Rio...
He was an ordinary boy living a life without dreams or goals, or more precisely, all his dreams and goals had been shattered...
What exactly happened?
Let's go back a little into the past.
In the country of Azurania...
While the weather was pouring heavily with rain, and thunderclouds covered the sky, and the moon appeared between the clouds...
A young girl named Asiya came out of a pharmacy, covering her head:
Thank you.
Asiya stood under an umbrella to shelter from the rain.
What's wrong with the weather today?
Asiya could not take a single step outside.
But suddenly, a young man named Ryan appeared. He was very tall, about 180 cm, muscular, and very handsome.
He covered her with his umbrella and said in a calm voice:
Please, miss, I don't need it.
Asiya replied shyly:
Ah… thank you.
Asiya took the umbrella and rushed to her car.
She opened the car door hastily and got in.
It was obvious on her face that she was embarrassed as she thought:
Who was that? He was really kind!
Asiya got distracted for a moment, then regained her composure and said:
Snap out of it, Asiya! You can't fall in love with a man just for an umbrella!
She clenched her fist and tried to start the car, but...
Why isn't the car starting?
Asiya tried repeatedly to start the car, but to no avail. She shouted in anger and frustration:
Damn you, stupid car!
Ryan heard her and knocked on the window.
Asiya panicked and replied fearfully:
Please leave me! I'll give you all my money!
She thought he was a thief trying to rob her.
Ryan smiled at her reaction and knocked on the glass again.
Asiya noticed it was Ryan and said:
It's you! Yes, right, the umbrella—I almost forgot.
He took out the umbrella and gave it to her, smiling:
I don't want it. Consider it a gift from me to you.
Asiya thought to herself in surprise and whispered:
A gift? Today? Today is my birthday… and he said it's a gift! Could it be that he knows it's my birthday?
While Asiya was lost in thought, Ryan called her back to reality:
Miss? Are you listening to me?
Asiya didn't respond, and suddenly a loud thunder cracked through her thoughts, making her scream terrified like a little child, and she said in a trembling voice:
Mom!
Then she remembered Ryan, and her face turned red with embarrassment:
You… didn't see anything, right?
She said to herself:
Oh, the embarrassment!!
Ryan replied with a smile:
Miss, I only came because I saw you needed help.
She said nervously:
Oh, I see now, yes, I need help.
After a few minutes, Ryan finished fixing the car and said tiredly, wiping his sweat:
Can I have some water?
Asiya replied:
Yes, of course.
Asiya went to the back of the car and took out a cold water bottle.
She smiled mischievously, letting thoughts sneak into her mind, and said laughing:
As far as I know, when two people drink from the same bottle of water, it counts as an indirect kiss...
Then she paused a little and her smile grew wider:
In that case, if I drink from it first and then he does, it will become a kiss, and then he will be forced to marry me! Haha, it's a brilliant plan to get a husband!
Ryan laughed:
I never expected that!
Asiya froze in shock, her face red as a volcano, and her features froze like a statue.
Ryan laughed more at her reaction and said:
Miss, you need to lower the volume of your thoughts, but I loved the idea!
Asiya looked at him shyly and laughed to recover the moment.
Then Ryan stopped laughing and looked at her with a sharp, captivating gaze that pierced her heart.
She said nervously:
What?
He replied with a smile:
Nothing, I'm just wondering… how does the moon not feel embarrassed by your beauty and give you its place? And how don't they make your eyes a cure that heals with just one glance?
Asiya looked at him in shock and said:
What are you saying?
Did I say something wrong? I'm sure even beauty itself doesn't see itself as anything compared to yours.
Ryan was right; Asiya was a young woman in her twenties, perfectly created by the Creator.
She was beautiful in every sense of the word,
her eyes reddish leaning toward light pink, her hair white as snow with a hint of blue, her skin clear as the sky, about 170 cm tall like an attractive model,
her eyes stole hearts without permission.
Some might think she was like the moon, but the moon itself would wish to have a fraction of her beauty!
Asiya said shyly:
Thank you…?
Ryan! My name is Ryan.
Thank you, Ryan.
No need for that.
Ryan asked for her number, and she agreed without hesitation.
They began communicating every day until Asiya fell in love.
After a few days, Ryan proposed marriage to her, and she agreed without any hesitation.
They lived a happy life together.
A year after their marriage, Asiya became pregnant with their first child, and they were eagerly awaiting him…
But fate was not always kind.
They decided to name him Rio.
Nine months passed, and the moment of birth arrived.
It was very difficult, the doctors faced many complications, and the operation lasted for many hours.
Ryan was anxious and exhausted from stress.
The doctor came out holding the baby in his arms, and Ryan smiled, joy finally filling his heart…
But it did not last.
The doctor said sadly:
She has died…
Asiya could not withstand the pain of childbirth.
Ryan collapsed and fell to the ground from grief.
He left the hospital holding his small child, crying bitterly.
Suddenly, a speeding car appeared fleeing the police,
Ryan threw the child away to save him, but the car hit him instantly.
Thus, Rio became an orphan of both mother and father from birth.
The child cried intensely, and the police came and took him to an orphanage.
Rio grew up there in the worst days of his life.
He faced bullying, violence, and rejection, and he didn't have a single friend.
