Early dawn crept softly through the silver curtains, its light shimmering faintly across the vast bed where the Twins slept—close, but not touching—each cocooned in the gentle fortress of their shared warmth. Outside, the world was quiet and still, the first sounds of morning muffled by thick drapery and plush bedding.
Only the softest birdsong penetrated the high windows, the notes wavering between hope and hesitation, as if the day itself were reluctant to trespass on such a sanctuary. A blush of pale blue and apricot slipped across the ceiling and down the walls, setting the black furniture and soft silver furnishings aglow, while casting slender shadows over the mirrored wardrobes and the comforting clutter of the dressing table. Faint steam lingered from the bath, curling lazily in the gentle slant of light.
The Twins, safe in sleep, barely shifted. One let out a quiet sigh, legs tangled in the blankets, while the other pressed deeper into the pillow, hair fanned in silvery rivulets over the sheets. Their faces—so often animated by shared secrets and mischief—were softened by solitude. In this moment, the only secret was the glimmer of a dream caught on the edge of waking.
Beyond the balcony doors, the air glowed with the promise of the Academy just beginning to stir. Soon, the day would pour thoroughly into the Dorm, bringing the gentle chaos of new beginnings. But for now, serenity was absolute; the hush of dawn wrapped the sleeping Twins in the peace they had longed for and finally dared to claim.
The door in the pillar opened with a silent whoosh, and Morgranna appeared. She exited the elevator and entered the bedroom of her charges: Twin Demons Chaos Yi and Chaos Er, both still in deep slumber behind thick curtains.
She marched over and gently opened the curtains, fastening them back. Taking in the sight of the Twins sleeping, she let out a silent tut at their graceless postures—one on his side with the blankets trapped between his legs, the other on his stomach, arms wrapped around his pillow, face pressed tightly into it—leaving her to wonder how, in all the hells, he managed to breathe, one leg stretched toward his Twin, the other tucked to his waist.
She sighed, then steeled herself. "Yi, Er, time to wake up," she called, her voice gentle but firm. The Twins began to stir, bodies tensing before slowly relaxing as realisation set in, peaceful slumber ebbing away. Eyes blinking, they sat up and greeted Morgranna with husky, sleep-soft voices, slowly coming fully awake.
"Good morning, Yi, Er. Time to get up, wash, and get dressed. You have a full day ahead." Morgranna ushered them to the washbasins. She helped them wash their faces and brush their teeth before guiding them to the dressing table.
Now fully awake, they dressed in their uniforms. Seated at the dressing table, they let Morgranna groom their horns and hair. Yi wore his hair in the low, thick plait he preferred, securely fastened at the end with a silver metal clasp. Er's hair was half bound tightly in a bun, held by a silvery hair crown. They finished their looks with buckles of their choosing, fastened onto their battle skirts below their navel crystals.
Once groomed to Morgranna's satisfaction, they padded to the elevator, descending for breakfast on the balcony and enjoying the spectacular dawn view over the Academy grounds.
After eating, they sipped aromatic coffee Morgranna had prepared—a flavorful blend of coffee, chocolate, and salted caramel. The Twins marvelled at how well Morgranna had learned their tastes, even before they had.
After a moment's thought, Yi checked his timetable. Today, they would be picked up by a Head Teacher, who would oversee their lessons for the year. The Head Teacher would bring them to the training grounds for three days of intensive physical training to help them quickly master their bodies.
Pickup was at half past seven; it was currently seven o'clock. They had less than half an hour before departure. Yi sat back, sipping his coffee and taking in the view. Fifteen minutes passed, and Morgranna broke the silence. "Your lunch will be specially prepared by the Academy chefs, so try to enjoy it. I'll still make your breakfast and dinner every day."
Yi and Er nodded, finishing the last of their coffee in unison. Seeing less than five minutes remained, Yi figured it was best to wait downstairs. Morgranna had already explained how to operate the Academy carriage, just in case.
