0 TO 5000A Fantasy Novel by Steven AlfredChapter One — The Boy Marked ZeroThe kingdom of Elyndor had not seen peace in over five hundred years.The skies were always divided.To the west, black storms rolled endlessly above the ruined lands of Morvak, where dragons circled dead mountains and rivers burned red beneath shattered castles. To the east, golden sunlight touched the towering crystal cities of the High Kingdom, where nobles lived behind enchanted walls and believed darkness could never reach them.Between those worlds stood the city of Vareth.A place forgotten by kings.A place where thieves ruled the streets, magic was sold like wine, and children learned how to survive before they learned how to read.That was where Kael was born.Nobody knew his family name.Nobody knew where he came from.The only thing strange about him was the mark on his wrist.A glowing black symbol shaped like a zero.Whenever people saw it, they backed away.Old women whispered prayers.Soldiers touched the hilts of their swords.Priests refused to bless him.Because according to an ancient prophecy, the child marked with Zero would either save the world...or destroy it.Kael grew up hearing those whispers.He hated them.At nineteen years old, he lived alone in the lower districts of Vareth, surviving by stealing enchanted relics from rich merchants and selling them in underground markets.He trusted nobody.Not the guards.Not the nobles.Not even himself.Yet every night, Kael dreamed of the same thing.A massive gate made of black stone.Thousands of glowing numbers floating in the sky.And a voice whispering:“Five thousand remains.”Then he would wake up covered in sweat.The dreams had haunted him since childhood.He never understood them.Until the night everything changed.Rain hammered against the rooftops of Vareth as Kael sprinted through narrow alleyways carrying a stolen silver relic beneath his cloak.“STOP HIM!” guards shouted behind him.Kael smirked.He leapt across rooftops with practiced ease while arrows flew past his head.The relic pulsed with strange warmth in his pocket.Too warm.Something about it felt wrong.He finally ducked into an abandoned bell tower overlooking the city.Lightning flashed.Kael pulled out the relic.It looked like a simple silver orb covered in ancient runes.Then the orb suddenly cracked open.A beam of golden light exploded into the sky.The entire city shook.People screamed below.And for the first time in centuries...the ancient Towers of Judgment awakened.Across the kingdom, five thousand stone towers hidden beneath mountains, oceans, forests, and deserts burst alive with glowing fire.Every mage in Elyndor felt it.Every dragon roared.Every king panicked.Because the towers were not supposed to awaken until the end of the world.Kael stared at the orb in horror.A voice echoed inside his mind.“The countdown has begun.”Suddenly, numbers appeared in the sky above Vareth.5000. Burning like a second moon.The city froze.Nobody understood what it meant.But somewhere far beyond the sea, inside a dark throne room beneath the ruined lands of Morvak...someone smiled.A tall figure wearing black armor rose from a throne of dragon bones.His silver eyes glowed in the darkness.“The Zero Child has awakened,” he whispered.Lord Malgrath.The last Shadow King.The man believed dead for twenty years.He turned toward his army.“Prepare the gates.”Thousands of monsters roared from beneath the mountains.“The Age of Ash has returned.”Chapter Two — The Girl with Silver EyesBy morning, Vareth had become chaos.The glowing number still burned above the city.5000. People filled the streets, screaming that the gods had cursed them.Merchants abandoned shops.Priests prayed openly.Even criminals hid indoors.Kael sat silently inside the bell tower staring at the orb.The silver object now floated inches above his hand.He could feel power moving inside it.Alive.Ancient.Dangerous.“What are you?” he whispered.“You should be asking what YOU are.”Kael spun around instantly.A girl stood behind him.She wore a dark cloak soaked with rainwater and carried twin silver daggers at her waist. Long white hair flowed over her shoulders, and her silver eyes glowed faintly in the shadows.Kael immediately reached for his knife.“Who sent you?”“The same people who will kill you if you stay here.”Her voice was calm.Too calm.Kael narrowed his eyes.“You’re a mage.”“Half mage,” she corrected.“That’s worse.”She almost smiled.“My name is Lyra.”“I didn’t ask.”“And yet you’ll remember it.”Outside, bells rang across the city.Royal guards.Thousands of them.Lyra walked toward the broken window and looked down.“They’re searching every building in Vareth.”Kael cursed under his breath.“What did I do?”“You awakened the Towers of Judgment.”“0 TO 5000A Fan

