[Chp 12.] The Spark Beneath the Ash

Several days had passed since the incident with Zero. A knock echoed through the heavy metal door, followed by a muffled voice. “Sir Zero?” It was a member of Ember Vow. “What?” Zero’s voice was low, flat. “Lord Voragoth requests your presence in the throne chamber.” Zero was silent for a moment. “Tell him I’ll be there in a few.” “Yes sir.” Zero sat up from his chair, grabbed his cloak, and slung it over his shoulders. With a slow breath, he pushed the heavy door open and stepped out into the corridor. As he walks through the corridors, An Member whispered, “Hey look it’s him.” “Yea that is him, the one that almost ended all the lives of the thirteen and only five were pushed to the brink of death.” More murmurs flared up as he turned a corner. “I heard Xasthan’s still unconscious.” “Dalkor’s flame? Gone. Like it gave up on him.” “Vurell hasn’t spoken. Neris either.” “Kaelen ran. Disappeared the next day.” Zero shrugs it off. He was then in front of the Throne room. He pushes the door open. “Yes Lord Voragoth.” Zero went onto one of his knees and bows. “My dear right hand man, I have a first mission for you.” Voragoth said. “What is it my Lord?” “I need you to go take control of a small town near the Kingdom of Elarion. The town is called Graymoor. Go either take control of it and burn it down your choise is yours.” All Zero could see was a sharp deadly evil smile through all the darkness shrouded in the hood. “Yes sir.” Zero said, His body ingulf in the same type of mist and darkness as when a member with the power of paraylze used when teleporting and appearing behind Zero. His body was suddenly engulfed in the same swirling mist and darkness that enveloped him during the paralytic teleportation. The shadows seemed to pulse with a life of their own, coiling around his form like serpents, their edges tinged with an eerie violet glow. The air itself felt thicker, as if reality was bending under the weight of the oncoming shift. The mist writhed in the air, swirling faster as if drawn toward some unseen force, creating a black vortex around him. The ground beneath his feet seemed to ripple and crack with the power of the magic, and the faint red glyphs flickered beneath him, glowing with an ominous light. His body felt like it was being consumed by the very darkness, slowly pulled into the void as though being torn from reality. For a split second, it was as if time itself held its breath, before the shadow portal snapped closed, leaving nothing but the remnants of an unnatural stillness in its wake. Zero appears in the middle of Graymoor. “It be better if I would to Just blow this place up.” He raised his arm, palm flat, a swirling mass of fire and ice curling into a volatile sphere, pulsing with unstable power. From the edge of the town, a figure crouched low in the rubble—eyes narrowing at the elemental surge. Lightning snapped to life along his legs, crackling upward in arcs of blue. In a blink, he launched forward, the air splitting around him as he closed the distance. His knee slammed into Zero’s gut with brutal precision, a shockwave rippling outward from the point of impact. Zero doubled over, the breath torn from his lungs, pain flaring across his midsection—but instinct kicked in. His vision flickered forward, and before his attacker could withdraw, Zero’s hand whipped to his side. Fire and frost spiraled into twin blades tipped with jagged ice, and he slashed low, cutting into the man’s ankle and sending him skidding backward across the frozen ground. Gasping, Zero straightened, aura glowing blue-white as melted ice hissed around his feet. Graymoor’s ruined streets fell silent in the aftermath. The man rose slowly, electricity snaking along his arms and shoulders, but Zero was already moving. He charged, blades sweeping arcs of steam and frost with every step. The ground beneath him cracked, freezing then shattering under his elemental pressure. The man braced—but Zero feinted, spinning and launching the orb from his free hand. It streaked like a comet, slamming into the lightning warrior with a thunderous boom of fire and frost. The blast hurled him back, lightning flickering wildly as his body crashed and skidded over the stone. Zero landed lightly, his breathing steady, hand briefly touching his gut as the pain throbbed. Steam curled around his armor, and he locked eyes with the man as the sparks died. “Didn’t see that coming?” he said, voice laced with cold amusement. The man spat a curse, planting his hands into the cracked earth as electricity flared anew. His eyes burned with focus. In a flash, he was moving again—faster, a blur of afterimages weaving through smoke and frost. Zero’s blade intercepted one blur—but it was a feint. The real