All Chapters of Zero to Overlord: The Forsaken God's Ascension : Chapter 1
- Chapter 10
23 chapters
The Day the Sun Went Cold
The sky was the color of fresh blood.Today was my eighteenth birthday. In the Divine Spear Empire, this was the day of Ascension. It was the day I was supposed to become a God.I stood on the Great Altar, surrounded by thousands of cheering citizens. My father, Emperor Magnus Thorne, stood before me. He held the Golden Spear, the symbol of our bloodline."Lucius Thorne," my father’s voice boomed. "Are you ready to receive the full light of the Thorne lineage?"I knelt, my heart pounding with pride. "I am, Father."To my left stood my younger brother, Julian. He was smiling, but it wasn't a happy smile. It was the look of a predator watching a trap spring shut. To my right was Seraphina, my fiancée. She looked beautiful in her silk robes, but her eyes were cold."Then receive your destiny," Magnus said.He didn't place his hand on my shoulder to bless me. Instead, he lunged.THUD.The Golden Spear didn't glow with light. It pierced my chest.The world went silent. The cheering stopped
Eating in the Dark
The wind didn't just howl in the Abyssal Rift; it screamed.I hit the bottom of the pit with a sound of snapping bones. Any normal human would have been a pile of meat. Any normal God would have died from the fall alone. But I wasn't a God anymore. I was a hole in the universe.I lay there in the freezing muck, staring up at the tiny circle of light miles above. That was the world of the living. That was the world that had spat me out."It hurts..." I wheezed. Blood bubbled in my throat. My chest felt like it had been hollowed out by a hot iron.Then, I heard it. The scratching.From the shadows of the jagged rocks, eyes began to open. Dozens of them. They were glowing red and sickly yellow. The Void Eaters. These were the monsters the Empire used to frighten children—creatures made of pure shadow that fed on the mana of anything that fell into their domain.A Shadow Wolf, the size of a carriage, stepped into the dim light. Its jaw unhinged, revealing rows of obsidian teeth."Go ahead
The War-Maiden’s Price
The air in the deep Rift didn't just feel cold; it felt heavy, like I was walking through thick, frozen oil. Valeriana walked ahead of me, her broken silver armor clinking with every step. She didn't look back to see if I was following. She knew I had nowhere else to go."Sit," she commanded, pointing to a flat rock surrounded by the bones of something massive."We don't have time to sit," I snapped. My chest was burning. The poison I had sucked out of her was fighting the Void energy in my gut. "I can feel the gate. It’s close.""You feel the energy, but you don't know how to use it," Valeriana said, spinning her broken sword. "Right now, you’re a bucket with a hole in it. You eat energy, and it just sloshes around until it leaks out. If we fight the Gatekeeper like that, you’ll explode before you even touch him."She stepped close, the tip of her jagged blade resting against my throat."The Thorne family taught you to glow like a sun," she hissed. "Bright, loud, and wasteful. The Ic
The Mercenary’s Disdain
The border town of Iron-Rock smelled of cheap grease, wet mud, and desperation. It was the perfect place for a dead prince to hide."Keep your head down," Valeriana whispered, her hood pulled low over her silver hair. "And for the love of the gods, stop looking like you’re judging the architecture. You’re a mercenary now, not a royal.""I'm not judging," I said, stepping over a puddle of murky water. "I'm looking for mana. These people are... empty.""It's a border town, Zero. Most people here couldn't light a candle with their spark. That’s why we’re here. Low stakes, low attention."We pushed through the swinging wooden doors of The Broken Anvil tavern. The noise hit us like a physical wall—drunken laughter, the clinking of mugs, and the off-key strumming of a lute. We took a corner table in the shadows."Two ales and the cheapest stew you have," I told the barmaid."Coming up, honey," she chirped, though she eyed my tattered cloak with pity.I leaned back, my eyes scanning the room
Zero is Not Nothing
The inn was silent for exactly three seconds. Then, the screaming started."My hand! He broke my hand with a spoon!" Silas wailed, his voice cracking like a child's.I didn't look at him. I looked at the door. I could feel them—the boots hitting the cobblestones outside, the metallic hum of armor, and the sharp, jagged mana signatures of the Governor’s elite."Twenty of them," Valeriana said, calmly wiping a spot of gravy from her silver gauntlet. "Sixteen standard guards, four specialists. You really know how to pick a fight, kid.""I didn't pick it," I said, my voice dropping an octave. "I'm just finishing it."The front doors of the inn exploded inward. Splinters of oak flew like shrapnel. A man in heavy plate armor, glowing with a dull orange light, stepped through the dust. He carried a massive claymore that smoked with heat."I am Captain Vane!" he roared. "Identify yourselves before I burn this rat-hole to the ground!""Uncle!" Silas shrieked, crawling toward the Captain. "Kill
