Chapter 14 — Fracture
Ashvale buried its dead beneath grey skies.
No prayers.
No ceremonies.
There were too many bodies for either.
Smoke drifted quietly through the ruined village while exhausted survivors moved through the wreckage like ghosts.
Nobody spoke loudly anymore.
Even children whispered now.
Fear had settled into Ashvale completely.
And at the center of it—
was Zero.
He sat alone beside Mira and Elias's graves without moving.
Fresh dirt.
Rain-soaked flowers.
A simple wooden marker carved hastily by trembling hands.
Mira Vale and Elias Vale.
Nothing else.
Zero stared at the name silently.
Blankly.
People cried nearby.
Families mourned.
Hunters buried friends they had known their entire lives.
But Zero felt detached from all of it.
Like he was standing outside himself watching someone else's world collapse.
The grief was there.
Somewhere.
Deep.
Buried beneath something colder.
THUMP.
The second heartbeat pulsed quietly inside his chest again.
Still there.
Still waiting.
His scars burned faintly afterward.
Klaus approached slowly through the rain.
One arm wrapped heavily in bandages.
Bruises covered most of his body now.
Yet he still walked over anyway.
He stopped beside Zero silently.
For a long moment—
neither of them spoke.
Finally—
"…I kept thinking they'd wake up."
Klaus' voice sounded rough.
Broken.
Zero didn't answer.
Klaus laughed weakly afterward.
Not because anything was funny.
Because grief sometimes sounded like laughter before it became crying.
"They used to yell at us for fighting near the house," he murmured quietly.
Silence.
Rain tapped softly against the graves.
Klaus lowered his gaze afterward.
"…I couldn't protect them."
The words came out quietly.
Ashamed.
Zero's eyes remained fixed on the grave.
Neither could he.
And somehow—
that thought no longer hurt.
It just existed.
Cold.
Heavy.
Absolute.
Klaus clenched his remaining hand tightly.
"My parents died the same way."
Zero's gaze shifted faintly toward him.
Klaus rarely spoke about them.
"…Beasts attacked our caravan when I was younger."
His voice stayed calm.
Too calm.
"Elias and Mira knew them. Took me in afterward."
A faint bitter smile crossed his face.
"Your mother used to force me to eat vegetables."
Silence followed.
Then quieter—
"She told me if I was going to live with them, then I was family."
Zero stared at him silently.
His fractured mind processed the words slowly.
Family.
Klaus had lost everything too.
Years ago.
And Elias and Mira had saved him the same way they saved Zero.
For the first time—
Zero understood why Klaus stayed beside him so stubbornly all these years.
Not pity.
Not obligation.
Klaus truly believed they were brothers.
Something faint shifted inside Zero hearing that.
Not warmth.
The memory of warmth.
Distant now.
Almost unreachable.
Klaus stared toward the ruined village afterward.
"I couldn't save them either."
Zero finally spoke.
"…Nobody could."
Klaus looked toward him immediately.
Because something about Zero's voice sounded wrong now.
Empty.
Too empty.
The same detached calm remained on Zero's face.
No rage.
No grief.
Nothing.
And that frightened Klaus more than screaming would have.
"…Zero…"
Zero stood slowly.
The movement looked mechanical.
Controlled.
Like emotion no longer connected properly to his body.
"They're dead."
The words landed flatly.
Fact.
Nothing more.
Klaus felt cold hearing them.
Because Zero wasn't denying reality.
He had accepted it too completely.
Too quickly.
As though something inside him had broken beyond repair.
The wind moved quietly through the graves.
Then footsteps approached nearby.
Elder Rowan.
The old village chief looked worse than before.
Bandages wrapped around his chest while dried blood stained parts of his armor.
Yet his presence remained heavy.
Steady.
Strong.
His sharp eyes settled on Zero immediately.
"…Walk with me."
Zero followed silently.
Klaus hesitated briefly before trailing behind them.
The village looked smaller now.
Broken homes.
Collapsed walls.
Fresh graves everywhere.
And people watched Zero carefully as he passed.
Some fearful.
Some uncertain.
Nobody whispered anymore.
That was worse somehow.
Elder Rowan finally spoke once they reached the edge of the village.
"The Empire will hear about this soon."
Zero remained silent.
"A Blood Rank beast attacking this deep into settled territory isn't normal."
The old dominator's eyes narrowed slightly afterward.
"And neither is what happened to you."
Silence.
Rowan stopped walking.
"…You destroyed that creature without essence."
Zero's gaze stayed forward.
"…I know."
"You know what you are?"
That question lingered heavily in the cold air.
Zero thought about answering.
About explaining.
But how could he?
He barely understood himself.
Finally—
"…No."
That at least was true.
Rowan studied him quietly.
Then sighed.
"…Whatever you are, Ashvale can't protect you anymore."
Klaus frowned immediately.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means stronger people will eventually investigate this village."
Rowan's voice hardened slightly.
"If they discover what happened here—what he did—Zero will not be left alone."
Silence followed.
Because they all understood what that meant.
Klaus stepped forward immediately.
"Then we leave first."
Zero looked toward him faintly.
Klaus met his gaze directly.
No hesitation.
No fear.
Only conviction.
"We leave Ashvale."
The words settled quietly between them.
A beginning.
And an ending.
Rowan nodded slowly afterward.
"…The Citadel is your best option."
Klaus blinked.
"The Citadel?"
"The Solaryn Imperial Citadel."
Even saying the name felt heavy.
The greatest academy in the empire.
Where nobles, heirs, and powerful dominators gathered.
A place far beyond villages like Ashvale.
Rowan's eyes returned to Zero.
"If there's any place in Nyxara with answers…"
His expression darkened slightly.
"…It's there."
Silence settled afterward.
Cold wind drifted through ruined Ashvale.
And then—
THUMP.
The second heartbeat pulsed again.
Stronger this time.
A faint blue screen appeared before Zero's eyes.
Transparent.
Impossible.
****
THE ASCENSION RECORDS
Name: Zero
Race: ???
Rank: Mortal rank — Initial Stage
Aspect: Void Walker
Affinity: Void, ??????
Bloodline: Vel'Noctum Bloodline (Sealed)
Active Hearts: 1/7
STATS
Strength: 9
Agility: 11
Vitality: 10
Essence: 14
Perception: 13
TITLES
The Surviving Heir
One Who Should Not Exist
WEAPON ARTS
None.
BOUNDED ITEMS
?????????? — (Active)
?????????? — (Dormant)
ESSENCE CIRCULATION TECHNIQUE
Veinforge Art
INNATE ABILITIES
Spatial Distortion — Partial Unlock
Void Perception — Dormant
Demonic Essence Heart — Active
CONDITION
Mental State: Fractured
Bloodline Seal Stability: Unstable
****
Zero stared silently at the screen.
The words felt unreal.
Yet instinctively—
he understood them.
The Ascension Records.
Not essence.
Not the Prime Nexus.
Something older.
Something tied directly to him.
To what he truly was.
A demon.
Not human.
Not from Nyxara.
Fragments of memory flickered faintly again.
A burning palace.
Black skies.
Silver hair.
Chains.
Then gone.
Klaus noticed Zero staring into empty space.
"…What is it?"
Zero blinked once.
The screen vanished immediately afterward.
"…Nothing."
Lie.
But Klaus didn't press further.
Not yet.
THUMP.
The second heartbeat echoed quietly again.
And for the first time—
Zero realized something clearly.
Ashvale was over.
Everything before this night—
gone.
Buried alongside Mira and Elias.
What remained now was something else entirely.
Something colder.
Something empty.
And somewhere deep inside himself—
that frightened even him.