitar for the warhammer. From one to another, Zero blows them away. The fight seems to never end or yield.

  Blood would spurt all around him if the fire didn’t vaporize it. He counts each person he takes down: twenty-three, twenty-four, twenty-five… They drop like flies.

  “Zero!” Ruto calls out.

  Zero knocks back two opponents before turning to face Ruto. Glancing at his shredded gauntlets, he wonders if it’s possible.

  Do it, as the white room is now your world.

  He recalls when Amos killed his students, that binding thing he did with the white room to protect his friend… Protect from this. No, protect from himself and the old generation. But for now… Zero raises his hand, exposing his palm as sunlight reflects off his ring’s crystals. Over thirty crystal shards form around him, pointing in all directions. He releases the crystals, and they scatter.

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  Most RoT members activate their ranged-protection syndesis. Others find it useless when the shards pierce their skin, vanishing into dust that prevents their bleeding wounds from healing. Yelps and screams erupt as they charge at Zero again.

  Zero dodges, ducks, spins, and leaps away from blades and spells. Roots spiral up from the ground, wrapping around his arm and locking him down until sudden vibrations release him, giving him just enough time to block a hard attack from Ruto and his Sword of the Gods.

  The scimitar in his hands shatters as he is lifted off the ground a few meters. The heavy pressure causes his arms and legs to go numb. Steam rises from his body, yet Zero has never felt more alive. More—bring him more.

  Ruto waves back his men as he leans over. Their eyes meet; this is no longer a fight of numbers but one between Zero and Ruto.

  Zero focuses on Ruto’s eyes. He never noticed it before, but they look mechanical, as if they are not real.

  Laying his fist into the stone ground, Ruto launches himself at Zero with immense speed, casting his five-fingered cap beneath him.

  Zero’s warhammer appears out of thin air; though it is seconds from breaking, he has no choice but to…

  Ruto lands a heel into Zero’s groin. He hears a crack before spiraling into a garden.

  So fast that Zero loses grip on his weapon. Skittering across the small pond, his body slams into a dirt bank, sending him into another spiral. Finally, he backflips onto his knees, grabbing the dirt with his gauntlets that no longer serve their purpose. As he comes to a halt, blood leaks from his fingers, ripping off skin and nails. But the most painful sensation is in his groin. His whole body feels like someone is squeezing a balloon on one side. He attempts to empty his stomach, but only steam comes out.

  “Zero,” Ruto calls out as he casts his five-fingered cap, creating a bridge across the pond. “I'm just getting started!” Ruto hops off his earth pillar.

  Zero glances at Ruto.

  Feef, who follows behind, pokes his head out from behind Ruto. “Should I call The Relics?”

  Ruto shakes his head. “No, no more of my men need to die. Plus, they're just in my way. So tell everyone to sit back and watch.”

  “Should I sit back then? Or will you need my help?” Feef asks.

  “Yes, just don’t go too far,” Ruto replies.

  Standing up, Zero stumbles into a tree. He calms himself because now it’s just him versus Ruto… Zero chuckles; he might be the only person relieved to fight Ruto.

  Ruto launches himself toward Zero.

  Even though that's how Zero feels, he knows better than to let his guard down. With his bloody fingers against the tree trunk, a complex vibration transforms a chunk of wood into a large club. A swipe shatters it upon contact with the Sword of the Gods. The blade creases his steel shoulder plate, and he grips the sword's guard with both hands.

  They begin to saw the sword back and forth, muscling each other around. Kicks to their shins and knees sound like gunfire, leaving dents in their plated legs.

  Ruto slips his foot into Zero’s groin. As he pulls back his sword, he digs the heel of his foot into the raw spot he had kicked before. A quick vibration leaves Zero's vision blurry and his ears ringing, but all is well as Ruto reclaims his weapon.

  The pain in his groin stings, and letting go stings even more.

  Ruto brings the blade down on Zero, causing his eyes to widen.

  Zero bends the blade back at Ruto's wrist. The sword that doesn’t bend now melts away instead of snapping.

  Ruto leaps back to inspect his Sword of the Gods. “I don’t know what's happening here, but what a shame. I bought this from Hypno himself.” He tosses the sword aside and raises his hands. This would be a brawl on equal terms.

  Zero raises his hands as well. With many eyes on them, he knows he has to make this count.

  Ruto charges at him, faking a left and switching to a right kick.

  Zero blocks with his forearm, pushing Ruto back. A jab and a straight punch land on Ruto’s open chin. Pulling back, Ruto grabs his wrist.

  Not letting go of Zero's wrist, Ruto chuckles between dodges, his face inches from Zero's. “Did it feel good to hit me?”