The Broken Blade Auction
The "Broken Blade" Auction House was a place for the desperate and the greedy. It sat on the edge of the merchant district, smelling of damp wood and old magic."We need a sword," I said, pulling my hood lower. "My hands are enough for guards, but they won't be enough for Julian.""You don't just need a sword," Valeriana countered, her eyes scanning the crowd. "You need a conduit. Most blades will melt under your Void energy. But there’s something here. I can feel a cold pulse in the air. My old life is calling."We stepped inside. The room was filled with fat merchants in silk and minor nobles looking for a bargain. On the stage, an auctioneer was holding up a rusted, jagged piece of metal that looked like it had been pulled from a shipwreck."And next," the auctioneer droned, "is a curiosity from the Northern Wastes. A heavy, blunt iron blade. It has no mana conductivity and is completely rusted. Starting bid: Five gold pieces."The room erupted in laughter."Five gold for a boat an
Crimson Rain
The rain wasn't just falling; it was screaming against the pavement."Don't move," Valeriana whispered, her hand hovering over the hilt of the Sovereign Fang. "They’re high up. Roof rafters and chimney stacks.""I know," I said. My Void vision was screaming. Six jagged, crimson pulses of light were circling us like sharks in deep water. "One... two... three..."SHING!Six black-clad figures dropped from the sky. They landed in a perfect circle, their twin daggers coated in a thick, green paralysis poison. They didn't breathe. They didn't speak. These weren't town guards. These were the Emperor's "Crimson Rain" unit—assassins trained to kill Gods."The Emperor sends his regards, Lucius," the leader said, pulling back his hood.My heart stopped. The world around me seemed to tilt.The man under the hood had a scar over his left eye—a scar he got protecting me from a training dummy when we were ten years old."Kael?" my voice was a low rasp. "You... you’re an assassin now?"Kael didn't f
The Friend and the Foe
The Shadow Guard didn’t move like a man. He moved like a ripple in a dark pond. The black spear in his hand pulsed with a rhythm that matched the dying beats of Kael’s heart."You're a mess, Lucius," the Guard said, his voice echoing from behind the obsidian mask. "The Emperor gave you a quick exit, but you chose to crawl back into the light. Do you have any idea how much paperwork your survival has caused me?""I’ll make sure your death is just as inconvenient," I spat.The Guard chuckled. "Level 0 trash talking a Level 5 Shadow Master. Julian was right; the Rift turned your brain into mush."He lunged.He didn't run across the cobblestones. He sank into the shadows and reappeared behind me in a heartbeat. The black spear whistled toward my neck.CLANG!I didn't turn around. I drew the Sovereign Fang in a blur of blue light. The translucent blade met the shadow spear, and the impact sent a shockwave that shattered the windows of the surrounding shops."A Sovereign blade?" The Guard’s
The Academy Gate
The Silver Spire Academy sat atop a mountain like a jagged crown of white marble. It was the most prestigious school in the Empire, designed to turn noble children into killing machines. To me, it was just a target."Remember," Valeriana whispered as we stood in the massive queue at the base of the mountain. "You are my 'attendant.' Keep your head down, don't speak unless spoken to, and try not to look like you're planning a massacre.""I’m a servant," I said, adjusting the rough linen of my collar. "I've got the part down."Thousands of noble kids in silk and gold-trimmed tunics were being fanned by servants. High-end carriages blocked the road. The air was thick with the scent of perfume and arrogance."Next!" a sharp voice barked.We reached the front. A thin, middle-aged man with a monocle sat behind a desk. This was the Proctor. Behind him sat the Talent Testing Crystal, a massive jagged shard of quartz that pulsed with a faint, neutral light."Name and House?" the Proctor asked
The Servant’s Seat
The main courtyard of Silver Spire was a sea of gold and white. Banners of the Divine Spear Empire fluttered in the mountain breeze, and the air smelled of expensive incense."Keep your head down and keep your mouth shut," the head servant hissed at our line of North Dorm students. "If a drop of wine touches a Noble’s robe today, I’ll have your skin for a rug."I stood at the very end of the line, holding a silver tray of crystal glasses. Next to me, Rin was trembling so hard the bottles on his tray were clinking like bells."Zero, I can't do this," Rin whispered, his face white. "That’s the Royal Guard. If I look at them wrong, they’ll execute me.""Don't look at them then," I said, my voice steady. "Look at the floor. It’s cleaner than their souls anyway.""Silence!" the head servant snapped.A trumpet blast echoed across the mountain. The massive oak gates of the Academy swung open. A golden carriage, pulled by six white horses with manes made of actual silk, rolled into the square