Chapter 10: Shadow of the Enemy

The forest was quiet. Too quiet. A single Ember Vow soldier knelt at the base of a charred tree, arms bound with glowing blue fire-rope, barely conscious. Blood dripped slowly from his nose, his lip split. The ground around him was scorched — symbols burned into the dirt from the flames that had nearly taken his life. Zero stood a few feet away, arms folded beneath his cloak, masked face tilted down. “I only asked once.” His voice was low. Flat. Cold. The soldier coughed, spitting blood at Zero’s feet. “Kill me already.” Zero stepped closer, the fire-rope tightening on its own. “You think this is mercy?” The soldier flinched as a shard of ice formed above his shoulder — floating, humming with barely contained energy. “Tell me where the next Ember Vow movement is. Region. Leader. Target.” “You’re wasting time,” the soldier muttered, teeth clenched. “Even if I tell you, it’s already started.” Zero’s eyes narrowed behind the mask. “Started?” The man smiled — not with triumph, but with resignation. “You think you’re hunting us...” “But you're just walking through the trap we built eleven years ago.” A second ice shard formed, this one near his throat. Zentistu’s voice echoed quietly inside Zero’s mind: “He’s not lying.” “He’s afraid of something… and it isn’t you.” Zero didn’t speak again. He simply raised his hand. The fire-rope began to melt — not from heat, but from sheer pressure. The soldier gasped as invisible force pressed down on him. “Then tell me,” Zero said, voice sharp. “Who are you afraid of?” The soldier’s breath hitched as the ice near his throat lowered ever so slightly. “Who are you afraid of?” Zero repeated, unmoving. The soldier hesitated — torn between death and something worse. Then, in a shaky breath, he whispered: “They call him… Cradle.” Zentistu stirred. “I’ve heard that name before... buried somewhere in Ember Vow’s older war records.” Zero’s fists clenched under the cloak. He’d read the name once too — faint, coded, hidden in a report Kaku had buried years ago. Cradle: A name that didn’t sound like a warrior… but a warning. “Where is he?” The soldier’s voice cracked. “Last I heard… he’s stationed in the dead zone. North border. Near the ruins of Renshiro.” Zero turned slightly, just enough for the soldier to see the edge of his glowing eye behind the mask. “Is he the one setting the traps?” “He’s not setting them,” the soldier rasped. “He is the trap.” Zero said nothing for a long moment. Then, without a word, he lowered his hand. The fire-rope vanished. The ice dispersed like ash. The soldier collapsed forward, trembling. “Why…” he croaked. “Why let me go?” Zero turned, cloak sweeping with the wind. “Because I want him to know I’m coming.” The soldier slumped forward, shoulders shaking with a pitiful laugh. For a moment, he believed he’d been spared. “T-Thank you…” Zero turned his back to him. Took three calm, calculated steps. The wind shifted. Then— Steel sang. The soldier choked. A blade of obsidian and fire tore clean through his chest, jutting out from where his heart once beat. Zero stood behind him — calm, silent — his cloak still swaying from the motion. “You talked too easily.” His voice was colder than the steel. “Which means someone wanted me to hear that name.” The blade twisted. The soldier gasped once, then went still — collapsing into the scorched dirt. Zero yanked the blade free, let the blood hiss against the frozen ground, and didn’t look back. Even Zentistu remained silent. Zentistu’s voice echoed in Zero’s mind, quieter now, more focused. “He said… ‘You think you're hunting us… but you're just walking through the trap we built eleven years ago.’” A pause. A long, cold silence before Zentistu continued: “From the attack on the castle… to now... it all lines up.” “They’re not just moving. They’re pushing you.” “They want you to break. To turn against Kaku. Against Malik. Against every kingdom.” Zero’s eyes narrowed beneath the mask, his jaw clenched. Zentistu's tone darkened: “They're trying to make you their weapon, Zero. Not kill you — control you.” “They want a world under a single rule. One ruler. One throne.” “The resurrection of what they used to be... Organization XXII.” Another pause. This one colder. “And with you... they’d build it in months.” “Without you?” Zentistu scoffed faintly. “Decades.” Zero fist clenched his fists. “What will they do...if they got a hold of me...?” “overthrow everything, make everything their’s, after that who know’s” Zentistu said. Zero fist clenched out of anger, flames burst out of his hand. “I rather die then let me get me!” A stick snaps in half from a distance, Zero gets Alerted. “Who’s there!?” “Well, guess you heard me.” A figure stepped forward, cloaked in a long, black coat forged from a dense, leather-like material that gleamed dully with each subtle movement. The cloak clung to their frame like a second skin, yet flared out at the hem, which skimmed the ground in silent, sweeping motions. An oversized hood loomed over their head, drowning their face in shadow, letting only the faint glint of unseen eyes flicker beneath. Silver chains looped from either side of the collar, clinking ever so slightly, and a thick, metallic zipper ran