History Literature / DivisionByZero

* CatSmile: Kohana is prone to doing this. Kohana's [[DoppelGanger doppelgänger]] has also shown that she is capable of doing [[CheshireCatGrin the opposite as well]].

* HurtingHero: Kohana is so ransacked with guilt after [[spoiler:[[ILetGwenStacyDie Jinnouchi's death]] and the slaughter of her classmates]] that she takes it upon herself to [[RoaringRampageofRevenge spend every waking moment of her life hunting down Shadows]] which takes a deep, psychological toll on her. She [[TripleShifter dedicates the rest of her life to finding the umbrakinetic]] but there's just one problem: while she wanted to be a hero hellbent on revenge [[GottaKillThemAll ridding the Earth of every last Shadow]], she quickly finds that she is ill-equipped to do so due to the depression she falls into. Kohana develops SamaritanSyndrome where she feels immense guilt at doing anything that doesn't consist of saving people. [[HeroicFatigue She tells herself she can't eat when people need her, and forgoes sleep because she is frightened of people dying while she's dreaming]]. She no longer sees saving the majority as a triumph; if she lets even ''one'' person die, she considers that day a total failure and beats herself up.
-->'''Masae:''' [[HeroWorshipper I watched you fight that huge, ugly monster that was terrorizing our school]]. It was all so cool. [[FollowingInTheirRescuersFootsteps Your magic, your sword, your acrobatics and tumbling]]—gosh! [[TheKnightsWhoSaySquee I wanted to be you]].\\
'''Kohana:''' [[IJustWantToBeNormal No you don't]]. [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor Nobody wants]] [[BeingGoodSucks to be me]].

* CelestialBody: The Celestial Beings of Spectra. Exactly what it says on the tin.

* AnAxeToGrind: Tasi's Celestial Weapon is a Venetian carnival mask that can turn into a war axe.

--> — [[NeverMessWithGranny Wren]], (iii. i'm drowning here on solid ground / i'll step lightly lest I grow tired of the search for the cure for apathy, was it her?)

* AbusiveParents: Growing up, Kohana was respected for strength, assertion valued over compliance. She quickly found it necessary [[TroublingUnchildlikeBehavior to close down]], [[WiseBeyondTheirYears to be savvy]], [[ConditionedToAcceptHorror aggressive]], to be a good opponent, [[RebelliousSpirit and to learn to oppose]]. It’s difficult for her to have a relationship with someone she cannot push up against due to her poor relationship with her father. She’s awake to aggressive ploys: manipulation, passive aggression, and withholding information seem to be just as aggressive to her as honest anger. She meets covert hostility with direct confrontation. Kohana's father is a [[ParentalAbandonment deadbeat dad]], with intermittent servings of verbal abuse and [[RejectingTheInheritance why-don't-you-inherit-my-legacy-that-I-worked-hard-for]]?
* TheAce: [[WeDoTheImpossible Isleen]] [[ShroudedInMyth is]] [[TheLancer brilliant]], but she [[AloofAlly can disappear for days]] and [[IWasJustPassingThrough reappear without explanation]]. She habitually answers questions in a narrow, noncommittal manner and does not volunteer more than what’s required. She hoards time, space, energy, and access to herself. What you get are [[WhoNeedsEnemies signals of superiority and secrecy—intellectual arrogance]], an appearance of being [[OneManArmy above emotional expression]] and [[IWorkAlone beyond the need to explain herself]].

* AdmiringTheAbomination: The sole reason why the Commander doesn’t stop [[spoiler: Isleen]] from killing what is implied to be hundreds of Spectrian soldiers gathered to watch Kohana fight in the training facility. Hiroyuki believes the Commander invited people to the event because he knew something disastrous would happen and [[ForScience intended to use innocent people]] [[WeHaveReserves as guinea pigs]] to what he was hoping to be a [[FateWorseThanDeath catastrophe created by Kohana]]. What he got was unexpected but far better, [[spoiler: Isleen showing her true nature and [[CruelAndUnusualDeath turning those Celestial Beings into various eldritch abominations]], of which the Commander did absolutely nothing about and safely observed. At the end of the chapter, the Commander is pleased with what took place and doesn’t seem at all bothered about what happened.]]
* AllLovingHeroine: [[ByronicHero Zigzagged]]. Kohana’s emotionalism stems from the deeper, more submissive depths of her nature. She suppresses her softer feelings which makes it difficult to recognize her own needs. She finds it easy to offer protection and to stand up for justice but difficult to [[IJustWantToBeLoved remember what really matters]]. She can be excessively generous, romantic, and attentive just as [[AllGirlsWantBadBoys she can suddenly]] [[JerkAss withdraw that]] [[BitchInSheepsClothing support]].
* AmbiguouslyEvil: [[spoiler: Hiroyuki and Jinnouchi’s conversation in the school reveals that Hiroyuki has known who the umbrakinetic is all along and has both chosen not to say anything to Kohana about it and to do nothing about them. When questioned about this, Hiroyuki refused to answer her.]]

* ArchnemesisDad: GenderFlipped: [[spoiler: Kaede becomes this to Kohana when it is revealed she is the umbrakinetic. She played the role of an over-affectionate parent just to make Kohana’s breakdown all the more sweeter when she realizes how she really is. Because Kaede is the umbrakinetic, the two of them are destined to be enemies. Kaede expresses a long-standing dislike towards the Celestial Beings, and Kohana has decided she will stop Kaede from destroying the Earth (and any other planets she and her Shadows come across) as Spectra's general.]]

