1 Chapter 1: Colder Than Ice

A bottle is thrown and shatters against a wooden wall.

"You call this booze!" A man shouts out with frustration. The man had a mean frown across his face. He had a tough exterior and a trimmed bear. His hair stood up almost like an afro, and he had a scar across the top of his nose.

No one bothered to approach the bothered man. They knew if they did, they would be in for a fight. The man was not the biggest but he was built enough that he could take a few punches. He was armed from head to toe with knifes sheathed all across his body. The armor he wore was not up to date, but it covered the upper part of his body. It was very light armor that allowed him to move quicker than the standard armor that everyone else wore.

"We're supposed to be keeping a low profile, Garo."

"Fuck that, Zero! This bald headed bastard is trying to cut us off," Garo barked back.

Zero shook his head slightly as he was sick of the whole thing. That's always how Zero's demeanor was. Zero and Garo were polar opposites. Zero wore custom made clothes while Garo wore clothes that were old and could have come from anywhere. Garo wore a long shirt under his armor, and his pants hung loosely. While Zero wore this blue and white attire that shined and glistened. His sword and armor were also top of the line. Everything about Zero screamed prestigious, and it showed from his custom made boots and white cape.

The bald headed man that Garo screamed at approached the two men. He stood hovering over the pair as Zero sipped on his drink.

"You've had too much!" The bald man snapped back at, Garo. "I could allow a famed swordsman such as Zero to drink as much as he pleases, but someone like you hardly deserves to even be in my bar. Finish you're last drink and leave."

"Fine I don't need this dingy ass bar anyway." Garo was right. The bar was dusty and the floors creaked with every step. The wood was decaying and breaking off in certain areas of the establishment. Even the windows were so dirty that you could not see out of it.

"Can you believe this? I get no respect," Garo mumbled under his breath to Zero. The bar owner had gotten fed up with, Garo. He had other matters to attend to and began cleaning a glass on the other side of the bar.

"Maybe because you don't deserve it," Zero said nonchalantly. "I deserve just as much as you do. I'm just as good as you," Garo retorts back.

"I beg to differ." "Oh, you want a rematch from last time. You do remember why you're here instead of at The Empire?" Garo grinned devilishly at the boast he had made.

Zero remembers that failure all too well. That failure caused him to be dismissed from The Empire. It was a place he had sworn to protect and serve. His old home that drug up horrible memories. Zero's mind wanders back many years ago, before he was in The Empire.

Dark smoke clouds the night and the smell of burning flesh is in the air. Sounds of flames crackle through the breeze and screams are heard out in the distance. Thunderous footsteps are heard as a group of soldiers march through the burning village. They all wore black metal armor as if there was a dark shadow amongst the flames.

A commanding voice is heard barking orders to the group. Although the voice is direct and stern, it has a slight soft tone to it. It happens to be a teenage girl who makes her way to the front of the soldiers marching. The girl's long dark black hair flowed in the wind as she gave order after order to her soldiers. She had these dark eyes that had a serious sinister tone to them. Even though her face had a furious look of determination to it, it also had his unique beauty as well. A beauty that every man in her army and around her recognized. She had on a military leather jacket and long black pants. A short sword dangled at her side as she walked with her boots that had a lot of wear and tear to them. She could have gotten new ones but she had grown accustomed to them, and they showed that she had been through the trenches more than once. Her hat had a symbol of the army she represents and leads. The symbol looked similar to a phoenix. It represented the fiery passion of her demeanor. She dressed differently to stand out and with good reason. These were her soldiers, and she wanted everyone to know that she commanded them.

The girl gives an order to bring the respected elder of the village before her. Minutes later the man is brought to the girl in the middle of the town. He kneels before her as the villagers look on with fear. Buildings burn in the background and faint cries are heard all around. Soldiers have circled around them to prevent anyone from escaping. It was a small poor village, but the people were kind and wholesome.

"I love what you did with the village. It's nice, but you had the chance to join The Empire and yet you refused. You got my message, did you not?" The old man lifts his bald head slightly shaking with fear. His body was scratched up and dirty. It resembled the rags of clothing he wore.

"Yes I did but." The old man is cut off by the girl. "And since that was the case I thought I'd come in person to see why. Now obviously when I come to any village things like this tend to happen. My men have a hard time controlling themselves." The woman grabs the old man by the neck and yanks him towards her. "Especially when they refuse me." The girl angrily shoved him back to the ground and stared back at him. The old man looked away to avoid contact with her cold dead eyes.

"Well let me give you a new offer. Before I do that I guess I should introduce myself. My name is Serena Hitame and I lead The Empire. "But you're just a girl... Not only that but one who is very young," the man said nervously.

"I see this is going to be a problem for you. You see, this little girl just destroyed your whole village." The girl voice now had a softer tone to it, almost calm like. "The new offer is this, instead of keeping your village and working for us, you can now join us or die. Your village no longer exists at this point."

The girl now directs her attention to the crowd and speaks with a forceful presence. "I know that is going to be hard for some of you to accept. After all, we are the ones who destroyed your homes and killed some of your people. I want you all to know that this would not have happened if your town leader had agreed to have you all join and work with us. The world is an evil place you see, and the only way to protect everyone is if we are all united under one nation."

"Please just let us be. We did not deserve this. We just wanted to live a life of peace, without interruptions from others. Please allow us to rebuild and," In a quick instant, in the amount of time it takes to take in a breath, Serena cuts the old man's head off. Blood sprays all over her, but her expression does not change. She has a blank look on her face. Her eyes show no remorse. "He never understood me," Serena mumbles to herself. The crowd looks on terrified, while mothers try to cover their children's eyes; others look away in fear and disgust.

"Soldier!"

"Yes ma'am," he replied back. He ran up to salute her and stood at attention. Every soldier in The Empire always addressed her this way.

"You organized the village into families like I asked?"

"Yes, just as you requested," the soldier remarked. "Bring me that old man's family right now. Women, children, doesn't matter. Just bring them all to me," she demanded.

The family is knelt down before Serena. The granddaughter of the deceased old man looks down at the headless corpse with tears in her eyes. She was dressed in similar attire as him. Her clothes were old and had many years to them. She had two sons who also wore clothes of the same standing. She bent her head down only revealing her blonde hair to Serena. The granddaughter was too frightened to look Serena in the face.

Serena shouts loudly into the crowd so everyone can hear her. She wants their undivided attention so that her message is clear.

"Listen up because I'm only going to repeat this once! The old man did not get my message, but the rest of you have a chance to save lives here! This is what is going to happen. I'm going to kill each person in that old man's family!"

Serena turns to her soldiers nearby her. "Soldiers! Make sure they all watch! Women and children as well! Do not let them cover their eyes! They must know that the empire is serious in our demands."

The woman speaks with a fear that makes her voice cracks. She stutters to get her words out. "P…. Please I have kids here. L…. Let them go at least. I…. I beg of you. Please don't hurt my children."

Serena pats the woman on the soldier, almost as if to calm her down."I understand that losing children can be hard to watch."

Serena quickly stabs her through her chest. The woman struggles to speak but nothing is able to come out. She pulls and tugs on Serena's arms before falling to the ground. "Hopefully you appreciate this mercy that I have given you. You won't have to witness their deaths now."

"Mom!" The two boys crawl over to their mom as the life drains from her body. Their knees were now covered in brown mud that matched their eye and hair color. Moments later she shuts her eyes as the boys wept and cried over her lifeless body.

