⸻
38 years ago…
Lightning.
Swords clash.
Screams tear through the night.
Blood mixes with the mud.
Bodies fall.
A man kneels on the battlefield, holding someone in his arms.
Crying.
Another flash of lightning illuminates the devastated field.
A man with blue eyes.
Strong.
A threatening silhouette.
Blue flames swirl around him as he drags two soldiers across the ground, advancing toward the others.
White screen.
Silence.
Cut.
⸻
Present
Heavy rain.
Long thunder rolls shake the ground.
Quick footsteps on wet soil.
A foot steps into a puddle.
Splash.
Another step.
Another puddle.
Dogs bark nervously in the distance.
A small wooden house stands far from the others.
The camera approaches the window.
Between the curtains…
For a single second—
Two silhouettes reflect on the glass from the inside.
Still.
Watching.
Lightning tears across the sky.
They disappear.
— Knock. Knock.
Inside the house, an elderly couple look at each other.
Afraid.
The old woman grabs her husband's arm.
He takes a deep breath and opens the door.
Silence.
Then—
"Dear… a baby!" she says with a trembling voice.
"A… a baby boy?" the old man asks.
"Yes…"
The baby cries.
She picks him up.
The old man touches the child's face.
All three of them begin to cry.
Suddenly—
A strange spark crosses their minds.
They look at each other.
Confused.
"Do you know his name?" the old man asks.
"Maybe…"
They say together:
"His name is Ryo."
Silence.
They laugh nervously.
They hug the child.
Cut.
⸻
12 years later
A bright morning.
Ryo, Bill, and Nara sit in the yard looking at the sky.
Bill sighs loudly.
"Dreams… dreams… DREAMS!"
He jumps to his feet dramatically.
"My dream is to explore the world and write about it!"
Nara smiles.
"Mine is to become a doctor and a veterinarian. I want to take care of people and animals."
Bill looks at Ryo.
"What about you, bro?"
Ryo thinks for a moment.
"My dream is to give Mom and Dad a better life. I want to take them away from here. For that, I need to become stronger… and earn enough money."
Bill grins.
"Then this is our chance!"
"What do you mean?"
"The tournament starts in two weeks!"
Ryo's eyes light up.
"That's right! Last time I was too young!"
"It happens every five years," Bill explains. "Only the winner becomes the true candidate."
"What do you mean 'true'? You don't enter directly?"
"There's still a massive evaluation afterward."
"Isn't it already almost impossible???"
"It's not easy to become the best."
Nara interrupts softly.
"But our parents love this place… don't they?"
Ryo lowers his gaze.
"Yes… but Dad has a book full of dreams he never managed to fulfill."
Nara speaks quietly.
"Our father is blind… but he always wanted to see the world."
Silence.
Bill suddenly looks determined.
"Then we'll see it for him."
"What?"
"We'll enter the tournament. No matter the result, we'll explore the world! We'll read his book and fulfill every dream he wrote!"
He grabs a stick.
"Forward!"
"Forward?" Ryo laughs.
"En garde!"
They start play-fighting.
Ryo knocks Bill down.
"Look! A flying man!"
Ryo turns.
Bill rubs Ryo's face into his armpit.
Nara bursts into laughter.
Ryo chases Bill with the stick.
Comedic cut:
Bill with a bump on his head.
Then Ryo too.
Two cartoon clouds appear:
Ryo hitting Bill.
Nara hitting Ryo.
"Nara only knows how to use violence," Ryo complains.
"At least I use something. You don't even use your brain!" Nara laughs.
Lightness.
Childhood.
⸻
Evening
Ryo collects the laundry.
"Why am I always the one doing this…? Being the man of the house is hard!"
"Ryo! Dinner!" someone calls.
He drops everything and runs inside.
Everyone sits at the table.
"Wow, it's not even dark yet and we're already eating?" Ryo says.
"Watch your mouth!" Nara scolds.
Bill teases:
"I know you guys are old, but eating this early is ridiculous!"
"Yeah, old folks!" Ryo laughs.
Nara pulls both of their ears.
"Behave! Especially with a special date coming!"
"Tomorrow is your 85th birthday, right Dad?" Bill asks.
"Yes, my son."
They begin eating.
Comfortable silence.
Their father suddenly stands up.
He puts a record on the player.
Then he takes their mother's hand.
They begin to dance.
Everyone claps to the rhythm of the music.
Family.
Laughter.
"Hey Dad, you suddenly asked Mom to dance?" Bill laughs.
"He's always like that," their mother replies.
"So beautiful," Nara says.
Ryo watches them all.
He smiles.
Then—
For a moment—
He sees Nara and Bill again.
But they are outside in the yard.
Playing.
Alone.
Ryo blinks.
He is back at the table.
He takes a deep breath.
"Dad… do you know what you'll do to celebrate tomorrow?"
"I don't know yet, son. I celebrate every day just by being with you."
Ryo blinks again.
His father's voice sounds distant.
Like it's underwater.
The record continues to play softly.
He looks again.
Now he sees them younger.
Running.
He tries to follow.
"Hey! Wait!"
They don't hear him.
He tries to touch Bill.
His hand passes through him.
The vision breaks.
He is back at the table.
The sound fades.
His father says something again.
Echoing.
Ryo grabs his head.
A violent headache.
The spoon falls.
Voices blur.
Distorted vision.
Everyone rushes to help him.
Ryo collapses.
⸻
The Vision
Darkness.
He opens his eyes.
A green field.
Bright sunlight.
Colorful flowers.
Tall mountains with shining stones.
Bill and Nara run in the distance.
Ryo smiles.
"Hey! Wait for me!"
He runs toward them.
They pass right through him.
As if he doesn't exist.
He stops.
Confused.
He sees them hugging their father.
Then their mother.
The four of them together.
Without him.
He looks at his hands.
Slightly transparent.
He tries to scream.
No sound comes out.
The sky cracks.
A scream echoes.
Another.
Every two seconds.
The flowers darken.
The field rots.
Happy memories burn.
Images of war invade.
Bodies at his feet.
People being mentally tortured.
They hold their heads.
Blood pours from their noses.
Memories that are not his.
A voice echoes inside him.
"You should not exist."
The pressure begins.
Gravity crushes him.
He tries to move.
He cannot.
The waterfall in the distance turns red.
It flows stronger.
It rises toward him.
Climbing his body.
He tries to breathe.
The water explodes over him.
It swallows him.
Darkness.
⸻
Awakening
Ryo gasps for air.
At the same instant—
Every window in the house shatters.
Glass.
Cups.
Plates.
Silence.
His mother holds his face.
Her expression full of fear.
"Ryo… you were… unconscious?"
He breathes heavily.
"Mom… Dad…"
Silence.
"I need to see the world."
The camera slowly rises behind him.
For a second—
Two silhouettes.
Standing still.
Exactly like that night.
His mother sees them.
Her eyes widen.
She blinks.
They disappear.
She holds her breath.
"What is it?" the father asks.
She hesitates.
"Nothing…"
But her hand trembles.
The father sighs.
"Then… it's time."
He walks to an old cabinet.
He takes something wrapped in cloth.
He returns.
Places it on the table.
"I wanted to give this to you… but I thought it was too soon."
He unwraps it.
An old book.
Worn.
Marked by time.
"This is my world… the one I never got to see."
Ryo touches the cover.
Wind blows.
The pages move softly.
Cut outside the house.
On top of the hill—
Two silhouettes watch.
A red crow flies away.
The blue one remains.
Bill's narration:
"That night, Ryo decided to see the world.
But none of us knew…
The world was already waiting for him."
Black screen.
End of Chapter 1