Strange. It didn't seem too long ago that those words would've seemed absurd coming from Harpuia. It still sound a bit strange, to be honest. Just another unexpected voice telling Zero that the lot in life he'd long accepted for himself was an unfair position to take.
There'd been a few of them lately. Telling him that the destruction that followed his life wasn't his fault. That he shouldn't keep punishing himself for what he was made to do. Even apologizing for what he went through. None of them had been obligated in any way to reassure him - he certainly hadn't asked for it - but they all believed the same thing.
But despite this, Zero's own self-perceptions had been engrained in him too deeply for him to share that trust, not completely. Without a moral pillar to guide him and give him purpose, like X and Ciel, whatever he tried to pursue by himself would still be the empty actions of a weapon.
He couldn't believe in himself, so he had to believe in others. He would fight for them and die for them. Whether he could live for them, he still didn't know. Did he had a choice but to try?
From the corner of his eye, he could see Harpuia turn away. The general was nothing if not a reploid of conviction, in both words and deeds, and for that, Zero could appreciate his bluntness. If he put his trust in that... and in Rock, and Gordon, and even Hajime, what would come of it, he wondered.
Quietly, with a faint sigh, he muttered, "Maybe." It was as much of a concession as he was able to make right now, but perhaps it was better than complete condemnation.
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There'd been a few of them lately. Telling him that the destruction that followed his life wasn't his fault. That he shouldn't keep punishing himself for what he was made to do. Even apologizing for what he went through. None of them had been obligated in any way to reassure him - he certainly hadn't asked for it - but they all believed the same thing.
But despite this, Zero's own self-perceptions had been engrained in him too deeply for him to share that trust, not completely. Without a moral pillar to guide him and give him purpose, like X and Ciel, whatever he tried to pursue by himself would still be the empty actions of a weapon.
He couldn't believe in himself, so he had to believe in others. He would fight for them and die for them. Whether he could live for them, he still didn't know. Did he had a choice but to try?
From the corner of his eye, he could see Harpuia turn away. The general was nothing if not a reploid of conviction, in both words and deeds, and for that, Zero could appreciate his bluntness. If he put his trust in that... and in Rock, and Gordon, and even Hajime, what would come of it, he wondered.
Quietly, with a faint sigh, he muttered, "Maybe." It was as much of a concession as he was able to make right now, but perhaps it was better than complete condemnation.