Chapter 193: Subject Zero

  “P-Prota?” the old man said, his voice trembling. “Is… is that you?”

  “...chief?”

  To be honest, Prota wasn’t upset. She wasn’t scared, nor did she feel hatred.

  She was simply confused.

  The presence of what seemed to be her village chief had initially evoked a fountain of emotions, none of them discernible, but they all settled into the same thing: pure confusion.

  How was this man here? If he were the chief, shouldn’t he have been in the village? Now that she thought about it, it was weird that she hadn’t questioned him being gone at all.

  More than that, though, was the fact that he knew Jinae. Was this really someone from her organization? But how? In her memory, this was the old man who occasionally made decisions to help…

  Wait. Was he just an old man? Now that she thought about it, she didn’t know what he’d done. In fact, she didn’t know what anyone did in the village. She didn’t remember an adventurer’s guild. She didn’t remember restaurants. What was going on?

  “Oh, thank Celeste,” he said, his voice on the verge of tears. “I was… I was worried they’d gotten to you. I thought it’d been for nothing.”

  “What… how…”

  “You must be confused, child. I will explain in due time. For now… we have to get out of here.”

  “Of course,” Jinae nodded. “Unless…”

  “No. Prota, can you…”

  Prota was so out of it that she healed Henry without thinking twice. Normally, she would have wanted to save the charm for John, but at the moment, her brain was too full to think of anything else.

  She still didn’t get it. Thoughts began to swim in her mind, thoughts she had been subconsciously suppressing. These were what had made her so uncomfortable, but with this singular event, she could hold them back no longer.

  Why was there a lab here? How had such a thing gone unnoticed in her village? Of course, it was possible she had simply never heard of it, but she felt it would have been somewhat of a big deal. Was it really possible that no one had ever spoken of it in the past?

  On top of that, she was uncomfortable with how similar the creatures’ tendrils were to her Soul Steal. Something about them seemed scarily similar to her, but she couldn’t quite tell what.

  The thoughts ended there, though. Without John’s mindset, she was incapable of coming to a conclusion.

  “Rest,” Jinae told Henry. “You need a moment to recover.”

  “I-”

  “Rest,” John repeated. “I… need to finish something, anyway.”

  He, too, had a sinking feeling in his heart. Checking the notebook, he found there were only a few entries left.

  This was it. Either something about Prota was in these pages, or something wasn’t.

  {Entry 57:

  It was a success.}

  John wanted to stop. His instincts were screaming at him, telling him to put the book down and walk away. That the truth wasn’t worth knowing.

  But he couldn’t stop. Not now.

  {The corpse of the dragon accepted the energy flawlessly. However, it operates somewhat robotically. It does not seem to have the concept of “free will,” at least not yet. It is, however, not mindless like the others.

  I have given it tasks, and it completes them with intelligence. It is capable of reasoning and problem-solving. It simply has no will. Moreover, it acts robotically, with no emotion. This must be fixed. With no emotion, this cannot be a being. Emotion is necessary for many things, and I need this being to desire the death of the hero. As I have stated before, it cannot be a mere task.

  For the moment, I will continue with testing in order to see what it is capable of. However, it is capable of what I desired: Soul Steal. That alone is enough to satisfy my desires. The conceptual power within it seems to be dormant, although it is possible that the creature simply does not know how to use it.

  For now, this will be Subject Zero. In the future, I suppose I shall provide it with a name. That is all.}

  His heart pounding, John slowly turned the page. He could feel the sweat on his cheek, hear the sound of paper flapping as his fingers shook, the smells of the lab far too pungent for his liking.

  He was trying to convince himself that it wasn’t true. That this wasn’t Prota. After all, her [Character Profile] listed her as human. She wasn’t a dragon, right?

  {Entry 58:

  A year has passed since the birth of the creature. It has performed tasks well and shows no sign of destabalizing.

