Heroic- Zero

by Ted L C

  “It is Rainy—” his gaze watches as the sword pauses. “This is Faxian. Since I invested in fighting you, I cannot retain my barrier on your mind. Therefore, it took you where you feel most comfortable.

  “By where your loved one was slain. Where you had a fateful encounter with a true sibling. Where you shared memories with Alyssa—”

  A cobalt hue devours Derek’s eyes. He vanishes.

  A frigid breeze propels into the warrior’s golden breastplate.

  Alexander’s body combusts.

  The Revelator’s curved tip tears through the ashen silhouette.

  An ebony figure appears on top of the armor-clad figure’s ashes. It crumbles.

  “Execute—” Derek utters.

  Thunder reverberates through the powdered abyss, firing a ring louder than a plane taking off through Liam’s eardrums.

  The Revelator hurls itself into Artemis’ handle. The boy behind the sword dissipates as an armada of ants makes their way across the scythe.

  “Ll-Laura,” Alexander’s upper teeth press against his lower lip as a warm sensation fills his thighs. “Deactivate!”

  The NanoLites eating through the scythe crumble as they pull chunks of the weapon with them.

  The boy’s fist fires into the man’s back. A crack emanates from Derek’s hand as the gauntlet decays.

  “Deactivating—” Laura’s voice evaporates. The microscopic specs encasing him collapse into the sand.

  Artemis arcs sideways, tearing through Derek’s forearm.

  The boy hurls his nub at the warrior’s face. Red droplets splash against the glimmering hulk’s eyes.

  Feeling to Alexander’s left arm fades. The mad king evaporates.

  * * *

  “Finish the lad off!” a voice echoes throughout a cluster of metal walls.

  Steam emits from Derek’s nub as his body vanishes.

  His palm presses against the neck of a figure garbed in ebony armor. The character’s head bursts into a silhouette of ash.

  A light show of red and blue fills the room.

  Numerous ashen figures appear in different corners and vanish.

  “He reached a level I have not—” a horde of Nanos crawl through the joints of the king’s golden shell.

  “Father—” a singsong voice runs through his ear as a long blade kisses his throat. “’Tis the day that I finally seen you fall. And the day you fall is not to a Beta, not to the creators, but to a Gladiator?”

  “Eri—” a frigid breeze caresses Alexander’s shoulder as a wall of frost springs from the floor before him. “And Achilles. However, did you find me—”

  “Your time meter’s up, mother fucker,” Achilles frosted eyes manifest fingers length from the king’s face. “Your core is gone and your abilities nullified. We found you because Alyssandra called me and told me where you’d appear and at what time.”

  “Your blood lust was your fall,” Eri watches the NanoLite mold of Alexander’s breastplate crumble. “Your crimes against our kind have gone on long enough. Now, old man, face your punishment—”

  “Wait!” a hand made of ice presses against Eri’s sword. “Why execute him? Why not arrest him and let the remaining HESTEKS on Faxian deal with him? Show Zeresh’s tribe what happened to their leader. Then humiliate Alexander before his subjects in addition to Zeresh’s—”

  “I am not going to feed your deity complex so you can get a hard-on from pleasing your followers,” an image of a flaming sword illustrates itself inside of Eri’s mind. The icy claws melt. “Though this man created the wonders of Reivscere, it is time for us to free the cosmos from this conglomerate’s grip. Let competition amongst smaller businesses advance our species into more uncharted territories—”

  “Has this hunt for you been about getting Reivscere?” Achilles retreats his hand.

  “No,” Eri’s blade rests against Alexander’s neck as her crystalline gaze faces the man’s collapsed eyelids. “However, it is one benefit the people can enjoy.

  “Since this conglomerate took over, advancement came to a halt. Because Bangle, Reivscere, and Monopolazon now own every market in the four galaxies, there has been no competition to force them to advance their technology. To progress humanity and explore new worlds. Therefore, it’s necessary this evil fades.

  “Furthermore, this man bought so much pain upon my brother and I—”

  Eri’s ears follow the silence filling the room. She vanishes.

