Journey to Become the Zenith

The Warmth He Never Had

Fading light followed them home once practice ended, Videl walking beside Victor from the field. Sunset painted the path back where dust met quiet steps.

Behind them, the trees shimmered with leftover sunlight while cicadas murmured low under dimming skies. Orange washed over the path toward Kanal Village as the sun dipped below the edge of sight. Peace settled like dust after rain - strange, quiet, something Victor hadn’t learned how to hold yet.

The moment he stepped inside his small home, the smell of warm soup mixed with freshly baked bread met his nose.

Over by the kitchen, she stood, shifting from burner to counter. The air smelled of coffee, maybe toast. One step forward, then back again, her hands never still. A plate waited, half-covered in foil. Outside, a car passed, tires humming on wet pavement.

”Welcome home, Victor. Did you have fun playing with Videl today?”

She moved slowly between the dishes while talking, each step calm and sure. Closer he came, then lifted one of the plates out of her grip.

”Yes, we played heroes! Um, Mother, you don’t have to do that. I’ll set the table.”

For a moment she stopped, then her face softened into a quiet grin.

”Oh, how considerate. Such a wonderful boy you are.” Then she tilted her head slightly. ”Still, I always wonder why you call me ’Mother’ nowadays. Back when you were smaller, you always called me ’Mom.’”

Victor stiffened faintly.

Back then, long words tangled on his tongue. Automatically, every word got trimmed down.

With words finally clear, speaking to her gently seemed the natural thing.

”It’s because I can say it properly now,” he replied calmly.

A quiet laugh slipped out - satisfaction obvious in her eyes.

”You and Videl play heroes every day. Do you really like the village chief’s stories that much?”

Soft came her words, edged with wonder.

Fear curled tight in Victor’s gut. He could not shake the feeling something was wrong.

Hero.

His stomach turned at just hearing it. That single term twisted something deep inside him.

Yet trust could get you killed.

A grin was pulled onto his face then.

”Yes. Videl and I dream of becoming heroes when we grow up.”

A sour flavor coated her tongue when she spoke what wasn’t true.

A heavy laugh crashed in through the door just as he fought down the sour taste inside.

”HAHA! You two want to be heroes? I thought you wanted to help me hunt! Why not become a hunter like your old man?”

Fresh meat hung heavy on his father’s shoulder when he came back.

Leon.

Standing high, wide through the shoulders, dark hair falling straight. Golden eyes - just like Victor’s - light up his face.

Kanal Village knows only one name when night falls. The quietest footsteps belong to him.

That smile wasn’t faked. He faced her, eyes softening like dawn light on still water.

”That could be good as well.”

Leon laughed approvingly.

Faster each day, talks shifted toward hunting instead of heroic deeds around the dinner table.

It was ordinary.

Simple.

Still, for Victor - once a ruler of nations, drenching lands in slaughter - this quiet heat meant more than gold.

A family eating together.

Laughing together.

Sharing stories of small daily things.

That smile stuck around longer than usual.

A hush crept through him, something long buried stirring awake.

It was Victor’s twelfth birthday.

Finding a way through the woods, Leon had promised to show him hunting at last.

Fumbling slightly, Leon passed over a bow. Victor took it just as the first arrow followed, then another item - cold steel - a hunting knife tucked beside the quiver. The air between them tightened around unspoken rules.

Videl waited close by, fingers laced at her spine, nearly trembling with energy.

Fingers crossed, she’d pleaded with Leon, over and over, just to take her along.

He said no right away.

After that came her saying how hunting beats every other job hands down.

Leon gave in, worn down by constant praise, but set one condition: his choice hinged on her family saying yes.

They did.

It came as a quiet surprise when her attention shifted away from hero dreams. Relief followed, slow but steady.

Bowless, Leon left Videl with nothing to do but watch.

Footsteps pounded close - two known faces sprinting their way just as they began to go.

Twin girls.

Faces look the same, yet their emotions show otherwise.

Her grin lit up the room, wide and warm. The ponytail swung neatly to one side - right where she liked it.