  I have decided to wipe its memories and perform some modifications. To begin with, this cannot have the body of a dragon. That would be far too suspicious. I need this creature to blend in, to understand society, to be able to act as a human would.

  Second, I have decided to erect a fake village. There are occasionally stragglers in this forest, so it would be simple to give them a place to stay. Some of my assistants will live in this village and monitor the creature.

  The operation is almost complete.

  As such, I have decided to name the creature.}

  At that, John slammed the book shut. He couldn’t handle it.

  “There’s no way,” he muttered. “No way, no way, no way, no way…”

  Eyes blazing, he rushed over to Henry and grabbed his arm, forcefully picking him up.

  “John!” Jinae exclaimed, but backed off as soon as he glared at her.

  His expression was intense. He didn’t quite feel dangerous, but it definitely felt like one should not mess with him at the moment. Again, not because he felt dangerous, but because he seemed like he was on the edge, and a single contradiction might send him into an unpredictable state.

  “We need to talk,” he said quietly, leading Henry out of the cell.

  The man was so stunned he didn’t even protest. They moved to another empty cell, where John shut the door behind him. He wasn’t looking for privacy from Jinae.

  He just didn’t want Prota to be around for this.

  “You,” John said, leaning against the door. “...were you really the chief?”

  “Yes,” the man said. “And you are…”

  “I’m her brother.”

  John’s face was expressionless as he said that. Normally, he would’ve felt a little pride, or maybe some embarrassment, but at the moment, it was simply a fact.

  “She does not-”

  “Yeah, yeah, we’re not related by blood. That’s not relevant, though. Why… why did you send Prota to Solaria? To Vulcan?”

  “...what do you know?” Henry said quietly.

  John sighed. He didn’t seem to be a bad man. Additionally, if Jinae was vouching for him…

  “Fine.”

  He began to recount Prota’s story. Starting from how he found her in the streets, continuing with how he’d taken her in and nursed her back to health.

  As he told the tale, he found himself remembering all of it. The memories, vivid in colour, playing through his brain like a movie of his life. As it played, he found he couldn’t find a single moment in which he regretted taking her in.

  Leaving out the details of the Demon King and [Destiny Bond], he continued. The adventures in the Town of Beginnings, learning how to fight. He didn’t reveal that Destiny was the hero, nor did he expose Kit’s identity, but he explained how they’d found reliable allies and friends. It ended with finding a man named Doctor, fighting him off and ending his horrible experiments.

  “You killed-”

  “I don’t want you telling me anything unless I ask. Do you understand?” John said sharply.

  Henry was about to refute. It made sense for him to be annoyed. After all, he was a member of Quaesitor Veritatis. Why should he take this from a boy he didn’t even know?

  But something made him shut up. He didn’t know what it was, but something about this whole situation made Henry stay silent and obey John’s instructions.

  “Yes,” he said quietly.

  “Good.”

  John continued, telling the story of his days at Scholaris, encountering cultists and fighting them off. He left out the bit about Hikari, but told Henry about what had happened with Sofya. The man looked like he wanted to speak again, but thankfully, he refrained from doing so.

  The story was almost done now. The Mystic arc was somewhat short and ultimately unimportant. What mattered was how it had ended.

  “So we wound up here,” John said, finishing the tale. “...and that’s how I know Prota.”

  “I could ask for no better relative. You are her brother. I believe you completely.”

  “...thanks?”

  John frowned. He wasn’t sure whether or not that was a compliment, but he eventually shook his head and moved on.

  “Were you really the chief of this village?”

  “I-”

  “Sorry. Yes or no, were you the chief?”

  “...yes.”

  “Were you a cultist? Yes or no.”

  “...that is difficult for me to answer.”

  John grimaced. That was the answer he’d wanted to hear the least. It only confirmed his suspicions further, and he was desperately trying to hear something that would prove him wrong.

  “Did you actually send Prota to Vulcan?”

  “Yes.”

  “...was it really to keep her safe?”

