Invisible Hollow Incident | A Zenless Zone Zero Fan Story

Chapter 8: Unexplainable Findings

Lightning flashes across the sky as the crack of thunder follows with it, Cyrus is sprinting through familiar streets, hearing the screams and roars around him, he eventually arrives at his goal, his home. Trying the door it's locked, he starts bashing on it and tries to call out but no sound leaves his mouth. Looking around for another way in he stops, something is off, all the windows are blacked out. He runs around the back to try the other door when he comes face to face with an Ethereal, but this one was different to the others he had glanced, bigger and more jagged than the rest with an intense sickly purple and green glow. With the sound of a roar it swings at Cyrus who tries his best to duck out of the way but still gets slashed across the side. Adrenaline masking pain of the injury, Cyrus gets back up and starts running, the Ethereal following behind and slowly catching up. As he runs he starts to feel some fog spread through his mind but he's able to fight it off and remain conscious, if he fell now that would surely mean the end. The Ethereal continues to gain ground but just as it's in reach, the footsteps of another person rushing over can be heard before everything cuts to black.

Nothing

No sound

No smell

No touch

No thoughts

Just existing in a void

Until there finally was something.
A glow, a sickly purple and green glow, then nothing but pain firing across all his nerves, his heart beating so hard it felt like it might explode, it just kept going and going and going for what felt like an eternity until... light.

Cyrus' eyes fly open as practically jumps out of bed, staggering around as he's gasping for air, every part of him shaking and his mind overwhelmed, trying to recover from whatever it had just been put through. Trying his best to think straight, Cyrus sits on the couch and stares at the floor, head in hands, doing everything he can to slow his breathing which eventually succeeds as he slowly settles himself down. Now finally being able to pay proper attention to everything again he notices that everything feels... sharper, with a strange alertness of feeling extra awake and aware of everything, similar to what he experienced when he was in the hollow with Nekomata but this time, it was constant. Slowly, he recounts the nightmare, getting to his families house for some reason always felt important whenever he was in the dream but it never succeeded, he often didn't even make it, being taken down by that same Ethereal. The black out was new though. Deciding it's better not to be thought about, he checks the time, 9am, he'd been asleep for 21 hours, having originally gotten back and passed out on his bed at around 12 the previous day. Getting dressed he heads down to see Belle talking with someone, noticing him Belle waves over at Cyrus.

"Hey, Cyrus! Great timing! Can you look after the store for a second? Elfy needs me to go over to her store to have a look at a broken monitor."

"Sure, I don't really know much about working a video store though."

"Don't worry, there's a manual behind the counter with everything you need to know, the first couple pages list everything so just skim through there and find what you need to know if anyone comes in. Wise will be back soon to take you out he's just over at Coff's Cafe right now."

"Okay."

As Belle and Elfy head out the front door, Cyrus takes a seat behind the counter, locating the manual Belle had mentioned and, sure enough, there was a list of different sections in the book in the front. Looking up he notices the Bangboo Eous wandering around the shelves, seemingly intensely occupied with something. Pulling a tape out of a shelf it walks over to another part of the store and places it in a box marked 'Reserved' before uttering a happy little "Enn- uh" and making it's way into the back room. Cyrus is about to turn back to the manual before he hears the door open and footsteps of someone coming through.