Starting from Zero

Darius enters Talisa's room without saying anything. He even sat on Talisa's bed, then looked at Talisa with an expression that was difficult to interpret. Darius even patted the bed next to him, as if telling Talisa to sit there. Talisa didn't want to be seen as an obedient woman, so she took a wooden chair and sat opposite Darius.

"Come on, tell me," Talisa said.

Her hands were folded in front of her chest as if they could be a fortress to prevent her heart from beating faster because of Darius. The feeling that she should never feel. Talisa braced herself, this time she wouldn't lose her concentration again. Darius had to tell her what she wanted to know.

"You are sure?" asked Darius.

"I've never been this sure. I need to know everything about myself, Darius!" Talisa exclaimed.

Darius was silent for a few seconds as if he was analyzing Talisa. After that, he took a deep breath, as if what he was about to say was very heavy.

"I've never been close to anyone since I was a kid, except with your mom and dad," Darius said, starting the story. Talisa was silent, but the look in her eyes demanded Darius to tell more.

"Half my life, I thought I was a master of the earth element, like your father and mother. But this isn't a story about me, is it? This is a story about your father and mother," said Darius.

"Your father is the son of the leader of the earth element masters. While your mother is the daughter of a noble in the earth element masters land. From the start, your father and mother were matched, a perfect match. Your father is very strong and talented, and so is your mother," Darius continued.

"That doesn't explain your relationship with them," Talisa replied.

"As I said, half of my life I thought I was the master of the earth element. I was found as a baby on the bank of the border between the land of earth and the land of fire. It was your grandfather who found me and out of compassion, they adopted me as a son. So, I'm your adoptive uncle, Talisa. I am your father's adopted brother," said Darius.

Talisa swallowed. That information is hard to digest. Darius is Talisa's uncle? Considering how Darius had seen her entire body even touching it, the fact that Darius was her uncle made Talisa feel uncertain.

"You lied, right?" Talisa asked.

"Why are you accusing me of that?" Darius asked back.

"How could you not know that you are the fire element master? How can your strength not be seen?" Talisa asked.

"All children in Traum must have powers according to their bloodline, but how and when that power will emerge, no one knows. When your father, your mother, and all the children my age were able to sprout, make a small shake, or split the ground, I couldn't do anything. I thought I was so weak and useless. But it turns out…" Darius's words trailed off as if he was reminiscing about something. At first glance, Talisa thought that Darius was sad or afraid, but his expression only lasted for a second, then his face turned cold again, showing no expression.

"A year later I found out that my power was never the earth, it was fire. Your mother helped me cover it up so I could stay in the land of the earth element, but…"

"But what?" Talisa asked curiously.

"In the end, I still returned to the land of fire," Darius replied curtly. Talisa knows that Darius is still hiding something. Everything can't be that simple. Even if it was only for an instant, Talisa could catch the sad expression in Darius' cold eyes. His cold demeanor seemed to bury something bitter tightly, like a layer of hard ice covering the river below.

"I already told you about my relationship with your parents. Now you understand why I care about you. Satisfied?" Darius asked again.

"There's still something you're hiding, right?"

Talisa ventured to ask. Talisa was able to conclude that very quickly because if it was just as simple as Darius had just said, couldn't he have said it from the start? Aren't all those stories painless to anyone? Why must Darius be so mysterious and secretive?

"I already told you what you wanted to know, Talisa," Darius replied.

Talisa was about to protest, but Darius immediately raised a hand, as if preventing Talisa from speaking further.

"Sherina needs you. You're going to let her die?" Darius asked again.

Talisa swallowed. She had almost forgotten that the life of a little girl now depended on her. Darius then stood up and stretched his arms towards Talisa, making Talisa confused.

"Take my hands," said Darius. His words were more akin to an order. Talisa was silent, glaring at Darius. She is not a woman who can be ordered around arbitrarily.

"Hold my hands, Talisa. It's to find Sherina." Darius said again in a softer tone, though Talisa could hear a bit of annoyance there.

"Okay," Talisa answered finally. She then held Darius' hand which was always warm. This time, as soon as Talisa touched Darius' hand, she suddenly felt that she had moved to a different dimension. Now they were in a dark place and only lit by the light emanating from Darius' body.

"Wh-where is this?" Talisa asked surprised.

"In my mind," Darius replied.

Immediately, floating in the air, images of countless little girls with light brown to pale blonde hair were drawn.

"They are all Sherinas that we have obtained data on. Do you recognize one of them?" asked Darius.

"You put all the data from the computer into your mind?" Talisa asked in disbelief.

"Focus, Talisa. We're looking for Sherina. Now take a good look, is there any Sherina that you see in your vision? Time goes on and we will regret every second wasted," said Darius.

Talisa was forced to hold back her curiosity and she immediately searched among the images that appeared and floated. Suddenly, all the pictures were lined up neatly in front of Talisa.

"Not this one," Talisa said, looking at the first picture.

Without speaking, Darius showed the second one, and then the third, and so on, but all of them weren't the little girl they were looking for. The pictures kept changing and Talisa still couldn't find the Sherina they were looking for.

"Not this one either," said Talisa.

"Are you sure? This is the last picture," said Darius.

"The last? Are you sure there isn't a girl named Sherina anymore?" Talisa asked a little surprised.

Darius didn't answer, he let go of Talisa's hand and they returned from Darius's mind dimension to Talisa's room.

"Now we have to start from zero," said Darius.

"What? Start from zero? Can't your people search again?" Talisa asked.

"Not enough time, Talisa. You must know, that your power is much greater than you think. You can get the exact location from Sherina as long as you put in more effort," Darius said with a bit of urgency.

"B-but..."

Before Talisa could finish her sentence, Darius had thrown her to the bed, making a thudding sound on the bed.

"Darius!" Talisa protested.

"Concentrate, Talisa! I have a feeling, we don't have much time," said Darius.