Chapter 8: Veil of Reckoning.

Out in a small village away from the kingdom of Eldora, a group of People named Ember vow, walked inside the tavern, "Oi!" one barked, his voice harsh and impatient. "Four bottles of your strongest ale! Now!" Tavern waiter notices. The four Ember vow members go and sit at the table. The waiter brings them their ale. One accidentally hits his elbow on a man in a deep black cloak, “Oh, Sorry sir didn’t see ya there!” Laughs Sarcastically. Some of the young man ale spills onto the table. “It’s fine, hey waiter! Bring me a towel I clean this mess that this dude made.” The Ember Vow man growled. “What are you? A dog?” The young men spoke. Ember vow member gets up, his chair get sent the floor, “WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? IM A MEMBER OF-” Young man cuts him off “Yea I know who you are, your Issac Howland, Age twenty-three, Specializes in maces and daggers.” Issac tightens his fist, pulls his hand and goes in for a punch to the face, but this young man, dodge his fist, the young man grabs Issac hand, picks him up and smashes him into the table, breaking the table. Issac grunts, looks up at the Young mans face and just only see glowing blue red tinted eyes looking straight down at him as if he was the devil himself. “W-w-w-who a-a-are y-y-you..” Issac stuttered. “Oh I’m just someone that goes out doing mercenary quests and your my target...!” The air started to cool down, started to freeze, particals of ice started forming around the tavern, “Ice...spear..” a small floating ice spear starts getting form at the side of the young man. Without hesitation, he thrust his arm forward — the spear responding instantly, slicing through the frozen mist. It struck Issac clean through the skull with a sickening crack. The Ember Vow soldier didn’t even have time to scream. He collapsed backward into the wreckage — his eyes wide, frozen in death. The tavern fell into a silence so heavy, it felt like the world itself was holding its breath. The young man lowered his arm slowly, his cloak billowing slightly in the icy breeze that now filled the room. The other members of Ember vow, eyes widened, in fear and shock, they could barely move. “So who’s next?” Pulling out the Ice spear. The members fled in fear and shock. The young man turned to his side throwing the spear at one of the other members, spear going through his heart, making him drop to the floor lifeless. The tavern owner speaks up “Young man, thank you, these guy keep coming to this village causing damage and hell.” “your welcome sir” Young man speaks “What is your name kind soul?” Tavern Owner speaks. “My name is...Zero...” as the air pulled his hood down revealing a white mask with his eyes being bright blue. Long blue tinted black hair. The ice began to dissapear. “It’s time for me to get going now.” Zero walks out of the tavern only to be comfronted by a Vice commander of Ember Vow. “So,, you're the one that killed two of my men?” Ember vow man confronted. “Yea I am. So what? What are you going to do about it?” Zero speaks. “Kill me? Go ahead and try it I dare you.” Zero spoke. “Yea well you got that right. I will kill you for killing me men!” Ember vow lunged at. “Age 24, Name Zack, specializes in brute force, defense, and great swords. "Zero said out loud, Zack stopped right before he could stab him with his great sword. Weak against speed and precision.” “Now do you want to kill me?” Zack grunts, brings his blade upwards in sky and swings it downwards, Zero still standing there grabs the blade with two fingers, putting pressure on the blade, making it crack, crumble and break into small bits of metal. “Do you still want to try? I can end this in a heartbeat...” Zack felt fear throughout his entire body, feet trebling with fear, barely able to move. Zero raised his hand up a bit, blue flames start to emit from his fingertips, he moved his hand in a circler motion with his wrist, the fire begins to get bigger, “Fire...ball..” The fire twisted and churned in his palm, a living sun barely held in check. For the first time in the Vice Commander’s life he felt fear, and realize, hes already dead. Zero changes his footing his right leg more moved to the back his left leg more up, the fire ball beginning to form even greater, Zero pulled his arm back the muscles in his shoulder tensing, the cloak whipping around him in the rising heat. And then he moved a blur of black and blue flame streaking across the shattered ground. Zack barely had time to flinch. Zero slammed the fireball forward with all the force of a cannon driving it directly into Zack’s chest. The impact