Burn (1)

Ryu stood in a daze. Every memory and illusion was like another stab and twist to his chest. 

He couldn't even feel rage anymore, just helplessness. It was like standing in a vast nothing, finally realizing just how insignificant you were. 

Maybe in another life, he would have been no different from Patriarch Ember, a cowardly man who could only slink around in the darkness and target those far weaker than himself while bowing and scraping for those far more powerful. 

There was nothing worse for a man than losing their sense of self, their sense of purpose. It was the worst sort of life. It made everything feel… meaningless. 

If he wasn't born into the Tatsuya Clan, if his parents hadn't diligently shaped his character, if his father hadn't trained him and his mother hadn't guided him, if his grandparents hadn't kept him on the right path… 

Would he even have the right to be Ryu Tatsuya?