"_̡͍͉̣̗̖̣̗̯͛̄_̛͚̱̐̋͒_̯̤̭̖̦̩̇͒͟_̛̝̟͍͎̣̰̰͂̂ͣ ̏͏̩͉̻̥̫̺y̧͕͕̖̬̗͍̲̓̽̑̎o̧͉̭̠ͪ̽̑ư̼̳̎̅̆̿ ̸̰̜̹͓͔̯̗̀o̢̜̫̠͒ͧk̶̟̥ͪ͂͂ä̴̤͇̲̤ͨỳ̶̤̳̫̹̙̠̙̟̌ͫ?̳̹͔̤̬̳̞̄͞"

a distorted voice that could barely be heard as Zero's eyes slowly opened and was greeted by a bright blue sky

he slowly got off the ground rubbed his eyes and noticed that he was in a city "Where am I? Wasn't I in the cabin?" Zero thought as he walked through the city confused as it looked empty with no people within sight he couldn't even smell or sense anyone's presence

As he walked through the empty city his eyes began to burn as he lost focus while walking until after mere minutes of walking he ended up at what seemed to be an entrance to a new city except it was completely in ruins nearly fully submerged in a massive lake, its buildings and streets hidden beneath the water's surface.

Strangely, the water was not like any ordinary liquid; it behaved like solid ground, allowing him to stand upon it with an eerie stability.

"Why is there just a lake of water in the middle of a city?" He thought to himself but decided to try stepping on the water which surprisingly acted as if it were ground he then continued to travel through the city that was within the enormous lake of water

until he stopped walking and began to cough profusely into his hand but in shock at his hand that had sharp claws and was completely made of black stone with dimmed crimson lines but that wasn't what caused him to stare in shock it was that he saw a lot of blood on his hand

the pain in his eyes suddenly intensified, and a searing headache erupted. "AH! What the hell is this?" Zero grumbled as he covered his eyes closing them to try to ease the pain

his head began to spin and he began to lose his stability. He stumbled forward, clutching his head, his vision blurred and distorted by the torment. With a gasp, he collapsed onto the seemingly solid water, the pain rendering him helpless.

As Zero lay there, his body slowly sunk into the water until he was fully submerged, he began to hear a faint, distorted voice. except it sounded as if the voice was coming from right beside him

"̸͇̬͕̔͆̑͝w̸̛͈͓̺̠̽̊̍h̴͙̾͐͝y̶̢̧̥̥͗ ̶̻͔̌͒̇d̸̙̳̳̖͂̾̓̈́ḯ̵̞̿͐͠d̶̞̘̪̟͗̈́͝ ̸̺̝̤̍̈̓͘ý̴͉͖͆ͅơ̵̫̠̣̺͆̈́̐ü̴̢̥̔̌̽ ̵͇̥͖̅̋ḻ̴̱͗̃̒è̷̹̬̘̫́͘̕ȁ̴͔̑v̸̦͓̗͙̓e̶̳̬͐͝ ̶̢͉̙̭͒m̴͕̬̋e̶̤̣͋̌͘ͅ ̶̰̝͔͐͝b̵̬̫̲͎̈e̴̗͙̚h̷͚͒͐͠ḭ̵̗̰͍̐͋͆n̸̐̇ͅd̴̦͆͆?̷͙̟́̆̇̌!̴̧̝̆̍̈͠"̵͓͋ the voice said as hundreds of thousands of spectral hands emerged from the depths they reached up towards Zero, their ethereal forms quivering as they grasped at him, with fingers like translucent tendrils.

"W̶̦͋h̴̙͂a̶͔͋t̶͈̆?̵͍̊" Zero gasped, his voice beginning to distort and fracture as the hands engulfed him, the words emerging as a tortured whisper amidst the chaos.