was explosive fire tearing through armor, through bone, through everything as the Vice Commander was lifted off his feet, the raw force of the blast digging him into the earth itself. Zack's body crumpled to the ground smoking, broken, lifeless. Zero straightened slowly, the last embers of flame flickering from his fingertips. “God that was easy” Zero said. “Jeez Zero I forgot how good of a fighter and magic user you become through these eleven years...” Zentistu spoke. “I got to report this to Kaku...he needs to know that their making a move now.” Zero mumbled. “Well honestly instinct Veil came in handy.” “Why you say that” Zen questioned. As they make their journey back to Eldora. “You see...during those seven years that u were gone for! Malik was teaching me instinct veil, but you do know that I’m able to dodge any type of attacks without having to see it correct?” Zero questioned. “Well yea I know that.” Zen answered. “Well, you see, two years after the training with my flame control and instinct veil, I managed to further improve it, much better than what Malik has, I’m able to identify the person's name, age, their specialties, weaknesses and strength. Not even Malik can do that. And lately I been seeing a few seconds into future and they happen right when I see the glimpse of the future...but I can't control it somehow.” Zero said. “...Interesting...Instinct Veil...now that I realize it...Zarif did had something like it...but not Instinct Veil, not much people can develop the use of Future sight, as for dodging moments, and attacks, anybody is able to do that because it is using the will of their soul. As I was saying though, Zarif was able to see through the future by hours, but that ability name is long forgotten by now.” Zenstistu spoke. Zero mask started to crack. “Crap, its cracking again...” “Well that’s my power you know your gonna need to control my own power as well, but now is not the time for you to control it. The mask that your wearing is made up of my own Energy you know...” Zentistu’s voice went quiet for a moment, heavier, colder than before. Then he spoke, his tone like a blade drawn slowly from its sheath. "Listen," he said. "If you’re ever in real danger... if you’re about to die..." He paused, as if weighing something ancient and heavy. "I’m stepping in." Zero’s body tensed instinctively, but he stayed silent, listening. "I won’t stop until the enemy is dead," Zentistu continued, flat and merciless. "And if I take control..." A low, hollow chuckle echoed faintly through Zero’s mind. "Your wounds — even the deepest ones — will heal. Completely." "But," he added, almost lazily, "whether you’re still you afterward... that’s another question." “Well then when that time comes I be ready...as of now...lets continue to Eldora” Zero said. The massive iron gates of Eldora groaned open just enough for Zero to slip through. The guards at the entrance stiffened as he approached — their hands resting instinctively on sword hilts. They didn’t move to stop him. They just watched. The blue glint of his eyes beneath the cracked mask was enough. Zero strode through the outer gates without a word. The streets beyond were tighter than he remembered — crowded with civilians bustling in heavy cloaks, merchants hawking muted wares, soldiers weaving through like silent predators. Every face carried the same tight-lipped tension. Every alley whispered with unseen watchers. It wasn’t the kingdom he remembered. It wasn’t home. Not anymore. Zero moved through the crowd like a ghost, the long black cloak brushing against frozen cobblestones. Some villagers glanced his way — then quickly looked away. They didn’t know who he was. Not yet. But somewhere, deep down, they felt it. They felt the cold burning off him. They felt the weight of something not fully human walking their streets. Zentistu’s voice rumbled quietly in his mind, amused: "They fear you already, and they don’t even know your name." Zero didn’t answer. He didn’t need their fear. He didn’t want their respect. He only needed one thing now: Answers. Four years. He had only been gone for four years. And yet Eldora had become a fortress. More soldiers. More patrols. Gates sealed tight. Shadows where there used to be light. Zero narrowed his eyes behind the mask. Something had changed while he was gone — something the kingdom didn’t want outsiders, or even its own people, to see. And he would find the truth inside Eldora’s stone heart — at the foot of King Kaku’s throne. Zero stood before the great iron doors leading into Kaku’s castle. The guards posted at the entrance stiffened immediately, shifting into