"Now." Serena cuts down both boys with her sword. There are no signs of joy, anger, sadness, or remorse on her face. Serena face resembled someone who was just going through their daily routine.

Serena lifts her head to address the crowd again. "Everyone listen, I don't enjoy doing this but I need to make it clear that The Empire is the only answer in this world. As I look into each one of your faces I can see that some of you get it, but others may have still have a problem with what I have done here. This is what I'm going to. I will bring you all back to The Empire's base, and I will speak with each of you. If I like what I hear and you're willing to be loyal to the empire, then you will have a life where all of your needs are taken care of. If you're not willing to accept The Empire, then what happened to this old man and his family will happen to you and your family."

Serena turns her head to address her soldiers. "Round them up, we're leaving!"

The empire fortress is the biggest structure in the kingdom. Rectangular walls surround it and stand almost as high as the castles inside of it. There are plenty of stores and houses inside the walls. A variety of business for citizens to rent and trade with each other. Food and other necessities are usually taken care of, but some choose to make their own wealth. The draw bridge is lowered as Serena and her men on horseback walk through the gate. The town villagers are herded inside by the rear soldiers.

Inside the fortress a while later sits Serena on top of her throne. White tiles that have been cleaned spotless shine from the floor. The stone room is massive and is used to hold meetings and gatherings. A red rug leading from the door to Serena is spread on the ground as another villager exits the throne room.

"Send the next one in, "Serena said with a slouching demeanor. She had been doing this for a while now and it was beginning to tire her. The guard noticed this as well and was weary to bother her with any unnecessary news. He warned her cautiously about the next group of villagers.

"Ma'am these villagers really insist you talk to them in a group,"

"Fine I'm tired as hell anyway," Serena replied.

Three children wearing rags are brought in front of Serena's throne. On her throne sits a dragon like armrest. The dragon stared viciously back at the children. The back of the chair stood high up, almost standing over them. They each have on a potato sack like outfit covering their whole body. Shoes so worn down that they are almost coming off. There are two girls and one boy. The two girls look very similar, close to twins. Each of them has gotten a tan from being in the hot sun for hours. The boy was somehow able to remain his natural white color. Their black hair goes down to about their shoulders. One has her hair down while the other has it in pigtails. The boy had short black hair since it was unable to grow. His eye color was the same as his hair. You almost couldn't tell with all the tears that had formed in his eyes. The girl with the pigtails tries to comfort the boy. The other girl however stared angrily at Serena with piercing brown eyes.

"Well I can see the two of you would be great volunteers to join the empire, but the other girl doesn't seem as willing. Is she refusing the message I gave earlier?" Serena leans over tauntingly from her throne.

"Your men killed so many of our people." The girl continues to stare at Serena without a sign of backing down.

"Kelah, please," her sister said softly.

"No Carissa, I won't join her after what she has done."

"Please calm down," the boy interrupted. "I don't want them to kill you too."

Serena reaches for her sword. "It's too late for that I'm afraid."

Serena stands up with her sword in hand and walks over to them slowly. The room is dead silent. All anyone can hear is the sound of her footsteps as she closes in on the children.

"Please don't kill my sisters!" The boy cries out desperately. "I will do anything I promise!"

Serena raises her sword ignoring the boy's cries. She is prepared to strike the children down.

"We will do anything!"

Serena stops midway before the blow connected with one of the children. She slightly turns her head as the sword hovers over Kelah. "You're speaking for them now?"

The boy wipes his nose and face as he tries to gather his words. "Anything... I... I promise for them. Just let them live."

Serena looks up and down at the boy with a curious feeling in the back of her subconscious mind.

"I don't think you know what that means. You're too young to make that kind of decision. If it was just you I would consider it, but you can't speak for both of them.

"Didn't they say the same thing about you?"

Serena pauses for a moment with a shock. The boy didn't say that out of anger, although it almost sounded like it. It was out of sadness and desperation for his sisters, but that's not what caught Serena off guard. She was surprised that he came up with a logical reasoning for him to help his sisters. Serena had been told several times that she was too young to be on the front lines. That she would never be a leader at such a young age. Never mind the fact that she was a woman, but her age was a constant thing that men use to throw in her face. No one would dare do that now, but for the boy to think of that in that moment had surprised her. She had thought that he was too frightened, and he would just cry and beg for his sister's life.

"Are you speaking for them and not giving them a choice in this matter?" "Yes," the boy replied. "Whatever the empire wants, we will do it."

Serena lips form a slight grin. "I guess we can see if this will work out. If it doesn't, I can always kill you three later." Serena gently lowered the sword away from the children. She then turns her head to the guard at the door.

"Guard!" "Yes ma'am," he replied.

"Get these children fresh clothes and food. It doesn't seem like they've had a good meal in weeks. Clean them up as well. They look absolutely filthy."

Kelah begins to grind her teeth. "We don't need anything from."

Serena points her sword at Kelah cutting her off. The sword is about a short centimeter away from her throat. "Watch your tongue bitch. Your brother bought you some time. I suggest you not waste it right here and now."

Serena puts down the sword slowly and looks back at her guard. "Get them out of my sight. I still have other villagers to talk to."

Hours late the sun has set bringing on the dark cold night. The children have been cleaned up and lead to an average sized house. The house has been given to them to stay in. It has been kept up well and has three rooms in it. The children step through the wooden floor of the living room and into the kitchen. On the table they see a swarm of food on the table.

Carissa had a huge grin on her face. "Wow so much food sis."

Kelah crosses her arms and shakes her head. "I refuse to eat that slop. It could be poisoned for all we know."

The boy begins to cry startling the both of them. Kelah rose her voice at the boy "What are you crying for?" Kelah had gotten annoyed by it since she had been hearing it all day.

"I know you're hungry sis, and, and I just want you to eat. I, I don't want you to starve," The boy was stuttering now. Choking and slipping over every word.

Kelah lets out a slightly annoyed sigh. "Fine, I'll eat if you stop crying. I guess it wouldn't make sense for them to poison us if they could just kill us anyway."

The trio sits down and begins to feast on the food. There isn't much conversation going on. They are too busy scarfing down their meal. After eating the children go to bed. They each sleep in the same room because they had been used to it by now. The trio did not want to leave the other alone. They picked the biggest room to sleep in. The room was very basic. It only had an average sized bed, a small dresser, and a closet. This was fine for the children since the bed could fit each of them in it. After a stressful day it didn't take much for them to go to sleep. The only one that put up much of a fight in that regard was Kelah, but eventually even she could not keep her eyelids open.

The morning comes and the children are suddenly awakened. Not by the morning sun, but by the sound of guards kicking their bedroom door open. Serena shakes her head and walks inside accompanied by two guards. "That was unnecessary." "Sorry ma'am," he replied.

"Looks like you are all living comfortably. I'm glad The Empire could provide these accommodations for you all."

Serena scans the children and sees Kelah staring back at her with the same expression she had from yesterday. "I see Kelah still has that angry look on her face."

Serena looks over at her soldier standing beside her. "Have the other soldiers accomplished their mission? "Yes ma'am," he responded. "Take Kelah to them."

The soldiers grab her by the arm and begin to lead her away. "Let me go," Kelah puts up a small fight but it proves to be ineffective.

"Where are you taking my sister?" The boy cries out.

