ZERO: UNKNOWN AUTHORITY

The world Adrian lived in was not the one preserved in old history books. Humanity had changed, forced to evolve when supernatural abilities awakened—powers that defied everything known to science.

Some people manipulated fire or water. Others could warp their flesh into deadly weapons, regenerate lost limbs in seconds, or move objects with nothing but a thought. Capabilities once reserved for myth had become the new standard of human life.

And humanity needed those powers. Because the beasts had arrived.

Terrifying creatures capable of tearing an ordinary human apart stalked the lands beyond the fortified cities. To survive, humanity built massive walls around its settlements and established elite academies to train the next generation of defenders. In this new world, strength meant survival. Ability meant respect. Those without either were treated as worthless.

Adrian knew that better than anyone. His childhood had been defined by a chorus of harsh whispers: *Useless. Powerless. A burden.*

For a long time, he tried to block them out. He had to—if only for his younger sister, Scarlet.

His memories of their parents were already fading into blurred fragments. He remembered his mother's warm smile, his father's deep voice, and the feeling of riding on his father's shoulders. But most of all, he remembered Scarlet gripping his hand whenever she became frightened. They had been a family once—small, but happy.

Then their parents died, and their world shrank down to a cold room in a crowded orphanage.

Adrian became Scarlet's shield. When she cried, he made her laugh. When the older children tried to bully her, Adrian stood in front of her, taking the bruises himself. He didn't have a power or exceptional strength, but he was her older brother. That had to be enough.

At least, that's what he believed—until Scarlet's ability awakened.

She was barely seven when frost began to bloom from her fingertips. Ice: a high-tier elemental ability. Overnight, the orphanage directors began treating her like porcelain. She was no longer just another orphan; she was a child with immense potential. It wasn't long before a wealthy, influential family came to claim her.

Adrian remembered standing by the orphanage gates, watching Scarlet pack her small bag. She looked back at him, tears welling in her eyes. "Adrian..."

He forced the brightest smile he could manage, hiding the fear tightening inside his chest. "You'll be fine. Go."

"But—"

"They can give you a future I can't," he said quietly, swallowing the lump in his throat. "Go, Scarlet."

She hesitated, and for a moment Adrian thought she might run back to him. But she turned and left. He stood at the gates long after their luxury transport disappeared over the horizon, staring down the empty road. The silence she left behind felt heavier than anything he had ever carried.

He didn't give up. He told himself that his turn would come. If he awakened a power at his own ceremony, he could leave the orphanage, find Scarlet, and stand beside her again as an equal. So Adrian waited. He trained his body, held his breath, and prayed.

When his awakening day finally arrived, he stepped forward beneath the watchful eyes of the instructors. The testing stone stood before him, smooth and cold. Adrian placed his palm against its surface, holding his breath as he waited for the surge of energy—fire, lightning, enhanced strength, anything.

Nothing happened.

The instructor cleared his throat. "Try again."

Adrian pressed his hand harder against the stone, straining with every fiber of his being. Still, nothing. No glow. No spark. No reaction.

The glass display flickered, displaying a single line of text: **LEVEL 0.**

A snicker broke the silence, and within seconds, laughter spread across the hall. *Level 0. Defective. Useless.*

Adrian stared at the result, his fingers slowly curling into fists. For years, he had imagined this day—imagined finally awakening a power and proving he wasn't useless. Instead, the result confirmed what the world already believed. He was a dud. And at eighteen, a dud had no place in an orphanage. They handed him a duffel bag and pushed him out the door.

No family. No home. No power.

Adrian walked away from the only place he had ever known, refusing to look back. But somewhere inside him, something snapped—not into pieces, but into iron. If the world wasn't going to give him a path, he would carve one out with his own hands.

For three years, Adrian pushed his body beyond what he thought was possible. He ran until his lungs burned and trained until his muscles screamed. He memorized combat forms, studying the movements of high-level fighters. He learned to read muscle twitches, predict attacks, and exploit the arrogance of stronger opponents. He discovered something critical: power made people careless, and careless people became predictable.

Adrian survived, but survival wasn't enough. He wanted the strength to step into the world where his sister lived, to find her, and to stand beside her again.

That brought him to the edge of the Obsidian Forest.

Before him stood ancient trees so enormous that their branches choked the sunlight from the sky, trapping the forest floor in perpetual twilight. This was beast territory—a death zone where even licensed Hunters treaded carefully. Beyond the forest lay the path to the premier Academy: a shortcut reserved only for the desperate, the reckless, or the suicidal.

A distant roar echoed through the thick canopy, vibrating through the soles of Adrian's boots. His breath caught, his pulse hammering against his ribs as every instinct screamed at him to return to the safety of the city walls.

Instead, Adrian reached down and gripped the hilt of the plain iron blade strapped to his hip. He closed his eyes, seeing the cold glowing numbers once more: **LEVEL 0.**

When his eyes opened, the fear was still there, but it no longer controlled him. He tightened his grip on his sword.

"Let's see what a zero can do."

He stepped past the border tree line, letting the darkness swallow him whole.

And somewhere deep within the Obsidian Forest... something opened its eyes.