On January 30th, 3108, the sound of a crying baby echoed through the dark hallways of an opulent mansion.
There was a short celebration as the child who would be the heir to the dynasty was born into the world; however, another came soon after, right as the clock struck midnight.
Instead of cries, this child stared endlessly at its mother as if questioning its existence, not even a minute after its birth.
Both were given names reflecting their personalities, with the eldest brother gaining the name Alaric von Steinfeste after his great-grandfather.
The ancestor who had wielded that name was one of the greatest men in the history of the family, contributing to the significant wealth the family inherited.
To the other boy, however, the unsettlement that had been caused by his silent birth led to him gaining the name of a notorious man who had left the family.
Raphael von Steinfeste was the progenitor of the bloodline and the person who had split off the dynasty into two opposing families.
The more powerful of the two was that of the Brevmore family, in which a later descendant named Stein would eventually become a broker in the underworld.
With the children obtaining the names respective of their status, they were separated almost immediately from birth.
Alaric was sent to the Holy Capital with his father, the patriarch, who would train him for fifteen years straight.
His fate was set in stone the moment he was born two minutes earlier than his identical twin, forced into a life of hard work and pressure.
Raphael, on the other hand, was taken by his mother back to their fief in the Land of Deities, far to the north of the Sea of Wishes.
The rolling hills were covered in wheat, with the farmers whistling and humming melodies on their breath while working.
Church was mandatory for anybody inhabiting the sacred lands with the shrines to the deities freshly maintained and protected.
It was an island of complete order, governed by twelve independent families who all owned regional plots of land.
Both the Steinfeste and Brevmore families were at the top of this social structure, commanding such vast land that it had to be divided further into sub-regions.
Small feudal disputes broke out every so often, leading to the matriarch of the family spending weeks on end negotiating.
Occasionally, she brought the only son she had ever known, Raphael, along on these missions of diplomacy.
He would go from place to place, meeting the children of diplomats, nobles, and even the future King of Wishes, who was among the older children he met.
Yet no matter who he spoke with or what he tried to speak about, he was dismissed, left alone, and distraught.
What could a second son of a noble family offer them?
Political marriages could only extend so far, and with the wealth of the inheritance system established decades prior, it was far more efficient to aim for the main prize.
On rare occasions when he would manage to strike up a conversation with a girl his age or someone with similar interests, they would end up gravitating towards the prodigy, Alaric.
Reports had been published throughout the island detailing the up-and-coming stars of the world, multiple of which detailed the absurd potential the boy had.
Of course, these only made people more jealous of the Steinfeste family, casting the brunt of their anger on that small boy who only wanted friends.
Identical twins might be identical in appearance and genetic properties; however, each and every person's core was different.
Raphael simply lacked the same spark that his brother had, and it drove him mad to no end as he trained day in and day out.
One morning, near his tenth birthday, as he sat at his desk, pen in hand, writing out a letter, his complexion reddened, and he became infuriated.
Why was he born with all the talent? Why am I stuck here!
Slamming his small fists on the table, he felt the wood crack under the force exerted upon it, for while he wasn't an equal to his brother, he still far surpassed a normal human.
F-Father hasn't spoken to me… I've never even seen my own brother…
Anger turned to depression as tears formed in his golden eyes, making him lean downward, burying his face in his arms.
Every day, he worked himself to the bone, studying swordsmanship, theology, magical arrangement, spell casting, and more, persisting through all the trials from dawn to dusk.
Why… Why am I the one…
Sniffling loudly, he heard the door creak open ever so gently with the sound of a soothing voice echoing across the splintered wood.
"Raph, is everything alright?"
His mother's kind voice made his sadness and anger fade away in a flash, tears drying in his eyes.
The woman stood at a staggering two meters in height, with long braided white hair that drooped down to her waist.
Her eyes were a color of gold that matched that of true angels written about in the holy texts and a beauty far exceeding that of even the reincarnated falsehoods that called themselves angels.
With a bright smile, she gestured for the boy to come towards her, an action which he hurriedly rushed to accomplish.
His lengthy legs hopped up from his chair, moving across the floor swiftly, where he embraced his mother tightly.
There was silence for a moment before the woman opened her mouth, speaking quietly to the boy.
"Something terrible has happened…"
She paused, breathing heavily while waiting for the young boy's response.
Raphael's heart froze as he listened to the fear in his own mother's voice, possibilities swirling within.
"W-What happened, mommy?"
There was no reply for a moment; however, a noise far in the distance shook the mansion to its foundation, causing him to flinch.
His mother also reacted, clenching her fists and pulling the boy in closer.
"L-Lord Belvedere has gone insane…"
Another earthquake shook the building, sending dust from the rafters high above towards the ground.
The white-haired boy's eyes widened as he let out a startled gasp, understanding his mother's words precisely.
One of the seven Sea Kings, pillars of the world, had lost his mind completely and had begun a rampage through the Land of Deities.
The golden-eyed woman spoke through tears as she described the damage he had already caused the nation.
Two cities had been leveled to the ground, and one of the twelve noble families was being erased as they spoke.
Each name she listed echoed deafly through the boy's head; these were the families whose kids he had tried to play with.
The people who had jeered at him and shamed him since birth over his pathetic form when compared to his brother.
Deep inside him, as the mansion creaked and bent under the immense pressure released in the distance, he felt happy.
It was a brief emotion that left as quickly as it had appeared, leaving him feeling distressed and conflicted.
Was he a bad person for thinking such things?
He himself didn't know the answer, but as he looked upward at his mother's pale complexion and watery eyes, he hardened his heart to the world.
Whether it be right or wrong, whether it be cold or heartless, he would make his choices thinking of the only person who truly loved him.
No matter the cost, he would live to make his mother happy and to remove the heavy burden that rested on her shoulders.
He would become the perfect son for her and one day retire her from her busy life of diplomacy.
Gritting his teeth against each other, he hugged his mother tighter, trying to soothe her as another explosion rocked the world.
…
Across the world, at the same time, the entire military force of the Oceanic Association was dispatched along with figures who ruled above all.
The five remaining Sea Kings instantly left their seas, ripping holes through the dimensional wall and setting sail for the Sea of Dreams.
Cauron Thorn arrived first, clashing with the mentally corrupt Sea King at the remains of a small city.
Early on in the brawl, Thorn severed the man's arm, forcing the insane King into a fit of bloodlust.
The shockwaves that were echoing across the land from their clash forced thousands to take refuge beneath their homes in basements, sewers, or even ditches.
Until dawn, they fought, the other Kings arriving only after Thorn was left with a gaping hole through his right arm.
Knowing he was outnumbered, the Lord of Wishes abandoned the fight, vanishing into the sea, seemingly perishing beneath its waves.
From that point on, the history books end; no further information on the Belvedere Incident was provided to the public, and it was left like that for three years.
To the world, the insane monster had been slain by the coalition of Kings who had risked their lives to protect the innocent.
What those reports didn't indicate, however, was the sudden disappearance of the Ghostship wielded by that man.
Raphael and his family had only barely survived the disaster, with the King's rampage stopping only ten kilometers away from their estate.