  Appearing in the middle of a room, her gaze wanders. It drifts toward many silhouettes disintegrating as fans blow against the ash forming their bodies.

  “Derek?” her voice echoes.

  She appears beside Alexander.

  “There’s another place I must fly to,” Eri utters.

  “Where’s Derek—” Achilles reaches a palm toward his wall of ice.

  “Do not break this barrier,” her eyes shift from him to the king. “Any final words? My time is a limited now, so please do make this quick—”

  “I do,” Alexander arcs his neck forward as a droplet race across his cheek. “I love you—”

  * * *

  Letting Go

  “Baby—” Alyssa’s murmur drowns the distant crashing waves. “Are you awake?”

  An image of Alexander’s blood-drenched face illustrates inside of Derek’s mind.

  “I can’t teleport?”

  “There’s a certain plant that neutralizes Adalfieri’s effects. I’m sorry, lover. I won’t let you leave me—again.”

  “You could neutralize it the whole time?” the boy’s face transitions into a pale tint.

  “Rainy was right in the beginning,” the distance statues of Greek gods blur. Four massive yellow balls burn through the clouds. “All this was a plot set in motion by your design.

  “My memories—they came to me throughout my battle with Liam—Alexander. You kept the wheel spinning in this cycle. To make it so you and I always had an adventure to go on—”

  “Correct.” Alyssa’s gaze drifts toward the spheres of plasma, afterward to Derek. “However, this time you got your memory back and executed things in an unorthodox fashion. You—escaped the insanity and dove into the state of repetition.

  “I passed on my wisdom to you. To help you become a more mindful person who can enjoy existence as I do. Not a man who shatters my vision and ruins our happiness. With Alexander, Zeresh, and Achilles now dead—how are we supposed to have a life of adventure?

  “We’ve been alive for hundreds of years, Derek. It gets boring. Everything’s been done. Everything becomes in a sense, perfect—” air exhausts from her nostrils. “Tasteless.

  “Everyone has a warped view of perfection by wishing for immortality. Whether by blindly subjecting themselves to religion. Or by making medical advances so radical that they stop aging.

  “But immortality isn’t all that, babe.

  “You and I can’t pass on because we’re overpowered. What’s the point of going on if everything is perfect?

  “I want to spend a literal eternity with you, baby. I never want our relationship to get stale. I never want the cherry that ignites our love to burn out.

  “That’s why I believe it takes rattling the cage of our cosmos to add some meaning to existence—to us, once more.”

  “Hundreds of years?” Derek’s body sinks into the leather chair. “So what about when we first met? How did we meet? How long has Alexander been terrorizing people? Is he evil? Is Zeresh really evil? Did you start the genocide on Faxian?”

  “Woah, woah, woah, babe. Relax,” her pupils inflate. “I’m only behind keeping the Betas alive. And—erasing your memory. I will answer your other questions later.

  “However, I want to explain how the reset goes. As Alexander reaches the point of no return, I’d poison him and inject your blood into myself. Then, erase your memories and hide you with some family who resembles you. Afterward, Alexander goes on a rampage. Sends a bunch of Zeresh clones to hunt the two of us, and you teleport somewhere els
e.”

  Alyssa flattens a thumb against her jawline and rotates it in a circular motion.

  “In conclusion, at that time, the wick of our adventure is lit. Each journey with a different scenario and ending. Us finding love for each other in new ways every time.

  “You don’t understand, Derek. You’re the only man I’ve ever loved—”

  “Did you really love Blitz?”

  “Blitz was just my best friend. Anywho, you’re the only person who’s been able to make me feel the way I feel. Enjoy life the way I do. Feel fulfilled.

  “Do you understand, babe?”

  He strokes fingers against his beard while narrowing his eyelids.

  “If you erased Alexander and I’s memories, what about yours? Wouldn’t your effort be meaningless if you could remember everything?”

  “I know that. Which is why I take precautions for myself,” Alyssa slides a tablet from a table’s enclave. “You know, I’m an author—”

  “With that said, how do you know I’m the only man you’ve ever loved?” his stare shifts to the device. She pulls up an image of a gold Reivscere logo with the words ‘Inceptivus’ hovering above the picture.

