Zero

Zero (Japanese: ゼロ, Hepburn: Zero; c. 980 – June 997), also known as Rose (Japanese: 薄紅, Hepburn: Usubeni) prior to June 997 AD, was a singularity and the original Intoner. When she found out the true purpose of the "flower" that had given her her powers, she tried to end her life, resulting in the birth of her five "sisters." She made it her mission to kill them and destroy the "flower" once and for all.

Zero
Biographical data
AKA	Rose The witch with eyes of rose
Race	Human (as Rose) Intoner (as Zero)
Gender	Female
Age	17 (died at 17 in 997 AD)
Born	c. 980 AD
Died	June 997 AD (as Rose)
Resurrected	June 997 AD (as Zero)
Height	168cm
Weight	56kg
B/W/H	Unknown
Cup size	D (measured by touch)
Likes	Nothing in particular
Dislikes	Smelly things
Favourite food	No preference
Weapon(s)	Zero's Blade Manah's Staff The Black Flower
Hair colour	Silver
Eye colour	Rose
Family	One (copy) Two (copy) Three (copy) Four (copy) Five (copy)
Pact data Branch B and Story Side
Pact-partner	Mikhail
Pact-price	Adulthood
Behind the scenes data
Designed by	Kimihiko Fujisaka
Voiced by	Maaya Uchida (Japanese) Tara Platt (English)
Appears in	Drakengard 3 - Prelude DOD Utahime Five Drakengard 3 DOD3 Story Side SINoALICE NieR Re[in]carnation

History

As Rose

Early life

She, initially without a name, was born to a single mother around the year 980 AD. Because of parental neglect, she learnt to steal food before she even learnt to speak. When she was of suitable age, her mother sold her off to a brothel.

At the brothel, she made friends with a girl who called her Rose because of the colour of her eyes. In turn, she came to call the girl Indigo. One day, Indigo suggested they steal as much money as they can and run away. However, when they were out of town, a man on a horse was waiting for them. It was then that it became clear to Rose: Indigo only needed her to carry more money, and never intended to actually take her along. As Indigo was about to kill her, their pursuers caught up with them, forcing Indigo and her man to flee. Rose survived and returned to the brothel.

Life of crime

Several months later, Rose murdered everyone in the brothel and ran away with their gold. Unfortunately for her, she was caught by bandits who robbed her blind. Luckily, she managed to escape them before they sold her off to another brothel. It was then that she decided not to own anything again, only to take things as she needed them.

For a time, Rose settled down with a man who was once a patron of her former brothel. However, she ended up catching a scourge that was going around and he left her. In fact, he plotted to betray her, as there was a bounty out for the one who massacred the brothel. Rather than let him take her, Rose killed him.

Getting caught and death

Afterwards, Rose found herself wandering from place to place, killing people in order to take their food and sleep in their beds. She had built up a reputation, becoming known as "the witch with eyes of rose." She was eventually caught in June 997 AD, as a hefty bounty was placed on her head.

Rose was dragged off to the bastille, where she was lashed. Then, she was chained up in its square along with five rebels who tried to revolt against the landed lord. One of them, a girl with gouged out eyes and a strong sense of justice, stood out to Rose. They shared a brief conversation where Rose reflected on her empty life, leaving her with zero to show for it.

As the scourge began to take her, Rose cursed the cruel and unjust world. It was then that she saw the flower.

As Zero

Before her sisters were born

The "flower" Rose saw before she died parasitized her dead body. She began to call herself Zero after obtaining the Power of Song. Seven months later, in January 998 AD, she used her powers to create a disciple for the first time.

Birth of the Intoners

Eventually, Zero realised the threat that the "flower" posed to the world. One February morning in 998 AD, Zero woke up to see a pink bloom sprouting from her chest. It was then that she decided she would kill herself. Although she knew that dragons and the "flower" were natural enemies, she didn't know where to look for one, so she tried to do it on her own. Her attempt was unsuccessful however, and resulted in the birth of her "sisters" One, Two, Three, Four and Five. The girls appeared to be about three to four years old and immediately considered Zero their sister. The eldest among them, One, instinctively knew that Zero would try to kill them and so ordered her sisters to run away.