"Í̸̱̥̼̘̂̽̊̄̈ ̴̩͖̓͠w̸̰͍̞͔͍̄ͅĭ̶̯̪͖̓ļ̸̰̜̮̱̞̆ḻ̴̡͚̹̊ͅͅ ̷̨̫̮̯͛̋̀b̸̧͔̦͍̊͜ȩ̸̡͇͍͕̣̊c̴̢͙̱̳͙̆̈́̆ơ̵͓̭̹͗͐͌͝ṁ̶̛̩̌̋͌͜ẻ̵̳̖̱͋̾̃͒͘ ̵͚̅̈́̽a̵̡͔͕̫͑̆̏́͝ ̸̢̰͎̲̟̲͠p̵̨̗̮̙͂̐̕͘a̶̰͚͚̜̞̮͐̌r̸̙̲͂́̏͛ṯ̷̙̳̪͒̾̌͜ͅ ̸̡͉̄ö̸̞́̾̍̃̕͝f̴̛͚̳̳͉̂͊͐͊ ̵̩̻̓͌ý̵̤̥̂̿̊̿̇o̷̢͇͍̪̳͎͒̊͠u̴̟̺̺̍̈̈́,̵̩̲̾͒̐͘" the voice hissed with a menacing tone, growing more insistent,

"T̸͔̼̯̼͊͐h̶̻̒̂̚a̷̺̩̮̿͑̚t̷͉͉̅͗̌ ̴͖̳̤͎̈́̄͑̌ẇ̴̰̤̄̋͂̊a̸̧̳̥̮̓̏̋̌y̵͈̞̾̔͛,̴̨̛̮̟̗̈́̋͂̽ ̷͈͇̃̅̿y̴̨̔ơ̷̡̲̰̗͜u̴͉̯̗͉͉̒̿͆̐ ̷͚̘̞̯͂͌̈̏ç̵̬̈̇̈̆͜a̵͙͐̕͝ň̵̛͓͈̩͐̎͠ ̴̤̰̪̞̥̿̚n̶̢̬̦̥̬̋̔͂̀͠ẽ̷̖̫̮̱̈́͆͘͝v̶̛͚̽̈́̕ͅě̷̢̪̥̥̰r̷̢͍̹͖͕̃̔ ̷̨͇̖̭́̈͂̕l̶͇̤̞͓̖͊̃e̶̡̬̖͋̐a̶͇̤͙̫͗v̴̨̦͇͛͌e̸̝͉͌ ̷̞̋͐͠m̴̝̊͂e̸̪̝̬̽ͅ ̸̬̣̿̉̅̚b̶̛͙̣̉̋́e̶̛͎̫͌h̸͖̫͛͆͌̀ĭ̶̝͍̒ͅn̶̠̪͗͋̆͝d̶̨̰̭̘̟͋͊̾̋͗,̷̛͔̥̯̖͌̌̂͠ ̶̙̤̂͒́̚n̸̠̖̈̕ö̶͕̙̺̱͎́̋̍ ̷͈̦͉͌͜m̴̗͕̠͙̩̽̍͌̕a̷̘̍̚t̶̮̦̭͎̽̈́̑͆͠t̶͙̺̐̈́̿͜ͅȩ̷̹̻̫̽͊ͅṙ̷͔̬ ̴̛͈̈́̋̉̐h̸͈̜̹̥̋̈́̎͛ͅo̶̢̬͎͙̕ẁ̸̺̻̠̲̦ ̵̡̨̩̈́͝h̶̛͚̘̹̋̋͂̅͜͜à̶̭̣̝̠̼̉r̶͚̠͋͂̈́d̶͖͓̈ ̸̡̨͔͎͙̉ỵ̴͔̫͍͆̾͗͗ò̷̹̞̄͋̚u̸̮͇̫͐̈̂͋̄ ̴̧̖̀̄̓͛̈t̵̢̮͕̦̩́͆͂͂͝ŕ̷̜̅̋̆͜ỷ̸̥̜̺͊͑͂́͜!̶̬̩͙̉̈"

The hands swarmed around Zero, enveloping him in a gentle yet painfully burning embrace. Their touch was unnervingly soft, like a lover's caress, but the searing sensation they inflicted caused sharp, shooting pains to surge through his body. Panic welled up inside him as the hands closed in, and he realized he was trapped in a surreal nightmare, despite the voice's strangely comforting intentions.

Suddenly, some of the spectral hands transformed, their fingers elongating and contorting into grotesque, serpentine shapes. These twisted forms sprouted dragon-like heads with sharp, jagged teeth. With a malevolent hiss, the dragon-headed hands lunged at Zero, sinking their teeth deeply into his right arm.

