Prologue

And there's no running, no stopping, just being...

“Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men.”

 

 

The sword was heavy, weighed down by her sin. The blood on its blade was that of her closest friend, who was dying on the street. She carried it with both hands and pleaded with any god who’d listen to forgive her. “No,” she whispered. “Oh, please, no.”

She had prayed that her world wouldn’t shake and crumble underneath the burden she had pushed upon it. It was her choice, and yet she couldn’t decide whether or not she regretted learning the truth, acting on it, and becoming the enemy. However, it was too late. She was alone, running down the street with bloodied hands, trying to convince herself not to stop. The thought that each step was taking her further away from her past, her comfort, made her fall to her knees in mid-stride.

She tried to catch her breath, but the sobs didn’t help. She had promised she would be strong, but she hadn’t changed at all. She was still ignorant and weak with not a thing to fight for. It was their battle, not hers. She had no right to be involved, and no reason to act as if she did.

“You possess something rare; it’s called altruism, selflessness. Let that guide you.”

The words Shiri had spoken crept through the edges of her mind as a determined ghost. It reminded her of all she had sacrificed, just for this one thing. The girl who had spoken the words that renewed her strength and all she has fought for is the reason she was there.

Even if it was not her fight, she would make it so, just to save her country, her friends, and her life.

The wind had never felt so good on her face.

Author's Note

Criticism welcomed and needed!