The Power of Zero

Authors statement: I would like to say thank you, thank you for giving this novel chance. I have always thought it would be cool to write a story so I hope you enjoy it, note: this story takes place in a dream world so anything is possible and everything can happen there are no limitations to the possibilities available.

This tale begins in a place not much different from the world you are in now, with a fifteen-year-old boy not much different from anyone else. Unfortunately, he was born into dismal circumstances that he had no control over. Day in and day out the boy would go to school with bruises and marks hidden under his clothing. Why do you ask? The answer to that question can be found once he walks through the front door of his house. After leaving school his own personal hell would begin.

Calling him Cinderfella wouldn't be a insult, no it would describe him perfectly. Compacting the fact that an extreme amount of chores and tasks given, none was ever done well enough from his parent's point of view. To make matters worse they would show him their disapproval with a multitude of violent acts. You might think school was a safe place for him, but that was not the case there was no reprieve as the boy was constantly picked on and made fun of for how he looked, smelled, and dressed.

Now, most may have started to lash out or develop violent tendencies, but the boy never did he instead would blame himself for everything that would happen. The only time the boy could relax was in his room, found in the dark basement of his house. There in the small, damp, musky 6x4 room was the only place the boy could experience some small amount of happiness. That happiness was short and rarely remembered as it was only found when he slept, in his dreams. Sadly tragedy invites more tragedy and the people that brought the fifteen-year-old boy into the world took him out of it while he slept, lucky for him that was where his tale truly begins.

"Hello I am sure you are more than a little confused, wondering where you're at and who I am, all that and more will be answered in due time. Before the voice could continue the boy yelled out into the void, "Am I dead!?". Giving a pause before providing a response the voice stated "I will answer that question in a moment, now I would like to ask you to hold all questions till I have explained more".

The voice then continued "First your state of being is both dead and not dead. You are dead in the physical sense, but in the spiritual sense, your ego is perfectly alive. I know you had a rough go with your previous life, but I commend you for not following a darker path and instead earned a lot of positive karma through your actions". This made the boy think about his past actions, he remembered helping people with minor tasks and even saving a few animals from death, a bird, a kitten, and maybe a few others.

He never really thought about it before, as it wasn't something he told people. If he had said anything to anyone there would be hell to pay as his parents would probably beat him if they found out he brought the animals into the cellar with him. The voice continued "You may not realize it, but your actions affected many people's lives positively. Now you aren't the first to meet me, but you are the first to come to me under such circumstances so I will give you two options. I would ask that you think about both options equally as they both have their own benefits.

Option 1: You will be reincarnated into a family on earth, where they will give you the love you deserved. This will allow you to experience having parents that will provide and care for you. You will not retain any knowledge of your previous life allowing you to make new memories without your painful past to tether you down.

Option 2: You will be reincarnated into the land of dreams and legends as one of my knights of light. There you will have no family to speak of, and you will retain the memories and knowledge of your previous life. This burden will be painful to carry but with some time that pain will become your strength and power.

As the voice finished speaking the boy thought that it was now the opportune time to ask something that had been weighing on him. In a respectful tone, the boy spoke, "I apologize but before make a decision I would like you to answer this question. What were the circumstances of my death?". The voice having his tone steady throughout the conversation changed slightly expressing a sense of grief and sadness, "You were killed in your sleep by the ones that gave birth to you. Understand it is not your fault for this outcome, the moral turpitude of people and the events that lead them to make their decisions is not something that can be fully understood".

The boy thought about what the voice had just told him, part of him didn't want to believe that his so-called "Family" would kill him. Then understanding his whole life was based around catering to them and their needs, it wasn't hard to imagine them killing him as long as it benefited them. The boy's mind started thinking about the options and what they entailed for him.

Option 1: This was appealing, he thought how it would be nice to be able to have a loving family. A family that would actually care about him and loves him, providing a safe environment. He could live without all the painful memories and instead, make new ones...better ones that he could smile about when thinks back to them.

Option 2: This one a major sense of adventure, he could become a knight of light...whatever that was. What sounded really cool was he would go to the land of dreams and legends, which he didn't know much about. Thinking back though he didn't know much about Earth either, his knowledge and memories were extremely limited and painful. He thought about the aspect of not having any family to speak of and for a moment this made him feel anxious. That was until he realized he was alone his whole life right up to the day he died.

The boy thought about both options and weighed the pro and cons, before making his decision. Speaking clearly in a resolute tone the boy said to the void, "Even though I will live with the knowledge and pain of what was done to me, I want to gain my own strength and make my own path in life. The idea of being a Knight of Light also sounds pretty interesting, so I would like to go with option 2.