February 1st. Busan, International Training Complex.
Marcus entered the room. Unlike the motionless Wei, the leader of the European group moved impulsively, a hidden energy vibrating through his gestures. As he sat down, the Assistant noticed faint blue sparks dancing across his forearms.
"Hello, Marcus," the Assistant began.
"Hello," Marcus gave a wide smile, though tension was visible in the corners of his eyes. "Let’s get to business; I still have a suit calibration scheduled."
"Tell us about yourself."
"I’m 29. I’ve been in the Kaiju Defense Corps for ten years. Command considers me the 'ideal weapon,' but that title comes with a price," he casually rolled up his sleeve, revealing clean surgical scars where his skin met the metallic inserts of the suit. "My armor possesses incredible regeneration; it literally pulls me back from the brink of death, but there’s a catch: it is gradually merging with my organism. Every month, I have to undergo surgery—they literally cut out the parts of the armor that have managed to grow into my muscles and bones. To be honest, it’s not the most pleasant way to spend your time."
Marcus clenched his fist, and an electrical discharge crackled between his fingers.
"But the power is worth it. I can emit powerful point-blank pulses and accumulate electricity inside the suit like a giant living battery. The Kaiju this suit was made from caused quite a stir back in the day—it knocked out the power in all of Europe for a week. But then… then Subject Zero destroyed it. With a single move."
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
"What can you tell us about your colleagues?"
"Oh, we’re a real world-class team," Marcus chuckled. "Lucas flew in from Australia, Clara from Canada. Elena is a unique case: lived in China but is Russian by descent. Viktor is the only one who, like me, is a native European. We’re different, but we work like clockwork."
The Assistant’s eyes caught an unusual object on Marcus’s hand.
"And what kind of ring is that? It looks very old."
Marcus looked at his finger and smiled, rubbing the dark metal.
"Ah, this… Just a family heirloom. I remember a pawnshop owner saying it was ancient, but I don’t really believe in those fairy tales. To me, it’s just a trinket, a memory of home."
[Yanu Connection]
A sharp, almost indignant voice from the AI rang out in the Assistant's earbud:
— "A 'trinket'?! Does this meatbag even realize what he’s wearing on his finger? That is a Conduit Ring, created personally by Zenhald thousands of years ago. It’s designed for instantaneous teleportation. Good grief, he called one of the greatest artifacts of antiquity a 'trinket'!"
The Assistant flinched, trying not to show his surprise to Marcus.
— "Yanu, are you sure? Where did he get it?" he asked mentally.
— "The probability that Marcus is a very distant descendant of one of the branches of Zenhald's family is 54%. Or he’s just incredibly lucky. Either way, he doesn’t even know how to activate it."
The Assistant returned to reality and looked at his tablet.
"One final question. How do you feel about Subject Zero?"
Marcus’s demeanor transformed instantly. His eyes shone with genuine adoration.
"Oh, I want to meet him more than anything! To see him in action, to just talk to him even once… You know, to me, he’s not just a legend. He is the peak of strength that I’ve been striving toward my entire life. If Sector 'Zero' has the opportunity to arrange a meeting for us, my entire group would be immensely grateful. We are here for him."
The Assistant switched off the recorder.
"Thank you, Marcus. We will relay your request to management."
The EU leader stood up, nodded, and left, casually spinning a ring capable of moving matter through space around his finger.
[Assistant’s Thoughts]
It really is a small world, I thought. Zenhald has forgotten his life, and pieces of his past are scattered across the globe in the hands of people who don’t even understand what they possess.
