About C.0
Circle Zero is a suspense romance following the treacherous journey of Reggie Cervantes and Vaughn Lewis in their pursuit to escape from the circles of hell. Through trial and peril, the mystery and conflict only seems to deepen the further down they go. Betrayal is afoot and love is in the air, as Vaughn and Reggie learn what it means to find companionship in the most unlikely of places.
The descent into depths beyond mortal understanding test and push the bounds of what the human mind can truly withstand when faced with betrayal, lust, horrors beyond all comprehension, and our own humanity.
C.0 is an original story by thou for the purpose of having characters to gush over. This project is executed through various art, some miscellenous comic strips, and writing. This is not a roleplay project though some roleplay may be carried out with close friends through AUs.
The Cast
REGGIE CERVANTES
Reggie Cervantes is the unfortunate victim of circumstance. A run of the mill college dropout, a gas station employee in Yuma, Arizona, with little to no future aspirations, she is pulled to hell in an instance of sheer unluckiness. Reggie is a wall-flower, with a cheerful yet snarky personality, who prefers to be left to her own devices. She often tends to be reclusive as isolation has become part of his routine. Though he is well socalized in internet gaming circles.
VAUGHN LEWIS
Vaughn Lewis is a former olympic ice-skating champion. The second to get pulled into the lower circles, Vaughn forms a deal with Death to return to Circle Zero. Naive and aloof, Vaughn does their best to survive in the wastelands of hell. Originating from a family of sport elites, Vaughn was constantly pressured to be the very best. It was at a late night practice, alone at the rink, where Vaughn was dragged to the depths below.
JOSEF JONES
Josef Jones, the first known mortal to slip into a lower circle. Josef was an enigmatic but captivating straight A law student, frequenting arcades and going on night-life expeditions. His descent was traumatic both physically and mentally, leaving him a shell of his previous self. Josef is worn, ragged, and quick-tempered in the modern day. He avoids the public eye and speaks to very few individuals. Deep down, hes still a big softie.
The Setting
ZERO
Circle Zero, most commonly known as "Earth," to most humans. The first circle, Zero, is its own unique version of hell. Displays of hell's typical environment tend to be more subtle, more calculated. There is a balance of good, "heavenly behaviors." This allows for the first circle to be liveable. Death does not have full control over this circle, only minor influences. Various portal splits have a rare chance of opening, but our protagonists seem to have very terrible luck. The origins of Circle Zero is knowledge unknown to most mortals, though skeptics try their best to prove their theories on its existence. Cynicists is the label they typically recieve.
DEVIL'S STRETCH
The main expanse of the lower depths. A hot-spot for all hellish activity, entities, and sin. This is the appearance of most upper circles. Scorching hot landscapes, ruined buildings, pits of lava and woe. However large parts of the land will often mimic "humanlike" structures, such as motels, office-buildings, department stores, or homes. Every now and then you'll catch some established residents throwing a party. Hostile beasts seeking desctruction scamper along the landscape posing threat to any straggling mortals. One does not age in any lower depth of hell, time is experienced differently here.
THE GLACIER
Deep within the abyssal recesses of hell lies the Glacier, a frigid realm that serves as Death's abode—a vast expanse of icy plains and desolation. Those who have acclimated to hell's environment through prolonged exposure are better equipped to endure its unforgiving conditions. In the Glacier, the population of hostile entities dwindles, yielding dominance to warped lost souls. Despite a lack of malicious intent, the touch of a lost soul carries peril. It instills an insidious desire to linger in hell, embraced by the seductive allure of nothingness. Falling prey to their touch may prove fatal, weaving a delicate dance with the tempting grasp of eternal damnation.
BANANA SPLIT
Limbo, in all technicality. Though Josef prefers to refer to it as "the banana split." A warped section of hell inbetween Circle Zero and Devil's Stretch. Limbo treads the line of living and dead, a space within reality where those adrift only wax in Death's moonlight. Accessing the Banana Split is the only way out of lower circles, but surviving the endless maze of undeath with its master on your heels may prove more difficult than anticipated.
The Story
PART ONE
In the blazing heat of the Arizona sun, Reggie Cervantes descends to Hell. During a typical smoke break outside kicking hot clouds of dust, Reggie’s interest is piqued by an unfamiliar split in the soil humming an ominous hymn. When her curiosity results in his vape dropping down the red maw of rock, a futile attempt to retrieve it causes Reggie to slip headfirst into suffocating darkness, falling for what seems like an eternity. Upon consciousness, she finds herself in a scarily unfamiliar area akin to descriptions of Hell. Vapeless, bruised, and dangerously afraid, he believes that he has reached the end of her short life, now damned to an eternity of fire.
