"You can't run away. The past will follow you, wherever you go. For ever and ever and ever... You know why? They're lonely. A person's past and memories are very lonely things. I don't believe in god. There's no proof of his existence. In a world where there isn't even proof of the future, the past exists. Even if it's tainted with misunderstandings and delusions, if the people themselves believe it, the past is the truth to them. And if you base your actions or or your life around it, in a way, it's a type of god itself."

It is remarkable how a fictional character (hint: his name derives from a combination of the biblical 'Isaiah' and Japanese for 'the one who looks over the crowd') from a mere light novel could utter something far more gnomic and fascinating than the oft-garrulous idiots of the British texts deemed fit for 'A' Level Literature. I'm sorry, but I have absolutely no interest whatsoever in dull characters who hardly exhibit the exercise of intellect. A woman suffering from folie de grandeur, the typical over-idealistic long-suffering semi-damsel-in-distress who gets betrayed/dies/insert other dramatic devastating, life-shattering, soul-crushing occurrence here, and a repulsive roué who is a bore at best, fail to intrigue at all.