The part of the story that grips me the most, and probably always will I imagine, is O-Chul's childhood origin.

It would have been a massive cliche to take the easy way out and write him as an earnest do-gooder from the onset. Most writers I wager would have had little issue with showing a child version of O-Chul being just as righteous, self-assured, and kind towards others as he is both in the current story and in main comic. I do not wish to imply that it would have been a bad idea to have always shown him as such; but nevertheless, it would have made for a less compelling story

This twist though... it offers a different perspective on a character that embodies Lawful and Good moreso than any other in this story. Simply knowing that he wasn't always the paragon; that he was, in fact, a mere lowlife criminal, is a facet to his story that encapsulates all that the man stands for. Showing us that THE PALADIN needed someone else, a complete stranger who had absolutely no reason to care for his future or well-being, to help him find another way to live is an immensely powerful moment.

O-Chul isn't just a shining beacon of just (in the lawful sense) kindness, he is also a man who was once the antithesis of what he has become in the years since his childhood. That he strives to repay the debt that he feels he owes the world for his misdeeds (and that, in a sense, he feels he can never truly repay the nameless Sergeant for his kindness) regardless of the difficulty or adversity makes for a remarkably uplifting story.

A story, I feel, that we didn't know that we needed. Until now.





...I'll stop gushing now.