Law of The Web - Zetro Translation

Gideon stayed silent, his jaw tight as he suppressed the growing unease clawing at his chest. Every creak of the cart’s wheels and every muffled sob from the other captives felt amplified, as though the world had turned up the volume to test his resolve.

The scarred man at the front of the cart barked an order, his gravelly voice cutting through the thick tension. A few of the children flinched at the sound, shrinking further into themselves.

Gideon’s eyes flicked toward the man, his mind racing.

In his previous timeline, or iteration, or whatever it was, the smallest outburst had sealed his fate. The voice had said the time till his fated death was just over a minute. That window was closing fast.

He clenched his fists, nails digging into his palms.

‘Think, Gideon. Don’t fight fate; bend it.’

The voice in his head had been clear: he had to survive.

“Elias.”

Gideon whispered, his tone measured.

“Sit still… will you… and don’t draw any attention to yourself.”

Gideon said, after all, if he drew attention to himself, it might draw attention to him.

The boy just nodded.

And so, like that, a minute went by.

And everyone went quiet, and moments later.

The voice in his head echoed.

It was robotic in the sense that it felt unattached and just said things out of the purpose of being an announcer, nothing more, nothing less.

“You have successfully defied fate; your Law Beast, Primordial Spider Lily, has grown stronger, and as a result, so too has your soul. You have reached the second step of the Awakening Stage.”

Gideon’s eyes widened slightly, the sensation strange yet invigorating. He hadn’t felt anything like this before, not in either life.

“You have awakened a new Law ability under the Aspect of Origin: <<I Spy>>: This ability allows the user to uncover hidden truths and pathways by looking at the very origin of something. Be warned: if the complexity of what is revealed surpasses your comprehension, the feedback will manifest as madness. Use with caution. Your sanity is a finite resource, and excessive depletion risks irreversible consequences… IF YOUR SANITY REACHES IT’S LIMIT, YOU WILL TURN INTO A FALLEN!!!”

The voice faded, leaving Gideon to process its words.

‘Fallen… sigh… so many things I do not understand, oii voice in my head, can you help me understand things a little bit differently?’

He asked; however, the voice did not answer at all, leaving him there in his own thoughts, as he said to himself.

‘I guess it doesn’t work like that; still, isn’t this situation just so messed up though?’

Gideon’s eyes flicked across the children, his newfound ability immediately asserting itself. His vision shifted, as though a veil had been torn away, revealing the vivid details of life beneath the surface.

Veins glowed faintly within their skin, pulsing with vitality.

Organs were outlined as if illuminated by some internal light.

And there was more.

Above each child, floating crimson text displayed itself in sharp, glowing letters, imparting information about them to him. The sheer volume of details assaulted his senses, and he had to suppress the urge to recoil.

His gaze landed on a swirling blue mass nestled at the center of each child’s chest. It was ethereal, like a ghostly flame or the depiction of a soul he’d seen in fantasy manga or anime. It flickered at its core.

The energy radiating from the blue masses varied; some flickered weakly, while others glowed brighter and more stable. Gideon realized these were their souls, pure essence, condensed and laid bare before his eye.

‘So these are souls, egh?!’

He said as he shifted his focus to the girl sitting directly in front of him. She was small, her blond hair cut into a neat bob, her green eyes darting nervously around the cart. Her clear skin and delicate frame made her appear fragile, like a porcelain doll.

But as his ability honed in on her, he saw her veins, her organs, and every bruise marring her small body.

Details floated into his consciousness, unbidden but precise, like reading a page of text projected onto the air.

Name: Stacey Harold

Age: 9

D.O.B: 7th September, Cycle 1744

Date of Death: 11th June, Cycle 1753

Classification: Unawaken

Soul Quality: Low Grade

Status: Hungry, Kidnapped, Scared, Misses her Mama

Injuries: Light Bruises

Danger: Easy Prey

‘It even shows her date of death… but this isn’t good. If she’s nine, that means she must’ve just turned nine recently. But what month is it now… cycle? Is that another way of saying year? If we’re already into the new year, then she doesn’t have much time left. And if we’re still in the previous year… then her death is just a few months away, give or take.’

Still, he needed info; as such, he turned to Elias.

As Gideon observed Elias, he noticed something different about him. Unlike the other kids, Elias had a paler complexion, almost as if he hadn’t seen sunlight in a long time. He was also unusually tall for his age, though his youthful, round face betrayed just how young he truly was.

Elias’s shaggy, curly brown hair framed his face, and his hazel eyes carried a muted, tired look. Like the others, he wore nothing but ragged clothing and flimsy slippers. The uniformity of the tattered outfits made them all look like members of some grim collective.

But there was something peculiar about Elias, his soul. It flickered inconsistently, glowing brightly one moment and dimming the next as if it couldn’t decide whether to burn strong or fade away. When Gideon looked at the little girl earlier, he had seen her soul, her organs, her veins, and even her injuries, but her soul had behaved steadily, unlike Elias’s erratic glow.

Gideon examined Elias’s status more closely. Most of it seemed normal, but one detail left him puzzled: his soul quality was different.

Something about it was off.

Name: Elias William

Age: 9

D.O.B: 8th June, Cycle 1744

Date of Death: 23rd June, Cycle 1753

Classification: Unawaken >> On the verge of Awakening

Soul Quality: Low Grade >> On the verge of evolving into Mortal Grade

Status: Sad, Worried, Fearful

Injuries: Light Bruises

Danger: Easy Prey

Gideon looked at Elias’s information with a troubled face as he began to put two and two together and said to himself, realizing a pattern instantly.

‘Is it me… or do Stacey and Elias’s dates of death are quite close together? … no, it’s not only them either; everyone from this cart, well, the 28 kids here that I have counted die the same month.’

Gideon said, looking around. He looked at Elias and asked softly.

“Hey Elias, by chance you don’t know what today’s date is, right?”

Elias looked back at Gideon and answered immediately.

“Ha?! The Date… Oh…

He said, a sad gesture popping up on his face as he answered.

“4th June C-1753.”