Professor Boom's voice echoed across the open stadium.
"SUPERHEROOOOOOO!!!" he bellowed, sparks crackling from his palms as he punched the air.
The crowd exploded in cheers, and students clapped enthusiastically, some even whistling as Elius stepped back from the ruined dummy, its head still smoking from the invisible blade that had struck it with such chilling precision.
Prof Boom turned to Elius, stroking his chin with intrigue. "That was pretty good, sword Esper! But tell me, can you control more than one sword?"
Elius hesitated. His face remained calm, but inside, his thoughts swirled. "In the future," he said simply.
Boom raised an eyebrow, clearly intrigued. "And can you control only swords?"
"Unfortunately, yes," Elius repeated again, nodding once more.
"Haha!" Boom barked a laugh and slapped his thigh. "Good luck, sword Esper!" He raised a hand to call the next name on the list. "NEE—"
"I think that power is useful," Radiant Man suddenly said, his voice like thunder dipped in velvet, halting the entire ceremony mid-motion. "But I believe there's more to it."
The crowd went silent instantly.
Students glanced at each other with widened eyes.
Professor Boom paused mid-gesture and turned to Radiant Man with reverent confusion.
"Radiant Man, sir?" he said with a sheepish smile. "Do you mean to say… this student caught your eye?"
Radiant Man didn't nod or move from his poised stance, hands behind his back like a sovereign judging knights. "Yes," he said. "This one… interests me."
Gasps ran through the student body like a wave crashing through still waters. Some students' jaws dropped. Others whispered furiously among themselves.
"Wait, what?"
"That's just a normal Esper, right?"
"There are thousands of them every year!"
"Why would Radiant Man…? That doesn't make sense…"
Girls looked back at Elius with renewed wonder in their eyes.
A few students narrowed their eyes with envy.
Others furrowed their brows in deep suspicion. No one could figure it out. Among the crowd stood Blake and his werewolf brother, their expressions twisting from amusement into dark curiosity.
Elius' expression darkened. His mind reeled.
Why now? Why is he doing this?
He clenched his fists.
Radiant Man had always hated other powers, or what he always called false power—especially those who bore the Solarion name but didn't use the Solarion flame.
In Elius' past life, Radiant Man had neglected Keith, ignored him, and even dismissed him.
He didn't care if Keith had more power because, for Radiant Man, Keith didn't matter. But now that one seemed to be the perfect son which is hin, Radiant Man had started taking an interest.
Elius knew exactly what was happening.
Radiant Man doesn't like him using other powers other than Solarion power.
He wants to confirm it. He suspects.
Then Radiant Man tilted his head and spoke again, "Tell me, young man. Can that sword of yours defend civilians?"
Elius lifted his chin. "Yes," he replied tersely.
Without warning, Radiant Man flicked his finger.
A chunk of rubble from the far edge of the arena snapped into motion, propelled like a bullet toward one of the observing students—fast, sharp, deadly.
SWOOOOSH!
Before anyone could scream, Elius' sword moved.
PANG!
The impact rang like a bell across the arena. His blade had flown without command, intercepting the flying rock mid-air with terrifying precision.
Sparks flew, and the sound echoed through everyone's chest.
Silence.
Then awe.
The crowd collectively exhaled in disbelief.
Radiant Man smiled. "As expected. That was no average reflex. That blade responded like a guardian spirit. Impressive."
He stepped forward slightly, his golden cape swaying behind him, eyes locked on Elius like a predator acknowledging a rival cub.
"This kind of power… it's rare," he said, turning to the crowd as if lecturing. "There are many Espers with object control, but rarely do they move their weapons with such speed, such instinct, such… danger."
Prof Boom blinked rapidly, then cleared his throat. "Y-Yes! Yes! Very dangerous!"
"And," Radiant Man continued, his voice rising above the murmurs of the crowd, "out of all the Espers in the world I've seen…"
He paused, and everyone leaned in.
"I think this hero—Elius—has the power to hurt even me."
Dead silence followed.
Even the wind seemed to vanish.
Eyes locked on Elius. Shock. Awe. Disbelief. A few students even took a step back. A declaration like that, from Radiant Man himself? That wasn't just praise.
That was prophecy.
Elius' jaw tensed.
He wanted to disappear. He wanted to vanish beneath the earth. But it was too late. He'd been marked.
By the most powerful man in the world.
His father.
Immediately, the air cracked with extreme tension. Students from all directions leaned in, whispering in disbelief, curiosity, awe, and fear.
"What did he say…?"
"Did Radiant Man just say that Elius could hurt him…?"