Serena looks at the boy with a stern expression "Do you have a problem with this? If you do I can get this over with right now. The deal was they would do anything The Empire asks of them. Maybe I wasn't clear the first time so let me repeat myself. Do we have a problem?" Serena stares at the boy with a cold gaze.

"No," the boy says meekly.

Serena slaps the boy sending him crashing to the ground. "From now on you say yes ma'am or no ma'am. I' am tired of the disrespect you children have shown me."

She gives the boy a quick glare and turns her back to him. "Both of you come with me. You have a lot of work to do."

Serena leads the boy and his sister to a field where a swordsman is standing with his arms crossed. The man wears an oval shaped straw hat as well as taped gloves. He is wearing a custom made kimono that shows his high standing in the empire. His long white beard dangles in the wind as it blows back and forth across his chest.

"This swordsman will train you and make you both into excellent soldiers. His name is Masuko, and he is one of the very best."

The boy looks on timidly as the girl stares at Masuko with a feeling of curiosity.

"I will leave you to it, Masuko. I have other matters to attend to."

Later that night in the throne room, Masuko kneels before Serena with his head down.

"So how did the children do?"

Masuko looks up at Serena who has her hand under her chin and her eyes closed. "Both have shown potential but one of them has really surpassed my expectations. I haven't seen such talent at that age since," He pauses and takes a breath. "Well, since,"

Serena cuts him off before he can finish. "Since me, hmm..... I'm a little surprised the girl had it in her"

"No it wasn't the girl. Though she has some potential, it's nothing compared to the boy," Masuko replied.

"The boy?" Serena pauses, Masuko words have caught her off guard. "He's weak and scared. How could I use that weakling in battle?" Serena's rage slowly begins to build while trying to hide it from, Masuko.

"This is true. He is weak right now, but if we could rid him of his emotions, he could become one of the strongest soldiers in the empire. I tested him thoroughly and the boy has great ability, but he worries too much about others. This causes him to hesitate and make mistakes. He could become a very valuable asset in time I believe."

Serena looks away and ponders the thought of what Masuko is implying. "I see," she whispers to herself.

In the children's house, Carissa and the boy are sitting at the kitchen table eating. They tried to wait on their sister but they had been starving after training all day.

"Kelah's still not here. I wonder where she could be."

Suddenly the front door cracks open and Kelah is pushed through the front door. She lands face first on the ground while two soldiers snicker behind her. "See you tomorrow slut." The men turn away laughing on their way out the door.

Carissa and the boy rush over to their sister to help her up.

"Kelah, what's wrong? Kelah, why are you crying? Kelah!" The boy begins to cry. He had tried to hold his tears back, but that wall he built up exploded in his chest. He knows Kelah doesn't like it, but he could not help himself.

Carissa looks on with a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach. "I've seen her cry before but not like this," Carissa whimpers out. She had seen her sister cry, but it was always out of rage. Kelah had never shown tears out of sadness or anything else. Although tears came down her cheeks, Kelah didn't speak a word. In her eyes showed hopelessness that the boy did not notice, but Carissa was able to see it clearly.

A week had passed and the boy is kneeling with his head down before, Serena. He is now dressed in The Empire's military garb. Serena looks at the boy with pride after hearing some great news about him.

"Masuko says you are becoming an excellent swordsman." "Yes ma'am," the boy replied.

"I want you to drop your name and come up with a new one."

The boy raised his head with a sudden shock. "Why?" The boy asked anxiously.

"Because it will help improve the empire," Serena said with a small grin.

"How?" The boy asked with a confused look.

"That will be made clear to you in time, but there is no rush. Take your time in choosing a new name."

The boy puts his head back down in confirmation. "Yes ma'am," said the boy.

"Good, in the meantime get back to your training. You have a lot of work to do."

Four years have gone by and this time Masuko is at Serenas side in her throne room. The room had just been emptied after holding a meeting.

Serena leans over to get closer to get closer to, Masuko. "Is he ready yet, Masuko?" "I'm not sure," Masuko replied. "The boy can easily fight and handle himself, but I'm not sure if he is ready to kill."

Serena looks down with a bit of disgust. "Well, I have an idea on how to fix that."

She looks at Masuko with an intense glare in her eyes. "I need to see him fight some of our soldiers. Set up a gauntlet that he can't complete. I want to see how far he can get." Serena ponders to herself on just how interesting this could be.

The next day the boy is already fighting in the arena. Dozens of citizens from the empire have appeared to watch this gauntlet. The arena is a huge circle from the outside. It has been made out of solid white stone that was built by the civilians in The Empire. In the center is where soldiers and gladiators fight. There are rows of benches that are occupied by the energetic crowd. High up on her throne perch sits Serena who looks on with amusement. Besides her stands Masuko who is looking in on the battle as well. He begins to contemplate on when to stop this as the boy cuts down another soldier with a non lethal blow.

Serena knows the boy has done well so far, but there is no way he should be able to complete this. If the boy was able to accomplish this, then even Serena may have a fight on her hands if they were ever to fight amongst each other. That would be the negative consequence of him completing this, but the positive would be the boy becoming a valuable piece for them. Serena knows he could help The Empire expand even more. Serena shapes a small smile at the corner of her mouth as the boy defeats another fighter.

The boy is breathing heavily since he is almost at his limit.

Masuko raises his hand to speak. "I think that is enough for today. Let's go ahead and." The boy shouts back to the top of the throne interrupting Masuko before he can finish. "No! I can keep going! Send the rest in!"

The boy bangs his chest plate armor in confidence. Sweat is coming from all over the boy's body, but he holds his sword tightly and with the upmost confidence.

"That's enough for now," Masuko replies back. "You are way too tired to..."

"Let him keep going," Serena interrupts. "If he says he can keep going then let him."

Masuko looks at her with a worried look. Serena does not look back but instead leans forward. She looks on desperately with anticipation to see what will happen. Masuko gives a hand signal to the guard to send the rest in.

The bared cage door from the side wall is opened and dozens of fighters are sent in. Each one was in fit shape and was experienced with a sword. All of them were rough looking. Some had scars while others just had bruises all over them. They charged at the boy with velocity. Leather armor was used for this expedition as they wanted to keep the standard equipment up to date.

As the boy watched them all come at him he began to think. In his mind everything had slowed down, almost to a standstill. In real time the men were coming at him quickly. They boy knew he wouldn't be able to take them all down individually. That's why he had to get Masuko to agree to let them all come after him at once. It was his only option to complete the gauntlet successfully. The longer this went on, the more difficult the more difficult this would become. The boy had studied each one of the men. He had studied almost all of the fighters that were in The Empire. Whenever the boy was free he'd watch all the men spar and practice. Although he hadn't spoken a word to any of them, he knew exactly what they would do. Studying and watching them all those days had prepared him for this moment.

The first couple of swordsmen in the front always start with a downward slash. It is a slow attack that the boy knows is coming. He leaps up to avoid the slash and slices each man in the hand. The attackers yell out in pain before the boy kicks them to the ground.

The boy does not celebrate this brief victory though. He is already contemplating his next move. He spots a group of swordsmen and knows that they usually start off the battle with a lunging thrust. The boy quickly sidesteps the first attack and knocks the fighter out with the hilt of his sword. The swordsmen are now taken off guard by what the boy has done. Hesitating against him proves to be unwise as he is on the bunch of them before they can react. The boy goes from one soldier to the next, hitting them in a variety of ways. Punches and kicks knock each member unconscious. They do their best to surround him but the many that were surrounding him are now a few.

