Chapter Text
Nothing steps into the office building. It fills with echoes, pain, and tragedy that seeps out. Not the kind of pain that happens from one bad day, but the one from years of unthinkable [204 No Content] action. Glass crunches under their boots as they focus on a quiet sob. Eyes landing on a hunched figure of a woman, slowly rocking herself, her muttering joins the echoes.
"I'm not a bad person. I didn't deserve this."
Nothing lets her repeat this over and over as they survey the surroundings. Distorted darkness closes in as they make their way towards the woman. They tilt their head observing her for a moment before interrupting her.
"Do you really believe that."
It wasn't a question, it never is. But still the woman turns, half-crawling, half-dragging herself towards them. A nonsensical rambling spills from her lips. "Yes, I'm a good person, I took care of my family, I proved myself to others over and over. I was powerful and strong."
"How many suffered from your actions."
Another statement and this time the woman couldn't answer. She sat there frozen as the number came to her. Her breath deepens, as if she couldn't get enough air, and her questions begin to spill out of her. "There are others who did the same as me? I wasn't the only one at fault, I can't be the only one to blame?"
Nothing scoffs at this, they feel the quiet rage building in them. "Oh, so you deserve to get away with it because you weren't the only one. It's okay because it wasn't just you."
They step forward, foot hovering over her hand, but then a voice echoes in their mind. “You already won the moment they showed their truth, don’t let them drag you down trying to bury it.”
A smile twitches their lips and their head raises up, almost like they're basking in an invisible light. "You're right, my light." Moving their foot, placing it right beside the hand and tilting their head back down. Their face hardened, the rage still in their eyes but not overtaking them. "I could explain it all again, but you still would refuse to understand. You think you were meant for something but you weren't. You proved it over and over."
They lower their body, hand-wrapping around her chin, forcing her to look them in the eyes. The woman struggles for a moment unable to break the light grip that held her in place. Still fighting and refusing the truth, she grunts out. "Who are you to judge me? How can you condemn me?"
A chuckle leaves their lips, it's always amusing, when [204 No Content] react like this. "I am not here to judge, nor am I here to condemn. I'm simply here as I was at the beginning and nothing less than me will be at the end."
The grip moves to around her throat but there is no gasping for air from her. They raise up, the darkness that was encroaching now completes its fold. The woman, dangling in the air, gasp in understanding then begs. "Please, please, I can do better. I can... i can... please just give me one more chance."
Nothing pauses for a moment not for hope the woman can see in their eyes there is none. Not really even to prolong her suffering but for the others watching waiting their turn. Nothing turns to them, see their fear painted with their shame but they don't move. "Don't worry, she is simply your lesson."
They let go of the woman, her mouth open in a scream but no sound is heard. She falls, so quickly yet the others see everything. The darkness holding them doesn't catch her, she simply falls through it.
Nothing turns and sits in a chair that appears but it's not out of place, crossing a leg over their knee. The next words out of Nothing's mouth are neither soft nor cruel, just a simple question but more of a choice. "Who wants to tell me the worst thing they've done first?"