The year felt endless. Each moment was a cold, unyielding reminder of what he had become — a statue. Akio's eyes remained wide open, staring into the harsh, artificial light that bathed the museum's exhibit. He couldn't move, couldn't speak. He could only hear, feel, and endure. The world outside continued to turn, a world he no longer had a place in.
It had been three years since the day he killed the beetle, three years since his friends had last visited. Three years since the day the light of the world had faded away for him.
Akio was awake. His mind, fully conscious and painfully aware, was trapped inside a block of ice. It was an agony unlike anything he had ever felt before. The cold wasn't just physical; it was emotional, creeping into the deepest corners of his heart, freezing the hope that once burned brightly inside of him.
He could hear the echoes of the world outside, the sounds of people talking, the distant hum of traffic, the footsteps of strangers who passed by him without a second glance. Occasionally, someone would stop, staring at the frozen figure encased in ice. Some would snap photos, others would mutter about the hero who had "sacrificed it all." They had no idea. No idea that Akio was alive, locked in the prison of his own body, waiting for someone — anyone — to hear him.
But no one did.
He had begged. Pleaded for someone, anyone, to help him. In the early days, there was hope. He whispered his cries into the cold, his thoughts screaming to be heard. But as days turned to weeks, and weeks into months, his pleas became quieter, more distant, as if he were the one who had faded, not the world around him.
It was hard to tell how much time had passed. Days bled into weeks, then months. Everything felt like a blur.
His friends had moved on. Benny, Threya... all of them. At first, they came. They came with flowers, with quiet words of hope, sitting beside his icy prison for hours, believing he could hear them. Benny would talk about the academy he was about to enter, his eyes always shining with the excitement of his new life. Threya would sit there in silence, her face a mask of worry, but there was nothing they could do. They couldn't free him. No one could.
Then one day, they stopped coming. They didn't tell him why. Maybe they didn't want to hurt him, maybe they just couldn't bear it anymore. But in their absence, Akio was left to his thoughts, his memories, and the crushing reality that he was alone.
He had been forgotten.
The academy doors were now opening to the next generation of heroes. Benny and Threya had gone on without him. The other Flagbearers, the students he had once stood alongside, were thriving, preparing to enter their hero academies. They had awakened to their powers, grown stronger, while Akio was locked in ice, his abilities, his potential, all wasted away in a prison of his own making.
He wondered what they were doing now. Benny, always the one to joke, had probably cracked a few jokes about how Akio would've been the last one standing in their training sessions. Threya... she was probably still smiling that smile that Akio had once thought was meant just for him. He had missed her more than he cared to admit.
There was nothing left but silence now. He didn't even hear the soft rustle of footsteps anymore. He didn't hear the sounds of people walking past him. He didn't hear Benny's voice or Threya's laughter.
It was as if he had never existed.
The bitter cold had a way of drowning out everything, numbing his thoughts. Yet the memories refused to leave. They were the only warmth he had left. His childhood with Benny, Threya, and the rest of his class. How they had laughed, how they had fought, how they had believed that they were invincible, that nothing could take them down.
But in the end, nothing had saved him.
Akio's thoughts drifted back to that moment. The beetle. The fight. The moment he had grasped the glowing object. That was when everything had changed. But how had it changed? Why hadn't anyone noticed? Why hadn't anyone seen the signs that he was still alive?
The world had moved on without him. It was a cruel, unrelenting reality.
His gaze flickered toward the museum's entrance, a reminder of how people had begun to forget him. The display of his frozen form was meant to honor his courage, his determination. But that was the lie, wasn't it? They didn't honor him. They honored an image, a symbol. The Akio that they knew was gone, replaced by a statue of ice.
He felt the presence of someone, though, a shadow passing in front of him. He blinked, his eyes straining to focus.
A familiar face appeared in front of the glass casing. For a moment, he couldn't tell if he was imagining it, or if it was real.
Benny.
The younger man was older now, his once playful demeanor softened, worn by the weight of time. Benny placed his hand against the glass, his eyes glistening with unshed tears. For the first time in years, Akio saw that spark again — the spark of recognition.
"I'm sorry, Akio," Benny whispered, though the sound barely reached through the thick ice. "I should have never left you."
Akio wanted to shout, to tell Benny that he was here, that he had never gone anywhere. But no words came. No sound escaped his frozen lips.
Benny stayed there for a long time, his hand pressed against the glass, his face full of guilt and regret. Finally, with a long sigh, he stepped away, walking back into the crowd, leaving Akio to his silence once again.
And that was when it hit him.
He had been forgotten. By everyone. Even Benny. Even Threya.
They had moved on. But Akio? He hadn't. He couldn't.
The ice held him still. But his heart... it refused to freeze.