"Even with these great powers, do you still have to attend school?" echoed Luis's good-humored question in Gael's mind, recalling the moment when he returned home later than usual. The surroundings were painted with the colors of the sunset, creating a scenic and serene atmosphere.

At that moment, the memory transported him to the past when the boy missed school on the day he received extraordinary powers. This carelessness resulted in consequences as he ended up in recovery for three subjects at school. His vigilant and stern grandfather was summoned by the school and reprimanded him fervently.

Since then, Gael found himself in lonely afternoons, while his friends, Daniella and Luis, continued the journey home without him, a routine that would repeat throughout the month. The memory of the reinforcement imposed by his grandfather, who took away his notebook, cellphone, and video game until his behavior improved, brought him a sense of discouragement. He knew he was in recovery not because of his own mistake, but due to the demands of the guardians.

A feeling of frustration invaded him, especially when he imagined that he wouldn't be able to finish the exciting saga of "One Piece" and discover the long-awaited ending, which he had eagerly awaited to watch. The fear of encountering his master Karumo during his journeys and inadvertently receiving a spoiler added a comedic touch to his thoughts.

"And this frustrated look? It seems like the reinforcement hasn't ended yet."

A melodious voice sounded behind Gael, belonging to Stef Lykaios, a classmate in recovery who shared the same way home every day. Her gaze met Gael's, revealing a slight friendly smile.

Stef had a delicate stature, just over 1.50 meters tall. Her wavy hair displayed a light brown shade with lilac highlights at the ends, contrasting gracefully. The girl's tan skin radiated under the twilight light. Gael noticed that it was the first time in days that the girl had spoken to him, leaving him intrigued and curious about this harmonious scene in the characters of his everyday story. The setting, with its soft tones and the simple beauty of the interaction between the two, added a special touch to that moment of encounter and revelation.

Ten days had passed since Gael had acquired his extraordinary powers, and since then, the guardians had not contacted him. The surroundings that surrounded him were bathed in the colors of nature, while time flowed at its own pace.

"It's just that I'm kind of frustrated for being in recovery. My grandfather took away my cellphone, my notebook, and my video game because of it. So, I won't have anything to do this afternoon."

Gael said, sharing his feelings with the present girl. The atmosphere surrounding the dialogue was calm, like a gentle wind caressing the landscape.

"I know how it is. My parents do the same to me whenever I'm in recovery, but I've gotten used to it."

The girl affirmed, seeking to offer words of comfort and empathy to Gael. The sunlight illuminated her hair and reflected in her eyes, making her expression even softer and more welcoming.

However, Gael was clearly evasive about the true nature of his afternoons. In reality, he devoted himself to repeating the movements taught by Karumo during training.

Breathing deeply through his nose and mouth, Gael could feel the energy of the flames flowing through his entire body, like a burning wave that completely enveloped him. The elemental power radiated from the inside out, filling the environment with a unique and majestic aura.

Karumo had instructed Gael in exercises that challenged his limits, making him feel as if his lungs could burn like embers. Now, practicing this daily, he realized that his entire body also experienced equally intense sensations, as if it were being transformed by that ancestral force.

Every time he felt a burning sensation throughout his body, almost unbearable, Gael would say "Ignis," and then something wonderful would happen: the scenery around him would light up with the most magnificent flames. The boy had the gift of manipulating fire without even calling the true name of his element. However, he aimed to further improve his control and mastery and persisted in his arduous training.

Since the moment he decided to embark on this journey, his motivation was to witness again the majestic appearance of the fire lion, witnessed alongside Karumo and Kira. However, despite his numerous attempts to summon the powerful being, it remained absent, like an elusive shadow of mystery.

Despite the times when he almost set his own room on fire, Gael could increasingly control small and medium-sized flaming spheres with the palm of his hand. However, when it came to an imposing blaze, his ability faded, leaving him powerless in the face of the magnitude of the element. Thus, he experienced moments when he almost destroyed the room where he slept, bringing frustrations that overwhelmed him.

In some way, this feeling of not being fully in control of his power also echoed when wielding the mysterious sword he had acquired. When showing the gleaming weapon to his friends Luis and Daniella, they stared at it with admiration and fear, impressed with its sudden appearance. But what really troubled Gael was the persistent feeling that something essential was missing.

The young man could not clearly identify what this gap was, could not fully embrace the necessary feeling when handling that blade because, after all, he had never held a sword before. The wise words of Karumo echoed in his mind, mentioning that the power of the sword would evolve through the battles he would face. However, how could he face such challenges if he couldn't even trust the weapon entrusted to him? The dilemma consumed him, entwining him in a whirlwind of uncertainties, like the dancing flames surrounding his being.

It was as if a piece of his next evolution was missing, even after training for only 10 days. For the boy, he had reached the limit of his learning, and the big problem was that he had no idea how to contact one of the guardians. What remained for him was to spend the rest of the afternoon at home every day training, and those thoughts led the boy to remember the conversation he had with his friends.

"It's like you're Ace..."

Luis affirmed to Gael when he saw the fire in his right hand and his sword in his left.

"But with this sword, it's a bit dissonant for you to be him."

"Worse is that I was thinking the same thing. In the middle of all those guardians, I was a complete idiot to call myself Ace."