Serena looks on as he finishes taking out the next few. "That was interesting," Serena whispers to herself.

Serena knew that the boy had to keep them all in a group. He couldn't let them spread out or they would be able to surround him. Had they had done that; the boy would have lost in a couple minutes. Even if he was able to think of the correct strategy, it still would have been difficult to pull off. This took amazing skill and intellect to accomplish.

Serena smiled with a sense of joy. This was not the slight grin she had always shown. Serena looked down at the boy with pride. Serena was trying to hold down her excitement as she addressed the boy

"Do you have one more in you?"

The boy breathes heavily as he kneels to the ground. "Yes ma'am," he replied.

The boy is dirty now with blood spots all over his clothes and sword. Serena covers up her smile. She does not want everyone to know the gleeful joy building inside of her. "Send him in!" Serena shouts to a guard.

The caged door opens again and a large man walks out from the dark shadowy room. The boy did not know how they could hide such a massive fighter in there with all those other men. The man stood at least over 7 feet tall. Muscles were bulging out of his metal armor that covered his whole body. He had on a helmet that only had a small slit opening for his eyes. He swung his club back and forth as he approached the boy. The club had a wooden circular shape at the top, and was as big as half the man's body.

"This man is fighting for his freedom," Serena said. "He has to beat you to join The Empire and walk free among our people again. He has disobeyed orders and this is his last chance to become a free man."

Serena stares at the boy with a fiery passion in her eyes. "Your goal as my soldier is to kill him. Do you understand?"

The boy looks back tentatively. He is about to open his mouth but before he can Serena stops him.

"Begin!" Serena shouts out.

The tall figure charges at the boy and swings his club down. The boy is easily able to dodge the blow. The man is very slow and the boy could easily end this. He didn't expect this to be this easy, but he hesitates before he launching an attack. The only way the boy can hit the man is with a fatal blow to the neck. That's the only opening he can find with all the metal armor he has on.

Serena beings to bubble with a rage from below. She knows this is an easy match and begins to become agitated when the boy won't finish him off.

The boy dodges another downward strike and raises his sword to retaliate. He pauses for a moment with a look of worry on his face.

"DO IT!" Serena screams out.

The boy hesitates for too long while the man swings his club in a horizontal motion. This strike connects with the boy's stomach and chest area. The blow sends him careening into a wall. The crowd that had been cheering through all his matches falls silent. The boy crumbles to the ground and attempts to stand up. He gets halfway to his feet before falling back down to the sandy and muddy ground.

The boy wakes up later and notices a sword pointing at him. He is on a bed that feels as solid as rock to him. It's an empty room made just for people who have sustained injuries.

Serena points the sword closer to the boy's face. "Did you go against my orders? Were you holding back? Why did you not kill him?" A look of disgust forms across her face.

The boy turns his head away from the sword. "I just lost," said the boy.

Serena sheathes her blade in utter disappointment. She knows that the boy is still not ready.

The boy had fallen back to sleep and now awakens to the moon shining down on him from the window. He begins to head home with his head down. Each step he takes hurts as this has been a mental and physical strain on his body. While walking home he spots the fighter he had fought earlier.

The fighter is leaning against a wall and had just come from a bar. His helmet is now off and you can see all his features. His goatee and eyes had the same brown muddy color as the arena those two had fought in. His hair dangled in the wind and swayed back and forth on his shoulders.

"Hey, you're that kid. I wanted to say thank you."

"Thank me?" The boy was puzzled by the man's words.

The man lets out a small chuckle. "Come on, we both know you could have killed me earlier. Thanks to you I've got a new chance at life, and I don't plan to waste it. The empire even gave me something I could not refuse. Man, when you're close to death that will definitely cheer any man up. Anyway, I just wanted to say thanks."

"Yeah no problem," said the boy. "I gotta hurry and get home though."

"Oh okay, I will see you around later. If you need anything though just let me know. I'll do whatever I can to help," the man said.

The boy returns home and opens the door gingerly. He sits his sword in the corner as he steps deeper into the house. "I'm back, anybody home?"

Carissa walks up to the boy with her head down. She now has on a lovely yellow flower dress. She had cleaned up nicely and her dress showed a ray of hope. Sadly her dress did not match her expression. The boy pauses for a moment and wonders why his sister is greeting him awkwardly.

Carissa lifts her head and stares at him angrily with tears in her eyes. "What's wrong with you?" The Boy asks. "Did you know?" Carissa replied.

"Know what?"The boy stared back at her with confusion.

A screeching yell comes from, Carissa. "What they were doing to her for all these years!" Carissa forms a balled fist with her arms hanging down.

"You mean if I knew Kelah was a prostitute before you did. You need to get over that. That was Kelah's choice. No one forced her into it."

Carissa began shaking in frustration. "You did when you agreed to that horrible deal! She hasn't spoken much since that night four years ago and now I know why. It's because of what they did to her. She... She had to service all those men from The Empire. They did things to her because of that damn deal. That's why she hasn't been the same since then. They took everything from her. Her pride, her courage, and it's all because of you. We used to think the names they called her were because we were just new to town. That they were just making fun of us, but it was really because of what they did to her. A couple of months ago she started speaking, but it took her this long to open up to me. She still can't even speak to you."

The boy looks on with a horrified look. "I….. I didn't mean to," the boys stammered.

The door cracks open and Kelah staggers in before collapsing. Her clothes had been torn and were barely hanging on to her.

"What did they do to you, Kelah?" Carissa yelled out.

Carissa holds her up as the boy scans her up and down. He sees strangled marks and bruises all over Carissa's body. Anger forms up inside the boy and he stomps over to his sword beside the door.

"Where are you going?" Carissa screamed out. "I'm going to fix this," the boy replied.

The boy had a mean scowl across his face. He opened the door to leave until Carissa distracted him again.

"You don't fix anything!" Carissa barked. "If I knew we would go through this then maybe we should have died all those years ago. It isn't worth this."

The boy turned to face, Carissa.

"Really? We have food now and a place to sleep." The boy said this with an awkward calmness.

"And you wanna go back to that pathetic life!" The boy screams out with a force that startles, Carissa.

"At what cost!" Carissa shouts back. "Just look at our sister. Why don't you just leave and go somewhere else?"

The boy turns his head in anguish and leaves.

The boy walks furiously in the rain heading toward, Serena. He is so caught up in his thoughts and emotions that he bumps into someone on the road. Coincidently it happened to be the fighter from earlier he met before he got home.

"Oh, hey what's up again," said the fighter. "Sorry I'm in a rush," replied the boy.

"Man you seem to always be on the move. You seem uptight man," said the fighter.

The boy smelled the man's breath and could tell he had been drinking. "You should relax a little bit after all the fighting. You know the empire gives girls to all the soldiers and fighters to have fun with. The one they gave me was a cute little thing. What was her name? Was it Kaylee, Kylee, oh I think it was, Kelah." The boy looked at the fighter with a blank face. Stunned to hear those words come out of his mouth.

"Yeah, Kelah was her name. They said I could do anything to her as long as I don't kill her. They say that she actually enjoys that stuff. We had a blast together. She didn't say much either. Just agreed I could do anything I wanted. I wonder who is raising these girls. Whoever it is they must be raising them for me."

The man lets out a crackling laugh as his beard shakes across his throat in the wind. "I would have offered her to you if I hadn't used her already."

