The Ignis estate chamber flickered with firelight, its walls carved from obsidian and trimmed with gold. Sukai knelt before his father, the elder's presence filling the room like a roaring hearth.
"You saw them today," the Ignis patriarch said, voice deep and edged with command. "Strays under Eryndor's wing. They should not have stood before nobles, and yet the academy admitted them. Do you understand what this means?"
Sukai's jaw tightened. "…That we cannot allow them to overshadow us."
"Exactly." The elder's crimson eyes narrowed. "Ignis blood does not yield. You are the heir of flame. The first, the brightest, the one who must rise above every rival. Let the realm see your fire burn all others to ash. Do not falter. Not once."
The words pressed down like chains of molten iron. Sukai bowed his head, hiding the storm in his eyes. "Yes, Father."
When the elder dismissed him, Sukai left the chamber with his fists clenched so tightly his nails cut into his palms. The fire in his blood was restless, agitated — not from his father's command, but from the memory of that stare.
Kairo's eyes. Cold, crimson, unyielding. The gaze of someone who did not see him as heir, rival, or even obstacle. Just… something to look past.
"Tch…" Sukai muttered as he strode through the academy's corridors, the torches casting long shadows against polished stone. "I won't be looked down on again. Never."
He turned a corner too sharply and nearly collided with a slender figure carrying a stack of books. The girl gasped, stumbling back, but Sukai's hand shot out to steady her before the books fell.
"…Lily," Sukai exhaled.
His younger sister blinked up at him, her amber eyes warm with mischief. "Brother, you're walking like you're about to duel the walls themselves." She tilted her head. "Another lecture from Father?"
Sukai looked away, lips pressing thin. "…Something like that."
Lily smiled faintly, though her voice softened. "You don't have to let his words burn holes in you. You've always been strong, Sukai. Stronger than anyone here."
He met her eyes then — the only gaze in the world that eased the fire's weight. But even that warmth couldn't douse the vow building in his chest.
"I can't lose, Lily," he said quietly, almost to himself. "Not to nobles. Not to outsiders. Not to anyone. I'll be number one. No matter what it takes."
Lily studied him for a moment, then nodded, clutching her books closer. "Then make sure you do it for yourself… not just for Father."
Her words lingered even after she left, her steps fading down the corridor. Sukai stood alone, the flames in his veins surging higher. He lifted his gaze toward the vaulted ceiling, toward the unseen spires of the academy beyond.
"Number one," he whispered again, this time as an oath.
The fire in his eyes burned with a resolve that even crimson could not smother.