In the distant reaches of the tragic tale unfolding in the mansion, there lay a vast forest with trees of black bark and red leaves. Hidden deep within this forest was an immense stone fortress. Inside this ancient castle, countless people could be seen hurrying from place to place, as if a very important event were about to take place, yet the main protagonist of this event could not be seen anywhere.

The peculiar event continued to unfold, and no matter how much time passed, the people inside the castle kept moving hurriedly into the unknown. It was as if everyone in the castle were desperately searching for a particular individual, and yet, all seemed to be failing in their quest, intensifying the search to become more and more relentless and meticulous. To the point where some individuals began to despair enough to lose their common sense. These crazed beings searched inside metal pots, inside toilets, in the stuffing of beds, within blankets, and even in the pockets of shirts. It seemed that their desperation had erased any trace of intelligent thought and driven them to madness itself.

However, paradoxical as it may seem, the person they were searching for was not actually hiding. Instead, this person was diligently wielding a sword in the middle of a room inside the castle, the floor of which had strangely been replaced with sand. The person in question was a boy with black hair, black eyes, no older than 10 years old, who was wearing a ragged, sweat-soaked gray robe filled with patches. With this description, anyone would assume that the boy was a beggar, but the truth was that the boy wore an attractive gold ring that appeared to be extremely valuable.

In the room, besides the boy, there was only one other person, who was giving the boy instructions on how to wield the sword. This instructor had blond hair and a face full of pimples like any teenager, although only half of his face could be seen since a beautiful silver mask covered the upper half of his face. Despite his less than enviable pimpled face, the teenager's body resembled that of a Roman gladiator, and it would have made any adult who had never bothered to exercise in their life envious.

—Right, right, down, up, left...—The teenager instructed as he moved the sword in his hand in the indicated direction and forced the practicing boy to stop the strike. However, the last strike was a feint, and it grazed the boy's body, cutting him slightly.

—Ouch, that's cheating, Hermes!—The boy shouted angrily, stopping his defense to try to land a blow on the teenager. But no matter how many strikes the boy launched, the teenager, with the skill of a seasoned warrior, evaded all the blows without even blocking them with the sword.

—War is not fair; the only fair thing is death, and it goes to the warrior who gets fooled first, Apolo—Hermes replied while continuing to effortlessly dodge the blows. It seemed that no matter how hard the boy tried, he could never hit him for the rest of his life.

—What about honor? Where the hell did your honor go, you cheater?!—Apolo yelled in frustration while continuing to try to strike his older brother.

—My honor will be given to me by my children and grandchildren, not by the idiots who fell by my sword—Hermes replied while wearily dodging his younger brother's blows, which were not really clumsy at all. In fact, the boy's skill was much better than that of a normal warrior. However, in front of the teenager, it seemed as if Apolo had never handled a sword in his life.

—Stop dodging for once, damn it!—Apolo exclaimed in frustration, tossing his sword at his older brother, causing Hermes to finally raise his sword to block one of his attacks.

—See, Apolito, the best move you made was cheating and throwing me the sword. All your other moves were more than predictable...—Hermes replied with an ironic smile, further infuriating his younger brother.

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—Don't call me Apolito; I'm not a kid anymore!—The boy shouted, picking up some sand from the floor to throw it at Hermes.

—Stop it, brat! I hate it when you get my robe all sandy!—Hermes exclaimed in annoyance, stepping back a few paces. But apparently, his irritation only made the boy grin mischievously as he grabbed more sand and chased him.

—Take that, you cheater!—Apolo shouted with a vengeful smile, trying to throw sand at his older brother. But this time, his brother did not dodge it and received it directly, making the boy quite happy.

However, that happiness did not last long, as Apolo noticed how his older brother looked with concern at one of the servants who had just entered through the door of the room where they were training.

—Did something happen?—Apolo asked, not used to seeing his older brother's face so serious.

—Yes, my lord, we've been looking for you everywhere. Today is the grand banquet. What are you doing training at this hour?—Said the servant, stepping forward to try to take Apolo by the arm to lead him to the banquet.

But Hermes stepped forward and stood between the servant and his younger brother, asking:

—Why haven't I been informed of the existence of this banquet?

Apolo stared in astonishment as his brother picked up his sword, although the servant had no idea, for someone with his training, it was evident that his brother had positioned himself to strike down the servant if the situation turned sour, leaving the boy completely paralyzed, not quite understanding why his brother was afraid of this servant.

—Do you not remember, my lord? It's your father's birthday today!—The servant said, stepping forward to take Apolo, but Hermes pushed the servant back with a shove.

Pushed away by the boy, the servant became angry, and as he tried to grab Apolo again, he shouted energetically:

—Are you as insane as to try to interfere with an order given by the king of the castle? The whole family must attend the banquet, and if you don't let me take the boy to his father's party, they'll...

*Slash*...The servant's head flew off, leaving the boy completely stunned.

—Why did you kill him? Grandfather will whip the skin off your back, you idiot!—Exclaimed Apolo, looking bewildered as the servant's head flew off and the decapitated body fell lifeless, staining the golden grains on the ground red.

—You didn't realize how irrational that servant was being...—Hermes said calmly, looking at Apolo seriously as he cleaned his sword with his robe. After cleaning his sword, the teenager crouched down and came to the level of his stunned younger brother to look him directly in the eyes —I am your brother, and the servant was only looking for you. Can't you see that he couldn't recognize me?

—No, he didn't recognize you...—Murmured Apolo, even more stunned, staring fixedly into his brother's eyes hidden behind the silver mask stained with the servant's blood, realizing that this could not have been a servant of the castle: What sense did it make for him to search only for him to go to their father's party? Logically, the servant should also have been looking for his older brother to take them together to their father's party.

—Exactly: something happened to this servant, and he lost his mind. I'm afraid someone is behind all of this...—Hermes said with unusual calm despite the bitter message he was conveying. In fact, his voice had completely distorted and sounded like that of an old man for a few seconds, but fortunately, Apolo didn't seem to notice.

—Who would dare to do that? We're in the family castle, in the middle of the Black Forest: no one would dare enter our lands...—Apolo cried out as tears streamed down his face out of fear, unable to stop staring at the viscous blood sliding down his brother's mask-covered face.

—Your tears won't change anything, and we still don't know if this place is safe, so stop crying and get serious!—Hermes shouted with violence, his saliva splashing onto the boy's face, making him react.

—But...—Apolo tried to argue as he wiped away the tears staining his childish face.

*Slap.*.. Hermes interrupted him with a slap that turned the poor boy's face.

Without waiting for Apolo to fully react to the blow, Hermes grabbed him by the cheeks to put his eyes in front of his and shouted with violence:

—We're under attack, Apolo! There's no time for these foolishness! We have to go to the party and save the rest of our siblings!