ZERO: Before the Beginning

A thin mist drifted over the black canyon. It wasn't mere air, but a heavy vapor of long-forgotten memories. Zero stood at the edge of the Lung Kingdom, before the gray stratum known as "Aeros's Breath."

"So this is... the Lung Kingdom." Luan murmured, adjusting his mask.

The ground was uneven, like melted clumps of emotion. Occasionally, it exhaled a fizzing noise as gas hissed up from beneath their feet.

[Warning – Oxygen density reduced by 62%. Emotional sync ratio increased by 0.72.]

A red alert flashed across Zero's HUD. At the same time, a peculiar weight pressed into his chest, rising all the way to his throat.

"Is this... emotional gas...?" Luan panted. "They said emotions flowed into this place, never solidifying, only floating around as vapor. They were right."

Suddenly— BOOM!

An explosion echoed from across the canyon, tearing through the sky. Traces of memory mixed within the gas reacted to the vibrations.

Whoooooosh—

Above them, a vortex began to form. It wasn't wind. It was emotion shaped like breath.

Zero instinctively shoved Luan aside. From the vortex's center, a sharp current tore through the air.

Sshhk! A slicing noise.

A stream of air grazed Zero's shoulder like a blade.

"This isn't just air. It's an attack."

Luan caught his breath. They crouched and descended into the lower strata of the Lung Kingdom.

There, a vast cavity yawned. No light penetrated the silence, but if one listened closely—they could hear it.

'...Haa... Haa... Haa...'

Breathing. But it wasn't human. The rhythm was erratic, deep, and broken.

"An infected one," Zero whispered.

In the darkness, he saw blue afterimages flickering—traces of breath left by a human.

Luan manipulated his wrist device. [Word Command Released – Preparing "Breath of Purification"]

"If it's a gas-type emotional weapon, physical attacks won't work." "Then...?" "We have to become one with it."

Zero nodded and took a deep breath. His chest felt as though it would tear apart, but deep within, the DNA engraving of his emotional weapon reacted.

[DNA Sync Detected – New Awakening: Inhalation Sync Type 'Air Drain' Activated]

His lungs twitched and opened.

—SSSSSSSSHHHH!

Emotion, memory, and residual echoes were all sucked into his lungs.

"Gah... Kuhh...!!"

A shiver ran through his body. At the same time, the gas inside his lungs began to change.

[Sync Ratio 51% Achieved – Form Manifestation Initiated]

From his back, a shape burst forth—not wings, but a blade of air.

Whoooooosh!

Just then, a figure lunged from the darkness.

"Kyaaaagh—!"

A body cloaked in blue mist. Its deformed form was made of twisted alveoli. It was the first infected of the Lung Kingdom – the Breath Revenant.

The Revenant's shape was ungraspable. Constantly morphing, it resembled a monstrous lung, expanding and contracting in cycles of inhalation and exhalation.

Zero gripped his Air Drain blade and locked eyes on the front.

"We can't touch it without emotion. Luan!"

"Word Command, commence!"

Luan spoke. His voice rippled with the weave of air.

"Breath is circulation, and circulation shall be purification."

Zero's emotional weapon resonated. The blade vibrated, sketching a soft azure line.

The Revenant roared. Not a simple screech, but a mixture of countless fragments of memory.

"Please... stop... can't breathe... don't leave me... stay with me..."

Zero staggered for a moment but steadied his mind. He slashed forward.

Ssshhhht!

The Air Drain sliced through, dashing toward the Revenant.

The creature inflated its alveoli, compressing its internal gas.

BOOM!

A burst of fog erupted. Though Zero dodged, part of it grazed his arm.

His skin turned bluish. Emotional toxin.

"Zero! The antidote—"

"No. We finish this first."

He inhaled once more, condensing the last breath in his lungs.

"Air Drain – Terminal Inhalation."

The surroundings were devoured into him. Even Luan staggered from the force.

The Revenant lost its balance mid-air.

"Now!"

Zero raised the blade and pierced the emotional current left in the air.

Fsshhhk!

The Revenant tore from within. What spilled wasn't blood, but fragments of emotion.

Regret. Fear. Love. Hatred. Terror—

At last, its breath stopped.

Luan approached. "Is it over?"

Zero exhaled slowly. "No. This is only the beginning."

Beyond the canyon, another breath stirred.