"Did I?" Koumyou's hands on his shin squeeze tightly enough that there's likely to be bruises. "I burrowed so deeply into muichimotsu, so hard, I didn't even grieve for my friends. I just watched. Like everything was a movie!"

He shuts his eyes for a moment, steadying himself.

"I can still see Tenkai, covered in his own blood, reaching for me. And I did nothing. I can still see Goudai's blood bursting into the sky, soaking the ground -- and I did nothing. Less than nothing, I trained his killer for a year after! Who would do that?!"