* BadBoss: The Commander. When [[spoiler: Vasche]] is killed by the umbrakinetic on Earth, Hiroyuki and D’ivoire have a brief discussion about whether or not they should bring what’s left of his corpse back to Spectra. Apparently dying on another planet is as severe as treason, and the Commander would punish them for making him even ''look'' at Vasche’s corpse. [[spoiler: Vasche]] is never mentioned again, even after everyone returns to Spectra. It’s like he never existed.

* BigBad: Kohana spends the first few chapters fighting Shadows and searching for the umbrakinetic, only for the umbrakinetic to be [[spoiler: her mother Kaede, the second named villain in the story after Jinnouchi.]]

* BrutalHonesty: After Kohana tells the SOF she won't abandon the Earth, Blaire bluntly tells her she is too idealistic and reminds her she can't change anything, dead or not. This happens again during the two's meeting with the Commander where Kohana is upset Blaire keeps saying [[spoiler: the Earth is dying.]] Blaire snaps back and tells Kohana she won't sugarcoat anything she says to her and insist she be honest with herself instead of getting comfortable in her idealism.
--> '''Blaire:''' What do you want me to say? That it’s alive and thriving? You said it yourself, the Earth has seen better days before we even got there. Listen, I’m no Hiroyuki. I’m not going to tiptoe around your feelings or let you continue to say nonsensical things. If I have to play Advisor for the day, you’re going to get it raw. You need to come to terms with the fact that [[spoiler: the Earth is gone.]] The sooner you can put it behind you, the sooner you can focus on what lies ahead. It gets worse from here. You haven’t seen anything yet.

* CainAndAbel: Alpha and Omega were not only brothers, but twins created by the All-Creator to live with it in Zero—One. Warring against each other, the All-Creator, caught in their crossfire, was torn apart, its pieces making what is now the multiverse. Alpha and Omega created the First Universe inside of the multiverse to honour their fallen creator. [[OrderVersusChaos Alpha brought Order to the First Universe, whereas Omega birthed Chaos]], two sides of the same coin. Somewhere along the line [[GreenEyedMonster Alpha believed Omega to be favored by the All-Creator]] and slew him, which brought about the second Celestial War. Alpha’s betrayal emphasizes one of the problems of free will, that, when given the freedom to be responsible for oneself, the result is catastrophic. Alpha has committed the first crime in the multiverse, murder ([[SiblingMurder and fratricide at that]]). In Alpha being consumed by jealousy, we see that even gods are not immune to anger, resentment, inadequacy, and helplessness. But we also see, with inescapable clarity, that the All-Creator will not allow this. Cain was banished from the human community for his sin; Alpha is now alone in a universe of his own creation being eaten away by his brother who is caught [[AndIMustScream between the throes of life and death]], [[FateWorseThanDeath neither living nor dead]]. Alpha’s punishment? [[ThePunishmentIsTheCrime To fight an eternal war he cannot win.]]
* TheCallKnowsWhereYouLive: Had Kohana not RefusedTheCall, she might have been able to [[spoiler: prevent her school from being destroyed by Shadows.]] Even worse is that it is implied [[spoiler: her mother was killed in the attack. Kohana is briefly terrorized by the very real possibility of her mother’s passing, but is too blindsided by Jinnouchi being a Shadow to dwell on it for long.]]

* CatSmile: Kohana is prone to doing this. Kohana’s [[DoppelGanger doppelgänger]] has also shown that she is capable of doing [[CheshireCatGrin the opposite as well]].

* TheChainsOfCommanding: While Kohana can be very arrogant at times and feels the most comfortable in leadership positions, she doubts herself a surprising amount in her narration, [[DoomedHometown especially after]] [[ThousandYardStare the events of chapter 3]], and has the art of ItsAllMyFault and MyGreatestFailure mastered. What’s worse is that she considers [[SamaritanSyndrome every failure her greatest failure]], and beats herself down for every loss. [[HeroicBSoD Hard]]. Kohana is [[ComesGreatResponsibility crumbling under the weight of the multiverse on her shoulders]]. Every choice she makes as the Summoner of Time [[WarIsHell decides the fate of the multiverse]] and [[FromBadtoWorse it's only the beginning of the story]].
* ChildEater: [[spoiler: The Shadows eat those who stayed after school, including the teachers.]]

* CommanderContrarian: Blaire.

* CradlingYourKill: Hiroyuki apologies to [[spoiler: Jinnouchi before she is 'sent away' by him.]]

* CuteClumsyGirl: Wednesday, [[NervousWreck a jittery]], [[TheKlutz clumsy Nulleq woman]] [[{{Dojikko}} who looks more]] [[ObliviouslyBeautiful dragon than mouse]], is never far from Alpha’s side. She was [[TheChosenOne chosen]] [[AncientArtifact by an ancient Nulleq artifact]] called the Eye of the Universe to care for it. The Eye of the Universe plays an important role in the war against Omega, [[TheOmniscient allowing Wednesday to see where their enemies are and what they plan to do next]]. Wednesday is always a hair’s breadth away from dropping the Eye, and when she tries it to know an unknowable, older Kohana [[spoiler: [[NoSell the Eye shatters]] and Wednesday is devastated. She isn’t devastated for long, though. She comes to the conclusion that the Eye’s shattering could only be done [[NighInvulnerability by someone truly formidable]] than can lead the First to victory against Omega.]]

