“Hi, Uncle—?”
The man smiled apologetically. “Sorry, I wasn’t expecting anyone to be here today. I’m Matthias—just Matthias will do. You must be Yiran.”
Not a relative, then. Yiran returned the smile. “I wasn’t expecting anyone either. I hope I’m not disturbing.”
“No, no, it’s me who’s disturbing. I was a friend of your father’s.” Matthias seemed momentarily torn about saying more. “He saved my life many years ago on this day.”
Yiran had heard and read about his father’s exploits as an Exorcist, but it felt distant. They were accounts from strangers who knew the legend and not the man himself, flaws and all. From the way Matthias spoke and the expression he wore, it was apparent he had known Song Liming as a person, not as some lionized hero or a parental figure the way Ash did.
Curiosity piqued, Yiran said, “How did he save your life?”
“At Xingshan Academy.” It wasn’t an actual answer.
“Did you work at the Guild with him too?” Yiran nudged.
Matthias shook his head. “I’m—Iwasa doctor in a mundane hospital.”
Xingshan cadets went into medicine to become healers, not doctors at normie hospitals. Now Yiranhadto know more. Being pushy didn’t seem to work on Matthias. He moved closer to the tombstone and bowed.
“I never met him,” he said, twisting his lips into a forced smile as if he were making a confession to Matthias. “Wish I had.”
Out of nowhere, a sharp ache unfurled between Yiran’s ribs. No. He didn’t actually mean what he said. He didn’t care. He was only trying to get a reaction out of Matthias so the man would give him more information. But the feeling only grew.
Matthias patted him on the shoulder. Somehow it didn’t feel like the same kind of sympathy George had exuded. Matthias’s gesture was comforting, carrying the weight of someone who had experienced deep loss in his life and understood the repercussions of it.
“I was assigned to your father’s class when I first enrolled,” Matthias said, sliding his glasses into his shirt pocket. “I was a nobody, new to magic and Exorcism and all that, but I knew who Liming was. Everyone did. A month after I enrolled, a bunch of juniors trapped me in the Simulator room. Harmless hazing.” Matthias scoffed. “A tradition, they claimed. The Simulator was still a prototype in those days, kind of an experiment they were running. There was a glitch in the program when I was in there, and things went haywire.”
The senior class Yiran had been assigned to observe had tried to pull a similar prank on his first day at the Academy. That said, Mai had no ill intentions, and they’d become friends afterward. Yiran had a feeling that Matthias’s story might not have ended the same way.
“Your father happened to be there that day,” Matthias went on. “He was the one who pulled me out before I could make a real mess. Everyone else was too frightened to do anything. I didn’t have much control over my magic at that time, and my...” He paused, reconsidering his words. “Let’s just say my spirit core’s a little different.”
How different?Yiran wanted to ask, but he didn’t want to interrupt.
“You should’ve seen Liming’s face.” Matthias chuckled fondly. “He wasn’t scared of me; he was delighted. I found out later he’d been observing me from the start because he thought I was different—special, he said.And the incident proved him right. After that, he made sure no one gave me any trouble.”
“So why didn’t you join the Guild after you graduated?” Yiran asked.
“I didn’t.”
“Pardon?”
“I didn’t graduate from the Academy.” Matthias’s sudden curtness indicated he wasn’t going to explain.
Had Yiran crossed a line? “I didn’t mean to pry,” he said quickly. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. I shouldn’t have laid all this on you. You came to visit your dad, and I’m this weird old man rambling about the past and his misspent youth—”
“You’re notthatold,” Yiran interrupted, anxious to reassure him. “Uh, I mean, thank you for sharing. I appreciate it.”
Frowning, Matthias said, “Frankly? I don’t know why I did. I guess seeing you brought back memories. For a second, it felt as if Liming was here with me again. Even among cadets and Exorcists and magic wielders, there are those who stick out because they’re not like everyone else. The world doesn’t always like people who are too different. Your father was one of them, and so was I. The only difference was that he was born into the Song family, which I’m sure you have found is both a boon and a burden.”
Yiran grimaced, shoving his hands into his pockets. “Yeah, it’s... a lot.”
“It’s lonely at the top,” Matthias said quietly, regarding Yiran with a certain seriousness. “People saw your father as something else. A savior and protector, a concept and entity. That comes with high and heavy expectations, and expectations can crush a person. After a while, they stopped treating him like a person with his own dreams and fears. He became a symbol instead, the face of something he never asked to be. We kept in touch for a few years after I left the Academy, but our lives were too different and our paths diverged.” Matthias’s eyes searched Yiran’s facethoughtfully. “We were so naive when we met. Your father wanted to change the world. What he didn’t know was that, sometimes, the world doesn’t want to change.”
Yiran pondered the layered meaning in Matthias’s words. He wasn’t sure if he grasped it completely.
Matthias blew out a breath. “I haven’t spoken about my time at Xingshan for so long, not even to my parents or my wife, and now they’ve passed on.” He lowered his voice, mumbling to himself, “I should tell my daughter.” Straightening, he put on his glasses and gave Yiran a warm, sad smile. “It’s getting late; I should be going. Take care of yourself, kid.”
