Grand Chase: The Tale of Zero The Wanderer

by FullMetalFurbee

His name is Zero. For years he has searched for his life's purpose, accompanied by his great sword Grandark. At long last, his day has come. There is nothing left to do now but fulfill his reason to live. He prays he makes it. Will the wanderer find what he seeks on this day? (Plans in progress to continue...)

1. A Promise Fulfilled

~Void~

Hideous violet flames danced feverishly about the chamber. The arch demon Void's petty annoyance was rapidly turning to rage. How did this stupid lowly elf even find his way in here by himself? Usually those infernal children from Grand Chase didn't do anything alone, especially not something this stupid! This miserable little kid with his fancy sword thought he could just sneak right on in past every single damn guard and still manage to kill the great and powerful Void? That was just downright foolhardy. Thunder Hammer was Void's home. Mostly. He was certainly not going to let this little adventurer waltz right on in and remove him from the world in a "dashing feat of bravery and cunning," like everyone else always wanted to do, to be "heroes." Why else would this kid be here aside that reason? Ugh. Either way, it was a blatant waste of a good day. Dealing with miniscule little children who wanted to play the good guy. Felt more like a chore. Those dull dwarves who lived here didn't help either. It was partially their fault that this kid got in here. What where they doing anyway? Probably drowning themselves in alcohol. No matter though, there was still this incessant interloper to deal with.

"You. Boy. What is your name?" sneered Void.

The wanderer remained silent. If it was terror he felt, he showed no signs of it. That was also extremely foolhardy.

"You fetid little slime, I asked you your name!" barked the irked demon. His flames soared high into the air and swirled faster in response to the outrage.

"My name is Zero." said the wanderer, finally. "And the only reason I walk this earth...is to kill you."

Void's annoyance subsided. He was mildly shocked. Sure, he was hated far and wide, yes, but only then did it become perfectly clear how hated. Perhaps someone actually had the gusto to defy his boundless power!

"The demon wars." Zero continued, " You remember those? You...you killed everyone..." He spoke slowly and purposefully, as if holding back heightening emotions. "You killed every single living soul who offered any trace resistance to your ceaseless onslaught! Most of them just wanted and end to all the death! But you killed everyone! You damnable monster!" Zero slowly drew his sword from his back. "So in response to your unrestrained bloodbath, the leader of the enlightened demons, Oz, started tempering a sword. Not before you struck him down with a mortal wound though. In his last moments, he managed to forge a sword so great that there would finally be a way to end your abominable existence. He called it Grandark. However, Grandark was such a menacing sword that no one who tried could successfully wield its power. Grandark was a monstrous behemoth that commanded dominion. It still does. So, that's where I come in." He paused for a moment.

"I'm not exactly sure if I was... created, or just in some kind of stasis... but that's why I was awakened. It seemed fated that I would be the one to use Grandark. There wasn't a thing I could do about that. Like it or not, it was now my responsibility. My master explained that in order to end you, I needed to seek much more power. Taking his advice, I trained in secret for a several years and honed my strength. I practiced my ability to effortlessly wield Grandark. It is very heavy, after all. Around that time my master took the time to explain to me why I was going on this quest. He explained the demon wars, Oz, everything. Then after I knew what was going on, he figured I was finally ready to start my journey. And as I was leaving, he told me to kill you even if I was to perish in the struggle. So with his words of tribulation fresh in mind, I took Gran and left the safety of his refuge to set out for the world - to look for you. I'm betting that that part you didn't know."

Again Zero paused, this time to take a breath. He still hadn't explained everything just yet.

"At times my task seemed too daunting and overwhelmingly futile. I would fall into deep despair and feel like accepting the idea that I couldn't do it. Wasn't worth it. How could a worthless pawn like me complete such an critically enormous mission? After all, I only had one purpose to be alive, and chances were I wouldn't complete it. But somehow I kept on going. I scoured the lands in search of you for years, sometimes more determined than others. Then, when I made my way into Starkiln's vast burning fields of molten hell, I encountered the Grand Chase. All of them were incredibly supportive of me. They told me I could do it and to keep trying no matter what. I listened to them. And after all of the searching, the depression, and the excruciating challenge to get here, I made it. One of us is going to die today."