from the throat to the ankles, catching the light with an eerie sheen. The sleeves hung close yet loose, ending in sharpened cuffs that accentuated every gesture, and the entire outfit radiated an aura of solemnity and silent menace—as though the darkness itself had been tailored into a uniform. Zero stood a defensive, “you can’t harm me right now” He snaps his fingers, Chains formed at the ground and latched onto Zero’s arm locking him in place, bringing him straight to his knees, the chains proceeded to fly upward bring his hands upwards, He again snaps his fingers and their teleported to a prison room. The chains reconfigured midair, spreading his arms out wide — horizontal, crucifix-style — suspended with no slack, his feet barely touching the floor. “Where are we?! What Do you want?!” Zero questioned “Were at the headquarters of soon to be named Organization XXII, and it’s not me who wants to speak to you” A man in the same cloak walks in “I’m the one that want’s to speak to you.” “I want you to join us, I want you to be our weapon, especially Zenstistu...Come join us and we will gladly give you power!” The Man says. “Yea no, I am not going to join you! I rather die then give u my power and body!” Zero yells. Zero eyes turn from blue to yellow eyes. “why the hell should we join you?” His voice turned high low pitch. Inside Zero’s mind, his voice rang out with urgency — sharp, unwavering. “They may be after me… but they’re after you too, Zen.” “I need you to leave my body. Go back to Kaku. Tell him everything. Even if I left.” Zentistu’s presence tensed. “Why?” he asked, cautious. Zero’s eyes didn’t flinch. “I will join them.” A pause — heavy. Final. “I’ll destroy them from the inside out.” Zenstistu's mask froze midair — silence swallowing the space between them. “Join them?” Zen echoed, his tone sharp, confused. “Have you lost your damn mind?” Zero’s eyes didn’t waver. “I’m not doing it for them.” A slow breath. “I’ll join them… and destroy them from the inside out.” Zen went quiet. The weight of Zero’s words hung heavy in the air, darker than any flame, colder than any Hollow. “They want a weapon?” Zero continued. “Then I’ll be the sharpest blade they’ve ever held — until I turn it on their throat.” Zen’s voice came softer this time. Cautious. Almost… proud. “You’re willing to walk into the lion’s mouth... just to rip its heart out.” Zero nodded. “If I can’t burn them from the outside… I’ll rot them from within.” The chains in the real world groaned, reacting to the swell of will radiating from his soul. “So go,” Zero said, eyes burning gold. “Get to Kaku. Tell him everything.” Zen hesitated for just a moment — then began to dissolve, his form breaking apart into glowing white particles. “Then I’ll see you again…” he whispered, “…when it’s time to end this.” In the stillness of the prison chamber, Zero’s body trembled slightly — not from fear, but from the effort of control. A faint light began to pulse from his chest. White particles slipped from his back like drifting ash, silent, weightless — unnoticed. Zenstistu’s form emerged slowly, a ghost of hollow energy rising from within, moving like vapor. But as he separated, a sliver of his power — his essence — remained, hidden deep within Zero’s core. Not even Zero felt it. A last precaution. A final whisper of protection. Zen didn’t look back. His form flickered, vanishing in a flash of light so soft it blended with the shifting torchlight. The Ember Vow leader stood only a few paces away, unmoved — unaware. Zero kept his eyes low, masking the golden glow still faintly pulsing behind them. “Now the game begins.” The wind howled across the stone ramparts of Eldora as a sudden ripple of white energy split the air above the castle grounds. A flash. Then silence. Zenstistu emerged — mask-first — drifting through the wind like a phantom, his form made entirely of pulsing, spectral light. The guards stationed at the walls staggered back, unsure whether to draw blades or kneel. They didn’t have to choose. Zen passed through the main gate without touching the ground, weaving through the air like a wraith. Moments later — the throne room doors slammed open. Malik stood from the shadows, startled by the surge of Hollow energy. Kaku, seated on the throne, didn’t move. But his hand slowly rested on the hilt of his sword. Zen’s mask hovered forward, crackling faintly with restrained power. “Don’t draw your weapon, Kaku,” Zen said, his voice echoing as if spoken from across realms. “I’m not here to fight.” Kaku narrowed his eyes. “Then speak.” Zen floated to the center of the room, his form steady. “Zero’s been captured by Ember Vow. But not broken.” “He made a choice… to infiltrate them.” “He told me to return. To warn you. To tell you everything.” A silence fell over the room. “They want him for his Hollow. For his flames. For his bloodline.” “They plan to revive something old. Something worse than Ember Vow...” “Organization XXII.” Malik clenched his fists. Kaku’s face hardened. Zen’s voice dropped low. “He’s walking straight into their den. Alone.” “You asked whether he could be trusted…” Zen hovered closer. “Now we’ll see if he’s strong enough to become the weapon they fear — or the shadow that ends them.”