Lukas woke up once again to find himself back in the nightmare realm. He didn't mind it this time as he remembered the promise that he made to Nightmare so he knew that he would get something out of this at least. "Nightmare, are you here?" Lukas asked as he exited his room whilst rubbing his eyes. "I'm right here, kid. Let me get straight to the point, I need to tell you something important." Nightmare replied quickly as he seemed excited. "You're in a good mood today. What is it that you planned on telling me?" Lukas inquired as he was quite shocked by Nightmare's sudden positivity. "It's about that thing that you met whilst you were traversing The Multiverse. I believe that it called itself Zero, right?" Nightmare answered as he tried to calm himself down. "You're going to explain what Zero is? I won't object to learning more about them." Lukas stated as Nightmare had practically stolen his attention with two sentences.
"Yes, I want to tell you what I've managed to learn about Zero. He's rather interesting for just a floating cluster of negative emotions." Nightmare thought out loud as he started explaining. "He's just a cluster of negative emotions? I knew that he was related to negative emotions in some way because of what happened when I first met him... but you're telling me that he is nothing but negative emotions?" Lukas asked as he was confused as to how that would even work. "Indeed... he is a mass of negative emotions... nothing more, nothing less. He's quite similar to me in fact although my body is only partially made from negative emotions and it doesn't seem that Zero actually gain any power from those around it feeling any negativity." Nightmare explained as he seemed to enjoy exposing Zero. Lukas thought for a moment as he tried to comprehend this information.
"I guess it does make sense... kind of. There's just one thing that I don't understand about Zero. How did he even come into existence?" Lukas asked as he started coming up with any theory that he could think of. "I'm going to be honest and say that I don't know the answer to that question. The most likely explanation that I have come up with is that he was probably created by a god-like entity. I have no idea why anybody would create a being like Zero... but perhaps beings like us will never be able to comprehend what those gods think." Nightmare replied as he looked around slowly. "That does sound plausible. I just find all of this hard to comprehend because I've only seen one god." Lukas explained as he stopped theorising. Nightmare started looking around more frantically which made Lukas feel uneasy.
"Um.. what are you doing? Is somebody else supposed to be here?" Lukas asked as he started looking around as well. "No, the problem that I'm having is that it should only be the two of us here but I sense someone else's presence." Nightmare replied as he tried to focus his attention only on Lukas. "By the way, you have not only seen one god. I know of a god that you've met. Dream is a god and so am I... so that makes two gods." Nightmare stated. "Y-you and Dream are gods? Are you being serious?" Lukas inquired as he was shocked by this information. "Dream is the god of dreams and I'm the god of nightmares. How do you think Dream and I got our names? Before you ask, I was not born as the god of nightmares... I just killed the god who originally had the title and stole their powers and their title." Nightmare clarified. "You killed a god and stole their powers? How can you just do something like that? I'm sure that I read somewhere that if any god gets killed then the natural laws of everything could change!" Lukas exclaimed as he seemed worried.
"Kid, I don't think that you get how this works. If any being kills a god, then that being gains that god's role in existence and any and all powers that the god has. For instance, I killed the god of nightmares and now I gain strength when anybody feels negative emotions." Nightmare explained. "Oh... I guess that makes sense. Well then, what happens if a being kills multiple gods and gains their titles?" Lukas asked as this topic seemed really interesting to him. "Then that being would gain the powers of all of the gods that they have killed. Eventually, if a being was to kill every single god in existence and gain every title of the gods, they would have a mastery over everything and they'd be able to bend the very fabric of reality to their will... or at least that's what everybody assumes would happen." Nightmare replied. Lukas was about to ask another question before the feeling of uneasiness grew until he didn't feel safe... Nightmare looked up at Lukas in fear for some reason. Suddenly, Lukas could hear a noise behind him that sounded like breathing.
Lukas quickly turned around whilst summoning his weapons and looked up to see Zero standing behind him. "What the hell are you doing here?" Lukas demanded an answer as he could tell that Zero wasn't happy. "What happened to that hope that you had? Did you lose your hope the moment that you saw me? I wish it was that easy for everybody to lose their hope." Zero said as it started walking towards Lukas. "Why do you want to destroy hope?" Lukas asked as he was tired of none of his questions having answers. "Hope is a plague. Everybody is infected by it. I am the only one that is immune to it. We will supply the cure to this infection so that you may live as we do." Zero replied which only made Lukas more confused. "Stop being so damn vague!" Lukas yelled as he was beginning to get frustrated.
