“…….”

Miko found himself floating in a void. He didn’t have any obvious path, his body just mindlessly floated through the darkness. He tried to move and speak to no avail. The current Miko had no control over himself. The strangest thing was him seeing himself from a third-person point of view. It was as if he was his own spectator. Suddenly, a bright light filled the void. The light burned into Miko’s eyes and penetrated his mind. Images started pouring into his head. These images appeared in the void one after the other.

He saw a tree entangled by a black serpent. He saw an empty black throne. He saw a flower blooming on a mountain of corpses. Words started flashing in his mind; Darkness, Chaos, Insanity, Malevolence, Wickedness. Miko’s mind was flooded until the point he could no longer make out what he was seeing. The storm in his mind only subsided after what seemed like an eternity. The light faded and he appeared in a new world.

Gray skies, gravestones stretching for miles, a desolate world devoid of life. Miko sat on one of the gravestones and sighed. A silhouette of himself appeared before him.

“Yo.”

“If you’re appearing before me it means that things are getting worse.”

Miko held his head.

“Just what is happening to me? I’m seeing strange dreams only to forget them when I wake up?”

The silhouette shrugged.

“I’m you, I only know what you know. If you think I would know then it’s only because you know the answer.”

A smile appeared on its face.

“This monochromic world is our soul, it’s a mirror of our mental and spiritual state.”

The silhouette patted Miko’s shoulder.

“Damn, man. You’re one gloomy guy.”

“You act as if you don’t like it.”

“Of course. I love this dark and monochromic world. I was born in it after all.”

He pointed behind him.

“I’m sure he loves it too.”

“Roar!”

A frightening roar came from within the chained tomb behind them.

“More importantly, the sinister power inside us has grown stronger. It might be the reason why you’re seeing those dreams. It won’t be long before you won’t be able to restrain it any further. When that happens, you’ll have to show the world your true self.”

A huge grin appeared on the silhouette’s face.

“I can’t wait.”

“So that’s what it was?”

“Oh? You don’t seem to care that much.”

“It’s not that I don’t care, it’s something I’ve predicted. The stronger I get, the stronger my power will become. It’s common sense.”

“Even so, you still seek strength? Even though there’s a chance of you destroying yourself and everything?”

“Nothing of real value can be gained without risks.”

“….I see. I forgot that’s how we are.”

It shrugged.

“Well, I don’t really care what happens either. I just know that it will be fun.”

It burst out laughing.

“Rahahahaha!”

An eerie laugh came from inside the tomb. Even the beast inside was laughing at him. Soon after, everything started to fade.

“……..”

When Miko opened his eyes, he was under a tree. He recalled that Momo had given him the day to rest since he was training nonstop for a while now. He yawned while using his hands as a pillow.

“As I thought, being lazy is the best feeling in the world. I can’t understand how people can be so productive all the time.”

He turned his gaze above him.

“Wouldn’t you agree?”

“Oh? You knew I was here?”

Someone jumped down from the tree and stood in front of him. It was Hina.

“I could smell you.”

Miko pointed at his nose.

“Wha?! Do I smell that bad?”

“No. My senses became sharper sense becoming a proxy. I’ve long remembered your scent. I can smell you from a mile away.”

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

“…You know, even if you explain it, I still can’t help but feel offended.”

“My bad.”

Miko slowly closed his eyes.

“So, what do you want?”

“Do I have to want something to come see my #1 fan?”

Hina sat next to him.

“Yup.”

She frowned at his reply.

“You seriously lack any form of tact.”

“…Well, I’ll admit I don’t mind having you around.”

Hina smiled.

“Ah, looks who’s finally being honest.”

She clung to him and started laughing.

“You need to be more honest. You’re cuter that way.”

“Can you afford to be slacking off here? Aren’t you a renowned writer?”

“Ah, my other brother came back. So I wanted you to meet him.”

Hina released him

“Other brother?”

“That would be me.”

“?!”

Miko’s eyes flew open at the entry of an unfamiliar voice. In front of him, stood a stranger.

(What the? When did he get there? I only sensed or smelled him after he spoke. He couldn’t have just appeared there, right?)

Miko observed Sora. Because of the way he popped up, Miko became immediately interested in him, and started to wonder what techniques he held. Of course, he was also cautious of him.

“Yo, the name’s Sora.”

Sora stretched his hand out and greeted Miko with a smile.

“Sora? Where have I heard that name before?”

Miko mumbled to himself. He looked at Sora’s hand and then at Hina’s smile. However, he didn’t shake the hand.

“You’re as cautious as Hina says.”

Sora laughed.

“Well, I don’t mind.”

He brought his hand to the side.

“I’m here to see what kind of person the infamous Miko is.”

“And?”

“I think I need to learn more about you before I can make an assessment.”

Sora showed a wide smile

“With that said, how about a spar?”

“Spar?”

Sora nodded.

“In one of the comics Hina lent me, there was a scene where the protagonist and his rival fought and grew to understand each other. They call it talking with your fists. I want to test if such a thing is really possible.”

(Plus I need to check you out, because it’s the duty of the big brother to see if someone is worthy of his sister.)

He thought.

“Don’t wanna.”