  Inceptivus—

  “If you would stop interrupting me, I will show you how I know this,” she drags a finger against the screen, leading to a page of words. “This is an online serial I post before each of our adventures ends.

  “In my free time, I document our feats, our story, and our love. Of course, I write the ending differently and won’t reveal that I replace your memory.

  “This time, you ported us to Vulcanis. Where we find a wormhole known as, The Apple in my Eye, that places us an alternate universe. From there, our mind is wiped, and we set everything to a clean slate.”

  No more options. Aside from Alexander’s Reivscere alien theory, this is the craziest shit I’ve ever heard come from anyone.

  “Sekhemet, you could have prevented so many people from perishing,” Derek hurls himself to the ground.

  He lunges for Alyssa’s boot and tugs a handle—it remains in place.

  “Fingerprint locked,” she waves a finger like an upright pendulum. Alyssandra rests the tablet on the table. “So there’s no way you will get my Stag. While we’re still on the subject, we’re on the safest planet in the known universe.

  “So any attempt you made to take your life; or mine, is redundant.

  “You know. Other than Yara, I am the only HESTEK able to produce the poison you feel now,” a line creeps between her cheeks. “We gave it the name, Desactivar. Moreover, I also injected myself with it.

  “We broke the curse, baby! Now we can be like an old married couple. I was hoping my plan could have gone on forever; however, now it can’t. I suppose all beautiful things end. Right—”

  The obsidian blanketing the room erupts, bombarding the two. The walls shred into ribbons like paper in water. Alyssa pushes Derek’s chair with both feet. The force of her kick rams her body into the wall.

  An edge of a massive ship grazes her ankle.

  A sheet of metal slides downward. Vivid lights fill the doorway. A shroud of raven hair surrounds a face as a character slithers through the door.

  “D-Derek,” a cough carrying bits of blood propels against the ship’s reflective exterior.

  “Eri?” The metallic cuffs encasing Derek’s wrist bubble and liquefy as the figure faces a palm at him.

  His legs movements transition to hops as he moves toward the girl.

  Alyssa places her weight on the clipped foot and collapses.

  The boy gazes into the girl’s catlike sapphire eyes.

  A vision of him and her walking through a night market full of food stands streams within his mind.

  The concrete jungle of buildings wearing neon characters on the signs forms ahead of them. The aroma of seared pork and seasoned eggs kisses the tips of their noses. The flavor of red Chile powder mixed with breaded chicken vents through their throats.

  “How are you enjoying your food, sis?” Derek looks into the girl’s eyes as she brushes a napkin along his cheek.

  “Just fine, thank you very much!” an opening exhibiting shimmering teeth blossoms from her cheeks. “Brother, I want to let you know. I love you so much, and I will never let anything bad happen to you. Even if I must sacrifice my life—”

  “You’re my sister?” the skies carry his voice across the cliffside.

  “I am,” she slides her crimson nails through a patch of silver hair on Derek’s head. “I am sorry that you had to find this out. However, there is a wormhole on Vulcanis in which Alyssa is trying to take you to—”

  Alyssa’s palms clasp the sides of Derek’s sister’s skull. Eri’s body bursts into a silhouette of ashes, as do the nature goddesses’ hands.

  A pair of hands materialize in Alyssandra’s mind. Her tattoo vanishes. Two battalions of NanoLites creep across both sides of her body. They mold into gloves over the fresh nub.

  Eri appears beside the boy. A syringe flashes from the sleeve of her kimono jacket. The needle dives into Derek’s arm.

  Alyssa’s body appears as a blur flying at Eri. The Stag’s Head’s edge leans into Murasame.

  Having a set of fingers gripping the sword’s hilt, Eri jams a finger against the needle’s plunger.

  She jerks her dagger to the left. The other hand reaches for a tube within her pocket.

  Grip collapse over the glass. The girl’s lip press against one another, forming a duck-like expression. A handful of ivory dust dances with her nails as air bursts from her mouth. Particles of the substance expand, with the appearance of a grenade detonation underwater.

