"Brother... you need to stop all this shit!"
The words came from a white-cloaked knight, adorned with the golden accents characteristic of the Empire's elite forces. He had black hair with a striking streak of white in his bangs that made him stand out.
Before him, a dark-cloaked knight sat upon a throne forged from hundreds of swords. This knight had pitch-black hair and wore a single red star earring on his left ear.
"This is my final warning. Return to Aethelgard and face punishment for the innocent lives you've taken. After that, I will let it go, and we can start over... just like old times."
The white knight extended his hand, pleading for his brother to return.
"HAHAHAHA!" Atop his throne, the dark knight burst into laughter at those words.
"Brother... it seems the Empire has completely brainwashed you."
"Those 'innocent' bastards always hide behind the name of justice."
"You think you can defeat me? You will always be one step behind me, and that will never change."
"Core Mana Technique..."
The dark knight rose from his throne. The sheer weight of his footsteps sent a crushing pressure throughout the entire room.
"Let's end this right here... brother!"
He dashed with blinding speed toward the white knight.
Clang!! The two knights' swords clashed together.
"Brother, stop this right now!!!"
"Brother..."
"Please.."
"..."
"Brother... hey...! Wake up!"
"Yawn..."
"...Wake me up in five minutes."
"Are you crazy? Get up now or Mom is going to snap,"
the boy said, pinching the cheek of his pitch-black-haired brother.
"Mmm, nom-nom..." Ignoring his brother completely, he went right back to sleep.
"Arghhh! Why did you pull my earring?!" After getting his earring yanked, the boy jolted awake and hopped around the bed in pain.
This was Ash Blackwood, a boy with pitch-black hair, a red star earring on his left ear, and reddish-brown eyes.
"Sorry, brother, but that was the only way to get you up."
"Hehe."
And this was Orion Blackwood, a boy with white hair dominated by dark black streaks, and beautiful bright blue eyes.
They were almost the exact same height—Ash was 3 feet 6 inches and Orion was 3 feet 5 inches. Both were currently six years old.
"Hey brother, let's hurry up and get out of here before Mom destroys the whole house."
"Uh... Brother... I think we're too late." With a terrified expression, Ash pointed toward the bedroom door.
Crack!
"ARE YOU TWO STILL NOT AWAKE!!?"
Orion slowly turned around with a defeated look on his face.
"Uh, M-Mom..."
A muscular woman stood in the doorway, clutching a broken door hinge, her face twisted in suppressed rage.
She marched toward her two kids and immediately put Orion in a headlock.
"Hahahaha, brother, look at your face! It's hilarious!" Ash laughed out loud, rolling around on the bed.
"You come here too, you little brat!"
Ghk—ghk— Ash was quickly caught in his mother's headlock as well.
"Alright, boys, time to get out before breakfast gets cold."
The woman released them, leaving the two boys half-conscious.
She was Brenna Blackwood, the mother of the two boys. A muscular woman with dark brownish-black hair, she worked for the local lumber mill branch in 'Axefall Village.' Every day, she ventured into the spruce forest to chop wood or hunt for dinner.
"First one there wins!" Ash yelled, taking off and leaving Orion behind.
"Hey, that's not fair!!" Orion sprinted with all his might, chasing after Ash's retreating figure.
"Yes! I'm the winner! You loser, and I the winner!"
Ash declared proudly, propping his right foot up on the dining table.
"You idiot, that wasn't fair! You aren't supposed to run before the countdown is finished!"
"It doesn't matter, all that matters is I won." Ash crossed his arms and sat down on the dining bench.
"Hmph!!" Orion turned his face away.
"This is all your fault! You should have woken up earlier so Mom wouldn't get mad."
Orion stood up from the bench and shoved Ash with all his strength.
(By the way, the benches here were about 90 cm tall and made of sturdy spruce wood, so imagine Ash and Orion having to climb them like short step ladders every time they wanted to eat.)
"It's your fault for not waking me up properly!" Ash shoved Orion right back.
Smack! Orion punched Ash in the face.
"..."
"Brother... how dare you... you hit me!!?" Ash yelled, holding his throbbing cheek.
Smack! Smack! Ash returned the favor with two punches of his own.
"Take this!" Not wanting to lose, Orion threw another punch.
Smack! Thud! The two of them started brawling right there on top of the dining table.
"Good grief... Believe it or not, they do this every single morning,"
Brenna Blackwood sighed in annoyance. She stood up from her seat and—
SMASH!!!!!
"Oh crap, M-Mom's mad." Ash's expression did a complete 180° as he watched the thick wooden table split clean in right before his eyes.
"Oh man, Mom broke the table again."
"This happened because of YOU TWO!!"
With an exasperated look, Brenna smashed Orion and Ash's heads together.