The slap still rang in Ajax’s ears as he stumbled over his feet, forgetting who or where he was. His vision blurred, and he found himself sitting on a large tree outside the city, where his small feet dangled over the branch as a child. He had always sat there until nightfall, gazing up at the sky to wait for the stars, thinking of his father among them. But he could never stay too long—his mother would worry if he wasn’t home before dark. 

Before Ajax saw the first stars, he would always run back, weaving through the streets and alleys. He slipped between crowds and carts, singing his song about the Guardians in the Stars. 

“Up the stars so bright and high,
Guardians fly the skies.
Shields of light, hearts so strong,
They fight to keep us safe from wrong.”

The melody flowed through the streets at least several times a day, to the annoyance of nearly everyone. But nobody could stop a child’s song, not as he darted through the streets like a little rabbit, always humming the same melody. 

Back at home, he would leap into his mother’s arms. Her wavy ebony hair cascaded like a waterfall around him as she embraced her only son from a wayward husband. 

Though Ajax’s memory of her was blurry, he remembered walking hand in hand with her through the city and returning to the tree at night to watch the stars. As they sat there on the tree, she would tell him tales of his father’s adventures, promising that one day his father would return to whisk them away back to the stars. 

Each day, the song echoed through the streets.

“Shining like suns, they never fall,
Guardians answer the galaxy’s call,
One day I’ll join them, brave and free,
A Guardian like them, just wait and see—”

Until someone tried to break his dreams. 

“When will you shut up with that accursed song?” sneered a stranger, tripping young Ajax as he passed. The man, clad in eternal darkness, bent down to corner the boy. “When will you realise? Your deadbeat dad abandoned his bastard son and that lustrous doxy you call mother.”

Ajax stood frozen, appalled by the man’s words. 

“Why don’t you stop singing those stupid songs?” The man slapped Ajax across the face, blurring the lines between reality and dream. His face warped, becoming clearer. “Why don’t you stop with your foolish dreams?” 

The sting of the slap lingered, and the man hit him again. Ajax’s memory blurred. His last image of that day was his mother, standing up to the man like a brilliant star, defending him when he couldn’t defend himself. 

She never told him to stop dreaming. She always encouraged him to stand up for his dreams and keep moving forward. 

Now, as Kane’s face replaced the man’s, those words rang loud in Ajax’s mind. 

“Prove it to me, brother. Show me what you’re willing to sacrifice!” Kane’s slap brought Ajax crashing back to the present. “Do you still want to defy me?” 

*Slap* 

“Do you want to prove to me how many you can take?” 

*Slap* 

“This is your last warning, brother.” 

*Slap* 

“I’ll teach you like no Guardian ever could.”

*SLAP* 

“Your mistake will scar you forever. The world beyond the stars is crueller than the Cyclops you fought. Crueler than the deaths of your friends!” 

 Ajax wondered as his head spun, “If I stand up to him… will I make it to the stars? Amalthea…” 

“Are you even listening!?” *SLAP* “Don’t try to prove something you can’t.” *SLAP* “DON’T TRY TO BE SOMEONE YOU’RE NOT!” *SLAP* 

“...” 

No response. Ajax answered by pulling out Lydia’s blade, but couldn’t lift it properly. Staggering forward, he slipped on Marius’s glove, but the glove refused to expand. He clumsily swung his fist at Kane before he stabbed him at the hard leather, but Kane had had enough. 

“Then die, little Titan.” 

*WHACK* 

The punch struck Ajax hard, making him see the stars for the first time in years. His grip on the blade faltered. His eyes winced at the dark red light surrounding Kane and shooting up into the sky like a beacon. 

Kane was no longer himself. His white leather armour had transformed into a long, flowing snow-white coat as opposed to his dark skin. Segmented black armour gleamed underneath it with red, circuiting patterns running all over it and pulsed with technology far beyond this planet’s comprehension.

Ajax knew instantly this wasn’t Kane anymore, but Antares. The rain poured hard over Kane’s grim face. 

“To be a Guardian is to either fight or die!” 

*THNAW* 

*clatter* 

“I tried to warn you, but you had to fight me!” 

*BAM* 

The black box slipped from Ajax’s pocket and skittered across the ground. A small blue light blinked on one of its sides.

“ALL YOU HAD TO DO WAS TAKE MY HAND AND RUN!” 