strike slammed into his back, a charged elbow exploding against his spine and driving him forward. Before he could recover, a sweep knocked his legs out. Zero hit the ground, caught himself, and lashed out in a wide arc of frozen flame that forced his attacker to flip away. They faced each other again, chests heaving, energy crackling through the air. Zero’s blades reformed in flashes of fire and ice. “You’re not just some soldier,” he muttered. The man’s smirk was sharp, lightning dancing along his arms. “I protect Graymoor. That’s all you need to know.” Zero’s aura flared hotter. “Then you picked the wrong town to stand for.” They clashed again—blade and lightning sparking in furious bursts. Their weapons slammed together with booming force, steam and light erupting between them. “You fight like someone lost,” the man growled as their arms locked. “Is that what Ember Vow does? Turns men into ghosts?” Zero snarled, twisting hard and driving a palm into the ground. A geyser of searing heat and frost exploded upward, forcing the man to leap clear. He flipped mid-air and landed hard across the square, electricity humming along his limbs. “Ember Vow’s been tearing through the border,” he called out. “I’ve seen what your kind leaves behind.” Zero advanced, eyes burning. “You know nothing about me.” “I know enough,” the man shot back. “You’re just another monster hiding behind borrowed power and a cause that means nothing.” Zero paused, briefly. Fire cracked, frost hissed, and the weight of the silence pressed in—but then he surged forward again, cloak flaring behind him, blades blazing, ready to end it. Their clash lit the night with searing bursts of elemental fury—lightning lashing out in sharp arcs, ice carving through the haze like glass blades, fire spiraling into seething trails of destruction. Zero’s blades blurred in his hands, one strike crashing into the man’s gauntlet, sending sparks and steam into the air. The warrior grunted, the force driving him back, but he slid with the momentum, twisting mid-step to hurl a bolt of electricity straight into Zero’s path. It struck with a concussive snap, forcing Zero to veer off, the edges of his armor scorched and glowing. He rolled with the impact, spun low, and launched back with both blades sweeping out in a deadly cross. The man ducked under the strike, his own fist crackling with voltage as it surged toward Zero’s ribs—only for Zero to catch it mid-punch, his hand glowing with a fusion of ice and flame. For a heartbeat, they were locked—two forces grinding against one another, fire hissing against lightning, ice freezing arcs in the charged air. “Graymoor’s finished,” Zero said through clenched teeth, his grip tightening. “Your resistance is a flicker in a storm.” The man’s lips curled into a grim smile. “Then I’ll be the lightning that burns your storm away.” With a burst of energy, he threw Zero back and vaulted into the air, electricity coiling around his limbs like writhing serpents. He shot downward in a bolt of blue, smashing into the street where Zero had landed moments earlier. The impact blew apart the cobblestones in a thunderous shockwave, but Zero had already moved—reappearing behind him in a rush of steam and shadow. He slashed—one blade carving across the man’s back, the other driving toward his side. The warrior twisted just in time, sparks flying as one blade glanced off his armored shoulder. He spun low and caught Zero across the thigh with a sweeping kick, lightning dancing from his heel as it connected. Zero staggered, but didn’t fall—he gritted his teeth, his aura flaring violently, and with a roar, he unleashed a pulse of elemental force that sent the man hurtling across the square. He struck a wall and dropped to one knee, breathing hard. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, but his eyes stayed locked on Zero. “You’re strong,” he said, voice steady despite the strain. “But I’ve seen what Ember Vow does. I’ve seen the fires, the bodies. If I have to die here to stop you… I will.” Zero advanced slowly, expression unreadable behind the soft blue-white flicker of his aura. “Then you’re as blind as the rest,” he said. “You think this is about good and evil? About heroes and monsters?” He spread his arms, elemental energy swirling around him in wild currents. “This world burns either way. I just chose the winning side.” The man pushed to his feet, lightning wrapping his form in a protective shell. “Then I’ll make sure you lose,” he said coldly—and with that, he charged once more, lightning exploding in his wake as the battle thundered on, each clash echoing through the shattered ruins of Graymoor. The storm of blows intensified, each strike heavier, more brutal. Zero’s movements were swift and cold, an unrelenting