Staring at the lifeless being, Zero tried to control his emotions, but his surroundings felt too surreal to be reasonable. In fact, it was more than that. It was almost as if his ability to think properly had been weakened. historical

Inside of the Hydro Serpent's illusionary spell, a logical method of thinking via problem-solving was useless.

As he continued to stare at his damaged past self, his eyes widened in fear and shock. Feelings that had long since been forgotten began rushing back to him, pouring into his mind like a waterfall barging through a broken dam.

He inspected every inch of his body. The paleness of his skin, the skeleton-like look of his face, the overgrown nasty hair, the ripped, old clothing, the dry lips, the dark, baggy under eyes, but most of all, he couldn't help but notice his eyes.

No, it wasn't just that he couldn't help but notice them, but it was like they were separate from him. Sole entities stared back at him with the dullness of an infinite void full of nothing but darkness. What he saw within those eyes was not human, it was not alive. It was the opposite of hope.

As he continued to stare into these eyes, his life force and power felt like it was being sucked away rapidly, but through all this, he also knew of his promises in Zaryn to improve through his traumatic past. Although he was sure he wasn't going to cry despite the overflow of emotions, a small stream of tears suddenly burst out of his eyes, trickling down his face as they fell to the ground.

He did not want to cry, but he could not control those tears.

'How am I crying? Why am I crying?' Zero asked himself in disbelief, not feeling as though he could cry in such a situation.

ραΠdαsΝοvel.cοm Even though his emotions full of despair had assaulted him, there was no reason for him to cry in his mind, yet the tears trickling down his cheeks were undeniable.

Now, he didn't know what to think. The tears and emotions made him question his own mind, question himself.

Was it all just a fa?ade? The will to get better? Maybe even his entire life in Zaryn? Was that a dream? He couldn't tell the difference, but nevertheless, the more he stared into those lifeless eyes in the mirror, the more his body lost its strength.

After a minute, his body went limp as his legs gave in, causing him to fall to his knees. After this, it felt as though any and all confidence still left within his body had dissipated. Both his mind and body had gone almost completely numb with gloom.

Just then, the door to the room flew open and he quickly turned his shoulder to face toward that direction.

Standing at the doorway was Jen, who stared at him with a perplexed wonder, her head tilted to the side with widened eyes of confusion.

"Zero? Why are you crying? What happened?" She innocently asked, walking over to him.

Seeing her face, Zero simply broke down into a flurry of tears, as he found himself completely helpless.

He lost all hop—

***

Suddenly, Zero found himself in the darkness for a second time, as he opened his eyes once again. He had awoken back on Earth in Zero's body just like before, as though he was reliving that experience that just occurred.

However, this time things felt drastically different. Unlike the first time, Zero felt the same helplessness as he did just moments prior.

Still, he managed to find the strength to crawl over to the mirror again, this time wanting to see a different reflection.

However, as his gaze met with his own in the mirror, those despair-filled eyes void of any other emotion and hope began sucking away at his energy once again, almost as if it was attacking his life force.

And just like the previous time, Jen opened the door to the room again and asked him why he was crying.

Zero was utterly confused at this, but overwhelmed by emotion, he couldn't help but break down again, causing the cycle to repeat.

Once again his eyes flew open from the darkness. This time, he barely felt like he had any energy left to move.

In fact, he didn't even want to move anymore. What was the point? He was just going to experience the same thing again anyways, which was failure.

What was the point of coming here anyways? It felt as though he had forgotten. His mind was in a complete haze, making him forget even his own name.

*Slam!*

Suddenly, after a few minutes, the door to the room flew open once again as Jen questioned Zero about what was wrong for the third time.

This time, Zero didn't even cry. There was no point in crying anymore since it wasn't even going to do anything.

But still, he awoke from the darkness a fourth time, and then a fifth, followed by a sixth. Before long, he had gone through hundreds of the same exact trail, of the same exact situation, each one causing him to be weaker physically and mentally.

