When he regained her vision he was in what seemed to be a dark void. He recognized this void. It was the place that he always returned to whenever he 'died'. Of course though, said death never lasted long. Every time he died, he only came back faster. He stared down at his hands, opening and closing them a few times to make sure that he was no longer paralyzed. He couldn't help but wonder what was going on. Was this another experiment? They had tried to use poison on him before but it was never like this. There wasn't even any pain. Just confusion, if anything. He looked up from his hand as he heard a silent 'wooshing' sound. The sound that signaled his 'reawakening' as they called it. Zero couldn't help but hesitate as he stared up at the slowly increasing wispy white circle in the ceiling of the void. What use was there in going back? They tricked him. Again. He had been so happy about possibly receiving a gift and for what? Even if it had been genuine, did that justify all that they had done to him and his fallen peers? He remembered his time as an infant as if it was yesterday. Though some memories seemed to be blocked from him, he remembered sharing the large room that served as his cage with many other children like him. Some older and some younger. He cared about each and every one of them. Unfortunately, as time went on, more and more of them started disappearing. When asked, the doctors told them that they went to see the outside world. Their shared dream. Though Zero was jealous, he was happy that they were able to experience what they all had always wanted. As time went on though, he eventually learned that everything he was told was a lie. The others had been going through the same experiments as he was. The only difference was that…they couldn't handle it. The only survivors of the original group were him and 'Seven'. He and Seven never talked much but Zero would always sneak some of his food to him since the doctors seemed to purposely underfeed him. Should he just die too? If the doctors were telling the truth about an afterlife existing, would he meet with them again? Was it even possible to die? He shook his head as he took a deep breath. No…before he died, he had to see the outside at least once. For all of them. With a newfound determination, he closed his eyes, allowing himself to return to the other side.
His eyes slowly flickered open, squinting at the bright light that shined into his face.
"Wha…?"
Zero mumbled incoherently under his breath as he attempted to recognize his surroundings.
"Ahh…as expected. Not even that will kill you huh? You truly are amazing, Subject Zero."
Zero halted his efforts as the sound of Dr. Listin's voice filled his ears. The man's voice invaded his mind. It felt as if his brain had been split into pieces and was swimming around his head like fish in a small tank.
"D-Doctor? What's going on?" Zero asked, his voice weak. He attempted to lift his hand so that he could hold his head, only to realize that he had been completely strapped down.
"It's a shame that you were such a failure. Don't worry though…we will put you to good use…"
Listin's voice seemed to multiply in his mind the more he spoke. Who was 'we'? Where did they take him? He didn't have the opportunity to question his situation more as something finally came into his vision. It was Doctor Listin. His usually blonde hair was now a muddy brown and his skin was even paler than before, with no pink tints in sight. Of course though, these things weren't the most drastic changes to Listin's appearance. He had multiple eyes going down the side of his face and large black, scaly wings that connected to his back. What frightened him the most was his mouth or lack thereof. How was he speaking to him? Zero stared at the man…no…creature in shock. He blinked a few times in an attempt to make sure that he wasn't seeing things. Listin returned to his original form briefly before he became monstrous after Zero blinked again. He couldn't understand what was happening or why it was happening.
"Did you enjoy my gift, Zero?" Listin asked, pulling on a pair of blue gloves.
"Your…gift? Do you mean the poison?" He asked his eyebrows furrowing as he tried hard to get free from his restraints. He felt so weak even after coming back to life.
"Poison? Oh heavens no! It seems that you were so hungry that you couldn't even taste the difference, huh, Zero?"
"...What? What do you mean…? You didn't poison me…?" Zero froze in his efforts. What did he mean? This had to be another lie of his, right?
"Hm…well…seeing you be so rebellious made me a bit upset. I was going to take it out on you but…Seven asked me to use him as your replacement."
"Poor guy. He was so loyal. He defended you till the very end. Of course though…he couldn't handle it like you can."