She stood still, her hair pulled neatly to one side. Quietness shaped her presence, a soft kind of grace following each movement.

Skyla and Lane.

That grin of hers? Could defrost glaciers. Black hair falls past her shoulders, framing a face people call sweet. Green eyes spark when she laughs. Stone wouldn’t stand a chance.

Lane stood there, still, her dark hair falling like midnight down her back. Black eyes held something weighty, not sharp but deep enough to drown in. People felt seen when she looked at them, really seen, as if layers peeled away without effort. Quiet beauty clung to her, not loud, never asking for attention.

Forward she dashed, Skyla closing in on Victor, her gaze bright.

”Where are you going? Can we come too?”

Close to him now, her fingers tightened on the fabric of his arm. The space between them vanished like breath in cold air.

Lane moved directly toward Victor, eyes fixed without a word. Silence hung between them as he stopped just close.

Now Victor sensed eyes locked his way, three of them. He could feel each one resting heavy on his skin.

Videl beside him.

There stood Skyla, right before his eyes.

A sudden lane tore into his side.

Something about this hits wrong. Like walking into a room where everyone stops talking.

From the moment he showed the twins how to feel mana, they never left his side. Each day brought them closer, shadowing his steps without pause. Not once did their attention drift elsewhere. His presence became their constant, like tide bound to moonlight. Wherever he moved, they followed - quiet, fixed, unshakable.

Falling apart now. Worse than expected, actually.

Older in mind than empires ever grew.

Stuck inside a frame that does not feel like home. A mind held tight by skin meant for someone else.

Surrounded by three girls.

Young enough that love stories feel far away.

Old enough that innocence slipped away. Still young in years, yet something inside stopped believing long ago.

Truly troublesome - that’s what human bodies turn out to be.

Her chin lifted slightly, one ear angling toward the sky. A quiet shift, like a door nudged open by wind.

”How are they communicating like that? Can they read each other’s minds?”

Videl blinked. ”I don’t know... but even when Lane doesn’t talk, Victor always understands her.”

Leon laughed loudly.

”My boy is already a lady-killer like his father!”

Something else altogether filled Victor’s thoughts, though none realized it.

A small bump on Victor’s face caught Lane’s eye. Staring at it, he couldn’t look away. The spot sat just beside the jawline, faint but noticeable. His gaze stayed fixed, quiet and still.

Skyla nudged her.

”Lane, stop staring and convince him!”

Lane shut his eyes quick, a pause - then words came slow and steady.

”I want to go.”

That was all.

Victor sighed internally.

”Father, let’s bring them as well.”

Shaking his head, Leon looked away. The motion spoke before words could.

”You know we’re not going to play. Sorry, they can’t come.”

”They might follow us anyway.”

Hesitation came first, after that a sigh escaped Leon.

”Still no. I’ll inform their mother.”

When their mother came up, a sudden stillness took hold of the two siblings.

”Uncle Leon, please don’t tell our mother,” Skyla pleaded.

Lane spoke again, his voice quiet. Stop, he meant. Not now.

”Sorry. It’s too dangerous.”

”Uncle Leon, I thought you were cool! You’re a meanie!” Skyla stuck out her tongue.

”Meanie,” Lane copied.

Out of nowhere, Leon picked up the phone. A quick dial later, his mom answered. Just her voice on the line, nothing more.

Into the room she stepped, said sorry under her breath, then pulled each girl by the arm toward the door.

It was not until that moment the team finally stepped away.

Learning to hunt held little interest for Victor.

A single day was enough for him to cut through the whole woods.

Yet curiosity tugged at him regarding the creatures of this world.

Deep inside, he stayed clear - Videl tagged along every time, then ran to tell.

Too troublesome.

”Today we will be hunting stone rabbits.”

Victor’s eyes sharpened.

Stone rabbits?

Curiosity stirred.

Over time, fighting didn’t pull at him like before.

Fueled by curiosity, he found himself reading more each day.

Might be that this belonged to learning how to live like people do.

Still, hunger for more swallows what we know