Chapter 25: what the people saw

This endless cycle had worn down Umbra and ground his very soul to dust. He had lived and died, into infinity, each life a twisted repetition of the last. And the gods-brutal beings that handled the threads of fate with such little care-had made certain that no matter how powerful he would rise, no matter how fiercely he fought, he would come crawling back, always to this torment. Time after time after time. He knew nothing but pain, nothing but loss.

But this time… this time, something felt different. Standing on the cusp of another world, a moment from being torn out of this existence once again, a familiar presence caught his attention.

Akari.