After Liz's funeral, Ruwi sat on his late aunt's bed, surrounded by a somber atmosphere that reflected the sadness of the day. The room was barely lit by the dim glow of a flickering lamp, casting elongated shadows on the walls covered with black-and-white photos, memories of times past. The stillness was so dense that the faint creaking of the wooden floor beneath his steps could be heard. With his head bowed, Ruwi sang one of his aunt's favorite songs, his voice broken but determined, filling the room with a melancholic feeling, almost as if the house itself was weeping in silence.
— That's why we sing, death is swallowed up in victory, Hallelujah, Hallelujah! Oh death, where is your victory? Hallelujah, Hallelujah! Oh death, where is your sting? Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah! — Ruwi sang, while tears, warm as fire, slid down his face.
Camila, his friend, approached slowly, the sound of her steps muffled by the carpet, as if each movement was a caress to his pain. With an expression of deep tenderness, she wiped the tears from his face with a soft handkerchief, caressing his skin gently.
— Don't cry anymore, please — she said, her voice as soft as a whisper, a mix of comfort and helplessness in her tone.
Ruwi, his eyes red from crying so much, gazed into the distance with lost eyes, as if expecting the sky to give him some answer.
— Why? Why did it have to be my father? — he asked, his voice broken by confusion and pain, searching for an explanation in the heavy air around them.
— I don't know, Ruwi. Sometimes life doesn't make sense… — Camila responded, feeling that her words faded into the vastness of a silence that seemed to consume them.
The sun was slowly setting outside the window, painting the sky in shades of purple and orange, while Ruwi, with infinite sadness, whispered:
— Could there be goodness in him, in his heart? — Ruwi thought doubtfully, but his heart knew that his father could be redeemed.
In the vast spiritual world, where darkness has no beginning or end, Lucifer, the prince of shadows, watched with satisfaction. From his throne of dark mist, surrounded by demons that whispered and moved restlessly, he gave orders with unshakable authority. The air was thick with an acrid stench, as if hell itself was present there. Ishnofel, his fury incarnate, approached Lucifer, pushing the other demons aside in rage, his eyes filled with wrath and an inextinguishable fire.
— You're a traitor! You said my wife and son died by accident! — Ishnofel shouted, his voice echoing in the abyss, an explosion of pain and fury.
Lucifer turned slowly, his cold and macabre smile illuminating his face in the gloom. He raised his hand and, with an almost imperceptible movement, struck Ishnofel in the stomach, sending him backward with a choked scream.
— Ha, ha, ha! Do you really think that you, a human turned demon, can challenge me? — Lucifer mocked, enjoying the suffering of others, like a master watching his disciple's pain.
A dense and dark smoke enveloped Ishnofel, the air growing heavy and hot, as if a memory from his past was suffocating him. Images began to cloud his mind, memories of horrors committed in his past life, a torrent of guilt drowning him in despair.
Flashback: When he was human and lived in Peru:
The land was arid, the sun scorched Ishnofel's face as he watched the lives he had taken fall, without mercy or regret. He remembered the faces of those he had destroyed:
1. He massacred satanists responsible for his mother's death, rage being his only drive.
2. He killed a boy and his family for lying to him, vengeance consuming his heart.
3. He murdered innocent children, not realizing that no humanity remained in him.
4. He committed genocide against satanists in Peru, the ground soaked in blood.
5. He accidentally killed his wife, Eliana, while trying to convince her of his dark vision.
When he became a demon:
The sky no longer existed for him, only the void. Like a predator, he hunted mercilessly:
1. He eliminated many weak demons, his power growing like a beast.
2. He tortured satanists who failed their missions, the shadows of his wrath never fading.
3. He hunted Christians, inflicting unimaginable suffering, leaving a trail of corpses.
4. He destroyed a neighborhood for mistreating an orphaned child, his soul already lost.
5. He murdered many atheists, convinced of his superiority.
6. He killed César, a friend fallen into his own darkness.
7. He ended the life of Liz, the last seed of hope left in his heart.
Panic took hold of him as the ghosts of his victims began to materialize around him, mocking him, reminding him of what he had done.
Flashback: The Ghosts of César and Liz
— I raised you like a son, and now you killed me. I hate you, you don't deserve anyone's forgiveness — César said, his voice full of fury, his face disfigured by suffering.
— My sister loved you, and you destroyed her. You've always been a disappointment — Liz added, with a contempt that cut to the bone.
Then, a painful echo of his past emerged: Eliana appeared, her face empty, marked by disdain.
— I should never have married you. In the end, I don't even know what I fell in love with — she said coldly, her words like knives.
The Ghost of His Mother, Rosita
Finally, his mother's face appeared in the darkness, her gaze cold as ice.
— Son, I should never have had you. I should have aborted when I found out I was pregnant. You are a disappointment to this family — she said, vanishing into the mist like a distant specter.
Ishnofel, trapped in the spiral of torment, fell to his knees, his heart broken, pleading for an answer, for a salvation that seemed unreachable.
Lucifer approached, his shadow enveloping Ishnofel like a heavy, icy blanket.
— Do you think you can reunite with your son Ruwi knowing that you killed his aunt Liz and César? Do you really think God will forgive you? — Lucifer said, enjoying his downfall.
Ishnofel, now known as José, staring into the void, understood that there was no way out, that his only option was to yield.
— Fine, I'll do what you say — he pleaded, the hope in his chest already extinguished.
Lucifer smiled, satisfied, as the demon walked away, his soul shattered and his future uncertain.
Far away, on Earth, Ruwi gazed at the horizon with renewed determination. The darkness that had filled his life seemed to fade little by little, replaced by a light that only he could see.
— Listen, friends, I will not seek revenge on my own father. Even though he is a demon, it is better to forgive than to hate. There is goodness in him; no matter how dark he is, there will always be light — Ruwi declared, his voice resonating with the firmness of someone who had found his purpose.
Camila, Daniel, and Rosenda looked at him with admiration. The sacrifice his faith demanded seemed greater than ever, but in their hearts, they knew that the light of hope would never be extinguished.
— You're right, it's better to forgive than to hold grudges — Rosenda said, with a proud smile, looking at Ruwi as if he were a spark in the darkness.
Jesus, from his heavenly kingdom, watched Ruwi, knowing that his journey toward the light was just beginning. A new hope arose, a new possibility of redemption that renewed everything.