Prologue pt. 2

When Mako woke, it wasn't to the starry lights, or the paramedics of a possible heart attack, or even his bed after playing his game so long he hallucinated.

No, instead it was to wet grass and the smell of pine wood. A dull throb on his face where he'd collapsed and a new mosquito bite on his arm. The sunlight trickled through the air and dawned a bright yellowish tint. It might've been afternoon.

Mako must've slept in.

But when Mako woke to check his alarm, he wasn't in his house, the hospital, or even the morgue.

He was in the woods...

Alone.

"What the," Mako murmured groggily as he struggled to his feet, his half worn jacket slipping off his shoulders along with the emergency snacks he had in his pockets in case gaming went long.

Any other time Mako would've been annoyed. That was his 3rd favorite jacket and he was hungry.

Unfortunately, he currently had bigger problems.

"Where the hell am I?" Mako whispered, looking at the vast surrounding forest with pine trees taller than Redwoods. Their trunks so wide he couldn't even begin to imagine wrapping his arms around them, much less trying to cut one down.

It was like he was in a forest of giants, and only thing reminding him he wasn't an ant was the mulch dirt and dew grass beneath his feet.

"What is this?" Mako murmured, tryng to think of any place in the world with pine trees as tall as this one. With exotic looking birds that gazed quietly at him from above. With mushrooms the size of boulders scattered around the ground.

He couldn't think of a single place on earth with any of that.

"Am I dead?" Mako asked, slapping himself in the face as he walked over to a nearby tree. Touching its bark with his fingertips, the surface as tough as metal. His fingers were like dust against its surface, so unnoticeable his presence might as well have been nonexistent standing next to it.

Where... wait! Phone! I have my phone!

Mako shook himself awake, bringing out the phone from his bd finding it still working. Not 100% battery, only 34% but that was fine.

Calling someone for help would only take a second.

"Come on." Mako dialed 911, glancing around nervously at the hints of movement here and there. Bugs he didn't recognize were common, and he spotted a few frog looking things, and what looked like a mix between a squirrel and a rat, but they didn't seem to pay him any mind.

Which was good because after his call flatlined, he may have started panicking.

"No service!?" Mako whispered, gritting his teeth as he tried multiple times, failing spectacularly, before giving up. He hurriedly shoved his other hand into his pocket and pulled out wired earbuds. Selecting one of the hundreds of songs he'd downloaded on Spotify and blasting it to keep his nerves at bay.

"On my way, on my way..."

Mako murmured the song to keep himself at least a little less likely to freak out.

"I would like to reach out my hand..."

His were eyes on the ground as he tried not to think of the scar on his calf. It's memory stinging even though it had healed years ago.

"I may see you, I may tell you to run..."

The only thing left was a scar, surface area, but lost in this weird ass place made it burn with pain.

"Send me on my way."

It was like his body was connecting his current panic to the most intense version of it, and it was only the song that kept it at bay. For 4 minutes and 23 seconds he was able to keep himself from thinking too hard about his situation, why he was lost and what the fuck happened the night before.

Or was it the day before?

Fuck, Mako didn't even know how long he was knocked out for.

"Replay, replay, replay," Mako muttered to himself, moving to turn back the song once it reached its end. The initial seconds hit his ears, a mixture of tiny percussions and strings, only for a new message to pop in front of his face. Just like the one from last night, except this time it was different.

Someone has used the Third- Error! Error!

Extremely different.

Someone has @&?$!$ +{*} ?!$ #*{€^ *% *^%* =#€ |\?!]

Recalibrating...

Recalibrating...

Transfer Successful.

Uses remaining: 0/3

The Third Wonder has been depleted.

Recharge time: 10000 years

The Third Wonder's Instruction Manual is now shutting down...

Mako blinked as he watched the holographic screen in front of his face flicker and disappear. Fucking gone. No warning no reason, no nothing. His eyes widened as he shoved his phone and earbuds back into his pocket and raged, "Huh! That's it! What!?"

No help. No nothing. Just some random stuff about variables and that's it!? He wasn't in Calc class! He was in the forest! Why was he in the forest!? This 'instruction manual' didn't explain anything!

"Hello," Mako muttered angrily as he swatted at the air and hoped something, anything would come up, "there's no fucking way. Come on."

He tried calling out to it. Tried pressing buttons that didn't exist in hopes something would happen. All of it was in vain. Nothing showed up, and he was still stuck in the woods, covered in mud and smelling like shit. No weird magical manual telling him what to do. No explanation for why the fuck he wasn't at home. Nothing. There was nothing.

