A month before.

Sitting in a chair near a hospital bed Zero looks towards the patient. A man with brown and grey hair sleeps fitfully. Zero doesn’t have an emotion on his face he’s just staring at the man waiting for something.

“Quit looking at me like that,” says the man in bed. His eyes are still closed and his body hasn’t moved a inch.”I’ll be dead soon enough you can wait five more minutes.”

Zero bites his tongue.”Yes father I will wait,” he says in a neutral voice.

“Haha OUG OUG,” the man erupts into a coughing fit violently shaking the bed he is on.”You know something when my father died I didn’t even bat an eye, just like you. Though I was the one who put a sword through his chest. I guess that’s something I gave to you, that coldness.” He opens his eyes for the first time, they’re black as night with only a hint of separation between the pupil and cornea.”Yet your not as cold as me no not by a long shot.” He goes into another coughing fit this one lasting longer.”I suppose you’re wondering what’s going to happen to you once I finally head to hell.”

Zero doesn’t say anything he just sits there.

“Well I’ll give you one thing your self control is levels ahead of what I had at your age.” The man looks up at the ceiling thinking about something.”You will have enough money to last a month then you’ll have a choice. Become a criminal or,” the man pulls something out of his dresser next to his bed.”Pay for the rest of this.” A sheet of paper filled to the brim with words with only a line unfilled. One used for a signature.”No I’m not going to send you to that state test bull, your smart, but not that smart. No these are your options the ones you feel in your soul.” The man grabs Zero’s arm, strength still in his dying body. Zero freezes unsure what to do.”son when you die don’t go out like his, die with honour, die after you’ve given life hell and everyone around.” He pulls Zero closer.”Die after you’ve truly have lived.”

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He slumbs back into the bed, this time truly unmoving. Zero lifts his hand up closing his father’s eyes. A ringing sound fills the room followed shortly by doctors rushing in, but its too late. The man is gone. The doctors try to consul Zero saying everything will be alright. But Zero isn’t paying attention, he’s reading the piece of paper.

Three days later.

There are only two people at his funeral Zero and a preacher. The preacher is a very old man who has known Zero for most of his life. He has just finished his last words and has given the signal to start lowering the casket.

“Boy I know what your father gave to you and I’m begging you to reconsider.” The preacher says standing next to Zero.

“And do what. My father was right I won’t be able to pass the test to get into the school and I’m not spending the rest of my life sitting in a church lessening to someone preach. No offense to your profession.”

“None taken I was a traveling priest for a very long time before I was forced to settle down. But, you know the odds of survival for that damn place. I won’t pretend any longer I hated your father immensely, but to give you this it defies every believe as a parent. And who says you have to do any of that you could be a construction worker. It doesn’t pay well, but atleast its in honest and undangerous living.”

Zero stays quiet for a moment looking at his descending father’s coffin.

“Because preacher I actually want to do this. I know that I’m not the strongest, but in the dungeon.” He stops for a moment.”In the dungeon I think that’s the only place I will be truly free of this bastard.”

The preacher doesn’t say anything more, he just puts his arm around Zero. Who has streams of tears running down his face.

Zero stayed at the church for the the next week, then he took a train to Megalopolis the dungeon city. He stayed at a hotel at the bottom and most outskirts of the city and during the day he would go to the library to search anything and everything about kid killer. Then the day arrived. He received a free dagger from the office and was told where to go.