Destiny

The Coming Apocalypse

For a long time, Karen wondered why she had the power to make fire. She observes that it is a rather useless power for everyday life. People have numerous tools to create fire in the modern world, so what use is the power to make fire in one's hands? It is not until that she discovers that she will play a role in the End of the Days that the purpose of her power makes sense. She is in fact destined to fight in an epic battle to decide the future of mankind. She will take her place as a Dragon of Heaven—those who seek to save mankind and prevent the apocalypse—and battle against those who wish to destroy all human life and allow the Earth to be reborn. This, the reader is told, has been foreordained.

Still, while the side a person will take in the battle may be foreordained (with the exception of Kamui), most of the characters have a motivation for taking their position in the apocalyptic battle. Generally speaking, the Dragons of Heaven have someone they wish to protect, which enables them to create their kekkai, a special spirit shield that only members of the Dragons of Heaven can create. For some characters, their particular motivation is obvious, such as Seiichirou's desire to protect his family, Subaru's desire to protect the world in which Seishirou lives, and Sorta's desire to die for the woman he loves. Other characters are less clear about their motivation and seem to fight, at least initially, out of a deep sense of obligation and general good will toward mankind. Karen never explicitly states her motivation for fighting in the end of the world, but there are a few possible reasons.

One obvious reason is that she wants to protect the world in which Seiichirou lives, much like Kamui and Subaru want to protect the world for the people they love. Seiichirou definitely had a power impact on her life—telling her that her life is precious when she thought that nobody would say such a thing. In spite of the fact that she can never confess her love for him, she still wants him to be safe and happy, specifically so he can be there for his wife and daughter. He is the one person that she knows will be sad when she dies, so she is willing to give her life to protect his.

Another possible reason is the desire to be around people who will care about her and the will to protect them. She has spent much of her life avoiding people who will want to know too much, who will get too close. Her strange powers are something she generally has to keep to herself. With the other Dragons of Heaven, she has the general bound of a shared destiny, but also a shared pain that comes from being special. In Yuzuriha's case, she wanted to join the Dragons of Heaven because these people would be able to see her spirit dog, Inuki, a special guardian that no one else can see. The fact that others could not see her dog, who is also her best friend, made Yuzuriha sad and lonely. Despite the fact that she would be fighting an epic battle for the fate of the world, Yuzuriha looked forward to joining the Dragons because she would be around people who would understand her and her powers. It is possible that Karen looked to the Dragons in the same way—a place where she would be understood and could be useful. The people who end your loneliness are people worth protecting.

Another motivation for accepting her destiny and joining the Seals is that she wants to protect people in general. It is a vague sort of motivation, but it does suit Karen's personality because she tends to care about people even if they are not particularly kind to her. In her job, she sees some of the darker aspects of people—their pettiness, dishonestly, and greed. Given her position, it might be surprising that she would be willing to sacrifice her life for those people, but Karen does not judge the people she serves and she does not take their ill manners to heart. Karen sees the good in people, despite their flaws. This relates back to her relationship with her mother—a woman who treated her brutally, but Karen chose to love anyway. Karen is so forgiving and kind that does not want anyone to be sad, therefore she does not want to see people die. To prevent this, Karen is willing to embrace a destiny that is likely to end with her death.

CLEAR