Kraidir's POV
Well, so I'm dead.
I see now that none of my efforts to be with my family were in vain, even if life had other plans—another path—for me… but it still hurts.
It hurts to know that I tried, and yet I ended up dying in my son's arms, leaving him a burden I couldn't even carry myself.
To protect someone is to love them until your last breath, to care for them even when circumstances are far from ideal, to be by their side through it all.
And I tried. I really did.
But even then, I couldn't do it.
I failed my family.
I failed my children.
I failed myself.
I don't even care where I am anymore, especially when the last thing I saw before closing my eyes was the people I loved the most... crying.
Perhaps this is my punishment: to be trapped in endless darkness, with only my consciousness to replay my mistakes—over and over again.
My guilt. The shame of not having done more.
Maybe I didn't have the strength… but I could've tried harder. I could've fought one more time, instead of letting it end like this.
But I didn't.
Damn it... WHY?!
The pain I felt was visceral, beyond horrific, because I couldn't forgive myself for not being enough for them.
Even with nothing but my mind still active, I could feel every fiber of pain in my body.
I never knew what it meant to die, let alone what lies beyond it.
Life is beautiful. It's where you learn to truly live. I get it now—life isn't for everyone, but we have to be strong, hold our heads high, and not be afraid of goodbye.
Goodbye to something as beautiful as living.
I know I lived what I was meant to live—maybe even more than I should have.
I just wish I could see my son one last time, hold him close, and ask for his forgiveness.
Let him know I never meant to put him in a position where, most likely, he'll watch everyone die... just like he saw me.
It's sad, because death can come at any moment, and it's almost impossible to avoid saying goodbye.
I sighed.
Letting myself drift into silence, stopping all thoughts—maybe even dreams, if I was dreaming at all.
"Well, of all the souls, it had to be you. How interesting," said a voice... Perhaps my madness speaking, I don't know, truly.
Might as well play along—what do I have to lose now?
"What do you mean, of all the souls?" I replied.
"Out of all the lives that come and go... you showed up—as a candidate. As a guide," the voice continued.
"A candidate for what? And who even are you?" I asked, letting myself fall further into the moment.
"As for who I am..." the voice said, seemingly kind, then fell silent.
For a while, I heard nothing again. I thought my sanity had pulled a cruel trick on me.
That is, until the light appeared.
A soft light that gradually unveiled a beautiful landscape—something out of a fairytale, something that whispered one word: peace.
A light that didn't burn.
An atmosphere that didn't judge.
A place where, it seemed, pain had no place in reality.
"Where am I? What is this?" I asked.
"Allow me to introduce myself properly… I'm Dextrina," said a gentle female voice, sitting under a parasol, with chairs.
"You may not know me well," she continued, "but I believe there's enough time to talk… if, of course, you're interested."
Before I answered, I looked into a nearby lake.
I saw myself—young, unscarred, no blood, no pain, nothing to remind me of who I used to be.
"Of course I'm interested," I said, and without hesitation, walked over and took a seat.
She didn't take her eyes off me as I sat down. She looked at me as if she'd known me for a long time, as if she had always been by my side.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Iván Castleboard," the voice said, leaving me confused. "Your story is fascinating… and even more so, your son's."
"How do you…?" I began, but she interrupted me.
"First, I want you to know two things. Number one: don't think this isn't real. And number two: I know everyone—it's my duty. I guide their destiny."
Guide destinies? That this is real...? Seriously, where am I?
"What are you? And why do you say this is real?" I asked, fear starting to creep in.
"I am the very king of hell," she said, then made a face full of madness. "No, I'm kidding. Don't fall for that. I am the one who pulls the strings of their lives: I am the goddess of fate."
I was startled for a moment when she said the first part. I know I deserve to pay for my failures—but not like that.
"You say you're a goddess… and that this is real?" I began to press further. "But… why don't I feel anything? Why does it feel like I'm just dreaming?"
She remained silent for a while, waiting for the right moment. Then she replied:
"Not feeling anything doesn't mean reality doesn't exist. You humans are so attached to pain that not feeling it makes you think you don't exist, that you have no purpose.
"I understand that emotions are what make you human, and as strange as it may seem, I feel them too. I understand them.
"And as for this feeling of dreaming—it's normal. In a dream, you never suffer. Dreams are a reality where you seek only happiness."
"Well, I might be the only one of my siblings who truly understands you," the goddess whispered.
