Changing People
“Father?”
When Lord Phoenix returned, it was no surprise that Flam was the most shocked. The man who had seemed perfectly fine just moments ago now looked on the verge of collapse, teetering unsteadily. There wasn't a drop of color in his face.
Flam knew the reason all too well. That was the telltale reaction when someone pushed their ability too far, taking physical damage in the process.
Shocked, Flam rushed over to support his father. But the man himself stopped him, preventing it.
Not stopping there, Lord Phoenix grabbed his son and spoke in a grave tone.
“Sit down.”
“Huh? Uh, wait...”
“Now.”
Flam's hesitation stemmed from one thing. Portus was right there beside them. The atmosphere suggested something important was coming, and hearing it in front of someone who could be called a rival didn't sit right. Even considering their families, having a noble from another country listen in felt off.
But soon enough, he obediently followed his father's words. Master Sparrow had done the same to Portus, signaling that something weighty was about to be discussed.
“...Have you really decided, Master Sparrow?”
“I was planning to hold out for a few more months, but after seeing that guy, if we want to give these sorry excuses for sons even a little stimulus, this seems right, doesn't it?”
Sorry excuses. It included his own son, so it grated a bit, but it was the truth.
Lord Phoenix, agreeing, looked at Flam and dropped an unexpected bombshell.
“Soon, I'll be stepping down from all the titles bestowed upon me.”
“...Father?”
“I've long passed forty, and my body's creaking badly. I've held on through experience alone, but it looks like I can't anymore. The time has come. For the next generation. For the younger, stronger ones. It's time to pass the torch.”
Flam was stunned. Portus wore a similar expression of disbelief as he looked at his own father.
Master Sparrow confirmed he would do the same, relinquishing everything like Lord Phoenix. He added that he should have done it ages ago but had finally found the right moment.
“Finally found the moment? Father, what are you talking about? I don't understand.”
“Seems like a new strongest is about to be decided soon. Portus, I wanted my son to claim it like Phoenix here, but after seeing it with my own eyes, what can I do? I saw talent and bloodline surpassed.”
Master Sparrow let out a hollow laugh, like his soul had fled. It sounded like realization mixed with disbelief. Either way, it was utterly baffling.
“From now on, your goal won't be your fathers. It'll be your classmate right beside you.”
“...Portus?”
“Flam?”
“The complete opposite. But with many similarities too. A rival. Yes, that's good too, of course. But chasing desperately after someone far superior is also a fine mindset.”
At those words, Flam and Portus looked at each other as if by prior agreement.
From what the two fathers had said, these two could be rivals to each other, but for becoming the strongest, there was someone even better to pursue. And that person was already far ahead, according to the two former strongest.
“Who is it, Father?”
“Someone you already know.”
“...Is it who I think it is?”
“Probably.”
It wasn't hard to figure out. They already knew who the two had met. Above all, they'd seen that person's power multiple times, and even clashed directly—though in a berserk state.
They'd sensed the excellence. Acknowledged it. Known it for sure.
But to this extent? A figure they respected so deeply, one they'd go mad trying to catch up to. One their fathers would personally acknowledge. No—marvel at, even surpass?
“In short order, that person will claim the title of strongest. And you two must prove from a few steps behind that you deserve it too.”
“It won't be easy. But it'll be the strongest motivation. Chase diligently. The higher the goal, the more you'll gain. Even if you can't catch up, you'll end up higher still.”
The two fathers announced they would publicly relinquish all titles upon returning. They hoped it would aid their sons' growth, even a little. Hoped it would spur them one step faster in pursuing that person.
Those were the last words from the fathers before leaving the academy.
“...”
“...”
Perhaps due to the shock, Flam and Portus fell silent for a long while. They sat there blankly, unable to even think of standing.
Relinquishing the strongest title was, in effect, the start of retirement. The end of their lives as ability users.
It was something everyone faced. And remarkably early, at that. Considering the academy professors were in their late thirties, ability users' primes were brutally short.
Even so, both Flam and Portus had believed their fathers would never step down. They were their goals, their idols. The absolute best and strongest in their fields—surely different from the rest.
But deep down, they'd both known it was impossible. Bodies well past forty. Anyone else would have retired long ago without question. Holding on this long was extraordinary.
They weren't called the strongest for nothing.
But that glorious era was over. A new era, a new powerhouse rose.
And the one acknowledged by their fathers wasn't their sons, regrettably, but the new figure standing before them.
“It's Abel.”
“Abel, huh.”
Each muttered a word. Then silence again.
The goal they'd idolized was gone. Flowing elsewhere. Until their empty hearts filled with something new, they'd need a little time.
Until now, they'd advanced on passion for their first love. Toward reaching that first love.
Now, they'd have to adjust direction, tweak the path slightly.
At least, these two—much like their fathers—burned with ambition to achieve.
* * *
“...Heard the news?”
Rel, catching his breath on the training grounds, turned his head. Kalligo stood there holding a newspaper.
“As of yesterday, Lord Phoenix and Master Sparrow are stepping down from their pyrokinesis and hydrokinesis strongest titles.”
“Effectively retirement proceedings.”
“Compared to other ability users, they've held out nearly ten years longer. True, the strong are different. Knights sometimes beat prime ones even past forty.”
An apt analogy. But also inapt.
“That's extremely rare, isn't it?”
“That's why it's already in the papers. The story's spreading like wildfire.”
“Do Flam and Portus know?”
“Probably.”
The two knew the masters had come to the Continental Academy. Lord Phoenix to Kalligo first. Master Sparrow to Rel. They'd sought these allies before even their sons.
Then gone to see their boys. And likely informed them of what was to come.
The surprising part wasn't that. It was the one they'd met in between. In that gap. Those in the know figured that encounter swayed the decision.
“Lord Phoenix and Master Sparrow said there's someone at the academy who struck them instantly as the strongest. Not something they'd say about us, Flam, or Portus. Leaves one answer.”
As if he'd expected it, Rel shrugged and stood from the bench. He'd rested enough. Dilly-dallied plenty.
Time to move forward again. A sweet dream, brief as it was. Someone had shown him the real dream right in front.
Then Rel remembered why he'd come here, to the Continental Academy. Why he'd pushed through all that opposition.
“From now on, I'll focus on training.”
He'd once heard a man's first love is unattainable. Whether by his own surrender or another's cut.
In that sense, he was probably both. Rel thought so.
Flam and Portus might decide the same. They too had goals they'd chased here, always striving to improve.
“But not Kalligo, I think.”
“What?”
“Just a feeling.”
That worried him a bit. He, Flam, and Portus could forget one thing and dive into another. But Kalligo couldn't.
Having fled to the Continental Academy, could he truly let go of the one place his heart clung to?
Unbeknownst to Abel, the world's frame was shifting once more into massive change.