CHAPTER 156: LITTLE GIRL

Elius soared high above the fragmented skyline, the wind carving around his figure like invisible blades. The city’s lights flickered below—soft, fractured, chaotic. He was streaking toward Old Haven Tower at a terrifying speed, but somewhere in the middle of the flight, his mind started to slow.

Old Haven Tower... that place is wide open inside. Long hallways, shattered floors, dozens of chambers. No narrow corridors like the sand tombs. No separation.

His eyes narrowed.

I’ll be at a disadvantage.

He descended slightly, gliding lower, closer to the city’s fractured blocks. His body shimmered faintly as he slowed down to a hover. Buildings loomed around him like hollowed-out skeletons. Neon signs blinked erratically. The smell of iron and scorched concrete still lingered in the air from his earlier clashes.

If I face them together again... especially now that they’ve recovered some strength and added that magician to the mix...

He exhaled through his nose.

Four against one again. I’ll have to deal with Shania’s illusions. Fraven’s mental hold. Zhark’s lightning burst. And Keith’s fists—those relentless fists...

He clenched his own hand absently.

Keith’s fists weren’t elegant. They weren’t strategic. But they were real. They never stopped coming. They felt like someone trying to punch a hole through the world just to breathe.

He hovered to a nearby rooftop, landing silently. From this height, he could see ordinary civilians in the market below. People unaffected by the chaos, just... living.

He stepped toward the edge and looked down. There was a fruit stall. A little bakery. A mother arguing gently with a vendor about change. A couple holding hands.

Elius let his thoughts spiral, letting the voices of the crowd blur into background noise.

What’s Keith even trying to do?

His breath hitched slightly.

He doesn’t want to be a villain. Not truly. But he doesn’t want to be a hero either. He’s running from the pressure of it. From Radiant Man. Maybe there was something important . What is something that’s important? Why did he choose to become a villain instead? That frustration... I know that feeling.

He remembered a time in the comic, when Keith’s powers awakened. When people called him Radiant Man’s weak son. When he sat in silence while instructors praised his half-brother’s achievements and ignored his own slow cultivation. Keith never boasted. He just endured.

He doesn’t hate heroes. He hates what people expect them to be.

He doesn’t want to save the world. He wants to prove the world wrong.

The boy with fists strong enough to shatter stone... but too proud to admit when he needed help.

If I beat him again, what does it prove? That I’m stronger? He already knows that. It’ll only push him deeper into his corner.

Elius rubbed his temples.

That doesn’t connect to anything now.

He gritted his teeth.

I need to break his pride without crushing his soul.

So what should he do to his little brother?

Suddenly, he heard laughter.

A small, high-pitched giggle. A child’s.

He turned slightly.

A little girl stood a few feet away. Big round eyes. Messy black hair tied up in a half-pulled ponytail. She was hugging a fluffy cat-shaped backpack, staring at him like he’d fallen from a dream.

"You look like a prince," she said, voice full of wonder.

Elius blinked.

"What?"

The girl stepped closer, tugging her backpack with effort.

"Are you a superhero prince?" she asked, eyes wide. "You look like one. You look... elegant. That’s what my mom calls people who are shiny and quiet and cool!"

Elius stared, a little unsure how to react.

"I’m not a prince," he said softly.

"But you could be," she said confidently. "Your coat has those golden lines on it and your hair looks like it glows. Did you use magic to do your hair like that?"

He tilted his head. "No. It’s natural."

"Wow! So it just shines by itself?"

"I suppose it does," Elius said, his voice somewhere between bemused and politely detached.

The girl kept going. "And your face—my big sister would say that you’re like those actors from the TV shows. The ones that make people gasp when they enter the scene!"

Elius chuckled under his breath. "Does your sister say that often?"

"Only about people she has a crush on," the girl said matter-of-factly. "But she’s silly. I don’t think she’s ever seen someone as shiny as you."

Elius was about to reply, but she went on.

"Are you a good guy?" she asked, suddenly serious. "You don’t look like a bad guy. Bad guys wear too much black and scowl a lot."

Elius looked down at himself—his clothes were dark, layered, sharp-lined. But then again, he wasn’t scowling.

"I try to be a good guy," he said.

"That’s good," she nodded. "Because there’s too many bad ones. They’re always hurting people. You look like someone who stops them."

He didn’t answer immediately.

"I’m... trying to stop them in a different way," he finally said.

"Different is okay," she smiled. "As long as you don’t become one of them."

Before he could say anything more, a voice called from across the square.

"Luna!"

The girl turned.

"That’s my mom," she said. "I have to go!"

She waved at him. "Bye, shiny prince!"

Elius gave a small wave back.

And then she ran off, backpack bouncing behind her.

He watched her go, heart oddly quiet.

As the mother scolded the girl gently for wandering off, Elius leaned back slightly, gaze fixed on the child’s retreating figure.

She hadn’t asked him for a picture.

She hadn’t asked him for a battle move.

She hadn’t asked him to blast lightning or summon swords.

She just... saw him.

And called him elegant.

Don’t become one of them, she’d said.

Those words echoed.

Over and over.

Keith wanted to be seen. Wanted someone to look at him without comparing him. Without demanding he become Radiant Man 2.0.

He wasn’t a villain.

He just didn’t know what else he could be.

Elius closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"I know what to do now," he whispered.

And for the first time in a long while... he smiled.