Void was silent. He was thinking very hard. This information was genuine news to him, because he had been offered almost no opposing force during the demon wars. However, this moment of reflection was short lived. Instead, Void chose to beam. It wasn't often someone acknowledged his great work with the wars! Needless to say, his pride wasn't suffering like Zero's self esteem.

"Zero..." he played with the name. "You're not an elf are you?"

Zero's creamy white hair was largely unkempt and hung low over his face. There was a sort of makeshift ponytail in the back, but his locks were still down past his shoulders. This unorthodox appearance added to the theory that he wasn't a true elf, as they were almost always prim and proper with their appearances.

"No," said Zero. "I'm a demon. Just like... you." He dreaded comparing himself to Void, but his words struck true. "That's why I think I must have been in some sort of catatonic state and lost my memory. How did you realize I wasn't an elf?"

"Really? You don't look like any demon I've seen." Void remarked, ignoring the question. "Of course, there's no way to prove that essentially, so I suppose I'll have to take your word for it. But do tell me Zero, why do you wear that mask?"

His query held validity. Zero did indeed bear a thin linear mask that covered only his eyes. He hadn't mentioned anything about it in his explanation. Surely there was some kind of point to it, as it looked simply ridiculous! It was apparently just a slab of dark gray metal with a neon green stripe running laterally in the center for vision and a little notch for Zero's nose.

Zero thought about this for a second. "It helps me...control my temper. It's better I keep it on."

A smile crept over Void's face ever so slowly. Perhaps this would be more interesting than he initially thought.

The greater demon bowed to his guest, and the purple flames silently receded downward then dispersed into the air. He figured he would give this one a fair fight after hearing that heartwarming monologue. That would save him the mess too. Probably. "Well then, Zero, shall we begin? Come find me at the pinnacle when you're ready. I'll not have you ruin my favorite chamber with your reckless smashing of things. Oh and take all the time you need too, because I highly doubt that I'm going to be the one that dies today."

With the cryptic warding, Void flashed into a maelstrom of purple energy and whisked away up towards the pinnacle.

~Zero~

The pinnacle, that's the highest point of a tower isn't it? Zero thought to himself. Guess that's where I'm headed then. Truth be told, this annoyed him. What a cocky blowhard Void was to treat the promise of his demise like a child's game.

After at least an hour of wandering around Thunder Hammer, (and warming up by knocking out many drunk guards out) Zero finally managed to stumble upon what must have been the stairway to the pinnacle of the dwarven fortress. As he made his way deeper into the threshold, a slight nausea set in in place of his previous self righteous anger. He understood this wasn't some simple quest given to him by Knight Master. This wasn't obtaining an apple from an ornery Treant. This wasn't even crippling Kaze'aze's plans! This was his entire reason for being alive! Right here! Right now! He absolutely HAD to slay Void. Countless souls were depending on him, and many more screaming to be avenged. An unfortunate fact that also came to light was that his best friends could no longer offer him any assistance. Not even his most ardent of allies. Sieghart would just dive in headfirst, trying to stab everything and surely make things worse. More than likely Dio would do the same. And then probably get into a fistfight with Sieghart. That new girl Rin seemed to be pretty powerful too. He had to admit, she was quite attractive. It would be worthwhile seeing how she developed her skills as she stayed with Grand Chase. She didn't have aggressive energy like Ley, Dio, or him, but somehow she forced her magic into an explosive blue aura. Very interesting. Unfortunately though, no one could aid him this time. Not even Mari's calm and collected etiquette would do much against his demonic nemesis. Ah, Mari... His mind pulled itself back to her. He just hoped he would live to see her again. At least once. But, the time for those thoughts were over now. All he was accomplishing now was psyching himself out before a time where he most certainly needed to be cool and reserved.

He took in a deep breath then exhaled. "Ready Gran? Will I find what I seek today?"

Without waiting for an answer, he proceeded up the eloquent red carpeted stairway. It was impossible to actually tell how high he was, as the staircase was a spiral and offered no frame of reference. He tried to focus and sharpen his wits, but images of all his friends kept flitting through his brain. Elesis, Lire, Arme, Lass, Ryan, Ronan, Amy, Jin, Sieghart, Mari, Dio, Ley, Rufus, and Rin. All of them had made his life a bit easier. And for that, he was infallibly thankful. He kept climbing. Minutes passed before he reached the top of the spiral staircase, but it naturally seemed like hours. This was clearly named the pinnacle for a reason. But finally, finally, the top. There was only a plain wooden door leading outside that separated him from the horrible demon. With Grandark drawn, his wits at long last focused sharp, and an unquenchable desire for vengeance raining deep inside, the wanderer opened the door and stepped outside to meet his opponent.