The fighter lets out a sigh before continuing to go on. "Oh well, maybe next time. Anyway I'm off to the bar again. I'll catch you later sometime." The man walks away and off into the distance.

The boy drops his head as the rain begins to pour down. It was almost as if the heavens were crying for the boy. Whether it was tears of sadness or laughter didn't matter to him. He knew it was because he didn't kill that man that he was allowed to do those things to his sister. As much as he would love to fault that fighter, he squarely puts the blame on himself. In that rain the boy makes a vow to himself and his sisters. He can't change the mistakes he has made in the past, but he can shape the future. The boy would cut them off from his emotions and stay away from them. He would from this moment on help them from a distance since getting close to them has hurt them. The boy shudders from the rain and cold. The rain to the boy seems colder than usual. He thought it was colder than ice.

Serena is in her room with her white gown on. Her bed is a huge circle that crowds the middle of her gigantic room. All white tiles look back at her as her reflection is shown from her huge window. Outside her window sits a perch where she can step out and look down at the citizens of The Empire.

A knock suddenly occurs at her door. Serena walks towards it with her white gown dragging along the tiles. Serena grabs each of the knobs of her doors and slightly opens them.

"What is it?" "It's the boy from the gauntlet ma'am," said the guard.

"Tell him I'm busy. I don't have time for his foolishness."

"It will only take a minute," a voice says in the background.

Serena opens the door a little more to see the boy behind the guard. The guard is taken back by the surprise.

"How did you get past the other soldiers?" "I just knocked them out," replied the boy.

"How dare you," said the guard furiously.

Serena was agitated by the boy but he never has come to her without being asked. She was still upset with him but this piqued her curiosity "Leave us; this is obviously something that can't wait."

The guard leaves while the boy steps into the room.

"So what did you want?" "I'm ready," said the boy.

"What does that mean?"

"I'm ready to do whatever it takes to become the most valuable asset for the empire," said the boy

Serena did not know if the boy was serious. She titled her head in interest "Oh, is that so?" "Yes, I just want to ask for one thing," the boy relied.

"What is it?"

"Why did you do that to Kelah all those years ago?"

"Oh that." Serena walks over and sits on the bed.

"That was because she would not cooperate or listen. You see….. I've seen that look in people's eyes before. Hitting and torturing her wouldn't remove that look. I needed to find some way to make her respectful, or at least put her in a place so she would not become a nuisance to The Empire. I could have just killed her, but I did tell you that I was giving this a shot. It seemed to work before on all the other girls that had that type of mouth and spirit she had."

Serena crosses her legs and puts her hands on her knee. "If I have to break your will for you to fall in line then I will. There are murders, rapist, and criminals all over The Empire, but they have their uses. They may become a soldier or give us other necessities we may need. Yet they know better than to do that to one of our citizens. As for people on the outside of The Empire or people who need to be disciplined, well they are a different story. I keep all the useful monsters in my employ because they serve me well. Any evil act will be allowed as long as it doesn't harm anyone or anything in The Empire."

Serena was talking and looking at the boy as if this was a normal conversation that she would have with anyone. There were no words of sorrow. She was just stating facts to the boy.

The boy looks back at her with an expressionless face "what if they do the same things to your people?"

"If they harm my citizens then they will be dealt with. You can trust me on that. I keep the monsters in check to serve and they know damn well not to get out of line. As for your sister, it was a onetime thing. She fell in line very quickly after that. I didn't expect her to take on that career path but it was her choice."

"I see," said the boy. "One last request and then the empire will own me." "What is it?"

"The empire has taken care of us when we were poor and starving and had no place to go." The boy stares into Serena's eyes with the same fire she had shown him long ago.

"From this moment on I will become that valuable piece you always wanted to have. I only ask that all my earnings go to my sisters. That they live a wonderful life even if I'm dead. That The Empire will take care of them no matter what."

"That sounds fine to me," said Serena.

"I know you wanted me to pick a name to get rid of my attachments as well," said the boy. "I always knew that was your goal and I put it off for the longest, but I finally have a name now."

"And what is it?"

"From this moment on my only connection to my sisters will be financially. They can live as lavishly as they want, but that is the only involvement I will have with them. I will have zero accomplices, zero friends, zero family members, and zero attachments. Thus I will be called Zero from this day forward," the boy proclaims.

"Zero sounds great to me." A small smile comes across the face of Serena. "Is there anything else?"

"For me, no," said the boy. "But were your orders to still kill the fighter from earlier." The small smile from Serena became huge when the boy said that.

The fighter stumbled back into his small dark house. He fumbled to find a candle since his house was located in an area of town that was pitch black. Eventually he is able to find one and lights it on this cold dark night. The moment he does Zero appears from out of the darkness.

"It's you again. How is it...?" Before the fighter can finish Zero unsheathes his sword and stabs him quickly in the chest. Zero turns the sword slowly as the fighter tries to pull it away.

"Why….. Why are you doing this?" He pleads to Zero as his blood continues to drop to the floor. Zero removes his sword as the fighter collapses o the ground. Zero pulls out a cloth and wipes the blood from his sword.

"I'm doing this for the empire," Zero says softly.

Years later, a woman dressed in a white hooded robe is brought into the Throne room. She is carrying a baby who is covered with a blanket. Serena stares at the woman with disappointment before glancing at Zero with a calm, yet cheerful expression.

"I'm glad you were able to find this traitor, Zero. Are you sure she only has a child that is related to her?" "Yes ma'am," Zero replied."Our soldiers killed off the rest of her family when we took over her village. The child is all that remains."

"Please….. I'm sorry," the woman begs. "

"Why have you betrayed the empire? Serena refused to give the girl any emotion. She always spoke in a normal tone when she gave out discipline.

"It was a mistake. I was angry and... Please forgive me," the woman pleads.

The woman starts breathing heavily. The words she had spoken have been a struggle to get out. Her body becomes numb with fear. Serena sighs and closes her eyes. She pauses for a moment before she speaks. "The empire has strict rules against this. I hate to do this but an example must be made."

Serena looks over at Zero and speaks his name. "Yes ma'am," Zero replies.

Zero walks over calmly to the woman who looks up at him with tears in her eyes. He takes the baby from the woman who put up a small but insignificant struggle. The baby cries out defiantly and starts kicking and screaming

"No... Please take me instead," she says softly.

"Sorry we can't tolerate betrayals in the empire." Serena glances at Zero and calls his name again.

"I'm sorry, please take me instead!"

Zero pulls out a blade and holds it over the baby. He looks over at Serena who nods her head. After getting the signal Zero thrust the blade into the baby's chest. The cries of the baby have become mute.

The woman kneels down with a look of defeat in her eyes.

"Don't worry, I do believe in mercy. You won't have to live with this tragedy," said Serena.

Zero pulls out the blade from the baby's chest. Then he drops the body and walks over to the mother. She doesn't say a word, but she raises her head and looks up with hopelessness. As soon as he sees that look Zero decapitates the woman.

"No hesitation, that's good," said Serena. The guards begin cleaning up the bodies in the background as their conversation goes on.

"The name they are calling you makes sense, the cold and calculating swordsman of ice."

"It's just a name the soldiers have made up," Zero replied coldly. "It doesn't seem to annoy you," Serena replied back. "It was logical and made sense."

Zero wipes off his blade and walks over to Serena side. Zero has passed all off Serena's expectation. She did not see the turnaround happening and couldn't be more proud of her work.

