Chapter 23: what the people saw

In his mind, Umbra was no longer the same. Years of continuing torture, death, and rebirth had finally taken their toll. The gods thought they'd finally broken him, but never was there a bigger mistake. A spark had started in him, a fire that would not go out.

Everything changed when he was turning 10. He was at an age when he just could not bear those endless resets anymore, the infinity that kept on hurling him into misery. But one day, it all changed. It was the remembrance of all that had been, the countenance of every life he lost, and all that was dear to Akari that set him off. He couldn't live like this anymore. He wouldn't.