Far away, in the place called Satano De Tinago, a place where darkness reigned, everyone was busy. Wearing black robes, are a hundred man-like creatures. The sky seemed to fall down as their loud voices could be heard. They are shouting and moving with spears in their hands.
A man in their front serves as a leader in training those men and boys. Training them to fight their enemies and kill those Cinos who are worshipping the god of goodness.
From the black palace, a beautiful girl named Lyra suddenly appeared in front of the troops, near to the man who's the leader. The troops stopped training themselves when they saw Lyra in front. They lowered their heads as a sign of respect, and attempted to kneel on the ground, but Lyra gestured to stop them.
"O Lyra!" The man exclaimed. His eyes turned luminous with joy when he saw her. "Why did you visit me here? Is not your mother or family forbidden you to do that?"
"Father, don't you miss me as you're asking me that?"
"Of course, I miss my beautiful child. I'm just curious how she sneaked out of the palace of her grandfather, because there were many servants and, her mother was also there, always watching," the man said.
Lyra went near and she embraced him, as if they had known each other for a long period of time. They are so intimate, and no sullenness made a gap between them.
"Father, why won't you just stay with us?" Lyra asked.
The man removed his arm from around his daughter. For a while, he didn't reply to anything his child said. He seemed to be thinking deeply about something. His mood changes to a man that seems to be stuck between two huge rocks. He sat down on the ground and looked at his troops. Until something came to his mind which he could use as an alibi for his daughter's question.
"You already know that I'm so busy training my troop, and that's the reason why I need to stay here," he said.
"Are you sure that there's no other reason?" Lyra asked.
Lyra was expecting other words to come out of her father's lips. She wants to know the truth. The truth about her father's feelings, that was he felt the same way about her. It was hidden deep within his soul. They are just the same; they don't want to show their emotions to each other. They believed that showing emotion was just a weakness.
The man named Maloco, stood up and walked several feet away from his daughter. As he looked back to Lyra, a wild set of words came out of his innocent lips. Sharp words that can cut to the core of the hearts of fathers who have defects in their children.
"Child, I'm so sorry. Please forgive your father's defects and the bad things that I did to you. We both know that your mother doesn't want to see me again. I'm so sorry, child, that you had an indigent father," Maloco said. His tears slowly run from his eyes and spread across his face.
Lyra never expected to see such a thing. That her father was crying in her front. Though she never thought that her father and mother were just like Garagogo, a demigod of wickedness, who didn't have any feelings. It can't be removed from her mind to think that her father was also infected by the darkness that's reigning over the land of Satano De Tinago.
Garagogo is Lyra's grandfather, who's a merciless demigod. He was not showing any sympathy as he hurt, killed and made those ordinary Cinos his slaves or servants. They were just simply living in the Antipatris, but Garagogo destroyed their peaceful lives stealthily as a thief.
It was the first time that Lyra saw her father crying, and the hunch in her mind that her father was conquered by darkness was gone. She doesn't have any other family or acquaintance close to her; she only has her father. Her sky was always becoming cloudy as she thought that she could not always stay near her father because of her family on her mother's side.
A black handkerchief suddenly appeared on Lyra's palm. Her steps were filled with hope as she approached her father and wiped the tears from his face.
"Don't say that, father. I know that nobody is perfect. What we can do is to accept each other's imperfections, and there's nothing bad that you did to me," Lyra replied.
Maloco stopped her daughter's hand from touching his face. Lyra felt his cold hand that seemed to be a corpse hand. He was not killed by the darkness, but was frozen by love.
"Thank you for your understanding, my child. I would love to stay with you in the black palace, but what else can we do if your family won't even let me glance there?" Maloco asked.
Lyra sat down on the ground, and so did her father. They looked intimate as Lyra placed her head on her father's broad shoulder. They are so close that even a hurricane can't keep them apart.
"Sorry father, my mother is always angry at us. She becomes angry, especially when I disappoint her. She's not thinking about us anymore. She totally became a demigod of wickedness. What's important for that woman is her own interests and of San Zibar's," Lyra said.
San Zibar is the god of wickedness. Everyone in Satano De Tinago is worshipping him, even the animals and ants. They believed that he was the one who gave them what they had. Something else didn't occur to them: they had no idea that San Zibar was also the source of their problems and pestilences in life.
"Do you mean, you had a dispute with your mother again?" Maloco asked.
"She's definitely crazy, but don't worry father, because even if I disappoint her, she never gives me a punch or slap in my face. Maybe she was thinking that I would totally walk away from her if she did that," Lyra replied.
"Sorry child, I can't help you; Garagogo will get the troop he gave me, and he will also punish and imprison me if I get involved in our family's problems. I would be totally pointless if I didn't have freedom and stayed inside the prison." Maloco's voice was completely dejected.
