At the same time—the white space closed in around Zekai.
The void felt tighter than before, even though nothing visible had shifted within the blank canvas. His breathing shortened automatically, as if the environment itself was rationing how much oxygen he was allowed to consume.
The pale figure stood in front of Zekai, entirely unmoving. Then, it spoke.
"Hey. Don't worry. You won't be hurt. Not yet."
Zekai's fingers pressed lightly against the white surface beneath his knees, searching for something solid. There was absolutely nothing. That total absence of matter bothered him far more than the entity's words.
"Get the hell out of my head," Zekai snapped, his voice cold. "And stay away from me."
The figure let out a slow sigh.
"First rule. Don't call me that."
A faint smile formed on his lips.
"I'm Zero. Call me Zero."
The name settled strangely in Zekai's mind. It felt as if he had heard it somewhere before. As if it had always been resting in his subconscious.
Zekai narrowed his eyes to dangerous slits.
"What... the hell are you?"
Zero tilted his head slightly, considering the query.
'A beginning. A mistake. A doorway."
It wasn't an answer at all.
"You call us Arcana. But that's not what we are."
In the distance, the colossal, unfinished statues suddenly shifted. They didn't physically walk—they simply realigned their positions instantly. Zekai didn't tear his eyes away from Zero.
'So… was the person who wrote those rules on the parchment an Arcana like him?'
"Let me ask you something," Zekai demanded.
Zero waited, his face expressionless.
"You're the one behind that voice inside my skull, right? Why did you summon me here?"
Zero blinked once. "I didn't."
"Then who did?"
"It was you," Zero said flatly.
Zekai's brow furrowed. "That doesn't make a damn bit of sense."
Zero's faint smile returned.
"It doesn't have to make sense to you. It only has to be true." Truth doesn't wait for human understanding.
A heavy pause hung in the vacuum.
"You're not confused, Zekai. You just don't like the answer."
Zero wasn't explaining the mechanics; he was forcing a redirection.
The word "summoned" irritated Zekai. It implied calculated intention and preparation—and he had done neither. The system had violently dragged him here, and now it was claiming he had summoned himself. It felt like his brain was being ripped apart from the inside.
'If that's the case… I need to be careful with my words.'
"It's your mind," Zero stated calmly. "Whatever you're trying to resist... you're the one who brought yourself into this domain."
Zekai paused. "How did I bring myself here?"
The system rules and the blood ritual instructions flashed behind his eyelids. Perhaps his subconscious mind had validated those parameters without his conscious self even realizing it.
"...I'm an idiot."
No—he was just late to the realization. Pure irritation flooded his chest, overriding any trace of fear.
"But you're the one who used those specific rules to manifest me here."
"I never gave you any rules," Zero added smoothly.
Zekai's survival instincts roared, warning him that something was fundamentally wrong with the entity standing before him.
"No. I didn't even believe those damn rules."
Zero tilted his head. "And yet… you still followed them perfectly."
A brief pause.
"You always do that. Reject the premise first… then execute the action anyway."
Zero's smile turned razor-thin.
"It's not belief that triggers your movement, Zekai. It's pure, unadulterated curiosity."
Zekai went silent.
'Then—who the hell wrote them?' The deduction arrived naturally. 'Could Marcus Grandpa have written those warnings? It was his coat, after all. From the very beginning, nothing about this situation has been logical.'
Zero studied his micro-expressions.
"Is that enough of an answer for you?"
No. What Zero had stated was locked in Zekai's thoughts. He exhaled a slow, controlled breath.
"There was no grand reason. I just wanted to test the anomaly."
Zero clasped his hands behind his back and began walking around Zekai in a slow, precise circle.
The space didn't warp; it actively calibrated itself to Zero's exact coordinates. The distance between them kept changing erratically without either of them taking a physical step.
Zekai tracked him from the corner of his eye but refused to turn his torso.
'If the bastard wants to circle me, I'll let him.'
