A Simple Life

In year 17820 of the Luke calendar,

It was early dawn in the Lodrac empire's Ecrin town, and most of the people were still asleep. As the sun was just beginning to rise, we can see two people walking down the mountain situated near the town, carrying a bundle of woods and fruits on their backs. One was a young boy, around ten years old, who was accompanied by a young girl with similar white hair and red eyes who looked a lot like him. Despite the fact that they were both carrying a lot of weight on their backs, they didn't seem to bother.

As they walked down the mountain together, the girl noticed the boy's waist pouch and questioned,

"Why did you take so many flowers today?"

The boy responded with an expression filled with sadness,

"Tomorrow is mother's fifth death anniversary, I want to lay these fruits and flowers on her grave with father and you."

For a little while, the girl wore a surprised expression before staring at the boy with sympathetic eyes and said,

"You know how much our father resents us; he will not accompany us, and will even beat you if you suggest it."

The boy gave a melancholic smile before saying,

"He's not wrong to resent me; after all, it was my fault. Mother would still be with him if I hadn't been there that day-"

Before the boy could finish, the girl shouted,

"It wasn't your fault, Tsar; even mother knew it was an accident; how long will you be plagued by guilt..... Don't you remember mother's last wish? Why don't you abide by it and live a life free of guilt."

"Besides, it was my fault; you know, the commotion would not have occurred if I hadn't broken the vial that day."

Tsar came to a halt, looked at the girl with a serious expression, and said,

"That commotion wasn't caused by the vial, Shura; it was just the breaking point for father..."

Tsar said before trying to change the topic

"Let's just leave it there. Tell me whether you've finished reading the book we borrowed from Sophie?"

Tsar's blatant attempt to change the topic was noticed by Shura, but she didn't point it out and went along with it,

"Yes, it included far more information than the ordinary books sold on the street. Even information about the other 19 worlds was available."

"Really? Then does it have more information about the legendary force users?"

"They don't say much about their abilities or methods of cultivation, but they do mention academies and cults. But even after learning about it, what can we do?"

"Remember, Shura, since we live in a higher world; we have a much better chance of becoming force users than those in the lower 3000 worlds. And, given our extraordinary strength and my unusual eyes, what if we have a rare physique?"

Shura was silent for a moment before speaking,

"Do you really want to be a force user, brother? Will you be able to activate those eyes again after that traumatic experience? We can continue to live our simple life like this."

Tsar looked at Shura with a soft expression and said,

"Shura, we need to know more about the origin of our eyes. These eyes aren't ordinary at all and my gut instinct tells that your awakening isn't far away. What if something similar happens in the presence of father? Even if he is a bad father, he is still our father."

Shura made an aggrieved look after the mention of their father and said,

"Don't be so soft, Tsar. He hasn't sold us yet just to honor Mother's final wish. In regards of awakening, we can only hope that it occurs once we have been accepted into an academy."

"I suppose it's time to get going now..."

When Tsar gazed up into the sky saw that the sun had completely risen, he grabbed Shura's hand and exclaimed,

"We're running late, Shura; hurry up or father will be furious."

Shura, too, recognized the gravity of the situation and began sprinting.