⋆⭒˚｡⋆ Chapter 1 ༉‧₊˚.
⊹ ₊⋆ ☁︎ ⋆⁺₊⋆₊⋆☁︎ ⋆⁺₊⋆ ☀︎ ⋆⁺₊⋆ ☁︎⋆⁺₊⋆⁺₊⋆ ☁︎ ⋆₊ ⊹
I always wanted to be like my father.
The strongest hero I knew in his era.
You should have seen him.
His skills were amazing. His powers were amazing. His abilities were amazing. Honestly, everything about him was amazing.
Okay, maybe I’m saying amazing too much.
But he really was.
My father was the kind of hero people talked about for years. He was strong enough to take down enemies that other heroes struggled against, and he could protect people without even looking scared.
But that wasn’t why I loved him.
My father was kind.
He was caring.
And, most importantly, he loved me.
I loved him too.
I still remember one of my favourite memories with him.
I was three years old.
Which, according to everyone else, meant I was tiny.
According to me, I was basically an adult.
I was sitting at the table while my father tried to feed me.
Tried being the important word.
I had somehow managed to get food on my face, my hands, my clothes and probably places food wasn’t even supposed to reach.
My father stared at me for a moment.
“How did you even manage that?”
I looked at him proudly.
“I don’t know.”
He laughed.
I smiled.
Then I pointed at him.
“You’re amazing, Dad.”
He paused before smiling.
“Am I?”
I nodded.
“Very amazing.”
He laughed again.
“Very amazing?”
“Yes.”
“That’s a very big compliment.”
I nodded seriously.
My father wiped some food from my cheek.
“My sweet boy.”
I smiled.
He gently fixed my messy hair.
“My little angel.”
I giggled.
Then he looked at me for a moment.
“You know what?”
“What?”
“I think you’re going to be a great hero one day.”
My eyes widened.
“Like you?”
“Maybe.”
He smiled.
“Maybe even better than me.”
I smiled so hard my cheeks hurt.
I was going to be a hero.
Just like Dad.
Then the door opened.
My mother walked into the room.
She was eating ice cream.
I don’t know why she was eating ice cream in the middle of the day.
Actually, knowing her, I probably shouldn’t have been surprised.
She looked at me.
Then at my father.
Then back at me.
“You?”
I looked at her.
“A hero?”
She laughed.
“What a joke.”
My smile disappeared.
She continued eating her ice cream.
“You’d do a better job being a rat.”
I stared at her.
I didn’t understand why she said that.
But I understood that it hurt.
My eyes started filling with tears.
My father immediately looked at her.
“Don’t call him that.”
My mother shrugged.
“It’s true.”
“He’s a child.”
“Then maybe he should stop pretending he’s going to become something he’s not.”
I started crying.
My father pulled me closer.
“Hey. Don’t listen to her.”
I buried my face against him.
“You’re going to be whatever you want to be.”
My mother just walked away with her ice cream.
And that was probably the first time I decided I was going to become a hero.
Not because everyone believed I could.
Because I wanted to prove that I could.
...
“Actually...”
I opened my eyes.
Nora was staring at me.
I blinked.
“What?”
She raised an eyebrow.
Nora - “You know when you were little, you actually used to introduce yourself as Rat.”
I stared at her.
“No, I didn’t.”
Nora - “You did.”
“I absolutely did not.”
Nora - “You did.”
“Nora.”
She smiled.
Nora - “You’d walk around saying, ‘I’m Lucas the rat!’”
I covered my face.
Lucas - “Can you shut up?”
She laughed.
Nora - “Just saying.”
Lucas - “Let me introduce my past in peace.”
Nora - “You’re the one telling it out loud.”
Lucas - “I was being dramatic.”
Nora - “You were talking to yourself.”
Lucas - “That’s called narration.”
Nora - “That’s called being weird.”
I sighed.
Fine.
Maybe Nora had a point.
But only a little.
I continued.
My father died on a mission a few days after that.
And after that...
I had to live with that old hag for what felt like the rest of my life.
Thankfully, I’m out of that house now.
And I’m never going back.
Nora - “Lucas.”
I looked over.
Nora was standing by the door with her bag.
Lucas - “What?”
Nora - “Stop talking to yourself.”
She pointed toward the clock.
Nora - “We’re going to be late.”
I froze.
Lucas - “Wait.”
I looked at the clock.
Lucas - “Oh.”
I grabbed my bag.
Lucas - “Right.”
Nora sighed.
Nora - “You’ve been standing there talking to yourself for ten minutes.”
Lucas - “I was remembering important things!”
Nora - “You were giving a speech to an imaginary audience.”
Lucas - “It’s different.”
Nora - “No, it isn’t.”
We headed downstairs.
Leo was waiting for us.
He was my older brother, and thankfully, one of the few people in my family who didn’t think my dream was stupid.
He had even taken a break from his own hero work to help Nora and me get settled into school.
He looked at us.
Lea - “Ready?”
Lucas - “Absolutely.”
Nora nodded.
Nora - “He’s been ready for about three hours.”
Lucas - “I was preparing mentally.”
Nora - “You were talking.”
Lucas - “That’s part of mental preparation.”
Leo laughed.
Leo - “Just try not to get into trouble.”
Nora pointed at me.
Nora - “Tell him that.”
I looked offended.
Lucas - “I don’t get into trouble.”
Nora stared at me.
Leo stared at me.
I stared back.
Lucas - “...Often.”
Leo laughed.
Leo - “Just look after each other.”
Nora - “We will.”
I nodded.
Lucas - “Obviously.”
We said goodbye to Leo and left.
The moment we stepped outside, I felt different.
