As a general rule of thumb, Liliya didn’t allow herself to hope. Despair only formed when hope was lost, and so to prevent herself from ever falling into despair, all she had to do was cut hope off at the source. Smother it, suppress it until it became so wilted and withered that it would never again dare rear its head and grip her heart.Then, while she was at it, she might as well suppress her own goals as well. And her desires. And her dreams.She was the daughter of House Volkov, after all. Her sole purpose in life was to fulfill her duty to her family. Her wants and needs didn’t matter, only what she could provide for House Volkov. That lesson had been drilled into her since before she could even walk, reinforced time and time again over the years until it became a core part of her.Quite literally.There was a reason why she had the Concept of Suppression.Liliya had only been eleven years old when she first gained her Concept. Most people didn’t attain their Concepts until their late teens, and it was often a weak, beginner Concept; their fundamental selves were not yet developed or refined enough for the sponsoring god to bestow more than a sliver of their power upon them. Not Liliya, however. She had unlocked a high-intermediate Concept from the very start, granted to her by the god of Order. Such a feat was practically unheard of, indicating just how strong her innate sense of self was. Her father had been overjoyed, praising her sheer genius. Her older brother, too, had been thoroughly impressed, as even he hadn’t gained his Concept until he was fifteen. She had been a little less than enthused, though. For good (...)