"Zero" A deep soothing male voice sounded, startling the boy out of his thoughts.
The boy dodge to the side as he turned around, his body instinctively taking on a defensive stance. Turning toward the source of the sound, his expression grave and his muscles stretched taunt, but he found no one there. Did he make a mistake? - perhaps he was having another brain spasm and thought that someone called out to him.
"Calm down, I'm not your enemy", the voiced said, the sound seemingly near the boy's ears. His tone remaining calm and somewhat cold, "I am here to help you."
"What?..w-why?" said the boy, a soft strained voice came out from his dry lips. His body turning, searching for the owner of this voice. It sounded so familiar, he had definitely heard it before, even feeling some closeness to it.
He taught deeply of where he heard it, he's mind slowly clearing, more scenes surfacing in his mind. After all those tragic scenes, he would always be plunged into darkness the next second, brewing in his own tormented thoughts, almost driving him into madness. This voice would always come and save him, calling out to coaxed and distract him, telling him all kind of interesting things about the world. He didn't know who the voice was, but he knows that he can definitely trust it and just hearing this voice would put him at ease.
"That's right. Clear your mind and let all those scattered memories of yours fall back on their own.", realizing the boy's conscious state slowly stabilizing, the voice sounded relieved. "You should circulate your Mana and stimulate your cells. It will help heal your injuries faster."
The boy's eyes flashed with enlightenment, the voiced taught him this before. In this world, there are special people called "Excell Users", that possess powers and abilities that others don't. These people were born with unique cells in there bodies, the "cell X", that allows them to absorb and control the "Mana" in the air. Mana is the unseen energy all around us. The voice said that this Mana can neither be created or destroyed, but can only be transferred, this processed of absorbing Mana and converting it to your own energy is a form of cultivation.
Cultivation had three (3) states: Body tempering, Mind strengthening, and Soul ascending. Each state has ten (10) ranks: first (1st) rank being to lowest and tenth (10th) being the highest. Each rank has three (3) levels: low, mid, and high. The more you cultivate and break through your bottle neck, the higher your rank and levels are. And the higher your rank and level go, the stronger you powers and abilities will be.
He tried recalling what the voice said and information about how to cultivate smoothly flowed into his mind. He closed his eyes and felt the Mana in his body. Then willing it to move in the set pattern across his acupuncture points, his body beginning to heat up and his blood surging, a tingling sensation like thousands of ant crawling under his skin. The Mana that flowed into his pores was cool and refreshing, easing the rising heat that was building up, then making a full circle through his body. The Mana would then fall into the center of his diaphragm, pooling and compressing into a sphere. A strange feeling of being both hot and cold was circulating around his body.
Half an hour later, the calm male voice called out, " That's good for now. We need to move, it isn't safe to stay here".
Stopping his cultivation, The boy looks down at himself in amazement. All of the cuts and bruises were gone and replaced by clear supple skin. The aches in the back of his head and shoulders have greatly subsided. Although he could bare with the pain before, it still made moving difficult. Now, he was more at ease with moving around.
The boy raised his head to look up, "Who are you? And why can't I see you?". He could feel that the voice meant him no harm, yet he couldn't calm all the raging questions in his head. He could not get rid of the anxious feeling of losing something really important to him.
The voice calmly answered, its tone was still cool and emotionless., "I am Azrael, the spirit of Death. I currently reside within your soul. Hence, why you cannot physically see me and only you can hear my voice".
"....Azrael" The boy softly muttered, his eyes gleamed with confusion as he ask the question that's been plaguing him this entire time, "Who...am I?".
"....." Azrael was silent for a few seconds, before finally answering, " You are a Guardian. The blood of old Valydria. You are the end and the beginning".
" You are Zero"
"I am....Zero"
He still couldn't quite process what Azrael was telling him, but he felt a deep closeness to the word "Zero". This must be his name. He felt warmth and joy from hearing it, it somewhat lessened his anxiety.
"Zero.." Azrael called out again. "You have a mission to fullfil and an oath to abide by. We cannot stay here."
"Hmm" Kei hesitantly nodded in affirmation, with no memories and no one else to turn to, he'll just have to gamble whether it's right or not to listen to this being. "Very good", Azrael was satisfied, this child was very smart and obedient. As both their fates are intertwined, their life and deaths would rest in each other's hands. He was worried on how young the boy was at first, but it seems the child was pretty capable, surviving this long on what little knowledge and ability he acquired. His only concern is boy's fleeting memories. He must continue to nurture him in the future and somehow remove the curse in his mind.
Zero randomly chose a path to take. He can't quite remember this place, but something tells him that he has been to this place many times before. He raised his guard and cautiously treaded his way through all the broken rubble. He moved quietly, in fear of attracting unwanted attention. He didn't know what it was he was hiding from, but every move was agile and trained, his steps were all silent. Although his memory if foggy, but his body clearly remembers dancing in the edges of life and death, he moved relying on his instincts.