The Torment of Marco Luz
I look at my trembling hands, unable to contain the whirlwind of emotions engulfing me. The cruel reality looms over me like an unrelenting shadow, reminding me of the painful blow Marco just received. The murderous intent of his own father, the man who once held him in his arms with infinite love, has now taken away the only thing he had left in this world.
"Marco..." I whisper through sobs, struggling to keep my composure as tears stream down my cheeks like an overflowing river. The pain consumes me, but my determination remains firm, like a rock in the midst of a storm. Despite the fragility of his being, I know I must stay strong, for him, for both of us.
This is the past, that Marco is the past. The Marco of now is different, they are not the same. 'Until recently, he didn't even remember his actions, so the Marco I knew isn't the same as this one.'
I clench my fists tightly, feeling the determination burn inside me like a blazing fire. I cannot avoid the pain, the sadness that threatens to tear my soul apart, but I cling to hope like an anchor in the chaos. Despite my own weakness, I am determined to save him, to pull him out of the abyss he is submerged in.
"I won't give up; I know there's something more. Marco is a fool and a liar, but not a monster." My gaze meets Echidna's, who watches with an enigmatic smile that only fuels my determination.
I am no longer the innocent girl I once was, but I recognize my own vulnerability. However, I refuse to let myself be dragged down by despair, to abandon my deepest beliefs.
The screen lights up before me, offering a glimmer of hope amidst the darkness surrounding me. I wipe away my tears with determination, ready to face whatever is necessary to fulfill my duty.
But then, a heart-wrenching scream cuts through the air, and my heart stops as I see Marco fall to the ground, wounded and helpless. Blood flows from his shoulder, a wound that reflects the suffering and despair consuming him.
A wave of nausea washes over me as I watch him struggle to stay on his feet, ignoring the pain that consumes him. I cover my mouth with my hands, unable to contain the horror that overwhelms me. The sounds of the life-support machines blend with the frantic beating of my own heart, creating a macabre symphony that resonates deep within me.
Yet, through the speakers, there is only a long beep.
And in the midst of this chaos, I cling to hope, willing to fight to the end for the one I love, even if the entire world crumbles around us. Drops of blood fall slowly from Marco's hand, like silent tears marking the tragic fate that surrounds us.
"You need help!" the soldier approaches to help him, but before he can even touch him, his head is ripped from his body in an explosion of unexpected violence.
Marco looks towards his father, who lies on the ground, dead. His bleeding head is proof that there is no longer any salvation.
The shock shakes me, but my focus remains on Marco, on the connection I feel with him, even through an abyss of darkness. Our eyes meet, and in that instant, everything seems to stop.
'Finally!' Marco smiles, looking at his father. Marco's smile radiates sinister pleasure, his voice echoing in the air, full of determination. "It's over!" Marco jumps for joy for a while, then looks at the gun.
The joy he radiates seems oblivious to the tragedy surrounding him, as if possessed by a force beyond his control. "Now, there's only one last person left, for the curse I brought into this world to end." Marco reaches out to take the gun.
'Only I remain.'
In that solemn moment, amidst all the destruction and chaos, something slides from Marco's neck. The sound of a crystal breaking shatters the silence, and Marco looks down to find the broken necklace at his feet.
"Agh!" I place my hand on my heart, feeling a pain so deep in my soul that it completely destroys me.
A dark liquid spills, staining the ground like a grim premonition.
"NOOOO!" Marco screams, running towards his father with all his strength, grabbing him and hugging him tightly, hugging him with such desperation that I understand what is happening.
Marco's heart-wrenching scream shakes me to my core, and my heart stops as I see him fall to his knees, holding his father's lifeless body in his arms. "FATHER!" I try to stand, but my own body collapses under the overwhelming weight of emotions engulfing me.
Tears flood my eyes as I watch Marco's agony, the crushing weight of guilt consuming him. Bluargh!
I try to calm my breathing, but all the emotions overwhelm me at once. "Ma-Marco..."
The words barely escape my throat as I struggle to breathe, to find solace amidst the despair enveloping us. 'I killed, I killed, I killed, I killed, I killed.' Marco holds his father tightly, his body trembling violently.
The echo of his words, filled with anguish and regret, resonates in the air like an echo of suffering.
"Agh..." Marco lets go of his father, then puts his hands on his head. "I... I killed..." Marco begins to breathe heavily, all the calm and coldness he showed shattering in the blink of an eye.
