[dopamiin]

six billion million             three             five hundred         twelve         zero              negative six         NaN         fifty-three          one        two thousand

years ago, a chronomancer

was born under the name Incarnate            never existed                 died                learned to cast                just wanted to HELP        breathed in.

Incarnate had a

brilliant                   stolen                   wretched                   inspired                  terrible                 wonderful          peculiar             twisted

idea. what if you could become truly immortal? what if you could

send your spirit through time              win every war in one stroke            get a second, no, any number of chances                set things right.

this is not their story. it never was.

t

twenty two or so years ago, a girl was born. wretched. awful. pitiful. horrendous. weak. garbage. a waste of space. an empty shell.

undeserving of her very flesh.

I offered her a deal. A way out. I'm not the villain here. I saved her. Don't you understand? I SAVED HER. This is what it was meant to be. The Loop.

this is not her story. it never will be.

a woman wakes up in a forest. helpless. not in the sense you believe, of course. she can survive well, i have seen to that. she is lost. she is without the one thing most people, most creatures, even most celestials never leave their home without.

she is without her memories.

"aza," she calls herself. this is not her shell's name, but it is her birthname, because she has given it to herself as she is born.

she will understand her purpose in due time.

this is her story. it always was meant to be.