Deep in the temple, a rhythmic melody sounded from a cocoon of shadows that pulsated as black and red liquid slushed inside.
Each listener of the melody would walk away, having comprehended something completely different.
Meanwhile, one was far immersed within its grasp.
Bodiless, Zero's mind swam through a sea of memories, none of which seemed to belong to him or any of the personalities, yet they felt immensely important to him.
Forgetting himself, Zero became immersed in their nostalgic, realistic nature.
For him, these past few hours became one-hundred-twelve years as he "re-lived" life from birth to death.
Born under the same name, Zero was supposed to live as a simple tribesman of a demonic race on a faraway planet.
The first year was an uneventful and simple cycle that consisted of eating, sleeping, and pooping his days away.
His second and third years were simple but fun as he watched his father work a small field while hunting for their food; occasionally, he would even be able to play with the children of other neighboring families.
Everything changed on his fourth birthday as he awakened a special constitution among the demon race, becoming a Shadowborn.
It only took six days for a "bandit group" to be sent to his location by a noble in the region.
Razing his tribe to the ground massacring his mother, father, and friends before his very eyes, their screams and pleas burned deep in his mind.
Confused and terrified, his constitution activated, warping him into the shadows and sending him far away, accidentally trapping himself in a dark cave.
Not before the insignia of his "lord" flashed from one of the bandits' belts.
His fifth, sixth, and seventh years blurred together as he subsisted on fungus drinking from an underground spring.
Luckily for his sanity, by his eight-year, Zero found crystals that emitted strange rhythmic sounds.
Over the next two years, he practiced his constitution's ability to merge with shadows, becoming one with them, while learning about the strange music playing from those crystals.
By twelve, Zero could finally use his constitution enough to warp in shadows, like when he was four, and through this cursed ability, he managed to escape those accursed deep caverns.
Having spent two-thirds of his life underground, Zero was accustomed to the sunlight that pierced his eyes upon his escape.
His sickly emaciated body and lack of clothes drew the attention of some passers-by.
A small caravan picked him up in goodwill, raising him over the next six years as his new family.
While he journeyed around and practiced his musical abilities, he learned he had an aptitude for cultivation, a new practice at the time.
However, as he still suffered from daily night terrors in which he was forced to watch his tribe's tragedy over and over, he gave up his chance in favor of hopefully getting his revenge.
On the eve of his eighteenth birthday, his new family, the trade caravan, was besieged by a group of bandits, who ended up almost killing his mother figure.
To save her life, he used his constitution to slaughter the bandits, only to have it be reported to the same noble who ruled this land and killed his tribe to find him before.
A little over a month later, an army of soldiers decided on the still-recovering caravan, killing every member after claiming we practiced dark arts.
At the time, Zero had been in the forest harvesting herbs to make medicine, narrowly escaping the soldiers once more.
By the time he returned to the city where his family was resting, he was far too late.
Once again, he learned of that noble's horrible deeds to find him fueling his need for revenge even more.
After he lost his only other family, Zero went into hiding to amass his power in the hope of one day getting his revenge.
It was only after he became twenty-two that he gained everything he needed to execute his revenge.
Sneaking into the noble's manor, Zero kidnapped him and tortured him for six days and seven nights before the noble succumbed and died at his hands.
He achieved his life's goal but was left soulless and empty as suddenly nothing mattered anymore.
Both of his families were gone and nothing could bring them back, he had sold his musical crystals for the manor's blueprints, and even his body was altered all for this purpose, so why did everything feel so empty?
In this lifeless state, Zero wandered around for many years turning thirty-two by the time he met up with the only glimmer of hope he could find.
An old group of friends he made during his time with the caravan had formed a cultivation sect, remembering Zero they invited him to join them.
His constitution was perfect for cultivating as there were very few methods at the time.
Over the next fifteen years, Zero lived as a demon for the first time since his family died for a second time.
He laughed, cried, mourned, and succeeded, all the while gaining a purpose for the first time in his life.
Making use of his constitution, their sect managed to create multiple cultivation manuals and even achieved a feat no other had in the fifty years that cultivation had appeared; he had reached the second stage.
It was at this time Zero took over as sect master and led the sect to the point that they spread cultivation.
At the age of seventy, Zero became the first to break through the third realm and called it the Caravan Realm.
After breaking through, he gained the ability to manipulate his shadows, make full use of his demonic energy, and even attain the ability to exploit sound.
Over the next ten years, Zero stopped focusing on his cultivation, creating three new techniques that allowed the rest of his sect to break the barrier of the third realm.
Finally, at the age of ninety-eight, Zero reached the peak of the third realm and tried to transcend to the fourth realm, dubbed the saint realm by outsiders, as no one could reach its heights.
However, when Zero stood at the peak and attempted to break through, he was shocked as a sentient storm formed above him.
Accepting his fate, Zero smiled as lightning descended upon him.
However, contrary to his belief, his body could survive 147 strikes, but just as the clouds started to break and he achieved the next realm, his cultivation shattered as the 148th bolt descended.
In return for over a thousand years of lifespan, he was spared by the storm, later named the Saint's Lighting Tribulation.
His disciples rushed to his side after noticing his failure, carrying his old body away from the tranquility pond where he attempted to cultivate.
Zero laid still for over a year, but under the unending care of his disciples, he awoke in time for his one-hundredth birthday.
His wise smile and knowing eyes were imprinted into his sect's mind on the day of his 100th birthday.
At this point, his body took the form of an older version of the Zero that shared Adrian's body.
During his final years, a smile never left Zero's face as he created a cultivation journal of his life, leaving his final cultivation method, the [Demonic Shadow Melody Art].
But leaving an inheritance wasn't the only thing he did as he created thirteen songs that would later be known as [The Immortal's Final Symphony].
In his final moments, his teary-eyed disciples and the world watched as he played his final rendition of his songs before collapsing as two bolts of hazy-purple lightning descended from the heavens.
At the age of one-hundred-twelve, the story of the Immortal Zero came to an end, or so he thought…
His soul was transferred into a collective of history known as Mythos, only for a portion of him to be awakened by Adrian, and the rest is history.
At that moment in Adrian's True Realm, Zero's cocoon cracked as a question sounded in the halls of the temple, "Whatcha Looken for?"