--> '''Kohana:''' I do not try, I do. Try insinuates a half-heartedness I am not capable of. I give everything my all and then some, even if my end goal is small. I don’t know how to make ‘attempts.’ I move heaven and earth for what I aim to accomplish.
* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: D'ivoire does this after [[spoiler: the umbrakinetic kills two members of the SOF. He swoops in and blows up four of her arms with his explosive touch after the umbrakinetic was previously shown to be impervious to damage. She is suprised when this happens. She waits her arms to regenerate, and is annoyed when they don't. He then goes on to detonate himself to rub more salt in her wounds.]]

** [[LightIsNotGood Clotho is described as being perfect]]. [[PureIsNotGood Above reproach]]. [[IncorruptiblePurePureness Loving, merciful, tender]]. She causes her sun to rise on the evil and the good, and [[CruelToBeKind sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous]]. Fair enough. If Clotho is God, then hers is the [[GoodIsNotNice unchanging goodness of God that endures continually]]. But if she is of God’s goodness, [[PayEvilUntoEvil she is also of its wrath]]. She is to be feared because she is [[TerrorHero powerful enough]] [[HorrifyingHero to do what she promises]]. She is to be feared because she promises eternal punishment, a right and necessary reaction to objective moral evil. It is quite clear that Clotho [[NecessarilyEvil does not consider the Umbrakinetic evil.]] In this, Clotho’s introduction challenges our views on the Umbrakinetic. Death is intended, a normal part of creation. [[GodIsNeutral Clotho considers the Umbrakinetic’s actions just]]. Death is inevitable, so where is the evil in what the Umbrakinetic does?

* EmperorScientist: The Commander is a cold, calculating man who combines aggressive genius with charismatic authority. Both scientist and superior, he [[EmergencyAuthority created an empire out of the ruins the umbrakinetic left Spectra in eons ago]]. The Commander’s feats include single-handedly creating the Summoner Project and ''casually unlocking the secrets of immortality''. Ruling Spectra with an iron fist, he has [[ApocalypseHow/ClassX4 conquered an innumerable amount of universes]], having ‘hollowed’ them of their resources, [[DimensionLord removing every star, every planet]]. He openly advocates selfishness and believes that civilized behavior is just a veneer concealing our true animal nature. As a result, Spectra is a dog-eat-dog world where Celestial Beings pride themselves on being unhinged. From the moment they are born Celestial Beings are taught the ways of war, and that is to say nothing of the Advisor Program which sees its applicants through horrors such as [[CrapsackWorld killing their classmates for weekly exams]].

--> '''Kohana:''' So ''you’re'' the guy who’s in charge. Thought you’d be taller.
* FaceDeathWithDignity: [[spoiler: Jinnouchi has a calm conversation with Hiroyuki knowing he will ‘send her away.’]]
* {{Fangirl}}: Masae is a loud and proud fangirl for Kohana to the point where it seems like she's in love with her. She tells Kohana her admiration for her is boundless and confesses she wants to be just like her, which becomes an actuality when she [[spoiler: [[JumpedAtTheCall accepts the Commander’s]] [[AnOfferYouCantRefuse offer to become a Summoner]]]]. Her love for Kohana is so strong that she sneaks onto D’ivoire’s spaceship and willingly goes to another planet ‘not’ because her home planet is two seconds away from being destroyed, but because she couldn’t bare the thought of never seeing her again.
* {{Foil}}: Kohana and Isleen. Kohana expresses love through protection and power, pushes for contact, and is at ease with anger. She gravitates towards positions of authority and control, carrying herself with excessive-presentation--too much, too loud, too many. Isleen is preoccupied with privacy and non-involvement, preferring to watch life from the point of view of an outside observer. She values emotional control and the power of knowing, detached from love, charged with emotion. Their relationship resembles the cresting of ebbing tides: Kohana presses with oceanic force, which is checked by Isleen’s undertow of withdrawal.
** They place an enormous value on personal autonomy -- freedom of action is a must. They know what they like and what they don’t like, and neither is likely to get enmeshed in the other’s agenda. On the high side this mutual independence of spirit allows them to speak bluntly and honestly to each other, but on the low side they are unable to compromise and have very little guilt about the effect they have on each other. Revenge plays a big role in their relationship. Isleen’s withdrawal broadcasts as a loud, petulant pout, and in retaliation Kohana puts up a Do Not Disturb sign, which results in a battle of wills: “Go away, I don’t need you, and I don’t care.”

* ForeverWar: Spectra and Alraera have been at war for eons over the former trying to eat one of the latter’s stars. Neither side has tried to reason with the other since, and Spectra has not made another move to eat the star. The war has no foreseeable end, with Kohana being told she must find and kill the umbrakinetic. She is not told if doing so will end the war or not.

** [[TheMcCoy Id]]: Kohana is [[HotBlooded reactionary, prone to temperamental ups and downs]], moody, egocentric, and quick to anger. A boxer-poet, her personality consists of a paradoxical combination of [[DefiantToTheEnd aggression]] and [[TheIdealist sensitivity]]. She speaks in hyperbole using words/phrases like ‘always,’ ‘never,’ and ‘the greatest’ which reflects her grandiosity as well as her black and white thinking.

