Zero opened his alien, indigo eyes, the aura around him still and quiet.

His demeanor was calm and neutral as he slowly turned his head side to side to survey the room. His face was expressionless as his eyes passed over, Kairon and Muse despite the obvious power and hostility emanating from them both.

He only looked slightly wary when his eyes landed on Thirteen. As their eyes met, Thirteen looked back at Zero with a fiery gleam of excitement in his eyes and a shadow of a smile on his face. The contact only lasted for a split second, then Zero’s eyes passed him and he continued looking neutrally forward at nothing.

From further down the room, Kairon peered keenly at Hoarfrost. Out of the many personalities his overflowing mind could flip to, he chose to use Alister’s personality to focus linearly and analyze the situation as the once greatest hero would have in his shoes.

This is the newest Original Aspect alright, not a fluke, Kairon thought. Even with all the kinds of animus I’ve analyzed and mastered, I have no idea what kind of power is surrounding that young man to create that sinister, quiet aura.

A different personality mixed into Alister’s for a second. If I could get my hands on him alive, he’ll make for an incredibly useful specimen in developing new powers, He thought greedily.

Kairon’s personality slipped back into Alister’s as he continued to look at Zero with a keen eye as the white-haired man looked forward indifferently.

As I thought, his demeanor seems uncaring and sluggish. It seems that Hoarfrost’s mind can’t control this Aspect at all; he’s probably barely able to think straight, let alone fight.

Kairon’s purple eye glowed slightly as he activated a mind link between himself and Muse.

Sarah, you analyzed Hoarfrost as he fought in his match, correct? Do you have a clue about what his Aspect’s animus is? Kairon telepathically communicated to her in Alister’s voice.

No sir, She replied in his mind. When he used… that power, it was too fast for me to analyze it. My deepest apologies that I failed in my task.

No matter. I’m now giving you the opportunity to figure out what his power is and how to take him down. Kairon told her. However, even very newly materialized Original Aspects that the user has little control of can be dangerous if you let down your guard. I’ll focus on keeping Thirteen in check while you analyze him. Is that clear?

Yes. Leave it to me, Leader. She replied.

Muse glowed a bright gold then extended both of her arms, gold symbols flashing on her skin.

Reconstruction Animus: Print Template “Energy Cannon Fortress”

Golden lines snaked outwards from her arms, outlining a row of ten cannons in front of her and a golden energy wall in the air like a blueprint. Then the objects glowed brightly and filled in with golden energy, forming a translucent golden array of cannons pointing at Hoarfrost through slots in the wall.

Kairon looked at Thirteen warily, preparing to counter Thirteen if he were to raise a hand against Muse. However, Thirteen blatantly ignored Muse’s technique and rather continued to look at Zero even if the indigo-eyed man continued to stare at nothing. Thirteen seemed to purposely be hiding his presence as if he just wanted to watch.

Though the cannons are simple, they are effective, as their shots scatter animus formations and therefore rip through defensive techniques, Muse thought as she eyed Zero. On top of that, this wall is composed of my animus compacted very tightly, resulting in a high energy tolerance to offensive techniques.

Though not my trump card, it is definitely one of my stronger techniques whose only drawback is the setup time… and they just let me do that without batting an eye.

In any case, this should be enough to safely provoke whatever Hoarfrost has become.

Now… FIRE!

The first cannon in the row flashed, then fired with a deafening boom, and the rest of the cannons fired in quick succession. Smoke billowed out of the cannons, temporarily covering Muse’s view of Zero.

Quiet.

Now let’s see the damage… Muse activated her analyses and looked through the transparent energy wall, focused on where Zero had been standing as the smoke cleared away.

Muse inhaled sharply.

Zero stood, indifferent as ever, with the cannonball shells floating in the air, motionless, in front of him.

Impossible! Those energy cannonballs distort all concentrated animus! Muse thought. Kairon himself developed that disruptive ability.

Just what technique is Hoarfrost using?

She scowled and squinted harder with the analysis technique that Kairon had taught her. Normally, she would see lines of different colors radiating and twisting through the air with this skill, indicating the type and mechanism of the animus technique.

However, there was nothing around Zero. Even the animus signature of the cannonballs was gone where they floated in front of the man.

What… is this? I can’t see the animus of my own technique when it neared him?

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Did my animus disappear? Or is he hiding it?

Then she looked closer and realized that even the lines of unintelligible crimson animus that traced through the Throne Room from different unknown, ancient mechanisms all trailed off and disappeared around Zero. It was like he was standing in a bubble of nothingness.

Then what do I do? If everything is completely unreadable around him, how am I supposed to complete my mission?

Muse looked at Zero with her analysis, her mind racing but unable to grasp an answer.

Then Zero moved slightly. Her train of thought halted as she focused on him once more, her vision zooming in on him from behind the safety of her wall.

Zero opened his mouth, still looking forward at nothing.

Muse’s eyes widened as she looked at him.

Instead of flesh and a tongue beyond his teeth, there was only a dark nothingness inside of his mouth.

The realization hit her.

That… isn’t a human.

Then Zero heaved a heavy sigh.

A shockwave of wind exploded out of Zero’s mouth and blasted throughout the Throne Room, dropping the temperature to freezing in an instant.

Muse’s energy wall shattered, then she lurched backward, blown back by an invisible force stronger than just wind as if a wall of pressure slammed into her. She crashed into the obsidian wall at the back of the Throne Room, her animus-enhanced body protecting her from the brunt of the shock.