"Goddamn it!" Mako roared into the air, startling a few birds that were minding their own business. His voice echoed like a gong much to his surprise. He'd never been camping back home, preferred the beach, so having been stranded out in the woods there were basic rules he didn't know.

Shit, that was loud...

The first being that yelling in the depths of the woods, unless you know someone is looking for you, isn't a good idea.

Do forests always echo like-

Mako learned that rule, so quickly and instinctively that it shut off any thought entering his brain. The low, insatiable growl of something far behind his back brought Mako's greatest fears back to life. His memory flashed, the water, a predator, an unsuspecting prey. It was all there.

And the second he heard something shuffle, the slightest hint of nearby animals peeking up their heads before ducking under cover, Mako bolted.

Faster than he'd ever run in his life, blindly running through the maze of giant trees, he ran. Until his chest stung and his legs burned, he ran as fast as he could. Not stopping until his feet couldn't handle the strain and he ducked behind the trunk of a pine tree. Holding his hand over his chest as he tried to blink the sweat out of his eyes and catch his breath.

What was that? Where is it? Is it still following me? It must be! I heard it's footsteps! It's close by!

Mako tried to balance getting air back into his lungs and staying deathly silent. Worried that every single movement might alert the thing of where he was.

Where is it? Where is it? Where is it?

Mako glanced around his cover to try and scan the forest for anything. His limbs shaking against his will as he spotted nothing in his general area, but could still see the animals quivering. Their instincts keeping their heads down and their eyes lower.

It's still here...

Animals were better sensors of danger. Mako had to follow their lead.

No matter what I can't make a-

"Ah, there you are." A sleepy voice said, and Mako jumped out of his skin. Turning around in silent terror, only to be greeted by a lying boy face first on a cloud. A floating fucking cloud, hovering inches off the ground like a tiny taxi service.

"Sorry," the boy mumbled into his cloud, refusing to look up as he held out two chocolate bars in his left hand. "I ate one before I realized their owner was still here."

"What are you-"

"Take 'em. I'm tired." The boy said, handing him the two out of three chocolate bars that must've fell out of his pocket.

Mako took them out of reflex, watching silently as the boy with white hair, pale skin, and a thinner constitution, slumped lifelessly into the cloud. He was a child, relaxing on a puffy gray cloud, an actual cloud, that hovered an inch over the ground and covered the other half of his body from view.

"Thanks for the food." The boy said into his pillow, his lackadaisical tone momentarily making Mako forget where he was. Or what situation he was in.

Who-

The bloodthirsty snarl was as good a reminder as any.

"What's that?" The boy murmured carelessly as Mako's stomach sank. His breath slowly rising as he turned, watching with trembling eyes as the forests depths revealed giant, beady red eyes. The shade of giant pines falling as a beast, something like a giant wolf with stalagmites across its skin, sauntered out.

It bared its razor sharp teeth, letting out a rumbling growl, and Mako felt his heart stop.

The only thing that started it again was the shock of the boy's unpleased reaction.

"Seriously?" The boy groaned and tilted his head up. His eyes were still closed as if refusing to ruin his nap unless absolutely necessary.

"Quiet down, please." The boy yawned in the direction of the monster, "I'm napping."

Mako flinched as the monster roared, so blazingly loud that the entire forest shook in alarm. Its giant hind legs and spiny back coiled as it shot towards them, jaw dropping with spittle and rage.

Mako tried to move, but found his feet rooted in place. His scarred calf was sizzling with pain, and his legs refused to move.

Shit...

Fear.

It's gonna eat me.

Mako was frozen with fear as the beast barreled through towering trees, snapping them with muscles that would rip him limb from limb. It's canines flashed over a memory of thousands of sharp teeth, dragging him underneath the water. Into the depths where he couldn't do anything but drown.

I'm gonna die. Mako thought, certain that was the case, before he heard the kid from earlier grumble into his cloud, "Oh come on."

Mako's mind stalled as he watched the kid lift his arm towards the beast. His eyes lazily opening to reveal grey pupils narrowed in distaste.

"You're so loud." The boy frowned, and Mako should have realized something was off as the beast stopped in its tracks. Its eyes widening in fright as it tried to turn back, only for the roar of wind blowing from the boy's hand to suck it back in. Clawing at the ground, it struggled to escape, but all of it was in vain.

"I'm trying to sleep." The boy scowled, and vortex of harsh wind shot from his hand, tearing through the ground in a cyclone of sharp winds.

The monster tried to dodge to the side, but it looked like the cyclone curved into it. Giving Mako a front row view of the most gruesome thing he'd ever seen. And the most horrific sounding yelp he'd ever heard.

It wasn't even fair.

