---
Shio: "Rin, it's time to sleep."
Rin: "But big brother… I don't want to."
Shio: "Oh? Then maybe I should tell you a story."
Rin: "Okay…"
Shio smiled softly.
"Far, far away—in another universe—there was a great wall that divided humans, vampires, angels, elves, and demons. Like every story, there were heroes who stood to protect everyone. Their names were Leon and his wife Diana, Lucifer… and their leader, Kale."
Rin: "So, big brother… how did it end?"
Shio: "Well… who knows?" He chuckled gently, while Rin's eyes slowly closed.
---
Fourteen years later.
The door creaked open. Rin stepped out quickly, Shio following behind.
Shio: "Rin! Rin!"
Rin: "Stop calling me that! Stop talking! Why… why are you so perfect? Why do you know everything? Why are you always so—"
Shio only looked at him with a broken smile.
Ashamed, Rin lowered his head.
Rin: "…I'm sorry. I didn't mean…" His voice trembled, words falling apart.
Shio placed a gentle hand on his head.
"Want to go for a ride, Rin?"
Rin blushed faintly. To him, Shio was more like a father than a brother.
Rin: "A ride… big brother?"
Shio's smile grew warm. He led him outside.
"Now, now… it's raining a little. Perfect weather for a ride, don't you think? Riny, maybe, huh?"
Rin tilted his head. "…Big brother? Where's your bike?"
---
Shio: "Did I leave it somewhere else?"
Rin: "No, it was here. We should… maybe tell the police."
Suddenly, a huge blue hole opened before them, swirling violently. Its pull was strong and cold.
Rin gasped as the force dragged him toward the void.
Shio: "Rin! Rin!" He ran and caught Rin's arm.
Rin: "Big brother, go away! You can't pull me out!"
Shio: "I will—even if it means my death!"
The blue hole roared and swallowed them both.
Shio held Rin tightly in his arms, shielding him from whatever awaited inside.
Shio: "Brother will do something to save you, okay? Trust me."
Rin: "But what the hell is this? Did we already… die? Oh—big brother, your bike! It's here too. It got pulled in…"
Shio: "Don't worry about it. You must be safe. I'll find a door… something to get you out."
Rin: "But big brother, you're in danger as well! When will you care about yourself? I'm not a little boy anymore. I'm not a child!"
As they spun through the void, Rin's memories began to flood back.
Our parents died when I was four, and big brother was sixteen. He was a genius—inventing things no one else could. Not just inventions, but weapons. He didn't build them, but he knew exactly how. Even the country noticed. And when he turned eighteen… they ordered him to begin creating them.
He was still just a boy, yet he accepted it—for the sake of survival, for me. He worked, studied, invented, and carried all the weight on his shoulders. And even now, after all these years… he still protects me. He still sees me as a child.
---
Shio: "Let's get closer to my bike. Maybe we can ride it somewhere… or something like that."
Rin: "Can we even move? Like… swimming? We're just in nowhere. I think we died."
Shio: "Just hold on to me. I'll try."
Shio wrapped his arm tightly around Rin's chest and began pulling him toward the glowing bike.
Shio: "We're here. Let's see if it even works…"
Rin screamed suddenly, pain surging through his body.
Rin: "Big brother! Big brother!"
Shio: "Rin! Rin, what's happening?" He shook him, desperate.
Rin trembled, writhing in pain. Neither of them knew why or how this was happening.
Rin: "Big brother… it hurts! It hurts!"
Shio's eyes widened. "Good lord, what's happening here? Where are we? How can I help him? How can I save him?"
His thoughts raced. "Can I take the pain from him? Can I translate it into myself? I have to do something!"
Then the bike began to glow even brighter, casting strange lights across the void.
Shio: "Now what? Rin, take a breath. We need to calm down."
Suddenly, they began falling from nowhere, the void swirling endlessly around them. Beneath them, they finally felt air—and a forest stretched below.
Shio realized they might not survive the fall. Without hesitation, he wrapped Rin tightly in his arms, preparing to take the impact himself.
But by some stroke of luck, they landed on a pile of bushes, soft and tangled enough to break their fall. Miraculously, they survived.
---
Rin pushed himself off his brother, still breathing heavily. His eyes widened as he spotted something near them.
Rin: "Big brother… your bike! It's here!"
He stumbled toward it.
Shio: "Rin, leave it. Don't go. We don't know if this place is safe."
Rin turned back sharply, voice filled with anger.
Rin: "How can you say that? You built this bike with your own hands. You cared for it for years! And now you want me to just ignore it?"
Shio lowered his eyes, silent.
Rin: "No. I won't. It matters to me too."
He stepped closer to the bike… but then stopped. His hand fell slowly, his gaze locked on something beyond it.
Rin: "Big brother… look there."
Shio, still weak, leaned on a tree and moved to his side. Then his tired eyes lifted, and for a moment, they lit up with sudden wonder.
Far away, a city stretched under a strange light. Its buildings were unusual, unfamiliar—yet not frightening. Just… different.
Rin: "It doesn't look normal…"
Shio's weary eyes shine faintly as he whispered:
"…It's beautiful."
---
---
Rin: "Beautiful, big brother… we are not in a dream. Wake up to reality. We just fell from nowhere, then into a forest, and now we're seeing a… victorian city. There's a whole castle there. And look at the houses—they're all old-fashioned designs."
He took a deep breath. "Just saying… it's a city, but with an unusual design. It's like something from a victorian time. You can see the big difference everywhere."
Shio glanced around, his tired eyes flickering with a hint of amusement.
Shio: "Well, I know. Even I'm confused. But still, it's beautiful. And we can't do anything else. What should we do—cry? We aren't babies… oh, but you are, my little cutie brother. I forgot. Come here, want your bro to give you a hug?"
Rin's face heated, his voice rising.
Rin: "It's not the time for joking, brother. Take this seriously! Why are you—never mind. We can't just take the bike and go there. But what if they call it a monster and kill us, like we're witches? Don't you think so, brother?"
Rin looked around—Shio, and even the bike, weren't near him. Then he saw Shio walking away, pushing the bike toward the city.
Rin: "No way, brother!" He ran after him. "You aren't serious about this, are you?"
Shio didn't look back.
Shio: "Well, I am serious. That's all we can do for now. We can't live in the forest forever."
Rin sighed heavily.
Rin: "I can't stop you, can I?"
Shio glanced at him over his shoulder, a faint smirk on his lips.
Shio: "No. Now follow me… like a good little brother."
---
end of ch. 1st