Chapter 13 — Awakening
Pain.
That was the first thing Zero understood.
Not heat.
Not burning.
Something worse.
Every scar across his body split open with agony so violent it felt like his flesh was being torn apart from the inside.
Zero collapsed beside Mira instantly.
A scream ripped from his throat before he could stop it.
The world around him distorted.
Rain slowed unnaturally.
Sound stretched strangely.
Like reality itself had begun breaking apart.
THUMP.
The second heartbeat pulsed again.
Louder this time.
Ancient.
Wrong.
The Blood Rank beast froze mid-step.
Its crimson eyes widened slightly.
For the first time since arriving in Ashvale—
the creature looked uncertain.
Zero's body trembled violently against the muddy ground while black veins spread slowly beneath his skin.
Something inside him was waking up.
And it hurt.
It hurt so much.
Mira reached toward him weakly despite the blood pooling beneath her.
"Z… Zero…"
Her trembling fingers brushed his sleeve.
Zero turned instinctively.
For one brief second—
through all the pain—
their eyes met.
He tried to reach back.
His hand lifted slightly from the mud.
But another pulse exploded through his chest before he could touch her.
THUMP.
The air around Zero warped faintly.
The rain no longer touched him properly.
Droplets bent unnaturally before reaching his body.
The beast stepped backward instinctively.
Its instincts screamed now.
Danger.
Not predator.
Not prey.
Something else.
Something that did not belong in this world.
Zero's vision blurred violently.
And then—
memories surfaced.
Not full memories.
Fragments.
Broken pieces forcing themselves upward through darkness.
A throne beneath endless stars.
Cold black stone stretching infinitely into shadow.
Chains dragging slowly across crimson floors.
A woman kneeling beside him.
Silver hair.
Warm hands stained with blood touching his face gently.
And eyes—
completely black.
Not darkness.
Absence.
"You must live."
The memory shattered instantly.
Zero screamed again as something inside his chest twisted violently.
THUMP.
CRACK.
The sound echoed inside his body.
Not outside.
Inside.
Like something sealed had finally fractured.
Far away—
another battlefield unfolded beyond Ashvale's southern perimeter.
Elias staggered through the rain while blood poured from deep wounds across his body.
Hunters died around him.
Beasts everywhere.
Too many.
The horde had overwhelmed them long ago.
Yet Elias still fought forward desperately.
Ice spread beneath his boots with every step while essence erupted violently around his remaining arm.
"MOVE!"
A beast lunged.
Elias tore through it instantly.
But another replaced it.
Then another.
His breathing grew ragged.
Something was wrong.
A father's instinct screamed inside him now.
The village.
Mira.
Zero.
Klaus.
Danger.
He had to get back.
A massive beast crashed into him from the side.
CRASH.
Elias slammed through shattered trees violently before hitting the ground hard.
Pain exploded through his ribs.
Then jaws closed around his arm.
CRUNCH.
Elias screamed.
Blood sprayed across the rain-soaked forest as the beast ripped his left arm away completely.
The hunters nearby shouted desperately.
But they couldn't reach him.
Too many monsters.
Too much pressure.
Elias forced himself upright anyway.
One arm gone.
Body failing.
Still moving forward.
Still trying to go home.
Then another beast struck him from behind.
Claws tore through his leg.
Bone snapped.
Elias collapsed into the mud breathing heavily now.
His vision blurred.
Yet through all the pain—
he still dragged himself forward.
"...Mira, Zero, Klaus…"
Another shadow fell over him.
Jaws opened.
Darkness swallowed the forest.
Back in Ashvale—
the Blood Rank beast moved instantly.
Fear finally overwhelmed instinct.
It lunged toward Zero.
Trying to kill him before whatever was happening could finish.
The claw descended.
And space tore apart.
Silence swallowed the square instantly.
The beast froze mid-motion.
Its claw stopped centimeters from Zero's face.
Then—
the space touching it collapsed inward.
Black fractures spread violently across the creature's arm.
The beast screamed.
Not rage.
Terror.
Its limb twisted unnaturally before folding into itself with horrific force.
Blood exploded across the rain.
The severed arm disappeared completely afterward.
Not cut.
Gone.
Erased.
The surviving villagers stared in horror.
Nobody understood what they were seeing.
