#im unsure how to tag this beyond that but other trigger warnings may apply

[aetherose]

@the-lytenye-realms sent: REMINDED (with Zero!)

Glimpses of the Past

Some time before Zero became an Intoner...

It wouldn't be the first time Zero has been stolen from. She'd already experienced getting all her money taken by bandits when she'd initially escaped from that damned brothel. And even now, she always had to guard anything she had vigilantly, lest it get taken from her. But she'd slacked out of exhaustion today; her illness was beginning to catch up with her, leaving her ever more tired.

But that didn't mean she could just give up. Out of spite, she continued onward, refusing to die despite the way she deep down desired an end to this endless, brutal fight for survival.

What made today's incident of getting stolen from unique was the perpetrator. A girl, not too much younger than Zero, clothed in scanty and rather worn out lingerie. Zero remembers briefly seeing her in the city not long ago, returning to some brothel or whatever, hair a mess and evidently probably coming back from some unpleasant client.

Zero had deduced her a prostitute pretty fast, which soon led to the conclusion she'd now come to. This girl had escaped her forced employment, and now she was stealing from Zero. Unfortunately, Zero woke fast and always slept with her sword by her side. Zero thus had quickly kicked her to the ground when she'd seen her clutching some of her food in her hands, her foot on her back whilst Zero pointed her blade to the girl's head as she laid on her stomach.

"What do you think you're doing?" Zero questioned, and the girl looked at her in horror. "I-I...p-please, d-don't hurt me! I-I just- I was hungry, ok?!" The girl struggled as she released Zero's food, in hopes it'd persuade her to let her go. Unfortunately, Zero's foot only pushed her down harder, and the girl was starting to realize she might not be getting out of this alive. "P-please! I'll do anything- I-I only just managed to escape, p-please don't kill me-! Please!"

Zero's eyes narrowed, as she got confirmation of her theory as to why this girl was here and listened to her beg for her life. "I-it took me s-so long, I-I had to kill everyone so th-they w-wouldn't chase me down, I-I had to w-work so hard for this- p-please let me-" Zero's blade sunk into the girl's head unceremoniously, as she looked down apathetically at the now dead girl.

"Your mistake was stealing from a light sleeper." She knew the girl couldn't hear her now, and yet she still felt like saying it. She's not sure why. She pulls her blade from the girl's head as she continued staring at the girl as the wound Zero had made on her bled out.

This could've been Zero, in some other world, if she weren't careful. On so many occasions, she could've gotten herself killed and died a death this pathetic. But she got lucky. Or was she actually the unlucky one, continuing to live this hellish life? Was killing this girl more of a mercy? Not like Zero really did it for any reason, let alone mercy. She didn't even think about it in the moment. She just got tired of hearing the begging, and did what came most naturally to end it; killing the origin of it.

Zero would never beg for her life like that if it came down to it. Though she wouldn't thank the perpetrator either, but she's also not sure she'd curse them. Not like there'll be one, in frankness; she knows her illness will probably take her before anyone else does. But Zero still finds herself with complicated feelings as she steps away from the girl's corpse.

She won't become like this girl, that's for sure. Even if she knows her death is probably already assured, she'd certainly not die because of some stupid mistake like this. She's already gotten farther, with how she's survived years longer on her own than this girl has. She won't become like her.

'I'll be better than that', is Zero's final thought as she goes back to sleep.