Benny was drenched in sweat, his chest rising and falling with the effort. He wiped his brow with the back of his hand and took a deep breath. The training ground at Highsmith Academy was like a battleground to him. This was where the greatest heroes of the nation honed their skills. Where legends were born. And here he was, working his hardest to rise up through the ranks.
He was alone. Not intentionally, but he had avoided everyone. He was training, of course, but more so, he was hiding. Hiding from the others. The remaining Flagbearers—his former classmates—had become something he couldn't recognize anymore. They had changed. Grown. Their once-innocent faces were now etched with arrogance, a constant smirk hanging from their lips as though they owned the world. Their power had skyrocketed. Their egos along with it.
And all Benny could think about was Akio.
Since that fateful day when Akio fell into ice, the world had moved on. Benny had tried, for a time, to visit him—offering what little support he could, but as the months turned into years, even he started to pull away. The others were too. No one visited anymore. They were too focused on themselves. The top Flagbearers had become media sensations, sponsored by corporations and showered with riches and opportunities. They were celebrities. Heroes, yes, but not the ones Benny remembered.
They had changed, and Benny wasn't sure he liked it. They had forgotten. They had left Akio behind, just like everyone else had. Forgotten. Forgotten...
His thoughts were interrupted by the harsh sound of metal clashing in the air. Benny's fists snapped back to reality, his eyes flashing with determination. He was still training. His D-tier rank weighed heavily on him. In a system where being anything less than an A-tier was almost shameful, being a D-tier at seventeen was impressive—sure, it was the highest anyone had achieved under the age of 20—but for Benny, it didn't feel like enough.
He couldn't stop now. He couldn't let them get ahead of him.
The others, the Flagbearers who had once been his closest friends, were moving forward while he stood still. They were getting stronger—more powerful, faster, more capable. Benny hadn't seen them much, not since their graduation from high school. The intense focus on their training had left no time for them to visit Akio, or to even think of the boy who had given his life for their futures.
And that was the thing. They weren't just students anymore. They weren't just kids at a hero academy. They were products now. Branding. Advertising. Their power had become a commodity. Their faces plastered on posters, their names on merchandise. Benny felt sick at the thought of it. Akio had given everything. His life. And they turned it into just another commercial. Just another hashtag.
The sound of fists pounding against a training dummy snapped him back to reality. He was alone on the grounds. The others were no doubt in the main building, attending meetings and sessions with the higher-ups, getting their attention from the corporations that sponsored them. Their faces now belonged to the world, not to the memories of a group of teenagers who had once called each other friends.
Benny took a breath and stepped up to the punching bag, his fists landing with a resounding thud as he began his routine again. He didn't stop. He couldn't stop. He would push himself until he broke. He would get stronger—strong enough to prove to them all that Akio's sacrifice hadn't been in vain.
But he wasn't just training to be strong. Benny wanted to remember. He wanted to remember the true Akio—the one who fought until he bled, the one who gave everything for the people he cared about. The one who fought when everyone else ran.
Akio, stuck in ice, frozen in time. Forgotten by those he called family.
Benny's hands slowed as the memories flooded back. He couldn't forget the first time they had met, all those years ago. It was their bond that had made them a family, that had kept them together. And it was Akio who had always reminded him why they needed to fight. The hope. The future. Benny couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong—that his friends weren't fighting for the same thing anymore. That they had lost their way.
He wiped his face with the back of his hand. The tears felt strange. He hadn't cried in a long time.
His thoughts drifted to Threya. The girl who had been by Akio's side. The girl who had watched him fight for them, and who had stood by him, even when all hope seemed lost. What would Threya think now?
He could already guess. Threya had moved on as well. She was probably out there, somewhere in the world, becoming a symbol of heroism just like the rest of them. Benny had heard about her. She was close to S-tier, destined for greatness. Yet, it felt like she had forgotten Akio as well. Forgotten the boy who had died for them all.
The weight of the thought hit him hard. All that he had worked for. All that he was fighting for. He needed to do this for Akio.
A sharp crack echoed across the training grounds as Benny's fist collided with the punching bag with force. The world outside the academy felt distant. It felt hollow. But Benny still had a purpose. Even if the others had forgotten Akio, he wouldn't.