"So," Zero asked casually, what do you want?
He spoke as if the answer already existed in the script. The question sounded simple, but it was a trap.
'What do I want? No one has ever asked me that in my entire life.'
Most of his existence had been pure reaction—adjusting to brutal circumstances and surviving whatever shape the day took. Wanting something had always been an unnecessary luxury.
"I want you to stop this game. Let me out of here."
Zero hummed softly. "There is no return. No escape."
Zekai's jaw tightened into stone.
"Only death allows an exit from this contract."
It wasn't survival; it was absolute replacement. The words settled into the vacuum like an unalterable system law. Zekai remembered the paper.
[ Rule Three — DON'T FEAR. ]
He exhaled slowly. Fear had never been his flaw. He had the exact opposite issue—he let go too easily. He accepted catastrophic circumstances too quickly. The rule wasn't a call for bravery; it was an explicit command to eliminate hesitation.
"...Fine," Zekai whispered, his eyes flashing. "Then answer this: what can you actually give me?"
Zero smiled. "Anything this world permits. Nothing more."
'Permits. That means there are invisible limits.' Zekai calculated.
"Anything?"
Zero nodded, before adding in a dead, chilling tone.
"Dead things do not return."
Zekai's fingers twitched violently. His throat constricted. For a fraction of a second, the faces of his deceased parents flashed in his mind.
The request reached his vocal cords—and stopped cold. He forcefully executed the thought, shutting it down. Not like this. Never through a cursed system.
'Wealth? Completely useless. A career? An invisible cage. Love? Entirely temporary.'
"I don't want a damn thing," Zekai paused, his voice turning to ice. "I just want peace. Let me go."
The answer surprised even himself. Zero's smile faded entirely.
"That is not an option."
"Why?"
"One wish," Zero stated absolutely. "Only one".
A crushing silence followed. The very fabric of the white space felt like it was actively watching Zekai, measuring the worth of his soul. He stood there, weighing his options. Zero didn't move an inch, tracking his target.
"Take your time. But understand this… even a single second of hesitation will cost you variables you don't even realize you still possess."
Most humans only notice the loss after the asset is completely gone.
It wasn't advice. It was an ominous warning. Zekai could feel the suffocating pressure radiating not just from Zero, but from the dimension itself.
'How many predecessors have stood in this exact spot before me?'
Right now, Zekai was locked in this unknown white void with Zero. But outside... somewhere in the real world... Aron was entirely alone.
Zekai had zero data on Aron's current condition. No matter the cost, he had to find a tactical path out of here.
But escaping this domain would not be an easy feat. Whatever choice he voiced next would undoubtedly benefit this entity.
'I shouldn't give it that chance. If I didn't choose… what would I lose?'
Zekai exhaled slowly. "One wish," he said, glare sharpening. "If you grant it... what the hell do you gain?"
'Because nothing in this universe moves without a cost.'
Zero's expression softened ever so slightly.
"The fulfillment of your wish allows me to initiate mine."
Zekai's brow furrowed. "Then what's your wish?"
Zero didn't answer immediately. For a brief microsecond, it felt as though he had already answered this exact question a thousand times before. For the first time since their encounter, Zero hesitated. It was brief, but it was real.
"That is entirely irrelevant to the current phase."
His voice didn't rise, but it turned deathly cold. In that instant, Zekai sensed an incomprehensibly massive, monstrous presence hidden deep within Zero's soul. Zekai gave a sharp nod.
"Alright. I'll mind my own damn business."
Silence settled over the void once more. Zekai looked down at his boots. If he didn't make a definitive choice, this loop would never terminate.
This was the exact coordinates where the system decided what he was allowed to mutate into.
The absolute rule surfaced in his mind again, no longer functioning as a warning, but as a final conclusion.
[ No Escape. ]
The law had already been applied to his life.
And somewhere outside the boundaries of this white smoke, someone was still waiting for him to open his eyes.
✦ End of Chapter 10 — White Space II ✦