One day, while he was being bullied,
a boy stood in front of the bullies and said disgustedly:
Stay away from me, looking at you is disgusting.
They fled in fear, and the boy helped Rio up and said:
You need to learn to defend yourself! You have to fight!
But… these hands weren't made to hurt anyone.
The boy was shocked and said:
Listen to me carefully, the world doesn't spare the weak! If you think otherwise, you'll stay like this, getting beaten all your life! Is that what you want?
I don't want that, and I don't want to hurt anyone either. I'm afraid of making people sad, I don't want anyone to be sad because of me.
And why do you fear making people sad?
Because those who get sad from me will distance themselves more… and I don't want that. I want someone around me, anyone…
You know? I've forgotten how to speak because I was alone all these years, I even forgot my own face, I don't know how I look.
The boy felt sad and said:
Listen carefully, boy! I will be your father, mother, brother, friend, and companion in everything! I will be with you in every step you take!
Rio's eyes widened with joy, tears flowing, as he said:
I wish I had a father… why did he leave so quickly? I was the reason… they died because of me… I wish I had never been born.
Why does everyone hate me? What did I do? I just wanted someone to notice me…
The boy approached him and hugged him gently, saying:
Don't cry, don't be sad. Your sadness is my sadness, your weakness is my weakness, your courage is my courage. From today, you are my brother, and I am your brother, I promise I will never let you need anyone again.
Rio's sobs intensified as he buried his head in his chest like a child in his mother's arms.
Days passed, and their friendship deepened until they became like one soul in two bodies.
One day, while they were leaving the market,
a car accident occurred… Adam died.
Rio's grief intensified, and it was not ordinary grief, but so deep that his hair turned white from sorrow.
He didn't eat for days, his health deteriorated, and he was always at Adam's grave crying endlessly.
Why? Why does death exist? Why does it take from those I love and not me? Why does it take everything from me?
Ten years passed since the incident.
Rio met a girl named Hina, who was gentle and polite, very kind to him, and resembled Adam in her goodness.
She told him to call her "sister," and joy returned to his heart at last.
She always listened to him and comforted him.
One day, while Rio was returning from the restaurant to the orphanage, he heard something he wished he had never heard.
Hina said laughing loudly:
It's so funny! Do you remember when he used to tell me about his life and cry? When he came out of his room, I burst out laughing! He was so weak and frail!
Her friend said:
Seems like the plan worked, we just wanted to play with his feelings, I didn't expect him to be this good at it.
Rio approached them and said coldly:
Really? Manipulated? Was it all a game?
Hina smiled confidently:
Yes, you fool.
He leaned toward her and whispered in her ear:
Then the game is over.
He took a chopstick and stabbed it into her eye!
Hina screamed in terrible pain:
What are you doing, you bastard?!
She tried to escape, but he caught her and stabbed the other chopstick into her other eye.
She screamed for help from her friend, but she ran away.
Rio whispered in her ear coldly:
Look… you're gone, isn't that good? We're siblings, we have to stay together, we have to play the game!
She begged him to leave her, but he said:
Don't try… the world has taken mercy away from me!
In the end, he killed her.
After Hina died, Rio realized what he had done and stood shocked, not knowing what to do.
He began to cry bitterly:
Hina! Please, tell me you're okay! Wake up… Hina… you must be just asleep…
Rio's sorrow intensified after realizing what he had done, almost losing himself to overthinking.
He fell to the ground, crying and shouting loudly:
Hinaaa, please answer me! Tell me you're still here, I don't want to be alone.
He hugged her body tightly and cried like a child.
His screams and sobbing intensified to the point that his vocal cords almost tore, and his eyes bled from the force of his crying.
His heart could not bear all that suppressed pain, so he released it all at once, making Rio collapse before reality:
Please, just let me live in peace.
Why, did I kill her? Why did my mind want that, why did I do something I didn't want, sorry, sorry! Please come back, don't leave me, Hina, answer me!
He still loved her despite everything.
But the truth was clear: she was dead…
After calming down, he carried her body and buried it in a far place, then went out under the rain, looking at the sky.
He remembered Adam looking at the sky whenever he saw his friend:
Adam… what should I do now, you are my strength and now that you're dead I have no strength, how can I live without you? I don't know.
Suddenly, a white light appeared from a narrow street. Rio looked with eyes devoid of hope, and a truck appeared from nowhere before hitting him. Time stopped for a moment for Rio; the happiest moments of his life passed before his eyes, and he smiled a false smile, saying:
Oh, the irony of fate, do you want me to be happy now before I die? What's the point of that happiness if it is followed by death?
Then he was hit by the truck mercilessly.
Rio said before dying:
I hope I never feel suffering again…
A voice then said:
Goal achieved.
Then Rio closed his eyes peacefully.
…
In a royal palace on one of the continents,
a woman shouted:
Your Majesty! The prince has been born!
The king entered smiling and said excitedly:
Bring the magic orb!
A woman entered holding a small glass orb and placed the prince Rio's hand on it…
But it didn't glow.
He had no magic.
The attendants became tense, and the king ordered the skill orb to be brought.
Rio placed his hand on it, and only one skill appeared: shape-shifting.
In a world ruled by magic and skills, those like Rio were shunned.
Thus, Rio was sent to a forbidden forest in the hope that he would die there.
But Rio didn't care… he decided to explore the forest.
To be continued...