Sasaki woke to the sound of his alarm blaring beside his bed.
He groaned and buried his face into his pillow.
"Five more minutes..."
The alarm continued screaming.
Sasaki reached over and slapped it.
Click.
Silence.
For a few seconds, he remained completely still.
Then he slowly opened his eyes and stared at the frost-covered window.
"...Mom and Dad always said the whole world shook the day Shigura and I were born."
A small smile appeared on his face.
"Guess they weren't joking."
Sasaki finally dragged himself out of bed.
He took a shower, brushed his teeth, got dressed, and stood in front of the mirror.
His messy white hair stuck out in every direction.
He tried fixing it.
It immediately became messy again.
"...Whatever."
He turned away from the mirror.
Then he stopped.
Sasaki raised his hand.
"Fireball."
A small ball of smoke appeared in his palm.
He stared at it.
"Come on..."
The smoke began swirling.
For a moment, it looked like it might actually work.
Then—
Puff.
The spell exploded directly in his face.
Sasaki stared blankly through the smoke.
"...That failed terribly."
He wiped the soot from his face.
"I guess my Essence is still trash."
Sasaki looked down at his hands.
Not everyone was born with Essence.
Some awakened Systems instead.
Others followed the path of Cultivation.
Sasaki had Essence.
It was just that his Essence had a mind of its own.
Literally.
Shame on whoever messed with it.
"I slowly learned how to control magic."
He sighed.
"Essence? Not so much."
Sasaki grabbed his bag and headed downstairs.
The moment he stepped outside, cold air hit his face.
Their home sat far away from the kingdom's capital.
The countryside was quiet.
Fields stretched across the horizon, covered in a thin layer of frost.
Sasaki liked it here.
Even though he was royalty, he never really felt like it.
There were no massive crowds.
No nobles following him around.
No endless ceremonies.
Just forests, fields, and the occasional animal wandering too close to the house.
Sasaki walked toward a clearing behind the cabin.
A wooden training post stood in the center.
He dropped his bag.
"Alright."
He cracked his knuckles.
"Today's the day."
Sasaki raised his hand.
"Fireball."
A small flame appeared.
His eyes widened.
"Yes!"
The flame immediately flickered.
Sasaki concentrated harder.
"Don't you dare..."
The flame grew slightly larger.
"That's it..."
Then it vanished.
Sasaki stared at his hand.
"...I hate magic."
A voice came from behind him.
"You've been saying that for three years."
Sasaki turned around.
Shigura stood at the edge of the clearing.
His silver hair moved gently with the wind.
He was holding a book in one hand.
Sasaki frowned.
"How long have you been watching?"
"Long enough."
"That's creepy."
Shigura smiled.
"You were talking to a fireball."
"It was listening."
"It wasn't."
Sasaki pointed at him.
"Don't disrespect my fireball."
Shigura closed his book.
"Are you training today?"
"Obviously."
Sasaki grabbed a wooden sword from the ground.
"I'm going to beat you."
Shigura raised an eyebrow.
"You said that yesterday."
"And today I mean it."
"Alright."
Shigura placed his book down.
"Show me."
The first strike came from Sasaki.
Shigura blocked it easily.
Sasaki swung again.
Blocked.
Again.
Blocked.
Again.
Shigura stepped to the side.
Sasaki stumbled forward.
"Hey!"
Shigura lightly tapped him on the back with his wooden sword.
Thump.
Sasaki fell face-first into the snow.
"...Ow."
Shigura laughed.
"You need to work on your balance."
Sasaki pushed himself up.
"I meant to do that."
"Of course."
Sasaki grabbed his sword again.
"Again."
Shigura sighed.
"Again."
This time, Sasaki lasted longer.
He moved faster.
He blocked a few attacks.
He even managed to land a hit on Shigura's shoulder.
Sasaki's eyes widened.
"I GOT YOU!"
Shigura looked at his shoulder.
"...You did."
Sasaki raised his sword triumphantly.
"I won!"
"You landed one hit."
"That means I won."
"That's not how fighting works."
"It is now."
Shigura smiled.
"Then I guess I'll have to remind you."
Sasaki's smile disappeared.
"...Oh no."
A few seconds later—
Sasaki was lying flat on his back.
Again.
He stared at the sky.
"One day..."
Shigura stood above him.
"One day?"
"I'll beat you."
Shigura smiled.
"I believe you."
Sasaki sat up.
"Really?"
"Really."
Shigura offered him a hand.
Sasaki grabbed it and stood.
"Then let's go get something to eat."
By the afternoon, Sasaki had completely forgotten about training.
He and Shigura had met up with a few children from a nearby village.
They spent most of the day running around the countryside.
They raced each other through the fields.
They climbed trees.
They explored the nearby forest.
At one point, Sasaki tried to impress everyone by using space magic.
He raised his hand.
"Watch this."
A small distortion appeared in the air.
Everyone stared.
Sasaki grinned.
"Pretty cool, right?"
The distortion suddenly disappeared.
Sasaki froze.
