My name is Yukiko. For six years now, I’ve held the title of vice-guildmaster of Orientalis’ Snow Guild, based in the Central District of Synoria. 

After my father passed away in combat during the Third Calamity Event seven years ago, my brother, Setsuya, rose to the position of guildmaster at the rather young age of 22. 

I, being only 9 at the time, was forced to quickly mature in order to aid him in areas he couldn’t singlehandedly manage. My training took less than three years, and by the time I was 12, I had officially become a valued and respected member of our guild. Naturally, doing so meant that most of my childhood life was spent within the walls of our headquarters, isolated from others my age.

In fleeting moments of spare time, I came to find I no longer had anything in common with those of my age group. For this reason, I’ve never made actual friends, only acquaintances who were met on the circumstances of duty.

After Seraphim was chosen as Synoria’s Herald, the following years grew rather peaceful. No wars, no internal or external conflicts, nor tensions, allowing for a period of time in which we as a collective province could focus on rebuilding the three bastions of our society.

In the past two weeks, however, rising issues have become glaringly apparent to all of the Snow Guild.

It all began with Seraphim’s sudden absence, only stating he was being summoned for ‘important responsibilities’ before suddenly vanishing from all communications. Shortly after, suspicious movements and behavior tied to Nightfall began increasing, suggesting they’d soon be making their grand move against the Snow Guild. Lastly but certainly not least, corrupted activity had also gone on the rise, especially near the border with Borealis. Based on eyewitness accounts from adventurers, it was likely the Ezirok Clan who was to blame for this.

After those three events, the catalyzing motion to forever change our histories began.

***

“The Southwestern Ruins’ Barrier Zone has been breached- No, completely destroyed!”

It was a sudden, unprecedented announcement.

“Impossible!”

“But who could’ve-? How-?”

Within seconds, the door burst open and my brother had entered the room, his white coat trailing in a purposeful yet gentle flow behind him.

“Everyone! In times like these, we must remain calm. Such an occurrence has been recorded once before, has it not?”

He flashed a small card before flicking it towards the nearest desk. It spun through the air before neatly landing atop a pile of papers before the nearest guild member. 

Glancing at the information on the card, he began vigorously searching through nearby files before respectfully handing a packet of papers to my brother with both hands.

“Cast your panic aside for a moment and consider this: There can only be three possible causes. Number one…”

He flicked through a few of the papers before pulling out one with the profile of a man, the image of whom was met with knowing expressions of recognition. 

“The first, and to this date, the only case in which a barrier zone has been broken. The Spatial Swordsman, Akari, now working under Arelium’s Shadow Guild. He is the only known individual to have come from within a barrier zone, and it is possible we have a second case on our hands”

He returned the papers back to a neat stack and set them down on a nearby desk.

“Number two: Nightfall has advanced beyond our comprehension. Despite it being highly unlikely, it must be acknowledged that their secretive movements and connections may have given them the capability of interfering with even the corruption’s barriers. Not much else can be predicted on this matter for now”

Every person in the room remained perfectly still in an uneasy silence. With the first two possible causes being confirmed, the third was already understood without having to be said.

“Number three: The prelude to another Calamity Event is upon us. As of now, we are completely oblivious to what’s going on within those barrier zones. Despite us having Akari, his unstable memories have proven unhelpful throughout all previous attempts to garner information. Additionally, the only beings we can be sure of being able to breach those barriers are the corrupted themselves, and if they were the ones to remove one of their long protected barriers, there must be a grand reason. This is all only speculation, but we must stay vigilant and prepared for the worst”

The mood grew tense as whispers and murmurs were exchanged between guild members.

“That is all I have to say for now. Please continue monitoring all significant developments, and thank you all for your hard work”

***

I didn’t get to watch the progression on the Snow Guild’s surveillance management floor for long. 