Agonizing pain shot through his body as the dragon heads bit down, "Ȧ̶̢̲̥͖̪̝͓̇͆́̕H̸̛͓̣̀̏̀̎̄̓̈́̈́̋̿͐!̸̨̧̡̛̘̝̺̫̘̮̹̮̱̗̝̥̒́̍́̽̂̂̈́̇̎̈́͋͆̕͝" Zero screamed as they began corrupting his flesh with their venomous influence. Zero's arm darkened, the corruption spreading like a creeping infection. The sinister power of the hands and the voice threatened to consume him, body and soul.

The dragon-headed tendrils continued their corrupting assault on Zero's arm, slowly twisting his flesh as they did. As he writhed in agony, a sinister presence began to form in front of him, an ominous specter taking shape covered in the ethereal mists.

Just as the specter was about to speak, Zero's eyes snapped open, and he found himself lying in his bed, covered in a cold sweat breathing hard and frantically checking his right arm seeing the black stuff that tried to eat his arm was gone and he had scales that were slowly growing on his right arm "My arm? its okay?"

Sighing in relief he lay back on the bed "What... was that?" looking outside the window he noticed the sun was already out and took off the blanket he noticed Ushin had already left but noticed a small note on the lamp near the bed that said 'get ready dad we are leaving soon' so he grabbed a towel and entered the bathroom to shower

A few minutes later he had changed into a clean set of spare clothes the old man gave him and went to grab his greatsword strapping it to his back and left the room heading downstairs

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

Zero emerged from the rustic cabin, his bare feet padding softly on the wooden porch. Enrique, sitting on a tree stump, looked dreadfully bored, tapping his fingers against his thigh. He'd been waiting for everyone to wake up, and his impatience showed.

"Sorry," Zero said as he joined the group, scratching the back of his head. "I was showering, so I took a bit longer."

Enrique rolled his eyes, teasing Zero as he stood up. "Well, glad you took a shower at least. Can't have you stinking up the old man's house. But since you're ready, we should head back to the city already."

Leaning against a nearby tree, Jean couldn't contain his frustration any longer. "Yo, are you ready now? We've been waiting for nearly a damn hour, man!"

Zero, still somewhat damp from his impromptu shower, nodded, his dark red hair glistening in the morning light. "Yeah, we're ready."

Kai, who chose to be the voice of reason in the group, chimed in. "Alright, then. Let's get back to the city already." He adjusted his sack, ensuring all of their supplies were securely fastened, and took a few steps toward their journey. The forest seemed to encourage their departure, and they began to make their way back to the city.

Zero and the others made their way through the forest, the crunching of leaves and chirping birds breaking the silence. As they walked, Enrique's earlier boredom seemed to fade away, replaced by the anticipation of returning to the city's bustling streets.

However, Jean, who had been unusually quiet for the first part of the journey, couldn't hold his curiosity any longer. He nudged Zero and whispered, "Hey, man, your face looks different. Did you always have those scales on your face?"

Zero's eyes widen in confusion. He touched his face, running his fingers along his face but he didn't feel anything. "Scales? What are you talking about, Jean? I don't have scales on my face."

Jean squinted at Zero, clearly perplexed. "I'm not kidding, man. I swear there are gray scales on your face that weren't there before. Are you sure you didn't get a tattoo or something?"

Zero chuckled, still confused. "I don't know what a tattoo is, but I'm pretty sure I don't have it or scales on my face. Maybe you are just hungry and are seeing things"

The two exchanged a puzzled look, and the others turned their attention to the odd conversation. As they continued walking, Jean couldn't help but keep an eye on Zero's face, occasionally shooting him a curious glance.

"so you guys wanna race again?" Kai turned to the group and saw that Ushin had already hopped onto Zero's back

"nevermind let's just hurry up" Kai turned back around and started sprinting at top speed to where the city was the others sped up and followed Kai

The dense forest began to thin, and Zero, with Ushin securely on his back, picked up the pace, easily catching up to his friends who had sped ahead. As they broke through the final curtain of trees, they found themselves standing on the forest's edge, bathed in the golden rays of the bright sun. The city lay before them, tantalizingly close. Its towering Walls, and buildings.