This was it.
The beginning.
The hero school.
The place where I was finally going to become the hero I’d always dreamed of being.
I looked at Nora.
Lucas - “Do you realise how amazing this is?”
Nora - “You’ve said that about twelve times.”
Lucas - “We’re going to train with actual heroes.”
Nora - “I know.”
Lucas - “We’re going to learn new abilities.”
Nora - “I know.”
Lucas - “We’re going to become heroes.”
Nora - “I know.”
Lucas - “And I’m going to become just like Dad.”
Nora looked at me.
Nora - “You really don’t know how to stop talking, do you?”
Lucas - “Nope.”
She sighed.
Nora - “I’m only coming because you’re going.”
I stopped walking.
Lucas - “What?”
Nora - “Someone needs to make sure you don’t accidentally get expelled on your first day.”
Lucas - “I would never.”
Nora - “You once got lost in your own neighbourhood.”
Lucas - “That happened once.”
Nora - “You walked in the wrong direction for forty minutes.”
Lucas - “I was exploring.”
Nora - “You were lost.”
Lucas - “I was strategically lost.”
She laughed.
I rolled my eyes.
Lucas - “Hey.”
Nora - “What?”
Lucas - “I’m going to be a great hero.”
She smiled.
Nora - “I know.”
That made me smile.
We continued walking.
And then we saw it.
The school.
It was enormous.
Massive towers rose above the surrounding buildings, connected by bridges and beautiful walkways. Gardens surrounded different parts of the campus, filled with flowers and trees. There were huge training fields in the distance, fountains, open courtyards and buildings that seemed to stretch farther than I could see.
It looked less like a school and more like an entire city.
I stopped.
Lucas - “Wow.”
Nora stopped beside me.
Nora - “Okay...”
Lucas - “That’s all you have to say?”
Nora - “What do you want me to say?”
Lucas - “Something dramatic.”
She thought for a second.
Nora - “...Wow?”
I laughed.
Lucas - “Perfect.”
We entered the school grounds with everyone else.
Today wasn’t the first day of classes.
It was moving-in day.
Students were everywhere.
Some were carrying bags.
Some were talking with their friends.
Others were already showing off tiny pieces of their abilities.
It was exactly what I had imagined.
Normal people.
Future heroes.
People who looked confident.
People who looked nervous.
People who looked like they knew exactly what they were doing.
And then...
We saw someone wearing a mask.
I looked at them.
Nora looked at them.
It was shaped like an animal’s face, with sharp pointed ears and a strange, almost intimidating design. The mask was a deep red, covered in darker patterns that curled across its surface like markings on an animal.
They were also wearing a dark hood, which made the mask stand out even more.
The person walked past without saying anything.
I raised an eyebrow.
Lucas - “Interesting.”
Nora shrugged.
Nora - “Maybe they like masks.”
Then another one walked past.
Hood up.
Face covered.
No talking.
Then another.
And another.
I slowly turned toward Nora.
Lucas - “Okay.”
She looked at me.
Nora - “Okay what?”
Lucas - “There are a lot of them.”
She looked around.
There really were.
Some wore animal-shaped masks.
Some wore plain masks.
Others had their faces hidden beneath hats and hoods.
They weren’t doing anything wrong.
They weren’t attacking anyone.
They weren’t even causing trouble.
They were just...
Quiet.
Very quiet.
One walked past us without looking at either of us.
Another stopped several metres away.
They seemed to listen to a conversation happening nearby before quietly walking away.
I frowned.
Lucas - “Did they just...”
Nora - “What?”
Lucas - “Never mind.”
We continued walking.
But the more we explored, the more of them we saw.
Some disappeared down paths.
Some stood alone.
Some seemed to know exactly where they were going without asking anyone for directions.
One person walked past us, glanced at us for half a second and continued.
I watched them disappear around a corner.
Nora noticed.
Nora - “You’ve been staring.”
Lucas - “I’m observing.”
Nora - “You’re staring.”
Lucas - “I’m observing suspiciously.”
Nora - “That’s just staring.”
I sighed.
Lucas - “Fine.”
I looked around the beautiful campus again.
The gardens were gorgeous.
The buildings were impressive.
The training fields looked incredible.
Everything about the school felt exciting.
Yet those masked students made it feel slightly...
Strange.
I shook my head.
Lucas - “What a strange place.”
Nora smiled.
Nora - “You haven’t even started yet.”
Lucas - “I know.”
I grinned.
Lucas - “That’s what makes it exciting.”
Eventually, we reached the point where we had to split up.
Nora looked at me.
Nora - “See you later.”
Lucas - “Don’t get lost.”
She stared at me.
Nora - “You’re the one who gets lost.”
Lucas - “Details.”
She walked away.
I waved.
Then I turned toward my own dorm.
I followed the signs through another part of the campus.
And once again...
Another masked student walked past.
Then another.
I stopped.
Lucas - “Seriously?”
The student didn’t react.
They simply kept walking.
I watched them disappear.
I looked toward my dorm building.
Then back toward where they’d gone.
I had no idea who these people were.
I didn’t know why they hid their faces.
I didn’t know why they barely spoke.
And I definitely didn’t know why they seemed to know things that normal students shouldn’t know.
All I knew was that this was a very strange school.
I walked up to my dorm door.
I placed my hand on the handle.
Finally...
My new life was beginning.
I opened the door.
⊹ ₊⋆ ☁︎ ⋆⁺₊⋆₊⋆☁︎ ⋆⁺₊⋆ ☀︎ ⋆⁺₊⋆ ☁︎⋆⁺₊⋆⁺₊⋆ ☁︎ ⋆₊ ⊹