"No way! Radiant Man? The number one hero?"
"Impossible! Nobody can hurt Radiant Man! Not fire users, not psychics, not even that one villain who controlled gravity! What's going on!?"
The wave of murmurs rolled like thunder through the crowd of aspiring heroes. Heads turned.
Eyes widened.
Some students even stepped back, as if Elius had suddenly become radioactive.
Radiant Man.
The symbol of power.
The immortal light of the world.
The hero who stood atop every other hero, unchallenged for over two decades.
There was no battle in which he bled.
No villain who ever made him flinch.
Cities leveled around him, but he never fell.
The phrase "invincible" didn't just describe him—it was molded by his legacy. He was the sun that lit the Earth.
The god who smiled upon humanity.
And now, that very figure—unmoving in expression but undeniably serious—said that one of the F-ranked hopefuls had the potential to hurt him.
It was as though the entire world turned upside down.
Radiant Man gave Elius one more look, then glanced to the rest of the crowd. His golden cape shimmered in the sunlight, the wind tugging at its ends with reverence.
"It's a good thing," Radiant Man said, his voice calm but resonant. "What if I ever get controlled? Or turned rogue? This world needs failsafes. People who can act when even the strongest fall to darkness."
He turned his palm upward and gestured to Elius with effortless grace. "And if someone must bear that burden, perhaps it's him."
The murmurs exploded into uproar.
"No way! He's just F-rank!"
"But he… he blocked Radiant Man's stone…"
"Still! That doesn't mean—"
"Did you see how serious Radiant Man was?"
"Why him!? I can shoot lightning from my chest! Why not me!?"
"Maybe it's because he's… different…"
"Damn it… I'll prove I'm better…!"
A hundred thoughts raced. A hundred gazes fell on Elius. Awe. Admiration. Suspicion. Jealousy. Hunger.
Some students were visibly stunned, eyes gleaming with respect.
A few were gritting their teeth, the spark of rivalry igniting deep inside them.
And more than a few were already plotting—how do they measure up to this Elius? Could they surpass him? Or would he always be the shadow looming above?
It was more than just attention. It was the weight of expectation. Of challenge. Of conflict.
Radiant Man hadn't just given Elius a compliment.
He had crowned him.
"The number one hero," Radiant Man continued, smiling faintly. "Among the new generation of F-ranks."
Professor Boom, normally loud and irreverent, was now silent.
The students looked toward him.
Even he seemed caught off guard, his mouth open like he was trying to form words but couldn't catch any breath to make them real.
The implication was enormous.
Elius had just been publicly appointed—no, acknowledged—as the most promising hero among all fresh blood. Every F-ranked student on the field had just been stacked against him. The hierarchy had already been decided, and they hadn't even finished their first day.
It was chaos, but it was the kind of chaos that made a legend.
A nearby girl in the front whispered to her friend, "Is he… Radiant Man's relative?"
"Maybe his son?" another offered, though Elius stiffened at that suggestion.
A boy clenched his fists. "I'll beat him. I don't care who he is. I'll be the real number one."
Elius, standing where he'd executed his demonstration just moments ago, was drowning in the attention. His chest rose and fell slowly, carefully. The noise around him felt muted, like he'd been plunged underwater.
His father.
That man.
That monster.
He wasn't just giving Elius praise.
He was weaponizing him.
Setting him up.
Putting a bright red target on his back for the world to see.
A rivalry between students would push Elius to the edge.
A sea of competitors, each aiming to be better than him, would grind him down or force him to evolve.
This was Radiant Man's method to shape his son as a perfect Solarion warrior.
A subtle, cruel training ground masked as opportunity.
Elius's hands curled slightly into fists at his sides.
He wasn't stupid.
He understood it now. Why Radiant Man had come to the academy in this life, when in his previous life he had avoided it. Why he had killed Kepler—if that truly was what happened. Why he was smiling.
It wasn't just admiration.
It was calculation.
Manipulation.
Radiant Man wasn't here to support him.
He was here to test him.
To drag him into the spotlight so that the entire world could unknowingly become his forge.
A forge that would either shatter Elius into pieces…
Or sharpen him into a weapon that could someday kill even the god who made him.
And as the final realization sank in, Elius lifted his eyes—and saw Radiant Man watching him. Watching only him.
His golden eyes shimmered with pride, but also something darker. A satisfaction. A sense of control.
He didn't need to say anything.
Elius already knew.
Welcome to your trial, my son.
Elius turned away, his jaw clenched, and forced himself to walk off the platform as if the weight of the world hadn't just landed on his shoulders.
But Radiant Man's smirk lingered.