In a far away place, in the time before time, when the earth was still young and the heavens were restless, there existed a place beyond mortal comprehension - a realm where the boundaries between life and death blurred, a vast and endless desert known only as
La Arena del Infinito. It was said that only the strongest of souls could traverse this barren land, where the heat of the sun scorched the earth during the day and the cold of the night froze all living things. But it wasn't the harsh landscape that inspired dread among mortals; it was the presence of
El Diablo - an ancient entity whose very existence was tied to the survival of all who dared to step into his domain.
The Origin of El Diablo
Long before El Diablo took his monstrous form, he was once a humble wanderer named
Iztar, a man known for his unparalleled thirst for life. Iztar's desire to experience everything in the world had no bounds, and so he roamed from kingdom to kingdom, chasing the greatest thrills, challenges, and sensations. His legend grew far and wide, and it was said that no danger, no beast, no man could fell him. But Iztar grew arrogant, his insatiable appetite for survival becoming his downfall.
One fateful night, Iztar crossed paths with a mysterious old woman who offered him a simple warning:
"Beware the limits of your endurance, for there are forces greater than any man's strength. Challenge them, and you will be consumed."
But Iztar, intoxicated by his own legend, merely laughed. He declared to the heavens that not even the gods could break him. As his voice echoed across the sky, the heavens answered in silence - but the ground beneath his feet began to tremble. The sand swirled violently around him, forming a vortex, and in that moment, he was transported to
La Arena del Infinito.
It was here that Iztar would face his greatest trial, not against man, beast, or nature, but against the will of
El Diablo, the desert's ancient lord.
The Birth of El Diablo
In La Arena del Infinito, time lost meaning, and Iztar wandered endlessly through a nightmarish landscape. The desert tested him in every conceivable way - unbearable thirst, suffocating heat, and storms that ripped the flesh from his bones. Yet, Iztar survived each trial, driven by his pride and fear of defeat. Days, weeks, perhaps even centuries passed, though he could no longer tell.
It was then that El Diablo revealed himself.
From the black sand beneath Iztar's feet, a colossal figure rose. El Diablo was no mere man - he was a being composed of the desert itself, his form shifting between shadow and flame, his eyes burning with an ancient fury. He carried the burden of all those who had fallen to the desert's trials, their voices whispering through the winds that swirled around him.
"
Iztar, the Unyielding," El Diablo's voice boomed like thunder. "You have defied nature's law, and in doing so, you have called upon me. Now, your survival must be tested beyond mortal bounds. For I am the keeper of the desert's trials, and I am the final judgment."
With that, El Diablo threw Iztar into a challenge unlike any he had ever faced. Each night, Iztar was hunted through the sands by monstrous creatures of the desert - venomous serpents, ravenous sand lions, and ethereal wraiths born from the souls of those who had perished before him. Each day, he was subjected to tortures of the mind, forced to relive his worst memories, regrets, and failings. But no matter how close he came to death, Iztar never succumbed. His heart, filled with unrelenting pride, refused to stop beating.
Yet with each passing cycle, El Diablo grew stronger. His power was directly tied to Iztar's defiance, feeding off the sheer will of the man who could not die. The more Iztar resisted, the more he unknowingly forged El Diablo into an invincible force.
The Final Test
After what seemed like an eternity, Iztar stood on the edge of madness. His body was battered and scarred, his mind a twisted labyrinth of fear and rage. But still, he did not fall. It was then that El Diablo, towering above the desert, approached him one last time.
"You have survived all," El Diablo hissed, "but your survival has only bound you to me. You cannot leave this place unless you make a choice. Either surrender your life willingly, or take on the mantle of the desert's eternal guardian."
Iztar, for the first time, hesitated. To surrender was to admit defeat, something his pride could not bear. But to stay, to become the very thing he had fought against for so long, meant to lose the essence of who he was.
El Diablo grinned, sensing the conflict in Iztar's heart. He offered one final temptation: "If you stay, you will never face defeat. You will never know weakness, for you will be eternal, like me."
Unable to resist the lure of eternal survival, Iztar made his choice. In that moment, his mortal body was consumed by the desert sands, and his soul was bound to the land forever. The man once known as Iztar ceased to exist, and in his place, El Diablo grew more powerful than ever.
Thus,
El Diablo was born not as a demon from the underworld, but as the twisted embodiment of human pride and the refusal to succumb to death. He became the lord of La Arena del Infinito, where he awaited new challengers, those arrogant enough to believe they could cheat death like Iztar once had.
The Eternal Survivor
It is said that every generation, one brave soul enters La Arena del Infinito, seeking to test their strength, courage, or endurance. Some are warriors, others are fools, but all seek the thrill of survival. Yet none have ever returned. For El Diablo watches from the shadows, waiting to claim those who would dare challenge the desert's final test.
There is a legend, however, of a chosen one - a
Survivor who will one day defeat El Diablo not through strength or endurance, but through a wisdom that Iztar never possessed. This Survivor will understand that true survival is not found in defying death, but in accepting its inevitability. Only then will La Arena del Infinito be destroyed, and the souls trapped within it finally set free.
Until that day, El Diablo roams the desert, the immortal warden of a wasteland where no man can escape, feeding on the arrogance of those who believe they can survive forever.