Chapter one
The White Continent of Elyria was a land of magic, where cities were ranked by their mastery over the mystical arts. In the Tier-Four city of Cryoak, magical energy pulsed through the streets, shaping the daily lives of its people. Spells lit up the night, runes powered machinery, and those without magic?
They were nothing.
And Blaze? He was less than nothing.
Born without a mystical core, he was an anomaly in a city where magic was everything. The people of Cryoak labeled him a Zero, whispering behind his back, mocking him in plain sight. They sneered at his existence, calling him a waste of space, someone who would never wield the power they held so dear.
Yet, despite their scorn, they feared him.
Because while they controlled magic, Blaze controlled his body.
No one knew how. No one understood why.
But every time someone tried to put him in his place, every time someone challenged the 'Zero' to remind him of his worthlessness—
They lost.
Badly.
The marketplace was always noisy, filled with merchants shouting over one another and kids running between stalls, but today? Today, the biggest attraction wasn't the fresh fruit stand or the enchanted trinkets.
It was Blaze.
Well, more accurately, it was three arrogant teenagers who thought they could put Blaze in his place.
"Oi, Zero!" one of them sneered, a lanky boy with an overgrown ego and an unfortunate mustache. His name was Kel, and he was Cryoak's finest example of why some people shouldn't be given magic. "Heard you're still pretending to be strong. Thought we should remind you where you belong."
His two lackeys, Finn and Jarek, laughed along, even though their brains were still trying to process Kel's words. Blaze, standing in the middle of the square with a bag of vegetables slung over his shoulder, sighed.
It was too early for this.
"I don't have time for this, Kel." Blaze adjusted his bag and started walking past them. "So if you want to 'remind me where I belong,' can you do it after lunch?"
"Don't ignore me, you magicless freak!" Kel's pride flared up like an overcooked spell. With a flick of his hand, a weak gust of wind kicked up some dust. It was supposed to be intimidating. It wasn't.
Blaze blinked. "Was that… was that a magic attack? Or are you just trying to air out your BO?"
The crowd burst into laughter. Kel's face turned red, veins popping in his forehead. "You think you're funny, Zero? Let's see how funny you are when we teach you a lesson!"
Before Blaze could argue, the three idiots charged at him.
Kel came first, trying to swing a magically-enhanced punch. Blaze sidestepped.
Finn tried to grab him. Blaze ducked.
Jarek… tripped on his own feet and faceplanted into the dirt. Blaze didn't even touch him.
The crowd howled with laughter.
Blaze, meanwhile, sighed. He didn't even want to fight today, but at this rate, it would be more merciful to just end it quickly.
As Kel threw another punch, Blaze casually grabbed his wrist, twisted it slightly, and—
THUMP!
Kel hit the ground so fast it looked like he teleported.
Finn panicked and tried to kick him. Blaze caught his foot mid-air.
"Nope."
With a flick, Finn spun three times before landing headfirst into a pile of cabbages.
Jarek, who had just managed to get up, looked at Blaze, then at his fallen friends. Then back at Blaze.
Then he made the only logical decision.
He ran.
The market erupted into cheers and laughter, some people even tossing coins at Blaze like he was some kind of street performer.
Kel groaned from the ground. "Y-You damn… Zero…"
Blaze shook his head and leaned down. "If I'm a Zero, then what does that make you?"
Silence.
Then someone in the crowd yelled the answer.
"NEGATIVE ONE!"
The entire marketplace exploded into laughter.
Even Blaze couldn't stop the small smirk that tugged at his lips.
But as the laughter filled the air, as the people around him mocked the bullies instead of him for once—
Blaze still knew the truth.
They feared him.
Not because of magic. Not because of power.
Because he wasn't supposed to be stronger than them.
And that fear?
It made them hate him even more.
Blaze sat atop the church roof, his silhouette outlined against the silver glow of the moon hanging over Cryoak. The cold night air bit at his skin, but he barely felt it. His body ached—a deep, bone-weary soreness—but he welcomed the pain.
It was proof. Proof that he was getting stronger. Proof that every grueling hour of training wasn't in vain.
Below, the city was quiet. The flickering lanterns lining the streets cast long shadows, and distant voices from a nearby tavern carried on the wind. Somewhere, a stray cat knocked over a barrel, sending a clatter through the silence.
Blaze barely noticed.
His thoughts were elsewhere.
"People will always fear what they don't understand, Blaze."
Father Arin's words echoed in his mind. The old priest had always been a voice of reason, a steady presence in a world that seemed determined to push Blaze aside.
"But fear and respect? They're two sides of the same coin."
Blaze exhaled, his breath visible in the crisp night air.
Fear.
That's what today had been, hadn't it? They feared his strength. They feared that a boy with no magic could still crush them.
He didn't want fear.
He wanted acknowledgment.
To stand among the strongest—not as a freak, not as an outlier—but as an equal.
His fists clenched, the rough callouses on his palms pressing against his skin.
He would prove them wrong.
All of them.
He would train harder, push further, go beyond what anyone thought possible—
Because if magic was power, then he would forge his own.
But as he sat there, staring at the moon, lost in his determination—
He had no idea.
No idea that fate had already started moving.
That in the darkness beyond Cryoak's walls, something stirred.
That tonight would be the last time he sat here in peace.
Because soon…
Everything would change.