Muse blankly looked down at her body, surveying the damage. She looked at her arms, shaking. They were half-blackened with frostbite where the shockwave of wind had hit her despite her animus reinforcement.

In front of Zero, the cannonball shells fell to the ground with heavy thunks and rolled away, all of them completely frozen and useless.

The atmosphere of the room had changed as Muse understood the mind-blowing extent of Hoarfrost’s true power. Her dread was as icy as the now freezing temperature of the room.

All this… from sighing? She thought numbly, staring down at the floor to avoid seeing him. She took a heavy breath and let her military training take over as she regained her focus and rebuilt her body’s shattered animus defenses. Taking him head-on is impossible. I need to use an alternative strategy…

Then she froze as the world became strangely muted around her. A cold, lead blanket of fear crushed down on her.

He’s… She couldn’t finish the thought. Her mind had stopped working from the sheer unnerving power of Zero’s aura.

With the pure force of willpower, she shakily craned her neck upwards and saw Zero looming over her, staring down with his blank face to meet her eyes.

It’s over.

As she met his indigo gaze, the walls and pillars of the Throne Room seemed to recede off into the distance and the floor stretched out around them like an infinite plain until her entire world was this alien creature in front of her. She couldn’t tell if the warping of space was real or some sort of hallucination her mind created in response to Zero’s aura.

Leave… me… alone… She desperately thought, but the words wouldn’t come out. Tears leaked out of her eyes and she involuntarily fell to the ground, trembling as she tried to ward him off with a frostbitten hand.

I’m a Federation Boss, directly under the tutelage of who I know to be the most powerful man in the world…

And yet I can’t look away or move under that gaze. Like a mouse looking up at a dragon.

Frost slowly covered the ground and hardened the cloth on her uniform from the cold Zero’s skin emanated. Her whole body had become numb a long time ago so she tried not to imagine what kind of effect it was having on her skin. The medallions on her crumpled crimson uniform silently froze over and cracked one by one as she cowered for what seemed like an eternity, her mind falling into a state of complete, black panic.

He simply continued to look down at her without expression.

Then Muse’s eyes rolled back in her head. Zero’s expression changed ever so slightly as Muse blinked and then had glowing purple eyes.

“To think she would be pushed this far,” Muse said in Kairon’s voice, “You performed wonderfully, Sarah. I learned a lot from that.”

Kairon had taken over Muse’s body, then casually used Soul Projection Animus to be heard mentally through Zero’s aura of absolute silence as if he were speaking out loud.

“Now…” Kairon said as Muse stood up. Her skin renewed back to a healthy color and her uniform knitted itself back to its crimson glory as Kairon used a form of Crimson Animus healing on her. “I’ll take it from here.”

Muse sneered as Kairon would have at Zero as he continued staring at her, “What are you looking at? You’re not going to be fighting Sarah anymore, so step away from my subordinate.” He laced his voice heavily with an extra dose of Soul Projection Animus as he said the words.

Zero paused for a moment, then blurred backward to where he had been standing previously in front of Thirteen.

He just listened? Interesting. Kaion thought as he looked at Zero from Muse’s eyes. And his movement was not super speed. Rather, he took one step and somehow crossed all that space in an instant.

He also had that high pressured frost breath. He didn’t even seem to exert himself and it was that forceful.

And of course, there’s his aura, the most troubling aspect about him. I need more time to understand it.

In any case, I’ll have to fight him with my real body. That way I’ll get to see Hoarfrost's Aspect get serious even if he can't control it well, as they tend to have strong survival instincts.

Muse slumped to the ground, suddenly unconscious as he stopped possessing it.

I wonder what more powers it will show me… what powers I’ll be able to learn from it. A part of Kairon thought.

No, another part of him said sternly. This part of him was rabid with festering rage. Even if he’s not showing his strength right now, Thirteen should be my focus, not Hoarfrost. I must ignore my ever-present greed for power. The plan must continue.

Kairon himself stood tall and stepped forward, his form imposing as he stood to his full height Alister’s great stature and bold uniform, both his purple and red eyes glowing as he made up his mind.

Forget capturing Hoarfrost altogether. The voice of rage continued within him. Just imagine the look on Thirteen’s face as you rip the boy apart in front of him. How devastated he would be at the loss of such immense potential… wouldn’t that look be more valuable than taking control of the boy’s powers could ever provide?

His aura changed. It went from a general, immense wave of controlled, sinister bloodlust to a single, crushing intent to kill directed at Zero.

That’s right. Kairon thought. I contain the Aspect of Chaos. I already have all the power I need.

My curiosity is nothing compared to my hunger for revenge. That's what you made me into, Thirteen.

Kairon let his Aspect take over his body. He doubled over as his animus multiplied and fluctuated rapidly as the voices and emotions racked through his mind, urging him to let loose.

Take this power. Kill him. Use everything.

The by-product of the Aspect of Chaos was all of the personalities and emotions he kept sealed within him screamed to be let free. Right now, almost all of them were mad with rage.

Control it… control it… Kairon thought, breathing heavily with his eyes closed.

With pure iron will, Kairon harnessed the power without giving in to its urges. If he lost his unified consciousness, his Aspect would go berserk and his plans would be wasted.

Eventually, the fluctuations died down and Kairon straightened and stood up, regaining a singular sense of self once more.

He looked up and met Zero’s eyes, the ancient madness of true Chaos now within them.

“This is how you control your Aspect.” Kairon said in a calm tone, despite the intensity of the unleashed mad power flowing through him, “Now, let me show you why you must respect your elders, Hoarfrost.”