force of destruction. The man came in low, crackling arcs of lightning dancing from his legs as he aimed a spinning kick toward Zero’s head. But Zero was faster, ducking beneath the strike and, in one fluid motion, slamming his blade into the ground. With a roar, he erupted upward, driving his elbow into the man’s jaw with bone-crushing force. The impact snapped the man’s head back, blood spraying from his mouth as he staggered. Before the man could recover, Zero’s hand shot out, his fingers glowing with unnatural fire. A sphere of ice and flame swirled violently into existence, twisting into a jagged spear, its shaft glimmering with frosted light, the tip blazing with searing heat. The air cracked as Zero thrust it forward, and the spear shot through the space between them. The spear pierced through the man’s chest with a sickening, wet crunch, the sharp ice tearing through muscle, bone, and flesh. The flames roared as they ignited the exposed tissue, scorching it black. The man’s body lurched from the force of the impact, his mouth open in a silent scream as the jagged ice tore its way deeper into his chest. He crashed to the ground, his armor splintering under the force, the ground buckling beneath his weight. The air smelled of burnt flesh and the sharp, metallic scent of blood. Zero stepped forward with cold, measured steps, his boots crunching against the cracked cobblestones. He looked down at the man, pinned to the earth by the spear lodged in his chest. His breathing was labored, a gurgling rasp as blood pooled around the wound. Zero's eyes narrowed, glowing with unyielding coldness. “Pathetic,” he muttered, twisting the spear deeper, the ice scraping against bone with an ear-splitting sound. The man’s body jerked in agony, his hands twitching weakly, his mouth spilling blood. “Tell me your name,” Zero demanded, voice devoid of any mercy, cold as the ice burning through the man’s chest. His gaze didn’t waver, locked onto the dying man’s eyes. “I want to know who I’m burying.” The man’s lips trembled, blood spilling from the corners of his mouth as he gasped for air. His chest shuddered with the effort to breathe, his eyes burning with defiance, even as his body fought against the cold flames consuming him. He opened his mouth to speak, but all that came out was a rasping cough, blood spilling over his lips. He managed a faint smirk, though it was twisted in pain. “Kael…” he spat, his voice barely audible, like the last remnants of his life slipping away. “Kael… and… I don’t die for monsters.” Zero’s lips twisted into a thin, humorless smile, his hand still pressing the spear down. The blood from Kael’s chest began to pool, seeping into the cracked earth beneath him. Zero leaned in, his face hovering just above Kael’s, the flames in his eyes reflecting the man’s fading light. “We’ll see about that,” he murmured coldly, twisting the spear once more, his grip tightening on the shaft as Kael’s body twitched violently in response. With a final, pitiful gasp, Kael’s eyes lost their defiance, the last flicker of life extinguishing. Zero stood tall, staring down at the broken warrior, his gaze still as cold as the ice that had consumed him. The battle for Graymoor had ended—but this moment… this death was far from over. Zero’s eyes were locked on Kael’s bloodied form, his chest heaving with the force of the brutal blow. The man was still alive—barely— but the spear had done its damage. Blood oozed out from the wound, staining the cobblestones beneath him. For a moment, everything was still. Then, with a violent, savage roar, Kael’s hand shot up, his fingers gripping the shaft of the ice spear embedded in his chest. His body shook violently as the tip of the spear dug deeper into his insides, tearing at his muscles and ribs. Blood and blackened ice splattered onto the ground, but Kael didn’t care. His eyes were filled with a burning, desperate rage, and his hand tightened, squeezing around the jagged ice like a vice. With a sickening, rasping scream, Kael wrenched the spear free. The ice scraped against his ribs, flesh tearing and ripping, but Kael shoved it out with brutal force. The sound of grinding ice was followed by a horrifying crack as his flesh split open even wider, blood splattering the ground in a torrent, mixing with the black ice that clung to the spear. He stumbled back, gasping for breath, his lungs screaming in pain. His hand was covered in blood, thick and dark, as he tossed the spear aside with an almost careless gesture. It clattered to the ground, useless now. His chest was a gaping, raw mess, exposed muscle and bone glistening beneath the moonlight. But Kael’s defiance was far from over. A dark, crackling energy built within him, radiating from his chest where the wound