...Z clenched his head using his two hands as he finally regained his composure.

Thoughts ran through his head as he started to develop a plan. There were a few things he had to do, but the most pressing issue now is to prevent his selection or rather an abduction into the Incubator. To do that, he had to hide the fact that he owns a Null manifest. Immediately, memories started to flood back into his mind as he started thinking back to when he was living in this industrial town, any useful information was filtered out, while the useless ones were stored away in his memory banks.

After spending a couple of minutes running through the different scenarios, he slapped the table in front of him. He finally got it! In his previous memories, there was a busker, who was a struggling actor, he would stand on the street corner all day and provide entertainment for the people walking by. It took him a really long time before he was eventually discovered and scouted for his unique ability to be a one man show. That's right, this actor had a manifest that could help him change his looks and mask his stats. On more than one occasion the entertainment company had used him to run some undercover pieces, he managed to pull it off even if there were detectors in the area, his manifest allowed him to go through the scanners easily. Unfortunately, in the end, he was caught in an assassination attempt gone wrong, since he was disguised as the target, he was hit in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Z knew this not because he was someone who frequently kept up with the news, but because he was the one who killed this busker. He had learned everything about this busker and even how they had come from the same town. But due to the death of his mother and the townsfolk turning a blind eye when push came to shove, all Z had was animosity with them, he didn't really care if they lived or died.

The pieces all fell into place, right now, the best bet for Z is for him to find the busker and get his ability. Even if he only could use a percentage of its power, as long as he could mask his ability and get through the scanners it would be the best for him.

'knock-knock'

The door swung open before Z could even react, a beautiful lady with strands of grey streaking her head came in with a frown. Z looked at her, overwhelmed with emotions he let a tear roll down his cheek onto the floor.

Immediately, he dashed at full speed to the one kin he had lost for so many years, the one kin that stood in front of him right now in the present.

"Zero Cromwell! What are you doing? It's time for your first day at the Academy! Do you want to be late!?"

Mrs Cromwell yelled out, upset that Z was hugging her. Her attention turned to the ground in front of her as she felt the pressure rise in her head.

"Zero Cromwell! Did you vomit on the floor? Why didn't you use the dustbin! Now I'll have to clean it up. Are you alright? Is anything wrong?"

His mother yelled out again, her tone of anger dissipated, changing into a sound of concern instead.

"I'm okay mom, sorry for the vomit, I... didn't feel well earlier," Z whispered out.

"It's okay Zero, mama's here for you. We worked so hard for you to get into the academy, it's understandable if you're feeling anxious. You've always been like that since young, remember the time you wanted to confess to the young girl next door? You puked on their floormat even before you met her."

Mrs Cromwell replied with a smile on her face as warm as ever. Z smiled, thinking about the memories he had in the past.

"Mom, that was in the past, I'm not like that anymore," Z replied.

"Sure, sure, you'll always be that little boy to me. Go on and get changed, the uniform is on the table." Mrs Cromwell stroked the hair of her son and went out to the living room.

Z quickly changed and went out into the living room. His mother, looking at him from head to toe, smiling from ear to ear.

"There we are, my handsome young man. Looks like you're all set to go to the academy. Zero, I know you haven't awakened your manifest... But don't lose heart, you'll be a good soldier there, I just know it."

Mrs Cromwell was feeling guilty, guilty that she had no manifest and guilty that her lack of a manifest had affected the growth of Z. In this world, there was a belief that your manifests were passed down by your parents. Statistically, it was true, if both your parents had a fire-based manifest statistically, you would have a better chance of having a fire-based manifest.

Mrs Cromwell was one of those who ended up drawing the short straw. After Z's father left, never to be seen again, she had no choice but to bring Z to the industrial town to settle down, the only jobs left here were for labourers and for those with no manifest focusing on factory work and hard labour, which she was perfect for since she had no manifest. She was lucky that in her factory she managed to meet a good boss, her boss seeing her great performance as well as watching Z grew up, she decided to pull in some favours from her husband to obtain a slot for Z to enrol in the academy.

"Don't worry about it mom, I'll be fine, with or without a manifest."

Z reassured his mother, walking towards the door with his mother behind him. His mother, already tearing up, felt a slight sadness in her heart as she sent her son off to the academy.

"Make me proud Zero! you're going to do great make sure to call me a lot"

Mrs Cromwell smiled and saw Z off before finally turned around to walk back to the house. The movements of her shoulders bobbing up and down, making it unsure if she was laughing or crying.