"I have one more mission for you to carry out. I need you to take care of this religious village. It appears that they are refusing our deal and putting their god before The Empire. That is something we cannot tolerate. I want you to teach them that The Empire is their only savior."

Zero nods his head. "Understood."

Days later the battle is already taking place. Villagers are getting slaughtered and it's very similar to The Empire's attack on Zero's village. The church is where the women, children, and elderly are being held. It is a tall structure that stands out in the town. A couple of the pastors are trying to calm things down in the church. They take the lead in this hectic time to hopefully save some lives.

"Get them to safety. There is a tunnel that leads out of town. Get the children down there first. Hurry there isn't much time!"

The pastor has on a buttoned black shirt and black pants. Dark black eyes match his black shoes. He has short grey hair that is now covered in sweat. The pastor is trying to hide his nervousness from the group so he can assure them that everything will be ok.

Another pastor dressed in similar attire yells out. "They are starting to get through the door!" The door had been barricaded but it won't hold for much longer.

"Reinforce the door with whatever we can find. Get the children down into that tunnel and hurry!"

Minutes later the door is broken down and Zero steps through the debris. Followed behind him are soldiers from The Empire. "Surround them," Zero said calmly to a soldier at his side. "Yes Sir!"

After the soldiers have gathered all the people in a circle, Zero steps out from the circled troops.

"Where are the children?" Zero looks directly at the pastor. He had put together that he was the one who was leading this group. It couldn't be the elderly or the women because they wouldn't know the ins and outs of this structure. It had to be one of the pastors who would know a good hiding spot. The other one was too frightened and could barely speak. Zero was easily able to rule him out. Although the other one was quiet as well, he gave off a rather bold aura. The pastor looked back at Zero with determined eyes.

"Won't say I see, that's fine." Zero begins to pace back and forth.

"My men have determined the only place they could be is in this building. We haven't come across any children in the village so far. The fact that this place was heavily guarded means it's only logical you would protect something here. You proved that out for me when I found the elderly and women in here. Guessing you didn't have time to get them out and could only save one group. That one group had to be the children, which is why they are not here. They must have taken an escape route somewhere in here."

Zero looks at a soldier and calls him over. "Tell half our forces to expand out even farther and find them. They must have a location that they are trying to get to. A place where they would be safe at. Find them before they get there."

"Yes sir," the soldier replied.

"Why do this? They are just children. They can't harm you," said the pastor. "They may grow up and rise up against The Empire and we can't have that."

Zero calls over another soldier who comes running to him. "Execute the rest of them and let's finish this."

"Please!" the pastor cries out. "I will happily give my life if you let the rest go. All we do is worship the lord and."

Zero cuts the man off by stabbing him through the throat. "That is why you all must die. The only thing you are allowed to worship is The Empire." Zero looks at the soldier with an icy cold glare. "Kill them all," he says calmly.

The soldiers begin slaughtering them as Zero walks away. His footsteps are muted through the screams of villagers being murdered. He walks out to the group of soldiers gathered in front of the church and takes in a deep breath. "Let's find this hidden path. Search everywhere, our orders were to execute everyone and we shall.

A little while later a group of children are hiding in the bushes. A girl and boy amongst them have a quiet conversation.

"Should we try and sneak out?" "No," replied the boy. "They have to give up sooner or later."

The bushes begin to rustle a little bit before Zero pops out from the bushes. "That plan might have worked against someone else leading this mission." The children try to scream but are frozen in fear. In that instance Zero starts slaughtering the children one by one.

Later, the men begin leaving the village that has been burned to the ground. Through the rubble pikes stick out with the heads of the villagers on top of them. It serves as a warning for any other village that disagrees with The Empire.

Later in the throne room, Zero kneels before Serena to report in. "Is it done?" "yes ma'am, Zero replied."

"Excellent," Serena said with a slight grin.

Zero rises and bows, then begins to walk away. "One more thing, Zero." He stops instantly and turns around to face, Serena. "Yes ma'am," Zero replied. "We have finally been able to track down a young man who has been able to escape our grasp. The boy is very intelligent. He reminds me a little of yourself. I want him and his siblings executed."

"Yes, ma'am," Zero replied. "Oh one more thing, Alexander will accompany you on this mission."

Serena calls out to him and he begins to walk into the throne room. He is covered in light military armor from his neck to his feet. He wears a black and red cape. The red cape color matches his hair which goes down to his shoulders. A nicely trimmed goatee made you think he was sophisticated, but he was the exact opposite. Red flaring eyes stared at Serena and Zero.

The man lets out a snickering evil laugh that echoes through the throne room. "Killing and slaughtering some kids, huh. I couldn't ask for a better time." Zero looks away in disgust as he exits the throne room.

The next day, Zero has cornered the boy and his siblings in front of a tree. All three of the siblings are hurdled together. They had tracked them through the forest. It wasn't easy and it led them on a wild goose chase, but now they were out of options. All three of them looked very similar to Zero and his siblings. They were almost an exact copy. Zero raises his sword to strike them down.

"Please don't kill us. I will do anything!" "That is no longer good enough for the empire," Zero said.

"We will do anything!" Zero was ready to strike until he heard that. He paused for an instance until he finally brings the sword down and kills the boy.

"Brother!" The girl screamed at the top of her lungs. Before she can speak again Zero takes care of the other boy's siblings.

Alexander emerges from behind a tree with a grin stretched across his face. "I managed to overhear that. If you took them back after telling Serena what he said, she might have given them another chance." Alexander begins to giggle while trying to hold back his sickening laughter. "Was that actually sympathy on your part?" "I was just following orders," Zero replied.

Zero sheathes his blade and begins to walk away. Alexander begins to make a sickening laugh that annoyed Zero tremendously. "Of course it was, Swordsman of Ice Zero."

A couple of days later a man is staring at the empire from a cliff. He is looking at the layout to see where he can sneak into. The man looking down at the empire happens to be, Garo. He is thinking to himself that it is time to go find his woman. That her knight in shining armor has arrived.

Garo sneaks into the empire after taking out a swordsman with a poisoned knife. He couldn't land a killing blow, but he dipped that blade with enough poison to knock him out instantly. The knife just happened to graze him which was all he needed to do. Garo couldn't afford to use his deadlier poisons since he may need that for an upcoming battle.

Garo silently sneaks through the fortress and is able to see the throne room from the hall. He ducks behind a wall after he sees two guards guarding the door. The guards are both chubby and out of shape. Most of the more skilled warriors were inside. Those guards were mainly there just in case Serena or the higher up officials needed something. They are both covered in armor from head to toe. Both of them are about the same height and both are carrying spears. After Garo assess the situation he begins to walk up to them.

"How did he get in here?" One of them shouts out angrily "Who the hell knows," the other one said. The other one really was just bothered that he had to do some work. "Look at how he is dressed. How the hell did someone like that stumble in here?" The other guard yaws before finally speaking. "Get out of here. You don't want to upset, Serena."

"Serena," said Garo. He began to approach the guards. "Never heard of that bitch." Garo begins to grin closes in on them

"How dare you insult our leader? You will pay for this." The guard takes a fighting stance to prepare for combat.

Garo is taken back slightly with surprise and excitement. "Oh, you really think you can beat someone like me?" Garo pulls out knifes from his sleeves.

"Like we would lose to you," the other guard proclaimed. "A weak person like you could never stand against a soldier from The Empire."