defensive stances. Hands tightened around spears and swords. Helmets dipped slightly as they assessed him — the cracked white mask, the black cloak, the unnatural weight that seemed to darken the very air. One of the guards finally barked, voice sharp: "Who are you? What business do you have with the king?" Zero tilted his head slightly, the edge of a smirk hidden beneath the mask. "I’m here to speak with King Kaku," he said, voice calm, measured. "You can escort me if you like. I promise — no funny business." The way he said it made the guards flinch slightly — as if they knew that if he wanted funny business, they wouldn’t be able to stop it anyway. For a moment, no one moved. Then, with a curt, almost nervous nod, the lead guard gestured toward the doors. "Follow me," he said. Zero stepped forward without hesitation, the massive gates groaning open to swallow him into the castle's depths. They made it to the throne room where Malik and Kaku is there. “My lord this Man wishes to speak with you.” Guard said. “You may leave now.” Kaku said. The guard leaves and goes back to his position. “Now who are you? And why do you wish to speak with me?” Kaku questioned. “Jeez you really don’t recognize me at all. Wait maybe it's this mask and this cloak.” Slowly, he reached up toward the cracked white mask, he pulled the mask and cloak off. “If you can’t recognize me at all then there’s something wrong with you both.” Zero laughs jokingly. For a long moment, neither Kaku nor Malik moved. The air in the throne room seemed to thicken, heavy with silence. Then — Malik took one step forward, his eyes narrowing, his whole body stiffening as if trying to believe what he was seeing. His mouth opened slightly — no words at first. And then, in a voice rough with disbelief: "...Zero...?" It wasn’t a question. It was a memory ripping itself loose — a boy he had trained, fought beside, nearly died protecting — standing now as something... more. Something darker. Something terrifying. Zero's faint grin widened slightly. "Long time no see, Malik," he said, voice calm, almost casual — but there was a weight underneath it now, a coldness the old Zero never carried. Malik’s fists clenched loosely at his sides. There was pride there, deep in his eyes. And fear. Because whatever Zero had become during his years away... he wasn’t sure Eldora could control it anymore. Kaku rose slowly from the foot of the throne. No rush. No surprise on his face. Only a deep, measuring silence. His heavy cloak dragged against the stone floor as he descended the throne steps, each footfall deliberate — like a judge approaching a trial. He stopped a few paces from Zero. For a long moment, he said nothing. He simply stared. Stared at the boy he once trained — and the weapon that now stood before him. Finally, Kaku spoke, his voice low and dangerous: "...You’ve changed." Not a compliment. Not an accusation. Just a truth. His eyes, sharp as knives, traced the cracks along Zero’s old mask now lying discarded. The faint flicker of blue fire coiling off Zero’s skin. The unnatural strength etched into his stance — as if the very world bent slightly around him. "You are no longer a soldier of Eldora," Kaku said quietly, almost thoughtfully. "You are something... else." Zero tilted his head slightly — not denying it, not affirming it. Kaku’s gaze hardened, cold calculation flashing beneath his kingly mask. "Tell me," he said, his voice slicing through the silence like a blade, "after all these years..." "Do you return as an ally—" "—or as an enemy?" “I return as an ally, Kaku. Four years ago is when I left to train on my own. For eight years you and Malik, trained me, taught me from right to wrong. Why would I come back as enemy?” Zero questioned. “You left us, never came back till now? I have reason’s not to trust you. Especially since Zentistu is in you, He’s probably turned you against all of humanity for god sake’s!” Kaku breathes in. “For god sake’s Ember Vow might have took you in and made you one of their own and your just trying to hide it!” Kaku exclaims. “Jeez Kaku do you really not trust—” Dark shadow particles form around Zero like as if it was a portal opening. A cloaked member in all black wrapped his arm around Zero’s mouth, another arm wrapping around his chest. “Thanks' for having him get lead straight back to you! And for your information...We just got to him first! Sorry Zero, your unable to move since I wield a power called Paralyze, even with you being a royal blood demon, and a vessel for a hollow, my Paralyze will still go through all that. And yes we been monitoring you this entire time, waiting for