should have been his death. His body trembled violently as lightning arced from his limbs, coursing through his veins with a mind of its own. His mouth twisted into a snarl, eyes wild with pain and fury, as he slammed his hands into the ground. The earth beneath him shook. The air itself seemed to twist and bend as if reality itself were cracking under the weight of his power. A surge of raw electricity burst from Kael’s body in a deafening shockwave. The ground trembled and cracked as arcs of lightning shot out like a storm let loose, electricity crackling through the night air, a violent pulse of energy. But the worst of it came when that raw surge of energy slammed into his open wound. The violent surge of lightning seared into Kael’s chest, causing his muscles to contract and writhe uncontrollably. His blood boiled as the electrical surge tore into his flesh, cauterizing the gaping wound even as it sent waves of agony through his body. The skin around the wound began to bubble and burn, flesh charring, as if the power itself was trying to burn away everything that remained of his humanity. Kael screamed, his voice hoarse and guttural, but the power surged higher. His muscles spasmed, but something darker, something unnatural, took hold. His body began to heal—instantly, painfully, grotesquely. The torn muscle and shattered bone began to knit together under the pulse of lightning, blood congealing and mending as the crackling energy surged deeper into his body. Flesh crawled back over exposed bone, healing with a sickening squelch, as lightning arced from his body to the sky, a violent storm contained within a human form. The air reeked of burned flesh, the smell of ozone and iron mixing as Kael stood taller, his chest still smoking, but the wound now barely a scar. The lightning still raged around him, his skin tinged with blue from the power coursing through his veins. His body, once a broken, bleeding mess, was now whole again—but the cost was clear: his healing had come at a horrific price, leaving his chest seared and raw, the scar tissue laced with faint electric burns. Kael’s breath was heavy, each inhale shaking with the aftermath of his healing, but his eyes—now alight with unrelenting fury—never left Zero. His jaw clenched as he wiped the blood from his mouth, eyes wild with defiance. Zero stared in disbelief, his jaw tightening as the man, who should have been dead, now stood fully healed and more dangerous than before. He could feel the storm of power radiating from Kael, his body now a walking conduit of destruction. “You really don’t know when to die, do you?” Zero growled, his aura flaring in response to the man’s unyielding will to survive. Kael smirked, his voice a strained rasp but full of venom. “You’ll have to do better than that, monster.” And then, before Zero could react, Kael’s body was already in motion. He blurred with speed, his limbs crackling with energy as lightning snaked around him like a living weapon. Zero barely had time to adjust as the storm in front of him erupted, the force of Kael’s next strike slamming into him with the power of a thunderclap. The battle, brutal and unrelenting, had only just begun. Kael’s fingers still gripped the ice-scorched ground as he pushed himself up, the burning ice spear now missing from his chest. The wound, though raw and deep, began to close with an eruption of energy that sent a crackling wave through the air. His eyes locked onto Zero’s, filled with raw intensity. “You—you're not the man you used to be," Kael said, his voice strained but resolute, still seething from the pain, his chest glowing from the healing pulse. "What happened to you? Kaku wouldn’t recognize you.” Zero’s eyes narrowed, but Kael’s words struck deeper than he wanted to admit. For a moment, he froze. "You don’t know what you're talking about," Zero growled, his voice colder than before. "You think Kaku could have stopped me? You think he could have saved me? He couldn’t even save himself." His fists clenched, the darkness in his chest threatening to break free. Kael’s gaze sharpened. There was something in Zero's words— something in the way he said them—that didn’t sit right. It was almost... as if he wasn’t fully in control of himself. As if something—some force—was pulling the strings, keeping him bound, yet there was still a flicker of resistance deep beneath the surface. Kael pushed forward, his voice steady, though his heart pounded. “You don’t have to be this way, Zero. Whatever’s happened to you... I can see it. There’s something still inside you fighting this. I know you’re in there." As Kael spoke, Zero’s body seemed to pulse with sudden energy. A surge, like a heartbeat, rippled through him, his form momentarily flickering. The air around