“Strike harder, slash quicker, pick up your pace!” Amalthea's commands made the kids fumble. With a swift quick of her cane, she brought the new members of her team down. Her gleaming eyes were the only light they saw underneath her hood and dark skin. “I’m holding back, you know? Don't think your enemy will. To protect others, you'll have to go beyond your limits.”

Lydia groaned, muttering cusses at Amalthea, who stopped her cane right before the halfling’s face. “Care to repeat that?”

Marius turned off his suit, falling belly first on the ground. “She said we never chose this.”

“That's right, lady.” Lydia picked herself up with difficulty. Her suit had shut. She had never felt more powerful with the suit, but before Amalthea, she felt like a ragdolled child. “We’ve never asked to be chosen for some stupid hero gig.”

Amalthea hobbled closer, her figure towering over the halfling and dwarf. She looked at the duo with utmost frustration and clenched her shaking fist, holding back on doing something she swore not to. “Then why are you still here?” 

Amalthea turned away with a hiss as her side flared up again. She had skipped her recent physiotherapy sessions and felt the repercussions on her body. “Do what you want then,” growled Amalthea, leaving for her therapy. 

“I'm enduring so much for the sake of the world. How much more should I take?” She wondered, dragging behind her iron-braced leg and battered body. “Valerian… everyone… why did you leave me to do it alone?”

Ajax watched from the sidelines how Amalthea left, oblivious to his presence. Not that she ever noticed him, but it still bugged him. The weight of the black box felt heavier in Ajax's hand.

“Argh!” Lydia angrily punched the water in the city fountain. “That woman’s exhausting!”

“I'm hungry.” Marius' stomach growled.

“She drills us more than the monsters in the forest!” Lydia madly splashed the water out of the fountain. “I hate her. Hate her. Hate her! Why do we even put up with it?”

“Oh, hey, Ajax.” Marius turned on his belly. “I thought you were smiling. What's up with the frown?”

“Nothing,” grunted Ajax. “What's up with training?”

“Terribleeeeeew,” whined Lydia, kicking with her feet while Marius rubbed his stomach. “Thea is ruthless and doesn’t give us any breaks. She's horrible.”

Ajax's frown deepened. He watched their training and thought Amalthea was holding back. The number one rule for any Guardian was never to escalate a battle—something Lydia severely struggled with. Or, in Marius’ case, put more courage into your strikes rather than attacking blindly.

Amalthea had guided Lydia's knives with her cane, making each strike more precise and less frantic. Marius' punches were wild and destructive—a dangerous combination when trying to minimise collateral damage. Amalthea absorbed the hits and pushed him back to force him to open his eyes when attacking. 

“She's a Guardian, after all,” Ajax muttered, drawing his club. “Mind if we spar?” He asked his friends, refusing to let Amalthea’s words hold him back.

‧. .ᯓ★. .‧

“The pain’s getting worse.” Amalthea dragged her ragged body through the streets with gritted teeth. Old wounds she thought had already healed reopened. At one point, she almost collapsed on the streets. 

Passersby noticed her misery and offered their help, but she pushed them away on her way to her physician.

“You look miserable, child,” noted Bob, cleaning his needles. “How's the training going?”

Amalthea collapsed on the bed. “They'll be ready. They have to.” A pained cry escaped Amalthea as she tried to extricate herself from her clothes. “I can endure the pain. Always did, always will. It's my duty as the leader of Titan Force.”

“It's not your burden alone,” Bob reminded her, pricking her bare back with needles. Her screams were like the first day of their session. “What about the other boy?”

Another scream and the silver needles on her back crumbled to ash. Bob quickly replaced them. 

“He wasn't chosen. The models are—”

“Unreliable.” Bob held Amalthea down as she squirmed against the final few needles pricking the more sensitive parts of her back. “He has the makings of the Guardian, you know that.”

Amalthea suppressed another cry. The pain was getting unbearable. The white freckles on her skin darkened considerably. An explosion of several stars rang in Amalthea's ears as Bob intensified the treatment, extricating all the negative energy from her into a single, bright star in his palm.

Exhausted and covered in sweat, Amalthea lay defeated on the bed. Bob examined the damage in his utensils and then regarded the red star. 

“You're destroying yourself if you keep this up.” 

Amalthea crawled toward her shirt, struggling to shake the ringing in her ears.

“Your body is accumulating too much negative energy. You need to return to the stars and recover. Take the kids and leave, Amalthea. Now.”

“I can't.” Amalthea struggled to her feet and left for the door. “I am Atlas, the Titan of Endurance. I'll keep going until they are ready. No matter the burden. No matter the pain. They are not ready.”

“Stubborn girl.” Bob stored the star inside a metal box and put it away. “One day, your efforts will burn you away.”

‧. .ᯓ★. .‧

Ajax deflected Lydia's knives with his club and pushed her back. Marius charged from the side, swinging with his fists. 

“Wind Shield!” Commanded Ajax, holding up his hand and redirecting the dwarf's blow. “Without their suits, they’re barely stronger than me. So why was I not chosen?!”