the perfect advantage to take you and corrupt your mind to join us and regain and remake Ember Vow into Organization XXII once again!” He starts laughing evil like. Zero not even phazed by this, the room gets cold, it goes colder and colder. “Kaku...Can you hear me?” Zero speaks telepathically, “Yea I can hear you...why what’s up?” “I’m about to do something I might regret doing...but if anything happens I promise you, you will be able to trust me!” Zero speaks. The ground beneath them starts cracking, rocks start floating, Sparks of flames starts igniting and bursting up the ground in the room, Zero smirks “Abyssborne: Veil One...” Zero’s body ignites up into flames, the cloaked figured jumps off him. “H-How did my paralyze not work!? Impossible he shouldn’t even be able to move when i touched him!” Patches around Zero skins starts forming those same Blue red tinited scales from eleven years ago with the training with Malik, Sharp demonic Horns form on his head, a demonic tail forms out of his waist. His nails, teeth, getting sharper, his eyes emiting blue flames, his eyes getting sharper, the ground starts crushing inward, cracking, floating rocks gets sent flying. “God...It’s time to put this form to use for the first time!” Zero’s voice high-low-dark pitch. Malik starts releazing what Zero is tapping into. He starts to remember that every royal demon, goes through multiple stages of forms that will help through out battle, no demon can acheive these forms but royal ones or if they have royal blood in them. Zero stood tall as the smoke cleared, embers drifting off his skin like dying stars. The floating stones that had once orbited him now crashed to the floor with heavy thuds — as if the world itself had just exhaled. Then — he vanished. A blur. Too fast to track. Not even Malik could follow it. In a blink, Zero reappeared behind the cloaked commander, silent as death. Before the man could even turn— Zero seized his arm and yanked it back violently, pinning him face-first to the cold stone floor. CRACK. A sickening snap echoed through the throne room as the man’s shoulder dislocated and bone shattered. “AHHH!! SOMEONE!! HELP—!!” He screamed in agony. Zero’s voice came calm. Quiet. Brutal. “So much for a High Commander of Ember Vow…” He lifted the man effortlessly by the head, holding him like dead weight. “All bark. No fire.” With a flick of motion, Zero hurled him through the throne room window — glass exploded outward as the man's body was sent flying through the air like a ragdoll. But Zero didn’t stop there. In one smooth motion, Zero reached behind his back — fingers curling around the hilt of a blade forged from silence and shadow. No one had seen him draw it before. No one knew its name. But the air around it shifted — like the world itself recognized the weapon’s presence. He didn’t pull it. He vanished instead — blurring through the wind and fire. He reappeared mid-air — just inches from the falling Ember Vow commander. No time to scream. Zero moved his hand — a flick. A whisper of motion. SHHHK— A burning line cut clean through the man’s torso. The blade still hadn’t been drawn. It didn’t need to be. The commander's body split cleanly in half — a single arc of devastating precision. No flame. No sound. Just absolute finality. The blade returned to its resting place without ever leaving its sheath. Zero landed softly on the edge of the window frame. He turned back toward the throne roo his eyes no longer burning. As he stepped forward, his body began to cool. The black-red-blue scales faded. The horns, the tail, the claws — all disappeared like smoke. Veil One had ended. He walked toward Kaku and Malik, quiet, composed — as if nothing had happened. Only the silence remained. And the dead. “Jeez… that was a close one,” Zero said, not a scratch on him, not even out of breath. Kaku’s eyes narrowed. “Are you seriously the same Zero from four years ago?” Zero turned, his voice calm at first — but sharp underneath. “Yeah. I’m the same.” He took a step closer, the heat rising off him with each word. “What’s wrong, Kaku? You doubting what I became while I was gone?” His fists clenched — flames beginning to flicker around his knuckles, blue and wild. “I left to train alone — to push myself beyond what anyone here could’ve imagined.” “And even after everything I’ve shown you—” The flames surged higher, dancing violently now. “You still don’t trust me?!” His voice cracked, not with weakness — but with anger. With betrayal. “I just showed you that you can trust me, Kaku.” The fire around his fists ignited into full-blown bursts — not attacking, but flaring with