him hummed with power, and the ground beneath him trembled. Without warning, white particles of raw, ethereal energy began to leak from his body, swirling in the air like drifting motes of light. They danced around him in a swirling cloud, coalescing into a shimmering web of energy that began to form the shape of a large, ethereal armor around him. Kael took a step back, eyes wide in confusion. This... wasn’t like anything he had seen before. The particles of energy—Veyrix energy—wrapped around Zero’s body in a swirling vortex, shaping his form into something far more dangerous. The ethereal armor began to solidify, sharp edges of translucent white flame flaring into existence. His body shifted, muscles expanding, and his aura grew, wrapping the area in a cold, intense heat that made the air shimmer. Kael didn’t know what was happening, but he could feel the shift in the atmosphere. It was as if something ancient and powerful was awakening within Zero, something far beyond the man he had been moments ago. The air around them vibrated with an energy that was both cold and scorching, like the calm before a storm. The Veyrix particles wrapped around him like chains of energy, forming a new, powerful figure, a Nexaris form unlike anything Kael had seen. Zero’s eyes, however, remained cold and distant, locked onto Kael’s as if he were seeing straight through him. The transformation wasn’t just physical—it was as if it had taken over his very being. Kael stood frozen, his heart pounding in his chest. “What... what is this?” he muttered, his voice barely a whisper. He had no idea what was happening, but the sheer magnitude of power Zero was emanating made the ground beneath his feet tremble. Zero’s lips curled into a grim smile, and the air around him crackled as if responding to the power within him. “You’ve got no idea,” he said, his voice colder than ever. “This is who I’ve become.” Kael stepped forward, but his mind raced. Whatever this was, it wasn’t just Zero. It wasn’t something he could fight with brute strength alone. This was a force far beyond him. But even so, Kael refused to back down. “I don’t care who you are now,” he said, his voice steady despite the weight of the power Zero was wielding. “I’m still gonna try to bring you back.” The moment the words left his mouth, Zero surged forward, a flash of fire and ice erupting from the ground beneath him as the Nexaris armor fully formed. Kael’s body tensed, energy crackling as he prepared for whatever came next, but the uncertainty of what Zero had become loomed large. The ground quaked as Zero’s form shifted. The air around him crackled and hummed with destructive energy, and then it erupted. A pulse of pure, raw force surged outward, ripping through the surrounding environment. White, glowing particles of Veyrix energy swirled around him, coiling like smoke. His body began to morph, the flesh twisting and reshaping, his features sharpening into something less human and more primal. The Nexaris form—the form he had only a fleeting control over— took shape. His muscles swelled, his body rippling with energy, and his eyes burned with an intensity that far surpassed any human being. His skin glowed with the raw, untamed power of Veyrix, energy coursing through him like an uncontrollable storm. His face, distorted by this immense power, was framed by a dark aura that swallowed the light around him. His very presence seemed to warp the fabric of reality, and the air itself seemed to bend under the weight of his transformation. Kael’s eyes widened as the transformation fully took place. He had no idea what he was witnessing, but he felt the terrifying power radiating from Zero. He had heard rumors, legends even, of beings who could reach beyond the boundaries of their human forms—transformations that made them gods, or worse. But to see it in person? It was like facing an elemental force, a catastrophe ready to strike. Kael took an instinctive step back, trying to process what was happening, but it was too late. Zero’s Nexaris form surged forward. His movements were no longer human—they were fast, brutal, and inhumanly precise. Kael barely had time to react before Zero was on him. His fist, now wreathed in a twisting combination of fire and ice, slammed into Kael’s chest. The blow didn’t just hurt—it shattered. Kael’s ribs cracked under the force, his body flying through the air, the wind knocked from his lungs as he tumbled across the broken street. Pain exploded across his body, his vision blurring with the aftershock of the hit. Before he could even roll to his feet, Zero was already there, moving with an unnatural speed, his body thrumming with an energy that felt like it could tear the world apart. Kael’s hands crackled with electricity, a