Meeting Michael

After her sisters had run away from her, Zero began searching for a way to permanently kill them and herself. This time she would leave nothing to chance, and so searched for the strongest dragon in the world. On March 11, 998 AD, she met the dragon Michael. Michael was reluctant to trust Zero at first, but vowed to help her should she pass his trials. Following two months of testing over which they grew close, Michael finally agreed to help her.

Failed attempts to kill sisters

Zero flies into Cathedral City.

Zero caught up to her sisters on June 6, 998 AD, in the Cathedral City, where she found them being controlled by a black flower. She quickly created disciples to contain her sisters' rampaging powers, and then ordered Michael to blast the black flower with a powerful attack. The flower dissipated and its threat passed. Zero then began fighting One, the only sister who was not being controlled by the black flower, as Michael began fighting One's newfound dragon companion Gabriella. However, their fighting was interrupted by the mechanical humanoid Baltas. Zero and One briefly teamed up to take Baltas down, but to no avail. Zero and Michael were forced to flee in the end.

[EID_M1310] On August 21, 998 AD, Zero met a strange woman called Accord who informed her that she is a singularity.

[EID_M0020_E0900] Zero loses her left arm.

[EID_M0010–M0020] Months later, on March 4, 999 AD, Zero and Michael attacked the Cathedral City in the hopes of killing all of Zero's sisters. Unfortunately, they found themselves overpowered by Gabriel, a daemonised version of One's friend Gabriella. Zero ended up losing one of her arms while Michael himself took the brunt of the attack and died, but not before flying Zero far away and using his final wish to reincarnate as Mikhail. Zero and the newly born Mikhail were thus forced into hiding in the Land of Seas until Zero's wounds were healed.

Final attempt at killing sisters

[EID_M1010–M1040] Zero resumed her journey exactly one year after Michael's death, on March 4, 1000 AD. She set out with Mikhail from their hideout in the Land of Seas and killed her youngest sister Five. She also recruited Five's disciple Dito into her party.

Branch A

[EID_M2010–M2060] Zero looked for her sister Four in the Land of Mountains. She eventually found out that Four was hiding on an airship in the sky. Zero was able to reach Four with Mikhail's help. After killing Four, Zero recruited Four's disciple Decadus.

[EID_M3010–M3060] Next, Zero made her way to the Land of Forests where she found Three's disciple Octa, who surrendered to Zero willingly. Inside the Forest Shrine, Zero and Mikhail fought daemons summoned by Three. Once the daemons were defeated, Mikhail ate Three. Mikhail was subsequently kidnapped by Two's disciple Cent.

[EID_M4010–M4040] The party was in hot pursuit of Cent who fled to the Land of Sands. They eventually found Mikhail in the Surface Ruins. After finding Two, Mikhail burned her to death using his flames, and Cent joined Zero's party.

[EID_M5040_E0900] Zero is fatally stabbed by One's Brother.

[EID_M5010–M5040] With only One remaining, Zero and the disciples made their way to the Cathedral City on April 22, 1000 AD. When she felt their role was done, Zero reverted the disciples back into their original forms. She faced One and Gabriel inside the Cathedral along with Mikhail. Despite Zero's objections, Mikhail, who was grievously injured, used his final wish in order to give her an advantage in battle, letting her kill Gabriel with ease. As One died, Zero was surprised to see herself stabbed by a blade from behind. It was then that she found out One had created a male clone of herself.

Branch B

[EID_M3210–M3250] A divergence occurred after Zero met Octa. Zero and the disciples (including Cent, who had never met Two) felt a poisonous miasma within the forest. They eventually found a dying Three. Soon, Zero and the disciples found an insane Two in the forest, who had killed One. Cent betrayed the group and joined Two. Together, Cent and Two killed all the other disciples, then summoned Raphael before dying themselves. Mikhail defeated Raphael, but died from his injuries. Zero made a pact with Mikhail, bringing him back to life.

