Lord of Cosmos

The boy looked at him angrily and spat on the ground. "I don't care who you are, you disgusting Frank, but if I am not zealous for the traditions of my people, then what do I become?"

Domarto twirled his cane in the air. "You become free, like a bird in the sky. You see the universe as it truly is, without falsehood. Do you think the price of freedom is easy? We shed a lot of blood to get our freedom, and we snatched it with our own hands from the mouths of those monsters who delight in enslaving the poor and the wretched in the name of religion and superstitions. And so, we gained our freedom when we had the courage and rebelled against all the thousands of years of traditions and fanaticism. If you want to gain your freedom, you must be brave and do as I and all the free Franks have done. Then, I will make you my disciple, and you will receive every good thing from me, and a position that only a few of your people may obtain. And who knows? If I see intelligence and intuition in you, you may be my heir and the inspiration for millions of your people."

The boy's features tightened, and he gritted his teeth. "So you want me to deny the existence of the Lord like you, then? I do not believe in your empty philosophy and your eloquent, articulate words. And all that you say weighs nothing to me compared to the lives you have taken."

The philosopher Domarto smiled and walked around him, looking at the Ghlizan one after another. "We prefer to take a risk and believe in what does not exist, rather than admitting that our senses are incapable of perceiving what does exist. I am not telling you to deny the Lord, boy, but to see Him directly, with clarity, after you have stripped away the nonsense that fills your mind. The Lord does not care about you, or me, or anyone here. We are like insects that are crushed underfoot in the vast, sprawling universe. I am the one who now has the power to bring you to life or to kill you. You are in my hands. The Lord does not care about a poor, wretched person like you."

Domarto placed the tip of his cane on the boy's chest and continued his speech. "No one will descend from the sky to rescue you, and no miracles will happen for the mountains to split open for you, or for the storms to rage and the earth to tremble. No, nothing will happen. All that will happen is that you will be killed for breaking the laws that I have put in place to make the universe a better and freer place. Then everyone will go about their business and enjoy their warm drinks, and no one will remember you. And so your legend ends here, to no avail. So why not be brave and free yourself, and perhaps inspire thousands of your people and hasten your independence?"

The boy remained firm, a firmness that amazed everyone. He said, sweat pouring from his forehead and determination shining in his eyes, "I would rather die than live in a world ruled by you."

Domarto nodded his head, bowed to the boy with respect, then said as he walked away, leaning on his cane, "You have what you asked for. How many noble souls has their ignorance killed?"

The Franks soldiers raised their rifles amidst the cries of the Ghlizan, while an old man from the Ghlizan with a long beard cascading down his chest and a hunched back, worn down by time, and an aged, decrepit face, advanced. The man began to scream, "My grandson! Don't kill him, I beg you by the Lord! He is a foolish boy who doesn't know what he's saying! Isn't it enough that you took his parents from him and killed all my children? I have no one left in this world but him, so leave him to me, and I will give you everything you want!"

The man fell to the ground in the middle of the square and began to crawl to the execution ground, tears streaming profusely from his eyes, until he reached the feet of Domarto, who was leaving the square. He grabbed his right foot and kissed it, saying, "I beg you by the Lord, O wise one, to save my grandson, and you can have whatever you want from me."

Domarto stopped and looked down at him without lowering his head, then said, "I tried, old man, but you raised him on stubbornness and hard-headedness. This is your mistake. You are the one who killed him, not us. Every action has a consequence."

The man cried bitterly, tightened his grip on the philosopher's foot, and his voice choked as he said, "Let him go this time, and I promise to soften his hard head. He is all I have, O wise philosopher, and I am an old man. I cannot take care of my farm alone or take care of myself."

Domarto shook his head in frustration. "All you care about is yourself. You do not want him to remain in this life because he is a precious soul, but because he helps you like a slave, because you are his grandfather, and custom dictates that he must serve you until your bones are worn out and you perish in the dust. If you truly cared about him, you would not have insisted on teaching him the superstitions of the Lunix that have led him to his doom. But you taught him them because you know that in doing so, you guarantee his loyalty to you and his taking care of your affairs until your death. Every action has a consequence, old man. Every action has a consequence."

The philosopher gave him a light kick, pushing him away, and resumed his path to the large library in the center of the capital.

The boy screamed, "Grandfather! What are you doing here? Get away from here and don't look back! You have seen enough in your life. And don't be sad for me, for I am a hero like the prince, and I will die a hero's death! This is better than living under the yoke of slavery, grandfather, under the grip of these merciless monsters! I only wished I could have struck down ten of them before I died!"

The grandfather raised his head to him, tears streaming down his face, and he was amazed at his grandson's steadfastness, his mettle, and his strength. He knew that he had inherited that from his father, not from him, for his father was one of those who had defended the capital when the Franks invaded it, until he was killed and died a hero's death. And here his son was, following in his footsteps.

The soldiers readied their rifles, removed the safety, and aimed, as they waited for the commander's orders, while the people's whispers grew louder and their voices rose, and protesting voices came out from among them.

The boy looked at them and shouted, "You will not gain your freedom by the means they offer you! Because what was taken by force cannot be restored except by force, and these wretched Franks only know the language of force! You must rise up against them, burn their hateful barracks, and hunt down their last soldier! Then burn their books to the ground! Support the prince, for he is fighting for you! Do not stand idly by, waiting for a miracle that does not come to the weak! Move, shout, and make your voices reach the sky, and then you will see the miracle! Long live the prince! Long live Ghlizan!"

The men around the square repeated the last thing the boy had said. The commander ordered the soldiers to kill him, so they raised their rifles and aimed at him.

Leonis said, clenching his fist, "We must save this brave boy. It is a loss to the entire universe for those like him to die."

Keno grabbed him by the wrist. "Be patient, Leonis. My people and your people have made great sacrifices, and others will sacrifice a lot. But if we get the crystal, we will make sure that we do not see this scene again. For now, you must endure this pain, just like me, or these Franks will find the crystal and their tyranny will increase throughout the universe."

Leonis, a tear escaping from his eye, looked at the soldiers as they fired their rifles at the boy. He saw the grandfather screaming from the depths of his throat, tears streaming from his inexhaustible eyes. Then he got up, grabbed his staff, and ran toward the soldiers in anger, and some men ran behind him. The soldiers turned and began to fire at them to make them go away. They shot down several men, but the men became agitated, surged, and pounced on the soldiers in anger from every direction.

"We have to follow that philosopher," Keno said. "I see that he is one of the high-ranking men of the Franks Republic, and there is no doubt that he knows something about the crystal, if the Franks are the ones who took it."