The Forsaken Hero

Korra glanced at me, the scowl from earlier lingering on her face. "Why not? I can’t just let them treat you that way!"

I sighed, leaning over the balcony railing and peering down at the dark gardens below. A young couple stole away into a grove, casting anxious looks over their shoulders. They should have looked up...

"It wasn’t about me. Prince Vorinth was doing some political maneuvering in an attempt to reduce the noble’s opinion of the crown prince. Alric’s quite popular, but he is extremely empathetic."-I let out a frustrated breath-"if only I’d stayed away. We could’ve avoided so much attention then."

For some reason, Korra’s eyes filled with pity and her head tilted at a slight angle. "Is it like this all the time? You don’t need to justify it, you know. Sometimes, people are just evil."

"I guess. From the way everyone around here talks, you’d think only the demons can be evil."

"We both know that’s not true."

"Yeah. But what can we do? It’s not like we can just abandon everyone. If the world gets destroyed, we die along with it."

Korra smiled gently, folding her hands over the rail and resting her chin on them. "I’m glad. If I were in your shoes, I don’t know how long I could keep going. It’s something I’ve wondered for a long time."

I pursed my lips and thought for a moment, then said, "I’ve yearned for nothingness for a long time. Where all the pain just stops. But even when I put the needle to my flesh, that never came. Death isn’t the comfort I thought it was, not if it meant waking up to hundreds of depraved gods."

She gasped, raising her head, lips slightly parted. "You mean...?"

"Yeah. I was 18 when I couldn’t take it anymore. Every night was spent in an alley, brothel, or some rich man’s house. There comes a point when everyone breaks."