He stood, Er following. They entered the elevator, descended to the ground floor, and exited, heading down the steps as the door closed behind them. As they reached the last step, a carriage pulled up outside their Dorm. A female Infernal exited and addressed them, "Are you the Chaos Twins?"
Both nodded.
"Good, I'm your Head Teacher, Virelle. Nice to meet you. Hop into my carriage; we'll head to the training ground." She gestured for them to board.
"Good morning, Head Teacher Virelle. I'm Chaos Yi," Yi said as he climbed in.
"Good morning, Head Teacher Virelle. I'm Chaos Er," echoed Er, boarding after him.
Once they were settled, Virelle joined them, and the carriage departed for the training ground. As they travelled, Head Teacher Virelle explained today's training: basic drills to master control over their muscles and, by extension, their strength.
The Twins nodded their understanding. She finished her explanation, "Your combat instructor is Teacher Drakos, an expert in all unarmed combat forms. If you have questions, ask him."
Er nodded eagerly; Yi was more reserved—wordlessly signalling who was the warrior and who was the commander. Soon, they arrived. Virelle and the Twins disembarked.
They followed Virelle to a large male Infernal, inspecting the arena floor, tapping at a holographic screen and muttering to himself.
As they neared, they caught snatches of his muttering: "…that person's gonna…if I didn't…there's gonna be…"
"Teacher Drakos, I've brought you the two new students we discussed yesterday," Virelle called.
Drakos looked up, eyes narrowing. "Hmm, height above average…musculature extremely prominent…Unawakened…ah, these must be the Twin Demons Chaos?"
Virelle gave a tired sigh. "Yes, as we discussed."
"Yes, yes. They require accelerated adaptation—they're expected to Awaken in less than three months," Drakos mused.
"Right."
"Good. Leave them to me!" Drakos grinned, looking feral.
The Twins gulped, already dreading what manner of training—or torture—this Teacher had devised.
"All right, I leave them in your capable hands. Chaos Twins, enjoy your training with Teacher Drakos!" Virelle called and departed swiftly.
"Right! Follow me to the Grav Chambers. This will be your training room for the next two weeks!" Drakos led the way to a large, single-story building near the grounds.
Inside, the building was lined with rooms, each equipped with viewing windows and control panels, allowing trainers to adjust conditions in real time.
Drakos led them to one of the largest rooms, opened the door, and motioned them inside. The door shut, and the windows switched from opaque to clear, displaying real-time data on digital panels.
They watched Drakos settle at the window and check the data. When ready, he turned to address them.
"This is a Grav Chamber, where we can control gravity to challenge students and help them master every muscle in their bodies—except the vocal cords and tongue."
"Today, you'll perform the basic combat drills from your foundational Knowledge. Over and over, under enhanced gravity, for two hours, then a fifteen-minute break. Repeat until lunch, then continue after."
"I'll start you at a gravity magnifier of one hundred. Forms must be perfect; if not, the system won't count the rep. Scoring is displayed on the window—keep an eye on it."
"Any questions?" The Twins shook their heads. "Good. Get ready. Gravity field activating—START!" Drakos monitored their data, settling into a chair by the window for the long haul.
The Twins nearly buckled as the gravity ramped up, but began their drills, gritting their teeth and fighting to keep their form perfect.
"Teacher Drakos," Er croaked out, "could we get some music for training?"
"Sure, kid. What do you feel like?"
"Something with a beat for working out!" Er replied, still gritting his teeth.
"Metal it is. Enjoy!"
So the Chaos Twins sweated through their drills beneath the one-hundred magnifier, metal music thudding around them. Soon, a crowd of Teachers gathered around Drakos, murmuring as they watched the data.
"Drakos, isn't this magnifier a little high for kids?"
"Haven't you seen their basic Stats?"
"But still…"
"But nothing. They need it. Now stop yapping, I'm collecting data here."