The wind ripped apart the monster limb from limb, leaving behind a corpse similar to when one puts meat in a blender, and continuing past it. Snapping trees and shattering any rocks unfortunate enough to cross its path.

In the end it looked like a giant had dug its finger through the dirt and kept going for a couple hundred yards. Only when a scar was left in the forest, did the wind fade and dissipate, leaving a quiet silence.

It was a scene of complete and utter devastation, incomprehensible to anything Mako had ever seen.

And the boy that caused it didn't seem to care.

"That's better." The boy mumbled happily as he laid his head back into the cloud and started snoring. His light smile scaring the shit out of Mako as he tried to wrap his head around what he just saw. No scratch that, he was still reeling from the fact that he almost died and this kid was the reason he was alive.

That monster... he killed it?

Sharp teeth, giant body, beady eyes. Like a dog the size of a house, covered in volcanic stalagmites and ready to rip his eyes out their sockets.

That monster died so quickly?

That monster was a mild annoyance to the boy that saved his life. Merely a roadblock to a decent nap. It was jarring, but the memory of the boy's eyes stored something in Mako's brain. Scratching an itch that he hadn't even realized was there.

Do I... do I know him?

Mako blinked, watching the kid sleep soundly.

Why does he...

Mako tried to think of where he saw a kid with white hair and grey eyes before, and couldn't come up with anything.

Why does he look familiar?

Mako was thinking over it until the wind blew through their small section to the forest. Gently yet beautifully fluttering around the kid like a waking kiss from a loved one.

Mako's eyes widened as the boy stiffened, blearily waking up from his sleep and murmuring, "What's wrong wind? Is he still here? What's it matter?"

Mako watched in growing dread and disbelief as the boy seemed to listen to the wind. Slowly but steadily creaking open his eyes and revealing gray pupils.

"Oh," the boy yawned, "Ok. I guess I'll ask him."

Mako felt his muscles tighten as the boy turned his way. The adrenaline of being chased for his life faded and was replaced with shock as he watched the boy slowly tilt his head and say, "The wind says I forgot to thank you for the... chocolud?"

"Chocolate."

"Yeah, that." The boy mumbled shyly, "Thanks."

Mako nodded, still slightly dumbfounded, as the wind blew and the boy seemed to groan. Lazily sitting up and revealing a long sleeve that hung limply where his right arm should've been, everything became blindingly clear.

Everything clicked at that moment.

"The wind says I need to stop being antisocial or whatever and I need to make friends." The kid said grumpily, before asking almost shyly, "So what's your name? You got one, right?"

Mako watched the kid move his empty sleeve over his opposite shoulder, a nervous habit maybe, and nearly laughed in disbelief. Trying to catch his breath, Mako collapsed to his back, looking up to the sky struggling to get the words out of his mouth.

"Mako..." he chuckled bitterly. "my name's Mako Grier."

"Oh, that's an interesting name." The boy said, as a slight breeze blew through the forests.

The boy tilted his head curiously, "The wind says you've got a weird smell. Where'd you come from?"

"Somewhere foreign." Mako responded, looking up at the sky and feeing the wind kissing his cheek. As if laughing at his sour mood.

If this kid is who he thought it was that wasn't a good thing.

"Hey kid," Mako asked dreadfully, "what's your name."

Mako didn't pray often... which he may need to reconsider since things ended up so shitty, but regardless, he didn't pray. Not often, but in that moment he prayed to every god he could think of. Jesus. Zeus. Buddha. Allah. Anyone.

Please don't be who I think it is. Please don't be who I think it is. Please don't be who I think it is.

Hoping, begging that he was wrong. Mako closed his eyes and waited, listening as the kid yawned.

"Zero." The kid mumbled sleepily, "Zero Lightless. Nice to meet you."

Mako sunk in unnoticed despair as a light breeze drifted through the air.

Zero laughed, "The wind says it's nice to meet you too."

Mako could've cried.

"Thanks..." Mako mumbled sourly, sighing with every ounce of his being. There he had it. Proof of where he was, and why he didn't recognize this crazy looking forest of giant pines and monsters.

He was in the game, Humanity's Mistakes.

And he was talking to Zero Lightless, headmaster of Blight Academy and strongest man alive. A man with one arm and long white hair, sharp gray eyes and a grin that could make the ladies swoon. He was goofy on some occasions but when it came down to it, his strength could even trump the demon king.

"Hey Mako?" the boy asked, and that was the problem. The Zero that saved his life was a boy. A kid, maybe 10 or 11. 12 maximum.

"Can I have some more of those chocolate things?"

In the game he was over 40 years old.