ZERO: Before the Beginning

A white fog veiled my vision.

When I opened the eyes I'd willfully shut—

I stood in another world.

I couldn't remember exactly when it started,

but this space, formed from fragmented memory,

glowed with a haunting fluorescent light.

> [Trial of the Eyes – Zone 2: Entering Forest of Illusion]

[Visual Hallucination Protocol Active / Emotion Sync: 43%]

[Warning – Potential for Memory-Based Manifestation Detected]

It was a forest.

But not a natural one.

The trees were twisted into double-helix shapes like DNA.

Instead of leaves, they bore fragments of memory—

each one trembling in silence.

Each fragment held something I had seen,

something I had ignored,

or something I never managed to say.

Then—

Shapes began to move within the mist.

I instinctively drew my weapon.

Shard of Pyroblossom.

The emotional flame flickered to life.

And from the fog—

Dozens—no, hundreds of forms emerged.

All of them… were sperm.

But not just cells.

They were—

The competitors from my past life.

The ones who started the same race with me,

but never reached the end.

The dead sperm.

Each wore a black cloak.

Each held a weapon.

And each glared at me with burning purpose.

> [Identification in Progress...]

["Rustiel" – Blade Aura Type]

["Belos" – Shockwave Type]

["Primuna" – Emotion Manipulation Type]

["Kairon" – Phase Distortion Type]

I remembered them.

Once—

They were faster.

Stronger.

I had feared them.

Admired them.

Even envied them.

Now—

Those emotions stood before me,

manifested in flesh.

> "Zeroback."

Rustiel spoke first.

His eyes were still the same.

Confident.

Sharp.

The gaze of someone who always had the answer.

> "I thought you'd forgotten us.

But now here you are again."

> "You survived alone,"

Primuna whispered.

Her voice slithered like venom.

> "Because of you—

we died."

"...…"

It wasn't true.

Sperm didn't kill each other.

Only one could reach the end.

That was the rule.

And yet—

Their words pierced me.

Because I survived.

They didn't.

And I… never looked back.

> "This is just a trial," I muttered.

"You're not real."

> "Wrong."

Belos stepped forward.

Lightning crackled across his shoulders.

> "We are your memories—

the emotions you discarded."

They moved in unison.

Four directions.

All closing in.

I leapt upward.

Spinning my tail for aerial momentum.

And hurled the Pyroblossom.

FWOOOOSH!!

Flames deflected Rustiel's blade aura—

But in the same breath, Belos struck the ground.

BOOOM!!!

Shockwaves erupted beneath me.

I was thrown off balance.

> [Hit Detected – Electric Emotion Disruption]

[Warning – Response Time Reduced / Adaptation: 67%]

I rolled across the ground, regaining stance.

Then—

Primuna raised a hand.

> "Remember?

That moment you turned your back on us."

ZZZK—

My brain jolted.

Time warped.

The forest spun.

Everything distorted by emotion.

I shut my eyes.

And in the dark—

My feelings reignited.

Regret.

Remorse.

Guarded sorrow.

And then—

Lucarin's voice, a distant whisper:

> "Memory can be a wound.

But when the wound heals—

It becomes a weapon."

The words resonated like a trigger.

I opened my eyes.

> [Emotion Threshold Reached]

[New Function Unlocked – Emotion Assimilation / Memory Absorption]

I charged.

Kairon's phase energy warped space—

But I broke through.

I halted before Primuna.

Locked eyes.

> "Yes… you died.

But now—

I'll remember you."

I embraced her form.

> [Memory Fusion – Primuna / Emotion Type]

[Partial Ability Acquired – Passive: Emotional Resonance Activated]

Her body scattered like mist.

Her lingering emotions flowed into me.

The others charged.

This time—

I didn't run.

The fight had truly begun.

Primuna's presence lingered—

a chill of emotion embedded in me.

Her ability—Resonance.

Connecting with others' emotions,

amplifying their strength through shared feeling.

It became part of me.

> [Emotion Fusion Complete]

[New Passive Added: Resonance – Reaction Multiplier x1.3]

[Status: Incomplete Emotion Weapon Active]

Inside, something stirred.

Pyroblossom still blazed,

but now it carried resonance within its flame.

> "That's two."

I swung my tail.

Rustiel charged through the smoke.

His blade—still perfect.

Precise, swift, without hesitation.

But this time—

I understood.

Rustiel always struck one second early.

He relied on timing—not speed.

I shifted half a step to the left,

dodging his blade,

and countered.

> "Too late."

THWIP—!

The Pyroblossom spun through the air.

Flames cleaved his chest.

He smiled.

> "You… remembered after all."

His blade dissolved.

So did his body.

> [Memory Fusion – Rustiel / Blade Type]

[Partial Ability Acquired – Echo Sense: Trace Detection / Reaction Boost]

> [New Passive Added: Shadow Theft – Clone Signal Copy (1x Use)]

> "That's three."

Then—

Lightning struck my back.

ZZZAP!!

> "Guh…!"

My body stiffened.

Belos.

He hit from behind.

> [Hit Detected – Emotion Response Delay Increased]

[Warning – Emotional Overload Approaching]

I gritted my teeth.

Twisted.

Used my tail to launch a spinning counter.

But Belos vanished.

He reappeared on my right—

faster than light.

> [Electric Skill – Wide Arc Slash Activated]

[Area Hit Predicted – 0.4s Until Contact]

> 'Can't dodge that.'

I judged the moment—

Then—

Emotion moved.

A pulse from my chest—

spread through my limbs.

Primuna's resonance.

Rustiel's sense.

My fear.

All emotions converged.

I clenched my hand.

Instead of throwing the Pyroblossom—

I gripped it.

> [Emotional Binding Detected]

[Weapon Evolution Conditions Met – Pyroblossom Shard Transforming]

> "Ignite."

BOOOOM!!!

A new flame erupted.

Deeper.

Darker.

No longer red—

but celadon blue.

This was no longer just emotion.

It was memory.

Burning in its path.

The flame consumed Belos.

His lightning shattered.

His form crumbled like ash.

> "Maybe… you still don't deserve to survive."

He faded.

> [Memory Fusion – Belos / Electric Type]

[Partial Ability Acquired – Sensory Shock / Defense Bypass (1x Use)]

> "Three down."

I carved their memories into myself.

Not just absorption—

Acceptance.

Acknowledgment.

Only one remained.

Kairon.

The forest trembled.

"...!"

My vision shifted.

I was… above.

Looking down.

No—

I was watching myself from above.

> [Emotion Confusion Detected – Phase Distortion Attack Recognized]

[Kairon – Phase Memory Distortion Ability Active]

[Warning – Illusion Becoming Reality: "Self Attacking Self"]

I drew a blade—

against myself.

My clone smiled.

> "You abandoned us all.

You're no hero.

Just… surviving trash."

It hurt.

Not the illusion.

The words.

And that pain—

Lit the flame.

> "Yeah.

I was trash."

I lunged at my copy.

Threw fire.

> "But now—

I'm someone's memory."

The blue flame swallowed my mirror image.

Space cracked.

Kairon's form emerged.

I charged.

Drove my blade into his gut.

His eyes widened.

> "So… you did remember us…"

> [Memory Fusion – Kairon / Phase Type]

[Partial Ability Acquired – Phase Mirror / Illusory Swap (1x Use)]

I absorbed the final one.

Then—

The forest moved.

Every illusory tree—

Ignited.