* GenkiGirl: Masae.
* GenreSavvy: Masae knows the ins and outs of MagicalGirl series and actively applies Magical Girl tropes to Kohana’s life, [[BeingGoodSucks much to Kohana’s irritation]].
* GodEmperor: [[TheMaker Having created the First Universe]], Alpha is its king and god. His people, the Nulleq, worship him, praise him, sing his gospels. Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain, for the former things have passed away. [[GardenOfEden His planet is a pleasure-ground, a king’s garden]], [[ThePromisedLand the celestial dwelling of the righteous]]. He is Paradise. A cosmic being created in Zero—One, [[PhysicalGod Alpha is]] [[LightningBruiser incredibly]] [[FasterThanTheyLook powerful]]. [[WorldsStrongestMan His strength]] [[PersonOfMassDestruction has peerless destructive scales]]. His fists generate large shock waves, and he can smash a grown man’s head into bits of bone and gore in the palm of his hand with ease. [[FlyingBrick Having undergone monstrous amounts of mental and physical stress]] against beings of similar power, [[NighInvulnerability his durability and endurance are legendary]], [[NoSell enduring planets and even stars thrown at him]] with only sustaining little damage.
* TheGunslinger: Masae already shows signs of being The QuickDraw, able to materialize a Bolt From the Blue without Kohana noticing and almost successfully [[BoomHeadshot shooting Kohana’s head clean off]]. She mentions she’s able to summon as many [[MoreDakka Bolts From the Blue as she wants]], and that she can [[GunsAkimbo dual-wield her percussion-lock rifled muskets]].

--> '''Hiroyuki:''' She is certainly aggressive, so easily offended and ready to bicker even when her life is being threatened. I am counting on that belligerency, how she is prepared to stand and fight the smallest thing that makes her angry.

* HeroicBSOD: Kohana suffers one when [[spoiler: she returns to her school and sees the Shadows have killed everyone there. Her shock is so extreme that Hiroyuki compares her reaction to that of a [[ThousandYardStare war-weary soldier]]. Her HeroicBSOD is made worse when the Shadows deliberately start eating the corpses of their victims. She promptly blacks out, only for [[QuitYourWhining Hiroyuki to force her to regain consciousness]] by using his magic. ]]
* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler: Vasche.]]

* HeWhoFightsMonsters: Deconstructed. Kohana knows turning into a monster from fighting Shadows is a strong possibility. It is one of her worst fears, in fact, especially after [[spoiler: what the Shadows do to her school.]] The Shadows' wrongdoings keep her honest and moral, as they are a constant reminder of what she could become. Because Kohana refuses to become a monster, she tends to humanize the Shadows in her narration, sometimes to a fault. While her hatred for them is evident, at times she finds herself wondering if they think of the umbrakinetic like a mother, or if they have feelings. This moral dilemma comes to a head [[spoiler: when Blaire tells Kohana she should kill umbrakinetic and get it over with. Kohana responds by saying she won't kill them or anyone for that matter, and raises the question of how killing the umbrakinetic would make her any different from them.]]

* HorrifyingTheHorror: When it comes to Isleen, [[spoiler: Shadows [[TheDreaded want no part of her]]]]. During her introduction, droves of them try to [[RunorDie run away from her]] after causing widespread destruction and killing countless civilians. [[CurbstompBattle She does not let them]].
** Chapter 10 reveals that [[spoiler: Isleen is in fact an EldritchAbomination. She demonstrates this by turning hundreds of Spectrian soldiers into Eldritch Abominations of [[BodyHorror varying]] [[TentacledTerror levels]] of [[MindScrew inconceivable]] [[AlienGeometries horror]] simply by shedding her own [[YouCannotGrasptheTrueForm human skin]]. Hiroyuki can’t decide if Isleen being an eldritch abomination is an application of her power as the Summoner or Change—simply shapeshifting into an eldritch abomination because she is originally a wolf—or if she has always been an Eldritch Abomination who happened to make the Earth its home and was chosen to be part of the Summoner Project.]] In any case, this ''can’t be good for Kohana.''
* HugeGuyTinyGirl: [[BroodingBoyGentleGirl Alpha and Clotho]] have an extreme height and size difference. Alpha is [[TallDarkAndHandsome 7-foot-tall]], [[HeroicBuild muscular]], [[TheStoic stoic]], [[ByronicHero brooding]], and [[{{Hunk}} scantily-dressed]] with a DarkAndTroubledPast and a deep, baritone voice that rattles your very bones when he speaks. Clotho is [[TheIngenue dainty]], [[BeautyEqualsGoodness delicately-built]], lithe, and looks like if you touched her, she’d shatter. Clotho is a solid 4’5”; Wednesday barely comes up to Alpha’s waist, and Clotho is ''much'' shorter than her. To circumvent her lack of height, Clotho does not walk, but floats.
* HurtingHero: Kohana is so ransacked with guilt after [[spoiler: [[ILetGwenStacyDie Jinnouchi’s death]] and the slaughter of her classmates]] that she takes it upon herself to [[RoaringRampageofRevenge spend every waking moment of her life hunting down Shadows]] which takes a deep, psychological toll on her. She [[TripleShifter dedicates the rest of her life to finding the umbrakinetic]] but there’s just one problem: while she wanted to be a hero hellbent on revenge [[GottaKillThemAll ridding the Earth of every last Shadow]], she quickly finds that she is ill-equipped to do so due to the depression she falls into. Kohana develops SamaritanSyndrome where she feels immense guilt at doing anything that doesn’t consist of saving people. [[HeroicFatigue She tells herself she can’t eat when people need her, and forgoes sleep because she is frightened of people dying while she’s dreaming]]. She no longer sees saving the majority as a triumph; if she lets even ''one'' person die, she considers that day a total failure and beats herself up.
-->'''Masae:''' [[HeroWorshipper I watched you fight that huge, ugly monster that was terrorizing our school]]. It was all so cool. [[FollowingInTheirRescuersFootsteps Your magic, your sword, your acrobatics and tumbling]]—gosh! [[TheKnightsWhoSaySquee I wanted to be you]].
--> '''Kohana:''' [[IJustWantToBeNormal No you don't]]. [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor Nobody wants]] [[BeingGoodSucks to be me]].