"You know I had to sneak around here but now that the leader is right inside, I will finally be able to kill someone. This is gonna be fun." A Devilish smile appears on Garo's face.

Inside the throne room is Zero, Alexander, Serena, and a group of Empire members. They are all gathered around a table and are going over their next mission strategy.

Serena leans over towards Zero. "What are your thoughts Zero?" "First we take out their horses so we can cut off any attempts at an escape. Then….." Zero is interrupted by a knock on the door.

"What is it guard? Serena barks out in anger.

The door creeps open slightly and an eerie feeling comes across the room. A decapitated head appears through the crack of the door, and a high shrieking voice comes from behind it. "Hi ma'am, I thought I was a good guard capable of defending this place. That was until I met this badass named, Garo. I thought I was so strong until he kicked my ass. Now I'm dead and my life is over. I had kids and a family, now their screwed. And it's all because of this badass handsome man named."

"Enough!" Serena pounds the table in frustration.

Garo enters the room while holding the head. "You're no fun," garo says sarcastically. He tosses the head aside as he makes his way towards the group. "Take care of him soldiers!" Serena barks out.

A couple of soldier's race toward Garo with their swords unsheathed. Garo begins to laugh as he pulls out more knifes from his sleeves. "This is great. I get to add to the body count."

Garo knifes are extremely sharp. They are capable of cutting a man's head off with ease. This is displayed on the pair who can't even land a blow on, Garo. He dodges all of their attacks and easily decapitates them, then he slowly approaches Serena. His grin remains as he steps closer.

"Anyone who adds to my body count must be a heck of a leader."

"Yes!" Alexander screams out. "Finally someone who understands me."

Serena examines the man up and down and can see he is no ordinary person. She can tell he has a lot of skill. Those soldiers he took out weren't lackeys. They were at the very least, capable soldiers. "What is it that you want?"

"I wanna know where my women Sefa is," Garo replied "I've come to save her because you know, I'm the romantic type and all that shit."

Serena begins to get annoyed by Garo's attitude. "Why would I do anything you say?"

"If you don't then I'll just keep killing your soldiers until I get to you." Garo points the blade at Serena with a look of excitement. "Then we can have a real heart to heart. I thought I'd try to talk it out with you first though."

"Talk….. You just killed two of my soldiers. Garo was starting to really get under Serena's skin at this point, and her face almost showed it.

"I said I'd try." Garo smirks at Serena with a gleeful look of defiance.

Serena thinks the man could be insane, but he isn't a dummy. He was able to sneak into here unnoticed and make it all the way up to her. He planned to corner Serena and force the information out of her. A good plan if Serena was not a capable fighter.

"I'll tell you what Garo. If you are able to defeat my swordsman of Ice Zero, then I will gladly give you the information you seek."

A huge smile appears on the face of, Garo. "Oh, if Sefa wasn't my girl then you would definitely be mines. I love that you keep giving me people to kill."

Alexander frowned at that idea. He believed he should be the one to fight, Garo. "With all due respect ma'am, I'm the one who should fight him. He is my type of opponent." An evil grin forms on Alexander's face. "I know we will have all types of fun mutilating each other." "No, it must be Zero," Serena replied. Alexander crosses his arms defiantly as Zero steps forward.

Zero unsheathes his blade. He has had the same expression ever since the man has entered the room. No emotion, just a blank gaze on his face. "Are you ready?" "Yes ma'am," Zero replied.

"Do not fail me again. You have lost to someone like him before. We agreed that if it happened again that you would leave The Empire." "I understand," Zero said.

Zero knows that wasn't much of an agreement as it was an order. It doesn't matter to him now though. He is ready to take care of this nuisance and get back to business. He takes a fighting stance in preparation for battle. Both hands grip the blade tightly as he prepares to attack. "Begin," Serena commands.

Garo runs at Zero awkwardly. He flails his arms and limbs and unleashes confusing attacks that take Zero off guard. Zero is able to block them and kicks Garo away.

"Who taught you how to fight? You have no fighting style whatsoever. You just wield it like a wild maniac." Zero actually begins to show signs of frustration. Disgusted by the disrespect Garo was showing him. Something he has not shown since he lost on that one day to Alexander. The day Serena was furious with, Zero. She ordered him on that day to never lose to that type of opponent again.

"Shut up and fight!" Garo barks back trying to reel in the excitement flowing within him. Garo continues to attack wildly. He is not even feeling his opponent out. He is just trying to hit Zero anywhere he can. Zero blocks all of his strikes from different sorts of angles. Zero can't figure out why Garo is so desperate to hit him. Most of the blows wouldn't even be fatal. The damage would only be minimal. Why tire himself out if he can't land a deadly blow. Zero parries one of Garo's knifes and sends it across the room. This makes Garo leap back to reassess his next move. Suddenly it dawns on Zero why he was attacking him like that.

"So you're not as reckless as I thought." Garo stares back at him with confusion wondering what he could mean. "You were trying to poison me this whole time. One hit would have been all you needed to either kill or paralyze me, or whatever other poison you had in mind.

Garo begins to let out a joyous laugh that fills the throne room. "This is amazing. I didn't think anyone would figure that out. I' am really gonna have to decide if I should kill you or not."

Garo stands proudly with confidence to let him know who he is. "Yes, I am known as Garo, the swordsman of poison.

"The only one who is dying is you," Zero proclaims. "I cannot lose while serving The Empire."

"Oh shut up." Garo's prideful look now sinks into disappointment. "It's a shame you're someone's bitch who gets bossed around all the time. You're supposed to be a badass but you're just a puppet. I gotta say one thing though. You're fast, a lot faster than I thought you would be. Too bad for you, I know someone who is a lot faster. These scars are a reminder of that."

Zero grips his blade tightly. Those words have agitated him a bit. "Enough, time to end this. With no weapon you don't stand a chance." Zero races towards Garo who is able to deflect the strike with two blades he had hidden in his pants.

"More tricks I see," said Zero. "Whatever works," Garo replied.

Garo begins to retaliate but Zero is still able to block him again. Zero notices Garo has taken a fighting stance. "Getting desperate?" "Just having fun," Garo replied with a smile.

Each man begins to attack and block the other. Neither wants to give up an inch. Zero lands a slashing strike across Garo's chest that goes through his armor. He follows that up with another blow across his arm. This makes him drop a blade which distracts him long enough for Zero to kick the other one out of his hand. Garo kneels and looks towards the blade that flies out of his hand. This allows Zero to kick him in the face that sends him towards the ground. A couple more stomps and kicks have Garo laid out lifelessly on the ground. He tries to stand back up but Zero just replies back with another kick. Zero points his sword at Garo with a triumphed glow about him.

"As I said, the only one who is dying is you."

He stands over Garo as he is about to deliver the final blow. As he raises his sword, Garo spits a dart into his neck. Zero's sword instantly becomes heavier causing him to drop it he drops it. His legs become wobbly and he struggles to hold his balance. "What….. What is this? Why is it so hard for me to move?"

Garo was saving that dart for the man who gave him those scars. He wanted to save it, but he had it prepared just in case. He slipped it into his mouth during that back and forth fight with, Zero. It's why he had become so quiet during that altercation. He didn't want Zero to notice what he had done. Garo begins to slowly rise to his feet.

"This fight is over," Serena proclaims. "I can still fight," Zero said defiantly.