raw emotion. White particles began to swirl around Zero’s face again — quiet, precise, like snow rising in reverse. His Hollow mask reformed slowly, reshaping over his jaw, his cheek, his eye — locking into place like it never left. A moment later, his cloak snapped back over his shoulders, black and weightless, shrouding him once more. His voice came low. Sharp. Controlled. “You know what…?” “I don’t need your help fighting Ember Vow.” He stepped forward, his words cold enough to cut stone. “I’ll find them — and I’ll kill every last one of them.” “Without you. Without the other kingdoms. Alone.” Flames flickered at his heels. The mask glowed faintly. “I kept up with the news while I was gone. I know what’s coming.” “You and the others — you’re finally panicking. Finally joining forces.” “Because Ember Vow’s grown too strong. Too fast.” He paused — then his voice rose, fury slipping through the cracks. “Maybe if you’d crushed them the first time they showed their faces — back when they infiltrated your own city — none of this would’ve happened.” “Maybe... if you had done your job...” “We wouldn't be standing in a graveyard waiting to collapse.” Silence followed. Heavy. Breathless. And Zero just stood there — mask on, cloak fluttering, looking not like a boy anymore…but a force of reckoning. Kaku stood frozen at the foot of the throne — his hands clenched, jaw tight, eyes locked on the boy now cloaked in fire and shadows. No… Not a boy anymore. A weapon. A warning. His voice, when it finally came, was quieter than expected. Not weak — just tired. Heavy. “You think I don’t know that?” Kaku’s gaze lowered for a breath — then rose again, harder. “You think I haven’t lived with that decision every day for the past eleven years?” He stepped forward slowly, one foot echoing through the fractured throne room. “I made the call. I hesitated. And you’re right…” “It cost lives.” His eyes narrowed. “But don’t confuse guilt for weakness, Zero.” “You’ve grown strong — but so has the enemy. This isn’t a battle you win with rage and pride alone.” Zero turned his back, flames still licking at the floor beneath him. Then — a hand gripped his shoulder. Malik. Strong. Firm. Familiar. “Enough.” Zero didn’t turn. “Move.” “No.” Malik’s voice dropped low — the way it used to when Zero was still a kid in training, still learning how to breathe through pain. “You want to walk? Fine. But not like this.” “Not while you’re burning everything behind you.” Zero stayed silent, body rigid. Malik stepped in front of him now, between him and the exit. “You’re angry. You have every right to be.” “But we didn’t spend eight years training you just to watch you fight alone.” “You want to end Ember Vow?” He looked him dead in the eye. “Then don’t fight like a child trying to prove himself.” “Fight like the warrior we raised you to be.” The flames dimmed — slightly. Not gone. But listening. “Look Kaku, you Kings and Queens isn’t doing anything! A few days before I got here! Out in a tavern in a village two days away from here, Ember Vow walked in and started causing problems with me! And so i killed them! Clearly you guys ain’t doing much of anything!” Zero turned around and starts walking out to the door, A ice spear form behind Zero, and shoots at Kaku but misses on purpose, Zero turn his head back a bit. “Don’t even try stopping me...” Kaku stared at the wall where the spear had hit — the frost already spreading across the stone. His voice came low, nearly a whisper as the throne room fell silent. “He’s not the same boy we trained...” Malik watched the doors slowly swing shut behind Zero — his hand still twitching near his blade. “No,” he said quietly. “He’s something else now.” “And the world’s not ready for him.” Outside the walls of Eldora, the wind howled. The flames had faded. The ice had melted. But the storm inside Zero had not passed. He walked alone now — cloak fluttering behind him, mask sealed tight over his face. Each step echoed with purpose, not rage. Clarity. Zentistu’s voice whispered in his mind, softer than usual. “So... what now?” Zero didn’t answer right away. He stopped at the edge of a cliff overlooking the frozen valley below — the horizon lit only by dying stars. Then finally, he spoke. “Now… I make them pay.” He pulled his hood over his head, the mask gleaming in the moonlight. “For everything.” He stepped forward into the darkness, vanishing into the cold. Far behind him, Eldora's castle stood still. Its torches flickered. Its king remained silent. And the war drums had only just begun to stir. And so began the war that would burn kingdoms to ash… and forge a legend in flame.