* IKnowYoureInThereSomewhereFight: Defied. [[spoiler: Jinnouchi is revealed to be a Shadow.]] Not only does Kohana refuse to fight her, [[spoiler: Isleen deals a killing blow to Jinnouchi by [[TokenEvilTeammate running the Star Stealer through Kohana]] and into her late instructor.]]
* ImmortalityInducer: Both the Empress of Alraera and the Commander of Spectra have found a way to obtain immortality. Xochiquetzal herself ''is'' the immortality inducer, having granted Eztli hers through means unexplained yet. It is heavily implied that the Commander of Spectra’s immortality is [[PurposeDrivenImmortality Purpose-Driven]] in order for him to see an end to the war between Spectra and Alraera after the latter’s cosmic weapon laid siege to his planet. Judging by the orders he gives Kohana after her journey from Earth, however, the argument can be made that his sole concern is the [[TheDeathofDeath death of the umbrakinetic]] which is... [[TheProblemWithFightingDeath a problem in and of itself]].
* JerkassHasAPoint: Blaire challenges Masae’s hero ideology when the latter says there must be another way in achieving their goals without bloodshed, while not even three seconds ago mentioning she would use force to take out anyone standing in her way. Hiroyuki agrees with this, and even praises Blaire for her pragmatism.
--> '''Hiroyuki:''' Where Masae is prone to speeches of daring-do, Blaire is pragmatic, of good sense and sound judgment. Antagonistic Blaire may be, I cannot dismiss the quality of her counsel. She would have made a strong Advisor if she applied herself.

* LoveAtFirstSight: Hiroyuki notices right away that [[spoiler: Kohana has a crush on Isleen, vowing to keep her crush a secret. Kohana knows and has admitted she is a hopeless romantic and falls in love easily, but this is the first time we have seen Kohana develop feelings for anyone.]]
* MagicallyBindingContract: Normally [[TheChosenOne Summoners are chosen to become Summoners]] with a device that searches the multiverse for [[UnwittingTestSubject beings that can handle]] [[GeneticEngineeringIsTheNewNuke having their DNA imbued]] with the SentientCosmicForce of [[CrystalDragonJesus Spectra’s planetary core]], which Celestial Beings flat out refer to as the All Creator ({{God}}), going as far as to stress Her omnipotence. This wasn’t the case with Masae, who was [[DealWithTheDevil offered the chance to become a Summoner]] by Spectra’s Commander, the creator of the Summoner Project. While he does not feel the need to mention to Masae that she must either accept his offer or die as an intruder on his planet because she is already eager to [[JumpedAtTheCall jump at the call]], Masae [[SadisticChoice has no choice]], and gleefully accepts her new life as a cosmic weapon, unwitting to the horrors that will soon follow.
* MagicalGirlWarrior

* MultiArmedAndDangerous: [[spoiler: Kaede.]]

** The Commander doesn't care about Kohana still reeling over the fact that [[spoiler: the Earth may be lost to Shadows or that she may never be able to return to it again. In fact he's eager to get Kohana on the frontlines to fight the umbrakinetic as soon as possible, thrusting her into another war as soon as she wakes up from her ordeal on Earth. When Kohana tells him her mother is the umbrakinetic, he bluntly tells her there is no way to seperate the two and tells Kohana she needs to kill her mother to defeat the umbrakinetic. When Kohana tells him she doesn't want to be a Summoner anymore because of what she has to do and what she's seen, he tells her she's useless anyway and claims he would not miss her.]]

** Hiroyuki ensures Kohana is painfully aware of her position as the Summoner of Time and doesn't give her the luxary of mourning those who die. He flat out admits he manipulates and uses Kohana's hero complex against her to keep her fighting regardless of what she endures. A notable instance of this is when [[spoiler: Kohana passes out in her school after finding the corpses of her classmates and teachers. Hiroyuki immediately wakes her up with a stern reminder of what she is and who she needs to be to prevent a scene like that from happening again.]]
* ObliviousToLove: Averted. [[spoiler: Isleen understands Kohana has a crush on her and acknowledges it by taking joy in watching her squirm and stutter. She is not interested in returning Kohana's feelings, however.]]
* OffingTheOffspring: [[spoiler: Kaede tries to kill Kohana, complete with IHaveNoDaughter.]]
* OneBadMother: [[spoiler: Kaede.]]
* OneHitKill: Clotho can destroy ''anything'' without limits. Concepts, boundaries, causation, studies like metaphysics and science, even irrational ‘concepts’ like the fabric of nothingness or the totality itself.
* OtherMeAnnoysMe: [[TooMuchAlike Kohana’s not all too fond]] [[IResembleThatRemark of her other self she meets in the training facility]].

* PleaseDontLeaveMe: A weepy Kohana says this to Hiroyuki when the two of them reunite after [[spoiler: their narrow escape from Kaede’s attack on Earth]]. In begging Hiroyuki to stay by her side, she realizes he’s more important to her than she previously wanted to admit. After [[spoiler: losing both of her parents, Jinnouchi, her tree friend, seeing most of her classmates killed and eaten in front of her and losing ''many more after after that'',]] Hiroyuki is not only the person closest to her, but the closest thing she has to a parent which she acknowledges, in her own way.