  White light devours their sight.

  Icy claws clasp Derek’s arm. A searing sensation fills his body.

  * * *

  “Where are we, sis—”

  Eri injected me with something, maybe it got rid of the poison.

  Alexander’s face appears inside of the boy’s mind.

  “Balls—” Derek’s gaze shifts to a set of auburn eyes.

  “Sorry, babe,” Alyssa’s boots expand and shrink as they trudge through light brown dust. “We don’t have time for that.”

  Within his mind, arms burrow into the ground. In reality, they remain immobile.

  “Temporarily jolted your nerves,” prolonged breaths spout from her nostrils. “Paralyzing you.”

  A transparent floating whirlpool appears before them.

  “Is that the Apple in My Eye?” a bead of sweat dribbles across Derek’s face. “What are we gonna do with that? Will it hurt us?”

  “Absolutely not,” she weaves his fingers into hers and squeezes. “It’s just going to reset everything—”

  Murasame arcs downward, crossing Alyssa’s chest. Her dagger intercepts and shoves.

  It glides across the sword, scraping the underside of Eri’s forearm. The Stag Head’s teeth drag bits of blood and tattooed flesh along with it.

  Alyssandra’s body bursts into a silhouette.

  Eri’s vanishes as well.

  Alyssa encases Derek’s body within her arms and drags. An electrical pulse reverberates through his insides. Vision darkens as his eyelids collapse.

  The warm air enveloping the three transforms into a frigid gale. Colossal walls encasing the arena throws back echoes of thunder.

  Forked lightning strikes Alyssa. She drops to the ground like a ragdoll.

  “I know you will not perish from this, Alyssa,” with one hand, Eri wreathes her fingers through Alyssa’s. She uses the other to twine Derek’s. The two dolls form trenches within the crimson sand as Eri pulls.

  “The intruders are near the gate!” a deep voice echoes. “Aim to kill.”

  “I understand she has a crazy side. However, you have the same, brother. We all do,” a pearl of liquid rolls across the cherry blossom tattoo on her face. “Also, you had the happiest times I ever seen.

  “Love in its purest form. All a sister could ask for in life is the happiness of her fam
ily.”

  I wonder what dimension this will take us to. Will Reivscere cease to exist? I hope they have Korean Fried Chicken. One worldly remedy I cannot live without.

  The air conditions as she reaches the edge of the wormhole.

  “Dimensions change after every ten seconds,” her contracting pupils drift across Derek’s face.

  Defined cheeks with scraggly hair coating the surface. Sharp chin. Collapsed eyelids enveloped in lavender circles. Long dirty blonde hair mixed with patches of silver. All visualizations stream inside of her mind.

  Clear fluid trickles downward, moving throughout her face and onto the sand.

  “Like always, I will watch over you in the background. Protecting you when I have the opportunity. Keeping you safe as a father does to his daughter. I will miss you. Moreover, we will meet again when the time is right.”

  The center of the whirlpool extends outward and retracts.

  Ten potato—

  A searing sensation pulsates from her leg. Her eyes descend, finding a hole filled with dried blood and tendon.

  Nine potato—

  A circle of figures in beige uniforms materializes from the air.

  Eight potato—

  “Bring the three alive,” one of them says.

  Seven potato—six potato—

  “That’s our guardian, Cynthia!” the figure’s press fingertips against buttons into the side of their box-like weapons. “She’s unconscious!”

  Five potato—Four potato—

  “Eliminate—” Eri utters.

  Three potato—

  A sheet of cobalt light emanates from Eri’s wrist, propelling through the air.

  Two potato—

  Numerous heads roll along the sand.

  One potato.

  “Farewell, cocksuckers—”

  She hauls the limp bodies maneuver into the whirlpool.

  Circulating through Eri’s body, a searing sensation penetrates her organs. With lungs set aflame, only wheezes seep through the girl’s nose.

  The scene transforms into darkness.

  * * *

  The Year 1963

  A massive claymore clips ribbons of skin from Alyssa’s arm.