The group quickened their pace, arriving in seconds at the entrance to the city. As they neared the grand gates, they were greeted by a sight that left Zero confused and Ushin utterly surprised.

The massive city was adorned with an array of colorful banners and archways, each one more ornate than the last. The streets beyond were lined with stalls selling everything from vibrant armored clothing to Weapons. Music filled the air, and the joyful laughter of the city's inhabitants seemed to create a symphony of celebration.

Ushin, couldn't contain her excitement. "Dad, look at this! everything is so cool!" Her eyes were wide, and her voice filled with enthusiasm.

Kai, Enrique, and Jean, who had experienced the festivals before, couldn't help but chuckle at Zero and Ushin's amazement. They chuckled, finding it funny that the two had never seen a festival.

Kai clapped Zero on the shoulder with an enthusiastic grin. "Welcome to the Battle Festival! This is just the beginning, and there are so many things to explore here!" Backing away from them and placing his hand on his chest "Yo Kai" Enrique tried to speak but Kai continued as He closed his eyes and clenched his fist for dramatic effect.

"There's an abundance of delicious food, unique clothing, awe-inspiring weapons, and even the tournament, where you can make some serious coin!" Kai said with comedic seriousness, clearly excited to speak about the festival. "KAI!" Enrique shouted at Kai finally getting his attention "WHAT! Don't you see I'm trying to explain to them about the beauty of this wonderous festival!" both Jean and Enrique deadpanned at Kai's over-exaggeration "They're gone" both said at the same time

"What?" Kai blinked turning around to see that both Zero and Ushin had vanished from their spot hunching over in sadness as they didn't even stay to listen to his speech

"Well while he mopes. I'm gonna go back home and prepare for the festival so cya later guys!" Jean waved goodbye and sped off leaving Enrique alone with kai who was hunched over

sighing Enrique picked up Kai "cmon let's go find Zero and Ushin before they do something stupid" Kai back on his feet and rubbed his chin trying to remember something "wait I think I'm forgetting something?........ OH SHIT MY LIL BROTHER!" he yelled dashing away from Enrique who stood there confused "lil brother?"

sighing he walked through the streets "nevermind I'll just let them do what their stuff I'll see them later anyway. Hmm, but what do I do in the meantime?" sniffing the air he smelled a familiar scent "Well I guess I could try that restaurant I tried a few weeks ago. Yea that smells nice" Enrique joyfully exclaimed walking down the street to find the location of the delightful smell

_______________

The dimly lit corridor echoed with every step as the boy with salt-and-pepper hair dragged the lifeless body of a blue-haired knight. The glow of a crystal in his hand shined with an eerie glow. The walls seemed to absorb the shadows as he traversed the desolate passageway.

Finally reaching the end, he entered a room where his friend awaited, with angered look etched across his face. A smirk curled on his friend's lips, and he couldn't resist a teasing jab. "Took you long enough, what, did he seduce you or something? I know he stole your girlfriend, but this is a bit much, don't you think?"

His friend's smirk seemed to set him off, and he snapped, "No, it wasn't that. I took long because I had to poison his food, and then catch him when he was alone and off his guard!" His frustration was evident in his voice as he corrected the misconception.

His friend, still grinning, continued, "Geez, so you really killed the guy. I mean, I knew you were jealous, but..." Before he could finish his sentence, the gray-haired man cut him off with a sharp tone, "Damnit, stop with the jokes Jackass, and tell me what else we fucking need for this shit!" he yelled as he threw the dead knight's body onto the floor.

The fallen knight landed with a thud on a strange sigil painted on the ground, an otherworldly pattern.

The room fell into a tense silence as the friend's grin faded. He cleared his throat and said, "Alright, fine. We needed the soul and body of someone with a battle power of at least 50,000, but this guy should make this thing work too since he's close to 50,000."

The gray-haired boy, resolve in his eyes. "Alright, then. Let's start it," he declared before his friend said "By the way are you sure you didn't kiss him I see a hickey on his neck?"

"OH FUCK OFF ALREADY!!"