In the depths of his despair, Zero found himself thinking about his own existence. His purpose. What was it again? What did he promise himself so frivolously before?

'Oh right.. I was going to crush my trauma. I was going to get stronger so that I could protect my family... so that I could protect myself...' Finally, Zero had arrived at his destination, 'So that I could free myself from the burden of pain, of suffering, of restrictions and binds!'

At that very moment, distant memories of the faces of his parents began to appear in his mind like flashbacks. Haunted by the faces of his loved ones, he saw the pain and worry etched upon their faces.

'I want to protect them.. because I want to free myself from the restrictions of life which include pain and suffering.'

*Slam!*

Jen suddenly opened the door to the room once again, questioning Zero.

"What's wrong? What happened?"

Hearing this, Zero fully expected to be restarted once again, as he was used to it, now on his 263rd redo.

However, nothing happened. He was still there, still able to think.

Just then, out of nowhere, a newfound emotion swelled up within him, causing a grin to appear on his face. Needless to say, one could argue that this grin was out of pure mental delusion, as he had gone mad by now, but he couldn't care less.

It felt good to smile.

"Why was I crying? Why did I feel despair? Because of you? Hahaha!" He burst out laughing, causing Jen to freeze in shock and confusion, mixed with a tinge of worry.

"I allowed them to silently suffer because of my own despair? For you? Have I forgotten my purpose, my reason for being?" The absurdity of it all washed over him, shattering the illusions that had clouded his mind.

Once, he aspired to be a beacon of hope, to uplift those who had supported him. And yet, now he found himself rendered helpless by a mere collection of memories. It was preposterous!

Amidst the depths of despair, Lyrian had overlooked a crucial truth. The reason his past held such significance was that he possessed the unwavering willpower to overcome it.

At this point, Lyrian had gone through further in the trial than ever before, causing new things that he missed in his previous trials to occur.

Out of nowhere, Jen's parents, Mr and Mrs Wilkson barged into the room, along with Cole and Kane.

"You street rat! What are you freaking out Jen for!?" Kane yelled.

"Get up! Who gave you the permission to continue laying on the floor!?" Mr. Wilkson followed up.

They all began to bash him as he found a deep-rooted will to stand up through his despair, gritting his teeth out of anger.

As he rose to his feet, he looked at the Wilkson family for only a moment, before looking away.

This was because.. his anger was not directed towards them. 'You bastards aren't even real.' He said in his mind, looking at the mirror before walking closer to it.

As he ignored them, their voices slowly faded away, and their bodies also disappeared. Now, Lyrian was only left with the mirror.

"Not even close..." Lyrian's smile stretched across his face, twisted and maniacal, as he closed the distance to the mirror. His gaze locked with the eyes filled with despair, yet his own determination burned brighter than ever before.

"You weren't even close to overcoming my will!" His words echoed through the air, resonating with a newfound sense of liberation. A mountain of burden lifted from his shoulders as if it had never existed.

The anger that had surged within him was not towards the trials that attempted to break him but at their pathetic nature. How stupid it was to underestimate his resolve, his unyielding spirit! The fire within him intensified, fueled by a relentless determination to prevail.

As Lyrian delved deeper into the void of his own eyes, a glimmer of light pierced through the darkness, sending shivers down his spine. Every hair on his body stood on end, electrified by the revelation unfolding before him.

Rather than weakening, he felt a surge of strength coursing through his veins. The eyes of despair no longer siphoned his willpower; instead, they became the catalyst for his indomitable spirit to flourish. His willpower swelled, radiating from within.

"You weren't even close!" His proclamation echoed in the chamber, his voice brimming with unwavering confidence. And in that very moment, his true eyes flew open in the real world, greeted by the breathtaking sight of a bright azure sky adorned with puffy white clouds.

In that sublime moment, Lyrian knew that he had triumphed over the trials that had sought to break him. He had risen above, liberated from the chains of despair.