Branch C

[EID_M4110–M4130] A divergence occurred after Zero was reunited with Mikhail following his kidnapping. Just before Zero and the disciples entered the Underground Ruins, Mikhail devolved into his first form. Octa theorised that Mikhail had been cursed by an Intoner. Zero and the disciples explored the Underground Ruins, where they found intel that Two was in the Cathedral City.

[EID_M5110] Some time later, Zero arrived in the Cathedral City. She fought Two, who exploded, killing herself and all of Zero's disciples.

[EID_M5120] Zero and Mikhail entered the Cathedral, which was decorated with skulls. They confronted One, who summoned Abdiel and Gabriel. Mikhail and Gabriel killed each other while Zero killed One. Upon seeing the dead Mikhail, Zero lost her mind and began throwing up. Subsequently, Accord sealed off this doomed branch.

Branch D

[EID_M2310–M2320] A divergence occurred soon after Zero arrived in the Land of Mountains. With all disciples in tow, Zero confronted her sister Four. Four summoned the daemon Zophiel on her own, showing the growing power of the flower within her. After Zophiel was defeated, Mikhail ate Four and evolved into his final form.

[EID_M3310–M3320] The group made their way to the Land of Forests, where they hoped to find Three. Instead, they found a resurrected Five. Dito joined Five as her found her much more appealing as a zombie. Five summoned Galgaliel, Dito summoned Phanuel and Cent summoned Egregori. Zero killed Five. Dito and Cent returned to their original forms.

[EID_M4310–M4320] The remaining members of the group made their way to the Land of Sands. Mikhail suddenly sensed an Intoner's presence in the sky. Zero thus found and fought Three in the sky. Three summoned the daemon Ezrael. Decadus summoned Armaros to slow Ezrael down. Zero killed Three and Decadus reverted to his original form.

[EID_M5310] Finally, Zero arrived in the Cathedral City. Mikhail killed Gabriel. Octa summoned Armisael and returned to his original form. Zero killed One with Accord's help.

[EID_M5320_E0900] The flower is destroyed.

[EID_M5320] After saying their goodbyes, Zero released the flower inside of her in order for Mikhail to destroy it. Mikhail destroyed the flower and the curse of the Intoners was eliminated.

Story Side Branch

Zero made her way to the Land of Mountains after killing her sister Five. On the way, she spotted the disciple Decadus running away. He explained that Four had exiled him as a result of her growing paranoia. Zero and the disciples went on to face Four in her fortress, where she summoned the daemon dragon Zophiel. After the daemon dragon was defeated, Mikhail ate Four and evolved into his second form.

Decadus offered to take the group to the Land of Forests via a shortcut through the Land of Sands. The group met the disciple Cent there, who was secretive about what happened to Two. Zero could tell however that Two was dead, and so allowed Cent to join them.

In the Land of Forests, the group met the final disciple, Octa, who surrended and joined their party. Further in the forest they found Five, who had resurrected herself. Dito joined Five as her found her much more appealing as a zombie. Five summoned Galgaliel, Dito summoned Phanuel and Cent summoned Egregori. Zero killed Five. Dito and Cent returned to their original forms.

Suddenly, Mikhail sensed an Intoner's presence in the sky. Zero thus found and fought Three up in the clouds above. Three summoned the daemon Ezrael. Decadus summoned Armaros to slow Ezrael down. After Ezrael's defeat, Octa summoned Armisael to pin Three down. Mikhail ate Three and the remaining disciples reverted to their original forms.

Mikhail and Zero made their way to the Cathedral City alone. There they faced One inside the Cathedral. Although Zero successfully defeated One, Mikhail was mortally wounded. Zero thus used her power to forge a pact with him, transmigrating the flower into him and giving up her adulthood in return. They were both subsequently killed by One's Brother.

Other branches

In an unspecified branch, Zero was able to reconcile with her sisters and ruled alongside them. It is unknown whether the threat of the flower was successfully eliminated in this branch or not.

Resurgence in the Library

Zero found herself in the world of the Library, where she was reunited with a human Mikhail. Together they fought nightmarish versions of her sisters. Mikhail was eventually kidnapped by a nightmarish version of One and her brother. Zero fought to free him. After the fight was over, Mikhail was returned to his dragon form, and the threat of the flower within the Library passed.

