"You remind me of a story I once read when I was younger. It was about a small pebble perched at the edge of a cliff, and each and every day something or someone would try to topple it over at last, to let it fall into a pit of darkness below. Yet each and every day, whether it was the harsh winds or the man who attempted to kick it in and instead slipped into the pit himself, the pebble always managed to survive. Through sheer stubbornness alone."
"I feel quite insulted being compared to a piece of rock, Lioren."
Azriel scratched the back of his head and looked at Lioren with reproach as the two of them stood opposite each other at the cliff's edge.
At that same moment, blood trickled from the corners of Azriel's lips, seeping upward from somewhere deep within him.
"...Looking at you now, I find that rather an accurate comparison. Too stubborn to die. Too stubborn to yield."
