Zero

In an abandoned land of ruins, a dark moon of a starless world unveiled its beauty as its illuminating shadows pierced the soil of the unknown, where a seven-year-old young boy was slumped down, overwhelmed with conflicting exhaustion and will to live.

Scared, confused, and with flowing tears from his pitiful pair of brown eyes, his scream of agony reverberated throughout the wasteland of abandoned hope.

"H-help me!"

His trembling voice echoed, but only the fear-inducing darkness was his listener.

Struggling to stand up with everything he had, the young boy subconsciously reached for his forehead, feeling the sensation of thick liquid dripping down his wounded countenance, the consequence of being stumbled in the midst of darkness as he traversed the plane of uncertainty. Being so young, with a mind that barely grasped the harshness of reality, and with his quivering, frail body, his harrowing cry continued to spread in all directions.

"P-please! Someone help me! Mother! F-father!"

He desired one's help, but only the lone dark moon was his distant companion. He longed for another existence in this cold world, but only the howling winds sensed his touch. He wanted to live, but it seemed as though the ruthless fate would not allow him.

"I-I'm scared…"

Without sufficient energy to stand up, he knelt in resignation. His brown eyes, with evidence of tears, were void, resembling someone who appeared to have lost the reason to move forward, gazing at the solemn dark moon hanging in the expansive sky.

Memories before arriving in this lonely world flooded his mind.

— "My son, you will do great, okay? Don't worry, we will watch over you."

It was his loving mother, who treasured him the most in the world, like an heirloom that was carved in her serene soul.

— "It's the calling of the Seven Deities, They will guide you. When I come back, let's celebrate your awakening, okay? I love you, son."

It was his father, whose lips touched the young boy's forehead, with trembling amber eyes of longing before leaving to temporarily serve in the northern region of the vast Endaira Empire.

— "Nanny will be here. Always."

It was his nanny, who was with him before he even learned to crawl, walk, and speak. He was her light in the darkness during every moment of an incomprehensible storm within the family.

Subsequently, flashes of memories the young boy experienced yet could not understand streamed. It was similar to a river that lost its way to come back to the tranquil ocean.

— "A fucking son of a concubine! Do you think you have the right to be in this house?!"

— "Hah. I would never dine at the same table with that bastard. I lost my appetite."

— "If not for the Patriarch, I'd rather not see your pathetic face."

— "Father? Can you tell me who's that person beside you?"

The voices of four people who were clearly older than him overlapped in his head, recalling the scenery of revulsion painted in their eyes and their sharp words similar to a sword that could cut one's soul.

After an unknown amount of time had passed, the seven-year-old boy continued to stare at the darkened heavens, where the lone moon of darkness was eternally emanating its loneliness.

He was lost, similar to a lamb that strayed off its shepherd's love.

He was tired, to the point that the will-crushing terror of the unknown gradually dissipated like a fleeting human life.

Like a sentient doll whose sentience was revoked by mystical nature, the young boy kneeled as tearing wounds eventually found themselves etched in his knees.

His reddened eyes couldn't close the dam of tears as he began to question his existence under the gaze of the solitary moon.

His heart was crushed. The tide of emotions after the incomprehensible treatment of several people who considered him garbage poured out.

"Haaah! What did I do wrong? W-what did Mother do wrong? WHAAAT!"

He was someone who only knew about parental love, oblivious to the hellish realities of the noble world.

Step.

His cry was put to an abrupt stop, trying to sense if his ears heard wrong. In this world of nothingness, what other existence would there be?

Even though he couldn't think rationally given his emotional state, the young boy's heart beat so fast as his eyes frantically darted around.

It served as his reminder that even an empty person still possessed a heart. Unfortunately, what filled his gradually emptying heart was the oldest emotion that human civilization had ever known — fear of the unknown.

Even with the illumination of the dark moon, the young boy couldn't perceive the approaching entity. Its strides were slow and gentle, but every vibration his ears received caused his losing will to live to regain itself once more.

The so-called "fear" was the ultimate truth teller... that when faced with the threat of death, no heart was truly empty.

With fear creeping into the depths of his entire being, the young boy instinctively ran, disregarding any sense of direction as long as the subtle sound dissipated from his senses. He ran and ran, feeling the electrifying sensation of his wounded and numbing knees, like livestock struggling to escape its impending guillotine.

However, the sound of footsteps wasn't reduced as though it matched the young boy's. He heard it running towards him, causing terror to completely settle in his heart and mind.

His scream reverberated once more, "Help!"

At that moment, as he ran without a sense of purpose, but with just his instinct to survive against the unknown, he stumbled for the second time, hitting with his face the rough ground.

"Arghhh–!"

He struggled but managed to get back on his feet. He ran again, with his knees shaking, and his eyes swelling. It was the sight of a pitiful boy trapped in the middle of nowhere, unsure of what the future held.

He wasn't certain if there was a friendly existence in this gloomy world, but his entire existence was telling him that whatever was chasing him wasn't the kind he was hoping to see.

