[SmokinFerret88]

Touma is not an actual human. Nor does he exist, more like he is a phenomenon. Much like Kazakiri he would be an AIM being. This AIM being has the ability similar to the true Imagine Breaker, however it is not actually anything like the ImagineBreaker, it is somethi far far more petty than that. Kamijou Touma is the AIM personification of all the dark side of the city. He is the coalesced despair, anger, rage and betrayed feelings of all the espers in academy city. That is why in all the times he appears before people, he is always unfortunate. His form of imaginebreaker is merely the will of the oppressed to break the strong, a unique psychic ability derived from the hundreds of thousands of AIM in the city, reverse engineered to break down abilities instead of replicate them.

Or should I say he is the collective hope of the darkside?

. . .I'm honestly at a loss of words here. Maybe its because I've been up for almost 24 hours, but I'm seriously drawing a blank as to how to acutely say how interesting this sounds. All I can really say is just...wow.

If you're still wondering, the last few lines are clues to her identity

Still drawin' a blank here. . .

Also, before I forget to do this later, tell me what you guys think of this introduction for the next chapter.

Spoiler for Inner Turmoil:

“If you were forced to pretend to be someone you weren't: would you strive not to be the person in the mirror and be who you choose to be or would you continue to pretend to be a reflection of them and forgo your own individuality?"

Within the blissfully vast, vacant, wasteland of darkness; these piercing words seemed to echo for miles on end within the confines of the subconscious mind. They originated from everywhere, yet nowhere; from the faintest of whispers to the most deafening of shouts. Each voice, each whisper, each shout, sounded exactly the same as the person who had spoken had used; spoken with a voice that did not rightfully belong to them. Why was it unnerving to hear? Why was it so hard to drown it out and allow peaceful silence to settle? Perhaps they were eager for a response to come; like a child nagging their parents for something in which they want.

But such an inquiry was not something that could be answered with a simplistic response. There was depth to this question; a meaning behind it which could not be seen, heard, smelt, felt, or taste. All that could be given is a response; a response that required time before an appropriate answer could be provided. One would be inclined to think that the answer was simple; how could it not be? Blessed as humanity was, free will was the most gracious blessing humanity could have gained; regardless if it is not treasured as much as it could be. But when robbed of it, to have it stripped away from your being, that is when one truly realizes the value of free will.

To strip someone of that and force them to live the life of another person who’s views and opinions differ from your own; the answer is rather clear. Understandably, one would be inclined to break away from those chains which bond them and regain their free-will to live for themselves and not the person they are posing to be. Regardless of if it is wrong or if it is right; the fact of the matter is that people would choose the former over the latter.

Yet that was not the answer which was provided; it was not the answer many would willingly choose to give.

The answer was given in a manner that between a murmur and a yell; spoken at a volume that, normally, would have easily gone unheard within a large cluster of people.

"If I was pretending to be someone else, I would be fine as long as the people they cared about were happy. How can I be selfish enough to ruin their image for my own wants? Even if I was forced to do it, I would just find something in their life worth living for."

These simple and evenly spoken words abruptly abolished the shouts, the whispers, and the discomfort that the voices possessed. The tone was the same as before, but felt natural, felt more genuine than the previous words which were being spoken in the same voice. Unlike moments prior, the echo of this answer seemly floated further and further way from its origins; before eventually fading away and leaving nothing but silence in its wake.

Within the silence that it wrought, however, questions acidic in nature began to spring forth.

Was that truly the correct answer to retort with? Could one truly find happiness in another person’s life when it is not truly their own? Would a person honestly forgo their individuality, their free will, and live out the life of another just for the sake of the people that cared about them? Shouldn't those said people just accept that the person is gone and is not coming back? Why would someone willingly trade something so valuable as free will to be someone they were not? How could someone find worth in another person’s life when nothing in which you do is for yourself? How could someone have the audacity to make such a claim when they themselves have yet to be trapped in such a circumstance?

The silence had been present, but as the questions persisted, the once peaceful silence had been overrun with more noise that could not be drowned out. Unlike before, however, these could not all be answered with a single, straightforward, response. For they were too diverse, too many in number, too wide in scope, and too difficult to answer without arising more questions which would surely replace them.