Act X – Chapter 29 "Beginning"
The story broke first on local news channels, then spread across the entire world.
Scotland.
In a grand manor with ancient stone walls, a young woman with closed eyes and wavy brown hair sat in a wheelchair, her fingers moving mechanically across a braille text.
She stopped.
Went back.
Ran her fingers over the words again, slowly this time, and read them aloud:
"'Léo Javier, from the bottom to the top: who is the real hero of Las Vegas?'"
She smiled softly.
"I knew you'd get there, Léo. You never had any reason to doubt yourself."
[Zoé Duncan — Countess of Scotland, heir to the Duncan dynasty. Programme Zero Subject #333. Survivor of the 2019 Purge. Concept-type ability: Space Manipulation.]
Russia.
Illona Virtanen, having traveled from Las Vegas in search of the Programme Zero subject capable of manipulating ice, set the open newspaper in front of Bastien and let him read.
"See that? That's the guy you met at the cemetery."
Bastien skimmed the front page, eyes slightly wide.
"Wow… this guy's not just anybody."
[Bastien — Taken in by Illona Virtanen. Programme Zero Subject #666. Survivor of the 2019 Purge. Boost-type ability: Beastification.]
Washington.
"Have you seen the news, Mr. President?"
"I don't have time to worry about minor headlines."
"A figure like that… it could be worth having him on our side. Better to have the people with us."
A silence.
"Hm. You're right. I'll think about it. What's his name again?"
"Léo, sir."
"Good. We'll deal with it later. America is waiting."
He walked out, straightening his tie with a precise gesture, his immaculate suit contrasting with the bandages wrapped around his head — leaving visible the patches of skull where skin was simply absent.
As he stepped through the doors, the media erupted.
"There he is! The martyr president of the United States! Sole survivor of the September 3rd, 2028 attacks! President William Campbell!"
[William Campbell — Founder of Programme Zero. Acting President of the United States. Exposed to the God Stone. Boost-type ability from exposure: Absolute Regeneration. God Stone Fragment Concept-type ability: Mind Control.]
Japan.
Lune walked into the room, the day's newspaper in hand.
"I think you all need to see this."
[Lune — Programme Zero Subject #1000. Survivor of the 2019 Purge. Concept-type ability: Mind Manipulation.]
She tossed the paper toward a brown-haired man in his twenties, or perhaps older. He wore a three-piece suit. His assured bearing made him seem older than his appearance suggested.
This man had no name.
[The Man With No Name — Ability type: Unknown. No information available.]
He glanced at the front page, then smiled faintly.
"Well, well… 'Léo is now being called the Hero of Las Vegas.' Your big brother is doing well…"
By the window, looking out at the horizon, a young woman with short silver hair floating in the wind. Her azure blue eyes glowed with a quiet light. She, who had long been known for her silence and her absence of a name, spoke softly:
"…Big brother. You did it. You really became a hero."
[Iris Sakura — Programme Zero Subject #001. Survivor of the 2019 Purge. Boost-type ability: Berserker. Second ability, God Stone Fragment Boost-type: Super Intelligence.]
"That's your famous big brother? 'The hero.' Wow… that's a title that hits."
Iris turned and gently stroked the head of her rediscovered twin — chestnut hair laced with two silver streaks — who was staring at the newspaper with curious eyes.
[Yuki Sakura — Programme Zero Subject #000. Presumed dead since 2017. Boost-type ability: Altered Super Intelligence.]
The Man With No Name exhaled, satisfied.
"Easy, everyone. We need to focus on preparations for the final battle, don't we…"
He looked toward a man standing quietly at the back of the room.
The man with the dark gaze nodded in silence.
[Isaac Campbell — Son of William Campbell. Exposed to the God Stone at age eight by his father. Boost-type ability from exposure: Acceptance or Rejection of the Divine (boosts or strips abilities of divine origin). Secondary God Stone Fragment ability: Camouflage.]
Somewhere in the Sahara Desert.
A cry rang out across the burning silence.
A man fell from nowhere, slamming into the sand in a cloud of dust.
He got up slowly, disoriented, breathless, eyes wild.
He looked at the sky, the sand, his own hands.