Several minutes passed, running in this planar wasteland filled with the amalgamation of ruined nature, for the umpteenth time, the young boy's desire resonated, "Someone h-help!"

He halted in his tracks, unable to proceed forward as his knees hit the ground. At the same time, as though it was just a cruel joke of fate, the sound he was running from vanished.

Even though his extreme emotions hadn't yet subsided, the seven-year-old young boy looked back, finding nothing out of the ordinary.

Dawned with realization, that it may be just his hallucinations, a sigh escaped his mouth. A second or two later, he fixed his gaze on what was ahead, only to see an upturned pale face with swelling eyes that resembled his.

This entity that defied gravity, with a countenance and expression similar to the young boy's, while looking closely at the horrified child, mirrored the latter's desire, "H-HELP M-ME-!"

Due to inevitable fright, along with his fatigued body and breaking state of mind, the young boy fainted, to the point that one would think that it would be better to perish than experience such circumstances.

However, before his helpless pair of eyes closed itself, the entity that mimicked him was wrapped with a golden thread. It flashed an apologetic smile before disappearing into the unknown.

After that, his fainting vision caught the sight of a woman veiled in a white robe, radiating with golden light that spread everywhere.

In Her presence, the lone moon rejoiced.

In Her presence, the winds howled in delight.

In Her presence, every entity of darkness prostrated and trembled.

She was an existence that, no matter how the young boy would think, shouldn't be in this forsaken plane of nothingness.

Thud—

***

Gasp—!

Clink—

Followed by the gasp as he opened his eyes to the world was the sound of something breaking, reverberating, and clinking.

After that, lying on a luxurious bed, he heard a quivering voice, as though its source was about to burst into tears.

"Y-young Master Zero?! Y-you're awake!"

The maid, wiping her uncontrollable tears of relief, sauntered in disbelief beside the young adult's resting place.

Zero of the Ariad Household, son of Count Ariad, glanced at the maid he couldn't recognize. She wasn't his nanny, who was always with him in times of lows. After all, it had been around ten years since he was subjected to the "Calling" — the trial of awakening that erupted ten thousand years ago when several three-dimensional triangular and pyramidal structures randomly erected from various points of the earth, reshaping the entirety of the continent.

The ancestors of the seven races, after living through its benefits and suffering, referred to these massive, heaven-sent megastructures as the "Labyrinth of Numbers."

This era of awakening was referred to as the "Era of Genesis," which ushered in the further development of civilization through the impact of these labyrinths that reached the cerulean skies.

Zero Ariad, now in the frail body of a seventeen-year-old, not the young boy who was pranked by a mysterious formless shadow entity, inquired in a solemn tone, "Who are you?"

He noticed that this maid hadn't run off to inform his family, which made him assume that it was because the Patriarch and his mother weren't currently at home.

The maid was flustered, but she regained her composure as she politely answered, "I-I'm Olivia, Young Master... Y-your Nanny's daughter."

Zero Ariad didn't say anything upon hearing his nanny's daughter, Olivia's words. Instead, he contemplated for a moment, recalling the words of the silver-haired, golden-eyed white-robed woman, who served as his light in the darkness for around ten thousand years.

— "Zero, no matter what happens, do not forget your humanity..."

Even though the woman's serene words were carved in his heart, Zero Ariad found it difficult to react. Still lying on the bed, he glanced at Olivia with serene eyes, before muttering, "I see. Where's nanny?"

Olivia bit her lip, mustering some courage to respond, "M-my Mother... fell sick and..."

Tears streamed down her pale face as she sat and looked at the floor, unable to meet her Young Master's eyes as she continued, "...not waking up since then. It's been four years, but thanks to the Patriarch's generosity and Mother's devotion to the family, we've been receiving aid. H-however, the Matriarch's against it, saying we're just a waste of resources so it's been decided to relocate us into this safe house further in the south of the territory."

Listening to Olivia's lamentation, Zero Ariad recognized that the Matriarch she was referring to was the Count's first wife. He also belatedly realized that this wasn't his room when he fell into slumber ten years ago.

A second or two later, he said in a somewhat indifferent yet subtly warm tone, "Olivia, tell me more."

***

Since it was impossible to be informed of the world's changes that spanned ten years in one sitting, only some crucial information about the Patriarch and his legitimate mother, including the former's whereabouts, was provided.

Around four years ago, in regards to the former, Count Ariad ascended to the Marquis position due to his contribution to the Endaira Empire. On the other hand, his mother had taken a walk in the nearest market district to purchase some goods, which she insisted on doing so.

"Thank you, Olivia. You may go. Wait for my Mother's return before sending a message to the Patriarch."

With a trembling voice of delight, Olivia nodded as she expressed her gratitude, seeing her Young Master's awakening, "Y-yes, Young Master!"

Cleaning the broken plate she dropped earlier after witnessing her Young Master's awakening, Olivia left the room.

Seeing her figure fade as she closed the door with an obvious gladness painted on her countenance, Zero Ariad sat on his bed, his back resting on the wall.

A moment later, a hazy blue screen appeared in front of his brown eyes.

[You have awakened...]