Protagonist
The protagonist is Erzi, a human hunter who has ascended to godhood.
- Of the characters listed so far, he’s the only one who undergoes any kind of change. Others are static or fragmented.
His flaws
Erzi is tormented by his past; he cannot stop self-doubting his decisions, even if they lead to happiness. He is a perfectionist, needing to resolve every issue, including those of his friends. He identity is tied up with Laurence, so he finds it hard to make decisions that doesn’t include him.
How his flaws affect him
He’s stuck in a cage of his own making: a time loop where he keep trying and failing to fix the past. He had also been used and manipulated by Laurence as it’s easy for Gehrman to only see the positive parts of their relationship due to his upbringing.
What is causing this flaw?
In his upbringing, he was treated as a dispensable, so he compensates by being overly useful. By solving Laurence’s problems for him, he is rewarded with love, so Erzi learnt to be the reliable one.
What does the protagonist want at the start?
At the start, he just wants to find Laurence since he has amnesia and doesn’t remember what’s happened, beside that Laurence had been killed in the previous loop.
How has they been pursuing this goal?
His overarching goal — of saving Laurence and the city — has happened for thousands and thousands of time loops.
Why haven’t they achieved it yet?
Erzi sometimes manages to achieve one of his goals, but something’s wrong. Sometimes Laurence lives at the cost of the city’s destructions; sometimes Laurence dies; sometimes Laurence lives but hates Gehrman; or even Gehrman saves the city and everyone, but Laurence is dejected and unlike himself because he dreams of the life he could’ve had.
What do they really need?
Erzi needs to accept that he can’t create the perfect ending (not even by taking everyone’s free will!). Some problems cannot be fix; a person is not a machine whose parts can be removed or changed without consequences. Being human is messy.
If an eldritch god can’t write a perfect ending, then what chance do we mortals have?