It was cold. That was the first thing he noticed. Granted his clothes didn't sport any insulation, the air was still unusually arctic. The sky was beginning to cloud up, and it looked like snow was eminent. The second thing he noticed was that the pinnacle was not a lavishly furnished room where Arawn sat smoking his pipe and looking out an extravagant window, but rather a level ground serving as the top of a great spire. Its architecture was simple: yielding only a large circular floor made of stone overlooking the entire fortress. Aside from the little cube structure leading back in, the whole platform was bare. Void hovered silently at the edge of the spire, staring out at the distant gray sky. Zero was not afraid. He was ready to end this.

"Void!" he shouted harshly.

The monster turned around and faced Zero, his cape flapping lightly in the icy wind. He showed no sign of fear either. Only a horrifyingly cold hatred blazed behind his eyes. He lifted a jagged gloved finger and pointed at Zero.

"Die."

Instantly, searing purple flames erupted forth from the demon's hand, hurtling towards Zero. He barely had time to raise Gran up to defend himself before the flames blasted into him, knocking him off his feet and causing the air around him to crackle with heat. He quickly rose to his feet, this time with enough perception time to spot a second ball of flame rushing towards him. He lifted Grandark with ease and swung a brutal vertical slash, dissipating the fireball. Now it was his turn. He hoisted Gran back up over his shoulder and in a flash he was barreling towards his enemy. The speed at which he ran was incredible, even to Void. It was as if he weighed nothing at all! He let out a roar and lunged at the dark creature, but Void teleported to safety at the other end of the spire. Zero's unrestrained power cleaved the air. His sword smashed ferociously into the ground, fracturing the stone. Cracks snaked outwards and bits of stone launched every which way. Damn! He had to pull Gran out of the ground, which left him vulnerable. Before he could wrench the deadly weapon free, Void instantaneously appeared in front of him, arm drawn back. Zero lifted his own arm in defense but to no avail. Void slashed viciously at Zero, his clawed gloves leaving deep gashes on the wanderer's face. Zero cried out in pain and let go of Grandark. He lifted his hands and wiped away the free flowing blood. Fortunately there was none under his visor. He could still see. Before his foe could get in another cheap hit, Zero grabbed Gran's hilt with both hands and yanked forcefully. The sword came free and he stumbled backwards a bit from the shift in momentum. He kept his balance though and wheeled around to see where Void had gone. Where is he? he thought frantically. He was nowhere! Preparing for a sneak attack from the absentee, he held Gran up in front of him in a defensive stance. All was silent. And it was still cold. Very cold. Zero could feel goosebumps budding on his exposed arms and neck. Still no sign of Void, either. He waited. And waited. And waited still, until his arm ached for release of holding up the massive sword. All of a sudden, Zero's heart stopped. There was a slight sound behind him. A very slight, almost inaudible sound. It was the sound of a cape flapping in the wind.

The claws that gabbed hold of his neck came with an unrelenting vice grip. They easily sliced his skin, causing a multitude of new wounds. Zero choked and quickly reached up to his neck, dropping Grandark for a second time. It clattered to the ground, offering no help. Roaring with a sickening rage, Void lobbed his flailing opponent straight into the door leading inside. Zero splintered though it like a cannonball and hit the back wall with a hard THUD. He raised his hand and tried to speak but only managed to cough and sputter vainly. His neck felt unusually warm and it was hard for him to breathe. Through a murky vision, he saw Void. The monster gracefully descended to his feet and sauntered toward Zero. He bore a smug expression that looked like a mix of grim satisfaction and disappointment.

"Pitiful!" he exclaimed. "You sniveling worm! You're worthless! What gave you the moronic notion that you could kill me! Look at you! A couple of cuts and you're down on your sorry ass choking up blood!"

He stopped in front of the incapacitated wanderer.

"It's a wonder that you ever made it this far. I mean, really! You're a terrible fighter!"

Not three seconds after he'd said that, an idea came to mind. "Unless, it's your sword that gives you your power..."

