​Ah, the youth. – A short story about strength, titles, and the inevitability of time.

A while ago, phrase came into my mind: “The strongest of history vs the strongest of today”
And that got me thinking…
Thinking about how that phrase is a paradox.
About the “strongest” people.
About titles.
About time.
And while thinking, i felt like writing. So I did this: A conversation that happens after those two fight.
A conversation that happens after the strongest of today wins.

(+ is the defeated champion, – is the challenger)

+And so the cycle continues. I wish you good luck, and pray for you to hold my title for long. Do not dissappoint me.

-“Hold it for long”? Why just “for long”? Why not keep it forever?

+Did you never think about it, Challenger? About who was the strongest before me?

-…There was someone before you? Weren’t you the strongest?

+I was. Before you took that title from me, that is. And so was the one before me, and the one before. Time passes, Challenger. The modern day genius becomes the prodigy of the past. The one who takes the title of strongest will eventually be challenged by future generations. And no one can defeat time.

-Bold of you, the one laying injured on the ground, to assume I will be defeated.

+Ah, but it is not me who you will fight. Its not a person, even. You’re fighting time itself. I thought the same back in my day, you know? I used to be the ‘Strongest genius of today.’ But my destiny was sealed the moment I fought the strongest in history.

-What makes you think I will fall behind the future generations? What makes you think I can’t learn from their tactics? What makes you think I will fail? What makes you think I’m like you?

+You will, Challenger. You will learn from them. You will kill countless geniuses. You will hold the title. But alas, time comes for us all. You are a prodigy, Challenger, stronger and smarter than everyone before you. But its not them who you’re fighting, no. Its the infinity that comes after. You might be able to defeat thousands, millions of the “strongest geniuses of today…” but you will eventually be outmatched. There is always someone stronger, always. If not today, then before. If not before, then after. You claim this title today because the ‘past’ is limited. The ‘future’, however, is not.

-Then I will break the cycle. There has to be a limit to how strong humans can be. I will be the one to reach it.

+Ah, the youth.