  Zero brings down his free fist onto Ruto's restrictive hand—once, twice—before Ruto finally lets go. Without a weapon, it almost seems like Zero is useless, and his strikes feel ineffective.

  As they exchange blows and kicks, Ruto doesn’t slow down; in fact, he gets faster. “Just to let you know…” They lock fingers in an attempt to overpower each other. Ruto moves his face closer. “I haven’t even used my syndesis yet.”

  Zero's eyes widen. There’s no way Ruto has access to boosts this early. Syndesis is the most challenging skill to unlock, and one must be in the nine-hundred range to access its boosts.

  “But where’s the fun in that?” Ruto shoves all his weight into Zero, sending him flying. Zero hits the ground with a hard thud, crashing into a metal fence. Blurry vision and a body he can no longer feel. Flashes of his mother begin to cycle through the white room. As he steps back, the flashes of his mother feel like Polaroid pictures moving inside his mind. “What’s the meaning of this?”

  This has nothing to do with us. It’s all you.

  It’s your white room.

  Zero sits on his knees, grabbing one of the fallen photos—a picture from the day his mother told him those life-changing words. She was in a hospice bed, air tubes in her nose, yet she never lost her smile. Grinding his teeth, he returns to his blurry reality, blinking until he can see clearly.

  Ruto crouches over him. “That’s it? After the performance you put on against a hundred of my men, you last this long against me?”

  Bloody hands lift his body from the ground. His shredded gauntlets are barely held together by bits of string and leather. Zero’s shaking hands reach for Ruto.

  Ruto grabs Zero’s wrist midway. “Disappointing.” He smacks Zero’s hands away but stops upon seeing the glow in Zero’s palm.

  Zero casts a tier-four Fire Bolt, engulfing the area in an explosion.

  Ruto quickly exits the flames, half of his face charred. “Fucker killed himself!” He attempts to open his right eye but fails.

  Zero’s skin turns to charcoal as vibrations shape the metal fence into a spear. He leaps from the flames and slices a line from Ruto’s belly button to his Adam’s apple. “Not done yet.” He lands and takes a few charging steps toward Ruto.

  Bringing his fist up, Ruto swings at the charging Zero.

  Zero blocks with his spear, though it bends, smacking him in the face. He snaps the spear in two, lifting it a few feet off the ground before it hits the ground.

  Ruto stands, and his chuckle turns into wild laughter. “YES!” His eyes shift, pupils nearly expanding beyond the visibility of the whites. “I haven’t had a fight like this in years; no one has made me this excited in some time—only my father was—” He’s cut off mid-sentence as he tries to dodge Zero’s swings.

  Zero shapes the broken spear into two daggers. “Once I have you bleeding out on the ground, you can call me ‘father’ if you want something to reminisce about.”

  Ruto’s laughter stops, though his sadistic expression remains. “We’ll see who’s left standing after this!” Ruto charges.

  Zero sidesteps the first strike, plunging one dagger into Ruto’s wrist.

  Ruto swings his other fist, but the next dagger pierces through his wrist. Not stopping there, Ruto grabs Zero and throws him into a tree.

  Zero reshapes both daggers into a connected metal rope.

  Pulling them together forces Ruto to release him, his wrists snapping together.

  Zero slides down the tree trunk and kicks at Ruto’s knee.

  Grabbing both of his hands, Ruto lands a double punch across Zero’s face.

  Zero rolls away and stands before Ruto can recover. Kicking at Ruto's other knee, he makes Ruto fall to both knees.

  Ruto starts to tear at his wrist, but in doing so, he breaks one of his radius bones.

  Now is Zero’s only chance to bind Ruto to his command. Pulling back Ruto’s ashy hair to face him, they lock eyes before Zero covers Ruto’s eyes with his other hand. “Now!”

  A vibration begins to scramble Ruto’s thoughts, coursing through his neck and into his chest, twisting and turning in an otherworldly sensation around his heart.

  We are the forty-nine in one…

  Zero stumbles back and falls onto his rear. Suddenly, his body feels like a thousand pounds as steam escapes his mouth.

  Ruto leans forward, then turns back, his wrists still bound. “What did you just do to me?”

  After a few breaths, Zero finally speaks. “I don’t quite understand it myself, but I think I bound a soul to your heart. Now, you have to align your goals with mine.”

  Ruto smiles. “And what if I refuse? What if I kill you right here?”

  “Then the soul will tighten until it compresses your heart into a solid speck of sand.” Zero scans the area as Ruto’s men surround them within a hundred meters. “Call off your men. You’ll need them for my goal.” Zero stumbles to his feet.

  Hesitation flickers in Ruto's eyes as he tries to navigate the situation.

  Zero reaches out as if grabbing Ruto, but he is actually tightening the soul around his heart.

