When the morning sunrays shone into Zeo's room, Lina was standing near the window, gazing at the slumbering boy. The light woke the youngster up, who had been procrastinating to go to bed the night before. Lina grabbed his blanket, crossed her arms and stood in front of him. She would have certainly been pleased with her attractive figure, if not for her tomboyish look.
"Rise and shine, my young master. Don't want to make your teacher wait, right? Hurry up and get ready, let's eat breakfast. I'm famished and eagerly awaiting the food," Lina said.
Zeo was taken aback, wasn't Lina supposed to be doing the housework? Giggling at Zeo's expression, she said, "I decided to take care of all the household chores apart from cooking, the only thing I acknowledge about you is your cooking." Lina then left the room.
A few moments later, Zeo smiled to himself. "So, this is what it's like to have a sister perhaps ?"
As Zeo finished laying out the food on the table, a soft breeze drifted into the house. Kotaro then appeared, taking a seat at the table. Lina tried to contain her laughter at the sight of him; it seemed that Kotaro, just like her, was eagerly awaiting the breakfast cooked by Zeo. Zeo felt a sense of warmth even though his dad was not present - he was not alone.
Once they had finished, Kotaro brought Zeo back to the Wind Demon Hall. This time, Zeo put in his all to memorize the way into so as not to trigger trapped that was placed in the formation..
He was then instructed to sit in the center of the hall, legs crossed, and five distinct cores were placed in front of him - each one glowing with a different color - blue, red, green, yellow, and brown.
"Tell me which core attracts you the most - think carefully, as it will have a lasting effect on your life."
Zeo analyzed each core one by one, he was particularly fond of the yellow one because it shone the brightest. As he attempted to take the core, the earth started shaking.
Kotaro's eyes glowed green, then he fixedly gazed at the buried altar.
"It appears that the core has chosen you."
He then pressed a button on one of the statues, and the altar resurfaced in its original place.
The blue core sparkled more than the other cores that Kotaro had placed. Consequently, the luminosity of the other cores suddenly faded.
This phenomenon had never been documented in human history, but both of them bore witness to it.
The blue core appeared to be upset with the other core, while the other core only softly glimmered, seemingly submitting to the blue core's authority.
As Zeo laid eyes on the blue core, he felt a strong longing for it. Kotaro noticed his foster son's unusual reaction to the core, which was different from his response to the core he had presented him with.
Kotaro tapped Zeo on the shoulder, saying, "I believe you don't even need to make a choice. This core has been unable to be refined by anyone, it seems, due to its refusal up until now. Your body also unconsciously desires to merge with the core."
As Kotaro was on his way to take the ancient blue core, it flew past him and towards Zeo. When it reached Zeo's forehead, a brilliant spark was emitted.
When the light vanished, Zeo dropped to the ground, unconscious. Fuuma quickly inspected him and then showed a shocked expression.
Kotaro was lost in his thoughts and then he transported Zeo back to Lake Town with a Wind Step.
Zeo had a dream where he saw a group of humanoid demon beasts bowing before him while he was soaring on black wings, looking down at them.
The area was illuminated, with light streaming through the crypt and the ground stretching up to the ceiling. There were numerous waterfalls, which created a lake around the old city. The location appeared to be quite ancient and peaceful with a tranquil atmosphere.
All of a sudden, the humanoid creatures simultaneously proclaimed, "Remember." A blue nucleus then emerged from Zeo's cranium, whispering something in his consciousness: "Remember."
Zeo jolted upright in shock on his bed, glancing around his bedroom for assurance that he was in fact where he was supposed to be. But why wasn't he at the Wind Demon Hall instead? And what was that dream he had?
His body was covered with a slimy, smelly black goo. After heaving twice, he raced to the bathroom to shower. The gunk proved difficult to scrub off.
Once he was finished, Lina was astonished to see him stepping out of the restroom. She had a look of urgency on his face.
"Scoot, kid, I gotta go use the loo," she said.
Zeo quickly stepped aside, but then he heard her shrieking from within. He took off as quickly as his legs could carry him, not wanting to get in the path of her fury.
After Zeo finished preparing lunch, he served it at the dinner table. Lina was disheartened as she took her seat. She glared at him with intense eyes and said, "What kind of mess have you made? It is impossible to clean it normally; I have to burn it down to get rid of it." Upon hearing this, the spatula he was holding fell from his hands. Zeo was petrified that Lina might misjudge him for pooping while asleep. THIS WAS HIS REPUTATION AT STAKE !!!
Just as they were about to dig in, a soft breeze blew in and Kotaro suddenly appeared next to Zeo. He quickly examined his condition before sitting down and pondering deeply. "My lad, you have been unconscious for two days. Do you feel any changes in your body?" Kotaro asked while slurping a beef soup which had been mixed with mashed potatoes.