-->'''Wren''': Oh, stop that. Your youth smells awful! Chubby babies and fluffy puppies. I want to vomit everything in my stomach.
-->'''Kohana''': Well, that’s one thing we have in common. People will wonder what happened to Juniper, you ''frigid bitch''!
* ProfessionalKiller: Hiroyuki describes himself as an assassin despite [[GentlemanAndAScholar being kind, friendly]], and [[HitmanWithAHeart everything contrary to what the general idea of an assassin is like]]. He insinuates a part of his job as an Advisor is to ‘remove’ those who prove to be too much for Kohana to defeat on her own.

* RazorFloss: [[spoiler: Kaede]]'s spider web. She even has a BadassBoast about it.

* RefusalOfTheCall: Kohana initially refuses to accept her duty as the Summoner of Time by insisting she’s a ‘normal girl’ with a ‘normal life’ living on a ‘normal planet.’ This is notable, considering up until that moment Kohana [[IJustWantToBeSpecial wanted to be everything but]]. After Hiroyuki convinces Kohana she [[HeroicWannabe will be a hero if she embraces her role]], she reluctantly dons the title.
* RefuseToRescueTheDisliked: Subverted. Kohana does not like Blaire and says she would leave her for dead if it came down to it. When [[spoiler: Kaede attacks, Kohana throws herself in front of Blaire and asks if she is hurt.]]

* ShipperOnDeck: No one ships Kohana and Isleen more than Masae. She admits she has been [[CameraFiend watching Kohana for a very long time]], going as far as to videotape most of Kohana’s encounters with Shadows. Despite Isleen [[AloofAlly helping Kohana whenever she feels like it]], Masae has seen many of their interactions and has dubbed Isleen Kohana’s JerkWithAHeartOfGold who treats her terribly but is secretly madly in love with her. [[TheMatchmaker Masae is also aware of Kohana’s burning crush on Isleen]], and expects them to become endgame after they’ve saved the multiverse.
--> '''Masae:''' You and Isleen are really cute together! Have you guys had your first kiss together after [[SmoochOfVictory surviving an incredibly dangerous fight]]? Or maybe you two [[AccidentalKiss kissed on accident]] and now you can’t bare to look at each other again? When are you two getting married? Oh, [[RetiredBadass I guess it wouldn’t be until after you guys have saved the universe]]—or multiverse, I overheard someone saying—but I want to be the flower girl when you do get married! And the wedding planner! And the maid of honor!
* ShootTheDog: Hiroyuki not only shoots the dog, he [[spoiler: erases it out of existence, much to Kohana's horror. He removes the memory of all those who died in the attack on Kohana's school, and states his reason for doing so is because the planet would [[SelfDestructMechanism self-destruct]] if those people were remembered. Immediately following the attack, Hiroyuki even said he would kill any survivors he came across. His new position as Jinnouchi's replacement put him in the perfect position to do so, and since we know he has no qualms with killing children it is implied he does exactly. Hundreds of teenagers, along with their teachers, are forgotten about as a result of Hiroyuki's actions. The parents of the children who passed away don't even remember having them.]]

* UnreliableNarrator: Both Kohana and Hiroyuki fall under this. Kohana’s case is more severe due to metal illness, with Hiroyuki flat out stating she is histrionic. When her feelings are hurt, which they often are, she will throw whoever hurt them under the bus to either make herself look like a victim or to protect her ego. This is blatant when it comes to Hiroyuki, in which she tries to convince readers there is nothing kind about him when he upsets her. This can be especially confusing considering Kohana praises his kindness when she is not taking his actions as imaginary slights. Hiroyuki lends readers more credibility in his narration, but there are still things that conflict with what he says that take place in the story. Hiroyuki says he is unable to empathize with Kohana, for example, but becomes frustrated on her behalf in his narration when [[spoiler: it is revealed her teacher gained Kohana’s trust and love only to use that against her.]]

* WalkingSpoiler: It’s impossible to talk about [[spoiler: Kaede]] without giving her personality change and position as the umbrakinetic away.

* WouldHurtAChild: [[spoiler: Jinnouchi, who outright admits she is the one who orchestrated the attack on Kohana’s school. Never mind the fact that she tries to break Kohana’s neck while confessing to killing children.]]

* TimeMaster: [[RealityWarper Kohana is the Summoner of Time]], her most basic attacks [[FlechetteStorm revolving around]] [[CaffeineBulletTime accelerating]], [[BulletTime slowing]], [[TimeStandsStill stopping]], [[YearInsideHourOutside rewinding]], or [[StableTimeLoop looping time]]. When on the offensive, Kohana condenses time into a quasi-tangible form and utilizes it for more physical usage as opposed to controlling time itself. She can force time to move and stop at various rates, [[SuperSpeed ride the flow to teleport through space and time]], and even concentrate it into [[DimensionalTraveler gateways/space-time rifts]]. Deflecting attacks at amplified velocity comes as easy as breathing to her, and she is capable of disintegrating her victims due to their bodies being unable to keep up with her condensed time.