I open my eyes abruptly, feeling the pressure on my eyelids, aware of the fragility of the broken crystal. That same fragility, shared by him and María. Now, Marco no longer carries the crystal on his chest.
"AGGHHHHH!" Marco's eyes rise to the ceiling, his scream resonating with heart-wrenching force. His mouth opens and stretches to the limit, as if about to tear apart. "I didn't... I didn't mean to, God, what have I done?"
Every emotion of his, every torment, pierces me like sharp swords straight to my soul.
"Stop Marco Luz!" the soldiers shout, advancing with difficulty as they aim at him.
"DAMMIT!" Marco unleashes a storm of wind blades, destroying everything in their path. In seconds, the place is reduced to rubble. Still, Marco keeps screaming, his voice full of anguish.
His eyes and nose begin to bleed, but he clings to his face, scratching it furiously.
"SUFFER! Marco Luz!" The building collapses, unable to withstand the unleashed force of Marco. It starts to fall, and the world moves slowly, allowing me to witness his pain, his despair, his end.
Marco watches helplessly as everything vanishes before his eyes, feeling the weight of his fate.
No... Marco can't die, not after coming to this world.
'I'm a monster, a living curse.'
Marco looks up at the sky, extending his hand.
'I don't deserve hell; I don't deserve heaven. I deserve to be erased from existence. Only then will this curse end.'
A single tear rolls down his cheek, a fragile drop of pain falling to the ground. In that moment, when all seems lost and the rubble threatens to crush him, his gaze fills with astonishment as he witnesses it stopping in mid-air, suspended by an invisible force that defies all logic.
The debris falls around him, but he remains unmoved, protected by a mysterious shield that repels the chaos surrounding him.
Alarms blare with deafening intensity and the screams of pain echo through the place, creating a cacophony of despair.
"Well, it seems your reaction was more intense than expected." A mocking voice interrupts his thoughts with a laugh. "You achieved your goal, huh? Hahaha."
Marco is petrified, speechless, unable to comprehend what is happening around him. While several soldiers shoot desperately, the bullets clash against an invisible barrier, like insects hitting an impenetrable glass.
That man, he is the same one I saw before, the one who told Marco about the information. The one whose face is hidden. I recognize him, I can see him in more detail.
He is thin, yet he seems to wear strange clothing that I've never seen in my world or his. Although the shape of his clothes tells me he comes from Marco's world.
'Who is that person?'
Besides the magic he just used.
It's as if they are protected by a spell, a manifestation of power that defies all rational explanation of his world.
In the midst of chaos, Marco finds himself trapped in a world where his reality and my reality intertwine, leaving him in a state of absolute awe and bewilderment.
"Let me propose a deal." The figure approaches Marco with a defiant confidence, as if aware that Marco can no longer do anything to stop him.
Marco tenses his muscles, preparing for any eventuality, while the figure approaches with firm steps.
'A deal?' Marco's heart twists in sharp pain, barely able to form his thoughts, while the man's laughter echoes in his mind. I feel a chill down my spine, a paralyzing sensation of uncertainty.
"I can undo all this, erase every memory of what happened." The man extends his arms, and the gunfire suddenly stops. Marco staggers slightly, disoriented by the sudden silence enveloping the scene. "I can make many things not happen. I have the power for it. Sure, some things will still happen, but it will be different from this."
The air grows dense, Marco's confused gaze only fuels his desperation. He swallows with difficulty, feeling the knot in his throat as he struggles to understand what is happening around him.
'I knew it...' I whisper internally, aware that Marco is being manipulated, his will be imprisoned. I clench my fists with impotence, wishing I could break the control binding him.
"But maybe that's too generous." The figure makes a stone float, throwing it near Marco, increasing his anxiety. Marco instinctively steps back, his breath quickening as he cautiously observes the man's movements.
'Magic?' Marco recognizes it instinctively, his gaze clouding with chaos and agony, his body marked by wounds and blood loss. He staggers, fighting to stay upright under the overwhelming pressure surrounding him.
"I'll delay the fall of this world a bit longer. I can do that with the amount of power this world has gathered. Besides, I'm in a hurry to return to that world again." The man's voice is a distant echo as Marco struggles to rise, his body almost unresponsive. His legs tremble under his weight, his mind clouded by pain and confusion.
'I can't see clearly anymore.' His thought tears at me inside, my gaze fixed on what is about to happen.
I have to see it; I have to see it head-on.
Marco's labored breathing reveals his closeness to death. He clings to the last shred of strength, determined to resist until the end.
