This is a multimedia webnovel with giant city-crushing monsters, a valiant man who dares to fight them, a hero who loses himself on a righteous path, and a darkness which conceives a profound love. But I suck at descriptions, so I strongly encourage...
"Hatasuko, can you hear me? Hatasuko, are you there?" asked a soft voice.
"Adishina, is that you? I haven't heard from you in so long! It's funny, I actually feel a little compelled to ask how you've been, but I suppose that there isn't much room for anything to change. You know, since you're dead and all," Hatasuko answered with a quiet laugh.
"Ha, yeah... not much has changed. Well at least, nothing has changed for me. The tempest had been so loud for so long that I guess you couldn't hear my little voice in here. It's a shame. I saw you hurting so much in those weeks after Lazaro died. I wish I could have helped you, but everyone else was so upset. All the lost souls were screaming louder than I've ever heard. It seems that hope truly has a poisonous effect," said Adishina.
"It seems that it does. My first victory changed the world with the crushing power of hope, but that turned out to be a mistake. Everyone thought that I would end the Interfecti, but that was just a daydream – a daydream destroyed by the power of the nightmare. I still have hope, and I still intend to save this world from the shadow demons, but this journey is mine alone. This hope and this dream are mine alone; that's the way it needs to be because there's a very real chance I might fail. Even after my latest victory, I still accept that I might fail."
"That isn't going to happen! Didn't you once say that you won't give reality the choice to disagree with you? You know that this is your destiny."
As he listened to the soft voice of the lost soul at the edge of the tempest, Hatasuko realized that in a way, Adishina served as a messenger for the miserable souls in the tempest. Though his recent victory had done nothing to ameliorate their crushing sense of hopelessness, they still supported him. They still shared his dream.
Hatasuko answered, "You're right. I wish I was a more consistent person, but it seems that I dance on the edge of optimism and realism, and that's a rather sharp boundary. Every time I realize my own powerlessness, I remember my destiny and the words of my mother. But every time I step too far into the hope that I could actually change anything... well, never mind. Anyway, can I ask you why the tempest is so quiet right now? It seems strange. Not even my last victory seemed to stop the screaming abyss."
"You're really wondering? Open your eyes, just for a moment."
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Hatasuko opened his sleepy golden eyes and glanced at the front of the sail-rana. The sail was fully expanded, the boat charged along the smooth desert floor, and the starlight pulsed down upon the world around them. Hatasuko then realized that he felt a very warm presence on his chest. Though he sat in the backseat of the large sail-rana as usual, Vaida sat beside him with her arms wrapped around his stomach. Her sleeping head rested on his chest. Even in this semiconscious state, his right hand was tangled inside her smooth hair. He combed his fingers through her hair, gently enough that she did not wake up, but noticeably enough that she smiled in her sleep. Hatasuko closed his eyes again and returned to the edge of the tempest.
