[379] : No Game No Life: Zero

~ Support & Read 11 Advanced Chapters on my Patreon

<><><><>

The first thing that greeted Mika in this new world was a panorama of desolation.

Ruin stretched to every horizon—a testament to some forgotten cataclysm. A sense of profound loneliness and death hung heavy in the air. Standing on a barren hillside, he looked out across the wasteland, seeing nothing but more of the same.

He glanced up.

The sky was the color of blood.

As he watched the blood-red expanse, a strange, blue-black ash began to drift down on a light breeze, like a macabre snowfall. When a flake landed on his face, a jolt of recognition shot through him.

He knew this world...

"No Game No Life… no, that's not quite right. This is No Game No Life: Zero," Mika said with a wry smile.

The smile was one of relief; he had pinpointed his location in a remarkably short amount of time. The bitterness, however, came from the sheer hopelessness of this particular world.

No Game No Life was a masterpiece he remembered vividly. In that story, a brother and sister duo, known only as the legendary gamers 『　　』 (Blank)—are summoned by the God of Games to a world where everything is decided by games.

Mika had been blown away by the anime, especially the moment the siblings challenged the powerful Flügel race, culminating in a Hydrogen bomb and a planet-shattering explosion. That scene was forever seared into his memory.

So, when he saw the scorched earth, the blood-red sky, and the "black ash" that could sear a man's skin, it all clicked into place.

This was the world six thousand years before the main story, during the final, desperate moments of the Great War that had engulfed the entire planet.

This was No Game No Life: Zero.

————

"What a repulsive feeling this world gives off," Athena remarked, having appeared beside him. Her divine senses took in their surroundings, and she came to a swift conclusion.

This was a world with Gods.

And it was a world on the verge of death, torn apart by a war between those very Gods.

The scene was sickeningly familiar, reminding her of the Holy Wars against Hades. The very reason she fought so hard against him was to prevent her own world from becoming… this.

This world wasn't shrouded in the gloom of the Underworld, but with the cloying stench of death hanging over everything, what was the difference?

"No," Athena corrected herself, "Even the Underworld isn't this cruel."

She slowly extended her palm, letting the blue-black ash settle on her skin.

Though it had no effect on her, she understood its horrific nature. If this ash were to land on a normal person, it would instantly scorch their skin.

If it fell into their eyes, it would cause blindness. And most terrifying of all, it was lighter than snow; an unsuspecting person could easily inhale it with a single breath.

In an environment like this, even a high-level adventurer from Orario would be in constant danger. Their skin might resist the burns, but inhaling it would be a death sentence.

The internal organs of a mortal, no matter how tough, were still fragile.

Only a true hero, a first-tier adventurer, could possibly ignore such a pervasive threat.

"Are there any humans still alive in this world?" Athena wondered aloud.

"Even if there are, their numbers must be incredibly small, just eking out a meager existence in some forgotten corner."

This wasn't a slight against humanity's resilience; it was a testament to the world's sheer cruelty. Even if this world had its own system of training, it wouldn't matter.

The strength of humanity had always been its vast numbers and incredible ability to procreate. It was from this massive population that exceptional individuals would rise in successive waves, with a few ultimate geniuses occasionally being born.

The Gold Saints were a perfect example of this.

But all of that was predicated on having a large, stable population. In an environment like this, where large-scale communities were impossible, humanity's greatest strengths were nullified.

While the average survivor might be tougher, the birth of a top-tier genius would be incredibly difficult. And a single genius could drastically improve humanity's chances of survival.

Their living space was just too small.

Of course, all of this assumed there were any humans left at all.

But Athena chose to believe they hadn't been completely extinguished.

After a moment of contemplation, she shook her head helplessly and looked over at Mika, curious to see his reaction.

He was gazing down from the hillside.

Following his line of sight, Athena's eyes widened for a moment before a soft smile graced her lips.

"Indeed. No matter the world, no matter the era, humanity is always so resilient."

From his vantage point, Mika could clearly see three figures moving through the ruins of a massive aerial warship, searching for something. It clearly wasn't food.

They were searching for information.

This meant they weren't just surviving for the sake of surviving.

"So it's you, Riku," Mika murmured.

After confirming the world he was in, Mika had started searching for the wreckage of this specific airship. Based on his past experiences, he knew he would always appear near the protagonist, usually at the beginning of their story.

The start of No Game No Life: Zero was a flashback to the past. He needed to confirm whether he was in that flashback or in the "present" time of the prequel.

Now, he was certain.

He was in the story's main timeline.

This was the moment when the protagonist, Riku, now a grown man, was about to meet the Ex-Machina, Schwi.

From her, he would learn the cause of the Great War and the conditions for ending it, setting him on a path to stop the conflict himself.

Mika remembered the thrill of that storyline, even with its tragic ending. Riku had achieved victory, yet was denied the Star Grail. But for the surviving humans, it was undoubtedly a victory—a great victory, the likes of which had never been seen before and would never be seen again.

————

"No Game No Life: Zero…"

Standing on the hillside, watching Riku and his two companions scavenge for data in the warship, Mika instantly understood who the "enemy" was that the starry expanse had arranged for him.

Artosh, the God of War.

The strongest God in this world.

In the world of No Game No Life, there were sixteen sentient races, known as the Exceed, ranked by their affinity for magic.

[Rank 1]Old Deus

[Rank 2]Phantasma

[Rank 3]Elemental

[Rank 4]Dragonia

[Rank 5]Gigant

[Rank 6]Flügel

[Rank 7]Elf

[Rank 8]Dwarf

[Rank 9]Fairy

[Rank 10]Ex-Machina

[Rank 11]Demonic Beasts

[Rank 12]Dhampir

[Rank 13]Lunamana

[Rank 14]Werebeast

[Rank 15]Seiren

[Rank 16]Imanity

At the top of this hierarchy were the Old Deus, the Gods naturally born of this world. Compared to the Gods of Orario, these Gods were far more powerful, having created most of the other races themselves.

Only Imanity—humans—had evolved from the native animals, and thus had no God of their own.

Of course, this sixteen-race ranking system was from the main story, established only after the Great War. In the current era, there were only fifteen races, with humans being seen as nothing more than monkeys by the others. They were not even acknowledged as a sentient race and thus could not participate in the war.

The cause of all this devastation was an incredibly precious treasure.

A conceptual device known as the Star Grail.

Whoever possessed it would become the One True God of this world. And this wasn't just a title; the Star Grail would grant the wielder power commensurate with that status.

In the original story, Riku, after achieving victory, was unable to claim the Star Grail. The arm he reached out with simply turned to ash.

No one knew why, as a One True God had never been born before.

All in all, the Star Grail did not recognize him. In his despair, he had placed his hopes in the Gods, praying that one of them would appear and claim the Grail, putting an end to the war that had raged for countless years.

The one who answered his wish was the God of Games, born from Riku's own yearning.

This God, so weak he couldn't even form a physical body, gained absolute hegemony the moment he obtained the Star Grail. With a single thought, he reshaped the entire world, which had been on the brink of death.

Such power was something the other Gods couldn't even dream of. To reshape a world with a single thought… even a creator God from beyond this world might not be able to do that.

Without a doubt, the power of the Star Grail was real.

"The One True God, huh? Since none of you seem to be taking this seriously, I might as well take that power for myself," Mika thought to himself, a new desire taking root in his heart.

<><><><>

~ 11 Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon

https://p-atreon.com/dragonnx

(Just remove the hyphen to access Patreon normally.)