"You were tasked with defending that Universe... were you not? The Universe that I told you was full of hope." Zero asked as it seemed to be talking about random topics. "Indeed I was, what's your point?" Lukas retorted as Zero was starting to annoy him. "We will make sure that you fail your mission. The Universe of hope will fall when we want it to and you will be left with nothing but despair, hatred and fear. You will live as we do... a life full of negativity." Zero replied as it pulled out it's sword. "Now that I think about it, my power level shot through the roof a few days ago... the same day that Zero arrived here. If Zero is full of negative emotions, I guess that would explain it." Nightmare thought out loud as he seemed completely oblivious to Lukas and Zero's conversation. "So you want to destroy that Universe that I need to protect? Well then... I guess I'm going to have to teach you why it is a bad idea to oppose me." Lukas explained as he took a deep breath before preparing for an attack.
Nightmare finally realised what was happening and he quickly got a safe distance away from the other two. Lukas held his breath as he dashed towards Zero and swung his blade that clashed with Zero's sword. Zero tried to push back against Lukas but Lukas' leg became coated in a dark-red flame before he kicked it through the wall of the hallway and followed it through the hole. "Kid! Don't cause too much destruction!" Nightmare yelled at Lukas as he watched the two continue fighting. Lukas shot a chain at a piece of rubble which it then wrapped around... he then yanked the chain and threw it at Zero only for it to effortlessly slice through the attack. Zero swiftly flew towards Lukas and their weapons collided once again. "Where did all of this rage come from, Lukas? Could it be that you fear me and you have converted that fear into anger? I can feel the negativity pouring out from your soul. Seeing you like this only makes this battle more enjoyable for us." Zero stated as Lukas' mind was clouded with hatred.
"Stop talking already! I don't care if you're made of negative emotions! I'll tear you to pieces and make Signus watch!" Lukas shouted as he tightened his grip. "Signus wouldn't care if this body was to be destroyed here and now, he knows the truth about what we are and he knows that your actions here are futile. " Zero replied in the same dead tone. Lukas was finished listening to Zero... he threw the blade that he wasn't currently using behind Zero before the weapon seemed to turn around and fly into Zero by itself. Zero looked down at the blade that had pierced it's body before it looked back at Lukas as it seemed to be almost disappointed in him. Lukas' weapons seemed to melt as they spiralled downwards and surrounded Lukas' leg before they solidified again, he then kicked Zero down to the ground as they dropped their sword.
Lukas landed in front of the area where Zero had fallen and stared at the cloud of dust that he had caused before he saw Zero stand up from the rubble and step forwards. "You're so desperate to put an end to us but you just don't understand a thing. You cannot kill us like this... it is physically impossible for you to kill us when you're like this." Zero calmly explained as it reached its hand out to its sword which quickly flew towards it. "I hate to tell you this... but Zero's telling the truth. Your weapons are powered by your emotions and your emotions are all negative at this moment... you'll only make it stronger if you attack it like this." Nightmare told Lukas who appeared to be attempting to calm down. "I can't kill him if I'm feeling negative? So I have to try and be positive whilst fighting. How can I feel any kind of positive emotion when I'm fighting a being like this?" Lukas asked himself as he began thinking of anything to make him calm down. "How will you kill us? The answer is simple; you cannot kill us. You need to feel positive to kill us... and while it may be possible for you to feel positive emotions for a while, we can simply allow our negativity to leak out onto you and make that positivity quickly fade just like we did when you first met us." Zero stated as it pointed its sword at Lukas.
"I'll take care of this." Nightmare spoke as he stepped towards Zero. "How will you kill them exactly? You feel nothing but negative emotions so I don't exactly get how you can do this when I can't!" Lukas exclaimed as he was quite worried for Nightmare. "Kid, I get power from negative emotions. If I'm fighting a being who only feels negative emotions then I'll be immortal as long as I stay near them... plus, I can only be killed by positive emotions so it'll just be a stalemate until one of us gives up. There's also the fact that if you get hurt whilst I'm watching over you then those guys will most likely kill me... so I'd rather you don't fight any potentially dangerous beings whilst your under my protection." Nightmare explained as black tendrils emerged from his back which were covered in the same liquid as the rest of Nightmare's body. "So you'd like to fight us in a battle that will never end? You are wasting our time... we are here for Lukas. Once we kill Lukas, we will be blessed with the end of our negativity!" Zero yelled as it disappeared and quickly appeared behind Nightmare and in front of Lukas.
