Inside the room still heavy with the scent of incense and the warmth of birth, Hils cradled Arius as though he were a miracle made flesh in her hands. She looked at her husband, Alberto, who stood distracted by the window watching the rain, and asked softly, "Alberto… why Arius? Where did you get that name?"
Alberto turned slowly, as if the question had pulled him from a deep abyss. He looked at his life companion, then at the infant. "I don't know, Hils… the name didn't come from thought—it rose from within me, like an echo of a strange voice. I felt this child could be called nothing else."
Hils smiled despite the strangeness of the answer and handed him the baby for a few seconds before he prepared to leave. "Go and share the news with your comrades, but don't be long. I feel this little one will miss his father quickly."
The moment he stepped out, little Elios, five years old, rushed in from behind the door. His wide eyes carried a mix of childish jealousy and overwhelming curiosity. "Mom… who is that?"
"Come here, Elios… this is your little brother, Arius."
Elios approached, his features tightening with a seriousness he tried to imitate from adults, then whispered with a sincerity that stunned his mother, "He's very small… but he seems… strong." Hils did not know that her child's words were not mere innocence, but an instinctive insight into what that infant concealed.
The Tavern's Clamor and the Shadow of "Earth"
In a corner of the warriors' tavern, where the steam of drinks rose and coarse laughter filled the air, Alberto sat among his companions.
"Arius? A majestic name, Alberto! A toast to the new father!" one of them shouted, raising his mug.
But silence suddenly fell when the broadcaster appeared on the large screen to announce the discovery of the planet "Earth." They all mocked those weak beings who resembled the Celestines in form yet lacked their overwhelming power.
"Imagine… an entire planet of weaklings!" one of them scoffed with a laugh.
Alberto drifted into his cup, wondering for a moment: (Is physical strength the only measure? Or do those humans possess something we do not?)
But his thoughts were shattered by news that shook the tavern: "The birth of Raimos, the king's son."
"His power at birth is 12,000 units?!" Alberto gasped. "That's impossible… he surpasses veteran warriors while still in his cradle!"
A sense of awe spread; in Celestine society, power is authority—and Raimos was born to rule.
The Vainometer: The Shock of "3"
Alberto returned home, tension gnawing at his nerves. He stormed in and demanded the energy-measuring device—the "Vainometer."
"Alberto, don't do this now…" Hils pleaded, but he did not listen. He placed the silver device on little Arius's chest.
The numbers flickered, the light dimmed, then settled on a single, cold, lonely digit: "3."
"Three?!" Alberto shouted. "The device is broken! My son—a son of an elite warrior—has less power than a human from Earth?!"
His pride turned into bitter disappointment.
"Hils, you don't understand! The Celestines show no mercy to the weak. My son will be an outcast… a disgrace that follows us everywhere!"
He left the room, blinded by anger, leaving Hils clutching her innocent child—whose only fault was not being born a "monster" in his father's eyes.
The Forest and the Smile of Forgiveness
Alberto rushed into the forest behind the house, venting his rage against the stone-like trunks of trees. His muffled screams expressed the tearing of his soul between a father's love and a warrior's pride. With the break of dawn, he returned exhausted, broken, dragging the weight of his disappointment.
Days passed heavily. Alberto avoided meeting Arius's eyes—until that morning when he was forced to watch both children alone. He sat in the garden, holding Arius with the rigidity of a warrior, while Elios practiced nearby with his wooden sword.
Suddenly… Arius woke. He looked into his father's stern eyes, and instead of crying, he let out a pure laugh, reaching his tiny hand to grasp Alberto's thick beard.
In that moment, the ice melted.
Alberto felt warmth spread through his chest, and he began to imagine a future beyond numbers and units a future where he saw Arius running after him, calling, "Father."
When Hils returned, she froze in place. She saw a sight she had never dared to dream of: Alberto sleeping peacefully beneath the tree, holding Arius against his chest with one arm, and wrapping Elios with the other.
It was a silent prayer a moment that proved love is stronger than any measuring device, and that family is the only fortress in this harsh universe.