At the junction of the past and the present

As he drifted off to sleep, Lear felt as if he had fallen deep into the depths of water.

His consciousness was filled with visions that flashed chaotically in front of him, swiftly succeeding each other. He sensed that these visions were familiar, belonged to him, but at the same time, they all seemed so alien.

It was as if he was in a haze of uncertainty. He could not understand where he was or what was going on around him. Instead he was just sinking deeper and deeper into his thoughts and memories. He could not accurately describe or explain them, but he felt that they had some particularly important meaning and were closely related to him.

In the memories Lear saw an unfamiliar man, in whose figure and voice, he definitely recognized his father.

And as if a string, one by one, the memories of how he had taught him to fight and be strong, to fight and never give up came, but then, with a sharp pain, as if struck by a blade, came the memories of his death... and his own life, after it happened, as eventually he was beaten to death somewhere in an alleyway. After such a blow, it was as if he felt a tearing sense of self-loathing again, for despite his father's best efforts, he had failed him by becoming so pathetic as to allow himself to be killed and his heart was filled with pain and regret.

However, as if in a whirlpool, memories continued to replace each other and instead of pain, came memories of the tender feelings of the woman who had been his mother, he remembered the days he had spent with her and how dear she had been to him.

He remembered how happy he had been with her...

Lear stood on the bank of the river and looked at the still water surface as if in a mirror.