Neither did Zero.
The beast stumbled backward shrieking while distorted space rippled around the destroyed limb.
Its crimson eyes locked onto Zero fully now.
And pure fear appeared within them.
THUMP.
Zero slowly stood.
His movements no longer looked normal.
Too still.
Too controlled.
Black essence drifted faintly around his body now.
Not like normal essence.
Normal essence flowed.
This—
consumed.
The rain vanished wherever the black essence touched.
Devoured.
The Blood Rank beast tried to retreat.
Instinct screamed at it to run.
But the moment it moved—
Zero appeared directly in front of it.
No sound.
No visible movement.
Just there.
The creature's eyes widened completely.
Space distorted around Zero's right arm.
Then he touched the beast's chest.
Gently.
Silence.
The world held its breath.
Then the creature collapsed inward.
Its body twisted violently as invisible force crushed space itself around it.
Bone.
Blood.
Flesh.
Everything folded unnaturally into a single point before vanishing completely.
Nothing remained afterward.
No corpse.
No blood.
Only distorted air trembling where the beast once stood.
Silence consumed Ashvale.
The surviving villagers stared at Zero like they no longer recognized him.
A mother pulled her child backward instinctively.
One injured dominator stumbled away from him in fear.
Even the people Zero had tried protecting moments ago now looked at him differently.
Not relief.
Not gratitude.
Fear.
Because whatever had just killed that monster—
did not feel human.
Zero stood motionless beneath the rain.
Black essence drifting quietly around him.
Then the memories came harder.
A man kneeling before him clad in black armor.
"…Your Highness…"
Blood everywhere.
A ruined palace burning beneath black skies.
The same silver-haired woman smiling weakly despite chains around her wrists.
"You must find him…"
Another figure.
Tall.
Scarred.
Eyes filled with grief.
"My lord… there's no time…"
The memory fractured violently.
Zero staggered.
Pain exploded through his skull.
He grabbed his head immediately as more fragmented voices echoed through him.
"Protect the heir—"
"Seal the bloodline—"
"Don't let them find him—"
THUMP.
THUMP.
THUMP.
The second heartbeat grew stronger.
Then—
a faint blue screen appeared before his eyes.
Transparent.
Impossible.
[The Ascension Records has recognized a compatible existence.]
[Primary Bloodline Identified — Sealed Royal Demon Bloodline.]
[Demonic Heart Awakening Complete.]
[Current Active Hearts: 1/7]
[Aspect Successfully Formed — Void Walker.]
[Affinity Acquired — Void.]
[Innate Bloodline Abilities Detected.]
[Warning: Host mental state currently unstable.]
The words burned themselves directly into his vision.
Cold.
Emotionless.
Ancient.
Zero stared blankly at them.
Then exhaustion crashed into him all at once.
The black essence flickered weakly.
Then vanished completely.
Zero collapsed beside Mira into the mud.
Unmoving.
Darkness swallowed him instantly.
When Zero opened his eyes again—
it was morning.
Rain had stopped.
Smoke still drifted faintly through Ashvale's ruined streets.
Everything hurt.
His body felt hollow.
Heavy.
For several seconds he simply stared upward blankly.
Then memory returned.
Mira.
The beast.
The awakening.
Zero sat upright instantly.
Panic surged through him.
His eyes searched desperately across the ruined square.
Bodies covered by cloth lined the streets nearby.
Destroyed homes.
Blood.
Silence.
And then he saw her.
Mira's body rested beneath a white cloth near the broken fountain.
Still.
Cold.
Gone.
Something inside Zero twisted violently.
But before grief could fully surface—
voices nearby stopped him.
"…They found Elias."
Zero froze instantly.
Another villager spoke quietly.
"…Near the southern perimeter."
"…There wasn't much left…"
Silence.
Then—
"…The beasts ate him."
The world stopped again.
Zero stared blankly ahead.
Not breathing.
Not thinking.
Only hearing those words repeat endlessly inside his skull.
The beasts ate him.
His father—
Elias—
gone.
Not missing.
Not unconscious.
Gone.
Something cracked quietly inside Zero's mind.
Not loudly.
Not dramatically.
Just—
silently.
Like glass breaking somewhere deep underwater.
And for the first time since waking—
Zero felt absolutely nothing.