Zenith moved close to Dust's face.
"That fearsome monster made itself a nice home inside your body Dust. That's how you fit into this. You, my dear friend are the vessel of Izzuria the Conqueror"
...What?
The initial thought that shot through Dust's head was that of complete disbelief.
What a stupid story. I mean how dumb does he think I am?
But then it hit him. The feeling that pulsed from his chest when he awoke in the village. That bottomless well of power that burned within his stomach when he should've otherwise been dead. He remembered feeling like something foul was running rampant inside his body.
It was all starting to click. Going through the white gate without dying, waking up uninjured and without any memory of what happened, and most of all that feeling of fathomless power that surged inside his chest when he awoke. Zenith wasn't lying about this, there was definitely something inside Dust. No... it wasn't just anything though, it was the same dreadful creature that brought this world to its knees. Shock fried his nervous system like a toaster in a bathtub. Even so Dust mustered up just enough energy to continue speaking with Zenith.
"How do you know this?"
Zenith sat back into his chair and resumed his normal regal position.
"I'm surprised you believed me that quickly. Well anyways, let's just say I have many connections with many knowledgeable people."
Zenith put his arms on the table and held his hands together tightly just in front of his face. With that slight movement, an air of severity ran through the cabin.
"I don't think that's particularly significant right now though. Instead, now that you know you have this... condition. What are you going to do now?"
What am I going to do now?
That question hadn't crossed Dust's mind in a while. Ever since waking up and meeting Zenith he'd only been going with the flow of the situation, mostly out of curiosity more than anything else. But now when faced with the idea of the future... it all just felt so much heavier. Looking to Zenith for an answer felt like the safest option in the moment.
"What do you suggest?"
Zenith stood up and began walking around the cabin in little paces. It was very obvious to Dust that this man loved to be dramatic when talking about his plans.
"Well seeing as I require your strength and I've gone through all the effort to get you here, it would be preferable for me if you agreed to come help me with my plans."
Well, what choice do I have anyways. He's just gonna knock me out if I say no.
"I don't know why you feel the need to put on this act and pretend to give me a choice in the matter. Since I first met you Zenith, you've made it pretty clear that if I say no to your requests, you'll just force me to do it anyways so let's cut the shit and get going."
Zenith abruptly stopped pacing around and turned his head to stare directly into Dust's sharp green eyes. For the second time, Dust saw it again. A small flash of respect ran through Zenith's eyes that vanished as quickly as it appeared.
"That may very well have been the case for everything else, but this choice is yours to make. If you choose to stay in the desert, I won't stop you. I will, however, be very disappointed."
Agency was a foreign concept to Dust. For as long as he'd lived, his life had been an endless struggle. The only agency he'd had up until this point was whether or not he decided to continue pushing through the suffering. And now staring agency in the eyes, he should feel great. But he didn't. He felt awful. Little bombs of grime burst throughout his body making it feel as if his bones were drenched in cold mucus. He couldn't bring himself to take Zenith up on his offer, because Dust knew deep down that each day he continued to breathe was another day that he would suffer without any respite in sight. That was the way of the world, and trying to live with that was a fool's errand.
"I think... I think I'm gonna stay here."
Zenith's eye twitched. His gaze bore a palpable hatred that seemed to claw at Dust's face.
"I said I'd respect your decision and I intend to do that. However... I won't accept a half-assed answer like that. You're not going to stay here. That was never part of your plan, was it Dust? If you stay here you'll go running back to that hole and plunge down it again, won't you? So say it. Tell me that your going to kill yourself you dirty little coward."
Dust swung at Zenith, however this time his punch wasn't caught. Dust's fist connected and knocked Zenith to the floor. In the next instant Dust was already up and wailing on Zenith. All of Dust's rationality faded away as a bright red seeped into his peripherals. He was fuming.
Zenith could've stopped Dust at any moment, probably even killed him if he felt like it. But he didn't. He just sat there and took it. But that small act of kindness was not enough to stop the raging storm that was Dust's anger.
"What do you know about me you shithead! All you've done is sit here and run your mouth about how I'm weak and pathetic without any knowledge of my life! You don't know my pain! You don't know how much my heart rotted when my family died! You don't know how hard I've struggled, how hard I've fought to survive only to have this fucking world rip away everything worth living for!"
Dust's hands stopped moving. Small tears fell from his fragile jade eyes and landed on Zenith's bruised form. In spite of all Zenith's injuries, there was a deep respect held in his eyes while he watched Dust speak.
"I've tried so hard. I kept going, every day, every day, every fucking day! But there's nothing at the end of all that perseverance. Just pain. But I could deal with that. It was fine as long as I got to keep living with my brother and sister. It was fine as long as my mom and dad kept smiling. But it all just slipped through my hands so quickly. A sandstorm hit the village. People couldn't go hunt for food without getting torn apart by sand. My family starved, they left the last bit of food for me. And now here I am alone and with nothing in this world left to bring me joy. So tell me Zenith, is it so wrong for me to be done with it all? Is it a crime for me to want to run away from this fucked-up world?"
Dust grabbed Zenith by the collar of his pristine white cloak.
"Tell me you asshole!"
Zenith raised his battered arm to signal that he wished to speak. There was not the slightest trace of rage on his face.
"You're not wrong. But you're judging life too harshly. I know you haven't had it easy. I know it's been nothing but agony for you. I know you've lost everything you had left to cling to. Still... the world is a lot bigger than you think it is."
Dust paused. Zenith raised himself up off the ground and met Dust at eye level.
"There are so many things you haven't yet seen. Even just today, you had soup for the first time and it doesn't take a genius to see that that was the best meal you've ever eaten. All you grew up with was dirt and sand, but out there just past the ocean is a whole world filled grasslands and sunshine."
Dust still resisted. Even though all that Zenith was saying sounded nice, it still wasn't enough. It wasn't enough to justify bearing the pain that is living again.
"I can't. I'll still just suffer. I don't want to suffer anymore. I want to give up."
Zenith's navy eyes swirled as he looked at Dust, almost like he was staring directly at Dust's soul.
"When we first met, my first impression of you was that you were a coward. But you've proven me wrong. You get angry when I insult you, you try to get even with me when I wrong you. Don't lie to me and tell me you're done living when everything about you screams otherwise."
Zenith extended out his hand to Dust as he'd done before. Zenith was not a good man, but every time he laid out his hand Dust almost forgot what an asshole he was.
"I respect you. That's why I allowed you to hit me. Because I have full confidence that you'll choose to keep living if you know that something good lies at the end of all that perseverance. And I promise you, it does. I can't stop you from suffering, nothing can do that. But if you come with me, I will show you the beauty that makes it all bearable."
A feeling that Dust nearly hadn't recognized on account of how long it'd been since he last felt it now swallowed his mind. That feeling was hope.