Silva scratched his head, remembering the comical moment he had when he awakened his powers.

The golden rays of the setting sun, coming from the window, surrounded the group, creating an aura around them. Silva's laughter echoed like a soft chord, and the scenery seemed to smile in response. The beauty of the moment was so captivating that the three friends let themselves be carried away by the enveloping atmosphere.

"Wow!"

Daniella marveled at what Gael had gone through in the last few hours for him and in the last few seconds for them.

"So, your life has definitely changed forever, who would have thought?"

Daniella was amazed by Gael's narrative, his words flowing like cherry blossom petals carried by the wind. The setting sun accentuated the beauty of her bright eyes as she absorbed every detail of the story with a charming smile.

"You still there?"

Stef's words brought Gael back to reality, making Silva feel like a complete idiot, the girl trying to make him feel better, and he leaving her in the vacuum of his thoughts.

 But when the boy would say something to her to try to improve the situation in the middle of the streets of Morumbi, a car was destroyed in front of them. Wide-eyed, he turned to Stef and, on impulse, shouted:

"Run!"

With a scary look, the girl looked at him as if Gael had witnessed something terrible, but to his surprise, she ran. The protagonist's next action was obvious; he then called out the true name of fire.

"Ignis!"

The scene around had great pressure, illuminated by the last rays of the sun that painted the urban sky with a palette of golden and orange colors. The single-story houses lined up on the streets cast shadows that seemed to dance on the calm surface of the neighborhood, as if in a gentle and harmonious choreography. The calm rhythm of the neighborhood had been broken by that appearance.

Fire erupted throughout Gael's body like a hot and burning lick, enveloping him in an incandescent aura that emitted a dazzling glow, as if thousands of stars were dancing around him. The pulsating heat seemed to emanate from the young man's very core, raising his energy to a transcendent level.

At the peak of this fiery spectacle, the fire gave way to an imposing sword that appeared in his hand with a metallic brilliance. The blade gleamed like the twilight light itself, reflecting the colors of the setting sky and emitting a soft and enigmatic hum. It was as if the sword had been forged from an unknown material, imbued with an ancestral power waiting to be unleashed.

The colossal being measured over 4 meters in height, and its gray skin contrasted with the lush greenery of the surroundings. Wearing sandals that seemed to belong to ancient times and a worn loincloth covering its intimate parts, when it spotted the boy, it simply shouted:

"B R I N G  M E  T H E G U A R D I A N  O F  T H I S  P L A N E T!"

The monster shouted that in a very slow manner towards Gael, who noticed that the brute came to fight him, but the most frightening thing was that the being carried a huge wooden club in its right hand and something like a brass knuckle in its left hand with a metallic material in a teal shade, but it was in the head of that being that the most striking characteristic was.

The monster emitted a guttural scream, releasing those words slowly toward Gael. The brute approached, making it clear that it was there for a confrontation. However, what made Gael even more apprehensive was the weapon the being carried.

In its right hand, the monster wielded a colossal club, carved from solid wood. The staff was impressively proportioned, with carvings denoting its rudimentary origin, probably extracted from an ancestral tree. The brutish appearance of the club contrasted with the precision the monster demonstrated in holding it, as if accustomed to wielding it in combat.

However, what drew even more attention was the curious object in its left hand: a modified brass knuckle. Instead of being composed only of metal, the piece had a metallic material of intriguing color, a teal shade that seemed to gleam under the faint light of the place where they were. The modified brass knuckle was an intimidating contraption, full of elaborate details that gave it a sinister aura. However, the most striking feature of the being was in its head.

The boy contemplated the being with wide eyes, absorbing every impressive detail that presented itself before him. The being's shiny bald head, with a single majestic and penetrating eye situated imposingly in the center of its forehead, evoked an undeniable allusion to the legendary figure of a cyclops. The mystical and imposing aura that emanated from the creature enveloped him in overwhelming fascination.

Questioning himself, the questions clustered in his mind:

"What is a being of this size doing here on Earth? How did such a creature end up in my neighborhood?"

The words of his mentor, Karumo, echoed in his memory, recalling the direct statement he had made during training:

"Don't worry, strong beings won't appear on Earth."

However, as he finished his thoughts, a deep unease struck him, understanding that if he got out of there alive, he would definitely kill Karumo.

"Weak beings, what does a strong being mean to him?"

Gael wondered in his thoughts, trying to understand what Karumo meant by that message.

But the boy also remembered the lessons learned during history classes with the esteemed teacher Bernardo Pitta, when Daniella always had the right question to ask the teacher. In front of him, the subject that the girl loved so much gained dimensions.

They gained a new dimension before the unfolding scene. Until a few days ago, the boy and his friends regarded these stories as mere myths, but now, with his eyes, he was a witness to a being that transcended the pages of tales, materializing before him.

Focused and summoning courage within himself, Gael prepared his sword with the determination of everything he had learned these days, feeling the weight of responsibility as the cyclops, an imposing force of the shadows, advanced toward him. The colossal club, laden with the strength of centuries, was wielded aggressively, aiming to annihilate the adversary he was about to face. Each second seemed to extend, feeding the tension in the air as both prepared for the imminent clash.