"I see," I said. "If this is real, why am I here? Why did you mention my son and his destiny?"
"You're sharp," the goddess replied. "Your son is… I don't know, but he's beautiful."
For a moment, I thought she was speaking of his appearance, but when she told me everything, I understood.
"You'd better get comfortable. This will take a while," she said before beginning.
I spent a long time taking in every word she said, digesting every emotion she conveyed, holding back tears that eventually broke through the invisible wall of numbed pain.
My son was someone even the gods couldn't understand, because he wasn't bound by a predetermined fate. He never was… and he never will be.
When humans are born, we choose. Maybe we don't remember, but we've always wanted to feel.
Perhaps it begins with something as small as curiosity, then grows into love, appreciation, happiness.
Of course, not all of us are destined for that, but there is always light. Maybe a small one—but it always exists.
Life is incomprehensible, but that's what makes it beautiful. We live to experience, because we are not perfect—and that is what's extraordinary: to grow, and to live.
Matías, my son, was never meant for that. Not because he didn't want to live—but because, unlike life and death, he went beyond.
"So, what do you say? Will you help me?" the goddess exclaimed. "Are you ready to make your first celestial pact?"
"I accept," I replied.
From that moment, I understood what a celestial pact meant. One where you stop being yourself, where you become something you never were. A place where your name means nothing—only your mission.
I waited for years for that moment.
Watching my son suffer, cry, blame himself for things that were never in his control. But he always rose again, remembering each one of his own, standing tall as he wiped away his tears… and, in some way, left his humanity behind.
That day, in his final breath, in his last battle against fate itself—I was there.
Watching every moment, knowing this was my time. One I might regret, because I didn't know what it would bring.
But he is my son, and I failed him too many times. I know what he carries: a conscience that won't forgive, because to him, it was never enough.
"Are you ready, Kraidir?" Dextrina called out. "You know what you must do. This is your moment. Do it for your son. Let him be free."
I sighed. This was the beginning of a path I might finally be proud to have written.
"When I'm done with this… I don't think we'll see each other again," I said, leaving the goddess half-confused.
"Okay… if that's what you want," she replied, still not understanding what I was about to do.
My orders had been clear: when Matías died, I was to pose as a loyal servant under Dextrina's command, follow her instructions, and send my son to reincarnate… but in a dangerous place, in a body that would die shortly after birth.
That was her plan. But not mine.
When the moment came and I saw him, I had to summon every ounce of willpower not to run to him, not to throw myself into his arms and hold him tight.
To somehow ask for his forgiveness… but it wasn't the time.
I had to act—and I knew I couldn't fail.
Against all odds, everything went according to plan. I played my cards right: I gave him the illusion of reincarnation, a new beginning, something that might finally bring an end to his story of suffering.
I couldn't see the future, much less the possibilities, but the best option I found was a child named Kael Lanpar—a prince with a united family and a promising future.
"The gods… have decided something about you," I said in a soft voice.
I saw how he tried to ignore me, how he wanted to throw a tantrum like he used to in childhood, one of his purest moments.
But I knew this would give him hope.
"And… what did they decide?" he asked, without much spirit.
I knelt beside him, reached out my hand, and said:
"You're going to be reborn, Matías.
You'll have a second chance."
I saw his eyes light up with a glimmer of hope that illuminated everything around us. If light didn't exist in the void, then he gave it meaning.
I knew he would have questions—but this wasn't the time. Not now, not after I had defied the gods by disobeying their commands.
When he was reborn, I hid. I stayed within his consciousness—more specifically, in his mental space—waiting for the right moment. The catalyst.
To appear and step into his life as his guide… as his father, even if I was disguised as someone I'm not.
And that moment came sooner than expected. Just a few months after he was born, he almost died.
In that instant, I only appeared as a dream, a premonition. But I later realized that wasn't enough.
Little by little, I began showing up more often in his mind, supporting him and letting him know that, somehow, someone understood him.
He was broken. Maybe shattered into countless pieces, like the glass of a portrait that only reflects pain upon pain, fall after fall.
Each shard wounding him, making him bleed from a pain he couldn't comprehend… Why did he have to carry all that?
If that was the price of being different, then I was always there beside him, sharing his pain, his losses.
Everything was going well. Things were getting better for him, and I saw how slowly, he began to overcome that deep inner sadness.
But then… pain returned.