"He cared so much about you that I thought he'd enjoy becoming a part of you. How does it feel? Do you feel closer to him?"
Zero's eyes widened in shock at what he was hearing. Tears pricked at the corners of his eyes as he began to breath harder. He felt like throwing up. Listin began to laugh at his reaction but Zero could barely hear him. Did he...consume Seven? How could he do that to him?
"It is strange that you died to that though. Ah! That's right. The Lesuras must have punished you for eating the meat of another blessed soul. How funny…"
Was that why he was feeling so weak? He was being punished by the holy beings? The beings who were the cause of all of this in the first place? He wasn't sure what he was feeling at that moment. Sadness? Fear? Anger? Yes…that was the feeling. He was angry. So incredibly angry.
"You…I'll kill you. I'm going to kill you..."
Zero's voice was weak as his emotions exploded inside of him. His eyes were full of hatred. Doctor Listin froze at the sound of this and everything became silent. Eventually, Listin couldn't help but laugh out once again.
"PFFT-! I never knew that you were so funny! You know what? Since you made me laugh, I'll tell you a secret. That original group of yours? You killed every single one of them." Listin laughed again as he held his stomach.
"What?" Zero asked, clearly in shock.
"Every one of you was implemented with a mind control chip. Yours just so happened to work the best. Who would've thought that you'd actually do it? That's probably why the Lesuras gave up on you. Just like I did. Don't you feel weaker? I wonder if you'd come back to life this time. There's only one way to find out, right?" As Listin spoke, he pulled on a mask and picked up a knife with his gloved hand. Zero didn't say anything. He just stayed still. Even if he continued to try, deep down, he knew that his efforts would be fruitless. He watched as Listin lifted the knife up above his head.
"Don't worry. If you do die from this…your body will be used for the greater good."
Listin didn't have a mouth but Zero could tell from the way the 'man's' many eyes turned into crescents that he was smiling. That same honeyed smile that he always gave him. Zero allowed his eyes to close, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of seeing him in pain.
"Let me just ask you this...What happened to you? You weren't always like this, right...?"
Listin wasn't always a monster. He couldn't have been. Yes, he had always been dishonest but...at one point...he did genuinely care about him and the others. Listin's hands trembled at Zero's question. He made an attempt to laugh again but it was far weaker than before. As if the ruthless facade he had put on was slipping. He dropped his arms and stared up at the ceiling as his eyes slowly fluttered close.
"You've...always been a smart child, Zero. In an ideal world...none of you would've died in the first place but...happy endings only exist in fairy tales. What happened to me? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Everyone died and yet here I am. Suffering." Listin whispered, his eyes opening back again. He was silent for a moment before he moved away from Zero's side.
"You know...I was going to wait for this but...I guess that it's only fair to be honest with you in your final moments." He mumbled as he moved to lift a single match that he had prepared. He stuck it against the side of the match box until it lit before carelessly tossing it behind him, a large flame rising from the ground in a violent manner.
"I know that I said your body would be used for the greater good if you died but to be honest...I am tired of all of this. Of everything. That bastard has controlling me since the start of all of this. I'm...the only one of the Fallen that remains. I don't plan on letting him get his way. We...are going to die in this room. Together."
Before Zero could question it any longer, he froze in shock as the dull blade of Listin's knife pierced through his chest. It hurt but…he had experienced worse.
"I'm sorry about all of this Zero. Let's hope that this kills you. Despite everything, I don't want you to experience the pain of burning to death over....and over again."
Zero couldn't even laugh at Listin's statement, even though he desperately wanted to. He was...angry almost. How dare he pretend as if he cared? He would've felt better if he had at least continued shamelessly laughing as he killed him until the very end. Zero wished that he could remove the image from his memory. The sight of Listin's twisted sobbing appearance warping as he drove the blade further into his chest. He despised it. It was... disgusting. That was the last thought that came to mind as the pain slowly faded into nothingness along with his consciousness.