Zero. A classic villain. Today in order to create a true "villain" flaws are required Ah, but in a very real sense, Zero himself was nothing but a flaw in the system.
When he was originally proposed in the very beginning of the game, some of the editors turned their noses up. Wait, isnt this to much like ryougi?! We had to talk very fast that day to get our dream realized. But Zero's powers were really much different. the "void" that was shiki was entirely different then the "erasure" of Zero. In a very real sense, Shiki was the noun, and Zero was a verb. One who was the completed version of the equation of the world, and one was the imperfect creator of this. Ryougi could kill anything as long as it was alive, but Zero was an existence who by definition could not accomplish anything.
One of the more enjoying things in his creation was the reaction of a certain fan when he realized that Zero could not even launch an attack. Pathetic for a villain! The reaction to his lack of strength was fun, but it was his status as a magus who could not even cast a spell to attack his opponent that made him so laughable. A sad clown who is just knowleagble to realize how pathetic he was, was the thought that gave him life.
...Well, I say that, but he was also a bit of a cheat. To look at his char sheet, "what the heck? he is a worse munchkin then lancelot?!" might be the appropriate response. like the knight of the lake, it was obvious from the beginning that he was intended to be greater then the sum of his parts. ...ironic for Zero? ah, sorry, little joke.
At any rate, it was a very specific kind of person who could summon a "murderer." For Mikuru, the process was easy. The premise of a murderer, that great underlying question was one in which Mikuru shined without question. "what was it that died. And what was it that was killed?" ah, for an alchemist, the solution was simple. But for a magus? this was a much stranger path. A legend slayer, a killer of the faith of man, how could a magus, especially an old school taima magus give rise to such a servant? We nearly tore our hair out when the question was asked. "Should we just go back to that love struck alchemist afterall?!" not one of us did not wonder. How could a mage, one whose job it is to seek ever greater mysteries, give rise to a being who could blind the very eye of god and destroy utterly a myth that is the bullwark of man?
Thus, Zero. A magus who never had anything he believed in...wait? is that true?
He may have thought so, and it should have been. Indeed, from conception, it had been supposed to be the case, But Zero's mother, with that origin of success, she even overcame us! *laughs*
For those who remember the side material of Zero, It was noted that Zero's origin had once before clashed with the origin of another, and on that day, was entirely defeated. That day was the day that Zero's mother focused her origin Zero, who was still just a few cell's parting in her womb. She directed that power of "success" with the simple intent. "Become a strong magus." for Zero, whose origin stated he should not be anything at all, this was a contradiction. It fought to erase that order with everything present in that baby's soul!
But of course, as was said, that origin lost. And the man who should not have even been able to take his first breath and so died moments after birth was imprinted with that unbreakable command. Thus, a mage who did not even have "mystery" at all within him was born.
Such a long treck it was, a mage that could summon "murderer". was born.
Of course, Zero's origin had to go "somewhere." and when concepts collide, they test the stability of each other's structure. That power of success was stronger, but it was limited in a key form. Even though the action was "successful" and Zero, born as a powerful mage with maximum circuits and a body well suited for the takashi reinforcement was delivered...well, it was never taken into account that more children might be preferable. Lacking a crest, it would be plausible for the takashi family to have many "successful" children with those powerful bodies and strong origins. but that possibility died in stillbirth. Phrasing sound familiar? Zero would have Zero brethren. If he should not have lived but did, then those who came after who should have lived did not. A woman who cared far more about motherhood then her powerful origin was doomed to have only one heir, rendered barren by Zero's curse. And all the "success" in the world, and all the magical studies she exhausted trying to revert the process came to nothing.
and yet...from that destruction...a new night of fate would occur.
ANd thus, against all odds, Did Zero meet that rarest of servants, murderer of myths.
ah, even that was a mistake. The summon process was corroded of course. Thinking back to the interview, Zero had hoped to summon "the monk at the wall". A shrewd choice. that ancient holy man, with wide blue eyes that could even see the truth of the world, would have been one of the very few who might have known what it meant to create something from nothing. The flaw at the very edge of Zero's erased soul. A tiny fragment protected by the lingering effects of the order of "success" knew of his own misery, even if that misery was "erased" second by second. what a pair they might have made. It would not be completely implausible for that ancient Shifu to have even taught Zero what it meant to be alive
It was for this reason that when Zero's summoning began, for a split second, summoning Lancer was to have displayed before the curruption. This was another event that required some fast thinking on our part! When the events were pitched to the author, he laughed and stroked his beard. "Ah, I see, so the mooncell has had a 404 error!" or something like that. Indeed, "servant not found!" was quite applicable.
Thus Zero, the flaw in the system. Nothing and nobody, he called a Servant. Nothing cannot create something. Zero times anything will not change at its core. And yet, Zero had summoned a servant. Even the mooncell must have thrown up its hands and said "whats with this development!?"
...Hmm? ah yes, when it comes to Murderer, or at least this one, yes its true we were all a bit worried. "hasnt this been done before?" There was no way this wouldnt be asked. Though, in the end, we felt better about the whole thing. "Murderer" ended up as something as a fan favorite. We got a lot of mailed in guesses, thats for sure, especially after we teased his ability to launch an attack that could not have been defended against. That was at the core of his being. That lack of belief that could even erase a legend from the peerless eye or that divine throne. But again, we certainly felt reassured After all, even the mooncell had so much trouble figuring it out!
Giving a servant to empty one was impossible, and yet, a servant had been called. The creating an image of nothing doing something must have seemed the only way to balance the equation. Thus, Murderer, the masked man. Well, the improper summoning code did leave him with quite the twisted personality.
Maybe thats why not even one person ever guessed...that Murderer was Zero himself.
Originally Posted by Bird of Hermes
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