A day I swear I never wished to see.
"Damn you, Kraidir… where are you?" he muttered.
I stepped out from the light, wearing a stoic expression that only masked my pain.
"Anything you want to say to me? Or did you just come to drag me back here?"
"I didn't bring you here," I replied, trying to soothe him. "You dragged yourself into this reality, Matías.
I see you're still seeing demons everywhere."
My heart ached, because I knew that after this, I would lose him—that I wouldn't see him again.
But I am his father. And it's my duty to protect him.
"The only demon here is you," he snapped back, with a dry smile. "You don't know what it's like to stain your hands with blood. You don't know the weight of taking a life. You don't have feelings."
I said nothing. I simply walked toward him slowly, then sat beside him and gazed up at the sky.
A sky more beautiful than any I had ever seen.
"Matías," I said after a moment, "listen to me closely. Suffering… carrying that pain you bear… it's part of being human. More than you know."
I began to speak, pouring a silent farewell into every word. One that, this time, would be final.
"You will keep suffering," I continued. "You'll feel like everything is falling apart. But there's a reason… you were the one who was reborn. Trust yourself."
After that, I had to disappear. I knew Dextrina had found me, and I didn't want to drag Kael into this.
Seeing him one last time… was the most beautiful thing that could have happened to me.
Before leaving… I made my final move.
As I departed, I fulfilled my last duty as protector of someone I loved deeply:
Kael's soul was split in two.
One half—the happiest, the emotional and adventurous side—took control of his body. It gave him a perspective I knew wasn't truly his, but it would keep him happy.
The second half remained sealed in the quartz necklace I once gave him. That necklace traveled across worlds, serving as a prison for a pain that needed to be contained.
"Well, well… you actually managed to stay hidden for quite some time."
That voice was my end.
"Dextrina. You're late. As far as I know, you can't interfere in this new life," I said seriously. "If you want to take it out on someone, take it out on me."
"I won't," she replied with unsettling calm.
I refused to let her words scare me—but they carried an ominous truth.
"Wait… you're not going to do anything?"
"No. I have no reason to. You already know the child you created is an anomaly. This was bound to happen eventually," she said, now more relaxed.
"But there's one thing I will advise you," she continued. "Don't inflict that kind of pain on your son again."
"What do you mean?" I asked, confused… and afraid.
"See for yourself."
I tried quickly to access his mental space… and failed.
It was as if his memories were being erased—his mind disintegrating.
"What's happening?!" I shouted, terrified.
"It wasn't a good idea to separate two essential parts of a soul. Why do you think balance exists?" she said, this time with a hint of concern in her voice.
"Wait… the two fragments… but how? It wasn't supposed to end like this…"
"Shit… my heart…"
My son's words made me tremble.
I had made a grave mistake. And I was paying dearly for it.
I saw him cough up blood, clutching his chest tightly, writhing in indescribable pain.
"What do I do?! Dextrina, tell me what to do!" I screamed at the goddess, desperate and lost.
"Let him… let him find his own path to redemption.
Let him find real peace—not an illusion," she answered, somber, sharing in my pain, even if just a little.
The power I had used to split Kael's soul had been devastating.
If I used it again… I would cease to exist.
But he was my son.
And I wouldn't hurt him again. I wouldn't fail him again.
I channeled all the power Dextrina had once given me, focusing it into the palms of my hands, letting the pain consume me as I began to reunite the lost fragments of his soul.
I could feel my body tearing itself apart with every scream I released.
I couldn't give up.
This was my mistake. I only wanted to do something good for him…
"Arrrgh… it hurts!"
Just a little more!
This time, I won't fail you.
Not again.
Kael is important.
I can't let the one who holds our future in his hands die so soon.
I saw Dextrina lend me a part of her power. I didn't know if she did it out of convenience or true compassion… but she was helping me.
At the exact moment, I managed to piece the fragments back together.
I restored him to what he had always been: someone who defies every rule.
"So I did it…" I whispered, seeing only half of my body and feeling my existence begin to fade.
"Dextrina…" I spoke to the goddess, who also looked sorrowful. "Can I see my son one last time?
Please. I know I have no right to ask for a favor, bu—"
"Kael will need you," she interrupted.
"I know you won't be able to stay with him… but I believe you still have one final duty before you go."
"…Thank you."
Son…
I hope that one day, you can forgive me.
We'll meet again—soon.
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