"...That was supposed to last longer."
Everyone laughed.
Sasaki crossed his arms.
"Stop laughing."
Shigura laughed even harder.
"You really need to practice."
"I know!"
The afternoon slowly turned into evening.
The sun began disappearing beyond the horizon.
One of the children looked toward the sky.
"We should head home."
Sasaki looked at the setting sun.
"Already?"
"It's getting dark."
Sasaki glanced at Shigura.
"One more hour?"
Shigura hesitated.
"...Alright."
Sasaki smiled.
"Yes!"
They stayed.
And one hour became two.
Before long, the countryside was covered in darkness.
Sasaki and Shigura finally made their way back home.
The moment they opened the door—
Silence.
Sasaki froze.
Shigura frozen.
A figure stood in the hallway.
Their older sister.
Her arms were crossed.
She stared at the two boys.
Neither of them said a word.
"..."
"..."
Sasaki slowly looked at Shigura.
Shigura slowly looked at Sasaki.
Their sister raised an eyebrow.
"Do you two have any idea what time it is?"
Sasaki smiled nervously.
"Early?"
Her eyebrow twitched.
"Early?"
Shigura quietly stepped backward.
Sasaki noticed.
"Don't leave me."
"I'm not."
"You're literally walking away."
"I'm going upstairs."
"Traitor."
Their sister sighed.
"You both know you're not supposed to stay out this late."
"We were training."
"Training?"
She looked at Sasaki.
"You?"
Sasaki nodded.
"Yes."
She looked at Shigura.
"And you?"
Shigura nodded.
"Yes."
She narrowed her eyes.
"Then why did I hear from one of the villagers that you spent most of the afternoon racing through the fields?"
Sasaki went silent.
Shigura looked away.
"...Training."
Their sister stared at them.
Then she sighed.
"Both of you. Upstairs."
"But—"
"Now."
Sasaki lowered his head.
"...Yes, Sister."
Shigura quietly followed him.
As they walked upstairs, Sasaki whispered,
"That could've gone better."
Shigura whispered back,
"You could've just told the truth."
"Where's the fun in that?"
Shigura smiled.
Later that night, the two brothers sat together in their room.
Shigura made some tea.
Sasaki took the cup and sighed.
"My brother's Essence is amazing."
He stared at Shigura.
"Even though he can only control a small amount, you make it look so magical."
Shigura took a sip.
"You'll get there eventually."
Sasaki frowned.
"I got overpowered so quickly."
He looked down at himself.
"It's crazy how we're twins, yet the difference in our strength is so huge."
"Maybe you just got unlucky."
Shigura smiled.
"Maybe next time you'll win."
Sasaki looked at him suspiciously.
"You really think so?"
"I do."
Sasaki smiled.
"I wonder when Sister is going to come back tomorrow."
"We barely see her."
He leaned back.
"Whenever she does come home, she either sleeps, feeds us or scolds us."
Sasaki breaks.
"I don't think Mom or Dad ever told us Sister's name, right?"
Shigura shook his head.
"I tried asking."
He looked away.
"But they always said it was disrespectful to call your elders by their actual name."
"Oh."
Sasaki thought for a moment.
"I heard she's a really strong sorcerer."
Shigura nodded.
"Apparently, she can control all types of magic."
Sasaki's eyes lit up.
"I want cool magic like Sister too!"
"I believe you can."
Shigura smiled.
"So keep trying."
Sasaki smiled back.
"Let's head to bed."
Shigura stood up.
"It's getting pretty late."
He glanced toward the door.
"We don't want Sister scolding us again."
Sasaki laughed.
"Right."
The sun disappeared beyond the horizon.
Night settled over the countryside.
Eventually, Sister came home.
She quietly entered the boys' room.
Sasaki was already asleep.
She walked toward the bunk beds.
She leaned down and gently kissed Sasaki's forehead.
Then she floated toward the upper bunk and kissed Shigura on the cheek.
Before leaving, she whispered softly,
"I love you."
A faint glow surrounded the two boys.
A protection spell.
Then she quietly left the room.
The next morning, Sasaki woke from what seemed to be a peaceful sleep.
He sat up and rubbed his eyes.
For a moment, everything felt normal.
Then—
A bright light suddenly engulfed his body.
"Wha—!?"
His body lifted off the ground.
Sasaki floated for a moment before suddenly dropping.
Thud!
"Ow!"
He grabbed his head.
"What the hell was that!?"
The sound of his fall immediately woke his sister.
She rushed into the room.
"Sasaki!"
She quickly helped him to his feet.
But something was wrong.
Sasaki suddenly struggled to breathe.
His chest tightened.
"S-Sister..."
A blinding light began forming around him.
The windows shattered.
Furniture was thrown across the room.
The entire cabin began shaking.
His sister's expression changed.
She immediately raised her hand.
"Sealing."
A magical seal appeared around Sasaki.
But it wasn't enough.
The light continued growing.
"Sasaki!"
A massive explosion erupted.
And the peaceful life he had known—
Was gone.