  “Yes.”

  John grimaced. That, at least, confused him a little. Why would he want to keep Prota safe? It didn’t make sense. Of course, this man might be lying, but John felt that he wasn’t.

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  At the moment, his theory was that Prota was Doctor’s creation. It all added up. It had [Deus Ex Machina] energy. It was made from the body of a dragon. It had been turned into a human. It was emotionless. It had been given a village to grow up in, one in the middle of nowhere. It knew Soul Steal.

  It would also explain why Doctor was so obsessed with Prota’s power. This creature was Doctor’s first success. Given that Doctor hadn’t had the being with him at the time, he was likely trying to recreate a creature that could use Soul Steal.

  Everything lined up perfectly. Everything but the involvement of this man named Henry.

  Why had he been here? For what purpose? Was he originally part of the [Plot]? Was Doctor? John couldn’t tell. He had to assume that neither were meant to be here. But if that was the case, then why had Henry tried to protect Prota? Why had he sent her to Vulcan?

  It didn’t make sense. It was the one thing stopping John from losing it.

  He desperately wanted Prota to just be a random girl with strange powers. An [Extra]. Someone he met randomly, someone who just happened to be special. If she was a creation, a planned existence, then she was more than an [Extra]. She would be a very intentional [Character].

  She couldn’t be someone he was destined to meet. Because destiny didn’t exist. What existed…

  “Did you know she would suffer?”

  “No,” Henry said. “Vulcan is known to be safe and clean. May I ask… what happened?”

  “Ah. That’s…”

  John frowned, trying to remember. What had happened?

  “Give me a second,” he muttered.

  Henry nodded understandingly.

  Still, no matter how hard John tried, he couldn’t quite remember what had been the catalyst for Prota’s pain and suffering. He remembered that Vulcan was, in fact, clean and safe. He himself had questioned how an orphan could be left in that state. It had something to do with her being called a demon, but…

  [Here.]

  [Attached file: Chapter 8: Stories]

  John frowned.

  “...what?”

  [Just read it man]

  John hesitated for a moment, then opened the file in his system.

  [“...you want me to do what?”

  “Help me… save my sister!”

  Prota had her fists clenched so hard her hands were shaking.]

  “This is… you’ve gotta be kidding me.”

  Still, it was helpful. He reread Prota’s entire backstory, but something in the chapter itself stood out to him.

  [“John. I am going to tell you Prota’s story. This is a story she would have told you eventually, but I’ve gone and taken the liberty of telling it for her. Remember that. I am telling it for her. This story will be told in the third person. This does not mean it is omniscient.”]

  Zero had emphasized that this wasn’t the truth. Just Prota’s perspective.

  A shiver of fear ran through John’s body.

  Ignoring it, he pushed through and finished the chapter, finding the bit of information he needed. Well, it was more accurate to say that the information wasn’t there.

  “I don’t know what happened,” John admitted. “From what she remembers, people just started calling her a demon one day. They actively avoided her. I mean…”

  “I… I understand,” Henry said quietly.

  He opened his mouth one more time, then closed it, seemingly realizing that whatever he’d been about to say wasn’t worth it.

  There was only one last question John had. His mind had been restored to a state of confusion, which was good enough for him. He just wanted to clarify something for Prota’s sake.

  “Do you know who Anta is?”

  The old chief looked at John in confusion.

  “Who?”

  “...forget about it.”

  With that, he opened the door, going back to Jinae and Prota.

  “John, what did you-” Jinae started, but Henry merely held his hand up.

  “Nothing happened, Jinae. He just had a few private questions for me. Worry not,” he said, a kind smile forming on his lips. “His questioning also jiggled my memory a little. There was something I was investigating.”

  “First, what happened to you?” Jinae said, frowning. “How did you end up like this?”

