Cap⁹ A Reason to Live.
</Past\>
A beautiful sunset stretches across the horizon. An elegant man, dressed in a suit and tie, strolls through a field of flowers near the forest. He stops and sits on a rock to contemplate the sunset. But in a matter of minutes, everything changes.
From the bushes emerges a man carrying dry firewood on his shoulders. The elegant gentleman stands up and greets the stranger, -"Good morning."- But the stranger responds, -"I would say it's good afternoon, sir."- The man in the suit smiles and retorts, -"If it's that late, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at home by this hour?"- The stranger replies, -"You're right, but I need more firewood for our house. Winter is approaching, and it's better to be prepared."- The man in the suit nods and says, -"You're absolutely right."- Introducing himself, he adds, –"My name is Yacel. And you, what's your name?"- The stranger responds, -"I'm Beltran. Nice to meet you, Yacel."- Beltran finds Yacel to be a charming person and accepts his invitation to have tea. They converse for a few minutes and then bid farewell.
The next day, Beltran wakes up and heads to Yacel's house. He walks for two hours until he finally arrives. Yacel greets him with joy, saying, -"Come in, I was expecting you."- Beltran enters and marvels at the beautiful house, both inside and out. Surprised, he asks, -"You must be someone very important to have all of this, right?"- Yacel, smiling, replies, -"I am simply the advisor to a count."- Beltran spends the entire day at Yacel's house, conversing about their families and occupations. At dusk, a beautiful woman dressed in blue enters the house, interrupting their conversation. -"Good afternoon, Uncle Yacel. I've arrived. It has been a long and exhausting journey,"- says the woman. Beltran, upon hearing those words, looks at her and becomes captivated by her beauty. In his mind, Beltran thinks, -"A face as beautiful as a thousand sunsets, an enchanting fragrance that heightens my senses, an attire befitting a queen. I have never seen a woman like her."- Yacel, with a smile, comments, -"Oh, how convenient that you've arrived just in time."- Pointing at Beltran, he adds, -"This is Beltran, a friend of mine. For now, I have to attend to other matters, so I'll leave you to get acquainted,"- while winking at Beltran.
Yacel leaves his niece and Beltran, leaving them alone in a chance encounter. -"Hello, I'm Beltran. What's your name?"- he asks. Diana, shyly, replies, -"I'm Diana, pleased to meet you."- The conversation extends, and they quickly fall in love at first sight, although neither is aware of the other's feelings. Beltran visits Yacel's house daily just to see Diana. Days go by, and they finally confess their love to each other at the same time. However, Beltran is unaware of Diana's terminal illness, as she keeps her tragic fate a secret to avoid worrying him. The pivotal moment arrives when Diana reveals that she is pregnant with Beltran's child. He is overjoyed, but he also discovers the truth about her illness. The days pass, and Diana approaches the time of giving birth. Worried, Beltran carries her in his arms to his home, where his mother and sister assist in Diana's care. Unfortunately, the childbirth causes excessive bleeding, leading to her death.
</Present|>
The sun has risen, and Glegory lies asleep on the forest grass. The animals approach, aware of his anguish, and try to wake him up. Glegory opens his eyes, sensing the presence of the animals near him.
Glegory gets up and smiles as he sees the animals bringing him fruits. He takes an apple, devours it, and releases his stress by playing with them.
Throughout most of the day, Glegory has fun playing with the animals. At dusk, he decides to return home to check on his cousins. As he approaches, he glimpses a blaze of fire over his house and hears screams of people gathered as in a ritual. Glegory quickly runs to find out what is happening. As he nears the house, he sees a crowd and about 200 soldiers gathered around. The house is engulfed in flames. The impact of the scene paralyzes him.