* WickedWitch: Wren [[SolitarySorceress lives by herself]] [[LostWoods in the middle of a forest]], sporting drooping breasts, a braided beard, and [[ScaryTeeth rotting teeth]]. Her major prey [[ChildEater consists of children]] and young women, but she will [[LiteralManeater occasionally threaten to devour a man]]. [[AxCrazy She murders at will]], and though we never learn how she does this, she has conceived daughters, who generally do her bidding. [[FriendToAllLivingThings Animals venerate her]], and [[GreenThumb she protects the forest]] as a [[MotherNature mother-earth figure]]. Wren is [[NobleDemon dangerous and benevolent]], [[AmbiguouslyEvil a cannibal and a wise counselor]].

* AnAxeToGrind: Tasi's Celestial Weapon is a Venetian carnival mask that can turn into a war axe.

* AWolfInSheepsClothing: Isleen is a shapeshifting wolf who has decided to make herself look as [[KillerRabbit dainty and fragile as possible]].

* TheChosenOne

* {{Foil}}: Kohana and Isleen. Kohana expresses love through protection and power, pushes for contact, and is at ease with anger. She gravitates towards positions of authority and control, carrying herself with excessive-presentation--too much, too loud, too many. Isleen is preoccupied with privacy and non-involvement, preferring to watch life from the point of view of an outside observer. She values emotional control and the power of knowing, detached from love, charged with emotion. Their relationship resembles the cresting of ebbing tides: Kohana presses with oceanic force, which is checked by Isleen’s undertow of withdrawal.
** They place an enormous value on personal autonomy -- freedom of action is a must. They know what they like and what they don’t like, and neither is likely to get enmeshed in the other’s agenda. On the high side this mutual independence of spirit allows them to speak bluntly and honestly to each other, but on the low side they are unable to compromise and have very little guilt about the effect they have on each other. Revenge plays a big role in their relationship. Isleen’s withdrawal broadcasts as a loud, petulant pout, and in retaliation Kohana puts up a Do Not Disturb sign, which results in a battle of wills: “Go away, I don’t need you, and I don’t care.”

[[quoteright:326:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kohana_3_8.PNG]]
[[caption-width-right:326: Who knew a [[AdorableAbomination planet-destroying cosmic weapon]] [[PintSizedPowerhouse that can blink]] [[PersonOfMassdestruction universes out of existence]] could be so ''cute''?]]

* OdangoHair: Kohana's hairstyle.

--> — [[NeverMessWithGranny Wren]], (iii. i’m drowning here on solid ground / i’ll step lightly lest I grow tired of the search for the cure for apathy, was it her?)

[[http://divisionbyzeros.com/i-is-this-darkness-in-you-too-have-you-passed-through-this-night/ Division by Zero]] is a [[ScienceFantasy Science Fantasy]] web serial novel written by Solange Salgado. On the surface, ''Division by Zero'' is about Kohana Outtaike, a 15-year-old, Afro-Asian girl [[note]]Kohana is nonbinary, demigender to be specific, but does not mind being referred to by feminine terms.[[/note]] from Earth who finds herself in the middle of a multiversal, [[ForeverWar eons-old]] cosmic war. What she thought would be a night of sneaking out, setting up shop in a tree, and stargazing at 4AM turned into a fight for her life against an EldritchAbomination that [[BloodKnight goes around destroying planets for fun]]. She is [[YouWillKnowWhatToDo guided through the battle]] by Hiroyuki D’Accardi, an alien from another universe who came looking for her, and is then told that she is both a [[PlanetDestroyer cosmic weapon]] and [[YoungAndInCharge his planet’s]] [[ChildSoldier military]] [[FourStarBadass general]]. Things only escalate from there: the Earth [[AlienInvasion is being invaded]] [[AboveTheGods by Shadows]], and Kohana is [[EnemiesWithDeath being hunted by Death]].

* AntiHero: [[GoodIsNotSoft Hiroyuki is an insidious type of antihero]] in that [[NiceGuy he carries himself with a sense of humbleness that makes them unusually easy to get along with]]. He has a fuzzy, slightly out-of-focus feel about him due to harmonizing with others and rarely asserting himself. He mediates well, is sensitive and open to the perspectives and viewpoints of others, but is [[GoodIsNotSoft extremely]] [[CruelAndUnusualDeath brutal and unforgiving towards his]] [[AssholeVictim enemies]]. A fight with him will always be a CurbStompBattle, or even SingleStrokeBattle. Hiroyuki knows being good requires the wherewithal to be [[CruelToBeKind harsh and cruel]], and [[TricksterMentor he is cruel beneath his affability]].

* AbusiveParents: Growing up, Kohana was respected for strength, assertion valued over compliance. She quickly found it necessary [[TroublingUnchildlikeBehavior to close down]], [[WiseBeyondTheirYears to be savvy]], [[ConditionedToAcceptHorror aggressive]], to be a good opponent, [[RebelliousSpirit and to learn to oppose]]. It’s difficult for her to have a relationship with someone she cannot push up against due to her poor relationship with her father. She’s awake to aggressive ploys: manipulation, passive aggression, and withholding information seem to be just as aggressive to her as honest anger. She meets covert hostility with direct confrontation. Kohana's father is a [[ParentalAbandonment deadbeat dad]], with intermittent servings of verbal abuse and [[RejectingTheInheritance why-don't-you-inherit-my-legacy-that-i-worked-hard-for]]?

* AmbiguouslyEvil: [[spoiler: Hiroyuki and Jinnouchi’s conversation at the end of chapter 3 reveals that Hiroyuki has known who the umbrakinetic is all along and has both chosen not to say anything to Kohana about it and to do nothing about them. When questioned about this, Hiroyuki refused to answer her.]]

