Outside, beneath the shimmering artificial skies of the Superhero Academy's upper-tier gardens, a calm breeze whispered through the manicured trees and vibrant glowing bushes.
The sun above wasn't real—it hovered as a manufactured, floating orb of energy—but it bathed the entire academy grounds in a soft, golden light that made everything appear peaceful.
Radiant Man sat cross-legged atop a hovering, smooth obsidian platform, legs folded in a perfect lotus posture.
His gleaming white cape flowed around him like silk kissed by gravity. His eyes were closed, his expression serene, as though the world below held no meaning anymore.
Surrounding him, a group of professors and instructors stood or floated nearby, all discussing the early performance of the incoming superhero cadets.
They stood at a respectful distance, not daring to interrupt humanity's number one Hero while he was in "meditation," though some of them suspected he was simply relaxing.
Professor Boom was mid-conversation with Professor Gravity Gale, waving his gloved hands animatedly.
"I'm telling you," Boom said, his voice crackling with energy, "that boy who pierced the combat dummy's head with a floating sword? That wasn't just skill. That was something else. Something far more refined than what you see from first-years."
Gravity Gale smirked, arms folded. "Sure, sure, but one trick doesn't make a hero. Let's see him survive his first A-Class simulation before we pin medals on his chest."
Nearby, Professor Skinshift, a sinewy woman with translucent skin and bio-shifting powers, adjusted her sunglasses and chimed in, "Still, it's rare to see raw willpower expressed so cleanly through an Esper's gift. Most of the new ones rely on flashy abilities, but that one… that Elius… there's steel under the surface."
Professor Bombast, an old-timer whose voice could create explosions, laughed as he lit a pipe that was definitely against school regulations. "You all sound like fangirls. The Radiant Man's acknowledged kid is impressive, sure, after all it's rare for our number one superhero to praise someone—but he's got a legacy. That pressure alone makes diamonds or dust."
Radiant Man opened one eye slowly.
The conversations quieted immediately, all heads turning toward him.
He didn't speak for a moment. Then, he exhaled lightly, almost theatrically, before rising to his feet in a single effortless motion. His voice was soft, yet it silenced the air like thunder.
"…I need to deal with something."
Professor Boom took a step forward, his voice laced with curiosity and respect. "Sir… has another S-Class Dimensional Rift opened? Are you being summoned?"
There was a long pause.
Radiant Man gave a quiet nod, then said, "Something like that."
SWOOOSH!
In the next breath, his form blurred, then vanished entirely—leaving behind nothing but displaced air and a faint pulse of pressure that rippled outward like a shockwave.
The professors all blinked at the afterimage.
—
Beneath the grandeur of the Academy, far below the campus' pristine surface, there was a place no student knew existed.
A subterranean chamber humming with energy, deep in the forbidden infrastructure of the academy's ancient monitoring system.
The room was massive, lined with crystal screens and reality windows, each displaying scenes from various simulations, dungeons, and real-time scenarios occurring in other dimensions.
Each screen flickered and pulsed with glowing runes.
At the very center of it all stood Radiant Man, now devoid of his relaxed demeanor.
He was cold.
Silent.
The soft glow of the projection screens reflected off his armor-like skin and the angular gold accents on his suit.
He stared at one particular screen.
A battle.
A crimson field. Endless goblins. Four sidekicks flying on swords, faces tear-streaked.
And in the middle of it—
Elius.
No—his clone.
Radiant Man narrowed his eyes.
The projection shifted.
The clone leapt, bladeless arms stretched forward, evading the massive goblin's swing by bouncing between two floating swords, then soared downward like a dive bomb, his remaining blade spiraling through the air like a meteor aimed at the giant's face.
Another projection showed the original Elius in another sector—plowing through goblins, his body smeared with blood, eyes wild, sweat pouring from his forehead.
Radiant Man scowled.
"Dragon Claw again… tch."
He zoomed in. Elius's fingers were curved, infused with unknown energy.
With a sweep of his clawed hand, the very air shattered as a wave of invisible force tore goblins to shreds.
Dozens exploded into gore.
"You even modified it into a technique," Radiant Man muttered. "Such a dirty, mortal concept. A beast imitation."
Another screen zoomed in on Elius's ghost-step.
His feet flickered.
His form turned blurry, his movement unnatural—blending reality like a specter as he passed through a group of archers and left them falling to their knees, dying without even understanding how they were struck.
Radiant Man's mouth curled into a sneer.
"Using tricks instead of your birthright. So desperate to run away from your lineage, from your empire."
He stepped closer to the console, eyes glowing slightly.
A screen rotated to show the four fleeing sidekicks.
Lina—her face pale, body barely held together as ghost energy shielded the others.
Ron—the velociraptor hybrid, panting, eyes filled with sorrow and rage.