He turned and made his way toward the dormant weapon lying on the stone floor. He knelt down on his knees and examined the forest green Grandark.

"D-don't you touch Gran..." Zero managed to choke out.

"So this is Grandark," said Void, taking no heed to Zero's warning. "The mythical sword created to rival my own... Eclipse." He chuckled a bit. "I personally find it rather funny that I was easily able to cut you down without even drawing my sword... that really shows how much "power" you have." he scorned. Looking back to Grandark, he let go of his cynicism. Zero himself was of little interest to him at the moment anyway. Grandark... The weapon was a beast of a sword. It was, in a word, gigantic. Zero had an absolute mastery over wielding it, he gave him that much.

Both of Gran's edges had sharp geometric teeth, making it much more of a smash and crush weapon than a slashing one. It reminded him of that tool the dwarves used when they needed to hastily chop down their trees. What was that called? A linksaw? A chainsaw? No matter. Running vertically down Grandark's shaft was a black line with neon green crisscross patterns that looked to be connecting the teeth to one another. Void's interest perked. Was this sword enchanted? Did it bear the frightening elemental powers of ice? Electricity? Necromancy? That would be delightful! Anyway, back to observation. The black line ran all the way down to the cross section of the hilt, where it filtered into what appeared to be a convex silver cap with a seam running latterly across its radius.

"I'm warning you..." said Zero in a low voice.

Void ran his finger across Grandark's green shaft. The material was cool and oddly, not very hard. It didn't appear to be metal. He grasped the hilt and lifted it up with him. He stood holding it lengthwise in his hands, admiring the intricate lines and patterns etched into Gran's design. The outer rim of the cap had some sort of inscription circling around it. The little symbols looked familiar, but Void couldn't exactly put his finger on them.

"Boy, are these moon glyphs?" he asked, intrigued. By now he was almost certain this weapon must have been enchanted. Somehow. He looked to Zero to see if he would answer his question. To his amusement, the wanderer was slowly getting to his knees. He looked at Void with a bloodstained face.

"Yes. They are moon glyphs. But Void... there's something else you really need to know about Grandark. Something very important."

Void humored him. "Oh, what's that?"

Zero climbed to his feet, wiped a drop of blood from his lip, and shook himself loose. "He's alive."

All of a sudden Gran's silver cap slid open at the seam, revealing a burning emerald eye, staring daggers at a stupefied Void.

"Get your filthy hands off of me you unholy vagrant!" boomed Grandark.

Void was petrified, he'd never in his immortal life seen anything like this! That was all the chance Zero needed.

"Grandark!" he shouted, "Loss!"

Pitch black spikes exploded out from Grandark, ripping through Void's armor like paper. The demon screeched in pain and immediately let go of the sword. He looked down at his torso and saw multiple penetration wounds. To make matters even worse, he felt his aggressive energy slowly fading away from within him. This was bad, this was very bad! Not for Zero, though. A light green crystalline aura surged out of Grandark's eye and whisked its ghostly tendrils to Zero, enveloping him in a brilliant mist of revitalizing vitae. The wanderer felt his strength steadily building back up. He started forward.

"NO!" screamed Void, fighting through his pain. "I'll tear you apart!" He reached to his back and drew the aforementioned Eclipse just as Zero reached Grandark. With an enraged stupor-like gait, he charged. Recklessly. Unfortunately for him though, he was awkward and off balance since most of his energy was gone. Zero easily rolled out of the way and countered with a nasty blow to Void's back. This was his game now. He slammed Void again right as he began to recover. Then again. And again. All of his emotions were rising as he relentlessly drove his sword into the greater demons body. There was the occasional window of opportunity for Void to ofer a feeble counterattack, but the wanderer knew he was winning the fight. Grandark, Loss! He was almost there! Void's defenses were incredibly low! Zero roared with power and swung a low knee shot, sending Void sprawling onto the floor a few feet away. Before the infernal monster could even think about getting back to his feet, Zero gripped Grandark hard and leaped high into the air. As high as he possibly could, in fact. Right at the beautiful peak of his ascent, he produced a hidden chain from Gran's hilt and hurled the sword straight down. Onto Void.

"Bleeding Gash!"