Lukas stood in fear and looked up at Zero who simply stared back with their emotionless eye. "W-what the hell are you?" Lukas asked as Zero was clearly more powerful than it was currently letting on. "The great one that created us demands it, Lukas. You must perish and then we will be free. We will destroy you and be granted the endless gift of hope. We will be infected by the plague that is hope and we will release this hatred of ours unto any and all who dared to deny us our one wish." Zero stated as it was blinded by its hatred. "Who created you? Why would killing me bring you anything good? I don't understand!" Lukas shouted as an attempt to ward off the fear that was emanating from Zero as he slowly backed away from this creature in front of him. "From what we understand, you know who this great being is. You just refuse to remember them. You all just... refused to acknowledge our existence... you all refused to acknowledge our suffering. You all drove us to this! You ignored us, you refused to help us and you denied our existence in this reality and look where that got you mortals! You're all going to suffer in silence just like we did for all of those millennia!" Zero screeched as it reached for its mask and began to tear it off.
Lukas could only stare at the creature in fear as the mask that it wore fell to the ground and Zero screamed in agony as it fell to the floor along with it as a black liquid started dripping from its face... it looked like Zero was bleeding. Zero then began making noises that sounded like it was crying before it slowly looked up as the robe that it wore disappeared. Confusion; that was the only thing that Lukas could feel in that moment as he stared at Zero which was now showing its full body... it wasn't like anything that Lukas had ever seen. It's body was even darker than it first appeared to be and it was round... the arms and legs still just looked like bones but they suddenly began to crumble away leaving nothing but a floating ball of negativity with a head. The head of Zero appeared to be even stranger... the eye that Lukas had seen seemed to have disappeared and the hair on Zero's head appeared to just be part of its body. "Kid, Get out of there!" Nightmare yelled as Lukas broke through the fear that clouded his vision and ran away as darkness erupted from Zero's body without even making a sound.
Once Lukas stopped running, he turned back to Zero to see its head melt into its body and fuse with it. All that was left of Zero was a giant black orb that floated with negative essence floating around it. Suddenly, the orb started moving and an eye with a yellow pupil appeared on it and yellow orbs appeared in a circle on the opposite side of the orb. It was the strangest thing that Lukas had ever seen... was it even Zero anymore? The strange eye stared at Lukas before it suddenly shot a black bolt of electricity at him and before he could even react, the electricity was blocked by somebody who jumped in front of Lukas. He looked up at the person who had blocked the attack to see Dream. "Did somebody need some positive emotions?" Dream asked as he summoned his staff. "No! Nobody needed your positivity!" Nightmare yelled back at Dream as he just seemed annoyed by his presence.
"Lukas, get out of here! I'll handle this thing!" Dream yelled as Lukas simply nodded and flew back towards his room. The strange eye turned its attention towards Lukas as he was flying away as it shot more black electricity towards him... Nightmare quickly got in the way of the attack and he seemed unaffected by it. "Not a chance, buddy!" Nightmare shouted as he charged towards the eye. Lukas got in his room and quickly closed the door behind him before he got into bed and tried to wake up from the nightmare realm. "Come on! Wake up already!" Lukas thought to himself as he was confused as to why he wasn't waking up. He sat up in his bed after he spent a while trying to wake up but failing in the end. Suddenly, Lukas heard a scream coming from the battlefield that didn't sound like Dream or Nightmare... he looked out of his window to see that there were civilians that were being caught in the crossfire of the fight against Zero.
"Civilians... in the nightmare realm? That can't be right! Wait a minute... what if this isn't the nightmare realm?" Lukas asked himself as he looked around his room. "There's only one way to prove if this theory is correct." Lukas thought as he stared at the Eye before he ran to pick it up... and Bethany appeared by his side. "It's about time, Lukas! What's happening?" Bethany inquired as Lukas realised that Zero was fighting in the real world and so it could cause real damage. "Zero attacked me and Dream and Nightmare are trying to fight it off. We've figured out that it can only be killed by using positive emotions." Lukas quickly explained as he started to try to think of a plan to fight Zero. "I knew that about Zero already! You need to get out there right now and fight Zero!" Bethany demanded as she seemed almost disappointed in Lukas. "I can't fight Zero! If I attack him, he'll just absorb my negative emotions that are fuelling my attacks! I'd just make him stronger!" Lukas exclaimed as he was starting to think that everything was lost.