The Hollow CrownChapter One — The Boy Beneath the CityThe city of Blackrift never saw sunlight.Above it, the sky churned endlessly with silver storms, thick clouds rolling over one another like fighting beasts. Lightning cracked every hour, illuminating the towering black walls that surrounded the city. The people of Blackrift had long forgotten what blue skies looked like.But they remembered fear.Fear lived in the alleys.Fear hid in whispers.And fear wore the crown.Seventeen-year-old Kael lived beneath the city in the Underways — a maze of tunnels crowded with thieves, refugees, smugglers, and forgotten people. Down there, survival mattered more than kindness.Kael had survived all his life.Barely.“Move, rat!” a butcher shouted as Kael slipped through the crowded underground market.Kael ignored him.He tightened the hood over his dark hair and pushed deeper into the tunnel bazaar. Lanterns flickered overhead, casting strange shadows across rusted pipes and damp stone walls. The smell of smoke, sweat, and old metal filled the air.His stomach growled.He hadn’t eaten since yesterday.A merchant turned away for half a second.That was enough.Kael’s fingers moved quickly, snatching an apple from the stall before vanishing into the crowd.“THIEF!”Too late.Kael sprinted through the tunnels, laughing breathlessly as angry footsteps chased behind him. He leaped over broken crates and slid beneath hanging chains before ducking into a narrow passage.Silence.Safe.He leaned against the wall, catching his breath.Then the whispers started again.Kael…His smile vanished.The voice was inside his head.Cold.Ancient.You cannot hide forever.Kael clenched his fists.“Leave me alone.”The whispers faded, but the chill remained.They had haunted him since childhood.No one else could hear them.No one else saw the strange black marks that sometimes appeared on his skin like living shadows.And no one knew the truth about what he really was.Not even Kael himself.---Far above the Underways stood the Obsidian Palace.Its towers pierced the storm clouds.Inside the throne chamber, King Malgrath sat motionless upon the Hollow Crown.The crown itself looked alive.Black metal twisted like thorns around his head, pulsing faintly with crimson light.Before him knelt a pale woman in silver armor.Commander Seraphine.“The search continues, Your Majesty,” she said carefully.Malgrath’s cold eyes narrowed.“And?”“We found another village destroyed beyond the Northern Wastes.”“Any survivors?”“One.”The king leaned forward.“Bring them.”The guards dragged forward a terrified old man.He shook violently.Malgrath stared at him.“Tell me what you saw.”The old man swallowed hard.“A shadow… walking like a man…”The throne room fell silent.“It burned the village without fire,” the old man whispered. “The darkness obeyed it.”Malgrath slowly stood.“And its eyes?”“Silver.”The king’s expression darkened.After all these years…“He lives,” Malgrath murmured.Seraphine looked up sharply.“You know what it is?”Malgrath’s voice became ice.“Not what.”He turned toward the storm outside.“Who.”---That night, Kael dreamed of fire.He stood in a massive battlefield beneath a bleeding red moon. Mountains burned in the distance while armies of shadows clashed against warriors made of golden light.And at the center stood a man in black armor.His face hidden.His sword dripping darkness.The man turned slowly toward Kael.Then removed his helmet.Kael stared at his own face.He woke with a gasp.The room trembled.Around him, every candle had gone out.The shadows on the walls moved unnaturally.Then came a knock.Three slow taps.Kael grabbed the small knife beneath his pillow.“Who is it?”“Open the door,” said a woman’s voice.“I don’t know you.”“You will.”Something about her tone unsettled him.He carefully opened the door.A woman stood there wrapped in a dark cloak. Rainwater dripped from her silver hair.Her eyes glowed faintly gold.Not human.Kael immediately stepped back.“What do you want?”She studied him silently.Then she spoke the words that changed everything.“The Hollow Crown has found you.”---Chapter Two — The Last HeirHer name was Lyra.She entered the room without permission, calmly removing her soaked cloak. Beneath it she wore dark leather armor lined with silver markings that shimmered faintly.Kael kept the knife raised.“Start talking.”Lyra glanced at the blade.“You’d lose.”“That depends.”“No,” she said. “It doesn’t.”Kael hated that confidence.“Who are you?”“A Warden.”“That means nothing to me.”“It shouldn’t. Your king erased us centuries ago.”Kael frowned.“What does the Hollow Crown want with me?”Lyra stared directly into his eyes.“Because you are the last heir of House Noctis.”Silence.Kael blinked.“…What?”“The royal bloodline destroyed duri