Welcome to the Innocent World

The black aura started seeping out of me slow at first, curling around my arms like dark smoke as I made up my mind—this sick, twisted mess had to stop. Whatever these people were into, it was heinous, wrong, and way past the line, especially with no consent.

My blood boiled just looking at them—the suits sipping wine, the workers playing along, the girl on the couch fighting for nothing. I was done watching. The aura flared wider, buzzing in the air, my aura twitching at my fingertips, ready to rip through the room and end it.

Lyra stood beside me, her hand still on my arm, and she froze as the black crept up my body, swallowing me like a second skin.

"Austin…?" she muttered, her voice shaky, her eyes going wide behind her red mask. She stared hard, like she was piecing something together, and then whispered, "Zero…?" Her mind must've flashed to the stories—the mysterious vigilante hero of the kingdom, the one they called Zero, always cloaked in shadow. The gears turning, wondering if that was me.

I smirked under my mask, ready to let it all loose, the transformation kicking in full—black aura swirling thick, my body humming with power. But then, right as it was about to peak, something hit me hard.

A weird drain, like my energy was leaking out, my soul slipping away from me.

"Huhh!? What's happening?" I said, staring at my hand as it trembled, the black fading patchy and weak. I clenched my fist, trying to muster it back, to charge up the aura like always. "Come on…" I growled, pushing harder, my voice breaking into a scream—"Aaaaaaaa…!!!"—but it wouldn't come.

The power sputtered out, the black aura vanishing completely, leaving me cold and empty.

"But why?" I muttered, my chest heaving, my heart pounding so loud it felt like it might stop. I didn't get it—I'd been at it every day, sex fueling me up like always, keeping me strong.

That's how it worked, right? I should've been at my peak, unstoppable. So why was I choking now? "What the hell's wrong with me?" I said under my breath, flexing my fingers, searching for even a spark, but nothing came.

Then I looked up, and my gut dropped. Everyone in the room—the fancy guests in their suits, the workers, the girl on the couch, those three guys—every single one of them had stopped. No screams, no giggles, no clinking glasses.

They were just… staring at me, their half-masks glinting under the red neon, their eyes locked on me like creepy statues. The silence hit harder than the music ever did, eerie and thick, making the hair on my neck stand up.

I gulped, blinking at them, my brain scrambling. "Wha—?" I started, my voice cracking as I took a step back, trying to figure out what the fuck was going on. But before I could finish, everything blurred—my vision went fuzzy, the red room spinning into black.

My legs gave out, and I hit the ground hard—*THUD*—tiles smacking my side as I collapsed, the world fading fast.

"AUSTIN!!—" Lyra screamed, her voice sharp and desperate, cutting through the haze. I caught a glimpse of her lunging toward me, her red dress flashing, but then—*Thud*—her cry cut short, like something slammed into her too.

She dropped beside me, her body crumpling to the floor, and the last thing I heard was the faint echo of her fall before everything went dark.

It felt like I was falling into a black pit, the darkness swallowing me whole as my body went limp.

"Arghhh…" I groaned, pain shooting through me, sharp and heavy, like every bone was screaming. I tried to open my eyes, but my vision swam—everything blurry, a mess of shadows and smudges. My whole body ached, throbbing with every beat of my heart, and I couldn't move right.

Then I felt it—hands grabbing me, rough and strong, pulling me up by my arms. My legs dragged useless across the ground, boots scraping and bumping as two guys pulled me forward, hauling me somewhere through the dark.

Flashes of light cut through the haze as they dragged me along, weird noises hitting my ears like a twisted soundtrack. Screams—girls crying out, high and desperate—mixed with moans and grunts echoing around me.

"Arghh, yeah, baby… so good, your mouth is…" some guy groaned nearby, his voice thick with pleasure, dripping with a sick kind of glee.

More screams followed, raw and pained, bouncing off walls I couldn't see, and then a loud splash—like water hitting the floor hard—before the sounds faded back into a dull hum.

My head lolled, too heavy to lift, and the guys kept dragging me, their grip bruising my arms until they stopped. With a rough shove, they threw me forward, my body slamming into something hard—clang—chains rattling loud as a door locked shut behind me.

"Arghh…" I groaned again, the pain spiking as I hit the ground, my hands scraping against cold metal. I rolled onto my side, breathing hard, trying to shake off the fog in my head.

Then a bright light snapped on, blasting straight into my face, blinding me.

"Ahmm…" I winced, squeezing my eyes shut against the glare, my hands fumbling to shield them as I forced myself to sit up, slow and shaky.

"What's happening…?" I muttered to myself, my voice raspy as I blinked hard, the world coming into focus bit by bit.

The light softened, and I saw where I was—a big cage, bars thick and rusted, locking me in. Red and pink neon flickered from the corners, casting weird shadows across the space.

I turned my head and spotted Lyra sprawled in the corner, her red dress tangled around her legs, her mask gone, her blonde hair fanned out messy on the floor. She wasn't moving, just lying there, and my gut twisted hard.

"Ehehehe…" A low, creepy laugh rolled out from the darkness beyond the bars, sharp and growling, like it belonged to some large evil.

"So, you've finally woken up… Zero…" The voice dripped with venom, saying that name like it was a curse, echoing off the cage walls.

I couldn't see who it was—just a shape lurking out there, hidden in the shadows, but the way they said it sent a chill down my spine.