  “Ah, that’s… I was pretending to be a cultist in order to gain the trust of a man named Doctor. However, some things happened, and everything went wrong. The cultists disbanded, but I remained here, as you know. However, in the past few years, I felt there was more to this group of cultists. I came here to investigate, but… those creatures were everywhere,” he said, shuddering. “I locked myself in this cell. It was the only way to keep myself safe.”

  “I… I see,” Jinae said slowly. “Was it worth it, then?”

  Henry’s eyes lit up. “Yes. There was a room I wanted to investigate. It was guarded by a creature I could not defeat, but with you…”

  “No,” Jinae said, shaking her head. “That is not mana it uses. You and I have no place in this battle. But with those two…”

  Henry looked at John and Prota, who seemed quite weak in his eyes.

  “Those two? Are you sure?” he frowned.

  “Yes.”

  Henry stared at John, a look of doubt on his face. John looked back at Henry and sighed.

  “Lead the way.”

  ~~~

  The party made their way to what seemed to be the end of the laboratory.

  “This is it. The room where this man named Doctor made his masterpiece,” Henry said. “And that is its guardian.”

  In front of the door was what appeared to be a child.

  “...that one looks dangerous,” John muttered.

  “Indeed,” Henry nodded. “It is… fearsome. It cannot be harmed, and its magic is fearsome. Perhaps on par with my own.”

  Jinae’s head snapped at that. “On par with you?”

  “I fear so, yes. The only saving grace is that its intelligence seems to be quite low. I presume you have a way to deal with this?”

  Prota looked at John, who nodded.

  “Alright,” he muttered. “One last time.”

  “Henry,” Jinae said, her tone stern. “Take the boy away.”

  “Take the boy away?”

  Prota’s eyes shone once more as John fell unconscious, his body hitting the floor with a thump.

  “Ah. I see,” Henry said, picking him up. He probably didn’t understand, but John was out cold, and that was something anyone could see. “I wish you the best of luck.”

  Prota closed her eyes, feeling mana well up inside of her. The air turned hot as her improved fire domain began to form. However, it was slow to appear.

  The mana in the area was quite thin. While Prota was supplying the mana necessary for the spell itself, the domain wasn’t being formed. There simply wasn’t enough mana to gain a fire affinity.

  “Mommy? Daddy?”

  Prota flinched as the child spoke. She opened her eyes to find the child looking back at her. Instead of eyes, though, there was nothing. Just black goo. It didn’t drip, but it was all Prota could see in that body.

  “They said… they’d come back for me. You’re not mommy and daddy.”

  She felt a shiver of fear run through her body.

  “I have to keep this place safe.”

  Before either Prota or Jinae could react, the floor began to shake. A dozen spikes shot up, piercing through to the ceiling. The attack was barely avoided, but it was obvious that even a single hit would spell death.

  “I’m waiting,” the creature said simply.

  “Prota! Get it done! I’ll defend you!” Jinae yelled, her cloak fluttering as a powerful concentration of mana gathered around her.

  The monster didn’t say anything else. Instead, a giant fireball appeared, this one white in colour, the heat singeing Prota’s skin even from far away.

  Still, she trusted Jinae. And her trust was well-founded. A few seconds later, the spell broke, the mana returning to the surroundings.

  “Hurry up, Prota!” Jinae yelled.

  Prota nodded. The more mana that entered the surroundings, the faster she could summon her domain. Already, the room felt like an oven, sweltering hot.

  “More!” Prota yelled.

  Jinae turned back, momentarily stunned, then nodded.

  “Alright. I’ll get you more.”

  She charged forward, her old bones surprisingly nimble. Letting loose a ferocious cry, ten swords emerged from the ground, floating through the air. With a single motion, they shot forward, piercing through the monster before them.

  Like every other creature, it had no effect, but it did trigger a reaction. The monster began to counterattack, water gathering in the air, forming a giant bubble. It began to boil, turning scalding hot, steam floating up and covering the room in a thick fog.

  The bubble began to spin, emitting such a pressure that Prota was almost swept off her feet. There was no spell in her arsenal that could block such an attack. If Jinae didn’t destroy that thing, she was dead.

