Over two and a half million years ago, in an era untouched by time and cloaked in celestial mystery, Paulo Satoshi existed in his primordial form.
He wandered the vast, shimmering interior of the Skydome, a boundless sanctuary suspended between realms.
Though the Skydome was magnificent, Paulo could not leave its confines.
His powers, still raw and unstable, kept him tethered to its ethereal walls.
He was a being in transition, learning to master the forces within him.
During this period of isolation and self-discovery, Paulo encountered Lucy Lightheart, the radiant Monarch of Life and sovereign queen of the sky.
Her presence was like sunlight breaking through storm clouds, warm, commanding, and full of vitality.
Their meeting was serendipitous, and from that moment, a profound connection began to blossom.
Paulo, who had never known emotion before, felt something stir deep within him.
It was love, pure, overwhelming, and transformative.
Their bond grew quickly. Lucy, drawn to Paulo's innocence and strength, reciprocated his feelings.
They became inseparable, and soon, they pledged themselves to one another in a sacred engagement that echoed through the heavens and the earths.
From their union came a child: Rika Satoshi.
She was a miracle born of sky and soul, and Paulo adored her with every fibre of his being.
Rika was not just his daughter, she was the embodiment of the first emotion he had ever felt, the living proof that he could love.
But love, as ancient forces often remind us, is not immune to decay.
Just as evolution reshapes life without warning, betrayal too arrives unannounced.
Only a week after Rika's birth, Paulo was walking the quiet corridors of the Skydome, lost in thought.
As he passed near one of the echoing chambers, he overheard a conversation, one that would shatter his world.
"So how about you break up with that Satoshi brat?" said a man whose voice dripped with arrogance.
It was unmistakably Izumi, a figure from Lucy's past.
"Maybe," Lucy replied, her tone dismissive, her eyes rolling with indifference. "But are you willing to take care of the kid?"
"Of course," Izumi said, his voice now serious. "After all, I'm the original father of Rika."
Those words struck Paulo like a lightning bolt. The foundations of his reality crumbled.
The love he had cherished, the family he believed he had built, it was all a lie.
In that moment, the emotion that had once given him life now became unbearable.
Without confronting anyone, without uttering a word, Paulo fled to his private chamber within the Skydome.
There, consumed by anguish and betrayal, he took his own life in a tragic act of despair.
He opened his stomach, a symbolic gesture, perhaps, to release the pain that had consumed him. and died alone.
Lucy discovered his lifeless body hours later. She stood in silence, unable to comprehend what had driven him to such an end.
To this day, she remains haunted by the mystery of his final act, never knowing the truth he overheard or the heartbreak he endured.
Two and a half years later Paulo was reincarnated as a human on earth in the Terra Universe.
***
10 years later Paulo went to Rikako middle school.
This was after the incident between Lily Hanamori and Max sly.
Paulo Satoshi now goes to Rikako middle after that day 3 years ago.
The dull clang of the locker door echoed down the hallway like a gunshot in Paulo's skull.
He blinked hard, trying to focus on the dented metal, his reflection ghosted across the grey surface, pale skin, shadowed eyes, and a faint tremor in his hand as he adjusted the strap of his worn-out backpack.
The air smelled of disinfectant and chalk dust, sterile, suffocating.
Rikako Middle School, the so-called "special" school.
A place for "rehab," his mother had said with forced optimism. To Paulo, it just felt like exile.
He grabbed his notebooks, dog-eared, creased, heavy as bricks, and shut the locker with a shaky breath.
Just make it through today, he told himself.
Do not fall apart. Not here.
By the time he stepped into the classroom, the chatter of students hit him like static.
Bright laughter.
Loud voices. A world moving faster than his mind could keep up with.
He drifted toward the back corner, the farthest seat by the window, and sank into the chair, his limbs heavy, his heartbeat sluggish.
The sunlight through the glass painted faint bars across his desk, like a quiet reminder that he was trapped.
He let his head droop, eyelids fluttering.
The tiredness was not the kind that went away with sleep, it was the kind that hollowed you out, that made every breath feel like dragging stones.
Just as his mind began to blur, a familiar, teasing voice cut through the fog.
"Hey, Paulo! You are already half-dead before class even starts?" Kazumi said, curiously.
Her tone was playful, like she always spoke.
She leaned over his desk, hair brushing his notebook, eyes sparkling with mischief.
She did not know, could not know, that every word like that felt like a small blade twisting in his chest.
Paulo forced a weak smile, "Yeah… just tired, I guess."
Kazumi then chuckled, "You guess? You look like you fought a war."
He almost laughed, almost. But the sound caught in his throat.
If only she knew the kind of wars I fight every morning just to get out of bed.
The classroom door slammed open.
Takeo Kibe strutted in with Ozawa Taro trailing behind him, both loud, both smirking.
Takeo then shouted with a smug look on his face, "Yo, Kazumi! You talking to that zombie again?"
Paulo's stomach knotted. Kazumi frowned but did not pull away from Paulo's desk.
"Do not be a jerk, Takeo. He just got here," Kazumi said while scoffing.
Takeo shot Paulo a glare sharp enough to cut glass.
"Yeah, and maybe he should have stayed wherever he came from. Rikako's not a rehab centre, right?" Takeo said with venom in his words.
Ozawa laughed, that hollow, echoing laugh people use when they are afraid of silence.
"Dude, maybe he is just pretending. 'Depression,' huh? That is just being lazy with fancy words," Ozawa said while laughing.
Paulo's hands curled into fists under the desk.
His nails dug into his palms, but he said nothing.
He had learned that silence was safer, silence was armour.
Kazumi turned to them, her tone sharp now, "You guys are disgusting. Leave him alone."
Takeo's jaw clenched, jealousy flickering behind his forced grin, "Oh, I see how it is. Do you like him, huh? The quiet ones always get the sympathy vote."
Paulo stared out the window, pretending not to hear, pretending his heart was not pounding so hard he could taste metal in his mouth.
The blue sky outside was blinding, almost mocking in its brightness.
Paulo said quietly, to himself, "I just wanted a normal morning…"
Kazumi looked at him, confused by his soft words, but before she could speak again, the teacher walked in, her voice cutting through the tension
"Alright, everyone, take your seats. Let us begin," the teacher announced to the class while trying to get their attention.
Takeo and Ozawa slouched into their chairs, still smirking.
Kazumi threw Paulo one last glance, somewhere between concern and guilt, before turning back to her desk.
Paulo leaned back, staring blankly at the blackboard.
The chalk squeaked, students whispered, the clock ticked.
Inside his head, though, everything was screaming.
Why does it always feel like I am underwater?
Why can't anyone see I am drowning?
He pressed a hand against his chest, trying to calm the storm. Outside, the wind rustled through the trees.
Inside, Paulo Satoshi sat in silence, alive, breathing, but breaking one heartbeat at a time.