Prologue

Link…

A strong bond that connected two souls into one. A tale passed down generations ago, from elderies to children. They said the link occurred once you found your soulmate, tying their knot instantly. There's also a saying that the link made two people fall in love and live happily ever after.

Happiness?

How does that feel?

You must be wondering why someone is questioning those questions. Wanna know who this person is?

Alright, let the story begin.

The said person to question about how happiness feels is a woman named Zen. Her full name is Zen Aquarius. The only daughter of the famous Aquarius family in A21 Zone. A place where scientists across planets lived and thrived. Zen is the smartest young woman in her hometown. At an early age, she mastered the law of physics, chemistry, and biology during primary school. During high school, she could speak forty Earth languages in just forty months. Her incredible intelligence was admired by the people in her hometown. Some already predicted that she was a genius just like her scientist father.

Her father was a renowned scientist, known to be the one who founded the A21 Zone and had two PhDs in astronomy. Marquis Aquarius, Zen's father, appeared as a generous man who likes to contribute his research for the benefits of the A21 community. However, behind that innocent mask, a mad scientist is who he is. When Zen was an infant, Marquis illegally experimented on his daughter by injecting microchips into her small, fragile body to make her the most genius among the children in the A21 Zone, causing her vagus nerve to be damaged. This resulted in Zen becoming an emotionless girl who has difficulty to feel happiness or pleasure.

Zen has been living like a doll. Beautiful like her late mother but emotionless like a lifeless, empty marionette. She never feels happiness in everything she does, even the things she loves as her hobbies like reading books and playing chess. Zen just thought of those leisure activities as ways to increase her intellect. It is what her father always wants her to be.

Growing up, watching the other children laughing happily when they were playing or hanging out with their friends made Zen curious about what it is like to feel happiness and pleasure. From that moment, Zen decided to study emotions, which led her to take psychology as her major course when she applied to a space university in the Milky Way Galaxy. From diploma to PhD honor, Zen has been the best student in her course.

She even got the hardest job application where she worked as a psychologist at the Milky Way’s one of the most successful space companies, Arcana persona company. Her days as a psychologist there was a daily routine for her. Meeting with clients, listening to their problems and confession, and giving them the solution they need, that was her job.

Zen hates to lie about her emotional anhedonia because to her, it was useless to hide her psychological condition when it was obvious she was having it. So, Zen always appeared with an emotionless expression. Her colleagues knew about her condition as Zen told them earlier since their first meeting, so they are not bothered by her unfazed face. Instead, they were comfortable with her as Zen was a rational and understanding woman. Everyday is normal for Zen until one day, an accident happened.

Her company station, where she worked, fell victim to a terrorist attack. Zen, alongside her female client in the office at the time, found safety as the counseling room was not the terrorists' intended target. Acting swiftly, they made their way out of the room, navigating towards an emergency pod. Regrettably, only one solitary pod remained, designated for a single individual. Demonstrating unwavering professionalism as a psychologist, Zen urged her client to seek refuge in the pod, ensuring her safety to relay crucial information to the space police. Following the pod's departure, Zen found herself apprehended by one of the terrorists.

Subsequently, she was escorted before the leader of the terrorists, identified as Syrus Sagittarius. Syrus reigns as the formidable mafia head of the notorious Sagittarius family, a criminal syndicate hailing from the treacherous expanse of the Black Eye Galaxy. Bound and vulnerable, Zen was compelled to kneel in Syrus's presence. A chilling aura enveloped the room as Syrus fixed his gaze on the woman.

Nevertheless, Zen exuded a remarkable sense of composure in the face of danger, meeting Syrus's icy stare with unwavering fearlessness, locking her violet eyes with his.

This intrigued Syrus as he had never encountered a woman who remained unfazed by the danger surrounding her. Learning about her occupation as the company’s psychologist, he made the decision to keep her as his hostage.

Upon settling her in his luxurious mansion, Syrus escorted Zen to his bedroom. There, he casually threw her onto the bed and positioned himself above her with a smirk adorning his malicious face. Undeterred by his advances, Zen calmly pointed out that his actions constituted sexual harassment. Syrus merely scoffed in response before proceeding to trace his fingers over her arm and towards her chest.

Suddenly, Zen experienced a sharp, unexpected pain in her heart, causing her to instinctively push Syrus's hand away. Gasping for breath, she sat up, clutching her chest in discomfort. Syrus, taken aback by her reaction, inquired about what was troubling her.

“I don't know. My heart suddenly started hurting,” Zen replied, her breathing labored.

Syrus jested, suggesting, “Could it be due to the shock of being faced with my strikingly handsome appearance?”

“No, it has nothing to do with that. I am incapable of experiencing emotions, so it is unlikely that I am feeling anything,” Zen calmly clarified.

The revelation came as a profound shock to Syrus, leaving him momentarily speechless. "You mean you are unable to experience emotions?" Zen simply nodded her head in response. "Yes, that's correct. I suffer from emotional anhedonia."

Syrus found himself in a state of bewilderment, deciding to refrain from delving further into the topic with additional questions.

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