  The water spun faster. Faster. The fog was being blown out, showing Prota the spell that would potentially end her life.

  For a split second, it began to move.

  And then it vanished.

  “Prota!” Jinae yelled. “Now!”

  The air burst into flames as Prota finished her new domain. The ground once again cracked and crumbled under the intense heat, any semblance of moisture gone from the air.

  This time, instead of slowly forming, a dragon of blue flames instantly materialized around Prota, snaking and twisting its way around her arm.

  “Go.”

  It shot forward, devouring the child-like figure before them. When the dragon vanished, there was nothing left, not even ashes. The domain instantly dropped as Prota clenched her teeth, the exhaustion in her body building up.

  “Thank goodness,” Jinae said. “That last spell was incredibly hard to deal with. I don’t know if we could’ve dealt with another one of those.”

  Prota’s eyes widened in fear.

  “No-”

  It was too late. From the ground, black liquid began to bubble, rising up and taking the form of the same child. Another child appeared. And another. And another.

  “I’m waiting,” the same voice said, echoing a dozen times.

  Twelve insane monsters. All fresh and ready for battle.

  Prota didn’t know if she could use that domain again.

  “Prota,” Jinae said carefully. “When I tell you to run, run.”

  Prota nodded, her legs tensing up. The creatures’ mouths opened again.

  “You’re not mommy and daddy.”

  “Go!” Jinae yelled.

  Prota felt the wind explode at her feet as she ran like never before. For a moment, she thought she was safe. Jinae was right behind her. They could—

  John. Where was John?

  “Prota, you-” Jinae started, but it was too late.

  Emotions raged through Prota’s mind. She couldn’t let him go. John had said he wasn’t strong enough to deal with these monsters. Losing him wasn’t an option. Not a single coherent thought was formed. All Prota knew was that this threat had to be eliminated. She was John’s protector. She would protect him.

  Something snapped inside her. It started small, like a candle flame flickering in the wind, but then it grew bigger. A fireball. A bonfire. It exploded, burning bright, pushing out and filling Prota’s body.

  She couldn’t contain it. There was a massive white light as the room exploded with energy, blinding everybody that was present.

  When the light died down, there wasn’t a single monster left. There wasn’t a trace of their existence. Even the walls had evaporated, leaving packed dirt behind. The hallway was a good fifty percent larger than it’d been before.

  “Prota, you did it!” Jinae exclaimed.

  She went to congratulate the girl, only to find that the girl was unconscious. She was lying flat on the ground, eyes closed, not a twitch of movement to be found.

  “What happened?!” Henry yelled, rushing out. “What in the world?”

  After him came John, eyes wide and trembling.

  “Prota,” he said, his voice barely a whisper.

  For a moment, he felt fear, but then he remembered there was a handy feature in his system. A quick check revealed that Prota was weak, but alive.

  Looking around, he saw something else.

  A small, red orb.

  “...how?” he muttered, picking it up.

  It was barely any [Deus Ex Machina] energy, but it was something. Enough to maybe make another deal with Diaboli, if needed.

  “John,” Henry called out.

  John turned around to see the old man wearing a forlorn expression.

  “This girl… won’t wake up for a while.”

  “What? What do you mean?” John said, fear suddenly entering his heart once more.

  “She… She used something equivalent to a Last Stand here,” Henry said. “I have the unique ability to see souls and judge their state. This girl… her soul is still there. I don’t know how. But it’s incredibly weak.”

  “When will she recover?”

  “...boy.”

  Henry stood up, facing John.

  “You’ve been dodging the truth. If you want to help your sister… you have to face the truth.”

  “...what do you mean?”

  “I believe you found Doctor’s notebook, did you not?”

  “How did you-”

  “It fell out of your pocket when I carried you to safety.”

  Henry held it out, inviting John to take it.