"Where… when are we?"
He pulled himself fully upright, voice cracked with urgency.
"I have to warn all of them… In 2035… it's the end of the world… the 13 survivors… humanity… We absolutely all need to come together…"
[Noah — Founder and leader of the organization bearing his alias: NoName. Missing since 2024, Battle of Los Angeles. Programme Zero Subject #???. Concept-type ability: Time Manipulation.]
A Few Months Later. December 2029.
It was cold, but not cold enough to snow.
Las Vegas had mostly forgotten what snow felt like. The climate was too dry, too arid. The New Year's Eve streets glittered under lights and signs, and the cable news channels looped their newest star on repeat: the Hero of Las Vegas — philanthropist, businessman, unlikely icon of a city that loved its legends.
In his office, Léo was signing paperwork.
Despite his successive donations, the proceeds from selling off the illegal markets were such that his fortune no longer counted in tens of millions but in hundreds. He signed the last page, set down the pen, and called his driver.
He stepped out calmly into the early morning cold.
"Still no snow, huh."
"No, sir. Not since 2008. Where are we headed?"
"The airport. I need to go to Scotland."
The driver hesitated a beat, then ventured:
"That's rather unusual for you, sir."
"I'm thinking about going into politics. I need good advice. I've managed to get back in touch with an old friend. A countess of Scotland."
"You have friends? You actually leave your office sometimes."
Léo smiled despite himself. They knew each other well, these two — a former mobster turned personal driver, one of the few Léo had kept close. He believed in rehabilitation, even if his inner circle had shrunk drastically since the buyouts.
"Yes, my friend. It happens."
The car drifted slowly down the still-sleeping New Year's Eve streets.
They passed the artificial beach of Las Vegas.
Léo recognized it immediately. That was the place — their first meeting. She had looked at the horizon as if she were discovering the artificial sea for the very first time, and he had only looked at her.
The nostalgia hit without warning, as it always did.
And then he saw a silhouette.
On the sidewalk, backlit in the cold morning light, a young woman was walking.
Something deep inside him tightened.
"Wait. Stop the car."
The driver obeyed.
Léo got out without closing the door, crossed the pavement in a few strides, caught the silhouette's arm and drew her gently toward him.
She turned around, startled.
"Uh…"
"Gwen."
The young woman looked at him with green eyes — disoriented, slightly frightened. Her hair was short and black, growing back in. She held an infant of a few months pressed against her chest.
She was the spitting image of Gwen.
"Uh… sorry, but I think you've got the wrong person. My name is Alicia."
Léo couldn't believe what he was seeing. He hesitated, looked at the short hair, the baby, the green eyes that didn't recognize him.
But something deep inside him was screaming that it was her.
He said quickly:
"Your scarf… let me see your neck."
Gwen had carried a scar since surviving the Programme Zero purge. An old mark, faded over time, nearly invisible — but still there for anyone who knew to look.
Léo's hand was stopped cold by a firm grip on his forearm.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?"
A man in his fifties had stepped between them, face closed, protective.
"What are you doing to my daughter? Can't you see she's holding a baby?!"
Léo came back to himself.
He took in the scene: a man standing one meter ninety-three grabbing a young woman in broad daylight on the street — a young woman carrying an infant, flanked by a protective older man.
"I… excuse me. I must have made a mistake…"
He cast one last glance at Alicia — almost imperceptible — then turned and walked back to the car.
Behind him, her father was still muttering.
"What's wrong with him… who is that thug? Do you know him?"
Alicia held her child tighter with one hand.
With the other, instinctively, she pressed her fingers to her own chest.
Badoom. Badoom.
"No…" she said softly. "But I feel like I do."
"There's no way you know a guy like that. Did you see him? He's a thug, I'm telling you."
Alicia watched the luxury car slowly pull away, disappear around the corner.
"You think so?"
A pause.
"To me… he just looked like a sad man."
[Alicia, Programme Zero Subject #009, Phenomenon-type ability (awakened): Electric Energy Manipulation ×2. Survivor of the 2019 Purge. Amnesiac.]
NoName
Fate's Answer
My Mafia Lover's Tragedy
"The Gwen Arc"
End