“You’re very lucky I was nearby,” he said, sitting on the bed next to mine–I assumed it belonged to Birgit’s roommate. “What happened, young man? Was it perhaps something I could help with?”

Now how could I respond to that exactly? I was going insane. And I would have to train my power–my fucking curse of a power–alongside the person who was hurt most by it. I wanted to yell, to tear everything down and just-just not feel like I was a monster for one second.

Was that melodramatic? Definitely. But even with my friends, even with Iraklis and Birgit, even while I was standing on the Isle of Heroes, I still couldn’t escape what I was. And the whole ordeal with Paragon, whoever he really was, was-it was just too much.

“There are times when I think that I-actually, do you know why I’m here?” I looked at Alpha Surge, using this chance to tell him everything I wanted to.

“Why?” he asked. His voice was soft, at odds with how he usually was.

This was it. My chance to say it all. And I couldn’t. How saving that suicidal person inspired me, how his words kept me going at my toughest. And I couldn’t. Instead a tear came out. And another one. And before I knew it, I was crying.

For the first time since I was eight years old and my grandmother died, I was crying, and I couldn’t stop.

It just all came out during that one moment.

“I’m sorry,” I said, trying to wipe the tears away with my sleeves.

“Alexander-”

“No, please don’t,” I said. He looked at me confused. “I’m sorry.”

“Alex.” I felt Birgit’s hand on my shoulder. “You’re speaking in Greek.”

Embarrassed, I switched back to English. “You once told me that-that a hero is someone that-”

“-uses every talent in their arsenal, be it brains or brawn, to save, inspire and reassure others,” finished Alpha Surge. “And from what I’ve heard you young man, are overqualified. You’re not perfect. Nobody is. Still, you’re strong. Stronger than you think you are. Trust me.”

“Thank you.” What was the strangest part of it all, was that I did. I did trust him. Even if for a moment, I could relax. It was refreshing after the hell that this day was.

Not long afterwards, Alpha Surge announced that he had to leave. He shook hands with both me and Birgit before he did and, just like that, he was gone. He did make sure to say that we should go and see Kent Smith if something had happened. He would be here every Sunday morning, apparently taking care of some business.

“Now,” Birgit said as she sat next to me on the bed. “Did anything else happen? Because I’m pretty sure we–mainly I–won there.”

“Won?”

“The eternal battle between man and low self esteem.”

I took a deep breath, still revelling in the fact that I could. “Before I do, how are you holding up? And be honest.”

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

“Lessons were fine. I’m getting along fine with everyone, but they’re all practically caricatures of assholery. Still a shitshow at home, but a shitshow I’m far away from now.”

“Other than your brother,” I said almost automatically, and the room’s temperature drop signalled just how much of a mistake that was.

“Yeah,” murmured Birgit. “I had an idea though.”

“Did you, now? So not just a pretty face then, are you?”

“Call me a pretty face again and I will personally freeze your balls off.”

“I think we’ll both lose from that arrangement.”

“You’re an idiot,” giggled Birgit. “In any case, here’s what we’ll do. You will take Maria off to the side, and beg for her forgiveness, since you can’t do anything else, you snivelling worm!”

“Wha-What?”

“Alex?”

“Yeah?” I looked at Birgit’s icy eyes. “What did you say?”

“Ignore her. Be aloof, and focus on the teachers and yourself. If need be, I’ll freeze her hair so badly it turns white.” She was looking at me suspiciously. “Did you have another...episode?”

“I’m fine.” I grimaced as soon as I said it. I couldn’t even convince myself. “I heard you calling me a snivelling worm.”

“Did you have another vision?” she asked me, sounding like a light bulb went off in her head. “If you saw someone, even if that someone was Paragon, I could draw them. We could scan the picture and search for it online. Maybe even go to the professors with it–the dean looked like he knew Paragon.”

“You can draw?”

“I picked it up in middle school, but haven't really done anything with it. Seriously, though, that was your main takeaway from what I told you?”

“I’ve known you for nearly five months and you never told me this, so yeah!” I was mad, I didn’t even know why, so I just focused on calming myself down. “I could-I could describe Paragon to you. And another man, one that I saw today.”

“Today?”

“Yeah, during Hero History. Since Paragon is real, he might be too,” I said. There was another voice in my head though. One that I didn’t like. One that told me that this was all a fool’s errand.

A desperate attempt for both Birgit and myself to prove that I hadn’t gone crazy when the opposite–that I just cracked after all the nightmares and everything I’d been through–was the most likely option.

I pushed these thoughts aside, and focused on the images of both the man and Paragon. Paragon’s older form was much more distinct, although both of them were stuck in my mind.

“You know, it doesn’t make sense,” I said after we finished.

“What doesn’t make sense?” she asked while she admired her handiwork.

“You’re right, Paragon and the dean did look like they knew each other. And Minerva, even Mystic. They weren’t just random people. They were-they are some of the most powerful heroes on the island. One of them would be enough to take down most villains. For some reason, I’m not sure they’ll help us.”

“Who do we go to then? Alpha Surge?” asked Birgit. And even though she was clearly being sarcastic, she wasn’t too far off.

“Kent Smith,” I said, and I couldn’t stop the smile from forming in my face. “He will contact Alpha Surge, and we can work together. And he will listen to us.”

“Yeah? How do you know?”

“Because you can grab someone’s attention quite easily, and because this is big.”

I could feel it. My pulse was racing, and my head was hurting. But I could feel it. Paragon, that man, the dean, and somehow even more was connected. Once again, I was maybe going insane.

But Paragon was real.

And as long as I had that, I could hold onto the hope that I wasn’t the problem. Not this time at least.