Fate/Zero: A Different Path

Chapter 52

Pale whirlwind and dust spiraled around her, casting brief shadows on the jade-tinted grass. A cool breeze past by, pulling back the girl's hood to reveal silver hair

The girl walk and walk, but saw no end in sight

She has traveled this land for days searching for a way out. Around her lies the green of earth, and piltered through the bangs in her hair cast the sun's golden sunlight

A scenery that could be described as heaven, yet a hell that fill her with mounting despair

Ignoring the earth that seems full of life, and the blossomed plumes of blue under her feet, the girl walked. Without destination. Without purpose

Her two feet carried her forward like a forgotten rhymth

"My name is Grey. His name is Kiritsugu. Her name is Shirou. We are on a mission"

She muttered nonsense like a crazy person

"The Reverse side of the World. Rhongomyniad. Have to retrieve. I have to bring it back"

A mantra of endless grief and madness. As though reminding herself of her objective

Seperated from the expedition, nearly killing herself trying to find a way out, only to end up in an unknown location- Gray, who likes normal things and dislike abnormal ones, is a girl who lacks a strong will to survive

Ever since the moment of conception, she was raised as a 'dead person'. A vessel for a greater being to inhabit and one day bring back the old rule of England

Vessels don't have their own will, no personality. It is easier to take over a blank mind than a fracutured one. As she has been locked in that cellar from child birth, she has no drive to continue her existence

Until Lord Father comes and take her away, that child's world is the color of her name- a dull Grey. Without characteristic nor charm

She is a ghost that exist solely to be replaced

With trembling eyes, the girl came to a standstill.

"Should I just kill myself?"

The blade on her hand seem to find solace in the skin of her neck. It digs in slowly, touching the jugular vein

"I'm a failure. I can't do anything right. Just right when I met someone who sees me for who I was, I screwed up their expectations for me"

There was a tint of madness in her words. Facing death, the girl's thought was fixated on fixing her mistake

Kiritsugu and Shirou is no longer here, so what reasons are there for living? She can't bear the weight of existence by herself

Days of walking alone, tortured by the thought of her new family abandoning her, had mentally worn her down, piece by piece. She thought she'd finally learn to treasure life. In the end, it's all an illusion

Her hand began the slicing motion, a thin line of blood trickling down the delicate pale neck

It was at that moment, Gray felt something is amiss. A whisper in the back of her mind, telling her to wait. To listen to her rationality

Her hand unconsciously go to check her pocket. A thin, crinkled cut of a note can be felt, and against instinctive desire her hand grasped around it

The rustling sound remind her of the piece of paper tucked deep inside. Pulling it out, Gray's lifeless eyes glanced inside. A single line was written on the parchment. Yet those words, and the penmanship, bring back memories of the man who was no more

Remember what you want to be

Her fingers trembled as it traced the outline of his handwriting, worshipping every syllables. Even though it's only a piece of paper, even though it has no will of its own...