Mister Zero, Her Story: Chapter 64 – “One”
When Lin Cheng discovered the traces of intrusion in the Wall of Resentment and learned that Mister was in Yan City, he knew that Mister would eventually come here.
To the Wall of Resentment, near the Ember Furnace.
Lin Cheng hadn’t tried to stop him, knowing that Yan City wasn’t powerful enough.
They could stop many powerful enemies, even Dawn’s all-out assault was stalled at the second line of defense, but they couldn’t stop… its owner.
…Or rather, the former owner of this land.
“My forefathers told me a secret,” Lin Cheng said after a moment of silence. “A secret about the founding of Yan City, somewhat similar to what you said.”
Mister remained silent, listening intently.
“—Yan City wasn’t built by the pioneers. When they found Yan City’s ‘Ember’… this place… was already in ruins,” Lin Cheng said, each word deliberate. “A desolate ruin, far from human civilization, yet with traces of… something…”
Clearly, something like the “Wall of Resentment” didn’t appear naturally.
It was clearly artificial, created by some powerful force.
Therefore, when Mister revealed that he, or rather, the former Misters, had built the Wall of Resentment, Lin Cheng wasn’t surprised.
But what did surprise him was Mister’s other statement.
That there had once been dozens of such structures, each as strong as the Wall of Resentment, capable of withstanding a full-on assault from a “Peril” level ability user.
When Mister first mentioned that “Dawn City” could only shelter three thousand people, Lin Cheng had been puzzled. Even some of the early human settlements had been that large.
A mere three thousand people couldn’t be considered a precursor to a mega-city.
The establishment of the first mega-city, “Noah,” had been a monumental achievement. The nascent “Noah” had a capacity of three hundred thousand!
Not just providing shelter, but all the necessary resources for survival!
And at the time, the total number of humans struggling to survive in the Endless Wasteland was less than five million…
Of course, “Noah” had since expanded tremendously, its capacity now around fifty million, and still growing.
Compared to that, Yan City’s current capacity of three million was indeed just a small, remote town.
However… dozens of “Walls of Resentment” changed everything.
Even in its dormant state, a single “Wall of Resentment” was strong enough to contain an “Ice Coffin Weapon.” Lin Cheng didn’t believe that such a structure, with its strange bloodline authentication feature, didn’t have other, more powerful abilities.
And such a structure, even now beyond Yan City’s comprehension, had existed in dozens in that prototype mega-city, “Dawn City”…
Wait…
A city meant to protect three thousand people… could it be…?
Lin Cheng’s eyes widened in shock.
Mister, sensing his thoughts, said softly,
“Yes, this all happened in the Old Era… before the ‘Calamity Tide’ that reshaped the world, or rather, just before it began.”
Mister sighed and looked up at the starless night sky.
“We believed that ‘Dawn City’ would be the first light for humanity, but that belief itself was a conspiracy, a conspiracy that doomed us… and the world…”
He looked at Lin Cheng, a faint glimmer in his clouded eyes. “That’s why… you found these ruins, you found the ‘Wall of Resentment’.”
The “Wall of Resentment” hadn’t been called that originally. She had named it “Nascent Flame.”
But these dozens of “Nascent Flames,” built with the Misters’ blood, sweat, and tears, became the breeding ground for this conspiracy.
When the conspiracy that destroyed “Dawn City” ended, only one “Nascent Flame,” still incomplete, survived.
The enraged Fifth Mister, with his sword, carved three characters onto it, renaming this remnant of the conspiracy.
—”Wall of Resentment.”
Afterward, the “Wall of Resentment” sheltered the Misters through their difficult times, until they decided to establish “Dawn” and re-enter the world.
That’s why, after centuries, upon seeing the “Wall of Resentment” again, Mister had called it an “old friend.”
And an “old friend” wouldn’t trigger the defense systems, even without the required bloodline authentication.
“What an… unexpected story…”
Lin Cheng murmured in disbelief.
If he hadn’t heard it from Mister himself, he would have dismissed it as a ridiculous rumor.
Connecting a random ruin to the Old Era… how absurd.
Even “Noah” didn’t have many artifacts from the Old Era. A few devices designed to combat demons were already considered invaluable treasures, let alone something as large as the “Wall of Resentment.”
However, this story came from Mister himself, a witness to that history, its weight and sorrow palpable.
“Then, this ‘Ember’…”
Lin Cheng glanced nervously at the “Ember Furnace,” its interior hidden from view.
He had initially thought this was just a ruined Dawn base, destroyed by some disaster.
But it turned out it had been destroyed by a disaster, and it had been a Dawn base… but the disaster was far greater, and this place… was incredibly important to the Misters…
“This ‘Ember’ is yours, it is now, and it always will be,” Mister whispered. “We once possessed it, but that’s just… ancient history.”
“So, your purpose in coming here…”
Lin Cheng was even more confused. If it wasn’t for the Ember, and he didn’t want the “Wall of Resentment” back, what did Mister want?
Mister didn’t answer immediately. He reached out his withered hand towards the endless rain and murmured,
“The same rainy night…”
“What?”
“I’m looking for someone,” Mister lowered his hand, his gaze downcast. “She stood here once, watching us, watching the conspiracy she orchestrated unfold, then vanished without a trace.”
“…”
Lin Cheng was silent for a moment, then whispered,
“I understand, Mister. Please, proceed.”
