Chapter 27: what the people saw

"Thank you, Akari," Umbra whispered into the void. The words escaped his lips before he even realized he had spoken them, but the moment they left him, a surge of power shot through him. For the first time, he could feel his pain and suffering twist into something else-something he could wield. It was as if the chains that had so long held him were finally shattered, and he was free to rise.

It was his bond with Akari, forged through pain and love, that unlocked something inside him. The love they shared, no matter how many worlds had tried to tear it apart, no matter how many gods had tried to extinguish it, was the key to his true power. He had always known that love had the power to transcend, but now, he was living it. With Akari's final words in his heart, he had become more than just a fighter. He was a force of nature—a god in his own right.