I remembered how it felt when Father held me as a child, set me on his shoulders, and gazed out at the distant mountains with me.
My father, Inaga II, was the most powerful man in the world. Perhaps in terms of raw strength alone, Teacher Hilliard was stronger, but Teacher Hilliard had also been drawn to Father and was part of his power. No one would ever treat the two separately.
He was like a true sun, guiding the direction of our horizon and proclaiming the coming of daylight. Whoever it was, even his enemies, could see the future illuminated by that radiance—and so they feared, and so they worried.
I was neither the eldest nor the youngest. No one held any expectations for me. Though I too carried the bloodline of the Sun God Bird, I had no desire to become a Fifth Energy Level. I had no wish to compete with my brothers and sisters. I only wanted to enjoy the peace of being the son of the Great Pioneer Emperor—the security and tranquility of having a mountain to lean against.
Yet Father still embraced me tightly, and when I grew older, he smiled and patted my shoulder.
"Axel." He sighed. "Before I knew it, you've grown so much."
"Grow well. There will be many things in the future where I'll need your help."
I had almost no desires. I did not enjoy indulgence, nor did I enjoy passion. I only liked wandering everywhere, climbing higher peaks with my own hands rather than my wings. I enjoyed that almost time-wasting exertion, the ease of a plant stretching its branches and leaves beneath the sun. I should have lowered my head in panic and told Father, "I am unworthy."
But for some reason, feeling the strength and warmth