The group fell silent, watching the Twins grind through the drills with grit and determination, sweat running in rivulets. They didn't whine; they only pushed harder. Even Teacher Drakos was pleasantly surprised.
After two hours, the gravity field shut off and the music stopped. "Break time! Come and hydrate. You did well; your rep counts are higher than expected. Well done!" Drakos called them out.
The Twins exited and gratefully drank the proffered Vita-range sports drinks. Meanwhile, Drakos displayed their data on the windows and explained it, not forgetting to praise their good work.
After fifteen minutes, they returned, starting a new round of reps. This time, they found it easier, powering through until lunchtime. They had enough energy to jab at each other and hum along with the metal, relishing the lesson.
At lunch, the gravity field disengaged and the music stopped. Drakos led them to the training building cafeteria, and they devoured a large C-level lunch with gusto, raising Drakos's eyebrows at their appetites.
They returned to the training room, where Drakos announced, "Okay, the second round was a bit too easy for you. We're going to switch it up this afternoon."
"The Grav Chamber will stay at a one hundred magnifier as the baseline, but we'll add random gravity interference waves. Your job: do your reps as standard as possible, no matter what happens!"
The Twins nodded, and Drakos had them re-enter the Grav Chamber. "Counting down. Brace yourselves—START!"
With that, the gravity kicked in, music blasting. The Twins powered through their reps anew—until the first interference wave hit, knocking them out of rhythm and causing them to lose a rep.
Gritting their teeth, they persevered through the destabilisation, adapting after half an hour; soon their reps were pristine again, no matter what the Grav Chamber unleashed.
Drakos nodded appreciatively outside the room, watching them adapt and power on. "They're better than expected. That willpower is through the roof. I've never seen anything like it—they adapt faster every time, no matter what you throw at them."
"I'll have to revise my training plan; it's too light. I'll need to contact Head Nocturne or she'll storm my office—and then there's their Mammy!" Drakos muttered as he messaged Head Nocturne and Morgranna, requesting a training plan review.
By half-past four, the day was done. The Twins were exhausted but ecstatic—their bodies moved more easily, more lightly. Their control had improved by leaps and bounds—far faster than they had expected.
They thanked Teacher Drakos for his time and left the training building, heading back to their Dorm, bodies tired, muscles sore, but spirits high. As they walked back, they discussed their training animatedly and praised the Heavenly Clans for their advanced training regimen.
They quickly reached their Dorm and entered to find Morgranna waiting for them on the ground floor, her face tense and slightly worried. She scanned them from head to toe, her expression relaxing and softening before greeting them warmly.
"Welcome back, Yi, Er. I see that your training was satisfactory and you seem to have adapted to your bodies much faster than expected." With that, she ushered them upstairs to shower and soak in the bath for a while, offering assistance, which the Twins declined.
"Thanks, Morgranna, we would like to attempt this ourselves as we can't always bother you with this."
Morgranna smiled warmly at their concern but assured them it wasn't a bother. She encouraged them to call her if they needed help. With that, the Twins went to the top floor as Morgranna got off at the first floor.
The Twins undressed, unfastened their hair, showered, and scrubbed themselves thoroughly before lounging in the bath, sighing as their muscles were soothed and relaxed by the hot water. Both were content to float in companionable silence until Morgranna called them to eat.
They quickly got out of the bath, dried themselves, put on robes, and brushed their hair after grooming their horns, then headed to the first floor. Morgranna checked them from head to toe and praised them for doing a good job on their first attempt at grooming.
She then ushered them to the balcony to enjoy the dinner feast she had prepared in celebration of surviving their first day of physical training, which they happily devoured.
They customarily thanked Morgranna for the delicious meal and went up to the top floor to wind down before bedtime with hot chocolate and a novel.
When it was bedtime, they brushed their teeth and fell asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillows; the bed curtains closed tightly around them like armour.