“With his sole purpose—his reason for existing, for living—now gone, he was utterly lost.”

But it was never enough to erase the black, sagging circles that clung to his soul. With his sole purpose—his reason for existing, for living—now gone, he was utterly lost. The last flicker of hope in his heart was all that kept his heavy, burdensome body moving forward, dragging behind the weight of his sorrowful soul. Pain consumed him so completely that only his survival instinct remained to guide his hollow thoughts and actions. Love, joy, laughter, sadness—even hate—all genuine emotions had been smothered, replaced by a dense, overwhelming apathy.