“Nope! Not a word from you!” The young man slammed his spatula on the dinner table when an older man raised a finger and was just opening his mouth. They looked quite a lot like each other, sporting the same dirty blonde hair and eyes of zircon green. However, his facial features were much more delicate – something he took after his mother, who was quietly wiping her cold sweat away from her forehead.

The husband and wife quickly exchanged a glance with each other as what happened 18 years ago replayed in their minds. They would have one final fight, one final duet before forever calling it quits. It would be their Magnum Opus, a performance so great that it would be remembered through the ages. Unfortunately, as they waltzed above an island in the middle of the Pacific, they miscalculated. They triggered a volcano eruption.

And not just any volcano, a supervolcano.

In order to stop a global catastrophe from engulfing the world, the Guardian and the Sorceress Queen combined their power to siphon the energy off from the super volcano and divert it into themselves. The volcano still went off, but it would no longer trigger a nuclear winter. However, the superhero and supervillainess both fell in battle as they exploded in a burst of scintillating light. The superheroes and supervillains couldn’t even find a trace of them. Their sacrifice would be passed down in history as a rare moment when a hero and villain worked together to stop a worldwide disaster, an example that all of them should strive toward.

Despite their survival, the two decided to call it quits and finally settle down together. They had enough of the charade anyway. It was definitely not because of the fact that what happened would make their insurance premium shoot up into the stratosphere should they want to continue superheroing/supervillaining.

“Honey… We can explain,” The beautiful woman tried to break a smile. However, when the youth gave her a glare, she felt like a snake was staring down at a rodent. Unfortunately for her, she was the rodent in this case. Ah, their beloved son. The proof of their love and their pride. Despite barely being of age, he was already as powerful as them at the height of their power. And luckily for them, he was blessed with domestic skills too. They could only survive off TV dinners for so long.

“Oh, yes. You’ll explain alright…” The youth grabbed a printed article and pointed at the picture that filled half a page. It was the picture of the youth smiling at a camera and the picture of the Guardian at the corner with a caption underneath it saying: “The Guardian’s surviving son found?! Saved dozens from a burning building!”

The resemblance was uncanny.

Normally, he would think that it was just some nonsense that the media cooked up. However, he would never mistake his own old man for someone else. Even if he was wearing a pair of ugly spectacles nowadays. He didn’t even have to dig too deep into it before he found out that the Guardian’s nemesis, the Sorceress Queen, looked exactly just like his mom without the heavy makeup and that ridiculous gothic dress and crown.

“My dad is the Guardian and my mom is the Sorceress Queen?” The young man groaned as he slumped into his chair and left the spatula on the table before covering his head with his hands. He was already having a headache when he thought about the horde of paparazzi outside on their lawn and on the roads right now. He couldn’t even take the trash outside, and it was almost collection day already. “The HOA is going to have a field day with this…”

“Well… The HOA is going to be the least of our problems…” the Guardian mumbled.

“What do you mean?”

“On, right,” The Sorceress Queen slapped her forehead. “Since this means we’re technically found out, daddy dearest is going to pay us a visit very soon.”

“Huh?” The youth asked, as confused as ever. “Daddy dearest?”

“Your grandfather. He never approved of our marriage… He promised to leave us alone as long as we keep things a secret. His edict basically shields us from all sorts of divination, but now…” She shot up from her chair and quickly headed up the stairs. “Alright, honey. Stop moping around and help me pack up! We have to leave before the rest finds out…”

“The rest?” The youth gave his mother another confused glare.

“The entire extended family. And then, there’s the Superhero League and the Coven of Shadows… I mean, we have a lot of friends and enemies, and I’m not sure whether they’re that thrilled to find out that we’re alive after all.” The youth’s dad counted as he too left the table and climbed up the stairs together with his wife to pack up. “Why are you still sitting there? Come on, get moving. We’ll explain everything else on the way, but we really need to go right now…”

The sorcerer was quietly sipping tea and reading through the newest Arcanist’s Monthly when the door whooshed open and banged at the wall. He raised an eyebrow as the witch marched across his living room before taking a seat opposite of him. The man put down the publication in his hand on the wooden table and poured the middle-aged woman a cup of tea. He also picked up a cupcake from the plate and gave it to the weasel that helped close the door after her grand entrance.

He also didn’t miss the toddler in the basket that she was carrying with her.

“I was deceived!” The witch hissed. “He promised me his firstborn would be a cure for the queen, but all he gave me is… is this! A worthless brat!”

The sorcerer tried very hard not to roll his eyes. He warned her… There was a reason that their kind rarely rose to prominence in the aristocratic landscape. Despite their arcane powers, few of them were well-versed in the arts of diplomacy and deception. However, she insisted she could hold a kingdom ransom by putting their heir under her control. Her plan worked… She got a child from the royal family. However, she had overlooked something.

“Start from the beginning, you old hag. Don’t make me waste my Mana on trying to read your mind,” he said to the witch as he glanced at the weasel climbing up the table and then looked at the baby curiously. Meanwhile, the baby was still fast asleep as he lay in the basket, not knowing that his royal parents had already sold him off to an old witch.

As the witch rambled on, the sorcerer finally pieced together what happened. Long story short, the king of a queendom approached the witch in order to find a cure for a magical disease that was afflicting the queen. The unsuspecting witch asked for their firstborn son, completely oblivious to the fact that the son would never become a ruler since the king omitted to tell her he was from a queendom. That was how her plan completely fell apart before it even started.

“Curse the aristocracy and their game of words!” The witch faked a spat.

“And what should I do with this brat right now? I can’t just leave him out in the wilds!” The witch sighed. She may be a witch, but even she had standards. Harming children… Especially a toddler… it was something she would never consider. She always had a soft spot for children. However, she also had little patience for crying, children… And she expected the toddler to cry as soon as he woke up from his sleep.

“Why not adopt him?” The sorcerer shrugged. “He has royal blood inside of him. He will make a mighty sorcerer if you can ignite his Arcane Spark.”

The witch stared at her long-time companion and the latter could feel a chill down his spine as she broke into a wide grin. “Oh, my old buddy, old pal…”

“No, nope, stop. I don’t want to hear a word you’re going to say from this second onward…”

“Come now, you won’t leave an old friend in the rut, would you…?”

17 Years Later.

A tearful witch bid the youth farewell as he strode off into the sky on a phantom steed. Even the weasel was waving goodbye with a handkerchief in its hand. “Can’t he just stay home for one more year? The world’s such a dangerous place… And he’s still so young…”

The sorcerer could only roll his eyes as he heard the witch as she blew her nose. “You didn’t sound sad when you left him with me all those years ago.”

“I didn’t know that he would grow up to be such a considerate and kind boy back then!” The witch retorted, even as she wiped the tears off her cheeks. “He’s the only one who ever gave me a flower…”

“Alright, alright… Stop crying, 'mommy.' He promised he’ll send us letters whenever he reaches a new town… He’ll be fine. He learned from the best.” The sorcerer voiced out his confidence in the boy that they raised together. Of course, he would never let her know he had secretly inscribed a rune on the boy’s back that would always inform him of his whereabouts…