*THOOM* 

Another punch from Kane sent Ajax sprawling backwards. His body slammed into the dirt, his chest heaving. His vision blurred from the relentless pounding. Ajax could feel his brain rattling inside his skull, the taste of blood on his lips, and his eye swollen shut from where Kane hit him. 

“I don’t want to hurt you, brother,” Ajax mumbled, his voice weak but resolute. Kane stopped, if only for a moment. 

Kane loomed over him, fists clenched. "All you had to do was listen," he muttered, bending down before Ajax. "But no, you had to defy me.”

*Beep* 

Grabbing Ajax by the collar, Kane raised his fist. “Just like the Guardians try to defy fate itself."

*Beep* *Beep*

“But newsflash—THEY’RE DEAD!” Kane shouted through the torrential rain. 

*Beep* *Beep* *Beep* 

“Just like you will if you don’t start listening!” 

*FLASH*

‧. .ᯓ★. .‧

“I’ve watched enough.”

A man's voice boomed as a bright blue light split the night. From the black box, a hologram rose, towering like an immense Titan that overshadowed the entire dark forest. 

The figure was unmistakable—a man encased in silver and blue armour, his billowing cape igniting in blue flames streaking from shoulder to shoulder. The Titan’s light shone brilliantly behind Ajax’s back, casting a protective glow over him. 

Kane let go of him and backed away.

“Do you need help, little Titan?” The holographic Titan stood tall, his voice strong and unwavering. “I am the Eastern Lord. Titan of Observation and bringer of Heavenly Light. My name’s Hyperion.”

Kane's eyes widened, and his once-certain steps faltered even further. “Hyperion!? You… how— you're dead! You can’t be—”

Hyperion's light swelled, drowning out the dark red aura Kane projected. “Will you allow your dreams to be shattered, little Titan? If not, then stand and fight.”

“Fight?” Ajax stammered, his voice barely above a whisper. “But… he's my brother…”

“Would a real brother hurt you like this?” 

“Stay out of this, Hyperion!” Kane seethed. His red light intensified as he advanced back to Ajax. “You won't manipulate this boy's mind any further than you did with—”

“Blue Burst: Flooding Light.” 

A stream of blue energy surged from Hyperion. Like a flood of light, Kane was pushed back and pinned against a tree. Kane struggled, but the force of Hyperion’s light overwhelmed him.

For Ajax, the light didn’t push—it lifted. It filled him with strength, supporting him, helping him to rise. 

Hyperion knelt beside Ajax, fixing the boy in his gaze behind his helmet. "You have the strength, Ajax. I’ve seen it in you. You always had it. But now, you need more than strength. You need the will to stand. Stand up like a Titan.”

“I— I can't,” Ajax muttered, holding the weapons of his friends in his shaky hands. “My brother is right… I'm not strong enough. Because of me, everyone is…”

"You are strong enough.” Hyperion’s voice was steady, filled with the weight of wisdom behind every word—befitting Atlas’ second-in-command. “It’s not your strength that’s failing—it’s your will. You’ve fought for your friends, Ajax. You fought for Lydia and Marius. And now, you must fight for yourself. Remember what you told yourself."

Ajax’s vision wavered, as his mother’s voice echoed in his mind, the song he sang as a boy bubbled to the surface. He had dreamed of becoming a Guardian, of flying among the stars. But against Kane’s relentless fury, his dreams were crushed into silence.

"I... I can’t..." he whispered again, but his grip on Lydia’s blade tightened.

"You can," Hyperion said softly. "The stars are within your reach, little Titan. Take them; the power is already inside you. You have the strength to stand—but only if YOU will it."

Ajax’s breathing steadied as Hyperion’s words sunk in, focusing his mind. The pain lingered in his body, but something stirred within—his spirit... his spirit was flickering, beginning to burn bright again. 

“You think a glowing hologram and a few words will fix anything!?” Kane growled in frustration and tore apart the blue light. “He doesn’t have the fire anymore!"

Hyperion turned his head to Kane. "That’s where you’re wrong. He has the fire—he just needs to fan the flame." 

A gust of wind whipped through the forest as Ajax’s eyes snapped open. The blade in his hand hummed; the glove on his other hand expanded. The wind responded to his will, surging back into him.

Hyperion whispered into Ajax’s ear. “Fight, little Titan. Prove to him that Titans never waver. Show him why Atlas chose you.”