"Oh really,?" Garo said with a smirk. Garo punches him to the ground and then gets on top of him. He then begins to punch him repeatedly before he finally gets off him. Garo breathes heavily and finally gets off of him.

He now directs his attention to, Serena. "Ok….. I think I'm done. I had to get him back for the ass whooping he was giving me. Anyway, like I was saying I wan…." Garo pauses as he notices Zero slowly making his way to his feet. He leans on his sword to keep himself from falling down. "I….. I can still fight," Zero said.

Garo is amazed by the resolve Zero has. It shouldn't be possible for him to stand up after the poison and beating he has been through. Although he is taken off guard by this, Garo knows that enough is enough. He kicks the sword from Zero causing him to come crashing back down to the ground. "Quiet now the grownups are talking," Garo said sarcastically.

He looks back at Serena with a serious expression. One he has not had since he arrived here. "Where is my girl?"

"Well I am a woman of my word," Serena said. She is disgusted by the outcome of the fight. She had so much more plans for Zero but he had disappointed her again. "Your woman is no longer with The Empire. I have tried tracking her down myself but I can't find her."

A look of shock and confusion comes across Garo's face. "So you're telling me this was just a waste of time and I came out here for nothing!"

Serena turns her attention towards a defeated, Zero. "As for you Zero, you are no longer part of The Empire." "I can still be useful," Zero replied.

"Not anymore," Serena snaps back. "You lost again and you learned nothing from that time you faced off against, Alexander. You aren't even being logical anymore. You believe you can still fight when it is clear to everyone that you are incapable of doing so. Garo could still decide to kill you if he wishes, but I have no further use for you. I just want you out of my sight. I will keep the deal I had with you when it comes to your sisters, but you are no longer welcomed here.

Guards escort Garo and Zero out who are both too injured to fight back. "Hey! Don't shove us." "Silence," proclaims a guard. "You're lucky she is letting you leave here with your life. You're one of the few lucky ones. Never get in the way of The Empires goals again and you may live long enough to hit old age." The guards close the gate behind them as Garo stares back at them with a pissed off look.

"Bastards," Garo said under his breath. He turns towards Zero who is starting to walk a little better. The poison is just now beginning to wear off.

"So what's next for you?" "Serena is no longer fit to rule The Empire," Zero replied. "Kicking someone out with my skills makes no sense."

"So it's about revenge?"

"No it's about what's right for The Empire. I gave my life to The Empire, not Serena. I' am a useful solider and if she can't figure that out, then she is the wrong person to lead The Empire. It will not succeed with her so I will eliminate her."

A delighted smirk forms on the side of Garo's mouth. "Oh that sounds like a bloodbath. So many people are going to die. I'm definitely interested in helping you achieve that."

Zero looks back at Garo with a confused look. "How could you possibly help me?" "Because I'm Garo Isuku," Garo replied. It's a name that Garo doesn't tell mention to everyone. Some wouldn't believe him even if he said it, but the Isuku name is known throughout the land. It's a name Zero recognizes easily.

"From the Isuku family," he replied. "The one and only," said Garo.

"So you have men and resources at your beck and call?" Um, not exactly," Garo said with a slightly disappointing tone.

"What do you mean then?" "My family kind of disowned me," said Garo. "You're useless," Zero replied.

Zero begins to walk away from, Garo. "Hey, where are you going?" "Away from you," said, Zero.

Garo races after him. "Awe don't be like that. I can still take you to meet my brother, Ty. He was the heir to the family throne last time I checked."

Zero pauses and turns around. "I knew that would get your attention. You're probably gonna need someone like me to convince him if you want his help." Zero takes in a long breath before exhaling. "Just lead the way."

All of this happened in a short instance in Zero's mind. Flashing back to how he got here in this run down bar. He looked back at Garo with an icy cold stare. "Yeah I do know why I'm here," said Zero. "It's because of Serena's foolish decision. A decision that will cost her."

The bar owner comes back over to Garo and Zero while still cleaning out one of the glasses a customer had used. He stares down Garo with an angry glare.

"Okay that's it. I can't have you both drinking all the alcohol." "I know you got more booze so pout it," Garo retorted back.

The bar tender pounded the glass on the table in frustration. "I said that was your last drink so get out!" Garo pulled out a blade from his buckle and stood up to confront the bar tender. "You got a problem bastard!"

Zero just leaned back in his chair. He was slightly annoyed by the current events, but he was refusing to let what was happening get under his skin. "He might be trying to prevent you from attracting alcohol poisoning," Zero said.

"I'm the swordsman of poison. I'll be fine. I can easily drink more," Garo replied. "I don't care if this bastard dies. If he keeps running his mouth I may just kill him myself," said the bar tender.

Garo pointed the knife closer to him after hearing those remarks. "What did you say!"

Zero pulled on Garo's sleeve in order to get his attention. "I'm sure this bar owner has plenty of guards in here," Zero whispered.

"So, we can easily take them," "Not in the state we are in," Zero replied back. "We've been drinking a lot. Also I think it would be better if we did not cause a scene." Garo pouted and was disappointed in Zero's words. He was ready for a fight but did not feel like arguing with Zero.

"Fine we're leaving." Garo and Zero both get up and begin to walk out.

"And don't come back!" The bar tender shouted. Garo's head spun around quickly with a burst of anger. "Oh, we'll be back you old bastard!"

When Garo turned back around to leave a couple of guards we're blocking the way. All had on metal armor from neck down. You could see their black goatee's which were wet with booze. They each had long hair that went down to their chest. Both had swords holstered to their hips just in case anything went down. They were both tall and muscular, and stood over Zero and Garo.

Their grey eyes looked back at them both with anticipation. "Is there a problem here?" one of them asked. "No, we we're just leaving," Zero replied.

Zero and Garo leave as the two men stare at them. An awkward feeling oozed in the air, but the men decided not to make a move. They both instead walked over to the bar tender. The bar tender leaned over the counter to get closer to them. "Go teach them a lesson," he whispered.

Garo and Zero both continue on their path. It is a cold night in the town that they had stopped by. A slight fog stretches through it as the moon shine downs on the pair. Zero is able to walk fine but Garo is limping and staggering around. "Can't believe they kicked us out,'' Garo slurred.

Zero kept on moving at the same pace while Garo struggled from behind. "We need to keep moving anyway. We need to find this brother of yours," Zero replied.

"Hey!" A voice shouted out in the distance. The sudden echo stops both Garo and Zero in their tracks. They both turned around to see the guards from the bar. Each had their sworn drawn ready for combat. The pair of guards had a devilish grin stretched across their face. "Our boss told us to teach you a lesson."

Zero put his hand on his sword in preparation for battle. "You both really think you can challenge me?" The alcohol had made them brave, but Zero's words made them rethink their plot when it came to him. Their courage was beginning to fade as they both started to shake.

"We really just wanted to teach that guy a lesson, Zero."

Zero takes his hands off his blade and begins to walk to the side of the road. "If you think you can then go ahead."Zero sits down on a crate next to a wall and begins to rest his eyes.

Garo withdraws a couple of knifes and a look of disappointment creeps in. Garo takes in the cold night air and breaths it out. He is used to this feeling. The feeling of people looking down on him and thinking very little of him. Garo plans to teach these men that they have made a huge mistake.

"You fear him but not me." Garo disappointment now transforms into happiness. "You're going to experience true fear." Garo points his blades back at the guards. "Prepare to face the swordsman of poison, Garo! And when we are done, I guarantee I you will know what real fear is."