"So, what do you say?" The figure leans closer to Marco. "You should decide quickly. It would be unfortunate if you died, and I had to start all over again."
Marco fights to maintain clarity in his thoughts, battling the darkness threatening to consume him.
'Start again?'
Marco spits blood in an attempt to speak. His body trembles with the effort, his muscles tense from the agony consuming him.
"I..."
'Should I forget? Lose my memories and live believing I'm not bad?'
"I wouldn't change my past for anything in the world." Marco's words echo in his mind, stopping his tears. The real Marco would never take that path, despite everything he's caused.
The person before me is not the Marco I know.
"I'll do it... if it means escaping this tor...ment, this suffering." Marco's determined gaze meets the blurred vision of the person's face.
With a final effort, Marco lifts his gaze with determination, ready to face whatever is necessary to find redemption.
Then, somehow, I feel it. Through the dark mist, through the sense of malice surrounding me. A glimmer of hope shines within me, a small light amidst the darkness enveloping me.
I can feel a smile forming on my face, though my heart sinks seeing Marco on the ground, surrounded by rubble, a man who was only a victim of misfortune.
He longed to change the world, but the world shattered him.
Marco is not entirely guilty, and yet he is. Responsible for his actions, but not for his cruel fate.
"That's a good answer, but now I have to tell you something." The man's voice resonates in the air as he lifts his hand and directs it towards Marco's chest.
My eyes widen in surprise as I see the hand pierce Marco's chest, who struggles to breathe amidst the blood flowing from his mouth and nose. His gaze slowly fades, as the mist surrounding him begins to dissipate.
"Your body is amazing; it absorbs my miasma with ease." The man's voice sounds almost pleased. "It certainly seems to love you more than... me..."
'Miasma!' Anger takes hold of me as I watch the scene on the screen.
"There's a saying that one must pay for the sins of their past lives." The man withdraws his hand, stopping the absorption of the miasma. In his palm, a blue sphere glows intensely.
Without hesitation, the person brings the sphere to his mouth, causing the light to fade.
"The souls that escape from Od Laguna must be purified. This is the price for breaking the chain of life in that world." The world begins to crumble around him. An overwhelming pressure pierces through me, feeling its power through the screen. More powerful than Roswaal, than myself, than any being I have ever known.
"It's a pity I could only consume half, but I'll give you the rest because I know you'll fulfill your purpose."
The world blurs before my eyes, leaving Marco floating in the void, his heart full of frustration.
"Maria was a good pawn, your parents played their part by dying, your friends by rejecting and then helping you." The figure rises in the sky, watching Marco. "Everyone is just a puppet, so I'll be pleased the day you remember it all."
'Did he already know about the future?'
No, it's probably just a coincidence. Maybe the spell deactivated under certain conditions. I can't even imagine what kind of magic he used. I should have studied more, investigated more.
My lack of knowledge prevents me from helping.
Now, only Marco remains floating in nothingness, his heart empty... There is no anger, no resentment towards the person who manipulated him. Defeat. Marco has been completely dominated and "saved" by the person who caused all of this. He has resigned himself to keep living.
"We are not like any living being because we do not belong to that chain." The enigmatic statement echoes in my mind as I watch Marco, wondering about the meaning of all this. The ability to know the unknown, to penetrate the deepest depths as if he already knew everything.
It has always seemed strange to me, but I never had the courage to ask.
"You will never be happy; you will live and fall again. You are a monster, Marco Luz, now and before. The essence of your soul is the same as that of a monster." The man's cutting words hang in the air like daggers stabbing into my soul. "Your curse will never end, and your suffering will never cease."
The figure seems to direct his gaze towards us, though his face remains hidden. A chill runs down my spine as if his eyes are piercing the deepest part of my being.
"I'll say it again, he is a monster."
For a moment, I forget where I am, engulfed in a deep fear that consumes me. I can feel it, that person is trying to communicate with me. As if he already knew I would witness this trial, as if he knew I would be here at this moment. Then, that person puts his hand on his chest, gripping it tightly.
It feels like he's speaking to me, trying to show me something. A strange feeling of desperation, of emptiness. It's strange to see, but at the same time, I feel the fear of imagining his face, knowing I don't want to see it no matter how much I need to.
The certainty of his knowledge shakes me to my core.
The screen suddenly goes black, leaving a single message shining in the darkness.
"And monsters don't get happy endings." The words echo in my mind, filling me with a distress that leaves me breathless.
The darkness envelops the room for an instant, plunging me into an abyss of uncertainty and fear.