Mister’s intentions were clear. He wanted to use the “Ember’s” power to glimpse the answers he sought before his death.
This was much better than the scenarios Lin Cheng had envisioned. At least Mister was willing to talk peacefully.
Although the “Ember’s” eruption could threaten even a “Peril” or “Destruction” level ability user, it was nothing to an ancient legend who had survived from the Old Era.
Moreover, the original owners of this “Ember” were Dawn’s Misters.
“…Thank you. You’re… more perceptive than I expected,” Mister whispered, his voice raspy. “And you’ve built this place well… may it continue to prosper.”
He slowly turned and walked towards the “Ember Furnace.”
“The war will end, and everything… will begin anew.”
“—After my death.”
…
That familiar feeling of falling.
Luo Yan couldn’t remember when she had first experienced it.
It was just… familiar…
She slowly opened her eyes, but it was no different from having them closed.
There was no light, only an oppressive darkness, a terrifying silence.
This wasn’t a place for the living.
Having experienced this many times before, Luo Yan quickly adjusted, unfazed by the eerie environment.
“I should be in the ‘Wall of Resentment,’ touching the ‘bandaged girl’…”
Luo Yan thought, trying to recall. “Is this her consciousness? No, even if she’s dead… her consciousness shouldn’t be like this.”
Empty.
As if nothing existed.
This wasn’t a characteristic of consciousness, but more like… a deliberately created void…
“You’ve come.”
A soft, childish voice, yet with an ancient weariness, echoed beside Luo Yan.
Luo Yan turned sharply, but saw nothing in the darkness.
However, this time, she sensed her.
The “bandaged girl”… or rather, “One,” was standing beside her.
“Where… is this…?”
Luo Yan asked instinctively.
“Within the Ice Coffin,” One replied softly, looking up at Luo Yan in the darkness.
Although Luo Yan couldn’t see her eyes, she could feel her gaze, calm and sorrowful, completely different from the confused girl she had briefly met in the outside world.
Perhaps… this was her true self…
One stared at Luo Yan for a moment, then sighed, a hint of disappointment in her voice.
“As expected, you’re not Luo Yan…”
Another person who said that.
Luo Yan’s heart sank. Had One also forgotten everything?
But One’s next words shocked Luo Yan.
“But… I know you.”
“Know… me?”
Luo Yan murmured, pointing at herself.
She calmed down slightly, then, recalling something else, she asked,
“Could you be mistaken? Besides ‘Luo Yan,’ there’s another person who looks like me…”
“The Witch of Absolute Death, or perhaps I should just call her Absolute Death. You look almost exactly like her,” One said calmly. “As for Absolute Death… she has abandoned, and lost, her ‘Witch’ status.”
Existing within this space, One’s memories, unlike Mister’s or the Twelve Saints’, hadn’t been erased.
But about that last sentence…
“But the Witch of Absolute Death still exists, she hasn’t lost her ‘Witch’ status,” Luo Yan said, searching her memories. “Centuries ago, there was a war between her and humanity…”
“…I didn’t say the ‘Witch of Absolute Death’ disappeared, I said Absolute Death lost her Witch status,” One continued. “There will always be another ‘Malice of All Worlds’ born to fill the void… but that’s just speculation, because I’ve been here for a very, very long time.”
Having been trapped in this “Ice Coffin space” since her death, One knew nothing of the outside world, including the war centuries ago.
Only a single, lonely obsession remained within her body outside.
Because if even a sliver of her will remained… she wouldn’t just be an “Ice Coffin Weapon,” but a walking “Destruction” level disaster the moment she left the coffin.
Even the Ice Coffin wouldn’t be able to contain her.
Only here, in this space, could One maintain her sense of self, ensuring that even in death, she wouldn’t harm the world.
A body controlled by a rampaging consciousness, and a body acting solely on instinct and obsession, were two very different things.
“…Then… who am I?”
Luo Yan asked seriously, the question she had been seeking an answer to for so long.
“You…?” One hesitated, her tone unusually uncertain. “Honestly, I didn’t expect to see you here, with the name ‘Luo Yan,’ a life force, and Absolute Death’s appearance.
“Because when I saw you… you were just a… formless silver light.”
“…Huh?”
Luo Yan was completely lost.
Although they were conversing calmly, strange words kept appearing.
But… clearly, Luo Yan had come to the right place.
This might be the only one who could answer her questions.
“An embryo?” Luo Yan’s expression was strange. “Or… some other… method of gestation?”
During her time in Yan City, she had learned some basic biology.
But she had never heard of anyone being born as a light…
“I’m sorry, I don’t know,” One shook her head. Although they were in complete darkness, Luo Yan could still feel her calm, sorrowful gaze.
“Because I only saw you briefly before I lost consciousness, in that… unforgettable, yet erased, memory… It wasn’t until my consciousness entered this space that I recovered that memory.”
One sighed. “But I never had a chance to tell anyone… Besides you, probably no one can enter this… prison…”
“Who trapped you here?” Luo Yan frowned.
Any sane mind would be driven mad in this silent, lightless void.
But One seemed unaffected.
“…Myself,” One whispered. “Allow me to reintroduce myself. I am Dawn’s First Mister, ‘One’.”
“That’s the name ‘Luo Yan’ gave me.”
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