"I'm sorry... I hope that you can keep this a secret but... I'm dying."
'What...'
Seeing the pitiful boy in front of me speaking such chaotic words while smiling, I felt my heart sway. "Ahaha... I'm sorry, I don't even know your name and then I say something like this... Excuse me. You don't have to stay, I'll be fine!"
For some reason, his demeanor reminded me of a certain someone. A person who would always fake a smile even when his inner self was filled with pain and misery. The friend that I lost because I hadn't been there for him.
The difference was that while James was strong and unwavering, Zero didn't seem to carry the same strength. No, he absolutely wasn't as strong as James, but I couldn't help but feel like it wasn't a bad thing.
'If James had... Then maybe...'
Shaking my head and putting on a smile, I did the only thing I felt was right, "No, I'll stay. My name is Sophie, Sophie Red. And from what I heard, you are Zero from the church of Theia?"
"Ah, yea... I'm Zero, Zero Adler. A-and... I'm sorry about before... I didn't mean to say such things to you but... I don't know. Anyway, I'm sorry."
I just waved my hand at his apology. At this point that was so far gone that I couldn't be bothered to care about it, now realizing that that might not have been his usual reaction if he hadn't been under immense pressure and getting caught off guard.
"It's fine. Now, if you don't mind, would you tell me about... you know... the dying thing? Oh! Of course, you don't have to but I get the feeling that you might feel a need to tell someone? Maybe?"
Putting his hands together, it looked like he was also resolving himself, to say something that he most likely hadn't told anyone. 'Is it alright for me to be the one he speaks to? No, it's probably not about who he talks to, it's about the fact that he tells someone. So he doesn't have to be alone...'
"I-I'm... Hmm..."
Seeing him struggle to put together some kind of coherent thought was honestly incredibly painful, even more so as he kept on insisting on carrying that overly bright smile. Although they looked quite similar, it was an entirely different kind of smile to Arthur's.
The smile on Zero's face was more akin to self-preservation, as if the only way he would be able to move forward was to keep smiling.
Finally, it seemed like he managed to find the words he needed to tell someone, the words he had locked away for so long.
"As you may or may not know, I'm someone the church regards as the child of Theia. Not to toot my own horn, but I have been quite blessed in regard to mana. However, what they don't know is that there is a reason as to why I am so proficient in handling magic."
"Are you telling me that you actually have been blessed by Theia? That she has given you some kind of power?"
Nodding his small head, he opened his mouth again, "Haha... Yea... That is so. When I was but a child Theia blessed me in order for me to serve as an instrument to defend humanity against the demons. Sadly, the body of a mortal isn't made for this kind of power..."
I struggled to keep my tears away after hearing what he was insinuating, making sure I kept the position of a listener. There was, after all, nothing I could do about his situation. All I could do was listen to his woes.
Somehow, it seemed like Zero slowly got more and more warmed up to the idea of talking about his struggles, him not even needing me to add anything to the conversation. Letting his head fall backwards a bit, he looked to the ceiling as he continued.
"It's... It's been a bit hard, you know? While I was stuck in the cellar of the church, I hadn't thought about life that much. Before I arrived at the academy, I had already prepared myself to live for the sake of humanity... But now..."
'Stuck in the cellar?! What the fuck?!'
I had no idea how he had lived his life before coming here, but somehow I felt like I could understand that he had been hidden from the world. He was merely a tool for humans to use against the demons.
'Once again those disgusting humans think...! No, stop it! I am human as well!'
As I was shaking my head trying hard to get rid of the feelings of my inner self, I felt a small hand land on my forehead, "Are you alright?"
For the first time since our conversation started, I got to see another expression than his smile. Opening my eyes, I got to see Zero with a face full of worry, seemingly quite anxious about what I was doing.
'So as soon as it is about someone else, it is okay to make such an expression? What about yourself...?'
This was the straw that broke the camel's back, making me unable to withhold my tears any longer. Standing up, I made my way over to the, now, confused boy, and brought him into my arms. Even now, I could feel his small hand stroking my back, carefully soothing the problems of this unknown woman.
'I won't let you die alone... I promise I will remember you, and I will make sure that the little time you have left will be as happy as possible!'
And like this, we spent a long time with him in my arms, as I was crying and him rubbing my back.
****
[Zero's Pov]
'She finally left...'
Letting myself fall down on my bed, I still couldn't figure out what the fuck had just happened. Not only did I lose complete control of myself, but I also somehow made up the most disgusting lie I had ever spoken.
As stated before, I had no issues with speaking half-truths or hiding information, but telling blatant lies? That was not something I would have ever done if my mind hadn't been such an utter mess. Knowing that I needed to fix this insane state of mind as quickly as possible, I reached out to the only one who could help me right now.
'-Loki! What the fuck is happening with me?!'
It didn't even take a second for me to get an answer, the god showing that he had been watching this circus this whole time. '-Why, my young apostle, it's as I said before. I had no idea how the reconstruction would affect your mind, but it seems to me like Theia might have planted some seeds inside of you.'
'-Like the artificial memories? Are they the problem?'
'-Most likely, yes. I even doubt that she was thinking this would happen, she probably just planted them to make sure that your little backstory would work out. Hohoho! And boy did it work out!'
Feeling a bit frustrated that my appointed god somehow felt like the situation was still amusing, a vein quickly appeared on my forehead, '-I don't think this is the time for jokes. How do I fix this? How am I supposed to make Zero a respectable martyr if I am just going to break down crying?'
'-Relax, James. Or should I say Zero? Anyway, let's talk about one thing at a time. First of all, do you honestly think this was that bad for you? Isn't it a lot more wonderful to plant the thought that Zero was in extreme angst all this time in some individuals?'
'-You mean that I will act like I am trying to uphold a façade in front of the public, but will make sure some people believe that I am dying? That does sound quite fun...'
The idea that Loki had wasn't bad. In fact, it was pretty amazing. How tragic would it be that one of the heroes of humanity had lived such a pitiful life, just to be cursed with divine powers that would ultimately lead to his doom?
However, there was one issue I had with this idea... I didn't want Sophie to be one of the people suffering because they thought I was dying. Sadly, I couldn't think of a way to undo what I had just done.
'-Alright, I can roll with that. But I still need to fix my mind! What will happen if I suddenly have an episode like this during a crucial moment?'
'-As for that, I believe it will take a while, but at some point, your mind will most likely stabilize on its own. With that being said, I don't know how long that might take. Hohoho!'
A cold sweat emerged on my back as I understood what he was saying.
'-So... I will have to live with this until it gets fixed by itself?!'
'-Stay strong, my young apostle! And don't worry, I will make sure to watch over your every step of the way. No matter how humiliating they may be. Hohoho!'