-CRACK-KOW!-

If Zero had damaged the spire before, this time he utterly obliterated it. If loss had pierced Void easily, this was killing a slime with Mari's Core Break. Grandark landed smack in the middle of Void's chest, and simply decimated the floor. Enormous black spikes shot up everywhere, churning up the stone and piercing through everything in their reach. Through some miracle though, the floor remained intact despite the extensive damage. That was good. That's what Zero needed. Now it was time for part two. Mustering up his strength, he tugged hard on the chain, forcing himself down towards the very same spot where Gran struck. He extended his elbow and prepared for a hard landing. Much to his delight, the floor was weaker than he thought. When he hit the ground, the decaying structure gave and completely fell apart. Enormous portions of the floor plummeted onto the staircase below, leaving gaping holes in the ceiling. Luckily for Zero, his point of impact was directly in the center of the floor. So when he and Void broke through, they didn't hit the staircase. They rocketed downwards right in the eye of the spiral. The wind screeched in Zero's ears as he fell; the staircase a red helix racing up and encircling him at blinding speeds. Chunks of floor and debris fell all around him, accompanying him on his terminal voyage. This was actually kind of fun! He did a somersault just for humor of it. Honestly he didn't know why he felt so jolly all of a sudden. Strictly speaking, his fight wasn't over. Although unexpectedly feeling joyous was better than unexpectedly feeling depressed. Deep in his oddly timed thoughts, Zero also forgot to expect the ground rushing up to meet him.

He felt like he was underwater. All of his senses were completely dulled. When he opened his eyes, only a distorted slew of colors greeted him. He closed his eyes again. His head was so swimmy... His breathing was shallow and all of his limbs were numb. Needless to say, he was not feeling very pleasant. Eventually his labored breathing began to take its toll on his body, as he felt himself falling back into the depths of unconsciousness. No... must stay awake... have to finish... Nnngh... The wanderer willed his body to come back to him. He tried to tell his mind to get up. But it was futile. With a fleeting feeling of danger, he slipped away once again.

This time, he awoke more fully. Although he felt equally as anguished. There was no telling how much time had passed since the fall. Or when he had lost consciousness again. His senses were still recuperating, but he was vaguely aware of a dull pain in his side. That meant he was alive. That was good. He tried to wiggle his fingers. Success! That meant he was alive AND he wasn't paralyzed. At least, not in his hand. He gathered his strength and shifted his weight to the side. Because of this, the source of his pain became harshly apparent. Sitting right smack on top of him, was a good sized hunk of stone. Zero groaned. It felt like his ribs might have cracked. He shoved the stone, just managing to slide it off of him. For a while he just lay there on the floor, splayed out and staring up at the sky through the hole in the spire that should have been a ceiling. Tiny flakes of snow silently filtered down from above, peppering his face. It would be so easy to just lie there and not care about anything else. It would be so easy to give up...

But he had to get up. His job wasn't over yet. He turned to his head to the side. A couple dozen feet away was another pile of rubble that seemed to be shifting. A clawed hand broke through and started pushing debris away. After a minute of this process, a crippled Void emerged from the pile. He was near death. It was obvious. Too much blood was escaping his broken body, and his breathing was even more ragged than Zero's. He stumbled out of his rocky entombment and looked around the floor. His gaze never found Zero, but it did find something else. Something more important. Grandark. The fatal demon limped towards the weapon, drawing Eclipse. It was no small effort for him - he strenuously lifted the great sword off his back and brought it down to his side. Zero still didn't have the strength to get up. He just laid there lamely and watched the events unfold. Void took awkward lumbering steps over to Grandark, and growled in inhuman disgust. His expression was erratic. Feral. He slowly lifted Eclipse high over his head, and brought it straight down onto Grandark's diamond eye.

The sword howled in pain. He had absolutely no defenses by himself. "Boy! H-help me!" he cried to Zero.

Void brought Eclipse down again. Hard. The serrated weapon slammed against Gran's eye, creating a large crack in the glass-like cornea. Green energy leaked forth out of the crack like blood and dissipated into the air. Grandark screamed again, his eye moving about wildly from side to side. "DAMMIT ZERO, HELP ME!" he pleaded.