Miko immediately turned him down.

“Today is my rest day, and sparring sounds like too much trouble.”

At that moment, Miko heard something cut past his ear. He looked behind him. There was a hole in the tree. The hole had the shape of a fist.

“You’re a proxy so you must be aiming for the top. I’m sure you haven’t had a real fight where you’re not restricted in any way or out of your league in a while.”

He turned and faced the smiling Sora.

“What if I could provide you with a fight like that? Would you still refuse?”

In response to his question, Miko smiled.

“Now you’re talking.”

At that moment, Momo appeared out of nowhere beside the two.

“I was going to watch if Miko was really going to try and escape tomorrow’s training as well, but I can’t let this offer slip.”

She placed her hand on her chest.

“I’ll be the referee. So you two can go ahead and fight to your fullest!”

She glanced at Sora.

(But I never expected Hina to live with a raising star like Sora. These siblings are getting more and more outrageous the more we learn about them.)

She pointed at the top of the tree.

“Ace, you’re helping me referee the spar as my assistant so that both sides have a representative.”

Ace could be seen sitting on one of the branches.

“I don’t mind. It looks fun anyway.”

He jumped down.

“Alright, let’s begin!”

Momo snapped her fingers. A magic circle covered the area. The ground started to break apart and lift into the air. The pieces of earth started to form numerous structures. After a while, the entire landscape changed.

“Woah!”

Sora, Hina, and Ace were shocked by what they saw. Momo had created an arena with multiple rings lifted into the air on pillars of earth. Below was a maze-like structure with numerous pathways inside a valley. There were also countless weapons laying around, and statues that held some of them.

“This is one of the training fields I designed for Miko long ago. It was originally supposed to be used for sparring, but not many his age could survive a spar with him. So I had to lock it away.”

Momo wore a proud expression.

“I was planning on finally using it by throwing him inside with some monsters and wild beasts and add a sea of lava, but having someone as his fighting partner works better.”

“You’re really trying to kill me aren’t you?!”

“It was all to make you strong.”

Momo covered her mouth to stop herself from laughing.

“……The Midnight Witch is scary.”

Sora mumbled.

“Yeah…She gets like that sometimes.”

Hina slowly nodded.

“Now then, I’ve created the stage. You two, it’s now up to you.”

Momo teleported Sora and Miko onto separate rings using a spell. They glared at each other

“I’ll get this started.”

Miko leaped onto Sora’s ring. He walked up to him, loosening his shoulders and wrist.

(My chest is tightening just from him warming up?)

Sora grinned.

“Talk about presence.”

He took a fighting stance with his legs apart and both fists clenched in front of him.

“Oh? His stance is pretty solid. Looks like he’s used to fighting.”

Momo noted.

“Sora used to get into fights a lot when we were younger. He has plenty of fighting experience.”

Ace said.

Miko and Sora rushed toward each other. The one who threw the first punch was Miko.

*Bam!*

However, he was also the first one to get hit.

“That was fast!”

Momo said in shock. Even though Miko was the first to throw a punch, Sora was still able to hit him before his hand could fully extend out.

“It’s fast, but not enough.”

*Bam!*

Miko, despite being hit, barely budged and was still able to hit Sora with a straight.

“Heavy!”

Sora was forced back a few steps after blocking Miko’s punch with his arm. He shook off the numbness in his arms.

“Not bad.”

Miko charged at him with a kick. Sora lifted his leg to block it. A dull sound rang out as their flesh clashed.

Sora pushed Miko back with his leg. He attacked with swift kicks aimed at Miko’s head. Miko blocked them with his arms and tried to hit Sora with a counter. Sora was too agile. He avoided Miko’s counters and continued to hit Miko with kicks.

(His kicks are getting stronger by the second? He’s trying to gauge my strength.)

“This kid is pretty good. He has complete control over his strength. He can increase the power of his attacks to perfectly gauge his opponent. That’s pretty skillful.”

Momo praised Sora.

“However, Miko might not be the best person to try that with.”

“?!”

An electric shock ran through Sora’s body. It was as if his body was reacting to a dangerous threat. Miko avoid a few of his kicks and cut the distance. Miko clenched his fist and threw a punch.

*Bam!*

Sora was hit in the shoulder after failing to avoid it. The force from the hit sent his body flying off the ring in a spin.

“Ugh!”

He groaned and twisted his body to land on a statue below.

“Miko is a lazy person, but he loves a good battle. Hence he prefers to skip the formalities and get straight to the main point of a battle. In other words, he’s the type to skip the warm-ups and go straight for the main exercise.”

Momo said.

“As such, if his opponent is beating around the bush by trying to gauge his strength too much, he’ll force them to fight at their full strength by hitting them with the intention to kill.”

Miko stared at Sora, who was standing on a statue. His gaze was fierce like a beast eyeing his prey.

Seeing this, Sora smiled.

“Well, aren’t you impatient? You won’t be popular with the ladies like that.”

He took something out of his jacket. It was a blue and white headphone with a music note on the sides.

“However, being too patient will also make you unpopular. So let’s take this up a notch.”

He put on the headphones and snapped his fingers.

“First Tempo.”