desperate attempt to summon whatever energy he had left, but it was futile. He barely got a bolt of lightning off before Zero’s foot crushed into his stomach, sending him crashing into the ground. The impact was like being hit by a freight train. Kael’s body felt like it was being torn apart from the inside. The air grew thick with a blinding light as Zero's Nexaris form continued to grow in power. His body pulsed with that sickening energy, veins of raw Veyrix coursing beneath his skin like lava. He towered over Kael, his form a terrifying silhouette against the chaos of the ruined city. His eyes—those burning, glowing eyes—locked onto Kael with an intensity that sent a shiver down his spine. There was nothing human left in them. Kael coughed, blood dripping from his mouth as he tried to gather himself. His limbs were heavy, unresponsive. But his will to fight, that stubborn fire that had kept him going, refused to die. With a raw grunt, Kael pushed himself up, sparking with electricity once more. He took a step forward, his legs shaking, but before he could even close the distance, Zero was upon him again. This time, Zero moved with a terrifying fluidity—his fists landing like a storm. Each strike was a shockwave of energy, his limbs impossibly fast, his blows more powerful than anything Kael had ever experienced. The first punch landed squarely in his gut, and Kael gasped, feeling his insides twist in agony. The second hit smashed into his jaw, sending a wave of pain crashing through his skull. And then came the third—a brutal uppercut that lifted Kael off his feet, sending him sailing backward. Zero wasn’t holding back. Each strike, each movement, was designed to destroy. His Nexaris form, though incomplete, was too much for Kael to handle. It was as though he was fighting a god of destruction, a being beyond mortal limits. Kael tried to retaliate, his electricity sparking against Zero’s glowing form, but it was as if his attacks were nothing more than raindrops against a hurricane. Zero absorbed the blows with little more than a snarl, his expression cold, distant, and emotionless. Kael’s body hit the ground again with a sickening thud. He lay there for a moment, gasping for breath, the world spinning around him as the taste of blood filled his mouth. He could feel his strength draining, and his vision darkening at the edges. But in the back of his mind, he refused to give up. “You think you’re unbeatable now?” Kael spat through gritted teeth, trying to pull himself up. “Is this what you’ve become? A mindless monster?” But Zero’s face didn’t change. He simply stared down at Kael with those burning eyes, as though Kael were nothing more than an annoyance. He lifted a foot and slammed it into Kael’s chest, pushing down with enough force to crack the ground beneath him. Kael gasped for air, his body racked with pain, the world fading in and out. His limbs were useless—his electricity sputtered and died in his hands. There was no way to fight back. He was outmatched. Zero’s Nexaris form hovered over him, an embodiment of everything Kael feared. His chest rose and fell with deep, cold breaths, but there was no mercy in his eyes. Kael tried to speak again, his voice barely a whisper. “You’re still... in there...” But his words trailed off as Zero’s overwhelming power consumed him completely. The air was thick with tension, the ground beneath them trembling with every pulse of energy emanating from Zero's Nexaris form. Kael, battered and bloodied, struggled to rise, his body screaming in protest. His movements were sluggish now, every step feeling like an eternity as he fought to stand against the storm of power before him. But Zero was relentless. In a blur of motion, Zero closed the distance between them once more. The very air seemed to crackle with the fury of his power, and before Kael could even react, Zero's hand shot out. It was a blur of ice and flame, a jagged mass of energy and raw strength. Zero’s fingers transformed into a deadly spear, his hand elongated and solidified with the sharpness of a blade. With a single, brutal motion, Zero thrust his hand forward, plunging it deep into Kael’s chest. Kael’s eyes widened in shock as the fiery, ice-coated fingers pierced his flesh. The cold shock of ice mingled with the searing heat of fire, burning through his ribs and sinking into his very heart. His body trembled, pain surging through him in waves as he gasped for breath, the life draining from his chest as Zero’s grip tightened. Zero’s eyes were cold, unwavering. His breath, heavy and calculated, echoed in the silence between them. Kael’s body jerked as the pain overwhelmed him, his mouth opening in a soundless scream, but no words came. His vision began to blur, his body no longer obeying