It isn’t long before Reggie’s sullen surrender is interrupted by a recognizable, notably passive, human figure approaching from the shadows. A quick scuffle and a few rapid-fire questions later, Reggie meets her soon-to-be traveling companion, Vaughn Lewis—an Olympic gold-medalist figure skater who disappeared inexplicably several years ago after a devastating championship loss. Vaughn extends their hand in a promise to guide Reggie, singing praises about her descent, signifying a chance to escape to the surface. Their excessive kiss-assery doesn’t go unnoticed, but survival in a horrific wasteland meant accepting even the most suspicious of propositions if it’s the best shot. Reggie joins Vaughn, and their journey begins.
PART TWO
Their relationship begins on rocky ground, any kindness begrudging due to their conflicting ideals and personalities. Vaughn pushes on to lower circles with a feverish resolve, bloodied and scarred from the indiscernible years spent in Hell. Their mind run ragged from time spent surviving not only changed Vaughn mentally but physically as well. Reggie struggles to keep up, but physical exhaustion and irritation begin to seep away the more time he spends with Vaughn. Close calls lead to budding feelings, and the formerly chatty tour guide (Vaughn) is plagued by sudden guilt that has them drawing away the further to the Glaciers they get. Scathing insults shift to searching hands and tender gazes, stained only by a fear of the unknown. Tension snaps as all secrets tumble out whilst on Death’s door, where Reggie learns Vaughn’s true intentions. Reggie’s fall to Hell was no accident; she was pulled by Vaughn to be exchanged for their freedom.
Death grandiosely orchestrated this jarring knowledge through mad ravings on the intricacies of the deal it struck with Vaughn. Reggie was completely and utterly betrayed; the only thing breaking through her shocked stay was a desire to flee. Dismissed and let free by Death as a meaningless fly, Reggie escapes to the Glaciers, where he collapses into utter despair. His raw, unrelenting wave of grief and shame attracts the wandering souls occupying the Glaciers; their desperate hands find Reggie, coaxing him into a dreamless, eternal sleep. At least, that would have been the case had Vaughn not sliced them to ribbons. Awaking to Vaughn's agonized cries, Reggie learns that they had dragged them out of the Glaciers into a limbo portal. Bubbling, tearful, and unintelligible apologies pour from Vaughn like a dam. Reggie’s weakened heart couldn’t turn such a sight away. Although still wary and raw from the metaphorical knife in his back, Reggie swears to escape together, with Vaughn. It is where they then discover and rely on the clues and instructions left behind by a surviving mortal to navigate their way out of the perilous limbo, angering Death all the while. Their journey after returning to the surface, however, is another story.
Timeline
1984
THE FIRST
Josef Jones falls to Hell while driving home from his college campus late at night. His car didn't survive the descent. He later returns to the surface in 2001.THE SECOND
Vaughn Lewis is persumed to have run away after a catastrophic failure during a championship, when in reality the ice at the rink swallowed them whole to Hell in 1998. Their search party was called off by their family not long after it began.1998
2022
THE THIRD
Reggie Cervantes pokes the wrong hole outside of a gas station and descends. His manager and landlord takes care of her guinea pig Squash while she's away. That old man has seen too much, he knows she'll be back soon enough.A RETURN
With a speedrunner mindset, Vaughn and Reggie return to the surface within the next year, only a couple months after Reggie fell. Sorting out the legal processes of a missing person from years ago turns out to be a nightmare, but they make do.2023
Content Warning
Please note that this project contains Mature / Adult themes not suitable for minors or those who may be sensitive to mature themes such as violence, horror, and sexually explicit content.
Because of this I encourage that you be 18 years of age or older to interact with or create content for this story. For any content specifically NSFW, minors should not interact.
Gift/fan content is greatly appreciated regardless of involvement in the project. I love when people love my OC's, and hope you enjoy their story as much as I do.
If this kind of content makes you uncomfortable, please click away.
Sensitive Themes & Topics May Include:
- Sexually suggestive or explicit Nudity.
- Explorations of sexuality, visually and in written works.
- Horror elements, including violent themes, body horror, and psychological horror.
- Depictions of blood and body horror are likely common visual elements.
- Violent acts and combat oriented themes, including potentially violent and villanous characters.
- Themes of childhood abuse and trauma.
- Existential themes and explorations of death and the afterlife.
Please keep these warnings in mind when engaging with Circle Zero. I am not open to criticism from anyone I am unacquainted with on the content of my story. Expect dark themes and potential triggering content, as this is a considerably mature story despite light-hearted elements. Any questions? My inbox is always open!