It was dark, so dark, and yet somehow warm. It was a comfortable place. Wherever this place was. Its as if being strung up and whipped had happened ages ago, not just this morning. I let go of such thoughts and allowed myself to sink deeper into the dark. Then like I was waking up from sleeping I started to feel raindrops on my skin, the constraints digging into my arms and legs, and I came to realize that I had returned to the world from this morning. However, something was missing. The severe bruised and bloody lashes on my back, I could not feel them. Now that my mind was growing clearer I remembered, I was dying. I had been left hung up next to those rebels with my wounds still bleeding, left in this rain, wasting away. But now I did not feel like I was dying, quite the opposite really, I felt alive, I felt full of energy, full of power.
I pulled against my bindings and easily broke them. Then I immediately started running. Seems no one expected anyone to escape so there was no one to stop me. After I was a good distance away I finally stopped to contemplate what just happened. I checked my back and realized it was spotless, not a mark on it. You might think that the whole brutal scene of when I received all those lashes was just a dream. But that seemed easily contradicted. It’s a fact that I woke up chained and constrained exactly how I remembered. So surely my memory of the whipping is also correct. Then how did this happen? I try and think about the last thing I can recall. It was a flower, I remember seeing a flower. I was completely enraptured by it. By its beauty. Then .. after that, what was it? The flower, the flower, it did something, it....
Racking my brain as hard as I could it came to me and I let out a gasp. It started to grow larger, much much larger, large enough to... I had to stop my thoughts and collect myself before finishing that thought I even said it out loud to try and lessen its impact. "Large enough to swallow a person" Of course common sense screams at me saying the complete foolishness of such a possibility. But I already knew it to be true. I felt it, I felt a presence, there was something within me that was not there before. This thing would not allow me to deny the fact that I had indeed been devoured by the flower. Trying my very best not to panic I looked at the positives. This thing, this "flower" must have healed me, not only did it bring me back from the brink of certain death but it filled me with such overflowing strength. Could it be that I have actually had a stroke of unbelievably good luck?
I was about to start crying, my life which had held nothing but pain, sadness and loneliness, could I have finally arrived at the turning point? I reached out with my consciousness, reached out to find the presence in me, to greet it, and say thank you. I was happier then I had been in so very long. I was filled with hope, maybe now I could live a normal life, like a normal girl, no more stealing, no more killing, just peaceful days. That’s when I touched "It", the Flower. Never, in all my life of blood, pain and despair had I witnessed something so horrid, so terrifying, so malice filled, so brutally visceral. I nearly threw up on the spot. No, this was not a stroke of unbelievably good luck, it was a turning point though, but a turn for the worse.
"God dammit!" I screamed "Fuck this world! This world just won't stop shitting on me! To hell with you all!" Beyond my rage I heard a voice in my head. "Destroy it." The voice said. "Destroy it" "Destroy that which has so wronged you. Destroy the world" I stopped my shouting. "Huh? You fucking with me? Now Im hearing things? I’m just supposed to go crazy now?" I knew I wasn't going crazy though. It was "that" that "thing". After touching It I realized that it wasn't joking. This thing really wanted to destroy everything. And I felt its power, its truly god like power, destroying the world would be very possible. All of that now lives inside me.
I thought long and hard about all this. The temptation to do what it said was very real. What did i care what happened to the world, the world hated me and I hated the world. Or even, this could be my big chance at revenge. But when I thought back on the people I had killed, remembered their faces, how they asked me why I was doing this and then how I was unable to provide an answer. I have still never figured it out, Before I knew it the killing was just a habit, sort of like biting your nails. No real reason, it’s just something you start doing. But its those faces, those faces full of complete and utter despair. I never thought about it at the time but now those faces fill me with an even greater despair a despair like what I felt touching the flower inside me. I don't want to see any more of those faces.
And so I arrived at a decision, I had to get rid of this thing, to stop it. Since I had no idea what it was or where it came from I didn't know anything about its weaknesses. I did however know one thing, it lived inside me. If it lived inside me then it was likely that it could not continue if I no longer lived. It's not like I'm particularly attached to my life. Not a single dam good thing has come of it. Its a pointless and empty life. Not one that means much to throw away. I chuckled And does this mean I’m doing something like saving the world? How ridiculous. I got a pretty good laugh at the notion of me saving the world. Soon enough though it was time. Fortunately, I happen to be good at killing people. I knew exactly where to aim the blade to strike a killing blow. Without hesitation I plunged my sword all the way through my heart.
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Suddenly, I open my eyes. A state of confusion instantly assaults me. the air flows around me. The rain has ceased, I feel the touch of grass beneath me. I also feel a wetness on my chest. looking down I see my shirt stained red. A whole in the fabric shows a hole in my chest. I can see my own heart. "What? What is this? How am I seeing this right now?" As if in answer a terrible pain suddenly racks my body. Managing to pry my eyes open since they were shut from the pain I see this amorphous liquid coming out of the hole in my chest. It certainly was not blood, not only was it not red, but it was raising up into the air instead of dripping down to the ground. Before fainting I see that thing suddenly shoot off into the distance with blinding speed.