  Ruto clutches his chest as a spurt of blood ejects from his mouth.

  "Do it," Zero commands.

  Ruto chuckles with a pained laugh as he stands. “And this goal is to eliminate The Trapline Army and Lit.”

  “That's just the start. Because Sanity is next.”

  Ruto shakes his head. “How do you expect us to get past the cannon trench in Flakenwell?”

  “I’ll handle that.”

  “Handle that?” Ruto chuckles. “In that shape? More like a month before you recover.”

  Zero shakes his head. “Two days is all I need. Charge the trenches fifty hours from now while they’re distracted. I’ll handle the rest.”

  “Looks like I don’t have a choice, do I?” Ruto replies.

  Zero extends his hand. “Give me your teleport scroll to the city center. I’ll escape through there.”

  “Yes, father.” Ruto raises his hand, and a scroll appears. He places it in Zero’s hand. “Before you go…”

  Zero grips the scroll with both hands.

  “You were holding back, not to kill me, though?” Ruto asks.

  “A bit…” Zero lies. Although he didn't want to kill Ruto, it doesn’t mean he was holding back. But that doesn’t matter anymore. Zero rips the scroll.

  (Frauw – Occupation: Lit) (Amos)

  The chains fade as Ship enters Amos’s room. His wrist is covered in dried blood and black, squishy skin. Amos doesn’t get up from his bed, just staring at Ship like he's a nightmare.

  Ship slides a chair closer and lights the candle on the nightstand with a flame from his finger.

  Amos knows that if he speaks, it’ll come out wrong, but he hates everyone so much. He hates RoT for sending his students to kill him; he hates that he can’t kill all of RoT; he hates his clan for preventing him from getting revenge. It boils his blood so much that it hurts to be alive.

  Ship rubs his chin. “Let's go outside. Vodka wants to show you something.”

  Behind the manor, past the field, and down a long trail, they approach the shore. Amos wants to run, but if he did, Ship would just chain him down with that strange spell.

  As they get closer to the shore, Vodka sits on a large boulder with a bottle of whisky in his hand.

  “I brought him, Vodka,” Ship says.

  Vodka turns and smiles. “Please join us as well, Ship.”

  Amos sits next to the boulder, leaning against the tree.

  Ship leans against the boulder.

  The three of them watch and listen as the waves crash against the thirty-foot drop-off, twenty meters away. In the distance, two Lit galleons head toward Franz Harbor.

  “How long do you think Lit will be victorious?” Vodka asks.

  “You don’t think Lit bit off more than they can chew?” Ship replies.

  “Not unless RoT attacks them, but I don’t see that happening.”

  Ship shakes his head. “Now that Santos Liberators fell, Sanity will likely hit their rear. It’s only a matter of time.”

  “Yeah… I guess you're right,” Vodka agrees.

  After that brief conversation, silence falls between them for ten minutes. Amos's heart beats faster with each passing moment. The longer he stays, the harder it gets...

  Revenge is driving him forward.

  Amos loses it when he hears the waves crash for the hundredth time. He stands, punching his fist into the boulder, missing Ship’s head by half a foot. His heavy breathing fills the air as he looks into his clanmate's eyes. His hands shake as if cold, but he squeezes all the blood from his veins. “Why! Why can’t you just let me go!? Why can everyone else leave but me!?”

  “Because, unlike the other two, you’d cause us trouble,” Vodka says from above him. Pushing himself off the boulder, Vodka lands next to Amos and moves closer to his brother. “You’re a danger to yourself, and we couldn’t forgive ourselves if something happened to you.”

  Amos turns to Vodka, their heads almost touching. “Let me get my revenge right now!”

  Vodka doesn’t break his hard stare. “Let’s say I let you go, and you kill all of RoT. What then?” Vodka cuts Amos off before he can respond. “It won’t fill your empty heart! Because after that, once it's all said and done, you still killed them, and they won’t come back!”

  Amos’s eyes widen as he steps back, only to trip over Ship's legs, falling between the boulder and the tree. He raises his hand to stop Vodka from looking at him. Tears start to form at the corners of his eyes.

  “I hate you all!” Amos yells.

  Vodka turns back to the shore, crossing his arms. “That’s fine...” Taking a swig from the whisky bottle, Vodka shakes his head. “Hate me all you want, Amos. I’ll still love you like a little brother. I just wish you’d understand us...”

  There they go again with this "brother" nonsense. They don’t even know what that means...

  Later, during dinner, they discuss how Fool’s clan ended up at Sword of Tintinaru, a village protected by vast waterways and the fifth-largest city. However, recent reports of Lit landing in Franz Harbor will speed up their victory.

  After finishing their plates, Amos is escorted to his room again, chained to his bed. But this time, there’s no resistance.