his commands. “Zero...” Kael whispered weakly, his voice barely audible over the rush of his own heartbeat, the life draining away. He reached for Zero’s arm, as though trying to pull it out, but his strength had long since failed him. His fingers curled weakly around Zero’s arm. “You’re still... in there...” Zero stood motionless, his gaze locked onto Kael with no recognition, no emotion. He could feel Kael's pulse slowing, the life force leaving him, but he showed no sign of hesitation. Slowly, with a harsh twist, Zero pushed his hand deeper, the sharp, jagged edges of his hand rupturing the tissue and muscle around Kael’s heart. The last of Kael’s strength drained away in an exhaled breath, his body slumping against Zero’s spear-like grip. His hand fell limp at his side, the fight completely gone from him. Kael’s body hung in Zero’s grasp for a moment before the deadly grip finally loosened. With a sickening pull, Zero ripped his hand out, leaving behind a gaping wound, blood pouring freely from Kael’s chest. Kael fell to his knees, struggling to stay upright, but his body betrayed him. He collapsed forward, blood staining the cracked ground beneath him. Zero’s Nexaris form loomed over him, casting a long, terrible shadow. His eyes, burning with untamable power, seemed to flicker for a brief second—just a flicker of something—before they hardened again. The raw energy coursing through him did not waver. Kael’s breath was ragged, his life hanging by a thread. The world around him faded, his vision narrowing. “Zero…” he rasped, his voice barely a whisper, his final words lost in the silence that hung between them. But Zero didn’t move. He didn’t answer. He simply watched as the life drained from Kael’s body, his grip tightening around his blades, his Nexaris form pulsing with a cold, relentless fury. Zero stood over Kael’s broken form, his Nexaris energy swirling around him like an unstoppable storm. The air was thick with the raw power he now commanded, and his heart beat in time with the pulse of destruction. Kael’s body, barely conscious, was a broken heap at Zero's feet, blood spilling freely across the cracked cobblestones. His breaths were shallow, his chest heaving in an attempt to stay alive, but his body no longer obeyed him. Zero stared down at him, his gaze cold and detached, a flicker of something hidden behind the mask of power. The wind howled around them, a backdrop to the chaos unfolding in the ruined city of Graymoor. Without warning, Zero’s hand shot forward, grabbing Kael by the collar and lifting him effortlessly, as though he weighed nothing. Kael’s eyes fluttered, struggling to stay focused, but he was a lifeless ragdoll in Zero's unrelenting grip. “You’re nothing,” Zero muttered, his voice a low growl, laced with ice and flame. “You came here for a fight you couldn’t win.” With a violent twist of his wrist, Zero hurled Kael forward. The sheer force of the throw was enough to send Kael flying through the air like a projectile. His body whipped through the night sky at blinding speed, leaving a trail of smoke and blood in his wake. Kael’s vision blurred as he flew, his body torn between the unbearable pain and the rapid velocity. He could feel the wind ripping at him, the world distorting around him as he soared through the night, heading directly toward the heart of Ember Vow’s territory. In the distance, the silhouette of Kaku’s throne room loomed, a dark and imposing structure at the epicenter of the ruined city. Kael’s body twisted mid-air, spinning out of control as he neared the massive walls. Before Kael could even process the impact, his body slammed against the stone structure with an explosive crash, the force sending a violent tremor through the walls of the throne room. The sheer speed at which he was thrown left a deep imprint in the stone, the impact creating a cloud of dust and debris that shrouded the area in chaos. Kael’s body crumpled to the ground, blood pooling around him, his body limp and lifeless. The only sound that filled the air was the distant echo of his crash, the violent aftermath of Zero’s overwhelming strength. Inside the throne room, the atmosphere was tense—darkness hanging thick in the air, the faint flicker of light reflecting off the towering stone walls. The throne, empty and cold, seemed to stare back, as if waiting for the return of the one who once held power here. But as Kael’s battered body lay in a heap at the foot of the throne room, the echoes of his crash reverberated like a grim reminder. Zero's power had left its mark. “Void...Step...” The word left Zero’s lips like a whisper carved from the void itself. The shadows obeyed instantly, curling up his limbs like sentient smoke. His form blurred, the air cracking inward with a