SSS-Ranked Summoner: Only I Summon All Heroes And Heroines Of Legend-Chapter 35: Blood and Duty: A letter From Home

Altair stared at the letter for a long time.

The Elfender family crest glared back at him from the red wax seal. A sentinel’s helm crossed with twin swords. The symbol of a bloodline that had built its legacy on the backs of Godkin Armies and unwavering loyalty.

A legacy he’d been excluded from for eight years.

CRACK

He broke the seal.

The wax crumbled in his fingers, and he unfolded the parchment carefully. The handwriting was elegantly flowing. Just like his mother’s.

---

My dearest Altair,

I hope this letter finds you well. I have heard news of your achievements there at Gran-Lusia, and I must confess, my heart swells with pride. To think that after all these years, you have finally manifested your seal and called forth a summon worthy of the Elfender name.

Your father and I are eager to hear the details. What manner of creature or spirit answered your call? The reports we received were vague. But the fact that you succeeded at all brings me great joy.

I write to you not only with congratulations, but with a request.

Please, dear Son. Come home.

Your father has fallen ill. It began shortly after your departure to the Academy—a strange affliction that the family healers cannot seem to cure. He grows weaker with each passing day, and though he took time to admit it. He wishes to see you.

His opinion of you has begun to shift, Altair. He speaks of you now with acknowledgement. Perhaps it is the illness that has softened him, or your works has changed his mind. Either way, he has asked for you.

And yes, there is another matter I must mention, though I hesitate to burden you with it.

Michael has grown ambitious. With your father’s declining health, he has begun positioning himself more prominently within the family. He already speaks of succession. And ensuring the Elfender name remains strong, like your father is already a weakness.

I do not doubt his intentions are rooted in duty. But I worry, Altair. For myself, and for Zara. Michael has always been single-minded in his pursuits, and I fear what that singularity might cost those who stand in his way.

I ask you to return as the eldest son. With your father’s change of heart, I’m certain things will be different. Altair, please come home, be present, and remind this family that you still exist.

Please, my son. Come home.

With all my love,

Your mother, Helena Elfender

---

Altair read the letter twice.

Then a third time.

His hands were firm. His expression, unshaken. But something tightened in his chest, a knot of emotions he couldn’t quite untangle.

He was happy to hear from his mother. That part was simple. Because he could trust her intentions were ever pure. Ignorant at times, but always, pure.

But for the rest of it...

Why had it taken so long?

Then, the answer came to him almost immediately. Lord Godric. His father wouldn’t have softened unless something had forced his hand. And that something was probably whatever he thought Altair had summoned.

Not because of Altair himself.

Because of what Altair represented now. Power, potential, someone capable of causing a shift in the family’s standing.

"Of course", Altair thought bitterly. "It’s never really about me."

And Michael.

The name alone made his brows squeeze in irritation.

His younger brother. The golden child, the one who’d done everything right. Michael manifested his seal early, summoned a perfect Godkin sentinel, and graduated with honors. He was everything their father had wanted, a reminder of everything Altair wasn’t.

And now he was positioning himself to take over the family entirely.

Altair felt a flicker of anger. Sharp, and piercing through his mind.

Then with an exhale, he let it all go.

"He’s my past now," he muttered under his breath.

He’d lost interest in the family politics years ago. Long before he’d even come to the Academy. All that endless posturing, and the desperate need to prove worth through bloodline purity.

It was exhausting.

The only reason he even gave it a thought now was because of his mother, and Zara.

They were still there. Maybe trapped in that house with Michael’s ambition growing unchecked.

But even then...

Altair folded the letter and set it on his nightstand.

He had bigger problems.

"Altair, you alright?"

Finn’s voice cut through his thoughts.

Altair looked up. Finn was sitting upright now and watching him with genuine concern.

"How long have you been staring at me?" Altair asked.

"Long enough to know something’s wrong." Finn tilted his head. "You’ve been muttering to yourself for like five minutes. I’m guessing, something about the letter?"

Altair hesitated, then sighed. "Yeah, it’s from my mother, she wants me to come home."

"For the break?"

"Sort of. My father’s sick. Some kind of illness they can’t figure out, and apparently, he wants to see me now after so long. Hmmph, I’m guessing it’s because they got news about my improvements here."

Finn’s expression shifted. "That’s... good, right? I mean, your family reaching out. I know I miss my family."

"Right, you haven’t met my family." Altair leaned back against the wall. "That man just wants to see what kind of summon I have so he can decide if I’m worth acknowledging again."

Finn frowned. "That’s pretty cynical."

"It’s pretty accurate."

They sat in silence for a moment.

Then Finn spoke again, calmer this time, realizing this was quite a sensitive matter. "You should go."

Altair looked at him sharply. "What?"

"I’m serious." Finn set his book aside. "I guess your family’s complicated. And you your dad isn’t really ’world’s best dad’. But your mom reached out. She asked you to come. And your father’s sick, man. What if he doesn’t get better?" 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

"Then he doesn’t get better," Altair said flatly.

"Altair—"

"I’m not going, Finn." Altair’s voice was firm. "Not right now anyway. I have more pressing things to deal with."

"More pressing than your family?"

"Tsk, it isn’t about the whole family."

Finn stared at him for a long moment, then exhaled slowly. "Alright. I’m not going to push. But... just think about it, okay? Don’t make a decision out of spite."

Altair didn’t respond.

He knew Finn was right, on some level. But he also knew what going home would mean.

Getting dragged back into the politics. And a possible conflict with his brother.

And for what?

So his father could size him up? Or approve of him like some stray?.

No.

He had a mission. A real mission.

The Watchers were out there. The Summoner’s War was coming, and he had the Codex.

That mattered more than a family reunion.

He’d finish his training with Master Oz first, get stronger. Learn how to actually master the power he’d been given.

Then, when he was ready—when he could walk into that house without feeling like the disgrace they’d always seen him as—he’d go home.

Not before.

Altair picked up his phone and set the letter aside.

"I’ll think about it," he lied, he’d already decided.

And Finn knew, but he let it drop. "Alright, man. Just... don’t shut them out completely."

"I won’t."

Finn settled back into his bed, picking up his book again.

Altair sat in the quiet for a moment longer, then his phone buzzed.

He glanced down.

A new message.

From Master Oz.

---

"Training begins tomorrow. 8 AM. My home. Bring your friends and don’t be late."

---

Altair stared at the message.

Then he showed it to Finn.

Finn read it and groaned. "Tomorrow already? Is he serious?"

"Seems like it."

"That’s brutal, couldn’t he at least inform us days earlier?."

"We just have to get ready."

Finn flopped back onto his bed dramatically. "Well, there goes sleeping in during the break."

Altair smirked. "You signed up for this."

"I know, I know." Finn waved a hand dismissively. "Doesn’t mean I have to be happy about it."

Altair sent a quick message to the group chat with Ryka and Svenja, forwarding Oz’s text.

Ryka’s response came almost immediately: "Tomorrow morning??? Seriously???"

Svenja’s response came a full minute later: "ok."

Altair placed his phone in the drawer and laid back on his bed, staring up at the ceiling.

Tomorrow, the real work would begin.

And whatever his family wanted from him...

It would have to wait.

---

Because his world had just become larger.