"Are you sure about that? Are you sure that there isn't anything that you can think about that can give you the positivity that can harm Zero? Are you sure that there isn't something that you know that Zero is afraid of that you can think of?" Bethany questioned Lukas as he started to calm down and think. "Think about something that Zero is afraid of and it'll give you the positive emotions to fight him... will that really work?" Lukas asked himself as he began to think hard. He thought about all that he knew about Zero... the only times when he had learnt anything about Zero is when Zero was physically there... which was only at two points in time. Lukas thought about what Zero had said the two times that he had met him... the only thing that came to mind when Zero mentioned something that he didn't like was when he was talking about hope when he had arrived at the Universe where Lukas met Niko. Once Lukas had thought about that Universe, he couldn't help but remember Niko and those glowing yellow eyes... as Lukas thought about Niko, he just smiled before he got up and began speaking again.
"That's it! Zero hates hope and when I picture Niko, I can't feel anything but hope!" Lukas exclaimed as he suddenly stood up. Bethany just looked at Lukas before she gestured towards the door... Lukas just simply nodded and rushed out to help with the fight. He returned just in time to witness Dream being flung into a wall by an attack. "Zero! Ignore Dream and Nightmare... you only want me, right?" Lukas yelled as Zero turned its attention to him. "The end of our pain and our suffering is near. If you truly care for how others feel... then you will lay down your life to bring about a new age where we will be free to feel joy." Zero stated as it charged towards Lukas. Lukas closed his eyes as he tried to focus on what he was thinking about earlier... Niko's face and all of the hope that was given to him when he first laid his eyes upon them. With that, Lukas prepared to swing at Zero as it approached him... he pictured Niko's face... and smiled as he struck Zero.
All Lukas could hear was Zero's high pitched screech as his weapon seemed to burn through Zero's very essence. He opened his eyes once more to see that his weapon had pierced all of the way through Zero's body and a bright yellow flame had surrounded his blade. "Lukas... you are exactly what we need to change in this world. The ones who only leech off of the positivity of others are those who don't deserve it." Zero explained in a cold tone as the yellow flame engulfed it and it released an ear-piercing screech as the essence that made it sentient was quickly burned away. Bethany began clapping as Lukas shook the dark essence off of his blade and turned around as his smile quickly faded. "What's the matter Lukas?" Bethany asked as she saw what happened to Lukas. "I know that I've just destroyed an evil being... but... I also just killed a being who wanted nothing more than to be free... it feels awful. My skin feels cold, my mind feels numb and it feels like I'm going to be haunted for the rest of my life." Lukas stated as he rested against a wall.
"That sounds like a person who has just killed their first living being. I understand how you feel, I felt exactly the same when I killed my first victim." Bethany explained as she was hoping to get Lukas to relate to her. "Your first victim? My first victim? Not... my first." Lukas began speaking as he slowed down before collapsing to the floor. "No... not again." Bethany spoke with a sigh as she was starting to get tired of Lukas fainting like this. "Ori, I'm sorry that I wasn't there for you. Yana and Riley, I'm thankful that you left that message for us... we can track him down now." Lukas thought to himself as he entered another vision.
There they were, the man with the mask was stood before him. The red eye that glowed in the socket of the skull as their pale hand gripped a knife. "You've got nowhere to run now! You're going to pay for each and every one of the lives that you have taken!" Lukas yelled as the rain began to harshly fall from the pitch black clouds that hung overhead. "There's nobody here who you can fool, Lukas. We both know who killed all of those innocents." The man responded as the mask muffled their voice slightly. The rain suddenly stopped moving for a moment... before it suddenly looked like the droplets were rising up to the sky as Lukas' head began to twitch. "That's why you got me to chase you up to the roof of the hospital isn't it? So we could have a face to face conversation and have nobody to interrupt us. Well... unfortunately for you, I don't like talking too much... although I'll be happy to make you into victim number four." Lukas stated as he began laughing maniacally. "I knew it... you're a freaking maniac. I will put you down and avenge all of those who you have killed." The masked man calmly replied as he began running back towards the scaffolding. "I will make you suffer for all of those that you have brutalised!" Lukas retorted as he stared at the glowing blue moon.