Glegory decides to get closer to the house. Suddenly, he sees his family coming out with leather bags on their heads, bound hand and foot, terribly beaten. Two military commanders push them out forcefully. The crowd and the assembled soldiers shout, "Death to the beast, death to his family!" They all carry bows and swords in their hands. Witnessing this atrocity, Glegory runs desperately to rescue his family. As he runs, one of the military commanders near his family notices him and, in a cowardly act, grabs Glegory's grandmother by the head and cuts her throat with a sword, ending her life immediately. -"If you take one step closer, I will kill your entire family! Surrender your weapons and give up without resistance!" shouts the military commander.
Glegory, witnessing the atrocity committed by the soldier, is stunned, unsure of what to do, and comes to a sudden halt. Instantly, the soldiers tie his hands with a rope. Glegory can only look at his family, with a tear falling down his cheek.
The military commanders near Glegory's family approach him. At that moment, Glegory breaks free from the guards holding him and quickly runs towards his family. -"Don't worry, Uncle Beltran, I'll be fine. Now, live happily without me,"- Glegory says as he tries to embrace his uncle. But something is not right. His uncle always talks to him and smiles, no matter the situation, but Beltran doesn't move. Glegory places his head on Beltran's chest and realizes he's not breathing and his heart has stopped beating. Quickly, Glegory tries to move his cousins, grandfather, and Aunt Aina, but there's no response. He realizes they are already dead.
-"Ha, ha, ha, you little fool, your family no longer exists. I made sure to poison them to ensure their death,"- one of the commanders says mockingly. -"You thought you could kill many without us noticing. In this world, everything has a price, villager,"- adds the other commander.
Glegory stands up and faces everyone, awaiting his own death. -"I have nothing left to fight for and no reason to live. I would rather die than continue in this world plagued with scum like you,"- declares Glegory in front of everyone. -"So, you want to die? I will gladly kill you, sewer rat,"- provokes one of the commanders. -"Death to the beast, death to his family!"- shouts the crowd, and everyone starts attacking Glegory. As he is attacked, he remembers his family. Suddenly, a voice resonates in his right ear, -"Will you surrender so easily to life, Glegory? Because I still await you, dear son."- In that instant, Glegory recognizes his father's voice, who waits for him somewhere. This motivates him to try to escape, but he quickly remembers his family and the one who killed them, triggering his rage once again. This time, he unleashes 15% of his total power, becoming a killer who slays everyone near him, unleashing a massacre. However, his thirst for blood remains unsatisfied. Moving at a speed almost equal to light, he heads towards the city, throwing fireballs and generating lightning storms, destroying everything in his path. Yet, his thirst for blood persists. He descends to the city ground and places his hand on the earth, uttering again, –"Disaster."– A great impact shakes the earth, but this time with a power 100 times greater than before, annihilating all forms of life on the planet's surface and turning it into a flaming desert.
Glegory falls to his knees on the earth, his rage calmed, and he weeps for the death of his family and what he has done, unable to control his power. -"Now I am completely alone. There's no one left here. No one to help or advise me. What will become of me now?"- Glegory says, crying and feeling a great emptiness in his chest. He doesn't even want to move anymore, lamenting the death of his family and reminiscing about his past.
A short moment passes, and suddenly, an enormous mountain behind Glegory begins to move. As Glegory weeps, the mountain takes on a humanoid form, and a giant stone axe emerges in its hand. Glegory looks back and sees the imposing mountain approaching him. Suddenly, enormous fiery iron chains emerge from the ground, with sharp tips, and begin to attack Glegory, completely enveloping his body and leaving him immobile.
Glegory offers no resistance and prepares to die. At that moment, the mountain raises the axe and directs it towards Glegory. When the axe is about to split him in two and end his life, a massive blue beam of light descends from the sky onto Glegory. The beam breaks the chains that held him captive and deflects the axe with a single strike, causing Glegory to fall to the ground. When the dust settles, Glegory lifts his head and sees a young man of his own age, dressed in blue with white hair. However, he cannot clearly identify him. Suddenly, the stranger speaks, "Hello, Glegory. It has been a long time since we last met, old friend." Glegory quickly recognizes his voice and is completely astonished to realize who he truly is.