Everyone Else Has a System

"I guess there are certain ways to classify them…"

Elle begins explaining a few things about her thoughts on desires.

Before classifying them, it would be better to talk about what sorts of desires we would get. People always have desires, there are no such people who don't have any desire. However, we can't call all types of desires as the kind of deep desires which would end up stopping them from passing on.

Take Elle or that man, for example. They both have a very strong tendency to get what they want. It can't be classified as just a mere small or materialistic desire in passing. Now, onto small desires, they are mostly like money or freedom or anything like that… still, they could be of very strong nature for some people depending upon their situations. For example, one's desire to see the sunset could have a backstory so deep that it could make it a deep desire.

This also brings us to people who are under the age of 8 and those who are on their deathbed. They don't have a real desire but just want to have some fun and peace, respectively. However, we could get a child who just wants to have fun for one last time or maybe an old guy who wants to listen to a particular song.

Desires aren't simply black and white to begin with… however, we could still classify them accordingly.

For starters, we could classify the desires into two categories:

1. First there are those desires which can be fulfilled inside the white dimension. Materialistic desires, like having some fun or to live like a King for some time, can be done using the system's power within the white dimension. I do not need any outside action for it.

2. Second, there are those desires which need outside actions. It is more complicated as it includes the beings who are still alive. At times, one gets a strong desire to kill someone, other times he wants to save someone.

I have to make a choice during those times, whether I want to save or kill a person. Or perhaps I might need to persuade that person out of his thinking… though that would be easier said than done.

This case is similar in one aspect, that I need to save someone in compliance with this man's wishes.

........

I listen to Elizabeth for a few moments before pondering over her words and she waits for me to digest everything. After a few moments, I then turned to that man and said,"What is your name?"

"Mark Ingrid," he said as he looked at me, like a kid looking at his parents. It was an odd feeling…

"Tell me where you were," I asked, and he nodded before answering my words slowly and slowly, one word at a time.

According to him, a few days ago, he needed to transfer something to Demitri. He did that job to the best of his ability, making sure he did not make any mistake. After all, he wanted a promotion from his boss. However, something ended up going wrong as Demitri interrogated Mark about where the thing which he stole was. Mark did not know what was going on and he tried to explain that to Demitri however, he did not believe him one bit.

Soon his family was kidnapped by Demitri, making him come to Demitri to beg him, which went on for about an hour before Demetri finally killed him.

He did not know about where that guy put his family, which made things even more difficult. Though given Reaper's hacking ability, it shouldn't take that long.

After all the information was given to Zero, he looked at that man before closing his eyes for a few moments and then looked at Elle as he spoke,"Elizabeth. Can I ask you something?"

Taken aback by his sudden question, Elle looked at him with intent as she answered," Y-yeah. Sure, go ahead."

"Should I hunt alone or have someone watch my back?" he spoke intently as he looked at Elizabeth and hearing his question, she questioned back,"do you have trust in that person to watch your back?"

"Not one bit," Zero answered back and then Elle asked again,"do you really need others to get involved?"

"Things have been turning awry left and right lately. Lack of proper information is resulting in twists and turns and my cards are almost all on the table. I don't want to end up getting caught in another thing right after this," Zero spoke without hesitation and Elizabeth spoke before pondering something,

"How about manipulating them into helping you and then letting them go after the work is done?"

Zero thought about it for a few moments and then nodded at Elle as he spoke,"it might not be easy to manipulate all of them… but I guess it works for me. Thanks."

Elle smiled in return before both of them looked at that man standing there looking at the duo with a slightly scared expression as he stared at their faces.

And then the atmosphere around Zero began changing slowly, and Zero fell down into a pit that was right below him.

......…

Tumbling down, Zero slowly opens his eyes and finds himself back in the real world where he looked at the ground below him. With Hygeia healing him back to tip-top condition, he could at least finish one small task.

But to make sure it doesn't expand into anything bigger, he needed some backup. Even if it did expand, at least it should stay within Zero's scope where he could handle them.

Propelling himself towards the building from which he jumped off and then carefully stepping on the wall of the building….

-BOOOOM!!!!

He jumped against the building towards the roof, immediately landing on it, and then stood there before he began searching the cameras around the area to find anything related to Mark. As he kept looking into it, he finally found something which made his eyes turn a bit blank. He observed the whole video, and he felt goosebumps all over his body as he saw it… then fury took over his mind and he glared at that video before calming down himself.

Zero then takes out his cellphone and begins calling a certain number.

-Tring Tring

-Tring Tring

-Click

-Who is it?

A tensed and cautious feminine voice came from the other side and Zero spoke as he concentrated on the roof, which was right in front of him and towards a certain building which was visible from here.

"It's Zero. Meet me in front of the main gate at Casino Square, make sure to gear up for a long fight," spoke Zero as he cut the call and then proceeded to make another call.

-Tring Tring

-Click

-What happened now?

"Clair, I need you to do something. Make sure to do everything I say in the right order…"

....

Inside the white dimension, Mark looked at that video with his eyes wide open and a blanked expression forms before despair begins to engulf him. His only desire… his precious family… was all dead. If it were that they were just dead, it wouldn't have mattered that much, but… his wife had been abused brutally before being killed off and thrown at the side of the road.

As for the child, he had been thrown alive into the dustbin as if he were trash. There were still some chances that the child was still alive and Zero from there kept moving as he commanded Clair about each and everything she needed to do and, from Clair's responses, it looked like she understood the seriousness of the situation.

Elle too had fury in her eyes as she had seen what had transpired with a man who wasn't even involved with the whole ordeal. She questioned if this was the true face of humanity?

[It's okay. The child's vitals are still there.]

Amon messaged and the father finally looked like he had been brought back to life. His wife was gone… but at least the child could be saved. He then looked firmly at Zero, who looked much more angry than the father himself. The fate of that child now depended upon how Zero would move.

"A storm is coming… " Elle spoke as she observed Zero dashing as his eyes looked like they wanted to destroy everything in sight.

This changed everything from here onwards.

Zero might have been a mercenary in his previous timeline for a fixed period of time, but there was a limit to how inhuman he could have been. Even the parasites treated children like a treasure, as they could be converted into future parasites.

After the third Cataclysm, each and every child was treated as a national treasure, all the more because of lack of people, so killing a child was an unthinkable taboo at that time unless the circumstances were really dire.

Accustomed to that belief, Zero's inner demons rampaged as they finally found a target to attack. It was a bit early… but it was about time for Bryxton… or perhaps the whole world to know about the existence of Reaper.