Lyra suddenly stood up and said, "Sorry father, but I needed to go back to the palace right now because my mother may doubt that I visited you here again. She might become more angry at me and also at you."
"Huh? But it is still early." Maloco stopped because of his whim. He thought that his daughter and her safety is the most important thing, not him. "Okay, you may go so that your mother won't hurt you if she becomes angry."
"Thank you for your understanding, father." Lyra suddenly disappeared from the spot where she was standing.
"I will surely miss my daughter," Maloco murmured.
One of the men that he was training to become a battler went towards Maloco. Perhaps he noticed that his leader was shrugging because of a problem with his family.
"Leader, I'm not intruding into your own life, but if you have a problem, I'm sure that thing won't last longer than a couple who are stealthily cheating on each other," the man said.
Maloco thought that the man was thinking about his problem, and he even intruded into it. He's not sure if his problem has an ending. He thought that if it would not last longer, it would not last long, and he's not shrugging right now because of the problem.
"Matthias, you better call your fellow battlers, so that we can continue the training, and that you all will become an absolute battler of Satano de Tinago," Maloco ordered.
Matthias followed Maloco's order. He called his fellow battlers to go back to the court, and they continued their paused training. The sky appeared to fall again as their voices reached the sky, but unlike a while ago, it had dark clouds that were about to fall. It started to rain as the tears of the lonely man fell to the ground.
On the other hand, through the use of her power, Lyra quickly appeared inside her bedroom. She went near to the tall mirror beside the window and fixed herself. After a while, she was finally ready, so she went out of her bedroom as if nothing had happened.
As she walked on the glossy floor of the black palace, she heard a normal conversation. It was her mother, named Laquenta, and Garagogo, her grandfather, a demigod of wickedness. Their wild conversation forced Lyra to stop behind the black column and eavesdrop to them.
"Father, I had already gone inside her bedroom and searched around the black palace, but her shadow was not there. I had a hunch that she had visited her father again," Laquenta said.
"If that's what you believe in, what do you think is the best solution to stop our problem with your stubborn daughter?" Garagogo asked.
"There's no other thing in my mind that could stop that child from visiting her father. She's of age, and she needs to have more experience with everything, so that she can live alone and become another demigod of wickedness. We should give her a task that will challenge her courage and also make her stop visiting Maloco," Laquenta suggested.
"That's a clever idea. I will give her a new mission that will test her bravery, wit, and strength. I will make her strong, clever, and courageous like you and the other demigods of wickedness," Garagogo said. "Whahahahaha!" He laughed like a demon.
As Lyra heard those conversations between her mother and grandfather, she was dazed and sad. Her mother and grandfather were just completely the same. Meanwhile, it also came to her mind that she could not see her father for a long period of time again, as her wicked grandfather would be giving her a new task. In a heartbeat, she disappeared from the spot where she was standing. While her mother and grandfather were still having a conversation.
Lyra came back to the place where her father and his troops were training. She appeared several feet away from him. Maloco was surprised to see his daughter for a second time that day. Without any words, Lyra's tears began to drip down her eyes and diffuse her face.
She went near to her father and cuddled him tightly, as she had been gone for eons before seeing her father again, but the truth is that she will be gone for eons before she can see her father again.
Without the knowledge of why his daughter sobs, is Maloco. He's curious why his daughter surprised him with a cuddle. As a father, he comprehended the reason why. He felt like his daughter was conveying a goodbye through her warm and tight embrace.
"Child, why are you crying? Is there something happened? Did your mother hurt you again? Are you conveying a farewell?" Maloco asked.
"My mother Laquenta and grandfather Garagogo planned to give me a task, so that I could not spend even a little time with you." Lyra cried.
"What?" Maloco is shocked. "Do you mean we can't see each other again for a long time because of a task that your grandfather gave to you?"
"That's exactly what I wanted to say. I know that it will take me a long time before I can finish that kind of task."
Maloco sighed. "Though I'm sad and enraged, I can do nothing against the will of your family, for they are so strong and powerful. I will surely miss you. Please take care during your venture and promise me that we will see each other again." He gently rubbed his daughter's head. "That's just okay, child. For sure, we can see each other again. Just don't delay it."
"I swore that it would not take me a long time to get there because I still need to see you." Lyra swore to her father that she would defeat the foes in her path and go back alive without any wounds.
"That is my daughter. She's not just beautiful, but also brave. Don't worry too much, for everything will be fine," Maloco said.
Maloco removed her daughter's arms around him. He was surprised when Lyra embraced him again. The last embrace was with streaming tears before Lyra disappeared. The sky totally fell down over Maloco when he realized that the arms around him were his own.