Zero quietly opened the door of his house, trying not to wake his mother. It was already late at night.
When he entered, his gaze stopped at the table set with his favorite dishes. His mother was sitting behind him, smiling but with tears in her eyes.
That's right, it's his birthday today ....
- I knew you always keep your promises, - she said in a quiet, joyful voice.
- Mom, I'm home again... - Zero uttered, feeling his heart clench in his chest. He touched his face and a tear flowed from it. The feeling was so unusual, so profound.
- Well, now happy birthday ! - she said with a smile, getting up from her chair.
The mother hugged her son, and in that instant Zero felt the warmth of her embrace, as if all his worries and doubts had vanished into thin air. They sat down at the table and Zero briefly told her how his training had gone.
- It went well, - he said, trying not to go into detail, - You know what I'm capable of.
His mother nodded, realizing that if Zero was saying something, it was for a reason, and it was for the best.
- I haven't been sitting idle either. I've already hunted weak mutants, earned a few points, - she added proudly, - Now I know how the system works, and I've started raising money for good weapons and equipment.
- Are you serious ? - Zero was surprised. - Mom, it's dangerous.
- I know, but I want to be ready if something happens. Besides, the mutants were weak, they were left by the high ranking ones on purpose for people like me.
Zero smiled, feeling his mother's concern become even more important in his life. He knew that he would always protect her.
At this time at the SON headquarters, a special unit was actively working on the 'Project Megalodon'.
All the analysts were reviewing data and formulating various theories about the secret force that was destroying the mutants. AVI's artificial intelligent system was working in the background.
- How's it going ? - Arco asked, looking up from the virtual screen displaying graphs and numbers.
- Nothing, absolutely, there was something, but what ... - answered one of the technical department, with obvious disappointment in his voice.
- Aggh, go ahead, - Arko said, disconnecting the connection. His patience was running out, but he knew that as long as AVI was working on this issue, there was still hope for success.
As he left the office, Arko felt the need to stabilize the country. People were panicking, news of phantoms disappearing and new mutants spreading faster than he could control it.
- Aggh, what a rough day, - he said, furrowing his brow. - I'm going to go blow off some steam...
He headed to the Phantom training center, wanting to unload his head and prepare to face the newbie Phantoms.
The next morning, Zero woke up and watched the news while sitting on the couch.
Today was his birthday. Even though his mother congratulated him and gave him a present, he felt no joy. Zero had always been skeptical of celebrations.
- People are so strange, - he thought, - they say there's only one day like this in your life, but in fact every day is unique.
Zero knew he needed to tell his mother about his plans. It wasn't going to be easy. He had trained his body, gained strength, and now his task was to form the correct body structure and train his neurons with the 'Absolute Training Method'.
- But the time frame... ten Earth years, - he muttered to himself, resting his head on his hand, - How do I tell my mother that I need ten years ?
The thought made him uneasy.
- Now that's a real challenge ! - Zero exclaimed, getting up from the couch, - We have to analyze everything first.