vacuum-like pull as the mist enveloped him completely. With a sudden snap of pressure and a shimmer of violet light, Zero vanished— leaving behind only the faint hiss of displaced energy and a scorched sigil burned into the fractured ground. The darkness of the world twisted, folded, and bent around him. Space itself seemed to ripple as Zero stepped between realms, traversing the void like a phantom drawn by instinct. The world reassembled in an instant—and with it, silence. He stood within the inner sanctum of Voragoth’s fortress, a throne room carved from obsidian and flame, lit only by the eerie glow of ember-veined walls and the flicker of torches that didn’t burn with fire, but with writhing shadows. The throne itself sat upon a jagged dais, a monstrous structure of bone and black metal. Voragoth reclined within it, one clawed hand resting against his chin, the other coiled around the hilt of the massive blade stabbed into the floor beside him. “You’re back sooner than I thought,” Voragoth rumbled, his voice like molten stone grinding beneath pressure. Zero didn’t respond at first. His Nexaris form was gone. His cloak, torn and singed, fluttered faintly behind him, his expression unreadable as he stepped forward and dropped to one knee. “Mission complete,” he said flatly, his voice stripped of emotion. “Graymoor is ash. Resistance was dealt with.” Voragoth’s gaze narrowed, a smirk playing at the edge of his lips. Voragoth rose from his throne slowly, the ground groaning beneath his immense weight. His crimson eyes gleamed as he descended the steps, each one marked by a surge of heat and darkness. He circled Zero like a predator appraising his kill. “Yet you returned without your power flaring. No flames. No frost. No fury,” he said, pausing in front of Zero. “What happened in that moment, Zero?” A silence stretched between them like a blade’s edge. Zero didn’t look up. “I eliminated the threat,” he repeated, quieter this time. “Nothing more.” Voragoth stared at him, as if peeling back the layers of his soul. And for the briefest second, he saw it—an ember. Not of rebellion. But of memory. Then it was gone. Zero remained on one knee, unmoving, as Voragoth ascended the throne once more. The flicker of violet light still echoed faintly in the space he had arrived, like the ghost of a shadow that refused to die. A year passed, and the world had not healed. Across the fractured lands, villages and small towns vanished in waves of ash and silence—some crushed beneath Ember Vow’s relentless armies, others erased by something far worse: a single man whose name no longer passed through lips without dread—Zero. Where he walked, life withered; entire settlements disappeared overnight, scorched by flame and frost, with no warnings, no survivors, only a twisted emblem seared into stone like a death mark. Fear rooted itself in the bones of nations; the brave grew quiet, mothers hushed their children with trembling fingers, and hardened veterans deserted their posts while rulers traded freedom for a sliver of survival. Still, Ember Vow expanded—led by Voragoth, fed by endless war. Now, beneath a sunless sky, Zero stood on the edge of a jagged cliff, staring down into a valley flooded with soldiers— banners like black wings beating above the tide of steel, fire, and the drums of conquest echoing through the peaks like war’s own breath. Behind him came a voice—sharp, steady, but laced with something quieter. “You left him breathing,” said Elun, her blindfold marked with the sigil of the warseers. Zero didn’t turn. “He wasn’t a threat.” “He was a message,” she countered. “Or he could’ve been.” Silence stretched as Zero watched the storm swell below. “Elun… are we still fighting for peace?” Her robes shifted in the wind as she stepped beside him. “No,” she said at last. “We’re fighting to be remembered after the peace is gone.” The glow beneath Zero’s skin pulsed, violet veins of Nexaris energy ebbing with his breath. “I see no end in this,” he said. “Then carve one,” she answered. After a beat, her tone sharpened again. “They’ve fortified Lysara’s eastern flank. The Queen rides with her army. She won’t run.” “She won’t need to,” Zero replied, his voice low and final. “Not when everything burns.” A low hum stirred in his chest as the air shimmered with heat and power, the ground below trembling with the movement of war machines and marching soldiers beneath a sky ready to collapse. He stared ahead, unblinking. “I’ll break her walls,” he said. “Just give the order.” “I already did,” Elun said as she turned away, her voice vanishing like a breath in the wind. “Make them remember why they fear us.” And with that, Zero stepped forward—into the smoke, into the thunder of war, into the legacy only ruin could write