"But we do get to choose how we respond," Sol said softly. "Life doesn't stop because it's unfair. It just keeps going. The only way to honor the people who fall is to keep walking. We have to strive to take our destiny into our own hands.
We have to survive, we have to get stronger, and when we find moments of peace or joy in this hellhole... we have to enjoy them fully. Because there are no guarantees for tomorrow. Lumi didn't sacrifice herself so you could sit in the dark and weep. She did it so you could live, and live happily."
Kira stared at him.
She looked at the sharp, handsome lines of his face. She looked at the profound, terrifying depth of his silver-crimson eyes. He wasn't speaking like a Spirit Warrior obsessed with honor, nor was he speaking like an elder bound by archaic traditions. He was speaking like a man who had stared into the absolute void of existence and decided to carve his own path through it anyway.