Characteristics

Appearance

Zero was a beautiful, silver-haired woman. She wore revealing white clothing fastened with black ribbons. By 1000 AD, she had a flower growing out of her right eye. Her left arm had been replaced with a metal prosthetic which was attached to her body using a parasite.

Personality

Zero was a violent, lazy, unyielding woman with a horribly short temper, who had sexual relationships with many men. She was mistrustful of people due to a betrayal she suffered in her youth. However, she was eventually able to place her trust in dragons — Michael and Mikhail — and the disciples she created for her sisters.

Abilities

[EID_M2010_E0140] Zero is regenerated by the flower.

As the original and eldest Intoner, Zero was also the most powerful one. By soaking up the blood of the battlefield and using her Power of Song, Zero could unleash devastating attacks upon her foes. Using the regenerative properties of the flower, she could recreate her entire body, but only parts that were not previously damaged by dragons. She could also use her powers to create disciples, as well as to summon daemons (although it is unknown whether she ever did the latter).

Zero was also skilled in using different varieties of weapons, including swords, spears, chakrams, and combat bracers.

Gameplay

Drakengard 3

Zero is the playable character throughout all of the game's main branches, as well as the Zero's Prologue downloadable content (DLC). In the main game, Zero can wield swords, spears, combat bracers, and chakrams, and can reach a maximum level of 60. In Zero's Prologue, she only uses her sword and can reach a maximum level of 10.

Several DLCs were released for the game featuring outfits and weapons for Zero based on characters from Drakengard, Drakengard 2 and NieR:

• 

  Caim's Garb

• 

  Furiae's Garb

• 

  Manah's Garb

• 

  Eris's Garb

• 

  Nier's Garb

• 

  Kainé's Garb

Another DLC featured three recolours of Zero's Standard Garb – the Pink Intoner Garb, the Black Intoner Garb and the Crimson Intoner Garb.

Lord of Vermilion III

Zero appeared as a playable character in the game alongside Mikhail. It is an arcade-based fantasy collectible card game and was released on August 22, 2013.

SINoALICE

Two versions of Zero were available during the SINoALICE x Drag-On Dragoon 3 collaboration event:

• 

  Zero/Breaker

• 

  Zero/Cleric

The event originally ran from March 26, 2018 to April 26, 2018 on the Japanese game version. It was later rerun from June 25, 2019 to July 9, 2019. It was never available on the game's global version. Zero was also featured in the event story Harmonic Interference (Japanese: 調和干渉, Hepburn: Chōwa kanshō).

NieR Re[in]carnation

Two versions of Zero were available during the NieR Re[in]carnation x Drakengard 3 collaboration event:

• 

  Progenitor Sister

• 

  Divergent Sister

The event originally ran from October 8, 2021 to November 8, 2021 on the global game version. It was later rerun from June 13, 2022 to July 11, 2022. Zero's four star version was additionally available in the Re[in]carnation Appreciation Gala Survey Rally Summons which ran from August 1, 2023 to September 11, 2023. Zero was also featured in the event story Record: Blood Oath's Edge.

Behind the scenes

Design and development

Character designer Kimihiko Fujisaka was given free reign to come up with whatever character designs he wanted. His brief for the protagonist of Drakengard 3 was simply that it should be a woman. The game's creative director, Yoko Taro, came up with the overall story only after seeing Fujisaka's designs.

Zero was initially made to look like a stereotypical protagonist with an elaborate design. Fujisaka made further refinements whilst picturing what a goddess should look like.

Putting a flower in Zero's eye was Fujisaka's idea. He wanted to include a distinct characteristic, and putting a flower in a character's eye had never been done before to his knowledge. Yoko Taro was thrilled with the idea and said he would incorporate it into the game's story.

Etymology

Her initial name, Rose, was given to her by a fellow girl in the brothel, based on the colour of her eyes. Her name after she became an Intoner, Zero, comes from her self-reflection at the end of her mortal life, which she felt was empty and purposeless.