Ajax swung his club upward, uppercutting Marius before jabbing him in his stomach with the butt of the weapon. 

“Hey, what's up with you?!” Lydia shouted, slashing at Ajax with her knives.

With a wide swing, Ajax caught Lydia’s knives and summoned more wind to blow her backwards. Her kukri blades scattered across the ground as he pointed his club at her.

“I don't get why you two were chosen over me,” Ajax said, his eyes brimming with tears. “I fight better, I'm more cautious, and I don't escalate the battles. Yet you two were chosen instead of me!”

Lydia threw sand into Ajax's eyes, blinding him, and Marius tackled him from behind. Together, they overtook him and pinned him on the ground.

“Sure, we aren't as virtuous as you are, but you act like a brat who didn't get the toy he wanted!” Lydia shouted. “Your self-centred attitude proves it.”

“Say that again!” Ajax struggled to free himself. “Do you know how much I wanted to become a Guardian!? And now you two steal that away from me!” 

“First of all, I don’t care. And secondly, we had equal chances.” Lydia exhaled sharply. “We didn't steal anything! Maybe you're just not cut out for it—”

“SHUT UP!” Ajax threw Lydia off and raised his fist at her, but caught himself. “What was I about to do?” 

Marius intervened, punching Ajax away from Lydia. Ajax held his throbbing cheek, wondering what just happened.

“Go home, Ajax,” Marius warned firmly, positioning himself between Ajax and Lydia. “Don't speak to us until you’ve sorted yourselves out.”

Lydia stared between her friends in shock. “I think that goes a bit too far—”

“It goes far enough.” Marius pulled Lydia away. “We won't put up with your misguided self-righteousness, Ajax. Get your head out of the stars. Then talk to us.”

A grunt escaped from Ajax's throat. He ground his head to the ground and thumped his fist on the pavement. “What's wrong with me!?” 

His dream, his father's dream, was so close yet far away. For years, Ajax drilled into himself the meaning of a Guardian and thought he lived it. However, the confrontation with his friends showed him he was not. He realised he was a fraud.

“Maybe I'll never be one,” he cried. “I don’t think I was meant to be one.” 

“Not everyone is born as a Guardian.”

The sharp clack of a cane brought Ajax back to his senses. Amalthea’s disguise looked even worse for wear than before. Dark circles shadowed her tawny face, and her once shining brown hair was tangled and dull. She collapsed onto the edge of the fountain, clutching her side. 

“Why do you want to be a Guardian?” Amalthea asked. 

Ajax remained sitting. He hadn’t the strength to look at her. “It's something I always wanted.”

“Always?” Amalthea creased her brow. “Child, you're 13 at best—”

“14,” Ajax corrected her. “I’m 14.”

“Apologies, 14… carry on.”

Ajax hesitated. For all that Amalthea was worth, he didn't want to be rejected by her any further. Yet, in her reflection, he saw the face of a Guardian, someone who would help and protect him and everyone else in the world.

Like—

“My father.” Ajax could see his father's face now. The golden-white helmet and slick suit of his when Ajax was still a babe. “He was one. The strongest Guardian I knew. I looked up to him, but he's gone.”

Amalthea leaned in to listen. Ajax was fumbling with his sleeves. “He left me and my mother on this planet to protect the world. He sacrificed himself and us for the greater good. And with mom gone too, I have to live up to his expectations. To live my dream of becoming a Guardian.”

“Child— Ajax,” Amalthea chuckled softly and stood up, crouching in front of him. “You're not born with a dream. Dreams are imprinted on you.” She gently thumped his chest. “People—parents, friends, mentors—they leave their marks on us, their ideals, and sometimes, their dreams. But you have to ask yourself, are they truly yours?”

Ajax dug his nails into the ground. “Are you saying my dream is not real?”

“I'm not saying that.” Amalthea readjusted her position. “If you're hellbent on becoming a Guardian, then ask yourself: Is it to protect the innocent? Self-righteousness? Fame? That last one is pretty popular,” Amalthea noted knowingly, snickering at a fond memory. “In the end, it comes down to yourself. Why should you be a Guardian? Why does the world need you as one?”

Amalthea stood up and stretched her back muscles. Seeing her standing so tall before him, Ajax couldn't help but acknowledge the truth. She became a Guardian for a reason. It wasn’t just her strength; it was her attitude and willpower that set her apart.

“She's everything I'm not,” thought Ajax, shifting with the weight of the black box in his pocket. “Listen, Thea, I—”

“AHHHHHHHHHHH!”

A scream tore through the air. Another followed until panic spread like wildfire. An explosion rocked the city. Ajax caught Amalthea as she stumbled from the shockwave.

Amalthea paled when her side flared with intense pain, but she swallowed it when screams echoed throughout the city. “Stay back. I'll check out at the scene.”

“Let me help!” Ajax insisted, quickly adding. “At least with walking,” before Amalthea could refuse. 

She hesitated, but nodded. “Fine, let's go then.” Placing a hand on his shoulder, they hurried towards the gates together.