231 Gatekeeper

Lith took the bottle away and locked the cabinet. He didn't want to risk for Yurial to go from one addiction to another.

"At this point, you should have realized the meaning of what I told you after the second exam. Life is like a crucible. It pushes us until we break apart and then it melts the pieces to forge something new.

"The mold is always the same, but the person that comes out it's not. Our beliefs and our convictions are put to the test every day. Some we keep, others we discard. When it happens, a part of us dies, never to return.

"You are not the same person you were when the academy started, just like you are not even the same person you were after passing the second exam. It's the same for everyone.

"My only choice is to embrace the change or keep mourning my past self as much as I mourn Protector. I need my closure. If I back away without even trying, I will regret it my whole life and sooner or later that weight is going to kill me."