  “Your sister can be saved. But… if you want that to happen, you have to face it yourself. The last entry. Read it. I… I understand why you were questioning me. You wanted to be eased into the truth. But the truth always comes out. Finish it.”

  John shook his head. “Why? Let’s just go in.”

  “...come with me.”

  Henry took John to the door they’d been trying to enter, showing him the lock.

  “This is bound with an energy I cannot interact with. There is only one way to open it.”

  Inscribed in the door was a simple phrase, but John immediately understood what was coming.

  “This fucking [Author]...”

  To open this door, enter the name of Doctor’s finest creation.

  It didn’t even make sense. It wasn’t a logical lock. There were dials with alphabetic symbols, set up in a group of five, followed by a space, then a group of four. It was incredibly stupid, but symbolically, it worked.

  This lock was so incredibly stupid John couldn’t help but laugh. Even in fiction, this was a stretch. It was do obviously a literary tool set up by the [Author] to force John to accept the truth…

  But what was John supposed to do about it?

  “I’m sorry, boy,” Henry said sadly. “But… this is what it comes to.”

  John cursed, but it was unavoidable. He had to do it. He knew what was coming, but Henry was right.

  The truth had to be faced.

  The sound of pages rustling were the only sound that followed.

  To John’s surprise, entry fifty-eight did not contain the name of the creature. Instead, it went straight to entry fifty-nine.

  {Entry 59:

  The plan is complete.

  Initially, Subject Zero was placed in the village and treated as a normal, human girl. For six years, this continued. I managed to give it emotions, and it seems to be no different than the other children in the village. Two of my assistants posed as its parents, raising it with what I would assume is love and care, although such things are, quite frankly, ridiculous.

  Then, I convinced the Demon King to attack the village herself. This was not necessary, but I believed it would be best to show her the creation she demanded.

  Everything went to plan. The assistants were killed, but that matters not.

  Now, there was a small hitch. The chief, one of my more prominent assistants, sent her to Vulcan. He explained that living alone should generate a sense of hatred for the world, since the creature would no longer experience love or care. It is a valid suggestion, and it seems thought out, so I suppose he shall live.

  However, he does not know what despair is. Thus, I sent two more of my assistants to Vulcan as well. They will spread rumours that Subject Zero is a demon. I need the creature to be ostracized. Separated from society. It must want the world to burn.

  From what I heard, it worked. I have heard rumours of a white-haired girl killing people with a single touch. It isn’t long now.

  This shall be my last entry. I will be moving to new places to perform new experiments. Namely, I would like to recreate Soul Steal. Such power should not be limited to dragons.

  As for the name of the creature, I felt a moment of poetic inspiration. Subject Zero was created to kill the hero. The hero, as many know, is often portrayed as the protagonist of an adventure.

  Then, what greater irony to be killed by the role you were meant to fill?

  The name I have assigned to Subject Zero…}

  John slowly closed the notebook.

  It all made sense now. Her backstory. Her past. Why she was a year older than she believed. Why she was strangely durable, why she was in the state she was, why Diaboli wanted her, it all made sense.

  She was a weapon. She’d been created to kill Destiny because the Demon King, knowing Destiny’s abilities as the [Protagonist], feared him. It explained her powers, her growth, her effort, everything.

  Almost every single question had been answered. And now that they had, John felt strangely empty.

  “So you did try to help her,” he said quietly.

  “Yes. I did not realize… it would backfire so horribly,” Henry said sadly. “For that, I cannot help but apologize.”

  “...it’s fine.”

  John felt nauseous. He didn’t want to finish it. But at this point, he already knew what was coming, anyway.

  He reached up to the door, slowly turning the dials filled with alphabetic symbols. There was a clicking noise as the mechanism unlocked, the door slowly swinging open. John’s hand fell back down, the letters shining in Jinae’s light.

  The name entered was obvious.

  {Is Prota Char.}