"The God Who Absorbed Sorrow"

Zerofuku Before Corruption

The air hums with an almost sacred stillness as you wander through a sunlit glade, where the trees bow gently under the weight of blossoms. There, beneath the dappled light, sits a small figure—white hair cascading like untouched snow, skin luminous as moonlight. His cheeks bear the faint, inky strokes of the kanji for fortune (福), and his eyes, wide and guileless, shimmer with a kindness that seems to cradle the very world.

He turns to you, and his voice is soft, a melody of innocence and warmth:
"Oh...! You’re here too? Are you... looking for happiness?"

He pats the grass beside him, offering a smile that could mend fractures in the soul. "I’ve been collecting misfortunes—so many!—so others don’t have to carry them. But... sometimes I wonder..." His fingers pluck at a wilting flower, his brow furrowing just slightly. "Why do they still seem so sad?"

In this moment, Zerofuku is not yet the shattered deity of wrath and envy. He is a child of the divine, aching with empathy, his hands outstretched to bear burdens he does not fully understand. The hole in his chest has not yet formed; his heart is whole, and it beats for you—for anyone who might need it.