The guest room in the Luthor mansion was larger than Ivan's entire home back in the village. As night fell, he wasn't marveling at the opulence anymore. He stood by the window, looking out at the constellations that hung over the capital, his mind a thousand miles away.
In two days, he would step through the gates of Alethea Academy. The very place where the Four Heroes had taught. Where legends were forged. A shiver of excitement, pure and electric, ran down his spine. He could almost feel the history in the stones of the city.
But the excitement was quickly tempered by a cold, gnawing anxiety. He held out his hand, concentrating. A small, flickering flame sputtered to life above his palm. It was unstable, its light dancing wildly. He focused harder, and a faint, shimmering pane of light—a basic barrier—formed in front of him. This was the extent of his power. The fireball he'd used as a distraction against the bandits, the barrier that had shattered like glass under Godrich's fist.
*Godrich was a D-Rank,*
Ivan thought, the memory of the crushing impact fresh in his mind. *A Silver-rank. And he was nothing compared to Commander Celina.* He recalled the effortless, terrifying grace with which she had dismembered the bandit leader. A B-Rank, Platinum-class. And beyond her were the true monsters of the world—the A-Ranks, the Legends like Duke Edgar, who could alter the landscape itself.
What would happen if he faced such power? His little flame would be snuffed out before he could even raise a hand. His barrier wouldn't even register as an obstacle. A profound sense of helplessness washed over him.
*How can I dream of being a protector when I can't even protect myself? What if someone like Celina, or worse, came for Mom? For Kent? For…*
His thoughts were violently interrupted as the door to his room burst open.
"*Ignis Flamma!*" a voice shouted.
A searing ball of fire, perfectly formed and controlled, shot straight towards his head.
Ivan yelped, diving to the floor on pure instinct. The fireball whizzed over him and fizzled out harmlessly against the stone wall, leaving a small scorch mark.
"Alicia! What in the name of the Four Heroes is wrong with you?!"
he yelled, scrambling to his feet, his heart trying to beat its way out of his chest.
"Are you trying to kill me?!"
Alicia stood in the doorway, not looking smug, but strangely serious, her hands on her hips.
"I knew it! You were standing there all silent and gloomy. I thought a shadow spirit or a depression demon had possessed you! A quick fireball is the best way to check—a possessed person would either dodge with unnatural speed or not react at all. A normal person would… well, do what you just did."
She finally allowed a smirk to touch her lips.
"So, you're still in there."
Ivan stared at her, his fear morphing into utter disbelief.
"You… you scorched the wall to see if I was *sad*?!"
"Don't be dramatic, it's just a little mark,"
Alicia speak, waving her hand dismissively and stepping fully into the room.
"Now, what's wrong with you? That serious expression doesn't suit your simple face."
Ivan sighed, slumping onto the edge of the impossibly soft bed. The confrontation had broken his melancholy.
"I was just thinking… about the academy. About how weak I am."
Alicia rolled her eyes but leaned against the doorframe, listening.
"I can make a sputtering flame and a barrier that breaks if you sneeze on it too hard,"Ivan continued, gesturing weakly.
"What am I even doing here? I saw what real power looks like with Commander Celina. It's… terrifying."
For a moment, Alicia's smug facade softened. She looked away, out the same window Ivan had been staring from.
"Everyone is weak at the start, you idiot. That's the whole point of the academy." She crossed her arms. "
"My goal is to master advanced elemental fusion. To surpass my father's achievements and secure my family's influence for the next century."
She said it with the rehearsed air of a noble reciting their destiny. Then she glanced back at him.
"What's yours? Besides 'not being weak'?"
Ivan looked down at his hands.
"I want to be strong enough that no one can hurt the people I care about. I want to be someone my mom can be proud of, without her having to worry."
He thought of Kent's smile in the marketplace.
"And I want to prove that where you come from doesn't matter. Only what you do."
Alicia was quiet for a long moment. The ambition he described was so… personal. So different from the political, legacy-driven goals she was raised with.
"Hmph," she finally sniffed, pushing off the doorframe.
"Well, you won't achieve any of that by moping in the dark. Get some sleep, commoner. The entrance exams wait for no one, especially not for fools who doubt themselves before they've even begun."
With that, Alicia turned and left, closing the door behind her with a soft click.
Ivan was alone again. But the oppressive weight of his fears had lifted, replaced by a familiar, stubborn fire. She was right, in her own infuriating way. He looked at the small scorch mark on the wall and couldn't help but smile. It was a crazy, dangerous, and utterly Alicia-like way to give a pep talk. But it had worked.