"It was this dichotomy of one's perspective towards a child that could drive a parent insane." ― Marie Montine (Arising Son: Part One)

* * * *

The sun had dipped low in the sky, brushing the horizon with a wash of gold and pale amethyst, the light fractured across the surface of the sea like glass shards caught in the final light of day. The air was still, not silent, but expectant. Like the world itself was holding its breath.

The fifth day had come quietly, wrapped in a deceptive peace that unsettled the air.

Aegis's boathouse had been slowly making its way eastward along the forgotten waters, navigating not by navigation systems—long since wiped of this place, but by the faded pages of dusty old maps, ink smudged from age and handling, deciphered only by patient eyes and steady hands.

In the control room of the first storey, Neil O'Fearghail sat at the helm, his fingers wrapped around the cool surface of the ship's wheel. His pearl-white eyes—unnerving to many, but now familiar to all aboard, were narrowed slightly, reflecting the soft, pale glow of the control panel's lights as they blinked in methodical rhythm.

The steady hum of the engine beneath them was more comforting now than it had been on the first day, almost like the heartbeat of their floating sanctuary.

Beside him, Kailey leaned over the map, one hand on the wooden edge of the control panel to steady herself as the boat gently rocked. A compass trembled in her other hand, its needle twitching.

"We're approaching the eastern region," she said softly, her voice barely above the wind's whisper, yet firm with quiet resolve.

Behind them, the control room door remained open, revealing the main lounge beyond. Most of Aegis was gathered there, lounging, talking, and waiting. A moment of camaraderie—Lucie laughing as Ness triumphantly placed a card on the table, Claudia shaking her head in mock exasperation while Tatius whispered some dry remark to Raul, who rolled his eyes with a faint smile.

For just a fleeting second, it almost felt like they were ordinary young people on an unremarkable journey.

But then…

The ship slowed.

The card game paused mid-motion.

Ness blinked and tilted his head toward the control room. "What's wrong, Neil?"

Neil's fingers tightened around the wheel. He didn't look back, his eyes fixed ahead. "The waters are too clean."

The tension in the room was immediate. Kailey lifted her gaze from the map, her brows knitting.

"What do you mean?" Claudia asked, rising to her feet. The thudding of her boots against the floor was the only sound as she crossed to the nearest window and pushed it open.

And there it was—beyond the hull, the ocean was as clear as polished glass. Unnatural. Not even a hint of the dull, grey decay they had seen along the coasts elsewhere.

No algae blooms, no slicks, no dying fish. Only crystalline water stretching out under the dusk-lit sky, with marine life visible beneath, darting gracefully.

Tatius came to stand beside Claudia, his usually lazy expression shadowed with unease. "It's…clean," he murmured. "Too clean. If a meltdown happened here, even if it was more than a decade ago, we should still see some traces. Radiation. Scars on the land. Marine deformities."

"Nothing." Claudia's voice was flat, almost mechanical. "No rusted debris. No warning signs. Just water. And life."

Outside, a mother dolphin and her calf swam alongside the ship, clicking and squeaking cheerfully, almost welcoming.

"The animals here are too friendly," Tatius added, stepping back. "Like they've never seen humans before. And aren't afraid of them."

A deep breath sounded from the far end of the main lounge.

Sera Kroix, perched on the bar counter like a crow watching from the rafters, snapped her book shut with a crisp sound that cut through the tension like glass against concrete. Her fingers drummed against the cover before she let it drop beside her.

Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

The rest of Aegis turned to look at her. Even Lucie, who had been smiling minutes earlier, now sat frozen, as though sensing what was to come.

Sera didn't speak right away. Her gaze drifted toward the window, where the light from the setting sun painted the world in surreal gold.

"Even if it happened over a decade ago," she finally said, her voice low but deliberate, "if it was a nuclear meltdown, we should see some form of devastation. Especially in the water. But there's nothing. No contamination. No fallout residue. No decay."

The wind outside whispered through the doorframe.

She turned slowly to face them, her mismatched eyes piercing.

"That's because the meltdown…was a lie."

A murmur rippled through the room.

"It was a story," Sera continued. "A cover-up. To keep people out. To hide something far worse."

Her eyes flickered to each of them, her posture still and tense, like a blade sheathed but ready to be drawn. "The truth is… No one was supposed to know that this region—the so-called Zone 0, was once the site of systematic human experimentation back before it was outlawed. And that those 'experiments' were nothing less than mass murder."

A collective chill swept through the room, like the temperature had dropped by degrees in mere seconds.

Lucie paled, her voice cracking. "M-Mass murder…?"

Neil turned from the helm, his face unreadable. Kailey gripped the edge of the table, the compass in her hand trembling slightly.

"What does that mean?" Claudia asked, but her voice had lost its usual confident edge. She had a sinking feeling she isn't going to like the answer.

Sera slid off the counter, the impact of her boots against the floor sounding louder than it should have. "Drop the anchor. We're staying here tonight. It's too dangerous to move through these waters after dark."

Neil nodded, mechanically moving back to the console. A few button presses later, the dull clunk of the anchor echoed below them, the ship rocking gently as it settled into place. Kailey hesitated for a moment before stepping away from the map, following her brother back to the main lounge, where everyone else was now deathly quiet.