A shot of adrenaline dropped into the wanderer's system. Within seconds his pain was dampened and he was on his feet, hobbling to his sword's rescue. He built up speed and charged wildly at Void in a full body take-down stance, filled with rage. Unfortunately the greater demon anticipated this. He raised a free hand and loosed a crazy ball of dark flames. There was no way to avoid it, so Zero did the only thing he could think of doing. He charged straight into it. The fire boiled his exposed skin and stung his eyes horribly, but he kept going. With a grunt, he threw his body against Void's. The force of the collision was big enough to knock the dark creature to the ground. Zero seethed with hatred for Void. He picked up the injured Grandark and screamed with blood lust. Despite the extreme tension of the situation, the critically wounded demon laughed insanely.

"You fool, you're clueless!" he spat. "Killing me won't stop anything! Your whole life is a fool's errand! AHAHAHA-"

-SLAM-

Gran's edge met Void's face, silencing him. Zero had never in his entire life felt this much hatred. It was as if he were physically burning to kill the monster before him. He raised Gran and and readied another attack. Void laughed through a mouthful of blood, his voice twinged with more than a hint of lunacy. In his final moments, the crazed demon could only look at this little pawn about to end him and laugh. After all, it was wickedly ironic, wasn't it? Cut down by one of his own...

-SLAM-

Grandark shattered his bones upon impact, crippling his body even further. The wanderer standing over him breathed in short loud grunts, his muscles strained in blind hate. "My name is Zero..." said the masked boy garbed in green. "And I made a promise to my master, and the entire world...that I would slay you or die trying, you vile wretch! And I'm not dead yet..."

-SLAM-

"So I intend..."

-SLAM-

"To keep..."

-SLAM-

"MY"

-SLAM-

"GOD"

-SLAM-

"DAMN"

-SLAM-

"PROMISE!"

Every single muscle in Zero's body tightened at once, and he screamed louder than anyone his size should've been able to. "DIIIEEEE!" he roared, and brought Grandark down one last time. There was no resistance. Dark scarlet liquid sprayed from the Demon's body, smattering the walls. Much to Zero's shock there was a ear-shattering explosion of glass fragments. A tiny hurricane of small pinprick sounds dancing around each other. He looked down, confused. Eight times he had viciously slugged his opponent with the sentient sword, but the very last hit was more powerful than all of the others fused. So powerful in fact, that Grandark had cracked clean in half - right in two. In the wanderer's hand was the hilt of a sword, and half of a glass like dome connected to it.

Grandark uttered a horrifying metallic squeal so pained that Zero covered his ears and grit his teeth. Gran's cries were garbled and distorted, as if he were underwater. "Boy...! What did you do to me!" bellowed the frantic sword. The emerald blood-like aura from before spilled forth, the unrestrained energy boiling the air and surging in an inferno of aggressive energy. The snow around him melted in the air and evaporated spontaneously. There was no way to escape. Zero was totally engulfed. The pain was so intense that he actually lost his vision for a brief moment. He fell to his knees in sheer agony, every nerve in his body overloaded with a sensation of intense scalding. This wasn't Gran's normal type of energy. In fact, all sorts of different elements pumped out randomly into the air. Although Zero was still enveloped in the aura storm, the pain only lasted for a few seconds. All sorts of feelings bombarded him as the different energies bled from the sword. One minute, his body was boiling from heat. The next, it felt as if his skin was shriveling from the hyper-concentration of ice in his bloodstream. At one point his stomach heaved so violently he vomited, violently expelling the acerbic bile in sloppy piles. Shortly after he felt himself being rejuvenated with the same healing aura of Loss. No matter what he felt, this was extremely bad. He had no idea if Grandark's soul would remain tethered to the physical sword, or if...

Well, Zero didn't allow himself to think like that. He dropped down onto all fours and looked at his sword. "Zero...I'm scared..." whispered Gran, his voice shaky and uncertain. Those words cut into him deeper than any wound ever could. Never, NEVER in the many years he had known Grandark, had the living sword ever been displayed fears. He wholeheartedly believed Gran. He could hear the terror in his voice. That was what scared Zero. Gran was fully aware of just how dire the situation was. He knew he might not make it.

Zero tried desperately to comfort the fractured sword. He started to tell him that it wold be okay and that they would make it back together. He wanted to tell him that they could easily mend the break and he would make a full recovery, but he didn't get the chance. At the exact second when Zero opened his mouth to speak, Grandark exploded. A green star turned Supernova. Before Zero's mind could even register what happened, the shock wave reached him and everything went black.