This time I am much less surprised to find my eyes opening. I don't even bother checking my chest as I can feel the wound closed. I lay on the ground and stare up at the sky. Depressing thoughts fill me. I should have known, It saved me from death before. There is no way this thing is going to let me die. I can't even end things myself Then I soon turned to anger. You fucking flower, I swear to every god that there is, I will end you. Fuck saving the world, I just want to make sure you suffer for forcing this on me. You will regret this. And then a realization Wait a moment, if the flower is still with me then what the hell was that thing that flew off into the distance? Soon I realized that I could feel it. Off in the distance there were 5 presences. They felt just like the flower. Does this mean that it copied itself? There are 5 more of these fuckers now? This supposed to be some kind of defense mechanism to make sure I don't finish you off? Well too bad, this just means I can have fun destroying you a whole six times.
It didn't take me too long to find what i was looking for considering I simply followed the flower's presence. I could feel them, the others. Its a strange feeling, almost akin to a sort of 6th sense. When I approach what I am met with surprises me, they are girls, young girls who look only a little younger than me. Instead of maintaining the guise of a flower it decided to become human? They looked a bit confused. The girl with the short white hair notices me. "Hey, you, who are you? you don't feel like the other people. You.... you feel more like us." It's talking to me. The flower. Is this a human standing in front of me? It can't be. "Hey, did you hear me?" The other girls were now rallying behind the white haired one, like she was the oldest of a group of sisters. With that thought I said "I’m your sister, your older sister. You are all sisters."
That seemed to clear up some of the confusion amongst them. The girls all looked at each with bright and happy faces. The blue haired girl asks "What’s your name big sister?" Ah... right. I still haven't gotten that issue solved. My name, what is it? I am a nobody with nothing. I have no reason to possess a name. I am simply empty. But I don't think that’s going to satisfy these girls. As I ponder over what my life is an answer comes to me. "Zero" I answer "My name is Zero" The blue haired girl smiles and says "Nice to meet you Zero I'm..." she stops. The girl seems to be thinking hard mumbling to herself "Uh.... I am?" The others latch on to her train of thought and develop troubling expressions on their faces.
The white haired one holds her hand in front of her face as if to confirm its existence. "Who am I?" She says. The blue hair, recovering from her momentary cloudy expression becomes cheerful once more. "Well, if I don't have a name then big sister Zero will just have to give me one." She says with a smile. That’s when they all looked at me with expecting gazes. They want me to name them? Really? I could hardly even come up with my own name. Zero is just representative of the emptiness that is my life. Their faces though, they were almost desperate. they wanted to latch on to anything that can give them answers and here I am telling them I’m their big sister. Of course they are going to look to me for guidance.
There was no way someone like me could come up with cute and girly names. Even trying to think of them was becoming a pain. Well let’s just go with what’s easiest, if my name is Zero then I point to the white haired one and say "Your name is One" next the cheerful blue hair "Your name is Two" Then I pick the one with long purple hair "Your name is Three." After her was the one with brown hair. "Your name is Four" lastly, the blonde "Your name is Five". Rather than complain about such stupid names they all seemed to be pretty accepting of them. I was thinking they had nothing else to propose. As they were all growing accustomed to their names I began to mentally berate myself. Dammit what are you doing? Are you here to play house or are you here to kill them?
Just then the one I had dubbed Two grabbed my arm and started pulling me saying "Come on big sister come play with us." Four says "Should we really be playing?" One seemed to be deep in thought; Three appeared to be absently staring at the clouds. After dragging me into their group Five says "You are really cute sister, will I be as cute as you when I grow up?" I don't even know what to say, I don't know what to do. Their faces, the emotions on their faces are clearly genuine. These things, these girls, they are real humans. While wrapped in my indecision I was forced to play with Two, avoid angering Four who seemed to be all business and give advice on how to be beautiful to Five. One had begun pacing back and forth like she was some sort of strategist not a little girl. Three laid on the grass and fell asleep.
Later that night I was standing above the sleeping little ones with my sword in hand. Alright, I’m going to do this, let’s try a beheading this time. Just then I heard One's voice call out "What are you doing?" Remember how I said killing was a habit? Especially when there is a witness my body moves before I can think. I rush at One and instantly decapitate her. Even though I know it shouldn't be my first thought is Oh shit, I just killed her. Fuck. Then of course I remember. No, stop acting attached you are TRYING to kill them right? This is good. As if I needed more reminders that these sweet little girls came from the flower, I see a bunch of dark energy come out of One's severed neck and reach out to grab her head. It then successfully reattaches it.
In less then a minute One opens her eyes. She seems confused reaches up to feel her neck sees that it is attached then looks over to see me holding a sword coated in her blood. I had already surmised that One was probably the most intelligent and fast to understand of all the sisters, I was sure she understood almost right away. She stands up and instead of asking the pointlessly obvious question of why did you try and kill me. She instead asks a much smarter question, "What are we?" My answer "Destruction, we are all fated to bring destruction to the world." Maintaining a calm attitude One simply replies with "I see." She then asks "You will continue to try and kill us?" "I’m afraid so, but obviously conventional methods won't work so I’m going to have to find out what will." I turn and begin to walk off. One says this as I part "Don't think we will simply lay down to die." I wave back to her and say "That would spoil the fun if you did."