Sera stood in front of them all now, her arms folded, her face cast in shadow from the low lights above. "I'm going to tell you a little story. But what's said here doesn't leave this ship. Not to the Abyss, not to your closest allies. Not even to Alisa or Leroy. It's not about trust. It's about survival. But first…"

She looked to Raul, Laura, and Letha—those who had been in the underground long before Aegis was even an idea.

"You three. You were in the underground before Aegis. Have you ever heard the term 'Project Nona'?"

The word struck with quiet gravity.

Raul frowned deeply, his lips moving as if tasting a memory. "Yusa might've mentioned it once. Long ago. But I can't remember the details."

Letha's gaze was distant, her eyes unfocused. "It sounds familiar. Like something from a nightmare I forgot. Maybe Klein mentioned it once before."

Laura only shook her head.

Sera nodded slowly. "I'm sure some like Larissa and Hayder already know this story, maybe even Ethan and Alexis. My old Blade guys, they don't know everything. But I wouldn't put it past them to put the pieces together themselves. Especially Leroy. Zest knew the full story for certain reasons. This…story isn't something to be shared. Speaking about it is punishable by death, no matter who you are. Whether you be part of the Abyss, a normal civilian, an ESA agent, or even a hunter. An unofficial law—quietly enforced. Because behind this secrecy…is Eldario's greatest shame."

Sera took a breath, exhaling slowly.

"Seventeen years ago, during the final days of the civil war, children started disappearing. Ages five to fourteen. Street kids, orphans, even children in hospices. Normals and Gifted. It didn't matter. They were taken. And no one looked for them."

Laura covered her mouth with her hand, her eyes wide. Raul's fists clenched.

"They were taken for an experimental project. A project backed by high-ranking government officials. Prominent scientists. Hunters. Even some within the ESA. That project…was the Nonary Project. Project Nona. Short for 'Nonary'. The Ninth. The Nonary Game."

Sera's voice faltered. Just for a second.

"It was a project to study the human brain. The mind. The Gifted. To push the boundaries of human capability. To unlock the entirety of the brain's potential. Most people can only access 5% of their brains. Even the Gifted can only access up to 10% at best. That's what gives us our abilities. But these researchers… They wanted to break the limit. That's what the Nonary experiments were about. Thus, those experiments are carried out in secret."

"No…" Neil whispered. Kailey looked pale, her fingers tightening around his sleeve.

Sera looked down at her palms. "My Gift over telekinesis, and even my mental abilities… I was born with them. But the lightning?" She let electricity spark faintly between her fingers, casting flickering light across her features. "That was given to me. By them. It was artificial. As a result of the experiments. The researchers were so happy when they realised I had it. I was six. That's the first memory I have. Screams. Tests. Needles."

Lucie made a strangled sound, like a sob trapped in her throat. Kailey leaned into Neil, clutching his hand.

Claudia rose slowly, her hand instinctively gripping the fabric of her shirt where the number '9' was tattooed above her right breast. Her eyes flickered to Tatius and Ness, who looked just as stricken.

"No. It sounds just like—"

"What happened to you three in the hunters' facility," Sera nodded solemnly. "That's what I suspected even back then. When we met you in Aurora four years ago, I saw the marks. The numbers. The same ones used in Project Nona."

"Why haven't we heard about this before?" Tatius asked, his voice low and tight.

"Because everyone involved—the Abyss, the ESA, the Eldario Council, and even the hunters, they all agreed to bury it," Sera said bitterly. "It was at the close of the civil war. Eldario was in shambles. The people were starving and even hurting. News like Project Nona would have finished off the country entirely. Thus, a joint decision was made to silence the truth. And the operation to shut down Project Nona came. But it was too late. Most of the children died. Only two survived. And just barely."

Raul's voice was hushed. "You…and Rex."

Sera nodded. "Chris, an older boy, tried to protect us. He was a Normal. But part of the Abyss. He didn't make it."

Everyone fell into stunned silence.

"Zone 0," Laura murmured. "It was…?"

"The site of Project Nona," Sera confirmed. "They bought the land. Built a village as a front. Carried out atrocities under the guise of research. When the truth came out, they fabricated the story of a nuclear meltdown to seal the region. The law was made clear: no one goes there. Not even the ESA. Not even the hunters. So that no one would ever stumble across the truth."

Claudia was shaking.

"And now," Sera added grimly, "I suspect Nicolosi has picked up where they left off. Frenzied hunters. Illegal experiments. Depravity. This is the cost of silence. Back then, the hunters had a leader who followed the old code. He didn't go after children. He only hunted criminals. That is the hunter code. But he died. And Nicolosi took his place. And I always suspected that Nicolosi killed him to take over."

Sera's eyes flashed, and her tone shifted from sorrowful to icy. "Nicolosi…doesn't follow any code. He sees the Gifted as vermin. Not people. To him, we're just tools or threats to be eradicated. And I believe he either resurrected the Nonary Project or never let it die. That's why the hunters are different now. Why they're so much more depraved."

Laura stared at the floor, trembling. "They don't see us as people anymore."

"No," Raul growled. "They never did."

Tatius was deathly quiet, his fingers tightening around his choker. Ness was pale, his jaw clenched. Claudia's face was blank—but her eyes shimmered with rage. Kailey was crying softly.

Lucie whispered, "It's murder. Not research. Just murder."

Sera nodded, her eyes hard with memory and pain.

"That is the truth of Zone 0."

The rest of the night was then spent in silence.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.