* BrutalHonesty: After Kohana tells the SOF she won't abandon the Earth, Blaire bluntly tells her she is too idealistic and reminds her she can't change anything, dead or not. This happens again during the two's meeting with the Commander in chapter 5 where Kohana is upset Blaire keeps saying [[spoiler: the Earth is dying.]] Blaire snaps back and tells Kohana she won't sugarcoat anything she says to her and insist she be honest with herself instead of getting comfortable in her idealism.

* ChildEater: [[spoiler: The Shadows eat those who stayed after school in chapter 3, including the teachers.]]
* ChildSoldiers: Kohana is 15-years-old, 16-years-old as of the time skip in chapter 4, and has to lead Spectra in an eons-old war against the umbrakinetic as the planet's general. She knows nothing about warfare and has no training prior, essentially thrown to the wolves on the assumption that she should survive because Summoners 'have an inherent aptitude for battle.' Not only is she up against the umbrakinetic who can kill anything she wants whenever she feels like it, she has to fight wars the umbrakinetic starts on other planets to prevent them from being destroyed.

* HeWhoFightsMonsters: Deconstructed. Kohana knows turning into a monster from fighting Shadows is a strong possibility. It is one of her worst fears, in fact, especially after [[spoiler: what the Shadows do to her school.]] The Shadows' wrongdoings keep her honest and moral, as they are a constant reminder of what she could become. Because Kohana refuses to become a monster, she tends to humanize the Shadows in her narration, sometimes to a fault. While her hatred for them is evident, at times she finds herself wondering if they think of the umbrakinetic like a mother, or if they have feelings. This moral dilemma comes to a head [[spoiler: in chapter 4 when Blaire tells Kohana she should kill umbrakinetic and get it over with. Kohana responds by saying she won't kill them or anyone for that matter, and raises the question of how killing the umbrakinetic would make her any different from them.]]

** Chapter 8 reveals that [[spoiler: Isleen is in fact an EldritchAbomination. She demonstrates this by turning hundreds of Spectrian soldiers into Eldritch Abominations of [[BodyHorror varying]] [[TentacledTerror levels]] of [[MindScrew inconceivable]] [[AlienGeometries horror]] simply by shedding her own [[YouCannotGrasptheTrueForm human skin]]. Hiroyuki can’t decide if Isleen being an eldritch abomination is an application of her power as the Summoner or Change—simply shapeshifting into an eldritch abomination because she is originally a wolf—or if she has always been an Eldritch Abomination who happened to make the Earth its home and was chosen to be part of the Summoner Project.]] In any case, this ''can’t be good for Kohana.''

* IKnowYoureInThereSomewhereFight: Defied. [[spoiler: In chapter 3 it is revealed Jinnouchi is a Shadow.]] Not only does Kohana refuse to fight her, [[spoiler: Isleen deals a killing blow to Jinnouchi by [[TokenEvilTeammate running the Star Stealer through Kohana]] and into her late instructor.]]

* RageAgainstTheMentor: In the second chapter, Hiroyuki reveals to Kohana that he and his people are responsible for the destruction of countless universes, and that she is a cosmic weapon meant to destroy them as well. She is horrified by this and lays into him.

* ShootTheDog: Hiroyuki not only shoots the dog, he [[spoiler: erases it out of existence, much to Kohana's horror. He removes the memory of all those who died in the attack on Kohana's school, and states his reason for doing so is because the planet would [[SelfDestructMechanism self-destruct]] if those people were remembered. Immediately following the attack, Hiroyuki even said he would kill any survivors he came across. His new position as Jinnouchi's replacement put him in the perfect position to do so, and since we know he has no qualms with killing children it is implied he did exactly that in the few-months time skip between chapters 3 and 4. Hundreds of teenagers, along with their teachers, are forgotten about as a result of Hiroyuki's actions. The parents of the children who passed away don't even remember having them.]]

** Though a man, Hiroyuki also falls under this trope. He has Divine Level Beauty; [[AngelicBeauty the comparison to angels]] is made as early as chapter 2. His beauty affects the minds of all those who look at him. Kohana herself even mentions he's so beautiful that, for a moment, ''she'' would have done anything for him. She goes as far as to say she forgot her name as well, that's how potent his beauty is. Hiroyuki is so beautiful that he has the power to make any who looks upon him treat him like someone who is privileged--even if he doesn't hail from their world--and get anything he wishes for, being admired and even loved for it. His beauty makes complete strangers treat him like their closest friend in only a few minutes of meeting and be perfectly willing to help him in any way he needs.

* AntiHero: Hiroyuki is GoodIsNotSoft personified. He presents himself as a soldier in name only, being mild, kind, and overall gentle in personality. One wouldn't know he was Spectra's WorldsBestWarrior unless he told them. He is by far the most peaceful character in a/0, and even goes as far as to [[MartialPacifist avoid fighting Shadows altogether]], at most dodging their attacks. Kohana wants to hate him and is frustrated that she can't, he has a humbleness that makes him unusually easy to get long with. All her suspicions of him being evil are routinely dashed by his kindness. Behind his good nature, however, is an assassin will not hesitate to kill children from the greater good. Unless you are Kohana, he will leave you for dead if TheNeedsOfTheMany becomes a problem. ColdBloodedTorture is not above him. Neither is subjecting his victims FateWorseThanDeath, the latter of which he states he ''prefers''. Even his loyalty to Kohana is called into question when he watches her nearly die on several occasions.

* AllLovingHeroine: In her narration, Kohana flat out says she would have died for all the people in the universes that were destroyed if it would have saved them.