Parthen

When promising  Academy student Noct is left for dead in the depths of a shifting, monster-infested labyrinth, he’s forced to survive alone—until survival turns into evolution. Armed with forbidden abilities and a cursed blade, he carves his way toward the surface with his new allies, all while hiding a relic so dangerous even his AI-like System refuses to identify it.

Above ground, the world thinks he's dead. His sister, Selene, lives with guilt. His former class has moved on—except for Rael, who now infiltrates the terrorist cult known as the Creed of Evolution. But truth has a cost, and not all of them will survive what's coming.

As Noct finally escapes the abyss, secrets unravel, pasts collide, and a new war begins—one where silence kills, and evolution demands blood.

But there are still threats that lay in a deeper abyss.

Hollow Zero

Hey everyone," Noct said calmly. "Cool guild you've built. But I need something. Answers. I can't remember what happened that day."

Eira's expression shifted. Pity washed across her face like a veil. She walked toward him, arms wide. "Noct... you're alive... thank god, I can't believe it."

He let her embrace him, the warmth foreign and cold all at once.

"I survived. That's all there is to it. I just... needed to get out. To find the truth."

She pulled back, eyes soft. "Come, let's talk privately. In the observation lounge."

As they walked across the hall, Eira subtly signaled behind her back. Hands formed code. Instructions. A trap.

Without warning, one of the classmates lunged. Noct pivoted, dodging instinctively.

In his eyes was a look of disbelief as to what was happening.

"Why are you doing this?!" he shouted.

"Because we can't let you live," Eira said, voice devoid of remorse.

Flickers of memory sparked within Noct's mind, too brief to grasp. Surrounded, he parried and dodged, refusing to strike lethally. The truth still mattered to him.

Mia and Ellen burst through the doorway after hearing the sounds of fighting. "Noct!" they cried—but no one turned. Noct fought alone.

He didn't need to—not yet. He was fast, trained, and focused. But his stamina was finite, and they had numbers. As he turned to parry another strike, Eira slipped behind him using her ability. Her weapon struck his temple.

Pain exploded. Blood blurred his vision.

He saw Ellen and Mia approaching. But something was wrong.

Their skin was fracturing like porcelain.

"Looks like it's our time to go," Ellen whispered, smiling sadly.

"Everything was just a lie... a story you wrote to survive," Mia added.

"No... No, please... don't leave me!" Noct reached for them.

He had fought them alone. Always alone. Their abilities—creations of his own ability, Numbers. Figments, born to keep him sane in the crushing isolation of the labyrinth.

The world cracked further. Then darkness.

A single pair of footsteps echoed.

Then a slight chuckle came from the person walking towards him.

"Poor little Noctis why must the world always be so cruel to you," a voice called—his own voice.

But this version smiled with venom in his eyes.

shatterpoint