The Regressor and the Blind Saint

Bera, once a beggar, would trample over others and resort to even the most despicable deals if it means he'd stay alive. Even in an age when the Demon King appeared, he never fought like a hero. Instead, he hid himself in the deepest darkness, doing nothing but preserving his own life. He survived to the very end, only to find that his reward after the war was karma. As he lay waiting for death, consumed by a curse, Bera had no desire for anyone to stand by his side in his final moments. He believed that, in the end, there would be no one left beside him anyway. Yet when he opened his eyes, he found himself in a filthy gutter... and there stood Renée, the blind Saintess who had been declared dead. Blind and covered in burn scars, Renée had a wretched appearance, yet she took Bera in with a kindness and selflessness greater than anyone else's... but in the end, she died, and Bera was powerless to stop it. After regressing, he vowed that this time, he would seek her out first and protect her at all costs. However, protecting Renée cannot be accomplished simply by becoming stronger. On the day the Saintess's sacred stigmata manifested, the Holy State, the Empire, the Alliance of Kingdoms, the Draconians, and the Followers of the Night all began to move around her, setting the entire continent into motion.