I was soon dispatched by my brother to investigate both the ruins and the forest surrounding the barrier zone. I’d travel alone, to minimize attention, and on my personal steed, the Snow Guild’s fastest. On top of that, I was to bring along a wagon full of inconspicuous goods stereotypical of trader wagons to further reduce my profile, the lot of which would likely prove useful as needs arose on my journey. If I were to be attacked, I could easily ditch the wagon and slow my pursuers with my aura as I made my getaway.

We couldn’t be sure who had broken the barrier, but such an action was widely known as a violation of Synoria’s pact with Seraphim. If we weren’t able to find evidence to find fault in unaffiliated adversaries, such as Nightfall, the blame would fall upon us as the representatives of Synoria and ultimately lead to further wars and losses. However, if we could find evidence of Nightfall’s activity near that barrier, we very well could be able to suppress two threats in one fell swoop.

Yet, the person I ended up meeting was one with nothing to do with our conflicts, not to mention our world as a whole. In that ruined town was where I met him.

To put it plainly, Kaito was… strange. He was alone when I found him in those ruins, hours away from the nearest settlements without anything to suggest how he’d gotten there. Naturally, faced with such a suspicious individual and all that on my mind, I presumed him to be a member of Nightfall. 

His techniques were unordinary, appearing simply as an enhancement aura, yet I could sense there was definitely something more underneath. It wasn’t necessarily that this ‘something more’ was adding onto his external technique, it was actually quite the opposite. His external techniques seemed to be an awkward externalization of what was truly meant to be expressed. That true expression was what I felt was hidden beneath his aura.

In the words of my brother when he first met Akari, this guy had the “potential to become World Zero’s hero of legend”.

To my dismay, he easily overpowered me while still seeming to be holding back. He had no intentions of harming me. There was no pressure of bloodlust, hatred, greed, or any of those I could usually feel emanating from our enemies. 

That was why I hadn’t revealed the main gimmick of my aura. I decided I’d save that if the need arose.

The following events felt more like a fever dream blur. A strange beast emerged from the trees across the trail, immediately showing aggression from a distance at which I hadn’t even noticed it approaching. 

Once again, to my surprise, this Kaito guy now showed the intentions of saving me. His presence exuded confidence and pride in his actions if nothing else.

My questions regarding who he was only piled up as I watched his fight from a distance, in which he seemed to now command wind rather than an enhancement aura. I could feel him learning and growing even in this fight itself. In one strike, he had won.

Only, this beast came back, this time seemingly with an even clearer directive. Not only that, it had grown stronger and its form was changing.

It was at this time I received a ‘message’ on a strange window that resembled our magetech screens and projectors, yet the image simply hovered midair on its own.

I had heard the name of the sender before. In the stories of the days before World Zero told by my father from weathered fairytale books, in the stories that were retold to me by my brother to ease my tears after our father passed, that was where I’d heard the name ‘Aeolus’, the supposed god of the wind.

Yet, there was no possibility of this being the real Aeolus. It was likely a codename, for the gods had long been sealed away from the physical world with the establishment of the Divine Layer, not to mention the fact that such high and mighty beings wouldn’t waste their time directly sending messages to mortals.

I knew this, and yet, a part of me still believed. After all, how often do magic text chats appear before your eyes?

Regardless, the message informed me of information beyond what I could’ve gathered on my own. It was from this message that I learned this boy’s name was Kaito, and that he’d suffered a tragedy involving the corruption that tore his family from him. 

It was this tragedy that left him in his current state, clinging to a childhood dream of becoming a hero to protect those he loved while taking on his desired characteristics of a hero. 

The following day was just as the message had said. He behaved like a character from a heroic epic, believing that he was the hero who was now saving myself.

As for why the message had told me this? It was my ‘mission’ to play the ‘damsel in distress’, if only for a few days, until he could return to society and hopefully grow to find himself again.

Just as much as I had no reason to not comply, I had just as little a reason to comply. Yet, a repressed part of myself felt a twinge of pity, of sympathy. I guess that’s why I decided to act out this role.

Or maybe it was a desire to experience a life other than my own, if only for just a moment.