Shiro—the shadow-slinger, clenching his teeth as he held onto the sword desperately.
Klee—the quiet girl, shaking as she clutched her knees.
Radiant Man narrowed his eyes, observing their aura levels. Something strange flickered in his gaze.
"…Curious," he said at last. "Even those four… they've grown. Like young seedlings exposed to death. They awakened their fraud mortal abilities"
He traced a glowing symbol on the console, and suddenly, the spiritual profiles of the four sidekicks expanded before him—Lina's ghost-class genes stabilizing, Ron's predator instincts syncing to his being, Shiro's shadow compression nearing a breakthrough, and Klee's sorrow pulse forming something… dangerous.
Radiant Man tilted his head.
"How amusing. Even when I try to sabotage him by giving him broken toys… he turns them into weapons… I wonder how did he do th-"
He scoffed.
"Nevermind, in the end," he said, his voice low, almost condescending, "it doesn't matter… a fraud power is a fraud power still…"
He turned back toward the screen where Elius fought.
Elius punched through a goblin's chest. He roared, eyes filled with fury.
He was using everything.
Everything except what Radiant Man expected.
"Really adamant on not using a Solarion blood power, huh?"
Just tricks.
Fraud powers from mortal's desperation.
Borrowed tools.
Radiant Man clenched his fists behind his back.
"…Since you're trying to deny it. Pretending you're not what you are. I will do something special for you, my son..."
He leaned forward slightly.
"I will make you awaken them. I will force you to."
Then, his eyes slid to the other screen—the one with the clone, slowly dying, even now battling the massive goblin with no arms and only a sword beneath his feet.
Radiant Man chuckled darkly.
"And you'd go that far… just to protect them?"
He looked again at the sidekicks—exhausted, crying, helpless.
Then… his lips curled into a slow, predatory smile.
"…Then let's see how far you'll go to protect these… frauds."
His voice echoed like venom through the chamber.
"I will break them to force your Solarion bloodline to take over."
And next thing happened, his eyes glinted brightly.
…
On the other hand, Elius soared through the blood-drenched sky on his floating sword, the wind howling past his ears like a chorus of screaming souls.
His eyes were wide, searching—frantic.
Goblins screeched below, hordes of them swarming like ants over the ruined plains of the dungeon battlefield.
The air stank of burned flesh, split entrails, and sour iron. But Elius ignored them all.
He had arrived.
He could see it now—just ahead, his clone. Or what was left of it.
"...No."
His voice didn't even make a sound.
Right before his eyes, the massive goblin—towering three times his size, its tusks curved like jagged blades—let out a guttural laugh. And with a sickening CRACK, its massive club came down.
CRUNCH!
His clone's body was torn in half—spine snapping, organs flopping out like a sack of rotten fruit being split open.
Elius's eyes didn't widen. He didn't gasp. He didn't scream.
He only stared.
A cold, unnatural stillness took over his expression.
Down below, the goblins cheered at first. But then they saw him. Saw the one they just killed… still floating above them, his real body.
The cheering stopped.
The horde's chaotic movement slowed to a crawl. Then—
Confusion.
They looked down at the bisected body of Elius's clone. Then up at Elius. Then back down. Then up again.
"…Gurrrghh?" one of them muttered.
If they are having a conversation, it would look like this:
"Didn't we just… kill him?"
Another goblin shivered. "He's still alive…?"
"Impossible…"
But Elius wasn't looking at them.
His eyes scanned the entire area—thousands of goblins forming a jagged circle around the ruined battleground.
Bits of smoke rose from shattered rocks.
Sword marks embedded the ground like scars. Blood—his clone's, the goblins', others—was soaked into the dirt.
He catalogued every detail in his mind, like an instinctual map forming in his head.
A burned hill at the northwest… It's scorched. Lina's ghostfire.
That crevice—Ron probably slid through there in raptor form. Broken pebbles still fresh.
Klee's blood. Drops, scattered. She was bleeding. She fell there. Tried to run again.
Shiro… shadow remnants… darkness compressed into molecular residue. He hid the others, made a run. Probably southward.
Elius's breath hitched. His heart pounded. Not in fear. But in urgency.
"They're not here anymore…" he muttered. "They moved on. They're still running… or being chased."
His fists clenched. His pulse thundered against his ribs like war drums.
He turned around, the massive goblin still looming behind him, its club raised again. The smaller goblins hissed and screamed from the edges, a chaotic wave of green muscle and broken teeth.
But Elius didn't look at them.
He turned his back.
He needed to go.
He needed to catch up to his companions.
But then—
RRRRRRAAAAAAAAGHHHHHHH!!!
The massive goblin roared behind him.
A blood-curdling, rage-fueled howl that split the very air with vibrations.
Elius stopped.